A diamond in the rough; embracing anecdote, biography, romance and history

Front matter

Class JF:^ 9,0-

Rnnlr ■VVg)2.

Gopyrigltt]^"

Chapter 1

The Life and Character of Sam Houston, One of the Unique and Striking Figures in the Pioneer Days of American History !)

CHAPTEK 2 The Mistake of Saying Too Much 27

CHAPTEK 3

After dwelling with the Cherokee Indians for a Time,

Houston Goes to Texas 35

CHAPTEK 4 What I Think of Florida 05

CHAPTER 5

The Lone Star State of Texas, and a Thrilling Event in

its History— The Siege of the Alamo 75

CHAPTER 6

A Description of the Opelousas and Teche Regions of

Southern Louisiana 87

CHAPTER 7

From the Massacre of the Alamo to that of Fannin's

Prairie, or Goliad 103

CHAPTER 8

"Shell Anna"-The Battle Born Babe of Flint River. A

Story of the Civil War 121

Table of Contents. 7

CHAPTER 9

The Defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto by Greneral

Houston 145

CHAPTEK 10

The Early History of New Harmony, Indiana, and its

Founders 157

CHAPTER 11

From the Victory of San Jacinto to the Admission of

Texas into the Federal Union 175

CHAPTER 12 Houston in the United States Senate 191

CHAPTER 13

A Contribution to an Entertainmejit Held in the Town Hall in Clayton, Indiana, December 31, 1887, entitled "Thrice Happy New Year" 203

CHAPTER 14

The Story in Prose, of Evangeline and Gabriel. The Most

Pathetical, Perhaps, In the English I^anguage .... 221

CHAPTER 15

The Discomfiture of an Infidel, Prepared at the Request

of Leading Citizens of Hendricks County, Indiana . . 245

CHAPTER 16

The Peregrinations of Evangeline from St. Martinsville, Louisiana, to the Ozark Mountains, then to the Saginaw River and thence to the City of Penn .... 259

Chapter 1

THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF SAM HOUSTON, ONE OF

THE UNIQUE AND STRIKING FIGURES IN THE

PIONEER DAYS OF AMERICAN HISTORY

Twice in Congress, the Governor of two States, the President of a Republic, and a United States Senator

WHILST traveling" in Texas in the Springtime and early Summer of 1892, by chance I dropped into Lampasas on the occasion of the reunion of the old veterans of the War for the Independence of Texas from Mexico; and ever since that time I have regarded it as one of the most pleasurable events of my life. The War for the Independence of Texas was fought during the years 1835 and 1836. Those present of the old soldiers at the reunion were, therefore, very old men, whose ages ranged from 77 to 93 years.

Having myself been a soldier in the Civil M^ar, Avith an experience which enabled me to enter into the spirit of such a meeting; and although a stranger to all, my comradeship in arms, when made known to those old veterans, opened wide the doors of their heart's greeting to me, in a two days' feast of joy ; and in a comradeship, to be known, has to be experienced.

Those old comrades had fought their battles fifty-six and fifty-seven years before their coming together on that occasion, while I had fought mine but twenty-eight to thirty-one years before. And I felt toward them as Daniel Webster expressed it on the occasion of the reunion of the Old Revolutionary Patriots in Philadelphia in September, 1824, at the time of General Lafayette's last visit to America.

In speaking of the Old Revolutionary Patriots, Mr. Webster, the great orator, said: ''These, my fellow countrymen, are a band of ancient and renowned heroes who have come down to our day from a former generation." And so I felt, that those old Texan Veterans were a Band of Immortal Heroes who had come to Lampasas from a former generation.

When the day's program was ended, and the private carriages of the city — all driven by young ladies — had called at the meeting place to convey the old veterans to the private homes of the city for the night's entertainment, it chanced that there were more carriages to convey, than old soldiers to be entertained, as Lampasas was a watering place and health resort, with many conveyances: and as the disappointed lady drivers drove away without an old soldier to accompany them to their homes for entertainment by the family over night, tears were seen trickling down their faces.

