Juan Seguin (8 page)

Houston rubbed his eyes. He seemed very tired. “I told Bowie to blow up the Alamo and leave San Antonio. He and Travis didn’t do it, and now they’re penned up and I can’t get them out.”

Houston stood up and paced up and down in the tent.

“Is the Alamo surrounded?”

Juan nodded. “Yes. The enemy is receiving more men every day. I don’t think it will be too long before they attack.”

Houston tightened his jaw. “I’ve ordered Colonel Fannin to leave Goliad and bring his army here. When they get here we might have enough men to go to the Alamo.”

“What do you want me to tell Colonel Travis?” Juan asked.

“Nothing,” Houston said.

“What do you mean?” Juan asked.

“What I mean, Captain Seguin, is that you’re not going back to the Alamo.”

Juan and I looked at each other. We thought of the friends we had left in the Alamo. We had to get back.

“I’ve told you, Captain Seguin, you’re not going back to the Alamo. I need you here.” Houston frowned as he looked at Juan.

“But, Sam,” Juan said. “I have to go back. I told my men when I left that I would come back.”

Houston stood up. He walked over and put his hand on Juan’s shoulder. “I know how you feel. I want to jump on my horse and ride to the Alamo as fast as I can. But that’s not what’s best for Texas. Those men in the Alamo are allowing us to build an army by keeping Santa Anna there. We must take advantage of the time they are giving us. You can do those men more good by helping to raise an army to defeat Santa Anna than by going back by yourself.”

I looked at Juan. I thought he was going to cry. “So you are saying you will not help the men in the Alamo? That you are going to let them die so you have time to build an army?”

Houston looked Juan in the eye. “I’m saying if I march to the Alamo right now, it won’t do those men any good. We don’t have enough men or ammunition to make a difference. By raising an army we can fight Santa Anna on our terms and drive him from Texas. I need you to work with me to raise that army. I pray that we can do this in time to march to the Alamo.”

Juan looked at the floor. I knew Houston was right. Juan knew it too. Finally he looked at Houston. “All right, Sam. I’ll help you raise your army. I know there are still many people around here who will fight for Texas. But I want your word that you will march to the Alamo as soon as you can. We have to reinforce the men there.”

Houston smiled. “Juan, as soon as the army’s ready, I’ll lead them to the Alamo.”

We walked outside the tent. A cold breeze swept through the camp. I pulled my serape tightly around me. I looked at the men sitting around the campfires trying to get warm. There were no uniforms. Every man wore the clothes he had. There were all types of weapons. I thought,
There is no way you could call this group an army.
Then I remembered the men we had left behind at the Alamo. They were the same type of men. They had no uniforms. They had all types of weapons. I decided that uniforms don’t make soldiers. Fighting spirit does. I knew the men in the Alamo had that spirit, and I believed that the men huddled around the small campfires had it too.

Juan and I spent the next few days riding around the countryside getting men to come with us to the army. Most men came willingly. A few stayed with their families. Houston’s army was slowly growing. He moved the army to the town of Gonzales. Colonel Fannin had not arrived, and Houston sent several messengers to him telling him to come to Gonzales.

When we arrived in Gonzales, we learned that thirty-two men from the town had ridden to reinforce the Alamo. This was good news. Maybe more men had gone to the Alamo and the old mission would be all right after all.

Some of our men served as scouts for the army. They rode out onto the prairies searching for any sign that Santa Anna’s army was coming to us. As the days passed, Juan worried more and more about the men in the Alamo. Each day he would talk to Houston about taking the army and marching to San Antonio. Houston would shake his head and tell Juan that the army was not ready yet.

Sometimes when I was out riding on the prairie, I would hear the far-off sound of a cannon being fired. The sound made me glad, because it meant that the men in the Alamo were still alive. As we rode through the countryside, we saw many empty houses. The families had left and were hurrying toward the United States border. They were afraid that Santa Anna would win the war, and they wanted to be out of Texas before that happened.

One day Juan and I were sitting in a small tent. We were talking about the war and wondering how our friends in the Alamo were doing. We heard the sound of horse’s hooves pounding down the dusty street. The rider stopped his horse in front of our tent and hurried inside. I recognized him as one of our scouts.

