WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1831-1832
261
Mason obtained extensions of time on all the Grants about to ex- pire: says 3 years on the Galveston Bay Grants and six years on Wilson and Exeters grants- He also obtained other important objects in favor of our Companies-The field is now open for a great work in Texas-and you must go and help reap the har- vest-Write me particularly and do not hasten your departure till you hear again from J. Prentiss [Endorsed]: Copy to Genl Saml Houston 31st May, 1832 [sic] 1 Jamcs P1·cntiss Letters, The University of Texas Library. :u seems likely that Mason misled Prentiss. These grants were suspended by the Federal law of April 6, 1830, whose repeal did not become effective until May, 1834. Mason may have paved the way for extension in case repeal should be enacted.
JAMES PRENTISS TO HOUSTON 1
New York 18 th AugL 1832
Gen 1• Sam 1• Houston My dear Sir, I had the pleasure to address you under date of [31] Ult -since which, I am without any advice from you- Supposing you are yet at Nashville, & in much solicitude to de- part I address you by the way of apology for what you may sup- pose to be negligence in forwarding the needful instructions &c -preparatory to your departure for Texas-The cholera is yet dreadful & more so than appears from our daily reports-by reference to which you will generally see that the burials are double the number of reported deaths by cholera-hence we must regard the report of burials & not of deaths- This awful calamity has prevented any movement in our Texas affairs since I last wrote you-indeed, I have not seen but two of our directors since then-I talked with our mutual friend Jackson, two days ago, & urged him to make the needful ad- vance for his friends, to which he replied he was not able ~t this most distressing moment to do more than for himself-I yet hope, & confidently expect that within two or three weeks, we can do the needful, and hope you will not find it inconvenient to wait so long. There is no news from Texas which you will not have seen in the newspapers-but important news is daily expected-You do
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