Seventy years of an active life
*>•*! 3 iCi g Rl§ I 9AINIH\\V )S-ANCEtfj> 2£* I F~l| i ^ ^» 3AIN!HV\V g > 1 s ^ ^ I 1 a f I 1 \ s i JBRARYOA JITO-JO^ CAUF% ivaan-i'S4- Kt *7 os & Cc lOSA1Cflfj> sl^i ! o^rf^ ^ j> 'V I I 't 5 If S 1 ANCflfj-^ AINiHHV 1 1 i S iANCEl£A> V*^ i U-*s > x> AljW1 I 1 ir^» J^ i g 3 ^" — ^-^ ^ ^ - <T£]3DNV-SO^ %U3AINa-3t^ v^ n ^EUNIVER% ~ £ £? VJiflllA^ lOSANCElfx g 1 * i s Xy/i.i ^ ^ * 3 I ^ % § I I 3 5 f i i • 5 i i r"* Is %ojnvD-jo^ AOS-ANCElfr I 3 £ i =O C5 Si tfE -UNIVERS/ c^ ^ ^ f i I -n V I 1 fe f S- ® § I ^. <c L— bM I i ^^11 i g ^Aavaain^ ^ ^ 1 ^ ^? •T .5 / * ,§ _^f.CAtlFO% /: / SEVENTY YEARS OF AN ACTIVE LIFE SEVENTY YEARS OF AN ACTIVE LIFE BY LOUIS STERNE LONDON : PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY: MCMXII cmsw'ick" PRESS": 'CHARLES' WHfTTiNdftAM WD co. TOOKS CGVR£,: OHASfpEIuI lA^E, LONDON. TfO SEVENTY YEARS OF AN ACTIVE LIFE HA VI NG been repeatedly requested Early Boy- by many of my friends to write hood my reminiscences I at last acquiesced. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 1 5th May 1835, I began to attend school at the age of five years, remaining there until the year 1847. One day in June of that year, for no apparent reason, I was kept in after school hours. With some other boys, whilst the schoolmaster slept, his chin resting on both hands and his long red beard spread on the writing-table, I helped to seal his beard to the table. We then exploded some firecrackers un- der his chair, whereupon he jumped up, thereby producing temporary lock-jaw. He sent us in quest of a doctor, but, on our way out, we stopped just long enough to tell the janitor what had happened, and then, hurrying home, I managed to be in 2 SEVENTY YEARS OF time to attend a picnic with my mother that afternoon. The following morning, all the boys who had participated in the prank of the previous day were sum- moned before the school board and sus- pended from school for six months. During that time my father procured a tutor for me. Among other associa- tions, this tutor was connected with the Hope Hose Fire Company, a volunteer one, like every other fire company in the United States at that time. The fire- engine or hose was drawn to the fire by manual efforts, and there was a law at the time prohibiting a minor from running with any hose or engine com- pany to a fire, the rowdy element then existing in all firedepartments necessitat- ing the passing of this ordinance. Whilst out for a walk one hot summer day, we noticed my tutor's hose-company rushing to a fire, and we were asked to assist in drawing the machine. I readily lent a helping hand, but, being seen by a policeman, I was arrested and brought before a magistrate, who bound me over to keep the peace for six months. My AN ACTIVE LIFE 3 tutor was dismissed by my father and I declined to have another. REFERRING to rioting at fires, in 1850 a FI fire broke out in Philadelphia, in a ware- house containing large quantities of salt- petre, which caused an explosion and consequent conflagration. This could have been extinguished at the outset had it not been for the enmity existing be- tween the different fire engine and hose companies, which ran so high that — as no one had anticipated such a serious conflagration — the hose supplying several of the manual fire-engines was wantonly cut, thus stopping the water supply. Fire and all other hose at that time was made of leather with copper rivets, and was very costly — rubber or canvas not being then used for this purpose — and naturally was constructed in short sections. It required to be carefully looked after, otherwise it would harden quickly. This fire originated on the river front, and over five hundred houses were de- stroyed. In those days, dynamite was 4 SEVENTY YEARS OF unknown for blowing up houses to pre- vent conflagration spreading. Gunpow- der therefore was used, which did more mischief than good. The foregoing brings to my mind other matters connected with the feuds between the various fire-engine and hose companies. I recollect that this was also portrayed on the stage by an actor named Frank Chanfrau in the years 1848-9, in a play called " Mose," in which he scored a great success. He was then about twenty-four years of age and I knew him afterwards very well. He first played at the Park and Bowery Theatres in New York, and later came to Philadelphia to produce this piece, which was as great a success as Ed. Sothern's " Dundreary" was later, in the sixties. Chanfrau's " Mose " had only local colour, therefore New York, Phila- delphia, Boston, and Brooklyn were the only cities he acted in for some years. In 1850 he played the leading role in Phila- delphia, at the Arch Street Theatre, and it was there that I made his acquaint- ance. AN ACTIVE LIFE 5 In this play, " Mose," Chanfrau used to wear the conventional red flannel shirt and large check trousers with a broad leather