“Juan, come with me at once,” he said.

Juan stood up and looked at the man. “Where are we going, Jose?”

The rider pointed to the outskirts of town. “There are two men over there that want to talk to you.”

“Bring them here,” Juan said.

The rider shook his head. “I think it’ll be better if you talk to them out there first.”

We followed the rider to a tree outside of town. Two men waited for us under the tree. Juan recognized them as men who had ranches near San Antonio.

“Hello, my friends,” Juan said. “Why do you want to see me?”

The two men looked at each other. One of them stepped forward. “We have news of the Alamo. A few days ago Santa Anna attacked the mission.”

Juan listened carefully to the man. “What happened?” he asked.

The man took a deep breath. “All of the defenders were killed. The Alamo has fallen.”

JUAN STARED AT THE MAN. “What did you say?” he asked.

“The Alamo was attacked by Santa Anna’s army. The men fought as hard as they could but they were all killed.”

“Did you see this?”

“My friend and I were looking for lost cattle. We heard the firing and rode to see what was happening. We watched the battle from a small hill. When the battle was over, we rode into San Antonio and the mayor told us that Santa Anna ordered him to gather the bodies of the Texans and burn them. He told us that all the Texans had died.”

Juan looked down at the ground. I knew he was thinking about all the friends we had left at the Alamo. Finally he looked at the men.

“Come with me. We must tell General Houston what happened.”

The men followed us to General Houston’s tent. Juan and I listened as the men told him their story. When they had finished, General Houston dismissed them. The men left and Houston turned to us.

“We can’t let this story be spread around the camp,” he said quietly. “It would be bad for the men to hear about this until I check it out.”

“Don’t you believe these men?” Juan asked.

Houston sat on his bed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m afraid that their story is true. But we must be sure. They could be spies sent from Santa Anna to hurt the morale of the men.”

He turned to a man who was standing in a corner of the tent. “Deaf, come here,” he said.

The man walked toward Houston. Deaf Smith was one of the best scouts in the Texan army. He stopped in front of Houston.

“Deaf, ride toward San Antonio. See if you can find out what really happened. I find it hard to believe that everyone was killed. Maybe you can find some who got away.”

The scout walked silently out of the tent. Houston watched him go. “They call him Deaf, but I think he hears what he wants to. He’ll tell us what really happened. Until then, don’t let those men tell their story to anyone.”

Juan and I walked outside. We watched the men in the camp as they prepared meals on their small fires.

“Do you believe them, Juan?” I asked.

Juan stared in the direction of the Alamo. “Yes, I do.

I’m afraid all of our friends are gone. I should have gone back, as I promised them I would.”

“No, Juan,” I said. “If you had gone back, you would have been killed with them. Now you can still fight Santa Anna to make Texas free.”

Juan nodded. “I’ll do all I can to make sure that their sacrifice won’t be wasted.”

Juan and I waited for word from Deaf Smith. We watched the road to San Antonio for a sign that he was returning. Finally some small figures appeared on the horizon. We watched as the figures became larger. We were able to identify Deaf Smith, but he had other people with him. As the group got nearer, we could tell that the person on the small horse was a woman holding a baby in her arms. We finally recognized her as Susannah Dickinson.

Juan and I rode out to meet the small party. As we got near we could see that Susannah’s eyes were red from crying. Tears ran through the dirt and powder smoke that covered her face. As we watched the riders approach us, we knew that the story was true. The Alamo had fallen. Juan patted his horse’s neck. This horse had belonged to his good friend Jim Bowie, who now lay dead with all the others in the Alamo.

Soon Susannah was standing in front of Sam Houston, telling the story of what had happened. Houston listened carefully. I saw tears come to his eyes as she told of the last fight and the courage of the defenders. When she had finished her tale, some of the women from Gonzales took her to let her rest from her trip. Houston pounded the table.

“We must never let our army be trapped in a fort again. We don’t have the strength to fight like that. From now on we must fight Santa Anna in a place that we choose.”

