I once took a college course in Western Civilization, which covered centuries of (mostly European) progress in the arts and sciences, politics and war, industry and commerce.

I got another view of "western civilization" over the Christmas holidays, when I read the journal of DeWitt Clinton Thomas, who served as sheriff, soldier, mayor, clerk and judge during the late 1800's in the Texas Hill Country.

The abrupt transition from the Wild, Wild West to the stable agricultural communities of the early 1900s was a rough, dangerous time (further complicated by the War Between the States), and the "happy ending" was made possible only by the courage, faith and fortitude of some remarkable people. "De" Thomas was one of those.

I want to thank Lamar Griffin, of Mullin, for providing the manuscript, written by his great-uncle between 1878 and 1912 in Lampasas.

DeWitt Clinton Thomas was born on January 22, 1835, in the small town of Moulton, Alabama. His father was a prosperous merchant, but the bankruptcy of a supposed friend left him liable for some sizable debts, and he was forced to sell his business and start over in the "Promised Land" of Texas. The family of seven, accompanied by two orphaned teenagers (brothers) and three slaves, arrived in Burleson County (east of Austin) in the winter of 1844.

Illness, drought and poor crops made life difficult for the first three years, but in 1848, De's father purchased 300 acres in what is now Lee County. Masters and slaves lived together in a dirt-floored log cabin. Life wasn't easy, but De describes the time as "the most happy years of my life."

"The country was beautiful beyond description," Thomas wrote. "Horses, cattle and hogs kept in fine condition on the range and without feed. Deer, turkeys and all kind of small game abounded everywhere. The streams were full of fish, and all my spare moments were spent in the woods. I loved my gun and my dog, and looked anxiously forward every week to the coming Saturday evening. T ...

Read the entirety of this article in the print edition.

Subscribe online — it's quick and easy