The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1846-05-08
From Blackwcod's Magazine,
CAMPAIGN INTENNs.

To ABOUT thirteen hundred men, was
assembled on the banks of the Col
orado river. One messenger after
another had arrived, bringing news
that had converted them into per-
feet canniba!s, thirsting after Mexi-
can blood. The murdcr Of Grant
and his horsemcn, that of Johnson
and King wit. their detachmcnts ;
the unaccoantable disappearance of
Ward, VINO was wandering about in
the prairie; and finally Horizons re-
port of the capture of the unfortu-
nate Fannin; all these calamities,
in conjunction with the fall of the
Alamo, had raised the fury of the
backwoodsmcn to such pitch, that
they were neither to hold nor bind,
and nobody but Sam Houston would
have been able to curb them.
The old general sat upon a heap
of saddles; and in a circle round a
large fire, sat or stood, leaning upon
their rifles, the captains Of the mill
tia. The whole group was surroun-
ded by a grumbling crowd of back
woodsmen. The dark fiery eyes of
the officers, nearly all tall powerful
figures, glanced alternately at the
flames and at old Sam, who was the
only calm person present. Slowly
taking small knife from his waist
coat pocket, he opened it, produced
a huge piece of Cavcndish, cut of a
quid, showed it between his upper
lip and front teeth, and handed the
tobacco to his nearest neighbor
This was gigantic captain, the up
per part of whose body was clothed
in an Indian hunting coat, his head
covered with what had once been a
fine beaver hat, but of which the
broad brim now tapped down over
his ears, whilst his strong muscular
legs were wrapped from knee to an
klc in thick crimson flannel, a pre-
caution against the thornS Of the
muskeet trees not untreQucntly adop-
ted i'll the west. His buIlct-pouch
was made out Of the head of Loop
ard, in which eyes of red cloth had
been inserted, bringing out, by con-
traSt, the beauty of the skin, and
was suspended from a strap Of brown
untanncd deer hide. With an eX-
preston Of great bitterness, the
backwoodsman handed the tobacco
to the man next to him; and it pass
ed on from hand to hand, untasted
by any oLe--a sign Of uncommon eX-
cltement amongst the persons there
assembled. When the despised Cav
endish had gone the round, the old
general stuck it in his pocket again,
and continued the conference, at the
same time whiting a stick with per-
feet GOODNESS and unconccrn.
eyes" said he, 81 tell you that
our affairs look rather tickIish-can't
deny it--but that is the only thing
that will bring the people to their
senses. Santa Anna may destroy
the colonies, but it won't be Sam
Houston's fault. Instead Of at once
assembling, the militia stop at home
with their wives-quite comfortable
in the chimney corner-thln!l that a
handful OF volunteers can whip ten
thousand Of these half bloods. Quite
mistaken, gentlemen-quite miSta-
ken. You see it now--the brave
fellows are gone--a scandal it is for
us-and the enemy is at our heels.
Instead of seeing four or five thou
sand of our people here, there are
thirteen hundred-thc others are
minding the shop-making journeys
to the Sabine.-Can't help it, COM
races, must retire to the BrazoS, in
to the forests-must be off, and that
at once"
"Stop, general, that Amt sense
cried a man, with cap made out OF
a wildcats skin "not a step back
wards-the enemy must soon come,
and then we'll whip 'em so glorious,
that it will be pleasure to see it
the miserable vampires that they
arer'
"a fight! fght!' shouted the
Surrounding throng. "For Texas,
now or never!'
"Sam Eouston is not of that opin-
ion, my fine fellows" answered the
general, "and it is not his will to
hight. Sam VII not risk the fate OF
the republic in single foolhardy
battle. The broad woods of the Bra
EOS shall dou good service. Though
you are brave, and WILLING to risk
your lives, it would bc small benefit
to the country if you lost them. No,
my boys, we'll give it to die vermin.
never fear; they shall have it, as
sure as Sam Houston STANDS in his
own shoes"
otis impossible for us to go back
General" cried another speaker
"can't be-must be at 'cm! What
General, our richest plantations Ii,
between the Colorado and the Bra
EOS, and are we to abandon them t.