The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 86, July 1982 - April, 1983 Page: 17
616 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The First Big Mill
pine that had never known an axe or saw. As the Texas and New
Orleans officials at Beaumont had told them, timberlands were cheap,
and stumpage was almost a drug on the market. But transportation
was lacking except for the Neches River. Already, mill owners in
Beaumont were floating logs down the river from distances as great as
one hundred miles.20
After a long day's travel of almost thirty miles they stopped to
spend the night with one Isham Sheffield. Here, in addition to the
bacon, corn bread and coffee, they feasted on "cold turnips, tops and
all mashed up together." Though Sheffield had warned the travelers
that he had only frugal fare, Moore described the meals as "miserable"
and complained that they were overcharged at $1.25 each: "more than
we were charged anywhere that we stayed in the woods." On the third
day they continued north until they reached Town Bluff on the
Neches, where they crossed the river. They rode north from there,
stopping to have lunch with a Frank Smith, praising his fare as "the
best corn bread and sweet potatoes since we had been in Texas." That
night they spent with a Mr. Hamilton, whose house was a mile east of
Bevilport. Here Moore reported excellent accommodations and the
"first white bread since leaving Beaumont." Apparently both Mr.
Hamilton and his wife were intelligent and well-read people and the
travelers enjoyed a conversation about the merits of various regions of
Texas.21
On the morning of January 26, Lutcher, Moore, and their guide
crossed the Angelina River at Bevilport, where they saw the steamboat
Laura docked and loading cotton. They then rode some ten miles
northward between the rivers, observing and measuring timbers. They
estimated that it was about the same quality and size as that already
passed through, but here some had been cut and hauled to the river.
Then they turned east, recrossed the Angelina at Morris's Ferry and
rode to Magee's Mill, where they stopped for lunch. Continuing to
Jasper, the partners met a Colonel Dorn, whose name had apparently
20Diary, 18--21. No further mention was made of Ingalls but apparently he was an
efficient guide, for the party did not get lost. Two years later Frank H. Taylor traveled
through the same region and described the East Texas forests as most impressive. Tay-
lor, "Through Texas," 703-718. Moore was keenly interested in the methods of rafting
the logs downstream and the level of the water in the Neches at different times of the
year.
21The quality of the food was no doubt poor, but the basic fare-corn bread, bacon,
and coffee-was standard for rural East Texas residents. The pattern of diet had not
changed much since the 185os. Frederick Law Olmsted, A Journey through Texas
(New York, 186o), 6o-61, 112; Diary, 24-25.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 86, July 1982 - April, 1983, periodical, 1982/1983; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101209/m1/37/?q=barker: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.