History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. Page: 483
[7], iv-vii, [2], 10-826, [2] p., [56] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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H O T 4
quaintances the possibility of navigating
Little river with small boats during the
winter freshets, but his suggestions had generally
met with ridicule. At last, just
after a particularly heavy rain, when tile
river was considerably swollen and gave
promise of remaining up several days, he
hastily constructed a skiff and put out for
the lower Bravos country in search of a
steamer to make the attempt.. He sAcured
one at Washington, called 'The Washington,"
the property of Captain Jo. Woods
and commanded by Captain Hatfield. The
trip was undertaken on the payment of a
bonus of $500 and a guaranteed amount of
freight at stipulated rates. The boat was
loaded with a cargo of merchandise, consisting
of groceries, provisions and whisky, and
the ascent begun. It did not excite much
interest along the Brazos, but when Little
river was reached the sound of a steam
whistle, never heard before in these parts,
instantly attracted attention, and when it
came to be known that a real, live steamer,
duly equipped and fully loaded with merchandise,
was in the river making its way
to Cameron, curiosity quickened into interest
and interest grew into excitement, general
and prolonged. My father, who was
enjoying something of a personal triumph
in the success of the enterprise, spared no
pains to spread the news as to what Was
going on. Word passed rapidly from house
to house, and, it being at a time of year
when the people were idle, crowds soon began
to flock to the river banks from all directions.
Men, women and children, all
ages, sexes and conditions, in all stages of
dress and undress-a motley company of
curiosity seekers-came pouring out from
the settlements. As the Washington puffed
and wriggled along the winding stream,dodging a lot of drift-wood here and clearing
a sharp angle there, knots of sight-seers
would greet it with -a great profusion of
shouts and hurrahs, and much waving of
wool hats and calico bonnets and aprons. Passengers
were taken on at each stop, any one
being at liberty to ride, and when stops were
not made some .of the more ambitious swam
out into the river on horseback and climbed
on the steamer while in motion. In this
way the boat rapidly filled up until it became
a mass of surging, shouting, rollicking
humanity. It stopped when it reached the
shoals, about-two miles jnd a half east of
Cameron and near where I now live, was
made fast to a tree, and, in accordance with
instructions, thq decks were cleared and a
general jubilee of feasting and dancing set
in. For two days and nights this went on
until all were surfeited with fun and frolic,
when the Captain cleared away the debris,
turned the nozzle of the Washington down
stream and glided back into the waters of
the Brazos. The event left a lasting impression
on the settlers and its incidents
afforded topics for conversation for a long
time afterward."
"Upon another occasion," said Mr. McCown,
" when Little river was on one of its
periodical tears, an incident happened which
was the source of a good deal of amusement
among the few settlers who were then here.
Three men-Lee Davis, George Chapman
and Bit-nose Robinson-were out in a canoe
on some sort of a nautical expedition when
by some mischance their little craft was upset
and got away from them. Little river then,
as, now, was no respecter of property rights,
and frequently left its channel and wandered
around at will. On the occasion mentioned
it had appropriated most of .the surrounding
country, so that Davis, Chapman and Robin-HISORYOP TXAS
488
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History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. (Book)
Book containing a brief overview of the state of Texas and more specific focus on six specific counties, with extensive biographical sketches about persons related to the history of those places. An alphabetical index of persons who are included follows the table of contents at the front of the book.
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Lewis Publishing Company. History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties., book, 1893; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29785/m1/519/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.