San Antonio, Texas - San Antonio De Bexar : a Guide and History (part 1 of 5)

Preface

It yet remains forme to express thanks to my helpers. To such Texans as Mrs. M. A. Maverick, Mrs, Canterbury, Dr. Cupples, General H. P. Bee, Dr. Herff, Colonel Ford, Colonel Withers, Mr. John Dobl^in and to others I owe much more than perhaps they are aware of, for it was my talks with " old-timers" that put nic in touch and sympathy with theirs and earlier times. Xot all, of course, that I have learned a])out vSan Antonio has been herein written down, but every smallest detail was counted by me as a help towards the Ijetter understanding of my subject. I was continually impressed by the excellence and accuracy of Sidney Lanier's Historical Sketch, and designed \-cry early that it should form a part of this work. To Bishop Neraz I owe thanks for a glimpse of the older Church Records. As to the County Records, the kind directions of Messrs. Tliad. vSmith and Theo. Rozeine, have been of much service to me. To all these mentioned, and to many others who have unconsciously helped me at the cost of l)eing l)ored. I return my thanks ; nor do I forget that an acknowledgement is liere due to ni}' brother, Charles Corner, tor work and encouragement. I trust my l)Ook will not only be a satisfaction to the in([uiring visitor, but I should like to think that it could furnish a few notes and suggestions to a future historian of Texas.

Pack

Anthony Cro/.at, 1"1- Ilnchereau St. D^nis, 1714. New riiilippines. Spain's Ivarliest Claims. l,a Salle, IdS-"). San Antonio de Valero, 1715. Franciscans of yiieretaro. S ui .\iitonio lie Valero. 17l2-. Spain's Mission. French Claims. Correspondence of D'.Marcoune ami Dela Ilarpc. The San Antonio Missions. "Lastekas" - Texas. Imlians. Teslimonio tie nii I'arecer. .\jiaches, 17.S2. Saniloval anil I'Vaiiquis - ijreat lawsuit. " San .\nlonio tie V'ejar. " l't->iintlation of the Church of tlie Alamo, 1744. I'rench ami vSp.uiish Tolicies, 17(12. San Saba Mission, 17oS. vSecularization t>f the .\l,un > Mission, 17.S.S. Partition of Alamo Mission Lands, 17!>:{ Closing the Alamo Records, 17!».'{. Americans, ISIM). Philip Nolan. Lieutenant I'ike, l.S()7. San Antonio Society Prior to 1810. Troublous Times. Cf)lonel Delj^jatlo. Revolutions. Maj^ee ami Gutierrez. Colonel Kemper. Colonel James Gaines. Governor vSalcedo. Battle. Surrender of vSan .\ntouio by the Royalists. Ma-;sacre of Royalists. Don Klisontlo. Another Rattle. Royalist Loss. Captain Perry. Don Jose Alvares Toledo. General .\rretlontlt). Another Rattle. Roya'ists Victorious umler Arretlomlo, 1S1;5. A Rlick Hole "of San .Antonio. San .\ntoiiio Abamloiied, bSKi. Mose-s .\ustin, \S'2ty .\nieri(.-an Colonists. Treaty of Conlova, ISiil Secession from Spain. French Merchants in San Antonio, 1824. The Howie Rrothers, iS;!!. Shawnees and Comanches. 1882. Sam Houston, 1833. Texas and Coahuila. Stephen F. Austin ami iNIexico, 1833. Revolutionary Meeting, 1834. Tgartechea and Cos. Santa Anna. Deaf Smith. Dr. James Grant. Rurleson. Maverick. San Antonio Hesiet^ed by Texans, IS.So. Milam and Johnson. ,San Antonio Taken. Karnes. Surrender of the .Vlamo by Cos. Travis. Crockett. Arrival of Santa .\nna. ls.S(i. Sie.ice of the Alamo. Ronham and Fannin. Account of Rose. Fall of the Alamo. Mrs. Dickinson and the " Chilil of the Alamo." Indians, 1840. Captain Ilowanl. War between Texas ami Mexico. Raids of Va-quez antl Woll, 1842. Annexation, 184'). Crsmopolitan San Antonio. ^Meteorological. Geographical. San Fernando. Religious. Points of Interest. Conclusion. . .(18 to 91

Illustrations Axd I'Laxs Errata

Houston and Jefferson Streets. Page -"). :.'. I'or turning south at lyaurel Street," read " turning west, etc." Bottom of Page fi. .'!. Since the first sheets of this work were printed the electric rapid transit Street Car Lines almost due west. Page 24. -). The Government Post has been recently officially named Port Sam Houston. Page 2J. 7. Turner Hall has been converted into Rische's Opera House. Page 84.

14 American Biographical Dictionaries differ ns to the year of General R. K. Lee's birth, but the best authorities give January litth, 1807 ; not 180G. Page 181.

Introductory. - " By far the most pleasant as well as interesting town in Texas is San Antonio." So writes George Wilkins Kendall in l.S4."J, in his " Narrative of the Texan Santa Fc Expedition " of the good city of old Bexar, that stood for a generation or two, bravely np. in the seething of the '' meeting of the waters, " - the meeting of tw^o great opposing races and civilizations. Over the rolling western prairies had crept, moving eastwardly, the fringe of the tide of the Spanish, - the L,atin-Indian civilization from Mexico meeting after awhile here a mightier and colder current pushing westward - the American, the ever restless Anglo-Saxon flood. The stronger influence overcame. To-day, San Antonio is a flourishing, enterprising, American city, as Texas is the greatest of American States and one destined to a magnificent future. It boasts an historical past. San Antonio was a bone of contention, Texas was the meat and fat for the victors, and all good San Antonians believe, with some show of reason, that the nearer the bone the sweeter the meat, which is just about what Kendall means, only expressed rather differentl3^ for he adds later to this praise of San Antonio the following : " I have an abiding faith in Western Texas, and will stick by it till the Guadalupe run.; dry." Such love had old Texans it seems for the land they had foaght for and won.

Both floods still remain, but now commingle harmoniously, having long since ceased to maintain an unequal contention. Strange traces, however, of the struggle are ever^'where present iti the old city, in spite of its new face and smile of prosperity. Its quaint traditions, customs and reminiscences are quickly recognized by a stranger's enquiring eye. Alas ! while these, the old houses, here and there, and the Missions, nore or less the worse for age, remain to us, the strong, grand old pioneer faces of men who had in their turn taken up their " pistols'' their " sharp-edged axes," and the are getting to be few and far between, but their work, their sons and their sons' sons remain. San Antonians, pure and simple, and Texans mostly, walk with a step that bespeaks tradition and a certain pride of country, of a jealous remembrance of that part their fathers took in the winning of the brightest star of all in a galaxy, and a demeanour which tells strangers plainly enough if they be too prompt with unwelcome criticism of some of their seemingly odd old ways, fashions and methods, - " Sirs, we have a history, find it out, it will repay you and perhaps yoti may discover why we do some things that you would not do and leave undone some things that you would do." And, indeed it will repay the student right noblj'. It is a stirring, thrilling history almost ine.Kliaustilile in interest.

It is liowLxeT iIk- inock-rn town wliicli has to be dealt witli just now. Its historv, chronicles and sonr- deeds of its don^iity men will he found as full>- set out in other paj;es as space will allow. But, as this ^uide is compiled as much for the benefit of straui^ers and encpiirers as for home folks, it is as well that a few of the leadin«^ facts of the city's orii^in and beinj^ beemphasi/.ed in this introductory.

San Antonio is now probably the most cosmopolitan spot on the face of the globe. Representatives of every race of the earth hav^e been counted here, except perhaps the aboriginal Oceanican.s. The larger elements of the existing population are American, Mexican, German, Colored, with smaller groups of French, Italian. Polanders, Irish and many oilier nationalities.

San Antonio partakes more of the appearance of an old world town than any in the I'nion - Boston not excepted. Although the modern business blocks and fine residences, with all their adjuncts in the way of the conveniences of civilization so largely i)redoniinate, yet the ancient looking house here and there, the crooked streets and alleys, the plazas, the relics of an older and altogether different dynasty - lend the city a venerable air that is particularly pleasing to the visitor's eye .so u.sed to straight, wide streets and compact blocks laid out in the mathematical preci.sion of a chess board.

The peculiarities of the city will be better understood if the facts hinted at above are remembered. To comprehend things rightly the city's history and origin must be constantly borne in mind. L,et the rule, for instance, be applied in reference to the venerable Missions, at once the pride, glor}' and regret of San Antonio.

Let a traveller from the East or North be set down before the gateway of San Jose. In his journeyings he has seen nothing like this before. The Mission must be to him an enigma. He hears that it is a century and a half since its foundations were laid by Catholic missionaries, aided by their converts, half or more than half savage Indians, all under constant peril of their lives from the outside from the cruelest of hostile tribes, that were uncompromising in their enmit}'. If he is practical, the traveller will wonder whence the stone came where no quarries were - from where the lime, with no kilns - who was the architect, the superintendent of works, the artist stone cutter - the engineer, for he may be told that this old Mission was once fortified. An intelligent man is bound to ask these things, and if he merely remembers that the Mi.ssion is on the outside edge of his own territory and civilization he will fail to understand and realize how it was all done; he is even in the dark as to the spirit and design of its founders, much less comprehending the hard, practical fact of the presence of these great masses of masonry and beautiful sculpture in a lone, wide, wild prairie, as he knows the spot nuist have been in the days of the erection of these Missions.

