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School histoiy of Texas /
Stanford Uniyersitv Librarias^
3 6105 04934 2350
OF
•«^a
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
LIBRARY
STANFORD \Sv^ UNIVERSITY
LIBRARIES
A SCHOOL
HISTORY OF TEXAS
BT
EUGENE CJBARKER
mOCIATX PROPEflSOR'TSr HISTORY, THX
UMIVEasITT OF TEXAS
CHARLES SHIRLEY POTTS
ASaOCTATB PROFESSOR OF OOYKRNMENT, THE nNIYERSITT
OF TEXAS (formerly ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF
HISTORY AND ECONOMICS IN THE
A. AND M. COLLEGE OF TEXAS)
CHARLES W. RAMSDELL
nrSTRUCTOR IN HISTORY, THE UNIVERSITY
OF TEXAS
CHICAGO
ROW, PETERSON & COMPANY
. 1
629014
Copyright, 1912, by
EUGENE C. BARKER, CHARLES SHIRLEY POTTS,
AND CHARLES W. RAMSDELL.
PEEFACE
This book aims to present in form suflSciently sim-
ple for young readers the essential facts of the his-
tory of Texas. To bring it within the grasp of fifth
and sixth grade pupils and to make it a thoroughly
useful tool in the hands of the teacher, we have
steadily sought to give it the qualities of accuracy,
directness, and fairness. We believe that our sym-
pathetic reverence for the history of our native
state, our knowledge of the subject, and our ex-
perience as teachers in the public schools and col-
leges of Texas have enabled us to accomplish this
end with measurable success. We have written
only what is important to an understanding of the
making of Texas, and we have shown at each step
why it is important, so that the pupil should be in no
doubt at any time of the significance of what he
reads. The illustrations have been .chosen with a
view to instruct as well as to entertain children;
geographical questions are illustrated by numerous
maps; and at the end of each chapter are a list of
questions, designed to emphasize the principal
points of the chapter, and a list of simple and inter-
esting reading which may be used to supplement
the text.
Ti PEEFACE
It is hoped that teachers will be helped by the
material in the appendices. Appendix II offers sug-
gestions for the teaching of each chapter, with a
list of additional reading for those teachers who
have the time and the opportunity to pursue it.
Appendix III is a detailed outline of the book, which
should be followed in the class, and which should be
used especially in reviews. The teacher will observe
that the Table of Contents forms a brief general out-
line. Appendix IV gives a list of the presidents and
governors of Texas with the dates of their adminis-
trations. Chapters XI and XII may, if necessarj,
be omitted without detriment to the narrative.
We are indebted to Mr. E. W. Winkler, of the
Texas State Library, for reading the greater part
of the manuscript and offering many helpful sug-
gestions. We are also indebted to numerous friends
for photographs and other illustrative material.
THE AUTHORS.
CONTENTS
Preface V
List of Dates XIII
Chapteb.
I. The Background of Texas History (1492-
1689) 1
1. The Spanish Claim to Texas 1
2. The French Claim to Texas 5
3. The English in America 10
II. Spain Begins to Occupy Texas (1690-1714) ... 12
III. Spain Takes Possession of Texas (1714-
1800 21
1. The French in Louisiana Stir the Spanish
to Occupy Texas 21
2. The Spanish Settlement of Texas 27
3. Life in the Spanish Settlements 34
4. Trouble With the French 39
rV. The Americans Become Acquainted With
Texas (1798-1820) 47
1. Spain Gets a New Neighbor, the United
States 47
2. Americans Begin to Invade Texas 61
a. Nolan^s Expedition 61
b. The Gutierrez and Magee Expedition. 63
c. Long^s Expedition 66
V. Colonization: The Americans Settle Texas
(1821-1835) 61
1. Texas Gets a New Owner, Mexico 61
2. The American Colonies in Texas 66
3. Life in the Colonies 72
VI. The Texas Eevolution : The Americans Take
Texas (1821-1836) 83
1. The General Causes of the Revolution. ... 83
2. The Immediate Causes of the Revolution. . 97
vu
Tiii CONTENTS
3. The Campaign of 1835 100
4. The Government of Texas During the
Revolution 108
5. The campaign of 1836 114
a. The Fall of the Alamo 115
b. The Goliad Massacre 123
c. The Battle of San Jacinto 133
VII. The Eepublic of Texas: The Amekicans in
Possession (1836-1846) 143
1. Home Affairs 143
a. The Restoration of Order 145
b. The Regular Government of the Re-
public 150
c. The Financial Affairs of the Republic. 157
d. Indian Troubles 160
e. The Growth of Population and Wealth 164
2. Foreign Affairs 169
a. Relations With European Countries.. 169
b. Relations With Mexico 171
c. Relations With the United States 180
VIII. Early Statehood: From Annexation to Se-
cession (1846-1861) 188
1. The Establishment of a State Government. 188
2. The War Between the United States and
Mexico 188
3. The Boundary Dispute With the United
States 193
4. The Settlement of the Public Debt 196
5. Expansion of Population and Industries. . . 199
6. The Approach of Civil War 203
IX. Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1874) . . 210
1. The Civil War 210
a. Texas Secedes and Joins the Confed-
eracy 210
b. The War in Texas 213
c. Conditions in Texas During the War. . 219
2. Reconstruction.
a. Restoration of Civil Government by
President Johnson 224
CONTENTS ix
b. Military Eule and Eadical Eeconstmc-
tion Established by Congress 227
c. The Problem of the Negroes 230
d. Beadmission to the Union; Eadical
Eule Under Governor Davis 234
e. The Close of Eeconstniction 236
X. The State Since Eeconstruction : Fobty
Years op Progress (1874-1912) 243
1. Financial Conditions in 1876 245
2. The Establishment of Law and Order 247
3. The Capitol 249
4. Eailroad and Trust Eegulation 253
5. Texas in the Spanish War 259
6. The Brazos Floods and the Galveston Storm 261
7. Political Parties 265
8. The Terrell Election Law 268
XL Material Development Since 1870 276
1. Increase in Population and Wealth 276
2. Development of Agriculture 283
3. The Live Stock Industry 289
4. Development of Means of Communication. 293
5. Mining and Manufacturing 300
XII. Education and Public Charity 308
Appendix I. Declaration of Independence, March 2,
1836 329
Appendix 11. Suggestions to Teachers, Arranged by
Chapters 334
Appendix III. Outline 355
Appendix IV. List of the Presidents and Governors of
Texas 377
Index 379
LIST OF MAPS
Page
Possessions of European Nations^ 1700 9
The Eoute from Cuba to Santa ¥6 13
The Old San Antonio Eoad 28
English and Spanish Possessions, 1763 48
English and Spanish Possessions, 1803 50
Spanish Settlements in Texas to 1800 63
Some Early Colonial Grants 70
General Houston 's March to San Jacinto 133
Disputed Territory at Outbreak of the Mexican War 190
Territory Claimed by Texas and Sold to the United States
in 1850 195
Eailroads in Texas Before the Civil War 201
Federal Plan of Invading Texas Through Sabine Pass 216
Greer County 251
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Page.
The Capitol Frontispiece
Horse and Soldier in Armor 2
An Indian Pueblo 4
La Salle 7
An Old Spanish Picture 14
A Missionary Father 17
Indian Arrow Heads 22
Indian Basket Maker ' 24
Peace Pipe 29
Entrance to the Alamo 31
Carved Doorway, Mission San Jose 33
Mission San Jose 35
Spanish Irrigation Ditch, San Antonio 38
An Indian Spoon 43
Indian Pottery 44
An Old Spanish Spur 52
Stephen F. Austin 62
The Cathedral, City of Mexico 65
A Comfortable Pioneer Home 73
Me-t4-tes, Used by the Indians and Mexicans for Mashing Corn. 77
Old Spectacles 79
Old Fort at Nacogdoches 93
Austin 's Pistols and Hatchet 96
Cannon Used in the Eevolution 101
Mission Concepcion 104
Sear of Cathedral San Fernando, San Antonio 107
The Alamo 113
The Alamo Monument 119
Santa Anna 126
Mission La Bahia at Goliad 129
The Capture of Santa Anna 135
Sam Houston 144
Tomb of Stephen F. Austin 154
A Comanche Cradle 162
San Antonio About 1846 176
The Palace of Chapultepec, City of Mexico 179
President Anson Jones 182
The Bishop's Palace, Monterey 191
Guadalupe Hidalgo 193
Governor E. M. Pease 202
President Jefferson Davis 206
Galveston About 1860 211
Ootton-clads 214
Dick Dowling 217
xi
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
An Old-Time Negro 221
General Bobert E. Lee 222
Governor A, J, Hamilton 224
Governor J, W, Throckmorton 226
The Governor's Mansion at Austin 228
Governor E. J. Davis 235
Governor Bichard Coke 237
Governor James Stephen Hogg 244
Four Distinguished Governors 252
Judge John H. Beagan 256
Governor C. A. Culberson 259
Levee Work Near Brenham 261
Governor J. D. Sayers 262
The Galveston Sea Wall • 263
The Galveston Causeway 264
Governor S. W. T. Lanham 269
Governor T. M. Campbell 271
Governor O. B. Colquitt 272
The Dallas-Oak Cliff Viaduct 278
Group of Five High Schools 281
A Boll Weevil 284
Rice Irrigation in South Texas 286
Boys' Corn Club, Tyler 288
Successors of the ' *Longhorn ' ' 291
A Stage Coach 294
Early Passenger Train 296^
Forty Years Ago and To-day 297
Turning Basin, Houston Ship Canal 299
How Good Beads are Made 300
An Oil Gusher, Beaumont 301
Pine Forest in East Texas 303
Class in Agriculture, Bonham High School 309
Consolidated Bural School 315
The University of Texas, Main Building 316
Engineering Building, A. and M. College 313
College of Industrial Arts for Girls 319
Group of Four State Normal Schools 320
IMPORTANT DATES IN TEXAS HISTORY
1492. Discovery of America.
1519-21. Spain's conquest of Mexico.
1528-34. Cabeza de Vaca in Texas.
1685-87. La SaUe in Texas.
1690. The first Spanish settlement in Texas (Mission
S^n Francisco de los Tejas).
1716. The settlement of East Texas.
1718. The founding of San Antonio.
1749. The founding of Goliad.
1762. France cedes Western Louisiana to Spain.
1779. The founding of Nacogdoches.
1800-01. Nolan's expedition.
1803. The United States buys Louisiana.
1812-13. The Gutierrez and Magee Expedition.
1819. Settlement of the boundary between Texas and
Louisiana.
Long's expedition.
1821. The beginning of Austin's Colony.
Mexico gains independence from Spain.
1824. Mexico adopts a republican constitution, somewhat
like that of the United States.
1826. The Fredonian Eebellion.
1830. Law of April 6, prohibiting further immigration of
Americans into Texas.
1832. Fighting between Mexicans and Texans at Anahuac
and Velasco.
Soldiers expelled from Texas.
• • •
Xlll
xiv IMPOETANT DATES IN TEXAS HISTORY
1833. The Convention at San Felipe petitions for separa-
tion from Coahuila.
1834. Imprisonment of Stephen P. Austin in Mexico.
1835. October 2, battle of Gonzales.
November 3, meeting of the Consultation at San
Felipe.
December 9, capture of San Antonio, and sur-
render of General Cos.
1836. March 2, declaration of independence.
March 6, fall of the Alamo.
March 17, formation of the constitution.
March 27, the Goliad massacre.
April 21, battle of San Jacinto.
May 14, treaty of Velasco signed.
October 22, General Houston begins first term as
president.
December 27, death of Stephen F. Austin.
1837. The United States recognizes the independence of
Texas.
1838. December, General Lamar inaugurated as president
of Texas.
1839. Expulsion of Cherokees from East Texas.
Eecognition of Texan independence by France.
1840. Eecognition of Texan independence by Great
Britain.
War with Comanches.
1841. Santa F6 expedition.
Second election of General Houston to the Pres-
idency.
1842. Failure of Santa F6 expedition.
Mexican invasion of Texas in March and September.
The Mier expedition.
1843. Suspension of hostilities between Mexico and Texas.
IMPOETANT DATES IN TEXAS HISTORY xv
1844. President Tyler tries to annex Texas to the United
States.
Dr. Anson Jones elected president of Texas.
1845. Texas accepts annexation to the United States.
1846. February 16, annexation completed.
May 12, the outbreak of war between the United
States and Mexico.
1848. Peace of Guadalupe Hidalgo: the Eio Grande rec-
ognized as the southern boundary of Texas.
1850. The settlement of the Texas-New Mexico boundary.
The beginning of the first railroad in Texas.
1854. The beginning of the public school system.
1861. February 1, passage of the Ordinance of Secession.
April 12, war begins between the new Confederate
States and the United States.
1863. January 1, recapture of Galveston by Magruder.
September 8, battle of Sabine Pass.
1865. April 9, surrender of General Lee at Appomattox,
Virginia.
June 2, surrender of Confederate forces in Texas.
June 19, all slaves in Texas declared free.
A. J. Hamilton appointed provisional governor.
1866. Constitutional convention. Throckmorton elected
governor.
1867. March 2, Congress places the Southern States under
military government.
July 30, Throckmorton removed by Sheridan.
Negroes given the right to vote.
1868. June 1, meeting of the reconstruction convention.
1869. Election of E. J. Davis as governor.
1870. March 30, Texas restored to the Union.
1872. Democrats gain control of the legislature.
1874. January 15, Coke inaugurated as governor.
1876. New (present) constitution adopted.
xvi IMPORTANT DATES IN TEXAS HISTORY
Agricultural and Mechanical College opened.
1879. Sam Houston Normal Institute and the Prairie
View Normal and Industrial College established.
1881. Capitol at Austin burned.
1883. The University of Texas established.
1887. State-wide prohibition election.
1888. New capitol completed and dedicated.
1891. Eailroad Commission established.
1898. The Spanish-American war.
1899. Destructive overflows on the Brazos and other Texas
rivers.
1900. The Galveston storm.
1901. North Texas State Normal College at Denton
opened.
1903. Girls* Industrial College and the Southwest Texas
State Normal opened.
1905. Terrell Election law passed.
1910. Establishment of West Texas State Normal College
at Canyon.
1911. The second state-wide prohibition election.
A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
CHAPTER I
THE BACKGSOUND OF TEXAS HISTOSY
1. THE SPANISH CLAIM TO TEXAS
The discovery of America. — Four hundred years
ago in poverty and distress a great man died in
Spain. His name was Christopher Columbus, and
our history begins with a wonderful discovery that
he made in 1492. This was the discovery of
America. At that time he was an officer in the
service of the king of Spain, and this gave Spain a
right to claim the country that he discovered.
Spain takes possession of the New World. — ^But
the king knew that unless something was done to
show that the ,country belonged to Spain one of his
neighbors, the king of France or the king of Eng-
land, might step in and take it. So he sent some '
of his men across the ocean to live in the new land
and hold it for him. Thev first settled in what we
call the West India Islands, that is, in San Domingo,
Porto Eico, and Cuba, but very soon they went
also to South America and to Mexico.
2 A SCHOOL HISTOBY OP TEXAS
The conquest of Mexico.— It is important for' us
to know something of their doings in Mexico,
because it was from there that men were finally sent
to settle Texas. Mexico was at that time inhab-
ited by many tribes of Indiana, and the most pow-
erful of them all was the Aztecs (Az'teks), who
lived around the present
City of Mexico. In 1519,
a little army of four hun-"
dred and fifty Spaniards
sailed from Cuba and
landed at Vera Cruz, on
the coast of Mexico. Pro-
tected by their armor
from the spears and ar-
rows of the natives, they
were in little danger,
while with their guns, a
few small cannon, and
fifteen horse s,^ they
killed thousands of the
Indians, and frightened the others into submis-
sion. In the treasure-rooms of the Aztec chiefs the
Spaniards found large stores of gold and silver,
whi,ch they seized. They also discovered the mines
from which this treasure had been taken, and com-
' These were the first horaea ever seen in Mexico, and the
Indians were more afraid of them than of the Spaniards'
guns.
THE BACKGROUND OF TEXAS HISTORY a
pelled the Indians to work them for the king of
Spain. To govern^ the country for him the king
appointed an officer whom he called the viceroy.^
The first Spaniards in Texas. — Soon after Spain^
had taken possession of Mexico, a large party of
Spaniards sailing through the Gulf were ship-
wrecked on an island off the coast of Texas. It
may have been Galveston Island or Saint Joseph's
or some other; the exact place is not known. Most
of the unfortunate men were drowned, and others
were so mistreated by the Indians that they soon
diedi, but among those who survived was a shrewd
young fellow named Cabeza de Vaca (Ka-ba'sa da
Va'ka) . At first the Indians made a slave of him,,
but after a time he became a great favorite with
them, and they allowed him to go from tribe to tribe
peddling arrow heads, skins, and paint, and shells,
which the Indians used for knives. After six years
of this life, he at last escaped with three of his ship-^
wrecked companions and made his way to friends in
Mexico. It was from him that the king later on first
heard of Texas.
Captain Coronado visits Texas. — ^When Cabeza de
Vaca rea^ched Mexico he found the Spaniards there
greatly excited over rumors which they had heard
of some wonderful cities in the country that wo
now call New Mexico. It was said that the houses
• ■ * The word simply means vice-king, that is, one who rulea
in place of the king.
A SCHOOL HISTOKT OF TEXAS
there were built of precious stones. Cabeza declared
that these reports were true, that he had passed
near the cities and had seen the houses sparkling in
the distance. The viceroy was anxious to get such
rich prizes for his master, the king, so he ordered
■Captain Coronado (Ko-ro-na'do) to go with an army
^nd take them. For many weary months Coronado
searched for the fab-
ulous cities, but
found only the poor-
est of Indian vil-
lages. At last he re-
turned to the viceroy
in despair, and ac-
knowledged that he
had failed. During
his search he
marched through
western Texas, and
that is the important
thing about his expedition for us. It strengthened
■Spain's claim to Texas.
Spain neglects Texas. — During the nest hundred
.and fifty years Spaniards now and then wandered-
into Texas, but they made no effort to settle, and
before following their story further it will be well
io learn something about two other peoples who
play a prominent part in the history of our state.
These are the French and the English.
An INDIAN Pueblo
THE BACKGROUND OF TEXAS HISTORY 5
2. THE FRENCH CLAIM TO TEXAS
The French settle in the north. — ^When otlier
nations saw the quantities of gold and silver that
were brought to Spain every year from the inines«
of Mexico and South America they also became
anxious for a portion of the New World. But the
Spaniards already held all the south, so that these
tardy nations had to settle elsewhere. The French
people, therefore, made their first settlements in.
Canada, very far from Texas. They found no gold,
but the forests were full of beautiful animals for
whose fur the fashionable men and women of
Europe were willing to pay large sums, so from,
the beginning the French devoted themselves to-
hunting and trapping these animals, and to bar-
tering trinkets to the Indians for their skins. As.
soon as they hunted most of the animals out of a.
place they would move into a new territory, where
game was plentiful. In this way the French moved
rapidly westward as far as the present states of
Wisconsin and Minnesota.
La SaUe explores the Mississippi River. — ^At last
they reached the upper branches of the Mississippi
River, and a bold explorer with a small band of
Indians and traders floated down to its mouth in the
Gulf of Mexico. This was in the year 1682, and the
man was the ill-fated La Salle.^ Setting up a rude
^ His full name was Eene Eobert Cavalier de la Salle. He?
was born in Eouen, France, in 1643. His parents wera-
^ A aCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
cross and unfurling the French flag, he solemnly
took possession in the name of his country of all
the vast region drained by the Mississippi. In
honor of the king of France, the dazzling Louis XIV,
he named this territory Louisiana. But he knew
that somewhere to the south of him the Spanish
were settled, and that unless France did something
io hold this land the Spanish would finally get it.
He resolved, therefore, to return to France by the
way that he had come and beg the king to let him
<5ome back with men enough to keep it.
The king permits La Salle to establish a colony on
the Mississippi. — "When he arrived in Paris La Salle
learned that the kings of France and Spain were
threatening each other with war. Louis XIV was
glad to do anything to increase his own possessions,
or harm his enemy, and as La Salle declared that
Louisiana might be used as a base of operations
from which to drive the Spanish out of Mexico, he
readily granted his request. So La Salle set sail
with four ships to establish a colony at the mouth
of the Mississippi. He had on board a hundred
soldiers, some carpenters and blacksmiths and other
mechanics, and a number of farmers. Some 6f the
men had their families with them, and intended to
wealthy, and he received a good education. At the age of
twenty-three he went to Canada, and spent most of the rest of
his life in exploring the New World. In 1687 he was
treacherously murdered by some of his men in Texas.
THE EACKaBOUND OP TEXAS HISTORY y
make their homes in the new land. In passing thfr
"West Indies one of the ships was captured by the^
Spaniards, which was very unfortimate. hecause, in'
the first place, it contained many of the tools for the
colony, and in the second place, it caused the Span-
ish to suspect the intentions of the French, and tO'
take steps to check them.
La Salle loses his way
and lands in Texas. —
But this was only the
heginning of La Salle's
misfortunes. With the
remaining vessels he
could not find the Missis-
sippi. He sailed too far
west, and toward the
end of February, 1685,
landed on the shore of
Lavaca Bay, near the
mouth of the Lavaca
Eiver. Here one of his
vessels was wrecked, and one sailed back tO'
France. He had but one remaining, and later
it, too, was wrecked. For protection from the
Indians, a fort was built some distance up the river,,
which La Salle named Fort Saint Louis.
His fruitless search for the Mississippi. — ^La Salle
now began a long and fruitless search for the Mis-
sissippi. His supplies ran down, the Indians becam&
8 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS
iostile, and Ms people died in great numbers. Some
•of them were killed by the Indians, some were
drowned, and one was bitten by a snake, but more
of them died of a sickness which was strange to
ihem, and which they .called *Hhe disease of the
country/' It was probably malaria. The whole
party were soon reduced to despair, and were angry
with La Salle for getting them into such a plight.
In return he treated them harshly, and this caused
:Some to hate him. Finally, in March of 1687, one
•of his men basely shot him in the back. He had
spent most of the two years since landing in Texas
in trying to find the Mississippi, for he knew that
only by finding it could he ever return to Canada
and get relief. In his wanderings he traversed a
great part of central and eastern Texas.
The fate of his party. — ^After La Salle's death
:some of his party succeeded in reaching the Mis-
sissippi, and eventually found their way to their
•countrymen in Canada. Others, however, preferred
to stay in Texas, and the fate of these was sad,
indeed. An epidemic of smallpox reduced their
number to about twenty, some of these quarreled
and killed each other in duels, and finally the
Indians set upon those who remained and finished
the work. When the Spaniards ,came in search of
them in the spring of 1689 scarcely half a dozen
were left, scattered among various tribes of friendly
Indians.
TEE BACKGROUND OF TEXAS HISTORY 9
The importance of La Salle's settlement in Texas.
— ^La Salle's settlement in Texas was due to an acci-
dent, to the fact that he missed the mouth of the
Mississippi. But it gave the king of France an
excuse to claim the country, and thus became the
cause of a struggle between France and Spain for
its possession. More important still, it frightened
the Spaniards into settling Texas sooner than they
otherwise would have done.
The French settle in Louisiana. — Twelve years
after La Salle died in the wilderness of Texas
another Frenchman planted a colony on the Gulf
of Mexico near the present city of Mobile, and
10 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
later a colony was established where New Orleans
now. stands. This enabled France, with the forts
that it already had on the upper branches of the
Mississippi, to hold all the land drained by the
** Father of Waters. *' In this way La Salle's great
plan was carried out, and Spain was prevented from
advancing farther to the north.
3. THE ENGLISH IN AMEEICA
The English on the Atlantic coast. — Another
people with whom we must get acquainted are the
English. They came to the New World at about
the same time as the French. But instead pf hunt-
ing for gold mines and jeweled cities, like the Span-
iards, or for furs, like the French, they soberly set-
tled down to farming. Their first colony was
planted in Virginia and their next in Massa-
chusetts. At first they took the land only when
they needed it, and for that reason they spread
slowly. They were a long time in getting to Texas^
but when they came they took it, and what they
took they kept. It is the descendants of these peo-
ple who hold Texas to-day.
Summary. — Through Columbus's dis^covery of
Ameriqa Spain gained the first claim to the New
World. Then in order to hold it, the king estab-
lished colonies in the West Indies, in Mexico, and in
South America. Finally the Spaniards learned of
Texas, and claimed that. The French came to
SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS n
«
America a hundred years later than the Spaniards,
and settled far away in the north, but they spread
rapidly. By accident they were the first to plant a
colony in Texas, and this gave France a claim to
the country; but the failure of the colony left it
vacant again for Spain. At last the English came
to America, and settled nearly as far from Texas
as the Fren,ch. Because of their thorough method
of using the land they spread slowly, but for that
very reason they were able to hold what they took.
QUESTIONS
1. By what right did Spain claim America? What was
necessary to make this claim good?
2. What interest have we in Spain's conquest of Mexico ?
3. By what right did Spain 'claim Texas ?
4. Why did the French spread so rapidly in America?
5. What motives influenced Louis XIV to authorize a
settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi ?
6. Point out on the map the location of La Salle's colony
in Texas. What is the chief importance of this colony ?
7. What is the importance for our subject of the French
settlement of Louisiana?
8. Point out the principal differences between the Spanish,
the French, and the English methods of colonization.
9. Why did the English spread slowly?
ADDITIONAL READING
Caboza de Vaca : Bolton and Barker, With the Makers of
Texas, 1-12 (American Book Company) ; Littlejohn, Texas
History Stories, 1-22 (B. F. Johnson Publishing Company).
La Salle: Bolton and Barker, 21-33; Littlejohn, 25-56;
Davis, Under Six Flags, 1-8 (Ginn and Company).
CHAPTER n
SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY T^IXAS
The king wants a short route to New Mexico. —
After Coronado 's failure to find the wonderful cities
of New Mexico, the Spaniards continued to feel an
interest in that country and finally took possession
of it and founded its present capital, Santa Fe. But
at best it was very far away from Spain, and to
make matters worse travelers and merchants who
had to go there from Spain or the West Indies could
not go the nearest way. They had first to take ship
to Vera Cruz, on the eastern coast of Mexico, and
then make the tiresome journey up through Mexico
and by El Paso. If you will study the map, you
will see that it would have been much nearer for
them to land at Matagorda, and travel through
Texas. The king saw this, too, and ordered the
viceroy of Mexico to establish a settlement on Mata-
gorda Bay, which the Spaniards called the Bay of
the Holy Spirit. But the viceroy knew nothing of
any such bay, and was busy with other important
things, so that he simply neglected the king's
command.
The missionaries take the first step. — ^Next the
12
SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS
13
governor of New Mexico heard that the Indians of
Texas were begging for some one to come and teach
them the Christian religion. He immediately dis-
patched an expedition under Captain Mendoza
(Men-do'sa) and Father Lopez (Lo'pas), which
marched for several hundred miles through Texas
The BOUTE from
Cuba to Santa Ttf
^^ ( Note how mach nearer
^ it would have been to go
. by way of Matagorda.)
and then returned without making a settlement.
Both the captain and the priest, however, were
greatly pleased with the country through which
they had passed, and hastening to Mexico they
urged the viceroy to take measures to possess it.
The viceroy hears of La Salle's expedition. — ^At
first the viceroy did not pay much attention to them,
and in fact seemed to care very little about Texas.
14 A SCHOOL HISTOBY OF TEXAS
But a little later he learned that La Salle had
started from France in 1684, intending to establish
a colony somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico. This
put a different face upon the matter. Even if Spain
had no use for Texas, it ■would never do to let
France get it. Besides, another command came
from the king about this time saying that he must
An Old SriNiau
find Matagorda Bay. So the viceroy ordered Cap-
tain Alonso de Leon (La-on') to march along the
coast with a company of soldiers and drive away
any Frenchmen that he might find. Though he did
not know it, the French were settled near the bay
that the king was so anxious to have foimd.
The search for the French. — Twice, in 1686 and
again in 1687, Captain de Leon pushed far to the
north, and returned to Mexico each time without
hearing anything of the men whom he sought. He
began to doubt whether they had ever reached the
SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS 15
country. But at this very time La Salle was desper-
ately hunting for the Mississippi, and hope was
slowly dying in the hearts of the homesick French-
men at Fort Saint Louis. How glad they would have
"been to see De Leon, for through him they could
have returned to their beloved France I
The finding of Fort Saint Louis. — ^Rumors of a
French settlement next began to reach Mexico
through the Indians. At last an old Frenchman
whb had deserted La Salle was brought to Captain
de Leon. He wore no clothes, and was painted like
the Indians, among whom he had been living. He
told of the settlement near Lavaca Bay, and De
Leon determined to find it. This time he was suc-
cessful. Setting out toward the end of March, 1689,
with eighty soldiers and a Franciscan priest,^ Father
Massanet (Mas-sa-nef), and guided by an Indian
who knew the way, he arrived at Fort Saint Louis
on April 22. It was deserted, and a scene of devas-
tation met his view. Less than three months before,
the Indians had surprised the settlement and mur-
dered every soul except four young .children and a
^ The Franciscan brotherhood of priests was organized in
the thirteenth century by little Saint Francis of Assisi (As-
fiee-ze), in Italy, to preach to the poor and ignorant. They
were very devout missionaries, and after the discovery of
America devoted themselves unselfishly to teaching the In-
dians of Mexico and the southwestern part of the present
TJmted States.
16 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
boy of eighteen. Around the houses in every direc;
tion the ground was covered with broken swords
and guns, 'torn books, and pieces of boxes and bar-
rels, which the Indians had broken up ; while out on
the prairie lay the skeletons of two men and a
woman. Captain de Leon's work was already done;
the French settlement in Texas was destroyed.
The Tejas Indians. — Captain de Leon learned that .
four Frenchmen who had left the fort before the
massacre were living among a friendly tribe of
Indians to the northeast, and he now went to get
them. Only two of them would go back to Mexico
with him; the others preferred to stay with the
Indians. These Indians were the Tejas (Ta'has),
and it is from them that the name of our state is
derived. The head chief of the Tejas came to see
Captain de Leon, and told him that his people would
be glad to have some one preach the Gospel to them.
This so delighted Father Massanet that he gave the
chief two horses and his own blanket, and promised
to come back to Texas the next year, build a church,
and preach to the Tejas. The .chief then said good
bye, and on the same day Captain de Leon set out
on his return to Mexico.
Father Massanet keeps his promise. — Just a year
later Captain de Leon and Father Massanet found
themselves again in Texas. This time they had
with them a hundred and ten soldiers and three
priests. They first went by La Salle's old fort and
SPAIN BEGINS TO OCCUPY TEXAS
ir
burned it, for fear that other Frenchmen might
come and occupy it, and then marched on toward
the Tejas Indians. The chief came to meet them,
■and after embracing Father Massanet and offering
him snuff and a little parched com, invited the Span-
iards to his village. Father Massanet and the other
priests were happy to learn that the Tejas were still
anxious to be taught
the Christian faith, and
to show their apprecia-
tion of the chief they
gave him a suit of
clothes. The next day
the whole party solemn-
ly marched into the vil-
lage. These Tejas In-
dians were partly civi-
lized. They lived in
comfortable houses, and
cultivated small fields
of com, beans, and a kind of squash, besides tobacco.
At a dinner which the chief gave the priests he
served them with tamales, nuts, parched com, and
a dish of succotash.
The first church in Texas is built. — The chief very
politely asked the priests to make their home with
him, but this they thought would be unwise. So,
in a little while the soldiers began to cut down
trees and build a church and a log house for the
A MiSBIONABT FATHKS
i8 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
fathers. In three days the first church ever ere.cted
in Texas was completed, and Father Massanet cele-
brated a joyful mass in it, while the soldiers outside
fired salute after salute from their clumsy guns.
The church was situated about twenty-five miles
northeast of the present town of Crockett and a
short distance west of the Neches Eiver. The
fathers .called it Mission San Francisco of the Tejas.
This was a very long name for such a small church,
but they gave it in honor of the founder of their
brotherhood, Little Saint Fran,cis, and of the Indians
among whom it was built. Three priests and three
soldiers remained here, but Father Massanet and
Captain de Leon with the rest of the soldiers
returned to Mexico.
The failure of the mission.^But the little chapel
in this lonely wilderness did not last very long. A
few Indians were baptized and tried to become
Christians, but the next year the whole tribe became
sick of a strange disease, and the medicine men said
that it was caused by the priests. This turned the
Indians against the missionaries, and put a stop to
their good work. Father Massanet returned, and
tried to regain the friendship of the Indians, but
failed; and in less than four years after it was
founded tlie church among the Tejas was sadly
abandoned.
The importance of the mission. — The important
thing about the history of this little church is that
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 1^
its failure helped teach the Spaniards how to suc-
ceed the next time. Through their visits to it the
country became familiar to them. They named the
rivers, and learned the fords. Dim trails began to
be trampled out, and good camping places were
observed and ,carefully marked on the map, later to
become flourishing towns. Above all, the mission-
aries learned to speak the Indian language. They
learned also something of the character of the Indian
and how to manage him. "When they came again
they brought larger numbers, more priests, with
more soldiers to protect them and keep the Indians
peaceful; and, most important of all, they brought
families of men and women and little children to
make homes in Texas.
Summary. — Three things called the attention of
the viceroy to Texas at about the same time. These
were: (1) the king's command that a settlement
be started at Matagorda Bay, (2) the desire of the
missionaries to teach the Indians, and (3) the fear
that the French were about to seize the country.
While hunting for the French the Spaniards became
acquainted with the friendly Tejas chief, and Father
Massanet resolved to Christianize him and his peo-
ple. The mission of San Francisco was founded the
next year (1690) in East Texas. Its failure bitterly
disappointed the missionaries, but from their experi-
ence with it they were better able to succeed when
they next attempted a settlement.
20 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS
QUESTIONS
1. What causes turned the attention of the Spaniards
toward Texas at the end of the 17th century? Which of
these was the strongest?
2. How many expeditions did Captain de Leon make in
search of the French?
3. While De Leon was looking for them, how were the
French employed?
4. What was the condition of the French settlement when
De Leon found it ? To what do you mainly attribute the mis-
iortunes of the French colony ?
5. How did the Spaniards learn of the Tejas Indians ? In
what state of civilization were these Indians?
6. What motives led the Spaniards to establish a mission
among these Indians?
7. Point out on the map the location of this mission. Why
did it fail ? What was its chief importance ?
ADDITIONAL HEADING
The search for the French: Bolton and Barker, With the
Makers of Texas, 34-42 ; Davis, Under Six Flags, 9-12.
The founding of the First Texas Mission: Bolton and
Barker, 43-49.
CHAPTER III
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION OF TEXAS
1. HOW THE FRENCH IN LOUISIANA CAUSED THE
SPANISH TO SETTLE TEXAS
Twenty years of neglect. — ^Wlien the missionaries
left East Texas in 1694 they hoped that they could
soon return and establish a permanent settlement^
for they believed that in that way they could regain
the friendship of the Indians and teach them the
Gospel. They had learned, though, that there could
never be a permanent settlement until married, men
brought their wives and children and made their
homes in the country. They also knew that until
the Indians became friendly again soldiers would be
needed for protection. Only the viceroy of Mexico,,
however, or the king, his master, had the power to
establish a settlement of this sort, and time after
time they begged the viceroy to do it, but he always,
refused. He knew that it would be very expensive,,
because in addition to paying the wages of the sol-
diers he would also have to furnish the food and
clothing of the settlers until they could raise a crop
and support themselves. If there had been a gold
mine in Texas, he would have sent men quickly
21
gg A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
enough to make the Indiana work it for the king;
but he did not want to spend the king's money with-
out getting something in return. There was no mine,
and it did not seem to him worth while to spend
Tery much in making the Indians Christians. For
this reason Texas remained neglected by the Span-
iards for more than twenty years.
The French in Louisiana. — ^We must now learn
how the viceroy was made to change his mind.
There was one thing be-
^ A sides a gold mine that
^^k ^ft could make him take an
^^^ ^^k interest in Texas, and that
^^^K ^^H was the fear that his
^^^^^ ^^H country- might lose it.
^^^^^^L ^^^K When the missionaries
^^^^^^ ^^^C '^^^*' ^^^*' Texas there
m.u« A«=,ow SIadT seemed to be no danger
of this, because no other
nation was near it. A few years later, however, the
French began to settle in the southeastern part of
that enormous territory which La Salle had named
Louisiana. This gave the viceroy some uneasiness,
because, as you can see if you will look at the map,
Louisiana was joined on the west by Texas, and he
feared that the French might try to cross the bound-
ary and take it. Still, they were very far away at
first, and he took no steps to guard against them.
The French wish to trade in Texas. — But you have
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 2S
already learned how rapidly French hunters and
traders could spread over a new country, and you
will easily understand that the viceroy was not left
long in peace. In fact, Father Hidalgo (E-dargo),.
one of those very missionaries who had so often
begged the viceroy to establish a colony in East
Texas in order that he might teach the Indians, now
appealed to the governor of Louisiana for help in
founding a mission. To arouse his interest, he told
the governor that the Indians there were well-to-do^
and that a profitable trade could be carried on with
them. He also hinted that the Spaniards of north-
ern Mexico, although it was strictly against the laws
of Spain, might welcome trade with the French. As
it happened that this was exactly what the governor
of Louisiana wanted to do, he did not lose a moment
in taking advantage of Father Hidalgo 's invitation.
Saint-Denis appointed to open trade with Texas»
— ^In all Louisiana the man best fitted to win the con-
fidence of the Indians and persuade the Spaniards to
break.the law was a smooth-tongued captain named
Saint-Denis^ (San Den-ee'). He was now thirty-
eight years of age, and much of his life had been
spent among various tribes of Indians, whose nature
he thoroughly understood and whom he had learned
to manage with great skill. Moreover he was well
^His full name was Louis Juchereau de Saint-Denis. He
was bom in Quebec in 1676. The time and place of his death
are not known. He was still living in 1744.
34 A SCHOOL HISTOST OP TEXAS
acquainted witli the Spanish character, and spoke
the Spanish language. This was the man that the
governor appointed to open commerce with Texas.
The governor ordered him first to establish trade
•with the Indians, and then to find Father Hidalgo
and get his opinion upon the best way of dealing
with Mexico.
Saint-Denis among
the Hasinai Indians.
— Saint -Denis car-
ried out the first part
of his instructions to
the letter. With two
dozen Frenchmen, a
number of Indians,
and five canoes full
of goods he paddled
up the Mississippi to
the mouth of the Bed
Eiver and then up the Bed to the present town of
Natchitoches (Nack'e-tosh). There he built store-
houses for his goods, and, leaving some of his men to
guard them, crossed the Sabine Biver and marched
into the country of the Hasinai (Ha-see'ny) Indians.
These Indians were kin to the Tejas, among whom
the Spaniards had established their first mission,
and for years they had been missing and longing for
the presents that it was the custom of the Spaniards
to give. "When Saint-Denis arrived, therefore, they
Indian Basket Makee
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 25
greeted him with joy, hoping that he, too, would dis-
tribute gifts. He did not disappoint them. But after
pleasure came business, and for six months he
remained there buying horses and cattle and buffalo
skins and paying for them with guns and knives and
axes and cheap little trinkets such as beads and mir-
rors and gayly colored cloths.
Saint-Denis goes to Mexico. — ^When Saint-Denis
turned to the second part of his instructions, that is,
the establishment of trade with Mexico, he could not
find Father Hidalgo to get his advice. Nevertheless,
he decided to go boldly to the nearest Spanish offi-
cial and propose the opening of commerce between
Mexico and Louisiana. It happened at this time
that the king of Spain was the grandson of Louis
XIV, the great king of France, and at home the two
countries were on very friendly terms. For this rea-
son Saint-Denis believed that the Spaniards would
jump at his proposal. However, when he presented
himself in the early part of 1715 to Captain Diego
Eamon (De-a'go Ea-mon'), who commanded the fort
of San Juan (San Whaun'), near the present town of
Eagle Pass, he found that he was mistaken. For
Captain Eamon, instead of trading, made a prisoner
of him and then sent a messenger to the viceroy to
ask what to do with him.
Saint-Denis goes to see the viceroy. — ^When the
messenger returned he brought a command for Saint-
Denis to proceed to the City of Mexico to see the
viceroy, and this he accordingly did. When the
26 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
viceroy asked him why he had entered Spanish
. territory he replied that his governor had sent him
to buy horses and to deliver a message to Father
Hidalgo, but concerning the plan of establishing
trade between Louisiana and northern Mexico he
said very little. On the contrary, he told the viceroy
how anxious the Tejas Indians were for the Span-
iards to come back to them, and urged him to re-es-
tablish the missions in East Texas. The viceroy had
already half decided to do this, because he thought
it the surest way to keep Frenchmen out of Texas.
Saint-Denis must have secretly chuckled at the idea,
for he knew perfectly well that if the Spaniards once
settled in East Texas, the trading would take care
of itself.
The importance of Saint-Denis's journey. — The
viceroy was much disturbed by Saint-Denis's
account of his long march across Texas with not a
Spaniard to dispute his way, because it made him
see how easy it would be for the French to seize the
whole province. To remove all future danger of
this, he resolved to take the step which the mis-
sionaries had so long been urging, and which Saint-
Denis had recently advised; that is, to make a set-
tlement in East Texas. The most important thing to
remember about the journey of Saint-Denis is that it
brought the viceroy to this decision, because the
colonies which he now sent out form the real begin-
ning of the continuous history of Texas.
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 27
2. THE SPANISH SETTLEMENT OF TEXAS
Preparation for a colony. — ^Having made up his
mind, the viceroy hurried on the preparations for the
settlement. Presents for the Indians had to be
thought of and arrangements made with the priests
to send missionaries; men and women had to be
found who were willing to go into the distant wilder-
ness, and supplies must be colle.eted for the support
of the party while on the march and after they
arrived. After much bustle and confusion all was
ready and a little band set out, commanded by Cap-
tain Domingo Eamon. There were half a dozen
priests, some soldiers and young men, and seven
married men with their families. They carried with
them plows and hoes and axes and nearly a thousand
head of cattle and goats. This time the Spaniards
were going to stay.
The old San Antonio Road. — On account of his
knowledge of the country, Saint-Denis was
appointed by the viceroy to guide the expedition.
Although we cannot trace his exact steps, it is not
unlikely that the march lay near the route that later
came to be called the Old San Antonio Eoad. Start-
ing from the fort on the Eio Grande near the pres-
ent town of Eagle Pass, this old road extended across
Texas to modern Nacogdoches. For many years it
was the principal highway between Texas and
Mexico, and it became a noted landmark. In our day
the important towns of San Antonio, Bastrop, and
28
A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Crockett are to be found along its route. It was
the spring of the year, and the members of Captain
Eamon's party were charmed with the country. The
clear skies, the green plains covered with wild flow-
ers and game, the sparkling rivers alive with fish all
combined to convince them that they had entered a
paradise of beauty and abundance.
San Joftn Baatista
i/jhi^oly Spirit
Utatt^foirda Buy)
The Old San Antonio Road
The Tejas welcome the return of the Spaniards. —
The friendly Indians helped to confirm the good
opinion which the Spaniards had already formed of
the land. When they drew near East Texas Saint-
Denis went on ahead to tell the Tejas that they were
coming, and many of the Indians rode out to meet
them. The pipe of peace was smoked, speeches were
made, and then Captain Eamon distributed some of
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 29
the presents that he had brought. No doubt the
Indians really were, at the moment, glad to have
the Spaniards back, but it is likely that they were
sometimes more polite than truthful in telling the
Spaniards how well they liked them. For example,
an eloquent old chief once told the
Marquis de Aguayo (Mar'kwis da 1 ^
A-gwa'yo) that the four things which ^
he loved best in the world were God,
the sun, the moon, and the Spaniards.
The establishment of the missions.
—It was now the summer of 1716.
Before the year closed the Spaniards,
assisted by the Indians, had built four
missions.^ One of them, the mission
of Guadalupe (Gwa-da-loop'y) stood
exactly where Nacogdoches now is,
and the others were from fifteen to
twenty-five miles west and northwest
of it. In the spring of the next year
two others were built near where San
Augustine is now located.^ With each
mission were left a priest or two, a few soldiers,
and some of the colonists. These little settlements
* They were San Francisco of the Neches, the Immaculate
Conception, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and San Joseph of the
Nazones (Na-ao'nas). These names may be shortened to San
Francisco, Conception, Guadalupe, and San Joseph,
"*They were San Miguel (San Me-gel) and Dolores (Do-
lyrSs).
Peace Pipe
30 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
were too weak, of course, to drive the French back
if they tried to come in, but they served as a sort of
sign-board that Texas belonged to the Spanish and
that other nations must keep out. Besides, they
could watch the French in Louisiana and warn the
viceroy if any threat were made against them. The
missionaries were delighted, and about a year after
they began their work wrote gleefully that they had
baptized a hundred Indians.
Why San Antonio was founded. — ^But there were
many dangers surrounding these early colonists.
They were five hundred miles from the nearest
Spanish settlement in Mexico; around them were
five thousand Indians who might at any moment
.become unfriendly, as they had been after the first
missions were established; and at their very doors
were the French, who might come any day and drive
them away. Captain Eamon and the good fathers
felt very imeasy and begged the viceroy to send them
reinforcements. At the same time Father Olivares
(0-le-va'ras), who was anxious to go. to Texas but
who had been left out of Eamon 's party, was plead-
ing with the viceroy to let him establish a mission
in another part of the province. In addition to all
this, the viceroy now began to fear that the French
might come by sea and take possession of the region
which La Salle had occupied thirty years before.
The best way to prevent this was for the Spaniards
to go there first. So for these three reasons the vice-
BFAIN TAXES POSSESSION
3f
roy decided to make another settlement in Texas:
(1) he wanted to reinforce- the East Texas settle-
ments, (2) he wanted to satisfy the prayers of
Father Olivares for a new mission, and, ahove all,
(3) he wanted to get ahead of the French on Lavaca
Bay.
The Founding of San Antonio.— The viceroy
expected this settlement to be located near the coast.
but it was established near the head of the San
Antonio Eiver. First the mission was built and
named San Antonio de Valero (Va-la'ro). The
building that we now know as the Alamo is believed
to have been a part of it. Next, and across the river,
a fort was built for the soldiers. This was named
San Antonio de Bexar (Baliar). Later a town grew
32 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
up around the mission and the fort, and this was
called San Fernando de* Bexar. This was the begin-
ning, nearly two hundred years ago, of the charm-
ing city that we to-day call San Antonio. You will
notice that its old name has not been entirely for-
gotten, for it is still in Bexar county, and it has an
interesting old church that is called the cathedral of
San Fernando.
The importance of San Antonio. — San Antonio
grew very slowly and it was very poor. One old
Spanish historian complains that after seventy years
it had but a hundred and forty houses and that all
of them were one-storied and most of them one-
roomed. But we ,care nothing for that. The impor-
tant thing is that it was a permanent settlement, and
that from the day of its f oimdation there was always
one place in Texas to which, in case of need, civilized
men could fly for protection. Besides this, it became
the headquarters from which settlers went out to
other parts of Texas.
The missions near San Antonio. — Soon four other
missions were founded near San Antonio. The first
was San Jose (Ho-sa'), begun in 1720, and the oth-
ers were Concepcion (Kon-sep-se-6n'), San Juan
(San Whaun'), and San Francisco.^ The missions in
East Texas were built of logs and soon decayed, so
^ The last three missions named above had first been estab-
lished in East Texas, but in 1732 their priests abandoned
that region and, falling back to San Antonio, founded new
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION
33
that to-day no trace of them remains; but around
San Antonio they were built of stone, and though
they are nearly two hundred years old, portions of
them are still in good condi-
tion. San Jose was beauti-
fully decorated with carving
and sculpture. In the next
section we shall learn some-
thing about the life that
went on around these inter-
esting old buildings.
Other Spanish settlements.
— ^During the nest seventy-
five years the Spaniards es-
tablished many other mis-
sions and settlements in
Texas, but some they were
forced to abandon and
others the Indians de-
stroyed. Every time they
tried to settle north of the
Old San Antonio Eoad the
-1.^
and the fierce Karankawa (Ka-rank'a-way) war-
riors kept them away from the coast. So, at the
miBsionB. They brought with them the records of the older
missions, and we say, therefore, that Concepci6n, San Juan.
and San Francisco were removed from East Texas.
34 A SCHOOL HISTOBY OP TEXAS
beginning of the nineteenth century there were only
three Spanish towns in Texas worth mentioning.
These were San Antonio, La Bahia (La Ba-he'a), or
as we call it Goliad, and Nacogdoches.
3. LIFE IN THE SPANISH SETTLEMENTS
The three parts of a Spanish settlement. — ^We
must now try to picture to ourselves the daily life
of the people in these early Spanish settlements.
Yon have already noticed, that a settlement was
always composed of a priest or two, some soldiers,
and a few families. The aim of the priests was to
teach and Christianize the Indians. The place where
they and their Lidian converts lived was called a
mission. The duty of the soldiers was to protect the
mission and the settlers, though they sometimes did
a mission more harm than good. They lived in the
fort, or as the Spaniards called it, the presidio (pra-
se'de-o). Finally there was the village, which grew
up around the mission and the fort and in which
lived the settlers and the families of -the married
soldiers.
Description of a mission. — ^If you could have
visited one of the missions near San Antonio a cen-
tury and a half ago your attention would first have
been attracted by the fine church. Connected with
this in the rear were the living rooms of the priests.
And then, off to one side, enclosed by a high wall,
you would have seen rows of little stone houses in
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION
35
which the Indians lived. These were built close
together, and at night the priests locked them up to
keep the Indians from running away. They were
furnished with beds and chests, and in the kitchens
were a few pots, bowls, and kettles for cooking. On.
all sides of the chur,ch stretched small irrigated
farms upon which the Indians, under the direction of
the priests, cultivated crops of com, beans, pump-
kins, watermelons, and sugar cane. Further away
were the pastures where grazed herds of horses,
mules, and cattle, and flocks of sheep and goats.
How the misaionariea taught the Indians. — The
missionaries would first win the friendship of the
Indians by giving them presents, and then persukde
36 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
them to live at the mission by promising them more
presents. After getting them to the mission the
fathers would begin to instruct them in religion.
Every morning and every evening, with the old peo-
ple in one class and the children in another, they
were taught the cate,chism; and three or four times a
week a service was held in the church. Many of the
Indians allowed themselves to be baptized, but very
few were intelligent enough to understand what
Christianity really means. However, the fathers
never lost the hope that they might learn, and in
order to keep them in a good humor distributed fre-
quent gifts. Every Sunday four or five beeves were
killed for the Indians, mutton was sent to the sick,
and now and then all were made happy by a little
^ift of sugar, of which they were extremely fond.
How the Indians worked. — ^As a part of their
training the Indians were compelled to work, for the
fathers well knew how easy it is for idle hands to
get into mischief. While some of the men were put
to herding cattle and attending to the ranches, oth-
ers were taught farming, carpentering, blacksmith-
ing, and masonry. The women learned to weave
cotton and wool and to make coarse cloth, blankets,
and shawls. But the men were so lazy that the
fathers complained that it took four of them to do
as much work as one Spaniard. To get out of work-
ing, the Indians often pretended to be ill, and
though the fathers easily saw through their pre-
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 37
tenses they acted as if they were deceived, in order
to keep the Indians from running away.
The soldiers. — The life of the soldiers will not
detain us long. They lived in the fort and in little
houses near by, and most of them were men of very
bad character. The government paid them high
wages to protect the missions and the settlers, but
they caused the good fathers a world of trouble by
abusing and mistreating the Indians of the mission.
They occasionally fought a battle with the Apaches
or the Coman,ches, but, for the most part, they were
so stupid and cowardly that the hostile Indians had
little respect for them. In fact, it is said that the
Indians held the soldiers in such contempt that
they would sometimes sneak into town at night and
steal all the horses, and then take them back the
next day and compel the owners to pay them a
reward for returning them.
The settlers. — The early Spanish settlers were
mostly poor and ignorant. Very few of them could
read and write, and they did not have much ambition
to learn. They did a little farming and a little stock
raising, and hunted wild cattle and game. In the
east they lived in terror of the French, and elsewhere
they were exposed to the attacks of hostile Indians.
Even in San Antonio they suffered from the raids
of Apaches and Comanches. They lived in wretched
one-roomed hovels, and for the most part did not
care to improve their condition. Do you wonder that
A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
they did not prosper? Toward the end of the eight-
eenth century a promise was given of better things
in San Antonio, when Don PVaneisco de la Mata
(da-la-ma'ta) established a private school in which
to give the children simple instruction. This was
the first school ever established in Texas. We do
not know the exact
date, but it was sev-
eral years before 1789,
when Washington be-
came President of the ■
United States. But the
school did not succeed,
and the promise of im-
provement which it of-
fered was not fulfilled.
The settlement as a
whole. — Can you not
close your eyes for a
moment and imagine
that you see this old
Sau Antonio as it was
a hundred and fifty years ago, before the coming of
the Americans? There is the mission with its busy,
hopeful priests trying to teach the gospel of religion
and work to the unwilling Indians who only consent
to listen for the sake of a little gift. Here is the fort
with its evil, quarrelsome soldiers, living at the
king's expense, and hindering the efforts of the mis-
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 39
sionaries to uplift the Indians. And clustered around
the military plaza is the village with its idle, shift-
less settlers,- ignorant and wretched but contented.
4. TROUBLE WITH THE FRENCH
The threatening situation in East Texas. — ^Tou
remember that when Saint-Denis was on his way to
Mexico in 1714 he stored his goods at Natchitoches
and left some of his men to guard them. During his
absence in Mexico these men built a fort on the west
bank of Eed Eiver. Then Saint-Denis led the Span-
iards to East Texas, and they established their mis-
sions and settlements around Nacogdoches and St.
Augustine. One of the missions, called San Miguel
(San Me-gel'), or Adaes (a-dy'as), was established
on the east bank of the Sabine, only about thirty
miles from the French fort at Natchitoches. This
created a dangerous situation, because the two peo-
ples were now close enough together to strike each
other. For three years, however, all went well.
These Frenchmen did not want to take Texas; they
merely wanted to trade in it, and to this the Span-
iards on the frontier did not seriously object.
The French drive the Spaniards from East Texas.
— ^But in 1719, while Fraii,ce and Spain were warring
with each other at home, the French advanced from
Natchitoches upon the East Texas settlements, and
the Spaniards fled to San Antonio. The Frenchmen
then plundered the missions and the settlements, and
what they spared the Indians destroyed. It was for-
40 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
tunate that the Spaniards had San Antonio to retire
to, otherwise they might have been driven entirely
out of Texas.
The French attempt to settle on the coast. — A
short time after this the French resolved to estab-
lish a colony on the coast of Texas, near where
La Salle had landed. But the men sent there did
not stay very long. They said that the Indians were
too hostile, but the truth of the matter is that France
did not care to take Texas.
