USA > Texas > Galveston County > Galveston > Diamond jubilee, 1847-1922, of the diocese of Galveston and St. Mary's Cathedral > Part 3
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Captain Domingo Ramon, who was in charge of the expe- dition, left Saltillo in company with St. Denis in February, 1716, the Friars who were to accompany him being the following : PP. Isidoro Espinosa, Gabriel de Vergara, Benito Sanchez, Fran- cisco Hidalgo, Manuel Castellanos, Pedro de Mezquia, all from Queretaro; and from Zacatecas, Matias Saenz, Pedro de Men- doza, Augustin Patron and Margil. Many of these were re- markable men-Hidalgo and Saenz being of great importance in the history of Texas, Espinosa being famous for his writings, and the youngest, Agustin Patron, a Jaliscan, a man of great piety, almost equal to that of Margil himself.
The party reached San Juan Bautista in April, and there Margil fell so sick with fever that he received the last Sacra- ments from PP. Espinosa, who tells us that he did so with extra- ordinary fervor, and that he insisted that he should be left he - hind, the other Fathers going on with the main expedition. Happily the fever abated and by the feast of St. Anthony he was sufficiently recovered to start with two soldiers; thanks to the fact that the tracks of the main party were still open, he caught up with the rest in a short time.
Margil, with three companions, spent the remainder of 1716 in the Mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe amongst the Nacog- doches, his life there being thus described by Espinosa: "They used to recite the Office in common and had their fixed times for prayer, occupying the rest of the time in manual labor, build-
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ing, sowing. . He treated the Indians as pleasantly and jovially as if he had been born amongst them, visiting them at all hours and putting up with their follies in fact, he nursed
them as a mother would her children " In January of the following year, 1717, he established the Mission of Our Lady of Sorrows for the Ais Indians, but his design of erecting an- other for Yatasis was frustrated by the heavy floods of that year. In March he went to the country of the Adaes and there also established a Mission. Whilst there he used to go to the French Fort, some ten leagues away, and say Mass and administer the Sacraments. This seems to have gratified the French, for we are told that the "Vicar General of Mobile" wrote him a letter of thanks-there is unhappily no trace of this letter in Mobile or Quebec. Returning to the Mission of Los Dolores, his difficul- ties were increased by the death of the lay brother who was his companion, so that he was left alone in the desert that was Texas. A still greater difficulty was the unfortunate delay in the arrival of the supplies from Mexico, so that he was reduced to eating wild herbs, with a little boiled corn, and nuts. This and other troubles did not in the least perturb Margil, who writes to Espi- nosa in July, 1718, saying: "the Lord allows this delay for our good . if God is with us in tribulation, it is not tribulation
but glory In August, 1718, he received the news that he had been appointed Guardian of Zacatecas, but as the message had been despatched at the end of 1716, and so long a time had passed he renounced the honor and went on with his work in Texas, living mostly at the Mission of Los Dolores, where he worked as usual, planting and sowing in the fields, weaving baskets and gathering nuts and fruits. The food supply remained miserably inadequate and the old man, in spite of his hard work, was compelled to live for the most part on boiled corn, with an occasional dish of beans; such vegetables as there were had to be cooked with lard made from geese or deer; at times even these wretched provisions failed, when we are told that he used to eat crows. One may imagine, however, that Margil was rather pleased than otherwise at this diet, for we know that when he returned to the Northern Missions later on and had the oppor- tunity to feed well with the Governor, he avoided his table, and further when he was in San Antonio and within reach of reason- ably decent meals, we are told by Feliciana Carbajal, who used to cook for him, that his custom was to gather wild gourds. which she cooked for him in a special pot, without any seasoning !