But. suppose that the traveller had come from, sa}-, the City of Mexico - had a smattering, at least, of Spanish and Mexican History, knew and understood that the aggrandizement of Spain's Empire was the object alike of Church and State - the King and the Church going hand in hand, the one establi.shing the other: the King granting, conceding, and sending his soldiers to protect, the Church sending its well-trained servants to work, to proselytize, to acquire, to bless. Coming through Mexico, the progression from one great religious foundation to another would seem natural, as he traxelled northward and eastward, and, keeping in view Spain's necessity to firmly establish her borders, the Texas Missions would appear at last perfectly in place and keeping with a definite design and scheme. The puzzle would be ab.sent, but the admiration for indefatigable workers would be none the less. The Missions would be the ornament on the fringe of the Spanish and not the Anglo-Saxon skirt. To the brothers - Franciscans - who had the ac(juirements, resources, devotion and energy to plan, design and build the magnificent churches of the City of Mexico, the religious houses, chapels, bridges and acjueducts scattered over the land, the foundation and construction of the San Antonio Missions, wonderful as the work was, does not seem to be a very difhcult task. Perhaps some of the same workers who built the great stone aqueduct at Oueretaro about the year IT-'^O came up to San Antonio with the Oueretaro Franci.scan brothers and helped in the completion of the beautiful San Jose.

It is thus, then, that he nuist be in toucli with its histor\- who would come to correct conclusions about the grand old City of Bexar. This is only a single instance of a brighter side - but to other and sterner chapters the rule applies with a like reason.

Not to delay further a practical description of San Antonio as it is - what there is to see and how to see it - the visitor is strongly recommended, before setting out on the rounds, to read Sidney Lanier's historical sketch. It will be found to be reliable, and is the best short history of the city that has been written. It is from the pen of one of America's most charming writers, and no prai.se of it is needed here. The name of the author is sufficient to ensure its being read with interest and attention.

Railroads. - Three main lines of railroad with a multitude of tributaries run into and through San Antonio. The visitor may arrive at either of three different depots.

The Southern Pacific or Sunset, as it is familiarly called, has its depot in the northeastern suburbs. The main line stretches from New Orleans to beyond San Francisco. Many of the New York and Eastern mails come in over this route, it having cpnck competing communications for eastern traffic and travel. Its principal business done with San Antonio is from California on the west - from New Orleans, Galveston and Houston, etc., on the east. It was the first railroad to reach this city, arriving here early in February. 1n77. An electric street car line - Belknap system - car labelled Avenue C. Line, etc., color green, nickel fare, does service for this depot to the Alamo Plaza citywards and to the Government Hill northwards. Another electric car line also does service here to Avenue K. and Alamo Plaza citywards and to the Alamo Heights, at the head of the river, northward - fare, nickel: color, yellow; light, purple. The Southern Pacific ticket office is in the Adams ^c Wickes building, on Alamo Plaza.

Thk International and Great Northern depot is in the western suburbs of the city. This line gives us communication with alj parts directly north and east, via Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, etc.. passing through our city, on via Laredo, to the Cit}- of Mexico, to which city it is at present one of the shortest routes. It also hrinj^s many eastern mails. It made its first appearance from the north in this city l-'eliruary Kith, 1>1>>1. It has an electric city street car service - Helknap system - color. oran';e: lahelled City Hall, I'la/as and all Hotels. The Inli-rnational and (ireat X«>rllKin ticket oflice is on the corner of X. Alamo street and Alamo Pla/a.

'riii- San i^.NTONio and Akaxsas Pass Railroad familiarl\- "S. A.P." "Our Railroad," the spoilt child of vSan Antonio, is an enterprise of which the city may well be proud. I'nder the far-sighted policy of its able president, U. Lott, who has a strongly develojied prophetic instinct in him, this road is ilestinetl to become an important system. At present, with upwards of 800 miles in operation, it does j;ood service, firstly with Boerne and Kerrville on the north, whence it is pushing a northwestern extension ; secondly with Corpus Christi and Rockport, and eventually deep water at Aransas, and the short est HMite to the City of Mexico on the south ; thiidly with all that fertile grazing and farming country lying between Kenedy and Houston, doing here an immense cotton and cattle freighting business ; fourthl> with Houston and Galveston east ; fifthly with another rich mid-Texas district by an important branch to Waco. Other branches are under construction and in contem[)lation. Mr. Lott's able lieutenant is General Manager B. F. Yoakum. The first ground was broken for this railroad in this city May 18th, 188."). It is identified with the interests of San Antonio. The depot is in the southern suburbs. It is served by two car lines, the red car coming to Alamo Plaza the N-ellow car serving through South Flores street to the Military Plaza and North P'lores street. The ticket office is in the Kampmann building, on Main street.

Maiiory Line of Steamers. - The plea.santest though not the shortest route to New York, is by rail to Galveston, thence by one of the Mallory steamers. This is a most delightful trip especially in the summer time.

Transfer. - Busses and transfer wagons meet every train incoming or outward bound. The company is moderate in its charges for baggage or passengers,

Hacks and Carriages. - One of the peculiarities of San Antonio is an inunen>c hack tratlic. It is a favorite mode of locomotion. The charges are not high on account of the considerable competition. It is however always advisable to have a perfect understanding with your Jehu beforehand as to his ultimate charges, or in nine cases out of ten upon .settlement you will harbor suspicions of being over-reached. Many of the hacks are costl\- vehicles, and nearly all have good stepping, strong horses. On the whole it does well to fall into the custom of the place as to hacks. There are always plenty of them at train times at the depots and the stands are conveniently placed on the Plazas and Houston street.

Hotels. - The Menger is the oldest and best hotel in the city. It is conspicuous on the eastern corner of Alamo Plaza, not far from the Alamo Church building. The Menger was established in 1858, being opened Januar\^ olst, 18.")1) It has been constanth* added to until now its extensive buildings cover the greater part of the block. It is in the hands of its proprietor, Mr. H. D. Kampmann, and well managed by Mr. Browder. Its service and appointments are first-class in every particular. The facade is prettily shaded by trees, and the court yard contains one of the prettiest groups of banana trees in Texas. In the season musical evenings are an attraction to its guests, and fashionable germans are periodically held. It is impossible to state the various hotel charges. It is perhaps sufficient to say that the charges of none are exorbitant. It is well situated as to street car service, many of the various city lines starting and terminating on the Alamo Plaza, viz : the scarlet line car plying between this plaza down Houston street to San Pedro Avenue and Springs - scarlet light. The City Hall line on Main and Military Plazas. I. & G. N. depot and all hotels - color, orange; light, orange. The Avenue C line to Southern Pacific depot and Government Post - color, green: light, green. The S. Alamo, Mill street and S. A. & A. P. R. R. depot - color, red; light red. Green cars do service from the end of E. Commerce. A hack stand fronts the hotel.

Another good hotel is the Maverick, on Houston street. The l)uilding was originally erected for Military Headquarters, and was used for this purpose trom January 2o, '78 till 1SS2, being enlarged and opened as a hotel in April of that year. As a hotel it is second in importance only to the Menger. It is very well served bj^ the proximity of all the important street car services of the city, many of the lines passing its doors.

Boarding" and Lodging" Houses, Flats. - San Antonio is not quite so well off for good boarding houses as it might be. Probably the reason may be found in the fact that it enjoj's a number of other facilities for easy and cheap living. Nevertheless, a number of really good boarding houses can be reckoned. Mrs. Cole's house, on Pecan street, enjoys a first class reputation for the excellent table that is kept and the attention paid to the general comfort. Mrs. Murphy's, on St. Mary's street, is noted for similar good qualities, also Mrs. Sappington's, on Tobin Hill. Mrs. Hockett's, on St. Mary's street, has a well-established reputation. Of cour.se there are many other fairly good houses, but changes so constantly come that the li.st mentioned must suffice. A custom that very well suits the visitor making an extended staj' is that which many of the inhabitants have of letting for rent by the month, certain rooms, very often the best in their houses. Such visitors can make themselves very com fortable, and live more economically, by rooming in this fashion and boarding where best suits their appetites and convenience. Of course, all sorts of bargains can be made. It only requires a little .searching for every class to be made perfectly comfortable. In fine, San Antonio, if not provided specifically with a large number of good boarding houses, is nevertheless a city in which living is made easy, not to say delightful. Mention must here be made of two excellent institutions, the Webb house, on Houston street - half boarding house, half hotel - spoken of highly as a place of comfort, and the Alamo Flats, on Alamo Plaza, a most convenient arrangement of rooms and suites of rooms, nicely furnished and excellently well conducted under its jirescnt management.

Restaurants - Good ones are Harni.sch 6c Baer's. on Alamo Plaza; the Elite, at the corner of Soledad street and Main Plaza; and Lang's Dining Room, on Conniierce street.

The Belknap System of Lines comes first. For years - since ISTS almost up lo the present time - this system was the only one which San Antonio had. It was inauj;urate(l liy the late Col. Au.<;ustus IJelkna]), formerly such a popular aiul i;enial fi.^iire in our community. It is now under the management of the ahle jiresident of the company, Mr. W. H. Wei.ss. We have other systems and lines, and still others are projected. This system .serves about all parts of the cilv, and all its lines, except the Flores street line, focus on the Alamo Plaza. Takin.u, therefore, the Alamo Plaza as a starting- point, we will de.scriije this system, mentioning: principal streets, in pro.u^ress and the termini.

The Scarlet Lake Cars, named San Pedro line, take Houston street, turning north to Acequia street to San Pedro avenue and San Pedro Springs, turning east awhile down Locust street, then north again through Crockett Place and encompassing Laurel Heights, hack to and terminating on San Pedro avenue, far above tile Springs. Night light, red; fare, a nickel. Hlectric line.

