The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934 Page: 10
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Southwestern Iistorical Quarterly
than half rations. To make conditions worse, a great number of
women were going along as camp followers, and they, too, had to
be provided for. Sickness and exhaustion struck down both man
and beast; the gun carriages and artillery wagons became loaded
with sick soldiers. The medical service of the Mexican army, at
its best, was scant and poorly organized,29 and there were many
deaths on this long march due almost wholly to the lack of medical
attention. But, in spite of the fact that many had perished and
others had deserted,80 at noon on February 23, the Mexican army
reached the heights north of the Alazan. They had arrived at
Bexar.
5. The Investment and Final Assault of the Alamo
As has already been stated in Chapter I, few of the Texans
believed the report of Blaz Herrera, when on February 18, he
returned from Laredo and declared that a large Mexican force had
crossed the Rio Grande and was advancing upon Bexar. But the
Mexican population of the city manifested great excitement,81 a
restlessness that caused Travis and his men considerable uneasiness.
By the morning of February 23, it was clear to all that the spirit of
anxiety and fear had developed a well defined exodus from the
town.82 The people hurried to and fro along the streets and plazas;
29Jos Maria Tornel, Tejas y los Estados Unidos de America in sus
Relaiones con la Republica Mexicana, 29-30; Filisola, Guerra de Tejas,
II, 311, 302, 315, 148. Filisola here remarks: "The army pressed on
trusting solely to the mercy of divine Providence which does not always
send a Saint Peter to heal with his shadow."
aglbid., II, 347, 362; Ram6n Caro, Verdadera Idea, 7.
"In running the Bounty and Donation files at the General Land Office,
it is clearly noticeable that many of the Mexicans who had participated
in the storming of Bexar in December, 1835, and who had remained in
the Texan army, were "honorably discharged" from the 10th to the 22nd
of February, 1836. 'This fact, no doubt, caused something of the bitter-
ness which Travis seemed to feel toward the Mexican population of
Bexar, for Bowie, Neill, and Jameson, in their letters, speak especially
of the friendly attitude of the people of the city.
82J. M. Rodrigues, Memoirs, 8-9. In 1836, Judge J. M. Rodrigues was
a boy eight years old. His father was a man of intelligence, with fair
education and considerable property, and he had a strong influence among
the Mexicans of Bexar. Rodrigues says that Travis, before the arrival
of the Mexicans, did not have his private quarters at the Alamo, but
kept a room in the city. On his way to and from the Alamo he passed
the Rodrigues home and would frequently stop to talk with Mr. Rod-
rigues. On the 16th -of February one Rives, a cousin of Mrs. Rodrigues,
came from Laredo to San Antonio and told his friends to leave the city,
because a large Mexican army was surely on its way to Texas. Rod-
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Texas State Historical Association & Barker, Eugene C. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934, periodical, 1934; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101094/m1/18/?rotate=90: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.