With Crockett and Bowie; or, Fighting for the Lone-Star Flag. A tale of Texas, etc

Front matter

THE TWO NEAREST MEXICANS WERE OVERTHROWN AND HURLED BREATHLESS TO THE GROUND. WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE os FIGHTING FOE THE LONE-STAR FLAG A TALE OF TEXAS BY KIRK MUNROE Author of " The White Conquerors ", '"At War With Pontiac", " Through Swamp and Glade", &c. WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY V. PERARD LONDON BLACKIE & SON, Limited, 50 OLD BAILEY, E.C. GLASGOW AND DUBLIN TO MY READERS The following story of the struggle by which Texas gained her independence from Mexico is his torically true so far as I may rely upon Yoakum's History of Texas, and the memory of one who took an active part in the conflict, the late John C. Duval of Austin. For the benefit of many who have lost sight of the fact, I would state that after Rex, Tawny, and their associates had achieved the freedom of Texas, she remained an independent republic for nine years, or until 1845.

Then, of her own free will, she became the twenty-eighth and greatest state of the great American Union. The 21st of April, or San Jacinto day, is annu ally celebrated throughout the state with great re joicings, and the church of the Alamo, still standing in San Antonio, is the monument most reverenced by the sons and daughters of Texas. THE AUTHOR. Biscatne Bay, Florida. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAP***"***: PACE I. A Home in the Wilderness 1 II. Rex and Tawny 10 III. A Horse with Likes and Dislikes ... 19 IV. Four Texas Rebels, and why they rebelled . 27 V. James Bowie, Fighter 36 VI. In the Streets of San Antonio .... 45 VII. Beneath the Veramendi Gardens ... 53 VIII. Tawny begins the War 61 IX. Midnight Flight of the Settlers ... 70 X. Organizing the First Texas Army ... 78 XI. The Abscrd Battle of Gonzales ... 87 XII.

Why the Mexican Troops fought badly . . 95 XIII. A Woman in Peril 104 XIV. Rex is condemned to be shot .... 113 XV. Saved by Cochito the Comanche . . . 122 XVI. Positions are reversed 131 XVII. In the Ancient Mission of La Espada . . 139 XVIII. Sebastien Tejada's Wife VI CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XIX. Rex becomes a Mexican Soldier . . . 155 XX. Quartered among Convicts .... 164 XXI. Tawny appears in San Antonio . . . 173 XXII. Who will go with Old Ben Milam ? . 182 XXIII. From House to House 191 XXIV. A Glorious Texan Victory . . . .200 XXV. Lieutenant Harden gains his Commission . 209 XXVI. Santa Anna invades Texas .... 218 XXVII. The Oath of No Surrender .... 226 XXVIII. An Express from the Alamo . . . 235 XXIX. A Handful withstands Thousands . . 244 XXX. Who will cross this Line 1 . . . . 252 XXXI.

Chapter I

A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS A BOY and a horse, both breathing hard and trembling from recent exertions, stood gazing at each other dubiously, and each was wondering whether the struggle in which they had been en gaged for the past two hours was to be resumed or not. The boy, who was a slender lad with a very determined expression on his sun-tanned face, was so covered with dirt and perspiration that it would have been hard to decide whether he was good looking or not. His close-cropped head was bare, for he had long since parted company with his broad-brimmed sombrero, his flannel shirt was soiled and torn, and even the stout trousers of homespun, tucked into the legs of heavy cowhide boots, bore sad traces of the recent fray. One side of his face was bruised and so swollen that the eye was nearly closed.

Thus taken altogether, Rex Harden, only son of " Squire " Ellis Harden of the great Herrera Ranch, was at that moment a very disreputable looking young man. The horse at which he was gazing with a comical expression of mingled doubt and admiration was in no better plight than himself. In fact, he seemed a little worse off than the boy. He was a splendid chestnut stallion, four or five years old, clean limbed, full chested, with flowing mane and tail of hair so dark as to be nearly black, and without blemish or spot on his body, save only a clearly outlined white star on his forehead. His beauty was, however, sadly dimmed just then; for he was covered with lather and dirt, a bloody froth dropped from his mouth, his breath came in choking sobs, his drip ping flanks heaved like a bellows, and his slender limbs trembled so that he could hardly stand.

