Beans with Honey

Image from Old Picture of the Day

Cowboy poetry:

He mixed his beans with honey,
He’d done it all his life.
Not because he like it,
But to keep them on his knife.

Amarillo Globe (Amarillo, Texas) Oct 7, 1925

San Jacinto Day – Brief History of What Occurred

The Legislature having made the 21st of April a holiday, in commemoration of the Battle of San Jacinto — a day forever sacred with all Texans — it is but proper this morning to publish a brief review of the glorious day’s work; not only that the children of those who participated in it may know the inheritance of honor to which they have fallen heirs, but also those who are now, for the first time, seeking homes in the Lone Star State, may learn to respect its moments, and cherish the honor of its founders.

BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.

The battle of San Jacinto was fought between the volunteer and regular forces comprising the army of Texas — General Sam Houston, Commander-in-Chief; John A. Wharton, Adjutant and Inspector General; George W. Hockley, William T. Austin, Aides-deCamp; M. Austin Bryan, Secretary, And the Mexican army, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, in command, on the 21st day of April, 1836.

The military operations, which finally terminated on this occasion, commenced in Texas in September, 1835, by the volunteer army of Texas, General Stephen F. Austin, commander-in-chief, besieging the town and Mexican garrison of San Antonio, and after more than two months’ siege, on the morning of the 4th of December, the Texans attacked the town, which was then the garrison, and after an incessant action, the town and Alamo were surrendered to the Texans by General Martin Profacio de Cos, commanding the Mexican forces. Whereupon, General Santa Anna took the field and crossed the Rio Grande into Texas, at the head of a Mexican army, 10,000 strong. He retook San Antonio and Goliad, and then continued his march into Texas.

GEN. SAM HOUSTON

was just at that time elected Commander-in Chief of the army of Texas. Hearing of the invasion by Santa Anna, he went promptly to the front with the intention of organizing his army at Gonzales. The rapid movements, however, of Santa Anna compelled Gen. Houston to fall back before completing the organization of his army, numbering only four hundred men. He made his first halt at the Colorado, thence he crossed the Brazos and on-camped at Groce’s Retreat for some three weeks, keeping out scouting parties around and before the enemy as he advanced. Before going to the field, Gen. Houston had made an agreement with Gens. Quitman and Felix Huston, of Mississippi, to join him with a large force of cavalry, artillery and infantry, and he it is said, designed avoiding giving battle until reinforced by Gens. Quitman and Huston. The rapid movements of Santa Anna forced Gen. Houston to march to San Jacinto.

The two armies occupied positions on the San Jacinto, about two miles apart, Santa Anna’s forces fourteen hundred and Houston’s seven hundred strong. Houston’s scouts, under Deef Smith, intercepted a courier, by which the fact was disclosed that Santa Anna’s army of invasion was in three divisions, one under the command of Santa Anna, then before him; another under Gen. Filisola, and another under Gen. Urea. The two later divisions were marching forward to reinforce Santa Anna. Under these circumstances, Gen. Houston decided to make the attack on Santa Anna before his reinforcements could arrive. Our cavalry were constantly employed in skirmishing and making demonstrations before the enemy. This was easily accomplished, as the country is an open prairie at that point.

About noon on 21st of April, 1836, Gen. Houston called

A COUNCIL OF WAR,

the result of which was a decision to attack the enemy; and shortly before 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the troops were ordered to parade, which, it is needless to say, they did with alacrity.

Burleson’s regiment was placed in the center, Sherman’s on the left, and Lamar’s cavalry, Millard’s infantry and Hockley’s artillery on the right in the order named.

The enemy’s cavalry was on his left wing; his center, which was fortified, was composed of infantry, with artillery in an opening in the center of the breastworks. The Mexican commander had extended the extreme right of his forces to the river, so as to occupy a skirt of timber projecting out from it.

THE ASSAULT.

