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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #60144 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60144)
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-Project Gutenberg's Under Six Flags: The Story of Texas, by M. E. M. Davis
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Under Six Flags: The Story of Texas
-
-Author: M. E. M. Davis
-
-Release Date: August 21, 2019 [EBook #60144]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER SIX FLAGS: STORY OF TEXAS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Ron Box and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-      [Illustration: MAIN DOOR OF MISSION SAN JOSÉ, SAN ANTONIO.]
-
-
-
-
-                            Under Six Flags
-                           THE STORY OF TEXAS
-
-
-                                   BY
-                             M. E. M. DAVIS
-   Author of “In War Times at La Rose Blanche,” “Under the Man-Fig,”
-                     “Minding the Gap,” etc., etc.
-
-                             GINN & COMPANY
-                  BOSTON · NEW YORK · CHICAGO · LONDON
-
-                            Copyright, 1897
-                           By M. E. M. DAVIS
-                          ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
-                                  26.5
-
-                          _The Athenæum Press_
-             GINN & COMPANY · PROPRIETORS · BOSTON · U.S.A.
-
-
-                             TO THE MEMORY
-                                   OF
-                            _E. H. Cushing_
-
-
-
-
-                                PREFACE.
-
-
-In the following pages I have endeavored to sketch, in rather bold
-outlines, the story of Texas. It is a story of knightly romance which
-calls the poet even as, in earlier days, the Land of the Tehas called
-across its borders the dreamers of dreams.
-
-But the history of Texas is far more than a romantic legend. It is a
-record of bold conceptions and bolder deeds; the story of the discoverer
-penetrating unknown wildernesses; of the pioneer matching his strength
-against the savage; of the colonist struggling for his freedom and his
-rights.
-
-It is the chronicle of the birth of a people; the history of the rise
-and progress of a great State.
-
-I have tried in these simple readings so to arrange the salient points
-of a drama of two centuries as to present a consistent whole.
-
-And I shall be happy if I shall succeed in awakening in the reader
-somewhat of the interest in Texas history which has inspired this work.
-
-There are several features which mark Texas history as unique. One of
-these is the difference between the methods of colonization employed in
-Texas and those exercised elsewhere in the United States.
-
-The pioneer with his cabin, his ever-spreading fields, his gardens and
-orchards—the idea of the home with its roots in the very soil, as
-represented by Austin and his followers—was preceded by a hundred barren
-years of fortress and soldier, the Spanish idea of conquest and military
-rule.
-
-Again, its vast extent of territory and the ease with which its rich
-lands were acquired seemed to adapt Texas peculiarly to those
-communistic and utopian experiments which have been the delight of the
-visionary in every age of the world’s progress. A number of these have
-been tried upon its soil. The result has been to give a varied and
-original coloring to the shifting scenes.
-
-The philosophical student will find these phases of our history well
-worth his consideration.
-
-
-I desire in this place to express my thanks to the Texas teachers, to
-many of whom I am indebted for timely suggestions and for kindly
-encouragement; also my grateful obligation to Mr. William Beer, of the
-New Orleans Howard Memorial Library, for valuable assistance; and to the
-Library itself, which, under his able direction, has become particularly
-rich in documents and publications relating to the early history of
-Louisiana and Texas.
-                                                    M. E. M. DAVIS.
-
-
-
-
-                               CONTENTS.
-
-
-                                   I.
-                            FORT ST. LOUIS.
-                                                                    PAGE
-  1. In the Name of France                                             1
-  2. In the Name of Spain                                              9
-  3. In the Name of Oblivion                                          12
-
-
-                                  II.
-                              SAN ANTONIO.
-  1. A Bold Rider                                                     14
-  2. Cowl and Carbine                                                 16
-  3. A Hurried Ride                                                   20
-  4. Indios Bravos                                                    23
-  5. Along the Old San Antonio Road                                   25
-
-
-                                  III.
-                              NACOGDOCHES.
-  1. A Fatal Venture                                                  29
-  2. The Disputed Boundary Line                                       33
-  3. The Neutral Ground                                               36
-  4. The Red House                                                    40
-  5. The Champ d’Asile                                                44
-  6. A Treacherous Shot                                               46
-  7. A Voice in the Wilderness                                        48
-
-
-                                  IV.
-                         SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN.
-  1. An Unexpected Meeting                                            50
-  2. Ups and Downs                                                    52
-  3. Orders and Disorders                                             56
-  4. A Trumpet Call                                                   62
-  5. Out of a Mist                                                    65
-  6. The Priest’s House                                               69
-  7. By the Brazos                                                    74
-
-
-                                   V.
-                                GOLIAD.
-  1. Messengers of Distress                                           77
-  2. In Church and Fortress                                           82
-  3. Fort Defiance                                                    85
-  4. Palm Sunday                                                      91
-  5. Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!                             96
-  6. Two Generals                                                    102
-  7. How the Good News was Brought                                   105
-
-
-                                  VI.
-                                HOUSTON.
-  1. On Buffalo Bayou                                                111
-  2. The Invincible                                                  117
-  3. The Capital                                                     120
-  4. The War of the Archives                                         124
-  5. The Black Beans                                                 127
-
-
-                                  VII.
-                                AUSTIN.
-  1. The Republic is no More                                         132
-  2. Across the Border                                               136
-  3. Dying Races                                                     142
-  4. The Texas Ranger                                                143
-  5. A Cloud in the Sky                                              148
-
-
-                                 VIII.
-                               GALVESTON.
-  1. A Buffalo Hunt                                                  154
-  2. The Blue and the Gray                                           158
-  3. Home Again                                                      163
-
-
-                                  IX.
-                           A FLIGHT OF YEARS.
-    A Flight of Years                                                167
-
-
-                                   X.
-                            THE NEW CENTURY.
-    The New Century                                                  175
-
-
-                                  XI.
-                                 TEXAS.
-    From the Dome of the Capitol                                     178
-    Index                                                            185
-
-
-
-
-                            UNDER SIX FLAGS.
-
-
-
-
-                                   I.
-                            FORT ST. LOUIS.
-                              (1685-1721.)
-
-
-                       1. IN THE NAME OF FRANCE.
-
-One morning early in the year 1684, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle,
-a gentleman in the King’s service, stood waiting in an antechamber of
-the royal palace at Versailles (Ver-sālz′). Behind the closed door,
-which was guarded by two of the King’s Musketeers in their showy
-uniforms, his Majesty Louis the Fourteenth was giving a private audience
-to the Count de Frontenac. This gentleman, late the governor of New
-France (Canada), was the friend and adviser of _The Adventurer_, as La
-Salle had been mockingly nicknamed by the idlers of the French court.
-
-La Salle, who was headstrong and somewhat overbearing in character, more
-used, moreover, to command than to obey, frowned as he walked up and
-down the room, and glanced impatiently from time to time towards the
-king’s cabinet, where his fate hung in the balance. Months had passed
-since he had arrived in France from North America, with a great scheme
-already planned, and lacking only the consent of the king and his
-ministers. He had danced attendance at court until he was weary, rugged
-soldier that he was; now filled with hope when the ministers plied him
-with false promises, now sunk in despair when his enemies placed
-obstacles in his way. “Would I were back in the wilds of America, with
-Tonti of the Iron Hand and my red brothers,” he muttered, downcast and
-discouraged.
-
-But at length the door opened, the tapestry was pushed aside, and
-Frontenac appeared. His eyes beamed with satisfaction. “Your application
-is granted,” he said, pressing La Salle’s hand. “His Majesty commissions
-you to plant a colony at the mouth of the great river where you have
-already raised the flag of France. Go, my friend; thank his gracious
-Majesty, and then hasten your preparations for departure.”
-
-                       [Illustration: La Salle.]
-
-La Salle lost no time in obeying these directions. His heart throbbed
-with pride and satisfied ambition. For this was his dream: to colonize
-the beautiful wilderness watered by the lower Mississippi; to found a
-city on the banks of the mighty stream whose mouth it had been his good
-fortune to discover.
-
-But this dream was never to be realized by him. It was the destiny of La
-Salle not to colonize Louisiana, but to become the discoverer of Texas.
-
-After much trouble La Salle succeeded in perfecting the arrangements for
-his voyage. His little fleet was composed of four vessels: the _Aimable_
-(Ā-mah′-bl), the _Joli_ (Zho-leé), the _Belle_, and the _St. Francis_.
-In these embarked over three hundred souls, including women, workmen,
-priests, and soldiers.
-
-They sailed from Rochelle, France, on the 24th of July, 1684. The
-passage across the Atlantic was tedious and stormy; it was embittered by
-constant quarrels between La Salle and Beaujeu (Bo-zhuh′), the naval
-commandant of the squadron; and the fleet was crippled by the loss of
-the _St. Francis_, the store-ship, which was captured by the Spaniards.
-But toward the end of September the remaining vessels, in tolerable
-condition, entered the Gulf of Mexico. Here La Salle began a sharp
-lookout for the wide mouth of the river he aimed to enter.
-
-He was full of confidence in himself, for he had spent years of his life
-tracking the savage wilderness of the north with his Indian guides, and
-he had the keen eye and the ready memory of the practiced scout.
-
-But he had no exact chart of the pathless and unknown waters around him;
-the calculation of the experienced landsman stood him in little stead at
-sea. He lost his way, and sailing to the westward of the river known to
-us as the Mississippi,—but called by La Salle the St. Louis,—he came, on
-the 1st of January, 1685, in sight of the low-lying shores of Texas.
-
-                  [Illustration: The Flag of France.]
-
-Some weeks later, the fleet anchored in the Gulf outside the beautiful
-land-locked bay of San Bernard (now Matagorda Bay); and La Salle, flag
-in hand, and attended by soldiers and priests, set foot on the new land,
-taking formal possession of it in the name of the King of France.
-
-To the colonists, so long confined within the small ships and
-overwearied by the monotony of the voyage, it was a joy simply to feast
-their eyes on the green of the trees that lined the shore, and to
-breathe the fresh air that blew down, flower-scented, from the far
-western prairies. They longed to run like children on the sandy beach,
-to feel under their feet the firm turf. But La Salle’s experience among
-the Indians had taught him caution. He took the utmost care in landing
-his colonists, and in forming his temporary camps. Two temporary camps
-were established, one on Matagorda Island, where the lighthouse now
-stands; the other on the mainland, near the present site of Indianola.
-
-His own heart, meantime, was heavy. He had missed his coveted and
-beloved river, though he still believed that the San Bernard Bay might
-be one of its mouths. The _Aimable_, in attempting to enter the harbor,
-had grounded upon a sandbank and gone to pieces. The Indians, who had
-swarmed to the coast in great numbers to greet the pale-faced strangers,
-had already become troublesome. They had, indeed, murdered two of the
-colonists, named Ory and Desloges. This was the first European blood
-shed upon Texas soil. The stock of provisions was running low, and
-finally, to crown all, Beaujeu, from the beginning hostile to La Salle,
-had hoisted sail, with scant warning, and returned to France, leaving
-the eight cannons and the powder belonging to the expedition, but
-carrying away with him all the cannon balls.
-
-A less sturdy spirit might have been wholly disheartened; but La Salle,
-whatever he felt, gave no signs of weakness. He explored the country
-round about, and at the end of a short time he marked out the foundation
-of a fort beside a small stream which empties into the bay. He called
-the river _Les Vaches_ (Cow River[1]), from the number of buffaloes
-which grazed along the banks. The spot[2] chosen for the site of the
-fort was a delightful one; the rolling prairies which stretched away
-northward were covered with rich grass and studded with belts of noble
-timber; southward lay the grey and misty line of the bay; birds of gay
-plumage sang in shadow of the grapevines that trailed from overhanging
-trees to the water’s edge; the clear stream reflected the blue and
-cloudless sky of southern Texas. Here the colonists set to work. La
-Salle with his own hands aided in hewing and laying the heavy beams of
-wall and of blockhouse. The curious savages, tall Lipans and scowling
-Carankawaes, hung about the place, peering forward with jealous eyes,
-and picking off the unwary workmen with their deadly arrows. But a day
-came at last when the little fortress, with its chapel, lodgings, and
-guardhouse, was completed. Amid the cheers of the colonists the flag of
-France loosened its folds to the wind; a hymn of thanksgiving and praise
-arose from the chapel; and La Salle, giving to the fort the name of St.
-Louis, dedicated it to France in the name of the King.
-
-Several expeditions followed, in 1685 and 1686, the building of Fort St.
-Louis. La Salle not only cherished the hope of finding his lost river;
-he was lured northwestward by rumors obtained from the Cenis, the
-Nassonites, and other friendly Indians, of rich silver mines in the
-interior. He wished also to communicate, if possible, with his old
-friend, the Chevalier Tonti of the Iron Hand, whom he had left with a
-colony on the Illinois River. Tonti, having lost a hand in battle, used
-one made of iron; hence his title.
-
-These journeys were both painful and perilous; the footsore explorers
-were obliged to swim swollen rivers; they traversed dangerous swamps and
-unknown forests; they encountered and fought with hostile Indians; they
-suffered the pangs of hunger and thirst; they were shaken with chills
-and parched with fever. It is marvelous, indeed, that a spark of courage
-should have remained in their hearts.
-
-On returning to the fort after one of these expeditions, during which
-the commandant had lain for months helpless with fever in the lodge of a
-Cenis chief, he found matters there in a bad way. The last remaining
-vessel, the _Belle_, had been wrecked on a shoal in the bay. Food was
-scarce; ammunition was almost exhausted; and between death from sickness
-and losses in Indian skirmishes, the inmates were reduced to less than
-forty persons.
-
-                [Illustration: La Salle’s Map of Texas.]
-
-Despite all this, however, as the wayworn explorers drew near the walls,
-their ears were greeted with sounds of mirth and revelry. The Sieur
-Barbier and “one of the maidens”—as the chronicler relates—had just been
-married in the little chapel. The wedding party welcomed their chief
-with joyous shouts. We can well imagine how, removing his worn cap, he
-saluted the youthful pair with a stately bow. And the same evening, when
-the colonists gathered in the log-built hall of the commandant’s own
-quarters to make merry over the first European wedding on Texas soil,
-with what courtly grace did the Sieur de la Salle tread a measure with
-the blushing bride!
-
-This was in October, 1686. On the 12th of January the following year, La
-Salle appeared in the open square of the Fort, dressed in his faded red
-uniform and equipped for traveling. His people pressed around him,
-listening with anxious hearts to his farewell words. For he was about
-starting once more across vast and unknown regions in search of
-Tonti—and help.
-
-One by one he called to his side those whom he had chosen to accompany
-him. They numbered twenty—exactly half of the remnant of his colony.
-Among them were two of his own nephews and his brother, Cavalier; the
-faithful priest, Father Anastase; Joutel, the young historian of the
-colony; Liotot (Lee-o-to); L’Archevêque (Larsh-vāke′); Duhaut (Du-ho′);
-and Nika (Nee-ka), an Indian hunter who had followed La Salle to France
-from Canada.
-
-Sieur Barbier was placed in command of the garrison; and, after an
-affectionate farewell, La Salle passed through the gate, which he was
-never to enter again, and plunged a last time into the forest.
-
-Two months later, near the crossing of the Neches River, Moragnet
-(Mo-rä-nyā), La Salle’s nephew, who had been for some time on bad terms
-with L’Archevêque and Duhaut, was murdered by them while he was
-sleeping. Nika, who was with the party (which had been sent out after
-fresh buffalo meat), was killed at the same time. The murderers, fearful
-of La Salle’s just vengeance, determined to take his life also. They
-placed themselves in ambush; L’Archevêque, who was only sixteen years
-old, was detailed to lead their chief into the trap.
-
-When La Salle appeared, in search of his nephew, he was fired upon and
-instantly killed (March 16, 1687).
-
-Thus perished, by treacherous hands, the gallant and stout-hearted La
-Salle—the soldier, explorer, and dreamer. He was buried in the lonely
-spot where he fell. Father Anastase scooped out a shallow grave for his
-friend and benefactor, and pressed the grassy turf upon his breast. And
-so, within the borders of Texas—though the exact spot is unknown—repose
-the mortal remains of its discoverer.
-
-Joutel with several of the band succeeded after many adventures in
-reaching one of Tonti’s settlements on the Arkansas River. Thence they
-made their way to Canada.
-
-The assassins and their followers remained with the Indians, where, one
-after another, they nearly all met the same bloody and violent death
-they had meted out to their victims.
-
-Five years later L’Archevêque with one companion was recaptured by the
-Spaniards from the savages and sent to Madrid.[3]
-
-Tonti of the Iron Hand had waited long and anxiously for news of his
-friend. In 1684 he had gone in a canoe down the Mississippi to its mouth
-to meet the expedition from France. The expedition did not appear, and
-he returned to his post on the upper Mississippi. He questioned the
-Indian runners from the south and west as they passed his camp on their
-hunting raids. He could learn nothing of La Salle or his companions.
-That intrepid captain seemed to have vanished into the unknown west. At
-last, in 1689, he journeyed southward again in quest of his friend.
-Vague rumors reached him of men who had passed through his own forts and
-tarried to tell the story of La Salle’s death. But he would not believe
-them. He entered Texas and traveled as far as the wigwams of the
-friendly Cenis. From them he learned the fate of the man he loved; and
-the rugged soldier turned aside his head and wept.[4]
-
-
-                        2. IN THE NAME OF SPAIN.
-
-While these things were taking place in an obscure corner of the New
-World, there was commotion in the court of Spain. Word had come over
-from the “Golden West” that France had laid an unlawful hand upon some
-of the Spanish possessions there. Letters flew thick and fast between
-the Spanish viceroy in Mexico and the Spanish king’s[5] ministers. The
-Viceroy was ordered to punish the offenders as soon as ever they could
-be found; the dark-browed king of Spain was very angry.
-
-All this stir was caused by the capture of the _St. Francis_, La Salle’s
-little store-ship in 1684. She was plainly on her way to some new
-colony. But where had that colony been planted? The wary captain of the
-_St. Francis_ said that he did not know. Perhaps he told the truth. At
-any rate, it was not until 1686 and after a world of trouble that the
-Viceroy in Mexico located the spot of La Salle’s settlement. Spain
-considered herself at that time the legitimate owner of all that region
-which we now call Texas; she pretended, indeed, to own everything
-bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. A military council was therefore held
-at the new post of Monclova, and Captain Alonzo de Leon, the newly
-appointed governor of Coaquila (afterwards called Coahuila)
-(Co-ah-wee′-la), was dispatched to find and destroy La Salle and his
-colony. La Salle, with a bullet in his brain, had been lying for two
-years in his shallow grave near the Neches River; but the Viceroy did
-not know this.
-
-Captain De Leon and his hundred soldiers marched gaily and confidently
-from Monclova in a northeasterly direction, across wild prairie and
-savage woodland. They were used to the ways of the Comanches, through
-whose hunting grounds they marched, and, at need, could take scalp for
-scalp; they were well fed and comfortably clad; the King’s pay jingled
-in their pockets,—a brave contrast truly to the starved, ragged,
-disheartened colonists at Fort St. Louis!
-
-But when Captain De Leon and his men at length found the fort, the
-unfortunate French colonists, like their chief, had perished. Their
-bleaching bones lay scattered about the door of the blockhouse, where
-they had made their last desperate stand against the bloodthirsty
-Carankawaes. De Leon’s heart stirred with pity as he looked about him,
-thinking less, perhaps, of the men—for it is a soldier’s business to
-die—than of the delicate women who had shared their fate.
-
-With the Cenis, into whose friendly wigwams they had escaped at the time
-of the massacre, De Leon found several of the colonists. These were
-afterwards sent back to their homes in France. But among them there is
-no mention of the Sieur Barbier and his young bride.
-
-                   [Illustration: The Flag of Spain.]
-
-De Leon, it is said,—though this is a much disputed fact,—called the
-country about Fort St. Louis Texas, because of his kindly treatment by
-the Cenis Indians, the word _Texas_ in their tongue meaning friends.[6]
-On his return to Monclova, he pictured this Texas as a paradise so
-fertile and so beautiful that the viceroy determined to establish there
-a mission and presidio,—that is to say, a church and stronghold,—for the
-double purpose of reducing and converting the Indians.
-
-In 1690 Captain De Leon, with several priests added to his company of
-soldiers, marched again to Fort St. Louis. The broken walls were
-restored, and once more the air rang with the cheerful sounds of axe and
-hammer. The Mission of San Francisco was begun and dedicated; the
-Spanish flag fluttered in the breeze; a hymn of praise and thanksgiving
-arose from the chapel; and De Leon took formal possession of the country
-in the name of the King of Spain.
-
-The Spaniards, harried by the Indians and too far from Monclova to
-receive regular supplies, were soon forced to abandon Fort St. Louis.
-Great was the rejoicing among the Lipans and the Carankawaes when the
-pale faces disappeared from among them, leaving the bay once more free
-to their own canoes, the prairies open to their moccasined feet.
-
-Neither France nor Spain for a time seemed inclined to trouble herself
-further about this disputed property.
-
-But in 1719 a French ship bound for the Mississippi drifted, like La
-Salle’s fleet, westward to the bay of San Bernard. Among those who went
-ashore for recreation, while the sailors were taking on fresh water,
-were Monsieur Belleisle, a French officer, and four of his friends. They
-did not reappear at the appointed signal, and the captain, after waiting
-for them for some hours, sailed away without them.
-
-Belleisle and his companions were in despair at finding themselves thus
-abandoned; they wandered for weeks along the strange and lonely coast,
-living, as best they could, upon roots, berries, and insects. Finally
-four of the men died of starvation, leaving Belleisle alone. Weak and
-despairing, he made his way to the interior, where he soon fell into the
-hands of some Indians, whom he took at first to be cannibals. They
-stripped him and divided his clothing among themselves; but instead of
-eating him, as he expected they would do, they gave him to an old woman
-of the tribe, who made him her slave but who otherwise treated him with
-rude kindness. In time he learned the language of his captors and became
-a warrior, sometimes even leading their savage forays.
-
-One day an embassy from another tribe came to the camp. Belleisle,
-listening to their talk, heard the name of St. Denis. Now St. Denis was
-one of his own former comrades-in-arms. Belleisle’s heart leaped. He
-wrote, with ink made of soot, a few lines on his officer’s
-commission,—which he had somehow kept,—and secretly bribed one of the
-strange Indians to carry this message to St. Denis. St. Denis happened
-at the time to be at Natchitoches (Nack-ee-tosh) beyond the Sabine
-River; when he read the note he was much affected. He immediately sent
-horses, arms, and clothing to the captive; Belleisle, by means of a
-strategy, escaped with the Indian guides and joined his friend.
-
-This adventure of Monsieur Belleisle caused him later to become a part
-of the history of Fort St. Louis.
-
-
-                      3. IN THE NAME OF OBLIVION.
-
-The unfortunate La Salle had died with his ardent and long-cherished
-dream unfulfilled. But after more than thirty years, another man had
-begun to realize that dream. Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
-had sailed with French ships up the beloved river; his colonists were
-fast peopling the beautiful wilderness, and already the infant city of
-New Orleans lay strong and thriving on the bank of the Mississippi.
-
-The commandant of Louisiana, though busied with his growing colony, kept
-yet a watchful eye upon the grasping Spaniards, who claimed the country
-eastward nearly to the Mississippi. But France claimed westward as far
-as the bay of San Bernard, by virtue of La Salle’s discovery. Bienville
-determined to make good the claim of France. In August, 1721, he fitted
-out a small vessel, the _Subtile_, told off a detachment of tried
-soldiers, and placed Bernard de la Harpe, an experienced captain, in
-command. The expedition set out at once to recover La Salle’s old fort.
-Belleisle, on account of his knowledge of the country and the Indian
-language, was sent along as guide.
-
-The surprise and the rage of the Indians when they saw the hated flag
-waving again above the fort may be imagined. They threw themselves with
-such fury against the newcomers that La Harpe, seeing his small garrison
-in danger of massacre, withdrew quietly, and returned in October to New
-Orleans.
-
-Fort St. Louis was left at last to a solitude never again to be broken.
-Vines grew over the crumbling walls and sprawled across the floors where
-human feet had passed; lizards basked in crevices of the blockhouse; and
-wild creatures from the wood took up their abode in the chapel. Day by
-day and year by year decay and change went on, until there came a time
-when nothing remained to tell of the place where the first settlers of
-Texas lived, suffered, rejoiced, and perished.
-
-
-
-
-                                  II.
-                              SAN ANTONIO.
-                              (1714-1794.)
-
-
-                            1. A BOLD RIDER.
-
-In 1714 Juchereau St. Denis rode across Texas, in an oblique line from a
-trading post in Louisiana to a presidio on the Rio Grande River. This
-was the same St. Denis who afterward, as already related, rescued his
-comrade-in-arms Belleisle from captivity. He had secret orders from
-Cadillac, the governor of Louisiana, and his busy brain was teeming with
-carefully laid plans of his own. His escort consisted of twelve white
-men and two or three Indians. He took his bearings as he went, carefully
-marking the way from river to river, from prairie to forest, from Indian
-village to buffalo range; thus sketching out that long thoroughfare
-which afterwards became famous as the “Old San Antonio Road.”
-
-Much of the way lay through the lands of unfriendly Indians; but St.
-Denis rode as jauntily as if the men at his back were a thousand instead
-of a dozen.
-
-And when one day he drew rein on the brow of a certain hill, and gazed
-down into the lovely cup-like valley where a few huts marked the
-beginnings of San Antonio, he might, for all signs of fatigue upon his
-handsome young face, have just quitted the governor’s residence.
-
-“A beautiful site for a city,” he said to Jallot, his confidential
-servant. His pleased eyes roved over the smiling valley, through which
-the river ran like a silver thread. Graceful trees lined the river
-banks; the tender grass was studded with a thousand flowers of varied
-colors; there was a life-giving softness in the wind that came from the
-low mountains to the northward.
-
-                [Illustration: THE MISSION OF SAN JOSÉ.]
-
-St. Denis journeyed on to St. John the Baptist, carrying this lovely
-picture in his heart as he went. St. John the Baptist was a presidio on
-the Rio Grande River. It was built by Captain Alonzo de Leon, after his
-return from Fort St. Louis in 1689. Its commandant, at the time of the
-visit of St. Denis, was Don Pedro de Villescas. To Don Pedro St. Denis
-unfolded his mission—the opening of trade between Louisiana and Mexico.
-The friendly commandant could do nothing without first consulting his
-superiors; so he asked St. Denis to wait until a letter could be sent to
-the governor of the province at Monclova. St. Denis waited, and while he
-was waiting he fell in love with Donna Maria, the commandant’s daughter.
-
-The young French officer was so dashing, so courtly, and withal so good
-looking, that it is no wonder Don Pedro’s daughter loved him in return;
-and there were at least two very happy persons at the Presidio of St.
-John the Baptist.
-
-But when the courier came back from Monclova, St. Denis was seized by
-order of the governor, and was carried under guard to that city.
-
-The governor of Coahuila was, as it happened, a rejected suitor of Donna
-Maria Villescas. Filled with jealous rage, he threw the young Frenchman
-into prison and threatened him with death unless he would give up all
-claim to his promised bride.
-
-This St. Denis gallantly refused to do. After some months the governor
-sent him to the city of Mexico, denouncing him to the viceroy as a spy
-against the government. He was again placed in prison, where he was
-treated with great severity.
-
-Donna Maria, however, was not idle all this time. She had sent several
-spirited letters to the governor at Monclova, and she now wrote to the
-viceroy himself. Her letter had the effect of loosening the chains of
-her lover.
-
-Marquis de Linares, the viceroy, when he saw his prisoner, was so
-charmed that he offered the young Frenchman an important post in the
-Spanish army. But St. Denis would not consent to abandon his own flag.
-The viceroy then gave him a handsome horse, and parting from him with
-regret, sent him back to the presidio, where he married the loyal Donna
-Maria.
-
-Before leaving the presidio on his return to Louisiana, he made secret
-arrangements for smuggling goods into Mexico.
-
-The viceroy, having a hint of this, did not trouble St. Denis again; but
-he decided to establish posts and missions throughout the New
-Philippines—as Texas was still called—with garrisons armed to prevent
-contraband trade. Captain Domingo Ramon was appointed to carry on this
-work. He set out at once from St. John the Baptist for San Antonio, with
-a company of soldiers and several friars under his command. St. Denis,
-in high spirits and sure of his own success in spite of Captain Ramon,
-rode with him, acting as his guide.
-
-
-                          2. COWL AND CARBINE.
-
-Mission and presidio, as already stated, meant church and fortress. The
-places chosen for these buildings were generally in the very midst of
-populous and fierce Indian tribes. For the object of the builders was
-not only to hold the country against France, but also to reduce the
-savages and convert them to the Catholic religion.
-
-The Red Man had already his own rude belief in the Great Spirit who sat
-behind the clouds and watched over the flight of his arrows and the
-tasseling of his corn. He loved to tell about the Happy Hunting-grounds
-to which he would travel after death, attended by his horse and his dog.
-
-It required a great deal of patience and perseverance on the part of the
-missionaries to make these wild creatures understand the meaning of the
-strange things they saw and heard: the hymns and prayers which broke the
-stillness at morning and at eventide, the candles blazing on the altar,
-the tinkling of bells, the movements of the priests, the humble attitude
-of the proud Spanish soldiers at mass. They crowded about the chapels,
-now accepting the new faith with childlike confidence, at other times
-seeking a chance to massacre priest and soldier in cold blood.
-
-But these missionaries belonged to an order whose business it was to be
-patient. They were Franciscans from the monastery of St. Francis at
-Zacatecas in Mexico, and they were pledged to poverty and self-denial.
-Gentle, but sturdy, these barefooted friars, in their coarse woolen
-frocks and rope girdles, exercised a strange fascination over the
-Indians who fell under their influence.
-
-                  [Illustration: A Franciscan Father.]
-
-Captain Domingo Ramon went bravely to work with his soldiers and
-Franciscans. He was very much loved by the Indians. They adopted him
-into their tribes and cheerfully aided him in the hard labor of clearing
-and building. Within a few years the country was dotted with missions.
-Some of these were temporary structures, rude and frail; others were
-built of stone. The noble and majestic ruins of the latter fill the
-beholder to-day with wonder and delight. If the mission served also as a
-presidio, it was entitled to a garrison of two hundred and fifty
-soldiers; where there was no fortress, the church itself served as a
-stronghold. Among the earliest of the missions thus built were Our Lady
-of Guadalupe (Gwah-dah-loop′ā), at Victoria (1714); Mission Orquizacas
-(Or-kee-sa′-kass), on the San Jacinto River (1715); Mission Dolores near
-San Augustine (1716); Adaes, east of the Sabine River (1718);
-Nacogdoches (1715); and Espiritu Santo, at Goliad (La Bahia) (1718).
-
-The Mission Alamo,[7] which was to play so prominent a part in the later
-history of Texas, was begun under another name, in 1703, on the Rio
-Grande River. It was removed to the San Pedro River at San Antonio in
-1718. In 1744 it was finally built where its ruins now stand, on the
-Alamo Plaza in San Antonio, and was called the Church of the Alamo.
-
-Early in 1718 the foundation of San José (Ho-sā′) de Aguayo, the largest
-and finest of all the missions, was laid near San Antonio. The little
-settlement which had so pleased the eye of St. Denis four years before
-had grown to a village. It had been laid off and named for the Duke de
-Bexar (Bair), a viceroy of Mexico; and St. Denis’ road, which linked it
-on the southwest with St. John the Baptist and on the northeast with
-Natchitoches in Louisiana, had already become a traveled highway. The
-Mission and Presidio of San José were therefore of the first importance.
-
-Captain Ramon himself may have selected the site. It was a few miles
-below the town, on the limpid and swift-flowing river San Antonio. A day
-or two after the site was decided upon, a long procession wound across
-the beautiful open prairie from the village. It was headed by a
-venerable barefoot Franciscan father, who carried aloft a large wooden
-cross; on either side of him walked a friar of the same order, and
-behind them came acolytes and altar-boys bearing censer, bell, and
-vessels of holy water. Captain Ramon and his soldiers on horseback, and
-stiff and erect in their holiday uniforms, followed with the Spanish
-flag in their midst; the Mexicans who composed the slim population of
-San Antonio came next; then, grave and stately in their blankets and
-feathered headdresses and as proud as the Spaniards themselves, stalked
-a hundred or more converted Apache and Comanche warriors. A rabble of
-Indian squaws and papooses brought up the rear.
-
-This procession went slowly along under the morning sun, now over the
-flower-set prairie, now through a strip of woodland. The river,
-breast-high to the women and boys, was forded, and as the foremost group
-reached the farther shore, the old Franciscan lifted his hand; a church
-hymn, sweet, powerful, resonant, arose from five hundred throats. Thus
-they came, singing, to the place where San José was to stand.
-
-A large space was marked off; the ground plan of the great church was
-sketched on the turf,—perhaps with the point of Captain Domingo Ramon’s
-sword; the church prayers were said, and the corner-stone, already hewn
-and shaped, was sprinkled with holy water.
-
-The scene on the spot daily thereafter for many years was a busy and
-picturesque one. Everybody worked with a will,—soldiers, priests, and
-Indians, all filled with a holy zeal. Even the Indian women fetched sand
-in their aprons, and the Indian children set their small brown bodies
-against the stones and helped push them into place. Tradition says that
-the people brought milk from their goats and cows to mix the mortar,
-thereby making it firmer and more lasting.
-
-The beautiful twin towers went slowly up; the great dome was rounded
-over the main chapel; the double row of arched cloisters stretched their
-lovely length along the wall; the artist, Juan Huicar (wee′-car), sent
-out by the king of Spain, set his fine carvings above the wide doors.
-
-At the same time the enclosing wall was raised; the fort with its flying
-buttresses, the guardhouse, the huts into which the Indian converts were
-locked at night—all these were completed. Orchards and gardens were
-planted, and irrigating ditches were dug. Again and again the work was
-interrupted by attacks from Indians; but when the fight was over the
-dead were buried, the wounded were cared for, and the building and
-planting went on as before.[8]
-
-Such was the manner of the building of the Texas missions. It took sixty
-years to complete San José. In the meantime the handsome Mission of La
-Purissima Concepcion (Immaculate Conception) and San Francisco de la
-Espada (St. Francis of the Sword) were erected, both also on the San
-Antonio River.
-
-The Mission of San Saba was built in 1734, on the San Saba River in what
-is now Menard County. The good fathers were at first very successful in
-converting the Apaches and the Comanches, who flocked to them in great
-numbers. But the reopening of _Las Almagras_ (red ores), an old silver
-mine near the mission, brought into the neighborhood many reckless men;
-and quarrels soon arose between them and the Indians—quarrels which were
-one day to bear bitter fruit.
-
-
-                           3. A HURRIED RIDE.
-
-In 1719 St. Denis was at Natchitoches, which was one of the outposts of
-the French in Louisiana and close to the Texas border. He had traveled
-back and forth through Texas more than once since his first trip to the
-presidio on the Rio Grande; and he had spent much of his time in Mexican
-dungeons. But for that he bore the Spaniards no great ill-will. He had
-escaped from prison and brought his beautiful Mexican wife away with
-him; and when he made his flying journeys he turned aside, no doubt, to
-see his Spanish friend, Captain Domingo Ramon—who, by the way, was his
-wife’s uncle—and to admire the missions which were going up in every
-direction under that captain’s vigorous management. But now things were
-changed. A few months before, France and Spain, never on good terms with
-each other, had declared open war.
-
-St. Denis, if the truth were told, was glad of a chance to fight
-somebody besides Indians. He was right weary of the skulking ways of the
-red warrior with his tomahawk, his paint and feathers, and his savage
-desire to carry scalps at his belt. He longed for a good honest brush
-with white men, who fought openly with gun and sword—men, for example,
-like his good friend Captain Ramon and his troop of jolly soldiers!
-
-He leaped lightly into the saddle one morning and galloped out of
-Natchitoches at the head of a hundred and fifty men. Bernard de la
-Harpe, in joint command of the expedition, rode by his side.
-
-They crossed the Sabine River and attacked the garrisons at the Missions
-of Nacogdoches, Aes, and Orquizacas, all of whom, surprised by the
-sudden onslaught, retreated before them. It was a lively chase across
-the vast territory, with a good deal of skirmishing; and it ended only
-when the Spaniards were safe inside the town of San Antonio.
-
-St. Denis, drawing rein on the brow of the hill and gazing down once
-more into the lovely valley, saw a sort of orderly confusion on an open
-plaza in the heart of the town; horsemen were gathering, men were moving
-hurriedly about, and from the midst of the bustle the clear tones of a
-bell suddenly fell upon the air. It was the call to arms!
-
-St. Denis smiled and turned to La Harpe: “It is high time we were riding
-homeward,” he said gaily, with a glance at their small band of wayworn
-troopers; and turning their horses’ heads they galloped away.
-
-None too soon! For shortly afterwards the Marquis de Aguayo, governor of
-the province, came out of the town with a fresh troop of five hundred
-Spaniards, tried soldiers and eager recruits, and galloped in pursuit of
-the flying Frenchmen. It was another lively chase across the vast
-territory; but this time it was France who retreated, with Spain at her
-heels. Captain Ramon, quite as anxious for a tilt with civilized
-soldiers as his friendly enemy and nephew-in-law St. Denis, left the
-work of mission-building in the hands of his friars, and, as second in
-command, joined the governor-general in this pursuit.
-
-Aguayo, following the example of St. Denis, did not pause until the
-intruders were safe in their own citadel at Natchitoches; then he
-replaced at the Missions of Orquizacas and Aes the men whom he had
-brought back with him, and he left for their protection a stout garrison
-at the Mission of Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Our Lady of the Font), about
-twenty miles west of Natchitoches.
-
-He was as keenly alive as St. Denis himself to the natural beauty of the
-valley watered by the San Pedro and San Antonio Rivers; and on his
-return to San Antonio he set on foot many improvements, including the
-widening and deepening of the irrigating ditches.
-
-These irrigating ditches were called _acequias_ (a-sā′-kee-a). They are
-still in use, and many of them are very beautiful. One known as the
-Acequia Madre, or Mother Ditch, is as deep and wide as a small rivulet;
-the living waters, pure and cool, rush along a bed lined and parapeted
-with stone, and overhung with pomegranates and rustling banana leaves.
-
-The water from the ditches is turned, by means of gates, into the fields
-and gardens which lie along its course. Each landowner is entitled to so
-much water a day, or at a stated period. This inflow of the crystal
-flood is called the _saca de agua_ (taking the water), and is hailed
-with delight as it comes singing its way through corn-row, garden-patch,
-and rose-bower.
-
-In the early days the completing of a water-ditch was celebrated as a
-feast. Rows of cactus were planted on its banks to keep off cattle, and
-shade-trees were set out along its course. A priest, attended by
-acolytes, blessed the water. The following day a drum was beaten at
-morning mass, and all those who had contributed in money or labor to the
-making of the ditch were summoned to the church to take part in the
-Suerte (soo-air′-ta),—a lottery for the drawing of the land watered by
-the new sluice. Tickets were placed in an urn and were drawn out by two
-children. The lucky holders of the highest numbers got the best lands.
-At night, by way of winding up the feast, there would be a procession
-and a _fandango_[9] on the plaza.
-
-The good Marquis de Aguayo further recommended to the Spanish government
-at Madrid to send colonists to the province. “One family,” he said, “is
-better than a hundred soldiers.”
-
-Then, having done all he could for the New Philippines, he went back to
-his official residence at Monclova, attended as far as St. John the
-Baptist by Captain Ramon.
-
-
-                           4. INDIOS BRAVOS.
-
-The Spanish government, acting on the governor-general’s advice, ordered
-four hundred families to be sent out to the New Philippines from the
-Canary Islands. These islands, situated off the coast of Africa,
-belonged to Spain by right of conquest, and were settled by Spaniards of
-pure blood, noted for their honor and chastity, and for their devotion
-to the Catholic religion. Of the four hundred families only thirteen
-ever came. They reached San Antonio by way of Mexico in 1729, bringing
-with them their stores of clothing, silverware, and jewels. They built
-their dwellings around the present square of the Constitution, which
-they called _Plaza de las Islas_ (Square of the Islands), in homesick
-memory of the sea-girt isles they had left behind.
-
-Other colonists from Monterey and from Lake Teztuco, in Mexico,
-followed; houses sprung up beside the musical water-ways; vines were
-trained over the yellow adobe walls; semi-tropical vegetation made a
-paradise of the spreading fields and gardens. Finally, the newcomers,
-emulous of the growing walls of San José, laid on their plaza the
-foundation (1731) of San Fernando Church.
-
-Enlarged and rebuilt on the same spot, San Fernando remains to this day
-the parish church of the Spanish-speaking Catholics of San Antonio.
-
-But the settlers, or townspeople—as they may now be called—were full of
-anxiety in those troublous times. No more French soldiers, it is true,
-came riding across the border, chasing the Spanish troops to their very
-gates. But there were the Apaches and the Comanches. For in spite of the
-efforts of Spanish friars and Spanish soldiers, but few of the Apaches
-and Comanches had become _Indios reducidos_ (converted Indians).
-Thousands of _Indios bravos_ (wild Indians), as savage and cruel as if a
-mission had never been built, roamed the country, ready to swoop down at
-any moment upon the ill-guarded little post. A messenger would hurry in,
-perhaps from the missions below, which kept ever a keen lookout,
-breathless with the news that the Apaches were creeping stealthily upon
-the town. Or, suddenly and without warning, a ringing war-whoop would
-echo in the air, and leaping from cover to cover among the scattered
-houses, the Comanches, tomahawk in hand, would pursue their hapless
-victims to some last hiding-place; then, leaving death and desolation
-behind, they would vanish as suddenly as they had come.
-
-At last the new settlers determined to put an end to this state of
-affairs. They organized themselves into a small army, and aided by the
-little garrison of soldiers then stationed there, they marched against
-their Indian foes, whom they defeated in a pitched battle.
-
-        [Illustration: THE MISSION OF LA PURISSIMA CONCEPCION.]
-
-This victory (in 1732) gave some security to the place. The _Indian
-bravos_ still harried the country, killing those who ventured far from
-post and mission, and plundering where they could not kill. A number of
-years later (1752), after a fresh quarrel with the miners at Las
-Almagras, they fell upon the Mission of San Saba, and butchered every
-human creature within its walls. But rarely did they again venture near
-the dwellings of those determined pale-faces who had overcome them on
-their own hunting-grounds.
-
-
-                   5. ALONG THE OLD SAN ANTONIO ROAD.
-
-The years drifted on, peaceful and sluggish, towards the end of the
-eighteenth century. There were few happenings either in San Antonio
-itself or in the province, which was at last laid down on the map as
-Texas. There was no further dispute concerning boundary lines or
-property. Spain was the lawful owner of everything west of the
-Mississippi River. For Louis the Fifteenth of France, in 1762, for state
-reasons, presented to the King of Spain the handsome French province of
-Louisiana. The people of Louisiana were very angry when they
-learned—more than a year after the transfer—that they had been handed
-over without their knowledge or consent to the hated Spaniard. But Louis
-did not trouble himself in the least about what they thought or felt.
-Thus, the colonists being all Spanish subjects, were bound to peace
-among themselves. Even the dashing St. Denis, had he lived so long,
-could have found nobody to fight except the despised Indian. But that
-doughty warrior and courtly gentleman had long since fired his last shot
-on the field, and trod his last measure in the dance. According to the
-old chroniclers he remained to the end of his life “a devoted friend and
-a noble fighter.”
-
-In 1729 a widespread plot was formed among the Indians in Texas and
-Louisiana to massacre all white people within reach, Spanish and French,
-men, women, and children. A friendly chief warned St. Denis of the plot.
-He gathered his troopers hastily together and rode out of Natchitoches,
-where he had continued in command, and in a short time defeated and
-scattered the tribes. After this they hated and feared him, but they
-looked upon him with awe, believing him to be protected by their own
-Manitou.
-
-             [Illustration: The Cathedral of San Fernando.]
-
-He was at length killed by the chief of the Natchez Indians. He lies
-buried near the town of Natchitoches.
-
-In spite of the peace between Spain and France (1762)—or perhaps because
-of it—there was little progress in Texas. Spain forbade her colonists to
-trade with other nations; she did not allow them to manufacture anything
-that could be made in the mother-country, or to plant anything that
-could with profit be sent over from there. They were even forbidden to
-trade with their fellow-colonists in Louisiana.[10] Under these hard
-conditions settlers came in slowly. Texas remained almost neglected,
-peopled only by fierce savages.
-
-But the little town in the southwest had a life of its own. Nearly
-everybody who had any business with Texas or Mexico traveled the Old San
-Antonio Road laid out by St. Denis in 1714; and all travelers halted at
-this lovely oasis in the wilderness. They were always loth to go away.
-For there were wonderful _fiestas_ (feasts) in the Churches of the Alamo
-and San Fernando, and solemn processions to the grand Missions of
-Concepcion and San José; there were stately gatherings in the houses of
-the Island Spaniards, and merry boating parties on the blue-green waters
-of the river San Antonio. There were gay dances on the plaza at night to
-the music of guitar and castanet, and Mexican jugglers throwing balls
-and knives by the light of smoking torches. Bands of Mexican muleteers
-jingled in from the presidio on the Rio Grande, driving before them
-trains of mules loaded with ingots of silver, on their way to
-Natchitoches, four hundred miles distant; caravans traveling westward
-with bales of smuggled goods crawled lazily through the narrow streets.
-There was a continued coming and going of swarthy soldiers and
-black-gowned priests, governors, bishops, alcades, and christianized
-Indians; among them appeared, now and then, the fair face and wiry form
-of the American, the forerunner of that race which was one day to sweep
-all the others out of its path and to possess the land.
-
-Once, in 1779, when Spain and England were at war with each other, there
-was even more than the usual stir on the Military Plaza. Nearly all the
-inhabitants of the town were gathered about the doors of the Church of
-the Alamo, where a priest was saying mass. Presently there was a burst
-of martial music, and a little company of soldiers came out; their heads
-were lifted proudly and their step was firm and assured. A cheer broke
-forth from the crowd; the soldiers sent back an answering shout as they
-mounted their waiting horses and rode away under the gaudy pennon of
-Leon and Castile.
-
-Spain was at this time at war with England, and this handful of fighting
-men was the quota of troops furnished by the Spanish province of Texas
-to Don Galvez, the commander-in-chief of the army at New Orleans. They
-reached Louisiana in time to take an active part in the war and to
-rejoice with Galvez over his victories at Natchez, Mobile, and
-Pensacola.
-
-In 1794 all the missions were secularized; that is, the control of them
-was taken away from the priests and given to the civil authorities. Upon
-this, the Missions of San José and Concepcion ceased to be the centers
-of activity they had been for nearly a century. San Antonio was shorn of
-a part of her glory. The majestic buildings remained, but the pomp and
-circumstance of fortress and chapel had forever departed.
-
-
-
-
-                                  III.
-                              NACOGDOCHES.
-                              (1794-1821.)
-
-
-                          1. A FATAL VENTURE.
-
-One of the earliest missions planned by Captain Ramon was that of Our
-Lady of Nacogdoches (1715). It was built on the lands of the Naugodoches
-Indians, not far from the disputed boundary of Texas, and nearly on a
-line with the French post of Natchitoches in Louisiana. Some priests,
-whose duty it was to convert the Indians, were placed there, and with
-them a small garrison of Spanish soldiers to watch the French at
-Natchitoches. This was one of those garrisons surprised in 1718 by St.
-Denis, and driven to the gates of San Antonio. The soldiers were brought
-back and reinstated by Aguayo; and from that time on, to the close of
-the century, the little military post was kept up.
-
-Monsieur de Pagès, a French gentleman who in 1766 passed across Texas on
-a voyage around the world, received from the missionary fathers at Aes,
-Adaes, and Nacogdoches a hospitable welcome. He describes particularly
-the Mission of “Naquadock” (Nacogdoches) with its “plaza and its
-pleasant trees,” and says that the “half-savage Spanish soldiers” at the
-presidio, when they were upon their horses, recalled to his mind the
-ancient chevaliers. The Spanish “bold-rider” wore a cuirass of antelope
-skin and carried a shield, a large sword, a carbine, and a pair of
-pistols. His arms and the equipment of his horse were very heavy and
-cumbersome, but he was an “amazing good fighter.” Monsieur de Pagès, who
-was an officer in the French navy, was also a correspondent of the
-Academy of Sciences at Paris. He took careful notes in all the countries
-through which he passed. He describes the soil and climate of Texas and
-the animals, especially the fine, robust horses. “A good horse,” he
-says, “may be had for a pair of shoes.” But his greatest interest is in
-the savages. He mentions the Comanches, the Apaches, the Adaes, and the
-Tehas tribes. The Tehas, he says, were a “corn-growing people.” He spent
-some time at the Mission of Nacogdoches (“Naquadock”) in company with a
-deposed governor of the province.
-
-                [Illustration: De Pagès’ Map of Texas.]
-
-In 1778 a stone fort, which still stands, was built at Nacogdoches by
-Captain Gil Y Barbo for the accommodation of the Spanish soldiers. A few
-huts were clustered about the presidio, for it was on the Old San
-Antonio Road and was a stopping-place for travelers; but it was a dull
-and lonely spot.
-
-Suddenly, with the birth of a new century, it awoke from its long
-slumber and became, in a way, the starting-point of Texas history. It
-was the gateway through which Anglo-American energy and ambition came in
-to Texas. From its plaza unrolled a panorama full of life and vigor:
-scenes in which adventurers, freebooters, patriots, and dreamers played
-their parts.
-
-The panorama opens with Philip Nolan.
-
-Philip Nolan, a young man of Irish descent, obtained in 1797 a permit
-from De Nava, the Spanish commandant-general of Texas, to collect in
-that province wild horses for the American army. He entered the
-province, made friends with the Indians, and succeeded in gathering
-twelve hundred mustangs, which he drove across the border. He drew and
-brought back with him at this time a map of Texas, the first one ever
-made. This map he gave to Baron Carondelet, the Spanish governor at New
-Orleans.[11]
-
-Three years later, with the same permit and ostensibly on the same
-errand, he started westward from Natchez, Mississippi. He had with him
-seventeen white men and one negro. His second in command was a
-nineteen-year-old lad named Ellis Bean. The men were all young, most of
-them being under thirty and many of them hardly more than twenty years
-of age.
-
-They traveled on horseback across the wilderness, and some months later
-they encamped in the neighborhood of the present city of Waco, where
-they found “elk and deer plenty, some buffalo, and thousands of wild
-horses.”[12] In a short time they had caught and penned three hundred
-mustangs. The Indians were very friendly. At one time two hundred
-Comanches visited them in their camp. In return they spent a month in
-the wigwams of that tribe. Then they went back to their business of
-capturing wild horses.
-
-But orders in the meantime had come from De Nava to Musquiz, the Spanish
-captain at Nacogdoches, to arrest Nolan at all hazards. He had been
-denounced to the Spanish government as a traitor, and it was believed
-that he had come to Texas for the purpose of setting up a republic of
-his own, or to further the plans of Aaron Burr.[13]
-
-                     [Illustration: Ellis P. Bean.]
-
-Musquiz left Nacogdoches on the 4th of March, 1801, with one hundred
-soldiers, in search of the supposed conspirator. After a few days’ march
-he sent for El Blanco, a famous Indian chief, and offered him a large
-bribe if he would lead him to Nolan’s camp. El Blanco proudly spurned
-this base offer. Some Indian spies, however, served as guides, and at
-daybreak on the 22d of March Musquiz found the camp. He attacked Nolan
-and his men, who returned his fire from their rude blockhouse. Nolan,
-whose rifle had been stolen from him by a deserter from his own camp,
-was killed in a few moments. Bean took command and the fighting went on
-desperately for some time. Finally, on a promise from the Spaniards that
-they should be set free as soon as they reached Nacogdoches, the
-outnumbered Americans surrendered. They buried their gallant leader,
-whose dream of a republic, if he had one, died with him; and they set
-out with their captors for the Presidio of Nacogdoches. There, instead
-of the promised freedom, they found chains and captivity. They were
-heavily ironed and placed in close confinement. At the end of a month
-they were marched into the plaza, bound together, two and two. There was
-a beating of drums and a fluttering of Spanish pennons. The hearts of
-the poor young prisoners beat high with hope. Knowing that they had been
-guilty of no crime, they seemed already to feel their chains falling
-off, and they laughed joyfully, lifting their pallid faces to the free
-blue sky. But a harsh voice gave the order “Forward March!” and driven
-by brutal guards they limped painfully away to Mexican dungeons.
-
-It was six years before the King of Spain found time to sentence these
-prisoners. A royal decree then came (1807) ordering every fifth man to
-be shot. By this time but nine were left alive, and the officer in
-charge decided that one only should suffer death.
-
-The nine wretched captives threw dice to determine which of their number
-should die. The lot fell to Ephraim Blackburn, the oldest man among
-them. He was executed without delay.
-
-Only one of the others ever breathed the blessed air of freedom again.
-Ellis Bean, after many strange and thrilling adventures, finally
-escaped. His companions, to a man, perished in loathsome Mexican
-prisons, some of them within a short time, others after a wretched
-captivity of more than fifteen years,—all ignorant to the last of the
-cause of their imprisonment.
-
-
-                     2. THE DISPUTED BOUNDARY LINE.
-
-While Nacogdoches was rubbing her sleepy eyes and staring at the
-_Americanos_, who kept coming into Texas in spite of the scant welcome
-they got there, a man was strutting about the court at Madrid in Spain,
-carrying Texas, so to speak, in his pocket. Manuel de Godoy, called _El
-Principe de la Paz_ (The Prince of the Peace), who, from a private in
-the King’s Guards had come to be a grandee of Spain and first minister
-of the King’s council, was a corrupt courtier, cordially hated by the
-people, but a favorite both of the King and the Queen.[14] They had
-given him the highest honors and titles possible in Spain and finally
-they had made him a present of the territory of Texas. To this princely
-gift they added soldiers and ships and a large number of young women
-from the asylums in Spain. Godoy in his dreams already saw himself
-ruling in a semi-barbaric fashion over his kingdom in the “golden west.”
-
-             [Illustration: Old Stone Fort at Nacogdoches.]
-
-The attitude of Napoleon Bonaparte toward Spain put an end to this
-curious scheme. Soldiers and ships were ordered to another service; the
-young women were returned to their asylums; and Godoy was sent into
-dishonorable exile with his pocket empty, at least of Texas.
-
-Spain, tired of the troublesome present she had received from Louis the
-Fifteenth, one fine day in 1800 handed Louisiana back to France. But
-before the French colonists had time to rejoice, Napoleon in 1803 sold
-them and their province to the United States. Again they were very
-angry; but, as before, nobody cared in the least what they thought or
-how they felt.
-
-The old dispute concerning the boundary between Louisiana and Texas was
-revived by this transaction. Spain claimed eastward as far toward the
-Mississippi River as she dared. The United States would gladly have
-reached out westward to the Rio Grande. The quarrel at last grew so
-bitter that both countries prepared to go to war (1806).
-
-Nacogdoches and Natchitoches glared at each other across the Sabine
-River, like two watch-dogs snarling and showing their teeth.
-
-Antonio Cordero, governor of Texas, hurried by way of the Old San
-Antonio Road from San Antonio to Nacogdoches. The lonely presidio then
-fairly thrilled; for fortifications were thrown up, provisions were
-brought in, and the place was put in a state of defense. Soldiers were
-also stationed at the mouth of the Trinity River, at the old fort at
-Adaes, and at other points. At length in August, 1806, Simon Herrera,
-commanding the Spanish troops with Cordero as his second, marched in
-with twelve hundred men at his back.
-
-At Natchitoches also there was bustle and excitement. Governor
-Claiborne, followed at once by General Wilkinson of the United States
-army, had come up from New Orleans. Several angry messages passed
-between Generals Wilkinson and Herrera, but neither would yield an inch
-in his demands; and on the 22d of October General Wilkinson marched his
-troops to the east bank of the Sabine River and camped there. General
-Herrera’s camp was on the west bank, just opposite. The stream alone
-separated the two armies. On both sides everything was in readiness for
-a battle.
-
-But in the hush of the night (November 5) the two generals met and held
-a secret council. The next day (Nov. 6, 1806), to the surprise of all
-and greatly to the disappointment of the American soldiers, it was
-announced that the affair had been peacefully settled. A strip of land
-between the Sabine River and a creek called the Arroyo Hondo seven miles
-west of Natchitoches, was declared neutral ground,—that is, ground to be
-occupied by neither country until the boundary line could be fixed by a
-state treaty.[15]
-
-The Americans marched away, grumbling openly; the Spanish generals,
-having got more than they expected, returned well pleased to
-Nacogdoches.
-
-Nacogdoches had ceased to be simply a stopping-place for travelers; it
-vied with its distant neighbor, San Antonio, in the gaiety of its social
-life. The Spanish officers, especially the commandant Herrera, were
-noted for their gracious and courtly manners. Some American families of
-position had moved in; there was even a hotel. The presidio had become a
-town.
-
-
-                         3. THE NEUTRAL GROUND.
-
-One day in 1812 a young man—an American—wearing the uniform of the
-United States army crossed the Arroyo Hondo on horseback and entered the
-Neutral Ground. He withdrew a little from the road, dismounted, and
-seated himself upon a fallen log, seeming to await some one or
-something.
-
-Soon a second rider appeared, threading his way through the forest
-trees. He was a Spaniard of soldierly bearing, and his somewhat stern
-features offered a marked contrast to the eager face of the first comer.
-He dismounted with a courteous greeting, sat down in his turn, and
-drawing a map from his pocket, he spread it upon his knees.
-
-The Spaniard was Colonel Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara. The American was
-Lieutenant Augustus Magee.
-
-               [Illustration: Map of The Neutral Ground.]
-
-  Nacogdoches
-  Trinity River
-  Wallisville
-  East Bay
-  Neches River
-  Sabine Lake
-  Sabine River
-  Bayou San Patricio
-  Spanish Lake
-  Adais
-  Arroyo Hondo
-  Nachitoches
-  Red River
-  L. Terre Noire
-  Conel River
-  NEUTRAL GROUND
-  Calcasieu River
-  Lake Calcasieu
-  Grand Lake
-  GULF of MEXICO
-
-The Neutral Ground from the moment of the treaty between Herrera and
-Wilkinson in 1806 became the resort of all sorts of lawless men, who,
-subject to no authority, robbed and murdered at will the travelers
-passing across this No Man’s Land. The danger at last became so great
-that the United States sent a squad of soldiers to serve as an escort to
-people whose business led them between the Sabine and Natchitoches.
-Lieutenant Magee was placed in command of this escort. He was a bold and
-gallant young fellow, within whose romantic brain soon came the idea of
-following out Nolan’s supposed plan of founding an independent republic
-in Texas.
-
-He confided his project to Gutierrez, who had fled to Natchitoches after
-the failure of a similar attempt in Mexico, in which he had taken part.
-Gutierrez was delighted. He undertook to gain over the Mexicans in
-Texas. Magee resigned his position in the United States army and soon
-succeeded in forming a band composed of adventurers and desperadoes from
-the Neutral Ground, a number of Indians, some Mexicans, and a few
-Americans of good character. Gutierrez, on account of his influence over
-his countrymen, was put in command. Magee, however, was the leading
-spirit.
-
-It was to talk over their scheme of invasion and conquest, to consult
-maps and arrange routes, that Magee and Gutierrez had met on the banks
-of the Arroyo Hondo.
-
-Magee started soon after for New Orleans to get money and recruits.
-Gutierrez with a few men crossed the Sabine and took possession of
-Nacogdoches, which was at once abandoned by the Spaniards. From that
-place he marched to join Magee and the main army on the Trinity River.
-
-The first movement of this army of republicans, which numbered several
-hundred men, was upon La Bahia (Goliad). The Spanish garrison in the
-fortress there joined them, surrendering, along with other military
-stores, the cannon brought over by La Salle in 1685.
-
-Hardly, however, were the republicans within the fort when they were
-attacked by the Spanish army, under Governor Salcedo and General
-Herrera.
-
-The fighting was at great odds, but the little band of republicans held
-their own during several months, their greatest loss being the death of
-their brave and spirited young leader, Magee, who, wasted with
-consumption, died in February, 1813.
-
-Shortly afterwards a fierce hand-to-hand skirmish took place. In this
-the republicans were victorious. The Spaniards thereupon gave up the
-siege and retreated to San Antonio. The republicans followed under
-Colonel Kemper, who had succeeded Magee. On the 28th of March, 1813, a
-bloody battle took place on the Rosillo Creek, nine miles from San
-Antonio. The Spaniards were defeated with the loss of one thousand men.
-The victorious army marched into San Antonio, flying their flag in
-triumph. In the fortress of the Alamo they found seventeen prisoners,
-whom they released; the private soldiers taken prisoners at Rosillo were
-all set at liberty. The officers were at first paroled; but afterward by
-order of Gutierrez, or at least with his consent, they were marched by a
-company of Mexican soldiers to a place on the river below the town;
-there they were stripped, their hands were bound behind their backs, and
-their throats cut.
-
-Among those thus brutally butchered were Salcedo, Governor of New Leon,
-Governor Cordero, and the brave and polished Herrera.
-
-Many of the better class of Americans, among them the commanding
-officer, Colonel Kemper, disgusted with the savagery of Gutierrez, left
-the army. The republicans who remained were filled with triumph;
-intoxicated with success, they gave themselves up to rioting and
-rejoicing.
-
-Their enthusiasm was increased by a victory over another Spanish force
-sent against them under the command of Don Y Elisondo (El-ee-son′do). In
-this battle, fought June 4, the Spaniards lost over a thousand men,
-dead, wounded, and prisoners.
-
-But the tide of success had reached its height; it began to turn.
-Gutierrez having retired to Natchitoches, General Toledo (To-lā′do) was
-now in command of the republicans. On the 18th of August he marched out
-of San Antonio to attack a third Spanish army commanded by General
-Arredondo, who had thrown up breastworks on the Medina near the town.
-
-The result was a terrific defeat for the republicans. Almost the entire
-army was destroyed; many were killed; those taken prisoners were
-butchered as cruelly as Herrera and his brother officers had been. Out
-of eight hundred and fifty Americans, only ninety-three escaped. One by
-one these stole through Nacogdoches on their way back to the safe
-thickets of the Neutral Ground.
-
-
-                           4. THE RED HOUSE.
-
-Nacogdoches, it may be supposed, had grown accustomed to that dream of a
-Texas Republic which from time to time caused the air about her stone
-fort to thrill and vibrate; she was accustomed, too, to see that dream
-end in bloodshed and death.
-
-So it was an old story when in 1819 some three hundred Americans came
-tramping in, ready, as they imagined, to convert Texas into a free and
-independent state. This new expedition, organized at Natchez,
-Mississippi, was conducted by Dr. James Long of Tennessee, an energetic
-patriot who had served as a surgeon in Jackson’s army at the battle of
-New Orleans.
-
-General Long’s brother, David, accompanied him; and his wife and her
-sister followed, under the conduct of Randall Jones. They arrived at
-Nacogdoches soon after the new republicans had taken peaceful possession
-of the town.
-
-A legislative body was formed. One of its members was Bernardo
-Gutierrez, who had continued to live at Natchitoches. The Republic of
-Texas was proclaimed, and land and revenue laws were passed. A
-newspaper, the first in Texas, was started by Horatio Bigelow, a member
-of the council.
-
-General Long’s next step was to take possession of the country and
-strengthen the infant government. He placed detachments of men at
-various points on the Brazos and Trinity Rivers, opened trade with the
-Indians, and sent James Gaines, one of his lieutenants, to Galveston
-Island to get the assistance of Lafitte.
-
-Jean Lafitte, a Frenchman by birth, had, while yet a mere lad, commanded
-a privateer which sailed the Gulf of Mexico. Later, with his two
-brothers, he had been, nominally, a blacksmith in New Orleans; but while
-hammering horseshoes and making wagon-tires, he was really engaged in
-smuggling. After a while, he dropped all pretense, and gathering
-together a band of reckless men he established himself in 1810 on the
-island of Grand Terre, a swampy lowland in Louisiana near the Gulf
-coast. From there he plied his unlawful trade. His band became finally
-so bold and troublesome that a reward was offered for their leader’s
-head. This proclamation, signed by Governor Claiborne, was posted about
-New Orleans; and more than once the daring freebooter was seen talking
-gaily with a group of friends, leaning the while with folded arms
-against a wall upon which flamed in big letters the governor’s mandate
-demanding his head. He was never captured.
-
-                     [Illustration: Jean Lafitte.]
-
-In 1814, when the United States and England were at war, a British
-officer visited Lafitte at Grand Terre and offered him the command of a
-frigate if he would join the British navy. Lafitte instead offered his
-services to General Jackson, fought gallantly at the battle of New
-Orleans, and received a full pardon from the United States government.
-
-But his restless spirit would not long suffer him to remain inactive. In
-1816 he fitted out a schooner (_The Pride_) and sailed to the
-uninhabited island of Galveston.
-
-This island was discovered by La Salle as he coasted along the Gulf in
-1684, seeking the Mississippi River. He called it the Island of St.
-Louis. It was afterward known as Snake Island, and received its present
-name, about 1775, in honor of Don José Galvez, governor of Louisiana and
-son of the viceroy of Mexico.
-
-It had been occupied for a short time (1816) by a band of Mexican
-“republicans,” under Manuel Herrera and Xavier Mina. They were joined by
-Luis d’Aury, a Mexican naval officer, and Colonel Perry, an American who
-had taken part in Magee’s ill-fated expedition. They set up a sort of
-republic on the island. Their fleet of twelve armed vessels sailed the
-Gulf, and for a time the enterprise prospered. But the little republic
-did not last long. The leaders quarreled among themselves; the United
-States denounced their sailors as pirates; the settlement was broken up,
-and Galveston returned to its native solitude.
-
-The island was covered with beautiful green grass; there were no shrubs,
-and the only trees were three live oaks clustered together about midway
-of the island. Its wide beach shone like silver in the sunlight. Here in
-a short time Lafitte had established a miniature kingdom. Adventurers
-came flocking to him from every direction, and in less than a year there
-were a thousand persons on the island. Lafitte, bearing the proud title
-of “Lord of Galveston,” held absolute sway over them. The fort and the
-town, which he named Campeachy, were kept under strict military rule.
-The bay harbored a fleet of swift vessels, sailed by fearless pirates
-who swept the Gulf, capturing and plundering Spanish ships and bringing
-the rich spoils to be divided by their chief. On the incoming Spanish
-barques there were bales of silks and satins, woven for the dark-eyed
-dames of Mexico, and soft carpets and priceless hangings for their
-houses; there were rare wines for the tables of the viceroys, and
-gold-embroidered altar-cloths for the churches. On outgoing Mexican
-vessels there were bars of silver and ingots of gold, tropical spices
-and dyes, uncut jewels, and beautiful skins of wild animals. All these
-treasures were unrolled and spread out on the open square of the fort,
-and each man was allotted his share. Lafitte was generous with the goods
-brought in by his freebooters. Once from a rich “haul” he took for his
-own share only a slim gold chain and seal which had been removed from
-the neck of a portly Mexican bishop on his way to visit Rome. This chain
-and seal were given by the pirate to Rezin Bowie, a brother of James
-Bowie. It remains in the Bowie family to this day.
-
-Besides the regular business of piracy, which was politely called
-privateering, a brisk slave-trade was carried on between the island and
-the shores of Africa. Slave-ships came boldly into the harbor and landed
-their cargoes of black humanity at Campeachy. The negro gangs were
-driven into the fort, where they were sold _by the pound_. The price
-paid was generally one dollar a pound, though prices sometimes fell so
-low that an able-bodied man or woman could be bought for forty dollars.
-The purchasers hurried the unhappy Africans through the country to Baton
-Rouge and New Orleans, where they were resold at higher prices.
-
-Lafitte was adored by his followers, though he ruled them as with a rod
-of iron. In person he was tall, dark, and handsome, with stern eyes and
-a winning smile. He wore a uniform of dark green cloth, a crimson sash,
-and an otter-skin cap. He lived in great state, in a richly furnished
-dwelling, called, from its color, the “Red House,” and entertained there
-in an almost princely manner the strangers whom business, curiosity, or
-misfortune brought to the island.
-
-The Carankawae Indians, who had formerly held the strip of silver sand
-as their own fishing-ground, visited the newcomers, and gazed with
-wonder at their ships, their houses, and their cannon. But in a short
-time a quarrel arose between some of the freebooters and the chiefs, and
-four of Lafitte’s men were killed.
-
-Lafitte hastened to avenge their death. He marched to the Three Trees,
-where three hundred Carankawaes were encamped. His own force numbered
-less than two hundred, but they were well armed and provided with two
-pieces of artillery. The Indians after three days of hard fighting were
-defeated, and withdrew to the mainland. This defeat increased their
-hatred of the whites. But they gave no further trouble to Lafitte.
-
-
-                         5. THE CHAMP D’ASILE.
-
-The Lord of Galveston was at the height of his power in March, 1818,
-when a colony composed of his own countrymen sailed into the bay. They
-were led by General Lallemand, one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s old officers.
-The empire had fallen, Bonaparte was in exile at St. Helena, and
-Lallemand, no longer happy or safe in France, decided to form somewhere
-in the New World a _Champ d’Asile_ (Place of Refuge). His choice finally
-fell upon Texas. He left France in October, 1817, with four hundred men
-and several women and children. He and his brother officer, General
-Rigaud (the latter being eighty years old), were received with stately
-courtesy by Lafitte, who assisted them greatly in their preparations for
-the journey to the place chosen for their colony.
-
-This was on the banks of the Trinity River, about sixty miles from its
-mouth. When all was ready the two generals, with one hundred men,
-traveled thither by land; the others set out by water with a number of
-small boats carrying provisions, ammunition, etc.
-
-After several days’ march the land party reached its destination, where
-the boats should have arrived before them. The boats were not there.
-Lallemand and his men were already without food, as they had started
-with an insufficient supply. They began to suffer the pangs of hunger,
-filled at the same time with anxiety about the missing boats. While in
-this condition they found in the woods around a sort of wild lettuce,
-large quantities of which they boiled and ate. No sooner had they eaten
-than they were seized with violent and deathlike convulsions. Lallemand,
-Rigaud, and one of the surgeons had not tasted the poisonous herb. But
-they were powerless to help, the medicines being on the boats.
-
-Thus they were in despair when a Coushatti Indian, drawn by curiosity,
-came into the camp. He looked with amazement at the ninety-seven men
-stretched out and apparently dying on the ground. Lallemand, showing him
-the fatal herb, explained to him by signs what had happened. The Indian
-sprang swift as an arrow into the forest, and in a short time
-reappeared, his arms filled with a feather-like weed. It was the
-antidote of the poison the men had eaten; he boiled and made a drink of
-it; and, thanks to his skill and kindness, they all recovered.
-
-Some days later the boats arrived. The voyagers had been unable at first
-to find the mouth of the river, hence the delay.
-
-The colonists went to work with a will upon their settlement. They built
-four small forts,—Forts Charles and Henry, Middle Fort, and Fort
-Palanqua,—mounted eight cannons, and hoisted the French flag. Then they
-busied themselves with their own houses and fields.
-
-They were very happy, these self-exiled French people. They labored in
-their fields and gardens by day; at night they sang and danced and made
-merry, looking forward to long and peaceful lives in their new home.
-
-But the grain was hardly ripe in their fields when word came that
-Spanish soldiers from San Antonio and Goliad (La Bahia) were marching
-upon them to destroy them, or to drive them out of the country. They
-were not strong enough to resist such a force, so they abandoned their
-cabins and smiling gardens and returned to Galveston. A violent storm
-swept over the island a few days after their arrival there. Lafitte lost
-two brigs, three schooners, and a felucca; the unfortunate colonists
-lost not only their boats, but all their clothing and supplies.
-
-Lafitte gave them the _San Antonio_, a small ship captured from the
-Spaniards, and provided them with food and clothes. Some of them sailed
-to New Orleans in the _San Antonio_; others made their way overland to
-Nacogdoches; thence to Natchitoches, to Baton Rouge, and at length to
-New Orleans, whence by the kindness of the citizens they were able to
-get back to France.
-
-
-                         6. A TREACHEROUS SHOT.
-
-It was but a few months after Lafitte had so generously aided Lallemand
-and his colonists, when James Gaines, sent by General Long, came to the
-island. Lafitte entertained him royally at the Red House, but declined
-to join Long’s enterprise. He thought a Texas republic could be
-established only by the help of a large army, whereas General Long had
-but a handful of soldiers.
-
-When Long received Lafitte’s reply he started to the island himself, in
-the hope of changing this decision. But hearing from his wife that a
-Spanish force under Colonel Perez was moving upon his outposts, he
-hurried back to Nacogdoches. He found that place deserted; everybody had
-fled panic-stricken across the Sabine at the approach of the Spaniards.
-In the meantime Perez attacked the forts on the Brazos and the Trinity,
-completely routing the garrisons. David Long was among the killed.
-
-General Long’s spirit was unshaken. He joined his brave wife on the east
-side of the Sabine, and made his way with her to Bolivar Point, where
-the few followers left to him were encamped.
-
-Just at this time Lafitte was ordered by the United States government to
-leave the island; his pirates had begun to meddle with American ships.
-He felt that resistance would be useless; so he gathered his men
-together, gave them each a handsome sum of money, and, having set fire
-to his fort and town, he sailed away in _The Pride_, with sixty of his
-buccaneers and a choice crew. He cruised for some years off the coast of
-Yucatan, and died at Sisal in 1826.
-
-It was long believed that he buried fabulous treasures—gold, silver, and
-jewels—both at Grand Terre and at Galveston, but these treasures have
-never been found. There is a legend among superstitious people at Grand
-Terre which declares that several times swarthy, dark-bearded strangers
-have appeared there and dug in a certain place for the buried treasure.
-They have succeeded each time in uncovering a great iron chest; but as
-they were about to lift it out, some one has each time spoken, and at
-the sound the box instantly disappeared. It can be found and removed,
-the gossips add, only in the midst of perfect silence.
-
-A prettier story is told of the treasure buried at Galveston. This story
-goes that on the night before he left the island forever, the pirate
-chief was heard to murmur, as he paced up and down the hall of the Red
-House: “I have buried my treasure under the three trees. In the shadow
-of the three lone trees I have buried my treasure.” Two of his men
-overheard him. They stole away down the beach, with picks and spades,
-determined to possess themselves of their leader’s treasure, which they
-knew must be priceless. They reached the spot, and in the pale moonlight
-they found the stake set to mark the hiding place. They shoveled the
-sand away, breathless and eager with greed. At length they found a long
-wooden box whose cover they pried open. Within, instead of piles of
-silver, caskets of jewels, and heaps of golden doubloons, they saw with
-awe and amazement the pale face and rigid form of the Chief’s beautiful
-young wife, who had died the day before. This was the treasure of
-Lafitte!
-
-General Long watched the ships of Lafitte vanish into the distance;
-then, determined as ever to carry out his plans, he left his wife and a
-small guard in the fort at Bolivar Point (July, 1821), and went with
-fifty-two soldiers to Goliad, which he occupied without opposition.
-Three days later a troop of Mexican cavalry entered Goliad. Long
-surrendered and was sent a prisoner of war to Mexico. Eight months
-afterward he was released; but almost at the moment of his release he
-was shot and instantly killed by a Mexican soldier.
-
-The guard left at the fort at Bolivar Point soon abandoned it in
-despair. Mrs. Long refused to go with them; she had promised her
-husband, she said, to await his return, and she stayed on. Her only
-companions were her two little children and a negro girl. The days
-passed drearily; summer died into fall, and fall into winter. The
-provisions gave out, and the forlorn little group almost perished from
-hunger. Several times the Carankawaes attacked the fort. The courageous
-woman loaded the cannon and fired upon the Indians, thus keeping them at
-bay. In the spring of 1822 she learned from some of Austin’s colonists
-of her husband’s tragic death. Then only, having fulfilled her wifely
-trust, she left the fort.
-
-
-                     7. A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS.
-
-In Nacogdoches there is a wonderful elm, a tree which stood in the
-primeval forest perhaps before the foot of the white man ever trod its
-paths. Its leafy branches toss in the wind, green and beautiful against
-the blue sky. Its old trunk has turned into sap for its own growth the
-sunshine of more years than any living man can remember.
-
-As a springing sapling it may have greeted Hernando de Soto on his
-westward march. It may have looked down on La Salle journeying through
-the forest to his untimely death; and on Tonti of the Iron Hand, seeking
-tidings of his murdered friend. Don Ramon, lying in its shade, may have
-watched the slow building of the Mission of Our Lady of Nacogdoches; and
-St. Denis, riding by, may have paused to cut switches from its
-down-drooping branches. Nolan, Herrera, Magee, Long, many a soldier, and
-many an Indian chief in his war-paint and feathers,—all these the old
-tree has seen come and go.
-
-A soldier of another sort stood in its shade one day in 1821, and looked
-upon the small yet motley group of people gathered about him. There were
-a dozen or more frontiersmen, bronzed and bearded, and armed to the
-teeth; there were a few Mexican soldiers, a Mexican woman or two with
-coarse mantillas on their heads, and several wide-eyed Mexican children.
-The man facing this group held a small book in his hand. He was not
-armed. His eyes shone with a soft light, and when he spoke his voice was
-full and sweet.
-
-This was the Rev. Henry Stephenson, a Methodist preacher who had come
-into the wilderness, not to found a republic nor to set up a free and
-independent state, but to preach the gospel and to make straight the
-paths of the Lord.
-
-That day, under the old elm, the first Protestant sermon was preached in
-Texas. At its close a sweet old hymn, which many a man present had
-learned at his mother’s knee, was begun by the preacher, and one by one,
-and at first half ashamed, the bearded frontiersmen took up the strain
-until it floated up and away beyond the clustering leaves of the old
-tree, and soared into heaven.
-
-Eyes long unused to tears were wet when the hymn was ended; and with
-softened hearts the singers pressed about the man of God to bid him
-good-bye. For he was on his way to carry the gospel to the utmost
-western border of Texas.
-
-Even the gentle Mexican women joined in the cheer which followed him as
-he entered the lonely forest and passed on out of sight.
-
-
-
-
-                                  IV.
-                         SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN.
-                              (1820-1835.)
-
-
-                       1. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.
-
-Moses Austin, a rugged and travel-stained American, was walking slowly
-across the plaza in San Antonio one day in December, 1820. His head hung
-on his breast, and his eyes were full of trouble and defeat. Suddenly he
-heard his name pronounced; he turned to find himself face to face with
-the Baron de Bastrop, who grasped him warmly by the hand. His eyes
-brightened with pleasure at this unexpected meeting. “I thought myself a
-total stranger in San Antonio,” he said.
-
-De Bastrop, whom he had met some years before in the United States,
-listened with great interest while Austin told the story of his plans
-and their failure.
-
-                 [Illustration: Stephen Fuller Austin.]
-
-He was, he said, a citizen of Missouri, where he had settled when that
-state was Spanish territory. His object in coming to San Antonio was to
-obtain permission to establish a colony somewhere in Texas. But on
-presenting himself to Governor Martinez (Mar-tee′ness), after his long
-and dangerous journey, he had been coldly received and ordered to quit
-the province. He was at that moment on his way to the place where he had
-left his horses and his negro servant, in order to prepare for
-departure. “My journey, as you see,” he concluded, “has been fruitless.”
-
-De Bastrop,[16] a Prussian in the service of Mexico, chanced also to be
-one of the alcaldes of San Antonio. “Come with me again to the
-governor,” he said, leading the way to the official residence. Here he
-used his influence to such purpose that in a few days Austin was on his
-way to Missouri with the assurance that his request would be granted by
-the general government.
-
-But the homeward journey, made in the dead of winter, proved fatal to
-him. A sickness, brought on by cold and exposure, so weakened him that
-he died soon after reaching home. Before his death, however, he learned
-that permission had been given him to settle three hundred families in
-Texas. He left as a sacred legacy to his son Stephen the duty of
-carrying out his cherished project.
-
-Stephen Fuller Austin, the great pioneer of Texas colonists, was at that
-time twenty-eight years of age. He was slender and broad-browed, with
-features which showed at once the gentleness and the firmness of his
-character. He had inherited his father’s self-reliance and energy—the
-capital most needed in that almost trackless wilderness henceforth to be
-his home. He was well educated; his manners were courteous and
-dignified; he inspired with confidence and respect all who came in touch
-with him. Such, in part, was the man one day to be known as the Father
-of Texas.
-
-He was in New Orleans, busied about his father’s affairs, when he heard
-of the arrival at Natchitoches of Don Erasmo Seguin, the commissioner
-sent from Mexico to meet and confer with Moses Austin. He went to
-Natchitoches without delay, and there learned of his father’s death and
-the solemn obligation laid upon himself.
-
-He accepted the charge without hesitation, and began at once to perfect
-his plans.
-
-In July he accompanied Seguin back to San Antonio, traveling by the Old
-San Antonio Road. Martinez received him kindly, and gave him permission
-to explore the country and select a place for his colony. He chose the
-rich lands lying between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers.
-
-A contract was made which allowed 640 acres of land to each colonist; to
-his wife (if married), 320 acres; and 140 acres to each child; 80 acres
-were allowed to the master for each slave. The colonists, who must be
-from Louisiana, were required to furnish certificates of good character,
-to profess the Roman Catholic religion, and to swear allegiance to
-Spain. They were to be free from taxation for six years. Austin was
-commissioned to take charge of the local government.
-
-These writings signed, Austin returned to Louisiana to collect
-emigrants.
-
-
-                           2. UPS AND DOWNS.
-
-It was during the Christmas holidays of 1821 that the first settlers,
-led by Austin in person, reached the Brazos River and made their camp
-upon the chosen spot. Their Christmas and New Year’s dinners were not
-composed of dainties, we may be sure; but there was, no doubt, joyous
-roasting of wild game over the glowing camp-fires, and there was good
-honest fun and innocent merriment in plenty among these first Texans!
-
-Their leader left them at once and proceeded to Matagorda Bay to meet
-the _Lively_, a small schooner which had been sent out from New Orleans
-with supplies for the settlement. She had also carried eighteen
-colonists.
-
-The _Lively_ had not arrived, nor was she ever heard of afterward. It is
-supposed that she was lost at sea, with all on board. To add to Austin’s
-disappointment, some provisions brought on a former voyage of the
-_Lively_, and hidden in the canebrakes on the banks of the Brazos, had
-been stolen by the Carankawae Indians. He returned empty-handed to his
-people.
-
-They were in no wise cast down by the news he brought. They were already
-making clearings, cutting down trees, burning underbrush, building
-cabins, and laying off fields. They were at the same time obliged to
-keep guard day and night against the Indians who prowled about, always
-on the lookout for a chance to steal or to murder.
-
-Austin, cheered by their courage, set out for San Antonio to report to
-Governor Martinez. There he learned that a revolution against Spain had
-taken place in Mexico. His contracts, in the new order of things, might
-be worthless. He therefore journeyed on to the city of Mexico, twelve
-hundred miles distant. Much of the way he traveled with but one
-companion. The country was full of robbers and cut-throats, and, in
-order to escape their clutches, the two men disguised themselves as
-beggars, going on foot, sleeping in the open air, and eating the
-coarsest food. He found the country in such a tumult that it was over a
-year before he could get his grant renewed and return to his colony.
-
-Meantime, other settlers had come in, some making their way slowly by
-land with ox-teams, stopping sometimes for a whole season to raise and
-harvest a crop of corn, and then moving patiently on. “Children were
-born in these movers’ camps,” says one writer, “and the dead were buried
-by the roadside.” Others came in ships from New Orleans and Mobile, and
-even from the far New England coast. In 1822 the _Revenge_ and the _Only
-Son_ came into Galveston harbor and landed at Bolivar Point over a
-hundred immigrants. They found Mrs. Long in the forlorn little fort
-where her husband had left her, still waiting and hoping for his return.
-It was from these pitying and kind-hearted pioneers that the heroic wife
-learned of the assassination of her husband. In their company she and
-her children left the place of so much suffering.
-
-The first crop of corn—turned into the virgin soil with wooden
-ploughs—had been gathered; a little cotton had whitened the patches
-about the cabin doors, and the spinning-wheels were already busy. The
-familiar low of home-returning milch-cows was heard at sundown along the
-winding footpaths. One of the settlers (Randall Jones) had gone to
-Louisiana, taking with him a negro lad. There he traded the boy for
-sixty head of cattle, which he drove across the country to the
-settlement. Another colonist brought out some pigs and a few goats.
-These domestic animals gave a homelike appearance to the strange land.
-
-The settlement was thriving in spite of hardships. But these hardships
-were almost without number. There was neither salt, coffee, nor sugar.
-Meat was to be had only by hunting, and oftentimes deer and buffalo were
-hard to find and, on account of the Indians, dangerous to follow. True,
-there were great numbers of wild mustangs.
-
-There were no horses in America before the discovery of Columbus. The
-Texas mustangs were the product of the cavalry horses brought from
-Europe to Mexico by Cortez in 1519. They had multiplied, almost
-unmolested, during the three hundred years they had roamed prairie and
-forest. These mustangs were always fat, and when nothing better was to
-be had they made tolerable food.
-
-There were, of course, no stores where anything could be bought; the men
-went dressed in buckskin; the women in coarse cloth woven by themselves.
-There was no mail, news from the outer world—from the dear ones left
-behind in the far-away “states”—came only when a chance traveler arrived
-with an old newspaper or possibly a letter in his saddle bags. There was
-neither school nor church.
-
-But in those rude cabins dwelt honesty, high courage, and unbounded
-hospitality. In business every man’s “word was as good as his bond.”
-There were no locks on the doors, robbery being unknown. Everything,
-even to life itself, was ever at the service of friend and neighbor. The
-nameless traveler, welcomed without question, shared, as long as he
-chose to stay, the fireside and table of his host.
-
-Of such stuff were the first Texans.
-
-Austin returned from Mexico in July, 1823. He was welcomed with
-affectionate joy by his colonists. He was accompanied by his father’s
-friend, the Baron de Bastrop, commissioned by the government to assist
-him in laying off the town, surveying lands, and issuing titles.
-
-The town was named by Señor de la Garza, who had succeeded Martinez as
-governor of Texas. He called it San Felipe (Fa-lee′pā) de Austin, in
-honor at the same time of his own patron saint and of its founder.
-
-Other towns soon sprung up over the province; for grants for other
-settlements had been sought and obtained from the government. Austin got
-permission in 1825 to bring out five hundred additional families.
-Immigrants flocked in, eager to share in this cheap and fruitful
-paradise. The names _Columbia_, _Brazoria_, _Gonzales_, _Victoria_, _San
-Augustine_, and other towns and settlements, began to be familiar to the
-tongue.
-
-Some Irish colonists founded on the Nueces River, near its mouth, a town
-which they named St. Patrick in remembrance of the patron saint of
-Ireland. To the Spanish-speaking people of Texas it soon became known as
-San Patricio, and so it is still called.
-
-A large tract of land was granted to Hayden Edwards, a Kentuckian, in
-the neighborhood of Nacogdoches, the old gateway of Texas history. But
-things did not go as smoothly there as in Austin’s colony. It was too
-near the Neutral Ground, which continued to harbor outlaws and
-adventurers of all kinds.
-
-The land, moreover, was claimed by the Mexicans and others who were
-already settled upon it. The quarrels between these and the newcomers
-became in course of time so bitter that the Mexican government, during
-an absence of Hayden Edwards in the United States, took back his grant
-and ordered him and his two brothers to leave the country.
-
-Edwards had put all of his private fortune into his venture, and this
-act of tyranny goaded him and his colonists to fury. Finding vain all
-their appeals to the governor, they took up arms and declared they would
-make of Texas an independent republic. They called themselves
-Fredonians; and banding together, they entrenched themselves in the old
-stone fort at Nacogdoches. Thence they sent an appeal to Austin’s
-colonists for help. Both Austin’s colonists and the Cherokee Indians,
-upon whom they counted for support, refused to join them. News came that
-a Mexican army was marching against them; their own fighting force was
-less than two hundred men. They saw the weakness of their position; and
-the Fredonian war, as it was called, ended after a skirmish or two, in
-the surrender of the Fredonians. Edwards and his colonists left Texas,
-and returned angry and disgusted to Louisiana (1826).
-
-This was a small foretaste of Mexican justice. But troubles far graver
-than the Fredonian war were at that moment brewing for Texas.
-
-
-                        3. ORDERS AND DISORDER.
-
-Until 1824 Texas had been a province of Mexico, with her capital at San
-Antonio. In that year, however, the general government decreed the union
-of Texas with Coahuila; and the capital of the new state was fixed at
-Saltillo (Sal-tee′yo), a distant town in Mexico. A department chief was
-the only official stationed at San Antonio. The colonists were much
-displeased at this change. Instead of a ride, when necessary, to San
-Antonio, where there were friends and familiar faces, torch-lit plazas,
-music, and _fiestas_ to welcome the traveler, it meant a long and
-perilous journey through a strange land, among people who regarded all
-Americans with an eye of sullen distrust.
-
-                      [Illustration: MAP OF TEXAS
-                   With Parts of the Adjoining States
-                     COMPILED BY STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
-                 PUBLISHED by H. S. TANNER PHILADELPHIA
-                                  1835
-
-                        High-resolution Version]
-
-The Mexicans can hardly be blamed for their lack of confidence. They had
-just shaken off the yoke of Spain; and they saw the Americans—people of
-a different race, speaking a different tongue, strong, energetic, and
-masterful—drawing daily nearer to the Rio Grande River. They saw this
-alien people settling upon rich and productive lands, but paying no
-taxes; giving nominal allegiance to the Mexican government, but taking
-no interest in her political affairs. Added to this uneasiness was a
-growing hatred of the United States, which wished to annex Texas and had
-already offered to buy the province. Mexico resolved to crush this
-rising power.
-
-The Americans, on their side, were restless. They did not desire
-absolute independence; but they wished for a separate state within the
-Mexican Republic. They therefore, for political as well as for personal
-reasons, resented the change of capital.
-
-Still further changes were at hand. Bustamente (Boos-ta-men′tā), a cruel
-and overbearing man, who became President of Mexico in 1830, on taking
-his seat issued a set of laws forbidding Americans either to locate in
-Texas or to trade with her people. In place of colonists from the United
-States, criminals and disabled soldiers from Mexico were to settle the
-country. The introduction of slaves was prohibited; taxes were put upon
-almost everything in daily use; customhouses were established for the
-collection of these duties; armed troops were quartered in different
-places at the expense of the colonists; and military rules were
-enforced.
-
-It is needless to say that these laws were not obeyed. Texas was like a
-nest of angry hornets whose center of action was at San Felipe; a buzz
-of indignation filled the air; meetings were everywhere held to protest
-against the injustice and tyranny of Mexico.
-
-The excitement was increased by the arrest and imprisonment of some
-Texans (1832) by Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn, an American in command of
-the Mexican Fort Anahuac (An-ah′wak) on Galveston Bay. Among these were
-William B. Travis (the future hero of the Alamo) and Patrick Jack.
-William Jack, a brother of the latter, called a meeting at San Felipe,
-where it was determined to resort to arms, if necessary, for the release
-of the prisoners, whose offense was trifling.
-
-The state of feeling was clearly shown by the number of men who declared
-themselves ready to join in attacking Bradburn in his fort. The affair,
-however, was settled without bloodshed. Colonel Piedras, the Mexican
-commandant at Nacogdoches, hastened to Fort Anahuac. There, after an
-investigation of the case, he released the prisoners and placed Bradburn
-himself under arrest.
-
-In the meantime a fight had taken place between the Mexican garrison at
-Fort Velasco, at the mouth of the Brazos River, and one hundred and
-twelve Texans, who had been aroused by the tyranny of Bradburn. Not one
-of these Texans had ever before been in a battle; their coolness and
-bravery under fire gave them the measure of their own power. They were
-victorious. Colonel Dominic Ugartechea (U-gar-tā-chā′a), the commandant
-of the fort, whose personal courage won the admiration of the Texans,
-surrendered, with a loss of thirty-five killed and thirteen wounded. Of
-the Texans seven were killed and twenty-seven wounded.
-
-These encounters increased the public excitement to frenzy. But the
-excitement was suddenly allayed by news from Mexico. The patriot Santa
-Anna had “pronounced” (declared) against Bustamente.
-
-Santa Anna at this time was looked upon in his own country as a patriot;
-he had been a leader during the war with the Spanish royalists, and
-active in deposing Iturbide (Ee-toor-bee′dā) (1822) when that officer
-had crowned himself Emperor of Mexico. He had always professed great
-love for the Texas colonists; and now his bold stand against Bustamente
-gave assurance that the rights of the colonists would thenceforth be
-respected. The Texans were wild with enthusiasm, and they gladly pledged
-their support to Santa Anna, the “generous and high-minded patriot.”
-
-Santa Anna was elected President of Mexico. His disposition towards
-Texas continued so friendly that it seemed a good time to make an appeal
-to his government for a separation of the state of Texas from Coahuila.
-
-A convention met at San Felipe in April, 1833. Delegates were present
-from all the districts. The streets of the little town on the Brazos
-echoed under the tread of men who were afterwards to write their names
-in the Republic’s book of gold. Sam Houston, the future hero of San
-Jacinto, was present as a delegate; David G. Burnet, who was to become
-the first President of the Republic of Texas; Erasmo Seguin; William H.
-Wharton; Branch T. Archer; and Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas.
-
-A constitution was framed, and a memorial was written to the general
-government, asking for separation from Coahuila and the repeal of
-Bustamente’s odious decrees.
-
-Austin carried these papers to the Mexican congress. His breast swelled
-with hope as he drew near the city of Mexico and the “high-minded
-patriot” Santa Anna.
-
-                      [Illustration: Santa Anna.]
-
-But the Vice-President, Gomez Farias, had no time to listen to so
-trifling a thing as a memorial from Texas colonists. As for President
-Santa Anna, he was shut up in his country-house (Manga de Clavo) laying
-plans for overthrowing the Mexican constitution and making himself
-dictator.
-
-Sick at heart over his vain attempts to get a hearing from the
-government, Austin started home. But a letter which he had written to
-Texas, advising the people to organize a separate state without further
-appeal to Mexico, had been sent back to Farias as a treasonable
-document. Austin was arrested at Saltillo, taken back to the city of
-Mexico, and put in prison, where he remained for nearly two years. A
-part of that time he was in solitary confinement.
-
-During his imprisonment he kept a diary. He says of himself on one of
-these loose pencil-written leaves: “In my first exploring trip in Texas,
-in 1821, I had a very good old man with me, who had been raised on the
-frontier, and was a very good hunter. We had not been many days in the
-wilderness before he told me: ‘You are too impatient to make a hunter.’
-Scarce a day passed that he did not say to me: ‘You are too
-impatient—you wish to go too fast.’ Before my trip was ended I saw the
-benefit of his maxim, and I determined to adopt it as a rule in settling
-the colony which I was then about to commence in Texas.... I believe the
-greatest error I ever committed was in departing from that rule as I did
-in the city of Mexico in October, 1833. I lost patience at the delays in
-getting the business of Texas dispatched, and in a moment of impatience
-wrote an imprudent, and perhaps an intemperate, letter to the council at
-San Antonio.” “How happy,” he says in another place, “how happy I could
-have been on a farm, ... free from all the cares and difficulties that
-now surround me. But I thought it was my duty to obey the call of the
-people and go to Mexico as their agent.”
-
-In October, 1834, he was admitted to a conference with Santa Anna, who
-promised to “meditate maturely” the repeal of some of Bustamente’s laws.
-He expressed so much love for Texas that Austin wrote to his people in a
-burst of thankfulness, “All is going well.” But he was himself still
-detained, and it was not until September, 1835, that he was allowed to
-return to Texas.
-
-The Texans, despite Austin’s letter of assurance, knew that all was not
-going well. They were, in fact, so convinced that all was going ill that
-they met in the different towns and organized committees of safety for
-protection against the Indians (who had become very troublesome), and to
-take charge of all public matters. At a meeting held in San Felipe
-October 1, 1834, it was openly proposed to make Texas a separate state
-without the consent of Mexico. But this step was for a time postponed.
-
-The next year the situation was still more gloomy. Santa Anna’s congress
-passed a decree disarming all Texans. General Martin Perfecto de Cos was
-ordered from Mexico to Texas with a body of five hundred soldiers to
-enforce the decree, and to punish those who had refused to obey, not the
-just laws of the Mexican Republic, but the tyrannical edicts of
-Bustamente and Santa Anna.
-
-At the same time a courier was arrested with dispatches from Ugartechea
-at San Antonio to the commandant at Anahuac. These dispatches were
-opened and read at San Felipe. They stated that a strong force would
-soon reach Anahuac from Mexico.
-
-These things caused great uneasiness and indignation. Another meeting
-was held in San Felipe. Among those who addressed the people there
-assembled was R. M. Williamson (called three-legged Willie, because of
-his carrying a crutch). He counseled resistance. “Our country, our
-property, our liberty, and our lives,” he said, “are all involved in the
-present contest between the states and the military.”
-
-In the midst of the excitement Austin reached home. He was welcomed
-almost as one given up by the tomb.
-
-It was determined to hold a general consultation to consider the dangers
-threatening Texas.
-
-The word “consultation” was used instead of “convention” to avoid
-exciting the jealousy of the government. A convention in Mexico was
-often followed by a revolution.
-
-A call was issued by Austin for the election of delegates, and the time
-and place of meeting were fixed for October 16 at San Felipe.
-
-
-                           4. A TRUMPET CALL.
-
-A messenger came riding into San Felipe one day; his clothes were dusty,
-his horse was flecked with foam, his voice was hoarse with excitement.
-He had ridden hard and fast from Gonzales town, and the news he brought
-thrilled to the heart’s core the men who had gathered about him in the
-plaza.
-
-Colonel Ugartechea, acting under the decree disarming citizens, had sent
-an order to Gonzales for a cannon—a four-pounder given by the Mexican
-government to the townspeople in 1831 for service against the Indians.
-The order had been peremptorily refused. There were only eighteen men at
-Gonzales, but they determined to hold the cannon at any cost; and
-believing that Ugartechea would send an armed force to take it, they had
-dispatched messengers to the Colorado, the Guadalupe, and the Brazos for
-help.
-
-The messenger to San Felipe had not finished his story before the men
-were in their saddles, or girded for the long tramp. They were already
-armed for the purpose of intercepting General Cos on his march to San
-Antonio.
-
-When they reached Gonzales they found that the Mexican captain
-Castenado, had appeared there (September 29) with one hundred cavalrymen
-and made his demand for the cannon. He had been put off with the pretext
-that the alcalde was absent, thus giving the volunteers time to arrive.
-
-The Mexicans had remained on the west bank of the Guadalupe River, the
-ferryboats having been removed by the Texans to the east or town side on
-the approach of the enemy.
-
-With the recruits from the Brazos, the Colorado, and the Guadalupe, the
-Texans on the 30th numbered one hundred and sixty fighting men. They
-then informed Castenado that he could not have the cannon. Moreover,
-Major Williamson (three-legged Willie) and some others drew the disputed
-piece of artillery to the river-bank, and placed above it a placard
-bearing in large letters the challenge, “Come and Take It.”
-
-                   [Illustration: R. M. Williamson.]
-
-In response to this taunt Castenado made an effort to cross his troops
-over the river; but the fords were too well guarded, and he finally
-moved away and encamped a short distance from the river.
-
-On the evening of the 1st of October the Texans, under the command of
-Colonels John Moore and J. W. Wallace, crossed the Guadalupe, carrying
-their four-pounder with them. The same night at eleven o’clock they were
-formed into a hollow Square. Colonels Moore and Wallace, with the Rev.
-W. P. Smith, rode into the square, where the minister, being seated on
-his favorite mule, made them a spirited address. “Fellow soldiers,” he
-said, “the cause for which we are contending is just, honorable, and
-glorious—our liberty.... Let us march silently, obey the commands of our
-superior officers, and, united as one man, present a bold front to the
-enemy. _Victory will be ours._”[17]
-
-On the morning of the 2d they advanced under cover of a heavy fog to a
-high mound in the prairie where the enemy was posted. After the exchange
-of a few picket shots a parley took place between Colonel Moore and
-Captain Castenado. But they could come to no agreement, so they returned
-to their respective commands. The Texans at once opened fire with their
-saucy little cannon, and in a short time the enemy was put to rout. The
-Mexicans retreated toward San Antonio, having lost several men. The
-Texans, without the loss of a man, returned in triumph to Gonzales with
-their precious cannon.
-
-This was the first trumpet call to the war of independence. The alarm
-leaped from town to town. Texas, like a trooper who stands with his foot
-in the stirrup awaiting but the blast of a bugle, sprang at once into
-action. There was everywhere an eager note of preparation.
-
-A few days after the victory at Gonzales, Captain George Collingsworth,
-with about fifty planters from Caney and Matagorda, marched from the
-latter place to capture Goliad. Just about midnight on the 9th of
-October, as they approached the town, they were hailed by a man who came
-out of a mesquit thicket on the roadside. It was Benjamin Milam. He had
-escaped from prison in Monterey, where he had been placed for opposing
-the tyranny of Santa Anna, and, worn out by his long journey, he had
-thrown himself on the ground to rest.
-
-Milam was a man of high courage and stern patriotism. He had taken
-part—always on the republican side—in several of the bloody revolutions
-in Mexico, and he had been in almost every prison from the Rio Grande to
-the city of Mexico.[18]
-
-He offered his services to the little band of patriots. They welcomed
-him with joy into their ranks.
-
-They marched on, and during the night fell upon the unsuspecting
-garrison at Goliad. The sentinel who fired upon them was killed. The
-commandant Colonel Sandoval was taken prisoner in his own room, the door
-of which was broken open with axes. Several officers and twenty-five
-private soldiers surrendered, the others having escaped in the _mêlée_.
-The spoils which fell into the hands of the Texans by this exploit were
-very valuable. They consisted of three hundred stands of arms, several
-cannon, and about ten thousand dollars worth of military stores.
-
-
-                           5. OUT OF A MIST.
-
-San Felipe was not behindhand in enthusiasm over the tidings from
-Gonzales. Delegates to the General Consultation were coming in, and the
-committee, on hearing the news, sent out a circular calling upon each
-man in Texas to decide for himself whether or not he would submit to the
-tyranny of Mexico, and if he would not submit, “let him answer by mouth
-of his rifle.” This charge was not needed. Men poured in from every
-quarter carrying their rifles, shot-pouches, and powder-horns; the look
-of grim determination on their faces meant “liberty, or war to the
-death.”
-
-Austin, by permission of the convention, left San Felipe for Gonzales,
-arriving there on the 10th of October. He was elected to the command of
-the volunteers there assembled, about three hundred and fifty strong,
-and marched almost immediately for San Antonio, hoping to capture and
-hold that important post. He encamped on the 20th at the Mission of La
-Espada on the San Antonio River. Recruits came in rapidly. Sam Houston,
-who had given his last five-dollar bill to a messenger to spread the
-call for volunteers, arrived with a detachment of men from East Texas.
-Bowie and Travis, Crockett and Fannin, Milam, Burleson, “Deaf” Smith,
-Rusk, Wharton,—these gathered in groups about the camp, little dreaming
-that each man of them carried within his own breast something of which
-the history of Texas was to be made.
-
-                 [Illustration: Mission of La Espada.]
-
-General Cos had arrived and had taken command at San Antonio. He
-scornfully rejected Austin’s summons to surrender, even threatening to
-fire upon his flag of truce. Austin, whose army now numbered about six
-hundred men, did not feel himself strong enough to make an attack, but
-decided to move nearer the enemy. Accordingly on the 27th he sent
-Captains Bowie and Fannin with ninety-two men to reconnoiter and to
-choose a suitable position. They marched up the riverbank and encamped
-at nightfall in a bend of the river, near the old Mission of Concepcion.
-
-The next morning at sunrise, through the mist that hung like a grey
-curtain around the camp, they heard something like the wary tread of
-horses’ hoofs. At the same time a sentinel[19] posted in the high tower
-of the mission gave warning, and a shot echoed from the outer
-picket-line.
-
-The Texans sprang to arms; a slight lifting of the fog showed them a
-solid phalanx of Mexican cavalry hemming in the camp on three sides.
-There was a breathless interval of preparation, but no confusion; and by
-the time the enemy’s infantry came in sight trailing their arms, the
-Texans were ready for the fight. It was a short and sharp one.
-
-The encampment had been well chosen; the triangular bottom land in which
-it lay by the riverside was skirted by heavy timber, and the bluff
-surrounding it made a sort of natural parapet.
-
-In a few moments the Mexicans shoved forth their cannon,—a brass
-six-pounder,—and their bugle sounded a cavalry charge. But one set of
-gunners after another fell dead or wounded around the cannon, and the
-cavalry was beaten back. Finally, by a sudden impulse, the whole body of
-Texans rushed forward with the cry, “The cannon and victory!”
-
-The battle had lasted thirty minutes. The Texan loss was one man
-(Richard Andrews) killed; none wounded. The Mexicans, whose force
-numbered four hundred, had sixty killed and about as many wounded.
-These, in the pell-mell retreat of the attacking party, were left upon
-the field. About noon a white flag was seen coming across the prairie.
-It was carried by a priest sent by General Cos, who asked and obtained
-permission to bury the dead.
-
-The main army, which had marched from La Espada on hearing the cannon,
-arrived after the battle was over.
-
-Some days later Austin camped with his troops near San Antonio, and
-prepared to hold his position until strong enough to storm the place.
-
-But inaction, after the brilliant successes at Gonzales, Goliad, and
-Concepcion, was galling to the volunteers. They clamored to be allowed
-to throw themselves against Cos’ fortifications, and when they were held
-back many of them grew dissatisfied and left the army. Those who
-remained were cheered by the arrival of the Grays—two fine companies of
-volunteers from New Orleans—and a company from Mississippi.
-
-Another incident which revived their drooping spirits was a lively
-skirmish on the morning of November 26. The approach of a train of mules
-from Mexico, loaded with silver for General Cos, had been reported by
-spies to General Edward Burleson, then in command of the army. Colonel
-Bowie with a small scouting party was on the watch for its appearance.
-
-A scout riding up reported about two hundred Mexican cavalry advancing
-from the west, guarding a number of loaded pack-mules. Bowie sent the
-scout on to Burleson for assistance, and dashed forward with his men to
-cut off the train. On his approach the Mexican cavalry posted themselves
-in a ravine about one mile from San Antonio. Bowie charged them, but at
-that moment he was attacked in the rear by a body of Mexican soldiers,
-who, seeing the situation, had come out from San Antonio, bringing two
-cannon with them. Bowie wheeled and rode upon this new force, and
-Burleson coming up with reinforcements, the Mexicans were put to flight,
-abandoning pack-mules and packs, and leaving on the field fifty men
-killed and several wounded.
-
-When the Texans, who had come off without a scratch, threw themselves
-upon the bulky packs ready to count out Mexican dollars, they found them
-filled, instead, with fresh grass cut for the feed of General Cos’
-horses. This skirmish was known as the Grass Fight.
-
-
-                         6. THE PRIEST’S HOUSE.
-
-While these things were happening at San Antonio, the General
-Consultation was in session at San Felipe. General Austin, appointed
-special commissioner to the United States, had resigned his position as
-commander-in-chief of the army two days before the Grass Fight.
-
-Edward Burleson, who succeeded to the command, had fought under General
-Jackson in the Creek war, and was known throughout Texas as a brave and
-intrepid Indian fighter. To him the soldiers now looked confidently for
-immediate action; and all eyes were turned eagerly toward the citadel
-over which floated the Mexican flag.
-
-The old town beloved of St. Denis still hugged the river-bank, buried in
-evergreen foliage and gay with ever-blooming flowers. The stone and
-adobe houses, with flat roofs, thick walls, and barred windows, lined
-the narrow streets which opened out into the Military Plaza and the old
-_Plaza de las Islas_ (now Constitution). These plazas had been
-fortified, and the streets leading into them were barricaded and guarded
-by cannon. On the east side of the river the fortress of the Church of
-the Alamo and its walled enclosure had also been fortified and mounted
-with artillery.
-
-General Burleson, aware of these fortifications, looked at the citadel
-and at his little army, and, courageous though he was, he stopped to
-count the cost. While he was hesitating and his men were openly
-fretting, three Americans escaped from San Antonio, where they had been
-imprisoned, and came into the camp (December 3). Their report of the
-enemy’s condition decided Burleson to attack the place at once. The
-order was given and a plan of assault arranged. The soldiers were
-jubilant; an activity long unknown pervaded the camp. But into the midst
-of this cheerful excitement dropped like a bombshell a second order
-countermanding the first. A scout had disappeared, and it was believed
-that he had deserted in order to warn Cos of the intended attack.
-
-                    [Illustration: Edward Burleson.]
-
-This reason did not satisfy the soldiers. They were defiant and angry
-almost to mutiny. Their indignation knew no bounds when they were told
-that the camp was about to be broken and the siege raised. There was a
-loud clamor of rage and disappointment. During this scene the missing
-scout returned in company with a deserter from San Antonio, who
-confirmed the report of the weakness of the defenses and the discontent
-of the Mexican garrison. Benjamin Milam, upon this, had a word or two
-with General Burleson in his tent; then he stepped out, bared his head,
-and, waving his hat with a loud hurrah, demanded in a ringing voice:
-“Who will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?”
-
-Three hundred volunteers with an answering shout sprang to the front.
-
-The same night (December 4) by twos and threes, singly, and in squads,
-the storming party stole silently into an old mill on the road between
-the camp and the town. Milam, the chief in command, told them off into
-two divisions: one to be led by himself and the other by Colonel Frank
-W. Johnson. Silent still and like phantoms, the double line took up its
-march over the intervening ground and slipped into San Antonio.
-
-A little earlier, Colonel Neill had started from camp with a detachment
-to make a pretended attack on the fortress of the Alamo. He opened fire
-before daylight and continued to hold the enemy’s attention until the
-assaulting party could enter the town. When the sound of their guns
-apprised him that this was done, he returned to the camp, where General
-Burleson kept his men under arms, ready to march at any moment to
-Milam’s assistance.
-
-Milam and Johnson, guided by Deaf Smith, drew their men swiftly through
-the dark and silent streets. Suddenly a sentinel gave the alarm. A shot
-from Deaf Smith’s rifle silenced him forever; and the Texans dashed to
-cover. The Mexicans poured out of their quarters and attacked them
-furiously in the houses of Señors de la Garza and Veramendi, where they
-had taken shelter. They returned the fire with their accustomed
-coolness, picking off their assailants with unerring aim through
-loop-holes cut in the thick walls, or from the flat parapeted roofs.
-
-For the next five days the Texans were engaged in fighting and burrowing
-their way steadily toward the Military Plaza. With cannon booming and
-scattering grape and canister among them, and the rattle of small arms
-in their ears, they dug trenches along the streets from corner to
-corner; they battered down doors; with crowbars and axes they pried
-openings in walls—fighting the while, now at long range, now in deadly
-hand-to-hand encounters, and always with defiant smiles on their
-powder-blackened faces. The weather was wet and cold; the dismal streets
-were slippery with blood and choked with the débris of battle. Above, in
-the smoky air flapped from the church tower a black flag which meant “No
-quarter.”
-
-On the third day Milam, leaping from a trench to the entrance of the
-Veramendi courtyard, was killed. A volley of shot spattered holes in the
-heavy, green, batten door beside him as he fell. The brave Chieftain was
-buried on the spot consecrated by his own blood. Colonel Johnson was
-elected leader in his place, and the fighting and burrowing went on.
-About noon the same day Henry Karnes stormed alone the only house
-between de la Garza’s and the plaza, and forced an entrance with a
-crowbar under a heavy fire from the enemy.
-
-Henry Karnes, the hero of this exploit, was a trapper from the frontier
-of Arkansas. He had a genuine love of Indian warfare for its own sake,
-and in search of it came to Texas with the earliest pioneers. When the
-trumpet call for volunteers was sounded, he enlisted and soon came to be
-known, with his celebrated friend and companion Deaf Smith, as one of
-the best scouts and spies in the army. He had many adventures among the
-Indians. At one time in single combat with an Apache chief he was
-wounded and taken prisoner. His fiery red hair, which the Indians
-supposed to be painted, caused him to be regarded by them as a great
-medicine man. After his capture they concluded to deprive him of this
-charm, and, taking him to the nearest stream, they ducked his head under
-the water to wash the red from his hair. When they found, after nearly
-drowning him, that the red would not come off, they released him,
-satisfied that he was a favorite of the Great Spirit. He held the house
-he had taken, against the enraged Mexicans, until Captain York’s company
-joined him and fortified the position.
-
-“These dogs of Texans are hard to beat off,” thought General Cos,
-listening to the crack of their rifles. His crafty face lightened for
-one moment, for Ugartechea came in from the Rio Grande, and entered the
-fortress, in spite of the cordon of guards, with five hundred recruits.
-But such recruits! Cos’ face darkened again. They were five hundred
-convicts chained together two and two, and driven like sheep by their
-guards.
-
-On the night of the 8th of December the Texans, by a sudden rush and
-under a hail of hostile bullets, made themselves masters of the Priest’s
-House. The Priest’s House was a large, thick-walled building, commanding
-the Military Plaza on the north side. The captors at once barricaded the
-doors and cut loop-holes in the massive walls. A loud cheer carried the
-news of their success to their comrades outside. “To-morrow!” they
-shouted joyously.
-
-But the capture of the Priest’s House completely demoralized the
-Mexicans. On the morning of the 9th the cannon at the Alamo ceased their
-thunder; the black flag was hauled down from San Fernando’s tower and a
-white one went up in its place.
-
-General Burleson entered the city the same day and arranged with General
-Cos the terms of surrender.[20] By these a large quantity of valuable
-stores, ammunition, artillery, small arms, and clothing remained in the
-hands of the victors. The Mexicans to the number of thirteen hundred,
-after taking an oath not to fight against Texas, were permitted to
-leave, the officers retaining their arms and private property.
-
-The Texan loss in this five days’ fight was two killed and twenty-six
-wounded; the enemy lost about one hundred and fifty.
-
-General Burleson placed a small garrison in the fortress of the Alamo.
-The camp was raised, and many of the Texan volunteers scattered to their
-own homes and firesides, rejoicing in the fact that not a Mexican
-soldier remained to tread the soil of Texas.
-
-
-                           7. BY THE BRAZOS.
-
-In November, just before the fight at Concepcion, Houston, Wharton, and
-other delegates left Austin’s army to take their seats as members of the
-General Consultation at San Felipe.
-
-Branch T. Archer was elected President of the Consultation.
-
-Many of the members were in favor of an outright declaration of
-independence; but the more prudent advised against a step so decisive. A
-temporary government was therefore agreed upon, and a declaration of
-adherence to the Republican constitution of Mexico of 1824 was signed
-and sent out. This declaration also gave the reasons of the colonists
-for taking up arms against military despotism, and stated that “they
-would not cease to carry on war as long as Mexican troops were within
-the limits of Texas.”
-
-The convention then elected Henry Smith governor, and James W. Robinson
-lieutenant-governor of the provisional government. Branch T. Archer,
-William H. Wharton, and Stephen F. Austin were appointed commissioners
-to the United States. Houston was made commander-in-chief of the Texan
-army “to be raised.”
-
-Sam Houston, placed in so responsible a place by the Consultation, was
-born in Virginia, but removed when a child to Tennessee with his widowed
-mother. He had a strong imperious and wayward disposition which showed
-itself from his early boyhood. At the age of fourteen he left home and
-joined a band of Cherokee Indians, was adopted into their tribe, learned
-their language, and wore their costume. In 1813 he served under Jackson
-in the Creek war; and at the battle of Topo-heka,[21] he was struck in
-the thigh by an Indian arrow; the barbed head buried itself deep in the
-flesh. He ordered the man by his side to pull out the arrow. After two
-vain attempts the man, who was the lieutenant of his company, turned
-away. Houston drew his sword and commanded him again to draw out the
-arrow. “If you fail,” he declared, “I will kill you on the spot.” The
-arrow on the third tug came out, leaving a gaping wound. At this battle
-he received also two bullets in his shoulder.
-
-                      [Illustration: Sam Houston.]
-
-He became in rapid turn major-general of the Tennessee militia, member
-of congress, and governor of his state. While he was governor, and in
-the full splendor of his brilliant career, he resigned his office in
-consequence of some private and domestic trouble, which has ever
-remained a secret, and took refuge among his old friends, the Cherokees,
-with whom he dwelt for years, living the life of an Indian warrior.
-
-In 1832 he went to Washington, D. C., in the interests of the Cherokees,
-and while there was appointed special Indian agent for the southwest.
-The same year he visited Texas. At San Felipe he met James Bowie and
-went with him to San Antonio to treat with the Comanches. In 1833 he
-settled in San Augustine, whence he went as a delegate to the
-Consultation of 1835.
