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Authors: Robert E. Hollmann

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BOOK: Jim Bowie
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Several weeks later, Jim came into our room. I looked up as he sat at the table and read another letter from General Houston.

“It seems that General Houston is coming here. He has another mission for me. He’ll tell me what it is when he gets here. The government could not agree on a leader for the Matamoros expedition, so now he has a new plan. He should be here soon. I can’t wait to hear his latest idea.”

One day there was a knock on our door. Jim opened the door and a tall man was standing there. He wore a great coat to protect himself from the cold. Jim smiled and put out his hand when he recognized the man.

“General Houston. Good to see you. Come in and have a seat.”

Houston walked into the room and sat down at the table. Jim sat across from him. “What can I do for you, General?”

Houston took off his coat and leaned back in his chair. “Jim, you know the rumors are that Santa Anna is on his way to Texas with a large army. In fact, the story is he’s headed to San Antonio. He’s mad about General Cos being run out of San Antonio, and he wants revenge.”

Jim nodded. “I’ve heard those stories.”

Houston continued. “As you know, we have a small army there right now. Colonel Neill is in command. From all the reports I receive, the army is in bad shape. Little food or medicine. Their clothes are all rags. About the only thing they have plenty of is cannon.”

Jim coughed. “I’ve heard they need a lot of things at San Antonio.”

“You’re one of the few men I can count on. I’m leaving to make a treaty with the Indians so they won’t attack us while we fight Santa Anna. I have a very important job for you.”

“What do you want me to do, General?”

“Jim, I want you to take some men to San Antonio, blow up the Alamo, and bring the cannon to Gonzales.”

Jim sat up in his chair. “Blow up the Alamo? That’s one of the key posts in keeping Santa Anna out of the colonies.”

Houston shook his head. “We cannot fight Santa Anna from forts. We’re not strong enough. The army is too small. We must fight him in the open where we can move, not be locked into a fort.”

“Have you told Colonel Neill this?” Jim asked.

“You tell Colonel Neill I gave you orders to do this. He’ll go along with my orders. I’ll send some other men to help you. Do you know William Travis?”

Jim nodded.

“I’ll send him with some more men.”

Jim coughed, then looked at Houston. “General, if we blow up the Alamo, we’ll have nothing to stop Santa Anna.”

“Jim, the Alamo won’t stop Santa Anna. General Cos couldn’t hold the Alamo and he had more men than we do. That place was not built as a fort. It was built as a mission. Can I count on you, Jim?”

Jim was silent for a moment as he thought about Houston’s plan. Finally he said, “I’ll go to San Antonio, General.”

Houston stood up. “Good. I must be going. I have a long ride to the Indian village. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

Houston started to leave, then turned back to Jim. “You better see a doctor about that cough.”

Jim smiled and shook Houston’s hand. “I have seen one, General. Don’t worry. It’s just a cold.”

Chapter Nineteen

It was good to see San Antonio again. I had spent many pleasant days in the town. The streets were crowded as we rode toward the Veramendi house. Thirty men had ridden with us. They were all Jim’s friends and he knew he could count on them. As we rode down the street, someone called Jim’s name. We turned to see Juan Seguin running toward us.

“Jim. It’s good to see you. Welcome back to San Antonio.”

Jim leaned down from his saddle and shook Juan’s hand. “It’s good to be back, Juan. This town has changed.”

Juan nodded. “Yes. The battle of last December destroyed many houses. Many people have left. They’re afraid that Santa Anna will return.”

“What do you think, Juan?” Jim asked.

Juan removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve heard from some of the vaqueros that live to the south that Santa Anna is already on the way here. He’s bringing a large army. I think he’ll be here before long.”

Jim straightened up in the saddle. “I have a message for Colonel Neill from General Houston. Do you know where he is?”

Juan pointed toward the Alamo.

“I believe he’s in the Alamo. He’s trying to make it into a strong fort.”

Jim looked toward the Alamo. “I’ll go see him. But first, I want to stop by the Veramendi house. I’ll talk to you later, Juan.”

Juan stood in the street and watched us ride away. Soon we stopped in front of the Veramendi house. Jim dismounted while the rest of the men rode on to find a place to stay. We walked into the house. It was cool inside. A fire was burning in the fireplace, but it did not provide much warmth. Jim walked from room to room. I could tell he was thinking of the days when he had lived in this house with Ursula.