Don't tell me, therefore, that in the human heart and breast, there is no esteem and regard for the defenders of our country and our homes. Should there be such, their assignment merits companionship with the thugs of India, or the Modocs of the Lava Beds.

It was while attending the reunion of the Old Texan Veterans at Lampasas, and hearing from them so much respecting General Sam Houston, that I formed the purpose at some future time of writing a brief sketch of his history. And as thirteen years have already slipped away since that event, and the sixtyeighth mile stone of my life's journey having been passed, I shall have to write soon, or not at all.

Sam Houston, in many respects, possessed strong and original qualities of mind. And while at times his conduct deserved censure, as well as approval, yet the good greatly predominated ; and he had many devoted friends, attracted to him by his wonderful achievements and great personal magnetism; and the few^ written records of him vary from extravagant and fulsome eulogy to harsh criticism. But the remembrance of his original and impressive personality is still strong among his contemporaries, and the reminiscences of those who took part in the events with him are cherished in high degree: and the Old Veterans at the Lampasas reunion never tired of relating to me the experiences they shared with him during the War for Texas Independence.

The period of Sam Houston's life was a heroic one in the achievement of personal vigor and daring in the early history of our country. The defense of the Alamo will always be regarded as one of the most striking examples of desperate and determined valor during all the ages, and the Battle of San Jacinto demonstrated conclusively the superiority of the American race in war over the Mexico-Spaniard. And the ferociousness, cruelty and barbarity of General Santa Anna, the self-styled Napoleon of the Western World, finds no parallel in the wars of the last two centuries, as the massacre of Goliad, or Fannin 's Prairie, clearly evinces, a description of which will be given in these pages.

Sam Houston came from the strong and sturdy Scotch-Irish stock which has given so many notable names to American history. John Houston was the founder of the American branch of the family, and came to this country in 1689. He was a man of means, and was the leader of a colony of emigrants who settled near Philadelphia. John Houston's grandson, Robert Houston, moved to Virginia, and married a Scotch lady by the name of Davidson. Robert Houston had a son Samuel who served with distinction in the brigade of General Morgan during the Revolutionary War. Tradition describes Samuel Houston as a man of large frame, and the possessor of indomitable courage, with a passion for military life. His wife was also a woman of great force of character, and deeply impressed her influence upon the minds of her children. After the death of her husband, who had been appointed an Assistant Inspector General of the frontier troops, and died on a tour of duty in the Allegheny Mountains, in 1806, Mrs. Houston moved to Tennessee, and settled in Blount County at a point northeast of the Tennessee River, then the boundary between the Cherokee Indians and the white settlers.

Mrs. Houston's son Samuel, (the subject of this sketch) was then in his thirteenth year. His schooling was in the "Old Field School;" where only the rudiments of an education could have been received, in the early pioneer settlements of East Tennessee. Whatever education Sam Houston acquired, must, therefore, have been due to his active mind and fervid imagination, and the diligent reading of such books as came in his way ; and by thoroughly mastering them, which does not always happen with those who are satiated and dulled with an abundance and variety of books. Among the few books which found their way in pack-saddles and among the home-spun garments of the pioneer settlers of East Tennessee, and were read by the light of pine knots, was, according to tradition among Houston's contemporaries, a translation of the Iliad. This, Houston's associates have said, was read and studied by him until the battles on the "windy side of the Scamander, and the camp-fires around the walls of Troy," were as visible and real to him as the woods and fields of the Tennessee valley.

Such a book was an education in itself, in all that tends to the elevation and kindling of the imagination. Through his whole life, his contemporaries say, Houston was a man of few books. When commander of the Texan army his chief book was Caesar's Commentaries on War, which he drank in with a native intuition for their benefit to him in the Texan struggle, as well as for the fascination of the narrative. He also read the Bible constantly and thoroughly, until its phraseology tinged and embellished his oratory, in a certain art of which he was a master.