The Texan cavalry was dispatched to the front of the enemy’s horse to draw their attention, while the remainder of the column was deploying into line. This evolution was quickly performed and the whole force advanced rapidly and in good order. The two small cannon, the “Twin Sisters,” now advanced to within two hundred yards of the enemy’s breastworks and opened a destructive fire with grape and canister. The whole line advancing in double-quick time cried: “Remember the Alamo!” “Remember Goliad!” and while approaching the enemy’s works received their fire, but withheld their own until within pistol shot. The effect of this fire on the enemy was terrible. But the Texans made no halt — onward they went.

THE ROUT.

In a few moments after the charge the Mexicans gave way at all points and the panic became general. At dark the pursuit of the fugitives ceased. The prisoners taken were conducted to the Texan camp, placed under guard and supplied with provisions.

THE FORCES ENGAGED.

The aggregate force of the Texan army in battle was 788; that of the enemy about double that number. The Mexicans lost 630 killed, 206 wounded and 780 prisoners, besides a large number of arms, horses and mules, together with their camp equipage and a military chest containing $13,000. The Texan loss is set down at eight killed and twenty-five wounded.

Image from Texas History Links – Santa Anna Biography

SANTA ANNA CAPTURED.

Santa Anna was captured in the prairie the following day and brought to Gen. Houston’s headquarters, where he was treated as a prisoner of war. General Houston having received a severe and painful wound, was compelled to go to New Orleans for medical treatment, leaving Gen. Thomas J. Rusk in command.

END OF THE REVOLUTION.

Santa Anna sent orders to Generals Filisola and Urea to return with their troops to Mexico, which were very promptly obeyed by those officers. The Texan army was then marched to the Guadalupe river and encamped near Victoria. No further hostility occurring, the volunteers were disbanded in October, 1836.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Apr 21, 1874

Tornado Alley – General Safety Rules

Tornado – General Safety Rules – Stay away from windows, stay calm, keep tuned to radio or television.

How Tornado Alley Works

Drive at right angles or lie flat in a ditch.

Amarillo Globe (Amarillo, Texas) Aug 13, 1964

Fall of the Alamo – Anniversary Reminiscences

FALL OF THE ALAMO — ANNIVERSARY REMINISCENCES.

BY REV. H.S. THRALL.
SAN ANTONIO, March 3, 1876.

[excerpted from long article]

Forty years ago, the 6th of March, the Alamo fell, and the patriot blood of Travis and his brave companions consecrated the soil of Texas to the Goddess of Liberty. The Alamo was one of those church missions founded in Texas by the Franciscan Fathers, for the double purpose of holding the country for the King of Spain and for converting the Indians to Christianity. The corner stone of the edifice was laid May 8, 1744, though a slab in the front wall bears the date 1757.

The accompanying diagram will give our readers a tolerably fair view of the Alamo and grounds as they were in 1836…

THE FALL — SUNDAY, MARCH 6.

A little after midnight, the different divisions of the Mexican army silently marched to their assigned positions. At 4 o’clock the bugle sounded, and the whole line advanced to the final assault. Santa Anna, with all the bands, was behind an adobe house, about 500 years south of the church. The Texans were ready, and, according to Fillisola, “poured upon the advancing columns a shower of grape and musket and rifle balls.” Twice the assailants re??ed and fell back in dismay. Rallied again by the heroic Castrillon (who fell at San Jacinto), they approached the walls the third time. We again quote from Fillisola: “The columns of the western and eastern attacks meeting with some difficulty in reaching the tops of the small houses forming the wall of the fort, did, by a simultaneous movement to the right and to the left, swing northward until the three columns formed one dense mass, which, under the guidance of their officers, finally succeeded in effecting an entrance into the inclosed yard.

