AND HIS RECOVERY OF TEXAS FROM
THE FRENCH, 1719-1723
CHARLES W. HACKETT
David Gouverneur Burnet Dorothy Louise Fields
The Mormon Migration into Texas . . . C. Stanley Banks
Check List of Texas Imprints, 1858 . . . Edited by
E. W. Winkler
Notes and Documents:
Contemporary Newspaper Accounts
of the Annexation of Texas . . . Edited by
Llerna Friend
Notes on Early Steamboatmg
on the Rio Grande . . . . . . Harbert Davenport
Dr. John Sibley and the Louisiana-
Texas Frontier, 1803-1814—
Continued . . Julia Kathryn Garrett
The Election of Jefferson Davis to
the Presidency of the Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Texas . . . Charles F. Arrow ood
Texas Collection H. Bailey Carroll
Book Reviews
Book Notes
Contributors
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THE SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
EDITORS:
Walter Prescott Webb
H. Bailey Carroll
ASSOCIATE EDITORS:
Charles W. Hackett
Rudolph L. Biesele
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Quarterly is sent free to all members.
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Contents
The Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo
and His Recovery of Texas
from the French, 1719-1723 Charles W. Hackett 193
David Gouverneur Burnet Dorothy Louise Fields 215
The Mormon Migration into Texas C. Stanley Banks 233
Check List of Texas Imprints,
1846-1876—Continued Edited by E. W. Winkler 245
Notes and Documents:
Contemporary newspaper Accounts of
the Annexation of Texas Edited by Llerna Friend 267
Notes on Early Steamboating
on the Rio Grande Harbert Davenport 286
Dr. John Sibley and the Louisiana-
Texas Frontier, 1803-1814--
Continued Julia Kathryn Garrett 290
The Election of Jefferson Davis
to the Presidency of the Agri-
cultural and Mechanical Col-
lege of Texas Charles F. Arrowood 293
Texas Collection H. Bailey Carroll 296
Book Reviews: McKay, W. Lee O'Daniel and Texas Politics,
1938-1942; Thomlinson, The Garrison at Fort Bliss, 1849-
1916; Garrison (ed.), The United States, 1865-1900: A
Survey of Current Literature with Abstracts of Unpub-
lished Dissertations; Elliott, My Aunt Louisa and Woodrow
Wilson 317
Book Notes 322
Contributors 324
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THE SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Vol. XLIX October, 1945 No. 2
The
Marquis
of
San
Miguel
de
Aguayo and His Recovery of
Texas from the French,
1719-1723
Aguayo and His Recovery of
Texas from the French,
1719-1723
PRIOR to 1685, Spain had taken no steps to occupy Texas
but had done much to establish title to that province. This
was the result of a number of well-known expeditions, the
most notable of which were the Narváez-Cabeza de Vaca
expedition--a few survivors of which lived on the Gulf coast
and explored the southwestern part of present Texas between
1528 and 1536; the Coronado expedition through the north-
western part of the present state in 1541; the De Soto expe-
dition, which advanced from the northeast in 1542 probably
as far as the middle Brazos; and the Domínguez-López expe-
dition, which proceeded from El Paso del Rio del Norte to the
region of present San Angelo in 1684.
The period in which Spain's interest in Texas was undisputed
but merely incidental ended in 1685. In that year Spain's title
to Texas was formally disputed for the first time by a rival
foreign aggressor, France. Henceforth, Texas was of prime
importance to Spain, but chiefly through a desire to safeguard
it from foreign aggression; henceforth, Texas was a most
valued possession which jealous Spain defended most vigorously.
News that the French expedition of La Salle had passed
through West Indian waters, bound for the Gulf coast some-
where between present Mexico and Florida, aroused the most
marked activity on the part of the Spaniards to find and
dislodge the intruders. While five naval expeditions plied the
coast between Vera Cruz and Apalachee, the renowned Alonzo
de León led a series of land expeditions that culminated in
his reaching in 1689 the ill-fated and deserted Fort St. Louis,
which La Salle had founded in 1685 on present Garcitas Creek
near Lavaca Bay--then known to the Spaniards as La Bahía
del Espíritu Santo.
Disasters that had befallen the French colony--desertion,
Indian attacks, disease, and treachery that culminated in the
murder of the dauntless La Salle--had temporarily eliminated
the French menace. But Spain felt impelled to nullify France's
claim to Texas that had been acquired through temporary
occupation. Furthermore, other Frenchmen were reported to
be descending the Mississippi; also, the confederated and seden-
tary Hasinai Indians comprising what was known as the "Great
Kingdom of Texas," between the Trinity and Red rivers, had
asked for missionaries. For these reasons, but chiefly for the
purpose of erecting a bulwark against possible French encroach-
ments from Canada, East Texas was temporarily occupied by
the Spaniards between 1690 and 1693. Two missions were
established, the best known being that of San Francisco de los
Texas, which was located a few miles west of the Neches River.
In 1691, Don Domingo Terán de los Ríos, the first commissioned
governor of Texas ever to reach it, began his term of office.
Dissensions arose between Governor Terán and the missionaries.
Terán soon returned to Coahuila, utterly disgusted with Texas,
and Father Massanet and the other missionaries followed him
in 1693. With East Texas thus abandoned, the Spanish frontier
receded to below the Rio Grande. The abandonment of East
Texas was approved by the Spanish crown in 1694, partly
because the fear of the French on the upper Mississippi was
minimized.
Spain's interest in Texas waned for a few years after 1693
but revived upon renewed French encroachments. In 1699,
the French founded their first settlement in the colony of
Louisiana---a feeble beginning of a colonizing movement that
resulted by 1719 in the occupation of posts from Natchitoches
and present Texarkana, in the Red River Valley, eastward, to
south central Alabama, and from Mobile and Biloxi, on the
Gulf coast, northward, to present Natchez. By thus occupying
Louisiana, the French drove a wedge between Spanish Florida
and northern New Spain--a wedge that constituted a new
menace to Spain's title to Texas. Before defensive action
against this encroachment could be taken by Spain, Louis XlVs
grandson was willed the Spanish throne in 1700; in his defense,
Spain and France were allied for more than a decade in the
bitterly fought War of the Spanish Succession. In consequence,
instead of opposing the French in Louisiana, Spain acquiesced,
although grudgingly, in their presence, and during the war
utilized to advantage their aid against the English in Carolina.
With peace restored in Europe in 1713, the French proposed
to utilize Louisiana as a base for smuggling French commerce
into northern New Spain (Mexico) by way of Texas. In fur-
therance of this plan Louis de St. Denis, with a passport from
Governor Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac of Louisiana, journeyed
in 1714 from Natchitoches to the new Spanish post of San
Juan Bautista (Eagle Pass) on the Rio Grande. St. Denis
was apprehended and later was sent to Mexico City by Captain
Diego Ramón, the presidial commander at San Juan Bautista,
but he, in turn, captured the heart and ultimately won the
hand of the commander's granddaughter.
St. Denis's arrival at the Rio Grande with proposals for
trade across Texas aroused the Spanish authorities to the
necessity of reoccupying that province. A viceregal council
in 1715 gave orders for the founding of missions, presidios,
and a civil settlement in East Texas. Domingo Ramón, an
uncle of St. Denis's wife, was put in charge of the enterprise,
and St. Denis, through his avowed intention to become a
naturalized Spanish subject, was chosen as guide of the expe-
dition. In 1716, the Ramón expedition, consisting of only sixty-
five persons, crossed the Rio Grande, and by 1717 it had estab-
lished six missions and the presidio of Dolores--known also
as the presidio of Texas--in the country between the Trinity
and Red rivers. The first of these missions was the re-estab-
lished one of San Francisco de los Texas, now renamed de los
Neches, and located this time near the east bank of the Neches
River. The second mission was Nuestra Señora de la Purísima
Concepción de los Ainais. It was located eight or nine leagues
northeast of San Francisco and among the Hainai Indians, a
tribe which lived along the Angelina River and was the head
of the Hasinai, or Texas Confederacy. One league from this
mission was the presidio of Dolores, or Texas, The third mis-
sion was Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de los Nacogdoches;
it was located nine leagues southeast of Concepción, at present
Nacogdoches. The fourth mission, San Joseph de los Nazones,
was located about seven leagues northeast of Concepción. The
fifth and sixth missions, founded in 1717, were Nuestra Señora
de los Dolores de los Ais, at modern San Augustine, and San
Miguel de los Adaes. The last-named mission was located well
to the east of Los Ais, within the present state of Louisiana,
and was approximately seven leagues from the French post
of Natchitoches on the Red River. Truly the Spanish and
French frontiers had been brought into dangerously close prox-
imity in the Los Adaes-Natchitoches area.
St. Denis, after returning to the Red River as guide to the
Ramón expedition in 1716, went to Mobile, where he promoted
a major commercial expedition to San Juan Bautista, counting
for its success upon the influence of his wife's people. But
arrest, confiscation of the bulk of his goods--including laces,
thread, woolens, and hosiery--and imprisonment in Mexico City
were his rewards. Equal to any emergency, the clever St. Denis
finally regained his freedom. Convinced of the futility of
similar undertakings in the future, St. Denis took his Spanish
wife to Louisiana. He was soon appointed commander at the
post of Natchitoches, where he constituted a veritable thorn
in the side of the Spaniards until his death in 1744. When that
occurred, Governor Boneo of Texas wrote to the viceroy: "St.
Denis is dead, thank God; now we can breathe more easily."
1
A silly war of short duration between France and Spain in
1719 was responsible for interesting action in East Texas.
Upon receipt of news of the outbreak of war, a French force
of seven men advanced from Natchitoches to Los Adaes and
easily captured the only two occupants of the place that were
"at home" that day, "a lay-brother and a naked and unarmed
soldier." But the French commander did not stop with this
triumph. In the satirical words of the Spanish Franciscan
historian, Arricivita,
he also seized the sacred ornaments and other necessary vessels of the
quotidiano
service, and so excessively thorough was he that not even the
chickens escaped imprisonment. But these, on the move, and disgusted
with [the show] of force, flapped their wings lustily in order to escape;
the horses, terrified by the noise, knocked the commandant to the ground.
Thereupon the soldiers ran to help him, and the lay-brother seized the
opportunity to lash the legs of his horse; and, gaining the wood, he left
them frustrated in the chase. Thereupon the monsieur commandant
returned to his presidio, glorified by his capture of a despoiled soldier
and the imprisoned fowls. Doubtless the chief, in order to conserve his
own life, did not spare, according to civilized rules, the lives of the
chickens, since they had so treacherously endangered his.
2
Through the lay-brother news of war in Europe and of the
French invasion of Texas reached the other Spanish missions,
reports of both being highly exaggerated. A panic of fear
seized the Spaniards, and, to save themselves from the French,
they finally retreated to San Antonio, where the year before
had been founded the mission of San Antonio de Valero and
the presidio of San Antonio de Béxar, then Spain's only re-
maining establishments in Texas. From the point of view of
the Spanish refugees, if the cackling of geese had saved Rome,
the lusty flapping of wings by East Texas chickens had as
truly saved them from falling into the hands of their French
enemies.
It was on this scene that the renowned second Marquis of
San Miguel de Aguayo, a wealthy citizen of Coahuila, appeared
in the role of a restorer of Spanish dominion in Texas.
3 That
he shared the exaggerated fears which had caused the Spaniards
in East Texas to withdraw to San Antonio, and even feared
that the whole northern frontier of New Spain was endangered
by the French assault on Texas, is revealed in the following
summary of events which he sent to the king in June, 1720:
Insatiable zeal and desires which I have that this growing conflagration,
which is spreading with such detriment to the interests of Your Majesty,
may be checked, impel me to undertake this military exploit. For, during
the month of June of the past year [1719] the French attacked the
missions, which, since the year '17 Your Majesty has had in the said
province (after having surprised and occupied the presidio of Pensacola),
obliging all the settlers of that country to abandon it, and, likewise, the
great success which the father missionaries are experiencing among the
numerous nations that live in those regions. From there the Captain
[Ramón] with his entire flying company, which was protecting the six
missions that were already constructed, had to withdraw. Thus was
broken the good faith and alliance which the French enjoyed with the
forces of Your Majesty. The French are settled and fortified on the
small island of Nachitos, a place distant only seven leagues from the
mission of Los Adaes, the last one which was erected in Texas. This
unexpected invasion threw these kingdoms into consternation because of
the French having, as they have had since the year 1700 (it being fortified
more and more each day) the colony which they call La Gran Mobila,
a port which is twelve leagues distant from the aforementioned Pensacola.
In the nineteen subsequent years that they have been viewed, if not with
disregard, with very little attention (even working mines of silver), they
have been able with the greatest of ease to penetrate 400 leagues of the
country by way of the direct route to the capital of these kingdoms,
Mexico, constructing every fifty leagues a presidio and a settlement--
notably that of the city of New Orleans which they founded with the
greatest enthusiasm. In that colony with continued encouragement from
Europe, they are producing abundant supplies of provisions from the
plentiful products of those fertile countries, which today they cultivate
with the labor of the many nations which they have dominated. As a
consequence they need nothing other than clothes, arms and people from
France. In attaining this success they have been so far-sighted that they
have armed and trained in the use of flint-lock muskets more than 6,000
Indians, the Europeans from France numbering 2,500, including 400
families. The leisure of peace and the distance of 700 leagues which
there are between Mexico and Mobile have been responsible for the decision
not to attack this cancer. But by the action referred to of last June the
entire kingdom was taken by surprise, a contributing cause being that
this land is almost impossible for the carrying on of war maneuvers.
4
Don Joseph de Azlor y Virto de Vera, the second Marquis
of San Miguel de Aguayo, was descended from an old family
which counted among its members grandees and armed knights
who had rendered service to the kings of Aragón. Of his more
immediate ancestors, his grandfather, Don Martín de Azlor,
died as a maestro
de
campo
in the siege of Barcelona in 1652,
and his father, Don Artal de Azlor, was general of artillery
in the year 1696. A brother, Don Juan Artal de Azlor, the
second Count of Guara, as commandant of the frontier of
Aragón, participated in the hostilities of 1705 during the War
of the Spanish Succession.
5
The record thus established by his forebears was continued
by Don Joseph de Azlor y Virto de Vera. In 1704 he served
the Spanish king, Philip V, as the head of a company of fifty
men whom he maintained at his own expense throughout a
campaign. In 1705 and 1706 he went to the frontier of Navarre
with some mounted men whom he maintained at his own ex-
pense; on both occasions the viceroys, the Duke of San Juan
and Prince Serclaes de Tillí were on the same frontier.
6
In Spain Don Joseph de Azlor married Ignacia Xaviera, the
twice-widowed daughter of Don Agustín de Echevers, the first
Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo; by so doing, Don Joseph
himself became the second Marquis of that title. Because the
Marchioness Ignacia Xaviera was heiress to great landed estates
in New Spain, she and the Marquis went there in 1712 in order
to live on their haciendas. They chose for their home the
hacienda of Patos in the province of Coahuila, and there the
Marquis and his wife lived from 1713 until he started on his
expedition to Texas in 1720.
7
Her ancestors had also served the king in the armies of Cata-
lonia, Flanders, and the Indies. Her great-great-grandfather
was Don Francisco de Urdiñola, distinguished and well-known
governor of Nueva Viscaya during the latter part of the six-
teenth century; her father, Don Agustín de Echevers, was en-
nobled by the king for his services on the northern frontier by
being created the first Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo. Upon
the death of Don Agustín's wife, their daughter, Ignacia
Xaviera, then one of the richest heiresses of New Spain, became
the second Marchioness of San Miguel de Aguayo. 8
After reaching the northern frontier of New Spain in Coa-
huila, the second Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo claimed to
have rendered continuous and valiant service to the cause of
his king. For example, when the viceroy of New Spain, the
Duke of Linares, was organizing the expedition that occupied
Texas in 1716, he wished to buy from the Marquis, on the
account of the king, two hundred head of cattle. But these the
Marquis donated from his haciendas without receiving other
compensation for them than the satisfaction of thus serving his
king. Furthermore, according to his later claims, from the time
that he arrived on the Coahuila frontier, he maintained for its
defense and at his own expense many mounted soldiers and
Indian allies, and with these he opposed the repeated incursions
of the hostile tribes and aided the presidios and near-by settle-
ments. He also claimed to have contributed, through his im-
portunity and his gifts, to the pacification of rebellious nations
who soon submitted to the authority of the king of Spain.
9
It was while he was employed in such activities in the year
1719, that the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo learned with
great concern of the French invasion of the province of Texas
and of the abandonment by the Spaniards of all of that province
except San Antonio. Moved by "insatiable zeal" to drive back
the French and, in so doing, to remove what he regarded as a
serious menace to the whole northern frontier of New Spain,
the Marquis endeavored to fulfill his obligation and love for
the king by offering to the viceroy, the Marquis of Valero, his
fortune, his life, and his sword, to render service to the king
by going "as a knight-errant with a flint-lock musket to this
war (which it was thought [would be] a very glorious one on
account of those countries not having seen such valiant ene-
mies)."
The viceroy accepted the offer of the Marquis and conferred
upon him, in the name of the king, the titles of governor and
captain-general of the provinces of Coahuila and Texas.
10 This
action of the viceroy was approved by the king in a royal cedula
of May 26, 1721.
11 Appreciation of this royal confirmation
deeply moved the Marquis, who thus addressed himself to the
king:
My good fortune to serve Your Majesty with the general command on
these frontiers of New Spain reached its zenith with the honor that the
royal graciousness of Your Majesty deigned to confer upon me—con-
firming [the viceroy's appointment] in the despatch which Your Majesty
signed in Aranjuez on May 26, 1721—holding it as good that the restora-
tion of Texas, New Kingdom of the Philippines, should have been en-
trusted to my feeble management.
12
Upon receipt of the viceroy's commissions, the Marquis of
San Miguel de Aguayo lost no time in beginning preparations
for his expedition. Misfortune and hardships, however, were,
from the outset, to attend many of his efforts and were to be
overcome only by indefatigable persistence. Indeed, the Marquis
himself said, after the consummation of his task:
In connection with the expedition it seems that all hell conspired to
maintain its tyrannical dominion in that far-flung heathen land.
Indeed, every major contrast of rigorous weather abetted the diabolical
cunning of the Indians for impeding or obstructing the entrance [of the
expedition].
13
First, the Marquis raised a cavalry company of eighty-four
men, "with celerity that was unprecedented in these kingdoms,"
in connection with which he supplied 21,900 pesos to the king.
From Coahuila this company was sent on to San Antonio, where
the Marquis claimed that he was supporting twelve missionaries,
who had arrived there with the East Texas refugees in 1719,
in order that they might not scatter to their colleges before
he could return them to their abandoned missions.
14 It was
while these missionary refugees were waiting at San Antonio
between 1719 and 1721, that the mission of San Joseph y San
Miguel de Aguayo--the second mission at San Antonio--was
erected by Father Margil, under the patronage of the Marquis
of San Miguel de Aguayo.
15
Late in October, 1719, the Marquis formally assumed the
governorship of the provinces of Coahuila and Texas, being
cheered upon doing so, he said, by "the general acceptance with
which all the residents of these provinces received me on taking
charge of the government." Conferences were promptly held
with the most experienced men on the frontier, and the attor-
ney of the Marquis, Dr. Don Joseph Codallos y Rabal, was
sent to Mexico with a letter of credit for the viceroy, together
with certain observations and opinions of the Marquis.
16
While awaiting action of the viceroy upon his observations
and opinions, the Marquis devoted himself to the pacification
of the province of Coahuila, which was harassed by four belli-
cose Indian nations. Failing to win them over to peace by
every means resorted to, the Marquis made war on them. He
assembled as many as two hundred men, including those from
the adjacent presidios and those of his own retinue, all of
whom he maintained at his own expense. Victory was won
over the Indians, who were attacked in some mountainous
country which the footsteps of Spaniards had never before trod;
one-half of the hostile Indians were killed or captured, and
the others escaped through flight. The captives, including Don
Dieguillo, a chief who for thirty years had harassed the fron-
tier, were sent to the viceroy at Mexico City, the expenses of
their trip being borne by the Marquis.
17
Meanwhile, the observations and opinions which the Marquis
had sent to the viceroy were, by him, referred to a junta
general
de
guerra
y
hacienda
to which Dr. Codallos presented evidence
that "these dominions would be lost (to the French) unless the
necessary [preventive] measures should be applied." There-
upon the junta resolved that five hundred additional men should
be enlisted and prepared with dispatch, and that for them four
thousand horses should be supplied. The explanation for need-
ing so many horses was given by the Marquis as follows:
There is neither straw nor grain nor any way of maintaining horses
other than that of turning them loose in the open. Many horsey are
necessary in order that their great number may supply their deficiencies.
18
Advised by the viceroy of the action of the junta, the Marquis
lost no time in taking the most active and efficacious means
for assembling the specified number of men and horses. This
was accomplished, so the Marquis reported to the king on June
26, 1720, "with such good results that at the end of two months
I have succeeded in both undertakings in such a manner that
they are today in this province of Coahuila—this being so un-
precedented in the kingdom that there is no man to whom this
prompt action may not have caused admiration."
19 For the
enlisting of his men the Marquis incurred increased expendi-
tures "both for the conveyance of the people (which was accom-
plished with immense labor on account of the distances and
the lack of settlements along the roads) ... and for the arming,
clothing, and equipping of the soldiers."
20
Misfortune, however, was to attend the efforts ot the ener-
getic Marquis. A drought which prevailed throughout the
entire summer of 1720 caused the loss of 3,500 of the 4,000
horses which the Marquis had bought and delayed the departure
of the expedition from Coahuila. The Marquis was engaged in
replenishing this loss and that of war supplies and food until
the first of October, when unusually heavy rains still further
delayed the departure. Meanwhile, as a basis for an army
he formed a battalion of mounted infantry from among the
500 men which he named the Battalion of San Miguel de
Aragon. Having incorporated it with his two flying companies
of 109 veteran soldiers, he set out for Texas in the middle of
October, 1720.
21
Even then the rivers were out of their banks, and the greatest
difficulty was experienced in getting across them the 600 mule-
loads (cargas)
which he carried and more than 4,000 horses,
600 cattle, 900 sheep, and 800 mules--not including those which
he previously had assembled at San Juan Bautista on the Rio
Grande and at San Antonio. The winter of 1720-1721 proved
to be a severe one, with much ice, snow, and rain, which
retarded the work of fifty swimmers whose task it was to pull
across the streams the rafts, constructed of timbers, barrels,
and rushes, that were laden with supplies. The high waters
of the Sabinas River, in northern Coahuila, and of the Rio
Grande delayed the Marquis more than a month, so that he
did not cross the Rio Grande until March 20, 1721. At the
crossing of the Rio Grande some loads of supplies were lost,
and the lives of two of the soldiers were imperiled.
22
While at the Rio Grande, the Marquis, who professed great
fear that the French from Louisiana would seize the oppor-
tunity to reoccupy the site of La Salle's settlement, sent a
detachment of forty soldiers under Captain Domingo Ramón
to occupy that region. This detachment proceeded by way of
San Antonio to La Bahía, which it reached and took possession
of on April 4, 1721.
23
The main expedition continued from the Rio Grande by
regular daily marches through prevailing intense heat. The
route was by way of the camino
real
to San Antonio, which
was reached on April 4, 1721. Leaving San Antonio on May
13, the expedition proceeded by way of present New Braunfels
and present San Marcos, where the old camino
real
was aban-
doned for a more northerly route that reached the Colorado
River a few miles below present Austin. Thence the expedition
proceeded, by way of the Griffin Crossing on Little River
east of the present Belton, to a point near Waco, on the
Brazos River, which was crossed on June 19, 1721. From
there the expedition continued in a south-southeasterly direction
until at a point some distance above present Navasota it re-
encountered the old camino
real.
In general this route was
followed from there to the former settlements of the Spaniards
between the Trinity and Red rivers.
24
This detour to the north of the camino
real
from present
San Marcos to the vicinity of present Navasota by way of Waco
was made necessary by the swollen condition of the lower
stretches of the Texas rivers. Having learned of this fact
while in San Antonio, the Marquis selected as a guide Juan
Rodríguez, captain of the Ranchería Grande Indians, who was
then in San Antonio. By this detour, which began at a point
about thirty leagues from San Antonio, the hill country of
the Apaches was skirted. This country was extended and
rough, and through it the Marquis discovered "an admirable
road, passable at all seasons ... the monte
grande
[or Cross
Timbers] to the east."
25 Thus was blazed a trail that coincides
with or parallels the present state highway from San Marcos,
by way of Austin, Georgetown, and Salado, to and beyond
Temple. This road for much of that distance, runs in sight of
the well-known geologic line known as the Balcones Fault--the
Lomería
de
los
Apaches
referred to by the Marquis.
Soon after re-encountering the old camino
real
north of pres-
ent Navasota, the expedition was delayed a week at the Arroyo
of San Buenaventura, or the present Navasota River. This
delay would have been longer, the Marquis stated, "if I had
not caused to be constructed a bridge twenty-five varas long
and three varas wide, over which I succeeded in crossing the
stream."
26 Such is the reference to what was probably the first
bridgebuilding in Texas.
At the Trinity, which was reached on July 9, friendly
Ranchería Grande Indians offered the Spaniards the use of a
raft in crossing the river, but it proved to be ineffectual, as
did one which the Spaniards built. About a league from the
river, however, the Spaniards chanced to discover a canoe that
had been left there by Captain Ramón when he withdrew from
East Texas to San Antonio in 1719. It required four days to
haul this canoe with oxen to the river, but with it the expe-
dition was able to cross the river in twelve days--some days
as many as twenty-five crossings being made.
27
At the first encampment after crossing the Trinity the Mar-
quis had an interview with the principal captain-governor of
the Texas Indians. "Such were his demonstrations of pleasure,"
at having the Spaniards return, says the Marquis, "that with
the padres he wept from joy."
28
Three days' journey farther on, a Frenchman reached the
Spanish camp. He had been sent by Captain Louis de St. Denis
from the mission of La Concepción to request of the Marquis
a safe-conduct for coming and discussing matters of interest
to the two crowns. The Marquis granted this safe-conduct
because St. Denis was represented as "commandant of French
forces in Natchitoches and on the entire frontier of all that
the French possess." The Marquis advanced to meet St. Denis,
but on account of high water he was delayed eight days in
crossing the Neches River. It was finally necessary to construct
a bridge thirty-two varas long and four varas wide to accom-
plish the crossing. There with all his captains the Marquis
received St. Denis, who informed the Marquis that a truce had
been declared in Europe and that he had orders from the
French governor of Louisiana to observe it in case the Marquis
wished to do so. St. Denis volunteered the further statement
that the French invasions of the Spanish settlements two years
earlier had been the "personal action" of the French captain
at Natchitoches, who had so far exceeded his instructions that
the French governor at Mobile, in a junta
de
guerra,
had
declared him to be delinquent, and that he would have been
punished if he had not at that time died. St. Denis also stated
that the French had safeguarded all the sacred things that
had been taken in 1719 from the mission of Los Adaes, all of
which he was prepared to turn over to the Spaniards.
29
The Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo answered St. Denis
that he would observe the truce, in virtue of the orders of the
king "which he at that time had, to make only defensive war
in recovering that province and to fortify it with the necessary
presidios."
30 He added, however, that St. Denis would have to
abandon everything that he possessed in Texas, and, with the
French under his command, withdraw to Natchitoches. This
the Marquis said he was constrained to do because he was
obligated "to reinstate the troops of the king in all the places
that they had possessed as far as Los Adaes."
31 St. Denis agreed
to everything suggested by the Marquis, who explained this
action as follows: "If he had seen our forces, he would not
have abandoned his claims."
32 The day following this interview,
St. Denis started his return journey to Natchitoches, after
having delivered the entire province to the Marquis.
33
That he was none too soon in reaching the former Spanish
establishments in East Texas, thereby thwarting further pro-
posed aggressions of the French, was the recorded conviction
of the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo. Soon after his
conference with St. Denis, the Marquis professed to have
learned that St. Denis had stopped for three days at the mission
of La Concepción to attend a junta of all the nations of that
region. During the entire winter he had planned that this
junta should be held during the moon of that month in order
that in it plans might be formulated for taking possession of
the Bay of Espíritu Santo and the presidio of San Antonio.
The Indians who attended the junta included eighty Cadodaches,
and these and also Vidais and Ogdocas Indians the Marquis
found when he reached La Concepción on August 6. "But,"
said the Marquis, "on my arrival the impending danger dis-
appeared like smoke."
34
Relieved of the presence of the French, the Marquis set him-
self to the task of re-establishing Spanish dominion over Texas.
First, in an endeavor to win back the loyalty of the Indians,
he gave them gifts, and they submitted "very joyfully" to render
obedience to the Spanish king. "I made them understand," the
Marquis reported to the king, "that Your Majesty was receiving
them under his royal protection, and that Your Majesty was
wishing them the greatest good in that they should know the
true God; and accordingly, that they must congregate in mis-
sions." This they promised to do as soon as they gathered their
crops, particularly those Indians at the mission of Concepción,
which was in the center of the country of the Texas.
35
With the Indians pacified, the Marquis next turned to the
work of refounding and reoccupying the former establishments
of the Spaniards. The details of that undertaking do not fall
within the limits of this paper. Suffice it to say that the first
mission to be ref ounded was that of San Francisco de los Neches
on August 5,
36 after which the work of reconstruction continued
briskly. This work the Marquis summarized as follows:
Having re-established five missions, building anew the churches and
living quarters of the padres, I built in the center of them a presidio
for their protection (drawing plans for the fortification to meet the needs
of the twenty-five men designated as its garrison). And I continued my
journey to Los Adaes, where I arrived on August 29. Forthwith the
commandant at Nachitoches, Monsieur Rerenau, endeavored by innuendos
to embarrass me in the occupation of that place, saying that he did not
have permission from Mobile to allow me to fortify and take possession
of that district, and therefore that I ought to desist from so doing. But,
having answered him that I was carrying contrary instructions and that
I was obliged to do so in order to carry out fully the truce terms, he
gave up his design, agreeing, as did the commandant, St. Denis, that
we were obliged to observe the truce. And having examined closely all
that frontier I erected the sixth mission and constructed the presidio
[of Nuestrai Señora del Pilar] of 100 men at the place that I found in
all respects most convenient. . . .
37
The presidio which the Marquis constructed was one-half of
a league beyond where the first mission of Los Adaes had stood
at the time of the French invasion of 1719. It was built in
the form of a hexagon with three bastions, each of which
covered two curtains fifty varas long, and at it were left the
six cannons which the Marquis had brought from Coahuila.
Opposite the presidio, and one-fourth of a league distant, was
the new location of the mission of San Miguel de los Adaes.
38
The chief duty of the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo
having been fulfilled, he began his withdrawal to San Antonio
on October 17. Before his departure from East Texas the
accomplishments of the objects of the Marquis were celebrated
by the presentation of three dramatic offerings before the
astounded Texas Indians
39--presentations that constituted what
might be termed the beginning of the little theater movement
in Texas. From the outset the return journey was even more
laborious than the outgoing one. Heavy rains, snows, and
freezing weather were experienced--the weight of the icicles
breaking down and even uprooting many trees. This weather
was so disastrous to the livestock that only 100 of the 800 cargo
mules and 50 of the 4,000 horses survived and reached San
Antonio. As a result, about 150 mule-loads and almost all the
saddles of the soldiers had to be left at a place on the road
about halfway to San Antonio and under the guard of a detach-
ment of soldiers. Furthermore, most of the members of the
expedition, including even the officers, were obliged to proceed
on foot. "And I made some daily journeys on foot," wrote
the Marquis, "in order to share their fatigue with them." He
continued:
The misgiving that disturbed me most was that the supplies might
fail on account of the loss of the mules and the slowness of the marches.
But this did not occur . . . and I experienced the satisfaction of not a
single soldier being placed in danger.
40
Realizing upon reaching San Antonio how exposed that pre-
sidio was to the assaults of the Apache Indians, the Marquis at
once drew plans for and caused construction to be begun on a
fortress with four bastions, so proportioned as to meet the
needs of its garrison of fifty-four soldiers.
41 He also founded
a third mission at San Antonio, that of San Francisco Xavier
de Nájera. It was located between the missions of San Antonio
de Valero and San Joseph y San Miguel de Aguayo, but was
destined to be short-lived.
42 Then, having sent to Coahuila for
a new supply of mules and horses, he proceeded, with those
animals that he was able to gather up, to La Bahía. His purpose
in taking this side trip was to augment by fifty men the force
of forty men whom he had already sent to that place "and to
mark out the lines for the fortification at the place where was
the fort of Monsieur La Salle," as he had been commanded to
do by the king. "This I did," the Marquis reported, "since the
holes where they burned the powder and burled the artillery
are still discernible. And I found fragments of flint-lock mus-
kets and other irons on digging the foundations, which work
I completed." He also reported that he sounded and made a
good reconnaissance of its bar (barra).
This, he thought, would
constitute the key to the bay in case a small fort should be
built, fortified with artillery at Cape Nuestra Señora de la
Buena Suerte, near which were two small springs of water
which would suffice for at least twenty-five soldiers.
43
While at La Bahía, the Marquis had the satisfaction of seeing
initiated the direct sea route to that place from Vera Cruz.
A sloop which he had chartered for 3,500 pesos arrived at
La Bahía bringing additional supplies consigned to him from
Vera Cruz. These consisted of 350 cargas
of flour, 150 cargas
of corn, and other supplies necessary for the soldiers. The
expense of this undertaking brought the total expenditures of
the Marquis in behalf of the king, including salary payments
to the soldiers, to 130,000 pesos.
44
Entrusting the completion of the fortification at La Bahía
to its presidial captain, the Marquis, in compliance with superior
orders which he had received, withdrew to San Antonio. Find-
ing there the fresh supply of horses which he had ordered,
he resumed the journey to Coahuila in order to expedite the
disbanding of the remainder of his forces. That he did in
Coahuila on May 31, 1722.