When in spite of the manifold difficulties the affairs of the Mis- sions began to move a little and there were some conversions war again broke out between the French and the Spaniards. In consequence in June, 1719, the French Commandant at Natchi-
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toches-who one may hope. was not St. Denis, there is at least a question-at once raided the Mission of San Miguel de los Adaes, seizing all that they could lay hands on. We are told that whilst they were catching the chickens, the Friar in charge seized the opportunity, and, under cover of the noise and con- fusion, managed to get to his horse and escaped through the woods to Margil. All the Spaniards, with the exception of Es- pinosa and Margil, who remained at the Mission Purisima Con- cepcion, retired and even these two rejoined the main party on July 14th. Whilst they were waiting for more troops they lived in the best way they could in improvised huts, an altar being erected where the eight priests of the party used to say Mass, Margil serving all the other Fathers. In October, as the ex- pected troops did not arrive, the whole party went to San An- tonio. Whilst in San Antonio the life of the Friars was most regular, the office was recited in common, and Margil, as usual, served the Masses of all the priests. During his stay in San Antonio Margil founded the Mission of San Jose.
The Holy Week of this year was celebrated with great fer- vor in San Antonio; we were told that everyone went to Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday and that Margil preached a wonderful sermon at the Mandatum.
In this year the new expedition under the Marquis de Aguayo and Fernando de Almazan was organized for recovery of north- east Texas; it started from Bexar, according to Espinosa, to- wards the end of April, and its progress was, thanks to Margil. more like a Mission than a march, Masses being said every day, frequent sermons being given, and the "Alabado," so dear to Margil, sung every night. The missions were all triumphantly restored and rebuilt and Margil continued his labors until he was recalled to Zacatecas in 1722 He continued his Apostolate to the very end, being taken ill on his way to Mexico City, where he was to arrange a new series of missions. He died at the age of seventy, on the 6th of August, 1726, in the Convent of San Francsico in Mexico. Shortly before his death he said : "I had hoped to die in the woods amongst the wild beasts and not in this holy place; but let the will of God be done. My heart is ready." Thus he who had suffered and been humiliated throughout his life, he who used to call himself "la misma nada," even to his last breath continued the marvelous humility that is one of the notes of his life. He was buried in the Church of San Francsico, but the body was removed later to the Cathedral. In 1836 his virtues were proclaimed heroic by Pope Gregory XVI, who thus summarizes the life of him, whom we may call with the old Texans, "our" Father Margil: "The Venerable Antonio Margil, professed Priest of the Friars Minor Observant
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of St. Francis, completely fulfilled the command of the Divine Master, when He told His Disciples, 'Go into all the world, preach the Gospel and teach all nations.' For no sooner had he ended his novitiate than he occupied himself wholly in spreading the Word of God. Being soon called to the Missions in the Indies, he gladly received the Apostolic Ministry and leaving his country, crossed the ocean. In the New World he was not con- tent to labor only in known regions, but penetrating to the fur- thest and most inacessible parts, he visited unfriendly nations, savage tribes, speaking unknown tongues, barbarous in their cruel- ty, overwhelmed in the darkness of ignorance, given over to witchcraft and superstitions, idolaters, everywhere preaching Christ, the true God, and travailing to teach them the commands of the Gospel and a more civilized manner of life. Trusting in God, the Venerable Antonio daily undertook the most arduous journeys, without scrip or purse or shoes; patiently suffering hunger and thirst and all manner of hardships; fearlessly endur- ing insults, bonds, arrows, the stake, oftimes the danger of death, and thirsting after martyrdom, if only he might drag these wretched souls from the clutches of the devil and make them subject to Christ. Strengthened by the help of heaven, he brought many thousands of men; aforetime living like wild beasts, to religion and baptized them; destroyed the worship of false Gods, did away with superstitions, broke up idols, and built Chapels, Mission Houses and Colleges for the Propagation of the Faith in the remotest regions."
The biographies of the Venerable Servant of God are full of the accounts of miracles which he is said to have performed, but very few, if any, relate to the time that he spent in Texas. It may therefore be of interest to relate a few which are said to have happened during this period and which appear to have some authority, at least the writer found them in reliable documents.
On one occasion the Venerable Father was summoned to the house of an Indian called Tarruca, who lived near the Adaes Mission, who was sick. The soldier who tells the story says that he saw the Father go and return, that Tarruca lived on the far side of an arroyo, which was in flood, that there was no means of crossing, that the two soldiers who accompanied the Father said that he crossed the arroyo without getting wet, and that this was the comwron talk amongst the Indians and members of the garrison.
