HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Vol. XLVIII JULY, 1944 No. 1
PUBLISHED BY
THE TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
AUSTIN 12, TEXAS
THE CAPITOL (?) AT COLUMBIA
L. W. KEMP
Journal of Juan N. Almonte Samuel E. Asbury
David Gouverneur Burnet, Satirist . . . S. W. Geiser
Check List of Texas Imprints, 1854 . . . Edited by
E. W. Winkler
Life of General Don Manuel de Mier y
Terán (Continued) Ohland Morton
Letters and Documents: Dr. John Sibley and
the Louisiana-Texas Frontier, 1803-1814
(Continued) Julia Kathryn Garrett
The Spirit of Santa Rita George A. Hill, Jr.
A Plea for More History in Business . . . Eugene C. Barker
Texas Collection H. Bailey Carroll
Affairs of the Association
Book Reviews
Book Notes and Asknowledgments
Contributors
1897—The Oldest Learned Society in Texas—l897
Herbert Gambrell
George A. Hill, Jr.
ACTING DIRECTOR:
H. Bailey Carroll
President L. W. Kemp
Ex-President Harbert Davenport
Ex-President W. E. Wrather
Vice-President Herbert Gambrell
PRESIDENT:
L. W. Kemp
VICE-PRESIDENTS:
DIRECTOR:
Walter P. Webb
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL:
P. I. Nixon
Earl Vandale
COR. SEC. AND TREAS.:
Mrs. Coral Horton Tullís
Vice-President George A. Hill, Jr.
Vice-President Earl Vandale
Vice-President P. I. Nixon
Director Walter P. Webb
State Librarian Fannie Wilcox
Adina de Zavala (1945)
Eugene C. Barker (1945)
Frances Donecker (1946)
Fellows
Anna Powell (1946)
Members
J. Evetts Haley (1947)
R. L. Biesele (1947)
Amelia Williams (1948)
Claude Elliott (1949)
PUBLICATION COMMITTEE:
L. W. Kemp
Eugene C. Barker
Charles W. Hackett
E. W. Winkler
Rudolph L. Biesele
Walter P. Webb
J. L. Clark
H. Bailey Carroll
Herbert Gambrell
THE SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
EDITORS:
Walter Prescott Webb
H. Bailey Carroll
ASSOCIATE EDITORS:
Charles W. Hackett
Rudolph L. Biesele
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS:
W. A. Whatley
Llerena Friend
student editorial assistant:
Betty Brooke Eakle
The Association was organized March 2, 1897. The annual dues are three dollars. The
Quarterly is sent free to all members.
Contributions to The Quarterly and correspondence relative to historical material should
be addressed to H. Bailey Carroll, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas.
Other correspondence may be addressed to The Texas State Historical Association, Austin,
Texas.
The publication committee and the editors disclaim responsibility for views expressed by
contributors to The Quarterly.
Entered at the post-office, Austin, Texas, as second class mail matter.
Contents
The Capitol (?) at Columbia L. W. Kemp 3
The Private Journal of Juan Nepomuceno Almonte,
February 1-April 16, 1836 Samuel E. Asbury 10
David Gouverneur Burnet, Satirist S. W. Geiser 33
Check List of Texas Imprints, 1846-1876 Continued
Edited by E. W. Winkler 38
Life of General Don Manuel de Mier y Terán Continued
Ohland Morton 51
Letters and Documents: Dr. John Sibley and the Louisiana-
Texas Frontier, 1803-1814 Continued
Julia Kathryn Garrett 67
Affairs of the Association 72
The Spirit of Santa Rita George A. Hill, Jr. 78
A Plea for More History in Business Eugene C. Barker 85
Texas Collection H. Bailey Carroll 87
BOOK Reviews: Rister, Border Command: General Phil Sheridan
in the West; Lockwood, Life in Old Tucson, 1854-1864;
Introduction and notes by Ames, and foreword by Lyman,
A Doctor Comes to California: The Diary of John S. Griffin,
Assistant Surgeon With Kearny's Dragoons, 1846-1847;
Bowman, The Morale of the American Revolutionary Army;
Wiley, The Plain People of the Confederacy; Holland,
Morgan and His Raiders: A Biography of the Confederate
General; Mott, Jefferson and the Press; Hewett, From
Cave Dwelling to Mount Olympus 126
Book Notes and Acknowledgments 137
Contributors 140
The constitution of the Association provides that "Members who show,
by published work, special aptitude for historical investigation may become
Fellows. Thirteen Fellows shall be elected by the Association when first
organized, and the body thus created may thereafter elect additional Fellows
on the nomination of the Executive Committee. The number of Fellows shall
never exceed fifty." The present list of Fellows is as follows:
Acheson, Mr. Sam
Asbury, Prof. S. E.
Barker, Prof. Eugene C.
Biesele, Prof. R. L.
Bolton, Prof. Herbert Eugene
Carroll, Prof. H. Bailey
Casis, Prof. Lilia M.
Castaneda, Carlos E.
Clark, Prof. J. L.
Cox, Prof. I. J.
Crane, Judge R. C.
Davenport, Mr. Harbert
Dunn, Dr. William Edward
Dobie, Prof. J. Frank
Elliott, Dr. Claude
Emmett, Mr. Chris
Gambrell, Prof. Herbert P.
Garrett, Dr. Kathryn
Geiser, Prof. S. W.
Hackett, Prof. Chas. W.
Haggard, Dr. J. Villasana
Haley, Mr. J. Evetts
Hill, Mr. George A., Jr.
Holbrook, Mrs. Abigail C.
Holden, Prof. W. C.
Kemp, Mr. L. W.
McGregor, Mr. Stuart
Miller, Prof. E. T.
Neu, Dr. C. T.
Nixon, Dr. P. I.
Potts, Dr. C. S.
Powell, Dr. Anna
Raymond, Dr. Nora Neill
Richardson, Prof. Rupert N.
Schmitz, Rev. Joseph
Schoen, Dr. Harold
Shelby, Miss Charmion
Smither, Miss Harriet
Steen, Dr. Ralph
Tucker, Mr. Philip C. 3rd
Villavaso, Mrs. Ethel Rather
Webb, Prof. W. P.
West, Miss Elizabeth H.
Williams, Dr. Amelia
Williams, Judge O. W.
Winkler, Mr. Ernest Wm.
Wrather, Mr. W. E.
Zavala, Miss Adina de
The constitution provides also that "Such benefactors of the Association
as shall pay into its treasury at any one time the sum of one hundred dollars,
or shall present to the Association an equivalent in books, MSS., or other
acceptable matter, shall be classed as Life Members."
The Life Members at present are:
Arnold, Mr. M. L.
Baker, Mr. Hines H.
Beazley, Miss Julia
Blount, Mrs. Guy
Bobbitt, Mr. R. L.
Buchanan, Mr. A. A.
Carroll, Mr. H. Bailey
Carroll, Mr. J. Speed
Cartwright, Mr. and Mrs. J. I.
Clark, Mr. J. F.
Cox, Mr. I. J.
Crane, Mr. R. C.
Davidson, Mr. W. S.
Dealey, Mr. George B.
Deussen, Mr. Alexander
Dilworth, Mr. Thomas G.
Donaldson, Mrs. Nanna Smithwick
Donoghue, Mr. David
Driscoll, Mrs. Clara
Edwards, Mrs. Lillian Owens
Fortman, Mr. Henry F.
Gilbert, Mr. Harvey Wilbarger
Gleason, Rev. Joseph M.
Graves, Mr. Ireland
Gutsch, Mr. Milton R.
Hanrick, Mr. R. A.
Harris, Mr. Beverly D.
Hefley, Mr. W. T.
Holbrook, Mrs. T. J.
Hutcheson, Judge J. C., Jr.
Hyde, Mr. James H.
Jones, Mr. John Leddy, Jr.
Jones, Mrs. John Leddy, Jr.
Jones, Mr. Roland
Kemp, Mr. L. W.
Magruder, Mrs. Hamilton
Maresh, Dr. Henry R.
Milbry, Mrs. C. H.
Moody, Col. W. L.
Moore, Mrs. John M.
Morehead, Mr. C. R.
Morris, Mr. J. S.
Parten, Mr. J. R.
Pew, Mr. John G.
Powell, Miss Anna
Randall, Dr. Edward
Scarbrough, Mr. and Mrs. Lem
Schmidt, Mr. John
Sinclair, Mr. J. L.
Staiti, Mrs. H. T.
Stone, Mr. Hugh Lamar
Streeter, Mr. Thomas
Tenney, Rev. S. M.
Thompson, Mr. Brooks
Timm, Mr. C. A.
Walker, Mr. J. A.
Webb, Mr. Mack
West, Miss Elizabeth
Willacy, Mr. John G.
Williams, Judge O. W.
Williamson, Judge J. D.
Wythe, Mr. George
Young, Mr. Eldon
PATRONS AND SUSTAINING MEMBERS
Patrons contribute to the work of the Association $500, payable over a
period of five years; Sustaining Members $250. The List of Patrons and
Sustaining Members follows:
Barker, Mr. Eugene C.
Blaffer, Mr. R. L.
Clayton, Mr. W. L.
De Golyer, Mr. E.
Denman, Mr. LeRoy
Francis, Mr. W. H.
Hager, Mr. Dilworth S.
Hill, Mr. George A., Jr.
Hutcheson, Mr. Palmer
Karcher, Mr. J. C.
Maercky, Mr. P. George
Perry, Mrs. Hally Bryan
Russ, Mr. Leon F.
Moss, Mr. H. S.
Shepherd, Mr. James L., Jr.
Smith, Mr. E. L.
Suman, Mr. John R.
Stark, Mr. H. J. L.
Waggener, Mr. Leslie
Webb, Mr. W. P.
Weiss, Mr. W. C.
Wheelock, Mr. Lloyd
Wilson, Mr. W. D.
Wrather, Mr. W. E.
Houston Oil Company
American Liberty Oil Company
THE SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Vol. XLVIII July, 1944 No. 1
The Capitol (?) at Columbia
grades of schools throughout Texas have reproduced a
photograph or drawing of a dilapidated shack that stood
in West Columbia, and which is erroneously referred to as
the first capitol of Texas. 1
Columbia, now West Columbia, was the temporary seat of
government of the Republic of Texas, but whether or not it
was ever the capital, in the true sense of the word, is debatable.
