USA > Texas > A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879. Embracing the periods of missions, colonization, the revolution the republic, and the state; also, a topographical description of the country together with its Indian tribes and their wars, and biographical sketches of hundreds of its leading historical characters. Also, a list of the countries, with historical and topical notes, and descriptions of the public institutions of the state > Part 54
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UNORGANIZED COUNTIES.
Besides the vast territory included in what is called " the Pan Handle," there are seventeen unorganized counties, situated in different parts of the State. Some of these are rapidly settling up, and will soon be organized.
1. ARCHER .- Created in 1858; named for Dr. Branch T. Archer. A late letter says: " On Holliday creek, in Archer county, we found large bodies of rich valley land, not an acre as yet in cultivation. We found the best large body of land in our line of travel on this creek and its tributaries. From Ikard's we traveled up Beaver creek, passing over a rough country, covered with mesquite brush and mesquite grass. This section is well watered and affords good shelter in winter for stock, and is a fine stock country. There are some fine valley lands on Beaver creek, and enough timber for fire wood, but no fencing or building timber." Bounded east by Wichita, south by Young, west by Baylor, and north by Wichita.
2. BAYLOR .- Named for Henry W. Baylor; bounded north by Wilbarger, east by Archer; south by Throckmorton, and west by Knox. Created in 1858. Value of property in 1876, 816,610. It is drained nearly entirely by the Brazos river and its tributaries, Antelope, Miller's, Paint, and other creeks. The Big Wichita river passes through its northern limits from west to east. The soil is red loam, in many places with veins of gypsum. The county is generally well watered, although the elevated portion of the " divides " are sometimes dry, and the water of the Brazos, Big Wichita and some of their tributaries is, on account of its salt and brackish taste unfit for the use of man. An elevated narrow ridge divides the Brazos and Big Wichita, which streams run parallel for some distance, and are at the nearest point only seven miles apart. The timber is as described in Archer county. The general character of the county is an undulating prairie, and it is well adapted for pastoral and agricultural purposes. It will soon be organized.
3. CONCHO .- Named from its principal river, Concho (shell) ; created in 1858 ; value of property in 1876, $10,138.
This county is situated upon the waters of Colorado and Concho rivers, west of McCulloch county. The northern half of this county comprises a beautiful prairie valley ; its prevailing timber and grass are mesquite ; whilst the southern portion is hilly and broken. In this part of the county there is plenty of good timber, such as live-oak, post-oak, black-jack, etc., and good limestone rock for building purposes.
The soil in the south of the county is black; in the northern parts, choc-
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olate and red loam. The principal streams are, the Colorado in the north- eastern corner, the Concho river, with its tributaries Kickapoo, Cottonwood, Eola, Snake, Erika, Blanch and other creeks; Brady's creek in the south, and - creek in the east of the county. Concho river is a beautiful stream of clear and pure water, here from fifty to seventy-five feet wide; it. has in many places considerable fall, and could turn a great amount of machinery. Along this river there is a considerable quantity of walnut, pecan, elm, post-oak and other timber; timber of the same kind is also found along the Colorado and the smaller streams of this county, but in less quantity. There are a great many fine and bold running springs of pure water in the county; in fact, the Concho and all its principal branches are fed by innumerable springs. Concho will be a good grain producing county ; but in stock-raising, particularly sheep, it will not be surpassed. It will soon be organized.
4. CROCKETT .- Named for David Crockett; created in 1875. Bounded on the north by Tom Green, east by Menard, Kimble and Edwards, south by Kinney, and west by Presidio. This is a very large county in what is called the mineral region. The Llano, Nueces and Devil's rivers have their sources in the mountainous region of this county:
5. DIMITT .- Named for Philip Dimitt; created in 1858; value of property in 1876, $4,000. Bounded north by Zavalla, east by La Salle, south by Webb, and west by Maverick. This county is traversed by the Nueces river and is well adapted to grazing purposes.
6. EDWARDS .- Named for Hayden Edwards; created in 1858. Bounded north by Kimble, east by Kerr, south by Bandera and Uvalde, and west by Crockett. It is rapidly settling up and will soon be organized.
It is situated upon the head-waters of the Rio Frio, the Medina, Guada- lupe, the east fork of the Nueces and Paint Rock creek, a tributary of the Llano river, and lies west of Kerr and Bandera counties, being situated on the border of the plains, and is the fountain-head of the above-named streams. The surface of this county is very broken and cut up in rocky hills and ravines.
