Mouth of the Brasos river December 12 1825
Dr Sister,
Mr. Mothershead from Missouri starts tomorrow and has promised
to deliver this to you as he goes through Mine á Burton. I have nothing very material to write—having some surveying to attend to in
this quarter I accompanied the surveyor and have just returned from
a fishing and oystering trip, and think my health (which has not been
very good) is improved—we procured a great abundance of fish, oysters and wild fowl and have had very fine weather
Brother and John Austin have commenced building a Gin a little
below the head of tide water on this river, about 40 miles by water
from this place—he has commenced in the woods and intends to be
a first rate farmer we neither of us own any negros and have to
depend on hireing
The Colony progresses very well, tho not very rapidly, I am very
well satisfied that you have not removed here, the Country is very
new yet, and I think Mr Perry can do better where he is for the present than he could do here—-we have but little commerce as yet—tho
must have a great deal in a few years—
The reports in the news papers relative to overflow, Sickness, etc,
etc, etc, in this Colony are all false—we have very abundant crops—
I have just heard of Wm Perrys murder—if his murderer comes
within my reach he shall be secured and lodged in Nachitoches jail —
I am told that his name is Hill, is it the same Hill that worked for
Bryan and married one of the Doggits? Send me a particular description of him and the news paper that offers the reward and if he
comes here I may be able to get some one to take him back to Potosi—
I am daily expecting something from you and Mr. Perry relative
to the Mine a Burton Estate—you must do the best you can, it will
be many years before I can see Missouri, or brother either
I am getting tired of Colonization affairs and hope before long to
close my business and settle on a farm—
Remember me to your Husband and assure him that nothing
would give me more real pleasure than to see him in this Country as
soon as his business will permit, he will find us in the woods-—and
poor The enterprise I undertook is better calculated to enrich those
who come after me than to benefit myself—I have the labor to perform and the seed to sow, but my successors will reap the harvest—
Give my respects to Saml Perry and to John and his wife and my
other acquaintances—
Your brother
S. F. Austin
N. B. I am very much fatigued and have a headache which must
be my excuse for such a scrall as I now send you—
What are the Jones doing? where is Mrs. Henry Elliott?— What
has become of James Austins children?— What is G. Hammond
doing? I received a letter from Arch. Austin in New York. Henry
had gone to Mexico—are Horaces children doing well ? where is his
wife? etc etc
This river mouths into the wild ocean without any bay, and the
breakers are roaring within Eighty yards of me—there is a good
two story frame house and some cabins here and there is at this time
8 feet water over the bar Salt water is produced here by digging 10
feet so strong that 5 gallons of it will make one of salt, and by digging 4 feet good fresh water is found in abundance,—Mosquitoes are
troublesome at this time— I have discovered in my fishing trip that
the west end of Galveston bay comes within four miles of this place,
and within 200 yards of a deep tide water creek that empties into the
Brasos, so that 200 yards digging will open an inland water communication with the Harbor of Galveston where ships of 400 tons
can enter with safety—I shall spend some time on the coast—it is 75
miles from here to where I live at present tho I intend to remove
about 25 miles by water above here, 10 by land—