The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926 Page: 274
330 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
visit was very short because we could not understand each other.
After a short while, Mr. Groce's son came out with a doctor who
appeared to be a pedant, and another young man, the son-in-law
of Mr. Groce, all of them Americans, and by signs and sentences
in Latin written with pencil they carried on a conversation with
us, trivial in the main, but they did not deign to offer us shelter
in the house, even though they saw us camping under the trees.
Later, they asked us into the house for the sole purpose of showing
us the wealth of Mr. Groce and to introduce us to three dogs
called Ferdinand VII, Napoleon, and Bolivar. The indignation
at seeing the name of the Colombian Liberator thus debased,
caused Mr. Chovell to utter a violent oath which the impudent
fellows did not understand or did not wish to understand. We
returned immediately to our camp and went to bed without supper
because we could not get anything. Groce is a man of 45 or 50
years of age; he came from the United States to establish himself
on the eastern bank of the Brazos River in order to avoid paying
the numerous creditors that were suing him. He brought with
him 116 slaves of both sexes, most of which were stolen. These
wretched slaves are the ones who cultivate the corn and cotton,
both of which yield copious crops to Mr. Groce. Likewise, he has
a great many head of cattle, innumerable hogs, and a great num-
ber of horses; but he is a man who does not enjoy his wealth be-
cause he is extremely stingy, and he treats his slaves with great
cruelty.
The Virgin, uninhabited, May 13.-Not having succeeded in
buying anything for breakfast, we left Groce's place at about seven
in the morning, and after traveling about an hour through the
thick woods, we halted as we came out upon a small clearing
where we were to wait for the rest of the party. We lay down in
the shade of the trees, overcome by want and ill-humor, until a
soldier, Martinez, came and offered us a few pieces of cheese and
corn bread, all that he had, with which we gained some strength.
At about four in the afternoon the general arrived, and the place,
having no name, we called it, next day, the Camp of the Virgin,
because the general that night observed the pivot star of that con-
stellation on the meridian.
May 14.-We continued our march along hills covered chiefly
with live oak and walnuts and some only with grass. The ground274
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926, periodical, 1926; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117141/m1/300/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.