The Texarkana Gateway to Texas and the Southwest Page: 83
224 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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[[inklcr Counties, Tcexas.ALL of these counties lie on the broad
bosom of the Great Staked Plain,
or the "Llano Estacado" of the
early Spanish explorers. The counties
are so uniform in their general charac-
teristics, and have so much in common,
that a topographical description of one
would describe them all. The great
Llano is a most peculiar body of land.
After the April and May rains it is a
boundless expanse covered with flowers
of every hue; in the winter months, a
brown, dusty plain, apparently without
beginning and without end. It was a
mystery to Coronado and his associates
three centuries ago, and, until the com-
pletion of the Texas & Pacific Railway,
was a terra incognita in undisputed
possession of warlike and hostile Indian
tribes.
On every side it is lifted far above the
surrounding country. It is the mother
of all the important rivers of Texas.
From its base spring all the water-
courses that, further on, unite to form
the Brazos, the Colorado, the Concho,
and other streams. The ascent is some-
times a gradual slant, but usually
steep and rugged. Its elevation above
the surrounding country varies from 50
feet to 400 feet, the projecting edge or
escarpment being capped by a ledge or
rim of white limestone rock. It is
slightly tilted, being higher toward the
north and west than in the south-east.
It is about 60 miles wide where crossed
by the Texas & Pacific Railway. Its
southern limit is about 65 miles south of
Midland. On the west its edge is about
40 miles east of Pecos City, but 90 milesfurther north it ends in bold bluffs over-
hanging the Pecos River, from any of
which one can view the valley of the
Pecos, and the White Mountains, 125
miles beyond. Northward from the rail-
way it widens out, and at a distance of
about 250 miles merges into the Texas
Panhandle.
A bird's-eye view of the Llano shows
great stretches of smooth upland prairie,
extending north-west and south-east
without a break for many miles. At ir-
regular intervals are broad, level valleys,
or " draws," which perform the drain-
age of the country. In the southern
part they all trend south-eastward, form-
ing the head waters of all important
streams in the State. The greater part
of the year the beds of these "draws''
furnish the most succulent pasturage,
and the man who has lost an antelope or
a cow will look for them here. In May,
June and July they are frequently bank
full, and have water enough to float
large Mississippi River boats for a day
or two. Water in abundance can he
found in their beds at a depth of 5 to 10
feet at almost any time of the year. On
the surface of the Llano there are hun-
dreds of basins, varying from a few
hundred feet to several miles in extent,
which hold water for the greater part of
the year. Some of these are fed by
springs, others, and the greater number
of them, form sink holes, which let the
water through to the layers of sand and
gravel below. There is very little run-
ning water, yet there are few regions
that have a better water supply. There
are thousands of wells of most excellent83
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Texas & Pacific Railway. The Texarkana Gateway to Texas and the Southwest, book, 1896; St. Louis, Missouri. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61116/m1/83/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .