I had read and heard so many fine descriptions of Texas--its pleasant
streams, beautiful prairies, mild climate, and extensive herds of
buffalo, wild horses and cattle, that it was with no small degree of
enthusiasm, I set foot, for the first time, on its territory. I cast my
eyes back for a moment on the United States; then turned to the "fairy
land," with high hopes and bright anticipations.
The Sabine has two or three miles of good bottom land on each side,
heavily timbered; but it is too much subject to inundation to be
cultivated.--After we passed the river bottom, we came to gentle
swells, of red clayey soil, covered with oak, hickory, &c. called oak
openings. Sometimes we passed a small prairie; and occasionally, a
log house and a small field. Thus we passed ten miles; and here, our
fellow traveller, having arrived to the end of his journey, left us.
He had travelled a hundred miles with us; was an intelligent man, well
acquainted with the country, and we became too much interested in him,
not to feel serious regret at parting. This is one of the disagreeable
things in travelling; we form acquaintances only to leave them.
We now found cotton fields, as well as corn; more extensive
plantations, and better houses. We passed two race-courses by the road
side, and stopped for the night, at a very decent looking double log
house, having a wide portico in front, and a wide avenue through the
centre. Here, we found good accommodations. The house contained three
or four rooms, and had about the same number of glass windows in it. We
had for supper, venison, sweet potatoes, corn bread, coffee, butter and
milk. Back of the house, I observed a small orchard of apple trees, the
only one I found in all Texas. The trees looked thrifty, and had just
begun to bear fruit. In front, near the road, was as fine a spring of
good, clear, soft water, as I ever saw; but it was hardly cold enough
for a northern man. Here were extensive fields of cotton and corn. This
planter had a cotton gin and press. The cotton was sent by land to
Natchitoches; to be transported from thence to New-Orleans by water.
Six miles from this, we came to an entirely new village, called St.
Augustine, near a stream called the Ayish Bayou. About two years ago,
it was laid out; and now it contains two large taverns, three stores, a
court house, and ten or a dozen dwelling houses. There is a good school
kept here, to which scholars are sent from some distance. It would
be tedious, however, to relate the particulars of this, and the two
succeeding days--it would only be the same story over again. Our fare
was rather poor--the meals, better than the lodging.
One night, we slept in a new framed house, one side all open to the
weather; and the other, we slept in a log house, the interstices
between the logs not filled up, so that you might thrust your arm out
almost any where. This night we had a smart shower, accompanied by a
strong wind, and the rain beat in so liberally, I was obliged to haul
my bed eight or ten feet to leeward. We passed quite a number of log
houses, small plantations, through oak openings and pine plains, and,
at length, came to the ancient town of Nacogdoches.
I could not but smile at the odd and grotesque appearance of
Nacogdoches, as I entered the principal street of the town. In by-gone
days, the Spaniards built a town of log houses; generally having the
logs standing perpendicular at the sides and ends, and the space
between them filled with mud; with chimneys made of the same materials.
These look old and woe-begone. In modern times, the Americans have
erected a number of elegant, framed houses, well finished and painted
white; and these are scattered along among these ancient hovels. The
contrast is very striking, and somewhat ludicrous. Before me, stood
an ancient Roman Catholic church, built in true Spanish style, with
perpendicular logs and mud; now falling to decay, and presenting to the
eye a hideous mass of ruins.
The town stands on a beautiful plain; having a small stream of water
on each side; is very healthy; and when American industry shall have
removed these dark spots from its surface, will be a most desirable
place in which to reside. It has two public houses; and the one we
put up at, had very respectable accommodations. There are a number
of stores, which carry on a brisk trade with the country people and
Indians. The chief article the Indians have to sell is deer pelts; and
in the course of the year, they bring in a large number. These are done
up in bales, and sent by land to the United States.--These skins are
bought of the Indians by weight, and, I was told, the average amount
was about fifty cents apiece. I observed a number of Indians in town
on horseback; and this is the general mode of travelling for all the
western and southern Indians.