Some valleys along the above streams and their tributaries, afford all the land suitable for cultivation, but the whole presents a very good stock- range.
7. ENCINAL-Means in Spanish, oak grove; created in 1858. Bounded north by La Salle, east by Duvall, south by Zapata, and west by Webb. This is in the stock-raising region of Southwestern Texas.
8. HARDEMAN .- Named for Bailey Hardeman; created in 1858. Bounded north by Greer, east by Wilbarger, south by Knox, and west by Cottle and Childress.
The soil of Hardeman county is a red loam, in places more or less sandy. It sustains a luxuriant growth of gamma and mesquite grass, even during
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the dry seasons of 1856 and 1857. The timber is scanty, and consists, along the water courses, of elm, hackberry, cottonwood, wild China, and on the hills, of mountain cedar.
If less favorable as a farming county, the county will do very well for stock-rising, as cattle and horses are fond of the salty river-water.
A land locater writes : " A few miles west of Wanderer's creek are four high mounds or peaks, from which we could see the surrounding country for miles. The tops of these mounds are covered with juniper cedar, and none of them more than fifty yards in circumference, the tops being a bed of gypsum, perfectly white, and in many places made smooth by the Indians, who call these hills their medicine mounds, and the sick ones sleep on top of them and use water from a gypsum or mineral spring near one of them. These hills are called by the whites in this vicinity Prairie Dog Mountains. We found Groesbeck creek, the first above Wanderer's creek, filled with fine fish. It is a bold, running stream, there had been no rain here for two months. The water in this creek was pretty, sparkling and clear, but so strongly impregnated with gypsum that we found its effects on us to be similar to croton oil. We found two caves near the head of this creek, and explored them for some distance. The walls were of gypsum, very hard and white, the caves large. We found a natural bridge, one hundred feet in thickness, across a small creek running into Pease river on the north side. The top of the bridge was about one hundred feet wide, the bottom three hundred feet, making a natural bridge for the buffalo to pass over.
9. HASKELL .- Created in 1860; named for Charles Haskell of Fannin's massacre. Bounded north by Knox, east by Throckmorton, south by Shackleford, and west by Stonewall. The following description is by M. Wickeland, surveyor:
"It lies upon the Brazos river; the Main Fork and Double Mountain Fork of this river enter the county from the west, and their confluence is near its north line. The Clear Fork of the Brazos touches the southeast corner of Haskell county, whilst the other portions are well watered by Ateys, Paint, California, Perry's, Miller's, Antelope, Lake, and other creeks and their tributaries ; the water in the Main and Double Mountain Fork is unpalatable; there are also several ponds in the northern part of the county.
"It is comparatively level, mostly undulating, mesquite prairie, though the northwestern portion of the county, along the Main Fork of the Brazos, is hilly. The hills on the north side of that stream attain a considerable elevation.
" The soil is a red loam, in many places with substrata of gypsum, of which there is a considerable quantity in the northwestern part of the county. I also found very rich specimens of copper ore in this region, of which I brought home, several times, as much as I could conveniently carry.
"The timber in the county consists principally in me-quite, of which there are extensive forests, and of good quality ; there is also found along the stream shackberry, cottonwood, mulberry, chittam, willow, etc. ; and in the southeastern part of the county, live-oak, post-oak, elm, and pecan;
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and along the Main Fork there is a considerable amount of short cedar.
10. JONES .- Named for Anson Jones; created in 1858. It is bounded north by Stonewall and Haskell, east by Shackleford, south by Taylor, and west by Fisher.
It lies south of the above county, and exclusively upon the waters of the Clear Fork of Brazos. Some portions of this county are well-watered by the Clear Fork, Elm Fork, Evans creek (all clear and bold running streams), IIanover, Panther, and numerous other nameless creeks; other portions are elevated and dry. The southwestern corner of the county includes some high ranges of hills, which break off in precipitous cliffs. A range of dry sand-hills, several miles wide, runs north of and parallel with the Elm Fork.
The soil is a red loam, more or less sandy, turning darker in the south- eastern corner of the county; good building rock (sand and limestone), is found everywhere. The timber is mostly mesquite ; along the water-courses pecan, elm, hackberry, some post-oak, wild China, cotton-wood etc .; and on the hills in the south, live oak and cedar are to be found.
