THE FREEBOOTERS. A Story of the Texan War. BY GUSTAVE AIMARD, AUTHOR OF "BORDER RIFLES," "THE INDIAN SCOUT," ETC. LONDON: WARD AND LOCK, 158, FLEET STREET. MDCCCLXI. PREFACE. Apart from the thrilling interest of Aimard's new story, which I herewith offer to English readers, I think it will be accepted with greater satisfaction, as being an historical record of the last great contest in which the North Americans were engaged. As at the present moment everything is eagerly devoured that may tend to throw light on the impending struggle between North and South, I believe that the story of "THE FREEBOOTERS," which is rigorously true in its details, will enable my readers to form a correct opinion of the character of the Southerners. The series, of which this volume forms a second link, will be completed in a third volume, to be called "THE WHITE SCALPER," which contains an elaborate account of the liberation of Texas, and the memorable battle of San Jacinto, together with personal adventures of the most extraordinary character. L.W. 7, DRAYTON TERRACE, WEST BROMPTON. CONTENTS. I. FRAY ANTONIO II. INDIAN DIPLOMACY III. DOWN THE PRECIPICE IV. TWO ENEMIES V. GENERAL RUBIO VI. THE HUNTER'S COUNCIL VII. AN OLD FRIEND VIII. QUONIAM'S RETURN IX. HOSPITALITY X. THE LARCH-TREE HACIENDA XI. A METAMORPHOSIS XII. THE SUMMONS XIII. THE SIEGE XIV. THE PROPOSAL XV. A THUNDERBOLT XVI. THE CONSPIRATORS XVII. THE SPY XVIII. THE PULQUERIA XIX. AT SEA XX. THE PRIZE XXI. A STRANGE LEGEND XXII. THE SURPRISE XXIII. EL SALTO DEL FRAYLE XXIV. THE LANDING XXV. FORWARD! CHAPTER I. FRAY ANTONIO. All the wood rangers have noticed, with reference to the immense virgin forests which still cover a considerable extent of the soil of the New World, that, to the man who attempts to penetrate into one of these mysterious retreats which the hand of man has not yet deformed, and which preserve intact the sublime stamp which Deity has imprinted on them, the first steps offer almost insurmountable difficulties, which are gradually smoothed down more and more, and after a little while almost entirely disappear. It is as if Nature had desired to defend by a belt of thorns and spikes the mysterious shades of these aged forests, in which her most secret arcana are carried out. Many times, during our wanderings in America, we were in a position to appreciate the correctness of the remark we have just made: this singular arrangement of the forests, surrounded, as it were, by a rampart of parasitic plants entangled one in the other, and thrusting in every direction their shoots full of incredible sap, seemed a problem which offered a certain degree of interest from various points of view, and especially from that of science.