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San Antonio Liht.
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
Collection ol Documents lor the History
of Texas.
IH I.OIir.NZO CASTItO.
Tim writer (if this urticlo has for
years past been engaged in milking
ii collection of documents for the
history of Texas from its early
discovery to the date of the Itiilo
pcndeiice of Mexico from Spain.
Ho bus examined the archives ut
the cities of Mexico. Sau Ltd do
l'otosi. Saltlllo, Monterey, and
I.aiedo, niiil regrets to say that
these have been so purloined that
little or nothing is to he found in
them, for instance, all documents
concerning Texas, which formed
part of the archives of Nuovo
l.con were given by the secretary
of state, Don Manuel (i. IEcjon, to
Don Antonio (juiiitero. who lost
tlicin dining the war. Most of
those In the City of Mexico were
sold to the manufacturers of tire
crackers and retnil grocers by ills
tingnshed men for purposes of
making money out ot tlicm. A
distinguished author, Don Carlos
lliistameute, alluding to this act
of vandalism, says that only wild
Indians could be guilty of such an
outrage at the present t'me.
KKPOIIT Ol' COLONF.I, HON JUAN
NErOMVCr.NO AI.MONTK, TI'.XA
IN lS:t I. ('OKir.MTH!
frontier of Texas; population
and municipalities; colonics; sea
ports; Indians tribes at peace;
wild Indians; roads.
Although It has been believed
that the river Nueces was the
dividing Une between Coaliuila
and Tejas, according to map
published I have been informed
by the geographers of the states
that it was a great error, that
really the dividing line between
the two states began at the mouth
of the Aransas and followed said
river to its head and from that
point with a light lino to the
mouth of the Medina and .San
Antonio rivers, thence followin
the Medina liver to its head
springs, and from the head wateis
of Medina to the boundary line of
Chihuahua. The boundary of th
depaitmeiit of llejiirwith Coaliuila
are those above disci ibed. and
with the department of liinzosarc
as follows; llcgiiiniugnt the mouth
of the I.n Vaca river followin
west bunk until it struck the
southern boundary of what win
known as (Ircen HeWitt colony
leaving the liver and followin;
said limit west wind until cumin;
to the (iiiudaliipe liver, then north
west following the western limit
of said colony to the load leiidin
from IJcjar to Nacogdoches, ami
fiom thut point northward until it
struck the lied liver of Nachiln.
elies. The area of this dcpait
uicnt is of about 10,1 "in sqtinie
leagues, incite or less. Its capitol
is ,Sau Antonio de Itejur. and its
principal settlements lire those of
llejar, residence of the political
chief, (loliad or Itiihia del Kspititu
Santo, Victoiia and San Patricio.
Each department is governed by
a political chief or chief of police
who presides ovcrthe municipali
ty of the chief town or capital,
whoso duty it is to see that the
general state laws are enforced.
Hois selected by the government
of the state upon the proposition
of the different municipalities of
the department.
I'nl'l'I.ATION AND MUNICIPAL!.
Tir.s.
MunliliUlli. I'.ipiilmliiii l'iiiilullnii
In ISM. In ISM
Ih-Jiir . . .''
(i, ,11ml. . . I.CKi :i
Vll'tUtlH.. i'l'
San IMtrlflu
' 4 H.CIHI 4IMI
Totul population of the depart
ment 4,000. There arc four mis
sions in the vicinity of liejur, but
only two of them are inhabited at
present, the others are abandoned
and the same thing ha taken place
with the mission situated at
fiolind. Theieure various colo
nics in the department, but only
two of them hnvo prospered one
of Mexicans on the (iiindalupe
situated on the road from Gnliud
to San Felipe, and the other Itisli.
situatsd on the Nueces river on
the road leading from Matamoros
to Goliad' The population of the
lepartinont of Itejur, with the ex
ception of San Patricio, consists
entiieiy of Mexicans.
.ska roinri.
That of Kl Copano appeals to
be the one that posesses the
gtcatest depth of watei, accord
lug to the best information thut I
obtain in Itejar there is from 15 to
It! feet of water on the bar and
fiom lb to 1'-' in the bay of Aran
sas, small boats can anchor at a
short distance from the mam laud.
