The Best Poor Man’s Country
Peter Rodan traded the rolling, green hills of Iowa for this vast, sun-soaked land, a place where the horizon stretched endlessly and the air crackled with a kind of restless energy. In 1844, Texas was a raw, untamed place, a republic still finding its footing.
Peter was not a soldier by trade, more a wanderer with a restless heart. Like others, he had heard tales of adventure in Texas. Eventually, he joined a militia stationed at Fort Boggy (now a state park near Centerville) a rough collection of men: farmers seeking a better life, strangers running from their pasts, and dreamers like himself, lured by the promise of something more.
Rodan had seen the stark contrast of Texas firsthand. He witnessed the brutal realities of life on the frontier; the lawlessness that crept into the shadows, the desperation that drove men to extremes. He saw the fear in the eyes of settlers, the constant unease that came from living on the edge of a conflict that seemed to have no end.
The whispers of Indian raids and vigilante violence were a constant hum, a background note to every conversation, a silent understanding that peace was a delicate dance, easily broken.
Unlike formal historical documents with their high-minded, self-protective language, his touching words to his father add an open, candid quality that only a personal letter can convey. The tension between his adventurous spirit and familial ties weighed heavier with every word he wrote.
Perhaps writing down his observations helped him make sense of the chaos around him and so capture the essence of the Republic of Texas and the contradictions that made it both beautiful and terrifying, a land caught in the middle of a struggle for identity, a future, and his place in it.
Despite everything, Rodan believes opportunity and Texas go hand in hand; a starting place for ordinary folk willing to endure its hazards and hardships for a chance at a better life.
Dear Parents,
It affords me much pleasure in having this opportunity of sending this [letter] by a man going to the Northwest of Arkansas. I am happy to inform you that I am well, in hopes that this shall find each and all of you in health and prosperity. I am sorry to have to remind you that I have not received the scribe of a pen from you in 14 months. I have wrote to you in one of them and requested you to write and direct your letter to Vanburing [Van Buren], State of Arkansas, as I expected to pass through that place.
But on the very eve of starting to see you all, a volunteer company was wanted to spy out some Indians that had come into the settlements under the mask of friendship and on their retreat wantonly murdered some children for the purpose of satisfying some old grudge, although at that time had come upon Terms of Treaty and has since been completely ratified. No depredations like murder have been committed since that time but they have commenced upon stealing excursions and drove off fifty head of horses at one drive. We succeeded in finding the Indians and brought the gentlemen to tow, only taking a small piece of skin from the crown of their head about 4 inches square.
This country is about to be threatened with a foreign war by England and Mexico. Drafts have been held in several counties to march to the Rio Grande to intercept the Mexicans on their approach. A great number of our citizens taken at the Battle of Mier is yet prisoners in Mexico and their prospects of their releasement is at this time very doubtful. A great number of them have died through the severity of their treatment and prevailing epidemics.
Crops this year will be cut very short on account of the drought. Corn is worth 75 cents per bushel. Sweet potatoes 50 cents per bushel… Wheat oats and barley none. Pork heretofore has been $10 per hundred. It is now reduced to $2 per hundred. This is the best home range in the world. They live entirely in the woods. The varmint is the only obstacle to their progress. Emigration to this country is measurably stopped on account of the rumors of war.
A few months will decide the question whether Texas will be crowned with laurels or sink unnoticed into oblivion. But before that time the panaries (?) will whiten alike with the works of the brave men and the coward, the food men, and the villains. For Texas is settled by a few from every nation of the earth, some of whose crimes cannot be aggravated consequently. Villainy is practiced in all its forms in many parts of the different counties. It has completely got the sway. The members of those clubs are generally large negro holders and able to protected themselves from the executing of justice. Only a few days ago 200 of them imbedded against the civil authorities. I have not heard if it has terminated.
But I do not wish by this statement to prejudice you against Texas. For take it with all its ills and woes, its climate, and its soil. It is the best poor mans country that ever I was in. They live at home. They live rough but they have not gails; nor rents to pay….. The long and short is: he does nothing, he makes nothing. A single gentleman of good reputation can marry well but for my part I have no intention of settling until I see you all.
Tell my dear mother that I am truly sorry even on my knees. Could I supplicate her forgiveness…. When I recall my numerous failures, when I regret that I have promised her as her dutiful son and pledged my honor as a gentleman…. I have been a freeman and not a prisoner. What then shall I say for justification? I have apologized in my other letters until you have doubted my veracity.
I am well aware that I have caused my dear mother to look a thousand times the way that she expected me to come. I know that she has counted the days and weeks until the set time when then she only met with the awkward feelings of disappointment. Her anxiety is equaled at this moment by my regret. This has been my fate and not my will. As such I will leave it with you.
“My love to each of my sisters. Tell them to love and obey their mother, to be her comfort in old age. It is a satisfaction to me to believe they are such by so doing the will. Be a comfort to their parents, a credit to the connection, and a blessing to themselves. My respects to brother Hugh. Tell him that I wish to see him very much as I expect he is with you. I hope he will do his duty by you. I have almost forgot his resemblance…
You shall hear from me soon perhaps very soon. I wish you to write as soon as this comes to hand direct.
PF Rodan, Alabama Houston County TX.
May the peace of God be with you all.
********
Letter by P.F. Rodan to his father David in Iowa, from Fort Boggy, Tx, August 24, 1844,
The Raab Collection.
Why Historify?
I discovered the power of story as a history teacher, and the singular privilege of working at a Texas state archive filled with letters penned by people whose thoughts, attitudes, and experiences reflect the times in which they lived.
This simple website was created as a free, uncomplicated, and time-saving introduction to the richness and value of historical sources.
Please join me as we study the past through the words of those who lived it, one life at a time, and thank you for being here.
Buck
Why Historify?
I discovered the power of story as a history teacher, and the singular privilege of working at a Texas state archive filled with letters penned by people whose thoughts, attitudes, and experiences reflect the times in which they lived.
This simple website was created as a free, uncomplicated, and time-saving introduction to the richness and value of historical sources.
Please join me as we study the past through the words of those who lived it, one life at a time, and thank you for being here.
Buck
