USA > Texas > A new history of Texas; being a narration of the adventures of the author in Texas, and a description of the soil, climate, productions, minerals, tons [!], bays, harbours, rivers, institutions, and manners and customs of the inhabitants of that country; together with the principal incidents of fifteen years revolution in Mexico; and embracing a condensed statement of interesting events in Texas, from the first European settlement in 1692, down to the present time: and a history of the Mexican war > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24
The session of 1839-40 in furtherance of the above policy, provides a dower of near three thousand acres to
195
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
cach lady who takes for her husband any man who was a citizen of the Republic at the time of the Declaration of Independence (1836 ;) but I would say to my fair friends, that all such citizens can exhibit some evidence of the fact, and it will not be amiss to require as much, when any deception on this subject will certainly be of the double mischievous consequence usual, because not only a bad husband will be obtained, but also a dower lost, which in most cases is a matter of serious import.
It is a singular fact, that the real substance of all the legislation respecting land, from 1821 to the present day, is embodied in the few foregoing paragraphs, and yet so voluminous are the land laws of Mexico and Texas, and so vague and undefined are whole chapters of them, that a summary containing, as this does, every thing necessa- ry to be known, was not obtained without much labor and expense ; and I will venture my reputation for vera- city for ever hereafter, that no lawyer in Texas will impart the same knowledge to any individual client for less than five hundred dollars ; and in most cases, if at all, claim a larger fee, and a considerable consumption of time would be found unavoidable. In this respect, however, there are but few individuals of the present day who are much to blame. Lawyers, as well as other men, like to make money ; and their regular fees, like every thing else in Texas, as compared to other places, is very high ; while the travel through all the land volumes costs them time and money and the claimants of land form such a host of customers, that perhaps, as in most other countries, to analyze and abridge laws for the benefit of the mass of mankind, would amount in the opinion of some to little less a crime than high treason.
This difficulty, which seriously effects the rights and in- terests of the producers in all countries, is made doubly
i
.
196
HISTORY OF TEXAS
difficult in Texas, on account of the numerous frauds that have been committed ; first by the Empresariors, and sub- sequently by other individuals ; and for the purpose of put- ting Emigrants on their guard, I feel it my duty to ex- plain a few of such transactions, out of which has sprung thousands of spurious land titles, and these are sought for and sold by speculators, perfectly regardless of the legality of such claims, or the turpitude of their conduct when imposing upon their fellow men and deeply injuring the healthful growth of their country.
One short history of an Emprasario contract will. with the exception so often mentioned, of Austin's, convey not an indefinite idea of the whole, so far as such claims can now be recognised by law. A man in the city of Mexico, as one of the firm of Burnett & Zavalla, in Tex- as, obtained a large grant of land under all the conditions of the colonization laws, and without complying with any, repaired to New York and sold the estate. Their pur- chasers formed a kind of stock company, and issued land scrip, bearing a most imposing appearance, and resold their purchase in detail ; or in other words, the Emprasarios made a direct fraudulent wholesale ; and the purchasers from them sold at retail ; and whether they intended fraud or not, such was the result ; for the land never was, or can be, worth a cent to any person who now holds a claim under that grant.
Again, many spurious titles have grown out of the claims of volunteers upon the government, and this is in part to be attributed to that inordinate thirst for specula- tion, which has prevented Congress, as yet, from section- ising the country, or doing any thing that could enable people generally to ascertain with certainty where it was safe to locate ; and it is in part to be attributed to a de- sire felt by others to speculate : some of whom after help-
197
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
ing to whip Santa Anna and witnessing the operation of those at the head of affairs, who were, without trouble, accumulating large landed estates, and rather frowning on volunteers, because they were no longer needed ; concluded to join in the general scramble for land, and get all they could ; the result of which so far, has been that persons in a great many instances have, without knowing it, cross- ed each others lines, and as often obtained a land claim from every board of commissioners, with the full intent to get three claims in place of one ; and with this capital enter the market, and furnish purchasers with leagues or acres, just to accommodate these plebians, who had not vet been initiated into the arts and mysteries of the trade.
