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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
looseing all hopes of Relief in that quarter made a forsed March for Dollan Point leaving me to defend the Post but I chose to buffet the waves Rather than contend against a host my Self alone altho Doct Galigan wa,s with me I felt like one deserted you may immagine my feelings at seeing my aged Mother Sisters little Nephew & dying Friend in so dangerous a situation after Looking in Vain for Logs to make a Raft to convey my Family & Friend to Redfish Bar which I knew was off that Point some where I fortunately thought of the Slide which I found would answer my Purpose I hauled it in to the watter and verry fortunately got some plank that had been brought to the Point for the purpose of building which I laid on the Slide .and with my bridles cut apart & my ox Rope I confined the plank to the cross cross .[sic] pieces which formed a tollerable good Raft at least I thought it so and felt as proud of it as a merchant man does his Ships at Sea-it was about 12 ocl P 1V[ when I completed my Raft no Srnuglers were ever more quiet than we were on this occa- sion my Family were soon on the Raft with the assistance of Doct Galigan I laid my sick Friend on the Raft when they were all seated I pushed the Raft before me in the direction as I thought Red Fish Bar lay I had not gone far when I discovered the Raft was too weak to bear the wait and for fear of missing my course it being verry dark I came to the conclusion to Return to Shore .and, wait untill day. I hauled the Raft up in shoal watter where we Sit untill day I thought that all the difficulties and privations that I had met with in Texas for 13 years wa,s not to be compared to that night the 18th of Apr 1836 when day dauned I was unable to manage the Raft having taken 20 grains of callomel the morning before I thought of my Oxen and hiched then to the Sarne chane by which they had hauled the Slide on land and with the ox bow in my Right hand and the end of the Short Rope that was a Round the ox's horn in my left hand I steared my course for the Bar waiding and Swirning alternately when we gained the Bar I was not long in hoisting a Signal on one of the planks taken from the Raft there were several Schooners lying at anchor a mile distant they sent their yalls to our Relief I took my Oxen to the Shore with the calculation of getting our only trunk that was left on shore but was disappointed the Afri- cans that were on the Point had broke open the the [sic] trunk and Robed it of its contents and started back home not knowing our Reasons for Running thy being Raw decendents of Africa Imported but a short time before this-we were now left with out a change of Clothes-by the severel yalls that came I was taken to the Schooner Flash and my Family to the Schooner Shanandoah my being absent on Shore was the cause of our being separated three days when my Family informed the Relatives of Coln Hall & his Party of his flight down the Bay they went inpursuit of then thy Raised the Indian Sign and was relieved from all their fears and arrived at the Island on the 22nd in the morning on my arival on the Island I found then in great confusion and verry much dissatisfied the Soldiers were anxious to Join Houston and it was agreed that they should by a Steam Boat Passage the Harris Burg from there Join Genl Houston and the Familyes to gow to the United States on the .several Schooners I left the Island in the evening of the 22nd of
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