waist-belt, no waistcoat or coat, and always a high silk hat! This style of headgear was also at the same time very fashionable with cricketers in England, who used to wear them when playing cricket, as depicted in old prints of the period. Chanfrau took the char- acter of " Mose " in the play, and his "sweetheart" was called " Lize." Her hair was dressed much in the same man- ner as the coster's 'Arriet of to-day. Men of the class he portrayed in this piece wore their hair cut very short at the back, but left long in front, and trained into what were known as " soap- locks," as these would not remain in position unless soap-hardened. They were worn just in front of the ears and came nearly half-way down each cheek. Then there was the inevitable cigar, poised at an angle of forty-five degrees, pipe-smoking not being then in vogue. This class of men were on an average good-hearted ruffians or rowdies, and 6 SEVENTY YEARS OF were designated as killers No. i and No. 2, and so forth. Benjamin Baker was the author of " Mose," and Chanfrau later married Baker's sister, Miss Henrietta Baker, a charming woman, who became quite a well-known actress in America, and also played in this country in the early seven- ties, at the Grand Theatre near the An- gel, Islington, where I saw Emily Solden make her great hit in " Genevieve de Brabant." Chanfrau was very proud of the ex- ploits of his father, who was a French naval officer and captain of the ship which brought Lafayette to America in 1777. A SCHOOL acquaintance of mine was em- ployed by a wood-carver, whose principal business was making figure-heads for ships and cigar-store Indians; the latter being the usual sign placed in front of all cigar stores, in the same manner as the barber's pole is now used. In those days no other signs existed, and there were no window - displays. Through this AN ACTIVE LIFE ^ school-acquaintance, I obtained employ- ment in this workshop, having assigned to me thetask of roughing out thefigures. The work proved uncongenial, especi- ally as I was promised drawing-lessons and also work in a candlestick and can- delabra factory. No petroleum oil lamps were in existence at that early period. I was given employment by the firm of Messrs. Dyett and Kent, of Second Street, near Chestnut Street, Philadel- phia ; but on their discovering that I was quite strong for my age, instead of send- ing me to the drawing office and in- structing me in drawing and the art of metal work, I was set to work wheeling goods in barrows to the river coasting- steamers, the method then pursued in delivering goods on board these steam- ers. I remonstrated with them for not keeping their promise, whereupon they replied that they would employ me at this kind of work as long as it suited them. I soon put an end, however, to my employment in this capacity, by drop- ping a barrow of goods off the plank leading to the steamer into the river. SEVENTY YEARS OF For this I was dismissed, but, before reaching home that day, I had secured another position. MyExperi- AFTER leaving the firm of Dyett and ence as a Silversmith ence as a Kent I happened to meet my former tutor, who was anxious that I should see a silver horn, which was generally used, like a megaphone, to cheer the men in their arduous task of pulling the fire engine or hose carriage to a fire, thus encouraging them to reach a fire in the shortest possible time. We went to Conrad Bard and Sons, silversmiths, in Arch Street, near Sixth Street, Phila- delphia. There I was fascinated by the work which was being done, and straight- way asked Mr. Bard to give me employ- ment, which he did at once. Labour at that time was so scarce that it was not difficult to obtain a position anywhere. Mr. Bard set me at first to the task of filing out the crack in the bell which tolled the Independence in 1776 in the Philadelphia City Hall. This crack was afterwards re-filed for the Centennial in the year 1876, by Cadwallader and Sons, AN ACTIVE LIFE 9 silversmiths, the firm of Bard and Sons having gone out of existence in the meantime. I remained with Bard and Sons for about one year, when, through inatten- tion to the annealing of an old urn, a por- tion of it was destroyed, which terminated my career as a silversmith. MY next situation, like my first, was My Employ- procured for me by a schoolmate. He was promoted to other work, and I was given the position which he had before my coming to the foundry. This was in the brass-foundry and turnery of a Mr. Long, in Dock Street, Philadelphia. I found this work the hardest of all. It consisted in working as a labourer at a foot-lathe. In this shop everything was done by manual labour. From working the foot-lathe I was promoted to carry- ing brass fittings to different customers. One day I was obliged to carry a lot of brass fittings a distance of about two miles, to the Baldwin Locomotive Works. These fittings were strung