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SAN ANTONIO-HER TRADE,

horses recorded in the county. The numerous sand hills in the vicinity
are awaiting utilization in cement and glass factories, which will com-
mand large returns from small capital.
Presidio County :—Is another of the frontier counties of the state,
southwest of El Paso county and bordering for 250 miles on the Rio
Grande. Its area is 12,000 square miles, and elevation the same as the
lands of El Paso. There are several ranges of mountains running through
the county from north to south, each of which is said to have a different
origin. The heighth of some is 2500 feet, and indeed the entire area is of
a very rough nature ; making the land more applicable to the culture of
stock and pursuit of minerals, than to agriculture.
The mountainous portions are destitute of timber except occasional
lots of scrub oak and cedar, while the river bottoms are thick with mes-
quite. Nutritious grasses abound throughout the whole territory, of which
the black gramma is principal. There are many fine valleys, however, in
the watered districts which have been siezed upon by the natives, and
rendered into fertile fields of wheat, corn, fruits and vegetables. Fort
Davis is the county seat, with a population of 1200 ; is almost centrally
located, and being an established military post since 1854, has invited
through its additional protection from bands of marauding Indians, the
settlement of many foreigners in the neighborhood, the principal occupa-
tion of whom is raising stock of all kinds. Grain finds a ready sale in
this section, and at prices a little above those of the general market,
making it more than profitable for its culture in all the watered districts.
The climate is delightful, and with the reputation of this entire portion of
Texas as a resort for invalids, the steady, cooling breezes of evening and
night and dry, pure atmosphere, make it additionally desirable to those
seeking respite from confinement, or cure of general disorders of the
system.
The commercial interests of Presidio county are entirely conducted by
Americans. The population of the county in three years has increased
from 2000 to 8000, nearly all of whom are ambitious business men with
families, or those who live by hard and honest toil. Unless the profits of
labor were binding through natural encouragement, those who located
with view to prospecting, would not and could not have remained with a
heart overflowing in contentment.
All the ranches, farms and settlements of this county are stocked by
San Antonio's merchants, and proportionately the latter's wholesale inter-
ests are as much in Presidio, and indeed in the entire surrounding coun-
try, as in the city's immediate vicinity. There are many testimonials
regarding the superior advantages for stock-raising and unexplored min-
eral districts that we might quote, but it is unnecessary, for the country
has already been fully apprised of the nature of this portion of Texas soil.
Really each county is similar to a greater or less degree to the ones adjoin-
ing.