Texas State Gazette. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 10, Ed. 1, Saturday, October 27, 1849 Page: 2 of 8
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OCT. 27
TEXAS STATE GAZETTE
' !! 1.
Mid surveyed) nil tho lands required for Urn settlement of tlio fami-
lies they arer authorized to introduce by virtue of this contract
also for premium and church lauds within two years from the
date of this contract aftor which it shall be permitted to any citi-
ton of the country to locate and settlo tipon any lands which may
remain unappropriated within the limits of tho tracts designated
atid sot aside ibr said parties of the second part.
And it is also understood and agreed upon between tho parties
lot th'is contract that each alternate section of land in tho trads
IY6. one (1) and three (3) on tho Rio Grande except for tho pre-
mium and church lands shall bo reserved and forever set apart
fdrlhe use and benefits of tho Republic of Texas.
And it is also understood and agreed upon that tho said parties
of the second tart will have tho privilege to introduce ana settle
upon tho lands herein designated ah additional number of four
hundred families or single men over seventeen years of age . pro-
mated tho said party of tho second part shall within one year
from Ilia dato of tliis contract give to tho party of the first part a
written notice of an intention so to do which additional number
shall4 bo introduced and settled agreeably to the terms of this con-
tract as provided for the six hundred families or single men over
iiuvetitecn years of ago herein above specified.
And whorens by tho thirteenth section of an act entitled an
act granting lands to emigrants passed the fourth day of Janua-
ry A. D one thousand eight hundred and forty-ond power is given
to tho President to extend the time for tho introduction of the
first' one-third of tho whole number of families or single men
qver tho ago of seventeen years. And wfiereas (he emigrants to
bo' 'introduced and settled under this contruct ure to bo brought
frhm- Eurone : therefore tho party of the first part agrees to ex-
tohd.tho term for tho time of six months over and above the time
of oiio year above specified to the parties of the second port for
the introduction of the said families or single meii.
And itis further agreed between tho said parties to this contract
that; 'if it shall bo found to conflict with any of the provisions of
tlioi: acts aforesaid it shall so far be considered null and void and
tlto 'said acts shall govern tho construction to be placed upon it;
b'utHtiis shall not bo considered as extending to or affecting any
other part of this contract that may bo consistent with said acts
which shall bo and remain in full force.
flritestimony whereof wo have hereunto set our hands and af-'
w. nxed our seals at tno city or Ausun tms nun-
fajfcAT seal. teonth day of February in the yar of our
-Hirw4 ' Lottie oho thousand eight hundred and forty-
TEXAS STATE GAZETTE.
EDITED BY R. C. MATTBEWSON.
two.
'1JU1
Attest: "
Anson Jones Secretary of State.
SAM HOUSTON.
H. CASTRO Seal:
j. jassaud ; roflI1
by H. Castro. lSeal'J
JOIST RESOLUTION for
. -.11 J J! !
Section 1.
tho relief of Henri Castro and J.
Jassaud.
Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives of the Republic of Texas in Congress assembled
That the further timo of two years be allowed to Henri Castro
andJV Jassaud to comply with-the conditions of their contract
of 'Colonization with this Government entered into upon the
16th?' day of February A. D. one thousand eight hundred and
foriy-two : Provided that each emigrant arriving in this Repub-
lic under the contract of said Castro and Jassaud shall before
eritefTno- on tho lands take the oath of citizenship.
Sec.D2. Be it further resolved That this Resolution be in
foVco and take effect trom and after its passage.
Approved January 27th 1845.
$ Tho Crops.
'Ve trust from some lato information that the crops of this
State;1 especially of the interior may not prove as bad as they
havebeon represented. A letter dated Leona tho 2d inst. says :
$$You are not correctly informed in regard to the crops in this
country. IJelow this it is true thdy have suffered dreadfully
froni tho ravages of tho worm. But in this county.and Limestone
Anderson Housfon and Brazos counties I hear very little com-
plaint." '
XYa also learn that a-largc planter on the Brazos who it is has
beeiiJ'said would not make the fourth of a crop having suffered
more from tho worm than almost any other now says he will
make' full half a crop in fact should the weather continue as
favorable as it now is there is some reason to hope that the failure
will" not prove so serious as has been generally apprehended.
