USA > Texas > A history of central and western Texas > Part 8
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Austin's position was no sinecure, even after he had settled all the legal affairs of his colony. The government was practically in his hands for the next five years, and the tact, ability and patience with which he directed it confirm his right to the title of Father of Texas. His colonists were in the main independent, aggressive, vigorous Americans, abiding by the fundamental rules of law and society, but not submissive to any restraints and quick to suspect imposition. Although in enrolling them-
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selves as settlers they had accepted the conditions which prescribed the payment to Austin of twelve and a half cents an acre for their land, when the time came to make payment the majority opposed the charge and burdened their leader with much unmerited abuse, forgetting the self-sacrificing hardships that Austin had undergone in the first stages of the enterprise. They claimed that he was speculating on their efforts, and furthermore that, when certain poorer settlers were given lands free, he was discriminating. The result was that he had to forego his claim to these fees, and from the sale of his premium lands received only a small share of his original investment. But when finally relieved of the active administration of the colony, after having borne with wonderful patience the cabalous and open dissatisfaction of the settlers, he had on the whole managed his enterprise with such wisdom that he retained the respect and gratitude of his own colony and remained to the close of his life the best loved man in Texas.
CHAPTER XII
COLONIES UNDER THE EMPRESARIO SYSTEM
Austin's was the first permanently successful colony, and was the central and strongest pillar which upheld the political and social structure of Texas. But around it were built up, in the course of a few years, many others, historically of less importance than the first, but each contributing a portion of the citizenship which finally made Texas independent. These colonies were the fruit of the general colonization system adopted by the Mexican republic and the state of Coahuila-Texas.
As has been stated, Austin obtained a special grant for his colony, but at the same time others were petitioning for privilege to make settle- ments. No grants were made to these applicants, however, until the fed- eral congress had formulated a general land law. On the theory that the general government of a group of federated states should leave to each individual state the widest possible regulation of its internal affairs, the Mexican federal congress contented itself with a land law of very general definition of principles.
This federal law, dated August 18, 1824, made the following rules to govern the states in disposing of lands: No lands to be colonized with- in twenty leagues of the boundaries of a foreign nation or within ten leagues of the coast without permission of the federal executive; admis- sion of foreign colonists not to be prohibited until the year 1840 unless circumstances "imperiously" demanded it; in the distribution of lands preference to be given to Mexican citizens; the limit of lands that could be united in one individual ownership must not exceed eleven leagues.
The provisional congress of the state of Coahuila-Texas was organ- ized in August, 1824, and while engaged in forming the state constitu- tion passed the state colonization law under which Texas was settled. This law, dated March 24, 1825, was designed to augment "by all possi-
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ble means the population" of the state. Its provisions conformed, of course, to the general rules imposed by the federal law above noted. All foreigners must become Mexican citizens and accept the national re- ligion. The quantity of land to be assigned to each foreign setttler was fixed by this law as follows: To each married man or head of family, one labor if an agriculturist, or one league if he combined agriculture and stock-raising ; to each single man, one-fourth of this quantity, to be in- creased to the regular allotment when he married. Those who immi- grated at their own expense and settled in a colony within six years after its establishment received, if a married man, an additional labor, or, if unmarried, a third instead of a fourth of the regular quantity. Out of this system resulted the various quantities of land comprised under the old Mexican titles, some titles covering a league and a labor, others a single league, a third of a league, a quarter league, down to a single labor and fractions thereof.
This law also provided for colonization by empresarios or contrac- tors. Each empresario who undertook to introduce a hundred or more families, on his proposal being approved by the government, should have a definite tract of vacant lands assigned for the settlement of his colonists. His premium for each hundred families that he colonized was fixed at five leagues and five labores.
