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Cherish Kindly Keelings.
BY MBS. VI. A. KIDDER.
Cherish kindly feelings, children ;
Nurse them in your heart;
Don’t forget to take them with you,
When from home you start;
In the school-room, in the parlor,
At your work or play,
Kindly thoughts and kindly feelings
Cherish every day.
Cherish kindly feelings, children,.
Toward the old and poor,
For you know they’ve many blighting
Hardships to endure;
Try to make their burden lighter,
Help them in their need,
By some sweet and kindly feeling.
Or some generous deed.
Cherish kindly feelings, children,
While on earth you stay,
They will scatter light and sunshine
All along your way;
Make the path of duty brighter,
Make your trials less,
And whate’er your lot or station,
Bring you happiness.
m
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
JACK DOBELL;
Or, A Boys Adventures in Texas.
A STORY FOR BOYS.
CHAPTER Y.
SANTA ANNA CROSSES THE RIO GRANDE—THE
MASSACRE OF PRISONERS AT REFUGIO—MAJ.
WARD’S COMMAND CAPTURED-COUNCIL OF
WAR-ATTEMPT TO LEAVE GOLIAD-ATTACK
ED IN THE OPEN PRAIRIE.
about the
first of March, a friendly
Mexican arrived at Goli
ippr ad from the Rio Grande,
and informed Col. Fannin
that Santa Anna had crossed that
river with a largo army, which
was moving on in two divisions —
one towards Goliad, and the other
towards the city of San Antonio. A few
days subsequently two or three Ameri
cans came in from San Patricio, bringing
the news that Captain Grant and some
twenty-five or thirty men, stationed at
that place, had been surprised and massa
cred by the Mexicans. About the same
time, a courier came up from Refugio
with a request from the Irish settled at
Col. Fannin would send down
a detachment of men to aid them in re
moving their families to a place of secu
rity. In compliance with their wishes,
thirty-five men, under the command of
Capt. King, were ordered to Refugio, to
act as an escort to such families as might
wish to leave.
I have always had my suspicions that
a majority of the people of Refugio were
better disposed to the Mexicans than to
the Americans; but as I have no positive
proof of the fact, I would not wish to
accuse them wrongfully,, especially as
some of them evinced their loyalty by
BUEKE’S WEEKLY.
taking up arms in behalf of the Texans.
The}" were Roman Catholics, and so were
the Mexicans ; and when the latter got
possession of all the country west of the,
Brazos, most of the inhabitants of San
Patricio and Refugio remained quietly at
their homes, and neither themselves nor
their property were interfered with in
any way.
When Capt. King and his men reached
Refugio, they were attacked on the out
skirts of the place by 700 Mexican caval
ry, and being hard pressed by them, they
retreated into the old Mission, a strong
stone building, at that time encompassed
by walls. The Mexicans brought to bear
upon it a couple of field-pieces, with
which they at length breached the walls
and carried the place by storm. Capt.
King and some seven or eight of his men,
the sole survivors of the bloody conflict,
were taken prisoners, and carried out to
a post-oak grove north of the town,
where they were securely bound to trees
and cruelly murdered by the Mexicans.
Their bones were found still dangling to
the trees when the American forces re
occupied the place in the summer of
1836.
About this time, a courier came in from
the east, with dispatches from Gen.
Houston to Col. Fannin, and it was re
ported in camp that Gen. Houston had
ordered the latter to evacuate Goliad,
and to fall back without delay towards
the settlements on the Colorado. But as
to the truth of this report I cannot speak
positively. At any rate, Col. Fannin
showed no disposition to abandon the
place, but, on the contrary, hearing noth
ing from Capt. King, although he had
sent out three sp>ies at various times to
obtain information of him—all of whom
were captured and killed by the Mexi
cans—he dispatched Maj. Ward with the
Georgia Battalion, consisting of about
one hundred and fifty men, to his assist
ance. They were attacked before reach
ing Refugio by a large force Os Mexi
cans, whom they succeeded for a time
in beating off, but their ammunition fail
ing them, they retreated to the timber
on the San Antonio river, where tlicy
were surrounded and most of them finally
captured. This division of our forces, in
the face of an enemy vastly, our superior
in numbers, was the fatal error commit
ted by Col. Fannin.
Hearing nothing either from Capt.
King or Maj. Ward, and satisfied from
information obtained from our spies, that
a large force of Mexicans were some
where in the vicinity of Goliad, Col.
Fannin held a council of war with his
principal officers, in which it was deter-
mined to abandon the place, and bill back
as rapidly as possible towards Victoria
on the Guadaloupe. About this time, a
courier came in from San Antonio, with
despatches from Col. Travis, stating that
he was surrounded in the Alamo by the
Mexican army, and requesting Col. Fan
nin to hasten with all his forces to his
relief as soon as possible. Provisions for
five days, and as much ammunition as
each man could conveniently carry, were
immediately issued, and our whole force
including an artillery company, with
several pieces of field ordnance—took up
the line of march for San Antonio, cross
ing the river at the ford about half a
mile above the tou r n. After crossing the
river a halt was called, and another
council of war was held, in which I sup
pose it was determined to abandon the
design of marching to the relief of Col.
Travis ; at any rate, we were ordered to
return to Goliad, which we did, re-cross
ing the river at the ford below the town.
The next day, preparations were mado
to abandon the Fort, and to this end we
spiked our heaviest pieces of artillery,
and buried them in trenches we had dug
for that purpose, reserving nine small
pdeces and one mortar to take with us
on our retreat. We also dismantled the
Fort as much as possible, and destroyed
all the ammunition and provisions for
which we had no means of transporta
tion. During the day a detachment of
eighty or a hundred mounted Mexicans
rode up within full view of the Fort.
Capt. Horton, with about thirty mounted
Texans, who had joined us a few days
previously, sallied out, and after a sharp
skirmish, drove the Mexicans back, and
they were seen no more that day.
The next morning, all things being
ready for the retreat, we bid a final fare
well, as we supposed, to Goliad, and took
the road towards Victoria, on the Guada
loupe. We had nine small pieces of ar
tillery, and one mortar, all drawn by
oxen. Capt. Horton, with his mounted
men, led the advance to guard against
surprise. We crossed the San Antonio
river at the lower ford, and four miles be
yond there the Manahuila creek, where we
entered upon the large prairie, extending
from thence to the timber on the Colette,
a distance of nine or ten miles. When
we had approached within two and a halt
or three miles of this timber, wo were
ordered to halt, and the oxen were un
geared from the guns and wagons and
turned out to graze. What induced Col.
Fannin to order a halt at this place, I
never could imagine, when by going a
few miles farther we would have reached
the Coletto creek, where there was an