Use the excerpt and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question. Dear Brother, . . . Houses are very sorry in this country for it is a considerable job to build a cabin … owing to the timber being so scarce and plank is out of the question. The people use what they call puncheon which is ash saplings split open and laid down for floors. . . . a man can raise as many cattle as he pleases without feeding them at all and can kill fat beeves anytime in the winter. . . . The grass is now green . . . Excerpt from a letter written by C. Baker in 1853. Switzer, David. It’s Our Dallas County. 1954.

The excerpt above describes which era in Texas history?