The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941 Page: 457
546 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Rampant Individualism in the Republic of Texas
But most liberties have attendant penalties. Unbridled talk was
contributory to the frequency of fights and, to a lesser extent,
duels.
Chief among those who fought with sheer gusto was James B.
(Brit) Bailey of Brazoria, one of the hardy group that settled
in Texas before Stephen F. Austin began to lead other Anglo-
Americans across the Sabine in the early 1820's. Though lame
and hoarse, he had salt in his soul and was by no means a
weakling. He had a quaint habit (according to family tradi-
tion) of joining in fist fights, whether personally concerned or
not, yelling "free fight, boys," as he began throwing punches.
Countless tales-true and untrue-have been told about this
eccentric individualist. In the early 1830's his frame house
near Brazoria was painted red, presenting "a very novel ap-
pearance for Texas." And it is legally recorded that his will
particularly enjoined his friends and executors "to have my
remains inter'd erect with my face fronting the west-."
Legend tells that Brit requested that his coffin be further
ornamented by his rifle, powder horn, bullets, and whisky jug.
Though Bailey's past record and his early movements in Texas
were subject to suspicion, he lived to acquire the appreciation
of his fellow colonists as well as a respectable estate, including
one of the first brick houses erected in Austin's Colony.14 It
is a reflection on machine age progress that few of his breed
walk the earth today, even in Texas.
Empresario Stephen F. Austin experienced difficulty in con-
trolling both Bailey and A. C. (Strap) Buckner, whose careers
were parallel in many respects. Both were accorded the title
"Captain"; both were irascible, pre-Austin Texans who enjoyed
fighting. Mercurial and tempestuous, Buckner became the myth-
ological hero of the tale of "The Devil and Strap Buckner" in
N. A. Taylor's The Coming Empire (1877). By 1939 Strap
Buckner was nationally known. A writer in the July issue of
14[Fiske?], A Visit to Texas (New York, 1836), 51; Brazoria County
Probate Records, MSS., Case No. 17 (Brazoria County Courthouse, Angle-
ton); Holley, Texas (1836), 131; Abner Strobel, The Old Plantations and
Their Owners of Brazoria County, Texas (Houston, 1930), 34; Anthony
R. Clarke to Stephen F. Austin, May 22, 1824, in Eugene C. Barker (ed.),
The Austin Papers, I (Annual Report of the American Historical Asso-
ciation for the Year 1919, in 2 parts [Washington, 1924], 798; William
H. Skerrett to Stephen F. Austin, February 4, 1833, in ibid., II (Annual
Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1922 [Wash-
ington, 1928]), 926. The third volume of the Austin Papers was published
by the University of Texas (Austin, 1927). A portion of the Austin
Papers is unpublished.457
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941, periodical, 1941; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146052/m1/508/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.