Although tlieie is no running
stream emptying at Copano, the
rain water is good and cisterns
can easily be constructed. Thin
port of Copano is well situated for
a inaritine custom house. The
land is high and there is enough
timber in its vicinity. The Aran
sas river is about eight miles (lis
taut and the Hefugio creek at
about the same distance. There
are two roads from this port to
Goliad one a wagon road and the
other a trail. The distance be
tweeu the two places is from 10 to
12 leagues. The anchorage is
excellent and can admit over 100
ships, it is eight leagues distant
from the bar, which can easily be
defended by building a fort at the
mouth of the bay, as can clearly
be seen by looking at the map of
Tejas.
This department has two more
ports, that of Corpus Christi, sit
uated south of Copano, and that
of Kl Sabinito, situated nortliwatd
in tiio bay of Matagorda at the
mouth of tiie Han Antonio and
Guadalupe rivets. The latter
point is reached by entering by
Pass del Caballo and stcerin
westward. Ships that draw only
six feet of water oan safely ride
into the ports of Corpus Christi
and Sabinito. The port of HI
Copoui) has been occasionally
visited by ships, but at present
there is only one house there.
INDIAN TKIIIlIS AT I'UAUU.
There ate in the vicinity of
(ioliad some remnants of the foi
lowing Indian tribes, viz: the
Cujanes, Cocos, Carancahues and
.laramies. Of the iirsttwo tribe
tlieie remains about II) to 12 f.uui
lies, of the Carancahues from 10 to
lf families, and of the .laramies
from i(5 to 20 families. The Car
ancahiies forineily lived at the
missions of Kl liefugio, (founded
in 1701,' which to-day is abandon
ed, near the pint of Copano
These Indians were in the habit of
having their children baptized at
(ioliad, but as they have of late
committed many tobbeties. They
aie now roaming aooiit t lie lagmies
along the coast. They aie first
class fishermen, good swimmers
almost uiised in the water and it
is probable that if they were
ployed as sailoin would piove
themselves very useful, at piesen
they are the best pilots of the
hays of Matagorda and Aransas,
They do not use any other arms
but their bows and airows. It
has been said that they were can
nlhals, but I believe thut to be
fable.
The .laramies aie a peaceful
tribe of Indians who liveutapluc
called Kl Oso, situated about 18
miles from the bay on the San An
touio river. There they have es
tahlishcd a small settlement whei
they cultivate corn, onions, garli
and other vegetables that they
take to the (ioliad market,
priest from Zacatucus, Father
Diaz, was the founder of that
small colony and spent his own
private fortune for the benefit ol
theso people. Ills memory should
have been perpetuated for his life
of disinterestedness to bis fellow
men.
I'hcre were other friendly tilbcs
of Indians that were exterminated
by the Coiiiauches and Tehuaca
nos, and the only one known to
day aie the I.lpaus, wiio reside
actually in Coaliuila.
Wlt.ll IN1MANH.
Of all the depattmcuts of Tejas
he one most exposed to excur
sions of wild' Indians is that of
Itejur. The principal enemies arc
tiie Comuiiches and Tchuacauos,
The latteriange between the head
of the Guadalupe and Sail Marcos
livers, and the former In the
canon de Ugalde and head waters
of the San Saba, extending their
range the other side of the moun
tains to Chihuahua and New Mex
ico. It is the general belief that
the Comanelies can muster from
three to four thousand warriors,
but as they never move in large
bodies, because they have no
chief to lead them, ami because
they do not recognize the suprem
acy of a sole chief, the consequence
is that they never act under a
general preconcerted plan of at
tack, but on the contrary act in
dependently each chief heading
r0 to KM) warriors at most. The
greatest number of warriors they
have ever been able to unite to
gether being ."00 men. From
what is stated above it can be
seen that (ioo men could scoure the
country in all directions, and
fighting them in detail, in course
of two or three years they could
be entiieiy unihilated. They gen
erally all ride on horseback, they
they are good horsemen; their
weapons consist of bows and nr
rows, a lance, a knife, and some'
times an American uric. Their
tactics, or mode of attack consists
in making an impetuous charge
upon their enemies, dividing into
two columns, but if they loose
tluee or four of their warriors in
their first charge they scarcely
make nuuther, -even when their
enemies are iufetior iu number.
It is calculated that one .Mexican
is equal to live of them
The Tehuacnnos number fiom
200 to ;I00 wairiois. and although
much inferior in number to the
Comanelies, they are moic dan
gerous and commit more depie
datious, because they are more
cunning and more accustomed
to the use of tiie aims. They al
ways travel on foot and very raie
iy ride on horseback, There is
also another reason why the w ild
Indians cannot move in large
bodies, and that is on account of
stibsistauce, as they telj entiieiy
upon their hunting for subsis
tence. A body ot one or two
thousand men could not maintain
themselves with that only lc
nource for a living, and on ac
count of the gieat number of
liotses they generally take with
them each Comanche warrior
taking with him at least tlnce
horses. The glazing would hard
ly support that number, of aid
mals.
