Texas State Gazette. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 7, Ed. 1, Saturday, October 7, 1854 Page: 2 of 8
eight pages : illus. ; page 28 x 42 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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50
TIM STATE GAZETTE.
OCTOBER 7
HE
TEXAS
STATE
GAZETTE
ft
Op?! OFj ArfSTHt SADUDAY OOTQBjER 1854.
jHfrUice)tr Crt?1 the VsUcd Slates.
T1.a nnbiect ib forciblv sot forth in a letter from Mr. Thrasher
of New Orleans to the Hon. Mr. Singleton a Representative
of Congress from the State of Mississippi ; and by him com-
municated to tho Washington Union where wo find it:
New Orlhans July 18 1854.
Deur Sir : I have road with great pleasure tho eloquent ana
profound speech delivered by you in tho Jiouse on cue atn
ult. and While I thank you for tho pamphlet copy thereof
-which you so politely sent to mo a stranger to yourself I trust
will flxmifio mo tnat j. taKo mo nuuitv ui uuuiuqdiuk yu
you
few lines.
many
England assumes tho generous part of mediator and pacificator"
betwcon Spain and outraged America.
xHow lone this struggle must bo carried on ; what obligations
are imposed upon us as a nation and as a nation of freemen ;
how far tho future interests of the great "West and Southwest
will l.n annvifimiA -M-
and the solution of tho thousand questions of other interests
social political and of supremacy that intimately blend them-
selves with tho Cuban question 1 will not undertake to discuss.
Should you agree sufficiently with the views I have express-
ed to induco you to lay them before the public I should be
honored by that mark of your appreciation. If not I trust
you will excuse me for this trespass upon your time ; and be-
lieve me very respectfully your obedient Borvant
J. S. THRASHER
Hon. O. R. Singleton Washington D. 0.
Tfee Storm-
From the Bonbatn Advertiser.
Mrs. Wilson.
. - 4 .
Tho norusal of vour discourse had awaktsre
suggestions in my mind and 1 trust in writing to you tnat l
shall not bo considered an intruder.
' . You have advanced with ability and power what I esteem
ae the true argument of tho Cuban question its relation to
the vast community that is springing into life in tho great val-
ley bounded by the Alleghaniea on the east the great lakes on
tho north the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada on the
W68C ana ino Willi OI lHOXioo uuu iuu aiurru iu.ua i uu uic
south. I believe that any Atnorican statesman who considers
- Jtils question without a prominent relation to that vast intoreBt
"commits a great error and will eventually find his positions
untenable.
In that vast basin there are very nearly thirty thousand
miles of river navigation which empty intb tho Gulf of Mexi-
co. On its banks and the fertile valleys which it irrigates and
drains a mighty population of men in their highest state of
nlivsical and intellectual development and who put in success
ful practice the most perfect political theories the world haB
jever known are springing into being with a rapidity of growth
'tnat dofies all calculation upon its results and mocka all past
"political and sooial hiBtory for a comparison.
' .Railroads ma be bnilt on every known anl possible route
Between it and the Atlantic cities but they can only serve to
. stimulate the growth of its population to diffuse intelligence
and to convoy the rapid moving crowds to and fro. Tho bulky
products of their nntiring industry must seek a market through
-the channels of their water navigation. ThiB carries them by
the Gulf of Mexico and from it thoy have no egress but
thrnnorh fcllo narrow strait between Cuba and the capes of
Florida.
' Tho shores of Cuba fronting upon this strait ate indented
. - 1 !. It- 4.1 A - .. -.! !.!. C-.- nnUM.T.
.precisely at us turouw or narrowest pun wim xuur uwmw
openings with deep-water and a natural fortification on the
eastern side pf each spreading afterwards into large and mag-
' njficent bays land locked and sheltered corapfetely from every
fwind. They are the bays of Havana Mariel Cabanas and
Bahia Honda and the distance between the two extremes is
about fiftv miles. The width of the throat of the Gulf of
Mexico at this point is about one hundred miles from the shore
of the main land of Cuba but froni thiB about forty miles
should be deducted occupied by shallow water Carysfort reef
and the very dangerous navigation on the Florida shore. Thus
""the throat of the Gulf of Mexico has only sixty miles of safe
navigation and this is immediately in tront or the tour great
.1 nliniMi imiirannalilu Knva wliitVi T linirn rtfimAn. I rnm
and almost impregnable bays which
them a few ships making daily an after dinner cruise while
shipping their coffee and smoking their cigars can blockade all
V tlio outpouring wealth of the great basin of North America and
' yet sleep nightly in security in their own homes.
