The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1916-02-17

the reply was, eyes, bushels Of them. -
''Sweet potatoes?" Eyes, both kinds, in
great quantities, besides corn, cotton, rice,
tobacco, and many other things. In fact.
anything that will grow in the United
States can be grown in Texas. l was
told that farmers were planting large
quantities of Chinese sugar cane (sor-
ghumr for their CATTLE"
We left Galveston in the evening,
towing the ship Trinity out over the
bar, and the next morning were at Pow
der Horn, or lndianola. The water is
shoal in Matagorda bay and long pier
had been built out just wide enough for
a platform on wheels, on which the pas
sengers and their baggage, and the
freight, is taken to the shore.
We went to ''hotel'' just opposite
the landing and this is the description
gave of it at the time: 1.-THE front of
the house is taken up with two large
rooms, one the office, the other the bar
and billiard rooms. A hall between
leads to the rear of the house, with the
parlor on one side and the dining room
opposite. The partitions are of planed
boards and the ceiling the same. The
chairs had seats of rawhide and tall,
straight backs. A veranda shaded by
trees extended across the front of the
house"
After dinner our teams were brought
out ready for departure. The paymas-
ter's conveyance was large ambulance,
so-caled. covered, and with curtains that
let down at the sides and was strongly
constructed, for it had to withstand
rough travelling. There was plenty of
room between our seat in the rear and
the drivers seat in front for our per-
sonal baggage. 1t was drawn by four
mules. The driver had revolver in his
belt and a Sharps carbine within reach,
and other carbines were held by leather
loops to the stanchions which supported
the top of the ambulance. A stout cam
vas-covered wagon drawn by six mules
contained our baggage, the safe, and four
or five of Uncle Sans soldiers doing
escort duty.
Soon after leaving the hotel we
passed deserted prairie dog town. The
road was over what is called hog
wallow prairie, full of little depressions
into which the wheels sank, making any
thing but pleasant travelling. Then the
day was intensely hot, and between the
heat and the dust an unquenchable thirst
was created, and my canteen was filled and
emptied several times. We were to stop
for the night at place off the main road,
and when night came on and we were
not in sight of it, it became evident that
we had lost our way, and we had made
up our minds to spend the night in the
wagons when we came upon Mexican
guide, who took US to our destination.
No sooner had we arrived than we heard
a commotion from the poultry in the rear
of the house as chickens were killed for
our supper.
The next day was also intensely hot
and | saw mirage for the first time.
Before US large river seemed to be
| flowing, but it vanished as we went on.
We spent that night in Victoria, town
settled by the Mexicans, and crossed the
Guadalupe river the next morning over
an odd looking bridge, just wide enough
for one team, and then drove into thick
grove of oaks, the trees festooned with
wild grape wires and with long streams
of gray moss waving from every limb.
Quite business was done here, we were
told, in preparing this moss to be made
into mattresses. We saw vast herds of
cattle feeding on the prairies, now and
then herd of deer, and many prairie
chickens. Our days journey ended at
Yorktown.
Do not picture these places as thriving
New England villages. The hotel and
half a dozen habitations, built of logs
and plastered outside with mud, and
much inferior in everyway to the old log
cabins of New England, constituted the
town or village. But the traveller could
not complain of the fare-certainly we
did not. Chickens cooked to turn, ba-
con, venison, fresh laid eggs, corn bread
and corn fritters, wild honey. etc., were
the staple articles. At night we slept
on stretchers, with sheet over the can
vass-no Mattress and another sheet for
covering. 1t was too hot for blankets.
Wash bowls and towels were on the
spacious front veranda, and at one corner
hung the water jar of porous earthern-
ware, the water somewhat cooled by the
air on the moisture exuding from the
jar. A long handled gourd was used for
drinking purposes.
The next day at noon we halted on. the
bank of the Elclayto river. Texas at
this time was suffering severely from a
drouth which had extended over eighteen
months, destroying all vegetation. In
places there were large cracks in the
ground. Crops were ruined and the
grass was so dried up as to barely sus-
| toip tho oattla We Dassed ono field of