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of their duty to the people, and the people to a conviction of the necessity of united and vigorous exertion, and the danger and folly of placing unprincipled demagogues in civil & military offices. It is to the quarrells among those fellows combined with their ignorance that we owe the neglect of the frontier posts and the loss of Bejar & its garison. The people have now taken the defence of the country into their own hands, & marched almost en mass with their rifles to shoot down every Mexican they can find-I have no fear for the issue- I was going in for a crop, had 45 acres corn planted most of it up & ground prepared for 40 Acres Cotton when I reached home with the news of the attack upon San Antonio-& gave the War whoop, the people had been so often deceived that they paid no attention to the Govt-proclamations or orders but when I cried Wolf they believed the wolf had really come. My white force Estis & Rickhow, marched instanter mounted armed, paid & furnished with money for expenses, at my cost Ben Smith passd two days after rect of my note with 7 men for camp W T Austin took up his Commission as aid to the Comr in Chief & drafter half of those who had not volunteered, & I heard al the Mou th of River that on rect of the acct of fall of Bejar all the rest went- Old Jim beg'd leave to take his gun & go with Estis & Rickhow lo help kill the Mexicans & was quite grieved when I , ordered him to stay at home to guard Mrs Estis & make the corn-Phelps ask'd me to take passage for his family which I agreed to do & to find money for their passages, he after altered his mind, I took a Gabbin for Emily, & her Children on my way down, which Perry approved, but Emily .would not leave the plantation her husband being about to March to Camp-On the reel of the news of the fall of Bejar Andrews wrote me to secure birth for his family at any price I did so but they did not get down in lime- There was a report here yesterday that the Texians had turned out in such force as lo drive Santana out the Alamo, that he had offered to Capitulate on condition of being allowed Lo march out of the Country with his force-& would trouble us no more-that it was refused-too good to be true-Gen! Gains left here last evening to take command of 1200 men al Fort Jessup-rumor says he said he was going lo Texas to command the army so soon as I raise Money your wants shall be attended to, I
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