Granting, however, for the sake of argument, that it was the
capital, the much publicized building could not properly be
called the capitol. It was just one--and not the most important
--of several buildings utilized by the government during its
short sojourn in Columbia.
The Constitution of the new Republic required that an
election be held on the first Monday in September to select a
president, a vice-president, and members of Congress. David
G. Burnet, president ad
interim,
by proclamation dated July
23, 1836, ordered the election held, fixed the first Monday in
October as the date for Congress to convene, and named
Columbia as the meeting place. He did not designate Columbia
as the capital, and he had no authority to do so.
It is commonly stated, too, that the First Congress was
held in Columbia. This is but partly true. Only the first session
of the First Congress was held there. Congress convened Oc-
tober 3 and recessed December 22, to meet later at Houston
to complete its session. Houston, founded August 30, 1836,
2
was being surveyed as a townsite when, on November 30, by
joint resolution, Congress selected it as the temporary seat
of government.
3
The principal building used by Congress and governmental
departments at Columbia was a two-story building of five
rooms constructed in 1832 by Henry S. Brown and used for
a time, after his death in 1834, by the pioneer mercantile firm,
W. C. White and Company, composed of Walter C. White and
James Knight. This building was torn down in 1888. The
often photographed capitol (?) was a one-story building of
perhaps one room, and certainly not more than two, that had
been used as a store by Leman Kelsey. It was blown down in
the severe hurricane of September 8, 1900.
In Brown's A School History of
Texas,
4
there is a drawing of a two-story building, beneath which is
printed the caption, "House in which the first Congress met
at Columbia, October 3, 1836."
After the first election under the Republic, President Burnet, by proclama-
tion, assembled the First Congress, President and Vice-President at the
town of Columbia, on the Brazos, on the 3rd of October 1836. No other
place in Texas, at the time (excepting, perhaps Nacogdoches, in the ex-
treme east), had sufficient house room to meet the emergency. There was
in Columbia a large two-story house, divided in the center by a wide
hall and stairway into large rooms above and below--one on each side
of the hall, and an ell containing several rooms. It had been erected and
occupied in 1832-3 by Captain Henry S. Brown, father of the author,
and in it he died July 26, 1834. ...
In this building the First Congress of the Republic of Texas assembled
under President Burnet's proclamation on the third of October, 1836. In
it on the 22d of the same month, President Burnet delivered his farewell
message, and at the same time Sam Houston, as first Constitutional
President, and Mirabeau B. Lamar, as Vice-President, took the oath of office
and delivered their inaugural addresses. In it all of the first Cabinet
took the oath of office, viz. Stephen F. Austin as Secretary of State (died
on the 27th of December following); Ex-Governor Henry Smith, as Sec-
retary of the Treasury (died in the mountains of California, March 4, 1851);
Thomas J. Rusk, as Secretary of War (resigned a few weeks later and
was succeeded by William G. Fisher, who died in 1845, while General
Rusk died in 1857); and Samuel Rhoads Fisher, as Secretary of the
Navy (who died in 1839). A portion of the offices were in other buildings
and for a time one House of the Congress occupied a different building.5
A feature story on the history of East Columbia and West
Columbia in Brazoria County appeared in the Galveston Daily
News,
Sunday, January 9, 1898. It was written by Richard
Spillane, presumably a reporter for the paper, who had visited
the two towns in order to interview old settlers and to inspect
historic sites and old landmarks. West Columbia in 1836 was
known as Columbia, and the present East Columbia was suc-
cessively known as Bell's Landing, Marion, Columbia, and East
Columbia. It was called Columbia at the time of Spillane's visit.
At West Columbia Spillane saw a dilapidated one-story
frame building-, the property of John C. Underwood, in which,
he was informed, the House of Representatives of the First
Congress of the Republic had convened. He was told that the
Senate met in a larger building which had been torn down, as
had been numerous log buildings near by which were used
by various governmental departments in 1836-37.
John Adriance, an outstanding citizen of the community,
was among those interviewed by Spillane. In October, 1835,
when a youth of seventeen, Adriance had sailed from New
York City for Texas on the schooner Julius
Caesar.
He located
at the present East Columbia, then known as Bell's Landing,
and there resided for the rest of his long life. During the
spring campaign of 1836 he served in the Army of Texas as
a member of Captain Jacob Eberly's Company of mounted
gunmen. He was eighty years old when interviewed by Spillane,
who wrote of him:
In a somnolent old town on the west bank of the Brazos there lives a
scholarly old man who knows more, perhaps, of early Texas history than
any other person now living. He is one of the few links between the past
and present, one of the few men who took an active part in the stirring
events of more than sixty years ago, when Texas battled for freedom
and the armed host of Mexico overran the whole region which is now
known as South Texas. This man is John Adriance. . . .
Texas history. Now in the twilight of life he spends his days among his
papers. He is past the eighty-year mark, but he is as bright and keen
in intellect as a man of sixty. His library is large and well stocked, but
of all his books and manuscripts those that will be most highly prized
are the ones that deal with the days of Houston and of Austin and the
noble band of men whose valorous deeds made luminous the story of the
Texas republic.
After telling how Columbia, the present East Columbia, had
declined as a commercial center over the years, Spillane
continued:
But if Columbia has been distanced in the great race of trade, no place
in all Texas can rival it in historic lore. Less than two miles west of the
town [in West Columbia] on a noble thoroughfare called the Avenue
there stands the ruin of a structure, every part of which should be held
sacred by the people of Texas. It is a barn-like old building, all battered
and decayed, its roof broken in and its doors and windows shattered and
gone, but in the old house scenes were enacted of which, alas, too little
is known, for that building was part of the first capitol of the republic
of Texas. . . .
I went to Mr. Adriance and asked him to tell me the history of the old
building I had seen. He said it had been the first house of representatives
of the republic. There was a somewhat larger building to the south of it
which was the senate chamber, but it was torn down years ago.
The two buildings," said Mr. Adriance, "were originally put up for
use as stores. The one that became the senate chamber was occupied by
White and Knight, who came to Texas in 1826. The house of repre-
sentatives was occupied by a merchant named Kelsey. There were a great
many log buildings nearby which were used by the different depart-
ments of the republic for offices,"
There is no doubt that there was an understanding between
President Burnet and the former publishers of the Telegraph
and
Texas
Register
about the re-establishment of that paper.
During the spring and early summer of 1836, Texas was without
a newspaper, the hand press of the Telegraph
having been
thrown into Buffalo Bayou at Harrisburg April 14 by Santa
Anna's army. A new press had been purchased in Cincinnati
to be installed, it appears, at the town most likely to become
the capital of the Republic. On August 2, 1836, the Telegraph
began publication at Columbia, following Burnet's proclamation
of July 23. Burnet no doubt thought that Congress would
select Columbia as the capital, and certainly this must have
been the belief of the publishers of the Telegraph.
Later they
lost no time in moving their paper to Houston when the newly
laid-out town on Buffalo Bayou was made the capital. In fact
the Telegraph
and the executive departments of the Republic
were transported from Columbia on the same boat, April
16, 1837.
6
It being the province of Congress to select a capital for the
Republic, the Senate on November 2, 1836, adopted a joint
resolution providing-,
that each House of Congress appoint a committee of three whose duty it
shall be to report the most eligible point, at which to locate the Seat of
Government of the Republic from and after the adjournment of the
present Congress . . .
7
It is probable that Columbia would have been selected as the
capital had its citizens promptly furnished sufficient houses
to conduct the affairs of government. This they failed to do.
They "had either failed to procure a sufficient number of
houses," wrote E. W. Winkler, "or else they had not con-
templated the increase of offices accompanying the organiza-
tion of the constitutional government."
8
On November 7, President Houston sent the following mes-
sage to Congress on the subject of the proper accommodations
for the government:
Gentlemen:
The important trusts committed to our charge as the representatives
of a Nation and the guardian of her free institutions, demand at our
hands, the arduous and incessant toils which responsibility and moral
consciousness always impose, when they flow in their natural and ap-
propriate channel.
Industry and application, put in requisition by mature judgment, must
still be conducted by system, organization and method; for these are
necessary, and cannot be attained or exercised without the convenience
of houses.
The present position of our Government is one of great inconvenience
and absolute embarrassment.
9 We have accomodations for no branch of
the public trusts. Congress is itself scarcely provided as a body, with suf-
ficient buildings. No Offices for the Chief Departments of the Executive
branch of Government, and the personal accomodations of all are very
deficient.
The Head of no Department can now transact with convenience the
functions devolving upon him. The Secretary of the Treasury and all
his Subordinate Officers, are without rooms and without any place to per-
form his highly important business. The discharged soldiers of our
army, are now waiting at great expense for their "honest dues at the hands
of that officer. The financial concerns of the Government, will be deranged
and our credit at home and abroad will be depreciated.
I would call your particular and immediate attention to this subject;
and am compelled by my station to suggest that business cannot profitably
proceed, unless Congress will adjourn to some point, where better accomo-
dations and greater conveniences can be speedily obtained or buildings
furnished at this place.
To induce the meeting of Congress at this point, nineteen rooms for
offices had been promised but the pledges remain unredeemed. The pledge[s]
given are herewith enclosed.
Sam Houston
All the Chairs and Tables necessary for Both Houses of Congress.
Sepr. 16, 1836.
W. C. White & Co.
Fitchett & Gill
Jacob Eberly
Geo. Brown
G. & T. H. Borden
10
"Perhaps only those marked (V) had been placed at the
service of the government at this time," wrote Winkler.
It appears that space in the Senate chamber was set aside
for the president's private office and that when the Senate
held secret session, which it frequently did, the president and
his private secretaries were obliged to retire. On October 27,
Senator William H. Wharton had moved to allow them "to
retain possession of their rooms during the secret sessions
of the senate." The motion, however, was lost.
11
Congress, as has been shown, contemplated selecting a place
to become the capital "after the adjournment of the present
congress," but agreeing with Houston that business could not
profitably proceed, unless Congress adjourned to some point
where better accommodations were afforded, it voted that the
seat of government be located "during the present session of
congress. . . ."
