The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-04-23
THE FIRST MEXICAN WAR


The conflict of two years which
confirmed the United States in the
possession of Texas, and gave it the
great expanse of territory now COM
prising the states of Arizona, Cali
fornia and New Mexico, began at
point near Fort Brown. now Browns
vile, Texas, April &c, 1916. A COM
pany of American dagoons under
Captain Thornton, belonging to Gen.
eral Taylor's army, were. riding thru
the state of Texas when they met
much larger force of Mexican caval-
ry, and after fight in which six
teen Americans were killed or
wounded, were obliged to surrender.
At this point met two powers, one
speaking English, one speaking
Spanish, which had been working
toward each other ever since Captain
Smith and his men founded James
town in 1907.
There was little of Spanish in the
Mexicans, however, except language
and religion. A thousand years ago,
most likely, before, one Of the Mon
gol migrations, similar to those that
devastated Europe and Asia under
Zenghis Khan and Tamerlane, turn
ed westward, and perhaps by land
to the northeastern part of the old
world, on the ice to the northwest
ern point of the new, or more prob
ably in boats across the northern
Pacific, had found their way to this
continent. Settling at first in Alaska,
where there are traces of their oc-
cupation now, they had become tired
of the rigorous cline, and marched
and fought their way on south, thru
the mountain passes and deserts, I'M
til they arrived in the valley of Mex
leo. There they built city which
they called Tenochtitlan, conquered
the Indian tribes around about them
and set up an empire which in civil
lization compared very favorably
with the Christian nations of Eu-
rope. They found in the land a race
much superior to the genuine In
dian, and which must have sprung
from the crews of some wandering
fleet of Malay proas which either ad
ventured or was driven by storm
across the Pacific, or maybe worked
its way up from the Peruvians O.
the south. This was a milder race
than the Aztecs, or the people from
the north, and together they mad,
a confederate nation that with thu
exception of Peru was the creates
and most progressive in Americ;
before the coming of the white man
Among one of the tribes of thi
milder race the AZtecs found a ira
dition that years before had appear
ed among them a very wise man
white and bearded, who ruled owe
them and taught them wisdom, blu
being ungratefully treated had de
parted in a boat on the sea, prophe
sying before he left that some tim
In the future white men woul
come from lands toward the sunris
and conquer the country. This ma
they worshipped under the name O
Quetzalcoatl, and the Aztecs adopt
ed him as one Of their gods and bull
great temple, in which they offere
human sacrifices to his image, i
their chief CITY,
1t would seem that except in hu
man sacrifices the Aztecs We're quit
as civilized as the Spanish, VIII
under Cortez, came in 1919, an
whose only incentive to conquer til
country was pillage, which cause
them TO commit deeds as cruel a
any ever inflicted on the Christian
OF Europe by the Tartars or Huns
American nations before the con
ing of Europeans had never see
horses, nor learned how to max
steel and gunpowder, and their is
norance Of these three Fundamental
of warfare is the only reason the
were conquered. They had Iarg
armies, which fought most bravel,
but their weapons glanced on Spar