The (ireen Cars, named Avenue C line, take Houston street, shortly turning north on Avenue C to the Southern Pacific depot, following Austin street to Carson street to Grayson street to Government Post, terminating at the southwest corner of the Xew Post. Night light, green; fare, a nickel. Electric line.

The Orange Cars, named City Hall line, take Houston street, Soledad street south, across Main Plaza to Military Plaza. Dolorosa street, West Conunerce street to the L & G. N. depot, where it terminates. Night light, orange; fare, a nickel. P^lectric line.

The Dull Red Cars, named S. A. & A. P. R. R. line, takes Alamo street south to Mill street to the S. A. & A. P. R. R. depot. Night light, red; fare, a nickel.

The Yellow Cars plying between San Pedro Springs to North Flores street, to Military Plaza, to South Flores .street and Ar.senal, to S. A. & A. P. R. R. depot terminating on South P'lores street south of that depot. Night light, purple ; fare,

The McCrillis, or Alamo F^lectric Street R. R. System, is next in importance. Going south from the heart of the city it crosses Houston and Commerce streets on Navarro street, crosses the Mill bridge down Garden street, turning on Mill street to Presa street, going far down that street, terminating at the Fair and Ivxposition grounds and Riverside Park. Fare, nickel.

The McCrillis Sy.stem also staris from the Alamo Plaza out Avenue E. a short distance to Third street, making a turn down that street cro.s.sing Avenue C, then into Martin street, making a junction on that street with its main line, then crossing the river over the bridge by the Convent on to Richmond Avenue, Madison Square, to Main Avenue, to Howard Street and Crockett Square, turning south at Laurel street across the San Pedro creek to the Fredericksburg road to Kev-

The West End System, built princijially for the acconnnodation of the West End Town Company's passenger traffic, is a good line of Thompson-Houston Electric System. Starting from the corner of Houston and Acetjuia streets it goes west out Houston street, skirting the western limits, to the West Ivnd Lake, where it terminates. Styled "Houston Street and West End." Color, blue; night light, blue; fare, nickel.

The Alamo Heights System. This line, starting from the Alamo Plaza out Avenue E. into Austin street, past the Southern Pacific R. R. depot into River Avenue past the head of the river, encompassing that property to the Alamo Heights, a new and important addition to the improved suburbs of the city. Color, yellow; night light, purple; fare, nickel.

There is a short car line from the I. & G. X. depot to the summit of Prospect Hill. Also one called the Cross Town R. R., little used, from the Southern Pacific Railroad to the bottom of San Pedro Avenue.

The visitor once housed to his satisfaction in the city, so much around him is so interesting and so different to what he has hitherto seen, that he is sure to be early asking questions and enquiring generally as to the lions of the neighborhood, what there is to see and how best to see it. Here is a list and following a more extended description with mention of the attractions of San Antonio and Western Texas.

The Alamo of course leads the list, that is a shrine before which every pilgrim to San Antonio bows. The First and Second Missions should not be mis.sed, and the Third with its substantial old Aqueduct, and the Fourth with its more perfect fortifications, if time will allow, should be visited. iVU four Missions have different points of interest and will repay a thousand times in pleasure any difficulty in getting to them. The San Fernando Cathedral, the extensive Irrigation Ditches, are worthy of note. The Plazas, the curious custom of the all-night outdoor Supper on the Plazas. The stranger should certainly take a Mexican supper. The Mexican quarter and its denizens, trans-San Pedro creek, should be done. Riverside Park and Exposition Grounds, the San Pedro Springs, the Head of the River, a peep at the Horse and Stock Yards, two or three fine Public Buildings, and last but not least the Government Military Post and Depot, with its extensive grounds and works, drills, parades, music and barracks. This Post is probably the most important in every respect of any in the United Slates.

TIk- louiulalioii ^loiiL- ol'tliL- Cliurcli was laid on May Slh, 17 11. A stone in the carved front bears a date ol' 17-^7 ; it is nncertain what tliis date means ; it niav he tlie date of tlic Chnrch's dedication. C.irand shows (Yoakum's History, App. IV.) that the Mi.ssion was founded in 17<>;!, on the Rio Grande, and after beinjj twice removed to diflerent sites it was finally brought to San Antonio by order of the Viceroy of New Spain, the Marquis of Valero, May 1st, 1718. A printed copy obtained from Rev. Father Bouchu, Padre at the Mi.ssion Kspada, of " Informe Oficial del Conde Revilla-gigedo, Virey de Mejico al Rey de Msjiana. 17*.i."')," concerning the Missions of Texas, relates that the " ereccion " of this Mi.ssion dated 171(5. The Mission was secularized with the others by decree of Don Pedro de Nava. April lOth, 17'.M. The famous siege began February 22d, is;;c.. The " Fall of the Alamo" occurred March (ith, is:5().

A visitor to-day at " The Alamo," will be met at its entrance b}- the worthy janitor. Capt. Tom Rife, a Texan of pioneer days. He guards the building with a jealous care it is indeed a pleasure to note in these days of the irrepressible relic hunter and wall .scribbler. The visitor will be given in .short the particulars of the foundation of the Mission and the church. A description will be given him of the desperate stand to the last man of Travis, Bowie (the inventor of the celebrated bowie knife), "Davy" Crockett, Bonham, and their companions, in defense of their countrymen's liberties and the independence of Texas. One hundred and seventy or more men, with sublime recklessness, decided that the}- would never surrender or retreat. Death to each was the cost of this magnificent temerity. He will be shown the arch pillars upon either side, evidences of a massive arched roof and dome, the remains of the towers, with the vaulted ceilings to the ground floor cells, the connection of the place with the convent from the choir, the cruciform of the Church, the site of the dome, the room used as a powder magazine during the siege, which is interesting for its massive walls and strong, vaulted stone roof or ceiling, and for the fact that it was here that Kvans was shot in a last vain endeavor to set fire to the residue of the ammunition and that in all probability it was here that Bowie was bayoneted on his sick bed too ill of typhoid fever to do anything but .set a high example of admirable fortitude and courage. The present roof .some of the upper windows and floorings and other improvements, the visitor will be reminded are modern. The captain will be found ever ready to answer the (luestions that naturally arise to tho.se not too familiar with the Alamo's eventful histor5\

The building now commonly known as the Alamo, and which is really the Church of the Mission of the Alamo, or of San Antonio de Valero, is on the east side of the Alamo Plaza, its carved front faces west ; it stands at a point a little

* '.Alaino " is the Spanish name for the cottonwood tree, a species of poplar quite common upon the banks of Texas rivers and creeks ; its timber is in demand for the beauty of its texture ; on account of the height of its close foliage it makes a favorite roosting place for wild turkeys. The Alamo .seems to have been built in a grove of thes trees.

The Alamo

north of midway on the east side of this Plaza, as at present constituted. As will be seen on reference to the plan of the Mission as it originally was, both the Alamo Church and the Convent yard were outside the eastern boundary of the ancient enclosure known as the 'Square of the Mission." This enclosure extended its northwest corner down Avenue D one hundred feet or more, emljracing with the north-west walls a good portion of the actual building site of the new federal building. Its western boundary was almost exactly along the sidewalk past the Maverick homestead across Houston street i)ast the Maverick Hank and the row of buildings following on the west side of Alamo Plaza. The boundary all along here, as is most frequently the ca.se with these Missions, consisted of dwellings and barracks for the u.se of those connected with or dependants of the old Missions. Two irrigation ditches or acequias, both of them al)andoned many years ago, ran upon each side of this row of dwellings, one a branch of a branch and the other a branch called the Aceciuia deb Alamo of the Villita ditch, now running under the eastern wall of the Church through the Menger hotel on to " La Villita," which ditch, by the way, is itself a l)ranch of a main aceqiiia (Acequia Madre del Alamo) which passes farther east from the head of the river and on to Water street. All the.se ditches were used not only for irrigating the lands in the immediate vicinity and belonging to the Missions, but pro\-ided water for the domestic uses of the Padres and their numerous dependants and coadjutors. Similar dwellings and buildings to tlio.se mentioned formed the northeastern corner of the square. The .southern boundary was more prominent on account of the strongly built entrance and sally-port of the square being there. The building each side of the entrance were most connnonly used as a prison and stronghold ; further mention of ihis building will appear later. Hardly a vestige o^ these enclosing walls of the Mission Square could be found to-day. The eastern wall or boundarj' was also conspicuous for the Convent buildings which it included, and upon these Convent foundations Honore Grenet, in the year 1878, built for a grocery warehou.se the inartistic erection now occupied by the firm of Hugo & Schmeltzer. This property has been condemned by the city (1SS9) so that these remnants, too, will in all proba1)ility .soon disappear before the mandates of improvement committees; when, all that will be left of this once prominent and always most famous of the Texas Missions will be tho.se walls in the form of a cross, which with " ears to hear," caught to themselves the secrets of the closing scenes of a sublime tragedy. They alone know the last personal results of a unanimous resolve of desperate but calmly deliberate heroism. Old, battered, time-worn, silent walls, no word of any single hero's prowess, or separate and supreme feats do your portals tell. They are carved with emblems and signs of quite another story. Those deeds are your secret. Nevertheless, echoed from you, shall be heard the whispers adown the farthest "corridor of time" of a magnificent story of reckless and immovable self-sacrifice.