12 Houston was selected as the seat of gov-
ernment, effective April 1, 1837. Congress did not convene there,
however, until May 1, due to delay in completing a two-story
building being constructed as a capitol for the Republic by
Augustus C. and John K. Allen, proprietors of the town.
If one accepts as true the undisputed statement of John
Henry Brown that when Congress first convened both houses
met in the two-story building which had been erected by his
father and that later one house of Congress occupied a different
building; if one accepts as true the statement of John Adriance
that the House of Representatives met in the shack while the
Senate met in a larger building; if he believes that the pres-
ident's office was in the same building with the Senate, there
is only one conclusion to be reached: the first capitol was the
two-story building constructed by Henry S. Brown--provided,
of course, it is established that Columbia was ever the capital
of the Republic.
FOOTNOTES:
Ginn & Co., 1897), 14; Dudley G. Wooten, A Complete History of Texas
(Dallas: The Texas History Co., 1899), 246; Joseph L. Clark, The Story
of Texas (Evanston, Ill.: Row, Peterson & Co., 1932), 183; Clarence R.
Wharton, History of Texas (Dallas: Turner & Co., 1935), 202; Ralph
W. Steen, History of Texas (Austin: The Steck Co., 1939), 173; Wharton,
Lone Star State (Dallas: Southern Publishing Co., 1932), 153. Clark did not
include a picture of the building in his A Complete History of Texas,
Land of Promise (Atlanta: D. C. Heath & Co., 1940). Steen reproduces
a photograph of the building in his Texas, A Story of Progress and
correctly identifies it as "one of the government buildings in 1836. . . ."
(Austin: The Steck Co., 1942), 251.
by the Allen brothers in which they stated that the town "is now for the
first time brought to public notice." For that reason August 30 is con-
sidered the birthday of Houston by its citizenship.
(ed.), The Laws of Texas, I, 1138, 1139.
the General History of John Henry Brown (New York: J. J. Little & Co.,
1894), 164.
L. E. Daniel, 1895), 53.
Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, X, 169. Winkler cites
the Telegraph of August 12, 1837.
Telegraph, November 9, 1836.
retary of State, attributed Austin's death not alone to the mental and
physical strain under which he labored but also to "the exposure in a
small clapboard shed-room, without fire, which was his bedroom and
office."--William G. Scarff, A Comprehensive History of Texas, I, 590.
Austin died at the residence of Judge George B. McKinstry, December
27, 1836.
MS Messages of 1 Tex. Cong., 1 Sess. State Department; see also Amelia
W. Williams and E. C. Barker (eds.), The Writings of Sam Houston: 1813 -
1863, I, 474.
The above building, often referred to as the first capitol of Texas, was
but one of several used by the Congress and government of the Republic
of Texas at Columbia in 1836.
The Private Journal of Juan
Nepomuceno Almonte
February l—April 16, 1836
The present publication of Juan Nepomuceno Almonte's
1
Journal is from photostats of the original issues of the
New York Herald,
obtained from the New York State Library,
Albany, New York, and the Library of Congress. The Telegraph
and
Texas
Register,
October 4, 1836, published part three; and
about a third of part six was published in William Kennedy's
Texas,
18
41,
pp. 218-220. This Journal and other documents
were sent to the Herald
because of its strong support of the
Texian cause, and the long friendship of Sam Houston and
James Gordon Bennett,
2 the editor and owner. The original
documents are lost. The space required for the Journal itself
and its accompanying notes limit present notes. Many questions
arising remain unanswerable or speculative. The writer wel-
comes correspondence.
By the packet ship Nashville from New Orleans, which ar-
rived on Tuesday evening, we have received various documents
and papers from Texas and New Orleans --and among them,
the original copies of the "Private Journal of the Mexican
Campaign and its Progress," by Almonte, together with a
"General Order Book," both contained in two folio manu-
scripts and written in Spanish. As soon as the Journal shall be
translated, we shall publish it in the Herald.
It is a highly interesting and valuable document, and throws
a great deal of light on the secret motives and movements of
Santa Anna and his generals. The journal is kept by Almonte,
who was in this city last summer, and previous to the war
and afterwards travelled through Texas as a spy. To his mis-
representations is attributed the campaign altogether.
The Journal or Private Diary commences on the 1st of Feb-
ruary, 1836, dated at Sa[l]tillo. Under the date of the "6th March,
Sunday," there is an entry describing the assault on the Alamo.
It began at 5¼ A.M. and continued till 6 o'clock. The journal
states that the enemy (The Texians) attempted to escape
but were all killed, or put to the sword. Only four women
and one negro slave saved their lives. At the close of the entry
is the following by way of postcript:
A great many other curious particulars are told in this journal
which will appear in our columns in a day or two.
Meantime we are are [sic]
happy to learn that the affairs
of Texas are in a most prosperous condition. General Cos
and Col. Almonte have been adjudged by a Texian court martial
to be shot -- Santa Anna's life will be preserved but he will
remain a close prisoner of war.--This decision has been made
though not yet promulgated.
Both Cos and Almonte deserve their fate. The former was a
prisoner to the Texians in the early part of the contest. He
was released on his word of honor not to take up arms against
them. He broke this honor, and he dies as a traitor ought to do.
Almonte is the same person who was here last summer and
secretly furnished or stimulated the Courier & Enquirer to
publish articles calling the Texians "rebels" and "insurrection-
ists." He afterwards went to Texas as a spy. He also deserves
his fate.
We further hear that
the
gallant
Houston
will
soon
be
in
New
York.
His physicians have recommended to him a northern
latitude till his wounds are healed. The climate of New Orleans,
and the general excitement there, protract his convalescence,
He wants retirement and tranquility.
By the next New Orleans packet we therefore expect General
Houston, the hero of San Jacinto -- a victory unparalleled in
ancient or modern times. It is the Marathon of Texas
Journal of the Mexican Campaign -- by Almonte,
Aid to Santa Anna. Picked up on the Battle Ground
of San Jacinto by Anson Jones.
Annexed will be found a translation of the first portion of the
remarkable "Secret Journal" of the recent Mexican Campaign,
written by Col. Almonte, aide de camp to General Santa Anna.
The original, in the Spanish language, is now in our possession.
It was picked up on the battleground of San Jacinto by Dr.
Anson Jones, and was sent to us via Galveston Island, on the
12th of May last. The journal was seen and examined by Mr.
Childress, the diplomatic representative from Texas, who left
this city a few days ago for Washington. The Journal begins
as follows:
Feb. 1st.—At 8 A. M.—The President set out from Saltillo
for Monclova, passing by way of the Hacienda (farm) of Santa
Maria, 6 leagues distant; thence to Carretas, 5 leagues; thence
to the Hacienda de Mesillas, 5 leagues; making- in all 16 leagues
of good waggon road. In Carretas there is running water, no
pasture, the road passes through high ridges and hills, and
with little stone. There is a shorter road to Saltillo from Los
Arcos, or a bridge near to the Hacienda of Santa Maria. Mesillas
has no running water, but a reservoir; the running water being
1½ leagues distant; there is a large house, corn and corn stalks.
2d.—Started for Anclo at 7½ A. M.—To the reservoir of San
Felipe, 7 leagues; road almost level; little stone; the water
in the reservoir somewhat scarce; there is some pasture; no
house; we encamped in a small valley; there we met the second
Division under command of Tolsa; we arrived at 5 P. M. having
made a short halt.
3d.--At 8¼ A. M.—Started to the Hoya, 8 leagues; no people;
well dry; two small poor houses—to Bejar, 6 leagues; very
good road; some dry pasture; no water in the road. The In-
fantry arrived at 7½ P. M. and rested the day following; many
soldiers sickened with diarrhoea, and some with blistered feet;
plenty of water, but no fodder; corn at 2 rials [reals] the
almad [almud].
4th.--Started at 8 A. M. to the Hacienda de Castaños, 10
leagues; running water, good and abundant; to Monclova, 3
leagues; good road; corn and stalks, but few provisions. From
Saltillo to Monclova, according to our account, there are 57
leagues; according to the Itinerary, 52 leagues.
5th--The thermometer at Monclova in the house at 59°; in
the afternoon arrived Messrs. Ampudia, Caro, Wall and Arago;
I
wrote
to
New
York;
it rained in the night; stood guard; Mr.
Moral arrived.
6th.--In Monclova, thermometer at 59°, cloudy.--The second
Division arrived; Flores was ordered to deliver the command
of the Division of Gaudalaxara to his next in command; wrote
under
dictation
of
His
Excellency
the
President;
D. Ramon
Musquiz left for Sta. Rosa; Arago continues unwell; Moral
on guard.
7th.--In Monclova, thermometer 62°, day clear. Orders is-
sued at 6 A. M. the next day; Sr. Mora, assistant guard; I
wrote to**********
** * * * * * * * * * *.
the mail from Mexico arrives at Monclova, Tuesday, in the
morning, and leaves Wednesday at night.
8th.—Left Monclova at 7½ A. M. arrived at the Hacienda de
Dos Hermanas and slept there.
9th.—To Lamparos, 5 leagues, (well water); to Laura, 5
leagues, (well water); good roads, all level, and good pasture.
lOth.--To the river Sabinas at La Hacienda de Soledad,
5 leagues; to San Juan, also Hacienda, 1 league; to San Jose,
9 leagues; good roads and pasture.
11th.--To the Cabezeras de Sta. Rita, 7 leagues, (running
water); to San Miguel de Allende, 4 leagues; good roads and
pasture; high hills.
12th.--We arrived at Rio Grande, having left Nava 14 leagues
to the left; road good and level; pasture, but no water until
reaching the river.
13th.--At the Rio Grande; weather stormy; thermometer 51°;
the Americans burnt the bridge over the river Nueces; the
Division left the day before under the command of Sr. Sesma.
14th.—At the Rio Grande; the weather moderates; ther-
mometer 46°; our baggage arrived at 6 P. M. after dark.
15th.--At the Rio Grande; weather good; thermometer 56°;
fine weather for traveling; despatched
a
part
of
the
corre
-
spondence.
16th.--At 4½ P. M. started from Rio Grande, after writing
until 3 in the afternoon; arrived at La Peña 11 o'clock at
night; distance 12 leagues.
