Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1844-03-12

a true friend, a friend in life and in death.
Well, its come at last,' said he. while a
resigned and happy smile stole over his
.eatures. "pve prayed for il long enough
Thank God, IFS come at la,tw
He gazed up at The Acaldawilh kind
ly EXPIRE ssion Of countenaEce. There was
slight shuddering movement Of his whole
frame-Boh was dead
The Alcalde remained kneeling for a
short time by the side of the corpse, his
lips moving IN prayer. At last he rose TO
his feet.
"God desircth not the death Of a sinner.
but rather that he may turn from his wick.
edn SIS and Iive," said he, in low and SOL
emn tone. 81 had those words in my
thoughts four years ago. when | cut him
down from the branch of the Patriarch"
-Four years ago. cried |. Then you
cut him down, aud were in time 10 save
h'm Was it he who yesel day brought
us news of the vicinity Of the foe?"
sit was, and much more than tha: has
he done," replied the Alcalde, no longer
striving to conceal the tears that fell from
his eyes. "For four years has he dragged
on his wretched existence, weary of The
world, and despised of all men. For four
years has he served Us, lived, fought, and
spied for US, without honor, reward, hope,
or consolation-without q single hour Of
tranquility, or a wish for aught- except
death. All this to serve Texas and his
countrymen. VIII, shall say This man was
not a true patriot! God will surely be
mercifal TO h s sou,' said the A!caldc, af
ter u pause.
81 trust he WILL" answered |, deeply af-
fected.
We were Interrupted at this moment BY
a message from General Houston, to whom
we Immediately FASTENED. All was uproar
and confusion. Santa Anna could not be
found among the prisoners.
This was a terrible disappointment, for
the capture Of tie Mexican president had
been our principal object, and the victory
we had gained was comparatively unim-
portant ii he escaped. Indeed, the hope Of
putting al end to the war by his capture,
had more than anything encouraged and
stimulated US to the un quail conf
The moment was a very critical one
Among our men Wera soma thirty Oh forty
most desperate characters, who began
handling their knives, and casting looks
upon The prisoners, the meaning Of which
1t was Impossible to mistake. Se,eciing
some OF our trustiest men, we stationed
them as guard over the capliyes. and.
having thus assured the safety oil the latter,
Logan questioning them IS to what had be-
come of their general.
They had none Of ;hem seen Santa An
ma since the commencement of the fight,
and it was clear that he must have made
his escape while we were getting over the
breastworks. lie could not now be very
far off, and we at once took measures to
find him. A hundred men were sent of
with the prisoners to Harrisburg, and a
hundred others, capilally mounted on horses
found IN the Mexican camp started to scour
the countryin search Of the fugitive chief.
accompanied the latter detachment.
We had been twelve hours in the sad lie.
and had ridden over nearly hundred miles
OF ground. We began TO despair of find
ing he game we were in qnest of, and
were thinking Of Abandoning the chase,
when at distance Of about seven miles
from the camp, one Of our most experiencrd
hunters discovered the PRINT Of Il slnat and
delicate boot upon some soft ground lead!n O
to marsh. Following III trail, it al Iasj
lead us 10 man sunk up to his waist in III
swamp, and so covered with mud and filth,
as Ia be quite unrecognizable. We drew
him from his hiding place, half dead with
cold and terror, and, having washed the
dirt from his face, we found him 10 be q
man of about forty yea Of age, with blue
eyes, OF q mid but crafty expressions; q
narrow, high forehead; long. thin nose
rather fleshy at the tip; projecting upper.
Ii, and long chin. These features tailed
too exactly with the description we had hac
of the Mexican president, for US to doub
that our prisoner was Santa Anna himself
The only thing that at al tended tc
shake this conviction, was the extraordi
nary poitfoonery OF our new captive. He
threw himself on his knees, begging us, If
the name Of God and all the saints, TO spare
his life. Our reiterated assurances anc
promises were insufficient to convince hin
of MS being in perfect safety, or to induce
him to adopt u demeanor more consis,en
with his dignity and high station.
The events which succeeded this fortu.
nate capture, are too well known TO re.
quire more than a very brief recapitula
ton. The same evening a truce was
agreed upon between Houston and Santa
Anna, the latter sending orders to his diff
terent generals TO retire upon San Antonio
de Bexar, and other places in the direction
OF the Mexican frontier. These orders.
valueless as enanating from q prisoner.
most OF the generals were weak or COW.
ardly enough to obey, an obedience for
which they were afterwards brought to .ri.
al by the Mexican congress. In a few
days, two-thirds of Texas were in our pos
session.
The news Of these successes brough;
crowds of volunteers to our standard In
three weeks we had an army Of several
thousand men. with which we advanced a.
gainst the Mexicans. There vas no more
lighting, however, for our antagonists had
had enough, and allowed themselves TO be
driven from one position to another, till, in
months time, there was not one left in
the country.
The Struggle was over, and Texas was