Five Years In Texas - free ebook by Thomas North

FIVE YEARS IN TEXAS; OR, WHAT YOU DID NOT HEAR DURING THE WAR FROM JANUARY 1861 TO JANUARY 1866.

A NARRATIVE OF HIS Travels, Experiences, and Observations, IN TEXAS AND MEXICO. BY THOMAS NORTH. CINCINNATI: Elm Street Printing Co., 176 &amp; 178 Elm Street. 1871....

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PREFACE.

To conceive the idea, and execute the purpose of making a book, is, to a modest man, not a little monstrous; and yet, modest or immodest, monstrous or not, the author makes his best bow to the reader, and holds himself subject to criticism for not making it better. But many are running to and fro in the earth, and knowledge is being increased; for the runners, are they not making books for the million? And having run somewhat with the runners ourself, we might as well tell our story of travel to

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CHAPTER I. HON. MARTIN P. SWEET—INTERVIEW WITH, AND EULOGIUM.

In the month of November, 1860, shortly after the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency of the United States, Hon. Martin P. Sweet came into the Circuit Clerk's Office of Stephenson County, Illinois, where the writer was acting as deputy to the regular Clerk—Mr. L. W. Guiteau—and addressing himself to us, said: "Mr. N., are you busy?" "Not very," we replied. "If you can spare the time I would be glad of an interview with you at my office." Laying aside the pen we went with him, and after

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CHAPTER II. THE TRIP TO GALVESTON.

On the 12th day of January, 1861, we left Freeport, Illinois, with our family, for Galveston, Texas; making that port on the Gulf of Mexico the 23d of the same month, eleven days on the passage. Galveston lies in north latitude, twenty-nine degrees, while Freeport is nearly forty-three degrees north, making about fourteen degrees difference, or one thousand miles. The distance traveled by us was about eighteen hundred miles. Just before leaving Freeport the thermometer had registered thirty degr

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CHAPTER III. SOCIAL TYPES.

It is probable that the finest social types in this country have heretofore been found in the South. That this is true, or could be under the dark shadows of an institution so out of harmony with the progressive spirit of the age certainly seems paradoxical. The slave-holding population, it is claimed, represented more social refinement and elegance of personal manners than any other class in America. Whatever barbarous proclivities were chargeable to them in other respects, they were not so cha

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CHAPTER IV.

But to return to our voyage down the river. On nearing Memphis we were advised by the officers of the boat that we might expect a hailing shot from the batteries just above the city. And sure enough it came right across our bows. We ran in shore, and, of course, were startled into a new and strange feeling, as yet inexplicable, because so un-American, and contrary to the hitherto free experience of American travelers on their own waters or their own soil. Was it for amusement or a farcical burle

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CHAPTER V. NEW ORLEANS AND GALVESTON.

New Orleans stands on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, one hundred and ten miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and is called the "Crescent City," because of the sublime and beautiful sweep of the "Father of Waters" around the city in a perfect circle, striking in on the north, thence circling to the west, then south, then east, then gently north, on a bend enchanting to behold, coming up to the landing at a point due east two or three miles only, from the river on the west of the city, wher

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CHAPTER VI. EFFECT OF CLIMATE ON TASTES AND APPETITES.

It is worthy of note and may be remarked that one's tastes and appetites undergo great changes in passing from a high northern clime to a southern; so much so that to his own surprise one finds himself literally accomplishing the experience of "loving what he once hated, and hating what he once loved." For example, buttermilk and clabber are delicious to the taste there; but few people ever think of them in the North except in association with food for swine. There, for convenience of using at m

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CHAPTER VII. TEXAS OATH OF OFFICE

The oath of office in Texas is the same it is in Illinois; and yet it seems to have little power to save the country from the curses of the dueling spirit. It would seem that the "code of honor," so called, is a good deal demoralized in Texas, in comparison with its status in the older Southern States—if such a thing can be demoralized. It assumes more the form of open and secret assassination—shooting a man down behind his back, or in the dark, or on sight, with the simple warning, "Take care o

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CHAPTER VIII. THE DOCTOR'S PRIZE-RING ILLUSTRATION.

But at last the Doctor gave his spell-bound audience the benefit of a prize-ring illustration, which ran on this wise: He said "that the Southern champion had choice of ground, and the corner in the ring with his back to the sun, which compelled the Northern pugilist to face the fiery orb, which he regarded quite an advantage, as he thought 'Sam' could not long endure the hot blaze in his face. He described 'Sam' as a man of giant frame and strength, but awkward movements, and questionable power

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CHAPTER IX. BABEL OF TONGUES.—SAM HOUSTON.

The center of attraction to all political parties in the South was slavery; and no party could expect to exist with any respectable dimensions, or to possess any organic force in public affairs that did not gravitate in that direction. It was the Banquo's Ghost of every occasion and emergency. It is true, however, that there was a weak, maudlin, and mawkish anti-slaveryism here and there, through the South; but it had no bowels of effective demonstration; no inherent potency of melting mercy and

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CHAPTER X. SAM HOUSTON'S SPEECH.

The drift of Houston's speech was— the inexpediency and bad policy of secession . He told them they could secure without secession what they proposed to secure by it, and would certainly lose through it. He gave the greater force to his declarations by appealing to them to know if he had not generally been right in the past history of Texas, when any great issue was at stake. Told them he made Texas and they knew it, and it was not immodest for him to say so; that the history of old Sam Houston

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CHAPTER XI. ARGUMENTS ON SECESSION IN OUTLINE.