Not far away was a small band of mares and foals pawing the earth impatiently, tossing their heads, ready to take flight at a sign of danger, and yet rooted to the spot by an eager curiosity to learn what their splendid and hitherto untamed leader could be doing. On all sides of these two groups was spread a vast extent of brown, rolling prairie, broken in the northeast by a range of blue hills, and on the west by a dark line of timber marking the course of a river. The soft wind that rustled the dry grasses and fanned the heated brow of the only human being to be seen in all the landscape swept up from the warm waters of the Mexican Gulf, for this was a Texas prairie, and Rex Harden was a native of the Lone Star State. As we catch our first glimpse of him, it is evident that both he and the fine animal beside him have just regained their feet after an ugly fall and are still doubtful as to whether their bones are whole or not.

The boy's head was in a whirl as he picked himself up, and many stars shot athwart the glance cast at his companion in adversity. He drew a hand swiftly across his still serviceable eye to clear its vision, and then, stepping to the horse, threw an arm impulsively across the beautiful creat ure's neck, saying as he did so: " Tawny, old fellow, let's make up and be friends. I don't believe you want any more of this racket, and I'm sure I do not, for another cropper like that one would lay us both out. So I'll give in if you will." As if in answer the horse rested his head on the boy's shoulder, and with their cheeks touching, the latter had not the slightest doubt but that Tawny had understood every word said to him. He at any rate readily comprehended the animal's movement, and knew that their battle was ended.

He also knew, or at least fully believed, that in that moment he had gained a friend that would be faithful even unto death, for Rex Harden dearly loved horses, and knew that the affection of a thoroughbred once gained would never be withdrawn. At the conclusion of this treaty of peace and friendship the boy tore out a sleeve of his tattered shirt, and with it wiped the dirt and foam from Tawny's nostrils. He loosened the cruel cord that, fastened tightly about the animal's lower jaw, had served instead of a bridle, and threw off the folded blanket that, cinched with a leather surcingle, had taken the place of a saddle. Then he rubbed the horse vigorously until every trace of lather and dirt was removed, giving him a dry polish with the remaining sleeve of his useful flannel shirt, which he also tore out without hesitation.

Although this was the very first grooming that Tawny had ever received in all his wild free life, he did not move during the operation. He even allowed the blanket saddle to be replaced without opposition, and the hated cord to be again slipped over his lower jaw. Only when the lad climbed stiffly to his back and intimated that it was time to be moving did he give a convulsive start and then stand quivering. The boy spoke a few soothing words, patted the arching neck, and at the same moment pressed his heels against the animal's flanks. This time he was obeyed, and Tawny, king of the prairie, hitherto wildest of the wild and freest of the free, a horse that many men had declared would never be caught nor tamed unless first " creased " with a rifle bullet, stepped forth the willing bearer of a burden.

At this moment the ragged, bruised, and astonish ingly dirty but triumphant lad on his back was so thrilled with the glorious victory just achieved that it was all he could do to repress a yell of delight. He did repress it, however, and devoted his entire attention to a further soothing of the splendid horse that had just become his by right of conquest. At the same time he turned him gently in the direc tion of the distant river, towards which they started on an easy lope, with the little band of mares and foals following them curiously a short distance be hind. The disreputable looking but happy lad riding thus proudly across the brown prairie was a son of one of the earliest American pioneers to settle in what was then the Mexican state of Texas. His father, a Kentuckian, had in the first flush of man hood gone to the wars with General Andrew Jackson, and had lost a leg in his first and only battle.

Re covering health and strength after a weary illness, he had promptly offered to release the Kentucky sweet heart who had nursed him, from her engagement to a "fractional man." She had as promptly refused to be released, and so they were married. Directly afterwards Ellis Harden took the modest portion of this world's goods allotted to him, and with dauntless energy sought to make a home for his wife and himself in the little known Mexican state of Texas. They settled at Nacogdoches, a busy frontier town close to the boundary line between Mexico and the United States, and here the young Kentuckian prospered beyond his hopes. Here were born his two children, Rector or " Rex," as he was always called, and Mabel. Here, too, during the revolution by which Mexico threw off the galling yoke of Spain, Ellis Harden was enabled to render important aid to Don Manuel Herrera, Mexican Commissioner to the United States.

A few years later on account of this service he was granted a noble property on the Cibolo River in Southwestern Texas, some twenty-five miles from the town of San Antonio de Bexar (Behar). In 1821, the Mexicans under Augustin Iturbide established their independence, and three years later they adopted a liberal constitution modelled after that of the United States. At the same time they offered tempting inducements to emigrants to settle in Texas. Under these circumstances Ellis Harden decided to take possession of his property on the beautiful Cibolo, and there established himself as a ranchman. In honor of the friend through whom he had received his grant he named the new home Rancho Herrera. Here with the opening of this story he and his had dwelt for ten years in compara tive peace and ever-increasing prosperity.