Fort Phantomhill (now unoccupied) lies on the eastern line.
11. KNOX .- Is said to have been named for a county in Ohio; is bounded north by Hardeman, east by Baylor, south by Haskell, and west by King. Was created in 1858. We copy from Mr. Wickeland's description :
"Knox county is supplied with plenty of water, but nearly all of it is most disagreeable to the taste, and some of it entirely unfit for the use of man. With the exception of some of the upper banches of Antelope and Lake creeks, and numerous springs along the banks of the Brazos river, all the water in the county has a brackish, bitter taste. This is owing to the abundance of gypsum through all parts of the country. The water of the Big Wichita and Brazos rivers is also salty from the rich deposits of this article near their sources.
" Croton Creek is remarkable for its clear water and great abundance of fish-chiefly catfish-from which it was named by the Indians, "Fish Creek." In the spring of 1856, I camped for several days with a surveying party on Croton creek, awaiting the arrival of the main camp; we were without provisions, and subsisted entirely on the fish and disagreeable water of " Croton," and from the taste and other peculiarities of the water, the creek received its name.
" The coutry south of the Brazos is an extensive (slightly undulating) mesquite prairie. Northwest of that stream the country is hilly and in places very rugged and broken; a range of hills, running parallel with the Big Wichita, separates the water of this stream from that of the Brazos The basin of the Big Wichita river is narrow and cut up in ravines and deep gullies ; and the river, after winding its way through the mountains. meanders through a series of rich valleys averaging one and two miles in width. West of the Brazos, on both sides of Croton creek, is a remarka- ble group of hills, of which " Kioway Peak," though not the largest, is one
GOVERNOR'S MANSION, AUSTIN.
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of the most prominent. It is formed like a bell, not more than ten feet across the top, and is composed principally of sandstone and gypsum. There are half a dozen disconnected peaks of similar form, whose elevation above the general level is from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet. The gypsum is here predominant, and it is found in various formations, from the transparent selenite to the hardest alabaster. I have entered caves and ravines in this region, with walls of crystal, but was sometimes received by panthers and bears.
" The soil of this county is a red loam, in some places more or less sandy ; the rivers have quicksand beds, and are fordable only in a few places.
" The timber is chiefly mesquite, and on the hillsides some mountain cedar is to be found. The remaining stumps and roots indicate that there must have been extensive forests of this timber, and trees of the largest size that were destroyed by fire. There is but little timber along the banks of the streams, only occasionally a grove of cedar, post-oak, hackberry, wild China, cottonwood, etc. About half of the county will make a very good grain country, but the whole is a most excellent range for horses, sheep, and cattle."
12. LA SALLE .- Named for Mons. De La Salle; created in 1858. It is bounded north by Frio, east by M'Mullen, south by Enginal, and west by Webb and Dimitt. One of the grazing counties of the Southwest; watered by the Nueces and Frio rivers. Old Fort Ewell is near the Southern bound- ary of the county.
13. RUNNELS .- Named for Hiram G. Runnels, ex-Governor of Mississippi. Bounded north by Taylor, east by Coleman, south by Concho, and west by Tom Green. Was created in 1858. In 1876, the assessed value of property was $1,280. It is well watered by the Colorado river and its tributaries- Oak, Fish, Valley, Mulatto, Spring, Red, Black, and Flora creeks-and in the South by some smaller branches of the Concho river. The Colorado is here at common stage of water-a clear, bold running stream; the water is slightly brackish, still not entirely unfit for use; all the smaller streams furnish plenty of pure water.
The Southern half of the county is a comparatively level prairie, whilst toward the north and northwest the surface becomes elevated and hilly. The soil varies from a red loam to dark chocolate. There is a large amount of good land, and altogether this is an excellent county for pastoral and agricultural purposes.
Timber is plentiful, especially in the northern part, and consists chiefly of mesquite, live-oak, post-oak, blackjack, walnut, pecan, hackberry, cotton- wood, etc.
Fort Chadbourne is located upon the east bank of Oak creek, outside, but within a short distance of the western boundary of this county.
14. TAYLOR .- Named for the Taylor family; created in 1858. Bounded north by Jones, east by Callahan, south by Runnels, and west by Nolan. A German colony has recently purchased land, and settled in this county.
