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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
count. Since he left a party of robers of some description have visited the Copa,no house in which was stored a large quantity of tobacco & have carried off nearly all of it, & wantonly wasted & scattered the bal- ance, riping open the bales & strowing the tobacco all around the house as if with design to waste & spoil. This happened on some day or night of this week, as Reuben left there on Sunday morning last & yesterday I went over hoping to meet him on his return, but finding the house rifled in the manner above stated & his a,bsence pro- tracted much longer than I can assign any probable cause for, I am fearful he has fallen into the ha,nds of an enemy. More over we found two Spanish whips on one of which was found a Spanish or Mexican brand which was recognized by two Mexicans now here, on a peace- able visit for the purpose of seeing Powers 's family, being old ac- quaip.tances, & for buying some tobacco, who say that it is the brand of a noted Mexican rober & murderer, well known to them & to all the Mexicans, named Antonio Bino, formerly of Bexar & who joined the Mexican Army on its retrea,t. Under all the·circumstances of the case I feel considerable solicitude for Reubens safety. Copano house stands alone on the opposite side of the bay 1 or 8 miles n. w. of Live oak point & no person lives in the neighbourhood of it. It is the point of landing upon the man land from the peninsula & where all persons going from this place into the adjacent country must neces- sarily pass unless they should prefer three days ride arou~d by the isthmus. This part of the country is in a defenceless, & very exposed condition & there is evidently much hesitation, if not fea,r, on the part of the old setlers of ths colony(many of whom I saw on my jour• ney here) in returning to their former homes. If the Government has the means of placing a small garrison of even 30 to 50 active men at Refugio ready at all times to operate as mounted infantry at short warning, it is believed that such a force would be competent to prevent the inroa,ds of such marauding parties who may other- wise keep up a border warfare to the entire desolation of this inter- esting part of the country. I hope you will not [consi] der t [hese} observations impertinent or intrusive [as] they ar[e the] result of observations made upon th [e fr] ontier where I have nothing personal at stake & can have no other motive than the safety of the in- habitants. 5th Reuben arrived last night 11 o'clock and coi'i_firmed my suspicion& of what had befallen him. On the day he left Copano House on his way to Goliad & Within about six miles of Copano he was met by a party of Mexicans who, apprised of the defenceless state of that house & of the tobacco there were coming in to rob it of its contents. They took him in custody, brought him back to the house made him help to pack their horses and then took him on with them as far as the river Nueces where, by the connivance of the leader of the party whose good will he was fortunate enough to secure, he was the last in crossing tne river & when the packs were all over he was allowed to take the other end of the road. The party con- iisted of eight, four of whom thought it best, to prevent tales, to dispatch him; but fortunately for him the opposite co'[un]sil pre- vailed & his life was spared. He was held in 'du[rance] vile' four
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