The Madisonian. (Canton, Miss.) 1850-1855, 1850-03-07

half made the circuit of Texas, thun-
derng the War-cry-"Death to the ty-
rant of the table land Liberty for
the people Of the prairie lndepen-
dence !'-betore the great popular
chiefs, Houston, Rusk, Henderson and
Archer, had unsealed their lips by al
single address
When Gen. Cos was informed of
Bakers activity, an order was forthwith
issued lor his arrest as a traitor but
ere the mandate could reach his desti.
nation, all true Texans had become
traitors. So contagious thing is ex-
ample!
In a brief space the campaign open
ed, and Baker volunteered as a private,
refusing all solicitation to accept the
highest office in command. He was
in all the grand. bloody battles Of the
war. On the retreat Of HouSton's ar
my, he was stationed at the head Of a
guard Of eighty men to protect the
crossing Of the Brasos, which hemade
good against the whole Mexican host,
led on by Santa Anna in person
And finally, to crown all, Mosely
Bakers shone the brightest blade thro'
the snIphItrous Smoke and fire of San
Jacinto.
AT the close of the campaign he was
elected to Congress- and at the first
session of Congress he was elected
brigadier General. Butstil, OCCASION
ally, The old gloom, the infinite regret
would come back again on his soul,
impressing his tlce with picture Of
meaSurelesS sorrow. In one of these
fits Of rayless melancholy, he sudden
Iyrose one day, in his place on the
floor Of Conyr and startled every
member with the strange announce
mont---" Mr.. Speaker: / am a criminal
bat a ponitent also aud | am going
now to confess my fault p
Every eve was upon him, ana every
ear was wide open tor he had naver
been known before to speak Of him
self. lie continued ID was once a
popular leader in the state ofAIabama,
and, while member of the legisLo-
ture, to save the fortunes of friend, was
persuaded to use my privilege as Q
member under a special statue to Dor
row twenty thousand dollars out o.
the bank. My friend failed to repay it
and | was accused of fraud disgraced
aud ruined Forced to fly my country
forsake my beloved tlmily, and wan
der forth an exile like a second Cain
found an asylum in your beautiln
land.
aBut have since lived on the ligh
of a single hope. the hope to be ena
bled to pay that debt and be reunited
once more without dishoror to my wife
and children, 1t was for this alone
Obored and suffered, as yon are all The
witnesses. And now, by the mercy O
God the Almighty, my hope is realized
| am able to pay that debt, and then
shall rejoin my beloved ones, anc
spend my last days in peaceful retire
ment. Mr. Speaker, | shall never a
gain seek public Office or human glory
and from this moment | resign my
rights and duties on this floor"
And then, as if relieved ofWhat per
ilous stuff" which had so long weighed
upon his heart, he left the hall witt
a smile of serene and brilliant tranquil
Iity. This occurred the 9Th Of March
1888, and on the 10th he addressed {
letter to the president of the bank o
Alabama, offering to liquidate every
Eclaim against him. The bank sent or
ian agent in the person Of Joel White
TO whom Baker paid twenty-one thou
sand'dolIars principal, eight thousand
for interest, and twelve hundred as
damages, making in all more than thir-
fty thousand dollars; yet leaving him,
nevertheless, the richest man in Texas.
On the return Of MIR. White, the
bank passed highly complimentary
resolutions in favor Of Gen. Baker, and
then his family joined him in his new
home, now fixed at the city of Houston,
andthe old gloomof the thunder-cIoud
forever left his brow. Alas! it had
already flung its shadows there too
long. His spirit, from prolund melan-
choly, vaulted into the other extreme !:
he became passionate enthusiast and
fiery mystic, protesting, through the
medium Of religious magnetism,t to hold
direct communion with the ghosts of
the invisible world! He was licensed
as a Methodist preacher, and establish
eda plous newspaper which his great
wealth enabled him to distribute gratis
among the poor. Its columns teemed
mostly, however, with reported casesof
religious magnetism and, strange to