Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Good afternoon. This is Emma and today is Thursday, so
it is time for another installment in the Life of
Mary Mavericks. So this is actually chapter thirteen, and it's
entitled Life on the Peninsula. So you remember at the
end of the last when they were in the they
were on the other side of the Colorado River from
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Lagrange and apparently they didn't think the climate there was
very healthy. So they're gonna move to the coast, which
is actually kind of humorous when you think about the
that the mosquitoes on the coast could probably be, you know,
used to plow a garden or something, because they're that big. Anyway,
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So we're gonna see how Mary Maverick likes Mattagorda Bay.
So let's see what happens life on the Peninsula. The
pass or waterway, which connects Mattagorda Bay with Gulf of Mexico,
is bound on the south by Mattagorda Island, the northern
extremity of which is named Siluria Siluria, and on the
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north by Ducroze Point, which is the southwestern extremity of
the peninsula. The pass is called Passo Caballo and it
is about three miles from Ducroz Point to Siluria. The
peninsula extends northeastwardly from Ducroz Point, a distance of about
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fifty miles to the mainland. And I will say I've
never been to Matagorda Bay, so I might have to
go visit sometime and just look around and see what
it looks like. The peninsula extends northeastwardly from Ducroz Point,
a distance of about fifty miles to the mainland. Where
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the peninsula joins the mainland, Caney Creek formerly emptied into
the Gulf of Mexico, but the creek has been diverted
by means of a canal and now empties its candy
waters into the northern arm of Mattagorda Bay. The peninsula
is a dreary, sandy flat, having an average width of
about two miles, and at the middle of this elongated
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strip of land is Tiltona, which was our farm. We
lived at Ducroz Point from December seventh, eighteen forty four,
until October fifteenth, eighteen forty seven, when we returned to
San Antonio. On November fifteenth, eighteen forty four, we deserted
our temporary home on the Colorado and set out for
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Ducroz Ducroze Point. We had a carriage and two hired wagons,
some saddle horses and seven cows. I was an invalid
during the whole trip and traveled lying down in the carriage.
A wide board was laid from the front to the
back seat of the large, roomy carriage. Now I've seen carriages.
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There's a kind of like a farm museum outside of
called the Jordan Bachmann Farm, and they actually have a
carriage museum. None of them look big, but you know,
in her world it probably was. A wideboard was laid
from the front to the back seat of the large,
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roomy carriage, and quilts and pillows were stowed where they
would give me the most comfort. The driver's seat was
on the outside. My dear little girls were generally with me,
and sometimes Lizzie, but she usually preferred to ride on
horseback with mister Maverick. Sam and Lewis rode in a wagon.
We spent the first night in Lagrange with at Missus
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Angus McNeil's, a third or fourth cousin of mine. The
sixteenth got started in the afternoon and traveled only a
few miles. Encamped it rained and stormed all that night
and the next morning we started off in a northern
the seventeenth, five miles to Rutersville. Missus Butler took us
in and she and Missus Rob were very kind. We
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established ourselves in a vacant house and waited for the
weather to moderate. November the twenty first, twelve miles to Breedings,
November twenty second, eight miles to Umburg's twenty third, eighteen
miles to Alley's twenty fourth, sixteen miles to Major Montgomery's
twenty fifth, eighteen miles to Crawford's, and in parentcs she
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has Spanish Springs twenty six, sixteen miles to Casey's twenty seventh,
six miles to Dawson's, and then she has in parentheses wiggletail,
mud pond and awfully dirty water twenty eighth, six miles
to Captain John Duncan's, took dinner, and six miles to
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Missus Hardiman's where we spent the night, twenty ninth, six
miles to Rendrick's kindest people of all took dinner here
and eight miles to Shepherd, which was two miles into
the swamps. And there's a lot of swamps on the coast,
So I'm just saying thirtieth awful roads swamps continuously crossed
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three sloughs, and three A slough is kind of like
a swamp in a with a creek in it, maybe
in the last one of which Granville's wagon stalled and
one ox fell. He beat the fat. He beat the
ox awfully, and then they prized him out and double
teams and got through. Made eight miles today and camped.
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In the night it rained, and a northern blew up.
Now a northerre's what we call in Texas. A really
cold front coming in from the northwest is where they
usually come. I lost my place again in the night
it rained and a northern blew up, and we all
got cold and wet. December first Sunday, five miles to
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the New Canal, crossed it with great difficulty, and camped.
Second half a mile to a vacant house where we camped.
Third one mile came to Gulf of Mexico, magnificent calm,
gently heaving water. And fourteen miles onto the beautiful smooth
hard Beach, where we saw many bright shells. Fourth six
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miles to Missus Loves, where we took dinner and five
miles to sergeants and camped missus. Sergeant gave us fresh
buttermilk and butter and some coffee. Fifth seven miles in
an awful north wind and rain, but we all lived
through it and camped in a shandy sixth eighteen miles,
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and we camped on the beach. It was cold and
the smoke of the camp fire intolerable. I lost all
admiration for the quote deep and dark blue ocean, and
was most miserable and sick. On December the seventh, we
travel seven miles to ducros Point, still in a brisk norther,
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but delighted. Whoops, I lost my place? Where did I go? Mm?
That wasn't good? Okay, hang on, I touched something in
my page, went away? Okay, she had lost her uh
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deep in dark blue ocean? Here I am okay. On
December the seventh, we traveled seven miles to Ducroze Point,
still in a brisk northern but delighted to arrive at
our journey's end and have rest once more. We moved
into a house occupied by Judge and General Somerville, the
arrangement being that we should keep house and furnish them board,
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and they to retain a portion of the house. General
Somerville was the revenue officer for the Port Collector of Revenue.
The house was very close to the bay, and every
evening Mister Maverick took me down to bathe in the saltwater.
December twelfth, although I will say in December, I think
even the Gulf of Mexico might be a little chilly.
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December twelfth had the pleasure of an introduction to His
Highness Charles Solm Solm, son of the Grand Duke of Bronzevill's,
and who was on his way to the colony of
New Bronzevills, of which he was the founder. The Prince
and sweet, I mean like his entourage, I guess, spent
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a day and a night with us in the Summervills.
Next evening he came near to land in his vessel
and serenaded us. General Somerville was a noted laugher. He
saw the Prince's two attendants dress his Highness, that is,
lifting into his pants, and General Summerville was so overcome
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by the side that he broke out in one of
his famous fits of laughter, and was heard all over
the point the Prince and sweet were all very courteous
and polite to us. They wore cock feathers in their
hats and did not appear quite fitted to frontier life.
There are other stories about this prince guy, about how
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he wasn't exactly completely truthful with the German people that
he brought over to colonize what is now the Hill country,
as he said, around New Bronswell's and Fredericksburg in that area.
But that's a whole nother story. So I'm chasing a
rabbit hair, Okay. Eighteen forty five we had a block
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of ground fenced in, and early in eighteen forty five
we planted a garden. It was wonderful how everything grew,
was using a good growing zone down there on the coast.
It was wonderful how everything grew, and what fine vegetables
we had, and what delicious watermelons, flowers, grapevines and orange
trees flourished luxuriantly. In March, Agatha's clothes caught on fire,
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but Jack threw a bucket of water on her and
put the fire out before she was badly burned. She
was quite sore for several weeks afterwards. I think Agatha
is also the one that the that the horse kicked
her in the head. So you know, life was tough
on the frontier for little little ones or littles as
we call them now. But that business about their their clothes,
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kitchen on fire. A many a woman died in this
earlier century because they were cooking over a fire and
that long dress caught on fire. June eleventh, mister Maverick
visited San Antonio. Well that's a shock, and was one.
Several weeks on his way, he took a sailboat at Lavaca,
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and before they had gotten out of sight of Levoca
as a sudden squall capsized the boat and he with
several other passengers came very near to being drowned, but
being still near enough to Levoca to be seen with
the spyglass, they were observed and a small boat put
out immediately and rescued them just before dark. I am
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told by mister Dawson, now in mister Grinnet's store in
San Antonio, that he was one of the rescuing party.
During this month, Mary McNeil came to see us. She
and her uncle Henry McNeil were on their way to
her mother's old home in Mississippi, where Mary was to
attend school. One afternoon, the McNeil's, with General Somerville, Lizzie
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and mister Maverick and myself and Sam and Lewis were
went sailing on the bay, as we frequently did, for
pleasure or to fish, or to gather gulls eggs on
the islets. The day was beautiful and we sailed seven
or eight miles when we noticed a fog gathering, and
since we had not a pilot as we usually had aboard,
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we hastened to tack about and return with General Somerville,
a pretty good sailor at the hem. But the fog
came in so rapidly and grew so dense that we
could not see ten yards beyond the boat, and were
soon satisfied we were lost. We tacked, and we tacked,
and we tagged again, but to no avail. We couldn't
find our way out, and we were right glad when
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about ten o'clock that night we ran well aground. We
remained there safely until daylight. We ladies were much alarmed,
besides being damp, cold and hungry, and we had at
least at last crowded into a diminutive and I can
imagine how small that must have been if she called
it diminuative cabin to aboard a drizzling rain, which now
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set in. Sam and Lewis were gotten to sleep quite early.
The gentleman hauled in the sails and made bedcovers with them,
and went to sleep. Lizzie and Mary also slept, But
I lay awake all night, listening to the wash of
the waves and the roar of the breakers at the pass,
and I hailed with delight the dawn of the day.
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Mister excuse me, General Somerville declared, we were twelve miles
from home on the mainland, on the west side of
the bay. The gentleman got out into the water, pushed
the boat off, and it was still early morning when
we hove to and greeted the anxious faces of our friends.
Some of the people at the point feared we were drowned.
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Others blue fog horns and built big fires on the
coast and kept them burning all night, But we had
neither heard nor seen anything. We were all thankful to
get safely back and put on dry clothing, and we
attacked the warm breakfast with great Gusto. I was delighted
to see Agatha and Augusta, and I was told the
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poor little things had cried themselves to sleep the night before.
No one suffered any harm from the exposure, and our
experience of the night game gave us many hearty laughs.
