A new history of Texas for schools : also for general reading and for teachers preparing themselves for examination Page: 200 of 412
View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
184
SUPPLEMENTARY READING.
the impossibility of escape, but gave permission to as many as so
preferred to try to escape, Rose was the only man that availed himself
of the permission. Having climbed the wall he threw down his wallet
of clothes on thle outside; it fell in a puddle of blood, and some of
the garments fell out into the blood. He leapt after it, took it up,
replaced the spilled garments without cleansing them, and walked
away. To avoid the Mexican army, he went west through the city.
He went down the river to the ford, waded it, and passed through the
town, through the old plaza. The doors in the town, so far as he
saw, were all closed, and he saw not one person. Before crossing
the river he had passed a Mexican picket-guard, but they had not
hailed him. These were the last persons that he saw till after he had
crossed the Colorado. (The city of San Antonio did not then extend to
the Alamo, nor to the river near the fort, but was in the bend of the
river, on the west side, a mesquit thicket intervening between the town
and fort. From Rose's description of his route from the fort through
the town, I easily recognized it in 1842. His passing a picket-guard
without being hailed seems to explain the cause of the short cessation
of the bombardment. I judge that it was a ruse to try to draw the
men out of the fort in an attempt to retreat, that, unprotected by the
walls, they might easily be slaughtered on open ground. If such was
the fact, it is almost certain that Santa Anna judged that Travis
would first send out men to examine the several routes, to see whether
there was or was not some way to avoid the enemy, and that he set
pickets on all the routes to report what they might see, instructing
them if they should see one or two men to let them pass, as if unob-
served, but, if a considerable force should pass, to. raise an alarm.)
Having passed through the town, he went down the river. When he
was about a quarter of a mile below the town, the bombardment of
the fort was renewed. About three miles below the town, at dusk of
the evening, he crossed the river on a foot-log. Then, avoiding roads,
he directed his course as best he could across the prairie toward the
Guadalupe river. During the night of the 3d he could not keep
his course, but wandered till daylight. In the darkness he often came
into contact with beds of prickly pears, hundreds of whose long, curved,
barbed thorns so gored his legs that he, was lame till after he had
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Pennybacker, Anna J. Hardwicke. A new history of Texas for schools : also for general reading and for teachers preparing themselves for examination, book, 1895; Palestine, Tex.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2388/m1/200/?rotate=270: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.