round my neck like an alderman's collar, but they 10 SEVENTY YEARS OF were naturally much heavier. On reach- ing my destination, I unloaded the fittings at the Stores Department; and looking into the shop I noticed that everything was operated by steam power, no manual labour being employed to work the machines. I went to Mr. Baldwin's office and asked him if he would give me em- ployment. He asked me my age, and, as I looked several years older than my actual age, I hesitated to tell him. Mr. Baldwin was acquainted with my father, and consulted him about my employ- ment. Father informed him that I de- clined to attend school again, and said he would be very pleased if he would give me some engineering knowledge, as he regarded that field as the most promis- ing for a young man in those days. Mr. Baldwin engaged me for the first year at two dollars a week, giving me one dollar a week advance each year, an agreement being made that I should re- main three years. He was very kind to me, and took a great interest in me throughout the entire three years of my engagement. AN ACTIVE LIFE II EARLY in 1849, I was placed in charge My Entry int of a small workshop on a line of railway £J|® J which had been opened to develop a coal Road district near Tamagua, Pennsylvania. Here I remained about a year. Subse- quently I was asked by Mr. Baldwin to take a locomotive to a new line of rail- way just opened in Ohio, then known as the Little Miami Railway. This took me away from home for the first time in my life, to what was then considered the Far West, and the spirit of adventure within me became too strong to admit of my return home. Knowing that the de- mand for mechanical engineers was much greater in the South-West than in the West, I went to Louisville, Kentucky, and there obtained employment in the repair shops for river steamers. In the interim, I had been in corre- spondence with my step-brother, who advised me to join him in Texas. There were no railroads then beyond where the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet, namely, at Cairo. Before setting out to join my brother in Texas, I returned home, in order to arrange my affairs 12 SEVENTY YEARS OF there, when I received word from my step-brother that he was coming East, and to await his arrival. This delayed my going to Texas for a whole year, during which time I devoted myself to the study of engineering, attending technical classes at night, and working again during the day at the Baldwin Locomotive Works. That year, they celebrated at these works the turning out of the fiftieth locomotive. About ten years ago, they celebrated the turning out of the twenty thousandth. In the fall of 1852 I started, in com- pany with my step-brother, for Texas. I got no farther than Cincinnati, however, receiving there an offer which I deemed too advantageous to refuse, and my step- brother proceeded on his way to Texas without me, but with my promise to fol- low him as soon as possible. After work- ing in Cincinnati for about three months, I had saved enough out of my wages to pay all my expenses and enable me to travel in comfort to Texas by steamer down the Ohio, Mississippi, and Red Rivers. AN ACTIVE LIFE 13 I engaged a passage on a steamer bound for New Orleans, and placed my baggage on board. On learning that the steamer would not leave until midnight, I went to a theatre known as Pike's Theatre, to while away the time. There were no orchestras in those days in the theatres, nor any parquet or orchestra- stalls. Between the acts the few gas lights in the theatre were lowered or ex- tinguished altogether, the object being to compel the spectators to go out into the lobby, which was usually fitted up as a gambling-saloon. This I found to be the case in almost all the southern theatres, most of them being run by professional gamblers, and not by theatrical managers as now. The pit of the theatre (where I had gone for economy) was actually a pit without seats. Here between the acts the men and boys indulged in free fights. On the night in question, in one of these scrimmages, I lost all my money and my watch. Returning to the steamer, I told the superintendent all that had happened, and he remarked that there was nothing to be done but for me to 14 SEVENTY YEARS OF work my passage down the river, or take my baggage off the steamer. I decided to work my way down. Although well developed and strong for my years, I found the work I was obliged to do, and the men with whom I was compelled to associate, more than I could bear, and I became ill. The captain, who was of a humane disposition, upon learning that I had a respectable amount of baggage aboard, questioned me how I came to be placed among the deck hands doing such work. I related to him all that had hap- pened, and told him who I was and whence I came. A doctor, who was a passenger on the boat, was requested to give me medical attention, and