Hereafter July eighteen forty five, Thank god, we are now
annexed to the United States and can hope for home
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and quiet. Mister Smith, American consul in Siluria, was drowned
in a by you which he was attempting to cross,
and his poor wife, an amiable, nice lady, left desolate
and alone. We went over to see her, and Lizzie
and Cora vandever spent some time with her. On August thirteenth,
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our family took quite an excursion up the bay, went
up to Levoca Bay, and landed opposite Levaca at trey
Polacius Cox's Point. I didn't know that, because I know
where Polasius is, but I didn't know it was Trespelachius,
and that's better known as Cox's Point, where mister Maverick
had long since purchased an interest in the land. I'm
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not sure mister Maverick han purchased an interest in lots
of land, as he is seemed to have owned half
of Texas at this point. As I have mentioned in
chapter three, this we found a beautiful site. Twenty Matta
Matigordians were here for the bathing, and we spent a
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few days at Campden Grimes. Doctor Farquhar had a nice
residence there and a garden of pretty flowers and rare
plants and fruits. We rented a house opposite the levees
and in the same block with the family of mister Forrester,
who had been a pirotated prisoner with mister Maverick. At
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that time Mattagorda had probably the most cultivated society in
the state. Matagorda then had good schools, several churches, and
many well to do people who had plantations on the
Cane and Colorado, where the summers were quite unhealthful, and
I believe that had their summer rev residences here. Reverend
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Caleb Ives was the episcopal minister. His wife when she
was Miss Kennock. Kennear had been my teacher in Tuscaloosa.
It's a small world. I say. They had charge of
the Academy for young ladies in Matagorda. On Sunday, September
the seventh, eighteen forty five, at seven pm, our fifth child,
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George Madison, was born August first. Miss Annie, daughter of
Rhodes Fisher, was married to mister J. W. Dallum. Mister
Maverick and Lizzie went to the wedding and several parties
given to the married couple by friends in Matagorda. October
the twenty fifth we all returned by schooner by the
Schooner Mary to Decro's Point and had a house to ourselves.
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October twenty eighth, mister Maverick and Lizzie left by schooner
the Schooner Mary. They still she's got it in print.
I'm cutting quotes for New Orleans to Tuscalalusa for the winter,
and mister Maverick on business, of course, because mister Maverick
doesn't stay home long. But I've already expressed my opinion
on that subject. The nineteenth of January we had a tempest.
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January twenty eighth, mister Lucius W. Peck came out on
mister Maverick's advice to teach school. He came to our house,
sent hither by mister Maverick, whom mister Peck had left
quite well in New Orleans. March seventeenth, mister Maverick returned
after an absence of nearly five months. He took Lizzie
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to Tuscaloosa and remained there several weeks on business. Thence
he went to Pendleton, where he visited father Maverick, and
he found it cruel to leave him in his precarious health.
He remained with his father two weeks and received his
quote his last sad embrace and blessing. And that's kind
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of an important part, is that when people left their family,
a lot of times knew they wouldn't see him again.
From Pendleton, he went to Charleston, where he was detained
by vexatious business one month that would be interesting to
know more about. At Charleston he bought four servants, Francis
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and her boy, Simon, Naoma, a seamstress, and William, a carpenter.
He wanted the carpenter because he had bought one third
interest into Crow's Point and intended to erect we have
some more houses. This purchase of Negroes in Charleston soon
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proved to be a perfectly worthless investment. When mister Maverick
reached New Orleans, he chartered a schooner, which he loaded
with lumber for the improvements he intended make at the point,
and on February the fourth he found it necessary to
go to Mobile to complete his purchases. On March ninth,
he left Mobile for Decrow's Point on the charter schooner
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Captain Small on one board. On board he had the
negroes and the lumber and some goods and provisions. They
had a stormy passage and a narrow escape from going
down during a gale. They entered Mattagorda Bay March seventeenth,
happy to be with us again and gladly welcomed. Lewis
cut a big l in one of the new chairs
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with his new knife. First thing. Mister Peck taught Sam
and Lewis regularly at this time. Doctor Gray Jones Houston
and his brother Ross visited Texas during the winter of
eighteen forty five to eighteen forty six. They came to
see us in March eighteen forty six and spent a
few days with us. Mister Maverick was in New Orleans
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at the time. It was about the fifteenth when the
north wind blew about almost a gale, and the bay
rose very high, and the water of the bay seemed
higher than the land as it was driven southward through
the pass. The Houstons had decided to removed with their family,
families and worldly goods from Alabama to Texas, but doctor
Houston said he would not settle on the peninsula at
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any rate, for he considered life quite unsafe here. Well,
there are hurricanes. There's that March eighteenth, the petrol which
it's pe t r e l wrecked with two hundred
German immigrants aboard, all lives saved by Captain Simptorn of
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the revenue cutter Alert. Missus Neil of San Antonio was
a board. About this time I learned of the marriage
of my brother William to l a goodman in Freestone County,
at Troy on the Trinity River. There he was established
as a merchant. My brother, George m. Adams died April
twenty sixth, eighteen forty six, in Aberdeen, Mississippi, of congestive chills.
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He was twenty eight years of age. He was an affectionate,
good brother and arageous man. In June and July we
were gladdened by the news of the two brilliant victories
gained by General Taylor at pala Alto and Resaka del
de la Pama. In June, Louis, Agatha and Augusta had
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the hooping cough. In September, every one of the children
had the measles. Louis was quite sick and George had
sore ears. Afterwards, Augusta was packed in a wet sheet
to compel the measles to the surface. During September, the
smallpox being prevalent, the children were all vaccinated and all
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took well. In October, Missus Maggie Pearson Nayed short Ridge,
meaning that was her maiden name, spent some time at
the Past for her little girl's health. They were living
at that time in Victoria. She boarded at Missus Van
Devers across the street from us. We were great friends
and spent many hours together parties from the country. We
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often came to the past to fish and bathe and
get away from the mosquitoes, for we had none and
were always cool. Well, that's good to know. So I
guess they had a good breeze and that kept the
mosquitoes away. I guess it's more inland, and the problem
is it's really flat down there, and which means it's
pretty swampy, and that would be where the mosquitoes are,
so apparently on the actual coast itself, you don't have
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to worry about the mosquitoes. That's good to know. November eleventh,
mister Maverick visited San Antonio, of course he did. He
wrote of Charlie Bradley's death of measles, and he stated
that there was much sickness in town, probably aggravated by
the fevers and dysenteries of the soldiers in the camp
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and by the continued ill health of the German immigrants,
and that many deaths had occurred. In December, mister Maverick
bought the Nixon House and two lots eighteen forty seven.
January third, eighteen forty seven, mister Maverick return from San Antonio.
I had heard many rumors of Indians on the road
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and had suffered much uneasiness. February eighteenth, Lizzie and Andrew
arrived from Tuscaloosa. Lizzie had grown much improved and was
fine looking and fashionable, bee dressed. Andrew had his diploma
with him and was now a regular md The next day,
after his rival Andrew started for his old place. On
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the San Marcos purchase of tiltona March sixteenth, mister Maverick
went to Tilton's place, twenty five miles up the peninsula
and bought it and four hundred head of cattle at
three dollars per head. Don't we wish that was the
cost of a head of cattle? Now? Now we wish
that was the cost of the meat, not the cattle.
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The cattle don't cost near as the cattle are high,
but they don't cost as much as the beef. At
this point the place had an oyster byu belonging to it,
pens for cattle, and there was a field cultivation and
some fine fig trees on the ground. March nineteenth, Friday,
in the afternoon, mister Maverick was going up the stairway
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in the new house he was building for our residence,
when he tripped on a loose step and fell twelve
feet on the ground, striking on his shoulder. He was
picked up insensible and brought in. His shoulder sprayed terribly
and his neck twisted. When revived, he suffered agony for hours.
We gave him twenty drops of laudanum and bathed the
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breast and shoulder with hot brandy and laudanum. We then
also rubbed the bruised shoulder with mustard and placed hot
bricks at his feet. He could not move, but felt
some relief during the night and slept little. After that.
He had fever and we used wet bandages. On the
twenty first, he could not move his head and shoulder
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and became oh. On the twenty first he could move
his head and his shoulder and became cheerful, and his
appetite returned. He was fed from a spoon and he
gradually gained strength. We had to rub the bruised place
often and much, which seemed to soothe the pain. Not
until April seventh was he able to get up and walk.
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March twenty fifth, mister McPhee was upset in a small
boat on the bay and his body was picked up
at Indian Point. April first, bright and warm planted many
garden seeds. April second, Jinny and Jack and Jane, Harriet
and Laura went to Tiltona to take charge of the place.
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Wiley and Rachel and Rachel's child had some time previously
been conveyed to mister Ducrow in part payment for one
third interest in the town site of Ducrow's Point. In
April we moved into our new frame house of eight
rooms and three stories. Well, that should have been a
far cry from the cabins they lived in up until now.
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The house was very substantially built and was calculated to
resist a considerable storm. Well, that's a good thing because
you're on the coast. It was very roomy and commanded
a fine view of both the bay and the gulf.
We had been living for three months previously in the
kitchen and outhouses of this building, so we all enjoyed
greatly the new, clean, cool, roomy house. We lived well
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on the coast and had any quantity of fish always fine,
had fruits fresh from New Orleans, and splendid gardens, and
the best watermelons in the world, and never suffered from
the heat. And still we were aware great storms might
come in destructive cyclones at equinoxial times, and we often
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talked of going back to San Antonio. April thirteenth, we
heard General Scott was marching from Vera Cruz towards the
city of Mexico. April twelfth, mister Maverick went to Matagorda
to try the galvanic battery on his still suffering show,
and returned the sixteenth much benefited. Now that's an interest.
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I may have to look that up and see what
that means, because it sounds like it's a like some
kind of maybe electrical thing. Well, in the eighteen forties,
I've been kind of interesting to have some kind of
electrical treatment for his shoulder. But it seems to have helped,
so that's good. April twenty second, mister Maverick left for
San Antonio to be gone three weeks. He wrote me
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that Colonel Hayes was married on April to twenty fourth
at sagin to Miss Susan Calvert, and that on May first,
a large party of San Antonians met them on the
Salado and gave them a grand ovation. Mister okay, now
this is a French word, so we're gonna do our
both our best. Gilboa. Yeah, that's what I'm gonna go with.
