Mercantile and General City Directory of Austin, Texas---1872-1873. Page: 13
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and Fancy Goods, etc., cor. Congress av. and Pecan st.
BISTORY OF AUSTIN. 13
proposed in his circular to perform all the duties of the office for the sum
of five hundred dollars per annum, pay his own expenses, and do all the
public blacksmithing free of charge. This liberal offer, however, was
rejected by the people, and Gen. Houston was triumphantly elected, and
duly inaugurated on the second Monday of December following, being the
first and last President ever inaugurated at the new capitol.
Early in the month of March, 1842, the Mexican forces under Gen. t
Vasquez made an incursion into Texas, which was promptly met by the
people and driven back. The President deeming the archives in danger,
felt it his duty, under the provisions of the Constitution to order their
removal, as well as the heads of department, to a place of safety, the city
of Houston being designated as that place. This was the commencement '
of what is known as the "Archive War," the result of which has been the M
location of the seat of government at the city of Austin up to the present m
time. The gallant citizens (and all that could be spared joined the expedition)
who but a short time before, with buoyant spirits, had marched :
forth to meet the invaders of their country, leaving behind them a grow- 8
ing and prosperous city, returned victorious to a deserted village. The
citizens were exasperated, and had good cause to be. They thought the
President was acting in bad faith with them. They had expended for city c
lots over a half million dollars, had built their homes upon them, and felt 3
secure under the protection of the strong arm of the government, but this
had been taken away from them. The President was urged to comeback, >
but without avail. The citizens then determined to take the matter into
their own hands. On the removal by the President, the archives of the
General Land Office were left behind. These the people determined to
keep, in order that at least one portion of the government should remain 0
in Austin. The President insisted that they also should be removed, and M
sent up for them, but without success. The young men of the city, in
order to show their contempt for the President, went so far as to shave the ca
manes and tails of the horses of two of the commissioners sent up, who I
did not relish the joke very much at the time, but soon got over it, and
afterwards became prominent citizens of Austin. The President, seeing f
that he could not obtain the Land Office archives peaceably, determined to .
have them by force. He, therefore, sent up an armed force of twenty or M
thirty men, with instructions to take them at all hazards. They arrived M
on the morning of the twenty-ninth of December, 184, drove their wagons t
to the Land Office building, and had commenced loading before the citi- hj
sens found out what was going on. Then the excitement really began,
and the citizens armed themselves and assembled. They brought out their ?
artillery, planted it so as to bear upon the wagons, charged it with grape
and canster, and waited for the signal to fire. The wagons by this time
were loaded, and about starting, when the signal was given and off went
the cannon, several shot taking effect on the Land Office, but fortunately
doing no other harm. As to who touched the cannon off has never been
ad 6... t eSW Iu ON. a.. Peoan" 7
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Gray, S. A & Moore, W. D. Mercantile and General City Directory of Austin, Texas---1872-1873., book, 1872; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38126/m1/15/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.