Comanche,
Comanche Co., Tex.
Jan. 22, 1878
Dear Louisa,
I have again stopped in this co. and gone to
teaching. My health has improved and, I am
able to
labor again, but my life is very little better than a beggar. I have no money and cannot get any just now,
but I live in hope. I am in a much more
convenient county here than McClennan Co. There
is timber, water, rock, land and health here and
plenty of land
that can be bought from 1.50 to three dollars per acre.
If you succeed in selling your land in Ky, I
would advise you to invest your money in this part of Texas somewhere. You do not need my formal consent to sell the
land. If you and the children agree to
sell it and invest the money somewhere else, that is your business not
mine. This county is not so rich as it
is farther east, but it is rich enough and large bodies of it is
covered with
rock and timber that can never be cultivated, which will always be a
range for
hogs and cattle. Three years ago this
was the frontier. Now the counties are
organized
100 miles west of this, and heavy settlements. You
may have some idea how fast this country is settling
when I tell you
that for 4 months at one toll bridge over the river Leon, there was an
average
of forty families per day and it only one of the bridges that are
within ten
mile of each other on the same stream besides the hundred other roads
by which
they are coming to the west. It looks strange to see deer and wolves in
a county
that votes 1600 votes, yet it is so here and in three years will double
that
the game is disappearing very fast and soon there will be none. There is buffalo 150 miles from here and most
every family in this neighborhood has plenty of buffalo to do them. They take a team and wagon and go to buffalo
range and kill them until they fill their wagons with meat
and then come back and dry it like
bacon. It keeps better than beef. I have been living on it for 4 weeks, and it
is real good. I am glad that you have
all determined to come to Texas,
for here you can get good homes and cheap. I
know I will not be with you long after you come, but it
will be a
satisfaction when I die to know that you have a home of your own. Now, if you can sell, let me know and I will
pick out some land for you to look at when you come.
Comanche is only 135 miles from Dallas, and there is no
railroad any closer, but there will be a railroad through this county
in a few
years. The church and school is only a
question of time. Every community gets
one up as soon as they can to induce others to stop with them. Three years ago, here where there were only
three families on 8 miles square, there are now 80 children and nearly
every
150 acres has a family on it. God
directs for our good. I know I can
select 4 quarter sections in this county all together for you and the
children
of as good land as ever was with timber, water and rock, and it will
not cost
over $3 per acre. I am very much out of
heart, but what is before me I must endure. I
know it won’t be long until my time comes, and if I can
do anything to
help you to a home before I die, I will be glad. The
winter here is mild, grass green and
growing stock lives without feed, onions and lettuce will soon be fit
to eat.
Direct your letter to Comanche, Comanche
Co., Texas.
John
R. Nigh
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