45
Summarizing his achievements, the Marquis said:
I have carried out the latest orders of Your Majesty with the barrier
of presidios which I constructed in that province (adding this safeguard
for the kingdoms of New Spain). And I increased the missions, as the
Catholic zeal of Your Majesty desires, having erected, in addition to the
six which I re-established in Texas, one in La Bahía and two in San
Antonio—not counting the one which was already there before my en-
trance. At them I left congregated many Indians.
46
The constructive work of the Marquis of San Miguel de
Aguayo consisted not only in founding and rebuilding missions
and military establishments; it included the beginnings of
colonization schemes for Texas. Realizing how heavy the expense
would be to the crown for the maintenance of such isolated
missions and presidios, and also for the better development
and progress of the province, the Marquis, two weeks after
he had disbanded his forces in Coahuila, recommended to the
king that two hundred families from Galicia, the Canary Islands,
or Havana, and an equal number of families of loyal Tlascal-
tecan Indians be sent to Texas. These four hundred families,
he said, might be distributed at La Bahía, San Antonio, and
at each of the six East Texas missions. In addition, and because
the 172 leagues from San Antonio to the mission of San Fran-
cisco de los Neches on the Neches were unsettled, he recom-
mended that one pueblo of the proposed new settlers should
be established halfway between the two above-named places, at
either La Anguila, or Nuestra Señora de Buena Vista. He
added:
Without these families it will be most difficult if not impossible, for
that province to be self-supporting. By so-doing Your Majesty will have
one of the best provinces in America from the standpoints of fertility and
the delightfulness of the country. ... It is suitable for the cultivation
of all kinds of crops and for the raising of cattle.
47
Suffering from ill health which he contracted on the arduous
Texas campaign, the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo resigned
from the governorship of the provinces of Coahuila and Texas
soon after his return and secured permission to retire to his
home, which he proposed to do in the week of June 13, 1722.
In concluding a notable report to the king on that date, the
Marquis said:
I have desired on this undertaking to discharge my obligation to and
love for the royal service of Your Majesty in such a way that the little
that I have done may be able to compensate for the much that I have
desired--recognition, in case that Your Majesty may grant it, to some
degree, on the basis of service. In that way I will obtain the major
reward to which I have aspired. And although my health is still greatly
broken, which occurred when I set out from San Antonio, I experienced
to the superlative degree the satisfaction of having employed it in the
service of Your Majesty and in having completed the recovery of that
province. I resigned from those governments and I have obtained per-
mission to go to my home, as I will do this week. From there I will go
to whatever part of the world that Your Majesty may command since
as long as I breathe, courage will not fail me in employing my life in
the service of Your Majesty.
48
general be conferred upon him "so that, having that honor, he
might better carry on the royal service of Your Majesty." 49
For the services that he had rendered to his king the Mar-
quis of San Miguel de Aguayo was to receive a coveted award
--even though it was a lesser one than he had requested.
On April 17, 1723, the king's minister, the Marquis of Grimaldi,
sent to the Council of the Indies two memorials of the Marquis
of San Miguel de Aguayo and accompanying letters and other
related documents and also the plans of the Texas fortifications
which he had drawn. Over a year later, on July 28, 1724, the
Council, after summarizing the career of the Marquis, and
acting upon the suggestion of its attorney (fiscal),
advised the
king
that the good services which the mentioned Marquis of San Miguel de
Aguayo has rendered to Your Majesty are worthy of full approbation,
and that, on account of them, and especially because of what he did in
connection with the mentioned recovery and conquest of the said provinces,
he is deserving of the royal attention of Your Majesty. Accordingly, it
will be very becoming to the royal graciousness of Your Majesty to confer
upon him the rank of Field Marshal
50 and to have him present for his
promotion, so that, in this manner, he may obtain the reward which his
varied services merit and he may be encouraged to continue them in those
of Your Majesty.
51
The above recommendation met with the favor of the king
who went on record as follows:
I have decided to confer upon the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo
the rank of Field Marshal, as proposed, and I order that the appropriate
dispatch to that effect be sent by via
reservada.
52
Little is known of the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo
after he returned from his expedition to Texas. According
to Chabot:
The Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo died March 7, 1734; his wife
had died November 25th, of the year before. Both were buried in the
Chapel of Santa María de las Parras.
53
A contemporary critic of the record made by the Marquis
of San Miguel de Aguayo did not fail to appear. In the year
1730, Don Pedro de Rivera, well-known royal inspector of the
Texas settlements during the year 1728, submitted a critical
report (Ynforme)
concerning the work of the Marquis to the
viceroy of New Spain at the time that consideration was being
given to the proposal to send Canary Islanders to colonize
Texas. The Ynforme
was most unfavorable as regards the
achievements which the Marquis claimed were to his credit.
This may be accounted for partly by the fact that the Marquis
was a "plunger" who counted the cost only after the expendi-
ture had been made; whereas, Don Pedro de Rivera pursued
a policy calling for the most drastic retrenchments with refer-
ence to Texas.
This discussion of the work of Aguayo in Texas may be
concluded by the following quotation:
Despite the attack that was made upon his record by Don Pedro de
Rivera, the work done by the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo in Texas
was highly constructive and enduring. When he entered Texas, there
were in the province only two missions--San Antonio de Valero and Don
Joseph y San Miguel de Aguayo, the latter of which had been built by
Father Margil under the patronage of the marquis. He left in Texas
ten missions--six in East Texas which he had rebuilt; a third one in
San Antonio, the short-lived mission of San Francisco Xavier de Nájera;
and the new one at La Bahía del Espíritu Santo. When he entered Texas
there was only one presidio in the entire province--that of San Antonio
de Béxar. He left in Texas four presidios--that of Los Texas, which he
had rebuilt; the new one at Los Adaes, which he constructed; another
new one at La Bahía, the construction of which he began; and the rebuilt
one at San Antonio. He left in the province 269 soldiers, as compared
with the number of approximately fifty that were assigned to the presidio
of San Antonio de Béxar at the time that he entered the province. In
short, the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo so definitely and firmly
fixed the hold of Spain on Texas that Spanish title to it was never again
disputed by France or by the French in Louisiana.
54
FOOTNOTES:
Borderlands (New Haven, 1921), 230.
The above summary of events in Texas is based upon well-known sec-
ondary accounts, including the following: H. E. Bolton, The Spanish
Borderlands; H. E. Bolton, "The Location of La Salle's Colony on the
Gulf of Mexico," Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XXVII, No. 3 (Jan-
uary, 1924), 171-189; H. E. Bolton, Spanish Exploration in the Southwest,
1542-1706 (New York, 1916) ; R. C. Clark, The Beginnings of Texas,
1684-1718 (Austin, 1907); and W. E. Dunn, Spanish and French Rivalry
in the Gulf Region of the United States, 1678-1702 (Austin, 1917).
Pichardo's Treatise on the Limits of Louisiana and Texas (Austin, 1931),
I, 217.
of San Miguel de Aguayo to Texas was published by Eleanor Clair
Buckley in 1911 under the title of "The Aguayo Expedition into Texas
and Louisiana, 1719-1722." (Eleanor Claire Buckley, "The Aguayo Ex-
pedition into Texas and Louisiana, 1719-1722," Quarterly of the Texas
State Historical Association, XV, No. 1 [July, 1911], 1-65.) The most
important document used by Miss Buckley, and one that had never been
generally used by historical investigators, was the official diary of the
expedition written by Father Juan Antonio Peña, the chaplain of the
expedition, and published in Mexico City in 1722. (Juan Antonio Peña,
Derrotero de la Expedición en la Provincia de los Texas . . . que del orden
del Exmo. Señor Marques de Valero Vi-rey de esta Nueva España ha
hecho D. Joseph Azlor . . . Governador y Capitán General de dicha Pro -
vincia de Texas . . . y de esta de Coahuila. . . . Mexico, 1722.) On the
basis of that document and other available original sources of lesser value
for her purpose Miss Buckley presented a detailed study of the historical
background of the expedition, the preparation for it, the route followed,
and the constructive work in Texas of the Marquis. Her cited sources,
however, fail to reveal any that were written by the Marquis, himself,
subsequent to the year 1720.
The present sketch of the life and work of the Marquis of San Miguel
de Aguayo is based upon various official documents, copies of which have
become available at The University of Texas since Miss Buckley's mono-
graph was published in 1911. These consist of contemporary letters and
reports sent by the Marquis to the king and to the viceroy of New Spain,
letters and reports of the viceroy to the king, royal cedulas, opinions
submitted by the royal fiscal to the Council of the Indies, and recommenda-
tions of the Council to the king. In these documents is found a more
intimate and personal and a much more detailed account of the life and
work of the Marquis than that recorded in the Peña diary, and, for the
purposes of this brief sketch, they have been relied upon largely by the
present writer. A criticism of these documents is that they doubtless
are highly biased in favor of the Marquis--although probably not more
so than the diary which was written by the official chronicler of the
expedition and which had the endorsement of the Marquis before it was
published.
26, 1720 in Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla (hereinafter referred to
as A G. I.), Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 1. Transcript in
The University of Texas Library.
to the King; it was forwarded by the Marquis of Grimaldi the King's
Minister of State, to the Council of the Indies on April 17, 1723; it is in
A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 1. Transcript in The
University of Texas Library.
of the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo, Mexico, June 16, 1730, in
A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-4-38, folio 8. Transcript in The
University of Texas Library.
to the King, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 1; F. C.
Chabot, The Powerful Aguayos. Manuscript monograph in The University
of Texas Library.
July 28, 1724, in A. G.I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-1-37, folios 2-4.
Transcript in The University of Texas Library.
26 1720, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 1; the Mar-
quis of San Miguel de Aguayo to the Marquis of Grimaldi, Coahuila,
June 27, 1720, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11. Transcript
in The University of Texas Library.
of Valero, Aranjuez, May 26, 1721, in Archivo General de Mexico (here-
inafter referred to as A. G. M.), Sección de Historia, vol. 321, folios
69-70. Transcript in The University of Texas Library.
cerning the reoccupation of the province of Texas, Coahuila, June 13,
1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folio 1.
Transcript in The University of Texas Library.
of Grimaldi, Coahuila, June 13, 1722, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadala-
jara, 67-3-11. Transcript in The University of Texas Library.
26, 1720, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 2.
folios, which relate to the founding of the well-known San José Mission
at San Antonio are in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11. Tran-
scripts in The University of Texas Library.
26, 1720, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 3.
to the King, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folios 1-2.
26, 1720, in A. G. I, Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 3.
to the Kinsg, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 2.
concerning the reoccupation of the province of Texas, Coahuila, June 13,
1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folios 1-2.
Historical Association, XV, No. 1 (July, 1911), p. 32.
de Guadalupe, August 19, 1721], in A G. I., Audiencia de Mexico, 61-2-2,
folios 1-2; The Marquis of Valero, Viceroy of New Spain, to the King,
Mexico November 11, 1721, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Mexico, 61-2-2,
folio 2. Transcripts of both documents in The University of Texas Library.
The advantages of the route which he opened up were further praised
by the Marquis as follows: "All the rivers [along the route] were crossed
without more delay than one day, because of their waters being distributed
among an infinite number of arroyos, which, coming together on the old
road make the crossing of them almost impossible in rainy seasons and
even difficult in dry ones, as I experienced as soon as I reached the
camino real for the Arroyo of San Buenaventura detained me a week."
de Guadalupe, August 19, 1721], in A. G. I., Audiencia de Mexico, 61-2-2,
folio 2; Buckley, "Aguayo Expedition," Quarterly of the Texas State
Historical Association, XV, 32.
de Guadalupe, August 19, 1721], in A. G. I., Audiencia de Mexico, 61-2-2,
folio 3; Buckley, "Aguayo Expedition," Quarterly of the Texas State
Historical Association, XV, 42.
de Guadalupe, August 19, 1721], in A. G. I., Audiencia de Mexico, 61-2-2,
folio 3.
to the King, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 2. See
also the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo to the Viceroy [Nuestra
Señora de Guadalupe, August 19, 1721], in A. G. I., Audiencia de Mexico,
61-2-2, folio 4; the Marquis of Valero to the King, November 11, 1721,
in A. G. I., Audiencia de Mexico, 61-2-2, folio 2; and the Marquis of San
Miguel de Aguayo to the King, Coahuila, June 13, 1722, in Archives of
Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folio 2.
de Guadalupe, August 19, 1721], in A. G. I., Audiencia de Mexico, 61-2-2,
folio 4.
June 13, 1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10,
folio 2.
de Guadalupe, August 19, 1721], in A. G. I., Audiencia de Mexico, 61-2-2,
folio 5; the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo to the King, Coahuila,
June 13, 1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4,
N. 10, folio 3; the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo to the Marquis of
Grimaldi, Coahuila, June 13, 1722, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara,
67-3-11, folio 1; Buckley, "Aguayo Expedition," Quarterly of the Texas
State Historical Association, XV, 45.
13, 1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10,
folios 2-3; the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo to the Marquis of
Grimaldi, Coahuila, June 13, 1722, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara,
67-3-11, folio 1.
Association, XV, 45.
13, 1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10,
folio 3.
cerning the reoccupation of the province of Texas, Coahuila, June 13, 1722,
in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folio 3;
Buckley, "Aguayo Expedition," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical
Association, XV, 52.
translation), I, 220. (The Quivira Society, Publications, VI, Albuquerque,
1935.)
cerning the reoccupation of the province of Texas, Coahuila, June 13,
1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folio 4;
see also the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo to the Marquis of Grimaldi,
Coahuila, June 13, 1722, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11,
folio 2.
cerning the reoccupation of the province of Texas, Coahuila, June 13,
1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folio 4.
Association, XV, 54-55.
cerning the reoccupation of the province of Texas, Coahuila, June 13,
1722 in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folio 4.
Grimaldi, Coahuila, June 13, 1722, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara,
67-3-11, folio 2.
cerning the reoccupation of the province of Texas, Coahuila, June 13,
1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folio 5;
the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo to the Marquis of Grimaldi,
Coahuila, June 13, 1722, in A. G. I., Audencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11
folio 2.
cerning the reoccupation of the province of Texas, Coahuila, June 13,
1722, in archives of Santa Cruz de Querétaro, K, Legajo 4, N. 10, folio 5.
to the King, in A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-3-11, folio 2.
lieutenant-general."
A. G. I., Audiencia de Guadalajara, 67-1-37, folio 7. Transcript in The
University of Texas Library.
From a photograph by the author of the original in the Archivo General de la Nacion, Mexico, Seccion de Historia, Vol. 542, folio 236.
The map, one of the earliest of the interior of Texas, was drawn by Don Juan Pedro Walker,
first assistant, who accompanied the expedition.
David Gouverneur Burnet
On April 4, 1788, almost a year before the inauguration
of George Washington as the first President of these
United States, there was born in the small town of Newark,
New Jersey, a child who was destined to become the first presi-
dent of another great republic, still unborn, the Republic of
Texas. This child was David Gouverneur Burnet.
For generations the name of Burnet had been associated in
the public mind with prominent positions and valuable service.
David's mother was Gertrude Gouverneur, whose family was
prominent both socially and politically. His father was a noted
physician, who served as a member of the Continental Congress.
Major Icabod Burnet, one of David's half brothers, was the
aide-de-camp of George Washington and a close friend of
Lafayette. Judge Jacob Burnet, his youngest half brother,
served as United States Senator, as an Ohio State Supreme
Judge, and was elected a member of the French Academy of
Science. Isaac Burnet, his own brother, served as mayor of
Cincinnati for twelve years.
1
David's parents died when he was about three years old, and
he grew up largely under the guidance of his brothers. He
received his early education at an academy in his home town,
where his work was thorough and outstanding. While still
quite young, he began preparing himself for admission into
the navy, but because of the strong objections of his brothers,
he reluctantly abandoned this ambition.
2 When Burnet was
seventeen, his brothers secured for him a clerkship in the
counting house of Robinson and Hartshone in New York. The
firm failed, however; soon after Burnet went there, and he lost
both his salary and his contributions. When the firm became
hopelessly involved and was unable to meet its obligations, young
Burnet obtained leave of absence for a day and returned with
about $12,000 due him by other parties and placed it in the
hands of his employers to liquidate as far as possible the
indebtedness of the ruined firm. By this time, however, he had
definitely made up his mind that he did not like clerking.
A few months later, General Francisco de Miranda was in
New York soliciting funds and sympathy for the liberation of
his native country, Venezuela, from Spanish bondage. Burnet
became greatly impressed with the cause and joined Miranda's
forces, along with the sons of some of the best families of
New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. He was commissioned a
first lieutenant in June, 1806, at Barbados. The little group
fought with bravery off the coast of Venezuela, but the expe-
dition was doomed to failure because the people themselves
were not yet ready for independence.
3 Most of the survivors
of the original party returned to New York. On the return
voyage Burnet narrowly escaped death from yellow fever. Of
twelve men who embarked in the boat, he alone reached the
West Indies.
In 1808, the revolution broke out again with vigor in the
province of Caracas, and General Miranda was placed at the
head of the patriot army. When Burnet received this news,
he returned to Venezuela to join his old commander. Miranda
gave him a warm and affectionate welcome but was so persistent
in urging him to return to the United States that Burnet was
finally persuaded to obey his wishes.
4
Returning to his native country, Burnet went to Cincinnati,
where he studied and practiced law for about four years. Then,
seeking a milder climate, his adventurous spirit brought him
southward, and he became engaged in mercantile operations in
Nachitoches, Louisiana. Once again, however, fate stepped in
to interfere with his success in the business world. In 1817
he was severely threatened with tuberculosis, and upon the
advice of a physician, he went into the almost uninhabited ter-
ritory of Texas to live an outdoor life among the Indians.
Burnet lived for some eighteen months among the wild Co-
manches, eating only buffalo and other wild meat, without bread
or vegetable of any kind, sleeping without shelter, and roaming
with the Indians over the prairies. When he arrived in West
Texas, he was so ill that it was difficult for him to mount his
horse alone, but the food, exercise, and exhilarating climate
restored him to vigorous health. Upon returning to civilization,
Burnet gave the Indians every article of personal comfort he
possessed in exchange for the liberation of some Mexican cap-
tives, for which he received no compensation.
A short time later Burnet proceeded to Cincinnati and there
resumed his study and practice of law. He wrote a series of
articles for the Cincinnati Gazette
and other periodicals of
the time, describing the regions he had visited and the manners
and customs of the Indians.
5 The Gazette,
a weekly periodical,
was carrying some articles by Professor Constantine Samuel
Rafinesque, of Transylvania University, on the Indians of Tez-
cuco in Anáhuac, Mexico, at the same time it was publishing
Burnet's firsthand observations. Because of a letter signed "B"
published in the paper questioning the professor's authority for
an article, Professor Rafinesque became highly insulted and pro-
ceeded to criticize Burnet's articles on the Comanches of Texas,
particularly the omission of any information regarding the lan-
guage of the Indians. As a result, Burnet furnished an ele-
mentary vocabulary of the Comanche language for publication.
6
In 1826, Burnet decided to return to Texas and make his
home permanently in the land where he had regained his health.
Settling in Austin's colony, he soon became associated with
another lawyer, Thomas League. These two were often referred
to as the leading lawyers of San Felipe, and Burnet was said
to be as dignified as some old Greek lawgiver. During this time
Burnet and Stephen F. Austin became warm friends.
In December, 1826, Burnet succeeded in obtaining from the
governor of Coahuila and Texas a contract to settle three hun-
dred families in Texas.
7 The task of obtaining immigrants for
his colony, however, proved to be a difficult and discouraging
undertaking. He left Texas during the summer of 1828 and
returned to Ohio, where he made several unsuccessful attempts
to establish a land company and to obtain families for his
colony. In March of the next year he thought that he had
a group all ready but suddenly found that they were about to
abandon his cause. In July he wrote to Austin: "I had a
very respectable company in full progress of formation when
the news of wars and revolutions and insurrection dispersed
them like a hawk pouncing upon a flock of pigeons."
8
Toward the end of 1829, Burnet went to Baltimore to try
to organize a land company, but this attempt also was unsuc-
cessful.
9 Discouraged, but not willing to give up the under-
taking, he decided to go from there to New York to seek
financial aid. Here he was more successful, and at last his
hopes were realized. The Galveston Bay and Texas Land Com-
pany completed its organization on October 16, 1830. It took
over the contracts which had been received by Burnet, Vehlein,
and De Zavala. Burnet surrendered to the company all of his
rights, powers, and privileges regarding the contract but re-
tained a small reservation of interest. In exchange for the
contract he was to receive between $12,000 and $15,000.
10
The company was to act as agent in fulfilling the contracts
granted to the empresarios by the Mexican government. The
company made no effort to get the Mexican government's ap-
proval of this arrangement. The whole transaction appeared to
be logical and legitimate, and seemingly no effort was made to
deceive. On the contrary, the company circulated a pamphlet
of more than a hundred pages explaining the undertaking and
setting forth all of the documents necessary for an understand-
ing of the essential facts. The company attempted to accom-
plish its purpose in two ways: by the sale of stock in the com-
pany and by the sale of land scrip. Unfortunately the company
soon started on a wild scheme of land speculation. The scrip
showed on its face that it was merely a permit to settle and that
in order to obtain a title the settler must comply with all the
requirements of the Mexican colonization law. The Americans
who bought the scrip rarely saw the pamphlet, however, and
they did not read the scrip. Scrip was issued for about 6,210,300
acres, which sold for from one to ten cents an acre. The persons
buying it believed that they had a deed, while in reality they
had nothing. The whole project was managed so indiscreetly
as to result in severe losses to those who had invested and to
create an unfortunate situation for all concerned; but there
was nothing about the affair that could mar the good name of
David G. Burnet, even though much criticism was heaped upon
him from various sources.
Feeling that his enterprise had failed, Burnet once again
turned to making plans for the future. He was now forty-two
years old, and with the money derived from the sale of his
contract, he planned to do several things; his chief purpose,
however, was to set up a household of his own and to establish
himself financially in Texas.
On Wednesday, December 8, 1830, David G. Burnet and
Hannah Este were married at Morristown, New Jersey. The
wedding took place at the house of Louis Mills, a brother-in-
law of the bride, and the ceremony was performed by the
Reverend Albert Chester, of the Presbyterian Church. The
bride was an attractive young woman, thirty years of age,
and loved by all who knew her.
11
The couple spent their honeymoon in New York City and com-
pleted plans for an immediate return to Texas. They bought
furnishings for their new home, a fifteen horsepower steam
engine, and other things necessary to the setting up of a saw-
mill. Burnet, in conjunction with Captain Norman Hurd, char-
tered the boat Call
to carry them and their equipment to the
Mexican country, and arrangements were made for a number
of assistants to go with them to aid in the erection and operation
of the mill.
The long trip from New York started in the early part of
1831. The voyage was pleasant and smooth enough until the
boat was caught in a storm nearing Galveston Bay. At the
entrance of the harbor the boat grounded on the bar at Point
Bolivar. All efforts to break it clear failed until a part of the
cargo was thrown overboard to lighten its load. Practically all
of Burnet's furniture, as well as the steam boiler, the bricks
for the foundation, and other articles had to be thrown over
in order to save the engine. Mrs. Burnet made her first landing
in Texas wading through the rough waters of the Gulf.
12
This was a hard blow to the Burnets, but they erected a
makeshift camp on the shore and spent several days in it. After
getting the boat free and making a safe anchorage near Gal-
veston Island, Burnet made haste to find a location for the
sawmill. In the latter part of August the mill was located on
what is now called Burnet's Bay, near the San Jacinto River
and only a short distance from the Lynchburg Ferry, Burnet
having bought from Nathaniel Lynch seventeen acres of land
on which the mill was erected.
The time spent in getting located was a trying one for David
Burnet. His wife had fallen ill and had to be left at the home
of Captain Scott. The boat which had been chartered by the
month--at no small cost--had to be retained in order to trans-
port the engine to the site selected for the mill. The ten
assistants had to be paid and fed, and all except two of them
had their families with them. One of the men had his wife
and eight children on board.
13 During this period, Captain Hurd
and one of the employees had been ill, and the responsibility
of getting the mill established had been placed on Burnet.
According to the colonization laws an empresario was allowed
to grant extra land to persons who supplied services valuable
to the country; but Burnet was not successful in obtaining an
extra grant for having introduced his sawmill into Texas because
he would not be baptized and married according to the rites
of the Catholic Church. This loss was a bitter disappointment.
14
The village of Lynchburg originated from this project, the
sawmill being the nucleus of the village and the first industrial
enterprise in the country. Burnet selected a beautiful place to
build his home, calling it Oakland. It stood on the shore of
Burnet's Bay, about one mile south of the present town of
Lynchburg, where the ground rises sufficiently to give a fine
view over the water. The Burnets lived at Oakland from 1831
to 1856, and it was here that their four children, Sarah, Wil-
liam, Jacob, and Gertrude were born. Mrs. Burnet and two of
the children are buried on these grounds.
The sawmill was virtually a failure. By 1835, Burnet had
lost all of his original investment, the time and labor expended,
and a considerable part of all he was able to earn by the practice
of law in addition. There were several factors responsi-
ble for the mill's not succeeding. Among these were the lack
of facilities for transportation, the sparse population, and the
difficulty of keeping efficient workmen. In 1835, Burnet sold
the mill to Branch T. Archer.
15
When Burnet returned to Texas in April, 1831, after an
absence of three years, he found a growing unrest among the
people in regard to their relationship with the Mexican govern-
ment. Being a lawyer by profession, he soon became interested
in the government and politics of the state of Coahuila and Texas
and began to take an active part in the events that led up to
the Texas Revolution. He was peaceful by nature, believed in
legitimate rule, and tried to quiet the Texans and keep faith
with Mexico. Burnet served as a member of the San Felipe
Convention in 1833 and introduced a number of the most im-
portant resolutions that were adopted by that body. He was
chairman of the committee that prepared the memorial to the
General Congress of the United Mexican States, arguing for
approval of the constitution and the organization of a state
government, and there is little doubt that this document was
written entirely by Burnet. The reasons for separation were
clearly and sensibly stated, telling with correctness the unhappy
position of Texas. He pointed out the benefits that would be
gained by granting the petition; and fearing that a compromise
in the form of a territorial government might be offered by
the central authorities, he pointed out the probable unsatisfac-
tory results of such an arrangement.
16
On April 17, 1834, the Congress of Coahuila and Texas estab-
lished a superior court and divided Texas into three judicial
districts. Without his knowledge, David G. Burnet was ap-
pointed district judge of the Brazos District, which embraced
all of central Texas, Thomas J. Chambers was appointed su-
perior judge, with appellate jurisdiction for the whole country.
Burnet promptly organized his court and held regular sessions
at San Felipe, capital of the colony, for three or four consecu-
tive terms prior to the revolution of 1835. The system never
went into full operation because of the near approach of the
revolution, but Burnet wrote in 1859:
Thomas J. Chambers was appointed Superior Judge. . . . The Superior
Court was never organized. . . . The District Judge held his regular
session at San Felipe for three or four consecutive terms and disposed of
many cases without let or molestation. The Superior Judge has received
thirty leagues of land for his judicial services. The District Judge has
received literally nothing--no land, and not money enough (a few per-
quisites) to defray his traveling expenses.
17
Burnet has the distinction of holding the only regular court
ever to sit in colonial Texas during the Spanish-American rule.
In disposing of cases brought before him as judge of the
Brazos District Court, he tried to deal out justice to those
involved rather than always to adhere definitely to the letter
of the law.
18
The citizens of the San Jacinto community met at Lynch's
Ferry on August 8, 1835, to discuss public affairs. Burnet was
appointed chairman of a committee to draw up a set of resolu-
tions expressing their attitude about existing conditions and
asking for a general convention as soon as possible. These
resolutions were chiefly the work of Burnet, and he and David
B. Macomb were chosen by this community to represent it in
the general convention. Burnet fell ill, however, and was not
able to attend.
19
Burnet was also in charge of a meeting held at Brazona and
was considered one of the leading spirits in the municipality
of Liberty.
20 When he received the information that the central
government of Mexico was going to organize Texas into a
territory and make him its governor, he did not in any respect
change his attitude toward the government, but considering it
a joke he said, "Joke or no joke, one thing is certain, I will
never accept an office under a despotic government."
21
Burnet had been made a member of the Committee of Vigi-
lance and Safety in 1835. He practiced law and worked as a
member of the Liberty Committee of Safety until March of
the following year. When the "war fever" first exhibited itself
in Texas, he was in opposition and remained quietly on his
small farm; but when the news arrived that Santa Anna had
assumed dictorial powers and abolished the state government,
he took a decided stand in favor of resistance.
In the days which followed, Burnet continued to work and
write against the tyranny of Mexico. So diligent was he in this
cause that on March 16, 1836, he was chosen by the Convention
as the first President of the Republic of Texas. The inaugura-
tion was completed about four o'clock in the morning on March
17.
22 The members of the Convention hurried away in all
directions returning to their homes and families. Burnet and
the cabinet were left behind to finish the journals and prepare
the constitution for publication.
23
The president with the secretary of war, Thomas Rusk, and
the secretary of the navy, Robert Potter, remained in the capital
until the evening of March 18. From there they traveled to
the home of Jared E. Groce, which was located on the Brazos
River below Washington. The other members of the cabinet,
with the exception of Bailey Hardeman, the secretary of the
treasury, were already at Groce's house. H. S. Kimble, the
secretary of the convention, was also waiting there along with
Robert Triplett and T. J. Green.
24
During the time President Burnet and his cabinet were
stopping at Colonel Groce's house, they were visited by T. F.
McKinney, a merchant of Quintana, Texas, who informed the
president that the Texas government was indebted to his firm
for more than $10,000. He also pointed out that if the $10,000
was paid to Toby and Brother of New Orleans, who by their
credit and responsibility supported his firm, then the credit
of his firm would be extended. He also promised to join the
government in ordering $40,000 worth of supplies. Convinced
by these arguments, the president and his cabinet voted to give
McKinney a draft for the $10,000 which had been deposited
by the commissioners, Stephen F. Austin, Branch T. Archer,
and William H. Wharton, in the bank at New Orleans, subject
only to the will of the Texas government.
On the morning of March 21, the president and the rest of
the party at Groce's house started on to Harrisburg. They
spent that night at the home of a Mr. Roberts and arrived at
Harrisburg the following day. Their first night there was spent
in the home of Mrs. Harris, and Fairfax Gray, who was with
them, said that they all slept on the floor except the president,
the vice-president, and the secretary of state, who were accom-
modated with beds.
While at the home of Mrs. Harris, Burnet devised the naval
flag of Texas.
25 It consisted of thirteen stripes, alternate red
and white like the United States flag, with a single white star
in the middle. Later, realizing that he could do little with the
Texas Army, he conceived the idea that he might accomplish
more for Texas by concentrating on the navy, which had proved
itself to be wonderfully efficient and more loyal and better
disciplined than the army. He was not disappointed in the
account that the navy gave of itself.
Burnet had tremendous difficulties and many discouragements
during his administration as president. The government was
always on the run, and living conditions were deplorable. On
Galveston Island the president's home was a makeshift shelter
of drift logs, and his office, sitting room, and bedroom was
one small room. The place was furnished with two pallets,
three boxes, and a barrel turned end up to serve as a table. Two
of Burnet's children were ill, and he had been unable to draw
any salary for his services as president, but he grimly carried
on with a dignity that challenges admiration.
The kind of men the president had to deal with is shown
by the following incident. When Burnet called his cabinet
together for the first time, each member in turn rose and
expressed his sentiment of the situation before them. When
the president observed Thomas J. Rusk, secretary of war, dozing
and looking exhausted, he asked him his opinion of the situation.
Rousing and jumping to his feet Rusk replied, "I think we are
in a hell of a fix. We are worked down. Let us go over to
the saloon and get a drink, then mount our horses, go fight
like the devil, and get out of it."
26
One of the president's most perplexing problems during his
administration was how to get recruits and supplies for the
army. Sometimes the troops lived on beef without bread, and
frequently without salt. Many of the men were barefooted, and
most of them were without a change of clothing. Although
Burnet was practically destitute, soldiers accused him of having
plenty of supplies but not giving them to the army. The govern-
ment did have one streak of good luck in regard to the food
situation; the American ship Pocket
was captured by the Texas
Navy. In fact the little Texas Navy was quite active in bringing
in captured prizes. The government tried to raise some money
by selling land gifts through friends in the United States, by
collecting tariff duties, issuing paper money, and by issuing
bonds secured by the public lands. None of these means pro-
vided enough money for Burnet ever to be free of the problem
of a nearly empty treasury and a constantly increasing debt.
The president's chief worry during these anxious weeks was
the baffling conduct of General Sam Houston. His retreat
caused great anxiety, not only to Burnet and the cabinet, but
to all of the people of Texas as well. In view of this fact, the
executive department of the government voted to send Thomas
J. Rusk, the secretary of war, to join the army and to use his
official position to induce Houston to turn and fight. Burnet
believed that Rusk would force Houston to fight the Mexicans,
and he had no idea that Houston would dare to disobey presi-
dential orders. On April 6, Houston wrote the following letter
to President Burnet:
I have kept the army together under most discouraging circumstances,
and I have hope that a just and wise God, in whom I have always believed,
will yet save Texas, and that confusion and dismay may yet seize upon
her enemies, and chastise them for their cruelties and oppression. I am
sorry that I am so wicked, for "the prayers of the righteous shall prevail."
That you are so I have no doubt, and hope that Heaven, as such, will
help and prosper you, and crown your efforts with success in behalf of
Texas and humanity. I am very truly, Your friend,
Sam Houston
27
Burnet's letter to Sam Houston on the following day was
written in a different tone. Getting all kinds of reports con-
cerning the army, the fleeing people, and the enemy, and living
constantly in suspense that the Mexicans might arrive, Burnet
was no longer able to contain his anger at what he considered
the cowardly manner in which Houston was handling the army.
As a result he wrote the following note to Houston:
Sir:
The enemy are laughing you to scorn. You must fight them. You
must retreat no farther. The country expects you to fight. The salvation
of the country depends on your doing so.
