New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-02-13
tag is no longer seen, for the deed of which ID
was the sign has been Accommodated

Hag is no longer seen, for the deed of which III
was the sign has been accomplished. =
1t is midnight Stars are smiling in thu f;rn,-
arnent, and the repose Of paradise seems haver-
ing over the armed hosts, and hills, and plains
which enclrcle the Alamo. The calm is SO deem
and solemn, that the angel Of death seems to
pause before the strife and carnage which ara
70 follow. A low murmur rises upon the air,
winch gradually becomes more and more dig
sihcs. Lights are glancing mysteriously In ths
~, Instance, and Indicate unusual movement
lns Desieglng army is in motion There Ia no
aayance ~ columns: the force of che Mexieaus
Is 50 great that the fort may be completely sur
rounded, leaving intervals only for the fire Of
artillery. The place is gfrdled Nv a deer, line
OF infantry, and these are hemrued in and en-
conpasssd by another Of CAVALRY. IF the frst
latter or shrink, they must be thrust forward to
tne assault By the sabres and lances Of their
connf Suddenly the batteries arein blaze,
anu lron their concentric positions, pour forth
faeii Oh hre from the circle Of Santa Anna'y
vengeance, vsrging to single centre. Amid
she tnanuefs thus created, their own shouts
hardly less terrible, and the martial blasts Of a
hundred ougles, the Mexicans advance to the
alamo. sheet Of fame, from rifles that never
faiied' ls tine answer to the charge The infantry
recon- ana fali nack upon the cavalry; their
ranKS ofoHeh ana disordered by the deadly fire
Of the besieged. The shouts from the fort are
mingled with the groana Of the wounded and
dying on the plain, while the officers are en-
deaVoring to reform their scattered raasses
They return to the attack, bat the leaden
shower which they again encounter, feIIs then,
TO the earth by platoons. Travis shows himself
On the walls, cheering his undaunted followers.
around him are Crockett, Evans and Borham,
roused to last struggle, for they know their
LOOM y sealed. In quick succession rife after
@ flhe is discharged, sending hundreds to their
long account. The Me1icans are again re-
pulsed: they fall back, disnayed and disheart-
ened oy the dead and dying around them The
Da'tallon OF Iolnca-the flower of Santa Annals
army-ls reduced from four hundred to tWenty-
shree. MEN nave become for a moment regards
less Of their officers, and ara aln5ost- dif;o,.gg
from the cries of anguish Of their fa1ls,, s-d a.
piring comrades, yielding to influences Which no
disclphne can restrain, and no efforts repress
But the breach now appears practicable: the
disJonted forces. by the aid Of threats and en-
treaties, are rallied, and once more ret1rr IN
the assault. The fire from the Alamo f,as for
some time been growing slower and slower
.R1fies have dropped from many vigorous hand,
now cold In death, while others cling to their
weapons even in the agonies of dissolution. Am
munition, too, has been falling; one by one the
muzzles drop; and ere the last rifle is loaded
ana discharged, the Mexicans have gained the
Haii, + rearfuily conspicuous in that awful mo-
fnent, Travis receives shot, stagEers and falls.
de dies not unavenged. A Mexican officer
fushes upon him, and is about to plunge his
sabre into the bosom Of the fallen man: when.
gathering his remaining energies for desperate
effort, he bathes the sword to which he still
clings, IN the blood Of his enemy, and they die
together. $50 -
In the meantime, the conflict has Eecome hand
to hand, and has been raging hot and thick.
Ihe Mexieans have poured inGo the citadel ike
famshed wolTes furious for their prey. Each
man struggles with his adversary with the
energy of despair. dealing the death stroke with
Fldes, sabres, or whatever missiles may be
within reach. The Texans are almost buried
beneath the numbers of their opponents. The
carnage has been SO terrible that the slain are
piled up in heaps. Death stares each survivor
In the face, yet still he struggles on. Crockett
has been conspicuous in the melee, wherever the
blows fell hottest and fastest. He has forced his
way over piles of the dead bodies Of his enemies,
and has reached the door of the chapel. Here
he determines to make his last stand AT one
glance of his eye he sees that the fate of the
Alamo rests upon himself alone, and that that
fate nothing can avert. Travis has fallen;
Evans is no more; Bowie expires upon bed of
sickness, pierced to the heart by Mexican
bayonet; Borham falls directly before him, and
he finds himself the only living warrior of the
one hundred and sixty-three who had been his
companions. Perhaps at that moment the life
HAood cIeeps W LIS AedrL bY q natural Impulse
but 1t is only for moment. The desperation of
his position sends it back with the force Of an
avalanche. His foes glare on him with the
herceness Of demons. and assault him with blows
from muskets, lances and sabres The strength
of hundred men seems concentrated in his
single arm, as he deals out death to his pitiless
and unsparing asgailants Their bodies have
grown into rampant before him Blackened
With fire and smoke, besmeared with blood. and
reused into frenzy, he stands like some fabled
god of antiquity laughing to scorn the malice,
and the power, and the fury of his enemies.
New fire flashes from his eye, and new vigor
nerves his arm. On his assailants rush, hut it
IS upon death, certain and immediate They
fall, but their places are still supplied and so
quickly, the dead seem to rise up before him,
like armed men from the teeth of Cadmas At
length a ball from an unseen rifle pierces him in
the forehead; he falls backward to the earth. in
the streams Of gore which curdle around him
No groan escapes his lips; no cry of agony
gratities the implacabls rancor of his enemies.
he dies-and the Alamo has fallen [Putnam's
Magazine