If vou will permit me to refer you to the map of America
Pwill present another consideration. Take the bay of Havana
as a centre and you may draw a circle of a thousand mileB
radius around it and it will not enclose another port of suffi-
cient capacity for a first elasB naval station out of Cuba
JTamaca aud Santo Ddirtingo. From Norfork to the souther-
nmost cape of Florida and thence through all the coasts of tho
lGulf of Mexico Yucatan Honduras and Central America
fdown to the Gulf of Maricaibo their is no one first class port
Capable of serving as a harbor and a refugo to an American
et. Our ships after a cruise in southern or mid-American
Waters must go to Norfork New York Boston and Kittery
jin Maine to refit. Tho only sate resorts are m the hands or
Guilder the influence of the bitter and implacable; enemies of
our institutions and their progress. Spain the weakest nation
holds LUDa the strongest pojnt; jMigiana nas oaraacu; auu
France is seeking under frivolous pretexts a collision with the
r Republic of Santo Domingo or the Emperor of Hay ti that
vslie may again set her foot upon that island.
The cool contempt with which tho Cabinets of the last tw
countries asked our government to enter upon a tripurtai
guarantee to preserve Spam in tho possossion of Cuba mm -aod
as it is by tho natural interost of this country and by tin
warning desire of tho Uubans to do tree marKea an era u
American diploma Our relueal to enter upon sucn a treat;
brought a state of diplomatic war. the declaration of whicl
. . -- -. -A
was maao oy M.r. urampton unaer oraers irom a-.oru omu
RubsoI of the 16th February 1853 and communicated to Mi
ffMarcy as Seoretary of State for thu United States in tbeB
emphatic wordBi
w u Each Government will now remain as free as it was before
to take that course which its sense of duty and regard for tlu-
kfutereBta of its people may prescribe."
This diplomatic war has been carried on systematically since
lUbat time and haa been marked by a series of continued ami
uninterrupted successes on tho side of the European Cabinets.
It were tiresome and disrespectful on my part to cite them.
They aro too publicly known for our honor as a nation.
Jt is fitill continued. Tho Government of Spain is doing all
tet can to render tho iBlnnd of Cuba useless or else an apple ol
iscord to tym confederacy oven to the extent of arming a sor
'Qvle and infuriate population of negroes within its borders. and
jii me uiiubt ui uiBurmcu aiauuegratca ana uown rrumiuu
- people of our own raco whom it threatens in tho exuberance
of its-paternal love and asserted rights with utter annihilation
if thoytd'ue to move handor flfc rosiBtanco to their sucri-
'fico to tUeJprrpose of Hub its Maehiavqliuu noliov. JTrauco
'vasBists by an exhibitiou of force in the habor of Havana and
PaUful Details Matagerda Dcstreyed.
Melancholy truly is tho task of giving the details of the
late disastrous storm upon our coast. The following from the
News is in reference to Matagorda under date 23d ult. and is
ni .. i .. . .' 1 1. ....11
unu uj mo uiuau puuiiui recoras oi puonc calamity tnat nas ever
happened in Texas:
'Matagorda is blown down there being left only the house
of Robort William8 and one or two shanties. Some seven per-
sons were killed. The crops are all destroyed ; the cotton is
blown away and the cane ia broken ; as though it had been
rolled. Saluria wharf is not to be seen every vestige of it is
gone and most of the houses at Saluria are also gone or badly
damaged. Ducrow's Point is washed away for 250 yards and
several of the houses wont to sea while the balance are blown
down except one-half of Decrow's and a shanty or two.
Indianola and Lavaca Buffered but little. The Kate Ward is
totally lost with Capt. Ward and his two brothers and eight
of the crow three only being saved. Two vessels are lying
bottom np at the Pass all on board lost. Another vessel is sup
posed to have gone to pieces on the breakers.
All the houses on the Peninsula are gone. Capt. Budgely
only lost a little negro though he came near losing his whole
family. To save his children he had to -bury them in the sand.
Tho scene at Matagorda muBt have been heart-rending lhe
women ran naked through the streets the wind blowing their
clotheB entirely off.
We all deplore the death of poor Ward and his brothers.
Powell or rather Burkhart got off the best in the loss of
goods having saved the greater part. The rest of the merchants
suffered almost a total loss. It rained in such torrents during
the storm that the water was two feet deep in the streets and
people had to lay in it all night or be blown away."
We indulge the hope from the above letter that Caps. Rudge-
loy's children aro not lost and that Capt. Nichols was there
fore incorrectly informed on that subject. W e suppose that they
were partially buried in the sand to prevent the wind from car-
rying them away. The force of this terrific hurricane may be
better realized by bearing in mind that Matagorda is one of the
best built cities in the State the buddings being generally con-
structed in a substantial manner and in superior style. The
population is variously estimated at from 1500 to 2000.
