heavier than water, and makes excellent fuel. 1'he grass is very line and of short growth, seldom exce~d- ing six inches, and is said ,to be best. when it looks worst, that is, in winter, when it is nearly equal to oats. Good water privileges in Texas are not very numer- ous within seventy miles of the coast, except on the San An·tonio river, which possesses great advantages over all othe1·s in this whole region, by reason of its uniformity of breadth and depth, arising from the cxt.raordinary fact, that its waters are all derived from a single source, consisting of a cluster of springs within two miles north of San Antonio town. It runs a south-easterly direction into the bay of Aransas. "'Within a mile of its source there is a fall, at. which the watel' is taken out by ditches on both sides, and used for irrigating the lands to the extent of many miles below. All the l\Iissions allmled to and described in these pages, share in this benefit. The general cur- rent of this river is rapid, and has many falls which will eve1· render it unnavigable. Of the other rivers, it may be said that all which take their rise among the mountains, are swift streams, and contain much sediment, overflowing their banks at certain seasons. These rivers may, with no very considerable expense, .be rendel'ed navigable two or three hundred miles from their mouths. The rivers of the country are found on the map in the following order, beginning at the eastern extremity
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