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Show 426 WESTERN WILDS. lished the firmest government Mexico ever enjoyed. As soon as he had tranquillized the other States, hanged and shot a few dozen of his opponents, and banished the rest, he collected a large army and marched on Texas, to settle things, as he said, effectually. He did it; but not exactly as he had intended. The white population of Texas did not exceed 50,000. They had been divided, but the approach of the army united them ; and they resolved on independence. Their army easily drove out the feeble garrisons in South- western Texas, but in no long time was overwhelmed by disaster. Early in 1836, Santa Anna entered the Territory with an army of 8,000 men, sending word to the Tex-ans that he intended to " sweep away every thing save the rec-ollection that they once existed." The brave William Barret Travis commanded the Alamo Fort with only a hundred and thirty men. He sent off, with all speed, for reinforcements ; announced that TEXAS AND COAHTTILA IN 1830. J^ ^^ ho] d ^ place m ^ rest of the country could be put in posture for defense, and con-cluded with the words: " God and Texas! Liberty or Death!" Of that hundred and thirty men, only Moses Rose escaped ; and he, ashamed of having abandoned his companions, and slipped out through the Mexicans at the last hour, never gave account of the siege till on his death- bed. For two weeks the Mexicans kept it up, making daily assaults, and being picked off by the Texan rifles. The last evening the enemy withdrew to prepare for a final assault. Travis ranged his few surviving followers, and thus addressed them : " Men, we must die ! Our speedy massacre is a fixed fact. Let us choose that mode which can best serve our country. If we surrender, we shall be shot; if we try to cut our way out, we shall be butchered before we can kill twenty of the enemy. We could but lose our lives without benefiting our friends our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters, our wives and little ones. Let us, then, vow to die to-gether. Let us kill as many as possible. Kill them as they scale the |