The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-04-25

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strong arm of Jehovah will lead ne sas NE
victory, to glory and to empire.n Az
the lapse of half century, as Wa ,sss
the words of that man of God as he sno nay
them to his comrades on that ms rOAs
able morning, they sound like inspirs.sr
While there is a traditional knos,s son'
of Texas, handed down to us th,ouss
Spanish missionaries, dating as far h.ss
1924, yet the first authentic record wa s
was the landing, in Matagorda bay. ~ ~
French explorer, La Sale, in 1856, 'H'
The first occupation of Texas bv A..
Spaniards was in 1859, under De Ia.
who ere cted fort near the mouth NJ a.
Lavaca river; subsequently the mission ~
San Francisco was established by him
The first governor of Texas was Sn.s
lard, appointed in 1891, and in the sam
year the Spaniards established the missioU
of San Juan Batista on the Rio Graraa
where Brownsville is now situated: IN
1893 this mission was moved to a naoa
near the present site of San Antonio hns
in ITO it was again established on thu
Rio Grande.
In IVA the Spaniards established tha
missions of San Bernard and Adaes
among the Indians fifteen miles west Of
Natchitoches, La.
In IT'S the mission of Dolores was es;
tablished among the Indians west of the (
Sabine river, and during the same wear
the missions and forts of Nacogdoches.
San Augustine and Goliad were estab-
| lished.
In l718 a mission and fortress was es13
tsbllshed on the San Pedro river, wherl
the city of San Antonio now stands.
In 1744 the walls of the church of the
Alamo were erected.
| In 1853 the priests of La Saba were
massacred by the Indians, and the mission
broken up, which practically put an end
to the work of the missionaries for Rauy
years. Notwithstanding Spain exercised
dominion over Texas all these years,
France did not relinquish her claim, Incl
dent to the landing of La Sale, and the
further fact Texas bordered Louisiana on
the west, until the year of 1853.
In 1912 Lieutenant Msgee,Ithen station
ed with his command in Lonisiana, con-
ceived the idea of revolutionizing Texas;
he resigned his commission and organic
ed an expedition of some 300 men and
captured Nscogdoches, then in the posses
sion of the royal troops of Spain. Magee
then proceeded as far west as Golisd,
which he captured in November 1872. His
force now numbered 1855 men; he remain
ed at Goliad with varying fortunes until
his death, which occurred in February,
1918. Magee was succeeded in command,
by Colonel Kemper, who marched his
troops to wards San Antonio and on the I'd
of March, 1918, exactly twenty three years
} before the declaration of Texas indepen-
dence Kemper metz the Spaniards under
General Herrera at the Salado and aohiev-
ed signal victory, AMI on the 9Th OF
March, just twenty-three years before the
fall of the Alamo, Kemper, with about 300
Americans captured San Antonio and
$500 Spanish troops. This expedition
finally ended in disaster and Texas re-
manned wilderness from the Sabine tt
} the San Antonio river. The Spanish post
at Naoogdoches had been withdrawn when
in 1920, Moses ustin visited San Antonio
and obtained permission to locate col
ony south of the San Antonio $685. an
from the Lavaoa river extending as fa
east as the dividing ridge between tn
San Jacinto and the Trinity rivers. Nose
Austin, dying soon thereafter, be
queathed the colonization o
Texas as his legacy to his son Stephe
F. Austin, who located his first colony il
= 1921, on the lower Brazos, and which prove
to be the first permanent white setJlemen
in Texas. Other colonies soon followed
and population rapidly increased.
In 1921 Mexico rebelled against the au
thority of Spain and succeeded in throw
off the Spanish yoke. In 1924 Coahuil
and Texas were organized under one stat
government, but the authority of the stat
existed only in name. The central gov
eminent of Mexico was supreme and tool
cognizance of everything, whether publi
or private. The people were considered
as made to be governed, not to govern
They were shackled in thousand ways
and harassed with the most absurd re
: strictions.
In 1924 republican constitution wa
promulgated by the Mexican government
1t was fashioned in some respects afte
the Constitution of the United States, bu
differed in many important essential
from that instrument. In 1928 the Span
iards again invaded the country; revolu
tion succeeded revolution until the Spsn
iards were again expelled and Santa ANN
in 1888 was declared president and subse
quently dictstor-general.
While Coahuila and Texas were still ont
state, and supposed to have republican
form of government, yet, because Texa
was so great distance from the seat OIL
government, and communication slow ant
tedious, and, from the further fact, Texa
was rapidly being peopled with Americans
1t was determined to create for Texas {
special political department whose chic
administrator should have his. headquaa
tiers at San Antonio.
The law for the colonization of Tefl
gave preference to Mexicans over all for
eigners; colonists were required TO
take an oath to obey all Mexican
authority, whether civil or military, and ia
observe the established religion. Frequent
differences arose between the American
and Mexican settlers, and. the constituted
authorities uniformly decided against the
Americans.
In 1882 the usurpations of civil authori
ty and the military tyranny and oppres-
sion by the Mexicans under Colonel Brad
burn, himself a native American; the de-
posing of the civil authority at the town
OF Liberty and elsewhere in Texas, and
the substituting of military appointees in
their stead; the arresting and imprisoniDg
without cause and without trial of Travis,
Jack and other Texans, and the commits
sion of hundreds Of other ots of yioIenee