The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926 Page: 267
330 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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A Trip to Texas in 1828
Gonzalez, a village, April 16.-We made haste the following
day, and a little after six we started on our way. At about one
or two o'clock we reached the Guadalupe River and crossed on a
ferry boat, while the carriage and the wagons forded the stream.
The road lies along rolling country covered with woods, and the
meadows we met from time to time present to the eye of the
imaginative traveler all the beauty of wild nature. When one
sees the herds of deer fleeing, inhales the perfume of numerous
flowers, and listens to the singing of the birds, the soul seems to
revel in an unknown joy; and those who have a romantic heart
seem to be transported to an enchanted country, or to be living
in the illusory Arcadia. The heavy woods that form the banks
of the Guadalupe whose pale blue waters run silently to the Gulf
of Mexico are seen on entering the vast plain covered with grass
and flowers. How this calm contrasted with the passions that
surged in my wretched heart! On the eastern bank of this river
are built six wooden cabins inhabited by three North American men,
two women and two girls of the same nationality, and a Mexican, all
of whom form the village of Gonzalez. On seeing the tranquillity
which these peaceful inhabitants enjoy in contrast to the passions
that wreck our souls in the populous cities, an involuntary sigh
escaped my breast just as one of the girls, who was barely more
than ten years old, and whose beauty made her attractive, came
out to offer me a seat with that charming grace that only innocence
can lend. Her kindness, so rare among those of her nationality,
the sight of her roselike face and her bare little feet, and the
recollection of human misery which at this moment crowded my
mind, moved me strangely, as I thought that perhaps some day a
daring hand would pluck rudely this flower of the desert, and then
tears would come to wither the face where now joy and smiles
dwell. These thoughts permitted me only to thank her and I
returned to our camp to wait for slumber to come and deaden the
bitter thoughts of the afternoon.
Los Tejocotes, uninhabited, April 17.-Various tasks of Sefior
Berlandier caused us to start on our march at ten o'clock next
morning and to halt at about three or four in the afternoon at
the Tejocotes Creek, which could not be forded by the carriages.
The road goes through fairly thick woods and crosses numerous
creeks. At about a league from Gonzalez we passed a home of267
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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/m1/293/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.