In the year 1721 some of the buildings caught fire and, as all the roofs were of thatch, there was great fear that the whole Presidio would be burned. P. Guerra implored the Father to stop the fire, but he replied, "Brother, what have we to do with it, if it is the will of God?" P. Guerra finally induced the Father to
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act and he began to pray. No sooner had he done so than the fire stopped, only the wood of the houses remaining on fire-the flames not reaching the other buildings, which were only a few feet away.
On another occasion he was preaching and had candles in his hand to illuminate the Crucifix; these set fire to the thatched roof of the Chapel and a considerable area (more than a vara) was burning; the Governor called his attention to the danger and he extinguished the fire by blowing at it.
In 1721 he was on his way to the French Fort in the month of June with a body of soldiers commanded by Don Diego Boey Quintano; at midday they reached a dry arroyo and the Com- mander told Margil that though there was no water they would stop there for the noon meal. The Venerable Father told him to go on a little further and he would find water; they did so and found a water-hole with enough water for all, including the horses. This hole was at the edge of the road and no one had seen it before. The next day they came back the same way and they saw no trace of the hole, and there was no sign that there had been rain for a long time.
The writer protests that in all that has been said in the above article he submits entirely to the relative Decrees of Urban VIII.
CHAPTER IV.
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SAN JACINTO'S GLORIOUS FIELD.
The battle of San Jacinto changed the civilization of a con- tinent. If the proud spirit of the Texas colonists had been broken by defeat, Spanish would now be the tongue of that great terri- tory west of the Mississippi. We present a short sketch of General Sidney Sherman written by Col. A. M. Hobbey, and published in the Galveston News under date of August 2, 1872.
LIFE AND TIMES OF GENERAL SIDNEY SHERMAN.
This disinguished soldier of the Texas revolution died at his residence in this city, early last night, in the 68th year of his age. He displayed great gallantry, and the splendid qualities of a patriot in the campaigns of 1836, and bore a conspicuous part in the decisive battle of San Jacinto, which established forever the independence of the struggling Republic.
If distinguished for ardent and daring spirit in the early his- tory of the country and for unselfish ambition and sincere de- votion to the general weal, he was not less pre-eminently the object of historic interest in being the last surviving field officer that participated in the closing battle of the war.
The presidents, vice-presidents, and the members of their respective cabinets, together with the commander-in-chief and the general officers of the Texas army, had been borne by loving hands to their final resting place, before the brave and honest heart of Sherman was stilled by the hand of death. For years he had lingered alone on the battlefields of Texas, partly made famous by his intrepidity and valor, resigned and patient, await -. ing the summons to join the fearless brother spirits of the revo- lution, who have long ago laid aside the weapons of war and passed into the Kingdom of Peace.
The last few years of Sherman's life were spent in this city, and like most of the surviving heroes of the Republic, he has long withdrawn from the public gaze. Personally, they are al- most entire strangers to the generation that has appeared since their day of service and distinction. But their deeds are not for- gotten, and death revives the memory of their exploits, and re- stores them to an exalted place in the gratitude and affection of their countrymen.
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The subject of this sketch was born in Marlborough, Massa- chusetts. His ancestors were from Wales, and settled in Am- erica in 1631. He was descended from the Hon. Roger Sherman, long the Nestor of the American Congress, and is the last male member of the Texas family of that ancient and widely-extended name. His only brother, Dana Sherman, died on the San Jacinto bay in 1839. His wife dying the same day, they were consigned to the same grave. The only son of General Sherman, a lieu- tenant in the Confederate army, was killed in the battle of Gal- veston, at his gun in the front, on the first of January, 1863.
The early life of General Sherman was devoted to mercantile pursuits. In 1831 he moved to Cincinnati, thence to Newport, Kentucky. Individually, he was the first to manufacture sheet lead west of the Alleghany Mountains, and was one of an asso- ciation that first put into successful operation an establishment for the manufacture of bagging for cotton by machinery. While engaged in the active prosecution of this business, the tidings of a contest between the hardy pioneers of Texas and the troops of Mexico were heralded throughout the United States. The generous spirit of Sherman kindled with enthusiasm, and he zealously espoused a cause which, contemplated under the most favorable aspect, might well have intimidated the boldest heart. The extraordinary vigor displayed by the Mexican Dictator, Santa Anna, in his warlike career, and the military strength at his command, gave Texas little reason to hope for successful resistance, and still less to expect mercy, if defeated. Notwith- standing the few inducements offered, and the little encourage- ment to be derived from a calm survey of the relative strength and resources of the combatants, many undaunted spirits volun- teered, generously giving their services and fortunes to a cause environed with dangers, which if unsuccessful, would terminate in imprisonment or death.