The Constitution of Texas declares that no alien shall hold lands in Texas, unless the title eminates from the government ; or unless it be the legal heirs or repre- sentatives of citizens of the country, or those engaged with them against Mexico in 1335-6; therefore those persons in the United States who hold claims of a differ- ent character from those enumerated as valid in this chap- ter, must either emigrate to Texas, cheat some other per- son, or loose the land. Under all such circumstances, I would advise Emigrants to touch not, handle not, any des- cription of titles out of Austin's grant, except those which have emanated directly from the government of Texas, and these, when good, can be ascertained in no other way than by a close examination of the government scrip ; or a scrutinizing search in the general land office of the republic, twelve months after the survey purports to have been made.
Land and water with the titles to the same, as well as the products, natural and artificial, may appropriately claim a place in the same chapter ; and the more so, be-
.
1
198
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
r.
cause at the present day, almost every thing but air, is sold ; and this I presume will in time become a commer- cial commodity, by some process as yet undiscovered .- It therefore remains for me to furnish a further description of the principal forests and plains, with the growth on each, both vegetable and animal.
The general surface of Texas, from Red River to with- in an average distance of 80 miles from the Gulf of Mex- ico is a beautiful inclined plane ; broken only by the ir- regular mountains disclosed on the map accompanying this work ; and among other valuable purposes which these mountains answer is the important fact that they purify the numerous rivers which at about an average distance of 60 miles apart wind their circuitous way from 1500 miles down to 150 (the San Antonio, the shortest of all) when their waters mingle with the deep, deep, sea! through that curious and boisterous little ocean called the gulf of Mexico. Another and important advantage de- rived from nature's gifts in these mountains, is to break the force of the icy northern blasts that periodically sweep over the whole country, while in and near them great quantities of excellent lime stone is imbedded ; an arti- cle unknown in any other locality in such quantities as would furnish a supply for building. Coal, too, and of excellent quality, is abundant contiguous to the mountains; and there are in many places appearances, which indicate the deposite of those shining commodities which in the United States are familarly known as yellow boys and mint drops.
The mouth of the Rio Grande River is in the 20th de- gree of North Latitude. The North Eastern boundary of Texas at a point on Red River is in the 94th degree of West Longitude, and thence northwest, along that riv- ver, to the 100th degree, and northwest, until striking the
.
199 .
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Rio Grande at a point above Santa Fe, where the latitude has never been taken. Thus it will be seen at a glance, that these two streams skirt a country above the moun- tains, of vast extent, to compare to that part of Texas which is as yet at all settled. The average distance of the rivers below the mountains is only about 200 miles, where they empty into the Gulf, while the Brassos and Colorado is believed to meander in all not less than a thousand miles ; and the present American settlements have not as yet extended beyond the mountains at any place, and in but few very near. The Mexican farmers and herdsmen, cover with a sparse population, a long dis- tance contiguous to the Rio Grande, but they disappear before the Anglo Saxon. in about the same ratio that has marked his footsteps, while gradually occupying the de- serted hunting grounds of those Red, but native Ameri- cans, who once roamed in all the pride of freedom over the now cultivated fields of these States, and the sites of our cities which are crowned with a hundred spires. The range of Mountains that divides Texas into two distinct dis- tricts commences at the mouth of Puerco creek, on the Rio Grande River, and terminates at a high bluff of lime stone on the Brassos ; and with the exception of the scattered herdsmen above alluded to, the entire country, except Santa Fe, is in undisputed possession of Indians and other animals, fish and fowls. The fowls and fish are truly abundant ; and the quantity of wild horses, cows, buffalo. deer, wolves, bears, panthers, wild cats, and a small spot- ted cat, usually called the leopard cat, is such as would astonish the natives in my country : and I saw a larger cheese at the hut of a Mexican herdsman, and make no doubt quite as good one as the celebrated Oswego cheese. that graced the table of our hospitable president, Andrew Jackson, some years ago, while our merchants were fail-
i
-
- 200
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
ing and the artisans of our cities, for want of employment > were sometimes doomed to hear their helpless children cry for bread.
