I.
FORT ST. LOUIS. PAGE 1. [In the Name of France] 1 2. [In the Name of Spain] 9 3. [In the Name of Oblivion] 12 II.
SAN ANTONIO. 1. [A Bold Rider] 14 2. [Cowl and Carbine] 16 3. [A Hurried Ride] 20 4. [Indios Bravos] 23 5. [Along the Old San Antonio Road] 25 III.
NACOGDOCHES. 1. [A Fatal Venture] 29 2. [The Disputed Boundary Line] 33 3. [The Neutral Ground] 36 4. [The Red House] 40 5. [The Champ d’Asile] 44 6. [A Treacherous Shot] 46 7. [A Voice in the Wilderness] 48 IV.
SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN. 1. [An Unexpected Meeting] 50 2. [Ups and Downs] 52 3. [Orders and Disorders] 56 4. [A Trumpet Call] 62 5. [Out of a Mist] 65 6. [The Priest’s House] 69 7. [By the Brazos] 74 V.
GOLIAD. 1. [Messengers of Distress] 77 2. [In Church and Fortress] 82 3. [Fort Defiance] 85 4. [Palm Sunday] 91 5. [Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!] 96 6. [Two Generals] 102 7. [How the Good News was Brought] 105 VI.
HOUSTON. 1. [On Buffalo Bayou] 111 2. [The Invincible] 117 3. [The Capital] 120 4. [The War of the Archives] 124 5. [The Black Beans] 127 VII.
AUSTIN. 1. [The Republic is no More] 132 2. [Across the Border] 136 3. [Dying Races] 142 4. [The Texas Ranger] 143 5. [A Cloud in the Sky] 148 VIII.
GALVESTON. 1. [A Buffalo Hunt] 154 2. [The Blue and the Gray] 158 3. [Home Again] 163 IX.
A FLIGHT OF YEARS. [A Flight of Years] 167 X.
THE NEW CENTURY. [The New Century] 175 XI.
TEXAS. [From the Dome of the Capitol] 178 [Index] 185
UNDER SIX FLAGS.
I.
FORT ST. LOUIS.
(1685-1721.)
1. IN THE NAME OF FRANCE.
One morning early in the year 1684, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, a gentleman in the King’s service, stood waiting in an antechamber of the royal palace at Versailles (Ver-sālz′). Behind the closed door, which was guarded by two of the King’s Musketeers in their showy uniforms, his Majesty Louis the Fourteenth was giving a private audience to the Count de Frontenac. This gentleman, late the governor of New France (Canada), was the friend and adviser of The Adventurer, as La Salle had been mockingly nicknamed by the idlers of the French court.
La Salle, who was headstrong and somewhat overbearing in character, more used, moreover, to command than to obey, frowned as he walked up and down the room, and glanced impatiently from time to time towards the king’s cabinet, where his fate hung in the balance. Months had passed since he had arrived in France from North America, with a great scheme already planned, and lacking only the consent of the king and his ministers. He had danced attendance at court until he was weary, rugged soldier that he was; now filled with hope when the ministers plied him with false promises, now sunk in despair when his enemies placed obstacles in his way. “Would I were back in the wilds of America, with Tonti of the Iron Hand and my red brothers,” he muttered, downcast and discouraged.
But at length the door opened, the tapestry was pushed aside, and Frontenac appeared. His eyes beamed with satisfaction. “Your application is granted,” he said, pressing La Salle’s hand. “His Majesty commissions you to plant a colony at the mouth of the great river where you have already raised the flag of France. Go, my friend; thank his gracious Majesty, and then hasten your preparations for departure.”
La Salle.
La Salle lost no time in obeying these directions. His heart throbbed with pride and satisfied ambition. For this was his dream: to colonize the beautiful wilderness watered by the lower Mississippi; to found a city on the banks of the mighty stream whose mouth it had been his good fortune to discover.