The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-06-10
The MEMORIAL PAVILION.
4 CONSOLIDATED SPOT IN
TEXAS HISTORY.
WHAT SHALL BE DONE WITH IT!
QUESTION FOR EVERYBODY
TO SOLVE.

Rome. the eternal city. has ats Panthe-
on: Paris and La Belle France have their
Hotel DIES Invaiides; Athens and Greece
nave their Pantheon and Aero oils; Lon
don and England have their Westminster
Abbey; why should not Austin and Texas
nave their Memorial Pavilion on old
Capitol hill:
The odd market house where the city
council now holds its sessions, occupies
the identical grounds of the old capitol
building where all the congresses of the Re
y, bic of Texas, together with all the
general assemblies of the state from 1S45
to 1854, convened and held their delibera-
tions.
In that ancient building, now no more,
the transfer of the young but glory-crown-
ed republic, was made by the last presi
dent, Hon. Arson Jones, to the first gov
ernor Of the newborn state, ROn. j.
Pinckney Henderson.
There are but few persons now living,
who know anything of the sacred memo
ries, the historic events, that cling around
that hallowed spot and make it holy
ground, although it holds a pruni
nent and elevated place not far from
and beautiful city-a city whose manifest
destiny it is soon to be enrolled among the
grandly imperial capitals of the world.
Itw. IS from that legendary spot that
about the year 1912, President General
Sam Houston vainiy attempted to remove
the archives Ut the republic to Washing
ton on the BraZus. Inls was an incident
in Texas history, which has since been
dignilied with the name of The Archives
War" although but one gun-a six pound
er cannOn-was fred in that war" and
that too, according to tradition, by Il heroic
woman, Mrs. Ebery, who, with her own
hands, trained and turned loose" the six
FOUNDER upon the archives escort from
a neighbDring height, where now stands
the stately female academy, known as ST.
Mary's; and So, by the 'InO, effect OF a
single laundering discharge, droy' them
back with their precious charge. to the
point OF departure. the oid capuul. O.
that exciting occasion the sentiment vi
almost the entire population was warmly
arrayed agaius. President HOustolts pro
iect of removal, and that brave but pru-
dent Father Of his Country gracefully
yielded to the popular will, as so prompt
cannon.
1t is but just to say, in this connection,
that, according to another and more de-
tailed account of The Archives War" it
was Capt. Mark B. Lewis, who rallied a
company of volunteers for the rescue of the
archives and to defeat the threatened re-
moval of the capital from Austin. Says
this account: Capt. Lewis procured the
cannon from the arsenal and fired upon
the nsportation parry. The land Otto,
va, MT but 10 serious damage done. The
TT uspprtatiOn party then turned and took
tie road to Caldwell, camping that night
fifteen miles dtstaut, at Kinneys fort.
Mkt morning, when preparing to start,
they found Capt. Lewis with his cannon
planted directly in their front. After a
parley the wagons turned again and, es-
corted by Capt. Lewis and his men, carried
the archieves back to- the old CAPITOL
and thus, after very "close CALL" Austin
was saved from threatened oblivion.
1t was in that old capitol that the con-
stitution and laws of the Lone Star Re
public were brought forth. which gave to
the world another shining example of
free republican nation another world
thrilling example of local self-govern-
ment, where liberty is regulated by law.
There, in that old capitol, on that sacred
spot, whose memory we propose to per
petuate, many of the most important
events in the history of Texas had their
birth. There were forged and thence
promulgated those statutes and ordinances
of enlightened freedom which made
known to all the world that the descend
ants of the compatriots of Washington
and Jefferson, Hampden and Sydney,
were worthy descendants of illustriOus
sires.
There the eloquent Guy Bryan deliv-
cred his celebrated Grafton i'll behalf OF
The Child of the Alamo" wherein he
gave utterance to those immortal words
of historic truth, "Thermopyle had its
messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had
none!"
What crowding memories of epic glory
these words OF genius arouse i'll every
grateful bosom! And first of all, leap to
tie lips of every true Texan those sub
lime last words of the dauntless Travis,
the Stonewall of that fierce, fiery time,
Yesterday, Santa Anna sent me a sum
mons to surrender at discretion. l an
swcred his demand with ii cannon shot,
and our flag still waves proudly from the
walls. We shall never surrender or re-
treat" And they never did; never even
DIRE AIMED of such Il thing, but fought on
like demigods to the last man, and the
last drop of blood, as was evidenced by
the seventeen dead Mexicaps. piled up
under the dubbed rifle of Trails, and the
nineteen under that of the grand old
Davy Crockett!
Every laurel since, won in war by Tex
as heroes, has owed much of its inspira-
ton to the traRscendant heroism embold-
ened in the wondrous story of the Fall of
the Alamo.
The Alamo is without peer in the tide
of history. 1t is that GROWING ey ent in
the annals of war where the vanquished,
weltering in their gore, became immortal,
and the victors are forgotten or despised.
In this regard, the Texan Thermopyle is
the grandest of all; more glorious than
anything in Grecian- grander than any
thing in Roman fame; and there is moth
ing truer or more eloquent in the worlds
war literature than the winged words of
Bryan, just quoted, advocating the cause
of the Orphan of the Alamo" in the old
capitol, whose consecrated site and clus-
tered traditions we propose to rescue
from oblivion by memorial pavilion,
or other suitable monument, which shall
M To tho world and m SnPpaa1inU