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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
wrote a letter to Col J·ohnson who succeeded Burleston in the command stateing that it would be difficult to retain volunteers within barracks and thought it advisable to harrass the enemy in their own territory. The vote upon the expedition was taken and carried unannimously by the volunteers aud also sanctioned .by the council. We took up our line of march for Goliad which we reached in three clays. Here we were in- hospitally received by Capt. Dimit commander of the garrison, who in consequence of personal animosity against Col Grant would furnish us with no provisions of which he had a plentiful store, this capt. Dimit states occasioned threats on the part of some privates and induced him to assume hostile preparations, which menaces how- ever if any were made were not made in the presence of, or sanctioned by the officers, Gen! Sarni Houston joined us at this place and addicted himself to the most shameful dissipation carousing and drinking con- tinually with the soldiers, He did not at first disapprove of the expe- dition until he learned that Fannin was the choice of the volunteNs to Command them-his jealous feelfogs towards Col. Fanning prompt.eel him to put down the expedition if possible, we received a letter from Col F, informing us that he had embarked at Velasco antl would meet us with five or Hundred men ·at Copono, and also stated if he was not there at the time he mentioned, for us to go on to Sau Partricio & send back waggons to foward him 011, In pursuance of his instructions we started to Copono accompanied by Gen] Houston, we arrived at the Mission and ]earning this place would be the most suitable to wait for Col Fs. arrirnl we sent a man to Copono to pilot Col Fauniu across the bar While here Genl Houston told us an express had been sent him 1·e- -quiring him to go immediately to San Phillippe at that time the seat of Go,·emment and we afterwards learned that the express contained the information of the arrest of Govr Smith by the council. He remained twenty four hours after he got the express and was constantly engaged in prirnte conversations with the volunteers endenrnuring to influe1we them to abandon the enterprise in which they were engaged and suc- ceeded with our Company. Capt Lawrence re,:igni11g and accompany- ing Gen Houston. 1t may he here well to state that Gen Houston pre- vious to his departure expressed-his regret that he was compeled to leave us but assured us that any service he could clo to promote the expedition would be c·heerfully done A few days after he left and sub- sequent to the time Fannin was to ha,·e joined us, the muster-roll was called and onl_,, sixty men out of two hundred found willing to prof'ee1l to Matamoras the re,:t being dissuadP.d by Houston. When we arriYerl at Patricio another letter from Fn11nin informed us that he was at Copallo a]l(l would come on ns soon as the earts he had written for in a previoui:; letter could be obtainecl- a few days subsique11t to the rec·eption of Fannins letter, we rec-ei,·ecl intelPgcnce of nn advance guard of th<> lower 11i,·i,-io11 ol' the -:'llexic·m1 Army amounting to about twenty four: A 1letac·hnw11t of u.-, ni11C'tC'en in number, immediatPly left San Pat.ril·io in ,:pan·h of them, and c·ame upou them about 20 miles from thnt place; we (•aptnre>cl them without rPsistanl'e, aml returned to San Patri!·io, where the>y were kept unclN· guard for n few tlnys, and then pPrrnitC>d to go nt Libert~· 011 "parole of honour'' . Shortly afte>r our return to Patric·io, another letter wns recel\·ed from
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