Immediately after the passage of this law, those who had been ap- plicants during the pendency of this legislation presented their petitions for empresario grants, and they were followed in the course of a few years by others, until nearly all the available lands of Texas were assigned among the various contractors. It is necessary to explain here that the contractors had no proprietary rights in the lands thus assigned. A tract was set aside to them, for a definite period of years, during which they were privileged to introduce colonists, and the permission of the em- presario was required before the government commissioner would survey or issue a certificate of title to the settler. But the title was issued by the government and not by the empresario, and the title of the individual set- tler was unaffected by the subsequent failure of the empresario to com- plete his contract with the state. The design of the law was that the sole advantage to the empresario should consist in the premium lands granted to him on condition that he introduce a hundred or more families. Never- theless, through lack of perfect understanding of the relations of the empresarios, some extensive frauds were committed in Europe and the
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United States. The empresarios were represented as actual owners of the lands, and "scrip" was sold to the extent of thousands of dollars to unsuspecting purchasers. This "scrip" was, of course, worthless, and on arriving in Texas its holders found that they could secure titles to land only from the government and according to the provisions of the laws above described.
Austin himself was one of the first to take advantage of the coloniza- tion laws to introduce another colony in addition to the three hundred families whom he had settled by 1824. He forwarded his first petition to the general government in 1824, asking to introduce several hundred families through Galveston as port of entry. His petition as finally ap- proved by the state government and signed by Austin on June 4, 1825, provided for the introduction of five hundred families, who were to be located on the unoccupied lands within the limits of his first colony, the contract being limited to six years from the date of signing. As the limits of the first colony had never been officially designated, an order dated March 7, 1827, described the boundaries of the colony as follows : Beginning on the San Jacinto river, ten leagues from the coast, up the river to its source and thence in a line to the Nacogdoches-San Antonio road, this road being the northern boundary, and the western boundary was the Lavaca river and a line from its source to the above named road.
On April 22, 1828, Austin was granted the right, by special consent of the president of the republic, to colonize with three hundred families the ten-league reserve on the coast, between the San Jacinto and Lavaca rivers. This extended Austin's colonies from the San Antonio road to the coast, comprising what is now the most populous portion of Southeast Texas. Another contract undertaken by Austin, November 20, 1827, was for the settlement of one hundred families on the east side of the Colorado above the San Antonio road. A later contract, of Austin and Williams, covered a portion of the other grants south of the San Antonio road, and extended north of that road between the Colorado river and the dividing ridge between the Brazos and Trinity to a line above the present site of Waco.
One of the most important colonies outside of Austin's was DeWitt's. Green DeWitt was at Mexico seeking a contract in 1822, when Austin arrived at the capital .. His application was delayed several years until the general laws were enacted, his contract being granted April 15, 1825. His assignment of lands lay on the southwest of Austin's, extending
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from the ten-league coast reserve with the Lavaca as its northeast boundary, the San Antonio road on the northwest, and on the southwest a line two leagues beyond and parallel with the Guadalupe river. In the war for independence this colony was the most exposed to Mexican in- vasion, Gonzales, the capital of the colony, being the first to suffer the vengeance of Santa Anna after the fall of the Alamo.
DeWitt contracted to introduce four hundred families, but at the time his contract expired in 1831 only 166 titles had been issued, and the government refused to extend his contract.
Between DeWitt's grant and the coast, along the Guadalupe, was the territory assigned to Martin de Leon, whose contract was made in 1825. Victoria was the principal center of this colony.
Haden Edwards had also been in Mexico at the time Austin was there, and on April 18, 1825, he was given a contract to introduce eight hundred families about Nacogdoches, his lands being comprised within the territory between Austin's colony on the west, the ten-league coast reserve on the south, the twenty-league reserve on the east, and on the north was bounded by a line fifteen leagues north of the town of Nacog- doches. A more complete account of this colony belongs in the following chapter.
Other empresario contracts that should be mentioned chiefly because of their relation to subsequent land litigation were :
Robert Leftwich obtained a contract April 15, 1825, for a tract on the Navasota river, between the San Antonio road and the Brazos and Colorado rivers. The contract was subsequently carried by Sterling C. Robertson and Alex. Thompson, and the colony was known as the Nashville or Robertson's colony.