Spain re-occupies East Texas and founds a settle-
ment on the coast. — ^As soon as the viceroy of
Mexico heard of the flight of his people from East
Texas he sent a brave officer with five hundred sol-
diers to restore them. This officer was the Marquis
de Aguayo (A-gwii'yo). By this time, however,
France and Spain had made peace at home, and the
French had returned to Natchitoches, so that
Aguayo had no trouble. He re-established the mis-
sions and settlements and built a strong fort near
Natchitoches, in which he left a hundred soldiers to
watch the French. He then went down to the coast,
and in what is now Jackson county built a fort, on
the spot where La Salle 's settlement had been. The
object of this was, of course, to prevent the French
from making another settlement in that region as
they had just tried to do. But tho. Spaniards, too,
found the fierce Karankawa braves too much for
them, and the settlement soon had to be moved.
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 41
Finally, in 1749, it was moved a se,cond time and
established on the site of modem Goliad. This is the
beginning of Goliad.
Other relations with the French. — ^After this the
Spaniards had very little trouble with the French.
Their greatest difficulty was in trying to prevent
them from smuggling goods into Texas to trade with
the Indians. They objected to this because they
wanted to enjoy the profits of the trade themselves.
But they could never succeed in keeping the French
out. The Indians always liked the French better
than they did the Spaniards, and an old missionary
tells us the reason why. He says that while the
.Spanish soldiers annoy and abuse the Indians, * ' the
Frenchman will take off his shirt to give to them,"
in order to keep them friendly.
The end of trouble with the French.— In 1762 all
trouble with the French came to an end, because at
that date the king of France gave Spain all of the
province of Louisiana which lay west of the Mis-
sissippi Eiver. The forts in East Texas were now
no longer needed, and in 1773 the soldiers were
moved to San Antonio and the settlers were ordered
to go with them.
Founding of Nacogdoches. — This order to move
came at the end of June, and caused the settlers
great distress. Many of them had been born in East
Texas, and, having never known any other home,
they loved it. All of them owned some property
42 A SCHOOL HISTOBY OF TEXAS
there which they must now abandon. Even the
crops would have to be left growing in the fields.
But there was no way of evading the will of the
government, and they sadly set out for San Antonio.
Some grew ill and were allowed to drop out on the
way, a few died, and those who reached San Antonio,
after a journey of three months, were in a pitiful
condition of poverty and exhaustion. Lands were
given them near San Antonio, but they never
learned to feel at home, because they longed for the
land of the Tejas. Finally the most important man
among them, Gil Ybarbo (Heel E-bar'bo), went to
the City of Mexico and persuaded the viceroy to let
them return as far as the Trinity Eiver. But this
proved unsatisfactory, too ; the Indians were trouble-
some, and the river overflowed year after year and
destroyed their crops. They determined to move
again, and this time, without asking permission,
Ybarbo led them to the spot where the mission of
Guadalupe had been founded in 1716 and estab-
lished a settlement. This was the beginning of
Nacogdoches in 1779.
The importance of Nacogdoches. — It turned out to
be a very fortunate thing for Spain that Ybarbo
re-established a settlement in East Texas, because^
as we shall see in the next ^chapter, Spain lost Louis-
iana about twenty years after this, and then it again
needed a signboard on the frontier. Nacogdoches
served this purpose.
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 43
Summary. — We have now learned how the Span-
iards took possession of Texas. The viceroy paid no
attention to the pleading of the missionaries for
strong settlements in East Texas, but Saint-Denis's
march showed him how easy it would be for the
French in Louisiana to take the country, and to pre-
vent this he determined to found the settlements for
which the missionaries had been begging for twenty
years. The settlements were established in 1716
around the present
towns of Nacogdo-
ches and San Augus-
tine. Two years later
San Antonio was
founded. For the
most part the French
AN lOTiiM srooN and the Spanish got
along well together on the frontier, hut in 1719
while France and Spain were at war in Europe
the Spaniards were driven back to San Antonio,
and shortly afterwards some Frenchmen tried to
found a colony on Matagorda Bay. This failed,
however, and in 1721 the Marquis de Aguayo
restored the East Texas settlements, and founded a
new one near the coast, on the spot where La Salle's
fort had stood. After moving twice this settlement
was finally located at Goliad in 1749. In 1762
France gave western Louisiana to Spain, and since
the settlements in East Texas were then no longer
44 A SCHOOL HISTOHY OF TEXAS
needed to maintain Spain's claim, the government
broke them up and moved the inhabitants to San
Antonio. But the settlers loved their old homes,
and in 1779 Gil Tbarbo led them back, and they
founded Nacogdoches. -This happened to be a for-
tunate thing for Spain, because it soon lost Louis-
INDIAN FCmEBI
iana and an outpost was again needed on the fron-
tier. At the end of the eighteenth-century the only
settlements worth mentioning were San Antonio,
Goliad, and Nacogdoches, and they were not in a
prosperous condition.
QUESTIONS
1. When did the first miasionaries leave East Texas?
2. What sort of a settlement did they want to return and
make?
3. Why did the viceroy at first refuse to establish a settle-
ment? Doyou think that he was right in this refusal? Why
did be finally change his mind?
SPAIN TAKES POSSESSION 45
4. Who was Father Hidalgo? Why did he wish the
French to come to Texas?
5. What qualifications had Saint-Denis for the task of
establishing trade with Texas?
6. Give an account of his trading among the Hasinai
Indians. Why was he arrested in Mexico ?
7. What is the chief importance of Saint-Denis in the
history ol Texas?
8. Describe the preparations that the Spaniards made fi^r
their settlement. What were some of the things that they
took with them ? By what route did they go ?
9. Draw the Old San Antonio Eoad? What towns are
now on or near it?
10. Why were the Indians so glad to have the Spaniards
return ?
11. Draw on the map a circle enclosing the missions and
settlements established in East Texas.
12. What modern town grew up on the site of one of these
missions ?
13. What purpose did these settlements serve in keeping
back the French ?
14. What were the main causes that led to the founding of
San Antonio? Of what importance was this settlement?
15. Mention some other Spanish settlements in Texas.
16. Describe the daily life in a large mission.
17. Describe the life of the settlers. What was the char-
acter of the soldiers? Why were they not sent back to
Mexico ?
18. Trace the successive abandonments and reoccupations
of East Texas. What caused the last abandonment?
19. Trace the events leading to the establishment of
Goliad; of Nacogdoches.
20. What is the chief importance of the establishment of
Nacogdoches ?
46
A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
ADDITIONAL READING
Saint-Denis: Bolton and Barker, With the Makers of
Texas, 50-53 ; Davis, Under Six Flags, 14-16.
The Spanish Settlements in East Texasa Bolton and Barker,
54-61 ; Davis, 16-23.
Mission Life: Bolton and Barker, 61-66; Garrison, Texas,
56-60.
CHAPTEEIV
TH£ AMEBIOANS BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH TEXAS
1. SPAIN GETS A NEW NEIGHBOR, THE UNITED STATES
Growth of the English settlements in America. —
If you will go back to the first Chapter you will
see how the English people settled in America
very far from Texas, and spread so slowly that at
the end of a hundred and fifty years they held only
a narrow strip of land along the Atlantic Ocean from
Maine to Georgia. But they spread rapidly enough
when once they got started, and we must now learn
how they did it. In 1756 England and France
declared war against each other in Europe, and their
colonists took up the quarrel in all parts of the
world. In America the war was called the French
and Indian War, because the English had to fight
both the French and their Indian friends. George
Washington was a colonel in this war and gained a
reputation as a wise and skillful oflScer. In 1763,
after seven years of fighting, the English won, and
France gave England Canada and all of the terri-
tory between the Mississippi Eiver and the Appala-
chian Mountains. You remember that just the year
before France had given Spain all of its territory
47
48
A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
west of the Mississippi, so that England and Spain
were now neighbors with the Mississippi as the
boundary between them.
The English settlements become the United States
of America. — ^Abont this time the English colonists
began to feel that they were being mistreated by
English and Spanish Possessions, 1763
(Note that the English have advanced westward to the Mississippi River.)
King George of England, and on the Fourth of July,
1776, all except those in Canada declared their inde-
pendence and established the United States of
America. Of course the king did not want to let
them go, and the colonists had to fight a long and
cruel war, but in the end they were successful. From
this time on they are called Americans. The terri-
tory of the new nation extended from the Atlantic
AMERICANS LEARN OF TEXAS 49
Ocean on the east to the Mississippi on the west, and
from Canada on the north almost to the Gulf of
Mexico on the south. Spain held what is now the
state of Florida; a narrow strip along the Gulf,
extending across the present states of Alabama and
Mississippi; and all the land between the Mississippi
Eiver and the Eocky Mountains. It is important for
us to remember that on two sides the Spaniards had
the Americans for neighbors, because it was in this
way that they came to know and fear them.
The United States buys the Louisiana Territory. —
But the Americans were still a long way from Texas,
and we must find out how they came nearer. It
was in this way: after a while France took back
the territory between the Mississippi and the
Eockies which it had given to Spain, and in 1803
sold it to the United States for fifteen million dol-
lars. This brought the Americans to the very fron-
tier of Texas.
The boundary between the United States and
Texas. — Indeed, there were some Americans who
claimed that all of Texas was in,cluded in the ter-
ritory which the United States purchased from
France. Others believed that the Sabine Eiver was
the boundary between American and Spanish terri-
tory. This brought about a difficulty, because Spain
claimed that the Arroyo Hondo was the boundary,
and this creek was some miles east of the Sabine.
The dispute over the land between the Arroyo Hondo
50
A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
and the Sabine was arranged in a peculiar way in
1806. It was agreed that until the matter could be
permanently settled neither Spain nor the United
States should exercise any authority there. The
effect of this was to create a little No Man's Land
between the Hondo and the Sabine.
English and Spanish Possessions, 1803
(Note that rhe English have advanced to the border of Texas.)
The Neutral Ground. — This was called the Neu-
tral Ground. It had no laws and no government,
and for that reason was a safe place for crimi-
nals to gather. It was soon filled with despera-
does of the worst kind, who robbed and mur-
dered without fear of punishment. But the United
States and Spain put an end to this condition of
affairs in. 1819 by agreeing upon the present boun-
AMERICANS LEARN OF TEXAS 51
dary between Louisiana and Texas. Long before
this agreement, however, adventurous Americans
had been pushing across the Neutral Ground into
Texas and causing the Spaniards a great deal of.
annoyance. An account of their movements must
be given in the section which follows.
2. AMERICANS BEGIN TO INVADE TEXAS
Nolan's expedition. — One of the earliest Ameri-
cans to come to Texas was Philip Nolan. For many
years he made occasional trips to San Antonio for
trading purposes, but our interest in him begins in
1800. In that year he led a small band of men to a
spot near where the city of Waco now is and built
a cabin. We are not sure what his object was. One
of the men said later that Nolan told him that the
plan was to explore the country thoroughly, and then
go to Kentucky and enlist enough men to come back
and conquer it. But it is quite probable that he
merely wanted to .capture wild horses and to trade
with the Mexicans.
The death of Philip Nolan. — ^When the Spaniards
learned that Nolan was in Texas, Lieutenant Mus-
quiz (Mus-keesO went out with a hundred soldiers
to arrest him. Discovering Nolan's cabin at day-
break on March 21, 1801, Musquiz divided his force
into three divisions in order to surround it, and
advanced. When he got within about thirty yards
Nolan stepped out and shouted to him that if he
52 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
came any nearer one or the other of them would be
killed. Musquiz ordered him to surrender, but he
refused and re-entered the cabin. Firing then began,
and in about ten minutes Nolan was killed by a bul-
let through the head. The Americana fought on
until about nine o'clock, and then, with their leader
dead, three men wounded, and their ammunition
nearly gone, they surrendered. They could do noth-
ing else. Lieutenant Musquiz allowed Nolan's two
negro boys to
bury their master,
and the next day
started for Nacog-
doches with the
prisoners.
The fate of
Nolan's men. —
The Americans
thought that when
they reached
Nacogdoches they would be released and sent back
to the United States, but they were disappointed.
On the contrary, an order came for them to be
sent to Mexico for trial. A weary time of wait-
ing now began, for the king of Spain had to be
informed of their case and say how they should
be punished. Six years after they were cap-
tured the king's decision came. It said that one in
every five of the men must be hanged. Since by
AMERICANS LEABN OF TEXAS 53
this time there were but nine of them left, the kind-
hearted judge who executed the king's decree
declared that only one should die. But which one
should it be ? To settle this question the men were
told to throw dice, and the one who made the lowest
throw was hanged. But the others were still not
released, and for years they were kept moving
around from one prison to another until we finally
lose sight of all ex,cept one of them.
Ellis Bean. — This one was Peter Ellis Bean. In
the next Chapter we shall learn that the Spaniards
in Mexico revolted from Spain in 1810, and after a
war of eleven years gained their independence.
During the war Bean escaped from prison, joined
the rebels, and fought faithfully for Mexico. He
was eventually promoted to be a colonel in the Mexi-
can army, and after the close of the war was for a
long time a military officer at Nacogdoches. While
in Mexico he had married a wealthy Mexican lady,
and just before the Texas revolution he returned to
Mexico, where he died in 1846.
The importance of Nolan's expedition. — ^We are
not positive what the object of Nolan's expedition
was, and, whatever it may have been, it failed. The
only importance that it has for us, therefore, is that
it proves that Ameri,cans were now beginning to
take an interest in Texas,
The Gutierrez and Magee expedition. — ^Eleven
years after Nolan's death another band of Ameri-
54 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
cans invaded Texas. Mexico was then in the midst
of its revolution against Spain, and the Americans
declared that they wanted to free Texas .and then
help Mexico free herself. But this was only half
of the truth ; the whole truth is that they wanted to
free Texas and keep it for themselves. The active
commander of these men was Augustus Magee, a
young lieutenant who had just resigned from the
United States army, but the expedition was planned
by Bernardo Outierrez (Ber-nar'do 6oo-te-ar'ras),
a Mexican, and he was elected general, while Magee
held the office of colonel.
The early success of the expedition. — ^The men
gathered in the Neutral Ground, where no one had
the power to interfere with them, and when all was
ready marched first on Nacogdoches. The Spanish
troops fled without firing a shot, and left the town
in the hands of the Americans. This occurred in
August of 1812. Gutierrez tried to win the help of
the inhabitants of Texas by exciting them against
the Spanish officials. Some of the people joined
him, and in October all marched to attack Goliad,
which they captured. Here Magee died, but another
commander was elected, and with a number of Mex-
ican and Indian allies the Americans set out for San
Antonio. Near San Antonio the governor had an
army of two thousand men drawn up to receive
them, but in the battle which followed he was ter-
ribly defeated, with the loss of more than half his
#*
AMERICANS LEARN OF TEXAS 55
men. The next day (April 1, 1813) the Ameri-
cans marched into San Antonio and the governor
surrendered.
Trouble begins for the expedition. — This was the
end of their success. A few days later by the order
of Gutierrez the governor and sixteen other helpless
prisoners were brutally murdered, and this so hor-
rified many of the Americans that they returned to
the United States. Those who remained deposed
Gutierrez from his office, but the men had lost confi-
dence in each other and it was never again possible
to restore the spirit of the expedition.
The Battle of the Medina and the end of the expe-
dition. — In June the Americans and their Mexican
allies defeated near San Antonio a Spanish army of
fifteen hundred men that was sent against them,
but in August came the news that another army was
approaching from Laredo, commanded by General
Arredondo (Ar-ra-don'do). They determined not
to wait for its arrival. Under the command of
Colonel Toledo, eight hundred and fifty Americans,
§ix hundred Indians, and some fifteen hundred Mexi-
cans marched out to meet it on the way. Gen-
eral Arredondo learned that they were coming and
planned an ambuscade. Hiding the main part of
his army near the Medina Kiver, he sent a small
force ahead and instructed them to engage the
enemy in a slight skirmish and then fly, as if
defeated. The Americans would believe that the
i56 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
whole army was in retreat, would follow in headlong
pursuit, and run into the trap. It happened exactly
as Arredondo had planned, and when they were
securely entrapped he mercilessly mowed them down
with cannon and musket. The Mexicans broke and
fled in terror, but the Americans and the Indians
fighting desperately died on the field. Less than
a hundred of the Americans escaped to carry the
tidings to the Neutral Ground.
The importance of the Gutierrez and Magee expe-
dition. — ^First and last more than a thousand Amer-
icans followed Magee and Gutierrez into Texas. For
awhile they occupied all of the province east of San
Antonio, and they liked it. From this time on there
was never a moment when some American was not
fixing longing eyes upon Texas with the hope of
getting a portion of it for his own. This is one of
the important results of the expedition. Another
is that the Americans and the Mexicans began to
get acquainted and to dislike and distrust each
other.
Long's expedition. — The last of tlie American
invasions of Texas was led by Dr. James Long, of
Natchez, Mississippi, in 1819. This was the year in
which the United States and Spain settled their dis-
pute over the boundary of Texas by agreeing upon
, the Sabine. Many Americans believed that all Texas
belonged to the United States, and were angry at
seeing it given up. Long was one of these, and, col-
AMERICANS LEARN OF TEXAS 57
lecting about three hundred men, he marched to
Nacogdoches, declared Texas independent, and es-
tablished a sort of government. He was determined
that Spain should not keep Texas, even though the
United States might not want it. But he failed. As
soon as the authorities at San Antonio heard what
he was doing they sent an army to Nacogdoches
and swept his forces from the province. Long con-
tinued to linger near the borders of Texas trying
to organize another expedition, and toward the end
of 18*21 he captured Goliad and enjoyed a brief mo-
ment of success. Soon, however, he was not only
compelled to surrender the town but was himself
captured and taken to the City of Mexico a pris-
oner. There he was shortly released, but was soon
afterwards killed by a Mexican soldier. The most
important thing to remember about Long's expedi-
tion is that through it more Americans were intro-
duced to Texas and learned to look upon it with
desire.
The pirates on Galveston Island. — While the
Spaniards in Texas were busy trying to put down
Mexican rebels and drive back American invad-
ers, bands of desperate characters seized Galveston
Island and made it headquarters for their evil
doings. They claimed to be friends of Mexico fight-
ing against Spain, but in reality they were outlaws
engaged in piracy and slave trading. That is, they
made their living by capturing richly laden vessels^
58 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
t
and selling the cargoes as their own, and by get-
ting African negroes in Cuba and smuggling them
into the United States for sale. The first to make
such unworthy use of the Island was Louis Aury
(Loo'ie O'ry), who established himself there in 1816.
He left after a year, but was followed by Jean
Lafitte. This gentlemanly rascal continued to ply
his dishonest business until 1821, when the United
States government sent a war ship and broke up
his settlement. These men are of no importance in
*
the history of Texas, but they helped to give Te;xas
a bad name with the world, which it took many
years to live down, and the story of their deeds
illustrates the sad condition of disorder into which
the country was plunged at this time.
Summary. — In 1762 Fran,ce gave Spain its terri-
tory west of the Mississippi and in 1763, at the
close of the French and Indian war, ceded its lands
east of the river to England. The English and the
Spanish thus became neighbors on the Mississippi.
Shortly afterwards the English settlements became
the independent United States of America, and by
the purchase of Louisiana in 1803 the boundary
between the Americans and the Spaniards was
moved back to the border of Texas. A boundary
dispute arose which was provisionally arranged in
1806 by the Neutral Ground agreement and perma-
nently settled in 1819, when both the United States
and Spain accepted the Sabine as the dividing line.
AMERICANS LEARN OF TEXAS 59
During the first twenty years of the nineteenth
century three American expeditions, led by Philip
Nolan, Augustus Magee, and James Long, invaded
Texas for the purpose of taking it from Spain.
They all failed, but they were important steps in
the pro.cess by which the Americans became ac-
quainted with Texas.
QUESTIONS
1. When and from whom did England get the territory
between the Mississippi and the Appalachian mountains?
2. Who owned the territory west of the Mississippi at the
time ? What was the importance of this situation for Texas ?
3. How and when did the English settlements become the
United States?
4. How and when did the United States get the territory
west of the Mississippi ?
5. What was the importance of this for Texas?
6. Describe the settlement of the boundary dispute be-
tween the United States and Spain.
7. Where was the Neutral Ground?
8. What was the character of its population? Why did
it get a population of such a character ?
9. To what power did the Neutral Ground go in the
boundary settlement of 1819 ?
10. Tell the story of Nolan's expedition. What probably
was his object?
11. Did Spain have a 'right to keep him out of Texas?
About where was he killed ?
12. Tell the story of Nolan's companions.
13. Tell the story of Ellis Bean.
14. Give an account of the Gutierrez, and Magee expedi-
00 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
tion. What was its real object? Who was the active com-
mander ? Why was Gutierrez given the title of general ?
15. Describe the battle of the Medma.
16. Tell the story of Long's expedition. What connection
did it have with the settlement of the boundary dispute be-
tween the United States and Spain?
17. What is the chief importance of these three expedi-
tions ?
18. What was going on on Galveston Island from 1817 to
1821? How did this affect the reputation of Texas?
ADDITIONAL READING •
Nolan's expedition: Bolton and Barker, With the Makers
of Texas, 67-75; Davis, Under Six Flags, 31-33; Littlejohn,
"Ellis P. Bean'' in Texas History Stories. Bean's own nar-
rative in Yoakum, History of Texas, 1, 403-52, will be enjoyed
by pupils to whom it is available.
The Gutierrez-Magee Expedition: Bolton and Barker,
75-78 ; Davis, 36-39.
Long's Expedition: Bolton and Barker, 87-98; Davis, 40^
46-48.
Jean Lafitte: Bolton and Barker, 81-86; Davis, 41-44.
The Xeutral Ground : Davis, 33-36.
CHAPTER V
COLONIZATION: THE AMEBICANS SETTLE TEXAS
A glance backward. — ^We have now studied three
hundred years of the history of Texas, and what
have we learned? For nearly two hundiled years
Spain rested idly on its claim to Texas, and took
no steps to improve it until the approach of the
French compelled it to settle for fear of losing
the country. Fear of the French was followed by
fear of the Americans, but, with all its efforts, the
best that Spain could do during the third hundred
years was to keep alive the three small settlements
of San Antonio, Goliad, and Nacogdoches. As late
as 1820 there were, besides the Indians, scarcely
four thousand people in Texas, all in a wretched
and poverty-stricken condition. And what Spain
itself could not do for the province it would not
let others do. No foreigner was allowed west of
the Sabine. Now history teaches no lesson more
clearly than this, that a nation shall not keep for
itself alone what it will not or cannot properly use.
The Spaniards had had their chance with Texas
*
and failed; it was time for the Mexicans to try.
61
%^:
Stbphbn f. Adetih
AMEEICANS SETTLE TEXAS
68
Mexico frees itself from Spain. — ^Mexico had fared
little better than Texas under Spanish rule. It was
governed by officials whom the king appointed and
according to laws which the king decreed. The
Mexicans had nothing to say in the management
of their own governilient. They were heavily taxed
without their consent. And they were not even
Spanish Settlements in Texas Befoee 1800
.Adapted from a map by Elizabeth H. West in the Ivanhoe series.
1. Natchitoches. 2. San Augruatine. 3. Mission San Mlgruel. (Adaes.)
4. Mission Dolores. 5. Mission Guadalupe. 6. Mission San Joseph de los
Nazones. 7. Mission ConcepciOn, 1st site. 8. Mission Santa Maria. 9. Mis-
sion San Francisco de los Ncches. 10. Mission San Francisco de los Tejas.
11. Nacogdoches. 12. Ft. St. Louis. 13. Mission Refugio. 14. Mission La
Bahfa. 15. Mission San Juan. 16. Mission Concepci6n. 17. Mission San
Javier. 18. Mission San Jos(i. 19. Mission San Francisco de la Espada.
20. San Antonio de Bexar. 21. San Juan Bautista.
allowed to buy and sell their goods where they
could get the best bargains. All foreign trade had
to be .carried on with Spain. Against these and
other abuses the Mexicans finally revolted in 1810.
^4 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
For many years the revolutipn merely dragged
along, and it often seemed that Spain would succeed
in putting it down. In 1821, however, it took on new
life, and before the end of that year Mexico was inde-
pendent.
The Mexicans unprepared for self-government.-^
But the Mexicans did not know how to use their
freedom. Spain had never allowed them to learn
anything about the business of government, so that
they were now entirely unprepared to govern them-
selves, and this, of course, placed them at the mercy
of unscrupulous politicians. The first to take advan-
tage of their helplessness was General Iturbide, who
compelled them to make him emperor, and then tried
to rule as tyrannically as the king had done. He
was successful for a while, but in about a year he
was overthrown, and a government somewhat like
that of the United States was established, with a
president and congress at the City of Mexico and
a governor and legislature in the different states.
We call this sort of government a federal republic.
It is a good one for an educated, intelligent people
who have had some practice in governing them-
selves, but it was an unsuitable one for the Mexicans,
who had not had such practice. For years, hardly
knowing what they were about, the poor people
tore each other to pie,ces in one revolution after
another, and then in 1835 President Santa Anna
tried to trample upon their rights, as Iturbide had
AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS
65
djone, by taking the government absolutely into his
own hands. This was one of the principal causes.
of the Texas revolution, of which we shall learn a
great deal more in the next Chapter.
How Texas was governed by Mexico. — When Mex-
ico gained its independence it took, of course, all
the territory that Spain had owned in North Amer-
ica. This included Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
California, and
parts of Colo-
rado, Utah, and
Nevada. In a
later Chapter of
this book we
shall have ifi
learn how all of
this territory
finally passed
overtothe
United States, but at present we are concerned
only with Texas. There were not enough people in
Texas to make it a separate state, so it was joined
to Coahuila (Ko-a-weel'a). At first the town of
Saltillo (Sal-tee'yo) was the capital of Coahuila and
Texas, but later the capital was moved to Monclova.
At the capital was the governor, who looked after
the general business of the state, and there the
legislature met to pass laws. Both the governor and
the legislature were elected by the people, somewhat
The CiTllEDHAL, CiTi-
66
A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
as they are with us to-day. In Texas the most impor-
tant ofl&cial was the political chief, who lived at
San Antonio and acted in most respects as the gov-
ernor of the province. And then, every town had
an officer called an alcalde (al-cal'da) whose duties
were partly like those of our own mayor and partly
like those of a justice of the peace. It was by these
officials — governor, legislators, political chief, and
alcaldes — that Texas was governed as long as it
belonged to Mexico.
2. THE AMERICAN COLONIES IN TEXAS
The purpose of this section. — ^We have seen how
the English settlers became Americans and spread
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Sabine Eiver, and
how they became acquainted with the land west
of the Sabine through the filibustering expeditions
of Nolan, Magee, and Long. It is now time to learn
how the government at last threw open the doors
and allowed a stream of Americans to flow in and
peaceably cccupy Texas.
Moses Austin gets permission to establish a
colony. — In 1820 Moses Austin went boldly to San
Antonio and asked the governor to let him bring
three hundred families to Texas. This was the
year before Mexico established its independence and
took Texas away from Spain. The governor may
well have been surprised at Austin's politeness in
asking his permission, for the .Americans had always
AMEEICANS SETTLE TEXAS 67
before tried to force their way into the country
without asking anybody's consent. Nevertheless,.
as he did not have power to grant the request, he
refused even to talk about it, and ordered Austin
to get back to the United States as quickly as he
.could go. Finally, however, he was persuaded by
Austin's friend Baron Bastrop to forward the peti-
tion to the proper authorities in Mexico to see if
they would grant it. And with this plan, though
by now he had little hope of its being successful,.
Austin was forced to be content. He de,cided to
return to his home in Missouri to await the answer,
and there on the tenth of June, 1821, he died of
pneumonia, caused by exposure to the weather dur-
ing his journey. Only a few days before his death
the notice came that his petition had been granted^
and one of his last requests was that his son, Stephen
Fuller Austin, should carry on his plans.
Stephen Austin establishes the colony. — Stephen
Austin was on the way from New Orleans to San
Antonio when he heard of his father's death, and
of his wish that the plans should not be given
up. So, with a very sad heart, he kept straight on,
and asked the governor to let him carry out his
father's wish. The governor consented, and, after
choosing a place for the settlement between the Colo-
rado and Brazos Eivers and south of the Old San
Antonio Eoad, this remarkable young man, then
less than twenty-eight years of age, went to New
^8 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Orleans and advertised for settlers. His proposal
was liberal, indeed. To every one who would settle
in his colony he offered six hundred and forty acres
of the best land in the province for the ridiculously
low price of twelve and a half cents an acre. He
was soon able to start back to Texas with some
of the three hundred families for which his con-
tract .called. Many poor people and some well-to-do
ones went with him, and all hoped to better their
condition in this land of promise. They arrived in
December, 1821, and settled on the Brazos, in what
is now Washington county. At last Americans had
a foothold in Texas, and they had come to stay.
Some of us had great-grandfathers in this settle-
ment.
Early difficulties of the colony .-r-But there were
hardships a-plenty in store for the little colony.
Austin had arranged for supplies, tools, and seed
for planting to be brought by the schooner Lively.
These were to be landed at the mouth of the Colo-
rado, but for some reason they were landed at the
Brazos and Austin failed to get them. For a time
the colonists had to depend for food upon such wild
game as they could kill, and many a day they went
hungry. Then Austin was called to the City of Mex-
ico on business jconceming the colony, and the set-
tlers were left without a leader. Some became
discouraged and returned to the United States, while
others wandered off to other parts of the province.
AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS 69
When Austin returned, his colony had almost dis-
appeared. He set to work with a fine spirit to
build it up again, however, and before the end of
1824 he was asking permission to bring in three
hundred more families.
Mexico invites Americans to Texas. — ^After the
Mexicans gained their independence from Spain and
established a republican form of government, they
felt a momentary glow of friendly sympathy and
admiration for the Americans who had only a short
time before flung off the yoke of England. And
while they were still under the influence of this
feeling they passed a law cordially inviting Amer-
icans and other foreigners to come to Texas. Every
married man who would settle here was offered
a league of land (4428 acres), and anybody who
would bring in a hundred families was given a pre-
mium of twenty-three thousand acres. In many
parts of Texas to-day a league of land is worth
a hundred thousand dollars, so that this looks like
a very generous offer, but you must remember that
in those days land had little value because there
were so few people here to use it.
The empresarios. — In order to earn the large pre-
miums a number of men hastened to make con-
tracts with the government to bring hundreds of
families to Texas. The Mexicans called these men
empresarios, but we may call them by the more
familiar title of contractors, for in the present sense
•ro
A SCHOOL HISTOET OF TEXAS
that is what the word means. Stephen F. Aus-
tin himself at different times made new contracts
to bring in altogether more than fifteen han-
dred families. Some of the other contractors with
■whom we must become acquainted were Hayden
Edwards, Green DeWitt, Martin de Leon (Mar-teen'
da La-6n'), Benjamin E, Milam, David G. Burnet,
Lorenzo de
Zavala, and two
Irishmen named
McMullen and
McGloin. Ed-
wards arranged
to settle eight
hundred families
around Nacogdo-
ches, but he soon
got into trouble
with the govem-
^ ment and his con-
' tract was can-
celed. "We shall
learn more of this in another place. DeWitt agreed
to settle three hundred families between the Guada-
lupe and Lavaca Rivers. Gonzales became the prin-
cipal town in bis colony. De Leon contracted to
Bettle a hundred and fifty Mexican families in the
present counties of Victoria and Lavaca. And
McMullen and McGIoin established an Irish colony
B EAItLY COLON'IIL GRA
EdwBraB'B colony. 2.
AMEEICANS SETTLE TEXAS 71
between the San Antonio and Nueces Elvers. San
Patricio became the chief town of this colony. A
study of the map will show where the other contract-
ors started their colonies, but as they did not suc-
ceed in settling many families we need not further
notice them now.
The Americans rapidly settle Texas. — Soon a
stream of American settlers began to pour into
Texas, tempted by the liberal invitation of Mexico
and the glowing advertisements of the contr actor s»
Every boat that landed at Velasco or Matagorda
brought settlers, while others came by land in
wagons or on horseback. From New York, Penn-
sylvania, Virginia, and Ohio they came; but most
of all they came from Tennessee, Mississippi, Ala-
bama, and Georgia. The wealthy open-handed
southern planter, with a band of slaves to dig a
second fortune from the fertile bottom lands of
the Trinity, Brazos, and Colorado ; the frugal north-
em farmer, wealthy in the possession of a family
of sturdy sons; the ''poor white,'' with hardly more
than the shabby clothes upon his back; bridal
couples on their honeymoon journey; young adven-
turers; lawyers, doctors, merchants — all sorts and
conditions of men came to Texas. And to all of
them it was a land bright with promise and hope.
By 1835 there were between twenty-five and thirty
thousand Americans in Texas.
The character of the colonists. — ^It used to be the
72 A SCHOOL mSTOBY OF TEXAS
fashion for histories to say that most of the eariy
settlers of Texas were bad characters who fled from
the United States to escape pimishment for crime,
but we can prove that this is not true. No doubt
there were some vagabonds in the country, just as
there are in the most respectable communities
to-day, but the majority of the settlers were simple,
honest, upright pioneers, no worse than those who
settled Ohio and Indiana. In fact, undesirable men
who came to Austin's ^colony were whipped and
driven away, and in 1829 Austin declared that the
people in his settlements were as moral, hospitable,
and law-abiding as could be found at that time in
any county in the United States.
3. LIFE IN THE COLONIES
The houses in which the colonists lived. — The
early colonists settled in a part of Texas where
stone was scarce and trees were plentiful. But there
were no sawmills, and it was too expensive to ship
lumber from the United States. So for the first few
years nearly all of the houses were built of logs.
A house of the best sort would have a long front
porch, a wide hall, with rooms opening into it on
each side, plank floors, and great fireplaces and
chimneys. Such a house was both commodious and
^comfortable, and some of us to-day would consider
it a picturesque lodge. But only the very well-to-do
settlers could afford such a house. Many lived in
AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS
one-roomed cabins with earthen floors, thatched
roofs, and mud-chinked walls, which were neither
convenient nor comfortable. "What must have been
one of the very poorest houses is described by a lady
who came to Texas from Germany when she was
- -- 1
fmM
i ? fl
^
. .
. ''N '
"f
1
1.
^
TT'v
"m^J
^»«
i'p^
about nine years old. She says: "Our house was
a miserable little hut, covered with straw and hav-
ing sis sides, which were made out of moss. The
roof was by no means water-proof, and we often
held an umbrella over our bed when it rained at
night, while the cows came and ate the moss. Of
74 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
course we suffered a great deal in the winter. My
father had tried to build a chimney and fire place
out of logs and iclay, but we were afraid to light a
fire because of the extreme combustibility of our
dwelling. So we had to shiver.'' And she lived in
this house six years.
Their furniture. — In general the furniture was as
crude as the houses. It is true that some of the
colonists, coming by sea, were able to bring from
their old homes silver and china and household
goods sufficient to furnish the new homes in com-
parative elegance; but many of them brought no
more than could be packed on the back of a horse,
and in their cabins the furniture was likely to be
of the home-made sort. Their benches, stools, and
tables were hewn from the trunks of trees, and they
sometimes ate their scanty food from wooden plat-
ters and drank their milk from gourds. Sometimes
the barest necessities, such as beds, washbasins, and
towels, were lacking. One who suffered the hard-
ships of those early days says ^^my mother was
on,ce called to a neighbor's, . . . because one of
the little children was very sick. My mother slept
op a deer skin, without a pillow, on the floor. In
the morning, the lady of the house poured water
over mother's hands and told her to dry her face on
her bonnet. ' '
Food. — ^For the first few years the crops were not
sufficient to meet the needs of the incoming colonists
AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS 75
for bread and seed corn, and they were often com-
pelled to live for months upon the game which they
could kill. Deer and wild turkeys could usually be
found, but occasionally hunger drove them to eat
the mustang ponies which roamed the prairies in
countless numbers. In time, however, this changed:
crops became more abundant, and cornbread ceased
to be a luxury; the gardens furnished fresh vege-
tables for the table; honey was obtained from bee-
trees in the woods; and soon cattle and hogs were
adding milk and butter and beef and pork to the
bill of fare. It did not then so much matter that
the price of flour was very high because, with the
other things, it was no great hardship to do without
biscuits and cake. For a good many years, however,
mills were so scarce in Texas that a colonist often
had to go thirty miles to get his corn ground into
meal.
Clothing. — Calico was fifty cents a yard in the
stores, and other goods were proportionally high.
But most of the colonists were not troubled by that,
for nearly every .cabin contained a spinning wheel
and a rude loom for the making of homespun cloth,
and that was what most of them wore. Some had
suits of buckskin for rough wear, and moccasins
were commoner than boots and shoes.
Hospitality. — ^But scarcity and want did not make
the colonists selfish or inhospitable, and the traveler
was always sure of a welcome among them wherever
76 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
he went. One witness says: ''The settlers with
whom we came in contact were very kind and hos-
pitable; and this was true of nearly all the old
American pioneers. They would receive one with
genuine pleasure and share the last piece of bread.
Money was out of the question and if you had offered
it to those people, they would have been amazed.
When you came to one of the old settlers, you were
expected to make yourself at home. He would see
that your horses were well fed, and offer you the
best cheer he could; and you were expected to
do the same when the next opportunity presented
itself."
Amusements. — Nor must we gain the impression
.that life was entirely filled with hardships for the
early settlers. It is true that they were often lonely,
that they were in constant danger from the treacher-
ous Indians, that they worked hard, and sometimes
went hungry; but they took these things as a mat-
ter of course, and, looking hopefully to the future
for better times, enjoyed to the utmost such pleas-
ures as came their way. Their amusements were
much like those of people who live in the country
to-day — hunting, fishing, shooting matches, riding
wild horses, dancing parties, weddings, and an occa-
sional trip to town. At first there were no Sunday
schools nor .churches to serve as gathering places,
but they sometimes met at a camp meeting under
the shelter of a spreading tree, and before and after
AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS
77
the sermon talked of old times in the United States
and indulged in golden prophecies of the future.
None of lis would care to exchange places with the
pioneers of those old days, but if we could do so,
we should find many things to amuse us in the life
that they led.
Indians. — ^The Indians were the greatest annoy-
ance and danger with which the colonists had to
contend. The hostile ones murdered and the friend-
ly ones robbed them, and the worst of it was that
nobody could
tell when a
friendly tribe
might suddenly
turn hostile and
go on the war-
path. They
would sometimes
hang around a
settlement for
months, begging, trading, and pilfering, and then,
without a moment's warning, would dash away to
some lonely neighborhood and, unless help came
quickly, kill every living soul. After a massacre
of this sort the colonists themselves would take the
warpath and hunt the Indians down like wild beasts.
A battle would follow, and the Indians were gener-
ally defeated, but the colonists also frequently suf-
fered. Still, the settlers sometimes found the more
78 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
civilized Indians really useful, and often traded
them ammunition and corn for venison, moccasins,
and skins. The Indians liked nothing better than
driving a close bargain, and one old chief of the
Tonka was (Tonk'a-ways) used to boast that if he
could only get Austin to trade with him, he could
cheat him out of his colony. An old settler says
that Austin once furnished this same chief with a
supply of seed com and some farming tools and
made him promise to raise a crop, but he ate the
corn and then told Austin that the Great Spirit
had forbidden the Tonkawas to plant corn. He said
that they must hunt, as they had always done, and
depend upon their white brothers for bread. Austin
replied that the Tonkawas would surely starve, if
they did not work, but his threat had no effect.
The occupations of the colonists. — ^Most of the
colonists were farmers. Those who could afford it
imported tools from New Orleans and cultivated
with their slaves vast fields of cotton and corn.
Others who did not even possess a hoe burned away
the brush and canebrakes and planted corn with a
sharpened stick. This, of course, was in the earliest
days of the colonies. As time passed conditions
improved. The principal crops were cotton and corn,
some tobacco and sugar cane, and the usual garden
vegetables. Everybody tried to raise a few horses,
some cattle, and hogs; and in parts of the colonies
sheep were raised for their wool. There were a
AMEBICANS SETTLE TEZAS
79
good many lawyers in Texas, among whom we must
remember "William B. Travis, who so gloriously died
in the Alamo; a few physicians; and some mer-
chants. The first stores were at San Felipe, Quin-
tana, Harrisburg, and Nacogdoches. At Quintana,
near the mouth of the Brazos, Thomas F. McKinney
and Samuel M. Williams had a large wholesale es-
tablishment, where they stored goods which they
bought in New Orleans and sold to retail merchants
in all parts of the colonies. This was long before
the time of railroads, and at first the goods had
to be hauled from Quintana in heavy freight wagons
drawn . by many
yokes of osen.
Later they were
taken up the Bra^
zos in a steam-
boat. In short, if
we could visit the
Texas of seventy-
five year^ ago,
we should see in their infancy the beginnings of the
principal industries of our state to-day.
The condition of the colonies in 1834. — ^According
to a careful Mexican account, the colonists in 1834
were scattered along the rivers south of the Old
San Antonio Road from the Nueces to the Sabine,
and were beginning to prosper. They had sawmills,
cotton gins, and mills for grinding corn. There was
Spectacles
80 A SCHOOL niSTOKY OF TEXAS
a steamboat on the Brazos, and two others were
ordered, one for the Trinity and one for the Neches.
They shipped great quantities of cotton, com, cattle,
and the skins of animals to New Orleans and ex-
changed them for machinery, farming implements,
household goods, flour, coffee, etc., which could not
be produced in th6 colonies. This Mexican writer
noticed with regret, however, that in all Texas there
were only four small schools, and that they were
very poor, but he said that colonists who could
afford it sent their jchildren to the United States to
school.
Summary. — ^At the very end of its rule in Texas
the Spanish government gave Moses Austin permis-
sion to plant an American colony in the province,
and upon his death continued the grant to his son
Stephen. Then Mexico became independent, and
offered great bounties of land to all who settled in
Texas. Austin arrived with the first of his colonists
in December, 1821, and less than four years later a
number of other empresarios made contracts to
bring hundreds of families to Texas. By 1835 there
were at least twenty.five thousand Americans in
the country. At first they suffered a great many
hardships, but conditions improved as time went
on, and most of them became able to live very com-
fortably. In less than a dozen years the Americans
did more to develop the province than Spain had
done in all its three hundred years of possession.
AMERICANS SETTLE TEXAS gl
As long as Texas belonged to Mexico it was united
with Coahuila, and the two states had a single gov-
ernor and legislature, but in Texas the principal
officer was the political chief. At first there was
only one political chief, with headquarters at San
Antonio, but by 1834 there were three, one at San
Antonio, one at San Felipe, and one at Nacogdoches.
The colonists really paid very little attention to
the government in Mexico, and generally managed
their own affairs. In fact, their connection with the
United States was closer than with Mexico. Most
of them had friends or relatives in the United States
and were .constantly going back there on visits or
on business; they did nearly all their trading in
the United States; and they sent their children there
to school. It is important to remember this, because
it helps to explain in part the Texas revolution.
QUESTIONS
1. What were the causes of the Mexican revolution from
Spain ?
2. Why were the Mexicans unprepared to govern them-
selves after they became independent?
3. What sort of a government did they finally establish?
Why was it not suitable for them ?
4. Why do you suppose the Spanish government gave
Moses Austin permission to establish an American colony in
Texas ?
5. Why did Mexico continue, in this respect, the liberal
policy that Spain had begun?
32 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
6. What inducements did Mexico offer to settlers in
Texas? Were any foreigners except Americans invited to
Texas ?
7. Who were some of the principal empresarios, or con-
tractors ?
8. Show on a map the location of the principal colonies.
9. From what parts of the United States did most of the
colonists come? What classes of people were among them?
Were there many bad characters among them?
10. Tell of the hardships of the early colonists.
11. Describe some of their amusements.
12. Describe a comfortable house in the colonies; a house
of the poorer sort.
13. What sort of clothes did the early settlers usually
wear ?
14. What did they eat? Tell of their hospitality.
15. Give an account of their relations with the Indians."
16. What occupations did most of the colonists follow?
17. Describe the general condition of Texas in 1834.
18. Where did the colonists buy and sell their goods?
19. What did they have to sell?
20. How did they transport their goods?
21. How many schools did they have?
ADDITIONAL READING
Stephen F. Austin: Bolton and Barker, With the Makers
of Texas, 100-104 ; Davis, Under Six Flags, 50-56 ; Littlejohn,
"Stephen F. Austin'^ in Texas History Stories.
Life in the Colonies : Bolton and Barker, 104-153 ; Smith-
wick, The Evolution of a State (Gammel Book Company,
Austin), pp. 9-86.
CHAPTER VI
THE TEXAS BE VOLUTION: THE AMEBIC ANS TAKE TEXAS
1. THE GENEEAL CAUSES OF THE EEVOLUTION
The fundamental cause of the revolution. — The
causes of the revolution were spread through the
whole ten years, between 1825 and 1835, but at the
very bottom of them all was the fact that the Mex-
icans and the colonists never really got acquainted
and learned to trust each other. The chief reason
for this was that they always considered each other
foreigners. They belonged to different races, and
had different religions, different ways of living, and
different ideas of government and education. The
colonists felt a sort of contempt for the Mexicans.
They formed very few connections with Mexico,
while with the United States, where they had left
friends and relatives, where they sold their crops
and bought their goods, and where those who could
afford it sent their children to school, their connec-
tion was very close.
The Mexicans soon observed this, and began to
suspect that the colonists would some day try to take
Texas away from them and attach it to the United
83
8-t A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
States. This was the beginning of the misunder-
standing. After the idea had once entered the minds
of the Mexicans nearly everything that the colo-
nists did was misinterpreted and only helped to
strengthen it. The Mexicans then did exactly what
you would do if you believed that somebody was
going to try to snat,ch something from you — they
took measures to prevent the success of such an
attempt. But now the colonists in their turn mis-
understood the Mexicans, and considering their
measures oppressive and unnecessary, demanded
that they be changed. This however, only convinced
the Mexicans the more thoroughly that the colo-
nists were plotting a rebellion. They redoubled
their efforts to prevent it, and in so doing drove the
colonists into the revolution. If thev had been of
the same race, they might have known each other
better, or distrusted each other less, and the revolu-
tion might never have occurred. To see the truth
of this statement, and to learn the other causes of
the revolution, we must now take up the principal
events in the history of Texas between 1825 and
1835.
The Fredonian rebellion. — The first thing that
occurred to give the Mexicans a bad opinion of the
American settlers was what is called the Fredonian
rebellion. If you will turn back to page 70, you
will find among those who made .contracts with the
Mexican government to bring colonists to Texas the
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 85
name of Hayden Edwards. He undertook to settle
eight hundred families in a vast tract of land in
East Texas which included the old Spanish town
of Nacogdoches. There had been, as you remember,
some Mexican families living in this neighborhood
ever since Gil Ybarbo founded Nacogdoches in
1779, and there were, besides, a good many Ameri-
cans there who had drifted in after Long's expedi-
tion. Edwards soon got into trouble with these
old settlers by threatening to take their land away
from them unless they could prove a good title to
it, and later he got into trouble with some of his
own colonists by trying to charge them a small
fee for the land w^hich the government allowed
them. Those who were dissatisfied complained to
the political .chief at San Antonio, who took their
part. Thereupon Edwards's brother wrote to him
and attempted to explain the difiiculty, but the
political chief thought the letter so abusive and dis-
respectful that he canceled Edwards's contract and
ordered him to leave the country. Now, Edwaids,
who had spent a fortune in getting his colony
started, saw ruin staring him in the face if com-
pelled to obey this command, and he determined to
resist. On December 16, 1826, therefore, with the
support of a few friends, he declared Texas inde-
pendent of Mexico and named it the Eepublic of
Fredonia. It is for that reason that we call this the
Fredonian rebellion.
86 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
The failure of the rebellion.— Edwards immedi-
ately saw that he could not succeed without more
assistance, and set to work to get it. The Cherokee
Indians, who had recently come from the United
States and stopped near Nacogdoches, agreed to help
him in return for some land, and he then tried to
stir up the settlers in Austin's colony by persuading
them that they were being badly mistreated by the
government. B. W. Edwards, the brother of Hay-
den, wrote to a prominent colonist, saying : ^ * I write
you in much haste to apprise you that the Amer-
icans in this end of the province have at length
resolved to throw off the yoke of despotism and to
be freemen. . . • We have been shamefully op-
pressed for twelve months. . • . We are the sons
of freemen and will sooner die than be slaves! . . .
We look upon you as our brothers, and as such
expect to find you in arms, ready to avenge our
wrongs and to protect your own rights against the
faithless government.''
But Austin's colonists paid no attention to
Edwards. Though they were sorry for him, they
believed that he was in the wrong, and they knew
that it would ruin them all if they joined him. Ellis
Bean persuaded the Cherokee s to lay down their
arms; and when the Mexican soldiers advanced from
San Antonio to put down the disturbance some of
Austin's men went with them. Upon the approach
of the soldiers the Edwards brothers realized that
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 87
they were helpless, and on January 31, 1827, a little
more than six weeks after their declaration of inde-
pendence, they fled to the United States, and the
Fredonian rebellion was at an end. The government
later divided up the land which was to have been
included in Edwards's colony and granted it to
Lorenzo de Zavala, David G. Burnet, and others.
The importance of the Fredonian rebellion. — One
slight skirmish in which a man was killed and sev-
eral were wounded was the only fighting that took
place during the Fredonian rebellion, but the effect
of the rebellion upon the minds of the Mexicans
was very much more serious. It was the first defi-
nite thing that happened to make the Mexicans fear
that the colonists would -finally take Texas away
from them. If a mere handful were bold enough
to make the attempt at this early date, would they
not surely suc,ceed when their numbers increased
and the province was full of them? It was true
that Austin's colonists had refused to have anything
to do with the uprising, but the Mexicans said to
themselves that this might have been only because
they realized that the time was not yet ripe. You
see, they did not trust the Americans. And pretty
soon they began trying to discourage them from
coming to Texas.
How the Mexicans tried to check American immi-
gration into Texas. — ^At first the Mexicans did not
come out openly and forbid Americans to settle in
38 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Texas, but attempted to reach the same end by a
round-about way. They saw that many of the colo-
nists from the southern states brought slaves with
them, and the idea occurred to them that if the
slaves already in Texas were de,clared free and no
others were allowed to enter, a good many Ameri-
cans would stop coming. It is likely that this really
would have happened, because at that time there
were no laborers to be hired in Texas, and the only
way in which large plantations could be cultivated
was by slaves. So, on September 15, 1829, President
Guerrero issued a proclamation freeing the slaves
throughout Mexico.
Now, there were very few slaves in any of the
Mexican territory except Texas, most of the labor
elsewhere being done by peons, who by law were
free but who in reality were worse off than the slaves
in Texas. The colonists saw immediately, therefore,
that the president's decree was aimed at them, and
it made them very angry. It seemed for a time that
they might go to war, but Stephen F. Austin per-
suaded them to first send a petition to the president,
telling him that the proclamation would ruin Texas,
and asking him to withdraw it. Even the Mexicans
living in Texas endorsed this petition, and when it
reached President Guerrero he granted it by except-
ing Texas from his proclamation. This caused great
rejoicing among the colonists, but at the same time
they did not forget that the government had delib-
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS , 89
erately tried to ];uin them, and bitter resentment
was mingled with their joy. The breach between
them and Mexico was widened.
The law of April 6, 1830.— Scarcely had this
excitement subsided when the colonists were irri-
tated almost beyond control by the law of April 6,
1830. You will have no difficulty in understanding
why they objected to it when you learn its princi-
pal provisions. First, it forbade the settlement
of any more Americans in Texas except in Aus-
tin's and DeWitt's colonies, and made it extremely
troublesome for them to settle even there. Second, in
order to outnumber as soon as possible the Ameri-
cans already in Texas, it provided that Mexican
convicts should be sent to the province to serve
their terms and then permanently settled there.
Third, it provided that a number of Mexican sol-
diers should be scattered through Texas to watch
the colonists and keep them in subjection. And,
finally, it established custom houses at the seaports,
where taxes had to be paid upon all goods that were
not bought in Mexico. The purpose of this, of course,
was to break up the trading between Texas and New
Orleans.
Why the colonists objected to the law of April 6.
— The colonists saw that if the law was carried out,
they would be almost entirely cut off from their
friends and relatives in the United States, and that
Texas would become filled with low-class Mexicans
90 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
through the settlement of ex-coixvicts, and of sol-
diers, who were nearly as bad as the convicts. At
first they had no right to object to the establish-
ment of custom houses and the collection of tariff
duties on goods imported from the United States,
because at that time every country in the world
imposed the same sort of taxes on foreign trade, but,
as we shall see, they soon had good reason to com-
plain of the tyrannical methods employed by the
collectors.
Failure to enforce the law of April 6.— But the
government could never enforce the law. Though
it stationed troops in many places, Americans con-
tinued to slip into Texas; and though it established
custom houses at Anahuac, Velasco, and Matagorda,
and collected the duty on goods from the United
States, the colonists continued to trade with New
Orleans. They were glad, of course, that the Mex-
icans could not enforce the law, but it is a charac-
teristic trait of the American people to admire men
who can do things and to despise those who cannot,
so that this very failure to carry out the law soon
caused them to lose what respe.ct they still retained
for the Mexicans.
The first breath of the revolution, fighting at Ana-
huac. — In 1832 the colonists were so infuriated by
the treatment which they received from two Mexican
officials that they flew to arms. The objectionable
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 91
men were Colonel John Bradburn,^ commander of
the fort at Anahuac, and George Fisher, collector of
the custom house at the same place. Their first
offense was to order all the ports closed except Ana-
huac. That is, they issued a notice saying that all
vessels bringing merchandise to Texas must land
at Anahuac and pay duty. This was very inconve-
nient for colonists who had been having their goods
landed nearer home, at the mouth of the Brazos or
of the Colorado, and they made such a determined
protest that Bradbum withdrew the order. But
while they were still in bad humor over this, he
began encouraging slaves to run away from their
masters, saying that slavery was against the laws
of Mexico and that they were therefore free. And
finally, in retaliation for a practical joke that was
played on him, he arrested Patrick C. Jack and
William B. Travis and threw them into prison.
This was more than the colonists would stand. A
number of them marched to Anahuac and ordered
him to release the prisoners, and when he refused
a skirmish took place in which one Texan and five
Mexicans were killed. The colonists then drew off
and went into camp until they could send to Brazoria
for some cannon. This was July 13, 1832. While
they were still waiting. Colonel Piedras (Pe-a'dras)
^ Bradbum was a Kentuckian who, like Ellis Bean, entered
the Mexican service during the revolution from Spain and was
promoted to high rank in the army.
92 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
arrived from Nacogdoches and persuaded Bradburn
to give up the prisoners and leave Texas. His sol-
diers remained at Anahuac about a month longer
and then followed him to Mexico.
