THE TRAGEDY OF THE ALAMO

EARLY on the morning of the 9th of December, 1835, General Cos sends a flag of truce, asking to surrender, and on the 10th agrees with the American general upon formal and honorable articles of capitulation.

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The poor citizens of San Antonio de Bexar, however, do not yet enjoy the blessings of life in quiet; these wild soldiers who have stormed the town cannot remain long without excitement. Presently Dr. Grant revives his old project of taking Matamoros 10 and soon departs, carrying with him most of the troops that had been left at Bexar for its defence, together with a great part of the garrison's winter supply of clothing, ammunition, and provisions, and in addition "pressing" such property of the citizens 15 as he needs, insomuch that Colonel Neill, at that time in command at Bexar, writes to the Governor of Texas that the place is left destitute and defenceless.

Soon afterward Colonel Neill is ordered to destroy the Alamo walls and other fortifications, and bring 20 off the artillery, since no head can be made there in the present crisis against the enemy who is reported marching in force upon San Antonio. Having no teams, Colonel Neill is unable to obey the order, and presently retires, his unpaid men having dropped off 25 until but eighty remain, of whom Col. Wm. B. Travis assumes command. Colonel Travis promptly calls for more troops, but gets none as yet, for the Governor and Council are at deadly quarrel, and the

30 soldiers are all pressing toward Matamoros. Travis has brought thirty men with him; about the middle of February he is joined by Colonel Bowie with thirty others, and these, with the eighty already in garrison, constitute the defenders of San Antonio de 35 Bexar.

On the 23d of February appears General Santa Ana at the head of a well-appointed army of some four thousand men, and marches straight on into town. The Texans retire before him slowly, and finally shut 40 themselves up in the Alamo; here straightway begins that bloodiest, smokiest, grimiest tragedy of this century. William B. Travis, James Bowie, and David Crockett, with their hundred and forty-five effective men, are enclosed within a stone rectangle 45 one hundred and ninety feet long and one hundred

and twenty-two feet wide, having the old Church of the Alamo in the southeast corner, in which are their quarters and magazine. They have a supply of water from the ditches that run alongside the 50 walls, and by way of provision they have about ninety bushels of corn and thirty beef-cattle, their entire stock, all collected since the enemy came in sight. The walls are unbroken, with no angles from which to command besieging lines. They have four55 teen pieces of artillery mounted, with but little ammunition.

Santa Ana demands unconditional surrender. Travis replies with a cannon-shot, and the attack commences, the enemy running up a blood-red flag 60 in town. Travis despatches a messenger with a call to his countrymen for re-enforcements, which con

cludes: "Though this call may be neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible, and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country. Victory or 65 death!"

Meantime the enemy is active. On the 25th Travis has a sharp fight to prevent him from erecting a battery raking the gate of the Alamo. At night it is erected, with another a half-mile off at the powder- 70 house, on a sharp eminence at the extremity of the present main street of the town. On the 26th there is skirmishing with the Mexican cavalry. In the cold-for a norther has commenced to blow and the thermometer is down to thirty-nine-the Tex- 75 ans make a sally successfully for wood and water, and that night they burn some old houses on the northeast that might afford cover for the enemy. So, amid the enemy's constant rain of shells and balls, which miraculously hurt no one, the Texans 80 strengthen their works and the siege goes on. On the 28th Fannin starts from Goliad with three hundred troops and four pieces of artillery, but for lack of teams and provisions quickly returns, and the little garrison is left to its fate. On the morning of 85 the 1st of March there is doubtless a wild shout of welcome in the Alamo; Capt. John W. Smith has managed to convey thirty-two men into the fort. These join the heroes, and the attack and defence go on. On the 3d a single man, Moses Rose, es- 90 capes from the fort. His account of that day1 must

1 As transmitted by the Zuber family, whose residence was the first place at which poor Rose had dared to stop, and with

entitle it to consecration as one of the most pathetic days of time.

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'About two hours before sunset on the 3d of 95 March, 1836, the bombardment suddenly ceased, and the enemy withdrew an unusual distance. . Colonel Travis paraded all his effective men in a single file, and taking his position in front of the centre, he stood for some moments apparently 100 speechless from emotion; then, nerving himself for the occasion, he addressed them substantially as follows:

"My brave companions: stern necessity compels me to employ the few moments afforded by this 105 probably brief cessation of conflict, in making known to you the most interesting, yet the most solemn, melancholy, and unwelcome fact that humanity can realize. . . . Our fate is sealed. Within a very few days, perhaps a very few hours, we must all be in 110 eternity! I have deceived you long by the promise of help; but I crave your pardon, hoping that after hearing my explanation you will not only regard my conduct as pardonable, but heartily sympathize with me in my extreme necessity. . . . I have continually 115 received the strongest assurances of help from home. Every letter from the Council, and every one that I have seen from individuals at home, has teemed with assurances that our people were ready, willing, and anxious to come to our relief. . . . These assurances whom he remained some weeks, healing the festered wounds made on his legs by the cactus-thorns during the days of his fearful journey. The account from which these extracts are taken is contributed to the Texas Almanac for 1873, by W. P. Zuber, and his mother, Mary Ann Zuber.

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I received as facts. . . . In the honest and simple 120 confidence of my heart I have transmitted to you these promises of help and my confident hope of success. But the promised help has not come, and our hopes are not to be realized. I have evidently confided too much in the promises of our friends; 125 but let us not be in haste to censure them. Our friends were evidently not informed of our perilous condition in time to save us. Doubtless they would have been here by this time had they expected any considerable force of the enemy. . . . My calls on Colonel Fannin remain unanswered, and my messengers have not returned. The probabilities are that his whole command has fallen into the hands of the enemy, or been cut to pieces, and that our couriers have been cut off. [So does the 135 brave, simple soul refuse to feel any bitterness in the hour of death.] . . . Then we must die. . . . Our business is not to make a fruitless effort to save our lives, but to choose the manner of our death. But three modes are presented to us; let us choose that 140 by which we may best serve our country. Shall we surrender and be deliberately shot without taking the life of a single enemy? Shall we try to cut our way out through the Mexican ranks and be butchered before we can kill twenty of our adversaries? I am 145 opposed to either method. . . Let us resolve to withstand our adversaries to the last, and at each advance to kill as many of them as possible. And when at last they shall storm our fortress, let us kill them as they come ! kill them as they scale our wall! 150 kill them as they leap within! kill them as they raise

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