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Gave a party in reception for Colonel Hayes and bride.
Mister Maverick mentioned that six or seven hundred soldiers were
mustering at San Antonio to be formed into a regiment
and to march to Mexico under Colonel Hayes, and stated
also that there was a great increase in the American
population of the town. April twenty fifth, we all took
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a trip to tiltona Cora van Deaver and mister Peck
accompanying us. The girls were on horseback and I with
the children in the cart, with mister Peck driving. We
spent a delightful week drinking fresh milk, fishing, bathing in
the breakers, riding and having a general good time. We
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returned May first and took home with us chickens and turkeys,
butter and eggs, fresh beef, and other farm products. May first,
fourteen lots were sold for eight hundred dollars in Cahoun.
Across from the past. May second, twelve hundred dollars worth
of lots were sold here in Passo Cavallo, and it
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seemed they were to be improved. July third, Missus Van
Dever and I with the girls and escorted by by
major stores and Captain Cummings, went to Levaca to attend
the Grand fourth of July ball. Mister Maverick remained at
home with the children at Levaca. The girls had numerous
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bows and a fine time, so I guess we're looking
at boyfriends. At this point we returned by the way
of Dutchtown now Indianola, a thriving place and at that
time threatening to deprive Levaca of her large trade. At Levaca,
we stopped at Missus E. Burrell's and at Dutchtown with
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the family of Reverend mister Blair. July fifteenth, we took
a boat and visited our farm, Tiltona. Returning on the
twenty sixth, Robert J. Clow and John Mann courted Lizzie,
which had who had much attention. They both got no
for their answer, but Bob said he believed she meant
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yes for him. Well, I think if she said no,
she meant no. But anyway, that's a whole nother story. September,
Cora van Deaver was married to Billy Nichols, a pilot
and a good man. I'm gonna say, like a pilot
of a boat. Okay. So that finish chap Chapter thirteen,
and we will start again next week on Channel I'm
on Channel on chapter fourteen, okay, at which will be
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page one eighty six. So we're getting there. On Mary
Maverick's diaries. So we've done that because I can't read
and drove at the same time. I all now Starthcarr
and we'll talk about Mary's life on the peninsula. Well,
the first thing that comes to mind is when she's
and this was towards the end, she was talking about Indianola,
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and Indianola was a very prosperous town on the coast,
but in the eighteen hundreds, and I don't remember exactly when,
but I'm gonna say, excuse me, I don't think it's
much later than this. I'll look it up at see,
Inianola gets hit by a major hurricane and it is
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wiped out completely, and then they rebuild, and several years
later it gets wiped out by a hurricane again. So
at that point in time, they decided not to rebuild
in Ionola and it basically went by the wayside. Now
I don't know if there's anything left of in Dianola,
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because I've been to the coast, I've been to Victoria,
I've been to Corpus Chrissy, but I haven't been to
some of the places that Mary's talking about in her books.
So sometime when I'm down in that direction, I may
have to go visit some of these places so I
can see what she's I can actually see with my
eyes what it looks like now compared to what she's
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describing in her memoir. She's got a lot of dates. Obviously,
it's kind of like a diary, so it's, you know,
one of them one day was what planted many seeds.
But you can see everywhere they go they do. I
think this is probably the thing I get the most
out of this is that everywhere they settle, they try
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to improve where they are, And that kind of goes
back to that episode I did the other day about
revisiting mindset, because what kind of circumstances we're in, we
don't always have control over those, but how we deal
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with those circumstances, how we approach them, and what we
do with them are entirely up to us. So, I mean,
it appears, the best I can tell, she loves mister Maverick,
which is a good thing because he would drive me
to distraction. And maybe that's why I'm not married, because
I'm like, hello, if why is it that every time
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you get us settled somewhere, you gotta go off. He's
gone to San Antonio, He's gone to New Orleans. He's
gone to South Carolina. I mean, you know, it's like,
where is mister Maverick now, because I have never seen
anybody travel as much as he does when travel was
as bad as it was back then. But oh my stars. Anyway,
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but you can see that as they as they moved,
like you know, they were in a cabin, they made
the cabin look better. Then they kept house for the
colonel and the whoever that was, judge, I think, and
so you know, they improved that. So everywhere she goes,
she sets about to improve the situation we're in. There's
(33:45):
a lot to be said for that. Because our circumstances
are our circumstances. We don't have any control over what
happens in our circumstances. But what we do have is
control over how we react to our circumstances and what
we do with them. Okay, We've got a lot of
(34:05):
medical stuff going on in this particular episode, and it
makes you really appreciate the medical knowledge that we have
at this point because I'm thinking, Okay, so if if,
if what happened to mister Maverick, if he fell twelve
(34:26):
feet on his shoulder, and you know, he was knocked unconscious.
What would happen on the job site. They would call
nine to one one, somebody send an ambulance. They would,
you know, put one of those neck braces around him
and should him off to the er. And the er
they would X ray and they do MRIs and they
do all that, you know, and in whatever it is
(34:47):
needed to be done. It does not sound like he
had a broken bone. It does sound like it was
a sprain. It also sounds like it, you know, calls
like muscle spasms. Maybe the other day, well the other night,
because it was dark, I was getting some stuff out
(35:12):
of the storage building and the step up from the
driveway to my storage building is pretty I mean for
me with short legs, it's steep, and so we put
a couple of blocks, like one inch square blocks, I
mean one foot square blocks at the base of it
(35:33):
to give a little step. When I do the driveway shortly,
I'm going to make that I talk to you know,
when I've talked to the folks who are get in
the bed, I want to basically and with the asphalt,
I want to ramp up to that so that it's
level and we don't have to have any steps, but
at this time there's a step, and so I had
(35:54):
my hands full of stuff and that, and it was
pretty heavy, and I stepped down on the step, but
I didn't get my foot all the way on it.
I got it half on it. So with me being
overbalanced with what I was carrying, I lost my balance
and fell backwards. And you know, when you're falling, you're
(36:15):
kind of tensed up. And so I had some pretty
good I mean, I didn't hurt myself permanently. I was fine.
But and the good thing is I didn't follow my knees.
That was a nice thing because usually I do follow
me's and you know, and there and they're titatium and plastic,
so that really hurts when I do that. So that
part wasn't bad, except that it took me a pretty
(36:37):
good while to get over that fall because I had,
you know, I tend stuff and I was you know,
twisted around, and so my back, my lower back had
a pretty good kick that lasted for a while, so
I can say, and twelve feet is a long way
for him to fall, so that would be a a
(36:57):
pretty good fall. In addition to that, at we had
the we had measles and you know, I'm gonna say
there was at least one person they said died from them.
You see that they had a small pox vaccination at
that point. That's pretty interesting. Apparently there was a small
pox vaccination during the Revolutionary War and uh General Washington,
(37:22):
George Washington required the soldiers to get it, and it
killed a pretty good percentage of them. Okay, not all
of them, but a you know, I had more than
we would consider a safe number of people died from
having taken the uh smallpox vaccination because you know, they
(37:44):
didn't know a whole lot at that point about hygiene
and germs and all that kind of stuff and bacteria.
So I can see where they'd be broe uh, but
you could see how people got sick. They did for
them what they could do. Uh. You know, they think
about the thing that they did for him when he
he got a fever from being hurt, and so you know,
(38:07):
they had to put wet blankets on him when he
was hot with a fever to cool the fever down.
They didn't even have something like aspirin they had they
did the laudanum. That's how people got addicted to it
is they would have some kind of problem, and they
would give them laudnum in first thing. You know, they
had to have law in them all the time. So, uh,
(38:29):
we are far in advanced. Even if we had a
hard time getting some of the medicines that were used
to just the fact that we have general knowledge that
was not knowledge at that time would be of some help. Okay,
wouldn't be of a lot of help, but it'd be
of some I've often thought like when sister fell several
(38:51):
years ago and hear her head on the cabinet, broke
the cabinet door. She had brainbleed. Okay, now it was
little and it resolved itself, but she had to go
to the hospital, she had to spend the night, they
had to do a CD scan, you know, all none
of that was an option back then. When Mary was
on the earth, the same thing with About a month later,
(39:15):
she basically out of the clear blue sky, got sepsis. Well,
there is nothing you can do for sepsis except ivy antibotics. Well,
you know, in the eighteen forties it was no such
thing as ivy anabotics. So and that's very possible that
when you hear somebody, you know, somebody died with congestive chills.
(39:40):
It's a real possibility that could have been pneumonia, that
could have been sepsis and you didn't know it. I know,
I heard of one. I don't remember which president was,
might have been Wilson had a son die, so he
would have been young, like Mary's brother who I want
(40:01):
to say, it was playing tennis and got some kind
of I don't know, scratch something that was some kind
of wound. I mean, you know, broke the skin and
it wasn't just a sprain or something. And when it
when he got that whatever this was, whatever kind of
injury this was, he did, it got infected and he died.
(40:24):
And so that's an example of sepsis. What people used
to call that was blood poisoning. Well, unless you are
able to get that person ivy antibiotics that are extremely strong,
there's not even a hope that person's gonna live. And
it goes pretty quick. I will say that it doesn't
(40:46):
take a person with sepsis very long that their internal
organs starts slowing down so or shutting down. So this
is uh, you know, that's just one of the things
they they had so little knowledge about medicine and health
and taking care of different ailments. You know, she says
(41:09):
she was an invalid. We don't know what she was
the invalid from. She probably didn't know what she was
the invalid from. Now it appears at some point in
times she got over it, okay, So because she continues
to go on and do other things. In fact, you
ear better going off to I want to say, Matt
a Orda for the fourth of July ball. So I
wouldn't have think she'd have done that if she were
(41:30):
an invalid in the bed. So, you know, people got
things that got sick. You didn't know what was wrong
with them. They came up with some kind of name
for it, and then you know, sometimes they got over
it on their own. Basically getting over something on your
own was was your only option. I read the biography
(41:53):
of James Garfield president in the eighteen time, but it
would have been in the later eighteen hundreds, because he
was a veteran of the Civil War from the North.