I was transferred to a state-room near the cap- tain. On my recovery, before we reached Memphis, he appointed me his secretary. I became so attached to him that I wished to continue the journey to New Orleans with him, but on reaching the mouth of the Red River he learned that yellow fever had broken out in New Orleans, and forbade my accompanying him fur- ther. He introduced me to the captain AN ACTIVE LIFE 15 of a steamer going up the Red River, and paid me fifty dollars for my services. I received a like amount from the captain to whom he introduced me, for similar services performed for him on the trip up the Red River. This, however, was more an act of courtesy, and because of his friendship for the captain who had introduced me, than as recompense for my services. I may mention, in passing, that both captains were the owners of their steamers, which was frequently the case in those days. We went up the river as far as Alex- andria, Louisiana. Here I purchased a pony, saddle and saddle-bags, and, with what baggage I could carry in my saddle-bags, I started up country to a place called Nacogdoches, where the widow of Judge Adolphus Sterne lived with two daughters and two sons. One of the daughters, a Mrs. Ryan, of Chi- cago, is, I believe, still living. They re- ceived me kindly, and, in response to in- quiries concerning my brother's where- abouts, they informed me where I could find him. I found him at Larissa, Che- 1 6 SEVENTY YEARS OF rokee County. Strangely enough, I happened to reach him just as he was being set upon by a well-known bully of that town. Observing a man standing in the doorway of a " grocery," I asked him if he knew where I could find my step-brother. He pointed to the in- dividual who was being maltreated by the bully already referred to, whose name was Phillips. I lost no time in picking up a weight from the platform of a scale, and with it I knocked Phillips senseless, whereupon I was advised by everybody, including my step-brother, to leave the town immediately. Knowing the dan- ger of being a "tenderfoot," I refused to leave, remaining with the bully — the terror of the town — until his return to consciousness, about two days later. During this time I nursed him, never leaving his bedside. On regaining con- sciousness, the first question he asked me was who I was, as he had never seen me before. Upon being told by the doctor that I was the person who had knocked him down, he took my hand and held it and said: "You are a good AN ACTIVE LIFE 17 one and O. K."; and we afterwards be- came good friends. His inclination to quarrel, however, was too overpowering, and, a few months afterwards, he was killed in a brawl with some desperado in front of the same " grocery." I had joined my step-brother in business, but did not find the occupation congenial. I FIRST met Judge Reagan in the year judge Reagan 1853. I saw him frequently on the bench, ofTexas which was composed of soft pine boards of which dry-goods boxes are made, and, while engaged in trying a case, he would sit, with bowie-knife in hand, whittling away at some loose board until all around his seat there would be quite a carpet of chips. So familiar were the lawyers with the judge's habit of whittling, that they could tell by the way he whittled whether the case appealed to him favourably or unfavourably. This way of trying cases was entirely strange and novel to me, and I frequently attended his court. When I speak of a court, you must bear in mind that I refer to the log cabins in which the courts were held in those i8 SEVENTY YEARS OF mond and Houston early days. They were dignified and adorned by framing half-way up the walls of the cabin, and were only furnished with rough benches. Judge Reagan years later became United States Senator for the State of Texas. The First JUDGE REAGAN having introduced me S^xsfb to Major Benjamin McCullough, I was tweenRich- asked by Major McCullough to take charge of some labourers who were en- gaged on the work of laying the first railroad between Richmond and Houston. Work had previously been begun on this railroad, but remained in abeyance for a short time, owing to the failure of the contractors. It was subsequently com- pleted in the year 1855. Sam Houston, who was then Governor of Texas, and after whom the capital of the State is named, came down to open the road, which he humorously declared was about as rough as an old corduroy, but the speed pleased him. This was the begin- ning of the entire railway system in Texas, which now amounts to twenty thousand miles or more. AN ACTIVE LIFE 19 WHILE engaged in superintending the My First labour on this road, I visited a number Invention of houses and cabins in the district, and found in every house, and in the cabins, a loom for weaving homespun cloth. This cloth was worn by both the white and the coloured population. At most they could weave but six yards a day. It