David G. Burnet
28
Every effort possible was made by Burnet to supply the
Texas army with artillery. When the famous "Twin Sisters"
arrived at a Texas port, they were landed safely and dragged
through the mud and water as far as the Brazos River--and
then hauled back again.
29 At the same time, he was doing
everything in his power to preserve a state of order in the
country and to keep the people from running away, thereby
sacrificing their homes and valuable land.
30
The last communication from the war department at Harris-
burg was dated April 14. Burnet had left on the day before
to bring his wife and two small children to New Washington,
where there were better facilities for embarking in case of
emergency. They had been staying at the family residence,
which was remote from the river. It was Burnet's intention
at that time to send his family to the United States; but on
the morning of April 17, they were surprised by the Mexicans
and; had a narrow escape by pushing off in a skiff just as the
enemy came over the hill not more than 150 paces from them.
31
Dr. George Patrick, who lived about a mile and a half above
what became the San Jacinto battleground, escaped with the
Burnet family--Patrick carrying one child and Burnet the other
while Mrs. Burnet managed to climb aboard.
The Texas cabinet reassembled at Galveston Island after
their escape from Harrisburg. The news of the arrival of the
Texas Army at Harrisburg reached them about April 19, but
Burnet received no further word from the army until the
twenty-sixth. After the victory of San Jacinto, messengers
carried the news of the victory to the fleeing families; but Bur-
net, the cabinet, and the thousand refugees on Galveston Is-
land did not even know where Houston's army was. When
some of the excitement and general confusion had died down,
General Rusk realized that he had overlooked sending a
dispatch to the president. When the messengers who carried
the belated dispatch arrived at Galveston Bay, they stopped
aboard the Invincible
for liquor, ate a big meal on the flagship
with Commodore Hawkins, and waited for one of the men to
visit his sweetheart before carrying the news on to Burnet. Pres-
ident Burnet, whose dignity would not permit him to hunt up
messengers, was sitting in his tent fuming with righteous wrath
when he finally received the official dispatch.
32
Burnet hurried to San Jacinto, where he met Santa Anna,
to arrange the terms of a peace treaty between the two repub-
lics. A number of human-interest stories occurred following
Burnet's arrival at the battleground, and he was called upon
to settle several disputes. The following incident had lasting
effects. During the Battle of San Jacinto the Mexicans caught
a horse that was running loose and saddled it for Santa Anna's
escape. When Vince's Bayou was reached, the horse threw
Santa Anna into the water. Santa Anna waded across to the
other side, and the horse ran free again. Later it was caught
by some of the Texans, and being an unusually fine looking
horse, bearing a Mexican saddle, it was presented to General
Houston as a captured gift. Soon afterwards the horse was
recognized and claimed by its owner, Alan Vince. Houston
refused to give up the horse, and Vince presented the facts to
President Burnet when he arrived. Burnet forced Houston to
return the horse, and Houston became quite angry. Neither
of them ever forgot the quarrel.
On May 5, it was deemed best for the distinguished captive,
Santa Anna, to go on board the steamship Yellow
Stone
with
Houston, Burnet, and the whole Texas government and travel to
Galveston Island; finding accommodations bad there, however,
the president and his cabinet established themselves at Velasco.
Here they held many important meetings at night and consulted
together out in the open, there being a scarcity of oil for lights.
The peace treaties were not popular in Texas. The secret
treaty, which provided for the prompt return of Santa Anna
to Vera Cruz, and Burnet's unwavering determination to see
that it was carried out aroused against the president the
bitterest antagonism and came near costing him his life. When
it was rumored that an attempt would be made to assassinate
him, Burnet showed little outward emotion. His wife was also
cool and courageous but was determined to defend her family
at all cost. On the night that the assassin was supposed to
appear to attack the house in which they lived, Mrs. Burnet
sat all night at the open window facing the street, with loaded
pistol in her hands ready to protect her husband should anyone
attempt to enter, while Burnet gained a few hours of much
needed sleep.
Burnet and three of the cabinet members had favored re-
leasing Santa Anna, according to the liberal terms of the treaty,
but two of the members were violently opposed to this decision
and wanted him tried by a drumhead court-martial. The
people also, in general, were opposed to releasing Santa Anna;
when it became known that plans were being made to send him
home, great indignation was expressed by some of the citizens.
The president was much disturbed over the situation, but he
was determined to carry out the original plan. When a mob
surrounded the capitol building and Burnet came out and told
them that he expected to do all in his power to see that the
treaty was fulfilled, his cabinet stood firm with him, despite
the growing fury of the mob. There was wild talk of lynching
Burnet, but he held his tongue, withdrew with his cabinet, and
no one had the courage to start the move.
33
The whip handle message increased the feeling against both
Burnet and Santa Anna.
34 Finally a secret meeting was held
by the army; it was decided to arrest Burnet, seize the govern-
ment, and put Santa Anna on trial for his life. Lieutenant
Colonel Henry Millard was delegated to go to Velasco to take
Burnet into custody and to bring him into camp for trial as
an enemy of the country.
35 Millard had intended to keep the
object of his mission a secret, but two things happened to
upset his plans. First, one of his men got drunk at Quintana
and boasted that he and his companions were on their way to
arrest the president; second, Captain Amasa Turner, of the
regular army, happened to be in Velasco at the time and offered
his service to make the arrest. Captain Turner was a friend
and an admirer of the president, and feeling that Millard's
order was treasonable, quietly went to Burnet's home. Not
wanting to alarm Mrs. Burnet, Turner simply invited the presi-
dent to go with him for a walk and gave him Millard's order
for the arrest. President Burnet advised Turner to report
to Millard that the president was not subject to the army's
control and therefore would not submit to their arrest, but
that he would answer to congress for his conduct.
36 In the
meantime the story of the drunken soldier and Millard's mission
had gotten out among the people, and they rallied to the presi-
ient's support. Also Captain James C. Allen, of the Buckeye
Rangers, who had just arrived at Velasco from Cincinnati,
placed his forces at the disposal of President Burnet.
Added to these worries which the president had to face was
the continued Indian threat in East Texas. The government
had received its first news about the hostile attitude of the
Indians from a letter written by Colonel James Morgan on
March 24, in which he told of some negro slaves high up on the
Trinity River who tried to get the Coshatti Indians to help
them in a revolt. There was a later report that Mexican agents
were among the Cherokee Indians in Northeast Texas trying
to get their cooperation in a movement against the Texans.
President Burnet wrote to General Edmund P. Gaines, suggest-
ing to him that the activities of the Mexican agents among the
Cherokees warranted the sending of American troops to Nac-
ogdoches. He also expressed the opinion to Gaines that such a
move would be sufficient to keep the Indians quiet. Gaines sent
a force of 324 men to Nacogdoches, an action which caused long
wrangling between the American and the Mexican govern-
ments.
37
It was soon known that the cabinet was divided upon impor-
tant questions. These differences were freely discussed among
the people and around the campfires of the soldiers, producing
not only political strife but personal animosities. The Texas
cabinet realized that their authority had been set aside and
that the Texas Army had run roughshod over every right and
precedent that belonged to them as a governing body. The
result was that in this confused situation all of the members
of the cabinet threatened to resign. They advised Burnet to
do likewise and thereby turn the entire machinery of. govern-
ment over to the people. The president refused to accept the
proffered resignations and vigorously opposed such a move,
pointing out that to abandon their offices at such a time would
throw Texas into "irretrievable anarchy and confusion." The
courage and fairness of the president inspired the cabinet to
continue to stand firm with him.
One of Burnet's first acts after the adjournment of the con-
vention, at which he had been elected president ad
interim,
was
to name George C. Childress as special agent, in conjunction
with Robert Hamilton, to represent the republic at Washington.
Austin, Archer, and Wharton had been appointed by the Pro-
visional Government, but Burnet knew neither their instruc-
tions nor their whereabouts. Whether Texas would have re-
ceived recognition at that time if Burnet had sent proper in-
structions to the commissioners already in Washington is a
debatable question. Later other commissioners were appointed
--even before Childress and Hamilton arrived in Washington
--and Burnet failed to correspond with any of them, which
greatly handicapped them in their efforts to secure recognition.
Because of this, Burnet has received much criticism.
By midsummer of 1836, Burnet decided that a regular gov-
ernment could be instituted; therefore, on July 23, 1836, he
issued a call for a general election to be held on the first
Monday of the following September.
38 A congress was elected,
and on October 4, the president donned his best suit and
appeared before that body to deliver his message. This message
has since been selected as one of the oratorical gems of Texas
history. It reviewed the troubled career of the ad
interim
government and indicated the subjects which, in his opinion,
required the immediate attention of congress.
President-elect Houston arrived in Columbia, seat of the gov-
ernment, shortly after this. Although Burnet was supposed to
remain in office until the second Monday in December, Houston
was so anxious to take over, and Burnet was so tired and his
finances were in such a bad condition that he resigned on
October 23, 1836. Lamar said that Burnet was told that if he
did not resign in favor of Houston he would be pushed out.
39
After his retirement, the old animosity between Houston and
Burnet broke out anew. Burnet began attacking Houston
through the newspapers, calling him "Big Drunk" and saying
that Houston was half Indian. Houston retaliated by calling
Burnet a hog thief, whereupon Burnet immediately challenged
Houston to a duel.
40 But when Houston sobered up sufficiently,
he replied with dignity, "I am constrained to believe that the
people are thoroughly disgusted with both of us," and refused to
fight. Then in November, 1837, Burnet defended his friend, Col-
onel S. Rhodes Fisher, secretary of the navy, against impeach-
ment charges brought by Houston. This case is important be-
cause it intensified the hatred of each man toward the other.
41
In the second presidential campaign Burnet was urged by
his friends to run for president, but not wanting to run against
his good friend Lamar, he finally consented to run for vice-
president. He refused to go before the people in person and
beg for their support, confining his campaign activities to
writing articles which he submitted to the newspapers and to
the issuing of a circular which was not well distributed through
the country. He was bitterly attacked by the opposition papers;
nevertheless, he was elected by a majority of 776 votes over
his two opponents, and thus presided over the first senate
which convened at Austin. While vice-president, he served most
of his time either as president or secretary of state. During
this administration Burnet carried practically the whole burden,
but he always sought Lamar's advice when acting for him.
In 1841, Burnet was again pitted against Houston, this time
in the presidential race. The fight was a bitter one, and the
newspapers of the republic took an active part in it. Houston
won the election and then refused to honor the draft on the
collector of the port of Galveston for Burnet's salary as vice-
president. Sometime later Congress passed a law recognizing
the draft, but President Houston vetoed it.
42
Under James Pinckney Henderson, the first governor of
Texas, Burnet served as secretary of state. During his adminis-
tration Governor Henderson was, by necessity, away from his
duties at the capital much of the time, and existing conditions
kept the lieutenant-governor extremely busy; therefore, for the
third time Burnet found the duties of the chief executive placed
upon him. Again he adopted the same custom which he had
held in the past--that of following closely the policy of the
legal chief executive.
In 1849, hoping to add to his limited income, as well as to
render service to his state, Burnet made application to the
United States government for an appointment as federal col-
lector of customs. The position did not materialize, however,
and Burnet was forced to resort to farming and practicing law
on the side in order to support his family.
43 For the rest of
his life, the man to whom Texas owed such a debt of gratitude
and money lived almost in poverty. He sold part of his prop-
erty to keep his beloved son in military college in Frankfort,
Kentucky. In October, 1856, his only man servant ran away,
and being sixty-eight years old and not physically able to culti-
vate his fields with only a negro girl to help him, he rented his
farm to a Mr. Tompkins for $125 a year, keeping only the house
and a few acres for himself. Two years later, on October 30,
1858, his wife died. He then left Oakland, his old home, for-
ever and went to live with his friend General Sidney Sherman.
On March 31, 1865, Burnet's only remaining child, William
Este Burnet, died at Spanish Fort near Mobile--a victim of
the Civil War. A short time after this Mrs. Sherman died, and
Burnet went to make his home with the Preston Perry family
in Galveston.
In September, 1865, he answered the call to go to Washington
to ask clemency of the President for the people of the South,
and also pardon for Jefferson Davis. Shortly after his return
from Washington he was sent back, this time as senator from
Texas. Burnet was feeble and sick and seriously considered not
going; but he had never refused the call of duty, and he did
not refuse this time. For a week and a half he and Senator
O. M. Roberts endeavored to get themselves seated, but without
avail.
Burnet left Washington just before Christmas and spent the
remainder of the winter with his relatives in Newark, New
Jersey. He came home and then decided to spend the rest of
his days in Ohio with friends and relatives. After a short
time there, however, he realized how dear his adopted state
and her people were to him, and he decided to come back to
Texas, his real home. He returned to Galveston and to the
Perry family, where on December 5, 1870, at the age of eighty-
two years, eight months, and one day, he quietly passed on.
The funeral services were held on December 6, with Dr. Bunting
as the officiating clergyman. The Masonic rites were performed
after the funeral.
Burnet was buried in the old Episcopal Cemetery in Galves-
ton, his grave occupying a "post of honor"; but on October 15,
1871, the Magnolia Grove Cemetery was dedicated by trans-
ferring his remains to that place, alongside his old friend Sidney
Sherman. Since that time, the remains of Burnet have been
removed to the State Cemetery at Austin.
FOOTNOTES:
Territory, 17; John Livingston, Portraits of Eminent Americans, 153;
Dictionary of American Biography, III, 296.
Gazette, I, June 12, 1824.
torical Quarterly, XLVIII (1944), 33-37.
Papers, II, 296-299.
"Honeymoon Boat to Texas," Dallas News, December 4, 1927.
berg Library, Galveston.
Galveston.
Texas, I, 469-482.
A History of Texas and Texans, I, 53.
Harris," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, IV, 187-202.
University of Georgia.
lengthy explanation of "The Mystery of the Official Copy of the Consti-
tution of the Republic of Texas."
John R. Harris (Mrs. Jane Harris) was built in 1833, by the widow of
the founder of Harrisburg. President Burnet and his cabinet met here
from March 22, to April 13, 1836. The house was burned by Santa Anna
on April 17, 1836.
E. C. Barker, "The San Jacinto Campaign," Quarterly of the Texas State
Historical Association, IV, 330.
Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.
MS., San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.
Texas State Historical Association, IV, 232-233.
Archives; Rusk to Burnet, September 2, 1836, ibid.
Historical Quarterly, XXIII, 153-170.
the Texas State Historical Association, II, 80.
February 16, 1843.
The Mormon Migration into Texas
THE MOVEMENT commonly known as Mormonism, officially
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," had
its real beginning in a vision which its founder Joseph Smith
(also known as Joseph Smith, Jr.) claimed to have seen in
his fifteenth year (1820), near Palmyra, New York. According
to Smith, he experienced a second vision in 1823, which revealed
to him the hiding place near Palmyra of certain ancient plates
containing the record of the ancestry of the American Indians,
the remnant of the House of Israel. With the plates were two
stones, known as the Urim and the Thummim, through the
instrumentality of which the plates could be translated. After
a further interval of four years, Smith claimed to have received
possession of the two stones and the plates, which he translated
and dictated to scribes, principally his wife, Emma, and one
Oliver Cowdery, an itinerant blacksmith and schoolteacher who
came to be associated with him. The translation was printed
in 1829 and is known as the Book
of
Mormon.
This work is
regarded by the followers of Joseph Smith as a revelation of
God, similar to the Bible and of equal authority.
1
The first Mormon church was organized with six members
at Fayette, New York, on April 6, 1830, a date which is
annually observed with much ceremony by the church. The first
gathering place of the Mormons was at Kirtland, Ohio, in the
Western Reserve, from which place messengers were sent in
1831 to Missouri. This is said to have been done in response to
a further revelation to Joseph Smith in which Jackson County,
Missouri, was designated as the final gathering place for his
followers, commonly referred to as the Saints. It was to this
permanent Zion that the Lord should come in person in the
second resurrection. In the course of the months thereafter,
the Saints in large numbers moved to Missouri, and to Jackson
County in particular, where their headquarters were estab-
lished. The story of their life in Missouri is an exceedingly
bitter chapter in the history of the Mormon church. There
the followers underwent continuous persecution and harass-
ment. In 1839, after a residence of some eight years in Missouri,
the Saints, under the leadership of Joseph Smith, began an
exodus to Illinois, leaving their property behind them.
In Illinois, the Saints began a new settlement on the banks
of the Mississippi at Nauvoo, which, operating under a liberal
charter granted by the legislature of that state, enjoyed great
prosperity and growth. The Quorum of Twelve, which was
the head of the missionary efforts of the church, proselyted
with great zeal, especially in England, and brought thousands
of converts to Nauvoo.
At Nauvoo, in 1841, Lyman Wight became one of the Quorum
of Twelve. He was born in 1796 in Connecticut. As a boy he
had fought in the War of 1812, distinguishing himself at the
Battle of Sackett's Harbor. About the year 1826, after a short
residence in New York State, he moved to Cuyahoga County,
Ohio, and while living there he accepted the Book of Mormon
and was baptized into the church at Kirtland. Six days after
his baptism, he became an elder in the church and continued
so until his death. As one of the forerunners, he went to Jack-
son County, Missouri, in 1831, to carry the gospel of the new
dispensation to the western frontier of that state. The story
of his life in Missouri is filled with numerous incidents which
bespeak his courage and loyalty. On one occasion the presiding
bishop of the Jackson County Saints called for volunteers to
go and visit the Prophet (Joseph Smith), who was still in
Kirtland, Ohio, and to ascertain from him what he would have
the Saints do next. Volunteers were slow in responding; many
excuses were made. Wight stepped forward and said he would
go. "What kind of circumstances are your family in right now,
Brother Wight?" the Bishop asked. Wight made this reply:
"My wife is lying beside a big log in the woods with a three-
day-old child in her arms, but there are three days' provisions
there too, so I am sure that it will be all right for me to go."
This was in February, 1834, when weather conditions were
certainly not ideal for a mother and newborn babe in the woods
with only a big log for shelter.
The plans for the Nauvoo settlement called for the erection
of a temple and a home for the Prophet, and a special company
was formed to secure lumber for this purpose. At the head
of this special company were placed Lyman Wight and George
Miller. A sawmill in the Wisconsin pineries, on the Black River,
a little above LaCrosse, was purchased; standing timber was
acquired from some Indians; and it was to this location that
Wight and Miller and their group journeyed. This marks the
real beginning of the Texas colony.
By 1844 trouble with their neighbors in Illinois had increased
to such an extent that the Saints began to look for a new Zion.
They had a strong feeling against the United States govern-
ment, contending that no protection had been given them and
that the government had allowed them to be murdered, robbed,
and plundered by their Gentile neighbors. They proposed a new
order of things, and a national ticket composed of Joseph Smith
and Sidney Rigdon for president and vice-president, respec-
tively, was placed before the voters of the country. Though
this ticket was doomed to overwhelming defeat, there is evidence
that the Saints really thought there was a chance for success.
A plan which they held in reserve provided for the purchase
of a part of the Republic of Texas described as being
"north of a West line from the falls of the Colorado River to
the Nueces; thence down the same to the Gulf of Mexico and
along the same to the Rio Grande and up the same to the
United States Territory." It will be observed that this was
a portion of the territory in dispute between Texas and Mexico.
The Saints expected to be acknowledged in the area as a separate
nation and to help Texas defend herself against Mexico. Lucien
Woodworth was chosen as a messenger to the cabinet of the
Texas Republic to lay the plan before them. Woodworth re-
turned from Texas in 1844, reporting that the plan had been
received favorably. He was then appointed, along with A. W.
Brown and George Miller, as commissioner to meet the Texas
Congress to consummate the purchase of the territory, after
which Wight and Miller were to lead a colony of the Saints to
this new location. All plans were cut short by the killing of
Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and his brother, Hyrum Smith, by
a mob at Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844. Confusion
immediately ensued in Nauvoo; Brigham Young, president of
the Quorum of Twelve, assumed control, declaring himself the
successor of Joseph Smith. All of the Twelve, except Lyman
Wight and two others, followed his leadership.
After refusing to acknowledge the leadership of Brigham
Young, the group known as the "Black River Lumber Com-
pany," under the leadership of Wight, had no further connec-
tion with the main body of the Saints, who followed Young to
Salt Lake City. The Wight faction decided to migrate to Texas
and settle in the territory which had been the subject of dis-
cussion with the cabinet of the Texas Republic. Wight, basing
his belief on his last conversation with Joseph Smith, was con-
vinced that a new Zion was to be found in Texas. The sawmill
of the company was sold at a great loss, and on March 28, 1845,
the group started from the mouth of Black River, down the
Mississippi, in four homemade boats. There were about one
hundred and fifty men, women, and children in the party. After
overland travel through Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and the Indian
Territory, the group forded the Red River, near Preston, Texas,
on Sunday, November 10, 1845.
2 After traveling four miles
in Texas, they camped and began to look for a temporary
location. Wight and David Monroe went in search of a suitable
site and decided on an evacuated fort called Georgetown (also
known as Fort Johnson) in Grayson County, Texas.
3 They
moved to this place on November 19, 1845, and spent the suc-
ceeding winter there. In April, 1846, they broke camp, again
moving south. On April 30, they crossed the Trinity River
three miles above Dallas, which was then a small village. The
Brazos was crossed May 14 near the present site of Marlin in
Falls County, where the teams and cattle swam across and the
wagons were ferried by means of small canoes. Little River
was crossed at a point north of Rockdale, and on June 6, the
colonists reached a location at the falls of the Colorado River
about six miles above Austin. Here the first gristmill in the
country was built. This site was at the exact corner of the
territory the Saints had previously expected to acquire by pur-
chase from the Texas Republic.
4 Austin Dam is now situated
at this point on the river.
In his Evolution
of
a
State,
Noah Smithwick, a neighbor and
early acquaintance of the colonists, relates in detail the religious
activities of the colony. An extract from his narrative is inter-
esting and informative. He states:
They were a novelty in the religious world and curious to know some-
thing of their peculiar views, I permitted the Elder to preach in my
house. Preaching of any kind was so rare that the neighbors all gathered
in and listened with respectful attention while the Elder expounded the
doctrine of the Latter Day Saints, being careful to leave out its more
objectionable features. But amongst most people the idea obtained that
they were a lawless band, and the subject of rising up and driving them
from the country was strongly advocated. They were in sufficient numbers
to stand off the Indians, and, it being their policy to isolate their com-
munities which relegated them to the outskirts of civilization, I was
willing to utilize anything that formed a barrier against the savages.
I therefore counseled suspension of hostilities till some overt act called
for their expulsion.
5
Skilled artisans included among the colonists took the con-
tract for the first jail in Austin, as well as several residences
in that city. The gristmill erected at the falls of the Colorado
was a public benefit, since up to that time all corn was ground
on steel mills run by hand, a tedious and wearying process.
It was a catastrophe to the country when a rise in the river
swept the mill away. The colonists gathered up the machinery
but, discouraged with the prospect, began to look about for a
better location.
6
On October 19, 1846, an exploring committee was sent out,
consisting of Spencer Smith (the son-in-law of Lyman Wight),
John Taylor, Meacham Curtis, and William Curtis. They re-
turned on November 14, 1846, reporting that a favorable loca-
tion had been found on the Pedernales River "with plenty of
good water and timber and abounding with game and honey,"
all in striking similarity to the Old Testament account of the
report made by the spies sent out by Joshua to survey the
Promised Land. The search for the new home was temporarily
abandoned during the winter but was renewed in March, 1847.
On May 1 of that year a mill site was selected on the Peder-
nales, about four miles southeast of Fredericksburg. One reason
for selecting a location near that place was the fact that the
German settlers there were Free-Soilers, opposed to slavery,
which harmonized with the beliefs of the colonists, and they
concluded that their relations would be more amicable there
than elsewhere. In this hope they were doomed to disappoint-
ment. Six weeks after selecting the site, the colonists had a
gristmill in operation. Houses were built; a sawmill, store,
school, and temple were all erected; crops were planted, and
the entire colony settled at the new site. To this settlement
Wight gave the name of Zodiac. From the sawmill came much
of the lumber used by the early German settlers, and from the
gristmill much of the first corn meal. Fort Martin Scott near
by was then in process of construction by the United States
government, and some of the colonists found employment there.
In 1848 two messengers from Brigham Young arrived in
Zodiac. Their mission was to induce Wight to come to Salt
Lake City and counsel with his brethren, "The Twelve." The
messengers threatened Wight with excommunication if he re-
fused. He replied, "Nobody under the light of the heavens
except Joseph Smith or John Smith, the President of the Fifty,
can call me from Texas to come to Salt Lake City, and I have
as much authority to call one of the Twelve or rather the
Eleven to Texas as they have to call me to Salt Lake City."
Wight did not claim any succession for himself, stating that
he was filling a mission or trust imposed upon him by Joseph
Smith. The messengers returned to Salt Lake City and made
their report to Brigham Young. The next year Lyman Wight
was excommunicated from the Mormon Church.
On February 17, 1849, a temple was finished in which there
were observed the Mormon ordinances of foot washing, anoint-
ing, and baptism for the dead; in this last mentioned ordinance
members of the faith stood proxy for dead relatives who had
not heard the Mormon Gospel.
In 1850, the Comanche Indians, with their chief, Buffalo
Hump, visited the colonists several times and gave them the
privilege of traveling anywhere through their nation. Wight
talked with them concerning the Book of Mormon. Tradition
has it that the prophet Joseph Smith, in his authorship of the
Book, was greatly influenced by his study of the beliefs of the
Iroquois Indians of New York. Since the Comanches "seemed
very much pleased" with Wight's explanation of the Book, it
is quite likely that this connection with the Iroquois Indians
was stressed.
In social and business matters the colonists and the German
settlers got along peaceably, but political differences eventually
developed. Wight was elected chief justice
7 of Gillespie County
and took office in September, 1850. Political quarrels and dis-
putes arose between Wight and his colony on one side and the
members of the commissioners' court and the German settlers
on the other side. Wight refused to attend the sessions of the
court. Finally three of the county commissioners called them-
selves together, and the following significant entry appears in
the minutes of the court:
Ordered by the Court that Chief Justice Lyman Wight be ordered to
meet the said County Commissioners at the Chief Justice's office this
day two weeks, to-wit: on the 16th day of June, 1851, to settle matters
of said county: and it is ordered that Christian Gartner, Constable for
Precinct No. 2, be ordered to see said Lyman Wight and command him
to attend said Court and settle and close up all matters with the County
as Chief Justice and Probate Judge.
8
Wight paid no attention to the summons of the court; where-
upon the commissioners met again, declared the office of chief
justice vacant, and ordered a special election to fill the vacancy.
It was shortly after this episode that the colonists abandoned
their location at Zodiac on the Pedernales and began to seek
another field of labor and adventure. A flood in the river had
destroyed much of their property, washing away the gristmill
and sawmill, and there was no more work for them at Fort
Martin Scott. Moreover, the political differences with the Ger-
man settlers had brought about strained relations, and the
situation was anything but pleasant. Today the only remaining
trace of the Zodiac settlement is an old cemetery about an acre
in extent, which contains a few graves, including that of Wight.
A new location was decided upon, in a beautiful hidden valley
with lake and waterfall, situated in Burnet County, on Hamilton
Creek, about eight miles below the town of Burnet, and about
fifty miles from the Zodiac settlement. To this new location
the colonists migrated in the summer of 1851 and erected log
dwellings, a gristmill, shops, and a sawmill. The millstones
used by the colonists at the falls on the Colorado and on the
Pedernales were said to have been imported originally from
France and were of fine quality. When the flood on the Peder-
nales washed away the gristmill, these millstones disappeared
beneath the sands of the river bed. In their new location in
Burnet County, the colonists were in sore need of these mill-
stones, because other stones, improvised from a quarry near
by, required frequent dressing. In Burnet County the colonists
again became neighbors of Noah Smithwick, and from his
recollections there comes the story of the recovery of the mill-
stones from a sand bar in the Pedernales near the Zodiac
settlement:
Old Lyman Wight, the high priest, set about the task of recovering
the lost stones. After wrestling alone with the spirits for some little
time, he arose one morning with joy in his heart and summoning his
people, announced to them that he had a revelation and bidding them take
spades and crow-bars and follow him, set out to locate the millstones.
Straight ahead he bore as one in a dream, his divining rod in his hand,
his awe-struck disciples following in silence. Pausing at last in the middle
of a sand bar deposited by the flood he stuck his rod down. "Dig right
here," he commanded. His followers, never doubting, set to work, and
upon removing a few feet of sand, lo and behold, there were revealed
the buried mill-stones. Wight said he saw them in a vision and his
followers believed it.
9
From distances up to a two days' journey, the settlers brought
their corn to the new settlement to be ground. From their
sawmill and turning lathes the colonists manufactured chairs,
tables, and bedsteads, supplying the whole countryside with
furniture. In speaking of the colonists, Smithwick, from per-
sonal experience, had this to say:
I found them the same as other people in matters of business. While
some of them were honest and industrious, others were shiftless and
unreliable; and this must ever prove a potent argument against com-
munity holdings--the thriftless got just as much as the thrifty. But
though the industrious saint was thus forced to contribute to the support
of his idle brother, he drew the line to exclude the worthless dog that is
generally considered an indispensable adjunct to thriftlessness, the canine
family being conspicuous by its absence about the domicile of the Mormon.
Nor was there anything objectionable in the Mormons as neighbors. If
there were polygamous families I did not know of them. To still further
emphasize the perfect equality of all members of the society, all titles of
respect were discarded, men and women were universally called by their
first names, and these first names, by the way, were perhaps the most
striking peculiarity about the Mormons. The proselytes were permitted
to retain their Gentile names but those born in the fold received their
baptismal names from the Book of Mormon and have no counter-part
elsewhere. They were Abinadi, Maroni, Luami, Lamoni, Romali, Cornoman
and many other equally original. The female children, however, were
apparently not permitted to participate in this saintly nomenclature. It
might be that women cut no figure in the book of Mormon; at any rate,
there was nothing distinctive in the names of the girls.
10
In spite of their habits of work and frugal living, the colo-
nists became involved in debt. George Miller, the associate and
co-manager with Wight of the "Black River Lumber Company,"
made a visit to the Zodiac settlement in 1848 and reported that
while the colonists seemed to be in a prosperous condition, they
were actually indebted to merchants in Austin in the sum of
$3,000 and the amount was increasing. The colonists were thus
in debt when they established their settlement in Burnet County,
and it was undoubtedly the pressing nature of this indebtedness
that prompted them again to cast about for a new location and
start on the march. Smithwick became the purchaser of their
gristmill property, and he records the transaction in this
fashion:
Having all of my life had a penchant for mills, I recognized this as
"my long lost brother" and at once opened negotiations for it. The dream
of my life was fulfilled and I was at last the proud possessor of a bona
fide mill and that in one of the most picturesque spots to be found.
11
Today, in traveling over U. S. Highway 281, through the
hills of Burnet County, between Burnet and Marble Falls, in
a valley difficult of access, east of the highway, will be found
the remains of the settlement: a huge cypress post set upright
in the ground, a grass-grown cemetery, and the moss and vine
covered remains of a millrace. Within the rock-walled ceme-
tery there are fifteen graves, and an additional eight graves,
supposed to be non-Mormon, are outside. One of the leaning
headstones bears the name Wight, undoubtedly one of Lyman
Wight's family.
Again on the move in December, 1853, the colonists, in search
of a new home, and under the leadership of Wight, traveled
westward, making their first stop in Llano County. They num-
bered at this time about two hundred and fifty persons. The
diary of Spencer Smith, son-in-law of Wight, indicates that they
moved through the present counties of Llano, Mason, Gillespie,
Kerr, and Bandera, finally coming to a stop at a point on the
Medina River across from the village of Bandera. This was in
March, 1854. They spent the spring and summer of that year,
partly across the river from the village and partly in the village
itself, occupying their time in making cypress shingles. Later
they moved to a location on the river some twelve miles below
the village where they established a settlement called Mountain
Valley. The site of this settlement is now covered by the head-
waters of Medina Lake. Here the colonists lived from 1854 to
1858, and it was during this period that Bandera County was
created out of Bexar County. William Curtis, one of the colo-
nists, was elected the first sheriff of the new county. On Sep-
tember 6, 1856, the first marriage license granted in the new
county was issued to Levi Lamoni Wight and Sophia Leyland.
The groom was the fifth chiLd of Lyman Wight. In January,
1856, Wight wrote to his nephew in New York State a glowing
description of their new location, stating in his letter:
. . . we are p[l]aced in a valley between several lofty mountains on
a beautiful prairie bottom the Madina river a stream a trifle smaller than
the Genesee river runs within 30 steps of our doors our houses are
placed at a proper distance a part in two straight rows our gardens lying
between which makes it very pleasant ... we make bedsteads and chairs
in large quantities . • . and get one dollar apiece for chairs by the thou-
sand, we have a good horse mill to grind for our selves and neighbors
we have a black smith and white smith we raise our own cotton and
make our own wheels to spin it on. . . I calculate to continue till [I]
lose the horse or win the saddle.
12
Troubles, however, still plagued the colonists. There was a
succession of depredations by the Indians resulting in a loss
of cattle and horses. Wight sought protection from the state
authorities at Austin and complained bitterly to Major Robert
S. Neighbors, the Indian agent, about the lack of protection,
finally stating to him:
We make this one more appeal to the Government and if this fails,
we have but one alternitive and that is to abandon the frontiers alto-
gether. . . It seems very curious to us that troops are raised and sent
five or six hundred miles from where an Indian ever roamed and leave
our frontiers without protection. . .
13
The neighbors of the colonists placed the blame on General
Persifor F. Smith, saying that the military branch of the govern-
ment continued to harass the friendly Indians and make indis-
criminate war upon them and that it was impossible for the
Indian agents to make peace with the Indians or quiet them
until the troops ceased making such war.
