The Austin Papers, Vol. 2

298

AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

pelled if they put out an advertisement, to enlighten the public mind on the matter- He assured me that·no money should be paid over to the alleged proprietors until they gave entire satis- faction as to title- I then concluded not to interfere and make myself many enemies for I have learned from experience that ene- mies made in this way have much more zeal, than any friends whom the doing of. Such a 15ervice might procure a body- so I e'en resolved not to meddle with the matter, but I have freely spoken of it to many gentlemen in this City and have communicated my views to two respectable citizens of Baltimore-- Peck, who left here a few days ago for orleans, tells me that Willson is selling Texas lands in New York at 2 cents an acre- Willson told me last summer, that he had a grant in fee for 8,000,000 acres- Is it so. qu[i]en sabe, as we Mexicans say- · Certain I am that these things are doing an injury to all of us- the detection of one fraud in relation to Texas lands, will entail suspicion upon us all, and it is outrageous that honest men should suffer for the mis- deeds of a few sharpe~ I have some expectation of forming a company in Baltimore for the settlement of my Colony- Should it be done we shall pro- ceed rapidly in the work-a few weeks will determine- I am exceedii?gly desirous to get back- •Should our friend Padilla be with you I beg you will mention me to him- I wrote to him and also to the Governor some time ago and enclosed my letters to Williams and I hope they have not miscarried- I have since then written to the Governor, inclosed to you, and sent a duplicate I would write to both by this opportunity but have not much time and am not yet able to speak positively as to my success or my return to Texas- • I received a nacogdoches paper yesterday containing an obituary notice of your amiable and lamented brother and I have taken (it] to the Gazette office to have it published here- It occurred to me that there might be some friends and relatives who had not heard of his decease, and besides it would be a gratification to my own feelings to give currency to that modest tribute of respect for the memory of a friend whom I much esteemed- I send a half barrel of buck wheat meal directed to League, to be divided between Williams and himself- Should you be at house- keeping you must make a tripartite division of it, for I have sent it under a presumption that you were not- My Texas friends are so frugal of their time or their paper·that I am left entirely to presumptions on all matters relating to them- The one letter from you and one from Williams at orleans are all the evidence I have that I am remembered on the Brasos- I have never received one

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