TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 213 



sen, Rossy, Dosch, (the crack shot, 

 and with Neumann, the founder 

 of the first Schuetzen-Verein in 

 San Antonio, with headquarters 

 near the Ohnesorge residence in 

 the eastern suburbs of the city, 

 on PowderhouseHill) Charles Hum- 

 mel, A. Wagner, F. Rummel, 

 Guenther, Mauermann, J. Tengg, 

 Neumann, C. Dagen.Biesen back, 

 Huth, Santleben, Geo. Bracken- 

 ridge, Wm. Schuwirth, Hass & Op- 

 penheimer, Zork, Moye, Schleicher, 

 Tobin, James Clavin, Kalteyer, Dr. 

 Cupples, Dr. Schloeman, Persch, 

 Stafifel, Lungkwitz, Beckmann, 

 Baetz,Briam,Lockwood, Col. With- 

 ers, Dwyer, French, Grice, Siemering 

 Hanshke, Riotte, Pentenrieder, 

 Groos, Staake, Callaghan, Gilbeau, 

 Grenet, Charles C. Kleine, John 

 Wickeland, Frazer, Dreiss, Alex. 

 ' Sartor, Hoerner, Rosenheimer, C. 

 Barnes, Shook, Steves, O. C. 

 Guessaz and many others more or 

 less olden time citizens. 



During that time also, Mr. 

 Lungwitz prepared his me- 

 morable drawing sketches of old 

 "San Antonio de Bexar." And 

 whilst these drawings, including 

 eight separate sceneries around 

 San Antonio are of great historic 

 interest and true to nature to a 

 fault, nowadays the art of photo- 

 reproducing nature objects, even 

 in natural colors, of course is 

 more practical, less tedious, more 

 advanced, and more exact. But 

 the drawings of our late townsman, 

 H. Lungwitz will remain for all 

 times a masterpiece of San An- 

 tonio's best artist in that line at 

 the time and a photocopy of one 

 of the drawings representing San 

 Antonio in olden times is seen 

 elsewhere in this book ; and I also 

 append herein an original photo- 

 copy of one of the locally and his- 

 torically interesting drawings of 

 Mr. Lungwitz, representing the 

 ancient Missions, "San Juan" 

 near the river and close to the old 

 Berg's Mills bridge, on the South 

 toeuring loop of San Antonio. It 



is a very interesting little picture 

 of olden day sceneries around our 

 Alamo City — some fifty years or 

 more years ago, showing the Mis- 

 sion San Juan and adjoining mis- 

 sion walls quite as intact as they 

 are seen there today, also, some 

 Mexican corrals enclosing the 

 small Mexican huts; some cattle 

 roaming about, or at rest under 

 the shade of a huge pecan tree; 

 and to the rear of the old Mission 

 are' seen the high pecan and other 

 forest trees, along the San Antonio 

 river. 



I had photoreproduced all eight 

 of the Lungwitz 's drawings of un- 

 usually interesting sceneries near 

 San Antonio; for some illustrated 

 magazines and this one is included 

 in these reminiscenses for reason 

 of having mentioned same, con- 

 jointly with the Mission: Bspada, 

 in other articles on nature obser- 

 vations around San Antonio. 



All our suburban places, as well 

 as close-in parts of the city, with 

 the many palatial residences of 

 today, were in those days covered 

 with mesquite brush and other 

 chaparral. Alamo Plaza, now a 

 beautiful park, was then a 

 barren place, with stagnating water 

 pools and high weeds all around 

 and along the sidewalks; and this 

 was also the case more or less 

 with Main and Military Plazas 

 and Franklin Square. Where now 

 the imposing Market-hall stands, 

 on Milam square, this place was 

 covered with, rankest high weeds 

 and ravines and surrounded with 

 the quaint old Mexican jakals 

 and some chile stands. And San 

 Pedro creek, now so narrow as to 

 nearly walk over it in most places, 

 was a broad stream, broader in 

 most places than our present river- 

 bed; and it was studded all along 

 from San Pedro Springs park, 

 where the lake was covered at 

 its edges with tule down to its 

 communication with the San Anto- 

 nio river, with man-high reeds, 

 or tule, and with wide open places 