The country above the mountains is as far as seen, handsomely diversified with groves and prairies, the latter of which are clothed in summer with all the finery of beautiful flowers, and the groves consist of all the varie- ties of oak, hickory, black walnut, sugar tree, or curled maple, wild cherry, mulberry, ash ; while the sycamore lines the waters, and the ever green pine, crowns the ridges and precipices along the numerous brooks, whose waters are pure and limped, and give music and anima- tion to the wanderer, who has left the haunts of civiliza- tion to roam through the native grandeur of these vast solitudes ; and while surveying the varied beauties to see in his mind's eye the dense population which soon will cover them, transforming every thing into different colors and shades.
In addition to what has elsewhere been stated respect- ing the country below the Mountains, I would remark, that the eastern portion of Texas is very generally hea- vily timbered ; embracing every description common in the southern states, and a much larger portion of live oak and magnolia than is elsewhere to be found. After cross- ing the San Jacinto River for the west, the large prairies commence with here and there a cluster of pecan, oak, ash, wild peach, ehn, pine, &c., and when nearing the Brassos the pine begins to disappear and its place is sup- plied along the Brassos and Colorado with great quanti- ties of live oak, whose sturdy trunks and ponderous arms suggest an idea of mature growth, and exhibit proportions which may well entide them to a high rank among their fellows, especially after travelling further on and behold- ing the diminutive musonetoes relieved occasionally by
1
.
201
HISTORY OF T XAS.
the prickly pear and the sturdy palmeto, whose pointed leaves very much resemble the bristling bayonets of some men of war.
From the La Bacca and Guadeloupe Rivers to the Rio Grande, a distance of 200 miles, is an almost successive prairie of a width varying as noted in the first chapter of this work, and of soil of considerable fertility, but badly supplied with water ; and this whole region which I have elsewhere called the first division of Texas, is the head quarters for snakes, frogs, lizards, scorpions and a curious thing called fiddlers, along the streams, as well as the Taruntula (a large spider) and the centipede, with a wea- pon of death (where no other animal or insect that I know of carries such a thing.) in its tail. Whether this venom- ous reptile is a distinct animal from all the rest of crea- tion I cannot say ; but it is certain that its implement of distruction is in a curious place, and also the article that has destroyed thousands of men will resusitate the centi- pede : for I saw one after being apparently killed three times, brought into life by a simple baptism in whiskey.
This first division too of Texas is famed as the resi- dence of a better order of frogs than some other localities. True there is any quantity of the common sort of inhab- itants, but the horned frog is a nobler being, standing as he does some inches high, on as many legs, and sporting a pair of hard horns full half an inch long, while as if to show every where the different grades in society, the Mexican hog, a little ugly animal, but who, like Lear, is every inch a king; and proves it in peace and in war, for when his authority is disputed he proclaims hostilities, and victory or death is a motto that during the whole his- tory of his Mexican highness has been held most sacred and inviolate.
26
202
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
In the timbered regions of Texas there is generally su .. ficient mast to not only keep hogs, but also fat them ; and the Musquetoe grass grows so finely in most of the prai- ries, and particularly in that last mentioned, that it seems nothing is wanting but timber and water. Man, ever fer- tile in expidient, will here, as elsewhere, obviate these difficulties to some extent, and content himself to burn lime from the immense beds of sea shells; make brick in the prairies around, where he will plant trees and drink water which is said to descend alike from the clouds upon the goilly and ungodly, while with the Icelander, who glories in his frozen region, the Texan Emigrant will fancy that he is in the very paradise of the world. beyond the tor- menting jingle of sleigh bells in winter, and where the heat of summer is relieved by refreshing sea breezes, and the cool shade of groves which have been planted by his own hands.
I cannot, however, conclude this chapter withont ad- munishing those whose lot has hitherto been cast in Nor- thern Latitudes, to shun the first division of Texas :- There is such a palpable difference in every thing that it is unreasonable to suppose that any man accustomed to the cool air, the high rolling lands and quick running streams of the North, can, if in health, preserve it in the first division of Texas ; the testimony of many interested witnesses to the contrary notwithstanding. But if such locate in the second division, or beyond the mountains, and are cautious in their mode of living, for a time, health in most cases, equal to that any where enjoyed, will re- ward them ; and the region along the gulf may resusitate invalids sometimes; nature in this particular, as in some others, exhibiting an unaccountable inconsistency by cur- ing a sick man with the same atmosphere that would make a well inan sich.