The debts of the colonists were again pressing. One of their
creditors, John Bremond, a pioneer merchant of Austin, filed
suit against Wight on August 3, 1854, in the district court of
Bexar County for the balance due on a note originally for
$685.09 which had been executed on February 2, 1853. The
note was entitled to certain credits, and it is interesting to
observe how these came about:
14
inability of the sheriff of Bexar County to locate Wight and
serve citation upon him. Evidently Wight found convenient
ways to avoid the presence of the officer.
Troubles continued to beset the colonists, and Wight was
again seized with the wanderlust. In March, 1858, declaring
that he had a premonition of the War between the States, he
gathered his followers together and headed northward. His
son, Levi Lamoni, had this to say:
In the spring of 1858 my father planned another move. Of course we
must all go. Here came quite a test of faith in the technicalities of his
religion. I told my wife that I was not going to follow those wild moves
any longer. We consulted about the matter for several days and came
to the conclusion that we would rebel and arrange to stay where we were
and risk the consequences and went to plowing. I thought over the matter
seriously. My father and mother were getting old and feeble and we
could not tell what might happen to them, and finally thought it our duty
to follow them once more, so we arranged to go along.15
On the second day of the journey, at a point about eight
miles from San Antonio, Wight suddenly died. His body was
carried by his family and followers to the old settlement of
Zodiac and there interred in the cemetery.
No colonists in Texas were ever more thoroughly under the
domination of one man. In a literal sense, Wight was their
material and spiritual leader. His colony was a "common stock"
proposition, in which he was the absolute dictator. All business
was done and all property was held in his individual name. It
was inevitable that when his dominant personality was gone
the colonists would divide into several groups. There was no
leader to succeed him. The greater number continued the jour-
ney northward and after wintering two years in the Indian
Territory, and another year in Missouri, finally settled in 1861
in the northwest corner of Shelby County, Iowa. This settle-
ment they called Galland's Grove. Practically all of the group
joined the Reorganized Mormon Church. In time Galland's
Grove became a landmark in the history of that church. One
small group of three families returned to Burnet County and
later in 1861 followed Noah Smithwick to California. Three
of Wight's sons remained in Texas and became soldiers in the
Confederate Army. One of these sons, Levi Lamoni, settled at
Medina in Bandera County. At this place, in San Antonio, and
in other near-by places his descendents live today. Several
other Mormon families, as well as individuals, remained in
Bandera County. One of these was Andrew Hufman, who after
the Civil War, went from Bandera to lowa to find his old
brethren. He returned with Spencer Smith, and as elders of
the Reorganized Church, the two baptized some of the colonists
who remained in Texas.
When death ended the stirring and eventful life of Wight,
his sixty-two years of existence had covered the states of
Connecticut, New York, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and
Texas. He was one who had always been in the midst of
struggle and hardships, one who had repeatedly braved per-
secution and oppression, one to whom life was hard and cruel,
but who was never discouraged and who "calculated to continue
till I lose the horse or win the saddle." In Mormon circles, he
was called the "Wild Ram of the Mountains." With courage
undaunted and with enthusiasm high, he spent the last two
days of his life in journeying toward a new Zion.
FOOTNOTES:
Britannica, XV, 14th ed.
script. (65 pp.) University of Texas Archives.
County, Texas (Sherman, 1936).
Days (Austin, 1900), 235-236.
Monday, June 2, 1851. In office County Clerk of Gillespie County.
rests today over the fireplace in the Frontier Times Museum at Bandera.
Civil Docket, District Court, Bexar County, Texas. These papers are now
on file in district clerk's office, Bexar County.
Board of Publication of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, Lamoni, Iowa), IX (July, 1916), 268.
Check List of Texas Imprints
1846-1876
Edited by
E. W. WINKLER
Editor's
Note:
The following is the eleventh installment of Mr. Winkler's "Check List of
Texas Imprints, 1846-1876." In the first installment, which appeared in the April, 1943,
Quarterly,
Mr. Winkler requests any person having knowledge of any additional item which
should appear on the list to write him care of The University of Texas Library, Austin 12,
Texas. It is expected that any information thus received will be utilized in subsequent re-
printings of this biblography.
Allen,
Harvey
H.
To the voters of Harris county. . . . [Announces his candi-
dacy for senator.] Harvey H. Allen. Houston, January 3, 1858.
[Houston, 1858.] Broadside. 1 p., printed in two columns.
13 x 27 cm. (11 x 26.5 cm.) 980
TxU.
Austin
collegiate
female
institute.
Austin,
Texas.
Catalogue of the Austin collegiate female institute, for the
year ending June 24th, 1858. Austin: Printed at the Excelsior
job office, by Lambert & Allen. 1858. 12 p. 22 cm. ppw. 981
TxU (photostat.)
Austin,
Texas.
Excelsior book, job and ornamental printing house. ... All
orders from the country and neighboring towns will receive
prompt attention. There is no newspaper connected with this
establishment. R. J. Lambert & Sam'l W. Allen. [Austin, 1858.]
Broadside. 2p. 20 x 24.5 cm. (14.5 x 2l cm.) 982
TxU.
William A. Tarleton, attorney and counsellor at law, . . .
[Professional card.] [n.d. n.p.] 1 p. 9 x 6.4 cm. (7.6 x 5.4
cm.) 983
TxU.
Baptists.
Texas.
Minutes of the Austin association, held with the Zion church,
Burnet county, Texas, in July, 1858. Anderson: Printed at the
Texas Baptist book and job establishment. 1858. 8 p. 20
cm. 984
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the sixth annual session of the Bethlehem asso-
ciation, held with the Beach Creek church, Tyler county, Texas,
October 12th, 1857. Woodville: Printed at the "Messenger"
office, MDCCCLVIII. 13 p. 20 cm. 985
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the Bethlehem association, held with the Fellow-
ship church, Jasper county, Texas, in October, 1858. Anderson:
Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job office, 1858. 8 p.
22.5 cm. 986
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the organization and first meeting of the Brazos
River association of Missionary Baptists, held with Providence
church, Parker county, in October, 1858. Anderson: Printed
at the "Texas Baptist" book and job office, 1858. 11 p. 21.5
cm. 987
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the ninth annual session of the Central Baptist
association, held with the Bradley Spring church, Shelby coun-
ty, Texas, in September, 1858. Anderson: Printed at the "Texas
Baptist" book and job office. 1858. 8 p. 21.5 cm. 988
NHC-S. TxFwSB.
Minutes of the Colorado association, held with the New Provi-
dence church, Gonzales county, Texas, beginning Friday before,
and closing Monday after the third Sabbath in September, 1858.
Anderson: Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job office.
1858. 15, [1] p. 21 cm. ppw. 989
TxFwSB. TxU.
Minutes of the Eastern Baptist convention, held with the
Gilmer church, Upshur county, Texas, in June, 1858. Anderson:
Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job establishment.
1858. 19 p. 21 cm. ppw. 990
TxU.
Minutes of the Leon River association, held with the Belton
Baptist church, Bell county, Texas, in September, 1858. Ander-
son : Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job office. 1858.
12 p. 20 cm. 991
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the fourth annual meeting of the Little River
association, held with the Lexington church, Lexington, Bur-
leson county, commencing on Friday before the fourth Sabbath
in August, 1858. Anderson: Printed at the "Texas Baptist"
book and job establishment. 1858. 15, [1] p. 22.5 cm. 992
NHC-S. TxFwSB.
Minutes of the Mount Zion association, held with the New
Prospect church, Rusk county, in November, 1858. Anderson:
Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job establishment.
1858. 10, [1] p. 21.5 cm. 993
NHC-S. TxFwSB.
Minutes of the Rehoboth association, held with the Caney
church, Hopkins county, in October, 1858. Anderson: Printed
at the "Texas Baptist" book and job establishment, 1858. 7,
[1] p. 19.5 cm. 994
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the first annual session of the Richland Baptist
association, held with the Union church, Hill county, Texas, in
October, 1858. Anderson: Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book
and job office. 1858. 11, [1] p. 21 cm. 995
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the associational convention, containing the for-
mation, organization and first session of the San Antonio River
Baptist association, held with New Salem church, Dewitt coun-
ty, Texas, Friday before the first Lord's day in November, 1858.
San Antonio: Printed at the Daily Herald office. 1858. 16 p.
21 cm. 996
NHC-S. TxFwSB.
Minutes of the Sister Grove association, held with the New
Salem church, Fannin county, Texas, in September, 1858. An-
derson: Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job office.
1858. 14, [2] p. 21.5 cm. ppw. 997
TxFwSB. TxU.
Minutes of the Texas Baptist state convention, held with the
Independence church, Washington county, Texas, in October,
1858. Anderson: Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job
establishment. 1858. 27 p., 1 table. 21 cm. ppw. 998
NHC-S. TxFwSB. TxU.
Minutes of the tenth annual session of the Trinity River asso-
ciation of United Baptist, held with the Baptist church at Waco,
McLennan county, Texas, September, 1857. Anderson, Texas:
Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job office. 1858. 12,
[2] p. 22.5 cm. 999
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the eleventh annual session of the Trinity River
association of United Baptist, held with Tehuacana church,
Freestone county, Texas, September, 1858. Anderson: Printed
at the "Texas Baptist" book and job office. 1858. 14, [2] p.
21.5 cm. 1000
TxFwSB.
Minutes of the nineteenth annual session of the Union Baptist
association, held with the Mount Zion church, Washington coun-
ty, commencing October first, and closing October fourth, A.D.
1858. Anderson: Printed at the "Texas Baptist" book and job
office. 1858. 11, [1] p. table. Errata slip. 21 cm. ppw. 1001
Cover title.
NHC-S. TxFwSB. TxU (microfilm.)
Minutes of the West Fork association, held with the Lonesome
Dove church, Tarrant county, in September, 1858. [n.p.] 13,
[1] p. 28 cm. 1002
Caption title.
NHC-S (typed copy.)
Bastrop female academy. Bastrop, Texas.
Announcement for 1858/59. See no. 1003
Bastrop
military
institute.
Bastrop,
Texas.
Annual catalogue of Bastrop military institute, situated at
Bastrop, Texas, for the session ending June, 1858. Galveston:
Printed at the Texas Christian Advocate book and job office.
1858. 38 p., 1 l. 23 cm. ppw. 1003
Colonel R. T. P. Allen's inaugural address, delivered at the first annual
commencement, June 10, 1858, appears on pp. 14-23.
Tx. TxGR. TxU.
Regulations of Bastrop military institute situated at Bastrop,
Texas. Galveston: Printed at the Texas Christian Advocate
book and job office, 1858. 16 p. 21.5 cm. 1004
TxElp.
Bastrop,
Texas.
Grand gala night. Greatest wonder of the age! . . . Prof. F.
Lawrence Hale . . . will present his celebrated California ex-
periment, [at the Methodist church, on Thursday night, Nov.
18, 1858.] "Bastrop Advertiser" job office print. Broadside.
1 p. 15.5 x 43 cm. (10.8 x 37.5 cm.) 1005
TxU.
Baylor
university.
Independence,
Texas.
Seventh annual catalogue of the trustees, professors, and stu-
dents, of Baylor university. Male department. Independence,
Texas. November 26, 1858. Anderson: Printed at the "Texas
Baptist" book and job office. 1858. 24 p. 21.5 cm. ppw. 1006
Title is printed in red and blue.
TxU.
Brown,
John
Henry.
Belton, Bell county, Texas, April, 1858. Having removed from
Galveston, I would inform my friends that I have opened a law
and land agency in Belton. . . . John Henry Brown, Belton,
Texas. Folder with one page of print. 25 cm. 1007
Tx.
Buckley,
C.
W.
Circular. To the people of Texas. . . . [Buckley refutes charges
made against him during his race for associate justice of the
Supreme court.] [Houston? 1858.] Broadside. 1 p., printed
in two columns. 13.5 x 3l cm. (11 x 28.2 cm.) 1008*
Tx. TxU.
Buffalo
Bayou,
Brazos
and
Colorado
railway
company.
To the stock holders of the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Col-
orado railway company. . . . [Report for the year ending June
1, 1858.] Jonathan F. Barrett, president. October 1, 1858.
[Houston? 1858.] Folder with two pages of print. 26.7 cm. 1009*
TxU.
Bunting,
Robert
Franklin.
The Messiahship of Christ: a discourse, prepared by appoint-
ment and delivered before the Presbytery of Western Texas,
October 24, 1857, and repeated at Oliver's settlement, Bexar
county, October 16, 1858. . . . San Antonio, Printed at the
Herald office, 1858. 31 p. 1010
IU. PPPrHi.
Caldwell
county,
Texas.
Citizens.
To the honorable Legislature of the State of Texas, in ses-
sion. . . . [Existing law makes no provision for any fee or
compensation for official services rendered by clerks of District
courts and the sheriffs in criminal cases unsuccessfully prose-
cuted by the State. Memorialists pray that the same compen-
sation be allowed for services in this class of cases as is
allowed in cases successfully prosecuted.] [n.p. 1858?] Broad-
side. 1 p. 19.5 x 30.5 cm. (16.7 x 10.2 cm.) 1011
Tx.
Cameron
county,
Texas.
Citizens.
To the honorable Legislature of the State of Texas, in ses-
sion .... Same as no. 1011, except for the signers, who are
different. 1012
Tx.
Carnes,
J.
E.
Use: a poem; delivered June 16, 1858, before the Washington
society of Bethel college, Russellville, Ky. By James E. Carnes.
[Two lines quoted from Goethe.] Galveston: Printed on the
Civilian steam book press. 1858. 12 p., 1 l. ppw. 1013
CSmH. TxU.
Chambers,
T.
J.
Argument of T. J. Chambers, in the Supreme court, of the
State of Texas, in the case of T. J. Chambers vs. Josiah Fisk,
and others, involving eight leagues of land in Travis county.
Austin: Printed at the Southern Intelligencer book and job
office. 1858. 39 p. 22 cm. 1014
Tx. TxU.
To the people of Texas. . . . [Announces his candidacy for
governor.] T. J. Chambers. July 4, 1858. [n.p.] Broadside.
2 p. 36 x 54.5 cm. (31 x 48.5 cm.) 1015
Tx.
Cook,
Richard
V.
An address on the education and influence of woman; deliv-
ered before the Sabbath school union, in the Lutheran church,
January 11, 1858. By Richard V. Cook, esq. Columbus, Texas:
Printed at the office of the Colorado Citizen. 1858. 20 p. 20
cm. ppw. 1016
TxDaM. TxU.
Cuny,
Phil.
M.
The letter of Phil. M. Cuny to Judge John C. Watrous, in
reply to the aspersions cast upon the writer, the Legislature,
and the people of Texas, by Judge Watrous, in his answer to
the memorial of Jacob Mussina, for his impeachment, before
the Committee on the judiciary of the House of Representatives
of the U. S. Austin: Printed at the Southern Intelligencer book
office, 1858. 17 p., printed in two columns. 23 cm. 1017
MBC. OCLaw. Tx.
De
Cordova,
J.
The State of Texas; her capabilities and her resources. A
companion for J. De Cordova's New and correct map of the
State of Texas: by J. De Cordova. Texas the garden state of
the Union. First edition. Galveston: Printed at the News book
and job establishment. [1858?] 68 p. 19.8 cm. ppw. 1018
The map was produced for De Cordova by J. H. Colton & co., New
York, 1857. It is a separate publication.
Tx.
Democratic
party.
Travis
county,
Texas.
.
.
.
The Democracy of Travis county will be in camp on
Congress ave. on Saturday evening July 31. . . . [Austin:]
State Gazette, [1858?] Broadside. 1 p. 37.5 x 53.5 cm. (32.5
x 45.5 cm.) 1019
TxU.
State ticket. [Austin, 1858.] Broadside. 1 p. 8.7 x 33.5 cm.
(5.7 x 21 cm.) 1020
TxU.
Ferguson,
James,
subject
.
Heute Morgen gegen 4 Uhr verschied . . . unser geliebter
Gatte und Bruder, James Ferguson, in seinem vierzigsten Le-
bensjahre. . . . Neu Braunfels, 11. Juni 1858. Maria Ferguson,
geb. Hessler. Alex Ferguson. [New Braunfels? 1858.] Broad-
side. 1 p. 11 x 14.5 cm. (7.5 x 12 cm.) 1021*
Printed in German type.
TxU.
Freemasons.
Texas.
Proceedings of the Grand commandery of Texas of Knights
templar, at the fifth annual conclave, held in Huntsville, Texas,
June 22, A.D. 1858, and of the order, 740. Rt. Em. Sir James
Sorley, G. C., Galveston. Em. Sir Andrew Neill, G. R., Sequin.
Houston: Printed at the Telegraph book and job office. 1858.
49 p. 20 cm. 1022
IaCrM. NNFM. TxWFM. TxU.
Proceedings of the M. P. Grand council of Texas of royal
and select masters, at its third annual assembly, held at Hunts-
ville, June 22, A.D. 1858, A. Dep. 2858, with the amended con-
stitution. M. P. Geo. M. Patrick, Anderson, G. M. Rt. P. An-
drew Neill, Seguin, G. R. Houston: Printed at the Telegraph
office. 1858. 47 p. 20.6 cm. ppw. 1023
IaCrM. NNFM. TxHSJM. TxU.
Proceedings of the M. W. Grand lodge of Texas, at its twenty-
first annual communication, held at the town of Waco, com-
mencing the third Monday in January, A.D. 1858, A.L. 5858.
Ordered to be read in all the lodges under this jurisdiction, for
the information of the brethren. J. M. Hall, grand master.
A. S. Ruthven, grand secretary. Galveston: Printed at the
News book and job office. 1858. 342 p. 21 cm. ppw. 1024
IaCrM. MBFM. MsFM. NNFM. OCM. TxU.
Proceedings of the M.W. Grand lodge of Texas, at its twenty-
second annual communication, held at the town of Huntsville,
commencing the second Monday in June, A.D. 1858, A.L. 5858.
Ordered to be read in all the lodges under this jurisdiction,
for the information of the brethren. Henry Sampson, grand
master. A. S. Ruthven, grand secretary. Galveston: Printed
at the News book and job office. 1858. 114 p., 1 l. 21 cm.
ppw. 1025
IaCrM. NNFM. OCM. TxU.
To the M. W. Wardens and brethren of the lodges under the
jurisdiction of the Grand lodge of Texas. . . . [Quarterly list
of rejections, suspensions, expulsions and reinstatements.] Gal-
veston, Sept. 1st, 1858. A. S. Ruthven, grand secretary. [Gal-
veston, 1858.] Broadside. 1 p. 20 x 31.7 cm. (15.7 x 27.5
cm.) 1026
TxU.
Proceedings of the Grand royal arch chapter, of Texas, at
the ninth annual convocation, held at the town of Huntsville,
commencing June 22, 1858, A.L. 2392. . . . Galveston: Printed
at the News book and job office. MDCCCLVIII. 143 p. 20
cm. 1027
IaCrM. LNMas. NNFM.
Galveston,
Texas.
Weekly report. . . . [After a lapse of several weeks, owing
to the commercial crisis, we resume publication.] Wood &
Power. Galveston, 16th January, 1858. [Galveston?] Broad-
side. 1 p. 21 x 27 cm. (16 x 25 cm.) 1028
TxU.
Market report. . . . [Trade still depressed.] Wood & Power.
Galveston, April 8th, 1858. [Galveston?] Folder with one page
of print. 27.5 cm. 1029
TxU.
Galveston
v.
Menard.
Supreme court of Texas. Nos. 676, 677. The mayor, alder-
men and inhabitants of the city of Galveston, vs. the widow
and heirs of M. B. Menard, and vs. A. P. Lufkin. Writs of
error from the District court of Galveston county. W. P. Bal-
linger, for defendants. Printed at the Civilian steam book and
job office. Galveston. 1858. xv, 48 p. 20 cm. 1030
MdBJ. TxU.
Supreme court of Texas. January term, Nos. 676 & 677. The
mayor, etc., of the city of Galveston, plaintiffs in error, v. M. B.
Menard, defendant in error. The mayor, etc., of the city of
Galveston, plaintiffs in error, v. Abram P. Lufkin, defendant
in error. Brief for defendants in error. Allen &
Hale, for de-
fendants in error. [Galveston? 1858] 16 p. 21.7 cm. ppw. 1031*
MdBJ. TxU.
Good
Samaritans
&
daughters
of
Samaria.
Texas.
Ritual and order of business of Harmony lodge, no. 32, G. S.
&
D. of S. State of Texas. Instituted at Austin. Austin, Printed
by Baker, Lambert & Perry, Intelligencer office. 1858. 14 p.,
1 l. 17.2 cm. 1032
TxU.
Grand
temple
of
honor
of
Western
Texas.
Proceedings of the third annual session of the Grand temple
of honor, of Western Texas, held at Waco, May 24th, 25th and
26th, 1858. [n.p.] 20 p. 21.3 cm. 1033
Title page wanting?
TxU.
Hancock
v.
Butler.
Joseph Hancock, et al., appellants, vs. Wm. B. Butler, ap-
pellee. Appeal from Smith. . . . [opinion by Justice Roberts.]
[n.p., 1858?] 15 p. 19.5 cm. 1034*
Caption title.
TxU.
Hanford,
Albert,
publisher.
.
. . Texas State Register, for the year of our Lord, 1859, . . .
Galveston: Published by A. Hanford. 1858 [Printed in New
York city, 1857.] [72] p. 19 cm. ppw. 1035x
At head of title page: 1858, no. 3. Published annually.
Tx. TxGR. TxU.
Haun,
Otto.
Die Streitfrage über Nominationen beleuchtet und erörtert
von Otto Haun, Round Top, Fayette county. Galveston. Druck
der Zeitungs-Buchdruckerei "Union," von F. Flake. 1858. 12 p.
22 cm. 1036
Printed in German type.
TxU.
The question of nominations examined and elucidated by
Otto Haun, Round Top, Fayette county. "True democracy bat-
tles not for men but for principles." Translated from the Ger-
man by Edward Kellner. Galveston: Printed by F. Flake, at
the "Union" book and job office. 1858. 14 p. 21.5 cm. 1037
Cover title.
Tx. TxHSJM. TxU.
Houston
Tap
and
Brazoria
railway
company.
First annual report of the president and directors of the
H.T. &
B. railway company. Houston, Texas: Printed at the
Houston Telegraph office. 1858. 11, xxviii p. 21 cm. ppw. 1038
TxU.
[Kellum, N.
K.]
Statement of Judge C. W. Buckley's testimony, in the case
of Smith vs. Hadley, et al., to the people of Texas. Galveston:
Printed at the News book and job office. 1858. 15 p. 23.5
cm. 1039
The name of N. K. Kellum is printed at the end.
TxU.
Latimer,
J.
W.
Address, before the Grand lodge, of Texas, at its twenty-first
grand annual communication, held at Waco, January, A.D. 1858,
A.L. 5858. By R. W., J. W. Latimer, grand orator. Galveston:
Printed at the News book and job office. 1858. 15 p. 22 cm. 1040
MBFM. PPFM.
McLeod,
Hugh.
Masonic address delivered by Hon. Hugh M'Leod, on the
occasion of installation of the officers of Austin lodge no. 12.
December 28th, A.D. 1857. Austin: Printed at the "Southern
Intelligencer" book-office. 1858. 15 p. 21 cm. ppw. 1041
TxU.
Memphis,
El
Paso,
and
Pacific
railroad
company.
Second annual report, of the officers of the Memphis, El Paso,
and Pacific railroad company, May 10th, 1858. "Standard"
print, Clarksville, Texas. 1858. 48 p. 21 cm. ppw. 1042*
TxU.
Nacogdoches
university.
Nacogdoches,
Texas.
A catalogue of the students of Nacogdoches university with
terms etc. Nacogdoches, 1858. Nacogdoches: Printed at the
Chronicle office. 1858. 7, [1] p. 20 cm. ppw. 1043*
TxNacT. TxU (photostat.)
Norton,
A.
B.
Remarks of A. B. Norton, in the Texas House of Representa-
tives, upon the University question, and the bill for the relief
of settlers on the Mississippi and Pacific reserve. Austin:
Printed by John Marshall & Co., state printers. 1858. 17 p.
21 cm. 1044
NjR. TxU.
Nueces
county,
Texas.
Citizens.
To the Hon. The Senate and House of Representatives of
the State of Texas. . . . [Protest adopted at a meeting of citi-
zens against use of their ranges by stockmen who own no land
in Nueces county.] R. Parkinson, chairman; J. B. Mitchell,
secretary, [n.p. n.d.] Broadside. 1 p. 20 x 30 cm. (16 x
11.5 cm.) 1045
Tx.
Odd-fellows.
Texas.
Proceedings of the R.W.G. encampment of the Independent
order of odd fellows of the State of Texas, at its annual com-
munication, held at Galveston, Feb. 1, 1858. Galveston: Printed
on the Civilian steam book press. 1858. 1 l., p. 64-84. 1046
TxWB.
Proceedings of the R. W. Grand lodge, of the Independent
order of odd fellows, of the State of Texas, at its annual com-
munication, held at Galveston, Feb. 1, 1858. Galveston: Printed
on the Civilian steam book press. 1858. p. 654-743, [6]. 20.5
cm. 1047
TxWB.
[Paschal, Geo.
W.]
...
The public printing and public printer. [Austin: Southern
Intelligencer office, 1858.] 21 p., printed in two columns. 22.3
cm. 1048
Caption title.
At head of first page: Southern Intelligencer extra, Austin, September
12, 1858.
TxU.
Presbyterian
church.
Texas.
Correspondence, etc., between the Board of trustees of the
Galveston Presbyterian church and B. S. Parsons; also the
Supreme court's opinion in the libel case against the trustees.
Galveston: 1858. 32 p. 20.5 cm. 1049
PPPrHi.
Pridgen,
H.
M'Bride.
Address to the people of Texas, on the protection of slave
property. By H. M'Bride Pridgen. Austin: John Marshall &
company printers. 1858. 16 p. 19 cm. 1050
The address was delivered at Clinton, Texas, March 22, 1858.
MH. TxSa. TxU (photostat.)
Protestant
Episcopal
church.
Texas.
Journal of the ninth annual convention of the Protestant
Episcopal church in the Diocese of Texas, held in Christ church,
Houston, April 15th, 16th and 17th, 1858. Houston, Texas:
Printed at the Telegraph power press book office. 1858. 48 p.
20 cm. ppw. 1051
IU. MB. MBD. MiD-B. NBuDD. Tx. TxU. WHi.
. . . The public printing and public printer. Southern Intelli-
gencer extra, Austin, September 12, 1858. 21 p. See
no. 1048.
Richardson,
W.
&
D.
The Texas Almanac for 1859, with statistics, historical &
biographical sketches, and relating to Texas. The Galveston
News, weekly and tri-weekly, by W. &
D. Richardson. Terms:
Weekly, $3 per annum, payable in advance. Tri-weekly, $8
per annum, payable quarterly. Best job office in the State!
Book-binding in all its branches. [Galveston, 1858?] 1 p.l.,
224 p., 1 l., 38 unnumbered leaves containing advertisements.
22 cm. ppw. 1052
Cover title.
The preliminary leaf has been found in one copy only; its contents in
part are as follows:
Notice to the Public
Since this Almanac was printed, we have received a communication
from Col. John Forbes, of Nacogdoches, complaining that great injustice
has been done him by the reference made to him by Dr. Labadie's article,
pages 54 and 55, and enclosing to us certified copies of the proceedings
of a Court of inquiry called by the Commander-in-chief, at Col. Forbes'
request, to inquire into charges circulated against Col. Forbes just after
the battle of San Jacinto.
[Here follows a copy of the report of the Court which exonerated
Col. Forbes.]
We should here add that Dr. Labadie has publicly denied any intention
to make or endorse any charges against Col. Forbes, . . . We can only
say that we did not suppose the manuscript liable to the above construction,
and we extremely regret to have been thus instrumental in doing injustice
to Col. Forbes, and take this means of correcting the wrong by appending
this notice to our Almanac. . . . [and "in our next shall publish the pro-
ceedings of the above Court in full."]
Richardsons New map of the State of Texas including part of Mexico.
Compiled from government surveys and other authentic documents. Pub-
lished by Charles DeSilver No. 714 Chestnut street, Philadelphia. En-
graved expressly for the Texas Almanac. 1859. Copyright by DeSilver
1856 [1858?] 77 x 47.5 cm.
Inset: Map showing the proposed route of the Arkansas railroad and
its connections with the eastern roads.
CHi. CSt. DLC. ICU. KyLoS. MdHi. Mi. MWA. MsWJ. NNA.
Tx. TxComT. TxCsA. TxDaN. TxElp. TxFwTCU. TxGR. TxH.
TxHuT. TxU. TxWB. WHi.
Richmond,
Texas.
. . . The copartnership existing under the firm name of
Harvey & Armstead has been this day dissolved. A. F. Harvey,
Wm. A. Armistead. Richmond, December 31, 1857. [n.p.]
Folder with one page of print. 25 cm. 1053
This notice under date of January 1, 1858, announces the forming of
a copartnership under the name of Harvey, Armistead &
Williams. Jno.
H. Williams is the new member.
TxU.
St.
Mary's
university.
Galveston,
Texas.
[Announcement that James A. Miller has resumed charge of
the collegiate department, and that three new teachers have
been added.] Galveston, December 29, 1858. Folder with one
page of print. 19.5 cm. 1054
Tx.
Sayles,
John.
A treatise on the practice of the District and Supreme courts
of the State of Texas; with references to the decisions of the
Supreme court of the State. By John Sayles, counsellor at law.
Philadelphia: Kay &
brother, law booksellers and publishers,
No. 19 South sixth street. Houston: J. S. Taft.--Austin: F. T.
Duffan. 1858. [Crissy & Markley, printers, Goldsmiths hall,
Library street. Philadelphia.] 7, xxxvi, 620 p. 22.7 cm. 105
5x
LC. PPA. TxDaM-L. TxU-L.
Seat,
William
H.
An address, delivered at the commencement of Soule univer-
sity, Chappell Hill, by Rev. William H. Seat, of the Texas
conference, June 30, 1858. Galveston: Printed at the Texas
Christian Advocate book and job office. 1858. 15 p. 22.5 cm.
ppw. 1056
Announcements of Chappell Hill female college and of Soule university
appear on the cover.
TxU.
Seguin,
John
N.
Personal memoirs of John N. Seguin, from the year 1834,
to the retreat of General Woll from the city of San Antonio in
1842. San Antonio: Printed at the Ledger book and job office.
1858. 32 p. 20.2 cm. 1057
Tx. TxU.
Sexton,
F.
B.
Human progress: an address before the literary societies of
Austin college, June 22nd, 1858, by F. B. Sexton. Houston:
Telegraph book and job office. 1858. 30 p. 20.5 cm. 1058
Cover title.
TxDaM. TxU.
Smith,
Samuel
G.
Address delivered at the celebration of the anniversary of
St. John the Baptist, at Tyler, Texas, June 24th, 1858, by
Samuel G. Smith. Printed by order of St. John's Lodge, no. 53.
Tyler, Texas: Printed at the office of the "Tyler Reporter."
1858. 8 p. 22.5 cm. ppw. 1059
Cover title.
MBFM. TxU.
Southern
Pacific
rail
road.
Report of the Committee of the Southern Pacific rail road,
on the present condition of the Company, and its causes. Mar-
shall, Texas: Printed at the Harrison Flag book, news and job
office. 1858. 46 p. 23.5 cm. ppw. 1060
Cover title. Caption title: "Report of a committee of the Southern
Pacific R.R. company on the present condition of the enterprise."
TxU.
Southern
Pacific
railroad
co.,
subject.
Mr. Post's report, [New Orleans, June 8, 1858. p. (l)-4.]
Preamble and resolutions, [adopted by the stockholders, Oct.
19, 1857. p. 5.] [Legal proceedings, June 2-July 1, 1858. p. 6-
12] To the Public by Jeptha Fowlkes, president S.P. R. Co.
[p. (13)-18.] To the stockholders of the Southern Pacific rail-
road company. Marshall July 7, 1858. J. Fowlkes, president,
[p. (19)-22.] Mr. Yerger's defence [by the editor of the Texas
Republican, p. (23)-34.] [Marshall: Texas Republican print,
1858.] 34 p., 1 l., printed in two columns. 24 cm. 1061
Caption title. Title page wanting?
TxU.
[Correspondence relating to the compromise between the
sold-out and the new Southern Pacific railroad company.] The
Harrison Flag-extra. Marshall, Texas, October 22, 1858. Broad-
side. 1 p., printed in four columns. 37.5 x 52 cm. (25 x 48.5
cm.) 1062
Tx.
Texas.
Attorney
general
(James
Willie.)
Informe del procurador general. Publicado por orden de la
septima Legislatura. Austin: John Marshall i compañia, im-
presores del Estado. 1858. 31 p. 19.2 cm. 1063
English edition. See
no. 893.
TxSa.
Texas.
Court
of
claims
(James
C.
Wilson.)
Informe del comisionado de reclamos. Publicado por orden
de la septima Legislatura. Austin: John Marshall i compañia,
impresores del Estado. 1858. 30 p. 19.2 cm. 1064
TxSa.
Texas.
Comptroller
(James
B.
Shaw.)
Biennial report of the Comptroller of the State of Texas, for
the years 1856 and 1857. Published by order of the seventh
Legislature. Austin: John Marshall & co., state printers. 1858.
351, [1] p. 21.2 cm. 1065
ICU. MB. Tx. TxElp. TxGR. TxU. WHi.
Texas.
Governor,
1857-1859,
(Hardin
R.
Runnels.)
Message of Hardin R. Runnels, Governor of the State of
Texas. Printed by order of the seventh Legislature. Austin:
Printed by John Marshall & co., state printers. 1858. 30 p.
21 cm. 1066
The message is dated December 27, 1857.
Tx. TxSa.
Mensaje de Hardin R. Runnels, gobernador del estado de
Tejas. Publicado por orden de la septima legislatura. Austin:
John Marshall i compañia, impresores del estado. 1858. 31 p.
21.5 cm. 1067
TxU.
