The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-05-16

H this arrangement depriving the Tex ans of many of those privileges of self government to which they had been accustomed.
 The Texans were men restless by nature and habit. nthirst for experi- once and adventure. inured to the life Of forest and plain with their atmos- phere of freedom and quick decision; above all, impatient of control and longing for self-assertion. They had their grievance which they were not slow to nurse in laws discriminating against Americans. The spirit, of free dom now that she had emancipated Mexico from the thralldom of Spain lowered over the plains bordering the Rio Grande. quAkening the pulse. in- naming the temper. melting the ambi- tion of the men of the fields and prai- ries. VI r4fE
 After the Imprisonment of the noble- hearted Austin. the messenger bearing the petition for equal rights from tie convention of San Felipe, events fol- lowed closely on the lines laid down by the American Revolution. The skirmish at Gonzalez, the light at Con- eeptfon. the capture Of San Antonio. with It's chain of old Spanish missions, were all Texan victories cheering the hopes of the revofutionists.
 Nowhere else on earth could such a group of men been found men not marked as were the leaders among the English colonies for profound fore sight and statesmanship, but men who regarded. gigantic tests of human cn, durance and fortitude as trifies. men who transformed the impossible infp the accomplished and seemingly dared to gamble with fate. But was there not after all genius for action and achievement underlying this apparent recklessness of consequences? At any rate the men who were living their dreams and making history stopped not to anaiyze the clements directing their energies and courage. Houston, Austin. Burnet, Lamar DeZarala, lived and fought as if the horrors of the Alamo and Goliad were still lying hfd- den in time; as if for themselves tfere was not hanging in the balance a fate perhaps even more menacing and ter- ribie. But. no; not even in their sleep- ing hours were Travis and Crockett, and Bowie and Bonham forgotten. That appalling sixth of March was fixed up- on their brains in characters of inef- faceable fire. Never was absent from their minds the scene on the prairie at Goliad when the light of Palm Sum day fell upon Fannin and his men doomed to ignoble destruction. Home, sweet home!" had been the song of the devoted band on the vigil of that Holy Day, when the Prince of Peace rode in procession to His royal capital Home. sweet home!" Tn tender unison the voices rose and fell in the cadence which touches and meits all hearts. a But never again were those eyes to be blessed with the light of home. or those voices to greet the loved ones there Remember the Alamp, Remem- Der Goliad! became meat and drink to Houston and his men.
 Nor was their hunger and thirst for vengeanc1 baffled. April 21, 1888, the proudest day in the Texan. calendar, witnessed a revenge wherein human pity and Christian mercy had no part; where men were changed into demons and love and loyalty were the guise of relentless hate and unrestrained sav- agery. So terrible was the onslaught. so merciless the fray. the troops of Santa Anna fled; glad to find in the choking waters of the San Jacinto refuge from the cruelty of American vengeance. And stiil that fierce, un- glutted war cry fell upon the trem- bling air. Remember the Alama. Rer memSer Goiiadr' In less than twenty minutes the battle was won.
 As Houston sheathed his sword he might have exclaimed. Rest, rest per turbed spirits! Oh, Travis and Crock ett and Bowie and Bonham! slaugh- tered in the shadow of the Cross of Christ! Oh. Fannin of the true and loyal heart who trusted to a soldiers honor! Rest in peace! the blood that stained the pavement of the Alamo. the blood that crimsoned the prairie at Goliad is avenged! The Lone Star floats in triumph over the waters of the San Jacintow
 For nearly ten years Texas held her place as a republic but not in peace and serenity. Between two powerful peighbors one of whom naturally re- garded herself as robbed of her just rights, she finally sought protection. wisely and discreetly. if not gloriously. under the flag whose system of gov.