Aucason wants he's from Ohio. Anyway, he's the one that
was shot by some disgruntled person trying to get a
(42:15):
civil service job. Because back at that time, the way
you got a job is you showed up at the
White House and you asked the president for one. Now
I cannot even imagine that, and my I can't visualize
that as a process, but apparently that's what it was. Well,
he was obviously, this fellow wasn't you know, all with us.
(42:38):
So he the President I will say, probably saw him
at least once, and you know, knew that he wasn't
gonna give him a job, and so he kept showing
up every day. So eventually the White House staff would
just say, you know, the President's not here or whatever,
and he wouldn't let him see the president. So apparently
at some point in time, this fellow got mad and
(43:00):
so the President was headed with his family somewhere and
he was at the train station, and while he was
at the train station, this man shot him. Well he
didn't die, but the bullet, you know, was lodged inside somewhere. Well,
this was actually about the time X rays started, but
(43:23):
they were controversial because you know, nobody had been able
to do that before. This was a new technology, and
they didn't they didn't believe it was real. Okay, Well,
so the guy who was apparently his self proclaimed physician,
not really his position, but his just decided to take
(43:44):
over and be his position. I don't think he was
the surgeon general or whatever. He decided that the bullet
was in a certain location, and so ever so often
he would go in and dig around trying to find
the bullet. Well, back then they didn't know anything about
(44:06):
sterile instruments, sterile environment, so every time he went in
and dug around, he introduced that much more bacteria. And
obviously after you know, the president continued to go downhill,
when in reality he probably could have survived this. As
(44:27):
the person who did the biography said commented, is that
many a man from the Civil War had a bullet
in him that you know, they didn't try to take
out because they didn't have any way to do that.
And so you know, he was just able to get
over it. And so somewhere in his body was a
bullet or shrapnel or something, and he just kept going,
(44:48):
you know, closed up around him. He got well, and
that was into that well because this guy, you know,
because this was President Garfield, they kept trying to find
the bullet and I almost say with this one for
several months. That's and there was a man who had
you know, pioneered this X ray technique, and he was
willing to try it, but they would not let him
(45:14):
try because they were convinced the bullet was whatever side
of the body they thought it was on. Well, finally
the president died, and when he did they, I guess
did an autopsy and found out the bullet was nowhere
where they thought it was. But there were these just
like big giant and this is kind of gross, but
big giant pockets of puss that were created from where
(45:38):
every time they stuck their instruments and digging around for
this bullet. And as the biographer said, you know, if
he'd been if he hadn't been the president of the
United States, he'd probably lived because he would have the
wound would have closed up and he'd gotten over them.
He'd had a bullet aning, but he would have survived anyway.
So this is kind of this goes back to me
(46:00):
and all the things that she talks about about this
one being sick and that one getting hurt and all
that kind of stuff. People knew so little about medicine
at that point. We know a lot more. We know
about bacteria, we know about germs, we know about keeping
things sanitary. Now we also do things that don't make sense,
(46:23):
but we will go down that rabbit trail. But you know,
they were doing the best they could under the circumstances.
That's the reason why the mortality rate back then was
so much higher than it was than it is now.
Although an interesting fact is that since COVID, our life
expectancy in this country has for the first time in
(46:46):
history decreased and not increased, which is pretty interesting anyway,
assuming that the day came that we couldn't get medicines,
which considering all the things we know about the current
world situation, that's a real possibility. When you think about
a significant amount, like as in more than fifty percent,
(47:10):
probably more close to eighty or ninety percent of our
medicine medicines or ingredients in those medicines comes from across
the Pacific Ocean, that's a pretty so briefed off because
that means we cannot produce those things here, So that
(47:30):
is kind of a big deal. Also, if we were
not able to get medicines, we might know what was wrong.
I mean, I can pretty much, having seen my sister
get sepsis twice, I can pretty much tell you without
a blood test does she have it? Because I can
tell by looking at her and the symptoms when she
(47:52):
has that look that it's been that we're two for
two at this point. That's the reason why we didn't
even wait. The second time, she was pretty gray and
she was had just horrible chills. I said, you're going
to the er, because I think you were where you
were that last time you did this. They didn't have
(48:15):
the they didn't have the the blessing of that kind
of knowledge and that kind of access to medical care
that we have now now that well, there is there
possibility that we might come a day that we don't
have access to that kind of medical knowledge. Absolutely, our
medical equipment or pharmaceuticals or all the things that we
(48:39):
just take for granted that we have we hopefully will
always have them, but we can't guarantee that. So the
most important thing about that is to learn what we
can do. It's not by what we can because I
don't think those are things we can make. Now, there
are some things that can be made with natural ingredients
(49:00):
that There's a blog that I like to follow. It's
called prep School Daily, And she actually had a piece
that she did the other day that I want to
say it was it was something about antibiotics in the
(49:23):
Civil War in Georgia, and apparently, because there absolutely were
no medicines at that point, and this was a doctor,
this was a Southern doctor, so he couldn't have got
medicines if they existed. With all the blockades and stuff,
he was able to determine how to make some things
that he wouldn't have known they were called antibiotics, but
(49:44):
he at least knew that they made a difference, and
the men got well, or more men got well, and
he did. There's a book with all this, apparently, and
it talks about these substances that he he made from
various natural resources, Okay, like things should find out in
(50:07):
the woods or whatever. And so that's what she was
talking about, is that this is a good this is
good information to know because he found it out. By
however long the Civil war lasted, what four or five years,
is treating soldiers that many times, And honestly, what they
died of, more than anything was many times, was not
(50:29):
the actual wound itself. It was the infection that set
in after it. And if he could keep them from
getting an infection, then he could keep them alive and
they would get over whatever it was they had, you know,
whatever kind of injury they had. So this is a
good example. I'm gonna have to go back and find that.
But Prep School Daily, I'll actually see if I can
(50:49):
find it, and I'll post a link to it so
that we'll keep it as a reference because it was
kind of interesting information and might be good to know
at some point in time. Okay, so let's see if
there's anything else. Our friend Mary has moved around a lot,
and she has lived with a lot of different people,
(51:11):
and she has lived in a lot of different circumstances.
And at this point in time, they were talking about
going back to San Antonio, which I kind of think
is they're probably their first love. I think that's where
they really like it the best, and so it sounds
like that's where they're gonna go and end up eventually
(51:32):
in eighteen forty seven, which is what she said. They
were refugees from I want to say forty two to
forty seven, and so we're to forty seven now, so
that sounds like that they're gonna be going home to
San Antonio at some point. One of the things I
was going to talk about the prince that she talked
about Apparently one of the things that he did, He's
(51:54):
is he came to Texas and he looked around, and
he went back and he you know, got a pretty
good number of German colonists to come with him by
telling them about how wonderful Texas was. And but he
told them not exactly the truth. And so when they
(52:15):
landed at in in Indianola or Victoria or somewhere Lavaca
or somewhere on the coast, and then they started inland,
they did not find a country that they expected to
find and where they eventually There are a lot of
Germans in San Antonio, but a lot of the Germans
settled in in and around San Antonio. New Bronze Fells,
(52:38):
that's a you know, German town. Uh Lagrange has a
lot of if not Germans, they may they may be
like Czechs or whatever, because you know, we've got names
that have a whole lot of consonants and not a
whole lot of owls. Fredericksburg that's a place where Germans,
(53:00):
so all in that area is a pretty good sized
German settlement. Now it's good probably far as I know,
for raising cattle. It would not be a good place
to raise crops, and it's the in the hill country,
the ground is very rocky. It's just not it would
(53:21):
grow grass, but I don't know that it's gonna grow.
It grows a whole lot of cedar and some esquite,
but mostly cedar. And so that was not the kind
of environment they were used to coming from in Germany,
because Germany would be would have a much colder climate,
you know, it has better soil conditions it in some
(53:45):
places as mountains and other places. I would think they're
what they came from and what they went to was
completely different. Now, one of the things that's interesting is
in that area, and sort of in the Lagrange area,
is a a series of little communities that have what
are called the painted churches. And the painted churches are
(54:09):
like Catholic churches Lutheran churches. They may be all Catholic,
I don't know. But the German settler settlers who came
and settled in those communities, they built a church because
that back then one of the most important things that
people did. That that actually differentiates their society from our society.
(54:34):
And in my opinion, that's not a good differentiation. We
should go back to the way they were One of
the very first things they did when they established a
colony or a settlement is they is they built a church.
And so in these little communities, and they're little, and
they're out in the middle of nowhere, so you can,
in fact, what some people do is they'll do a
(54:54):
bicycle tour of them, cause they're like several miles away
from each other, so not a long time. I mean,
you could do it if you were in shape on
a bicycle. It would be a good a good tour
to do on a bicycle. But you could also drive
to them. That would work too. The painted churches look
like wooden versions of the cathedrals in Europe. German settlers
(55:18):
who came built these churches and they painted them, and
I've seen pictures. I haven't actually had a chance to
go visit the painted churches. Keep saying them, we'll do
that someday, but they're very fascinating and the history of
these of these early settlements are very interesting. And so
(55:38):
it's what I remembered when Mary started talking about the
German immigrants that were coming in and at that point
in time in the eighteen forties, like the latter half
of the eighteen forties, that are Probably into the eighteen fifties,
there was a huge influx of German settlers direct from Germany. Now,
(56:01):
other parts of Texas have different kinds of settlers. There
are big there are areas where there are Czech settlers,
there's Czech communities, there's different kinds of you know, obviously,
closer you get to the Rio grand you're gonna have
a lot of Mexican settlers that came into the state.
(56:24):
So Texas is very, very diverse in its makeup. Any
when she was in San Antonio, she talked about all
the different kinds of people who came there. So anyway,
that's where we're gonna stop with Mary today and we'll
find out what she does in the next chapter. Talk
to you soon.
Good afternoon. This is Emma and today is Thursday, so
it is time for another installment in the Life of
Mary Mavericks. So this is actually chapter thirteen, and it's
entitled Life on the Peninsula. So you remember at the
end of the last when they were in the they
were on the other side of the Colorado River from
(00:23):
Lagrange and apparently they didn't think the climate there was
very healthy. So they're gonna move to the coast, which
is actually kind of humorous when you think about the
that the mosquitoes on the coast could probably be, you know,
used to plow a garden or something, because they're that big. Anyway,
(00:44):
So we're gonna see how Mary Maverick likes Mattagorda Bay.