The stalwart but crippled American was a man of such fearless integrity that the scattered settlers of that section formed a habit of referring all their dis putes to him for adjustment rather than entrust them to the Mexican Alcaldes of either San Antonio or Gonzales, and for this reason he became known far and wide as "Squire" Harden. Having a certain amount of capital to start with and being possessed of unbounded energy, Squire Harden, in spite of being a " fractional " man, had developed his property until the Rancho Herrera "was one of the finest in the state. It boasted thou sands of cattle, great fields of corn, cane, and cotton, and hundreds of horses bred from imported Ken tucky stock, the fame of which had spread even to the Mexican capital, where they were always in demand for service in the army.

As the vast estate bordered on the highway between San Antonio and Gonzales, and lay midway between the two towns, it was a favorite halting-place for travellers, to whom its generous hospitality was never denied. If they were Americans, they were entertained at the great house, while natives were equally well cared for in the quarters of the peons, a large number of whom were employed on the ranch as herdsmen or cultiva tors of the soil. Among other things, not then common in that country, the Rancho Herrera supported its own grist mill, cotton gin, and smithy, while deft-handed Mex ican women wove both wool and cotton, raised on the place, into blankets and such stuffs as were needed by its people. Here, then, Rector Harden had grown from child hood to sturdy youth, and this was the home he loved.

Here was the noble father whom he regarded as the best and wisest of men, the devoted mother who had so bravely ventured into this far land for the sake of her loved ones, and the brown haired sister only a year younger than himself, known to her mother as Mabel, but called " Daughter " by her father, " Dulce " (Sweet) by Rex, and " Honey " by Aunty Day, her old negro mammy. Rex was proud of being a Texan, and his only pres ent ambition was to aid his father in making the Rancho Herrera the finest property of its kind in the country. He already knew a great deal about cattle and crops, was a fearless horseman, a good shot, and could throw a riata or lasso with the best vaquero on the ranch. Nor had his education in other subjects been neglected ; for, besides being carefully taught at home, he had been sent for three years to a military school in New Orleans, from which he returned to the ranch for the long vaca tions.

As there were no railroads nor even stages in Texas in those days, he had always made the jour ney to and from New Orleans in one of the trading schooners plying between there and Matagorda, the seaport nearest to his home. Of course he talked (M4H) Spanish as well as did the Mexicans among whom he lived, and in New Orleans he had gained a fair knowledge of French. Thus our lad had been given advantages far beyond those enjoyed by most boys of his age in that new country. Best of all, he had been taught from his earliest childhood to be a gentleman. Having thus introduced him, we will precede him to his home, and stand ready to receive him as he rides proudly past the great house, on the porch of which his father holds conversation with a newly arrived stranger, and leads his little drove of horses to one of the corrals in its rear. B ( M

Chapter II Rex And Tawny

Tawny had long been a source of pride and perplexity to the whole ranch. On all its broad prairies there was no horse to compare with him in beauty or speed. In some way he had escaped the branding-iron when a colt, nor had he ever since been captured, though many attempts against his liberty had been made by the Herrera vaqueros. No one had enjoyed these efforts, with their exciting races over the broad plains, more than Tawny himself, and he had always entered into them with a joyful readiness. On such occasions he would stand with proudly uplifted head and distended nostrils until his would be captors were just ready to throw their entangling ropes ; when, with a snort of defiance and a toss of his silken mane, he would dash away at a speed that none of his pursuers could hope to equal.

Still they always followed him, and each time with fresh hope. He invariably ran in a great circle that caused the race to finish near its place of starting, and during its continuance he would slacken his pace at inter vals until his pursuers were close at hand, only to dart away again with increased speed just when they thought they had him. So aggravating were these tactics, and he showed such a knowledge of the steps it was proposed to take for his capture, that the superstitious Mexicans came to regard him as possessed of uncanny powers, and named him "El Diablo." But for strict orders issued by the master of the ranch that not a hair of his glossy coat was to be harmed, more than one of his baffled pursuers would have tried to overcome him by the dangerous and doubtful method of " creasing," which is stunning by means of a rifle ball so carefully aimed as to cut a crease on the upper side of the animal's neck, without otherwise injuring him.

Rex, who had loved the horse from the first and longed to possess him, called him "Tawny," by which name he came to be generally known. Al though the lad had joined in many a chase of the superb animal, he had never really wished them success in their efforts for his overthrow. He rejoiced that this descendant from Kentucky thoroughbreds should outwit the craftiest of Mexican vaqueros, and took as much pleasure in witnessing their defeats as in the mad racing. Another cause for rejoicing at their failures was a promise from his father, that if he should ever, alone and unaided, succeed in capturing Tawny, the horse should be his from that moment. Many a fruitless race unseen by the others had our lad given the wild horse after receiving this promise, and each failure to capture the beautiful creature only made him seem the more desirable.