“Jim. It’s so good to see you.”

A woman ran from one of the rooms and hugged Jim.

“Juana. It’s good to see you too. How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine, Jim. I married Dr. Alsbury. He’s away on business right now. My sister Gertrudis is here. Do you remember her?”

“Of course I do.” Jim walked over to the fire. “Are you staying here?”

“Yes. There are plenty of rooms. You and your dog are welcome to stay here while you are in San Antonio.”

Jim coughed, then warmed his hands by the fire.

“Thank you. I’m not sure how long I will be here. I have orders for Colonel Neill from General Houston. I must go to the Alamo. I’ve heard that’s where Colonel Neill is.”

Juana walked over and took Jim’s hand. “Be back for supper. Gertrudis will want to see you.”

“I’ll be sure to be back.”

Jim walked outside. He coughed and bent over to catch his breath. I was getting worried about him. I was beginning to think that the cough was caused by much more than a cold.

We rode into the Alamo. Several men were busy working on making the walls stronger. Some were placing cannons on the walls. Jim stopped beside a man who was sitting on a box.

“Excuse me,” Jim said. “Can you tell me where Colonel Neill is?”

The man pointed toward a small room in one of the buildings. “His office is in there.”

Jim rode over and stopped in front of the room. He got off his horse and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” said a voice from inside.

We walked into the small room. As our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we saw a man sitting behind a small desk. He was staring out of the window.

“Colonel Neill. I’m Jim Bowie.”

Colonel Neill sprang to his feet and walked over to us. “I heard you were in town. I’m sure glad to see you. Have a seat.”

Jim sat down. I sat next to him. Colonel Neill walked behind his desk and sat in his chair. “I guess you can see we’re busy building this mission into a fort.”

Jim nodded. “Looks like you and your men have done a lot of work. The problem is I have orders from General Houston to blow up the Alamo and take the cannon to a safer place.”

Neill stood up. “I don’t believe it. After the fighting we did to take this place? After all the work to turn this mission into a fort? We can’t just blow it up and leave.”

Jim reached down and scratched my ears.

“General Houston is worried about our troops getting penned up in forts. He thinks we have a better chance of beating Santa Anna if we fight him in the open.”

Neill walked over and looked out of the window.

“Jim, this place is the only thing standing between Santa Anna and the colonies. If we don’t stop him here, or at least slow him down, he’ll burn our towns and destroy our crops. People have come to Texas looking for a new life. The men here are willing to fight for that life. This is the place to make that fight.”

“How many men do you have, Colonel?”

Neill shook his head. “Not many. Most of them went off on that crazy Matamoros expedition. But I believe that reinforcements are being sent to us. We should have more men very soon. How many did you bring?”

“I brought thirty men. They’re good men, but we need many more to hold this place.”

“More will come, Jim. I think everyone understands the importance of San Antonio. You lived here. Don’t you think it’s worth fighting for?”

I watched Jim as he stared at the ceiling. I knew he was thinking about Ursula and Mr. Veramendi. He was thinking of all the happy times he had spent in San Antonio. Finally he stood up.

“Colonel Neill, you’re right. We must stop Santa Anna, and the Alamo is the place to do it. I’m sure General Houston won’t like it, but by the time he gets back from visiting with the Indians, we’ll have whipped Santa Anna and sent him back home.”

Chapter Twenty

The next couple of weeks were busy. William Travis arrived with thirty men. Travis and Jim had never gotten along too well. But then, not many men got along with Travis. Colonel Neill had to leave town to attend to some family business and left Travis in command of the troops. When the men found out, they were mad. They wanted Jim to be their leader. An election was held and Jim was chosen to be the leader of the volunteer troops, while Travis continued to lead the regulars. Both men agreed to sign all letters and orders that were necessary.

The spirits of the men were raised one day when a company of men rode into town. I sat on the sidewalk and watched the men stop their horses in front of the building. A tall man wearing a coonskin hat walked up to me and scratched my ears.

“Hello, boy. How are you today?”

His voice was kind, and I licked his hand. Jim walked out of the building and walked over to us.