About the same time the column on the south made a breach in the wall and captured one of the guns.” This gun, the eighteen pounder, was immediately turned upon the convent, to which some of the Texans had retreated. The carronade on the center of the west wall was still manned by the Texans, and did fearful execution upon the Mexicans who had ventured into the yard. But the feeble garrison could not long hold out against such overwhelming numbers. Travis fell early in the action, shot with a rifle ball in the head. After being shot he had sufficient strength to kill a Mexican who attempted to spear him. The bodies of most of the Texans were found in the building, where a hand-to-hand fight took place.

The body of Crockett, however, was in the yard, with a number of Mexicans lying near him. Bowie was slain in his bed, though it is said he killed two or three of the Mexicans with his pistol as they broke into his room. The church was the last place entered by the foe. It had been agreed that when further resistance seemed useless, any surviving Texan should blow up the magazine. Major Evans was applying the torch when he was killed in time to prevent the explosion. It was reported that two or three Texans, found in a room, appealed in vain for quarter. The sacrifice was complete. Every soldier had fallen in defense of the fort.

Three non-combatants were spared — a negro servant of Col. Travis, and Mrs. Alsbury and Mrs. Dickinson. Lieut. Dickinson, with a child on his back, leaped from an upper window in the east  end of the church; but their lifeless bodies fell to the ground riddled with bullets. One hundred and eighty bodies of the Texans were collected in a pile and partially burned. Well informed Texans put the loss of the Mexicans at about twice that number. The official report of the Mexican Adjutant General left in command at San Antonio, puts their loss at sixty killed and 251 wounded. On the 25th of February, 1837, the bones of their victims were collected by Col. John N. Seguin then in command at this place and decently and honorably interred.

HYMN OF  THE ALAMO.
——-
BY R. M. POTTER.
——-

“Rise, man the wall, our clarion’s blast
Now sounds its final reveille;
This dawning morn must be the last
Our fated band shall ever see.
To life, but not to hope, farewell.
Yon trumpet’s clang and cannon’s peal,
And storming shout and clash of steel,
Is ours, but not our country’s knell!
Welcome the Spartan’s death–
‘Tis no despairing strife—
We fall—we die!—but our expiring breath
Is freedom’s breath of life.

“Here on this new Thermopylae,
Our monument shall tower on high,
And, ‘Alamo’ hereafter be
In bloodier fields the battle cry.”
Thus Travis from the rampart cried;
And when his warriors saw the foe
Like whelming billows move below,
At once each dauntless heart replied:
“Welcome the Spartan’s death—
‘Tis no despairing strife—
We fall! –we die! — but our expiring breath
Is Freedom’s breath of life!

“They come — like autumn leaves they fall,
Yet hordes on hordes they onward rush,
With gory tramp they mount the wall,
Till numbers the defenders crush —
Till falls their flag when none remain!
Well may the ruffians quake to tell
How Travis and his hundred fell,
Amid a thousand foemen slain!
They died the Spartan’s death,
But not in hopeless strife —
Like brothers died, and their expiring breath
Was Freedom’s breath of life!”

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Mar 5, 1876

Cisco Cyclone

Image from Texas Tornado Storm Shelters

Dallas, Tex., April 29 — The News’s correspondent learned from passengers on the east bound train this evening that the destruction by a cyclone at Cisco this after noon was simply appalling. There are not more than twenty five or thirty houses left standing and up to the time the train passed there about 2 o’clock this afternoon twenty-one dead bodies had been recovered from the ruins and there were ten or twelve more persons missing. Strong one-story buildings with walls two feet thick were leveled to the ground. A heavy freight engine and a whole train of cars were blown from the track and demolished and several hundred feet of side tracking was torn up. The number injured is something  like a hundred. Dr. Coleman and citizens from Weatherford went out this morning to render any assistance possible. The building which Frank Hickman occupied was blown down and his five children killed.

Late this evening Mayor Levy received the following telegram from two citizens of Weatherford, who went to Cisco this morning.
“The town is nearly demolished. Twenty were killed and fifty injured, and hundreds are homeless.”