-
-Governor Smith and his council continued in session at San Felipe. They
-provided for the raising and equipment of an army of twelve hundred
-soldiers, and made arrangements for a small navy.
-
-In December Major William Ward of Georgia arrived at San Felipe. He was
-in command of three hundred newly enlisted volunteers, known as the
-Georgia Battalion. He obtained from Governor Smith commissions for his
-officers and returned to Velasco where he had left his troops. Thence
-they marched to Goliad. About the same time Colonel Wyatt, with two
-companies of recruits, came from Alabama; and a little later the Red
-Rovers, a company from Courtland, Alabama, landed at Matagorda. Doctor
-Shackleford, the captain, sent a messenger to the governor to say that
-the Red Rovers placed themselves at the service of Texas to remain, not
-for a term of three, six, or twelve months, but as long as a man was
-left of the company, or there was an enemy to be found on Texas soil.
-This offer was accepted by the governor with gratitude, and the Red
-Rovers, as well as Colonel Wyatt’s volunteers, were ordered to report to
-Colonel Fannin at Goliad.
-
-Bitter quarrels, however, soon arose between Governor Smith and his
-council and almost put a stop to all public business. Governor Smith was
-deposed, and Lieutenant-Governor Robinson was placed at the head of
-affairs. Finally, after providing for an election for delegates to a
-convention to be held at Washington on the Brazos March 1, the council
-adjourned.
-
-About the last of March the following year (1836), the Texans, to keep
-San Felipe from falling into the hands of Santa Anna, set fire to it
-themselves. The flames spread from cabin to cabin, roaring around the
-hearthstones so long noted for their hospitality. They swept past the
-one-room building where the conventions had been held and devoured the
-rude, unchinked log-hut in the black-jack grove beyond, where Henry
-Stephenson had preached, and where the first Sunday School had been
-organized; they consumed roof-tree and picket and garden-fence, so that
-in a few hours a heap of blackened ashes alone remained of the cradle of
-Texas.
-
-
-
-
-                                   V.
-                                GOLIAD.
-                              (1835-1836.)
-
-
-                       1. MESSENGERS OF DISTRESS.
-
-On the 20th of December, 1835, there was a spirited meeting of citizens
-and soldiers at the old town of La Bahia (Goliad) on the San Antonio
-River.
-
-La Bahia—which means “the bay”—was already old when Austin laid off his
-town on the Brazos. Captain Alonzo de Leon, on his way to attack La
-Salle at Fort St. Louis in 1689, stopped there; and in 1718 Don Domingo
-Ramon with his troopers and friars built there the Mission of Espiritu
-Santo (The Holy Ghost) for the benefit of the fierce Carankawae Indians.
-
-The town had seen stirring times during the century and a half of its
-existence. There had been many Indian fights in and around the mission
-church, when the garrison was weak and the priests could not control
-their red-skinned converts; it was in the same church in 1812 that
-Magee’s army was besieged, and from its doors his Republicans sallied
-forth to their victorious hand-to-hand conflict with the Spaniards.
-Here, too, in 1819, General Long surrendered to the Mexicans and was
-carried away to a treacherous death.
-
-And here in October, 1835, the Mexican commandant Sandoval had been
-surprised in his sleep by the Texans, his soldiers made prisoners, and
-the fort and its stores handed over to his captors.
-
-The General Consultation at San Felipe in November, 1835, had thought it
-more prudent to declare their adherence to the Mexican republican
-constitution than to issue a declaration of independence.
-
-The citizens and soldiers of Goliad, on the 20th of December following,
-boldly set their names to a document resolving “that the former state
-and department of Texas is and ought to be _a free, sovereign, and
-independent state_.”
-
-Among the signers were several boys fifteen and sixteen years of age.
-
-This paper was sent to the governor and his council at San Felipe by
-whom it was disapproved and suppressed. They thought it premature. But
-it was a straw that showed which way the revolutionary wind was blowing.
-
-Captain Philip Dimitt, who was at the head of this movement, was
-commandant at the fortress at Goliad with about eighty men under his
-command.
-
-Over at San Antonio at this time, there was much dissatisfaction among
-the volunteers remaining there. They were more restless than ever, with
-their own flag waving above the Alamo and no enemy in sight. They had
-left their homes and firesides for a purpose. It was fighting they were
-eager for, not idling around a camp-fire.
-
-They were, therefore, delighted when an expedition was set on foot for
-the capture of Matamoras on the Rio Grande River. General Houston, who
-had fixed his headquarters at Washington on the Brazos, wished to place
-Colonel James Bowie in command of this expedition; but in the confusion
-arising from the quarrels between Governor Smith and his council at San
-Felipe, an English physician, named Grant, assumed the leadership
-(January, 1836).
-
-Dr. Grant had taken part in the storming of San Antonio; he was brave
-and gallant, and a favorite with his fellow-soldiers. Two hundred
-volunteers gathered under his standard; he helped himself without leave
-to arms and ammunition from the fortress stores, took clothing and
-provisions from the townspeople, and started for Matamoras.
-
-He halted at Goliad. But only long enough to seize and press into
-service Captain Dimitt’s drove of army horses.
-
-Here by order of the council, who had decided to sustain Grant, he was
-joined by Colonel Frank W. Johnson, and they marched away, leaving
-Captain Dimitt indignant and angry.
-
-The citizens and soldiers at San Antonio were likewise indignant and
-angry; and with far better reason. Colonel Neill, left by Johnson in
-command of the Alamo with only sixty men, sent to General Houston a
-report describing the helpless and suffering condition of that place
-after the high-handed raid of Grant and his volunteers.
-
-Houston was much disturbed by this report. He enclosed it to Governor
-Smith, requesting him to refer it to the council. The commander-in-chief
-denounced the action of Grant in strong terms and added:
-
-“Within thirty hours I shall set out for the army, and repair there with
-all possible dispatch. I pray that a confidential dispatch may meet me
-at Goliad.... No language can express my anguish of soul. Oh! save my
-poor country! Send supplies to the sick and the hungry, for God’s sake!”
-
-He left Washington on the Brazos River on the 8th of January and reached
-Goliad on the 16th. On his arrival he sent for Colonel Bowie.
-
-                      [Illustration: James Bowie.]
-
-James Bowie had come to Texas with Long’s expedition. He was a famous
-Indian fighter. In 1831, near the near the old San Saba Mission, with
-ten companions, including his brother, Rezin Bowie, he had fought one
-hundred and sixty Comanches and Caddoes, armed with bows and arrows, and
-guns. The savages surprised and surrounded the little party, discharging
-their arrows and firing their guns in true Indian fashion from behind
-rocks, trees, and bushes. The fire was returned, and at every crack of a
-rifle a redskin bit the dust. The crafty warriors, finding they could
-not dislodge the hunters, set fire to the dry prairie grass; then they
-renewed the attack, rending the air with shrill yells. “The sparks flew
-so thick,” said Rezin Bowie afterward, “that we could not open our
-powder-horns without danger of being blown up.” But they held their
-ground. The Indians drew off at nightfall, and all night long the
-hunters heard them wailing their dead. The next morning the red warriors
-had disappeared. Bowie lost but one man in this fight; the Indians had
-eighty-two killed and wounded.
-
-Bowie was as noted for his coolness and prudence as for his unflinching
-courage. In person he was tall and fair, with soft blue eyes, and a
-somewhat careless address. He had married a Mexican lady—the daughter of
-Vice-Governor Veramendi of San Antonio—and was devoted to the interests
-of Texas. He was the inventor of the deadly knife which bears his name.
-
-The result of the interview between Houston and Bowie was that Bowie
-left Goliad the next morning for San Antonio, with a company of thirty
-men. He bore orders from Houston to Colonel Neill to leave San Antonio,
-blow up the fort, and bring off the artillery.
-
-Colonel Neill found it impossible to get teams to transport the
-artillery; he therefore did not carry out any of these instructions.
-Bowie remained at San Antonio.
-
-Houston made an effort to concentrate at Goliad and Refugio the slender
-force which made up his army. But he was so hampered by the intrigues
-and wrangling of the government officials, that early in February he
-gave up the command and returned to Washington on the Brazos, leaving
-Colonel James W. Fannin in command of Goliad, with four hundred men. On
-the 25th of the same month a messenger came into Goliad. His face was
-worn with an anxiety which he did not try to conceal; his eyes were
-heavy with fatigue. He sought Fannin and had a brief but earnest talk
-with him. Then he turned, setting his face in the direction whence he
-had come, and went his way.
-
-This messenger was the fearless and courtly South Carolinian, James B.
-Bonham. His message was from Colonel Travis, pent up in the fortress of
-the Alamo and besieged by the army of Santa Anna. He appealed for help
-from Fannin and the army at Goliad.
-
-On the 28th Fannin started with reinforcements of men and artillery to
-the relief of Travis; but before he was fairly on the way his wagons
-broke down. While he was trying to get them repaired, and at the same
-time uncertain as to whether he should go on to San Antonio or not,
-Placido Benevidas (Bā-nā-vee′das), one of Grant’s men, came up with
-weighty news. The Mexican General Urrea (Ur-rā′a) was marching upon
-Goliad with an army of one thousand men. Fannin returned in haste to the
-town and began to strengthen his fortifications.
-
-San Patricio, where Grant and Johnson were encamped, was surprised on
-the night of the 28th of February by Urrea’s soldiers. The volunteers,
-with the exception of Johnson himself and four of his companions who
-managed to escape, were all captured or killed. Grant, who was out with
-a squad of men collecting horses, was killed some days later and his
-body frightfully mutilated.
-
-
-                       2. IN CHURCH AND FORTRESS.
-
-A line of blood and flame seemed indeed to be closing upon Texas.
-General Urrea, after destroying Grant and his volunteers, was advancing
-toward Goliad with one thousand men. Santa Anna, with an army of seven
-thousand, had invested San Antonio.
-
-The defeat of General Cos had filled the haughty dictator of Mexico with
-fury. It was past belief that a handful of the despised colonists, armed
-with hunting-rifles, should have put to rout his own well-equipped
-regulars. He determined to punish this insolence as it deserved. And not
-only to punish, but to set an iron heel upon the rebellious province.
-
-                 [Illustration: THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO]
-
-All prisoners were to be shot; all who had taken part in the revolution
-were to be driven out of the country; the best lands were to be divided
-among the Mexican soldiers. The expenses of the rebellion were to be
-paid by the Texans. All foreigners giving aid to the rebels were to be
-treated as pirates.
-
-By the 1st of February Santa Anna had sent General Urrea to Matamoras, a
-town near the mouth of the Rio Grande River, with orders to proceed from
-that place against Refugio and Goliad. He himself took command of the
-main army, with General Filisola (Fee-lee-so′la) as second in command.
-General Cos and his men, who had taken oath not to bear arms again
-during the war, joined the army at the crossing of the Rio Grande River.
-On the 23d of February the first division of this united force appeared
-on the heights of the Alazan, west of San Antonio.
-
-The soldiers of the garrison were scattered about the town. No warning
-of a near approach of the enemy had come, and things looked tranquil
-enough that morning, with the soft winter sunshine flooding the yellow
-adobe walls and glinting the limpid river.
-
-A cry from the sentinel posted on the roof of San Fernando Church
-startled the stillness; its echoes leaped from street to street; the
-alarum bells burst into a clanging peal. The Mexicans were already
-pouring down the slopes west of the San Pedro River.
-
-The garrison hastily crossed the San Antonio River and entered the
-fortress of the Alamo. One of the officers, Lieutenant Dickinson,
-galloped in on horseback, with his baby on his arm and his wife behind
-him. Some beef-cattle grazing around the fort were driven in and the
-gates were closed.
-
-Colonel William B. Travis had succeeded Neill in the command of the
-fort, which was garrisoned by one hundred and forty-five men. Travis was
-but twenty-eight years of age; confident, bold, determined, and full of
-patriotic ardor. Colonel James Bowie was second in command.
-
-Among other defenders of the Alamo were Colonel James B. Bonham of South
-Carolina and David Crockett of Tennessee—“Davy” Crockett, the
-backwoodsman, bear-hunter, wit, and politician. Crockett had reached San
-Antonio just before the siege, with a small company of Tennesseeans, and
-offered his services to Travis. He was a picturesque figure in his
-fringed and belted buck-skin blouse and coon-skin cap. His long rifle,
-Betsy, had “spoken” in the war of 1812, and echoed since on many an
-Indian trail. Its last word was to be spoken at the defense of the
-Alamo.
-
-                    [Illustration: David Crockett.]
-
-The Mission of the Alamo, established in 1703 and several times removed,
-was finally built, in 1744, on the spot where it now stands. Like the
-other missions, it was both a church and a fortress. It is on the east
-side of the San Antonio River, facing the town to westward. The
-cross-shaped church, slit with narrow windows and partly roofless, stood
-on the southeast corner of a walled plaza several acres in extent. The
-other buildings—convent, hospital, barracks, and prison—were within the
-enclosure. There was also a small convent-yard adjoining the chapel. All
-of the buildings were of stone; the enclosing walls were built of adobe
-bricks. The sacristy of the church was used as a powder magazine. The
-place was defended by fourteen pieces of artillery.
-
-Santa Anna arrived in person on the 23d. He took possession of San
-Antonio town and sent a summons to the rebels in the Alamo for
-unconditional surrender. Travis received and dismissed the messengers
-with courtesy; then answered by the mouth of a cannon, “No.” At the
-defiant boom which stirred the peaceful air of the valley, a blood-red
-flag was placed upon the tower of San Fernando, proclaiming “no
-quarter”; and a thunder of guns opened the attack.
-
-The besiegers at first made little headway. If they ventured across the
-river they were within reach of those unerring rifles they had such
-cause to dread. It was the third day before they succeeded in planting a
-battery between the fort and the bridge.
-
-The besieged within the fortress were calm and confident, though they
-were kept day and night at rifle and cannon. But they were fighting at
-fearful odds. Travis sent out an impassioned appeal to the council for
-aid. He also dispatched Colonel Bonham to Goliad, asking for Fannin’s
-assistance. At the same time he proudly wrote: “I shall never surrender
-or retreat.”
-
-On the eighth day of the siege thirty-two volunteers from Gonzales
-succeeded in passing the Mexican lines and entered the fort. Two days
-later Colonel Bonham slipped in alone, but bringing news that Fannin
-would march at once with men and artillery. On the 1st of March Travis
-wrote to the council; it was his last letter. “I shall continue to hold
-this place,” he said, “until I get relief from my countrymen, or I shall
-perish in the attempt.”
-
-But steady as was his spirit, he could not shut his eyes to the fact
-that the desperate game was well-nigh played out. On the 4th of March he
-called his men together and made them a short but ringing speech. There
-was, he told them, no longer any hope of reinforcements; death was
-staring them all in the face, and nothing remained but to sell their
-lives as dearly as possible. “Now,” he concluded, drawing a line on the
-ground with his sword, “whoever is willing to die like a hero, let him
-cross this line.” There was not a moment of hesitation. Gravely and
-silently, one by one, the men, with one exception,[22] stepped across
-the line and ranged themselves beside their leader. Bowie, who was sick,
-had himself lifted over in his cot.
-
-Sunday morning, March 6, between midnight and dawn, the final assault
-was made by the besiegers. The Mexican bugles sounded the notes of
-_Duquelo_ (no quarter); the thunder of cannon followed. The devoted
-little band of Texans, weary and worn with constant watching and
-incessant fighting, sprang to arms as cheerfully and quickly as to a
-holiday parade.
-
-The Mexicans, two thousand five hundred strong, closed about the walls.
-They were provided with scaling ladders, axes, and crowbars. A cordon of
-cavalry was placed around the fort to prevent escape.
-
-The enemy advanced in the gray dawnlight, under a deadly fire from the
-fort. Twice they placed their ladders against the walls, and twice they
-recoiled before the terrible hail of shot and shell poured upon them
-from the fort. The third time, driven by their officers at the point of
-the sword, the soldiers climbed the walls and swarmed over into the
-enclosure. Then began a stubborn and bloody combat, which strewed the
-plaza with corpses. The Texans fought grimly, silently, furiously, with
-pistols, with knives, with the butts of their rifles, dropping one by
-one, but sending as they fell scores of Mexicans to a bloody death.
-
-It was in the old church, dedicated to peace and prayer, that the last
-conflict took place. Here Crockett was killed, with Betsy, his long
-rifle, whose voice had resounded clearly above the uproar, in his hand.
-Bowie was slaughtered in his cot, after killing several of his
-assailants. Major T. C. Evans was shot in the act of putting fire to the
-powder magazine, as he had promised to do in case things came to the
-worst.
-
-Mrs. Dickinson and her child, with two Mexican women, were in a small
-arched room to the right of the chapel door. They were saved by the
-kindness of the Mexican officer, Colonel Almonte.
-
-The tall form of Travis had towered for an instant only above the
-battle-waves near a breach in the north wall; then he had gone down, his
-brave heart stilled forever. With his last breath he cried in a voice
-which rang above the deadly tumult: “_No rendirse muchachos!_” (Don’t
-surrender, boys!)
-
-Bonham fell near him and almost at the same moment.
-
-Before nine o’clock the butchery was complete. Two thousand five hundred
-Mexicans, cavalry, artillery, and infantry, fresh and unwearied, had
-conquered after eleven days’ siege a handful of poorly armed, outworn
-“rebels.”
-
-Santa Anna directed the assault from a battery near the river. After the
-carnage was ended he came into the fort. He surveyed the bloody scene
-with a smile of satisfaction. His victory had cost him a thousand or
-more of dead and many wounded; but what did that matter? Not a Texan was
-left to tell the tale of the Alamo!
-
-The next day the dead bodies of the Texans were collected in heaps and
-burned. The smoke of that fire ascended to high heaven like a prayer for
-vengeance. The answer when it came was terrible.
-
-Mrs. Dickinson and her child, two Mexican women, and a negro servant
-belonging to Travis were the only survivors of this massacre. Mrs.
-Dickinson was placed on a horse with her child in her arms and sent by
-Santa Anna to the colonists with an insolent message announcing the fall
-of the Alamo.
-
-
-                           3. FORT DEFIANCE.
-
-On the 1st of March the General Convention met at Washington on the
-Brazos. On the 2d, while Travis’ signal guns were still sending their
-sturdy boom across the prairies, a declaration of independence was read
-and adopted.
-
-Houston was made commander-in-chief of the armies of the Republic of
-Texas. David G. Burnet was elected President and Lorenzo D. Zavala
-Vice-President. Thomas J. Rusk was made Secretary of War.
-
-Sunday, the 6th of March, the day the Alamo fell, Travis’ last appeal
-reached Washington—after the hand that wrote it was cold in death. His
-letter was read by the President to the members of the convention; it
-produced a powerful effect. In the first burst of feeling it was even
-proposed that the convention should adjourn, arm, and march to San
-Antonio.
-
-                   [Illustration: Mission at Goliad.]
-
-Houston spoke earnestly against such a step, and as soon as quiet was
-restored, he himself with two or three companions left for Gonzales,
-where the new volunteers were ordered to gather.
-
-The air as he rode westward was thick with rumors. He arrived at
-Gonzales on the 11th. The same day came the first tidings of the fall of
-the Alamo. It filled the town with a wail of desolation. Of the
-thirty-two men who had marched from Gonzales to the relief of Travis,
-and to their own death, twenty had left wives and children behind them.
-
-The arrival of Mrs. Dickinson with her child, and her story of the siege
-with all its ghastly details, added to the gloom. The moans of the widow
-and the fatherless mingled with the dreary bustle of preparation for
-flight. For it was rumored that the bloodthirsty Mexicans were
-approaching.
-
-General Houston had found three hundred recruits at Gonzales. But they
-were unprepared for an attack; they had neither provisions nor munitions
-of war; the place was without defenses of any kind. He therefore gave
-orders for retreat. At nightfall on the 13th the forlorn handful of
-women and children mounted horses, or clambered into wagons where a few
-household goods had been hastily piled; the troops formed around them,
-and at midnight the march began.
-
-As they moved away across the prairie a light reddened the sky behind
-them. It came from the flames of their own burning houses. A cry burst
-from the women, and the eyes already swollen with weeping overflowed
-again at the sight of their desolated hearthstones.
-
-
-When Colonel Fannin found himself unable to march to the relief of the
-Alamo, he reëntered Goliad. He now knew that Urrea was advancing
-rapidly, and he made haste to strengthen his position. He had at this
-time five hundred men under his command. They occupied the Mission of
-Espiritu Santo, called by Fannin Fort Defiance. Earthworks had been
-thrown up around the old church, ditches dug, and cannon mounted. But
-the defenses were weak, the men were poorly fed and scantily clad. They
-were often compelled to mount guard barefoot. Fannin was filled with
-gloomy forebodings, although the signal-guns of the Alamo, which were to
-be fired as long as the flag continued to wave over that fortress, were
-not yet silenced.
-
-About the 12th of March Captain King was sent by Fannin with a small
-detachment of men to bring away the women and children from Refugio, a
-small town about twenty miles distant. King was attacked by the advance
-guard of Urrea’s army, and had barely time to throw himself into the
-mission church at Refugio. From there he sent to Fannin for more troops.
-Colonel Ward, with one hundred and twenty-five men, immediately joined
-him in the church where he was entrenched.
-
-The next morning (14th) Captain King with his men left the fort on a
-scouting expedition. About three miles from the mission they were
-surprised by a large body of Mexicans, to whom they surrendered. A few
-hours later they were stripped of their clothing by their captors and
-shot. Their unburied bodies were left to decay on the open prairie.
-
-The same morning, about ten o’clock, fifteen of Ward’s men were sent
-from the mission to the river about a hundred yards away to get water.
-They had filled two barrels and placed them on a cart drawn by a couple
-of oxen, and were about returning to the fort when some bullets sang
-over their heads. A glance showed them the Mexican army on the other
-side of the river, not half a mile distant. They hurried on as fast as
-they could, and reached the mission in safety with a good part of the
-water. One barrel was emptied of about half of its contents through a
-hole made by a shot from the advancing enemy.
-
-Urrea attacked the barricaded church. The battle lasted nearly all day,
-but late in the afternoon he drew off his beaten and discouraged force;
-he had two hundred killed and wounded. Ward’s loss was three wounded.
-
-But the ammunition of the besieged was nearly exhausted, and that night,
-after supplying the three wounded men with water, Colonel Ward and his
-men stole quietly out of the church and slipped unseen past the Mexican
-sentinels.
-
-On the 21st, after weary marches through swamp and thicket and constant
-skirmishes with the enemy, they surrendered on honorable terms to Urrea,
-and were taken back to Goliad.
-
-
-                            4. PALM SUNDAY.
-
-Fannin turned away from General Houston’s messenger on the morning of
-the 13th (March) with an anxious and gloomy face. The messenger, Captain
-Desauque, had just come in from Gonzales, leaving woe and despair behind
-him. He brought the black tidings of the fall of the Alamo, and he bore
-orders from the commander-in-chief for Fannin to blow up the fort, bury
-or throw into the river such of the cannon as he could not bring away,
-and retreat to Victoria on the Guadalupe River.
-
-There was scant time in which to mourn the fall of the Alamo, but the
-dark looks on the men’s faces, as they buried the guns and demolished
-the fortifications, told of what they were thinking.
-
-Fannin sent a courier to Ward and King, ordering them to return at once
-from Refugio; this courier, as well as others sent later, was captured
-by Mexican scouts.
-
-Fannin waited five days in great suspense, loth to abandon these
-officers and the women and children whom they had been sent to protect.
-
-At length came the news of Ward’s retreat from Refugio. The remaining
-works of Fort Defiance were destroyed, the buildings were set on fire,
-artillery and ammunition were loaded on wagons; the drums called the men
-from their ruined quarters. Mrs. Cash, the only woman left in Goliad,
-was placed in their midst, and, with a last glance at Fort Defiance,
-Fannin began his fatal retreat.
-
-This was on the 19th of March.
-
-The wagons, enveloped in fog, creaked their way across the San Antonio
-River and over the prairie beyond. The troops marched steadily. An
-ominous silence reigned everywhere; not even a Mexican scout was to be
-seen.
-
-Several miles from Goliad Fannin halted an hour in the open prairie to
-allow his jaded and hungry ox-teams to graze. At the moment the march
-was taken up, a line of Mexican cavalry came out of the wood skirting
-the Colita (Co-lee′ta) Creek two miles away. Their arms glistened in the
-sunlight, for the fog had lifted. A compact mass of infantry followed.
-Urrea’s entire army was upon them.
-
-Fannin immediately formed his men in a hollow square with the wagons and
-teams in the center. His position had the double disadvantage of being
-unprotected and in a miry hollow some feet below the surface of the
-prairie around. But his men received the Mexican advance with a volley
-from the artillery and a galling fire from their rifles.[23]
-
-The cannon, for want of water to sponge them, soon became useless. With
-small arms alone, charge after charge of the enemy was repulsed; the
-prairie was soon covered with dead and dying men and horses.
-
-Early in the action Fannin received a severe wound in his thigh, but in
-spite of this he continued to direct his men with great courage and
-coolness.
-
-Many a poor fellow loaded and fired his gun with his own life-blood
-wetting the sod about him. One lad, named Hal Ripley, fifteen years of
-age, after his thigh was broken by a ball, climbed, with Mrs. Cash’s
-help, into her cart. There, with his back propped and a rest for his
-rifle, he fired away calmly until another bullet shattered his right
-arm. He had, in the meantime, killed four Mexicans. “Now, Mother Cash,”
-he said cheerfully, “you may take me down.”[24]
-
-At dark the Mexicans ceased firing and made their camp in the timber.
-Their bugles sounded shrilly the livelong night. That night was one of
-agony in the bloody little camp on the prairie. There were but seven
-Texans killed, but more than sixty were badly wounded. These groaned in
-the darkness, begging for water which could not be had, imploring aid
-which mortal hand was powerless to give. Those who were not wounded lay
-breathless and exhausted on the trampled ground, staring up at the sky
-and wondering what the morrow would bring forth.
-
-The morrow brought no help to them. To the already large force of Urrea
-it brought reinforcements to the number of three or four hundred men
-with artillery, ammunition, and supplies.
-
-Fannin watched the enemy ranging his men under the morning sky and
-dragging his cannon into place; then his haggard eyes sought his own
-brave little band. They were without food, drink, or ammunition; their
-teams were killed or disabled; their cannon were useless; the cries of
-their wounded rose mournfully on the heavy air. He called his officers
-together and submitted the question: “Shall we surrender or not?” The
-private soldiers were then asked to decide for themselves.
-
-During this consultation Mrs. Cash went to the Mexican camp to beg for
-water for the wounded men. She was accompanied by her son, a boy of
-fourteen years, who, like Hal Ripley, had fought the day before with the
-best and the bravest. They passed over the prairie strewn with the dead
-and dying, and entered the presence of the Mexican general. “I have
-come, sir,” she said, fearlessly, “to ask you before the fighting begins
-again, to give me water for our wounded.” Urrea looked at her without
-replying, and then his eyes fell upon the shot-pouch and powder-horn of
-the boy. “Woman,” he demanded sternly, “are you not ashamed to bring a
-child like that into such scenes?” The boy himself answered with his
-blue eyes kindling: “Young as I am, sir,” he said, “I know my rights, as
-everybody in Texas does, and I mean to have them or die.”
-
-What the general might have said in answer to this insolent speech
-cannot be known, for at that moment a white flag was raised in the Texan
-camp.
-
-The majority of Fannin’s men were in favor of surrender, though many
-thought in their hearts it would be better to die with arms in their
-hands like the defenders of the Alamo. Fannin himself was opposed to
-surrender. “We beat them off yesterday,” he declared, “and we can do it
-again to-day.”
-
-Favorable terms were secured from General Urrea by Fannin, and the
-prisoners of war were marched back to Goliad and placed in the mission
-church—Fannin’s Fort Defiance. The wounded were brought in the next day
-and housed in the barracks; and several days later Ward and his men were
-thrust into the overcrowded church.
-
-The prisoners were ill fed and badly treated. But when the first shock
-of their defeat had passed, they began to look forward eagerly to their
-release. They were told that they were to be placed at once on ships and
-sent to New Orleans, where they would be paroled and set at liberty.
-
-On the Saturday evening after their capture, the sounds of gay laughter
-echoed from the time-stained walls of the chapel. The men sang “Home,
-Sweet Home,” to the music of a flute played by one of their number.
-Fannin talked of his wife and children far into the night.
-
-The next day was Palm Sunday.
-
-In the old days of the mission, the Indian converts were accustomed on
-Palm Sunday to walk up the aisles of the church bearing green branches
-in their hands, in memory of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem; and hymns of
-joy and praise mingled with the incense which arose from the altar.
-
-At just the sunrise hour, when in those old times the converts came
-carrying their dewy sweet-smelling boughs from the forest, the prisoners
-were awakened by their guards and marched out of the church. They were
-formed into four divisions and hurried away under various pretences.
-Some were even told that they were starting home.
-
-Three-quarters of a mile from the fort they were halted, drawn up in
-sections, and ordered to kneel. Everything had been so orderly, so
-natural, so swift, that only at the last moment did the men realize what
-was about to happen. “My God, boys,” cried a voice that echoed like a
-shot on the clear air, “they are going to kill us.”
-
-The guns of the guards were already turned upon the prisoners. A
-deliberate discharge followed this despairing cry; another, and another,
-and a heap of writhing, bleeding bodies was all that remained of
-Fannin’s gallant band. A few escaped, struggling to their feet and
-fleeing to the swamp pursued by shots and curses. The surgeons and one
-or two others were saved by the kindness of Colonel Garay, a Mexican
-officer.[25] One of these, Dr. Shackelford, captain of the Red Rovers,
-heard the firing as he entered the tent of his preserver. He did not
-know that anything had gone wrong; but he trembled and turned pale, and
-well he might! For three of his young nephews and his own son were among
-the killed.
-
-Señora Alvarez, a Mexican woman, concealed several prisoners until after
-the massacre, and afterward helped them to escape. It was her tears and
-entreaties which moved Colonel Garay to risk keeping the surgeons in his
-tent. While the butchery was going on, she stood in the plaza, with her
-black hair streaming over her shoulders; and with flashing eyes she
-denounced Santa Anna and called down the vengeance of heaven upon his
-head. When she learned that Dr. Shackelford’s son had been shot, she
-burst into tears and cried out, “Oh, if I had only known, I would have
-saved him.”
-
-Her husband was one of Urrea’s officers, and her kindness to the Texan
-prisoners throughout the war ought never to be forgotten. “Her name,”
-writes one of the survivors of the massacre, “should be written in
-letters of gold.”
-
-The two brave boys, Harry Ripley and young Cash, were also among the
-slain.
-
-The wounded men were then dragged out of their beds and shot. Fannin,
-who was the last to die, met his fate inside the fort, it is even said
-inside the consecrated church. His high courage sustained him to the
-end. After receiving the promise of the officer in charge that he should
-not be shot in the head, that his body should be decently buried, and
-that his watch should be sent to his wife, he fastened the bandage about
-his eyes with his own hands, and welcomed death like a soldier. Not one
-of the promises made to him was kept.
-
-The dead Texans to the number of three hundred and fifty were stripped
-of their clothing and piled, naked, in heaps on the ground. A little
-brushwood was thrown over them and set on fire. It burned, crackling a
-few moments, and then the flames died out. The half-consumed flesh was
-torn from the bones by vultures.
-
-This cold-blooded murder was done by order of Santa Anna. For it, as for
-the massacre at the Alamo, a deadly vengeance was at hand.
-
-
-                5. REMEMBER THE ALAMO! REMEMBER GOLIAD!
-
-On the morning of the 21st of April, 1836, Houston, with his army of
-seven hundred Texans, and Santa Anna, with his army of more than twice
-that number of Mexicans, were encamped within a mile of each other near
-the banks of Buffalo Bayou.
-
-The country was in a wild panic. Men, women, and children were fleeing
-before the very rumor of Santa Anna’s approach, as in the pioneer days
-they had not fled before the tomahawks of the Comanches.
-
-Houston’s slow retreat[26] (begun on March 13), from Gonzales to the
-Colorado, from the Colorado to various points on the Brazos, with the
-enemy close upon his rear, had filled the stoutest hearts with doubt and
-alarm. After more than two months of suspense charged with the terrible
-episodes of San Patricio, Refugio, the Alamo, and Goliad, and the
-burning of San Felipe, Gonzales, and Harrisburg, the people began to ask
-of each other what would be the end.
-
-Here at last, on an open field and in a fair fight, the question was
-about to be answered.
-
-Santa Anna, after the fall of the Alamo, was filled with vain glory. He
-called himself the Napoleon of the West, and looked upon the Texan
-“rebels” as already conquered and suppliant at his feet. From his
-headquarters at San Antonio he directed his army to possess the country
-and to shoot every man taken with a gun in his hand. One division, under
-General Gaona, was ordered to Nacogdoches; General Urrea, after the
-battle of Colita, was ordered to sweep the coast from Victoria to
-Anahuac with his division; the central division, under Generals Sesma
-and Filisola, followed Houston almost step by step in his retreat. Santa
-Anna himself accompanied this division.
-
-On the 15th of April, believing that Houston was at last in his power,
-the Mexican commander-in-chief left his main army on the Brazos and
-marched, with about one thousand men, to Harrisburg, where he hoped to
-capture President Burnet and the members of his cabinet. He found
-Harrisburg deserted; whereupon he set fire to the town, and hurried to
-New Washington. From there, after burning the straggling village, he
-intended to move on to Lynch’s Ferry (now Lynchburg) at the junction of
-Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River. His plan was to pursue the
-government officials to Galveston, whither they had retreated, make them
-prisoners, and so end the war. While his troops were in line for the
-ferry (April 20) he was startled by the arrival of a scout who reported
-the approach of Houston with his entire command. Santa Anna, thus cut
-off from his army, was taken completely by surprise.
-
-This was the moment Houston had so long awaited.
-
-“We need not talk,” he said to Rusk, the Secretary of War, who was with
-the army. “You think we ought to fight, and I think so, too.”
-
-                      [Illustration: Deaf Smith.]
-
-The rising sun of April 21 looked down bright and glowing upon the two
-hostile camps. The Texans were in a grove of moss-hung live oaks; in
-front of them a rolling prairie, gay with spring flowers, stretched away
-to the marshy bottom lands of the San Jacinto River; behind them Buffalo
-Bayou rolled its dark waters to Galveston Bay. The “Twin Sisters,” two
-small cannon presented to the Republic by the citizens of Cincinnati,
-were planted on the rising ground before the camp. They were flanked on
-either side by the infantry. The cavalry, under the command of Mirabeau
-B. Lamar, was placed in the rear.
-
-              [Illustration: Battlefield of San Jacinto.]
-
-Santa Anna’s camp also faced the prairie, but it had directly in the
-rear the oozy, grass-grown San Jacinto marsh.
-
-The day before (20th) when the ground was first occupied by the two
-armies, there had been some skirmishing. But this morning passed in a
-quiet, which was broken only by the arrival of General Cos at the
-enemy’s camp with a reinforcement of five hundred men.
-
-Toward noon a profound silence fell upon the Mexican camp. The men,
-officers and soldiers, from Santa Anna to the humblest private, were
-taking their _siesta_ (afternoon nap).
-
-Meantime, General Houston, after a short consultation with his officers,
-sent for Deaf Smith.
-
-Deaf Smith was a bold, cool-headed, shrewd guide and spy, who had come
-from New York to Texas in 1821. He was hard of hearing (hence his
-nickname), silent and secretive in his manner, with the instinct and the
-unerring sight of a savage. It was Deaf Smith who had guided Fannin and
-Bowie from La Espada to Mission Concepcion, and led Johnson and Milam
-through the dark streets at the storming of San Antonio. It was he who
-had been sent to meet Mrs. Dickinson on her dreary journey from the
-Alamo; and when General Houston retreated from Gonzales, Deaf Smith,
-with one or two companions, was left to spy upon the movements of the
-enemy.
-
-Houston dispatched Smith with secret orders to cut down and burn Vince’s
-bridge, about eight miles distant.
-
-This bridge, which both armies had crossed on their march to their
-present position, spanned Vince’s Bayou, a narrow but deep stream
-running into Buffalo Bayou. To destroy it was to destroy the only means
-of retreat for either army.
-
-General Houston, after making these arrangements, paraded his army. The
-men were in high spirits. Their eyes were dancing, their fingers itched
-to pull the triggers of their guns. The day was waning; it was nearly
-three o’clock in the afternoon. At this moment Deaf Smith galloped in,
-his horse white with foam, with the news that Vince’s bridge had been
-burned.
-
-The order to advance was given. A single fife struck up the curiously
-inappropriate tune, “Will you come to the bower I have shaded for you.”
-The cannon were rushed forward within two hundred yards of the Mexican
-camp, and fire belched from the mouth of the “twins.” The left wing of
-infantry under Colonel Sidney Sherman began the attack. There was a cry
-which split the air: “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” and the
-whole force hurled itself forward like an avalanche.
-
-The effect was appalling. The Mexicans half awake, dazed and bewildered
-by the sudden charge, hardly tried after their first feeble volley, to
-return the fire of their assailants. Within a few moments the Texans,
-still uttering their hoarse watchword of vengeance, had leaped the
-barricade, and were in the very heart of Santa Anna’s camp.
-
-Too excited or too thirsty for revenge to load, they beat down the foe
-with the butts of their rifles, clubbed them with pistols, slashed them
-with keen-edged bowie knives. The Mexicans fled like frightened sheep,
-some into the muddy morass where they were caught as in a trap, others
-toward the bayou and the ruined bridge, others again to the cover of the
-timber where they made haste to surrender. “Me no Alamo! Me no Alamo!”
-cried many of the panic-stricken soldiers, falling on their knees before
-their captors.
-
-                    [Illustration: Sidney Sherman.]
-
-By twilight the fleeing Mexicans were nearly all captured or killed, and
-the victors had time to breathe and to count their own dead. They had
-seven dead and twenty-seven wounded. Among the latter was General
-Houston, who received a wound in the ankle, which caused him to limp
-during the remainder of his life.
-
-The Mexicans lost six hundred and thirty-two killed and two hundred and
-eight wounded. Seven hundred and thirty-two prisoners were taken.
-
-Among the prisoners were the oath-breaker, General Cos;[27] Almonte,
-Santa Anna’s private secretary; and Colonel Portillia, the officer who
-had been in command at Goliad when Fannin and his men were shot. General
-Santa Anna, riding a handsome black horse, had escaped. He was pursued
-as he fled from the field by Henry Karnes, who knew from the flying
-horseman’s glittering uniform that he must be an officer of rank; he did
-not dream, however, that he was following Santa Anna. He felt sure of
-capturing the officer at Vince’s Bayou, for he rode straight for the
-destroyed bridge. But after a single second of hesitation on the bank,
-the horse and rider seemed to rise in the air and then plunge downward.
-When Captain Karnes reached the stream, the gallant animal was
-floundering in the mud on the opposite side, unable to clamber up the
-steep bank. The rider had disappeared.
-
-
-                            6. TWO GENERALS.
-
-The next morning (22nd) General Houston was lying under an oak somewhat
-apart from the camp. The pain of his wound had kept him awake during the
-night, and he was sleeping lightly. Suddenly an excited murmur ran
-through the camp, a clamor of Mexican voices arose: “El Presidente! El
-Presidente!” and some soldiers approached, having in their midst a man
-dressed in soiled linen trousers, a blue jacket, a soldier’s cap, and
-red worsted slippers. His linen, however, was of the finest, and he wore
-jeweled studs in his shirt front.
-
-Houston, awakened by the noise, looked up. His visitor bowed. “I am,” he
-said in Spanish, “General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and a prisoner of
-war, at your service.” He had just been captured, hiding, miserable and
-forlorn, in the long grass on the further side of the bayou. Houston
-waved his hand to a tool-chest near by, and Santa Anna sat down.
-
-A greater physical contrast can hardly be imagined than that between
-these two men now gazing steadily and silently at each other.
-
-The Dictator of Mexico was small and thin and not above five feet five
-inches in height. His swarthy face was ill-favored almost to
-repulsiveness; his small black eyes were cold and cruel. Houston was
-tall and finely proportioned, with fair complexion, open forehead, and
-fine blue eyes. Perhaps the one point of resemblance between the two
-generals lay in a certain foppishness in dress. But on this occasion
-this appeared in neither. Santa Anna had exchanged his gaudy uniform for
-the disguise he wore, and Houston was ill-kempt and shabby in his old
-campaign uniform.
-
-Almonte, who had been sent for to act as interpreter, now came up and
-the interview began. Santa Anna was at first very humble; he even wept
-copiously. But after swallowing some opium he recovered his arrogance,
-and demanded to be treated as a prisoner of war. He wished to arrange
-for his immediate release.
-
-When Houston dryly asked what consideration he could expect after the
-bloody scenes at the Alamo and Goliad, he pleaded the usage of war for
-the carnage at the Alamo. As for Goliad, he declared that Urrea had
-deceived him with regard to Fannin’s surrender, and pretended to
-denounce his subordinate officer in bitter terms. “Urrea told me Fannin
-was vanquished,” he said, “and I was ordered by my government to shoot
-every man found with a weapon in his hand.”
-
-“You are yourself the government,” Houston replied curtly. “A Dictator
-has no superior.”
-
-“I have the order of Congress,” Santa Anna insisted, “and that compels
-me to treat as pirates all who are found under arms. Urrea had no
-authority to make an agreement with Fannin. He has deceived me, and when
-I am free he shall suffer for it.”
-
-Houston listened to this bluster, but declined to make terms with his
-prisoner, that power belonging alone to the Texan Congress.
-
-He treated the unfortunate general with generous courtesy, returning to
-him his tents and personal effects, and permitting him to be waited upon
-by his own servants.
-
-An order signed by Santa Anna was carried by Deaf Smith and Henry Karnes
-to General Filisola, the second in command, who was encamped near San
-Felipe, to conduct the Mexican troops to the Rio Grande.
-
-The Texan soldiers could not understand the mercy shown to the Mexican
-prisoners, particularly to Santa Anna, the cruel and heartless foe who
-had tortured and put to death so many of their brave countrymen. With
-dark and angry looks and open threats they swarmed about the place of
-the interview. Some of the officers were in favor of a drumhead
-court-martial and an immediate execution. But better counsels prevailed,
-and Santa Anna was allowed to retire to his camp-bed and rest in peace.
-
-The night which followed the victory was one of wild and grotesque
-rejoicing in the Texan camp. Huge bonfires were lighted, and by the red
-glow of their flames, the soldiers danced and sang and told over and
-over again the story of the great day and its triumphs. The Mexican camp
-was overhauled; the victors decked themselves with the arms of their
-foes, buckling about their waists two, three, or four brace of pistols,
-with powder-horns, shot-pouches, sabers, and bowie knives. They rigged
-out the captured mules with the gold epaulets of the Mexican officers,
-and the green and red cap-cords of the grenadiers. Then, lighting
-hundreds of wax candles found among the spoils, they paraded gayly
-about, waking the echoes of the night with their shouts of laughter. All
-this was not in very good taste, and it naturally made the prisoners
-very angry. But they might well have reflected that at least it was a
-better way of rejoicing over a victory than shooting prisoners in cold
-blood and setting fire to their naked corpses.
-
-The military stores taken in the battle, the cannon, small arms,
-ammunition, and mules, were kept by the government. The camp baggage was
-sold at auction, and the proceeds, with the contents of the military
-money-chest, were divided among the soldiers. This money, which amounted
-to about seven dollars and a half to each man, was all that they
-received for their service during the whole war.
-
-General Santa Anna’s handsome silver-mounted saddle was purchased and
-presented to General Houston. The jeweled dagger handed to his captors
-by the Mexican General was also given to Houston.
-
-
-                   7. HOW THE GOOD NEWS WAS BROUGHT.
-
-On the approach of Santa Anna’s army, President Burnet and his cabinet
-retired from Harrisburg to Galveston Island. They were closely pressed
-by the advance of the Mexican cavalry under Almonte. As the President
-stepped upon the flatboat which was to take him to the schooner _Flash_,
-at the mouth of the San Jacinto, he was for several moments a target for
-Mexican guns. But he reached the _Flash_ in safety, and the boat sailed
-across the bay to the almost deserted island. There, while the
-government officials waited in great anxiety and suspense for news from
-the army, they were joined by a large number of fugitives who had fled
-from their homes in the general panic. The steamboat _Yellowstone_—which
-had conveyed Houston’s army across the Brazos at Groce’s Ferry—came down
-loaded with refugees from the Brazos and Colorado. At Fort Bend it had
-passed the Mexican army under a hot fire. The smokestacks were riddled
-with bullet holes. The Mexican cavalrymen had tried at several points to
-lasso the boat from the bank as it steamed by, but fortunately their
-ropes were too short.
-
-The _Yellowstone_ brought news that Houston’s army was on the road to
-Harrisburg. Burnet knew, therefore, that the long-delayed fight would
-take place soon or never. Very few people had any faith left in
-Houston’s ability to defeat the Mexican army. Santa Anna was looked for
-in Galveston at any moment. Nearly all the women and children had
-already been placed on board the _Flash_, and the captain of the boat
-had orders to sail for New Orleans, where they would be safe.
-
-General Houston’s first duty, after settling affairs in his somewhat
-disordered camp, was to send an express to the President with news of
-the victory, and to request him to come and treat in person with Santa
-Anna.
-
-At the battle of Concepcion Captain Robert Calder, then a private posted
-in the mission tower, had given notice of the enemy’s approach. This
-young officer, who had also fought most gallantly in the battle of San
-Jacinto, volunteered to bear the General’s dispatches to President
-Burnet. It is not to the young captain’s discredit that the presence on
-the island of the beautiful girl whom he afterward married had something
-to do with his eagerness to perform this service.
-
-                    [Illustration: Thomas J. Rusk.]
-
-He started on the morning of the 23d accompanied by B. C. Franklin and
-two soldiers detailed for the expedition. No boat was to be had except
-an open and weather-stained skiff with two pairs of oars. No provisions
-could be procured; the country around had been swept clean by the
-Mexicans. But the little party paddled away cheerily down the bayou.
-Late at night they found some food in a deserted cabin on the bank. The
-next day they entered the bay. The waves were rough; it was hard rowing
-and the boat leaked badly. Captain Calder had most of the work to do,
-the others having given out completely. Much of the way they coasted
-close to the shore, Calder wading and shoving or pulling the skiff
-along. They saw but one living human being on their trip. This was a
-wild African negro who had perhaps escaped from some slave-ship on the
-coast. On the fifth day they crossed from Virginia Point to the
-war-schooner _Invincible_, which was lying in the bay off Galveston. As
-they approached, Captain Brown hailed them through his speaking trumpet:
-“What news?”
-
-The unexpected reply, “Houston has defeated Santa Anna and captured his
-whole army,” caused an instant outburst of wild excitement. The wet,
-weary, and hungry messengers were dragged on board and questioned by
-everybody at once. Captain Brown cried to his gunners: “Turn loose old
-Tom.” Old Tom, the cannon, was fired three times before Captain Brown
-remembered that it was the business of the Commodore to order a salute.
-“Hold on there, boys,” he said, “or old Hawkins will have me in irons.”
-
-He sent Captain Calder and his men over to the flag-ship _Independence_,
-where Commodore Hawkins received them with enthusiasm and ordered a
-salute of thirteen guns.
-
-The news spread among the ships and through the fleet of small boats
-that swarmed up to hear the story. It passed on to the land, where
-people were running about in a wild state of alarm at the sound of the
-commodore’s guns. Alarm was changed to joy. The refugees hugged each
-other, weeping tears of gladness, and fairly beside themselves with
-delight. President Burnet received Captain Calder in his tent and heard
-the story of the battle with deep emotion.
-
-The young captain, “having changed his clothes,” as he relates, went in
-search of the bright-eyed girl whom he had not seen since the war began.
-As he passed, unknown, through the groups of men, he heard one man
-exclaim: “What! the whole Mexican army defeated and Santa Anna taken
-prisoner? No, gentlemen; these fellows are scoundrels and deserters. It
-is too big a story, and they ought to be taken into custody at once!”
-
-President Burnet and his suite boarded the _Yellowstone_ the same day
-(April 27) and steamed up to the new camp near Harrisburg, whither
-Houston had removed his army. There he met Santa Anna and arranged the
-basis of a treaty which the Mexican general signed on the part of his
-country.
-
-By the terms of the treaty the Mexican army was to withdraw from Texas
-soil; hostilities were to cease; American prisoners were to be released;
-and all property seized during the invasion was to be returned to the
-owners. Santa Anna was to be liberated at the discretion of the
-Congress.
-
-On the 3d day of May the Mexican prisoners were placed on board the
-_Yellowstone_ and carried to Galveston island, where they were kept
-under close guard.
-
-President Burnet accompanied Santa Anna to the coast, whence it was
-intended to embark the Mexican general at once for Vera Cruz.
-
-Soon after the battle of San Jacinto, General Houston, leaving Rusk, who
-had recently been appointed brigadier-general, in command of the army,
-went to New Orleans to have his shattered ankle treated by his own
-physician.
-
-Filisola had heard of the defeat and capture of his commander-in-chief
-and was already in full retreat when Santa Anna’s order reached him. He
-arrived at Goliad about the 20th of May.
-
-Here, on the 26th, Commissioners Benjamin Fort Smith and Henry Teal
-found him. They had been sent by President Burnet with a copy of the
-treaty between Santa Anna and the Texan congress for Filisola’s
-signature. He signed it, and continued his march westward to the Rio
-Grande.
-
-On June 4 General Rusk—who had followed with the Texan army to see that
-the Mexicans retreated in good faith—stopped at Goliad to fulfill a
-sacred duty. This was to collect and bury the remains of the victims of
-the Palm Sunday massacre.
-
-The charred and sun-dried skeletons scattered about the ground were
-gathered together and reverently laid in a pit dug for the purpose. The
-army was paraded inside the fort, and from thence, slowly and with
-reversed arms, to the beat of muffled drums, the soldiers marched to the
-chosen spot. With the procession walked several of Fannin’s men who had
-escaped death on that fatal Sunday.
-
- [Illustration: Map of Texas at the Close of the War of Independence.]
-
-  Red River
-  Trinity R.
-  Brazos R.
-  Colorado R.
-  Nacogdoches
-  San Augustine
-  Old San Antonio Road
-  Guadaloupe R.
-  San Antonio
-  Nueces R.
-  Rio Grande del Norte
-  Presidio of San Juan Bautista
-  Sabine R.
-  Neches R.
-  Washington
-  San Felipe de Gonzales
-  Austin
-  Anahuac
-  Harrisburg
-  Columbia
-  Brazoria
-  La Vaca R.
-  Golita Cr.
-  Victoria
-  Goliad
-  Refugio
-  San Patricio
-  Matamoros
-  Galveston I.
-  Velasco
-  GULF OF MEXICO
-  Matamoros
-
-General Rusk began an address, the troops standing around him. “But in
-truth he did not finish what he intended to say, for he was overpowered
-by his feelings, and the tears rolled down his cheeks, and he had to
-stop speaking. There were but few dry eyes on that occasion.”[28]
-
-So powerful was the impression produced on the men who assisted in this
-mournful ceremony that General Andrade (An-dra′dā), who was bringing up
-the rear of the Mexican army, was advised by Rusk that it would not be
-safe for him to attempt to pass through Goliad, as he could not answer
-for what his own men might do. Andrade was therefore obliged to cut a
-crossing seven or eight miles long through the chapparal thickets, in
-order to reach the main road. The Mexican army marched slowly westward
-with trailing banners. San Antonio and other places held by Mexican
-garrisons were given up. At length the Rio Grande was reached and
-crossed.
-
-The independence of Texas was achieved.
-
-
-
-
-                                  VI.
-                                HOUSTON.
-                              (1836-1842.)
-
-
-                          1. ON BUFFALO BAYOU.
-
-The treaty between Santa Anna and the Texan Congress was concluded at
-Velasco (May 14), and to the written paper was affixed the seal of the
-Republic.
-
-The choice of this seal was the result of an accident. When the
-declaration of independence was adopted at San Felipe, Governor Smith,
-having no other seal, used one of the brass buttons from his coat. Its
-device chanced to be a five-pointed star encircled by a wreath of oak
-leaves. The Lone Star with its wreath thus became the official signet of
-the Texas Republic.
-
-                [Illustration: Flag of Texas Republic.]
-
-Santa Anna was conducted on board the war-schooner _Invincible_, which
-had orders to convey him and his staff to Vera Cruz on the coast of
-Mexico. But public feeling was so strong against setting free the arch
-enemy of Texas that President Burnet was obliged to have him brought on
-shore again. He was sent from Velasco to Columbia, and thence to
-Orizaba, the country place of Dr. Orlando Phelps, on the Brazos River. A
-plot for his release was soon afterward discovered. This caused him to
-be put in irons, and to receive a small taste of the ill-treatment he
-had so often accorded to others. It was not until after the return of
-Houston from New Orleans in the fall that the captive general was
-finally released.
-
-Meantime there was great dissatisfaction in the army. The soldiers,
-having no fighting to do, began to remember that they were hungry and in
-rags. They clamored for money which the poverty-stricken government
-could not give them; and they still demanded loudly the death of Santa
-Anna.
-
-In June Major Isaac Burton, with a company of mounted rangers on the
-lookout for Mexican vessels at Copano, succeeded in decoying into port
-and capturing three supply ships which belonged to the enemy. These were
-the _Watchman_, the _Comanche_, and the _Fanny Butler_. The supplies,
-valued at twenty-five thousand dollars, were sent at once to the army.
-This timely relief and the re-imprisonment of Santa Anna restored the
-soldiers to good humor.
-
-In September a general election was held. General Houston was made
-President, and Mirabeau B. Lamar Vice-President. The new term was to
-begin in December; but President Burnet, glad to lay down the burden
-which he had borne wisely and virtuously, resigned his office, and on
-the 22d of October Houston was inaugurated.
-
-The ceremony took place at Columbia. Among those present were many who
-had been prominent in the revolution: Stephen F. Austin, ex-Governor
-Smith, Branch T. Archer, the Whartons, Mosely Baker, Sidney Sherman,
-John T. Austin, William Austin, and many others.
-
-Santa Anna, in his guarded apartment not far away, might almost have
-heard the echoes of his old enemy’s voice when, at the conclusion of his
-address, Houston unbuckled his sword and handed it to the Speaker of the
-House, with the assurance that if his country should ever call for his
-services again he would resume his sword and respond to that call with
-his blood or his life.
-
-Stephen F. Austin was made Secretary of State in Houston’s cabinet. He
-had but lately returned from the United States, where he had rendered
-important service to Texas during her struggle for independence. He now
-saw his highest hopes realized. His beloved colonists had become a free
-people. His chosen land would now blossom like a rose in the fair
-sunshine of peace.
-
-He began his new duties with ardor. But constant anxiety and the
-hardships of prison life had left him weak and delicate. The unfinished
-room where he worked was without fire; he was seized suddenly with
-pneumonia, and after a short illness he died (December 27, 1836).
-
-The Father of Texas was but forty-three years old. His life had been
-noble, useful, and unselfish, and his death was a public loss. His body
-was conveyed in the steamer _Yellowstone_ to Peach Point on the Brazos,
-near Columbia. There, in the presence of the President and his cabinet,
-the officers of the army and navy, and a large concourse of citizens, he
-was buried with military honors.
-
-                   [Illustration: Mirabeau B. Lamar.]
-
-The first regular Congress had a hard task before it. The people of
-Texas were in favor of annexation to the United States. But a strong
-faction in that nation, though willing to acknowledge Texas as an
-independent country, was strongly opposed to receiving another slave
-state. The young Republic was therefore obliged to stand alone.
-
-There was a large public debt, but no money in the treasury. Mexico
-still laid claim to her rebellious province, and it was necessary to
-maintain an army to repel invasion, and a navy to defend the coast. The
-Indians were troublesome. The civil law, in the confusion and disorder
-of the war, had become almost a dead letter.
-
-This was a tangled skein, but Congress set to work with hearty good will
-to unravel the threads. The legislature provided for the public debt and
-other state expenses by issuing land scrip (government paper entitling
-the holder to so many leagues of land).
-
-      [Illustration: First Capitol of Texas.  At Columbia (1836).]
-
-County and magistrate courts were organized; a Supreme Court was formed,
-and the Spanish code of laws was displaced by the code used by the
-United States. The soldiers instead of their pay received permission to
-go home on long visits to their families. Some vessels were bought for
-the navy, and commissioners were sent to the different Indian tribes to
-make treaties of friendship.
-
-Congress adjourned in December. The following May it met in the new town
-on Buffalo Bayou named in honor of the President.
-
-Monsieur Le Clère (Le Clare), a Frenchman who visited Texas about this
-time, writes thus of Houston: “I cannot say that Houston is a great
-city, although it is a capital. The principal street, Main Street, which
-is laid out in a straight line, and handsome enough for the country,
-runs down to the river. The footwalks are barely marked out. We found
-the landing still blocked by enormous trunks of trees. Great southern
-pines are left standing in the street. The ascent which leads from the
-bayou to the city is very rough, and one stumbles over the logs that
-encumber it. By the side of houses of tolerably fine appearance (though
-built entirely of wood), one meets here and there with those poor houses
-called log cabins. Finally, as a last touch to this picture, there stand
-in Main Street and near the capitol two great tents which would do honor
-to a chief of the Tartars or Bedouins.
-
-“The environs of Houston are not inhabited. A great number of the people
-I saw in the city were going further west, but their passage gave it a
-very lively appearance. They were on horseback, and almost all armed
-with the terrible weapon called the bowie knife. Most of them carried
-before them on the saddle that rifle, excessively long, which they
-handle with a wonderful skill, and which Jackson’s men used so well at
-the battle of New Orleans.”
-
-The capitol building was unfinished, and Congress was obliged to shorten
-its sittings when it rained or a “norther” blew fiercely through the
-shutterless windows. The President’s house was a double log cabin with a
-puncheon floor. But the naturalist Audubon describes President Houston
-(May, 1837) as receiving his guests in this rude cabin, “dressed in a
-fancy velvet coat and trousers trimmed with gold lace; and around his
-neck was tied a cravat somewhat in the style of 1776.”
-
-The same writer speaks of the members of the cabinet as men bearing the
-stamp of “intellectual ability, simple, though bold in their general
-appearance.”
-
-All sorts of people from at home and abroad thronged the little capital.
-Curious travelers like Audubon and Le Clère, the Frenchman, brushed
-against hunters clad in buck-skin, traders with pack-mules, and
-eager-eyed young adventurers from “the States.”
-
-                   [Illustration: A Comanche Chief.]
-
-A great many Indians came into the town to see their Great Father,
-Houston. One such deputation was from the hunting-grounds of the
-Comanches. They came to make their treaty of peace in person. They rode
-mustang ponies, and brought their squaws and papooses with them. After
-setting up their buffalo-hide lodges on the prairie near the town, the
-warriors marched in single file to President Houston’s own residence.
-They were all tall and finely formed, with very red skin, and jet-black
-hair which they wore hanging in long locks down their backs. These locks
-were ornamented with bands of silver. Many of the warriors wore, just
-below the elbow, clumsy rings of copper or gold, from which dangled the
-scalp-locks of their dead enemies. Monsieur Le Clère, who saw this
-procession, says that one young Indian had two of these rings hung with
-ten or fifteen heads of hair of different colors. The women wore tight
-leggings of tanned buck-skin, with tunics of wolf or jaguar skins,
-trimmed with beads and quills. Many strands of colored beads were strung
-around their necks, and their hands were loaded with gold and silver
-rings. Some of their costumes were graceful and pretty. The wearers were
-nearly all old and ugly; but one young girl, the daughter of the chief,
-is described as very beautiful, with liquid black eyes, softly rounded
-cheeks, and red laughing lips. She wore on her head a crown made of
-eagle feathers, and her girdle was a band of heavy silver discs.
-
-The President welcomed his red brothers gravely and kindly. The calumet,
-or pipe of peace, was smoked and the treaty was made. The Indians
-received presents of beads, blankets, and red cloth. The old chief when
-he rode away carried the Texas flag tied to a stalk of sugar cane. “Me
-big chief! Houston big chief!” he cried, striking his breast with his
-hand.
-
-
-                           2. THE INVINCIBLE.
-
-The provisional government of 1835 provided for a navy to serve the new
-Republic of Texas. It was not a very formidable navy. It consisted at
-first of two vessels—the schooners the _Invincible_ and the _Liberty_.
-Afterward were added the _Independence_, which became the flag-ship of
-Commodore Hawkins, commandant of the fleet, the _Brutus_, and several
-small sloops, including the _Champion_ and the _Julius Cæsar_.
-
-These ships cruised about the Gulf of Mexico, watching the coast and
-doing what they could with their small guns to annoy the Mexican
-war-vessels. Early in April, 1836, the _Invincible_, commanded by
-Captain Jerry Brown, met the Mexican brig, the _Montezuma_, near Tampico
-and fired upon her. A spirited engagement followed which lasted several
-hours, and in which the _Montezuma_ was badly disabled. She drew off,
-and in attempting to enter the harbor ran aground.
-
-The _Invincible_ sailed away unhurt, and the next day met and captured
-the American brig, the _Pocket_, which was on her way to a Mexican port
-with a cargo of supplies for Santa Anna’s army. Captain Brown brought
-the _Pocket_ into Galveston, whence the supplies were forwarded to the
-army.
-
-The _Invincible_, lying at that time in the bay, received from Captain
-Calder the first news of the victory at San Jacinto, and Captain Brown
-at once “turned loose Old Tom” to express his own joy therefor.
-
-The _Yellowstone_ came down from the Texan camp and landed the Mexican
-prisoners on the island; she then proceeded to Velasco, having on board
-the President and his cabinet officers, and General Santa Anna and his
-staff.
-
-The _Invincible_ was ordered to follow, and after signing the treaty,
-Santa Anna was conducted on board, and Captain Brown received orders to
-sail to Vera Cruz with the defeated general. The Texan commissioners
-empowered to treat with the Mexican government were also on board. As
-already related, Santa Anna was taken ashore again and placed in prison.
-The _Invincible_ with the _Brutus_ was soon afterward sent to New York
-for repairs. The _Liberty_ conveyed General Houston to New Orleans, and
-was there sold to pay her war-expenses.
-
-The new Congress was without means to meet the cost of repairing and
-refitting the _Invincible_ and her sister ship. They were on the point
-of being sold when Henry Swartwout, the collector of the port of New
-York, with great generosity provided the money from his private purse.
-They were completely equipped and sent to sea the same year.
-
-In 1837 the entire fleet set out for a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. The
-_Champion_ and the _Julius Cæsar_ were taken by the enemy on the 12th of
-April. Both carried valuable cargoes, and their loss was a keen blow to
-the young government.
-
-On the 17th of April the _Independence_ encountered near Velasco two
-Mexican brigs of war,—the _Libertador_, armed with sixteen 18-pound guns
-and manned with one hundred and forty men, and the _Vincedor_, with six
-12-pounders and one hundred men. The _Independence_ had but thirty-one
-men. The action, in which the Texans behaved with great gallantry, was a
-short and severe one. It ended in the capture of the _Independence_. The
-crew were sent as prisoners to Matamoras.
-
-   [Illustration: Old Capitol at Houston (1837). From an old Print.]
-
-A little later the _Invincible_ and the _Brutus_ captured the Mexican
-schooners, the _Obispo_ and the _Telegraph_. Both boats were sent in as
-prizes.
-
-In August the _Brutus_ and the _Invincible_ reached Galveston with
-another prize. The _Brutus_ with the prize entered the harbor safely,
-but the _Invincible_ did not succeed in passing the bar. She was
-attacked the next morning (26th) by two Mexican ships. The _Brutus_
-started out to assist her, but ran aground and lay helpless on the sand.
-The _Invincible_ held her own against the enemy all day; at nightfall
-she struck on the breakers. Her crew were saved, but the gallant old
-ship went to pieces.
-
-The next year (1838) a new navy was voted by Congress. Several vessels
-were bought, but there was now no duty for them to perform. They were
-placed in the service of Yucatan, which was in revolt against Mexico.
-Some years later, when Texas was annexed to the United States, they
-passed into the navy of that country.
-
-The _Brutus_, the last ship of the old Texan navy, was lost in a storm
-at Galveston Bay as late as 1867.
-
-
-                            3. THE CAPITAL.
-
-One of the laws of the constitution provided that no one should be
-allowed to hold the office of President for two successive terms.
-Houston’s term of office expired in 1838, and Mirabeau B. Lamar was
-elected President and David G. Burnet Vice-President.
-
-The Secretary of War under Lamar was Albert Sidney Johnston. This
-brilliant young soldier came to Texas just after the battle of San
-Jacinto. He was a graduate of West Point, and had served in the
-Blackhawk war.
-
-Johnston at once organized a force to act against the Indians. Lamar did
-not have Houston’s kindly feeling for the Red Men. He looked upon them
-as dangerous enemies, and he wished to rid the country of them entirely.
-The Indians, on their side, had been breaking the treaties made with
-Houston.
-
-Mexico was too full of troubles at home to invade Texas again. But
-Mexican agents were sent among the Cherokees and Comanches to stir them
-up against the white settlers, and incite them to reclaim their lands.
-Many homes on the frontier were burned, and their peaceable inmates
-killed or taken prisoners. The Texas rangers, under General Rusk and
-Colonel Burleson, finally defeated and subdued the most troublesome of
-the warlike tribes, and the frontier became quiet once more.
-
-      [Illustration: First Executive Mansion. At Houston (1837).]
-
-But in 1840 trouble broke out again with the Comanches. Twelve chiefs of
-this tribe came to San Antonio to sign a new treaty. As usual, they were
-accompanied by their women and children. They had promised to bring with
-them thirteen white prisoners, but they appeared with but one, a little
-girl named Matilda Lockhart, who had been carried away in a raid on her
-father’s house two years before. The chiefs declared they had no more
-prisoners. But the child said there were others at the camp, who were to
-be brought in one by one for large ransom. A company of soldiers was
-ordered into the council-room, and the Indians were told that they were
-prisoners until the other white captives were given up. One of the
-chiefs immediately attempted to escape, stabbing the sentinel at the
-door. A furious combat followed, in which the twelve chiefs were all
-killed. In the plaza outside there was also a desperate fight. The
-Indian women took part in this, and three of them were killed. Captain
-Matthew Caldwell, who was unarmed, defended himself with stones until
-his assailant was killed. Judge Thompson, who had been playing with the
-Indian children, setting up pieces of money for them to shoot at, was
-slain by an arrow from one of their bows. Colonel Wells came riding into
-the plaza in the midst of the skirmish. A powerful Indian leaped on his
-horse behind him and tried to shake him off. Unable to do this he seized
-the bridle and tried to guide the horse out of the plaza. Colonel
-Wells’s arms were pinioned so that he could not draw his pistol, and it
-was only after careering thus several times around the plaza that the
-Indian was shot by a soldier and the Colonel released. The band was
-finally overpowered. Thirty-two warriors, three squaws, and two children
-were killed; the others were all made prisoners. This encounter is known
-as the “Council-house Fight.”
-
-Congress held its meetings in Houston until 1839. But the site for a new
-capital had been chosen. It was on the banks of the Colorado River, on
-the then extreme frontier. Two or three pioneer cabins already stood
-there, and the little settlement bore the proud name of Waterloo. But
-bands of savage Indians still roamed the hills and prairies adjacent. It
-was necessary to place guards about the grounds to protect the masons
-and carpenters while they were at work on the capitol building. Among
-the buildings erected was a blockhouse, as a refuge for the women and
-children in case of an Indian raid. The new capital was named Austin, in
-grateful memory of the Father of Texas.
-
-Congress met at Austin for the first time in October, 1839. Among the
-important acts of this session was the appropriation of fifty leagues of
-land for a state university, and three leagues to each county for
-schools.
-
-This Congress also adopted a national flag, the same now used as the
-Texas state flag.
-
-The first Lone Star flag was made at Harrisburg, and presented to a
-military company in 1835. The star was five-pointed, white, set on a
-ground of red. The flag raised by Fannin on the walls of Goliad when he
-heard of the declaration of independence was an azure star in a white
-field. Travis and his men, ignorant of the declaration, died fighting
-under the banner of the Republic of Mexico.[29]
-
-England, France, Holland, and Belgium in turn recognized the
-independence of the Republic. Texas, in spite of many drawbacks, was
-growing in strength.
-
-The last year of Lamar’s term of office, however, was clouded by an
-unfortunate affair known as the “Sante Fé Expedition.”
-
-A scheme was set on foot for the occupation of New Mexico, whose people
-were said to be anxious to join the Texas Republic. Its real object was
-to divert into Texas the rich trade of Sante Fé with Old Mexico. An
-expedition was organized and started from Brushy Creek, near Austin,
-June, 1841. It was composed of about two hundred and seventy soldiers,
-together with a number of traders and adventurers. The soldiers were
-under the command of General Hugh McLeod.
-
-Congress opposed this expedition, but President Lamar favored it, and
-sent with it three commissioners as agents of the government to treat
-with the people of New Mexico. General McLeod’s brass six-pound cannon
-was stamped with the name of the President, Mirabeau B. Lamar.
-
-The journey was a long and painful one. The men suffered from thirst in
-crossing those barren western plains, where water is scarce. They had
-nothing to eat. “Every tortoise and snake, every living and creeping
-thing was seized upon and swallowed by the famishing men.”[30] They were
-without guides, and the Indians hung about their camps killing their
-pickets and stealing their horses.
-
-When they reached New Mexico they were worn out and half starved.
-Instead of being welcomed as liberators they were looked upon as spies
-and enemies.
-
-Under promise of good treatment they finally surrendered to the force
-sent against them. They were at once thrown into prison. Later they were
-sent, chained like criminals, to the city of Mexico. Several of them
-died on the march, unable to endure the brutality of their guards.
-
-The survivors were held as prisoners in Mexican dungeons until the next
-year, when by the intervention of the American minister they were
-released and sent home.
-
-
-                      4. THE WAR OF THE ARCHIVES.
-
-Houston was elected President of the Republic for the second time in
-September, 1841. Edward Burleson was elected Vice-President.
-
-The new President recommended economy to the government. There was not a
-dollar in the treasury. He caused his own salary to be reduced, and
-several useless offices were abolished by his advice. He favored a more
-friendly attitude toward the Indians, and the establishment of
-trading-posts for them on the frontier. He advised that no active steps
-be taken against Mexico, though Texas, he said, should be prepared to
-defend herself against that country if necessary.
-
-For Santa Anna, after many turns of fortune, was once more in power in
-Mexico, and had declared war against Texas.
-
-In the spring of 1842 several incursions were made into Texas by Mexican
-soldiers. One band, under Rafael Vasquez, raided San Antonio; another
-swept the country about Refugio and Goliad. There was great excitement
-everywhere.
-
-Excitement of another kind filled the new capital one day soon after
-these raids. The citizens, men, women, and children, swarmed into the
-streets, looking at each other with indignant eyes. The blockhouse stood
-wide open, showing plainly that the Indians had nothing to do with the
-trouble.
-
-“What’s the matter?” demanded a tall hunter, who had just come in, rifle
-on shoulder, from the frontier. He glanced, as he spoke, from a small
-cannon in the street to a company of mounted rangers, who seemed to be
-guarding some wagons in front of the Land Office.
-
-“Matter enough,” replied a dozen voices at once. “Old Sam Houston has
-changed the capital back to Houston and sent for the archives. We are
-determined that the records of the Republic shall remain in the true
-capital of the Republic.”
-
-                   [Illustration: Texas State Seal.]
-
-This was true. President Houston, believing Austin in its exposed
-position was in danger of Mexican raids, had fixed Houston as the place
-of meeting for the next Congress. Perhaps he was not sorry for the
-chance, for he had a great affection for the town named for himself. He
-had also ordered the archives removed to that place. The people of
-Austin had refused to allow their removal. The angry President had then
-sent an armed force to take them.
-
-When the loaded wagons turned away from the Land Office they were
-greeted by a volley of grape and canister from the little cannon—touched
-off by a woman, Mrs. Eberle. No one was hurt, and in the confusion the
-wagons rattled away, protected by their escort.
-
-The citizens armed themselves and pursued the train. They came up with
-it during the night about eighteen miles from Austin. After a conference
-between the leaders on both sides, the rangers agreed to carry the
-records back to the capital. The whole party appeared there the next day
-and were received with shouts of triumph by the people. The disputed
-parchments were placed in the house of the plucky woman who had fired
-the cannon, and there they remained until 1845, when the government
-finally returned to Austin. This new Waterloo has come down to us under
-the title of the “War of the Archives.”
-
-Congress met at Houston in June, 1842. In September a Mexican army,
-commanded by General Adrian Woll and numbering twelve hundred men,
-invaded Texas. They marched upon San Antonio, captured it, and made
-prisoners of nearly all the citizens and the members of the District
-Court then in session.
-
-Upon news of this outrage the people everywhere took up arms. Two
-hundred and twenty soldiers, including Captain Jack Hays’ company of
-scouts, left Gonzales immediately to attack Woll. They were commanded by
-Colonel Matthew Caldwell. The Mexican general came out to meet them, and
-an engagement took place on the Salado River a few miles from San
-Antonio. General Woll had six hundred infantry and two hundred cavalry.
-As they advanced the Texans received them with a rattling hail of
-bullets.
-
-Three times the Mexican infantry charged with great spirit and coolness;
-each time they were driven back. They finally retreated, carrying with
-them their dead and wounded, and leaving the Texans in possession of the
-field.
-
-This victory was offset by the defeat of a company of fifty-three Texans
-on their way to join Caldwell. They were commanded by Captain Nicholas
-Dawson.
-
-General Woll met these men in his retreat from the river Salado, and
-attacked them in a small mesquit thicket where they were halted. After
-an unequal contest of half an hour, Dawson hoisted a white flag. The
-firing ceased, but as soon as the surrender took place, the prisoners
-were set upon by the Mexican soldiers and many of them killed. Dawson
-was killed after he gave up his arms. Out of his fifty-three men,
-thirty-three were killed and eighteen were made prisoners. Two only
-escaped; one of these, a lad named Gonzales Woods, seized the lance
-thrust at him by a Mexican cavalryman, jerked his assailant to the
-ground, then leaped upon his enemy’s horse and galloped away.
-
-The morning after these skirmishes General Woll abandoned San Antonio
-and returned to the west side of the Rio Grande River. His prisoners,
-among whom were Judge Hutchison and ex-Lieutenant-Governor Robinson,
-were sent to the Castle of Perote (Pā-ro′tā), a prison near the city of
-Mexico.
-
-
-                          5. THE BLACK BEANS.
-
-Before the echoes of the bugles which sounded General Woll’s retreat had
-finally died on the air, volunteers came flocking to San Antonio eager
-to pursue him, and determined to cross the Rio Grande at all hazards and
-release the Texans languishing in Mexican prisons.
-
-On the 18th of November seven hundred men, armed and equipped for a
-campaign, were assembled in the shadow of the twin towers of the old
-Mission Concepcion. General Alexander Somervell, appointed by President
-Houston to the command, put himself at the head of this small army; the
-order to march ran down the line, and with a shout the men set their
-faces toward the west.
-
-After several days’ march they camped at Laredo on the banks of the Rio
-Grande River. They expected to cross at once into Mexico and take the
-enemy by surprise. But at the moment when everything seemed to them
-favorable for this movement, General Somervell issued an order for his
-soldiers to return to Gonzales, where they would be disbanded.
-
-The men were dumfounded. Three hundred flatly refused to obey the order.
-The others, after much wrangling, followed General Somervell to San
-Antonio.
-
-Captain William S. Fisher was elected colonel in command of those who
-remained, and the expedition proceeded down the Rio Grande to a point
-opposite the Mexican town of Mier.
-
-Mier was occupied by General Pedro Ampudia (Am-poo′dee-a) with two
-thousand troops. On Christmas morning, before daylight, Colonel Fisher
-led his men over the river. The Mexicans came out to meet them, but were
-forced to retreat before the hot fire of the Texans. By daylight the
-Texans had captured the enemy’s cannon and cut their way into the town.
-Here the fight went on, hand to hand, from street to street, from house
-to house.
-
-But the superior numbers of the enemy enabled them to keep up the
-struggle, which lasted seventeen hours.
-
-At the end of that time a flag of truce was sent by General Ampudia to
-Colonel Fisher. Fisher had been severely wounded early in the action; he
-was weakened by loss of blood and unnerved by pain; and he advised
-surrender, although up to this time his men had been victorious. He knew
-General Ampudia, he said, and he answered for his good faith.
-
-After much discussion the majority of the men agreed to the surrender.
-The terms were most honorable.
-
-No sooner were the articles signed and the Texan arms stacked, than the
-unfortunate prisoners began to suffer from the cruelty of their
-treacherous foes. They were put in irons and marched to Matamoras,
-thence to the interior. At the Hacienda of Salado, beyond Saltillo, they
-rose upon their guards, overpowered the soldiers, seized their weapons
-and horses, and escaped. But they found themselves in a strange country.
-They soon lost their way in the wild mountain passes, and after enduring
-great torture from hunger and thirst, they were finally recaptured and
-taken back to Salado.
-
-On their arrival there they were met by an order from Santa Anna. Every
-tenth man of them was to be shot! One of their own number who understood
-Spanish was compelled to read this order to his companions. The rattle
-of handcuffs, indicating the surprise of the startled prisoners, was
-promptly silenced by the guards; and, amid a deadly stillness which
-succeeded the reading, an officer entered the shed where they were
-confined. He carried an earthen jar. The jar contained one hundred and
-seventy-five beans (the number of the prisoners). Seventeen of the beans
-were black, the others were white. The jar was placed on a bench and a
-handkerchief thrown over it. The roll was then called. Each prisoner
-stepped forward as his name was called, placed his hand in the jar, and
-drew out a bean.
-
-The black beans in this fatal lottery meant death.
-
-Some of the Mexican officers grew faint as they looked, and turned away
-their heads. But others bent forward eagerly, as if watching the throw
-of dice in an everyday game of chance.
-
-It was Sunday afternoon, at the hour when the church bells were
-everywhere calling the people to vesper prayer, when this fearful drama
-began. Not one of the actors in it faltered or changed color at finding
-in his hand the black token of death. When the ordeal was ended, the
-shackles of the seventeen doomed men were knocked off. They were then
-hurried to a yard adjoining the shed and shot without further ceremony.
-Their comrades, crouched against the wall within, heard but too plainly
-the whispered prayers, the echoing shots, and the dying groans.
-
-The survivors were carried to the Castle of Perote near the city of
-Mexico, where they found the prisoners taken by General Woll at San
-Antonio. They were immediately put to convict labor. “They were hitched
-to a wagon, twenty-five to a team, and compelled to haul rocks from the
-mountains to the Castle of Perote. The prisoners at no time, however,
-lost their buoyant spirits, nor did they ever lose an opportunity for
-fun. McFall, a powerful man, was put in the lead, and was always ready
-to get scared and run away with the wagon. This was often done, and the
-corners of the adobe houses always suffered in such cases. The Mexican
-officers would laugh, and the owners of the houses would swear in bad
-Spanish. The overseers were kept busy. They had the power of using the
-lash, but they did not do this very often, as the Texans made it their
-business, at the peril of their lives, to return such civilities with
-ample vengeance.”[31]
-
-Several of the prisoners made their escape. Among these was Colonel
-Thomas Jefferson Green, who had been Fisher’s second in command. He was
-bitterly opposed to the surrender at Mier, and broke his sword across
-his knee rather than hand it to General Ampudia. Mr. John Twohig, of San
-Antonio, who had been carried into captivity by Woll, and several of his
-fellow-prisoners made a tunnel under the prison wall, through which they
-succeeded in getting out of the Castle and thence safe home again.
-
-                      [Illustration: Anson Jones.]
-
-Mr. Wright of De Witt County was not so lucky. He was a very large man;
-after making his preparations for flight, he crawled into the tunnel,
-where he got along famously until he was about half way through. There
-he stuck fast, equally unable to go forward or to come back. Finally,
-with a despairing effort he slid back an inch or two, then a little
-further, until at last bruised, breathless, and torn, he got back into
-his dungeon, glad to settle down to prison life once more.
-
-Among the captives was Samuel H. Walker, afterwards famous as a captain
-of cavalry in the Mexican war with the United States.
-
-In September, 1844, these prisoners were finally released by Santa Anna,
-at the dying request, it is said, of his young and beautiful wife.
-
-About the time the Mier expedition started from San Antonio, the capital
-was again removed from President Houston’s beloved town on Buffalo
-Bayou; this time to Washington on the Brazos.
-
-
-
-
-                                  VII.
-                                AUSTIN.
-                              (1842-1861.)
-
-
-                     1. “THE REPUBLIC IS NO MORE.”
-
-From 1842 to 1844 the Texan Congress held its meetings at Washington on
-the Brazos—the spot where, a few short years before, the declaration of
-independence had been adopted.
-
-The nation born amid the gloom and uncertainty of that stormy time now
-stood forth proud in the consciousness of growing strength, free and
-full of hope for the coming years.
-
-An armistice was signed with Mexico (1843) which left the Republic at
-peace. The Indians under the wise rule of the “Big White Chief,”
-Houston, made but few outbreaks. Year by year more fields were fenced
-in, more orchards and gardens were planted, more dooryards were set with
-vine and rose-tree.
-
-Immigrants poured in. Many came from “the States”; but others crossed
-the wide seas to find homes in that fertile Texas whose story of
-struggle and triumph was in everybody’s mouth. Henry Castro, a French
-gentleman, who was consul-general for Texas at Paris, obtained in 1842
-large grants of land from the Republic, and brought over five hundred
-families from France. These settled on the Medina River west of San
-Antonio. Another important colony came from Germany under the leadership
-of the Prince de Solms, and founded the thrifty town of New Braunfels on
-the Guadalupe.
-
-The roads were white with westward-traveling wagons which stopped to
-pass the time of day, as it were, with all the little towns along the
-way. In those hospitable days small barrels of tar stood as a matter of
-course on the sidewalks. Long-handled dippers floated in the tar, so
-that the passing wagoner might help himself and ease his creaking
-wheels.
-
-As for the wayside houses, their doors were always open to the wayworn
-mover and his family. The women and girls peering out from under the
-wagon cover, the boys trudging sturdily along by the driver’s side, the
-dog trotting in the shadow of the feed trough,—all these were to the
-free-handed pioneers as welcome as kinsmen.
-
-             [Illustration: Old Capitol at Austin (1839).]
-
-The newcomers were often struck with amazement at the curious contrasts
-they saw on the frontier. “You are welcomed,” writes one traveler, “by a
-figure in a blue flannel shirt and pendant beard, quoting the Latin
-poets.... You will see fine pictures on log walls; you will drink coffee
-from tin cups on Dresden china saucers. Seated on a barrel, you will
-hear a Beethoven symphony played on a rosewood piano. The bookcase may
-be half full of books and half full of potatoes.”
-
-But while the western border thus filling up with settlers was quiet and
-unmolested, there was serious trouble over on the eastern line. A band
-composed mostly of rough desperadoes from the old Neutral Ground roamed
-along the Sabine River, shooting and killing innocent citizens under the
-pretext of punishing theft, negro-stealing, and other offenses. They
-called themselves the Regulators. An opposition band, made up of men as
-reckless as themselves, undertook in turn to punish them, and to
-administer justice generally. These were known as the Moderators.
-Between the Moderators and Regulators, Shelby, Harrison, and the
-neighboring counties were kept in a state of terror. Honest men were
-afraid to venture out of their own homes; for no one could guess when or
-upon whom the so-called justice of these bands would fall. Bloody
-“courts” were held in the swamps, one day by the Regulators, the next,
-and perhaps on the same spot, by the Moderators, both equally cruel and
-lawless. Wild stories were told of certain leaders in either gang whose
-victims were always shot in the left eye; of others again whose weapon
-was not the rifle, but poison.
-
-At one time more than a thousand men were engaged in this feud. In the
-summer of 1844 the Regulators and Moderators assembled under arms in
-fortified camps. An active campaign was carried on for some weeks,
-during which more than fifty persons were killed or wounded. Finally
-President Houston ordered out five hundred militia under General James
-Smith, and the two factions were disbanded. But it was a long time
-before the feud died out entirely.
-
-In the fall of 1844 Anson Jones was elected President of the Republic.
-His Secretary of State was Doctor Ashbel Smith.
-
-Dr. Smith, who was a learned and able man, came to Texas from
-Connecticut just after the Revolution, and was made surgeon-general of
-the army. During Houston’s administration, he represented the Republic
-at the courts of England and France. At this time all over Europe there
-was keen interest in Texan affairs.
-
-Notwithstanding the glory of the young Republic, its people still wished
-to be annexed to the United States. They felt themselves too weak to
-contend against Mexico in case of another war, and too poor to keep up
-the army and navy, and provide for the expense of a separate government.
-But the United States again refused to receive them. Upon this, France
-and England offered through Minister Smith to compel Mexico to
-acknowledge the independence of Texas, provided Texas would agree not to
-unite with any other country.
-
-This offer caused a sudden change of feeling in the United States. Her
-jealousy of foreign interference was aroused; and in the spring of 1845
-the United States Congress passed resolutions admitting Texas into the
-Union.
-
-President Jones then submitted the question to the people. A convention
-met at Austin in July, 1845, to frame a constitution for the State of
-Texas. In October the final vote was taken. It was almost unanimous for
-annexation.
-
-In February, 1846, President Jones gave up his authority to J. Pinckney
-Henderson who had been elected governor of the new state. This
-impressive ceremony took place at Austin, where the capital had been
-finally established. President Jones in his farewell address said:
-
-“The Lone Star of Texas, which ten years since arose amid clouds, over
-fields of carnage, and obscurely seen for a while, ... has passed on and
-become fixed in that glorious constellation which all freemen and lovers
-of freedom must reverence and adore,—the American Union. Blending its
-rays with its sister States, long may it continue to shine.... May the
-Union be perpetual; and may it be the means of conferring benefits and
-blessings upon all the people of the States, is my prayer. The first act
-in the great drama is performed. The Republic of Texas is no more.”[32]
-
-Many eyes must have grown dim as the closing sentence of this address
-was pronounced. Memories must have crowded thick and fast upon those
-veterans who listened, hearing at the same time in a dream the call of
-bugles and the roll of drums, the ring of sabers, and the echo of those
-daring voices which called into being the Republic of Texas!
-
-Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk were elected United States senators.
-Rusk, who was a native of South Carolina, was one of the signers of the
-Texan declaration of independence. He was Secretary of War under
-President Burnet, and fought gallantly in the ranks at the battle of San
-Jacinto. After General Houston’s resignation he was made
-commander-in-chief of the army. Rusk had taken an active part in the war
-against the Cherokee Indians. Later he had been chief justice of the
-Republic. He had devoted himself for many years with great unselfishness
-to the interests of the Republic. He continued to serve the State with
-the same fidelity.
-
-He died by his own hand in 1857. Grief at the death of his wife was the
-cause of this fatal act.
-
-
-                         2. ACROSS THE BORDER.
-
-Mexico was indignant at seeing Texas, which she still claimed as one of
-her provinces, about to enter the Union. As soon as the Annexation Bill
-was passed by the United States Congress, Don Juan Almonte, formerly
-aide-de-camp to General Santa Anna, now the Mexican minister at
-Washington, D.C., was recalled, and preparations for war were begun on a
-grand scale in Mexico.
-
-In the meantime, the United States government had sent General Zachary
-Taylor to Corpus Christi on the Texas coast, with four thousand troops.
-He was ordered to march westward and take up a position on the Rio
-Grande River, the boundary line between Texas and Mexico. He was further
-ordered to confine himself to Texas soil unless the Mexicans should
-attempt to cross the river.
-
-In the spring of 1846 General Taylor began his march across the country,
-“which appeared like one vast garden wavy with flowers of the most
-gorgeous dyes.”[33] Then came a desert-like waste in which there was
-neither water nor any growing thing. “The sand was like hot ashes, and
-when you stepped upon it, you sank up to the ankles.”[33]
-
-But the region beyond the desert was fertile and inviting. At the Sal
-Colorado, a stream thirty miles east of the Rio Grande, some Mexican
-soldiers appeared. They insisted that all the country west of the
-Colorado belonged to Mexico, and declared that if the Americans
-attempted to cross that stream they would fire upon them. General Taylor
-paid no attention whatever to their threats. He led his troops over the
-Sal Colorado without further trouble and continued his march toward the
-Rio Grande.
-
-There the war began in real earnest. The first battle was fought at Fort
-Brown (now Brownsville), opposite Matamoras. The Americans were
-victorious. Two other successful engagements, Palo Alto and Resaca de la
-Palma, took place on Texas territory. Then General Taylor, having
-received large reinforcements, entered Mexico and marched upon Monterey,
-the great interior city of northern Mexico.
-
-About this time Santa Anna, who had been in exile and disgrace, returned
-to Mexico, and was immediately made commander-in-chief of the Mexican
-army.
-
-Texas furnished her share of men for the war upon her hereditary foe.
-Governor Henderson himself entered the campaign as a major-general of
-volunteers; ex-President Lamar and Edward Burleson served upon his
-staff. Albert Sidney Johnston commanded a regiment. “Jack” Hays and
-George T. Wood, afterward governor of Texas, were also in command of
-regiments. Ben McCulloch carried into the war a company of rangers.
-
-The Texans were in the van in every battle. At the storming of Monterey
-they especially distinguished themselves by their daring and high
-courage. A participator in the siege of the city says: “In order to
-dislodge the skirmishers from the housetops, the Texans rushed from door
-to door, breaking through buildings and inside walls; and, mounting to a
-level with the enemy, picked them off with their rifles. Meanwhile those
-in the streets charged from square to square amid sweeping showers of
-grape, cheered on by Lamar, Henderson, and Jefferson Davis of the
-Mississippi regiment.” The next day “the artillery on both sides raked
-the streets, the balls striking the houses with a terrible crash, while
-amid the roar of cannon was heard the battering instruments of the
-Texans. Doors were forced open, walls were battered down, entrances were
-made through stone and brick, and the enemy were driven from point to
-point, followed by the sharp crack of the Texan rifles.”
-
-General Ampudia, who had so basely betrayed the trust of the Texans
-after their surrender at Mier in 1843, was in command of the Mexican
-forces. After three days of desperate fighting he surrendered the city
-of Monterey to General Taylor.
-
-The officers commissioned by Taylor to draw up the articles of
-capitulation on the American side were Generals Worth and Henderson
-(governor of Texas) and Colonel Jefferson Davis.
-
-Texas furnished above eight thousand soldiers for this war, and the
-“murderous ring of the Texan rifle” was heard on almost every field.
-
-In New Mexico, where there was considerable fighting, the cannon taken
-from General McLeod in the fatal Sante Fé expedition in 1841 was
-discovered by the American soldiers, where it had been hidden in the
-mountains. “It is,” says the record, “a six-pounder, bearing the ‘Lone
-Star’ of Texas and the name of her ex-President, Mirabeau B. Lamar.” The
-Americans adopted it as a favorite, and used it in firing their morning
-and evening signals. The Lone Star, they declared, brought them good
-luck.
-
-The war ended in the storming and capture of the city of Mexico by
-General Winfield Scott, commander-in-chief of the United States army.
-Santa Anna, once more defeated and humbled, hid himself with the remains
-of his army in the mountain passes of Mexico.
-
-                  [Illustration: Benjamin M^cCulloch.]
-
-In one of the last battles of the war Colonel Samuel H. Walker was
-killed. This dashing young Texan, had been again and again selected by
-General Taylor for dangerous service, and his gallantry was a by-word in
-the army. He had been one of the unfortunate Mier prisoners, and was
-among those who overpowered the guard at Salado and escaped, only to be
-recaptured. In the death-lottery he had drawn a white bean, and had
-afterward endured the miseries of the Castle of Perote. In the
-neighborhood of that prison he fell mortally wounded, but flushed with
-victory, and soon afterward expired. “Few men were more lamented. When
-the cry ‘Walker is dead’ rang through the company, the hardy soldiers
-burst into tears.”[34]
-
-Mexico signed at Guadalupe, Hidalgo, a treaty with the United States
-(February 2, 1848), and abandoned forever all claim to Texas.
-
-The governors who succeeded Henderson in Texas from 1847 to 1859 were
-Governors George T. Wood, Hansborough P. Bell, Elisha M. Pease, and
-Hardin R. Runnels.
-
-Early in Governor Wood’s administration a disagreement arose between
-Texas and the United States over Sante Fé and the surrounding country.
-This had been a part of Texas, but was ceded in 1848 by Mexico to the
-United States with New Mexico. When the United States took possession of
-it Texas protested, and much ill-feeling followed. For a time it seemed
-as if the state which had just got into the Union would march out again.
-
-But the question was settled during Governor Bell’s term of office. The
-disputed territory was bought by the United States from Texas for the
-sum of ten million dollars.
-
-During these years Texas grew in prosperity; all boundary questions were
-settled, and the public debt was paid. Settlements sprung up to the very
-border. This, however, caused fresh trouble among the Indians, who from
-time to time fell upon isolated settlements, burning the houses and
-killing the settlers or carrying them into captivity. As late as 1847
-two hundred Lipans on the war-path swept the western frontier. In 1848
-the Indians in Texas killed one hundred and seventy persons, carried
-twenty-five into captivity, and stole six thousand horses.
-
-The Texan rangers were ordered out by Governor Wood to protect the
-frontier. The Comanches, the fiercest of the western tribes, were
-finally defeated by the rangers under Colonel John S. Ford. Their chief,
-Iron Jacket, was killed in a desperate hand-to-hand combat with Captain
-S. P. Ross. The chief’s tall form was found, after death, to be encased
-in a fine coat of scale armor, supposed to have belonged to some
-Spaniard in the days of the conquest of Mexico. Hence his name, Iron
-Jacket, and the belief that he could not be killed by the bullet of the
-white man. Iron Jacket’s little son Noh-po was carried to Waco, where he
-was raised by the Ross family. During the administration of Governor
-Pease, the legislature gave the Indians twelve leagues of land and built
-for them several new trading-posts along the frontier. Later they were
-all removed to the Indian Territory.
-
-Two million dollars were set aside by the state for a permanent school
-fund; and a quantity of land was voted for the support of the deaf and
-dumb, the blind, the orphan, and the insane.
-
-A new state capitol, a Land Office, and other public buildings were
-erected at Austin.
-
-In 1857 there was an uprising of Texan wagoners against the Mexican
-cartmen, who were engaged in hauling goods from the coast towns to San
-Antonio. Mexican labor was much cheaper than any other, and a large
-number of these teamsters, who were honest and reliable, were employed
-by merchants and planters. The Texan wagoners, failing to drive out
-Mexican cartmen by threats, raided them on the roads, drove off their
-oxen, broke up their carts, and in some instances killed the drivers.
-
-Governor Pease, by ordering out a company of rangers to protect the
-Mexican teamsters, finally put a stop to the “Cart War,” as it was
-called.
-
-No other trouble marred this bright period. “Our inhabitants,” said
-Governor Pease, in his message to the legislature in 1855, “are
-prosperous and happy to a degree unexampled in our former history.”
-
-
-                            3. DYING RACES.
-
-The Indian tribes who possessed the fair land of Texas when the white
-man first set foot on its soil were rapidly dying out. Some were already
-extinct, having left hardly a trace to show where their villages and
-wigwams had once stood. The Cenis, that noble nation which welcomed La
-Salle and nursed him tenderly when he lay for months “sick of a fever”
-in their midst, and who sheltered the fleeing fugitives from Fort St.
-Louis,—these had entirely passed away. So had the kindly Coushattis, the
-friends of Lallemand’s colonists; and the Orquisacas, the Nacogdoches,
-and all those gentler tribes by whose help the Franciscan friars had
-built the earliest missions. Gone were the music-loving Wacoes from the
-banks of the Brazos; and from the Trinity the corn-growing Tehas.
-
-The fierce Carankawaes, once the terror of the coast and long believed
-to be cannibals, and the Kiowas, called the _red-eyed_, had melted
-before the coming of the pale-faces, as the snow melts under the April
-sun.
-
-But remnants of the warlike western tribes remained. The Comanches, the
-Apaches, and the Lipans still hovered like dark clouds about the
-frontier. They called themselves _Nianis_ (live Indians); and though
-they were taken away by the government from their hunting-grounds and
-penned up in a Reservation (that is, upon lands reserved or set apart
-for them), they continued every now and then to swoop down upon their
-old haunts, where every rock and bush and hillock was familiar to them.
-Even within the past twenty years the borderman dared not be too far
-from his rifle.
-
-But the Texas Indian was passing. His tribes were dying out, as the
-Mohicans, the Powhatans, and the Alabamas had died out before them.
-
-With the Red Man, another race, as wild, as noble, and as free as his,
-was as slowly drifting to its end.
-
-When La Salle sailed up a certain pleasant stream in 1685, he called it
-_Les Vaches_ (the cows), from the number of buffalos grazing on its
-banks. They roamed the vast prairies and the shaded timberland, from the
-utmost verge of the country on the north and west to the salt waters of
-the Gulf. The herds were so large that the thunder of their hoofs
-startled the air and their trampling shook the ground.
-
-As the Indian retreated westward, the shaggy buffalo followed his
-moccasined foot; as the savage warriors, who were as the sands of the
-seashore for numbers, dwindled away, so dwindled the buffalo herds.
-
-
-                          4. THE TEXAS RANGER.
-
-The daring and ever-watchful foe of the Texas Indian, the dashing and
-ever-ready hunter of the Texas buffalo, was the Texas ranger. He, too,
-is passing away before the march of civilization, and fast becoming a
-memory only; but a memory which will live forever in song and story,
-with the brave, the generous, and the noble of all times.
-
-The first company of Texas rangers was formed in 1832; but it was not
-until the administration of President Burnet (1836) that this arm of the
-service was regularly organized and put into the field.
-
-They became at once a power, and they have since played an important
-part in the history of the state. Mounted upon a swift horse, with a
-_lariat_ (rope) coiled about the high pommel of his saddle and a blanket
-strapped behind him; with his long rifle resting in the hollow of his
-arm, and the bridle held loosely in his hand; erect and graceful, the
-brim of his slouch hat hiding the sparkle of his keen eyes,—the Texas
-ranger is a striking and picturesque figure. But he is more than that.
-For fifty years and more he has been the terror of Indian and intruding
-Mexican, of thief and desperado, of lawlessness and crime.
-
-The rangers are subject to the call of the government. “But no tap of
-spirit-stirring drum or piercing fife, no trumpet call or bugle sound
-was heard on the border,” in those early days. A rider passed from
-settlement to settlement, from home to home; there would be wiping of
-rifles and moulding of bullets. Oftener than otherwise it was the wives
-and the sisters and the sweethearts who moulded the bullets and packed
-the wallets, while the men ground their knives and saddled their horses.
-Then with a hurried good-bye, the rangers were mounted and away; now on
-the bloody trail of the Comanches, now tracking the fierce Lipans;
-to-day protecting a lonely frontier cabin, to-morrow helping the Mexican
-teamsters in the cart war.
-
-                    [Illustration: A Texas Ranger.]
-
-The rangers, during the war of the United States with Mexico, were noted
-for their courage and gallantry. “I have seen a goodly number of
-volunteers in my day,” a war correspondent wrote of them at that time,
-“but the Texas rangers are choice specimens. From the time we left
-Matamoras until we reached this place (Reynoso), the men never took off
-their coats, boots, or spurs. And although the weather was rainy and two
-fierce northers visited us, there was not a minute when any man’s rifle
-or pistol would have missed fire or he could not have been up and ready
-for an attack.”[35]
-
-Another writer describes the rangers in camp: “Men in groups, with long
-beards and mustachios, were occupied in drying their blankets and
-cleaning and firing their guns. Some were cooking at the camp-fires,
-others were grooming their horses. They all wore belts of pistols around
-their waists and slouched hats, the uniform of the Texas ranger. They
-were a rough-looking set; but among them were doctors, lawyers, and many
-a college graduate. While standing in their midst I saw a young fellow
-come into the camp with a rifle on his shoulder and a couple of ducks in
-his hand. He addressed the captain: ‘Ben,’ he said, ‘if you haven’t had
-dinner, you’d better mess with me, for I know none of the rest have
-fresh grub to-day.’
-
-The “captain” was Benjamin McCulloch, famous in the annals of the
-rangers. He is thus described by Samuel Reid, one of his own men:
-
-“Captain McCulloch is a man of rather delicate frame, about five feet
-ten inches in height, with light hair and complexion. His features are
-regular and pleasing, though from long exposure on the frontier they
-have a weatherbeaten cast. His quick, bright blue eyes and thin
-compressed lips indicate the cool and calculating, as well as the brave
-and daring, energy of the man.”
-
-McCulloch was a Tennesseean by birth. His father served under General
-Jackson during the Creek war. Ben followed the trade of a hunter until
-he was twenty-one years old. In those days the settlers depended chiefly
-on bear meat for food. If a man were a poor marksman he sometimes went
-without his breakfast. But young McCulloch was a fine shot; he often
-killed as many as eighty bears in the course of a season.
-
-He came to Texas with David Crockett. A fortunate illness kept him at
-Nacogdoches until after the fall of the Alamo, where Crockett perished.
-He served in the artillery at the battle of San Jacinto, and was one of
-the first to join the “ranging service.” He was in almost all the
-expeditions of his time, and engaged in nearly all the fights.
-
-The most noted ranger of this period, however, was Colonel John Coffin
-Hays, familiarly known as “Jack” Hays. Samuel Reid says of him:
-
-“I had heard so much of Colonel Hays that I was anxious to meet the
-commander of our regiment. On this occasion I saw a group of gentlemen
-sitting around a camp-fire. Among them were General Mirabeau Lamar,
-Governor Henderson, and General McLeod, all distinguished men of Texas
-whose names are enrolled on the page of history. As I cast my eyes
-around the group, I tried to single out the celebrated partisan chief;
-and I was much surprised to be introduced to a slender, delicate-looking
-young man who proved to be Colonel Jack Hays. He was dressed quite
-plainly, and wore the usual broad-brimmed Texas hat and a loose open
-collar, with a black handkerchief tied carelessly around his neck. He
-has dark brown hair and large, brilliant hazel eyes which are restless
-in conversation and speak a language of their own not to be mistaken.
-His forehead is broad and high. He looks thoughtful and careworn, though
-very boyish. His modesty is extreme.”
-
-                    [Illustration: John Coffin Hays]
-
-Colonel Hays was also a Tennesseean. He emigrated to Texas when but
-nineteen years of age. His talent as a leader showed itself early; and
-at the age of twenty-one (1840) he was placed in command of the
-frontier, with the rank of major. He soon became famous as a fighter of
-the Indians, by whom he was both feared and admired. “Me and Blue Wing,”
-said a Comanche chief on one occasion, “we no afraid to go anywhere
-_together_, but Captain Jack _great brave_. He no afraid to go anywhere
-_by himself_.”
-
-His regiment of rangers which included McCulloch’s company was foremost
-in every battle of the war with Mexico. His word was law with his men.
-Off duty he was a gay and pleasant companion; the rangers called him
-Jack, but there was something about him which kept them from taking any
-liberties with him.
-
-The rangers continued to serve the state after peace was made with
-Mexico. In 1862 the legislature passed a law for the protection of the
-frontier. This law provided for the raising of ten companies of rangers
-of one hundred men each. Each company was to be divided, and the two
-detachments stationed about one day’s ride apart, just beyond the
-settlements.
-
-The command of this regiment was given to Colonel J. H. Norris. He went
-at once to the frontier. He distributed his soldiers from the Red River
-to the Rio Grande, with orders for each company to send a scout every
-day from one station to the next, the scout to return the following day.
-This plan gave a patrol scout from Red River to the Rio Grande every
-day. In addition to this, each company kept out a flying scout all the
-time.
-
-“This,” remarks an old ranger (E. L. Deaton), “was a busy year for both
-rangers and Indians.”
-
-On the 8th of January, 1864, five hundred rangers, under Captains
-Gillentine, Fossett, and Totten, met and defeated two thousand Comanche
-Indians on Dove Creek in what is now Tom Green County. This was one of
-the last pitched battles fought with Indians on Texas soil.
-
-In later years the rangers have served as a sort of state police. Many a
-stronghold of cattle thieves has been raided by them; many a nest of
-desperadoes has been broken up; many a bitter neighborhood feud has been
-settled.
-
-At the present time (1896) there are about two hundred rangers in the
-service. They furnish their own horses, and receive forty dollars a
-month; their rations and their arms being supplied by the state.
-
-Some of those noted for steady nerve and daring courage among the ranger
-captains of earlier and later times are Colonel “Rip” Ford, Lawrence
-Sullivan Ross (since governor of Texas, and called by his old comrades
-“Sul” Ross), Colonel “Buck” Barry, Lieutenant Chrisman, Sergeants J. B.
-Armstrong and L. P. Selker, and Captains Tom Wright, Jesse Lee Hall, and
-L. B. McNulty.
-
-
-                         5. A CLOUD IN THE SKY.
-
-In the spring of 1848 there appeared on the streets of Austin a young
-man wearing a costume which attracted much attention. It was composed of
-gray stockings and knee breeches, with a black velvet tunic and
-broad-brimmed, gray felt hat. The rather dashing-looking stranger was
-evidently French, but he called himself an Icarian. He was, in fact, on
-his way from New Braunfels, where he had been living, to Icaria, a new
-settlement near the Cross Timbers in Fannin County.
-
-This settlement was founded by Etienne Cabet (Ca-bā), a Frenchman who
-dreamed of establishing a community where nobody would be rich and
-nobody would be poor, but all money and other property would be held in
-common. Devotion to women and children, honesty, and the ability and
-willingness to work for the good of the brotherhood were the chief rules
-of the fraternity. They numbered in France in 1847 many thousand persons
-of all classes.
-
-Cabet obtained from the Peters Immigration Company in 1847 a million
-acres of land in North Texas. The land was given to him on condition
-that a settlement should be made upon it before the 1st of July, 1848.
-In January, 1848, the first cohort, numbering sixty-nine persons,
-embarked at Havre, France. They arrived at Shreveport, Louisiana, the
-following April. From there they marched on foot to their chosen home in
-Texas, carrying firearms, household goods, and provisions.
-
-“Oh, if you could see Icaria!” they presently wrote back to the
-brotherhood in France. “It is an Eden. The forests are superb; the
-vegetation rich and varied. We have horses, cows, pigs, and chickens in
-abundance.... Many Texans come to see us. They are good-natured and very
-honest. We camp and sleep out of doors. We lock up nothing and are never
-robbed.”[36]
-
-Houses were built and fields ploughed and planted. By midsummer the
-Icarians in their cosy hamlet were on the lookout for the second cohort
-of colonists. But before it arrived the cholera broke out in Icaria.
-Many of the settlers died; nearly all those who were left abandoned
-their homes in a panic and returned to New Orleans, where Cabet himself
-joined them with several hundred recruits from France. A new and more
-fortunate Icarian settlement was finally made in Missouri.
-
-A few years later (1853) a procession, also composed of French
-emigrants, passed along Main Street in Houston. They had just landed
-from the steamboat _Eclipse_ on the bayou at the foot of the street. At
-their head walked a tall gentleman in a velvet coat and three-cornered
-hat. He carried a drawn sword in his hand, and the tricolored flag of
-France floated above his head. His long white hair streamed over his
-shoulders. The whole company, men, women, and children, sung the
-Marseillaise hymn as they marched along.
-
-The tall gentleman was the Count Victor Considerant. He had come with
-his followers from France to Texas to found a Phalanstery, a community
-much like that already attempted by Cabet. His watchword was “Liberty
-and Equality.” The faces of the emigrants lighted with joy as they
-traveled away over the prairies, following this beautiful vision.
-
-They founded their town on the east fork of the Trinity River, in Dallas
-County, and called it Reunion. But the brotherhood soon fell to pieces.
-The emigrants scattered over the country, finding it pleasanter to own
-homes in a land of true liberty and equality, than to live by the
-count’s fine theories.
-
-Many descendants both of the Icarians and of Count Considerant’s
-colonists are to be met with in North Texas.
-
-
-Sam Houston succeeded Runnels as governor in 1859. When he took his seat
-at Austin, clouds from more than one quarter were gathering in the clear
-sky of Texas. Roving bands of Indians from the Territory came across the
-border and murdered in cold blood a number of families. At first they
-stole in, made their raids, and dashed back in a single night. But they
-grew more and more bold and insolent, until the governor was obliged to
-send the rangers to their old work of watching the frontier.
-
-Lawrence Sullivan Ross, afterward governor of Texas, was at this time a
-lieutenant in the ranging service. He was a gallant and dashing soldier.
-During a raid on the Indians, on Pease River (1860), he rescued Cynthia
-Ann Parker, a white woman, who had been carried away by the Comanches,
-when but nine years of age. She had been a captive twenty-four years and
-had forgotten her native tongue. She was the wife of Peta Nocona, a
-Comanche chief, and the mother of several children. Lieutenant Ross
-returned her to her kindred with her little daughter Ta-ish-put (Prairie
-Flower). But she was not happy among these long-unknown white people;
-she pined for her dusky adopted kinsmen; and four years after her rescue
-she died, little Ta-ish-put soon following her to the Happy
-Hunting-grounds. Inanah Parker, one of her sons, became a Comanche
-chief.
-
-During this period a Mexican bandit named Cortina crossed the lower Rio
-Grande into Texas at the head of four hundred men. Their object was
-plunder, and in their forays a great many innocent people were killed.
-The governor appealed to the general government at Washington for
-protection along the Mexican border.
-
-The War Department in response ordered Colonel Robert E. Lee (afterward
-famous as commander-in-chief of the Confederate States army), then
-stationed at San Antonio, to attack the bandit and drive him out,
-crossing the Rio Grande, if necessary, in pursuit.
-
-Some United States troops, with several companies of rangers, were at
-once put in the field, and Cortina’s band was soon broken up.
-
-These troubles were light, however, compared with those which were about
-to follow.
-
-The two sections of the United States, the North and the South, had for
-some years been drifting apart. Their views differed widely on several
-important questions, particularly the question of states’ rights, and
-there seemed to be no chance of a mutual agreement. In 1860, at the time
-Abraham Lincoln was elected President, the Southern States determined to
-withdraw from the Union. They believed that each state had a right to
-withdraw or secede from the Union whenever that Union became for any
-reason undesirable to it, as the individual members of a family may
-leave the paternal home if they wish to do so. But the Northern States
-did not agree to this. They believed that the Union should be preserved,
-and that the states should be held together—even by the power of the
-sword.
-
-South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. Texas, on
-hearing of this news, was filled with excitement. Military companies
-were formed all over the state; the air was thick with the flutter of
-secession flags; the ground echoed the tramp of awkward squads drilling
-under the eyes of officers as awkward and inexperienced and enthusiastic
-as themselves.
-
-Governor Houston, as well as some other patriotic and true-hearted
-Texans, was bitterly opposed to secession, but his voice was lost in the
-loud clamor of public feeling.
-
-A convention was held in Austin in January, 1861. A declaration of
-secession was drawn up and submitted to the people (February 23). Texas
-by a large majority voted herself out of the Union, which she had
-entered fifteen years before.
-
-There was wild rejoicing over the state. The capitol at Austin was
-brilliantly illuminated, bonfires were lighted, bells were rung, the
-Confederate flag was run up on all public buildings, and the work of
-mustering troops into the Confederate States army instantly began.
-
-                   [Illustration: Confederate Flag.]
-
-All state officials were required to take the oath of fealty to the new
-government. Governor Houston, true to his convictions, refused to do
-this. When the day came for the ceremony (March 16), the hall of
-representatives was filled to overflowing. “The presiding officer, amid
-a profound silence, called three times: ‘Sam Houston! Sam Houston! Sam
-Houston!’ but the governor remained in his office in the basement of the
-capitol whittling a pine stick, and hearing the echo of the noise and
-tumult above his head. Houston was declared deposed from his office, and
-Edward Clark, the lieutenant-governor, was installed as governor.”[37]
-
-Houston left Austin and retired to his place near Huntsville. To the end
-of his life he continued to declare that, although opposed to the war of
-the States, his sympathies were with Texas. “My state, right or wrong,”
-he said. One of his sons entered the Confederate army with his consent
-and approval.
-
-He died July 26, 1863, at the age of seventy years. His last words,
-whispered with dying lips, were: “Texas! Texas!”
-
-And Texas, forgetting all her differences with him, and remembering only
-his ready and gallant services in her hours of need, mourned his loss as
-that of a well-beloved son.
-
-
-
-
-                                 VIII.
-                               GALVESTON.
-                              (1861-1865.)
-
-
-                           1. A BUFFALO HUNT.
-
-The early months of the year 1861 in Texas were like one long holiday.
-The country was dotted with white tents where the recruits were
-encamped, and where, amid bursts of martial music and in all the glory
-of brand new uniforms, the untried volunteers received their mothers and
-sisters, and showed them with pride “how soldiers live in time of war.”
-
-Every few days one of these camps would be broken up, the tents and camp
-baggage would be loaded on wagons, and the “boys” would march to the
-nearest town. There the whole population would be gathered to greet
-them; a flag would be presented to them by the hand of some bright-eyed
-girl, loud cheers would echo on the air, and the company would tramp
-steadily away to take its place in the fighting ranks of the Confederate
-States army.
-
-Many of these soldiers carried their negro body-servants with them; all
-had abundant stores of clothing and bedding, and of those little
-comforts and luxuries that only mothers know how to provide. Their young
-faces were eager, their eyes were sparkling, and if there were sobs in
-their throats as they said those last good-byes, the sobs were smothered
-in the ringing cheers which mingled with the notes of “Dixie” or “The
-Bonnie Blue Flag.”
-
-They were soon to learn in many a tentless camp, on many a foot-sore
-march, on many a bloody and hard-fought field, how soldiers really live
-in time of war.
-
-But the days as yet were like one long holiday, although mother-hearts
-ached in secret dread, and the scarred veterans of the Texan revolution
-and of the Mexican War were filled with inward forebodings for the
-future.
-
-
-People along the frontier had been talking for some time about a great
-buffalo hunt which was to take place that winter in the Pan Handle. John
-R. Baylor, a noted hunter and scout, had, it was said, raised more than
-a thousand men to go on this hunt, and a great many scouts and Indian
-fighters had joined him. Among them was Ben McCulloch, who had done such
-gallant service in Mexico under General Taylor.
-
-The buffalo hunt did not take place; but Colonel Ben McCulloch, with the
-buffalo hunters, a thousand or more strong, appeared in San Antonio on
-the 15th of February (1861).
-
-General David E. Twiggs, United States army, was at that time in command
-of the troops in Texas. San Antonio was the most important of the United
-States army posts in the southwest; a large amount of military stores
-was in the arsenal, and soldiers were kept there ready to march at need
-to the relief of the frontier forts.
-
-Colonel McCulloch, acting under orders of commissioners from Austin,
-demanded the surrender of all military posts and supplies in the State
-of Texas. General Twiggs on the 18th of February made a formal surrender
-of the department. The United States troops were paroled and marched to
-Indianola on the coast, where the _Star of the West_, an unarmed United
-States steamer, was waiting to take them home.
-
-But when they reached Indianola (18th of April) the _Star of the West_
-and the gunboat _Mohawk_, which had been guarding her, had both
-disappeared. The officer in command was in a quandary. He did not know
-what to do. At length he placed his troops on two schooners and sailed
-across the Matagorda Bay to the Gulf.
-
-In the meantime, on the 12th of April, at Fort Sumter, South Carolina,
-the first gun of the Civil War had been fired. The struggle between the
-States had begun.
-
-General Earl Van Dorn, of the Confederate army, was at this time in
-command of the military department of Texas. His headquarters were at
-Galveston. The island which the pirate Lafitte had left lone and
-deserted when he sailed away in the _Pride_ now teemed with a busy and
-prosperous people. The huts of Campeachy were replaced by stately
-mansions, and beautiful gardens bloomed where sandy wastes had been.
-
-Several companies of soldiers were encamped without the city, awaiting
-marching orders. General Van Dorn entered the camp one day, and after a
-brief speech called for volunteers for an expedition which he was about
-to undertake. The Galveston Artillery, the Island City Rifles, and an
-Irish company called the Wigfall Guards, at once stepped forward, eager
-for duty.
-
-The next night (17th of April), about midnight, the steamboat _General
-Rusk_, with these volunteers on board, drew up alongside the _Star of
-the West_, lying in the Gulf of Mexico, off Indianola. Captain Howe, of
-the United States steamer, hearing himself hailed, came on deck, and
-supposing these to be the United States troops he was expecting, he
-politely ordered the _General Rusk_ to be made fast to his own boat. In
-a twinkling the Confederate soldiers were aboard of the _Star of the
-West_ demanding its surrender.
-
-“To what flag am I asked to surrender?” asked the astonished captain.
