PAPER oF l\I1RABEAU BuoNAPARTE LA111AR 527 happy re. traint upon the will of the Governt-" Thi was written the day after bis landing- 'fhe letter was borne to him by Hardeman, Hunt, Henderson, and Ben Smith, who were deputed by the President to assure antana that his person wo1,1Jd be safe. 2 • antana embarked on the Invincible 1. t day of June- He addressed the following fare- well to the Texian Army -toWit- My friends I I have been a wit- ness of your courage in the field of Battle, and kDJ>w you to be gener- ous. Rely with confidence on my sincerity, and you shall never have cause to regret the kindness shown me. In returning to my native· land, I beg you to receive the sincere thanks of your grateful friend- Farewell. Ant. Lopez De Santa Ana.'' Vela co 1st. June 1836"
The day ~fter Santana was brought on shore, by Hardeman, Hunt, Henderson, & Smith, these men bore the letter of Burnet above quoted & assured Santana that his person was safe from harm-
In a <lay or two, Santana was taken :from Quintana over.to Vela. co, and was there kept under guard, until the Army demanded possession of him- Capt. Patten was sent with a company to take him into cus- tody- 'fhe prisoner was turned over to him by order of army- he was taken up to Columbia and there guarded in a small house near town, by apt. Patten- Here some inconsiderate per. on attempted to i,l10ot him; Capt. Patton seized the individnal and had him most unmercifully cha. tised. Whilst Santana was here, Genl. Austin came to me at Majr. Bell's and requested that I would go with him to see antana- This was after supper- I went- Santana in long dis- course urp;ed m to write a letter to the army in favor of hi being re- leased- Austin wa'l the interpreter, and also wi heel me to write- In the course of the conver ation I remarked to Santana that if he were released, he would not be able to fulfil his pledges to this Govt. on hi return home- that the acknowledgment of our Independence would be unpopular in 1\fexico, and Congress would never sanction' the measure- •He replied that the army, (or the military) was the Government of l\Iexico, and that he would be at the head of that and could do as he pleased- I replied that he had used a very different language when he made hi apology for the murder of Fannin. In apologisng for this autrocous act, antana had at Velasco, and other places, stated that in ordiring the e,·ecution of the Georgia Battali.on he acted only in obedience to the Decree of the :Mexican Congres . Had be not done so, he said that Congress would have dealt with him- .And now at olumbia he says that the army was the Govt. of Mexico, and he at the head of that- After this retort upon him, little "Tho communications mentioned here were printed in Caro, R. M., Vei·dadera Idea de la Primera Campana d(I Te;as, ,126---128. The note from Santa Anna to Burnet is also printed in Garrison, G. P., Diplomatic Corres- pondence of the Republic of Texas, II, 421.
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