Election Notice. Proclamation by the Governor of the State
of Texas. . . . [Orders an election for State and District officers
to be held August 2, 1858.] H. R. Runnels. Austin, June 3,
1858. Broadside. 1 p. 36.5 x 42.5 cm. (34.3 x 51.5 cm.) 1068
Tx.
Proclamation, by the Governor of Texas. . . . [Orders an
election to be held November 8, 1858, to fill the vacancy created
in the office of judge of the 1st Judicial district by the resigna-
tion of James H. Bell.] H. R. Runnels. Austin, Oct. 4, 1858.
Broadside. 1 p. 30.5 x 48 cm. (24 x 36 cm.) 1069
Tx.
To the chief justice of ---- county. . . . [In regard to
a standard of weights and measures.] H. R. Runnels. Austin,
Texas, September 17, 1858. [n.p.] Folder with two pages of
print. 25.5 cm. 1070
Tx.
Texas.
Laws,
statutes,
etc.
General laws of the seventh Legislature of the State of Texas.
Published by authority. Austin: Printed by John Marshall &
co., state printers. 1858. 284 p., 1 l., xix p. 20.5 cm. 1071
CB. C-L. CU-Law. Ia. IaU-L. In-SC. Ky. MdBB. Mi-L. Mo. NNLi.
Nb. Nc-S. Nj. Nv. OCLaw. RPL. T. Tx. TxDaN. TxGR. TxU.
TxU-L. W. WaU.
Special laws of the seventh Legislature of the State of Texas.
Published by authority. Austin: Printed by John Marshall &
co., state printers. 1858. 172 p., 1 l., ix p. 20 cm. 1072
CU-Law. IaU-L. In-SC. Ky. Nb. Nc-S. Nj. Nv. NNLi. OCLaw.
RPL. T. Tx. TxDaN. TxU. W.
Amendments to the Code of criminal procedure of the State
of Texas. Adopted by the seventh Legislature. Galveston:
Printed at the News office. 1858. iv, 25, iv p. 21 cm. 1073
OcLaw. WHi.
Amendments to the Penal code of the State of Texas. Adopted
by the seventh Legislature. Galveston: Printed at the News
office. 1858. vi, 41, ix p. 21 cm. 10
74
WHi.
Texas.
7th
Legislature
(Nov.
2-Feb.
16,
1858.)—
Continued.
List of the names, with the nativities, ages, time of emigra-
tion, residences, occupations, and post offices, of the Senators
and Representatives of the seventh Legislature of Texas—
1857-'58. [Austin: Printed by John Marshall & co., state print-
ers, 1858.] Broadside. 1 p. 22.8 x 66.5 cm. (17.5 x 63.7
cm.) 1075
Tx.
Proceedings and inaugural address of Hardin R. Runnels,
governor of the State of Texas. Austin: Printed by John Mar-
shall &
co., state printers, 1858. 16 p. 1076
TxSa.
Texas.
7th
Legislature
(Nov.
2-Feb.
16,
1858)
--Continued.
Senate.
A bill to provide for the assessment and collection of
taxes. 1077*
Not seen; 150 copies were ordered to be printed (Senate
Journal,
p. 269,
659.)
A bill supplemental to and amendatory of an act entitled
an act to adopt and establish a penal code for the State of
Texas, approved August 28th, 1856. . 1078*
Not seen; 100 copies were printed (Senate
Journal,
p. 672.)
Report of the Select committee in relation to Indian depre-
dations. Austin: Printed by John Marshall & co., state printers.
1858. 7 p. 21.8 cm. 1079
The report is dated Jan. 13, 1858, and signed by G. B. Erath, chairman.
TxU.
Reports of the Select committee of the Senate on Joint reso-
lutions relative to the arrest of General William Walker by
Commodore Paulding. Austin: Printed by John Marshall & co.,
state printers, 1858. 31 p. 21 cm. 1080
There are majority and minority reports; they are dated January 20,
1858.
A-Ar. Tx. TxU (photostat.)
Majority report, of the Judiciary committee on a bill to re-
linquish to the Houston and Texas Central railroad company
a certain bond therein named. [Austin, 1858?] 6 p., printed
in two columns. 22.3 cm. 1081
TxU.
Journal of the Senate of Texas. Seventh biennial session.
Published by authority. Austin: Printed by John Marshall &
co., state printers. 1857 [1858.] 685, L p. 20.5 cm. 1082
GU-B. Mi. Nb. Nj. Or. Tx. TxU.
Texas. 7th Legislature (Nov. 2-Feb. 16, 1858)--Continued.
House of Representatives.
Bill for assessing and collecting taxes. 1083*
Not seen; 150 copies were printed (Senate
Journal,
p. 659.)
A bill supplemental to, and amendatory of an act to ascertain
the legal claims for money and lands against the State. 108
4*
Not seen; 100 copies were printed (Ibid.,
p. 659.)
A bill to be entitled an act supplementary to an act for the
support of schools, approved 29th of August, 1856. 1085*
Not seen; 100 copies were printed (Ibid.,
p. 659.)
A bill to amend an act to adopt and establish a penal code
for the State of Texas, approved 28th of August, 1856. 1086*
Not seen; 100 copies were printed (Ibid.,
p. 660.)
A bill for the relief of settlers upon eleven league claims. 1087*
Not seen; 100 copies were printed (Ibid.,
p. 660.)
Report of the Committee on federal relations relative to the
admission of Kansas into the Federal Union. Printed by order
of the Legislature of the State of Texas. Austin: Printed by
John Marshall & co., state printers. 1858. 13 p. 21.5 cm. 1088
P. Murrah was chairman; the report is dated, January 7, 1858; the
resolutions appear on pages [12] and 13.
Tx. TxU.
Bills to regulate County courts (Probate laws). 1089*
Not seen; 200 copies were printed (Ibid.,
p. 660.)
Bill to regulate railroad companies. 1090*
Not seen; 100 copies were printed (Ibid.,
p. 660.)
Bill to protect stock raisers. 1091*
Not seen; 100 copies were printed (Ibid.,
p. 660.)
Official journal of the House of Representatives of the State
of Texas, Seventh biennial session. Austin: Printed by John
Marshall & co., state printers. 1857 [1858]. 911, xxxv p., 1 l.
20.5 cm. 1092
Mi. Nb. Nj. Tx. TxCsA. TxU.
Appendix to the Official journal of the House of Representa-
tives of the seventh Legislature of the State of Texas. Austin:
Printed by John Marshall & co., state printers. 1858. Title,
v. p. 1093*
This volume is made up by gathering the following documents printed
separately. For description of each piece, see the number cited.
[1] Biennial report of the Comptroller. See
no. 1065
[2] Annual report of the Treasurer. See
no. 1103
[3] Annual report of the Treasurer as ex-officio
superintendent of schools. See
no. 1104
[4] Annual report of the Attorney general. See
no. 891
[5] Report of the Secretary of State See
no. 963
[6] Report of the commissioner of the General
land office See
no. 903
[7] Report of the commissioner of the Court of claims See
no. 899
[8] Penitentiary report. See
no. 960
[9] Annual report of the Blind institute. See
no. 894
[10] Annual report of the Deaf institute. See
no. 901
[11] Report of the Lunatic asylum. See
no. 1094
[12] Report on the land boards within Peters' colony See
no. 898
[13] Report on the investment of the school fund. See
no. 897
[14] Report on the river fund. See
no. 916
[15] Report of the State engineer. See
no. 964
[16] Governor's message (Mexican carts). See
no. 909
[17] Proceedings at the inauguration of Hardin R. Runnels. See
no. 923
[18] Message of Governor Runnels See
no. 1066
[19] Report of C. A. Fraser on the Penal code. See
no. 845
[20] A report and treatise on slaves and the
slavery agitation. See
no. 957
Tx.
Texas.
Lunatic
asylum.
First semi-annual report of the superintendent of the Lunatic
asylum of the State of Texas. Rendered, November 27, 1857.
Austin: Printed by John Marshall &
co., state printers. 1858.
16 p. 21 cm. 109k
Tx.
Texas
Military
institute.
Rutersville,
Texas.
Annual catalogue of Texas Military institute, embracing
board of trustees; visiting board; academic staff or faculty;
course of studies; catalogue and merit-role of cadets; report
of superintendent; rules and regulations; advertisement and
circulars. Caleb G. Forshey, superintendent. June 30, 1858.
Printed at the News book and job office, Galveston. 12 p. 21.8
cm. ppw. 1095
TxU.
Texas
Monument
and
military
institute.
Rutersville,
Texas.
Answer of Rutersville college, now the Texas Monument and
military institute, to the claim set up to the college lots and
buildings by the Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
church South, at its meeting at Waco, Texas, December, 1857.
. . . Galveston: Printed at the News book and job office. [1858?]
16 p. 21.5 cm. 1096
MoS.
Texas.
State
engineer
(E.
F.
Gray.)
Report. To his excellency, Governor H. R. Runnels, of the
State of Texas. ... [On the road and affairs of the Southern
Pacific railroad company.] E. F. Gray. Houston, Dec. 9, 1858.
[n.p.] 122 p. 20 cm. 1097*
Caption title.
Tx.
Texas
State
Gazette.
Austin,
Texas.
Carrier's address to the patrons of the Gazette, for 1859.
[Austin: Gazette print, 1858.] 7 p. 21 cm. 1098*
TxU.
State Gazette appendix, containing official reports of debates
and proceedings of the seventh Legislature, of the State of
Texas, volume 2. Austin, Texas: Printed by John Marshall
& co., state printers, 1858. Title, 235 p., printed in three col-
umns. 29 cm. 1099
MiU. Tx. TxU.
Texas.
Supreme
court.
Reports of cases argued and decided in the Supreme court
of the State of Texas during the latter part of Austin session,
1856, and the whole of Galveston session, 1857. By 0. C. and
R. K. Hartley. Vol. XVIII. Galveston: Printed at the Civilian
book office. 1858. vii, 960 p., 1 l. 22 cm. 1100
Ar-SC. Ct. CFrCL. G. Ia. IaDaGL. In-SC. MdBB. Me-LR. MiDB.
MiL. Mn. NN. Nb. Nc-S. Nj. Nv. OrSaW-L. PPB. PPTU-L. PPiAL.
PU-L. RPL. TxDaM-L. TxHSJM. TxSaSM-L. TxSC. TxU-L. TxWB-L.
U. W. WOshL.
Reports of cases argued and decided in the Supreme court
of the State of Texas during the Tyler session, 1857. By 0. C.
& R. K. Hartley. Vol. XIX. Galveston: Printed at the Civilian
book office. 1858. xv, 610 p., 1 l. 22 cm. 1101
Ar-SC. Ct. CFrCL. G. IaDaGL. In-S. MdBB. Me-LR. MiDB. Mi-L.
Mn. NN. Nb. Nc-S. Nj. OrSaW-L. PPB. PPTU-L. PPiAL. PU-L.
RPL. Tx-SC. TxDaM-L. TxGR. TxSaSM-L. TxU-L. TxWB-L. W.
WOshL.
Reports of cases argued and decided in the Supreme court
of the State of Texas during Austin session, 1857, and part of
Galveston session, 1858. By 0. C. & R. K. Hartley. Vol. XX.
Philadelphia: Kay &
brother, [Collins, printer.] 1858. 10 p.,
1 1., viii, 902 p., 1 l. 22.5 cm. 1102x
Texas.
Treasurer
(James
H.
Raymond.)
Annual report of the Treasurer of the State of Texas. Trans-
mitted to the Legislature, November, 1857. Austin: Printed
by John Marshall & co., state printers. 1858. 15 p. 21.2
cm. 1103
Tx. WHi.
Texas.
Treasurer
and
ex-officio
Superintendent
of
schools.
An act providing for the support of schools, or as much
thereof as is still in force, approved August 29th, 1856. Also,
an act supplementary to and amendatory of an act to provide
for the support of schools, approved February 5th, 1858. With
instructions and forms for the use of school officers. Austin:
John Marshall & co., State Gazette book office. 1858. 23 p.
20.5 cm. 11O4
TxU.
The
Texian
monthly
magazine.
Galveston,
Texas.
The Texian monthly magazine. Devoted to literature, his-
torical romances, original tales, incidents in the history of
Texas, and selections from the most approved and popular
authors. Vol. 1, no. 1. Edited by Mrs. E. Spann. July, 1858.
. . . Galveston: Cherry, Dunn & co., printers, Strand Street.
80 p. 23.5 cm. ppw. 1105
TxU.
Same. Vol. 1, no. 2. August, 1858. p. 81-160. 2 l. 23.5 cm.
ppw. 1105
a
No more published?
TxU.
Thomas
v.
Hord.
[No.] 608. District court of Cameron County. William D.
Thomas vs. Hord, Trevino et al. Petition. William D. Thomas.
By Israel B. Bigelow, his attorney, [n.p. 1858?] Folder with
two pages of print. 19 x 32 cm. 1106
TxU.
U.
S.
Army.
Department
of
Texas.
Orders, no. 4. San Antonio, February 8, 1858. [By direction
of the Secretary of War, General Twiggs published a letter from
the former criticising the latter. In doing so Twiggs added
an explanation so "that the antidote may go with the poison."
Herald print, San Antonio. 7 p. 18 cm. 1107
TxU.
Orders, no. 25. San Antonio, Oct. 19, 1858. ["The General
commanding takes great pride in publishing . . . the signal
success of the command under Bvt. Maj. Earl Van Dorn . . .
over the Comanche Indians at their camp near Wichita village,
on the 1st instant."] [n.p.] 3 p. 18.3 cm. 1108
Tx.
Van
Dorn,
Earl.
Herald extra. Great Indian battle! ! 56 warriors killed.
Lieut. Van Camp killed . . . [The report is dated, Camp near
Wichita village, Oct. 5, 1858.] [Dallas, Oct. 12, 1858.] Broad-
side. 1 p., printed in two columns. 15 x 45.7 cm. (11.7 x
44.5 cm.) 1109
TxU. TxDaHi (photostat.)
Washington
county
railroad.
Charter and by-laws of the Washington county railroad. Aus-
tin : Printed by John Marshall & co., state printers. 1858. 12 p.
21 cm. 1110
Cover title.
Tx.
Notes and Documents
Contemporary Newspaper Accounts of the
Annexation of Texas
Edited by
LLERENA FRIEND
TEXAS existed as a republic from March 2, 1836, to
December 29, 1845. One of the issues voted upon in the
first national election, September, 1836, was annexation to the
United States. Only ninety-one persons among nearly six
thousand voters voted against annexation. On August 4, 1837,
Memucan Hunt formally presented the matter of annexation
to the United States government, but the United States Sec-
retary of State, John Forsythe, said that treaty obligations
with Mexico prevented the United States from entertaining
the subject. The matter was discussed in the United States
Congress in 1838, but on January 23, 1839, the Congress of
Texas withdrew the offer of annexation. The subject was not
reopened until 1843. On October 16, 1843, President John Tyler
opened negotiations for annexation by treaty. The treaty was
signed on April 12, 1844, but was rejected by the United States
Senate. In December, 1844, Tyler again placed the subject
before Congress, which passed a joint resolution for annexation
on February 28, 1845. The Texas Congress accepted the offer
of annexation, and a convention was called to draw up a
constitution for the state of Texas. The state constitution was
ratified by the voters of Texas on October 13, 1845, and ac-
cepted by Congress and President James K. Polk, on December
29, 1845. The final act in the drama of annexation took place
on February 19, 1846, when President Anson Jones transferred
executive authority to the new governor, James Pinckney
Henderson.
1
Some idea of contemporary reaction to the event is revealed
in the material relative to annexation in the newspapers of
1846. The Telegraph
and
Texas
Register
of Houston, Texas:
on January 14, 1846, carried the following:
Capt. Tod,
2 bearer of despatches of the United States Government,
arrived in town on Tuesday morning, with the official copies of the reso-
lutions for the admission of the State of Texas, and the acts of the U.S.
Congress extending the laws of the United States over Texas. In the
afternoon of the same day, President Jones, who with commendable
alacrity had come to this city to meet the despatches, issued the Procla-
mation convening the Legislature on the 16th day of February next.
Thus has he fulfilled to the very letter the portion of the Constitution
requiring him immediately
on receiving official information of the accept-
ance of the Constitution by the Congress of the United States, "to issue
his proclamation convening at an early date the Legislature of the State."
[Passed December 22, 1845]
Whereas the Congress of the United States, by a "joint resolution,"
approved March the 1st, 1845, did consent that the territory properly
included within, and rightfully belonging to, the Republic of Texas, might
be erected into a new State, with a republican form of government, to
be adopted by the people of said republic by deputies in convention
assembled, with the consent of the existing government, in order that
the same might be admitted as one of the States of the Union; which
consent of Congress was given upon certain conditions specified in the
Ist and 2d sections of said joint resolutions; and whereas the people of
the said republic of Texas, by deputies in convention did adopt a consti-
tution and [erect] a new State, with a republican form of government,
and in the name of the people of Texas, and by their authority, did ordain
and declare that they assented to and accepted the proposals, conditions,
and guarantees contained in said 1st and 2d sections of said resolutions;
and whereas said constitution, with the proper evidence of its adoption
by the people of the republic of Texas, has been transmitted to the
President of the United States, and laid before Congress, in conformity
to the provision of said joint resolution: Therefore,
Be
it
resolved
by
the
Senate
and
House
of
Representatives
of
the
United
States
of
America
in
Congress
assembled,
That the State of Texas
shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one, of the United States of
America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the
original States, in all respects whatever.
Be
it
further
resolved.
That until the representatives in Congress
shall be apportioned according to the actual enumeration of the inhabit-
ants of the United States, the State of Texas shall be entitled to choose
two representatives.
One of the important causes leading to the annexation of
Texas was the fear on the part of the United States of British
influence in Texas. England had sought to secure Mexican
recognition of Texas' independence on condition that Texas
agree not to become a part of the United States. This suspicion
and resentment of English interference are shown in the fol-
lowing extracts from the New Orleans Daily
Picayune:
There has been some speculation on both sides of the Sabine upon the
object of Captain Elliott's
3 present visit to Texas. That the Captain
was ordered there by his Government there can be no doubt, for "sans
fable" his curiosity has been heretofore so thoroughly exhausted touching
the soil, productions, and people of that State as to preclude all idea of
his having been seduced thither by a thirst for discovery. When the foiled
Minister passed through this city last summer, he brought with him from
the scenes of his defeat no lurking animus
revertendi.
He rejoiced in
his escape from the "infected land" as none have rejoiced since the Exodus
from Egypt. He shook the very dust off his feet in testimony against a
people whom he could not mould to the purposes of his Sovereign, and
vowed upon his "white hat" never to return--if he could help it.
But Capt. Elliott has gone back to Texas. He has been ordered there
by the British Government, for what? Unless something of moment is
to be achieved or attempted, it argues a most cruel and petulant temper
in the English Ministry to despatch his functionary to the very spot
where his diplomacy miscarried so wofully. He has lost the chase; why
whip him in after the death? It has been said that he has gone to Texas
to make a last protest against Annexation. Other accounts attribute his
reappearance in that State to various and contradictory ends. A private
correspondent intimates, upon what he considers credible authority, that
the Captain is instructed to protest against the extension of the revenue
laws of the United States over Texas till the expiration of a treaty which
has some years to run, made between Great Britain and Texas, (whilst
the latter was a separate Sovereignty,) in which certain commercial and
other advantages are secured to the former. This is about as rational a
conjecture in the premises as any we have heard.
But the question arises, what business has Great Britain to send a
Minister to one of the members of this Union? Texas is now an integral
part of the confederacy. If Great Britain has any national affair with
her it must be transacted with the Cabinet of the United States. Bills
have already been passed extending the laws of the Union over the new
acquisition, and customhouse and other revenue officers appointed to see
that they be carried into effect. If Great Britain is not pleased with
this, her complaint is against Congress and the Union. It savors of
impertinence for her to be making protests against the general law to
single members of the Republic. But it is Capt. Elliott's fate to be always
employed in getting up failures. He is a kind of locomotive diplomatic
bankrupt act.
LATER FROM TEXAS:--By the arrival yesterday of the steamship
Galveston, Capt. Wright, we have the Galveston dates up to the 31st ult.
The Galveston News thinks that a public dinner should be given to
Capt. Elliott, the "man with the white hat," before he leaves the country,
as he suffered more
in the cause of annexation than anyone else. The
efforts of Houston, Jones, and Ashbel Smith, to bring about that great
measure, are put down as nothing by the News in comparison with
Elliott's. Complimentary, very,
to the entire quartette.
The Civilian of the 31st ult. has the following which may be important
to the merchants of this city:
"Our commercial friends at New Orleans would do well to remember
that the tariff of Texas is still in operation here, and may be until the
latter part of next month, unless the U. S. Court is organized here in
time to test the question as to the period of its abrogation at an earlier
day."
Problems of economics and politics necessarily developed
when, annexation was completed. As a state, Texas could not
collect a tariff; as a state, she would send representatives to
Washington. The changes are reflected in the following extract:
FROM TEXAS.—The steamship Alabama, Capt. Windle, arrived this
morning, just as our paper was going to press, in twenty-five hours from
Galveston. We are indebted to the clerk of the Alabama for files of
Houston and Galveston papers. The following is the only item of impor-
tance which we find in them.
The Houston Telegraph of the 28th ult. says:
We learn from high authority that President Jones has authorized the Collectors of the
Republic to remit the extra duty of five per cent, on all articles imported from the United
States. He has also directed the Collectors to charge tonnage only on steam vessels accord-
ing to their capacity.
The Hon. T. Pillsbury has been nominated as a candidate for Repre-
sentative to the U. S. Congress for the Western District of Texas.
One of the leading papers in the national capital secured
its Texas commentaries via New Orleans. The National
Intelli
-
gencer
of February 27, 1846, carried the following:
LATEST FROM TEXAS
COMMUNICATED TO THE NEW ORLEANS DELTA.
On board the Steamship Galveston,
New Orleans, Feb. 17th—10 P.M.
GENTLEMEN: I arrived in your city this night, per steamship Gal-
veston, in thirty-four hours from Galveston city, and hasten to lay before
you such items of news as I was able to collect before leaving. From
Houston there was no news of importance, except that Major Cocke,
4
our Collector, had received instructions from his Government to cease the
collection of duties after the 16th; also to our Postmaster to be governed
by any instructions from the authorities of the United States.
On Monday, the 16th, the day that the State Government superseded
our Republican Constitution, we had the pleasure of seeing for the first
time the Star-Spangled Banner waving triumphantly over the Lone-Star
Flag, whose sun had set the day previous, never to rise again. It was a
cheering and beautiful sight to behold this happy change; to witness the
ensign of American freedom floating over our whole land to the Rio
Grande, and the eagle pluming himself for further flight towards the
Pacific; but at the same time I could not but have melancholy reflections
come over my mind when I took a retrospective view of past scenes and
events; as I, like thousands of others of the early settlers of Texas, was
wild and enthusiastic, wishing rather to be separated and detached from
any other Government, relying fully on our own abilities for self-govern-
ment: consequently, under these circumstances, I could not but have a
momentary feeling of sorrow and regret to see our fond hopes thus
disappear forever. The United States flag, hoisted at the "Tremont,"
was the signal of great rejoicing, and I have no doubt the day was cele-
brated in a becoming manner.
Among the passengers in the Galveston was Capt. Elliot, who had taken
formal leave of the Texas Government.
Galveston is in a highly flourishing condition—new enterprises are
going forward every day. The subject of education is awakening a lively
interest among our citizens, and throughout our State.
[no signature]
New Orleans Picayune items dealing with Texans generally,
their schools, manners, entertainment, and, incidentally, the
transfer of Texas to the United States.
Copied from N. 0. Picayune,
Feb. 22.
By the arrival, last evening, of the steamship Alabama, Capt. Windle,
we have Galveston dates up to the 19th inst.
Verbally we learn that the revenue laws and regulations of the United
States went into operation at Galveston on the 17th inst., the Texas laws
in the matter ending the day previous. The Alabama was the first vessel
entered in Texas under the United States laws.
The public school system is about to be established in Galveston, as
we learn under favorable auspices. [N. Y. Tribune, Boston Atlas, and
New England papers generally will please notice.]
The Swiss Bell Ringers have been highly successful at Galveston,
drawing forth the warmest encomiums from the press. They had given
three concerts to full houses, and were about leaving for Houston when
the Alabama sailed.
The local intelligence is of little or no importance. The following letter,
from a friend of ours who has just landed in Texas, thinking he was
entering a country of semi-barbarians, will open the eyes of some of
those who have made it a point to decry that country upon any and
every occasion:
Galveston, Feb. 19, 1846
Friend
Pic:
--I freely confess that I have never been more agreeably mistaken at any
thing I have met in my travels, than I am at the society, habits, and conditions of this
city. Instead of a rough, licentious, and illiterate population, such as the Northern and
Eastern people are in the habit of describing the people of Texas, I find a more open-
hearted, hospitable set of people than any I ever met in the older States ; and I will stake
my head and hat that for good breeding and general information, they equal any population
of the same number that can be scared up.
How some folks, who talk of Texas as a spot outside of civilization, would open their eyes
were they to visit the Tremont House, here, and see Capt. Seymour, the gentlemanly and
affable host, heading a table groaning under the weight of good things, and surrounded by
as fair women, and fine looking men as we can find in any city, or in any land. I have
said a good many bad things about Texas when
I
didn't
know
any
thing
about
it;
but I
recant, I take all back.
Nobody here believes the rumor about Mexican invasion, recently brought to Corpus
Christi, but think it all a ruse, to sell a large lot of mules for the use of the army--said
mules having recently arrived there.--You will hear from me again.
The Picayune
gave Texas almost as complete coverage as did
the Texas papers. The following article tells of the organization
and inauguration of the new government and serves as an
excellent introduction to the copies of the addresses of Anson
Jones and James Pinckney Henderson and the Telegraph
and
Texas
Register
editorial which follow.
By the arrival yesterday of the steamship Galveston, Capt. Wright,
we have Galveston dates up to the 28th ult., and from Austin, the seat
of Government of Texas, to the 20th.
Washington's birth-day was duly commemorated by the citizens of
Houston, Messrs. J. W. Henderson and Abner Cooke, jr., having made
speeches on the occasion.
It is thought the Hon. Volney E. Howard, of San Antonio de Bexar,
will be nominated for the office of Attorney General of the State of Texas;
Hon. John Hemphill, Chief Justice; Hon. Abner S. Lipscomb and Hon.
R. T. Wheeler, Associate Justices.
The "Army of Occupation" still remained encamped at Corpus Christi
as late as the 19th inst. There were rumors afloat that some of the
reconnoitering parties sent out towards the Rio Grande had met and had
a brush with the Mexicans, but these reports are not credited. The
publication of the Corpus Christi Gazette is to be continued after the
removal of the army.
The news by this arrival, other than that from Austin, is of not the
least importance. We give two letters from our correspondent at the seat
of Government of the new State, giving the proceedings thus far in the
Legislature:
Austin, Feb. 18th, 1846.
Gentlemen
--As every important occurrence in this region, in the present
interesting crisis in the affairs of Texas, may be presumed to possess
considerable interest to your readers, I will proceed to give you a synopsis
of the proceedings in the legislative halls of the new State during the
first days of the session.
On Monday, the 16th, agreeably to the proclamation of the President,
nearly every member of both Houses had arrived, and proceeded to
organize. In the Senate, the fine old hero and popular favorite, Gen. Ed.
Burleson, was elected President pro
tem.,
without opposition. The Speaker
of the House is the Hon. W. E. Crump, of Austin county. After the
election of the clerks, &c, the only other business transacted was the
appointment of joint committees to wait upon the Governor elect, and
inform him of his election; who reported that he had fixed upon Thursday,
the 19th, for his inauguration. After the House had elected the Rev. Wm.
Morrell their chaplain, and the eccentric Senator Williamson had succeeded
in demolishing a resolution to elect a similar functionary in the Senate,
both Houses adjourned till the time fixed for the inauguration.
Gen. Darnell, the Lieut. Governor elect, has not yet arrived. The counting
of the votes polled for Governor and Lieut. Governor, by the Speaker of
the House, as prescribed by the Constitution, gave the following result:
For
Governor—
Henderson, 8,190; Miller, 1,672.
For Lieut. Governor--Darnell, 4,319; Horton, 4,271.
The small majority in favor of Gen. Darnell, has occasioned general
surprise: as it has heretofore been supposed that he would come out
about 900 or 1000 ahead of his opponent. The Chief Justices of the
counties of Bastrop, Brazos, Jackson, Jefferson, and I believe one or two
others, neglected to make any returns of the election; otherwise, it is
said, A. C. Horton would have been elected Lieut. Governor by about 200
majority. It is considered probable that Gen. Darnell, upon being ac-
quainted with these circumstances, will decline entering upon his office
without a new election, in which event we shall probably remain without
a Lieut. Governor during the first gubernatorial term. I however dissent
from this opinion, and can see no good reason why he should do so.
The eyes of the Coloradians have been gladdened by the sight, for the
first time, of a steamboat ascending their beautiful river. The steamer
Kate Ward, built for Messrs. Ward & Co., of Matagorda, for the navi-
gation of the Colorado, above the raft, arrived without difficulty at Bastrop
on the 16th inst. She is expected here in a day or two.
There is no other news. Everything in this section gives evidence of
the most abundant prosperity, and betokens the dawning of a new era
indeed for Texas. The city is full, crammed with strangers from all
parts; and the accomodations at the hotels for the multitude are unlimited
--only three,
and as many more as can squeeze, in being expected to
occupy each bed.
Yours, &c.
Paul.
Austin, Feb. 19, 1846
Gentlemen—
As previously arranged, the inauguration of the Governor
took place to-day, at 12 o'clock, in presence of both houses, and a large
concourse of ladies, citizens, officers of the U. S. army, &c. The ceremony
throughout was solemn and imposing in the highest degree. It took place
in the piazza of the Capitol, in the centre of which was a platform, orna-
mented with a portrait of the venerable Austin, the national colors,
trophies of San Jacinto, &c. The proceedings were opened with a prayer
by the Rev. R. E. B. Baylor, in words of most thrilling eloquence, which
readily awakened feelings of thankfulness and gratitude to the Supreme
Governor whom he addressed in the heart of every auditor. President
Jones then came forward and delivered his valedictory address, which
you will find accompanying. His remarks were interrupted by frequent
bursts of applause from persons of all parties, which, however, were
promptly suppressed, as ill according with the solemnity of the occasion.
The oath of office was then administered to Gen. J. P. Henderson, the
Governor elect, by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
banner of the Republic descended from its position above the Capitol,
to give place to the Stars and Stripes, and a peal of artillery announced
that the Republic no longer existed, and that the Annexation of Texas
to the Union was complete.
Additional returns of the election have been received, which make
Horton's majority about 600. Neither Horton nor Darnell have arrived,
and how the matter is to be settled I do not know.
The Inaugural Ball last night was a very brilliant affair; but as I
suppose you have seen many other equally brilliant, I need not take the
trouble to describe it.
The election for U. S. Senator will probably take place on Saturday
the 21st inst. Gens. Houston and Rusk will be elected, it having been
determined, I learn, not to nominate any others.
Col. Wm. G. Cook is a candidate, at the request of his friends, for
Representative in the U. S. Congress, from the Western District of Texas.
Yours &c
Paul.
The valedictory of President Jones is written with dignity, much
feeling, and in a patriotic spirit. He congratulates the country upon the
peaceful consummation of Annexation--"an event the most extraordinary
in the annals of the world." He pronounces the dissolution of the "Republic"
of Texas with a full sense of the higher blessings to be derived from
merging into the American Union, and then cheerfully surrenders the
great trusts committed to him.
Gov. Henderson's inaugural address is conceived in a pure spirit of
patriotism. The author is impressed with a profound sense of the respon-
sibilities of Texas, as a new member of the Union, and of himself, as her
first executive officer. In due time he will recommend measures for the
action of the Legislature, as he is required by the Constitution. He con-
cludes thus:
We have this day fully entered the Union of the North American
States--let us give our friends who so boldly and nobly advocated our
cause, and the friends of American liberty, no reason to regret their
efforts in our behalf. Henceforth the prosperity of our sister states will
be our prosperity--their happiness our happiness--their quarrels will
be our quarrels, and in their wars we will freely participate.
PRESIDENT JONES'
VALEDICTORY ADDRESS.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
The great measure of annexation, so earnestly desired by the people
of Texas is happily consummated. The present occasion so full of interest
to us and to all the people of this country, is an earnest of that con-
summation, and I am happy to greet you as their chosen representatives
and tender to you my cordial congratulations on an event the most
extraordinary in the annals of the world, and one which marks a bright
triumph in the history of republican institutions. A government is
changed both in its officers and in its organic law—not by violence and
disorder, but by the deliberate and free consent of its citizens, and amid
the most perfect and universal peace and tranquility, the sovereignty of
the nation is surrendered, and incorporated with that of another.
There is no precedent for this, and hence forward "Annexation" is a
word of new import in the political vocabulary of America, to form a
subject for the speculations of the Statesman and the intellectual labors
of the Sage. Nations have generally extended their dominions by conquest;
their march to power involving bloodshed and ruin, and their attainment of
it often followed by suffering and calamity to a despairing and subjugated
people. It was left for the Anglo-American inhabitants of the western
Continent to furnish a new mode of enlarging the bounds of empire, by
the more natural tendency and operation of the principles of their free
government. Whatever objections may have been heretofore urged to the
territorial enlargment of the Union, those objections must now be regarded
as overruled and as being without practical effect. Annexation is the
natural consequence resulting from congenial impulses and sympathies,
and the operation and influence of like sympathies and impulses is destined,
as soon as can be important or necessary to settle all conflicts in relation
to the claim of the United States to any territory now in dispute on this
continent.
