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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
people recd our men with open arms ·and the merchants threw open their stores to the credit of our men- We appointed new officers-. turning out the Centralists and placing the Federalists in power- Tarried in Victoria 3 weeks to protect the new Govr. against the old one After remaining in Victoria about 3 weeks, Malino, came late in the afternoon to Jordan and told him that he had just received in- telligence of the approach of a large force, which it would be impos- sible to resist, and urged the necessity of leaving the place in an hour. Jordan acted according~y. The horses were ord [er] ed to be brought forward and in an hour, we were at the gap in the mountain. Some few however, loitering behind, Capt. Price was sent to collect them and bring them out. In doing this, a difficulty arose which it is pain- ful, to relate. A man by the name of James Wait, from about La- bahia Texas, desired to obtain some Tobacco before leaving, but was ordered not to move by Capt. Price. Wait however said it was im- possible for him to travel without 'l'obacco and started to get some at a neighboring store, when some words passed between him and Capt. Price, whereupon the Capt. drew his pistol and shot him down. He was taken by a Gauchapin woman of fortune to her house and was well treated but died on the next day. Wait could speak the language fluently, and in a short time before his death, spoke to the woman thus- It was for disobedience of orders, not for any insulting lan- guage, for I used none, that I am killed; it is because of an old grudge which the Capt. had against me growing out of the murder of a mexican at Victory in Texas. Wait was an inoffensive man and was buried. in a costly manner by the good woman who had taken care of him. Our force b1;ing now collected we encamped at the gap of the mountain, not distant from town-(Victoria) probably about 4 mile~ off. Next morning we took up the line of march, and in two days came to a small town (once a mining town) where the people all fled at our approach- We entered the town-interrupted nothing; but returned to a labore ½ mile off and camped for the night. (The name of this Town in English would be "Deadman's town") Here we burnt a large quantity of segars (two or three mule loads) which we had taken at Victoria- They were, however, taken by Malino- They were burnt in the public square; and for what purpose, I do not know; unless it was to satisfy us of his antipathy to the people there, being as he called them all Centralists.- Here :Malino, seemed to be in great spirits, and suggested the policy of going to Saltillio, where, he said, we could sack the city and pay ourselves- He further said, by way of encouraging our men to the mount, that he had received an express from John Seguine and Canalis, the former being at Montclover at the head of a force, and joined in the federal eause at an early period of the strife; but after the defeat of Cannalis at San Fernando, he went to Mexico and made peace with the Govt; by telling the Authorities that he had only joined Canalis to become better acquainted with it. He went to Mexico with Capt. Lari Federalist from Zachateccas Martines spoke the English language- Lari did not.
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