A telegram was also received by Mayor Levy from County Judge Davenport and Mayor Graves, of Cisco, that Cisco has been destroyed by the most destructive cyclone that has ever visited Texas. More than four fifths of the people are without houses. There are many killed and wounded. Help is needed to bury the dead and take care of the wounded and relieve those who lost everything. Mayor Levy has called a meeting of the citizens of Weatherford to take steps toward relief.

A Gainesville special says that Mayor Rollins received a message this afternoon from Judge Davenport, of Eastland county, and Mayor Graves, of Cisco, appealing for aid for the storm sufferers. Mayor Rollins at once issued an appeal to the citizens of Gainesville for contributions.

A message from Valley View stated that a severe storm passed over that town at 6:30 o’clock p.m., blowing down several houses and doing much damage to property. No one was hurt. Several freight cars were blown off the sidetrack and caused the people to take refuge in cellars.

?.R. Willie, who arrived here tonight on the Texas Pacific east bound train, was at Cisco an hour and a half. He says at that time twenty-one dead persons had been found. Over 100 injured were counted. Among the dead are Daniel Cameron, R.M. Whitesides, Mr. Sims, Mrs. Charles Jones and child, Mrs. J.T. Thompson. Five children of Mr. Hickman, who were in bed asleep, were crushed to death by the falling house. Mr. Hickman and his wife had gone outside to see what the roaring noise was and were blown off their feet. Mr. Hickman was seriously injured.
List of Dead and Injured.

The list of dead and wounded as near as can be obtained is as follows:

Killed — Mrs. Jones an baby.
Dave Cameron, brakeman
Captain Whiteside, a merchant
Five children of W.A. Hickman.
One child of Mr. Bowens
Mr. Bledsoe, brakeman
Mrs. J.T. Thomas
Mrs. Porter
Mrs. Knight

Injured — W.H. Sebastian severe cut on his head, Frank Vernon badly wounded, will die, Mrs. Vernon, leg broken, Mrs. Davis, crippled in the back, M.B. Owens, leg broken, Jim Hayes, badly cut on head. A daughter of Mrs. Stephens, wounded and will die. Mrs. Stephens, wounded and will die. Mrs. Powers and daughter, badly injured, Mrs. R.W. Jones, head badly injured, William Walker, head bruised, W.A. Hickman, face badly cut, George Harris, badly hurt, Mrs. Kennand, hurt badly; Mrs. Jones, seriously hurt, section boss, name unknown, and wife, severely injured, H.L. Bidwell, badly cut on head and arm and back injured, Mrs. W.D. Chandler, ankle crushed, Miss Elsie Moeller, arm broken. A conservative estimate place the number of wounded at about 150.

The cyclone traveled northeast, blowing down houses and laying waste farms. The houses blown down are too numerous to mention. Mrs. D.L. Ladd seven miles northeast of Eastland, was killed and Mr. Ladd severely injured. Others were more or less hurt. Mr. Ferguson, four miles northeast of Cisco, was killed and his house burned. The windstorm laste[d] not more than a few minutes. It was followed by a heavy rain. Telegraphic communication is practically cut off.

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) Apr 30, 1893

Image from Texas Old Photos on Rootsweb

THE VICTIMS’ NAMES.

List of Killed and Wounded in the Cisco Disaster.

EASTLAND, Tex., April 30. — The following is the first official list of the killed and wounded in Friday night’s disaster furnished to the DALLAS MORNING NEWS relief committee, which includes only those killed or wounded in the city:

KILLED.

Will Sims, section hand, Texas and Pacific railway.
Jim Bibles, conductor, Texas Central.
Wad Bledsoe, brakeman, Texas Central.
Five children of W.A. Hickman.
Dave Cameron.
Ruby Ownes.
Mrs. Borton.
Mrs. J.T. Thomas.
Captain R.M. Whitesides, merchant.
Mrs. S.E. Knight, milliner.
Mrs. Charley Jones and child.

SERIOUSLY INJURED.

