The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 9, July 1905 - April, 1906 Page: 154
ix, 294 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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154
Texas Historical Association Quarterly.
were to be fastened on. At the major's whispered suggestion, by
slipping a dollar into the palm of the blacksmith, he was given a
ring so large that it could be removed after taking off his boot.
"This chain was some eight feet long and of the kind used to draw
logs with oxen, a 'log chain.' Even here the major could not
resist the temptation to be facetious at the expense of both, re-
marking that now we were 'bound together by the strongest ties,'
and with a gravity which would have become a graven image, he
pretended to comfort me by paraphrasing from Job, 'That we all
have our trials and tribulations,' that 'Repining was of little
avail,' and 'That the time would soon come when all our bonds
would be rent asunder.'" In his further account of this dreary
confinement in the dungeons of Santiago, Mr. Kendall says:
"But of all modes employed to while away the evenings (they were
made to work in the sewers during the day) the most common was
reading. Conspicuous among this class was my yoke-fellow in
chains, Major Bennet, who might have been seen pouring daily
over a Bible which had been given him by Mr. Elliott, Chaplain
of the United States Exploring Expedition, when in Santiago, on
his way from the Pacific to Washington."
As was stated above, in the Galveston News, the prisoners were
released in 1842, and in August of that year the remnant reached
Galveston by vessel, from Vera Cruz, and were sent forward to
their homes in the interior. Among these Major Bennet arrived
at Galveston broken in health and his body in rags. But here he
was soon in the arms of his children, Miles S. and his daughter,
Sarah, now Mrs. Thomas J. Pilgrim, and who was living in Hous-
ton. After a short rest he, with his son, started on horseback for
their old home in Gonzales. Here an incident may be mentioned
showing how, through all the bitter things which had happened
to him, he preserved that sweetness of disposition which character-
ized him all through life. On the way out from Houston the father
and son, being well mounted for the long journey westward, over-
took a soldier of the Republic, one whom Major Bennet had known
in his department, trudging alone, on foot. He immediately dis-
mounted and insisted that his comrade join their party, walking
and riding by turns, and this plan was persisted in, although it
greatly impeded their progress, until by some good fortune they
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 9, July 1905 - April, 1906, periodical, 1906; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101036/m1/158/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.