And now we go to correspondent Dan Rather for a special report from the wilds of Texas.
"Frontier fever is rampant," says Rather, squinting through the dust as he strolls beside a "dog-run" double log cabin. "These tough-as-nails folks have fought off hunger, disease, hostile Indians and drought to establish new homes in a new land.
"It's New Year's Eve, 1823, and I've been riding with Stephen F. Austin for more than a year, chronicling the crusading colonit's attempts to settle this fertile land along the Brazos and Colorado Rivers."
"It's been a long, hard year, and Mr. Austin looks like he's been rode hard and put away wet. But he's optimistic about the future. He's finally handing out land titles to members of the so-called Old Three Hundred, the first colonists to arrive in Mexican Texas, and he's determined to restore confidence among the disheartened."
"It was Mr. Austin's father's dream to colonize Texas, and on his deathbed Moses Austin asked his son to take over "The Texas Project". This reporter can tell you first-hand that Mr. Austin had to overcome considerable setbacks, starting with complications from the politics of revolution that led to Mexico's indepenence. Then he had to deal with the tumultuous situation in the newly independent Mexico. It's been like trying to hang onto a greased pig. But on April 11 of this year, Mr. Austin finally received approval of his land grant from the Mexican government.
So, almost a year and three governments after Mr. Austin arrived in Mexico, this tenacious Texan, now a Mexican citizen, as required by the colonization law, returned to his new colony. The Old Three Hundred now live here on hard-won, but free land. "I sat down on the banks of the Brazos recently for this exclusive interview with Mr. Austin."
Rather:"What's life like for you and your new Texans?"
Austin:"Well, Dan, it's not exactly luxurious. We've been hit hard by a severe drought, so the cotton and corn crops were duds. The only food we've had for months now is venison soaked in honey. We've had lots of people sick because of an insufficient diet and unsanitary conditions."
Rather:"So now your colonists don't have bread?"
Austin:"Nope, my compadre Capt. Jesse Burnham and his family were without bread for nine months. He heard somebody was selling bread, so he rode 60 miles--60 miles! - to buy some."
Rather:"Now if the cotton crop isn't here, what are the settlers doing for clothing?"
Austin:"We wear lots of hide, deer hide to be exact. Pretty hot in the summer."
Rather:"Speaking of hot, you've got some mighty big bugs down here on the Brazos River. What can you do about that?"
Austin:"One of our innovative settlers came up with a stinker of a salve you can smell for miles, but it works. It's made of a smear of alligator grease, and fish oil, and bugs won't come near it. Neither will Indians, come to think of it."
Rather:"Well, thanks for your time, Mr. Austin. This is Dan Rather reporting. See ya down the trail."
NOTE: Some little-known facts about Stephen Fuller Austin:
Born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri, Stephen
Fuller Austin is considered the founder of Anglo-American
Texas. At the age of eleven years, he attended school in
Connecticut and later graduated with distinction from
Transylvania University in Kentucky.
In 1813, at the age of twenty-one years, he was elected to
the territorial Legislature of Missouri, and was reelected to
that position each year until 1819, when he moved to
Arkansas. Meanwhile, Stephen's father, Moses Austin,
received a grant of land in Texas for purposes of
colonization.
The elder Austin died soon after returning to Missouri from a
trip to Texas, but bequeathed his grant to Stephen with
instructions to carry it to a successful completion.
Accordingly, after many delays and frustrations with the
Mexican government, Steven Austin introduced a large
number of colonists from the United States. An unassuming
man with a kindly presence, he was deeply respected by
all, and achieved unparalleled influence over the often
unruly settlers in Anglo Texas.
After devoting the best years of his life to the cause of
Texas, Austin was overcome by disease and on 27
December 1836 died an untimely death at the age of
forty-three years.
