NOTES AND FRAGMENTS.

The Old G. H. &H. Railroad.—The Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad, as the original charter named it, was chartered in 1854. The line of road, as projected by the charter, called for a direct line as straight as the bird flies from Galveston to Henderson, in Anderson county; Henderson at that time being the county seat of Anderson county.

In December, 1835, the first installment of timber for the road, consisting of fourteen schooner loads, arrived at Galveston from Pensacola, Florida, and was rafted from Galveston to Virginia Point. When the last lot of timber had been grounded on the flats at Virginia Point, an easterly gale came on and swept it all away, scattering it over West Bay, and very little of it was recovered.

In 1856 the grading of the roadbed commenced at Virginia Point and was completed to Clear Creek. Here the graders had to stop; for, as a big embankment was required on the east side of the creek, they could not go any further with their spades and shovels. In order to complete this part of the work, the services of Messrs. Kyle and Terry, who were large planters on the Brazos, were called into requisition, and they, with some fifty or sixty of their plantation negroes, finished the grading. At that date the present well-known railroad scraper was not in use, and the large embankment was constructed by these negroes, first by plowing up the ground and then by carrying the dirt in improvised pans, which were borne on top of their heads, to the fill. In this way one of the best railroad embankments in the State was build for the G., H. &H. R. R., and it stands today a solid monument to their efforts.

Track laying was commenced at Virginia Point, in March, 1857, and twenty-five miles were completed by the latter part of May, the same year. The road was completed to Houston in 1858, at which time the first locomotive ever used on the road was received. It went by the name of the “Perseverance.” Prior to the advent of this engine all the hauling on the newly laid tracks was done by oxen and horses. The Perseverance was of the first pattern of locomotives used on railroads in the United States, and would be a great curiosity if on exhibition at the present day. Ned Williams was the first engineer that pulled the throttle on this engine. Some of the old timers who are alive today and whose memories are fresh say that the Perseverance was all right as an engine to go ahead, but would seldom back up, and in consequence it was always used for go-ahead work. The “Brazos” was the next engine received; it was quite an improvement on the old Perseverance, and the boys on the road felt very proud of it.

William Clawson was the first conductor, and John Shenhols the first baggage master. The Galveston Bay bridge was completed in 1859, and the first trains commenced running that year from Galveston to Houston. The rolling stock consisted of the two engines, Perseverance and Brazos, one flat car boarded up all around for passengers, and three or four flat cars for freight. Ned Williams was engineer on the Brazos and George Rand on the Perseverance. Hawley Pierson was the first fireman on this old-time locomotive. He is alive today, and during a period of forty-four years has been one of the most successful passenger engineers in Texas. For more than thirty-eight years he has been with the Southern Pacific.

The gauge of the road when first built was five feet six inches, but when Mr. Hoxie became president and general manager it was made a standard guage.

The late James Converse, of Houston, Texas, was the chief engineer who located the line between Galveston and Houston. The late W. W. Gregory was the first freight agent at Galveston; A. H. Walterman was the first superintendent, and Geo. B. Nichols the first master mechanic. R. H. Read was yardmaster and track foreman. A. F. James was the first president of the road, but when the Civil War commenced, in 1861, J. M. Brown succeeded James as president, and continued to serve in that capacity until the close of the war. In 1866 the road went into the hands of receivers, and Cowdry and James of New York were appointed.

The men who did the grading and laid the track were Irishmen. It was the custom at that time for the contractors to furnish their grading hands and track layers with a certain number of drinks every day. The men called these drinks “jiggers,” and every one who worked had an understanding with the contractors as to how many “jiggers” they were to receive every day in addition to their wages. A Mr. Burk had the first contract to grade the road; Kay and Gallagher were the sub-contractors, and afterwards W. W. Buell finished the contract for grading and track laying, which work was completed under R. H. Read as foreman.

The first conductors employed on the road were William Clawson, Henry Clark, Mr. Terry, Sy. Parker, Mr. Rogers, Harry Sears, and John H. Westcott. In 1861, and until the end of the war, one mixed passenger and freight train made the run to Houston; it took from two and a half to three and a half hours. The only stations on the road up to 1868 were Virginia Point, Highland Station, Dickinson, Clear Creek, Summit, and Harrisburg. During the war and for some time after the machine and repair shops were located at Harrisburg.

The first express company to commence business in Texas was inaugurated by Starrs Jones, and was called Jones's New Orleans and Texas Express. The first express messenger was George Colt, and his run was between Galveston and Houston. The main office was in Galveston, with a branch office in Houston. These were the only express offices in Texas from 1860 to the close of the war in 1865.

The baggage masters on the first railroads built in Texas were the most popular employes of the roads. In addition to their regular duties, they assisted the brakeman in making up trains and also acted as mail agents and did the shopping for all the ladies on the line of the road.

John A. Caplen.

The Davis Letter.—The letter of Major J. H. Davis published in the April Quarterly was obtained through the kindly services of Mrs. Sam D. Bennet, of Cuero. It covers four pages of a folio, with only five lines at the top and three at the bottom of the last page, leaving the intermediate space blank for the address. This is as follows:

Mrs Pamela Davis  Morganfield  Ky.  Forward by  Capt Hagler