care. add, that the judicious selection of a variety verdant prairies, the narrow, wooded botof cane for planting is of immense impor- toms, the beautiful islands of timber, the tance, as it is not more expensive or trouble- quick-running streams, the cool, refreshing some to cultivate a superior cane, which will springs, and the healthful clime of Texas. give large and remunerating returns, than it There the soil, a little broken, is not inferior is to cultivate an inferior kind, which will to that of the alluvial country below, is more lead only to disappointment and loss. Nor easily worked, the products are greater and do I think that any estate should have only more varied, and, though not so convenient one description of cane. It is advisable al- to a foreign market, will have a market at ways to have two, or even three, one of home. Here is to be the most densely popu which might be cultivated generally. lated part of Texas, if not of America. In this region the planter may raise all the cotTEXAS.-CLIMATE, RIVERS, LANDS, PRO- ton, rice, and tobacco, he can save, and the DUCTIONS, ANIMALS, MINERALS, POPULA- corn and grain he requires, and stock to any TION, GOVERNMENT, EMIGRATION, ETC., ETC.-extent, without labor, and almost without Boundaries.-Few persons abroad are aware of the magnitude and attractions of this beautiful country. Texas has a territory of nearly 400,000 square miles, equal in extent to the whole of France and Spain together, comprising an area of 300,000,000 acres. It lies between 26 and 36° north latitude, and 93° 30 and 110° west longitude. Its greatest length is about 700 miles north and south, and 400 from east to west. It is bounded by Red River and Arkansas on the north, and the Rio Grande and New-Mexico on the west. It comprises a territory five times as large as New-England, aud is nearly equal to the whole of the southern states, all of which contain but 370,000 square miles. Allowing, then, 280 persons to the square mile, the same as in England, it would sustain in round numbers a population of 100,000,000. Face of the Country.-Texas may be divided into three districts or regions of country, each of which, in many respects, is entirely different. There are the level, the undulating, and the mountainous or hilly, or the lower, middle, and upper districts; or, as it is more convenient, divided into Eastern, Middle, and Western Texas. The eastern extends from the Sabine to the Trinity, the middle from the Trinity to the Colorado, and the western from the Colorado to the Rio Grande del Norte. The table-lands are yet the home of the hunter and the range of the buffalo. Little is known of them, but they are represented by travelers to rival the table-lands of Mexico, to be rich in soil and climate, to be clothed in constant verdure, beautifully variegated in surface, and watered by streams as clear as crystal-to be, in fine, a perfect paradise. Of the northern portion of Texas still less is known than of the table-lands. This region is said to be intersected by many streams of water-power, and to be rich in the precious metals. Climate. All who have visited Texas concur in ascribing to it the most delightful tem perature in the world. Though possessing a climate varying, according to local situation, from tropical to temperate, it is generally remarkably pleasant and salubrious. The average range of the thermometer during the summer season is about 80°, and refreshing breezes from the south blow almost without interruption. During winter ice is seldom seen except in the northern parts of the state. From March to November but little rain falls, and the power of the sun is such as to exhale that little promptly. The southerly winds are very invigorating, and one seldom takes cold, however heated, by exposure to their influence. In November the strong northers set it. In the months of December and January, the cold north winds sweep down the plains with nearly as much regularity as the southeast wind in summer, being occasionally interrupted by that wind chiefly on the full and change of the moon. These periodical winds, doubtless, tend greatly to purify the atmosphere, and contribute much to give the climate of Texas a blandness which is rarely enjoyed, and a salubrity which is looked for in vain in the low alluvial country of the southern United States. The climate, indeed, is modified by so many favorable circumstances as to possess all the genial influences of Louisiana, while it escapes its attendant evils. In addition to the invigorating sea-breeze and the freeness from marsh effluvia which this enjoys, there is another advantage which contributes, perhaps, still more effectually to the preservation of the 21 The level region occupies the entire coast, extending from 30 to 60 miles into the interior. The undulating succeeds this, and embraces the whole of the interior and the north, and reaches westward to the mountainous tract, which is distant 150 to 200 miles from the boundaries of the level