77
PAPERS OF MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR
he blew up his own vessel, to avoid falling into the hands of his ene- mies. All, however, that ha,s been written about the termination of' his extraoridnary career, appears to us, to want the authentication nec- essary for history; and our humble opinion is that nothing reliable- and definite is known concerning him after his departure from Gal- vezton. In a letter, 69 dated Natchitoches, 21st September 1820, ad- dressed to the Governor of Texas, by Don Felix Trudeau, the Spanish consul at Natchitoches, we find the following item with regard to the pirate's point of destination; a-nd. this is all the information we have on the subject. "It appears certain "-says Trudeau-" that Lafitt a-nd various others have retired from Galvezton, & gone td Santa. Marta, a province of Venezuela; but there still remains in Galvezton some vagabonds of different nations, a-nd probably with Long."- General Long remained at Bolivar Poi11t but a few days. He is- sued a Proclamation calling upon all who belonged to the enterprise-. to repair to that Post and en-roll themselves before the 10th of April 1820, otherwise their names would be stricken from the army and past dues .forfeited-In the same Proclamation the friends and legal representatives of those who had fallen in the war, were notified that they were entitled to, a,nd would receive in Government paper, the·· amount due the deceased. Walker, Smith and Johnson were still there. Having fled to this poinr after their respective overthrows, they had never left it. Placing the garrison in command of the first named of these officers, General Long with his lady and Major Hall, set out on his return for the United States, varying his route a lit- tle for the purpose of collecting an old debt of $2000 against Kit Adams. The party reached Alexandria-without any serious difficul- ties. In a few days the General left for New Orleans, for the purpose- of making arrangements for the future and more vigorous prosecution of the enterprise.- Mrs. Long descended the rver with her husband; having her little· daughter Ann with her. This was her first visit to New Orleans. She stopped with a Mrs. Fox. She had taken leave of her friends· and relatives, with the expectation of not seeing them again very soon, as she was resolved to accompany her husband to Galveston, whenever he might be ready to sail. She remained in the City about six weeks: while the General was actively engaged in furthering his affairs.- When these were considerably advanced l\frs. Long concluded that she would not take her daughter to Texas; but leave her to the care of one of her sisters, 1\frs. Chesly, residing a-t Rodney in Mississippi. For this purpose she ascended the river, with the intention of .rejoin- ing her huband in time to embark with him. In the meanwhile he- continued the prosecution of his plans with untiring diligence.- General Long, in the reorganization of his enterprise, had to en- counter many difficulties. The pecuniary embarrassments of the coun- try was unfavorable to it, His recent over-throw was also a serious obstacle. It had extinguished the enthusiasm which once prevailed in its favor and excited some prejudice against the leader. Ga-lvez- ton being n~w the Head Quarters of his operations, he was necessarily
auTrudeau's Jetter is in the Bexar Archrves.
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