Our intrepid correspondent traverses the Lone Star State south to north—along the famed 100th meridian—and finds a world of sights and adventures to share.
—by Alan Wilkinson

According to Tom Miller, Director of Texas A& M’s Environmental Science Center at old Fort McIntosh, some of those reputations are rooted in the original settlers’ response to a new land a century or more ago. “Think about it,” he said. “You’ve emigrated from Scotland or Sweden or maybe from Appalachia and you’re writing to the folks back home.” He waved an arm towards the bluffs bordering the river. “Compared with those places, how would you describe a land like this with no mountains, no tall trees, and all that sky? You’d probably tell them it was flat, maybe desolate too.”

As well as those historical views, of course, there’s the effect of human settlement on what is now the Brush Country. As to the sparse grasslands I’d heard so much about, well, Tom reckoned I’d see some of that as I headed north up the 100th meridian, but around these parts things just weren’t the way they used to be. “Back in frontier days you probably could have stood right here and seen what people who’ve never been here think they’ll see—an image from a Marlboro ad, if you like.” But the coming of the cattle, he said, heralded a change in the landscape.

And Much More.........