Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-03-25
GREAT THIRST OF A TEXAN.
Which Was Assuaged at the Cost OF
$40 Acres of Rich Land.
To be Continued.

GAO Acres of Rich Land.
II was a guest of a native of the rich
Brazos bottoms in Texas one time,
said a New York man, land he enter
tained me on a tramp. Pausing at
certain spot, he glanced over the land
and then gave his arm a sweep and
said:
LAS far as you can see in all ways
from here lies about the most fertile
stretch of the whole BraZos bottoms,
and that means the richest stretch OF
soil in the whole known world, sir; and
all that section. $40 acres, was bought,
sir. by one drink of water.
Il made appropriate expression OF
amaZement at this deal in Texas real
estate and of course asked for detail
ed statement.
"Yes. sir said my Texan friend,
six hundred and forty acres of the
richest land in Texas. which means In
all the world. for one drink of water.
It isn't so strange, either, when you
come to think about it, said the Texan
muSingly. I've seen the time more
than once, I'm afraid. when I'd have
given more land than that if I'd had
it for a good long pull at the water
pitcher myself.
1T was quite a while ago all this
happened, sixty years. l guess. 1t came
off at Corsicana. One day man went
there to do some trading. Aftcrward
he bought the old stuff so persistently
that they had to stow him away one
night in a corner of Dominic testers
big loft.
THAT was the last that was heard
from him until along about | o'clock in
the morning. Then he woke with a
terrible consuming alkali desert thirst.
There was no water in the loft, and he
didn't know how to find the way tn
the ladder to get down out of 1t. He
put his head out of the window and a'
the moon was shining he saw the forms
of number of men stretched out on
the grass below.
"'"Hey, down thar" he yelled.
Come up h'yar, one o you, with a
bucket O. water, an I'll hand you =
dollar" He met with no response and
yelled louder than ever, repeating the
offer. adding that if he didn't get a
drink of water mighty soon he would
take fire and go up in flames, but no
one below moved. Then he found his
gun living on the floor and yelled out ol
the window:
"'"If some o you salOotS down thar
don't wake up an say suthin' I'll send
you whar you'll be beggin' fer drink
yourselves from now on an forever till
your tongues hang out
"'rhat caused one of them below to
stir and yell back:
send an be hanged. What a
want up thar
"'I want drink a water" the man
i'm the loft yelled back. An I'll give
a dollar fer Il buckrtful this hyar min
ute,"
"'"Hell," the man on tn" grass yell
ed back. reckon you don't want water
50 rantankerous bad. if that's all it's
wuth to you
"."If any galoot down thar totes me
up a bucket q water" the man in the
loft yelled again. I'll give him suit
,ifkit fo' $40 acres O BraZoS bottom."
Land certificates were the chief cir
cuating medium i'm those days on the
Texas frontier. To this offer tn" man
below yelled back:
"'"Yah! | wouldn't climb the ladder
to you upstairs whar y"' iS-nnt f"' n"
Setch fOolShneSS as that.
"'"TH give yu' Il Suttifkit fo' GAG
acres q BraZoS bottom fo' one bucket
a. water" the man in the loft yelled to
the one below. An yO' take up with
that offer an tote tn" bucket or I'll give
yu' all thar is in this hyar f"ty-f"' I"
mine reckon yn' hcah me!
"'rhr man below muScd Will" and
then yelled To the thirsty man 1T the
loft window:
"'"'PcarS like You air suff'n some
ro' muiStcnin. Cnnn"l, after all
reckon I'll 'ccd" to that offer :" yon an
tote yo' up the m"iStur.
"'rhc man got up. drew bucket "l
water from the well in the yard and
CllllllN'U lllt EINNtl W INV I'i'. ~
thirsty man took Il long drink. Th"n
he paused for breath and rXclaihIcd:
"Ah-h-h, POdn"r. y"' have Sh" ~
saved my life. An | wish t" remark
SUN. that y0'vr save y"' "wn life t"".
"Thcn hr drank tn" rest of tho wa
ter i'm the bucket and went back I" ms
corner i'm the loft.
"'rhc man vino had t"t"d TN" bucket
returned to his plac" nn tn" grass be-
low. Next morning the l"dg"r i'm the
loft came down. woke tn" man ON th'
grass who had saved his life and in
cidrmtaIly his own and handed him Il
certificate for Gao acres of land i'm th'
I:l;IZnS huttom. And there it lies. sir
said my Texas friend with another
sweep of his arm. tn" richest spread "i
farm land in tn" known world worth
today 500 an acre if It's worth Il cent,
and all bought for :; drink uf water.