A thumb-nail history of the city of Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1836 to the year 1912 Page: 70

70 A THUMB-NIL HISTOIY OF
undertook the construction of another great road.
He tried to get sufficient outside backing to enable
him to build it without any of the friction and
worry he had encountered with the Houston and
Texas Central. His success in getting the financial
aid he sought was only partial, but he had made up
his mind to build the road and he did so. Again he
threw the first spadeful of dirt, and before he got
through with his work, he had added the Houston
East and West Texas railroad to the iron ways centering
at Houston. When the war began Houston
had made considerable progress in railroad building.
The Texas and New Orleans had been constructed
for about 111 miles, the Buffalo Bayou
and Colorado had been extended to Alleyton, also
about 80 miles, and had been connected with Houston
by the Columbia Tap road which extended from
Houston to Columbia on the Brazos, fifty miles.
The Houston and Texas Central had been extended
to Millican, 81 miles from Houston, while the Galveston,
Houston and Henderson road connected
Houston and Galveston. The last named road was
of the greatest military importance and was
therefore kept up, in some way, during the
four years of the war, but it was the only
one. The other roads were, necessarily, allowed
to go to ruin and when the war ended
it was flattery to speak of them as "streaks of
rust." The roadbed and right of way were about all
that was left of them. The owners of the roads
were in about as bad shape financially, as were the