"In our cabin on the Brazos, I am mother, nurse, and teacher to my three little ones. The nearest neighbor is ten miles off, and my husband is often gone for weeks, driving cattle or fetching supplies. I’ve learned to mend a fence, shoot a rifle, and dress a deer when need be. Last month, a rattlesnake got in the cabin, and I killed it with a hoe before it reached the cradle. The loneliness weighs heavy, but I sing to the children and tell them Texas will be their land one day."
---- Sarah Ann Lillie Hardinge writes a letter home to her family in the 1850s, as cited by Lillian Schlissel in her wonderful book "Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey."
Sarah Ann Lillie Hardinge was born in 1824, came to Texas in 1852, and died in 1913. She was evidently quite a progressive woman for her day. This wonderful daguerreotype of Sarah Ann is circa 1850.
This was THE TEXAS QUOTE OF THE DAY