The knowledge and wisdom of Sam Houston came more from contact with men and nature, than from books ; and his power and vigor with the pen, on great subjects, coupled with his persuasive and forceful eloquence, were due to native peculiarities, and to the force of his genius in common speech, and not to any training in the arts of rhetoric, or to the study of the masters of language.

Soon after the arrival of the Houstons in Tennessee, there occurred the first of young Houston's escapades, which characterized his whole career in after life. He had been placed by his mother as clerk in a store, but his restless spirit revolted at a life behind the counter, and one day he fled across the Tennessee River and took up his abode with the Cherokee Indians. He was received in their favor as a friend and a brother, whose natural tastes were their own. And he soon acquired that knowledge of, and sympathy with, the Indian character which he manifested through his whole life. In a great measure it is an instinct, and enables a man like Houston to be at home in the Indian camps ; for he had many of the characteristics of the Indian in his nature, — ^his hot blood, his fondness for adventure, and the untrammeled freedom of the wilderness. All these qualities were doubtless in the j^outh, as in the man, and Houston was made welcome by the Cherokees, whose language he soon learned.

When his family at home learned where he was, two of his brothers visited and endeavored to persuade him to return home. But he replied that he preferred hunting deer, to measuring tape, and refused to leave his Indian friends, and remained with the Cherokees until his eighteenth year. He then returned to civilization and attended school for a time, in the Academy at ]Maryville, which was all the education he was ever to receive in school.

The war between Great Britain and the United States had now broken out, and the drum was beating on the frontier for recruits, and Houston enlisted as a private soldier, being then in his twentieth year. In after life, in speaking of his enlistment, Houston said that on his return home after volunteering, that his mother, — having already heard of it — met him at the door of their cabin and handed him his gun, and said : ' ' There, my son, take this gun, and never disgrace it; for I had rather all my sons should fill one honorable grave, than that one of them should turn his back on an enemy to save his life. And remember, too, that while the door of our house is open to brave men, it is forever shut to cowards." These words of Mrs. Houston, to her son, bespeak the same language once addressed hy a Roman mother to her son, and has the clear ring of valor and true nobility.

Houston was not long in the ranks until he received a commission. During the British War, much of the fighting was with the Indians, who were incited to hostilities by British emissaries. It was with the Creek Indians, a

Houston in Battle of ihe Horseshoe. 17

remnant of which tribe had rallied for a last stand at the Horseshoe, — a bend of the Tallapoosa River in Alabama — that Houston saw his first service. During' this engagement Houston was wounded by a barbed arrow which struck deep in his thigh. He called upon the lieutenant of the company to pull the arrow out. Twice the effort was made and failed. Houston then roared to him to try again, and to "pull hard." This time the arrow was withdrawn, but left a jagged wound from which the blood was gushing in a great stream. Houston wasv at once rushed out of range to have the bleeding staunched; and while in the surgeon's hands he was seen by General Jackson, who was in command, and ordered him to the rear. Houston did not regard the wound as serious, and disregarded the order of General Jackson. Later in the battle Jackson called for volunteers to storm the Indian line at a certain angle. And as a body of men were gathering to make the charge, Houston dashed forward, calling upon his men to follow; and after advancing a few paces he received a bullet in the shoulder, and one in the upper part of the right arm which shattered the bone, and he drew back out of range, and was borne from the field and put in charge of the surgeons a second time. This exploit of Houston 's gained General Jaekson's friendship and confidence the remainder of his life.

It was nearly two months before Houston reached his mother's home. /And he w\is so emaciated by his wounds and sufferings that she could scarcely recognize him. As surgical aid was required he was removed to Knoxville, and finally to Washington City, which he reached soon after the Capitol wr.s burned by the British troops.

After being treated so as to be on the way to recovery^ Houston returned to his mother's home, where he learned of the battle of New Orleans. At the close of the war, and having been promoted for his gallantry at the battle of the Horseshoe, Houston was ordered to report to New Orleans for duty. And made the journey down the Tennessee River to the Ohio, thence down the Ohio to the -Mississippi, and thence down that to his destination, in a rowboat with two companions.