The Battle of Velasco. — ^But this was not the end
of the fighting. The men who went to Brazoria for
the cannon intended carrying them down the Brazos
on a steamboat and thence by sea to Anahuac, but
when they reached Velasco, at the mouth of the
river. Colonel Ugartechea (U-gar-ta-cha'a), who
commanded the fort there, would not let them
pass. For several days they argued with him, and
then at midnight on June 26,. 1832, they attacked
him with a hundred and fifty men. The battle waged
hotly until day light, when a heavy rain storm put
a stop to it. The Mexicans had five men killed and
sixteen wounded, while the Texans had seven killed
and fourteen wounded. Three days later Ugartechea
abandoned the fort and marched away to Mexico
with what men he had left.
The soldiers driven from the rest of Texas. — ^At
the beginning of August the colonists attacked
Colonel Piedras, and after a fierce battle drove him
from Nacogdoches. This was the last of the fight-
ing. One after another the remaining garrisons
marched away to Mexico, and by the end of the
year there were only a few soldiers scattered here
and there in Texas. The custom officers went
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS
■with the soldiers, and the colonists again found
themselves free from annoyance.
How the colonists explained their rebellion. — But
the colonists, knowing that the Mexicans might con-
sider the fighting in Texas a rebellion and send a
large army to icrush them, hit upon a clever scheme
to prevent it. A revolution led by General Santa
Anna ■was going on in Mexico at this time and
about to
Nacoqdoches
overthrow the
government.
When, therefore,
the colonists were
asked to explain
why they drove
the troops from
Texas they" re-
plied that they
favored Santa
Anna and attacked the government soldiers in order
to assist him. If Santa Anna had failed, this ex-
planation would have done them more harm than
good, but fortunately he won, and of course he could
not punish them for helping him.
The importance of the difBculties of 1832.— These
conflicts of 1832 were really the beginning of the
Texas revolution. They were the last thing needed
to convince the Mexicans that the Texans were dan-
gerous characters, bent upon seizing the province.
94 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
Even Santa Anna, for whom they claimed to be
fighting, did not believe them, and when he became
president in 1833 he determined to crush them
utterly at the first sign of insurrection. On the
other hand, the fighting had caused the colonists
to despise the Mexicans, and had shown them that
they could, take care of themselves in case of a
war. In short, the suspicion and distrust of both
parties were increased, and from this moment the
revolution developed rapidly.
The colonists send Austin to Mexico to secure the
separation of Texas from Coahuila. — The first use
which the colonists made of their victory was to
try to obtain the separation of Texas from Coahuila.
They believed that the union with Coahuila was
harmful to Texas, and that the organization of a
separate state government would enable them to
avoid in future such abuses as they had recently
suffered from the Mexican officials. They accord-
ingly held a convention at San Felipe on April 1,
1833, and drew up a petition begging for separa-
tion.^ General Sam Houston, who had only arrived
in Texas a few months before, wrote such a consti-
tution as they desired for the new state, and Austin
was elected to take it and the petition to Mexico
^ A convention which had been held in October, 1832, dis-
cussed the same question and appointed William H. Wharton
and Eafael Manchola to carry petitions on this and several
other subjects to Mexico, but they failed to go.
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 95
and get the government to approve them. Austin
thought the whole plan unwise at that time, but
the people, knowing that he better than any one
else could persuade the government to agree to the
change, insisted on his going, and he went. This
illustrates Austin's readiness to sacrifice his own
opinions as well as his comfort and convenience in
the service of the people.
Austin fails to secure separation. — ^When Austin
reached Mexico President Santa Anna was not in
the city, so he laid the petition before Vice-President
Gomez Farias (Go-mas' Fa-re'as). But Farias, who
had no» liking for the Texans, would never give him
an answer, and after several months Austin became
impatient and wrote a letter to Texas advising the
people to go ahead and organize a government with-
out waiting any longer. Soon after this Santa Anna
returned, and Austin placed the matter before him.
He refused to make Texas a state, but he did prom-
ise to make a number of important reforms which
the Texans desired, and Austin then started home,
very well satisfied. Before he got to Texas, how-
ever, he was overtaken by soldiers and arrested by
order of the vice-president.
Austin thrown into prison. — The cause of this was
the letter which Austin had written to Texas. Some
one sent it to the vice-president, and it so enraged
him that he threw Austin into prison and for months
would not allow him to speak to anybody or to have
96 A SCHOOL HISTOHT 07 TEXAS
any books. Austin suffered terribly, and the worst
of it was that he knew he did not deserve it. In a
little diary which he kept while in prison we are still
able to read dimly these words: "What a horrible
punishment is solitary confinement, shut up in a
dungeon with scarcely light enough to distinguish
anything. If I were a criminal it would be another
thing, but I am not one . . . my intentions were
pure and correct." And later in the same diary he
wrote: "How
happy I could
have been on a
farm alongside of
my brother-in-law
far from the cares
and difficulties
that now sur- ■
round me. But I
thought it was my
duty to obey the
call of the people, and go to Mexico as their agent.
I have sacrificed myself to serve them." He was
kept in prison for fifteen months, and yas not
allowed to leave Mexico until the middle of 1835.
His punishment was a cruel injustice and was deeply
resented by the colonists, who were grateful for his
services. Little more was needed to stir them to a
revolt from Mexico, and that was soon supplied by
the action of Santa Anna.
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 97
Summary of the general causes of the revolution.
— If we stop for a moment now and look back over
the troubles that have been described, we shall see
that most of them grew out of the failure of the
Mexicans and the colonists to understand each other,
and this was chiefly due to the fact that they be-
longed to different races. Though only a handful
of the colonists joined in the Fredonian rebellion,
it caused the Mexicans to suspect that all of them
wished to take Texas, and the fighting of 1832 and
the petition for separation from Coahuila strength-
*ened their suspicion. They believed that separa-
tion from Coahuila would only be the first step
toward separation from Mexico. At the same time
we have seen how the colonists were irritated almost
beyond endurance by the emancipation decree of
1829, the law of April 6, 1830, the tyranny of
Bradburn and Fisher in 1832, and the imprisonment
of Austin in 1834. But we must not judge the Mexi-
cans too harshly. Eemember that Texas belonged
to them and that they honestly believed that they
were in danger of losing it. They were merely try-
ing desperately in the only way that they knew to
save it. Neither can we blame the Americans, for
they come of a people who have never borne oppres-
sion with patience.
2. THE IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF THE EEVOLUTION
Santa Anna's measures. — It was Santa Anna who
finally exhausted the patience of the colonists and
98 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
drove them into the revolution. With what he did
in Mexico we are not concerned, but in Texas two
important measures must be noticed. First he deter-
mined to re-occupy Texas with soldiers. His other
measure was to order the military commander in
Texas to arrest some of the most prominent colo-
nists and send them to Mexico for trial. Let us now
more fully examine these measures.
The colonists and the soldiers. — ^At the end of
1834 there were only three companies of soldiers in
Texas, two at San Antonio and one at Goliad. Since
these towns were inhabited principally by Mexicans,
the colonists did not object to a few soldiers being
there, but it was entirely another matter when a
company went to Anahuac in January, 1835, and
the rumor spread that Santa Anna was going to send
others to Texas as soon as possible. Trouble imme-
diately arose, but nothing serious occurred until the
colonists captured a courier bearing letters from
Mexico to Captain Tenorio, who commanded at Ana-
huac, and learned from these letters that reinforce-
ments were on the way to him. Then a band of hot-
tempered young men, led by William B. Travis,
resolved to drive Tenorio out before the new troops
arrived, and marching to Anahuac, armed with their
rifles and a small cannon, they ordered him to sur-
render. He knew that it was useless to fight, but
asked for time to consider. Travis allowed him only
one hour, but that was enough, for at the end of it
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 99
he surrendered. The next morning, after giving up
their arms and ammunition, he and his men started
for San Antonio. At first a good many of the colo-
nists thought Travis had been too hasty, but they
soon had cause to change their minds.
The arrest of Travis and other prominent colo-
nists ordered. — ^As soon as General Cos, the brother-
in-law of Santa Anna, and the commander of north-
ern Mexico and Texas, heard of the attack on Ana-
huac, he ordered the arrest of Travis, Samuel Will-
iams, E. M. Williamson, Mosely Baker, and others,
and directed that they should be sent to Mexico and
tried by a military court. At the same time came
the news that troops in large numbers were on the
way to San Antonio. These two things turned the
Texans squarely against Santa Anna. They were
determined not to submit to a military occupation
of Texas, because they remembered the abuses which
they had suffered from the soldiers in 1832; and
they were equally determined not to permit the
arrest of the men whom Cos was demanding, because
none of them was guilty of any wrongdoing except
Travis, and under the circumstances they did not
consider his offence a very serious one. They tried
to send a committee to General Cos, to explain that
they wanted to remain at peace with Mexico and
that the soldiers would not be needed in Texas, but
at San Antonio the committee was stopped by a
letter from Cos saying that he would not talk to
100 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
them until Travis and the others were surrendered.
There the matter rested, and as troops continued
to arrive at San Antonio the colonists commenced
preparing for war.
The return of Stephen F. Austin. — Early in Sep-
tember (1835) Austin returned from his long impris-
onment in Mexico, and told the people that the time
had come for war. They believed him, because they
knew that he loved peace and would never advise
war if it could be honorably avoided. From this
moment Austin took the lead, and at his command
horsemen rode in hot haste to all parts of the coun-
try collecting arms and ammunition and urging the
colonists to form military companies and begin to
drill. On September 19 in a circular letter which
was scattered broadcast he said: **War is our only
resource. There is no other remedy but to defend
our rights, ourselves, and our country by force of
arms.'' And three days later he sent forth a ringing
call for every man in Texas to seize his arms **in
defence of his country and his rights.'' This was
enough. The colonists were ready, and the clash of
battle was not to be much longer delayed.
3. THE FIBST STAGE OF THE WAE, THE CAMPAIGN
OF 1835
The battle of Gonzales. — The first shot was fired
at Gonzales, where the Mexicans tried to get a can-
non which the people had there to protect them from
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS
the Indians. Colonel Ugartechea, who now com-
manded at San Antonio, knew that they, would use
it against his troops, if they were allowed to keep
it until tlie war started, and resolved to get it away
from them. At first, in order not to alarm the colo-
nists, he sent only a corporal and five soldiers with
an ox-cart to receive it, but when they refused to
give it up, he sent a captain and a hundred dragoons
to take it. Upon his arrival,
the captain did not feel
strong enough to make the
attempt, so he marched up
the river several miles and
went into camp to wait for
reinforcements. Here for one
night his men had a pleasant
time plundering a farmer's
watermelon patch, but the
next morning at break of day
they awoke to find a little army of a hundred and
fifty Texans advancing upon them with the desired
cannon mounted on heavy wagon wheels and point-
ing toward them in a dangerous way. It was loaded
with pieces of chain and scraps of iron, and at the
first volley the Mexicans broke and fled in terror,
leaving one dead upon the field. This was the battle
of Gonzales, October 2, 1835.
Austin takes command. — The news that Gonzales
was threatened had spread rapidly, and now as
103 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
band after band of anxious volunteers hurried up,
hoping to be in time to save it, they were greeted
with the tidings of victory. You may imagine their
relief. There still seemed to be a chance for them
to enjoy a fight, however, for it was reported that
Colonel Ugartechea himself with five hundred men
was coming to take the cannon. They went into
camp to wait for him, but as the days passed and
he did not appear, while their own numbers con-
tinued to increase, they decided to march boldly
to San Antonio and attack him. To do this they
needed a commander in whom all had confidence,
so they wrote to Austin at San Felipe, and begged
him to lead them. He was worn out by his recent
labors and ill from his long imprisonment, but he
consented, and on October 11 he was elected com-
mander-in-chief. Two days later the little army
commenced its march to San Antonio, but before
following it thither we must notice an important
victory which another band of colonists won at
Goliad.
The capture of Goliad. — ^While most of the colo-
nists were flocking to Gonzales another party gath-
ered under Captain George M. Collinsworth and
quietly mar,ched on Goliad, where at the time there
was a great quantity of valuable military supplies
protected by only a small garrison. As they ap-
proached the town, about midnight of October 9,
they were hailed from the darkness by Colonel Ben.
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 103
R. Milam, who had just escaped from a prison in
Mexico. Thinking at first that they were Mexican
soldiers, he had hidden in a thicket, but upon hear-
ing them talking in English he called out, and was
overjoyed to find himself among old friends. He
joined them, and they proceeded toward the town.
Arriving there, they cautiously stole upon the gar-
rison and took it completely by surprise. The sol-
diers did no more than fire a few scattering shots
and then surrendered, so that without the loss of
a man the colonists obtained possession of the fort
and its valuable supplies. These consisted of two
cannon, three hundred muskets, and some ten thou-
sand dollars^ worth of food and military stores,
which became of the greatest benefit to General
Austin and the volunteers who were marching on
San Antonio.
Skirmishes around San Antonio. — ^After leaving
Gonzales on the 13th of October Austin proceeded
slowly toward San Antonio. His force increased
every day, and before the end of the month amounted
to more than five hundred men. The first fighting
to speak of occurred at the old mission of Concep-
cion, at sunrise on October 28. Austin had sent
James Bowie and J. W. Fannin ahead with ninety
men to seleqt a camping place near San Antonio,
and suddenly they found themselves almost sur-
rounded by about four hundred Mexicans. Fortu-
nately they were able to take refuge in the river
104 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
bed, using the bank for a breastwork, and in this
position they waged a fierce battle for three hours
with the loss of only one man, while the Mexicans
left sixteen dead upon the field and were thought
to have carried away with them as many more.
Mission ConcgfciOh
This was indeed a remarkable victory, against tre-
mendous odds, and it gave the volunteers fresh
confidence in themselves.
The next fighting of any consequence took place
on November 26, nearly a month after the battle
of Concepcion, and Bowie played a leading part in
this, too. On that day Deaf Smith, the famous
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 105
scout, dashed into camp at full speed with the
announcement that a hundred soldiers were ap-
proaching San Antonio with horses loaded down
with bags of silver to pay the troops. You may
imagine the wild excitement that he caused. In
a flash Bowie was at the head of a hundred men
and galloping off to intercept them. The whole
army followed him, and then the Mexican army sal-
lied out to assist their friends. The result was a
lively skirmish in which the Mexicans lost some
fifty men and many of their bags, but these the
Texans found to their great disappointment were
filled with grass instead of silver. The Mexicans
had been bringing in grass to feed the starving
horses in the town. For this reason the engagement
was called the ''grass fight.'' The Texans had not a
man killed.
General Burleson takes command. — Two days
before this fight occurred General Austin had been
called from the army by the provisional govern-
ment, of which we shall learn in the next section,
and given a more important position. The men
who composed the government saw that Texas could
not succeed without assistance from the people of
the United States, so they appointed a committee
to go there and explain how Santa Anna had
oppressed Texas and ask for help. They believed
that A^ustin would have more influence with the
people than any other man in Texas, so they ap-
106 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
pointed him, and with him they sent two other
prominent citizens, William H. Wharton and Dr.
Branch T. Archer. Before leaving the army Austin
ordered an election to be held to select a man for
his place there, and this resulted in the choice of
General Edward Burleson.
Milam storms San Antonio. — ^But when Austin
left the volunteers became very restless. Some of
them wanted to attack the fortifications at once,
while others believed that this would be useless and
wanted to go home. None of them wanted to con-
tinue the siege. They were just on the point of
breaking camp and retreating when Milam sprang
up and shouted, ' ' Who will go with Old Ben Milam
into San Antonio T' Three hundred men answered
* ' I, ' ' and flocked to his side. This was on the 4th of
December. That night they met at the Old Mill
and made their arrangements, and the next morning
a little before day they began the attack. For four
days and nights the battle raged with the greatest
fury, while Milam and his brave companions fought
their way from house to house and gradually
approached the center of the Mexican position. On
the morning of the 9th General Cos, who commanded
the Mexicans, raised a white flag, as a sign that he
wanted to parley, and notified the Texans that he
was ready to surrender.
You may well believe that the Texans were proud
of themselves, for, armed merely with their rifles and
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 107
a cannon or two, they had taken a fort defended
by more than a score of cannon and four times their
own number. The Texans had only two men killed,
but one of them was the heroic Milam, for whom all
Texas mourned. According to the terms of the sur-
render General Cos and his men were allowed to
keep their arms and march away, but the Texans
took possession of the fort with all its camion and
military supplies.
The end of the campaign of 1835.— With the
departure of General Cos and his men from San
Antonio the first campaign was over. But the
Texans knew that Santa Anna was ou the way with
five or six thousand men, boasting that he would
drive the last one of them across .the Sabine, and
they had to prepare to meet him. It was two months
108 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
before he arrived, and while we are waiting for
him we shall have time to describe the government
of Texas during the revolution.
4. THE GOVERNMENT DURING THE REVOLUTION
The consultation. — ^Before the battle of Gonzales
was fought the colonists were divided on the ques-
tion of whether or not they should go to war with
Mexico. In order to decide it the people of every
district in Texas elected delegates to meet together
and consult with each other. For this reason the
meeting was called the consultation. Before it met
the battle was fought, and that settled the question
without the need of further discussion. There was
still enough work for the consultation to do,* how-
ever, so early in November, after the siege of San
Antonio was begun, it assembled at San Felipe.
Three important things are to be remembered about
its work: (1) it organized a provisional govern-
ment; (2) it adopted regulations for the formation
of a regular army, and elected General Sam Houston
to command it; and (3) as we have seen, it elected
Austin, William H. Wharton, and Branch T. Ar-
cher to go to the United States and ask the people
for help.
The provisional government. — The government
as arranged by the consultation was to consist of
a governor, a lieutenant-governor, and a general
council. It elected Henry Smith governor, James
W. Eobinson lieutenant-governor, and one man from
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 109
each district in Texas to compose the council. It
was the business of the governor and the council to
carry out the regulations for organizing the regular
army, to continue the work of getting help from
the United States, to procure supplies for the
volunteers before San Antonio, and to do every thing
possible for the welfare of the country. For a while
they worked harmoniously together to do all this,
but then they commenced to quarrel over which
had the most authority, and after that everything
was neglected. This caused the people to elect a
new assembly, the convention, to take the place of
both the governor and the council.
The convention. — The convention met at Wash-
ington on the Brazos, March 1, 1836. It first notified
the governor and the council that their services
were no longer required, and then turned its atten-
tion to three important things. These were: (1) a
declaration of independence from Mexico; (2) the
writing of a constitution for Texas as an independ-
ent country; and (3) the election of temporary
officers to carry on the government until perma-
nent ones could be chosen by the people. We must
now briefly study each of these measures separately.
The declaration of independence. — In the cam-
paign of 1835 the Texans were fighting not only for
themselves but for all the Mexicans to prevent
Santa Anna from changing the government of
Mexico. As they expressed it, they were fighting
110 A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS
to preserve the republican constitution of 1824. But
they soon saw that most of the Mexicans cared
nothing about the constitution, and that they must
either submit, or declare independence and continue
the war for themselves. You would hardly need
to be told which alternative they accepted — they
declared independence. And here are some of the
reasons which they gave for the declaration. They
said: (1) that Mexico had invited the Americans
to settle Texas and promised them the protection
of a republican government like that to which they
were accustomed in the United States, but that
Banta Anna had ilow so changed the government that
it oppressed instead of protecting them; (2) that
Santa Anna had overthrown the government of
Coahuila and Texas; (3) that he had kept Austin
in prison without a cause; (4) that he had demanded
the surrender of their most prominent citizens, to
be tried by military officers; (5) that the colonists
were denied the right of trial by jury; and finally
(6) that Mexico had failed to establish a system
of public education. For these and other reasons
they proclaimed Texas a free and independent
republic. This was done on March 2, 1836,^ and in
commemoration of that day we Texans now cele-
brate every 2d of March as a holiday.
^ An unofficial declaration of independence had previously
been made on December 20, 1835, by ninety-one citizens of
Goliad.
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS m
The constitution. — The constitution provided for
the establishment in Texas of a government similar
to that of the United States. At the head of it was
a president, elected by the votes of all citizens over
twenty-one years of age. The congress was to con-
sist of a senate and a house of representatives ; and
this body had power to pass all the laws of Texas,
subject to the veto of the president. The judicial
system was to consist of a supreme court, as many
district courts as were found to be needed, and a
county court in each county. And every man was
declared to be entitled to a speedy trial by a jury
for any offence with which he might be charged.
This was very different from the practice in Mexico,
where no trial by jury was allowed, and where
prisoners were often held for years without being
tried at all.
The establishment of a temporary government. —
As was noticed a moment ago, one of the first acts
of the convention had been to deprive Governor
Smith of his position, while the constitution declared
that the regular president should not take charge
of the government until December. It was now only
the middle of March, and this made it necessary to
provide temporary officers to manage affairs until
December. For that important duty the convention •
elected David G. Burnet president and Lorenzo de
Zavala vice-president, with a cabinet of able ad-
visers, among whom was Colonel Thomas J. Busk,
112 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
secretary of war. Burnet and Eusk were two of the
ablest men who have ever served Texas, and it was
fortunate that they could be included in this first
government.
The end of the convention. — The work of the
convention was .concluded amid the wildest excite-
ment. Santa Anna, as we shall presently see, had
led an army to Texas during the winter, and reports
now reached the convention that one of his generals
had destroyed a hundred men commanded by Colonel
F. W. Johnson and Dr. James Grant, and that
Santa Anna himself, after capturing the Alamo and
putting its defenders to death, was marching east-
ward to carry out his threat of driving the colonists
beyond the Sabine. These reports were true, and
you can easily imagine how anxious they made the
members of the convention to fly to their families
and put them in places of safety. When the election
was over, therefore, and they had listened to an
inaugural address from President Burnet, they
hastily adjourned.
As a part of his speech President Burnet said:
*'The day and the hour has arrived when every
freeman must be up and doing his duty. The Alamo
has fallen! The gallant few who so long sustained
it have yielded to the overwhelming power of
numbers; . . . but they perished not in vain! The
ferocious tyrant has purchased his triumph over
one little band of heroes at a costly price; and a
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 113
few more such victories would bring speedy ruin
upon himself. Let us, therefore, fellow-citizens, take
courage from this glorious disaster; ... let us
implore the aid of an incensed God, who ahhors.
iniquity, who ruleth in righteousness, and will
avenge the oppressed."
The Aumo
President Burnet's government. — President
Burnet and his cabinet first established themselves
at Harrisburg and took up the work of getting
supplies for the army and of assisting the helpless
women and children who were fleeing from the
country to escajw the on-coming Mexicans. Soon,
however, the advance of Santa Anna drove them to
Galveston Island, and there we shall leave them for
114 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
a time while we turn back to trace the history of
the campaign of 1836.
■
5. THE CAMPAIGN OF 1836
Texan operations during the winter. — ^When
General Cos surrendered and marched away from
San Antonio in the middle of December, 1835, the
Texans knew that Santa Anna would be upon them
in the spring with a larger army than they had
yet faced, but they could not agree upon a plan of
defense. The general council of the provisional
government thought that the best thing would be
to send a force to attack the Mexican town of Mata-
moros at the mouth of the Rio Grande, because that,
if it succeeded, would keep Santa Anna out of Texas
altogether. But Governor Smith opposed this,
thinking that every effort should be made to
organize the regular army and to establish a strong
garrison at San Antonio for the purpose of checking
Santa Anna there when he began his invasion.
This illustrates one of the most disastrous results
of the quarrel between Governor Smith and the
council. Because neither one would accept the plan
of the other, the Texan forces were scattered in
small detachments all along the western frontier of
Texas, when they should have been united, and this
prevented them from effectively resisting the Mexi-
cans when they returned.
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 115
The situation at the beginning of the cam-
paign. — ^When the campaign began F. W. Johnson
and Dr. James Grant were at San Patricio with less
than a hundred men ; Colonel James W. Fannin was
at Goliad with between four and five hundred ; and
Colonel William B. Travis was at the Alamo with
a hundred and fifty brave spirits, among whom
were such veterans as James Bowie and the famous
Davy Crockett. Other forces were slowly prepar-
ing to gather at Gonzales and march to the relief of
Travis. Against San Patricio and Goliad General
Urrea (U-ra'a) was advancing with about a thou-
sand men from Matamoros, while Santa Anna him-
self, with several thousand, was coming along the
Old San Antonio Road to attack the Alamo. Let us
first follow the story of the Alamo.
Travis calls for reinforcements. — When Travis,
by Governor Smith's order, assumed command of
the Alamo early in February, 1836, a small garri-
son was already there under the ^command of Lieu-
tenant-colonel J. C. Neill. In fact it had been there
ever since General Cos surrendered the place in
December. Travis took thirty men with him, and
on February 12 he wrote the governor that his force
then consisted of a hundred and fifty men. In the
same letter he said that several thousand Mexican
soldiers had already reached the Eio Grande, and
pointing out the fact that San Antonio would be
the first place which they would attack, he urged
116 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
the governor to send him more men. **For God's
sake and the sake of our country, ' ' he begged, ' ' send
us reinforcements." But he went on to say that
he was determined to remain at his post as long as
he had a man left, ** because we consider death
preferable to disgrace, which would be the result
of giving up a post so dearly won." Day after day
he wrote in the same strain, but the governor had
no men to send.
Thirty-two brave men from Gonzales. — On Febru-
ary 23 Travis dashed off a hasty note to Andrew
Ponton, the alcalde of Gonzales: **The enemy in
large force is in sight. We want men and provisions.
Send them to us. We have one hundred and fifty
men and are determined to defend the Alamo to the
last. Give us assistance." In answer to this appeal
Captain Albert Martin and thirty-one other daunt-
less citizens of Gonzales forced their way*through
the lines of the enemy before day on the morning
of March 1, and raised Travis's strength to between
a hundred and eighty and a hundred and ninety men.
Travis asks Fannin to help. — Twice Travis sent
to Fannin for aid, once about the middle of February
and again after the arrival of the enemy. And on
the 26th Fannin started with three hundred and
twenty men to his relief, but circumstances pre-
vented his going. First, some of his wagons broke
down, which made it impossible to move the cannon,
and then news arrived that General Urrea had
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS nr
destroyed the forces at San Patricio and was already
on the way to Goliad. Fannin was not sure that he
could reach San Antonio in time to help Travis, and,
on the other hand, he knew that if he divided his
forces Urrea would have no difficulty in taking
Goliad and marching straight into the colonies. He
therefore called a council of war and it was decided
to return to Goliad and strengthen its fortifications
for a resistance to the death. With all the facts
before us, we now believe that it would have been
better for him to continue his march to the relief of
Travis, but we must not forget that he did what
he thought was for the best interest of Texas.
Travis's heroic letter of February 24. — On Febru-
ary 24 Travis sent out a thrilling appeal to all the
world. Professor Garrison thought it the most
heroic document in American history, and certainly
it quickens the beat of every true Texan's heart
to read it:
COMMANDAXCY OF THE AlaMO,
Bejar, Feb'y 24th, 1836.
To the People of Texas and all Americans in the World,
Fellow Citizens and Compatriots: I am besieged, by a
thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have
sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for 24
hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a
surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put
to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand
with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the
walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you
118 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
in the name of Liberty, of patriotism and everything dear to
the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch.
The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt
increase to three or four thousand in four or five davs. If this
ft/
call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as
possible and die like a soldier who never forgets^ what is due
to his own honor and that of his country. Victory or Death.
William Barrett Travis, Lt. Col. Comdt.
P. S. The Lord is on pur side. When the enemy appeared
in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since
found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the
walls 20 or 30 head of beeves. Travis.
The fall of the Alamo. — On March 3 Travis wrote :
**A blood-red banner waves from the chnrch at
Bexar, and in the camp above us, in token that the
war is one of vengean,ce against rebels . . . Their
threats have had no influence on me or my men,
but to make all fight with desperation, and with
that high-souled courage which characterizes the
patriot who is willing to die in defense of his coun-
try's liberty and his own honor.** But the end
was near. On the 4th Santa Anna held a council of
war and decided to storm the fort on the 6th. Ac-
cordingly, at dawn on Sunday, March 6, he gave the
order to advance. The movement began in silence,
but soon the bugles sounded **no quarter," and
the assault was on.
At that time the Alamo, with a considerable space
in front and to each side, was enclosed by a strong
wall, and the Texans at first tried to hold this wall,
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS Hfl
upon which their eannon were mounted. But their
numbers were too small and the line too long. The
Mexicans soon broke through, and then each little
squad of Texans became engaged in a separate
battle. Travis and Crockett each did the work of
ten men alone, and Bowie, though confined to his
cot by a recent injury,
sold his life dearly.
These facts we learn
from Mexican officers
who took part in the at-
tack. But the odds were
too great. In less than
an hour all was over,
and every defender of
the Alamo lay dead.
The wife of Lieutenant
Dickinson and her baby
girl, some Mexican
women, and a negro be-
longing to Travis were
all who were spared.
Santa Anna is thought to have lost in killed and
wounded between five and six hundred men. The
little band of Texans had given a good account of
themselves.
The Mexicans piled the bodies of Travis and his
brave companions in heaps and burned them, bat
120 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
later the Texans gathered up their ashes and buried
them with military honors.
Some old errors. — Histories used to tell us how-
Travis, before the final assault began, drew with his
sword a line on the floor of the Alamo and told all
who were willing to die with him to cross it, while
offering anyone who wished it permission to escape.
The story went on to say that Bowie, who was unable
to arise, asked that his couch he moved across the
line. This certainly has a thrilling sound, but the
truth is that it is extremely unlikely that anybody
who was there escaped to tell the tale,^ so that we
have no reliable means of knowing what happened.
It used also to be said that Santa Anna had five or
six thousand men in the attack on the Alamo, but
we now believe that his numbers did not exceed
three thousand. We do not need to exaggerate the
odds to ensure the glory of Travis and his men,
because in its barest outlines the true story of their
heroic resistance is immortal.
Results of the fall of the Alamo.— The fall of the
Alamo had two important results. (1) It aroused
the Texans to a vengeful fury, and strengthened
their determination to fight Santa Anna to the last
breath; and (2) it made Santa Anna over-confident
^ Captain W. P. Zuber, a prominent member of the Texas
Veterans' Association, says that his mother used to tell him
that a man named Kose came to her house, and, telling her of
Travis's speech, said that lie took advantage of the permission
to escape. But we must be very sure of our facts in history
before accepting them, and in this case we cannot be certain
that Bose was telliDg the truth.
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 121
of his ability to crush the colonists. He became care-
less, and this had a good deal to do with his com-
plete undoing at San Jacinto,
Houston plans to relieve Travis. — ^In the mean-
time, as we havfe seen, the convention had met at
Washington and declared Texas independent. Gen-
eral Houston was a member of the convention, and
on the 6th of March was again elected commander-
in-chief of the army. He at once set out for Gonzales
to take command of the forces which were gathering
there to go to the relief of Travis, but, alas, he was
too late; for on the same day, though of course he
did not know it, the Alamo was taken. * In camp
at Gonzales, which he reached on the 11th, he found
three hundred and seventy-four men, and imme-
diately began organizing a regiment. Edward
Burleson was elected colonel and Alexander Somer-
vell major. The rumor was spreading that the
Alamo had fallen, and on the 13th Houston ordered
his scouts out toward San Antonio to learn the
truth. They had not far to go, for about twenty
miles from Gonzales they met Mrs. Dickinson, whose
husband had perished in the Alamo, and heard from
her what had happened. She also told them that a
division of the Mexican army under General Sesma
was marching toward Gonzales.
Gonzales is abandoned. — It would be hard to
picture the grief and consternation which this news
caused in Gonzales. Nearly every family in the
122 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
town mourned the death of some loved one in the
Alamo, and in the midst of their sorrow came the
announcement that the Mexicans were approaching,
that General Houston was going to retreat, and that
they must abandon their homes and the improve-
ments made by years of toil. No time was lost.
General Houston gave his baggage wagons to the
helpless people, and then, since that left him with-
out means of transport, burned his surplus provi-
sions and sank his cannon in the river to keep them
from falling into the hands of the enemy. By mid-
night Gonzales was deserted, and before morning it
was burned to the ground, so that the Mexicans
might find no comfort there.
After .crossing the Colorado General Houston
pitched camp on the east bank of the river, where
he remained for nearly a week. Eeinforcements
began to join him in considerable numbers, and he
determined to retreat no further, but to await the
arrival of Santa Anna and give him battle. We
shall leave him there while we go back and trace the
history of Johnson and Grant and Fannin.
The fate of Johnson and 6rant.-^After the cap-
ture of San Antonio from General Cos in December,
1835, F. W. Johnson and Dr. James Grant, with
some volunteers, moved down to San Patricio, where
they began to scour the country for horses, which
they expected to use in an expedition against Mata-
moros. For a time they were completely successful,
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 123
and captured a number of horses from the Mexican
ranches south of San Patricio. Then they divided
their party and 'became separated, Johnson remain-
ing at San Patricio while Grant went as far as the
Eio Grande in search of more horses. While John-
son's force was thus divided, General Urrea, who
had advanced from Matamoros with nearly a thou-
sand men, surprised him during the night of Feb-
ruary 26, 1836. Johnson and four companions
escaped, but all the others were either killed or
captured.
Urrea then learned of the movements of Grant,
and marched southward to intercept him on his
«
return to San Patricio. His plan succeeded, for on
the 2d of March Grant unsuspectingly rode into an
ambush prepared for him, and only two of his party
escaped. Notice that the convention at Washington
this same day declared Texas forever independent
of Mexico, and that Travis in the Alamo was still
sending out his appeals for help.
Fannin at Fort Defiance. — ^While Johnson and
Grant were at San Patricio Fannin had gone to
Goliad and begun fortifying a position which he
called Fort Defiance. His force consisted of more
than four hundred volunteers from the United
States who had come to assist Texas. Here on
March 14 he received an order, which General Hous-
ton had despatched from Gonzales during* the night
of the 11th, telling him to destroy his fortifications,
124 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
SO that the enemy could not make use of them, and
fall back to Victoria. Fannin waited five days, how-
ever, before beginning to obey this order, and by
that time General Urrea's troops had almost sur-
rounded him. Some historians have blamed him
severely for his delay in carrying out Houston's
instructions, but before judging him we must know
why he delayed.
King and Ward at Refugio. — The reason was this.
Several days before General Houston's order arrived
Fannin had detailed a small company under Cap-
tain King to protect the settlers at Kefugio. But
when King reached Kefugio he found it already
occupied by some of Urrea's troops, and, taking
refuge in the stone church, he sent to Fannin for
reinforcements. Fannin despatched to his relief
Major Ward with a hundred and twenty men, and
together they were able to drive the Mexicans ^way,
but then they made a fatal mistake in not returning
at once to Goliad.
Ward took up his quarters in the church, while
King went out with part of the men to punish some
Mexican ranchers in the neighborhood who had been
unfriendly to the Americans. While he was away
the Mexican troops returned to Eefugio in greater
force, and in trying to re-enter the town he was cut
oflf and his whole party perished. Ward carried on
a desperate battle from the church for several
days, and then, when his ammunition was almost
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 125
exhausted, escaped and started for Victoria, where
he now expected to find Fannin.^ Later we shall see
what there befell him.
In the meantime, after receiving Houston's order
Fannin sent courier after courier to Ward and King
commanding them to return immediately so that
he could retreat to Victoria, but none of his mes-
sengers ever came back. It was not until the 17th
that he heard of the fate of King, and he waited yet
another day in the hope that Ward might still be
able to join him. You see, he did not want to
abandon his men, because he knew very well what
their end would be if they fell into the hands of
the Mexicans.
The Battle of the Coleto. — ^At last he could wait
no longer. On the 18th Urrea's troops were all
around him, and, to make his situation the more
critical, five hundred men despatched by Santa
Anna after the fall of the Alamo arrived at the
same time. Fortunately the morning of March 19
dawned in a heavy fog, and under its cover Colonel
Fannin crossed the San Antonio Eiver and began
the retreat to Victoria. His force was now reduced
to about three hundred, but he was well supplied
with arms and ammunition and had nine .cannon, so
^ While in the church he had received a message from
Fannin telling him of Houston's order and instructing him
to retreat.
126
A SCHOOL HI8T0KT OF TEXAS
that he felt fully able to take care of himself in
case of a conflict.
All went well until about three o'clock in the
afternoon. Then, when they were about a mile and
a half from Coleto creek, Urrea's cavalry blocked
their way. They ought to have pressed on to the
shelter of the timber along the creek, but an ammu-
nition wagon broke down,
and Fannin decided to
halt in the open prairie
and offer battle. The
wagons were hastily
drawn up in a circle, to
form a breastwork, and
the battle began. "With
awful fury it raged until
dark. Time after time
Urrea charged, only to be
hurled back with terrible
At first the Americans used their cannon with
deadly effect, but when these became too hot to fire,
their rifles were suflBcient. At the close of the day,
however, Fannin's situation was desperate. Seven
of his men were dead and sixty wounded, forty of
whom were disabled. Fannin himself was severely
wounded in the thigh.
The night was passed in cruel suffering. The
wounded men moaned and cried in vain for waterj
while the uninjured ones toiled with pick and shovel
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 137
digging entrenchments, until they were exhausted,
and then threw themselves on the ground only to
find it too cold to sleep. By morning Urrea's force
had increased to twelve or thirteen hundred, and
the battle again commenced. The only hope for the
Americans was to break through the enemy and
reach the timber, but to do that they would have
had to abandon their wounded. They preferred to
surrender.
Fannin's surrender. — ^A white flag was raised and
Colonel Fannin went out between the lines to meet
the Mexican offi^cers. Concerning what followed
there are directly contradictory accounts. The
Americans say that terms of surrender were agreed
upon by which they were allowed to keep all their
personal property, but were to lay down their arms
and return to Goliad as prisoners of war. It was
even understood by some that from Goliad they
were to be sent back to the United States. In fact,
one of the Mexican officers is said to have remarked
in a cheery tone, *^Well, gentlemen, in ten days
liberty and home.*' But General Urrea and Santa
Anna declared that Fannin surrendered uncondi-
tionally — that is, that the Mexicans made him no
promises.
The truth about the capitulation. — ^A Spanish
copy of the document whi,ch Fannin signed has
recently been found in Mexico, and it seems to show
that in a technical sense Santa Anna and Urrea
128 A SCHOOL ETSTORT OF TEXAS
were correct. The first article of this document
declares that the Texans agreed to surrender uncon-
ditionally, while the third says that they surrendered
as prisoners of var subject to the disposition of
the supreme government of Mexico, We may be
sure that the Texans expected to be treated as civi-
lized nations treat prisoners of war, but the first
article gave Santa Anna an excuse a few days later
for ordering the execution of the unfortunate men.
Why Fannin surrendered at discretion. — It is easy
to say that Colonel Fannin should not have accepted
such terms. But a little reflection will .convince us
that there is more than one side to the question.
There were three things that he could do: (1) he
could fight his way out of the trap, but in so doing
he knew that many more of his men would be lost,
and that he would have to abandon those already
wounded; (2) he could stay where he was, fighting
until the end, but in that case every man would
surely die; or (3) he could surrender, and perhaps
save all of them. We may be certain that he weighed
the matter well, and that he chose as he thought for
the best interest of his men.
The Goliad Massacre. — ^Upon their return to
Goliad the men were imprisoned, and the physicians
of the Texans began to attend to the wounded.
Before they were allowed to treat their own coun-
trymen, however, they were compelled to dress the
wounds of the Mexicans. On the 25th Major Ward
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAg|
12&
and his men were brought in as priaonera. They
had gone to Victoria two days after the surrender
of Fannin at the Coleto, and finding it in possession
of General Urrea, tad fired their last round of
ammunition and then surrendered. On the 27th all
of the men who were able to walk, except about a
Mission La Bahia
dozen, were divided into three squads and marched
out of town under guard. Some were told that they
were going to Copano; others that they were to help
the soldiers slaughter beeves; but after marching
for fifteen or twenty minutes in different directions
they weie halted, and at the word of command shot
down by the soldiers in cold blood. Nearly all were
killed at the first fire, and those who were not were
chased like wild beasts and despatched with bayonet
or clubbed musket. Very few escaped. Afterward
130 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
the wounded were dragged from their beds and shot.
This horrible massacre occurred on the Sunday
before Easter, exactly three weeks after the fall
of the Alamo. The bodies were piled in heaps, brush
was thrown upon them, and they were partially
burned. Three months later the Texan army came
that way and reverently buried the fragments that
remained.
Who was responsible for the Massacre? — Santa
Anna alone was responsible for this barbarous
crime. He ordered the commander at Goliad in the
severest terms to execute the prisoners, and though
that officer was horrified, he dared not disobey. One
of the officers was bold enough, however, to save the
physicians, and several men were spared through
the pleading of a kind-hearted Mexican lady, Senora
Alvarez (San-yo'ra Al'va-ras). Do you wonder that
the colonists hated the very name of Santa Anna?
To the memory of the Alamo they now had added
that of Goliad, and dearly were the Mexicans to
pay on the field of San Jacinto for Santa Anna's
inhumanity.
General Houston retreats to the Brazos.— We left
General Houston encamped on the east bank of the
Colorado, a short distance above Columbus. We
must now return to him. On the 25th he heard
authentically of Fannin's surrender and the next
day, thinking that his force was too small to risk
a battle there, he gave the order to break camp and
THE AMERICANS TAKE TEXAS 131
continue the retreat. On the 28th he reached San
Felipe, on the Brazos, and after spending the night
there and leaving Captain Mosely Baker 's company
to guard the crossing, he led the main army up the
river to Groce's plantation, a few miles from the-
present town of Hempstead. He remained there
nearly two weeks, drilling his men and preparing
them to meet Santa Anna's regulars. While there
he received two brass cannon, the ^'Twin Sisters,''
which the people of Cincinnati, Ohio, had sent ta
the Texans.
The ''Runaway Scrape." — ^You may perhaps he-
able to imagine in some degree the sorrow and con-^
sternation with which the people received the suc-
cessive announcements of the fall of the Alamo, the-
retreat of General Houston, and the Goliad mas-^
sacre. They realized that the Mexicans were almost
upon them, and helpless women and children began
to flee for their lives. Homes were abandoned with
all that they contained, ' and an endless procession
of panic-stricken fugitives thronged the muddy
roads that led to the east. Some did not stop until
they crossed the Sabine and gained the protecting
shelter of the United States.
Old settlers afterwards named this the ''runaway
scrape." The following extracts are taken from an
account of it by a lady who was then a little girlr
"We left home at sunset, hauling clothes, bedding,,
and provisions on the sleigh with one yoke of oxen..
132 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Mother and I were walking, she with an infant in
her arms. Brother drove the oxen, and my two
little sisters rode in the sleigh . . . We camped the
first night near Harrisburg . . . Next day we crossed
Vince's Bridge and arrived at the San Jacinto in
the night. There were fully five thousand people
at the ferry . . . The horrors of crossing the Trinity
are beyond my power to describe. One of my little
sisters was very sick, and the ferryman said that
those families that had sick children should cross
first. When our party got to the boat the water
broke over the banks above where we were and
ran around us.^' This was one of the terrible
•experiences whi,ch early Texans never forgot.
Santa Anna runs into a trap. — Santa Anna's
success at the Alamo had made him overbold, and
when he learned of Urrea's victory over Fannin
and of General Houston's retreat, he thought that
the war was over and that nothing was left to do
but take possession of the country. Hastening from
San Antonio, he reached San Felipe on April 7, but
the town was in ashes. Captain Baker was on the
opposite side of the river, blocking his passage, so
he descended the river to a point midway between
San Felipe and the present town of Richmond and
there crossed, after a skirmish with Captain Wily
Martin, who was guarding the ferry. From there,
with only seven hundred and fifty men, he hurried
straight on to Harrisburg, hoping to .capture Presi-
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS
13a
dent Bumet and the government. But he arrived
a few hours too late; they had been warned of his^
coming and fled to Galveston Island. Santa Anna,
burned the town, and then pressed on down Buffalo
Bayou and the San Jacinto Eiver to New Washing-
'tftharch to San Jacinto.
..-^J^ftima's inarch to San Jacinto.
General Houston's March to San Jacinto
ton, at the head of Galveston Bay. He was now far
away from his main army, with Houston on his
heels. He was well within the trap.
Houston follows Santa Anna to the San Jacinto. —
On April 13 General Houston crossed the Brazos,
and on the 18th arrived at the ruins of Harrisburg.
There he left his baggage wagons and his sick, with
seventy-five men to guard them, and hurried after
Santa Anna. The two armies.came together on the
20th, just at the point where Buffalo Bayou and
the San Jacinto meet. There was some skirmishing:
134 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
that day, but the Texans were exhausted by their
rapid inarching, and General Houston thought it
best to postpone the decisive battle until the
morrow.
The Battle of San Jacinto. — The next morning
Santa Anna was reinforced by General Cos with
about five hundred men. This increased his force
to between twelve and thirteen hundred, which
turned the odds heavily against Houston. The
Texans, however, were burning to avenge the death
of their friends at the Alamo and at Goliad, and had
no thought of drawing back. General Houston
ordered Deaf Smith to take axes and men and
destroy the bridge over Vince^s Bayou, in order to
delay the arrival of any other reinforcements that
might be coming to Santa Anna. And at half past
three in the afternoon he gave the .command to
advance. His men were eager to obey. They
marched rapidly but in perfect silence until they
were near the Mexicans, and then, shouting the
battle cry, ' ' Eemember the Alamo ! ' ^ they broke into
the double-quick and rushed upon them, firing as
they ran.
The Mexicans were taken completely by surprise.
Santa Anna and many of his men were asleep, some
were cooking their dinner, and others were watering
-■J -
the horses. Almost before they could reach their
guns the Texans were among them. After one futile
ieflfort to stand their ground they fled in panic, with
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 135
the Texans pursuing. According to General Hous-
ton's report, the real battle was over in eighteen
minutes, hut the pursuit continued until nightfall.
Travis and Fannin were avenged, for the Mexi-
cans lost some six hundred dead, and seven hundred
and thirty were prisoners. More than two hundred
of the prisoners were wounded. The Texans had
two killed and twenty-three wounded, but six of the
wounded later died. General Houston himself had
received a ball in the ankle. Such was the battle of
San Jacinto, on the 21st of April, 1836. Santa Anna
escaped from the battle, but was captured the next
day. He had changed his splendid uniform for
136 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
some cast-off clothes, and to this fact, no doubt, he
owed his life. If his captors had recognized him,
ihey would never have allowed him to surrender,
but would have killed him on the spot.
The Treaty of Velasco. — General Houston and
Santa Anna immediately agreed to an armistice,
according to which all fighting was to stop for the
iime and the Mexican troops were to retire to San
Antonio and Victoria. On May 14 President Burnet
and General Santa Anna signed the Treaty of
Velasco. This provided: (1) that hostilities should
cease and that the entire Mexican army should, as
soon as possible, retreat beyond the Eio Grande;
(2) that the Mexicans should restore or pay for all
the private property which they had taken from the
Texans; and (3) that Santa Anna should be released
^nd sent back to Mexico, where he promised to use
his utmost influence to persuade the Mexican gov-
ernment to recognize the independence of Texas.
This last article was kept secret for a while, but
when it became known it caused the greatest dis-
satisfaction among the soldiers, who thought that
Santa Anna ought to be hanged for his crimes.
In accordance with the treaty, General Filisola
(Feel-e-so'la), who succeeded Santa Anna as com-
mander-in-chief of the Mexicans, led his army out
of Texas, while the Texans followed at a short dis-
tance to see that he did not loiter on the way.
'General Houston had gone to New Orleans after
THE AMEEICANS TAKE TEXAS 137
the battle of San Jacinto to have his wound treated,
and the Texans were now commanded by Gteneral
Busk, the former secretary of war.
The results of the Battle of San Jacinto. — As soon
as the battle was over couriers set off at full speed
to tell the good news to the hurrying throngs who
were running away. They heard it with cries of
joy, and immediately turned their faces homeward.
The '^ runaway scrape'* was ended. Mexico con-
tinued to claim Texas and constantly threatened to
invade and subdue it, but beyond some unimportant
border raids in 1842 did nothing. This situation
was unpleasant for the Texans, but not dangerous.
Practically, therefore, the battle of San Jacinto
established the independence of the Lone Star
Eepublic.
Help from the United States. — ^A history of the
Texas revolution would be incomplete without some
account of the assistance that came from the United
States. As we saw, the consultation appointed
Austin, William H. Wharton, and Dr. Archer to go
there to solicit aid, and they found their task an
easy one, because the people already felt the deepest
sympathy for the Texans. Large sums of money
were contributed or loaned, and supplies of food,
clothing, arms and munitions were furnished, while
hundreds of brave men volunteered their services
in driving back the Mexicans. Several of the com-
panies that assisted Milam in the capture of San
138 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Antonio in 1835 were from the United States. Many
of the men who perished with Travis were from the
J.
United States, as were nearly all of those with John-
son and Grant, and those who died with Fannin.
Finally, during the summer of 1836, while Texas was
exhausted by the war, General Gaines led a detach-
ment of United States soldiers to Nacogdoches to
prevent the Indians of East Texas from rising.
Without this generous help the revolution could
hardly have succeeded.
Summary. — The general .causes of the Texas
revolution extended from 1825 to 1835, and were
largely due to the fact that the Mexicans and the
colonists distrusted each other, but it was Santa
Anna who, by his tyrannical acts, brought about
the revolution in 1835. Until the battle of Gonzales
the people were undecided whether or not they
should go to war, but that put an end to their uncer-
tainty, and they marched against San Antonio and
took it from General Cos in December. In the mean-
time, the consultation had met and established a
provisional government, consisting of a governor,
a lieutenant-governor, and a general council. Soon
the governor and the council became involved in a
disastrous quarrel which ended their usefulness, and
on March 1, 1836, the convention met. It declared
Texas an independent republic, adopted a constitu-
tion, and elected David G. Burnet temporary presi-
dent of Texas. Meanwhile, Santa Anna had been
THE AMEEICAN8 TAKE TEXAS 139
leading an army into Texas, and before the conven-
tion adjourned he had captured the Alamo and put
the garrison to the sword. Three weeks later Fan-
nin's command was brutally slaughtered, and Gen-
eral Houston retreated from the Colorado to the
Brazos. These things made Santa Anna over-confi-
dent, and he thrust himself into a trap by marching
far to the eastward with only a small portion of
his army. General Houston followed him, and the
battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, practically
established the independence of Texas.
QUESTIONS
1. What was the fundamental cause of the revolution?
2. Give an account of the Fredonian rebellion.
3. What attitude did most of the colonists take toward it ?
Why ?
4. What effect did it have on Mexican opinion of the
colonists ?
5. What was the object of President Guerrero's emancipa-
tion proclamation in 1829 ? How did it affect the colonists ?
6. What was the object of the law of April 6, 1830 ? Why
did the colonists object to it ? Was it enforced ?
7. What were the causes of the disturbances of 1832?
Describe these disturbances. What reason did the colonists
give for them ? Do you think that that was the real reason ?
8. How did these disturbances affect Mexican opinion of
the colonists ?
9. Describe the action of the convention of 1833.
10. Why did the colonists desire separation from Coa-
140 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
huila ? What did the Mexicans think was their real reason for
desiring separation ?
11. Give an account of Austin's imprisonment in Mexico.
Was it just? How did it affect the I'exans' opinion of the
Mexican government?
12. What acts of Santa Anna precipitated the revolution?
Why did Travis attack the fort at Anahuac? Did all of the
colonists want to go to war with Mexico in 1835 ?
13. State the cause of the battle of Gonzales, and describe
it.
14. Describe Collinsworth's capture of Goliad. What was
its importance?
15. Describe the battle of Concepcion, the "Grass Fight/^
Milam's assault on San Antonio. Who commanded the Texans
at San Antonio ? The Mexicans ?
16.' Describe the government of Texas during the revolu-
tion.
17. What were some of the bad effects of the quarrel
between Governor Smith and the general council ?
18. What was the date of the declaration of independence?
What reasons were assigned for declaring independence ?
19. For what sort of government did the constitution pro-
vide?
20. What provision did the convention make for a tem-
porary government ?
21. What was the position of the Texas troops at the
'beginning of the campaign of 1836?
22. Give an account of the fall of the Alamo. Why did
Fannin not go to its relief ? Did any of its defenders escape ?
23. Describe the scene at Gonzales when the news arrived
of the fall of the Alamo.
24. Why did General Houston retreat from Gonzales ? At
what point on the Colorado did he stop ?
THE AMEBICANS TAKE TEXAS 141
25. Give an account of the destruction of Johnson and
Grant's party.
26. Why did Fannin delay his retreat from Goliad after
receiving General Houston's command?
27. Describe the battle of the Coleto. Did Fannin sur-
render as a prisoner of war? Give the facts about his sur-
render. Do you think that he should have surrendered ?
28. Describe the Goliad massacre. How did this massacre
and the death of the Alamo defenders affect the Texans?
29. Why did General Houston retreat from the Colorado
to the Brazos ?
30. Why did Santa Anna leave his army so far behind in
his march to San Jacinto ?
31. Describe the "runaway scrape."
32. Describe the battle of San Jacinto.
33. State the terms of the treaty of Velasco. Did the Mex-
ican army carry out the terms of the treaty ?
34. What was the chief result of the battle of San Jacinto ?
35. Give an account of the assistance which the Texans
received from the people of the United States.
36. Trace on the map the march of General Houston and
of Santa Anna from Gonzales to the field of San Jacinto.
ADDITIONAL HEADING
The Causes of the Eevolation: Davis, Under Six Flags,
56-62.
The Beginning of the Eevolution : Bolton and Barker, With
the Makers of Texas, 159-167; Davis, 62-69.
The Storming of San Antonio in 1835 : Bolton and Barker,
168-169 ; Davis, 69-73.
Ben Milam : Bolton and Barker, 156-158 ; Davis, 69-73.
David Crockett: Bolton and Barker, 170-172; Littlejohn,
^^David Crockett" in Texas History Stories,
148 A SCHOOL HISTOBY OF TEXAS
The Alamo: Bolton and Barker, 176-182; Davis, 82-87;
Littlejohn, "The Alamo" in Texas History Stories.
The Goliad Massacre: Bolton and Barker, 183-186; Davis,
77-81, 89-96 ; Littlejohn, "Eemember Goliad" in Texas History
Stories.
The "Runaway Scrape" : Bolton and Barker, 202-213.
The Battle of San Jacinto : Bolton and Barker, 187-201 ;
Davis, 96-110; Littlejohn, "The Story of San Jacinto^' in
Texas History Stories.
f I
CHAPTER Vn
THE BEPUBLIO OF TEXAS, 1836-1846: THE AMERICANS IN
P0SSE8ISI0N
1. HOME AFFAIRS
The object of this chapter. — ^For nearly ten years
after Santa Anna signed the treaty of Velasco and
the remnants of the Mexican army retreated across
the Rio Grande, Texas was an independent nation.
Its people passed their own laws and elected their
own oflScers to enforce them; they levied their own
taxes and used the money derived from them as they
thought best for the benefit of the country; they
had their own army and navy and carried on diplo-
matic relations with foreign countries; and no other
government had any authority to interfere with
them. In short, their position was the same as
that of the Mexicans had been in 1821 when they
freed themselves from Spain. It is the object of
this chapter to trace the history of Texas during
these ten years (from 1836 to 1846), and to show
how at the end of that time the people voluntarily
gave up their independence and became a part of
the United States.
