Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07
ABOUT THE ALAMO
Stephen Cranes Whimsical Impress
sions of San Antonio.
WHEN SPAIN FIRST CANE TO TEXAS
Story OF One Of the Greatest
Fights in All History
WHAT THE CITY IS TODAY
Written for the Evening Star by stephen Crane.

Written for the Evening Star by stephen Crane.
SAN ANTONIO. Tex. January >, 1899.
"Ah" they said. you are going to San
Anton? | wish l was There's a town for
you"
From all manner of people business men.
consUmptive men, curious men and wealthy
men. there came an exhibition Of a pro-
found affection for San Antonio 1t seem
ell to symbolic for them the poetry of
life in Texas
There is an eloquent description of the
city which makes il consist of three cid
ruins and row of Mexicans sitting in the
sun. The author of course. visited San
Antonio in the year 1101. While this is I'M
dOUbtedly a mastery literary effect, one
can feel glad that after all we don't steer
our ships according to these literary effects.
At first the city presents a totally mod
ern aspect to the astonished visitor. The
principal streets are lanes between rows of
handsome business blocks and upon them
proceeds with important uproar the ter
ribIe and almighty trolley car. The pre-
vaiIinS type of citizen is not seated in the
sun. on the contrary he is making his way
with the speed and intentneSs Of one who
completes in community that is CONNER
. Cially in earnest And the victorious derby
holy place Of legends.
ON the Ashes of Ambitions.
This is the dominant quality. This is the
principal color of San Antonio. Later one
begins to see that these editices of stone
and brick and iron are reared on ashes,
upon the ambitions of a race. 1t expresses
again the victory of the north. The serene
Anglo-Saxon erects business blocks upon
the dreams of the transient monks: he
strings telegraph wires across the face of
their sky Of hope. and over the energy. the
efforts. the accomplishments of these pous
fathers of the early church passes the
wheel. the hcof the heel.
Here and there. however, one finds in
the main part of the town little old build
ings. yellow Nth age. solemn ana severe
outline. that have escaped by rtiracle
or 10y a historical Importance ;he Wh1TI OF
the modern life. In the Mexican quarter
there remains. too. much of the old char
acter. but despite the tenderness which
San Antonio feels for these monuments
the unprotected mass of them must get
trampled into shapeless dust which lies
always behind the march of this terrible
century. The feet of the years VII go
through many Old roofs.
Trolley cars are merciless animals. They
gorge themselves with relics They make
really coherent history TOO like an omelet.
If a trolley car had troNeyed around Jeri-
would have exploded.
Centuries ago the white and gold banner
or Spain came up out or the sea ana the
Indians. mere dots of black on the vast
Texan plain. saw a moving glitter of silver
warriors on the horizons edge. There came
then the long battle Of soldier and priest,
side by side, against these stubborn bar
barrie hOrdes. who wished to retain both
their gods and their lands. Sword and cro-
zier made frenzied circles in the air. The
soldiers varied their lights with the Indians
10y lighting the French. and both the In
dians and the French occasionally polished
their aTmor for them with great neatness
and skill
Ran short of Indians.
During the interval of peace and interval
of war. toiled the plous monks. erecting
missions. digging bitches, making farms
and cudgeling their Indians in and out of
the church. Sometimes. when the venera-
bile fathers ran short of Indians to convert,
the soldiers went expeditions and re-
turned dragging in a few score. The settle
meut pTOSpered. Upon the gently rolling
plains, the mission churches with their vel
low stone towers outlined upon the sky
called with their bells al evening a multi
tude of friarS and meek Indians and gleam-
Ing soldiers to service in the shadows be-
lore Naming candles. the solemn shrine the
SlOW-paCinS, chanting priests. And wicked
and hopeless Indians, hearing these bells
scudded OF into the blue twilight of the
prairie.
The ruins Of these missions are now be-
s'eGed In the valley south of the city by in
Comitdble thickets Of mesquite. They rear
their battered heads. their soundless tow
ers. over dead forms the graves of monks.
anu me spanish soldiers not one so much
as HouriShes dagger.
Time and the Relic Hunter.
Time has torn at these pale yellow struc-
lures and overturned walls and towers here
and there, defaced this and obIiterated that
Relic hunters with their singular rapacitv
have dragged down little saints from their
inches and pulled important stones from
arches They have performed offices of de-
strVCtion Of which the wind and the rain of
the innumerable years was not capable
They are part of the general scheme of ar
tack by nature.
The wind blows because it is the wind,
the rain beats because IL is the rain the
relic hunters hunt because they are relic
hunt ars- Who can fathom the ways of ma
tureE Sh" thrusts her spear in the eve of
Tradition and her agents feed on his locks
A Ettle guide book published here contains
one CT these Good friend, forbear-" ora
ions. But still this desperate massacre of
the "e&uliful carvings goes on. and it would
take the ghosts OF the monks with the
ghosts OF SCourg6s, the pnantoms of SOL
diers with the phantoms of swords a scovi-
inE. spectral party, TO stop the destruction.
In the meantime. these portentouS nlnnu-
m"nis 10 the toll, the profound convictions
OF he fathers remain stold and unyielding,
WIN the br very of stone. until IT appears
hk1 The last stand of army. Many wears
VIII charge them before the courage viii
so1t, which was injected into the mortar
oy T. skillful monks.
Literary Men and the Alamo.
IL Is something Of habit among the
newspaper men and others who write here
TO say: Well. there's a good market for
Alamo stuff, now Or perhaps they saw:
Too bad! Alamo stun isn't going very
strong. now Literary aspirants of the
locality as soon as they finish writing abo1t
Her Eyes, begin on the Alamo. Statistics
show that 69,7l0 writer's of the state of
Texas have begun at the Alamo.
NOtWlt fac no
mains the greatest memorial to coura ge
which civilization has allowed to stand.
The quaint and curious little building fronts
on one OF the most populous plazas of the
city, and because OF Travis. Crockett, Bowie
and their comrades. II maintains dignity
amid the taller modern structures which