17th.--Exceedingly hot at mid-day on the Nueces; from
La Peña to La Espantora, 5 leagues; to the river Nueces 1½,
and to La Fortuga [Tortuga], 3 leagues.
18th.--To La Leona, 8 leagues; to No lo Digas, 4 leagues;
no water.
19th.--At the Rio Frio, 5 leagues; found there in the morning
the Division of Sr. Ramirez; little pasture; made a new bridge;
the division crossed in the afternoon.
20th.--Started for Arroyo Seco, 4 leagues; to Tahuacan,
2 leagues; to Rio Hondo, 2 leagues, making 8 leagues. The night
was clear and pleasant, morning cloudy, 72° of Farenheit;
day cloudy, misty, no rain.
The publication of this authentic document, will be interesting
on many accounts. The question of Texian Independence, is
rapidly becoming the absorbing topic of the present day. Mex-
ico, the United States, Great Britain, and France will all take
a deep interest in the astounding events of the last six months.
The creation of a new nation by the arms of a few brave men,
will establish a new principle of action among mankind. The
romantic enterprizes of Cortez and Pizarro, are about to be
renewed by a different race, and under a new auspices. Religion
was the impulse that overthrew the ancient races of this con-
tinent, and established a fresh people over their ruins. Liberty
is now the watchword, that may drive Spanish superstition
and Spanish cruelty, not only from Texas, but from all South
America.
Under the date of the 7th, we have left a gap in the Journal.
This is done on purpose. In the original, the names are given
at full length, to whom Almonte wrote. They are persons now
residing in New York and Philadelphia, some of them of great
respectability. During their sejour
in this country, we do not
wish to endanger their peace. The intelligence and views which
Almonte communicated to them, is also known to persons here.
It has a close and intimate connection with various movements
of various men and prints both in New York and Philadelphia.
Robt. Walsh, the editor of the National Gazette--Charles King,
of the New York American--and several other persons have
been conspicuous for their sympathy with the enemies of
American liberty in Texas. We could a tale unfold, connected
with these personages and the Mexican intriguants here--
but we stop a little while, and give them time to repent. The
day will soon be here, when we may feel it our duty to fill up
the blank from the original manuscript, which out of generosity
and kindness, feelings, very probably, which they cannot ap-
preciate, is
for
the
present
suppressed.
Another remarkable fact is known. In Almonte's correspond-
ence with persons in New York and Philadelphia, it is certain,
that some persons who have been speculating in Texas Land
Companies, have been trying to keep on the kindly side of
both the chiefs of the Mexican, and those of the Texian armies.
They had made arrangements of such a nature, that whatever
might be the issue of the contest, they should, like cats, fall
on their feet. The
same
people
have
been,
and
are
on
the
fence.
Has any person in New York or Philadelphia been advancing
funds on the Mexican interest? Have such persons refused
to aid the Texians? These questions will be solved in proper time.
This portion of the journal brings down the Mexican army
to the eastern bank of the Rio Frio, only a short distance from
San Antonio. It begins at Soltillo [Saltillo] or Leona Vicario, in
the State of New Leon. The descriptions of the scenery are brief,
pithy, and correspond exactly with the accounts we have re-
ceived personally from travellers. The next portion of the
journal will bring us down to the assault of the Alamo.
We continue our translations from the "Journal." The first
portion was all preparation and diplomacy--this is all war and
bloodshed. The account of the investing and storming oí the
Alamo is quite interesting. To the general reader it will be
more pleasant reading than the first part. We have some further
remarks to make--but we reserve them for another day.
Feb.—
Sunday
21st--At 7½ A. M. left Arroyo Hondo-
weather cloudy--slight showers--not cold--wind south east.
To Francisco Perez 4 leagues, (a stream of water very distant,
but not on the road) To Arroyo del Chacon, good water, 3
leagues. To the river Medina 2 leagues; all good road, but
broken by large hills. At ¼ before 2 o'clock the President ar-
rived. The day completely overcast; the whole division at 5
o'clock, when it commenced raining heavily--all wet but
baggage dry, at 12 o'clock at night it cleared some.
Monday,
22d--Commenced cloudy, but cleared at 10 o'clock.
The troops cleared their arms and dryed their clothes; no de-
sertions whatever or sickness. We passed the day at Medina
to rest the troops. Two men from the Ranchos near Bexar ar-
rived, one menchaca [Menchaca] and another; killed a beef; va-
rious other persons came in, reviewed the troops. Sr. Ramirez
y Sermer [Sesma], marched to cut off the retreat of the enemy
with dragoons. It was believed the enemy discovered our
movements.
Tuesday
23—At 7½ A. M. the army was put in march—To the
Potranca 1½ leagues—To the Creek of Leon or Del Medio, 3½
leagues—To Bexar 3 leagues, in all 8 leagues. At half a league,
from Bexar the division halted on the hills of Alazán at 12½
o'clock. General Sesma arrived at 7 A. M. and did not ad-
vance to reconnoitre because he expected an advance of the
enemy which was about to be made according to accounts given
by a spy of the enemy who was caught. There was water, though
little, in the stream of Las Lomas del Alazán. At 2 the army
took up their march, the President and his staff in the van.
The enemy, as soon as the march of the division was seen, hoisted
the tri-colored flag with two stars, designed to represent Coahuila
and Texas. The President with all his staff advanced to Campo
Santo (burying ground.) The enemy lowered the flag and fled,
and possession was taken of Bexar without firing a shot.
At 3 P. M. the enemy filed off to the fort of Alamo, where there
was pieces of artillery; among them one 13 pounder: I[t]
appeared they had 130 men; during the afternoon 4 grenades
were fired at them. The firing was suspended in order to re-
ceive a messenger, who brought a dispatch the contents of
which appears in No. 1, and the answer which was given will
be found in No. 2. I conversed with the bearer who was Jameson
(G. B.) and he informed me of the bad state they were in at
the Alamo, and manifested a wish that some honorable con-
ditions should be proposed for a surrender. Another messenger
afterwards came, (Martin) late a clerk in a house in New
Orleans. He stated to me what Mr. Travis said, "that if I
wished to speak with him, he would receive me with much
pleasure." I answered that it did not become the Mexican Gov-
ernment to make any propositions through me, and that I
had only permission to hear such as might be made on the
part of the rebels. After these contestations night came on,
and there was no more firing. In the night another small battery
was made up the river near the house of Veremenda. I lodged
in the house of Nixon, (Major) with Urriza and Marcil Aguirre.
An inventory of the effects taken was made; many curious
papers were found. One Smith, carpenter and cabinet maker,
they say was the owner of the effects. I did not sleep all
night, having to attend to the enemy and the property, the charge
of which of which [sic] was entrusted to me; its value was
about $3000.
Wednesday,
24th.--Very early this morning a new battery
was commenced on the bank of the river, about 350 yards from
the Alamo. It was finished in the afternoon, and a brisk fire
was kept up from it until the 18 pounder and another piece
was dismounted. The President reconnoitered on horseback,
passing within musket shot of the fort. According to a spy,
four of the enemy were killed. At evening the music struck up,
and went to entertain the enemy with it
and some grenades.
In the night, according to the statement of a spy, 30 men ar-
rived at the fort from Gonzales.
Thursday,
25th.--The firing from our batteries was com-
menced early. The General in Chief, with the batallion de
Cazadores, crossed the river and posted themselves in the
Alamo--that is to say, in the houses near the fort. A new forti-
fication was commenced by us near the house of McMullen. In
the random firing the enemy wounded 4 of the Cazadores de
Matamoros battalion, and 2 of the battalion of Jimenes, and
killed one corporal and a soldier of the battalion of Matamoros.
Our fire ceased in the afternoon. In the night two batteries
were erected by us on the other side of the river in the Alameda
of the Alamo--the battalion of Matamoros was also posted
there, and the cavalry was posted on the hills to the east of the
enemy, and in the road from Gonzales at the Casa Mata Antigua.
At half past eleven at night we retired. The enemy, in the night,
burnt the straw and wooden houses in their vicinity, but did
not attempt to set fire with their guns to those in our rear.
A strong north wind commenced at nine at night.
Friday,
26th.--The northern wind continued very strong;
the thermometer fell to 39°, and during the rest of the day
remained at 60°. At daylight there was a slight skirmish be-
tween the enemy and a small party of the division of the east,
under command of General Sesma. During the day the firing
from our cannon was continued. The enemy did not reply, except
now and then. At night the enemy burnt the small houses near
the parapet of the battalion of San Luis, on the other side of
the river. Some sentinels were advanced. In the course of the
day the enemy sallied out for wood and water, and were opposed
by our marksmen. The northern wind continues.
ALMONTE'S JOURNAL OF THE MEXICAN CAMPAIGN.
NO. 3
Taking of Bexar--Reinforcement of the Enemy from La
Bahía--Firing from the Alamo-Almonte's opinion of the
Campaign--Capture of San Patricio--Council of War
on Assaulting the Alamo--Santa Anna Undecided.
We continue our translations from this highly interesting
document. Some of the opinions and transactions recorded are
quite curious. This portion of the Journal brings us down to the
Council of War at which was deliberated the assault of the
Alamo, in which Travis and his brave companions were
massacred.
Saturday
27th.--The northern wind was strong at day break,
and continued all the night. Thermometer at 39°. Lieutenant
Manuel Menchacho was sent with a party of men for the corn,
cattle, and hogs at the Ranchos (small farms) of Seguin and
Flores. It was determined to cut off the water from the enemy
on the side next to the old mill. There was little firing from
either side during the day. The enemy worked hard to repair
some entrenchments. In the afternoon the President was ob-
served by the enemy and fired at. In the night a courier ex-
traordinary was dispatched to the city of Mexico, informing
the Government of the taking of Bexar, [1] and also to Gen'ls
Urrea, Filisola, Cos & Vital Fernandez. No private letters were
sent.
Sunday,
28th.--The weather abated somewhat. Thermometer
at 40° at 7 A. M. News were received that a reinforcement
to the enemy was coming by the road from La Bahia, in number
200. [2] It was not true. The canonading was continued.