occurred to me that an improvement might be made in these hand-looms by attaching a spring made of hickory- wood, which is very strong and flexible, with an attachment to open and release it on each return stroke, the shuttle thus being thrown from side to side as in power- looms. This, my first invention, proved to be fairly profitable, as I sold county rights. My device was so simple that any wheelwright could construct it. It was my first independent start in life, and brings me to the year 1857. During this time I remained in com- munication with Major McCullough, who was then Marshal of the Western Dis- trict of Texas, and who was instrumental in my becoming a Freemason that year. Mr. Pike of Arkansas, who was the 20 SEVENTY YEARS OF Grand Master, came over to the Indian Territory to instal a lodge, of which " Soap Love McKinney," a chief at that time of one of the Indian tribes (either the Chickasaw or Choctaw) was initiated in the first degree. This chief afterwards played an important part in rescuing Major McCullough, myself, and three others from captivity, which incident I shall hereafter relate. My Little DURING the period from 1853 to 1858, Friend Nellie thousands upon thousands of wild horses, known as mustangs, roamed over the vast tracts of rolling prairies in Texas, on which there was little or no timber. These horses were lassoed by the half- breeds — either Indians or Mexicans — and within a couple of hours were broken sufficiently to be ridden. It was neces- sary to ride them daily, however, or it did not take long to discover that one was riding a "broncho" of the worst kind. Naturally, they required very little attention, living on the same kind of food that sufficed while in their wild state. When once broken and ridden daily, AN ACTIVE LIFE 21 they became quite docile and gave evi- dence of much intelligence and endur- ance. While helping to superintend the lay- ing of the rails for the first railway line ever constructed in Texas, I had never less than eight or ten of these horses in an enclosure. There being no water in this enclosure, it was necessary to ride them daily to a creek about a mile and a half distant to water them. As a rule I mounted one of their number, and the rest would follow like dogs, knowing they would then find water. About half-way down to the creek there stood a cabin, in which lived a little girl eight years old. She used to await my coming daily with a cup of buttermilk. I always brought her something — candy, or ribbon, or beads, or some such trifle — and in time we became great friends. I was then just twenty years old — about twelve years her senior. For fully over a twelvemonth we met daily. Nellie was the only child of a poor farmer who had migrated to Texas from Tennessee. He owned about fifty acres 22 SEVENTY YEARS OF of land, which he cultivated himself, unaided, raising cotton, corn, and veget- ables. One day, little Nellie told me that her mother was very sick. On investigation, I found she was ill with a high fever, and told her husband, who was working in his field, that he ought to summon a doctor immediately. He wanted to finish the ploughing in which he was engaged at the time, and waited until evening before he fetched a doctor. On returning with the doctor, he found that his wife had committed suicide, by hanging herself to a beam in the cabin. The doctor told the husband that he should have sum- moned him sooner, and this so preyed upon the poor man's mind that he, too, committed suicide that night, going out into the field and blowing his brains out. The following morning, on reaching the cabin, I found little Nellie crying. She told me that her mother was dead, and that her father had hurt himself. The poor child had been without food or attention, and was quite alone until I AN ACTIVE LIFE 23 arrived, as there was nobody near them. On discovering that both of her parents were dead, I took the child to a neigh- bouring plantation, where a very charm- ing old lady, Mrs. Loftin, lived; but I could not persuade Nellie to remain with her; she insisted on coming home with me. I purchased an old negro slave named Zoe from Mrs. Loftin, as a nurse for the child, but, from the moment I arrived home until I left in the morning, Nellie could not be induced to leave my side. This state of affairs lasted for two years, when I was obliged to remove to another part of the State, and finally to go north to see my mother, who was seriously ill. In the meantime, I left Nellie in the charge of a lady by the name of Mrs. Harrington, who was the wife of a doctor in Larissa, Texas, and presented her with the negro slave Zoe, but on the strict understanding that she should never sell her, as Nellie and her nurse had by that time become very much attached to each other. I heard from Mrs. Harrington occasionally, and also from Nellie, until the Civil War broke 24 SEVENTY YEARS OF out, when, as it