The Alaska citizen., 1916-07-31

live as freemen under it. Their Mexican neighbors sided with the MeXicans from over the Texas bor- der and Santa Anna's 4,000 butch CTS. The TeXan-American and the Texan Mexican were not good blend CTS then.
 Powlett Wharton, a Texas Ranger, who owned a large tract along tho San Antonio river, that his forebear and a wealthy land owning Mexi- can named Jose Mariana had been close friends and neighbors for fif- teen years before the Alamo. Whar- tons two daughters finally married Mariano's two sons, both ceremonies being performed on the same day, and Texans and Mexicans for miles around joined in the attendant bar. becue and jollity.
 It was Mariana himself who warn ed Wharton in the days of his san $ cOurting that he should not permit the free-and-easy privileges of the American style of wOoing. There should be no private meetings. The young folks should be kept under constant surveillance until after the wedding. Wharton only laughed and opined that his girls would slap any Greaser's face who even dared to think rudely about them. Babies came and the families seemed to be knit closer than ever.
 But often between these years of 1921 and 1886 Mariana revealed his Mexican characteristics. He urged Wharton unavailingly many times land to their holdings without the legality of deed transfer. He coax ed him unsuccessfully to engage in uprisings against the Mexican gov aGHaont for little or no cause Bickerings began with the young mar ried people over things that invari- ably could be traced to fundamental differences of temperament and opin- ion, and not to superficial situations or conditions of the moment. Al ways the young husbands talked of a pleasure trip to Mexico City. AL ways the young Texan wives talked of a journey to Washington. When ever the children revealed a greater knowledge of Spanish than English their mothers were vexed, and when their English vocabulary was in it was a day or two before Lieu t-nant Colonel w. Barrett Travis and the celebrated David Crockett with 1S4 others, were penned up in the Alamo.
 Texans then assembling He called on Mariana to do likewise. The Mexican laughed him to scorn. They quarrelled and Mariana was hurled out of the Wharton door That night his two sons came over to demand satisfaction of their father in-law. They opened fire, but both were beaten off and seriously wound ed Within an hour of their return their Texan wives, bearing with them no less than seven children, arrived at the Wharton house and took shelter with their father. Whar ton, fearing harm to his brood de cided not to hasten his journey to join his fellow Texans, and this de- lay saved him from the Alamo mas sacre. But in the operations attend ing Santa Anna's defeat and cap ture at San Jacinto. Mexican sol diery surrounded the Wharton home.
 Wharton, one of his daughters and six children perished, the other daughter escaping at night with her baby on a fleet horse held for the
 
 emergency In the attacking party were Mariana and his two sons,
 It was a notable case of bad blend of Gringo and Greaser.
 Ard eighty years after the Alamo in Texas you will find families of Mexican descent who do not look with favor on some of the customs of the United States. Intermar riage would help along the blend, but the preliminaries to marriage, when the girl is of Mexican blood, are too irksome to the American spirit Some of the Mexican GUS toms-a few-have been adopted in part They are such customs as at- tach to the better part of Mexican character and carry with them a picturesque freedom that is always. however, sane freedom and within the law.
 In the post-anneXation solution of the Mexican-American blending