In doing this it will be convenient to consider
143
8au Houbtoh
THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 145
the subject in two parts. The first part will deal
with the home affairs of the republic: that is, with
such matters as the return of the country to order
after the confusion of the war, the establishment
of the regular government, its financial difficulties,
troubles with the Indians, the growth of population
and w.ealth, the location of the capital at Austin,
and the beginnings of our public school system. The
second ' part will deal with the foreign affairs of
the republic.
1. The Bestoration of Order
The return home. — We have already seen that as
soon as the battle of San Jacinto was won by our
soldiers, messengers hurried after the fleeing fami-
lies east of the Trinity to tell them that the danger
was past, and that they might safely return to their
homes. You can easily imagine the joy of the fugi-
tives struggling through mud and water, as the
courier galloped up behind them shouting, *'Turn
back ! The Texans have whipped the Mexican army
and the Mexicans are prisoners! No danger! No
danger! Turn back!^' They did turn back, but sad-
ness was yet in store for those who found their
homes destroyed and their fields laid waste. Gon-
zales, San Felipe, Harrisburg, and New Washing-
ton had been burned to the groimd, and many farm
houses had suffered a similar fate. Fences were torn
down, and the corn, which some of the settlers had
146 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
planted before the *' runaway scrape'* began, had
been ruined.
The scene which met one little girPs eyes when
she reached home is tHus described: **The first
thing we saw was the hogs running out. Father's
book,case lay on the ground broken open, his books,
medicines, and other things scattered on the ground,
and the hogs sleeping on them. ' ' On one plantation
where there had been a comfortable dwelling, a
sugar mill, cotton gin, blacksmith shop, grist mill,
a number of negro cabins, and a stock of farming
tools everything was gone. But the people lost
no time in useless grieving over their misfortunes.
They went bravely to work planting new crops and
building new homes, for they had come to this
country to stay, and were not easily daunted by
hardships.
Santa Anna's imprisonment. — ^FoUowing the bat-
tle of San Jacinto all of the prisoners were taken
to Galveston, but early in May President Burnet
moved the government to Velasco and took with
him General Santa Anna and a few of his officers.
From here, on June 3d, Santa Anna was placed on
board the Texan schooner of war ** Invincible " to
be taken to Vera Cruz, but before the vessel sailed
a ship arrived from New Orleans with several hun-
dred volunteers from the United States. These men
thought that the Mexican president should be pun-
ished for his crimes, and declared that President
THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 147
Burnet was making a mistake in letting him go.
So strong was their opposition that the president
could do nothing but order Santa Anna to be
brought back, and from this time until early in
October he passed under the control of the army.
He complained bitterly that he was treated like
an ordinary criminal, ** being placed in a narrow
prison, surrounded with sentinels,' and suffering pri-
vations which absolutely render life insupportable.'^
But to this President Burnet replied that the Texans
themselves had been deprived of many of the com-
forts of life by Santa Anna's visit, and that for that
reason they did not regret his having to share their
privations.
In fact President Burnet was very sorry that he
could not carry out the treaty by sending Santa
Anna home, for he knew that nations, as well as
individuals, should always keep their word; but
the truth is that the soldiers would not allow it.
In August (1836) a young Mexican laid a plan to
rescue the distinguished prisoner, but the Texans
discovered it and placed Santa Anna in chains.
From this time on his lot was a hard one, indeed,
but in the fall he was released by General Houston,
who had then become president, and after a visit
to Washington to see President Jacksbn, he returned
to Mexico in February, 1837.
. The other Mexican prisoners. — ^Af ter the removal
of President Burnet to Velasco with Santa Anna and
148 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXA.S
a few of the highest Mexican officers, the other
prisoners were kept for several months on Galveston
Island. They were very far, however, from finding
it the pleasant place that some of us now delight
to visit. One of the officers who later wrote an
account of his experiences said: ** We had no whole-
some water, nor the shelter of shade trees.'* The
heat was intense, and, besides, **we had to contend
with myriads of flies, mosquitoes, and sand-crabs,
not to speak of continual storms and showers. Such
were the swarms of mosquitoes, that it would seem
that the whole species of the world had taken Gal-
veston for a meeting place.'* From this disagree-
able camp they were moved to Liberty, and in April,
1837, just a year after the battle of San Jacinto, they
were liberated, and returned to Mexico rejoicing.
The Texan army. — ^When the battle of San Jacinto
was fought the Texans had an army of less than a
thousand men. But a great many were on the way
to Texas from the United States, and when they
arrived they went into the army, while the old
settlers returned to their homes. In a short time
there were nearly two thousand men in the ranks,
tod some of them were very troublesome charac-
ters. As we have already seen, they interfered with
President Burnet's plan to send Santa Anna home,
in fulfillment of the treaty, and before very long
it became a difficult matter to make them obey any
orders that they did not like. General Eusk soon
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 149
asked to be relieved of their command, and when
President Burnet appointed General Lamar to take
his place the soldiers refused to accept him, and
elected General Felix Huston. Perhaps the truth
of the matter is that they were simply unaccus-
tomed to military life, and did not realize the impor-
tance of discipline.
The end of the temporary government. — ^By the
middle of the summer President Burnet thought
that order had been sufficiently restored to enable
the people to hold an election, and on July 23 he
issued a proclamation, fixing the first Monday in
September as election day. The people were asked
to vote on three important questions. These were:
(1) the adoption of the constitution which the con-
vention had framed on Mar,ch 17; (2) the election of
a president, vice-president, and members of con-
gress; and (3) whether Texas should remain inde-
pendent or join the United States, in case the United
States was willing to annex it.
On the first question the people voted '*yes,'* and
at the same time they said that no changes should
ever be made in the constitution except by a regular
convention elected for that purpose. The second
question required a great deal of thought, because
there were three candidates for the office of presi-
dent, and each was an able man who had done noble
service to Texas. They were Stephen F. Austin^
who was even then regarded as the Father of Texas;
150 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Henry Smith, who had been the provisional gov-
ernor of the state during the first part of the revo-
lution; and General Sam Houston. General Hous-
ton was elected, and, as we shall presently see, the
choice was a wise one. In answer to the third
question the people said that they wanted to be
annexed to the United States.
On October 3 the first congress of Texas met at
Columbia, and on the 22d President Burnet laid
down the heavy cares of the temporary office and
they were assumed in a constitutional way by Presi-
dent Houston.
2. The Begular Government of the BepuhUc
President Houston. — General Sam Houston, who
became president of Texas in 1836, had a very
remarkable career. He was born in Virginia in
1793, but while he was still a young boy his father
died and his mother moved to Tennessee. Here for
a while he went to school, worked on a farm, and
clerked in a store. Later he taught school for a
short time, and many years afterward he is said
to have told a friend that he derived greater satis-
faction from the feeling of authority over his pupils
which this position gave him than from any other
office or honor that he ever held. In 1813, at the
age of twenty, he joined the United States army
and went to Alabama to fight the Creek Indians.
Here, in the battle of the Horseshoe, he was so
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 161
seriously wounded by an arrow and several bullets
that General Andrew Jackson ordered him to go to
the rear. He pretended to obey, but later, when
the stronghold of the Indians was stormed, he was
the first man across the breastworks.
He remained, in the army till 1818, when he
resigned and began the study of law. In 1823
he was elected to Congress from Tennessee, and four
years later he became governor of the state. From
1829 until 1835 he lived much among the Indians,
and was formally adopted by the Cherokees, who
gave him the name of the Raven. He visited Texas
in 1833, and two years later, as we have seen, he
was elected commander-in-chief of the Texan army.
Prom 1836 to 1838 and again from 1841 to 1844 he
was president of the Republic of Texas. From 1846
to 1859 he represented Texas in the United States
Senate, and from that time until the spring of 1861
he was governor of the state. He died in 1863, and
was buried at Huntsville, where his remains still
rest. He was a man of wonderful ability, and Texas
has had few such useful citizens.
President Houston's first term (October, 1836-
December, 1838). — ^When General • Houston became
president, the condition of Texas was gloomy,
indeed. On the south the Mexicans were threat-
ening to send another army to compel the colonists
to submit to the unjust rule of Mexico. On the
north and west the Indians were restless and angry^
152 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
because they believed that the Texans intended to
seize their lands, and every day the danger of a
savage uprising against the frontier settlements
increased. From the United States a steady stream
of men was pouring in to fight the Mexicans, and
some of them were so turbulent a,nd quarrelsome
that they became a danger instead of a protection
to the peaceful settlers. Finally, to make matters
worse, the government had no money and was so
deeply in debt that it could borrow none.
A little later we must study with care President
Houston's method of dealing with these and other
important problems, but at present it is sufficient
to know the general effects of his policy. He quickly
<;ame to the .conclusion that Mexico was having too
much trouble at home to do any real harm to Texas,
and in this conclusion he was entirely correct. He
reduced the army, therefore, and refused to let the
Texans engage in broils with the Mexicans along the
border. With the Indians, too, he followed a peace-
ful policy, and by convincing them that the Texans
would treat them fairly he prevented a cruel war.
By reducing the army and enforcing the laws he
checked the flood of undesirable volunteers from the
United States. And to meet the financial difficulties
of the country he practiced the strictest economy.
He tried to keep the expenses from exceeding the
receipts of the government. Though he did not quite
succeed in this, he did leave the condition of the
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 153
country better in every way at the end of Ms term
than it had been at the beginning.
The death of Stephen F. Austin. — On December
27, 1836, Colonel Stephen F. Austin died. He was
still a young man — only forty-three — ^but the hard-
ships that he had suffered in behalf of Texas had
worn him out. He was bom in Virginia in 1793,
and was therefore of the same age as President
Houston. He was educated at Transylvania Univer-
sity, in Kentucky, and then moved to Missouri,
which at that time was in the far western part of
the United States. He served a term as a member
of the legislature of Missouri, and later was ap-
pointed by President Monroe to be a United States
judge in Arkansas. When his father died in 1821
he came to Texas, and for the remaining fifteen
years of his life devoted himself entirely to the
up-building of the country.
The thousands of families that he brought to
Texas between 1821 and 1835 looked upon him as
their guardian and protector, and he accepted the
charge and spent his health and strength in serv-
ing them. We have already learned of his imprison-
ment in Mexico during 1834 and 1835, of his com-
manding the army before San Antonio in the fall
of 1835, and of his journey through the United
States in 1836 to secure aid for Texas. When Gen-
eral Houston became president he begged Austin
to be his secretary of state, and, though he was ill
IBi
A SCHOOL HISTOBY OP TEXAS
at the time and did not want the office, he accepted
it, because he thought that Texas still needed him.
His death was due to pneumonia which was brought
on by exposure to the cold while working in a
shabby office that had no fire.
President Houston issued a proclamation which
began: "The father of Texas is no more. The first
pioneer of the
Wilderness has
departed. Ste-
phen F. Austin,
secretary of
State, expired
this day, at half
past twelve
o'clock, at Co-
lumbia." All the
flags in the re-
public were low-
ered to half mast, and all the officers of the govern-
ment were ordered to wear mourning 'for thirty
days. He was buried in an humble grave at Peach
Point, but seventy-four years later, in October, 1910,
his remains were removed to Austin and reverently
interred in the State Cemetery. He literally gave
his life to the state, and his noble example will serve
forever to inspire the gratitude and unselfish patriot-
ism of every true Texan.
THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 155
President Lamar's administration (December,
1838-Decembery 1841). — The people were generally
satisfied with President Houston's way of govern-
ing Texas, but the constitution provided that no
president should serve two terms in succession. In
1838, therefore, it was necessary to elect some one
else to the office, and the choice of the people fell
upon the man who for the past two years had been
serving as vice-president. This was Mirabeau B.
Lamar.^ As president, it was his policy to make
Texas a strong, independent nation. In trying to
carry out this purpose he at first attempted to make
peace with Mexico, but when that failed he no
longer discouraged fighting along the border, which
General Houston had made it a point to suppress.
He sent an expedition to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in
the hope of extending over it the government of
Texas, and this Mexico bitterly resented. In a later
lesson we shall learn more of this expedition. He
believed that fear of the Indians prevented many
families from settling in western and northern
^ Lamar was born in (Jeorgia in 1798, but had lived a good
part of his life in Alabama. He fought bravely in the battle of
San Jacinto, and after it was over succeeded General Eusk as
secretary of war. Following his two years as vice-president
and three years as president, he retired to his farm, but when
the Mexican war began in 1846 he joined the army. In 1857
President Buchanan appointed him United States minister to
Central America, but he resigned this office in 1859 and
returned home, where he died in the same year.
156 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
Texas, and thus delayed the development of the
country. For this reason he waged war on the
Indians, and drove the Cherokees entirely from the
state. He was a firm believer in the importance of
education, and by his advice congress set aside a
great quantity of land in each county to be used
for the establishment of public free schools.
President Houston's second term (December,
1841-December, 1844).— In the summer of 1841.
General Houston was again elected president by
a large majority of the people, and when he entered
oflSce in December he lost no time in resuming the
policy of his first administration. He tried to keep
peace with Mexico, though this was somewhat diffi-
cult now, on account of the irritation which the
Mexicans had suffered from the Santa Fe expedi-
tion. He made friendly treaties with the Indians,
and stopped their ravages along the frontier. And
by his old practice of strict economy he improved
the financial condition of the country.
President Jones's administration (December, 1844-
February, 1846). — To succeed President Houston,
•
Dr. Anson Jones was elected.^ When Dr. Jones
became president, Texas was just on the point of
being annexed to the United States, so that there
^ Jones was born in Massachusetts in 1798, and was the
same age as President Lamar. In 1833 he came to Texas and
took up the practice of medicine at Brazoria. When the revo-
lution began, he joined the army as a private and fought in the
THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 157
was little for hint to do. He had great ability,
however, and under more difficult conditions would
no doubt have made Texas an excellent officer. In
February, 1846, the last act in the annexation of
Texas to the United States was completed, and he
surrendered the government to J. Pinckney Hender-
son, the first governor of the new State of Texas.
3. The Financial Affairs of the BemihUc
Financial conditions at the close of 1836. — ^It costs
a great deal of money to carry on a government at
any time, and the expense is much increased when
the country is at war. The Texans learned this
during the revolution. The soldiers had to be paid,
and food and .clothing had to be provided for them.
Guns, cannon, and ammunition had to be bought.
Warships had to be paid for, and sailors had to
be hired to sail them-. When the war was over the
Texans found that they were a million and a quarter
dollars in debt.
Why the government needed money. — If the
Texans could have been sure that the Mexicans
would not come back, they could have saved a
great deal by dismissing their army and navy. But,
as we have already seen, the Mexicans kept threat-
ening to come back. Furthermore, a considerable
battle of San Jacinto. After the independence of Texas was
established he entered politics and held several high offices in
the republic before he was chosen president. He died at
Houston in January, 1858.
158 A SCHOOL HiSTORy OF TEXAS
army was needed to guard the^ settlers from the
Indians. And, besides the soldiers and sailors, there
were a great many men (as there are in all coun-
tries) engaged in making laws and carrying them
out. All of these had to be paid, and at the begin-
ning the salaries of the higher officers were rather
large. The salary of the president, for example, was
ten thousand dollars a year. Finally, in addition to
these regular, every-day expenses, the government
had to make provision for paying its debt.
How the government tried to raise money. — There
were five important ways in which the government
tried to get enough money for its needs. In the
first place, it offered for sale a quantity of the
public land. In the second place, it levied various
sorts of taxes on the people. In the third place, it
declared that anybody who brought goods to Texas
from foreign countries must pay to the government
a fee called a customs duty. In the fourth place, it
tried to borrow money. And, finally, it issued paper
money.
Why the government failed to raise enough
money. — ^At the same time that the government
was offering its land for sale it was giving away
free six hundred and forty acres to every married
man and half that quantity to every single man who
would settle in Texas. Naturally, nobody would
buy, when, by merely coming to Texas to live, he
could get for nothing more land than he could use.
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 159
The taxes and customs duties did not bring in
enough; and capitalists would not lend money to
the government, be,cause they feared that it could
not pay them back. It was for these reasons that
the government made the mistake of issuing paper
money. It would have been much better off if it
had never done so.
Paper money. — This paper money was in bills of
different value, just as our bank-notes are to-day,
and it looked very much like our bank-notes. On
each bill there was printed a statement that the
government would, at a certain time, pay the owner
of the bill its full value in gold or silver. Thus, if
the bill was for five dollars, the government prom-
ised to pay that amount. Now, at the beginning,
men believed that the government would some day
be able to keep its promise and pay the bills, so
they accepted them at full value. But later, as
more and more bills were issued, they lost confi-
dence in the government. At first they would agree
to accept a dollar bill for ninety cents, then for
seventy-five cents, and finally some of the bills sank
as low as two .cents on the dollar. One reason
why the government got no money from its taxes
was because the people paid them in this worthless
paper.
Financial conditions at the close of the republic. —
In spite of all that President Houston could do dur-
^ing his second term, the government owed nearly
160 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
twelve million dollars when Texas was admitted
to the United States. Much of this was for the
paper money that had been issued. The debt was
finally paid, as we shall see, at the rate of a little
more than seventy-five cents on the dollar.
4. Indian Troubles
The Indians during the Texas revolution. — ^When
the war with Mexico began in 1835 there were
between twelve and fifteen thousand Indians in
Texas. They were divided into various tribes, and
some of the tribes were hostile to each other and
friendly to the Texans. The two most important
tribes were the Cherokees and the Comanches. Dur-
ing the revolution it was feared for a time that the
Cherokees, who lived near Nacogdoches, might join
the Mexicans; but General Houston and Colonel
John Forbes succeeded in arranging a treaty with
them in which they agreed to remain quiet.
President Houston's Indian policy. — General
Houston thoroughly understood the Indians, and
had many friends among the Cherokees and other
tribes. When he became president, therefore, he
declared that the best way to get along with the
Indians was to treat them well, and that he intended
to do this. He said that they were to be allowed
to keep the lands on which they were living, and
stores were to be established on the frontiers at
which the Indians could trade without coming into
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 161
the settlements. At the same time he was too wise
to think that all the Indians would behave them-
selves, and, to guard against the bad Indians, he
kept up the force of Texas rangers, and advised the
building of blockhouses on the frontier. The rang-
ers were experienced Indian fighters who had first
been used during the revolution to protect the set-
tlements while the other men were fighting Santa '
Anna. From December, 1836, until December, 1838,
while General Houston was president, there were
a few difficulties with the Indians. Some cattle and
horses were stolen, and now and then some lonely
settler was killed. But there was no serious trouble.
President Lamar's Indian policy. — President
Lamar, as we have seen, was in office from Decem-
ber, 1838, until December, 1841. His Indian policy
was almost directly opposite to that of General
Houston. He had had trouble with the Indians in
Georgia, before coming to Texas; and he honestly
believed that there were no good Indians. He had
no patience with the mild methods of President
Houston, and thought that the only way to deal
with the Indians was either to drive them out of
Texas or to exterminate them. A good many people
still believe that President Lamar was right in his
opinion of Indian character, but many now agree
with the opinion of General Houston. As might
have been expected, when the Indians learned of
President Lamar's intentions, they became alarmed
;lg8 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
and tried to save themselves by attacking the set-
tlers first. They became so dangerous that settlers
on the western border had to work their fields
together in bands of six or eight, some of them
guarding while others plowed or hoed.
The removal of the Cherokees. — Some of the
trouble was stirred up by the Mexican general at
Matamoros, who sent agents to
persuade the Indians to rise
against the Texans. One of these
agents, named Manuel Flores,
was traveling from Matamoros to
Nacogdoches with a band of war-
riors in the spring of 1839, when
he was overtaken by General Ed-
ward Burleson near the present
city of Austin. A battle followed
in which Flores was killed, and
from the papers found on his
body it was learned that he and
a Mexican named Cordova had
been trying to get the Cherokees
to rise. This probably convinced
President Lamar that the Cherokees must be re-
moved from East Texas. He was willing to pay
them for their farms and houses; but when they
refused to sell, war was waged against them, and in
the sununer of 1839 they were driven across the Red
Eiver.
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 163
Wax with the Comanches. — Two important bat-
tles were fought with the Comanches in 1840. The
first of these occurred at San Antonio in March.
The Comanches had declared that they wanted to
make peace with the whites, and it was agreed that
the chiefs should meet at San Antonio to sign the
peace and deliver all their white prisoners. When
they arrived they had with them only one prisoner,
a girl named Matilda Lockhart. The Texans knew
that there were other prisoners, and determined to
capture the chiefs and hold them until the white
captives were brought in. A band of soldiers was
therefore marched into the council room and the
chiefs were told that they were under arrest. They
immediately began to fight, and in a short time all
were killed. In the meantime, the Indians on the
outside of the house had begun to fight, and soon
they too were dead. A few squaws carried the news
to the tribe, and before long several other prisoners
were brought in, and the treaty was signed. This
battle is called the *' Council House Fight. '*
The other battle that occurred in 1840 was at
Plum Creek, in what is now Caldwell county,
between Lockhart and Gonzales. The Comanches
and some of their allies made a raid on Victoria,
stole several thousand head of cattle, and plundered
and burned to their hearts' content. Then they
started home to the mountains west of Austin. On
the way they were overtaken on Plum Creek and
164 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
nearly a hundred were killed. A little later Colonel
John Moore led nearly a hundred men to the
Comanche village, and in a desperate battle a hun-
dred and twenty-eight Indians were killed and
thirty-two were captured.
President Houston establishes peace. — No further
trouble occurred during President Lamar's term of
oflSce, and when General Houston became president
a
again in December, 1841, he began to make peace
with the Indians. He built his trading posts along
the frontier, and by 1843 most of the tribes had
made peace and agreed to leave the settlers alone.
They did not always keep their word, it is true,
but they were never again so troublesome as they
had been during President Lamar's administration.
Importance of the Indian troubles. — These Indian
wars were important for two reasons. In the first
place, it cost the country a great deal of money to
carry them on. This is one reason why our public
debt increased so rapidly during President Lamar's
administration. In the second place, they delayed
the settlement of the western and northern parts of
the country, and thus prevented the early develop-
ment of the most fertile regions in Texas.
5. Growth of Population and Wealth
Why settlers came to Texas. — In spite of the
threats of the Mexicans and the outrages of the
Indians, thousands of families came to Texas be<
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 165
tween 1836 and 1846. A good many came from
Germany and a few from England and France, but
by far the most of them were from the United
States. The Germans came mainly because they
were tired of being ruled as they were at home, by
kings and prin,ces and dukes, and wished to live
in a democratic country, where all men were polit-
ically equal. The majority of them settled in south
Texas, and their grand-children still live there, and
speak the German language, in such towns as York-
town, New Braunfels, and Fredericksburg.
Settlers from the United States generally came
for two main reasons. In the first place, there were
very hard times in the United States between 1837
and 1841, so that many men failed in business, or
found it diflScult to make both ends meet. They
thought that they would have a better chance in
a new country. In the second place, Texas con-
tinued the practice which had been begun during
the revolution of giving to every settler a quantity
of land. When we remember that some of this
land was as rich as could be found anywhere else
in the world we can easily see what a great induce-
ment it offered to ambitious immigrants.
The number of those who came. — ^In giving the
number of those who came to Texas during these
ten years we cannot be very exact. The govern-
ment now takes a census every ten years, and we
know with a good deal of accuracy the population
166 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
of every town, county, and state, but no census was
taken in Texas until 1846. We are pretty certain,
however, that there were not more than thirty thou-
sand white persons in Texas in 1836, and we are
almost as sure that there were about a hundred
thousand in 1846. This makes an average increase
of about seven thousand a year. A Texas news-
paper printed this paragraph in December, 1839:
''Formerly the cry in the United States was
^Westward Ho!' Now the tide has somewhat
changed. * Texas Ho ! ' is the cry. Steamboats, ships,
and wagons come .crowded with settlers for the
young and growing Eepublic.'*
Where they settled. — In the early days of the
republic most of the immigrants settled in the older
sections of the country, south of the Old San
Antonio Eoad (see map, page 28), but before long
they began to push out to the west. The capital
of the republic was moved from Houston to Austin
in the fall of 1839, and this was a great encourage-
ment to the frontiersmen to establish their homes
in the west. It seemed to indicate that the govem-f
ment was going to do all that it could to help
them drive back the Indians and cultivate the wil-
derness. By 1840 settlements were begun in north
Texas, and when Texas became a state in 1846 set-
tlements extended from the coast as far west as
Waco and Fort Worth, and from the Eed Eiver
to the Nueces
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 167
The homestead law. — ^During President Lamar's-
administration (January 26, 1839) the famous
*' homestead law'* of Texas was passed, and this
may have had something to do with bringing set-
tlers to Texas. Its object was to protect from
suffering and want the wife and children of a man
who could not pay his debts. In the United States
at that time a man's creditors could sue him in
court, and take everything that he possessed, leav-
ing him neither a home for his family nor tools with
which to work for them. But this law provided
that in Texas the homestead could not be taken from
the head of a family. With the homestead, he was
allowed to keep his furniture and tools, and, if he
had them, he could keep five cows, a yoke of oxen, a
horse, twenty hogs, and provisions for one year. It
was soon seen that this was a wise and just law, and
to-day nearly every state in the union has a simi-
lar one.
Beginning of the public school system. — ^As more
and more people came to Texas the question of
educating the children became important. One of
the reasons which the colonists gave for declaring
independence from Mexico was that the Mexicans
had failed to establish public schools in Texas.
President Lamar realized more clearly than most
people that the citizens of a republic must be well
educated in order to govern themselves, and it was
during his administration that the first steps were
168 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
taken to provide for public schools. A law passed
in 1839 gave to each county nearly fifteen thousand
acres of land to be used in establishing public free
schools. Another law set aside about a quarter of
a million acres for the purpose of establishing two
universities. It was a long time before the schools
went into operation, but this is the beginning of our
present free school system, and of the University
of Texas.
The increase of wealth. — ^Although the govern-
ment was deeply in debt in 1846, the people were
fairly prosperous. Their lands had increased in
value, their cotton crops were heavy, trade with the
United States was profitable, and they had large
herds of cattle and horses. Even the government
was beginning to spend less than it took in each
year, and there was reason to hope that it would
gradually become able to pay its creditors.
Summary. — ^Following the battle of San Jacinto
the settlers returned to their homes and hastened to
repair the damage inflicted by the Mexicans. Dur-
ing the summer of 1836 they voted to approve the
constitution which the convention had adopted in
March of that year, and at the same time they
elected General Houston president of the republic.
He made an excellent president, but the constitution
declared that no one could hold the ofl5,ce two terms
in succession, so that he was followed by President
Lamar. Houston was again elected in 1841, and
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 169
when his second term was ended he was succeeded
by Dr. Anson Jones. The financial affairs of the
government were in very bad condition during the
whole ten years of the republic, but there were
signs of improvement toward the end of the period.
The Indians caused the government much trouble
and expense, especially during President Lamar's
administration, but about 1843 President Houston
su,cceeded in quieting them, and from that time
until 1846 they gave very little trouble. In spite of
hard times and danger from the Indians, the popu-
lation rapidly increased, and the capital was moved
to Austin partly to keep up with its westward
spread. Provision was made for public free schools,
and the people were generally prosperous.
2. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
1. Belations with European Countries
Recognition of Texan independence. — The United
States government recognized the independence of
Texas in March, 1837. In substance this was the
same as saying that the United States did not
believe that Mexico could ever conquer Texas, and
you can easily imagine how much it encouraged
the Texans. The European countries were slower
in making up their minds than was the United
States, but before the end of 1840 Belgium, the
Kingdom of the Netherlands, France, and England
170 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
had declared their faith in the new republic by
recognizing its independence.
English interest in Texas.— At first England was
unwilling to recognize the independence of Texas,
because many Englishmen had lent money to Mex-
ico, and it was feared that if Mexico lost Texas it
would never be able to pay these, debts. Later, how-
ever, after it had recognized Texas, there was a
good deal of talk about getting Texas to join Eng-
land and become a part of the British Empire. Eng-
land had two important reasons for wanting to con-
trol Texas. In the first place, England carried on
a great business in the manufacture of cotton cloth,
but it owned no province where cotton could be
raised in abundance, so that it had to buy most of
its cotton from the United States. The business
would be much more profitable if England could
raise its own cotton; and this it could easily do, if
it could only get possession of Texas. In the second
place, England had been for many years very much
opposed to the slavery of the African race. It had
freed all the slaves in its own territories and now
it was trying to get other countries to free their
slaves. If it could get possession of Texas, it could
not only free the slaves there, but might also bring
about slowly the abolition of slavery in the southern
part of the United States. Fortunately the United
States annexed Texas before England took any defi-
nite steps to get possession of it.
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 171
2. Belations with Mexico
Mexico's refusal to give up Texas. — As we saw^
the Mexican congress refused to accept the treaty
of Velasico, saying that Santa Anna had no right to
sign it, because he was a prisoner. It was deter-
mined to send another army to reduce the rebellious
Texans, and teach them a lesson; but it was a long
time before Mexican soldiers again crossed the Rio
Grande.
Why Mexico did not invade Texas. — The reason
why Mexico was so slow to make another invasion
was that the government was on the verge of being
overthrown by the Liberal party at home. These
Liberals were dissatisfied with the undemocratic
government that Santa Anna had established, just
as the Texans had been, and for years they never
ceased in their efforts to tear it down. Naturally,
the government had no time to interfere with far-
off Texas, when it was fighting for its very life at
home. President Houston was wise enough to real-
ize the situation, and to see that Texas was per-
fectly safe. He gave strict orders that the Texans
along the border should not fight the Mexicans,
except in self-defense, and for this reason the coun-
try had peace during his administration.
The Republic of the Rio Grande. — President
Lamar was not so cautious as General Houston,
and when some of the Mexican Liberals came to
Texas to get help in carrying on war against the.
172 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
government he made no effort to prevent the Texans
from joining them. Several hundred men under
Colonel Eeuben Eoss and Colonel S. W. Jordan
joined General Canales (Ca-n&res), and tried to
establish a republic in the northern part of Mex-
ico. They called it the Eepublic of the Eio Grande^
because all the states to be included in it bordered
on that river. A number of severe battles were
fought along the river, and at one time the Texans
went as far south as Saltillo, where they narrowly
escaped capture, because their allies betrayed them.
This trouble lasted from September, 1839, until
the end of 1840, and its only result was to stir up
the Mexican government and strengthen its deter-
mination to conquer Texas as soon as it could get
the time.
The Santa Fe expedition. — ^Mexico was still fur-
ther irritated by the Santa Fe expedition. The first
congress of Texas had passed a law declaring that
the Eio Grande from its mouth to its source should
be the boundary of the state on the south and west.
This threw a large part of the present state of New
Mexico within the limits of Texas, and Santa Fe
was the principal city of this region. It was inhab-
ited entirely by Mexicans, and the Texans had made
no effort to take possession of it. There had been
a very profitable trade carried on for years between
Santa Fe and the city of St. Louis, in Missouri ; and
President Lamar came to the conclusion that it was
TPE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 173
time for Texas to take Santa Fe and turn the profits
of this trade into Texas. He asked congress for
an appropriation to pay the expenses of an expedi-
tion, but congress refused; so he assumed entire
responsibility for it, and sent it himself, ordering
the treasurer of the republic to pay the bills as they
were presented.
The expedition was composed of two hundred and
seventy soldiers and about fifty merchants and
others. They were to invite the people of Santa
Fe to renounce the authority of Mexico and join
Texas. But if they did not wish to do this, the
soldiers were strictly forbidden to use force. The
merchants were merely to try to establish trade
with the country, and then return. The expedition
left Brushy Creek, near Austin, in June of 1841;
and it suffered great hardships almost from the
beginning. On the plains of western Texas the
guides lost their way. Food gave out, there was
no water, and the Indians were hostile and trouble-
some. So hungry did the men become that they
were reduced to eating prairie dogs and snakes.
There was not even pasture for the horses, and they,
like the men, were exhausted by hunger and thirst.
When they finally reached New Mexico, they were
arrested by the governor, Manuel Armijo (Man-wel'
Ar-me'ho). He tied them together in bands of five
or six and marched them to the City of Mexico on
foot. They were very harshly treated, and after
174 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
their arrival in Mexico were separated, and placed
in different prisons. Later they were released by
the order of Santa Anna, who had again become
president of Mexico.
The results of the expedition. — ^President Lamar
made a great mistake in sending out the expedi-
tion. It cost the country a great deal of money,
which it could ill afford to spend; many of the
men died on the way, or suffered untold torture
from their captors; and Mexico was angered and
driven to make an invasion of Texas.
The Mexican invasion of March, 1842. — In March,
1842, a Mexican force under General Eafael Vas-
quez (Ea-fi'el Vas'kas) suddenly appeared in San
Antonio and took possession of the town. The
Mexican flag was run up, but two days later the
Mexicans retreated, and left the town at peace. At
the same time other forces seized Goliad and Eefu-
gio, but they, too, soon retired.
The ''Archive War." — The sudden appearance of
the Mexicans alarmed the Texans, and President
Houston ordered the removal of the government to
Houston, fearing that the Mexicans might .capture
the capitol at Austin. The people of Austin were
very angry over this, as you can easily imagine.
They refused to allow the government documents,
the archives, to be moved; and when President
Houston tried to have them secretly taken to Wash-
ington on the Brazos, they resisted with arms, and
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 175
caused them to be returned to Austin. This has
been called the ** Archive War.^V It occurred in
December, 1842.
General WoU's invasion of San Antonio. — In the
meantime, another Mexican army, commanded by
General Adrian WoU, captured San Antonio in Sep-
tember, 1842. This time the town made some resist-
ance, and a number of Mexicans were killed. Sev-
eral companies of Texans left Gonzales, under the
command of Colonel Matthew Caldwell, to go to the
relief of San Antonio; and General Well met them
at Salado Creek, about six miles east of the town.
A .considerable number of the Mexicans were killed
and wounded in the battle which followed. But,
at the same time, a company of fifty-three men under
Captain Nicholas Dawson, which was coming to
join Caldwell's force, was cut off by the Mexicans
and all of the men were either killed or captured.
After this engagement. General WoU abandoned
San Antonio and returned to Mexico, taking with
him sixty- seven prisoners.
The Mier expedition. — ^By the middle of October,
1842, more than a thousand Texans had gathered
at San Antonio eager to invade Mexico. President
Houston did not favor war with Mexico at this time,
but he ordered General Alexander Somervell to take
command of the men. He led them first to Laredo,
where several hundred of the men left him and
returned to the settlements. Somervell then started
^1 *i
^M^i
^^^^'^:r
THE EEPUBLIC OF TEXAS 177
down the Eio Grande, but a short time later decided
to give np the expedition and go back home. All
but three hundred of the volunteers went with him.
Those who remained elected Colonel William S.
Fisher to lead them and marched against Mier.
They entered the town on Christmas day, and a des-
perate battle was waged all night, and well into
the next day. On the 26th General Ampudia (Am-
poo'di-a) raised a white flag, and told the Texans
that he had a large force surrounding the town and
that it was useless for them to fight longer. He
said that if they would surrender, they should be
kindly treated. Many of the Texans were opposed
to yielding, but Colonel Fisher favored surrender-
ing, because he thought it would be impossible
to escape without abandoning the wounded. They
accordingly surrendered.
Drawing the black beans. — The prisoners were
first taken to Matamoros, and then were started on
foot to the City of Mexico. At Salado, about a hun-
dred miles south of Saltillo, they made a break for
liberty and escaped. Led by Captain Cameron, they
started toward Texas, but after going along the
road for a short distance they turned aside to hide
in the mountains. Here they became lost, and,
almost dying of hunger- and thirst, they were all
eventually recaptured. Santa Anna decreed that,
to punish them for their escape, every tenth man
should be shot. A hundred and seventy-six men
178 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
made the break for liberty, and, to decide which of
them should be executed, a hundred and fifty-nine
white and seventeen black beans were placed in a
jar, and each man was made to draw a bean. Those
who drew the black beans were blindfolded, seated
on a log, and shot to death by the soldiers. The
remaining prisoners were hurried on to the capital^-
and from there distributed to various prisons. Most
of them were lodged in Castle Perote (Pa-ro'ta),
a very strong and very uncomfortable prison. In
July of 1843 General Thomas J. Green and seven
others made a daring escape from here, but the
remaining captives suffered imprisonment for more
than a year longer. Then, on September 16, 1844,
the independence day of Mexico, Santa Anna gave
orders to release them.
The Snively expedition. — ^During the spring of
1843, while the Mier prisoners were wearily trudg-
ing toward the City of Mexico, another band of
Texans, commanded by Colonel. Jacob Snively, was
inarching light-heartedly toward the north to cap-
iure a great wagon train which was on the way from
:St. Louis, Missouri, to Santa Fe, loaded with valu-
.able merchandise. But the wagons were accompa-
nied by a number of United States soldiers, who
disarmed the Texans, and sent them home. They
really had no right to do this, and some years later
the United States government paid Texas for the
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS
guns that were taken. But the Santa Fe caravaa
escaped, and the Snively expedition was a, failure.
The end of the war with Mexico. — In June, 1843^
just about the time that Colonel Snively was hav-
ing his unpleasant experience in northern Texas,
President Houston received a proposal for peace
from Santa Anna. He immediately issued a procla-
mation, ordering all hostilities to cease, and ap-
pointed commissioners to go to Mexico and nego-
tiate a treaty.
They found that
Santa Anna did
not want peace
unless Texas
would again con-
sent to be a part
of Mexico, and
so, of course,
they refused to
sign the treaty. The negotiations occupied the two
coimtries for nearly a year, however, and soon after
they were over Texas was annexed to the United
States. There was no more fighting while Texas
remained an independent country.
The Texas navy. — During all of our trouble with
Mexico the little navy of Texas did good service in
guarding the coast, and preventing invasion by
sea. The first vessels were bought for the navy in
January and February, 1836. They were the "Lib-
180 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
erty/' ''Invincible," ''Independence," and "Bru-
tus." They captured several vessels and caused a
good deal of alarm to the Mexican towns situated
on the coast of the Gulf; but by the end of 1837
they were all gone. One was sold, another was
captured, and two were wrecked.
But in 1839 a second navy was bought. This con-
sisted of seven vessels, the most important of which
was the "Austin," armed with twenty cannon.
President Lamar kept the navy sailing from place
tc( place, trying to frighten and annoy the Mexicans.
On one occasion, during 1840, he lent it to the people
of Yucatan, who were carrying on war with Mexico.
When General Houston became president the second
time, however, he thought that it cost too much to
keep up the navy. In January, 1843, he had con-
gress secretly pass a law ordering the vessels sold,
but Commodore E. W. Moore, who was command-
ing the fleet, refused to bring the vessels into Texas
harbors, and thus prevented the sale. The next
year .congress repealed the law ordering the sale,
and when Texas joined the United States in 1846
it still had four ships. These were transferred to
the United States navy.
3. Belations with the United States
Texas asks to be annexed. — ^As we learned in a
previous lesson, one of the questions upon which
the Texans voted in the election of 1836 was whether
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS . 18]
or not they wished to be annexed to the United
States. Only ninety-one voted **no/' As soon,
therefore, as the United States recognized the inde-
pendence of Texas, we asked to be annexed. But the
United States was not yet ready to annex us, and
declined. It had two important reasons for this.
In the first place, it knew that Mexico would declare
war against it, if it took Texas, and it wanted to
remain at peace. In the second place, there were
a great many people in the United States who were
bitterly opposed to slavery; and, since there were
slaves in Texas, they did not want the country.
The Texans became somewhat angry at this refusal,
and in October, 1838, withdrew their offer.
The United States learns the value of Texas.^
For several years, now, very little was heard of
annexation, either in Texas or the United States.
But during all of this time immigrants were pouring
into Texas, and, as the population increased, the
merchants of the United States realized that the
trade of Texas was worth having. Then the alarm-
ing rumor spread that England was planning to
get possession of Texas, and it began to be said
that the United States must take it to prevent Eng-
land from doing so. Toward the end of 1843 Presi-
dent Tyler asked whether Texas was still willing
to be annexed to the United States. President Hous-
ton pretended that the people had lost interest in
the matter and hinted that it might be better for
jgg A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
them to remain independent and keep on good terms
with England. And this, of course, made President
Tyler more anxious to get the country.
The annexation of Texas. — Those in the United
States who were opposed to slavery were still able
to delay annexation for many months, but in
February, 1845, congress passed a bill providing
that Texas should be an-
nexed. Dr. Anson Jones was
now president of Texas, and
he called a convention to
meet at Austin on July 4,
1845, to decide whether
Texas should accept the of-
fer. Before it met Mexico
offered to recognize the inde-
pendence of the republic and
make peace, provided Texas
would refuse annexation.
But the convention voted
almost unanimously to ac-
cept annexation. A constitu-
tion was then adopted, and submitted to the United
States Congress for approval. And as soon as Presi-
dent Jones learned that it was approved, he delivered
the government to Governor J. Pinekney Henderson,
who had been elected to receive it. In his farewell
address, delivered February 16, 1846, President
Jones declared that "the Republic of Texas is no
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 183
more. ' ' But he thought it far better to be a part of
the great American Union than to remain inde-
pendent.
Texas retains its public land. — It was customary
for the United States to own the vacant lands in
the states, but Texas was allowed to keep its lands,
in order to pay its debts. This was very fortunate
for Texas, because a few years later it sold a por-
tion of the land to the United States for ten million
dollars. With this money it paid all of its debts, and
still had left a vast quantity of land. This has been
of the greatest benefit to the state. A great deal
of it has been used to pay for the establishment of
our public free schools. Some of it was given to
the University and to the Agricultural and Mechan-
ical College. Three million acres were given in pay-
ment for the great granite .capitol at Austin. And
much of it was given to railroads to encourage rail-
road building.
Mexico protests against annexation. — ^Mexico had
several times told the United States that it would
consider the annexation of Texas as a cause for war.
And Texas had not been three months in the Union
before war began. We shall learn more in the next
Chapter of the part which Texas played in the Mex-
ican War.
Summary. — The United States recognized the
independence of Texas in 1837, but the European
countries were slower in recognizing it. England
184 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
at first hesitated to recognize Texas, for fear that
Mexico would be unable to pay its debts to English
subjects; but later there was a good deal of talk
about England's taking Texas herself. Mexico stub-
bornly refused to give up its claim to Texas, but
no serious trouble arose between the two countries
during President Houston's first term. During Pres-
ident Lamar's administration the Texans became^
aggressive. They assisted the Liberals, and invaded
New Mexico. The Mexicans replied by sending two
expeditions to San Antonio. And this caused the
Mier expedition. No fighting took place after 1843,
but Mexico still refused to give up its claim. Dur-
ing all this time the Texans wished to join the
United States. At first the United States refused
to annex Texas, but later changed its mind and
proposed annexation. Texas accepted this offer,
and was fortunately allowed to retain control of
its public land. Mexico protested against annexa-
tion, and shortly afterwards the Mexican War
began.
QUESTIONS
1. Describe the condition of Texas after the battle of
San Jacinto.
2. How did the people try to remedy this situation?
3. Give an account of Santa Anna from the battle of San
Jacinto to February, 1837.
4. Why was he not freed by President Burnet? Do you
think that he should have been freed? Why? How did
President Burnet answer his complaints?
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 185
, 5. Give an account of the other Mexican prisoners.
"Were they mistreated by the Texans ?
6. Who composed the army of Texas during the summer
and fall of 1836 ? Why did the volunteers come to Texas ?
7. Why did President Burnet not dismiss the army?
8. What was President Houston^s policy toward the
army?
9. What important questions were voted on in the elec-
tion of 1836, and how were they settled?
10. Give an account of the services of President Burnet
to Texas.
11. Give a sketch of the life of General Houston. What
was his policy toward Mexico? Toward the Indians?
Toward the finances?
12. Give an account of Stephen F. Austin^s services.
Why was he called the Father of Texas? What honors were
paid his remains by the government? Where are his remains
now buried ? Do you think that he was a great man ? Why ?
13. Give a sketch of President Lamar. What wa^ his
policy toward Mexico? Toward the Indians? Toward the
finances ?
14. What did President Lamar do for public education
in Texas? Do you think that he was as good a president as
was President Houston ? Why ?
15. Why was not General Houston elected for two terms in
succession ?
16. Give a sketch of President Jones. What do you con-
sider the most important event of his administration? Was
he responsible for this?
17. What was the financial condition of Texas at the close
of the revolution?
18. For what did the government need money after the
revolution was over? In what ways did the government try
to get money ? Why did it fail to get enough money ?
186 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
19. What are customs duties? Does Texas collect customs
duties now ?
20. Why did the paper money become reduced in value ?
21. What was the financial condition of Texas at the close
of the Eepublic?
22. What were the Texas rangers ?
23. Why were the Indians more troublesome during Presi-
dent Lamar^s administration than during President Houston's
first term ?
24. Give an account of the expulsion of the Cherokees from
East Texas. Why was this done?
25. Give an account of the wars with the Comanches.
26. What was the chief importance of these Indian
troubles ?
27. What inducements did Texas oflfer immigrants who
settled in Texas?
28. What conditions in the United States led to the immi-
gration of many settlers to Texas?
29. Why did the German settlers come to Texas?
30. What was the homestead law ? How could it encourage
settlers to come to Texas ?
31. How many immigrants probably came during the
period of the republic? In what parts of Texas did they
settle ?
32. How did President Lamar plan to pay for the estab-
lishment of public schools?
33. What do we mean when we say that the United States
recognized the independence of Texas?
34. Why was England interested in Texas? In what way
did this stimulate the interest of the United States in Texas ?
35. Why did Mexico refuse to recognize the independence
of Texas? Why did Mexico not invade Texas between 1836
and 1842?
36. What was the Eepublic of the Eio Grande ?
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 187
37. What was the object of the Santa Fe expedition?
Who was responsible for it? Give an account of its failure.
What effect did it have upon Mexico? What was Mexico^s
reply to it ?
38. Give an account of the two Mexican invasions of
Texas during 1842.
39. Give an account of the Mier expedition.
40. Give an account of the Texas navy.
41. Why did Texas wish to be annexed to the United
States? Why did the United States refuse to annex it in
1837? Why did the United States change its mind during
1838-1843 ?
42. How did Mexico try to prevent annexation?
43. Why was Texas allowed to keep its public lands? Why
was this important to Texas ?
ADDITIONAL EEADINQ
The return home after the battle of San Jacinto: Bolton
and Barker, With the Makers of Texas, 209-212, 218.
Internal Affairs of the Kepublic : Davis, Under Six Flags,
111-127.
Indian Troubles: Bolton and Barker, 223-226, 232-235,
248-252, 266-269; Davis, 116-117, 120-122.
Early Schools: Bolton and Barker, 241-246.
The Santa Fe expedition: Bolton and Barker, 236-241;
Davis, 123-124.
The Mier expedition: Bolton and Barker, 253-265; Davis,
124-131; Littlejohn, "Drawing the Black Beans,'' "Castle
Perote" in Texas History Stories; Mrs. F. C. G. Iglehart,
The Boy Captive of the Texas Mier Expedition,
The end of the Eepublic: Bolton and Barker, 270-273;
Davis, 132-136.
The Navy: Davis, 117-120.
CHAPTER Vm
EABLY STATEHOOD: FBOM ANNEXATION TO SECESSION,
1846-1861
Changes in government caused by annexation. —
When Texas gave np its position as an independ-
ent nation to become a part of the United States,
it was necessary to change the form of its govern-
ment. It was to have a governor instead of a presi-
dent, a legislature instead of a congress, and it had
to give up to the government of the United States
complete .control over the army and navy, the cus-
tom houses, and postal service, the coining or issu-
ing of money, and the right to declare war and
make treaties with other nations. But this was an
advantage rather than a disadvantage to Texas,
because by giving up these things the people were
able to dispense with a large number of public offi-
cials, and thereby save a great deal of expense.
Texas now entered upon a period of great growth
and prosperity; but before studying that develop-
ment we must notice briefly the war between the
United States and Mexico and its consequences for
the state.
General causes of the war between the United
States and Mexico. — ^There were several causes for
188
EAELY STATEHOOD 189
the war between the United States and Mexico,
but the most important ones were concerned with
Texas. An unfriendly feeling had existed between
the two countries sin,ce the Texan revolution. The
people of the United States had always remembered
that the Texans were their kinsmen and they had
helped the Texans in their struggle for independ-
ence. The Mexicans resented this, claiming that
it was the duty of the United States to prevent its
citizens from fighting against Mexico while the two
governments were at peace with each other. Then,
too, Mexicans dreaded the power of their great
northern neighbor. But the chief cause of the war
was the annexation of Texas.
The annexation of Texas as a cause of the war. —
Mexico, as you remember, had never acknowledged
the independence of Texas, had done all in its power
to prevent other nations from doing so, and had
fiercely resented every move that threatened to
place that rebellious province under the secure pro-
tection of the Stars and Stripes. Three times Mex-
ico had invaded Texas in pretended efforts to recon-
quer the country. It went so far as to warn the
United States that it would regard the annexation
of Texas to the Union as equivalent to a declaration
of war. Finally when the United States openly
declared for annexation in March, 1845, the Mexi-
can minister at Washington made a vigorous pro-
190
A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TESAS
test and left the United States, while the minister
of the United States at the City of Mexico was
ordered to leave the country. All friendly rela-
tions were thus broken off. However, war did not
begin at once and the United States sent a special
envoy to Mexico
to attempt to set-
tle the differences
between the two
countries.
The boundary
question and the
outbreak of the
war. — At the
time of the Texas
revolution the
boundary be-
tween Texas and
the Mexican
states to the south
was the Nueces
River. The first
Texas congress, however, passed a law on Decem-
ber 19, 1836, extending the boundary to the Rio
Grande. Mexico paid no attention to this at the
time, because it claimed all of Texas, as well as the
strip between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. But
when General Zachary Taylor, in the spring of 1846,
left his camp near Corpus Christi, where he had
EAELY STATEHOOD 191
Spent the winter, and advanced with a small army
to the Eio Grande, the Mexican general ordered him
back beyond the Nueces. This has led some histo-
rians to say that the war was caused by a boimdary
dispute. It is more accurate to say that the boun-
dary question was the immediate occasion for the
outbreak of hostilities. On General Taylor's refusal
to retreat, some skirmishing occurred, and on May 8
a serious battle was fought near the present city of
Brownsville, in which the Americans were victo-
rious. Four days later the United States Congress
declared war and voted men and money for an
invasion of Mexico.
The part of Texas in the war. — It was natural
that Texas should play a prominent part in this war.
It lay nearest to Mexico and the war was, in a sense,
the continuation of its own struggle for independ-
192 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OP TEXAS
ence. With the news that fighting had begun, the
war spirit swept over the state, and at the call for
volunteers there was a rush of Texans to the Mexi-
can frontier. Governor Henderson^ accepted the
position of major general of volunteers, and under
his leadership and that of such men as Albert Sidney
Johnston, Jack Hays, Ben McCullo,ch, George T.
Wood, and Edward Burleson the Texans bore an
important part in the campaigns in Mexico. The
total number of Texans who served in the war is
not known exactly, but it is estimated at about
eight thousand, which is a far greater number than
was furnished by any other state.
Terms of peace. — With the details of the war we
need not bother. Mexico soon learned that it was
no longer dealing with a feeble province but with
a great and powerful nation. In less than two years
it was completely overpowered, and agreed to a
treaty of peace (February 2, 1848). This is called
in history the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Gwa-
^ J. Pinckney Henderson was born in North Carolina in
1809, and came to Texas in 1836. He was an able man and
an eloquent lawyer and became attorney general in President
Houston's first administration, then, secretary of state. He
afterwards served the Eepublic as minister to England and
France and then to the United States. For his gallantry in
the Mexican War congress voted him a sword. At the close
of his term as governor he retired to private life, but in J857
he was elected to the United States senate. However, he died
before he could take his seat.
EABLY STATEHOOD 193
da-loop'y E-dal'go), because it was signed at the
town of that name a few miles from the City of
Mexico. By this treaty Mexico gave up its claim
on Texas, agreed to the Rio Grande as the boundary,
and surrendered to the United States for fifteen mil-
lion dollars the vast region now included in Cali-
fornia, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, with part of
New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. Since this
great territory ^ame to the United States as the
result indirectly of the annexation of Texas, we can
now see how very important is the history of the
little colonies established in Texas by Austin and
others. The battle of San Jacinto And the winning
of Texas independence thus become important even
in the history of California.
A boundary dispute with the United States. —
When the United States began to take possessioa
of the territory which Mexico gave up in the treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo, a dispute arose with Texas.
194 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
The Texans claimed more than half of the present
State of New Mexico — ^that part east of the Eio
Grande. You remember that one of the main objects
of the Santa Fe expedition during President Lamar's
administration was to take possession of it. The
United States was determined to include this region
in the new territory of New Mexico, and pointed out
that Texas had never been in possession of the land,
and that, therefore, it had no title to it. Texas
replied that the Mexican War was fought by the
United States to prove that the Eio Grande was
the boundary of Texas. Both Governor Wood^ and
Ms successor. Governor Bell,^ tried to persuade the
United States government to acknowledge the
claims of Texas, but their efforts were without avail.
Excitement in Texas now ran high. Newspapers
and public speakers denounced the United States
government, declaring that it was trying to rob
Texas. The legislature passed a resolution renew-
ing the claim to the disputed region, and it looked
for a time as if there might be war between the
^ George T. Wood, a member of the constitutional conven-
tion of 1845, state senator in 1846, and a colonel of volunteers
in the Mexican "War, was elected governor in 1847 and served
one term. He died in 1850.
^ P. Hansborough Bell, a native of Virginia, took part in
the battle of San Jacinto and later served on the frontier and
in the Mexican War. He served two terms as governor, four
years in the United States Congress, and then removed to
Horth CaroHna, where he died in 1898.
EABLT STATEHOOD
195
state and the general government. Thoughtful men
on both sides were very imeasy.
The settlement of the dispute. — ^But at this ppint
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, one of the greatest states-
men of his time, proposed a compromise in the
United States Senate, and the dispute was finally
settled as he suggested.
A bill was passed by Con-
gress offering Texas ten
million dollars for its
claim to this territory
and to a narrow strip of
land extending as far
north as the present state
of Wyoming. ManyTes-
ans did not wish to ac-
cept this offer, but the
governor and the legisla-
ture thought it would be
wiser to do so. Thus
Texas came to have the
western boundary that it
has to-day.* This was really a good bargain for
^ The boundary was to run along the 103d meridian west
longitude, but the surveying was done bo carelessly tiiat the
line actually ran several miles west of that meridian. When
New Mexico organized to apply for statehood, in 1910, it set
np a claim to the narrow strip between the line as surveyed
and the meridian. The United States, however, held that the
line should remain as surveyed.