Q'ali?NeiDs.
lO .'The idea of repelling mounted Indians the most expert
horseman in the world with a force of foot soldiers is here Iook-
elupph as exceedingly ridiculous. Tho only effective resistance
no$r on our frontier extending well nigh a distance of two thou-
sand miles is therefore tho five mounted companies consisting
of probably 250 men. Wo doubt much whether all the balance
oCln'dian' frontier in the U. S. really requires a larger force than
tlmty extending from tho source to tho mouth of the Rio Grande.
'News.
X' '
-i-BS5 We are pleased to learn that Rutersville College is in a
flourishing condition o understand also that the institution of
iSrning at La Gningo is equally favored each having during
tKcSlast session ahont eighty students.--Presbyleriatit .
: fir Wo havo received the three first issues of tho lt Texas
Stciie "Gazette? a paper published at Austin and heretofore ad-
vertised ili bXir.columns. It is a largo sheet published in iuarto
form and isVdited by R. Q. Matthewson Esq. late editor of the
Times at Parisl'who is a writer of ability. -Northern Standard
& Wo havo received the 6th No of the " Texas State Ga--zette"
published at Austin by Wat. H. CuanNUy and edited by
Rj. C. Matthewson. It is.a vuluablo paper. It is democratic
ingpolitics and every democrat in tho State who is not already
talcing mora papers than ho reads should subscribe for it ; ind to
oEexos whig wishing to subscribe to a democratic piujbr we
would say the Stoto Gazette was as good as any. Wo wish the
publisher would send la" the first five numbers Pioneer.
j$Ve have mailed tho back numbers as requested and along
witlt them wo beg tho " Pioneer " to decept our best thanks for
UvGHgndly notice it has been pleased to taf oj gyr paper.
iftfHnve ypu got any molasses Mr Hughs?" "Yes. sir I
!fMn1Iyi4 mmyMfyohAvjxnm MfeSess'l' Make
AUSTIN SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 1849.
3Cr Wc have had no mail from New Orleans by the lust three arrivals from
Galveston. Do Harris & Morgan continue to exercise their own pleasure on the
Gulf line to the great detriment of the people of Texas! It would seem so.
Woolgrowing in Texas
We know of no subject more interestinc; to the people of this State than that of
woolgrowing. Involved in it are all the various questions relating to sheep hus-
bandry the blood of the nnimal and its best management to produce a healthy
stock and'fine fleeces. "We propose to lay before our readers in as condensed a
form as possible the result of our investigations based upon the most reliable in-
formation we have been able to obtain from those among us whose intelligence
and experience are entllledNo great weight.
In the northern Stales the sheep pastures are necessarily artificial and produced
at great expense. They serve their purpose only during the spring and summer
months and throughout the winter it is absolutely indispcnsnbleUo feed the flocks
regularly. This entails also a heavy outlay upon the farmer and subtracts in
proportion to the number of animals to be fed from the gross product iu value of
his cultivated lands. In addition to this moreover for several mouths in the
year in that region the ground is wet and cold causing disease and loss. In
Texas however the whole ace of the country with little exception .is ope peren-
nial pasture spread out by nature fot the sustenance of countless floclcs and herds.
Here the labor of the summer is not required to provide for their wants in win-
ter. Literally the cost incident to this branch of stock farming is simply what
maybe required to furnish the necessary and usupI attendance of the shepherd
and his dogs. This with a flock of ten thousand or even five would be scarcely
felt in comparison with what would be the expense in the latitude of New Eng
land. In Mexico and on the uplands and undulating prairies of Texas where
they have access to good water and sufficient shade to screen Jhcm from the mid-
day heat of summer sheep have been found to be healthy prolific and thiifty.
Our climate similar in many respects to thaf of those regions in the old world
where this useful animal has flourished in the most perfection conduces no doubt
in n great degree to these desirable results.
