STATES AND TERRITORIES. —TEXAS.    141

Another is in contemplation, to extend from San Antonio to the Gulf of Mexico. A canal
from Galveston Bay to Brazos is also m course of construction.

Minerals. — Silver mines formerly existed in the north-west part of the possessions of the
late republic, but no deposits of that metal have been discovered within the limits of the
present state. Excellent coal, and iron ore, abound in most of the inland districts. There
are great quantities of nitre in the eastern quarter; there are multitudes of salt springs and
lakes, from which large supplies of salt are procured ; and bitumen is found in various locali-
ties. In all parts of the state except the low alluvial region, there is plenty of granite, lime-
stone, gypsum, &c.

Manufactures. — Nothing of great public importance has yet been effected in this branch
of industry. Thus far the labors of the inhabitants have been principally confined to pur-
suits connected with agriculture, and to the preparation of their products for market as raw
material. Few or no articles for exportation have as yet been fabricated in the state.

Indians. — The territory and its neighborhood is still infested by hordes or remnants of
tribes of savages, most of whom subsist by predatory incursions, often of the most destructive
and sanguinary character. Efforts are in constant progress to reduce these marauders, by
various methods, to a state of comparative peace and amity ; but until the country shall have
become more densely peopled, this desirable result will not probably be effected.

Population. — The civilized inhabitants of Texas comprise' emigrants from all the other
states of the Union, besides the descendants of the original Spanish settlers, and persons in
whom Mexican and Indian blood is blended. The former class, in all probability, compose a
majority of the present population, which, by the census of 1850, was as follows: Whites,
154,100 ; free colored, 331; slaves, 58,161; — total, 212,592.

Climate. — Texas is represented usually, by those who have travelled or resided in it, as
possessing a delightful climate ; and as being remarkably healthy in every part, with few excep-
tions at particular seasons. The wet and dry seasons, as in California, constitute the winter
and summer. The former commences in December, and continues until March; the residue
of the year, which is the dry season, comprehends spring, summer, and autumn. Severe cold
weather never marks the winter season, and snow is very uncommon, except upon the moun-
tain peaks. The heat of summer, although intense, is greatly modified by the regular and
brisk breezes which prevail daily from sunrise until about 3 o'clock, P. M,; and throughout
the year, the nights are said to be invariably cool. Between April and September, the tem-
perature varies from 63° to 100° Fahrenheit, the average range at noon being about 83°. In
summer, intermittent fevers are commonly prevalent in the low lands upon the Gulf coast,
though rarely assuming an epidemic character.

Religion. — Among the descendants qf the earliest settlers, the Roman Catholic is of course
the prevailing religion, as in New^r Mexico. But since the revolution, which resulted in the
severance of Texas from Mexican sway, other Christian denominations, of almost every class
and name known in the older states of the Union, have multiplied and flourished; and the
cathedrals erected by the devotees of the pope are now vastly outnumbered by the churches
and other houses of worship occupied by Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, Method-
ists, &c,