La Porte is a new town, situated on a point of land nearly surrounded by Galveston Bay, Morgan's Ship Canal, and San Jacinto Bay. It is about twenty miles from Houston, and thirty miles from Galveston. The scenery in this part of the coast country is beautiful, and the place is not without historic interest. On this point of land was formerly the town of New Washington, which was burned by Santa Anna before he left for San Jacinto battle-ground, which is only six or seven miles from here. It was there that the Texans under General Houston routed the Mexicans under Santa Anna on that memorable day, the 21st of April, 1836.
The battle-ground is located on Buffalo Bayou. It comprises twenty-three acres, ten of which are owned by the State. The "Daughters of the Republic" are raising funds to beautify it and erect a suitable monument. There is only one monument there now. It is a plain marble shaft about fifteen feet high, with inscriptions on the four sides of the base.
San Jacinto Day is a legal holiday in Texas, and large numbers of people celebrate it by picnicking at the battle-ground. Exercises are held in the public schools. This year I recited Lillie E. Barr's poem, "San Jacinto Corn," published in the Round Table for January 21, 1896. The battle of San Jacinto lasted only eighteen or twenty minutes. There were more than fifteen hundred Mexican troops opposed to seven hundred and eighty-three Texans. The loss of the Texans was two killed, and twenty-three wounded, six of them mortally. The loss of the Mexicans was six hundred and thirty killed, two hundred and eight wounded, and seven hundred and thirty prisoners. Santa Anna was taken prisoner on the 22d, and General Cos on the 24th.
Mercy Compton Marsh, R.T.L.
La Porte, Texas.
My Escape.
The sun had set on yonder hill,
The little brook was very still,
And I went to bed with a cheerful heart,
Knowing that all was well.
But as the midnight rolled on still,
There came the dreadful cry
Of fire! fire! on the hill,
And I prepared to fly.
I rolled an egg up in a shawl,
And saddled my horse near by;
I sprang to the saddle and plied the paddle,
And then commenced to fly.
My horse flew up to the skies
And landed on a cloud.
And then I heard for the first time
A thunder wild and loud.
And there on the cloud beside me stood
A giant large and tall,
Who, in a voice of thunder, cried,
"What right have you here at all?"
I shivered and shook from head to foot,
And the giant he roared with rage,
"I'll take you home with me," he cried,
"And shut you up in a cage."
But I ran to the edge of the cloud
And gave a fearful leap,
And the shock awoke me, and I found
That I had been asleep.
Composed jointly by Helen, Virginia, and Gladys Mackay-Smith, aged 9, 11, and 13 years.
A Delightful Morsel about Japan.
A Lady of the Order, aged twelve, living at 118 B. Bluff, Yokohama, Japan, writes to the Table: "Here is a brief description of Nikko, which we visited two summers ago, and I hope it is good enough to print." It is quite "good enough." The Table would be glad and thankful for other morsels equally delightful.