Mart Owens, jr., will die to-night.
W.A. Hickman and wife.
Miss and Mrs. Swartz.
M. Bowens.
Mrs. Frank Vernon.
Dr. Moeller and family.
Mrs. Hill.
Mrs. M.F. Mitchell.
Mrs. Vera Thomas.
Mat Mattock.
Mrs. S.E. Knight and two daughters.
Mrs. J.E. Luse.
Two children of Mrs. Chas. Jones.
W.J. Walker.
Tom Jones and wife.
Mrs. Will Walker.
Mrs. J.M. Williamson.
Mrs. Blank, wounded but condition not known.
Mrs. J.G. Wilson.
Miss Baten.
Mrs. Older and chldren.
Mrs. Rice.
Little boy of Mr. Drogden’s.
Minnie Loads.
Laura Ellis.
Frank Owens.
Frank Vernon’s infant.
Mrs. Wold Cleaves.
Mrs. M.E. Powers and daughter.
Three children of Sal. Eppler.
Two children of Mat Matlock.
Two children of Mrs. Chas. Jones.
Mrs. Moore.
Mrs. R.W. Jones.
J.M. Williamson.
Jim Hayes.
Will Walker.
W.V. Steele.

IN THE COUNTRY.

The following is a list of the killed and injured in the surrounding country:

W.H. Beaman, living four miles southwest of here, dead.
Mrs. L.D. Ladd, living five miles north of Eastland, reported killed, can not be verified or disproved.
Mack Ferguson, son-in-law of Beaman, badly injured.
Charles Jenkins, living at Boms, four miles east of here on the Texas and Pacific, seriously hurt in the breast.
Miss Johnnie Townsend, living with her father five miles west of Eastland, seriously cut on the head.
Elbert Townsend, seriously injured about the head and chest.
Bill Doolan, in the same neighborhood, is said to be badly hurt.
T.J. Davis, living four miles west of Eastland, had his ankle badly broken and is otherwise seriously hurt.
L.D. Ladd, five miles north of Eastland, had his arm broken and badly cut over both eyes.
Mrs. Latham, living west of Eastland, seriously hurt about the hand.
G.M. Davidson, in the same neighborhood, had one thigh broken and is otherwise badly injured.
Mr. Fein and wife, two miles west of here, both pretty dangerously crushed by falling timbers.

Dr. Van Zandt, one of the local physicians attending the wounded, makes this statement to THE NEWS:

“I expect there will be two or three more deaths. Little Mart Owens, whose skull is fractured, will certainly die and the chances are good for one or two more.”

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 1, 1893

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 3, 1893

APPEAL FOR AID

To Relieve the Suffering of the Family of Mart Owens.

ALBANY, Shackelford Co., Tex., May 9. — To the cattlemen of Texas: On behalf of the distressed family of Mart. B. Owens, a victim of the ___ Cisco cyclone, I appeal to you for aid and assistance to relieve their sufferings and wants with the hope that liberal responses will be the result of these lines.

The day following the disaster I took the opportunity to visit Cisco for the purpose of acquainting myself with the terrible condition of affairs. The scene that I beheld was indescribable. I visited the spot that Mart Owens once called home. All that remained to tell the tale of woe was three feet of a rock chimney, the stone steps in the terrace, one chair in the back yard and barely enough lumber to build a hen coop. Furniture, bedding and clothing all gone. A vacant lit remains as the silent witness who speaks in unmistakable words of the distress that befell the unfortunate ones.

Not far from the scene, I beheld another more pitiable. Mart Owens lay dying, one sweet little girl by his side with her hand mashed in, a son 14 years old dead near by, his helpless wife with an injured back close by. Six other children, all more or less injured and crippled with arms and legs broken magnifies the picture of distress.

Mart looked about him and in feeble tones, gently spoke: “I would help this if I could, but I don’t know as I want to. I’ll not be here to care for them.” One son, being absent on a round-up escaped injury.

A few days thereafter Mart Owens and two children lay in one grave, still in the cold embrace of death.

