336
WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1859
are letters, however, among the "Army Papers," Texas State Library, from Neill, Bowie, and later from Travis, which show that these leaders at San Antonio had decided that "Bexar was the key to the situation in Texas," and to lose that point meant to open wide the road for the Mexicans to the interior of the colonies. These letters also show that W. B. Travis did not reach San Antonio until February 3, 1836, and at that time the decision to maintain the fortifications in that town had already been made by Neill, Bowie, and other men of strong influence at the post. r>The date of this letter is January 30, 1836. See The 'J,V1·itings, I, 344-355 for a copy of it. osee Brown, History of Texas, I, 587, which says, "He [Houston] arrived at Gonzales at 4 o'clock p.m., on the 11th, accompanied only by his staff, Colonel George W. Hockley, Colonel Alexander Horton, Lieutenant Richard- son Scurry, and two or three others." iSee Fannin to Houston. SMrs. Mary Milsaps was the blind woman whom Houston mentions here. Her husband, Isaac Milsaps, was one of the victims of the Alamo disaster. See "Comptroller's Military Service Records," Texas State Library. 9 See The Writings, I, 373 (footnote 2); also Volume IV, pp. 20-21. 10 See The W1-itings, I, 413-414. 11 See The Writings, I, 418. 1 ~The originals of both these letters are among Mrs. Madge W. Hearne's collection of Houston Materials, photostat copies of which are in both the Texas State Library, and The University of Texas Library. For brief biographical notes on Joseph L. Bennett, see Volume III, pp. 131-132. 13 Ashbel Smith writing to the son of Anson Jones, November 11, 1878, in "Ashbel Smith Papers," The University of Texas Library, gives a different estimate of Yoakum's History of Texas. He says that Yoakum as an his- torian was "hasty, prejudiced, and ignorant," and that his Histo111 of Texas was compiled without thorough investigation ''even of the slender resources that might have been collected at the time the book was written." aFor a copy of Rusk's report to David Burnet of the battle of San Jacinto see Yoakum's Histo,-y of Texas, II, Appendix I, No. 46, pp. 503-506. 15 Ben McCulloch's Recollections of the Battle of San Jacinto (the original copy) is to be found in Mrs. Madge W. Hearne's collection of Houston materials-photostatic copies in The University of Texas Library, also in the Texas State Library. 10 This particular letter that Houston quotes has not been found, but a considerable amount of information concerning James H. Perry has been previously cited. See Volume I, 415; Volume IV, 274-276; also see Rusk to Colonel Louis P. Cooke, May 5, 1843, in the "Rusk Papers," The Uni- versity of Texas Library. Dixon and Kemp, The He1·oes of San Jacinto, pp. 50-63, copies this letter in full, and gives a brief biography of J nmes H. Perry. MARCH-DECEMBER, 1859
REMARKS ON THE POST OFFICE APPROPRIATION BILL, MARCH 1, 1859 1
Mr. Houston. I should like to know how the honorable Senator from California would reach the Mesilla valley, and those sections
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