196 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Texas, for the state was heavily loaded with debt
and the money for this land went a long way toward
relieving it of the burden.
The public debt. — Texas still owed the heavy
debts contracted during the period of the Eepub-
lic. The total amount was nearly twelve million
dollars. It had been expected that most of this
could be paid gradually by the customs duties col-
lected on the goods which were imported into Texas
from other countries. Perhaps this really could have
been done if Texas had remained independent, but
as we have seen, when it was annexed, it gave up
to the United States its custom houses and the
right to collect duties. The only income the state
now had was from taxes and the sale of public
lands; and, sin,ce the total receipts from these
sources were barely enough to pay the running
expenses of the government, it was impossible to
pay back debts.
How the debt was paid. — ^The sale of its land
claims to the United States gave Texas at once more
money than it could have saved from the customs
duties in a great many years. With this the debts
were paid at the rate of seventy-seven cents on the
dollar, and the state was relieved from a most
embarrassing situation. In 1855 the United States
gave Texas nearly three million dollars more, to
repay it for the expense that it had been put to in
defending itself from the Indians, who had been
EARLY STATEHOOD 197
drifting in from the United States ever since 1836»
This enabled the state to make many useful improve-
ments. For several years Texas had more money
than it needed, and the taxes collected during this
time were given over to the counties, which used
them for building court-houses and schools. A capi-
tol and other public buildings were erected at Aus-
tin, and homes were established for the blind, the
deaf and dumb, and the insane.
Immigration to Texas. — The white population of
Texas in 1836 was between twenty-five and thirty
thousand, and it was scattered thinly over a vast
region. Before annexation it had increased to
nearly a hundred thousand, and there were, in addi-
tion, some thirty-five thousand slaves. Annexation
and the triumphant conclusion of the Mexican War
induced more people to come to Texas, and by 1850
the total population of the state was about two
hundred and twelve thousand, of whom fifty-height
thousand were slaves. The stream of immigrants
grew larger every year. The new-comers were from
all parts of the United States, though most of them
came from the Southern states — Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Others con-
tinued to come from foreign countries to seek a
home and liberty on the broad lands of Texas. Of
these the greatest number were Germans, fleeing
from oppression in their native land. They settled
for the most part in south and southwest Texas, in
198 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
and around the towns of Brenham, New Braunfels,
Tredericksburg, San Antonio, and Cuero. They and
their children have .contributed a great deal -to the
upbuilding of Texas.
The removal of the Indians. — As new immigrants
came in and settled on the western frontier, the
Indians again became troublesome. In fact, as
buffalo and other game became scarce, the Indians
were almost compelled to resort to plundering and
cattle stealing to secure a living. For several years
the United States kept troops stationed at various
points in the west, and these with Texas rangers
were kept busy protecting the settlements from
hostile attack. To put a stop to the trouble the
United States government at first undertook to
colonize the Indians and to teach them to live in
settled communities. Two colonies or reservations
were established, one near the present town of
Oraham, in Young County, and the other on the
Clear Fork of the Brazos, about forty miles farther
west. At these colonies, dwellings and store-houses
were built, schools were established, and several
hundred acres of land were cleared and put in culti-
vation. The Comanches, however, found it hard to
give up their wild life, and now and then some of
them would break away and join bands of hostile
Indians in raids on the white settlements. Finally,
to prevent further bloodshed, the United States de-
cided to remove the Indians from Texas. Leaving
EARLY STATEHOOD 19^
their growing crops in the fields, and many of. their
cattle on the ranges, the Indians, to the number of
fourteen hundred, were marched across the Red
Eiver into the Indian Territory. Here new lands
were given to them, and they have since gradually
settled down to civilized life.
The western frontier. — The frontier was now pro-
tected from the savage Indians and became fairly
prosperous. The more peaceful condition of the
country and the opening up of the public lands in-
duced still more rapid immigration, and by 1860 the
population of Texas numbered four hundred and
twenty-two thousand whites and more than a hun-
dred and eighty thousand slaves. Eastern Texas
was still the most thickly settled section, while the
central part of the state was very thinly settled. A
line drawn a little to the west of San Antonio^
Austin, Waco, and Fort Worth would indicate
roughly the boundary of the settled country.
Industries before 1860. — ^The occupations of the
people were such as are natural in a new country.
There were few towns, and they were all small and
far apart. Most of the people were farmers and
stock-raisers. Along the larger rivers — the Sabine,
Trinity, Brazos, and Colorado — there were already
large plantations of cotton and com, cultivated by
slaves. It was then generally believed that the
black prairie lands, whi,ch we now know to be very
rich, would not grow crops. Besides, wire fences
200 , A SCHOOL HISTOBY OF TEXAS
had not then been invented, and there was no easy
way of fencing the land. Therefore, most of the
dwellers on the prairies and uplands raised cattle
and horses on the great unfenced pastures.
The need of railroads in Texas. — One of the great-
est hindrances to the development of Texas was the
lack of easy means of transportation. The rivers
were too shallow for steamboats to venture far from
the coast, the roads were bad, the streams were
unbridged, and there were no railroads. Farm
products and other goods which the Texans wished
to sell had sometimes to be hauled hundreds of miles
to shipping points on the coast or in Louisiana.
This hauling was so expensive that the profit left
to the grower was always very small and at times
the goods were sold at a loss. Cattle and horses
had to be driven in herds to market in far away
New Orleans. Merchandise from outside was
brought in at great cost and only the well-to-do
could afford even the simplest luxuries.
The beginning of railroad building in Texas. —
Men were not long in seeing that the state would be
greatly benefitted by railroads, but there was so
little money in the country that it was for a long
time impossible to build them. At last, in 1850, a
company of .citizens undertook to build a road, and
by 1855 thirty-two miles of track were completed
from Harrisburg to the Brazos River, opposite the
town of Richmond. It is now a part of the great
EAELT STATEHOOD gOl
Southern Pacific system which extends from New
Orleans to San Francisco. By this time the legis-
lature had passed a law offering railroad com-
panies sixteen sections of land, amounting to more
than ten thousand acres, for every mile of track
tuilt. It also lent them money from the school fmid
to help them huild their lines. During the next few
Tbxas Befobe tbe Civil War
years ten other roads were started, but all were very
short, and one was only five miles long. Most of
them reached only a little way into the state from
Galveston and Houston. But with the outbreak of
the great war, all railroad building in Texas stopped
for nearly seven years.
A SCHOOL EISTOBY OF TEXAS
Beginning of the public school system. — ^Among
the things that Texas needed most at this time were
public free schools. In a few places there were pri-
vate schools, but these were often poorly taught, and
only a small porticto of the children could attend
them. Too many young men and women were grow-
ing up without the education
that was necessary to make
them good citizens. But in
1853, E. M. Pease,' one of
the ablest men in Texas, be-
came governor, and his first
recommendation to the legis-
lature was that it establish a
system of public schools. A
start was made in 1854, but
a complete system could not
be put into operation all at
once. It was very hard to
get competent teachers ; and
there was not enough money to keep the schools
open for the full term, so that the pupils still had to
^ Elieha M, Pease was bom in Connecticut in 1812, and
came to Texas in 1835. He practiced law successfully, and had
held a number of state offices when elected governor. He waa
re-elected in 1855. He later opposed secession and lived in
retirement in Austin during the Civil War. During the
period of reconstruction he was appointed provisional governor
by General Sheridan, holding the office from 1867 to 1869.
He died in 1883.
EARLY STATEHOOD 203
pay tuition part of the time. A few years later the
Civil War broke out, and during the war nearly all
the schools were closed.
The approach of the Civil War. — ^But now, just as
the financial diflB,culties of Texas were safely past,
its population rapidly increasing, its vacant lands
settling up, railroads and school houses building,
and everything fair with promise, a terrible trouble
loomed ahead. Thoughtful men began to fear that
the Northern and Southern states could no longer
live peaceably together, and that they would have
to separate. At the same time it was feared that
the Northern states might not want to agree to the
separation and that a war would break out if the
Southern states started to withdraw from the Union.
One cause of disagreement between the North and
the South was the slavery question.
The beginning of the slavery question. — You
remember that the English people first began to
settle in America about seventy-five years before
La Salle landed in Texas. They needed laborers to
help them clear the land and cultivate the fields,
but there were no laborers to hire. In the midst of
their difficulty, a vessel arrived in America with
a cargo of negroes who had been captured in Africa,
and the captain sold these negroes to the colonists
as slaves. They worked well, and soon others were
brought from Africa, and the labor problem was
solved. These first slaves were brought to America
204 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
in 1619, nearly three hundred years ago. At that
time no one saw any harm in slavery. It was
thought to be a good thing for the negroes to
bring them from the **Dark Continent'' of Africa
to the civilized country of America, where they
would be better fed and better clothed, and where
they could learn to be Christians.
Slavery unprofitable in the North. — ^For nearly a
hundred and fifty years there were slaves in all of
the English colonies, but just about the time that
these colonies revolted from England and became
the United States the people in the North began to
set their slaves free. Their chief reason for this
was that slaves were not profitable in the North.
Most of the land there was poor, and the fields were
small, so that it did not pay to use slaves in their
cultivation. In the South, on the other hand, the
land was rich, and the cultivation of tobacco, rice^
and cotton could be carried on by slaves with great
profit. Moreover, much of the best land lay along
the river bottoms, and these were so unhealthful
that it was thought that white men could not live
there. Slaves were absolutely necessary, therefore^
if these fertile lands were to be used. This, then^
was the situation in the United States until about
the time when Austin brought his first colonists to
Texas: the Northern states had no need of slaves^
and gave them up; while the Southern states did
need them, and kept them.
EAELY STATEHOOD 205
The Abolitionists. — ^But now there arose a new
way of thinking about slavery. It began to be said
both in the South and in the North that it was not
right to buy and sell and own negro men and women.
Nevertheless, there seemed to be no way to put a
stop to slavery. Men in the South had millions of
dollars invested in slaves, and they felt that they
could not afford to give up so much money by free-
ing them. At first most of the people in the North
felt the same way about the matter. They were
sorry that there were slaves in the South, but they
did not think it right to ask the slave-owners to
give them up. Later a few men in the North began
to say that slavery should be abolished at once;
Because they wished to abolish slavery they were
called abolitionists.
The Southern states secede from the Union. — As^
time went on, the people in the South came to fear
that those in the North would be persuaded by the
abolitionists to free the slaves. They grew tired
of the continual arguing about the matter, and when
Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the
United States by the party opposed to slavery, they
decided to withdraw from the United States and
form a union of their own. South Carolina took
the lead in this, and it was soon followed by ten
other states. These were Mississippi, Florida, Ala-
bama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, North
Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. This was in
A SCHOOL HISTOKY OF TEXAS
the early part of 1861. These states established a
government very much like that of the United
States, and took the name
of the Confederate States
of America. Jefferson Da-
vis, of Mississippi, was
elected president of the
new republic.^ Our great
citizen, Judge John H.
Reagan, was his postmas-
ter general, and one of his
most useful assistants.
The Korth objects to the
secession of the Soath.—
But just as many had ex-
pected, the North opposed
the withdrawal of the
South from the Union. It-
was said that the states
had no right to secede, and
President Lincoln ordered out the army to prevent
it. A great many people in the South were very
sorry to see the Union broken up; but they hon-
estly believed that each state had the right to with-
' Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of
America, though raised in Mississippi, was bom in Kentucky
on June 3, 1808, and his birthday is now a legal holiday in
Texas, He graduated at West Point at the age of twenty, and
won distinction in the Indian wars and in the war with
Fhesidhnt Jeffehson Davis
EARLY STATEHOOD 207
draw if it chose, and when President Lincoln tried
to prevent this they went to war. This terrible war
lasted four years, but we must leave an account of
it to the next Chapter.
Summary. — The annexation of Texas to the
United States brought on a war with Mexico in
which the Texans greatly distinguished themselves.
At the close of the war the United States acquired
a vast territory in the West, and the Eio Grande
became the recognized boundary between Texas and
Mexico. A dispute then arose with the United
States over claims to a part of New Mexico, but
this was settled by a compromise in which the
United States paid Texas ten million dollars for
its claims. With this money and another sum paid
for damages done by Indians the Texan debt was
paid. Immigrants poured into the state, the Indians
were removed, the frontier was protected, railroads
were begun, and a public school system started.
But just as Texas was beginning to prosper the
quarrel between the Northern and Southern states
Mexico. He was secretary of war under President Franklin
Pierce, and was senator from Mississippi for several years.
He resigned his seat in 1861 when his state withdrew from
the Union, because he thought that his first duty was to his
state. As president of the Confederacy he probably did all
that any man could have done to win southern independence.
After the war he suffered two. years of imprisonment without
a trials but was finally released in May, 1867. He died in
1889 at the age of eigbty-one.^ ..k - j-
i
208 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
became so bitter that the Southern states seceded
and formed a government of their own. Texas was
one of those to secede. Then began the Civil War.
QUESTIONS f
1. Why was it necessary to change the government of
Texas after annexation? What changes were made?
2. What did Texas gain by the change ?
3. What were the general causes of the war between the
United States and Mexico ?
4. Why did the annexation of Texas help to cause the
war?
5. What was the boundary dispute with Mexico? Show
on a map where the southern boundary of Texas was, accord-
ing to the claim of Mexico.
6. Where did the war begin? Why did the Texans play
so large a part in it ?
7. What were the terms of peace ? How do the results of
the Mexican war prove the importance of earlier Texas
history ?
8. Why did Texas claim part of New Mexico ? Why did
the United States refuse to allow the claim ?
9. How much was Texas paid for its claim ? Show on a
map the cession made by Texas. What was done with the
money Texas received ?
10. Why had Texas not been able to pay its debts earlier?
11. What was the population of Texas in 1836? in 1846?
in 1850? in 1860?
12. Why did settlers come to Texas? Where did most of
them come from? Where did the Germans settle?
13. Why did the Indians begin giving trouble again ?
14. How was the population of Texas distributed in 1860 ?
EARLY STATEHOOD 209
16. What were the chief occupations of the people?
16. Why were railroads badly needed in Texas? When
and where was the first railroad built?
17. How did the state government help the railroads ? How
many roads had been started before the outbreak of the Civil
War, and where were they? (See map, page 201).
18. Why had Texas not established public schools before
1854? How did the Civil War affect the schools?
. 19. How did negro slavery begin in America ? How was
slavery regarded then ?
9.0. Why did slavery die out in the North and flourish in
the South?
21. Why did the Southern people refuse to free their
slaves ?
22. Why did they want to secede from the Union ? What
states seceded and when?
23. What did they do next?
24. What did the North do ? What followed ?
ADDITIONAL READING
The War with Mexico: Bolton and Barker, With the
Makers of Texas, 275-279; Davis, Under Six Flags, 136-140.
The Frontier and the Texas Eangers : Bolton and Barker,
273-275, 280-285; Davis, 140-147.
CHAPTER rX
CIVIL WAB AND BECONSTBUCTION
1. THE CIVIL WAR
The purpose of this chapter. — ^We must now fol-
low the story of the part which Texas played in the
Civil War, and give an account of the trying days
of ^^reconstruction'' that continued for four years
after the readmission of the state into the Union
in 1870.
Texas secedes and joins the Confederacy. — ^At the
close of 1860, people began to insist that Governor
Sam Houston^ should take steps to call a convention
for the purpose of deciding whether Texas should
join the Southern Confederacy or remain in the
Union. But Houston, who opposed secession and did
not want a convention, refused to do so. Then a
number of prominent men, without the governor's
consent, urged the people to elect delegates. This
^ Houston had succeeded Hardin Eichard Eunnels as gov-
ernor in 1859. Eunnels was a native of Mississippi. He came
to Texas in 1841, became a prominent lawyer, and served sev-
eral terms in the legislature. He was speaker of the house
of representatives in 1853-1854, and was lieutenant-governor
during the second administration of Governor Pease.
210
CrVIL WAB AND BECONSTBUCTION
211
was done, and the convention met at Austin on Janu-
ary 28, 1861. Four days later the delegates drew up
an ordinance of secession.
The Secession Ordinance. — This document de-
clared that the Northern states, by their attacks
upon slavery, had violated the eonstitntion of the
United States, and that the power of the government
was now being used to oppress the slave states. For
^^"4%s
*l%1r
these reasons Texas was declared wholly separate
and free from the United States. At the same time
the convention voted to join the Southern Confed-
eracy. The ordinance was passed in the conven-
tion by a vote of one hundred and sixty-six to
seven, and it was later voted on by the people and
approved, A great many people in Texas were
very sorry to have to withdraw from the Union, but
two things caused them to vote for secession: (1)
they believed that the interests of Texas lay with
212 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
the South rather than with the North, and (2) they
believed that the North had no right to keep the
Southern states in the Union by force, if they wanted
to withdraw.
Houston tries to prevent secession. — Governor
Houston, however, opposed secession at every step.
He said in one of his public speeches: *^You may,
after the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure
and hundreds of thousands of precious lives, as a
bare possibility, win Southern independence, if God
be not against you; but I doubt it. I tell you that
while I believe with you in the doctrine of state
rights, the North is determined to preserve this
Union. ' '
The convention deposes Houston. — ^But all his pro-
tests were in vain. The convention demanded that
all the officers of the state should come before it
and swear allegiance to the Confederacy. Houston
refused to do so. The convention then declared
the . office of governor vacant, and Edward Clark,
the lieutenant-governor, was installed as governor.
Houston at first refused to give up the office, but
he declined to use force to sustain himself. ^ ' I love
Texas too well,'' said he, ^'to bring civil strife and
bloodshed upon her. To avert this calamity I shall
make no endeavor to maintain my authority as chief
executive of the state, except by the peaceful exer-
cise of my functions. I protest in the name of the
people of Texas against all the acts and doings of
CIVIL WAR AND BECONSTEUCTION 213
this convention and declare them null and void.'^
But he was forced to yield. He retired to his home
at Huntsville, where he died two years later at the
age of seventy.
Volunteers from Texas. — Jefferson Davis, the
president of the new Confederacy, began at once
to organize an army for the approa^ching struggle.
When he called on Texas for volunteers there was
a quick response. Many of those who had opposed
secession now entered the army, declaring that they
would stand by their state in the hour of peril. It
is impossible to find out just how many men went
from Texas into the Confederate armies during the
war, but there were probably about fifty thou-
sand. Among them were Hood's Brigade, Gran-
bury 's Brigade, Boss's Brigade, Terry's Eangers,
and the Eleventh Texas Cavalry. All of these won
undying glory for themselves and for Texas by
their dashing valor on the field of battle, but it
will not be possible for us to follow their story
here.
The war in Texas. — ^Fortunately for the people
of Texas, there was less fighting here than in any
other state of the Confederacy. Only three or four
attempts were made by the Northern armies to
invade Texas, and all of them failed. The most
important of these were the capture of Galveston,
the attack on Sabine Pass, and the attempts to enter
Texas by the Eio Grande and the Bed Eiver.
214
A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
The capture and retaking of Galveston. — Although
the Northern armies could not at first get to Texas,
there were a number of warships which sailed up
and down the Galf coast trying to prevent the
Texans from trading by sea with foreign nations.
On October 4, 1862, after the war had been going
on for a year and a half, some of these ships
determined to make an attack on Galveston. The
Confederate troops who were defending the island
were unprepared for battle and withdrew to the
mainland, leaving the city in the hands of the
Federals, as the Union soldiers were called. But
Galveston was the chief seaport of Texas, and was
too important a place to leave in the hands of the
enemy. Besides there was danger that the Federals
CIVIL WAE AND EECONSTRUCTION 215
might land an army there for the invasion of Texas.
So General Magruder planned to recapture the city.
Two cotton steamers at Houston were fitted up as
gunboats, and on their decks, protected by cotton
bales, were placed a number of volunteers, armed
with rifles and shot-guns. These *^ cotton-clad s,'^
as the boats were called, were to slip down Buffalo
Bayou and across Galveston Bay and attack the
United States vessels in the harbor. At the same
time about a thousand men, with a few cannon, were
to cross the Bay secretly, and attack the garrison
by land. On the night of De.cember 31, 1862, the
plan was carried out. Before daybreak on New
Year's morning the land force had driven the gar-
rison to the extrenie northern end of the island,
where it surrendered. In the meantime, the cotton-
clad steamers arrived and captured all but four
or five of the enemy's ships. It was a brilliant
victory for the Confederates, and General Magruder
and his men received the thanks of President Davis
and the Confederate Congress, as well as of the
Texas legislature.
Federal invasion repulsed at Sabine Pass. — ^The
second attempt to invade Texas came in September,
1863, when an army of five thousand Federals set
sail from New Orleans to Sabine Pass, with the
purpose of landing there and advancing on Beau-
mont and Houston. But this attempt failed more
signally than did the attempt to enter Texas by
216
A SCHOOL mSTOKT OP TK
way of Galveston. When the army reached Sabine
PasB and attacked the little fort there, its garrison of
forty-seven men, commanded by Lieutenant Dick
Bowling, not only repulsed them, but without losing
a single man captured two of their gunboats and
three hundred and fifty prisoners. After this dis-
aster the Federals gave up the attempt and returned
to New Orleans.
Attempted invasions by way of Brownsville and
of Red River. — ^About two months later came the
next attack, this time upon the town of Brownsville,
near the mouth of the Bio Qrande. One object of
CIVIL WAB AND BBC0N8TEUCTI0N
2ir
this invasion was to cut off the .cotton trade which
Texas was carrying on with Mexico. Another object
was to prevent the French, who had just seized
Mexico, from helping the Southern states in their
struggle for independence. There were very few
Confederate troops at
Brownsville at this time, and
General Banks with six
tiiousand Federals easily
captured the town. During
the summer of 1864, how-
ever, all but a handful of the
Federal soldiers were with-
drawn to make an attack on
East Texas. They went by
sea to New Orleans, and
planned to march up Bed
Eiver to Texas, but they
were defeated before reach-
ing the border of the state and the expedition was
abandoned. A little later the Federal troops were
withdrawn from Brownsville and Texas remained
free from attack during the rest of the war.
•Politics and elections.— During the war the few
men who were left in the state paid very little atten-
tion to politics. Governor Clark served for a short
time in 1861, and was then succeeded by F. R. Lub-
bock,' who exerted himself to the utmost to put the
• Francis Eichard Lubbock was born at Beaufort, South
218 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
state in good condition for defense, and to raise
men and supplies for the Confederate armies. He
was followed in 1863 by Governor Pendleton Mur-
rah,^ who was elected by a large majority over his
opponent, General T. J. Chambers. Murrah did all
in his power to keep up the strength of the state,
but long before the end of his term it was plain that
the Confederacy was slowly sinking to its fall.
How Texas furnished supplies to the Confederacy*
— Though the other Confederate states were pre-
vented, from trading with foreign powers by United
States warships which blockaded the coast, Texas
managed to Keep up an important trade with Mexico
throughout the war. This was of immense advan-
tage, not only to Texas, but to the whole Confed-
eracy, because goods brought into Texas were
shipped immediately to the suffering Confederate
armies throughout the South. But it was not only
Carolina, in 1815. He came to Texas in 1836, and the next
year was appointed comptroller of the Eepublic by President
Houston. Thereafter he took a prominent part in politics
and was elected lieutenant-governor in 1857. He served one
term as governor, 1861-1863, and then became a member of
the staff of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy.
In 1878 he was elected state treasurer, and held the ofl&ce for
twelve years. He died in 1905.
* Pendleton Murrah, a native of South Carolina, came to
Texas at an early day and settled at Marshall. He took an
active part in politics, and was elected to the legislature in
1857. When the Confederacy fell, he fled to Mexico, where
he shortly afterwards died.
CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 219
with goods brought from Mexico that Texas sup-
plied the Confederacy. Many small factories were
established in the state for the manufacture of cloth,
hats, shoes, blankets, tents and other necessities.
The state penitentiary at Huntsville was converted
into a great factory, and turned out large quantities
of military supplies, which were forwarded to Texas
soldiers in the field, or were sold to the Confederate
government. In fact, Texas became the store house
for the western part of the Confederacy, and sent
to the Southern armies large quantities of beef,
pork, corn, and other food stuffs. As every attempt
to invade the state failed, and as its industries were
not destroyed by the contending armies, Texas was
in a much better condition in every way when
the war closed than was any other state of the
Confederacy.
Home life during the war. — ^But even in Texas the
war brought hard times and great suffering. Many
things which we now consider necessary to every-
day life wefe then the greatest luxuries, or could
not be had at all. Calico was worth fifty dollars
a yard in Confederate money. Coffee could often
not be bought at any price, because there was none
in the country. The people, however, found that a
fair substitute for coffee could be made from parched
sweet potatoes, rye, or okra-beans, and this was gen-
erally used. For soda they burned corn-cobs and
used the ashes; while for medicines they were com-
220 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
pelled to use roots and herbs and the bark of certain
trees.
Sorrow at home. — ^But this was not the worst of
the situation. From nearly every home some one
had gone to join the army, and only the very old
men, the young boys, the women and girls, the
officers of the government, and others absolutely
needed to manage affairs, were left in the state.
You can easily imagine the unhappiness which set-
tled upon every home, for at any moment news
might come that some dearly beloved member of
the family had died on a far-off field of battle. * ' My
dear, dear brother, ^ ^ wrote a lady during that awful
time, *'we are filled with anxiety for himl Even if
he is spared through this fight, when and where
can we see him again ? . . . This is a cruel war. ' ^
How the women helped the soldiers. — ^But the
women did not begrudge their men to the Confed-
eracy. No one believed more strongly than they
in the right of -the South to withdraw from the
Union, and they wanted their soldiers to fight and
win.
No sacrifice was too great for them to make,
if it would only in,crease the comfort of the soldiers
in the field. They stripped their beds of blankets to
send to the army and cut up their flannel wrappers
to make the soldiers shirts. Little girls learned to .
knit socks, and little boys turned the spinning wheel
while their mothers spun wool and cotton from which
Civn, WAB AND BECONSTEUCnON
in
to weave cloth for the homesptin clothing that nearly
everybody wore. Sunday School classes and Ladies'
Aid Societies bnsded themselves in doing things for
the soldiers.
Loyalty of the slaves.— During the whole course
of the war the slaves remained for the most part
faithful to their
masters. "While the
men were away in
the army, they
guarded the homes
and protected the
defenseless women
and children. And
crops produced by
their labor on South-
em farms went far
to support the
Confederacy in its
struggle against the
government which
wished to free them.
Many a kind old slave loved his master's children as
if they were his own; and the old "black mammy"
was a cherished member of many Southern families.-
The end of the war. — ^But all efforts were in vain.
The North had too many men and too much money.
While the Southern soldiers often suffered for the
barest necessities of life, the Northern armies were
An Old-Tihx Neobo
222 A SCHOOL HI8T0BY OF TEXAS
usually supplied with abundance of food and com-
fortable clothing. At last the great Confederate
commander-in-chief, General Robert E. Lee,^ was
compelled to surrender to an army more than thrice
the size of his own. This occurred at Appomattox
Court House in Virginia, on
April 9, 1865— almost four
years to a day after the
struggle began. All was
now over. "Wherever the
news was heard, the Con-
federate armies broke up,
and the men returned to
their homes. Their joy at
seeing their loved ones
again was mixed with sor-
row that their cause was
lost, but they spent no time
General Robebt E. Led , . . -
in idle gnef. There was
work to do in restoring the state to prosperity, and
bravely they set themselves to the task.
' Robert Edward Lee, the great Confederate general, was
born in Virginia on January 19, 1807, and was educated at
West Point. He won distinction in the Mexican War, and
at the outbreak of the Civil War he was practically com-
mander-in-chief of the armies of the United States. He
believed that the Southern states had a right to withdraw from
the Union, but he did not think that it was wise at that time to
do BO. With a sad heart he resigned his place in the Federal
army, believing, like President Davis, that his first duty was
CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 223
2. RECONSTRUCTION
The problem of reconstruction. — The South was
not to be left in peace to recover from the effects
of the war. Its armies had surrendered, and it had
been forced to remain in the Union, but a great
many people in the North believed that the South-
erners would refuse to obey the laws of the United
States if they were allowed to manage their own
state governments, as they had done before the
war. These people were particularly afraid that the
Southerners would continue to treat the negroes
as slaves, although President Lincoln had issued a
proclamation during the war declaring them free.
How to prevent these things became the great ques-
tion at the North.
The establishment of garrisons in Texas. — The
federal forces began to arrive in Texas during the
summer of 1865, a few weeks after the break up
of the Confederate armies. On June 18 General
«
Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, and the next
day he issued a proclamation declaring the slaves
free. It is for this reason that the negroes of Texas
celebrate June 19 as '^ emancipation day.'' Other
to his state. In writing to his sister he said : ^TVith all my
devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of
an American citizen, I have not been able to make tip my mind
to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home.'^
After the war was over he served for several years as president
of Washington and Lee University. He died in 1870.
224 ,
A SCHOOL HISTOET OP TEXAS
soldiers were soon stationed at different points in
the state, and thus "reconstruction" was begun.
The President's plan of reconstruction. — ^At firsts
however, the people did not foresee the hardships
that were in store for them. President Andrew
Johnson was a Southern man, and, besides sympa-
thizing with the people of
the South, he believed that
they could be trusted to re-
turn to the Union and obey
its laws. He insisted there-
fore on only three things.
In the first place, the peo-
ple of each state must hold
a convention and declare
that secession from the Un-
ion had been illegal. This
would be the same thing in
effect as saying that they
had never been oat of the
Union. In the second place,
they must recognize the negroes as free. And in.
the third' place, they must declare that all debts
contracted by the state for the purpose of carrying
on the war were illegal, and would therefore not be
paid.
After doing these things the Southern states
would be restored to the Union. For the purpose
of carrying out this policy in Texas the president
J. Hauilton
CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 225
appointed A. J. Hamilton^ provisional governor of
the state.
The provisional government. — ^When he arrived
at Austin, the new governor found a difficult task
awaiting him. There had been no sort of govern-
ment in Texas for two months and everything was
in confusion. His first duty was to appoint officers
— ^judges, sheriffs, clerks, tax assessors and col-
lectors, county commissioners, and others — all over
the state and to restore order. This took a long
time, because the mail service had not yet been
restored, and there were almost no telegraph lines
or railroads. But the people generally gave the gov-
ernor their support, and by November his efforts to
restore order had been so far successful that he
issued a proclamation calling for the election of dele-
gates to meet in convention at Austin in February,
1866.
Regular government restored. — The convention
met on February 7, 1866, and the president .^s plan
was put before the delegates. For some of them it
^ Andrew Jackson Hamilton was a native of Alabama who
had come to Texas in 1847. He was a very able man and a
remarkable orator, and became prominent both in law and
politics. He served the state as attorney-general, and in
1859 was elected to the United States Congress. Being
strongly opposed to secession, and refusing to support the
Confederacy, he left Texas and went to the North. He was a
prominent figure in Texas throughout the reconstruction
period. He died in Austin in 1875.
228 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
went very much against the grain to carry out hia
wishes, but at last, after much bitter discussion,
secession, was declared illegal; the negroes were
acknowledged to be free, with the same rights before
the courts and with the same right to hold property
as the whitesj^ and the
state debts contracted dur-
ing the war were canceled.
In June, 1866, an election
was held for regular state
officers, and J. "W. Throck-
morton,=' who had been
president of the conven-
tion, was elected governor.
President Johnson then or-
dered Governor Hamilton
to turn over his office to
the newly elected governor;
and Throckmorton was in-
augurated in August, 1866.
The new legislature mot at the same time. After
more than a year of waiting, the people were now
under a government of their own choosing. They
' Until that time the negroes did not have equal rights
with the whites. They could not appear as witnesses in
court, sit on juries, or vote.
* James W. Throckmorton was a native of Tennessee, and
came to Texas in 1841 at the age of sixteen. He had repre-
sented Collin County in the legislature before the war, and
as a member of the convention in 1861, had strongly opposed
CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 227
thought that their greatest troubles were over, but
we shall see that they were sadly mistaken.
Congress establishes military government, 1867. —
Congress was now controlled by the most radical
leaders of the Eepublican party, and they thought
that the president's plan of reconstru,ction was too
easy for the South. So they refused to permit the
senators and representatives from the Southern
states to take their seats in Congress. They then
passed a law placing the whole South under mili-
tary rule, and provided that this should continue in
each state until the people proved their good inten-
tions by adopting a constitution giving the negroes
the right to vote and hold oflBce. They also required
the people to accept the fourteenth amendment to
the constitution of the United States, which guaran-
teed to the negroes the right to hold property, to
appear as witnesses in court, and to sit on juries.
[When this should be done, the Southern states would
be restored. General Philip Sheridan, who had made
a record as a dashing cavalry oflBcer during the war,
secession, being one of the seven who voted against it. Declar-
ing then that he would stand by his state, he joined the Con-
federate army as a private, but rapidly rose to the rank of
brigadier general. During most of the war he was commis-
sioner to the Indians beyond Eed River. During reconstruc-
tion he was one of the most prominent figures in the state, and
Texas has never had a more honest official. He afterwards
served four terms as a member of Congress. He died at
McKinney in 1894.
238 A SCHOOL HI8T0BT OF TEXAS
■was commander of the troops in Texas and Louis-
iana, but in his dealings with the people he proved
to be an extremely harsh and unjust official. He
set aside whatever laws he did not like, and began
removing state and county officers on the charge
that they were hostile to the general government.
Thu Ootebnob'b Mansion
The removal of Governor Throckmorton. — Gov-
ernor Throckmorton tried to carry out the orders of
Sheridan and the laws of Congress, though he did
not approve of them. But General Sheridan was-
determined to get rid of him, so on July 30, 1867,
he ordered Throckmorton to give up his office, say-
ing that he was " an impediment to reconstruction."
CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION 229
In his place Sheridan appointed ex-Governor E. M.
Pease. The choice was a very good one, for Pease
was one of the wisest and best men in the radical
Eepublican party. He had made a good governor
before the war (1853-1857), and though he was now
unpopular, as any radical would have been, it was
better to have a Texan as governor than to have
some one who was a stranger to the state.
Hardships of reconstruction. — In many ways the
period of reconstruction was more distressing to the
white people of Texas than the war had been. The
garrisons scattered here and there over the state
we're a constant irritation, and frequent quarrels
between the citizens and the soldiers kept the coun-
try in an uproar. General Sheridan and his officers
removed many of the state and county officials,
claiming that they were not in sympathy with the
plan of Congress. Some of the offices remained
vacant, but many of them were filled by the appoint-
ment of '^ carpet-baggers" and *' scalawags,"^ fo^
most of whom the people then had little respect.
It became impossible to enforce the laws, and crimes
of the worst sort became shockingly commpn. Mean-
^ After the war a great many men from the North came
South in the hope of being appointed to office under the
reconstruction governments. They frequently brought all
their belongings in a carpet-bag and for that reason they were
called "carpet-baggers." "Scalawags" were Southern white
men who sided with the "carpet-baggers" and negroes.
230 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
while, bands of idle negroes wandered about the
country refusing to work, though many fields lay
unplanted for want of laborers.
The condition of the negroes. — ^When General
Granger issued his proclamation from Galveston in
June, 1865, declaring slavery at an end, the people
generally gathered their slaves around them and
told them that they were free. Some of the slaves
preferred to stay with their former masters, but
most of them thought that in order to show that
they were really free they must quit work and
gather about the towns and military camps. They
were very ignorant, and did not realize that the
free man must work for his living as well as the
slave. In fact, many honestly believed that the
government which had been kind enough to set
them free would see to it that they did not suffer
want. The Freedmen^s Bureau, a sort of branch
of the United States army that had been estab-
lished to advise and protect the ex-slaves, did great
service in supplying food to the helpless negroes,
in maintaining schools for thein, and in giving them
advice about making labor contracts. But the oflS-
cers of the Bureau were suspicious of the Southern-
ers and frequently did harm by unwisely taking the
part of the negroes against them. Sometimes, too,
designing men who were not officers of the Bureau
gained influence over the negroes and tried to set
them against their former owners.
CIVIL WAR AND EECONSTRUCTION 231
The Union League. — The object of such men was
to control the votes of the negroes, who had now
been given the right to vote, and for this purpose
they organized them into what were called ' ^ Union
Leagues. '^ In these organizations the negroes were
taught how to vote, and were told for whom to cast
their ballots. In some cases they were organized
into military companies by their white leaders and
were supplied with guns and uniforms. This added
greatly to their feeling of importance, and made it
hard for their former masters to teach them to settle
down and live peaceably with their white neighbors.
The Ku Klux Elan. — The conservative white men
of the South were opposed to these negro leagues
for two reasons. In the first place, they thought
that it was a great mistake to allow the ignorant
negroes, who had so re,cently been liberated from
slavery, to vote and take part in making and enforc-
ing the laws. In the second place, they thought that
it was dangerous for the negroes to be going about
the country in military companies with arms in
their hands. So, to hold the negroes in check, to
prevent them from voting, and to keep them away
from the Union Leagues, the white men organized
a society of their own, known as the Ku Klux Klan.
This society, which started in Tennessee, quickly
spread over all the Southern states. Its members
would ride out in the still hours of the night, clad
in long white robes, with masks on their faces and
232 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
high peaked hats on their heads, and visiting the
huts of the negroes, would represent themselves as
the spirits of Southern white men killed in battle.
They would search the cabins for guns and warn
the terror-stricken negroes to keep away from the
Union Leagues, and to stay away from the polls on
election day. Usually a second visit was unneces-
sary. When the state governments were on,ce more
securely established and public order was restored,
the need for such a society passed away and it grad-
ually disappeared.
The new state government established. — ^You
remember that in 1866 the people of Texas adopted
a constitution which declared that secession was
illegal, that the negroes were free, and that the
debt created by the state during the war was void
and should not be paid. But, as we have seen, this
constitution and the government established under it
did not satisfy Congress, which passed a law that, (1)
established military rule, and (2) required the state
to make a new constitution whi,ch should guarantee
to the negroes the right to vote. It also provided
that the negroes should have a right to vote for
delegates to the convention which was to make this
constitution. So, in 1868, after the negroes had
been enrolled as voters and had been told how to
vote by white leaders of the Union Leagues, Gov-
ernor Pease ordered the election of delegates. As
most of the white men who had fought in the South-
CrVTL WAE AND RECONSTEXJCTION 233
em armies were not allowed to vote, a majority
of the delegates were radical Eepublicans, and a
few of them were negroes. When they met in
Austin in June, 1868, two opposing factions sprang
up among them and they spent many weeks in bitter
wrangling.^ So many of the delegates became dis-
gusted with the proceedings and went home that
in February, 1869, no quorum could be obtained
for carrying on business, and the convention came
to an end. The constitution was still unfinished,
but it was soon put into final form by the secretary
of the convention, acting under the orders of the
military commander in Texas, and was ratified by
the people at an election held in November, 1869.
At the same time an election for state oflBcers was
held, and Edmund J. Davis,^ after one of the bitter-
est political contests ever waged in Texas, won the
office of governor over his opponent, A. J. Hamilton.
^ The convention consumed a great deal of time in discuss-
ing plans for dividing Texas into two or three states, and
came very near to making the division ; but through the efforts
of ex-Governor Hamilton better counsel prevailed and the
state remained undivided.
^ Edmund J. Davis was a native of Florida. He came to
Texas in 1848, and settled at Corpus Christi, where he became
district judge. Refusing to agree to secession, he left Texas
in 1861 and joined the Northern army. He was a member
of the constitutional convention of 1866 and was president of
the convention of 1868. He was governor from 1870 to 1874.
334 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Texas re-admitted to the Union. — In February,
1870, the legislature elected under the new consti-
tution met and promptly ratified the fourteenth and
fifteenth amendments to the constitution oi the
United States.^ It then elected two senators and
asked Congress to allow the senators and representa-
tives to take their seats. Texas had now done all
that was required of it. It had declared secession
illegal; it had cancelled the war debt; it had set
the slaves free, and in the constitution which .the
negroes had helped to make, it granted them the
same civil and political rights as were enjoyed by
white men; and finally it had ratified the amend-
ments to the federal constitution. So, on March 30^
1870, Texas was re-admitted to the Union, and
the next day its representatives and senators were
allowed to take their seats in Congress.
Oppressive character of radical government in
Texas. — ^But although Texas had regained its place
in the Union, the government was still in the hands
of men who had little sympathy for the people.
The reason for this was that they had been elected
before the state was re-admitted to the Union, when
^ The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution provides
that no state shall deprive any citizen of the United States of
the right to vote on account of ^^race, color, or previous con-
dition of servitude/' Texas was required to ratify it, as
well as the Fourteenth Amendment, before the state would
be restored to its place in the Union.
CIVIL WAB AND REC0N8TBUCTI0N gsg
nearly all of those who had supported the Confed-
eracy were denied the right of voting. Governor
Davis knew that a majority of the people of the
state were opposed to him, and he believed that they
would not obey the laws unless compelled to do
so. For this reason the legislature allowed him to
appoint judges, sheriffs, and even city officials who
should have been elected by
the people. At the same time
he organized a police force
of about three hundred oflS-
cers and men, called the
state police. These men did
a great deal of good in rid-
ding the state of outlaws
and desperadoes; but they
were a reckless band and
committed so many outrages
upon peaceable citizens that
they became greatly disliked.
The governor also stationed
troops at the polls on election days, and in several '
instances established military rule and, in violation
of the right of trial by jury, tried men accused of
crimes by military courts.
Extravagajice of the state legislature. — In addi-
tion to these oppressive measures of the governor,
the legislature became very unpopular as a result
of its reckless use of the state's money and the
336 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
rapid increase in the rate of taxation. The tax
rate was fourteen times what it had been in 1866.
Finally, in September, 1871, there was held in Austin
a great gathering of men of every party to protest
against the oppressive rule of the radicals, and the
waste of public money of which they were guilty*
In this meeting, which was known as the Tax-
Payers' Convention, ninety-four counties were rep-
resented, and among the delegates were such well-
known Eepublicans as ex-Governors Pease and A. J.
Hamilton, and United States Senator Morgan C.
Hamilton. The convention adopted strong resolu-
tions denouncing the government of the radical
Eepublicans and declaring that it was trying to
place all power in the hands of one man.^
The overthrow of radical rule. — The strength of
the opposition to Governor Davis showed itself at
the first opportunity. This was at the election held
in October, 1871, when the Democrats elected all
their candidates for Congress. In November, 1872,
^ One of the resolutions said : "The violations of the con-
^stitution and disregard of law have been very frequent and
very numerous ; but, frequent as they have been and numerous
as they are, we have been unable to find a single one of either
class based on an honest desire to accomplish good to the
people of the state, or to secure the prosperity of the country.
On the contrary, their apparent cause seems uniformly to
spring from one grand purpose: to concentrate power in the
hands of one man and to emasculate the strength of the
citizens of Texas as a free people.'^
CIVIL WAE AND EECONSTEUCTION 237
the state elections were held. There was no election
for governor at that time, because, under the con-
stitution of 1869, Davis had been elected to hold
• office for four years; but this same constitution
' restored the right of voting to most of the ex-
Confederates who had been
denied this privilege during
the period of military rule.
Nearly all of these new vot-
ers were Democrats and
"they were able to elect all
the members of Congress
from Texas that year, and to
secure a majority in both
branches of the state leg-
islature. The final struggle
came in 1873. The Demo-
crats nominated Richard
Coke' for governor and
Eiehard B. Hubbard for
lieutenant-governor, and after an exciting campaign
they were elected over Governor Davis by a vote of
two to one. Davis, who was very angry, declared
^ Richard Coke was horn and educated in Virginia. He
came to Texas in 1850 and eatahlished himself in the practice
of law at Waco. He served in the Confederate army and
rose to the rank of captain. He was elected to the supreme
court in 1866 but was removed along witli Governor Throck-
morton as an impediment to reconstruction. In 1876, he
resigned as governor and became United States Senator. This
place be held for eighteen years. He died in 1897.
238 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
that the election was illegal, and said that he would
not give up the office. While on the second floor of
the capitol the newly elected legislature was inaugu-
rating Coke and Hubbard, Governor Davis remained ^
in possession of his quarters on the first floor. He ,
telegraphed President Grant for soldiers to help
him, and it seemed for a time that there might be
bloodshed, but the president refused to have any-
thing to do with the matter. Two days later Davis
changed his mind and vacated the office, and Coke
took possession without interference, January 17,
1874.
The constitution of 1876. — Texas was now not
only a state of the Union, but the government was
once more in the hands of its own people. One
thing remained, however, to remind the people of
the painful period of reconstruction. That was the
reconstruction constitution of 1869, which was still
in force. There were many things in that constitu-
tion that the people did not like, and so a conven-
tion was held in 1875 and a new constitution was
made. It was ratified by the people the next year,
and it is this constitution which is still in force.
Summary. — Early in 1861 a state convention met
at Austin and passed an ordinance of secession
which was approved by a vote of the people. Texas
then joined the Confederate States. In the war
which followed, very little fighting occurred in
Texas. Galveston was taken by the Federals in
CIVIL WAR AND EECONSTRUCTION 230
October, 1862, but was retaken by the Texans on
January 1, 1863. An atta,ck upon Sabine Pass was
brilliantly repulsed, and though the United States .
troops managed to hold Brownsville for a while,
they never got a footing in the state. From Texas
ranches and plantations vast quantities of food sup-
plies went to the Confederate armies, and large
amounts of other goods were imported through
Mexico or manufactured in the state. Though they
endured great privations, the women and children
and even the slaves worked loyally for the soldiers.
But the Southern armies were outnumbered and
crushed; the Federals took possession of Texas in
June, 1865, and declared the slaves free. Then fol-
lowed the stormy '^ reconstruction " times. First,
President Johnson established a provisional govern-
ment, which, in 1866, gave way to officers elected by
the people. But Congress rejected this plan of res-
toration, and passed laws in March, 1867, putting
the South back under military rule. Governor
Throckmorton was removed. The negroes were
given the right to vote, and many of the whites were
disfraii,chised. A great deal of trouble followed.
A new constitution was framed by the radicals in
1869, and E. J. Davis was elected governor. Then,
in 1870, Texas was restored to the Union. While
Davis was governor many harsh laws were passed .
by the legislature, and a great deal of public money
was wasted. In 1872, the Democrats got control
240 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
of the legislature, and in 1873 they elected Eichard
Coke governor. In 1876 a new constitution was rati-
fied by the people.
QUESTIONS
1. Why did the people of Texas wish to secede from the
United States?
2. How was the secession convention called?
3. What did the ordinance of secession declare? What
was the vote for and against it in the Convention ?
4. What was Governor Houston's opinion of secession?
Why was he deposed ?
5. About how many Texans joined the Confederate
armies? Name some of the famous regiments and brigades
of Texans?
6. What do you think is the reason there was so little
fighting in Texas?
7. Describe the loss and recapture of Galveston.
8. What other attempts were made by the Federals to in-
vade Texas and how did they result? Trace on the map, p.
216, the plan of invasion by way of Sabine Pass.
9. Who were the governors of Texas during the war ?
10. Why was there so little interest in politics at that
time?
11. Why was Texas called the storehouse of the western
part of the Confederacy ?
12. How was Texas able to maintain a foreign trade in
spite of the blockade?
13. What was done in the wav of manufactures in
Texas ?
14. Describe some of the hardships endured by the people.
15. How did the slaves conduct themselves during the
war?
CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTEUCTION 241
16. How and when did the war come to an end ?
17. What was the problem of reconstruction, as viewed by
the Northern people?
18. Why do the negroes of Texas celebrate the 19th of
June? .
19. "What was President Johnson^s plan of reconstruction ?
What must each state do in order to be restored to the Union ?
20. Who was appointed provisional governor? In what
condition did he find Texas? What did he do first?
21. When did the Convention meet? What did it do?
22. When were the regular elections held, and who was
chosen governor?
23. How did Congress regard the President's plan of
reconstruction?
24. W^ere the Southern states allowed representation in
Congress ?
25. Who was placed in military command of Texas ? How
did he act toward Texas ?
26. Why was Governor Throckmorton removed ? Who was
selected to succeed him?
27. What were the chief troubles of the people during
reconstruction? Why did the policy of Sheridan make mat-
ters worse?
28. Who were ^^carpet-baggers'* and ^^scalawags''?
29. What did the negroes do after they were freed ?
30. What was the purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau?
What good and what harm did it do?
31. What were Union Leagues? Why did the whites
oppose them? How did the whites 'try to keep the negroes
away from the Leagues?
32. What was the reason for a new Constitutional Conven-
tion in 1868 ?
33. How did the negroes first get the right to vote?
242 A SCHOOL HISTOBY OP TEXAS
34. What party elected the majority of delegates to the
convention of 1868 ? Why ? What did the convention do ?
35. How was the constitution put into final form ? When
was it ratified by the people ?
36. Who were the candidates for governor in 1869 ? Who
was elected ?
37. When was Texas readmitted to the Union? What had
it been compelled to do before it was readmitted ?
38. Did the people regain control of the state government
at once? Why? What was Governor Davis's opinion of the
people ?
39. What was the state police force ? What good and what
harm did it do?
40. How did the governor misuse his military power?
41. Why did the legislature become unpopular?
42. Tell what you can about the TUx-Payers' Convention.
43. How was the strength of the opposition to Governor
Davis first shown?
44. Explain the victories of the Democrats in 1872.
45. Who was elected governor in 1873?
46. Why did Davis refuse to give up his oflBce? How did
he try to keep possession ? Why did he yield ?
47. Why was another constitutional convention held in
1875? Do we still live under the constitution which it
framed ?
ADDITIONAL BEADING
The Capture and Retaking of Galveston: Bolton and
Barker, With the Makers of Texas, 293-298; Davis, Under
Six Flags, 157, 160-162.
The Battle of Sabine Pass : Davis, 163-165 ; '^rave Dick
Dowling,^' in Littlejohn's Texas History Stories.
Home Life During the War : Bolton and Barker, 290-292,
306-310; Davis, 158-160.
CHAPTEE X
THE STATE SINCE BECONSTBUCTION: FORTY YEABS OF
PBOGBESS (1874-1912)
Character of the period. — ^With the close of recon-
struction, Texas regained its place in the Union
and its people were once more in charge of their
own public affairs. The state now entered upon
a period of rapid development which has continued
without any serious interruptions down to the pres-
ent time. With the return of settled .conditions,
industry and commerce took on new life, railroad
building began again and went forward as never
before, towns and cities sprang up on every side,
and a great tide of immigration set in from the older
Southern states, and from the North and East as
well. To the study of this happy period the remain-
der of this book is devoted. The present chapter
gives a brief account of the leading events of the
staters history from 1876 to the present time. The
next chapter tells of the growth of population and
industry, while the last chapter describes our system
of public education.
The second election of Coke and Hubbard.— In
February, 1876, Governor Coke and Lieutenant-
Governor Hubbard were re-elected for a term of two
243
OOVEONOK JAUES STEPnBN UOOO
THE STATE SINCE EECONSTRUCTION 245
years. A little later Coke resigned the olBce of gov-
ernor to enter the United States Senate, to which
the legislature elected him. As a result Hubbard*
became, governor and served for the remainder of
the term. The question of the staters finances was
the most pressing problem with which the new
state government had to deal.
Financial condition of Texas in 1876. — ^When the
democrats got control of the government in 1874,
the finances of the state were in very bad condition.
The public debt was about five million dollars. In
addition, the government had promised to pay to
the Texas and Pacific and the International and
Great Northern railroad companies ten thousand
dollars in bonds for every mile of track they would
build in the state. The object of this was to encour-
age railroad building in order to develop the coun-
^ Richard B. Hubbard, bom in 1832, was a native of
Georgia. He was educated at Mercer College and later studied
law in the University of Virginia and in Harvard. At the
age of twenty-one, he settled in Tyler, Texas, and began the
practice of his profession. During the Civil War, he dis-
tinguished himself in the Confederate service and rose to the
rank of colonel. In 1873, he was elected lieutenant-governor
and was re-elected in 1876, When Coke entered the United
States Senate, Hubbard became governor. During President
Cleveland's administration, ex-Governor Hubbard was sent as
minister to Japan, and upon his return to this country he
published a book on Japan. He died at his home in Tyler
in 1901.
346 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
try, but it was an arrangement which might have
involved the state in an additional debt of ten or
twelve million dollars. Although the rate of taxa-
tion was excessively high, the treasury was empty,
the state '6 credit was ruined, and its warrants were
being sold at a heavy discount.
How this condition was improved. — The most
rigid economy and careful management were needed
to meet this critical situation. The salaries of public
officials were reduced and all unnecessary expenses
were avoided. A ^compromise was made with the
railroads by which they were given twenty sec-
tions of public land per mile instead of the state
bonds which had been promised. A portion of each
year's taxes was set aside to create a sinking
fund for the purpose of paying the interest and dis-
charging the principal of the public debt. No one
was more successful in overcoming these difficulties
than was Governor 0. M. Eoberts, who served from
1879 to 1883.^ He adopted as the motto of his
^ South Carolina sent many men to Texas, but none of them
left a stronger impress upon the state than did Oran M.
Eoberts. He was educated at the University of Alabama,
from which he graduated in 1836. Five years later he came
to Texas and opeued a law office at San Augustine. He was
made colonel of the Eleventh Texas Infantry during the
Civil War, but was elected chief justice of the supreme court
of Texas before the war was over. In 1866 he was elected
United States Senator from Texas but as the state had not
yet been readmitted to the Union, he was not allowed to take
THE STATE SINCE EECONSTKUCTION- 247
administration the injunction, **Pay as you go,^' and
enforced it rigidly in every branch of the govern-
ment. So successful was this policy that in his
final message to the legislature in 1883 he was able
to report that during his two terms nearly a million
and a half dollars had been paid on the state's debt,
and the taxes had been reduced from fifty cents to
thirty cents on a hundred dollars' worth of property.
Other governors have continued the good work
begun by Governor Eoberts. The state 's debt is now
reduced to a very small amount, and the general
property tax is only about twelve cents on each hun-
dred dollars' worth of property. This is about one-
fourth of the rate that was paid in 1871.
The restoration of public order. — Most of the vio-
lence of the early years of reconstruction had passed
away before the close of that period. Much dis-
order still remained, however, and the governors
under the new constitution set themselves resolutely
to the task of stamping it out. Governor Hubbard
was especially active in the enforcement of the laws,
offering large rewards for the capture and convic-
his seat. He was again elected chief justice in 1874, and held
the position until his election as governor in 1878. Wliile
governor he was largely instrumental in getting the University
of Texas started and at the close of his second term he became
professor of law in that institution. During the ten years of
his service in that position he exercised a powerful influence
over all the young men who attended his classes. He resigned
in 1893 and died in 1898.
348 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
tion of outlaws. Among those prosecuted were sev-
eral groups of daring land thieves. They maintained
oflS,ces in some of the large cities of the state, and
were engaged in forging deeds to lands belonging
to other people. These gangs were now broken up
and a number of the forgers were sent to the
penitentiary.
