Two men who were riding up the heights dismounted, left their horses,
and walked to the top. The scene before them was one that tried their
souls,--a great circle of troops; here and there a battery of guns;
in the center a low rambling building of adobe, at which the fire was
directed.
“It’s no use, Bonham,” said the elder of the two. “We can’t do it. To
try to get in now would be certain death. You have done your best to
get assistance; you can do no more.”
“Smith,” replied the other, “I am going in. Travis sent me for help. It
is right for you to turn back; but I cannot. I will report the results
of my mission or die in the attempt.”
Putting a white handkerchief in his hat brim and fastening it there he
mounted the splendid cream-colored horse. The two men clasped hands and
looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, and then Bonham rode down
toward the beleaguered fort. Smith saw him reach the Mexican lines and
spur his horse on. He was apparently unnoticed for a time, and then
the fire of hundreds was turned upon him. Bending low in the saddle,
man and horse seemed to fly over the ground. Hundreds of bullets must
have whizzed past him; but he seemed to have a charmed life. On and on
he went, and the fire against him grew heavier. But now the men of the
garrison had seen the white handkerchief, which had been agreed upon as
a signal, and a cheer went up. The gates of the fort swung open. The
horse went faster. Smith saw horse and rider reach the fort, and the
gates swing to behind them. They had gone unscathed through the entire
Mexican army.
The Alamo at San Antonio, originally built for a mission, had been
taken by the Texans in their efforts to gain independence from Mexico.
Garrisoned by a few men under Col. William Barrett Travis, it was
surrounded on February 23, 1836, by an army variously estimated at from
3,000 to 8,000 men, under General Santa Anna.
With his force of 150 Texans, among them Colonel Bowie, David Crockett,
frontiersman and ex-member of Congress, and James Butler Bonham, a
friend from boyhood days of Colonel Travis, the last named made a
gallant fight against overwhelming odds. Messengers had been despatched
to summon help, and finally Travis sent his friend out to bring
assistance. At the first place he tried, appeals were of no avail,
and he rode on to Gonzales. There he found that Captain Martin and
thirty-two men had gone to the assistance of the besieged men, fighting
their way into the fort. So he returned.
Three days after Bonham’s ride the Mexican army made a general assault.
All but six of the brave garrison were killed, and these, surrendering
on condition of parole, were butchered in cold blood. The Mexicans
lost 1,600 men. On April 21 the Mexican army overtook General Houston
and his army of 780 men at San Jacinto. The battle cry of the Texans
was “Remember the Alamo!” and the enraged men of the little army cut
the Mexican forces to pieces, killing 630 and capturing nearly all the
rest. Thus Texas won her independence.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 32, SERIAL No. 32
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
[Illustration: GETTYSBURG]
_HISTORIC SPOTS OF AMERICA_
_Gettysburg_