Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1911-05-25
EPILOGuE.

'Tis the Star Spangled Banner: o.. long
may 1t wave,
Ger the land of the free, and the home
OF the brave!
Francis Scott Key.
On the night that Miss Elizabeth
Churchill gave me her hand and her
heart forever-for which | have not
yet ceased to thank God-there began
the guns OF Palo Alto. Later, there
came the fields of Monterey, Buena
Vista, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cheru
busco, Moline del Rey-at last the
guns sounded at the gate of the old
City of Mexico itself. Some of that
fighting myself saw: but much of
the time was employed in that man.
ner of special work which had en-.
gagged me for the last few years. 1t
was through Mr.. Calhoun's agency
that l reached a certain importance
in these matters; and so l was chosen
as the commissioner to negotiate a
peace with Mexico
This honor later proved to be
dangerous and questionable one. Gen
Scott wanted no interference of this
kind, especially since he knew Mr..
Calhoun's influence in my choice. He
thwarted all my attempts to reach the
headquarters of the enemy, and did
everything he could to secure a peace
of his own, at the mouth of the can
non. / could offer no terms better
than Mr.. Buchanan, then our Sec
rotary of state, had prepared for me.
and these were rejected by the Next
can government at last. / was or
dered by Mr.. Polk to state that we
had no better terms to offer; and as
for myself, / was told to return to
Washington. At that time could not
make my way out through the lines,
nor, In truth. did much care to do so.
A certain event not written in his
tory influenced me to remain for
time at the little village of Guadalupe
Hidalgo. Here, in short, / received
word from a lady whom / had for
merly known. none less than Sonora
Yturrio, once a member of the Next
can legation at Washington. True to
her record. she had again reached in
fiuential position in her country, using
methods of her own. She told me
now to pay no attention to what had
been reported by Mexico. In fact, l
was approached again by the Mexican
commissioners, introduced by her!
What was done then Is history. We
signed then and there the peace of
Guadalupe Hidalgo, in accordance
with the terms originally given me
by our secretary of state. So, after
all, Calhoun's kindness to a woman in
distress was not lost; and so. after
all. he unwittingly helped in the end
ing Of the war he never wished be-
gun.
Meantime, I had been recalled to
Washington, but did not know the
nature Of that recall. When at last l
arrived there / found myself disgraced
and discredited. My actions were re-
pudiated by the administration. / my
self was dismissed from the service
without pay-sad enough blow for a
young man who had been married less
than year.
Mr.. Folks jealousy of John Calhoun
was not the only cause of this. Cal
houn's prophecy was right. Yet, none
the less, after his usual fashion, he
was not averse to receiving such credit
as he could. He put the responsibility
of the treaty upon the senate! 1t was
debated hotly there for some weeks,
and at last, much to his surprise and
my qualification, It was ratified!
The north, which had opposed this
Mexican war--that same war which
later led inevitably to the Civil War
now found itself unable to say
much against the great additions
to our domain which the treaty had
secured. We paid fifteen millions, in
addition to our territorial indemnity
claim, and we got a realm whose
wealth could not be computed. So
much, 1t must be owned, did fortune
do for that singular favorite, Mr.. Polk
And, curiously enough, the smoke had
hardly cleared from Palo Alto field
before Abraham Lincoln, young
in the house of congress, was
resolution which asked
the marking of "the spot where that
outrage was committed" Perhaps 1t
was an outrage. Many still hold 1t
so. But let us reflect what would have
been Lincoln's life had matters not
L. n