So let's see what happens life on the Peninsula. The
pass or waterway, which connects Mattagorda Bay with Gulf of Mexico,
is bound on the south by Mattagorda Island, the northern
extremity of which is named Siluria Siluria, and on the
(01:06):
north by Ducroze Point, which is the southwestern extremity of
the peninsula. The pass is called Passo Caballo and it
is about three miles from Ducroz Point to Siluria. The
peninsula extends northeastwardly from Ducroz Point, a distance of about
(01:27):
fifty miles to the mainland. And I will say I've
never been to Matagorda Bay, so I might have to
go visit sometime and just look around and see what
it looks like. The peninsula extends northeastwardly from Ducroz Point,
a distance of about fifty miles to the mainland. Where
(01:48):
the peninsula joins the mainland, Caney Creek formerly emptied into
the Gulf of Mexico, but the creek has been diverted
by means of a canal and now empties its candy
waters into the northern arm of Mattagorda Bay. The peninsula
is a dreary, sandy flat, having an average width of
about two miles, and at the middle of this elongated
(02:11):
strip of land is Tiltona, which was our farm. We
lived at Ducroz Point from December seventh, eighteen forty four,
until October fifteenth, eighteen forty seven, when we returned to
San Antonio. On November fifteenth, eighteen forty four, we deserted
our temporary home on the Colorado and set out for
(02:32):
Ducroz Ducroze Point. We had a carriage and two hired wagons,
some saddle horses and seven cows. I was an invalid
during the whole trip and traveled lying down in the carriage.
A wide board was laid from the front to the
back seat of the large, roomy carriage. Now I've seen carriages.
(02:54):
There's a kind of like a farm museum outside of
called the Jordan Bachmann Farm, and they actually have a
carriage museum. None of them look big, but you know,
in her world it probably was. A wideboard was laid
from the front to the back seat of the large,
(03:17):
roomy carriage, and quilts and pillows were stowed where they
would give me the most comfort. The driver's seat was
on the outside. My dear little girls were generally with me,
and sometimes Lizzie, but she usually preferred to ride on
horseback with mister Maverick. Sam and Lewis rode in a wagon.
We spent the first night in Lagrange with at Missus
(03:40):
Angus McNeil's, a third or fourth cousin of mine. The
sixteenth got started in the afternoon and traveled only a
few miles. Encamped it rained and stormed all that night
and the next morning we started off in a northern
the seventeenth, five miles to Rutersville. Missus Butler took us
in and she and Missus Rob were very kind. We
(04:04):
established ourselves in a vacant house and waited for the
weather to moderate. November the twenty first, twelve miles to Breedings,
November twenty second, eight miles to Umburg's twenty third, eighteen
miles to Alley's twenty fourth, sixteen miles to Major Montgomery's
twenty fifth, eighteen miles to Crawford's, and in parentcs she
(04:27):
has Spanish Springs twenty six, sixteen miles to Casey's twenty seventh,
six miles to Dawson's, and then she has in parentheses wiggletail,
mud pond and awfully dirty water twenty eighth, six miles
to Captain John Duncan's, took dinner, and six miles to
(04:47):
Missus Hardiman's where we spent the night, twenty ninth, six
miles to Rendrick's kindest people of all took dinner here
and eight miles to Shepherd, which was two miles into
the swamps. And there's a lot of swamps on the coast,
So I'm just saying thirtieth awful roads swamps continuously crossed
(05:12):
three sloughs, and three A slough is kind of like
a swamp in a with a creek in it, maybe
in the last one of which Granville's wagon stalled and
one ox fell. He beat the fat. He beat the
ox awfully, and then they prized him out and double
teams and got through. Made eight miles today and camped.
(05:35):
In the night it rained, and a northern blew up.
Now a northerre's what we call in Texas. A really
cold front coming in from the northwest is where they
usually come. I lost my place again in the night
it rained and a northern blew up, and we all
got cold and wet. December first Sunday, five miles to
(05:59):
the New Canal, crossed it with great difficulty, and camped.
Second half a mile to a vacant house where we camped.
Third one mile came to Gulf of Mexico, magnificent calm,
gently heaving water. And fourteen miles onto the beautiful smooth
hard Beach, where we saw many bright shells. Fourth six
(06:22):
miles to Missus Loves, where we took dinner and five
miles to sergeants and camped missus. Sergeant gave us fresh
buttermilk and butter and some coffee. Fifth seven miles in
an awful north wind and rain, but we all lived
through it and camped in a shandy sixth eighteen miles,
(06:44):
and we camped on the beach. It was cold and
the smoke of the camp fire intolerable. I lost all
admiration for the quote deep and dark blue ocean, and
was most miserable and sick. On December the seventh, we
travel seven miles to ducros Point, still in a brisk norther,
(07:04):
but delighted. Whoops, I lost my place? Where did I go? Mm?
That wasn't good? Okay, hang on, I touched something in
my page, went away? Okay, she had lost her uh
(07:37):
deep in dark blue ocean? Here I am okay. On
December the seventh, we traveled seven miles to Ducroze Point,
still in a brisk northern but delighted to arrive at
our journey's end and have rest once more. We moved
into a house occupied by Judge and General Somerville, the
arrangement being that we should keep house and furnish them board,
(08:00):
and they to retain a portion of the house. General
Somerville was the revenue officer for the Port Collector of Revenue.
The house was very close to the bay, and every
evening Mister Maverick took me down to bathe in the saltwater.
December twelfth, although I will say in December, I think
even the Gulf of Mexico might be a little chilly.
(08:22):
December twelfth had the pleasure of an introduction to His
Highness Charles Solm Solm, son of the Grand Duke of Bronzevill's,
and who was on his way to the colony of
New Bronzevills, of which he was the founder. The Prince
and sweet, I mean like his entourage, I guess, spent
(08:44):
a day and a night with us in the Summervills.
Next evening he came near to land in his vessel
and serenaded us. General Somerville was a noted laugher. He
saw the Prince's two attendants dress his Highness, that is,
lifting into his pants, and General Summerville was so overcome
(09:04):
by the side that he broke out in one of
his famous fits of laughter, and was heard all over
the point the Prince and sweet were all very courteous
and polite to us. They wore cock feathers in their
hats and did not appear quite fitted to frontier life.
There are other stories about this prince guy, about how
(09:27):
he wasn't exactly completely truthful with the German people that
he brought over to colonize what is now the Hill country,
as he said, around New Bronswell's and Fredericksburg in that area.
But that's a whole nother story. So I'm chasing a
rabbit hair, Okay. Eighteen forty five we had a block
(09:47):
of ground fenced in, and early in eighteen forty five
we planted a garden. It was wonderful how everything grew,
was using a good growing zone down there on the coast.
It was wonderful how everything grew, and what fine vegetables
we had, and what delicious watermelons, flowers, grapevines and orange
trees flourished luxuriantly. In March, Agatha's clothes caught on fire,
(10:11):
but Jack threw a bucket of water on her and
put the fire out before she was badly burned. She
was quite sore for several weeks afterwards. I think Agatha
is also the one that the that the horse kicked
her in the head. So you know, life was tough
on the frontier for little little ones or littles as
we call them now. But that business about their their clothes,
(10:33):
kitchen on fire. A many a woman died in this
earlier century because they were cooking over a fire and
that long dress caught on fire. June eleventh, mister Maverick
visited San Antonio. Well that's a shock, and was one.
Several weeks on his way, he took a sailboat at Lavaca,
(10:57):
and before they had gotten out of sight of Levoca
as a sudden squall capsized the boat and he with
several other passengers came very near to being drowned, but
being still near enough to Levoca to be seen with
the spyglass, they were observed and a small boat put
out immediately and rescued them just before dark. I am
(11:17):
told by mister Dawson, now in mister Grinnet's store in
San Antonio, that he was one of the rescuing party.
During this month, Mary McNeil came to see us. She
and her uncle Henry McNeil were on their way to
her mother's old home in Mississippi, where Mary was to
attend school. One afternoon, the McNeil's, with General Somerville, Lizzie
(11:40):
and mister Maverick and myself and Sam and Lewis were
went sailing on the bay, as we frequently did, for
pleasure or to fish, or to gather gulls eggs on
the islets. The day was beautiful and we sailed seven
or eight miles when we noticed a fog gathering, and
since we had not a pilot as we usually had aboard,
(12:03):
we hastened to tack about and return with General Somerville,
a pretty good sailor at the hem. But the fog
came in so rapidly and grew so dense that we
could not see ten yards beyond the boat, and were
soon satisfied we were lost. We tacked, and we tacked,
and we tagged again, but to no avail. We couldn't
find our way out, and we were right glad when
(12:26):
about ten o'clock that night we ran well aground. We
remained there safely until daylight. We ladies were much alarmed,
besides being damp, cold and hungry, and we had at
least at last crowded into a diminutive and I can
imagine how small that must have been if she called
it diminuative cabin to aboard a drizzling rain, which now
(12:48):
set in. Sam and Lewis were gotten to sleep quite early.
The gentleman hauled in the sails and made bedcovers with them,
and went to sleep. Lizzie and Mary also slept, But
I lay awake all night, listening to the wash of
the waves and the roar of the breakers at the pass,
and I hailed with delight the dawn of the day.
(13:10):
Mister excuse me, General Somerville declared, we were twelve miles
from home on the mainland, on the west side of
the bay. The gentleman got out into the water, pushed
the boat off, and it was still early morning when
we hove to and greeted the anxious faces of our friends.
Some of the people at the point feared we were drowned.
(13:31):
Others blue fog horns and built big fires on the
coast and kept them burning all night, But we had
neither heard nor seen anything. We were all thankful to
get safely back and put on dry clothing, and we
attacked the warm breakfast with great Gusto. I was delighted
to see Agatha and Augusta, and I was told the
(13:51):
poor little things had cried themselves to sleep the night before.
No one suffered any harm from the exposure, and our
experience of the night game gave us many hearty laughs.