ItOAKH.
The roads in the department of
Hejar aud of Texas m general are
good and one can travel from Mex
ico to the i'nitcd States iu u car
riage without inconvenience, etc,
Important to Men.
If you want a Une rUtlng suit, made
or the beat Imported German, English,
French or Sootoli goods, for the full
value of your money, call on vai. j,orra,
tint merchant tailor, next to the Com
merce street bridge. Mr. Lorra l aNo,
1 in tils business, being a practical cut
lnJi0.k
aonal supervision to bU mauufaolurlng
department, always guarantees bla work
and leaves nothing undone to please bis
customer every time. When you want
good work for your good money be dure
and call on Val. Lorra.
Pitch upon the best course iu
life, aud custom will render it the
most easy. Tiilotson.
CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
Points ol Interest to Tourist Visiting our
Beautiful and Historic City.
Tin; OI.ll MIHHMKH.
Tiio Alamo, is situated on Alamo
plaza.
The Couccpcion, situated on the
left bank of the river, two miles
below the city. The foundation
stone was Inid .March nth, 17111 .
The Sun .lose do Aguavo, situa
ted four miles below the city, on
the right bank of the river.
The Sim .litan Capistran, six
miles below the city on the west
side of the river, established
17JII.
The San Francisco de la Espn-
da, several miles fuither down the
river.
Tho historic cathedral of San
Fernando, between Main and Mili
tary Plazas.
OTIIIIU POINTS Ol' lNTP.ltnST.
San Pedro Springs, a beautiful
park, handsomely laid out iu
shaded wufks, artificial lakes, rus
tic bridges aud miniature islands.
Sau Antonio Springs, the foun
tain head of Sau Antonio river.
A wonderful sight of n most won
derful nature.
San Antonio Water Works.
situated near the head ot the Han
Antonio river.
IT. S. Quartermasters Depot
From tho ton of Lookout Tower.
the finest view can be had of Sau
Antonio and surroundings
.Military IMnza should never be
neglected, either early in the
morning or more especially at
night, whcie can be seen a novel
sight, peculiar to the customs of
Mexico.
& Street curs unci eleiraut
uncus an over tiie city.
Does Prohibition Prohibit.
lh'n.1,1 IlieSiiiinjrSuiilli. Atlanta, lln.J
We are inclined to think that, in
a measure, prohibition docs prohi
bit It is a deep and strong feel
ng, entertained by a large, intolli
gent, and most respectable class
of people that the sale of intoxicnt
ing drink should forbidden by law.
and it would be a very wonderful
thing if this sentiment, erystalized
into statute, should tie merely
nugatory. We do not think that
it is nugatory but, on the contrary
that His, to a great tiegroo, cllec
ttud. The question, therefore
as to whether prohibition prohi
bits is one that has its answer,
but another and graver question
arises to our minds, namely, will
protiiuition last: mis question
has been suggested by certain of
ficial statistics lately made public
The commissioner ol internal rev
en ue reports thut from 1S7(I to
1S8."i the production of ardent
spirits decreased, but thut tiio
last fiscal year shows an enormous
increase, the amount being 80,
:tl I, ISO gallons, or 7,.rtlO,lS2 over
the year preceding. He also lc
poits that, while the tax paid last
year, on lemovalsfrom warehouse
was 1,000,000 overthat of last year
the increased production was so
great that the balance iu stock is
4.000.000 gallons iu excess, lie
fuither shows that the number of
distilleries iu active operation lias
increased, and, lately, states that
in .inly, August ami hentemoer
188(1, the production of spirits was
2,000,000 gallons greater than iu
the coricspomliug period ol 188,
Hut one conclusion can bo ur
rived at from tlicso facts aud tig
ores, aud that is, that t lit- pond
linn of prohibition lias begun to
swing hack. The successful agl
tatiou of the temperance question
tion from I87(i to 1885 steadily
pressed the production ot liquor
down, but now, all ol a sudden
and just us prohibition seems iu
the iiigii ascendant, when stnte
after state and community after
community has wheeled into line
these cold-blooded llgures
nounce that the demand for in
dent spirits has enormously in
creased. The increase for the
year Is 7,500,000 gallons, aud for
the latter portion ot the year at a
rate greater even than that, snow
ing a constant augmenting ratio,
lohn liurleycorn seems, like
to have gathered new
strength from ids tall.