were, the curtain dropped, and no further communication between us was possible. This was the last I heard of them for some years, for though, after the close of the war, I made several endeavours to find them, all proved fruitless. In 1871, however, I went to Cincin- nati, Ohio, to visit my sister, who had married a retired army-doctor, practising in Cincinnati. While on this visit, I was invited to a small " at home " in Coving- ton, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River. There I met a grey-haired lady, who asked me if I were the Mr. Sterne who had been in Texas some twelve years before. I replied that I was, whereupon she asked me if I did not recollect her. I was obliged to confess that I did not. She then told me that her late husband was the doctor already referred to in this narrative, and that he had during the war become a Confeder- ate army-doctor, and was killed; and that she had, a few years later, married again. She said that Nellie lived with her as her adopted daughter, and was at AN ACTIVE LIFE 25 that moment present in the house, and that she was engaged to be married. During our conversation Nellie came into the room and recognized me. Im- mediately there was a wild scene of excitement, with many embraces. She in- sisted upon returning with me to Europe, and it took several days to persuade her that that was impossible. She married the gentleman to whom she was engaged, and became a happy mother and grandmother. Now, alas! she is no more. I received news of her death, at the age of sixty-four, last year. WHEN I was in Texas, buffaloes were so Buffaloes numerous that we had to wait sometimes from one to three days to allow a herd of them to pass, and one could ride for days in their tracks, meeting stragglers too young or too old to keep pace with the vast herd. No one then ever thought of shooting them, this not being con- sidered sport. One could buy a buffalo- robe for the cost of its preparation, and buffalo heads were of no more value than steers' heads. Not until the con- 26 SEVENTY YEARS OF struction of railways was undertaken in the South- West was their extinction thought of, and it then became a matter of necessity, as progress in railway building was impossible without it. Buffalo stampedes naturally took place on the prairies, and at such times one was obliged to take refuge either in ravines or behind rocks. This precaution, however, was frequently disregarded, and then one was apt to be trampled up- on. These stampedes usually presaged a tornado somewhere in the prairie land. These tornadoes, or " Northers " as some Texans called them, wrought havoc with log-cabins and frame-houses, which were generally built on stone or brick piers, and were easily lifted. These wind storms were usually from a half a mile to a mile wide, and everything in the storm-belt, including human beings, cattle, horses, etc., was hurled through the air and destroyed. Wild game, wild cattle, and wild horses, which abounded in plenty, were also affected by tornadoes in a manner similar to the buffaloes, and also gave forewarning of these storms. It AN ACTIVE LIFE 27 must be borne in mind that in those days there was not a rail or fence on the prairies ; while at the present time every estate or ranch or settlement is fenced off by either barbed wire, or some other mode of wire fencing. It is an interesting fact, and one well worthy of note, that we owe more in the way of advancement of civilization and cultivation of land to the invention of barbed wire than is generally supposed, and the farmer especially owes the inventor of this use- ful article a lasting debt of gratitude. IN the early days in Texas planters had Transit of no means of transporting their bales of Q°^°gt*° cotton, which generally weighed from four hundred to five hundred pounds, and were very bulky; the only means of baling them being in cloth known as " cotton lapp," bound with ropes and compressed by wooden screw-presses, the arms of which were worked by yokes of oxen. Such a thing as a hydraulic press was unknown in those days in the cotton-producing districts or elsewhere. The only means of bringing these bulky 28 SEVENTY YEARS OF bales to some port of shipment, such as Galveston on the Gulf coast, or some depot, such as Alexandria or Shreveport, on the Red River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, was by hauling them with twelve or fifteen yoke of oxen, both a difficult and an expensive method of transit. This mode of transportation occupied weeks, especially when the rains set in, making the ordinary roads a quagmire, and reducing the corduroy roads in the swamps to a state almost impassable. Frequently the cotton was dumped in these places and left there to rot, planters often losing a portion of their crop, and at times, if small planters, their entire crop. Being engaged at this time on the railway already referred