On his arrival in New Orleans, Houston's wounds were again operated upon, which came near costing him his life, and they never ceased to discharge until the day of his death. Soon after this, Houston was ordered to report for duty in Nashville, Tennessee, and was appointed Agent of the Cherokee Indians, at the request of General Jackson, who wrote the Secretary of War, — Graham — saying: "He is a young

Houston's Bhaveky in Battle. I'J

man of sound integrity, who has my entire confidence; and is every way capacitated to fill the appointment. ' '

It was Houston 's bravery under his own eves that attracted the friendship and confidence of General Jackson, which he retained through all the vicissitudes of his career. And this respect and esteem was reciprocated by Houston to the fullest. It is said of him that General Jackson was the only person who could influence Houston's actions. Alike in many respects, in temperament and passion, the characteristic product of the untamed and vigorous life of the frontier, yet there was from one angle of vision a wide difference in the habits and character of the two men. The stronger and more self-contained nature of Jackson, dominated in a measure the enthusiastic disposition of Houston.

In a speech in the United States Senate in favor of acknowledging the independence of Texas, immediately after the Battle of San Jacinto, Senator Benton bore strong testimony to the good qualities of Houston; and stated that he was the Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment to which Houston belonged, and saw his gallant conduct at the Battle of the Horseshoe. ''I then discovered in him the same soldierly qualities which have since distinguished his eventful career. He was gallant, brave, and generous; and ever ready to do, or

20 A DiA^kioxD IN TUE Rough.

suffer, whatever the obligations of duty imposed upon him ; and was always prompt to answer the call of honor, patriotism, and friendship" — noble (jualities of the mind and soul. Although possessing a limited education, on leaving the army, Houston determined to become a lawyer, which, in those days, was synonymous with politician. He entered the law office of James Trimble, in Nashville, and was admitted to tlie bar after six months' study. A knowledge of the intricacies of the law and the precedence of the courts was at that time not of much consequence to a successful lawyer. Not nearly so much so as a good flow of popular oratory for the jury, and a courage that would not fail him Avith the fighting attorneys. Houston at no time pretended to be a lawyer in the i)roper sense of the word. And yet after he went to Texas he many times made effective speeches to juries in criminal cases, although he knew but little of law beyond a few general principles, which were readily appreciated and understood by a strong and capacious mind. In this lack of legal knoAA^ledge, however, Houston was at no great disadvantage, for he was not inferior to most of his associates who traveled the judicial circuits at that time. What he lacked in legal learning was more than compensated for when it came to arguing a case, either before the Court or a jury, in the

Houston as Lawyer. 21

strong and masterful way he brought to view the equities in the case ; and many times gained the cause by trampling down and ridiculing, in his inimitable manner, the frivolous technicalities of law. ^

After being admitted to the bar, Houston settled at Lebanon, Tennessee, and being very poor at the time, he was kindly received by Isaac Galladay, the postmaster at Lebanon, who extended to him many favors and much kindness. One of the pleasant glimpses of Houston 's life is given in a letter by a son of Isaac Galladay, showing Houston's gratitude for Mr. Galladay 's kindness when he began the practice of law in Lebanon. The event occurred after Houston had gone to Texas. "I was traveling in Texas, ' ' said young Mr. Galladay, ' ' and was taken quite sick very suddenly at Hunts ville on a Sunday, and took to bed immediately on my arrival at the hotel. Remembering that Sam Houston, who had formerly lived at Lebanon, Tennessee, was now living in Texas, I asked the landlord in what part of the State he resided, and he replied: 'He lives but a short distance from town, and has just passed the hotel on his way to church. ' To this I said : 'As he returns from church, please inform him that Frederick Galladay, of Tennessee, is sick in the hotel.' Soon, a large, portly, and elegant-looking gentleman walked into my room,

22 A Diamond ix the Rough.

and asked me if I was the son of Isaac Galladay. I answered that I was. 'I then recognize you as the son of an old and true friend, and you must go to my liouse.' I replied with thanks that I was too sick to go ; but he insisted on coming for me, and I consented, and went to the home of Mr. Houston, where I lay sick for some two weeks, and was cared for very tenderly by Mr. Houston himself. During my sickness, Mr. Houston spent much of his time with me in my room ; and at intervals, when T was able to converse, he gave me much of his early history." Any effort to enlarge upon or magnify this quality of true manhood, with which Houston was so happily blessed, would end in failure, and I will not venture further than the mere statement of the incident.