East of the Convent Ijuilding, projected from its walls the Convent yard, a rectangular enclosure, about 100 feet scpiare. surrounded by strong walls, it touched and joined with its southeast corner the wall of the near corner of the north wing of the cross formed by the walls of the Mission Church. The Convent building was 191 feet long, running to the south line of East Houston street, so no doubt on the north side of the Convent yard was another enclosure proba- bly fenced with a wall, Iml not of the importance of the main Convent yard. The Convent, the Conwnt xard. tlie prison hnihling already mentioned, and which was existing till 1S()(), ' wlien a siorm hlew llie roof off) or later, the space immediately in front of the Alamo Cliuicli wliich was protected by a temporary hattery stockade of cedar posts and Larlhworks stretching from the prison building to the southwest corner of the Churcli, and I.isIIn , the Church itself, were the chief scenes of the siege of P'ebruary and March, \S-U'>. In tlie Church the last desperate stand ot the renuiant of the defenders was made. These portions of the Mission were those that in these later troubles were commoidy undenstood to constitute the fortre.ss of the Alamo. While some of the dwellings might have been used and undoubtedly were used as barracks by larger forces, it could not have been but impo.ssible for a handful of men (less than ISO) to have manned the whole extensive original walls of the Mission square. Indeed, tradition says that much of the western and northern boundaries of the large Mission square had been destroyed in 18.')."), before the siege, and that even the pri.son portion was abandoned quite early in the siege, though still covered by unerring marksmen with the long rifles which the Texans knew so well how to handle. Before, General Cos did much to damage the place as a tenable fortress and during and after the siege, the walls were dismantled. Piecemeal, " here a little and there a little," the old Mission has been improved off the face of the earth. Verj^ forlorn and dilapidated must it have appeared when it left the hands of Santa Anna and his myrmidons in the spring of 1836. " The Alamo," sa5's Kendall, writing of 1841 "is now in ruins, only two or three of the houses being inhabited." For thirteen or fourteen years after "the fall," the place remained in a state of almost absolute ruin. For much less than a century had this church .stood in the beauty of completeness. There are strong evidences that the Alamo Church in original general design resembled the Church of the Mission Concepcion, that is to say, it had a carved front, on either side of which was a tower with baptismal or vestry rooms at their bases, wnth belfries in their second stories. Both Churches were built in the form of the cro.ss and had similar arches and arched stone roofs. The Alamo Church, probably like the Mission Concepcion Church, had a dome at the intersection of the cross arches. Here, perhaps, the resemblance between the two Churches ceased Now, long before the siege, tradition says,, the towers had disappeared, the roof and dome had mostly fallen in, but what was left of the walls stood bravely up. These thick, strong walls, the Convent wnth its yard and the carcel or prison entrance were recognized by the manj- militar}^ leaders of the various factions and armies in the struggles and troublous times of the early part of the present century as about the .safest harbor of refuge the neighborhood afforded, as at times others of the Missions were considered good frontier fortresses.

About the year 1849, Major E. B. Babbitt, acting Quartermaster of the Eighth Military Department, and father of the present popular commander of the Arsenal, Major Lawrence S. Babbitt, took possession of the Alamo buildings in the name of the U. S. Government to use them as a Quartermaster's Depot. The ownership of the Alamo was disputed at this time, the city claiming it on the one side, the Roman Catholic Church upon the other. The city claimed from Major E. B. Bal)bitt, on January 3d, 18.")0, rents due for the occupation of the " buildings and propertv known as llic Alamo." In a subse(|uent suit which the city lost, Bishop Odin, on behalf of his Church, proved her title to the propert}-.

Major Babbitt, as has been .said, found the whole place in appearance an absolute ruin. The Church building was choked with debris, a conglomeration of stones, mortar and dirt forming on the inside a slanting heap from the base of the rear wall to the top of the front " so that a person could run up and look over the top of the front." Much work was necessary- to put the place into anything like the shape necessary for offices and depot houses, and sheds. The Major set to work to do this. The Church was first cleared, and deep down in the debris were found two or three skeletons that had evidently been hastily covered with rubbish after the fall, for with them were found fur caps and buckskin trappings, undoubted relics of the ever memorable last stand. In a later year, March 2*.», 187(S, other skeletons buried at an earlier, and apparently more peaceful period, were unearthed in the Church, and a beautifully carved baptismal font was brought to light, November 15, 1S78. What varied scenes in the life of man it had witnessed ! One would be tempted to moralize writing for anything else but the pages of a bald historical guide. The next work done was the repairing of the front. To restore the upper part of it to its original form was impracticable. Bare practical utility is the desired feature of any Government Military work. So the top was finished off in its present modest shape, the rest of the walls were raised to an equal height, a roof was added, and to assist in bearing up this roof, two stone pillars were built inside at points in the wings of the cross in line with the arch pillars. A second floor was added, and in the southwest tower, once a belfry, an office was made. Other offices were added on the ground floor. A few troops were at first quartered in the Church, the Convent and yard were al.so fitted up for storerooms, stables and sheds. The carcel was also roofed and cleared, and a .serviceable granary was made of it and used as such by the Quartermasters for many j^ears. It was demolished soon after the war, the wind beginning this work of destruction in LS()(). This old prison building u.sed to stand east and west acro.ss the north end of the garden of the Alamo Plaza and its foundations were brought to light in ISSl), when the leveling of the Plaza,'preparatory to laying mesquite blocks, began. The buildings as restored b}- Major Babbitt, were used as a Quartermaster's Depot by the United States troops until the breaking out of the war, when the Confederate authorities used it for a similar purpo.se. After the war it was again used hy the United States Government until the new Quartermaster I)e]iot was ready on Government Hill, on January .'51, 1.S7S.

In 1877 Grenet purcha.sed the Convent portion of the Alamo property, and shortly (October 5, 1S7S) erected the atrocious lumber building before noticed. Objection was made on the part of the Church authorities to using the Alamo Church building as a mercantile storeroom, yet it undoubtedly was used for this at times. Early in bss;*, the State began negotiations for the purchase of the old Church, and under Act of April 23, ISSS, this was clone, and on May KJ, the final transfer to the State for 8"i' >.()()() was made. This was the right and proper thing to do, and it was but a slight recognition of the valor of the men to whom

Texas owes so imioh. not to mention the many other historical associations that its walls embody. Man}- particulars and details of the foundation and earlier history of this Church and the Mission will l)e found in Sidney Lanier's historical sketch. These notes are intended in part to supplement and fit into his excellent description.

This structure, once merely a Parish Church, now a Cathedral (the first Bishop of San Antonio was in.stalled here Christmas eve, 1^74), is a mixture of the old and new regimes. All that is left of the old building is the rear part, easily distinguished by its marked Moorish characteristics, its dome and massive w^alls and octagonal design. The first Parish Church seems to have been built by subscription and the " subject of the construction was first considered in the Royal Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar, February 17th, 17^5.S.* Don Prudencio de Orobio Basterra being Governor and Captain-General of the Spanish State of Texas, and Don Juan Rezio de L,eon being Curate, Vicar and Ecclesiastical Justice of the town of San Fernando (without the Presidio of San Antonio), and it w^as resolved that this Parish Church should be erected under the invocation of the Virgin and our Lady of Guadalupe." Many Spanish names which appear in the original list of contributors are names well known in the present day, held by descendants. This old Church stood upon much the same ground as the modern structure does, that is, midway between the two Plazas, the Main and the Military. It bore, however, a nearer relation to the Military Plaza and its habitants than to the other, for it was here mostly that Spain's soldier-guardians of her border colonies dwelt, and it was for their use, more especiallj^ that the Church was designed.!

The corner stone of the new structure was laid on September LSGS. The old main dome was destro3-ed April 2i)th, Ls72, and the new walls went up outside the old, so that the Church was only for a short time in disuse. July od, 1<S73, the old front was torn down. F. Giraud, who w^as Mayor of San Antonio at the opening, October Bth, LS7o, had furnished the architect's plans and specifications. It was the intention of the architect to have two similar towers, yet only one was partially completed. These towers were to have additional structures of wood surmounting the masonry, twenty-five feet above the sunnnit of the tower now erected. In this tower are several bells that chime out morning, noon and evening, telling to all the city the time of day. Daily services are held, the Sunday morning congregation is, as a rule, large, and then the music is good and well worth hearing. The Church is open all day and under the care of a sacristan. There is an old and interesting font and several large pictures and other notable decorations. The present Bishop is San Antonio's second - the Right Reverend J. C. Neraz.

+ There was formerly mention existing in the church records of a still older church building on a different site, at about No. 500 North Laredo street; all traces of this foundation have entirely disappeared. It was the origin of the old Sau Fernando Parish Church, and in a measure the building of the latter was probably a removal merely from the Laredo street site.

The Missions

A protest must be recorded here against the wanton mutilation of the sculpture of the Missions by thoughtless relic hunters. The shameful chipping of the beautiful carving has been going on for years. At San Jose whole figures have been stolen and others made headless ; the fine old carved cedar paneled doors of this Mission were entirely wrecked and carried away piecemeal. Can any good u.se warrant such senseless robbery ? Good friend, forbear ! forbear even to add your name to the thousands scratched, scribbled and penciled on walls not meant for such a purpose.