-Ensign Duggan of the Wigfall Guards displayed the Lone Star flag of
-Texas, and in his richest brogue exclaimed: “That’s it! Look at it, me
-byes. Did ye iver see the Texas flag on an Irish jackstaff before?”[38]
-
-Captain Howe, having neither arms nor soldiers, surrendered, and the
-_Star of the West_ followed the _General Rusk_ to Galveston.
-
-This was why the United States troops the next morning (April 18) found
-no steamer to carry them away. The two schooners upon which they
-embarked were also captured several days later, having on board eight
-hundred officers and men, with three hundred fine rifles and a large
-quantity of camp supplies.
-
-But the Confederacy had no means of protecting the long stretch of Texas
-coast. In July a blockading squadron—that is, a fleet of armed vessels
-to prevent ships from entering or leaving the harbor—was stationed in
-the Gulf off Galveston, and in a short time the whole coast was closely
-guarded.
-
-In the fall of 1861 Frank R. Lubbock, who has been called the “war
-governor” of Texas, was elected governor. By the close of his term
-ninety thousand Texan soldiers were in the Confederate army.
-
-Early in 1862 a Texas brigade, under General Sibley, was defeated by the
-Union forces in New Mexico, and forced to retreat to San Antonio with a
-loss of five hundred men.
-
-In October of the same year the Confederates, unable to hold Galveston,
-surrendered that place to Commodore Eagle of the blockading squadron,
-and withdrew to Virginia Point on the mainland about six miles distant.
-Many of the citizens of the town also left their homes; and amid a
-silence almost as profound as that in which Lafitte landed on the island
-nearly fifty years before, several hundred soldiers stepped ashore from
-their boats and took possession of the place. The United States flag was
-hoisted on the Custom-house; the soldiers settled into their quarters on
-one of the wharves; the imposing vessels of the Federal squadron filled
-the bay and the harbor. A mournful cry echoed throughout Texas:
-“Galveston has fallen!”
-
-
-                       2. THE BLUE AND THE GRAY.
-
-The holiday look had long since disappeared from Texas. No battles had
-been fought within her borders, but the blood of her brave sons had dyed
-the sod of many a battlefield elsewhere. For the deadly conflict was
-raging. The North and the South, fighting as brother against brother,
-were pouring out their kindred blood day by day; the smoke of their
-hostile guns darkened the very heavens. Many heroic deeds were done on
-both sides—deeds which to-day thrill us with wonder and admiration.
-
-But there were frightful gaps in the ranks of those who had marched away
-from Texas to the tune of “Dixie” or “The Bonnie Blue Flag.” The gallant
-lads who had showed off their brave uniforms in the holiday camps were
-tramping about, barefoot, ragged, and hungry, in Virginia, in Tennessee,
-in Georgia,—wherever there was an enemy to be attacked or an outpost to
-be held.
-
-Their mothers and sisters at home were making lint and cartridges,
-weaving and wearing homespun, making their own shoes and gloves, and
-cheering the far-away “boys” with letters and with home-made gifts, and
-praying, praying always.
-
-There were few able-bodied men left in the state. The women with the old
-men and boys, aided by the negroes who remained loyal and trustworthy,
-made the crops. As the war went on the prices of everything rose. Old
-bills show that forty dollars a yard (Confederate money) was paid for
-calico for a little girl’s “best” dress; and seventy-five dollars was
-paid for a boy’s first pair of boots. A war-time arithmetic has among
-its examples the following:
-
-“A cavalryman paid 200 dollars for his pistol and 4000 dollars for his
-horse; how much did both cost him?”
-
-“At 20 dollars a pound, how much coffee can you buy for 40 dollars?”
-
-“If one hat costs 120 dollars, how much would eight hats cost?”
-
-Coffee and tea were replaced by drinks made of parched potatoes, or
-burnt peas, and sassafras roots. The real articles which were brought
-into the country occasionally by blockade-runners were known as
-“blockade” coffee and tea, and were kept for the use of the sick.
-
-The blockade-runners were very daring and confident. Captain Henry
-Sherffius of Houston, among others, was noted for his skill in slipping
-through the line of big ships on watch along the coast of Texas. Once,
-when he was leaving on one of his trips, he was so sure of himself and
-his boat that he invited his friends to come to his wedding on a certain
-day some weeks later. He came back at the appointed time, bringing with
-him his wedding-cakes, baked in Vera Cruz, Mexico.
-
-The Mississippi River rolled, a wide barrier, between the two parts of
-the Confederacy. Its banks were lined with Federal sharp-shooters, and
-its yellow waters were dotted with Federal gunboats. It was difficult to
-get news from the eastern side, where the greater part of the fighting
-was done, and terrible were the times of waiting between the first
-rumors of a battle and the receipt of the lists of the killed and
-wounded. A noble and patriotic citizen of Houston, E. H. Cushing,
-rendered a priceless service to Texas in this matter. He was at that
-time and had been for years the editor of the _Houston Telegraph_. His
-energy and his devotion to the Confederate cause were unceasing. He
-established a pony express between the seat of war—wherever that chanced
-to be—and Texas. His messengers somehow managed to get through the lines
-when no one else could do so. They went and came, carrying and bringing
-papers and dispatches, and above all, precious letters from the boys in
-gray. Mr. Cushing’s express also “ran” to Brownsville.
-
-At the close of the war this true patriot supplied money from his
-private purse, not only to broken-down and crippled home-coming
-Confederate soldiers, but to the home-going Federal prisoners from Camp
-Ford.[39]
-
-The _Telegraph_ came out daily throughout the war, some of its later
-numbers being printed on coarse yellow, red, and blue paper.
-
-Amid all the anxiety and hardship there was no thought of giving up. The
-men of the South believed themselves to be fighting for a just cause;
-the Northern soldiers were equally sincere in their convictions. And so
-the war, grim and terrible, went on.
-
-
-In the fall of 1862 General Magruder, Confederate States army, assumed
-command of the Trans-Mississippi (that is, west of the Mississippi)
-Department. He determined at once to attempt the recapture of Galveston.
-He went to Virginia Point, where the Confederate troops were camped, and
-there with great caution and secrecy made his plans.
-
-At the head of Galveston Bay, the _Neptune_ and the _Bayou City_, two
-small steamboats, were bulwarked with cotton bales, mounted with cannon,
-and manned with sharp-shooters from the Confederate States cavalry and
-artillery. The _Lady Gwinn_ and the _John F. Carr_ were detailed to
-accompany these vessels as tenders. This crude fleet was commanded by
-Captain Leon Smith who had served in the navy of the Texas Republic.
-
-About midnight on the 31st of December, the boats moved down the bay to
-a position above the town, where they quietly awaited General Magruder’s
-signal gun.
-
-Magruder had already crossed his troops to the island. They marched
-swiftly through the deserted streets of the city, and, by the light of a
-waning moon, planted their batteries. At five o’clock on New Year’s
-morning, 1863, the attack began. It was a complete surprise to the
-Federals.
-
-The ships of the blockading fleet, under the command of Commodore
-Renshaw, were nearly all within the bay. The _Harriet Lane_, commanded
-by Commodore Wainwright, was lying near the wharf. At a little distance
-was the iron-clad _Westfield_, Commodore Renshaw’s flag-ship, attended
-by the _Owasco_; still further out were the armed vessels, the _Clifton_
-and the _Sachem_, and the barges the _Elias Park_ and the _Cavallo_.
-
-The war-ships answered the fire of Magruder’s batteries with a terrific
-hail of iron; once the Confederate gunners were driven from their guns.
-But the _Neptune_ and the _Bayou City_ steamed up to the _Harriet Lane_
-and attacked her at close quarters, pouring a hot fire into her from
-behind the rampart of cotton bales.
-
-The _Neptune_ with a hole in her hull made by a cannon-ball soon sank in
-shallow water. The _Bayou City_ was also disabled. The Confederate
-sharp-shooters leaped on board the _Harriet Lane_, and, after a bloody
-fight on her deck, captured her.[40] Commodore Wainwright was killed
-early in the action. First Lieutenant Lea was mortally wounded.
-
-The Union infantry made a gallant resistance to the land attack, but
-they were finally obliged to surrender.
-
-The _Sachem_, the _Clifton_, and the _Owasco_ stood out to sea and
-escaped. The _Westfield_ ran aground and was blown up to prevent her
-capture. Commodore Renshaw and his officers had left the vessel, but
-their boats were too near when the explosion took place prematurely, and
-they perished with her. The _Harriet Lane_ and the barges, with several
-hundred prisoners, remained in the hands of the victors.
-
-The loss in this battle on the Confederate side was twelve killed and
-seventy wounded. The Federals lost one hundred and fifty killed and many
-wounded.
-
-Among the mortally wounded were two young soldiers, the story of whose
-death even yet stirs the heart to pity. One fell fighting under the
-starry cross of the Confederacy. The other dropped on the bloody deck of
-the _Harriet Lane_ under the shadow of the stars and stripes. The
-Confederate was Lieutenant Sidney Sherman, son of the gallant veteran,
-General Sidney Sherman, who led the infantry charge at San Jacinto. The
-lieutenant was hardly more than a boy. The blood oozed from his wounds
-as he lay dying, but the smile of victory parted his lips. Suddenly his
-blue eyes grew soft and tender; “Break this gently to my mother,” he
-whispered. These were his last words.
-
-The young Union soldier was Edward Lea, first lieutenant of the _Harriet
-Lane_. His wounds were also fatal. But as his life was ebbing away he
-heard his name spoken in a tone of agony. He opened his eyes. His
-father, Major Lea of the Confederate army, was kneeling beside him.
-Father and son had fought on opposite sides that dark New Year’s
-morning. The pale face of the young lieutenant lighted with joy; and
-when a little later the surgeon told him he had but a moment to live, he
-answered with the confidence of a little child and with his latest
-breath, “My father is here.”
-
-The two lads cold in death rested almost side by side on their funeral
-biers that day,—brothers in death, brothers forever in the memory of
-those who looked upon their calm young faces.
-
-Lieutenant Lea and Commodore Wainwright were buried with military honors
-from General Magruder’s headquarters, Major Lea reading the service for
-the burial of the dead.
-
-The body of young Sherman was carried to his beloved mother, who in her
-home on the bay had listened with a beating heart to the cannonading of
-the battle in which her son’s brave young life had ended.
-
-
-                             3. HOME AGAIN.
-
-A small earthwork called Fort Griffin had been built by the Confederates
-on the Texas side of Sabine Pass at the mouth of the Sabine River. It
-was protected by five light guns and garrisoned by the Davis Guards, a
-company from Houston commanded by Captain Odlum. The first lieutenant of
-the company was Dick Dowling, an Irishman but twenty years of age.
-
-Fort Griffin, though small, was a place of much importance. Sabine Pass
-was a sort of outlet for the pent-up Confederacy. Blockade-runners, in
-spite of the Federal ships stationed in the Gulf, were always slipping
-out of the Sabine River, loaded with cotton for Cuba or Europe, and
-stealing in with arms and supplies from Mexico.
-
-                    [Illustration: Richard Dowling.]
-
-Soon after the battle of Galveston, Major Oscar Watkins, Confederate
-States navy, was sent by General Magruder with two cotton-clad
-steamboats, the _Josiah Bell_ and the _Uncle Ben_, to annoy the
-blockading fleet at Sabine Pass. After a skirmish and an exciting chase,
-he succeeded in capturing two United States ships, the _Velocity_ and
-the _Morning Light_ (January 21, 1863).
-
-The United States then determined to take Fort Griffin and land at
-Sabine Pass a force large enough to overawe that part of the country.
-Twenty-two transports carried the land troops, about fifteen thousand in
-number, to the Pass. Four gunboats, the _Sachem_, the _Clifton_, the
-_Arizona_, and the _Granite City_, accompanied them, to bombard the fort
-and cover the landing of the soldiers. The expedition was under the
-command of General Franklin.
-
-When this formidable fleet appeared at Sabine Pass, Captain Odlum was
-absent and Lieutenant Dowling was in command of Fort Griffin. His whole
-force consisted of forty-two men. He ordered the “Davys,” as they were
-called, to stay in the bombproofs until he himself should fire the first
-gun. Then, hidden by the earthwork, he watched the approach of the
-gunboats.
-
-The _Clifton_ steamed in and opened the attack from her pivot gun,
-throwing a number of shells which dropped into the fort and exploded.
-The _Sachem_ and the _Arizona_ followed, pouring in broadsides from
-their thirty-two-pound cannon.
-
-No reply came from the fort, which seemed to be deserted. The gunboats
-came nearer and nearer. Suddenly a shot from the fort clove the air and
-fell hissing into the water beyond the _Arizona_. The fight at once
-became furious. The _Clifton_ and the _Arizona_ moved backward and
-forward, vomiting huge shells which tore the earthwork of the fort and
-filled the air with dust. Ships and fort seemed wrapped in flame. The
-_Sachem_ meanwhile was stealing into the Pass toward the unprotected
-rear of the fort. But a well-aimed shot from Dowling’s battery struck
-her, crushing her iron plating and causing her to rise on end and quiver
-like a leaf in the wind. She was at the mercy of the fort, and her flag
-was instantly lowered. The _Clifton_ kept up the fight with great skill
-and bravery. But she soon ran aground in the shallows, where she
-continued to fire until a shot passed through her boiler, completely
-wrecking her. A white flag was run up at her bow, and the battle was
-over. The _Arizona_ and the _Granite City_ steamed out to the
-transports, whose men had watched the fight with breathless interest.
-
-The fleet at once retired, leaving the _Sachem_ and the _Clifton_ to the
-“Davys.”[41]
-
-Three hundred Union soldiers were taken prisoners. Captain Crocker of
-the _Clifton_ came ashore with a boat’s crew, and, mounting the parapet,
-asked for the commanding officer. Lieutenant Dowling, covered with the
-dust of the fort, presented himself as the person sought.
-
-The gallant Federal in his handsome uniform could hardly believe that
-this dirty little boy was his conqueror, or that the handful of men
-before him comprised the force which had so calmly awaited a hostile
-fleet and defeated it.[42]
-
-Eight months afterward the United States gunboats, the _Granite City_
-and the _Wave_, were captured at Sabine Pass.
-
-In November and December, 1863, General Banks took possession of the
-Texas coast, protecting it with a land force from Brownsville to
-Indianola. Within a short time, however, he withdrew his troops, leaving
-only a garrison at Brownsville. But the cruel war was fast drawing to a
-close. The Confederate army, thinned in ranks and in need of food, as
-well as of powder and of shot, could no longer be maintained. There were
-no men to take the place of those who fell in battle; the untilled
-fields gave no harvests; the coasts were so guarded that the most
-reckless blockade-runner, could no longer get in with supplies. On the
-9th of April, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, commander-in-chief of the
-Confederate army, surrendered to General U. S. Grant at Appomattox Court
-House in Virginia.
-
-Before this news reached Texas the last skirmish of the war had taken
-place near Brownsville (April 13) between some of Banks’ soldiers and a
-party of Confederates. The scene of this skirmish was the old
-battlefield of Palo Alto.
-
-On the 30th of May Generals Kirby Smith and Magruder went on board the
-United States ship _Fort Jackson_ at Galveston and made a formal
-surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Department.
-
-On the 19th of June General Granger, United States army, took command at
-the island and announced the freedom of the negroes.
-
-The great Civil War was over.
-
-Several thousand Texans lost their lives in the Confederate States army
-during the four years’ war. Among the distinguished dead were General
-John Gregg, first general of Hood’s brigade, Colonels Tom Lubbock and
-Tom Green, the famous scout Ben McCulloch, General Granbury, Colonel
-Rogers, and many others. To these may be added General Albert Sidney
-Johnston, always claimed by Texas as her son, and who in death rests
-upon her bosom.
-
-
-The war was over. The ragged, foot-sore, hungry soldiers who had so
-proudly worn the gray began to come home. Many who had gone away
-round-faced boys came back lank and hollow-eyed men. Many were maimed
-and crippled; many were sick; all were forlorn and discouraged. They saw
-with despair their weed-grown fields, their dilapidated houses, and
-rotting fences. The wives and mothers, whose husbands and sons had laid
-down their lives for a lost cause, looked at the more fortunate wives
-and mothers whose husbands and sons had been spared to them, and wept.
-And all wondered how they could ever take up their ruined lives again.
-
-But time is merciful. The gloom did not last always. The Blue and the
-Gray clasped hands before many years had passed, and once more the Lone
-Star of Texas blazed in a cloudless sky.
-
-
-
-
-                                  IX.
-                           A FLIGHT OF YEARS.
-                              (1865-1900.)
-
-
-The time indeed came when the Blue and the Gray joined hands, and the
-Lone Star shone once more in a cloudless sky. But that time was not yet.
-The years which followed the Civil War were bitter and sorrowful ones
-for Texas.
-
-After the surrender General Granger continued to hold military
-possession of the state.
-
-Before his arrival Pendleton Murrah, who had succeeded Lubbock in 1863,
-had left his office in the hands of the lieutenant-governor Fletcher S.
-Stockdale, and gone to Mexico.
-
-Andrew J. Hamilton was appointed provisional governor by President
-Johnson. He arrived at Galveston in July (1865), and at once assumed the
-duties of his office.
-
-He ordered an election of delegates to a convention which was called for
-the purpose of framing a new constitution.
-
-But no man was allowed to vote who had borne arms against the United
-States. The majority of Texas men had fought against the Union; they
-therefore took little interest in an election of delegates for whom they
-could not vote.
-
-The convention met (February, 1866), the new constitution was drawn up
-and submitted for ratification to such of the people as were “loyal to
-the United States, and none others”; and in June James W. Throckmorton
-was elected governor.
-
-A few months later the United States government decided to place the
-state again under military rule. Louisiana and Texas were constituted a
-Military District with headquarters at New Orleans. General Philip
-Sheridan was placed in command, and General Charles Griffin was ordered
-to Texas with several thousand troops to enforce military rule (March,
-1867). His headquarters were at Galveston.
-
-All elections except those under control of his officers were forbidden
-by General Griffin. An oath, known as the “iron-clad oath,” was required
-of all voters. The newly freed negroes were for the first time placed on
-juries and encouraged to vote.
-
-It was during this time that the remains of the great soldier General
-Albert Sidney Johnston were removed from New Orleans to Austin for final
-burial.
-
-At Houston, when the funeral train rolled into the station, it was met
-by a procession of five hundred ladies and little girls. The coffin was
-borne to the old Houston Academy, where for a day and night it lay in
-state, amid the mournful tolling of bells.
-
-In July Governor Throckmorton, upon reports made by General Griffin, was
-removed from office by General Sheridan, and E. M. Pease appointed in
-his place.
-
-            [Illustration: General Albert Sidney Johnston.]
-
-In September, 1869, Governor Pease, vexed and wearied by the strife and
-discord around him, resigned his thankless office. For a time there was
-no governor, a military adjutant performing the duties of the place.
-
-In 1870 Edmund J. Davis was inaugurated governor and held the office
-four years. He was succeeded in 1874 by Richard Coke, with Richard B.
-Hubbard as lieutenant-governor.
-
-The dark and stormy period from the surrender to the close of Governor
-Davis’ term of office has since been known in Texas as the
-“Reconstruction Time.”
-
-At the time of Governor Davis’ election, the military was finally
-withdrawn from the state, the citizens were restored to their civil
-rights, and Texas was readmitted to the Union. During his administration
-a Homestead Law was passed, a one-per-cent tax was levied for the
-building of schoolhouses, and the growth of railroads was encouraged by
-liberal grants of land.
-
-But there was still a great deal of trouble and discontent, and it was
-not until Governor Coke took his seat that the state, so long shaken by
-contention, began once more to breathe freely and to put forth the
-strength within her.
-
-Governor Coke served from 1874 to 1876; in 1876 he was elected to the
-United States senate, and Richard B. Hubbard became governor
-(1876-1879).
-
-The governors who guided the Ship of State from 1879 to 1895 were Oran
-M. Roberts (1879-1883), John Ireland[43] (1883-1887), Lawrence S. Ross
-(1887-1891), and James S. Hogg (1891-1895).
-
-In 1894 Charles A. Culberson became governor, and in 1896 he was
-returned by a large majority to the same office. On his election by the
-legislature in 1897 to the senate of the United States, he was succeeded
-by Joseph D. Sayers, who was the chief executive of the great state of
-Texas at the close of the nineteenth century.
-
-These years have been marked by many wonderful changes in Texas. Not the
-least of these changes has been the growth of the great public school
-system. The first free school in Texas was opened at San Antonio in
-1844. A state public school system was organized in 1870. From these
-imperfect beginnings to the admirable system of to-day, when an army of
-earnest and gifted men and women are banded together in the noble work
-of teaching, and countless multitudes of children pass daily in and out
-of the schoolroom,—from that gray dawn to this blazing noontide, what a
-change!
-
-The cause of education has indeed been ever in the minds and hearts of
-the people.
-
-           [Illustration: The Sam Houston Normal Institute.]
-
-An Agricultural and Mechanical College was founded at Bryan, and opened
-in 1876.
-
-In 1879 a State Normal School for teachers, called the Sam Houston
-Normal Institute, was established at Huntsville, Governor Houston’s old
-home. A few years later the Prairie View, a normal school for colored
-teachers, was established.
-
-A State University was founded in 1881. The fine group of buildings
-crowning one of Austin’s green hills was finished and thrown open to the
-young men and women students of the state in 1883.
-
-The first president of the University Board of Regents was Doctor Ashbel
-Smith. After his services to the Texan Republic, Doctor Smith devoted
-himself to scientific study and to the free practice of the medical
-profession. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate States army. He was
-elected a captain in the second Texas regiment of infantry, and was
-promoted to the colonelcy on the battlefield of Shiloh for personal
-bravery. He was in command of the post of Galveston at the time of the
-final surrender. He was chairman of the committee sent from Galveston to
-New Orleans to escort to Texas the remains of General Albert Sidney
-Johnston.
-
-                [Illustration: The University of Texas.]
-
-His wise counsels were of great service during those troublous times.
-The joy and pride of this truly great man’s declining years was the
-University of Texas. He lived to see it answer to his highest hopes; and
-his memory should be eternally associated with its fame.
-
-In 1895 the Board of Regents was authorized to manage all lands
-belonging to the University; at the same time the office of president
-was created.
-
-A number of charitable and other public institutions have been added to
-those already in existence. The new Penitentiary at Rusk (1877), a State
-Orphan’s Asylum at Corsicana (1881), and two Insane Asylums, one at
-Terrell (1883) and one at San Antonio (1890), are among these. In 1891
-the John B. Hood Camp of Confederate Veterans at Austin was taken under
-the kindly care of the state, and its name changed to the Texas
-Confederate Home.
-
-Many state questions of importance have been considered; new laws have
-been made and old ones improved.
-
-The public debt has been reduced. A new constitution has been adopted by
-the people (1875).
-
-The state revenues have been materially increased by the introduction of
-wiser and better regulations. The school tax has been raised.
-Arbitration laws have been passed, greatly to the advantage of
-disputants; and anti-trust laws have been enforced.
-
-In 1895 suit was brought by Texas, in the Supreme Court of the United
-States, for Greer County, a body of land on Red River claimed both by
-the United States government and by Texas. The decision of the Supreme
-Court (April, 1896) awarded the county to the United States.
-
-                [Illustration: The Old Alamo Monument.]
-
-A new court, called the Commission of Appeals, was created in 1881; the
-same year an admirable quarantine system was established, with a special
-station at Galveston.
-
-A memorable feature of the year 1895 was the extra session of the
-legislature called for the purpose of making prize fighting illegal in
-the state of Texas. The brutal and degrading sport was promptly declared
-a felony, and a law was passed prohibiting it on penalty of confinement
-in the Penitentiary.
-
-On the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898 Texas furnished more
-than her quota of eager and determined volunteers to the United States
-army; the sons of the men who wore the gray donned the blue uniform and
-wore it proudly and worthily throughout the campaign.
-
-A railroad commission was formed in 1891. In 1891, also, the United
-States government began at Galveston the building of jetties to improve
-the entrance to the harbor. These jetties, which are a double line of
-gigantic stone walls, reach out from the land into the Gulf. The action
-of the tides within this artificial channel washes out the sand, and
-thus deepens it. The channel, though damaged by the great flood of 1900,
-was not materially injured. Similar jetties were built at Sabine Pass
-and at Aransas Pass.
-
-In 1881 the old capitol at Austin was burned, and with it many priceless
-relics of the earlier days of Texas. Among these was the old monument
-dedicated in 1857 to the heroes of the Alamo. It was built of stones
-from the ruined fortress and stood on the porch of the capitol. It was
-inscribed with the names of Travis and his men; and the four sides of
-the shaft bore the following inscriptions:
-
-  _North._ “To the God of the fearless and the free is dedicated this
-  altar, made from the stones of the Alamo.”
-
-  _West._ “Blood of heroes hath stained me. Let the stones of the Alamo
-  speak that their immolation be not forgotten.”
-
-  _South._ “Be they enrolled with Leonidas in the host of the mighty
-  dead.”
-
-  _East._ “Thermopylæ had her messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had
-  none.”
-
-A new monument, upon whose summit stands, rifle in hand, the statue of a
-Texas ranger, has been placed in the capitol grounds.
-
-The legislature which met soon after the burning of the old capitol
-provided for the erection of a new one. Three million acres of public
-lands were set aside to meet this expense. The new building was finished
-and dedicated in 1888.
-
-The historic old church of the Alamo was purchased by the state in 1883.
-The battlefield of San Jacinto has also become the property of the
-state. This beautiful spot, consecrated by the blood of heroes, is
-guarded by the same encircling trees, which, clad in the green of
-spring’s livery, looked down upon the birth of freedom on that long-past
-21st of April. May the coming centuries see them still standing, mute
-witnesses to the bravery of men who had no peer!
-
-
-
-
-                                   X.
-                            THE NEW CENTURY.
-
-
-The last year of the nineteenth century witnessed in Texas a calamity
-which wrapped the state in gloom and stirred the entire country to
-instant and generous sympathy. This was the Great Flood at Galveston.
-
-Earlier in the same year (April 7) the city of Austin had suffered a
-severe loss through water. The wonderful barrier of granite—the largest
-dam in the world—which imprisoned the waters of the Colorado River
-between the wooded hills on either side, thus forming an artificial lake
-thirty miles long, had suddenly given way; the mighty torrent set free
-had poured through the gap, carrying ruin with it and leaving havoc
-behind.
-
-In August, 1899, there had been a flood of unusual magnitude in the
-Brazos River. An angry sea had swirled down from the Red Lands above;
-the long and fertile valley of the Brazos was laid waste; several lives
-were lost, and much valuable property was destroyed. But these floods
-were dwarfed in importance by the tidal wave from the sea which on
-September 8 and 9, 1900, beat against the Gulf coast and fell with
-special violence upon the Island of Galveston.
-
-A blinding storm of rain fell ceaselessly throughout the whole of the
-first day; a furious wind drove the salt spray across the island from
-Gulf to bay. By nightfall the streets were submerged; the lower floors
-of many dwellings were under water. During the night of horror which
-followed, the railroad bridge connecting the island with the mainland
-was swept away, and the city lay isolated and helpless at the mercy of
-the hurricane. As the hours passed the people huddled together in their
-rocking houses, climbed to the upper stories and out upon the roofs,
-with the savage flood climbing after them. Thousands were swept to death
-from these insecure places of refuge. Whole blocks of buildings crumbled
-like so many sand houses into the waters; the foamy waves were strewn
-with a mass of wreckage: shingles, beams, furniture, household goods,
-animals dead and dying, human beings battling for their lives in the
-darkness or drifting stark and stiff with the storm.
-
-Many stories of heroism, of self-sacrifice, of pathetic devotion, are
-told of that awful night; many strange incidents are related. Strong men
-perished, while frail and delicate women survived unhurt; skilled
-swimmers succumbed; helpless babes floated to safety. One little child,
-torn from its mother’s arms by the gale, drifted through the débris,
-across the island, across the bay, and was found the next day, quite
-unharmed, nested like a bird in the limbs of an oak tree on the
-mainland!
-
-When the morning dawned, pale and wan, a ghastly spectacle met the dazed
-eyes of the survivors. The waters, receding sullenly, exposed masses of
-ruins; thousands of corpses strewed the uneven sands; not a sound from
-the outer world penetrated the dismal silence. There was a single moment
-of paralyzed despair; then, with a splendid courage, almost without
-parallel, the stricken people took heart and set life in motion again
-for themselves and for their beloved city. Help poured in from every
-direction: money, provisions, clothing, doctors, nurses; best of all,
-words of sympathy and cheer, which lightened the task. In an incredibly
-short time almost all traces of the Great Flood had disappeared, and the
-lovely island lay serene and smiling, as before, on the bosom of the
-Gulf. It is believed that from six thousand to seven thousand people
-perished in the storm.
-
-In September, 1901, a sea wall, planned for the protection of the island
-against such storms, was begun; this enclosing wall, which is to cost
-one and a half million dollars, will be when finished sixteen feet broad
-at the base, sixteen feet high, and five feet in breadth at the top.
-
-The dawn of the twentieth century was marked by the discovery of
-petroleum in vast quantities in southeast Texas. In the earliest days of
-Lone Star history, certain of the incurving bays west of the Sabine
-River were known as the Oil Ponds, because they offered upon their
-smooth surface a secure refuge from the stormy Gulf outside to all
-manner of sailing craft. The meaning of their strange quiet was
-undreamed of until the first well on Spindletop Heights near Beaumont
-shot its geyser of oil hundreds of feet in the air. The oil wells at
-Beaumont and elsewhere now number many scores; their rich output seems
-inexhaustible.
-
-Long-continued droughts and the appearance of the boll weevil, an insect
-very destructive to the growing cotton, marred the splendor of this
-opening year. Vigorous measures have been taken to exterminate the boll
-weevil, and despite all drawbacks the crops of cotton, corn, and rice
-have steadily increased in size and in value.
-
-In 1903 S. W. T. Lanham was inaugurated governor.
-
-
-
-
-                                  XI.
-                                 TEXAS.
-
-
-                     FROM THE DOME OF THE CAPITOL.
-
-On the 16th of May, 1888, there was a mighty gathering of people at
-Austin. They had come—men, women, and children—from every quarter of the
-great state: from the Pan Handle and from the coast; from the wide
-prairies of the west, and the wooded hills and valleys of the east.
-There was a throb of pride in every heart and a sparkle of joy in every
-eye; for Texas was about to give a housewarming, as it were, and her
-children had met together to have a share in the home feast,—the new
-capitol was to be dedicated.
-
-The beautiful City of Hills was bathed in a flood of golden sunshine.
-The air was sweet with the breath of roses blooming in the gardens. A
-thousand flags and pennons and banners fluttered from housetops, floated
-from tall flag-poles, and waved from open windows. There was music
-everywhere, and everywhere the tread of moving feet and the gay noise
-and confusion of a happy crowd.
-
-From the crest of its long sloping hill the new capitol, vast and
-majestic, looked down on all this life and color. Its massive walls
-arose like the façade of some proud temple; its pillars of rosy granite
-reflected the light; its great dome soared into the blue sky. No wonder
-the people burst into shouts of delight on beholding it!
-
-The dedication ceremonies took place at noon in the presence of an
-immense throng of citizens and soldiers. Among the orators of the
-occasion was Temple Houston, a son of General Sam Houston. The day was
-one long to be remembered. At night the noble building was illuminated,
-and the lofty halls and corridors were filled for hours with the best,
-the bravest, and the fairest of the sons and daughters of Texas.
-
-             [Illustration: New Capitol at Austin (1888).]
-
-In the old days when the world still believed in fairies and gnomes and
-elves and water-sprites, it was thought that each country had its
-guardian spirit, or genie, who watched over it and protected it from
-evil. If the poets of those far-away times were now alive, they might
-picture the Genie of Texas standing, invisible, on the huge dome of the
-capitol, looking out over her beloved state, and saying, “All is well
-with my people.” They might imagine her describing the scene under her
-eyes to the guardians of other states in words like these:
-
-“I see around me, widespread and beautiful, the free State of Texas.
-Below me, clad in flowers and bathed in mellow light, lies Austin.
-Crowning the hills, on which fifty years ago the Red Man dwelt in his
-wigwams and hunting-lodges, are stately government buildings, mansions,
-and churches. The enclosing gardens, rich in the herbs and blossoms of a
-semi-tropical region, are fair under the over-arching blue sky. In their
-midst, crowning its own hill-tops, stands the University planned by the
-Republic in 1839. Here the young men and the young women of the state,
-alike eager in effort and high in achievement, move about the hushed
-halls, or pass, book in hand, through the academic grove without.
-
-“To southward, beyond prairies threaded by the crystal waters of the
-rivers San Marcos and Guadalupe, I see San Antonio, that old town filled
-with memories of heroic deeds. The Alamo, treasured by my people, still
-stands on the plaza once dyed by the blood of Travis and his men. But
-how the gallant St. Denis would stare if he could come riding up and
-look from the brow of his favorite hill into the valley he loved! The
-village has become a great city. The streets are alive with traffic,
-handsome houses line the river-banks almost to the old Missions of
-Concepcion and San José. The United States army post is there as of old,
-with the stars and stripes proudly waving over its fine buildings.
-
-“To east and southeastward are Goliad and Gonzales, sacred in the pages
-of Texas history; and the river La Vaca, up which La Salle and his men
-sailed to build ill-fated Fort St. Louis; and the San Jacinto, washing
-the reedy edge of the famous battle-ground. There are Houston and
-Columbia, whose streets in the early days were trod by the fathers of
-the Republic. There is Nacogdoches; and there is the Old San Antonio
-Road, which is still a traveled highway; and many a town which played
-its part in the stirring scenes of past times.
-
-“Northward and westward lies the newer Texas with thriving cities, such
-as Dallas and Fort Worth, Sherman and Denison; and Waco on the site
-where half a century ago stood the village of the music-loving Wacoes.
-
-“A wonderful network of railroads binds all these towns and cities
-together—a network which has been woven as if by magic. In 1852 the
-_Sidney Sherman_, the first locomotive engine west of the Mississippi
-River, ran out of Harrisburg on a short stretch of railroad. Now there
-are nine thousand miles of railroad in the state.
-
-“Every year vast fields of grain lie golden and ripe for the harvest,
-where a short time ago plover and partridge hid in the prairie grass.
-Along the coast the rich plantations of sugar cane wave and rustle in
-the breeze, and the smoke of the sugarhouses at grinding-time is black
-against the sky.
-
-                     [Illustration: Ashbel Smith.]
-
-“In Stephen F. Austin’s day there were little patches of cotton about
-the cabin doors of the settlers. To-day Texas grows one-third of the
-cotton raised in the world. No fleece so white, no stalks so weighted
-with bursting bolls, no fiber so strong and yet so delicate, as that of
-the cotton of Texas.
-
-“I see,” the Genie might continue, “I see orchards of fruit trees, and
-vegetable gardens, and rose bowers, making green and glad the face of
-the country.
-
-“I see at Galveston and Sabine Pass the largest ships now sailing with
-ease, where in 1863 the _Westfield_ and the _Clifton_ grounded in mud or
-on a sand-bar.
-
-“A mighty bulwark, sprung up as if by magic, stretches its arms around
-the Island City and guards it from any fury of the sea.
-
-“The mysterious and limitless pools and lakes which lie far below the
-surface of Texas soil have been forced into service. I see artesian
-wells spouting their sturdy columns of clear healing water in hundreds
-of places; and reservoirs of oil, whose fountain-head no man knows,
-yield their priceless gifts to the hand.
-
-“Herds of cattle swarm about the great ranches of the west; while in the
-vast unfenced solitudes soft-eyed antelopes, and other wild creatures of
-the forest, still rove in primeval freedom.
-
-“Libraries spring up; new institutions for the afflicted arise; smiling
-homes invite to comfort and repose the thinning ranks of the veterans of
-the Southern Confederacy.
-
-“Last, and best of all, wherever there is a quiet hamlet or a growing
-town or a busy city, I see a schoolhouse. It may be but a rude cabin,
-where through the unchinked logs the children may watch the birds
-building their nests, or it may be a stately building which glorifies
-the memory of some generous giver, like the Ball and Rosenburg Schools
-at Galveston; it may be a crowded little place where the boys kick their
-heels against time-worn benches, or it may be the handsome University of
-Texas. But big or little, stone building or log cabin, there is always
-the schoolhouse; and within it the school children, the future men and
-women of the state. Upon them, even more than upon railroad or cotton
-crop, depend the prosperity and welfare of the state. I breathe a prayer
-for all who tread this free and unfettered soil to-day; but chiefly I
-call down blessings upon the school children of Texas.
-
-“All is well with my people.”
-
-So might speak the Genie of Texas from the dome of the capitol.
-
-
-
-
-                             PRONUNCIATION.
-
-
-  Acequia (Ah sā′ kee ah)
-  Adaes (Ah dah′ ess)
-  Aes (Ah′ ess)
-  Aguayo (Ah gwah′ yo)
-  Aimable (Ā mah bl)
-  Alamo (Ah′ lah mo)
-  Alazan (Ah′ lah zan)
-  Almonte (Al mon′ tā)
-  Alvarez (Al′ vah ress)
-  Ampudia (Am poo′ dee ah)
-  Anahuac (An′ ah wak)
-  Andrade (An drah′ dā)
-  Arredondo (Ar rā don′ do)
-  Anastase (Ah nas taze′)
-  Barbier (Bar bee ā)
-  Beaujeu (Bō zhuh)
-  Benevidas (Bā nā vee′ das)
-  Belleisle (Bel eel)
-  Bexar (Bair)
-  Bustamente (Boos tā mān′ tā)
-  Cabet (Cā bā)
-  Castenado (Kas tā nah′ do)
-  Champ d′Asile (Chon dazile)
-  Coahuila (Ko ah wee′ lah)
-  Colito (Ko lee′ tō)
-  Cordero (Kor dā ro)
-  De Pagès (Pa jess)
-  Desloges (Dā loj)
-  Duhaut (Du ho)
-  Elisondo (El ee son′ do)
-  Espiritu Santo (Ess pee′ ree too)
-  Filisola (Fee lee sō′ lah)
-  Garza (Gar′ ssa)
-  Grand Terre (Gron Tair)
-  Guadalupe (Gwah dah loop′ ā)
-  Gutierrez (Goo tee ā′ ress)
-  Herrera (Ā rā′ rah)
-  Indios Bravos (In′ dee oss Brah′ voss)
-  Indios Reducidos (Rā doo see′ doss)
-  Joli (Zho lie)
-  José (Ho sā′)
-  Joutel (Zhoo tel)
-  La Bahia (Lah Bah ee′ ah)
-  Martinez (Mar tee′ ness)
-  Mier (Mee′ ah)
-  Mina (Mee′ nah)
-  Moragnet (Mo rah nyā)
-  Musquis (Moos keess′)
-  Natchitoches (Nak ee tosh)
-  Neches (Nā′ chez)
-  Nika (Nee kah)
-  Orquisacas (Or kee sah′ kass)
-  Ory (Ō ree)
-  Pedro (Pā′ dro)
-  Perez (Pā ress)
-  Perote (Pa ro′ ta)
-  Piedras (Pee ā′ drass)
-  Plaza (Pla′ zah)
-  Presidio (Prā see′ dee ō)
-  Refugio (Rā foo′ jee ō)
-  Saget (Sah jā)
-  Saltillo (Sal tee′ yo)
-  San Felipe (Fā lee′ pa)
-  Santa Fé (Fā)
-  St. Denis (San De nee)
-  Toledo (To lā′ do)
-  Tonti (Ton tee)
-  Ugartechea (Oo gar ta chā′ ah)
-  Urrea (Oo rā′ ah)
-  Zacetacas (Zah kā tah′ kas)
-  Zavala (Zah vah′ lah)
-
-
-
-
-                               FOOTNOTES.
-
-
-[1]Called by the Spaniards, La Vaca.
-
-[2]Now Dimmitt’s Point on the La Vaca.
-
-[3]L’Archevêque afterward returned to America and settled in Santa Fé,
-   New Mexico, where he married and died, and where his descendants
-   still live. See A. F. Bandelier’s _Gilded Man_.
-
-[4]La Salle never married. His title was inherited by his brother,
-   numerous descendants of whom are living in Louisiana.
-
-[5]Charles II.
-
-[6]The name more probably was derived from the Tehas Indians, a tribe
-   whose central village was built on the present site of Mound Prairie.
-
-[7]_Alamo_, cottonwood.
-
-[8]These Spanish and Indian builders were called “The Children of San
-   José.”
-
-[9]A Mexican dance.
-
-[10]Salcedo, the Spanish commander at Monterey, said that if “he had the
-   power he would stop even the birds from flying across the Sabine.”
-
-[11]Nolan afterward claimed to have made this map for the benefit of the
-   United States government in case of a war with Spain. He wrote, upon
-   the eve of this journey: “Will we have a war? At all events, I can
-   cut my way back and you can rely upon me.” (Letter to General
-   Wilkinson, June 10, 1797.)
-
-[12]Ellis Bean’s diary.
-
-[13]Burr at this time was suspected of a design to separate the
-   southwestern states from the Union and found a new government.
-
-[14]Charles IV. and Maria Louisa of Parma.
-
-[15]Natchitoches is about forty miles from the Sabine River in a direct
-   line. The Neutral Ground, therefore, was about thirty-three miles
-   wide. It extended southward to the mouth of the Calcasieu River. The
-   choice of the Arroyo Hondo as a boundary was the revival of an old
-   compromise. The French and Spanish commandants, as early as 1719,
-   agreed upon the Arroyo Hondo as a convenient boundary between
-   Louisiana and New Spain. This agreement was observed until 1762, when
-   the whole of Louisiana west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain.
-   The Sabine River, by a state treaty (1819), was finally fixed as the
-   boundary.
-
-[16]Baron de Bastrop had been an officer in the army of Frederic the
-   Great.
-
-[17]_Texas Scrap Book._
-
-[18]Benjamin Milam was a native of Kentucky. He fought in the War of
-   1812 against Great Britain. In 1823 he received from the Mexican
-   government, for services rendered in the deposition of Iturbide, one
-   million of acres of land in Texas, which he sold to Baring & Co.,
-   London.
-
-   He also obtained from the government of Coahuila and Texas the
-   exclusive right to run steamboats on the Colorado River. He was
-   unable, however, to avail himself of this right.
-
-[19]Robert Calder.
-
-[20]General Burleson had remained in camp during the storming of the
-   city. He entered on the 9th. (Official Report.)
-
-[21]Horseshoe Bend.
-
-[22]A man named Rose, who escaped by leaping from the wall.
-
-[23]This battle, called by the Mexicans the battle of the Encinal del
-   Perdido, began at one o’clock P.M.
-
-[24]Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, the father of Hal Ripley, was a
-   brigadier-general in the United States army, and greatly
-   distinguished himself in the war with Great Britain in 1812. He was
-   afterward a member of the United States Congress from Louisiana.
-
-[25]Colonel Garay was a native of Greece.
-
-[26]Houston left Gonzales, March 13. Reached Burnham’s Crossing, on the
-   west bank of the Colorado, March 17. Crossed to the east bank of the
-   Colorado and marched down to Beason’s Crossing, March 19. Reached San
-   Felipe on the Brazos, March 28. Marched up the Brazos (west bank) to
-   Mill’s Creek and Groce’s Landing. Remained at Groce’s Landing until
-   April 12. Crossed the Brazos (April 12) to Groce’s Plantation.
-   Marched on the 14th; reached Buffalo Bayou, opposite Harrisburg, on
-   the 18th. Crossed the same day in pursuit of Santa Anna. Occupied the
-   battlefield of San Jacinto, April 20.
-
-[27]Cos was Santa Anna’s brother-in-law.
-
-[28]Moses Bryan, in _Texas Scrap Book_.
-
-[29]Thrall.
-
-[30]G. W. Kendall.
-
-[31]Quoted by Yoakum from a narrative by one of the prisoners.
-
-[32]Anson Jones died at the Old Capital Hotel in Houston on the 7th of
-   January, 1858. A short time before his death he remarked to one of
-   his friends: “Here in this house, twenty years ago, I commenced my
-   public career in Texas, and here I would like to die.”
-
-[33]Diary of Captain Henry, U. S. A.
-
-[34]Frost’s _History of Mexico_.
-
-[35]G. W. Kendall.
-
-[36]_Cabet at ses Icariens._
-
-[37]Williams’ _Life of Houston_.
-
-[38]Scharf’s _History of the Confederate States Navy_.
-
-[39]Camp Ford, where the Federal prisoners were confined during the war,
-   was situated near Tyler, in Smith County.
-
-[40]The bell used on the _Harriet Lane_ is now in the museum of the
-   Houston (Texas) High School.
-
-[41]Jefferson Davis, in his _Rise and Fall of the Confederate
-   Government_, says of this engagement: “The success of the single
-   company which garrisoned the earthwork at Fort Griffin is without
-   parallel in ancient or modern war.”
-
-[42]Scharf’s _History of the Confederate States Navy_.
-
-[43]Ireland died March 15, 1896.
-
-
-
-
-                                 INDEX.
-
-
-                                   A
-  A Bold Rider, 14.
-  A Buffalo Hunt, 154.
-  A Cloud in the Sky, 148.
-  A Fatal Venture, 29.
-  A Hurried Ride, 40.
-  A Treacherous Shot, 46.
-  A Voice in the Wilderness, 48.
-  Acequias, 22.
-  Across the Border, 136.
-  Adaes, Mission of, 18, 29.
-  Aes, Mission of, 21, 22, 29.
-  Agricultural and Mechanical College, 170.
-  Aguayo, Marquis de, 21, 23.
-  _Aimable_, The, 2, 4.
-  Alamo, The, 18, 27, 71, 81, 82, 103, 176.
-  Almonte, Colonel, 86, 101, 103, 136.
-  Along the old San Antonio Road, 14, 25, 27, 30, 180.
-  Alvarez, Señora, 95.
-  Ampudia, General, 128, 138.
-  An Unexpected Meeting, 56.
-  Anahuac, Fort, 38, 61.
-  Anastase, Father, 7.
-  Andrade, General, 110.
-  Annexation, 113, 135.
-  Anti-trust Laws, 172.
-  Apaches, The, 19, 24, 30, 142.
-  Arbitration Laws, 172.
-  Archer, Branch T., 59, 74.
-  Archives, War of the, 124.
-  Arredondo, General, 39.
-  Arroyo Hondo, 36.
-  Artesian Wells, 182.
-  Asylums, 141, 172.
-  Aury, Luis d’, 42.
-  Austin, Bursting of Dam at, 175.
-  Austin City, 122, 126, 132, 135, 141, 148, 150, 152, 178.
-  Austin, Moses, 50.
-  Austin, Stephen F., Character and Appearance, 51.
-  —— Contract with Martinez, 52.
-  —— Arrival with Colonists, 52.
-  —— Journey to Mexico, 53.
-  —— Return from Mexico, 55.
-  —— Imprisonment in Mexico, 60.
-  —— Release from Prison, 62.
-  —— In Command of Volunteers, 66.
-  —— Commissioner to United States, 69.
-  —— Secretary of State, 113.
-  —— Death and Burial, 113.
-  Austin’s Colonists, 52.
-
-
-                                   B
-  Banks, General, 165.
-  Barbier, Sieur, 6, 7.
-  Barry, “Buck,” 148.
-  Bastrop, Baron de, 50, 55.
-  Battle of the Alamo, 82.
-  —— of Colita, 91.
-  —— of Concepcion, 67.
-  —— of Galveston, 160.
-  —— of Mier, 128.
-  —— of Palo Alto, 137, 165.
-  —— of Resaca de la Palma, 137.
-  —— of Rosillo, 38.
-  —— of Sabine Pass, 164.
-  —— of Three Trees, 43.
-  —— of Velasco, 54.
-  Bay of Bernard, 3, 11, 12.
-  —— of Matagorda, 3, 156.
-  Baylor, John R., 155.
-  Bean, Ellis P., 31, 32, 33.
-  Beaujeu, 3, 4.
-  Bell, Hansborough P., 140.
-  _Belle_, The, 2, 6.
-  Belleisle, 11, 12.
-  Benevidas, Placido, 81.
-  Bexar, Duke de, 18.
-  Bienville, Sieur de, 12.
-  Blackburn, Ephraim, 35.
-  Blanco, El, 32.
-  Blockade-running, 159.
-  Blue, The, and the Gray, 167, 168.
-  Blue Wing, 144.
-  Bolivar Point, 46, 48, 53.
-  Bonham, James, 81, 83, 87.
-  Bowie, James, 66, 79, 83, 86.
-  Bowie, Rezin, 43, 80.
-  Bradburn, Juan Davis, 58.
-  Brazoria, 55, 85.
-  Brazos, Flood in, 175.
-  Brazos River, 52, 74, 87.
-  Brown, Captain Jerry, 107, 118.
-  Brownsville, 137, 165.
-  _Brutus_, The, 117, 118, 119, 120.
-  Buffalo Bayou, 91, 97, 98, 99, 111, 115.
-  Burleson, Edward, 65, 69, 73, 124, 138.
-  Burnet, David G., 59, 87, 98, 105, 107, 108, 112, 120.
-  Burton, Isaac, 112.
-  Bustamente, 57, 61.
-  By the Brazos, 74.
-
-
-                                   C
-  Cabet, Etienne, 148.
-  Calder, Robert, 67, 106.
-  Caldwell, Matthew, 122, 126.
-  Canary Islands, 23.
-  Cannon at Concepcion, 67.
-  —— at Gonzales, 62.
-  —— at San Jacinto, 99, 100.
-  Capital, The, at Austin, 120, 138.
-  —— at Columbia, 112.
-  —— at Houston, 115, 126.
-  —— at San Antonio, 50, 56.
-  —— at Saltillo, 56, 60.
-  —— at Washington, 130.
-  Capitol, Dedication of, 178.
-  Carankawaes, 5, 10, 42, 43, 77, 142.
-  Cart War, 141.
-  Cash, Mrs., 95.
-  Castenado, Captain, 63.
-  Castle of Perote, 127, 129, 139.
-  Castro, Henry, 132.
-  Cenis, 5, 6, 10, 142.
-  Champ d’Asile, 44.
-  Chrisman, Lieutenant, 148.
-  Clark, Edward, 152.
-  Clère, Le, 115.
-  Coahuila, 9, 59.
-  Coke, Richard, 169.
-  Colita, Battle of, 92.
-  Collingsworth, George A., 64.
-  Colonists, 23, 24, 52, 53, 55.
-  Colorado, Flood in, 175.
-  Colorado River, 52, 122.
-  Columbia, 111, 112, 113, 180.
-  Comanches, 9, 19, 24, 30, 121, 140, 142, 147.
-  Concepcion, Battle of, 67.
-  —— Mission of, 20, 67, 127.
-  Confederate States, The, 151, 166.
-  Congress, The Texan, 105, 113, 115, 122, 126, 132.
-  Considerant, Victor, 150.
-  Cordero, Antonio, 55, 59.
-  Corpus Christi, 137.
-  Cortina, 151.
-  Cos, Martin Perfecto de, 61, 66, 72.
-  Cotton, Captain, 147.
-  Cotton, Texas, 181.
-  Council-house Fight, 121.
-  Coushattis, 45, 142.
-  Cowl and Carbine, 16.
-  Crocker, Captain, 165.
-  Crockett, David, 83, 86, 145.
-  Culberson, Charles A., 169.
-  Cushing, E. H., 159.
-
-
-                                   D
-  Davis, E. J., 168.
-  Davis Guards, 163.
-  Davis, Jefferson, 138.
-  Dawson, Nicholas, 127.
-  Declaration of Independence, 78, 87.
-  Dedication of Capitol, 178.
-  De Leon, Alonzo, 9, 10, 15, 77.
-  De Nava, General, 31, 32.
-  De Pagès, 29.
-  Desauque, Captain, 91.
-  Desloges, 4.
-  Dickinson, Lieutenant, 83.
-  —— Mrs., 87, 89.
-  Dimitt, Captain, 78, 79.
-  Dimmitt’s Point, 4.
-  Donna Maria, 15.
-  Dorn, Earl Van, General, 156.
-  Dowling, Dick, 163.
-  Duggan, Ensign, 156.
-  Duhaut, 7.
-  Dying Races, 142.
-
-
-                                   E
-  Eberle, Mrs., 126.
-  Education, 123, 141, 169, 182.
-  Edwards, Hayden, 55.
-  Elisondo, General Y, 39.
-  Espiritu Santo, Mission of, 18, 77.
-  Evans, T. C., 86.
-
-
-                                   F
-  Fannin, James W., 67, 76, 81, 85, 89, 91, 96.
-  Farias, Gomez, 60.
-  Fight, The Grass, 68.
-  Filisola, General, 97, 108.
-  First Bloodshed, 4.
-  —— Marriage, 6.
-  Fisher, William S., 128.
-  Flag, The Texas, 123.
-  Ford, John S., 140, 148.
-  Fort Defiance, 87, 89.
-  —— Griffin, 163.
-  —— St. Louis, 1, 5, 10, 13.
-  Fosset, Captain, 147.
-  France, 1, 11, 12, 21, 25, 35, 44, 135, 148.
-  Franciscans, 16, 17, 18, 20, 28.
-  Franklin, B. C., 166.
-  Fredonian War, 56.
-  From the Dome of the Capitol, 174.
-  Fronténac, Count de, 1, 2.
-
-
-                                   G
-  Galveston, Battle of, 160.
-  —— City of, 156, 160, 166.
-  —— Flood at, 175.
-  —— Island of, 41, 44, 46, 98, 105, 118, 120, 156, 167.
-  —— Sea Wall at, 176.
-  Garay, Colonel, 95.
-  Garza, Governor de la, 55.
-  Genie of Texas, The, 179.
-  Gil Y Barbo, Captain, 30.
-  Gillentine, Captain, 147.
-  Godoy, Manuel de, 33.
-  Goliad, 18, 38, 45, 48, 77, 79, 89, 90, 103, 108.
-  Gonzales, 62, 85, 97.
-  Grand Terre, 41, 47.
-  Granger, General, 166, 167.
-  Grant, Doctor, 78, 81.
-  Green, Thomas J., 130.
-  Greer County, 172.
-  Griffin, General, 168.
-  Guadalupe River, 63.
-  Gutierrez, Bernardo, 37, 39, 40.
-
-
-                                   H
-  Hall, Captain Lee, 148.
-  Hamilton, A. J., 167.
-  _Harriet Lane_, The, 161.
-  Harrisburg, 97, 98, 105.
-  Hawkins, Commodore, 107.
-  Hays, John Coffin, 138, 146.
-  Henderson, J. P., 135, 137, 140.
-  Herrera, General, 35, 36, 39.
-  Hogg, James S., 169.
-  Home Again, 163.
-  Houston, City of, 115, 122, 149, 180.
-  Houston, Sam, Delegate to Convention, 59.
-  —— With the Army at La Espada, 66.
-  —— Biography, 74.
-  —— Commander-in-Chief, 74, 87.
-  —— Resignation, 80.
-  —— Retreat, 96.
-  —— At San Jacinto, 100.
-  —— Interview with Santa Anna, 103.
-  —— President of Republic, 112, 124.
-  —— At Houston, 115.
-  —— United States Senator, 136.
-  —— Governor of Texas, 150.
-  —— Death, 153.
-  How the Good News was Brought, 105.
-  Hubbard, Richard B., 169.
-
-
-                                   I
-  Icaria, 148.
-  In Church and Fortress, 82.
-  In the Name of France, 1.
-  —— of Spain, 9.
-  —— of Oblivion, 12.
-  Inauguration, Houston’s, 112.
-  Independence, Declaration of, 78, 87.
-  Indians, Texas, Adaes, 30.
-  —— Apaches, 19, 24, 30, 142.
-  —— Carankawaes, 5, 10, 42, 43, 77, 142.
-  —— Cenis, 5, 6, 10, 142.
-  —— Comanches, 9, 19, 24, 30, 31, 121, 142, 147.
-  —— Coushattis, 45, 142.
-  —— Kiowas, 142.
-  —— Lipans, 11, 140, 142.
-  —— Nassonites, 5, 142.
-  —— Naugodoches, 29.
-  —— Orquisacas, 142.
-  —— Tehas, 10, 30, 142.
-  —— Wacoes, 142, 180.
-  Indios Bravos, 23, 24, 25.
-  —— Reducidos, 24.
-  Inscriptions on Alamo Monument, 174.
-  Institute, Sam Houston Normal, 170.
-  Ireland, John, 159.
-  Iron Jacket, 140.
-  Ironclad Oath, 168.
-
-
-                                   J
-  Jetties, The, 173.
-  Johnson, Frank W., 71, 72, 79, 81.
-  Johnston, Albert Sidney, 120, 138, 166, 168.
-  _Joli_, The, 2.
-  Jones, Anson, 134, 136.
-  —— Randall, 40, 54.
-  Joutel, 7, 8.
-
-
-                                   K
-  Karnes, Henry, 72, 102.
-  Kemper, Captain, 38, 39.
-  King, Captain, 89.
-
-
-                                   L
-  La Bahia, 18, 38, 45, 48.
-  La Espada, Mission of, 23, 66, 68.
-  La Harpe, Bernard de, 12, 21.
-  La Salle, Robert, Cavalier de, 1, 9, 12, 49, 143, 180.
-  La Vaca, 4, 176.
-  Lafitte, Jean, 40, 44, 46, 157.
-  Lallemand, General, 44.
-  Lamar, Mirabeau B., 120, 123, 139.
-  Lanham, S. W. T., 177.
-  Las Almagras, 20, 25.
-  Lea, Edward, 162.
-  Lee, Robert E., 151, 165.
-  Les Vaches, 4, 143.
-  _Liberty_, The, 117.
-  Lincoln, Abraham, 151.
-  Liotot, 7.
-  _Lively_, The, 117.
-  Lockhart, Matilda, 121.
-  Long, David, 40, 46.
-  —— General James, 40, 46, 49, 77.
-  —— Mrs., 40, 46, 48, 53.
-  Lubbock, F. R., 157.
-
-
-                                   M
-  Magee, Augustus W., 27, 28, 49.
-  Magruder, John B., 160.
-  Martinez, Governor, 50, 53.
-  Massacre at Goliad, 95, 103.
-  —— at San Saba, 20, 25.
-  Matagorda Bay, 3, 156.
-  Matamoras, 78, 137.
-  McCulloch, Benjamin, 138, 155, 166.
-  McLeod, General Hugh, 123, 139, 166.
-  Messengers of Distress, 77.
-  Mexico, 9, 24, 27, 42, 53, 55, 61, 74, 82, 111, 120, 124, 128,
-          132, 144.
-  Mier, Battle of, 128.
-  Milam, Benjamin, 64, 70, 72.
-  Military Rule, 167.
-  Mina Xavier, 42.
-  Mission of Adaes, 18, 21, 29.
-  —— of Aes, 18, 21, 22, 29.
-  —— of Concepcion, 20, 67, 68, 127.
-  —— of Espada, 23, 60, 68.
-  —— of Nacogdoches, 18, 29, 48.
-  —— of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, 22.
-  —— of Orquisacas, 10, 22, 25.
-  —— of Refugio, 91.
-  —— of San Francisco, 9.
-  —— of San José, 18, 23, 28, 180.
-  —— of San Saba, 20, 25.
-  Missionaries, 17.
-  Missions, Building of, 17.
-  Mississippi River, The, 1, 11, 12, 36, 159.
-  Moderators, 134.
-  Monclova, 9, 15, 23.
-  Monterey, Siege of, 138.
-  Moragnet, 7.
-  Mother Ditch, The, 22.
-  Murrah, Pendleton, 167.
-  Musquiz, 32.
-  Mustangs, 30, 34.
-
-
-                                   N
-  Nacogdoches, 18, 29, 32, 35, 38, 46, 48, 56, 58, 180.
-  Nassonites, 5, 142.
-  Natchitoches, 12, 20, 22, 27, 35, 39, 40, 46.
-  Navy, The Texas, 117, 120.
-  Neches River, 7, 9.
-  Neill, Colonel, 71, 80.
-  _Neptune_, The, 160.
-  Neutral Ground, The, 35, 39, 55, 134.
-  Nika, 7.
-  Nolan, Philip, 31, 49.
-  Norris, Captain J. H., 147.
-
-
-                                   O
-  Odlum, Captain, 163.
-  Oil Ponds, 177.
-  Oil Wells, 182.
-  Old San Antonio Road, The, 14, 25, 27, 30, 180.
-  On Buffalo Bayou, 111.
-  _Only Son_, The, 53.
-  Orders and Disorder, 56.
-  Orquisacas, Mission of, 18, 22, 25.
-  Ory, 4.
-  Out of a Mist, 65.
-  _Owasco_, The, 161.
-
-
-                                   P
-  Palm Sunday, 91.
-  Palo Alto, Battle of, 137, 165.
-  Parker, Cynthia Ann, 150.
-  Pass, Sabine, 163.
-  Pease, E. M., 140, 141, 168.
-  Perez, Colonel, 46.
-  Perote, Castle of, 127, 129.
-  Perry, Colonel, 42.
-  Philippines, The New, 16, 22.
-  Piedras, Colonel, 58.
-  Plaza de las Islas, 23, 69.
-  Plazas, 21, 23, 27, 33, 69.
-  _Pocket_, The, 118.
-  Portilla, Colonel, 101.
-  Prairie View Normal School, 170.
-  Presidios, 10, 14, 16, 17.
-  _Pride_, The, 41, 47, 157.
-  Prize Fight, Stopping of, 173.
-
-
-                                   R
-  Railroad Commission, 173.
-  Railroads, Texas, 159, 181.
-  Reconstruction Time, 169.
-  Red House, The, 40, 46.
-  Red Rovers, The, 76.
-  Refugio, 80, 90, 91.
-  Regulators, 134.
-  Renshaw, Commodore, 161.
-  Resaca de la Palma, Battle of, 137.
-  _Revenge_, The, 53.
-  Ripley, Harry, 92, 96.
-  —— Eleazer Wheelock, 92.
-  Roberts, O. M., 169.
-  Rose, Moses, 85.
-  Rosillo, Battle of, 38.
-  Ross, Lawrence Sullivan, 150, 169.
-  —— S. P., 140.
-  Runnels, Hardin R., 140.
-  Rusk, Thomas J., 87, 89, 108, 110, 130.
-
-
-                                   S
-  Sabine Pass, 63.
-  —— River, 21, 34, 37.
-  Saget, 7.
-  Sal Colorado, The, 137.
-  Salado, Battle of, 126.
-  —— Hacienda of, 128.
-  Sam Houston Normal Institute, The, 170.
-  San Antonio, 14, 18, 21, 23, 39, 45, 50, 56, 82, 83, 155, 180.
-  San Bernard, Bay of, 3, 12.
-  San Felipe de Austin, 50, 56, 62, 65, 69, 74, 76.
-  San Fernando Church, 24.
-  San Francisco, Mission of, 10.
-  San Jacinto, Battle Ground, 174.
-  San José, Mission of, 18, 23, 28, 180.
-  San Patricio, 55, 81.
-  San Pedro River, 83.
-  San Saba Mission, 20, 25.
-  Sandoval, Colonel, 65.
-  Santa Anna, 58, 60, 83, 87, 96, 97, 102, 108, 124, 129, 131,
-          137, 139.
-  Santa Fé Expedition, 123, 139.
-  Sayers, J. D., 169.
-  School, Prairie View Normal, 170.
-  School Tax, 172.
-  Schools, Texas, 123, 141, 169, 182.
-  Scott, General Winfield, 139.
-  Seal, The Texas, 111.
-  Secession of Texas, 152.
-  Shackleford, Doctor, 76, 95.
-  Sherffius, Henry, 159.
-  Sheridan, General, 167.
-  Sherman, General Sidney, 100.
-  —— Lieutenant Sidney, 162.
-  Sibley Expedition, 157.
-  Slave Ships, 43.
-  Smith, Ashbel, 134, 171.
-  —— Benjamin Fort, 108.
-  —— Deaf, 98, 99, 100.
-  —— Henry, 74, 75, 76, 111.
-  —— James, 134.
-  —— Rev. W. T., 64.
-  Somervell, General Alexander, 127.
-  Spain, 9, 11, 21, 25, 28, 33, 35.
-  Spanish-American War, 173.
-  St. Denis, Juchereau, 14, 20, 25, 49, 180.
-  _St. Francis_, The, 2, 3, 9.
-  St. John the Baptist, Presidio of, 15, 27.
-  _Star of the West_, The, 155, 156.
-  Stephenson, Rev. Henry, 49, 76.
-  Stockdale, Fletcher S., 167.
-  Storming of San Antonio, 71.
-
-
-                                   T
-  Taylor, General Zachary, 137.
-  Teal, Henry, 108.
-  Tehas, The, 15, 30, 142.
-  Texas Ranger, The, 143.
-  The Blue and the Gray, 167, 168.
-  The Capital, 120.
-  The Champ d’Asile, 44.
-  The Disputed Boundary Line, 33.
-  The Grays, 68.
-  The _Invincible_, 107, 117, 119.
-  The _Pride_, 41, 47, 157.
-  The Priest’s House, 69.
-  “The Republic is no more,” 132.
-  The Telegraph, 159.
-  The War of the Archives, 134.
-  Thirty Years, 167.
-  Three Trees, Battle of, 43.
-  Throckmorton, James W., 167.
-  Toledo, General, 39.
-  Tonti, Chevalier de, 1, 7, 8.
-  Totten, Captain, 147.
-  Travis, William B., 58, 66, 81, 83, 85, 87.
-  Treasure, Lafitte’s, 47.
-  Twiggs, General David, 156.
-  Twin Sisters, The, 97, 100.
-
-
-                                   U
-  Ugartechea, Colonel, 58, 72.
-  United States, The, 36, 42, 46, 56, 57, 69, 113, 120, 135, 136,
-          139, 144, 152, 166.
-  University, 172.
-  University, The Texas State, 120, 170, 182.
-  Ups and Downs, 52.
-  Urrea, General, 81, 82, 90, 92, 103.
-
-
-                                   V
-  Vasquez, Rafael, 125.
-  Velasco, Battle of, 58.
-  Villescas, Governor, 15.
-  Vince’s Bridge, 100.
-  Virginia Point, 107, 161.
-
-
-                                   W
-  Wacoes, 142, 180.
-  Wainwright, Commodore, 161.
-  Walker, Samuel H., 131, 139.
-  War, The Civil, 155, 166.
-  War Time Arithmetic, 158.
-  Ward, Colonel William, 75, 90.
-  Washington on the Brazos, 87, 131.
-  Wharton, William H., 59, 66.
-  Wilkinson, General, 31, 35.
-  Williamson, R. M., 61, 63.
-  Woll, General, 126, 130.
-  Woods, George T., 138, 140.
-  —— Gonzales, 127.
-  Wright, Captain Tom, 148.
-  Wyatt, Captain, 76.
-
-
-                                   Y
-  _Yellowstone_, The, 105, 108.
-
-
-                                   Z
-  Zacetacas, 17.
-  Zavala, Lorenzo D., 87.
-
-
-
-
-                          Transcriber’s Notes
-
-
---Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public
-  domain in the country of publication.
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-
---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and
-  dialect unchanged.
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-
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-
-
-
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-M. E. M. Davis
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diff --git a/old/60144-0.zip b/old/60144-0.zip
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-Project Gutenberg's Under Six Flags: The Story of Texas, by M. E. M. Davis
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Under Six Flags: The Story of Texas
-
-Author: M. E. M. Davis
-
-Release Date: August 21, 2019 [EBook #60144]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER SIX FLAGS: STORY OF TEXAS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Ron Box and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-      [Illustration: MAIN DOOR OF MISSION SAN JOS�, SAN ANTONIO.]
-
-
-
-
-                            Under Six Flags
-                           THE STORY OF TEXAS
-
-
-                                   BY
-                             M. E. M. DAVIS
-   Author of "In War Times at La Rose Blanche," "Under the Man-Fig,"
-                     "Minding the Gap," etc., etc.
-
-                             GINN & COMPANY
-                  BOSTON � NEW YORK � CHICAGO � LONDON
-
-                            Copyright, 1897
-                           By M. E. M. DAVIS
-                          ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
-                                  26.5
-
-                          _The Athen�um Press_
-             GINN & COMPANY � PROPRIETORS � BOSTON � U.S.A.
-
-
-                             TO THE MEMORY
-                                   OF
-                            _E. H. Cushing_
-
-
-
-
-                                PREFACE.
-
-
-In the following pages I have endeavored to sketch, in rather bold
-outlines, the story of Texas. It is a story of knightly romance which
-calls the poet even as, in earlier days, the Land of the Tehas called
-across its borders the dreamers of dreams.
-
-But the history of Texas is far more than a romantic legend. It is a
-record of bold conceptions and bolder deeds; the story of the discoverer
-penetrating unknown wildernesses; of the pioneer matching his strength
-against the savage; of the colonist struggling for his freedom and his
-rights.
-
-It is the chronicle of the birth of a people; the history of the rise
-and progress of a great State.
-
-I have tried in these simple readings so to arrange the salient points
-of a drama of two centuries as to present a consistent whole.
-
-And I shall be happy if I shall succeed in awakening in the reader
-somewhat of the interest in Texas history which has inspired this work.
-
-There are several features which mark Texas history as unique. One of
-these is the difference between the methods of colonization employed in
-Texas and those exercised elsewhere in the United States.
-
-The pioneer with his cabin, his ever-spreading fields, his gardens and
-orchards--the idea of the home with its roots in the very soil, as
-represented by Austin and his followers--was preceded by a hundred
-barren years of fortress and soldier, the Spanish idea of conquest and
-military rule.
-
-Again, its vast extent of territory and the ease with which its rich
-lands were acquired seemed to adapt Texas peculiarly to those
-communistic and utopian experiments which have been the delight of the
-visionary in every age of the world's progress. A number of these have
-been tried upon its soil. The result has been to give a varied and
-original coloring to the shifting scenes.
-
-The philosophical student will find these phases of our history well
-worth his consideration.
-
-
-I desire in this place to express my thanks to the Texas teachers, to
-many of whom I am indebted for timely suggestions and for kindly
-encouragement; also my grateful obligation to Mr. William Beer, of the
-New Orleans Howard Memorial Library, for valuable assistance; and to the
-Library itself, which, under his able direction, has become particularly
-rich in documents and publications relating to the early history of
-Louisiana and Texas.
-                                                    M. E. M. DAVIS.
-
-
-
-
-                               CONTENTS.
-
-
-                                   I.
-                            FORT ST. LOUIS.
-                                                                    PAGE
-  1. In the Name of France                                             1
-  2. In the Name of Spain                                              9
-  3. In the Name of Oblivion                                          12
-
-
-                                  II.
-                              SAN ANTONIO.
-  1. A Bold Rider                                                     14
-  2. Cowl and Carbine                                                 16
-  3. A Hurried Ride                                                   20
-  4. Indios Bravos                                                    23
-  5. Along the Old San Antonio Road                                   25
-
-
-                                  III.
-                              NACOGDOCHES.
-  1. A Fatal Venture                                                  29
-  2. The Disputed Boundary Line                                       33
-  3. The Neutral Ground                                               36
-  4. The Red House                                                    40
-  5. The Champ d'Asile                                                44
-  6. A Treacherous Shot                                               46
-  7. A Voice in the Wilderness                                        48
-
-
-                                  IV.
-                         SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN.
-  1. An Unexpected Meeting                                            50
-  2. Ups and Downs                                                    52
-  3. Orders and Disorders                                             56
-  4. A Trumpet Call                                                   62
-  5. Out of a Mist                                                    65
-  6. The Priest's House                                               69
-  7. By the Brazos                                                    74
-
-
-                                   V.
-                                GOLIAD.
-  1. Messengers of Distress                                           77
-  2. In Church and Fortress                                           82
-  3. Fort Defiance                                                    85
-  4. Palm Sunday                                                      91
-  5. Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!                             96
-  6. Two Generals                                                    102
-  7. How the Good News was Brought                                   105
-
-
-                                  VI.
-                                HOUSTON.
-  1. On Buffalo Bayou                                                111
-  2. The Invincible                                                  117
-  3. The Capital                                                     120
-  4. The War of the Archives                                         124
-  5. The Black Beans                                                 127
-
-
-                                  VII.
-                                AUSTIN.
-  1. The Republic is no More                                         132
-  2. Across the Border                                               136
-  3. Dying Races                                                     142
-  4. The Texas Ranger                                                143
-  5. A Cloud in the Sky                                              148
-
-
-                                 VIII.
-                               GALVESTON.
-  1. A Buffalo Hunt                                                  154
-  2. The Blue and the Gray                                           158
-  3. Home Again                                                      163
-
-
-                                  IX.
-                           A FLIGHT OF YEARS.
-    A Flight of Years                                                167
-
-
-                                   X.
-                            THE NEW CENTURY.
-    The New Century                                                  175
-
-
-                                  XI.
-                                 TEXAS.
-    From the Dome of the Capitol                                     178
-    Index                                                            185
-
-
-
-
-                            UNDER SIX FLAGS.
-
-
-
-
-                                   I.
-                            FORT ST. LOUIS.
-                              (1685-1721.)
-
-
-                       1. IN THE NAME OF FRANCE.
-
-One morning early in the year 1684, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle,
-a gentleman in the King's service, stood waiting in an antechamber of
-the royal palace at Versailles (Ver-salz'). Behind the closed door,
-which was guarded by two of the King's Musketeers in their showy
-uniforms, his Majesty Louis the Fourteenth was giving a private audience
-to the Count de Frontenac. This gentleman, late the governor of New
-France (Canada), was the friend and adviser of _The Adventurer_, as La
-Salle had been mockingly nicknamed by the idlers of the French court.
-
-La Salle, who was headstrong and somewhat overbearing in character, more
-used, moreover, to command than to obey, frowned as he walked up and
-down the room, and glanced impatiently from time to time towards the
-king's cabinet, where his fate hung in the balance. Months had passed
-since he had arrived in France from North America, with a great scheme
-already planned, and lacking only the consent of the king and his
-ministers. He had danced attendance at court until he was weary, rugged
-soldier that he was; now filled with hope when the ministers plied him
-with false promises, now sunk in despair when his enemies placed
-obstacles in his way. "Would I were back in the wilds of America, with
-Tonti of the Iron Hand and my red brothers," he muttered, downcast and
-discouraged.
-
-But at length the door opened, the tapestry was pushed aside, and
-Frontenac appeared. His eyes beamed with satisfaction. "Your application
-is granted," he said, pressing La Salle's hand. "His Majesty commissions
-you to plant a colony at the mouth of the great river where you have
-already raised the flag of France. Go, my friend; thank his gracious
-Majesty, and then hasten your preparations for departure."
-
-                       [Illustration: La Salle.]
-
-La Salle lost no time in obeying these directions. His heart throbbed
-with pride and satisfied ambition. For this was his dream: to colonize
-the beautiful wilderness watered by the lower Mississippi; to found a
-city on the banks of the mighty stream whose mouth it had been his good
-fortune to discover.
-
-But this dream was never to be realized by him. It was the destiny of La
-Salle not to colonize Louisiana, but to become the discoverer of Texas.
-
-After much trouble La Salle succeeded in perfecting the arrangements for
-his voyage. His little fleet was composed of four vessels: the _Aimable_
-(A-mah'-bl), the _Joli_ (Zho-le�), the _Belle_, and the _St. Francis_.
-In these embarked over three hundred souls, including women, workmen,
-priests, and soldiers.
-
-They sailed from Rochelle, France, on the 24th of July, 1684. The
-passage across the Atlantic was tedious and stormy; it was embittered by
-constant quarrels between La Salle and Beaujeu (Bo-zhuh'), the naval
-commandant of the squadron; and the fleet was crippled by the loss of
-the _St. Francis_, the store-ship, which was captured by the Spaniards.
-But toward the end of September the remaining vessels, in tolerable
-condition, entered the Gulf of Mexico. Here La Salle began a sharp
-lookout for the wide mouth of the river he aimed to enter.
-
-He was full of confidence in himself, for he had spent years of his life
-tracking the savage wilderness of the north with his Indian guides, and
-he had the keen eye and the ready memory of the practiced scout.
-
-But he had no exact chart of the pathless and unknown waters around him;
-the calculation of the experienced landsman stood him in little stead at
-sea. He lost his way, and sailing to the westward of the river known to
-us as the Mississippi,--but called by La Salle the St. Louis,--he came,
-on the 1st of January, 1685, in sight of the low-lying shores of Texas.
-
-                  [Illustration: The Flag of France.]
-
-Some weeks later, the fleet anchored in the Gulf outside the beautiful
-land-locked bay of San Bernard (now Matagorda Bay); and La Salle, flag
-in hand, and attended by soldiers and priests, set foot on the new land,
-taking formal possession of it in the name of the King of France.
-
-To the colonists, so long confined within the small ships and
-overwearied by the monotony of the voyage, it was a joy simply to feast
-their eyes on the green of the trees that lined the shore, and to
-breathe the fresh air that blew down, flower-scented, from the far
-western prairies. They longed to run like children on the sandy beach,
-to feel under their feet the firm turf. But La Salle's experience among
-the Indians had taught him caution. He took the utmost care in landing
-his colonists, and in forming his temporary camps. Two temporary camps
-were established, one on Matagorda Island, where the lighthouse now
-stands; the other on the mainland, near the present site of Indianola.
-
-His own heart, meantime, was heavy. He had missed his coveted and
-beloved river, though he still believed that the San Bernard Bay might
-be one of its mouths. The _Aimable_, in attempting to enter the harbor,
-had grounded upon a sandbank and gone to pieces. The Indians, who had
-swarmed to the coast in great numbers to greet the pale-faced strangers,
-had already become troublesome. They had, indeed, murdered two of the
-colonists, named Ory and Desloges. This was the first European blood
-shed upon Texas soil. The stock of provisions was running low, and
-finally, to crown all, Beaujeu, from the beginning hostile to La Salle,
-had hoisted sail, with scant warning, and returned to France, leaving
-the eight cannons and the powder belonging to the expedition, but
-carrying away with him all the cannon balls.
-
-A less sturdy spirit might have been wholly disheartened; but La Salle,
-whatever he felt, gave no signs of weakness. He explored the country
-round about, and at the end of a short time he marked out the foundation
-of a fort beside a small stream which empties into the bay. He called
-the river _Les Vaches_ (Cow River[1]), from the number of buffaloes
-which grazed along the banks. The spot[2] chosen for the site of the
-fort was a delightful one; the rolling prairies which stretched away
-northward were covered with rich grass and studded with belts of noble
-timber; southward lay the grey and misty line of the bay; birds of gay
-plumage sang in shadow of the grapevines that trailed from overhanging
-trees to the water's edge; the clear stream reflected the blue and
-cloudless sky of southern Texas. Here the colonists set to work. La
-Salle with his own hands aided in hewing and laying the heavy beams of
-wall and of blockhouse. The curious savages, tall Lipans and scowling
-Carankawaes, hung about the place, peering forward with jealous eyes,
-and picking off the unwary workmen with their deadly arrows. But a day
-came at last when the little fortress, with its chapel, lodgings, and
-guardhouse, was completed. Amid the cheers of the colonists the flag of
-France loosened its folds to the wind; a hymn of thanksgiving and praise
-arose from the chapel; and La Salle, giving to the fort the name of St.
-Louis, dedicated it to France in the name of the King.
-
-Several expeditions followed, in 1685 and 1686, the building of Fort St.
-Louis. La Salle not only cherished the hope of finding his lost river;
-he was lured northwestward by rumors obtained from the Cenis, the
-Nassonites, and other friendly Indians, of rich silver mines in the
-interior. He wished also to communicate, if possible, with his old
-friend, the Chevalier Tonti of the Iron Hand, whom he had left with a
-colony on the Illinois River. Tonti, having lost a hand in battle, used
-one made of iron; hence his title.
-
-These journeys were both painful and perilous; the footsore explorers
-were obliged to swim swollen rivers; they traversed dangerous swamps and
-unknown forests; they encountered and fought with hostile Indians; they
-suffered the pangs of hunger and thirst; they were shaken with chills
-and parched with fever. It is marvelous, indeed, that a spark of courage
-should have remained in their hearts.
-
-On returning to the fort after one of these expeditions, during which
-the commandant had lain for months helpless with fever in the lodge of a
-Cenis chief, he found matters there in a bad way. The last remaining
-vessel, the _Belle_, had been wrecked on a shoal in the bay. Food was
-scarce; ammunition was almost exhausted; and between death from sickness
-and losses in Indian skirmishes, the inmates were reduced to less than
-forty persons.
-
-                [Illustration: La Salle's Map of Texas.]
-
-Despite all this, however, as the wayworn explorers drew near the walls,
-their ears were greeted with sounds of mirth and revelry. The Sieur
-Barbier and "one of the maidens"--as the chronicler relates--had just
-been married in the little chapel. The wedding party welcomed their
-chief with joyous shouts. We can well imagine how, removing his worn
-cap, he saluted the youthful pair with a stately bow. And the same
-evening, when the colonists gathered in the log-built hall of the
-commandant's own quarters to make merry over the first European wedding
-on Texas soil, with what courtly grace did the Sieur de la Salle tread a
-measure with the blushing bride!
-
-This was in October, 1686. On the 12th of January the following year, La
-Salle appeared in the open square of the Fort, dressed in his faded red
-uniform and equipped for traveling. His people pressed around him,
-listening with anxious hearts to his farewell words. For he was about
-starting once more across vast and unknown regions in search of
-Tonti--and help.
-
-One by one he called to his side those whom he had chosen to accompany
-him. They numbered twenty--exactly half of the remnant of his colony.
-Among them were two of his own nephews and his brother, Cavalier; the
-faithful priest, Father Anastase; Joutel, the young historian of the
-colony; Liotot (Lee-o-to); L'Archev�que (Larsh-vake'); Duhaut (Du-ho');
-and Nika (Nee-ka), an Indian hunter who had followed La Salle to France
-from Canada.
-
-Sieur Barbier was placed in command of the garrison; and, after an
-affectionate farewell, La Salle passed through the gate, which he was
-never to enter again, and plunged a last time into the forest.
-
-Two months later, near the crossing of the Neches River, Moragnet
-(Mo-ra-nya), La Salle's nephew, who had been for some time on bad terms
-with L'Archev�que and Duhaut, was murdered by them while he was
-sleeping. Nika, who was with the party (which had been sent out after
-fresh buffalo meat), was killed at the same time. The murderers, fearful
-of La Salle's just vengeance, determined to take his life also. They
-placed themselves in ambush; L'Archev�que, who was only sixteen years
-old, was detailed to lead their chief into the trap.
-
-When La Salle appeared, in search of his nephew, he was fired upon and
-instantly killed (March 16, 1687).
-
-Thus perished, by treacherous hands, the gallant and stout-hearted La
-Salle--the soldier, explorer, and dreamer. He was buried in the lonely
-spot where he fell. Father Anastase scooped out a shallow grave for his
-friend and benefactor, and pressed the grassy turf upon his breast. And
-so, within the borders of Texas--though the exact spot is
-unknown--repose the mortal remains of its discoverer.
-
-Joutel with several of the band succeeded after many adventures in
-reaching one of Tonti's settlements on the Arkansas River. Thence they
-made their way to Canada.
-
-The assassins and their followers remained with the Indians, where, one
-after another, they nearly all met the same bloody and violent death
-they had meted out to their victims.
-
-Five years later L'Archev�que with one companion was recaptured by the
-Spaniards from the savages and sent to Madrid.[3]
-
-Tonti of the Iron Hand had waited long and anxiously for news of his
-friend. In 1684 he had gone in a canoe down the Mississippi to its mouth
-to meet the expedition from France. The expedition did not appear, and
-he returned to his post on the upper Mississippi. He questioned the
-Indian runners from the south and west as they passed his camp on their
-hunting raids. He could learn nothing of La Salle or his companions.
-That intrepid captain seemed to have vanished into the unknown west. At
-last, in 1689, he journeyed southward again in quest of his friend.
-Vague rumors reached him of men who had passed through his own forts and
-tarried to tell the story of La Salle's death. But he would not believe
-them. He entered Texas and traveled as far as the wigwams of the
-friendly Cenis. From them he learned the fate of the man he loved; and
-the rugged soldier turned aside his head and wept.[4]
-
-
-                        2. IN THE NAME OF SPAIN.
-
-While these things were taking place in an obscure corner of the New
-World, there was commotion in the court of Spain. Word had come over
-from the "Golden West" that France had laid an unlawful hand upon some
-of the Spanish possessions there. Letters flew thick and fast between
-the Spanish viceroy in Mexico and the Spanish king's[5] ministers. The
-Viceroy was ordered to punish the offenders as soon as ever they could
-be found; the dark-browed king of Spain was very angry.
-
-All this stir was caused by the capture of the _St. Francis_, La Salle's
-little store-ship in 1684. She was plainly on her way to some new
-colony. But where had that colony been planted? The wary captain of the
-_St. Francis_ said that he did not know. Perhaps he told the truth. At
-any rate, it was not until 1686 and after a world of trouble that the
-Viceroy in Mexico located the spot of La Salle's settlement. Spain
-considered herself at that time the legitimate owner of all that region
-which we now call Texas; she pretended, indeed, to own everything
-bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. A military council was therefore held
-at the new post of Monclova, and Captain Alonzo de Leon, the newly
-appointed governor of Coaquila (afterwards called Coahuila)
-(Co-ah-wee'-la), was dispatched to find and destroy La Salle and his
-colony. La Salle, with a bullet in his brain, had been lying for two
-years in his shallow grave near the Neches River; but the Viceroy did
-not know this.
-
-Captain De Leon and his hundred soldiers marched gaily and confidently
-from Monclova in a northeasterly direction, across wild prairie and
-savage woodland. They were used to the ways of the Comanches, through
-whose hunting grounds they marched, and, at need, could take scalp for
-scalp; they were well fed and comfortably clad; the King's pay jingled
-in their pockets,--a brave contrast truly to the starved, ragged,
-disheartened colonists at Fort St. Louis!
-
-But when Captain De Leon and his men at length found the fort, the
-unfortunate French colonists, like their chief, had perished. Their
-bleaching bones lay scattered about the door of the blockhouse, where
-they had made their last desperate stand against the bloodthirsty
-Carankawaes. De Leon's heart stirred with pity as he looked about him,
-thinking less, perhaps, of the men--for it is a soldier's business to
-die--than of the delicate women who had shared their fate.
-
-With the Cenis, into whose friendly wigwams they had escaped at the time
-of the massacre, De Leon found several of the colonists. These were
-afterwards sent back to their homes in France. But among them there is
-no mention of the Sieur Barbier and his young bride.
-
-                   [Illustration: The Flag of Spain.]
-
-De Leon, it is said,--though this is a much disputed fact,--called the
-country about Fort St. Louis Texas, because of his kindly treatment by
-the Cenis Indians, the word _Texas_ in their tongue meaning friends.[6]
-On his return to Monclova, he pictured this Texas as a paradise so
-fertile and so beautiful that the viceroy determined to establish there
-a mission and presidio,--that is to say, a church and stronghold,--for
-the double purpose of reducing and converting the Indians.
-
-In 1690 Captain De Leon, with several priests added to his company of
-soldiers, marched again to Fort St. Louis. The broken walls were
-restored, and once more the air rang with the cheerful sounds of axe and
-hammer. The Mission of San Francisco was begun and dedicated; the
-Spanish flag fluttered in the breeze; a hymn of praise and thanksgiving
-arose from the chapel; and De Leon took formal possession of the country
-in the name of the King of Spain.
-
-The Spaniards, harried by the Indians and too far from Monclova to
-receive regular supplies, were soon forced to abandon Fort St. Louis.
-Great was the rejoicing among the Lipans and the Carankawaes when the
-pale faces disappeared from among them, leaving the bay once more free
-to their own canoes, the prairies open to their moccasined feet.
-
-Neither France nor Spain for a time seemed inclined to trouble herself
-further about this disputed property.
-
-But in 1719 a French ship bound for the Mississippi drifted, like La
-Salle's fleet, westward to the bay of San Bernard. Among those who went
-ashore for recreation, while the sailors were taking on fresh water,
-were Monsieur Belleisle, a French officer, and four of his friends. They
-did not reappear at the appointed signal, and the captain, after waiting
-for them for some hours, sailed away without them.
-
-Belleisle and his companions were in despair at finding themselves thus
-abandoned; they wandered for weeks along the strange and lonely coast,
-living, as best they could, upon roots, berries, and insects. Finally
-four of the men died of starvation, leaving Belleisle alone. Weak and
-despairing, he made his way to the interior, where he soon fell into the
-hands of some Indians, whom he took at first to be cannibals. They
-stripped him and divided his clothing among themselves; but instead of
-eating him, as he expected they would do, they gave him to an old woman
-of the tribe, who made him her slave but who otherwise treated him with
-rude kindness. In time he learned the language of his captors and became
-a warrior, sometimes even leading their savage forays.
-
-One day an embassy from another tribe came to the camp. Belleisle,
-listening to their talk, heard the name of St. Denis. Now St. Denis was
-one of his own former comrades-in-arms. Belleisle's heart leaped. He
-wrote, with ink made of soot, a few lines on his officer's
-commission,--which he had somehow kept,--and secretly bribed one of the
-strange Indians to carry this message to St. Denis. St. Denis happened
-at the time to be at Natchitoches (Nack-ee-tosh) beyond the Sabine
-River; when he read the note he was much affected. He immediately sent
-horses, arms, and clothing to the captive; Belleisle, by means of a
-strategy, escaped with the Indian guides and joined his friend.
-
-This adventure of Monsieur Belleisle caused him later to become a part
-of the history of Fort St. Louis.
-
-
-                      3. IN THE NAME OF OBLIVION.
-
-The unfortunate La Salle had died with his ardent and long-cherished
-dream unfulfilled. But after more than thirty years, another man had
-begun to realize that dream. Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
-had sailed with French ships up the beloved river; his colonists were
-fast peopling the beautiful wilderness, and already the infant city of
-New Orleans lay strong and thriving on the bank of the Mississippi.
-
-The commandant of Louisiana, though busied with his growing colony, kept
-yet a watchful eye upon the grasping Spaniards, who claimed the country
-eastward nearly to the Mississippi. But France claimed westward as far
-as the bay of San Bernard, by virtue of La Salle's discovery. Bienville
-determined to make good the claim of France. In August, 1721, he fitted
-out a small vessel, the _Subtile_, told off a detachment of tried
-soldiers, and placed Bernard de la Harpe, an experienced captain, in
-command. The expedition set out at once to recover La Salle's old fort.
-Belleisle, on account of his knowledge of the country and the Indian
-language, was sent along as guide.
-
-The surprise and the rage of the Indians when they saw the hated flag
-waving again above the fort may be imagined. They threw themselves with
-such fury against the newcomers that La Harpe, seeing his small garrison
-in danger of massacre, withdrew quietly, and returned in October to New
-Orleans.
-
-Fort St. Louis was left at last to a solitude never again to be broken.
-Vines grew over the crumbling walls and sprawled across the floors where
-human feet had passed; lizards basked in crevices of the blockhouse; and
-wild creatures from the wood took up their abode in the chapel. Day by
-day and year by year decay and change went on, until there came a time
-when nothing remained to tell of the place where the first settlers of
-Texas lived, suffered, rejoiced, and perished.
-
-
-
-
-                                  II.
-                              SAN ANTONIO.
-                              (1714-1794.)
-
-
-                            1. A BOLD RIDER.
-
-In 1714 Juchereau St. Denis rode across Texas, in an oblique line from a
-trading post in Louisiana to a presidio on the Rio Grande River. This
-was the same St. Denis who afterward, as already related, rescued his
-comrade-in-arms Belleisle from captivity. He had secret orders from
-Cadillac, the governor of Louisiana, and his busy brain was teeming with
-carefully laid plans of his own. His escort consisted of twelve white
-men and two or three Indians. He took his bearings as he went, carefully
-marking the way from river to river, from prairie to forest, from Indian
-village to buffalo range; thus sketching out that long thoroughfare
-which afterwards became famous as the "Old San Antonio Road."
-
-Much of the way lay through the lands of unfriendly Indians; but St.
-Denis rode as jauntily as if the men at his back were a thousand instead
-of a dozen.
-
-And when one day he drew rein on the brow of a certain hill, and gazed
-down into the lovely cup-like valley where a few huts marked the
-beginnings of San Antonio, he might, for all signs of fatigue upon his
-handsome young face, have just quitted the governor's residence.
-
-"A beautiful site for a city," he said to Jallot, his confidential
-servant. His pleased eyes roved over the smiling valley, through which
-the river ran like a silver thread. Graceful trees lined the river
-banks; the tender grass was studded with a thousand flowers of varied
-colors; there was a life-giving softness in the wind that came from the
-low mountains to the northward.
-
-                [Illustration: THE MISSION OF SAN JOS�.]
-
-St. Denis journeyed on to St. John the Baptist, carrying this lovely
-picture in his heart as he went. St. John the Baptist was a presidio on
-the Rio Grande River. It was built by Captain Alonzo de Leon, after his
-return from Fort St. Louis in 1689. Its commandant, at the time of the
-visit of St. Denis, was Don Pedro de Villescas. To Don Pedro St. Denis
-unfolded his mission--the opening of trade between Louisiana and Mexico.
-The friendly commandant could do nothing without first consulting his
-superiors; so he asked St. Denis to wait until a letter could be sent to
-the governor of the province at Monclova. St. Denis waited, and while he
-was waiting he fell in love with Donna Maria, the commandant's daughter.
-
-The young French officer was so dashing, so courtly, and withal so good
-looking, that it is no wonder Don Pedro's daughter loved him in return;
-and there were at least two very happy persons at the Presidio of St.
-John the Baptist.
-
-But when the courier came back from Monclova, St. Denis was seized by
-order of the governor, and was carried under guard to that city.
-
-The governor of Coahuila was, as it happened, a rejected suitor of Donna
-Maria Villescas. Filled with jealous rage, he threw the young Frenchman
-into prison and threatened him with death unless he would give up all
-claim to his promised bride.
-
-This St. Denis gallantly refused to do. After some months the governor
-sent him to the city of Mexico, denouncing him to the viceroy as a spy
-against the government. He was again placed in prison, where he was
-treated with great severity.
-
-Donna Maria, however, was not idle all this time. She had sent several
-spirited letters to the governor at Monclova, and she now wrote to the
-viceroy himself. Her letter had the effect of loosening the chains of
-her lover.
-
-Marquis de Linares, the viceroy, when he saw his prisoner, was so
-charmed that he offered the young Frenchman an important post in the
-Spanish army. But St. Denis would not consent to abandon his own flag.
-The viceroy then gave him a handsome horse, and parting from him with
-regret, sent him back to the presidio, where he married the loyal Donna
-Maria.
-
-Before leaving the presidio on his return to Louisiana, he made secret
-arrangements for smuggling goods into Mexico.
-
-The viceroy, having a hint of this, did not trouble St. Denis again; but
-he decided to establish posts and missions throughout the New
-Philippines--as Texas was still called--with garrisons armed to prevent
-contraband trade. Captain Domingo Ramon was appointed to carry on this
-work. He set out at once from St. John the Baptist for San Antonio, with
-a company of soldiers and several friars under his command. St. Denis,
-in high spirits and sure of his own success in spite of Captain Ramon,
-rode with him, acting as his guide.
-
-
-                          2. COWL AND CARBINE.
-
-Mission and presidio, as already stated, meant church and fortress. The
-places chosen for these buildings were generally in the very midst of
-populous and fierce Indian tribes. For the object of the builders was
-not only to hold the country against France, but also to reduce the
-savages and convert them to the Catholic religion.
-
-The Red Man had already his own rude belief in the Great Spirit who sat
-behind the clouds and watched over the flight of his arrows and the
-tasseling of his corn. He loved to tell about the Happy Hunting-grounds
-to which he would travel after death, attended by his horse and his dog.
-
-It required a great deal of patience and perseverance on the part of the
-missionaries to make these wild creatures understand the meaning of the
-strange things they saw and heard: the hymns and prayers which broke the
-stillness at morning and at eventide, the candles blazing on the altar,
-the tinkling of bells, the movements of the priests, the humble attitude
-of the proud Spanish soldiers at mass. They crowded about the chapels,
-now accepting the new faith with childlike confidence, at other times
-seeking a chance to massacre priest and soldier in cold blood.
-
-But these missionaries belonged to an order whose business it was to be
-patient. They were Franciscans from the monastery of St. Francis at
-Zacatecas in Mexico, and they were pledged to poverty and self-denial.
-Gentle, but sturdy, these barefooted friars, in their coarse woolen
-frocks and rope girdles, exercised a strange fascination over the
-Indians who fell under their influence.
-
-                  [Illustration: A Franciscan Father.]
-
-Captain Domingo Ramon went bravely to work with his soldiers and
-Franciscans. He was very much loved by the Indians. They adopted him
-into their tribes and cheerfully aided him in the hard labor of clearing
-and building. Within a few years the country was dotted with missions.
-Some of these were temporary structures, rude and frail; others were
-built of stone. The noble and majestic ruins of the latter fill the
-beholder to-day with wonder and delight. If the mission served also as a
-presidio, it was entitled to a garrison of two hundred and fifty
-soldiers; where there was no fortress, the church itself served as a
-stronghold. Among the earliest of the missions thus built were Our Lady
-of Guadalupe (Gwah-dah-loop'a), at Victoria (1714); Mission Orquizacas
-(Or-kee-sa'-kass), on the San Jacinto River (1715); Mission Dolores near
-San Augustine (1716); Adaes, east of the Sabine River (1718);
-Nacogdoches (1715); and Espiritu Santo, at Goliad (La Bahia) (1718).
-
-The Mission Alamo,[7] which was to play so prominent a part in the later
-history of Texas, was begun under another name, in 1703, on the Rio
-Grande River. It was removed to the San Pedro River at San Antonio in
-1718. In 1744 it was finally built where its ruins now stand, on the
-Alamo Plaza in San Antonio, and was called the Church of the Alamo.
-
-Early in 1718 the foundation of San Jos� (Ho-sa') de Aguayo, the largest
-and finest of all the missions, was laid near San Antonio. The little
-settlement which had so pleased the eye of St. Denis four years before
-had grown to a village. It had been laid off and named for the Duke de
-Bexar (Bair), a viceroy of Mexico; and St. Denis' road, which linked it
-on the southwest with St. John the Baptist and on the northeast with
-Natchitoches in Louisiana, had already become a traveled highway. The
-Mission and Presidio of San Jos� were therefore of the first importance.
-
-Captain Ramon himself may have selected the site. It was a few miles
-below the town, on the limpid and swift-flowing river San Antonio. A day
-or two after the site was decided upon, a long procession wound across
-the beautiful open prairie from the village. It was headed by a
-venerable barefoot Franciscan father, who carried aloft a large wooden
-cross; on either side of him walked a friar of the same order, and
-behind them came acolytes and altar-boys bearing censer, bell, and
-vessels of holy water. Captain Ramon and his soldiers on horseback, and
-stiff and erect in their holiday uniforms, followed with the Spanish
-flag in their midst; the Mexicans who composed the slim population of
-San Antonio came next; then, grave and stately in their blankets and
-feathered headdresses and as proud as the Spaniards themselves, stalked
-a hundred or more converted Apache and Comanche warriors. A rabble of
-Indian squaws and papooses brought up the rear.
-
-This procession went slowly along under the morning sun, now over the
-flower-set prairie, now through a strip of woodland. The river,
-breast-high to the women and boys, was forded, and as the foremost group
-reached the farther shore, the old Franciscan lifted his hand; a church
-hymn, sweet, powerful, resonant, arose from five hundred throats. Thus
-they came, singing, to the place where San Jos� was to stand.
-
-A large space was marked off; the ground plan of the great church was
-sketched on the turf,--perhaps with the point of Captain Domingo Ramon's
-sword; the church prayers were said, and the corner-stone, already hewn
-and shaped, was sprinkled with holy water.
-
-The scene on the spot daily thereafter for many years was a busy and
-picturesque one. Everybody worked with a will,--soldiers, priests, and
-Indians, all filled with a holy zeal. Even the Indian women fetched sand
-in their aprons, and the Indian children set their small brown bodies
-against the stones and helped push them into place. Tradition says that
-the people brought milk from their goats and cows to mix the mortar,
-thereby making it firmer and more lasting.
-
-The beautiful twin towers went slowly up; the great dome was rounded
-over the main chapel; the double row of arched cloisters stretched their
-lovely length along the wall; the artist, Juan Huicar (wee'-car), sent
-out by the king of Spain, set his fine carvings above the wide doors.
-
-At the same time the enclosing wall was raised; the fort with its flying
-buttresses, the guardhouse, the huts into which the Indian converts were
-locked at night--all these were completed. Orchards and gardens were
-planted, and irrigating ditches were dug. Again and again the work was
-interrupted by attacks from Indians; but when the fight was over the
-dead were buried, the wounded were cared for, and the building and
-planting went on as before.[8]
-
-Such was the manner of the building of the Texas missions. It took sixty
-years to complete San Jos�. In the meantime the handsome Mission of La
-Purissima Concepcion (Immaculate Conception) and San Francisco de la
-Espada (St. Francis of the Sword) were erected, both also on the San
-Antonio River.
-
-The Mission of San Saba was built in 1734, on the San Saba River in what
-is now Menard County. The good fathers were at first very successful in
-converting the Apaches and the Comanches, who flocked to them in great
-numbers. But the reopening of _Las Almagras_ (red ores), an old silver
-mine near the mission, brought into the neighborhood many reckless men;
-and quarrels soon arose between them and the Indians--quarrels which
-were one day to bear bitter fruit.
-
-
-                           3. A HURRIED RIDE.
-
-In 1719 St. Denis was at Natchitoches, which was one of the outposts of
-the French in Louisiana and close to the Texas border. He had traveled
-back and forth through Texas more than once since his first trip to the
-presidio on the Rio Grande; and he had spent much of his time in Mexican
-dungeons. But for that he bore the Spaniards no great ill-will. He had
-escaped from prison and brought his beautiful Mexican wife away with
-him; and when he made his flying journeys he turned aside, no doubt, to
-see his Spanish friend, Captain Domingo Ramon--who, by the way, was his
-wife's uncle--and to admire the missions which were going up in every
-direction under that captain's vigorous management. But now things were
-changed. A few months before, France and Spain, never on good terms with
-each other, had declared open war.
-
-St. Denis, if the truth were told, was glad of a chance to fight
-somebody besides Indians. He was right weary of the skulking ways of the
-red warrior with his tomahawk, his paint and feathers, and his savage
-desire to carry scalps at his belt. He longed for a good honest brush
-with white men, who fought openly with gun and sword--men, for example,
-like his good friend Captain Ramon and his troop of jolly soldiers!
-
-He leaped lightly into the saddle one morning and galloped out of
-Natchitoches at the head of a hundred and fifty men. Bernard de la
-Harpe, in joint command of the expedition, rode by his side.
-
-They crossed the Sabine River and attacked the garrisons at the Missions
-of Nacogdoches, Aes, and Orquizacas, all of whom, surprised by the
-sudden onslaught, retreated before them. It was a lively chase across
-the vast territory, with a good deal of skirmishing; and it ended only
-when the Spaniards were safe inside the town of San Antonio.
-
-St. Denis, drawing rein on the brow of the hill and gazing down once
-more into the lovely valley, saw a sort of orderly confusion on an open
-plaza in the heart of the town; horsemen were gathering, men were moving
-hurriedly about, and from the midst of the bustle the clear tones of a
-bell suddenly fell upon the air. It was the call to arms!
-
-St. Denis smiled and turned to La Harpe: "It is high time we were riding
-homeward," he said gaily, with a glance at their small band of wayworn
-troopers; and turning their horses' heads they galloped away.
-
-None too soon! For shortly afterwards the Marquis de Aguayo, governor of
-the province, came out of the town with a fresh troop of five hundred
-Spaniards, tried soldiers and eager recruits, and galloped in pursuit of
-the flying Frenchmen. It was another lively chase across the vast
-territory; but this time it was France who retreated, with Spain at her
-heels. Captain Ramon, quite as anxious for a tilt with civilized
-soldiers as his friendly enemy and nephew-in-law St. Denis, left the
-work of mission-building in the hands of his friars, and, as second in
-command, joined the governor-general in this pursuit.
-
-Aguayo, following the example of St. Denis, did not pause until the
-intruders were safe in their own citadel at Natchitoches; then he
-replaced at the Missions of Orquizacas and Aes the men whom he had
-brought back with him, and he left for their protection a stout garrison
-at the Mission of Nuestra Senora del Pilar (Our Lady of the Font), about
-twenty miles west of Natchitoches.
-
-He was as keenly alive as St. Denis himself to the natural beauty of the
-valley watered by the San Pedro and San Antonio Rivers; and on his
-return to San Antonio he set on foot many improvements, including the
-widening and deepening of the irrigating ditches.
-
-These irrigating ditches were called _acequias_ (a-sa'-kee-a). They are
-still in use, and many of them are very beautiful. One known as the
-Acequia Madre, or Mother Ditch, is as deep and wide as a small rivulet;
-the living waters, pure and cool, rush along a bed lined and parapeted
-with stone, and overhung with pomegranates and rustling banana leaves.
-
-The water from the ditches is turned, by means of gates, into the fields
-and gardens which lie along its course. Each landowner is entitled to so
-much water a day, or at a stated period. This inflow of the crystal
-flood is called the _saca de agua_ (taking the water), and is hailed
-with delight as it comes singing its way through corn-row, garden-patch,
-and rose-bower.
-
-In the early days the completing of a water-ditch was celebrated as a
-feast. Rows of cactus were planted on its banks to keep off cattle, and
-shade-trees were set out along its course. A priest, attended by
-acolytes, blessed the water. The following day a drum was beaten at
-morning mass, and all those who had contributed in money or labor to the
-making of the ditch were summoned to the church to take part in the
-Suerte (soo-air'-ta),--a lottery for the drawing of the land watered by
-the new sluice. Tickets were placed in an urn and were drawn out by two
-children. The lucky holders of the highest numbers got the best lands.
-At night, by way of winding up the feast, there would be a procession
-and a _fandango_[9] on the plaza.
-
-The good Marquis de Aguayo further recommended to the Spanish government
-at Madrid to send colonists to the province. "One family," he said, "is
-better than a hundred soldiers."
-
-Then, having done all he could for the New Philippines, he went back to
-his official residence at Monclova, attended as far as St. John the
-Baptist by Captain Ramon.
-
-
-                           4. INDIOS BRAVOS.
-
-The Spanish government, acting on the governor-general's advice, ordered
-four hundred families to be sent out to the New Philippines from the
-Canary Islands. These islands, situated off the coast of Africa,
-belonged to Spain by right of conquest, and were settled by Spaniards of
-pure blood, noted for their honor and chastity, and for their devotion
-to the Catholic religion. Of the four hundred families only thirteen
-ever came. They reached San Antonio by way of Mexico in 1729, bringing
-with them their stores of clothing, silverware, and jewels. They built
-their dwellings around the present square of the Constitution, which
-they called _Plaza de las Islas_ (Square of the Islands), in homesick
-memory of the sea-girt isles they had left behind.
-
-Other colonists from Monterey and from Lake Teztuco, in Mexico,
-followed; houses sprung up beside the musical water-ways; vines were
-trained over the yellow adobe walls; semi-tropical vegetation made a
-paradise of the spreading fields and gardens. Finally, the newcomers,
-emulous of the growing walls of San Jos�, laid on their plaza the
-foundation (1731) of San Fernando Church.
-
-Enlarged and rebuilt on the same spot, San Fernando remains to this day
-the parish church of the Spanish-speaking Catholics of San Antonio.
-
-But the settlers, or townspeople--as they may now be called--were full
-of anxiety in those troublous times. No more French soldiers, it is
-true, came riding across the border, chasing the Spanish troops to their
-very gates. But there were the Apaches and the Comanches. For in spite
-of the efforts of Spanish friars and Spanish soldiers, but few of the
-Apaches and Comanches had become _Indios reducidos_ (converted Indians).
-Thousands of _Indios bravos_ (wild Indians), as savage and cruel as if a
-mission had never been built, roamed the country, ready to swoop down at
-any moment upon the ill-guarded little post. A messenger would hurry in,
-perhaps from the missions below, which kept ever a keen lookout,
-breathless with the news that the Apaches were creeping stealthily upon
-the town. Or, suddenly and without warning, a ringing war-whoop would
-echo in the air, and leaping from cover to cover among the scattered
-houses, the Comanches, tomahawk in hand, would pursue their hapless
-victims to some last hiding-place; then, leaving death and desolation
-behind, they would vanish as suddenly as they had come.
-
-At last the new settlers determined to put an end to this state of
-affairs. They organized themselves into a small army, and aided by the
-little garrison of soldiers then stationed there, they marched against
-their Indian foes, whom they defeated in a pitched battle.
-
-        [Illustration: THE MISSION OF LA PURISSIMA CONCEPCION.]
-
-This victory (in 1732) gave some security to the place. The _Indian
-bravos_ still harried the country, killing those who ventured far from
-post and mission, and plundering where they could not kill. A number of
-years later (1752), after a fresh quarrel with the miners at Las
-Almagras, they fell upon the Mission of San Saba, and butchered every
-human creature within its walls. But rarely did they again venture near
-the dwellings of those determined pale-faces who had overcome them on
-their own hunting-grounds.
-
-
-                   5. ALONG THE OLD SAN ANTONIO ROAD.
-
-The years drifted on, peaceful and sluggish, towards the end of the
-eighteenth century. There were few happenings either in San Antonio
-itself or in the province, which was at last laid down on the map as
-Texas. There was no further dispute concerning boundary lines or
-property. Spain was the lawful owner of everything west of the
-Mississippi River. For Louis the Fifteenth of France, in 1762, for state
-reasons, presented to the King of Spain the handsome French province of
-Louisiana. The people of Louisiana were very angry when they
-learned--more than a year after the transfer--that they had been handed
-over without their knowledge or consent to the hated Spaniard. But Louis
-did not trouble himself in the least about what they thought or felt.
-Thus, the colonists being all Spanish subjects, were bound to peace
-among themselves. Even the dashing St. Denis, had he lived so long,
-could have found nobody to fight except the despised Indian. But that
-doughty warrior and courtly gentleman had long since fired his last shot
-on the field, and trod his last measure in the dance. According to the
-old chroniclers he remained to the end of his life "a devoted friend and
-a noble fighter."
-
-In 1729 a widespread plot was formed among the Indians in Texas and
-Louisiana to massacre all white people within reach, Spanish and French,
-men, women, and children. A friendly chief warned St. Denis of the plot.
-He gathered his troopers hastily together and rode out of Natchitoches,
-where he had continued in command, and in a short time defeated and
-scattered the tribes. After this they hated and feared him, but they
-looked upon him with awe, believing him to be protected by their own
-Manitou.
-
-             [Illustration: The Cathedral of San Fernando.]
-
-He was at length killed by the chief of the Natchez Indians. He lies
-buried near the town of Natchitoches.
-
-In spite of the peace between Spain and France (1762)--or perhaps
-because of it--there was little progress in Texas. Spain forbade her
-colonists to trade with other nations; she did not allow them to
-manufacture anything that could be made in the mother-country, or to
-plant anything that could with profit be sent over from there. They were
-even forbidden to trade with their fellow-colonists in Louisiana.[10]
-Under these hard conditions settlers came in slowly. Texas remained
-almost neglected, peopled only by fierce savages.
-
-But the little town in the southwest had a life of its own. Nearly
-everybody who had any business with Texas or Mexico traveled the Old San
-Antonio Road laid out by St. Denis in 1714; and all travelers halted at
-this lovely oasis in the wilderness. They were always loth to go away.
-For there were wonderful _fiestas_ (feasts) in the Churches of the Alamo
-and San Fernando, and solemn processions to the grand Missions of
-Concepcion and San Jos�; there were stately gatherings in the houses of
-the Island Spaniards, and merry boating parties on the blue-green waters
-of the river San Antonio. There were gay dances on the plaza at night to
-the music of guitar and castanet, and Mexican jugglers throwing balls
-and knives by the light of smoking torches. Bands of Mexican muleteers
-jingled in from the presidio on the Rio Grande, driving before them
-trains of mules loaded with ingots of silver, on their way to
-Natchitoches, four hundred miles distant; caravans traveling westward
-with bales of smuggled goods crawled lazily through the narrow streets.
-There was a continued coming and going of swarthy soldiers and
-black-gowned priests, governors, bishops, alcades, and christianized
-Indians; among them appeared, now and then, the fair face and wiry form
-of the American, the forerunner of that race which was one day to sweep
-all the others out of its path and to possess the land.
-
-Once, in 1779, when Spain and England were at war with each other, there
-was even more than the usual stir on the Military Plaza. Nearly all the
-inhabitants of the town were gathered about the doors of the Church of
-the Alamo, where a priest was saying mass. Presently there was a burst
-of martial music, and a little company of soldiers came out; their heads
-were lifted proudly and their step was firm and assured. A cheer broke
-forth from the crowd; the soldiers sent back an answering shout as they
-mounted their waiting horses and rode away under the gaudy pennon of
-Leon and Castile.
-
-Spain was at this time at war with England, and this handful of fighting
-men was the quota of troops furnished by the Spanish province of Texas
-to Don Galvez, the commander-in-chief of the army at New Orleans. They
-reached Louisiana in time to take an active part in the war and to
-rejoice with Galvez over his victories at Natchez, Mobile, and
-Pensacola.
-
-In 1794 all the missions were secularized; that is, the control of them
-was taken away from the priests and given to the civil authorities. Upon
-this, the Missions of San Jos� and Concepcion ceased to be the centers
-of activity they had been for nearly a century. San Antonio was shorn of
-a part of her glory. The majestic buildings remained, but the pomp and
-circumstance of fortress and chapel had forever departed.
-
-
-
-
-                                  III.
-                              NACOGDOCHES.
-                              (1794-1821.)
-
-
-                          1. A FATAL VENTURE.
-
-One of the earliest missions planned by Captain Ramon was that of Our
-Lady of Nacogdoches (1715). It was built on the lands of the Naugodoches
-Indians, not far from the disputed boundary of Texas, and nearly on a
-line with the French post of Natchitoches in Louisiana. Some priests,
-whose duty it was to convert the Indians, were placed there, and with
-them a small garrison of Spanish soldiers to watch the French at
-Natchitoches. This was one of those garrisons surprised in 1718 by St.
-Denis, and driven to the gates of San Antonio. The soldiers were brought
-back and reinstated by Aguayo; and from that time on, to the close of
-the century, the little military post was kept up.
-
-Monsieur de Pag�s, a French gentleman who in 1766 passed across Texas on
-a voyage around the world, received from the missionary fathers at Aes,
-Adaes, and Nacogdoches a hospitable welcome. He describes particularly
-the Mission of "Naquadock" (Nacogdoches) with its "plaza and its
-pleasant trees," and says that the "half-savage Spanish soldiers" at the
-presidio, when they were upon their horses, recalled to his mind the
-ancient chevaliers. The Spanish "bold-rider" wore a cuirass of antelope
-skin and carried a shield, a large sword, a carbine, and a pair of
-pistols. His arms and the equipment of his horse were very heavy and
-cumbersome, but he was an "amazing good fighter." Monsieur de Pag�s, who
-was an officer in the French navy, was also a correspondent of the
-Academy of Sciences at Paris. He took careful notes in all the countries
-through which he passed. He describes the soil and climate of Texas and
-the animals, especially the fine, robust horses. "A good horse," he
-says, "may be had for a pair of shoes." But his greatest interest is in
-the savages. He mentions the Comanches, the Apaches, the Adaes, and the
-Tehas tribes. The Tehas, he says, were a "corn-growing people." He spent
-some time at the Mission of Nacogdoches ("Naquadock") in company with a
-deposed governor of the province.
-
-                [Illustration: De Pag�s' Map of Texas.]
-
-In 1778 a stone fort, which still stands, was built at Nacogdoches by
-Captain Gil Y Barbo for the accommodation of the Spanish soldiers. A few
-huts were clustered about the presidio, for it was on the Old San
-Antonio Road and was a stopping-place for travelers; but it was a dull
-and lonely spot.
-
-Suddenly, with the birth of a new century, it awoke from its long
-slumber and became, in a way, the starting-point of Texas history. It
-was the gateway through which Anglo-American energy and ambition came in
-to Texas. From its plaza unrolled a panorama full of life and vigor:
-scenes in which adventurers, freebooters, patriots, and dreamers played
-their parts.
-
-The panorama opens with Philip Nolan.
-
-Philip Nolan, a young man of Irish descent, obtained in 1797 a permit
-from De Nava, the Spanish commandant-general of Texas, to collect in
-that province wild horses for the American army. He entered the
-province, made friends with the Indians, and succeeded in gathering
-twelve hundred mustangs, which he drove across the border. He drew and
-brought back with him at this time a map of Texas, the first one ever
-made. This map he gave to Baron Carondelet, the Spanish governor at New
-Orleans.[11]
-
-Three years later, with the same permit and ostensibly on the same
-errand, he started westward from Natchez, Mississippi. He had with him
-seventeen white men and one negro. His second in command was a
-nineteen-year-old lad named Ellis Bean. The men were all young, most of
-them being under thirty and many of them hardly more than twenty years
-of age.
