April 4, 1863, (Marshall) Texas Republican
Dear Loughery,
I had heard much of the extensive tannery, saw and grist mill, in course of construction by Gregg & Co., but still had no conception of the extent of the enterprise, till recently happening to be near, I concluded to call by, see, and judge of the far-famed “Rebel Tannery” for myself. And I would here suggest to every one who can make it convenient, and who is a friend to progress and the advancement of such important manufactories, to do as I did, and he will see an amount of improvement, for the very short time the proprietors have been engaged in it, quite astonishing. I had seen in your paper a notice of this tannery by “Planter,” of your county, but I thought it probably was a picture highly drawn by a partial friend, but after seeing the progress that had been made in erecting extensive machineries, and the many conveniences for converting rawhide into leather, I found he had barely done justice to the establishment and the enterprise of its worthy proprietors.
The people of the Southern Confederacy should give great encouragement to the erection of such manufactories, as produce articles of vital importance, especially if sold at reasonable rates. And in these times of high prices and extortion, there is nothing which so much entitle the proprietors to a liberal patronage as the comparatively very low prices at which they propose to sell leather.
In conclusion I would be pleased to see them receive a liberal share of patronage from this, as well as the surrounding counties, and that in doing service to the public it will prove a source of profit to themselves.
A Planter of Rusk County.