TEXAS INDIAN PAPERS, 1846-1859
179
No. 120 LETTER FROM P. H. BELL TO M. FILLMORE
Executive Department, State of Texas.
Austin, August 20th, 1852.
To His Excellency Millard Fillmore,
President of the United States. Washington, D. C. Sir:
Such repeated representations have been made to this Department by all the influential and most re- spectable residents of the Rio Grande Valley, of their desperate situation and the insecurity of life and property in that section of the State, occasioned by the total inadequacy of the present military establishment in Texas to check the murders and depre- dations of lawless bands of Indians and Mexicans, that my con- stant and anxious attention h~s been for some time past directed to the subject, with the view, if possible, to put a final stop to these outrages, and restore tranquility and confidence to a region that is rapidly depopulating and on the verge of ruin. Among other steps that I deem materially important to the accomplishment of so desirable an end, I have the honor to ad- dress your Excellency, and enclose herewith certified copies of such late communications, petitions and affidavits, connected with the subject, as have reached this Department. To these documents I would respectfully and earnestly draw your Ex- cellency's particular attention, as ample evidence of the facts therein set forth, and the urgency of that assistance and suc- cour that their present distressed situation so imperiously de- mands. Your Excellency will perceive by the perusal of these papers that the most lamentable distress, anarchy and confusion must inevitably result from the state of affairs therein represented; leading, ultimately, to the total disorganization and destruction of the whole line of the Rio Grande, unless prompt and ener- getic measures be taken to prevent the continuance of the evil.
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