-
-They traveled on horseback across the wilderness, and some months later
-they encamped in the neighborhood of the present city of Waco, where
-they found "elk and deer plenty, some buffalo, and thousands of wild
-horses."[12] In a short time they had caught and penned three hundred
-mustangs. The Indians were very friendly. At one time two hundred
-Comanches visited them in their camp. In return they spent a month in
-the wigwams of that tribe. Then they went back to their business of
-capturing wild horses.
-
-But orders in the meantime had come from De Nava to Musquiz, the Spanish
-captain at Nacogdoches, to arrest Nolan at all hazards. He had been
-denounced to the Spanish government as a traitor, and it was believed
-that he had come to Texas for the purpose of setting up a republic of
-his own, or to further the plans of Aaron Burr.[13]
-
-                     [Illustration: Ellis P. Bean.]
-
-Musquiz left Nacogdoches on the 4th of March, 1801, with one hundred
-soldiers, in search of the supposed conspirator. After a few days' march
-he sent for El Blanco, a famous Indian chief, and offered him a large
-bribe if he would lead him to Nolan's camp. El Blanco proudly spurned
-this base offer. Some Indian spies, however, served as guides, and at
-daybreak on the 22d of March Musquiz found the camp. He attacked Nolan
-and his men, who returned his fire from their rude blockhouse. Nolan,
-whose rifle had been stolen from him by a deserter from his own camp,
-was killed in a few moments. Bean took command and the fighting went on
-desperately for some time. Finally, on a promise from the Spaniards that
-they should be set free as soon as they reached Nacogdoches, the
-outnumbered Americans surrendered. They buried their gallant leader,
-whose dream of a republic, if he had one, died with him; and they set
-out with their captors for the Presidio of Nacogdoches. There, instead
-of the promised freedom, they found chains and captivity. They were
-heavily ironed and placed in close confinement. At the end of a month
-they were marched into the plaza, bound together, two and two. There was
-a beating of drums and a fluttering of Spanish pennons. The hearts of
-the poor young prisoners beat high with hope. Knowing that they had been
-guilty of no crime, they seemed already to feel their chains falling
-off, and they laughed joyfully, lifting their pallid faces to the free
-blue sky. But a harsh voice gave the order "Forward March!" and driven
-by brutal guards they limped painfully away to Mexican dungeons.
-
-It was six years before the King of Spain found time to sentence these
-prisoners. A royal decree then came (1807) ordering every fifth man to
-be shot. By this time but nine were left alive, and the officer in
-charge decided that one only should suffer death.
-
-The nine wretched captives threw dice to determine which of their number
-should die. The lot fell to Ephraim Blackburn, the oldest man among
-them. He was executed without delay.
-
-Only one of the others ever breathed the blessed air of freedom again.
-Ellis Bean, after many strange and thrilling adventures, finally
-escaped. His companions, to a man, perished in loathsome Mexican
-prisons, some of them within a short time, others after a wretched
-captivity of more than fifteen years,--all ignorant to the last of the
-cause of their imprisonment.
-
-
-                     2. THE DISPUTED BOUNDARY LINE.
-
-While Nacogdoches was rubbing her sleepy eyes and staring at the
-_Americanos_, who kept coming into Texas in spite of the scant welcome
-they got there, a man was strutting about the court at Madrid in Spain,
-carrying Texas, so to speak, in his pocket. Manuel de Godoy, called _El
-Principe de la Paz_ (The Prince of the Peace), who, from a private in
-the King's Guards had come to be a grandee of Spain and first minister
-of the King's council, was a corrupt courtier, cordially hated by the
-people, but a favorite both of the King and the Queen.[14] They had
-given him the highest honors and titles possible in Spain and finally
-they had made him a present of the territory of Texas. To this princely
-gift they added soldiers and ships and a large number of young women
-from the asylums in Spain. Godoy in his dreams already saw himself
-ruling in a semi-barbaric fashion over his kingdom in the "golden west."
-
-             [Illustration: Old Stone Fort at Nacogdoches.]
-
-The attitude of Napoleon Bonaparte toward Spain put an end to this
-curious scheme. Soldiers and ships were ordered to another service; the
-young women were returned to their asylums; and Godoy was sent into
-dishonorable exile with his pocket empty, at least of Texas.
-
-Spain, tired of the troublesome present she had received from Louis the
-Fifteenth, one fine day in 1800 handed Louisiana back to France. But
-before the French colonists had time to rejoice, Napoleon in 1803 sold
-them and their province to the United States. Again they were very
-angry; but, as before, nobody cared in the least what they thought or
-how they felt.
-
-The old dispute concerning the boundary between Louisiana and Texas was
-revived by this transaction. Spain claimed eastward as far toward the
-Mississippi River as she dared. The United States would gladly have
-reached out westward to the Rio Grande. The quarrel at last grew so
-bitter that both countries prepared to go to war (1806).
-
-Nacogdoches and Natchitoches glared at each other across the Sabine
-River, like two watch-dogs snarling and showing their teeth.
-
-Antonio Cordero, governor of Texas, hurried by way of the Old San
-Antonio Road from San Antonio to Nacogdoches. The lonely presidio then
-fairly thrilled; for fortifications were thrown up, provisions were
-brought in, and the place was put in a state of defense. Soldiers were
-also stationed at the mouth of the Trinity River, at the old fort at
-Adaes, and at other points. At length in August, 1806, Simon Herrera,
-commanding the Spanish troops with Cordero as his second, marched in
-with twelve hundred men at his back.
-
-At Natchitoches also there was bustle and excitement. Governor
-Claiborne, followed at once by General Wilkinson of the United States
-army, had come up from New Orleans. Several angry messages passed
-between Generals Wilkinson and Herrera, but neither would yield an inch
-in his demands; and on the 22d of October General Wilkinson marched his
-troops to the east bank of the Sabine River and camped there. General
-Herrera's camp was on the west bank, just opposite. The stream alone
-separated the two armies. On both sides everything was in readiness for
-a battle.
-
-But in the hush of the night (November 5) the two generals met and held
-a secret council. The next day (Nov. 6, 1806), to the surprise of all
-and greatly to the disappointment of the American soldiers, it was
-announced that the affair had been peacefully settled. A strip of land
-between the Sabine River and a creek called the Arroyo Hondo seven miles
-west of Natchitoches, was declared neutral ground,--that is, ground to
-be occupied by neither country until the boundary line could be fixed by
-a state treaty.[15]
-
-The Americans marched away, grumbling openly; the Spanish generals,
-having got more than they expected, returned well pleased to
-Nacogdoches.
-
-Nacogdoches had ceased to be simply a stopping-place for travelers; it
-vied with its distant neighbor, San Antonio, in the gaiety of its social
-life. The Spanish officers, especially the commandant Herrera, were
-noted for their gracious and courtly manners. Some American families of
-position had moved in; there was even a hotel. The presidio had become a
-town.
-
-
-                         3. THE NEUTRAL GROUND.
-
-One day in 1812 a young man--an American--wearing the uniform of the
-United States army crossed the Arroyo Hondo on horseback and entered the
-Neutral Ground. He withdrew a little from the road, dismounted, and
-seated himself upon a fallen log, seeming to await some one or
-something.
-
-Soon a second rider appeared, threading his way through the forest
-trees. He was a Spaniard of soldierly bearing, and his somewhat stern
-features offered a marked contrast to the eager face of the first comer.
-He dismounted with a courteous greeting, sat down in his turn, and
-drawing a map from his pocket, he spread it upon his knees.
-
-The Spaniard was Colonel Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara. The American was
-Lieutenant Augustus Magee.
-
-               [Illustration: Map of The Neutral Ground.]
-
-  Nacogdoches
-  Trinity River
-  Wallisville
-  East Bay
-  Neches River
-  Sabine Lake
-  Sabine River
-  Bayou San Patricio
-  Spanish Lake
-  Adais
-  Arroyo Hondo
-  Nachitoches
-  Red River
-  L. Terre Noire
-  Conel River
-  NEUTRAL GROUND
-  Calcasieu River
-  Lake Calcasieu
-  Grand Lake
-  GULF of MEXICO
-
-The Neutral Ground from the moment of the treaty between Herrera and
-Wilkinson in 1806 became the resort of all sorts of lawless men, who,
-subject to no authority, robbed and murdered at will the travelers
-passing across this No Man's Land. The danger at last became so great
-that the United States sent a squad of soldiers to serve as an escort to
-people whose business led them between the Sabine and Natchitoches.
-Lieutenant Magee was placed in command of this escort. He was a bold and
-gallant young fellow, within whose romantic brain soon came the idea of
-following out Nolan's supposed plan of founding an independent republic
-in Texas.
-
-He confided his project to Gutierrez, who had fled to Natchitoches after
-the failure of a similar attempt in Mexico, in which he had taken part.
-Gutierrez was delighted. He undertook to gain over the Mexicans in
-Texas. Magee resigned his position in the United States army and soon
-succeeded in forming a band composed of adventurers and desperadoes from
-the Neutral Ground, a number of Indians, some Mexicans, and a few
-Americans of good character. Gutierrez, on account of his influence over
-his countrymen, was put in command. Magee, however, was the leading
-spirit.
-
-It was to talk over their scheme of invasion and conquest, to consult
-maps and arrange routes, that Magee and Gutierrez had met on the banks
-of the Arroyo Hondo.
-
-Magee started soon after for New Orleans to get money and recruits.
-Gutierrez with a few men crossed the Sabine and took possession of
-Nacogdoches, which was at once abandoned by the Spaniards. From that
-place he marched to join Magee and the main army on the Trinity River.
-
-The first movement of this army of republicans, which numbered several
-hundred men, was upon La Bahia (Goliad). The Spanish garrison in the
-fortress there joined them, surrendering, along with other military
-stores, the cannon brought over by La Salle in 1685.
-
-Hardly, however, were the republicans within the fort when they were
-attacked by the Spanish army, under Governor Salcedo and General
-Herrera.
-
-The fighting was at great odds, but the little band of republicans held
-their own during several months, their greatest loss being the death of
-their brave and spirited young leader, Magee, who, wasted with
-consumption, died in February, 1813.
-
-Shortly afterwards a fierce hand-to-hand skirmish took place. In this
-the republicans were victorious. The Spaniards thereupon gave up the
-siege and retreated to San Antonio. The republicans followed under
-Colonel Kemper, who had succeeded Magee. On the 28th of March, 1813, a
-bloody battle took place on the Rosillo Creek, nine miles from San
-Antonio. The Spaniards were defeated with the loss of one thousand men.
-The victorious army marched into San Antonio, flying their flag in
-triumph. In the fortress of the Alamo they found seventeen prisoners,
-whom they released; the private soldiers taken prisoners at Rosillo were
-all set at liberty. The officers were at first paroled; but afterward by
-order of Gutierrez, or at least with his consent, they were marched by a
-company of Mexican soldiers to a place on the river below the town;
-there they were stripped, their hands were bound behind their backs, and
-their throats cut.
-
-Among those thus brutally butchered were Salcedo, Governor of New Leon,
-Governor Cordero, and the brave and polished Herrera.
-
-Many of the better class of Americans, among them the commanding
-officer, Colonel Kemper, disgusted with the savagery of Gutierrez, left
-the army. The republicans who remained were filled with triumph;
-intoxicated with success, they gave themselves up to rioting and
-rejoicing.
-
-Their enthusiasm was increased by a victory over another Spanish force
-sent against them under the command of Don Y Elisondo (El-ee-son'do). In
-this battle, fought June 4, the Spaniards lost over a thousand men,
-dead, wounded, and prisoners.
-
-But the tide of success had reached its height; it began to turn.
-Gutierrez having retired to Natchitoches, General Toledo (To-la'do) was
-now in command of the republicans. On the 18th of August he marched out
-of San Antonio to attack a third Spanish army commanded by General
-Arredondo, who had thrown up breastworks on the Medina near the town.
-
-The result was a terrific defeat for the republicans. Almost the entire
-army was destroyed; many were killed; those taken prisoners were
-butchered as cruelly as Herrera and his brother officers had been. Out
-of eight hundred and fifty Americans, only ninety-three escaped. One by
-one these stole through Nacogdoches on their way back to the safe
-thickets of the Neutral Ground.
-
-
-                           4. THE RED HOUSE.
-
-Nacogdoches, it may be supposed, had grown accustomed to that dream of a
-Texas Republic which from time to time caused the air about her stone
-fort to thrill and vibrate; she was accustomed, too, to see that dream
-end in bloodshed and death.
-
-So it was an old story when in 1819 some three hundred Americans came
-tramping in, ready, as they imagined, to convert Texas into a free and
-independent state. This new expedition, organized at Natchez,
-Mississippi, was conducted by Dr. James Long of Tennessee, an energetic
-patriot who had served as a surgeon in Jackson's army at the battle of
-New Orleans.
-
-General Long's brother, David, accompanied him; and his wife and her
-sister followed, under the conduct of Randall Jones. They arrived at
-Nacogdoches soon after the new republicans had taken peaceful possession
-of the town.
-
-A legislative body was formed. One of its members was Bernardo
-Gutierrez, who had continued to live at Natchitoches. The Republic of
-Texas was proclaimed, and land and revenue laws were passed. A
-newspaper, the first in Texas, was started by Horatio Bigelow, a member
-of the council.
-
-General Long's next step was to take possession of the country and
-strengthen the infant government. He placed detachments of men at
-various points on the Brazos and Trinity Rivers, opened trade with the
-Indians, and sent James Gaines, one of his lieutenants, to Galveston
-Island to get the assistance of Lafitte.
-
-Jean Lafitte, a Frenchman by birth, had, while yet a mere lad, commanded
-a privateer which sailed the Gulf of Mexico. Later, with his two
-brothers, he had been, nominally, a blacksmith in New Orleans; but while
-hammering horseshoes and making wagon-tires, he was really engaged in
-smuggling. After a while, he dropped all pretense, and gathering
-together a band of reckless men he established himself in 1810 on the
-island of Grand Terre, a swampy lowland in Louisiana near the Gulf
-coast. From there he plied his unlawful trade. His band became finally
-so bold and troublesome that a reward was offered for their leader's
-head. This proclamation, signed by Governor Claiborne, was posted about
-New Orleans; and more than once the daring freebooter was seen talking
-gaily with a group of friends, leaning the while with folded arms
-against a wall upon which flamed in big letters the governor's mandate
-demanding his head. He was never captured.
-
-                     [Illustration: Jean Lafitte.]
-
-In 1814, when the United States and England were at war, a British
-officer visited Lafitte at Grand Terre and offered him the command of a
-frigate if he would join the British navy. Lafitte instead offered his
-services to General Jackson, fought gallantly at the battle of New
-Orleans, and received a full pardon from the United States government.
-
-But his restless spirit would not long suffer him to remain inactive. In
-1816 he fitted out a schooner (_The Pride_) and sailed to the
-uninhabited island of Galveston.
-
-This island was discovered by La Salle as he coasted along the Gulf in
-1684, seeking the Mississippi River. He called it the Island of St.
-Louis. It was afterward known as Snake Island, and received its present
-name, about 1775, in honor of Don Jos� Galvez, governor of Louisiana and
-son of the viceroy of Mexico.
-
-It had been occupied for a short time (1816) by a band of Mexican
-"republicans," under Manuel Herrera and Xavier Mina. They were joined by
-Luis d'Aury, a Mexican naval officer, and Colonel Perry, an American who
-had taken part in Magee's ill-fated expedition. They set up a sort of
-republic on the island. Their fleet of twelve armed vessels sailed the
-Gulf, and for a time the enterprise prospered. But the little republic
-did not last long. The leaders quarreled among themselves; the United
-States denounced their sailors as pirates; the settlement was broken up,
-and Galveston returned to its native solitude.
-
-The island was covered with beautiful green grass; there were no shrubs,
-and the only trees were three live oaks clustered together about midway
-of the island. Its wide beach shone like silver in the sunlight. Here in
-a short time Lafitte had established a miniature kingdom. Adventurers
-came flocking to him from every direction, and in less than a year there
-were a thousand persons on the island. Lafitte, bearing the proud title
-of "Lord of Galveston," held absolute sway over them. The fort and the
-town, which he named Campeachy, were kept under strict military rule.
-The bay harbored a fleet of swift vessels, sailed by fearless pirates
-who swept the Gulf, capturing and plundering Spanish ships and bringing
-the rich spoils to be divided by their chief. On the incoming Spanish
-barques there were bales of silks and satins, woven for the dark-eyed
-dames of Mexico, and soft carpets and priceless hangings for their
-houses; there were rare wines for the tables of the viceroys, and
-gold-embroidered altar-cloths for the churches. On outgoing Mexican
-vessels there were bars of silver and ingots of gold, tropical spices
-and dyes, uncut jewels, and beautiful skins of wild animals. All these
-treasures were unrolled and spread out on the open square of the fort,
-and each man was allotted his share. Lafitte was generous with the goods
-brought in by his freebooters. Once from a rich "haul" he took for his
-own share only a slim gold chain and seal which had been removed from
-the neck of a portly Mexican bishop on his way to visit Rome. This chain
-and seal were given by the pirate to Rezin Bowie, a brother of James
-Bowie. It remains in the Bowie family to this day.
-
-Besides the regular business of piracy, which was politely called
-privateering, a brisk slave-trade was carried on between the island and
-the shores of Africa. Slave-ships came boldly into the harbor and landed
-their cargoes of black humanity at Campeachy. The negro gangs were
-driven into the fort, where they were sold _by the pound_. The price
-paid was generally one dollar a pound, though prices sometimes fell so
-low that an able-bodied man or woman could be bought for forty dollars.
-The purchasers hurried the unhappy Africans through the country to Baton
-Rouge and New Orleans, where they were resold at higher prices.
-
-Lafitte was adored by his followers, though he ruled them as with a rod
-of iron. In person he was tall, dark, and handsome, with stern eyes and
-a winning smile. He wore a uniform of dark green cloth, a crimson sash,
-and an otter-skin cap. He lived in great state, in a richly furnished
-dwelling, called, from its color, the "Red House," and entertained there
-in an almost princely manner the strangers whom business, curiosity, or
-misfortune brought to the island.
-
-The Carankawae Indians, who had formerly held the strip of silver sand
-as their own fishing-ground, visited the newcomers, and gazed with
-wonder at their ships, their houses, and their cannon. But in a short
-time a quarrel arose between some of the freebooters and the chiefs, and
-four of Lafitte's men were killed.
-
-Lafitte hastened to avenge their death. He marched to the Three Trees,
-where three hundred Carankawaes were encamped. His own force numbered
-less than two hundred, but they were well armed and provided with two
-pieces of artillery. The Indians after three days of hard fighting were
-defeated, and withdrew to the mainland. This defeat increased their
-hatred of the whites. But they gave no further trouble to Lafitte.
-
-
-                         5. THE CHAMP D'ASILE.
-
-The Lord of Galveston was at the height of his power in March, 1818,
-when a colony composed of his own countrymen sailed into the bay. They
-were led by General Lallemand, one of Napoleon Bonaparte's old officers.
-The empire had fallen, Bonaparte was in exile at St. Helena, and
-Lallemand, no longer happy or safe in France, decided to form somewhere
-in the New World a _Champ d'Asile_ (Place of Refuge). His choice finally
-fell upon Texas. He left France in October, 1817, with four hundred men
-and several women and children. He and his brother officer, General
-Rigaud (the latter being eighty years old), were received with stately
-courtesy by Lafitte, who assisted them greatly in their preparations for
-the journey to the place chosen for their colony.
-
-This was on the banks of the Trinity River, about sixty miles from its
-mouth. When all was ready the two generals, with one hundred men,
-traveled thither by land; the others set out by water with a number of
-small boats carrying provisions, ammunition, etc.
-
-After several days' march the land party reached its destination, where
-the boats should have arrived before them. The boats were not there.
-Lallemand and his men were already without food, as they had started
-with an insufficient supply. They began to suffer the pangs of hunger,
-filled at the same time with anxiety about the missing boats. While in
-this condition they found in the woods around a sort of wild lettuce,
-large quantities of which they boiled and ate. No sooner had they eaten
-than they were seized with violent and deathlike convulsions. Lallemand,
-Rigaud, and one of the surgeons had not tasted the poisonous herb. But
-they were powerless to help, the medicines being on the boats.
-
-Thus they were in despair when a Coushatti Indian, drawn by curiosity,
-came into the camp. He looked with amazement at the ninety-seven men
-stretched out and apparently dying on the ground. Lallemand, showing him
-the fatal herb, explained to him by signs what had happened. The Indian
-sprang swift as an arrow into the forest, and in a short time
-reappeared, his arms filled with a feather-like weed. It was the
-antidote of the poison the men had eaten; he boiled and made a drink of
-it; and, thanks to his skill and kindness, they all recovered.
-
-Some days later the boats arrived. The voyagers had been unable at first
-to find the mouth of the river, hence the delay.
-
-The colonists went to work with a will upon their settlement. They built
-four small forts,--Forts Charles and Henry, Middle Fort, and Fort
-Palanqua,--mounted eight cannons, and hoisted the French flag. Then they
-busied themselves with their own houses and fields.
-
-They were very happy, these self-exiled French people. They labored in
-their fields and gardens by day; at night they sang and danced and made
-merry, looking forward to long and peaceful lives in their new home.
-
-But the grain was hardly ripe in their fields when word came that
-Spanish soldiers from San Antonio and Goliad (La Bahia) were marching
-upon them to destroy them, or to drive them out of the country. They
-were not strong enough to resist such a force, so they abandoned their
-cabins and smiling gardens and returned to Galveston. A violent storm
-swept over the island a few days after their arrival there. Lafitte lost
-two brigs, three schooners, and a felucca; the unfortunate colonists
-lost not only their boats, but all their clothing and supplies.
-
-Lafitte gave them the _San Antonio_, a small ship captured from the
-Spaniards, and provided them with food and clothes. Some of them sailed
-to New Orleans in the _San Antonio_; others made their way overland to
-Nacogdoches; thence to Natchitoches, to Baton Rouge, and at length to
-New Orleans, whence by the kindness of the citizens they were able to
-get back to France.
-
-
-                         6. A TREACHEROUS SHOT.
-
-It was but a few months after Lafitte had so generously aided Lallemand
-and his colonists, when James Gaines, sent by General Long, came to the
-island. Lafitte entertained him royally at the Red House, but declined
-to join Long's enterprise. He thought a Texas republic could be
-established only by the help of a large army, whereas General Long had
-but a handful of soldiers.
-
-When Long received Lafitte's reply he started to the island himself, in
-the hope of changing this decision. But hearing from his wife that a
-Spanish force under Colonel Perez was moving upon his outposts, he
-hurried back to Nacogdoches. He found that place deserted; everybody had
-fled panic-stricken across the Sabine at the approach of the Spaniards.
-In the meantime Perez attacked the forts on the Brazos and the Trinity,
-completely routing the garrisons. David Long was among the killed.
-
-General Long's spirit was unshaken. He joined his brave wife on the east
-side of the Sabine, and made his way with her to Bolivar Point, where
-the few followers left to him were encamped.
-
-Just at this time Lafitte was ordered by the United States government to
-leave the island; his pirates had begun to meddle with American ships.
-He felt that resistance would be useless; so he gathered his men
-together, gave them each a handsome sum of money, and, having set fire
-to his fort and town, he sailed away in _The Pride_, with sixty of his
-buccaneers and a choice crew. He cruised for some years off the coast of
-Yucatan, and died at Sisal in 1826.
-
-It was long believed that he buried fabulous treasures--gold, silver,
-and jewels--both at Grand Terre and at Galveston, but these treasures
-have never been found. There is a legend among superstitious people at
-Grand Terre which declares that several times swarthy, dark-bearded
-strangers have appeared there and dug in a certain place for the buried
-treasure. They have succeeded each time in uncovering a great iron
-chest; but as they were about to lift it out, some one has each time
-spoken, and at the sound the box instantly disappeared. It can be found
-and removed, the gossips add, only in the midst of perfect silence.
-
-A prettier story is told of the treasure buried at Galveston. This story
-goes that on the night before he left the island forever, the pirate
-chief was heard to murmur, as he paced up and down the hall of the Red
-House: "I have buried my treasure under the three trees. In the shadow
-of the three lone trees I have buried my treasure." Two of his men
-overheard him. They stole away down the beach, with picks and spades,
-determined to possess themselves of their leader's treasure, which they
-knew must be priceless. They reached the spot, and in the pale moonlight
-they found the stake set to mark the hiding place. They shoveled the
-sand away, breathless and eager with greed. At length they found a long
-wooden box whose cover they pried open. Within, instead of piles of
-silver, caskets of jewels, and heaps of golden doubloons, they saw with
-awe and amazement the pale face and rigid form of the Chief's beautiful
-young wife, who had died the day before. This was the treasure of
-Lafitte!
-
-General Long watched the ships of Lafitte vanish into the distance;
-then, determined as ever to carry out his plans, he left his wife and a
-small guard in the fort at Bolivar Point (July, 1821), and went with
-fifty-two soldiers to Goliad, which he occupied without opposition.
-Three days later a troop of Mexican cavalry entered Goliad. Long
-surrendered and was sent a prisoner of war to Mexico. Eight months
-afterward he was released; but almost at the moment of his release he
-was shot and instantly killed by a Mexican soldier.
-
-The guard left at the fort at Bolivar Point soon abandoned it in
-despair. Mrs. Long refused to go with them; she had promised her
-husband, she said, to await his return, and she stayed on. Her only
-companions were her two little children and a negro girl. The days
-passed drearily; summer died into fall, and fall into winter. The
-provisions gave out, and the forlorn little group almost perished from
-hunger. Several times the Carankawaes attacked the fort. The courageous
-woman loaded the cannon and fired upon the Indians, thus keeping them at
-bay. In the spring of 1822 she learned from some of Austin's colonists
-of her husband's tragic death. Then only, having fulfilled her wifely
-trust, she left the fort.
-
-
-                     7. A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS.
-
-In Nacogdoches there is a wonderful elm, a tree which stood in the
-primeval forest perhaps before the foot of the white man ever trod its
-paths. Its leafy branches toss in the wind, green and beautiful against
-the blue sky. Its old trunk has turned into sap for its own growth the
-sunshine of more years than any living man can remember.
-
-As a springing sapling it may have greeted Hernando de Soto on his
-westward march. It may have looked down on La Salle journeying through
-the forest to his untimely death; and on Tonti of the Iron Hand, seeking
-tidings of his murdered friend. Don Ramon, lying in its shade, may have
-watched the slow building of the Mission of Our Lady of Nacogdoches; and
-St. Denis, riding by, may have paused to cut switches from its
-down-drooping branches. Nolan, Herrera, Magee, Long, many a soldier, and
-many an Indian chief in his war-paint and feathers,--all these the old
-tree has seen come and go.
-
-A soldier of another sort stood in its shade one day in 1821, and looked
-upon the small yet motley group of people gathered about him. There were
-a dozen or more frontiersmen, bronzed and bearded, and armed to the
-teeth; there were a few Mexican soldiers, a Mexican woman or two with
-coarse mantillas on their heads, and several wide-eyed Mexican children.
-The man facing this group held a small book in his hand. He was not
-armed. His eyes shone with a soft light, and when he spoke his voice was
-full and sweet.
-
-This was the Rev. Henry Stephenson, a Methodist preacher who had come
-into the wilderness, not to found a republic nor to set up a free and
-independent state, but to preach the gospel and to make straight the
-paths of the Lord.
-
-That day, under the old elm, the first Protestant sermon was preached in
-Texas. At its close a sweet old hymn, which many a man present had
-learned at his mother's knee, was begun by the preacher, and one by one,
-and at first half ashamed, the bearded frontiersmen took up the strain
-until it floated up and away beyond the clustering leaves of the old
-tree, and soared into heaven.
-
-Eyes long unused to tears were wet when the hymn was ended; and with
-softened hearts the singers pressed about the man of God to bid him
-good-bye. For he was on his way to carry the gospel to the utmost
-western border of Texas.
-
-Even the gentle Mexican women joined in the cheer which followed him as
-he entered the lonely forest and passed on out of sight.
-
-
-
-
-                                  IV.
-                         SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN.
-                              (1820-1835.)
-
-
-                       1. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.
-
-Moses Austin, a rugged and travel-stained American, was walking slowly
-across the plaza in San Antonio one day in December, 1820. His head hung
-on his breast, and his eyes were full of trouble and defeat. Suddenly he
-heard his name pronounced; he turned to find himself face to face with
-the Baron de Bastrop, who grasped him warmly by the hand. His eyes
-brightened with pleasure at this unexpected meeting. "I thought myself a
-total stranger in San Antonio," he said.
-
-De Bastrop, whom he had met some years before in the United States,
-listened with great interest while Austin told the story of his plans
-and their failure.
-
-                 [Illustration: Stephen Fuller Austin.]
-
-He was, he said, a citizen of Missouri, where he had settled when that
-state was Spanish territory. His object in coming to San Antonio was to
-obtain permission to establish a colony somewhere in Texas. But on
-presenting himself to Governor Martinez (Mar-tee'ness), after his long
-and dangerous journey, he had been coldly received and ordered to quit
-the province. He was at that moment on his way to the place where he had
-left his horses and his negro servant, in order to prepare for
-departure. "My journey, as you see," he concluded, "has been fruitless."
-
-De Bastrop,[16] a Prussian in the service of Mexico, chanced also to be
-one of the alcaldes of San Antonio. "Come with me again to the
-governor," he said, leading the way to the official residence. Here he
-used his influence to such purpose that in a few days Austin was on his
-way to Missouri with the assurance that his request would be granted by
-the general government.
-
-But the homeward journey, made in the dead of winter, proved fatal to
-him. A sickness, brought on by cold and exposure, so weakened him that
-he died soon after reaching home. Before his death, however, he learned
-that permission had been given him to settle three hundred families in
-Texas. He left as a sacred legacy to his son Stephen the duty of
-carrying out his cherished project.
-
-Stephen Fuller Austin, the great pioneer of Texas colonists, was at that
-time twenty-eight years of age. He was slender and broad-browed, with
-features which showed at once the gentleness and the firmness of his
-character. He had inherited his father's self-reliance and energy--the
-capital most needed in that almost trackless wilderness henceforth to be
-his home. He was well educated; his manners were courteous and
-dignified; he inspired with confidence and respect all who came in touch
-with him. Such, in part, was the man one day to be known as the Father
-of Texas.
-
-He was in New Orleans, busied about his father's affairs, when he heard
-of the arrival at Natchitoches of Don Erasmo Seguin, the commissioner
-sent from Mexico to meet and confer with Moses Austin. He went to
-Natchitoches without delay, and there learned of his father's death and
-the solemn obligation laid upon himself.
-
-He accepted the charge without hesitation, and began at once to perfect
-his plans.
-
-In July he accompanied Seguin back to San Antonio, traveling by the Old
-San Antonio Road. Martinez received him kindly, and gave him permission
-to explore the country and select a place for his colony. He chose the
-rich lands lying between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers.
-
-A contract was made which allowed 640 acres of land to each colonist; to
-his wife (if married), 320 acres; and 140 acres to each child; 80 acres
-were allowed to the master for each slave. The colonists, who must be
-from Louisiana, were required to furnish certificates of good character,
-to profess the Roman Catholic religion, and to swear allegiance to
-Spain. They were to be free from taxation for six years. Austin was
-commissioned to take charge of the local government.
-
-These writings signed, Austin returned to Louisiana to collect
-emigrants.
-
-
-                           2. UPS AND DOWNS.
-
-It was during the Christmas holidays of 1821 that the first settlers,
-led by Austin in person, reached the Brazos River and made their camp
-upon the chosen spot. Their Christmas and New Year's dinners were not
-composed of dainties, we may be sure; but there was, no doubt, joyous
-roasting of wild game over the glowing camp-fires, and there was good
-honest fun and innocent merriment in plenty among these first Texans!
-
-Their leader left them at once and proceeded to Matagorda Bay to meet
-the _Lively_, a small schooner which had been sent out from New Orleans
-with supplies for the settlement. She had also carried eighteen
-colonists.
-
-The _Lively_ had not arrived, nor was she ever heard of afterward. It is
-supposed that she was lost at sea, with all on board. To add to Austin's
-disappointment, some provisions brought on a former voyage of the
-_Lively_, and hidden in the canebrakes on the banks of the Brazos, had
-been stolen by the Carankawae Indians. He returned empty-handed to his
-people.
-
-They were in no wise cast down by the news he brought. They were already
-making clearings, cutting down trees, burning underbrush, building
-cabins, and laying off fields. They were at the same time obliged to
-keep guard day and night against the Indians who prowled about, always
-on the lookout for a chance to steal or to murder.
-
-Austin, cheered by their courage, set out for San Antonio to report to
-Governor Martinez. There he learned that a revolution against Spain had
-taken place in Mexico. His contracts, in the new order of things, might
-be worthless. He therefore journeyed on to the city of Mexico, twelve
-hundred miles distant. Much of the way he traveled with but one
-companion. The country was full of robbers and cut-throats, and, in
-order to escape their clutches, the two men disguised themselves as
-beggars, going on foot, sleeping in the open air, and eating the
-coarsest food. He found the country in such a tumult that it was over a
-year before he could get his grant renewed and return to his colony.
-
-Meantime, other settlers had come in, some making their way slowly by
-land with ox-teams, stopping sometimes for a whole season to raise and
-harvest a crop of corn, and then moving patiently on. "Children were
-born in these movers' camps," says one writer, "and the dead were buried
-by the roadside." Others came in ships from New Orleans and Mobile, and
-even from the far New England coast. In 1822 the _Revenge_ and the _Only
-Son_ came into Galveston harbor and landed at Bolivar Point over a
-hundred immigrants. They found Mrs. Long in the forlorn little fort
-where her husband had left her, still waiting and hoping for his return.
-It was from these pitying and kind-hearted pioneers that the heroic wife
-learned of the assassination of her husband. In their company she and
-her children left the place of so much suffering.
-
-The first crop of corn--turned into the virgin soil with wooden
-ploughs--had been gathered; a little cotton had whitened the patches
-about the cabin doors, and the spinning-wheels were already busy. The
-familiar low of home-returning milch-cows was heard at sundown along the
-winding footpaths. One of the settlers (Randall Jones) had gone to
-Louisiana, taking with him a negro lad. There he traded the boy for
-sixty head of cattle, which he drove across the country to the
-settlement. Another colonist brought out some pigs and a few goats.
-These domestic animals gave a homelike appearance to the strange land.
-
-The settlement was thriving in spite of hardships. But these hardships
-were almost without number. There was neither salt, coffee, nor sugar.
-Meat was to be had only by hunting, and oftentimes deer and buffalo were
-hard to find and, on account of the Indians, dangerous to follow. True,
-there were great numbers of wild mustangs.
-
-There were no horses in America before the discovery of Columbus. The
-Texas mustangs were the product of the cavalry horses brought from
-Europe to Mexico by Cortez in 1519. They had multiplied, almost
-unmolested, during the three hundred years they had roamed prairie and
-forest. These mustangs were always fat, and when nothing better was to
-be had they made tolerable food.
-
-There were, of course, no stores where anything could be bought; the men
-went dressed in buckskin; the women in coarse cloth woven by themselves.
-There was no mail, news from the outer world--from the dear ones left
-behind in the far-away "states"--came only when a chance traveler
-arrived with an old newspaper or possibly a letter in his saddle bags.
-There was neither school nor church.
-
-But in those rude cabins dwelt honesty, high courage, and unbounded
-hospitality. In business every man's "word was as good as his bond."
-There were no locks on the doors, robbery being unknown. Everything,
-even to life itself, was ever at the service of friend and neighbor. The
-nameless traveler, welcomed without question, shared, as long as he
-chose to stay, the fireside and table of his host.
-
-Of such stuff were the first Texans.
-
-Austin returned from Mexico in July, 1823. He was welcomed with
-affectionate joy by his colonists. He was accompanied by his father's
-friend, the Baron de Bastrop, commissioned by the government to assist
-him in laying off the town, surveying lands, and issuing titles.
-
-The town was named by Senor de la Garza, who had succeeded Martinez as
-governor of Texas. He called it San Felipe (Fa-lee'pa) de Austin, in
-honor at the same time of his own patron saint and of its founder.
-
-Other towns soon sprung up over the province; for grants for other
-settlements had been sought and obtained from the government. Austin got
-permission in 1825 to bring out five hundred additional families.
-Immigrants flocked in, eager to share in this cheap and fruitful
-paradise. The names _Columbia_, _Brazoria_, _Gonzales_, _Victoria_, _San
-Augustine_, and other towns and settlements, began to be familiar to the
-tongue.
-
-Some Irish colonists founded on the Nueces River, near its mouth, a town
-which they named St. Patrick in remembrance of the patron saint of
-Ireland. To the Spanish-speaking people of Texas it soon became known as
-San Patricio, and so it is still called.
-
-A large tract of land was granted to Hayden Edwards, a Kentuckian, in
-the neighborhood of Nacogdoches, the old gateway of Texas history. But
-things did not go as smoothly there as in Austin's colony. It was too
-near the Neutral Ground, which continued to harbor outlaws and
-adventurers of all kinds.
-
-The land, moreover, was claimed by the Mexicans and others who were
-already settled upon it. The quarrels between these and the newcomers
-became in course of time so bitter that the Mexican government, during
-an absence of Hayden Edwards in the United States, took back his grant
-and ordered him and his two brothers to leave the country.
-
-Edwards had put all of his private fortune into his venture, and this
-act of tyranny goaded him and his colonists to fury. Finding vain all
-their appeals to the governor, they took up arms and declared they would
-make of Texas an independent republic. They called themselves
-Fredonians; and banding together, they entrenched themselves in the old
-stone fort at Nacogdoches. Thence they sent an appeal to Austin's
-colonists for help. Both Austin's colonists and the Cherokee Indians,
-upon whom they counted for support, refused to join them. News came that
-a Mexican army was marching against them; their own fighting force was
-less than two hundred men. They saw the weakness of their position; and
-the Fredonian war, as it was called, ended after a skirmish or two, in
-the surrender of the Fredonians. Edwards and his colonists left Texas,
-and returned angry and disgusted to Louisiana (1826).
-
-This was a small foretaste of Mexican justice. But troubles far graver
-than the Fredonian war were at that moment brewing for Texas.
-
-
-                        3. ORDERS AND DISORDER.
-
-Until 1824 Texas had been a province of Mexico, with her capital at San
-Antonio. In that year, however, the general government decreed the union
-of Texas with Coahuila; and the capital of the new state was fixed at
-Saltillo (Sal-tee'yo), a distant town in Mexico. A department chief was
-the only official stationed at San Antonio. The colonists were much
-displeased at this change. Instead of a ride, when necessary, to San
-Antonio, where there were friends and familiar faces, torch-lit plazas,
-music, and _fiestas_ to welcome the traveler, it meant a long and
-perilous journey through a strange land, among people who regarded all
-Americans with an eye of sullen distrust.
-
-                      [Illustration: MAP OF TEXAS
-                   With Parts of the Adjoining States
-                     COMPILED BY STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
-                 PUBLISHED by H. S. TANNER PHILADELPHIA
-                                  1835
-
-                        High-resolution Version]
-
-The Mexicans can hardly be blamed for their lack of confidence. They had
-just shaken off the yoke of Spain; and they saw the Americans--people of
-a different race, speaking a different tongue, strong, energetic, and
-masterful--drawing daily nearer to the Rio Grande River. They saw this
-alien people settling upon rich and productive lands, but paying no
-taxes; giving nominal allegiance to the Mexican government, but taking
-no interest in her political affairs. Added to this uneasiness was a
-growing hatred of the United States, which wished to annex Texas and had
-already offered to buy the province. Mexico resolved to crush this
-rising power.
-
-The Americans, on their side, were restless. They did not desire
-absolute independence; but they wished for a separate state within the
-Mexican Republic. They therefore, for political as well as for personal
-reasons, resented the change of capital.
-
-Still further changes were at hand. Bustamente (Boos-ta-men'ta), a cruel
-and overbearing man, who became President of Mexico in 1830, on taking
-his seat issued a set of laws forbidding Americans either to locate in
-Texas or to trade with her people. In place of colonists from the United
-States, criminals and disabled soldiers from Mexico were to settle the
-country. The introduction of slaves was prohibited; taxes were put upon
-almost everything in daily use; customhouses were established for the
-collection of these duties; armed troops were quartered in different
-places at the expense of the colonists; and military rules were
-enforced.
-
-It is needless to say that these laws were not obeyed. Texas was like a
-nest of angry hornets whose center of action was at San Felipe; a buzz
-of indignation filled the air; meetings were everywhere held to protest
-against the injustice and tyranny of Mexico.
-
-The excitement was increased by the arrest and imprisonment of some
-Texans (1832) by Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn, an American in command of
-the Mexican Fort Anahuac (An-ah'wak) on Galveston Bay. Among these were
-William B. Travis (the future hero of the Alamo) and Patrick Jack.
-William Jack, a brother of the latter, called a meeting at San Felipe,
-where it was determined to resort to arms, if necessary, for the release
-of the prisoners, whose offense was trifling.
-
-The state of feeling was clearly shown by the number of men who declared
-themselves ready to join in attacking Bradburn in his fort. The affair,
-however, was settled without bloodshed. Colonel Piedras, the Mexican
-commandant at Nacogdoches, hastened to Fort Anahuac. There, after an
-investigation of the case, he released the prisoners and placed Bradburn
-himself under arrest.
-
-In the meantime a fight had taken place between the Mexican garrison at
-Fort Velasco, at the mouth of the Brazos River, and one hundred and
-twelve Texans, who had been aroused by the tyranny of Bradburn. Not one
-of these Texans had ever before been in a battle; their coolness and
-bravery under fire gave them the measure of their own power. They were
-victorious. Colonel Dominic Ugartechea (U-gar-ta-cha'a), the commandant
-of the fort, whose personal courage won the admiration of the Texans,
-surrendered, with a loss of thirty-five killed and thirteen wounded. Of
-the Texans seven were killed and twenty-seven wounded.
-
-These encounters increased the public excitement to frenzy. But the
-excitement was suddenly allayed by news from Mexico. The patriot Santa
-Anna had "pronounced" (declared) against Bustamente.
-
-Santa Anna at this time was looked upon in his own country as a patriot;
-he had been a leader during the war with the Spanish royalists, and
-active in deposing Iturbide (Ee-toor-bee'da) (1822) when that officer
-had crowned himself Emperor of Mexico. He had always professed great
-love for the Texas colonists; and now his bold stand against Bustamente
-gave assurance that the rights of the colonists would thenceforth be
-respected. The Texans were wild with enthusiasm, and they gladly pledged
-their support to Santa Anna, the "generous and high-minded patriot."
-
-Santa Anna was elected President of Mexico. His disposition towards
-Texas continued so friendly that it seemed a good time to make an appeal
-to his government for a separation of the state of Texas from Coahuila.
-
-A convention met at San Felipe in April, 1833. Delegates were present
-from all the districts. The streets of the little town on the Brazos
-echoed under the tread of men who were afterwards to write their names
-in the Republic's book of gold. Sam Houston, the future hero of San
-Jacinto, was present as a delegate; David G. Burnet, who was to become
-the first President of the Republic of Texas; Erasmo Seguin; William H.
-Wharton; Branch T. Archer; and Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas.
-
-A constitution was framed, and a memorial was written to the general
-government, asking for separation from Coahuila and the repeal of
-Bustamente's odious decrees.
-
-Austin carried these papers to the Mexican congress. His breast swelled
-with hope as he drew near the city of Mexico and the "high-minded
-patriot" Santa Anna.
-
-                      [Illustration: Santa Anna.]
-
-But the Vice-President, Gomez Farias, had no time to listen to so
-trifling a thing as a memorial from Texas colonists. As for President
-Santa Anna, he was shut up in his country-house (Manga de Clavo) laying
-plans for overthrowing the Mexican constitution and making himself
-dictator.
-
-Sick at heart over his vain attempts to get a hearing from the
-government, Austin started home. But a letter which he had written to
-Texas, advising the people to organize a separate state without further
-appeal to Mexico, had been sent back to Farias as a treasonable
-document. Austin was arrested at Saltillo, taken back to the city of
-Mexico, and put in prison, where he remained for nearly two years. A
-part of that time he was in solitary confinement.
-
-During his imprisonment he kept a diary. He says of himself on one of
-these loose pencil-written leaves: "In my first exploring trip in Texas,
-in 1821, I had a very good old man with me, who had been raised on the
-frontier, and was a very good hunter. We had not been many days in the
-wilderness before he told me: 'You are too impatient to make a hunter.'
-Scarce a day passed that he did not say to me: 'You are too
-impatient--you wish to go too fast.' Before my trip was ended I saw the
-benefit of his maxim, and I determined to adopt it as a rule in settling
-the colony which I was then about to commence in Texas.... I believe the
-greatest error I ever committed was in departing from that rule as I did
-in the city of Mexico in October, 1833. I lost patience at the delays in
-getting the business of Texas dispatched, and in a moment of impatience
-wrote an imprudent, and perhaps an intemperate, letter to the council at
-San Antonio." "How happy," he says in another place, "how happy I could
-have been on a farm, ... free from all the cares and difficulties that
-now surround me. But I thought it was my duty to obey the call of the
-people and go to Mexico as their agent."
-
-In October, 1834, he was admitted to a conference with Santa Anna, who
-promised to "meditate maturely" the repeal of some of Bustamente's laws.
-He expressed so much love for Texas that Austin wrote to his people in a
-burst of thankfulness, "All is going well." But he was himself still
-detained, and it was not until September, 1835, that he was allowed to
-return to Texas.
-
-The Texans, despite Austin's letter of assurance, knew that all was not
-going well. They were, in fact, so convinced that all was going ill that
-they met in the different towns and organized committees of safety for
-protection against the Indians (who had become very troublesome), and to
-take charge of all public matters. At a meeting held in San Felipe
-October 1, 1834, it was openly proposed to make Texas a separate state
-without the consent of Mexico. But this step was for a time postponed.
-
-The next year the situation was still more gloomy. Santa Anna's congress
-passed a decree disarming all Texans. General Martin Perfecto de Cos was
-ordered from Mexico to Texas with a body of five hundred soldiers to
-enforce the decree, and to punish those who had refused to obey, not the
-just laws of the Mexican Republic, but the tyrannical edicts of
-Bustamente and Santa Anna.
-
-At the same time a courier was arrested with dispatches from Ugartechea
-at San Antonio to the commandant at Anahuac. These dispatches were
-opened and read at San Felipe. They stated that a strong force would
-soon reach Anahuac from Mexico.
-
-These things caused great uneasiness and indignation. Another meeting
-was held in San Felipe. Among those who addressed the people there
-assembled was R. M. Williamson (called three-legged Willie, because of
-his carrying a crutch). He counseled resistance. "Our country, our
-property, our liberty, and our lives," he said, "are all involved in the
-present contest between the states and the military."
-
-In the midst of the excitement Austin reached home. He was welcomed
-almost as one given up by the tomb.
-
-It was determined to hold a general consultation to consider the dangers
-threatening Texas.
-
-The word "consultation" was used instead of "convention" to avoid
-exciting the jealousy of the government. A convention in Mexico was
-often followed by a revolution.
-
-A call was issued by Austin for the election of delegates, and the time
-and place of meeting were fixed for October 16 at San Felipe.
-
-
-                           4. A TRUMPET CALL.
-
-A messenger came riding into San Felipe one day; his clothes were dusty,
-his horse was flecked with foam, his voice was hoarse with excitement.
-He had ridden hard and fast from Gonzales town, and the news he brought
-thrilled to the heart's core the men who had gathered about him in the
-plaza.
-
-Colonel Ugartechea, acting under the decree disarming citizens, had sent
-an order to Gonzales for a cannon--a four-pounder given by the Mexican
-government to the townspeople in 1831 for service against the Indians.
-The order had been peremptorily refused. There were only eighteen men at
-Gonzales, but they determined to hold the cannon at any cost; and
-believing that Ugartechea would send an armed force to take it, they had
-dispatched messengers to the Colorado, the Guadalupe, and the Brazos for
-help.
-
-The messenger to San Felipe had not finished his story before the men
-were in their saddles, or girded for the long tramp. They were already
-armed for the purpose of intercepting General Cos on his march to San
-Antonio.
-
-When they reached Gonzales they found that the Mexican captain
-Castenado, had appeared there (September 29) with one hundred cavalrymen
-and made his demand for the cannon. He had been put off with the pretext
-that the alcalde was absent, thus giving the volunteers time to arrive.
-
-The Mexicans had remained on the west bank of the Guadalupe River, the
-ferryboats having been removed by the Texans to the east or town side on
-the approach of the enemy.
-
-With the recruits from the Brazos, the Colorado, and the Guadalupe, the
-Texans on the 30th numbered one hundred and sixty fighting men. They
-then informed Castenado that he could not have the cannon. Moreover,
-Major Williamson (three-legged Willie) and some others drew the disputed
-piece of artillery to the river-bank, and placed above it a placard
-bearing in large letters the challenge, "Come and Take It."
-
-                   [Illustration: R. M. Williamson.]
-
-In response to this taunt Castenado made an effort to cross his troops
-over the river; but the fords were too well guarded, and he finally
-moved away and encamped a short distance from the river.
-
-On the evening of the 1st of October the Texans, under the command of
-Colonels John Moore and J. W. Wallace, crossed the Guadalupe, carrying
-their four-pounder with them. The same night at eleven o'clock they were
-formed into a hollow Square. Colonels Moore and Wallace, with the Rev.
-W. P. Smith, rode into the square, where the minister, being seated on
-his favorite mule, made them a spirited address. "Fellow soldiers," he
-said, "the cause for which we are contending is just, honorable, and
-glorious--our liberty.... Let us march silently, obey the commands of
-our superior officers, and, united as one man, present a bold front to
-the enemy. _Victory will be ours._"[17]
-
-On the morning of the 2d they advanced under cover of a heavy fog to a
-high mound in the prairie where the enemy was posted. After the exchange
-of a few picket shots a parley took place between Colonel Moore and
-Captain Castenado. But they could come to no agreement, so they returned
-to their respective commands. The Texans at once opened fire with their
-saucy little cannon, and in a short time the enemy was put to rout. The
-Mexicans retreated toward San Antonio, having lost several men. The
-Texans, without the loss of a man, returned in triumph to Gonzales with
-their precious cannon.
-
-This was the first trumpet call to the war of independence. The alarm
-leaped from town to town. Texas, like a trooper who stands with his foot
-in the stirrup awaiting but the blast of a bugle, sprang at once into
-action. There was everywhere an eager note of preparation.
-
-A few days after the victory at Gonzales, Captain George Collingsworth,
-with about fifty planters from Caney and Matagorda, marched from the
-latter place to capture Goliad. Just about midnight on the 9th of
-October, as they approached the town, they were hailed by a man who came
-out of a mesquit thicket on the roadside. It was Benjamin Milam. He had
-escaped from prison in Monterey, where he had been placed for opposing
-the tyranny of Santa Anna, and, worn out by his long journey, he had
-thrown himself on the ground to rest.
-
-Milam was a man of high courage and stern patriotism. He had taken
-part--always on the republican side--in several of the bloody
-revolutions in Mexico, and he had been in almost every prison from the
-Rio Grande to the city of Mexico.[18]
-
-He offered his services to the little band of patriots. They welcomed
-him with joy into their ranks.
-
-They marched on, and during the night fell upon the unsuspecting
-garrison at Goliad. The sentinel who fired upon them was killed. The
-commandant Colonel Sandoval was taken prisoner in his own room, the door
-of which was broken open with axes. Several officers and twenty-five
-private soldiers surrendered, the others having escaped in the _m�l�e_.
-The spoils which fell into the hands of the Texans by this exploit were
-very valuable. They consisted of three hundred stands of arms, several
-cannon, and about ten thousand dollars worth of military stores.
-
-
-                           5. OUT OF A MIST.
-
-San Felipe was not behindhand in enthusiasm over the tidings from
-Gonzales. Delegates to the General Consultation were coming in, and the
-committee, on hearing the news, sent out a circular calling upon each
-man in Texas to decide for himself whether or not he would submit to the
-tyranny of Mexico, and if he would not submit, "let him answer by mouth
-of his rifle." This charge was not needed. Men poured in from every
-quarter carrying their rifles, shot-pouches, and powder-horns; the look
-of grim determination on their faces meant "liberty, or war to the
-death."
-
-Austin, by permission of the convention, left San Felipe for Gonzales,
-arriving there on the 10th of October. He was elected to the command of
-the volunteers there assembled, about three hundred and fifty strong,
-and marched almost immediately for San Antonio, hoping to capture and
-hold that important post. He encamped on the 20th at the Mission of La
-Espada on the San Antonio River. Recruits came in rapidly. Sam Houston,
-who had given his last five-dollar bill to a messenger to spread the
-call for volunteers, arrived with a detachment of men from East Texas.
-Bowie and Travis, Crockett and Fannin, Milam, Burleson, "Deaf" Smith,
-Rusk, Wharton,--these gathered in groups about the camp, little dreaming
-that each man of them carried within his own breast something of which
-the history of Texas was to be made.
-
-                 [Illustration: Mission of La Espada.]
-
-General Cos had arrived and had taken command at San Antonio. He
-scornfully rejected Austin's summons to surrender, even threatening to
-fire upon his flag of truce. Austin, whose army now numbered about six
-hundred men, did not feel himself strong enough to make an attack, but
-decided to move nearer the enemy. Accordingly on the 27th he sent
-Captains Bowie and Fannin with ninety-two men to reconnoiter and to
-choose a suitable position. They marched up the riverbank and encamped
-at nightfall in a bend of the river, near the old Mission of Concepcion.
-
-The next morning at sunrise, through the mist that hung like a grey
-curtain around the camp, they heard something like the wary tread of
-horses' hoofs. At the same time a sentinel[19] posted in the high tower
-of the mission gave warning, and a shot echoed from the outer
-picket-line.
-
-The Texans sprang to arms; a slight lifting of the fog showed them a
-solid phalanx of Mexican cavalry hemming in the camp on three sides.
-There was a breathless interval of preparation, but no confusion; and by
-the time the enemy's infantry came in sight trailing their arms, the
-Texans were ready for the fight. It was a short and sharp one.
-
-The encampment had been well chosen; the triangular bottom land in which
-it lay by the riverside was skirted by heavy timber, and the bluff
-surrounding it made a sort of natural parapet.
-
-In a few moments the Mexicans shoved forth their cannon,--a brass
-six-pounder,--and their bugle sounded a cavalry charge. But one set of
-gunners after another fell dead or wounded around the cannon, and the
-cavalry was beaten back. Finally, by a sudden impulse, the whole body of
-Texans rushed forward with the cry, "The cannon and victory!"
-
-The battle had lasted thirty minutes. The Texan loss was one man
-(Richard Andrews) killed; none wounded. The Mexicans, whose force
-numbered four hundred, had sixty killed and about as many wounded.
-These, in the pell-mell retreat of the attacking party, were left upon
-the field. About noon a white flag was seen coming across the prairie.
-It was carried by a priest sent by General Cos, who asked and obtained
-permission to bury the dead.
-
-The main army, which had marched from La Espada on hearing the cannon,
-arrived after the battle was over.
-
-Some days later Austin camped with his troops near San Antonio, and
-prepared to hold his position until strong enough to storm the place.
-
-But inaction, after the brilliant successes at Gonzales, Goliad, and
-Concepcion, was galling to the volunteers. They clamored to be allowed
-to throw themselves against Cos' fortifications, and when they were held
-back many of them grew dissatisfied and left the army. Those who
-remained were cheered by the arrival of the Grays--two fine companies of
-volunteers from New Orleans--and a company from Mississippi.
-
-Another incident which revived their drooping spirits was a lively
-skirmish on the morning of November 26. The approach of a train of mules
-from Mexico, loaded with silver for General Cos, had been reported by
-spies to General Edward Burleson, then in command of the army. Colonel
-Bowie with a small scouting party was on the watch for its appearance.
-
-A scout riding up reported about two hundred Mexican cavalry advancing
-from the west, guarding a number of loaded pack-mules. Bowie sent the
-scout on to Burleson for assistance, and dashed forward with his men to
-cut off the train. On his approach the Mexican cavalry posted themselves
-in a ravine about one mile from San Antonio. Bowie charged them, but at
-that moment he was attacked in the rear by a body of Mexican soldiers,
-who, seeing the situation, had come out from San Antonio, bringing two
-cannon with them. Bowie wheeled and rode upon this new force, and
-Burleson coming up with reinforcements, the Mexicans were put to flight,
-abandoning pack-mules and packs, and leaving on the field fifty men
-killed and several wounded.
-
-When the Texans, who had come off without a scratch, threw themselves
-upon the bulky packs ready to count out Mexican dollars, they found them
-filled, instead, with fresh grass cut for the feed of General Cos'
-horses. This skirmish was known as the Grass Fight.
-
-
-                         6. THE PRIEST'S HOUSE.
-
-While these things were happening at San Antonio, the General
-Consultation was in session at San Felipe. General Austin, appointed
-special commissioner to the United States, had resigned his position as
-commander-in-chief of the army two days before the Grass Fight.
-
-Edward Burleson, who succeeded to the command, had fought under General
-Jackson in the Creek war, and was known throughout Texas as a brave and
-intrepid Indian fighter. To him the soldiers now looked confidently for
-immediate action; and all eyes were turned eagerly toward the citadel
-over which floated the Mexican flag.
-
-The old town beloved of St. Denis still hugged the river-bank, buried in
-evergreen foliage and gay with ever-blooming flowers. The stone and
-adobe houses, with flat roofs, thick walls, and barred windows, lined
-the narrow streets which opened out into the Military Plaza and the old
-_Plaza de las Islas_ (now Constitution). These plazas had been
-fortified, and the streets leading into them were barricaded and guarded
-by cannon. On the east side of the river the fortress of the Church of
-the Alamo and its walled enclosure had also been fortified and mounted
-with artillery.
-
-General Burleson, aware of these fortifications, looked at the citadel
-and at his little army, and, courageous though he was, he stopped to
-count the cost. While he was hesitating and his men were openly
-fretting, three Americans escaped from San Antonio, where they had been
-imprisoned, and came into the camp (December 3). Their report of the
-enemy's condition decided Burleson to attack the place at once. The
-order was given and a plan of assault arranged. The soldiers were
-jubilant; an activity long unknown pervaded the camp. But into the midst
-of this cheerful excitement dropped like a bombshell a second order
-countermanding the first. A scout had disappeared, and it was believed
-that he had deserted in order to warn Cos of the intended attack.
-
-                    [Illustration: Edward Burleson.]
-
-This reason did not satisfy the soldiers. They were defiant and angry
-almost to mutiny. Their indignation knew no bounds when they were told
-that the camp was about to be broken and the siege raised. There was a
-loud clamor of rage and disappointment. During this scene the missing
-scout returned in company with a deserter from San Antonio, who
-confirmed the report of the weakness of the defenses and the discontent
-of the Mexican garrison. Benjamin Milam, upon this, had a word or two
-with General Burleson in his tent; then he stepped out, bared his head,
-and, waving his hat with a loud hurrah, demanded in a ringing voice:
-"Who will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?"
-
-Three hundred volunteers with an answering shout sprang to the front.
-
-The same night (December 4) by twos and threes, singly, and in squads,
-the storming party stole silently into an old mill on the road between
-the camp and the town. Milam, the chief in command, told them off into
-two divisions: one to be led by himself and the other by Colonel Frank
-W. Johnson. Silent still and like phantoms, the double line took up its
-march over the intervening ground and slipped into San Antonio.
-
-A little earlier, Colonel Neill had started from camp with a detachment
-to make a pretended attack on the fortress of the Alamo. He opened fire
-before daylight and continued to hold the enemy's attention until the
-assaulting party could enter the town. When the sound of their guns
-apprised him that this was done, he returned to the camp, where General
-Burleson kept his men under arms, ready to march at any moment to
-Milam's assistance.
-
-Milam and Johnson, guided by Deaf Smith, drew their men swiftly through
-the dark and silent streets. Suddenly a sentinel gave the alarm. A shot
-from Deaf Smith's rifle silenced him forever; and the Texans dashed to
-cover. The Mexicans poured out of their quarters and attacked them
-furiously in the houses of Senors de la Garza and Veramendi, where they
-had taken shelter. They returned the fire with their accustomed
-coolness, picking off their assailants with unerring aim through
-loop-holes cut in the thick walls, or from the flat parapeted roofs.
-
-For the next five days the Texans were engaged in fighting and burrowing
-their way steadily toward the Military Plaza. With cannon booming and
-scattering grape and canister among them, and the rattle of small arms
-in their ears, they dug trenches along the streets from corner to
-corner; they battered down doors; with crowbars and axes they pried
-openings in walls--fighting the while, now at long range, now in deadly
-hand-to-hand encounters, and always with defiant smiles on their
-powder-blackened faces. The weather was wet and cold; the dismal streets
-were slippery with blood and choked with the d�bris of battle. Above, in
-the smoky air flapped from the church tower a black flag which meant "No
-quarter."
-
-On the third day Milam, leaping from a trench to the entrance of the
-Veramendi courtyard, was killed. A volley of shot spattered holes in the
-heavy, green, batten door beside him as he fell. The brave Chieftain was
-buried on the spot consecrated by his own blood. Colonel Johnson was
-elected leader in his place, and the fighting and burrowing went on.
-About noon the same day Henry Karnes stormed alone the only house
-between de la Garza's and the plaza, and forced an entrance with a
-crowbar under a heavy fire from the enemy.
-
-Henry Karnes, the hero of this exploit, was a trapper from the frontier
-of Arkansas. He had a genuine love of Indian warfare for its own sake,
-and in search of it came to Texas with the earliest pioneers. When the
-trumpet call for volunteers was sounded, he enlisted and soon came to be
-known, with his celebrated friend and companion Deaf Smith, as one of
-the best scouts and spies in the army. He had many adventures among the
-Indians. At one time in single combat with an Apache chief he was
-wounded and taken prisoner. His fiery red hair, which the Indians
-supposed to be painted, caused him to be regarded by them as a great
-medicine man. After his capture they concluded to deprive him of this
-charm, and, taking him to the nearest stream, they ducked his head under
-the water to wash the red from his hair. When they found, after nearly
-drowning him, that the red would not come off, they released him,
-satisfied that he was a favorite of the Great Spirit. He held the house
-he had taken, against the enraged Mexicans, until Captain York's company
-joined him and fortified the position.
-
-"These dogs of Texans are hard to beat off," thought General Cos,
-listening to the crack of their rifles. His crafty face lightened for
-one moment, for Ugartechea came in from the Rio Grande, and entered the
-fortress, in spite of the cordon of guards, with five hundred recruits.
-But such recruits! Cos' face darkened again. They were five hundred
-convicts chained together two and two, and driven like sheep by their
-guards.
-
-On the night of the 8th of December the Texans, by a sudden rush and
-under a hail of hostile bullets, made themselves masters of the Priest's
-House. The Priest's House was a large, thick-walled building, commanding
-the Military Plaza on the north side. The captors at once barricaded the
-doors and cut loop-holes in the massive walls. A loud cheer carried the
-news of their success to their comrades outside. "To-morrow!" they
-shouted joyously.
-
-But the capture of the Priest's House completely demoralized the
-Mexicans. On the morning of the 9th the cannon at the Alamo ceased their
-thunder; the black flag was hauled down from San Fernando's tower and a
-white one went up in its place.
-
-General Burleson entered the city the same day and arranged with General
-Cos the terms of surrender.[20] By these a large quantity of valuable
-stores, ammunition, artillery, small arms, and clothing remained in the
-hands of the victors. The Mexicans to the number of thirteen hundred,
-after taking an oath not to fight against Texas, were permitted to
-leave, the officers retaining their arms and private property.
-
-The Texan loss in this five days' fight was two killed and twenty-six
-wounded; the enemy lost about one hundred and fifty.
-
-General Burleson placed a small garrison in the fortress of the Alamo.
-The camp was raised, and many of the Texan volunteers scattered to their
-own homes and firesides, rejoicing in the fact that not a Mexican
-soldier remained to tread the soil of Texas.
-
-
-                           7. BY THE BRAZOS.
-
-In November, just before the fight at Concepcion, Houston, Wharton, and
-other delegates left Austin's army to take their seats as members of the
-General Consultation at San Felipe.
-
-Branch T. Archer was elected President of the Consultation.
-
-Many of the members were in favor of an outright declaration of
-independence; but the more prudent advised against a step so decisive. A
-temporary government was therefore agreed upon, and a declaration of
-adherence to the Republican constitution of Mexico of 1824 was signed
-and sent out. This declaration also gave the reasons of the colonists
-for taking up arms against military despotism, and stated that "they
-would not cease to carry on war as long as Mexican troops were within
-the limits of Texas."
-
-The convention then elected Henry Smith governor, and James W. Robinson
-lieutenant-governor of the provisional government. Branch T. Archer,
-William H. Wharton, and Stephen F. Austin were appointed commissioners
-to the United States. Houston was made commander-in-chief of the Texan
-army "to be raised."
-
-Sam Houston, placed in so responsible a place by the Consultation, was
-born in Virginia, but removed when a child to Tennessee with his widowed
-mother. He had a strong imperious and wayward disposition which showed
-itself from his early boyhood. At the age of fourteen he left home and
-joined a band of Cherokee Indians, was adopted into their tribe, learned
-their language, and wore their costume. In 1813 he served under Jackson
-in the Creek war; and at the battle of Topo-heka,[21] he was struck in
-the thigh by an Indian arrow; the barbed head buried itself deep in the
-flesh. He ordered the man by his side to pull out the arrow. After two
-vain attempts the man, who was the lieutenant of his company, turned
-away. Houston drew his sword and commanded him again to draw out the
-arrow. "If you fail," he declared, "I will kill you on the spot." The
-arrow on the third tug came out, leaving a gaping wound. At this battle
-he received also two bullets in his shoulder.
-
-                      [Illustration: Sam Houston.]
-
-He became in rapid turn major-general of the Tennessee militia, member
-of congress, and governor of his state. While he was governor, and in
-the full splendor of his brilliant career, he resigned his office in
-consequence of some private and domestic trouble, which has ever
-remained a secret, and took refuge among his old friends, the Cherokees,
-with whom he dwelt for years, living the life of an Indian warrior.
-
-In 1832 he went to Washington, D. C., in the interests of the Cherokees,
-and while there was appointed special Indian agent for the southwest.
-The same year he visited Texas. At San Felipe he met James Bowie and
-went with him to San Antonio to treat with the Comanches. In 1833 he
-settled in San Augustine, whence he went as a delegate to the
-Consultation of 1835.
-
-Governor Smith and his council continued in session at San Felipe. They
-provided for the raising and equipment of an army of twelve hundred
-soldiers, and made arrangements for a small navy.
-
-In December Major William Ward of Georgia arrived at San Felipe. He was
-in command of three hundred newly enlisted volunteers, known as the
-Georgia Battalion. He obtained from Governor Smith commissions for his
-officers and returned to Velasco where he had left his troops. Thence
-they marched to Goliad. About the same time Colonel Wyatt, with two
-companies of recruits, came from Alabama; and a little later the Red
-Rovers, a company from Courtland, Alabama, landed at Matagorda. Doctor
-Shackleford, the captain, sent a messenger to the governor to say that
-the Red Rovers placed themselves at the service of Texas to remain, not
-for a term of three, six, or twelve months, but as long as a man was
-left of the company, or there was an enemy to be found on Texas soil.
-This offer was accepted by the governor with gratitude, and the Red
-Rovers, as well as Colonel Wyatt's volunteers, were ordered to report to
-Colonel Fannin at Goliad.
-
-Bitter quarrels, however, soon arose between Governor Smith and his
-council and almost put a stop to all public business. Governor Smith was
-deposed, and Lieutenant-Governor Robinson was placed at the head of
-affairs. Finally, after providing for an election for delegates to a
-convention to be held at Washington on the Brazos March 1, the council
-adjourned.
-
-About the last of March the following year (1836), the Texans, to keep
-San Felipe from falling into the hands of Santa Anna, set fire to it
-themselves. The flames spread from cabin to cabin, roaring around the
-hearthstones so long noted for their hospitality. They swept past the
-one-room building where the conventions had been held and devoured the
-rude, unchinked log-hut in the black-jack grove beyond, where Henry
-Stephenson had preached, and where the first Sunday School had been
-organized; they consumed roof-tree and picket and garden-fence, so that
-in a few hours a heap of blackened ashes alone remained of the cradle of
-Texas.
-
-
-
-
-                                   V.
-                                GOLIAD.
-                              (1835-1836.)
-
-
-                       1. MESSENGERS OF DISTRESS.
-
-On the 20th of December, 1835, there was a spirited meeting of citizens
-and soldiers at the old town of La Bahia (Goliad) on the San Antonio
-River.
-
-La Bahia--which means "the bay"--was already old when Austin laid off
-his town on the Brazos. Captain Alonzo de Leon, on his way to attack La
-Salle at Fort St. Louis in 1689, stopped there; and in 1718 Don Domingo
-Ramon with his troopers and friars built there the Mission of Espiritu
-Santo (The Holy Ghost) for the benefit of the fierce Carankawae Indians.
-
-The town had seen stirring times during the century and a half of its
-existence. There had been many Indian fights in and around the mission
-church, when the garrison was weak and the priests could not control
-their red-skinned converts; it was in the same church in 1812 that
-Magee's army was besieged, and from its doors his Republicans sallied
-forth to their victorious hand-to-hand conflict with the Spaniards.
-Here, too, in 1819, General Long surrendered to the Mexicans and was
-carried away to a treacherous death.
-
-And here in October, 1835, the Mexican commandant Sandoval had been
-surprised in his sleep by the Texans, his soldiers made prisoners, and
-the fort and its stores handed over to his captors.
-
-The General Consultation at San Felipe in November, 1835, had thought it
-more prudent to declare their adherence to the Mexican republican
-constitution than to issue a declaration of independence.
-
-The citizens and soldiers of Goliad, on the 20th of December following,
-boldly set their names to a document resolving "that the former state
-and department of Texas is and ought to be _a free, sovereign, and
-independent state_."
-
-Among the signers were several boys fifteen and sixteen years of age.
-
-This paper was sent to the governor and his council at San Felipe by
-whom it was disapproved and suppressed. They thought it premature. But
-it was a straw that showed which way the revolutionary wind was blowing.
-
-Captain Philip Dimitt, who was at the head of this movement, was
-commandant at the fortress at Goliad with about eighty men under his
-command.
-
-Over at San Antonio at this time, there was much dissatisfaction among
-the volunteers remaining there. They were more restless than ever, with
-their own flag waving above the Alamo and no enemy in sight. They had
-left their homes and firesides for a purpose. It was fighting they were
-eager for, not idling around a camp-fire.
-
-They were, therefore, delighted when an expedition was set on foot for
-the capture of Matamoras on the Rio Grande River. General Houston, who
-had fixed his headquarters at Washington on the Brazos, wished to place
-Colonel James Bowie in command of this expedition; but in the confusion
-arising from the quarrels between Governor Smith and his council at San
-Felipe, an English physician, named Grant, assumed the leadership
-(January, 1836).
-
-Dr. Grant had taken part in the storming of San Antonio; he was brave
-and gallant, and a favorite with his fellow-soldiers. Two hundred
-volunteers gathered under his standard; he helped himself without leave
-to arms and ammunition from the fortress stores, took clothing and
-provisions from the townspeople, and started for Matamoras.
-
-He halted at Goliad. But only long enough to seize and press into
-service Captain Dimitt's drove of army horses.
-
-Here by order of the council, who had decided to sustain Grant, he was
-joined by Colonel Frank W. Johnson, and they marched away, leaving
-Captain Dimitt indignant and angry.
-
-The citizens and soldiers at San Antonio were likewise indignant and
-angry; and with far better reason. Colonel Neill, left by Johnson in
-command of the Alamo with only sixty men, sent to General Houston a
-report describing the helpless and suffering condition of that place
-after the high-handed raid of Grant and his volunteers.
-
-Houston was much disturbed by this report. He enclosed it to Governor
-Smith, requesting him to refer it to the council. The commander-in-chief
-denounced the action of Grant in strong terms and added:
-
-"Within thirty hours I shall set out for the army, and repair there with
-all possible dispatch. I pray that a confidential dispatch may meet me
-at Goliad.... No language can express my anguish of soul. Oh! save my
-poor country! Send supplies to the sick and the hungry, for God's sake!"
-
-He left Washington on the Brazos River on the 8th of January and reached
-Goliad on the 16th. On his arrival he sent for Colonel Bowie.
-
-                      [Illustration: James Bowie.]
-
-James Bowie had come to Texas with Long's expedition. He was a famous
-Indian fighter. In 1831, near the near the old San Saba Mission, with
-ten companions, including his brother, Rezin Bowie, he had fought one
-hundred and sixty Comanches and Caddoes, armed with bows and arrows, and
-guns. The savages surprised and surrounded the little party, discharging
-their arrows and firing their guns in true Indian fashion from behind
-rocks, trees, and bushes. The fire was returned, and at every crack of a
-rifle a redskin bit the dust. The crafty warriors, finding they could
-not dislodge the hunters, set fire to the dry prairie grass; then they
-renewed the attack, rending the air with shrill yells. "The sparks flew
-so thick," said Rezin Bowie afterward, "that we could not open our
-powder-horns without danger of being blown up." But they held their
-ground. The Indians drew off at nightfall, and all night long the
-hunters heard them wailing their dead. The next morning the red warriors
-had disappeared. Bowie lost but one man in this fight; the Indians had
-eighty-two killed and wounded.
-
-Bowie was as noted for his coolness and prudence as for his unflinching
-courage. In person he was tall and fair, with soft blue eyes, and a
-somewhat careless address. He had married a Mexican lady--the daughter
-of Vice-Governor Veramendi of San Antonio--and was devoted to the
-interests of Texas. He was the inventor of the deadly knife which bears
-his name.
-
-The result of the interview between Houston and Bowie was that Bowie
-left Goliad the next morning for San Antonio, with a company of thirty
-men. He bore orders from Houston to Colonel Neill to leave San Antonio,
-blow up the fort, and bring off the artillery.
-
-Colonel Neill found it impossible to get teams to transport the
-artillery; he therefore did not carry out any of these instructions.
-Bowie remained at San Antonio.
-
-Houston made an effort to concentrate at Goliad and Refugio the slender
-force which made up his army. But he was so hampered by the intrigues
-and wrangling of the government officials, that early in February he
-gave up the command and returned to Washington on the Brazos, leaving
-Colonel James W. Fannin in command of Goliad, with four hundred men. On
-the 25th of the same month a messenger came into Goliad. His face was
-worn with an anxiety which he did not try to conceal; his eyes were
-heavy with fatigue. He sought Fannin and had a brief but earnest talk
-with him. Then he turned, setting his face in the direction whence he
-had come, and went his way.
-
-This messenger was the fearless and courtly South Carolinian, James B.
-Bonham. His message was from Colonel Travis, pent up in the fortress of
-the Alamo and besieged by the army of Santa Anna. He appealed for help
-from Fannin and the army at Goliad.
-
-On the 28th Fannin started with reinforcements of men and artillery to
-the relief of Travis; but before he was fairly on the way his wagons
-broke down. While he was trying to get them repaired, and at the same
-time uncertain as to whether he should go on to San Antonio or not,
-Placido Benevidas (Ba-na-vee'das), one of Grant's men, came up with
-weighty news. The Mexican General Urrea (Ur-ra'a) was marching upon
-Goliad with an army of one thousand men. Fannin returned in haste to the
-town and began to strengthen his fortifications.
-
-San Patricio, where Grant and Johnson were encamped, was surprised on
-the night of the 28th of February by Urrea's soldiers. The volunteers,
-with the exception of Johnson himself and four of his companions who
-managed to escape, were all captured or killed. Grant, who was out with
-a squad of men collecting horses, was killed some days later and his
-body frightfully mutilated.
-
-
-                       2. IN CHURCH AND FORTRESS.
-
-A line of blood and flame seemed indeed to be closing upon Texas.
-General Urrea, after destroying Grant and his volunteers, was advancing
-toward Goliad with one thousand men. Santa Anna, with an army of seven
-thousand, had invested San Antonio.
-
-The defeat of General Cos had filled the haughty dictator of Mexico with
-fury. It was past belief that a handful of the despised colonists, armed
-with hunting-rifles, should have put to rout his own well-equipped
-regulars. He determined to punish this insolence as it deserved. And not
-only to punish, but to set an iron heel upon the rebellious province.
-
-                 [Illustration: THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO]
-
-All prisoners were to be shot; all who had taken part in the revolution
-were to be driven out of the country; the best lands were to be divided
-among the Mexican soldiers. The expenses of the rebellion were to be
-paid by the Texans. All foreigners giving aid to the rebels were to be
-treated as pirates.
-
-By the 1st of February Santa Anna had sent General Urrea to Matamoras, a
-town near the mouth of the Rio Grande River, with orders to proceed from
-that place against Refugio and Goliad. He himself took command of the
-main army, with General Filisola (Fee-lee-so'la) as second in command.
-General Cos and his men, who had taken oath not to bear arms again
-during the war, joined the army at the crossing of the Rio Grande River.
-On the 23d of February the first division of this united force appeared
-on the heights of the Alazan, west of San Antonio.
-
-The soldiers of the garrison were scattered about the town. No warning
-of a near approach of the enemy had come, and things looked tranquil
-enough that morning, with the soft winter sunshine flooding the yellow
-adobe walls and glinting the limpid river.
-
-A cry from the sentinel posted on the roof of San Fernando Church
-startled the stillness; its echoes leaped from street to street; the
-alarum bells burst into a clanging peal. The Mexicans were already
-pouring down the slopes west of the San Pedro River.
-
-The garrison hastily crossed the San Antonio River and entered the
-fortress of the Alamo. One of the officers, Lieutenant Dickinson,
-galloped in on horseback, with his baby on his arm and his wife behind
-him. Some beef-cattle grazing around the fort were driven in and the
-gates were closed.
-
-Colonel William B. Travis had succeeded Neill in the command of the
-fort, which was garrisoned by one hundred and forty-five men. Travis was
-but twenty-eight years of age; confident, bold, determined, and full of
-patriotic ardor. Colonel James Bowie was second in command.
-
-Among other defenders of the Alamo were Colonel James B. Bonham of South
-Carolina and David Crockett of Tennessee--"Davy" Crockett, the
-backwoodsman, bear-hunter, wit, and politician. Crockett had reached San
-Antonio just before the siege, with a small company of Tennesseeans, and
-offered his services to Travis. He was a picturesque figure in his
-fringed and belted buck-skin blouse and coon-skin cap. His long rifle,
-Betsy, had "spoken" in the war of 1812, and echoed since on many an
-Indian trail. Its last word was to be spoken at the defense of the
-Alamo.
-
-                    [Illustration: David Crockett.]
-
-The Mission of the Alamo, established in 1703 and several times removed,
-was finally built, in 1744, on the spot where it now stands. Like the
-other missions, it was both a church and a fortress. It is on the east
-side of the San Antonio River, facing the town to westward. The
-cross-shaped church, slit with narrow windows and partly roofless, stood
-on the southeast corner of a walled plaza several acres in extent. The
-other buildings--convent, hospital, barracks, and prison--were within
-the enclosure. There was also a small convent-yard adjoining the chapel.
-All of the buildings were of stone; the enclosing walls were built of
-adobe bricks. The sacristy of the church was used as a powder magazine.
-The place was defended by fourteen pieces of artillery.
-
-Santa Anna arrived in person on the 23d. He took possession of San
-Antonio town and sent a summons to the rebels in the Alamo for
-unconditional surrender. Travis received and dismissed the messengers
-with courtesy; then answered by the mouth of a cannon, "No." At the
-defiant boom which stirred the peaceful air of the valley, a blood-red
-flag was placed upon the tower of San Fernando, proclaiming "no
-quarter"; and a thunder of guns opened the attack.
-
-The besiegers at first made little headway. If they ventured across the
-river they were within reach of those unerring rifles they had such
-cause to dread. It was the third day before they succeeded in planting a
-battery between the fort and the bridge.
-
-The besieged within the fortress were calm and confident, though they
-were kept day and night at rifle and cannon. But they were fighting at
-fearful odds. Travis sent out an impassioned appeal to the council for
-aid. He also dispatched Colonel Bonham to Goliad, asking for Fannin's
-assistance. At the same time he proudly wrote: "I shall never surrender
-or retreat."
-
-On the eighth day of the siege thirty-two volunteers from Gonzales
-succeeded in passing the Mexican lines and entered the fort. Two days
-later Colonel Bonham slipped in alone, but bringing news that Fannin
-would march at once with men and artillery. On the 1st of March Travis
-wrote to the council; it was his last letter. "I shall continue to hold
-this place," he said, "until I get relief from my countrymen, or I shall
-perish in the attempt."
-
-But steady as was his spirit, he could not shut his eyes to the fact
-that the desperate game was well-nigh played out. On the 4th of March he
-called his men together and made them a short but ringing speech. There
-was, he told them, no longer any hope of reinforcements; death was
-staring them all in the face, and nothing remained but to sell their
-lives as dearly as possible. "Now," he concluded, drawing a line on the
-ground with his sword, "whoever is willing to die like a hero, let him
-cross this line." There was not a moment of hesitation. Gravely and
-silently, one by one, the men, with one exception,[22] stepped across
-the line and ranged themselves beside their leader. Bowie, who was sick,
-had himself lifted over in his cot.
-
-Sunday morning, March 6, between midnight and dawn, the final assault
-was made by the besiegers. The Mexican bugles sounded the notes of
-_Duquelo_ (no quarter); the thunder of cannon followed. The devoted
-little band of Texans, weary and worn with constant watching and
-incessant fighting, sprang to arms as cheerfully and quickly as to a
-holiday parade.
-
-The Mexicans, two thousand five hundred strong, closed about the walls.
-They were provided with scaling ladders, axes, and crowbars. A cordon of
-cavalry was placed around the fort to prevent escape.
-
-The enemy advanced in the gray dawnlight, under a deadly fire from the
-fort. Twice they placed their ladders against the walls, and twice they
-recoiled before the terrible hail of shot and shell poured upon them
-from the fort. The third time, driven by their officers at the point of
-the sword, the soldiers climbed the walls and swarmed over into the
-enclosure. Then began a stubborn and bloody combat, which strewed the
-plaza with corpses. The Texans fought grimly, silently, furiously, with
-pistols, with knives, with the butts of their rifles, dropping one by
-one, but sending as they fell scores of Mexicans to a bloody death.
-
-It was in the old church, dedicated to peace and prayer, that the last
-conflict took place. Here Crockett was killed, with Betsy, his long
-rifle, whose voice had resounded clearly above the uproar, in his hand.
-Bowie was slaughtered in his cot, after killing several of his
-assailants. Major T. C. Evans was shot in the act of putting fire to the
-powder magazine, as he had promised to do in case things came to the
-worst.
-
-Mrs. Dickinson and her child, with two Mexican women, were in a small
-arched room to the right of the chapel door. They were saved by the
-kindness of the Mexican officer, Colonel Almonte.
-
-The tall form of Travis had towered for an instant only above the
-battle-waves near a breach in the north wall; then he had gone down, his
-brave heart stilled forever. With his last breath he cried in a voice
-which rang above the deadly tumult: "_No rendirse muchachos!_" (Don't
-surrender, boys!)
-
-Bonham fell near him and almost at the same moment.
-
-Before nine o'clock the butchery was complete. Two thousand five hundred
-Mexicans, cavalry, artillery, and infantry, fresh and unwearied, had
-conquered after eleven days' siege a handful of poorly armed, outworn
-"rebels."
-
-Santa Anna directed the assault from a battery near the river. After the
-carnage was ended he came into the fort. He surveyed the bloody scene
-with a smile of satisfaction. His victory had cost him a thousand or
-more of dead and many wounded; but what did that matter? Not a Texan was
-left to tell the tale of the Alamo!
-
-The next day the dead bodies of the Texans were collected in heaps and
-burned. The smoke of that fire ascended to high heaven like a prayer for
-vengeance. The answer when it came was terrible.
-
-Mrs. Dickinson and her child, two Mexican women, and a negro servant
-belonging to Travis were the only survivors of this massacre. Mrs.
-Dickinson was placed on a horse with her child in her arms and sent by
-Santa Anna to the colonists with an insolent message announcing the fall
-of the Alamo.
-
-
-                           3. FORT DEFIANCE.
-
-On the 1st of March the General Convention met at Washington on the
-Brazos. On the 2d, while Travis' signal guns were still sending their
-sturdy boom across the prairies, a declaration of independence was read
-and adopted.
-
-Houston was made commander-in-chief of the armies of the Republic of
-Texas. David G. Burnet was elected President and Lorenzo D. Zavala
-Vice-President. Thomas J. Rusk was made Secretary of War.
-
-Sunday, the 6th of March, the day the Alamo fell, Travis' last appeal
-reached Washington--after the hand that wrote it was cold in death. His
-letter was read by the President to the members of the convention; it
-produced a powerful effect. In the first burst of feeling it was even
-proposed that the convention should adjourn, arm, and march to San
-Antonio.
-
-                   [Illustration: Mission at Goliad.]
-
-Houston spoke earnestly against such a step, and as soon as quiet was
-restored, he himself with two or three companions left for Gonzales,
-where the new volunteers were ordered to gather.
-
-The air as he rode westward was thick with rumors. He arrived at
-Gonzales on the 11th. The same day came the first tidings of the fall of
-the Alamo. It filled the town with a wail of desolation. Of the
-thirty-two men who had marched from Gonzales to the relief of Travis,
-and to their own death, twenty had left wives and children behind them.
-
-The arrival of Mrs. Dickinson with her child, and her story of the siege
-with all its ghastly details, added to the gloom. The moans of the widow
-and the fatherless mingled with the dreary bustle of preparation for
-flight. For it was rumored that the bloodthirsty Mexicans were
-approaching.
-
-General Houston had found three hundred recruits at Gonzales. But they
-were unprepared for an attack; they had neither provisions nor munitions
-of war; the place was without defenses of any kind. He therefore gave
-orders for retreat. At nightfall on the 13th the forlorn handful of
-women and children mounted horses, or clambered into wagons where a few
-household goods had been hastily piled; the troops formed around them,
-and at midnight the march began.
-
-As they moved away across the prairie a light reddened the sky behind
-them. It came from the flames of their own burning houses. A cry burst
-from the women, and the eyes already swollen with weeping overflowed
-again at the sight of their desolated hearthstones.
-
-
-When Colonel Fannin found himself unable to march to the relief of the
-Alamo, he re�ntered Goliad. He now knew that Urrea was advancing
-rapidly, and he made haste to strengthen his position. He had at this
-time five hundred men under his command. They occupied the Mission of
-Espiritu Santo, called by Fannin Fort Defiance. Earthworks had been
-thrown up around the old church, ditches dug, and cannon mounted. But
-the defenses were weak, the men were poorly fed and scantily clad. They
-were often compelled to mount guard barefoot. Fannin was filled with
-gloomy forebodings, although the signal-guns of the Alamo, which were to
-be fired as long as the flag continued to wave over that fortress, were
-not yet silenced.
-
-About the 12th of March Captain King was sent by Fannin with a small
-detachment of men to bring away the women and children from Refugio, a
-small town about twenty miles distant. King was attacked by the advance
-guard of Urrea's army, and had barely time to throw himself into the
-mission church at Refugio. From there he sent to Fannin for more troops.
-Colonel Ward, with one hundred and twenty-five men, immediately joined
-him in the church where he was entrenched.
-
-The next morning (14th) Captain King with his men left the fort on a
-scouting expedition. About three miles from the mission they were
-surprised by a large body of Mexicans, to whom they surrendered. A few
-hours later they were stripped of their clothing by their captors and
-shot. Their unburied bodies were left to decay on the open prairie.
-
-The same morning, about ten o'clock, fifteen of Ward's men were sent
-from the mission to the river about a hundred yards away to get water.
-They had filled two barrels and placed them on a cart drawn by a couple
-of oxen, and were about returning to the fort when some bullets sang
-over their heads. A glance showed them the Mexican army on the other
-side of the river, not half a mile distant. They hurried on as fast as
-they could, and reached the mission in safety with a good part of the
-water. One barrel was emptied of about half of its contents through a
-hole made by a shot from the advancing enemy.
-
-Urrea attacked the barricaded church. The battle lasted nearly all day,
-but late in the afternoon he drew off his beaten and discouraged force;
-he had two hundred killed and wounded. Ward's loss was three wounded.
-
-But the ammunition of the besieged was nearly exhausted, and that night,
-after supplying the three wounded men with water, Colonel Ward and his
-men stole quietly out of the church and slipped unseen past the Mexican
-sentinels.
-
-On the 21st, after weary marches through swamp and thicket and constant
-skirmishes with the enemy, they surrendered on honorable terms to Urrea,
-and were taken back to Goliad.
-
-
-                            4. PALM SUNDAY.
-
-Fannin turned away from General Houston's messenger on the morning of
-the 13th (March) with an anxious and gloomy face. The messenger, Captain
-Desauque, had just come in from Gonzales, leaving woe and despair behind
-him. He brought the black tidings of the fall of the Alamo, and he bore
-orders from the commander-in-chief for Fannin to blow up the fort, bury
-or throw into the river such of the cannon as he could not bring away,
-and retreat to Victoria on the Guadalupe River.
-
-There was scant time in which to mourn the fall of the Alamo, but the
-dark looks on the men's faces, as they buried the guns and demolished
-the fortifications, told of what they were thinking.
-
-Fannin sent a courier to Ward and King, ordering them to return at once
-from Refugio; this courier, as well as others sent later, was captured
-by Mexican scouts.
-
-Fannin waited five days in great suspense, loth to abandon these
-officers and the women and children whom they had been sent to protect.
-
-At length came the news of Ward's retreat from Refugio. The remaining
-works of Fort Defiance were destroyed, the buildings were set on fire,
-artillery and ammunition were loaded on wagons; the drums called the men
-from their ruined quarters. Mrs. Cash, the only woman left in Goliad,
-was placed in their midst, and, with a last glance at Fort Defiance,
-Fannin began his fatal retreat.
-
-This was on the 19th of March.
-
-The wagons, enveloped in fog, creaked their way across the San Antonio
-River and over the prairie beyond. The troops marched steadily. An
-ominous silence reigned everywhere; not even a Mexican scout was to be
-seen.
-
-Several miles from Goliad Fannin halted an hour in the open prairie to
-allow his jaded and hungry ox-teams to graze. At the moment the march
-was taken up, a line of Mexican cavalry came out of the wood skirting
-the Colita (Co-lee'ta) Creek two miles away. Their arms glistened in the
-sunlight, for the fog had lifted. A compact mass of infantry followed.
-Urrea's entire army was upon them.
-
-Fannin immediately formed his men in a hollow square with the wagons and
-teams in the center. His position had the double disadvantage of being
-unprotected and in a miry hollow some feet below the surface of the
-prairie around. But his men received the Mexican advance with a volley
-from the artillery and a galling fire from their rifles.[23]
-
-The cannon, for want of water to sponge them, soon became useless. With
-small arms alone, charge after charge of the enemy was repulsed; the
-prairie was soon covered with dead and dying men and horses.
-
-Early in the action Fannin received a severe wound in his thigh, but in
-spite of this he continued to direct his men with great courage and
-coolness.
-
-Many a poor fellow loaded and fired his gun with his own life-blood
-wetting the sod about him. One lad, named Hal Ripley, fifteen years of
-age, after his thigh was broken by a ball, climbed, with Mrs. Cash's
-help, into her cart. There, with his back propped and a rest for his
-rifle, he fired away calmly until another bullet shattered his right
-arm. He had, in the meantime, killed four Mexicans. "Now, Mother Cash,"
-he said cheerfully, "you may take me down."[24]
-
-At dark the Mexicans ceased firing and made their camp in the timber.
-Their bugles sounded shrilly the livelong night. That night was one of
-agony in the bloody little camp on the prairie. There were but seven
-Texans killed, but more than sixty were badly wounded. These groaned in
-the darkness, begging for water which could not be had, imploring aid
-which mortal hand was powerless to give. Those who were not wounded lay
-breathless and exhausted on the trampled ground, staring up at the sky
-and wondering what the morrow would bring forth.
-
-The morrow brought no help to them. To the already large force of Urrea
-it brought reinforcements to the number of three or four hundred men
-with artillery, ammunition, and supplies.
-
-Fannin watched the enemy ranging his men under the morning sky and
-dragging his cannon into place; then his haggard eyes sought his own
-brave little band. They were without food, drink, or ammunition; their
-teams were killed or disabled; their cannon were useless; the cries of
-their wounded rose mournfully on the heavy air. He called his officers
-together and submitted the question: "Shall we surrender or not?" The
-private soldiers were then asked to decide for themselves.
-
-During this consultation Mrs. Cash went to the Mexican camp to beg for
-water for the wounded men. She was accompanied by her son, a boy of
-fourteen years, who, like Hal Ripley, had fought the day before with the
-best and the bravest. They passed over the prairie strewn with the dead
-and dying, and entered the presence of the Mexican general. "I have
-come, sir," she said, fearlessly, "to ask you before the fighting begins
-again, to give me water for our wounded." Urrea looked at her without
-replying, and then his eyes fell upon the shot-pouch and powder-horn of
-the boy. "Woman," he demanded sternly, "are you not ashamed to bring a
-child like that into such scenes?" The boy himself answered with his
-blue eyes kindling: "Young as I am, sir," he said, "I know my rights, as
-everybody in Texas does, and I mean to have them or die."
-
-What the general might have said in answer to this insolent speech
-cannot be known, for at that moment a white flag was raised in the Texan
-camp.
-
-The majority of Fannin's men were in favor of surrender, though many
-thought in their hearts it would be better to die with arms in their
-hands like the defenders of the Alamo. Fannin himself was opposed to
-surrender. "We beat them off yesterday," he declared, "and we can do it
-again to-day."
-
-Favorable terms were secured from General Urrea by Fannin, and the
-prisoners of war were marched back to Goliad and placed in the mission
-church--Fannin's Fort Defiance. The wounded were brought in the next day
-and housed in the barracks; and several days later Ward and his men were
-thrust into the overcrowded church.
-
-The prisoners were ill fed and badly treated. But when the first shock
-of their defeat had passed, they began to look forward eagerly to their
-release. They were told that they were to be placed at once on ships and
-sent to New Orleans, where they would be paroled and set at liberty.
-
-On the Saturday evening after their capture, the sounds of gay laughter
-echoed from the time-stained walls of the chapel. The men sang "Home,
-Sweet Home," to the music of a flute played by one of their number.
-Fannin talked of his wife and children far into the night.
-
-The next day was Palm Sunday.
-
-In the old days of the mission, the Indian converts were accustomed on
-Palm Sunday to walk up the aisles of the church bearing green branches
-in their hands, in memory of Christ's entry into Jerusalem; and hymns of
-joy and praise mingled with the incense which arose from the altar.
-
-At just the sunrise hour, when in those old times the converts came
-carrying their dewy sweet-smelling boughs from the forest, the prisoners
-were awakened by their guards and marched out of the church. They were
-formed into four divisions and hurried away under various pretences.
-Some were even told that they were starting home.
-
-Three-quarters of a mile from the fort they were halted, drawn up in
-sections, and ordered to kneel. Everything had been so orderly, so
-natural, so swift, that only at the last moment did the men realize what
-was about to happen. "My God, boys," cried a voice that echoed like a
-shot on the clear air, "they are going to kill us."
-
-The guns of the guards were already turned upon the prisoners. A
-deliberate discharge followed this despairing cry; another, and another,
-and a heap of writhing, bleeding bodies was all that remained of
-Fannin's gallant band. A few escaped, struggling to their feet and
-fleeing to the swamp pursued by shots and curses. The surgeons and one
-or two others were saved by the kindness of Colonel Garay, a Mexican
-officer.[25] One of these, Dr. Shackelford, captain of the Red Rovers,
-heard the firing as he entered the tent of his preserver. He did not
-know that anything had gone wrong; but he trembled and turned pale, and
-well he might! For three of his young nephews and his own son were among
-the killed.
-
-Senora Alvarez, a Mexican woman, concealed several prisoners until after
-the massacre, and afterward helped them to escape. It was her tears and
-entreaties which moved Colonel Garay to risk keeping the surgeons in his
-tent. While the butchery was going on, she stood in the plaza, with her
-black hair streaming over her shoulders; and with flashing eyes she
-denounced Santa Anna and called down the vengeance of heaven upon his
-head. When she learned that Dr. Shackelford's son had been shot, she
-burst into tears and cried out, "Oh, if I had only known, I would have
-saved him."
-
-Her husband was one of Urrea's officers, and her kindness to the Texan
-prisoners throughout the war ought never to be forgotten. "Her name,"
-writes one of the survivors of the massacre, "should be written in
-letters of gold."
-
-The two brave boys, Harry Ripley and young Cash, were also among the
-slain.
-
-The wounded men were then dragged out of their beds and shot. Fannin,
-who was the last to die, met his fate inside the fort, it is even said
-inside the consecrated church. His high courage sustained him to the
-end. After receiving the promise of the officer in charge that he should
-not be shot in the head, that his body should be decently buried, and
-that his watch should be sent to his wife, he fastened the bandage about
-his eyes with his own hands, and welcomed death like a soldier. Not one
-of the promises made to him was kept.
-
-The dead Texans to the number of three hundred and fifty were stripped
-of their clothing and piled, naked, in heaps on the ground. A little
-brushwood was thrown over them and set on fire. It burned, crackling a
-few moments, and then the flames died out. The half-consumed flesh was
-torn from the bones by vultures.
-
-This cold-blooded murder was done by order of Santa Anna. For it, as for
-the massacre at the Alamo, a deadly vengeance was at hand.
-
-
-                5. REMEMBER THE ALAMO! REMEMBER GOLIAD!
-
-On the morning of the 21st of April, 1836, Houston, with his army of
-seven hundred Texans, and Santa Anna, with his army of more than twice
-that number of Mexicans, were encamped within a mile of each other near
-the banks of Buffalo Bayou.
-
-The country was in a wild panic. Men, women, and children were fleeing
-before the very rumor of Santa Anna's approach, as in the pioneer days
-they had not fled before the tomahawks of the Comanches.
-
-Houston's slow retreat[26] (begun on March 13), from Gonzales to the
-Colorado, from the Colorado to various points on the Brazos, with the
-enemy close upon his rear, had filled the stoutest hearts with doubt and
-alarm. After more than two months of suspense charged with the terrible
-episodes of San Patricio, Refugio, the Alamo, and Goliad, and the
-burning of San Felipe, Gonzales, and Harrisburg, the people began to ask
-of each other what would be the end.
-
-Here at last, on an open field and in a fair fight, the question was
-about to be answered.
-
-Santa Anna, after the fall of the Alamo, was filled with vain glory. He
-called himself the Napoleon of the West, and looked upon the Texan
-"rebels" as already conquered and suppliant at his feet. From his
-headquarters at San Antonio he directed his army to possess the country
-and to shoot every man taken with a gun in his hand. One division, under
-General Gaona, was ordered to Nacogdoches; General Urrea, after the
-battle of Colita, was ordered to sweep the coast from Victoria to
-Anahuac with his division; the central division, under Generals Sesma
-and Filisola, followed Houston almost step by step in his retreat. Santa
-Anna himself accompanied this division.
-
-On the 15th of April, believing that Houston was at last in his power,
-the Mexican commander-in-chief left his main army on the Brazos and
-marched, with about one thousand men, to Harrisburg, where he hoped to
-capture President Burnet and the members of his cabinet. He found
-Harrisburg deserted; whereupon he set fire to the town, and hurried to
-New Washington. From there, after burning the straggling village, he
-intended to move on to Lynch's Ferry (now Lynchburg) at the junction of
-Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River. His plan was to pursue the
-government officials to Galveston, whither they had retreated, make them
-prisoners, and so end the war. While his troops were in line for the
-ferry (April 20) he was startled by the arrival of a scout who reported
-the approach of Houston with his entire command. Santa Anna, thus cut
-off from his army, was taken completely by surprise.
-
-This was the moment Houston had so long awaited.
-
-"We need not talk," he said to Rusk, the Secretary of War, who was with
-the army. "You think we ought to fight, and I think so, too."
-
-                      [Illustration: Deaf Smith.]
-
-The rising sun of April 21 looked down bright and glowing upon the two
-hostile camps. The Texans were in a grove of moss-hung live oaks; in
-front of them a rolling prairie, gay with spring flowers, stretched away
-to the marshy bottom lands of the San Jacinto River; behind them Buffalo
-Bayou rolled its dark waters to Galveston Bay. The "Twin Sisters," two
-small cannon presented to the Republic by the citizens of Cincinnati,
-were planted on the rising ground before the camp. They were flanked on
-either side by the infantry. The cavalry, under the command of Mirabeau
-B. Lamar, was placed in the rear.
-
-              [Illustration: Battlefield of San Jacinto.]
-
-Santa Anna's camp also faced the prairie, but it had directly in the
-rear the oozy, grass-grown San Jacinto marsh.
-
-The day before (20th) when the ground was first occupied by the two
-armies, there had been some skirmishing. But this morning passed in a
-quiet, which was broken only by the arrival of General Cos at the
-enemy's camp with a reinforcement of five hundred men.
-
-Toward noon a profound silence fell upon the Mexican camp. The men,
-officers and soldiers, from Santa Anna to the humblest private, were
-taking their _siesta_ (afternoon nap).
-
-Meantime, General Houston, after a short consultation with his officers,
-sent for Deaf Smith.
-
-Deaf Smith was a bold, cool-headed, shrewd guide and spy, who had come
-from New York to Texas in 1821. He was hard of hearing (hence his
-nickname), silent and secretive in his manner, with the instinct and the
-unerring sight of a savage. It was Deaf Smith who had guided Fannin and
-Bowie from La Espada to Mission Concepcion, and led Johnson and Milam
-through the dark streets at the storming of San Antonio. It was he who
-had been sent to meet Mrs. Dickinson on her dreary journey from the
-Alamo; and when General Houston retreated from Gonzales, Deaf Smith,
-with one or two companions, was left to spy upon the movements of the
-enemy.
-
-Houston dispatched Smith with secret orders to cut down and burn Vince's
-bridge, about eight miles distant.
-
-This bridge, which both armies had crossed on their march to their
-present position, spanned Vince's Bayou, a narrow but deep stream
-running into Buffalo Bayou. To destroy it was to destroy the only means
-of retreat for either army.
-
-General Houston, after making these arrangements, paraded his army. The
-men were in high spirits. Their eyes were dancing, their fingers itched
-to pull the triggers of their guns. The day was waning; it was nearly
-three o'clock in the afternoon. At this moment Deaf Smith galloped in,
-his horse white with foam, with the news that Vince's bridge had been
-burned.
-
-The order to advance was given. A single fife struck up the curiously
-inappropriate tune, "Will you come to the bower I have shaded for you."
-The cannon were rushed forward within two hundred yards of the Mexican
-camp, and fire belched from the mouth of the "twins." The left wing of
-infantry under Colonel Sidney Sherman began the attack. There was a cry
-which split the air: "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!" and the
-whole force hurled itself forward like an avalanche.
-
-The effect was appalling. The Mexicans half awake, dazed and bewildered
-by the sudden charge, hardly tried after their first feeble volley, to
-return the fire of their assailants. Within a few moments the Texans,
-still uttering their hoarse watchword of vengeance, had leaped the
-barricade, and were in the very heart of Santa Anna's camp.
-
-Too excited or too thirsty for revenge to load, they beat down the foe
-with the butts of their rifles, clubbed them with pistols, slashed them
-with keen-edged bowie knives. The Mexicans fled like frightened sheep,
-some into the muddy morass where they were caught as in a trap, others
-toward the bayou and the ruined bridge, others again to the cover of the
-timber where they made haste to surrender. "Me no Alamo! Me no Alamo!"
-cried many of the panic-stricken soldiers, falling on their knees before
-their captors.
-
-                    [Illustration: Sidney Sherman.]
-
-By twilight the fleeing Mexicans were nearly all captured or killed, and
-the victors had time to breathe and to count their own dead. They had
-seven dead and twenty-seven wounded. Among the latter was General
-Houston, who received a wound in the ankle, which caused him to limp
-during the remainder of his life.
-
-The Mexicans lost six hundred and thirty-two killed and two hundred and
-eight wounded. Seven hundred and thirty-two prisoners were taken.
-
-Among the prisoners were the oath-breaker, General Cos;[27] Almonte,
-Santa Anna's private secretary; and Colonel Portillia, the officer who
-had been in command at Goliad when Fannin and his men were shot. General
-Santa Anna, riding a handsome black horse, had escaped. He was pursued
-as he fled from the field by Henry Karnes, who knew from the flying
-horseman's glittering uniform that he must be an officer of rank; he did
-not dream, however, that he was following Santa Anna. He felt sure of
-capturing the officer at Vince's Bayou, for he rode straight for the
-destroyed bridge. But after a single second of hesitation on the bank,
-the horse and rider seemed to rise in the air and then plunge downward.
-When Captain Karnes reached the stream, the gallant animal was
-floundering in the mud on the opposite side, unable to clamber up the
-steep bank. The rider had disappeared.
-
-
-                            6. TWO GENERALS.
-
-The next morning (22nd) General Houston was lying under an oak somewhat
-apart from the camp. The pain of his wound had kept him awake during the
-night, and he was sleeping lightly. Suddenly an excited murmur ran
-through the camp, a clamor of Mexican voices arose: "El Presidente! El
-Presidente!" and some soldiers approached, having in their midst a man
-dressed in soiled linen trousers, a blue jacket, a soldier's cap, and
-red worsted slippers. His linen, however, was of the finest, and he wore
-jeweled studs in his shirt front.
-
-Houston, awakened by the noise, looked up. His visitor bowed. "I am," he
-said in Spanish, "General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and a prisoner of
-war, at your service." He had just been captured, hiding, miserable and
-forlorn, in the long grass on the further side of the bayou. Houston
-waved his hand to a tool-chest near by, and Santa Anna sat down.
-
-A greater physical contrast can hardly be imagined than that between
-these two men now gazing steadily and silently at each other.
-
-The Dictator of Mexico was small and thin and not above five feet five
-inches in height. His swarthy face was ill-favored almost to
-repulsiveness; his small black eyes were cold and cruel. Houston was
-tall and finely proportioned, with fair complexion, open forehead, and
-fine blue eyes. Perhaps the one point of resemblance between the two
-generals lay in a certain foppishness in dress. But on this occasion
-this appeared in neither. Santa Anna had exchanged his gaudy uniform for
-the disguise he wore, and Houston was ill-kempt and shabby in his old
-campaign uniform.
-
-Almonte, who had been sent for to act as interpreter, now came up and
-the interview began. Santa Anna was at first very humble; he even wept
-copiously. But after swallowing some opium he recovered his arrogance,
-and demanded to be treated as a prisoner of war. He wished to arrange
-for his immediate release.
-
-When Houston dryly asked what consideration he could expect after the
-bloody scenes at the Alamo and Goliad, he pleaded the usage of war for
-the carnage at the Alamo. As for Goliad, he declared that Urrea had
-deceived him with regard to Fannin's surrender, and pretended to
-denounce his subordinate officer in bitter terms. "Urrea told me Fannin
-was vanquished," he said, "and I was ordered by my government to shoot
-every man found with a weapon in his hand."
-
-"You are yourself the government," Houston replied curtly. "A Dictator
-has no superior."
-
-"I have the order of Congress," Santa Anna insisted, "and that compels
-me to treat as pirates all who are found under arms. Urrea had no
-authority to make an agreement with Fannin. He has deceived me, and when
-I am free he shall suffer for it."
-
-Houston listened to this bluster, but declined to make terms with his
-prisoner, that power belonging alone to the Texan Congress.
-
-He treated the unfortunate general with generous courtesy, returning to
-him his tents and personal effects, and permitting him to be waited upon
-by his own servants.
-
-An order signed by Santa Anna was carried by Deaf Smith and Henry Karnes
-to General Filisola, the second in command, who was encamped near San
-Felipe, to conduct the Mexican troops to the Rio Grande.
-
-The Texan soldiers could not understand the mercy shown to the Mexican
-prisoners, particularly to Santa Anna, the cruel and heartless foe who
-had tortured and put to death so many of their brave countrymen. With
-dark and angry looks and open threats they swarmed about the place of
-the interview. Some of the officers were in favor of a drumhead
-court-martial and an immediate execution. But better counsels prevailed,
-and Santa Anna was allowed to retire to his camp-bed and rest in peace.
-
-The night which followed the victory was one of wild and grotesque
-rejoicing in the Texan camp. Huge bonfires were lighted, and by the red
-glow of their flames, the soldiers danced and sang and told over and
-over again the story of the great day and its triumphs. The Mexican camp
-was overhauled; the victors decked themselves with the arms of their
-foes, buckling about their waists two, three, or four brace of pistols,
-with powder-horns, shot-pouches, sabers, and bowie knives. They rigged
-out the captured mules with the gold epaulets of the Mexican officers,
-and the green and red cap-cords of the grenadiers. Then, lighting
-hundreds of wax candles found among the spoils, they paraded gayly
-about, waking the echoes of the night with their shouts of laughter. All
-this was not in very good taste, and it naturally made the prisoners
-very angry. But they might well have reflected that at least it was a
-better way of rejoicing over a victory than shooting prisoners in cold
-blood and setting fire to their naked corpses.
-
-The military stores taken in the battle, the cannon, small arms,
-ammunition, and mules, were kept by the government. The camp baggage was
-sold at auction, and the proceeds, with the contents of the military
-money-chest, were divided among the soldiers. This money, which amounted
-to about seven dollars and a half to each man, was all that they
-received for their service during the whole war.
-
-General Santa Anna's handsome silver-mounted saddle was purchased and
-presented to General Houston. The jeweled dagger handed to his captors
-by the Mexican General was also given to Houston.
-
-
-                   7. HOW THE GOOD NEWS WAS BROUGHT.
-
-On the approach of Santa Anna's army, President Burnet and his cabinet
-retired from Harrisburg to Galveston Island. They were closely pressed
-by the advance of the Mexican cavalry under Almonte. As the President
-stepped upon the flatboat which was to take him to the schooner _Flash_,
-at the mouth of the San Jacinto, he was for several moments a target for
-Mexican guns. But he reached the _Flash_ in safety, and the boat sailed
-across the bay to the almost deserted island. There, while the
-government officials waited in great anxiety and suspense for news from
-the army, they were joined by a large number of fugitives who had fled
-from their homes in the general panic. The steamboat
-_Yellowstone_--which had conveyed Houston's army across the Brazos at
-Groce's Ferry--came down loaded with refugees from the Brazos and
-Colorado. At Fort Bend it had passed the Mexican army under a hot fire.
-The smokestacks were riddled with bullet holes. The Mexican cavalrymen
-had tried at several points to lasso the boat from the bank as it
-steamed by, but fortunately their ropes were too short.
-
-The _Yellowstone_ brought news that Houston's army was on the road to
-Harrisburg. Burnet knew, therefore, that the long-delayed fight would
-take place soon or never. Very few people had any faith left in
-Houston's ability to defeat the Mexican army. Santa Anna was looked for
-in Galveston at any moment. Nearly all the women and children had
-already been placed on board the _Flash_, and the captain of the boat
-had orders to sail for New Orleans, where they would be safe.
-
-General Houston's first duty, after settling affairs in his somewhat
-disordered camp, was to send an express to the President with news of
-the victory, and to request him to come and treat in person with Santa
-Anna.
-
-At the battle of Concepcion Captain Robert Calder, then a private posted
-in the mission tower, had given notice of the enemy's approach. This
-young officer, who had also fought most gallantly in the battle of San
-Jacinto, volunteered to bear the General's dispatches to President
-Burnet. It is not to the young captain's discredit that the presence on
-the island of the beautiful girl whom he afterward married had something
-to do with his eagerness to perform this service.
-
-                    [Illustration: Thomas J. Rusk.]
-
-He started on the morning of the 23d accompanied by B. C. Franklin and
-two soldiers detailed for the expedition. No boat was to be had except
-an open and weather-stained skiff with two pairs of oars. No provisions
-could be procured; the country around had been swept clean by the
-Mexicans. But the little party paddled away cheerily down the bayou.
-Late at night they found some food in a deserted cabin on the bank. The
-next day they entered the bay. The waves were rough; it was hard rowing
-and the boat leaked badly. Captain Calder had most of the work to do,
-the others having given out completely. Much of the way they coasted
-close to the shore, Calder wading and shoving or pulling the skiff
-along. They saw but one living human being on their trip. This was a
-wild African negro who had perhaps escaped from some slave-ship on the
-coast. On the fifth day they crossed from Virginia Point to the
-war-schooner _Invincible_, which was lying in the bay off Galveston. As
-they approached, Captain Brown hailed them through his speaking trumpet:
-"What news?"
-
-The unexpected reply, "Houston has defeated Santa Anna and captured his
-whole army," caused an instant outburst of wild excitement. The wet,
-weary, and hungry messengers were dragged on board and questioned by
-everybody at once. Captain Brown cried to his gunners: "Turn loose old
-Tom." Old Tom, the cannon, was fired three times before Captain Brown
-remembered that it was the business of the Commodore to order a salute.
-"Hold on there, boys," he said, "or old Hawkins will have me in irons."
-
-He sent Captain Calder and his men over to the flag-ship _Independence_,
-where Commodore Hawkins received them with enthusiasm and ordered a
-salute of thirteen guns.
-
-The news spread among the ships and through the fleet of small boats
-that swarmed up to hear the story. It passed on to the land, where
-people were running about in a wild state of alarm at the sound of the
-commodore's guns. Alarm was changed to joy. The refugees hugged each
-other, weeping tears of gladness, and fairly beside themselves with
-delight. President Burnet received Captain Calder in his tent and heard
-the story of the battle with deep emotion.
-
-The young captain, "having changed his clothes," as he relates, went in
-search of the bright-eyed girl whom he had not seen since the war began.
-As he passed, unknown, through the groups of men, he heard one man
-exclaim: "What! the whole Mexican army defeated and Santa Anna taken
-prisoner? No, gentlemen; these fellows are scoundrels and deserters. It
-is too big a story, and they ought to be taken into custody at once!"
-
-President Burnet and his suite boarded the _Yellowstone_ the same day
-(April 27) and steamed up to the new camp near Harrisburg, whither
-Houston had removed his army. There he met Santa Anna and arranged the
-basis of a treaty which the Mexican general signed on the part of his
-country.
-
-By the terms of the treaty the Mexican army was to withdraw from Texas
-soil; hostilities were to cease; American prisoners were to be released;
-and all property seized during the invasion was to be returned to the
-owners. Santa Anna was to be liberated at the discretion of the
-Congress.
-
-On the 3d day of May the Mexican prisoners were placed on board the
-_Yellowstone_ and carried to Galveston island, where they were kept
-under close guard.
-
-President Burnet accompanied Santa Anna to the coast, whence it was
-intended to embark the Mexican general at once for Vera Cruz.
-
-Soon after the battle of San Jacinto, General Houston, leaving Rusk, who
-had recently been appointed brigadier-general, in command of the army,
-went to New Orleans to have his shattered ankle treated by his own
-physician.
-
-Filisola had heard of the defeat and capture of his commander-in-chief
-and was already in full retreat when Santa Anna's order reached him. He
-arrived at Goliad about the 20th of May.
-
-Here, on the 26th, Commissioners Benjamin Fort Smith and Henry Teal
-found him. They had been sent by President Burnet with a copy of the
-treaty between Santa Anna and the Texan congress for Filisola's
-signature. He signed it, and continued his march westward to the Rio
-Grande.
-
-On June 4 General Rusk--who had followed with the Texan army to see that
-the Mexicans retreated in good faith--stopped at Goliad to fulfill a
-sacred duty. This was to collect and bury the remains of the victims of
-the Palm Sunday massacre.
-
-The charred and sun-dried skeletons scattered about the ground were
-gathered together and reverently laid in a pit dug for the purpose. The
-army was paraded inside the fort, and from thence, slowly and with
-reversed arms, to the beat of muffled drums, the soldiers marched to the
-chosen spot. With the procession walked several of Fannin's men who had
-escaped death on that fatal Sunday.
-
- [Illustration: Map of Texas at the Close of the War of Independence.]
-
-  Red River
-  Trinity R.
-  Brazos R.
-  Colorado R.
-  Nacogdoches
-  San Augustine
-  Old San Antonio Road
-  Guadaloupe R.
-  San Antonio
-  Nueces R.
-  Rio Grande del Norte
-  Presidio of San Juan Bautista
-  Sabine R.
-  Neches R.
