River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-10-26
OLD-TIME POLITICS.
General sam Houst0n-His Descrip.
ton or santa Anna, How, After HIS
capture At san Jaeint0, and why He
Liberated Him The Presidential
Bee in H0ust0n's Bonnet &c

capture Mt san Jacinfo.t and Why He |
Liberated Him The Presidential
Bee in Houst0n's Bonnet. &c.
On Christmas Day, while General
Houston was United States Senator
from Texas, was invited by near
relative to Christmas dinner in Wash
ington, where then was. During the
forenoon, passing along Pennsylvania
avenue, | saw a young acquaintance
standing on the steps of a half-closed
store. lie invited me in. There was
no business of any kind going on. My
friend left the store door partly open,
and soon General Houston came in. |
was introduced, and from the fact |
that he was acquainted with q brother |
of mine in Texas we became quite in
innate. He invited me to call at his |,
lodgings-he pretended he could not
remember the number, but as / went
up the avenue he said he could show
it to me. He did so, but, as he knew
| could never find his room unless he
showed it to me, | must go up. / did
so. 1t was front room, and the only
one, in the second stsry. He begged
me to be seated, and told me as he
saw / smoked, to try some tobacco he
had just got at present from Lynch
burg, Va. Ipleaded want of time and
a sisters Christmas dinner, but he
would take no excuse. / was fairly in
for it. The old General was lonesome,
and he wanted somebody to talk to,
and was the victim. The Christmas
dinner was cooked, got cold, and was
eaten long before / made my escape,
but a terrible scolding got for not be-
ing present when the dinner was ready.
The general was full of talk, and /
easily led to the battle of San Jacinto
and to the conduct OF Santa Anna.
Houston, it will be remembered, was
badly wounded in the ankle, and the
next day, when Santa Anna was caught
and brought in as a prisoner, Houston
was lying on bear-skin on the floor of
his tent. A worse looking wretch than
Santa Anna-covered as he was with
dried mud from the swamp, from the
mud of which he was pulled when cap
tured-Houston said he had never
seen. "When / saw him." General
Houston said, my blood fairly boiled,
for I could not but remember his
broken faith to the gallant men in the
Alamo and at Gilead, mercilessly
butchered in cold blood after Santa
Annals promises of the protection due
prisoners of war. For few moments
/ could scarcely speak, SO bitter were
my thoughts against the lying, merci-
less scoundrel. General Santa Anna
evidently mistook the silence, and he
attempted the game of brayado."
Houston happened to have loaded
sck1 Il - L. az I'D L, Co a,, 80
inyoluntarily clutched it, with his finger
on the trigger and the muzzle pointed
at the heart of the prisoner, and moth
ing prevented him from firing but the
opportune thought that to shoot his
captive prisoner would react against
Texas and her cause. The quick eye
of Santa Anna caught sight of the pls-
toll, and, realizing his danger, his con-
duct at once changed, and more alb
ject creature was never before seen.
He was ready to do anything-to
promise anything--if his life were
spared, "And, thank God," said Hous-
ton, II did spare it, and in no one act
of my life did / ever deserve more
credit than for not pistoHng the per-
iured and inhuman scoundrel at that
time"
The men of the army who had just
defeated the Mexicans were all familiar
with Santa Annals cruel murders of
Texans, and some of them had relatives
and friends among these massacred,
and down to man the Texan soldiers
demanded that he be given up to them
and be hanged like sheep killing deg,
and failing to give him up. General
Houston was fearful he might be taken
by force and summary vengence infilct-
ed upon him. There was but few men
among those that he knew personly
that General Houston dared trust as a
guard to protect Santa Anna. And
when General Houston, for reasons of
State, determined to send his prisoner
to the United States by the way OF New
Orleans, there was but one field officer
that he dared trust. He was I think a
Major, and / am sorry have forgotten
his nsme. TO him was given the pow
er to select his own guard, which he
did, of men he had long personally
known, and agreed to be held person
ally responsible for the safety of the
prisoner. The Major and his command
ostensibly as scouting party, left camp
at night, with the prisoner carefully
guarded, but disguised as Texan
Ranger, and by next day, when it was
discovered that Santa Anna was gone,
he was too far away to be followed.
The excitement in camp was so great
as to excite fears of revolt, and for a
long time the soldiers damned Houston
because he would not let them glut their
vengence on Santa Anna by hanging
him.
When Santa Anna reached the Unit
ed States, where he was free, he made
treaty acknowledging the independ-
ence of Texas-a treaty, said Housto
not binding on Mexico, because it
could be claimed it was made under
duress, but of importance, because of
its moral effects in favor of Texas.
General Houston was one of the
est-looking men in the country, and
was an admirable talker. General
Jackson, as a warrior and as q states
man, was his idol CAL" said Houston,
81 ever learned of military matters /
got from Jackson in his Indian wars,
and it was of much value in the strug-
gle for Texan independence. A truer
man." said Houston, "to his God, his
country and his friends, than Andrew
Jackson never lived, and in his battles
he was always victorious: he showed
rare military skill, never excelled on
the American continent. His browning
victory, at New Orleans, under the
most discouraging circumstances, was
the greatest on record"
General Houston was really in intel
lect a great man-an orator, soldier
and much of statesman. He had
been the liberator of Texas from Next
can misrule, as Washington had been
the liberator of the thirteen colonies
from England Washington had been
made President, and so had Jackson,
who conqured and restored peace to
the frontiers in the Indian wars, and
had won the greatest victory over the
brayest and best-disciplined of foes at
New Orleans, and he, too, had been
elected President. General Houston,
remembering these things, got the
Presidential bee in his bonnet, where
it buzzed continuously while he was
Senator of the United States. But the
bee buzzed in vain; he never had a
show for success. The United Staes
Senate in the hotbed of Presidential
aspirants. Van Buren, was Senator
and Presidential aspirant, but he
only succeeded from the insane folly of
his opponents in rejecting his nomina-
ton as Minister to England because of
single paragraph which, as Secretary