But he
had heard of the wonderful beauty of the country, of its enchanting
atmosphere, and of the plenty which had given it its happy name; and
there had been roused in him a vague curiosity, which he was not averse
to gratify, especially as the sail was short and pleasant.
He left the Bishop on Canal Street, and went to the St. Charles Hotel.
As he approached it he saw a crowd of men upon the wide steps and the
piazza. They were talking in an excited manner, and were evidently
under strong emotion. One of them was standing upon a chair, reading
aloud a paper. It was the noble appeal of Sam Houston, "in the holy
names of Humanity and Liberty," for help. Travis and his brave little
band had fallen, like heroes, every soul of them at his post, in the
Alamo. Fannin and his five hundred had just been massacred in cold
blood, and in defiance of every law of warfare and humanity; and
between the Anglo-Americans and a brutal, slaughtering army there was
only Houston and a few hundred desperate men. The New Orleans Greys
and a company of young Southern gentlemen from Mobile had just sailed.
Every man's heart was on fire for this young republic of Texas. Her
shield was scarcely one month old, and yet it had been bathed in the
blood of a thousand martyrs for freedom, and riddled with the bullets
of an alien foe.
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