lands. The alluvial lands of the several rivers which make into the Gulf are from 3 to 20 miles in breadth, and are heavily timbered with live oak, red, black, and white, and other species of oak; with ash, cedar, pecan, elm, hickory, mulberry, and all the other varieties of forest trees and growth common in the rich alluvions of the Mississippi. The cane brakes are of immense extent in the low country, and on the Caney Creek may be seen seventy miles long, and from one to three miles wide. Here may be grown cotton, sugar, rice, &c. In the second division are the high, rolling, VOL. III. health of the emigrant, that he can locate immediately upon the rich, open prairies, and realize a plenteous crop, without exposure to those "clearings" which prove so deleterious to the western farmer in his acclimation to a "fever-and-ague bottom." Away from the river bottoms, which are frequently overflowed, and the vicinity of forests, you escape the fevers to which such regions are sometimes exposed, and enjoy uninterrupted and vigorous health. The forests of Texas are generally free from underwood, and there are few miasmatic marshes or stagnant pools to give rise to epidemics, or occasion any fatal disease. Rivers and Lakes.-No part of the extensive coast of the Gulf of Mexico presents a greater number of commanding harbors, bays and inlets, than that of Texas. The interior, intersected by numerous magnificent and navigable streams, in close vicinity to the great western tributaries of the Mississippi, and holding easy communication with the mighty "father of rivers" himself, furnishes a commercial position very desirable, and seldom surpassed. Red River may be considered in part as belonging to Texas. The vast region west of the mountains in which it rises, and through which it rolls its turbid waters, has been yet scarcely explored; but it is known to be of great fertility and of surpassing beauty. In this region has the Texan emigrant reared his cottage, and planted his cotton, and his corn, and his wheat, which are borne along the current of Red River to the great mart of the south west. The chief rivers, those which are more or less navigable for steamboats, are the Sabine, or Neches, Trinity, Brazos, Colorado, Guadaloupe, San Antonio, and the Rio Grande. Besides these, there are others of less note and magnitude, though navigable to a considerable extent: the Angelina, San Jacinto, Buffalo Bayou, Oyster and Chacolate Bayou, San Bernard, Caney, Navidad, La Baca and Nueces. There are no lakes of any importance to be found in this country. A few small ones near the sources of the Guadaloupe, and on some of the tributaries of Red River and the Trinity, are all that are worthy of the name, and they are inconsiderable. To a country so well watered, intersected by rivers so numerous and important, and offering such valuable facilities for canal communication, they would be useless. Indeed, with but very little expense, its vast water-courses might be united in one great navigable chain, which would render the transportation of produce from any section of this wide-spread territory to a commercial emporium at any point on the coast, a matter of the utmost ease, and at a trifling cost. Prairies and Meadows.-Texas, in general, is a prairie country, having all the streams skirted by timber. The sublime and beautiful are both united in her vast prairies sublime in extent, and beautiful in prospect. One may travel for miles, and even leagues, over a continuous plain, with nothing to interrupt the utmost stretch of vision upon the "living green," save the beautiful groves and "islands of timber" which are here and there interspersed, and flowers of every variety, hue and fragrance, and herds of cattle and deer-delighting the eye with the view of splendid lawns and magnificent parks tastefully laid out by the hand of nature, and presenting all the order and taste of civilization. Nothing in nature can surpass the beauty and loveliness of a Texan landscape. Nothing can exceed the beauty of her vast natural meadows in the spring and summer seasons; neither is it possible to form an estimate, even in imagination, of the number of useful domestic animals that may be reared on them without trouble or expense. Even in the winter season the pasturage is sufficiently ver dant to dispense with feeding live stock. Timber Lands.-No country in the world affords a greater variety of timber than Texas. Her forests of live oak and cedar are unrivaled. Her whole coast nearly, including all the bayous and river bottoms from the Sabine to the Nueces, is one entire belt of timber. The eastern section probably embraces more woodland than any other. It is heavily timbered with pine, oak, ash, walnut, hickory, pecan, mulberry, cedar, cypress, and other forest trees, which extend quite to Red River, occasionally variegated with beautiful prairies, containing from one hundred to several thousand acres. The soil is admirably adapted to grazing and agriculture, and the timber trade will soon become extensive and lucrative in this region. Productions of the Soil.