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It will soon be organized. The county comprises the country upon the head waters of the Clear Fork of Brazos, the sources of Pecan bayou, Jim Ned, and several other creeks, tributaries of the Colorado. The above streams furnish plenty of good water.
Only about half of the lands of Taylor county may be recommended as good for farming purposes ; these include the valleys along the numerous streams, but the whole of it presents a superior stock-range. The section of the country north of the Clear Fork is elevated, hilly, and rocky; and there is another group of hills in the Southwestern corner, of which Church Mountain is, perhaps, the most conspicuous. Portions of the county are thickly timbered with trees of the best kind and largest size-such as live- oak, post-oak, mesquite, and cedar; the timber along the water-courses is in this and the adjoining counties all alike-pecan, hackberry, cottonwood, etc.
The soil in Taylor county varies from dark red to chocolate and black sandy. The limestone formation is predominant, but there is also sand- stone in the hills around Church Mountain, and several other places.
15. THROCKMORTON. - Named for Doctor William E. Throckmorton ; created in 1858. Bounded north by Baylor, east by Young, south by Stevens and Shackleford, and west by Haskell.
The Clear Fork of Brazos is the principal stream; it enters the county near its southwest corner, and meanders through the southeru portion of it. Besides this, the county is watered by California, Paint, Moss, Cramps, Rust's, Crane, Hester's creeks, and other small branches ; tributaries of the Clear Fork and Elm, Boggy, Race, Antelope, etc., creeks, tributaries of the main Brazos. The country along the Clear Fork and in the eastern portion of the county, is hilly, but the whole of it is well timbered. The timber con- sists of the same kinds described in Taylor county. The soil varies from red loam in the north of the county to black with a substratum of clay in the southern portion along the Clear Fork. The county is well adapted to the production of wheat and small grain generally, and is a superior country for stock-raising. In fact, the region of country watered by the Clear Fork of Brazos and its tributaries is pre-eminently adapted to this business ; the cattle grow larger and fatter, and it appears come to maturity about one year sooner than in other parts of the State.
16. WICHITA .- Indian name; created in 1858. Bounded north by Indian Territory, east by Clay, south by Archer, and west by Wilbarger.
17. WILBARGER-Named for the Wilbarger family; created 1858. Bound- ed north by Indian Territory, east by Wichita, south by Baylor, and west by Hardeman, (Wickeland).
These counties are located on the south bank of Red river and Prairie- dog-town river, the former separating them from the Indian Territory. The character of land, water and timber is the same in both counties, and they are therefore described as one body. The surface of the two counties forms a nearly uninterrupted rolling prairie, covered with a heavy growth
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of luxuriant and nutritious grasses. Within the limits of Wilbarger county, four miles above the northwest corner of Wichita county, is the junction of Pease and Red rivers, and eight miles northwest of the said corner is the confluence of the latter and the Kechee-aque-hono or Prairie-dog-town river. The bed of Red river at this point is about 500, that ofthe other about 800 yards wide ; but Red river furnishes the most water, and is always run- ning, when Prairie-dog river is frequently dry during the summer. The bed of Red river at the mouth of Pease river is a mile wide, and with the clouds of dust and quicksand, stirred up by every breeze, resembles a Sahara en miniature.
Wilbarger and Wichita counties are well watered by bold running streams and innumerable limpid and pure springs. Pease river enters Wilbarger county from the west and runs in a nearly direct course to its junction with Red river. Wanderer's creek is a tributary of Prairie-dog-town river, and a very crooked stream, winding its way through a beautiful valley of rich lands. The Big Wichita river crosses the south line of Wilbarger county, and flows in a northeast course through this and the center of Wichita county ; it is a bold running stream, but very crooked; the water has a yellowish color, and of a strong brackish taste. I have obtained tolerable good water by digging holes in the quicksand of the river bed; the Indians sometimes follow the same process. Beaver creek is a large tributary of the Big Wichita, and a magnificent stream. From its sources in Hardeman county to its junction with that river, it waters one of the richest and most fertile valleys in the State. The main creek and its numerous branches and tributaries are skirted with a fine growth of timber; other water courses in Wilbarger county are Jenny's, Minna's, Lilly's, Burke's, McGee's, and numerous others, branches of Beaver creek; Reed's and other smaller crecks, tributaries of Big Wichita, and a number of creeks flowing into Red river. In Wichita county are Gilbert's creek, a tributary of Red river, Plum, Baxter's, Buffalo or Tanahah, Holliday and other creeks, branches of Big Wichita and Beaver creek. The Little Wichita flows through the south- east corner of the county.