Houston soon began to be a power in public life. His friendly and impressive manner, along with his natural adaptability to all societies, placed him at ease, whether before the plain people in a stump speech, or in the parlor with ladies, for his urbane and highly cultivated dignity of part and gesture, gave him the essentials of gallantry and of political success. And, moreover, he was the friend and devoted follower of Andrew Jackson, who exercised at that time a sort of political kingship in Tennessee. While practicing law in Lebanon, Houston

Houston Governor of Tennessee. 23

was, in 1819, appointed Adjutant-General of the State, and in October of the same year, he was elected prosecuting attorney for the Davidson District, which necessitated his removal to Nashville.

On taking leave of his friends in Lebanon, where he began the practice of law, with a wolf at the door, and had been greatly assisted by friends, and being now in better circumstances, and having reimbursed all, Houston thought it proper to deliver a farewell address to the citizens of Lebanon who had done so much for him, which he did from the courthouse steps, which was his choice, instead of the court room. In the course of the address he said: **I came to you while athirst, and you gave me drink ; I came to you hungry, and you fed me ; I came to you naked, and you clothed me." This, along with much more in kind, moved the hearts of his hearers to such a degree that there was not a dry eye, says tradition, in the whole assembly. In the above is the key to the secret of Houston's power and influence in swaying the feelings and sympathies of men.

Ever restless, Houston soon resigned the office of prosecuting attornej^, and was, in 1821, elected Major-General of the Tennessee Militia. Soon after this, in 1823, at the age of thirty, he was elected to Congress, and served four years, taking part in the debates, and acting with the Jackson wing of the Democratic party.

It was during Houston's second term as a member of Congress that his first and only duel was fought, which was with General AVhite ; and was fought at sunrise, September 23, 1826, just across the Tennessee line in Kentucky White was severely wounded, while Houston escaped unharmed. In a speech at Tillico, after his duel with White, Houston said that he was opposed to dueling, but had been compelled to fight General White, in defense of his honor, and expressed thanks to God that General White was not killed.

In this same year, 1827, Houston was elected Governor of Tennessee. And while he doubtless owed much to his personal popularity, his nomination and election was more largely due to the fact that he was the representative of the Jackson party. Houston was a candidate for re-election for a second term, with the probabilities of election strongly in his favor, when an event occurred which put an end to his successful career as a politician in Tennessee, and at the same time seemed the ruin of him forever.

We have now reached an event in the history of Sam Houston, about which there is much that is vague and uncertain. In January, 1829, Houston was married to Miss Eliza Allen, the

Separation from Wife. 25

daughter of a wealthy and intiuential family. And on the 16th of April following, he sent in his resignation as Governor, to the Secretary of State, and left Nashville in secret, and went to his old friends, the Cherokee Indians, beyond the Mississippi, in the Indian Territory.

(Continued on page 35.)

Chapter 2 THE IvnSTAKE OF SAYING TOO MUCH

SOME time ago a party of elderly gentlemen were discussing some of the rules and precepts of life which make for peace and happiness, when one of them remarked that his mother, on her dying bed, had admonished him never to say too much ; and that many times' during his life, when the temptation was great, and the disposition to talk strong, that in giving heed to his mother's advice at this point, had saved him much trouble and humiliation.

Soon after the separation of these gentlemen, the mother's advice to her son came into my mind, and after pondering the matter for some time, my thought then was, and is now, that the dying mother's advice to her son may justly be applied, not only to young men, but to the old, as well ; and to each and every individual, in every grade of society, and may profitably be heeded by many in each grade.

