29
WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1824-1857
Arkansas for some discreditable conduct; he declared that Major Marshall was a disunionist in Mississippi, and had attended the Nashville Convention in 1850; he called Majo:r Scurry a Jeremy Diddler; he abused Frank Lubbock and Mills; he spoke of a certain individual and his Cherokee relationship; he threatened to pick the wax out of the ears of Jim Wilson; he said that to discourage the men who took issue with him was to encourage the settlement of a Penal colony, and a Second New South Wales; he said he had as soon have five hundred Black Republicans to come to Texas as five Juundred Arkansas men! He called McLeod and T. J. Green arrant cowards; the former, he said, surrendered his command to a flock of sheep, and the latter betrayed his com- mand at Mier into the hands of the Mexicans, and had been twice horse-whipped in North Carolina. Nearly his whole speech was dedicated to the bitterest abuse of men; his figures and epithets being chosen with all the rancor and malignity of _the most vin- dictive and unscrupulous enemy. He went on to give his reason for being a candidate for Gov- ernor. He had not decided when the Waco Convention made its nominations. In Washington he heard many Jackson Democrats say that they could not vote for Runnels; he heard that he was related to him; he came home and asked his wife what he should do. While the matter was pending, Wiley sent a message that he, Houston, dared not run for the office; that he would be met at every cross-road, and that he would be killed off. Again he asked his wife what he should do. She told him to run for Governor; he agreed with her and entered the race. He had killed off Wiley, and there was now an indictment against him in Montgo}Uery County for the murder. He expected to have several other such indictments against him before he got through with "the dogs" of the Waco Convention (Houston imitated the squalling of a cat in pron~uncing the word Waco) . In alluding to Oldham, he had declared that he would handle him (Houston) without gloves. He (Houston) would put on his gloves to handle Oldham, and then went through the ceremony of putting on his gloves. He spoke of his opponent, Runnels. He declared that Mills had said that he could find forty niggers who could make a better speech than Dick Runnels. He then spoke of the Presidency and his pretentions to it. He compared himself to an Irishman whom, he said, was not very popular, for he had knocked down nearly every man in his beat; the office of the Justice of the Peace was to be filled and he asked
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