Houston. The freBhet in Buffalo Bayou was at least five feet
higher than was ever previously known. Both the' bridges at
Houston were carried away. The bridge at Harrisburg across
Bray's bayou was destroyed. Mr. Stanley of Houston lost a
quantity of bricks. A large quantity of salt was destroyed in
Cain's warehouse. Several hundred cords of wood were floated
off from the wood-yards below the town. The cupola of the
Baptist church was considerably injured a part of one side
being carried away. A large quantity of trees on the banks of
Buffalo bayou has been blown down and now that the water
has fallen to its usual stage it is feared that navigation to
Houston will be impeded until they are cleared out.
Doctor Flake lost all his medicines and his library. Mr.
Morris of the new saw mill lost about a thousand dollars worth
of saw logs and every one residing on tho bayou suffered more
or lesB damage.
Some six or eight steamers which were lying at or above the
shipyard suffered more or less injury. All butane broke adrift.
The steamer d. u. iJeii was carried up the bayou about half a
mile and drifted off into the prairie some two or three hundred
yards. The steamer Star State was also in a very critical posi-
tion. Captains Graham and Wood were very energetic and
prevented more serious injury to mo steamers.
AlT0 PI A TjYT Tin? AV TT On TVl-inn nnntj Ml i-t nOTir.nn 4-l.n Tni!..
has oxejted Biiclrpainful interest passed this place last week.
It is her intention to publish a pamphlet detailing her captivity
and escape yet biio nas neon Kind enough toiurmsh through
a friend the following brief sketch for onr columns :
On the 1st day of August 1853 my husband James Wilson
was murdered by a party of Indians (tribo unknown) while lie
was on an Indian scout in company with his father who was
also killed. They were murdered in the Gaudalupo Mountains
near El Paso. On hearing of my husband's death I in com-
ipany with six men left El Paso for Fort Belknap intending to
make my way back to my relatives who lived near Paris in
Lamar Uounty JLexas. West ot lort JLJelknap about thirty
miles two little boys and myself were captured and the team
ster who waB a Mexican Btabbed and supposed to have beeni
Fix
Direct Foreign Trade. The New Orloans Picayune hits
tho nail on the head in the following suggestion ihe event
however of establishing a line of steamers to Europe may be
inticipnted by Savannah and Charleston if it shall be depen-
lent upon the completion of the road to Texas and to the Ohio
rivei :
Soon aftor tho completion of tho two great railroads that are
iow bmir built to connect our city with the tar interior of the
Vestand Southwest there will become plain to the eyes of our
apitilista and merchants generally the necessity of establishing
i line of large steamers direct between Now Orleans and Europe.
ihjbu ruiiua wm uuu jivituviTcv uui nun uum- uubuny il uicy
lo not end in so desirable and much needed a consummation.
Itnpid and daily transportation ot tho great staples of the West
cud South from their distant gin stands and granariesand yards
ro our wharves will call for their rapid transportation to Liver-
ool Havre and other European ports. The accumulation of
these products will bo so sudden here and so great that large
steamers built expressly to carry large quantities of freight must
inevitably bo called for to carry off the stock with as proper
riomiiu ruuiuiiY " mihvj.
When that is accomplished then will New Orleans bo justly
entitled to a heavy share in business of direct importation of
those European products which the Southern and Western
country merchants now generally prefers to purchase in Now
York and other Northern cities. Ilo can reach them speedily
oy railroad ; ho cannot so reach us. But givo as direct steam-
ship communication with Europe and direct railroad communi-
cation with thu interior of our own county and weshall vie with
our Northern rivals in the race for tho patronage of the South
and West. So mote it be 1
killed ; but I have since learned that he recovered and is now
living at or near Fort Belknap. Four men of our company
at the time I was taken were ahead of tho wagon intending to
go on to the Fort to get provisions and return to us at the earliest
possible hour as we were entirely out of provisions and being
so near the Post Capt. Hart thought it not imprudent under the
circumstances to leave the wagon with two men not appre-
hending the remotest danger of being molested by the Indians.
