Essex town Essex County State of New York. Feb. 15th 1830

To Colo S. F. Austin

Sir

A writer in the Ohio Monitor, under date of Oct 14 1829, after giving a short history and discription of your settlement at San Felippe de Austin in Texas, proceeds to say that " Lands can be obtained by emigrants with great facility from the Empresario and the Commissioner of government under the Colonization Law which authorizes the grant to families of actual settlers of one league Mexican Measure, equal in English to 4446 acres superficial surface and unmarried men can obtain the 4th part of that quantity. The expenses of which will not amount to four cents per acre."

The object of this communication is to inquire whether the statements in that article can be relied on. There are from eight to twelve families in this place respectable for intelligence sobriety and industry, who if they could be assured of realizing the prospects held out to them by the writer of the article alluded to, would like to set out for that place as soon as they could make proper arrangements; but we feel it to be too serious an undertaking to engage in without a better guarantee than an anonymous writer in a newspaper.

We should be particularly gratified to receive from you a speedy answer to the enquiry whether such a company could be located together in a favorable spot, and on what conditions with as many particulars relative to the soil, climate, civil and religious regulations etc as you can afford time to devote to such an object. If settlers from the north is an object worthy of your attention, we flatter ourselves that we should be able to draw after us if everything should prove favorable, a great number of families in a few years, in as much as we can avail ourselves of internal navigation from this place (the shores of Lake Champlain) to N. Orleans a distance of three thousand miles. Our first company would consist of one or two physicians, some mechanics and some agriculturalists.

Abiel P. Mead M. D.