He had seen better days; he was an old-time cattle man and as such merited the respect of a large circle of acquaintances and friends. Adversity had overtaken him, and while fortune no longer smiled upon him, his credit was unimpaired and had he lived would have been able to regain his vanished fortune. Those of us upon whom prosperity has smiled should not be reluctant in opening our purses and assisting the destitute widow and helpless orphans, whose bitter wail and deep anguish imploringly cry to our merciful father for aid and comfort.

Mart Owens left no life insurance or other property; all that he left in the way of wealth to his family was a clean record. Mart has “turned over” his last herd and gone to meet Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the last “grand round-up,” from whence no herder has ever returned to camp. Friends, we have only a temporary lease on our “herds” and will soon be called on to “tally them out” to the giver of all goods, who will select another “herder” to take our place.

Mart Owens was the only cattleman in Cisco, and seems to have been the worst sufferer. The people of Cisco who had anything left did all in their power to relieve the suffering. The people of Texas have responded nobly for the general good, but it is our duty to help the Owens family. The cattlemen of this state have kind hearts and will sympathize with the distressed widow and helpless orphans of a brother cattleman.

In addition to the contribution already made, we cheerfully subscribe for the benefit of the Owens family the sum of $100 and trust that our action will be emulated by the cattlemen of Texas. Funds subscribed may be paid to the order of the undersigned at the First national bank of Albany, Tex., and will be devoted to the noble cause mentioned above. Statements of the amounts subscribed will be duly acknowledged to the subscribers through the public press. Let us then, one and all, do by Mart Owens what we would have him do by us. Trusting for early responses, truly yours,

GEO. T. REYNOLDS,
President First national bank, Albany, Tex.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 14, 1893

Cisco, Texas image from Eastland County, Texas Photos on Rootsweb from Laura Lindsey

Interesting bit of trivia from Wiki:

Conrad Hilton started the Hilton Hotel chain with a single hotel bought in Cisco. Hilton came to Cisco to buy a bank, but the bank cost too much; so he purchased the Mobley Hotel in 1919. The hotel is now a local museum and community center.

Texas Street Talk

Image from the U.S. Diplomacy website

STREET TALK.

Have you seen Clay’s third letter on Texas?

No. Does it differ from his other letters?

Oh, yes. He says he “would be glad to see”  Texas annexed.

Indeed! Is that the truth?

Yes.

Is it the whole truth?

Oh, he says he “would be glad to see it, without dishonor.”

Ah, that’s an importafit qualification! But is that all?

No. He “would be glad to see it, without dishonor AND without war.”

Better yet! Is that all?

N – o – t      e – x – a – c – t – l – y. He “would be glad to see it without dishonor, without war AND with the common consent of the Union.”

Better and better! As I want to get the whole truth, I’ll make one more effort. Has Mr. Clay any other objections to the project?

Yes, he has. He says also, that it must be done “upon JUST and FAIR terms.”

Very well.

And farther, that he “believes that National dishonor, foreign war, and distraction and division at home are too great sacrifices to make for the acquisition of Texas.”

Does Mr. Clay say all this?

He does.

And do you believe that Texas can EVER by annexed “without dishonor, without war, with the common consent of the Union, and upon just and fair terms?”

I do not. The signs of the times forbid such a thought.

Then in no event can Mr. Clay be regarded as the friend of Annexation; and I hope you will not be guilty again of such injustice as to quote two or three words from his letter and on the strength of them charge Mr. Clay with a desertion of the ground taken by him in his first letter. He is the consistent opponent of the Annexation scheme.

— Springfield Republic.

Madison Express (Madison, Wisconsin) Sep 26, 1844

Influence of Texas on Election of 1844

In 1837, Texas asked to be annexed to the United States.

Texas wanted to enter as a slave state.

The Texas Question became an important presidential campaign issue.

Pro-annexation, James K. Polk beats Henry Clay.

