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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
FROM SANTOS VENIBEDAS. He was with his Uncle Brazilois in much of the Revolution; was generally employed in harrassing the enemy on their march, by waylaying them in the defiles, and firing on them at night. This he was allowed to do, with generally about 30 [or] 40 men, when Canalis was flying from the Enemy. Zapata always wanted to fight; Canalis never. When Zapata went into the war he told his men, and told Canalis also, that they had iaken up arms with great odds against them, and must necessarily ,expect to do hard :fighting; and encounter much sufferings, but that they must fight their way through, let what will happen, without any ,compromise. On one occasion, when Canalis became alarmed, and manifested a dis- position to Compromise with the Government, Zapata told him, that he Canalis had pledged himself never to be bought up, or to abandon the cause, and said Zapata, if you dare to do either whilst I am living, I will as surely kill you.. Death shall be certain-my vengeance shall be more speedy and terrible, than that which you apprehend from the :foe, and drives you into treachery.- You know very well that it is my spirit that holds our soldiers together, that it is to me that you yourself as well as the army, looks, for victory, and at the first signal of betrayal or desertion, the force now under your command shall be turned upon you as a foe, more hateful than the central despots. Canalis was always overawed in the presence of Zapata, yet was .affraid to venture any where without, and always felt secure in his various retreats, (for he himself was never in favor of any thing else) when he had Zapata between him and the enemy, where he was alwais kept, as well by his own choice as by the fears of Canalis- When he was captured:, Ariste gave him his choice, either to desert the Federals, or be shot. He chose the latter, saying that I have taken up arms against the tyrany of the Govt. and. I will never lay them, ~xcept in death, until the wrongs of my people are redressed, and their rights secured.- The alternative was renued at the last moment; he repelled it with indignation; and fell a martyr to his :fidelity and patriotism.- One of the feats which first attracted public attention to Zapata was his encounter with a Comanchee. Having pursued a party of Indians to the Nueces, on his way back to Guerrero, he met a large [band] of Comanches 200, his own force being on [ly] 30 or 40. He ordered his men to fall back into a ravine, himself remaining between them :and the enemy. Perceiving that one of the Indians had come a little in ad'{ance of his party, being something bolder than the rest, Zapata succeeded in cutting him of from the body, and took after him. The indian stood until Zapata drew near, when he let fly an arrow which ,passed thro' the thigh of Zapata & pinned him to the saddle-the in- ,dian fled- Zapata, drawing the arrow out, dashed after him; and on ,overtaking him, seized him by the hair of the head and jherked him from his horse; and then dismounting stamped his life out of him. He was armed with pistols & and [sic] a sabre, but use neither, say- ing that he would not honor by their use. The Cane Indians are a half-civilized people--that is they are
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