In accordance with the provisions of the new Constitution adopted in
the Convention, called by me on the 4th of July last, a State government
is now perfectly and fully organized, and I, as President of the Republic,
with my officers, am now present to surrender into the hands of those
whom the people have chosen, the power and the authority which we
have for some time held. This surrender is made with the most perfect
cheerfulness, and in respectful submission to the public will. For my
individual part, I beg leave further to add that the only motive which
has heretofore actuated me in consenting to hold high and responsible
office in this my adopted and beloved country, has been to aid, by the best
exertions of such abilities as I possessed, in extricating her from her
difficulties and to place her in some safe and secure condition, where she
might be relieved from the long pressure of the past and repose from
the toils, the sufferings and threatened dangers which have surrounded
her. I have considered annexation on favorable terms as the most secure
and advantageous measure for Texas, and as affording the best prospect
for the attainment of the object I had in view, and have, accordingly, in
different capacities labored most assiduously to open the door in the
United States to its accomplishment. In this I succeeded. I sincerely wish
the terms could have been made more advantageous, me to definite and
less fraught with subjects of future dispute; but as they proved entirely
acceptable to a vast majority of my fellow citizens, I felt it to be my
imperative duty, so soon as that fact was known, faithfully and promptly
to carry into full effect the will and the wishes of the people. This I have
done, and in the execution of this work, I am happy to add, I have
received the cordial support and co-operation of every member of my
cabinet, and of every officer of the government at home and abroad, whose
services I have had occasion to employ in connexion with it. Annexation
has met with no impediment in Texas, nor has any been attempted by
the Government, and I believe I am justifiable in saying that it has been
accomplished in the very safest and best manner practicable, and at the
very earliest possible period of time; I know of no course which could
have been adopted which would have effected this object one single day
earlier. In the mean time I have obtained from Mexico a formal acknowl-
edgment of our national independence, thereby removing the principal
objection to the measure on the part of the United States.
qualified than myself who will take care of her interests, the motive to
which I have alluded as having actuated me in holding office, is no longer
operative, and in retiring now to private life, I but indulge my individual
wishes, and I lay down the honors and the cares of the Presidency with
infinitely more of personal gratification than I assumed them. The
confidence and the favors which the partiality of my fellow citizens has
bestowed upon me, merits and receives my gratitude and my heartfelt
thanks. Whatever injustice may have been done me, in moments of
excitement, I indulge the belief that when correct information is dis-
seminated in regard to my whole course, the public mind will settle down
into proper conclusions, and that my fellow citizens will then judge me
rightly. At least, I have the approbation of my own conscience, a reward
in itself above all price, and repose upon the assured belief that history
and posterity will do me no wrong.
I am happy to congratulate you, gentlemen upon the universally
prosperous condition of our country at the present time. Our foreign
relations have all been closed in a manner satisfactory, I believe, to all
the governments with which we have had intercourse. The frontier is
quiet and secure, and the husbandman sows and reaps his fields in peace.
Industry and enterprise have received new guaranties and a new impulse
--a market is found at home for nearly every thing our citizens have
to dispose of, and a large and very desirable immigration to the country
is now taking place. The expenses of the government since I have been
in office, have all been paid in an undepreciated currency—a very con-
siderable amount of debt incurred by previous administrations has been
paid off, and a surplus of available means sufficient to defray the expenses
of the government, economically administered, for the next two years, at
least, is left at the disposition of the State; and I venture the belief
that, without resort to taxation, the public domain, if properly husbanded
and disposed of, will raise a fund sufficient to liquidate the entire national
debt upon equitable principles, besides providing for the future support
of the State government, a system of common schools and other institutions
for the intellectual, moral and religious improvement of the rising gen-
eration. With such a population as Texas possesses, characterized as it
is with great intelligence and enterprize, and with such elements of
prosperity as she now possesses a genial climate and a fertile soil, it
will be her own fault if she does not reach an importance and a social
elevation, not surpassed by any community on earth.
Detailed reports from all the different departments and bureaux, show-
ing the transactions of the government since the last annual meeting of
Congress, are made out and will be handed to His Excellency the Governor,
for transmission in due time to your honorable bodies. The information
which these contain will show the manner in which the public affairs
have been conducted since I came into office, and constitute in part the
neessary data upon which to predicate your future action. It does not
come within the province of my appropriate duty to make any suggestions
or recommend any measures for your consideration. This task now belongs
to another, and will, I am well satisfied, be discharged with zeal, faith-
fulness and ability. I may, however, express the fervent hope which I
have, that your important deliberations, commenced under such favorable
auspices, may result in the promotion of the permanent welfare of the
State of Texas, and that your labors may be crowned with abundant
blessings.
The Lone Star of Texas, which ten years since arose amid clouds,
over fields of carnage, and obscurely shone for a while, has culminated,
and, following an inscrutiable destiny, has passed on and become fixed
forever in that glorious constellation which all freemen and lovers of
freedom in the world must reverence and adore, the American Union.
Blending its rays with its sister stars, long may it continue to shine, and
may a gracious Heaven smile upon this consummation of the wishes of
the two Republics, now joined together in one. "May the Union be
perpetuated, and may it be the means of conferring benefits and blessings
upon the people of all the States," is my ardent prayer.
The final act in this great drama is now performed--The Republic
of Texas is no more.
GOVERNOR HENDERSON'S
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Gentlemen of the Senate
and House of Representatives:
This day, and within this very hour, has been consumated the great
work of annexation. This consumation, it seems to me, should be a full
compensation to our citizens for all their toils and sufferings endured for
ten long years. Our hearts should be full of gratitude to the Giver of
all good, for the many favors he has bestowed upon us, at all times and
under all circumstances. In the beginning of our revolution when the
frowns of the world were upon us, His protecting arm shielded us from
danger; and now at its close, when we have so happily completed our
labors and attracted the attention of the principal nations of the earth,
He is still with us. Who can look back upon our history and not be fully
and deeply impressed with the consideration that the arm of the Deity
has shielded our nation, and His justice and wisdom guided us in our
path? It is, therefore, our duty, in deep humility, to make our acknowl-
edgements for His many favors.
It is with a deep sense of the responsibility which I have incurred, that
I now enter upon the duties of the station which my fellow citizens have
called me to fill. This station and this responsibility my own disposition
did not lead me to seek, and I can only hope to be able to discharge the
duties which have thus devolved upon me, in a manner satisfactory to
my country, by the aid of the representatives of the people, who will,
I feel assured, act with wisdom and harmony. If there has heretofore
existed any cause of dispute or difference between the different sections
of our country, in regard to the policy most proper to be pursued, surely
there is now no cause for disunion, since we have the protecting arm of
the United States thrown around us, and can repose quietly under her
broad banner. Let us then, I beseech you, commence our existence as a
state of this great Union in the spirit of harmony and forebearance, and
act our parts throughout as becomes the agents of a free, enlightened,
Christian people. . .. ..
By our Constitution, which has been freely and fully approved by the
almost unanimous voice of the people, more power and patronage are given
to the executive than is given by most other States of the union to their
executives; and the merits of the system which we have adopted will
greatly depend upon the prudence, impartiality and wisdom with which
the executive exercises those powers conferred upon him by our consti-
tution. As far as my actions are concerned, I can only promise that I will
endeavor to act cautiously and impartially, guided by whatever judgment
I may be able to command, having in view, only, the public good. Regard-
ing a good judiciary as one of the main stays of our constitutional liberties,
it is my anxious wish to see that department of our government placed
upon the best possible footing. Judges who are possessed of violent political
party prejudices are dangerous in any state. In exercising the veto power,
conferred upon me by the constitution, I shall feel constrained, as a general
rule, to confine it to arresting the passage of unconstitutional laws, and
such laws as are calculated in my opinion to impair public confidence and
embarrass the revenues of the State.
This is not a proper time for me to advert to measures which it may
seem to me should be acted upon by the Legislature—that I will do in a
short time, in making to you the communication required of me by the
Constitution.
We have this day fully entered the Union of the North America States
—let us give our friends who so boldly and nobly advocated our cause, and
the friends of American liberty, no reason to regret their efforts in our
behalf. Henceforth the prosperity of our sister states will be our pros-
perity—their happiness our happiness—their quarrels will be our quarrels,
and in their wars we will freely participate.
The Ninth Anniversary of the National Independence of Texas has
just passed by, but ere it dawned Texas had ceased to exist as a Nation.
When we turn to the pages of history, we find them teeming with lamenta-
tions over the fall of nations. The extinguishment of the independence
of any nation, has hitherto been regarded as the worst calamity thai
could befall it, and it has generally been effected only by bloodshed anc
carnage, and heralded by the groans and lamentations of a humbled
spirit-broken people; but the Independence of Texas passed away amic
the joyous acclamations of her citizens, and the event is hailed as the
dayspring of her future glory and greatness. We have seen within the
year just past one mighty nation yielding its assent to the admission of
another nation into its bosom, and have seen that Union effected with
order, concord, and peace, and amid the almost universal rejoicings of
the people of each country. When has the world witnessed a similar
event? Ancient and modern history show no evidence of a similar char-
acter. It is the great event of the age, and has excited the astonishment
and admiration of the civilized world. The Monarchs of the Old World
have beheld it with fear and trembling. They have hitherto deceived
themselves with the belief that man is incapable of self government; and
they have long been looking forward with confidence to the day when
the predictions of the Philosophers who have prophesied to please Princes,
would be fulfilled, and the Glorious Republic of Washington would fall
to pieces like a fabric of sand. But they have seen that Republic extending
and yet gaining more and more strength year after year, and now they
behold it towering in strength and beauty, and evincing a stability
enduring as the rock of ages. They have idly talked of the Balance of
Power and have formed combinations to prevent one nation from becoming
so powerful as to overawe another. They forgot that power belonged to
the people, that their thrones rested merely upon the will of the governed.
They have fondly hoped that by keeping the governed in ignorance they
could compel them to aid in riveting the chains of monarchy upon their
own necks. But we see in the Annexation of Texas to the Union a new
cause of alarm. They have for the first time seen the governed rising
in their majesty, and directing the governors as their agents to yield
up their authority and permit the government of a foreign state to
supplant their own. Well may they fear for the safety of their thrones
when they find that their subjects can at any time rise in a similar
manner, and direct them to lay down their usurped authority and transfer
the government to other hands. Such are the effects of the institutions
founded by the Fathers of the American Constitution, that even foreign
nations will doubtless be attracted like Texas to the great Confederacy.
These institutions are designed to promote the interests of the greatest
number and to protect the rights of all. Wherever they are extended they
give security, peace and protection. Nations in which these institutions
are founded, or where a majority of the people approve them, will
naturally incline to coalesce from the same principle that men in a state
of nature incline to associate and form communities. Hitherto the larger
communities which are styled nations have been induced through the
ambition and selfishness of their rulers, to view each other with suspicion
or hatred, and it has been the chief aim of governments to foster these
prejudices and induce neighboring nations to regard each other as enemies.
But the institutions founded by American Statesmen are exploding these
debasing doctrines and inculcating principles more in accordance with
the precepts of the Gospel. Nations like individuals are taught by these
to "love one another," and the divine precept "love thy neighbor as
thyself" is becoming applicable to nations as it has heretofore been to
individuals. The Annexation of Texas to the American Union may there-
fore be regarded as one of the most glorious triumphs of Christianity:
for it has been effected through the operations of the most enobling
principles of pure religion. It may be regarded as the first of the mighty
series of events foretold by the inspired prophets, and it heralds forth in
glorious characters the advent of that long sighed for period when nations
shall learn war no more. No armies were required to effect this Union,
no navies laden with the dread implements of war; but it was consummated
in a season of profound tranquillity and peace. Thus may we hope will
the future changes of governments be effected: and the will of the gov-
erned, and not the will of the governors, control (under Providence) the
destiny of nations.
Not only did Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Washington
papers comment on annexation, but even one in New England,
stronghold of anti-recognition and anti-annexation sentiment,
carried an account of the addition of the new state.
The Legislature of the State of Texas met for the first time at Austin
on the 16th ult. The votes for Governor were counted on the 17th and
Mr. Henderson had 8199 out of 9871, and was inaugurated on the 19th.
The official return of votes for Lieut. Governor gave 4319 votes for
Darnell, and 4271 for Horton. Gen. Darnell was of course declared
elected, but because in some half dozen counties from which no returns
were received, his opponent is known to have received a majority of
some 600 votes, it is supposed that he will not accept office.
Preparations were made for this event, by decorating the Capitol with
flags, &c. Their Excellencies, the President, and Governor elect, made
their appearance attended by a joint committee of both Houses, and
escorted by the U. S. officers of this station.
After being introduced, seated, &c, a prayer rich with the fervor of
the Christian Patriot, was made by the Hon. R. E. B. Baylor.
The President then arose and delivered his Valedictory. He was loudly
applauded. The oath of office was administered to the Governor by the
Speaker of the House, and the inaugural followed. During the whole
time of enacting these matters, the most intense emotion thrilled every
bosom--tears crept unconsciously from the eye of many a weather beaten
Texan, who had toiled and suffered, and bled to establish an independent
government--to win freedom for a people, who were now being stricken
from the roll of nations: they seemed to feel as if the Republic of Texas
was indeed "no more." She is secure in the enjoyment of all that a
patriot could wish; her destiny is united to that of the mightiest people
on earth. Her watchword must be "Union" and her progress will be
"onward."
Thus did the newspapers, local and national, record the pass-
ing of the Republic of Texas and the arrival of the twenty-
eighth state of the American union.
FOOTNOTES:
to Texas in 1839. In Texas he was commissioned as commandant of the
Galveston Navy Yard. See Amelia Williams and E. C. Barker (eds.),
The Writings of Sam Houston, II, 250.
To the Right Honourable
The Earl of Aberdeen, K.T.
3Captain (Sir Charles) Elliot (1801-1875) was charge d'affaires from
Great Britain to the Republic of Texas from his appointment, August 4,
1841, until Texas was annexed and he was recalled, April 3, 1846. His
consular despatches were not numerous and were usually merely formal
reports of his presence at his post. The following letter is his statement
putting a period to his Texas mission:
Galveston.
Feby. 16th. 1846
The Government of this Republic will be dissolved this day, and suffering from a recent
attack of indisposition I take the liberty to proceed to New Orleans for change of air, and
wait there for my next instructions from Her Majesty's Government unless any thing
should transpire in the mean time requiring my return to this place.
Charles Elliot.
See Ephraim Douglass Adams, "British Correspondence Concerning
Texas," Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XXI, 189.
29, 1844. Amelia Williams and E. C. Barker (eds.), The Writings of Sam
Houston, III, 70.
General J. Pinckney Henderson
J. Pinckney Henderson, the one hundredth anniversary of
whose inauguration as the first governor of Texas will be cele-
brated early next year, February 19, 1946, was at the time of
his death, in 1858, the acknowledged leader of the Texas bar.
His career was one of the most distinguished and useful in the
entire annals of Texas. While the story of his life reads like
best-seller fiction, it is, in fact, important and authentic history.
Born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, March 31, 1808, the
son of Lawson Henderson and Elizabeth Carruth, he was pre-
pared for college at the Lincoln Academy, attended the Uni-
versity of North Carolina, and began the practice of law in
his native state.
Coming to Texas in 1836 at the head of volunteer troops,
which he had organized and equipped at his own expense, to
fight for the independence of our people, he was commissioned,
by the government ad interim, brigadier general in the army.
A few months later, upon the organization of the permanent
government of the Republic of Texas, President Sam Houston
appointed him attorney-general of the young nation; and in
December, 1836, upon the death of Stephen F. Austin, he was
named secretary of state. His administration of the foreign
affairs of the republic, an important part of the work of the
government in the early years, was marked by vision and skill.
In the latter part of 1837 he was named envoy extraordinary
and minister plenipotentiary to England and to France, and
through his exertions both of these great governments entered
into cordial treaty relations with the new nation.
His eminent talents and noble bearing and the fidelity and zeal with
which he urged the claims of his country to a place among the nations
engaged for him a warm personal consideration. His appeals for the
recognition of that independence which Texas had so nobly achieved fell
in stirring strains upon the proud ears of the great statesmen and diplo-
matists who at that time adorned the courts of St. James and St. Cloud.
It is said that in Paris he was looked upon as a new apparition of Amer-
ican glory, as another Franklin, fresh from the cradle of liberty.
In 1843 General Henderson was made special minister pleni-
potentiary to the United States, being sent to Washington to
negotiate the treaty of annexation. He was successful in his
negotiations in that the President of the United States and his
secretary of state signed the treaty with him; but, as has hap-
pened in modern instances, the Senate of the United States
failed to ratify it. Whereupon, annexation became the leading-
issue in the presidential campaign which was just opening.
Returning to Texas, General Henderson resumed the prac-
tice of law. When the annexation of Texas was consummated,
by a joint resolution passed by the two houses of Congress
instead of by a treaty ratified by the Senate, and a constitutional
convention was called in Texas to frame a state government,
he was elected a member and played a conspicuous part in the
deliberations and writing of the constitution of the new state,
a document which has been acclaimed a model of its kind.
Upon the admission of Texas as a state in the American
Union, General Henderson was elected the first governor of
the new commonwealth and was inaugurated February 19, 1846.
Soon, a requisition was made upon Texas, in consequence of
the Mexican War, for troops to aid General Zachary Taylor.
The troops of Texas were called out, and, by a resolution of
the legislature, Governor Henderson was authorized to assume
their personal command at the battle front, which he did. He
served with distinction and was commissioned major general
in the United States Army. For conspicuous gallantry in the
Battle of Monterey, the Congress of the United States gave him
a vote of thanks and awarded him a jewelled sword of honor,
the prized possession today of his great-grandson. Following
the battle of Monterey, he was named by General Zachary
Taylor one of three commissioners on the part of the American
army to negotiate the articles of surrender of the Mexican
army under General Ampudia, the other commissioners being
General Worth, for whom the Texas city of Fort Worth was
named, and Colonel Jefferson Davis of the First Mississippi
regiment.
Upon his return from the war, General Henderson resumed
the duties of governor, rendering a service of far-reaching
consequence in that early day of beginnings. Declining a second
term, he again resumed the practice of law and through the
years by his ability and eloquence, his high integrity and mag-
netic personality, won the undisputed leadership of the Texas
bar.
lowing year in Washington, shortly after reaching his fiftieth
birthday. He was accorded a state funeral in the Senate Cham-
ber in the Capitol, attended by members of the Senate and
House, the President of the United States and his cabinet, the
Diplomatic Corps, Supreme Court of the United States, ranking
officers of the army and navy, and a host of sorrowing friends.
Eulogies were pronounced in Congress by several of the greatest
statesmen of the day. Interment was in the Congressional
Cemetery. Years later the body was taken to Texas and re-
interred with high honors in the State Cemetery in Austin.
General Henderson and Miss Frances Cox, of Philadelphia,
were married in St. George's Church in London, October 30,
1839, while he was in the diplomatic service. The following
year the Hendersons returned to their home in Texas, to their
white-pillared home in San Augustine, where eighteen happy
years were spent and where their children were born. Mrs.
Henderson, educated in Philadelphia and abroad and widely
travelled, was a woman of great accomplishments and charm.
The first chatelaine of the Governor's Mansion in Texas, she
was, from all contemporary accounts, beloved for her qualities
of heart and mind.
In connection with the death of Senator J. Pinckney Hen-
derson, the following may be worthy of note.
Sam Houston, of Texas
Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi
John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky-
David S. Reid, of North Carolina
Arthur P. Hayne, of South Carolina
William H. Seward, of New York
Guy M. Bryan, of Texas
John A. Quitman, of Mississippi
The Committee of Arrangements for the funeral, named by
the Senate, was as follows:
James A. Bayard, of Delaware
Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania
Henry Clay, of Kentucky
Benjamin F. Wade, of Ohio
James H. Hammond, of South Carolina
William H. Seward, of New York
Pallbearers, chosen from the Senate, were:
Albert G. Brown, of Mississippi
James F. Simmons, of Rhode Island
Thomas L. Clingman, of North Carolina
Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois
Graham N. Pitch, of Indiana
Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts
At a time when sectional feelings ran high one seeking
absolute impartiality in appraisal might discount what was
said of Senator Henderson from the Southern side; so the
following is given--a part of the remarks of William H. Seward,
Senator from New York.
If anything on this occasion has seemed to me more worthy of remark
than another, it is, that although Senator Henderson was yet a young
man, he had been a most successful and fortunate man, and, at the same
time, a type of the public man of America. In listening to the eulogiums
which have been pronounced upon him, I have been surprised as they
have followed him from the bar to the head of a brigade, from the head
of a brigade into the cabinet of his State, from the cabinet into a foreign
mission, from the foreign mission back to the bar, from the bar, flushed
with success, transferred again to the diplomatic corps--the ambassador
of his State to foreign lands, the ambassador of his State to form a union
with the United States--thence back again to the bar, then a member of
the constitutional convention -to frame the organic law for his State, then
the Governor of that yet new but already great State, then a major
general in the Federal service, and, finally, a Senator in the Congress of
the United States. It is a singular and a successful career for a revo-
lutionary man, a man who has spent his whole life in revolutionary times.
It was his felicity, one which rarely happens to revolutionary men, that
he did not survive either the fortune of his State or its favor.
Notes on Early Steamboating on the Rio Grande
The earliest effort at steamboat navigation of the Rio
Grande, above Matamoros, was that by Henry Austin in 1829.
He brought to the Rio Grande a stout, well built steamboat
called the Ariel,
and operated it between Matamoros and
Camargo for several months. Henry Austin had an irascible
disposition, and the easy going business methods of the inhab-
itants did not appeal to him. Austin quarreled with the mu-
nicipal authorities of the communities he was serving; and
there is a story that an ordinance of either Reynosa or Camargo
forbade steamboats to tie up within the municipal limits, on
the ground that the gases from their smokestacks were dele-
terious to the inhabitants' health. Since the Ariel
was of
too deep draft for successful navigation of the Rio Grande,
Austin gave up after a few months and took the Ariel
north
where she was lost within the year on Galveston Bay.
Mirabeau B. Lamar, whose flair for assembling historical
facts was as remarkable as was his inability to use them, notes
(evidently from information obtained from Henry Austin):
Captain Henry Austin was the first man to introduce a steamboat into
Texas. He had been a year in enterprising projects on Del Norte. He
had taken a steamboat there with a view of opening trade with Chihuahua.
He expended a large amount of money; effected little [see General Austin's
letter to him about the navigation of Del Norte], and then came around
to the mouth of the Brazos, and ascended to Brazoria with his boat. This
was the first on this river, as it had been the first on the Del Norte.
1
Egerton, English surveyor for the Grant and Beale's Colony,
reporting in 1834 implies that there was another attempt at
Rio Grande navigation soon after Austin's departure, but of
this I have found no other account. Egerton says:
The course of the Rio Grande from the Dolores Ferry [above modern
Eagle Pass] to a short distance below the town of Loredo is in various
placed more or less impeded at low water by rocks ... at about two
leagues below the Presidio del Rio Grande, one of the ledges traverses
the river, in an oblique direction, from one bank to the other . . . imme-
diately below this the river, for about half a league, is turned into a
variety of channels by a vast number of islands, from whence this place
is called Las Islitas. . . . Having passed the great ledge, deep water
is at once found, a channel which leads by a tortuous route through Las
Islitas, completely avoiding the numerous minor ledges. ... A short
distance below Loredo is another great ledge, traversing the river in a
similar way, from bank to bank. . . . Having reached this far, the Gulf
of Mexico may be gained without further impediment or difficulty, beyond
a necessary knowledge of the river, as in the Mississippi. . . . Above
the Dolores Ferry, I am disposed to believe that the river is perfectly
open into Chihuahua and New Mexico. I do not, however, speak from
personal observation, as I do respecting the lower river. ... A few
years since a steamboat ascended the river to the lower great ledge,
but, the water being rather low, the captain was reluctant to pass it,
although there was sufficient depth, fearful lest he be left on the upper
side, in case the river fell. The steamboat was of ordinary construction,
as was another which had previously ascended above Camargo.
2
It is certain that there was no practical or commercial
navigation above Matamoros until after the occupation of that
city by General Zachary Taylor in May, 1846. General Taylor
importuned the quartermaster general for light steamboats;
several of these were purchased at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
by Major John Saunders, of the quartermaster's department,
and transported to the Rio Grande, in June, 1846. Among the
earliest arrivals, were the Corvette,
Whitesville,
Major
Brown,
and Colonel
Cross.
Mifflin Kenedy, who had assisted Saunders
in making his purchases, brought out the Corvette.
Samuel
C. Reid, in Scouting
Expedition
s
of
McCulluch's
Rangers,
3
describes the voyage of the steamboat J.
E.
Roberts,
much
overloaded, which left Matamoros for Camargo, July 13, 1846.
This boat grounded the afternoon of July 15, fifteen miles
above Reynosa, and was rescued by the steamboat Brownsville,
voyaging downstream. General Taylor and staff travelled from
Matamoros to Camargo, aboard the Corvette,
at about the same
time. Reid also relates that a number of McCulloch's rangers,
mustered out of service at Monterrey, September 30, 1846,
made their way from Camargo to Matamoros, aboard the
steamboat Whitesville,
which cleared from Camargo, October 10.
At about the same time General Patterson, commanding on
the Rio Grande, sent the Major
Brown
above Camargo, on a
trial voyage. Concerning this exploration of the river, John
Russell Bartlett, the first United States Boundary Commis-
sioner, said:
In October, 1846, a successful attempt was made to ascend the Rio
Grande in the United States steamer Major Brown, by order of General
Patterson, with a view to ascertain whether or not it were possible to
open a communication between Carmargo and the Presidio del Norte.
This vessel drew but two feet of water. She experienced few obstacles
in reaching the river Salado, nearly a hundred miles by water above
Mier. Above this there was a series of continued shoals, rocks and rapids,
among which the boat repeatedly grounded. She at length reached Laredo,
a town about six hundred miles by water above the mouth of the river.
4
Because of a fall in the river while the Major
Brown,
Mark
Sterling, master, was at Laredo, the steamboat was tied up
there for several months.
5
The military need for navigation on the Rio Grande ended July
4,1848, with the promulgation of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidal-
go, and the river boats then being operated were sold by the
quartermaster to Charles Stillman, Matamoros merchant and
founder of the new town of Brownsville, as a river port, on
the American side. Stillman's steamboating was, to him, dis-
appointing. The boats were not well designed for Rio Grande
service, besides having been rather well used up. Stillman
thought his Brownsville-Matamoros ferry a more profitable
venture; and two of the veteran river boats, the Whitesville
and the Frankland,
were abandoned at Brownsville in a way that
blocked the only available ferry landing which Stillman did not
control. The ships were removed in December, 1849, by the sher-
iff of Cameron County on order of the commissioners' court.
Mifflin Kenedy, meantime, had quit the steamboating which
brought him to the Rio Grande for a commercial venture in
the Mexican trade. Stillman's steamboating was, for the most
part, conducted by river-boat captains James O'Donnell and
Richard King. King, an experienced young steamboatman on
shallow Southern rivers, entered the government service on
the Rio Grande in 1847 as pilot of the Corvette,
of which
Mifflin Kenedy was master. Later he became master of the
Colonel
Cross.
Stillman, anxious to be rid of a losing venture,
sought to interest Mifflin Kenedy in his line of steamboats,
and Kenedy sought counsel and assistance from O'Donnell and
the practical King. King was convinced that Rio Grande navi-
gation could be made profitable only by constructing new types
of boats, especially designed for Rio Grande conditions: stout
side-wheelers, of five hundred tons burden to handle traffic in
the open Gulf, from the ocean port at Brazos de Santiago to
deep water above the mouth of the Rio Grande, and light
draft stern-wheelers of two hundred tons burden, to operate
from Brownsville and Matamoros upstream. The new partner-
ship of "M. Kenedy & Co.," composed of Kenedy, King, O'Don-
nell, and Stillman, was organized in 1850 to build and operate
boats of these new types. O'Donnell sold his interest to Kenedy
in 1852. M. Kenedy & Co., as thus reorganized, continued to
operate twenty-six boats in all at huge profits until Stillman
left the Rio Grande for New York, in 1865. The firm was then
reorganized as "King, Kenedy &
Co.," and continued in profit-
able operation until the building of railroads ended the steam-
boat era, in 1882.
The Grampus,
first of the five hundred ton Rio Grande side-
wheelers, operated between Brazos de Santiago and Browns-
ville and Matamoros. She was skippered by Richard King.
Earliest of the light draft stern-wheelers was the Comanche,
operated by Mifflin Kenedy. The great commercial success of
this undertaking resulted from the wise distribution of part-
nership responsibility and power. Kenedy had the patience,
tact, and understanding to make lasting friends of his sensi-
tive but appreciative customers from the North Mexican states.
King, only, of the partners, possessed the driving force essen-
tial to handling the ocean-going and lightering problems of the
firm. That this partnership was admirably constituted, the
vast fortunes built by Stillman, King, and Kenedy are ample
proof.
6
FOOTNOTES:
letter to General Austin, dated August 25, 1830.
delphia, 1847), 29ff.
boating on the Rio Grande may be found, somewhat scattered in Frank
C. Pierce's A Brief History of the Lower Bio Grande Valley (1917) and
in themanuscript, Memoirs of Colonel John S. Ford, especially in his
chapters entitled "M. Kenedy & Co.," and "King, Kenedy & Co." Such
additional details as are here presented were gleaned by the writer from
many interesting conversations with the late Captain William Kelly, of
Brownsville who was an officer in the United States quartermaster service,
in charge of Rio Grande river boats, in 1865-1866. Kelly, mustered out
of service during 1866 at the mouth of the Rio Grande was immediately
employed by Mifflin Kenedy for similar duties with King, Kenedy & Com-
pany with whom he continued until that firm dissolved. He then operated
on his own account until, at the turn of the last century, steamboating on
the Rio Grande came to an end with the disintegration of the Bessie, last
of the Comanche type stern-wheelers to negotiate the sandbars of the
erratic border stream.
Dr. John Sibley and the Louisiana - Texas
Frontier, 1803-1814
[A deposition made by fugitive Texas rebel, John Garnier be-
fore John Sibley, Justice of the Peace in Parish of Natchitoches]
Natchitoches Sept. 19th 1811
Before me, John Sibley one of the Justices of the peace in
and for the Parish of Natchitoches, come John Garnier &
on
Oath declared that he was a Gunner belonging to the Royal
Artillery at St. Antonio & that about the sixteenth of August
last the Commanding Officer at St. Antonio received a letter
from Governor Cordero of Quaghuilla [Coahuila] stating that
Colonels Manshack
98 &
Bernard
99 with Captains Domingal &
Fernandes &
Eight or ten other persons had taken their de-
parture from Colone [Colonia]
100 Bound as it was suposed to
the United States &
advising that patrolls should be sent out
in different directions to intercept them. The Deponent
states that he being detained in St. Antonio in the Royal Service,
contrary to his will, went likewise in search of them, with the
intention of joining them & coming with them into the United
States, and fell in with them, and that they proceeded on by
the most secret & unfrequented Rout, & on the Sixteenth of
September crossed the Sabine at the Mandaro [Nadaco] Village,
and at night on the seventeenth were in the Bayou Pierre Set-
tlement, attacked by a party of Royal Troops from Nacogdoches.
The Deponent made his escape on horseback, and he has reason
to believe that the whole Party except himself were taken
Prisoners with their Baggage, papers, etc.—
The deponent understood from Colonels Manshack [Menchaca]
& Bernard that they were Embassadors from the Republican
party in the kingdom of Mexico to the Government of the
United States, and that they had the disposition of Fifteen
Millions of Dollars, and were desirous of procuring in the United
States for use of the Republican or Revolutionary party, Arms,
Amunition, and desirous likewise of entering into some mutually
Advantageous Commercial Arrangements.--
The Deponent further states that he understood from those
Gentlemen, that except the City of Mexico, Chighuagua [Chihua-
hua], Quaghuilla [Coahuila] & St. Antonio all the rest of the
Kingdoms of Mexico was in the possession of the Revolutionary
party. And that sixty thousand Revolutionary Troops were in
possession of the pass between Mexico & Vera Cruts [Cruz]
101
and that all Communication was intercepted. Col. Bernard
had received a letter from his Brother, an Eclesiastic, written
near Mexico, stating that the Revolutionists had intercepted an
express with dispatches from Chighuahua to Mexico--and that
the Country round Mexico was alive with Troops going against
it, to the number of Five hundred thousand at least, & that
a great Majority of the People of Mexico were waiting, impa-
tiently their approach to join them &
that the Royal Troops
in Mexico did not exceed Forty thousand. The deponent further
states that the Colonels Manshack & Bernard had with them
an intercepted letter written by [Nemesio] Salcedo the Ruler
of Chighuahua
102 to Col. Lepion of Quaghuilla saying that as
soon as his own affairs would admit of it he contemplated
sending about six thousand Troops into the United States to
take possession of the Territory of Orleans and proceed on to
Baton Rouge & Pensacola and punish the Rascally Americans
for what they had done in that quarter against his brother
Copatriots; and that in a conversation between Col. Lepsion
and the Baron Bastrop
103 on the subject of such an enterprise,
Col. Lepsion observed that with Six thousand of his Troops he
could whip sixty thousand Americans; the Baron replied he
would in such a case prefer being on the side of the sixty thou-
sand Americans.
The Deponent further saith that he heard Col. Bernard say
he had very important communications to make to the Govern-
ment of the United States, both in writing & by word of Mouth.
The Deponent further saith that it was the opinion of Cols.
Manshack & Bernard that Mexico was in the possession of the
Revolutionists, and that the Europeans of Vera Crusts [Cruz]
were making preparations to embark with their property on
board of some English Vessels, who were laying there, as soon
as they should hear of the fall of Mexico which was Momently
expected.—
Signed. --
John Garniere
Sworn to before me
Signed—John Sibley I.A. [Indian Agent]
Signed; John Sibley
FOOTNOTES:
the collapse of the revolutionary government in Texas in March, 1811.
He found refuge in the home of José Bernardo Gutiérrez in Nuevo San-
tander. Soon afterward Menchaca and Gutiérrez fled across Northern
Texas to Natchitoches. For details see José Bernardo Gutiérrez, "To the
Mexican Congress, An Account of the Progress of the Revolution from
the Beginnings," Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (Austin, 1921-
1928), Charles Adams Gulick and Katherine Elliott, eds., I, 7-8. (Here-
after cited, Gutiérrez, "To the Mexican Congress," Lamar Papers.)
