Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 2

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[343] Galveston, September 15, 1867. General J. J. Reynolds, a respected instructor of mine at West Point, replaced him for the remainder of the year. Before Griffin came, Texas had been but partially occupied. The troops had been mostly located near the southern coast. The agents of the Bureau could do little or nothing away from the garrisons. In remoter parts, robberies, murders, and other outrageous crimes were matters of daily occurrence. Griffin at once distributed the troops and by May, 1867, had occupied 57 subdistricts, and sent out 38 army officers and 31 civilians as his representatives; all were so stationed and so supported as pretty thoroughly to cover the State. He made these assistants his school inspectors, each of his own subdistrict. Schools were started. Every school was visited monthly. Land was obtained by donations; on lots so obtained and held, usually by colored trustees, Griffin permitted or caused school buildings to be erected and school furniture to be supplied. Through our Northern benevolent societies and through the freedmen's own support, the Texas schools were multiplied. Griffin, shortly before his last illness, wrote: “If the associations which have done so much for freedmen will send me 100 good teachers I will furnish them schoolhouses and aid besides to carry on 200 primary schools.” He thus hoped to reach 40,--000 children by day schools and 50,000 adults by night schools. Planters were now favoring schools and applying to Griffin for teachers. Of course there were drawbacks. In parts, as I intimated, where desperadoes had the mastery, public opinion was intensely hostile to any project for the improvement of negroes. The poverty of the white people of Texas was never so great as elsewhere in the South, and they had sufficient