By a happy coincidence General Sherman commanded at the time a volunteer company, by commission from the Governor of Kentucky, which afforded him facilities for raising troops for the service of Texas. He organized a company of fifty men, required each volunteer to sign stringent articles of subordination before they could be enrolled. Some flinched from the energy and rigidity of the requirements, while those who signed the military compact discerned in it evidences which gave promise of a sagacious and able commander. Amid the snows of winter he established a regular camp, and enforced discipline as strict as if in the face of the enemy.
On the last day of December, 1835, he embarked on a steamer from Cincinnati. His men were well armed, handsomely uni- formed, and with a full supply of munition and provisions. On
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the day of departure, notwithstanding a violent snowstorm, the United States troops at Newport barracks turned out, and thou- sands of the citizens, of all ages and both sexes, lined the river banks, to honor the occasion, and manifest their sympathy in the heroic enterprise by enthusiastic and repeated cheers. Amid tears and touching farewells, waving flags and beating drums, the bow of the decorated vessel was turned toward the setting sun and passed down the great river with a company of brave volunteers, whose subsequent trials and triumphs form a splendid chapter in the proud history of our state.
Sherman and his company debarked at Natchitoches, Louisi- ana, and marched at once to Nacogdoches, in Texas, and thence to Washington, on the Brazos. There he found all confusion. The governor and lieutenant-governor were at deadly feud; the convention was not assembled; the brave Travis and his heroic band surrounded by an overwhelming force, called for aid from the beleaguered walls of the Alamo. The people were enthusi- astic and determined, but without arms or organization, and no one present to instruct or lead them. Sherman paraded his company, and called upon the citizens to volunteer and march on the following day to the relief of the Alamo, after which service he declared his intention to return with his company to the United States, if the independence of Texas was not speedily declared by the convention then about to assemble.
On arriving at Gonzales, he found about two hundred citizen volunteers-a force totally insufficient to justify an attempt to break through the besieging Mexican forces, some seven thousand strong. Fourteen days were consumed in concentrating men and supplies, when General Houston arrived and assumed command. On the ensuing day the first regiment of Texas volunteers was organized and Sherman nominated for the colonelcy; this he declined in favor of General Burleson, an old citizen and tried warrior. Sherman was elected lieutenant-colonel. On the even- ing of the same day intelligence was received that the Alamo had fallen, and its brave defenders had been indiscriminately slaught- ered. How truly grand and heroic that defense had been, is best told in that immortal sentence inscribed on the architrave of the monument constructed of the stones stained by the blood of heroes, which stands under the lofty portico of the State Capitol, that
"Thermopylae had its messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had none."
The army retreated to the Brazos, where the second regiment was organized, and Sherman was elected to command it. On the Colorado, being detached from the main body of the army,
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he endeavored to obtain permission to attack General Sesma, who was camped on the opposite bank of the river, on the spot where the town of Columbus now stands, and thus save Fannin and his comrades from inglorious slaughter. Sherman fell back with the retreating army, which was determined to make a last stand at the first strategic point that should be reached on the line of march.
During the retreat, Sherman displayed all the soldierly quali- ties which, at such a crisis, were necessary to promote enthusi- asm, and preserve the army from demoralization. He was equal to every emergency. On the retreat from the Colorado he was ordered to put the army in marching order, and, by direction of the commander-in-chief, personally superintended the danger- ous crossing of the Brazos. On the 20th of April, 1836, he led a squadron of cavalry in an attack upon a detachment of the enemy, that occupied a position between the hostile camps.