At the North to furnish pasturage for ten thousand sheep for eight months in
the year would require twenty-five hundred acres of land allowing one-fourth
of an acre per head. This if good pasture land would cost in its wild state ten
dollars per acre; and to fence plow and seed it down some fifteen dollars more
making an aggregate cost for pasturage alone of $63500. jn Texas this
large amount would be almost wholly saved to thefarmer at least for many
years to come and until our population becomes ten times as dense as it is and
our almost boundless prairies are put in cultivation.
if our information is correct each sheep will consume about two pounds of
good hay daily. For the number we have taken as the basis of our estimate ten
thousand each day's consumption would be 20000 pounds or about 1300 tons
for the four winter months. This at five dollars per ton will amount to $6500
which added to $02500 for pasture gives a total of $69000. If the interest on
this sum be calculated at eight per cent. it will amount.lo $3430 ; and if the in
terest be added to the cost of winter food it will give $11930 as the expense of
keeping a flock of ten thousand for one year more than one dollar a head
which is a heavy tax upon each fleece. All this immense outlay of capital how-
ever is dispensed with or in other words is saved to the sheep-raiser in Texas
These advantages possessed by our State appear almost incredible; but a full
and candid examination of facts will we think conclusively prove that our natu-
ral facilities are even greater in this point of view than those which our north-
ern brethren have been able to secure by all the appliances of money and art.
In truth Heaven has cast unstinted bounties and unnumbered blessings all over
our fertile and verdant plains.
"Hail Texas! fnuiglit with' charms unknown
To every land beside
By Nature's fairest traits is shown
In tlioe Creation' prido
As if tho latest touth cssay'd
By lioijd of Him iho "world who made
Thy region beautified."
Some thirty or forty years ago immense flocks of sheep were to be found in
the neighborhood of San Antonio. It is related by some of the old settlers of
that place still living that some of the rancheros kept from twenty to fifty thou-
sand head as is the case at this day beyond the Itio Grande. The wool exported
was then the chief source of income to the farmers ol Western Texas. The
subsequent wars between the Mexicans and Spaniards and between the Mexi-
cans and Texians exposed these flocks to the continual depredations of matching
armies until they were all destroyed or driven ofl to more secure positions.
Prom the commencement of the revolutionary period to which we have alluded
to within some three or four years past but little attention has been given to this
important pursuit in Texas. Since the late peace with Mexico however there
are cheering signs that large and numerous flocks will again feed upon our prai-
ries and become the.source.of wealth and comfort to many of ou- people. Since
the termination of the war several thousand sheep have been introduced into
Texas from Mexico already acclimated and accustomed to rely upon our.native
grasses for support through summer and winter Many fine blooded animals
have also been-imported from Europe and the northern States with a view to the
improvement of the fleeces. So far the experiment has succeeded well and the
wool from the cross thus derived has sold in market for fromnhirty-three to forty
cents per pound. The Mexican sheep so called are unquestionably the best
stock to commence the process of improvement upon. They are not so large
nor is the wool so fine or abundant as that of the improved breeds in the older
States; but what is of equal importance they are more hardy and comparatively
freeTrora those diseases to which sheep brought to this climate from more north-
ern latitudes arc subject.
From the official statistical returns made by the Assessors ot half the counties
in this State fur 1818 we learn that there were in. those counties in that year
35872 sheep from which 46206 pounds of wool were clipped valued at $11029
being an average of twenty-five cents per pound nearly. Doubling these
amounts for the returns from the whole State we would have for the number
of sheep 7174-1 for the wool clipped 92412 pounds and for the value thereof
$23058 This is indeed In itself a small result; but it must be remembered that
itisonly the beginning of a most promising era in Texian sheep husbandry and
that a very few years with the facilities we possess for maintaining millions at
very trifling comparative cost will bring about a vast increase in the number of
animals and in the fineness of the fleeces. We think that the wool and sugar
crops ol this Stale will be found far more certain and profitable than cotton grow-
ing. There is at this time an annual deficit of 10000000 pounds of wool grown
in the United States in the amount required to supply our manufactories. We
have consequently a good and ready market at home free from tariff duties for
this large amount now annually imported.- Until the pre.eut year the exports
from Hungary were 24600000 pounds furnished by 20000000 sheep. This is
nearly one-half the amount exported by nil the other States of Germany includ-
ing Prussia. The late disastrous war in Hungary however has very seriously
interrupted ana Impaired tliis great national interest. Vast numbers have been
slaughtered for the Mipport ot the contending armies and many wantonly de-
stroyed. This condition of thtngs in Hungary to say nothing of the influence of
the unsettled stale of Europe generally cannot but have for "some years to come
a favorable effect upon the prices of wdol throughout tlio world. Now is the
lime then for the people of Texas to turn their attention to this matter. They
may never do bo under more auspicious circumstances.