Hereafter July eighteen forty five, Thank god, we are now
annexed to the United States and can hope for home
(14:11):
and quiet. Mister Smith, American consul in Siluria, was drowned
in a by you which he was attempting to cross,
and his poor wife, an amiable, nice lady, left desolate
and alone. We went over to see her, and Lizzie
and Cora vandever spent some time with her. On August thirteenth,
(14:32):
our family took quite an excursion up the bay, went
up to Levoca Bay, and landed opposite Levaca at trey
Polacius Cox's Point. I didn't know that, because I know
where Polasius is, but I didn't know it was Trespelachius,
and that's better known as Cox's Point, where mister Maverick
had long since purchased an interest in the land. I'm
(14:54):
not sure mister Maverick han purchased an interest in lots
of land, as he is seemed to have owned half
of Texas at this point. As I have mentioned in
chapter three, this we found a beautiful site. Twenty Matta
Matigordians were here for the bathing, and we spent a
(15:15):
few days at Campden Grimes. Doctor Farquhar had a nice
residence there and a garden of pretty flowers and rare
plants and fruits. We rented a house opposite the levees
and in the same block with the family of mister Forrester,
who had been a pirotated prisoner with mister Maverick. At
(15:39):
that time Mattagorda had probably the most cultivated society in
the state. Matagorda then had good schools, several churches, and
many well to do people who had plantations on the
Cane and Colorado, where the summers were quite unhealthful, and
I believe that had their summer rev residences here. Reverend
(16:02):
Caleb Ives was the episcopal minister. His wife when she
was Miss Kennock. Kennear had been my teacher in Tuscaloosa.
It's a small world. I say. They had charge of
the Academy for young ladies in Matagorda. On Sunday, September
the seventh, eighteen forty five, at seven pm, our fifth child,
(16:25):
George Madison, was born August first. Miss Annie, daughter of
Rhodes Fisher, was married to mister J. W. Dallum. Mister
Maverick and Lizzie went to the wedding and several parties
given to the married couple by friends in Matagorda. October
the twenty fifth we all returned by schooner by the
Schooner Mary to Decro's Point and had a house to ourselves.
(16:48):
October twenty eighth, mister Maverick and Lizzie left by schooner
the Schooner Mary. They still she's got it in print.
I'm cutting quotes for New Orleans to Tuscalalusa for the winter,
and mister Maverick on business, of course, because mister Maverick
doesn't stay home long. But I've already expressed my opinion
on that subject. The nineteenth of January we had a tempest.
(17:15):
January twenty eighth, mister Lucius W. Peck came out on
mister Maverick's advice to teach school. He came to our house,
sent hither by mister Maverick, whom mister Peck had left
quite well in New Orleans. March seventeenth, mister Maverick returned
after an absence of nearly five months. He took Lizzie
(17:35):
to Tuscaloosa and remained there several weeks on business. Thence
he went to Pendleton, where he visited father Maverick, and
he found it cruel to leave him in his precarious health.
He remained with his father two weeks and received his
quote his last sad embrace and blessing. And that's kind
(17:56):
of an important part, is that when people left their family,
a lot of times knew they wouldn't see him again.
From Pendleton, he went to Charleston, where he was detained
by vexatious business one month that would be interesting to
know more about. At Charleston he bought four servants, Francis
(18:17):
and her boy, Simon, Naoma, a seamstress, and William, a carpenter.
He wanted the carpenter because he had bought one third
interest into Crow's Point and intended to erect we have
some more houses. This purchase of Negroes in Charleston soon
(18:39):
proved to be a perfectly worthless investment. When mister Maverick
reached New Orleans, he chartered a schooner, which he loaded
with lumber for the improvements he intended make at the point,
and on February the fourth he found it necessary to
go to Mobile to complete his purchases. On March ninth,
he left Mobile for Decrow's Point on the charter schooner
(19:01):
Captain Small on one board. On board he had the
negroes and the lumber and some goods and provisions. They
had a stormy passage and a narrow escape from going
down during a gale. They entered Mattagorda Bay March seventeenth,
happy to be with us again and gladly welcomed. Lewis
cut a big l in one of the new chairs
(19:24):
with his new knife. First thing. Mister Peck taught Sam
and Lewis regularly at this time. Doctor Gray Jones Houston
and his brother Ross visited Texas during the winter of
eighteen forty five to eighteen forty six. They came to
see us in March eighteen forty six and spent a
few days with us. Mister Maverick was in New Orleans
(19:45):
at the time. It was about the fifteenth when the
north wind blew about almost a gale, and the bay
rose very high, and the water of the bay seemed
higher than the land as it was driven southward through
the pass. The Houstons had decided to removed with their family,
families and worldly goods from Alabama to Texas, but doctor
Houston said he would not settle on the peninsula at
(20:08):
any rate, for he considered life quite unsafe here. Well,
there are hurricanes. There's that March eighteenth, the petrol which
it's pe t r e l wrecked with two hundred
German immigrants aboard, all lives saved by Captain Simptorn of
(20:29):
the revenue cutter Alert. Missus Neil of San Antonio was
a board. About this time I learned of the marriage
of my brother William to l a goodman in Freestone County,
at Troy on the Trinity River. There he was established
as a merchant. My brother, George m. Adams died April
twenty sixth, eighteen forty six, in Aberdeen, Mississippi, of congestive chills.
(20:55):
He was twenty eight years of age. He was an affectionate,
good brother and arageous man. In June and July we
were gladdened by the news of the two brilliant victories
gained by General Taylor at pala Alto and Resaka del
de la Pama. In June, Louis, Agatha and Augusta had
(21:17):
the hooping cough. In September, every one of the children
had the measles. Louis was quite sick and George had
sore ears. Afterwards, Augusta was packed in a wet sheet
to compel the measles to the surface. During September, the
smallpox being prevalent, the children were all vaccinated and all
(21:37):
took well. In October, Missus Maggie Pearson Nayed short Ridge,
meaning that was her maiden name, spent some time at
the Past for her little girl's health. They were living
at that time in Victoria. She boarded at Missus Van
Devers across the street from us. We were great friends
and spent many hours together parties from the country. We
(22:00):
often came to the past to fish and bathe and
get away from the mosquitoes, for we had none and
were always cool. Well, that's good to know. So I
guess they had a good breeze and that kept the
mosquitoes away. I guess it's more inland, and the problem
is it's really flat down there, and which means it's
pretty swampy, and that would be where the mosquitoes are,
so apparently on the actual coast itself, you don't have
(22:22):
to worry about the mosquitoes. That's good to know. November eleventh,
mister Maverick visited San Antonio, of course he did. He
wrote of Charlie Bradley's death of measles, and he stated
that there was much sickness in town, probably aggravated by
the fevers and dysenteries of the soldiers in the camp
(22:42):
and by the continued ill health of the German immigrants,
and that many deaths had occurred. In December, mister Maverick
bought the Nixon House and two lots eighteen forty seven.
January third, eighteen forty seven, mister Maverick return from San Antonio.
I had heard many rumors of Indians on the road
(23:05):
and had suffered much uneasiness. February eighteenth, Lizzie and Andrew
arrived from Tuscaloosa. Lizzie had grown much improved and was
fine looking and fashionable, bee dressed. Andrew had his diploma
with him and was now a regular md The next day,
after his rival Andrew started for his old place. On
(23:27):
the San Marcos purchase of tiltona March sixteenth, mister Maverick
went to Tilton's place, twenty five miles up the peninsula
and bought it and four hundred head of cattle at
three dollars per head. Don't we wish that was the
cost of a head of cattle? Now? Now we wish
that was the cost of the meat, not the cattle.
(23:48):
The cattle don't cost near as the cattle are high,
but they don't cost as much as the beef. At
this point the place had an oyster byu belonging to it,
pens for cattle, and there was a field cultivation and
some fine fig trees on the ground. March nineteenth, Friday,
in the afternoon, mister Maverick was going up the stairway
(24:10):
in the new house he was building for our residence,
when he tripped on a loose step and fell twelve
feet on the ground, striking on his shoulder. He was
picked up insensible and brought in. His shoulder sprayed terribly
and his neck twisted. When revived, he suffered agony for hours.
We gave him twenty drops of laudanum and bathed the
(24:33):
breast and shoulder with hot brandy and laudanum. We then
also rubbed the bruised shoulder with mustard and placed hot
bricks at his feet. He could not move, but felt
some relief during the night and slept little. After that.
He had fever and we used wet bandages. On the
twenty first, he could not move his head and shoulder
(24:53):
and became oh. On the twenty first he could move
his head and his shoulder and became cheerful, and his
appetite returned. He was fed from a spoon and he
gradually gained strength. We had to rub the bruised place
often and much, which seemed to soothe the pain. Not
until April seventh was he able to get up and walk.
(25:15):
March twenty fifth, mister McPhee was upset in a small
boat on the bay and his body was picked up
at Indian Point. April first, bright and warm planted many
garden seeds. April second, Jinny and Jack and Jane, Harriet
and Laura went to Tiltona to take charge of the place.
(25:36):
Wiley and Rachel and Rachel's child had some time previously
been conveyed to mister Ducrow in part payment for one
third interest in the town site of Ducrow's Point. In
April we moved into our new frame house of eight
rooms and three stories. Well, that should have been a
far cry from the cabins they lived in up until now.
(25:57):
The house was very substantially built and was calculated to
resist a considerable storm. Well, that's a good thing because
you're on the coast. It was very roomy and commanded
a fine view of both the bay and the gulf.
We had been living for three months previously in the
kitchen and outhouses of this building, so we all enjoyed
greatly the new, clean, cool, roomy house. We lived well
(26:21):
on the coast and had any quantity of fish always fine,
had fruits fresh from New Orleans, and splendid gardens, and
the best watermelons in the world, and never suffered from
the heat. And still we were aware great storms might
come in destructive cyclones at equinoxial times, and we often
(26:42):
talked of going back to San Antonio. April thirteenth, we
heard General Scott was marching from Vera Cruz towards the
city of Mexico. April twelfth, mister Maverick went to Matagorda
to try the galvanic battery on his still suffering show,
and returned the sixteenth much benefited. Now that's an interest.