Each Mission has its distinctive fea'aires, and all are well wortli a visit. Time, of course, is of great consideration to most people, and they would rather see one than none, which is reasonable enough, but if the time can possibly be spared none of the four Missions should be missed. There is nothing of the kind of equal interest on this continent. It is an experience of a lifetime, especially so to him who is engaged in the rush and torrent of business life. Let him then sacrifice a little to this object and he may be sure that, far from regretting the time, it will be a memory to be long cherished. It is a simple matter to get to the Missions, except after a heavy rain, and then the muddy roads, as every where else in the world, are a little unpleasant. The v.-ay for a stranger to go, to thoroughly enjoy the time, is to hire a bugg}', or, if a small party is made up, a larger conveyance. Northern visitors are often seen making them.selves very uncomfortable b}^ goiug out to the Missions on horseback thinking that it is the thing to do in Texas. If you are a good rider, all right, but don't make yourself miserable by putting yourself for the first time in a Texas saddle to see the Missions, or 3'ou are very sure not to appreciate what there is to see. The ride should be made a separate number on the program. Granted, - that you have made up your mind to hire a buggy and to see all the Missions. Start in the morning after breakfast taking a light lunch with yt)u. Vou lake Garden street going south, and noting as you leave town the wide old Concejicion Ditch on the left hand .side of the road. You still follow the same street crossing the Southern Pacific Railroad track and bearing slightly to the right ; cross the S. A. & A. P. Railroad track, .still following the same road, until you see the Towers of the Mission Concepcion standing conspicuously up on the left hand side of the road, ju.st two and one quarter miles from the centre of the city. Having seen all that there is to be seen here, vou make your way along the same road towards the Riverside Park, then down to the River. cro.ssing a new countv brids:e there at the old ford.

Il was just in lliis nci.uliboiiiood llial llie first balUe was fought for Texan Iink-pciidcnce, in IN-'."). After crossing the River, yon take what is called the River Road, bnt you do not catcli sight of tlie River again until you reach the Mission of San Jose, not foiu" miles from the city. It should be noon by the time that \ou have done these two Missions thoroughly, so if you choose you can dri\e down a short distance to the River and water your horse, tie, and at a very prettv spot under the Pecans, take your lunch. You nuist return to San Jose to take the road to the Third Mission, passing the Pyron homestead on the left. keei)ing on between fences until you reach a branch of the road, one towards Berg's Mill, where there are both a bridge and a ford. The Third Mission is on the other side of the River. It will be noted that the Missions are alternately on different sides of the River. The First on the east bank, the Second on the west, the third on the Ivast and the fourth on the West. Leaving the third you return over the bridge a short distance to the branch of the road that you left, and go down abrtiptly to the wooden bridge over the Piedra creek. Quite close to this l)ridge to the left is the old aqueduct made b}' the F'ranciscan brothers nearly 1")0 years ago. Alight and examine it. It is indeed a substantial and interesting work, a series of low massive arches on the top of which nnis the Mission irrigating ditch. Leaving this, follow this branch road to the fourth Mission and return to the City at pleasure.

In the report of the Viceroy Count Revilla-gigedo, referred to many times in this work, the date of the "ereccion" of this Mission as well as those of the Missions of the Alamo, San Juan and San Francisco de la Espada, is given as 171(i. San Jose is given as being "erected" four years later 1720. This does not mean that the buildings were then erected, but simpl}- that in that year it was determined to establish Missions in suitable localities on Spain's frontiers for the purposes of subjecting, christianizing and civilizing Indian tribes and of firmly establishing Spain's right to these regions of territory to which she laid a just claim. It was in the year 1730 that the Mission of Nuestra Seiiora de la Concepcion Puri.s.sima de Acuiia was located as the report says on the site that it now occupies in the neighborhood of the Capital Town of the Province. The Church records show that the foundation stone of this Mission was laid March 5, 1731, about the time that the Mission San Jose was completed, and that taking twenty-one years to build it was completed in 1752. The won-

.\KTICLE 1!W>. " On the third expedition of the year ITKi, nine friars of the College of Santa Cruz of Queretaro and of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Zacatecas together with the Superior or President, V. P. Fr. Antonio Margil de Jesus established six missions in the most northerly part of the Province (Texas) and a few years thereafter another was built near the Presidio of Our Lady del Pilar de los Adaes distant seven leagues from the fort of Nachitoches in Louisiana.

.\RTICLE 197. In the year 17;?0. three of these missions, viz. Our Lady de la Concepcion, San Juan Capistrano and San Francisco de la Espada were transferred to the sites thej- now occupy in the neighborhood of the Capital Town of the Province (San Antonio) and the other three were extinguished in the j-ear 1774 as may be seen by Article 22 of the instructions contained in the Royal Regulations of the Presidios which His Majesty ordered dispatched under date of 10th September 1772."

Mission Coxcepciox

der is, not that it took so I011J4 but that it could ha completed in the time by the founders, with materials to find, manufacture and hew, and with the necessit> of teaching an intractable people, strange to industry, at once, how to labor and the arts. The reader is referred to the ground plans of the Missions illustrated in this book and he will realize how enormous in the wilderness and with such difficulties was the undertaking.

Mission Concepcion was built like the otliers for worshi]). for scholastic purposes and for defence. The barracks that surrounded the s(|uare have long since disappeared and what was for a j:)eriod the home of hospitality and the stronghold and refuge of many wayfarers and travellers and alive with the dail\- toil ot its little comniunily and the ([uick jjurpose of its founders, is now (juiet and deserted, a relic, and but for the occasional serxice in the chapel is an institution that has served its day. It is pathetic, realizing that there is no help for these grand old monnincnts of the past but to fall more and more into decay. Mi.ssion Concepcion is the best preserved Mission of Texas. Its "twin towers" and Moorish dome rising out of the brush and small timber in its vicinity arouse within one a mixture of curiosity, a sense of the incongruous and a delight of the picturesque. At the Mission lives a family, which is in charge and some one of them will bring you the key of the chapel and show you what there is to be seen, but it would be useless to try and elicit any information. To them the past of the Mission is as a sealed book and it has no romance for them. The Mission Church fronts due West, and is built in the form of a cross, with the towers forming two wings at the foot of the cross. This design corresponds exactly with that of the Church of the Alamo. The front gateway is worthy of close examination. The upper part of the ornamented faoade is not an arch but a simple triangle and the arch of the doorway is, for want of a better definition, a divided polygon. In the di\'ision or center of the arch is a shield with arms and devices, and here and there on the portal fa(_-ade are cross and .scroll, and carved relief pillars at the sides ornamented with carved lozenges. In angular spaces over the archway as shown below is the legend: which, being interpreted, is " With these arms be mindful to tlii.^ Mission's Patroness and Princess, and defend (or \iiidicate) the state of her purity." Over this winds, circling in and out, the flaij;elluni or knotted scourge of the order of St. Francis, realistically carved - "Ifit wan't for the knots, 'twould be like a hair lariat," as a boy once remarked. 1 1 also has an uncanny suggestion of a hangman's noose. The.se are again surmounted with other designs, and above all on the sununil of the fa<_-ade is a stone liearing the date 17*M, and immediately underneath this is a shii-ld with llic initial, ^' meaning, " Ave Maria." The only Stained glass in all the Missions is the panes of two little windows each side of the upper part of the faoade. The front of the Mission Concepcion must have been very gorgeous with color, for it was frescoed all over with red and blue quatrefoil cro.sses* of different pattern and with large yellow and orange squares to simulate great dressed stones. This frescoing is rapidly disappearing, and from but a little distance the front looks to be merely gray and undecorated stone. The topmost roofs of the towers are pyramidical and of stone, with smaller corner pyramidal cap-stones. The upper stories of the towers have each four lookout windows of plain Roman arches. The tops of the side walls of the Church and the circle wall of the central dome have wide stone serrations in the Moorish character, the points of which around the finely proportioned dome stand out like canine teeth. The towers have belfries, and at their bases, on either side of the entrance are on the right, a baptistry 11x11 feet with massive thick walls, and on the left a similar small chamber used as a vestry. The baptistry walls are frescoed with weird looking designs, dim and faded, of the Crucifixion and " los dolores." It is quite dark in this room, there being no window, and a light must be procured to examine it. A semi-circular font projects from the south wall, its half bowl cirved with what appears to be a symbolical figure wath outstretched arms supporting the rim. It is a rude piece of carving, but is arti.stic. Inside, the .stone roof of the Chapel with its series of arches and central dome, is massive but plain. In each wing of the cross are altars or altar places. In the west end is a choir loft. In the east, an altar gorgeously decked and painted in the Catholic manner, for Mass. The walls, roof, and ceiling are newly whitewashed, the floor is " Mother Earth," but some bran new seats have been provided. The Chapel up till recently, was in a ver}- neglected state. To Bishop Neraz belongs the credit of having it restored to its present state of cleanliness and comfort. He it was who re-dedicated it to Our Lady of Lourdes on May 2. ISST.

The mission was frequently used for the ([uartering of troops, notably in 188'). Santa Anna is said to have expressed surprise that the Alamo was chosen to be defended bytheTexans in l<s;](i rather than the Mission Concepcion, affecting to recognize, more effective military points in the Concepcion Mission as a stronghold. In 1S49 the United States troops were quartered there for awhile and it is said that the)- cleared the chapel of an immense amount of accumulated rubbish and bat guano. In the holes in the walls outside are to be found the nesting places of owls, pigeons, doves and other birds. To the south of the chapel, westerly, are a series of arches which were formerly cells, chambers and cloisters for the Mission inmates, but now used as storage rooms and stables. To the

* These quatrefoils are repeated over and over again in the carved lozenges of the pillars in relief, and frescoesof this Mission and at San Jos6. Whether there is any meaning attached to these particular forms of the cross beyond that they are crosses, the editor is unable to discover.

The shaded part is in ruins. The material is rough stone laid in mortar. B is the baptismal chamber. T is the room under the left tower. D stands for door, as fi\ for arch. There is another room above the Sacristy.