-  Washington
-  San Felipe de Gonzales
-  Austin
-  Anahuac
-  Harrisburg
-  Columbia
-  Brazoria
-  La Vaca R.
-  Golita Cr.
-  Victoria
-  Goliad
-  Refugio
-  San Patricio
-  Matamoros
-  Galveston I.
-  Velasco
-  GULF OF MEXICO
-  Matamoros
-
-General Rusk began an address, the troops standing around him. "But in
-truth he did not finish what he intended to say, for he was overpowered
-by his feelings, and the tears rolled down his cheeks, and he had to
-stop speaking. There were but few dry eyes on that occasion."[28]
-
-So powerful was the impression produced on the men who assisted in this
-mournful ceremony that General Andrade (An-dra'da), who was bringing up
-the rear of the Mexican army, was advised by Rusk that it would not be
-safe for him to attempt to pass through Goliad, as he could not answer
-for what his own men might do. Andrade was therefore obliged to cut a
-crossing seven or eight miles long through the chapparal thickets, in
-order to reach the main road. The Mexican army marched slowly westward
-with trailing banners. San Antonio and other places held by Mexican
-garrisons were given up. At length the Rio Grande was reached and
-crossed.
-
-The independence of Texas was achieved.
-
-
-
-
-                                  VI.
-                                HOUSTON.
-                              (1836-1842.)
-
-
-                          1. ON BUFFALO BAYOU.
-
-The treaty between Santa Anna and the Texan Congress was concluded at
-Velasco (May 14), and to the written paper was affixed the seal of the
-Republic.
-
-The choice of this seal was the result of an accident. When the
-declaration of independence was adopted at San Felipe, Governor Smith,
-having no other seal, used one of the brass buttons from his coat. Its
-device chanced to be a five-pointed star encircled by a wreath of oak
-leaves. The Lone Star with its wreath thus became the official signet of
-the Texas Republic.
-
-                [Illustration: Flag of Texas Republic.]
-
-Santa Anna was conducted on board the war-schooner _Invincible_, which
-had orders to convey him and his staff to Vera Cruz on the coast of
-Mexico. But public feeling was so strong against setting free the arch
-enemy of Texas that President Burnet was obliged to have him brought on
-shore again. He was sent from Velasco to Columbia, and thence to
-Orizaba, the country place of Dr. Orlando Phelps, on the Brazos River. A
-plot for his release was soon afterward discovered. This caused him to
-be put in irons, and to receive a small taste of the ill-treatment he
-had so often accorded to others. It was not until after the return of
-Houston from New Orleans in the fall that the captive general was
-finally released.
-
-Meantime there was great dissatisfaction in the army. The soldiers,
-having no fighting to do, began to remember that they were hungry and in
-rags. They clamored for money which the poverty-stricken government
-could not give them; and they still demanded loudly the death of Santa
-Anna.
-
-In June Major Isaac Burton, with a company of mounted rangers on the
-lookout for Mexican vessels at Copano, succeeded in decoying into port
-and capturing three supply ships which belonged to the enemy. These were
-the _Watchman_, the _Comanche_, and the _Fanny Butler_. The supplies,
-valued at twenty-five thousand dollars, were sent at once to the army.
-This timely relief and the re-imprisonment of Santa Anna restored the
-soldiers to good humor.
-
-In September a general election was held. General Houston was made
-President, and Mirabeau B. Lamar Vice-President. The new term was to
-begin in December; but President Burnet, glad to lay down the burden
-which he had borne wisely and virtuously, resigned his office, and on
-the 22d of October Houston was inaugurated.
-
-The ceremony took place at Columbia. Among those present were many who
-had been prominent in the revolution: Stephen F. Austin, ex-Governor
-Smith, Branch T. Archer, the Whartons, Mosely Baker, Sidney Sherman,
-John T. Austin, William Austin, and many others.
-
-Santa Anna, in his guarded apartment not far away, might almost have
-heard the echoes of his old enemy's voice when, at the conclusion of his
-address, Houston unbuckled his sword and handed it to the Speaker of the
-House, with the assurance that if his country should ever call for his
-services again he would resume his sword and respond to that call with
-his blood or his life.
-
-Stephen F. Austin was made Secretary of State in Houston's cabinet. He
-had but lately returned from the United States, where he had rendered
-important service to Texas during her struggle for independence. He now
-saw his highest hopes realized. His beloved colonists had become a free
-people. His chosen land would now blossom like a rose in the fair
-sunshine of peace.
-
-He began his new duties with ardor. But constant anxiety and the
-hardships of prison life had left him weak and delicate. The unfinished
-room where he worked was without fire; he was seized suddenly with
-pneumonia, and after a short illness he died (December 27, 1836).
-
-The Father of Texas was but forty-three years old. His life had been
-noble, useful, and unselfish, and his death was a public loss. His body
-was conveyed in the steamer _Yellowstone_ to Peach Point on the Brazos,
-near Columbia. There, in the presence of the President and his cabinet,
-the officers of the army and navy, and a large concourse of citizens, he
-was buried with military honors.
-
-                   [Illustration: Mirabeau B. Lamar.]
-
-The first regular Congress had a hard task before it. The people of
-Texas were in favor of annexation to the United States. But a strong
-faction in that nation, though willing to acknowledge Texas as an
-independent country, was strongly opposed to receiving another slave
-state. The young Republic was therefore obliged to stand alone.
-
-There was a large public debt, but no money in the treasury. Mexico
-still laid claim to her rebellious province, and it was necessary to
-maintain an army to repel invasion, and a navy to defend the coast. The
-Indians were troublesome. The civil law, in the confusion and disorder
-of the war, had become almost a dead letter.
-
-This was a tangled skein, but Congress set to work with hearty good will
-to unravel the threads. The legislature provided for the public debt and
-other state expenses by issuing land scrip (government paper entitling
-the holder to so many leagues of land).
-
-      [Illustration: First Capitol of Texas.  At Columbia (1836).]
-
-County and magistrate courts were organized; a Supreme Court was formed,
-and the Spanish code of laws was displaced by the code used by the
-United States. The soldiers instead of their pay received permission to
-go home on long visits to their families. Some vessels were bought for
-the navy, and commissioners were sent to the different Indian tribes to
-make treaties of friendship.
-
-Congress adjourned in December. The following May it met in the new town
-on Buffalo Bayou named in honor of the President.
-
-Monsieur Le Cl�re (Le Clare), a Frenchman who visited Texas about this
-time, writes thus of Houston: "I cannot say that Houston is a great
-city, although it is a capital. The principal street, Main Street, which
-is laid out in a straight line, and handsome enough for the country,
-runs down to the river. The footwalks are barely marked out. We found
-the landing still blocked by enormous trunks of trees. Great southern
-pines are left standing in the street. The ascent which leads from the
-bayou to the city is very rough, and one stumbles over the logs that
-encumber it. By the side of houses of tolerably fine appearance (though
-built entirely of wood), one meets here and there with those poor houses
-called log cabins. Finally, as a last touch to this picture, there stand
-in Main Street and near the capitol two great tents which would do honor
-to a chief of the Tartars or Bedouins.
-
-"The environs of Houston are not inhabited. A great number of the people
-I saw in the city were going further west, but their passage gave it a
-very lively appearance. They were on horseback, and almost all armed
-with the terrible weapon called the bowie knife. Most of them carried
-before them on the saddle that rifle, excessively long, which they
-handle with a wonderful skill, and which Jackson's men used so well at
-the battle of New Orleans."
-
-The capitol building was unfinished, and Congress was obliged to shorten
-its sittings when it rained or a "norther" blew fiercely through the
-shutterless windows. The President's house was a double log cabin with a
-puncheon floor. But the naturalist Audubon describes President Houston
-(May, 1837) as receiving his guests in this rude cabin, "dressed in a
-fancy velvet coat and trousers trimmed with gold lace; and around his
-neck was tied a cravat somewhat in the style of 1776."
-
-The same writer speaks of the members of the cabinet as men bearing the
-stamp of "intellectual ability, simple, though bold in their general
-appearance."
-
-All sorts of people from at home and abroad thronged the little capital.
-Curious travelers like Audubon and Le Cl�re, the Frenchman, brushed
-against hunters clad in buck-skin, traders with pack-mules, and
-eager-eyed young adventurers from "the States."
-
-                   [Illustration: A Comanche Chief.]
-
-A great many Indians came into the town to see their Great Father,
-Houston. One such deputation was from the hunting-grounds of the
-Comanches. They came to make their treaty of peace in person. They rode
-mustang ponies, and brought their squaws and papooses with them. After
-setting up their buffalo-hide lodges on the prairie near the town, the
-warriors marched in single file to President Houston's own residence.
-They were all tall and finely formed, with very red skin, and jet-black
-hair which they wore hanging in long locks down their backs. These locks
-were ornamented with bands of silver. Many of the warriors wore, just
-below the elbow, clumsy rings of copper or gold, from which dangled the
-scalp-locks of their dead enemies. Monsieur Le Cl�re, who saw this
-procession, says that one young Indian had two of these rings hung with
-ten or fifteen heads of hair of different colors. The women wore tight
-leggings of tanned buck-skin, with tunics of wolf or jaguar skins,
-trimmed with beads and quills. Many strands of colored beads were strung
-around their necks, and their hands were loaded with gold and silver
-rings. Some of their costumes were graceful and pretty. The wearers were
-nearly all old and ugly; but one young girl, the daughter of the chief,
-is described as very beautiful, with liquid black eyes, softly rounded
-cheeks, and red laughing lips. She wore on her head a crown made of
-eagle feathers, and her girdle was a band of heavy silver discs.
-
-The President welcomed his red brothers gravely and kindly. The calumet,
-or pipe of peace, was smoked and the treaty was made. The Indians
-received presents of beads, blankets, and red cloth. The old chief when
-he rode away carried the Texas flag tied to a stalk of sugar cane. "Me
-big chief! Houston big chief!" he cried, striking his breast with his
-hand.
-
-
-                           2. THE INVINCIBLE.
-
-The provisional government of 1835 provided for a navy to serve the new
-Republic of Texas. It was not a very formidable navy. It consisted at
-first of two vessels--the schooners the _Invincible_ and the _Liberty_.
-Afterward were added the _Independence_, which became the flag-ship of
-Commodore Hawkins, commandant of the fleet, the _Brutus_, and several
-small sloops, including the _Champion_ and the _Julius C�sar_.
-
-These ships cruised about the Gulf of Mexico, watching the coast and
-doing what they could with their small guns to annoy the Mexican
-war-vessels. Early in April, 1836, the _Invincible_, commanded by
-Captain Jerry Brown, met the Mexican brig, the _Montezuma_, near Tampico
-and fired upon her. A spirited engagement followed which lasted several
-hours, and in which the _Montezuma_ was badly disabled. She drew off,
-and in attempting to enter the harbor ran aground.
-
-The _Invincible_ sailed away unhurt, and the next day met and captured
-the American brig, the _Pocket_, which was on her way to a Mexican port
-with a cargo of supplies for Santa Anna's army. Captain Brown brought
-the _Pocket_ into Galveston, whence the supplies were forwarded to the
-army.
-
-The _Invincible_, lying at that time in the bay, received from Captain
-Calder the first news of the victory at San Jacinto, and Captain Brown
-at once "turned loose Old Tom" to express his own joy therefor.
-
-The _Yellowstone_ came down from the Texan camp and landed the Mexican
-prisoners on the island; she then proceeded to Velasco, having on board
-the President and his cabinet officers, and General Santa Anna and his
-staff.
-
-The _Invincible_ was ordered to follow, and after signing the treaty,
-Santa Anna was conducted on board, and Captain Brown received orders to
-sail to Vera Cruz with the defeated general. The Texan commissioners
-empowered to treat with the Mexican government were also on board. As
-already related, Santa Anna was taken ashore again and placed in prison.
-The _Invincible_ with the _Brutus_ was soon afterward sent to New York
-for repairs. The _Liberty_ conveyed General Houston to New Orleans, and
-was there sold to pay her war-expenses.
-
-The new Congress was without means to meet the cost of repairing and
-refitting the _Invincible_ and her sister ship. They were on the point
-of being sold when Henry Swartwout, the collector of the port of New
-York, with great generosity provided the money from his private purse.
-They were completely equipped and sent to sea the same year.
-
-In 1837 the entire fleet set out for a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. The
-_Champion_ and the _Julius C�sar_ were taken by the enemy on the 12th of
-April. Both carried valuable cargoes, and their loss was a keen blow to
-the young government.
-
-On the 17th of April the _Independence_ encountered near Velasco two
-Mexican brigs of war,--the _Libertador_, armed with sixteen 18-pound
-guns and manned with one hundred and forty men, and the _Vincedor_, with
-six 12-pounders and one hundred men. The _Independence_ had but
-thirty-one men. The action, in which the Texans behaved with great
-gallantry, was a short and severe one. It ended in the capture of the
-_Independence_. The crew were sent as prisoners to Matamoras.
-
-   [Illustration: Old Capitol at Houston (1837). From an old Print.]
-
-A little later the _Invincible_ and the _Brutus_ captured the Mexican
-schooners, the _Obispo_ and the _Telegraph_. Both boats were sent in as
-prizes.
-
-In August the _Brutus_ and the _Invincible_ reached Galveston with
-another prize. The _Brutus_ with the prize entered the harbor safely,
-but the _Invincible_ did not succeed in passing the bar. She was
-attacked the next morning (26th) by two Mexican ships. The _Brutus_
-started out to assist her, but ran aground and lay helpless on the sand.
-The _Invincible_ held her own against the enemy all day; at nightfall
-she struck on the breakers. Her crew were saved, but the gallant old
-ship went to pieces.
-
-The next year (1838) a new navy was voted by Congress. Several vessels
-were bought, but there was now no duty for them to perform. They were
-placed in the service of Yucatan, which was in revolt against Mexico.
-Some years later, when Texas was annexed to the United States, they
-passed into the navy of that country.
-
-The _Brutus_, the last ship of the old Texan navy, was lost in a storm
-at Galveston Bay as late as 1867.
-
-
-                            3. THE CAPITAL.
-
-One of the laws of the constitution provided that no one should be
-allowed to hold the office of President for two successive terms.
-Houston's term of office expired in 1838, and Mirabeau B. Lamar was
-elected President and David G. Burnet Vice-President.
-
-The Secretary of War under Lamar was Albert Sidney Johnston. This
-brilliant young soldier came to Texas just after the battle of San
-Jacinto. He was a graduate of West Point, and had served in the
-Blackhawk war.
-
-Johnston at once organized a force to act against the Indians. Lamar did
-not have Houston's kindly feeling for the Red Men. He looked upon them
-as dangerous enemies, and he wished to rid the country of them entirely.
-The Indians, on their side, had been breaking the treaties made with
-Houston.
-
-Mexico was too full of troubles at home to invade Texas again. But
-Mexican agents were sent among the Cherokees and Comanches to stir them
-up against the white settlers, and incite them to reclaim their lands.
-Many homes on the frontier were burned, and their peaceable inmates
-killed or taken prisoners. The Texas rangers, under General Rusk and
-Colonel Burleson, finally defeated and subdued the most troublesome of
-the warlike tribes, and the frontier became quiet once more.
-
-      [Illustration: First Executive Mansion. At Houston (1837).]
-
-But in 1840 trouble broke out again with the Comanches. Twelve chiefs of
-this tribe came to San Antonio to sign a new treaty. As usual, they were
-accompanied by their women and children. They had promised to bring with
-them thirteen white prisoners, but they appeared with but one, a little
-girl named Matilda Lockhart, who had been carried away in a raid on her
-father's house two years before. The chiefs declared they had no more
-prisoners. But the child said there were others at the camp, who were to
-be brought in one by one for large ransom. A company of soldiers was
-ordered into the council-room, and the Indians were told that they were
-prisoners until the other white captives were given up. One of the
-chiefs immediately attempted to escape, stabbing the sentinel at the
-door. A furious combat followed, in which the twelve chiefs were all
-killed. In the plaza outside there was also a desperate fight. The
-Indian women took part in this, and three of them were killed. Captain
-Matthew Caldwell, who was unarmed, defended himself with stones until
-his assailant was killed. Judge Thompson, who had been playing with the
-Indian children, setting up pieces of money for them to shoot at, was
-slain by an arrow from one of their bows. Colonel Wells came riding into
-the plaza in the midst of the skirmish. A powerful Indian leaped on his
-horse behind him and tried to shake him off. Unable to do this he seized
-the bridle and tried to guide the horse out of the plaza. Colonel
-Wells's arms were pinioned so that he could not draw his pistol, and it
-was only after careering thus several times around the plaza that the
-Indian was shot by a soldier and the Colonel released. The band was
-finally overpowered. Thirty-two warriors, three squaws, and two children
-were killed; the others were all made prisoners. This encounter is known
-as the "Council-house Fight."
-
-Congress held its meetings in Houston until 1839. But the site for a new
-capital had been chosen. It was on the banks of the Colorado River, on
-the then extreme frontier. Two or three pioneer cabins already stood
-there, and the little settlement bore the proud name of Waterloo. But
-bands of savage Indians still roamed the hills and prairies adjacent. It
-was necessary to place guards about the grounds to protect the masons
-and carpenters while they were at work on the capitol building. Among
-the buildings erected was a blockhouse, as a refuge for the women and
-children in case of an Indian raid. The new capital was named Austin, in
-grateful memory of the Father of Texas.
-
-Congress met at Austin for the first time in October, 1839. Among the
-important acts of this session was the appropriation of fifty leagues of
-land for a state university, and three leagues to each county for
-schools.
-
-This Congress also adopted a national flag, the same now used as the
-Texas state flag.
-
-The first Lone Star flag was made at Harrisburg, and presented to a
-military company in 1835. The star was five-pointed, white, set on a
-ground of red. The flag raised by Fannin on the walls of Goliad when he
-heard of the declaration of independence was an azure star in a white
-field. Travis and his men, ignorant of the declaration, died fighting
-under the banner of the Republic of Mexico.[29]
-
-England, France, Holland, and Belgium in turn recognized the
-independence of the Republic. Texas, in spite of many drawbacks, was
-growing in strength.
-
-The last year of Lamar's term of office, however, was clouded by an
-unfortunate affair known as the "Sante F� Expedition."
-
-A scheme was set on foot for the occupation of New Mexico, whose people
-were said to be anxious to join the Texas Republic. Its real object was
-to divert into Texas the rich trade of Sante F� with Old Mexico. An
-expedition was organized and started from Brushy Creek, near Austin,
-June, 1841. It was composed of about two hundred and seventy soldiers,
-together with a number of traders and adventurers. The soldiers were
-under the command of General Hugh McLeod.
-
-Congress opposed this expedition, but President Lamar favored it, and
-sent with it three commissioners as agents of the government to treat
-with the people of New Mexico. General McLeod's brass six-pound cannon
-was stamped with the name of the President, Mirabeau B. Lamar.
-
-The journey was a long and painful one. The men suffered from thirst in
-crossing those barren western plains, where water is scarce. They had
-nothing to eat. "Every tortoise and snake, every living and creeping
-thing was seized upon and swallowed by the famishing men."[30] They were
-without guides, and the Indians hung about their camps killing their
-pickets and stealing their horses.
-
-When they reached New Mexico they were worn out and half starved.
-Instead of being welcomed as liberators they were looked upon as spies
-and enemies.
-
-Under promise of good treatment they finally surrendered to the force
-sent against them. They were at once thrown into prison. Later they were
-sent, chained like criminals, to the city of Mexico. Several of them
-died on the march, unable to endure the brutality of their guards.
-
-The survivors were held as prisoners in Mexican dungeons until the next
-year, when by the intervention of the American minister they were
-released and sent home.
-
-
-                      4. THE WAR OF THE ARCHIVES.
-
-Houston was elected President of the Republic for the second time in
-September, 1841. Edward Burleson was elected Vice-President.
-
-The new President recommended economy to the government. There was not a
-dollar in the treasury. He caused his own salary to be reduced, and
-several useless offices were abolished by his advice. He favored a more
-friendly attitude toward the Indians, and the establishment of
-trading-posts for them on the frontier. He advised that no active steps
-be taken against Mexico, though Texas, he said, should be prepared to
-defend herself against that country if necessary.
-
-For Santa Anna, after many turns of fortune, was once more in power in
-Mexico, and had declared war against Texas.
-
-In the spring of 1842 several incursions were made into Texas by Mexican
-soldiers. One band, under Rafael Vasquez, raided San Antonio; another
-swept the country about Refugio and Goliad. There was great excitement
-everywhere.
-
-Excitement of another kind filled the new capital one day soon after
-these raids. The citizens, men, women, and children, swarmed into the
-streets, looking at each other with indignant eyes. The blockhouse stood
-wide open, showing plainly that the Indians had nothing to do with the
-trouble.
-
-"What's the matter?" demanded a tall hunter, who had just come in, rifle
-on shoulder, from the frontier. He glanced, as he spoke, from a small
-cannon in the street to a company of mounted rangers, who seemed to be
-guarding some wagons in front of the Land Office.
-
-"Matter enough," replied a dozen voices at once. "Old Sam Houston has
-changed the capital back to Houston and sent for the archives. We are
-determined that the records of the Republic shall remain in the true
-capital of the Republic."
-
-                   [Illustration: Texas State Seal.]
-
-This was true. President Houston, believing Austin in its exposed
-position was in danger of Mexican raids, had fixed Houston as the place
-of meeting for the next Congress. Perhaps he was not sorry for the
-chance, for he had a great affection for the town named for himself. He
-had also ordered the archives removed to that place. The people of
-Austin had refused to allow their removal. The angry President had then
-sent an armed force to take them.
-
-When the loaded wagons turned away from the Land Office they were
-greeted by a volley of grape and canister from the little
-cannon--touched off by a woman, Mrs. Eberle. No one was hurt, and in the
-confusion the wagons rattled away, protected by their escort.
-
-The citizens armed themselves and pursued the train. They came up with
-it during the night about eighteen miles from Austin. After a conference
-between the leaders on both sides, the rangers agreed to carry the
-records back to the capital. The whole party appeared there the next day
-and were received with shouts of triumph by the people. The disputed
-parchments were placed in the house of the plucky woman who had fired
-the cannon, and there they remained until 1845, when the government
-finally returned to Austin. This new Waterloo has come down to us under
-the title of the "War of the Archives."
-
-Congress met at Houston in June, 1842. In September a Mexican army,
-commanded by General Adrian Woll and numbering twelve hundred men,
-invaded Texas. They marched upon San Antonio, captured it, and made
-prisoners of nearly all the citizens and the members of the District
-Court then in session.
-
-Upon news of this outrage the people everywhere took up arms. Two
-hundred and twenty soldiers, including Captain Jack Hays' company of
-scouts, left Gonzales immediately to attack Woll. They were commanded by
-Colonel Matthew Caldwell. The Mexican general came out to meet them, and
-an engagement took place on the Salado River a few miles from San
-Antonio. General Woll had six hundred infantry and two hundred cavalry.
-As they advanced the Texans received them with a rattling hail of
-bullets.
-
-Three times the Mexican infantry charged with great spirit and coolness;
-each time they were driven back. They finally retreated, carrying with
-them their dead and wounded, and leaving the Texans in possession of the
-field.
-
-This victory was offset by the defeat of a company of fifty-three Texans
-on their way to join Caldwell. They were commanded by Captain Nicholas
-Dawson.
-
-General Woll met these men in his retreat from the river Salado, and
-attacked them in a small mesquit thicket where they were halted. After
-an unequal contest of half an hour, Dawson hoisted a white flag. The
-firing ceased, but as soon as the surrender took place, the prisoners
-were set upon by the Mexican soldiers and many of them killed. Dawson
-was killed after he gave up his arms. Out of his fifty-three men,
-thirty-three were killed and eighteen were made prisoners. Two only
-escaped; one of these, a lad named Gonzales Woods, seized the lance
-thrust at him by a Mexican cavalryman, jerked his assailant to the
-ground, then leaped upon his enemy's horse and galloped away.
-
-The morning after these skirmishes General Woll abandoned San Antonio
-and returned to the west side of the Rio Grande River. His prisoners,
-among whom were Judge Hutchison and ex-Lieutenant-Governor Robinson,
-were sent to the Castle of Perote (Pa-ro'ta), a prison near the city of
-Mexico.
-
-
-                          5. THE BLACK BEANS.
-
-Before the echoes of the bugles which sounded General Woll's retreat had
-finally died on the air, volunteers came flocking to San Antonio eager
-to pursue him, and determined to cross the Rio Grande at all hazards and
-release the Texans languishing in Mexican prisons.
-
-On the 18th of November seven hundred men, armed and equipped for a
-campaign, were assembled in the shadow of the twin towers of the old
-Mission Concepcion. General Alexander Somervell, appointed by President
-Houston to the command, put himself at the head of this small army; the
-order to march ran down the line, and with a shout the men set their
-faces toward the west.
-
-After several days' march they camped at Laredo on the banks of the Rio
-Grande River. They expected to cross at once into Mexico and take the
-enemy by surprise. But at the moment when everything seemed to them
-favorable for this movement, General Somervell issued an order for his
-soldiers to return to Gonzales, where they would be disbanded.
-
-The men were dumfounded. Three hundred flatly refused to obey the order.
-The others, after much wrangling, followed General Somervell to San
-Antonio.
-
-Captain William S. Fisher was elected colonel in command of those who
-remained, and the expedition proceeded down the Rio Grande to a point
-opposite the Mexican town of Mier.
-
-Mier was occupied by General Pedro Ampudia (Am-poo'dee-a) with two
-thousand troops. On Christmas morning, before daylight, Colonel Fisher
-led his men over the river. The Mexicans came out to meet them, but were
-forced to retreat before the hot fire of the Texans. By daylight the
-Texans had captured the enemy's cannon and cut their way into the town.
-Here the fight went on, hand to hand, from street to street, from house
-to house.
-
-But the superior numbers of the enemy enabled them to keep up the
-struggle, which lasted seventeen hours.
-
-At the end of that time a flag of truce was sent by General Ampudia to
-Colonel Fisher. Fisher had been severely wounded early in the action; he
-was weakened by loss of blood and unnerved by pain; and he advised
-surrender, although up to this time his men had been victorious. He knew
-General Ampudia, he said, and he answered for his good faith.
-
-After much discussion the majority of the men agreed to the surrender.
-The terms were most honorable.
-
-No sooner were the articles signed and the Texan arms stacked, than the
-unfortunate prisoners began to suffer from the cruelty of their
-treacherous foes. They were put in irons and marched to Matamoras,
-thence to the interior. At the Hacienda of Salado, beyond Saltillo, they
-rose upon their guards, overpowered the soldiers, seized their weapons
-and horses, and escaped. But they found themselves in a strange country.
-They soon lost their way in the wild mountain passes, and after enduring
-great torture from hunger and thirst, they were finally recaptured and
-taken back to Salado.
-
-On their arrival there they were met by an order from Santa Anna. Every
-tenth man of them was to be shot! One of their own number who understood
-Spanish was compelled to read this order to his companions. The rattle
-of handcuffs, indicating the surprise of the startled prisoners, was
-promptly silenced by the guards; and, amid a deadly stillness which
-succeeded the reading, an officer entered the shed where they were
-confined. He carried an earthen jar. The jar contained one hundred and
-seventy-five beans (the number of the prisoners). Seventeen of the beans
-were black, the others were white. The jar was placed on a bench and a
-handkerchief thrown over it. The roll was then called. Each prisoner
-stepped forward as his name was called, placed his hand in the jar, and
-drew out a bean.
-
-The black beans in this fatal lottery meant death.
-
-Some of the Mexican officers grew faint as they looked, and turned away
-their heads. But others bent forward eagerly, as if watching the throw
-of dice in an everyday game of chance.
-
-It was Sunday afternoon, at the hour when the church bells were
-everywhere calling the people to vesper prayer, when this fearful drama
-began. Not one of the actors in it faltered or changed color at finding
-in his hand the black token of death. When the ordeal was ended, the
-shackles of the seventeen doomed men were knocked off. They were then
-hurried to a yard adjoining the shed and shot without further ceremony.
-Their comrades, crouched against the wall within, heard but too plainly
-the whispered prayers, the echoing shots, and the dying groans.
-
-The survivors were carried to the Castle of Perote near the city of
-Mexico, where they found the prisoners taken by General Woll at San
-Antonio. They were immediately put to convict labor. "They were hitched
-to a wagon, twenty-five to a team, and compelled to haul rocks from the
-mountains to the Castle of Perote. The prisoners at no time, however,
-lost their buoyant spirits, nor did they ever lose an opportunity for
-fun. McFall, a powerful man, was put in the lead, and was always ready
-to get scared and run away with the wagon. This was often done, and the
-corners of the adobe houses always suffered in such cases. The Mexican
-officers would laugh, and the owners of the houses would swear in bad
-Spanish. The overseers were kept busy. They had the power of using the
-lash, but they did not do this very often, as the Texans made it their
-business, at the peril of their lives, to return such civilities with
-ample vengeance."[31]
-
-Several of the prisoners made their escape. Among these was Colonel
-Thomas Jefferson Green, who had been Fisher's second in command. He was
-bitterly opposed to the surrender at Mier, and broke his sword across
-his knee rather than hand it to General Ampudia. Mr. John Twohig, of San
-Antonio, who had been carried into captivity by Woll, and several of his
-fellow-prisoners made a tunnel under the prison wall, through which they
-succeeded in getting out of the Castle and thence safe home again.
-
-                      [Illustration: Anson Jones.]
-
-Mr. Wright of De Witt County was not so lucky. He was a very large man;
-after making his preparations for flight, he crawled into the tunnel,
-where he got along famously until he was about half way through. There
-he stuck fast, equally unable to go forward or to come back. Finally,
-with a despairing effort he slid back an inch or two, then a little
-further, until at last bruised, breathless, and torn, he got back into
-his dungeon, glad to settle down to prison life once more.
-
-Among the captives was Samuel H. Walker, afterwards famous as a captain
-of cavalry in the Mexican war with the United States.
-
-In September, 1844, these prisoners were finally released by Santa Anna,
-at the dying request, it is said, of his young and beautiful wife.
-
-About the time the Mier expedition started from San Antonio, the capital
-was again removed from President Houston's beloved town on Buffalo
-Bayou; this time to Washington on the Brazos.
-
-
-
-
-                                  VII.
-                                AUSTIN.
-                              (1842-1861.)
-
-
-                     1. "THE REPUBLIC IS NO MORE."
-
-From 1842 to 1844 the Texan Congress held its meetings at Washington on
-the Brazos--the spot where, a few short years before, the declaration of
-independence had been adopted.
-
-The nation born amid the gloom and uncertainty of that stormy time now
-stood forth proud in the consciousness of growing strength, free and
-full of hope for the coming years.
-
-An armistice was signed with Mexico (1843) which left the Republic at
-peace. The Indians under the wise rule of the "Big White Chief,"
-Houston, made but few outbreaks. Year by year more fields were fenced
-in, more orchards and gardens were planted, more dooryards were set with
-vine and rose-tree.
-
-Immigrants poured in. Many came from "the States"; but others crossed
-the wide seas to find homes in that fertile Texas whose story of
-struggle and triumph was in everybody's mouth. Henry Castro, a French
-gentleman, who was consul-general for Texas at Paris, obtained in 1842
-large grants of land from the Republic, and brought over five hundred
-families from France. These settled on the Medina River west of San
-Antonio. Another important colony came from Germany under the leadership
-of the Prince de Solms, and founded the thrifty town of New Braunfels on
-the Guadalupe.
-
-The roads were white with westward-traveling wagons which stopped to
-pass the time of day, as it were, with all the little towns along the
-way. In those hospitable days small barrels of tar stood as a matter of
-course on the sidewalks. Long-handled dippers floated in the tar, so
-that the passing wagoner might help himself and ease his creaking
-wheels.
-
-As for the wayside houses, their doors were always open to the wayworn
-mover and his family. The women and girls peering out from under the
-wagon cover, the boys trudging sturdily along by the driver's side, the
-dog trotting in the shadow of the feed trough,--all these were to the
-free-handed pioneers as welcome as kinsmen.
-
-             [Illustration: Old Capitol at Austin (1839).]
-
-The newcomers were often struck with amazement at the curious contrasts
-they saw on the frontier. "You are welcomed," writes one traveler, "by a
-figure in a blue flannel shirt and pendant beard, quoting the Latin
-poets.... You will see fine pictures on log walls; you will drink coffee
-from tin cups on Dresden china saucers. Seated on a barrel, you will
-hear a Beethoven symphony played on a rosewood piano. The bookcase may
-be half full of books and half full of potatoes."
-
-But while the western border thus filling up with settlers was quiet and
-unmolested, there was serious trouble over on the eastern line. A band
-composed mostly of rough desperadoes from the old Neutral Ground roamed
-along the Sabine River, shooting and killing innocent citizens under the
-pretext of punishing theft, negro-stealing, and other offenses. They
-called themselves the Regulators. An opposition band, made up of men as
-reckless as themselves, undertook in turn to punish them, and to
-administer justice generally. These were known as the Moderators.
-Between the Moderators and Regulators, Shelby, Harrison, and the
-neighboring counties were kept in a state of terror. Honest men were
-afraid to venture out of their own homes; for no one could guess when or
-upon whom the so-called justice of these bands would fall. Bloody
-"courts" were held in the swamps, one day by the Regulators, the next,
-and perhaps on the same spot, by the Moderators, both equally cruel and
-lawless. Wild stories were told of certain leaders in either gang whose
-victims were always shot in the left eye; of others again whose weapon
-was not the rifle, but poison.
-
-At one time more than a thousand men were engaged in this feud. In the
-summer of 1844 the Regulators and Moderators assembled under arms in
-fortified camps. An active campaign was carried on for some weeks,
-during which more than fifty persons were killed or wounded. Finally
-President Houston ordered out five hundred militia under General James
-Smith, and the two factions were disbanded. But it was a long time
-before the feud died out entirely.
-
-In the fall of 1844 Anson Jones was elected President of the Republic.
-His Secretary of State was Doctor Ashbel Smith.
-
-Dr. Smith, who was a learned and able man, came to Texas from
-Connecticut just after the Revolution, and was made surgeon-general of
-the army. During Houston's administration, he represented the Republic
-at the courts of England and France. At this time all over Europe there
-was keen interest in Texan affairs.
-
-Notwithstanding the glory of the young Republic, its people still wished
-to be annexed to the United States. They felt themselves too weak to
-contend against Mexico in case of another war, and too poor to keep up
-the army and navy, and provide for the expense of a separate government.
-But the United States again refused to receive them. Upon this, France
-and England offered through Minister Smith to compel Mexico to
-acknowledge the independence of Texas, provided Texas would agree not to
-unite with any other country.
-
-This offer caused a sudden change of feeling in the United States. Her
-jealousy of foreign interference was aroused; and in the spring of 1845
-the United States Congress passed resolutions admitting Texas into the
-Union.
-
-President Jones then submitted the question to the people. A convention
-met at Austin in July, 1845, to frame a constitution for the State of
-Texas. In October the final vote was taken. It was almost unanimous for
-annexation.
-
-In February, 1846, President Jones gave up his authority to J. Pinckney
-Henderson who had been elected governor of the new state. This
-impressive ceremony took place at Austin, where the capital had been
-finally established. President Jones in his farewell address said:
-
-"The Lone Star of Texas, which ten years since arose amid clouds, over
-fields of carnage, and obscurely seen for a while, ... has passed on and
-become fixed in that glorious constellation which all freemen and lovers
-of freedom must reverence and adore,--the American Union. Blending its
-rays with its sister States, long may it continue to shine.... May the
-Union be perpetual; and may it be the means of conferring benefits and
-blessings upon all the people of the States, is my prayer. The first act
-in the great drama is performed. The Republic of Texas is no more."[32]
-
-Many eyes must have grown dim as the closing sentence of this address
-was pronounced. Memories must have crowded thick and fast upon those
-veterans who listened, hearing at the same time in a dream the call of
-bugles and the roll of drums, the ring of sabers, and the echo of those
-daring voices which called into being the Republic of Texas!
-
-Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk were elected United States senators.
-Rusk, who was a native of South Carolina, was one of the signers of the
-Texan declaration of independence. He was Secretary of War under
-President Burnet, and fought gallantly in the ranks at the battle of San
-Jacinto. After General Houston's resignation he was made
-commander-in-chief of the army. Rusk had taken an active part in the war
-against the Cherokee Indians. Later he had been chief justice of the
-Republic. He had devoted himself for many years with great unselfishness
-to the interests of the Republic. He continued to serve the State with
-the same fidelity.
-
-He died by his own hand in 1857. Grief at the death of his wife was the
-cause of this fatal act.
-
-
-                         2. ACROSS THE BORDER.
-
-Mexico was indignant at seeing Texas, which she still claimed as one of
-her provinces, about to enter the Union. As soon as the Annexation Bill
-was passed by the United States Congress, Don Juan Almonte, formerly
-aide-de-camp to General Santa Anna, now the Mexican minister at
-Washington, D.C., was recalled, and preparations for war were begun on a
-grand scale in Mexico.
-
-In the meantime, the United States government had sent General Zachary
-Taylor to Corpus Christi on the Texas coast, with four thousand troops.
-He was ordered to march westward and take up a position on the Rio
-Grande River, the boundary line between Texas and Mexico. He was further
-ordered to confine himself to Texas soil unless the Mexicans should
-attempt to cross the river.
-
-In the spring of 1846 General Taylor began his march across the country,
-"which appeared like one vast garden wavy with flowers of the most
-gorgeous dyes."[33] Then came a desert-like waste in which there was
-neither water nor any growing thing. "The sand was like hot ashes, and
-when you stepped upon it, you sank up to the ankles."[33]
-
-But the region beyond the desert was fertile and inviting. At the Sal
-Colorado, a stream thirty miles east of the Rio Grande, some Mexican
-soldiers appeared. They insisted that all the country west of the
-Colorado belonged to Mexico, and declared that if the Americans
-attempted to cross that stream they would fire upon them. General Taylor
-paid no attention whatever to their threats. He led his troops over the
-Sal Colorado without further trouble and continued his march toward the
-Rio Grande.
-
-There the war began in real earnest. The first battle was fought at Fort
-Brown (now Brownsville), opposite Matamoras. The Americans were
-victorious. Two other successful engagements, Palo Alto and Resaca de la
-Palma, took place on Texas territory. Then General Taylor, having
-received large reinforcements, entered Mexico and marched upon Monterey,
-the great interior city of northern Mexico.
-
-About this time Santa Anna, who had been in exile and disgrace, returned
-to Mexico, and was immediately made commander-in-chief of the Mexican
-army.
-
-Texas furnished her share of men for the war upon her hereditary foe.
-Governor Henderson himself entered the campaign as a major-general of
-volunteers; ex-President Lamar and Edward Burleson served upon his
-staff. Albert Sidney Johnston commanded a regiment. "Jack" Hays and
-George T. Wood, afterward governor of Texas, were also in command of
-regiments. Ben McCulloch carried into the war a company of rangers.
-
-The Texans were in the van in every battle. At the storming of Monterey
-they especially distinguished themselves by their daring and high
-courage. A participator in the siege of the city says: "In order to
-dislodge the skirmishers from the housetops, the Texans rushed from door
-to door, breaking through buildings and inside walls; and, mounting to a
-level with the enemy, picked them off with their rifles. Meanwhile those
-in the streets charged from square to square amid sweeping showers of
-grape, cheered on by Lamar, Henderson, and Jefferson Davis of the
-Mississippi regiment." The next day "the artillery on both sides raked
-the streets, the balls striking the houses with a terrible crash, while
-amid the roar of cannon was heard the battering instruments of the
-Texans. Doors were forced open, walls were battered down, entrances were
-made through stone and brick, and the enemy were driven from point to
-point, followed by the sharp crack of the Texan rifles."
-
-General Ampudia, who had so basely betrayed the trust of the Texans
-after their surrender at Mier in 1843, was in command of the Mexican
-forces. After three days of desperate fighting he surrendered the city
-of Monterey to General Taylor.
-
-The officers commissioned by Taylor to draw up the articles of
-capitulation on the American side were Generals Worth and Henderson
-(governor of Texas) and Colonel Jefferson Davis.
-
-Texas furnished above eight thousand soldiers for this war, and the
-"murderous ring of the Texan rifle" was heard on almost every field.
-
-In New Mexico, where there was considerable fighting, the cannon taken
-from General McLeod in the fatal Sante F� expedition in 1841 was
-discovered by the American soldiers, where it had been hidden in the
-mountains. "It is," says the record, "a six-pounder, bearing the 'Lone
-Star' of Texas and the name of her ex-President, Mirabeau B. Lamar." The
-Americans adopted it as a favorite, and used it in firing their morning
-and evening signals. The Lone Star, they declared, brought them good
-luck.
-
-The war ended in the storming and capture of the city of Mexico by
-General Winfield Scott, commander-in-chief of the United States army.
-Santa Anna, once more defeated and humbled, hid himself with the remains
-of his army in the mountain passes of Mexico.
-
-                  [Illustration: Benjamin M^cCulloch.]
-
-In one of the last battles of the war Colonel Samuel H. Walker was
-killed. This dashing young Texan, had been again and again selected by
-General Taylor for dangerous service, and his gallantry was a by-word in
-the army. He had been one of the unfortunate Mier prisoners, and was
-among those who overpowered the guard at Salado and escaped, only to be
-recaptured. In the death-lottery he had drawn a white bean, and had
-afterward endured the miseries of the Castle of Perote. In the
-neighborhood of that prison he fell mortally wounded, but flushed with
-victory, and soon afterward expired. "Few men were more lamented. When
-the cry 'Walker is dead' rang through the company, the hardy soldiers
-burst into tears."[34]
-
-Mexico signed at Guadalupe, Hidalgo, a treaty with the United States
-(February 2, 1848), and abandoned forever all claim to Texas.
-
-The governors who succeeded Henderson in Texas from 1847 to 1859 were
-Governors George T. Wood, Hansborough P. Bell, Elisha M. Pease, and
-Hardin R. Runnels.
-
-Early in Governor Wood's administration a disagreement arose between
-Texas and the United States over Sante F� and the surrounding country.
-This had been a part of Texas, but was ceded in 1848 by Mexico to the
-United States with New Mexico. When the United States took possession of
-it Texas protested, and much ill-feeling followed. For a time it seemed
-as if the state which had just got into the Union would march out again.
-
-But the question was settled during Governor Bell's term of office. The
-disputed territory was bought by the United States from Texas for the
-sum of ten million dollars.
-
-During these years Texas grew in prosperity; all boundary questions were
-settled, and the public debt was paid. Settlements sprung up to the very
-border. This, however, caused fresh trouble among the Indians, who from
-time to time fell upon isolated settlements, burning the houses and
-killing the settlers or carrying them into captivity. As late as 1847
-two hundred Lipans on the war-path swept the western frontier. In 1848
-the Indians in Texas killed one hundred and seventy persons, carried
-twenty-five into captivity, and stole six thousand horses.
-
-The Texan rangers were ordered out by Governor Wood to protect the
-frontier. The Comanches, the fiercest of the western tribes, were
-finally defeated by the rangers under Colonel John S. Ford. Their chief,
-Iron Jacket, was killed in a desperate hand-to-hand combat with Captain
-S. P. Ross. The chief's tall form was found, after death, to be encased
-in a fine coat of scale armor, supposed to have belonged to some
-Spaniard in the days of the conquest of Mexico. Hence his name, Iron
-Jacket, and the belief that he could not be killed by the bullet of the
-white man. Iron Jacket's little son Noh-po was carried to Waco, where he
-was raised by the Ross family. During the administration of Governor
-Pease, the legislature gave the Indians twelve leagues of land and built
-for them several new trading-posts along the frontier. Later they were
-all removed to the Indian Territory.
-
-Two million dollars were set aside by the state for a permanent school
-fund; and a quantity of land was voted for the support of the deaf and
-dumb, the blind, the orphan, and the insane.
-
-A new state capitol, a Land Office, and other public buildings were
-erected at Austin.
-
-In 1857 there was an uprising of Texan wagoners against the Mexican
-cartmen, who were engaged in hauling goods from the coast towns to San
-Antonio. Mexican labor was much cheaper than any other, and a large
-number of these teamsters, who were honest and reliable, were employed
-by merchants and planters. The Texan wagoners, failing to drive out
-Mexican cartmen by threats, raided them on the roads, drove off their
-oxen, broke up their carts, and in some instances killed the drivers.
-
-Governor Pease, by ordering out a company of rangers to protect the
-Mexican teamsters, finally put a stop to the "Cart War," as it was
-called.
-
-No other trouble marred this bright period. "Our inhabitants," said
-Governor Pease, in his message to the legislature in 1855, "are
-prosperous and happy to a degree unexampled in our former history."
-
-
-                            3. DYING RACES.
-
-The Indian tribes who possessed the fair land of Texas when the white
-man first set foot on its soil were rapidly dying out. Some were already
-extinct, having left hardly a trace to show where their villages and
-wigwams had once stood. The Cenis, that noble nation which welcomed La
-Salle and nursed him tenderly when he lay for months "sick of a fever"
-in their midst, and who sheltered the fleeing fugitives from Fort St.
-Louis,--these had entirely passed away. So had the kindly Coushattis,
-the friends of Lallemand's colonists; and the Orquisacas, the
-Nacogdoches, and all those gentler tribes by whose help the Franciscan
-friars had built the earliest missions. Gone were the music-loving
-Wacoes from the banks of the Brazos; and from the Trinity the
-corn-growing Tehas.
-
-The fierce Carankawaes, once the terror of the coast and long believed
-to be cannibals, and the Kiowas, called the _red-eyed_, had melted
-before the coming of the pale-faces, as the snow melts under the April
-sun.
-
-But remnants of the warlike western tribes remained. The Comanches, the
-Apaches, and the Lipans still hovered like dark clouds about the
-frontier. They called themselves _Nianis_ (live Indians); and though
-they were taken away by the government from their hunting-grounds and
-penned up in a Reservation (that is, upon lands reserved or set apart
-for them), they continued every now and then to swoop down upon their
-old haunts, where every rock and bush and hillock was familiar to them.
-Even within the past twenty years the borderman dared not be too far
-from his rifle.
-
-But the Texas Indian was passing. His tribes were dying out, as the
-Mohicans, the Powhatans, and the Alabamas had died out before them.
-
-With the Red Man, another race, as wild, as noble, and as free as his,
-was as slowly drifting to its end.
-
-When La Salle sailed up a certain pleasant stream in 1685, he called it
-_Les Vaches_ (the cows), from the number of buffalos grazing on its
-banks. They roamed the vast prairies and the shaded timberland, from the
-utmost verge of the country on the north and west to the salt waters of
-the Gulf. The herds were so large that the thunder of their hoofs
-startled the air and their trampling shook the ground.
-
-As the Indian retreated westward, the shaggy buffalo followed his
-moccasined foot; as the savage warriors, who were as the sands of the
-seashore for numbers, dwindled away, so dwindled the buffalo herds.
-
-
-                          4. THE TEXAS RANGER.
-
-The daring and ever-watchful foe of the Texas Indian, the dashing and
-ever-ready hunter of the Texas buffalo, was the Texas ranger. He, too,
-is passing away before the march of civilization, and fast becoming a
-memory only; but a memory which will live forever in song and story,
-with the brave, the generous, and the noble of all times.
-
-The first company of Texas rangers was formed in 1832; but it was not
-until the administration of President Burnet (1836) that this arm of the
-service was regularly organized and put into the field.
-
-They became at once a power, and they have since played an important
-part in the history of the state. Mounted upon a swift horse, with a
-_lariat_ (rope) coiled about the high pommel of his saddle and a blanket
-strapped behind him; with his long rifle resting in the hollow of his
-arm, and the bridle held loosely in his hand; erect and graceful, the
-brim of his slouch hat hiding the sparkle of his keen eyes,--the Texas
-ranger is a striking and picturesque figure. But he is more than that.
-For fifty years and more he has been the terror of Indian and intruding
-Mexican, of thief and desperado, of lawlessness and crime.
-
-The rangers are subject to the call of the government. "But no tap of
-spirit-stirring drum or piercing fife, no trumpet call or bugle sound
-was heard on the border," in those early days. A rider passed from
-settlement to settlement, from home to home; there would be wiping of
-rifles and moulding of bullets. Oftener than otherwise it was the wives
-and the sisters and the sweethearts who moulded the bullets and packed
-the wallets, while the men ground their knives and saddled their horses.
-Then with a hurried good-bye, the rangers were mounted and away; now on
-the bloody trail of the Comanches, now tracking the fierce Lipans;
-to-day protecting a lonely frontier cabin, to-morrow helping the Mexican
-teamsters in the cart war.
-
-                    [Illustration: A Texas Ranger.]
-
-The rangers, during the war of the United States with Mexico, were noted
-for their courage and gallantry. "I have seen a goodly number of
-volunteers in my day," a war correspondent wrote of them at that time,
-"but the Texas rangers are choice specimens. From the time we left
-Matamoras until we reached this place (Reynoso), the men never took off
-their coats, boots, or spurs. And although the weather was rainy and two
-fierce northers visited us, there was not a minute when any man's rifle
-or pistol would have missed fire or he could not have been up and ready
-for an attack."[35]
-
-Another writer describes the rangers in camp: "Men in groups, with long
-beards and mustachios, were occupied in drying their blankets and
-cleaning and firing their guns. Some were cooking at the camp-fires,
-others were grooming their horses. They all wore belts of pistols around
-their waists and slouched hats, the uniform of the Texas ranger. They
-were a rough-looking set; but among them were doctors, lawyers, and many
-a college graduate. While standing in their midst I saw a young fellow
-come into the camp with a rifle on his shoulder and a couple of ducks in
-his hand. He addressed the captain: 'Ben,' he said, 'if you haven't had
-dinner, you'd better mess with me, for I know none of the rest have
-fresh grub to-day.'
-
-The "captain" was Benjamin McCulloch, famous in the annals of the
-rangers. He is thus described by Samuel Reid, one of his own men:
-
-"Captain McCulloch is a man of rather delicate frame, about five feet
-ten inches in height, with light hair and complexion. His features are
-regular and pleasing, though from long exposure on the frontier they
-have a weatherbeaten cast. His quick, bright blue eyes and thin
-compressed lips indicate the cool and calculating, as well as the brave
-and daring, energy of the man."
-
-McCulloch was a Tennesseean by birth. His father served under General
-Jackson during the Creek war. Ben followed the trade of a hunter until
-he was twenty-one years old. In those days the settlers depended chiefly
-on bear meat for food. If a man were a poor marksman he sometimes went
-without his breakfast. But young McCulloch was a fine shot; he often
-killed as many as eighty bears in the course of a season.
-
-He came to Texas with David Crockett. A fortunate illness kept him at
-Nacogdoches until after the fall of the Alamo, where Crockett perished.
-He served in the artillery at the battle of San Jacinto, and was one of
-the first to join the "ranging service." He was in almost all the
-expeditions of his time, and engaged in nearly all the fights.
-
-The most noted ranger of this period, however, was Colonel John Coffin
-Hays, familiarly known as "Jack" Hays. Samuel Reid says of him:
-
-"I had heard so much of Colonel Hays that I was anxious to meet the
-commander of our regiment. On this occasion I saw a group of gentlemen
-sitting around a camp-fire. Among them were General Mirabeau Lamar,
-Governor Henderson, and General McLeod, all distinguished men of Texas
-whose names are enrolled on the page of history. As I cast my eyes
-around the group, I tried to single out the celebrated partisan chief;
-and I was much surprised to be introduced to a slender, delicate-looking
-young man who proved to be Colonel Jack Hays. He was dressed quite
-plainly, and wore the usual broad-brimmed Texas hat and a loose open
-collar, with a black handkerchief tied carelessly around his neck. He
-has dark brown hair and large, brilliant hazel eyes which are restless
-in conversation and speak a language of their own not to be mistaken.
-His forehead is broad and high. He looks thoughtful and careworn, though
-very boyish. His modesty is extreme."
-
-                    [Illustration: John Coffin Hays]
-
-Colonel Hays was also a Tennesseean. He emigrated to Texas when but
-nineteen years of age. His talent as a leader showed itself early; and
-at the age of twenty-one (1840) he was placed in command of the
-frontier, with the rank of major. He soon became famous as a fighter of
-the Indians, by whom he was both feared and admired. "Me and Blue Wing,"
-said a Comanche chief on one occasion, "we no afraid to go anywhere
-_together_, but Captain Jack _great brave_. He no afraid to go anywhere
-_by himself_."
-
-His regiment of rangers which included McCulloch's company was foremost
-in every battle of the war with Mexico. His word was law with his men.
-Off duty he was a gay and pleasant companion; the rangers called him
-Jack, but there was something about him which kept them from taking any
-liberties with him.
-
-The rangers continued to serve the state after peace was made with
-Mexico. In 1862 the legislature passed a law for the protection of the
-frontier. This law provided for the raising of ten companies of rangers
-of one hundred men each. Each company was to be divided, and the two
-detachments stationed about one day's ride apart, just beyond the
-settlements.
-
-The command of this regiment was given to Colonel J. H. Norris. He went
-at once to the frontier. He distributed his soldiers from the Red River
-to the Rio Grande, with orders for each company to send a scout every
-day from one station to the next, the scout to return the following day.
-This plan gave a patrol scout from Red River to the Rio Grande every
-day. In addition to this, each company kept out a flying scout all the
-time.
-
-"This," remarks an old ranger (E. L. Deaton), "was a busy year for both
-rangers and Indians."
-
-On the 8th of January, 1864, five hundred rangers, under Captains
-Gillentine, Fossett, and Totten, met and defeated two thousand Comanche
-Indians on Dove Creek in what is now Tom Green County. This was one of
-the last pitched battles fought with Indians on Texas soil.
-
-In later years the rangers have served as a sort of state police. Many a
-stronghold of cattle thieves has been raided by them; many a nest of
-desperadoes has been broken up; many a bitter neighborhood feud has been
-settled.
-
-At the present time (1896) there are about two hundred rangers in the
-service. They furnish their own horses, and receive forty dollars a
-month; their rations and their arms being supplied by the state.
-
-Some of those noted for steady nerve and daring courage among the ranger
-captains of earlier and later times are Colonel "Rip" Ford, Lawrence
-Sullivan Ross (since governor of Texas, and called by his old comrades
-"Sul" Ross), Colonel "Buck" Barry, Lieutenant Chrisman, Sergeants J. B.
-Armstrong and L. P. Selker, and Captains Tom Wright, Jesse Lee Hall, and
-L. B. McNulty.
-
-
-                         5. A CLOUD IN THE SKY.
-
-In the spring of 1848 there appeared on the streets of Austin a young
-man wearing a costume which attracted much attention. It was composed of
-gray stockings and knee breeches, with a black velvet tunic and
-broad-brimmed, gray felt hat. The rather dashing-looking stranger was
-evidently French, but he called himself an Icarian. He was, in fact, on
-his way from New Braunfels, where he had been living, to Icaria, a new
-settlement near the Cross Timbers in Fannin County.
-
-This settlement was founded by Etienne Cabet (Ca-ba), a Frenchman who
-dreamed of establishing a community where nobody would be rich and
-nobody would be poor, but all money and other property would be held in
-common. Devotion to women and children, honesty, and the ability and
-willingness to work for the good of the brotherhood were the chief rules
-of the fraternity. They numbered in France in 1847 many thousand persons
-of all classes.
-
-Cabet obtained from the Peters Immigration Company in 1847 a million
-acres of land in North Texas. The land was given to him on condition
-that a settlement should be made upon it before the 1st of July, 1848.
-In January, 1848, the first cohort, numbering sixty-nine persons,
-embarked at Havre, France. They arrived at Shreveport, Louisiana, the
-following April. From there they marched on foot to their chosen home in
-Texas, carrying firearms, household goods, and provisions.
-
-"Oh, if you could see Icaria!" they presently wrote back to the
-brotherhood in France. "It is an Eden. The forests are superb; the
-vegetation rich and varied. We have horses, cows, pigs, and chickens in
-abundance.... Many Texans come to see us. They are good-natured and very
-honest. We camp and sleep out of doors. We lock up nothing and are never
-robbed."[36]
-
-Houses were built and fields ploughed and planted. By midsummer the
-Icarians in their cosy hamlet were on the lookout for the second cohort
-of colonists. But before it arrived the cholera broke out in Icaria.
-Many of the settlers died; nearly all those who were left abandoned
-their homes in a panic and returned to New Orleans, where Cabet himself
-joined them with several hundred recruits from France. A new and more
-fortunate Icarian settlement was finally made in Missouri.
-
-A few years later (1853) a procession, also composed of French
-emigrants, passed along Main Street in Houston. They had just landed
-from the steamboat _Eclipse_ on the bayou at the foot of the street. At
-their head walked a tall gentleman in a velvet coat and three-cornered
-hat. He carried a drawn sword in his hand, and the tricolored flag of
-France floated above his head. His long white hair streamed over his
-shoulders. The whole company, men, women, and children, sung the
-Marseillaise hymn as they marched along.
-
-The tall gentleman was the Count Victor Considerant. He had come with
-his followers from France to Texas to found a Phalanstery, a community
-much like that already attempted by Cabet. His watchword was "Liberty
-and Equality." The faces of the emigrants lighted with joy as they
-traveled away over the prairies, following this beautiful vision.
-
-They founded their town on the east fork of the Trinity River, in Dallas
-County, and called it Reunion. But the brotherhood soon fell to pieces.
-The emigrants scattered over the country, finding it pleasanter to own
-homes in a land of true liberty and equality, than to live by the
-count's fine theories.
-
-Many descendants both of the Icarians and of Count Considerant's
-colonists are to be met with in North Texas.
-
-
-Sam Houston succeeded Runnels as governor in 1859. When he took his seat
-at Austin, clouds from more than one quarter were gathering in the clear
-sky of Texas. Roving bands of Indians from the Territory came across the
-border and murdered in cold blood a number of families. At first they
-stole in, made their raids, and dashed back in a single night. But they
-grew more and more bold and insolent, until the governor was obliged to
-send the rangers to their old work of watching the frontier.
-
-Lawrence Sullivan Ross, afterward governor of Texas, was at this time a
-lieutenant in the ranging service. He was a gallant and dashing soldier.
-During a raid on the Indians, on Pease River (1860), he rescued Cynthia
-Ann Parker, a white woman, who had been carried away by the Comanches,
-when but nine years of age. She had been a captive twenty-four years and
-had forgotten her native tongue. She was the wife of Peta Nocona, a
-Comanche chief, and the mother of several children. Lieutenant Ross
-returned her to her kindred with her little daughter Ta-ish-put (Prairie
-Flower). But she was not happy among these long-unknown white people;
-she pined for her dusky adopted kinsmen; and four years after her rescue
-she died, little Ta-ish-put soon following her to the Happy
-Hunting-grounds. Inanah Parker, one of her sons, became a Comanche
-chief.
-
-During this period a Mexican bandit named Cortina crossed the lower Rio
-Grande into Texas at the head of four hundred men. Their object was
-plunder, and in their forays a great many innocent people were killed.
-The governor appealed to the general government at Washington for
-protection along the Mexican border.
-
-The War Department in response ordered Colonel Robert E. Lee (afterward
-famous as commander-in-chief of the Confederate States army), then
-stationed at San Antonio, to attack the bandit and drive him out,
-crossing the Rio Grande, if necessary, in pursuit.
-
-Some United States troops, with several companies of rangers, were at
-once put in the field, and Cortina's band was soon broken up.
-
-These troubles were light, however, compared with those which were about
-to follow.
-
-The two sections of the United States, the North and the South, had for
-some years been drifting apart. Their views differed widely on several
-important questions, particularly the question of states' rights, and
-there seemed to be no chance of a mutual agreement. In 1860, at the time
-Abraham Lincoln was elected President, the Southern States determined to
-withdraw from the Union. They believed that each state had a right to
-withdraw or secede from the Union whenever that Union became for any
-reason undesirable to it, as the individual members of a family may
-leave the paternal home if they wish to do so. But the Northern States
-did not agree to this. They believed that the Union should be preserved,
-and that the states should be held together--even by the power of the
-sword.
-
-South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. Texas, on
-hearing of this news, was filled with excitement. Military companies
-were formed all over the state; the air was thick with the flutter of
-secession flags; the ground echoed the tramp of awkward squads drilling
-under the eyes of officers as awkward and inexperienced and enthusiastic
-as themselves.
-
-Governor Houston, as well as some other patriotic and true-hearted
-Texans, was bitterly opposed to secession, but his voice was lost in the
-loud clamor of public feeling.
-
-A convention was held in Austin in January, 1861. A declaration of
-secession was drawn up and submitted to the people (February 23). Texas
-by a large majority voted herself out of the Union, which she had
-entered fifteen years before.
-
-There was wild rejoicing over the state. The capitol at Austin was
-brilliantly illuminated, bonfires were lighted, bells were rung, the
-Confederate flag was run up on all public buildings, and the work of
-mustering troops into the Confederate States army instantly began.
-
-                   [Illustration: Confederate Flag.]
-
-All state officials were required to take the oath of fealty to the new
-government. Governor Houston, true to his convictions, refused to do
-this. When the day came for the ceremony (March 16), the hall of
-representatives was filled to overflowing. "The presiding officer, amid
-a profound silence, called three times: 'Sam Houston! Sam Houston! Sam
-Houston!' but the governor remained in his office in the basement of the
-capitol whittling a pine stick, and hearing the echo of the noise and
-tumult above his head. Houston was declared deposed from his office, and
-Edward Clark, the lieutenant-governor, was installed as governor."[37]
-
-Houston left Austin and retired to his place near Huntsville. To the end
-of his life he continued to declare that, although opposed to the war of
-the States, his sympathies were with Texas. "My state, right or wrong,"
-he said. One of his sons entered the Confederate army with his consent
-and approval.
-
-He died July 26, 1863, at the age of seventy years. His last words,
-whispered with dying lips, were: "Texas! Texas!"
-
-And Texas, forgetting all her differences with him, and remembering only
-his ready and gallant services in her hours of need, mourned his loss as
-that of a well-beloved son.
-
-
-
-
-                                 VIII.
-                               GALVESTON.
-                              (1861-1865.)
-
-
-                           1. A BUFFALO HUNT.
-
-The early months of the year 1861 in Texas were like one long holiday.
-The country was dotted with white tents where the recruits were
-encamped, and where, amid bursts of martial music and in all the glory
-of brand new uniforms, the untried volunteers received their mothers and
-sisters, and showed them with pride "how soldiers live in time of war."
-
-Every few days one of these camps would be broken up, the tents and camp
-baggage would be loaded on wagons, and the "boys" would march to the
-nearest town. There the whole population would be gathered to greet
-them; a flag would be presented to them by the hand of some bright-eyed
-girl, loud cheers would echo on the air, and the company would tramp
-steadily away to take its place in the fighting ranks of the Confederate
-States army.
-
-Many of these soldiers carried their negro body-servants with them; all
-had abundant stores of clothing and bedding, and of those little
-comforts and luxuries that only mothers know how to provide. Their young
-faces were eager, their eyes were sparkling, and if there were sobs in
-their throats as they said those last good-byes, the sobs were smothered
-in the ringing cheers which mingled with the notes of "Dixie" or "The
-Bonnie Blue Flag."
-
-They were soon to learn in many a tentless camp, on many a foot-sore
-march, on many a bloody and hard-fought field, how soldiers really live
-in time of war.
-
-But the days as yet were like one long holiday, although mother-hearts
-ached in secret dread, and the scarred veterans of the Texan revolution
-and of the Mexican War were filled with inward forebodings for the
-future.
-
-
-People along the frontier had been talking for some time about a great
-buffalo hunt which was to take place that winter in the Pan Handle. John
-R. Baylor, a noted hunter and scout, had, it was said, raised more than
-a thousand men to go on this hunt, and a great many scouts and Indian
-fighters had joined him. Among them was Ben McCulloch, who had done such
-gallant service in Mexico under General Taylor.
-
-The buffalo hunt did not take place; but Colonel Ben McCulloch, with the
-buffalo hunters, a thousand or more strong, appeared in San Antonio on
-the 15th of February (1861).
-
-General David E. Twiggs, United States army, was at that time in command
-of the troops in Texas. San Antonio was the most important of the United
-States army posts in the southwest; a large amount of military stores
-was in the arsenal, and soldiers were kept there ready to march at need
-to the relief of the frontier forts.
-
-Colonel McCulloch, acting under orders of commissioners from Austin,
-demanded the surrender of all military posts and supplies in the State
-of Texas. General Twiggs on the 18th of February made a formal surrender
-of the department. The United States troops were paroled and marched to
-Indianola on the coast, where the _Star of the West_, an unarmed United
-States steamer, was waiting to take them home.
-
-But when they reached Indianola (18th of April) the _Star of the West_
-and the gunboat _Mohawk_, which had been guarding her, had both
-disappeared. The officer in command was in a quandary. He did not know
-what to do. At length he placed his troops on two schooners and sailed
-across the Matagorda Bay to the Gulf.
-
-In the meantime, on the 12th of April, at Fort Sumter, South Carolina,
-the first gun of the Civil War had been fired. The struggle between the
-States had begun.
-
-General Earl Van Dorn, of the Confederate army, was at this time in
-command of the military department of Texas. His headquarters were at
-Galveston. The island which the pirate Lafitte had left lone and
-deserted when he sailed away in the _Pride_ now teemed with a busy and
-prosperous people. The huts of Campeachy were replaced by stately
-mansions, and beautiful gardens bloomed where sandy wastes had been.
-
-Several companies of soldiers were encamped without the city, awaiting
-marching orders. General Van Dorn entered the camp one day, and after a
-brief speech called for volunteers for an expedition which he was about
-to undertake. The Galveston Artillery, the Island City Rifles, and an
-Irish company called the Wigfall Guards, at once stepped forward, eager
-for duty.
-
-The next night (17th of April), about midnight, the steamboat _General
-Rusk_, with these volunteers on board, drew up alongside the _Star of
-the West_, lying in the Gulf of Mexico, off Indianola. Captain Howe, of
-the United States steamer, hearing himself hailed, came on deck, and
-supposing these to be the United States troops he was expecting, he
-politely ordered the _General Rusk_ to be made fast to his own boat. In
-a twinkling the Confederate soldiers were aboard of the _Star of the
-West_ demanding its surrender.
-
-"To what flag am I asked to surrender?" asked the astonished captain.
-Ensign Duggan of the Wigfall Guards displayed the Lone Star flag of
-Texas, and in his richest brogue exclaimed: "That's it! Look at it, me
-byes. Did ye iver see the Texas flag on an Irish jackstaff before?"[38]
-
-Captain Howe, having neither arms nor soldiers, surrendered, and the
-_Star of the West_ followed the _General Rusk_ to Galveston.
-
-This was why the United States troops the next morning (April 18) found
-no steamer to carry them away. The two schooners upon which they
-embarked were also captured several days later, having on board eight
-hundred officers and men, with three hundred fine rifles and a large
-quantity of camp supplies.
-
-But the Confederacy had no means of protecting the long stretch of Texas
-coast. In July a blockading squadron--that is, a fleet of armed vessels
-to prevent ships from entering or leaving the harbor--was stationed in
-the Gulf off Galveston, and in a short time the whole coast was closely
-guarded.
-
-In the fall of 1861 Frank R. Lubbock, who has been called the "war
-governor" of Texas, was elected governor. By the close of his term
-ninety thousand Texan soldiers were in the Confederate army.
-
-Early in 1862 a Texas brigade, under General Sibley, was defeated by the
-Union forces in New Mexico, and forced to retreat to San Antonio with a
-loss of five hundred men.
-
-In October of the same year the Confederates, unable to hold Galveston,
-surrendered that place to Commodore Eagle of the blockading squadron,
-and withdrew to Virginia Point on the mainland about six miles distant.
-Many of the citizens of the town also left their homes; and amid a
-silence almost as profound as that in which Lafitte landed on the island
-nearly fifty years before, several hundred soldiers stepped ashore from
-their boats and took possession of the place. The United States flag was
-hoisted on the Custom-house; the soldiers settled into their quarters on
-one of the wharves; the imposing vessels of the Federal squadron filled
-the bay and the harbor. A mournful cry echoed throughout Texas:
-"Galveston has fallen!"
-
-
-                       2. THE BLUE AND THE GRAY.
-
-The holiday look had long since disappeared from Texas. No battles had
-been fought within her borders, but the blood of her brave sons had dyed
-the sod of many a battlefield elsewhere. For the deadly conflict was
-raging. The North and the South, fighting as brother against brother,
-were pouring out their kindred blood day by day; the smoke of their
-hostile guns darkened the very heavens. Many heroic deeds were done on
-both sides--deeds which to-day thrill us with wonder and admiration.
-
-But there were frightful gaps in the ranks of those who had marched away
-from Texas to the tune of "Dixie" or "The Bonnie Blue Flag." The gallant
-lads who had showed off their brave uniforms in the holiday camps were
-tramping about, barefoot, ragged, and hungry, in Virginia, in Tennessee,
-in Georgia,--wherever there was an enemy to be attacked or an outpost to
-be held.
-
-Their mothers and sisters at home were making lint and cartridges,
-weaving and wearing homespun, making their own shoes and gloves, and
-cheering the far-away "boys" with letters and with home-made gifts, and
-praying, praying always.
-
-There were few able-bodied men left in the state. The women with the old
-men and boys, aided by the negroes who remained loyal and trustworthy,
-made the crops. As the war went on the prices of everything rose. Old
-bills show that forty dollars a yard (Confederate money) was paid for
-calico for a little girl's "best" dress; and seventy-five dollars was
-paid for a boy's first pair of boots. A war-time arithmetic has among
-its examples the following:
-
-"A cavalryman paid 200 dollars for his pistol and 4000 dollars for his
-horse; how much did both cost him?"
-
-"At 20 dollars a pound, how much coffee can you buy for 40 dollars?"
-
-"If one hat costs 120 dollars, how much would eight hats cost?"
-
-Coffee and tea were replaced by drinks made of parched potatoes, or
-burnt peas, and sassafras roots. The real articles which were brought
-into the country occasionally by blockade-runners were known as
-"blockade" coffee and tea, and were kept for the use of the sick.
-
-The blockade-runners were very daring and confident. Captain Henry
-Sherffius of Houston, among others, was noted for his skill in slipping
-through the line of big ships on watch along the coast of Texas. Once,
-when he was leaving on one of his trips, he was so sure of himself and
-his boat that he invited his friends to come to his wedding on a certain
-day some weeks later. He came back at the appointed time, bringing with
-him his wedding-cakes, baked in Vera Cruz, Mexico.
-
-The Mississippi River rolled, a wide barrier, between the two parts of
-the Confederacy. Its banks were lined with Federal sharp-shooters, and
-its yellow waters were dotted with Federal gunboats. It was difficult to
-get news from the eastern side, where the greater part of the fighting
-was done, and terrible were the times of waiting between the first
-rumors of a battle and the receipt of the lists of the killed and
-wounded. A noble and patriotic citizen of Houston, E. H. Cushing,
-rendered a priceless service to Texas in this matter. He was at that
-time and had been for years the editor of the _Houston Telegraph_. His
-energy and his devotion to the Confederate cause were unceasing. He
-established a pony express between the seat of war--wherever that
-chanced to be--and Texas. His messengers somehow managed to get through
-the lines when no one else could do so. They went and came, carrying and
-bringing papers and dispatches, and above all, precious letters from the
-boys in gray. Mr. Cushing's express also "ran" to Brownsville.
-
-At the close of the war this true patriot supplied money from his
-private purse, not only to broken-down and crippled home-coming
-Confederate soldiers, but to the home-going Federal prisoners from Camp
-Ford.[39]
-
-The _Telegraph_ came out daily throughout the war, some of its later
-numbers being printed on coarse yellow, red, and blue paper.
-
-Amid all the anxiety and hardship there was no thought of giving up. The
-men of the South believed themselves to be fighting for a just cause;
-the Northern soldiers were equally sincere in their convictions. And so
-the war, grim and terrible, went on.
-
-
-In the fall of 1862 General Magruder, Confederate States army, assumed
-command of the Trans-Mississippi (that is, west of the Mississippi)
-Department. He determined at once to attempt the recapture of Galveston.
-He went to Virginia Point, where the Confederate troops were camped, and
-there with great caution and secrecy made his plans.
-
-At the head of Galveston Bay, the _Neptune_ and the _Bayou City_, two
-small steamboats, were bulwarked with cotton bales, mounted with cannon,
-and manned with sharp-shooters from the Confederate States cavalry and
-artillery. The _Lady Gwinn_ and the _John F. Carr_ were detailed to
-accompany these vessels as tenders. This crude fleet was commanded by
-Captain Leon Smith who had served in the navy of the Texas Republic.
-
-About midnight on the 31st of December, the boats moved down the bay to
-a position above the town, where they quietly awaited General Magruder's
-signal gun.
-
-Magruder had already crossed his troops to the island. They marched
-swiftly through the deserted streets of the city, and, by the light of a
-waning moon, planted their batteries. At five o'clock on New Year's
-morning, 1863, the attack began. It was a complete surprise to the
-Federals.
-
-The ships of the blockading fleet, under the command of Commodore
-Renshaw, were nearly all within the bay. The _Harriet Lane_, commanded
-by Commodore Wainwright, was lying near the wharf. At a little distance
-was the iron-clad _Westfield_, Commodore Renshaw's flag-ship, attended
-by the _Owasco_; still further out were the armed vessels, the _Clifton_
-and the _Sachem_, and the barges the _Elias Park_ and the _Cavallo_.
-
-The war-ships answered the fire of Magruder's batteries with a terrific
-hail of iron; once the Confederate gunners were driven from their guns.
-But the _Neptune_ and the _Bayou City_ steamed up to the _Harriet Lane_
-and attacked her at close quarters, pouring a hot fire into her from
-behind the rampart of cotton bales.
-
-The _Neptune_ with a hole in her hull made by a cannon-ball soon sank in
-shallow water. The _Bayou City_ was also disabled. The Confederate
-sharp-shooters leaped on board the _Harriet Lane_, and, after a bloody
-fight on her deck, captured her.[40] Commodore Wainwright was killed
-early in the action. First Lieutenant Lea was mortally wounded.
-
-The Union infantry made a gallant resistance to the land attack, but
-they were finally obliged to surrender.
-
-The _Sachem_, the _Clifton_, and the _Owasco_ stood out to sea and
-escaped. The _Westfield_ ran aground and was blown up to prevent her
-capture. Commodore Renshaw and his officers had left the vessel, but
-their boats were too near when the explosion took place prematurely, and
-they perished with her. The _Harriet Lane_ and the barges, with several
-hundred prisoners, remained in the hands of the victors.
-
-The loss in this battle on the Confederate side was twelve killed and
-seventy wounded. The Federals lost one hundred and fifty killed and many
-wounded.
-
-Among the mortally wounded were two young soldiers, the story of whose
-death even yet stirs the heart to pity. One fell fighting under the
-starry cross of the Confederacy. The other dropped on the bloody deck of
-the _Harriet Lane_ under the shadow of the stars and stripes. The
-Confederate was Lieutenant Sidney Sherman, son of the gallant veteran,
-General Sidney Sherman, who led the infantry charge at San Jacinto. The
-lieutenant was hardly more than a boy. The blood oozed from his wounds
-as he lay dying, but the smile of victory parted his lips. Suddenly his
-blue eyes grew soft and tender; "Break this gently to my mother," he
-whispered. These were his last words.
-
-The young Union soldier was Edward Lea, first lieutenant of the _Harriet
-Lane_. His wounds were also fatal. But as his life was ebbing away he
-heard his name spoken in a tone of agony. He opened his eyes. His
-father, Major Lea of the Confederate army, was kneeling beside him.
-Father and son had fought on opposite sides that dark New Year's
-morning. The pale face of the young lieutenant lighted with joy; and
-when a little later the surgeon told him he had but a moment to live, he
-answered with the confidence of a little child and with his latest
-breath, "My father is here."
-
-The two lads cold in death rested almost side by side on their funeral
-biers that day,--brothers in death, brothers forever in the memory of
-those who looked upon their calm young faces.
-
-Lieutenant Lea and Commodore Wainwright were buried with military honors
-from General Magruder's headquarters, Major Lea reading the service for
-the burial of the dead.
-
-The body of young Sherman was carried to his beloved mother, who in her
-home on the bay had listened with a beating heart to the cannonading of
-the battle in which her son's brave young life had ended.
-
-
-                             3. HOME AGAIN.
-
-A small earthwork called Fort Griffin had been built by the Confederates
-on the Texas side of Sabine Pass at the mouth of the Sabine River. It
-was protected by five light guns and garrisoned by the Davis Guards, a
-company from Houston commanded by Captain Odlum. The first lieutenant of
-the company was Dick Dowling, an Irishman but twenty years of age.
-
-Fort Griffin, though small, was a place of much importance. Sabine Pass
-was a sort of outlet for the pent-up Confederacy. Blockade-runners, in
-spite of the Federal ships stationed in the Gulf, were always slipping
-out of the Sabine River, loaded with cotton for Cuba or Europe, and
-stealing in with arms and supplies from Mexico.
-
-                    [Illustration: Richard Dowling.]
-
-Soon after the battle of Galveston, Major Oscar Watkins, Confederate
-States navy, was sent by General Magruder with two cotton-clad
-steamboats, the _Josiah Bell_ and the _Uncle Ben_, to annoy the
-blockading fleet at Sabine Pass. After a skirmish and an exciting chase,
-he succeeded in capturing two United States ships, the _Velocity_ and
-the _Morning Light_ (January 21, 1863).
-
-The United States then determined to take Fort Griffin and land at
-Sabine Pass a force large enough to overawe that part of the country.
-Twenty-two transports carried the land troops, about fifteen thousand in
-number, to the Pass. Four gunboats, the _Sachem_, the _Clifton_, the
-_Arizona_, and the _Granite City_, accompanied them, to bombard the fort
-and cover the landing of the soldiers. The expedition was under the
-command of General Franklin.
-
-When this formidable fleet appeared at Sabine Pass, Captain Odlum was
-absent and Lieutenant Dowling was in command of Fort Griffin. His whole
-force consisted of forty-two men. He ordered the "Davys," as they were
-called, to stay in the bombproofs until he himself should fire the first
-gun. Then, hidden by the earthwork, he watched the approach of the
-gunboats.
-
-The _Clifton_ steamed in and opened the attack from her pivot gun,
-throwing a number of shells which dropped into the fort and exploded.
-The _Sachem_ and the _Arizona_ followed, pouring in broadsides from
-their thirty-two-pound cannon.
-
-No reply came from the fort, which seemed to be deserted. The gunboats
-came nearer and nearer. Suddenly a shot from the fort clove the air and
-fell hissing into the water beyond the _Arizona_. The fight at once
-became furious. The _Clifton_ and the _Arizona_ moved backward and
-forward, vomiting huge shells which tore the earthwork of the fort and
-filled the air with dust. Ships and fort seemed wrapped in flame. The
-_Sachem_ meanwhile was stealing into the Pass toward the unprotected
-rear of the fort. But a well-aimed shot from Dowling's battery struck
-her, crushing her iron plating and causing her to rise on end and quiver
-like a leaf in the wind. She was at the mercy of the fort, and her flag
-was instantly lowered. The _Clifton_ kept up the fight with great skill
-and bravery. But she soon ran aground in the shallows, where she
-continued to fire until a shot passed through her boiler, completely
-wrecking her. A white flag was run up at her bow, and the battle was
-over. The _Arizona_ and the _Granite City_ steamed out to the
-transports, whose men had watched the fight with breathless interest.
-
-The fleet at once retired, leaving the _Sachem_ and the _Clifton_ to the
-"Davys."[41]
-
-Three hundred Union soldiers were taken prisoners. Captain Crocker of
-the _Clifton_ came ashore with a boat's crew, and, mounting the parapet,
-asked for the commanding officer. Lieutenant Dowling, covered with the
-dust of the fort, presented himself as the person sought.
-
-The gallant Federal in his handsome uniform could hardly believe that
-this dirty little boy was his conqueror, or that the handful of men
-before him comprised the force which had so calmly awaited a hostile
-fleet and defeated it.[42]
-
-Eight months afterward the United States gunboats, the _Granite City_
-and the _Wave_, were captured at Sabine Pass.
-
-In November and December, 1863, General Banks took possession of the
-Texas coast, protecting it with a land force from Brownsville to
-Indianola. Within a short time, however, he withdrew his troops, leaving
-only a garrison at Brownsville. But the cruel war was fast drawing to a
-close. The Confederate army, thinned in ranks and in need of food, as
-well as of powder and of shot, could no longer be maintained. There were
-no men to take the place of those who fell in battle; the untilled
-fields gave no harvests; the coasts were so guarded that the most
-reckless blockade-runner, could no longer get in with supplies. On the
-9th of April, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, commander-in-chief of the
-Confederate army, surrendered to General U. S. Grant at Appomattox Court
-House in Virginia.
-
-Before this news reached Texas the last skirmish of the war had taken
-place near Brownsville (April 13) between some of Banks' soldiers and a
-party of Confederates. The scene of this skirmish was the old
-battlefield of Palo Alto.
-
-On the 30th of May Generals Kirby Smith and Magruder went on board the
-United States ship _Fort Jackson_ at Galveston and made a formal
-surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Department.
-
-On the 19th of June General Granger, United States army, took command at
-the island and announced the freedom of the negroes.
-
-The great Civil War was over.
-
-Several thousand Texans lost their lives in the Confederate States army
-during the four years' war. Among the distinguished dead were General
-John Gregg, first general of Hood's brigade, Colonels Tom Lubbock and
-Tom Green, the famous scout Ben McCulloch, General Granbury, Colonel
-Rogers, and many others. To these may be added General Albert Sidney
-Johnston, always claimed by Texas as her son, and who in death rests
-upon her bosom.
-
-
-The war was over. The ragged, foot-sore, hungry soldiers who had so
-proudly worn the gray began to come home. Many who had gone away
-round-faced boys came back lank and hollow-eyed men. Many were maimed
-and crippled; many were sick; all were forlorn and discouraged. They saw
-with despair their weed-grown fields, their dilapidated houses, and
-rotting fences. The wives and mothers, whose husbands and sons had laid
-down their lives for a lost cause, looked at the more fortunate wives
-and mothers whose husbands and sons had been spared to them, and wept.
-And all wondered how they could ever take up their ruined lives again.
-
-But time is merciful. The gloom did not last always. The Blue and the
-Gray clasped hands before many years had passed, and once more the Lone
-Star of Texas blazed in a cloudless sky.
-
-
-
-
-                                  IX.
-                           A FLIGHT OF YEARS.
-                              (1865-1900.)
-
-
-The time indeed came when the Blue and the Gray joined hands, and the
-Lone Star shone once more in a cloudless sky. But that time was not yet.
-The years which followed the Civil War were bitter and sorrowful ones
-for Texas.
-
-After the surrender General Granger continued to hold military
-possession of the state.
-
-Before his arrival Pendleton Murrah, who had succeeded Lubbock in 1863,
-had left his office in the hands of the lieutenant-governor Fletcher S.
-Stockdale, and gone to Mexico.
-
-Andrew J. Hamilton was appointed provisional governor by President
-Johnson. He arrived at Galveston in July (1865), and at once assumed the
-duties of his office.
-
-He ordered an election of delegates to a convention which was called for
-the purpose of framing a new constitution.
-
-But no man was allowed to vote who had borne arms against the United
-States. The majority of Texas men had fought against the Union; they
-therefore took little interest in an election of delegates for whom they
-could not vote.
-
-The convention met (February, 1866), the new constitution was drawn up
-and submitted for ratification to such of the people as were "loyal to
-the United States, and none others"; and in June James W. Throckmorton
-was elected governor.
-
-A few months later the United States government decided to place the
-state again under military rule. Louisiana and Texas were constituted a
-Military District with headquarters at New Orleans. General Philip
-Sheridan was placed in command, and General Charles Griffin was ordered
-to Texas with several thousand troops to enforce military rule (March,
-1867). His headquarters were at Galveston.
-
-All elections except those under control of his officers were forbidden
-by General Griffin. An oath, known as the "iron-clad oath," was required
-of all voters. The newly freed negroes were for the first time placed on
-juries and encouraged to vote.
-
-It was during this time that the remains of the great soldier General
-Albert Sidney Johnston were removed from New Orleans to Austin for final
-burial.
-
-At Houston, when the funeral train rolled into the station, it was met
-by a procession of five hundred ladies and little girls. The coffin was
-borne to the old Houston Academy, where for a day and night it lay in
-state, amid the mournful tolling of bells.
-
-In July Governor Throckmorton, upon reports made by General Griffin, was
-removed from office by General Sheridan, and E. M. Pease appointed in
-his place.
-
-            [Illustration: General Albert Sidney Johnston.]
-
-In September, 1869, Governor Pease, vexed and wearied by the strife and
-discord around him, resigned his thankless office. For a time there was
-no governor, a military adjutant performing the duties of the place.
-
-In 1870 Edmund J. Davis was inaugurated governor and held the office
-four years. He was succeeded in 1874 by Richard Coke, with Richard B.
-Hubbard as lieutenant-governor.
-
-The dark and stormy period from the surrender to the close of Governor
-Davis' term of office has since been known in Texas as the
-"Reconstruction Time."
-
-At the time of Governor Davis' election, the military was finally
-withdrawn from the state, the citizens were restored to their civil
-rights, and Texas was readmitted to the Union. During his administration
-a Homestead Law was passed, a one-per-cent tax was levied for the
-building of schoolhouses, and the growth of railroads was encouraged by
-liberal grants of land.
-
-But there was still a great deal of trouble and discontent, and it was
-not until Governor Coke took his seat that the state, so long shaken by
-contention, began once more to breathe freely and to put forth the
-strength within her.
-
-Governor Coke served from 1874 to 1876; in 1876 he was elected to the
-United States senate, and Richard B. Hubbard became governor
-(1876-1879).
-
-The governors who guided the Ship of State from 1879 to 1895 were Oran
-M. Roberts (1879-1883), John Ireland[43] (1883-1887), Lawrence S. Ross
-(1887-1891), and James S. Hogg (1891-1895).
-
-In 1894 Charles A. Culberson became governor, and in 1896 he was
-returned by a large majority to the same office. On his election by the
-legislature in 1897 to the senate of the United States, he was succeeded
-by Joseph D. Sayers, who was the chief executive of the great state of
-Texas at the close of the nineteenth century.
-
-These years have been marked by many wonderful changes in Texas. Not the
-least of these changes has been the growth of the great public school
-system. The first free school in Texas was opened at San Antonio in
-1844. A state public school system was organized in 1870. From these
-imperfect beginnings to the admirable system of to-day, when an army of
-earnest and gifted men and women are banded together in the noble work
-of teaching, and countless multitudes of children pass daily in and out
-of the schoolroom,--from that gray dawn to this blazing noontide, what a
-change!
-
-The cause of education has indeed been ever in the minds and hearts of
-the people.
-
-           [Illustration: The Sam Houston Normal Institute.]
-
-An Agricultural and Mechanical College was founded at Bryan, and opened
-in 1876.
-
-In 1879 a State Normal School for teachers, called the Sam Houston
-Normal Institute, was established at Huntsville, Governor Houston's old
-home. A few years later the Prairie View, a normal school for colored
-teachers, was established.
-
-A State University was founded in 1881. The fine group of buildings
-crowning one of Austin's green hills was finished and thrown open to the
-young men and women students of the state in 1883.
-
-The first president of the University Board of Regents was Doctor Ashbel
-Smith. After his services to the Texan Republic, Doctor Smith devoted
-himself to scientific study and to the free practice of the medical
-profession. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate States army. He was
-elected a captain in the second Texas regiment of infantry, and was
-promoted to the colonelcy on the battlefield of Shiloh for personal
-bravery. He was in command of the post of Galveston at the time of the
-final surrender. He was chairman of the committee sent from Galveston to
-New Orleans to escort to Texas the remains of General Albert Sidney
-Johnston.
-
-                [Illustration: The University of Texas.]
-
-His wise counsels were of great service during those troublous times.
-The joy and pride of this truly great man's declining years was the
-University of Texas. He lived to see it answer to his highest hopes; and
-his memory should be eternally associated with its fame.
-
-In 1895 the Board of Regents was authorized to manage all lands
-belonging to the University; at the same time the office of president
-was created.
-
-A number of charitable and other public institutions have been added to
-those already in existence. The new Penitentiary at Rusk (1877), a State
-Orphan's Asylum at Corsicana (1881), and two Insane Asylums, one at
-Terrell (1883) and one at San Antonio (1890), are among these. In 1891
-the John B. Hood Camp of Confederate Veterans at Austin was taken under
-the kindly care of the state, and its name changed to the Texas
-Confederate Home.
-
-Many state questions of importance have been considered; new laws have
-been made and old ones improved.
-
-The public debt has been reduced. A new constitution has been adopted by
-the people (1875).
-
-The state revenues have been materially increased by the introduction of
-wiser and better regulations. The school tax has been raised.
-Arbitration laws have been passed, greatly to the advantage of
-disputants; and anti-trust laws have been enforced.
-
-In 1895 suit was brought by Texas, in the Supreme Court of the United
-States, for Greer County, a body of land on Red River claimed both by
-the United States government and by Texas. The decision of the Supreme
-Court (April, 1896) awarded the county to the United States.
-
-                [Illustration: The Old Alamo Monument.]
-
-A new court, called the Commission of Appeals, was created in 1881; the
-same year an admirable quarantine system was established, with a special
-station at Galveston.
-
-A memorable feature of the year 1895 was the extra session of the
-legislature called for the purpose of making prize fighting illegal in
-the state of Texas. The brutal and degrading sport was promptly declared
-a felony, and a law was passed prohibiting it on penalty of confinement
-in the Penitentiary.
-
-On the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898 Texas furnished more
-than her quota of eager and determined volunteers to the United States
-army; the sons of the men who wore the gray donned the blue uniform and
-wore it proudly and worthily throughout the campaign.
-
-A railroad commission was formed in 1891. In 1891, also, the United
-States government began at Galveston the building of jetties to improve
-the entrance to the harbor. These jetties, which are a double line of
-gigantic stone walls, reach out from the land into the Gulf. The action
-of the tides within this artificial channel washes out the sand, and
-thus deepens it. The channel, though damaged by the great flood of 1900,
-was not materially injured. Similar jetties were built at Sabine Pass
-and at Aransas Pass.
-
-In 1881 the old capitol at Austin was burned, and with it many priceless
-relics of the earlier days of Texas. Among these was the old monument
-dedicated in 1857 to the heroes of the Alamo. It was built of stones
-from the ruined fortress and stood on the porch of the capitol. It was
-inscribed with the names of Travis and his men; and the four sides of
-the shaft bore the following inscriptions:
-
-  _North._ "To the God of the fearless and the free is dedicated this
-  altar, made from the stones of the Alamo."
-
-  _West._ "Blood of heroes hath stained me. Let the stones of the Alamo
-  speak that their immolation be not forgotten."
-
-  _South._ "Be they enrolled with Leonidas in the host of the mighty
-  dead."
-
-  _East._ "Thermopyl� had her messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had
-  none."
-
-A new monument, upon whose summit stands, rifle in hand, the statue of a
-Texas ranger, has been placed in the capitol grounds.
-
-The legislature which met soon after the burning of the old capitol
-provided for the erection of a new one. Three million acres of public
-lands were set aside to meet this expense. The new building was finished
-and dedicated in 1888.
-
-The historic old church of the Alamo was purchased by the state in 1883.
-The battlefield of San Jacinto has also become the property of the
-state. This beautiful spot, consecrated by the blood of heroes, is
-guarded by the same encircling trees, which, clad in the green of
-spring's livery, looked down upon the birth of freedom on that long-past
-21st of April. May the coming centuries see them still standing, mute
-witnesses to the bravery of men who had no peer!
-
-
-
-
-                                   X.
-                            THE NEW CENTURY.
-
-
-The last year of the nineteenth century witnessed in Texas a calamity
-which wrapped the state in gloom and stirred the entire country to
-instant and generous sympathy. This was the Great Flood at Galveston.
-
-Earlier in the same year (April 7) the city of Austin had suffered a
-severe loss through water. The wonderful barrier of granite--the largest
-dam in the world--which imprisoned the waters of the Colorado River
-between the wooded hills on either side, thus forming an artificial lake
-thirty miles long, had suddenly given way; the mighty torrent set free
-had poured through the gap, carrying ruin with it and leaving havoc
-behind.
-
-In August, 1899, there had been a flood of unusual magnitude in the
-Brazos River. An angry sea had swirled down from the Red Lands above;
-the long and fertile valley of the Brazos was laid waste; several lives
-were lost, and much valuable property was destroyed. But these floods
-were dwarfed in importance by the tidal wave from the sea which on
-September 8 and 9, 1900, beat against the Gulf coast and fell with
-special violence upon the Island of Galveston.
-
-A blinding storm of rain fell ceaselessly throughout the whole of the
-first day; a furious wind drove the salt spray across the island from
-Gulf to bay. By nightfall the streets were submerged; the lower floors
-of many dwellings were under water. During the night of horror which
-followed, the railroad bridge connecting the island with the mainland
-was swept away, and the city lay isolated and helpless at the mercy of
-the hurricane. As the hours passed the people huddled together in their
-rocking houses, climbed to the upper stories and out upon the roofs,
-with the savage flood climbing after them. Thousands were swept to death
-from these insecure places of refuge. Whole blocks of buildings crumbled
-like so many sand houses into the waters; the foamy waves were strewn
-with a mass of wreckage: shingles, beams, furniture, household goods,
-animals dead and dying, human beings battling for their lives in the
-darkness or drifting stark and stiff with the storm.
-
-Many stories of heroism, of self-sacrifice, of pathetic devotion, are
-told of that awful night; many strange incidents are related. Strong men
-perished, while frail and delicate women survived unhurt; skilled
-swimmers succumbed; helpless babes floated to safety. One little child,
-torn from its mother's arms by the gale, drifted through the d�bris,
-across the island, across the bay, and was found the next day, quite
-unharmed, nested like a bird in the limbs of an oak tree on the
-mainland!
-
-When the morning dawned, pale and wan, a ghastly spectacle met the dazed
-eyes of the survivors. The waters, receding sullenly, exposed masses of
-ruins; thousands of corpses strewed the uneven sands; not a sound from
-the outer world penetrated the dismal silence. There was a single moment
-of paralyzed despair; then, with a splendid courage, almost without
-parallel, the stricken people took heart and set life in motion again
-for themselves and for their beloved city. Help poured in from every
-direction: money, provisions, clothing, doctors, nurses; best of all,
-words of sympathy and cheer, which lightened the task. In an incredibly
-short time almost all traces of the Great Flood had disappeared, and the
-lovely island lay serene and smiling, as before, on the bosom of the
-Gulf. It is believed that from six thousand to seven thousand people
-perished in the storm.
-
-In September, 1901, a sea wall, planned for the protection of the island
-against such storms, was begun; this enclosing wall, which is to cost
-one and a half million dollars, will be when finished sixteen feet broad
-at the base, sixteen feet high, and five feet in breadth at the top.
-
-The dawn of the twentieth century was marked by the discovery of
-petroleum in vast quantities in southeast Texas. In the earliest days of
-Lone Star history, certain of the incurving bays west of the Sabine
-River were known as the Oil Ponds, because they offered upon their
-smooth surface a secure refuge from the stormy Gulf outside to all
-manner of sailing craft. The meaning of their strange quiet was
-undreamed of until the first well on Spindletop Heights near Beaumont
-shot its geyser of oil hundreds of feet in the air. The oil wells at
-Beaumont and elsewhere now number many scores; their rich output seems
-inexhaustible.
-
-Long-continued droughts and the appearance of the boll weevil, an insect
-very destructive to the growing cotton, marred the splendor of this
-opening year. Vigorous measures have been taken to exterminate the boll
-weevil, and despite all drawbacks the crops of cotton, corn, and rice
-have steadily increased in size and in value.
-
-In 1903 S. W. T. Lanham was inaugurated governor.
-
-
-
-
-                                  XI.
-                                 TEXAS.
-
-
-                     FROM THE DOME OF THE CAPITOL.
-
-On the 16th of May, 1888, there was a mighty gathering of people at
-Austin. They had come--men, women, and children--from every quarter of
-the great state: from the Pan Handle and from the coast; from the wide
-prairies of the west, and the wooded hills and valleys of the east.
-There was a throb of pride in every heart and a sparkle of joy in every
-eye; for Texas was about to give a housewarming, as it were, and her
-children had met together to have a share in the home feast,--the new
-capitol was to be dedicated.
-
-The beautiful City of Hills was bathed in a flood of golden sunshine.
-The air was sweet with the breath of roses blooming in the gardens. A
-thousand flags and pennons and banners fluttered from housetops, floated
-from tall flag-poles, and waved from open windows. There was music
-everywhere, and everywhere the tread of moving feet and the gay noise
-and confusion of a happy crowd.
-
-From the crest of its long sloping hill the new capitol, vast and
-majestic, looked down on all this life and color. Its massive walls
-arose like the facade of some proud temple; its pillars of rosy granite
-reflected the light; its great dome soared into the blue sky. No wonder
-the people burst into shouts of delight on beholding it!
-
-The dedication ceremonies took place at noon in the presence of an
-immense throng of citizens and soldiers. Among the orators of the
-occasion was Temple Houston, a son of General Sam Houston. The day was
-one long to be remembered. At night the noble building was illuminated,
-and the lofty halls and corridors were filled for hours with the best,
-the bravest, and the fairest of the sons and daughters of Texas.
-
-             [Illustration: New Capitol at Austin (1888).]
-
-In the old days when the world still believed in fairies and gnomes and
-elves and water-sprites, it was thought that each country had its
-guardian spirit, or genie, who watched over it and protected it from
-evil. If the poets of those far-away times were now alive, they might
-picture the Genie of Texas standing, invisible, on the huge dome of the
-capitol, looking out over her beloved state, and saying, "All is well
-with my people." They might imagine her describing the scene under her
-eyes to the guardians of other states in words like these:
-
-"I see around me, widespread and beautiful, the free State of Texas.
-Below me, clad in flowers and bathed in mellow light, lies Austin.
-Crowning the hills, on which fifty years ago the Red Man dwelt in his
-wigwams and hunting-lodges, are stately government buildings, mansions,
-and churches. The enclosing gardens, rich in the herbs and blossoms of a
-semi-tropical region, are fair under the over-arching blue sky. In their
-midst, crowning its own hill-tops, stands the University planned by the
-Republic in 1839. Here the young men and the young women of the state,
-alike eager in effort and high in achievement, move about the hushed
-halls, or pass, book in hand, through the academic grove without.
-
-"To southward, beyond prairies threaded by the crystal waters of the
-rivers San Marcos and Guadalupe, I see San Antonio, that old town filled
-with memories of heroic deeds. The Alamo, treasured by my people, still
-stands on the plaza once dyed by the blood of Travis and his men. But
-how the gallant St. Denis would stare if he could come riding up and
-look from the brow of his favorite hill into the valley he loved! The
-village has become a great city. The streets are alive with traffic,
-handsome houses line the river-banks almost to the old Missions of
-Concepcion and San Jos�. The United States army post is there as of old,
-with the stars and stripes proudly waving over its fine buildings.
-
-"To east and southeastward are Goliad and Gonzales, sacred in the pages
-of Texas history; and the river La Vaca, up which La Salle and his men
-sailed to build ill-fated Fort St. Louis; and the San Jacinto, washing
-the reedy edge of the famous battle-ground. There are Houston and
-Columbia, whose streets in the early days were trod by the fathers of
-the Republic. There is Nacogdoches; and there is the Old San Antonio
-Road, which is still a traveled highway; and many a town which played
-its part in the stirring scenes of past times.
-
-"Northward and westward lies the newer Texas with thriving cities, such
-as Dallas and Fort Worth, Sherman and Denison; and Waco on the site
-where half a century ago stood the village of the music-loving Wacoes.
-
-"A wonderful network of railroads binds all these towns and cities
-together--a network which has been woven as if by magic. In 1852 the
-_Sidney Sherman_, the first locomotive engine west of the Mississippi
-River, ran out of Harrisburg on a short stretch of railroad. Now there
-are nine thousand miles of railroad in the state.
-
-"Every year vast fields of grain lie golden and ripe for the harvest,
-where a short time ago plover and partridge hid in the prairie grass.
-Along the coast the rich plantations of sugar cane wave and rustle in
-the breeze, and the smoke of the sugarhouses at grinding-time is black
-against the sky.
-
-                     [Illustration: Ashbel Smith.]
-
-"In Stephen F. Austin's day there were little patches of cotton about
-the cabin doors of the settlers. To-day Texas grows one-third of the
-cotton raised in the world. No fleece so white, no stalks so weighted
-with bursting bolls, no fiber so strong and yet so delicate, as that of
-the cotton of Texas.
-
-"I see," the Genie might continue, "I see orchards of fruit trees, and
-vegetable gardens, and rose bowers, making green and glad the face of
-the country.
-
-"I see at Galveston and Sabine Pass the largest ships now sailing with
-ease, where in 1863 the _Westfield_ and the _Clifton_ grounded in mud or
-on a sand-bar.
-
-"A mighty bulwark, sprung up as if by magic, stretches its arms around
-the Island City and guards it from any fury of the sea.
-
-"The mysterious and limitless pools and lakes which lie far below the
-surface of Texas soil have been forced into service. I see artesian
-wells spouting their sturdy columns of clear healing water in hundreds
-of places; and reservoirs of oil, whose fountain-head no man knows,
-yield their priceless gifts to the hand.
-
-"Herds of cattle swarm about the great ranches of the west; while in the
-vast unfenced solitudes soft-eyed antelopes, and other wild creatures of
-the forest, still rove in primeval freedom.
-
-"Libraries spring up; new institutions for the afflicted arise; smiling
-homes invite to comfort and repose the thinning ranks of the veterans of
-the Southern Confederacy.
-
-"Last, and best of all, wherever there is a quiet hamlet or a growing
-town or a busy city, I see a schoolhouse. It may be but a rude cabin,
-where through the unchinked logs the children may watch the birds
-building their nests, or it may be a stately building which glorifies
-the memory of some generous giver, like the Ball and Rosenburg Schools
-at Galveston; it may be a crowded little place where the boys kick their
-heels against time-worn benches, or it may be the handsome University of
-Texas. But big or little, stone building or log cabin, there is always
-the schoolhouse; and within it the school children, the future men and
-women of the state. Upon them, even more than upon railroad or cotton
-crop, depend the prosperity and welfare of the state. I breathe a prayer
-for all who tread this free and unfettered soil to-day; but chiefly I
-call down blessings upon the school children of Texas.
-
-"All is well with my people."
-
-So might speak the Genie of Texas from the dome of the capitol.
-
-
-
-
-                             PRONUNCIATION.
-
-
-  Acequia (Ah sa' kee ah)
-  Adaes (Ah dah' ess)
-  Aes (Ah' ess)
-  Aguayo (Ah gwah' yo)
-  Aimable (A mah bl)
-  Alamo (Ah' lah mo)
-  Alazan (Ah' lah zan)
-  Almonte (Al mon' ta)
-  Alvarez (Al' vah ress)
-  Ampudia (Am poo' dee ah)
-  Anahuac (An' ah wak)
-  Andrade (An drah' da)
-  Arredondo (Ar ra don' do)
-  Anastase (Ah nas taze')
-  Barbier (Bar bee a)
-  Beaujeu (Bo zhuh)
-  Benevidas (Ba na vee' das)
-  Belleisle (Bel eel)
-  Bexar (Bair)
-  Bustamente (Boos ta man' ta)
-  Cabet (Ca ba)
-  Castenado (Kas ta nah' do)
-  Champ d'Asile (Chon dazile)
-  Coahuila (Ko ah wee' lah)
-  Colito (Ko lee' to)
-  Cordero (Kor da ro)
-  De Pag�s (Pa jess)
-  Desloges (Da loj)
-  Duhaut (Du ho)
-  Elisondo (El ee son' do)
-  Espiritu Santo (Ess pee' ree too)
-  Filisola (Fee lee so' lah)
-  Garza (Gar' ssa)
-  Grand Terre (Gron Tair)
-  Guadalupe (Gwah dah loop' a)
-  Gutierrez (Goo tee a' ress)
-  Herrera (A ra' rah)
-  Indios Bravos (In' dee oss Brah' voss)
-  Indios Reducidos (Ra doo see' doss)
-  Joli (Zho lie)
-  Jos� (Ho sa')
-  Joutel (Zhoo tel)
-  La Bahia (Lah Bah ee' ah)
-  Martinez (Mar tee' ness)
-  Mier (Mee' ah)
-  Mina (Mee' nah)
-  Moragnet (Mo rah nya)
-  Musquis (Moos keess')
-  Natchitoches (Nak ee tosh)
-  Neches (Na' chez)
-  Nika (Nee kah)
-  Orquisacas (Or kee sah' kass)
-  Ory (O ree)
-  Pedro (Pa' dro)
-  Perez (Pa ress)
-  Perote (Pa ro' ta)
-  Piedras (Pee a' drass)
-  Plaza (Pla' zah)
-  Presidio (Pra see' dee o)
-  Refugio (Ra foo' jee o)
-  Saget (Sah ja)
-  Saltillo (Sal tee' yo)
-  San Felipe (Fa lee' pa)
-  Santa F� (Fa)
-  St. Denis (San De nee)
-  Toledo (To la' do)
-  Tonti (Ton tee)
-  Ugartechea (Oo gar ta cha' ah)
-  Urrea (Oo ra' ah)
-  Zacetacas (Zah ka tah' kas)
-  Zavala (Zah vah' lah)
-
-
-
-
-                               FOOTNOTES.
-
-
-[1]Called by the Spaniards, La Vaca.
-
-[2]Now Dimmitt's Point on the La Vaca.
-
-[3]L'Archev�que afterward returned to America and settled in Santa F�,
-   New Mexico, where he married and died, and where his descendants
-   still live. See A. F. Bandelier's _Gilded Man_.
-
-[4]La Salle never married. His title was inherited by his brother,
-   numerous descendants of whom are living in Louisiana.
-
-[5]Charles II.
-
-[6]The name more probably was derived from the Tehas Indians, a tribe
-   whose central village was built on the present site of Mound Prairie.
-
-[7]_Alamo_, cottonwood.
-
-[8]These Spanish and Indian builders were called "The Children of San
-   Jos�."
-
-[9]A Mexican dance.
-
-[10]Salcedo, the Spanish commander at Monterey, said that if "he had the
-   power he would stop even the birds from flying across the Sabine."
-
-[11]Nolan afterward claimed to have made this map for the benefit of the
-   United States government in case of a war with Spain. He wrote, upon
-   the eve of this journey: "Will we have a war? At all events, I can
-   cut my way back and you can rely upon me." (Letter to General
-   Wilkinson, June 10, 1797.)
-
-[12]Ellis Bean's diary.
-
-[13]Burr at this time was suspected of a design to separate the
-   southwestern states from the Union and found a new government.
-
-[14]Charles IV. and Maria Louisa of Parma.
-
-[15]Natchitoches is about forty miles from the Sabine River in a direct
-   line. The Neutral Ground, therefore, was about thirty-three miles
-   wide. It extended southward to the mouth of the Calcasieu River. The
-   choice of the Arroyo Hondo as a boundary was the revival of an old
-   compromise. The French and Spanish commandants, as early as 1719,
-   agreed upon the Arroyo Hondo as a convenient boundary between
-   Louisiana and New Spain. This agreement was observed until 1762, when
-   the whole of Louisiana west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain.
-   The Sabine River, by a state treaty (1819), was finally fixed as the
-   boundary.
-
-[16]Baron de Bastrop had been an officer in the army of Frederic the
-   Great.
-
-[17]_Texas Scrap Book._
-
-[18]Benjamin Milam was a native of Kentucky. He fought in the War of
-   1812 against Great Britain. In 1823 he received from the Mexican
-   government, for services rendered in the deposition of Iturbide, one
-   million of acres of land in Texas, which he sold to Baring & Co.,
-   London.
-
-   He also obtained from the government of Coahuila and Texas the
-   exclusive right to run steamboats on the Colorado River. He was
-   unable, however, to avail himself of this right.
-
-[19]Robert Calder.
-
-[20]General Burleson had remained in camp during the storming of the
-   city. He entered on the 9th. (Official Report.)
-
-[21]Horseshoe Bend.
-
-[22]A man named Rose, who escaped by leaping from the wall.
-
-[23]This battle, called by the Mexicans the battle of the Encinal del
-   Perdido, began at one o'clock P.M.
-
-[24]Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, the father of Hal Ripley, was a
-   brigadier-general in the United States army, and greatly
-   distinguished himself in the war with Great Britain in 1812. He was
-   afterward a member of the United States Congress from Louisiana.
-
-[25]Colonel Garay was a native of Greece.
-
-[26]Houston left Gonzales, March 13. Reached Burnham's Crossing, on the
-   west bank of the Colorado, March 17. Crossed to the east bank of the
-   Colorado and marched down to Beason's Crossing, March 19. Reached San
-   Felipe on the Brazos, March 28. Marched up the Brazos (west bank) to
-   Mill's Creek and Groce's Landing. Remained at Groce's Landing until
-   April 12. Crossed the Brazos (April 12) to Groce's Plantation.
-   Marched on the 14th; reached Buffalo Bayou, opposite Harrisburg, on
-   the 18th. Crossed the same day in pursuit of Santa Anna. Occupied the
-   battlefield of San Jacinto, April 20.
-
-[27]Cos was Santa Anna's brother-in-law.
-
-[28]Moses Bryan, in _Texas Scrap Book_.
-
-[29]Thrall.
-
-[30]G. W. Kendall.
-
-[31]Quoted by Yoakum from a narrative by one of the prisoners.
-
-[32]Anson Jones died at the Old Capital Hotel in Houston on the 7th of
-   January, 1858. A short time before his death he remarked to one of
-   his friends: "Here in this house, twenty years ago, I commenced my
-   public career in Texas, and here I would like to die."
-
-[33]Diary of Captain Henry, U. S. A.
-
-[34]Frost's _History of Mexico_.
-
-[35]G. W. Kendall.
-
-[36]_Cabet at ses Icariens._
-
-[37]Williams' _Life of Houston_.
-
-[38]Scharf's _History of the Confederate States Navy_.
-
-[39]Camp Ford, where the Federal prisoners were confined during the war,
-   was situated near Tyler, in Smith County.
-
-[40]The bell used on the _Harriet Lane_ is now in the museum of the
-   Houston (Texas) High School.
-
-[41]Jefferson Davis, in his _Rise and Fall of the Confederate
-   Government_, says of this engagement: "The success of the single
-   company which garrisoned the earthwork at Fort Griffin is without
-   parallel in ancient or modern war."
-
-[42]Scharf's _History of the Confederate States Navy_.
-
-[43]Ireland died March 15, 1896.
-
-
-
-
-                                 INDEX.
-
-
-                                   A
-  A Bold Rider, 14.
-  A Buffalo Hunt, 154.
-  A Cloud in the Sky, 148.
-  A Fatal Venture, 29.
-  A Hurried Ride, 40.
-  A Treacherous Shot, 46.
-  A Voice in the Wilderness, 48.
-  Acequias, 22.
-  Across the Border, 136.
-  Adaes, Mission of, 18, 29.
-  Aes, Mission of, 21, 22, 29.
-  Agricultural and Mechanical College, 170.
-  Aguayo, Marquis de, 21, 23.
-  _Aimable_, The, 2, 4.
-  Alamo, The, 18, 27, 71, 81, 82, 103, 176.
-  Almonte, Colonel, 86, 101, 103, 136.
-  Along the old San Antonio Road, 14, 25, 27, 30, 180.
-  Alvarez, Senora, 95.
-  Ampudia, General, 128, 138.
-  An Unexpected Meeting, 56.
-  Anahuac, Fort, 38, 61.
-  Anastase, Father, 7.
-  Andrade, General, 110.
-  Annexation, 113, 135.
-  Anti-trust Laws, 172.
-  Apaches, The, 19, 24, 30, 142.
-  Arbitration Laws, 172.
-  Archer, Branch T., 59, 74.
-  Archives, War of the, 124.
-  Arredondo, General, 39.
-  Arroyo Hondo, 36.
-  Artesian Wells, 182.
-  Asylums, 141, 172.
-  Aury, Luis d', 42.
-  Austin, Bursting of Dam at, 175.
-  Austin City, 122, 126, 132, 135, 141, 148, 150, 152, 178.
-  Austin, Moses, 50.
-  Austin, Stephen F., Character and Appearance, 51.
-  ---- Contract with Martinez, 52.
-  ---- Arrival with Colonists, 52.
-  ---- Journey to Mexico, 53.
-  ---- Return from Mexico, 55.
-  ---- Imprisonment in Mexico, 60.
-  ---- Release from Prison, 62.
-  ---- In Command of Volunteers, 66.
-  ---- Commissioner to United States, 69.
-  ---- Secretary of State, 113.
-  ---- Death and Burial, 113.
-  Austin's Colonists, 52.
-
-
-                                   B
-  Banks, General, 165.
-  Barbier, Sieur, 6, 7.
-  Barry, "Buck," 148.
-  Bastrop, Baron de, 50, 55.
-  Battle of the Alamo, 82.
-  ---- of Colita, 91.
-  ---- of Concepcion, 67.
-  ---- of Galveston, 160.
-  ---- of Mier, 128.
-  ---- of Palo Alto, 137, 165.
-  ---- of Resaca de la Palma, 137.
-  ---- of Rosillo, 38.
-  ---- of Sabine Pass, 164.
-  ---- of Three Trees, 43.
-  ---- of Velasco, 54.
-  Bay of Bernard, 3, 11, 12.
-  ---- of Matagorda, 3, 156.
-  Baylor, John R., 155.
-  Bean, Ellis P., 31, 32, 33.
-  Beaujeu, 3, 4.
-  Bell, Hansborough P., 140.
-  _Belle_, The, 2, 6.
-  Belleisle, 11, 12.
-  Benevidas, Placido, 81.
-  Bexar, Duke de, 18.
-  Bienville, Sieur de, 12.
-  Blackburn, Ephraim, 35.
-  Blanco, El, 32.
-  Blockade-running, 159.
-  Blue, The, and the Gray, 167, 168.
-  Blue Wing, 144.
-  Bolivar Point, 46, 48, 53.
-  Bonham, James, 81, 83, 87.
-  Bowie, James, 66, 79, 83, 86.
-  Bowie, Rezin, 43, 80.
-  Bradburn, Juan Davis, 58.
-  Brazoria, 55, 85.
-  Brazos, Flood in, 175.
-  Brazos River, 52, 74, 87.
-  Brown, Captain Jerry, 107, 118.
-  Brownsville, 137, 165.
-  _Brutus_, The, 117, 118, 119, 120.
-  Buffalo Bayou, 91, 97, 98, 99, 111, 115.
-  Burleson, Edward, 65, 69, 73, 124, 138.
-  Burnet, David G., 59, 87, 98, 105, 107, 108, 112, 120.
-  Burton, Isaac, 112.
-  Bustamente, 57, 61.
-  By the Brazos, 74.
-
-
-                                   C
-  Cabet, Etienne, 148.
-  Calder, Robert, 67, 106.
-  Caldwell, Matthew, 122, 126.
-  Canary Islands, 23.
-  Cannon at Concepcion, 67.
-  ---- at Gonzales, 62.
-  ---- at San Jacinto, 99, 100.
-  Capital, The, at Austin, 120, 138.
-  ---- at Columbia, 112.
-  ---- at Houston, 115, 126.
-  ---- at San Antonio, 50, 56.
-  ---- at Saltillo, 56, 60.
-  ---- at Washington, 130.
-  Capitol, Dedication of, 178.
-  Carankawaes, 5, 10, 42, 43, 77, 142.
-  Cart War, 141.
-  Cash, Mrs., 95.
-  Castenado, Captain, 63.
-  Castle of Perote, 127, 129, 139.
-  Castro, Henry, 132.
-  Cenis, 5, 6, 10, 142.
-  Champ d'Asile, 44.
-  Chrisman, Lieutenant, 148.
-  Clark, Edward, 152.
-  Cl�re, Le, 115.
-  Coahuila, 9, 59.
-  Coke, Richard, 169.
-  Colita, Battle of, 92.
-  Collingsworth, George A., 64.
-  Colonists, 23, 24, 52, 53, 55.
-  Colorado, Flood in, 175.
-  Colorado River, 52, 122.
-  Columbia, 111, 112, 113, 180.
-  Comanches, 9, 19, 24, 30, 121, 140, 142, 147.
-  Concepcion, Battle of, 67.
-  ---- Mission of, 20, 67, 127.
-  Confederate States, The, 151, 166.
-  Congress, The Texan, 105, 113, 115, 122, 126, 132.
-  Considerant, Victor, 150.
-  Cordero, Antonio, 55, 59.
-  Corpus Christi, 137.