We subjoin a table showiug the annual increase or progression from one thou
sand sheep in Texas through a period of seveti years. The number of one
thousand has been chosen psjhe most suitabVto produce the table from as the ex-
pense and ttcntloTi requisite for that number would be but little if any greater
rtjan foia ?l9f a?k. Careful observation has demonstrated that in Texas
sevcnroutioJyeryJeulewe3 willnfodiicellwinsfcveryear. in tuetable-uowew
ex three andj(n:Uflrdout'0every.teu.pnlyarcfi.uppoed!ioba thus fruitful;
C "X &
W - I
cj jz a
&T"a
n u
313
s 5 w
O O 2
a) oj 2
E-S v
Son
7U o a
ft)L -
S "."S I
t- w P
0.2 a u
ea
! u
a s
B. "O -
Ai-P
rz s v
a a " u
2 5 ra M
" E GO
v o n a
o .
t. - 2
&s
iili
i-i
h a '
a &
a "O
OB-
500
333
833
555
333
1388
920
2308
1538
3846
2561
i 6-110
4273
10683
7122
17805
11870
296751
555
920
1538
2561
4273
11870
50(1
333
833
555
1388
920
2303
'1538
3846
2564
04 10
4273
10683
7122
17805
11870
29675
U -t c
a o 'A
sail
333;
020
1538
2561
4273
7122
11870
4000
6063
11088
18463
3070?
49279
85104
142140
Or?'0-
ZV'B
it "2 O.P
xi .
3 2
O r-
5 S P
r n u
"3 ! a
g U.H
i o .
flJD g
a a
"n c
I
$1333
2221
3696
6151
10256
16426
28488
47480
$ 800
1332
2217
3'C92
C.153
965f.
17093
2)5488
From the foregoing estimate it appears that one thousand sheep one half
ewes will increase in seven years to 59350 and at two dollars each amount in
value to $118700 besides the wool which at thirty-three and a third centsi
would give $116054 and at twenty cents $69631 making a total value for
sheep and wool nt the lowest estimate of $188331. We do not think that this is
an over calculation taking the seven years together. If it vary from the truth it
is probably under what would be realised with proper attention bestowed upon
the management and improvement of this stock. But even deducting one-half
from these results the revenue would still be sufficiently great to. satisfy all rea-
sonable desires ot rapidly acquiring wealth.
1 Gen. Taylor has made another importation into Texas the fourth sinca
his accession to the Presidency. His first was the appointment of a man from
Georgia we believe to be Indian Agent al Santa F6; the second Mr. Hughes
of Mississippi to be District Attorney in place of Mr. Merriman ; the third Judge
Bollinsof Mississippi to be Indian Agent in place of Maj. Neighbors; and the
fourth and last Mr. Poindexter of Mississippi lobe Mail Agent in place of Mr.
Clapp 1 Could a more direct and positive insult be offered by the General Go-
vernment to our people! Those removed were competent and faithful officers?
but they were democrats. That was enough in the eyes of this no-parly adminis.
tration to condemn them. But have we no wings in Texas whom Gen. Taylor
may trust The answer may be drawn from his acts
25" The Victoria Advocate of the 19ih inst. mentions that another company
was to leave that place in a few days for California. This is the third company
of citizens that will have left that section of our State since the 20th March last.