Monday
29th.--The weather changed--thermometer at 55°;
in the night it commenced blowing hard from the west. In
the afternoon the battalion of Allende took post at the east of
the Alamo. The President reconnoitered. One of our soldiers
was killed in the night. The wind changed to the north at mid-
night, about that time Gen. Sesma left the camp with the cavalry
of Dolores and the infantry of Allende to meet the enemy com-
ing from La Bahia or Goliad to the aid of the Alamo. Gen'l
Castrillon on guard.
March
1st.--The wind subsided, but the weather continued
cold--thermometer at 36° in the morning--day clear. Early
in the morning Gen. Sesma wrote from the Mission de la Espador
that there was no such enemy, and that he reconnoitered as
far as the Tinaja, without finding any traces of them. The
cavalry returned to camp, and the infantry to this city. At
12 o'clock the President went out to reconnoitre the mill site
to the north west of the Alamo. Lieut. Col. Ampudia was com-
missioned to construct more trenches.--In the afternoon the
enemy fired two 12 pound shots at the house of the President,
one of which struck the house, and the other passed it. [3]
Nothing more of consequence occurred. Night cold—thermometer
34° Farenheit, and 1
° Reaumur.
Wednesday,
2d.--Commenced clear and pleasant—thermom-
patches from Arroyo Hondo, dated 1st inst.; in reply, he was
ordered to leave the river Medina, and arrive the next day at
12 or 1 o'clock. Gen. J. Ramirez came to breakfast with the
President. Information was received that there was corn at the
farm of Sequin [Seguin], and Lieut. Menchaca was sent with a
party for it. The President discovered, in the afternoon, a covered
road within pistol shot of the Alamo, and posted the battalion
of Jimenes there. At 5 A. M. Bringas went out to meet Gaona.
Thursday,
3d.--Commenced clear, at 40°, without wind. The
enemy fired a few cannon and musket shots at the city. I wrote
to Mexico and to my sister, directed them to send their letters
to Bexar, and that before 3 months the campaign would be
ended. [4] The General-in-Chief went out to reconnoitre. A
battery was erected on the north of the Alamo within musket
shot. Official despatches were received from Gen. Urrea, an-
nouncing that he had routed the colonists at San Patricio--kill-
ing 16 and taking 21 prisoners. [5] The bells were rung. The
battalions of Zapaderes, Aldama, and Toluca arrived. The
enemy attempted a sally in the night at the Sugar Mill, but
were repulsed by our advance.
Friday,
4th.--The day commenced windy, but not cold--
thermometer 42°. Commenced firing very early, which the
enemy did not return. In the afternoon one or two shots were
fired by them. A meeting of Generals and Colonels was held, at
which Generals Cos, Sesma, and Castrillon were present; (Gen-
erals Amador and Ventura Mora did not attend--the former
having been suspended, and the latter being in active commis-
sion.) Also present, Colonels Francisco Duque, battalion of
Toluca--Orisñuela, battalion of Aldama--Romero, battalion
of Matamoros--Arnat, battalion of Zapadores, and the Major
of battalion of San Luis.--The Colonels of battalions of Jimenes
and San Luis did not attend, being engaged in actual commission.
I was also called. After a long conference, [6] Cos, Castrillon,
Orisñuela, and Romero were of the opinion that the Alamo
should be assaulted--first opening a breach with the two cannon
of -- and the two mortars, and that they should wait the
arrival of the two 12 pounders expected on Monday the 7th.
The President, Gen. Ramirez, and I were of opinion that that
[sic] the 12 pounders should not be waited for, but the as-
sault made.--Colonels Duque and Arnat, and the Major of the
San Luis battalion did not give any definite opinion about
either of the two modes of assault proposed. In this state
things remained--the General not making any definite resola-
tion [sic]. In the night the north parapet was advanced towards
the enemy through the water course. A Lieutenant of Engineers
conducted the entrenchment. A messenger was despatched to
Urrea.
[1] "Taking of Bexar"--this was the first signal victory
gained by Santa Anna himself over the Texians. It appears to
have chee'red up their spirits wonderfully. So overjoyed were
they that no private letters were written--no time--all was
"pomp and circumstance of glorious war."
[2] La Bahia or Goliad was situated on the west side of the
river San Antonio, on the banks of one of whose tributaries is
Bexar or the Alamo. Col. Fannin's command was stationed at
Goliad--the main Texian army under Gen'l Houston had re-
treated at that time to the east of the Colorado.
[3] These twelve pounders came very near levelling Santa
Anna in the dust. Travis in this showed them good gunnery.
[4] "Wrote to my sister"--"before three months the cam-
paign will be ended." What a flood of reflections these recorded
sentiments of poor Almonte create! At the last accounts he
was a close prisoner of war at Velasco on the mouth of the
Brassos. When his sister hears of his sad fate what a burst
of grief and sisterly affection! Even in the midst of war these
sentiments cannot be controuled. "Wrote to my sister!" This
simple passage has raised Almonte higher in our estimation
than all his talents--his brief--energetic mind. He was the
sole cause and occasion of the war in Texas. He stimulated
Santa Anna to that expedition. Standing before the Alamo--
measuring over his various fortunes--he exultingly predicts
that Texas will be reduced in three months--and that he will
return in triumph to Mexico, where he can embrace with the
affection of a brother his beloved sister. With all his errors,
Almonte's heart breaks out in the right spot--honorable to
himself and to human nature.
[5] This was their second victory and their ringing the
bells is highly characteristic. San Patricio is a small place on
the eastern bank of the Rio de las Nueces near the bay of that
name. It formed the extreme right of the base of Santa Anna's
operations.
[6] "After a long conference, &c." Here is a remarkable
disclosure. Cos who had been released by the Texians on
parole,
is the first to advise an assault upon the handful of
brave men in the Alamo. Almonte also is for immediate assault.
This disclosure ought to decide the question of life and death
as affecting Gen. Cos. He has justly forfeited his life according
to the rules of war.
The next portion will contain a brief and energetic description
of the assault on the Alamo itself.
[The New York Herald,
June 27, 1836]
ALMONTE'S JOURNAL—NO. 4
In the annexed portion there are several important par-
ticulars, both political and military.
The assault of the Alamo is very briefly given. It will be
observed that Almonte's account differs very essentially from
what we received at the time through the Texas Papers.
Another point is the account of the news from Mexico of the
election of M. Corro as President ad
interim,
instead of General
Bravo, who was the candidate of Santa Anna. This singular
fact shews that during Santa Anna's absence, his political op-
ponents had gained a majority of votes in the Senate of Mexico.
Here is the germ of the revolution which we expect to hear
of every day from Vera Cruz. A New-Orleans paper, in the
Mexican interest, stated very recently that Gen. Bravo was
assembling an army of 10,000 men to recapture Texas. We
doubt very much the accuracy of such statements, and wait
with impatience to hear of the events which must follow Santa
Anna's discomfiture at San Jacinto.
Saturday,
March
5th.--The day commenced very moderate--
thermometer 50°--weather clear. A brisk fire was commenced
from our north battery against the enemy, which was not
answered, except now and then. At mid-day the thermometer
rose to 68°.--The President determined to make the assault;
and it was agreed that the four columns of attack were to be
commanded by Generals Cos, Duque, Romero, and Morales, and
second in command, Generals Castrillon, Amador, and Miñón.
For this purpose the points of attack were examined by the
commanding officers, and they came to the conclusion that they
should muster at 12 o'clock tonight, and at 4 o'clock to morrow
morning (Sunday, 6th) the attack should be made.
Sunday,
6th—At 5 A. M. the columns were posted at their
respective stations, and at half past 5 the attack or assault
was made, and continued until 6 A. M. when the enemy at-
tempted in vain to fly, but they were overtaken and put
to
the
sword,
and
only
five
women,
one
Mexican
soldier
(prisoner,)
and
a
black
slave
escaped
from
instant
death.
On the part of the
enemy the result was, 250 killed, and 17 pieces of artillery--
a flag; muskets and fire-arms taken. Our loss was 60 soldiers
and 5 officers killed, and 198 soldiers and 25 officers wounded
--2 of the latter General officers. The battalion of Toluca lost
98 men between the wounded and killed. I
was
robbed
by
our
soldiers.
Monday,
7th.--Commenced with a north wind. A special
despatch was received from Gen. Urrea, dated 3d March, from
San Patricio, in which he communicated that the preceding
day, at a place called Los Cohates, he attacked Dr. Grant and
his party, and killed Dr. Grant and 41 of his men, and after-
wards 2 out of 5 who fled. There was no loss on our side.
By the 14th General Urrea would be in Goliad. The greater
part of the 1st brigade arrived under command of General
Gaona. The mail arrived from Matamoros and Mexico--dates
to the 2d and 3d of February.
Tuesday,
8th.--Fine clear day, but cold. Letters were written
to Mexico under date of 6th inst. Commenced blowing hard. I
wrote to * * * *. Official reports were forwarded to-day.
Wednesday,
9th. Commenced with a violent north wind,
weather not very cold. Generals Filisola, Araga, &c., &c., ar-
rived. Orders to march were given to Gen'l Sesma and Colonel
Gonzales. Two persons arrived from the interior to see the
President. The wind continued all night.
Thursday,
10th. Day broke mild, but soon the cold north
wind commenced blowing, though with clear weather. The cav-
alry under command of General Audrade [sic] came in. They
were quartered in the Alamo. The Commissary and the Treasury
of the Army arrived.
Friday,
11th. Day pleasant, but somewhat windy. Gen'l
Tolsa came in with the 3rd brigade, but the divisions of Sesma
and Gonzales had already marched with four six pounders and
one howitzer. Marches detailed being 9 days to Goliad, 5 to
Gonzales and 14 to San Felipe.
Saturday,
12th. Day broke mild--became windy--but clear
and temperate. We consumed many fish. Sesma wrote from
El Salado, giving the details—-Romero likewise. The troops were
reviewed in the afternoon in the Square.
Sunday,
13th. Day clear but windy. Heard
mass
in
the
Square.
Very warm in the afternoon. Thermometer 85°. Nothing
particular.
Monday,
14th. Cloudy and windy, and warm.--Weather
cleared and the wind abated a little. The correspondence from
Mexico, Monterey and Matamoros was received, and a despatch
from Gen'l Urrea stating that he would be at Goliad the 14th,
that is to-day.--Orders to march were issued to the battalion
of Tres Villas.
