The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1902-03-21

/ 1901. MA= ne catastrophe Hnr0seF shea
.esxsslfs IL ire eyae q me gHnefakEos
now living. should pDstarity find sh
occasion. the ability and the willing
Il ness fo remove these foundations Il
lay greater ones. may tire reading o
these deposits crafty them by THE liz
ilhIRh resolves and noble achievements
1of their ancestry OF which they tell
lCAPT. GETzENDANER's AID
DRESS.
i Capt. w. Il. Gefzendaner. one OF the
Oldest and most prominent citizens ~
Iwaxahachie. deposited copies Of tht
local papers. Capt Getzendaner came
to waxahachie long before there was
Newspaper in the county, and probably
no man among our citizenship can bet
ter appreciate the power Of the press
in the development of the county or rs
valne as an educational factor to the
people. He spoke as follows;
/ Fellow Citizens, Ladies' and Gentle
men: Only few months ago this
beautiful and elevated spot Was select
ed as the site of Trinity University.
We have bored downwards TO an abun-
dant supply of artesian water. and are
now building upwards. upon solid
rock foundation, heavy walls, four sto-
ries high. with cupola and tower on
ward and upward still higher.
| 1t 10 a pleasure to me. and an honor
duly appreciated. to have the privilege
of taking a part In the ceremony OF
laying the cornerstone of this great
educational institution.
In depositing In the vault of this
cornerstone these copies OF our local
newspapers. we consign to remote gem
erations a history of the environment
of to-day. These papers record the
thoughts, the acts and conditions OF
our people. From these thoughts. acts
and conditions their moral. intellect
dal. social, Industrial and commercial
status may be determined. and poster
/ ity may learn the progress made since
this day of deposit to the time when
these papers may again be brought to
light
The progress of a people Is always
a subject OF interest TO the thoughtful
Standing on this summit an opportuni-
ty IL given TO view the fertile and beau-
t!!ai landscape before aud around us.
and 10 note that In 1912 there was NOT
one white person residing In the terri
tory OF what is now Ellis county: that
in I843 w. r. Howe and Capt Tom
Smith. with their families, settled near
the present town OF Foreston; that In
February. 1874. Switzerland Maytield,
with his family, settled at Reagors
Springs. seven miles down Waxahachie
creek, that later in the year, the Bill
ingslys. Mcnamara, Sterrett and few
others settled on upper Red Oak, near
the present site OF Ovilla; that the first
marriage In this Ellis territory took
place At this Red Oak settlement. and
cost the groom trip to the old town
OF Franklin. 100 miles distant. to pro
cure a license to marry and justice
of the peace to perform the ceremony.
Settlers continued TO arrive. and in
1850, after two efforts. voters enough
tone hundred) were secured to ma~e
Ellis county legal subdivision OF TIE
state. Buffalo, bear. deer. wild horses,
In great numbers. roamed over the
country, ate the juicy grass and drank
the pearly water of the swift running
branches and creeks. The herds If
buffalo were so great that they often
as Uncle Bob Mayfield states--coYered
the ground In every direction as far as
the eye could reach. and when STAN
peded the earth tremhled beneath their
tread. Virtually this whole c1untTy
was prairie and was covered with q
heavy growth of iuxnriant grass. fur
nishing ample food for all the Will
animals. and domestic ones. also: but
when once on fire. as often happened.
! the flames swept with relentless fury
and terrific speed over the vast ex
panse, bringing ruin aud sometimes
death TO the adventurous settlers aud
destruction to the wild animals
We may contrast the pony mail-car
rier. the clumsy. slow-moving passen-
ger and mail coach. the thrill of the
! drivers horn oil few years back. with
! the present palace and mail coach
drawn with lightning speed by pom
| derous engine. whose mighty power
| makes the earth tremble and whose
| shrii whistle reverberatcs throughout
! the land. A trip To Houston then cost
| from seven to ten days travel: now We
eat late supper at home and an early
| breakfast in Houston
| Contrast. again. the log cabin. with
4 It's H10l l4LE l&N ajh iSnt0tF
churches and sehool-houses, With no
/ floors at all, of the early settlers with
| the stately residences and the fine
churches and school houses of to-day.
| View from this place the hills and
dales dotted ovsr with peaceful, happy
homes, well titled fields. pretty or
chards and fine domestic stock grazing
here and there, and compare this view
with the old-time waste of prairie, the
howl of the cayote and the scream Of
the panther.
i Think, also. of our newspapers. Not
one In Ellis county prior to 1868, and
then only a weekly. Papers from the
old states were from ten days to three
week old Now Ellis county has about
twenty newspapers, three or more OF
which are dailies, and the great daily
the Dallas Morning News, containing
the important events of the preceding
day from all over the world, is scanned
over at the breakfast table.
i Surely, the early settlers of this
~ oh A.