In a work published in the Spanish language at Saltillo written by Esteban L. Portillo and entitled "Apuntes para la Historia Antig:ua de Coahuila y Texas," the author on page 305 remarks concerning the Mission Concepcion, apparently deriving his information from Mexican State Records : - " In order to guard it. the Monastery had a stone wall with three gateways, as well as two bronze cannons of an eight-ounce calibre, with a weight of 3 arrobas 8 libras," (Si lbs each). As has been said in our description of this Mission the traces of such walls are to-day hardly to be defined ana these defences are not shown in the plan for fear of inaccuracy.

Dome

7%^ shaded part is in ruins. D represents door, W window. The dotted lines represent arches or abutments for arches. The front walls are s f^^i thick, others 3^ and 2% feet.

Solid lines show existing ivorks, dotted lines, old and ruined ones. The river is to the west about loo yards, flozving in a southerly direction. D is for door, W is for window. The Granary and Church are partly in ruins.

4. The old Plaza de Armas Dwellings and Ramparts. All 3 and 4 were claimed by the city as city property and in most cases the city substantiated its claims, and, acquiring it, cleared the old buildings away. The lot marked d was the last private property to disappear- 1889. In the '40s and '50s a man named Goodman gave much trouble before he was finally ousted by law by the city. Plats of most of these properties, and the names of claimants, may be found in Book 1, City Engineer's Records. The City Hall of 1850-90, with City Jail, occupied N. W. corner, c d.

5. Properties of N. Lewis, Callaghan, Groesbeeck, et al., on Main Plaza, claimed and cleared by the city similarly to those on Military Plaza (See note 4).

7. The faintly dotted lines to and from the Veramendi and Garza Houses are the approximate routes to Zambrano Row and to the Priest House taken by the besieging companies under Milam and F. W. Johnston in 1835. The capitulation of Cos to Burleson followed in 1835.

Mission San Josh

south forming a wing easterly are other buildings probably the sacristy, superior's vestries and quarters, these have two stories, the upper being approached by a stone stair-case. The square of the Mission at this date, can very hardly be defined, but that the Mission was situated in the southeastern corner of a ramparted square is without doubt. The Mission Square enclosed about four acres. The brothers of the Mission formerly owning about 100 acres. On April 10th, 17U4, the lands of Mission Concepcion were partitioned in a similar manner to those of the Alamo Mission, among its Indian dependents, setting aside certain portions of the land for the payment of Government taxes. This was done by an order of the Viceroy dated 1786. The names of the recii)ients may be found in a document among our County Records. There were ."vS souls at that time in the Mission community, namely 1(5 men, 12 married women, 1 boy, <> girls and -l widows. In lSO-5 a census showed 41 souls.

The name of the Mission refers first to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin which was a new and burning religious question of the day. Acuiia it derives from the name of the Marquess Casa de Fuerte, Viceroy of Mexico at the time of the Mission's foundation.

Mission San Jose de Aguayo or Second Mission as it is familiarly called, is dedicated to St. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, and was "erected" or founded in the year 1720, when Marquis San Miguel de Aguayo came to be Governor of Texas ; hence the name San Jose de Aguayo. It was probably begun shortly after, during this man's Governorship, for it was the first to be finished and the da)- of its completion was made the occasion of locating and begiiniing the Concepcion, San Juan and San Francisco Mi.ssions, March 5, 17ol. San Jose Mission is the most beautiful of all, and its carving is surely "a joy forever." The hand that chiseled the wonderful faoade at the main entrance of the Church, the doorway, window, and pillar capitals of the smaller Chapel, that now goes by the name of the Baptistry, was one of marvelous cunning. The fa(_'ade is rich to repletion with the most exquisite carving. Figures of \'irgins and Saints with drapery that looks like drapery, cherubs' heads, sacred hearts, ornate pedestals and recesses with their conch-like canopies, and cornices w^onderful. The door way, pillar and arch, is daring in its unique ornamentation - showing in its combination of form the impression of Moori.sh outlines. Otherwise the whole fa<_-ade is rich Rennaissance - figures and hearts alone with anything realistic about them. All other ornamentation is conventional but with nothing stiff, every curve showing a free hand. The window above the archway is a simple wreath of such acanthus-like curves and conchoids of surpassing workmanship. The south window of the Baptistry is considered by good judges the finest gem of architectural ornamentation existing in i^.merica to-day. Its curves and proportions are a perpetual delight to the eye, and often as the writer has seen and examined it, it is of that kind of art which does not satiate, but ever reveals some fresh beauty in line or curve. And to think that men can lie found who can ruthlessly deface these for the sake of possessing a piece of the material. Was it not that the sculptor saw the perfect statue in the stone ? Surely here the fool sees only the stone in the material that has been given a beaut}' not its own. If stones ever do cry out, it is when they are alive with this touch of genius.

Hut can these desecrators have any kinship witli Art ? It is not the Texan or the Mexican who has done these tilings. Kcn(hdl sa^'s, writing of '42, " though the Texan trooi)s were long quartered here, (San Jose) the stone carvings have not been injured." And this was in wartime when men are more than usually bent on destruction.

Turn to the foundation plan of San Jose. It will l)e seen how extensive these Mission buildings are. They are placed in the northeast corner of the square, running almost due east and west. " The Mission San Jose consists also of a large square, and numerous Mexican families still make it their residence. To the left of the gateway is the granary." So says Kendall. The gateway is gone to-day. The granary, with its strong and curious flying buttresses and arched stone roof, is still there and in it families make a home. The road still enters the Mission Square just at the right of the granary, where the old entrance was. Here you are in full view of the faoade of the Mission Buildings with the square spreading out to the right or south of the long main building of the Mission. The Mexican families still exist in huts erected upon the ruins of the ramparts of the Mission Square, and in a few j-ears these now hardly to be defined foundations will have been "improved" from the place. At the southwestern corner of the Mission l)uildings is a belfry tower, about sixty feet high. It has four lookout windows and a pyramidical stone roof. Tucked in the angle made by this tower and the south wall of the large Chapel, is a peculiar round tower to accommodate the winding stairway of solid hewn wooden steps to the second stor}' of the belfry tower. From the second story are very curious stairs or ladders made of solid tree trunks notched and dre.ssed with an axe, leading to the upper lookout of the tower. Here, are to be had some fine views of the country. All over the tower chamber's walls are thousands of names of visitors. Only a small portion of the large stone roof of the main Chapel remains and much of the north wall has gone, leaving a great ugly gap on this side and the remnant of the roof very unsafe in appearance. These poi;tions of the Chapel with its dome fell in with a great crash on a stormy night of December, iSfiS. To the south of the main Chapel is a smaller one, the window and carving of which were referred to above. This is roofed by three domes, the tops of the enclosing walls being .serrated, all quite in Moorish style. The entrance to this Chapel is from the east from an ante-chamber or wing of the cloisters. The arch and side- .stones of the entry door are beautifully sculptured, and here, there still remain, much chipped, once finely carved, cedar double doors, and although so badly damaged they suggest to one's mind wliat the beauty of the front doors or gates at the fatjade of the main Chapel might ha\e been. In this little Chapel services are still occasionally held. Its altar is decked with gaudy patchwork of a distinctly Mexican de.ugn, and many a little trumpery, by way of offering is placed there b}' the simple and believing women folk of the place. Some of the details of the capitals of the pillars, the font and other carving of this little Chapel are illustrated in this book. There are two ancient Spanish pictures, one hanging each side of the altar, much the worse for age, scenes from the life of St. Joseph. One is very plainly the " Flight into Egypt." The other, more difficult to make out, is most likely a picture of the Circumcision. The fan-like fluted canopies of the window and recesses have a pretty architectural effect. The cloisters and cells, which were of two stories, are quite extensive with a double series of arches stretching eastwardly from the main ])uilding. The outside arches are plain, wide semicircular arches, and pointed Gothic arches inside and on the second floors. These monastic additions to the Mission had formerly fallen very much into decay, but in 1859 some Benedictine fathers arrived here from St. \'incent's Abbey in the Pittsburg Diocese, Penn.sylvania, with the intention of rebuilding these rooms and cloisters for scholastic purposes. The intention was only partially carried into effect. The industrious fathers rebuilt many of the upper Gothic arches, as far as can be learned, manufacturing their own red bricks for that purpose and the making of the big oven at the east end. What finally interfered with this purpose of the Benedictines it is difficult to discover, but it is more than likely that wars and rumors of wars and an unsettled epoch had much to do with the abandonment of their project, adding one more unfinished chapter to the heroic history of the Catholic Church in Texas.