Tuesday,
15th. Windy and warm. The battalion of Queretaro
was ordered to march to Goliad, with one 12 pounder and the
corresponding munition. To-morrow the two battalions of
Queretaro and Tres Villas will march. In the afternoon the
courrier was despatched to Gen'l Urrea. Accounts came from
Gonzales by a Mexican that the Americans,
in
number
500
fled
as
soon
as
they
heard
of
the
taking
of
the
Alamo
and the ap-
proach of our troops, leaving their stores and many goods,
and throwing two cannon in the water, &c.&c. This was Sunday
in the afternoon. The same man said that the Convention had
met at Washington and declared the independence of Texas.
The battalions of Guerrero and Mexico were ordered to get
ready to march to Gonzales to-morrow with about 200 horses
selected from Dolores and Tampico. A courier extraordinary
arrived with accounts of the sickness of Gen'l Barragar [Bar-
ragan] and the election of Mr. Corro as President, ad interim by
27 votes. For Bravo 18 votes, and Parres 8. This
election
did
not
please
Gen'l
Santa
Anna;
he
preferred
Gen'l
Bravo.
It is said that
Gen'l Michilena voted for Bravo.
Wednesday,
16th. Accounts were received from Gen'l Ra-
mirez--it was determined that Gen'l Tolsa should march with
two battalions to Goliad, and he started at 3 o'clock P. M. It
was also determined that I should join Sesma. Montoga left
with two batallions for Goliad, to reach there in seven days.
Wind continues.
We continue our translations from this interesting journal.
Some of the distant papers doubt the authenticity of this curious
document. Fools! what do they imagine us to be? The old line
newspaper editors in this and every other large city, have
entered into a league to discountenance and run down the small
daily press. Now it happens that I was for years an editor of
the largest paper in the country, and had to cut my connections
with these pompous blockheads, because they were too ignorant
and too stupid to make any improvement in newspapers, or
to know what talent was. The efficiency of the Parisian press
of New York, will soon be universally acknowledged.
As to the authenticity of Almonte's Journal, the original
went on yesterday to Washington, to be exhibited to his Ex-
cellency, the President of the United States.
The following portion brings the Mexican army down to
the banks of the Colorado:—
Thursday,
March
17th.--A Courier Extraordinary was des-
patched to Tolsa and Sesma, and to Matamoras; one for Mexico
will start to-morrow; by it go my letters for Mexico and the
United States; I could not start to-day, because the mules did
not arrive in time.
Friday,
18th.--At 10 A. M. we started from Bejar; at 3
leagues from Cibelo [Cibolo], we met a soldier of the company of
Bejar, with dispatches from the President; he said that General
Sesma left yesterday (17th) for San Felipe. General Tolsa started
this afternoon from Cibelo; it was supposed he will not reach
Carrizo; one and a half leagues before reaching Cibelo, we
saw a large drove of horses; at half past 5 P. M., we arrived
at Cibelo; encamped on the side towards Bexar about 100 yards
from the river; on the other side, the grass was burnt, and the
track of two persons on foot, who had been down to the river;
nothing occurred during the night; we passed Rosio creek and
the Tinaja; day windy and rainy.
Saturday,
19th.—At
8 A. M., left Cibelo. To the Tinaja or
El Cuchillo, four leagues; to the stream of Carrizal, four leagues,
--making eight leagues. We arrived at half past 3 P. M. It
rained during the march. About a league and a half before
arriving, we noticed a cross and bench on which it appeared
some person had been shot. Rained all night. Nothing now
[new?] occured. One horse was found to be tired out. We stopped
one league short of the Carrizo.
Sunday,
20th.--No rain. No sun. Met a soldier who was re-
turning. Found water the whole of the road. At La Perra, (farm
of Judge Williams,) the houses were burnt. At half past 4 P. M.,
we arrived at the crossing of the river. I spoke with General
Tolsa, who had not yet crossed the river. I did not cross. We
killed a beef. Lost four mules, (tired out,) and one yesterday.
General Tolsa collected some cattle, which were sent across
the river. It rained at night until half past 9 o'clock. In the
afternoon two pigs were killed.--Journeyed eight leagues.
Monday,
21st--Commenced cloudy, but cleared soon. Crossed
the river with difficulty. We joined the brigade of General
Tolsa and left Gonzales at 12 o'clock. We arrived at Tejoates
or El Durasno, at 3 P. M. Found no people; but an individual
was seen at the side of the road, who appeared like an American,
and although he was followed until he lost his horse near a
farm a league and a half from Gonzales, he escaped by a road
which branched off at the farm. Night clear. Nothing new.
Made three leagues. Passed about 9 houses on the road.
Tuesday,
22d—Commenced with a north wind, but the day
clear. At night the wind fell. We started at 8, A.M., and ar-
rived at River La Baca, at 3 P. M., only five leagues. The farm
was abandoned before the revolution. We made two halts of
an hour and a half for the baggage to come up, which
had been left a long distance in the rear of the division. We
passed the small branch of Piedras, (abandoned.) In the night,
Capt. Montoya arrived with 100 mules, which General Sesma
had ordered to meet us. Two mails also arrived. The enemy
were seen on the Colorado yesterday afternoon, and three
persons, Americans, showed themselves at the River Navidad.
At La Baca, coming from Gonzales, and about a mile from the
farm, the road from Goliad passes to Washington and Nacog-
doches. On the same side, but in front of the farm, the road
goes to the mouth of the La Baca, a small harbor where the ar-
ticles destined to Gonzales arrived. All along the La Baca, (be-
low,) the're are small farms about two leagues apart, with cattle,
hogs, good pasture, and wood.
Wednesday,
23d.—-Started at 8 o'clock; in this journey (on
Saturday 19th,) the Americans surprised the scouts of General
Sesma, and killed two men and wounded one; we found water
along the wood; at two and a half leagues we breakfasted at
the stream of La Piedra, (a farm abandoned) ; at 3 P. M. ar-
rived at La Navidad, 2 and a half leagues; the mules were a
long time crossing, notwithstanding it was not miry; farms
abandoned and with stock; at the farm de los Coates there is
a good house, (abandoned) good water, and pasture; at the
farms of the Navidad the road to Washington branches off as
was seen by the wagon tracks; it crosses the Colorado about
7 leagues higher up than where the division was; from La
Navidad to the Colorado there are 7 leagues, with three or
four farms on the road.
Thursday,
24th.—A Cloudy day; left the farm at quarter
past 8 o'clock and at 4 P.M.; arrived at our camp on the
Colorado, passing by the farm of Los Nogales, the streams of
the Alamo and San Autonito [Antoñito], which is lined with a
thick wood; about a league before coming to the river, the road
from Atascosito and La Bahia, of Espiritu Santo separates; in the
night the Major General reconnoitered; made six leagues.
Friday,
25th.—The day clear and temperate. The division
cleaned their arms. An express was sent at night to the Pres-
ident, at Bejar. In the afternoon about 50 cavalry of the
enemy started off in small parties, and carried with them about
12 cattle that were grazing in the plain, within sight. Nothing
occurred during the night excepting a small fire in the camp.
Saturday,
26th.—Cloudy but temperate; at 6 A.M. com-
menced moving, and at half past 10 o'clock started from the
camp on the river, for Atascosito. On the march, received the
express from the President, dated 23 inst. in which he advised
the taking of Goliad. The enemy burnt some houses up the
river in the morning, and in the night, it was believed the
house of Mr. Wright was burnt, from whence we had started;
at three leagues we encamped at 4 o'clock, having made three
halts; the enemy came to reconnoitre us; the mail carrier
arrived alone, and said that General Pavon remained in Gon-
zales, collecting the cattle and corn from the neighboring farms;
the place we encamped at was on the banks of the stream
de San Antonito, about one and a half leagues from the pass
of Atascosito.
Sunday,
27th.--At 7 A.M. commenced the march for the pass
of Atascosito; day cloudy and showery; the road miry; at
11 o'clock we halted a quarter of a league from the river Colorado,
having made 2 leagues; as soon as it cleared (at 12 o'clock)
we reconnoitred; discovered none of the enemy; at 3 o'clock
commenced the rafts and finished at 10 o'clock at night; we
tried the crossing and worked until half past 12 o'clock without
much success; it rained in the night, and the troops were
drenched; no general order.
Monday,
28th.--Commenced cloudy, and rained until 8 o'clock,
and afterwards at intervals; a violent gust of wind passed
over the camp in the night; continued working at the rafts,
and at a bridge for the infantry, but little was done at the
rafts, and the bridge could not be made on account of the
strength of the current; notwithstanding, we succeeded in
crossing the vanguard of the Cazadores in a small canoe, after
working all day; none of the enemy's scouts made their ap-
pearance; a large canoe was found in the afternoon, about half
a league from the c'rossing, down the river, which was ordered
to be brought up; the reserve retired to the camp on the plain,
at 12 o'clock (noon,) the 2d brigade only remaining at the
river and on the other side, as stated above, the van-guard of
the Cazadores. The General in Chief and I slept in the camp
on the plain. There was no general order issued, as each camp
had its commander.
[The New York Herald,
July 1, 1836]
ALMONTE'S JOURNAL—NO. 6.
We had intended to have accompanied the last portion of
this curious Journal, with some remarks of our own--but
want of room compels us to put the purpose off to another day.
The question of Texas will soon occupy the attention of the
world.
Tuesday,
29th March.—
Weather cleared, and the day was
warm. The remainder of the Cazadores, and the Battalions of
Matamoros and Toluca, and one piece of artillery were Crossed.
A new raft was finished, and a canoe found. The river com-
menced rising in the night, and half past 9 o'clock, had already
risen 4½ feet. The camp on the other side was reconnoitered,
and signs of the enemy's camp, (apparently of about 50 men
md a small cannon,) were discovered. The enemy, it appeared,
had abandoned the pass the same day we arrived. A courier
was dispatched to General Urrea, named Herrera, who spoke
English.