James Power and James Hewitson, from Ireland, contracted June II, 1828, to colonize the vicinity of Aransas bay; a second contract of 1830 covered a portion of the territory between the Nueces and Guadalupe rivers. The first colony marked the beginning of Refugio county.
John McMullen and Patrick McGloin, also Irishmen, August 17, 1828, contracted for a settlement on the Nueces river, their enterprises being commemorated in the present San Patricio county.
Lorenzo de Zavala was granted colonization rights, March 12, 1829, to lands lying west of the Sabine between Nacogdoches and the coast.
Joseph Vehlein's contracts, dated December 22, 1826, and November 17, 1828, covered land in East Texas, lying partly in the Haden Edwards tract.
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HISTORY OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN TEXAS.
David G. Burnet's contract, December 22, 1826, was for settlement along the Navasota and Trinity rivers and about the San Antonio road. The last three mentioned contracts were assigned in 1830 to the "Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company," a New York company who issued large quantities of worthless "scrip" against the lands.
CHAPTER XIII
RELATIONS WITH MEXICO-THE FREDONIAN WAR
After the vicissitudes of two centuries Texas was prospering and growing. Great changes had taken place during the second decade of the century as a result of the liberal colonization policy. The agriculture, stock-raising and commerce of that period were crude and primitive, but at the same time gave a firm basis for a permanent population. The in- crease of population during the first ten years was not phenomenal, the number being estimated at ten thousand in 1827 and twenty thousand in 1830, but in the latter year it was four times what it had been when Moses Austin journeyed across the desolated country in the fall of 1820.
The growth of an American civilization on the soil of and alongside of a Latin-American nation could not take place without many possibili- ties of danger. Racial characteristics cannot be changed. The oil and the water of Mexican and American populations would not mix. It being taken for granted that the two nationalities could not coalesce, there was but one way to prevent the Americanization of Texas-by making Texas an integral part of Mexico, completely systematized under Mexican laws and institutions, and with the Mexican population greater in number than that of all foreigners combined, and furthermore with a govern- ment sufficiently strong to command the respect and obedience of all its citizens. But Mexico was far from able to extend her authority and population over Texas in this manner; it was with difficulty that she, during these years, could keep her ship of state clear from the rocks of anarchy. The development of Texas went on with little more than passive regulation from Mexico, and its people, though they paid nominal loyalty to their adopted nation, were in all other respects foreign and antagonistic to Mexican customs and institutions.
To represent the Mexican government always acting the part of the oppressor and tyrant, and the Texas Americans as injured innocents, is both unjust and unnecessary. Mexico cannot be said to have transcended
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her national rights in regulating the settlement of foreigners. This much at least is the prerogative of any nation, and had the government of Mexico been in the hands of able and unselfish leaders it is reasonable to assume that the separation of Texas would have been long delayed.
Among the American settlers, on the other hand, was much impa- tience of restraint and the aggressive independence of the frontiersmen, which have proved turbulent factors in every new state and territory of the American Union. In this eager, restless throng of settlers, Austin's steadiness, tact and patience and personal influence succeeded in pre- serving order long enough to give stability to the colonies, and the value of his services in this respect can hardly be overestimated. His own testimony of the character of his colonists is an interesting light on this subject :* "I have had a mixed multitude to deal with-collected from all quarters, strangers to me, save from the testimonials of good charac- ter which they are expected to bring with them-strangers to each other, to the language, laws and customs of this country. They come here, with all the feelings and ideas of Americans, unwilling to make allowance for the peculiar state of things existing, and expecting to find all in sys- tem, and harmony, and organization, as in the country they have left. Amongst a certain class of Americans with whom I have had to deal, independence means resistance and obstinacy, right or wrong; this is particularly the case with most frontiermen ; and a violent course with men of this cast would have kindled a flame that might have con- sumed the colony. For it was with the greatest difficulty, and after more than eighteen months' solicitation, that I obtained the consent of the Mexican government to progress with the settlement, and the principal objection expressed to my doing so was, that the Americans were consid- ered in Mexico a turbulent and disorderly people, difficult to govern, and predisposed to resist authority. This impression as to the American char- acter it was not easy to remove; and the least commotion among the set- tlers, in the infancy of the colony, would have revived that impression anew, and probably have proved fatal to all our hopes."