Tawny fully realized that the ranch was his home, and never strayed very far from it. Next to racing with would-be captors he enjoyed lording it over the other semi-wild horses of the estate, and was always accompanied by a band of admiring followers, most of whom were young mares with sleek skins and velvety noses, belonging to the best equine families. During his study of Tawny and his companions, Rex discovered that one of their favorite midday resorts was the shade of a great live-oak that stood by itself on the edge of the prairie a hundred yards removed from any other timber. Here they would remain for hours, lazily switching their long tails, lying down, standing, with slim heads caressingly extended over each other's necks, playfully biting, squealing, or kicking at one another, or staring in tently motionless at the antics of a squirrel or at something else that attracted their curiosity.

After breaking up these pleasant parties several times by sudden outrushes from the neighboring timber, Rex conceived the plan of concealing himself amid the lower branches of their favorite tree during a time of their absence from it, awaiting their coming, and then attempting to throw a noose over Tawny's neck from that point of vantage. For the carrying out of this purpose he stored a blanket, a surcingle, and several stout ropes in the tree, and established himself on one of its lower limbs for several days in succession, spending three or four hours there each time, before he had the pleasure of seeing the unsuspecting horses led by Tawny the superb trot jauntily into its wide shadow. The lad was thrilled at finding the animal he so coveted almost within reach of his hand, and his heart beat high with hope.

At the same time he almost stopped breathing and hardly dared move, for he knew that the slightest sound would send the keen-witted creatures off like the wind. He had previously fastened one end of a noosed rope to the limb on which he sat, and now he held the noose ready for dropping, the moment an opportunity offered. Several minutes passed before Tawny came to that side of the tree, and Rex had about decided that he could not bear the pain of his constrained position a moment longer, when all at once the stallion appeared immediately beneath him. In an instant the darting rope had settled over the proud neck, and, as the startled animal sprang away, it tautened with a cruel, choking jerk, that flung him heavily to the ground. At the same moment, and before the terri fied horse could regain his feet, Rex dropped from his hiding-place.

Within two minutes he had Tawny's legs so secured that he could not rise. Then he loosened the choking neck-rope and spent a quarter of an hour in soothing and stroking his captive. The next move was to allow the horse to regain his feet, hobble him so that he could not move with out falling, and strap a folded blanket to his back. Five times did Tawny throw himself in striving to avoid this indignity before the blanket was securely fastened in place. The securing of a noosed cord about his lower jaw was attended with still greater difficulty, but even that was finally accomplished. Then the entangling leg-ropes were cast loose, and Rex vaulted into his blanket saddle. The horse made several convulsive movements, each of which was checked by the rope still encircling his neck and choking him with every pull upon it.

Then he stood still while the boy, retaining his seat, soothed and talked to him. At length Rex severed the taut rope with a single stroke of his hunting-knife, dropped the weapon, twined his fingers in the thick mane, gripped the animal's body with his knees, and found himself speeding through space as though he were astride a runaway locomotive. As the stallion reached the place to which his terrified comrades had retreated at the first alarm, he began to make furious efforts to rid himself of his burden. He reared until it seemed as though he must topple over backwards, pitched, bucked, leaped sideways, and even rolled on the ground. When- HE REARED, PITCHED, BUCKED, LEAPED, AND EVEN ROLLED ON THE GROUND. ever he attempted this last manœuvre the boy flung himself to one side, but sprang again to the animal's back the instant the latter began to regain his feet.

At the same time he never once relaxed a steady pull on the slender cord about Tawny's lower jaw. Once he was flung to the ground, and was dragged by it for a short distance, but the strain on the horse was so painful that he was forced to come to a stop, and in a moment Rex was again seated on his back. Then the animal bolted and ran, or rather flew, at a speed that filled the boy with a delirium of excitement, up hill and down, across broad levels, mile after mile and league after league. At first the young rider gave him his head and allowed him to take his own direction. Then he gradually resumed his pull on the cruel cord and, little by little, changed the course of his flying steed until at length they were headed almost in the direction from which they had come. After a while the fearful pace began to tell, and the sobbing animal began to falter in his stride, but now Rex urged him on with shout and blow until finally Tawny plunged heavily forward and fell, flinging his rider far over his head.