Nacogdoches is the head quarters of the "GALVESTON BAY AND TEXAS LAND
COMPANY." The lands of this Company embrace three grants; that of
Xavala, Burnet and Vehlein, and are bounded on the northeast by the
Sabine River; on the northwest by a small river called the St. Jacinta;
on the south by the gulf of Mexico--about one hundred and seventy
miles in width, and running northwest nearly three hundred; equal to
fifty-one thousand square miles. I shall now continue my journal, and
give hereafter a description of this Company's lands in my general view
of Texas.
While at this place, I frequently saw Maj. NIXON, the agent of the
Company for giving titles to the grants. He is quite an agreeable
and intelligent man, and very readily gave me all the information
respecting the country that I requested. No more than a league of land
is granted to foreigners; but to the Spaniards, a number of leagues are
frequently given. The Spaniards, however, place but little value upon
land. They sometimes have large flocks of cattle and horses; but are
too indolent to cultivate the soil. Quite a number of them reside at
Nacogdoches; some very respectable families; but a good many are poor
and indolent. They are of a darker complexion than the Americans, and
are readily designated at first sight.
An instance of the little value placed upon land was stated to me while
here. An American had a fine looking dog that a Spaniard took a fancy
to; he asked the price and was told a _hundred dollars_. The Spaniard
replied, he had no money, but would give him a scrip for _four leagues
of land_! The bargain was immediately closed; and the land could now
be sold for $10,000. Truly, the old adage, "_dog cheap_," ought to be
reversed.
Immediately after leaving the town, we came into pine woods again; to
all appearance, the same we had already passed over--rolling, sandy
soil; the trees straight and tall, but standing so far apart, that a
carriage might go almost anywhere among them. The grass grew beneath
them, and we could see a great distance as we passed along. And thus
it continued, for about twenty miles, with hardly a house on the way.
I thought, we never should have done with pine woods. We had travelled
about three hundred miles from Natchez; and two-thirds of the way had
been pine woods; and here, they made their appearance again. To ride
a short distance in them, is not unpleasant; but to continue on, day
after day, is too monotonous--there is no change of scenery.
In twenty miles, we came to an elegant house, painted white, a large
portico in front; a neat paling round the yard, and large fields beside
the road. A saw and grist mill were building on a small stream, about
a mile from the house. We passed a small river over a bridge, having
split rails for a covering, instead of plank, and through pine woods,
oak woods and small prairies, and put up at a house near the bank of
the river Neches, forty miles from Nacogdoches.
By the side of the road near his house, I saw a race-course, and the
gentleman told me there were frequent races on it. He had himself won
twelve hundred dollars on a bet, a short time before. His house was
made of hewn logs and clapboarded, having three rooms in it, but as
usual in this country, no windows. We had our common fare, beef, corn
bread and coffee.
On a large prairie in front of his house, I saw two Indian mounds, and
as I had a little leisure before breakfast, I went out to examine
them. I had seen many of the Indian mounds in the western States and
Louisiana; and these were similar to them. The largest one was about
twenty feet high and ten in diameter. I was puzzled to find where the
dirt was taken from to make them, as the ground was a perfect level a
long distance around; but my host showed me the spot about half a mile
distant, and from the size of the excavation, I thought he was right.
No reason can be given, however, why the dirt was carried to such a
distance.
Throughout the western and southern country, are found mounds of
earth of different sizes, shapes and heights--some, of a conical
form; others, of an oblong shape; and occasionally, much resembling
fortifications. They are first seen along the southern shore of Lake
Erie; they increase in number and size in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois;
are scattered over the Mississippi Valley; and are often found on the
plains of Texas, and along the Gulf of Mexico. They are generally found
on level prairies, or on rich and level woodland, and near lakes,
ponds, or streams of navigable water. A very interesting essay might be
written upon these Indian Mounds; but I shall notice only some of the
most remarkable.
The largest mound in the state of Ohio, is on the level bottom land
of Grave Creek, near its entrance into the Ohio river, and fourteen
miles below Wheeling. It is 350 feet in diameter at the base, sixty
feet across at the top, and seventy-five feet in height. The area at
the top is slightly concave, and from its centre, arises a stately
oak, in a straight shaft, like a flag-staff. One of these mounds has
been entirely demolished, and upon its site, is built the town of
Chillicothe. The town of Circleville is principally laid out within the
limits of two contiguous mounds--the one of a circular form; the other,
of an oblong square. The circular mound is much the largest, and from
which, the name of the town is derived.