-Among the productions which may be regarded as naturally adapted to the soil of Texas, and which now forms a chief and important article of commerce, cotton stands pre-eminent. This is the great crop of Texas, and the source of much of its wealth and power. Its staple is uniformly good, and near the Gulf it equals, in length and fineness, the Sea Island cotton. It is an indigenous plant, aud in the western region needs to be planted only once in three or four years to yield an abundant crop. The climate is ever favorable, and the soil, whether upland or lowland, woodland or prairie, is admirably suited to the culture of the article, and the crop can scarcely ever fail. The sugar-cane grows luxuriantly throughout the whole level region; but its culture, for various reasons, will not be extensive, nor will the production of sugar, unless forced by unexpected circumstances, probably compete with that of Louisiana for many years to come. Tobacco grows almost spontaneously throughout Texas. It is an important production, equal in quality to that of Cuba, and will soon become an article of commerce and export. The indigenous indigo of Texas is greatly TEXAS CLIMATE, RIVERS, LANDS, ETC. superior to the plant which is cultivated industriously exploring the true springs of na- The invaluable article of breadstuff, maize dle of June. Wheat, buckwheat, millet, rye, oats, barley, and other small grains, yield plentiful crops to the farmer throughout the undulating district. The establishment of mills will be the signal for abundant harvests of grain. Flax and hemp are well adapted to the soil, and furnish ample rewards to the labor of the agriculturist. Rice is already produced in considerable quantity, and can be grown to any extent. The grape and mulberry abound here. They are indigenous to the soil, and grow luxuriantly, indicating that wine and silk, as well as cotton and tobacco, will one day become staples of the country. The vanilla plant grows wild. It can be successfully cultivated, and will become a commercial commodity of inestimable value. This delicious plant is highly esteemed in medicine, as a perfume to flavor the cigar, and in various culinary arts, &c. The nopal, celebrated for the production of the cochineal insect, grows luxuriantly. Its fruit, with the leaves, furnishes food for vast herds of cattle and wild horses. It is, moreover, highly esteemed, and purchased eagerly in the Mexican markets. In the western counties the musquit tree is very common. It is a species of locust, and, besides furnishing in its fruit excellent food for cattle and horses, it is superior to cedar even for the purposes of building and fencing. It forms here also the principal arti cle for fuel. The yaupan, or tea tree, deserves especial notice. Its leaf is very similar in form and flavor to that of the veritable Chinese shrub, and is not at all inferior to the black tea or bohea so commonly used. It furnishes a very acceptable and cheap beverage in lieu of the pure Chinese article, which in the interior is so often adulterated, and so costly and difficult to be obtained. Cayenne pepper, called by the Mexicans chile, grows exuberantly all over Texas, and vast quantities are annually consumed for domestic use. The Indians and Creoles are extremely fond of it, and no Mexican would willingly relinquish his chile for any other luxury. Many other sources of wealth and enjoyment are found here, and will in all good time be realized by her citizens, who are so in It is impossible to imagine the beauty of a Texan prairie, when, in the vernal season, its rich luxuriant herbage, adorned with the thousand flowers of endless hue and figure, seems to realize the vision of a terrestrial paradise. Many of the northern garden flowers and hot-bouse exotics bloom on the prairies spontaneously, and in the utmost profusion, and in wonderful variety. All the varieties of the genus stellariayellow, blue, and purple-display their rich and gaudy tints in every direction. The splendid and fashionable dahlia, an exotic highly esteemed and carefully reared in foreign hot-houses, is indigenous to the southThe numerous family of geraniums west. serve to adorn and perfume with their sweet fragrance the wild meadows of Texas. Several varieties of digitalis and sanguinaria are also found. Different species of the nymphæ, or water-lily, here "waste their sweetness on the desert air;" and the bignonia, or trumpet flower, and lobelia cardinalis, are The May apple, bearing a very common. delicate and delicious flower, is abundant, and violets everywhere form a common carpeting for the prairies. The beautiful and much-admired passion-flower is frequent in its season, while the perpetual rose, multiflora and chickasaws, and other varieties of The morning without cultivation or care. roses, are indigenous to the country, and grow and evening primrose displays the mild beauty of its simple, but