The fifth man who was with us was some distance behind
which left tho wagon entirely in tho care of one man. The
first Indian that waa discovered was seen at a distance advan-
cing on horseback at full speed crossed the road in advance of
the wagon and continued his course out of sight. In a few
minutes two Indians were seen advancing in a moderate lope ;
one came near the wagon and tired a musket shot through the
wagon-box the contents passing within a few inches of my
body. Then it appears that the Indians fell to the rear of the
wagon and in a few moments advanced one rushing ahead and
LVU lUIIlillllllig UUUIUU. JLUia lllgUWl.UU tua .turn nuitu bill 11CU
and ran back in tho same direction that wo had come about
two hundred yards and two mules fallen which checked the
headway of the wagon. The driver (who was a Mexican) im
mediately dismounted and ran back to the Indians manifesting
every indication of friendship and praying for mercy. They
showed him no quarter but took him prisoner and brought him
to where the wagon had halted and commanded him to unhitch
the horses from the wagon. They then stripped him of his
coat and shirt and after tying his hands behind his body they
made him sit upon the ground. While he was thus seated the
Chief stood near behind him with a huge whip ih his hand
and talked with tho Mexican. What he said I did not under-
stand not being familliar with his language at that time; but
I could understand that the Mexican was still praying for
quarter which he (the Chief) most peremptorily refused to
grant. While in this position one of the Indians instantly shot
im in the neck and the Chief taking a knife from the Mexican's
scabbard stabbed him several times under the right arm. They
then plundered the wagon of such things as they fancied and
while in the act of packing up one of the Indians ran up and
scalped him. After securing myself and the two little boys by
tying us on the backs of mules they turned to the right of the
road and continued some half mile to where they had camped.
After depositing their baggage they stretched the Mexican's
scalp on a small hoop and triumphed over it in their peculiar
war custom singing war songs ya hoo's dancing &c and after
placing me on wild mules would scare them by striking them
on the head with the scalp and cause them to throw and kick mo
to the earth.
The third day they shingled my hair close to the head. Wo
then traveled fifteen day before I saw any more Indians. In
the mean time they were inflicting every species of personal
violence and privation upon me within their capacity. The
first that came to us was a man and his squaw. They remained
with us nine days. The Indians were more cruel to me after the
squaw came to ub than ever before.
On the 25 day ot my captivity X made my escape ueing with
them so long and never attempting to deceive them they would
permit me to go ahead every morning Borne seven oreight miles.
On this occasion I was determined to make my escape. They
gave me an early start directing mo northward (the npual
course) aud after proceeding three or four hours in that direc-
tion I turned Eastward and traveled until night and halted near
by where I concealed myself three dayB. I then removed from
my place of confinement and concealed myself in a small Grove
some seven or eii?ht miles off near a small ravine. The Grove
was surrounded by peaks or promontories apparently erected
especially tor my concealment. I remained here nine days. I
would only go for water after night when wolves of the most
wretched and vicioiiB species would follow me to and fro yelp-
ing and growling all the while when I would return to my cell.
My ears would be deafened with the hideous yells and screams
of those eager cannibals until morning. Seven out of those nine
nights there were heavy storms accompamea whu wrreuu 01
rain and hail very cold.
On the 12th dav after mv escape a company of 1 1 MexicanB
and one Indian of the Pueblo tribe whose name was Juan Jose
Tea according to M. Bawnkt a gifted member of the
French Institute and tho Russian scientific expeditions has i
superior flavor when made witlr water from molted ice. He
siig'cats the chemical reason.
(John Joseph) came near where I was stationed (passing with-
in a few feet ot me.) I remained very quiet until thoy had
passedjthinking they were Indians. After thoy had gone by
some distance r discovered that they were Mexicans and im-
mediately disclosed myself and was instantly discovered by a
party that was still on behind. They approached me with every
indication of friendship and solicited me to travel with them.
At this time I was totally bare. The Mexicans gave me some
clothes and quilt. I was with them tlireo days during which
time there was nothing occured worthy of note. About 11 o'-
l clock in the afternoon ot the 3d day we saw to our left a par-
. .. -r 1- .. !... If 1
ty or Indians apparently surveying mu viuiuuy irom a mgii
mound or peak on which they had halted as we supposed
searching for mo. The Mexicans knowing that it would be
extromely dangerous to be ovortaken while 1 was with them
and knowing also that it would be impossible to avoid their
pursuers immediately dashed off leaving me in the care of
Providence. Juan Jose remained and concealed me in low
8hiibbery; (resembling Oak bushes) and after depositing with
me some provisions proceeded to his company promising that
he would be with mo tthat night. About 3 o'clock in the after-
noon an Indian mourned on horso back came on a moderate
lopo very near whore I was concealed. I suppose he va3
searching for mo. i remained here during the night. Jnan
Joso failed to return as he knew that the Indians were in the
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Oldham, W. S. & Marshall, John. Texas State Gazette. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 7, Ed. 1, Saturday, October 7, 1854, newspaper, October 7, 1854; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth81155/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.