Among the names of those composing this last company we seethe names of Jas-
W. Robinson and family John B. Gray family and brother of "Victoria ; and H.
Rea and family Mr. Taylor and family of Lavaca ; and A. C. Hyde of Iu-
dianola. They take the overland route.
5" We have been informed that the contractors on the stage route from La Va-
ca to New Braunfels have it in contemplation to establish a branch line from
Gonzales to Austin. This ought to have been done long since and the sooner
it is now done the belter for the business interests of Victoria and the bay towns
The difficulty kof communication svilh those points added to the almost entire lack
of information as to the markets and trading facilities afforded by them has here-
tofore cut them ofl from a participation in the tradcof the Upper Colorado almos1
as completely as if they had no existence. To give them an equal chance with
Houston it will be necessary to have a regular semi-weekly line of stages not
only up the valley of the Guadalupe but to Austin. This accomplished and a
knowledge once obtained by the interior merchant and planter that supplies of all
kinds can be furnished at the bay on as favorable terms as elsewhere in the State
we do not doubt that a very considerable portion of the trade of this section would
take that direction. '
i- During the prevalence of a strong gale along our coast on the 12th and
13th inst. the steamer Palmetto lost forty out of sixty beeves she had taken on board
at Lavaca for New Orleans. The steamer Yacht also bound from Brazos San-
tiago to New Orleans was injured in her bulwarks and wheelhouse in crossing
the Galveston bar during the storm. Both boats proved themselves entirely
seaworthy.
Sfatc. CcnSUS-
Elcctors
While males under 18 years .
White males over 18 and under 45 years
White males over 45 years -
Total white males
Total white females
Starr County-
262
Official.
324
- 230
36
t . . 1 .II-
4!t4rr'4
&
" - 'iff -
.59C-
f 4-10 r.
'iltV&--
.''- 1030
. 00 v'
4
Total free white population
Total slaves
Total lree persons of color
Total population of county - - . ' ioio
Adding the foregoing to the returns heretofore published makes the total of
electors for the State (exclusive of the counties of Cameron Santa F6 Van
Zandt and Webb from which no returns have been received) 25183; white
males 63806; white females 50788 ; slaves 42419 ; free colored persons 400 :
otal white population 114.591 and total population while and colored 157413.
" Dangerous Humbugs.
The Manchester England cotton manufacturers held a meeting some time
since and resolved that they would continue to buy sparingly until better advices-'
remarking the progress of the growing crop in the United States and also tlufj
" inundations worvts and short crops were all humbugs." Experience often teach-
es a dear lesson.
5- The act of March 1 18-18 provides that no board' of Land Commissioners
shall have power or authority after the expiration of two years from the passage
thereof to issue' unconditional certificates to any one. See laws second Legisla-
ture chapter 58 page 49.
55- It has been reported that Louis Napoleon is about to marry the daughter of
the King of Sweden Charlotte Eugenia Augusta Amelia Albertinn grand-
daughter of Bemadotte the French soldier. This young lady was b(jrn on the
24th of April 1830 and is accordingly oyer nineteen years of age.
j- His Excellency Gov. Wood Maj. Neighbors late Indian Agent Ex-Pres."-dent
Jones and the Hon. Adolphus Sterne and C G. Keenan members elec( to
the Legislature have arrived in townStyilhln the last two or three days
H53 Capt. Tichenor in a letter dated San Francisco Aug 29th
and published in tho Galveston News says :
"I have not yet found a spot that I would begin to give for
Galveston to live in. Monev here is ahont ns nlfintv ns tlm Knurl
on the beach still it is hard to get at without means and I can-
didly cannot say whether I would advise any one who is comfort-
ably situated and making a good living in Texas to leave and
try his chances here or not."
iaP. White frost made its appearancejnIIouston on ltho morn-
.mgof tho 17th.insr.v ... KKiS X
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Matthewson, R. C. Texas State Gazette. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 10, Ed. 1, Saturday, October 27, 1849, newspaper, October 27, 1849; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80901/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.