In the platform of secession there was barely one plank on which all parties could stand in agreement, and we give it in the following words, to wit: " Resolved , That the rights of the South are seriously threatened, and in imminent danger of actual invasion by the North." This was the solemn affirmation of the whole South. But on the question, What shall be done, what measures adopted, what course pursued, to make the most and the best out of the situation? the people were not a little divided

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CHAPTER XII. TEXAS NEVER INVADED.

Unlike the other Southern States, Texas was never invaded and devastated by the Union armies. Considered in the light of a necessary evil, as a terrible educator, or rough civilizer for the barbarian element in Texas society, it might have been a good thing, perhaps, if she had been overrun, and this low element thoroughly subjugated, and made feel and understand that there was another force in the world besides Texas outlawry—that of law and order. But all things considered, it is probably as w

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CHAPTER XIII. NICARAGUA SMITH.

The next day after the retaking of Galveston, another sensation occurred, but of an entirely different character, showing other phases of human nature, and developing a different class of feelings. The circumstances were as follows: That day a fleet of transports hove in sight outside, just from New Orleans, bringing fifteen thousand troops, to reinforce the small garrison already there—one or two regiments. These troops belonged to General Banks' Department, and were sent to Galveston to commen

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CHAPTER XIV. THE CAPTURED LETTER.—MRS. E.'s EXILE.

Soon after these several triumphs of Texas arms, a vessel was shipwrecked on the Gulf, and among the debris that washed upon the coast, a U. S. mail bag was picked up by the soldiers on duty there and forwarded to headquarters. It contained a large amount of letter mail, going North from Texas. The letters were written in part by Texans, who had fled the country to Mexico on account of proscription for Union sentiments, and to avoid conscription, with other reasons. And many were written by thos

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CHAPTER XV. LAWLESSNESS AND CRIME.

In the summer of 1863, we were coming up the Texas Central Railroad, from Houston to Hempstead, a distance of fifty miles. On reaching the latter place we had stepped from the cars to the depot platform, and in a minute heard a pistol-shot on the opposite side of the train. Thought nothing strange of it till in a moment more some one remarked: "A man is shot." And even then thought nothing unusual of it. The feeling of terror was only a uniform matter of course. But stepping across the way we ob

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CHAPTER XVI. THE TWO DAYS' MEETING.

Sometime in June, 1864, the writer had an appointment for a two-days' meeting, fourteen miles away, at a place called U—— H——, Saturday and Sunday. On the morning of the sixth day of the week, the splendid clay-bank saddle-horse was brought out, young and vigorous, and the preacher placing himself in the Spanish saddle, was on his way to the religious meeting, reaching there two hours before the time. Preached at eleven o'clock A. M. to a large week-day audience in a neat house of worship situat

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CHAPTER XVII. THE CONSCRIPT LAW AND HOW THE WRITER BEAT IT.

Three years and more of war had now passed, and we had succeeded in flanking all movements to get us into the army. The conscript law had been in force a year or two, sweeping all ages from eighteen to forty-five, and all classes except ministers of religion in regular discharge of ministerial duties, State and county officers, and slaveholders owning a certain number of slaves, fifteen being the minimum. Of course, it being the slaveholder's war, and the slaveholder never having been obliged to

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CHAPTER XVIII. A PLOT AGAINST THE WRITER'S LIFE—MORE ABOUT TEXAS.

In July, 1864, being in trade at B——m, and having been for two years doing a commission, receiving, and forwarding business, besides buying and selling on his own account, the writer called one day at the Collector's office, in the court-house, to pay the quarter's two and a half per cent. taxes on sales. The Collector being absent, he inquired of a squad of men at one of the front doors of the court-house—among whom was his Honor District Judge S——d—if they had seen the Collector. Just then a m

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CHAPTER XIX. LEE'S SURRENDER.—EFFECT UPON TEXAS SOLDIERS.—WRITER'S RETURN TO TEXAS.

We were in Matamoras when Lee's surrender took place in Virginia. As soon as the news reached Texas the Confederate soldiers began to desert in squads—the desperado class—organize into predatory bands, roam at will over the country, and rob everybody and everything they could lay hands on. Took special delight in robbing Northern merchants in the country. They broke into the writer's store at B——m one night, and carried off three to four thousand dollars' worth of goods; and that was the end of

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CHAPTER XX. GOV. HAMILTON—THE THIRTY NEROS—THE OLD GERMAN AND HIS WIFE—THE FIGHT WITH INDIANS—A NATIVE TEXAN'S OPINION OF GERMANS.

Before we left Austin Governor Hamilton sent out a strong detachment to the adjoining county on the north, and had arrested sixteen members of the vigilance committee, whose whole number was thirty, and whose business had been during the war to hunt up and kill Union men. The sixteen were brought to Austin and lodged in prison to await trial. Eight of them turned States' evidence, and testified that the thirty had killed, in their own county, exactly their own number. They showed the officers wh

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CHAPTER XXI. NORTHERN TEXAS.

In this closing chapter of our book, we have thought that a brief outline sketch of the topography, climate, soil, and productions of Texas might not be uninteresting to the reader. And in order to this, we shall speak first of its grand geographical divisions, as characterized and distinguished by peculiar products. And first we will speak of Northern Texas, which is distinguished for being the wheat region of the State. The wheat region proper embraces about thirty counties, of which Dallas Co

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