Planfce Lindlieimeriance. 235 



Tonkeways, and other Indian tribes of the west of Texas, 

 became troublesome, and the frontier settlements had to be 

 abandoned. 



"The spring of 1849 found Mr. Lindheimer farther south, 

 at Comanche Spring, one of the headwaters of San Antonio 

 River. He has now (in the spring of 1850) returned to New 

 Braunfels, where he intends again to go over the as yet 

 insufficiently explored country, the most diversified and 

 richest in botanical treasures as yet seen by him in Texas. 



" The collections now distributed comprise those made 

 in 1845 and 1846 (fascicle III) and 1847 and 1848 (fas- 

 cicle IV). 



" I proceed now to give a short geographical and topo- 

 graphical sketch of the country explored by Mr. Lindheimer. 



" Matagorda Bay, with its numerous branches, receives to 

 the northeast the Colorado, one of the largest rivers of Texas. 

 Southwest of the Colorado the smaller Guadaloupe River 

 empties into the same bay after receiving not far from its 

 mouth its southern branch, the San Antonio River. The 

 headwaters of these rivers, together with the southern branches 

 of the upper Colorado, drain the country investigated by Mr. 

 Lindheimer since 1845. 



" The coast of the bay itself forms a level saline plain, 

 sandy with comminuted shells. Cakile, (Enothera Drum- 

 mondi, and Teucrium Cubense are characteristic plants: a 

 little farther off are found Berberis trifoliolata, Acacia Farne- 

 siana, a shrubby Erythrina, groves of Sophora speciosa, Con- 

 dalia, some large Yuccas, and large Opuntias with humbler 

 Cactacese beneath them. 



" Some miles higher up the rivers, on clayey soil, solitary 

 Elms and Palm trees are seen ; the prairies have a stiff, black 

 soil thickly matted with grass. The prevalent tree now be- 

 comes the Live Oak along the rivers, as well as in small groves 

 on the prairies : higher up on the rivers the Water Oak and 

 the Spanish Oak (Q. falcata) are found mixed with the Live 