He became a supporter of Hidalgo's revolution, and converted his clerical
brother Father José Antonio. Together they aided in revolutionizing the
cities of the Rio Grande, Nuevo Santander, and Texas. By February,
1811, Hidalgo and his rebel chiefs had encamped at Saltillo with Jiménez.
The royalists threatened to move northward against the rebel army. The
rebel chiefs held a war council. They decided to consolidate their military
strength by uniting the troops of the provinces of Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo
León, and Nuevo Santander. Leaving an army in Saltillo to serve as a rear
guard, they planned to march with one thousand soldiers to San Antonio.
At that place, they would await supplies and troops from the United States
which would be sent there by Jimenez's envoys, Aldama and Salazar. After
reenforcing their ranks, the rebel chiefs would return to Mexico to continue
the revolution. During the session of this war council, news came of the
capture of Jiménez in San Antonio. Gutiérrez was entrusted with their
mission. Soon afterwards Hidalgo and party were seized on their way to
Texas and the revolution in the northern provinces collapsed. In order to
save the revolutionary cause, Gutiérrez prepared to fulfill the commission
entrusted to him by the war council at Saltillo. He fled across Texas to
the United States to obtain supplies and men for the rebels, who were
continuing the revolution in the interior of Mexico. Ibid.; Don José Ber-
nardo Gutiérrez de Lara, Breve Apología (Monterrey, 1827), Segunda
edición, Aumentada con los Apuntes Biográficos del autor, por José L.
Cossio (Mexico, 1915); Lorenzo de la Garza, Dos Hermanos Héroes
(Guerra, Tamaulipas, Mexico, 1913).
or the complete title Colonia del Nuevo Santander; the province was
created in 1746. It was called the Colony of Nuevo Santander after 1749,
when Escandón set forth to found colonies in that province.
in command of all revolutionists, retreated from Saltillo to Valladolid.
He had been successful in his campaign and had closed the communications
with Mexico City. Bancroft, History of Mexico, IV, 306-316, 328, 331.
in their colonizing enterprise, had appeared in Texas from Louisiana at
the end of 1805, strongly protesting anti-American sentiments. He was
favored by the Spanish officials during the years from 1804-1810, there-
fore his support of royalists in the revolution is easily explained. Hatcher,
The Opening of Texas, 95-98, 121, 151, 174.
The Election of Jefferson Davis to the
Presidency of the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas
MOST persons who are at all familiar with the history of
the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas know
that Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederacy, was
offered the presidency of the college at its founding. There
are, however, many friends of the institution who have never
seen either the little pamphlet entitled Laws
Relating
to
the
Agricultural
and
Mechanical
College
of
Texas,
and
Proceedings
of
the
Board
of
Directors
of
Said
College,
from
June
1,
1875,
to
January
23,
1878,
arranged, and published at Austin, Texas,
1878, or the letters in which the offer of the presidency was
made and declined.
In the early years of the A. and M. College, the Governor
of Texas was, ex officio, President of its Board of Directors.
Since the organization of the college was not effected until after
the Democratic victory which swept Richard Coke into office,
the honor of first convening the board fell to him. The direc-
tors held their first meeting on June 1, 1875, at Bryan, and
authorized Governor Coke to offer the presidency of the college
to Jefferson Davis. The note in Peeler's pamphlet which records
the action is as follows: "The Board at this meeting further
authorized the President to correspond with Ex-President Jef-
ferson Davis and to tender to him the presidency of the Col-
lege."
The effort to bring Davis to this state seems to have had
considerable popular backing, for, about this time, a movement
was launched in Dallas to raise a fund to purchase a home-
stead for him, and to invite him to make his home here. The
Dallas Daily
Herald
reports these efforts, but it is not clear
how far the movement went.
Coke pursued the call, as authorized by the board, only to
have it declined. The Dallas Daily
Herald
of Wednesday, July
21, 1875, carries the correspondence.
Coke wrote:
Executive Office, State of Texas
Hon. Jefferson Davis,
Austin, June 14, 1875
Memphis, Tenn.
My dear Sir:
At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Agricultural and Me-
chanical College of Texas, held June Ist, at Bryan, in Brazos County, near
which the college is located, it was unanimously resolved, that the Presi-
dency of the College be tendered to yourself, with a salary of four thousand
dollars per annum, with residence properly furnished, and as much land
attached as might be desired for yards, garden, etc. As President of the
Board, I was instructed to communicate immediately with you, present
the offer, and urge its acceptance. I now perform that most pleasing duty,
as the representative, not only of the Board of Directors of the Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Texas, but in behalf of the State of Texas and
all her people ask that you come and live with and be one of us, and make
your home and resting place, after a long and eventful public service, among
a people who will never cease to love and honor you. Nor are we entirely
unselfish in making this request. We desire to build up the Agricultural
and Mechanical College, an institution which shall be a prominent feature
in the educational system of the great State which founds it, and worthy
of her pride and fostering care, and we know of no living man whose
name and efforts can do so much as yours towards accomplishing that
purpose. The duties to be performed by the President of the College have
not been defined, and will not be until you are heard from, and, should
you accept, as we trust you will, your wishes will be consulted in fixing
them.
It is hardly necessary for me to assure you that it gives me great
pleasure, personally, to be the medium through which this communication
is made.
Hoping to hear from you at your convenience, I am
Most respectfully and truly yours
Richard Coke
Governor of Texas and ex-officio President, Board
of Directors, Agricultural and Mechanical College
Davis replied:
Memphis, Tenn.
His Excellency Governor Coke:
July 8, 1875
With sincere gratitude I acknowledge the honor tendered me by the
Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, as set
forth in your letter of the 14th ult.
No occupation would be more acceptable to me than that which would
enable me to co-operate with you in the organization of a system for the
instruction of the youth of our country, in the two important branches
to which the colleges at Bryan are to be specially devoted.
I cannot too fully thank you for the generous confidence manifested
in offering me the presidency of those colleges, and it is but a fair return
that I should cordially confess that you have overrated my ability and
in the consciousness that I could not satisfactorily perform the duties
of the office, decline to accept it. As soon as my private affairs will
permit, I hope to revisit Texas at more leisure than when last among
you, and will be glad then to confer with you on the subject of an educa-
tional system for Texas; and as a volunteer, to render such service as
my small acquirements and shattered constitution may allow.
With best wishes for the directors personally and for yourself specially,
I am, with renewed expression of thankfulness, respectfully and truly,
Your friend
Jefferson Davis
The board of directors held its second meeting at Austin,
on July 15, 1876, and took up, once more, the matter of the
choice of a president for the college. As respects the choice
of officers, the Proceedings
of
the
Board,
has this to say:
The President of the Board, Governor Coke, then announced, that,
having corresponded with Ex-President Jefferson Davis in regard to his
acceptance of the presidency of the College, he having respectfully de-
clined, and proceeded to declare nominations for that and other offices
in order.
The office of Secretary was first in order, when William Falconer of
Bryan was elected for one year at a salary of five hundred dollars.
The Secretary was then directed to read over a list of the applicants
for the presidency, and after full and respectful consideration of their
separate claims, the Board proceeded to vote by ballot, and on the second
ballot Thomas S. Gaithright, receiving the majority of votes was declared
elected.
The records of the board's meeting of January 23, 1878,
record a further action involving Davis. A motion was passed,
as follows:
Resolved,
That the Hon. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, be requested
to attend the commencement exercises of the institution on the twenty-
sixth of June proximo, and deliver the annual address; and that the
President of this Board transmit a copy of this resolution, attested by the
Secretary, soliciting his acceptance and attendance.
The directors were to suffer a new disappointment. Search
of Texas newspapers of 1878 and of the Davis papers has not,
so far, uncovered any further reference to the matter. Accounts
in the state press of the A. and M. commencement of that year
are full and interesting, but contain no mention of Davis.
This incident is of interest not only as a page in the history
of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, but also
as characterizing an era. The sun of the Old South had set,
and the effort of the Directors of the A. and M. College to bring
Davis--symbol of the Old South--to the institution was but an
afterglow of the day that was fading. The Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas was to turn its face to the future
and have its life in a day which, then, was just dawning.
Texas Collection
The Republic National Bank of Dallas published on the
occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary a thirty-nine page
book entitled Texas
--From
a
Republic
to
an
Economic
Empire.
Every phase of Texas is treated--history, people, education,
oil and gas, minerals, timber, cattle, animal industries, cash
crops, fruit and vegetables, manufacturing, effects of the war,
transportation, tñe sea, out-of-doors, finance, business oppor-
tunities, and the future. Each page is packed with pertinent
and interesting facts and statistics. The book is well written
and beautifully designed and printed. Numerous photographs
reproduced by lithography picture all the various phases of
Texas' activity. End papers are decorated by a series of paint-
ings of historical events.
In the foreword Mr. Fred F. Florence, president of the
Republic National, states the bank's purpose in doing the book.
There is something about Texas that generates enthusiasm. It is an
enthusiasm that grows out of the land itself and permeates the air. . . .
We have felt that there could be no more fitting way for us to com-
memorate our Twenty-fifth Anniversary than by setting down a few
facts about our State which we hope will be of interest not only to
Texans, but to businessmen throughout the nation.
The Republic National Bank is to be congratulated on this
book. It shows a serious regard for the past of the state which
makes possible an intelligent understanding of the present
which, in turn, leads to an optimistic and enthusiastic outlook
for the future--an outlook typically Texan.
Through the courtesy of Mr. Florence and Mr. Leslie Wag-
gener, chairman of the board, the Association has received
several copies of the book. These copies have been placed in
the vault and will be reserved for future Association use.
April 26 and 27 have been named as the dates for the 1946
annual meeting. The program is about three-fourths completed,
and the office will welcome most heartily further suggestions.
It is a real pleasure to be able to announce to the membership
at this early date that the dinner speaker will be Professor
Herbert P. Gambrell whose subject will be "Anson Jones and
Annexation." It is almost verbiage to presume to introduce
Gambrell to a Texas audience, but he is professor of history
at Southern Methodist University, director of the Dallas His-
torical Society, vice-president of the Association, a textbook
writer, and a leading scholar in the field of Texas history.
He was the director of the historical division of the Texas
Centennial. He is said to be the one Texan alive today who
most resembles Sam Houston; whether or not he can match
Sam's bob-cat facial expression I do not know, but, like Sam,
he is a speaker of the first magnitude.
Among the wide variety of types of things or subjects which
from time to time go into the mosaic which becomes the Texas
Collection few make a more definite appeal than those having
to do with bibliography. But at the same time bibliographers
(or those who know their Texas books) frequently are hesitant,
if not outright reluctant, in preparing for publication biblio-
graphical notes. This note is a sort of general appeal for less
reluctance and a larger sharing of information through these
pages. It will not be necessary to have notes that reveal state
secrets. As an example, what are the distinguishing marks
by which one identifies a first edition, first printing of Webb's
The
Great
Plains
or a first printing of The
Texas
Rangers?
Again, what are the differences between the 1855 and 1856
Yoakums? These questions are elementary, of course, to the
Earl Vandales, the Dudley Dobies, the Frank Caldwells, the
W. A. Philpotts, and many others; but, almost unnoticed at
times, there is a younger group of collectors coming steadily
forward, and they need even beginners' information. We can
use some frontier generosity here, for the youngsters will grow
up and eventually reach the stature of their sires. Also bib-
liographies on Texas subjects will always be in order.
As an additional example I will lead off with a reference to
a work about which there appears to be limited current infor-
mation.
William Miles. Journal of the Sufferings and Hardships of Capt.
Parker H. French's Overland Expedition to California. Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania, 1851. p.p.w. 8vo. 24pp.
The French group left New York City, stopped in New
Orleans, and arrived in Texas at the mouth of the Lavaca,
thence overland through San Antonio and El Paso on the Rio
Grande and on to San Francisco. This is prize Texana. A
reprint of the Chambersburg first edition was done by the
Cadmus Book Shop, but even the reprint is scarce. The Uni-
versity of Texas Library has neither an original nor a reprint.
The first member who acquires an extra copy of the Miles
book should remedy the above deficiency.
The following graduate studies relating to history were com-
pleted at the University of Texas in the spring semester:
Allen Z. Gammage--Government and History
Thesis:
The Texas Department of Public Safety and its administra-
tion of war duties.
Mrs. Ola May Wagner Karsteter--Sociology and History
Thesis:
The attitude of five newspapers on selected issues.
Barnes Fletcher Lathrop--United States History, Modern European His-
tory, and Economics.
Thesis:
The Pugh Plantations: 1860-1865: A study of life in lower
Louisiana.
Joseph Rice Saylor--American Government (Politics), Political Theory,
and American History.
Thesis:
The constitutional crisis of 1937.
Floy Singleton Wise--American History, Modern European History, and
Government.
Thesis:
The growth of political democracy in the States, 1776-1828.
The Amarillo Times,
for September 9, 1945, carried two
items of importance about members of the Association. On
the front page pictures and script tell that J. Evetts Haley,
of Spearman, won first place in the cutting horse contest of
the Labor Day Rodeo staged by the Will Rogers Range Riders.
The newspaper does not say so, but I am confident Haley is
riding Strawberry. Historic cutting horses are numerous, but
I am doubtful whether any horse has been greater than Straw-
berry. I have ridden Strawberry and can testify to his great-
ness in horseflesh, although I cringe to think what Strawberry
would say of my horsemanship. But it ought to be a matter
of record that an outstanding historian like Haley, a member
of the Association's executive council, the biographer of Good-
night and Littlefield, and the author of the XIT and Schreiner
accounts, could enter an honest-to-goodness rodeo and come off
with first prize money.
Also J. Evetts (Jimmie) Haley, Jr., is pictured among the
competitors. Jimmie will win further awards both in historical
writings and in the rodeos. Jimmie wrote "The JH Ranch,"
a prize winning essay in the Junior Historian contest two
years ago.
The same paper carries a feature article by Haley on Texas-
born Colonel Jack Potter, genial, gigantic cowman and trail-
driver of the eighties, who now lives and writes at Clayton,
New Mexico. Potter is the son of Andrew Jackson Potter, the
"fighting parson of Texas." The Colonel writes splendid his-
tory, but, as Haley points out, he sometimes "stretches the
blanket a little." I have been corresponding with the Colonel
for years and have heard his charming stories several times.
The Colonel likes his history and his Texas: in a letter a few
months back he remarked, "It was a proud day in my life when
I became a member of the Association."
Texas news from a Texan on the Texas ship San
Jacinto
is
indeed heartening. Roystei, a former Junior Historian, is writ-
ing to Miss Llerena Friend, sponsor at Wichita Falls.
September 6, 1945
Dear Miss Friend,
I was a student of yours in the fall of '39 and spring of '40. I recall
your interest in Texas History. How is the local chapter of the Texas
State Historical Association progressing? I thought perhaps you would
like to know that the Lone Star Flag was hoisted in Tokyo.
Our detachment of marines, from the USS San Jacinto, were in the
first wave ashore in the Tokyo area. Coming from the "San Jac," they
naturally had a Texas flag with them. In fact, "Zeke," one of the marine
sergeants, had been carrying the flag for a long time with the avowed
purpose of planting it in Tokyo. No, sorry to disappoint you, "Zeke"
is not a Texan. He is from Tennessee.
As soon as the "San Jac" marines were atop the seawall at the
Yokosuka Naval Base, which was in their assigned area, "Zeke" looked
about for something suitable for a flag pole. Spying a Jap flag pole not
far away in a gun emplacement, he sent for it and had it secured in a
hole on top of the cement wall.
The bottom of the Jap flag pole fitted into the hole in the cement. An
instant after he had hoisted the Lone Star flag, others of our landing
forces, with honors and color guard, hoisted our national ensign.
So— As far as I know, the first flag ever to be hoisted by an invading
force in the Japanese homeland was the Texas flag.
The national ensign was hoisted in front of the administration building
of the Yokosuka Naval Base.
Yours truly,
(Signed) Tony R. Royster
Lt. (jg) USNR
Pilot VF No. 47
The
Pennsylvania
Magazine
of
History
and
Biography
for
July, 1945, has a provocative article entitled "History the Key
to the Magic Door" by George Fort Milton. Discussing some
of the present problems confronting the historian, the writer
points out that the mountains of records now available do not
necessarily provide the type of documentary sources that have
been relied upon in the past. Personal conversations between
chiefs of states and heads of foreign offices and unrecorded
communications by telephone and radio reduce the number of
written records of today's negotiations and decisions. Milton
holds that "just such difficulties as these should accentuate our
realization that the historian has other purposes than com-
piling facts." The article concludes with the following para-
graph :
History can instruct us in private and public virtue. History can point
the path of judgment, and portray wisdom's rewards. The study and use
of history should be man's key to the magic door of a more abounding
and rewarding life. And we historians must seek and use the key.
The Association lost a distinguished long-time member in
the death of Judge A. A. Aldrich, of Crockett, on August 26,
1945. Judge Aldrich was the author of the History
of
Houston
County,
published by the Naylor Company. The judge was
eighty-seven at the time of his death, having practiced law in
Houston County for sixty-three years. He was a former state
representative, county judge, and presidential elector. For thir-
ty years he was a trustee of Austin College.
Nebraska
History,
XXVI (January-March, 1945), pp. 3-25,
contains an article by Norbert R, Mahnken on "Early Nebraska
Markets for Texas Cattle." The article will be completed in
the following number of the magazine.
Immediately following the Civil War Texas longhorn cattle, colorful
and cantankerous, began arriving in Nebraska. From 1866 onward herds
of these wild, long-legged, long-bodied cattle arrived in ever-increasing
numbers, giving brief and fleeting prominence to a number of Nebraska
towns which could correctly be called "cowtowns." Before yielding the
field to their blooded successors the longhorns had laid the foundation
of an industry which grew in the 1870's, boomed in the 1880's, collapsed
in 1886-1887, and subsequently re-emerged in modified form as an
integral part of the state's economic life.
The Notes and Documents section of this issue contains the
inaugural address of James Pinckney Henderson, first governor
of the state of Texas and an article on Henderson by Hampson
Gary. Interest in the Henderson family, prominent in Southern
history, is widespread. Worth S. Ray, of Austin, has supplied
the following information on the Henderson genealogy.
James Pinckney Henderson, first governor, was the son of Lawson
Henderson and Elizabeth Carruth. Lawson was the son of James Hen-
derson and Violet Lawson. James's father was William Henderson, who
married a Miss Logan in Virginia. Thomas Henderson of New Kent
County, Virginia, was William's father. The first Henderson of whom
one can find a record was Henry, who was either the father or uncle
of Thomas.
Lawson Henderson, father of James Pinckney, was a first cousin of
Judge Richard Henderson, who established the ill-fated Transylvania at
Boonsboro, Kentucky.
The Presbyterian
Key
is a new mimeographed sheet put out
by the Presbyterian Historical Society, 520 Witherspoon Build-
ing, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. The July, 1945, issue points
out that the society has many manuscripts in its archives which
are "crying aloud to be found by research students." Among
the subjects covered by the manuscripts are Atlantic seaboard
colonies, the old Northwest territory, Indian removals, and the
settlement of the West. Particular attention is called to a
journal of Jerimiah Porter "that roving frontier missionary
of the middle west who covered territory from Michigan and
Wisconsin to Texas." The Key
performs a real service in
pointing to such materials.
The Panhandle
Herald,
edited by life member David M.
Warren, is rendering not only its own community but Texas
history a real service with its series of "old time Carson
County stories." Editor Warren is preserving the accounts
of early Panhandle residents while the participants, or their
children, can still tell the story.
Omitted from the list of contributors to the 1945 book auction
were the following: J. Evetts (Jimmie) Haley, Jr., J. Evetts
Haley, The Naylor Company, Earl Vandale, and Carl Hertzog.
If there were other omissions in the July Quarterly
list, please
notify the office.
The following note from Lester B. Wood, Panhandle Plains
history enthusiast now of 1107 South Keeler Street, Bartletts-
ville, Oklahoma, will interest half the persons in West Texas
and all who have read Cook's Border
and
the
Buffalo.
As you know there has been considerable argument about the location
and even the existence of Thompson's Canyon which is mentioned a
number of times in the Border
and
the
Buffalo.
Since seeing you last I
have seen an army map made about 1875 (in Washington) which shows
Thompsons Canyon as the north fork of the Double Mountain Fork. This
location of course is wrong but the map establishes the fact that there
was a location on the Double Mountain Fork known as Thompsons
Canyon in the 70's.
Also Wood has kindly furnished copies of James A. Watson
and Edwin V. Burkholder's article, "The Battle of Adobe
Walls," in True
for February, 1945. Watson claims to be the
last survivor of the battle which occurred on Bent Creek in
Hutchinson County on June 27, 1874--a mighty struggle be-
tween buffalo hunters and Indians under Quanah Parker.
It is a real pleasure to announce that the forthcoming Jan-
uary Quarterly
will contain a highly attractive article "Dime
Novel Texas; or, the Sub-Literature of the Lone Star State,"
by J. C. Dykes, 4511 Guilford Road, College Park, Maryland.
As a sort of curtain raiser for the forthcoming article, I am
attaching hereto an inquiry and information from Mr. Dykes.
Dykes is a collector of Texana in general but is especially
interested in Dime Novels. We are happy to add the Texas
Collection to the international pursuit seeking the identity of
Captain Flack. Mr. Dykes writes:
"Many efforts have been made to identify Capt. Flack, but none of
them have been successful," states Miss Harriet Smither, Texas State
Archivist, in a letter dated April 9, 1945. Perhaps the lack of initials
or a Christian name or information as to actual experiences of Capt.
Flack, "The Ranger," in Texas does not arouse the curiosity of Texana
collectors but the lack of such facts is certainly tantalizing to an amateur
bibliographer, such as I.
The most serious efforts to learn something about Capt. Flack were
doubtlessly made by J. Frank Dobie during his recent year in England.
In the summer of 1943, just before he left for England, I wrote him of
my longing for some additional facts about Capt. Flack and in answer
he replied, "I have some curiosity about Capt. Flack myself." On Novem-
ber 11, 1944, I had the pleasure of meeting Dobie at Charley Everitt's,
one of New York's really great Americana dealers. He had just arrived
from England after his year at Cambridge and. he told me that his
research had been in vain and he promised to send me his notes on Capt.
Flack after he got home in Texas. A thin little packet from Austin
arrived in a few days and, with Mr. Dobie's permission, I am quoting
two of the most interesting letters it contained.
Ashburnham House, Little Dean's Yard
Westminster, S. W. 1
Abbey 2255 9t
9th March, 1944
Dear Professor Dobie,
I feel very much put on my mettle as an Oxford woman to find out some
more about Captain Flack who had defeated your researches. I am afraid,
however, that the following is probably known to you.
It seems that he may have been up at Cambridge as he mentions the
Union in the 1866 edition of the Texan
Ranger
(p. 118), and there was
a George Flack at Christ's who matriculated in 1865. He is also men-
tioned in the Business
Men
of
Texas
(1869) as a grocer--"Flack, J. S.,
Austin, Travis County," but this may be a different one. Also he is
referred to in Wilke's Spirit
of
the
Time
(June, 1844). I suppose you
know that he wrote The
Wigwam
in
the
Wilderness
and the Castaways
of
the
Prairie
as well as The
Texan
Ranger!
We all thoroughly enjoyed your meeting the other night and hope you
will look in and visit us whenever you are in London.
Yours sincerely,
/s/ Rosalie Mander
Professor J. Frank Dobie,
(Mrs. Geoffrey Mander)
Emmanuel College,
Cambridge.
LONGMANS GREEN & CO., LIMITED
of Paternoster Row
43 Albert Drive, London, S. W. 19
Ref. P. 5th Jan. 1944
6/1/44
Dear Sir:
Thank you for your letter of 3rd January. I am sorry to say that
we cannot give you the initials or Christian name of Captain Flack,
("The Ranger"), author of A
Hunter's
Experiences
in
the
Southern
States
of
America,
published by us on October 31, 1866. I should say,
however, that Professor Dobie's surmise that he is an Englishman is
probably correct. I enclose a copy, of the extract in regard to this book
which appears in our catalogue, Notes
on
Books,
Volume III, page 132.
We have also looked up the Impression Book and the Author's Advances
Book of that date and in neither does he appear as anything but "Cap-
tain Flack."
Yours faithfully,
/s/ R. C. Longman
Ralph A. Brown, Esq.,
Messrs. B. F. Stevens & Brown Ltd.
New Ruskin House,
28-30 Little Russell Street,
W. C. 1.
Enclosure
(Enclosure)
A HUNTER'S EXPERIENCES IN THE SOUTHERN STATES OF
AMERICA; being an Account of the Natural History of the various
Quadrupeds and Birds which are the objects of the Chase in those Coun-
tries. By Captain Flack ('The Ranger'). Post 8vo. pp. 368, price 10s.
6d. Cloth.
(October 31, 1866).
The Author of this work brings to his subject the experience of many
years spent in the Southern States of the American Union, and devoted
to hunting, shooting, and fishing. Since his contributions began to appear
in the Field
newspaper, under the nom
de
plume
of "The Ranger," the
frequent questions put to him by sportsmen in search of some region
where they might have mild winter quarters as well as an abundance of
game, have led him to believe that a volume like the present, on the
quadrupeds, game birds, wild fowl, and other objects of sport in the
Southern United States might be both useful and interesting.
Extracted from Notes
on
Books,
being a Quarterly Analysis of the
Works Published by Messrs. Longmans and Co., Volume III, From March
1865 to February 1870. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer.
1870.
In his recent book, A
Texan
in
England,
page 199, Dobie tells of going
to the Bodleian Library at Oxford to try to find out something about
Capt. Flack. This visit was probably responsible for Mrs. Mander's con-
tinued efforts and her report in the letter quoted above.
The facts
are few. Capt, Flack wrote six books:
1. The
Prairie
Hunter—
C. W. Clarke (1866).
It was reprinted in London in 1875 and again in 1883. My copy of
the Clarke edition (1866) is bound in green cloth with a leather
title label on the back strip. I also have a copy in colored pictorial
boards printed by J. &
R. Maxwell, London. This copy is undated
but may be the 1883 edition listed in Phillips' "A Bibliography of
American Sporting Books" since J. &
R. Maxwell are credited with
that issue.
2. The Texan Rifle-Hunter, or, Field Sports on the Prairie--John Max-
well and Company, London, 1866.
3. A
Hunter's
Experiences
in
the
Southern
States
of
America
--Long-
mans, Green and Co., London, 1866.
I have two copies of this item, the only differences being in the
bindings and end sheets. One copy, in a blue pebbled cloth, uses
both the tan end sheets to advertise two shilling editions of Lever,
Trollope and Dickens, while the other copy, bound in smooth blue
cloth, has blank tan end sheets.
4. The
Texas
Ranger,
or,
Real
Life
in
the
Backwoods
--Darton & Co.,
London (1866).
My copy is in green cloth, decorated, and lettered in gilt, with all
edges gilt.
5. The Castaways of the Prairie, London, 1868.
6. The Wigwams in the Wilderness, London, 1868.
So far as I know only The
Prairie
Hunter
was reprinted in the United
States. In 1869, Robert M. DeWitt issued Indian
Jake;
or,
The
Prairie
Hunter
by Capt. Flack as "DeWitt's Ten Cent Romances," No. 45, and as a
sequel The
Mountain
Trapper;
or
The
Ranger
and
the
Bear,
by Lieut.
Henry L. Boone as "DeWitt's Ten Cent Romances," No. 46. Both of these
popular Dime Novels were taken from The
Prairie
Hunter
--Indian
Jake
covering the first 120 pages of the Clarke edition and The
Mountain
Trapper
the story from page 120 to the end, page 265. It would be inter-
esting to know whether these American editions were "pirated" or pub-
lished with the knowledge of Capt. Flack. That is, however, a minor
mystery.
The probables and maybes are many.
Capt. Flack was probably
an Englishman--all of his books were pub-
lished in London. Most of his writings had probably appeared in maga-
zines and newspapers in England prior to their publication in book form.
This is stated in the introductions to both The
Texan
Rifle-Hunter
and
A
Hunter's
Experiences
in
Southern
States
of
America
as well as in
Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer's Notes
on
Books,
Vol. III, London,
1870, covering the books issued by Messrs. Longmans and Co. for the
period March, 1865, to February, 1870. Besides it would have been a
task worthy of a Col. Prentiss Ingraham to prepare four long manuscripts
for publication in the single year, 1866. Apparently it may be granted
that most of the material was previously printed in the Field
or other
papers and magazines of the day.
Capt. Flack probably
spent a number of years in Texas. He claims
that he did in the preface to The
Texan
Rifle-Hunter.
In The
Texan
Ranger,
page 18, he says, "I spent nearly fifteen years in the wilderness."
On page 222, he states that "In the winter of 1853, I was in Washington
County, Texas. . ." and he writes with ease of Texas history and of Texas
towns, streams, and scenes.
He was probably
an experienced hunter or sportsman--all his writings
indicate a knowledge of game, guns, and hunting that would be hard to
acquire from the writings of others. In the appendix to A
Hunter's
Experiences
in
Southern
States
of
America,
he states, "In conclusion,
I can say my
gun kept me,
for many years, in meat, clothes, and money,
whilst I enjoyed uninterrupted health."
Maybe
Capt. Flack was a Texas Ranger. The title page of The
Texan
Rifle-Hunter
says by Captain Flack ("The Ranger,") Late
of
the
Texan
Rangers.
Most of the young single men in early Texas rode with the
Rangers for a spell, and if Flack was in Texas for fifteen years, it is
likely that he served. In The
Prairie
Hunter,
which is written in the
first person (and may be a fictionalized autobiography), the hero joins a
Ranger company commanded by Capt. Ben McCullough. After six months
fighting Indians on the frontier he returns to his ranch on the Colorado
but rejoins his Ranger comrades to fight the Mexican War. The hero
becomes the second lieutenant after the battle of Resaca de la Palma.
I find no record of a Flack in Robarts' Mexican
War
Veterans;
so per-
haps The
Prairie
Hunter
is pure or mostly fiction.
Maybe
Capt. Flack wrote a seventh book, Texan
Rover.
My Maxwell
edition of The
Prairie
Hunter
states, both on the back strip and on the
front cover, "by author of 'Texan Rover.'" Such a title is not mentioned
by Phillips, and perhaps it is one used in the Maxwell "Two Shilling
Series" to disguise one of Flack's previous books--perchance The
Texan
Ranger.
In the realm of the unknown
is whether or not "Flack" itself is a
pseudonym. DeWitt, in crediting The
Mountain
Trapper
to Lieut. Henry
L. Boone, first raised that question in my mind. "Boone" is one of the
pseudonyms under which a number of the novels of Percy Bolinbroke
St. John, member of a famous writing family, were published as Dime
Novels in the United States. W. C. Miller, of San Antonio, Dime Novel
collector and authority, in his booklet Dime
Novel
Authors,
1860-1900
also gives "Flack" as a pseudonym for Henry Llewellyn Williams, an-
other English writer of the period. In a recent letter Mr. Miller states
that he is unable to recall where he secured the information by which he
assigned the so-called pseudonym "Flack" to Williams.
The standard reference, British
Authors
of
the
Nineteenth
Century,
edited by Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycroft, New York, 1936, does
not mention Capt. Flack. It contains the biographies of a thousand
major and minor British authors. The author of six sporting books
with Texas settings should have, at least, rated inclusion among the
minor authors--i. e., if Flack was a real name.
And now my questions to the members of the Association are many.
Is "Flack" a pseudonym? If the writer's surname was really Flack,
what was his Christian name? What were his initials? Was he English?
Was he ever in Texas? Was he a Texan Ranger? Did he fight in the
Mexican War? Where did he acquire the title of "Captain"? Did he
write a seventh book, Texan
Rover?
Especially will information be
appreciated on the big question: Who
was
Capt.
Flack?
Arthur S. Link, a member of the Association and instructor
in history at Princeton University, has two contributions in
the
American
Historical
Review
for July, 1945: an article,
"The Baltimore Convention of 1912" and an edited letter from
Thomas Watt Gregory to E. M. House detailing the inside
workings of the Baltimore Convention and the importance of
the Texas delegation in securing Woodrow Wilson's nomina-
tion. Dr. Link contributed "The Wilson Movement in Texas,
1910-1912" in the Quarterly
for October, 1944.
A recent communication from him states:
I have meant to write you since I received the tentative list for the
Handbook
of
Texas
and tell you that I think what the Association is
planning to do is splendid. We certainly need reference works like that
in every state (of course we already have, as you know, plenty of inade-
quate local biography collections and the like), and perhaps if you and
your colleagues push the idea through to fruition other states will follow
the lead of Texas.
Judge John M. Spellman, nationally known patent attorney
of Dallas, died June 16. He was an enthusiastic member of
the Association. He was born in Dallas in 1877 and attended
Washington University in Washington, D. C., graduating in
1897. He began the practice of law in Dallas two years later
and was counsel in notable cases involving patent laws. He
became known as an authority on the resources of Texas and
was chairman of the Natural Resources Commission of the
1936-1937 Centennial.
Judge Spellman was a member of the Sons of the American
Revolution and the immediate past president of the state society.
He was also a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas
and had held the highest offices in various Scottish Rite bodies.
The following vignette was written by Lieutenant Andrew
F. Rolle while he was en route to the Battle of Kwajelein in
the Marshall Islands. Rolle has been a student of Robert Glass
Cleland at Occidental and of John Walton Caughey at the
University of California at Los Angeles. Rolle here demon-
strates how American culture has been transposed to the Pacific
scene. This sketch probably points to opportunities for the
detailed comparison of western cattle culture with ranching
as it now exists in the Islands. Rolle may now be addressed
care of Staff and Faculty, Camp Ritchie, Maryland.
