3
THE AUSTIN PAPERS
of relations Francisco Lombardo, will ever reach me or the judge- I am of this opinion because I am told .by many that he is the most bitter enemy I have-he was violently opposed to the repeal of the 11 Article of t_he law of 6 April 1830, and blamed me for getting that measure through-it is probable he will never forgive me for it- Under these circumstances, a foreigner and a Norih American by birth, sh!-}t up in prison, almost des- titute of friends and money, far removed from all resources, and in the midst of enemies with the Minister of relations Lombardo at their head, what have I reasonably to expect except a long imprisonment and, perhaps total ruin? I have no doubt that the President Gen 1• Santana is friendly to me and to Texas. I also have confidence in the judge who has charge of my case Don Martinez de Castro- I believe he is an honest and honorable man, but what can the President or the judge do against a host of enemies and persecutors, when no one appears in my favor Texas is silent-the State Govt- the same-this all say is even worse than if they openly accused me, for it shows a contemptuous indifference- The sum and substance of the whole matter is that you must look upon me as dead, for a long time to come-this is the only reasonable opinion I can form on the subject. I wrote you in May that everything depended on the report of Almonte who was sent to Texas and I presume is now there 2 - I wish you or some true friend of mine to go and see him in person- My enemies I am told have been very active in that country and al Monclova, tho I must confess frankly that I do not believe the hundredth part of what is said about the efforts of my enemies in Texas to ruin me. That I have enemies is a mere matter of course-it is in fact an honor to me, for none but a most miserable and contemptable poor devil could have had as much to do with public matters as I have in Texas, without making enemies- I admit that I have them, but I also have the charity to believe that they are honorable and noble minded enemies, and would not,3 try to ruin me and perpetuate my imprisonment, by taking a mean and base advantage of my present persecutions and misfortunes-- I acquit them in my heart of any such design or any such efforts, and I begin to think, that most of what is said about their efforts to ruin me comes from persons who are either blinded by passion or prejudice or who are real enemies of mine and of every body else who lives in Texas and that the real object is to try and darken the North American character-- I send this by H. J. Offutt- All my other letters have gone by mail, either direct to Texas, or by Vera Cruz, and very likely have been opened o; intercepted, for even that mode has been resorted to, to try and ruin me- a mode as base as the object intended and worthy of my enemies and perse- 2 For Almonte's mission to Texas, see Ibid., 462-468; and for his report see the trans- lation by Carlos E. Castaneda in Southwestern Historical Quarterlr, xxviii, 177-222. 3 " Even if they could" deleted.
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