Nesbitt Memorial Library Journal, Volume 1, Number 1, November 1989 Page: 4
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Nesbitt Memorial Library Journal
is in a sort of dreamland where meditation is a pleasure and
a gratification.
Memory, though dulled and apparently obliter-
ated for a time during the passage of years, often resumes
its sway at the very moment of dissolution. As it passes over
the vista of years there is to some extent a desire to avoid
the remembrance of occurrences which may not have
appealed to man's better nature and which he ignores as
thorns in the path of rectitude and duty. Nevertheless, such
thoughts will spring up in spite of the effort to keep them in
abeyance.
To one who has passed far beyond the allotted
three score years and ten, I am of the opinion that though
physical vigor may have been greatly impaired, mental
powers grow more and more active, occurrences, which
took place during middle age are lost sight of, memory seems
to be rejuvenated and affords an insight to the past.
Sixty-four years ago [that is, in 1859] the exo-
dus from the old states to Texas was quite lively and popular.
Men of all classes, most of whom had been successful
farmers and the owners of large numbers of slaves, made the
trip. They had observed the gradual impoverishment of the
soil that had been cultivated for years. They sought to re-
build their fortunes by moving to a new country possessing
the advantages of a mild climate, cheap lands, and virgin soil
capable of producing large crops of cotton and corn, to the
raising of which they had been accustomed. The rich river
bottoms were the attraction to this class of men and in a
short time lands were purchased, homes established, and a
line of plantations along the river appeared, changing the
face of what for years had been a wilderness. Though the
work to bring the land into a tillable condition was arduous,
perseverance accomplished their wishes. They were gladly
and hospitably received by the few who had preceded them
and added much to the social inclination of the community.
In their eagerness to buy lands and put them in
their proper condition for planting, much valuable timber
was sacrificed. Large pecan trees which had borne fruit
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Nesbitt Memorial Library. Nesbitt Memorial Library Journal, Volume 1, Number 1, November 1989, periodical, November 1989; Columbus, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth151374/m1/4/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Nesbitt Memorial Library.