(27:05):
I may have to look that up and see what
that means, because it sounds like it's a like some
kind of maybe electrical thing. Well, in the eighteen forties,
I've been kind of interesting to have some kind of
electrical treatment for his shoulder. But it seems to have helped,
so that's good. April twenty second, mister Maverick left for
San Antonio to be gone three weeks. He wrote me
(27:25):
that Colonel Hayes was married on April to twenty fourth
at sagin to Miss Susan Calvert, and that on May first,
a large party of San Antonians met them on the
Salado and gave them a grand ovation. Mister okay, now
this is a French word, so we're gonna do our
both our best. Gilboa. Yeah, that's what I'm gonna go with.
(27:50):
Gave a party in reception for Colonel Hayes and bride.
Mister Maverick mentioned that six or seven hundred soldiers were
mustering at San Antonio to be formed into a regiment
and to march to Mexico under Colonel Hayes, and stated
also that there was a great increase in the American
population of the town. April twenty fifth, we all took
(28:13):
a trip to tiltona Cora van Deaver and mister Peck
accompanying us. The girls were on horseback and I with
the children in the cart, with mister Peck driving. We
spent a delightful week drinking fresh milk, fishing, bathing in
the breakers, riding and having a general good time. We
(28:35):
returned May first and took home with us chickens and turkeys,
butter and eggs, fresh beef, and other farm products. May first,
fourteen lots were sold for eight hundred dollars in Cahoun.
Across from the past. May second, twelve hundred dollars worth
of lots were sold here in Passo Cavallo, and it
(28:57):
seemed they were to be improved. July third, Missus Van
Dever and I with the girls and escorted by by
major stores and Captain Cummings, went to Levaca to attend
the Grand fourth of July ball. Mister Maverick remained at
home with the children at Levaca. The girls had numerous
(29:18):
bows and a fine time, so I guess we're looking
at boyfriends. At this point we returned by the way
of Dutchtown now Indianola, a thriving place and at that
time threatening to deprive Levaca of her large trade. At Levaca,
we stopped at Missus E. Burrell's and at Dutchtown with
(29:40):
the family of Reverend mister Blair. July fifteenth, we took
a boat and visited our farm, Tiltona. Returning on the
twenty sixth, Robert J. Clow and John Mann courted Lizzie,
which had who had much attention. They both got no
for their answer, but Bob said he believed she meant
(30:02):
yes for him. Well, I think if she said no,
she meant no. But anyway, that's a whole nother story. September,
Cora van Deaver was married to Billy Nichols, a pilot
and a good man. I'm gonna say, like a pilot
of a boat. Okay. So that finish chap Chapter thirteen,
and we will start again next week on Channel I'm
on Channel on chapter fourteen, okay, at which will be
(30:30):
page one eighty six. So we're getting there. On Mary
Maverick's diaries. So we've done that because I can't read
and drove at the same time. I all now Starthcarr
and we'll talk about Mary's life on the peninsula. Well,
the first thing that comes to mind is when she's
and this was towards the end, she was talking about Indianola,
(30:52):
and Indianola was a very prosperous town on the coast,
but in the eighteen hundreds, and I don't remember exactly when,
but I'm gonna say, excuse me, I don't think it's
much later than this. I'll look it up at see,
Inianola gets hit by a major hurricane and it is
(31:16):
wiped out completely, and then they rebuild, and several years
later it gets wiped out by a hurricane again. So
at that point in time, they decided not to rebuild
in Ionola and it basically went by the wayside. Now
I don't know if there's anything left of in Dianola,
(31:36):
because I've been to the coast, I've been to Victoria,
I've been to Corpus Chrissy, but I haven't been to
some of the places that Mary's talking about in her books.
So sometime when I'm down in that direction, I may
have to go visit some of these places so I
can see what she's I can actually see with my
eyes what it looks like now compared to what she's
(31:57):
describing in her memoir. She's got a lot of dates. Obviously,
it's kind of like a diary, so it's, you know,
one of them one day was what planted many seeds.
But you can see everywhere they go they do. I
think this is probably the thing I get the most
out of this is that everywhere they settle, they try
(32:20):
to improve where they are, And that kind of goes
back to that episode I did the other day about
revisiting mindset, because what kind of circumstances we're in, we
don't always have control over those, but how we deal
(32:40):
with those circumstances, how we approach them, and what we
do with them are entirely up to us. So, I mean,
it appears, the best I can tell, she loves mister Maverick,
which is a good thing because he would drive me
to distraction. And maybe that's why I'm not married, because
I'm like, hello, if why is it that every time
(33:03):
you get us settled somewhere, you gotta go off. He's
gone to San Antonio, He's gone to New Orleans. He's
gone to South Carolina. I mean, you know, it's like,
where is mister Maverick now, because I have never seen
anybody travel as much as he does when travel was
as bad as it was back then. But oh my stars. Anyway,
(33:25):
but you can see that as they as they moved,
like you know, they were in a cabin, they made
the cabin look better. Then they kept house for the
colonel and the whoever that was, judge, I think, and
so you know, they improved that. So everywhere she goes,
she sets about to improve the situation we're in. There's
(33:45):
a lot to be said for that. Because our circumstances
are our circumstances. We don't have any control over what
happens in our circumstances. But what we do have is
control over how we react to our circumstances and what
we do with them. Okay, We've got a lot of
(34:05):
medical stuff going on in this particular episode, and it
makes you really appreciate the medical knowledge that we have
at this point because I'm thinking, Okay, so if if,
if what happened to mister Maverick, if he fell twelve
(34:26):
feet on his shoulder, and you know, he was knocked unconscious.
What would happen on the job site. They would call
nine to one one, somebody send an ambulance. They would,
you know, put one of those neck braces around him
and should him off to the er. And the er
they would X ray and they do MRIs and they
do all that, you know, and in whatever it is
(34:47):
needed to be done. It does not sound like he
had a broken bone. It does sound like it was
a sprain. It also sounds like it, you know, calls
like muscle spasms. Maybe the other day, well the other night,
because it was dark, I was getting some stuff out
(35:12):
of the storage building and the step up from the
driveway to my storage building is pretty I mean for
me with short legs, it's steep, and so we put
a couple of blocks, like one inch square blocks, I
mean one foot square blocks at the base of it
(35:33):
to give a little step. When I do the driveway shortly,
I'm going to make that I talk to you know,
when I've talked to the folks who are get in
the bed, I want to basically and with the asphalt,
I want to ramp up to that so that it's
level and we don't have to have any steps, but
at this time there's a step, and so I had
(35:54):
my hands full of stuff and that, and it was
pretty heavy, and I stepped down on the step, but
I didn't get my foot all the way on it.
I got it half on it. So with me being
overbalanced with what I was carrying, I lost my balance
and fell backwards. And you know, when you're falling, you're
(36:15):
kind of tensed up. And so I had some pretty
good I mean, I didn't hurt myself permanently. I was fine.
But and the good thing is I didn't follow my knees.
That was a nice thing because usually I do follow
me's and you know, and there and they're titatium and plastic,
so that really hurts when I do that. So that
part wasn't bad, except that it took me a pretty
(36:37):
good while to get over that fall because I had,
you know, I tend stuff and I was you know,
twisted around, and so my back, my lower back had
a pretty good kick that lasted for a while, so
I can say, and twelve feet is a long way
for him to fall, so that would be a a
(36:57):
pretty good fall. In addition to that, at we had
the we had measles and you know, I'm gonna say
there was at least one person they said died from them.
You see that they had a small pox vaccination at
that point. That's pretty interesting. Apparently there was a small
pox vaccination during the Revolutionary War and uh General Washington,
(37:22):
George Washington required the soldiers to get it, and it
killed a pretty good percentage of them. Okay, not all
of them, but a you know, I had more than
we would consider a safe number of people died from
having taken the uh smallpox vaccination because you know, they
(37:44):
didn't know a whole lot at that point about hygiene
and germs and all that kind of stuff and bacteria.
So I can see where they'd be broe uh, but
you could see how people got sick. They did for
them what they could do. Uh. You know, they think
about the thing that they did for him when he
he got a fever from being hurt, and so you know,
(38:07):
they had to put wet blankets on him when he
was hot with a fever to cool the fever down.
They didn't even have something like aspirin they had they
did the laudanum. That's how people got addicted to it
is they would have some kind of problem, and they
would give them laudnum in first thing. You know, they
had to have law in them all the time. So, uh,
(38:29):
we are far in advanced. Even if we had a
hard time getting some of the medicines that were used
to just the fact that we have general knowledge that
was not knowledge at that time would be of some help. Okay,
wouldn't be of a lot of help, but it'd be
of some I've often thought like when sister fell several
(38:51):
years ago and hear her head on the cabinet, broke
the cabinet door. She had brainbleed. Okay, now it was
little and it resolved itself, but she had to go
to the hospital, she had to spend the night, they
had to do a CD scan, you know, all none
of that was an option back then. When Mary was
on the earth, the same thing with About a month later,
(39:15):
she basically out of the clear blue sky, got sepsis. Well,
there is nothing you can do for sepsis except ivy antibotics. Well,
you know, in the eighteen forties it was no such
thing as ivy anabotics. So and that's very possible that
when you hear somebody, you know, somebody died with congestive chills.
(39:40):
It's a real possibility that could have been pneumonia, that
could have been sepsis and you didn't know it. I know,
I heard of one. I don't remember which president was,
might have been Wilson had a son die, so he
would have been young, like Mary's brother who I want
(40:01):
to say, it was playing tennis and got some kind
of I don't know, scratch something that was some kind
of wound. I mean, you know, broke the skin and
it wasn't just a sprain or something. And when it
when he got that whatever this was, whatever kind of
injury this was, he did, it got infected and he died.
(40:24):
And so that's an example of sepsis. What people used
to call that was blood poisoning. Well, unless you are
able to get that person ivy antibiotics that are extremely strong,
there's not even a hope that person's gonna live. And
it goes pretty quick. I will say that it doesn't
(40:46):
take a person with sepsis very long that their internal
organs starts slowing down so or shutting down. So this
is uh, you know, that's just one of the things
they they had so little knowledge about medicine and health
and taking care of different ailments. You know, she says
(41:09):
she was an invalid. We don't know what she was
the invalid from. She probably didn't know what she was
the invalid from. Now it appears at some point in
times she got over it, okay, So because she continues
to go on and do other things. In fact, you
ear better going off to I want to say, Matt
a Orda for the fourth of July ball. So I
wouldn't have think she'd have done that if she were
(41:30):
an invalid in the bed. So, you know, people got
things that got sick. You didn't know what was wrong
with them. They came up with some kind of name
for it, and then you know, sometimes they got over
it on their own. Basically getting over something on your
own was was your only option. I read the biography
(41:53):
of James Garfield president in the eighteen time, but it
would have been in the later eighteen hundreds, because he
was a veteran of the Civil War from the North.