In the battle of the 21st he commanded the extreme left of the Texas line, and was the first to strike the enemy, shouting at the critical instant, the talismanic battle cry of "Remember Goliad and the Alamo," which was prolonged in fierce enthusi- asm from left to right by the advancing line. It was a day of vengeance and retribution. The victory was overwhelming and complete, and in its consummation Sherman acted a conspicuous and splendid part. But when the perilous battle was over, he turned from the triumph to stay the tide of violence and slaugh- ter, which, however righteously it may have overtaken the en- emy, he mercifully endeavored to prevent. Happily for human- ity, it not unfrequently occurs that he who leads the forlorn hope with incomparable courage and energy, carries the out- works and enters the breach, braving the terrors of explosion, turns from the hazardous enterprise when the victory is com- plete, unfurls the banner of mercy, and extends a generous and beneficent protection to the vanquished. Sherman possessed boldness and valor in the crisis of danger, and made humane and vigorous efforts to restrain excesses in the hour of triumph. If he felt that violence was necessary in war, mercy and moderation were not less wise and essential in establishing an enduring peace.
After remaining several months with the army in the West, and finding that the enemy did not return, he tendered his resig- nation, which President Burnet refused to accept, but gave him a commission as colonel in the regular service, with orders to enlist his men in the United States. When about to leave his companions in arms, the secretary of war presented him with the stand of colors which he had brought to the country, accom- panied with the following communication :
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DIOCESE OF GALVESTON
REPUBLIC OF TEXAS War Department
August 6, 1837.
This stand of colors, presented by the ladies of Newport, Kentucky, to Captain Sidney Sherman, is the same which tri- umphantly waved on the memorable battle field of San Jacinto; and is by this government presented to the lady of Colonel Sid- ney Sherman, as a testimonial of his gallant conduct on that occasion.
A. SOMMERVILLE, Secretary of War.
Approved : DAVID G. BURNET, President.
Colonel Sherman's health was much impaired by exposure and fatigue in the army, and before reaching Kentucky he was seriously ill for many weeks. Nothwithstanding his condition, he succeeded in sending out some troops and a quantity of cloth- ing for those in the field, who were extremely destitute.
In January, 1838, he returned to Texas with his family, and settled upon San Jacinto Bay. In 1842 he was elected as a repre- sentative to Congress from Harris County, and was appointed chairman of the military committee. He introduced a bill pro- viding for the election of a major general of militia, and the protection of the frontier. The bill was vetoed by President Houston, but became a law by the vote of a constitutional ma- jority in both Houses of Congress. General Rusk was the first elected to that position. General Sherman succeeded him at the next election by the popular vote, which position he held until the annexation of Texas to the United States.
On his retirement from military service, Sherman lost none of the energies which had characterized him in the field, but displayed in the occupations of private life useful enterprise, creative talents of a valuable order.
In 1846 he conceived the idea of rebuilding the town of Har- risburg, which had been destroyed by Santa Anna in 1836. With this view he purchased a large interest in the town site, and 4000 acres of land adjoining it. He then proceeded to Bos- ton, where he enlisted capitalists and organized a company to build a railroad from Harrisburg westward. The difficulties to contend with were neither few nor small. The country was new and but imperfectly known abroad ; the population and agricultural productions were inconsiderable, and labor of every character difficult to obtain. Yet his unabated perseverence removed ob- stacles and success finally crowned the enterprises : the rebuild-
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ing of the town and the construction of the first railroad in Texas.
The shrill whistle of the "General Sherman" was the first glad sound of the locomotive that broke upon the solitude of Texas forests, and roused to new life the slumbering energies of her hardy people. This locomotive was the first that appeared west of the Sabine, and the second west of the Mississippi-one at St. Louis introduced but a few months before. Thus the name of Sherman will not only be remembered as a chivalrous soldier, whose best years were spent in the service of Texas, but as the father of a railroad system, which has conferred inestim- able blessings upon the people, but whose future benefits will be more profoundly appreciated when our population shall be quad- rupled and the whole area of our extensive territory traversed by a net-work of railways.
In chronicling the events of the past few years of his life, it is but a record of successive misfortunes. In 1853 he lost a valuable sawmill by fire. Subsequently his dwelling in Harris- burg was burned, then one of the finest buildings in the state. Being homeless, he sent his family to Kentucky, and removed to the railroad office, which was shortly afterwards consumed by fire. His remaining possessions and valuable papers, which had been accumulating for thirty years, were destroyed. They were not only important to himself, but as relating to public affairs, would have been of great value to the future historian of our country.
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