The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1907-03-15

aICef youth, WlCH us uOpcS duu
flowers, and age, with its push
and vim, come rest and repose
and peace and joy, if the life has
been properly lived. The two
friends, of whom | am going to
give you a short history in this
article, were not an exception to
the old rule, as you will see by
the sequel. | will not name
them, as most friends are named,
but one came from the mint OF
Spain in 1899, when Charles the
Fourth reigned over that fair bnt,
unfortunate land, and the other
came from the mint of the new
made Republic of Mexico, in
1929, when her broad acres COW
cred the prairies of Texas and
the extended campos of Califor-
MIA and the far-stretching regions
between. So you can readily see
their birth places were many
miles apart, and that they were
lpf different nationalities. Still
fthey were closely allied in blood,
and all their education was in
the same school. There is one
popularity about these two
| friends which does not ordinari-
ly occur with friends, and that is,
each was full grown at his birth,
and capable of doing as much
good or accomplishing as much
harm then as he could at fifty or
a hundred years old. So, when
these friends first met, one being
over thirty and the other only a
few years old, they were as cap
able of forming an attachment
for each other as if they had
been born in the same year, and
the youth was as capable of war;
fare, and as wise for counsellng
peace as his older and more ma
ture companion. When our
Spanish friend came leaping from
his birth place, there was near
to him and ready to gather him
up, a corsair of the old school,
aud whose companion he at once
became, and sailed the Spanish
main, making many an English
and American craft walk the
lplank. and sink haneath the bri-
ney waves of the deep blue sea.
When the career of the old cor
sair had been run and he was
lifted by a rope from the quarter
deck of his own little ship, the
| government which executed him,
| again assumed control and pos
session of my Spanish friend by
| means of confscation, and again
issued him out to the rowing
world. This time he fell into the
hands of freebooter, bound for
the southern coast of North
America, and who landed with
him in the fair land of the AZ
tees, then a province OF his
mother country, 1t was not
many years till the province OF
Mexico, having received the ge-
nial influence of liberty from her
northern neighbor, crossed
swords with her mother country,
and claimed the benefits of civil
liberty. In this conflict the 1893
| Coin took the part OF Spain and
oppression against Mexico and
| liberty. The result of the con-
| let was in favor OF liberty and
the nationality of Mexico, and
the freebooter was hung to a
mesquite on the plains where
! last the conflict occurred, and
| the Coin again confiscated, but
this time to a foreign State, and
for the benefit of the conquerlng
people. Thereupon, coming III
| to the hands of Santa Anna, the
greatest freebooter and 'usurper
of them all, he paid out our Span
ish Coin in 1882 to one OF his sol
diers of fortune; and IN the
| meantime, in 1929, had issued the
| Mexican Coin above named,
and handed him by his paymas-
Ter to another soldier Of fortune,
and these soldiers, being OF the
same command, these two CONS.
! 1.-The Spanish and the Mexican, be-
came close and fast friends. And
now, on account OF the usurpa-
ton and unconstitutional con-
lduct of Santa Anna, the province
of Texas, then a part OF the Re
public Of Mexico so called, being
largely settled by men from the
United States in search Of even
more liberty than they had, was
not inclined to accept the rule OF
despot, and0ne who was for
eign to their race and language.
So they raised the banner of re-
volt. and the two friends, both
now being in the hands of the
soliiers Of Santa Anna, were pit
ted against freedom and the An
glo Saxon race under such men
as Bowie, Travis, Crockett and
Houston. At the Alamo, these
hfr;nnds seemed destined to sue