But as time went on, and the Texas colonies increased in numbers and strength, and all the while the Mexican republic plunged deeper into anarchy, the incompatibilities of the two peoples became more menacing. The discontent of the Texans was based on a number of causes apart from those more immediate oncs that precipitated the revolution.
* Letter written in 1825 to Benjamin W. Edwards.
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For one thing, there was a more or less distinct feeling on the part of the Texas settlers and Americans in general that the United States was still officially interested in the annexation of the southwest territory. While the Sabine had been fixed as the boundary in the treaty of 1819, the Mexican republic was not entirely relieved of its anxiety about aggression from its neighbor. During 1825-27 certain diplomatic pro- posals were made by the United States for the extension of the boundary to the Rio Grande, or to the Colorado. The treaty of 1828, by which the boundary of 1819 was reaffirmed, checked such negotiations for the time, but it was not unnatural for the Mexican authorities to look upon the American colonists as instruments by which the United States would in time annex Texas.
It cannot be doubted that many of the Americans who settled in Texas believed that annexation would follow sooner or later. When Major Edwards visited Austin at San Felipe in 1825, they are said* to have discussed this matter a number of times, and they concluded that the collision with Mexico should be postponed as long as possible, until the strength of the colonies should be sufficient to redeem them from foreign rule.
The colonization laws of the republic and state, while in the main very liberal and not inconsistent with a sovereign authority, contained provisions that were contrary to American theories of liberty. One of these was the obligation to profess the national religion, though this caused little practical trouble. Another was the privilege given to native Mexicans of priority in selection of land, though the Americans had little competition in this respect in most parts of Texas.
Also, slavery played a part in the Mexico-Texas relations of this period. The state constitution of Coahuila-Texas, adopted in 1827, de- creed that "no one shall be born a slave in this state, and after six months the introduction of slaves under any pretext shall not be permitted." This prohibition affected Texas alone. The peculiar character of Mexican society made slavery unnecessary. Among the semi-civilized Indians and the lower classes of Mexicans was abundance of cheap labor. These laborers contracted their services at an average price of fifty dollars a year, a sum insufficient to support themselves and families. As a result they were always in debt to their masters, who by law could compel them to serve until the debt was discharged. This peonage system was in all
* Foote's "Texas and Texans," Vol. I, 226.
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practical aspects virtual slavery, and at the same time the masters were relieved of some of the responsibilities of the latter institution, since the wretched peons had to live and die at their own expense.
The Texans soon found a technical method of escaping the anti- slavery law, by introducing their slaves as indentured servants. Through all the subsequent enactments concerning slavery, the purpose of the government was plainly to obstruct American immigration into Texas. Without slaves the colonists could have made little progress in agricul- ture, so that to prohibit the holding of slaves was equivalent to forbidding Americans to enter the country. In 1829 the federal government issued a more sweeping decree, abolishing slavery throughout the Republic of Mexico. But the operation of this law was subsequently abated by a general remonstrance from the colonists, showing how essential slavery was to the continued prosperity of Texas.
The success and progress of the American settlers no doubt excited the envy of their Mexican neighbors and provoked some of the measures that displeased the Texans. The comparative freedom of the American colonies from Indian depredations also caused distrust among Mexicans, who believed the colonists were in league with the Indians. The truth was that the settlers, after suffering these depredations during the first few years, had afterwards organized an effective militia protection which the Indians avoided, choosing rather to direct their raids upon the weaker defenses of the Mexicans.
