Show AW AIjMO HEKO S I oivle Col Bowie After Whom the Bowie Knife Was Named It is a safe manger that nin out of every eleven boys who are proficient In the use of ii bowie knife have not the slightest Idea where the instrument got its name S Colonel Bowie of Texas fame gave the knife its title And when one writes of the Texas hero one must needs think of ifche battle of Alamo that heroic fight of which our American boys and glrlsf seem to think so little and half of them know nothing whatever They read howl Jthe brave soldiers fought and held the pass of Thermo pylae but they seldom think of how a mere haridful of men defended the Alamo mission How they dropped fighting on their knees and then died facing the foeIf If you should go to the historical city of San Antorio in Texas you will seethe see-the old mission building standing with I battered bulletpierced walls a monument I monu-ment to the 172 heroes of 36 Behind j vfhese walls the mostimportant battle in I the war between Mexico and Texas was fought That was when Santa Anna was president and the Texans were fighting for their independence Here I it was that Colonel Bowie ended his brave life dying withhis boots on and i fighting under the hiost terrible odds The story is this jand every American child should know it by heart that he may tell dt with pride when other nations na-tions are talking of theIr brave deeds One hundred and fortyfive men under Captain Travis a young man of 28 were holding the itownjof San Antortio against General Santa Anna and 4000 men They were the only defenders of the town and were ensconced in the old mission of the Alamo Davy Crockett was also with them and CC mel Bowie who was wounded and stretched out on his cot Of artillery they had only fourteen pieces Santa Anna demanded surrender but the little garrison held out for ten days I skirmishing secretly for food and water Every shot sent out of the mission house told but not one of the Alamo heroes were hurt Patience and strength however were being rapidly exhausted Some of the llts band were falling sick others were tl pirate Reinforcements had been applied frr but none had come Colonel Domain with 300 men anti four I i I i w ft1t 1iii lW Pik 4ccj MASSACRE OP PIlE ALAMO S pieces of artillery had started in answer an-swer to the appeal but had put in somewhere some-where for fresh water and food supplies sup-plies At last Captain Smith joined the ex hausted band with thirtytwo men Three days after General Santa Anna ceased the bombarding and taking advantage ad-vantage of this Captain Travis called this men into line and frankly owned that there was no earthly hope for them that he had led them into this thinking i that reinforcements Were on the way I He does not utter one word against I Iaimein for failing him he simply gives them their choice of deaths They can surrender and be shot down or be killed fighting out their revenge The captain drew a line and said Every man who I Is determined to remain here and to die with me will come to me across that line Every soldier but one crossed I at once When they finished Colonel Bowie looked up with < his arm in a sling I and cried Boys dont leave me Wont some of you carry me across And the I only backward step they made was togo to-go over the line and carry the Colonel to the young Captains side The man I Rose who was a coward dropped over I the wall Into a ditch and was verily the I only man who escaped to tell the tale I And then came the terrible day i Santa Anna brought all Ms forces to bear on the fortress The scaling ladders lad-ders were again and again raised but those who placed them were shot down I like grain Four thousand men charging into 17 seemed easy enough but it soon reduced the 4000 At last numbers conquered con-quered and the Mexicans climbed over into the Alamo The little band of defenders i I de-fenders were trampled on and beaten but they dropped to their knees and hacked and shot and pierced until the pile of the dead was awful Colonel Bowie too weak to rise from his cot leans on his well elbow and marks his man every time he pulls the trigger Cut bleeding the continues to kill until the pistol drops and the breath leaves his body Davy Crockett standing In a corner fights like a panther and the young Captain backed against the wall surrenders only when run ithrought and through The great battle is over The Mexicans have won Out of the 12 Texans are 172 dead No Spartans were braver and more tenacious for they killed 522 of their enemies and wounded 600 more Texas though was finally freed and whenever great deeds thrill young boys hearts they Should think of that splendid splen-did piece of American daring and Say as Houston said to his men Remember toe Alamo CLAIRE ClyAXTON 1 |