Wednesday,
30th.--At daylight, the river had risen 3¼ yards,
and the crossing ropes were broken 4 times. The battalion of
Aldama crossed. Several showers fell. A courier was despatched
to the President, advising him of the freshet. A messenger ar-
rived from General Santa Anna, bringing an answer to an
official communication, which General Sesma sent to him from
this river, the 24th instant. The answer was dated the 26th.
To me he says, he had marched, (I infer,) to Goliad. Lieut.
Ramirez went out with 17 men to reconnoitre.
Thursday,
31st.--Commenced cloudy. The river fell some.
It rained some during the day. The remainder of the battalion
of Aldama crossed with its baggage and supplies; the artillery
and park likewise. A courier arrived from General Urrea
from the Village of Victoria, bringing dates of the 27th March,
stating that by the 29th or 30th, he would start for Matagorda.
A reply was dispatched the same day, stating that we should
be in San Felipe by the 5th of April. A canoe and a boat
were discovered; also some cattle on the other side of the river,
and two Americans about half a league distant. Guerrero came
to the crossing place.
Friday,
April
1st.--Commenced with a little rain. The weather
continued temperate. The cattle, pack saddles, the rest of the
division of Aldama, the supplies, horses, mules, and the Con-
ductor General of the Equipage were all crossed. Six Amer-
icans were discovered up the river on the other side, who
took to the woods; three were on foot, and three on horseback.
Two or three cows were caught. Proceedings were instituted
against Captain Ruiz, Purveyor of the division. In the night,
an American was caught, called Smith, supposed to be of those
who were routed at Goliad.
Saturday,
2d.--Commenced with rain. The prisoner was
brought out; nothing was ascertained from him; he said he
knew nothing of the taking of Goliad, nor where the army of
the Colonists was. A courier with dispatches from General
Urrea arrived, dated at Victoria, 30th March, and stating that
he would be at Matagorda by the 4th. Two soldiers were
drowned by the upsetting of a canoe. Two negroes (slaves,)
a man and woman presented themselves. They discovered where
there was corn and salt. The Purveyor still remained suspended.
Sunday,
3d.--Fine weather--day clear. Dates were received
from the General in Chief from Bexar, of 29th March, in reply
to dispatches of the 25th, and stating that he was coming on
with 600 men, and a howitzer, which would start the 31st.
The Courier said he saw some cattle on the other side of the
river, and that he caught 8 mules and a mare--that the mes-
senger, who went from here to Bexar on the 30th, was followed
by some Americans, and was obliged to abandon his horse. We
all crossed the river, and the division finished crossing at about
12 o'clock. We sent one of the American prisoners (Smith)
to reconnoitre the pass of Luis, and he returned about 5 o'clock
in the afternoon, saying, that the Americans had abandoned
the country, and the trenches which they had made on the
bank of the river, and had taken the road to San Felipe de
Austin, with cattle, &c.--that they had not burnt the houses,
and that he did not see a single inhabitant on the road, nor a
single track.
Monday,
4th--At 6 A.M., the division took up its march
for the pass at Louis or Dewes or Mosely, about 4 leagues from
Atascosito; road good for 3 leagues, and 1 league, from Mosely's
to the river, bad and miry. The night overtook us on the bad
road, and we slept there. General Wall remained at the river
exploring. The ferry at Madame Beeson is 2½ leagues from
Atascosito, and 1½ leagues from Mosely's or Dewe's and from
there to the river 1 league. Some iron tools, and 2 cables were
found in the house of Mosely. The President arrived at Atas-
cosita in the night.
Tuesday,
5th.--The division returned, and the President
was now in the camp, with his staff. General Wall did not come
in until half past 10 o'clock, A.M., nor did the 2 Americans.
In the night, the President's baggage arrived.
Wednesday,
6th.--Heavy thick clouds. A courier came in
from General Gaona with despatches, dated on the Colorado,
(Bastrop.) According to the courier's statement, he had taken
various effects. At a quarter past 9 o'clock we started from the
river, and at 12 we arrived at the stream of San Bernardo, 5
leagues distant. The infantry arrived at 3 o'clock. We camped
on the side of the road, on the left bank of the river.
Thursday,
7th.--At 2 in the morning General Santa Anna
advanced towards San Felipe with 80 horses and 200 of the
Cazadores, for the purpose of taking the town by surprise by
daylight. But his object was defeated, as day broke before
reaching it. Took a prisoner notwithstanding, who gave us in-
formation about the enemy: that they were 70 in number on
the other side of the river, and from 700 to 800 were higher up
the river, at the house of Mr. Gross. They had thrown up a
breastwork -- two of their men were killed by grape shot.
The division arrived at half past 10—distance 5½ leagues.
Friday,
8th.—In San Felipe. At daylight commenced en-
trenchment on the bank of the river opposite to the enemy,
where were placed two six pounders.--Yesterday began two
rafts. It was determined to march on.
Saturday,
9th.--At 5 A.M., we left San Felipe with the choice
companies of Guerreros, Matamoras, Mexico, and Toluca, and
50 cavalry of the regiment of Tampico and Dolores. At half
past 12 o'clock we arrived at the farm of Colls, and another
a mile beyond -- in all 6½ leagues. Three Americans were seen
who took the road to Marion, or Orazimba, (Old Fort,) and
leading to Thompson's ferry. We found at the farm a family
from La Baca, who came by the way of the Brassos. -- Various
articles were also found. The husband of the woman was a
mulatto, the woman white. We sent Wilson (the mulatto) to
reconnoitre at Marion, that is, at the ferry. He did not return.
It rained some in the night, and the wind changed to the north.
Sunday
10th.--We remained at Coll's farm, waiting for our
scout. The farm is on the left bank of the river San Bernardo.
At a house 7 leagues from the farm, on the road leading to the
Colorado, there were 500 fanegas of corn and 20 barrels of
sugar. In the afternoon the scout returned, and confirmed the
accounts we had received of the position of the enemy. At a
quarter before 4 o'clock P. M. we took up our march for Marion,
or Old Fort, on the road from Brazoria. At half past 5 o'clock
we made a short halt at the farm of the widow Powell, or rather
at stream called Guajolota, from thence, leaving the road from
Brazoria on our right, we took the left, following the wagon
tracks to Marion. We marched until half past 9 at night, and
made another short halt. Night dark. At 2 in the morning we
commenced the march on foot, from the President down to the
soldier, leaving the baggage and cavalry, for the purpose of
surprising the enemy who defended the crossing place before
daylight. We did not succeed, as we found the distance double
what we supposed it to be. Day broke upon us at a quarter of
a league from the ferry and frustrated our plan. We then
placed the men in ambush. The stream of Guajolota is 7½
leagues from Marion, road level, with some miry places.
Monday,
11th.--Still in ambush. A negro passed at a short
distance and was taken. He conducted us to the place he had
crossed at, and having obtained a canoe we crossed without
being perceived, a little below the principal crossing place. In
the mean time the cavalry arrived at Marion and took possession
of the houses. The enemy retired on the other side, and kept
up a fire for a long time, until the Cazadores under command
of Bringas crossed at the lower ford, and ascending the river,
and were about to take them in the rear, when they abandoned
Marion, and we remained in possession of the ferry, one canoe,
and a flat boat. A courier was dispatched to General Sesma,
with orders that he should come up with the whole division.
The Cazadores slept on the other side of the river. Rain during
the night.
Tuesday,
12th.—-Day clear and fine. Was occupied in pro-
curing the canoes and going up in the flat boat to Thompson's
ferry. A Mexican and a Prussian came in. The Mexican is the
son of Delgardo. In the afternoon the boat was injured. A
courier came in from Guadaloupe and from General Sesma.
Wrote to Urrea at Matagorda.
Wednesday,
13th--The boat was repaired. The division of
General Sesma arrived. Many articles were found. General
Urrea and F. V. Fernandez were written to. Despatches ar-
rived from Urrea and Filisola.
Thursday,
14th.--We crossed the river early with our beds
only and provisions for the road. At 3 in the afternoon we
started from Thompson's ferry.
Friday,
15th.-—At Harrisburg. [in pencil.]
Saturday,
16th.—At Lynchburg. [in pencil.]
FOOTNOTES:
died in Paris, France, March 20, 1869. He was reputed to be the son
of the patriot Mexican priest Morelos. Almonte was a typical Mexican sol-
dier of fortune and statesman. Educated in the United States, he became a
lifelong follower of Santa Anna. In the 1836 campaign against the
Texans, his services were manifold -- something more than an aide-de-
camp's, and more than a confidential secretary's. Almonte's brief,
apt style is worthy of note; there is not an ideological phrase in it. For
his life, see Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, I, 59, and for
a more extensive account see Helen Willits Harris, The Public Life
of Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, Ph.D. dissertation, The University of
Texas, 1935.
New York Herald, May 6, 1835, a penny daily. He was still "editor,
reporter, proof-reader, folder, carrier," etc., in June, 1836, when he pub-
lished Almonte's Journal in the Herald from a cellar at 20 Wall Street.
Bennett was a Spanish translator but did not translate this Journal.
His staunch support of Texas from the Revolution onward deserves a
memorial far more than many who received it. See Dictionary of American
Biography, II, 195-199.
David
Gouverneur Burnet,
Satirist
A BIOLOGIST, working on the history of his science, often
encounters materials of interest to colleagues in the more
formal fields of social and political history. When working in the
Yale Library, for example, I took time to run over the printed
and manuscript materials in the alumni collection of Ashbel
Smith's class (that of 1824) to see what materials on his life
existed that had been unworked. My pleasure was unbounded
to find in that collection an early autograph-album effusion
of Smith, and abundant other materials on the formative period
of Smith's sojourn at Yale. If anyone in the future works on
the life of Ashbel Smith, I recommend this collection as worthy
of the closest attention. Ashbel Smith (besides his notable
work as Texan statesman and patriot) was a well-trained
scientist. He took Phi Beta Kappa at Yale in the Class of
1824 and his M.D. degree at Yale in 1828. This training was
followed by work at the Necker Hospital in Paris; and he
came to Texas with an admirable training in the spirit and
method of science which even the leveling influences of the
frontier could not crush. He was one of the founders of the
Philosophical Society of Texas (1837), of the Texas Literary
Institute (1846), of Galveston College (1852), of the Houston
Scientific Institute (1866), and numerous other educational
organizations. He was, of course, first president of the board
of regents of The University of Texas. He made a number of
important publications on the epidemic diseases of early Texas
(1839, 1850, 1854), and published an important paper on the
geography of Texas, in the bulletin of the Geographical Society
of Paris, in 1844.
