31. Mch 27. Claude Heard Ranch, 8 mi SE Beeville, Bee Co., Texas. I rode out here with JP Forgason to see Mr. Heard this morning. We had a lengthy discussion of rain, drought, feeding cattle, etc: Mr Heard had sold all of this year's calves in order to aid his cows to pull through the spring. He was worried about deterioration of his pastures and planned to sow much of the acreage with "blue panic" a perennial grass. He said however that he didn't want to "farm" his pastureland, that he wanted it to be the latter. We discussed brush management problems and both Mr. Heard and Mr. Forgason were of the opinion that the original vegetation here was waist-high grass and that oak woodland and brush were restricted in their distribution. Mr. Heard invited me to stay on his property and offered me the use of a house near the Aransas River. They mentioned the occurrence of alligators along the stream. Mr. Forgason mentioned that the chief "cash crops" of Bee County were flax, broom corn, cotton, and grain sorghum, all of about equal acreage. I stayed in town until 3:00 pm then returned to the Heard Ranch and drove to the house near the river. This house is the last building remaining of the "Orrigan settlement" according to Mr. Forgason. It is 16 miles by road from Beeville. I walked over to the river (so called on all maps I have seen) and upstream to within sight of the bridge on the county road E of Skidmore. I estimated the house to be in excess of 1/2 mile from the first draw E of the bridge on the N bank.