These causes, while they were destined eventually to produce con- flict between the two countries, were latent for some years. The first important collision was the insurrection on the eastern border known in history as the Fredonian war. As mentioned in the preceding chapter, Haden Edwards was one of the earliest Texas empresarios. Nacog- doches, situated in the tract to be settled by him, was one of the three points where Spanish colonization had gained a foothold. A number of Mexicans lived in the vicinity, and derived considerable advantage in trade and other ways from their location on the main road from Louisiana to interior Texas. The town was also on the border of what had formerly been the "Neutral Ground," and that vicinity was still inhabited by some of the ruffian element. Along Ayesh bayou, east of Nacogdoches, was a considerable settlement of independent characters who were readily en- listed in any enterprise of danger and adventure.
North of Nacogdoches were a large group of Indian tribes, the Cherokees being the most influential. The half-breed chief of the latter
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had petitioned, along with Edwards, Austin and others, a colony contract from the Mexican republic, and had left the capital under the impression that the lands would be granted. The promise, if made, was not carried out, and the disappointed Indians, convinced of Mexican perfidy, were ready to seize any opportunity to revenge themselves on the government or its citizens.
This was the nature of the population in the vicinity of the lands where Edwards was to introduce his colonists. His contract stipulated, of course, that he was to settle on vacant lands, and not dispossess any previous claimants. He was also to act jointly with the established au- thorities of Nacogdoches. A man named Norris had been appointed alcalde of that town, and, supported by the Mexicans and some of the older settlers, administered affairs with a high hand and was accused, by the Edwards colonists, of arrogating an authority far in excess of the constitutional limits of his office. The protests forwarded by Edwards to the political chief at San Antonio were disregarded, and on the represen- tations made by the alcalde the empresario's contract was annulled and Edwards was ordered to leave the country.
In the meantime Haden Edwards had been succeeded by his brother, Major Benjamin W. Edwards, who thereafter took the active leadership. Major Edwards was a man of impressive dignity, an able leader, and possessed a tact and balance of judgment that, had they been exercised earlier, might have prevented the conflict between his brother and the alcalde. But he arrived on the scene when the only alternatives were to yield and forfeit the contract, or defend it by armed resistance. He chose the latter, and proceeded with much energy to marshal his forces and organize his Fredonian republic. He sought the alliance of the dis- affected Indians on the north, and on December 21, 1826, the agents of the white settlers and the agents of the Indians issued the Fredonian declaration of independence at Nacogdoches, in which war was declared against the government of the Mexican states for the independence of both the Indian and white residents of Texas.
Copies of the declaration were sent to the Austin colonists, who, it was hoped, would support the war, and emissaries were also sent into Louisiana. In the meantime, on December 16th, Edwards, with fifteen followers, marched into Nacogdoches and without opposition took pos- session of the "stone house," which was the capitol of the short-lived republic.
It was known that a detachment of Mexican troops was marching
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towards Nacogdoches, and Edwards made valiant efforts to concentrate his forces for resistance. But the enterprise was premature, and the reputation borne by that vicinity and the fact that Indians were allied in the movement lessened the sympathy and support that might otherwise have been enlisted. Austin called the Fredonians "mad men" and de- nounced them as "no longer Americans" by reason of their unnatural alliance with the Indians. He sent some of his colony militia along with the government troops to assist in quelling the insurrection.
On January 4, 1827, when the Fredonian garrison consisted of only eleven men, they were attacked by the alcalde Norris and a body of about seventy Mexicans. The Fredonians, being reinforced by nine Cherokees, scorned the protection of their stone fort and with reckless courage charged the enemy as soon as they appeared, scattering them like chaff. After this brief success the fortunes of the republic rapidly waned. No aid came from the United States, and Mexican agents had succeeded in drawing off most of the Indian allies. A party of Fredonians was cap- tured by the advancing army, and the small remnant at Nacogdoches, in the face of these discouragements, voted to abandon their position and escape to Louisiana. When the government troops arrived, the "republic" had dissolved, and the few prisoners taken were, by the intervention of Austin, released. While the Edwards contract was annulled, the actual settlers who remained were protected in the possession of their lands, and the vacant portions of this region were afterwards covered by other empresarios.
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