.
-
.
203
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
I have now travelled with my reader throughout the breadth and extent of a country larger than both France and Spain, and one whose natural resources and capabili- ties is perhaps unsurpassed in either hemisphere ; and al- though as a faithful guide, I have been sedulous in my en- deavours to amuse as well as instruct, so extensive is the country, and so varied are its beauties and deformities, and so very singular and interesting its prospects and history, that I am unwilling to break with my friendly reader until we have reviewed the ground, and communed together much more upon the subject. If we must, on a further travel, witness the performance of tragedies as well as comedies, we will view them with a philosophic eye, and, mutually agree to emulate each other in joint efforts to mitigate the sufferings which are often produced by "man's inhumanity to man, which makes countless thou- sands mourn." .
·
.
:
904
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
CHAPTER XII. -
REVOLUTION IN MEXICO.
For three hundred years, the iron rod of despotism had been suspended over the illfated Mexicans ; and Spain, the once proud mistress of the Seas, and an exalted nation of Europe, had been gradually, but surely, imbibing a poi- son, which is the legitimate offspring of licentiousness and injustice, until, by insiduous approaches, it finally fastens on the vitals of the body, producing disease and death. The Mexican people had received at her hands nothing but a series of unheard of cruelties ; the mass of the people did not enjoy even the semblance of freedom; their mines of visible wealth supplied the exhausted cof- fers of an imbecile and pampered Noblessee ; the native and rightful owners of the country were doomed to a servitude the most humiliating that even imagination could paint.
Under such unfavorable circumstances, it is not strange that the heroic courage of the ancient Mexicans had near- ly departed ; it is not strange that a race of men, when once conquered and made familiar with slavery, should tamely submit to their task-masters for a time ; it is not strange that with their imperfect ideas of the science of
.
-
205
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Government, the Mexican patriots in the present century ·should have blundered into an anarchy, the fate of many other nations more enlightened than this.
But it is an unalterable decree of Omnipotence, that all things earthly shall have an end ; and nothing can so has- ten a catastrophe, either in national or individual measures, as a total disregard of those mutual duties which man owes to man, and a hypocritical tampering with the bounties of God. That such was the conduct of the gov- ernment and people of Spain, from the first hostile inva- sion by the inhuman Cortes, down to the last remaining vestige of their authority in Mexico, is as true as holy writ ; and that retributive justice which is the doom of the guilty is with uplifted arm yet chastising the tyranical and priest ridden natives of Spain.
·
Excited and stimulated by the example of surrounding Republics, there were master spirits in Mexico who could descry the goddess of liberty hovering aloft, and saluting them with the smiles of a long lost friend, and those Mexican Chiefs in defiance of apparently insurmounta- ble obstacles, infused through the nation, the sentiments which animated their own bosoms, until the people were prepared and willing for freedom, to strike with a bold and an undaunted hand.
Never were swords drawn in a better cause, and nev- er did men, with such difficulties to encounter, perform feats of chivalry and deeds of valour with more self-de- votion than did these noble descendants of the Montazu- mas. But here, as elsewhere, the seeds of discord were sown ; here, as elsewhere, laurels were won and lost amongst sunshine and clouds; and amidst the reflecting light of this grand Aurora Borealis* of the South, the dam-
*Critics please laugh at this .- AUTHOR
-
206
.
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
pers of envy, malice, and revenge, became conspicuous, and eclipsed, for a time, the most brilliant achievements.
The unhappy strifes of party had disfigured the other- wise glorious pages of Mexican History at this period, and man's inhumanity to man glutted its vengeance by reeking in some of the best Mexican blood, the immedi- ate effects of which was a withdrawal of confidence by surrounding nations, while it furnished food for the envi- ous and malicious, who proclaimed them unworthy of freedom, and branded them as a nation of bandits and cut-throats.