to, superintend- ing the cutting of timber with which to build a railway bridge (iron bridges being then unknown in the United States), the idea occurred to me of floating the bales of cotton down the river on rafts, during the rainy season, to Galveston. Galveston was then a growing port of shipment, with steamers direct to New AN ACTIVE LIFE 29 Orleans, the latter place being the great and only southern cotton centre for Louisiana and Texas. We had a num- ber of trees already felled, with no im- mediate use for them, and I engaged some negro labourers accustomed to building log-cabins, and set them to work trim- ming these felled trees and building a raft. There were rapids in this river, which had to be negotiated, a task beset with many difficulties; but, through the instrumentality of a firm of cotton- brokers in Galveston, I had sufficient capital placed at my disposal, and a com- petent engineer assigned to remove this obstruction. This firm eventually became partners in my enterprise. The first raft was large enough to carry only thirty bales of cotton. We built a small raft, our desire being first to gain experience in floating down these streams. As night approached, we would seek out trees on the shore that were low enough, and experienced ranchmen would throw a rope like a lasso around these trees, and in this way we would 30 SEVENTY YEARS OF secure our raft. Both ends of the raft being alike, it mattered not which end went down stream first. When we had our raft securely tied, we camped on it, and led a free and happy life until daybreak; and lying down between the bales of cotton, wrapped in blankets, we slept soundly. This trip was always a three days' affair. The timber out of which the rafts were constructed was nearly as valuable as the cotton, and we could dispose of it in Galveston for building purposes. This done, with saddle-bags slung across mules, we re- turned to the upper country for a fresh cargo of cotton. We conducted this enterprise for three years, when flat-bottomed, stern-wheel steamboats of light draught competed successfully with our mode of transporta- tion, and, the business proving no longer profitable to us, we were obliged to abandon it. These steamboats brought provisions and merchandise up the river, and had a paying cargo both ways. They subsequently carried passengers, until the competition of the railroads AN ACTIVE LIFE 31 made this means of transit no longer profitable. I may here add that our stern-wheel steamers on the Red River often went up that river in places where there was not sufficient water in which an alligator could disappear, and the river then abounded in alligators. The richest cotton district in Texas comprised several counties near where the well-known cross timber existed, and, as this was principally Texas Government land, the only cost involved was to locate it, after which, by regis- tration in the County Court, and the payment of ten cents an acre, one be- came the owner of the land thus located. A LARGE portion of the money which I Land Values earned I invested in land in Texas. I in0Texa;;i" 1853 and Now bought forty thousand acres, which cost me ten cents an acre. When the titles were being made out, the parties from whom I bought the land, on discovering that I was still a minor, declined to complete the title or refund my money. I sought the advice of Judge Reagan. 32 SEVENTY YEARS OF He succeeded in obtaining a refund of about half the money I had paid for the land, and the transaction was cancelled. Fort Worth is now located on the site of my purchase, and a single desir- able town lot in Fort Worth is valued at as much as the entire forty thousand acres were valued at when I made my purchase. Mexico in TRAVELLING in Mexico at this period 1855 and 1856 was Qnjy accomplishe(i by means of stage coach or on horseback, and every one was liable to be stopped by the bands of marauders who infested the country. These bands were intrenched at regular intervals along every high-road, and, as travellers approached, they would hold them up and relieve them of their pos- sessions. One seldom carried more than ten or twenty dollars, which was con- sidered part of the cost of the journey. In those days there were no cheap watches, the least expensive costing probably fifty dollars, so no one ever carried one. On one occasion a man, travelling with his wife, resolved not to carry any- AN ACTIVE LIFE 33 thing except the tickets which were issued for meals and through passage to the City of Mexico. As was anticipated, the coach was stopped and everybody was relieved of his few dollars. On dis- covering that this man had absolutely nothing with him but his tickets and what he wore, they asked him to step into the woods close by, his wife accom- panying him. When he returned with her, he had nothing on but a skirt round his neck and another round his waist. His entire clothing had been confiscated by the brigands. These episodes were frequent, the robbers always treating their victims with the utmost politeness. There was no presentation of a pistol at one's head, and robbing in this way was a recognized industry during the presidency of St. Anna. The banditti as a rule repaired to a small mud-hut, which served the purpose of a confessional, where the priests (one or more, according to the route most frequented) would grant abso- lution to the robbers, for which service they shared in a division of the spoils. 