“Hello. My name’s Jim Bowie. That’s my dog, Gator.”

The man stretched out his hand. “Glad to meet you. I’ve heard of you. My name’s Davy Crockett.”

Jim smiled. “Welcome, Davy. We are sure glad to see you.”

Jim motioned for Davy to come into the office. Travis sat at a table writing a letter. Jim stood in front of him and pointed to Davy.

“Colonel Travis, this is the latest man to join us. Davy Crockett.”

Travis jumped to his feet. He came around the desk and shook Davy’s hand. “Very glad to meet you. We can sure use men like you.”

The men sat down around the desk.

“Tell me what’s going on here,” Davy said.

Travis leaned back in his chair. “We’re waiting for Santa Anna to come back here. We’ve heard that he’s on his way with his army. But I don’t think he’ll come until the spring. It would be too hard to move a large army across the prairies in the winter. He’ll wait for spring so his horses will have green grass to eat.”

Davy saw Jim frowning. “You don’t agree, Jim?”

Jim shook his head. “Juan Seguin’s men report that Santa Anna is already getting close. This dead grass makes good food for the horses. I believe he’ll be here soon.”

Davy looked at both men. “I didn’t see too many men when I rode into town. How do you plan to stop Santa Anna’s army?”

Travis stood up and walked to a window.

“We’re fortifying that old mission across the river. The Alamo. We’ve sent requests for reinforcements to the government, and we expect General Houston to send us more men at any time.”

Davy scratched his head. “I don’t know if I like the idea of being penned up in a fort. I like to be able to move around.”

Jim nodded. “I agree with you, Davy. But we’ll hold Santa Anna here for a little while, then more men will come and we can send him back to Mexico.”

Davy stood up. He stuck out his hand to Jim. Jim coughed and then took Davy’s hand.

“That’s a bad cough, Jim. You should have the doctor give you some medicine.”

“I’ve been to the doctor. I think it’s only a bad cold.”

Davy shook Travis’s hand. “I’d better find a place for my men to stay.”

“We’re glad to have you here, Davy,” Travis said.

Davy waved as he walked out of the door.

“I told you more men would come,” Travis said to Jim. “With men like Davy Crockett, we can hold the Alamo against Santa Anna as long as we need to.”

Jim coughed and sat down in the chair. “He’s a good man, but we need many more men to hold this place.”

Travis sat down and began to write another letter.

“They will come, Jim. They will come.”

A few more men did come during the next several weeks. Work on the Alamo continued. Jim was getting weaker every day, but he tried not to let anyone know how sick he was. Colonel Travis finally agreed to post sentries to watch for the approach of the enemy army. One morning I was sleeping at the foot of Jim’s bed. I was dreaming of a nice, juicy bone. Suddenly a bell began to ring. Jim jumped from his bed. He coughed as he pulled on his clothes, then we ran outside. People were coming from their houses. Everyone looked at the bell tower, where the sentry was pulling the rope as hard as he could. Colonel Travis ran to the bottom of the tower and yelled up to the sentry.

“What’s wrong?”

The sentry pointed towards the open prairie. “The enemy are in view,” he yelled.

Chapter Twenty-One

The streets of San Antonio were filled with people running in all directions. Some were headed out of town; others were rushing toward the Alamo. Travis was trying to put some order into those headed toward the old mission, but most ignored him and rushed to get inside the walls. Jim found a wagon and drove to the Veramendi house. Juana and Gertrudis ran out of the house as Jim was getting down from the wagon.

“Jim, what’s happening?” Juana asked.

“Santa Anna’s army’s here. We need to get inside the Alamo,” Jim said as he walked into the house.

The women followed him inside.

“Get some of your things and climb in the wagon,”

Jim said.

“What should we take?” Gertrudis asked.

“Nothing big. Just some clothes and maybe something small you really value. Everything else we have to leave.”

The women ran to get their things. Jim started coughing and sat in a chair. There was a chill in the air, but sweat rolled down Jim’s face. I thought he looked worse than I had ever seen him. He looked at me and scratched my ears. I licked his hand. It felt warm. The women came back and Jim loaded their bags on the wagon. We drove toward the Alamo. I rode in the back of the wagon.

BOOK: Jim Bowie
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