chaste and elegant flowers everywhere; while the jonquil and hyafancifully variegated nosegay, or are thrown cinth, honeysuckle and sweet seringa, form a together in most admired disorder throughout or wax-plant, both white and red, is common. this paradise of flowers. The hoya carnosa, The mimosa, in the prairies of Texas, bears a flower of a delicate pink color, and much larger than those of the North. This plant has ever been, and ever will be, perhaps, a matter of curious interest and admiration to the naturalist and philosopher. It is very elastic to the tread, so that when the traveler has trampled over its drooping and apparently withered leaves, and looks back for the path which his rude footsteps have marked out, not a vestige of the invasion remains, but all again is life and verdure. TEXAS CLIMATE, RIVERS, LANDS, ETC. Fruits, &c.-Many of the fruits of the tropics and those of the North grow luxu-buffalo, being found in every part of Texas. The deer is still more numerous than the riantly in Texas. The fig, a very delicious Hence venison is very common and very and much admired fruit, is very common, cheap. Deer-skins never fail to find a ready and may be raised in the greatest abundance, and profitable market. The moose, antelope, with very little labor or care. peach is unrivaled: nowhere is it of larger upon the frontier or far west. The Texas and mountain goat, are also found ranging growth or richer flavor. The northern peach will not compare with it. The nectarine, quince and grape are equally luxuriant, and produce excellent fruit. A great variety of berries, as the mulberry, dewberry, whortleberry and gooseberry, grow wild, and in the greatest profusion. The pecan, walnut, and hickory nuts, are very abundant. plums and crab apples are common, and Wild the pawpaw produces a rich and delicious fruit. The orange, lemon and lime grow well there; and the pine-apple and olive may be made to ripen with a little care. Garden vegetables of every description, and melons, are easily cultivated, and yield in the greatest abundance. Animals. The wild animals of Texas are not numerous. Formerly they were frequent and formidable tenants of the forest, but at present they are rarely met with. The black bear frequents the forests and cane-brakes, and is a favorite object of the hunt. Wolves abound, and sometimes prove a great annoyance to the farmer. The pecari, or Mexican hog, though rarely met with, is a ferocious animal. The wild hog is frequently seen, and is sometimes very furious. These hogs are descended from the domestic swine, and have become wild by running at large in the woods. roam at Wild horses, or mustangs, originally introduced by the Spaniards, now large, and are exceedingly numerous in the northern prairies and western sections of Texas. Many of them are animals of fine figure and spirit, and are highly prized for their beauty and fleetness. They are caught by the lasso, and may be thoroughly broke and rendered quite docile. The young are easily subdued and domesticated. They are hardy and active, and well adapted to the saddle or the stirrup. Mingled with the herds of mustangs are often found jacks, jennies and mules. The rearing of these animals is a lucrative business. The expense of raising them is a trifle the vast natural prairies affording inexhaustible pasturage for this The buffalo, or bison, is found in Texas purpose. astonishingly gregarious. tens of thousands in a drove are yet seen in Thousands and the interior, roving over the prairies, whose luxuriant herbage furnishes them with the means of subsistence. They are much hunted for their flesh and hides. Their beef is highly prized; and the buffalo robes are in great demand, at good prices, and can always command a ready sale. The fox-hunter will find constant enjoyment in this country, where Reynard peeps from every bush and brake. opossums, rabbits and squirrels are in great abundance, and a greater variety of smaller Raccoons, animals serve to stock the forests of Texas with game, and supply the hunter with endless and animated sport. in Texas. Wild Game-Wild game is yet abundant the fowling-piece or rifle may, in almost any One accustomed to the use of part of the country, keep a table well supthe prairies, wild turkeys are very numerous, plied. Besides the deer, which abound in generally fat, and their meat tender and decombining the qualities of the partridge, licious. Prairie hens, large and fine birds, grouse and pheasant, are much esteemed, and very common. wild geese and turkeys, brants, teal, canvas- pigeons, and turtle-doves, are very plentiful. which is the noblest of the aquiline tribe; rouge, a species of crane, with a beautiful bluejays, different species of woodpecker, less bountiful provision in this department bays of Texas abound in fish of an excellent Redfish Bar, in Galveston Bay, takes its name from the numbers of redfish which are monly used in medicine, are found here; and caught there. This fish is very delicious, the