*****

HIGH LIGHTS OF HISTORY — Influence of Texas on Election of 1844
By J. CARROLL MANSFIELD

The Davenport Democrat and Leader (Davenport, Iowa) Jun 24, 1927

Acrostics for the Dead

An Acrostic.
[To The News.]

An old veteran submits the following double acrostic blending the name of Geo. Ball and the High school, as they will ever be inseparably connected:

Grand was the man whom, while God gave the breatH,
Enthron’d with wisdom and strength to replI;
Opened the doors — a temple of learninG;
Riches to the mind, and joy to the heartH,
God grant his bounteous gift may ever blesS
Each pupil — grades to the scientifiC;
Blending in harmony Art’s highest brancH.
Ages after ages will come and gO
Loving hearts revere the name of one whO
Left this token of affection to alL.

G.W.G.

Galveeston, September 25, 1885

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Sep 27, 1885

GEO. BALL’S BIRTHDAY.
ANNIVERSARY ENTERTAINMENT AT BALL HIGH SCHOOL.
An Excellent Programme to the Memory of George Ball, Galveston’s Philanthropist.
[excerpt]

The recitations given by each were as follows:

GEORGE BALL ACROSTIC.

Gone! Is that man gone
Whose influence is upon his kind?
He lives in glory, and his speaking dust
Has more of life than half its breathing maids.

Each hero’s name
Shall shine untarnished on the roll of fame,
And stand the example of each distant age,
And add new luster to the historic page.

On Fame’s eternal camping ground
His great, good name is read.
and glory guards with solemn round
The last home of the dead.

Rugged strength and radiant beauty —
These were one in nature’s plan;
Humble toil and heavenward duty —
These will form the perfect man.

Great men by their lives remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.

Earth may not claim them. Nothing here
Could be for them a mear reward;
Theirs is a treasure for more dear —
Eye hath not seen it, nor the ear
Of dying mortal heard
The joys prepared, the promised bliss above —
The holy presence of Eternal Love.

By fairy hands their knell is rung,
By forms unseen their dirge is sung;
There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray,
To bless the turf that wraps their clay;
And Freedom shall awhile repair,
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there.

A city’s gratitude in thee,
Meet tribute to thy honored memory,
A time-enduring monument shall raise
And garland it with glory’s brightest rays.
They noble deed with each returning year
Shall make thee over to us ?? more dear.

Lo, there is no death; the stars go down
To rise upon some fairer shore.
And bright in heaven’s jeweled crown
They shine forevermore.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 10, 1885

Edmund Jackson Davis:

An Elegaic Acrostic.

Erewhile a form of manliness and grace
Did tread our thoroughfares, and we could trace
Much in the man to win our reverence!
Unto all so courteous, without pretense.
None this denied, how else their verdict ran,
Despite all doubt, he is a gentleman.

Justice, perchance, demands no judgment hard;
Defects like his, our Hancock might have marred,
A captive had he been, as once the dead.
Vilest of dooms impending o’er his head —
It may be, here, injustice scarred his brow,
Supreme the wisdom that doth judge him now.

AUSTIN, Feb. 12, 1883. CARITAD.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) Feb 16, 1883

Image by Jill.

To Our Child.

The following acrostic, the work of our townsman James Tyson, was handed to us to publish, as aside from the fact of possessing literary merit is has a local application in forming the name of one dear to many of us, now passed to the home beyond the river:

Florence, tis not wrong to cherish fond memory,
Link it with the past in pleasant, happy dreams.
Oh, no! we think of sunny days that
Recollection calls back, of times that were
Ever full with privileged joys agone,
N‘er to return in earth’s abiding place,
Can we contemplate without sorrowing,
Ever recollecting days of childhood?

No, never! never!! ‘Tis not right we should.

Well, then, let it be our greatest pleasure,
Recollecting the pleasant incidents
Ever an anon strewn in Life’s walks —
Ne’er to weary in contemplation —
Ne’er to forget these many happy hours.

