Texas tidbits

[Alboy]

Traces of Texas


The Texas quote of the day for July 24th:

"Just as I entered [San Antonio, June 18], the camels with their Arab attendants were coming in, causing a general excitement among the population, and a general stampede among all the horses within sight of the strange procession. It is not every town in the new world that can boast of having witnessed such a scene, and my own mind was carried away to Cairo and other cities of the East, where a caravan of some forty camels is nothing to stare at. The last I saw of the animals they were browsing among the mesquite trees near the San Pedro Springs, looking patient, contented, and apparently well reconciled to their new home."

----- George Wilkins Kendall, on the U.S. Army's experiment with camels in Texas, in a letter to the New Orleans Picayune, July 6, 1856

[RatherBHuntin]

I remember hearing about these in Fredericksburg, seems there was a tidbit about their hooves leaving divets in the soft sandstone around there...

[Alboy]

1928
 
A little before my time.
 
On the left the second dorm back where you can see under the entry stairs is, I believe, Milner Hall, I spent my fish year in the basement.
 
The building in front no longer stands.
 
Across the street from Milner was a bookstore when I went from '68-'72

[Alboy]

 
Traces of Texas reader Ellis Pickett sent in this wonderful photo of dancers at the Liberty Hall in Houston, 1973. They were dancing at the intermission of a David Bromberg concert. Photo taken in the upstairs "dance studio." L-R: Linda, Brooke, Debbie, Mary Deen, Susan, Linda.

Thanks you, Ellis! It's so random. I love it!

[Alboy]

Traces of Texas
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Soldiers guarding the customs house in El Paso, 1916.

[Alboy]

The Texas quote of the day for July 27th:

"Once the Kiowas were seated, Tatum [the Indian agent] inquired whether they knew anything about the destruction of a wagon train near Fort Richardson. After a silence the man who rose to reply was Satanta (White Bear), who of all the Kiowa leaders was best known to the whites. Satanta looked straight at Tatum and thumped his chest.

'I have heard that you have stolen a large portion of our annuity goods and given them to the Texans; I have repeatedly asked you for arms & ammunition, which you have not furnished, and made many other requests which have not been granted, You do not listen to my talk. The white people are preparing to build a railroad through our country, which will not be permitted. Some years ago we were taken by the hand & pulled here close to Texans where we have to fight. But we have cut that loos now and are all going with the Cheyennes to the Antelope Hills.
...
When Gen Custer was here two or three years ago, he arrested me & kept me in confinement several days. But arresting Indians is plaid out now & is never to be repeated. On account of these grievances, I took, a short time ago, about 100 of my warriors, with the Chiefs Satank, Eagle Heart, Big Tree, Big Bow, & Fast Bear, & went to Texas, where we captured a train not far from Ft Richardson, killed 7 of the men, & drove off about 41 mules. Three of my men were killed, but we are willing to call it even. If any other Indian come here & claims the honor of leading the party he will be lying to you, for I did it myself.'

--------- "Satanta and Big Tree," unpublished manuscript, Oklahoma Historical Society

[j0e_bl0ggs (deceased)]

What is a 'tidbit'?

[Alboy]

TIDBIT -
1. choice bit, as of food

[j0e_bl0ggs (deceased)]

Ahhh just miss-spelled!

[gitano]

It's only "titbit" for Englishmen.

Santanta thought he was being honorable and brave, and in contrast to the likes of Wiener and Spitzer, he most certainly was.

New Yorkers have moved back "in front" of Californians for being abjectly politically STUPID. Both Wiener and Spitzer were "front-runners" for Mayor and Comptroller, respectively, until Wiener's latest insanities were revealed. I WISH it were inconceivable that disgraced men like these could actually BE LEADING in a political race for one of the largest cities and most politically important states in the country. Just another illustration of how depraved, decadent, and politically STUPID the American populace as a whole, has become.

Paul

[Alboy]

Traces of Texas


In 1837, Mirabeau B. Lamar traveled from Houston to a remote trading post named "Waterloo" to go on a buffalo hunt. Waterloo was located where Shoal Creek meets the Colorado River in what is now downtown Austin. They arrived one afternoon, woke up the next morning, looked out their windows, and saw the prairie covered in buffalo. Lamar shot and killed one of the biggest bull buffaloes that any of them had ever seen at what is now the corner of Congress avenue and 7th street.

[Alboy]

Traces of Texas
 
 
The Texas quote of the day for August 31st comes from 1846:
 
"The settlers who have recently opened farms near the source of the San Gabriel and Brushy creek find the country well stocked with a singular breed of wild cattle...
 
They differ in form, color and habits from all the varieties of domestic cattle in Texas. They are invariably of a dark brown color, with a slight tinge of dusky yellow on the tip of the nose and on the belly. Their horns are remarkably large and stand out straight from the head. Although these cattle are generally much larger than the domestic cattle, they are more fleet and nimble and when pursued often outstrip horses that easily outrun the buffalo. Unlike the buffalo, they seldom venture far out into the prairies, but are generally found in or near the forests that skirt the streams in that section. Their meat is of an excellent flavor and is preferred by the settlers to the meat of the domestic cattle. It is said that their fat is so hard and compact that it will not melt in the hottest days of summer, and candles formed with it are far superior to those that are formed with the tallow of other cattle."
 
------ Littell's Living Age, January/March 1846
 

[Alboy]

Traces of Texas


The Texas quote of the day for September 22nd finds a Mexican vaquero (cowboy) describing how to get to Big Bend from Fort Davis:

"You go south from Fort Davis
Until you come to the place
Where rainbows wait for rain....
And the river is kept in a stone box
And water runs uphill.
And the mountains float in the air.
Except at night, when they run away to play
With other mountains."

---- as told to Frank Tolbert, legendary Dallas newspaperman

[Alboy]

Traces of Texas


The Texas quote of the day:

"A dance hall is where you dance with your wife. A honkytonk is where you dance with somebody else's."

----- seen on a bumper sticker in Flatonia

[Alboy]

Traces of Texas


The Texas quote of the day:

"I was not completely without guile. West of Dallas, near Fort Worth, lies a small range known as "Chalk Hill." A major criterion of automotive excellence was the ability of a car to take Chalk Hill in high gear. Prospects naturally demanded that the demonstrations include this hill-climbing contest. We always made it but, one day, with a particularly heavy prospect aboard, I feared we wouldn't

In an effort to give the buggy every chance, I made a running start and we approached Chalk Hill at 30 miles per hour. The little buggy bounced and skidded on the gravel road like a skittish colt learning to gallop. We started up the grade, with my potential customer and me both leaning forward and pushing with body English....

Halfway up it became all too clear to me that we were not going to make it in high gear. Quickly I slammed on the brakes, and we came to a dead stop.

The customer turned to me, but before he could say a word I beamed at him with a proud smile. "How do you like those brakes?" I asked. "See how they hold us tight, righ here on Chalk Hill?"

He smiled back. "By God, they DO hold us, don't they? Holy gee, that's great."

He bought the car that afternoon for cash."

------- Future World War I fighter ace Eddie Rickenbacker, selling Firestone-Columbus automobiles in Dallas, 1909, in his 1967 autobiography "Rickenbacker."

[Alboy]

Traces of Texas


 The Texas quote of the day:

"It was like clockwork; every time I raised my Colt carbine, they stuck an arrow in me."

----- Texas Ranger Jean Carr after being wounded four times in a battle with the Comanches, 1851