1550
AMERICAN IDSTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
is therefore in danger of loosing the said horse entirely which he thinks would be extremely unjust, as he was lost whjle your peti- tioner was a volunteer in the service of this Colony, and as the said R. H. "\Villiams is Alcalda of the district of Mina your petitioner prays that the matter may be trnnsferred to some other district for n judicial investigation in order that justice may be done San Felipi de Austin Deer. 26-1826 Considering that R. H. Williams against whom the within com- plaint is made is Alcalde of the District of Mina and therefore cannot decide on the said complaint Therefore it is order 4 that the said complaint be passed to the Alcalde of the district of Victoria who willl summon the parties before him and proceed in the case in the Same manner as tho they both lived within his jurisdiction. The Said R. H. 'Williams will in the mean time be personally re-
sponsable for said Horse or his value San Felipi de Austin Deer. 26. 1826
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Juclge.
B. "\V. Eow ARDS TO BARTLETT Sn.rs
• Nacogdoches Deer 27 th 1826.
DEAR Sm:
I write you in much haste, to apprise you that the Americans in this end of the Province, have at length resolYed to throw of the Yoke of Despotism and to be freemen. The flag of Liberty now floats in triumph in the soil of Texas, and the Americans .are daily rallying around it, with a determination to support their rights or die in their defense-vVe have been shamefully oppressed for twelve long months-,Ve have complained to this corrupt Goverllil1ent in vain; and our only reply, when we have stated our grievances, has been, that t-roops would be sent on to dragoon us into submission- Could Americans, the sons of those, who planted the standard of liberty in.our native country, bend their necks to military despotism¥ No, we are the sons of freemen, and will sooner die than be slaves- There is no security under this perfideous government-They give and they take away; and all our titles are held by the uncertain tenure of the will, the mere breath, of a corrupt and depraved gov- ernor-"'\Ve are determined no longer to submit to oppression-vVe have made a Treaty with the Indians to our North, and in a short time we will have several thousand of them on the march to the in· terior of this country-To arms then my dear fel1ow I I know you have the soul of an American in your bosom. Rouse our country-
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