-  Cortina, 151.
-  Cos, Martin Perfecto de, 61, 66, 72.
-  Cotton, Captain, 147.
-  Cotton, Texas, 181.
-  Council-house Fight, 121.
-  Coushattis, 45, 142.
-  Cowl and Carbine, 16.
-  Crocker, Captain, 165.
-  Crockett, David, 83, 86, 145.
-  Culberson, Charles A., 169.
-  Cushing, E. H., 159.
-
-
-                                   D
-  Davis, E. J., 168.
-  Davis Guards, 163.
-  Davis, Jefferson, 138.
-  Dawson, Nicholas, 127.
-  Declaration of Independence, 78, 87.
-  Dedication of Capitol, 178.
-  De Leon, Alonzo, 9, 10, 15, 77.
-  De Nava, General, 31, 32.
-  De Pag�s, 29.
-  Desauque, Captain, 91.
-  Desloges, 4.
-  Dickinson, Lieutenant, 83.
-  ---- Mrs., 87, 89.
-  Dimitt, Captain, 78, 79.
-  Dimmitt's Point, 4.
-  Donna Maria, 15.
-  Dorn, Earl Van, General, 156.
-  Dowling, Dick, 163.
-  Duggan, Ensign, 156.
-  Duhaut, 7.
-  Dying Races, 142.
-
-
-                                   E
-  Eberle, Mrs., 126.
-  Education, 123, 141, 169, 182.
-  Edwards, Hayden, 55.
-  Elisondo, General Y, 39.
-  Espiritu Santo, Mission of, 18, 77.
-  Evans, T. C., 86.
-
-
-                                   F
-  Fannin, James W., 67, 76, 81, 85, 89, 91, 96.
-  Farias, Gomez, 60.
-  Fight, The Grass, 68.
-  Filisola, General, 97, 108.
-  First Bloodshed, 4.
-  ---- Marriage, 6.
-  Fisher, William S., 128.
-  Flag, The Texas, 123.
-  Ford, John S., 140, 148.
-  Fort Defiance, 87, 89.
-  ---- Griffin, 163.
-  ---- St. Louis, 1, 5, 10, 13.
-  Fosset, Captain, 147.
-  France, 1, 11, 12, 21, 25, 35, 44, 135, 148.
-  Franciscans, 16, 17, 18, 20, 28.
-  Franklin, B. C., 166.
-  Fredonian War, 56.
-  From the Dome of the Capitol, 174.
-  Front�nac, Count de, 1, 2.
-
-
-                                   G
-  Galveston, Battle of, 160.
-  ---- City of, 156, 160, 166.
-  ---- Flood at, 175.
-  ---- Island of, 41, 44, 46, 98, 105, 118, 120, 156, 167.
-  ---- Sea Wall at, 176.
-  Garay, Colonel, 95.
-  Garza, Governor de la, 55.
-  Genie of Texas, The, 179.
-  Gil Y Barbo, Captain, 30.
-  Gillentine, Captain, 147.
-  Godoy, Manuel de, 33.
-  Goliad, 18, 38, 45, 48, 77, 79, 89, 90, 103, 108.
-  Gonzales, 62, 85, 97.
-  Grand Terre, 41, 47.
-  Granger, General, 166, 167.
-  Grant, Doctor, 78, 81.
-  Green, Thomas J., 130.
-  Greer County, 172.
-  Griffin, General, 168.
-  Guadalupe River, 63.
-  Gutierrez, Bernardo, 37, 39, 40.
-
-
-                                   H
-  Hall, Captain Lee, 148.
-  Hamilton, A. J., 167.
-  _Harriet Lane_, The, 161.
-  Harrisburg, 97, 98, 105.
-  Hawkins, Commodore, 107.
-  Hays, John Coffin, 138, 146.
-  Henderson, J. P., 135, 137, 140.
-  Herrera, General, 35, 36, 39.
-  Hogg, James S., 169.
-  Home Again, 163.
-  Houston, City of, 115, 122, 149, 180.
-  Houston, Sam, Delegate to Convention, 59.
-  ---- With the Army at La Espada, 66.
-  ---- Biography, 74.
-  ---- Commander-in-Chief, 74, 87.
-  ---- Resignation, 80.
-  ---- Retreat, 96.
-  ---- At San Jacinto, 100.
-  ---- Interview with Santa Anna, 103.
-  ---- President of Republic, 112, 124.
-  ---- At Houston, 115.
-  ---- United States Senator, 136.
-  ---- Governor of Texas, 150.
-  ---- Death, 153.
-  How the Good News was Brought, 105.
-  Hubbard, Richard B., 169.
-
-
-                                   I
-  Icaria, 148.
-  In Church and Fortress, 82.
-  In the Name of France, 1.
-  ---- of Spain, 9.
-  ---- of Oblivion, 12.
-  Inauguration, Houston's, 112.
-  Independence, Declaration of, 78, 87.
-  Indians, Texas, Adaes, 30.
-  ---- Apaches, 19, 24, 30, 142.
-  ---- Carankawaes, 5, 10, 42, 43, 77, 142.
-  ---- Cenis, 5, 6, 10, 142.
-  ---- Comanches, 9, 19, 24, 30, 31, 121, 142, 147.
-  ---- Coushattis, 45, 142.
-  ---- Kiowas, 142.
-  ---- Lipans, 11, 140, 142.
-  ---- Nassonites, 5, 142.
-  ---- Naugodoches, 29.
-  ---- Orquisacas, 142.
-  ---- Tehas, 10, 30, 142.
-  ---- Wacoes, 142, 180.
-  Indios Bravos, 23, 24, 25.
-  ---- Reducidos, 24.
-  Inscriptions on Alamo Monument, 174.
-  Institute, Sam Houston Normal, 170.
-  Ireland, John, 159.
-  Iron Jacket, 140.
-  Ironclad Oath, 168.
-
-
-                                   J
-  Jetties, The, 173.
-  Johnson, Frank W., 71, 72, 79, 81.
-  Johnston, Albert Sidney, 120, 138, 166, 168.
-  _Joli_, The, 2.
-  Jones, Anson, 134, 136.
-  ---- Randall, 40, 54.
-  Joutel, 7, 8.
-
-
-                                   K
-  Karnes, Henry, 72, 102.
-  Kemper, Captain, 38, 39.
-  King, Captain, 89.
-
-
-                                   L
-  La Bahia, 18, 38, 45, 48.
-  La Espada, Mission of, 23, 66, 68.
-  La Harpe, Bernard de, 12, 21.
-  La Salle, Robert, Cavalier de, 1, 9, 12, 49, 143, 180.
-  La Vaca, 4, 176.
-  Lafitte, Jean, 40, 44, 46, 157.
-  Lallemand, General, 44.
-  Lamar, Mirabeau B., 120, 123, 139.
-  Lanham, S. W. T., 177.
-  Las Almagras, 20, 25.
-  Lea, Edward, 162.
-  Lee, Robert E., 151, 165.
-  Les Vaches, 4, 143.
-  _Liberty_, The, 117.
-  Lincoln, Abraham, 151.
-  Liotot, 7.
-  _Lively_, The, 117.
-  Lockhart, Matilda, 121.
-  Long, David, 40, 46.
-  ---- General James, 40, 46, 49, 77.
-  ---- Mrs., 40, 46, 48, 53.
-  Lubbock, F. R., 157.
-
-
-                                   M
-  Magee, Augustus W., 27, 28, 49.
-  Magruder, John B., 160.
-  Martinez, Governor, 50, 53.
-  Massacre at Goliad, 95, 103.
-  ---- at San Saba, 20, 25.
-  Matagorda Bay, 3, 156.
-  Matamoras, 78, 137.
-  McCulloch, Benjamin, 138, 155, 166.
-  McLeod, General Hugh, 123, 139, 166.
-  Messengers of Distress, 77.
-  Mexico, 9, 24, 27, 42, 53, 55, 61, 74, 82, 111, 120, 124, 128,
-          132, 144.
-  Mier, Battle of, 128.
-  Milam, Benjamin, 64, 70, 72.
-  Military Rule, 167.
-  Mina Xavier, 42.
-  Mission of Adaes, 18, 21, 29.
-  ---- of Aes, 18, 21, 22, 29.
-  ---- of Concepcion, 20, 67, 68, 127.
-  ---- of Espada, 23, 60, 68.
-  ---- of Nacogdoches, 18, 29, 48.
-  ---- of Nuestra Senora del Pilar, 22.
-  ---- of Orquisacas, 10, 22, 25.
-  ---- of Refugio, 91.
-  ---- of San Francisco, 9.
-  ---- of San Jos�, 18, 23, 28, 180.
-  ---- of San Saba, 20, 25.
-  Missionaries, 17.
-  Missions, Building of, 17.
-  Mississippi River, The, 1, 11, 12, 36, 159.
-  Moderators, 134.
-  Monclova, 9, 15, 23.
-  Monterey, Siege of, 138.
-  Moragnet, 7.
-  Mother Ditch, The, 22.
-  Murrah, Pendleton, 167.
-  Musquiz, 32.
-  Mustangs, 30, 34.
-
-
-                                   N
-  Nacogdoches, 18, 29, 32, 35, 38, 46, 48, 56, 58, 180.
-  Nassonites, 5, 142.
-  Natchitoches, 12, 20, 22, 27, 35, 39, 40, 46.
-  Navy, The Texas, 117, 120.
-  Neches River, 7, 9.
-  Neill, Colonel, 71, 80.
-  _Neptune_, The, 160.
-  Neutral Ground, The, 35, 39, 55, 134.
-  Nika, 7.
-  Nolan, Philip, 31, 49.
-  Norris, Captain J. H., 147.
-
-
-                                   O
-  Odlum, Captain, 163.
-  Oil Ponds, 177.
-  Oil Wells, 182.
-  Old San Antonio Road, The, 14, 25, 27, 30, 180.
-  On Buffalo Bayou, 111.
-  _Only Son_, The, 53.
-  Orders and Disorder, 56.
-  Orquisacas, Mission of, 18, 22, 25.
-  Ory, 4.
-  Out of a Mist, 65.
-  _Owasco_, The, 161.
-
-
-                                   P
-  Palm Sunday, 91.
-  Palo Alto, Battle of, 137, 165.
-  Parker, Cynthia Ann, 150.
-  Pass, Sabine, 163.
-  Pease, E. M., 140, 141, 168.
-  Perez, Colonel, 46.
-  Perote, Castle of, 127, 129.
-  Perry, Colonel, 42.
-  Philippines, The New, 16, 22.
-  Piedras, Colonel, 58.
-  Plaza de las Islas, 23, 69.
-  Plazas, 21, 23, 27, 33, 69.
-  _Pocket_, The, 118.
-  Portilla, Colonel, 101.
-  Prairie View Normal School, 170.
-  Presidios, 10, 14, 16, 17.
-  _Pride_, The, 41, 47, 157.
-  Prize Fight, Stopping of, 173.
-
-
-                                   R
-  Railroad Commission, 173.
-  Railroads, Texas, 159, 181.
-  Reconstruction Time, 169.
-  Red House, The, 40, 46.
-  Red Rovers, The, 76.
-  Refugio, 80, 90, 91.
-  Regulators, 134.
-  Renshaw, Commodore, 161.
-  Resaca de la Palma, Battle of, 137.
-  _Revenge_, The, 53.
-  Ripley, Harry, 92, 96.
-  ---- Eleazer Wheelock, 92.
-  Roberts, O. M., 169.
-  Rose, Moses, 85.
-  Rosillo, Battle of, 38.
-  Ross, Lawrence Sullivan, 150, 169.
-  ---- S. P., 140.
-  Runnels, Hardin R., 140.
-  Rusk, Thomas J., 87, 89, 108, 110, 130.
-
-
-                                   S
-  Sabine Pass, 63.
-  ---- River, 21, 34, 37.
-  Saget, 7.
-  Sal Colorado, The, 137.
-  Salado, Battle of, 126.
-  ---- Hacienda of, 128.
-  Sam Houston Normal Institute, The, 170.
-  San Antonio, 14, 18, 21, 23, 39, 45, 50, 56, 82, 83, 155, 180.
-  San Bernard, Bay of, 3, 12.
-  San Felipe de Austin, 50, 56, 62, 65, 69, 74, 76.
-  San Fernando Church, 24.
-  San Francisco, Mission of, 10.
-  San Jacinto, Battle Ground, 174.
-  San Jos�, Mission of, 18, 23, 28, 180.
-  San Patricio, 55, 81.
-  San Pedro River, 83.
-  San Saba Mission, 20, 25.
-  Sandoval, Colonel, 65.
-  Santa Anna, 58, 60, 83, 87, 96, 97, 102, 108, 124, 129, 131,
-          137, 139.
-  Santa F� Expedition, 123, 139.
-  Sayers, J. D., 169.
-  School, Prairie View Normal, 170.
-  School Tax, 172.
-  Schools, Texas, 123, 141, 169, 182.
-  Scott, General Winfield, 139.
-  Seal, The Texas, 111.
-  Secession of Texas, 152.
-  Shackleford, Doctor, 76, 95.
-  Sherffius, Henry, 159.
-  Sheridan, General, 167.
-  Sherman, General Sidney, 100.
-  ---- Lieutenant Sidney, 162.
-  Sibley Expedition, 157.
-  Slave Ships, 43.
-  Smith, Ashbel, 134, 171.
-  ---- Benjamin Fort, 108.
-  ---- Deaf, 98, 99, 100.
-  ---- Henry, 74, 75, 76, 111.
-  ---- James, 134.
-  ---- Rev. W. T., 64.
-  Somervell, General Alexander, 127.
-  Spain, 9, 11, 21, 25, 28, 33, 35.
-  Spanish-American War, 173.
-  St. Denis, Juchereau, 14, 20, 25, 49, 180.
-  _St. Francis_, The, 2, 3, 9.
-  St. John the Baptist, Presidio of, 15, 27.
-  _Star of the West_, The, 155, 156.
-  Stephenson, Rev. Henry, 49, 76.
-  Stockdale, Fletcher S., 167.
-  Storming of San Antonio, 71.
-
-
-                                   T
-  Taylor, General Zachary, 137.
-  Teal, Henry, 108.
-  Tehas, The, 15, 30, 142.
-  Texas Ranger, The, 143.
-  The Blue and the Gray, 167, 168.
-  The Capital, 120.
-  The Champ d'Asile, 44.
-  The Disputed Boundary Line, 33.
-  The Grays, 68.
-  The _Invincible_, 107, 117, 119.
-  The _Pride_, 41, 47, 157.
-  The Priest's House, 69.
-  "The Republic is no more," 132.
-  The Telegraph, 159.
-  The War of the Archives, 134.
-  Thirty Years, 167.
-  Three Trees, Battle of, 43.
-  Throckmorton, James W., 167.
-  Toledo, General, 39.
-  Tonti, Chevalier de, 1, 7, 8.
-  Totten, Captain, 147.
-  Travis, William B., 58, 66, 81, 83, 85, 87.
-  Treasure, Lafitte's, 47.
-  Twiggs, General David, 156.
-  Twin Sisters, The, 97, 100.
-
-
-                                   U
-  Ugartechea, Colonel, 58, 72.
-  United States, The, 36, 42, 46, 56, 57, 69, 113, 120, 135, 136,
-          139, 144, 152, 166.
-  University, 172.
-  University, The Texas State, 120, 170, 182.
-  Ups and Downs, 52.
-  Urrea, General, 81, 82, 90, 92, 103.
-
-
-                                   V
-  Vasquez, Rafael, 125.
-  Velasco, Battle of, 58.
-  Villescas, Governor, 15.
-  Vince's Bridge, 100.
-  Virginia Point, 107, 161.
-
-
-                                   W
-  Wacoes, 142, 180.
-  Wainwright, Commodore, 161.
-  Walker, Samuel H., 131, 139.
-  War, The Civil, 155, 166.
-  War Time Arithmetic, 158.
-  Ward, Colonel William, 75, 90.
-  Washington on the Brazos, 87, 131.
-  Wharton, William H., 59, 66.
-  Wilkinson, General, 31, 35.
-  Williamson, R. M., 61, 63.
-  Woll, General, 126, 130.
-  Woods, George T., 138, 140.
-  ---- Gonzales, 127.
-  Wright, Captain Tom, 148.
-  Wyatt, Captain, 76.
-
-
-                                   Y
-  _Yellowstone_, The, 105, 108.
-
-
-                                   Z
-  Zacetacas, 17.
-  Zavala, Lorenzo D., 87.
-
-
-
-
-                          Transcriber's Notes
-
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-<pre>
-
-Project Gutenberg's Under Six Flags: The Story of Texas, by M. E. M. Davis
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Under Six Flags: The Story of Texas
-
-Author: M. E. M. Davis
-
-Release Date: August 21, 2019 [EBook #60144]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER SIX FLAGS: STORY OF TEXAS ***
-
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-
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-Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Ron Box and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
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-</pre>
-
-<div class="img">
-<img class="cover" id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Under Six Flags: The Story of Texas" width="500" height="780" />
-</div>
-<div class="img" id="pic1">
-<img src="images/p01.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="721" />
-<p class="caption">MAIN DOOR OF MISSION SAN JOS&Eacute;, SAN ANTONIO.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="box">
-<h1><span class="sc">Under Six Flags</span>
-<br /><span class="small">THE STORY OF TEXAS</span></h1>
-<p class="tbcenter"><span class="smaller">BY</span>
-<br />M. E. M. DAVIS
-<br /><span class="small"><span class="sc">Author of &ldquo;In War Times at La Rose Blanche,&rdquo; &ldquo;Under the Man-Fig,&rdquo; &ldquo;Minding the Gap,&rdquo; etc., etc.</span></span></p>
-<p class="center">GINN &amp; COMPANY
-<br /><span class="small">BOSTON &middot; NEW YORK &middot; CHICAGO &middot; LONDON</span></p>
-</div>
-<p class="center smaller"><span class="sc">Copyright, 1897
-<br />By M. E. M. DAVIS</span>
-<br /><span class="smallest">ALL RIGHTS RESERVED</span>
-<br />26.5</p>
-<p class="center small"><b><i>The Athen&aelig;um Press</i></b>
-<br /><span class="small">GINN &amp; COMPANY &middot; PROPRIETORS &middot; BOSTON &middot; U.S.A.</span></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_iii">iii</div>
-<p class="tbcenter">TO THE MEMORY
-<br />OF
-<br /><span class="large"><b><i>E. H. Cushing</i></b></span></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_v">v</div>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">PREFACE.</span></h2>
-<p>In the following pages I have endeavored to sketch, in
-rather bold outlines, the story of Texas. It is a story of
-knightly romance which calls the poet even as, in earlier days,
-the Land of the Tehas called across its borders the dreamers
-of dreams.</p>
-<p>But the history of Texas is far more than a romantic legend.
-It is a record of bold conceptions and bolder deeds; the story
-of the discoverer penetrating unknown wildernesses; of the
-pioneer matching his strength against the savage; of the colonist
-struggling for his freedom and his rights.</p>
-<p>It is the chronicle of the birth of a people; the history of
-the rise and progress of a great State.</p>
-<p>I have tried in these simple readings so to arrange the
-salient points of a drama of two centuries as to present a
-consistent whole.</p>
-<p>And I shall be happy if I shall succeed in awakening in the
-reader somewhat of the interest in Texas history which has
-inspired this work.</p>
-<p>There are several features which mark Texas history as
-unique. One of these is the difference between the methods
-of colonization employed in Texas and those exercised elsewhere
-in the United States.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_vi">vi</div>
-<p>The pioneer with his cabin, his ever-spreading fields, his
-gardens and orchards&mdash;the idea of the home with its roots in
-the very soil, as represented by Austin and his followers&mdash;was
-preceded by a hundred barren years of fortress and soldier,
-the Spanish idea of conquest and military rule.</p>
-<p>Again, its vast extent of territory and the ease with which
-its rich lands were acquired seemed to adapt Texas peculiarly
-to those communistic and utopian experiments which have
-been the delight of the visionary in every age of the world&rsquo;s
-progress. A number of these have been tried upon its soil.
-The result has been to give a varied and original coloring to
-the shifting scenes.</p>
-<p>The philosophical student will find these phases of our history
-well worth his consideration.</p>
-<p class="tb">I desire in this place to express my thanks to the Texas
-teachers, to many of whom I am indebted for timely suggestions
-and for kindly encouragement; also my grateful obligation
-to Mr. William Beer, of the New Orleans Howard Memorial
-Library, for valuable assistance; and to the Library itself,
-which, under his able direction, has become particularly rich
-in documents and publications relating to the early history
-of Louisiana and Texas.
-<span class="lr"><span class="small">M. E. M. DAVIS.</span></span></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_vii">vii</div>
-<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
-<dl class="toc">
-<dt class="center"><b>I.<br /><span class="small">FORT ST. LOUIS.</span></b></dt>
-<dt class="jr"><span class="smaller">PAGE</span></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">1. </span><a href="#c1">In the Name of France</a> 1</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">2. </span><a href="#c2">In the Name of Spain</a> 9</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">3. </span><a href="#c3">In the Name of Oblivion</a> 12</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>II.<br /><span class="small">SAN ANTONIO.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">1. </span><a href="#c4">A Bold Rider</a> 14</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">2. </span><a href="#c5">Cowl and Carbine</a> 16</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">3. </span><a href="#c6">A Hurried Ride</a> 20</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">4. </span><a href="#c7">Indios Bravos</a> 23</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">5. </span><a href="#c8">Along the Old San Antonio Road</a> 25</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>III.<br /><span class="small">NACOGDOCHES.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">1. </span><a href="#c9">A Fatal Venture</a> 29</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">2. </span><a href="#c10">The Disputed Boundary Line</a> 33</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">3. </span><a href="#c11">The Neutral Ground</a> 36</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">4. </span><a href="#c12">The Red House</a> 40</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">5. </span><a href="#c13">The Champ d&rsquo;Asile</a> 44</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">6. </span><a href="#c14">A Treacherous Shot</a> 46</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">7. </span><a href="#c15">A Voice in the Wilderness</a> 48</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>IV.<br /><span class="small">SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">1. </span><a href="#c16">An Unexpected Meeting</a> 50</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">2. </span><a href="#c17">Ups and Downs</a> 52</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">3. </span><a href="#c18">Orders and Disorders</a> 56</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">4. </span><a href="#c19">A Trumpet Call</a> 62</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">5. </span><a href="#c20">Out of a Mist</a> 65</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">6. </span><a href="#c21">The Priest&rsquo;s House</a> 69</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">7. </span><a href="#c22">By the Brazos</a> 74</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>V.<br /><span class="small">GOLIAD.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">1. </span><a href="#c23">Messengers of Distress</a> 77</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">2. </span><a href="#c24">In Church and Fortress</a> 82</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">3. </span><a href="#c25">Fort Defiance</a> 85</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">4. </span><a href="#c26">Palm Sunday</a> 91</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">5. </span><a href="#c27">Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!</a> 96</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">6. </span><a href="#c28">Two Generals</a> 102</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">7. </span><a href="#c29">How the Good News was Brought</a> 105</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>VI.<br /><span class="small">HOUSTON.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">1. </span><a href="#c30">On Buffalo Bayou</a> 111</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">2. </span><a href="#c31">The Invincible</a> 117</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">3. </span><a href="#c32">The Capital</a> 120</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">4. </span><a href="#c33">The War of the Archives</a> 124</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">5. </span><a href="#c34">The Black Beans</a> 127</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>VII.<br /><span class="small">AUSTIN.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">1. </span><a href="#c35">The Republic is no More</a> 132</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">2. </span><a href="#c36">Across the Border</a> 136</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">3. </span><a href="#c37">Dying Races</a> 142</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">4. </span><a href="#c38">The Texas Ranger</a> 143</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">5. </span><a href="#c39">A Cloud in the Sky</a> 148</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>VIII.<br /><span class="small">GALVESTON.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">1. </span><a href="#c40">A Buffalo Hunt</a> 154</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">2. </span><a href="#c41">The Blue and the Gray</a> 158</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">3. </span><a href="#c42">Home Again</a> 163</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>IX.<br /><span class="small">A FLIGHT OF YEARS.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">&nbsp; </span><a href="#c43">A Flight of Years</a> 167</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>X.<br /><span class="small">THE NEW CENTURY.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">&nbsp; </span><a href="#c44">The New Century</a> 175</dt>
-<dt class="center"><b>XI.<br /><span class="small">TEXAS.</span></b></dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">&nbsp; </span><a href="#c45">From the Dome of the Capitol</a> 178</dt>
-<dt><span class="cn">&nbsp; </span><a href="#c46">Index</a> 185</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_1">1</div>
-<h1 title="">UNDER SIX FLAGS.</h1>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">I.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">FORT ST. LOUIS.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1685-1721.)</span></span></h2>
-<h3 id="c1">1. IN THE NAME OF FRANCE.</h3>
-<p>One morning early in the year 1684, Robert Cavalier, Sieur
-de la Salle, a gentleman in the King&rsquo;s service, stood waiting in
-an antechamber of the royal palace at Versailles (Ver-s&#257;lz&prime;).
-Behind the closed door, which was guarded by two of the
-King&rsquo;s Musketeers in their showy uniforms, his Majesty
-Louis the Fourteenth was giving a private audience to the
-Count de Frontenac. This gentleman, late the governor of
-New France (Canada), was the friend and adviser of <i>The
-Adventurer</i>, as La Salle had been mockingly nicknamed by the
-idlers of the French court.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_2">2</div>
-<p>La Salle, who was headstrong and somewhat overbearing in
-character, more used, moreover, to command than to obey,
-frowned as he walked up and down the room, and glanced
-impatiently from time to time towards the king&rsquo;s cabinet,
-where his fate hung in the balance. Months had passed since
-he had arrived in France from North America, with a great
-scheme already planned, and lacking only the consent of the
-king and his ministers. He had danced attendance at court
-until he was weary, rugged soldier that he was; now filled with
-hope when the ministers plied him with false promises, now
-sunk in despair when his enemies placed obstacles in his way.
-&ldquo;Would I were back in the wilds of America, with Tonti of
-the Iron Hand and my red brothers,&rdquo; he muttered, downcast
-and discouraged.</p>
-<p>But at length the door opened, the tapestry was pushed
-aside, and Frontenac appeared. His eyes beamed with satisfaction.
-&ldquo;Your application is granted,&rdquo; he said, pressing
-La Salle&rsquo;s hand. &ldquo;His
-Majesty commissions you
-to plant a colony at the
-mouth of the great river
-where you have already
-raised the flag of France.
-Go, my friend; thank his
-gracious Majesty, and then
-hasten your preparations
-for departure.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic2">
-<img src="images/p02.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="574" />
-<p class="caption">La Salle.</p>
-</div>
-<p>La Salle lost no time in
-obeying these directions.
-His heart throbbed with
-pride and satisfied ambition.
-For this was his
-dream: to colonize the beautiful wilderness watered by the
-lower Mississippi; to found a city on the banks of the mighty
-stream whose mouth it had been his good fortune to discover.</p>
-<p>But this dream was never to be realized by him. It was the
-destiny of La Salle not to colonize Louisiana, but to become
-the discoverer of Texas.</p>
-<p>After much trouble La Salle succeeded in perfecting the
-arrangements for his voyage. His little fleet was composed of
-four vessels: the <i>Aimable</i> (&#256;-mah&prime;-bl), the <i>Joli</i> (Zho-le&eacute;), the
-<i>Belle</i>, and the <i>St. Francis</i>. In these embarked over three
-hundred souls, including women, workmen, priests, and soldiers.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_3">3</div>
-<p>They sailed from Rochelle, France, on the 24th of July,
-1684. The passage across the Atlantic was tedious and
-stormy; it was embittered by constant quarrels between La
-Salle and Beaujeu (Bo-zhuh&prime;), the naval commandant of the
-squadron; and the fleet was crippled by the loss of the
-<i>St. Francis</i>, the store-ship, which was captured by the Spaniards.
-But toward the end of September the remaining vessels,
-in tolerable condition, entered the Gulf of Mexico. Here
-La Salle began a sharp lookout for the wide mouth of the
-river he aimed to enter.</p>
-<p>He was full of confidence in himself, for he had spent years
-of his life tracking the savage wilderness of the north with his
-Indian guides, and he had the keen eye and the ready memory
-of the practiced scout.</p>
-<p>But he had no exact chart of the pathless and unknown
-waters around him; the calculation of the experienced landsman
-stood him in little stead
-at sea. He lost his way, and
-sailing to the westward of the
-river known to us as the Mississippi,&mdash;but
-called by La
-Salle the St. Louis,&mdash;he came,
-on the 1st of January, 1685,
-in sight of the low-lying shores
-of Texas.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic3">
-<img src="images/p02a.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="449" />
-<p class="caption">The Flag of France.</p>
-</div>
-<p>Some weeks later, the fleet
-anchored in the Gulf outside
-the beautiful land-locked bay of San Bernard (now Matagorda
-Bay); and La Salle, flag in hand, and attended by soldiers
-and priests, set foot on the new land, taking formal possession
-of it in the name of the King of France.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_4">4</div>
-<p>To the colonists, so long confined within the small ships
-and overwearied by the monotony of the voyage, it was a joy
-simply to feast their eyes on the green of the trees that lined
-the shore, and to breathe the fresh air that blew down, flower-scented,
-from the far western prairies. They longed to run
-like children on the sandy beach, to feel under their feet the
-firm turf. But La Salle&rsquo;s experience among the Indians had
-taught him caution. He took the utmost care in landing his
-colonists, and in forming his temporary camps. Two temporary
-camps were established, one on Matagorda Island, where
-the lighthouse now stands; the other on the mainland, near
-the present site of Indianola.</p>
-<p>His own heart, meantime, was heavy. He had missed his
-coveted and beloved river, though he still believed that the
-San Bernard Bay might be one of its mouths. The <i>Aimable</i>,
-in attempting to enter the harbor, had grounded upon a sandbank
-and gone to pieces. The Indians, who had swarmed to
-the coast in great numbers to greet the pale-faced strangers,
-had already become troublesome. They had, indeed, murdered
-two of the colonists, named Ory and Desloges. This was the
-first European blood shed upon Texas soil. The stock of
-provisions was running low, and finally, to crown all, Beaujeu,
-from the beginning hostile to La Salle, had hoisted sail, with
-scant warning, and returned to France, leaving the eight cannons
-and the powder belonging to the expedition, but carrying
-away with him all the cannon balls.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_5">5</div>
-<p>A less sturdy spirit might have been wholly disheartened;
-but La Salle, whatever he felt, gave no signs of weakness. He
-explored the country round about, and at the end of a short
-time he marked out the foundation of a fort beside a small
-stream which empties into the bay. He called the river <i>Les
-Vaches</i> (Cow River<a class="fn" id="fr_1" href="#fn_1">[1]</a>), from the number of buffaloes which
-grazed along the banks. The spot<a class="fn" id="fr_2" href="#fn_2">[2]</a> chosen for the site of the
-fort was a delightful one; the rolling prairies which stretched
-away northward were covered with rich grass and studded
-with belts of noble timber; southward lay the grey and misty
-line of the bay; birds of gay plumage sang in shadow of the
-grapevines that trailed from overhanging trees to the water&rsquo;s
-edge; the clear stream reflected the blue and cloudless sky of
-southern Texas. Here the colonists set to work. La Salle
-with his own hands aided in hewing and laying the heavy
-beams of wall and of blockhouse. The curious savages, tall
-Lipans and scowling Carankawaes, hung about the place, peering
-forward with jealous eyes, and picking off the unwary
-workmen with their deadly arrows. But a day came at last
-when the little fortress, with its chapel, lodgings, and guardhouse,
-was completed. Amid the cheers of the colonists the
-flag of France loosened its folds to the wind; a hymn of
-thanksgiving and praise arose from the chapel; and La Salle,
-giving to the fort the name of St. Louis, dedicated it to France
-in the name of the King.</p>
-<p>Several expeditions followed, in 1685 and 1686, the building
-of Fort St. Louis. La Salle not only cherished the hope of
-finding his lost river; he was lured northwestward by rumors
-obtained from the Cenis, the Nassonites, and other friendly
-Indians, of rich silver mines in the interior. He wished also
-to communicate, if possible, with his old friend, the Chevalier
-Tonti of the Iron Hand, whom he had left with a colony on
-the Illinois River. Tonti, having lost a hand in battle, used
-one made of iron; hence his title.</p>
-<p>These journeys were both painful and perilous; the footsore
-explorers were obliged to swim swollen rivers; they
-traversed dangerous swamps and unknown forests; they
-encountered and fought with hostile Indians; they suffered
-the pangs of hunger and thirst; they were shaken with chills
-and parched with fever. It is marvelous, indeed, that a spark
-of courage should have remained in their hearts.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_6">6</div>
-<p>On returning to the fort after one of these expeditions,
-during which the commandant had lain for months helpless
-with fever in the lodge of a Cenis chief, he found matters
-there in a bad way. The last remaining vessel, the <i>Belle</i>, had
-been wrecked on a shoal in the bay. Food was scarce;
-ammunition was almost exhausted; and between death from
-sickness and losses in Indian skirmishes, the inmates were
-reduced to less than forty persons.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic4">
-<img src="images/p03.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="576" />
-<p class="caption">La Salle&rsquo;s Map of Texas.</p>
-</div>
-<p>Despite all this,
-however, as the
-wayworn explorers
-drew near the
-walls, their ears
-were greeted with
-sounds of mirth
-and revelry. The
-Sieur Barbier
-and &ldquo;one of the
-maidens&rdquo;&mdash;as
-the chronicler relates&mdash;had
-just
-been married in
-the little chapel.
-The wedding
-party welcomed
-their chief with joyous shouts. We can well imagine how,
-removing his worn cap, he saluted the youthful pair with a
-stately bow. And the same evening, when the colonists
-gathered in the log-built hall of the commandant&rsquo;s own quarters
-to make merry over the first European wedding on Texas soil,
-with what courtly grace did the Sieur de la Salle tread a
-measure with the blushing bride!</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_7">7</div>
-<p>This was in October, 1686. On the 12th of January the following
-year, La Salle appeared in the open square of the Fort,
-dressed in his faded red uniform and equipped for traveling.
-His people pressed around him, listening with anxious hearts
-to his farewell words. For he was about starting once more
-across vast and unknown regions in search of Tonti&mdash;and
-help.</p>
-<p>One by one he called to his side those whom he had chosen
-to accompany him. They numbered twenty&mdash;exactly half of
-the remnant of his colony. Among them were two of his own
-nephews and his brother, Cavalier; the faithful priest, Father
-Anastase; Joutel, the young historian of the colony; Liotot
-(Lee-o-to); L&rsquo;Archev&ecirc;que (Larsh-v&#257;ke&prime;); Duhaut (Du-ho&prime;); and
-Nika (Nee-ka), an Indian hunter who had followed La Salle to
-France from Canada.</p>
-<p>Sieur Barbier was placed in command of the garrison; and,
-after an affectionate farewell, La Salle passed through the gate,
-which he was never to enter again, and plunged a last time
-into the forest.</p>
-<p>Two months later, near the crossing of the Neches River,
-Moragnet (Mo-r&auml;-ny&#257;), La Salle&rsquo;s nephew, who had been for
-some time on bad terms with L&rsquo;Archev&ecirc;que and Duhaut, was
-murdered by them while he was sleeping. Nika, who was with
-the party (which had been sent out after fresh buffalo meat),
-was killed at the same time. The murderers, fearful of La
-Salle&rsquo;s just vengeance, determined to take his life also. They
-placed themselves in ambush; L&rsquo;Archev&ecirc;que, who was only
-sixteen years old, was detailed to lead their chief into the
-trap.</p>
-<p>When La Salle appeared, in search of his nephew, he was
-fired upon and instantly killed (March 16, 1687).</p>
-<p>Thus perished, by treacherous hands, the gallant and stout-hearted
-La Salle&mdash;the soldier, explorer, and dreamer. He
-was buried in the lonely spot where he fell. Father Anastase
-scooped out a shallow grave for his friend and benefactor, and
-pressed the grassy turf upon his breast. And so, within the
-borders of Texas&mdash;though the exact spot is unknown&mdash;repose
-the mortal remains of its discoverer.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_8">8</div>
-<p>Joutel with several of the band succeeded after many adventures
-in reaching one of Tonti&rsquo;s settlements on the Arkansas
-River. Thence they made their way to Canada.</p>
-<p>The assassins and their followers remained with the Indians,
-where, one after another, they nearly all met the same bloody
-and violent death they had meted out to their victims.</p>
-<p>Five years later L&rsquo;Archev&ecirc;que with one companion was
-recaptured by the Spaniards from the savages and sent to
-Madrid.<a class="fn" id="fr_3" href="#fn_3">[3]</a></p>
-<p>Tonti of the Iron Hand had waited long and anxiously for
-news of his friend. In 1684 he had gone in a canoe down the
-Mississippi to its mouth to meet the expedition from France.
-The expedition did not appear, and he returned to his post on
-the upper Mississippi. He questioned the Indian runners from
-the south and west as they passed his camp on their hunting
-raids. He could learn nothing of La Salle or his companions.
-That intrepid captain seemed to have vanished into the
-unknown west. At last, in 1689, he journeyed southward again
-in quest of his friend. Vague rumors reached him of men
-who had passed through his own forts and tarried to tell the
-story of La Salle&rsquo;s death. But he would not believe them. He
-entered Texas and traveled as far as the wigwams of the
-friendly Cenis. From them he learned the fate of the man he
-loved; and the rugged soldier turned aside his head and wept.<a class="fn" id="fr_4" href="#fn_4">[4]</a></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_9">9</div>
-<h3 id="c2">2. IN THE NAME OF SPAIN.</h3>
-<p>While these things were taking place in an obscure corner of
-the New World, there was commotion in the court of Spain.
-Word had come over from the &ldquo;Golden West&rdquo; that France had
-laid an unlawful hand upon some of the Spanish possessions
-there. Letters flew thick and fast between the Spanish viceroy
-in Mexico and the Spanish king&rsquo;s<a class="fn" id="fr_5" href="#fn_5">[5]</a> ministers. The Viceroy
-was ordered to punish the offenders as soon as ever they
-could be found; the dark-browed king of Spain was very angry.</p>
-<p>All this stir was caused by the capture of the <i>St. Francis</i>, La
-Salle&rsquo;s little store-ship in 1684. She was plainly on her way to
-some new colony. But where had that colony been planted?
-The wary captain of the <i>St. Francis</i> said that he did not know.
-Perhaps he told the truth. At any rate, it was not until 1686
-and after a world of trouble that the Viceroy in Mexico located
-the spot of La Salle&rsquo;s settlement. Spain considered herself at
-that time the legitimate owner of all that region which we now
-call Texas; she pretended, indeed, to own everything bordering
-on the Gulf of Mexico. A military council was therefore
-held at the new post of Monclova, and Captain Alonzo de
-Leon, the newly appointed governor of Coaquila (afterwards
-called Coahuila) (Co-ah-wee&prime;-la), was dispatched to find and
-destroy La Salle and his colony. La Salle, with a bullet in his
-brain, had been lying for two years in his shallow grave near
-the Neches River; but the Viceroy did not know this.</p>
-<p>Captain De Leon and his hundred soldiers marched gaily
-and confidently from Monclova in a northeasterly direction,
-across wild prairie and savage woodland. They were used to
-the ways of the Comanches, through whose hunting grounds
-they marched, and, at need, could take scalp for scalp; they
-were well fed and comfortably clad; the King&rsquo;s pay jingled in
-their pockets,&mdash;a brave contrast truly to the starved, ragged,
-disheartened colonists at Fort St. Louis!</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_10">10</div>
-<p>But when Captain De Leon and his men at length found the
-fort, the unfortunate French colonists, like their chief, had perished.
-Their bleaching bones lay scattered about the door of
-the blockhouse, where they had made their last desperate stand
-against the bloodthirsty Carankawaes. De Leon&rsquo;s heart stirred
-with pity as he looked about him, thinking less, perhaps, of the
-men&mdash;for it is a soldier&rsquo;s business to die&mdash;than of the delicate
-women who had shared their fate.</p>
-<p>With the Cenis, into whose friendly wigwams they had
-escaped at the time of the massacre, De Leon found several
-of the colonists. These
-were afterwards sent back to
-their homes in France. But
-among them there is no mention
-of the Sieur Barbier and
-his young bride.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic5">
-<img src="images/p04.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="453" />
-<p class="caption">The Flag of Spain.</p>
-</div>
-<p>De Leon, it is said,&mdash;though
-this is a much disputed fact,&mdash;called
-the country about Fort
-St. Louis Texas, because of his
-kindly treatment by the Cenis Indians, the word <i>Texas</i> in their
-tongue meaning friends.<a class="fn" id="fr_6" href="#fn_6">[6]</a> On his return to Monclova, he pictured
-this Texas as a paradise so fertile and so beautiful that
-the viceroy determined to establish there a mission and presidio,&mdash;that
-is to say, a church and stronghold,&mdash;for the double
-purpose of reducing and converting the Indians.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_11">11</div>
-<p>In 1690 Captain De Leon, with several priests added to his
-company of soldiers, marched again to Fort St. Louis. The
-broken walls were restored, and once more the air rang with
-the cheerful sounds of axe and hammer. The Mission of San
-Francisco was begun and dedicated; the Spanish flag fluttered
-in the breeze; a hymn of praise and thanksgiving arose from the
-chapel; and De Leon took formal possession of the country in
-the name of the King of Spain.</p>
-<p>The Spaniards, harried by the Indians and too far from
-Monclova to receive regular supplies, were soon forced to abandon
-Fort St. Louis. Great was the rejoicing among the Lipans
-and the Carankawaes when the pale faces disappeared from
-among them, leaving the bay once more free to their own
-canoes, the prairies open to their moccasined feet.</p>
-<p>Neither France nor Spain for a time seemed inclined to
-trouble herself further about this disputed property.</p>
-<p>But in 1719 a French ship bound for the Mississippi drifted,
-like La Salle&rsquo;s fleet, westward to the bay of San Bernard.
-Among those who went ashore for recreation, while the sailors
-were taking on fresh water, were Monsieur Belleisle, a French
-officer, and four of his friends. They did not reappear at the
-appointed signal, and the captain, after waiting for them for
-some hours, sailed away without them.</p>
-<p>Belleisle and his companions were in despair at finding
-themselves thus abandoned; they wandered for weeks along
-the strange and lonely coast, living, as best they could, upon
-roots, berries, and insects. Finally four of the men died of
-starvation, leaving Belleisle alone. Weak and despairing, he
-made his way to the interior, where he soon fell into the hands
-of some Indians, whom he took at first to be cannibals. They
-stripped him and divided his clothing among themselves; but
-instead of eating him, as he expected they would do, they gave
-him to an old woman of the tribe, who made him her slave but
-who otherwise treated him with rude kindness. In time he
-learned the language of his captors and became a warrior,
-sometimes even leading their savage forays.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_12">12</div>
-<p>One day an embassy from another tribe came to the camp.
-Belleisle, listening to their talk, heard the name of St. Denis.
-Now St. Denis was one of his own former comrades-in-arms.
-Belleisle&rsquo;s heart leaped. He wrote, with ink made of soot, a
-few lines on his officer&rsquo;s commission,&mdash;which he had somehow
-kept,&mdash;and secretly bribed one of the strange Indians to carry
-this message to St. Denis. St. Denis happened at the time to
-be at Natchitoches (Nack-ee-tosh) beyond the Sabine River;
-when he read the note he was much affected. He immediately
-sent horses, arms, and clothing to the captive; Belleisle, by
-means of a strategy, escaped with the Indian guides and joined
-his friend.</p>
-<p>This adventure of Monsieur Belleisle caused him later to
-become a part of the history of Fort St. Louis.</p>
-<h3 id="c3">3. IN THE NAME OF OBLIVION.</h3>
-<p>The unfortunate La Salle had died with his ardent and long-cherished
-dream unfulfilled. But after more than thirty years,
-another man had begun to realize that dream. Jean Baptiste
-Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville had sailed with French ships up
-the beloved river; his colonists were fast peopling the beautiful
-wilderness, and already the infant city of New Orleans lay
-strong and thriving on the bank of the Mississippi.</p>
-<p>The commandant of Louisiana, though busied with his growing
-colony, kept yet a watchful eye upon the grasping Spaniards,
-who claimed the country eastward nearly to the Mississippi.
-But France claimed westward as far as the bay of San Bernard,
-by virtue of La Salle&rsquo;s discovery. Bienville determined to
-make good the claim of France. In August, 1721, he fitted out
-a small vessel, the <i>Subtile</i>, told off a detachment of tried soldiers,
-and placed Bernard de la Harpe, an experienced captain,
-in command. The expedition set out at once to recover
-La Salle&rsquo;s old fort. Belleisle, on account of his knowledge of
-the country and the Indian language, was sent along as
-guide.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_13">13</div>
-<p>The surprise and the rage of the Indians when they saw the
-hated flag waving again above the fort may be imagined. They
-threw themselves with such fury against the newcomers that La
-Harpe, seeing his small garrison in danger of massacre, withdrew
-quietly, and returned in October to New Orleans.</p>
-<p>Fort St. Louis was left at last to a solitude never again to be
-broken. Vines grew over the crumbling walls and sprawled
-across the floors where human feet had passed; lizards basked
-in crevices of the blockhouse; and wild creatures from the wood
-took up their abode in the chapel. Day by day and year by
-year decay and change went on, until there came a time when
-nothing remained to tell of the place where the first settlers of
-Texas lived, suffered, rejoiced, and perished.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_14">14</div>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">II.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">SAN ANTONIO.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1714-1794.)</span></span></h2>
-<h3 id="c4">1. A BOLD RIDER.</h3>
-<p>In 1714 Juchereau St. Denis rode across Texas, in an
-oblique line from a trading post in Louisiana to a presidio on
-the Rio Grande River. This was the same St. Denis who afterward,
-as already related, rescued his comrade-in-arms Belleisle
-from captivity. He had secret orders from Cadillac, the
-governor of Louisiana, and his busy brain was teeming with
-carefully laid plans of his own. His escort consisted of twelve
-white men and two or three Indians. He took his bearings as
-he went, carefully marking the way from river to river, from
-prairie to forest, from Indian village to buffalo range; thus
-sketching out that long thoroughfare which afterwards became
-famous as the &ldquo;Old San Antonio Road.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Much of the way lay through the lands of unfriendly Indians;
-but St. Denis rode as jauntily as if the men at his back were a
-thousand instead of a dozen.</p>
-<p>And when one day he drew rein on the brow of a certain
-hill, and gazed down into the lovely cup-like valley where a few
-huts marked the beginnings of San Antonio, he might, for all
-signs of fatigue upon his handsome young face, have just
-quitted the governor&rsquo;s residence.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;A beautiful site for a city,&rdquo; he said to Jallot, his confidential
-servant. His pleased eyes roved over the smiling valley,
-through which the river ran like a silver thread. Graceful
-trees lined the river banks; the tender grass was studded
-with a thousand flowers of varied colors; there was a life-giving
-softness in the wind that came from the low mountains to the
-northward.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic6">
-<img src="images/p05.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="443" />
-<p class="caption">THE MISSION OF SAN JOS&Eacute;.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_15">15</div>
-<p>St. Denis journeyed on to St. John the Baptist, carrying this
-lovely picture in his heart as he went. St. John the Baptist
-was a presidio on the Rio Grande River. It was built by
-Captain Alonzo de Leon, after his return from Fort St. Louis
-in 1689. Its commandant, at the time of the visit of St. Denis,
-was Don Pedro de Villescas. To Don Pedro St. Denis unfolded
-his mission&mdash;the opening of trade between Louisiana
-and Mexico. The friendly commandant could do nothing
-without first consulting his superiors; so he asked St. Denis to
-wait until a letter could be sent to the governor of the province
-at Monclova. St. Denis waited, and while he was waiting
-he fell in love with Donna Maria, the commandant&rsquo;s daughter.</p>
-<p>The young French officer was so dashing, so courtly, and
-withal so good looking, that it is no wonder Don Pedro&rsquo;s
-daughter loved him in return; and there were at least two very
-happy persons at the Presidio of St. John the Baptist.</p>
-<p>But when the courier came back from Monclova, St. Denis
-was seized by order of the governor, and was carried under
-guard to that city.</p>
-<p>The governor of Coahuila was, as it happened, a rejected
-suitor of Donna Maria Villescas. Filled with jealous rage, he
-threw the young Frenchman into prison and threatened him with
-death unless he would give up all claim to his promised bride.</p>
-<p>This St. Denis gallantly refused to do. After some months
-the governor sent him to the city of Mexico, denouncing him
-to the viceroy as a spy against the government. He was again
-placed in prison, where he was treated with great severity.</p>
-<p>Donna Maria, however, was not idle all this time. She had
-sent several spirited letters to the governor at Monclova, and
-she now wrote to the viceroy himself. Her letter had the
-effect of loosening the chains of her lover.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_16">16</div>
-<p>Marquis de Linares, the viceroy, when he saw his prisoner,
-was so charmed that he offered the young Frenchman an
-important post in the Spanish army. But St. Denis would not
-consent to abandon his own flag. The viceroy then gave him
-a handsome horse, and parting from him with regret, sent him
-back to the presidio, where he married the loyal Donna Maria.</p>
-<p>Before leaving the presidio on his return to Louisiana, he
-made secret arrangements for smuggling goods into Mexico.</p>
-<p>The viceroy, having a hint of this, did not trouble St. Denis
-again; but he decided to establish posts and missions throughout
-the New Philippines&mdash;as Texas was still called&mdash;with garrisons
-armed to prevent contraband trade. Captain Domingo
-Ramon was appointed to carry on this work. He set out at
-once from St. John the Baptist for San Antonio, with a company
-of soldiers and several friars under his command. St.
-Denis, in high spirits and sure of his own success in spite of
-Captain Ramon, rode with him, acting as his guide.</p>
-<h3 id="c5">2. COWL AND CARBINE.</h3>
-<p>Mission and presidio, as already stated, meant church and
-fortress. The places chosen for these buildings were generally
-in the very midst of populous and fierce Indian tribes. For the
-object of the builders was not only to hold the country against
-France, but also to reduce the savages and convert them to the
-Catholic religion.</p>
-<p>The Red Man had already his own rude belief in the Great
-Spirit who sat behind the clouds and watched over the flight
-of his arrows and the tasseling of his corn. He loved to tell
-about the Happy Hunting-grounds to which he would travel
-after death, attended by his horse and his dog.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_17">17</div>
-<p>It required a great deal of patience and perseverance on the
-part of the missionaries to make these wild creatures understand
-the meaning of the strange things they saw and heard:
-the hymns and prayers which broke the stillness at morning
-and at eventide, the candles blazing on the altar, the tinkling
-of bells, the movements of the priests, the humble attitude of
-the proud Spanish soldiers at mass. They crowded about the
-chapels, now accepting the new faith with childlike confidence,
-at other times seeking a chance
-to massacre priest and soldier
-in cold blood.</p>
-<p>But these missionaries belonged
-to an order whose
-business it was to be patient.
-They were Franciscans from
-the monastery of St. Francis
-at Zacatecas in Mexico, and
-they were pledged to poverty
-and self-denial. Gentle, but
-sturdy, these barefooted friars,
-in their coarse woolen frocks
-and rope girdles, exercised a
-strange fascination over the
-Indians who fell under their
-influence.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic7">
-<img src="images/p06.jpg" alt="" width="408" height="600" />
-<p class="caption">A Franciscan Father.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_18">18</div>
-<p>Captain Domingo Ramon
-went bravely to work with his
-soldiers and Franciscans. He was very much loved by the
-Indians. They adopted him into their tribes and cheerfully
-aided him in the hard labor of clearing and building. Within
-a few years the country was dotted with missions. Some of
-these were temporary structures, rude and frail; others were
-built of stone. The noble and majestic ruins of the latter fill
-the beholder to-day with wonder and delight. If the mission
-served also as a presidio, it was entitled to a garrison of two
-hundred and fifty soldiers; where there was no fortress, the
-church itself served as a stronghold. Among the earliest of
-the missions thus built were Our Lady of Guadalupe (Gwah-dah-loop&prime;&#257;),
-at Victoria (1714); Mission Orquizacas (Or-kee-sa&prime;-kass),
-on the San Jacinto River (1715); Mission Dolores
-near San Augustine (1716); Adaes, east of the Sabine River
-(1718); Nacogdoches (1715); and Espiritu Santo, at Goliad
-(La Bahia) (1718).</p>
-<p>The Mission Alamo,<a class="fn" id="fr_7" href="#fn_7">[7]</a> which was to play so prominent a part
-in the later history of Texas, was begun under another name,
-in 1703, on the Rio Grande River. It was removed to the San
-Pedro River at San Antonio in 1718. In 1744 it was finally
-built where its ruins now stand, on the Alamo Plaza in San
-Antonio, and was called the Church of the Alamo.</p>
-<p>Early in 1718 the foundation of San Jos&eacute; (Ho-s&#257;&prime;) de Aguayo,
-the largest and finest of all the missions, was laid near San
-Antonio. The little settlement which had so pleased the eye
-of St. Denis four years before had grown to a village. It had
-been laid off and named for the Duke de Bexar (Bair), a viceroy
-of Mexico; and St. Denis&rsquo; road, which linked it on the southwest
-with St. John the Baptist and on the northeast with Natchitoches
-in Louisiana, had already become a traveled highway.
-The Mission and Presidio of San Jos&eacute; were therefore of the
-first importance.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_19">19</div>
-<p>Captain Ramon himself may have selected the site. It was
-a few miles below the town, on the limpid and swift-flowing
-river San Antonio. A day or two after the site was decided
-upon, a long procession wound across the beautiful open
-prairie from the village. It was headed by a venerable barefoot
-Franciscan father, who carried aloft a large wooden cross;
-on either side of him walked a friar of the same order, and
-behind them came acolytes and altar-boys bearing censer, bell,
-and vessels of holy water. Captain Ramon and his soldiers on
-horseback, and stiff and erect in their holiday uniforms, followed
-with the Spanish flag in their midst; the Mexicans who
-composed the slim population of San Antonio came next;
-then, grave and stately in their blankets and feathered headdresses
-and as proud as the Spaniards themselves, stalked a
-hundred or more converted Apache and Comanche warriors.
-A rabble of Indian squaws and papooses brought up the rear.</p>
-<p>This procession went slowly along under the morning sun,
-now over the flower-set prairie, now through a strip of woodland.
-The river, breast-high to the women and boys, was
-forded, and as the foremost group reached the farther shore,
-the old Franciscan lifted his hand; a church hymn, sweet,
-powerful, resonant, arose from five hundred throats. Thus
-they came, singing, to the place where San Jos&eacute; was to stand.</p>
-<p>A large space was marked off; the ground plan of the great
-church was sketched on the turf,&mdash;perhaps with the point of
-Captain Domingo Ramon&rsquo;s sword; the church prayers were
-said, and the corner-stone, already hewn and shaped, was
-sprinkled with holy water.</p>
-<p>The scene on the spot daily thereafter for many years was a
-busy and picturesque one. Everybody worked with a will,&mdash;soldiers,
-priests, and Indians, all filled with a holy zeal.
-Even the Indian women fetched sand in their aprons, and the
-Indian children set their small brown bodies against the stones
-and helped push them into place. Tradition says that the
-people brought milk from their goats and cows to mix the mortar,
-thereby making it firmer and more lasting.</p>
-<p>The beautiful twin towers went slowly up; the great dome
-was rounded over the main chapel; the double row of arched
-cloisters stretched their lovely length along the wall; the artist,
-Juan Huicar (wee&prime;-car), sent out by the king of Spain, set his
-fine carvings above the wide doors.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_20">20</div>
-<p>At the same time the enclosing wall was raised; the fort
-with its flying buttresses, the guardhouse, the huts into which
-the Indian converts were locked at night&mdash;all these were completed.
-Orchards and gardens were planted, and irrigating
-ditches were dug. Again and again the work was interrupted
-by attacks from Indians; but when the fight was over the dead
-were buried, the wounded were cared for, and the building and
-planting went on as before.<a class="fn" id="fr_8" href="#fn_8">[8]</a></p>
-<p>Such was the manner of the building of the Texas missions.
-It took sixty years to complete San Jos&eacute;. In the meantime
-the handsome Mission of La Purissima Concepcion (Immaculate
-Conception) and San Francisco de la Espada (St. Francis of
-the Sword) were erected, both also on the San Antonio River.</p>
-<p>The Mission of San Saba was built in 1734, on the San Saba
-River in what is now Menard County. The good fathers were
-at first very successful in converting the Apaches and the
-Comanches, who flocked to them in great numbers. But the
-reopening of <i>Las Almagras</i> (red ores), an old silver mine near
-the mission, brought into the neighborhood many reckless
-men; and quarrels soon arose between them and the Indians&mdash;quarrels
-which were one day to bear bitter fruit.</p>
-<h3 id="c6">3. A HURRIED RIDE.</h3>
-<p>In 1719 St. Denis was at Natchitoches, which was one of the
-outposts of the French in Louisiana and close to the Texas
-border. He had traveled back and forth through Texas more
-than once since his first trip to the presidio on the Rio
-Grande; and he had spent much of his time in Mexican dungeons.
-But for that he bore the Spaniards no great ill-will.
-He had escaped from prison and brought his beautiful Mexican
-wife away with him; and when he made his flying journeys he
-turned aside, no doubt, to see his Spanish friend, Captain
-Domingo Ramon&mdash;who, by the way, was his wife&rsquo;s uncle&mdash;and
-to admire the missions which were going up in every direction
-under that captain&rsquo;s vigorous management. But now things
-were changed. A few months before, France and Spain, never
-on good terms with each other, had declared open war.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_21">21</div>
-<p>St. Denis, if the truth were told, was glad of a chance to
-fight somebody besides Indians. He was right weary of the
-skulking ways of the red warrior with his tomahawk, his paint
-and feathers, and his savage desire to carry scalps at his belt.
-He longed for a good honest brush with white men, who fought
-openly with gun and sword&mdash;men, for example, like his good
-friend Captain Ramon and his troop of jolly soldiers!</p>
-<p>He leaped lightly into the saddle one morning and galloped
-out of Natchitoches at the head of a hundred and fifty men.
-Bernard de la Harpe, in joint command of the expedition, rode
-by his side.</p>
-<p>They crossed the Sabine River and attacked the garrisons at
-the Missions of Nacogdoches, Aes, and Orquizacas, all of
-whom, surprised by the sudden onslaught, retreated before
-them. It was a lively chase across the vast territory, with
-a good deal of skirmishing; and it ended only when the
-Spaniards were safe inside the town of San Antonio.</p>
-<p>St. Denis, drawing rein on the brow of the hill and gazing
-down once more into the lovely valley, saw a sort of orderly
-confusion on an open plaza in the heart of the town; horsemen
-were gathering, men were moving hurriedly about, and
-from the midst of the bustle the clear tones of a bell suddenly
-fell upon the air. It was the call to arms!</p>
-<p>St. Denis smiled and turned to La Harpe: &ldquo;It is high time
-we were riding homeward,&rdquo; he said gaily, with a glance at their
-small band of wayworn troopers; and turning their horses&rsquo;
-heads they galloped away.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_22">22</div>
-<p>None too soon! For shortly afterwards the Marquis de
-Aguayo, governor of the province, came out of the town with
-a fresh troop of five hundred Spaniards, tried soldiers and
-eager recruits, and galloped in pursuit of the flying Frenchmen.
-It was another lively chase across the vast territory;
-but this time it was France who retreated, with Spain at her
-heels. Captain Ramon, quite as anxious for a tilt with civilized
-soldiers as his friendly enemy and nephew-in-law St. Denis,
-left the work of mission-building in the hands of his friars, and,
-as second in command, joined the governor-general in this
-pursuit.</p>
-<p>Aguayo, following the example of St. Denis, did not pause
-until the intruders were safe in their own citadel at Natchitoches;
-then he replaced at the Missions of Orquizacas and Aes
-the men whom he had brought back with him, and he left for
-their protection a stout garrison at the Mission of Nuestra
-Se&ntilde;ora del Pilar (Our Lady of the Font), about twenty miles
-west of Natchitoches.</p>
-<p>He was as keenly alive as St. Denis himself to the natural
-beauty of the valley watered by the San Pedro and San Antonio
-Rivers; and on his return to San Antonio he set on foot many
-improvements, including the widening and deepening of the
-irrigating ditches.</p>
-<p>These irrigating ditches were called <i>acequias</i> (a-s&#257;&prime;-kee-a).
-They are still in use, and many of them are very beautiful.
-One known as the Acequia Madre, or Mother Ditch, is as
-deep and wide as a small rivulet; the living waters, pure and
-cool, rush along a bed lined and parapeted with stone, and
-overhung with pomegranates and rustling banana leaves.</p>
-<p>The water from the ditches is turned, by means of gates,
-into the fields and gardens which lie along its course. Each
-landowner is entitled to so much water a day, or at a stated
-period. This inflow of the crystal flood is called the <i>saca de
-agua</i> (taking the water), and is hailed with delight as it comes
-singing its way through corn-row, garden-patch, and rose-bower.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_23">23</div>
-<p>In the early days the completing of a water-ditch was celebrated
-as a feast. Rows of cactus were planted on its banks
-to keep off cattle, and shade-trees were set out along its course.
-A priest, attended by acolytes, blessed the water. The following
-day a drum was beaten at morning mass, and all those who
-had contributed in money or labor to the making of the ditch
-were summoned to the church to take part in the Suerte
-(soo-air&prime;-ta),&mdash;a lottery for the drawing of the land watered by
-the new sluice. Tickets were placed in an urn and were
-drawn out by two children. The lucky holders of the highest
-numbers got the best lands. At night, by way of winding up
-the feast, there would be a procession and a <i>fandango</i><a class="fn" id="fr_9" href="#fn_9">[9]</a> on the
-plaza.</p>
-<p>The good Marquis de Aguayo further recommended to the
-Spanish government at Madrid to send colonists to the province.
-&ldquo;One family,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is better than a hundred
-soldiers.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Then, having done all he could for the New Philippines, he
-went back to his official residence at Monclova, attended as
-far as St. John the Baptist by Captain Ramon.</p>
-<h3 id="c7">4. INDIOS BRAVOS.</h3>
-<p>The Spanish government, acting on the governor-general&rsquo;s
-advice, ordered four hundred families to be sent out to the
-New Philippines from the Canary Islands. These islands,
-situated off the coast of Africa, belonged to Spain by right of
-conquest, and were settled by Spaniards of pure blood, noted
-for their honor and chastity, and for their devotion to the
-Catholic religion. Of the four hundred families only thirteen
-ever came. They reached San Antonio by way of Mexico in
-1729, bringing with them their stores of clothing, silverware,
-and jewels. They built their dwellings around the present
-square of the Constitution, which they called <i>Plaza de las Islas</i>
-(Square of the Islands), in homesick memory of the sea-girt
-isles they had left behind.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_24">24</div>
-<p>Other colonists from Monterey and from Lake Teztuco,
-in Mexico, followed; houses sprung up beside the musical
-water-ways; vines were trained over the yellow adobe walls;
-semi-tropical vegetation made a paradise of the spreading
-fields and gardens. Finally, the newcomers, emulous of the
-growing walls of San Jos&eacute;, laid on their plaza the foundation
-(1731) of San Fernando Church.</p>
-<p>Enlarged and rebuilt on the same spot, San Fernando
-remains to this day the parish church of the Spanish-speaking
-Catholics of San Antonio.</p>
-<p>But the settlers, or townspeople&mdash;as they may now be
-called&mdash;were full of anxiety in those troublous times. No
-more French soldiers, it is true, came riding across the border,
-chasing the Spanish troops to their very gates. But there
-were the Apaches and the Comanches. For in spite of the
-efforts of Spanish friars and Spanish soldiers, but few of the
-Apaches and Comanches had become <i>Indios reducidos</i> (converted
-Indians). Thousands of <i>Indios bravos</i> (wild Indians),
-as savage and cruel as if a mission had never been built,
-roamed the country, ready to swoop down at any moment upon
-the ill-guarded little post. A messenger would hurry in, perhaps
-from the missions below, which kept ever a keen lookout,
-breathless with the news that the Apaches were creeping
-stealthily upon the town. Or, suddenly and without warning,
-a ringing war-whoop would echo in the air, and leaping from
-cover to cover among the scattered houses, the Comanches,
-tomahawk in hand, would pursue their hapless victims to some
-last hiding-place; then, leaving death and desolation behind,
-they would vanish as suddenly as they had come.</p>
-<p>At last the new settlers determined to put an end to this
-state of affairs. They organized themselves into a small army,
-and aided by the little garrison of soldiers then stationed there,
-they marched against their Indian foes, whom they defeated in
-a pitched battle.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic8">
-<img src="images/p07.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="571" />
-<p class="caption">THE MISSION OF LA PURISSIMA CONCEPCION.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_25">25</div>
-<p>This victory (in 1732) gave some security to the place.
-The <i>Indian bravos</i> still harried the country, killing those who
-ventured far from post and mission, and plundering where they
-could not kill. A number of years later (1752), after a fresh
-quarrel with the miners at Las Almagras, they fell upon the
-Mission of San Saba, and butchered every human creature
-within its walls. But rarely did they again venture near the
-dwellings of those determined pale-faces who had overcome
-them on their own hunting-grounds.</p>
-<h3 id="c8">5. ALONG THE OLD SAN ANTONIO ROAD.</h3>
-<p>The years drifted on, peaceful and sluggish, towards the end
-of the eighteenth century. There were few happenings either
-in San Antonio itself or in the province, which was at last laid
-down on the map as Texas. There was no further dispute
-concerning boundary lines or property. Spain was the lawful
-owner of everything west of the Mississippi River. For Louis
-the Fifteenth of France, in 1762, for state reasons, presented
-to the King of Spain the handsome French province of Louisiana.
-The people of Louisiana were very angry when they
-learned&mdash;more than a year after the transfer&mdash;that they had
-been handed over without their knowledge or consent to the
-hated Spaniard. But Louis did not trouble himself in the least
-about what they thought or felt. Thus, the colonists being all
-Spanish subjects, were bound to peace among themselves.
-Even the dashing St. Denis, had he lived so long, could have
-found nobody to fight except the despised Indian. But that
-doughty warrior and courtly gentleman had long since fired his
-last shot on the field, and trod his last measure in the dance.
-According to the old chroniclers he remained to the end of his
-life &ldquo;a devoted friend and a noble fighter.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_26">26</div>
-<p>In 1729 a widespread plot was formed among the Indians in
-Texas and Louisiana to massacre all white people within
-reach, Spanish and French, men, women, and children. A
-friendly chief warned St. Denis of the plot. He gathered his
-troopers hastily together and rode out of Natchitoches, where
-he had continued in command, and in a short time defeated
-and scattered the tribes. After this they hated and feared
-him, but they looked upon him with awe, believing him to be
-protected by their own Manitou.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic9">
-<img src="images/p08.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="564" />
-<p class="caption">The Cathedral of San Fernando.</p>
-</div>
-<p>He was at length killed by the chief of the Natchez Indians.
-He lies buried near the town of Natchitoches.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_27">27</div>
-<p>In spite of the peace between Spain and France (1762)&mdash;or
-perhaps because of it&mdash;there was little progress in Texas.
-Spain forbade her colonists to trade with other nations; she
-did not allow them to manufacture anything that could be
-made in the mother-country, or to plant anything that could
-with profit be sent over from there. They were even forbidden
-to trade with their fellow-colonists in Louisiana.<a class="fn" id="fr_10" href="#fn_10">[10]</a> Under
-these hard conditions settlers came in slowly. Texas remained
-almost neglected, peopled only by fierce savages.</p>
-<p>But the little town in the southwest had a life of its own.
-Nearly everybody who had any business with Texas or Mexico
-traveled the Old San Antonio Road laid out by St. Denis in
-1714; and all travelers halted at this lovely oasis in the wilderness.
-They were always loth to go away. For there were wonderful
-<i>fiestas</i> (feasts) in the Churches of the Alamo and San
-Fernando, and solemn processions to the grand Missions of
-Concepcion and San Jos&eacute;; there were stately gatherings in
-the houses of the Island Spaniards, and merry boating parties
-on the blue-green waters of the river San Antonio. There
-were gay dances on the plaza at night to the music of guitar
-and castanet, and Mexican jugglers throwing balls and knives
-by the light of smoking torches. Bands of Mexican muleteers
-jingled in from the presidio on the Rio Grande, driving before
-them trains of mules loaded with ingots of silver, on their way
-to Natchitoches, four hundred miles distant; caravans traveling
-westward with bales of smuggled goods crawled lazily through
-the narrow streets. There was a continued coming and going
-of swarthy soldiers and black-gowned priests, governors, bishops,
-alcades, and christianized Indians; among them appeared, now
-and then, the fair face and wiry form of the American, the forerunner
-of that race which was one day to sweep all the others
-out of its path and to possess the land.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_28">28</div>
-<p>Once, in 1779, when Spain and England were at war with
-each other, there was even more than the usual stir on the
-Military Plaza. Nearly all the inhabitants of the town were
-gathered about the doors of the Church of the Alamo, where a
-priest was saying mass. Presently there was a burst of martial
-music, and a little company of soldiers came out; their heads
-were lifted proudly and their step was firm and assured. A
-cheer broke forth from the crowd; the soldiers sent back an
-answering shout as they mounted their waiting horses and rode
-away under the gaudy pennon of Leon and Castile.</p>
-<p>Spain was at this time at war with England, and this handful
-of fighting men was the quota of troops furnished by the Spanish
-province of Texas to Don Galvez, the commander-in-chief
-of the army at New Orleans. They reached Louisiana in time
-to take an active part in the war and to rejoice with Galvez
-over his victories at Natchez, Mobile, and Pensacola.</p>
-<p>In 1794 all the missions were secularized; that is, the control
-of them was taken away from the priests and given to the
-civil authorities. Upon this, the Missions of San Jos&eacute; and
-Concepcion ceased to be the centers of activity they had been
-for nearly a century. San Antonio was shorn of a part of her
-glory. The majestic buildings remained, but the pomp and
-circumstance of fortress and chapel had forever departed.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_29">29</div>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">III.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">NACOGDOCHES.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1794-1821.)</span></span></h2>
-<h3 id="c9">1. A FATAL VENTURE.</h3>
-<p>One of the earliest missions planned by Captain Ramon was
-that of Our Lady of Nacogdoches (1715). It was built on the
-lands of the Naugodoches Indians, not far from the disputed
-boundary of Texas, and nearly on a line with the French post
-of Natchitoches in Louisiana. Some priests, whose duty it was
-to convert the Indians, were placed there, and with them a
-small garrison of Spanish soldiers to watch the French at
-Natchitoches. This was one of those garrisons surprised in
-1718 by St. Denis, and driven to the gates of San Antonio.
-The soldiers were brought back and reinstated by Aguayo; and
-from that time on, to the close of the century, the little military
-post was kept up.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_30">30</div>
-<p>Monsieur de Pag&egrave;s, a French gentleman who in 1766 passed
-across Texas on a voyage around the world, received from the
-missionary fathers at Aes, Adaes, and Nacogdoches a hospitable
-welcome. He describes particularly the Mission of
-&ldquo;Naquadock&rdquo; (Nacogdoches) with its &ldquo;plaza and its pleasant
-trees,&rdquo; and says that the &ldquo;half-savage Spanish soldiers&rdquo; at the
-presidio, when they were upon their horses, recalled to his
-mind the ancient chevaliers. The Spanish &ldquo;bold-rider&rdquo; wore
-a cuirass of antelope skin and carried a shield, a large sword, a
-carbine, and a pair of pistols. His arms and the equipment of
-his horse were very heavy and cumbersome, but he was an
-&ldquo;amazing good fighter.&rdquo; Monsieur de Pag&egrave;s, who was an
-officer in the French navy, was also a correspondent of the
-Academy of Sciences at Paris. He took careful notes in all
-the countries through which he passed. He describes the soil
-and climate of Texas and the animals, especially the fine,
-robust horses. &ldquo;A good horse,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;may be had for a
-pair of shoes.&rdquo; But his greatest interest is in the savages. He
-mentions the Comanches, the Apaches, the Adaes, and the
-Tehas tribes. The Tehas, he says, were a &ldquo;corn-growing
-people.&rdquo; He spent some time at the Mission of Nacogdoches
-(&ldquo;Naquadock&rdquo;) in company with a deposed governor of the
-province.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic10">
-<img src="images/p09.jpg" alt="" width="668" height="500" />
-<p class="caption">De Pag&egrave;s&rsquo; Map of Texas.</p>
-</div>
-<p>In 1778 a stone fort, which still stands, was built at Nacogdoches
-by Captain Gil Y Barbo for the accommodation of the
-Spanish soldiers. A few huts were clustered about the presidio,
-for it was on the Old San Antonio Road and was a
-stopping-place for travelers; but it was a dull and lonely spot.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_31">31</div>
-<p>Suddenly, with the birth of a new century, it awoke from its
-long slumber and became, in a way, the starting-point of Texas
-history. It was the gateway through which Anglo-American
-energy and ambition came in to Texas. From its plaza unrolled
-a panorama full of life and vigor: scenes in which adventurers,
-freebooters, patriots, and dreamers played their parts.</p>
-<p>The panorama opens with Philip Nolan.</p>
-<p>Philip Nolan, a young man of Irish descent, obtained in
-1797 a permit from De Nava, the Spanish commandant-general
-of Texas, to collect in that province wild horses for the American
-army. He entered the province, made friends with the
-Indians, and succeeded in gathering twelve hundred mustangs,
-which he drove across the border. He drew and brought back
-with him at this time a map of Texas, the first one ever made.
-This map he gave to Baron Carondelet, the Spanish governor
-at New Orleans.<a class="fn" id="fr_11" href="#fn_11">[11]</a></p>
-<p>Three years later, with the same permit and ostensibly on
-the same errand, he started westward from Natchez, Mississippi.
-He had with him seventeen white men and one negro.
-His second in command was a nineteen-year-old lad named
-Ellis Bean. The men were all young, most of them being
-under thirty and many of them hardly more than twenty years
-of age.</p>
-<p>They traveled on horseback across the wilderness, and some
-months later they encamped in the neighborhood of the present
-city of Waco, where they found &ldquo;elk and deer plenty, some
-buffalo, and thousands of wild horses.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_12" href="#fn_12">[12]</a> In a short time they
-had caught and penned three hundred mustangs. The Indians
-were very friendly. At one time two hundred Comanches visited
-them in their camp. In return they spent a month in the
-wigwams of that tribe. Then they went back to their business
-of capturing wild horses.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_32">32</div>
-<p>But orders in the meantime had come from De Nava to
-Musquiz, the Spanish captain at Nacogdoches, to arrest Nolan
-at all hazards. He had been denounced to the Spanish government
-as a traitor, and it was believed that he had come to
-Texas for the purpose of
-setting up a republic of his
-own, or to further the plans
-of Aaron Burr.<a class="fn" id="fr_13" href="#fn_13">[13]</a></p>
-<div class="img" id="pic11">
-<img src="images/p10.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="558" />
-<p class="caption">Ellis P. Bean.</p>
-</div>
-<p>Musquiz left Nacogdoches
-on the 4th of March, 1801,
-with one hundred soldiers,
-in search of the supposed
-conspirator. After a few
-days&rsquo; march he sent for El
-Blanco, a famous Indian
-chief, and offered him a large
-bribe if he would lead him
-to Nolan&rsquo;s camp. El Blanco
-proudly spurned this base
-offer. Some Indian spies, however, served as guides, and at
-daybreak on the 22d of March Musquiz found the camp. He
-attacked Nolan and his men, who returned his fire from their
-rude blockhouse. Nolan, whose rifle had been stolen from him
-by a deserter from his own camp, was killed in a few moments.
-Bean took command and the fighting went on desperately for
-some time. Finally, on a promise from the Spaniards that they
-should be set free as soon as they reached Nacogdoches, the
-outnumbered Americans surrendered. They buried their gallant
-leader, whose dream of a republic, if he had one, died with
-him; and they set out with their captors for the Presidio of
-Nacogdoches. There, instead of the promised freedom, they
-found chains and captivity. They were heavily ironed and
-placed in close confinement. At the end of a month they were
-marched into the plaza, bound together, two and two. There
-was a beating of drums and a fluttering of Spanish pennons.
-The hearts of the poor young prisoners beat high with hope.
-Knowing that they had been guilty of no crime, they seemed
-already to feel their chains falling off, and they laughed joyfully,
-lifting their pallid faces to the free blue sky. But a harsh
-voice gave the order &ldquo;Forward March!&rdquo; and driven by brutal
-guards they limped painfully away to Mexican dungeons.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_33">33</div>
-<p>It was six years before the King of Spain found time to
-sentence these prisoners. A royal decree then came (1807)
-ordering every fifth man to be shot. By this time but nine
-were left alive, and the officer in charge decided that one only
-should suffer death.</p>
-<p>The nine wretched captives threw dice to determine which of
-their number should die. The lot fell to Ephraim Blackburn,
-the oldest man among them. He was executed without delay.</p>
-<p>Only one of the others ever breathed the blessed air of freedom
-again. Ellis Bean, after many strange and thrilling adventures,
-finally escaped. His companions, to a man, perished
-in loathsome Mexican prisons, some of them within a short
-time, others after a wretched captivity of more than fifteen
-years,&mdash;all ignorant to the last of the cause of their imprisonment.</p>
-<h3 id="c10">2. THE DISPUTED BOUNDARY LINE.</h3>
-<p>While Nacogdoches was rubbing her sleepy eyes and staring
-at the <i>Americanos</i>, who kept coming into Texas in spite of the
-scant welcome they got there, a man was strutting about the
-court at Madrid in Spain, carrying Texas, so to speak, in his
-pocket. Manuel de Godoy, called <i>El Principe de la Paz</i> (The
-Prince of the Peace), who, from a private in the King&rsquo;s Guards
-had come to be a grandee of Spain and first minister of the
-King&rsquo;s council, was a corrupt courtier, cordially hated by the
-people, but a favorite both of the King and the Queen.<a class="fn" id="fr_14" href="#fn_14">[14]</a> They
-had given him the highest honors and titles possible in Spain
-and finally they had made him a present of the territory of
-Texas. To this princely gift they added soldiers and ships
-and a large number of young women from the asylums in Spain.
-Godoy in his dreams already saw himself ruling in a semi-barbaric
-fashion over his kingdom in the &ldquo;golden west.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_34">34</div>
-<div class="img" id="pic12">
-<img src="images/p11.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="409" />
-<p class="caption">Old Stone Fort at Nacogdoches.</p>
-</div>
-<p>The attitude of Napoleon Bonaparte toward Spain put an
-end to this curious scheme. Soldiers and ships were ordered
-to another service; the young women were returned to their
-asylums; and Godoy was sent into dishonorable exile with his
-pocket empty, at least of Texas.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_35">35</div>
-<p>Spain, tired of the troublesome present she had received from
-Louis the Fifteenth, one fine day in 1800 handed Louisiana back
-to France. But before the French colonists had time to rejoice,
-Napoleon in 1803 sold them and their province to the United
-States. Again they were very angry; but, as before, nobody
-cared in the least what they thought or how they felt.</p>
-<p>The old dispute concerning the boundary between Louisiana
-and Texas was revived by this transaction. Spain claimed
-eastward as far toward the Mississippi River as she dared. The
-United States would gladly have reached out westward to the
-Rio Grande. The quarrel at last grew so bitter that both
-countries prepared to go to war (1806).</p>
-<p>Nacogdoches and Natchitoches glared at each other across
-the Sabine River, like two watch-dogs snarling and showing
-their teeth.</p>
-<p>Antonio Cordero, governor of Texas, hurried by way of the
-Old San Antonio Road from San Antonio to Nacogdoches.
-The lonely presidio then fairly thrilled; for fortifications were
-thrown up, provisions were brought in, and the place was put
-in a state of defense. Soldiers were also stationed at the
-mouth of the Trinity River, at the old fort at Adaes, and at
-other points. At length in August, 1806, Simon Herrera,
-commanding the Spanish troops with Cordero as his second,
-marched in with twelve hundred men at his back.</p>
-<p>At Natchitoches also there was bustle and excitement.
-Governor Claiborne, followed at once by General Wilkinson
-of the United States army, had come up from New Orleans.
-Several angry messages passed between Generals Wilkinson
-and Herrera, but neither would yield an inch in his demands;
-and on the 22d of October General Wilkinson marched his
-troops to the east bank of the Sabine River and camped there.
-General Herrera&rsquo;s camp was on the west bank, just opposite.
-The stream alone separated the two armies. On both sides
-everything was in readiness for a battle.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_36">36</div>
-<p>But in the hush of the night (November 5) the two generals
-met and held a secret council. The next day (Nov. 6, 1806),
-to the surprise of all and greatly to the disappointment of the
-American soldiers, it was announced that the affair had been
-peacefully settled. A strip of land between the Sabine River
-and a creek called the Arroyo Hondo seven miles west of
-Natchitoches, was declared neutral ground,&mdash;that is, ground to
-be occupied by neither country until the boundary line could
-be fixed by a state treaty.<a class="fn" id="fr_15" href="#fn_15">[15]</a></p>
-<p>The Americans marched away, grumbling openly; the
-Spanish generals, having got more than they expected,
-returned well pleased to Nacogdoches.</p>
-<p>Nacogdoches had ceased to be simply a stopping-place for
-travelers; it vied with its distant neighbor, San Antonio, in
-the gaiety of its social life. The Spanish officers, especially
-the commandant Herrera, were noted for their gracious and
-courtly manners. Some American families of position had
-moved in; there was even a hotel. The presidio had become
-a town.</p>
-<h3 id="c11">3. THE NEUTRAL GROUND.</h3>
-<p>One day in 1812 a young man&mdash;an American&mdash;wearing the
-uniform of the United States army crossed the Arroyo Hondo
-on horseback and entered the Neutral Ground. He withdrew
-a little from the road, dismounted, and seated himself upon a
-fallen log, seeming to await some one or something.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_37">37</div>
-<p>Soon a second rider appeared, threading his way through
-the forest trees. He was a Spaniard of soldierly bearing, and
-his somewhat stern features offered a marked contrast to the
-eager face of the first comer. He dismounted with a courteous
-greeting, sat down in his
-turn, and drawing a map
-from his pocket, he spread
-it upon his knees.</p>
-<p>The Spaniard was
-Colonel Bernardo Gutierrez
-de Lara. The American
-was Lieutenant
-Augustus Magee.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic13">
-<img src="images/p12.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="678" />
-<p class="caption">Map of The Neutral Ground.</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent"><dt>Nacogdoches</dt>
-<dt>Trinity River</dt>
-<dt>Wallisville</dt>
-<dt>East Bay</dt>
-<dt>Neches River</dt>
-<dt>Sabine Lake</dt>
-<dt>Sabine River</dt>
-<dt>Bayou San Patricio</dt>
-<dt>Spanish Lake</dt>
-<dt>Adais</dt>
-<dt>Arroyo Hondo</dt>
-<dt>Nachitoches</dt>
-<dt>Red River</dt>
-<dt>L. Terre Noire</dt>
-<dt>Conel River</dt>
-<dt>NEUTRAL GROUND</dt>
-<dt>Calcasieu River</dt>
-<dt>Lake Calcasieu</dt>
-<dt>Grand Lake</dt>
-<dt>GULF of MEXICO</dt></dl>
-<p>The Neutral Ground
-from the moment of the
-treaty between Herrera
-and Wilkinson in 1806
-became the resort of all
-sorts of lawless men, who,
-subject to no authority,
-robbed and murdered at
-will the travelers passing
-across this No Man&rsquo;s
-Land. The danger at last became so great that the United
-States sent a squad of soldiers to serve as an escort to people
-whose business led them between the Sabine and Natchitoches.
-Lieutenant Magee was placed in command of this escort. He
-was a bold and gallant young fellow, within whose romantic
-brain soon came the idea of following out Nolan&rsquo;s supposed
-plan of founding an independent republic in Texas.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_38">38</div>
-<p>He confided his project to Gutierrez, who had fled to Natchitoches
-after the failure of a similar attempt in Mexico, in which
-he had taken part. Gutierrez was delighted. He undertook
-to gain over the Mexicans in Texas. Magee resigned his
-position in the United States army and soon succeeded in
-forming a band composed of adventurers and desperadoes from
-the Neutral Ground, a number of Indians, some Mexicans, and
-a few Americans of good character. Gutierrez, on account of
-his influence over his countrymen, was put in command.
-Magee, however, was the leading spirit.</p>
-<p>It was to talk over their scheme of invasion and conquest,
-to consult maps and arrange routes, that Magee and Gutierrez
-had met on the banks of the Arroyo Hondo.</p>
-<p>Magee started soon after for New Orleans to get money and
-recruits. Gutierrez with a few men crossed the Sabine
-and took possession of Nacogdoches, which was at once
-abandoned by the Spaniards. From that place he marched
-to join Magee and the main army on the Trinity River.</p>
-<p>The first movement of this army of republicans, which numbered
-several hundred men, was upon La Bahia (Goliad). The
-Spanish garrison in the fortress there joined them, surrendering,
-along with other military stores, the cannon brought over
-by La Salle in 1685.</p>
-<p>Hardly, however, were the republicans within the fort when
-they were attacked by the Spanish army, under Governor Salcedo
-and General Herrera.</p>
-<p>The fighting was at great odds, but the little band of republicans
-held their own during several months, their greatest loss
-being the death of their brave and spirited young leader,
-Magee, who, wasted with consumption, died in February,
-1813.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_39">39</div>
-<p>Shortly afterwards a fierce hand-to-hand skirmish took place.
-In this the republicans were victorious. The Spaniards thereupon
-gave up the siege and retreated to San Antonio. The
-republicans followed under Colonel Kemper, who had succeeded
-Magee. On the 28th of March, 1813, a bloody battle
-took place on the Rosillo Creek, nine miles from San Antonio.
-The Spaniards were defeated with the loss of one thousand
-men. The victorious army marched into San Antonio, flying
-their flag in triumph. In the fortress of the Alamo they found
-seventeen prisoners, whom they released; the private soldiers
-taken prisoners at Rosillo were all set at liberty. The officers
-were at first paroled; but afterward by order of Gutierrez, or
-at least with his consent, they were marched by a company of
-Mexican soldiers to a place on the river below the town; there
-they were stripped, their hands were bound behind their backs,
-and their throats cut.</p>
-<p>Among those thus brutally butchered were Salcedo, Governor
-of New Leon, Governor Cordero, and the brave and polished
-Herrera.</p>
-<p>Many of the better class of Americans, among them the
-commanding officer, Colonel Kemper, disgusted with the savagery
-of Gutierrez, left the army. The republicans who
-remained were filled with triumph; intoxicated with success,
-they gave themselves up to rioting and rejoicing.</p>
-<p>Their enthusiasm was increased by a victory over another
-Spanish force sent against them under the command of Don Y
-Elisondo (El-ee-son&prime;do). In this battle, fought June 4, the Spaniards
-lost over a thousand men, dead, wounded, and prisoners.</p>
-<p>But the tide of success had reached its height; it began to
-turn. Gutierrez having retired to Natchitoches, General
-Toledo (To-l&#257;&prime;do) was now in command of the republicans.
-On the 18th of August he marched out of San Antonio to
-attack a third Spanish army commanded by General Arredondo,
-who had thrown up breastworks on the Medina near the town.</p>
-<p>The result was a terrific defeat for the republicans. Almost
-the entire army was destroyed; many were killed; those taken
-prisoners were butchered as cruelly as Herrera and his brother
-officers had been. Out of eight hundred and fifty Americans,
-only ninety-three escaped. One by one these stole through
-Nacogdoches on their way back to the safe thickets of the
-Neutral Ground.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_40">40</div>
-<h3 id="c12">4. THE RED HOUSE.</h3>
-<p>Nacogdoches, it may be supposed, had grown accustomed to
-that dream of a Texas Republic which from time to time
-caused the air about her stone fort to thrill and vibrate; she
-was accustomed, too, to see that dream end in bloodshed and
-death.</p>
-<p>So it was an old story when in 1819 some three hundred
-Americans came tramping in, ready, as they imagined, to convert
-Texas into a free and independent state. This new expedition,
-organized at Natchez, Mississippi, was conducted by
-Dr. James Long of Tennessee, an energetic patriot who had
-served as a surgeon in Jackson&rsquo;s army at the battle of New
-Orleans.</p>
-<p>General Long&rsquo;s brother, David, accompanied him; and his
-wife and her sister followed, under the conduct of Randall
-Jones. They arrived at Nacogdoches soon after the new
-republicans had taken peaceful possession of the town.</p>
-<p>A legislative body was formed. One of its members was
-Bernardo Gutierrez, who had continued to live at Natchitoches.
-The Republic of Texas was proclaimed, and land and revenue
-laws were passed. A newspaper, the first in Texas, was started
-by Horatio Bigelow, a member of the council.</p>
-<p>General Long&rsquo;s next step was to take possession of the
-country and strengthen the infant government. He placed
-detachments of men at various points on the Brazos and
-Trinity Rivers, opened trade with the Indians, and sent James
-Gaines, one of his lieutenants, to Galveston Island to get the
-assistance of Lafitte.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_41">41</div>
-<p>Jean Lafitte, a Frenchman by birth, had, while yet a mere
-lad, commanded a privateer which sailed the Gulf of Mexico.
-Later, with his two brothers, he had been, nominally, a blacksmith
-in New Orleans; but while hammering horseshoes and
-making wagon-tires, he was really engaged in smuggling.
-After a while, he dropped all pretense, and gathering together
-a band of reckless men he established himself in 1810 on the
-island of Grand Terre, a swampy lowland in Louisiana near
-the Gulf coast. From there he plied his unlawful trade. His
-band became finally so bold and troublesome that a reward
-was offered for their leader&rsquo;s head. This proclamation, signed
-by Governor Claiborne, was posted
-about New Orleans; and more than
-once the daring freebooter was seen
-talking gaily with a group of friends,
-leaning the while with folded arms
-against a wall upon which flamed in
-big letters the governor&rsquo;s mandate
-demanding his head. He was never
-captured.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic14">
-<img src="images/p13.jpg" alt="" width="356" height="599" />
-<p class="caption">Jean Lafitte.</p>
-</div>
-<p>In 1814, when the United States
-and England were at war, a British
-officer visited Lafitte at Grand Terre
-and offered him the command of a
-frigate if he would join the British
-navy. Lafitte instead offered his
-services to General Jackson, fought
-gallantly at the battle of New Orleans, and received a full
-pardon from the United States government.</p>
-<p>But his restless spirit would not long suffer him to remain
-inactive. In 1816 he fitted out a schooner (<i>The Pride</i>) and
-sailed to the uninhabited island of Galveston.</p>
-<p>This island was discovered by La Salle as he coasted along
-the Gulf in 1684, seeking the Mississippi River. He called it
-the Island of St. Louis. It was afterward known as Snake
-Island, and received its present name, about 1775, in honor of
-Don Jos&eacute; Galvez, governor of Louisiana and son of the
-viceroy of Mexico.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_42">42</div>
-<p>It had been occupied for a short time (1816) by a band of
-Mexican &ldquo;republicans,&rdquo; under Manuel Herrera and Xavier
-Mina. They were joined by Luis d&rsquo;Aury, a Mexican naval
-officer, and Colonel Perry, an American who had taken part in
-Magee&rsquo;s ill-fated expedition. They set up a sort of republic
-on the island. Their fleet of twelve armed vessels sailed the
-Gulf, and for a time the enterprise prospered. But the little
-republic did not last long. The leaders quarreled among
-themselves; the United States denounced their sailors as
-pirates; the settlement was broken up, and Galveston returned
-to its native solitude.</p>
-<p>The island was covered with beautiful green grass; there
-were no shrubs, and the only trees were three live oaks clustered
-together about midway of the island. Its wide beach
-shone like silver in the sunlight. Here in a short time Lafitte
-had established a miniature kingdom. Adventurers came flocking
-to him from every direction, and in less than a year there
-were a thousand persons on the island. Lafitte, bearing the
-proud title of &ldquo;Lord of Galveston,&rdquo; held absolute sway over
-them. The fort and the town, which he named Campeachy,
-were kept under strict military rule. The bay harbored a fleet
-of swift vessels, sailed by fearless pirates who swept the Gulf,
-capturing and plundering Spanish ships and bringing the rich
-spoils to be divided by their chief. On the incoming Spanish
-barques there were bales of silks and satins, woven for the dark-eyed
-dames of Mexico, and soft carpets and priceless hangings
-for their houses; there were rare wines for the tables
-of the viceroys, and gold-embroidered altar-cloths for the
-churches. On outgoing Mexican vessels there were bars of
-silver and ingots of gold, tropical spices and dyes, uncut
-jewels, and beautiful skins of wild animals. All these treasures
-were unrolled and spread out on the open square of the
-fort, and each man was allotted his share. Lafitte was generous
-with the goods brought in by his freebooters. Once
-from a rich &ldquo;haul&rdquo; he took for his own share only a slim gold
-chain and seal which had been removed from the neck of a
-portly Mexican bishop on his way to visit Rome. This chain
-and seal were given by the pirate to Rezin Bowie, a brother of
-James Bowie. It remains in the Bowie family to this day.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_43">43</div>
-<p>Besides the regular business of piracy, which was politely
-called privateering, a brisk slave-trade was carried on between
-the island and the shores of Africa. Slave-ships came boldly
-into the harbor and landed their cargoes of black humanity at
-Campeachy. The negro gangs were driven into the fort, where
-they were sold <i>by the pound</i>. The price paid was generally one
-dollar a pound, though prices sometimes fell so low that an
-able-bodied man or woman could be bought for forty dollars.
-The purchasers hurried the unhappy Africans through the
-country to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where they were
-resold at higher prices.</p>
-<p>Lafitte was adored by his followers, though he ruled them as
-with a rod of iron. In person he was tall, dark, and handsome,
-with stern eyes and a winning smile. He wore a uniform of
-dark green cloth, a crimson sash, and an otter-skin cap. He
-lived in great state, in a richly furnished dwelling, called, from
-its color, the &ldquo;Red House,&rdquo; and entertained there in an almost
-princely manner the strangers whom business, curiosity, or
-misfortune brought to the island.</p>
-<p>The Carankawae Indians, who had formerly held the strip
-of silver sand as their own fishing-ground, visited the newcomers,
-and gazed with wonder at their ships, their houses,
-and their cannon. But in a short time a quarrel arose between
-some of the freebooters and the chiefs, and four of Lafitte&rsquo;s
-men were killed.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_44">44</div>
-<p>Lafitte hastened to avenge their death. He marched to the
-Three Trees, where three hundred Carankawaes were encamped.
-His own force numbered less than two hundred, but they were
-well armed and provided with two pieces of artillery. The
-Indians after three days of hard fighting were defeated, and
-withdrew to the mainland. This defeat increased their hatred
-of the whites. But they gave no further trouble to Lafitte.</p>
-<h3 id="c13">5. THE CHAMP D&rsquo;ASILE.</h3>
-<p>The Lord of Galveston was at the height of his power in
-March, 1818, when a colony composed of his own countrymen
-sailed into the bay. They were led by General Lallemand,
-one of Napoleon Bonaparte&rsquo;s old officers. The empire had
-fallen, Bonaparte was in exile at St. Helena, and Lallemand,
-no longer happy or safe in France, decided to form somewhere
-in the New World a <i>Champ d&rsquo;Asile</i> (Place of Refuge). His
-choice finally fell upon Texas. He left France in October,
-1817, with four hundred men and several women and children.
-He and his brother officer, General Rigaud (the latter being
-eighty years old), were received with stately courtesy by
-Lafitte, who assisted them greatly in their preparations for
-the journey to the place chosen for their colony.</p>
-<p>This was on the banks of the Trinity River, about sixty miles
-from its mouth. When all was ready the two generals, with
-one hundred men, traveled thither by land; the others set out
-by water with a number of small boats carrying provisions,
-ammunition, etc.</p>
-<p>After several days&rsquo; march the land party reached its destination,
-where the boats should have arrived before them. The
-boats were not there. Lallemand and his men were already
-without food, as they had started with an insufficient supply.
-They began to suffer the pangs of hunger, filled at the same
-time with anxiety about the missing boats. While in this condition
-they found in the woods around a sort of wild lettuce,
-large quantities of which they boiled and ate. No sooner had
-they eaten than they were seized with violent and deathlike
-convulsions. Lallemand, Rigaud, and one of the surgeons
-had not tasted the poisonous herb. But they were powerless
-to help, the medicines being on the boats.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_45">45</div>
-<p>Thus they were in despair when a Coushatti Indian, drawn
-by curiosity, came into the camp. He looked with amazement
-at the ninety-seven men stretched out and apparently dying on
-the ground. Lallemand, showing him the fatal herb, explained
-to him by signs what had happened. The Indian sprang
-swift as an arrow into the forest, and in a short time reappeared,
-his arms filled with a feather-like weed. It was the
-antidote of the poison the men had eaten; he boiled and made
-a drink of it; and, thanks to his skill and kindness, they all
-recovered.</p>
-<p>Some days later the boats arrived. The voyagers had been
-unable at first to find the mouth of the river, hence the
-delay.</p>
-<p>The colonists went to work with a will upon their settlement.
-They built four small forts,&mdash;Forts Charles and Henry, Middle
-Fort, and Fort Palanqua,&mdash;mounted eight cannons, and hoisted
-the French flag. Then they busied themselves with their own
-houses and fields.</p>
-<p>They were very happy, these self-exiled French people.
-They labored in their fields and gardens by day; at night they
-sang and danced and made merry, looking forward to long and
-peaceful lives in their new home.</p>
-<p>But the grain was hardly ripe in their fields when word
-came that Spanish soldiers from San Antonio and Goliad
-(La Bahia) were marching upon them to destroy them, or to
-drive them out of the country. They were not strong enough
-to resist such a force, so they abandoned their cabins and
-smiling gardens and returned to Galveston. A violent storm
-swept over the island a few days after their arrival there.
-Lafitte lost two brigs, three schooners, and a felucca; the
-unfortunate colonists lost not only their boats, but all their
-clothing and supplies.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_46">46</div>
-<p>Lafitte gave them the <i>San Antonio</i>, a small ship captured
-from the Spaniards, and provided them with food and clothes.
-Some of them sailed to New Orleans in the <i>San Antonio</i>;
-others made their way overland to Nacogdoches; thence to
-Natchitoches, to Baton Rouge, and at length to New Orleans,
-whence by the kindness of the citizens they were able to get
-back to France.</p>
-<h3 id="c14">6. A TREACHEROUS SHOT.</h3>
-<p>It was but a few months after Lafitte had so generously
-aided Lallemand and his colonists, when James Gaines, sent
-by General Long, came to the island. Lafitte entertained him
-royally at the Red House, but declined to join Long&rsquo;s enterprise.
-He thought a Texas republic could be established only
-by the help of a large army, whereas General Long had but a
-handful of soldiers.</p>
-<p>When Long received Lafitte&rsquo;s reply he started to the island
-himself, in the hope of changing this decision. But hearing
-from his wife that a Spanish force under Colonel Perez was
-moving upon his outposts, he hurried back to Nacogdoches.
-He found that place deserted; everybody had fled panic-stricken
-across the Sabine at the approach of the Spaniards.
-In the meantime Perez attacked the forts on the Brazos and
-the Trinity, completely routing the garrisons. David Long was
-among the killed.</p>
-<p>General Long&rsquo;s spirit was unshaken. He joined his brave
-wife on the east side of the Sabine, and made his way with
-her to Bolivar Point, where the few followers left to him were
-encamped.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_47">47</div>
-<p>Just at this time Lafitte was ordered by the United States
-government to leave the island; his pirates had begun to
-meddle with American ships. He felt that resistance would
-be useless; so he gathered his men together, gave them each
-a handsome sum of money, and, having set fire to his fort and
-town, he sailed away in <i>The Pride</i>, with sixty of his buccaneers
-and a choice crew. He cruised for some years off the coast of
-Yucatan, and died at Sisal in 1826.</p>
-<p>It was long believed that he buried fabulous treasures&mdash;gold,
-silver, and jewels&mdash;both at Grand Terre and at Galveston,
-but these treasures have never been found. There is a legend
-among superstitious people at Grand Terre which declares that
-several times swarthy, dark-bearded strangers have appeared
-there and dug in a certain place for the buried treasure. They
-have succeeded each time in uncovering a great iron chest;
-but as they were about to lift it out, some one has each time
-spoken, and at the sound the box instantly disappeared. It
-can be found and removed, the gossips add, only in the midst
-of perfect silence.</p>
-<p>A prettier story is told of the treasure buried at Galveston.
-This story goes that on the night before he left the island
-forever, the pirate chief was heard to murmur, as he paced up
-and down the hall of the Red House: &ldquo;I have buried my
-treasure under the three trees. In the shadow of the three lone
-trees I have buried my treasure.&rdquo; Two of his men overheard
-him. They stole away down the beach, with picks and spades,
-determined to possess themselves of their leader&rsquo;s treasure,
-which they knew must be priceless. They reached the spot,
-and in the pale moonlight they found the stake set to mark the
-hiding place. They shoveled the sand away, breathless and
-eager with greed. At length they found a long wooden box
-whose cover they pried open. Within, instead of piles of silver,
-caskets of jewels, and heaps of golden doubloons, they saw
-with awe and amazement the pale face and rigid form of the
-Chief&rsquo;s beautiful young wife, who had died the day before.
-This was the treasure of Lafitte!</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_48">48</div>
-<p>General Long watched the ships of Lafitte vanish into the
-distance; then, determined as ever to carry out his plans, he
-left his wife and a small guard in the fort at Bolivar Point
-(July, 1821), and went with fifty-two soldiers to Goliad, which
-he occupied without opposition. Three days later a troop of
-Mexican cavalry entered Goliad. Long surrendered and was
-sent a prisoner of war to Mexico. Eight months afterward he
-was released; but almost at the moment of his release he was
-shot and instantly killed by a Mexican soldier.</p>
-<p>The guard left at the fort at Bolivar Point soon abandoned
-it in despair. Mrs. Long refused to go with them; she had
-promised her husband, she said, to await his return, and she
-stayed on. Her only companions were her two little children
-and a negro girl. The days passed drearily; summer died
-into fall, and fall into winter. The provisions gave out, and
-the forlorn little group almost perished from hunger. Several
-times the Carankawaes attacked the fort. The courageous
-woman loaded the cannon and fired upon the Indians, thus
-keeping them at bay. In the spring of 1822 she learned
-from some of Austin&rsquo;s colonists of her husband&rsquo;s tragic death.
-Then only, having fulfilled her wifely trust, she left the fort.</p>
-<h3 id="c15">7. A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS.</h3>
-<p>In Nacogdoches there is a wonderful elm, a tree which stood
-in the primeval forest perhaps before the foot of the white man
-ever trod its paths. Its leafy branches toss in the wind, green
-and beautiful against the blue sky. Its old trunk has turned
-into sap for its own growth the sunshine of more years than
-any living man can remember.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_49">49</div>
-<p>As a springing sapling it may have greeted Hernando de
-Soto on his westward march. It may have looked down on
-La Salle journeying through the forest to his untimely death;
-and on Tonti of the Iron Hand, seeking tidings of his murdered
-friend. Don Ramon, lying in its shade, may have watched the
-slow building of the Mission of Our Lady of Nacogdoches;
-and St. Denis, riding by, may have paused to cut switches from
-its down-drooping branches. Nolan, Herrera, Magee, Long,
-many a soldier, and many an Indian chief in his war-paint and
-feathers,&mdash;all these the old tree has seen come and go.</p>
-<p>A soldier of another sort stood in its shade one day in 1821,
-and looked upon the small yet motley group of people gathered
-about him. There were a dozen or more frontiersmen, bronzed
-and bearded, and armed to the teeth; there were a few Mexican
-soldiers, a Mexican woman or two with coarse mantillas on
-their heads, and several wide-eyed Mexican children. The
-man facing this group held a small book in his hand. He was
-not armed. His eyes shone with a soft light, and when he
-spoke his voice was full and sweet.</p>
-<p>This was the Rev. Henry Stephenson, a Methodist preacher
-who had come into the wilderness, not to found a republic nor
-to set up a free and independent state, but to preach the gospel
-and to make straight the paths of the Lord.</p>
-<p>That day, under the old elm, the first Protestant sermon was
-preached in Texas. At its close a sweet old hymn, which
-many a man present had learned at his mother&rsquo;s knee, was
-begun by the preacher, and one by one, and at first half
-ashamed, the bearded frontiersmen took up the strain until it
-floated up and away beyond the clustering leaves of the old
-tree, and soared into heaven.</p>
-<p>Eyes long unused to tears were wet when the hymn was
-ended; and with softened hearts the singers pressed about the
-man of God to bid him good-bye. For he was on his way to
-carry the gospel to the utmost western border of Texas.</p>
-<p>Even the gentle Mexican women joined in the cheer which
-followed him as he entered the lonely forest and passed on out
-of sight.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_50">50</div>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">IV.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1820-1835.)</span></span></h2>
-<h3 id="c16">1. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.</h3>
-<p>Moses Austin, a rugged and travel-stained American, was
-walking slowly across the plaza in San Antonio one day in
-December, 1820. His head hung on his breast, and his eyes
-were full of trouble and defeat. Suddenly he heard his name
-pronounced; he turned to find
-himself face to face with the
-Baron de Bastrop, who grasped
-him warmly by the hand. His
-eyes brightened with pleasure
-at this unexpected meeting. &ldquo;I
-thought myself a total stranger
-in San Antonio,&rdquo; he said.</p>
-<p>De Bastrop, whom he had met
-some years before in the United
-States, listened with great interest
-while Austin told the story of
-his plans and their failure.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic15">
-<img src="images/p14.jpg" alt="" width="472" height="600" />
-<p class="caption">Stephen Fuller Austin.</p>
-</div>
-<p>He was, he said, a citizen of
-Missouri, where he had settled
-when that state was Spanish territory. His object in coming
-to San Antonio was to obtain permission to establish a colony
-somewhere in Texas. But on presenting himself to Governor
-Martinez (Mar-tee&prime;ness), after his long and dangerous journey,
-he had been coldly received and ordered to quit the province.
-He was at that moment on his way to the place where he had
-left his horses and his negro servant, in order to prepare for
-departure. &ldquo;My journey, as you see,&rdquo; he concluded, &ldquo;has
-been fruitless.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_51">51</div>
-<p>De Bastrop,<a class="fn" id="fr_16" href="#fn_16">[16]</a> a Prussian in the service of Mexico, chanced
-also to be one of the alcaldes of San Antonio. &ldquo;Come with me
-again to the governor,&rdquo; he said, leading the way to the official
-residence. Here he used his influence to such purpose that in a
-few days Austin was on his way to Missouri with the assurance
-that his request would be granted by the general government.</p>
-<p>But the homeward journey, made in the dead of winter,
-proved fatal to him. A sickness, brought on by cold and
-exposure, so weakened him that he died soon after reaching
-home. Before his death, however, he learned that permission
-had been given him to settle three hundred families in Texas.
-He left as a sacred legacy to his son Stephen the duty of
-carrying out his cherished project.</p>
-<p>Stephen Fuller Austin, the great pioneer of Texas colonists,
-was at that time twenty-eight years of age. He was slender
-and broad-browed, with features which showed at once the gentleness
-and the firmness of his character. He had inherited
-his father&rsquo;s self-reliance and energy&mdash;the capital most needed
-in that almost trackless wilderness henceforth to be his home.
-He was well educated; his manners were courteous and dignified;
-he inspired with confidence and respect all who came in
-touch with him. Such, in part, was the man one day to be
-known as the Father of Texas.</p>
-<p>He was in New Orleans, busied about his father&rsquo;s affairs,
-when he heard of the arrival at Natchitoches of Don Erasmo
-Seguin, the commissioner sent from Mexico to meet and confer
-with Moses Austin. He went to Natchitoches without delay,
-and there learned of his father&rsquo;s death and the solemn obligation
-laid upon himself.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_52">52</div>
-<p>He accepted the charge without hesitation, and began at
-once to perfect his plans.</p>
-<p>In July he accompanied Seguin back to San Antonio, traveling
-by the Old San Antonio Road. Martinez received him
-kindly, and gave him permission to explore the country and
-select a place for his colony. He chose the rich lands lying
-between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers.</p>
-<p>A contract was made which allowed 640 acres of land to
-each colonist; to his wife (if married), 320 acres; and 140
-acres to each child; 80 acres were allowed to the master for
-each slave. The colonists, who must be from Louisiana, were
-required to furnish certificates of good character, to profess the
-Roman Catholic religion, and to swear allegiance to Spain.
-They were to be free from taxation for six years. Austin was
-commissioned to take charge of the local government.</p>
-<p>These writings signed, Austin returned to Louisiana to
-collect emigrants.</p>
-<h3 id="c17">2. UPS AND DOWNS.</h3>
-<p>It was during the Christmas holidays of 1821 that the first
-settlers, led by Austin in person, reached the Brazos River and
-made their camp upon the chosen spot. Their Christmas and
-New Year&rsquo;s dinners were not composed of dainties, we may be
-sure; but there was, no doubt, joyous roasting of wild game
-over the glowing camp-fires, and there was good honest fun
-and innocent merriment in plenty among these first Texans!</p>
-<p>Their leader left them at once and proceeded to Matagorda
-Bay to meet the <i>Lively</i>, a small schooner which had been sent
-out from New Orleans with supplies for the settlement. She
-had also carried eighteen colonists.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_53">53</div>
-<p>The <i>Lively</i> had not arrived, nor was she ever heard of afterward.
-It is supposed that she was lost at sea, with all on
-board. To add to Austin&rsquo;s disappointment, some provisions
-brought on a former voyage of the <i>Lively</i>, and hidden in the
-canebrakes on the banks of the Brazos, had been stolen by
-the Carankawae Indians. He returned empty-handed to his
-people.</p>
-<p>They were in no wise cast down by the news he brought.
-They were already making clearings, cutting down trees, burning
-underbrush, building cabins, and laying off fields. They
-were at the same time obliged to keep guard day and night
-against the Indians who prowled about, always on the lookout
-for a chance to steal or to murder.</p>
-<p>Austin, cheered by their courage, set out for San Antonio to
-report to Governor Martinez. There he learned that a revolution
-against Spain had taken place in Mexico. His contracts,
-in the new order of things, might be worthless. He therefore
-journeyed on to the city of Mexico, twelve hundred miles distant.
-Much of the way he traveled with but one companion.
-The country was full of robbers and cut-throats, and, in order
-to escape their clutches, the two men disguised themselves as
-beggars, going on foot, sleeping in the open air, and eating the
-coarsest food. He found the country in such a tumult that it
-was over a year before he could get his grant renewed and
-return to his colony.</p>
-<p>Meantime, other settlers had come in, some making their
-way slowly by land with ox-teams, stopping sometimes for a
-whole season to raise and harvest a crop of corn, and then
-moving patiently on. &ldquo;Children were born in these movers&rsquo;
-camps,&rdquo; says one writer, &ldquo;and the dead were buried by the
-roadside.&rdquo; Others came in ships from New Orleans and
-Mobile, and even from the far New England coast. In 1822
-the <i>Revenge</i> and the <i>Only Son</i> came into Galveston harbor and
-landed at Bolivar Point over a hundred immigrants. They
-found Mrs. Long in the forlorn little fort where her husband
-had left her, still waiting and hoping for his return. It was
-from these pitying and kind-hearted pioneers that the heroic
-wife learned of the assassination of her husband. In their
-company she and her children left the place of so much
-suffering.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_54">54</div>
-<p>The first crop of corn&mdash;turned into the virgin soil with
-wooden ploughs&mdash;had been gathered; a little cotton had
-whitened the patches about the cabin doors, and the spinning-wheels
-were already busy. The familiar low of home-returning
-milch-cows was heard at sundown along the winding footpaths.
-One of the settlers (Randall Jones) had gone to Louisiana,
-taking with him a negro lad. There he traded the boy for
-sixty head of cattle, which he drove across the country to the
-settlement. Another colonist brought out some pigs and a few
-goats. These domestic animals gave a homelike appearance
-to the strange land.</p>
-<p>The settlement was thriving in spite of hardships. But these
-hardships were almost without number. There was neither
-salt, coffee, nor sugar. Meat was to be had only by hunting,
-and oftentimes deer and buffalo were hard to find and, on
-account of the Indians, dangerous to follow. True, there were
-great numbers of wild mustangs.</p>
-<p>There were no horses in America before the discovery of
-Columbus. The Texas mustangs were the product of the
-cavalry horses brought from Europe to Mexico by Cortez in
-1519. They had multiplied, almost unmolested, during the
-three hundred years they had roamed prairie and forest.
-These mustangs were always fat, and when nothing better was
-to be had they made tolerable food.</p>
-<p>There were, of course, no stores where anything could be
-bought; the men went dressed in buckskin; the women in
-coarse cloth woven by themselves. There was no mail, news
-from the outer world&mdash;from the dear ones left behind in the
-far-away &ldquo;states&rdquo;&mdash;came only when a chance traveler arrived
-with an old newspaper or possibly a letter in his saddle bags.
-There was neither school nor church.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_55">55</div>
-<p>But in those rude cabins dwelt honesty, high courage, and
-unbounded hospitality. In business every man&rsquo;s &ldquo;word was
-as good as his bond.&rdquo; There were no locks on the doors,
-robbery being unknown. Everything, even to life itself, was
-ever at the service of friend and neighbor. The nameless
-traveler, welcomed without question, shared, as long as he
-chose to stay, the fireside and table of his host.</p>
-<p>Of such stuff were the first Texans.</p>
-<p>Austin returned from Mexico in July, 1823. He was
-welcomed with affectionate joy by his colonists. He was
-accompanied by his father&rsquo;s friend, the Baron de Bastrop,
-commissioned by the government to assist him in laying off
-the town, surveying lands, and issuing titles.</p>
-<p>The town was named by Se&ntilde;or de la Garza, who had succeeded
-Martinez as governor of Texas. He called it San
-Felipe (Fa-lee&prime;p&#257;) de Austin, in honor at the same time of his
-own patron saint and of its founder.</p>
-<p>Other towns soon sprung up over the province; for grants
-for other settlements had been sought and obtained from the
-government. Austin got permission in 1825 to bring out five
-hundred additional families. Immigrants flocked in, eager to
-share in this cheap and fruitful paradise. The names <i>Columbia</i>,
-<i>Brazoria</i>, <i>Gonzales</i>, <i>Victoria</i>, <i>San Augustine</i>, and other towns
-and settlements, began to be familiar to the tongue.</p>
-<p>Some Irish colonists founded on the Nueces River, near its
-mouth, a town which they named St. Patrick in remembrance of
-the patron saint of Ireland. To the Spanish-speaking people
-of Texas it soon became known as San Patricio, and so it is
-still called.</p>
-<p>A large tract of land was granted to Hayden Edwards, a Kentuckian,
-in the neighborhood of Nacogdoches, the old gateway
-of Texas history. But things did not go as smoothly there as in
-Austin&rsquo;s colony. It was too near the Neutral Ground, which continued
-to harbor outlaws and adventurers of all kinds.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_56">56</div>
-<p>The land, moreover, was claimed by the Mexicans and others
-who were already settled upon it. The quarrels between these
-and the newcomers became in course of time so bitter that the
-Mexican government, during an absence of Hayden Edwards
-in the United States, took back his grant and ordered him and
-his two brothers to leave the country.</p>
-<p>Edwards had put all of his private fortune into his venture,
-and this act of tyranny goaded him and his colonists to fury.
-Finding vain all their appeals to the governor, they took up
-arms and declared they would make of Texas an independent
-republic. They called themselves Fredonians; and banding
-together, they entrenched themselves in the old stone fort at
-Nacogdoches. Thence they sent an appeal to Austin&rsquo;s colonists
-for help. Both Austin&rsquo;s colonists and the Cherokee
-Indians, upon whom they counted for support, refused to join
-them. News came that a Mexican army was marching against
-them; their own fighting force was less than two hundred men.
-They saw the weakness of their position; and the Fredonian
-war, as it was called, ended after a skirmish or two, in the
-surrender of the Fredonians. Edwards and his colonists left
-Texas, and returned angry and disgusted to Louisiana (1826).</p>
-<p>This was a small foretaste of Mexican justice. But troubles
-far graver than the Fredonian war were at that moment brewing
-for Texas.</p>
-<h3 id="c18">3. ORDERS AND DISORDER.</h3>
-<p>Until 1824 Texas had been a province of Mexico, with her
-capital at San Antonio. In that year, however, the general
-government decreed the union of Texas with Coahuila; and
-the capital of the new state was fixed at Saltillo (Sal-tee&prime;yo), a
-distant town in Mexico. A department chief was the only
-official stationed at San Antonio. The colonists were much
-displeased at this change. Instead of a ride, when necessary,
-to San Antonio, where there were friends and familiar faces,
-torch-lit plazas, music, and <i>fiestas</i> to welcome the traveler, it
-meant a long and perilous journey through a strange land,
-among people who regarded all Americans with an eye of sullen
-distrust.</p>
-<div class="img" id="map1">
-<img src="images/m_lr.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="731" />
-<p class="caption">MAP OF TEXAS
-<br /><span class="small">With Parts of the Adjoining States
-<br />COMPILED <span class="small">BY</span> STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
-<br />PUBLISHED by <b>H. S. TANNER</b> PHILADELPHIA
-<br />1835</span></p><p class="center"><a class="ab1" href="images/m_hr.jpg">High-resolution Version</a></p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_57">57</div>
-<p>The Mexicans can hardly be blamed for their lack of confidence.
