The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 68, July 1964 - April, 1965 Page: 390

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

ual examination of this abstract indicates how rampant was land
speculation in Texas under the Mexican regime.
From the point of view of a landman, or an attorney, this vol-
ume is of doubtful value. Many of the names of the grantees were
misspelled and are uncorrected in the reprint, several of the dates
given are incorrect, and, it is practically impossible to locate the
land in the various counties because of the necessarily brief de-
scriptions. The best reference works are Volumes I and II of the
eight-volume Abstract of All Original Texas Land Titles Com-
prising Grants and Locations to August 31, 1941, published by
the General Land Office, Austin. In these volumes the land grants
are compiled for each county separately, with the counties given
in alphabetical order. In most instances the patents and titles
which have been declared invalid have been eliminated.
This reviewer, as one who buys and reads many of the reprints
of scarce Texana presently being made available by progressive
publishers, expresses the hope that future reprints will be edited
and an index added where none is contained in the original work.
The greatly increased usefulness and accuracy of these reprints
would justify this additional effort.
COOPER K. RAGAN
Texas Avenue at Main Street. By A. Pat Daniels. Houston (Allen
Press) , 1964. Illustrations. $2.95.
In the author's own words, his book deals with a "city block in
Houston, the most significant block in the history of Texas."
Though many might disagree with that claim, Daniels does make
a convincing case for his choice, particularly during the first
few years of the Republic of Texas. Once the permanent seat of
government was moved to Austin, however, the importance of
the site declined proportionately.
Daniels has industriously combed newspapers, diaries, memoirs,
and secondary sources for any reference to his subject. While
most of what he found already is familiar to Texas historians, his
material does not lose anything in the re-telling. Carefully chosen
selections, particularly from newspapers and diaries, picture the
rapid growth of Houston and accurately reflect the lusty, violent
atmosphere of those early days. Also, the sagacity of the Allen
brothers in offering their site as the location of the first capital

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