The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 57, July 1953 - April, 1954 Page: 173
585 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The First State Fair of Texas
She begged to be excused from doing so, particularly as she now
felt "a little sad."22 It is a revealing letter, made all the sadder by
the things that Mary Kinney did not write.
Hardly had the fair closed before the colonel began to receive
the repercussions of his heedless plunge into debt. Dunning
letters and lawsuits were flung upon the counter of his store,
including Forbes Britton's bitter words:
... You have been under many promises to me to return this
money [which you have borrowed from me] whenever I required it.
Four or five times have you caused me to renew my notes paying
heavy interest from your failing to comply. . . You assured me if I
would draw on Mr. Wm. Judson at 6o days you would have the money
there before it was due: you did not. You then promised me you'd
pay it when Duval went to Washington you did not. You then
promised you would pay it "The first week of the fair," you did not.
When I asked you for it, sent by the Star you replied it was not
convenient to raise it for the Star, but you would try 8 fix it up for
the next mail, it was not done; When I now apply to you, in order
that I may meet my pinching necessities, brought about by this loan
to you, you say-you'll make the arrangement for me to send it by
next mail. .. 23
By November 2, 1852, General Hugh McLeod was foreclosing
on the colonel's Mustang Island ranch.24 During the November
term of the 'Texas Supreme Court, the case was tried. McLeod
asked for a judgment not only of the ranch but also of all the
stock on it, including 6oo head of cattle, 26 Spanish mares, a
stallion, a jack, and other real property. Kinney lost the suit, but
the amount of the judgment is not stated in the court records.
From 1852 onwards, suits against the colonel flooded the court
dockets. Although he tried to extricate himself from this morass
of debt by greater and more fantastic schemes than the fair, he
was unable to do so.
Why had the fair not succeeded? The remoteness of its location
was probably the greatest deciding factor. Travel was difficult
and hazardous. Roads were few and unimproved. Overland travel
was by horseback or covered wagon and oxcart. By sea, the voyage
22M. B. Kinney to Dr. Ashbel Smith, n.d. (MS., Coleman McCampbell notes, La
Retama Public Library, Corpus Christi).
28F. Britton to H. L. Kinney, June 4, 1852 (MS., M. P. Norton Papers, Archives,
Texas State Library, Austin).
24Texas State Gazette, January 15, 1852.173
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 57, July 1953 - April, 1954, periodical, 1954; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101152/m1/221/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.