The Mountain Democrat (Placerville, California) Jul 1, 1893

Texas Lynching – Abuse of 14 year-old Wife

Image by K-Weston on Flickr

TEXAS LYNCHING.

James Howard Taken From Jail and Hanged at Midnight.

TEXARKANA, Tex., Dec. 18. — James Howard, aged 35 years, was taken from jail here at midnight of the 15th, by a masked mob, by whom he was carried a short distance below town and hanged to a railroad trestle. Howard was arrested Wednesday on a warrant sworn out by his mother-in-law, Mrs. Winchew, charging him with maltreating his wife, who si scarcely 14 years old. Howard and his wife were married last July. Mrs. Howard tells the story of the atrocious brutality on the part of her husband. She says he frequently tied her feet together, while she was in a state of nudity, and hanging her up by the feet, beat her unmercifully and threatened to kill her if she told any one of his cruelties.

On the first day of November Howard took a common branding iron, used to brand live stock and heating it red hot branded a large letter “H” on his wife’s person in two places while she was tied to the bed. After suffering several weeks from the effects of these burns, Mrs. Howard  told her mother what had happened with the result that Howard was arrested.

Deputy Sheriff Hargett anticipated that a mob would attack the jail at night, and had employed extra guards, but the mob gained entrance while the guards were eating their midnight meal.

Milford Mail (Milford, Iowa) Dec 23, 1886

Test Your Knowledge, Texas!

 

Texas - 1835

Larger version of this map at U of T Libraries’ website.

QUERY BOX.
I.
Texas History.

1. Why is it incorrect to speak of La Salle as “the discoverer of Texas?”

2. Where and by whom was the first settlement made in Texas?

3. (a) What are the five oldest towns in Texas? (b) Give the dates of their founding and the names of founders.

4. What is meant by the empresario system?

Image from http://www.visualedgesb.com

GENERAL HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY.

1. The following questions on modern history formed the final test for the senior class on Thursday last. They will be interesting to other pupils throughout the grades immediately below, it is thought. Who among these can find the right answers to the queries below? We hope to publish the  paper receiving the highest mark, next week. Look up the answers and compare them with those published.

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Image from http://www.culturewars.com

I. State the five chief causes of the French revolution.

II. Who were the girondists and what was their aim?

III. What was the battle of Trafalgar? By whom fought? The results?

IV. State the condition of the Russian serfs; their number and by whom emancipated.

V. When and how were Sicily and Naples added to the kingdom of Victor Emanuel?

VI. What territory has been acquired by the United States in the last two years, and how?

VII. What were the causes of the present war in Africa?

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U.S. Map 1899 (www.antiquemapgallery.com)

Here are some very easy questions in geography. How many can you answer right away?

1. What does the word Transvaal mean?

2. What are the five great “lake shore” cities of the United States?

3. (a) Name the largest state. (b) The smallest state. (c) The longest state. (d) The state with the most neighbors. (i.e. The one that adjoins most other states.) (e) The state that has the longest coast line.

4. If you journey from New York City to San Francisco by rail, going by Philadelphia, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Denver, what states whould you cross?

5. (a) In what states are the following universities: Harvard, Yale, Cornett, Ann Arbor, Stanford? (b) Of these which is the oldest? The youngest?

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AMERICAN LITERATURE

I. What American poet is called “The Poet of the sea,” and why? [Anyone know this one?]

II. What American author is called “The Dutch Herodotus,” and why?

III. Who is called the “Quaker Poet?” What are his three most popular poems?

IV. (a) Who are the three greatest Southern poets? (b) Which of these once lived in San Antonio? (c) Did he write anything of San Antonio, and if so, what?

V. (a) Who wrote the novel, “Remember the Alamo?” (b) When was it written? (c) Write a brief review of this book, naming the characters, and giving as careful an analysis of the same as you can, also a brief sketch of the author.

San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Texas) Nov 26, 1899