Notwithstanding their irrigation ditches and the proximity of the River to all the four Missions, the constructors did not forget one important item - water, in case of the community being confined to the Mission Square. Each of the Missions has a substantially built, serviceable well, sunk close to the main building. San Jose was erected under more than ordinary difficult}', the builders being under constant fear and expectation of attack by hostiles. Perhaps fear is a word too foreign to the natures of these brave and religious pioneers who struggled with such pious determination to success. It must have been very disheartening to find that all their faithful labor was in vain, though no record of any such expression is extant. Captain Pike, who in his famous expedition \-isited this Mission in 1S()7, relates that the Priest told him that " it appeared to him that the Indians could not exist under the shadow of the whites - as the nations who formed the San Antonio Mi.ssions had been nurtured and taken all the care of that it was possible, and put on the same footing as the Spaniards : yet, notwithstanding they had dwindled away until the other two Missions (San Juan Capestrana [sic] and La Purisima Concepcion)^'- had l)ecome entirely depopulated, and the one where he resided had not tlien more than sufficient to pL-rfonn his household labor. From this he had formed an idea that (iod ne\-er intendetl them to form one pcoj^le, ])Ut that they should al\va\s remain distinct and sej)arale." t

Bishop Neraz thinks the figures on the front of San Jo.se to be. Tlie \"irgin. San Jose, San Benedict, San Augustine and San F'ranci.sco. Other authorities have given a .slight variation of this list. The front was frescoed in red. blue and yellow in pretty designs, but this is now very difficult to discern.

t This extract from " I'ike's Kxpedi^ion " is t.Tken from Voakiims History, Vol. I., p. til. With regard to this - Where are the nations of the Indian r'with half his face vermilion") mentioned in the Recordsof Mnrri.iires of Mission Concepcion ? (See Interview with Hislioj) Neraz) " Kven with tlu- Rojd Knight Charlcniain

The Tliinl Mission, or Mission San Juan de Cajiistrano was named after Santa Oio\ainii di Cajiistrano, a friar of the PVanciscan order who was born in the year l.".S(i in ilv link- town of Cajiistrano in the Ahru/.zi in Italy, or rather in what was formerly the kini;(lom of the two vSicilies. The Mission was begun in 17.".1 on March -")th. It is situated on the left or east bank of the river about six miles from San Antonio, a \er\- liicturesijue locality by the vSan Juan ford and bridge. The settlement there is called Berg's Mill after a Scouring Mill erected some years ago. The S. A. & A. P. R. R. Depot goes by that name also. About a half mile from this settlement on the right or west bank of the River is the old aqueduct already alluded to in the introductory to the Missions - this aqueduct takes water over the Piedra creek for the use of the Fourth Mission lands. Mi.ssion San Juan is less remarkable and distinguished than the other two just described but has its points of interest. Its square is well defined and the design of a complete Mission can be made out with less difficulty here and at the Fourth Mission than at the others. Its little granary, its chapel, its ruined convent or monastery which must have been a building of some importance in its day, and the foundations of a chapel which was never completed are all objects of interest. These main buildings unlike tho.se of the First and Second Missions form parts of and are built into the boundary or rampart walls. A number of Mexican families live here, some of the members of which possess marked Indian features. In the neighborhood of San Juan there are more traces of the Indian in faces and characteristics than anywhere else in Texas. The best time to note this is on a Sunday afternoon when they usually congregate at one of the houses near the ford for their weekly cock fight which seems to be the excitement of the community, that is among the men.

The Chapel of San Juan is very plain and simple in construction. Just four walls - the tower being merely an elevation of a portion of the East wall with open arches in it for bells. There is still one bell left. The Chapel is roofless except for one small room at the south end which is walled off by an adobe wall and which is used as a Sacristy, vestry, and receptacle for the small remaining stock of figures, books, pictures and other such bric-a-brac. The inside of the walls of the Chapel, however, will aiford to such as care for that sort of thing a few minutes interesting study in rude frescoing. The frescoes are almost obliterated by exposure to the weather andthe wonder is that they have not long since been washed entirely off by heavy rains. They are a curious mixture of Old and New World ideas. Detail of Moorish design, a Roman arch, an Indian figure and pigments. "These frescoes,' says Father Bouchu. "I think are of later date than the completion of the Chapel and they were probably permitted, to satisfy the Indian nature's love of color." A painted rail about four feet high running around the Chapel first attracts the eye, then the elaborately painted Roman Arch in red and orange over the doorway. The design of this decoration is decidedly of a Moorish caste, zigzag strips and blocks of color with corkscrew and tile work, and pillars of red and orange blocks. These pillars are about twelve feet high and support another line or rail of color and upon this upper line are a series of figures of musicians each playing a different instrument. The figures for some reason are much more indistinct than their instrunients, the latter being accuratel}^ drawn and easy to distinguish. There is one of these figures over the frescoed arch of the door. It is a mandolin player. The player is indistinct, portions of his chair and instrument plainer, the latter can be made out to be of dark brown color with the finger board and keys, red. To the right of him is a violin player, the best preserved sample of all - the violin and bow are quite distinct, so are the features of the face of the figure, his hair is black, lips red, face and legs orange, feet l)lack, the body of the violin orange, the rest of him and the bow red. To the right of him again is a guitar player, dressed in a bluish green color, sitting in a red chair, the instrument is quite distinct. Directly oppo.site this figure vis a vis is a viol player; the instrument being held by the player, finger board up, from the left shoulder across the body ; head, hands, instrument and bow being distinct, but the body of him is "played out." To the right of this gho.stly looking viol player is a harp and a chair but the player is either invisible or vanished. The lower rail, which is the much more elalxjrate of the two, supports here and there a flower pot and flowers in incongruous colors of blui.sh green and dull red - carnations and roses being prime favorites, with an occasional cross on a painted pedestal or dado.

If there is any record of the partition of the lands of this Mission it has not been discovered, at any rate with regard to the rooms in the ramparts it seems to have been customary at the Missions that a number of years occupation of rooms or barracks in any Mission gave some kind of title or claim to those rooms to the occupants. The Mission Government was generous to its converts and dependants. The Missions were projected for their benefit. This must explain such documents as that which may be found in the County Records dated January 2Sth, 1826, which relates that Maria de las Santos Lopez and Bartara de las Santos Lopez who were then occupying three rooms in the Mission San Juan conveyed the same to the Province of Texas for the sum of ^H4.()0 Januarj- 2Sth, l.S2(i. This sum was paid to them by Antonio Saucedo. then Chief Justice.

The Fourth Mission or Mission San Francisco de la Espada, was "erected " as were Missions Concepcion and San Juan, in the year 171'), ])ut it was not located and begun to be built until March oth, 1731. It is situated on the right or west bank of the San Antonio River about nine miles from the city, and is dedicated to San Francisco de la Espada, that is, to St. Francis of Assissi, the founder of the great order of Franciscans, but the question arises, whence " de la Espada ? " St. Francis of the sword ? Tradition says that the old tower of the Chapel was built in the form of the hilt of a sword, and that the imagination of the founders supplied length to the blade to complete the similarit)' to the whole weapon. Perhaps it was that the}^ were possessed with a portion of the spirit of that Greek parent whose son complained of the shortness of his sword; "Add a step to it, mj- son ! " The allusion to the sword maj- have had some reference to the period of the awakening of St. Francis after his early illne.ss, for it i.s related of him that he did not know at fir.st whether he was called to be a valiant .soldier and knight, or to be a faithful servant of the Church Militant.

Parts of the ramparts or eiiclosinj; walls of this Mission are pretty well preser\'ed, others are in total ruins, hut the foundations of the limits can be clearly made out all around except at ])oinls taciui; the hunks of the River. The Scjuare is of irrej^ular shape as will he seen 1)\- the plan furnished. In the southeast corner is an object of much interest. Projecting from the angle of the walls outwardly, is a small round tower of quite a feudal character. It is in a state of fine preservation and its three dressed stone round cannon lioles near the base, and its seven musket holes about eight feet from the ground, leml it quite a menacing presence. The interior of it is in ecpially good repair, and one cannot refrain from conjuring up vivid scenes of fights with Indians in those early days of the Mission struggles with the red man - of women handing out the loaded muskets from the secure chambers to the right and left rear, of the unerring marksmen making it very hot for the attacking hostile, with an occasional lull in which is run out a small brass swivel gun* to the dimanitive embrasure, which makes the Apache or Comanche wish he were safe home in his fastness among the hills of Bandera. And it might have been that the recent remembrance of the total destruction of the San Saba Mission and the massacre of its inmates in 1758 lent some zest to these encounters. For while these old Missionarj- pioneers were ever anxious to deal tenderly with an\- hostile, yet unfortunately there were occasions when sternness was necessary,

There was another of these ' ' baluartes ' ' or bastions on the south wall by the road, west of this one, but no trace of it is to be found. The chambers to the west of the existing "baluarte" have, looking out upon the square, alternate doors and arches, and one of the wide arched entrances still exists. The rooms to the north have been fitted up for a school house by Rev. Father Bouchu, who is wonderfully active and persevering. He knows something of many subjects, which he has practically proved here at the Mission. "Padre Francisco " is Priest, law- 3'er, bricklaj^er. stonemason, photographer, historian, printer. His little pamphlets in Spanish would be a credit to an office of much larger pretensions. He has lived in this community for many years and is well versed in information pertaining to the history of the Missions, and being himself one of those Priests who join with their vocation a knowledge of practical handicraft, he enters into the spirit of the founders with more than ordinary keenness. He is simple, unaffected, and garrulous, and meets the wants of the little settlement. He has built with his own hands upon the ruin of the old Convent and arcade a comfortable Priest house. Under his rule the Mission Chapel has been almost entirely renewed, the front only retaining a portion of its ancient work. The Chapel is in the form of a cross. The front is the belfry tower and is that portion that is supposed to represent the likeness to a sword - perhaps it bore more of that resemblance before its restoration. Its three bells clang out three times a day, and would be startling on the still country air to one who was ignorant of the vicinity of the Mission. It is said that some of the Mission bells were cast in San Antonio in its earliest days, so there is no knowing what these old Missionaries did not come prepared to do. There are several pretty little bits of wrought iron work in this and the other Missions. Here is another artistic accomplishment to be added to the list of those possessed by the fathers. The entrance door of the Chapel is unmistakably Moorish, having the true Alhambra shape and lines. vSebastian Tejada, the Mission's oldest resident, maintains that there was .still another place of worship on the inside of the South wall l)y the road, here was the old main South entrance and the Granary was built projecting lengthwise outside the walls by the same entrance. Only the bare foundation of these two buildings now exist. Opposite the old Convent is the well which was never forgotten in the building of a Mission. The Convent, its yard, (which form now the Padre's residence) and the Chapel or Church are built into and form portions of the western ramparts. A plan and three illustrations of this Mission are included in this book. Several Mexican families still reside in tumbledown huts on the lines of the Mission Square.

