The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 41, July 1937 - April, 1938 Page: 146
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
people of Texas and the United States and of which he threatened
to inform them could have been only the revelation purportedly
made to him by Erving in 1829. His threat to publish the revela-
tion, to arouse the Americans on both sides of the Sabine, sug-
gests that some sinister plan lay in his mind. Otherwise, why was
he still holding the "revelation" secret and in reserve? May it have
been his intention to "re-annex" Texas forcibly when convenient
circumstances arose, whose approach he anticipated, and on that
occasion to make public announcement of Erving's "Rio Grande
treaty" to justify his imperialistic act and carry the public senti-
ment with him? At that time he was avowedly expectant of revd-
lution in Texas. Also, he was aware that his friend, Sam Houston,
was quietly recruiting an "army" of American adventurers for
the purpose of revolutionizing and conquering Texas; and the
evidence invites the conclusion that Jackson put no obstacle or
check to Houston's project, but secretly approved of it. Jackson's
late contemporary biographer, James Parton, states this as a fact
that he knew from unquestionable sources. In October, 1830, at the
time of his above-quoted letter, Jackson may have been antici-
pating a speedy fruition of Houston's filibustering scheme. As
to why no actual attempt upon Texas was made by Houston in
1830-1832 we are not informed. While it may be that Houston
found difficulty in enlisting recruits for his "army," or that
he lacked adequate funds, or that the establishment of Mexican
military garrisons in Texas following the Mexican colonization law
of April 6, 1830, acted as a deterrent, there is still another alterna-
tive explanation, one which is more likely and, moreover, in keeping
with Houston's promise to Jackson, in 1829, to engage in io
project which would bring dishonor upon the United States.
Namely, it may have been that Houston was playing the slow game
of encouraging his "recruits" to emigrate to Texas as colonists,
there to abide awaiting "the day" when revolt should be feasible.6
6This conjecture is supported by the testimony of Z. N. Morrell, a Ten-
nessean, who moved to Texas in 1835: "Sam Houston was then [1829-1831]
... among the Cherokees, pulling the wires, by making friends with all the
wild tribes of the red men of the forest; thereby intending, with their aid,
and with what emigration he could draw out from Tennessee and elsewhere,
to set in motion 'a little two-horse republic under the Lone Star,' with the
fond expectation that he would be its first president. This he had privately
prophesied would be the case, in a confidential interview with his friend
McIntosh ... at Nashville, about the time Houston abandoned the guber-146
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 41, July 1937 - April, 1938, periodical, 1938; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101103/m1/162/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.