Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-27

by his companions, he journeyed, starv-
| ing, for eight days on his return before
reaching the Sabine, and left as his dying
request that his son, stephen Z. Austin !,
should undertake the colonization of
! Texas
STEPHEN f AUSTIN s EARLY LIFE.
How well the son observed the dying
request of that father the growing cities
and fruitful fields of this mighty state
| bear witness. He was thoroughly
equipped both by nature and study for
the great work before him. Educated in
Kentucky at Pennsylvania college, at the
age of twenty he was a licensed lawyer
and member of the territorial Iegisla-
tnre of Missouri SO rapid had been his
advancement that at the age of twenty
seven he was United States Judge for
the territory OF Arkansas. Before him
was a life of official distinction and OF
assured independence but these he re-
nounced without a pang and plunged
into the wilderness to establish new re-
public
PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF AUSTIN.
The portrait before you represents
| Stephen F Austin as he appeared in
1924 standing on the bank of the Lower
Brazos on the territory of his colonial
enterprise In stature he was below the
medium height, with black hair, dark
brown eyes, features classic in their
manly beauty, and a complexion, which
until tanned by our Southern sun, fair as
that of fiaxen- haired woman. On his
ample brow intellect aud high resolve
had fixed their seal, and in that slight
bHt sinewy form was vital force like
that of Hastings and Pizarro, equal to
every hardship, and courage equal to
every danger
With seventeen companions he Travelled
down the mission trail from Nacodgoches
to San Antonio. Along that read could
still be seen the unbnried skele-
tons of the American in
vaders who were overtaken and
slain after their defeat by Arodondo,
CHASTITY mementees to the peaceful emf
grant of Mexican resentment. After
Austin had come bearing the olive branch
of peace, Trespalaeios, who was the po-
1itical chief in 1922, had the skeletons
gathered and buried.
INHABITANTS OF SAN ANTONIO.
Permit me, while speaking of the con-
dition of Texas when Austin came, to
correct an error of history as to the
character of the people who then lived in
San Antonio. Pease, the historian who
wrote in 1888, described them as be-
ing in point of intelligence but little bet
ter than the Indians who were their most
frequent visitors. On the contrary,
those who were of Spanish origin had
been for nearly a hundred years in
structed by the priesthood ia all that
pertained to the history, literature and
science of the period. A line of mission
churches dotted the continent from the
mouth of the Mississippi river to the
waters of the Pacific.
Priests of the Franciscan order, &C
companIed by an armed escort, jour-
neyed once every year for nearly hum
dred years on their annual yisitations by
way of San Antonio and Ell Paso and
thence down by the missions on the ella
river to the Gulf of California. Traces
of their old trail may still be seen from
Nacogdoches to San Antonio. By such
men the youth of San Antonio were in
structed. Never have met more ac-
complished gentlemen than the patriots,
Antonio Navarro and John NJ Seguin-
both of whom were natives of San Anto-
Mo. Thirty years ago they were wit
nesses before me TO establish the crown
grant to the commons of that city. The
grant had been buried with the city ar
chives before the battle on the Medina,
and every officer of the city who knew its
hiding place was slain in that battle.
More than twenty years afterwards it
was discovered, but the writing had be-
come illegible, and chemical skill was
needed to restore the faded characters.
Navarro and Seguin were equal to the TASK
and when employed performed this duty,
but just when it was completed Santa
Anna came to storm the Alamo and the
grant was again lost never to be again
found. For nearly hundred years the
md i'll r. Co
educated and passed from youth to old
age, while Buffalo and antelope grazed
within sound of the mission bells. Edu-
Gated they were, indeed, but cut off from
the outer world, for they lived in a city
that was ruralizing in the wilderness.
AUSTIN IS ARRIVAL IN TEXAS.
Such was San Antonio when Stephen F.
Austin presented himself to the political
chief, Martinez, on August 10, 1921. He
was promptly recognized as the repre-
sentative of his father, and at once ex-
plored the country between the lower
Colorado and BraZos rivers; thence re-
turning to New Orleans, he came with
the first permanent emigrants to the
banks of the Brasos, in January, 1922.
Thus Stephen E. Austin established the
first permanent colony OF American white
men in Texas. His contract required that
each colonist should bring with him a
certificate of good moral character and
that he should be a believer in the
Christian religion. Sir, knew many of
them and the sturdy virtue of these first
pioneers was not excelled by like num-
Der of men IN any land. / have yet to
learn that any one of Austin 5 first 800
was ever convicted or ever indicted for
a felony.
xyrcrrc AsIsNrTr,n
And now the revolution of lturbide
compelled Austin TO visit the City of |
Mexico to secure from the new govern
ment a recognition of empressario enter
prise. he started on his journey of 1900 |
miles overland, travelling sometimes on
horseback, sometimes on foot, beyond |
Queretero, disguised as beggar to avoid |
beng plundered by bandits, and |
at last in April, 1922, arrived at |
the Mexican capital For twelve |
months he watched the shifting scenes of !
the bloody drama that then convulsed |
Mexico. There he met Iturbide, Santa |
Anna and the rival military and civil !
chiefs of the period, and won the esteem
and confidence of all There he wit |
messed the coronation of Iturbide as en- |
peror on August 10, 1922, and he wit /
messed, also, his abdication There he
penned the original draft of the Mexican |