Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-12
.reat .did the hOrrible butchery entireIy

of the brave men who were in the Alamo
would fill q volume as large as the his
tory of Texas. Nevertheless, there was
one who persisted IN that memorable con-
| flict who is entitled to q passing notice
| The one to whom I refer was killed just
inside Of the front door. The popularity
of his dress and his undaunted courage
attracted the attention of several of US
both officers and men. He was a tall
| American of rather dark complexion and
had on a long cuera (buckskin coat and
a round cap without any bill and made
of fox skin, with the long tail
hanging down his back. This
man apparently had charmed
life. Of the many soldiers who
! took deliberate aim at HIM and fired, not
one even hit him. On the contrary, he
never missed shot He killed at least
eight of our men, besides wounding sew
eral others. This fact being observed by
lieutenant that had come in over the
wall he sprang at him and dealt him a
| deadly blow with his sword, just above
the right eye, which felled him to the
| ground and in an instant he was pierced
! by not less than twenty bayonets. This
lieutenant said that If all Americans had
have killed as many of our men as this
one had, our army would have been an
initiated before the Alamo could have
been taken. He was about the last map
that was killed
After all the firing had ceased and the
smoke cleared away, we found in the
large room to the right of the main
entrance three persons. two Mexican
women named Juana De Melto and La
Quintanilla and negro boy, about fiji
teen or sixteen years old, who told us
that he was the servant of Col. Travis.
If there had been any other persons in
the Alamo they would have been killed,
for Gen. Santa Anna had ordered us to
spare neither age nor sex, especially of
those who were Americans or American
descent.
On the floor of the main building there
was sight which beggared all descrip-
ton The earthern floor was nearly shoe
mouth deep in blood and weltering
therein laid 500 dead bodies, many of
them still clinched together with one
hand, while the other held fast sword,
pistol or a gun, which betokened the
kind of conflict which had just ended.
Gen. Santa Anna Immediately or
dered every one of the Americans to be
dragged out and burnt. The infantry
was ordered to tie on the ropes and the
cavalry to do the dragging. When the
infantry commenced to tie the ropes to
the dead bodies they could not tell our
soldiers from the Americans, from the fact
that their uniforms and clothes were so
stained with blood and smoke and their
faces so besmeared with gore and black
ened that one could not distinguished the
one from the other This fact was re-
ported to Santa Anna and he appeared
at the front and gave instructions TO
have every face wiped off, and for the
men to be particular not to mistake any
Of our men for Americans and burn
them, but to give them decent sepulture.
He stood for moment gazing on the
horrid and CHASTITY spectacle before him,
but soon retired and was seen no more.
When the Americans were all dragged
out and counted there were $50 including
officers and men. Upon the other hand
this four day S siege and capture of the
Alamo cost the Mexican nation at least
thousand men, including killed and
wounded, large majority Of this num-
Der being killed. Our officers, after the
battle was over, were of the opinion that
if the Americans had not made holes in
the roof themselves, the Alamo could not
have been taken by assault. 1t would
either have had to have been starved out |
or demolished by heavy artillery.
After we had finished our task of burn |
ing the Americans a few of us went back |
to the Alamo to see if we could pick up |
any valuables, but we could not find |
anything scarcely, except their arms and |
a few cooking utensils and some clothing. |
found Col. Travis coat, which was
hanging on a peg driven to the wall just
behind the cannon and from where his
dead body had just been dragged away.
In the pockets l found some papers
that resembled paper money or bonds of
some kind. His cannon was stand
ing just as he had left it with its
mouth pointing west and not towards
the Alamo plaza. We did not use Col.
Travis cannon, nor even our own, be-
cause cannons were almost useless on
5he day that we made the final assault
The next movement inaugurated by
Santa Anna was to set out for the interior
If Texas, and, as I have stated before,
hat [ belonged to the division under his
immediate command, I accompanied the
invading army and was taken prisoner by
he Americans at the battle of San
Tacinto
After San Jacinto 1 resolved never to
AXE up arms against my fellowman
lgaln and promised myself never to
'eturn to the army that had been trium-
,hant in so many hard-fought battles
IN army that was commanded by Gas he
lways called himself) "the Napoleon of
he West, - but had just been so COM
'letely defeated, nay, annihilated, by
andful of poor, undisciplined, half
rmed Americans.
In conclusion, permit me to state that II
have no object in giving this descrip=f
ion of the fall of the Alamo only as a :
esponse to the solicitations of my friend
nd benefactor, Mr.. G. W. Noel, who
as been talking to me occasionally for
he last twenty-five years and taking
otes for the purpose OF writing a true
ccount of the siege and capture as de-
allied by one of the assaulting party,
hat those, heroic deeds of valor for
7hich his countrymeu are so justly
amous may be handed down to posterity
rec from those errors into which some of ,
be historians of Texas have so limo
emily and unknowingly fallen. And to
id solemnity to this occasion and ven I
ration for the 'fmartYred heroes of the 7
lamo' he has seen fit to make this ac- 5
ounT DuhIio t1DOO the vaTv Spof 0f ,