Fence cutting. — ^Another matter that gave consid-
erable trouble was the strife that grew up between
the farmers and ranchmen in the western part of
the state. The ranchmen were buying and leasing
large tracts of public land and were enclosing them
with wire fences, which were just then coming into
use. They sometimes enclosed school lands to which
they had no right, thus unjustly depriving the farm-
ers of pasturage for their stock. In some cases they
would leave no roads or gates and would completely
f en,ce in small farmers or settlers, whom they called
^^nesters.'' This greatly angered the settlers and
they began cutting the fences of the ranchmen.
Sometimes for many miles the wires would be
clipped between all the posts. Finally in 1884 the
trouble became so common and the feeling between
the ranchmen so bitter that Governor Ireland^ called
' ^ John Ireland was a native of Kentucky who began life
as a poor boy. He worked to pay his expenses while attending
a country school, and began studying law at the age of twenty-
four. He came to Texas before the war and settled at
Seguin. Like Hubbard and Eoberts, he entered the Con-
THE STATE SINCE EECONSTBUCTION 249
a special session of the legislature to deal with the
matter. A law was passed punishing fence-cutters
with a term in the penitentiary. This put a stop to
the fence cutting, and protected the fences of the
ranchmen. The stockmen, on the other hand, were
required to leave all public roads open, to put in
gates every three miles, and to pay for any damage
they had done by fencing in the land of settlers.
The burning of the old capitol. — ^As the result of
an accidental fire, the old state capitol at Austin
was completely destroyed on the afternoon of
November 9, 1881. Practically everything in it was
lost, including the state library, which contained
many valuable books, documents, and historic relics.
The capitol building itself, however, was regarded
as of small value, for it was wholly unsuited to
the needs of a rapidly growing state like Texas.
In fact, plans had already been made for the con-
struction of a suitable State House, and three mil-
lion acres of land in the Panhandle of Texas had
been set apart to pay for it.
The new capitol. — Governor Eoberts called a spe-
cial session of the legislature, which, after providing
for the erection of a temporary capitol building at
federate army and rose to the rank of colonel. He served in
both branches of the state legislature and was a member of the
state supreme court. He served two terms as governor. Retir-
ing from the oflB.ce in 1887, he' resumed the practice of law in
Seguin, where he died in 1896.
250 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
the foot of Capitol Hill, made provision for the
immediate construction of the new capitol. A board
of commissioners, with Governor Eoberts at its head,
was created to take charge of the work. This board
made a contract with a company of Chicago capital-
ists who agreed to build the capitol in exchange
for the three million acres of land. The comer-
stone was laid on Texas Independence day, 1885, and
the building was completed and dedicated with elab-
orate ceremonies on May 16, 1888. Governor Eoss^
had the honor of being the first governor to occupy
the new building. The Capitol is a building worthy
of Texas. It is built of the famous red granite of
Burnet county, and is probably the most substantial
capitol building in the United States. In size, it is
second only to the national capitol at "Washington,
and at the time of its completion it was said that
^ Lawrence Sullivan Eoss, one of the distinguished governors
of Texas, was a native of Iowa, but was reared in Texas. Like
Eoberts, he was a graduate of the University of Alabama.
While yet a young man he won distinction as an Indian fighter.
On one of his campaigns against the Comanches, he captured
the long lost Cynthia Ann Parker. She had been captured
by the Indians when a girl of nine. When the Civil War
broke out, Eoss entered the Confederate army as a private
and rose to the rank of brigadier general. He held a number
of public offices in Texas and was twice elected governor of the
state by large majorities. At the end of his term of office, he
became president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Texas, which position he held until his death in 1898.
THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION
251
there were only six larger buildings in the world.
It is in the form of a Greek cross, being five hundred
and sixty feet long and two hundred and eighty
feet broad. It is surmounted by a magnificent dome
that rises to the height of more than three hundred
feet.
The loss of Greer county.— What is known as the
Greer county question gave the public men of Texas
considerable trouble
for a number of years.
This was a contro-
V e r s y between the
State of Texas and
the government of the
United States over
the interpretation of
the treaty which the
United States made
with Spain in 1819.
At that time Spain
was still in possession
of Texas, and this treaty declared that the northern
boundary of Texas was to follow the Eed Eiver
westward to where it is crossed by the one hundredth
meridian. Later, when the upper courses of the river
were explored, it was found to have two branches,
and a question at once arose as to which should
be regarded as the principal branch. If the
north fork were so regarded, the land lying
Greeb County
g52 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
between the forks would belong to Texas; bnt if
tbe south fork were the true Red River, the land
FOUB DlSTINQUIBHED GOVERNOES
would belong to the United States. Texas at an
early day asstuned that the north fork was the
Bed River proper, and organized the land into a
THE STATE SINCE BECONSTRUCTION 253
county, and established courts and public schools.
The United States asserted that the south fork was
the main stream and laid claim to the land as a
part of the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. Texas
finally carried the question to the Supreme Court
of the United States and, in 1896, a decision was
rendered in favor of the United States. Many
Texans have never .ceased to regret the loss of this
fine territory.
Governor Hogg and railroad regulation. — ^Proba-
bly the most important political problem which
Texas has met and solved since the days of recon-
struction is the proper regulation of the railroads
and express companies doing business in the state.
The most prominent m^n in working out this prob-
lem was Governor James Stephen Hogg,^ the father
of the Texas Eailroad Commission. A brief account
must be given of the struggle that resulted in the
creation of this commission.
^ James Stephen Hogg, the first native Texan to rise to the
office of governor, was certainly one of the greatest public
men that the state has ever produced. He was distinctly a
"self made man/^ for at the age of twelve his father died and
he was left to support himself and to get such education as
he could pick up at the country schools. For a time he pub-
lished a country newspaper called the Longview News. Later
he studied law and at the age of twenty-four was admitted to
the bar. He was elected county attorney, then district attor-
ney, and in 1886 he became attorney general of the state. His
254 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Why the railroads needed regulating. — The people
of Texas were very liberal in assisting railroad com-
panies that wished to build in the state. The gov-
ernment granted them liberal charters and gave
them large tracts of the public lands; while coun-
ties and cities sometimes voted them bonds, and
the people along the routes gave them the rights
of way and large sums of money. For these favors
the railroad companies seemed to the people to be
utterly ungrateful. Though the amounts which the
roads charged for carrying passengers and freight
were probably no higher than was necessary in a
sparsely settled country such as Texas then was,
the people thought that the rates were too high and
demanded that they be reduced. Besides, the rail-
roads were often unjust in their charges. They fre-
quently charged a favored shipper a smaller amount
for carrying his goods than they charged other
persons for carrying their goods an equal distance,
thus giving the former an unjust advantage over
his rivals in business. In the same way they would
success in this office and his great ability as a leader of men
made him governor in 1890, and re-elected him in 1892 in the
face of the opposition of the railroads and other powerful
corporations. At the close of his second t^rm he took up the
practice of law, first in Austin, and later in Houston. But he
always took an active interest in public affairs, and was instru-
mental in securing the anti-free-pass law and other useful
measures. He died in March, 1906, at the age of fifty-five,
and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, in Austin.
THE STATE SINCE RECONSTEUCTION 255
give an unfair advantage to certain favored towns
by making lower freight rates to them than to other
towns the same distance away. Still another evil
arose from the granting of free passes to many rich
and influential shippers, while the poor men who
rode on the trains were forced to pay full fare.
These passes, too, were given in large numbers to
state and county officers and to officials of the courts.
It was thought that this was done in order to win
the favor of these officials. Finally the railroad
companies formed themselves into a league, or pool,
as it was called, for the purpose of keeping up the
rates on freight.
The Railroad Commission. — ^AU these abuses
caused a strong feeling against the railroads, and
the people began to demand that they treat all
shippers and passengers alike. Various laws were
passed for this purpose, but it was impossible to
make the railroads obey them. - At last the legisla-
ture submitted for popular approval an amendment
to the state constitution authorizing the legislature
to establish a railroad commission. James Stephen
Hogg was then attorney general. He had won great
prominence by breaking up the railroad pool just
mentioned and by forcing the railroads to surrender
large tra,cts of the public lands which, they wrong-
fully held. He now became a candidate for governor
in support of the proposed amendment, and was
nominated by the Democratic convention in 1890.
256
A SCHOOL HISTOBY OF TEXAS
In November he was eleoted by a large majority
over his Republican opponent. At the same elec-
tion the amendment was adopted by an equally large
majority. As a result of this victory at the polls
the legislature passed a law in 1891 creating a com-
mission of three men, appointed by the governor,
with power to investigate all
complaints against the rail-
roads and to fix the rates
which they could charge for
carrying freight and passen-
gers.
The first railroad commis-
sioners. — In big selection of
the first railroad commis-
sioners Governor Hogg
showed excellent judgment.
He named Judge W. P.
McLean, an able attorney
'''c3r."io". "sM-i'ii;"'' of Fort "Wbrthj Hon. L. L.
Poster, who was afterwards
president of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege; and, most important of all. Senator John H.
Eeagan,^ who had been prominent in all the public
' John H. Eeagan, bom in 1818, was a native of Tennessee.
At thirteen years of age he was forced to stop school and go
to work in the field in order to help support the family. But
he is said to have carried a small dictionary in his hat which
he studied whenever he stopped for a few moment's rest.
JCDOa JOHN H. BlAQUI
THE STATE SINCE EECONSTEUCTION 257
affairs of Texas for half a century. Much of the suc-
cess of the railroad commission has been due to the
ability and high character of these early commis-
sioners.
The fight on the commission. — The commission
created was not to escape without a fierce fight
for its life. The new commissioners had no sooner
entered upon their duties than the railways began
to disobeytheir orders, saying that the law creating
their office was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court
of the United States, however, decided that the law
was constitutional, and that put a stop to the efforts
of thp railroads in this direction. Their next move
was to try to defeat Governor Hogg and thus secure
a repeal or a modification of the commission law.
But in this also they failed, for in November, 1892,
after one of the bitterest campaigns ever known in
Later he attended college for a short time but his health
failed and his money gave out, and he had to stop. He came
to Texas in 1839. Here he took up the study and practice of
law and was elected to congress in 1856. This position he
held until the war broke out, when he resigned to become
postmaster general of the Confederacy. At the close of the
war he returned to his farm near Palestine, and in 1875 was
again elected to congress. After twelve years in the lower
house he entered the upper house as senator from Texas.
This position he resigned to become the first chairman of the
Texas Eailroad Commission. For many years before his
death in 1905 he was the last surviving member of the Con*
federate cabinet. Few names will live longer in Texas history
than that of Senator Eeagan.
:268 A SCHOOL HISTOR? OF TEXAS
Texas, Governor Hogg was re-elected by a substan-
tial majority.
. This ended the fight on the commission, and nearly
everybody now agrees that it has done a valuable
work for the people of Texas. A year or two later
the commissioners were made elective by popular
vote, instead of being appointed by the governor,
and their term of ofl5,ce was increased to six years.
At the same time they were given power -to control
the issuing of railroad stocks and bonds. Many
features of the Texas railroad commission have
been studied and copied by other states.
Anti-trust laws. — Closely connected with the reg-
ulation of the railways are the attempts that Texas
has made to suppress the trusts and monopolies
that have grown up in recent years. These trusts
are combinations formed by a number of manufac-
turers or merchants for the purpose of crushing out
their rivals in business and securing control of
the markets. To prevent the growth of such monop-
olies stringent anti-trust laws were passed in 1889,
and again in 1899, and in 1903. Under these laws
a number of suits were brought and some of the
combinations were fined and broken up and others
were driven from the state. By far the most impor-
tant of these anti-trust suits was that against the
Waters-Pierce Oil Company, which was a branch
of the Standard Oil Company, one of the greatest
monopolies that has ever existed. Attorney-General
THE STATE SINCE EECON8TBUCTI0N 25»
E. V. Davidson brought suit against this company
for violating our anti-trust law. He fought the case
through the United States Supreme Court, and in.
1908 finally succeeded in collecting a fine of about
two million dollars, one of the largest fines on record.
The company was also forbidden to do business in.
the state.
The Spanish War.— In the
spring of 1898, during the
second administration of
Governor Culberson,^ the
United States declared war
against Spain. One cause for
this war was the general dis-
gust felt by the American
people at the continued
cruelty practiced by the
Spanish commanders on the
Cuban revolutionists. An-
other cause was the blowing
up of the American battle-
ship "Maine" in the harbor of Havana. The people-
* of the United States believed that the Spanish
authorities in Havana were guilty of this great
' Charles A. Culberson came to this state from Alabama,
with his parents when he was only two years of age. His
father, David B. Culberson, was for many years a member of
the Texas delegation in congress and was recognized as one
of the profoundest jurists that this state has produced. Young
:260 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
•crime, and they practically demanded that Congress
.should declare war. The war was a very short one,
and Spain was speedily worsted both on the land
and the sea. As a result Cuba was freed from Spain
and the United States government helped the
Cubans to establish a free government of their own,
and then withdrew from the island.
The part played by Texans in the Spanish War. —
Upon the outbreak of the war. President McKinley
issued a call for volunteers, and Texas came forward
with her full quota of four regiments of infantry
.and one of cavalry. In addition to this a regiment
•of ^4mmunes," or men who had had yellow fever,
was raised at Galveston and sent to Cuba. The most
famous regiment recruited in Texas was Colonel
Eoosevelt's Eough Eiders. However, it would be
unfair for Texas to claim all the credit for this noted
regiment, for, although it was organized at San
-Antonio, it was composed of cowboys and frontiers-
men from many of the "Western states. The readi-
ness with which the Texans responded to the call
to arms and the valor shown by them on the battle-
field proved, if proof were needed, that the fighting
Culberson graduated from the Virginia Military Institute
before he was twenty years of age. He studied law at the
University of Virginia, and soon won distinction among the
young lawyers of Texas. He was twice elected attorney gen-
•eral, and served two terms as governor. He is now serving his
ithird term as United States Senator from Texas.
THE STATE SINCE RECONSTHUCTION 261
blood of the revolutionary fathers still courses in.
the veins of their sons.
The Brazos floods. — In the summer of 1899, and.
again in 1902, there were destructive floods on the-
Brazos and its tributaries. All the lands south of
"Waco were overflowed, and tremendous damage was-
done to crops and live stock. Eailroads running-
through this part of the state were so badly dam-
aged that for many days the running of trains was
entirely aban-
doned. These
great floods led
the legislature to
pass a law allow-
ing the bottom
land farmers to
form themselves lhveb wobk umut bshnbaii
into levee districts and sell bonds for the purpose-
of building embankments to keep the rivers from,
overflowing. As a result several large tracts of
land have now been protected. In Burleson county^
for instance, a levee district has been formed and
an embankment some twenty or thirty miles long
has been completed. This saves from overflow
many thousands of acres of very valuable land.
The Galveston stonn.— On September 8, 1900, a
furious tropical hurricane swept over the entire
coast country of Texas, doing tremendous damage
268 A SCHOOL HrSTOKY OF TEXAS
to life and property. The greatest damage was
done at G-alveston, wMch, on its low sandy island,
was totally unprotected from the waves of the Gulf.
The wind attained a velocity of more than a hun-
dred miles an hour and rolled huge billows clear
across the island, crashing the smaller houses like
■egg-shells and using the timbers of the wrecked
® houses as battering xams for
working further destruction.
The loss of life was esti-
mated at six thousand, while
the property losses amounted
to many millions of dollars.
This was the greatest dis-
aster that has ever befallen
the state of Texas, and one
of the worst in the history
of modem times. Governor
Sayers^ acted with great
GovEHHOH J. D. SAIKK3 promptuess in organizing
committees of relief and in
issuing calls for help for the stricken city. From all
parts of the state, from every section of the United
States, and from many lands beyond the sea, came
liberal contributions in money and supplies, while
' Joseph D. Sayers is a native of Mississippi. When he was
a lad of ten, his parents moved to Bastrop, Texas, where he
grew up and received his education. Entering the Confederate
■army as a private he rose step by step to the rank of major.
THE STATE SINCE EECONSTEUCTION
363-
the rich men of Galveston poured out their -wealth
for the relief of the homeless.
The restoration of Galveston.— With wonderful
energy and courage the people of Galveston set tO'
work to rebuild their city. For weeks they labored
to clear away the wreckage and to restore their
homes. Then they determined that such a disaster
should never occur again, if it was possible to>
. prevent it. So they
built a solid concrete
sea-wall, sixteen feet
wide at the bottom
and seventeen feet
high, extending for a
distance of three
miles along the Gulf
front on the south
and east sides of the island. Then, by lifting the
houses up on pillars and filling in beneath them with
sand and earth, they raised the surface of the city up
to the level of the sea-wall. Finally, to keep from
He waB twice wounded, and served two years on crutches. In
ISTS, he was a member of the state senate. During Governor
Eoberts's first administration, Sayers served as lieutenant-
governor. Then for fourteen years he represented his district
in congress. In 1898 he was elected governor and was re-
elected two years later. At the end of his term in January,.
1903, Governor Sayers resumed the practice of law, first at
San Antonio, and later at Austin, where he now Uvea. His.
administiation was a time of great prosperity to the state.
The Galvkstoh 8b a Wall
264 A SCHOOL HISTOHY OF TEXAS
being cut ofE from the mainland by the destruction
of the bridges across the bay, the county of Galves-
ton "with the assistance of the railroads, has built a
massive concrete causeway connecting the island
'■with the mainland at Virginia Point. This cause-
way furnishes space for a good wagon road, and
for four railway tracks and the interurban electric
railway.
The sea-wall tested. — Hardly had the sea-wall .
and the grade raising been finished before they were
put to a practical test that proved their value. This
test was the tropical hurricane of July 21, 1909.
Although the wind attained a velocity of seventy-
five miles .an hour, no lives were lost within the
limits of the city, and the damage to property was
very slight. This victory over the elements pro-
■duced great rejoicing, and gave the people of Gal-
veston an added sense of security and an increased
confidence In the future of their city.
THE STATE SINCE EECONSTRUCTION 265
The commission form of city government. — Out
of Galveston's disaster came what has proved to be
a real blessing in the form of a new sort of city
government. Prior to the storm the city govern-
ment consisted of a mayor and a city council. This
form of government had never been successful in
Galveston and, now in the hour of calamity, the
people were unwilling to entrust to it the welfare
of the city and the spending of the great sums neces-
sary for protecting the city. They persuaded the
legislature to allow them to establish a new form
of government consisting of a board of five commis-
sioners.
All the power of the city was placed in the
hands of these five men, and so well did they use
it that they soon began to attract the attention
of other cities. First Houston asked the legislature
to give it the same form of government. Dallas
followed, and then Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, and
other Texas cities adopted the commission govern-
ment.
From Texas the new plan has spread to other
states, and cities in every part of the country
have followed Galveston's example. The commis-
sion plan bids fair to become the American form
of city government.
Political parties in Texas. — It seems wise at this
point to give some account of the political parties
that are now playing a part in the public affairs of
266 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Texas, or that have done so in the past. The two
principal parties in Texas are the Democrats and
the Republicans.
The Democratic party and its work. — Since its
return to power with the inauguration of Coke and
Hubbard in 1874, the Democratic party has been in
complete control of public affairs in Texas. This
party, then, is the one that must be held responsible
for the good and the bad in our laws, and for the
administration and enforcement of these laws. On
the whole, the state has been honestly and wisely
governed. Public order has been maintained, and
the state has enjoyed almost uninterrupted pros-
perity. For this condition the Democrats are largely
responsible. But it may well be doubted whether
they have done all that might have been done for
the growth of the state and for the upbuilding of
our public schools and our higher institutions of
learning.
The Republican party. — ^In spite of its numerous
defeats in state elections the Eepublican party has
kept up its organization in this state and has always
named candidates for governor and for most of the
other state oflSces. Although these candidates for
the higher oflSces are always defeated, the party
usually elects a few members of the legislature. The
vote polled by the party in Texas has varied
greatly, but has seldom been less than fifty thousand
and rarely more than one hundred thousand. In
THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION 267
•
1910, however, the vote was only twenty-six thou-
sand, or a little more than one-seventh of the vote
cast for the Democratic candidate for governor.
Other parties. — ^During the seventies an organiza-
tion of farmers, known as the Patrons of Husbandry,
spread all over the country, including Texas. The
local lodges were called ^^ granges,'^ and the move-
ment was frequently spoken of as the ** granger
movement.'* The members of the organization
became interested in political questions and were
mainly instrumental in organizing what was known
as the ^^ Greenback" party, so called because it
favored a large use of paper money and opposed the
retirement of the greenbacks by the Federal govern-
ment. The party gained strength in Texas until
1882, when its candidate, Hon. George W. Jones, of
Bastrop, poUod a hundred and two thousand votes,
against a vote of one hundred and fifty thousand
for John Ireland, the Democratic candidate. From
that time on, however, the party declined, and most
of its members became members of the Populist
party, which was now coming into prominence.
The Populist party was closely connected with
the Farmers' Alliance, a new organization of farm-
ers that gradually absorbed the strength of the
Grange. This party believed in the use of paper
money instead of gold and silver, and thought the
United States government should own and manage
the railroads. It reached its maximum strength in
268 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
1894 when its candidate, Judge Thomas L. Nugent,
received a total of one hundred and fifty thousand
votes, against two hundred thousand for Governor
Culberson. In recent years the Farmers^ Alliance
and the Populist party have declined and are now
almost unknown.
Two other parties that have nominated candi-
dates for office for several years are the Prohibition
party, whi,ch believes in stopping the manufacture
and sale of intoxicating liquors throughout the
entire country, and the Socialist party, whose mem-
bers believe that the government should own and
carry on all productive industries, such as mines
and factories. Neither party has polled a large vote
in this state.
The primary election law. — ^During the adminis-
tration of Governor Lanham,^ in 1905, an important
law was passed for controlling political parties and
regulating elections. This was known as the Ter-
^ S. W. T. Lanham was the last gallant ex-confederate
soldier to occupy the governor's chair in Texas. 'He was a
South Carolinian by birth, but came to Texas in 1866 at the
age of twenty, bringing with him his young wife, whom he
had married upon his return from the war. He settled at
Weatherf ord, and after teaching school for a time, took up the
practice of law. He was elected district attorney, and later
served sixteen years in Congress. He was elected governor in
1902, and was re-elected in 1904. At the close of his term
of office he retired to his home in Weatherf ord, where he died
in 1908.
THE STATE SINCE EECONSTRUCTION 269
rell Election Law, from the fact that it was intro-
duced into the House of Kepresentatives by Judge
A. W. Terrell,* a member of the legislature from
Travis county.
It has two main objects. In the first place, its
§aim is to prevent the buying
and selling of votes; and in
the second place, its purpose
is to give all members of a
party an equal voice in nomi-
nating candidates for office.
The first object is accom-
plished by requiring all vot-
ers to register and pay a poll
tax before the first of Febru-
ary of each year. Each voter
must pay his own poll tax
GovEBNOR s^^w^^T. lakham y/iHi ]iig Qwn moncy, and
must show his receipt at the
polls wlieu he offers his vote.
The second object is accomplished by providing
for primary elections for the purpose of selecting
candidates for office, instead of leaving their selec-
tion to state and county conventions as was formerly
' Xo more interesting personage la to be found in Texas than
Alexander W. Terrell. He was born in Virginia in 1827. His
parents came to Texas in 1833, three years before the outbreak
of the Texan revolution. He received his education at the
University of Missouri, and has always been one of the strong-
est supporters of the University of Texas. He held various
270 ^ SCHOOL HISTOEY OP TRXA8
the practice. As many men as care to may now
become candidates for their party *s nomination.
A primary election is then held and only members
of the party are allowed to vote. The man receiving
the highest number of votes is declared the party *s
candidate. The men nominated in this way for the
various offices are voted on by all the voters in a
second or final election. The primary election is
held in July and the final election in November.
The Democratic party is required by law to hold
such a primary election. The smaller parties may
do so if they choose, provided their vote for gov-
ernor at the last preceding election was not less than
ten thousand. While this law is far from being
perfect, it has done much to purify elections and
to give the ordinary voter a voice in the control of-
his party.
The election of 1906.— The first use made of the
new law was in the election for the year 1906. There
were four candidates for the democratic nomination,
Judge C. K. Bell, of Fort Worth; Judge M. M.
Brooks, of Dallas; Eailroad Commissioner 0. B.
Colquitt, and Thomas M. Campbell,^ of Palestine.
offices in Texas, and when Cleveland became president for
the second time, in 1893, he sent Judge Terrell to Constanti-
nople as minister to Turkey. In every position, he has served
his country with a true devotion to the public welfare.
^ Thomas Mitchell Campbell, the second native Texan to
be elected governor, was born at Eusk on April 22, 1856. He
attended Trinity University for a time but was f6rced to stop
THE STATE SINCE RECONSTEUCTION
271
The latter received a plurality of the votes and waa
declared the nominee by the state convention which
met in Dallas. He waa elected at the ganeral elec-
tion in November.
The election of 1910.—
Again in 1910, there werfe
four candidates for the dem-
ocratic nomination. They
were Attorney General E.
V. Davidson, of Galveston;
Hon. Cone Johnson, of Tyler;
Hon. William Poindexter, of
Cleburne, and Railroad Com-
missioner O.B.Colquitt.' Mr.
Colquitt won the nomination
by a large plurality, and was
elected governor over his re-
publican opponent by a ma-
jority of one hundred and fifty thousand votes.
school on account of financial difficulties at home. He studied
law and was admitted to the bar in 1878. In 1891 he was
appointed receiver for the International and Great Northern
Eailroad, and was later made general manager of that road.
He had never held a public office until he waa elected governor
in 1906, He waa re-elected in 1908, Upon retiring from
office in January, 1911, Governor Campbell removed with bis
family to his old home in Palestine, where he is now engaged
in the practice of law,
' Though Oscar Branch Colquitt comes of old Virginia
stock, he waa born in the town of Camilla, Georgia, in 18G1.
212 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
The prohibition question. — At the present time
the question most keenly agitating the puhlic mind
in Texas is whether or not the existing local option
laws shall be maintained, or shall be replaced by
§laws forbidding entirely the
manufacture and sale of in-
toxicating liquors within the
limits of the state. Those
who favor the latter method
of dealing with the liquor
traffic are known as state-
wide prohibitionists. Some
of those who oppose state-
wide prohibition are in favor
of the present local option
system, by which each
GoTEBNOB^o. B. coLODiTT county Or precinct can settle
the question for itself, while
others are opposed to all prohibitory laws.
Twice during the last quarter of a century the
people of Texas have been called upon to vote on
this question. First in 1887, when a prohibition
amendment to the state constitution was defeated
At the age of sixteen he came to Texas with bis parents and
settled at Daingerfield. Here for a time he attended the. old
Daingerfield College, paying his board by making firea, chop-
ping wood and caring for the stock. After leaving school he
worked for a time at the Daingerfield railway station, and
then found employment in a furniture factory. Later he went
into the printing businesB and published a newspaper in Kauf-
THE STATE SINCE RECONSTRUCTION 273
"by a majority of nearly one hundred thousand votes ;
the second time in 1911, when, after a stirring cam-
paign, the amendment was beaten by about six
thousand votes.
Summary. — Texas was re-admitted to the Union
in 1870, and the democratic party was returned to
power with the inau^ration of Coke and^ Hubbard
in 1874. In 1876 the last step in the reconstruction
of the state government took place when the present
constitution was adopted. The governors under the
new constitution brought about public order by
punishing land forgers and by suppressing fen,ce
cutting and other forms of violence. Governor
Eoberts's policy of strict economy. soon brought the
expenses of the government within its income, and
the state debt has since been almost entirely paid.
The old capitol burned in 1881 and the new one,
built at a cost of three million acres of land, was
dedicated in 1888. In 1896 the United States
Supreme Court decided the Greer county question
by holding that the disputed territory belonged to
Oklahoma. On account of many abuses on the part
of the companies a demand grew up for the regula-
tion of the railroads, and in 1891 Governor Hogg
secured the creation of the railroad commission,
man county. In 1895 he was elected to the state senate and
served four years. In 1902 he was elected to succeed Judge
Eeagan on the Eailroad Commission. He was re-elected in
1908, but resigned in January, 1911, to become governor.
274 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
with Senator Eeagan as the first chairman. In 1899,
1900, and 1902 the state suffered from the Brazos
floods and the great storm at Galveston. The people
of Galveston have rebuilt their city and protected it
against future storms, and have given to the country
the commission form of city government. The
Terrell election law for the regulation of political
parties and elections was first used in 1906. The
prohibition amendment was defeated in 1887 and
again in 1911.
QUESTIONS
1. When was Texas readmitted to the Union ?
2. When did the democratic party regain control oi the
state government? Who was then elected governor?
3. When was the present constitution drawn up and
ratified ?
4. What was the condition of the staters finances in
1876?
5. Tell of the offer of state bonds to certain railroads.
How was this matter settled ?
6. What motto did Governor Roberts adopt ?
7. What changes were made during his term in the
amount of the state debt and the tax rate ?
8. What brought about the fence cutting and how was it
suppressed ?
9. When did the old capitol bum? How was the new
one paid for? Of what material was it built?
10. What was the boundary between Texas and the Indian
Territory as fixed by the treaty of 1819 ?
11. How did the dispute arise over Greer county? How
was ii settled?
THE STATE SINCE BECONSTRUCTION 275
12. Make a map showing the forks of the Eed River and
the location of the disputed territory.
13. Who was the father of the Eailroad Commission law ?
Tell what you know about him.
14. What were some of the complaints against the railroads,
at the time the commission was created ? Who were the first
commissioners ?
15. Tell of the fight made on the commission by those who
opposed the regulation of the railroads.
16. What efforts has Texas made to suppress the trusts ?
17. What were the causes of the war with Spain? What
part did the people of Texas have in that war ?
18. Tell of the great overfiows on the Brazos river. What
means are now being used to guard against future overflows ?
19. Give an account of the Galveston storm. What three
measures have been adopted by Galveston to prevent future
disasters of a similar kind?
20. What new form of city government grew out of the
Galveston disaster ? Describe it. Tell of its spread to other
cities.
21. What form of government has your city or town?
22. Name the leading political parties in Texas. What
parties that have been prominent have now passed away ?
23. Wbat law has been passed for the purpose of con-
trolling political parties? What two objects does this law
seek to accomplish? How?
24. Give an account of the election of 1906 and 1910.
25. What were the results of the two prohibition elections
that have been held in Texas ?
CHAPTER XI
MATEBIAI. DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1870
1. INCREASE IN POPULATION AND WEALTH
The object of this chapter. — ^In the preceding
Chapter an account was given of the leading events
Iq the history of Texas during the last forty years.
In this Chapter we must learn something of the
growth during the same period of the state's popu-
lation and material interests, its wealth, its indus-
tries, and its .commerce.
Growth of population. — The population of the
state in 1870 was eight hundred thousand. . In 1910
it was slightly less than four millions, or nearly five
times as great as it was forty years before. In 1870
there were eighteen states with a population greater
than that of Texas; but in 1910 Texas stood fifth,
fourteen states having been passed during the forty
years. At the present time only New York, Penn-
sylvania, Illinois, and Ohio have a larger population
than has Texas, and there is a possibility that Texas
may some day be the * * empire state ' ' of the Union.
Character of the population. — ^In character the
population of Texas is thoroughly cosmopolitan;
that is, it is composed of many different kinds of
276
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 277
people. About four-fifths of the people are white^
and most of these are made up of native Texans or
immigrants from other states of the Union. There
are, however, a good many foreign immigrants, and
of these the Mexicans, scattered through the Rio
Grande region from El Paso to San Antonio and
Brownsville, are the most numerous. Less numer-
ous, but far more important than the Mexicans, are
the Germans. These are found in many parts of
the state. Still other foreign nations represented in
our population are Bohemia, England, Austria, Ire-
land, Italy, Sweden, and France, in about the order
named.
Growth of Texas cities. — ^Up to the present time
Texas has not developed any large cities. As most
of the people live on farms or depend on the soil
for a living, the state is still classed as an- agricul-
tural conmiunity. But these conditions are rapidly
changing. Several of the larger Texas cities are
becoming important commercial and manufacturing
centers, while smaller towns and cities are springing
into existence on every side. Already thirty per
cent of the people live in incorporated towns and
cities, and the city population is increasing much
more rapidly than the rural population. This drift
to the cities is strikingly illustrated by the census
returns for 1910. These figures show that during
the last ten years our city population has increased
at the rate of seventy-seven per cent, while the
278 A SCHOOL HI8T0E7 OP TEXAS
increase for the remainder of the state was less than
fourteen per cent.
QalTeston and San Antonio. — The most striking
illustration of the rapid growth of our city popula-
tion is found when we look at a few of the largest
cities.
In 1870, Galveston, with a population of less
than fourteen thousand, was the largest city in
the state, and the chief commercial center. In spite
of the awful calamity that almost blotted out the
city in 1900, its population in 1910 was nearly
thirty-seven thousand. San Antonio was second in
size in 1870, with a population of twelve thousand;
in 1910 it had ninety-six thousand, a gain of seven
hundred per cent. It was in 1910 our largest city,
though probably not the most important commercial
center of the state.
Houston and Dallas.— The honor of being the most
important commercial city in Texas doubtless
belongs either to Houston or to Dallas. Houston is
the older town, and has extensive railway connec-
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 279
tions, while Dallas has experienced the more rapid
growth, and is the trading center for the most popu-
lous section of the state. Houston was founded
soon after the battle of San Jacinto. In 1870 its
population was nine thousand. In 1910 the census
gave it nearly seventy-nine thousand, without
including Houston Heights, Harrisburg, and other
populous suburbs. That was a gain of nearly eight
hundred per cent. Dallas, on the other hand, was
only a straggling village of five hundred inhabitants
in 1870, with no railroad within a hundred miles of
it. In 1910, with ninety-two thousand inhabitants,
it was our second largest city, and was one of the
most important railroad and manufacturing centers
in the state.
Fort Worth and El Paso.— Fort Worth and El
Paso are two other cities that hardly existed before
1870. The former is now Houston's rival in popula-
tion, as well as her chief rival for first honors as a
railway center. Fort Worth's growth during the
last ten years has been due in large part to the open-
ing of the great meat-packeries established there in
1903. The .city's population in 1900 was twenty-
six thousand, while in 1910 it was seventy-three
thousand, a gain of one hundred and seventy-five
per cent. This decade was also the period of El
Paso's most rapid development. Her population
increased from less than sixteen thousand to more
280 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
than thirty-nine thousand, or a gain of one hundred
and forty-seven per cent.
Austin and Waco. — ^Austin and Waco are older
than the three cities last mentioned. Their growth
has been steady but not so remarkable. They each
had a population of about four thousand in 1870,
while in 1910 Austin had thirty thousand inhabi-
tants and Waco twenty-six thousand.
Civic improvement. — ^With the increase in wealth
and population has come an increase in civic pride
and an improvement in the appearance and character
of the larger .cities of the state. The streets have
been better paved and better lighted, and water,
sewer, and street railway conveniences have been
extended and greatly improved. Parks have been
laid out and beautified. Play grounds for the
children have been established and supplied with
swings and other apparatus for games and sports.
New school buildings are gradually replacing the
unsightly buildings of earlier times,, and. many
towns and cities have good libraries which the
people are each year putting to a larger use. With
the increase in the value of city lots business men
have found it profitable to build taller buildings,
until now all the larger cities boast of their ** sky-
scrapers,'' some of which attain a height of more
than twenty stories.
Growth of taxable wealth. — ^Along with the
growth in the population of the state has gone an
. Waco Uioa School buiij>inq
...J FORT WOKTH HlOH SCHOOL BCILDINQ
1 HtOH School Bcildino
Galveston UtOH School Buildinq
282 ^ SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
even greater increase of wealth. Thus, in 1870 the
assessed wealth of the state amounted to only one
hilndred and seventy million dollars. In 1890 it had
increased to eight hundred and fifty million dollars,
a gain of four hundred per cent in twenty years.
In 1910 it was two billion four hundred million
dollars, or almost three times the assessed values
for 1890. Not only has the total wealth increased
very greatly, but the average amount of property
owned by each inhabitant is now three times as
valuable as it was in 1875.
Causes for the increase of wealth. — This large
in,crease in the wealth of the state is not altogether
due to the thrift and industry of the people. Some
of the increase is more apparent than real, due to the
fact that property is now taxed at more nearly its
full value, than it was in earlier years. This change
in the practice of taxation is due in large measure
to the * * full-rendition law, ' * passed during Governor
Campbell's administration. This law requires
property owners to tell the tax assessor the real
value of their property. Another cause of the large
increase in assessed values is the rapid rise in the
value of farming lands. The supply of good unim-
proved lands is now nearly exhausted, and the
demand for land is steadily increasing as the popu-
lation grows. As a result of the increasing demand
and the diminishing supply, land values have risen
rapidly and are sure to go higher in the future.
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 283
2. DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Conditions favorable to agriculture. — ^For many
years past farming has been the leading industry of
Texas, and it will doubtless continue to be so for a
long time to come. This results naturally from the
fine fertile lands of the state and the favorable
seasons for growing and harvesting the crops. As
the state is very large in area and possesses a very
great variety of soils and climates, almost all kinds
of crops can be successfully grown within its bor-
ders. Thus wheat and other cereals do well in the
northern part of the state and in the Panhandle,
while rice and sugar cane and the semi-tropical
fruits, such as figs and oranges, are grown in the
Gulf coast region. Cotton does well in almost every
section of the state, and deserves mention as the
most important crop produced.
Cotton culture. — In the early history of agricul-
ture in Texas, cotton growing was confined mainly
to the eastern and southern parts of the state and
to the lands lying along the creeks and rivers. It
was not then believed that the prairie lands were
suited to raising cotton. During the seventies and
early eighties, however, it was discovered that the
prairie lands were well adapted to cotton growing,
and as a result the black land country in the .central
part of the state became the greatest cotton produc-
ing region in the world, and Texas quickly took
rank as the leading cotton state of the Union. Since
284 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
that time the area devoted to cotton raising has
steadily increased. In 1910 ten million acres of
Texas lands were planted in cotton, and the yearly
yield is from three to four million bales. The
average value of the cotton crop for a year, not
including the cotton seed, is about one hundred and
fifty million dollars.
The boll weevil. — ^At one time
\ / the cotton industry in Texas was
\ ^vl,-^ y seriously threatened by the rav-
Y I I ages of the boll weevil. This pest
^ j^L kJ came into the state from Mexico
^^^^^^ about the year 1900 and has since
^p^^^^^^ spread, not only over the cotton
I ^K^^k i lands of Texas, but over all the
^J^^^H|^ \ cotton region of the United
\^^^^ / States, as far east as Mississippi
y € and Alabama. By the use of
" " early maturing varieties of cotton
<Gr^,jy eXTJld'; ^^ of better methods of cultiva-
tion the farmers have learned to
produce good crops in spite of the presence of the
boll weevil, and, except in rainy seasons, the crop
usually escapes with only slight injury from this
source.
The cotton seed. — ^An important addition to the
value of the cotton crop was made some thirty years
ago, when a method was discovered of extracting
the oil from cotton seed. Prior to that time cotton
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 285
seed were practically worthless, and in many cases
the disposition of the decaying seed was an actual
expense to the cotton ginners. Now, the seed are
worth about twenty-five dollars a ton, and add
about forty million dollars a year to the value of
the farmers' crop.
The grain crop. — ^Although corn and the small
grains have long been grown in the state in consid-
erable quantities, Texas cannot be said to rank as
a great grain-producing state. The acreage devoted
to cotton culture in the state is equal to that devoted
to all the cereals combined and the total value of
the annual grain crop is less by fifty million dollars
than the value of the cotton crop.
Corn. — Of the grains grown in Texas, corn is by
far the most important both in quantity and value.
In fact, the corn crop is worth about four times as
much as all the other cereal crops combined. It is
worth something more than one hundred million
dollars each year to the Texas farmer. Wheat and
oats are grown principally in the northern part of
the state and the crops produced annually are
valued at from ten to twenty million dollars each.
Rice growing. — It is in the production of rice,
however, that Texas has made the most remarkable
Jidvance during recent years. Twenty years ago
there was practically no rice grown within the state.
Now Texas produces nearly three times as much
rice as all the other states of the Union combined,'
28S A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
except Louisiana. The crop is grown on the level
lands of the coastal plain, where water can be had
for flooding the fields during the growing season.
Great pumping plants have been built on the
streams, and immense irrigation ditches, sometimes
many miles in length, carry the water to the farms.
Beaumont and Houston are the principal markets
for the Texas rice grower.
The forage crops. — Considerable progress has also
been made in the production of hay and other
forage crops. The
growing of these
crops has been made
necessary by the dis-
appearance of the
open range and the
introduction of the
( South Tsiis finer breeds of cattle.
As a result, thousands
of acres are now being sown to alfalfa and other hay
crops, while in the western part of the state sorghum,
mile maize, and kaffir com are being extensively
grown for stock feed.
Fruit growing and market gardening.— Truck
gardening and fruit growing is another industry
that has made great progress in Texas in recent
years. The mild winters and early springs in this
state make it possible for the south Texas truck
growers to reach the market ahead of the producers
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT Jg?
from other sections of the country and to secure
thereby the highest price the market affords. Some
idea of the extent of the fruit and truck business
may be gained from the f a,ct that in 1908 more than
fourteen thousand car loads of fruits and vegetables
were shipped from the gardens and orchards of
Texas. Counting twenty cars to the train, that
would make a total of seven hundred and twenty-
five solid train-loads of fruit, or a single train
between twenty and thirty miles in length.
Irrigation. — ^During the last twenty years Texas
has made rapid progress in the use of the waters
of its streams and wells for purposes of irrigation.
The use of irrigation was only just beginning in
Texas twenty years ago, but statistics collected for
the year 1909 show that about six hundred thousand
acres were then being irrigated. Nearly half of
this acreage is sown to rice in the southern part of
the state, while the other half consists of arid lands
in the west, principally along the Eio Grande and
the Pecos Eivers. The time is probably not far
distant when all the regular flow of the Texas rivers
will be utilized for irrigation purposes, and great
reservoirs will doubtless be built to store the flood
waters of the spring months for use during the dry
season of the Texas summers.
Better methods of agriculture. — ^Much is being
done to spread among the farmers a knowledge of
scientific agriculture and of the best methods of
2gg A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
cultivating, harvesting, packiag, and marketing
tlieir flrops. The state, through the board of direc-
tors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College,
maintains ten or a dozen experiment farms and
spreads the knowledge thus gained among the
farmers by means of lectures and printed bulletins.
Both' Cons Club,
A similar work is being done in the state by the
United States Department of Agriculture.
Farmers' aid societies. — ^In addition to these
official agencies there are a number of private organ-
izations and societies that are doing much toward
the improvement of farming methods. Thirty or
forty years ago the Patrons of Husbandry, or "The
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 289
Grange," as it was usually called, had many local
chapters and a large membership in Texas. It was
followed during the eighties and nineties by the
Farmers* Alliance. More recently the Farmers'
Union has become a powerful factor in the agricul-
tural affairs of the state. All of these organiza-
tions have had for their primary purpose the better-
ment of the conditions of life of the farming .classes.
Other organizations worthy of mention are the truck
and fruit growers' associations, which assist the
grower in packing and marketing his crop; the
Farmers' Congress, a gathering of men interested
in agriculture, which meets annually at the Agricul-
tural and Mechanical College; and the boys' corn
clubs, which have been formed in many parts of
the state under the supervision of the Department
of Agriculture to stimulate the interest of the farmer
boys in the best methods of corn culture.
3. THE LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY
The cattle industry. — Cattle raising was the first
industry in Texas to gain commercial importance.
The broad prairies furnished pasturage for vast
herds of ''long horn" cattle in the early days when
wire fences were unknown and grass was free to
all. Before the days of the railroad cattle could be
made to transport themselves to market, and, as
there was almost no accessible market for farm crops,
cattle constituted the principal money-producing
;g90 ^ SCHOOL HISTOBY OP TEXAS
product of the state. New Orleans and Galveston
were the markets for the cattle of the southeastern
part of the state, but for the great prairie regions
of the central and western portions of the state, the
markets were in the North, and the cattle were
driven overland in great herds, sometimes as many
as five and ten thousand in a single herd. Eegular
trails were established, the most famous being the
old **Chisholm Trail" leading from Fort Worth
through the Indian Territory into Kansas. This
movement of Texas cattle **up the trail" began soon
after the close of the Civil War and reached its
height in the early seventies. At that time it is
estimated that as many as a half million steers were
driven north in a single season. With the opening
of railroad ^connection with the Northern markets
this overland movement of cattle began to decline
and had about disappeared by 1890. The railroads
are now used instead of the slower but more pictur-
esque cowboy and cattle trail.
Breeding fine cattle. — ^As the population and the
demand for land increased, the open range and the
round-up began to give way to the wire fence and
the inclosed pasture. The larger ranches, in turn,
have been cut up in many parts of the state into
small stock farms and cotton fields. This process
of enclosing the ranges and subdividing the large
ranches has benefited the cattle industry in two
ways. In the first place, a larger number of cattle
MATEBIAL DEVELOPMENT 291
(Can be cared for on the same amount of land, where
'hay and other forage crops are raised for -winter
feed. In the second place, the stockmen are able to
improve the breed of their cattle, a thing that was
almost impossible as long as the cattle were allowed
to run at large over the open range.
Horses. — ^For a long time prior to the coming of
the Anglo-American colonists, the prairies of Texas
Sdccibbobs of Toa "Lonaaam'
were stocked with wild horses. These mustang
ponies, as they were called, were small in body but
were wonderfully tough and wiry, and were well
suited to the uses of the cowboys. But with the
development of the farming industry large draft
animals were needed and there has come about a
gradual change in the character of the horses pro-
duced. The mustang pony, like the long-hom steer,
is practically a thing of the past, though consider-
292 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
able numbers of them are still bred and shipped to
New York where they are prime favorites for use
in playing polo. Texas is now third in the number
and value of the horses produced, Illinois and Iowa
ranking first and second.
Mules. — ^For a long time Missouri was the leading
state in the production of mules, but as far back as
1900 Missouri was forced to yield that distinction
to Texas. But the average price of the Missouri
mule is somewhat greater than the price of his
Texas cousin. A few years ago mules were imported
into Texas by the train load ; now the local market
is fully supplied with home-grown mules, and many
are sold to other states, and even to foreign lands.
Sheep. — The sheep industry in Texas reached its
maximum development about 1890. At that time
Texas was the leading wool-producing state in the
Union. During the next ten years, however, there
came a sharp decline in the number and value of
the sheep owned by Texas stockmen. This decline
was due, in part, to the cutting up of the sheep
ranches into farms.
Goats. — The goat industry, on the other hand, is
rapidly increasing, and some stockmen expect to
see it outrank the sheep business. The reason given
by one writer is that the Angora goat **has found
among the hills of Texas, which have heretofore
been considered as waste lands, a natural home,
food to his taste, and a climate adapted to his hap-
MATEBIAL DEVELOPMENT 293
piness. The animal is hardy, can adapt himself to
almost any condition, eats what other animals pass
by, requires little care or attention, is easily handled,
and is withal most profitable.'* San Angelo and
San Antonio are the leading markets for wool and
mohair.
Hog raising. — ^Probably no domestic animal can
be grown with less trouble and with more profit than
the hog. This industry in Texas has grown very
rapidly since the packing houses at Fort Worth
have furnished a stable market for pork. The old
** razor back,'* lean and athletic and voracious
beyond belief, has, like the long-horn steer and the
mustang pony, become a thing of the past, and in
his place we have the Berkshire, Poland-China, and
other well-known breeds. Only three states in the
Union, all situated in the com belt, surpass Texas
as hog producing states.
4. DEVELOPMENT OF MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
Early means of transportation. — ^Prior to the rail-
road era goods were transported to and from market
in ox-wagons, and ** wagoning,** or ** freighting, "
as it was called, was a regular occupation in which
a large number of teamsters were engaged. The
freight charges were about twenty times as great as
they are on the railroads today. The principal mar-
kets were Galveston and Jefferson, and from many
parts of the state it took two or three months to
394 A SCHOOL HI8T0BT OF TEXAS
make a trip to market and return. It was this lack
of transportation facilities more than anything else
that prevented the development of the central and
northern parts of the state until the coming of the
railroads at the close of reconstruction. The rail-
road builder is the advance agent of civilization.
Stage travel. — Travel in the early days was accom-
plished either by private conveyance or by means .
of stage coaches drawn by teams of four horses or
mules. The stage-fare was ten cents a mile, or about
four times the average rate now charged by the
railways. There were many regular stage lines in
the state, some of them two or three hundred miles
in length, while
still longer lines
connected the
Texas lines with'
Memphis and St.
A staqe Coach Louis. The long-
est line, however,
and one of the longest stage lines ever established,
was the mail line from San Antonio to San Diego,
California. It took twenty-five days, traveling night
and day, to make the trip, and the fare for the trip
one way was two hundred dollars. Twenty years
later the engineers of the Southern Pacific railroad
mapped out the line for that road along the route
followed by the old San Diego stage.
MATEEIAL DEVELOPMENT 295
Beginning of railroad building. — ^As we have seeiir
in a former Chapter, railroad building in Texas
began during the ten years between 1850 and 1860.
There had been earlier attempts to build, but the
necessary money could not be raised and they all
ended in failure. Even in the fifties progress was
very slow, because of financial difficulties, and only
about five hundred miles of track had been com-
pleted before the outbreak of the Civil War. Nearly
all of this mileage consisted of short lines centering
in Houston and Galveston.
Effect of the Civil War. — ^Not only was there no
new railroad building during the Civil War and the
early years of the re,construction period, but there
was an actual decrease in the mileage operated, for
one road was torn up by the military forces, and
two more were abandoned for lack of patronage and
for want of funds to keep the road-beds in repair.
One line, the Texas and New Orleans, from Houston
to Orange, was abandoned entirely and was not
rebuilt until 1876, eleven years after the close of
the war.
Revival of railway building. — ^Active railroad
building began again in 1868, and rapid progress
was made during the next five years. Then came
the great financial panic of 1873, and during the
three or four years of hard times that followed very
little building was done. But by 1880, the state
had three thousand miles of railway in actual opera-
296 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
tion. That amount was almost doubled during the
next two years, and the present railway mileage of
Texas ia about fifteen thousand miles. This is a
larger mileage than that of any other state in the
Union, but on account of the great area of Texas,
there are still many parts of the state that are sadly
in need of railroads.
Public aid to the railroads. — ^Before passing from
the subject of railway building a word should be
said of the aid given by the public to hasten rail-
way construction. Besides the large donations
raised by private subscription, coipties and cities
sometimes voted to give their bonds to assist the
companies in building their lines. Altogether,
somewhat more than a million dollars of county and
city bonds were so donated. Another method of
aiding the railroads was by lending them money
from the state school fund. Nearly two million dol-
lars were loaned in this way prior to the Civil "War.
A part of these loans was afterwards lost, but most
of them have been repaid with interest by the rail-
roads. At one time the legislature passed a law
MATEEIAL DEVELOPMENT 297
granting state bonds to certain railroads, but, as
already explained, the bonds were never issued, and
lands -were granted instead. But by far the most
important aid given to the railways was the public
lands granted to them by the state. The raUroad
companies were allowed to survey thirty-two sec-
tions of public land for every mile of track built by
them. Every alternate section so surveyed became
the property of the railway company, while the
other sections were given to the public schools. This
FosTT Yeibs Ago
policy of granting lands to railways was discon-
tinued in 1882. Altogether nearly thirty-six million
acres of land were patented to the railroads, but
large amounts of it were afterwards forfeited by
them because of their failure to comply with the
laws under which the grants were made.
Biver improvement. — Not only was the state
greatly interested in providing railway facilities in
the early days, but by improving the rivers and
harbors it also actively engaged in efforts to pro-
mote water transportation. During the period of
industrial development just before the Civil War
298 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
the state spent about three hundred thousand dol-
lars in clearing the rivers of snags and sand bars,
and small steamers ascended the Sabine and the
Trinity for long distances and carried to market a
considerable portion of the cotton crop of the adjoin-
ing counties. During the confusion of the war, how-
ever, the .channels again became obstructed and
navigation nearly ceased. The rapid building of
railways after 1870 furnished other means of trans-
portation, and the state did not again enter seriously
upon the task of river improvement. In more recent
years, however, the United States government has
taken up the work, and is spending large sums on
some of the Texas rivers.
Harbor improvements. — ^In harbor improvement
the Federal government has accomplished much for
the ports along the Texas coast, including Sa-
bine Pass, Port Arthur, Port Lavaca, and Corpus
Christi.
But the most notable success that has yet been
attained is the improvement of the Galvestou
harbor. Here the government has spent some twelve
million dollars in building the jetties and dredging
the harbor. Galveston is now the second export city
in the country, doing a larger export business than
Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore combined.
The Houston ship canal. — One of the important
enterprises undertaken by the United States govern-
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT ggg
meut in Texas is the opening of a ship canal extend-
ing through Galveston Bay and ap Buffalo Bayou, a
distance of forty-six miles, to the city of Houston.
Considerable sums of money have been spent on
the canal and a depth of nine feet and more has
been secured. The Harris County Navigation Dis-
trict has voted a million and a quarter dollars for
continuing the work and Congress has given an
TOBNINO Bis:H, Houston Ship Caxal
equal amount. A large turning basin, a quarter of
a mile across, has been dug a few miles below Hous-
ton, and at that point the city has built free docks
and warehouses for the use of shippers. Houston
is already a great railroad center, and if it can
secure deep water so that great ocean-going vessels
can come up to its wharves, it will become one of
the greatest commercial cities in the country.
The good roads movement. — ^Until recently very
300 A SCHOOL mSTORY OF TEXAS
little attention was given to the question of building
permanent highways in the ^tate, but at the present
time there is not a state in the Union that is giving
more thought or spending more money for good
roads than Texas is doing. This movement was
stimulated by a law which was i)assed in 1907
allowing counties
and parts of coun-
ties to organize
themselves into road
districts and to sell
bonds for the pur-
pose of building
roads. Since that
time a large number
of road districts
have been formed
and several million
dollars of bonds
have been sold and
the money put into good macadamized roads.
5. MINING AND MANUFACTUEINa
Minerals produced in Texas. — The most important
mineral products of Texas are coal, iron, quicksilver,
and crude oil and natural gas. The principal coal
mines are at Thurher, Strawn, Rock Creek, and
Bridgeport in the northwestern part of the state, and
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT
301
the annnal product is valued at about two million
dollars. Lignite, which is an inferior kind of coal,
is produced in large quantities near Rockdale and
Milano and in many other parts of the state. For
many years a small quantity of iron has been pro-
duced near Jefferson, and a furnace has been run
most of the time within the walls of the state peni-
tentiary at Eusk. The industry has
developed slowly on account of the
difficulty of securing cheap coke for
fuel and the limestone necessary in
smelting the ore. Arrangements
have recently been made for ship-
ping the iron ores from east Texas
by way of Galveston to the great
smelters in Pennsylvania. In Brew-
ster county, in the mountainous
country west of the Pecos Eiver,
quicksilver mines have been worked
since 1897, and are the second best
producers in the United States, an oil GnaHKB,
Since the discovery of oil at Beau- eac o t
mont in 1901, Texas has been one of the leading oil
producing states in the Union. Valuable fields of
oil have since been discovered at Sour Lake, Bat-
son, Saratoga, Humble, and other places in the
coastal plane near Houston and Beaiunont, and at
Henrietta and Wichita Palls in the northwestern
part of the state. Natural gas from the Henrietta
302 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
oil field is being piped into Fort Worth and Dallas,
where it is used for fuel.