-They had just shaken off the yoke of Spain; and they
-saw the Americans&mdash;people of a different race, speaking a
-different tongue, strong, energetic, and masterful&mdash;drawing
-daily nearer to the Rio Grande River. They saw this alien
-people settling upon rich and productive lands, but paying no
-taxes; giving nominal allegiance to the Mexican government,
-but taking no interest in her political affairs. Added to this
-uneasiness was a growing hatred of the United States, which
-wished to annex Texas and had already offered to buy the
-province. Mexico resolved to crush this rising power.</p>
-<p>The Americans, on their side, were restless. They did not
-desire absolute independence; but they wished for a separate
-state within the Mexican Republic. They therefore, for
-political as well as for personal reasons, resented the change
-of capital.</p>
-<p>Still further changes were at hand. Bustamente (Boos-ta-men&prime;t&#257;),
-a cruel and overbearing man, who became President of
-Mexico in 1830, on taking his seat issued a set of laws forbidding
-Americans either to locate in Texas or to trade with
-her people. In place of colonists from the United States,
-criminals and disabled soldiers from Mexico were to settle the
-country. The introduction of slaves was prohibited; taxes
-were put upon almost everything in daily use; customhouses
-were established for the collection of these duties; armed
-troops were quartered in different places at the expense of the
-colonists; and military rules were enforced.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_58">58</div>
-<p>It is needless to say that these laws were not obeyed. Texas
-was like a nest of angry hornets whose center of action was
-at San Felipe; a buzz of indignation filled the air; meetings
-were everywhere held to protest against the injustice and tyranny
-of Mexico.</p>
-<p>The excitement was increased by the arrest and imprisonment
-of some Texans (1832) by Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn,
-an American in command of the Mexican Fort Anahuac (An-ah&prime;wak)
-on Galveston Bay. Among these were William B.
-Travis (the future hero of the Alamo) and Patrick Jack. William
-Jack, a brother of the latter, called a meeting at San
-Felipe, where it was determined to resort to arms, if necessary,
-for the release of the prisoners, whose offense was trifling.</p>
-<p>The state of feeling was clearly shown by the number of
-men who declared themselves ready to join in attacking Bradburn
-in his fort. The affair, however, was settled without
-bloodshed. Colonel Piedras, the Mexican commandant at
-Nacogdoches, hastened to Fort Anahuac. There, after an
-investigation of the case, he released the prisoners and placed
-Bradburn himself under arrest.</p>
-<p>In the meantime a fight had taken place between the Mexican
-garrison at Fort Velasco, at the mouth of the Brazos River, and
-one hundred and twelve Texans, who had been aroused by the
-tyranny of Bradburn. Not one of these Texans had ever
-before been in a battle; their coolness and bravery under fire
-gave them the measure of their own power. They were victorious.
-Colonel Dominic Ugartechea (U-gar-t&#257;-ch&#257;&prime;a), the
-commandant of the fort, whose personal courage won the
-admiration of the Texans, surrendered, with a loss of thirty-five
-killed and thirteen wounded. Of the Texans seven were
-killed and twenty-seven wounded.</p>
-<p>These encounters increased the public excitement to frenzy.
-But the excitement was suddenly allayed by news from Mexico.
-The patriot Santa Anna had &ldquo;pronounced&rdquo; (declared) against
-Bustamente.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_59">59</div>
-<p>Santa Anna at this time was looked upon in his own country
-as a patriot; he had been a leader during the war with the
-Spanish royalists, and active in deposing Iturbide (Ee-toor-bee&prime;d&#257;)
-(1822) when that officer had crowned himself Emperor
-of Mexico. He had always professed great love for the Texas
-colonists; and now his bold stand against Bustamente gave
-assurance that the rights of the colonists would thenceforth be
-respected. The Texans were wild with enthusiasm, and they
-gladly pledged their support to
-Santa Anna, the &ldquo;generous
-and high-minded patriot.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Santa Anna was elected
-President of Mexico. His
-disposition towards Texas continued
-so friendly that it seemed
-a good time to make an appeal
-to his government for a separation
-of the state of Texas from
-Coahuila.</p>
-<p>A convention met at San
-Felipe in April, 1833. Delegates
-were present from all the
-districts. The streets of the
-little town on the Brazos echoed under the tread of men who
-were afterwards to write their names in the Republic&rsquo;s book of
-gold. Sam Houston, the future hero of San Jacinto, was
-present as a delegate; David G. Burnet, who was to become
-the first President of the Republic of Texas; Erasmo Seguin;
-William H. Wharton; Branch T. Archer; and Stephen F.
-Austin, the Father of Texas.</p>
-<p>A constitution was framed, and a memorial was written to the
-general government, asking for separation from Coahuila and
-the repeal of Bustamente&rsquo;s odious decrees.</p>
-<p>Austin carried these papers to the Mexican congress. His
-breast swelled with hope as he drew near the city of Mexico
-and the &ldquo;high-minded patriot&rdquo; Santa Anna.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic16">
-<img src="images/p16.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="584" />
-<p class="caption">Santa Anna.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_60">60</div>
-<p>But the Vice-President, Gomez Farias, had no time to listen
-to so trifling a thing as a memorial from Texas colonists. As
-for President Santa Anna, he was shut up in his country-house
-(Manga de Clavo) laying plans for overthrowing the Mexican
-constitution and making himself dictator.</p>
-<p>Sick at heart over his vain attempts to get a hearing from
-the government, Austin started home. But a letter which he
-had written to Texas, advising the people to organize a separate
-state without further appeal to Mexico, had been sent back to
-Farias as a treasonable document. Austin was arrested at
-Saltillo, taken back to the city of Mexico, and put in prison,
-where he remained for nearly two years. A part of that time
-he was in solitary confinement.</p>
-<p>During his imprisonment he kept a diary. He says of himself
-on one of these loose pencil-written leaves: &ldquo;In my first
-exploring trip in Texas, in 1821, I had a very good old man
-with me, who had been raised on the frontier, and was a very
-good hunter. We had not been many days in the wilderness
-before he told me: &lsquo;You are too impatient to make a hunter.&rsquo;
-Scarce a day passed that he did not say to me: &lsquo;You are too
-impatient&mdash;you wish to go too fast.&rsquo; Before my trip was
-ended I saw the benefit of his maxim, and I determined to
-adopt it as a rule in settling the colony which I was then about
-to commence in Texas.... I believe the greatest error I ever
-committed was in departing from that rule as I did in the city
-of Mexico in October, 1833. I lost patience at the delays in
-getting the business of Texas dispatched, and in a moment of
-impatience wrote an imprudent, and perhaps an intemperate,
-letter to the council at San Antonio.&rdquo; &ldquo;How happy,&rdquo; he
-says in another place, &ldquo;how happy I could have been on a
-farm, ... free from all the cares and difficulties that now
-surround me. But I thought it was my duty to obey the call
-of the people and go to Mexico as their agent.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_61">61</div>
-<p>In October, 1834, he was admitted to a conference with
-Santa Anna, who promised to &ldquo;meditate maturely&rdquo; the repeal
-of some of Bustamente&rsquo;s laws. He expressed so much love
-for Texas that Austin wrote to his people in a burst of thankfulness,
-&ldquo;All is going well.&rdquo; But he was himself still detained,
-and it was not until September, 1835, that he was allowed to
-return to Texas.</p>
-<p>The Texans, despite Austin&rsquo;s letter of assurance, knew that
-all was not going well. They were, in fact, so convinced that
-all was going ill that they met in the different towns and
-organized committees of safety for protection against the
-Indians (who had become very troublesome), and to take
-charge of all public matters. At a meeting held in San Felipe
-October 1, 1834, it was openly proposed to make Texas a
-separate state without the consent of Mexico. But this step
-was for a time postponed.</p>
-<p>The next year the situation was still more gloomy. Santa
-Anna&rsquo;s congress passed a decree disarming all Texans. General
-Martin Perfecto de Cos was ordered from Mexico to
-Texas with a body of five hundred soldiers to enforce the
-decree, and to punish those who had refused to obey, not the
-just laws of the Mexican Republic, but the tyrannical edicts of
-Bustamente and Santa Anna.</p>
-<p>At the same time a courier was arrested with dispatches
-from Ugartechea at San Antonio to the commandant at
-Anahuac. These dispatches were opened and read at San
-Felipe. They stated that a strong force would soon reach
-Anahuac from Mexico.</p>
-<p>These things caused great uneasiness and indignation.
-Another meeting was held in San Felipe. Among those who
-addressed the people there assembled was R. M. Williamson
-(called three-legged Willie, because of his carrying a crutch).
-He counseled resistance. &ldquo;Our country, our property, our
-liberty, and our lives,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;are all involved in the
-present contest between the states and the military.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_62">62</div>
-<p>In the midst of the excitement Austin reached home. He
-was welcomed almost as one given up by the tomb.</p>
-<p>It was determined to hold a general consultation to consider
-the dangers threatening Texas.</p>
-<p>The word &ldquo;consultation&rdquo; was used instead of &ldquo;convention&rdquo; to
-avoid exciting the jealousy of the government. A convention
-in Mexico was often followed by a revolution.</p>
-<p>A call was issued by Austin for the election of delegates, and
-the time and place of meeting were fixed for October 16 at
-San Felipe.</p>
-<h3 id="c19">4. A TRUMPET CALL.</h3>
-<p>A messenger came riding into San Felipe one day; his
-clothes were dusty, his horse was flecked with foam, his voice
-was hoarse with excitement. He had ridden hard and fast
-from Gonzales town, and the news he brought thrilled to the
-heart&rsquo;s core the men who had gathered about him in the plaza.</p>
-<p>Colonel Ugartechea, acting under the decree disarming
-citizens, had sent an order to Gonzales for a cannon&mdash;a four-pounder
-given by the Mexican government to the townspeople
-in 1831 for service against the Indians. The order had been
-peremptorily refused. There were only eighteen men at Gonzales,
-but they determined to hold the cannon at any cost;
-and believing that Ugartechea would send an armed force to
-take it, they had dispatched messengers to the Colorado, the
-Guadalupe, and the Brazos for help.</p>
-<p>The messenger to San Felipe had not finished his story
-before the men were in their saddles, or girded for the long
-tramp. They were already armed for the purpose of intercepting
-General Cos on his march to San Antonio.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_63">63</div>
-<p>When they reached Gonzales they found that the Mexican
-captain Castenado, had appeared there (September 29) with
-one hundred cavalrymen and made his demand for the cannon.
-He had been put off with the pretext that the alcalde was
-absent, thus giving the volunteers time to arrive.</p>
-<p>The Mexicans had remained on the west bank of the
-Guadalupe River, the ferryboats having been removed by the
-Texans to the east or town side on the approach of the enemy.</p>
-<p>With the recruits from the Brazos, the Colorado, and the
-Guadalupe, the Texans on the 30th numbered one hundred and
-sixty fighting men.
-They then informed
-Castenado
-that he could not
-have the cannon.
-Moreover, Major
-Williamson (three-legged
-Willie) and
-some others drew
-the disputed piece
-of artillery to the
-river-bank, and
-placed above it a
-placard bearing in
-large letters the
-challenge, &ldquo;Come
-and Take It.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic17">
-<img src="images/p17.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="564" />
-<p class="caption">R. M. Williamson.</p>
-</div>
-<p>In response to
-this taunt Castenado
-made an effort to cross his troops over the river; but the
-fords were too well guarded, and he finally moved away and
-encamped a short distance from the river.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_64">64</div>
-<p>On the evening of the 1st of October the Texans, under the
-command of Colonels John Moore and J. W. Wallace, crossed
-the Guadalupe, carrying their four-pounder with them. The
-same night at eleven o&rsquo;clock they were formed into a hollow
-Square. Colonels Moore and Wallace, with the Rev. W. P.
-Smith, rode into the square, where the minister, being seated
-on his favorite mule, made them a spirited address. &ldquo;Fellow
-soldiers,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;the cause for which we are contending is
-just, honorable, and glorious&mdash;our liberty.... Let us march
-silently, obey the commands of our superior officers, and, united
-as one man, present a bold front to the enemy. <i>Victory will
-be ours.</i>&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_17" href="#fn_17">[17]</a></p>
-<p>On the morning of the 2d they advanced under cover of a
-heavy fog to a high mound in the prairie where the enemy was
-posted. After the exchange of a few picket shots a parley
-took place between Colonel Moore and Captain Castenado.
-But they could come to no agreement, so they returned to their
-respective commands. The Texans at once opened fire with
-their saucy little cannon, and in a short time the enemy was put
-to rout. The Mexicans retreated toward San Antonio, having
-lost several men. The Texans, without the loss of a man,
-returned in triumph to Gonzales with their precious cannon.</p>
-<p>This was the first trumpet call to the war of independence.
-The alarm leaped from town to town. Texas, like a trooper
-who stands with his foot in the stirrup awaiting but the blast
-of a bugle, sprang at once into action. There was everywhere
-an eager note of preparation.</p>
-<p>A few days after the victory at Gonzales, Captain George
-Collingsworth, with about fifty planters from Caney and Matagorda,
-marched from the latter place to capture Goliad. Just
-about midnight on the 9th of October, as they approached the
-town, they were hailed by a man who came out of a mesquit
-thicket on the roadside. It was Benjamin Milam. He had
-escaped from prison in Monterey, where he had been placed
-for opposing the tyranny of Santa Anna, and, worn out by his
-long journey, he had thrown himself on the ground to rest.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_65">65</div>
-<p>Milam was a man of high courage and stern patriotism. He
-had taken part&mdash;always on the republican side&mdash;in several
-of the bloody revolutions in Mexico, and he had been in almost
-every prison from the Rio Grande to the city of Mexico.<a class="fn" id="fr_18" href="#fn_18">[18]</a></p>
-<p>He offered his services to the little band of patriots. They
-welcomed him with joy into their ranks.</p>
-<p>They marched on, and during the night fell upon the unsuspecting
-garrison at Goliad. The sentinel who fired upon them
-was killed. The commandant Colonel Sandoval was taken
-prisoner in his own room, the door of which was broken open
-with axes. Several officers and twenty-five private soldiers
-surrendered, the others having escaped in the <i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;e</i>. The
-spoils which fell into the hands of the Texans by this exploit
-were very valuable. They consisted of three hundred stands
-of arms, several cannon, and about ten thousand dollars worth
-of military stores.</p>
-<h3 id="c20">5. OUT OF A MIST.</h3>
-<p>San Felipe was not behindhand in enthusiasm over the
-tidings from Gonzales. Delegates to the General Consultation
-were coming in, and the committee, on hearing the news,
-sent out a circular calling upon each man in Texas to decide
-for himself whether or not he would submit to the tyranny of
-Mexico, and if he would not submit, &ldquo;let him answer by mouth
-of his rifle.&rdquo; This charge was not needed. Men poured in
-from every quarter carrying their rifles, shot-pouches, and
-powder-horns; the look of grim determination on their faces
-meant &ldquo;liberty, or war to the death.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_66">66</div>
-<p>Austin, by permission of the convention, left San Felipe for
-Gonzales, arriving there on the 10th of October. He was
-elected to the command of the volunteers there assembled,
-about three hundred and fifty strong, and marched almost
-immediately for San Antonio, hoping to capture and hold that
-important post. He encamped on the 20th at the Mission of
-La Espada on the San Antonio River. Recruits came in
-rapidly. Sam Houston, who had given his last five-dollar bill
-to a messenger to spread the call for volunteers, arrived with a
-detachment of men from East Texas. Bowie and Travis,
-Crockett and Fannin, Milam, Burleson, &ldquo;Deaf&rdquo; Smith, Rusk,
-Wharton,&mdash;these gathered in groups about the camp, little
-dreaming that each man of them carried within his own breast
-something of which the history of Texas was to be made.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic18">
-<img src="images/p18.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="422" />
-<p class="caption">Mission of La Espada.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_67">67</div>
-<p>General Cos had arrived and had taken command at San
-Antonio. He scornfully rejected Austin&rsquo;s summons to surrender,
-even threatening to fire upon his flag of truce. Austin,
-whose army now numbered about six hundred men, did not
-feel himself strong enough to make an attack, but decided to
-move nearer the enemy. Accordingly on the 27th he sent
-Captains Bowie and Fannin with ninety-two men to reconnoiter
-and to choose a suitable position. They marched up the riverbank
-and encamped at nightfall in a bend of the river, near the
-old Mission of Concepcion.</p>
-<p>The next morning at sunrise, through the mist that hung like
-a grey curtain around the camp, they heard something like the
-wary tread of horses&rsquo; hoofs. At the same time a sentinel<a class="fn" id="fr_19" href="#fn_19">[19]</a>
-posted in the high tower of the mission gave warning, and a
-shot echoed from the outer picket-line.</p>
-<p>The Texans sprang to arms; a slight lifting of the fog
-showed them a solid phalanx of Mexican cavalry hemming in
-the camp on three sides. There was a breathless interval of
-preparation, but no confusion; and by the time the enemy&rsquo;s
-infantry came in sight trailing their arms, the Texans were ready
-for the fight. It was a short and sharp one.</p>
-<p>The encampment had been well chosen; the triangular
-bottom land in which it lay by the riverside was skirted by
-heavy timber, and the bluff surrounding it made a sort of
-natural parapet.</p>
-<p>In a few moments the Mexicans shoved forth their cannon,&mdash;a
-brass six-pounder,&mdash;and their bugle sounded a cavalry charge.
-But one set of gunners after another fell dead or wounded
-around the cannon, and the cavalry was beaten back. Finally,
-by a sudden impulse, the whole body of Texans rushed forward
-with the cry, &ldquo;The cannon and victory!&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_68">68</div>
-<p>The battle had lasted thirty minutes. The Texan loss was
-one man (Richard Andrews) killed; none wounded. The
-Mexicans, whose force numbered four hundred, had sixty
-killed and about as many wounded. These, in the pell-mell
-retreat of the attacking party, were left upon the field. About
-noon a white flag was seen coming across the prairie. It was
-carried by a priest sent by General Cos, who asked and obtained
-permission to bury the dead.</p>
-<p>The main army, which had marched from La Espada on
-hearing the cannon, arrived after the battle was over.</p>
-<p>Some days later Austin camped with his troops near San
-Antonio, and prepared to hold his position until strong enough
-to storm the place.</p>
-<p>But inaction, after the brilliant successes at Gonzales, Goliad,
-and Concepcion, was galling to the volunteers. They clamored
-to be allowed to throw themselves against Cos&rsquo; fortifications,
-and when they were held back many of them grew dissatisfied
-and left the army. Those who remained were cheered by the
-arrival of the Grays&mdash;two fine companies of volunteers from
-New Orleans&mdash;and a company from Mississippi.</p>
-<p>Another incident which revived their drooping spirits was a
-lively skirmish on the morning of November 26. The approach
-of a train of mules from Mexico, loaded with silver for General
-Cos, had been reported by spies to General Edward Burleson,
-then in command of the army. Colonel Bowie with a small
-scouting party was on the watch for its appearance.</p>
-<p>A scout riding up reported about two hundred Mexican
-cavalry advancing from the west, guarding a number of loaded
-pack-mules. Bowie sent the scout on to Burleson for assistance,
-and dashed forward with his men to cut off the train.
-On his approach the Mexican cavalry posted themselves in a
-ravine about one mile from San Antonio. Bowie charged them,
-but at that moment he was attacked in the rear by a body of
-Mexican soldiers, who, seeing the situation, had come out from
-San Antonio, bringing two cannon with them. Bowie wheeled
-and rode upon this new force, and Burleson coming up with
-reinforcements, the Mexicans were put to flight, abandoning
-pack-mules and packs, and leaving on the field fifty men killed
-and several wounded.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_69">69</div>
-<p>When the Texans, who had come off without a scratch, threw
-themselves upon the bulky packs ready to count out Mexican
-dollars, they found them filled, instead, with fresh grass cut for
-the feed of General Cos&rsquo; horses. This skirmish was known
-as the Grass Fight.</p>
-<h3 id="c21">6. THE PRIEST&rsquo;S HOUSE.</h3>
-<p>While these things were happening at San Antonio, the
-General Consultation was in session at San Felipe. General
-Austin, appointed special commissioner to the United States,
-had resigned his position as commander-in-chief of the army
-two days before the Grass Fight.</p>
-<p>Edward Burleson, who succeeded to the command, had fought
-under General Jackson in the Creek war, and was known
-throughout Texas as a brave and intrepid Indian fighter. To
-him the soldiers now looked confidently for immediate action;
-and all eyes were turned eagerly toward the citadel over which
-floated the Mexican flag.</p>
-<p>The old town beloved of St. Denis still hugged the river-bank,
-buried in evergreen foliage and gay with ever-blooming flowers.
-The stone and adobe houses, with flat roofs, thick walls, and
-barred windows, lined the narrow streets which opened out
-into the Military Plaza and the old <i>Plaza de las Islas</i> (now
-Constitution). These plazas had been fortified, and the streets
-leading into them were barricaded and guarded by cannon.
-On the east side of the river the fortress of the Church of the
-Alamo and its walled enclosure had also been fortified and
-mounted with artillery.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_70">70</div>
-<p>General Burleson, aware of these fortifications, looked at the
-citadel and at his little army, and, courageous though he was,
-he stopped to count the cost. While he was hesitating and his
-men were openly fretting, three Americans escaped from San
-Antonio, where they had been imprisoned, and came into the
-camp (December 3). Their report of the enemy&rsquo;s condition
-decided Burleson to attack the place at once. The order was
-given and a plan of assault arranged. The soldiers were jubilant;
-an activity long unknown pervaded the camp. But into
-the midst of this cheerful excitement dropped like a bombshell
-a second order countermanding the first. A scout had disappeared,
-and it was believed
-that he had deserted in order
-to warn Cos of the intended
-attack.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic19">
-<img src="images/p19.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="584" />
-<p class="caption">Edward Burleson.</p>
-</div>
-<p>This reason did not satisfy
-the soldiers. They were defiant
-and angry almost to
-mutiny. Their indignation
-knew no bounds when they
-were told that the camp was
-about to be broken and the
-siege raised. There was a
-loud clamor of rage and disappointment.
-During this
-scene the missing scout returned
-in company with a deserter from San Antonio, who
-confirmed the report of the weakness of the defenses and the
-discontent of the Mexican garrison. Benjamin Milam, upon
-this, had a word or two with General Burleson in his tent; then
-he stepped out, bared his head, and, waving his hat with a loud
-hurrah, demanded in a ringing voice: &ldquo;Who will go with old
-Ben Milam into San Antonio?&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Three hundred volunteers with an answering shout sprang
-to the front.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_71">71</div>
-<p>The same night (December 4) by twos and threes, singly,
-and in squads, the storming party stole silently into an old mill
-on the road between the camp and the town. Milam, the chief
-in command, told them off into two divisions: one to be led by
-himself and the other by Colonel Frank W. Johnson. Silent
-still and like phantoms, the double line took up its march over
-the intervening ground and slipped into San Antonio.</p>
-<p>A little earlier, Colonel Neill had started from camp with a
-detachment to make a pretended attack on the fortress of the
-Alamo. He opened fire before daylight and continued to hold
-the enemy&rsquo;s attention until the assaulting party could enter the
-town. When the sound of their guns apprised him that this
-was done, he returned to the camp, where General Burleson
-kept his men under arms, ready to march at any moment to
-Milam&rsquo;s assistance.</p>
-<p>Milam and Johnson, guided by Deaf Smith, drew their men
-swiftly through the dark and silent streets. Suddenly a sentinel
-gave the alarm. A shot from Deaf Smith&rsquo;s rifle silenced him
-forever; and the Texans dashed to cover. The Mexicans
-poured out of their quarters and attacked them furiously in the
-houses of Se&ntilde;ors de la Garza and Veramendi, where they had
-taken shelter. They returned the fire with their accustomed
-coolness, picking off their assailants with unerring aim through
-loop-holes cut in the thick walls, or from the flat parapeted roofs.</p>
-<p>For the next five days the Texans were engaged in fighting
-and burrowing their way steadily toward the Military Plaza.
-With cannon booming and scattering grape and canister among
-them, and the rattle of small arms in their ears, they dug
-trenches along the streets from corner to corner; they battered
-down doors; with crowbars and axes they pried openings in
-walls&mdash;fighting the while, now at long range, now in deadly
-hand-to-hand encounters, and always with defiant smiles on
-their powder-blackened faces. The weather was wet and cold;
-the dismal streets were slippery with blood and choked with
-the d&eacute;bris of battle. Above, in the smoky air flapped from the
-church tower a black flag which meant &ldquo;No quarter.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_72">72</div>
-<p>On the third day Milam, leaping from a trench to the
-entrance of the Veramendi courtyard, was killed. A volley
-of shot spattered holes in the heavy, green, batten door beside
-him as he fell. The brave Chieftain was buried on the spot
-consecrated by his own blood. Colonel Johnson was elected
-leader in his place, and the fighting and burrowing went on.
-About noon the same day Henry Karnes stormed alone the
-only house between de la Garza&rsquo;s and the plaza, and forced
-an entrance with a crowbar under a heavy fire from the
-enemy.</p>
-<p>Henry Karnes, the hero of this exploit, was a trapper from
-the frontier of Arkansas. He had a genuine love of Indian
-warfare for its own sake, and in search of it came to Texas with
-the earliest pioneers. When the trumpet call for volunteers
-was sounded, he enlisted and soon came to be known, with his
-celebrated friend and companion Deaf Smith, as one of the best
-scouts and spies in the army. He had many adventures
-among the Indians. At one time in single combat with an
-Apache chief he was wounded and taken prisoner. His fiery
-red hair, which the Indians supposed to be painted, caused him
-to be regarded by them as a great medicine man. After his
-capture they concluded to deprive him of this charm, and, taking
-him to the nearest stream, they ducked his head under the
-water to wash the red from his hair. When they found, after
-nearly drowning him, that the red would not come off, they
-released him, satisfied that he was a favorite of the Great Spirit.
-He held the house he had taken, against the enraged Mexicans,
-until Captain York&rsquo;s company joined him and fortified the
-position.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;These dogs of Texans are hard to beat off,&rdquo; thought General
-Cos, listening to the crack of their rifles. His crafty face
-lightened for one moment, for Ugartechea came in from the
-Rio Grande, and entered the fortress, in spite of the cordon of
-guards, with five hundred recruits. But such recruits! Cos&rsquo;
-face darkened again. They were five hundred convicts chained
-together two and two, and driven like sheep by their guards.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_73">73</div>
-<p>On the night of the 8th of December the Texans, by a sudden
-rush and under a hail of hostile bullets, made themselves masters
-of the Priest&rsquo;s House. The Priest&rsquo;s House was a large,
-thick-walled building, commanding the Military Plaza on the
-north side. The captors at once barricaded the doors and cut
-loop-holes in the massive walls. A loud cheer carried the
-news of their success to their comrades outside. &ldquo;To-morrow!&rdquo;
-they shouted joyously.</p>
-<p>But the capture of the Priest&rsquo;s House completely demoralized
-the Mexicans. On the morning of the 9th the cannon
-at the Alamo ceased their thunder; the black flag was hauled
-down from San Fernando&rsquo;s tower and a white one went up
-in its place.</p>
-<p>General Burleson entered the city the same day and arranged
-with General Cos the terms of surrender.<a class="fn" id="fr_20" href="#fn_20">[20]</a> By these a large
-quantity of valuable stores, ammunition, artillery, small arms,
-and clothing remained in the hands of the victors. The Mexicans
-to the number of thirteen hundred, after taking an oath
-not to fight against Texas, were permitted to leave, the officers
-retaining their arms and private property.</p>
-<p>The Texan loss in this five days&rsquo; fight was two killed and
-twenty-six wounded; the enemy lost about one hundred and
-fifty.</p>
-<p>General Burleson placed a small garrison in the fortress of the
-Alamo. The camp was raised, and many of the Texan volunteers
-scattered to their own homes and firesides, rejoicing in
-the fact that not a Mexican soldier remained to tread the soil
-of Texas.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_74">74</div>
-<h3 id="c22">7. BY THE BRAZOS.</h3>
-<p>In November, just before the fight at Concepcion, Houston,
-Wharton, and other delegates left Austin&rsquo;s army to take their
-seats as members of the General Consultation at San Felipe.</p>
-<p>Branch T. Archer was elected President of the Consultation.</p>
-<p>Many of the members were in favor of an outright declaration
-of independence; but the more prudent advised against a
-step so decisive. A temporary government was therefore
-agreed upon, and a declaration of adherence to the Republican
-constitution of Mexico of 1824 was signed and sent out.
-This declaration also gave the reasons of the colonists for
-taking up arms against military despotism, and stated that
-&ldquo;they would not cease to carry on war as long as Mexican
-troops were within the limits of Texas.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>The convention then elected Henry Smith governor, and
-James W. Robinson lieutenant-governor of the provisional
-government. Branch T. Archer, William H. Wharton, and
-Stephen F. Austin were appointed commissioners to the
-United States. Houston was made commander-in-chief of
-the Texan army &ldquo;to be raised.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Sam Houston, placed in so responsible a place by the Consultation,
-was born in Virginia, but removed when a child to
-Tennessee with his widowed mother. He had a strong imperious
-and wayward disposition which showed itself from his
-early boyhood. At the age of fourteen he left home and joined
-a band of Cherokee Indians, was adopted into their tribe,
-learned their language, and wore their costume. In 1813 he
-served under Jackson in the Creek war; and at the battle of
-Topo-heka,<a class="fn" id="fr_21" href="#fn_21">[21]</a> he was struck in the thigh by an Indian arrow;
-the barbed head buried itself deep in the flesh. He ordered
-the man by his side to pull out the arrow. After two vain
-attempts the man, who was the lieutenant of his company,
-turned away. Houston drew his sword and commanded him
-again to draw out the arrow. &ldquo;If you fail,&rdquo; he declared, &ldquo;I
-will kill you on the spot.&rdquo; The arrow on the third tug came
-out, leaving a gaping wound. At this battle he received also
-two bullets in his shoulder.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_75">75</div>
-<div class="img" id="pic20">
-<img src="images/p20.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="584" />
-<p class="caption">Sam Houston.</p>
-</div>
-<p>He became in rapid turn major-general of the Tennessee
-militia, member of congress, and governor of his state.
-While he was governor, and
-in the full splendor of his
-brilliant career, he resigned
-his office in consequence of
-some private and domestic
-trouble, which has ever remained
-a secret, and took
-refuge among his old friends,
-the Cherokees, with whom he
-dwelt for years, living the life
-of an Indian warrior.</p>
-<p>In 1832 he went to Washington,
-D. C., in the interests
-of the Cherokees, and while
-there was appointed special
-Indian agent for the southwest. The same year he visited
-Texas. At San Felipe he met James Bowie and went with
-him to San Antonio to treat with the Comanches. In 1833
-he settled in San Augustine, whence he went as a delegate to
-the Consultation of 1835.</p>
-<p>Governor Smith and his council continued in session at San
-Felipe. They provided for the raising and equipment of an
-army of twelve hundred soldiers, and made arrangements for
-a small navy.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_76">76</div>
-<p>In December Major William Ward of Georgia arrived at San
-Felipe. He was in command of three hundred newly enlisted
-volunteers, known as the Georgia Battalion. He obtained from
-Governor Smith commissions for his officers and returned to
-Velasco where he had left his troops. Thence they marched
-to Goliad. About the same time Colonel Wyatt, with two
-companies of recruits, came from Alabama; and a little later
-the Red Rovers, a company from Courtland, Alabama, landed
-at Matagorda. Doctor Shackleford, the captain, sent a messenger
-to the governor to say that the Red Rovers placed
-themselves at the service of Texas to remain, not for a term of
-three, six, or twelve months, but as long as a man was left of
-the company, or there was an enemy to be found on Texas
-soil. This offer was accepted by the governor with gratitude,
-and the Red Rovers, as well as Colonel Wyatt&rsquo;s volunteers,
-were ordered to report to Colonel Fannin at Goliad.</p>
-<p>Bitter quarrels, however, soon arose between Governor Smith
-and his council and almost put a stop to all public business.
-Governor Smith was deposed, and Lieutenant-Governor Robinson
-was placed at the head of affairs. Finally, after providing
-for an election for delegates to a convention to be held at
-Washington on the Brazos March 1, the council adjourned.</p>
-<p>About the last of March the following year (1836), the
-Texans, to keep San Felipe from falling into the hands of
-Santa Anna, set fire to it themselves. The flames spread from
-cabin to cabin, roaring around the hearthstones so long noted
-for their hospitality. They swept past the one-room building
-where the conventions had been held and devoured the rude,
-unchinked log-hut in the black-jack grove beyond, where Henry
-Stephenson had preached, and where the first Sunday School
-had been organized; they consumed roof-tree and picket and
-garden-fence, so that in a few hours a heap of blackened ashes
-alone remained of the cradle of Texas.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_77">77</div>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">V.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">GOLIAD.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1835-1836.)</span></span></h2>
-<h3 id="c23">1. MESSENGERS OF DISTRESS.</h3>
-<p>On the 20th of December, 1835, there was a spirited meeting
-of citizens and soldiers at the old town of La Bahia (Goliad) on
-the San Antonio River.</p>
-<p>La Bahia&mdash;which means &ldquo;the bay&rdquo;&mdash;was already old when
-Austin laid off his town on the Brazos. Captain Alonzo de
-Leon, on his way to attack La Salle at Fort St. Louis in 1689,
-stopped there; and in 1718 Don Domingo Ramon with his
-troopers and friars built there the Mission of Espiritu Santo
-(The Holy Ghost) for the benefit of the fierce Carankawae
-Indians.</p>
-<p>The town had seen stirring times during the century and a
-half of its existence. There had been many Indian fights in
-and around the mission church, when the garrison was weak
-and the priests could not control their red-skinned converts;
-it was in the same church in 1812 that Magee&rsquo;s army was
-besieged, and from its doors his Republicans sallied forth
-to their victorious hand-to-hand conflict with the Spaniards.
-Here, too, in 1819, General Long surrendered to the Mexicans
-and was carried away to a treacherous death.</p>
-<p>And here in October, 1835, the Mexican commandant
-Sandoval had been surprised in his sleep by the Texans, his
-soldiers made prisoners, and the fort and its stores handed over
-to his captors.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_78">78</div>
-<p>The General Consultation at San Felipe in November, 1835,
-had thought it more prudent to declare their adherence to the
-Mexican republican constitution than to issue a declaration of
-independence.</p>
-<p>The citizens and soldiers of Goliad, on the 20th of December
-following, boldly set their names to a document resolving &ldquo;that
-the former state and department of Texas is and ought to be
-<i>a free, sovereign, and independent state</i>.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Among the signers were several boys fifteen and sixteen
-years of age.</p>
-<p>This paper was sent to the governor and his council at San
-Felipe by whom it was disapproved and suppressed. They
-thought it premature. But it was a straw that showed which
-way the revolutionary wind was blowing.</p>
-<p>Captain Philip Dimitt, who was at the head of this movement,
-was commandant at the fortress at Goliad with about
-eighty men under his command.</p>
-<p>Over at San Antonio at this time, there was much dissatisfaction
-among the volunteers remaining there. They were
-more restless than ever, with their own flag waving above the
-Alamo and no enemy in sight. They had left their homes and
-firesides for a purpose. It was fighting they were eager for,
-not idling around a camp-fire.</p>
-<p>They were, therefore, delighted when an expedition was set
-on foot for the capture of Matamoras on the Rio Grande
-River. General Houston, who had fixed his headquarters at
-Washington on the Brazos, wished to place Colonel James
-Bowie in command of this expedition; but in the confusion
-arising from the quarrels between Governor Smith and his
-council at San Felipe, an English physician, named Grant,
-assumed the leadership (January, 1836).</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_79">79</div>
-<p>Dr. Grant had taken part in the storming of San Antonio;
-he was brave and gallant, and a favorite with his fellow-soldiers.
-Two hundred volunteers gathered under his standard;
-he helped himself without leave to arms and ammunition from
-the fortress stores, took clothing and provisions from the
-townspeople, and started for Matamoras.</p>
-<p>He halted at Goliad. But only long enough to seize and
-press into service Captain Dimitt&rsquo;s drove of army horses.</p>
-<p>Here by order of the council, who had decided to sustain
-Grant, he was joined by Colonel Frank W. Johnson, and they
-marched away, leaving Captain
-Dimitt indignant and angry.</p>
-<p>The citizens and soldiers at San
-Antonio were likewise indignant
-and angry; and with far better
-reason. Colonel Neill, left by
-Johnson in command of the Alamo
-with only sixty men, sent to General
-Houston a report describing
-the helpless and suffering condition
-of that place after the high-handed
-raid of Grant and his
-volunteers.</p>
-<p>Houston was much disturbed by
-this report. He enclosed it to
-Governor Smith, requesting him to
-refer it to the council. The commander-in-chief denounced
-the action of Grant in strong terms and added:</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Within thirty hours I shall set out for the army, and repair
-there with all possible dispatch. I pray that a confidential dispatch
-may meet me at Goliad.... No language can express
-my anguish of soul. Oh! save my poor country! Send supplies
-to the sick and the hungry, for God&rsquo;s sake!&rdquo;</p>
-<p>He left Washington on the Brazos River on the 8th of
-January and reached Goliad on the 16th. On his arrival he
-sent for Colonel Bowie.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic21">
-<img src="images/p21.jpg" alt="" width="405" height="600" />
-<p class="caption">James Bowie.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_80">80</div>
-<p>James Bowie had come to Texas with Long&rsquo;s expedition.
-He was a famous Indian fighter. In 1831, near the near the old San
-Saba Mission, with ten companions, including his brother,
-Rezin Bowie, he had fought one hundred and sixty Comanches
-and Caddoes, armed with bows and arrows, and guns. The
-savages surprised and surrounded the little party, discharging
-their arrows and firing their guns in true Indian fashion from
-behind rocks, trees, and bushes. The fire was returned, and
-at every crack of a rifle a redskin bit the dust. The crafty
-warriors, finding they could not dislodge the hunters, set fire to
-the dry prairie grass; then they renewed the attack, rending
-the air with shrill yells. &ldquo;The sparks flew so thick,&rdquo; said
-Rezin Bowie afterward, &ldquo;that we could not open our powder-horns
-without danger of being blown up.&rdquo; But they held their
-ground. The Indians drew off at nightfall, and all night long
-the hunters heard them wailing their dead. The next morning
-the red warriors had disappeared. Bowie lost but one man in
-this fight; the Indians had eighty-two killed and wounded.</p>
-<p>Bowie was as noted for his coolness and prudence as for his
-unflinching courage. In person he was tall and fair, with soft
-blue eyes, and a somewhat careless address. He had married
-a Mexican lady&mdash;the daughter of Vice-Governor Veramendi of
-San Antonio&mdash;and was devoted to the interests of Texas.
-He was the inventor of the deadly knife which bears his name.</p>
-<p>The result of the interview between Houston and Bowie was
-that Bowie left Goliad the next morning for San Antonio, with
-a company of thirty men. He bore orders from Houston to
-Colonel Neill to leave San Antonio, blow up the fort, and bring
-off the artillery.</p>
-<p>Colonel Neill found it impossible to get teams to transport
-the artillery; he therefore did not carry out any of these instructions.
-Bowie remained at San Antonio.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_81">81</div>
-<p>Houston made an effort to concentrate at Goliad and Refugio
-the slender force which made up his army. But he was so hampered
-by the intrigues and wrangling of the government officials,
-that early in February he gave up the command and returned
-to Washington on the Brazos, leaving Colonel James W.
-Fannin in command of Goliad, with four hundred men.
-On the 25th of the same month a messenger came into
-Goliad. His face was worn with an anxiety which he did not
-try to conceal; his eyes were heavy with fatigue. He sought
-Fannin and had a brief but earnest talk with him. Then he
-turned, setting his face in the direction whence he had come,
-and went his way.</p>
-<p>This messenger was the fearless and courtly South Carolinian,
-James B. Bonham. His message was from Colonel Travis, pent
-up in the fortress of the Alamo and besieged by the army of
-Santa Anna. He appealed for help from Fannin and the army
-at Goliad.</p>
-<p>On the 28th Fannin started with reinforcements of men
-and artillery to the relief of Travis; but before he was fairly
-on the way his wagons broke down. While he was trying
-to get them repaired, and at the same time uncertain as to
-whether he should go on to San Antonio or not, Placido Benevidas
-(B&#257;-n&#257;-vee&prime;das), one of Grant&rsquo;s men, came up with weighty
-news. The Mexican General Urrea (Ur-r&#257;&prime;a) was marching
-upon Goliad with an army of one thousand men. Fannin
-returned in haste to the town and began to strengthen his
-fortifications.</p>
-<p>San Patricio, where Grant and Johnson were encamped, was
-surprised on the night of the 28th of February by Urrea&rsquo;s
-soldiers. The volunteers, with the exception of Johnson himself
-and four of his companions who managed to escape, were
-all captured or killed. Grant, who was out with a squad of
-men collecting horses, was killed some days later and his body
-frightfully mutilated.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_82">82</div>
-<h3 id="c24">2. IN CHURCH AND FORTRESS.</h3>
-<p>A line of blood and flame seemed indeed to be closing upon
-Texas. General Urrea, after destroying Grant and his volunteers,
-was advancing toward Goliad with one thousand men.
-Santa Anna, with an army of seven thousand, had invested
-San Antonio.</p>
-<p>The defeat of General Cos had filled the haughty dictator of
-Mexico with fury. It was past belief that a handful of the
-despised colonists, armed with hunting-rifles, should have put to
-rout his own well-equipped regulars. He determined to punish
-this insolence as it deserved. And not only to punish, but to
-set an iron heel upon the rebellious province.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic22">
-<img src="images/p22.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="384" />
-<p class="caption">THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO</p>
-</div>
-<p>All prisoners were to be shot; all who had taken part in the
-revolution were to be driven out of the country; the best lands
-were to be divided among the Mexican soldiers. The expenses
-of the rebellion were to be paid by the Texans. All foreigners
-giving aid to the rebels were to be treated as pirates.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_83">83</div>
-<p>By the 1st of February Santa Anna had sent General Urrea
-to Matamoras, a town near the mouth of the Rio Grande
-River, with orders to proceed from that place against Refugio
-and Goliad. He himself took command of the main army,
-with General Filisola (Fee-lee-so&prime;la) as second in command.
-General Cos and his men, who had taken oath not to bear
-arms again during the war, joined the army at the crossing
-of the Rio Grande River. On the 23d of February the first
-division of this united force appeared on the heights of the
-Alazan, west of San Antonio.</p>
-<p>The soldiers of the garrison were scattered about the town.
-No warning of a near approach of the enemy had come, and
-things looked tranquil enough that morning, with the soft winter
-sunshine flooding the yellow adobe walls and glinting the
-limpid river.</p>
-<p>A cry from the sentinel posted on the roof of San Fernando
-Church startled the stillness; its echoes leaped from street to
-street; the alarum bells burst into a clanging peal. The Mexicans
-were already pouring down the slopes west of the San
-Pedro River.</p>
-<p>The garrison hastily crossed the San Antonio River and
-entered the fortress of the Alamo. One of the officers, Lieutenant
-Dickinson, galloped in on horseback, with his baby on
-his arm and his wife behind him. Some beef-cattle grazing
-around the fort were driven in and the gates were closed.</p>
-<p>Colonel William B. Travis had succeeded Neill in the command
-of the fort, which was garrisoned by one hundred and
-forty-five men. Travis was but twenty-eight years of age; confident,
-bold, determined, and full of patriotic ardor. Colonel
-James Bowie was second in command.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_84">84</div>
-<p>Among other defenders of the Alamo were Colonel James B.
-Bonham of South Carolina and David Crockett of Tennessee&mdash;&ldquo;Davy&rdquo;
-Crockett, the backwoodsman, bear-hunter, wit, and
-politician. Crockett had reached San Antonio just before the
-siege, with a small company of Tennesseeans, and offered his
-services to Travis. He was a picturesque figure in his fringed
-and belted buck-skin blouse and coon-skin cap. His long rifle,
-Betsy, had &ldquo;spoken&rdquo; in the war of 1812, and echoed since on
-many an Indian trail. Its last word was to be spoken at the
-defense of the Alamo.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic23">
-<img src="images/p23.jpg" alt="" width="479" height="600" />
-<p class="caption">David Crockett.</p>
-</div>
-<p>The Mission of the Alamo, established in 1703 and several
-times removed, was finally built, in 1744, on the spot where it
-now stands. Like the other missions, it was both a church
-and a fortress. It is on the
-east side of the San Antonio
-River, facing the town to
-westward. The cross-shaped
-church, slit with narrow windows
-and partly roofless,
-stood on the southeast corner
-of a walled plaza several
-acres in extent. The other
-buildings&mdash;convent, hospital,
-barracks, and prison&mdash;were
-within the enclosure.
-There was also a small
-convent-yard adjoining the
-chapel. All of the buildings
-were of stone; the enclosing
-walls were built of adobe bricks. The sacristy of the church
-was used as a powder magazine. The place was defended by
-fourteen pieces of artillery.</p>
-<p>Santa Anna arrived in person on the 23d. He took possession
-of San Antonio town and sent a summons to the rebels
-in the Alamo for unconditional surrender. Travis received
-and dismissed the messengers with courtesy; then answered
-by the mouth of a cannon, &ldquo;No.&rdquo; At the defiant boom which
-stirred the peaceful air of the valley, a blood-red flag was
-placed upon the tower of San Fernando, proclaiming &ldquo;no
-quarter&rdquo;; and a thunder of guns opened the attack.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_85">85</div>
-<p>The besiegers at first made little headway. If they ventured
-across the river they were within reach of those unerring rifles
-they had such cause to dread. It was the third day before
-they succeeded in planting a battery between the fort and the
-bridge.</p>
-<p>The besieged within the fortress were calm and confident,
-though they were kept day and night at rifle and cannon. But
-they were fighting at fearful odds. Travis sent out an impassioned
-appeal to the council for aid. He also dispatched
-Colonel Bonham to Goliad, asking for Fannin&rsquo;s assistance.
-At the same time he proudly wrote: &ldquo;I shall never surrender
-or retreat.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>On the eighth day of the siege thirty-two volunteers from
-Gonzales succeeded in passing the Mexican lines and entered
-the fort. Two days later Colonel Bonham slipped in alone,
-but bringing news that Fannin would march at once with men
-and artillery. On the 1st of March Travis wrote to the council;
-it was his last letter. &ldquo;I shall continue to hold this
-place,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;until I get relief from my countrymen, or I
-shall perish in the attempt.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>But steady as was his spirit, he could not shut his eyes to
-the fact that the desperate game was well-nigh played out.
-On the 4th of March he called his men together and made
-them a short but ringing speech. There was, he told them, no
-longer any hope of reinforcements; death was staring them all
-in the face, and nothing remained but to sell their lives as
-dearly as possible. &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; he concluded, drawing a line on
-the ground with his sword, &ldquo;whoever is willing to die like a
-hero, let him cross this line.&rdquo; There was not a moment of
-hesitation. Gravely and silently, one by one, the men, with
-one exception,<a class="fn" id="fr_22" href="#fn_22">[22]</a> stepped across the line and ranged themselves
-beside their leader. Bowie, who was sick, had himself lifted
-over in his cot.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_86">86</div>
-<p>Sunday morning, March 6, between midnight and dawn, the
-final assault was made by the besiegers. The Mexican bugles
-sounded the notes of <i>Duquelo</i> (no quarter); the thunder of
-cannon followed. The devoted little band of Texans, weary
-and worn with constant watching and incessant fighting, sprang
-to arms as cheerfully and quickly as to a holiday parade.</p>
-<p>The Mexicans, two thousand five hundred strong, closed
-about the walls. They were provided with scaling ladders,
-axes, and crowbars. A cordon of cavalry was placed around
-the fort to prevent escape.</p>
-<p>The enemy advanced in the gray dawnlight, under a deadly
-fire from the fort. Twice they placed their ladders against the
-walls, and twice they recoiled before the terrible hail of shot
-and shell poured upon them from the fort. The third time,
-driven by their officers at the point of the sword, the soldiers
-climbed the walls and swarmed over into the enclosure. Then
-began a stubborn and bloody combat, which strewed the plaza
-with corpses. The Texans fought grimly, silently, furiously,
-with pistols, with knives, with the butts of their rifles, dropping
-one by one, but sending as they fell scores of Mexicans to a
-bloody death.</p>
-<p>It was in the old church, dedicated to peace and prayer, that
-the last conflict took place. Here Crockett was killed, with
-Betsy, his long rifle, whose voice had resounded clearly above
-the uproar, in his hand. Bowie was slaughtered in his cot,
-after killing several of his assailants. Major T. C. Evans was
-shot in the act of putting fire to the powder magazine, as he
-had promised to do in case things came to the worst.</p>
-<p>Mrs. Dickinson and her child, with two Mexican women,
-were in a small arched room to the right of the chapel door.
-They were saved by the kindness of the Mexican officer,
-Colonel Almonte.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_87">87</div>
-<p>The tall form of Travis had towered for an instant only
-above the battle-waves near a breach in the north wall; then
-he had gone down, his brave heart stilled forever. With his
-last breath he cried in a voice which rang above the deadly
-tumult: &ldquo;<i>No rendirse muchachos!</i>&rdquo; (Don&rsquo;t surrender, boys!)</p>
-<p>Bonham fell near him and almost at the same moment.</p>
-<p>Before nine o&rsquo;clock the butchery was complete. Two thousand
-five hundred Mexicans, cavalry, artillery, and infantry,
-fresh and unwearied, had conquered after eleven days&rsquo; siege a
-handful of poorly armed, outworn &ldquo;rebels.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Santa Anna directed the assault from a battery near the
-river. After the carnage was ended he came into the fort. He
-surveyed the bloody scene with a smile of satisfaction. His
-victory had cost him a thousand or more of dead and many
-wounded; but what did that matter? Not a Texan was left to
-tell the tale of the Alamo!</p>
-<p>The next day the dead bodies of the Texans were collected
-in heaps and burned. The smoke of that fire ascended to high
-heaven like a prayer for vengeance. The answer when it came
-was terrible.</p>
-<p>Mrs. Dickinson and her child, two Mexican women, and a
-negro servant belonging to Travis were the only survivors of
-this massacre. Mrs. Dickinson was placed on a horse with her
-child in her arms and sent by Santa Anna to the colonists with
-an insolent message announcing the fall of the Alamo.</p>
-<h3 id="c25">3. FORT DEFIANCE.</h3>
-<p>On the 1st of March the General Convention met at Washington
-on the Brazos. On the 2d, while Travis&rsquo; signal guns
-were still sending their sturdy boom across the prairies, a
-declaration of independence was read and adopted.</p>
-<p>Houston was made commander-in-chief of the armies of the
-Republic of Texas. David G. Burnet was elected President
-and Lorenzo D. Zavala Vice-President. Thomas J. Rusk was
-made Secretary of War.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_88">88</div>
-<p>Sunday, the 6th of March, the day the Alamo fell, Travis&rsquo;
-last appeal reached Washington&mdash;after the hand that wrote it
-was cold in death. His letter was read by the President to the
-members of the convention; it produced a powerful effect.
-In the first burst of feeling it was even proposed that the
-convention should adjourn, arm, and march to San Antonio.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic24">
-<img src="images/p24.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="402" />
-<p class="caption">Mission at Goliad.</p>
-</div>
-<p>Houston spoke earnestly against such a step, and as soon as
-quiet was restored, he himself with two or three companions
-left for Gonzales, where the new volunteers were ordered to
-gather.</p>
-<p>The air as he rode westward was thick with rumors. He
-arrived at Gonzales on the 11th. The same day came the first
-tidings of the fall of the Alamo. It filled the town with a wail
-of desolation. Of the thirty-two men who had marched from
-Gonzales to the relief of Travis, and to their own death,
-twenty had left wives and children behind them.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_89">89</div>
-<p>The arrival of Mrs. Dickinson with her child, and her story
-of the siege with all its ghastly details, added to the gloom. The
-moans of the widow and the fatherless mingled with the dreary
-bustle of preparation for flight. For it was rumored that the
-bloodthirsty Mexicans were approaching.</p>
-<p>General Houston had found three hundred recruits at
-Gonzales. But they were unprepared for an attack; they had
-neither provisions nor munitions of war; the place was without
-defenses of any kind. He therefore gave orders for retreat.
-At nightfall on the 13th the forlorn handful of women and
-children mounted horses, or clambered into wagons where a
-few household goods had been hastily piled; the troops formed
-around them, and at midnight the march began.</p>
-<p>As they moved away across the prairie a light reddened the
-sky behind them. It came from the flames of their own burning
-houses. A cry burst from the women, and the eyes already
-swollen with weeping overflowed again at the sight of their
-desolated hearthstones.</p>
-<p class="tb">When Colonel Fannin found himself unable to march to the
-relief of the Alamo, he re&euml;ntered Goliad. He now knew that
-Urrea was advancing rapidly, and he made haste to strengthen
-his position. He had at this time five hundred men under his
-command. They occupied the Mission of Espiritu Santo,
-called by Fannin Fort Defiance. Earthworks had been thrown
-up around the old church, ditches dug, and cannon mounted.
-But the defenses were weak, the men were poorly fed and
-scantily clad. They were often compelled to mount guard barefoot.
-Fannin was filled with gloomy forebodings, although the
-signal-guns of the Alamo, which were to be fired as long as
-the flag continued to wave over that fortress, were not yet
-silenced.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_90">90</div>
-<p>About the 12th of March Captain King was sent by Fannin
-with a small detachment of men to bring away the women and
-children from Refugio, a small town about twenty miles distant.
-King was attacked by the advance guard of Urrea&rsquo;s army, and
-had barely time to throw himself into the mission church at
-Refugio. From there he sent to Fannin for more troops.
-Colonel Ward, with one hundred and twenty-five men, immediately
-joined him in the church where he was entrenched.</p>
-<p>The next morning (14th) Captain King with his men left
-the fort on a scouting expedition. About three miles from the
-mission they were surprised by a large body of Mexicans, to
-whom they surrendered. A few hours later they were stripped
-of their clothing by their captors and shot. Their unburied
-bodies were left to decay on the open prairie.</p>
-<p>The same morning, about ten o&rsquo;clock, fifteen of Ward&rsquo;s men
-were sent from the mission to the river about a hundred yards
-away to get water. They had filled two barrels and placed
-them on a cart drawn by a couple of oxen, and were about
-returning to the fort when some bullets sang over their heads.
-A glance showed them the Mexican army on the other side of
-the river, not half a mile distant. They hurried on as fast as
-they could, and reached the mission in safety with a good part
-of the water. One barrel was emptied of about half of its
-contents through a hole made by a shot from the advancing
-enemy.</p>
-<p>Urrea attacked the barricaded church. The battle lasted
-nearly all day, but late in the afternoon he drew off his beaten
-and discouraged force; he had two hundred killed and wounded.
-Ward&rsquo;s loss was three wounded.</p>
-<p>But the ammunition of the besieged was nearly exhausted,
-and that night, after supplying the three wounded men with
-water, Colonel Ward and his men stole quietly out of the church
-and slipped unseen past the Mexican sentinels.</p>
-<p>On the 21st, after weary marches through swamp and thicket
-and constant skirmishes with the enemy, they surrendered on
-honorable terms to Urrea, and were taken back to Goliad.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_91">91</div>
-<h3 id="c26">4. PALM SUNDAY.</h3>
-<p>Fannin turned away from General Houston&rsquo;s messenger on
-the morning of the 13th (March) with an anxious and gloomy
-face. The messenger, Captain Desauque, had just come in
-from Gonzales, leaving woe and despair behind him. He
-brought the black tidings of the fall of the Alamo, and he bore
-orders from the commander-in-chief for Fannin to blow up the
-fort, bury or throw into the river such of the cannon as he could
-not bring away, and retreat to Victoria on the Guadalupe
-River.</p>
-<p>There was scant time in which to mourn the fall of the
-Alamo, but the dark looks on the men&rsquo;s faces, as they buried
-the guns and demolished the fortifications, told of what they
-were thinking.</p>
-<p>Fannin sent a courier to Ward and King, ordering them to
-return at once from Refugio; this courier, as well as others
-sent later, was captured by Mexican scouts.</p>
-<p>Fannin waited five days in great suspense, loth to abandon
-these officers and the women and children whom they had been
-sent to protect.</p>
-<p>At length came the news of Ward&rsquo;s retreat from Refugio.
-The remaining works of Fort Defiance were destroyed, the
-buildings were set on fire, artillery and ammunition were loaded
-on wagons; the drums called the men from their ruined quarters.
-Mrs. Cash, the only woman left in Goliad, was placed in
-their midst, and, with a last glance at Fort Defiance, Fannin
-began his fatal retreat.</p>
-<p>This was on the 19th of March.</p>
-<p>The wagons, enveloped in fog, creaked their way across the
-San Antonio River and over the prairie beyond. The troops
-marched steadily. An ominous silence reigned everywhere;
-not even a Mexican scout was to be seen.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_92">92</div>
-<p>Several miles from Goliad Fannin halted an hour in the open
-prairie to allow his jaded and hungry ox-teams to graze. At
-the moment the march was taken up, a line of Mexican cavalry
-came out of the wood skirting the Colita (Co-lee&prime;ta) Creek two
-miles away. Their arms glistened in the sunlight, for the fog
-had lifted. A compact mass of infantry followed. Urrea&rsquo;s
-entire army was upon them.</p>
-<p>Fannin immediately formed his men in a hollow square with
-the wagons and teams in the center. His position had the
-double disadvantage of being unprotected and in a miry hollow
-some feet below the surface of the prairie around. But his
-men received the Mexican advance with a volley from the
-artillery and a galling fire from their rifles.<a class="fn" id="fr_23" href="#fn_23">[23]</a></p>
-<p>The cannon, for want of water to sponge them, soon became
-useless. With small arms alone, charge after charge of the enemy
-was repulsed; the prairie was soon covered with dead and
-dying men and horses.</p>
-<p>Early in the action Fannin received a severe wound in his
-thigh, but in spite of this he continued to direct his men with
-great courage and coolness.</p>
-<p>Many a poor fellow loaded and fired his gun with his own
-life-blood wetting the sod about him. One lad, named Hal
-Ripley, fifteen years of age, after his thigh was broken by a
-ball, climbed, with Mrs. Cash&rsquo;s help, into her cart. There,
-with his back propped and a rest for his rifle, he fired away
-calmly until another bullet shattered his right arm. He had,
-in the meantime, killed four Mexicans. &ldquo;Now, Mother Cash,&rdquo;
-he said cheerfully, &ldquo;you may take me down.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_24" href="#fn_24">[24]</a></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_93">93</div>
-<p>At dark the Mexicans ceased firing and made their camp in
-the timber. Their bugles sounded shrilly the livelong night.
-That night was one of agony in the bloody little camp on the
-prairie. There were but seven Texans killed, but more than
-sixty were badly wounded. These groaned in the darkness,
-begging for water which could not be had, imploring aid which
-mortal hand was powerless to give. Those who were not
-wounded lay breathless and exhausted on the trampled ground,
-staring up at the sky and wondering what the morrow would
-bring forth.</p>
-<p>The morrow brought no help to them. To the already large
-force of Urrea it brought reinforcements to the number of three
-or four hundred men with artillery, ammunition, and supplies.</p>
-<p>Fannin watched the enemy ranging his men under the morning
-sky and dragging his cannon into place; then his haggard
-eyes sought his own brave little band. They were without
-food, drink, or ammunition; their teams were killed or disabled;
-their cannon were useless; the cries of their wounded
-rose mournfully on the heavy air. He called his officers
-together and submitted the question: &ldquo;Shall we surrender or
-not?&rdquo; The private soldiers were then asked to decide for
-themselves.</p>
-<p>During this consultation Mrs. Cash went to the Mexican
-camp to beg for water for the wounded men. She was accompanied
-by her son, a boy of fourteen years, who, like Hal
-Ripley, had fought the day before with the best and the bravest.
-They passed over the prairie strewn with the dead and
-dying, and entered the presence of the Mexican general. &ldquo;I
-have come, sir,&rdquo; she said, fearlessly, &ldquo;to ask you before the
-fighting begins again, to give me water for our wounded.&rdquo;
-Urrea looked at her without replying, and then his eyes fell
-upon the shot-pouch and powder-horn of the boy. &ldquo;Woman,&rdquo;
-he demanded sternly, &ldquo;are you not ashamed to bring a child
-like that into such scenes?&rdquo; The boy himself answered with
-his blue eyes kindling: &ldquo;Young as I am, sir,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I know
-my rights, as everybody in Texas does, and I mean to have
-them or die.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_94">94</div>
-<p>What the general might have said in answer to this insolent
-speech cannot be known, for at that moment a white flag was
-raised in the Texan camp.</p>
-<p>The majority of Fannin&rsquo;s men were in favor of surrender,
-though many thought in their hearts it would be better to die
-with arms in their hands like the defenders of the Alamo.
-Fannin himself was opposed to surrender. &ldquo;We beat them
-off yesterday,&rdquo; he declared, &ldquo;and we can do it again
-to-day.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Favorable terms were secured from General Urrea by Fannin,
-and the prisoners of war were marched back to Goliad and
-placed in the mission church&mdash;Fannin&rsquo;s Fort Defiance. The
-wounded were brought in the next day and housed in the barracks;
-and several days later Ward and his men were thrust
-into the overcrowded church.</p>
-<p>The prisoners were ill fed and badly treated. But when the
-first shock of their defeat had passed, they began to look forward
-eagerly to their release. They were told that they were
-to be placed at once on ships and sent to New Orleans, where
-they would be paroled and set at liberty.</p>
-<p>On the Saturday evening after their capture, the sounds of
-gay laughter echoed from the time-stained walls of the chapel.
-The men sang &ldquo;Home, Sweet Home,&rdquo; to the music of a flute
-played by one of their number. Fannin talked of his wife and
-children far into the night.</p>
-<p>The next day was Palm Sunday.</p>
-<p>In the old days of the mission, the Indian converts were
-accustomed on Palm Sunday to walk up the aisles of the
-church bearing green branches in their hands, in memory of
-Christ&rsquo;s entry into Jerusalem; and hymns of joy and praise
-mingled with the incense which arose from the altar.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_95">95</div>
-<p>At just the sunrise hour, when in those old times the converts
-came carrying their dewy sweet-smelling boughs from the
-forest, the prisoners were awakened by their guards and
-marched out of the church. They were formed into four divisions
-and hurried away under various pretences. Some were
-even told that they were starting home.</p>
-<p>Three-quarters of a mile from the fort they were halted,
-drawn up in sections, and ordered to kneel. Everything had
-been so orderly, so natural, so swift, that only at the last
-moment did the men realize what was about to happen. &ldquo;My
-God, boys,&rdquo; cried a voice that echoed like a shot on the clear
-air, &ldquo;they are going to kill us.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>The guns of the guards were already turned upon the prisoners.
-A deliberate discharge followed this despairing cry;
-another, and another, and a heap of writhing, bleeding bodies
-was all that remained of Fannin&rsquo;s gallant band. A few
-escaped, struggling to their feet and fleeing to the swamp pursued
-by shots and curses. The surgeons and one or two
-others were saved by the kindness of Colonel Garay, a Mexican
-officer.<a class="fn" id="fr_25" href="#fn_25">[25]</a> One of these, Dr. Shackelford, captain of the
-Red Rovers, heard the firing as he entered the tent of his
-preserver. He did not know that anything had gone wrong;
-but he trembled and turned pale, and well he might! For
-three of his young nephews and his own son were among the
-killed.</p>
-<p>Se&ntilde;ora Alvarez, a Mexican woman, concealed several prisoners
-until after the massacre, and afterward helped them to
-escape. It was her tears and entreaties which moved Colonel
-Garay to risk keeping the surgeons in his tent. While the
-butchery was going on, she stood in the plaza, with her black
-hair streaming over her shoulders; and with flashing eyes she
-denounced Santa Anna and called down the vengeance of
-heaven upon his head. When she learned that Dr. Shackelford&rsquo;s
-son had been shot, she burst into tears and cried out,
-&ldquo;Oh, if I had only known, I would have saved him.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_96">96</div>
-<p>Her husband was one of Urrea&rsquo;s officers, and her kindness
-to the Texan prisoners throughout the war ought never to be
-forgotten. &ldquo;Her name,&rdquo; writes one of the survivors of the
-massacre, &ldquo;should be written in letters of gold.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>The two brave boys, Harry Ripley and young Cash, were
-also among the slain.</p>
-<p>The wounded men were then dragged out of their beds and
-shot. Fannin, who was the last to die, met his fate inside the
-fort, it is even said inside the consecrated church. His high
-courage sustained him to the end. After receiving the promise
-of the officer in charge that he should not be shot in the head,
-that his body should be decently buried, and that his watch
-should be sent to his wife, he fastened the bandage about his
-eyes with his own hands, and welcomed death like a soldier.
-Not one of the promises made to him was kept.</p>
-<p>The dead Texans to the number of three hundred and fifty
-were stripped of their clothing and piled, naked, in heaps on
-the ground. A little brushwood was thrown over them and
-set on fire. It burned, crackling a few moments, and then the
-flames died out. The half-consumed flesh was torn from the
-bones by vultures.</p>
-<p>This cold-blooded murder was done by order of Santa Anna.
-For it, as for the massacre at the Alamo, a deadly vengeance
-was at hand.</p>
-<h3 id="c27">5. REMEMBER THE ALAMO! REMEMBER GOLIAD!</h3>
-<p>On the morning of the 21st of April, 1836, Houston, with his
-army of seven hundred Texans, and Santa Anna, with his
-army of more than twice that number of Mexicans, were
-encamped within a mile of each other near the banks of
-Buffalo Bayou.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_97">97</div>
-<p>The country was in a wild panic. Men, women, and children
-were fleeing before the very rumor of Santa Anna&rsquo;s approach,
-as in the pioneer days they had not fled before the tomahawks
-of the Comanches.</p>
-<p>Houston&rsquo;s slow retreat<a class="fn" id="fr_26" href="#fn_26">[26]</a> (begun on March 13), from Gonzales
-to the Colorado, from the Colorado to various points on
-the Brazos, with the enemy close upon his rear, had filled the
-stoutest hearts with doubt and alarm. After more than two
-months of suspense charged with the terrible episodes of San
-Patricio, Refugio, the Alamo, and Goliad, and the burning of
-San Felipe, Gonzales, and Harrisburg, the people began to ask
-of each other what would be the end.</p>
-<p>Here at last, on an open field and in a fair fight, the question
-was about to be answered.</p>
-<p>Santa Anna, after the fall of the Alamo, was filled with vain
-glory. He called himself the Napoleon of the West, and
-looked upon the Texan &ldquo;rebels&rdquo; as already conquered and
-suppliant at his feet. From his headquarters at San Antonio
-he directed his army to possess the country and to shoot every
-man taken with a gun in his hand. One division, under General
-Gaona, was ordered to Nacogdoches; General Urrea, after the
-battle of Colita, was ordered to sweep the coast from Victoria to
-Anahuac with his division; the central division, under Generals
-Sesma and Filisola, followed Houston almost step by step in
-his retreat. Santa Anna himself accompanied this division.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_98">98</div>
-<p>On the 15th of April, believing that Houston was at last in
-his power, the Mexican commander-in-chief left his main army
-on the Brazos and marched, with about one thousand men, to
-Harrisburg, where he hoped to capture President Burnet and
-the members of his
-cabinet. He found
-Harrisburg deserted;
-whereupon he set fire
-to the town, and
-hurried to New Washington.
-From there,
-after burning the
-straggling village, he
-intended to move on
-to Lynch&rsquo;s Ferry
-(now Lynchburg) at
-the junction of Buffalo
-Bayou and the
-San Jacinto River.
-His plan was to pursue
-the government
-officials to Galveston,
-whither they had retreated,
-make them
-prisoners, and so end
-the war. While his
-troops were in line
-for the ferry (April 20) he was startled by the arrival of a
-scout who reported the approach of Houston with his entire
-command. Santa Anna, thus cut off from his army, was taken
-completely by surprise.</p>
-<p>This was the moment Houston had so long awaited.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;We need not talk,&rdquo; he said to Rusk, the Secretary of War,
-who was with the army. &ldquo;You think we ought to fight, and I
-think so, too.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic25">
-<img src="images/p25.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="764" />
-<p class="caption">Deaf Smith.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_99">99</div>
-<p>The rising sun of April 21 looked down bright and glowing
-upon the two hostile camps. The Texans were in a grove
-of moss-hung live oaks; in front of them a rolling prairie, gay
-with spring flowers, stretched away to the marshy bottom lands
-of the San Jacinto River; behind them Buffalo Bayou rolled its
-dark waters to Galveston Bay. The &ldquo;Twin Sisters,&rdquo; two small
-cannon presented to the Republic by the citizens of Cincinnati,
-were planted on the rising ground before the camp.
-They were flanked on either side by the infantry. The cavalry,
-under the command of Mirabeau B. Lamar, was placed in the
-rear.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic26">
-<img src="images/p25a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="231" />
-<p class="caption">Battlefield of San Jacinto.</p>
-</div>
-<p>Santa Anna&rsquo;s camp also faced the prairie, but it had directly
-in the rear the oozy, grass-grown San Jacinto marsh.</p>
-<p>The day before (20th) when the ground was first occupied
-by the two armies, there had been some skirmishing. But
-this morning passed in a quiet, which was broken only by the
-arrival of General Cos at the enemy&rsquo;s camp with a reinforcement
-of five hundred men.</p>
-<p>Toward noon a profound silence fell upon the Mexican camp.
-The men, officers and soldiers, from Santa Anna to the humblest
-private, were taking their <i>siesta</i> (afternoon nap).</p>
-<p>Meantime, General Houston, after a short consultation with
-his officers, sent for Deaf Smith.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_100">100</div>
-<p>Deaf Smith was a bold, cool-headed, shrewd guide and spy,
-who had come from New York to Texas in 1821. He was
-hard of hearing (hence his nickname), silent and secretive in
-his manner, with the instinct and the unerring sight of a savage.
-It was Deaf Smith who had guided Fannin and Bowie from La
-Espada to Mission Concepcion, and led Johnson and Milam
-through the dark streets at the storming of San Antonio. It
-was he who had been sent to meet Mrs. Dickinson on her
-dreary journey from the Alamo; and when General Houston
-retreated from Gonzales, Deaf Smith, with one or two companions,
-was left to spy upon the movements of the enemy.</p>
-<p>Houston dispatched Smith with secret orders to cut down
-and burn Vince&rsquo;s bridge, about eight miles distant.</p>
-<p>This bridge, which both armies had crossed on their march
-to their present position, spanned Vince&rsquo;s Bayou, a narrow
-but deep stream running into Buffalo Bayou. To destroy it
-was to destroy the only means of retreat for either army.</p>
-<p>General Houston, after making these arrangements, paraded
-his army. The men were in high spirits. Their eyes were
-dancing, their fingers itched to pull the triggers of their guns.
-The day was waning; it was nearly three o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon.
-At this moment Deaf Smith galloped in, his horse white
-with foam, with the news that Vince&rsquo;s bridge had been burned.</p>
-<p>The order to advance was given. A single fife struck up
-the curiously inappropriate tune, &ldquo;Will you come to the bower
-I have shaded for you.&rdquo; The cannon were rushed forward
-within two hundred yards of the Mexican camp, and fire
-belched from the mouth of the &ldquo;twins.&rdquo; The left wing of
-infantry under Colonel Sidney Sherman began the attack.
-There was a cry which split the air: &ldquo;Remember the Alamo!
-Remember Goliad!&rdquo; and the whole force hurled itself forward
-like an avalanche.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_101">101</div>
-<p>The effect was appalling. The Mexicans half awake, dazed
-and bewildered by the sudden charge, hardly tried after their
-first feeble volley, to return the fire of their assailants.
-Within a few moments the Texans, still uttering their hoarse
-watchword of vengeance, had leaped the barricade, and were
-in the very heart of Santa Anna&rsquo;s camp.</p>
-<p>Too excited or too thirsty for revenge to load, they beat
-down the foe with the butts of their rifles, clubbed them with
-pistols, slashed them with keen-edged bowie knives. The
-Mexicans fled like frightened sheep, some into the muddy
-morass where they were
-caught as in a trap, others
-toward the bayou and the
-ruined bridge, others again
-to the cover of the timber
-where they made haste to
-surrender. &ldquo;Me no Alamo!
-Me no Alamo!&rdquo; cried many
-of the panic-stricken soldiers,
-falling on their knees before
-their captors.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic27">
-<img src="images/p26.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="584" />
-<p class="caption">Sidney Sherman.</p>
-</div>
-<p>By twilight the fleeing
-Mexicans were nearly all
-captured or killed, and the
-victors had time to breathe
-and to count their own dead.
-They had seven dead and twenty-seven wounded. Among the
-latter was General Houston, who received a wound in the ankle,
-which caused him to limp during the remainder of his life.</p>
-<p>The Mexicans lost six hundred and thirty-two killed and
-two hundred and eight wounded. Seven hundred and thirty-two
-prisoners were taken.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_102">102</div>
-<p>Among the prisoners were the oath-breaker, General Cos;<a class="fn" id="fr_27" href="#fn_27">[27]</a>
-Almonte, Santa Anna&rsquo;s private secretary; and Colonel Portillia,
-the officer who had been in command at Goliad when
-Fannin and his men were shot. General Santa Anna, riding
-a handsome black horse, had escaped. He was pursued as he
-fled from the field by Henry Karnes, who knew from the
-flying horseman&rsquo;s glittering uniform that he must be an
-officer of rank; he did not dream, however, that he was following
-Santa Anna. He felt sure of capturing the officer at
-Vince&rsquo;s Bayou, for he rode straight for the destroyed bridge.
-But after a single second of hesitation on the bank, the horse
-and rider seemed to rise in the air and then plunge downward.
-When Captain Karnes reached the stream, the gallant animal
-was floundering in the mud on the opposite side, unable to
-clamber up the steep bank. The rider had disappeared.</p>
-<h3 id="c28">6. TWO GENERALS.</h3>
-<p>The next morning (22nd) General Houston was lying under
-an oak somewhat apart from the camp. The pain of his
-wound had kept him awake during the night, and he was sleeping
-lightly. Suddenly an excited murmur ran through the
-camp, a clamor of Mexican voices arose: &ldquo;El Presidente!
-El Presidente!&rdquo; and some soldiers approached, having in their
-midst a man dressed in soiled linen trousers, a blue jacket, a
-soldier&rsquo;s cap, and red worsted slippers. His linen, however,
-was of the finest, and he wore jeweled studs in his shirt
-front.</p>
-<p>Houston, awakened by the noise, looked up. His visitor
-bowed. &ldquo;I am,&rdquo; he said in Spanish, &ldquo;General Antonio Lopez
-de Santa Anna, and a prisoner of war, at your service.&rdquo; He
-had just been captured, hiding, miserable and forlorn, in the
-long grass on the further side of the bayou. Houston waved
-his hand to a tool-chest near by, and Santa Anna sat down.</p>
-<p>A greater physical contrast can hardly be imagined than
-that between these two men now gazing steadily and silently
-at each other.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_103">103</div>
-<p>The Dictator of Mexico was small and thin and not above
-five feet five inches in height. His swarthy face was ill-favored
-almost to repulsiveness; his small black eyes were
-cold and cruel. Houston was tall and finely proportioned,
-with fair complexion, open forehead, and fine blue eyes. Perhaps
-the one point of resemblance between the two generals
-lay in a certain foppishness in dress. But on this occasion
-this appeared in neither. Santa Anna had exchanged his
-gaudy uniform for the disguise he wore, and Houston was
-ill-kempt and shabby in his old campaign uniform.</p>
-<p>Almonte, who had been sent for to act as interpreter, now
-came up and the interview began. Santa Anna was at first
-very humble; he even wept copiously. But after swallowing
-some opium he recovered his arrogance, and demanded to be
-treated as a prisoner of war. He wished to arrange for his
-immediate release.</p>
-<p>When Houston dryly asked what consideration he could
-expect after the bloody scenes at the Alamo and Goliad, he
-pleaded the usage of war for the carnage at the Alamo. As
-for Goliad, he declared that Urrea had deceived him with
-regard to Fannin&rsquo;s surrender, and pretended to denounce his
-subordinate officer in bitter terms. &ldquo;Urrea told me Fannin
-was vanquished,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I was ordered by my government
-to shoot every man found with a weapon in his hand.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>&ldquo;You are yourself the government,&rdquo; Houston replied curtly.
-&ldquo;A Dictator has no superior.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>&ldquo;I have the order of Congress,&rdquo; Santa Anna insisted, &ldquo;and
-that compels me to treat as pirates all who are found under
-arms. Urrea had no authority to make an agreement with
-Fannin. He has deceived me, and when I am free he shall
-suffer for it.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Houston listened to this bluster, but declined to make terms
-with his prisoner, that power belonging alone to the Texan
-Congress.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_104">104</div>
-<p>He treated the unfortunate general with generous courtesy,
-returning to him his tents and personal effects, and permitting
-him to be waited upon by his own servants.</p>
-<p>An order signed by Santa Anna was carried by Deaf Smith
-and Henry Karnes to General Filisola, the second in command,
-who was encamped near San Felipe, to conduct the Mexican
-troops to the Rio Grande.</p>
-<p>The Texan soldiers could not understand the mercy shown
-to the Mexican prisoners, particularly to Santa Anna, the cruel
-and heartless foe who had tortured and put to death so many of
-their brave countrymen. With dark and angry looks and open
-threats they swarmed about the place of the interview. Some
-of the officers were in favor of a drumhead court-martial and an
-immediate execution. But better counsels prevailed, and Santa
-Anna was allowed to retire to his camp-bed and rest in peace.</p>
-<p>The night which followed the victory was one of wild and
-grotesque rejoicing in the Texan camp. Huge bonfires were
-lighted, and by the red glow of their flames, the soldiers danced
-and sang and told over and over again the story of the great
-day and its triumphs. The Mexican camp was overhauled;
-the victors decked themselves with the arms of their foes,
-buckling about their waists two, three, or four brace of pistols,
-with powder-horns, shot-pouches, sabers, and bowie knives.
-They rigged out the captured mules with the gold epaulets of the
-Mexican officers, and the green and red cap-cords of the grenadiers.
-Then, lighting hundreds of wax candles found among
-the spoils, they paraded gayly about, waking the echoes of the
-night with their shouts of laughter. All this was not in very
-good taste, and it naturally made the prisoners very angry.
-But they might well have reflected that at least it was a better
-way of rejoicing over a victory than shooting prisoners in cold
-blood and setting fire to their naked corpses.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_105">105</div>
-<p>The military stores taken in the battle, the cannon, small
-arms, ammunition, and mules, were kept by the government.
-The camp baggage was sold at auction, and the proceeds, with
-the contents of the military money-chest, were divided among
-the soldiers. This money, which amounted to about seven
-dollars and a half to each man, was all that they received for
-their service during the whole war.</p>
-<p>General Santa Anna&rsquo;s handsome silver-mounted saddle was
-purchased and presented to General Houston. The jeweled
-dagger handed to his captors by the Mexican General was also
-given to Houston.</p>
-<h3 id="c29">7. HOW THE GOOD NEWS WAS BROUGHT.</h3>
-<p>On the approach of Santa Anna&rsquo;s army, President Burnet
-and his cabinet retired from Harrisburg to Galveston Island.
-They were closely pressed by the advance of the Mexican cavalry
-under Almonte. As the President stepped upon the flatboat
-which was to take him to the schooner <i>Flash</i>, at the mouth
-of the San Jacinto, he was for several moments a target for
-Mexican guns. But he reached the <i>Flash</i> in safety, and the
-boat sailed across the bay to the almost deserted island.
-There, while the government officials waited in great anxiety
-and suspense for news from the army, they were joined by a
-large number of fugitives who had fled from their homes in the
-general panic. The steamboat <i>Yellowstone</i>&mdash;which had conveyed
-Houston&rsquo;s army across the Brazos at Groce&rsquo;s Ferry&mdash;came
-down loaded with refugees from the Brazos and Colorado.
-At Fort Bend it had passed the Mexican army under a hot fire.
-The smokestacks were riddled with bullet holes. The Mexican
-cavalrymen had tried at several points to lasso the boat
-from the bank as it steamed by, but fortunately their ropes
-were too short.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_106">106</div>
-<p>The <i>Yellowstone</i> brought news that Houston&rsquo;s army was on
-the road to Harrisburg. Burnet knew, therefore, that the long-delayed
-fight would take place soon or never. Very few people
-had any faith left in Houston&rsquo;s ability to defeat the Mexican
-army. Santa Anna was looked for in Galveston at any moment.
-Nearly all the women and children had already been placed on
-board the <i>Flash</i>, and the captain of the boat had orders to sail
-for New Orleans, where they would be safe.</p>
-<p>General Houston&rsquo;s first duty, after settling affairs in his
-somewhat disordered camp, was to send an express to the
-President with news of the victory, and to request him to come
-and treat in person with Santa Anna.</p>
-<p>At the battle of Concepcion Captain Robert Calder, then a
-private posted in the mission tower, had given notice of the
-enemy&rsquo;s approach. This young officer, who had also fought
-most gallantly in the battle
-of San Jacinto, volunteered
-to bear the General&rsquo;s dispatches
-to President Burnet.
-It is not to the young captain&rsquo;s
-discredit that the presence
-on the island of the
-beautiful girl whom he afterward
-married had something
-to do with his eagerness to
-perform this service.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic28">
-<img src="images/p27.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="577" />
-<p class="caption">Thomas J. Rusk.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_107">107</div>
-<p>He started on the morning
-of the 23d accompanied by B.
-C. Franklin and two soldiers
-detailed for the expedition.
-No boat was to be had except an open and weather-stained
-skiff with two pairs of oars. No provisions could be procured;
-the country around had been swept clean by the Mexicans.
-But the little party paddled away cheerily down the bayou.
-Late at night they found some food in a deserted cabin on the
-bank. The next day they entered the bay. The waves were
-rough; it was hard rowing and the boat leaked badly. Captain
-Calder had most of the work to do, the others having
-given out completely. Much of the way they coasted close to
-the shore, Calder wading and shoving or pulling the skiff along.
-They saw but one living human being on their trip. This was
-a wild African negro who had perhaps escaped from some slave-ship
-on the coast. On the fifth day they crossed from Virginia
-Point to the war-schooner <i>Invincible</i>, which was lying in the bay
-off Galveston. As they approached, Captain Brown hailed
-them through his speaking trumpet: &ldquo;What news?&rdquo;</p>
-<p>The unexpected reply, &ldquo;Houston has defeated Santa Anna
-and captured his whole army,&rdquo; caused an instant outburst of
-wild excitement. The wet, weary, and hungry messengers
-were dragged on board and questioned by everybody at once.
-Captain Brown cried to his gunners: &ldquo;Turn loose old Tom.&rdquo;
-Old Tom, the cannon, was fired three times before Captain
-Brown remembered that it was the business of the Commodore
-to order a salute. &ldquo;Hold on there, boys,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;or old
-Hawkins will have me in irons.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>He sent Captain Calder and his men over to the flag-ship
-<i>Independence</i>, where Commodore Hawkins received them with
-enthusiasm and ordered a salute of thirteen guns.</p>
-<p>The news spread among the ships and through the fleet of
-small boats that swarmed up to hear the story. It passed on
-to the land, where people were running about in a wild state of
-alarm at the sound of the commodore&rsquo;s guns. Alarm was
-changed to joy. The refugees hugged each other, weeping
-tears of gladness, and fairly beside themselves with delight.
-President Burnet received Captain Calder in his tent and heard
-the story of the battle with deep emotion.</p>
-<p>The young captain, &ldquo;having changed his clothes,&rdquo; as he
-relates, went in search of the bright-eyed girl whom he had not
-seen since the war began. As he passed, unknown, through
-the groups of men, he heard one man exclaim: &ldquo;What! the
-whole Mexican army defeated and Santa Anna taken prisoner?
-No, gentlemen; these fellows are scoundrels and deserters. It
-is too big a story, and they ought to be taken into custody at
-once!&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_108">108</div>
-<p>President Burnet and his suite boarded the <i>Yellowstone</i> the
-same day (April 27) and steamed up to the new camp near
-Harrisburg, whither Houston had removed his army. There
-he met Santa Anna and arranged the basis of a treaty which
-the Mexican general signed on the part of his country.</p>
-<p>By the terms of the treaty the Mexican army was to withdraw
-from Texas soil; hostilities were to cease; American prisoners
-were to be released; and all property seized during the invasion
-was to be returned to the owners. Santa Anna was to be
-liberated at the discretion of the Congress.</p>
-<p>On the 3d day of May the Mexican prisoners were placed on
-board the <i>Yellowstone</i> and carried to Galveston island, where
-they were kept under close guard.</p>
-<p>President Burnet accompanied Santa Anna to the coast,
-whence it was intended to embark the Mexican general at
-once for Vera Cruz.</p>
-<p>Soon after the battle of San Jacinto, General Houston, leaving
-Rusk, who had recently been appointed brigadier-general,
-in command of the army, went to New Orleans to have his
-shattered ankle treated by his own physician.</p>
-<p>Filisola had heard of the defeat and capture of his commander-in-chief
-and was already in full retreat when Santa
-Anna&rsquo;s order reached him. He arrived at Goliad about the
-20th of May.</p>
-<p>Here, on the 26th, Commissioners Benjamin Fort Smith and
-Henry Teal found him. They had been sent by President
-Burnet with a copy of the treaty between Santa Anna and the
-Texan congress for Filisola&rsquo;s signature. He signed it, and
-continued his march westward to the Rio Grande.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_109">109</div>
-<p>On June 4 General Rusk&mdash;who had followed with the Texan
-army to see that the Mexicans retreated in good faith&mdash;stopped
-at Goliad to fulfill a sacred duty. This was to collect and bury
-the remains of the victims of the Palm Sunday massacre.</p>
-<p>The charred and sun-dried skeletons scattered about the
-ground were gathered together and reverently laid in a pit dug
-for the purpose. The army was paraded inside the fort, and
-from thence, slowly and with reversed arms, to the beat of muffled
-drums, the soldiers marched to the chosen spot. With the
-procession walked several of Fannin&rsquo;s men who had escaped
-death on that fatal Sunday.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic29">
-<img src="images/p28.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="574" />
-<p class="caption">Map of Texas at the Close of the War of Independence.</p>
-</div>
-<dl class="undent"><dt>Red River</dt>
-<dt>Trinity R.</dt>
-<dt>Brazos R.</dt>
-<dt>Colorado R.</dt>
-<dt>Nacogdoches</dt>
-<dt>San Augustine</dt>
-<dt>Old San Antonio Road</dt>
-<dt>Guadaloupe R.</dt>
-<dt>San Antonio</dt>
-<dt>Nueces R.</dt>
-<dt>Rio Grande del Norte</dt>
-<dt>Presidio of San Juan Bautista</dt>
-<dt>Sabine R.</dt>
-<dt>Neches R.</dt>
-<dt>Washington</dt>
-<dt>San Felipe de Gonzales</dt>
-<dt>Austin</dt>
-<dt>Anahuac</dt>
-<dt>Harrisburg</dt>
-<dt>Columbia</dt>
-<dt>Brazoria</dt>
-<dt>La Vaca R.</dt>
-<dt>Golita Cr.</dt>
-<dt>Victoria</dt>
-<dt>Goliad</dt>
-<dt>Refugio</dt>
-<dt>San Patricio</dt>
-<dt>Matamoros</dt>
-<dt>Galveston I.</dt>
-<dt>Velasco</dt>
-<dt>GULF OF MEXICO</dt>
-<dt>Matamoros</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_110">110</div>
-<p>General Rusk began an address, the troops standing around
-him. &ldquo;But in truth he did not finish what he intended to say,
-for he was overpowered by his feelings, and the tears rolled
-down his cheeks, and he had to stop speaking. There were
-but few dry eyes on that occasion.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_28" href="#fn_28">[28]</a></p>
-<p>So powerful was the impression produced on the men who
-assisted in this mournful ceremony that General Andrade
-(An-dra&prime;d&#257;), who was bringing up the rear of the Mexican
-army, was advised by Rusk that it would not be safe for him
-to attempt to pass through Goliad, as he could not answer for
-what his own men might do. Andrade was therefore obliged
-to cut a crossing seven or eight miles long through the chapparal
-thickets, in order to reach the main road. The Mexican army
-marched slowly westward with trailing banners. San Antonio
-and other places held by Mexican garrisons were given up. At
-length the Rio Grande was reached and crossed.</p>
-<p>The independence of Texas was achieved.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_111">111</div>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">VI.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">HOUSTON.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1836-1842.)</span></span></h2>
-<h3 id="c30">1. ON BUFFALO BAYOU.</h3>
-<p>The treaty between Santa Anna and the Texan Congress was
-concluded at Velasco (May 14), and to the written paper was
-affixed the seal of the Republic.</p>
-<p>The choice of this seal was the result of an accident. When
-the declaration of independence was adopted at San Felipe,
-Governor Smith, having no other seal, used one of the brass
-buttons from his coat. Its
-device chanced to be a five-pointed
-star encircled by a
-wreath of oak leaves. The
-Lone Star with its wreath thus
-became the official signet of
-the Texas Republic.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic30">
-<img src="images/p29.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="415" />
-<p class="caption">Flag of Texas Republic.</p>
-</div>
-<p>Santa Anna was conducted
-on board the war-schooner
-<i>Invincible</i>, which had orders
-to convey him and his staff to Vera Cruz on the coast of
-Mexico. But public feeling was so strong against setting free
-the arch enemy of Texas that President Burnet was obliged
-to have him brought on shore again. He was sent from
-Velasco to Columbia, and thence to Orizaba, the country
-place of Dr. Orlando Phelps, on the Brazos River. A plot
-for his release was soon afterward discovered. This caused
-him to be put in irons, and to receive a small taste of
-the ill-treatment he had so often accorded to others. It was
-not until after the return of Houston from New Orleans in the
-fall that the captive general was finally released.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_112">112</div>
-<p>Meantime there was great dissatisfaction in the army. The
-soldiers, having no fighting to do, began to remember that they
-were hungry and in rags. They clamored for money which the
-poverty-stricken government could not give them; and they
-still demanded loudly the death of Santa Anna.</p>
-<p>In June Major Isaac Burton, with a company of mounted
-rangers on the lookout for Mexican vessels at Copano, succeeded
-in decoying into port and capturing three supply ships
-which belonged to the enemy. These were the <i>Watchman</i>,
-the <i>Comanche</i>, and the <i>Fanny Butler</i>. The supplies, valued at
-twenty-five thousand dollars, were sent at once to the army.
-This timely relief and the re-imprisonment of Santa Anna
-restored the soldiers to good humor.</p>
-<p>In September a general election was held. General Houston
-was made President, and Mirabeau B. Lamar Vice-President.
-The new term was to begin in December; but President
-Burnet, glad to lay down the burden which he had borne wisely
-and virtuously, resigned his office, and on the 22d of October
-Houston was inaugurated.</p>
-<p>The ceremony took place at Columbia. Among those present
-were many who had been prominent in the revolution: Stephen
-F. Austin, ex-Governor Smith, Branch T. Archer, the Whartons,
-Mosely Baker, Sidney Sherman, John T. Austin, William Austin,
-and many others.</p>
-<p>Santa Anna, in his guarded apartment not far away, might
-almost have heard the echoes of his old enemy&rsquo;s voice when, at
-the conclusion of his address, Houston unbuckled his sword
-and handed it to the Speaker of the House, with the assurance
-that if his country should ever call for his services again he
-would resume his sword and respond to that call with his blood
-or his life.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_113">113</div>
-<p>Stephen F. Austin was made Secretary of State in Houston&rsquo;s
-cabinet. He had but lately returned from the United States,
-where he had rendered important service to Texas during her
-struggle for independence. He now saw his highest hopes
-realized. His beloved colonists had become a free people.
-His chosen land would now blossom like a rose in the fair
-sunshine of peace.</p>
-<p>He began his new duties with ardor. But constant anxiety
-and the hardships of prison life had left him weak and delicate.
-The unfinished room where
-he worked was without fire;
-he was seized suddenly with
-pneumonia, and after a short
-illness he died (December
-27, 1836).</p>
-<p>The Father of Texas was
-but forty-three years old.
-His life had been noble, useful,
-and unselfish, and his
-death was a public loss. His
-body was conveyed in the
-steamer <i>Yellowstone</i> to Peach
-Point on the Brazos, near
-Columbia. There, in the
-presence of the President and his cabinet, the officers of the
-army and navy, and a large concourse of citizens, he was buried
-with military honors.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic31">
-<img src="images/p30.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="580" />
-<p class="caption">Mirabeau B. Lamar.</p>
-</div>
-<p>The first regular Congress had a hard task before it. The
-people of Texas were in favor of annexation to the United
-States. But a strong faction in that nation, though willing to
-acknowledge Texas as an independent country, was strongly
-opposed to receiving another slave state. The young Republic
-was therefore obliged to stand alone.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_114">114</div>
-<p>There was a large public debt, but no money in the treasury.
-Mexico still laid claim to her rebellious province, and it was
-necessary to maintain an army to repel invasion, and a navy to
-defend the coast. The Indians were troublesome. The civil
-law, in the confusion and disorder of the war, had become
-almost a dead letter.</p>
-<p>This was a tangled skein, but Congress set to work with
-hearty good will to unravel the threads. The legislature provided
-for the public debt and other state expenses by issuing
-land scrip (government paper entitling the holder to so many
-leagues of land).</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic32">
-<img src="images/p31.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="437" />
-<p class="caption">First Capitol of Texas.  At Columbia (1836).</p>
-</div>
-<p>County and magistrate courts were organized; a Supreme
-Court was formed, and the Spanish code of laws was displaced
-by the code used by the United States. The soldiers instead
-of their pay received permission to go home on long visits to
-their families. Some vessels were bought for the navy, and
-commissioners were sent to the different Indian tribes to make
-treaties of friendship.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_115">115</div>
-<p>Congress adjourned in December. The following May it
-met in the new town on Buffalo Bayou named in honor of the
-President.</p>
-<p>Monsieur Le Cl&egrave;re (Le Clare), a Frenchman who visited
-Texas about this time, writes thus of Houston: &ldquo;I cannot say
-that Houston is a great city, although it is a capital. The
-principal street, Main Street, which is laid out in a straight line,
-and handsome enough for the country, runs down to the river.
-The footwalks are barely marked out. We found the landing
-still blocked by enormous trunks of trees. Great southern
-pines are left standing in the street. The ascent which leads
-from the bayou to the city is very rough, and one stumbles
-over the logs that encumber it. By the side of houses of
-tolerably fine appearance (though built entirely of wood), one
-meets here and there with those poor houses called log cabins.
-Finally, as a last touch to this picture, there stand in Main
-Street and near the capitol two great tents which would do
-honor to a chief of the Tartars or Bedouins.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;The environs of Houston are not inhabited. A great number
-of the people I saw in the city were going further west, but
-their passage gave it a very lively appearance. They were
-on horseback, and almost all armed with the terrible weapon
-called the bowie knife. Most of them carried before them on
-the saddle that rifle, excessively long, which they handle with
-a wonderful skill, and which Jackson&rsquo;s men used so well at the
-battle of New Orleans.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>The capitol building was unfinished, and Congress was
-obliged to shorten its sittings when it rained or a &ldquo;norther&rdquo;
-blew fiercely through the shutterless windows. The President&rsquo;s
-house was a double log cabin with a puncheon floor. But the
-naturalist Audubon describes President Houston (May, 1837)
-as receiving his guests in this rude cabin, &ldquo;dressed in a fancy
-velvet coat and trousers trimmed with gold lace; and around
-his neck was tied a cravat somewhat in the style of 1776.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_116">116</div>
-<p>The same writer speaks of the members of the cabinet as
-men bearing the stamp of &ldquo;intellectual ability, simple, though
-bold in their general appearance.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>All sorts of people from at home and abroad thronged the
-little capital. Curious
-travelers like Audubon
-and Le Cl&egrave;re, the
-Frenchman, brushed
-against hunters clad in
-buck-skin, traders with
-pack-mules, and eager-eyed
-young adventurers
-from &ldquo;the States.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic33">
-<img src="images/p32.jpg" alt="" width="436" height="600" />
-<p class="caption">A Comanche Chief.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_117">117</div>
-<p>A great many Indians
-came into the
-town to see their Great
-Father, Houston. One
-such deputation was
-from the hunting-grounds
-of the Comanches.
-They came to
-make their treaty of
-peace in person. They
-rode mustang ponies,
-and brought their
-squaws and papooses with them. After setting up their
-buffalo-hide lodges on the prairie near the town, the warriors
-marched in single file to President Houston&rsquo;s own residence.
-They were all tall and finely formed, with very red skin, and jet-black
-hair which they wore hanging in long locks down their
-backs. These locks were ornamented with bands of silver.
-Many of the warriors wore, just below the elbow, clumsy rings
-of copper or gold, from which dangled the scalp-locks of their
-dead enemies. Monsieur Le Cl&egrave;re, who saw this procession, says
-that one young Indian had two of these rings hung with ten or
-fifteen heads of hair of different colors. The women wore tight
-leggings of tanned buck-skin, with tunics of wolf or jaguar skins,
-trimmed with beads and quills. Many strands of colored beads
-were strung around their necks, and their hands were loaded
-with gold and silver rings. Some of their costumes were graceful
-and pretty. The wearers were nearly all old and ugly; but
-one young girl, the daughter of the chief, is described as very
-beautiful, with liquid black eyes, softly rounded cheeks, and
-red laughing lips. She wore on her head a crown made of
-eagle feathers, and her girdle was a band of heavy silver discs.</p>
-<p>The President welcomed his red brothers gravely and kindly.
-The calumet, or pipe of peace, was smoked and the treaty was
-made. The Indians received presents of beads, blankets, and
-red cloth. The old chief when he rode away carried the Texas
-flag tied to a stalk of sugar cane. &ldquo;Me big chief! Houston big
-chief!&rdquo; he cried, striking his breast with his hand.</p>
-<h3 id="c31">2. THE INVINCIBLE.</h3>
-<p>The provisional government of 1835 provided for a navy
-to serve the new Republic of Texas. It was not a very formidable
-navy. It consisted at first of two vessels&mdash;the schooners
-the <i>Invincible</i> and the <i>Liberty</i>. Afterward were added the <i>Independence</i>,
-which became the flag-ship of Commodore Hawkins,
-commandant of the fleet, the <i>Brutus</i>, and several small sloops,
-including the <i>Champion</i> and the <i>Julius C&aelig;sar</i>.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_118">118</div>
-<p>These ships cruised about the Gulf of Mexico, watching the
-coast and doing what they could with their small guns to annoy
-the Mexican war-vessels. Early in April, 1836, the <i>Invincible</i>,
-commanded by Captain Jerry Brown, met the Mexican brig,
-the <i>Montezuma</i>, near Tampico and fired upon her. A spirited
-engagement followed which lasted several hours, and in which
-the <i>Montezuma</i> was badly disabled. She drew off, and in
-attempting to enter the harbor ran aground.</p>
-<p>The <i>Invincible</i> sailed away unhurt, and the next day met and
-captured the American brig, the <i>Pocket</i>, which was on her way
-to a Mexican port with a cargo of supplies for Santa Anna&rsquo;s
-army. Captain Brown brought the <i>Pocket</i> into Galveston,
-whence the supplies were forwarded to the army.</p>
-<p>The <i>Invincible</i>, lying at that time in the bay, received from
-Captain Calder the first news of the victory at San Jacinto, and
-Captain Brown at once &ldquo;turned loose Old Tom&rdquo; to express his
-own joy therefor.</p>
-<p>The <i>Yellowstone</i> came down from the Texan camp and landed
-the Mexican prisoners on the island; she then proceeded to
-Velasco, having on board the President and his cabinet officers,
-and General Santa Anna and his staff.</p>
-<p>The <i>Invincible</i> was ordered to follow, and after signing the
-treaty, Santa Anna was conducted on board, and Captain
-Brown received orders to sail to Vera Cruz with the defeated
-general. The Texan commissioners empowered to treat with
-the Mexican government were also on board. As already
-related, Santa Anna was taken ashore again and placed in
-prison. The <i>Invincible</i> with the <i>Brutus</i> was soon afterward
-sent to New York for repairs. The <i>Liberty</i> conveyed General
-Houston to New Orleans, and was there sold to pay her
-war-expenses.</p>
-<p>The new Congress was without means to meet the cost of
-repairing and refitting the <i>Invincible</i> and her sister ship. They
-were on the point of being sold when Henry Swartwout, the
-collector of the port of New York, with great generosity provided
-the money from his private purse. They were completely
-equipped and sent to sea the same year.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_119">119</div>
-<p>In 1837 the entire fleet set out for a cruise in the Gulf
-of Mexico. The <i>Champion</i> and the <i>Julius C&aelig;sar</i> were taken by
-the enemy on the 12th of April. Both carried valuable cargoes,
-and their loss was a keen blow to the young government.</p>
-<p>On the 17th of April the <i>Independence</i> encountered near
-Velasco two Mexican brigs of war,&mdash;the <i>Libertador</i>, armed
-with sixteen 18-pound guns and manned with one hundred
-and forty men, and the <i>Vincedor</i>, with six 12-pounders and
-one hundred men. The <i>Independence</i> had but thirty-one men.
-The action, in which the Texans behaved with great gallantry,
-was a short and severe one. It ended in the capture of the
-<i>Independence</i>. The crew were sent as prisoners to Matamoras.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic34">
-<img src="images/p33.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="492" />
-<p class="caption">Old Capitol at Houston (1837). From an old Print.</p>
-</div>
-<p>A little later the <i>Invincible</i> and the <i>Brutus</i> captured the
-Mexican schooners, the <i>Obispo</i> and the <i>Telegraph</i>. Both boats
-were sent in as prizes.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_120">120</div>
-<p>In August the <i>Brutus</i> and the <i>Invincible</i> reached Galveston
-with another prize. The <i>Brutus</i> with the prize entered the
-harbor safely, but the <i>Invincible</i> did not succeed in passing
-the bar. She was attacked the next morning (26th) by two
-Mexican ships. The <i>Brutus</i> started out to assist her, but ran
-aground and lay helpless on the sand. The <i>Invincible</i> held
-her own against the enemy all day; at nightfall she struck on
-the breakers. Her crew were saved, but the gallant old ship
-went to pieces.</p>
-<p>The next year (1838) a new navy was voted by Congress.
-Several vessels were bought, but there was now no duty for
-them to perform. They were placed in the service of Yucatan,
-which was in revolt against Mexico. Some years later, when
-Texas was annexed to the United States, they passed into the
-navy of that country.</p>
-<p>The <i>Brutus</i>, the last ship of the old Texan navy, was lost in
-a storm at Galveston Bay as late as 1867.</p>
-<h3 id="c32">3. THE CAPITAL.</h3>
-<p>One of the laws of the constitution provided that no one
-should be allowed to hold the office of President for two successive
-terms. Houston&rsquo;s term of office expired in 1838, and
-Mirabeau B. Lamar was elected President and David G. Burnet
-Vice-President.</p>
-<p>The Secretary of War under Lamar was Albert Sidney
-Johnston. This brilliant young soldier came to Texas just
-after the battle of San Jacinto. He was a graduate of West
-Point, and had served in the Blackhawk war.</p>
-<p>Johnston at once organized a force to act against the Indians.
-Lamar did not have Houston&rsquo;s kindly feeling for the Red
-Men. He looked upon them as dangerous enemies, and he
-wished to rid the country of them entirely. The Indians, on
-their side, had been breaking the treaties made with Houston.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_121">121</div>
-<p>Mexico was too full of troubles at home to invade Texas
-again. But Mexican agents were sent among the Cherokees
-and Comanches to stir them up against the white settlers, and
-incite them to reclaim their lands. Many homes on the
-frontier were burned, and their peaceable inmates killed or
-taken prisoners. The Texas rangers, under General Rusk
-and Colonel Burleson, finally defeated and subdued the most
-troublesome of the warlike tribes, and the frontier became
-quiet once more.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic35">
-<img src="images/p34.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="374" />
-<p class="caption">First Executive Mansion. At Houston (1837).</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_122">122</div>
-<p>But in 1840 trouble broke out again with the Comanches.
-Twelve chiefs of this tribe came to San Antonio to sign a new
-treaty. As usual, they were accompanied by their women and
-children. They had promised to bring with them thirteen
-white prisoners, but they appeared with but one, a little girl
-named Matilda Lockhart, who had been carried away in a raid
-on her father&rsquo;s house two years before. The chiefs declared
-they had no more prisoners. But the child said there were
-others at the camp, who were to be brought in one by one for
-large ransom. A company of soldiers was ordered into the
-council-room, and the Indians were told that they were prisoners
-until the other white captives were given up. One of
-the chiefs immediately attempted to escape, stabbing the
-sentinel at the door. A furious combat followed, in which the
-twelve chiefs were all killed. In the plaza outside there was
-also a desperate fight. The Indian women took part in this,
-and three of them were killed. Captain Matthew Caldwell,
-who was unarmed, defended himself with stones until his
-assailant was killed. Judge Thompson, who had been playing
-with the Indian children, setting up pieces of money for them
-to shoot at, was slain by an arrow from one of their bows.
-Colonel Wells came riding into the plaza in the midst of the
-skirmish. A powerful Indian leaped on his horse behind him
-and tried to shake him off. Unable to do this he seized the
-bridle and tried to guide the horse out of the plaza. Colonel
-Wells&rsquo;s arms were pinioned so that he could not draw his pistol,
-and it was only after careering thus several times around the
-plaza that the Indian was shot by a soldier and the Colonel
-released. The band was finally overpowered. Thirty-two
-warriors, three squaws, and two children were killed; the
-others were all made prisoners. This encounter is known as
-the &ldquo;Council-house Fight.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Congress held its meetings in Houston until 1839. But the
-site for a new capital had been chosen. It was on the banks
-of the Colorado River, on the then extreme frontier. Two
-or three pioneer cabins already stood there, and the little
-settlement bore the proud name of Waterloo. But bands of
-savage Indians still roamed the hills and prairies adjacent.
-It was necessary to place guards about the grounds to protect
-the masons and carpenters while they were at work on the
-capitol building. Among the buildings erected was a blockhouse,
-as a refuge for the women and children in case of an
-Indian raid. The new capital was named Austin, in grateful
-memory of the Father of Texas.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_123">123</div>
-<p>Congress met at Austin for the first time in October, 1839.
-Among the important acts of this session was the appropriation
-of fifty leagues of land for a state university, and three
-leagues to each county for schools.</p>
-<p>This Congress also adopted a national flag, the same now
-used as the Texas state flag.</p>
-<p>The first Lone Star flag was made at Harrisburg, and presented
-to a military company in 1835. The star was five-pointed,
-white, set on a ground of red. The flag raised by
-Fannin on the walls of Goliad when he heard of the declaration
-of independence was an azure star in a white field.
-Travis and his men, ignorant of the declaration, died fighting
-under the banner of the Republic of Mexico.<a class="fn" id="fr_29" href="#fn_29">[29]</a></p>
-<p>England, France, Holland, and Belgium in turn recognized
-the independence of the Republic. Texas, in spite of many
-drawbacks, was growing in strength.</p>
-<p>The last year of Lamar&rsquo;s term of office, however, was clouded
-by an unfortunate affair known as the &ldquo;Sante F&eacute; Expedition.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>A scheme was set on foot for the occupation of New Mexico,
-whose people were said to be anxious to join the Texas
-Republic. Its real object was to divert into Texas the rich
-trade of Sante F&eacute; with Old Mexico. An expedition was
-organized and started from Brushy Creek, near Austin, June,
-1841. It was composed of about two hundred and seventy
-soldiers, together with a number of traders and adventurers.
-The soldiers were under the command of General Hugh
-McLeod.</p>
-<p>Congress opposed this expedition, but President Lamar
-favored it, and sent with it three commissioners as agents of
-the government to treat with the people of New Mexico.
-General McLeod&rsquo;s brass six-pound cannon was stamped with
-the name of the President, Mirabeau B. Lamar.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_124">124</div>
-<p>The journey was a long and painful one. The men suffered
-from thirst in crossing those barren western plains, where
-water is scarce. They had nothing to eat. &ldquo;Every tortoise
-and snake, every living and creeping thing was seized upon
-and swallowed by the famishing men.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_30" href="#fn_30">[30]</a> They were without
-guides, and the Indians hung about their camps killing their
-pickets and stealing their horses.</p>
-<p>When they reached New Mexico they were worn out and
-half starved. Instead of being welcomed as liberators they
-were looked upon as spies and enemies.</p>
-<p>Under promise of good treatment they finally surrendered
-to the force sent against them. They were at once thrown
-into prison. Later they were sent, chained like criminals, to
-the city of Mexico. Several of them died on the march,
-unable to endure the brutality of their guards.</p>
-<p>The survivors were held as prisoners in Mexican dungeons
-until the next year, when by the intervention of the American
-minister they were released and sent home.</p>
-<h3 id="c33">4. THE WAR OF THE ARCHIVES.</h3>
-<p>Houston was elected President of the Republic for the
-second time in September, 1841. Edward Burleson was
-elected Vice-President.</p>
-<p>The new President recommended economy to the government.
-There was not a dollar in the treasury. He caused his
-own salary to be reduced, and several useless offices were
-abolished by his advice. He favored a more friendly attitude
-toward the Indians, and the establishment of trading-posts for
-them on the frontier. He advised that no active steps be taken
-against Mexico, though Texas, he said, should be prepared to
-defend herself against that country if necessary.</p>
-<p>For Santa Anna, after many turns of fortune, was once more
-in power in Mexico, and had declared war against Texas.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_125">125</div>
-<p>In the spring of 1842 several incursions were made into
-Texas by Mexican soldiers. One band, under Rafael Vasquez,
-raided San Antonio; another swept the country about Refugio
-and Goliad. There was great excitement everywhere.</p>
-<p>Excitement of another kind filled the new capital one day
-soon after these raids. The citizens, men, women, and children,
-swarmed into the streets, looking at each other with
-indignant eyes. The blockhouse stood wide open, showing
-plainly that the Indians had nothing to do with the trouble.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; demanded a tall hunter, who had just
-come in, rifle on shoulder,
-from the frontier. He glanced,
-as he spoke, from a small
-cannon in the street to a
-company of mounted rangers,
-who seemed to be guarding
-some wagons in front of the
-Land Office.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Matter enough,&rdquo; replied
-a dozen voices at once. &ldquo;Old
-Sam Houston has changed
-the capital back to Houston
-and sent for the archives.
-We are determined that the records of the Republic shall
-remain in the true capital of the Republic.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic36">
-<img src="images/p35.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="410" />
-<p class="caption">Texas State Seal.</p>
-</div>
-<p>This was true. President Houston, believing Austin in its
-exposed position was in danger of Mexican raids, had fixed
-Houston as the place of meeting for the next Congress.
-Perhaps he was not sorry for the chance, for he had a great
-affection for the town named for himself. He had also
-ordered the archives removed to that place. The people
-of Austin had refused to allow their removal. The angry
-President had then sent an armed force to take them.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_126">126</div>
-<p>When the loaded wagons turned away from the Land Office
-they were greeted by a volley of grape and canister from the
-little cannon&mdash;touched off by a woman, Mrs. Eberle. No one
-was hurt, and in the confusion the wagons rattled away,
-protected by their escort.</p>
-<p>The citizens armed themselves and pursued the train. They
-came up with it during the night about eighteen miles from
-Austin. After a conference between the leaders on both sides,
-the rangers agreed to carry the records back to the capital.
-The whole party appeared there the next day and were received
-with shouts of triumph by the people. The disputed parchments
-were placed in the house of the plucky woman who had
-fired the cannon, and there they remained until 1845, when the
-government finally returned to Austin. This new Waterloo has
-come down to us under the title of the &ldquo;War of the Archives.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Congress met at Houston in June, 1842. In September a
-Mexican army, commanded by General Adrian Woll and numbering
-twelve hundred men, invaded Texas. They marched upon
-San Antonio, captured it, and made prisoners of nearly all the
-citizens and the members of the District Court then in session.</p>
-<p>Upon news of this outrage the people everywhere took up
-arms. Two hundred and twenty soldiers, including Captain
-Jack Hays&rsquo; company of scouts, left Gonzales immediately to
-attack Woll. They were commanded by Colonel Matthew
-Caldwell. The Mexican general came out to meet them, and
-an engagement took place on the Salado River a few miles from
-San Antonio. General Woll had six hundred infantry and two
-hundred cavalry. As they advanced the Texans received them
-with a rattling hail of bullets.</p>
-<p>Three times the Mexican infantry charged with great spirit
-and coolness; each time they were driven back. They finally
-retreated, carrying with them their dead and wounded, and
-leaving the Texans in possession of the field.</p>
-<p>This victory was offset by the defeat of a company of fifty-three
-Texans on their way to join Caldwell. They were
-commanded by Captain Nicholas Dawson.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_127">127</div>
-<p>General Woll met these men in his retreat from the river
-Salado, and attacked them in a small mesquit thicket where
-they were halted. After an unequal contest of half an hour,
-Dawson hoisted a white flag. The firing ceased, but as soon
-as the surrender took place, the prisoners were set upon by the
-Mexican soldiers and many of them killed. Dawson was killed
-after he gave up his arms. Out of his fifty-three men, thirty-three
-were killed and eighteen were made prisoners. Two only
-escaped; one of these, a lad named Gonzales Woods, seized
-the lance thrust at him by a Mexican cavalryman, jerked his
-assailant to the ground, then leaped upon his enemy&rsquo;s horse
-and galloped away.</p>
-<p>The morning after these skirmishes General Woll abandoned
-San Antonio and returned to the west side of the Rio Grande
-River. His prisoners, among whom were Judge Hutchison
-and ex-Lieutenant-Governor Robinson, were sent to the Castle
-of Perote (P&#257;-ro&prime;t&#257;), a prison near the city of Mexico.</p>
-<h3 id="c34">5. THE BLACK BEANS.</h3>
-<p>Before the echoes of the bugles which sounded General
-Woll&rsquo;s retreat had finally died on the air, volunteers came
-flocking to San Antonio eager to pursue him, and determined
-to cross the Rio Grande at all hazards and release the Texans
-languishing in Mexican prisons.</p>
-<p>On the 18th of November seven hundred men, armed and
-equipped for a campaign, were assembled in the shadow of
-the twin towers of the old Mission Concepcion. General
-Alexander Somervell, appointed by President Houston to the
-command, put himself at the head of this small army; the
-order to march ran down the line, and with a shout the men
-set their faces toward the west.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_128">128</div>
-<p>After several days&rsquo; march they camped at Laredo on the
-banks of the Rio Grande River. They expected to cross at
-once into Mexico and take the enemy by surprise. But at the
-moment when everything seemed to them favorable for this
-movement, General Somervell issued an order for his soldiers
-to return to Gonzales, where they would be disbanded.</p>
-<p>The men were dumfounded. Three hundred flatly refused
-to obey the order. The others, after much wrangling, followed
-General Somervell to San Antonio.</p>
-<p>Captain William S. Fisher was elected colonel in command of
-those who remained, and the expedition proceeded down the
-Rio Grande to a point opposite the Mexican town of Mier.</p>
-<p>Mier was occupied by General Pedro Ampudia (Am-poo&prime;dee-a)
-with two thousand troops. On Christmas morning, before
-daylight, Colonel Fisher led his men over the river. The
-Mexicans came out to meet them, but were forced to retreat
-before the hot fire of the Texans. By daylight the Texans had
-captured the enemy&rsquo;s cannon and cut their way into the town.