Never were charges more unjust. That there were among them individuals, who, dead to every honorable impulse, scrupled not to riot among the ruins of their country, and enjoy the spoils is admitted ; but that there was more of such character than has acted on the stage of other countries is denied ; and it may with truth be asserted, that there was by far less than disgraces the revolutions of England or France, while neither of those enlightened nations of Europe can boast of more devot- ed patriotism or exalted talents, than burst forth during the trying vicissitudes through which the Mexicans have passed.
True, there was no Oliver Cromwell among them to lock the door and pocket the key of the hall which con- tained the national assembly, while the superstitious popu- lace were driven to the slaughter, amid shouts and psalm singing. True, there was no Napoleon whose rare for- tune enabled him for years to hold unbounded sway over the bodies and minds of millions, without meliorating their con- dition ; and true, they did not possess a Washington whose virtues, and moral courage, united all hearts ; nor did they have the co-operation of a formidable French fleet, or a population of their own who had been
-
·
207
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
blessed with the faculties for acquiring information that was common to the English colonies in this hemisphere, from their first settlement to the day that burst asunder those bonds which had chained a mighty continent to the little Island of Britain.
Nothing has kept Mexico in the back ground but the cruelty and injustice of other nations. Nature has show- ered her choicest gifts upon that people, in soil, climate, and the precious metals ; and inhabited by an intelligent population, it would long ere this have become a fairy land indeed ; and the city of Mexico one of the most magnificent and delightful places in the world. This city is situated on a vast plain of hundreds of miles diameter, and eleva- ted seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, and, surrounded by lofty mountain scenery whose tops are cov- cred with snow at almost every season of the year, while the breezes of spring fan and invigorate the inhabitants and scatter far and wide the perfumes of orange and lem- on groves, and other delicious fruits and vegetation which cover the whole face of the valley.
But numerous as have been their difficulties, the city is among the richest and of the most venerable and imposing appearance of any in America : many whole squares being formed of beautiful white stone, and the buildings exceed- ingly lofty and spacious, and of uniform size and architec- ture, to which is attached fragrant groves, lovely gardens, and sparkling fountains, with the smooth surface of the blue lake glittering in the distance ; the whole wearing much more the appearance of a beautiful dream than any thing like our notions of reality.
Among the most splendid public edifices, is the Cathe- dral, presenting a chaste and classic order of architecture, and the interior is profusely decorated and ornamented
.
.
208
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
with solid masses of gold and silver in the shape of lamps, railings, statues, etc.
Within the consecrated walls of this venerable church the Mexican patriots were wont to assemble when resis- tance to the unholy dominion of Spain was in embryo, and on more occasions than one, bursts of patriotic feeling and native eloquence were poured forth in such torrents of truth as to cause simultaneous appeals to the god of battles for protection from every individual who could lisp his name. Shall we,-said a hoary headed veteran, with his eyes raised to heaven, and his finger pointing to the north-shall we the desendants from native Mexican kings and princes wear the shackles of bondage and transmit them to posterity with the example of the Anglo Saxon be- fore us-shall we the rightful owners of this country con tinue to pay tribute to the stranger, when our neighbors have strangled a lion, by whose strength they were planted and nurtured, and yet receive the enthusiastic plaudits of the world. Shall we, free born Mexicans, longer sub:nit to be the slaves of tyrants and the tools of knaves, for the paltry consideration of a life of degradation and a death of disgrace ? No ; rather will we be the immedi- ate victims of unhallowed injustice-rather will we doom our offspring to a premature death-rather will we all perish in the ruins of our country than remain the passive and obedient servants of a wicked and imbecile people who have plundered and murdered our Fathers, and chained to a car of despotism a long line of the legitimate descendants of Montazuma.
Such appeals as this eventually aroused the dormant en- ergies of the Mexican people, and in 1822 a national cong- ress convened in the City of Mexico, and at once establish- ed a limited monarchy independent of Spain. A regency was appointed to administer the executive department,
-
--
209
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
and unfortunately, Don Iturbide, a Spanish officer, was elected President of the council, and invested with the chief command in the army. The evil consequences of this procedure were soon made manifest by dissentions between Congress and the regency, which grew with in- creased malignity and frustrated every measure promising the least permanent good.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.