High atop the lava slopes and mossy crags of Mauna Kea on the Island
of Hawaii plods a herd of shaggy wild cattle, foraging upon a tropical
pasturage in their daily roamings. Forty years ago a native estimated
that ten-thousand loose cattle then remained as a remnant of larger herds
that had roved the forest slopes for almost a hundred years. The Hawaiian
realm believed, as do modern legislators, in protecting valuable livestock;
thus, a protective taboo was decreed by Kamehameha I. It was Vancouver
who had brought the first of these great hulks to Hawaii in the 1790's
as a goodwill gift to the native chieftains. During the protective period,
their multiplication was profuse not only on the Island of Hawaii but
on all the islands, so that until the first slaughtering in the early 1830's,
Oahu, Kauai, and Maui were also overrun by the shaggy longhorns,
claimed or befriended by no one.
Ranging high above Paauilo, these formed in a sense an isolated exten-
sion of the American and Texas cattle frontier. Here was the need once
again of the windmill, the Colt revolver, and the barbed wire fence. As
was the case on the western ranges of our own continent, these cattle,
increasing daily in number, unchecked by the ravages of man and nature
and enjoying the mild clime of aloha-land, were no small problem for
local farmers who often awoke to find them overrunning crops and
gardens. Indeed, native residents of the Kona Coast on Hawaii and of
the Honolulu highlands below the Pali on Oahu spent no little time in
constructing stone walls to keep these brutes out of their tilled acreage,
often the only stable source of food supply. A recent writer cited the
building of the pa
aina
"a rampart wall a fathom thick and shoulder
high" from Napoopoo to Hookena as proof of local desperation in the
days of scarce agricultural development. Many were led to suggest the
formation of a protective organization to combat the beasts. How similar
this to the recent preventive measures of the California and Australian
"rabbit drives!" What price cane, poi, and taro in Hawaii and lettuce
and corn in the southwest?
The eventual importation of pedigreed animals and the subsequent
rounding-up of the hungry lords ended the reign of the mavericks some-
time after 1850. Provisions for permanent paddocks and a regular water
supply gradually improved Island stock to the point of scientific com-
petition with herds beyond the coral shores far away and in other
lands . . . brethren these?
Today the giant Parker Ranch carries on in the best American Cowboy
and Rancho tradition. Branding, spaying of cows, the breeding of bulls,
and the roping of calves are all a part of the western nomenclature
adopted by the Kamaiina-ranchevos.
One might even find as many as
half a million animals on the hoof at one time there in these days. The
primitive "Jerseys" are a foresaken ancestry, supplanted by the modern
beef animal known as the purebred Hereford.
Like the American buffalo and the European boar, a few of the progeny
of Vancouver's wild herd, still unroped, untamed, and free will forever
seek their tropical forage high astride the volcano necks and cols
of
Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. These then are the little-known cousins of
"other-world herds" left to roam the untamed wastelands that are forever
the poetic hinterland of any soil, any clime.
* * *
This is part two of a prior study in the Review.
Señor Guillermo Porras Muñoz, Chiapas 103, Mexico, D. F.,
Mexico, gives information and makes inquiry regarding the
early navigation of the Rio Grande.
Through the Quarterly,
I should like to ask the historians of Texas
if they have any information concerning a contract celebrated on August
9, 1828, to make the Rio Grande navigable. Said document was signed
by representatives of the states of Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, and Coahuila
y Texas, on one part, and John Davis Bradbourn and Stephen Staples
on the other. I am interested in knowing if it was ever carried out and,
if so, what work was done, or in any news of the American signers of it.
I am attaching hereto the document referred to above.
El Congreso Constitucional del Estado de Chihuahua, habiendo tomado
en consideracion la solicitud de los Señores Juan Davis y Estevan Staples
fecha 22 de Marzo ultimo, relativa á que se les permita por parte del
mismo Estado hacer navegable el Rio bravo del Norte ha tenido á bien
decretar.
Se aprueba la contrata que en siete articulos corre impresa al calse de
esta ley, y que en 18 de Marzo ultimo por conducto de los Señores Sena-
dores y Diputados al Congreso General por el Estado, propusieron los
Señores Juan Davis y Estevan Staples, bajo la unica condicion de que
los Colonos debarán ser hombres libres.
Habiéndose reunido los Diputados y Senadores de los Estados de Coahuila
y Tejas, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, y Tamaulipas á conferenciar con el
Coronel de Ejercito de los Estados Unidos Mejicanos Juan Davis Brad-
bourn y Señor Estevan M. C. L. Staples, como empresarios para navegar
por su cuenta en dichos Estados el Rio bravo del Norte que pasa por
todos ellos; han convenido en recomendar á sus respectivos Gobiernos, la
aprobación de los siguientes artículos.
1. Se concede al Coronel Juan Davis Bradbourn y al Señor Estevar
M. C. L. Staples, por el termino de quince años, el privilegio de introducir
buques de Vapor ó de Caballo en el Rio llamado del Norte en la parte
perteneciente al Estado; siempre que los espresados empresarios lo pongan
de su cuenta en disposicion de poderlo verificar.
2. El mencionado privilegio comenzará á contarse desde el dia en que
se introduzcan por primera vez los referidos buques.
se impondrá á los de los repetidos empresarios; quienes por dicho tiempo
solo quedarán sugetos á los establecidos ó que se establecieren por leyes
generales á todas las embarcaciones que lleguen á los puntos de la
República.
4. Los empresarios á quienes se concede el anterior privilegio, podrán
transferirlo, avisandolo al supremo Gobierno del Estado, y con tal de
que los individuos en quien haya de verificarse, no sean subditos de
Nacion que esté en guerra con la de los Estados unidos mejicanos.
5. Los mismos empresarios por si ó por otros, podrán colonizar á las
margenes del espresado Rio, todos aquellos terrenos del Estado que juzguen
precisos para establecer su propia seguridad, y para aucsiliarse de
maderas, y demás utencilios propios para la navegación, sugetandose á
las leyes generales y particulares de colonización.
6. El Gobierno del Estado ínterin los empresarios reconocen el espresado
Rio, para desengañarse si es ó no navegable en todo ó en parte, les
dispensará por medio de las autoridades subalternas, cuanta proteccion
dependa de sus facultades, y se interesará y recabará del Gobierno
General; se les ministren los aucsilios de tropas que sean necesarios para
su seguridad personal.
7. No cumpliendo los referidos empresarios ó los que hagan sus veces,
su compromiso de poner en corriente la navegación del mencionado rio,
en el termino de dos años, contados desde la publicación de este decreto,
perderán los derechos que en él se les conceden--Méjico Marzo 18 de 1828
—Nicolas del Moral--Manuel Cevallos--A. Viesca--Manuel M. del Llano
--Mariano Orcasitas--Florentino Martinez--Pedro Paredes--José Maria
de Irigoyen—Es copia. Chihuahua 11 de Agosto de 1828—Muñoz Diputado
Secretario--Oyarzi Diputado Secretario--Es copia. Chihuahua Agosto 11
de 1828--José Pascual Garcia Secretario.
This is an exact copy taken from Leyes y Decretos del Honorable Con-
greso Segundo Constitucional del Estado de Chihuahua. Que espidió desde
su instalación en 30. de Junio de 1828, hasta 30 de Octubre del mismo
años en que ceso. Imprenta del Supremo Gobierno del Estado á cargo de
J. Sabino Cano, Año de 1829, page 27.
As an extension of the above information see Judge Harbert
Davenport's "Notes on Early Steamboating on the Rio Grande"
in the Notes and Documents section of this Quarterly,
pp. 286-
289.
The magazine Houston
for August, 1945, carried an article
entitled, "Texas Statehood Centennial Radio Program Inaugu-
rated," which tells of the presentation of a new radio program,
"Texas Heart Beat," by Ed Kilman, Editor of the Houston Post.
The program is sponsored by the City National Bank of Hous-
ton and is from KPRC each Saturday evening at six-thirty
o'clock. Ed Kilman speaks with authority in the field of Texas
history. The new program should interest listeners all over
the state.
The Association acknowledges with much appreciation the
recent presentation to it of some valuable items of Texana.
Judge Hobart Huson of Refugio sent four contributions, three
of them his own writing: District
Judges
of
Refugio
County
(1941), The
Refugio
Colony
and
Texas
Independence,
and
Enigma
of
the
Hot
T
amale,
as well as a Souvenir
Program,
Refugio
County
Centennial
Celebration.
The book on district
judges contains biographies of nineteen judges as well as much
local legal lore and valuable judiciary statistics. The Souvenir
Program
for the Centennial is significant for its identification of
places of historic interest in Refugio County.
Mr. Carter M. Snooks, of the Refugio Timely
Remarks,
is
the donor of Huson, El
Copano,
Ancient
Port
of
Bexar
and,
La
Bahia,
a sixty-four page bulletin containing a wealth of
biographical and descriptive material on the Aransas Bay area,
and the Refugio Timely
Remarks
Centennial
Edition
of Decem-
ber 14, 1934, an excellent local history item.
In addition to his gift, Mr. Huson sent, on loan, other items
which will be valuable in the compilation of the Handbook
of
Texas.
One is a thirty-six-page typescript, "Colonel Fannin's
Execution of General Houston's Orders to Evacuate Goliad."
Five copies of the Guardsman,
official publication of the Texas
State Guard Officers' Association, contain the following articles
by Mr. Huson: "Philip Dimmit: Prototype of Texas State
Guard Officers," Guardsman,
October, 1943; "Texans Orig-
inated 'Intramural' Fighting," ibid.,
January, 1944; "The Boggy
Road that Led to San Jacinto," ibid.,
April and May, 1944; and
"Military History of the Battle of San Jacinto," ibid.,
August,
1944.
Two articles in the July, 1945, Field
and
Laboratory,
both
by Dr. S. W. Geiser, contain information about interesting
figures in early Texas. William P. Huff, a San Felipe mer-
chant, achieved renown as a collector of fossils. Specimens
from his collections went to the British Museum and Harvard.
Dr. Geiser's article on pp. 53-60 gives a sketch of Huff's life
and activities. Dr. Geiser's contribution on John Wright Glenn,
an early state geologist, also contains information on the early
history of the State Geological Survey.
William A. Hunter, 1215 Denver Avenue, Fort Worth 6,
Texas, wants full information from some Texas naturalist on
the wood pigeon and the blue sandhill crane--especially when
the last blue sandhill crane was seen in Texas.
Professor Samuel Asbury, of Texas Agricultural and Me-
chanical College, has kindly furnished the office a typewritten
copy, made by our esteemed member Philip C. Tucker, Braden-
ton, Florida, of "A Complete History of Chambers County,
Texas," from the Anahuac Progress,
June 25, 1937. Professor
Asbury has also furnished a typed copy of the First Census
of Austin's Colony, 1.826, taken from the Spanish Archives,
LIV, 9-18 of the General Land Office. Both contributions are
valuable and much appreciated.
Professor Asbury has also recently written a generous and
helpful letter regarding the July issue of the Quarterly.
This July Quarterly
is just magnificent. ... Of course Dr. Barker's
"Bugbee" leads all the rest. . . . [In connection with Dan Ferguson's
"Forerunners of Baylor"] the name was Elias Wightman, not Wright-
man. And I think Pilgrim had his school in Gulf Prairie among the
Perry's and the McNeels, etc., and nearly down to the Gulf, when the
Bryans and Stephen F. Austin, Jr., went to school to him. He might
have taught school earlier at Columbia, but I think he went directly to
Gulf Prairie from San Felipe. ... I was particularly pleased with Pro-
fessor Bragg's article. . . . Dr. Haggard's article on the "Neutral Ground"
is good and I'm a specialist on the border counties this side of the Sabine.
Dr. Gene Hollon has been employed by the Humble Oil and
Refining Company for the summer as a research historian.
Dr. Hollon goes to the department of history in the University
of Oklahoma in September as an assistant professor of history.
In Oklahoma he will assist Professor M. H. Wardell in inaugu-
rating Junior Historian work there. Hollon goes to Oklahoma
well prepared, as he was for several years a Junior Historian
sponsor for the Association.
The winners in the L. W. Kemp Essay Contest for Texas
college students, sponsored by the Association from funds con-
tributed by the Hon. Harry Pennington of San Antonio, are
as follows:
First Place: Janet Watson Roy, University of Texas, Austin. "The
Life and Times of Minera, Texas."
Second Place: Betty Joe Greer, West Texas State College, Canyon,
Texas. "Dugout Homes of the Northwest Texas Pioneers."
Third Place: Marnie Lesser, Blinn College, Brenham, Texas. "The
History of Brenham, Texas."
The Waterways
Journal
for September 8, 1945, carried a
note on and a photographic reproduction of the bill of lading
for the first water shipment of cotton from Paris, Texas, to
New Orleans. It may surprise readers to learn that the trip
was made in July this year and in an all-steel Higgins tank
lighter, which negotiated Red River to the Denison Dam.
Numbers of letters are on file in the office asking our special
assistance in obtaining Volume III, No. 3 of the Junior
His
-
torian.
Mostly it appears that any reasonable price will be
paid. Any person having extra copies is invited to notify the
office.
Additional information has been requested on John T. John-
son, the founder of Johnson City, Texas, and Mrs. Brooks
Sweeten of Rocksprings, his granddaughter, has kindly fur-
nished the following information.
John T. Johnson's father was a native of Mississippi where he was a
practicing physician; moved to Gonzales County with his family where
he lived until his death. John T. Johnson was born in Mississippi on
April 24, 1840; spent his early life in Gonzales County; volunteered to
fight in the Civil War in 1861 at age of eighteen. He fought in the
Cavalry Division under General Nathan Bedford Forrest through the en-
tire war. After the war he returned to Gonzales County, where he married
Miss Mary A. Withers.
In 1876 he brought his family to Blanco County, where he and his
brother, James P. Johnson, bought land in and around present site of
Johnson City. They operated this land for many years. My grandfather,
John T., put in the first store, post office, and blacksmith shop, officially
organizing the town in March, 1879, calling it Johnson City. Through
the influence of these brothers, the county seat was moved from Blanco
to Johnson City, first occupying a large rock building previously built
and owned by James P. John T. was elected to the position of county
treasurer, serving in this capacity for six years.
My grandfather was a very religious man, a devout Christian, civic-
minded in every respect.
Years later, he moved to Bandera County, where he died at the age
of seventy-six.
Each issue of the Library
Chronicle
gets better. Volume I,
No. 3 (Spring, 1945), contains a charming article "Texas
State
Register,
1856-1879," by E. W. Winkler. Under the heading
"Centennial of Statehood Documents" is printed a letter from
James F. and Emily Perry to Stephen F. Perry, April 27, 1845.
The Texas Collection in the Library has recently acquired John
Cassin's work, entitled Illustrations
of
the
Birds
of
California,
Texas,
Oregon,
British
and
Russian
America
(1855). This
work supplements Audubon and presents the paisano on plate
XXXVI.
The Association lost a distinguished member in the death of
Wirt Davis of Dallas, chairman of the board of the Republic
National Bank, on August 3, 1945. Davis was born in Liberty,
Texas. He graduated from Yale in 1897 and later attended
the law school of the University of Texas. He was actively
interested in banking, oil, farms and ranches, and in paper
manufacturing, but found time to gather in his home one of
the fine libraries of the state.
The Rails Banner
recently announced that Mrs. Nellie Witt
Spikes is compiling a history of Crosby County and will appre-
ciate hearing from anyone who has recollections or documents
pertaining to the county. Mrs. Spikes's address is Route 2,
Floydada, Texas.
The following additions to the membership list of the Asso-
ciation have been made since publication of the July Quarterly.
Mrs. Nancy Taylor
807 Fifth Avenue
Fort Worth, Texas
Miss Mary M. Anderson
2220 Mistletoe
San Antonio 1, Texas
Mr. Robert F. Roberts
3002 Washington Square
Austin, Texas
Mr. Weldon Hart
2407 Jarratt
Austin, Texas
Mr. J. A. Brown
3618 Burlington
Houston, Texas
Mr. James L. Hightower, IV
N. Franklin St.
Marshall, Texas
Mr. Frank M. Edwards
Pleasure Hill
Ingram, Texas
Mr. John C. Dawson
2415 Reba Drive
Houston 6, Texas
Mrs. S. M. Prince
Chireno, Texas
Judge Charles Lunn Black
P. O. Box 1073
Austin 6, Texas
Mr. E. E. Kirkpatrick
Box 588
Brownwood, Texas
Mr. H. 0. Compton
Liberty, Texas
Miss Anna D. Linn
P. 0. Box 87
Alpine, Texas
Mr. Homer Cherry
P. O. Box 699
Kilgore, Texas
Mrs. Kate Klingeman
819 Belvin St.
San Marcos, Texas
Mrs. Veta R. Maxwell
4304 Kenwood Court
Fort Worth, Texas
Mrs. 0. C. Hazlewood
2008 Guadalupe
Austin, Texas
Library
Army War College Building
Washington 25, D. C.
Dr. Holman Taylor, Sr.
Texas State Journal of Medicine
1404 West El Paso Street
Fort Worth, Texas
Mrs. W. W. Kyle
1530 Sabine Pass
Beaumont, Texas
Mrs. Margaret Huffman
1301 South Washington
Marshall, Texas
Miss Jean E. Rooke
Woodsboro, Texas
Mrs Albert Logan
Marfa, Texas
Pine Tree School Library
Route 4
Longview, Texas
Mr. G. H. Cassil
548 Gazin Street
Houston, Texas
Mr. Robert L. Schroeter
4447 Lexington Avenue
St. Louis 15, Missouri
Mr. R. E. Beamon
1453 Mellie Esperson Building
Houston, Texas
Mr. Nugent E. Brown, Editor
The Rails Banner
Rails, Texas
Yoe High School
Mr. W. T. Hanes, Supt.
Cameron, Texas
Forney High School
Mr. J. P. Matthews, Supt.
Forney, Texas
McKinney High School
Mr. Jack R. Ryan, Supt.
McKinney, Texas
Hutto High School
Mr. Vallon L. Voight, Supt.
Hutto, Texas
Georgetown High School
Mr. L. W. St. Clair, Supt.
Georgetown, Texas
Blessing High School
Mr. George K. Nelson, Supt.
Blessing, Texas
Whitney High School
Mr. M. E. Jones, Supt.
Whitney, Texas
Seguin High School
Mrs. Lu Jean Looper, Librarian
Seguin, Texas
Whiteface High School
Mr. Ben L. Graham, Supt.
Whiteface, Texas
Eagle Pass Public Schools
Mr. Fred R. Thompson
Eagle Pass, Texas
Cedar Bayou School
Mr. F. L. Muston, Supt.
Cedar Bayou, Texas
Asherton High School
Mr. M. I. Broxton, Supt.
Asherton, Texas
Nixon High School
Mrs. R. S. Holmes
Nixon, Texas
Mrs. Carrie J. Crouch
Graham, Texas
Supt. Levi Fry
Box 331
Texas City, Texas
Miss Mamie Price
Box 821
Texas City, Texas
Ranger Public Schools
Dr. G. C. Boswell, Supt.
Ranger, Texas
Rockwall High School
Mr. J. A. Wilkerson, Supt.
Rockwall, Texas
Book Reviews
W.
Lee
O'Daniel
and
Texas
Politics,
1938-1942.
By Seth
Shepard McKay. Lubbock (Texas Tech. Press), Copyright
date 1944 (but issued 1945). Pp. 628.
Nearly fifty years ago Edward Stanwood published a book
entitled, A
History
of
the
Presidency.
It is a brief survey of
presidential election campaigns devoted chiefly to candidates,
party nominees, party platforms, campaigns, and election re-
turns. It is most useful, and will continue to be, to students
of American political history and government. Mr. McKay,
covering five years of Texas politics centering around the rather
amazing, almost incomprehensible, career of W. Lee O'Daniel,
has produced a work greatly superior in interest to the Stan-
wood book and one that will probably surpass it in usefulness
to students and readers in the narrower field of state politics.
The seven chapters describe the two elections of O'Daniel to
the governor's office; his relations with two legislatures; the
two elections to the United States Senate, with his record in
the Senate down to 1942. Incidental to the main theme are
biographical sketches of O'Daniel's rivals, their platforms, and
their campaigns. The information is drawn almost wholly
from contemporary Texas newspapers and magazines, from
Texas House and Senate Journals,
and from the Congressional
Record.
The writer is wholly objective, and this reader at least
has been unable to find a clue to Professor McKay's own
attitude toward O'Daniel or toward any of his defeated rivals.
The book does not lack characterizations, however, by capable
writers whom the author judiciously quotes or paraphrases.
Several reflections and questions must occur to the reader.
No doubt they occurred to the author, but, in keeping with
his stern objectivity, he does not express them. In perspective,
it must appear to a candid reader that O'Daniel had, or evolved,
during his first campaign and in the months following his first
primary, a program to which he adhered consistently and
frankly. On pages 404-405, the author tabulates the principal
proposals that the governor made to the legislature and those
that the legislature adopted. Among those passed by the legis-
lature were a constitutional amendment prohibiting appropria-
tions in excess of revenues, and laws raising the truck load
limit, financing Big Bend Park, prohibiting gambling devices,
prohibiting the use of violence in strikes, taxing natural re-
sources and utilities, revising the unemployment compensation
tax to decrease the burden on employers, and creating a home
guard. Some of the proposals that failed of passage were
recommendations permitting appointment of a budget director,
the creation of a centralized tax agency, civil service for state
employees, abolition of the poll tax as a voting prerequisite,
arbitration of labor disputes, making the office of the state
superintendent of education appointive, the levy of a transac-
tions tax to provide adequate revenue while abolishing the
state ad valorem tax, and the creation of a "department for
farmers and ranchers consisting of all agrarian pursuits."
Perhaps few of these ideas were original with the governor,
but it must come as a surprise to some readers of this book
who remember only campaign impressions that few also are
the proposals of a "crackpot" or reactionary. Granting the
impractical nature of the transactions tax, its advocacy need
not convict one of dishonesty or lunacy. Just what was it,
beyond the accusations of his critics, that gave rise to the
charge that O'Daniel was the tool of the "interests" and a
traitor to the poor and old who trusted him?
Professor McKay has performed a real service by reviewing
five troubled years of Texas politics and enabling readers and
students to check their impressions and conclusions in the light
of cool perspective. Also he has done another thing of no little
historical importance; he has proved that a sound historical
manual can be written on current politics. Having made the
discovery, it is to be hoped that he will continue to exploit the
field that he has opened up.
The University of Texas
Eugene C. Barker
The
Garrison
of
Fort
Bliss,
1849-1916.
By M. H. Thomlinson.
El Paso (Hertzog and Resler), 1945. $2.50.
The army post of El Paso, forerunner of Fort Bliss, was
established September 8, 1849. The post has been maintained
to the present time, although twice the army sought to move
away and for a time Confederates occupied the area. The post
has served to protect frontier settlers and California emigrant
trains and to hold in check depredating Indians and Mexicans.
Thomlinson, the author, is a retired army colonel, and with
army exactness he has recorded the service record of the vari-
ous organizations stationed at Fort Bliss up to 1916. The five
various locations of the fort are adequately stated.
It is a slim book with preface, introduction, text, and appen-
dix covering approximately half a hundred pages. One is as-
sured there are no wasted words and no excessive emotion-
alizing; it is a book of facts. The illustrations are well chosen
and add to the value of the book. For frontispiece the colonel
has chosen "The Post of El Paso, 1849-1851" by H. C. Pratt,
a painting recovered from oblivion in New England by the
Texas State Historical Association.
The volume will have real appeal for any man who has served
at Fort Bliss; it is an excellently done local history item. It
is from the Press of Carl Hertzog and will be sought by many
for the excellence of its format. The printing is done with
Hertzog's customary care; the end papers are especially attrac-
tive and of historic value.
The University of Texas
H. Bailey Carroll
The
United
States,
1865-1900:
A
Survey
of
Current
Literature
with
Abstracts
of
Unpublished
Dissertations.
Curtis Wis-
well Garrison (ed.). Fremont, Ohio (The Rutherford B.
Hayes-Lucy Webb Hayes Foundation), 1944. Volume II,
September, 1942-December, 1943. Pp. 453. $1.00.
This volume, as its title indicates, is a survey of contribu-
tions to knowledge of history and life in the United States in
the period 1865-1900 which appeared from September, 1942,
through December, 1943. The works appraised are grouped in
the following sections: Political and Constitutional, Interna-
tional Relations, Economic and Social, Educational and Intel-
lectual, Religion, Literature and Art, Regional and State. There
are additional sections on Recent Textbooks, Surveys, and Pop-
ular Histories, and Abstracts of Unpublished Dissertations.
This mere listing of the sections of the volume indicates the
magnitude of the project, whose ultimate aim is "to make it
ever clearer what knowledge has gained
from the yearly out-
put" concerning the period 1865-1900, which the editor regards
as "the period of origins of our present American civilization."
The primary criterion set up by the editor in the appraise-
ment of the works surveyed is "the value of the book or article
as a contribution to knowledge." The editor admits that "me-
diocrity or inferiority in method or technique has a decided
bearing on this point" but adds that the Survey
is not "pri-
marily concerned with criticism of methods and techniques."
While the extent to which method and technique condition the
value of any work is a question which leaves much room for
variation of opinion, it would seem that, particularly in inter-
pretative works, these two factors assume more than a passive
role. As the need for interpretation becomes more acute in
proportion to the tremendous increase in volume of historical
material, it would seem that the importance of technique and
method should not be too severely minimized.
Included in the Southwest division of the Regional and State
section are appraisements of the following works: J. Frank
Dobie, Guide
to
the
Life
and
Literature
of
the
Southwest;
Rupert N. Richardson, Texas:
The
Lone
Star
State
(which is
singled out for special comment in the general introduction of
the Survey);
Jesse James Benton, Cow
by
the
Tail;
C. L. Son-
nichsen, Roy
Bean:
Law
West
of
the
Pecos;
S. S. McKay, Seven
Decades
of
the
Texas
Constitution
of
1876;
Ernest Wallace,
Charles
DeMorse:
Pioneer
Editor
and
Statesman;
and D. W.
Ogletree, "Establishing the Texas Court of Appeals, 1875-1876,"
in the Southwestern
Historical
Quarterly,
XLVII. The
Great
Southwest
Strike
by Ruth A. Allen is appraised in the Eco-
nomic and Social section. Ralph P. Bieber, editor of the South-
west division, calls attention to the great need for a bibliography
of the history of the Trans-Mississippi West; in fact, he holds
that no rapid progress in research in this field can be expected
until such a bibliography is made.
The Survey
performs an essential service and will be widely
used by all those working in studies of American life in the
period covered. It will be an indispensable tool in the field of
history, which, according to Mr. Garrison, "gives us an under-
standing of what we are and what we mean and what we may
become."
The University of Texas
Betty Brooke Eakle
My
Aunt
Louisa
and
Woodrow
Wilson.
By Margaret Axson
Elliott. Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina Press),
1944. Pp. vii+302. $3.50.
The writing of biography is at one and the same time both
very interesting and extremely difficult. Some historical char-
acters remain unsung in biography, and their names and careers
appear only on the pages of national and state histories; other
historical figures merit one biographical study, and when that
has been done reasonably well, the task is regarded as completed
and attracts no other biographer; but some historical person-
ages have become the subject of several biographies.
To this third group Thomas Woodrow Wilson belongs. Each
of his biographers viewed him from a different angle, "por-
trayed," as the author says, "the special facet with which he
himself happened to be familiar." Margaret Axson Elliott knew
"the facets which Woodrow Wilson showed chiefly to the 'in-
laws,' the sizable group that at one time formed so large a part
of Woodrow's and Ellen's lives." A distinguished author, one
of Wilson's biographers, suggested to Margaret Axson Elliott,
Woodrow Wilson's sister-in-law, that she write a biography of
Wilson "from the point of view of the in-laws." She accepted
the task and wrote the very fascinating and worth-while book
which is here briefly reviewed.
The book is more than a biography of Woodrow Wilson. It
is also a biography of the author's aunt, Louisa Hoyt Wade,
her mother's sister, who had married the widower Warren
Wade, a Baptist who built the first shoe factory in Illyria and
thus, in part, brought the industrial age to the South. Illyria,
by the way, is an imaginary town which the jacket describes
as "a composite of several small Southern towns slowly reviv-
ing after the war." In colonial times it had sprung up and
then it had grown and grown--slowly--to be sure; and in the
Civil War Sherman had burned its "five old pre-war houses,"
and then the owners had replaced them "by mid-Victorian
atrocities." The author lived with her Aunt Louisa until she
was thirteen years old, learned the catechism, and saw life
with a Southern background.
The larger portion of the book deals with Woodrow Wilson
as the author saw him in Princeton, as professor in the Library
Place house and as president in "Prospect," Wilson's second
home in Princeton. It also speaks of Woodrow Wilson's cam-
paign for and service as governor of New Jersey. The last
part of thirty-six pages contains an "in-laws" story of Woodrow
Wilson in the White House.
Very interesting in the word pictures of this very readable
book is the account of Woodrow Wilson's effort "to transform
the exclusive upper-class clubs (of Princeton) into integral
parts of the University life." These clubs "were to be turned
into quadrangles or quads" in the fashion of the colleges in
English universities in order that the men in the four classes
of college would live together and profit from that contact.
"Quadrangles," the author remarks about the dispute, "turned
into quad wrangles." It was a memorable fight in Woodrow
Wilson's presidency of Princeton.
In connection with this incident, the author makes an evalua-
tion of Woodrow Wilson that was so characteristic of him and
that served him in so many situations in his three executive
positions. Ascribing the words to one of Wilson's biographers,
the author quotes, "He never attacked big issues half-heartedly
nor surrendered easily." Her own opinion is, "He never sur-
rendered at all."
The University of Texas
Rudolph L. Biesele
Book Notes
Texas is not the only state celebrating the hundredth anni-
versary of statehood this year. Florida was also admitted in
1845. Among the projects sponsored by the Centennial Com-
mission of Florida for celebration of this anniversary is a
booklet entitled Recommended
Readings
for
the
Florida
Cen
-
tennial
by A. J. Hanna. This is a guide to literature on Florida
and is a particularly timely method of emphasizing the Cen-
tennial. For those who would like to have a list of books which
are reliable, readable, and available on the history, resources,
life, and character of Florida it is most valuable. Few persons
have the time to search through an extensive bibliography for
the particular volume desired. Here is a list of titles in a
booklet of sixty-three pages covering all phases of state activ-
ities from which one may quickly choose whatever is of interest.
Eight books are listed as indispensable to an introduction
to Florida. The remainder are grouped under topics such as
biography, children's books, conservation, description, educa-
tion, exploration, fiction, industries, nature, regional and local
areas, religion, settlement, sports and recreation, war, and
reconstruction.
Each book is briefly described and evaluated so that the reader
volume will meet his need.
This idea might well be adopted for our own state. There
is certainly a need for a brief list of books on Texas, giving
a reliable and overall picture of any field in which one is inter-
ested.
The University of Texas
Coral H. Tullis
Contributors
Charles W. Hackett, "The Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo
and His Recovery of Texas from the French, 1719-1723," is
an associate editor of the Quarterly
and head of the Institute
of Latin-American Studies at the University of Texas. The
editor of Pichardo's
Treatise
on
the
Limits
of
Louisiana
and
Texas,
Dr. Hackett last year was named a distinguished pro-
fessor of history. He is a past president of the Phi Beta Kappa
chapter at the University.
Dorothy Louise Fields, "David Gouverneur Burnet," received
her B.A. in June from the University of Texas, where she is a
member of Phi Beta Kappa. Miss Fields was a charter member
of the Junior Historians at Beaumont and was a prize winner
in the 1941 Sons of the Republic essay contest for a paper on
David G. Burnet. At present she is a tutor in government at
the University and doing work in the graduate school.
C. Stanley Banks, "The Mormon Migration into Texas", re-
sides at 230 Mary Louise Drive, in San Antonio, Texas, where
he has been engaged in the practice of law for the past thirty
years. He is a native of Caldwell, Texas. Since early youth
he has been a keen student of Texas history. In the practice
of law he has specialized in land titles from which he has
acquired a wealth of historical information about the state
and its pioneer families. He is one of the organizers and a
past president of the San Antonio Historical Association and
has appeared a number of times before luncheon clubs and
civic organizations as a guest speaker on Texas history subjects.
C. F. Arrowood, "The Election of Jefferson Davis to the
Presidency of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Tex-
as," is Professor of the History and Philosophy of Education
in the University of Texas. He takes a special interest in the
history of education in Texas.
Julia Kathryn Garrett, "Dr. John Sibley and the Louisiana-
Texas Frontier, 1803-1814," is head of the social science depart-
ment at Paschal High School and author of Green
Flag
over
Texas.
E. W. Winkler, "Check List of Texas Imprints, 1846-1876,"
the dean of Texas bibliographers and a walking encyclopedia
of Texas books, is bibliographer of the University of Texas
Library.
Llerena Friend, "Contemporary Newspaper Accounts of the
Annexation of Texas," is a teacher of Texas history in Wichita
Falls Senior High School where her work in the Junior His-
torian program has been outstanding. She received both the
B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Texas and is
a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She has served as research
assistant in Texas history at the University of Texas and as
editorial assistant on the Quarterly.
Harbert Davenport, "Notes on Early Steamboating on the
Rio Grande," is a past president of the Texas State Historical
Association and has contributed several articles to the Quar
-
terly
in the past. Davenport, an attorney, is a recognized au-
thority on the lower Rio Grande Valley, the Texas Revolution,
and the soldiers of the Goliad campaign.
Hampson Gary, "General J. Pinckney Henderson," a dis-
tinguished native son of Tyler, Texas, attended the University
of Virginia, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa. He has served
as standing master in chancery, United States Civil Court;
special counsel to the Department of State; Consul general to
Egypt; with the American Committee to negotiate peace at
Paris, 1919; minister plenipotentiary to Switzerland; regent of
the University of Texas; first chairman, Federal Communica-
tions Commission; and is at present solicitor of the United
States Export-Import Bank.
How to cite:
Volume 49, Number 2, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v049/n2/issue.html
[Accessed Mon Nov 23 14:01:11 CST 2009]