Those, though highest in place.
who slight mid disoblige their
friends, shall infallibly come to
know the value of them by having
none when they shall most need
them. South.
GEMS OF THOUGHT.
Nothing can make u man trulv
great but being truly good, and
partaking of God's holiness.
Mathew Henry.
Iteligion is tho most ceiitlemau-
ly thing of the world. It alone
will gcntllize it unmixed with cant.
Coleridge.
It is tho triumph of civilization
that at lost communities hnyo ob
tained sitcli a mastery over natu
ral lows that they drive them and
control them. Tho winds, tho
wntcr, electricity, all agents thnt
iu their wild form weio dangerous
are controlled by human will, and
arc mnuouscliil servants. licccli-
Tim la ila ...... ..I I
ill itself can make heaven of hell.
a hell of heaven. Milton.
No wny has been found for
making heroism easy, even for tho
scholar. Labor: iron labor is for
him. The world was created as
nn nildlenco for him; tho atoms of
which tt is made are opportunities.
Emerson.
Nobody knows Now Kncland
who is not on terms of intimacy
with one of its elms. The elm
come nearer to baring n soul than
any other vegetable creature
among us. Holmes.
Laughing, if loud, cuds in a
deep sigh: mid nil pleasures have
a sting iu the tail, though they
carry beauty on the face. Jeremy
Taylor.
Tho laws of our religion tend to
the universal happiness of man
kind. lillotson.
A Ho has no legs and cannot
stand; but it has wings and can
fly far and wide. Itishop War
burton. They who marry give hostages
to the public that they will not at
tempt to ruin and disturb the
peace of it. Atterbury.
We should do nothinir incon
sistent with tho spirit and genius
of our institutions. Wo should do
nothing for revenge, but every
thing for security; nothing for the
past, everything tor the present
and future. Garfield.
They who pass through a for
eign country to their native home
do not usually givo up themselves
to tho pleasures of tho place.
Atterbury.
That which seems most casual
aud subject to fortune is yet dis
persed by the ordinance of God.
Sir Waiter Scott.
One great reason why many
children abandon themselves
wholly to silly sports, and trifle
nwny all their time insipidly, is
becnuso they have found their
curiousity balked. Locke.
Any man who puts his life iu
peril in a cntiso which is esteemed,
becomes tho darling of all men.
Kmcrson.
Iu the mini whoso childhood
has known caresses tlicro is al
ways a fibre of memory that can
be touched to gentle issues.
George Eliot.
TURNER HALL BAR.
Ed. Dlsselhorst ProDrietor The Finest
Wlnee, Liquors and Clarara Al
ways on Hand to Suit hia
Patrons.
This Is one of the pleasant resorts of
the Alamo City, conveniently located in
tho Turner hall building on East Hous
ton street, where everything Is kept In
lirat class style, and strangers passing
through, or visl'lng our city, will tlnd it
a pleasant place to spend their leisure
hours, hclng fully atsurud that they will
not he brought In contact with any of
the rough element usually found in bar
rooms. Mr. Kcl. Dlsselhorst, the propri
etor, Is one ot God's noblemen himself
and never tolerates any such element In
his place nf business. When you need
anything in the way of liquid refresh
ments be sure and call on Kcl., who will
serve you with nn eye-opener, a night
cap, or an apuitlzer to your hearts con
tent. This is One of Them.
The poorest advertiser In this city Is
Joe Beokniann, the boot and shoe man,
No. 271 Commerce street. He does not
advertise so and so many thousand dol
lars worth of boots and shoes it colt,
he says, because be does not buy such
bad stock; he knows too much about bis
business to get sold that way, conse
quently, bus no stook be is compelled to
sell at cost to get rid of. He never sells
h e at cost, has no old stock to sell oil'.
Hut he does sell good boots and shoes
cheaper than his competitors cln the
same quality. He also makes boots and
shoes to order, and says when once a
msn baa one pair made by him, be gives
them such good satisfaction that tbe
customer becomes a walklog advertise
ment for blm. He lets his work adver
tise for blm, and, consequently, needs
no newspaper advertisement. He sells
tbe world renowned Douglas $3.00 shoe,
for wbloh be Is sole agent, and is i prac
tical shoe maker, recommends them to
surpass any J3.00 la tbe oountry.