Growth of manufacturing.^The manufacturing
industries have developed slowly because of the
lack of cheap fuel and of cheap, well-trained labor
to handle the machinery. With the development of
our coal and oil industries the fuel problem is being
solved, and the gowth of the cities is furnishing an
increasing supply of skilled labor. As a result there
has been a rapid growth during the last few years
in all lines of the manufacturing business. In 1909
the total capital invested in manufacturing enter-
prises in Texas amounted to over two hundred and
sixteen million dollars, and they gave employment
to about eighty thousand persons. Dallas and
Houston are the leading manufacturing cities. The
most important products manufa,ctured are flour
and grist-mill products; cotton seed oil, meal, and
hulls; produ,cts of lumber and planing mills; meat
products from the packing houses; railroad cars;
and the products of the printing and publishing
houses.
The lumber industry. — This is one industry that
has reached its largest proportions and will grad-
ually decline as the fine forests in the southeastern
part of the state are felled and sawed into lumber.
These forests of yellow pine are among the most
valuable in the entire country, but at the present
rate of cut it is estimated that all the old trees will
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 303
be gone within the nest twenty-five or thirty years.
It is very important, therefore, that all the young
trees should be protected from fire and from the
woodman's as until
they reach maturi-
ty, and steps should
be taken to re-forest
the areas from
which all the timber
has already been
cut. As a result of
the growing scarcity
of the timber sup-
ply, the price of
lumber has doubled
within the last
twenty years.
Summary. — Dur-
ing the forty years
since Texas was
re-admitted to the
Union, its popula-
tion has increased
from eight himdred
thousand to nearly four million. The state has moved
up from the nineteenth to the fifth among the states
of the Union. The population is made up of people
from every section of the United States and from
many foreign cootries. Of these the Mexicans and
riNE FOBEHT I
304 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Germans are most numerous. In recent years there
lias been a very rapid growth of the cities, and thirty
persons out of every hundred now live in incorpo-
rated cities and towns. San Antonio, Dallas, Hous-
ton, and Fort Worth are the four leading cities, while
El Paso, Galveston, Austin, and Waco have a popula-
tion of more than twenty-five thousand each. With
the growth of the cities has come an increase in civic
pride, and many improvements have been made in
the appearance and the comforts of the cities. Tax-
able wealth has increased even faster than popula-
tion, and in 1910 it was about fifteen times what it
was in 1870. Farming is the leading industry of
the state, while stock raising, manufacturing, and
mining give employment to a large number of
people and contribute much to the wealth of the
state. Texas is the leading state in the production
of cotton, cattle, and mules. It ranks high in the
production of fruits, rice, crude oil, and quicksilver,
and in the number and value of its horses, hogs,
sheep, and goats. Texas also ranks first in railway
mileage, a condition naturally resulting from the
state's great area. The building of railways began
before 1860, but it was stopped for nearly ten years
by the Civil War. The period of most rapid build-
ing was from 1879 to 1883. The railroad companies
were aided by contributions from private persons,
by gifts of city and county bonds, by loans from
the state school funds, and by grants of public lands,
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 306
usually at the rate of sixteen sections for every mile
of track built. Although Texas is far behind as a
manufacturing state, labor and fuel conditions have
improved and rapid progress is now being made.
In the eastern part of the state are very valuable
forests of yellow pine, but they are rapidly being
cut, and the price of lumber has steadily risen. The
preservation of our timber supply is now a pressing
problem.
QUESTIONS
1. What was the population of Texas in 1870 ? In 1910 ?
What was the staters rank in population at those dates ?
2. From which states and foreign countries has the popu-
lation of Texas come? What per cent of the population is
white ? What are the most important foreign races repre- '
sented ? Where do they live ?
3. Are you a native of the state? From what state or
foreign country did your family come ? See how many states
are represented in your class.
4. What are the eight largest cities in Texas? What was
the population of each in 1870 and in 1910?
6. What is the population of your city or nearest town?
When was it settled?
6. Can you find out how large it was in 1870 ? In 1890 ?
In 1900 ?
7. What are its leading industries?
8. Which is growing the fastest, the population of the
cities or of the country districts ? Can you think of any rea-
sons for this?
9. What improvements are being made in the appearancQ
of the cities and their public buildings?
i
306 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
10. What was the assessed wealth of Texas in 1870? In
1890? In 1910?
11. What was the average wealth for each person at those
dates ?
12. What are some of the reasons for the great increase in
wealth ?
13. What is the state's leading industry ?
14. What are the most important crops in Texas ?
15. What is the extent and value of the cotton crop?
What use is now made of cotton seed? How were thev
formerly disposed of?
16. Tell what you know of the com crop. Of the wheat
and oat crops.
17. How is rice grown, and in what part of the state ?
18. What advantage has the Texas fruit and truck grower
over those of other states?
19. What fruits are grown for the market in your county ?
When do they ripen and where are they shipped to ?
20. Why was cattle raising the earliest money-producing
industry of Texas ?
21. Where were the markets for Texas cattle in the early
days ? How were they taken to market ? Where are the mar-
kets now? And how are they shipped?
22. How does Texas rank as a horse breeding state ? As a
mule state?
23. What do you know of the sheep and goat industries
in Texas? Which of the live stock industries is carried on
in your county?
24. How were goods transported in the early days in
Texas? At what price?
25. Tell of stage travel in those days. When did rail-
way building begin in Texas?
26. What was the effect of the Civil War on the rail-
MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT 307
way business? When did railway building begin again after
the war?
27. What were the different sorts of aid received by the
railways to help them in building their lines?
28. What has been done toward making the Texas rivers
navigable.
29. Tell of the present good roads movement. What has
your county done along this line?
30. What are the chief mineral products of Texas ? Where
are the mines located? Do you know of any mines that are
being operated in your part of the state?
31. What difficulties have been in the way of our manu-
facturing enterprises ?
32. What are the principal products manufactured in the
state ? WTiat are the leading factory cities ?
33. Are there any factories in your town or county?
34. Tell what you know of the lumber industry of eastern
Texas.
CHAPTER XII
EDUCATION AND FTJBUC CHABITY
The object of this chapter. — The object of this
chapter is to give a brief account of what Texas
has done and is doing to educate its children and to
care for the helpless and unfortunate classes. The
subject divides itself into four parts: (1) the public
free school system; (2) the state's higher institu-
tions of learning; (3) the private educational insti-
tutions; and (4) the state's charitable and penal
institutions.
The need of public free schools. — It is a well-
settled principle that the state should provide free
schools for the education of all the children living
within its borders. In a free country practically
all men are voters, and they must have some educa-
tion in order to know how to vote intelligently
and to discharge their other duties as citizens. We
cannot ba sure that good men will be elected to office
and that wise laws will be passed if the voters them-
selves are either ignorant or corrupt. This was well
understood by the fathers of Texas when they
stated in their declaration of independence, as one
308
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHAEITT 309
of the causes of the revolution, that Mexico had
failed to establish a sy'stem of pnblin education, and
then added that "it is an axiom in political science
that unless a people are educated and enlightened
it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty
or the capacity for self-government." The same
sentiment was well expressed by President Mira-
beau B. Lamar when he said, "Cnltivated mind is
AOHICUI^UBa, BONQAM HIQS SCHOOIi
the guardian genius of democracy. It is the only
dictator that freemen acknowledge and the only
security that freemen desire."
Early attempts to establish a public school
system. — In the constitution drawn up in March,
1836, a month before the battle of San Jacinto, it
was made the duty of the congress of the republic
to provide by law for a system of public free schools.
But the new government was so hard pressed for
money and was so beset with dangers and difficult
310 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
ties on every side that it was unable to give much
attention to the subject of education. In 1839, how-
ever, .congress, upon the advice of President Lamar,
gave to each organized county, as an endowment
for its free schools, three leagues of public land, and
another league was added the next year, making a
total of nearly eighteen thousand acres. But so
great was the confusion of the time that little prog-
ress was made until after Texas became a state of
tlie Union. The constitution of the state, adopted in
1845, provided that the legislature should establish
a system of free schools, but the sparseness of the
population and the confusion caused by the Mexican
War resulted in another long delay.
Development of the school system. — ^Finally in
1854 Governor Elisha M. Pease persuaded the legis-
lature to set aside for the schools two million dollars *
worth of the United States bonds that Texas had
received in partial payment for her claim to the
eastern half of New Mexico. With the income from
these bonds the state was able to begin a system of
public schools, which made fair progress until inter-
rupted by the Civil War. After the war was over
another start was made, and by 1875 a hundred and
twenty thousand pupils were enrolled in the public
schools.
Since that time the schools have made very
substantial progress. In 1910 over eight hundred
and twenty thousand children were enrolled in the
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 311
»
public schools of the state, and the financial condi-
tion of the schools was greatly improved.
The permanent school fund. — ^In one particular
the school system of Texas surpasses that of any
other state in the Union. Its permanent endow-
ment in lands and bonds is probably the largest
permanent school fund in the world.^ This fortunate
condition resulted from the fact that when Texas
entered the Union it was allowed to keep its public
lands, instead of giving them to the United States
government, and the state has given these lands in
large quantities to the public sichools. For example,
when the state gave lands to railroad companies
to encourage them to build their lines, it required
them to survey two sections of land for every sec-
tion that they were to receive. One of these was
given to the railroads and the other was given to
the public schools. Finally, by the constitution of
1876, one-half of all the public land remaining was
given to the schools, and other lands were added
by the legislature a little later on. Much of these
lands have been sold and the money has been
invested in interest bearing bonds which are held
by the state treasurer for the benefit of the
schools.
^In 1910 the total value of the permanent school fund was
estimated at the enormous sum of eighty-three million dollars.
This total was made up of the following items :
312 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
The available school fund. — The available school
fund is the fund that is used each year for the sup-
port of the schools. In 1910 it amounted to thirteen
million doUars. About one-half of it comes from
the state and the other half from the counties and
the local school districts. The state's half is in part
derived from the interest on the bonds and land
notes belonging to the permanent school fund, and
in part from certain taxes levied and collected un-
der state law. These taxes are a poll-tax of one dol-
lar paid by all men between twenty-one ajid sixty
years of age, and a tax of twenty cents on each one
hundred dollars' worth of property owned in the
• state. One-fourth of the money received from a
state tax on certain occupations, for example, keep-
Value of lands unsold $ 4,000,000
Interest bearing land notes given by purchasers. . . 49,000,000
Interest bearing bonds in the state treasury 19,000,000
Lands and bonds held by counties « . . . . 11,000,000
Total $83,000,000
The school lands are sold on long time pa}Tnents and the
purchaser pays interest on what he owes for the land at the
rate of three per cent. The interest as paid becomes part
of the available school fund and is used for the support of
the schools, but the principal when paid is invested in inter-
est bearing bonds and becomes a part of the permanent fund.
The lands and bonds held by the counties were given to them
by the state, beginning with the grant of four leagues to each
county in 1839-1840.
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHAEITY 3I3
ing a store, is also added to the state's available
school fund. A part of the other half of the avail-
able fund comes from the lands and bonds held by
the counties, but a far larger part of it comes from
the taxes which the people in the local school dis-
tricts have voted upon themselves.
Defects of our school system. — ^We must not sup-
pose that Texas has one of the best school systems
in the United States. Because the permanent en-
dowment of our schools is so large, and because our
progress during the last forty years has been so
great, many patriotic Texans have made the mis-
take of thinking that this is the case. The truth is
that our public school system is far behind that of
the more progressive states. It ranks above that of
only a few of the poorer and more backward states
of the Union. The reason for this is that while the
people of Texas have too often depended entirely on
the permanent fund to maintain their schools, peo-
ple in other states have not hesitated to tax them-
selves heavily to improve their schools. In the
amount of money spent on the schools, in the char-
acter of the school buildings, in the length of the
school term, in the salaries paid the teachers, and
in the preparation and eflficiency of the teachers,
Texas stands far below the average of the other
states of the Union. Then, too, there are many chil-
dren who are not enrolled in the schools at all, and
many more who attend so irriegularly that they ob-
314 A SCHOOL HISTOEY. OF TEXAS
tain but little good from the schools. In 1910 more
than forty-two per cent of the children of Texas
were out of school every day and were getting no
benefit from the money that was being spent for
them. This is a very serious defect of our school
system, and should receive the earnest considera-
tion of our law makers and our other public men.
Recent progress in the public school system.— But
in spite of these defects, there is no reason for the
friends of education to be discouraged. There has
never been a time in the history of the state when
so many forces were at work for the improvement
of our schools. The State Department of Education,
directing and leading in educational progress, enjoys
the cordial .co-operation of the newspapers, the
women 's clubs, the farmers ' organizations, the State
Teachers' Association, and an organization of public
spirited men known as the * * Conference for Educa-
tion in Texas," and is working hard to secure better
buildings, better teachers, and longer terms for the
public schools. As a result of this work a large num-
ber of districts have voted bonds and special taxes
and are making great improvements in their schools.
• Many good laws have already been secured. One of
these permits the small rural districts to consolidate
and erect good country schools for the farmer boys
and girls. During 1911, two hundred such schools
were organized and put into operation.
The University of Texas. — ^A great university free
to all the people of the state was one of the cherished
dreams of the founders oi tlae T^e^^^^^^xM\a.
COHSOLIDATBD BUOIL SCHOOL
(The dilapidated ■:
316
A SCHOOL HISTOar OP TEXAS
In 1839, President Lamar urged congress to estab-
lish a "university for instruction in the highest
branches of science," and that body set aside fifty
leagues of land, amounting to two hundred and
twenty thousand acres, for the purpose of estab-
lishing two universities, one in the eastern and the
other in the western part of the state. But no ac-
, Main BniLDiNO
tive steps were taken toward starting the imiversity
until 1858. In that year the idea of two universities
was given up, and an act was passed confinning the
grant of fifty leagues of land and adding a great
deal more land to this endowment. It also provided
for the appointment of a board of trustees and for
the immediate establishment of the university. But
before anything was done the Civil "War came on
and another twenty-five years passed before the
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 317
dream of the fathers was realized. Finally, in 1883,
the doors of the main university at Austin were
thrown open and during the first year two hundred
a^d eighteen students were enrolled. The medical
department at Galveston was established in 1891.^
Although a number of the other states of the Union
have larger and richer universities than ours, the
University of Texas is now coming to be recognized
as one of the great state universities of the country,
and it may some day rank with the best.
The Agricultural and Mechanical College. — ^Dur-
ing the Civil War the United States government
offered a large grant of land to each state that would
agree to establish and maintain a college for in-
struction in agriculture and the mechanic arts.
Most of the Northern states accepted the offer at
once and established the new colleges as branches
of their state universities or as separate schools.
When Texas was readmitted to the Union after the
War, the legislature in 1871 voted to accept the
grant, and the state received one hundred and
eighty thousand acres of land from the Federal
government. The school was located on the main
line of the Houston and Texas Central Eailroad,
four miles south of Bryan. Here buildings were
* The main university at Austin consists of four depart-
ments or schools. They are the College of Arts, the Depart-
ment of Law, the Department of Engineering, and the De-
partment of Education for the training of teachers.
818 A SCHOOL HISTOET OP TEXAS
erected and the first session began -on October 4,
1876, with six students in attendance. It grew rap-
idly, however, and was soon crowded with students.
In 1911, it had an enrollment of eleven hundred. It
gives courses in agriculture, horticulture, and the
live stock industries, in addition to courses in what
are known as the mechanic arts. These embrace
ENOIHEEETNO BDILmNO, A.
courses in civil, mechanical, electrical, and architec-
tural engineering, and in the science and art of
spinning and weaving. There are also a number of
experiment farms managed under the direction of
the college authorities. Farmers are informed by
means of printed bulletins of the results of the ex-
periments carried on on these farms.
College of Industrial Arts. — This institution, lo-
cated at Denton, was created by an act of the
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHABETY
Twenty-aeventh Legislature and opened its doors in
September, 1903. The college offers four courses
leading to graduation, — ^Literary Course, Household
Arts Course, Fine and Industrial Arts Course, and
Commercial Art Course. It also offers vocational
or trade courses for young women who have limited
time and means. The primary purpose of the insti-
tution is to train young women in the art and science
of home-making. The college plant now consists of
ten buildings located on a beautiful campus of
seventy acres. In 1912 the college enrolled over four
hundred students.
The State Kormal Schools. — Texas has estab-
lished four schools for the special purpose of pre-
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 321
paring young men and women to teach in the public
schools in the state. The oldest of these schools is
the Sam Houston Normal Institute, which is located
at Huntsville, in the southeastern portion of the
state. It was established in 1879, and during its
thirty-odd years of existence has sent out a large
number of eflficient teachers for the public schools.
In 1911 it had an enrollment of about six hundred
students. Next in point of age is the North Texas
State Normal College at Denton. It opened its
doors to students in September, 1901, and was
crowded with students from the beginning. Its
enrollment in 1911 was about seven hundred. Two
years later the Southwest Texas State Normal School
was opened. It is situated on a beautiful hill over-
looking the town of San Marcos, and has made
steady progress from the first. Its enrollment in
1911 was about six hundred. To meet the needs of
the rapidly developing Panhandle section of the
state, the fourth state normal school was opened at
Canyon, in 1910. It is called the West Texas State
Normal College, and during its first year it enrolled
some two hundred and fifty students.
In 1911 an important law was passed for the
government of the state normal schools. It created
a special board of five persons, with the state super-
intendent of education as chairman, into whose
hands the selection of teachers and the general
control of the four normal schools was placed. This
322 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
board can give the normal schools much more time
and attention than it was possible for the state board
of education, — consisting of the governor, the secre-
tary of state, and the comptroller, — ^to give, and it
relieves those busy oflficials of a burden which they
were glad to place in other hands.
The Prairie View Normal and Industrial College.
In this school the state furnishes to the negro race
some of the advantages that the whites receive from
the Agricultural and Mechanical College, the College
•of Industrial Arts, and the state normal schools.
iSome of the negro boys and girls who attend this
;school are given instruction in agriculture, .cooking,
isewing, laundering, and other occupations, while
others are prepared to teach in the negro schools
•of the state. The school was opened in 1879, and
its management was entrusted to the board of di-
rectors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College.
Church schools and colleges. — ^Besides the schools
which the state has established and maintained,
many church schools and private institutions are
•doing excellent work in the cause of education in
'Texas. The oldest of the church schools is Baylor
University, which is supported by the Baptist
Church. It was founded at the old town of Inde-
pendence during the stormy days of the republic.
Later it was moved to Waco, where it has had a
very successful career. In recent years new build-
ings have been added, a large endowment fund has
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHABITY 32$
been collected, and the enrollment in all depart-
ments has increased to nearly fifteen hundred.
Other Baptist schools are the Baylor Female College
at Belton and Simmons College at Abilene.
The Methodist Church has also been very active-
in establishing schools. Southwestern University
was located at Georgetown in 1873 and has had a
very useful career. In 1911 it had an enrollment
of more than eleven hundred. Another important
Methodist school is the Polytechnic College at Fort
Worth. In 1911, the several conferences of this,
church decided to establish a great university to
be called the Southern Methodist University. A
valuable tract of land has been secured near the
city of Dallas, a large endowment fund is being
raised, and the buildings are being erected in prepa-
ration for an early opening of the school.
The principal school of the Christian Church is
the Texas Christian University at Fort Worth. It
began its career in 1873 as the Add-Ran College at
Thorp's Springs. Later the name was changed and
the school was moved to Waco. After a disastrous
fire that destroyed the main building in 1910, the
school was moved to its present location. In 1911
it had nearly four hundred students.
Among the other important church schools are
Trinity University at Waxahachie and Austin Col-
lege at Sherman, which are supported by the Presby-
terian churches of Texas. The Episcopal Church
324 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
and the Catholic Church have a number of schools
in the state, of which St. Mary^s College at Dallas,
belonging to the former, and St. Edward's College
at Austin, belonging to the latter, are probably the
best known.
The Rice Institute. — ^Another educational institu-
iion that promises to do a valua,ble work for Texas
is the Rice Institute at Houston. The establishment
of this school was made possible by a large endow-
ment from the estate of William Marsh Rice, who
died in 1900. The value of the endowment is now
estimated at ten million dollars. The school first
opened its doors to students in September, 1912.
The state's care of the unfortunate classes. — In
addition to educating the normal youth of the state,
Texas makes provision for its unfortunates, who are
regarded as the wards of the state. First are the
orphan children, for whom a home has been estab-
lished at Corsicana. Second are the blind and the
deaf and dumb. For these, three schools are sup-
ported at Austin, one for the blind children, one
for the deaf and dumb, and another for the negro
deaf and dumb and blind. The third class are the
insane. For them three asylums have been estab-
lished, one at Austin, one at San Antonio, and an-
other at Terrell. The state also maintains a colony
at Abilene for the treatment of people suffering from
epilepsy, and a state sanitarium for consumptives
has just been located near San Angelo.
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHAEITY 325
Homes for Confederate Veterans and Widows of
Confederate Soldiers. — The state of Texas, in re-
membrance of the sacrifices made by the men and
women who fought and suffered for the Southern
cause during the Civil War, maintains at Austin a
home for poor and disabled Confederate veterans,
and another home for the wives and widows of
Confederate veterans. The home for the veterans
was originally established as a private enterprise
by the John B. Hood Camp of Confederate Veterans,
at Austin, but in 1891 it was turned over to the state,
and since that time it has been managed as a state
institution. The number of veterans in the home
has grown from fifty-three at the time the state took
charge of it to more than four hundred. The estab-
lishment of the Confederate Woman's Home came
as a result of several years of patient and persistent
effort by the Texas Division of the United Daugh-
ters of the Confederacy, who raised sufficient funds
to start the home in 1908. In 1911 it was taken over
by the state and has now been enlarged to care for
about seventy-five women. Thus the men and women
who dared and suffered for the cause they loved are
protected from want and enabled to spend their
declining years surrounded by the comforts supplied
by a grateful people.
How the state handles the criminal classes. —
There is still another class of unfortunates that
must be regarded as the wards of the state. They
:326 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
.are the criminal classes. For the protection of
society and the reformation of the criminals, they
are confined in the state prisons. There are two
penitentiaries, one at Huntsville and one at Rusk,
besides a number of farms owned by the state on
which criminals are kept and worked. For the
reformation of wayward boys under sixteen years of
age, a reformatory or industrial school is maintained
by the state at Gatesville. Boys over sixteen go to
the penitentiaries along with the men. This is an
^vil that ought to be corrected, and many friends
of prison reform believe that a reformatory for the
training and reformation of young men should be
established. In recent years there has been a gen-
eral awakening on the subject of prison reform, and
many improvements have been made. The most
important of these is the abolition of what is called
the lease, or contract system, by which the labor of
the convicts was sold by the state to railroads and
planters. The convicts hereafter are to be worked
entirely within the prison walls, or on lands owned
or leased by the state.
Summary. — ^Attempts to establish a public school
system were made during the period of the republic
and the early state, but with little success. Two
million dollars of United States bonds were set
aside for the schools in 1854 and a start was made,
but the Civil War put a stop to all progress. After
the war a second start was made, and after the close
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC CHARITY 327*
of reconstruction rapid progress was made. Alto-
gether about forty million acres were given to the-
public schools, and the funds derived from their
sale now amount to more than eighty million dollars^
The total available income is more than thirteen
million dollars per year. While great progress has
been made, Texas is far from having one of the
best school systems in the country. The University^
of Texas, a dream of the fathers of Texas, was put
in operation in 1883. It now has more than two-
thousand regular students. The Agricultural and
Mechanical College was begun in 1876, and the
College of Industrial Arts in 1903. The state main-
tains four normals for training white teachers and
one for negroes. Tl^ere are many church schools in
the state, of which Baylor and Southwestern Uni-
versities are the most prominent. The state has-
established schools and asylums for the unfortunate
classes, and prisons for the criminals, and a re-
formatory for wayward boys.
QUESTIONS
1. Why should the state support a system of public free-
schools ?
2. What did the Texans say about education m the^
declaration of independence?
3. What law in regard to schools was passed in Presi-
dent Lamar^s administration?
4. What was done toward establishing a system of free-
schools in 1854 ?
5. What land grant was made to the schools in the con*-
stitution of 1876 ?
328 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
6. What are some of the principal defects of our school
gystem? How may they be remedied?
7. What are some of the good school laws recently passed ?
8. Give a brief history of the University of Texas.
9. What subjects are taught in the Agricultural and
Mechanical College?
10. When was the College of Industrial Arts established?
11. Where are the four state normal schools located?
12. Tell what you know of the church schools.
13. For what unfortunate classes does the state provide?
What provision does it make? Where are these state insti-
tutions located?
14. How does the state deal with the criminal classes?
APPENDIX I
THE UNANIMOUS
DECLAEATIOIf OF IlfDEPENDEXCE
MADE BY THE
DELEGATES OF THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS
IN GENERAL CONVENTION
AT THE TOWN OF WASHINGTON
ON THE 2nd day OF MARCH 1836
When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty
and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers
are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it
was instituted, and, so far from being a guarantee for the en-
joyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes
an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression :
When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country,
which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial
existence, and the whole nature of their government has been
forcibly changed, without their consent, from a restricted
federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a con-
solidated, central, military despotism in which every interest
is disregarded but that of the army and the priesthood —
both the eternal enemies of civil liberty, the ever-ready
minions of power, and the usual instruments of tyrants:
When, lon^ after the spirit of the constitution has departed,
moderation is, at length, so far lost by those in power that
329
330 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OF TEXAS
even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms,
themselves, of the constitution discontinued ; and so far from
their petitions and remonstrances being regarded the agents
who bear them are thrown into dungeons; and mercenary-
armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at
the point of the bayonet : When in consequence of such acts
of malfeasance and abdication, on the part of the government,
anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original
elements — In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right
of self-preservation — ^the inherent and inalienable right of the
people to appeal to first principles and take their political
affairs into their own hands in extreme cases — enjoins it as a
right towards themselves and a sacred obligation to their
posterity to abolish such government and create another, in
its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers,
and to secure their future welfare and happiness.
Nations, as well as individuals, are amenable for their acts
to the public opinion of mankind. A statement of a part of
our grievances is, therefore, submitted to an impartial world,
in justification of the hazardous but unavoidable step now
taken of severing our political connection with the Mexican
people, and assuming an independent attitude among the
nations of the earth.
The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited
and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to
colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written
constitution that they should continue to enjoy that constitu-
tional liberty and republican government to which they had
been habituated in the land of their birth, the United States
of America. In this expectation they have been cruelly dis-
appointed, inasmuch as the Mexican nation has acquiesced in
the late changes made in the government by General Antonio
Lopez de Santa Anna, who, having overturned the constitu-
tion of his country, now offers us the cruel alternative either
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 331
to abandon our homes, acquired by so many privations, or
submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, the combined
despotism of the sword and the priesthood.
It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila, by
which our interests have been continually depressed through
a jealous and partial course of legislation carried on at a far
distant seat of government, by a hostile majority, in an un-
known tongue; and this too, notwithstanding we have peti-
tioned in the humblest terms, for the establishment of a
separate state government, and have, in accordance with the
provisions of the national constitution, presented to the gen-
eral Congress a republican constitution which was, without
just cause contemptuously rejected.
It incarcerated in a dungeon, for a long time, one of our
citizens, for no other cause but a zealous endeavor to procure
the acceptance of our constitution and the establishment of a
state government.
It has failed and refused to secure on a firm basis, the
right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only
safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen.
It has failed to establish any public system of education,
although possessed of almost boundless resources (the public
domain) and, although it is an axiom, in political science, that
unless a people are educated and enlightened it is idle to
expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for
self-government.
It has suffered the military commandants stationed among
us to exercise arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny ; thus
trampling upon the most sacred rights of the citizen and
rendering the military superior to the civil power.
It has dissolved by force of arms, the State Congress of
Coahuila and Texas, and obliged our representatives to fly
for their lives from the seat of government ; thus depriving us
of the fundamental political right of representation.
332 ^ SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
It has demanded the surrender of a number of our citizens,
and ordered military detachments to seize and carry them into
the interior for trial; in contempt of the civil authorities,
and in defiance of the laws and the constitution.
It has made piratical attacks upon our commerce, by com-
missioning foreign desperadoes, and authorizing them to seize
our vessels, and convey the property of our citizens to far
distant ports for confiscation.
It denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty accord-
ing to the dictates of our own conscience ; by the support of a
national religion calculated to promote the temporal interests
of its human functionaries rather than the glory of the true
and living God.
It has demanded us to deliver up our arms, which are essen-
tial to our defense, the rightful property of freemen, and
formidable onlv to tvrannical o^overnments.
It has invaded our country, both by sea and by land, with
intent to lay waste our territory and drive us from our homes ;
and has now a large mercenary army advancing to carry on
against us a war of extermination.
It has, through its emisaries, incited the merciless savage,
with the tomahawk and scalping knife, to massacre the in-
habitants of our defenseless frontiers.
It hath been, during the whole time of our connection with
it, the contemptible sport and victim of successive military
revolutions; and hath continually exhibited every character-
istic of a weak, corrupt, and tyrannical government.
These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by. the
people of Texas until they reached that point at which for-
bearance ceases to be a virtue. We then took up arms in
defence of the national constitution. We appealed to our
Mexican brethren for assistance. Our appeal has been made
in vain. Though months have elapsed, no sympathetic re-
sponse has yet been heard from the Interior. We are, there-
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 333
fore, forced to the melancholy conclusion that the Mexican
people have acquiesced in the destruction of their liberty, and
the substitution therefor of a military government — ^that they
are unfit to be free and incapable of self-government.
The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees
our eternal political separation.
We, therefore, the delegates, with plenary powers, of the
people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing
to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do
hereby resolve and declare that our political connection with
the Mexican nation has forever ended ; and that the people of
Texas do now constitute a free sovereign and independent
republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attri-
butes which properly belong to independent nations; and,
conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and
confidentlv commit the issue to the decision of the Sunreme
Arbiter of the destinies of nations.
APPENDIX II
SUGGESTIONd TO TEACHERS
CHAPTEB I
See that the class has a definite idea of the geography of
Spain, France, and England. Describe the condition of geo»
graphical knowledge in Europe before Columbus discovered
America. In discussing Spain^s right to America explain
the international agreement that allows a tentative title to the
nation that makes a discovery. Show how this title is for-
feited through failure to follow discovery by colonization and
use of the new land. By reference to the map point out the
naturalness of Spain's exploration of Mexico from the West
Indies, and of Texas from Mexico. In discussing La Salle's
exploration of the Mississippi explain how Spain's right to
this region had lapsed through disuse, thus enabling France
to claim it. See that the class understands the significance
of the map on page 9. Point out on the map the distant
position of the English, but emphasize the necessity of keep^-
ing them in mind as the people who are finally to hold Texas.
ADDITIONAL BEADING
Cabeza de Vaca: Bancroft, North Mexican States and
Texas, I, 61-70; Garrison, Texas, 16-18 (Houghton, MiflBin,
and Company, Boston) ; The Journey of Alvar Nunez Cabeza
de Vaca, translated by Fanny Bandelier (Barnes & Company,
New York). This is Cabeza de Vaca's own narrative.
La Salle : Bancroft, I, 391-399 ; Garrison, 20-25 ; Parkman,
334
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 335
La Salle and the Discovery of the Cheat West, Chapters
XXIII-XXVIII (Little, Brown & Company, Boston) ; Win-
8or, Cartier to Frontenac (Houghton, Mifflin & Company,
Boston), Chapter XIV; Yoakum, History of Texas, I, Chap-
ters I-IIL
CHAPTEB n
By reference to the map (p. 13) illustrate the king^s motive
in desiring a settlement on Matagorda Bay. Explain the
strong missionary motives of the early explorers of America.
By showing how the principle that "possession is nine points
in law'^ applies to the colonization of a new country, explain
the alarm of the Spanish when they learned that the French
intended to settle on the Gulf coast. See that the class knows
the location of the Tejas Indians and understands the im-
portance of the Spanish settlement there as an outpost against
French expansion from Louisiana.
ADDITIONAL READING
Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, I, 399-406;
Boltoii, "Notes on Clark's, The Beginnings of Texas,'^ in
The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, XII,
148-158; Clark, The Beginnings of Texas, 168^-1718 (Bulle-
tin of the University of Texas, No. 98), pp. 1-42; Garrison,
Texas, .26-33; Father Massanefs Letter, translated by Pro-
fessor Lilia M. Casis, in The Quarterly, II, 281-312; Yoakum,
History of Texas, I, 44-46.
CHAPTEB ni
By a study of the map illustrate the danger to Spain of the
French settlement of Louisiana. Compare the causes of the
second settlement of East Texas with those of the first, show-
ing how fear of the French was the chief influence in both
cases. Do not, however, neglect the missionary motive. See
336 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
that the class has a clear idea of the general location of the
missions near Nacogdoches and San Augustine. Emphasize
their importance as signboards of the Spanish occupancy of
Texas. Emphasize the importance of the family in the mak-
ing of a permanent settlement. Without reference to the map
upon which it is shown, have the class draw the Old San
Antonio Eoad. This can be done with sufficient accuracy as
follows : Draw a line straight west from Nacogdoches to the
Neches Eiver, thence southwest to Crockett, thence to Bas-
trop, thence to San Antonio, and thence to a point about eight
miles southeast of Eagle Pass. Dwell somewhat upon the im-
portance of San Antonio as a halfway station between Mexico
and the East Texas settlements, and ' particularly emphasize
its importance as a permanent center from which other settle-
ments were sent out.
Dwell on the three-fold character of a Spanish settlement,
and bring out the work of the missionaries. To convey a fair
impression of the missionary work, it is well to emphasize
the peculiarly untractable nature of the Indian, which has
enabled him to withstand to a great degree the civilizing in-
fluences of every nation that has come into contact with him.
An instructive comparison may be made of the results of
the friars^ labors with those of modem foreign missionaries.
By reference to the map which shows the advance of the
Spanish frontier to the Mississippi, explain why the East
Texas garrisons were no longer needed in 1763. Point out the
importance of Nacogdoches as an outpost against the Amer-
icans after Spain lost Louisiana.
ADDITIONAL READING
Saint-Denis and the Spanish Ee-occupation of East Texas :
Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, I, 609-14 ; Bugbee,
"The Beal Saint-Denis," in The Quarterly of the Texas State
Historical Association, I, 266-81; Clark, The Beginnings of
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 337
Texa^, leSJ^niS, pp. 43-69 ; Garrison, Texas, 34-49 ; Yoakum,
History of Texas, I, 46-52.
The Early History of San Antonio : Austin, ^TThe Munici-
pal Government of San Fernando de Bexar, 1730-1800,^' in
The Quarterly, VIII, 277-328; Clark, 69-88; Cox, "The
Founding of the First Texas Municipality,^' in The Quarterly,
II, 217-26, "The Early Settlers of San Fernando,^' V, 142-60,
"Educational Efforts in San Fernando de Bexar,'' VI, 1-26 ;
Garrison, 67-74.
Mission Life: Bolton and Barker, With the Makers of
Texas, 61-66 ; Garrison, 53-66 ; Yoakum, I, chapter V.
Eelations between the Spanish and the French: Bancroft,
I, 615-20; Garrison, 75-84; Yoakum, I, chapters VI-IX,
passim.
The Beginnings of Nacogdoches: Bolton, "The Spanish
Abandonment and Ee-occupation of East Texas, 1773-1779,"
in The Quarterly, IX, 67-137.
CHAFTEB IV
Review page 10 and follow the expansion of the English,
pointing out the significance of the map in 1763, when the
English and the Spanish met on the Mississippi, far from
Texas, and in 1803, when the boundary between them was
moved westward to the frontier of Texas. Explain the bound-
ary dispute that grew out of the Louisiana purchase, noting
the compromise settlement of 1806 which created the Neutral
Ground, and the permanent settlement of 1819. Dwell upon
the importance of the successive invasions as a means of mak-
ing Americans acquainted with Texas. Show how the rela-
tions between the Americans and their Mexican allies in the
Gutierrez-Magee expedition tended to create mutual dislike
and distrust. Compare Spain's exclusion of foreigners from
Texas with the present exclusion of the Chinese from the
United States.
338 ^ SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
ADDITIONAL BEADING
Nolan^s Expedition : Bancroft, North Mexican States and
Texas, II, 5-9 ; Brown, History of Texas, I, 35-49 ; Cox, '^The
Louisiana-Texas Frontier/* in The Quarterly of the Texas
State Historical Association, X, 50-62 ; Garrison, Texas, 110-
16; Yoakum, History of Texas, I, 111-16, 156-61.
The Gutierrez and Magee Expedition: Bancroft, II, 19-
32; Garrison, 116-21; McCaleb, "The First Period of Gutier-
rez-Magee Expedition,'* in The Quarterly, IV, 218-29; Yoak-
um, I, 143-56, 162-76.
Long's Expedition : Bancroft, II, 47-52 ; Foote, Texas and
the Texans, I, 198-216; Garrison, 121-243; Yoakum, I, 198-
202.
Conditions on Galveston Island, 1816-21: Bancroft, II,
33-47; Garrison, 125-36; Yoakum, I, 193-209.
The Neutral Ground: Bancroft, II, 9-16; Garrison, 128-
31; Yoakum, I, 131-34.
CHAPTER V
Compare the Mexican revolt from Spain with the American
revolution, and emphasize the difference in their previous
political training which enabled the Americans to inaugurate
a successful independent government while the Mexicans were
unprepared for self-government. Show how their lack of ex-
perience made the government of the Mexicans unstable and
ineflBcient, and exposed them to the scheming of politicians.
Call attention to the fact that this same instability and in-
efficiency gave the American colonists in Texas a contemptuous
opinion of the government, and paved the way for the Texas
revolution. See that the class understands clearly the general
outline of the government of Texas under Mexican rule —
governor, legislature, political chiefs, alcaldes, and town coun-
cils — ^but bring out the point that in most matters each locality
really governed itself. Present the American colonization of
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 339
Texas as merely a step in the general movement of westward
expansion of the United States, connecting it with the spread
from the Appalachian mountains to the Mississippi, and with
the purchase of Louisiana. Many Americans had become
familiar with Texas through the filibustering expeditions, and
it is doubtful whether Mexico could much longer have pre-
vented their occupation of the country if it had tried. Call
attention to the excellent judgment with which Austin selected
the location for his colony. It was to be an agricultural set-
tlement, and he chose unerringly one of the richest regions
in the province. Emphasize the rapid development of Texas
between 1824 and 1834, and contrast this decade with the
three barren centuries of Spanish rule. Emphasize the close
connection between the colonists and the United States, and
the comparative absence of any ties between them and Mexico.
This has an important bearing on the development of the
Texas revolution.
ADDITIONAL EEADING
The War of Mexican Independence: Garrison, Texas, 97-
109; Nell, From Empire to Republic, 1-109. (McClurg and
Company, Chicago.) Yoakum, History of Texas, I, 204-9.
Austin's Colony: Bancroft, North Mexican States and
Texas, II, 54-73 ; Garrison, 137-52 ; Yoakum, I, 209-29.
Other Colonies : Bather, *'De Witf s Colony'' in The Quar*
terly of the Texas State Historical Association, VIII, 95-192.
Social and Economic Conditions in the Colonies: The
references given above for young readers (p. 82) ; and The
Quarterly, I, 297-302; II, 170-173, 227-232; IV, 85-119; V,
12-18; VI, 236-253.
CHAFTEB VI
In ordei to give the class a somewhat personal appreciation
of how race prejudice underlay and exaggerated the causes
of the revolution, remind them of their own feeling toward
340 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
foreigners and let them see that between the colonists and the
Mexicans this feeling was mutual. Explain further how the
aggressiveness of the American pioneers and the rapid expan-
sion of the United States naturally caused Mexico to suspect
that the United States would seize Texas at the first oppor-
tunity. This suspicion was powerfully strengthened by the
fact that the United States had been trying ever since 1825
to purchase all or a part of the province. With this racial
distrust as a background, and the added uneasiness of Mexico
regarding the intentions of the United States, it is easy to
understand how the events of 1825-35 were misunderstood. In
justice to the Mexicans, remember that some of their short-
comings were due to this consuming uneasiness, and some to
their lack of experience in administering a republican gov-
ernment. It was not their deliberate intention .to oppress the
colonists.
Guard the class against the impression that the revolution
was a spontaneous and unanimous outburst of indignation on
the part of the colonists. Until the war was actually precipi-
tated by the battle of Gonzales the colonists were sharply
divided on the questions of what they should do, and probably
a majority of them were in favor of peace. Emphasize the
fact that during the first period of the revolution the colo-
nists were not fighting for independence but to preserve the
republican constitution of 1824. There were two reasons for
this: In the first place, the majority of the colonists either
did not care to be independent of Mexico or thought it unwise
to declare independence at that time ; and, in the second place,
they believed that by fighting for the republican constitution
they could get assistance from the Liberal party in Mexico.
They failed to get this help, however, and as the war con-
tinued there was nothing to do but declare independence. Com-
pare in a general way the Texan constitution of 1836 with the
constitution of the United States : for example, the executive.
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 341
legislative and judicial arrangements, and the provision con-
cerning the African slave trade. Show the disastrous effects
of the quarrel between Governor Smith and the council in
paralyzing the action of the government and in discouraging
the people. The lack of unity and co-operation among the
various Texan forces in 1836 was chiefly due to the quarrel.
It left Texas without any directing head, so that every man
was, to a certain extent, thrown upon his own resources and
judgment. From a study of the text, have the class trace on a
map the route of General Houston and Santa Anna to San
Jacinto.
ADDITIONAL READING
The Causes of the Eevolution: Bancroft, North Mexican
States and Texas, II, 98-152; Garrison, Texas, 161-88;
Yoakum, History of Texas, I, 274-379 ; The Quarterly of the
Texas State Historical Association, VI, 265-99 (Eowe, "The
Disturbances at Anahuac in 1832''), VII, 1-28 (Turner, "The
Mejia Expedition'').
The Organization of the Eevolution : Bancroft, II, 152-65 ;
Garrison, 189-91. * ♦
The Battle of Gonzales: Bancroft, II, 165-68; Garrison,
191; Yoakum, I, 361-65; The Quarterly, VIII, 146, 149-58
(Bather, "De Witt's Colony").
The Capture of San Antonio by the Texans in 1835 : Ban-'
croft, II, 175-89; Garrison, 192-94; Yoakum, II, 1-32; The
Quarterly, XI, 1-55 ("General Austin's Order Book of the
Campaign of 1835").
The Quarrel between Governor Smith and the Council:
Bancroft, II, 192-95; Garrison, 194,204; The Quarterly, V,
269-345 (Smith, "The Quarrel between Governor Smith and
the CounciV* etc.).
The Alamo : Bancroft, II, 201-15 ; Brown, History of
24:2 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Texas, I, 532-40, 550-51, 565-86 ; Garrison, 204-9 ; Kennedy,
Texas, II, 181-93 ; Yoakum, II, 75-82.
The Goliad Massacre: Bancroft, II, 219-37; Garrison,
205-6; Kennedy, 199-216; Wooten (editor), A Comprehensive
History of Texas, I, 608-36. (This is Dr. Bernard^s Journal,
one of the most important sources on Fannin and the Goliad
massacre) ; Yoakum, II, 83-101 ; The Quarterly, IX, 157-209
(EoUer, "Captain John Sowers Brooks.^' This is a collection
of letters written by one of Fannin's men during January,
February, and March of 1836.)
The "Kunaway Scrape'' : The Quarterly, IV, 162-69.
The San Jacinto Campaign: Bancroft, II, 238-78; Garri-
son, 219-27; Yoakum, II, 102-176; The Quarterly, IV, 237-
345. (Barker, "The San Jacinto Campaign.")
CHAPTER VH
See that the class understands the more striking differences
between. Texas as an independent nation and as a state of the
American Union. As a state it has no army or navy to main-
tain; it has no custom officers, and no duties to collect; it has
no ministers at foreign courts, makes no treaties, and has no
foreign relations. As an independent nation it had to have
all of these. Independence greatly increased the responsibilities
of Texas, and made its position more difficult in some respects
than it had been while subject to Mexico. The people realized
this, and it was partly this which caused them to vote for an-
nexation to the United States.
Illustrate the disorder of the time by the refusal of the vol-
unteers to allow Santa Anna to return to Mexico, and by their
refusal to accept General Lamar for their commander. In
connection with Santa Anna's detention, point out that nations
cannot afford to be influenced by personal emotions of revenge
and spite. They must act for the good of all the people, and,
above all, to hold the respect of other nations, they must keep
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 343
their treaties. Santa Anna might not have aided Texas, if he
had been allowed to return, but the government thought the
experiment worth trying.
Dwell somewhat upon the refusal of the people to allow
congress to amend the constitution, and upon the provision
in the constitution that no president should serve two terms
in succession. These are partly to be explained by the demo-
cratic character of the people and partly by their experience
with the Mexican government. The object was to prevent
anyone from getting permanent control of the country.
Emphasize the importance of establishing order and of
securing immigration as a means of making Texas strong and
enabling it to win a respectable place among nations. Point
out the means adopted to stimulate immigration, and show
how social and economic conditions in Europe and the United
States were favorable to Texan immigration. In this con-
nection point out that much pf the trouble with the Indians
was due to the rapid settlement of the country, and to the
consequent pushing back of the frontier.
There is a somewhat natural temptation to think too harshly
of Mexico^s refusal to recognize the independence of Texas.
Eemind the class that the Mexicans honestly believed that
they had been badly treated by the Texans. Many believed
that the Americans had come to Texas for the express pur-
pose of seizing Texas. The Mexican government realized
clearly enough at last that it would be impossible to reconquer
the country, but the Mexican people did not realize it, and
would have overthrown any government that recognized
Texas.
Explain England^s interest in Mexico, and show how this at
first aflfected its attitude toward Texas. When England
became convinced that Mexico could never reconquer Texas,
it shifted its policy in the hope of winning compensating
advantages in Texas for those that it might lose in Mexico.
344 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
Show how England's manifestation of interest in Texas
stimulated the United States to annex it. Dwell upon the
advantages of annexation both to the United States and to
Texas. Emphasize Mexico's threat of war if the United
States annexed Texas. This is important in connection with
the Mexican War.
ADDITIONAL BEADING
Santa Anna's imprisonment: Bancroft, II, 268-277;
Brown, II, 73-84, 119-122 ; Yoakum, II, 171-175, 179, 233-
235.
The army of the Eepublic : Bancroft, II, 289-290 ; Brown,
II, 86-89, 133-135; Garrison, 231-232 ; Yoakum, 183-188, 206-
207, 209.
The Eepublic of the Eio Grande : Bancroft, II, 326-332 ;
Brown, II, 172-175 ; Yoakum, II, 274-280, 288-298.
The Santa Fe expedition: Bancroft, II, 332-337; Brown,
II, 189-197, 220-221; Garrison, 244-246; Kendall, George W.,
Narrative of the Texas Santa Fe Expedition (2 volumes,
New York, 1844) ; Yoakum, II, 321-332, 330, 342-344.
The Mexican invasions of 1842: Bancroft, II, 347-354,
357,360; Brown, II, 211-232; Garrison, 246-249; Yoakum,
II, 348-368.
The Mier expedition: Bancroft, II, 360-370; Brown, II,
233-253; Garrison, 248-251; Green, T. J., Journal of the
Texian Expedition Against Mier. (New York, 1845).
The Navy: Bancroft, II, 271-272, 283-284, 350-353;
Brown, II, 85-86, 126-128, 198-200; Dienst, Alex., "The Navy
of the Eepublic of Texas," in The Quarterly of the Texas
State Historical Association, XII, 165-203, 249-275, XIII,
1-44, 85-127 ; Garrison, 230-231 ; Yoakum, II, 124, 212-213,
216-218, 243, 271, 303, 380-384.
Biographical sketches of early Texans (arranged alpha*
betically) : Thrall, A Pictorial History of Texas, 477-637.
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 345
Finances of the Kepnblic : Bancroft, II, 312-313, 317-319,
344-347; Garrison, 235-236; Yoakum, II, 189, 206-207, 209,
214, 243-245, 249-250, 281-282, 314-318, 333-343.
Indian Affairs : Bancroft, II, 310-311, 319-326 ; Brown, II,
129-130, 143-145, 154-164, 175-185, 262-27^ ; Garrison, 232-
235; Thrall, 445-471; Yoakum, II, 227-228, 245-248, 257-270.
Population and Wealth : Bancroft, II, 306-310, 388-393 ;
Brown, II, 280-286, Garrison, 235-240, 269-2^71; Yoakum,
II, 241-242, 285-287, 311-313.
Eecognition of Texan Independence: Bancroft, II, 284-
289, 300-303; Brown, II, 71-72, 97-98; Garrison, Westward
Extension, 85-97 (Harpers, New York, 1906) ; Bather, Ethel
Z., "Eecognition of the Eepublic of Texas by the United
States," in The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical As-
sociation, XIII, 155-256; Yoakum, II, 177, 206-209.
British Interest in Texas : Adams, E. D., British Interests
and Activities in Teocas (Johns Hopkins University Press,
Baltimore, 1910) ; Bancroft, II, 338-340, 374; Smith, Justin
H., The Annexation of Texas, chapter 18 (Baker & Taylor
Company, New York, 1911) ; Worley, J. L., "The Diplomatic
Eelations of England and the Eepublic of Texas,^^ in The
Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, IX, 1-40.
The Annexation of Texas : Bancroft, II, 372-383 ; Brown,
II, 296-315; Garrison, Texas, 255-268; Garrison, Westward
Extension, chapters 6-10; Smith, J. H., The Annexation of
Texas; Yoakum, II, 345-347, 407-433.
CHAPTER Vm
Make clear to the pupils the changes in international rela-
tions, and in powers and form of government, involved in
the transformation of the republic into the state. Be sure
that the pupils clearly understand the close connection between
the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War; and make
Jj
846 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
clear to them the vast consequences of that war to the United
States. It will be easier, then, to show them the importance
of the American settlements in Texas. It may be possible to
show the class that the slavery dispute had much to do with the
refusal of the United States government to let Texas have part
of New Mexico. Explain that the bonds and treasury notes,
which constituted the public debt, were scaled down because
they had been sold to speculators at a price far below their
face value. See that the class gets a clear idea of the distribu-
tion of the population between 1850 and 1860, and of the
pushing westward of the frontier. The importance of railroad
building can be made evident by showing how much we are
ourselves dependent upon them to-day for the commonest
necessities and how greatly they have reduced the cost of these
necessities. It may be possible to show that the quarrel
between the North and the South was not wholly over the
slavery question; and the pupils should be made to under-
stand that the Southern states seceded because the people
thought they would not be able to preserve the rights of their
states in the Union.
ADDITIONAL EEADING
The Organization of the State Government : Eoberts, 0. M.,
in A Comprehensive History of Texas, II, 7-21; Lubbock,
Six Decades in Texas, 179-180; Thrall, 357-368; Brown, II,
308-318.
The War with Mexico: Bancroft, II, 394-397; Compre-
hensive History, II, 21-24; Brown, II, 318-340; Lubbock,
180-182 ; Fulmore, Z. T., "The Annexation of Texas and the
Mexican War,^' in The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical
Association, V, 28-48; Garrison, 261-264; Brooks, S. P.,
'Texas in the Federal Union,^* in The South in the Building
of the Nation, III, 383-386.
The Boundary Dispute with the United States : Bancroft,
SUGGESTIONS TO TEAOHEES 347
II, 399-401 ; Brown, II, 344-346 ; Garrison, 264-266 ; Lubbock,
190-192 ; Comprehensive History, II, 27-29 ; Thrall, 359-367 ;
Brooks, in The South in the Building of the Nation, III,
386-388.
The Public Debt: Brown, II, 353-354; Bancroft, II, 400-
404, 412-419; Garrison, 266; Brooks, in The South in the
Building of the Nation, III, 391-392; Thrall, 361-372.
The Frontier: Garrison, 271-275; Brown, II, 356,362,
377-383 ; Bancroft, II, 405-412.
The Beginnings of Railroads : Potts, C. S., Railroad Trans-
portation in Texas (Bulletin of the University of Texas, No.
119), 9-36; Brown, II, 354-356; Briscoe, P., "The First
Texas Eailroad,'^ in The Quarterly of the Texas State His-
torical Association^ VII, 279-285.
The Beginnings of the Public School System : Lane, J. J.,
A History of Education in Texas, 26-27; Kenney, M. M.,
^TlecoUections of Eariy Schools,** in The Quarterly of the
Texas State Historical Association, I, 285-296.
The Approach of Civil War : Bancroft, II, 419-426 ; Com-
prehensive History, II, 50-85 ; Garrison, 282-285. Any good
history of the United States.
CHAPTEB IX
Show how the distance of Texas from the IToriih, the lack
of railroad communication, and the intervening Confederate
States protected the Texans from invasion by land. Empha-
size the importance, in consequence of this, of keeping control
of the seaports and thus preventing an invasion by water.
Show by means of the sketch map, on page 216, how the
Federals had planned to seize Sabine Pass, Beaumont, Hous-
ton, and Galveston, and thence invade the state. Explain
that the Confederate armies could not have been kept up with-
out constant supplies of food, clothing, and arms, and then
348 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
sho\^ how important were the supplies sent from Texas and
brought from abroad through Mexico. See that the pupilB
understand how the blockade and the depreciation of Con-
federate papei money made prices high. Many of the children
will be able to obtain from their grandmothers stories of hard-
ship suffered during the war.
In beginning the reconstruction period try to get the
children to see clearly the two sides of the situation : (1) The
South trying to get back into the Union at once; (2) the
North distrustful and wanting to impose conditions, especially
negro suffrage, as the price of reunion. Make it clear that
President Johnson wanted to readmit the Southern states on
easy terms, but that Congress, which represented the people
of the North, repudiated the president's plan and forced the
states back under military control, and required them to grant
suffrage to the negroes. Explain that Texas fared somewhat
better under this plan than did most of the other states. See
that the children have some understanding of the difference
between military rule, and ordinary civil government. As an
illustration, show that under the former a person who was
accused of a violation of the law had none of the safeguards
which are ordinarily given an accused person (habeas corpus,
bail, trial by jury, etc.). Explain that the Democrats opposed
giving votes to the negroes because the latter were ignorant,
inexperienced in political affairs, of a different race, and but
lately slaves; while the radical Eepublicans favored negro
suffrage partly as a fancied security to the negro, partly
because they hoped to retain political power through negro
votes. Call the attention of the pupils to the fact that the
harshness of Eeconstruction converted practically all the
whites in the South into Democrats, and that the South has
been Democratic ever since.