That neither of them gained broken bones was a miracle, but both of them were young, and so neither of them did. When they picked themselves up they gazed at each other with that feeling of mutual respect that, between worthy opponents, often leads to sincerest friendship. When our proudly happy lad had ridden his prize home and into a stout corral, he did not leave him until he had removed the blanket saddle and cord bridle that formed Tawny's badges of servitude, and had given him another thorough rubbing down, during which he talked incessantly to the horse, often calling him by name. Then he brought the thirsty creature a bucket of water, and fed him with a small measure of salted oats, a luxury of civilization that Tawny had never before tasted. Through all this the horse was so quiet and docile that Rex began to wonder if he had not given him too severe a lesson, and broken his spirit so com pletely that he would never regain it.

After having thus extended the hospitalities of the ranch to his newly acquired friend, and leaving orders with a peon to have all the animals cared for, the young horse-tamer, recalled to his own aches, bruises, and general dilapidation, made his way to the house. This ranch house was a large, comfortable affair of squared logs, having a great central hall running through it from front to rear and open at both ends. On either side of this were two large rooms. In the hall a rude stairway, hewn from the trunk of an oak tree, led to an upper story which was at once store room and bed-chamber for an indefinite number of guests. From this upper room a ladder gave access to the roof, on which was a platform enclosed within a breastwork of logs ; for this house was intended as a fortress as well as a dwelling, and was admirably planned for defence against those Indians who then roamed over the whole of Texas.

A detached kitchen stood behind the house, while in front, commanding a fine view of both the road and river, was a broad porch overrun with roses. Rex entered the lower hall from its rear end, hoping for a chance to render himself more presentable before meeting any of the family or the stranger whom he had seen talking with his father. But Squire Harden caught sight of him and called him. " What horse was that you were riding, son ? " he asked, as Rex appeared on the porch. " It was Tawny, sir." " Tawny, the wild stallion ! You don't mean it." "Yes, I do," laughed the boy. "We had a big fight and then made friends with each other after wards." "Prettiest fight 'tween man and hoss that ever I seen," remarked the stranger to whom Squire Harden had been talking, and who was a spare, smooth-faced man, clad in buckskin.

" Did you see us, sir ? " asked the lad, in a tone of surprise. "I didn't know there was a soul within miles of us." i " I expect thar's many a man seen by Deaf Smith, who never sees him," laughed the Squire. " Son, I want to present you to my old and valued friend, Mr. Erastus Smith, better known as ' Deaf Smith,' the scout, whom I think you must have known long ago by reputation."

Chapter III

A HOKSE WITH LIKES AND DISLIKES Deaf Smith, most famous of Texan scouts, was a New Yorker by birth, brought up amid the wild scenes of Mississippi Territory and an early pioneer to Texas, where he helped found the American town of Gonzales on the Guadalupe River some fifty miles east of the Mexican city of San Antonio. He had not been content to settle down there or else where ; but had spent years in wandering alone over the vast southwestern wilderness, hunting buffalo, capturing wild horses, and leading the life of the Indians, who either as friends or foes were for months at a time the only human beings with whom he held intercourse. On one occasion while Rex was away at school he had appeared at the Rancho Herrera, bleeding from an arrow wound, with the warning of a contemplated attack from a war-party of Comanches.

With this timely notice, and aided by the brave scout, Squire Harden was enabled to prepare a complete surprise for the savages and drive them off with such heavy loss that they had not cared to molest him since. At that time a strong liking for each other had sprung up between the two men, and Deaf Smith had ever afterwards been a welcome guest at the ranch, though he rarely visited it more than once a year. Thus it happened that until now he and Rex had never met, though of course the boy had learned many thrilling tales concerning the famous scout, that he afterwards related with fine effect to his school-fellows at New Orleans. Smith had also heard much about his friend's son ; but, fearing that he would be unfitted for Texas life by his schooling and residence in a great city, had purposely avoided meeting him.

Now that such a meeting was forced upon him, he gazed at the lad curiously as he took his extended hand and held it in a firm grasp. While our hero's present appearance might not have produced a favorable impression in New Orleans society, it seemed exactly to suit the scout's idea of what was fitting and proper ; for, after a moment of such searching gaze as seemed to read the lad's soul, he said: " Young man, I am proud to make your acquaint ance, for your own sake as well as your dad's, but I'm free to confess that if I hadn't seen you awhile ago wrastling with that hoss, and met you bearing signs of a tussle, I wouldn't have believed you had the grit you've just showed. It does look, though, like your schooling hadn't done you no great harm after all." A HORSE WITH LIKES AND DISLIKES 21 " You are very kind to say so," replied Rex, flush ing at what he felt was a great compliment, coming as it did from Deaf Smith, " and I am awfully glad to meet you, for I've heard more about you than about any other man in Texas.