The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 7, July 1903 - April, 1904 Page: 52
xvi, 340 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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52 Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
undulating portion of the colony whispered along through tall reeds
and flags and "flowing hair of green conferve," and, here and there
were deep and limpid pools, on the surface of which floated the
broad, disc-like leaves of the water-lily. Innumerable perch, trout,
and other scaly fry tenanted these pools undisturbed by the angler.
Now, how different is the aspect which these brooks present!
The reeds, the flags, the conferve, the lilies, and even the pools (and
with them the fish) have disappeared, and in many instances, deep
and unsightly ravines conduct the streams over muddy beds.
The formation of these ravines is easily explained. The cattle
grazed and trampled down the flags and other vegetation and sank
into and destroyed the cohesion of the turf. Successive freshets
did the rest.
Greatly changed is also the appearance of the wooded bottoms of
the larger creeks in the same section of the country. The small
confluents of such streams, during freshets, carry down their tribute
of earth washed from innumerable farms. This sediment is depos-
ited over the length and breadth of the bottoms, covering from
time to time the scanty winter-range that remains.
The wild honey-bee, which once hoarded its sweets in thousands
of trees in these bottoms, has nearly disappeared, and bee-hunting,
an occupation which, of old, richly rewarded the pioneer, is now no
longer pursued.
For at least four years after the arrival of the first settlers in
Austin's colony, there was not a practicing physician within its lim-
its. I have often heard that to supply this need Austin induced a
physician (perhaps Dr. Phelps) to come from the United States
and settle in the colony. After the year 1825 the desideratum was
amply supplied.-Preachers also came and occasionally broke to the
settlers the bread of life. I well remember to have heard an old
man of dilapidated mind named Bays or Baize-preach at the house
of a neighbor of my father (Moses Shipman) early in the year
1824. I never knew to "which of all the sects" he belonged.
At an early period-as early as the winter of 1823-4-the school-
master was also "abroad" and began to exercise his vocation in that
primitive, and, when dedicated to such a purpose,-half sanctified
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 7, July 1903 - April, 1904, periodical, 1904; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101030/m1/56/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.