Harrison CO. TX - Jesse Grimes Letters ----¤¤¤---- Letter # 81 Old C.H. May 25, 1853 Jesse. Being more at leisure than I may soon be again I must try to study out something to write to you. After domestic & local affairs there will be nothing of interest. I have never seen more trouble and dificulty amongst the planters in gitting their crops started than there has been this spring. At the time for commencing there was three weeks of almost incesant rain. During which but little could be done and those that planted had to plant over and when the rains did cease it was a period - a full stop - for more than three weeks. The land baked and when broke was badly done. And in this dry weather the main bulk of the crop was planted. Throwed on hard unbroken earth but little better than rock and covered with clods. The result was bad and in many places no stand at all. Thus the matter stands at this time. I was just 2g- months planting mycrop. Some I planted but once,some twice & one piece four times. I have corn yet in the ground that will not get up until it rains and some as high as my head. My cotton is young and not promising. I am chopping out to a stand and after getting through if there immediately comes rain (and there is some hope) it must improve because the land is good. The condition of my own crop is as good as my neighbors. We have all faired alike. Last week was quite cool. Several mornings felt like frost. Take all things into consideration, I have not seen a spring less propitious to the planters around me than the present. I have not forgot the frost of April 49. The prospect was good at the frost and revived again by this time in May. Page 2 I shall say but little about local affairs. Our motto is progress and here we go. No person seems to doubt our becoming a great people. We are in the midst of prosperity with a fair prospect of wealth in our pine forests. The lands which untill now has been looked on as valueless is yeilding its treasures in abundance. I will hush or I may extort another smile by drawing such, to your mind, foolish pictures. Now there is reality in what I say. Things have changed there appearance and for the better too. In this I am not mistaken. We have now a sober peacable industrious neighborhood. Everybody minds his own business and leaves all others to do the same. Politics & religion has banished from amongst us and we have nothing left in there place to excite us. Bladon Springs is headquarters and your Houston & Galveston are Just no places when compared with our Bladon & Cullum Springs. If you were there a few days and notice the traffic in butter, eggs, chickens, fruit & vegetables you would swear that every woman & child and many of the darkies too would make a fortune by this kind of trade. The influence of this market is sensibly felt to Bucktany. There is a goodly number of boarders there already and they are coming in daly. Come over and spend a few months with us this summer and we will often visit the spring and see everybody. Beside the sea voyage which of course would be benificial to your health. And then the water; of, it is so fine, possessing such superior medicinal properties,surrounded with all the comforts and many of luxerles of life. Then the country is so healthy. I think you would be highly pleased and abundantly rewarded for the time and expense of a trip by getting your physical powers renewed and your health & constitution fully restored. Page 3 If you were brought here In one night and then look about over the country, you could not tell where you were and no doubt would think you were in Carolina. You can have no idea of what an extensive business is started in turpentine. From the Rankin old mill to the river is in boxes. They extend west to about the State 'line and from Oaktuppa to Bassetts creek. There is 4 large distilleries and some small ones and others starting. There is a large number of hands employed at it in the various departments. They are to feed by them; that makes corn & pork. Williams Smith has but the pines on this side of the Dunbar creek I believe he is doing better at that than anything else he ever tried. Maria Smith has one hand at it with Wm's hands doing well, I believe. Syntebogue is to be opened next fall so that barges can run up & down.I expect it will be done by the man living at the Old C.H. He intends putting up a distillery near the creek and use the creek for taking off rosin & spirits. My neighbor, Mr. Turner, has been working of a 20 barrel still, making two changes a day and finds it necessary to put up another, which he is now doing, holding 1000 gallons. He keeps two six mule teams making daily trips to the river & yet he has several thousand barrels on hand It is attend with heavy expense but he is coining money and beside he has a large & highly respectable family & one of the cleverest men the world affords. His place looks like a country villa.Some of these men engaged in turpentine are men of fortune and they make a big show amongst the small fry. The Mobile & Ohio Rail Road is progressing. The grading is going on upon nearly the whole line. A few sections of light grading is not put under contract yet but will in due time to be completed by then the heavyer grads can be. I have just seen the engineer Page 4 annual report. He says the cars will run to Winchester by April to Enterprise by August & to Louderdale Springs in September 1854 and through in 1855 or 6. Ala. polltitions have changed there notions and rail roads & go ahead is the order of things here now. Oh yes, we are going to be a great people and that soon too, and no mistake. I hope I may live to see it, I have seen an account of your folks taking a trip of pleasure on there railroad latly. Pity you hav'nt got on from Montgomery to Houston & thence to Galveston. I also noticed that the wind has been blowing some about Galveston to the no small terror of some of the citizens. Do'nt you think it will serve them worse than that some of these days. Among the old citizens but little has transpired since my last. Green B. Chaney died about the 21 of April. Left a large family of children & a large estate for them to quarrel over. The marriages are unimportant in this neighborhood. Myself & White family are in pretty good health. Four of my grown negroes have been detained from the field all the spring untill week before last, two returned, another is in a fair way to return in about a month and the other (a man) can never return. He has dropsy of the chest and must die shortly. I heard from James four weeks ago. They were well & doing. Being tired, I must quit. Wm. Grimes. P. S. Done with metalic pen & d--d bad ink. Note:- Judging from the fold of the writing paper, this letter was inclosed in an envelope and not addressed on the last sheet as the previous ones were. There was no envelope with the letter however. __________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Christine Grimes Thacker ___________________________________________________________________