The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926 Page: 255
330 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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A Trip- to Texas in 188
with incredible velocity, we hastened to secure the tent ropes, but
the storm came up even before we had finished this operation.
The roaring of the wind was horrible and the thick mass of clouds
that covered the sky came down upon us in a furious rain that
began with hail that measured more than an inch. The sky,
illuminated by the flashes of lightning that followed each other
without interruption, crossing and recrossing in all directions,
resembled a vast sheet of fire; while the formidable and loud
peals of thunder were deafening. The wind howled in the fright-
ful struggle and the trees both large and small groaned under the
rude strain. The horses neighed and fled for refuge in all direc-
tions, while the men, awed by the grandeur and magnificence of
the mighty spectacle in which nature seemed to battle with itself,
were silent. We all had to struggle with the ropes to hold the
tents, which were shaken by the wind, and in this exhausting
work we spent nearly an hour, the time the storm lasted. Then
the sky became clear, the moon shone in all its splendor, and the
rest of the night was peaceful. We suffered only from the cold
of the northwest wind, which had triumphed in the struggle.
La Parrita, uninhabited, February 27.-At about nine o'clock
we began as in the previous days to travel again along level ground
covered with shrubs, grass, and small cacti that obstructed the
traffic of our carriages a great deal. After a few leagues we
began to see some evergreen oaks, which, although scattered in the
plain, gave a new aspect to the landscape. We passed a halting
place called El Quajalote and finally stopped on the bank of a small
but beautiful creek called La Parrita.. The evergreen oaks and
other trees that adorn the place make it beautiful. Its beauty
was intensified by the green of the fields, bright after the rain.
The night was serene and peaceful; during the watch we kept as
a precaution against surprise by the Indians the silence was broken
only by the wailing of the screech owls, a small owl different from
those found in Mexico, the call of the wolves and coyotes, the
croaking of the water frogs, and the gentle murmur of the breeze
as it glided through the leaves of the trees, all blending in a sur-
prising harmony that filled the soul with a strange melancholy
known and felt only by sensitive hearts.
Rancherias, uninhabited, February 28.-The woods for a dis-
tance of six leagues to the halting place called Rancherias are255
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926, periodical, 1926; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117141/m1/281/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.