Some of the finest springs of pure water may be found along the banks of Red river, Pease and Prairie-dog river. The St. Andrew Springs, near the mouth of Pease river, have gained a reputation and have become a camping place of military and surveying expeditions.
The soil of both counties is a rich red loam, in the elevated portions rocky and gravelly. The country in the forks of Pease and Red river is elevated, and hilly at the mouth of Prairie-dog-town river. In these hills there are many brooks of pure water and cool and limpid springs; one of the finest is Pearl Spring. To the admirer of the sublime and beautiful, I can recommend a visit to this region of country ; a most magnificent view pre- sents itself at sunrise to a person standing on the precipitous hills west of the mouth of the Kechee-aque-hono. The Wichita mountains rise in large dark-blue masses from the apparently unlimited carpet of bright buffalo and mesquite grasses. By the dark foliage of the timber, you can follow the course of tortuous streams and copy a map of the country from the original plot. The mountains appear not very distant, and you propose a short ride
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-still, from your high stand, at the mouth of the Kechee-aque-hono, you will find it fully twenty miles to the nearest mountains. But do not imag- ine this extensive prairie a region of dull monotony !- the picture is animated by droves of mustangs and herds of buffaloes, deer, and antelopes, and occasionally chasing Indians will set the whole in motion with the sound of distant thunder.
The timber in Wichita and Wilbarger counties consists chiefly of mesquite, of which there are extensive forests-it covers half of Wichita county. Along the water courses, especially along Beaver creek and the Little Wichita, walnut, pecan, post-oak, chittam, wild China, hackberry, cotton- wood, etc., are found. There is also good building rock in different parts of the county ; in Wichita county copper ore of a rich quality was found. In 1852, Dr. Shumard, one of the State Geologists, found specimens of the same ore on the opposite bank of Red river. There can be no doubt but that this county will equal any portion of Texas or the United States as a grain country, and for stock-raising it will equal the range upon the Clear Fork of Brazos
In conclusion we will remark, that the eastern border of the red lands of Western Texas (Red Loam) is on a nearly direct line drawn from the mouth of the Little Wichita to the junction of the Concho and . Colorado, and thence in the same course to the Rio Grande. The rich red land bottoms of the lower Red river were carried away in small particles from the High- lands of the West.
Rain is sometimes scarce in the new counties of the northwest when the lower country has plenty of it; at other seasons, the northwestern country is flooded when other portions of the State suffer from the drought. For instance, in the summer of 1857, when the whole country suffered from the extreme drought, the rains were excessive during the months of July and August in the country between the Upper Red river and the Brazos; these streams were level with the banks, and sometimes impassable. It is thought that such rains are pretty regular and account for the " June rises " in Red river and Brazos; these are certainly not caused by " the melting of snow in the mountains," as was formerly supposed.
GREER .*- Named for John A. Greer; created in 1860; lies north of
* Greer county, containing 3,480 square miles, or 2, 227,200 acres, is claimed by the United States as having been ceded to the Government by the Choctaws and Chicka- saws, by a treaty, April 28th, 1866. (See report of the Secretary of the Interior, for 1877, page 76.) This might be a valid title, provided the land belonged to the Indians. But in 1860, when the Commissioners on the part of Texas, were engaged in marking that line, William H. Russell, the Texas Commissioner, absolutely refused to admit the boundaries claimed by the Indians ; and at first the United States Commissioner agreed that the north fork should be regarded as the main fork of Red river. This gave Greer county to Texas. In the old maps, Upper Red river is laid down as the Keche-ah-que. hono; and is designated by a crooked line, with no tributaries laid down. This is the case in Nelish's map, used by John Quincy Adams, in 1819; and Disturnell's map, used at Guadalupe Hidalgo, in 1848. Texas claims the north fork because that stream cor- responds more nearly with the general course of Red river, than the middle or south forks; and the course of the north fork was more directly in the direction of the desig- nated C initial corner, at the point where the 100th meridian of longitude crossed the thirty-six-thirty parallel of latitude.
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Hardeman and Wilbarger counties. This county is still in dispute ; being claimed both by the United States and Texas.
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