-Here the fight went on, hand to hand, from street to street, from
-house to house.</p>
-<p>But the superior numbers of the enemy enabled them to
-keep up the struggle, which lasted seventeen hours.</p>
-<p>At the end of that time a flag of truce was sent by General
-Ampudia to Colonel Fisher. Fisher had been severely
-wounded early in the action; he was weakened by loss of
-blood and unnerved by pain; and he advised surrender,
-although up to this time his men had been victorious. He
-knew General Ampudia, he said, and he answered for his good
-faith.</p>
-<p>After much discussion the majority of the men agreed to the
-surrender. The terms were most honorable.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_129">129</div>
-<p>No sooner were the articles signed and the Texan arms
-stacked, than the unfortunate prisoners began to suffer from
-the cruelty of their treacherous foes. They were put in irons
-and marched to Matamoras, thence to the interior. At the
-Hacienda of Salado, beyond Saltillo, they rose upon their
-guards, overpowered the soldiers, seized their weapons and
-horses, and escaped. But they found themselves in a strange
-country. They soon lost their way in the wild mountain
-passes, and after enduring great torture from hunger and thirst,
-they were finally recaptured and taken back to Salado.</p>
-<p>On their arrival there they were met by an order from Santa
-Anna. Every tenth man of them was to be shot! One of their
-own number who understood Spanish was compelled to read
-this order to his companions. The rattle of handcuffs, indicating
-the surprise of the startled prisoners, was promptly
-silenced by the guards; and, amid a deadly stillness which
-succeeded the reading, an officer entered the shed where they
-were confined. He carried an earthen jar. The jar contained
-one hundred and seventy-five beans (the number of the prisoners).
-Seventeen of the beans were black, the others were
-white. The jar was placed on a bench and a handkerchief
-thrown over it. The roll was then called. Each prisoner
-stepped forward as his name was called, placed his hand in the
-jar, and drew out a bean.</p>
-<p>The black beans in this fatal lottery meant death.</p>
-<p>Some of the Mexican officers grew faint as they looked, and
-turned away their heads. But others bent forward eagerly, as
-if watching the throw of dice in an everyday game of chance.</p>
-<p>It was Sunday afternoon, at the hour when the church bells
-were everywhere calling the people to vesper prayer, when this
-fearful drama began. Not one of the actors in it faltered or
-changed color at finding in his hand the black token of death.
-When the ordeal was ended, the shackles of the seventeen
-doomed men were knocked off. They were then hurried to a yard
-adjoining the shed and shot without further ceremony. Their
-comrades, crouched against the wall within, heard but too plainly
-the whispered prayers, the echoing shots, and the dying groans.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_130">130</div>
-<p>The survivors were carried to the Castle of Perote near the
-city of Mexico, where they found the prisoners taken by General
-Woll at San Antonio. They were immediately put to convict
-labor. &ldquo;They were hitched to a wagon, twenty-five to a
-team, and compelled to haul rocks from the mountains to the
-Castle of Perote. The prisoners at no time, however, lost their
-buoyant spirits, nor did they ever lose an opportunity for fun.
-McFall, a powerful man, was put in the lead, and was always
-ready to get scared and run away with the wagon. This was
-often done, and the corners of the adobe houses always suffered
-in such cases. The Mexican officers would laugh, and the
-owners of the houses would swear in bad Spanish. The overseers
-were kept busy. They
-had the power of using the
-lash, but they did not do this
-very often, as the Texans made
-it their business, at the peril of
-their lives, to return such civilities
-with ample vengeance.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_31" href="#fn_31">[31]</a></p>
-<p>Several of the prisoners
-made their escape. Among
-these was Colonel Thomas
-Jefferson Green, who had been
-Fisher&rsquo;s second in command.
-He was bitterly opposed to
-the surrender at Mier, and
-broke his sword across his knee rather than hand it to General
-Ampudia. Mr. John Twohig, of San Antonio, who had been
-carried into captivity by Woll, and several of his fellow-prisoners
-made a tunnel under the prison wall, through which they succeeded
-in getting out of the Castle and thence safe home again.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic37">
-<img src="images/p36.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="544" />
-<p class="caption">Anson Jones.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_131">131</div>
-<p>Mr. Wright of De Witt County was not so lucky. He was a
-very large man; after making his preparations for flight, he
-crawled into the tunnel, where he got along famously until he
-was about half way through. There he stuck fast, equally unable
-to go forward or to come back. Finally, with a despairing
-effort he slid back an inch or two, then a little further, until at
-last bruised, breathless, and torn, he got back into his dungeon,
-glad to settle down to prison life once more.</p>
-<p>Among the captives was Samuel H. Walker, afterwards
-famous as a captain of cavalry in the Mexican war with the
-United States.</p>
-<p>In September, 1844, these prisoners were finally released by
-Santa Anna, at the dying request, it is said, of his young and
-beautiful wife.</p>
-<p>About the time the Mier expedition started from San Antonio,
-the capital was again removed from President Houston&rsquo;s beloved
-town on Buffalo Bayou; this time to Washington on the Brazos.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_132">132</div>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">VII.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">AUSTIN.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1842-1861.)</span></span></h2>
-<h3 id="c35">1. &ldquo;THE REPUBLIC IS NO MORE.&rdquo;</h3>
-<p>From 1842 to 1844 the Texan Congress held its meetings at
-Washington on the Brazos&mdash;the spot where, a few short years
-before, the declaration of independence had been adopted.</p>
-<p>The nation born amid the gloom and uncertainty of that
-stormy time now stood forth proud in the consciousness of
-growing strength, free and full of hope for the coming
-years.</p>
-<p>An armistice was signed with Mexico (1843) which left the
-Republic at peace. The Indians under the wise rule of the
-&ldquo;Big White Chief,&rdquo; Houston, made but few outbreaks. Year
-by year more fields were fenced in, more orchards and
-gardens were planted, more dooryards were set with vine and
-rose-tree.</p>
-<p>Immigrants poured in. Many came from &ldquo;the States&rdquo;; but
-others crossed the wide seas to find homes in that fertile Texas
-whose story of struggle and triumph was in everybody&rsquo;s mouth.
-Henry Castro, a French gentleman, who was consul-general for
-Texas at Paris, obtained in 1842 large grants of land from the
-Republic, and brought over five hundred families from France.
-These settled on the Medina River west of San Antonio.
-Another important colony came from Germany under the
-leadership of the Prince de Solms, and founded the thrifty
-town of New Braunfels on the Guadalupe.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_133">133</div>
-<p>The roads were white with westward-traveling wagons which
-stopped to pass the time of day, as it were, with all the little
-towns along the way. In those hospitable days small barrels
-of tar stood as a matter of course on the sidewalks. Long-handled
-dippers floated in the tar, so that the passing wagoner
-might help himself and ease his creaking wheels.</p>
-<p>As for the wayside houses, their doors were always open to
-the wayworn mover and his family. The women and girls
-peering out from under the wagon cover, the boys trudging
-sturdily along by the driver&rsquo;s side, the dog trotting in the
-shadow of the feed trough,&mdash;all these were to the free-handed
-pioneers as welcome as kinsmen.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic38">
-<img src="images/p37.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="392" />
-<p class="caption">Old Capitol at Austin (1839).</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_134">134</div>
-<p>The newcomers were often struck with amazement at the
-curious contrasts they saw on the frontier. &ldquo;You are welcomed,&rdquo;
-writes one traveler, &ldquo;by a figure in a blue flannel shirt
-and pendant beard, quoting the Latin poets.... You will
-see fine pictures on log walls; you will drink coffee from tin
-cups on Dresden china saucers. Seated on a barrel, you will
-hear a Beethoven symphony played on a rosewood piano. The
-bookcase may be half full of books and half full of potatoes.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>But while the western border thus filling up with settlers
-was quiet and unmolested, there was serious trouble over on
-the eastern line. A band composed mostly of rough desperadoes
-from the old Neutral Ground roamed along the Sabine
-River, shooting and killing innocent citizens under the pretext
-of punishing theft, negro-stealing, and other offenses. They
-called themselves the Regulators. An opposition band, made
-up of men as reckless as themselves, undertook in turn to
-punish them, and to administer justice generally. These were
-known as the Moderators. Between the Moderators and Regulators,
-Shelby, Harrison, and the neighboring counties were kept
-in a state of terror. Honest men were afraid to venture out of
-their own homes; for no one could guess when or upon whom
-the so-called justice of these bands would fall. Bloody &ldquo;courts&rdquo;
-were held in the swamps, one day by the Regulators, the next,
-and perhaps on the same spot, by the Moderators, both equally
-cruel and lawless. Wild stories were told of certain leaders in
-either gang whose victims were always shot in the left eye; of
-others again whose weapon was not the rifle, but poison.</p>
-<p>At one time more than a thousand men were engaged in this
-feud. In the summer of 1844 the Regulators and Moderators
-assembled under arms in fortified camps. An active campaign
-was carried on for some weeks, during which more than fifty
-persons were killed or wounded. Finally President Houston
-ordered out five hundred militia under General James Smith,
-and the two factions were disbanded. But it was a long time
-before the feud died out entirely.</p>
-<p>In the fall of 1844 Anson Jones was elected President of the
-Republic. His Secretary of State was Doctor Ashbel Smith.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_135">135</div>
-<p>Dr. Smith, who was a learned and able man, came to Texas
-from Connecticut just after the Revolution, and was made
-surgeon-general of the army. During Houston&rsquo;s administration,
-he represented the Republic at the courts of England and
-France. At this time all over Europe there was keen interest
-in Texan affairs.</p>
-<p>Notwithstanding the glory of the young Republic, its people
-still wished to be annexed to the United States. They felt
-themselves too weak to contend against Mexico in case of
-another war, and too poor to keep up the army and navy, and
-provide for the expense of a separate government. But the
-United States again refused to receive them. Upon this,
-France and England offered through Minister Smith to compel
-Mexico to acknowledge the independence of Texas, provided
-Texas would agree not to unite with any other country.</p>
-<p>This offer caused a sudden change of feeling in the United
-States. Her jealousy of foreign interference was aroused; and
-in the spring of 1845 the United States Congress passed resolutions
-admitting Texas into the Union.</p>
-<p>President Jones then submitted the question to the people.
-A convention met at Austin in July, 1845, to frame a constitution
-for the State of Texas. In October the final vote was
-taken. It was almost unanimous for annexation.</p>
-<p>In February, 1846, President Jones gave up his authority to
-J. Pinckney Henderson who had been elected governor of the
-new state. This impressive ceremony took place at Austin,
-where the capital had been finally established. President
-Jones in his farewell address said:</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_136">136</div>
-<p>&ldquo;The Lone Star of Texas, which ten years since arose amid
-clouds, over fields of carnage, and obscurely seen for a while,
-... has passed on and become fixed in that glorious constellation
-which all freemen and lovers of freedom must reverence
-and adore,&mdash;the American Union. Blending its rays with its
-sister States, long may it continue to shine.... May the
-Union be perpetual; and may it be the means of conferring
-benefits and blessings upon all the people of the States, is my
-prayer. The first act in the great drama is performed. The
-Republic of Texas is no more.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_32" href="#fn_32">[32]</a></p>
-<p>Many eyes must have grown dim as the closing sentence of
-this address was pronounced. Memories must have crowded
-thick and fast upon those veterans who listened, hearing at the
-same time in a dream the call of bugles and the roll of drums,
-the ring of sabers, and the echo of those daring voices which
-called into being the Republic of Texas!</p>
-<p>Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk were elected United
-States senators. Rusk, who was a native of South Carolina,
-was one of the signers of the Texan declaration of independence.
-He was Secretary of War under President Burnet, and
-fought gallantly in the ranks at the battle of San Jacinto.
-After General Houston&rsquo;s resignation he was made commander-in-chief
-of the army. Rusk had taken an active part in the
-war against the Cherokee Indians. Later he had been chief
-justice of the Republic. He had devoted himself for many
-years with great unselfishness to the interests of the Republic.
-He continued to serve the State with the same fidelity.</p>
-<p>He died by his own hand in 1857. Grief at the death of
-his wife was the cause of this fatal act.</p>
-<h3 id="c36">2. ACROSS THE BORDER.</h3>
-<p>Mexico was indignant at seeing Texas, which she still claimed
-as one of her provinces, about to enter the Union. As soon as the
-Annexation Bill was passed by the United States Congress, Don
-Juan Almonte, formerly aide-de-camp to General Santa Anna,
-now the Mexican minister at Washington, D.C., was recalled,
-and preparations for war were begun on a grand scale in Mexico.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_137">137</div>
-<p>In the meantime, the United States government had sent
-General Zachary Taylor to Corpus Christi on the Texas coast,
-with four thousand troops. He was ordered to march westward
-and take up a position on the Rio Grande River, the boundary
-line between Texas and Mexico. He was further ordered to
-confine himself to Texas soil unless the Mexicans should
-attempt to cross the river.</p>
-<p>In the spring of 1846 General Taylor began his march
-across the country, &ldquo;which appeared like one vast garden wavy
-with flowers of the most gorgeous dyes.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_33" href="#fn_33">[33]</a> Then came a
-desert-like waste in which there was neither water nor any
-growing thing. &ldquo;The sand was like hot ashes, and when you
-stepped upon it, you sank up to the ankles.&rdquo;<a class="fn" href="#fn_33">[33]</a></p>
-<p>But the region beyond the desert was fertile and inviting.
-At the Sal Colorado, a stream thirty miles east of the Rio
-Grande, some Mexican soldiers appeared. They insisted that
-all the country west of the Colorado belonged to Mexico, and
-declared that if the Americans attempted to cross that stream
-they would fire upon them. General Taylor paid no attention
-whatever to their threats. He led his troops over the Sal
-Colorado without further trouble and continued his march
-toward the Rio Grande.</p>
-<p>There the war began in real earnest. The first battle was
-fought at Fort Brown (now Brownsville), opposite Matamoras.
-The Americans were victorious. Two other successful engagements,
-Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, took place on Texas
-territory. Then General Taylor, having received large reinforcements,
-entered Mexico and marched upon Monterey, the
-great interior city of northern Mexico.</p>
-<p>About this time Santa Anna, who had been in exile and
-disgrace, returned to Mexico, and was immediately made commander-in-chief
-of the Mexican army.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_138">138</div>
-<p>Texas furnished her share of men for the war upon her
-hereditary foe. Governor Henderson himself entered the
-campaign as a major-general of volunteers; ex-President
-Lamar and Edward Burleson served upon his staff. Albert
-Sidney Johnston commanded a regiment. &ldquo;Jack&rdquo; Hays and
-George T. Wood, afterward governor of Texas, were also in
-command of regiments. Ben McCulloch carried into the war
-a company of rangers.</p>
-<p>The Texans were in the van in every battle. At the
-storming of Monterey they especially distinguished themselves
-by their daring and high courage. A participator
-in the siege of the city says: &ldquo;In order to dislodge the
-skirmishers from the housetops, the Texans rushed from door
-to door, breaking through buildings and inside walls; and,
-mounting to a level with the enemy, picked them off with their
-rifles. Meanwhile those in the streets charged from square to
-square amid sweeping showers of grape, cheered on by Lamar,
-Henderson, and Jefferson Davis of the Mississippi regiment.&rdquo;
-The next day &ldquo;the artillery on both sides raked the streets,
-the balls striking the houses with a terrible crash, while amid
-the roar of cannon was heard the battering instruments of the
-Texans. Doors were forced open, walls were battered down,
-entrances were made through stone and brick, and the enemy
-were driven from point to point, followed by the sharp crack of
-the Texan rifles.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>General Ampudia, who had so basely betrayed the trust of
-the Texans after their surrender at Mier in 1843, was in command
-of the Mexican forces. After three days of desperate
-fighting he surrendered the city of Monterey to General Taylor.</p>
-<p>The officers commissioned by Taylor to draw up the articles
-of capitulation on the American side were Generals Worth and
-Henderson (governor of Texas) and Colonel Jefferson Davis.</p>
-<p>Texas furnished above eight thousand soldiers for this war,
-and the &ldquo;murderous ring of the Texan rifle&rdquo; was heard on
-almost every field.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_139">139</div>
-<p>In New Mexico, where there was considerable fighting, the
-cannon taken from General McLeod in the fatal Sante F&eacute;
-expedition in 1841 was discovered by the American soldiers,
-where it had been hidden in the mountains. &ldquo;It is,&rdquo; says the
-record, &ldquo;a six-pounder, bearing the &lsquo;Lone Star&rsquo; of Texas and
-the name of her ex-President, Mirabeau B. Lamar.&rdquo; The
-Americans adopted it as a
-favorite, and used it in firing
-their morning and evening
-signals. The Lone Star,
-they declared, brought them
-good luck.</p>
-<p>The war ended in the
-storming and capture of the
-city of Mexico by General
-Winfield Scott, commander-in-chief
-of the United States
-army. Santa Anna, once
-more defeated and humbled,
-hid himself with the remains
-of his army in the
-mountain passes of Mexico.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic39">
-<img src="images/p38.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="548" />
-<p class="caption">Benjamin M<sup>c</sup>Culloch.</p>
-</div>
-<p>In one of the last battles of the war Colonel Samuel H.
-Walker was killed. This dashing young Texan, had been
-again and again selected by General Taylor for dangerous
-service, and his gallantry was a by-word in the army. He had
-been one of the unfortunate Mier prisoners, and was among
-those who overpowered the guard at Salado and escaped, only
-to be recaptured. In the death-lottery he had drawn a white
-bean, and had afterward endured the miseries of the Castle of
-Perote. In the neighborhood of that prison he fell mortally
-wounded, but flushed with victory, and soon afterward expired.
-&ldquo;Few men were more lamented. When the cry &lsquo;Walker is dead&rsquo;
-rang through the company, the hardy soldiers burst into tears.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_34" href="#fn_34">[34]</a></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_140">140</div>
-<p>Mexico signed at Guadalupe, Hidalgo, a treaty with the
-United States (February 2, 1848), and abandoned forever all
-claim to Texas.</p>
-<p>The governors who succeeded Henderson in Texas from
-1847 to 1859 were Governors George T. Wood, Hansborough
-P. Bell, Elisha M. Pease, and Hardin R. Runnels.</p>
-<p>Early in Governor Wood&rsquo;s administration a disagreement
-arose between Texas and the United States over Sante F&eacute; and
-the surrounding country. This had been a part of Texas, but
-was ceded in 1848 by Mexico to the United States with New
-Mexico. When the United States took possession of it Texas
-protested, and much ill-feeling followed. For a time it seemed
-as if the state which had just got into the Union would march
-out again.</p>
-<p>But the question was settled during Governor Bell&rsquo;s term of
-office. The disputed territory was bought by the United
-States from Texas for the sum of ten million dollars.</p>
-<p>During these years Texas grew in prosperity; all boundary
-questions were settled, and the public debt was paid. Settlements
-sprung up to the very border. This, however, caused
-fresh trouble among the Indians, who from time to time fell
-upon isolated settlements, burning the houses and killing the
-settlers or carrying them into captivity. As late as 1847 two
-hundred Lipans on the war-path swept the western frontier.
-In 1848 the Indians in Texas killed one hundred and seventy
-persons, carried twenty-five into captivity, and stole six thousand
-horses.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_141">141</div>
-<p>The Texan rangers were ordered out by Governor Wood to
-protect the frontier. The Comanches, the fiercest of the western
-tribes, were finally defeated by the rangers under Colonel
-John S. Ford. Their chief, Iron Jacket, was killed in a desperate
-hand-to-hand combat with Captain S. P. Ross. The chief&rsquo;s tall
-form was found, after death, to be encased in a fine coat of
-scale armor, supposed to have belonged to some Spaniard in
-the days of the conquest of Mexico. Hence his name, Iron
-Jacket, and the belief that he could not be killed by the bullet
-of the white man. Iron Jacket&rsquo;s little son Noh-po was carried
-to Waco, where he was raised by the Ross family. During the
-administration of Governor Pease, the legislature gave the
-Indians twelve leagues of land and built for them several new
-trading-posts along the frontier. Later they were all removed
-to the Indian Territory.</p>
-<p>Two million dollars were set aside by the state for a permanent
-school fund; and a quantity of land was voted for the
-support of the deaf and dumb, the blind, the orphan, and the
-insane.</p>
-<p>A new state capitol, a Land Office, and other public buildings
-were erected at Austin.</p>
-<p>In 1857 there was an uprising of Texan wagoners against
-the Mexican cartmen, who were engaged in hauling goods from
-the coast towns to San Antonio. Mexican labor was much
-cheaper than any other, and a large number of these teamsters,
-who were honest and reliable, were employed by merchants and
-planters. The Texan wagoners, failing to drive out Mexican
-cartmen by threats, raided them on the roads, drove off their
-oxen, broke up their carts, and in some instances killed the
-drivers.</p>
-<p>Governor Pease, by ordering out a company of rangers to
-protect the Mexican teamsters, finally put a stop to the &ldquo;Cart
-War,&rdquo; as it was called.</p>
-<p>No other trouble marred this bright period. &ldquo;Our inhabitants,&rdquo;
-said Governor Pease, in his message to the legislature
-in 1855, &ldquo;are prosperous and happy to a degree unexampled
-in our former history.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_142">142</div>
-<h3 id="c37">3. DYING RACES.</h3>
-<p>The Indian tribes who possessed the fair land of Texas
-when the white man first set foot on its soil were rapidly dying
-out. Some were already extinct, having left hardly a trace to
-show where their villages and wigwams had once stood. The
-Cenis, that noble nation which welcomed La Salle and nursed
-him tenderly when he lay for months &ldquo;sick of a fever&rdquo; in
-their midst, and who sheltered the fleeing fugitives from Fort
-St. Louis,&mdash;these had entirely passed away. So had the kindly
-Coushattis, the friends of Lallemand&rsquo;s colonists; and the Orquisacas,
-the Nacogdoches, and all those gentler tribes by
-whose help the Franciscan friars had built the earliest missions.
-Gone were the music-loving Wacoes from the banks of
-the Brazos; and from the Trinity the corn-growing Tehas.</p>
-<p>The fierce Carankawaes, once the terror of the coast and
-long believed to be cannibals, and the Kiowas, called the
-<i>red-eyed</i>, had melted before the coming of the pale-faces, as
-the snow melts under the April sun.</p>
-<p>But remnants of the warlike western tribes remained. The
-Comanches, the Apaches, and the Lipans still hovered like
-dark clouds about the frontier. They called themselves <i>Nianis</i>
-(live Indians); and though they were taken away by the government
-from their hunting-grounds and penned up in a
-Reservation (that is, upon lands reserved or set apart for
-them), they continued every now and then to swoop down upon
-their old haunts, where every rock and bush and hillock was
-familiar to them. Even within the past twenty years the
-borderman dared not be too far from his rifle.</p>
-<p>But the Texas Indian was passing. His tribes were dying
-out, as the Mohicans, the Powhatans, and the Alabamas had
-died out before them.</p>
-<p>With the Red Man, another race, as wild, as noble, and as
-free as his, was as slowly drifting to its end.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_143">143</div>
-<p>When La Salle sailed up a certain pleasant stream in 1685,
-he called it <i>Les Vaches</i> (the cows), from the number of buffalos
-grazing on its banks. They roamed the vast prairies and the
-shaded timberland, from the utmost verge of the country on
-the north and west to the salt waters of the Gulf. The herds
-were so large that the thunder of their hoofs startled the air
-and their trampling shook the ground.</p>
-<p>As the Indian retreated westward, the shaggy buffalo followed
-his moccasined foot; as the savage warriors, who were
-as the sands of the seashore for numbers, dwindled away, so
-dwindled the buffalo herds.</p>
-<h3 id="c38">4. THE TEXAS RANGER.</h3>
-<p>The daring and ever-watchful foe of the Texas Indian, the
-dashing and ever-ready hunter of the Texas buffalo, was the
-Texas ranger. He, too, is passing away before the march of
-civilization, and fast becoming a memory only; but a memory
-which will live forever in song and story, with the brave, the
-generous, and the noble of all times.</p>
-<p>The first company of Texas rangers was formed in 1832;
-but it was not until the administration of President Burnet
-(1836) that this arm of the service was regularly organized and
-put into the field.</p>
-<p>They became at once a power, and they have since played
-an important part in the history of the state. Mounted upon
-a swift horse, with a <i>lariat</i> (rope) coiled about the high pommel
-of his saddle and a blanket strapped behind him; with his long
-rifle resting in the hollow of his arm, and the bridle held
-loosely in his hand; erect and graceful, the brim of his slouch
-hat hiding the sparkle of his keen eyes,&mdash;the Texas ranger
-is a striking and picturesque figure. But he is more than
-that. For fifty years and more he has been the terror of
-Indian and intruding Mexican, of thief and desperado, of lawlessness
-and crime.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_144">144</div>
-<p>The rangers are subject to the call of the government.
-&ldquo;But no tap of spirit-stirring drum or piercing fife, no trumpet
-call or bugle sound was heard on the border,&rdquo; in those early
-days. A rider passed from settlement to settlement, from
-home to home; there would be wiping of rifles and moulding
-of bullets. Oftener than otherwise
-it was the wives and the sisters
-and the sweethearts who moulded
-the bullets and packed the wallets,
-while the men ground their knives
-and saddled their horses. Then
-with a hurried good-bye, the rangers
-were mounted and away; now
-on the bloody trail
-of the Comanches,
-now tracking the
-fierce Lipans; to-day
-protecting a
-lonely frontier cabin,
-to-morrow helping
-the Mexican teamsters
-in the cart war.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic40">
-<img src="images/p39.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="621" />
-<p class="caption">A Texas Ranger.</p>
-</div>
-<p>The rangers, during
-the war of the
-United States with
-Mexico, were noted for their courage and gallantry. &ldquo;I have
-seen a goodly number of volunteers in my day,&rdquo; a war correspondent
-wrote of them at that time, &ldquo;but the Texas rangers
-are choice specimens. From the time we left Matamoras until
-we reached this place (Reynoso), the men never took off their
-coats, boots, or spurs. And although the weather was rainy
-and two fierce northers visited us, there was not a minute when
-any man&rsquo;s rifle or pistol would have missed fire or he could not
-have been up and ready for an attack.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_35" href="#fn_35">[35]</a></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_145">145</div>
-<p>Another writer describes the rangers in camp: &ldquo;Men in
-groups, with long beards and mustachios, were occupied in
-drying their blankets and cleaning and firing their guns.
-Some were cooking at the camp-fires, others were grooming
-their horses. They all wore belts of pistols around their waists
-and slouched hats, the uniform of the Texas ranger. They
-were a rough-looking set; but among them were doctors,
-lawyers, and many a college graduate. While standing in their
-midst I saw a young fellow come into the camp with a rifle on
-his shoulder and a couple of ducks in his hand. He addressed
-the captain: &lsquo;Ben,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;if you haven&rsquo;t had dinner, you&rsquo;d
-better mess with me, for I know none of the rest have fresh
-grub to-day.&rsquo;</p>
-<p>The &ldquo;captain&rdquo; was Benjamin McCulloch, famous in the
-annals of the rangers. He is thus described by Samuel Reid,
-one of his own men:</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Captain McCulloch is a man of rather delicate frame,
-about five feet ten inches in height, with light hair and complexion.
-His features are regular and pleasing, though from
-long exposure on the frontier they have a weatherbeaten cast.
-His quick, bright blue eyes and thin compressed lips indicate
-the cool and calculating, as well as the brave and daring, energy
-of the man.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>McCulloch was a Tennesseean by birth. His father served
-under General Jackson during the Creek war. Ben followed
-the trade of a hunter until he was twenty-one years old. In
-those days the settlers depended chiefly on bear meat for food.
-If a man were a poor marksman he sometimes went without
-his breakfast. But young McCulloch was a fine shot; he often
-killed as many as eighty bears in the course of a season.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_146">146</div>
-<p>He came to Texas with David Crockett. A fortunate illness
-kept him at Nacogdoches until after the fall of the Alamo, where
-Crockett perished. He served in the artillery at the battle of
-San Jacinto, and was one of the first to join the &ldquo;ranging
-service.&rdquo; He was in almost all the expeditions of his time,
-and engaged in nearly all the fights.</p>
-<p>The most noted ranger of this period, however, was Colonel
-John Coffin Hays, familiarly
-known as &ldquo;Jack&rdquo; Hays.
-Samuel Reid says of him:</p>
-<p>&ldquo;I had heard so much of
-Colonel Hays that I was anxious
-to meet the commander
-of our regiment. On this occasion
-I saw a group of gentlemen
-sitting around a camp-fire.
-Among them were General
-Mirabeau Lamar, Governor
-Henderson, and General McLeod,
-all distinguished men of
-Texas whose names are enrolled
-on the page of history.
-As I cast my eyes around the
-group, I tried to single out the celebrated partisan chief;
-and I was much surprised to be introduced to a slender,
-delicate-looking young man who proved to be Colonel Jack
-Hays. He was dressed quite plainly, and wore the usual broad-brimmed
-Texas hat and a loose open collar, with a black
-handkerchief tied carelessly around his neck. He has dark
-brown hair and large, brilliant hazel eyes which are restless in
-conversation and speak a language of their own not to be mistaken.
-His forehead is broad and high. He looks thoughtful
-and careworn, though very boyish. His modesty is extreme.&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic41">
-<img src="images/p40.jpg" alt="" width="463" height="601" />
-<p class="caption">John Coffin Hays</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_147">147</div>
-<p>Colonel Hays was also a Tennesseean. He emigrated to
-Texas when but nineteen years of age. His talent as a leader
-showed itself early; and at the age of twenty-one (1840) he
-was placed in command of the frontier, with the rank of major.
-He soon became famous as a fighter of the Indians, by whom
-he was both feared and admired. &ldquo;Me and Blue Wing,&rdquo; said
-a Comanche chief on one occasion, &ldquo;we no afraid to go anywhere
-<i>together</i>, but Captain Jack <i>great brave</i>. He no afraid to
-go anywhere <i>by himself</i>.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>His regiment of rangers which included McCulloch&rsquo;s company
-was foremost in every battle of the war with Mexico.
-His word was law with his men. Off duty he was a gay and
-pleasant companion; the rangers called him Jack, but there
-was something about him which kept them from taking any
-liberties with him.</p>
-<p>The rangers continued to serve the state after peace was
-made with Mexico. In 1862 the legislature passed a law for
-the protection of the frontier. This law provided for the raising
-of ten companies of rangers of one hundred men each.
-Each company was to be divided, and the two detachments stationed
-about one day&rsquo;s ride apart, just beyond the settlements.</p>
-<p>The command of this regiment was given to Colonel J. H.
-Norris. He went at once to the frontier. He distributed his
-soldiers from the Red River to the Rio Grande, with orders
-for each company to send a scout every day from one station
-to the next, the scout to return the following day. This plan
-gave a patrol scout from Red River to the Rio Grande every
-day. In addition to this, each company kept out a flying scout
-all the time.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;This,&rdquo; remarks an old ranger (E. L. Deaton), &ldquo;was a busy
-year for both rangers and Indians.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>On the 8th of January, 1864, five hundred rangers, under
-Captains Gillentine, Fossett, and Totten, met and defeated two
-thousand Comanche Indians on Dove Creek in what is now
-Tom Green County. This was one of the last pitched battles
-fought with Indians on Texas soil.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_148">148</div>
-<p>In later years the rangers have served as a sort of state
-police. Many a stronghold of cattle thieves has been raided
-by them; many a nest of desperadoes has been broken up;
-many a bitter neighborhood feud has been settled.</p>
-<p>At the present time (1896) there are about two hundred
-rangers in the service. They furnish their own horses, and
-receive forty dollars a month; their rations and their arms
-being supplied by the state.</p>
-<p>Some of those noted for steady nerve and daring courage
-among the ranger captains of earlier and later times are
-Colonel &ldquo;Rip&rdquo; Ford, Lawrence Sullivan Ross (since governor
-of Texas, and called by his old comrades &ldquo;Sul&rdquo; Ross), Colonel
-&ldquo;Buck&rdquo; Barry, Lieutenant Chrisman, Sergeants J. B. Armstrong
-and L. P. Selker, and Captains Tom Wright, Jesse Lee
-Hall, and L. B. McNulty.</p>
-<h3 id="c39">5. A CLOUD IN THE SKY.</h3>
-<p>In the spring of 1848 there appeared on the streets of Austin
-a young man wearing a costume which attracted much attention.
-It was composed of gray stockings and knee breeches, with a
-black velvet tunic and broad-brimmed, gray felt hat. The
-rather dashing-looking stranger was evidently French, but he
-called himself an Icarian. He was, in fact, on his way from
-New Braunfels, where he had been living, to Icaria, a new
-settlement near the Cross Timbers in Fannin County.</p>
-<p>This settlement was founded by Etienne Cabet (Ca-b&#257;), a
-Frenchman who dreamed of establishing a community where
-nobody would be rich and nobody would be poor, but all
-money and other property would be held in common. Devotion
-to women and children, honesty, and the ability and
-willingness to work for the good of the brotherhood were the
-chief rules of the fraternity. They numbered in France in
-1847 many thousand persons of all classes.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_149">149</div>
-<p>Cabet obtained from the Peters Immigration Company in
-1847 a million acres of land in North Texas. The land was
-given to him on condition that a settlement should be made
-upon it before the 1st of July, 1848. In January, 1848, the
-first cohort, numbering sixty-nine persons, embarked at Havre,
-France. They arrived at Shreveport, Louisiana, the following
-April. From there they marched on foot to their chosen
-home in Texas, carrying firearms, household goods, and
-provisions.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Oh, if you could see Icaria!&rdquo; they presently wrote back to
-the brotherhood in France. &ldquo;It is an Eden. The forests are
-superb; the vegetation rich and varied. We have horses,
-cows, pigs, and chickens in abundance.... Many Texans
-come to see us. They are good-natured and very honest. We
-camp and sleep out of doors. We lock up nothing and are
-never robbed.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_36" href="#fn_36">[36]</a></p>
-<p>Houses were built and fields ploughed and planted. By
-midsummer the Icarians in their cosy hamlet were on the lookout
-for the second cohort of colonists. But before it arrived
-the cholera broke out in Icaria. Many of the settlers died;
-nearly all those who were left abandoned their homes in a panic
-and returned to New Orleans, where Cabet himself joined
-them with several hundred recruits from France. A new
-and more fortunate Icarian settlement was finally made in
-Missouri.</p>
-<p>A few years later (1853) a procession, also composed of
-French emigrants, passed along Main Street in Houston.
-They had just landed from the steamboat <i>Eclipse</i> on the
-bayou at the foot of the street. At their head walked a tall
-gentleman in a velvet coat and three-cornered hat. He
-carried a drawn sword in his hand, and the tricolored flag
-of France floated above his head. His long white hair
-streamed over his shoulders. The whole company, men,
-women, and children, sung the Marseillaise hymn as they
-marched along.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_150">150</div>
-<p>The tall gentleman was the Count Victor Considerant. He
-had come with his followers from France to Texas to found a
-Phalanstery, a community much like that already attempted
-by Cabet. His watchword was &ldquo;Liberty and Equality.&rdquo; The
-faces of the emigrants lighted with joy as they traveled away
-over the prairies, following this beautiful vision.</p>
-<p>They founded their town on the east fork of the Trinity
-River, in Dallas County, and called it Reunion. But the
-brotherhood soon fell to pieces. The emigrants scattered
-over the country, finding it pleasanter to own homes in a land
-of true liberty and equality, than to live by the count&rsquo;s fine
-theories.</p>
-<p>Many descendants both of the Icarians and of Count Considerant&rsquo;s
-colonists are to be met with in North Texas.</p>
-<p class="tb">Sam Houston succeeded Runnels as governor in 1859.
-When he took his seat at Austin, clouds from more than one
-quarter were gathering in the clear sky of Texas. Roving
-bands of Indians from the Territory came across the border
-and murdered in cold blood a number of families. At first
-they stole in, made their raids, and dashed back in a single
-night. But they grew more and more bold and insolent, until
-the governor was obliged to send the rangers to their old work
-of watching the frontier.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_151">151</div>
-<p>Lawrence Sullivan Ross, afterward governor of Texas, was
-at this time a lieutenant in the ranging service. He was a
-gallant and dashing soldier. During a raid on the Indians, on
-Pease River (1860), he rescued Cynthia Ann Parker, a white
-woman, who had been carried away by the Comanches, when
-but nine years of age. She had been a captive twenty-four
-years and had forgotten her native tongue. She was the wife
-of Peta Nocona, a Comanche chief, and the mother of several
-children. Lieutenant Ross returned her to her kindred with
-her little daughter Ta-ish-put (Prairie Flower). But she was
-not happy among these long-unknown white people; she pined
-for her dusky adopted kinsmen; and four years after her rescue
-she died, little Ta-ish-put soon following her to the Happy
-Hunting-grounds. Inanah Parker, one of her sons, became
-a Comanche chief.</p>
-<p>During this period a Mexican bandit named Cortina crossed
-the lower Rio Grande into Texas at the head of four hundred
-men. Their object was plunder, and in their forays a great
-many innocent people were killed. The governor appealed to
-the general government at Washington for protection along the
-Mexican border.</p>
-<p>The War Department in response ordered Colonel Robert
-E. Lee (afterward famous as commander-in-chief of the Confederate
-States army), then stationed at San Antonio, to attack
-the bandit and drive him out, crossing the Rio Grande, if
-necessary, in pursuit.</p>
-<p>Some United States troops, with several companies of rangers,
-were at once put in the field, and Cortina&rsquo;s band was
-soon broken up.</p>
-<p>These troubles were light, however, compared with those
-which were about to follow.</p>
-<p>The two sections of the United States, the North and the
-South, had for some years been drifting apart. Their views
-differed widely on several important questions, particularly
-the question of states&rsquo; rights, and there seemed to be no
-chance of a mutual agreement. In 1860, at the time Abraham
-Lincoln was elected President, the Southern States determined
-to withdraw from the Union. They believed that each state
-had a right to withdraw or secede from the Union whenever
-that Union became for any reason undesirable to it, as the
-individual members of a family may leave the paternal home if
-they wish to do so. But the Northern States did not agree to
-this. They believed that the Union should be preserved, and
-that the states should be held together&mdash;even by the power of
-the sword.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_152">152</div>
-<p>South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union.
-Texas, on hearing of this news, was filled with excitement.
-Military companies were formed all over the state; the air
-was thick with the flutter of secession flags; the ground
-echoed the tramp of awkward squads drilling under the eyes
-of officers as awkward and inexperienced and enthusiastic as
-themselves.</p>
-<p>Governor Houston, as well as some other patriotic and true-hearted
-Texans, was bitterly opposed to secession, but his
-voice was lost in the loud clamor of public feeling.</p>
-<p>A convention was held in Austin in January, 1861. A
-declaration of secession was drawn up and submitted to the
-people (February 23). Texas by a large majority voted herself
-out of the Union, which she had entered fifteen years
-before.</p>
-<p>There was wild rejoicing over the state. The capitol at
-Austin was brilliantly illuminated, bonfires were lighted, bells
-were rung, the Confederate flag was run up on all public
-buildings, and the work of
-mustering troops into the Confederate
-States army instantly
-began.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic42">
-<img src="images/p41.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="453" />
-<p class="caption">Confederate Flag.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_153">153</div>
-<p>All state officials were required
-to take the oath of fealty
-to the new government. Governor
-Houston, true to his
-convictions, refused to do this.
-When the day came for the
-ceremony (March 16), the hall of representatives was filled to
-overflowing. &ldquo;The presiding officer, amid a profound silence,
-called three times: &lsquo;Sam Houston! Sam Houston! Sam Houston!&rsquo;
-but the governor remained in his office in the basement of the
-capitol whittling a pine stick, and hearing the echo of the
-noise and tumult above his head. Houston was declared
-deposed from his office, and Edward Clark, the lieutenant-governor,
-was installed as governor.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_37" href="#fn_37">[37]</a></p>
-<p>Houston left Austin and retired to his place near Huntsville.
-To the end of his life he continued to declare that,
-although opposed to the war of the States, his sympathies were
-with Texas. &ldquo;My state, right or wrong,&rdquo; he said. One of
-his sons entered the Confederate army with his consent and
-approval.</p>
-<p>He died July 26, 1863, at the age of seventy years. His
-last words, whispered with dying lips, were: &ldquo;Texas! Texas!&rdquo;</p>
-<p>And Texas, forgetting all her differences with him, and
-remembering only his ready and gallant services in her hours
-of need, mourned his loss as that of a well-beloved son.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_154">154</div>
-<h2><span class="h2line1">VIII.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">GALVESTON.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1861-1865.)</span></span></h2>
-<h3 id="c40">1. A BUFFALO HUNT.</h3>
-<p>The early months of the year 1861 in Texas were like one
-long holiday. The country was dotted with white tents where
-the recruits were encamped, and where, amid bursts of martial
-music and in all the glory of brand new uniforms, the untried
-volunteers received their mothers and sisters, and showed them
-with pride &ldquo;how soldiers live in time of war.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Every few days one of these camps would be broken up, the
-tents and camp baggage would be loaded on wagons, and the
-&ldquo;boys&rdquo; would march to the nearest town. There the whole
-population would be gathered to greet them; a flag would be
-presented to them by the hand of some bright-eyed girl, loud
-cheers would echo on the air, and the company would tramp
-steadily away to take its place in the fighting ranks of the
-Confederate States army.</p>
-<p>Many of these soldiers carried their negro body-servants with
-them; all had abundant stores of clothing and bedding, and
-of those little comforts and luxuries that only mothers know
-how to provide. Their young faces were eager, their eyes
-were sparkling, and if there were sobs in their throats as they
-said those last good-byes, the sobs were smothered in the ringing
-cheers which mingled with the notes of &ldquo;Dixie&rdquo; or &ldquo;The
-Bonnie Blue Flag.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>They were soon to learn in many a tentless camp, on many
-a foot-sore march, on many a bloody and hard-fought field, how
-soldiers really live in time of war.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_155">155</div>
-<p>But the days as yet were like one long holiday, although
-mother-hearts ached in secret dread, and the scarred veterans
-of the Texan revolution and of the Mexican War were filled
-with inward forebodings for the future.</p>
-<p class="tb">People along the frontier had been talking for some time
-about a great buffalo hunt which was to take place that winter
-in the Pan Handle. John R. Baylor, a noted hunter and
-scout, had, it was said, raised more than a thousand men to go
-on this hunt, and a great many scouts and Indian fighters had
-joined him. Among them was Ben McCulloch, who had done
-such gallant service in Mexico under General Taylor.</p>
-<p>The buffalo hunt did not take place; but Colonel Ben
-McCulloch, with the buffalo hunters, a thousand or more
-strong, appeared in San Antonio on the 15th of February
-(1861).</p>
-<p>General David E. Twiggs, United States army, was at that
-time in command of the troops in Texas. San Antonio was the
-most important of the United States army posts in the southwest;
-a large amount of military stores was in the arsenal, and
-soldiers were kept there ready to march at need to the relief of
-the frontier forts.</p>
-<p>Colonel McCulloch, acting under orders of commissioners
-from Austin, demanded the surrender of all military posts and
-supplies in the State of Texas. General Twiggs on the 18th
-of February made a formal surrender of the department.
-The United States troops were paroled and marched to
-Indianola on the coast, where the <i>Star of the West</i>, an
-unarmed United States steamer, was waiting to take them
-home.</p>
-<p>But when they reached Indianola (18th of April) the <i>Star of
-the West</i> and the gunboat <i>Mohawk</i>, which had been guarding
-her, had both disappeared. The officer in command was in a
-quandary. He did not know what to do. At length he placed
-his troops on two schooners and sailed across the Matagorda
-Bay to the Gulf.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_156">156</div>
-<p>In the meantime, on the 12th of April, at Fort Sumter,
-South Carolina, the first gun of the Civil War had been fired.
-The struggle between the States had begun.</p>
-<p>General Earl Van Dorn, of the Confederate army, was at
-this time in command of the military department of Texas.
-His headquarters were at Galveston. The island which the
-pirate Lafitte had left lone and deserted when he sailed away
-in the <i>Pride</i> now teemed with a busy and prosperous people.
-The huts of Campeachy were replaced by stately mansions,
-and beautiful gardens bloomed where sandy wastes had been.</p>
-<p>Several companies of soldiers were encamped without the
-city, awaiting marching orders. General Van Dorn entered
-the camp one day, and after a brief speech called for volunteers
-for an expedition which he was about to undertake. The
-Galveston Artillery, the Island City Rifles, and an Irish company
-called the Wigfall Guards, at once stepped forward, eager
-for duty.</p>
-<p>The next night (17th of April), about midnight, the steamboat
-<i>General Rusk</i>, with these volunteers on board, drew up
-alongside the <i>Star of the West</i>, lying in the Gulf of Mexico, off
-Indianola. Captain Howe, of the United States steamer,
-hearing himself hailed, came on deck, and supposing these to
-be the United States troops he was expecting, he politely
-ordered the <i>General Rusk</i> to be made fast to his own boat.
-In a twinkling the Confederate soldiers were aboard of the
-<i>Star of the West</i> demanding its surrender.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;To what flag am I asked to surrender?&rdquo; asked the astonished
-captain. Ensign Duggan of the Wigfall Guards displayed
-the Lone Star flag of Texas, and in his richest brogue exclaimed:
-&ldquo;That&rsquo;s it! Look at it, me byes. Did ye iver see the Texas
-flag on an Irish jackstaff before?&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_38" href="#fn_38">[38]</a></p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_157">157</div>
-<p>Captain Howe, having neither arms nor soldiers, surrendered,
-and the <i>Star of the West</i> followed the <i>General Rusk</i> to
-Galveston.</p>
-<p>This was why the United States troops the next morning
-(April 18) found no steamer to carry them away. The two
-schooners upon which they embarked were also captured
-several days later, having on board eight hundred officers
-and men, with three hundred fine rifles and a large quantity
-of camp supplies.</p>
-<p>But the Confederacy had no means of protecting the long
-stretch of Texas coast. In July a blockading squadron&mdash;that
-is, a fleet of armed vessels to prevent ships from entering or
-leaving the harbor&mdash;was stationed in the Gulf off Galveston,
-and in a short time the whole coast was closely guarded.</p>
-<p>In the fall of 1861 Frank R. Lubbock, who has been called
-the &ldquo;war governor&rdquo; of Texas, was elected governor. By the
-close of his term ninety thousand Texan soldiers were in the
-Confederate army.</p>
-<p>Early in 1862 a Texas brigade, under General Sibley, was
-defeated by the Union forces in New Mexico, and forced to
-retreat to San Antonio with a loss of five hundred men.</p>
-<p>In October of the same year the Confederates, unable to
-hold Galveston, surrendered that place to Commodore Eagle
-of the blockading squadron, and withdrew to Virginia Point
-on the mainland about six miles distant. Many of the citizens
-of the town also left their homes; and amid a silence almost as
-profound as that in which Lafitte landed on the island nearly
-fifty years before, several hundred soldiers stepped ashore from
-their boats and took possession of the place. The United
-States flag was hoisted on the Custom-house; the soldiers
-settled into their quarters on one of the wharves; the imposing
-vessels of the Federal squadron filled the bay and the
-harbor. A mournful cry echoed throughout Texas: &ldquo;Galveston
-has fallen!&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_158">158</div>
-<h3 id="c41">2. THE BLUE AND THE GRAY.</h3>
-<p>The holiday look had long since disappeared from Texas.
-No battles had been fought within her borders, but the blood
-of her brave sons had dyed the sod of many a battlefield elsewhere.
-For the deadly conflict was raging. The North and
-the South, fighting as brother against brother, were pouring
-out their kindred blood day by day; the smoke of their hostile
-guns darkened the very heavens. Many heroic deeds were
-done on both sides&mdash;deeds which to-day thrill us with wonder
-and admiration.</p>
-<p>But there were frightful gaps in the ranks of those who had
-marched away from Texas to the tune of &ldquo;Dixie&rdquo; or &ldquo;The
-Bonnie Blue Flag.&rdquo; The gallant lads who had showed off
-their brave uniforms in the holiday camps were tramping about,
-barefoot, ragged, and hungry, in Virginia, in Tennessee, in
-Georgia,&mdash;wherever there was an enemy to be attacked or
-an outpost to be held.</p>
-<p>Their mothers and sisters at home were making lint and
-cartridges, weaving and wearing homespun, making their own
-shoes and gloves, and cheering the far-away &ldquo;boys&rdquo; with
-letters and with home-made gifts, and praying, praying always.</p>
-<p>There were few able-bodied men left in the state. The
-women with the old men and boys, aided by the negroes who
-remained loyal and trustworthy, made the crops. As the war
-went on the prices of everything rose. Old bills show that
-forty dollars a yard (Confederate money) was paid for calico
-for a little girl&rsquo;s &ldquo;best&rdquo; dress; and seventy-five dollars was
-paid for a boy&rsquo;s first pair of boots. A war-time arithmetic has
-among its examples the following:</p>
-<p>&ldquo;A cavalryman paid 200 dollars for his pistol and 4000
-dollars for his horse; how much did both cost him?&rdquo;</p>
-<p>&ldquo;At 20 dollars a pound, how much coffee can you buy for 40
-dollars?&rdquo;</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_159">159</div>
-<p>&ldquo;If one hat costs 120 dollars, how much would eight hats
-cost?&rdquo;</p>
-<p>Coffee and tea were replaced by drinks made of parched
-potatoes, or burnt peas, and sassafras roots. The real articles
-which were brought into the country occasionally by blockade-runners
-were known as &ldquo;blockade&rdquo; coffee and tea, and were
-kept for the use of the sick.</p>
-<p>The blockade-runners were very daring and confident.
-Captain Henry Sherffius of Houston, among others, was noted
-for his skill in slipping through the line of big ships on watch
-along the coast of Texas. Once, when he was leaving on one of
-his trips, he was so sure of himself and his boat that he invited
-his friends to come to his wedding on a certain day some
-weeks later. He came back at the appointed time, bringing
-with him his wedding-cakes, baked in Vera Cruz, Mexico.</p>
-<p>The Mississippi River rolled, a wide barrier, between the two
-parts of the Confederacy. Its banks were lined with Federal
-sharp-shooters, and its yellow waters were dotted with Federal
-gunboats. It was difficult to get news from the eastern side,
-where the greater part of the fighting was done, and terrible were
-the times of waiting between the first rumors of a battle and the
-receipt of the lists of the killed and wounded. A noble and
-patriotic citizen of Houston, E. H. Cushing, rendered a priceless
-service to Texas in this matter. He was at that time and had
-been for years the editor of the <i>Houston Telegraph</i>. His energy
-and his devotion to the Confederate cause were unceasing. He
-established a pony express between the seat of war&mdash;wherever
-that chanced to be&mdash;and Texas. His messengers somehow
-managed to get through the lines when no one else could do
-so. They went and came, carrying and bringing papers and
-dispatches, and above all, precious letters from the boys in
-gray. Mr. Cushing&rsquo;s express also &ldquo;ran&rdquo; to Brownsville.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_160">160</div>
-<p>At the close of the war this true patriot supplied money
-from his private purse, not only to broken-down and crippled
-home-coming Confederate soldiers, but to the home-going
-Federal prisoners from Camp Ford.<a class="fn" id="fr_39" href="#fn_39">[39]</a></p>
-<p>The <i>Telegraph</i> came out daily throughout the war, some of
-its later numbers being printed on coarse yellow, red, and
-blue paper.</p>
-<p>Amid all the anxiety and hardship there was no thought of
-giving up. The men of the South believed themselves to be
-fighting for a just cause; the Northern soldiers were equally
-sincere in their convictions. And so the war, grim and terrible,
-went on.</p>
-<p class="tb">In the fall of 1862 General Magruder, Confederate States
-army, assumed command of the Trans-Mississippi (that is,
-west of the Mississippi) Department. He determined at
-once to attempt the recapture of Galveston. He went to
-Virginia Point, where the Confederate troops were camped,
-and there with great caution and secrecy made his plans.</p>
-<p>At the head of Galveston Bay, the <i>Neptune</i> and the <i>Bayou
-City</i>, two small steamboats, were bulwarked with cotton bales,
-mounted with cannon, and manned with sharp-shooters from
-the Confederate States cavalry and artillery. The <i>Lady Gwinn</i>
-and the <i>John F. Carr</i> were detailed to accompany these vessels
-as tenders. This crude fleet was commanded by Captain Leon
-Smith who had served in the navy of the Texas Republic.</p>
-<p>About midnight on the 31st of December, the boats moved
-down the bay to a position above the town, where they quietly
-awaited General Magruder&rsquo;s signal gun.</p>
-<p>Magruder had already crossed his troops to the island.
-They marched swiftly through the deserted streets of the city,
-and, by the light of a waning moon, planted their batteries.
-At five o&rsquo;clock on New Year&rsquo;s morning, 1863, the attack began.
-It was a complete surprise to the Federals.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_161">161</div>
-<p>The ships of the blockading fleet, under the command of
-Commodore Renshaw, were nearly all within the bay. The
-<i>Harriet Lane</i>, commanded by Commodore Wainwright, was lying
-near the wharf. At a little distance was the iron-clad <i>Westfield</i>,
-Commodore Renshaw&rsquo;s flag-ship, attended by the <i>Owasco</i>; still
-further out were the armed vessels, the <i>Clifton</i> and the <i>Sachem</i>,
-and the barges the <i>Elias Park</i> and the <i>Cavallo</i>.</p>
-<p>The war-ships answered the fire of Magruder&rsquo;s batteries
-with a terrific hail of iron; once the Confederate gunners were
-driven from their guns. But the <i>Neptune</i> and the <i>Bayou City</i>
-steamed up to the <i>Harriet Lane</i> and attacked her at close
-quarters, pouring a hot fire into her from behind the rampart
-of cotton bales.</p>
-<p>The <i>Neptune</i> with a hole in her hull made by a cannon-ball
-soon sank in shallow water. The <i>Bayou City</i> was also disabled.
-The Confederate sharp-shooters leaped on board the <i>Harriet
-Lane</i>, and, after a bloody fight on her deck, captured her.<a class="fn" id="fr_40" href="#fn_40">[40]</a>
-Commodore Wainwright was killed early in the action. First
-Lieutenant Lea was mortally wounded.</p>
-<p>The Union infantry made a gallant resistance to the land
-attack, but they were finally obliged to surrender.</p>
-<p>The <i>Sachem</i>, the <i>Clifton</i>, and the <i>Owasco</i> stood out to sea and
-escaped. The <i>Westfield</i> ran aground and was blown up to prevent
-her capture. Commodore Renshaw and his officers had
-left the vessel, but their boats were too near when the explosion
-took place prematurely, and they perished with her. The
-<i>Harriet Lane</i> and the barges, with several hundred prisoners,
-remained in the hands of the victors.</p>
-<p>The loss in this battle on the Confederate side was twelve
-killed and seventy wounded. The Federals lost one hundred
-and fifty killed and many wounded.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_162">162</div>
-<p>Among the mortally wounded were two young soldiers, the
-story of whose death even yet stirs the heart to pity. One fell
-fighting under the starry cross of the Confederacy. The
-other dropped on the bloody deck of the <i>Harriet Lane</i> under
-the shadow of the stars and stripes. The Confederate was
-Lieutenant Sidney Sherman, son of the gallant veteran, General
-Sidney Sherman, who led the infantry charge at San Jacinto.
-The lieutenant was hardly more than a boy. The blood oozed
-from his wounds as he lay dying, but the smile of victory
-parted his lips. Suddenly his blue eyes grew soft and tender;
-&ldquo;Break this gently to my mother,&rdquo; he whispered. These were
-his last words.</p>
-<p>The young Union soldier was Edward Lea, first lieutenant
-of the <i>Harriet Lane</i>. His wounds were also fatal. But as his
-life was ebbing away he heard his name spoken in a tone of
-agony. He opened his eyes. His father, Major Lea of the
-Confederate army, was kneeling beside him. Father and son
-had fought on opposite sides that dark New Year&rsquo;s morning.
-The pale face of the young lieutenant lighted with joy; and
-when a little later the surgeon told him he had but a moment
-to live, he answered with the confidence of a little child and
-with his latest breath, &ldquo;My father is here.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>The two lads cold in death rested almost side by side on
-their funeral biers that day,&mdash;brothers in death, brothers forever
-in the memory of those who looked upon their calm
-young faces.</p>
-<p>Lieutenant Lea and Commodore Wainwright were buried
-with military honors from General Magruder&rsquo;s headquarters,
-Major Lea reading the service for the burial of the dead.</p>
-<p>The body of young Sherman was carried to his beloved
-mother, who in her home on the bay had listened with a beating
-heart to the cannonading of the battle in which her son&rsquo;s
-brave young life had ended.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_163">163</div>
-<h3 id="c42">3. HOME AGAIN.</h3>
-<p>A small earthwork called Fort Griffin had been built by the
-Confederates on the Texas side of Sabine Pass at the mouth
-of the Sabine River. It was protected by five light guns and
-garrisoned by the Davis Guards, a company from Houston
-commanded by Captain
-Odlum. The first lieutenant
-of the company was Dick
-Dowling, an Irishman but
-twenty years of age.</p>
-<p>Fort Griffin, though small,
-was a place of much importance.
-Sabine Pass was a sort
-of outlet for the pent-up Confederacy.
-Blockade-runners,
-in spite of the Federal ships
-stationed in the Gulf, were
-always slipping out of the
-Sabine River, loaded with
-cotton for Cuba or Europe,
-and stealing in with arms
-and supplies from Mexico.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic43">
-<img src="images/p42.jpg" alt="" width="484" height="600" />
-<p class="caption">Richard Dowling.</p>
-</div>
-<p>Soon after the battle of Galveston, Major Oscar Watkins,
-Confederate States navy, was sent by General Magruder with
-two cotton-clad steamboats, the <i>Josiah Bell</i> and the <i>Uncle Ben</i>,
-to annoy the blockading fleet at Sabine Pass. After a skirmish
-and an exciting chase, he succeeded in capturing two United
-States ships, the <i>Velocity</i> and the <i>Morning Light</i> (January 21,
-1863).</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_164">164</div>
-<p>The United States then determined to take Fort Griffin and
-land at Sabine Pass a force large enough to overawe that part
-of the country. Twenty-two transports carried the land troops,
-about fifteen thousand in number, to the Pass. Four gunboats,
-the <i>Sachem</i>, the <i>Clifton</i>, the <i>Arizona</i>, and the <i>Granite City</i>,
-accompanied them, to bombard the fort and cover the landing
-of the soldiers. The expedition was under the command of
-General Franklin.</p>
-<p>When this formidable fleet appeared at Sabine Pass, Captain
-Odlum was absent and Lieutenant Dowling was in command
-of Fort Griffin. His whole force consisted of forty-two men. He
-ordered the &ldquo;Davys,&rdquo; as they were called, to stay in the bombproofs
-until he himself should fire the first gun. Then,
-hidden by the earthwork, he watched the approach of the gunboats.</p>
-<p>The <i>Clifton</i> steamed in and opened the attack from her pivot
-gun, throwing a number of shells which dropped into the fort
-and exploded. The <i>Sachem</i> and the <i>Arizona</i> followed, pouring
-in broadsides from their thirty-two-pound cannon.</p>
-<p>No reply came from the fort, which seemed to be deserted.
-The gunboats came nearer and nearer. Suddenly a shot from
-the fort clove the air and fell hissing into the water beyond the
-<i>Arizona</i>. The fight at once became furious. The <i>Clifton</i> and
-the <i>Arizona</i> moved backward and forward, vomiting huge shells
-which tore the earthwork of the fort and filled the air with dust.
-Ships and fort seemed wrapped in flame. The <i>Sachem</i> meanwhile
-was stealing into the Pass toward the unprotected rear
-of the fort. But a well-aimed shot from Dowling&rsquo;s battery
-struck her, crushing her iron plating and causing her to rise on
-end and quiver like a leaf in the wind. She was at the mercy
-of the fort, and her flag was instantly lowered. The <i>Clifton</i>
-kept up the fight with great skill and bravery. But she soon
-ran aground in the shallows, where she continued to fire until
-a shot passed through her boiler, completely wrecking her.
-A white flag was run up at her bow, and the battle was
-over. The <i>Arizona</i> and the <i>Granite City</i> steamed out to the
-transports, whose men had watched the fight with breathless
-interest.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_165">165</div>
-<p>The fleet at once retired, leaving the <i>Sachem</i> and the <i>Clifton</i>
-to the &ldquo;Davys.&rdquo;<a class="fn" id="fr_41" href="#fn_41">[41]</a></p>
-<p>Three hundred Union soldiers were taken prisoners. Captain
-Crocker of the <i>Clifton</i> came ashore with a boat&rsquo;s crew,
-and, mounting the parapet, asked for the commanding officer.
-Lieutenant Dowling, covered with the dust of the fort, presented
-himself as the person sought.</p>
-<p>The gallant Federal in his handsome uniform could hardly
-believe that this dirty little boy was his conqueror, or that the
-handful of men before him comprised the force which had so
-calmly awaited a hostile fleet and defeated it.<a class="fn" id="fr_42" href="#fn_42">[42]</a></p>
-<p>Eight months afterward the United States gunboats, the
-<i>Granite City</i> and the <i>Wave</i>, were captured at Sabine Pass.</p>
-<p>In November and December, 1863, General Banks took
-possession of the Texas coast, protecting it with a land force
-from Brownsville to Indianola. Within a short time, however,
-he withdrew his troops, leaving only a garrison at Brownsville.
-But the cruel war was fast drawing to a close. The Confederate
-army, thinned in ranks and in need of food, as well as of
-powder and of shot, could no longer be maintained. There
-were no men to take the place of those who fell in battle; the
-untilled fields gave no harvests; the coasts were so guarded
-that the most reckless blockade-runner, could no longer get in
-with supplies. On the 9th of April, 1865, General Robert E.
-Lee, commander-in-chief of the Confederate army, surrendered
-to General U. S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in
-Virginia.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_166">166</div>
-<p>Before this news reached Texas the last skirmish of the war
-had taken place near Brownsville (April 13) between some
-of Banks&rsquo; soldiers and a party of Confederates. The scene of
-this skirmish was the old battlefield of Palo Alto.</p>
-<p>On the 30th of May Generals Kirby Smith and Magruder
-went on board the United States ship <i>Fort Jackson</i> at Galveston
-and made a formal surrender of the Trans-Mississippi
-Department.</p>
-<p>On the 19th of June General Granger, United States army,
-took command at the island and announced the freedom of the
-negroes.</p>
-<p>The great Civil War was over.</p>
-<p>Several thousand Texans lost their lives in the Confederate
-States army during the four years&rsquo; war. Among the distinguished
-dead were General John Gregg, first general of Hood&rsquo;s
-brigade, Colonels Tom Lubbock and Tom Green, the famous
-scout Ben McCulloch, General Granbury, Colonel Rogers, and
-many others. To these may be added General Albert Sidney
-Johnston, always claimed by Texas as her son, and who in
-death rests upon her bosom.</p>
-<p class="tb">The war was over. The ragged, foot-sore, hungry soldiers
-who had so proudly worn the gray began to come home.
-Many who had gone away round-faced boys came back lank
-and hollow-eyed men. Many were maimed and crippled;
-many were sick; all were forlorn and discouraged. They saw
-with despair their weed-grown fields, their dilapidated houses,
-and rotting fences. The wives and mothers, whose husbands
-and sons had laid down their lives for a lost cause, looked at
-the more fortunate wives and mothers whose husbands and
-sons had been spared to them, and wept. And all wondered
-how they could ever take up their ruined lives again.</p>
-<p>But time is merciful. The gloom did not last always. The
-Blue and the Gray clasped hands before many years had
-passed, and once more the Lone Star of Texas blazed in a
-cloudless sky.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_167">167</div>
-<h2 id="c43"><span class="h2line1">IX.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">A FLIGHT OF YEARS.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line3"><span class="smaller">(1865-1900.)</span></span></h2>
-<p>The time indeed came when the Blue and the Gray joined
-hands, and the Lone Star shone once more in a cloudless sky.
-But that time was not yet. The years which followed the Civil
-War were bitter and sorrowful ones for Texas.</p>
-<p>After the surrender General Granger continued to hold
-military possession of the state.</p>
-<p>Before his arrival Pendleton Murrah, who had succeeded
-Lubbock in 1863, had left his office in the hands of the lieutenant-governor
-Fletcher S. Stockdale, and gone to Mexico.</p>
-<p>Andrew J. Hamilton was appointed provisional governor by
-President Johnson. He arrived at Galveston in July (1865),
-and at once assumed the duties of his office.</p>
-<p>He ordered an election of delegates to a convention which
-was called for the purpose of framing a new constitution.</p>
-<p>But no man was allowed to vote who had borne arms
-against the United States. The majority of Texas men had
-fought against the Union; they therefore took little interest in
-an election of delegates for whom they could not vote.</p>
-<p>The convention met (February, 1866), the new constitution
-was drawn up and submitted for ratification to such of the
-people as were &ldquo;loyal to the United States, and none others&rdquo;;
-and in June James W. Throckmorton was elected governor.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_168">168</div>
-<p>A few months later the United States government decided
-to place the state again under military rule. Louisiana and
-Texas were constituted a Military District with headquarters at
-New Orleans. General Philip Sheridan was placed in command,
-and General Charles Griffin was ordered to Texas with
-several thousand troops to enforce military rule (March, 1867).
-His headquarters were at Galveston.</p>
-<p>All elections except those under control of his officers were
-forbidden by General Griffin. An oath, known as the &ldquo;iron-clad
-oath,&rdquo; was required of all voters. The newly freed negroes
-were for the first time
-placed on juries and
-encouraged to vote.</p>
-<p>It was during this time
-that the remains of the
-great soldier General
-Albert Sidney Johnston
-were removed from New
-Orleans to Austin for
-final burial.</p>
-<p>At Houston, when the
-funeral train rolled into
-the station, it was met
-by a procession of five
-hundred ladies and little
-girls. The coffin was
-borne to the old Houston
-Academy, where for a
-day and night it lay in state, amid the mournful tolling of bells.</p>
-<p>In July Governor Throckmorton, upon reports made by
-General Griffin, was removed from office by General Sheridan,
-and E. M. Pease appointed in his place.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic44">
-<img src="images/p43.jpg" alt="" width="486" height="599" />
-<p class="caption">General Albert Sidney Johnston.</p>
-</div>
-<p>In September, 1869, Governor Pease, vexed and wearied by
-the strife and discord around him, resigned his thankless office.
-For a time there was no governor, a military adjutant performing
-the duties of the place.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_169">169</div>
-<p>In 1870 Edmund J. Davis was inaugurated governor and
-held the office four years. He was succeeded in 1874
-by Richard Coke, with Richard B. Hubbard as lieutenant-governor.</p>
-<p>The dark and stormy period from the surrender to the close
-of Governor Davis&rsquo; term of office has since been known in
-Texas as the &ldquo;Reconstruction Time.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>At the time of Governor Davis&rsquo; election, the military was
-finally withdrawn from the state, the citizens were restored to
-their civil rights, and Texas was readmitted to the Union.
-During his administration a Homestead Law was passed, a
-one-per-cent tax was levied for the building of schoolhouses,
-and the growth of railroads was encouraged by liberal grants
-of land.</p>
-<p>But there was still a great deal of trouble and discontent,
-and it was not until Governor Coke took his seat that the state,
-so long shaken by contention, began once more to breathe
-freely and to put forth the strength within her.</p>
-<p>Governor Coke served from 1874 to 1876; in 1876 he was
-elected to the United States senate, and Richard B. Hubbard
-became governor (1876-1879).</p>
-<p>The governors who guided the Ship of State from 1879 to
-1895 were Oran M. Roberts (1879-1883), John Ireland<a class="fn" id="fr_43" href="#fn_43">[43]</a> (1883-1887),
-Lawrence S. Ross (1887-1891), and James S. Hogg
-(1891-1895).</p>
-<p>In 1894 Charles A. Culberson became governor, and in 1896
-he was returned by a large majority to the same office. On his
-election by the legislature in 1897 to the senate of the United
-States, he was succeeded by Joseph D. Sayers, who was the
-chief executive of the great state of Texas at the close of the
-nineteenth century.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_170">170</div>
-<p>These years have been marked by many wonderful changes
-in Texas. Not the least of these changes has been the
-growth of the great public school system. The first free school
-in Texas was opened at San Antonio in 1844. A state public
-school system was organized in 1870. From these imperfect
-beginnings to the admirable system of to-day, when an army
-of earnest and gifted men and women are banded together in
-the noble work of teaching, and countless multitudes of children
-pass daily in and out of the schoolroom,&mdash;from that gray
-dawn to this blazing noontide, what a change!</p>
-<p>The cause of education has indeed been ever in the minds
-and hearts of the people.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic45">
-<img src="images/p44.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="484" />
-<p class="caption">The Sam Houston Normal Institute.</p>
-</div>
-<p>An Agricultural and Mechanical College was founded at
-Bryan, and opened in 1876.</p>
-<p>In 1879 a State Normal School for teachers, called the
-Sam Houston Normal Institute, was established at Huntsville,
-Governor Houston&rsquo;s old home. A few years later the Prairie
-View, a normal school for colored teachers, was established.</p>
-<p>A State University was founded in 1881. The fine group of
-buildings crowning one of Austin&rsquo;s green hills was finished and
-thrown open to the young men and women students of the state
-in 1883.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_171">171</div>
-<p>The first president of the University Board of Regents was
-Doctor Ashbel Smith. After his services to the Texan Republic,
-Doctor Smith devoted himself to scientific study and to the
-free practice of the medical profession. In 1861 he enlisted
-in the Confederate States army. He was elected a captain in
-the second Texas regiment of infantry, and was promoted to
-the colonelcy on the battlefield of Shiloh for personal bravery.
-He was in command of the post of Galveston at the time of
-the final surrender. He was chairman of the committee sent
-from Galveston to New Orleans to escort to Texas the remains
-of General Albert Sidney Johnston.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic46">
-<img src="images/p44a.jpg" alt="" width="702" height="500" />
-<p class="caption">The University of Texas.</p>
-</div>
-<p>His wise counsels were of great service during those troublous
-times. The joy and pride of this truly great man&rsquo;s declining
-years was the University of Texas. He lived to see it answer
-to his highest hopes; and his memory should be eternally
-associated with its fame.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_172">172</div>
-<p>In 1895 the Board of Regents was authorized to manage
-all lands belonging to the University; at the same time the
-office of president was created.</p>
-<p>A number of charitable and other public institutions have
-been added to those already in existence. The new Penitentiary
-at Rusk (1877), a State Orphan&rsquo;s Asylum at Corsicana
-(1881), and two Insane Asylums,
-one at Terrell (1883) and one at
-San Antonio (1890), are among
-these. In 1891 the John B. Hood
-Camp of Confederate Veterans
-at Austin was taken under the
-kindly care of the state, and its
-name changed to the Texas Confederate
-Home.</p>
-<p>Many state questions of importance
-have been considered;
-new laws have been made and
-old ones improved.</p>
-<p>The public debt has been reduced.
-A new constitution has
-been adopted by the people
-(1875).</p>
-<p>The state revenues have been
-materially increased by the introduction
-of wiser and better regulations.
-The school tax has been
-raised. Arbitration laws have been passed, greatly to the advantage
-of disputants; and anti-trust laws have been enforced.</p>
-<p>In 1895 suit was brought by Texas, in the Supreme Court of
-the United States, for Greer County, a body of land on Red
-River claimed both by the United States government and by
-Texas. The decision of the Supreme Court (April, 1896)
-awarded the county to the United States.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic47">
-<img src="images/p45.jpg" alt="" width="328" height="601" />
-<p class="caption">The Old Alamo Monument.</p>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_173">173</div>
-<p>A new court, called the Commission of Appeals, was created
-in 1881; the same year an admirable quarantine system was
-established, with a special station at Galveston.</p>
-<p>A memorable feature of the year 1895 was the extra session
-of the legislature called for the purpose of making prize fighting
-illegal in the state of Texas. The brutal and degrading sport
-was promptly declared a felony, and a law was passed prohibiting
-it on penalty of confinement in the Penitentiary.</p>
-<p>On the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898
-Texas furnished more than her quota of eager and determined
-volunteers to the United States army; the sons of the men who
-wore the gray donned the blue uniform and wore it proudly
-and worthily throughout the campaign.</p>
-<p>A railroad commission was formed in 1891. In 1891, also,
-the United States government began at Galveston the building
-of jetties to improve the entrance to the harbor. These jetties,
-which are a double line of gigantic stone walls, reach out from
-the land into the Gulf. The action of the tides within this
-artificial channel washes out the sand, and thus deepens it.
-The channel, though damaged by the great flood of 1900, was
-not materially injured. Similar jetties were built at Sabine
-Pass and at Aransas Pass.</p>
-<p>In 1881 the old capitol at Austin was burned, and with it
-many priceless relics of the earlier days of Texas. Among
-these was the old monument dedicated in 1857 to the heroes
-of the Alamo. It was built of stones from the ruined fortress
-and stood on the porch of the capitol. It was inscribed with
-the names of Travis and his men; and the four sides of the
-shaft bore the following inscriptions:</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_174">174</div>
-<blockquote>
-<p class="revint"><i>North.</i> &ldquo;To the God of the fearless and the free is dedicated this
-altar, made from the stones of the Alamo.&rdquo;</p>
-<p class="revint"><i>West.</i> &ldquo;Blood of heroes hath stained me. Let the stones of the
-Alamo speak that their immolation be not forgotten.&rdquo;</p>
-<p class="revint"><i>South.</i> &ldquo;Be they enrolled with Leonidas in the host of the mighty
-dead.&rdquo;</p>
-<p class="revint"><i>East.</i> &ldquo;Thermopyl&aelig; had her messenger of defeat, but the Alamo
-had none.&rdquo;</p>
-</blockquote>
-<p>A new monument, upon whose summit stands, rifle in hand,
-the statue of a Texas ranger, has been placed in the capitol
-grounds.</p>
-<p>The legislature which met soon after the burning of the old
-capitol provided for the erection of a new one. Three million
-acres of public lands were set aside to meet this expense. The
-new building was finished and dedicated in 1888.</p>
-<p>The historic old church of the Alamo was purchased by the
-state in 1883. The battlefield of San Jacinto has also become
-the property of the state. This beautiful spot, consecrated by
-the blood of heroes, is guarded by the same encircling trees,
-which, clad in the green of spring&rsquo;s livery, looked down upon
-the birth of freedom on that long-past 21st of April. May the
-coming centuries see them still standing, mute witnesses to the
-bravery of men who had no peer!</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_175">175</div>
-<h2 id="c44"><span class="h2line1">X.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">THE NEW CENTURY.</span></h2>
-<p>The last year of the nineteenth century witnessed in Texas
-a calamity which wrapped the state in gloom and stirred the
-entire country to instant and generous sympathy. This was
-the Great Flood at Galveston.</p>
-<p>Earlier in the same year (April 7) the city of Austin had
-suffered a severe loss through water. The wonderful barrier
-of granite&mdash;the largest dam in the world&mdash;which imprisoned
-the waters of the Colorado River between the wooded hills on
-either side, thus forming an artificial lake thirty miles long, had
-suddenly given way; the mighty torrent set free had poured
-through the gap, carrying ruin with it and leaving havoc
-behind.</p>
-<p>In August, 1899, there had been a flood of unusual magnitude
-in the Brazos River. An angry sea had swirled down
-from the Red Lands above; the long and fertile valley of the
-Brazos was laid waste; several lives were lost, and much valuable
-property was destroyed. But these floods were dwarfed
-in importance by the tidal wave from the sea which on September
-8 and 9, 1900, beat against the Gulf coast and fell with
-special violence upon the Island of Galveston.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_176">176</div>
-<p>A blinding storm of rain fell ceaselessly throughout the whole
-of the first day; a furious wind drove the salt spray across the
-island from Gulf to bay. By nightfall the streets were submerged;
-the lower floors of many dwellings were under water.
-During the night of horror which followed, the railroad bridge
-connecting the island with the mainland was swept away, and
-the city lay isolated and helpless at the mercy of the hurricane.
-As the hours passed the people huddled together in their rocking
-houses, climbed to the upper stories and out upon the
-roofs, with the savage flood climbing after them. Thousands
-were swept to death from these insecure places of refuge.
-Whole blocks of buildings crumbled like so many sand houses
-into the waters; the foamy waves were strewn with a mass of
-wreckage: shingles, beams, furniture, household goods, animals
-dead and dying, human beings battling for their lives in the
-darkness or drifting stark and stiff with the storm.</p>
-<p>Many stories of heroism, of self-sacrifice, of pathetic devotion,
-are told of that awful night; many strange incidents are
-related. Strong men perished, while frail and delicate women
-survived unhurt; skilled swimmers succumbed; helpless babes
-floated to safety. One little child, torn from its mother&rsquo;s arms
-by the gale, drifted through the d&eacute;bris, across the island,
-across the bay, and was found the next day, quite unharmed,
-nested like a bird in the limbs of an oak tree on the mainland!</p>
-<p>When the morning dawned, pale and wan, a ghastly spectacle
-met the dazed eyes of the survivors. The waters, receding
-sullenly, exposed masses of ruins; thousands of corpses strewed
-the uneven sands; not a sound from the outer world penetrated
-the dismal silence. There was a single moment of
-paralyzed despair; then, with a splendid courage, almost without
-parallel, the stricken people took heart and set life in
-motion again for themselves and for their beloved city. Help
-poured in from every direction: money, provisions, clothing,
-doctors, nurses; best of all, words of sympathy and cheer,
-which lightened the task. In an incredibly short time almost
-all traces of the Great Flood had disappeared, and the lovely
-island lay serene and smiling, as before, on the bosom of the
-Gulf. It is believed that from six thousand to seven thousand
-people perished in the storm.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_177">177</div>
-<p>In September, 1901, a sea wall, planned for the protection
-of the island against such storms, was begun; this enclosing
-wall, which is to cost one and a half million dollars, will be
-when finished sixteen feet broad at the base, sixteen feet high,
-and five feet in breadth at the top.</p>
-<p>The dawn of the twentieth century was marked by the
-discovery of petroleum in vast quantities in southeast Texas.
-In the earliest days of Lone Star history, certain of the incurving
-bays west of the Sabine River were known as the Oil
-Ponds, because they offered upon their smooth surface a secure
-refuge from the stormy Gulf outside to all manner of sailing
-craft. The meaning of their strange quiet was undreamed of
-until the first well on Spindletop Heights near Beaumont shot
-its geyser of oil hundreds of feet in the air. The oil wells at
-Beaumont and elsewhere now number many scores; their rich
-output seems inexhaustible.</p>
-<p>Long-continued droughts and the appearance of the boll
-weevil, an insect very destructive to the growing cotton, marred
-the splendor of this opening year. Vigorous measures have
-been taken to exterminate the boll weevil, and despite all
-drawbacks the crops of cotton, corn, and rice have steadily
-increased in size and in value.</p>
-<p>In 1903 S. W. T. Lanham was inaugurated governor.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_178">178</div>
-<h2 id="c45"><span class="h2line1">XI.</span>
-<br /><span class="h2line2">TEXAS.</span></h2>
-<h3>FROM THE DOME OF THE CAPITOL.</h3>
-<p>On the 16th of May, 1888, there was a mighty gathering of
-people at Austin. They had come&mdash;men, women, and children&mdash;from
-every quarter of the great state: from the Pan Handle
-and from the coast; from the wide prairies of the west, and
-the wooded hills and valleys of the east. There was a throb
-of pride in every heart and a sparkle of joy in every eye; for
-Texas was about to give a housewarming, as it were, and her
-children had met together to have a share in the home feast,&mdash;the
-new capitol was to be dedicated.</p>
-<p>The beautiful City of Hills was bathed in a flood of golden
-sunshine. The air was sweet with the breath of roses blooming
-in the gardens. A thousand flags and pennons and banners
-fluttered from housetops, floated from tall flag-poles, and waved
-from open windows. There was music everywhere, and everywhere
-the tread of moving feet and the gay noise and confusion
-of a happy crowd.</p>
-<p>From the crest of its long sloping hill the new capitol, vast
-and majestic, looked down on all this life and color. Its
-massive walls arose like the fa&ccedil;ade of some proud temple; its
-pillars of rosy granite reflected the light; its great dome soared
-into the blue sky. No wonder the people burst into shouts of
-delight on beholding it!</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_179">179</div>
-<p>The dedication ceremonies took place at noon in the presence
-of an immense throng of citizens and soldiers. Among
-the orators of the occasion was Temple Houston, a son of
-General Sam Houston. The day was one long to be remembered.
-At night the noble building was illuminated, and the
-lofty halls and corridors were filled for hours with the best, the
-bravest, and the fairest of the sons and daughters of Texas.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic48">
-<img src="images/p46.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="428" />
-<p class="caption">New Capitol at Austin (1888).</p>
-</div>
-<p>In the old days when the world still believed in fairies and
-gnomes and elves and water-sprites, it was thought that each
-country had its guardian spirit, or genie, who watched over it
-and protected it from evil. If the poets of those far-away
-times were now alive, they might picture the Genie of
-Texas standing, invisible, on the huge dome of the capitol,
-looking out over her beloved state, and saying, &ldquo;All is well with
-my people.&rdquo; They might imagine her describing the scene
-under her eyes to the guardians of other states in words like
-these:</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_180">180</div>
-<p>&ldquo;I see around me, widespread and beautiful, the free State
-of Texas. Below me, clad in flowers and bathed in mellow
-light, lies Austin. Crowning the hills, on which fifty years
-ago the Red Man dwelt in his wigwams and hunting-lodges,
-are stately government buildings, mansions, and churches. The
-enclosing gardens, rich in the herbs and blossoms of a semi-tropical
-region, are fair under the over-arching blue sky. In
-their midst, crowning its own hill-tops, stands the University
-planned by the Republic in 1839. Here the young men and
-the young women of the state, alike eager in effort and high
-in achievement, move about the hushed halls, or pass, book in
-hand, through the academic grove without.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;To southward, beyond prairies threaded by the crystal waters
-of the rivers San Marcos and Guadalupe, I see San Antonio,
-that old town filled with memories of heroic deeds. The
-Alamo, treasured by my people, still stands on the plaza once
-dyed by the blood of Travis and his men. But how the
-gallant St. Denis would stare if he could come riding up and
-look from the brow of his favorite hill into the valley he loved!
-The village has become a great city. The streets are alive
-with traffic, handsome houses line the river-banks almost to the
-old Missions of Concepcion and San Jos&eacute;. The United States
-army post is there as of old, with the stars and stripes proudly
-waving over its fine buildings.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;To east and southeastward are Goliad and Gonzales, sacred
-in the pages of Texas history; and the river La Vaca, up which
-La Salle and his men sailed to build ill-fated Fort St. Louis;
-and the San Jacinto, washing the reedy edge of the famous
-battle-ground. There are Houston and Columbia, whose
-streets in the early days were trod by the fathers of the
-Republic. There is Nacogdoches; and there is the Old San
-Antonio Road, which is still a traveled highway; and many
-a town which played its part in the stirring scenes of past
-times.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Northward and westward lies the newer Texas with thriving
-cities, such as Dallas and Fort Worth, Sherman and Denison;
-and Waco on the site where half a century ago stood the
-village of the music-loving Wacoes.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_181">181</div>
-<p>&ldquo;A wonderful network of railroads binds all these towns and
-cities together&mdash;a network which has been woven as if by
-magic. In 1852 the <i>Sidney Sherman</i>, the first locomotive
-engine west of the Mississippi River, ran out of Harrisburg on
-a short stretch of railroad. Now there are nine thousand miles
-of railroad in the state.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Every year vast fields of grain lie golden and ripe for the
-harvest, where a short time
-ago plover and partridge
-hid in the prairie grass.
-Along the coast the rich
-plantations of sugar cane
-wave and rustle in the
-breeze, and the smoke of
-the sugarhouses at grinding-time
-is black against
-the sky.</p>
-<div class="img" id="pic49">
-<img src="images/p47.jpg" alt="" width="475" height="600" />
-<p class="caption">Ashbel Smith.</p>
-</div>
-<p>&ldquo;In Stephen F. Austin&rsquo;s
-day there were little patches
-of cotton about the cabin
-doors of the settlers. To-day
-Texas grows one-third
-of the cotton raised in the
-world. No fleece so white,
-no stalks so weighted with bursting bolls, no fiber so strong
-and yet so delicate, as that of the cotton of Texas.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;I see,&rdquo; the Genie might continue, &ldquo;I see orchards of
-fruit trees, and vegetable gardens, and rose bowers, making
-green and glad the face of the country.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;I see at Galveston and Sabine Pass the largest ships now
-sailing with ease, where in 1863 the <i>Westfield</i> and the <i>Clifton</i>
-grounded in mud or on a sand-bar.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;A mighty bulwark, sprung up as if by magic, stretches its arms
-around the Island City and guards it from any fury of the sea.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_182">182</div>
-<p>&ldquo;The mysterious and limitless pools and lakes which lie far
-below the surface of Texas soil have been forced into service.
-I see artesian wells spouting their sturdy columns of clear
-healing water in hundreds of places; and reservoirs of oil,
-whose fountain-head no man knows, yield their priceless gifts
-to the hand.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Herds of cattle swarm about the great ranches of the west;
-while in the vast unfenced solitudes soft-eyed antelopes, and
-other wild creatures of the forest, still rove in primeval freedom.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Libraries spring up; new institutions for the afflicted arise;
-smiling homes invite to comfort and repose the thinning ranks
-of the veterans of the Southern Confederacy.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;Last, and best of all, wherever there is a quiet hamlet or a
-growing town or a busy city, I see a schoolhouse. It may be
-but a rude cabin, where through the unchinked logs the children
-may watch the birds building their nests, or it may be
-a stately building which glorifies the memory of some generous
-giver, like the Ball and Rosenburg Schools at Galveston; it
-may be a crowded little place where the boys kick their heels
-against time-worn benches, or it may be the handsome University
-of Texas. But big or little, stone building or log cabin,
-there is always the schoolhouse; and within it the school children,
-the future men and women of the state. Upon them,
-even more than upon railroad or cotton crop, depend the prosperity
-and welfare of the state. I breathe a prayer for all who
-tread this free and unfettered soil to-day; but chiefly I call
-down blessings upon the school children of Texas.</p>
-<p>&ldquo;All is well with my people.&rdquo;</p>
-<p>So might speak the Genie of Texas from the dome of the
-capitol.</p>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_183">183</div>
-<h2 id="c46"><span class="h2line1">PRONUNCIATION.</span></h2>
-<dl class="undent"><dt>Acequia (Ah s&#257;&prime; kee ah)</dt>
-<dt>Adaes (Ah dah&prime; ess)</dt>
-<dt>Aes (Ah&prime; ess)</dt>
-<dt>Aguayo (Ah gwah&prime; yo)</dt>
-<dt>Aimable (&#256; mah bl)</dt>
-<dt>Alamo (Ah&prime; lah mo)</dt>
-<dt>Alazan (Ah&prime; lah zan)</dt>
-<dt>Almonte (Al mon&prime; t&#257;)</dt>
-<dt>Alvarez (Al&prime; vah ress)</dt>
-<dt>Ampudia (Am poo&prime; dee ah)</dt>
-<dt>Anahuac (An&prime; ah wak)</dt>
-<dt>Andrade (An drah&prime; d&#257;)</dt>
-<dt>Arredondo (Ar r&#257; don&prime; do)</dt>
-<dt>Anastase (Ah nas taze&prime;)</dt>
-<dt>Barbier (Bar bee &#257;)</dt>
-<dt>Beaujeu (B&#333; zhuh)</dt>
-<dt>Benevidas (B&#257; n&#257; vee&prime; das)</dt>
-<dt>Belleisle (Bel eel)</dt>
-<dt>Bexar (Bair)</dt>
-<dt>Bustamente (Boos t&#257; m&#257;n&prime; t&#257;)</dt>
-<dt>Cabet (C&#257; b&#257;)</dt>
-<dt>Castenado (Kas t&#257; nah&prime; do)</dt>
-<dt>Champ d&prime;Asile (Chon dazile)</dt>
-<dt>Coahuila (Ko ah wee&prime; lah)</dt>
-<dt>Colito (Ko lee&prime; t&#333;)</dt>
-<dt>Cordero (Kor d&#257; ro)</dt>
-<dt>De Pag&egrave;s (Pa jess)</dt>
-<dt>Desloges (D&#257; loj)</dt>
-<dt>Duhaut (Du ho)</dt>
-<dt>Elisondo (El ee son&prime; do)</dt>
-<dt>Espiritu Santo (Ess pee&prime; ree too)</dt>
-<dt>Filisola (Fee lee s&#333;&prime; lah)</dt>
-<dt>Garza (Gar&prime; ssa)</dt>
-<dt>Grand Terre (Gron Tair)</dt>
-<dt>Guadalupe (Gwah dah loop&prime; &#257;)</dt>
-<dt>Gutierrez (Goo tee &#257;&prime; ress)</dt>
-<dt>Herrera (&#256; r&#257;&prime; rah)</dt>
-<dt>Indios Bravos (In&prime; dee oss Brah&prime; voss)</dt>
-<dt>Indios Reducidos (R&#257; doo see&prime; doss)</dt>
-<dt>Joli (Zho lie)</dt>
-<dt>Jos&eacute; (Ho s&#257;&prime;)</dt>
-<dt>Joutel (Zhoo tel)</dt>
-<dt>La Bahia (Lah Bah ee&prime; ah)</dt>
-<dt>Martinez (Mar tee&prime; ness)</dt>
-<dt>Mier (Mee&prime; ah)</dt>
-<dt>Mina (Mee&prime; nah)</dt>
-<dt>Moragnet (Mo rah ny&#257;)</dt>
-<dt>Musquis (Moos keess&prime;)</dt>
-<dt>Natchitoches (Nak ee tosh)</dt>
-<dt>Neches (N&#257;&prime; chez)</dt>
-<dt>Nika (Nee kah)</dt>
-<dt>Orquisacas (Or kee sah&prime; kass)</dt>
-<dt>Ory (&#332; ree)</dt>
-<dt>Pedro (P&#257;&prime; dro)</dt>
-<dt>Perez (P&#257; ress)</dt>
-<dt>Perote (Pa ro&prime; ta)</dt>
-<dt>Piedras (Pee &#257;&prime; drass)</dt>
-<dt>Plaza (Pla&prime; zah)</dt>
-<dt>Presidio (Pr&#257; see&prime; dee &#333;)</dt>
-<dt>Refugio (R&#257; foo&prime; jee &#333;)</dt>
-<dt>Saget (Sah j&#257;)</dt>
-<dt>Saltillo (Sal tee&prime; yo)</dt>
-<dt>San Felipe (F&#257; lee&prime; pa)</dt>
-<dt>Santa F&eacute; (F&#257;)</dt>
-<dt>St. Denis (San De nee)</dt>
-<dt>Toledo (To l&#257;&prime; do)</dt>
-<dt>Tonti (Ton tee)</dt>
-<dt>Ugartechea (Oo gar ta ch&#257;&prime; ah)</dt>
-<dt>Urrea (Oo r&#257;&prime; ah)</dt>
-<dt>Zacetacas (Zah k&#257; tah&prime; kas)</dt>
-<dt>Zavala (Zah vah&prime; lah)</dt></dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_184">184</div>
-<h1 title="">FOOTNOTES.</h1>
-<div class="fnblock"><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_1" href="#fr_1">[1]</a>Called by the Spaniards, La Vaca.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_2" href="#fr_2">[2]</a>Now Dimmitt&rsquo;s Point on the La Vaca.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_3" href="#fr_3">[3]</a>L&rsquo;Archev&ecirc;que afterward returned to America and settled in Santa F&eacute;,
-New Mexico, where he married and died, and where his descendants still
-live. See A. F. Bandelier&rsquo;s <i>Gilded Man</i>.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_4" href="#fr_4">[4]</a>La Salle never married. His title was inherited by his brother,
-numerous descendants of whom are living in Louisiana.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_5" href="#fr_5">[5]</a>Charles II.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_6" href="#fr_6">[6]</a>The name more probably was derived from the Tehas Indians, a tribe
-whose central village was built on the present site of Mound Prairie.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_7" href="#fr_7">[7]</a><i>Alamo</i>, cottonwood.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_8" href="#fr_8">[8]</a>These Spanish and Indian builders were called &ldquo;The Children of San
-Jos&eacute;.&rdquo;
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_9" href="#fr_9">[9]</a>A Mexican dance.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_10" href="#fr_10">[10]</a>Salcedo, the Spanish commander at Monterey, said that if &ldquo;he had the
-power he would stop even the birds from flying across the Sabine.&rdquo;
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_11" href="#fr_11">[11]</a>Nolan afterward claimed to have made this map for the benefit of the
-United States government in case of a war with Spain. He wrote, upon
-the eve of this journey: &ldquo;Will we have a war? At all events, I can cut my
-way back and you can rely upon me.&rdquo; (Letter to General Wilkinson, June
-10, 1797.)
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_12" href="#fr_12">[12]</a>Ellis Bean&rsquo;s diary.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_13" href="#fr_13">[13]</a>Burr at this time was suspected of a design to separate the southwestern
-states from the Union and found a new government.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_14" href="#fr_14">[14]</a>Charles IV. and Maria Louisa of Parma.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_15" href="#fr_15">[15]</a>Natchitoches is about forty miles from the Sabine River in a direct
-line. The Neutral Ground, therefore, was about thirty-three miles wide. It
-extended southward to the mouth of the Calcasieu River. The choice of
-the Arroyo Hondo as a boundary was the revival of an old compromise.
-The French and Spanish commandants, as early as 1719, agreed upon the
-Arroyo Hondo as a convenient boundary between Louisiana and New
-Spain. This agreement was observed until 1762, when the whole of Louisiana
-west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain. The Sabine River, by a
-state treaty (1819), was finally fixed as the boundary.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_16" href="#fr_16">[16]</a>Baron de Bastrop had been an officer in the army of Frederic the Great.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_17" href="#fr_17">[17]</a><i>Texas Scrap Book.</i>
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_18" href="#fr_18">[18]</a>Benjamin Milam was a native of Kentucky. He fought in the War of
-1812 against Great Britain. In 1823 he received from the Mexican government,
-for services rendered in the deposition of Iturbide, one million of
-acres of land in Texas, which he sold to Baring &amp; Co., London.</div>
-<div class="fncont">He also obtained from the government of Coahuila and Texas the
-exclusive right to run steamboats on the Colorado River. He was unable,
-however, to avail himself of this right.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_19" href="#fr_19">[19]</a>Robert Calder.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_20" href="#fr_20">[20]</a>General Burleson had remained in camp during the storming of the
-city. He entered on the 9th. (Official Report.)
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_21" href="#fr_21">[21]</a>Horseshoe Bend.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_22" href="#fr_22">[22]</a>A man named Rose, who escaped by leaping from the wall.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_23" href="#fr_23">[23]</a>This battle, called by the Mexicans the battle of the Encinal del
-Perdido, began at one o&rsquo;clock <span class="small">P.M.</span>
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_24" href="#fr_24">[24]</a>Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, the father of Hal Ripley, was a brigadier-general
-in the United States army, and greatly distinguished himself in
-the war with Great Britain in 1812. He was afterward a member of the
-United States Congress from Louisiana.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_25" href="#fr_25">[25]</a>Colonel Garay was a native of Greece.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_26" href="#fr_26">[26]</a>Houston left Gonzales, March 13. Reached Burnham&rsquo;s Crossing, on the
-west bank of the Colorado, March 17. Crossed to the east bank of the Colorado
-and marched down to Beason&rsquo;s Crossing, March 19. Reached San
-Felipe on the Brazos, March 28. Marched up the Brazos (west bank) to
-Mill&rsquo;s Creek and Groce&rsquo;s Landing. Remained at Groce&rsquo;s Landing until
-April 12. Crossed the Brazos (April 12) to Groce&rsquo;s Plantation. Marched
-on the 14th; reached Buffalo Bayou, opposite Harrisburg, on the 18th.
-Crossed the same day in pursuit of Santa Anna. Occupied the battlefield
-of San Jacinto, April 20.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_27" href="#fr_27">[27]</a>Cos was Santa Anna&rsquo;s brother-in-law.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_28" href="#fr_28">[28]</a>Moses Bryan, in <i>Texas Scrap Book</i>.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_29" href="#fr_29">[29]</a>Thrall.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_30" href="#fr_30">[30]</a>G. W. Kendall.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_31" href="#fr_31">[31]</a>Quoted by Yoakum from a narrative by one of the prisoners.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_32" href="#fr_32">[32]</a>Anson Jones died at the Old Capital Hotel in Houston on the 7th of
-January, 1858. A short time before his death he remarked to one of his
-friends: &ldquo;Here in this house, twenty years ago, I commenced my public
-career in Texas, and here I would like to die.&rdquo;
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_33" href="#fr_33">[33]</a>Diary of Captain Henry, U. S. A.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_34" href="#fr_34">[34]</a>Frost&rsquo;s <i>History of Mexico</i>.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_35" href="#fr_35">[35]</a>G. W. Kendall.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_36" href="#fr_36">[36]</a><i>Cabet at ses Icariens.</i>
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_37" href="#fr_37">[37]</a>Williams&rsquo; <i>Life of Houston</i>.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_38" href="#fr_38">[38]</a>Scharf&rsquo;s <i>History of the Confederate States Navy</i>.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_39" href="#fr_39">[39]</a>Camp Ford, where the Federal prisoners were confined during the
-war, was situated near Tyler, in Smith County.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_40" href="#fr_40">[40]</a>The bell used on the <i>Harriet Lane</i> is now in the museum of the
-Houston (Texas) High School.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_41" href="#fr_41">[41]</a>Jefferson Davis, in his <i>Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government</i>,
-says of this engagement: &ldquo;The success of the single company which garrisoned
-the earthwork at Fort Griffin is without parallel in ancient or
-modern war.&rdquo;
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_42" href="#fr_42">[42]</a>Scharf&rsquo;s <i>History of the Confederate States Navy</i>.
-</div><div class="fndef"><a class="fn"  id="fn_43" href="#fr_43">[43]</a>Ireland died March 15, 1896.
-</div>
-</div>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_185">185</div>
-<h2 id="c47"><span class="h2line1">INDEX.</span></h2>
-<p class="center"><a class="ab" href="#index_A">A</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_B">B</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_C">C</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_D">D</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_E">E</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_F">F</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_G">G</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_H">H</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_I">I</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_J">J</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_K">K</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_L">L</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_M">M</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_N">N</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_O">O</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_P">P</a> <span class="ab">Q</span> <a class="ab" href="#index_R">R</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_S">S</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_T">T</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_U">U</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_V">V</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_W">W</a> <span class="ab">X</span> <a class="ab" href="#index_Y">Y</a> <a class="ab" href="#index_Z">Z</a></p>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_A">A</dt>
-<dt>A Bold Rider, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_14">14</a>.</dt>
-<dt>A Buffalo Hunt, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_154">154</a>.</dt>
-<dt>A Cloud in the Sky, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>A Fatal Venture, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>.</dt>
-<dt>A Hurried Ride, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>.</dt>
-<dt>A Treacherous Shot, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>.</dt>
-<dt>A Voice in the Wilderness, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_48">48</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Acequias, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Across the Border, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_136">136</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Adaes, Mission of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Aes, Mission of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Agricultural and Mechanical College, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_170">170</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Aguayo, Marquis de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Aimable</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_4">4</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Alamo, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_176">176</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Almonte, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_136">136</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Along the old San Antonio Road, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Alvarez, Se&ntilde;ora, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_95">95</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ampudia, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>.</dt>
-<dt>An Unexpected Meeting, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Anahuac, Fort, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_61">61</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Anastase, Father, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Andrade, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_110">110</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Annexation, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_135">135</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Anti-trust Laws, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_172">172</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Apaches, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Arbitration Laws, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_172">172</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Archer, Branch T., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_74">74</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Archives, War of the, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_124">124</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Arredondo, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Arroyo Hondo, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_36">36</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Artesian Wells, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_182">182</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Asylums, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_172">172</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Aury, Luis d&rsquo;, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_42">42</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Austin, Bursting of Dam at, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_175">175</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Austin City, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_178">178</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Austin, Moses, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_50">50</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Austin, Stephen F., Character and Appearance, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_51">51</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Contract with Martinez, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_52">52</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Arrival with Colonists, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_52">52</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Journey to Mexico, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_53">53</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Return from Mexico, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Imprisonment in Mexico, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_60">60</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Release from Prison, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_62">62</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; In Command of Volunteers, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_66">66</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Commissioner to United States, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_69">69</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Secretary of State, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_113">113</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Death and Burial, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_113">113</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Austin&rsquo;s Colonists, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_52">52</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_186">186</div>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_B">B</dt>
-<dt>Banks, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_165">165</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Barbier, Sieur, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Barry, &ldquo;Buck,&rdquo; <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bastrop, Baron de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Battle of the Alamo, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_82">82</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Colita, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_91">91</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Concepcion, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_67">67</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Galveston, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_160">160</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Mier, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_128">128</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Palo Alto, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_165">165</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Resaca de la Palma, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Rosillo, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_38">38</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Sabine Pass, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_164">164</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Three Trees, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_43">43</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Velasco, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_54">54</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bay of Bernard, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Matagorda, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_156">156</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Baylor, John R., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_155">155</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bean, Ellis P., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_33">33</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Beaujeu, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_4">4</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bell, Hansborough P., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Belle</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_6">6</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Belleisle, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Benevidas, Placido, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bexar, Duke de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bienville, Sieur de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Blackburn, Ephraim, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_35">35</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Blanco, El, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_32">32</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Blockade-running, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_159">159</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Blue, The, and the Gray, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_168">168</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Blue Wing, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_144">144</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bolivar Point, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_53">53</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bonham, James, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bowie, James, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_86">86</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bowie, Rezin, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_80">80</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bradburn, Juan Davis, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_58">58</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Brazoria, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_85">85</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Brazos, Flood in, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_175">175</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Brazos River, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Brown, Captain Jerry, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_118">118</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Brownsville, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_165">165</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Brutus</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Buffalo Bayou, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_115">115</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Burleson, Edward, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Burnet, David G., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Burton, Isaac, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_112">112</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Bustamente, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_61">61</a>.</dt>
-<dt>By the Brazos, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_74">74</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_C">C</dt>
-<dt>Cabet, Etienne, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Calder, Robert, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_106">106</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Caldwell, Matthew, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_126">126</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Canary Islands, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cannon at Concepcion, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_67">67</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; at Gonzales, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_62">62</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; at San Jacinto, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_100">100</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Capital, The, at Austin, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; at Columbia, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_112">112</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; at Houston, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_126">126</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; at San Antonio, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; at Saltillo, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_60">60</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; at Washington, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_130">130</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Capitol, Dedication of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_178">178</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Carankawaes, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cart War, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_141">141</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cash, Mrs., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_95">95</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Castenado, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_63">63</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Castle of Perote, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_139">139</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Castro, Henry, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_132">132</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cenis, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Champ d&rsquo;Asile, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_44">44</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Chrisman, Lieutenant, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Clark, Edward, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_152">152</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cl&egrave;re, Le, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_115">115</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Coahuila, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_59">59</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Coke, Richard, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Colita, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_92">92</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Collingsworth, George A., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_64">64</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Colonists, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Colorado, Flood in, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_175">175</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Colorado River, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_122">122</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Columbia, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Comanches, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_147">147</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Concepcion, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_67">67</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Mission of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_127">127</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Confederate States, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Congress, The Texan, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_132">132</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Considerant, Victor, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_150">150</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cordero, Antonio, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_59">59</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Corpus Christi, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cortina, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_151">151</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cos, Martin Perfecto de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_72">72</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cotton, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_147">147</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cotton, Texas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_181">181</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Council-house Fight, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_121">121</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Coushattis, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cowl and Carbine, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_16">16</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Crocker, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_165">165</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Crockett, David, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_145">145</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Culberson, Charles A., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Cushing, E. H., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_159">159</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_187">187</div>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_D">D</dt>
-<dt>Davis, E. J., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_168">168</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Davis Guards, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_163">163</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Davis, Jefferson, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Dawson, Nicholas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_127">127</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Declaration of Independence, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Dedication of Capitol, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_178">178</a>.</dt>
-<dt>De Leon, Alonzo, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_77">77</a>.</dt>
-<dt>De Nava, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_32">32</a>.</dt>
-<dt>De Pag&egrave;s, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Desauque, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_91">91</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Desloges, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_4">4</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Dickinson, Lieutenant, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_83">83</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Mrs., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_89">89</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Dimitt, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_79">79</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Dimmitt&rsquo;s Point, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_4">4</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Donna Maria, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_15">15</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Dorn, Earl Van, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_156">156</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Dowling, Dick, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_163">163</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Duggan, Ensign, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_156">156</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Duhaut, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Dying Races, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_E">E</dt>
-<dt>Eberle, Mrs., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_126">126</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Education, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_182">182</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Edwards, Hayden, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Elisondo, General Y, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Espiritu Santo, Mission of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_77">77</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Evans, T. C., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_86">86</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_F">F</dt>
-<dt>Fannin, James W., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_96">96</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Farias, Gomez, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_60">60</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Fight, The Grass, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_68">68</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Filisola, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_108">108</a>.</dt>
-<dt>First Bloodshed, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_4">4</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Marriage, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_6">6</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Fisher, William S., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_128">128</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Flag, The Texas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_123">123</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ford, John S., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Fort Defiance, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_89">89</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Griffin, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_163">163</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; St. Louis, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_13">13</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Fosset, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_147">147</a>.</dt>
-<dt>France, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Franciscans, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_28">28</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Franklin, B. C., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Fredonian War, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>.</dt>
-<dt>From the Dome of the Capitol, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_174">174</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Front&eacute;nac, Count de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_2">2</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_G">G</dt>
-<dt>Galveston, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_160">160</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; City of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Flood at, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_175">175</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Island of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Sea Wall at, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_176">176</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Garay, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_95">95</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Garza, Governor de la, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Genie of Texas, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_179">179</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Gil Y Barbo, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Gillentine, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_147">147</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Godoy, Manuel de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_33">33</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Goliad, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_108">108</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Gonzales, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_97">97</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Grand Terre, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_47">47</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Granger, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Grant, Doctor, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Green, Thomas J., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_130">130</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Greer County, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_172">172</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Griffin, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_168">168</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Guadalupe River, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_63">63</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Gutierrez, Bernardo, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_188">188</div>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_H">H</dt>
-<dt>Hall, Captain Lee, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Hamilton, A. J., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Harriet Lane</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_161">161</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Harrisburg, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_105">105</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Hawkins, Commodore, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_107">107</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Hays, John Coffin, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_146">146</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Henderson, J. P., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Herrera, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Hogg, James S., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Home Again, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_163">163</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Houston, City of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Houston, Sam, Delegate to Convention, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_59">59</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; With the Army at La Espada, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_66">66</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Biography, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_74">74</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Commander-in-Chief, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Resignation, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_80">80</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Retreat, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_96">96</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; At San Jacinto, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_100">100</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Interview with Santa Anna, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_103">103</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; President of Republic, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_124">124</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; At Houston, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_115">115</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; United States Senator, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_136">136</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Governor of Texas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_150">150</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Death, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_153">153</a>.</dt>
-<dt>How the Good News was Brought, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_105">105</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Hubbard, Richard B., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_I">I</dt>
-<dt>Icaria, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>In Church and Fortress, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_82">82</a>.</dt>
-<dt>In the Name of France, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_1">1</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Spain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Oblivion, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Inauguration, Houston&rsquo;s, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_112">112</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Independence, Declaration of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Indians, Texas, Adaes, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Apaches, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Carankawaes, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Cenis, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Comanches, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_147">147</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Coushattis, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Kiowas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Lipans, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Nassonites, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Naugodoches, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Orquisacas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Tehas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Wacoes, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Indios Bravos, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Reducidos, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Inscriptions on Alamo Monument, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_174">174</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Institute, Sam Houston Normal, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_170">170</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ireland, John, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_159">159</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Iron Jacket, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ironclad Oath, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_168">168</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_189">189</div>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_J">J</dt>
-<dt>Jetties, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_173">173</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Johnson, Frank W., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Johnston, Albert Sidney, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_168">168</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Joli</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_2">2</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Jones, Anson, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_136">136</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Randall, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_54">54</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Joutel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_8">8</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_K">K</dt>
-<dt>Karnes, Henry, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_102">102</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Kemper, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>.</dt>
-<dt>King, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_89">89</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_L">L</dt>
-<dt>La Bahia, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_48">48</a>.</dt>
-<dt>La Espada, Mission of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_68">68</a>.</dt>
-<dt>La Harpe, Bernard de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>.</dt>
-<dt>La Salle, Robert, Cavalier de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>La Vaca, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_176">176</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lafitte, Jean, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_157">157</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lallemand, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_44">44</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lamar, Mirabeau B., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_139">139</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lanham, S. W. T., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_177">177</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Las Almagras, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lea, Edward, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_162">162</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lee, Robert E., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_165">165</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Les Vaches, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_143">143</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Liberty</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_117">117</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lincoln, Abraham, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_151">151</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Liotot, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Lively</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_117">117</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lockhart, Matilda, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_121">121</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Long, David, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; General James, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_77">77</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Mrs., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_53">53</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Lubbock, F. R., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_157">157</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_M">M</dt>
-<dt>Magee, Augustus W., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_49">49</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Magruder, John B., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_160">160</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Martinez, Governor, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_53">53</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Massacre at Goliad, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_103">103</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; at San Saba, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Matagorda Bay, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_156">156</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Matamoras, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>.</dt>
-<dt>McCulloch, Benjamin, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>.</dt>
-<dt>McLeod, General Hugh, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Messengers of Distress, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_77">77</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Mexico, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_144">144</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Mier, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_128">128</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Milam, Benjamin, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_72">72</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Military Rule, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Mina Xavier, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_42">42</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Mission of Adaes, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Aes, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Concepcion, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_127">127</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Espada, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_68">68</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Nacogdoches, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_48">48</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Nuestra Se&ntilde;ora del Pilar, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Orquisacas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of Refugio, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_91">91</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of San Francisco, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of San Jos&eacute;, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; of San Saba, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Missionaries, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_17">17</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Missions, Building of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_17">17</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Mississippi River, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_159">159</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Moderators, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_134">134</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Monclova, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Monterey, Siege of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Moragnet, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Mother Ditch, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Murrah, Pendleton, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Musquiz, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_32">32</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Mustangs, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_34">34</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_190">190</div>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_N">N</dt>
-<dt>Nacogdoches, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Nassonites, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Natchitoches, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Navy, The Texas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Neches River, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Neill, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_80">80</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Neptune</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_160">160</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Neutral Ground, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_134">134</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Nika, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Nolan, Philip, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_49">49</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Norris, Captain J. H., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_147">147</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_O">O</dt>
-<dt>Odlum, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_163">163</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Oil Ponds, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_177">177</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Oil Wells, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_182">182</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Old San Antonio Road, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>On Buffalo Bayou, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_111">111</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Only Son</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_53">53</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Orders and Disorder, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Orquisacas, Mission of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ory, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_4">4</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Out of a Mist, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_65">65</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Owasco</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_161">161</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_P">P</dt>
-<dt>Palm Sunday, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_91">91</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Palo Alto, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_165">165</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Parker, Cynthia Ann, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_150">150</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Pass, Sabine, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_163">163</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Pease, E. M., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_168">168</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Perez, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Perote, Castle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_129">129</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Perry, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_42">42</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Philippines, The New, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_22">22</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Piedras, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_58">58</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Plaza de las Islas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_69">69</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Plazas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_69">69</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Pocket</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_118">118</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Portilla, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_101">101</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Prairie View Normal School, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_170">170</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Presidios, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_17">17</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Pride</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_157">157</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Prize Fight, Stopping of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_173">173</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_R">R</dt>
-<dt>Railroad Commission, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_173">173</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Railroads, Texas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_181">181</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Reconstruction Time, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Red House, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Red Rovers, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_76">76</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Refugio, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_91">91</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Regulators, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_134">134</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Renshaw, Commodore, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_161">161</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Resaca de la Palma, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Revenge</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_53">53</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ripley, Harry, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_96">96</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Eleazer Wheelock, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_92">92</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Roberts, O. M., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Rose, Moses, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_85">85</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Rosillo, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_38">38</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ross, Lawrence Sullivan, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; S. P., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Runnels, Hardin R., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Rusk, Thomas J., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_130">130</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_191">191</div>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_S">S</dt>
-<dt>Sabine Pass, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_63">63</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; River, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_37">37</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Saget, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Sal Colorado, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Salado, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_126">126</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Hacienda of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_128">128</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Sam Houston Normal Institute, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_170">170</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Antonio, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Bernard, Bay of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_12">12</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Felipe de Austin, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_76">76</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Fernando Church, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_24">24</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Francisco, Mission of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_10">10</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Jacinto, Battle Ground, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_174">174</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Jos&eacute;, Mission of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Patricio, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Pedro River, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_83">83</a>.</dt>
-<dt>San Saba Mission, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Sandoval, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_65">65</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Santa Anna, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_139">139</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Santa F&eacute; Expedition, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_139">139</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Sayers, J. D., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>.</dt>
-<dt>School, Prairie View Normal, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_170">170</a>.</dt>
-<dt>School Tax, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_172">172</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Schools, Texas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_182">182</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Scott, General Winfield, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_139">139</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Seal, The Texas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_111">111</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Secession of Texas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_152">152</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Shackleford, Doctor, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_95">95</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Sherffius, Henry, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_159">159</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Sheridan, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Sherman, General Sidney, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_100">100</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Lieutenant Sidney, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_162">162</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Sibley Expedition, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_157">157</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Slave Ships, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_43">43</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Smith, Ashbel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_171">171</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Benjamin Fort, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_108">108</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Deaf, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_100">100</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Henry, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_111">111</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; James, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_134">134</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Rev. W. T., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_64">64</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Somervell, General Alexander, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_127">127</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Spain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_35">35</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Spanish-American War, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_173">173</a>.</dt>
-<dt>St. Denis, Juchereau, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>St. Francis</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_9">9</a>.</dt>
-<dt>St. John the Baptist, Presidio of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_27">27</a>.</dt>
-<dt><i>Star of the West</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_156">156</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Stephenson, Rev. Henry, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_76">76</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Stockdale, Fletcher S., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Storming of San Antonio, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_71">71</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_T">T</dt>
-<dt>Taylor, General Zachary, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_137">137</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Teal, Henry, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_108">108</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Tehas, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Texas Ranger, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_143">143</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The Blue and the Gray, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_168">168</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The Capital, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The Champ d&rsquo;Asile, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_44">44</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The Disputed Boundary Line, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_33">33</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The Grays, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_68">68</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The <i>Invincible</i>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_119">119</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The <i>Pride</i>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_157">157</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The Priest&rsquo;s House, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_69">69</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&ldquo;The Republic is no more,&rdquo; <a class="pgref" href="#Page_132">132</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The Telegraph, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_159">159</a>.</dt>
-<dt>The War of the Archives, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_134">134</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Thirty Years, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Three Trees, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_43">43</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Throckmorton, James W., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_167">167</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Toledo, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_39">39</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Tonti, Chevalier de, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_8">8</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Totten, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_147">147</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Travis, William B., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Treasure, Lafitte&rsquo;s, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_47">47</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Twiggs, General David, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_156">156</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Twin Sisters, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_100">100</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_U">U</dt>
-<dt>Ugartechea, Colonel, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_72">72</a>.</dt>
-<dt>United States, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>.</dt>
-<dt>University, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_172">172</a>.</dt>
-<dt>University, The Texas State, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_182">182</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ups and Downs, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_52">52</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Urrea, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_103">103</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_V">V</dt>
-<dt>Vasquez, Rafael, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_125">125</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Velasco, Battle of, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_58">58</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Villescas, Governor, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_15">15</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Vince&rsquo;s Bridge, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_100">100</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Virginia Point, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_161">161</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_192">192</div>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_W">W</dt>
-<dt>Wacoes, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_180">180</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Wainwright, Commodore, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_161">161</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Walker, Samuel H., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_139">139</a>.</dt>
-<dt>War, The Civil, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_166">166</a>.</dt>
-<dt>War Time Arithmetic, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_158">158</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Ward, Colonel William, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_90">90</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Washington on the Brazos, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_131">131</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Wharton, William H., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_66">66</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Wilkinson, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_35">35</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Williamson, R. M., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_63">63</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Woll, General, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_130">130</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Woods, George T., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_140">140</a>.</dt>
-<dt>&mdash;&mdash; Gonzales, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_127">127</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Wright, Captain Tom, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_148">148</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Wyatt, Captain, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_76">76</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_Y">Y</dt>
-<dt><i>Yellowstone</i>, The, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_108">108</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<dl class="index">
-<dt class="center b" id="index_Z">Z</dt>
-<dt>Zacetacas, <a class="pgref" href="#Page_17">17</a>.</dt>
-<dt>Zavala, Lorenzo D., <a class="pgref" href="#Page_87">87</a>.</dt>
-</dl>
-<div class="pb" id="Page_193">193</div>
-<h2>Transcriber&rsquo;s Notes</h2>
-<ul>
-<li>Copyright notice provided as in the original&mdash;this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.</li>
-<li>In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.)</li>
-<li>Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged.</li>
-</ul>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
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