In the state of Missouri, a little north of St. Louis, are gigantic
and interesting mounds. These enormous stacks of earth lift their tall
heads high in the air, and show to advantage on approaching St. Louis
from the upper country.
But the most numerous group of Indian mounds, is found in the state
of Illinois. They are situated on the American Bottom, and are said
to exceed two hundred in number. The largest and most remarkable of
these, stands near the bank of Cahokia creek. It is in the shape of
an oblong square, is eight hundred yards in circumference, and ninety
feet in height. On its south side, is an extensive and beautiful
terrace, which was formerly cultivated by the monks of La Trappe as a
garden. These monks had a monastery near the base of this mound; and
probably the earth could not afford a spot more in keeping with the
doctrines they professed. Near them, a stately monument of by-gone
ages, reared its tall head far above their rude dwelling--around them,
a solitary prairie, bounded in the distance, either by stately trees
of the forest, or perpendicular cliffs of solid limestone. No human
habitations were within the bounds of vision; and it was indeed a
spot, sufficiently lonely and retired for those who chose to abstract
themselves from the busy scenes of active life, enjoy undisturbed the
solitude of the wilderness, and hold communion only with the God of
Nature.
It has often been asked, who built these mounds, and for what purpose
were they erected? These are questions of difficult solution, and,
perhaps, at this late stage of the world, of useless discussion. Some
have supposed them to be places of interment; others believe them
to be sentry stations, upon which guards were placed to watch the
movements of the enemy. Although decayed bones have been found in some
of them, yet it is not probable that they were all erected simply as
monuments for the dead. Who built them? Their origin and use may never
be certainly known; but I am fully persuaded, the ancestors of the
present race of Indians did _not_ erect them. The Indians, now upon the
stage, know nothing about them--make no use of them--and build none
like them. Now, if their ancestors built these stately mounds all over
the country, it is utterly impossible to believe that all tradition
would have been lost of such prominent monuments, that passed in review
before the eyes of their nation, from day to day, and year to year.
In addition to this, many of these mounds are of gigantic dimensions,
and show much more labor in their erection, than the present race of
Indians have ever been known to perform. The earth, of which they are
composed, is generally brought from a distance, and some of them must
have taken a thousand men a number of months to complete them.
We found the Neches to be quite a river; clayey banks and muddy water.
We saw a boat on the other side; and a house half a mile distant,
through the woods. We could not tell whether it was fordable or not;
but after calling a few times for the ferryman, my companion concluded
to plunge in. I thought in that case, discretion was the better part of
valor; so I waited to see what became of him, before starting myself.
He had a good horse, and although the stream was deep, and quite a
current, he came safely out on the other bank; sustaining no other
damage than being decently wet. He was good enough, however, to loose
the boat, come over and take me across; remarking that there was no
great pleasure in fording streams like that. We now passed through
ten miles of pine woods; then prairies of a mile or so in extent, and
post-oak openings.
This was the thirtieth day of November. The day was warm and mild,
although somewhat cloudy. As we were passing through the woods, it
became quite dark. On casting my eyes on the sun, I found it was under
an eclipse. It was here almost total. I thought it hardly lacked a
digit of being entirely covered.
We stopped at night at a small log house on the side of an extensive
prairie. We found only a young woman at home. She said, she was from
the east part of Texas, had been married only a week, and moved there a
few days previous. Her husband soon returned. He had been to spend the
day, it appeared, at a neighbor's, seven miles distant, and left the
new made bride at home alone. All we obtained here to eat, was meat and
corn bread, and water to drink; and that not very good. He had sixty or
seventy head of cattle, twenty cows; but no milk, butter, or cheese.
He had quite a large field under cultivation, in which he raised corn
only. He had a hired man to help him take care of the flocks and the
field, and to accompany him in his hunting excursions. A number of
skins were stretched out on the sides of his buildings, as the trophies
of his prowess and success; among which, I noticed the skin of a large
panther. In the morning, his wife went a quarter of a mile for water,
picked up wood and built a fire; and the two men looked on and did
nothing. What young lady would not marry, if she could pass such a
honey-moon as this!