The evening times., 1898-02-25
The Survivor of the Alamo.
Trom the san Antonio Express.

q rom the San Antonio Express.
Dona Andrea Castanon de Villanueva.
. familarly known as Nine. Candelaria. is
notable woman in two resDects She
is the sole survivor OF the massacre Of
the Alamo. which occurred in this city on
March 6, 1896. and she is one of the Oldest
persons in the world. Her age, as shown
by Spanish records. is ia years
Nine. Candelaria lives in a little Mexi-
can hut in the Mexican quarter of the
city. She was born at Rio Grande. state
of Coahuila. Mexico. Her parents were
Don Antonio Castonan, chief tailor to the
Mexican viceroy, and Dona Francisco
Martinez. At the age of fifteen years she
was married 10 Senior Silvero Flores. and
the young couple Immediately came to
San Antonio. That was Just a century
ago. and San Antonio has been the home
of Nine. Candelaria ever since. In 1915
her husband died, and she was married TO
Don Candelaria Villanueva
Although OF great age and feeble in
body. Nine Candelaria has a wonderful
memory of events of her earlier years.
She remembers vividly the storming Of
the Alamo by the Mexican troops ami
the massacre that ensued.
I'm 1896. she says. 81 was living in n
wards
east of the Alamo fort. / was we'll ac-
Quainted with Davy Crockett. and had
nursed him through an illness. 1t was
about the first day of March 1886 when
messenger came to my house from tine
Alamo with note from Crockett asking
me to come TO the fort and nurse James
Bowie. who had been taken i'll with ty-
phoid fever. I answered the summons
and found Bowie lying on a cot in the
little north room of the main building of
fort. which is still standing. and is now
known as the Alamo proper. Bowie was
very i'll. and / stayed by his side almost
day and night. The garrison was great
ly excited over the advance of Santa An
ma and his army. and the brave Ameri-
cans knew perfectly well that they were
all to be killed. but they resolved to die
fighting like noble. patriotic men. The
days and nights We're spent by the Amer
leans in making ready for the coming as
sault. Bowie was so i'll that he could not
raise his head. but in the intervals of
consciousness he would make feverish in
quiries of Dme as to the situation. AT
the approach of the Mexican army a
number of women and children from the
little town near the fort fiocked into the
Alamo for protection.
1.-THE final assault on the Alamo was
made on March g. and all those inside the
fort had resigned themselves TO the death
which they knew was inevitable. l sat
in the little room and held Bowie's head
in my lap. He expired while lying there.
and the report that he was killed by the
soldiers is untrue. / was sitting by his
dead body when the door was broken
down and the fighting was all around me.
Crockett was standing there with look
of determination on his face and fighting
with desperation. At every stroke of his
sword a Mexican was killed or wounded.
He finally fell. and his body was quickly
cut to pieces by the enraged soldiers. A
Mexican soldier made a rush at Bowie's
dead body, and in my efforts to stay the
blow / was struck on the cheek with the
point of a bayonet and received wound
which made the scar which you still see
on my face. The soldiers finally reached
Bowies dead body and threw it into the
pile with the other dead Americans"
The only thing that saved Nine. Can
delaria's life in the battle was her ma
tionality.