The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944 Page: 313
456 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas Collection
As a former Texan, for many years a resident of Louisiana, I should
like to say a word in appreciation of the letters of Dr. John Sibley of
Natchitoches, Louisiana, now being printed in The Southwestern Historical
Quarterly and edited by Dr. Kathryn Garrett. To my mind Dr. Garrett
is making a distinct contribution to the historical data concerning early
Texas history. If I am not in error, Dr. Garrett discovered the seventy-
five letters, written by Dr. Sibley in the years 1808 to 1814, in the Old
Records Division of the Adjutant General's Office in the Department of
War, at Washington, D. C., and her work with them is of especial interest
to me personally as I have made some research in the relationship of
Natchitoches to the colonization of Texas. Beyond some twelve or fifteen
letters from Dr. Sibley, reference to which has been made at various times
in Louisiana publications, Dr. Garrett's discovery of the additional letters
from Sibley carries the exploration of the decade following the Louisiana
Purchase into an unknown, but rich mine of information. The Local
Chapter, the St. Denis of the National D. A. R., began an endeavor to
get the letters of Dr. Sibley published, but through correspondence with
Dr. Garrett received assurance of her intention of publication. As a
matter of fact, the copies of the photostats of the letters have been
promised to the St. Denis Chapter of the D. A. R. I do congratulate
The Quarterly and Dr. Garrett on the publication of these letters.
J. Frank Dobie's syndicated newspaper article, regarding
David Crockett's rifle, has aroused the interest of several Texans
in that celebrated shootin' iron. Dobie points out that the rifle
was presented to Crockett at Philadelphia in the spring of 1834.
Crockett's own words are, "there was no mistake in Betsey."
Crockett had Betsey with him in the Alamo, and Joseph E. Field
reported that Crockett came near taking the life of Santa Anna
with a long shot on the day before the Alamo fell. The gun
dropped out of history for about twenty-five years, after which
time it was reported by Lieutenant (afterwards Major Gen-
eral) Zenas R. Bliss as being in the hands of Jack Woodland
at Fort Davis. Shortly after 1861 Woodland was attacked by
Indians somewhere along the Rio Grande, and, after being
seriously wounded, passed Betsey over to a Mexican boy, who
took the rifle to Presidio del Norte. In his unpublished memoirs
in the Archives of the University, Bliss tells that the rifle was
still in "a little town in Mexico." Professor Dobie suggests that
the rifle probably could still be located somewhere across the
border in Mexico. It would be a prized piece of Texiana and
is worth serious effort to effect its recovery.
Mrs. G. C. Baum, 307 W. Water St., Whitesboro, Texas,
writes:
I have received a copy of The Junior Historian, September, 1943, from
Jane Combs, who won the state prize on "Pattern for a Hero." The hero313
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944, periodical, 1944; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146054/m1/346/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.