In the private walks of life there are thousands who say too much. The liar, the backbiter, and the slanderer, are continually saying too much. The whisperer of scandal, the mysterious guesser, the impertinent meddler, the fiery and passioirate, the jealous and suspicious, along with the malicious and revengeful, are always and forever saying too much.

Evil speaking, from the innuendo to perjury, is a great wrong. Petty scandal, which is more or less practiced by many, produces more mischief than a blighting sirocco. The sly whisper, the mysterious hint, the anxious inquiry, and the uncharitable inference, gather importance as they pass from one to another until they become dreadful realities in the public mind. By the small envenomed worm of petty scandal, many a fair chnracter has been ruined, that would, pei-haps, have outrode the storm of open and violent slander.

There is a propensity, it would seem, in oui' perverse nature, to listen to the retailers of petty scandal. With many it is the elixir and spice of conversation — the exhilarating gas of their minds. Without any intention of injuring a neighbor, a careless remark, many times, in relation to a fancied fault of his, may be seized by a babbler, as it passes through the babbling tribe, and each one adds to its importance until it assumes the magnitude and blackness of a base slander. Few are without faults, and errors of judgment, and upon such petty scandal delights to feast.

Nor are those safe from the filth and scum of this poisonous tribe, who are free from

On Saying Too Much. 29

wrong; for at an}^ moment envy and jealousy may create a noise that will attract attention, and start the bloodhounds of suspicion until many may be led to suppose there is real game, when there is nothing but thin air.

Many times an unjust accusation is started against an innocent person, and before truth can get her shoes on to pursue, and correct the wrong, a stain, dark and damning, has been inflicted on the otherwise fair name of an innocent person. If more caution was used by the would-be prudent, less mischief would be effected by dealers in detraction. If self-respecting and decent people would cea.se to lend a listening ear to the babbling tribe, they would soon cease their nefarious and scandal-mongering habit.

A word of rebuke, well administered, has a magical effect upon this tribe of paltry cowards. It suffocates them like the fumes of burning brimstone does flies. It may, perhaps, be the possibilities these fumes suggest to such in the future, that dampens their ardor. Churches, too, are sometimes cursed with babblers, who paralyze religion with their envenomed breath, and who would make a common sewer of some of their most worthy members. But let us hasten away from this branch of our subject, lest we be accused of saying too much, and thereby be accused of violating our own precept, and turn to one more pleasing.

30 A Diamond in jhe Rough.

In the second place, there are others, who, in the innocence of their dear hearts, say too much. The individual whose stock of knowledge is small, by talking when he should keep still, and listen, may miss gaining information that might be of great benelit to him. The man who engrosses or monopolizes all the conversation in company, to make a display of his learning, and of his self-supposed superiority, often disgusts his companions by saying too much.

And those also who are given to relating long fish stories of their bold exploits and hairbreadth escapes, whether from bear, wildcats, or in war, render themselves many times ridiculous by saying too much. In this utilitarian age, where all is rush and hurrj^, long-meter anecdotes, too, are never relished ; but on the contrary, they surfeit, and are like a book with a preface longer than the contents, or text.

The fond and loving twain, too, not yet out of the halo of their honeymoon, who relate long yarns about their conjugal bliss, and what a paragon of perfection Charley is, as a husband, — so plain and so simple in his tastes that it is not a 'Svee" bit of trouble to cook to suit him; or, perchance, find a ''kitchen girl" who can; Or, what a dear, sweet little wife I have, just the one, among all God's millions, that suits me ; or, later on, wear their friends out by extolling the shining intellect of their children.

On Saying Too Much. 31

We are almost tempted to say that the prayer which wells up from the deepest recesses of the heart is for a rest from too much of this kind of talk. In a sense, and to a reasonable extent, the pride of doting parents is to be admired, but many forget that others, too, have bright children, and talk too much.