THE AUSTIN PAPERS 227 Texas as a Country, wheither viewed with reference to its geo- graphical position, its soil, its climate, the number of its rivers and creeks of pure. running water, its Bays and the variety, abundance, and value of its productions, may be advantageously compared with any portion of north America. This country has laid dormant for ages- It was the policy of the Spanish Govt to keep it out of view and to conceal, as much ns possible, its natural advantages- The grant to my Father :Moses Austin to settle a colony in Texas made by the Spanish Authorities in January 1821, a few months before the independence of Mexico; was the first deviation from this policy that hnd ever occurecl. After the death of my father I explored the co-antry in the summer a.ncl fall of 1821, and in the succeeding winter and spring commenced my settlement in the midst of its wilderness on the Brasos and Colorado rivers _Since when_the progress of the new settlements under the fostering hand of the Republic of 1tfexico },as gradually developed the value of Texas and brought it into uotice. The touch Stone of experience has been applied, and the result has shewn that our climate is healthy and pleasant, our soil productive beyond expectation, our seasons regular and rain suffi- ciently abundant. Our rivers are navigable, and our harbors sa.fe and of sufficient depth for all the purposes of commerce. When I entered Texas in the winter of 182-1-22 with the first emi- grants, the idea of forming a settlement in this remote wilderness amidst tribes of uncivilized indians was ridiculed by my best friends as visionary and impracticable- The value of the country was unknown or greatly doubted, and it was entirely uninhabited except by savages from the Sabine to the Towns of Bexar and La Bahia (now called Goliad) and those places were reduced to a weak state by the indian war Also at that time the 1tfexican Govt was in an unsettled and revolutionary state and it was beyond the calculation of the most judicious to say what shape or form it would ultimately assume. In answer to any doubts that may now exist as to the value of Texas as a Country, I would merely refer to what it was when I commenced, to the difficulties and impediments which retarded my progress and then· ask, wheither I or any other person however great his perseverance may have been could have formed a· settle- ment of intelligent worthy and industrious north Americnns in this ·;vilderness, and that too without the aid of powerfull pntronnge or wealth, if the count?-y itself had not affo1'<kd the stJ-ongest induce- ments to emigration by its real, and int·rinsic value. There is an immense opening in Texas for the establishment of Cotton Manufactories- The raw material is raised here in ab~dance and of superior quality.- Provisions are cheap and will daily become cheaper, there are numerous good situations for ~:Ia- chenery and abundance of good oak, Pine, Cypre~, Cedar, Ash
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