For the Liberty of Texas

"For the Liberty of Texas" is a tale complete in itself, but it forms the first of a line of three volumes to be known under the general title of the "Mexican War Series."

Primarily the struggle of the Texans for freedom did not form a part of our war with Mexico, yet this struggle led up directly to the greater war to follow, and it is probably a fact that, had the people of Texas not at first accomplished their freedom, there would have been no war between the two larger republics.

The history of Texas and her struggle for liberty is unlike that of any other State in our Union, and it will be found to read more like a romance than a detail of facts. Here was a territory, immense in size, that was little better than a wilderness, a territory gradually becoming settled by Americans, Mexicans, Spaniards, French, and pioneers of other nations, a territory which was the home of the bloodthirsty Comanche and other Indians, and which was overrun with deer, buffalo, and the wild mustang, and which was, at times, the gathering ground for the most noted desperadoes of the southwest.

This territory formed, with Coahuila, one of the States of Mexico, but the government was a government in name only, and the people of Texas felt that it was absolutely necessary that they withdraw from the Mexican Confederation, in order to protect themselves, their property, and their individual rights, for, with the scheming Mexicans on one side of them, and the murderous Indians on the other, nothing was safe from molestation.

The contest was fought largely by men who knew little or nothing of the art of war, but men whose courage was superb. At first only defeat stared the intrepid band in the face, and hundreds were lost at the Alamo, at the massacre of Goliad, and elsewhere, but then there came upon the scene the figure of the dashing and daring General Sam Houston, and under his magnetic leadership the army of the Mexican general, Santa Anna, was routed utterly, and the liberty of Texas was secured beyond further dispute.

EDWARD STRATEMEYER.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. THE HOME ON THE FRONTIER 11

II. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE DEER 19

III. A QUARREL AND ITS RESULT 28

IV. SOMETHING ABOUT THE INDIANS IN TEXAS 36

V. THE ATTACK ON THE RANCH 44

VI. POKE STOVER TO THE FRONT 53

VII. IN AND OUT OF THE BURNING CABIN 62

VIII. AN UNSUCCESSFUL PURSUIT 71

IX. BIG FOOT AND THE MISSING PAPERS 81

X. THE SITUATION IN MEXICO 89

XI. THE OPENING OF THE WAR 97

XII. THE MARCH ON SAN ANTONIO 105

XIII. A FIGHT WITH A PUMA 113

XIV. THE BATTLE OF CONCEPCION 121

XV. DAN TURNS THE TABLES 129

XVI. AFTER A MISSING MUSTANG 137

XVII. THE GRASS FIGHT, AND WHAT FOLLOWED 145

XVIII. DAN COMES TO GRIEF 154

XIX. THE CAVE IN THE RAVINE 161

XX. FLIGHT AND PURSUIT 169

XXI. WHAT HAPPENED TO RALPH 177

XXII. THE ATTACK ON SAN ANTONIO 185

XXIII. THE SURRENDER OF THE CITY 194

XXIV. A MIDNIGHT DISCOVERY 204

XXV. MARCH OF SANTA ANNA INTO TEXAS 212

XXVI. WILD TURKEYS AND ANOTHER TRAIL 223

XXVII. THE MEXICAN ARMY AT SAN ANTONIO 233

XXVIII. WITHIN THE WALLS OF THE MISSION 242

XXIX. THE FALL OF THE ALAMO 250

XXX. ESCAPING TO THE RIVER 257

XXXI. SOMETHING ABOUT GENERAL SAM HOUSTON 265

XXXII. IN WHICH THE TEXAN ARMY FALLS BACK 274

XXXIII. THE VICTORY OF SAN JACINTO 283

XXXIV. BACK TO THE RANCH--CONCLUSION 293

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

"'REMEMBER THE ALAMO! DOWN WITH SANTA ANNA!'" FRONTISPIECE