there were some who seemed to visit him for no other purpose but to tell him he had killed his brother, or his father, or some of the family, and hoped no more would do it;--it was hurtful to his feelings, and he was glad the number was small that did take the trouble lo visit him for that purpose. He said he had told them that he sympathized with them, but bullets had no respect for persons, and that in the late engagement one had killed his brother. He is, you may be assured, no ordinary man. He said a great deal about Santa Anna not at all understanding the people here--that if he had no difficulty would have arose [sic.), and all might have been easily settled. The truth is, he is almost frightened to death, for fear he will be court martialed and shot within a few days--and this he says by way of deceiving us. I hope in three or four days to see Santa Anna, who is at Velasco. Our army is now across the Colorado, on their way westward. [Unsigned] [Louisiana Daily Journal, June 24, 1836.] [3189 I [ALMONTE to LAMAR)
To Col. Lamar.
Velasco (Texas) May the 29th 1836
Much esteemed Sir,
In attempting to give you some little information in regard to the late political events of my country, I shall have to contend with two difficulties, being one of them the want of the proper Knowledge of the inglish language, and the other the possibility of reducing to a small scale, the most important facts of the revolutionary history of Mexico. Under those circumstances, I will not say any thing in reference to the war of Independence in Mexico; and shall only confine myself to the present change of the constitution of that country. You are aware no doubt, that Mexico before its inde- pendence was under the controll of a single power that that power was exercised by the viceroy of Spain; that for the administrat[ion) of the country it was divided into a number of Provinces: That laws were framed in Spain for all those Provinces and that no body had ever legislated in Mexico. Under those circumstances the inde-
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