Again, when four years ago I was working on the publica-
tions of Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in the library of the
Gray Herbarium in Cambridge, I came upon some exceedingly
rare material on the life of David G. Burnet (1788-1870).
Because of its rarity, because it casts light on an early Texan
statesman, and because it also deals with an early American
naturalist who has been a major interest with me over many
years,
1 I present it to readers of the Quarterly.
Regarding David G. Burnet's early life, a great deal is known;
and I shall here make no attempt to cover the ground of his
life. It will be recalled that Burnet came to Texas from Cin-
cinnati, where his older brother, Jacob Burnet (1770-1853),
was one of the leading men of the city, interested in educational
and cultural movements. David G. Burnet's father, William
Burnet, was a surgeon-general in the Revolutionary Army, and
the boy certainly had the advantages of a cultured home. He
early came to Natchitoches, Louisiana, to engage in trade with
the Indians but, developing tuberculosis, went (in the fall of
1817) to live with the Comanche Indians on the upper reaches of
the Colorado River in Texas. He lived with the Indians for
(?) eighteen months, and recovered his health completely. Out
of his Indian experiences,
2 he wrote a series of letters to Colo-
nel John Jamison, Indian Agent for the United States Govern-
ment at Natchitoches. The first of these is dated from Nacog-
doches, in August, 1818. Four letters only, as far as I know, were
written, for Colonel Jamison appears to have died in October of
the next year.
In 1824 there was established at Cincinnati the short-lived
Cincinnati
Literary
Gazette,
to which Rafinesque, world-
renowned naturalist (then a professor at Transylvania Uni-
versity) made contributions.
3 Rafinesque wrote a great number
and variety of papers, some of them showing the highest and
rarest genius, and some of exceedingly slender merit. "His
extraordinary genius, his encyclopaedic knowledge, and his
mind thinking thoughts forty years ahead of his time, won re-
spect for Rafinesque's scholarship; but his habit of parading
his professional connections brought him into ridicule. On
the title-pages of his many pamphlets he would set forth with
a pompous pedantry, common enough in his day, the list of the
scientific and learned societies of which he was a member, so
that the real name of the author 'bore the proportion to his
scientific title, as a paper kite to the length of its tail.' Thomas
Peirce of Cincinnati pasquinaded him as 'Professor Muscle-
shellorum' in his satirical The
Odes
of
Horace
in
Cincinnati
(1822). Sorry wit, of course, but fortunate for Peirce, who
the'reby gained a certain immortality. He
lampooned
Rafinesque."
Rafinesque, in the Cincinnati
Literary
Gazette
I (1824), 170,
(in an article entitled "Clio, No. IV. Ancient History of North
America.--Biography of the American Solomon"), printed what
was purported to be a biography of Nazahual, tenth king of
Tezcuco, in the region of Anáhuac [Mexico]. (The date of
the Gazette
issue is May 29, 1824.) In the next issue (June 5,
1824) the following card appeared:
A Card To C. S. Rafinesque, D.P., &c. &c. Modern Catesby, P.B.T.U.D.K.,
&c. Sir;--The readers of the Literary Gazette in Cincinnati, have been
highly pleased with the perusal of your late Biographical sketch of the
"American Solomon, King Nazahual," who
governed
the
Acolhuans
in
the
region
of
Anahuac,
vulgarly
called
Mexico,
in
the
early
part
of
the
fifteenth
century.
No doubt is entertained of the correctness of your
statement, in saying that this American
Solomon,
was a greater man
than the Asiatic
Solomon:
indeed, this is fully proved by his having
caused
paintings
to
be
made
of
all
the
stars, animals, and
plants in
Anahuac,
--a devotion to natural history, that did not mark the character
of the old
Bible
Solomon.
I am sorry, however, to inform you that some
persons in this city, affect to doubt whether this Big
Solomon
of yours was
in reality a deist, as you have asserted: others declare that his
temple
which you say was nine
stories in height, was but eight
and
three
quarters
:
and I am still more sorrowful to tell you that I have met with one or
two persons, so incredulous and obstinately perverse, as to declare a
total disbelief
in the existence of any such man as you have described
except in your fertile imagination.
Now to settle this matter will you, my good sir, be so kind as to
furnish for the Literary Gazette, your authorities for the statements
about the "American
Solomon"
If you knew "King Nazahual" personally,
and have made your sketch from actual observation, the question will
of course be satisfactorily settled. Yours respectfully, B.
To which Rafinesque (who utterly lacked a sense of humor, and
was one of the most literal-minded men that ever lived) re-
sponded, June 19, 1824, in "Clio No. V. On Nazuahal, the
Nabijos [Navahoes] and Comanchees" (Cincinnati
Literary
Gazette
I (1824), 202) as follows:
I have been called upon, to give my authorities for the Biographical
sketch of Nazahual the first: although the demand was anonymous
and indecorous, therefore unworthy of notice; since it has been admitted
into your pages, it requires a short answer. . . . [Here he gives Clavigero
and A. von Humboldt as his authorities.] ... I have been much pleased
with the accounts of the Comanchees and Nabijos, lately inserted in the
Literary Gazette, and derived some additional facts from both; but I
have to regret that the writers have totally neglected to notice the
languages of those nations, although this ought to claim the first at-
tention in any account of Indian nations, "being often the only clue to
trace their origin and history. It is also wrong to give anonymous details
of historical facts, while so much depends upon personal authority. . . .
Just before this time, Burnet's series of letters to Colonel
Jamison had appeared in the Literary
Gazette,
in five install-
ments: Vol. I, 145-146; 154-155; 162-163; 177-178; and 186-187.
Stimulated by Rafinesque's inquiry on Comanche vocabularies,
Burnet published in the July 3, 1824, number [Vol. 11, 3-4]
"Indians of Texas," which included a section, "Brief desultory
and imperfect Vocabulary of the Comanchee language; re-
spectfully dedicated to Professor Rafinesque of Transylvania
University." The introductory remarks (which lack a heading)
were devastating;,
but doubtless lost their point against the
impervious armor of the absorbed and unsuspecting professor.
Rafinesque was proof against irony: he could not understand
how anyone could be less interested in naturalia
than himself:
a defect that was to cause him much bitter grief in his later
experiences. Burnet wrote:
The very erudite and worthy Professor Rafinesque, of Transylvania
University, regrets that the language
of the Comanchees should have
been neglected in my account of that tribe of Indians, recently published
in your paper. I must dissent from one part of the learned gentleman's
argument on this point. That the language of any Indian tribe now
extant, can in any case, be considered a safe or even a verisimilar
"clue to trace their origin and history" is highly questionable, provided
the figments of fancy are to be excluded from our historical researches.
In all probability there is not at this day, a single tribe on the continent,
whose original vernacular tongue, has not been altogether corrupted,
and radically changed by innumerable admixtures with other tongues,
together with such other incidental variations as must naturally result
from the defect of some permanent and determinate standard by which
alone the etymology, orthography[,] and legitimate meaning of words can
be preserved. The rude hieroglyphical paintings of the Mexicans, who
partake so much of the Professor[']s veneration, and who were con-
fessedly in the days of Cortez the most polished and cultivated of all
the nations of the new continent, cannot be considered as furnishing
such a standard. If they are so considered, they have certainly failed
of their proper effect; for the language of ancient Mexico, alias Anahuac,
has become entirely extinct. There is not a solitary distinctive, living
vestige of it to be found.
I am sensible, however, that language is always an article of im-
portance in "an account of Indian nations," & if I had possessed a com-
petent acquaintance with the dialect of the Comanchees, I should not
have omitted noticing it in my desultory remarks upon them. If the
subjoined very crude and imperfect vocabulary will afford any satisfaction
or impart any thing "new" to the very learned professor, [sic] I
shall be proud of having added one item more, to his prodigious stock
of knowledge. The words and the interpretation of them, were taken
hastily, without premeditation, and without any thought of publication,
from one of the most intelligent chiefs of the nation, who spoke Spanish
with great fluency, but who notwithstanding, was unable to comprehend
how his
language could be reduced to visible intelligible signs, so as to
enable a stranger to pronounce it with correctness.
Mr. Rafinesque evidently supposes me to be the author of what he
styles "an anonymous and indecorous" demand,
that was made upon
him for his authorities for certain very edifying researches into the
history of the renowned "American Solomon" King Nazahual of Tezcuco
in Anahuac. This error in the learned Professor is venial, and quite
pardonable, although it has subjected me to a very severe and overwhelming
ebullition of his ink horn. It has presented another evidence that exquisite
humor is not incompatible with profound erudition, and that deep re-
search does not always deaden the fancy, nor obtund the edge of the most
delicate wit. The waggish author of the demand
gave an insidious
plausibility to the suspicion, by adopting my anonymous signature. This
he did, probably with a view to trying the Professor[']s skill, or with
a more provoking intent towards myself, of eliciting from the able anti-
quarian, a criticism upon my unpretending letters on the Indians of Texas.
The worthy Professor must allow me to adhere to my original plan of
concealment, and to satisfy him on the score of "personal authority," I
must refer him to yourself [the editor.]--To affix my proper name would
be introducing a stranger, who has no pretentions to the literary celebrity
and deep-drawn lore that render the name of Rafinesque a sufficient
guarantee for any "historical details," without extorting the mortifying
confession that they are borrowed from Clavigero, Humboldt, or the more
recent Bonnycastle. B.
The last paragraph, of course, lets "the knowing ones" into
the secret, but not Rafinesque. He had the simplicity and
naïveté of a child, and probably never understood the nature
of his castigation. To one who sees with half an eye, we have
a spectacle as edifying as the flogging of a suckling child.
One is glad that in later years Burnet, in Sam Houston, found
a foeman worthy of his steel.
FOOTNOTES:
chief at Tuck-a-bach-ee entertained him well, and asked him many ques-
tions in reference to his Great Father, and spoke of a visit he had made
in the company with his interpreter, "Davy Barnett." Is it possible that
this was David G. Burnet?