34 SEVENTY YEARS OF In this way it was a source of revenue to the priesthood, and gave them the sinews of war against all reform. This state of affairs was actually sanctioned by the Government de facto, as every change of Government always found an empty treasury. One can readily under- stand the demoralized condition in which the Emperor Napoleon found Mexico, and why it was that country fell an easy prey to conquest. The progress of Mexico until recently, under President Diaz, is a striking example of the benefits resulting from the Monroe Doctrine, which relieved that country of the bane- ful conditions hitherto existing. The ingratitude of the Mexicans is strikingly shown in their compelling President Diaz to flee from his country in dis- guise and haste, and he is now an exile in Europe. An Adventure por some time during 1857 I was in with the. Indians the reservation country, known as Indian Territory, which was occupied by the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Blue and Creek tribes, all friendly Indians. AN ACTIVE LIFE 35 These tribes received twenty dollars per annum for each head of a family, and a small amount for each child. This was before the days of national currency, and all payments were made in gold, which was packed in boxes and conveyed to the chiefs of the different tribes by the Indian agents under escort. Leaving the Indian territory to return to Texas, I was obliged to cross several rivers by fording them, there being no bridges over the rivers in Texas at that time. All had to be forded or ferried. Wishing to reach Jefferson in Cass County, Texas, I was compelled to cross the tributary of the Red River by fording it, as there was no ferry at any point. I was driving a pair of horses attached to a buggy, and had a box on the back of the buggy which I used for my clothing. The annuities were generally carried in these boxes, and some Indians, who were lurking in the swamps, seeing the box strapped to the back of the buggy, and evidently thinking it contained gold, waylaid me. They waited until I was in mid-stream, and then fired upon me, 36 SEVENTY YEARS OF hitting me in the right arm and the right leg, inflicting only flesh-wounds for- tunately. The wounds bled profusely, however, and I became faint from loss of blood, and fell unconscious between the dash-board and seat of the buggy. My horses, uncontrolled, crossed the stream and took to the road, from force of habit, and, on being revived by the stream of water that passed through the buggy, I found them galloping at full speed along the road. They were stopped by some drunken men, who, seeing that I was bleeding freely, asked me how I came to be in such a plight, and what my business was. They said they had heard the report of the guns. Thinking to humour them, I told them I was a whisky agent. They gave me orders to send them large quantities of whisky at a ridiculously small price, which, I said, I could not carry out unless I could at once obtain medical aid. They directed me to a cabin, where I found a brother Mason, skilled enough to treat my wounds. He instituted a search for the Indians who had attacked me, but AN ACTIVE LIFE 37 it proved fruitless. He said they had no doubt attacked me in the belief that the box I carried in the back of the buggy contained gold. While recovering from my wounds, I noticed in a newspaper mention of the birth of Princess Beatrice on the same day that I was shot. Strange to say, eight years later, I happened to be on the platform at Windsor Station, Eng- land, with Mr. Higgins, the District Superintendent, just as Queen Victoria and Princess Beatrice were on their way to London. In an unguarded moment, Princess Beatrice fell between the plat- form and the railway carriage, and hung suspended by her arms. I ran to her assistance and lifted her from her perilous position, and Mr. Higgins took her from me and carried her to the Queen, who presented him with a diamond scarf-pin for rescuing the Princess. It may here be interesting to many who peruse this narration to learn the means of transport then in use among the Indians in America. Indian squaws generally ride astride 38 SEVENTY YEARS OF an Indian pony, and one or more ponies are always harnessed to a primitive but practical means of conveyance known by us as a " traveille," and universally used by the Indians in the years of the fifties. 