The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 5, July 1901 - April, 1902 Page: 46
370 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
46 1exas Blistorical Association Quairterly.
"traitors all who should be found at the distance of four leagues
from the left bank," not of the Nueces, but "of the Rio Grande,"'
clearly indicating his idea as to where the boundary was.
In February, 1847, Santa Anna, in writing to his government
concerning a peace messenger that had been sent to him by General
Taylor, said, "I observed we could say nothing of peace while the
Americans were on this side of the Bravo," showing that he still
thought the Americans would be in their proper place anywhere
east of the Rio Grande.
The matter can hardly be better stated than it was by the Mexi-
can peace commissioners, who said, "The intention of making the
Bravo a limit has been announced in the clearest terms for the
last twelve years. * * * After the battle of San Jacinto, in
1836, that was the territory we stipulated to evacuate, and which
we accordingly did evacuate by falling back on Matamoras. In
this place was stationed what was called the army of the north;
and though it is true that expeditions and incursions were made
upon them, even as far as Bejar, we have very soon evacuated, leav-
ing the intervening space absolutely free, and General Taylor found
it so when he entered there by order of his government"-an admis-
sion that if the Nueces had ever been a boundary, it had been
changed to the Rio Grande by the Texans, long before General
Taylor entered.
Mr. Von IHolst, who professes to have visited Texas, character-
izes this strip as a desert one hundred and sixty miles wide by
about one hundred and twenty long, and he says that being a desert
it was the suitable and proper boundary; but Mr. Bancroft, on the
other hand, considers it land suitable for slave labor. The slave
population, in 1860 in this area, outside of Corpus Christi, was
ninety-nine, and the assessed valuation for 1899 over $22,000,000,
while its real value will approximate $50,000,000, a sum considera-
bly in excess of the assessed values of the entire State of Texas in
1846.
Much stress has been laid upon actual occupancy as necessary
to title, as well as upon the fact that Texas had never exercised
actual jurisdiction over this strip. It must be remembered that
'Von Holst says, "Whoever came within a mile of the left border of the
Rio Bravo was to be shot." Vol. I, p. 683.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 5, July 1901 - April, 1902, periodical, 1902; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101021/m1/52/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.