The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-12-13

Soh wal VESSELS VIII AfU ulcu. "A
severe engagement followed, but the
independence was outclassed and was
overpowered. The crew of the Inde-
pendence were taken into Matamoras
and placed in prison.
The depredations by the Mexican
fleet aroused the Texans, and May 10,
1887, the Texas navy set sail and pro-
ceeded along the coast as far as the
mouth of the Mississippi in search Of
the enemy, but failing to find any
sign of him they turned around and
headed for the coast of Mexico taking
one or two small prizes en- route. Pro-
ceeding to Yucatan they cannonaded
the town of Sisal for three hours
with no perceptible effect. The Irwin
| chile captured all alone the Mexican
steamer Alispa of 80 tons; and the
! Brutus took the Telegraph, a small
steamer with rich cargo. During the
cruise along the coast the Texans land
ed frequently and terrorized the ma
tives till they ran in droves to the in
terror. They burned eight or nine
towns, wiping them completely OF the
map,
On the 25th of August the Bratus
and Invincible arrived at Galveston,
having in tow Mexican war vessel
that they had captured. The Brutus
entered the harbor with the prize, but
the 1nvincible could not enter on &C
count of shallow water. In this posi-
ton she was attacked by two armed
briggs of the enemy the next morning.
The Brutus in attempting to go to her
assistance, ran aground and the In
vincible was obliged to fight it out
alone. All day long the battle waged,
and in the night the crew landed and
the vessel was beaten to pieces on
the breakers. The loss of this, the
finest ship of the Texas navy, was
greatly regretted.
With the Independence and Invinci-
BILE lost and the Brutus aground and
unseaworthy, the first Texas navy
practically ceased to exist. And there
were no other means with which to
secure another. The government was
bankrupt. Yes, worse than bankrupt.
Its paper was not worth 20 cents on
the dollar, and the paper currency
had run all the coin out of the coun-
try. But just at this stage in her pre-
carious career, 1t happened that there
was no need Of navy, for France
blockaded the ports of Mexico to col.
lect claim of 100000, and for sew.
eral months there was a condition Of
absolute peace upon the western Dor
der of Texas and along the coast.
In November, 1887, the congress of
Texas by resolution appointed Samuel
| Williams as special navy commission
er and instructed him to go into the
markets of the world and buy fleet
of ships for use in defending the coast.
Accordingly he contracted with Bal
timore ship builder to construct zone
ship, two briggs and three schooners
to be fully armed, furnished with pro-
visions and munitions, and to be deliv-
cred at the port of Galveston" In
accordance with this contract, June
20, 1889, the vessel San Jacinto, Aug
usL Z the San Antonio, August 81 the
San Bernard and October Is the Colo
RADIO were delivered, and these with
the Charleston and Potomac, secured
somehow otherwise, and the Zavala,
purchased by Gen. Hamilton, consti-
tuted the second Texas navy-a rath-
er imposing one compared with the
first. For this splendid group of YES
sells the little government gave its
bonds for the sum of 100000, and the
secretary of the navy stated, when the
feet was delivered and was ready for
action, that at is confidently believed
that in very short time after the
navy receives orders for capture and
reprisal 1t will afford a source of
revenue to the government equal to
the amount expended in its creation"
1t would have been well If these an
ticipations had been realized, but they
were not.
Eight hundred thousand dollars was
an enormous sum in the eyes of the
economical Texans of those days
100000 for a navy!
Then, too, for the first six months
congress appropriated 100000 for the
support of the navy! These amounts,
expended in the spirit of patriotism,
were regarded by the people as SO out
rageously extravagant that it we'll
nigh precipitated an internal revolu-
ton. Politicians took advantage of the
critical financial situation to infame
the minds of the people. Lamar, who
was president, became very unpopular
on account of these expenditures.
| What added fuel to the flame of indig-
nation was the state of perfect peace
on sea as well as land. Mexico had
called in her warships as well as arm
les, and so Texas had useless navy
on its hands.
But Lamar suffered from the cam
paign in which his extravaganza was
preached from the stump, and Hous-
ton succeeded him.
Among Houston's first official acts
after taking his seat as president was
to call upon his congress to put the
whole Texas navy out of commission.
| The resolution was enthusiastically
i oil nd