honey-bee swarms, and has made her and often weighs fifty pounds. Yellow, favorite haunt in Texas. Their luscious white and blue codfish are found in abund- stores are deposited in hollow trees, and the ance in the rivers and streams-sheepshead, bee-hunter is constantly employed to secure buffalo, perch, mullet, pike, trout, flounders, the honey and wax for exportation and trade. suckers, and other fish common in American It is a common fact in natural history, that waters. The gar is a worthless fish, with a the bee is the pioneer of civilization; and snout of immense length. The alligator gar the Indians, whenever they notice its apis very large-several yards in length; its proach, exclaim, "there come the white. back is covered with scales, and it resembles men!" the alligator, which is very common in the rivers and bayous, and of enormous size. Eels are very common in the fresh-water streams, and are much esteemed. Crabs, crayfish, shrimps, &c., are very plentiful; and oysters, clams, muscles, and various other marine animals, may be had "all along shore." Beds of oysters line the coast, and nearly all the inlets along it. They are large and well-flavored, and are equal to any obtained in the Atlantic cities. The hard and soft-shelled turtle are common to all the rivers and bayous, especially near their mouths. Lizards, &c., are to be found everywhere. No new country was every less troubled with serpents than Texas. Poisonous snakes, it is true, are often to be met with, but their bite is seldom or never fatal, as the antidotes are always very plentiful and close at hand. The rattlesnake is common in the river bottoms, and grows to an enormous size. Land and water moccasins, coach-whip and copper-heads, are the only venomous snakes besides the rattle found in Texas. The chicken-snake-very fond of poultry, as its name denotes the garter-snake, and several others, are entirely harmless. The "horned frog," inhabiting the prairies, and probably of the lizard species, is very common here, and regarded as a curiosity. Beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies, fireflies, ants, wasps, mosquitos, spiders, and a great variety of others belonging to the same species and orders with these, are found in Texas. Mosquitos are a great annoyance in the swamps, woods, and river-bottoms, but on the uplands are not so numerous and troublesome. The sandfly, ticks and redbugs are very annoying to travelers. If not carefully guarded against, they will spoil the beauty of the fairest face in creation, beyond the redemption of all cosmetics, for days to come. The horsefly is a most malicious and troublesome insect. The gadfly is a dreadful tormentor of the cattle in summer, as the horse-fly, gnat, and others of like species of equal attachment to suffering humanity, are to domestic comfort. The cantharides, or Spanish flies, so com That species of spider called the tarantula, is very common, and grows enormously large. It is a most malignant and disgusting insect, and its bite is believed by many to be without a remedy; but this may be always at hand in the form of salt and vinegar, chloride of soda, sweet oil, or ammonia. Travelers and emigrants should always be provided with the antidote. Minerals.-Texas abounds with minerals and interesting geological attractions. The silver mine of San Saba is among the richest in the world, and under the dominion of Spain afforded a considerable revenue to the Spanish crown. Gold has been found upon the Atoyac, and silver ore upon the Bedais. Iron ore is found in many parts of Texas, some of it yielding upwards of 50 per cent. Lead, copper, copperas and alum are found in considerable quantities. Bituminous coal is found upon the Trinity and Upper Brazos, equal to some of the foreign coal. Salt is. found in the greatest abundance. Immense quantities are annually taken from a famous salt lake near the Rio Grande, and transported to a foreign market. Salt springs and lagoons abound near the Trinity, and a branch of the Brazos River has its water highly impregnated with mineral salt. Soda and potash are formed near the salt lagoons, in dry seasons, by the atmosphere. Lime can be plentifully furnished from limestone existing in the undulating and northern portions of Texas. In the level district, oyster-shell lime can be substituted. Asphaltum is sometimes found on the coast, thrown aside by the sea from the opposite side of the gulf. Large quantities of silicious minerals, agate, chalcedony, jasper, and some singular petrifactions, are found near the mountains. The remains of whole forests are seen, near the Trinity and Brazos rivers, entirely petrified. Some of the trees are of enormous size. Extensive quarries of red and white sandstone, or freestone, abound throughout the country. Near the Trinity and Colorado especially they are very common. At Austin, the capital, these is a valuable quarry of white stone, similar to that in Paris, of which the Louvre is built. It is soft and easily |