The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1867-11-15
A LAUGHING HERO.


1886. Aurora, the mother Of deWs and
mistress of Golden clouds, came as she
almost evercomes to the living scenes oi
the plains of Goliad- thing of Beauty,
queen of the sky, on q throne of burn
ing amber, robed in the crimson of fire:
with diamond of purple, and stream
ess of painted pink. Oh! it was glori-
Gus dawn for the poet to sing of earth
or the saint to pray to heaven but
poets song nor saints prayer made the
mathis of the place and the hour
Alas no it was very different sort OF
music.
A hundred hoarse drums roared the
loud reveille that aWole four hundred
Texan prisoners and their guard-fOur
! times their number of Mexican soldiers
the elite of the Chief Butchers grand
army.
The prisoners were Immediately sum-
moned to parade before the post in the
main street of the village, and every
eye sparkled with joy and every tongue
uttered involuntary accumulatiOns of
confidence.
Thanks, Santa Anna! He is going
to execute the treaty! We shall be
slipped back to the United States! We
shall see our friends once mOrew
Such were the feelings with which
the American volunteers, and the few
Texans among them, greeted the order
to form into line.
The line was formed and then broken
into two columns, when every instru-
ment of music in the Mexican host
sounded a merry march, and they
moved away with quick step over
prairie towards the west.
Five minutes afterwards, singular
dialogue occurred between thetwo lead
ers Of the front columns of the prison.
erS.
"What makes you walk so lame, Col
onel Neil? Are you wounded ?' ask
ed tall man, with blue eyes and
bravery flashing forth in all their
beams.
Colonel Fannin, walk lame tokeep
from being wounded do you compre-
?" replied the other with laugh
and such a laugh as no words might
descrihe-it was so loud, SO luxurious,
like the roar of the breakers of a humor
it was, in short, a laugh of the inmost
heart.
81 do not comprehend you for L am
no artist in riddles" rejoined Fannin,
smiling himself, at the ludicrous gale
ty of his campanion so strangely i'll
timed.
"You discover that / am lame in each
leg" said Col. Neil, glancing down at
the members indicated, and mimick-
ing the movements of a confirmed Grip
pie, as he laughed louder than ever
"And yet" he added, in a whisper,
81 have neither the rheumatism in
my knees, nor corns on my toes, but
have two big revolvers in my boots 2"
"That is violation of the treaty by
which we agreed to give up our
arms" Col. Fannin mournfully sugges-
ted.
"You will see, however, that I shall
need them before the sun is an hour
high" replied Neil. "Ah! Fannin,
you do not know the treachery of these
base MeXicans."
AT that instant the sun rose in sky
of extraordinary brilliancy, and mil
lion of flower cups flung their rich Odors
abroad over the green prairie, as an Of
fering to the lord of light, when the
mandate of "halt" was given by one
Of Santa Annals aids, and two columns
Of prisoners were broken up ard scat
tered over the plain in small hollow
squares, encircled on every side by
Mexican infantry and troops of horse,
with loaded musketS and drawn swords.
And then momentary pause, awful
in its stiffness, and disturbed only by
an occasional shrek of terror, and the
most timid among the captives reali-
zed the impending storm of fire and eX-
tinction of life's last hope.
And then internal work of whole
sale murder was begun, and scene en-
sued such as scarcely might be matched
in the very annals of hell itself. The
roar of musketry burst in successive
peals like appalling claps of thunder,
but could not utterly drown the prayers
of the living. the screams of the WOun-
ded, and the emore terrible grOans of the
dying!
Col. Fannin fell among the first vic
TINS, but notso with the giant Neil.-
With the order of the Mexican officer
to his men to fire, our hero stopped al
most to the earth, so that the vOlley
passed entirely over him. He waited
not for a second. Thrusting hand in
| to the leg of each boot, he rose with a
couple ofsix shooters, the deadly revol-
vers, and commenced discharging them
with the quick rapidity of lightning
into the thickest of his foes.
Panic-stricken with surprise and fear,
the MeXicans recoiled and opened a
passage, through which Neil bounded
with the spring of a panther and fled
away, as if wings had been tied to his
heels, while halfa dozen horsemen gave
chase. For a while it seemed doubtful
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