The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 72
728 p. : maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
met in San Antonio; Ford recorded Young's account as he told
it, and then afterward checked it against his statement in the
Northern Standard. Young then prepared for Ford a signed
"statement" which was both an argument for the legality of the
Snively raid and an indictment against Sam Houston.
As the editor prepared Young's and Ford's account for publica-
tion, a few changes were made in the original text. Errors in gram-
mar such as misplaced commas and misspelled words were cor-
rected, three paragraphs that were obviously out of place were re-
located, and numbers that were mere approximations were spelled
out. When needed, the subordinating conjunctions "that" and
"which" and the articles "the" and "a" were added. Anything
else added to the original text, such as the first names of per-
sons mentioned, were enclosed in brackets. Nothing in Young's
signed statement was altered except to set it off as a direct quote.
Other than these changes, the account appears exactly as it is
found in the original Ford memoirs.
FORD'S INTRODUCTION
The Santa Fe Expedition [of 1841] was intended as a commercial
measure. In 1842 the government of Mexico set on foot two expe-
ditions merely to annoy and plunder our people. That in charge
of Col. ,[Rafael] Vasquez entered the city of San Antonio, March 8,
1842. Another under Gen. Adrian Woll took the city, September 11,
1842. These were predatory incursions; their numbers were proofs
that they came with no expectation of reconquering Texas. These
forays begat strong inclination among the inhabitants of the little
republic to retaliate by inaugurating a similar mode of warfare
against Mexico. Many were urging the invasion of that country
on a scale more formidable.
The commerce between the United States and Santa Fe, which
place had refused to receive the commissioners of Texas and had
captured their armed escort, was considered a legitimate subject
matter upon which to make a war of reprisals. The trains leaving
Missouri were laden with valuable merchandise belonging to avowed
citizens of Mexico. This trade represented $5,ooo,ooo annually.'
The articles of traffic, and large sums of money, were transported
for a long distance over territory then claimed by Texas. In process
'Ford's figure is an exaggeration. In 1843, the annual volume of trade on the
Santa Fe trail was actually about $450,000. See Lansing B. Bloom, "Editorial Notes,"
New Mexico Historical Review, IX, 97.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/90/?rotate=90: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.