He turned to Juan. “Send one of your men to Colonel Fannin at Goliad. Tell him to bring his army to join us right away. Now that he has taken the Alamo, Santa Anna will come for us. We have to move east to give us time to raise more men and get ready to fight him.”

“What about the people of Gonzales?” Juan asked.

“Tell them to get ready to leave. They can only take a few possessions with them. We’ll have to move fast. Juan, send some of your men to find out if Santa Anna is coming this way yet. You’ll be the rear guard. I need for you to keep me advised about what the enemy is doing.”

As Juan and I walked out of the tent, it started to rain. I looked at the dark skies and then at the dusty road that was already turning into mud. I knew the mud would slow us down and maybe give Santa Anna a chance to catch us before we were ready to fight him. I pulled my hat low on my head and followed Juan to find our men. We could not afford to waste time if we hoped to keep ahead of Santa Anna’s army.

The next few weeks were hard on the Texan army. The rain turned the road into a muddy mess. Men slipped and fell, griping as they struggled on, covered in the stinking mud. Men began to talk among themselves. They said that Houston was afraid of Santa Anna and that he was running away to the border with Louisiana, where he would cross into the United States.

Juan and his company guarded the rear of the army. We spent many days looking for signs of Santa Anna’s army. One day we surprised one of Santa Anna’s messengers. We found letters to his other generals telling them to search for other Texan armies and destroy them. We took the letters to General Houston. The general was sitting in his tent reading when we walked in.

“Juan,” Houston said as he stood up. “Good to see you. What news have you brought me?”

Juan handed the letters to Houston and watched as he read them. When he had finished he looked at us.

“I thought he would send out orders like this. It means his army is separated. That gives us a better chance of beating him. I’ve ordered Colonel Fannin to leave Goliad and join us with his men. He has about four hundred soldiers. That will give us enough men to fight Santa Anna. I want you to keep an eye out for Fannin. Let me know when you see him coming.”

Juan nodded. “When did you tell him to leave Goliad?”

Houston scratched his head. “I sent the message several days ago. He should have received it by now. I think he will be here in a few more days. Have you seen any sign of Santa Anna?”

“No, just the messenger. I think the rain’s slowing him down. He has a lot of baggage to move along with his army.”

Houston sat down. “See if you can find him. It’ll be a great help if I know exactly where he is.”

“I’ll find him, General.”

We walked out of the tent into the rain. We pulled our hats low across our faces to keep the water out of our eyes. We mounted our horses and rode out of the camp. We found our men and rode off to find the enemy army.

Several days later we saw the enemy army camped beside a river. The rain had swollen the river so much that the army could not cross it. We lay under some trees on the riverbank and watched the enemy camp. Most of the soldiers lay under the cover of their tents. The soldiers on guard tried to find some shelter from the rain. In the center of the camp was a large tent. We knew that must be Santa Anna’s tent. Men were coming in and out of the tent all the time we lay there watching. We never saw Santa Anna come outside. Finally we crawled back further into the trees where we were sure the enemy could not see us.

“What do you want to do, Juan?” I asked.

Juan looked back toward the enemy camp. “I’d like to sneak into that camp and get Santa Anna. With the weather like this and the guards not paying attention we might be able to do it.”

The men listened carefully. I could tell they didn’t think it was a good idea to sneak into the large enemy camp.

Juan turned back toward the men. “But we need to tell General Houston that we’ve found Santa Anna. He was anxious to know where he was.” Juan looked at the enemy camp one more time. “Let’s go. We need to get back to Houston.”

We walked back to where we had left our horses. We were getting ready to mount when we heard a shout. We looked around and saw a troop of enemy cavalry riding toward us.

“Mount up,” Juan yelled.

The men climbed into their saddles and we raced across the rain-soaked prairie. Juan and I rode at the rear of the company. I heard something whiz by my head and then I heard the sound of the pistol going off. The enemy was shooting at us. I looked around and saw that the enemy soldiers were gaining on us. Some of them carried lances and I saw the raindrops glistening on their metal tips as they pointed them at us. I could almost feel the sharp lance between my shoulders as I urged my horse to run faster.