The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898 Page: 301
334 p. : ill., ports., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Some of My Early Experiences in Texas. 301
there were collected from forty to fifty families who were trying
to cross with their cattle, and the noise and confusion were ter-
rible. There was only one small ferryboat, which carried a wagon
and a few passengers. Many of the people were on foot. Deaf
Smith's Mexican wife was in a truck-wheel cart (a cart with two
wooden wheels made from entire cross-sections of a large tree) with
her two pair of twins, but had no team to carry her forward. My
brother Albrecht carried her with his team of oxen for a distance
and then returned for us. Several other people showed her the
.same consideration, and thus she managed to proceed on her jour-
ney. The blockade continued from early morning until the late
afternoon.
The next morning after crossing the Brazos, we stopped at "Cow"
(Cooper's, called thus from the large number of cattle he owned.
Cooper told the people to help themselves to all the meat in his
smoke-house, since he did not want the Mexicans to have it. He
was then a man of about 50 years, and his sons were in the army.
He had a beautiful herd of horses and a lot of negroes. The peo-
ple kept together for about a day, after which they again sep-
arated. We camped near the Clear Creek, where young Louis v.
Roeder was born in a corn-crib.
We intended to remain here as long as possible on account of my
sister. During the night, however, my brother Otto v. Roeder came
to tell us that the Mexicans had gone to the crossing below San
Felipe and that we must move on. And so we once more set out,
being compelled to stop again after the second day. We camped
in the neighborhood of a house where a number of families had col--
lected. Here we heard the sound of cannon, and the next morn-
ing came an old man, Georgens by name, whom we knew quite
well. He told us that the battle had been fought; but when my
father asked him about the result he told us that he had stayed
with the army until he saw that everybody was thoroughly en-
gaged, whereupon he decided that they were able to get on without
him and he left.
Georgens, however, was not the only one who decided that his
presence was not indispensable. Deserters were constantly passing
us on foot and on horseback. The old men who were with the
families laughed at them and called to them, "Run! Run! Santa
Anna is behind you!"
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 1, July 1897 - April, 1898, periodical, 1897/1898; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101009/m1/327/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.