It was this Square that the Texan Army of Independence made their first camping ground - on the place that is now much overgrown with mesquite brush. Here Stephen F. Austin joined the troops as Commander in Chief upon his escape from Mexico, and where - " but that is another story," - An interview with Sebastien Tejada will perhaps be of some interest.

An interview with Sebastien Tejada, an old and intelligent Mexican, who was born in one of the Mission Dwellings in 1818, Mission Franci.sco de la Espada or Fourth Mission. Interview held on May 20th, ISIK). In reply to many questions he stated substantially as follows :

"I was born here in 1.S18. I have lived here all my life. I was born about the time that Arredondo came through. This Mission seems to be much the same as when I first remember it, - only some of the buildings were more complete. I remember the Convent before it was so much altered. I rememlDer the arcades (row of arches of the Convent) and the granary which projected from the entrance on the southern boundary. Also the foundations of the old Church inside the walls projected from the granary - the present Church is quite new, except the front. I do not remember ever seeing the " baluarte " - (the fortified tower on the southeastern corner) - u.sed but I have heard of its being used against the Indians. Yes I remember the hostile Indians coming upon us many times - but they were generally fought in my time inside the square of the Mission. The dwellings used to be much more used formerly. We used to have and house friendly Indians, but they mostly left at last. I remember when there were three Padres to do service here. The old Church was pulled down about fifty years ago. Dependants of the Mission used to live in the barracks at the corner where the baluarte is. I remember another " baluarte " at the entrance opposite the granary. The walls by the other entrance of the western boundary had loop holes, too, but not round towers. I remember often the Spanish troops camping here. I remember Bowie well, he married Gov. \'cramendi's daughter. He was a fine looking, fair man. I remember the army of Au.stin and Fannin camping here in iSoo. They camped in the middle of the Plaza. Many coloni.sts (he called them colonists of his own accord which was a touch of old days) came here at that time. I remember Santa Anna, I saw him. He had one leg. I re- member very well that the dead of the Alamo fight were burnt. The Texans separately from the Mexican dead. It was the Mexican cu.stom to thus burn their dead after battle. I RiiKinbcr llic t'l^hl well. I don't know what the Texans defended in the Alamo, biil llioui^lit il was llic wliole Mission walls. I don't know. I knew Senora Cantklaria formerly. She is old, may be a hundred. She might have been in the Alamo during the fight, yuien Sabe."

These open spaces which are characteristic of Latin America, and to a great e.xtent of Texas are as follows, beginning in the east and traveling westward :

Alamo Plaza. - is the outcome of an original space around the Alamo, added to by the destruction of its outworks the " Muralla del Alamo." It has recently been converted into a beautiful garden and surrounding it are the following buildings of interest : The Church of the Alamo, the Opera House and Club, the Federal Building, and the Menger Hotel. This ground was the scene of Santa Anna's bloody assaults on the Alamo in March, 1836.

Main Plaza. - Is situated on the west side of the business heart of the city and is connected with Alamo Plaza by Commerce and North Alamo street. This Plaza was anciently named La Plaza de las Yslas, and fronting on it and running back to the Military Plaza is the Cathedral of San Fernando, formerly the old Parish Church and yard. This stpiare is also laid out as a handsome pleasure ground.

Military Plaza, - Or, La Plaza de Armas, lies a block to the west of Main Plaza and, previous to the erection of the new Municipal Building, which occupies a site in its centre, was from time immemorial the heart of Mexican life. The small vendors, the freighters, the pastores, peones and vaqueros, all congregated here. Here, too, still stand the old Court House and Jail, commonly called the " Bat Cave."

At night, in the olden time, and in a modified form up to within a few months, was to be seen a unique spectacle of open air life belonging rather to the tropics than to any part of the realm of LTncle Sam.

Imagine a large square at that time badly lighted as to municipal illumination, but ablaze with .small camp fires and flaming lamps swinging above rows of imj^rovi.sed and shaky tables. All night long one might be .served here with viands hot from the Mexican cuisine - Chili con came, Tamales, Enchiladas, Chili vcrde, frijoles and the leather-like tortillas. The more fastidious American might enjoy delicately fried eggs and chicken with a cup of fair coffee, followed, perchance, by a corn-shuck '' cigar fo,'' rolled by the hand of the dark-eyed '' muchacha " in charge.

These al fresco restaurateurs have been hunted bj- electric lights and city improvements from Plaza to Plaza, until now a poor remnant of them may be found still further west on Milam Square near the grave of the hero, whilst a few others

By the tourist " from the states," these peripatetic tables are eagerly sought for as a curiosity to be seen, but only to be ])atroni/.ed in a gingerly kind of way from a weak misgiving as to the origin of the victuals.

As day dawns and the lamps show dimmer, the.se queer hotel keepers put out their fires and folding their tables, " silently steal away " until another night.*

The Military Establishment

The Post of San Antonio now established on Government Hill, about one mile north of the city, had its official beginning in 1<S65. This date, however, is only that of a new birth, and for those who are interested in such matters, we append to the purely "Guide Book" information of this page some further remarks on the Military history of San Antonio from a much earlier date.

The Present Post, then, went to housekeeping in 18()5, immediately after the war, in buildings hired for the purpose The troops remained here until 187--3, when they were withdrawn under Special Order No. 148, Headquarters Department Texas, dated August 7th of that year. They returned in accordance with Special Order No. 158, dated Augu.st "iSth, 1875, from the same Headquarters.

After many changes, as set forth hereafter, the present magnificent site was occupied under orders dated December 20th, 1879, - the occupation, so far as the Post was concerned, taking place on the 22d of the same month, the Department Headquarters remaining some time longer in the city.

The hill is reached by the Belknap Street Cars, Avenue C. line. The Post is situated on a rolling plateau, overlooking the city, and elevated 762 feet above the Gulf of Mexico in latitude 29° 20' ;>r^ north, and 9S° 27' .'!;!" west longitude.

There is a telegraph office at Department Headquarters and a railway connection between the Quartermaster's Depot and the Southern Pacific system.

The buildings were begun on June 21st, 1S77, Braden & Angus, contractors, and have only recently been completed, the Government Hospital being built in 1885 and the ' 'New Post, ' ' contracted for September 1 l-SSS. They are tastefully designed, as will be seen from the accompanying illustrations, and are located on a reservation of 162.21 acres. Of this noble site, so worthily occupied In- Uncle Sam, 92.79 acres were donated by the city ; 49. IS were acquired by purchase, April 28th, 1884 ; 19.29 acres by decrees of the District Court of Bexar County, dated April 7th and May 25th, 1883, and .95 acres were granted by the city of San Antonio to complete the donation heretofore referred to.

is had for further particulars as to these interesting pu))lic places to the accompanying maps of La Villa Capital de San Fernando, and the map of the heart of the modern city, also to many further details in historical portions of this work.

In addition to the Ofllcers" Onarters of the ' Old " and " New " Posts and the extensi\e Barracks, are the Department Offices and Ouartenuaster's Depot, the following; data will K'^'"-' -i" i^'"-''! of their importance :

They are built around a (piadran^^le ()24 feet s([uare, the main faoade fronting south is l!)'J feet (» inches by .'1-! feet and two stories high. The north front is it'll feet by HO feet and of one story ; the whole comprising store rooms, 20 offices, extensive work shops and a cellar.

In the center of the quadrangle is a tower formerly u.sed as a water tower, and containing a clock. It is SS feet high, and from its summit a fine view of the city and its environs may be obtained. Jk-low lies the town with the San Antonio River meandering southward on its tortuous way to the Gulf, doubling ar.d turning on its journey, as tho' loath to leave the scenes of its birth.

Military Drills. - A feature of Post life, of probably the most interest to visitors, is the Dress Parades and other military functions which are constantly taking place on the hill.

Drills. - Almost daily, the time varying with the .season of the year. Dress Parade, generally on Tuesda}- and Thursday at the hour before sun-.set. The Monthly Muster and Inspection takes place on the last day of each month, usually about 10 a. m., it is an interesting sight. Giiard Mount, with full band, occurs daily about S:oO, a. m., but the hour is sometimes changed during the intense heat of summer.

The Organization of the Department and Post may be learned in great detail from the Ro.ster issued monthly from the office of the Assistant Adjutant General of the Department.

The Arsenal is located far from the Post on South Flores street and may also be reached by the Belknap line of street cars. It is commanded bj- an officer of the Ordnance Corps, Major Babbitt, who constitutes one of the Department Commander's Staff and supplies the troops with ammunition and accoutrements.

At the Post are quartered I'rigadier General Stanley, commanding the Department, and his Personal and Departmental Staffs. Col. Black commanding the Post with four troops of Cavalry, two Batteries of Light Artillery and six companies of Infantry, and Col. Weeks Chief Ouartermaster, in charge of the Department Depot and Offices.

Notks On Miijtarv A 1- 1- A Irs

Perhaps it is because of the Wars and rumors of Wars which have made up so much of the life of San Antonio in the past, that everything military is popular with its citizens. It is purposed in the following article to trace the histor}- of the present huge establishment from its birth in humble surroundings, thence through a checkered career of weary wanderings to its final abode on Government Hill.

That San Antonio is a natural .strategic point, has been recognized by Aboriginals, Spanish, French, Mexicans, Texans and both the National and Confederate Governments ; thus its development has been but a natural growth, sometimes aided, and sometimes impeded, by local influences.