Aucason wants he's from Ohio. Anyway, he's the one that
was shot by some disgruntled person trying to get a
(42:15):
civil service job. Because back at that time, the way
you got a job is you showed up at the
White House and you asked the president for one. Now
I cannot even imagine that, and my I can't visualize
that as a process, but apparently that's what it was. Well,
he was obviously, this fellow wasn't you know, all with us.
(42:38):
So he the President I will say, probably saw him
at least once, and you know, knew that he wasn't
gonna give him a job, and so he kept showing
up every day. So eventually the White House staff would
just say, you know, the President's not here or whatever,
and he wouldn't let him see the president. So apparently
at some point in time, this fellow got mad and
(43:00):
so the President was headed with his family somewhere and
he was at the train station, and while he was
at the train station, this man shot him. Well he
didn't die, but the bullet, you know, was lodged inside somewhere. Well,
this was actually about the time X rays started, but
(43:23):
they were controversial because you know, nobody had been able
to do that before. This was a new technology, and
they didn't they didn't believe it was real. Okay, Well,
so the guy who was apparently his self proclaimed physician,
not really his position, but his just decided to take
(43:44):
over and be his position. I don't think he was
the surgeon general or whatever. He decided that the bullet
was in a certain location, and so ever so often
he would go in and dig around trying to find
the bullet. Well, back then they didn't know anything about
(44:06):
sterile instruments, sterile environment, so every time he went in
and dug around, he introduced that much more bacteria. And
obviously after you know, the president continued to go downhill,
when in reality he probably could have survived this. As
(44:27):
the person who did the biography said commented, is that
many a man from the Civil War had a bullet
in him that you know, they didn't try to take
out because they didn't have any way to do that.
And so you know, he was just able to get
over it. And so somewhere in his body was a
bullet or shrapnel or something, and he just kept going,
(44:48):
you know, closed up around him. He got well, and
that was into that well because this guy, you know,
because this was President Garfield, they kept trying to find
the bullet and I almost say with this one for
several months. That's and there was a man who had
you know, pioneered this X ray technique, and he was
willing to try it, but they would not let him
(45:14):
try because they were convinced the bullet was whatever side
of the body they thought it was on. Well, finally
the president died, and when he did they, I guess
did an autopsy and found out the bullet was nowhere
where they thought it was. But there were these just
like big giant and this is kind of gross, but
big giant pockets of puss that were created from where
(45:38):
every time they stuck their instruments and digging around for
this bullet. And as the biographer said, you know, if
he'd been if he hadn't been the president of the
United States, he'd probably lived because he would have the
wound would have closed up and he'd gotten over them.
He'd had a bullet aning, but he would have survived anyway.
So this is kind of this goes back to me
(46:00):
and all the things that she talks about about this
one being sick and that one getting hurt and all
that kind of stuff. People knew so little about medicine
at that point. We know a lot more. We know
about bacteria, we know about germs, we know about keeping
things sanitary. Now we also do things that don't make sense,
(46:23):
but we will go down that rabbit trail. But you know,
they were doing the best they could under the circumstances.
That's the reason why the mortality rate back then was
so much higher than it was than it is now.
Although an interesting fact is that since COVID, our life
expectancy in this country has for the first time in
(46:46):
history decreased and not increased, which is pretty interesting anyway,
assuming that the day came that we couldn't get medicines,
which considering all the things we know about the current
world situation, that's a real possibility. When you think about
a significant amount, like as in more than fifty percent,
(47:10):
probably more close to eighty or ninety percent of our
medicine medicines or ingredients in those medicines comes from across
the Pacific Ocean, that's a pretty so briefed off because
that means we cannot produce those things here, So that
(47:30):
is kind of a big deal. Also, if we were
not able to get medicines, we might know what was wrong.
I mean, I can pretty much, having seen my sister
get sepsis twice, I can pretty much tell you without
a blood test does she have it? Because I can
tell by looking at her and the symptoms when she
(47:52):
has that look that it's been that we're two for
two at this point. That's the reason why we didn't
even wait. The second time, she was pretty gray and
she was had just horrible chills. I said, you're going
to the er, because I think you were where you
were that last time you did this. They didn't have
(48:15):
the they didn't have the the blessing of that kind
of knowledge and that kind of access to medical care
that we have now now that well, there is there
possibility that we might come a day that we don't
have access to that kind of medical knowledge. Absolutely, our
medical equipment or pharmaceuticals or all the things that we
(48:39):
just take for granted that we have we hopefully will
always have them, but we can't guarantee that. So the
most important thing about that is to learn what we
can do. It's not by what we can because I
don't think those are things we can make. Now, there
are some things that can be made with natural ingredients
(49:00):
that There's a blog that I like to follow. It's
called prep School Daily, And she actually had a piece
that she did the other day that I want to
say it was it was something about antibiotics in the
(49:23):
Civil War in Georgia, and apparently, because there absolutely were
no medicines at that point, and this was a doctor,
this was a Southern doctor, so he couldn't have got
medicines if they existed. With all the blockades and stuff,
he was able to determine how to make some things
that he wouldn't have known they were called antibiotics, but
(49:44):
he at least knew that they made a difference, and
the men got well, or more men got well, and
he did. There's a book with all this, apparently, and
it talks about these substances that he he made from
various natural resources, Okay, like things should find out in
(50:07):
the woods or whatever. And so that's what she was
talking about, is that this is a good this is
good information to know because he found it out. By
however long the Civil war lasted, what four or five years,
is treating soldiers that many times, And honestly, what they
died of, more than anything was many times, was not
(50:29):
the actual wound itself. It was the infection that set
in after it. And if he could keep them from
getting an infection, then he could keep them alive and
they would get over whatever it was they had, you know,
whatever kind of injury they had. So this is a
good example. I'm gonna have to go back and find that.
But Prep School Daily, I'll actually see if I can
(50:49):
find it, and I'll post a link to it so
that we'll keep it as a reference because it was
kind of interesting information and might be good to know
at some point in time. Okay, so let's see if
there's anything else. Our friend Mary has moved around a lot,
and she has lived with a lot of different people,
(51:11):
and she has lived in a lot of different circumstances.
And at this point in time, they were talking about
going back to San Antonio, which I kind of think
is they're probably their first love. I think that's where
they really like it the best, and so it sounds
like that's where they're gonna go and end up eventually
(51:32):
in eighteen forty seven, which is what she said. They
were refugees from I want to say forty two to
forty seven, and so we're to forty seven now, so
that sounds like that they're gonna be going home to
San Antonio at some point. One of the things I
was going to talk about the prince that she talked
about Apparently one of the things that he did, He's
(51:54):
is he came to Texas and he looked around, and
he went back and he you know, got a pretty
good number of German colonists to come with him by
telling them about how wonderful Texas was. And but he
told them not exactly the truth. And so when they
(52:15):
landed at in in Indianola or Victoria or somewhere Lavaca
or somewhere on the coast, and then they started inland,
they did not find a country that they expected to
find and where they eventually There are a lot of
Germans in San Antonio, but a lot of the Germans
settled in in and around San Antonio. New Bronze Fells,
(52:38):
that's a you know, German town. Uh Lagrange has a
lot of if not Germans, they may they may be
like Czechs or whatever, because you know, we've got names
that have a whole lot of consonants and not a
whole lot of owls. Fredericksburg that's a place where Germans,
(53:00):
so all in that area is a pretty good sized
German settlement. Now it's good probably far as I know,
for raising cattle. It would not be a good place
to raise crops, and it's the in the hill country,
the ground is very rocky. It's just not it would
(53:21):
grow grass, but I don't know that it's gonna grow.
It grows a whole lot of cedar and some esquite,
but mostly cedar. And so that was not the kind
of environment they were used to coming from in Germany,
because Germany would be would have a much colder climate,
you know, it has better soil conditions it in some
(53:45):
places as mountains and other places. I would think they're
what they came from and what they went to was
completely different. Now, one of the things that's interesting is
in that area, and sort of in the Lagrange area,
is a a series of little communities that have what
are called the painted churches. And the painted churches are
(54:09):
like Catholic churches Lutheran churches. They may be all Catholic,
I don't know. But the German settler settlers who came
and settled in those communities, they built a church because
that back then one of the most important things that
people did. That that actually differentiates their society from our society.
(54:34):
And in my opinion, that's not a good differentiation. We
should go back to the way they were One of
the very first things they did when they established a
colony or a settlement is they is they built a church.
And so in these little communities, and they're little, and
they're out in the middle of nowhere, so you can,
in fact, what some people do is they'll do a
(54:54):
bicycle tour of them, cause they're like several miles away
from each other, so not a long time. I mean,
you could do it if you were in shape on
a bicycle. It would be a good a good tour
to do on a bicycle. But you could also drive
to them. That would work too. The painted churches look
like wooden versions of the cathedrals in Europe. German settlers
(55:18):
who came built these churches and they painted them, and
I've seen pictures. I haven't actually had a chance to
go visit the painted churches. Keep saying them, we'll do
that someday, but they're very fascinating and the history of
these of these early settlements are very interesting. And so
(55:38):
it's what I remembered when Mary started talking about the
German immigrants that were coming in and at that point
in time in the eighteen forties, like the latter half
of the eighteen forties, that are Probably into the eighteen fifties,
there was a huge influx of German settlers direct from Germany. Now,
(56:01):
other parts of Texas have different kinds of settlers. There
are big there are areas where there are Czech settlers,
there's Czech communities, there's different kinds of you know, obviously,
closer you get to the Rio grand you're gonna have
a lot of Mexican settlers that came into the state.
(56:24):
So Texas is very, very diverse in its makeup. Any
when she was in San Antonio, she talked about all
the different kinds of people who came there. So anyway,
that's where we're gonna stop with Mary today and we'll
find out what she does in the next chapter. Talk
to you soon.
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