Primarily the struggle of the Texans for freedom did not form a part of our war with Mexico, yet this struggle led up directly to the greater war to follow, and it is probably a fact that, had the people of Texas not at first accomplished their freedom, there would have been no war between the two larger republics. The history of Texas and her struggle for liberty is unlike that of any other State in our Union, and it will be found to read more like a romance than a detail of facts. Here was a territory, immense in size, that was little better than a wilderness, a territory gradually becoming settled by Americans, Mexicans, Spaniards, French, and pioneers of other nations, a territory which was the home of the bloodthirsty Comanche and other Indians, and which was overrun with deer, buffalo, and the wild mustang, and which was, at times, the gathering ground for the most noted desperadoes of the southwest. This territory formed, with Coahuila, one of the States of Mexico, but the government was a government in name only, and the people of Texas felt that it was absolutely necessary that they withdraw from the Mexican Confederation, in order to protect themselves, their property, and their individual rights, for, with the scheming Mexicans on one side of them, and the murderous Indians on the other, nothing was safe from molestation. The contest was fought largely by men who knew little or nothing of the art of war, but men whose courage was superb. At first only defeat stared the intrepid band in the face, and hundreds were lost at the Alamo, at the massacre of Goliad, and elsewhere, but then there came upon the scene the figure of the dashing and daring General Sam Houston, and under his magnetic leadership the army of the Mexican general, Santa Anna, was routed utterly, and the liberty of Texas was secured beyond further dispute. EDWARD STRATEMEYER. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. THE HOME ON THE FRONTIER 11 II. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE DEER 19 III. A QUARREL AND ITS RESULT 28 IV. SOMETHING ABOUT THE INDIANS IN TEXAS 36 V. THE ATTACK ON THE RANCH 44 VI. POKE STOVER TO THE FRONT 53 VII. IN AND OUT OF THE BURNING CABIN 62 VIII. AN UNSUCCESSFUL PURSUIT 71 IX. BIG FOOT AND THE MISSING PAPERS 81 X. THE SITUATION IN MEXICO 89 XI. THE OPENING OF THE WAR 97 XII. THE MARCH ON SAN ANTONIO 105 XIII. A FIGHT WITH A PUMA 113 XIV. THE BATTLE OF CONCEPCION 121 XV. DAN TURNS THE TABLES 129