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES 349
ADDITIONAL READING
Secession: A Comprehensive History of Texas, II, 85-135;
Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, II, 427-441;
Eamsdell, Charles W., Reconstruction in Texas, 11-20 ; Eeagan,
John H., "A Conversation with Governor Houston,^^ in The
Quarterly of Texas State Historical Association, III, 279-281.
Texas Troops in the Confederate Armies : A Comprehensive
History, 571-650; Policy, J. B., Hood's Texas Brigade.
The Eecapture of Galveston: Lubbock, Six Decades %n
Texas, 432-454; Bancroft, II, 454-456; Ramsdell, "Texas
in the Confederacy,^' in The South in the Building of the
Nation, 111, ^11-412.
Conditions During the War : A Comprehensive History, II,
142-146 ; Bancroft, II, 468-474.
Supplies Furnished from Texas: Lubbock, 359-371, 478-
480, 667-673; Ramsdell, "Texas in the Confederacy,^' in The
South in the Building of the Nation, III, 405-408.
The Close of the War in Texas : Ramsdell, Reconstruction
in Texas, 27-41; The South in the Building of the Nation,
III, 415-417.
The Provisional Government: Ramsdell, 55-84; A Com'
prehensive History, II, 151-155; Bancroft, II, 478-482.
The Restoration of State Government in 1866: Ramsdell,
108-141; Bancroft, II, 482-487; A Comprehensive History,
II, 155-163; Roberts, 0. M., "The Experiences of an Un-
recognized Senator," in The Quarterly of Texas State His-
torical Association, XII, 87-147.
The Establishment of Military Government by Congress:
Ramsdell, 145-170; A Comprehensive History, II, 163-168;
Bancroft, II, 487-494.
Hardships of Reconstruction : Ramsdell, 171-199 ;. Wheeler,
T. B., "Reminiscences of Reconstruction in Texas," in The
Quarterly of Texas State Historical Association, XI, 63-65.
350 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
The Xegroes, the Union League, and the Ku Klux Klan:
Bamsdell, 44-51, 70-77, 166, 232; Wood, W. D., "The Ku
Klux Klan,'* in The Quarterly of Texas State Historical
Association, IX, 262-268.
The Convention of 1868 : Eamsdell, 200-260 ; A Compre-
hensive History, II, 173-179 ; Bancroft, 494-497.
The Election of 1869 and Eeadmission to the Union:
Eamsdell, 261-292 ; Bancroft, II, 497-500 ; A Comprehensive
History, 179-188.
The Character of Eadical Eule : Eamsdell, 295-308 ; Ban-
croft, II, 501-507;' Brown, II, 451-455; A Comprehensive
History, II, 188-193 ; Miller, E. T., "The State Finances of
Texas During Eeconstruction,^* in The Quarterly of TexaB
State Historical Association, XIV, 87-112.
The Overthrow of Eadical Eule: Eamsdell, 309-317;
Comprehensive History, II, 201-207; Bancroft, II, 508-511;
Brown, History of Texas, II, 456-480 ; Wheeler, T. B., "Eemi-
niscences of Eeconstruction in Texas,^' in The Quarterly of
Texas State Historical Association, XI, 56-63.
CHAPTER X
The period since the close of reconstruction has been one of
orderly development and there are few striking events to
narrate. You should see that the student understands the
transition from the turbulence of the period of radical rule to
the orderly conditions following the return of the Democratic
party to power. The organization of the government under
the new constitution, the suppression of disorder, the financial
reforms of Eoberts's administration, the causes and events
connected with the creation of the railroad commission, and
the recent efforts to purify elections and subject political
parties to popular control are probably the mose essential
things to impress upon the mind of the pupil. The details of a
disaster like the Galveston storm are of far less importance
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 351
than the protective measures that have since been adopted, or
the new form of city government that resulted from the
cit/s calamity.
ADDITIONAL READING
The Constitution of 1876 : Bancroft, II, 514-518 ; Brown,
II, 485-487; Roberts, "The Political, Legislative, and Judi-
cial History of Texas for Its Fifty Years of Statehood,^' in
Wooten's A Comprehensive History of Texas, II, 214-217.
State Finances: Bancroft, II, 513, 522-524; Brown, II,
481-493 ; Roberts as above, 218, 234, 235, 252-53.
The Capitals of Texas: Roberts as above, 239, 269-271;
Roberts, "The Capitals of Texas,^' in The Quarterly of Texas
State Historical Association, II, 117-123; Winkler, "The
Seat of Government of Texas,^^ in The Quarterly, X, 140-171
and 185-245.
The Greer County Question : Bancroft, II, 525-526.
Railway Regulation and the Railroad Commission: Potts,
Railroad Transportation in Texas, University of Texas Bul-
letin, No. 119, 106-174; Deussen, "Has the Railroad Commis-
sion Succeeded in Preventing Discriminations,'^ in the Uni-
versity of Texas Record, IV, No. 4, 422-462 ; Thompson, "The
Regulation of the Issue of Texas Railroad Securities by the
State Government,^' in Transactions of the Texas Academy of
Science, V, 3-17 ; Raines, Speeches and State Papers of James
Stephen Hogg, 27, 32-50, 58-64,, 136-154, 156-159, 187-196,
201-208, 215-224, 296-301; Miller, "The Texas Stock and
Bond Law and Its Administration,'' in Quarterly Journal of
Economics, XII, 109-119.
The Terrell Election Law : Lightf oot. The Terrell Election
Law, (This is a pamphlet containing the election law and
extracts from court decision, prepared for free distribution by
Attorney General Lightf oot) .
Biographies : Wooten, '^The Life and Services of Oran Milo
352 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
Eoberts/' in The Quarterly, II, 1-20; McCaleb, "John H.
Eeagan/' in The Quarterly, IX, 41-50; Eaines, Speeches and
State Papers of James Stephen Hogg, 5-19 ; Lane, History of
Education in Texas, 292-293. (Sketch of the life of Governor
L. S. Eoss).
The Commission Form of City Government : Woodruflf, City
Government hy Commission (Appleton and Company, New
York) ; Bradford,. Commission Government in American
Cities (The Maemillan Company, New York).
CHAPTER XI
Give this chapter a local application whenever it can profit-
ably be done. In connection with the growth of population,
have the children learn the population of their own town and
county for each decennial period. Also have them study the
racial elements in the local population, and find out how many
different states are represented in the class or the school. In
connection with the various industries discussed in the text,
have the children learn from their parents or elsewhere what
is being done locally in each particular industry. It would
be instructive to take the class to visit a farm or ranch, if
they are city children, or to inspect a cotton gin, or an oil mill,
or a coal mine, or a factory, or a packing house, or any other
local industry. In this way the subject can be made a live
and interesting one, not a dry recital of lifeless statistics.
In connection with the subject of railroad building, explain
how a bonus is raised to secure the building of a railroad.
Have the children make maps showing the principal lines of
railroads in the state, especially the lines in their part of the
state. Maps of the roads can usually be f oimd in the folders
or time tables printed for distribution by the roads. Collec-
tions of these folders can be secured in any first class hotel.
Do not be satisfied with a mere committing to memory of the
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 353
material in the text, but bring it into close touch with the
actual life of the community about you.
ADDITIONAL READING
Population: United States Census Reports for 1870, 1880,
1890, 1900 ; Bancroft, II, 539 ; Brown, II, 498-500 ; Garrison,
305-308.
Agriculture and Stock Eaising: Census Eeports as above.
Bancroft, II, 557-564; Texas Almanac for 1910 and 1911
(Galveston-Dallas News) ; Year Boole of the Department of
Agriculture, (Sent free on application to the Department
of Agriculture, Washington). Further material may be
obtained without expense by applying to the United States
Department of Agriculture, to the State Department of Agri-
culture, at Austin, and to the Agricultural and Mechanical
College, College Station.
Transportation and Railroad Building: Bancroft, II, 570-
576 ; Brown, II, 500-503 ; Garrison, 303-304 ; Potts, Railroad
Transportation in Texas (Bulletin of the University of Texas,
No. 119, issued for free distribution to citizens of the State).
Briscoe, "The First Texas Railroad,'' in The Quarterly of
Texas State Historical Association, VII, 279-285; Deussen,
"The Beginnings of the Texas Railroad System,'' in Trans--
actions of the Texas Academy of Science, IX, 43-74; Thomp-
son, "The Development of the Present Texas Railroad Sys-
tem," Transactions of the Texas Academy of Science, IV,
Part I, 57-80.
Mining and Manufacturing: The Census Reports; The
Texas Almanac; Bancroft, II, 564-566. The University of
Texas has issued a number of bulletins on coal, lignite, quick-
silver, clays, and other minerals. Such of these as are in print
may be secured upon application to the University.
354 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
CHAFTEB XII
This chapter furnishes the teacher an excellent opportunity
io arouse the interest of the children and, through them, the
interest of the entire community, in the problem of securing
better schools, better salaries, and better teachers. The teacher
should emphasize the necessity of educating all the people in a
•country where all the people take part in public aflEairs. He
should point out the defects of our school system no less earn-
estly than its merits and where possible indicate the means
by which improvements may be made. Special attention
should be called to the necessity of erecting good school build-
ings in place of the miserable "shacks*' that are now used in
many communities. In order to secure good buildings it will
frequently be necessary to combine several small schools into
larger ones and vote bonds for the erection of the central
building. The result of such a movement is shown in the
illustration in the text (p. 315). The necessity of school
gardens for teaching agriculture and the desirability of making
the school building a center for all sorts of social gatherings
should also be pointed out. In fact, this chapter furnishes the
teacher the best opportunity he will have for molding the opin-
ions of the people of the community on educational and social
subjects.
ADDITIONAL EEADING
Lane, History of Education in Texas (Published by United
States Bureau of Education, 1903) ; Lane, "The Educational
System of Texas,'' in Wooten's Comprehensive History of
Texas, II, 424-470 ; Bancroft, II, 528-550 ; Brown, ll, 506-
514: Garrison, 308-311; Eoberts, "Establishment of the Uni-
versity of Texas," in The Quarterly of Texas State Historical
Association, I, 233-265.
\
APPENDIX III
OUTLINE
I. The Background of Texas History (1492-1689).
1. The Spanish.
a. The basis of Spain^s claim to Texas.
(1) Columbus's discovery of America.
(2) Exploration of Texas by Cabeza de Vaca,
Coronado, and others.
b. Spain's early neglect of Texas.
2. The French.
a. Late arrival and rapid spread of the French in
America.
(1) Over the St. Lawrence Valley and around
the Great Lakes.
(2) Over the Mississippi Valley.
b. The basis of France's claim to Texas.
(1) La Salle's settlement at Fort St. Louis.
(a) The accident which brought La
Salle to Texas.
(b) History of his settlement.
(c) Its importance.
3. The English.
a. Their first settlements in America.
b. Their slow spread.
e. The permanence of their colonies.
d. Their part in the history of Texas.
II. Spain Begins to Occupy Texas (1690-1714).
1. The causes which aroused Spanish interest in Texas.
a. The desire for a convenient route to New
Mexico.
b. The missionary motive.
c. The fear of French encroachment.
355
356 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
2. The search for the French.
a. The condition of Fort St. Louis when found.
b. The meeting with the Tejas chief.
3. The first Texas mission.
a. Its location.
b. Character and civilization of the Tejas.
c. Causes of the failure of the mission.
d. Its importance as an experiment in Texas
colonization.
III. Spain Takes Possession of Texas (1714-1800).
1. The French stimulate the Spanish to occupy Texas.
a. The French settle Louisiana.
b. The appointment of Saint-Denis to arrange for
trade with northern Mexico through Texas.
(1) His commerce with the Hasinai Indians.
(2) His journey to Mexico and his arrest.
(3) His conference with the viceroy.
(4) The importance of Saint-Denis in the
history of Texas.
2. The Spanish settlements in Texas.
a. The East Texas settlements.
(1) The preparations for the settlements.
(2) The journey to East Texas, probably
along the route of the Old San An-
tonio Eoad.
(3) The welcome of the Tejas Indians.
(4) The missions, and their importance as
signboards of Spanish occupancy.
b. San Antonio.
(1) Causes of the settlement,
(2) Location of San Antonio.
(3) Its importance .
(4) The missions near San Antonio.
c. Other Spanish settlements.
(1) Goliad.
(2) Nacogdoches.
d. Life in the settlements.
( 1 ) In the mission.
(2) In the fort.
(3) In the village.
OUTLINE 357
IV. The Americans Become Acquainted with Texas (1800-
1820).
1. The expansion of the English- Americans to the
frontier of Texas.
a. The conquest of eastern Louisiana from France,
1763.
(1) The English and the Spanish become
neighbors on the Mississippi.
b. The English colonies become independent as
the United States of America.
c. The purchase of western Louisiana in 1803, and
the expansion to the Texas border.
(1) The boundary dispute.
(a) The Neutral Ground agreement,
1806.
(b) The final settlement, 1819.
2. The invasions of the Americans.
a. Nolan's expedition, 1800-1801.
(1) Its object.
(2) The story of the expedition.
(3) The fate of Nolan's men— Ellis Bean.
(4) The importance of the expedition.
b. The Gutierrez and Magee expedition, 1812-13.
(1) Its object.
(2) Its early successes.
(3) Its failure — the battle of the Medina.
(4) Its importance.
c. Long's expedition, 1819.
(1) Its object and connection with the boun-
dary settlement of 1819.
(2) Its disastrous failure.
(3) Its importance.
d. The freebooters at Galveston Island, 1816-21
(1) Aury.
(2) Lafitte.
(3) Effect upon the reputation of Texas.
V. The Americans Settle Texas — The Period of Colonization
(1821-35).
1. The Mexican revolution (1810-21) frees Mexico
(including Texas) from Spain.
868 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
a. The causes of the Mexican revolution.
b. The incapacity of the Mexicans for self-gov-
ernment.
e. Efforts to establish a republican government.
d. Their political troubles.
e. The government of Texas as a Mexican province.
(1) Union with Coahuila.
(2) Governor and legislature at Saltillo.
(3) Political chief and alcaldes in Texas.
2. The American colonization of Texas.
a. Moses Austin gets permission to found a colony.
b. Stephen F. Austin establishes the colony.
(1) Its location.
(2) Inducements offered colonists..
(3) Austin's reward.
(4) Early difficulties of the colony.
c. Other colonies established.
(1) The principal empresarios, or contractors.
(2) Their land premiums.
(3) The rapid settlement of Texas.
d. The character of the colonists.
3. The life of the colonists.
a. Their homes.
(1) The houses in which they lived.
(2) Their furniture.
(3) Their food.
(4) Their clothing.
(5) Their hospitality.
b. Their amusements.
c. Danger from the Indians.
d. The occupation of the colonists.
e. The prosperous condition of the colonies in
1834.
(1) Agricultural products.
(2) Trade.
(3) Education.
VI. The Texas Eevolution — the Americans Take Texas (1821-
1836).
1. The general causes of the revolution.
a. Difference of race and of previous political ex-
perience the fundamental cause.
OUTLINE
35d
b. Misunderstandings growing out of:
(1) The Fredonian rebellion, 1826-7.
(a) Causes of the rebellion.
(b) Attitude of most of the colonists
toward it.
(c) Failure of the rebellion.
(2) Guerrero's emancipation decree, 1829*
(a) Object of the decree.
(b) Why the colonists objected to it,
(c) Its withdrawal.
(3) The law of April 6, 1830.
(a) Its principal provisions.
(b) Why the colonists objected to it.
(c) Evasions of the law.
(4) The disturbances of 1832.
(a) Causes.
(b) The attack on Anahuac.
(c) Battle of Velasco.
(d) Expulsion of the troops from Texas.
(e) How the colonists explained their
actions.
(f) The effect of these disturbances on
Mexican opinion.
(5) The conventions of 1832 and 1833
petition for the separation of Texas
from Coahuila.
(a) The reasons assigned for this by
the Texans.
(b) What the Mexicans considered the
real reason to be.
(6) The imprisonment of Austin in Mexico.
2. The immediate causes of the revolution.
a. Santa Anna sends troops and custom oflBcers to
Texas.
(1) Why the colonists objected to this.
(2) Travis drives Captain Tenorio from
Anahuac.
b. Santa Anna orders the arrest of Travis and
other piominent citizens.
360 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
c. Stephen F. Austin returns to Texas and tells
the colonists that it is time for war.
(1) Preparations of the colonists.
3. The campaign of 1835.
a. The battle of Gonzales (October 2, 1835).
(1) Its cause.
(2) Its effect in uniting the colonists for
the war.
b. The capture of Goliad.
c. The siege of San Antonio.
(1) Austin elected commander.
(2) The battle of Concepcion.
(3) The "grass fight.''
(4) Burleson succeeds Austin as commander.
(5) Milam storms San Antonio.
(6) The surrender of General Cos.
4. The government of Texas during the revolution.
a. The consultation.
( 1 ) It organizes a provisional government.
(2) It adopts regulations for the formation
of a regular army.
(3) It elects commissioners to the United
States to solicit aid.
b. The provisional government.
(1) The quarrel between the governor and
the council.
c. The convention.
(1) The declaration of independence March
2, 1836.
(a) Eeasons assigned in the declaration.
(2) The constitution.
(a) The president.
(b) The congress.
(c) The judicial system.
(d) The slave trade.
(3) The temporary government.
(a) President Burnet and his first
cabinet.
5. The campaign of 1836.
a. Military movements during the winter.
OUTLINE 361
(1) The plan for an expedition to Mata-
moros.
(2) Johnson and Grant at San Patricio.
(3) Fannin at Goliad.
(4) Travis at the Alamo.
(5) Failure to organize the regular army.
b. The fall of the Alamo.
(1) Travis calls for help.
(2) Eeinforced by thirty-two men from
Gonzales.
(3) Fannin starts to his relief, but turns
back.
(4) Santa Anna storms the Alamo and kills
its defenders.
(5) The number of the Mexican force.
(6) The results of the fall of the Alamo.
(a) Arouses the Texans.
(b) Makes Santa Anna reckless.
C. General Houston's plan to relieve Travis.
(1) He retreats from Gonzales to the
Colorado.
d. The fate of Johnson and Grant.
e. Fannin at Goliad.
(1) Fortification of Fort Defiance.
(2) Delays obedience to General Houston's
order to retreat to Victoria,
(a) Waiting for Ward and King whom
he had sent to Kefugio — the fate
of these companies.
(3) The battle of the Coleto.
(4) His surrender to TJrrea.
(5) The Goliad massacre.
(a) Santa Anna responsible for this.
f. General Houston retreats to the Brazos.
g. The "runaway scrape."
h. Santa Anna recklessly separates himself from
his main army and marches to Galveston
Bay.
i, Houston blocks his return at San Jacinto.
362 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
j. The battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836.
(1) The capture of Santa Anna.
(2) Number of the Texans and Mexicans
engaged in the battle.
k. The Treaty of Velasco, May 14, 1836.
(1) Its principal terms.
(2) Its observance by the Mexican army.
(3) Its violation by the Texans.
I. The important results of the battle of San
Jacinto.
VII. The Eepublic of Texas: The Americans in Possession
(1836-1846).
A. Home affairs.
1. The Eestoration of order after the war.
a. The return home. Condition of the country*
The brave spirit of the settlers.
b. The imprisonment of Santa Anna. His com-
plaints to President Burnet. His release.
C. The other Mexican prisoners.
at Galveston. Their release.
d. The Texan army. Its size. Character of the
men. Why not disbanded. President
Houston's policy.
e. The election of 1836.
(1) Approval of the constitution. Declara-
tion against its amendment except by
a constitutional convention.
(2) General Houston elected president. Other
candidates.
(3) The vote for annexation to the United
States.
2. The regular government of the republic.
a. President Houston's first term (1836-1838).
(1) Sketch of his life.
(2) His policy toward Mexico.
(3) His policy toward the Indians.
(4) His policy toward the army.
(5) His economy.
b. Death of Stephen F. Austin. His great services
to Texas.
OUTLINE 363
C. President Lamar's administration (1838-1841).
(1) Sketch of his life.
(2) His policy toward Mexico.
(3) His policy toward the Indians.
(4) His extravagance.
d. President Houston^s second tenn (1841-1844).
(1) Eeversal of Lamar's policies.
(2) Continuance of the policies of his first
term.
e. President Jones's administration (1844-1846).
(1) Sketch of his life.
(2) His short term prevents him from accom-
plishing important results.
3. The financial affairs of the republic.
a. The debt of the republic in 1836. How it was
incurred.
b. The expenses of the government.
c. Efforts of the government to get money. By
sale of public land. By taxes. By customs
duties. By borrowing. By making paper
money.
d. Why the government failed to get enough
money.
e. The debt of the republic in 1846.
4. Indian troubles.
a. The Indians kept auiet during the Texas
Eevolution.
b. President Houston's gentle policy keeps the
Indians peaceable. His plan for stores and
blockhouses. The rangers.
c. President Lamar's aggressive policy. His poor
opinion of Indian character. His experience
with Indians in Georgia. The Mexicans
stir up the Indians against the Texans.
d. The removal of the Cherokees from Texas
(1839).
e. War with the Comanches.
(1) The Council House fight (1840).
(2) The battle of Plum Creek (1840).
f . President Houston restores peace.
364 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
g. The importance of these Indian troubles.
(1) They were expensive.
(2) They checked the settlement of frontier.
5. The growth of population and wealth.
a. Why settlers came to Texas. From Germany.
From the United States.
b. The rapid immigration between 1836 to 1846.
c. Where the immigrants settled.
d. The homestead law.
e. Beginning of public school system.
f. Prosperity of the settlers in 1846.
g. Summa^3^
B. Foreign affairs.
1. Eelations with European powers.
a. Recognition of the independence of Texas.
b. England's interest in Texas.
(1) England's interest in Mexico delays
recognition of Texas.
(2) England desires Texas on account of its
cotton fields.
(3) England desires Texas in order to abolish
slavery.
2. Eelations with Mexico.
a. Mexico's refusal to give up Texas.
b. Trouble at home prevents Mexico from invading
Texas.
(1) President Houston's policy of letting
Mexico alone.
(2) President Lamar's aggressive policy.
c. Texans help Mexican liberals try to establish
the Eepublic of the Eio Grande.
d. President Lamar sends out the Santa F6
expedition (1841).
(1) Hardships of the expedition.
(2) The Mexicans capture the expedition.
(3) The imprisonment of the Texans.
(4) The results of the expedition.
(a) Expensive.
(b) Angered Mexico.
OUTLINE 365
e. The Mexican invasion of San Antonio in March,
1842.
(1) President Houston moves the govern-
ment to Houston.
(2) The citizens of Austin refuse to allow
the removal of the archives. The
archive war.
f.' The Mexican invasion of September, 1842.
(1) Capture of San Antonio.
(2) Battle with Captain Caldwell's company.
(3) Battle with Captain Dawson's men.
g. The Mier expedition — the reply of the Texans
to the invasion of September.
(1) Houston's opposition to the expedition.
(2) The attack on Mier.
(3) The surrender of the Texans. The
Mexicans violate the treaty. The
march of the prisoners toward Mexico.
(4) The escape of the Texans. Their re-cap-
ture, and the drawing of the black
beans.
(5) Imprisonment of the Texans. Escape of
General Green. Eelease of the pris-
oners by Santa Anna.
h. The Snively expedition.
i. The end of the war.
]. The Texas navy.
(1) Its services to Texas.
(2) President Houston's attitude toward the
navy.
3. Eelations with the United States.
a. The United States refuses to annex Texas in
1837.
(1) Eeasons for this: wished to avoid war
with Mexico; many in United States
opposed to extension of slave territory.
b. The United States changes its mind and offers
to annex Texas.
366 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
(1) Eeasons for this: saw commercial value
of Texas; feared that England was
trying to get it.
(2) Mexico tries to prevent Texas from
accepting annexation by offering to
recognize its independence.
(3) Texas accepts annexation.
(4) The protest of Mexico.
(5) Texas retains its public lands. The
importance of this.
(6) Summary.
VIII. Early Statehood : From annexation to secession (1846-
1861).
1. The organization of the state government,
a. The changes in government made necessary by
annexation.
2. The war between the United States and Mexico.
a. The causes of the war.
(1) Mutual dislike of Americans and Mexi-
cans.
(2) Mexico resents the annexation of Texas.
(3) The boundary question, and the outbreak
of the war (1846).
b. The part of Texas in the war.
C, The terms of peace (Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848).
(1) The Eio Grande fixed as the southern
boundary of Texas.
(2) A vast territory in the southwest ceded
to the United States.
(3) The United States pays Mexico fifteen
million dollars.
8, The New Mexico boundary dispute with the United
States.
a. Texas claims the country to the Eio Grande.
b. The United States claims all the old province
of New Mexico.
c. Excitement in Texas ; threats of war.
d. The compromise: Texas yields its claim for
ten million dollars.
OUTLINE 367
4. The payment of the public debt.
a. The loss of customs revenues leaves Texas
unable to pay the debt.
b. The debt is paid with money received from the
United States in the boundary settlement.
c. The remainder of this money used for internal
improvements.
6. The growth of population and industries.
a. Immigration to Texas.
(1) Where the immigrants came from.
(2) The rapid increase of population.
b. The removal of the Indians.
c. The frontier is pushed westward.
d. The ehief occupations: stockraising and farm-
ing.
6. The beginning of railroads in Texas.
a. The need of railroads in Texas.
b. The first railroad.
c. The development of railroads before 1861.
7. The beginnings of the public school system.
a. Lack of money delays the establishment of
public schools.
b. A start is made in 1854.
8. The approach of civil war.
a. The North and the South disagree about
slavery.
(1*) How slavery began in America.
(2) Slavery disappears in the North and
develops in the South.
b. Some people in the North wish to abolish
slavery — "abolitionists'\
c. The Southern states secede in 1860 and 1861.
d. The North opposes secession.
IX. Civil War and Eeconstruction (1861-1874).
A. The Civil War (1861-1865).
1. Texas secedes and joins the Confederate States,
a. The Ordinance of Secession: (1) adopted by
the convention; (2) ratified by the people.
368 A SCHOOL HISTOEY OP TEXAS
b. Governor Houston opposes secession and is
deposed.
2. The war in Texas.
a. Volunteers from Texas in the Confederate
army.
b. The loss and recapture of Galveston.
c. The repulse of Federal invasion at Sabine Pass.
d. The Federals capture Brownsville.
e. The repulse of Federal invasion by the Eed
Eiver.
3. Politics and elections.
a. Little attention given to politics during the war.
b. Lubbock elected governor, 1861.
c. Murrah elected governor, 1863.
4. Supplies furnished by Texas to the Confed»?rapy.
a. Foreign trade kept up through Mexico.
b. The establishment of small factories in Si
c. Food supplies from farms and ranches.
5. Home life during the war.
a. Scarcity of goods, and high prices.
b. Anxiety and sorrow of those left at home.
c. The women and children helped the soldiers.
d. The loyalty of the slaves.
6. The end of the war.
a. General Lee surrenders at Appomattox, April 9,
1865.
b. The soldiers return home.
B. Eeconstruction (1865-1874).
1. The occupation of Texas by the Federal forces.
a. General Granger proclaims the slaves free, June
19, 1865.
2. President Johnson's plan of reconstruction.
a. What the Southern people were required to do.
(1) Declare the ordinance of secession null
and void.
(2) Acknowledge the freedom of the slaves.
(3) Annul the war debt of the state.
b. Provisional government established by Governor
A. J. Hamilton.
(1) The difficulty of his task.
OUTLINE 369
(2) The appointment of oflBcials.
(3) A convention called.
c. Eegular civil government restored (1866).
(1) The convention complies with the
demands of the president.
(2) The election of state officers — Throck-
morton becomes governor.
3. Congressional reconstruction.
a. Congress rejects the plan of the president.
(1) The radicals in Congress wish to place
harder conditions on the South.
V 3 (2) Southern senators and representatives are
refused seats in Congress.
b. Congress adopts a plan of its own.
...7 ' (1) The Southern states placed under mili-
tary rule.
►1 . (2) The negroes to be given the right to vote.
(3) The South must ratify the fourteenth
amendment to the constitution of the
United States.
c. Military rule under General Sheridan.
(1) Eemoval of Governor Throckmorton;
appointment of Pease.
(2) Eemoval of state and county officials.
(3) Increase of lawlessness.
(4) The disfranchisement of ex-Confederates.
d. The problem concerning the negroes.
(1) The negroes quit work after emancipa-
tion.
(2) The work of the Freedman's Bureau.
(3) The organization of Union Leagues to
control negro votes.
(4) The Ku Klux Klan and its work.
e. A state government established.
(1) The constitutional convention of 1868-
1869.
(a) The radicals gain control of the
convention.
(b) A new constitution ratified by the
people.
370 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
(2) E. J. Davis elected governor, 1869.
(3) The new legislature ratifies the four-
teenth and fifteenth amendments to
the constitution of the United States.
(4) Texas readmitted to the Union.
4. Radical rule under Governor Davis.
a. The policies of Governor Davis.
(1) His lack of confidence in the people.
(2) Extraordinary powers given him by the
legislature,
(a) The state police.
' (b) Military powers exercised by Davis.
b. Heavy taxation.
(1) Eeckless expenditures by the legislature.
(2) The taxpayers' convention, 1871.
5. The overthrow of radical rule.
a. The Democrats elect congressmen, 1871.
b. A Democratic legislature elected, 1872.
c. Davis defeated by Coke, 1873.
d. Coke inaugurated as governor after resistance
by Davis, January, 1874.
e. The constitution of 1876.
X. Affairs in Texas since reconstruction, 1874-1912.
1. Re-election of Coke and Hubbard, 1876.
2. Financial condition of Texas in 1876.
a. Public debt. Grant of state bonds to railroads.
b. High tax rate.
3. How this condition was improved.
a. Reduction of running expenses.
b. Lands given the railroads instead of bonds.
c. Governor Roberts's "pay as you go" policy.
d. Results.
4. The restoration of public order.
a. Land thieves and other criminals prosecuted.
b. Fence cutting suppressed by Governor Ireland.
5. The new capitol building.
a. Burning of old capitol, 1881.
b. New building completed and dedicated, 1888.
c. Description of the new building.
OUTLINE 371
6. The loss of Greer County.
a. How the controversy arose from the treaty of
1819 with Spain.
b. Decision of the Supreme Court against Texas,
1896. •
7. Governor Hogg and railroad regulation.
a. Why the railroads needed regulating.
(1) High rates.
(2) Special rates to favored shippers and
favored towns.
(3) The free pass evil.
(4) The railroad pool.
b. Creation of the Eailroad Commission, 1891.
(1) The first railroad commissioners.
(2) The fight on the railroad commission:
(a) in the courts; (b) in the election
of 1892; the attempt to defeat Gov-
ernor Hogg.
8. Trust regulation.
a. The anti-trust laws.
b. . Prosecutions under the laws. The Waters-
Pierce Oil Company case.
9. The Spanish War, 1898.
a. Causes of the war.
(1) Spanish oppression in Cuba.
(2) Blowing up of the Maine.
b. The part played by Texans in the war.
10. Flood and storm.
a. Overflows on the Brazos and other streams,
1899, 1902.
b. The Galveston storm, 1900.
(1) Loss of life and property.
(2) The restoration of Galveston. The sea-
wall. The grade-raising. The cause-
way.
(3) The sea-wall tested by the storm of
1909.
11. The commission form of city government.
a. Its origin in Galveston after the storm.
b. All powers given to five commissioners.
372 A SCHOOL HISTORY OF TEXAS
c. Spread of commission government to other
cities and states.
12. Political parties in Texas.
a. The Democratic party and its work.
b. The Republican party.
c. Other parties. The Greenback party. The
Populist party. The Prohibition party.
The Socialist party.
13. The primary election law.
a. The objects of the law.
(1) To purify elections by requiring voters to
register and pay a pool tax.
(2) To nominate candidates by popular
elections.
b. Working of the law in the elections of 1906
and 1910.
14. The prohibition question. Prohibition elections of
1887 and 1911.
XI. Material Growth Since Reconstruction.
1. Increase in population and wealth.
a. Growth of population.
b. Character of population. White, foreign,
colored.
c. Growth of Texas cities.
(1) The drift from country to city.
(2) Galveston and San Antonio.
(3) Houston and Dallas.
(4) Fort Worth and El Paso.
(5) Austin and Waco.
(6) Civic improvements. Paving, water,
light, and street railways. Parks and
public buildings.
d. Growth of taxable wealth.
(1) Taxable values in 1870, in 1890, and in
1910.
(2) Causes of the increase of wealth.
(a) Apparent increase due to increased
assessment.
(b) Increase in land values due to
growth of population
OUTLINE 373
2. Development of agriculture.
a. Conditions favorable to agriculture.
(1) Fertile soils of many varieties.
(2) Favorable climate of varied temperature
and rainfall.
b. Cotton culture.
(1) Spread of cotton growing to the prairie
regions.
(2) Extent and value of the cotton crop.
(3) Ravages of the boll weevil.
(4) Value and uses of cotton seed.
c. The grain crops.
(1) All the grains combined of less value
than cotton.
(2) Com the most important cereal. Extent
and value of the crop.
(3) "Wheat and oats.
(4) Eice. Eapid increase in acreage.
d. The forage crops. Hay, sorghum, milo maize,
and kaffir corn.
e. Fruit growing and market gardening.
(1) Conditions favorable for early growing
and marketing.
(2) Extent of the fruit and truck business.
f . Irrigation. Extent and location.
g. Better methods of agriculture.
(1) Work of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College.
(2) "Work of the "United States Department
of Agriculture.
(3) Farmers^ aid societies.
3. The live stock industry.
a. The cattle industry.
(1) Early development of cattle raising. The
cattle trails to the North.
(2) Breeding fine cattle made possible by
fencing the range and cutting up the
large ranches.
b. Horses. The mustang pony gives place to the
draft horse.
374 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
c. Mules. Texas the leading mule producing state.
d. Sheep. Decline of sheep industry since 1890.
e. Growth of the goat industry. Seasons.
f . Hog raising.
4. Development of means of conmiunication.
a. Early means of transportation.
(1) The ox- wagon. Distance to market.
(2) The stage coach. Stage lines. The San
Diego stage line.
b. Beginning of railroad building (1850-1860).
c. Effect of the Civil War.
(1) Building of railways stopped.
(2) One road torn up and two abandoned.
d. Revival of railway building after the war.
(1) Building from 1868 to 1873.
(2) Mileage in 1880.
(3) Present mileage the largest in the Union.
e. Public aid to the railroads.
(1) Private subscriptions in money and
lands.
(2) Bonds given by counties and cities.
(3) Loans from the state school fund.
(4) Grants of public lands by the state.
f. Eiver improvement.
(1) Early attempts by the state to improve
the rivers.
(2) Eecent work of the Federal government.
g. Harbor improvement at Galveston and other
ports,
h. The Houston ship canal. Expenditures.
Eesults.
i. The good roads movement.
5. Miniig and manufacturing.
a. Minerals produced in Texas. Coal, iron, quick-
silver, crude oil and natural gas.
b. Growth of manufactures.
(1) Eeasons for slow growth.
(2) Products manufactured.
c. The lumber industry. Timber supply limited.
OUTLINE 375
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XII. Education and Public Charity.
1. Need of public free schools in a republic.
2. Early attempts to establish a public school system.
a. Provision for free schools in the constitution
of the republic, 1836.
b. Lands set apart during Lamar's administration.
c. Eeasons for failure of early attempts.
(1) Lack of funds to support the schools.
(2) Sparseness of population.
(3) Wars with Mexico and the general con-
fusion of the time.
3. Development of the school system.
a. Beginning of permanent school fund, 1854.
b. Public school system organized, 1854.
e. Effect of Civil War. Schools stopped. Funds
lost.
d. Enrollment in the schools in 1875 and 1910.
4. The permanent school fund.
a. Derived from sale of piublic lands.
b. Amount of the permanent fund.
5. The available school fund.
a. Amount of the available fund.
b. Sources from which derived.
(1) One half derived from the state.
(a) Income from lands . and bonds
belonging to the permanent school
fund.
(b) State taxes. Poll tax. Ad valorem
tax. Occupation tax.
(2) One half derived from counties, cities,
and school districts.
(a) Income from lands and bonds held
by counties.
(b) Local property tax for school pur-
poses.
6. Defects of our school system.
a. Poor buildings.
b. Short terms.
c. Small salaries and poorly prepared teachers.
876 A SCHOOL HISTORY OP TEXAS
I
7. Recent progress in the public school system.
8. The University of Texas.
a. Early attempts to establish a universily.
b. University opened for students, 1883.
c. Its growth to 1912.
9. The Agricultural and Mechanical College.
a; Federal land grant for agricultural colleges
accepted by Texas, 1871.
b. The college opened 1876.
c. Courses of study offered.
10. The College of Industrial Arts established, 1903.
11. The State Normal Schools.
a. Sam Houston Normal Institute established,
1879.
b. North Texas State Normal College, 1901.
c. Southwest Texas State Normal School, 1903.
d. West Texas State Normal College, 1910. ^
e. Management of the normal schools placed in the
hands of special board, 1911.
12. The Prairie View Normal and Industrial College.
13. Church Schools and Colleges.
a. Baylor University and other Baptist schools.
b. Southwestern University and the Southern
Methodist University.
c. Texas Christian University.
d. Other church schools.
14. The state's care of the unfortunate classes.
15. How the state handles the criminal classes.
APPENDIX IV
PRESIDENTS AND GOVERNORS OF TEXAS
Presidents of the Republic
1836— March-October, David G. Burnet
1836— Sam Houston
1838 — Mirabeau B. Lamar
1840— David G. Burnet (Acting President)
1841 — Sam Houston
1845 — Anson Jones
Governors of the State
1846 — James P. Henderson
1847— George T. Wood
1849— P. Hansborough Bell
1853— E. M. Pease.
1857— Hardin K. Kunnels
1859 — Sam Houston
1861— Edward Clark
1861 — Francis K. Lubbock
1863 — ^Pendleton Murrah
1865 — Andrew J. Hamilton (Provisional Governor)
1866 — James W. Throckmorton
1867 — E. M. Pease (Provisional Governor)
1870— Edmund J. Davis
1874— Richard Coke
1876— Eichard B. Hubbard
1879— Oran M. Roberts
1883— John Ireland
1887 — ^Lawrence S. Ross
1891— James S. Hogg
1895 — Charles A. Culberson
1899— Joseph D. Sayers
1903— Samuel W. T. Lanham
1907— Thomas M. Campbell
1911 — Oscar Branch Colquitt
377
INDEX
Abolitionists, 205.
Adaes (X-dy'-as) Mission, 39.
Agriculture, development of since
1870, 283-289; favorable con-
ditions for, 283; better meth-
ods of, 287.
Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege, 317.
Aguayo (A-gwii'-yo), Marques
de, 40, 41, 43.
Alamo, 31, 79; fall of, 118.
Annexation of Texas, 182 j causes
war with Mexico, 189.
Anti-trust laws, 258-259.
Apache Indians, 33, 37.
Archer, Branch T., 108, 137.
*' Archive War,'' the, 174.
Arrendondo (Ar-ra-don'-do), Gen-
eral, 51, 56.
Arroyo Hondo (Ar-ro'-yo 6n'-do),
49.
Austin, growth of, 280.
Austin College, 324:
Austin, Moses, 66, 67, 80.
Austin, Stephen Fuller, estab-
lishes his colony, 67; opposes
Fredonian rebellion, 86; sent
to Mexico by colonists, 94; im-
prisonment, 95; return to
Texas, 100 ; services during the
revolution, 101, 105, 106, 137;
candidate for president, 149;
death, 153; sketch of, 153-155.
Bastrop, Baron, 67.
Baylor University, 323.
Bay of the Holy Spirit (Mata-
gorda Bay), 12.
Bean, Peter Ellis, 53, 86, 91.
Bell, Governor P, H., 194.
Black beans, drawing of, 177.
Boll weevil, 284.
Boundary settlement with the
United States, 195.
Bowie, James, 103, 115, 119.
Boys' Corn Club, 288-289.
Bradburn, Colonel John, 91, 92,
97.
BrazQs floods, 261.
Brownsville, capture of, 217.
Burleson, General Edward, 105,
192.
Burnet, David G., 70, 111, 112,
136, 147, 149, 150.
Cabeza de Vaca (Ka-ba'-sa da
Va'-ka), 3, 4.
Caldwell, Captain Matthew, 175.
Campbell, Governor T. M., 270
and note.
Capitol, old capitol burned, 249;
new capitol erected, 249-251.
*' Carpet-baggers," 229.
Cattle raising, 289-290.
Cherokee Indians, 86; removal
from Texas, 162.
''Chisholm Trail," 290.
Church schools and colleges, 322.
Cities, growth of, 277-280.
Civic improvement, 280.
Civil War, causes of, 203-208;
Texas in, 214; supplies fur-
nished by Texas, 218; home
life during, 219.
Clark, Governor Edward, 212,
217.
Coal, 300.
Coke, Governor Eichard, 237
note; governor, 238, 243;
senator, 245.
Coleto, battle of, 126.
College of Industrial Arts, 319.
Collinsworth, George M., 103.
Colquitt, Governor O. B., 270-
271 and note.
379
380
INDEX
Comanche Indians, 37; wars,
163-164.
Commission government estab-
lished at Galveston, 265.
Concepcion, battle of, 104.
Concepci6n Mission, 29, 32, 33.
Confederate States of America,
Texag joins, 210-211; volun-
teers from Texas for, 213 ; sup-
plies from Texas for, 218;
Fall of, 222.
Conference for Education, 314.
Consolidation of rural schools,
314.
Constitution of 1836, 111; of
1845, 188; of 1869, 232; of
1876, 238.
Consultation, 1835, 108.
Convention of 1833, 94; of 1836,
109; of 1866, 225.
Corn growing, 285.
Coronado (Ko-ro-na'-do), Cap-
tain, 4, 12.
Cos, General M. P., 106.
Cotton, culture, 283; seed, 284;
damage to by boll vreevil, 284.
*' Council House Fight,'' the,
163.
Criminal Gasses, 325.
Crockett, Davy, 115, 119.
Culberson, Governor C. A., 259
and note.
Dallas, growth of, 279.
Davidson, B. V., Attorney Gen-
eral, 258-259.
Davis, Governor Edmund J., 233
and note; oppressive govern-
ment* of, 235-236; defeated
for re-election, 236-238.
Davis, Jefferson, 206.
Dawson, Captain Nicholas, 175.
Declaration of Independence,
109; text of, 329-333.
De-Witt, Green 70.
Democratic party, 267.
Dolores, (Do-lo-ras) Mission, 29.
Dowling, Dick, 216.
Education and Public Charity,
308-326.
Edwards, Benjamin W., 85, 86.
Edwards, Hayden, 70, 85, 86, 87.
Emancipation proclamation, 223.
El Paso, growth of, 279.
England, 10, 47; interest in
Texas, 170.
Farmers' aid societies, 288-289,
Farmers' Alliance, 267, 289.
Farmers' Congress, 289.
Farmers' Union, 289.
Federal invasion attempted, by
way of Galveston, 215; by way
of Sabine Pass, 216; by way
of Brownsville, 217.
Fence cutting suppressed, 248.
Financial conditions, 157-160,
196, 245-247.
Fisher, Colonel William S., 177.
Forage crops, 286.
Fort Saint Louis, 7, 15-17.
Fort Worth, growth of, 279.
Foster, L. L., railroad commis-
sioner, 256.
Franciscans, 15.
Fredonian Rebellion, 84-87.
Freedman's Bureau, 229.
Fourteenth and Fift.eenth.
Amendments, 234 note.
French settlements, in America,
5-6; in Texas, 7-9, 15, 39-40;
in Louisiana, 22; end of, 41.
Fruit growing in Texas, 286.
Galveston, capture and retaking
of, 214; swept by storm, 261-
263; restoration of, 263-264;
adopts commission government,
265; growth of, 278; harbor,
298.
Galveston causeway, 264.
'Galveston sea-wall, 263; sea-wall
tested, 264-265.
General Council, 108.
Germans in Texas, 165, 197, 277.
Goat Raising, 292.
Goliad; founding of, 41; cap-
ture of, 102; the Goliad Mas-
sacre, 128-130.
INDEX
381
Ctenzales, battle of, 100; burned,
122.
Grain crops in Texas, 285-286.
Grange, 267, 288.
Granger, General Gordon, 223.
Grant, Dr. James, 112, 115, 122.
*' Grass fight," the, 105.
Green, General T. J., 178.
Greenback party, 267.
Green County Controversy, 251-
253.
Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of,
19?.
Guadalupe (Gwa-da-loop'-y) Mis-
sion, 29.
Gutierrez, Bernardo (Ber-naar'-
do G66-te-ar'-ras), 53, 54.
Hamilton, Governor A. J., 225
and note.
Harbor improvements, 298.
Harrisburg, 79; burned, 133.
Hasinai (Ha-see'-ny) Indians,
24, 25.
Hays, Jack, 192.
Henderson, Governor J. Pinck-
ney, 192.
Hidalgo (E-dal'-go), Father, 23,
24, 25.
Hogg, Governor James Stephen,
253 and note; champions the
railroad commission and is
elected governor, 255-256; ap-
points first railroad commis-
sioners, 256-257 ; re-elected
governor, 257-258.
Hog raising, 293.
Horse raising, 291.
Houston, growth of, 278; ship
canal, 299.
Houston, Sam, writes Constitu-
tion of 1833, 94; Commander-
in-chief, 108; campaign of
1836, 121-122, 130-136; at San
Jacinto, 134-136; elected presi-
dent, 150; sketch of, 150,152;
second term as president, 156;
Indian policy, 160, 164; tries
tc prevent secession^ 212;
death, 212
Homestead law, the, 167.
Hubbard, Governor Eichard B.,
244 note; elected lieutenant
governor, 237; becomes gov-
ernor, 244.
Immigration to Texas, 66-73,
164-168, 197.
Indians, removal from Texas,
198.
Ireland, Governor John, 247 and
note.
Iron, 300-301.
Irrigation, 286, 287.
Iturbide (Ee-toor-bee'-da), Gen-
eral, 64.
Johnson, President Andrew, 224.
Johnson, F. W., 112, 115, 122.
Johnston, Albert Sidney, 192.
Jones, Anson, president of Texas,
156, 182.
Karankawa (Ka-rank'-a-way) In-
dians, 33, 40.
Ku Klux Klan, 231-232.
Lafitte, Jean (Zhan La-fit'), 58.
Lamar, Mirabeau B., sketch of,
155; president of Texas, 155-
156; Indian policy, 161; sends
expedition to Sante F6, 172.
Lanham, Governor S. W. T., 268
and note.
La Salle, Eobert de la, 5-10 ; 13-
15.
Law of April 6, 1830, 89.
Lee, General Robert E., 222 and
note.
Le6n, Alonso de (A-16n's6 da La-
6n'), Capt., 14-17.
Le6n, Martin de (Marteen' da
La-6n'), 70.
Levee districts, 261.
Lignite, 301.
Lively (schooner), 68.
Live stock industry, 289-293.
Long, Dr. James, 56, 57, 59.
Lopez, Nicholas (Nick-6-ias' L6'-
p§s), Father, 13.
382
INDEX
Lubbock, Governor F. R., 217,
218 note, 252.
Lumber industry, 302-303.
McCulloch, Ben, 192.
McKinney, Thomas F., 79.
McLean, Judge W. P., railroad
commissioner, 256.
McMullen and McGloin, 70.
Magee, Lieutenant Augustus, 53,
54, 56.
Magruder, General J. B., recap-
tures Galveston, 215.
Manufacturing, 301.
Martin, Captain Albert, 116.
Massanet (Ma-sii-not'), Father,
15-19.
Mata, Francisco de la (Fran-
cees'-c5 da la Mti'-tii), 38.
Material development since 1870,
276-305.
Medina, battle of, 55.
Mendoza (Men-do'-sa), Captain,
13.
Mexican War, 188-193.
Mexican prisoners, 148.
Mier Expedition, the, 175.
Milam, Benjamin K., 70, 103;
storms San Antonio, 106.
Military occupation of Texas in
1865, 223; military govern-
ment, 227.
Mining, 300, 301.
Missionaries, 12, 13, 19, 21, 35,
36, 43.
Missions, 17, 18, 19, 29, 34, 35.
Moore, Commodore E. W., 180.
Moore, Colonel John, 164.
Mule raising, 292.
Murrah, Governor Pendleton, 218
and note.
Musquiz (Mus-kees'), Lieutenant,
51.
Nacogdoches, founding of, 41.
Navy, the Texas, 179.
Negroes, conditions of during re-
construction, 230 ; in the Union
League, 231; frightened by
the Ku Klux, 231-232; in the
Convention of 1868-1869, 232-
233; given the right to vote,
232, 234 note.
Neutral Ground, 50-54.
Nolan, Philip, 51.
Normal Schools, 319.
North Texas State Normal
School, 321.
Oil, crude, 300-301.
Olivares (0-lee-v&-res), Father,
30.
Outline, 356-376.
Paper money, 159.
Patrons of Husbandry, 267, 288.
Peace-pipe, 28.
Pease, Governor E. M., 202, 229.
Piedras, Colonel, 92.
Plum Creek, battle of, 163.
Political parties, 265-268.
Population of Texas, in 1835, 71 ;
in 1846, 166; in 1850, 197;
growth since 1870, 276-280.
Populist party, 267.
Prairie View Normal and Indus-
trial College, 322.
Primary election law, 268.
Prohibition party, 268.
Prohibition elections, 272.
Provisional government estab-
lished, 225.
Public lands, 183.
Quicksilver, 300-301.
Radical government in Texas, its
oppressive character, 235; its
extravagance, 235-237 ; over-
thrown, 236-238.
Railroads, need of, 200; begin-
ning of railroad building, 200,
294; at the outbreak of Civil
War, 201; effect of Civil War
on, 295; revival of railroad
building, 295; public aid to,
296-297.
Railroad Commission, 253-255 ;
first railroad commissioners,
256-257; commission law up-
INDEX
383
held, 257; control over stocks
and bonds, 258.
EamCn, Diego (Dee-a'go M-
mon'), Capt., 25.
Eamon, Domingo (D6-meen'go
Ra-mon'), Capt., 27-30.
Re-admission of T«xas to the
Union, 234.
Reagan, Judge John H., 206, 256
and note.
Reconstruction, 223-240; the
problem of, 223; the presi-
dent's plan of, 224; accepted
by Texas, 225^226; rejected
by Congress, 227; hardships of,
229; condition of negroes dur-
ing, 230; reconstruction con-
vention of 1868-69, 232-234;
Texas re-admitted to the Union,
234; oppressive character of
reconstruction government,
235; end of reconstruction,
236-239.
Republican party, 266.
Republic of the Eio Grande, 171.
Revolution, general causes, 83.;
immediate causes, 97; aided by
the United States, 137-138;
conditions at the close of, 144-
146.
Rice culture in Texas, 285.
Rice Institute, 324.
Rice, William Marsh, 324.
River improvement, 297.
Roads, good roads movement,
300.
Roberts, Governor O M., 246
note; his financial reforms,
245-246; 252.
Robinson, James W., 108.
Roosevelt's Rough Eiders, 260.
Ross, Governor Lawrence Sulli-
van, 250 and note, 252.
** Runaway Scrape,'* the, 131.
Runnels, Governor Hardin R., 210
note.
Rusk, General Thomas J., Ill,
148.
Sabine Pass, battle of, 216.
Saint-Denis (San Den-ee'), 23-28,
39.
Saint Francis of Assisi (As-see'-
zee), 15.
Sam Houston Normal Institute,
319.
San Antonio, founding of, 30-
32; early school in, 38; cap-
ture of, 107; invasions of in
1842, 174, 175; growth of
since 1870, 278.
San Antonio Road, 27, 28.
San Felipe de Austin (San Fa-
lee'-pa-da), 79, 81, 132.
San Fernando Cathedral, 32.
San Francisco of the Neches,
Mission, 29.
San Francisco of the Tejas, Mis-
sion, 17-19.
San Jacinto, battle of, 133; re-
sults of, 137.
San Joseph (Siin Ho-sef) Mis-
sion, 29.
San Jos6 (H6-sa') Mission, 32.
.San Juan (San Whaun') Mis-
sion, 32, 33.
San Miguel (Mee-gel') Mission,
29, 39.
Santa Anna, 64; causes Texas
revolution, 97; orders Goliad
massacre, 130; trapped at San
Jacinto, 132-133; imprison-
ment, 146.
Santa F6 Expedition, 172.
Sayers, Governor J. D., 262 and
note.
''Scalawags," 229.
Schools, early schools, 38, 80;
beginning of public school sys-
tem, 167, 202, 309-310; need
of public schools, 308; perma-
nent school fund, 311; avail-
able school fund, 312; defects
of the school system, 313; re-
cent progress, 314.
SecessioUj 205; the North op-
poses, 206; Ordinance of, 211.
Sheep industry, 292.
Sheridan, General Philip, 227,
228, 229.
384
INDEX
Slavery question, the beginning
of, 203.
Slaves, loyalty of, 221.
Smith, Deaf, 104.
Smith, Henry, 108, 114, 150.
Snively expedition, 178.
Socialist party, 268.
Southwestern University, 323.
Southwest Texas Normal, 321.
Spanish- American War, 258-260.
Spanish settlements, 33, 34-39.
Stage travel, 294.
Suggestions to teachers, 334-355.
Taxable wealth, growth of since
1870, 280; causes for increase
of, 292.
Tax-payers' Convention of 1871,
236 and note.
Tejas Indians, 16-19, 28, 42.
Terrell, Judge A. W., 269 and
note; election law, 269.
Texas Christian University, 323.
Texas, origin of name, 16.
Throckmorton, Governor J. W.,
226 and note, removed from
office, 228.
Toledo (T5-la'-do), Colonel, 55.
Tonka was (Tonk'a-ways), 78.
Travis, W. B., drives Mexicans
from Anahuac, 98 ; Santa Anna
orders his arrest, 99; at the
Alamo, 115-120.
Transportation, 293-300; early
means of, 293.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
192.
Treaty of Velasco, 136,
Trinity University, 324.
*<Twin Sisters'' (cannon), 131.
Ugartechea (U-gHr-te-cha'-a),
Domingo de, 92, 107.
Union League, 231.
United States, interest in Texas,
83, 138, 139, 181; annexation
of Texas, 182.
University of Texas, 314.
Urrea (Ur-ra'S), General, 123,
128, 129.
Velasco, battle of, 92; treaty of,
136.
Waco, growth of, 280.
Waters-Pierce Oil Company, 258.
West Texas State Normal, 322.
Wharton, William H., 108, 137.
Williams, Samuel M., 79.
Wood, Governor George T., 192,
194.
Ybarbo, GU (Heel E-bar'-bo),
42, 44.
Zavala, Lorenzo de, 70, 111,
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