The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 62, July 1958 - April, 1959 Page: 106

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H. BAILEY CARROLL
HE centennial celebrations of the San Antonio-San Diego
Mail Line and the Butterfield Overland Mail Line dur-
ing recent months have aroused much interest in nine-
teenth century stagecoaching and mail service in Texas. Among
the inquiries that Association members and other Quarterly
readers have made, the most frequent have related to the rela-
tively little known water connection between New Orleans and
Indianola, or Powderhorn, and the coach route from the coast to
San Antonio. The article on the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line
in the October, 1957, issue of the Quarterly provided informa-
tion on the vessels that plied the Gulf between Powderhorn and
Louisiana. For the land route from the port at Indianola to San
Antonio, the following detailed itinerary can be found on page
288 of Randolph B. Marcy, The Prairie Traveler: A Hand-Book
for Overland Expeditions (1859) :
From Indianola and Powder-horn to San Antonio, Texas.
Miles Powder-horn to
4. Indianola, Texas.-Steamers run from New Orleans five times
a week to Powder-horn.
14. Chocolate Creek.-Good grass and water; fuel scarce. Road
passes over a low, flat country, which in wet weather is heavy
and muddy.
12. Grove.-Grove of oak; good water and grass. The road passes
over a hog-wallow prairie, which is very muddy, and almost
impassable for loaded teams after rains. The grass is abundant
every where in this section.
12/2. Victoria.-The road is good, passing along near the east bank
of the Guadalupe River. The country is thickly settled with
farmers, who sell grain at reasonable rates. Grass abundant,
also fuel.
34. Yorktown.-Road crosses the Guadalupe River on a bridge;
toll one dollar for a six-mule team. It then crosses a low bottom
for three miles; from thence the road is good, over a rolling
country, with plenty of wood, water, and grass.
33. Cibello River.-Good road; wood, water, and grass plenty.