| Show n Story of the Alamo Proposed Texan Hall of Fame I Grim Memories Connected With the Venerable Mission ItU steps that are ure being taken by the Do ya M vela vala all chapter of ot the 1 Daughters of vt the He Its public of ot Texas to turn the historic Alamo mission of ot San Sun An in n L Into n a Texas hull hall i of Ie f tarns fume have hae drawn the eyes eyed of ot all ail America once more to the ven venerable church fort tort where William Travis Tavis Da Aa David is vid Crockett James Howie Dowie and their theU t I devoted followers so o long bade hide defiance to Santa Banta Annas infuriated t l army arm of at Mexicans Of ot all the tho minions built in III the th south and aDd southwest by th the In Intrepid Int trepid t pd none lots IUM II had huh a II amere amere mere tragic history than that of ot the Alamo though to look upon It today lod il standing e almost In the hurt heart of ot the tho thorl rl I district and surrounded by br of ot trade trad none non no would Imagine that here WAS WItS the grimmest r scene fr n of oC the great war for tor the inde independence of or Text Texas Mystery In Its gloomiest form tonn has hu always Attached itself to the Alamo Alanto There is It even een a cloud of 01 doubt cur sur surrounding curk ur k rounding the tho date when this Wood blood 1 stained cradle of ot Tex Texas s liberty w WU wow a t built In Its hand 1501 carved calY l front liMit but oot an as echo of or past In is I a atao Write been the date WiT 1767 but him hla brims declare that the tho foundation stone atom WM f laid at least thirteen ye year r earlier earll Just bat what significance can the later gale date ate bears cannot be loomed learned with willi certitude Informs us I that thai the themis mis wi in 1701 1103 on the bank of f On rte loo Grande and that after ann n 1 r removed to two to different 1 t sites Bite t 1 sta s null loaned at San An Antonio AnI Antonic I tonic tonio In ITU by order older of ot th the viceroy of ot New Mew Spain the Marquis of 01 Val Valero alro ro On the other Oh r hand an mr old oid Spanish docu document ment rn nt treating bating of ot tb th various established In Texas speaks peeD of the lon of the Alamo In 1718 1116 It has baa b burn en Mid said that tha the ne years In the g Whether Wb er I U tt earne t bellg 4 M ji a si s e re must have bon boat an Imposing InG I sight eight with Its Ile It magnificent facade Its Is arched root roof Its convent and Its paro parochial parochial chial residence r II Now ow much of the grun gran grandeur deur has ha departed front from Its yellowish gray Krny walls Ovalle Its bel try Its Ile vaulted arch wily Its oddly curved carved windows and Its winding stairway are lire In large larKe part lart memories but hut enough remains to make moke the Alamo Marne the tile most mOlt picturesque spot inthe In Inthe the city It The Th name Alamo which Is la the tho Span Spanish SpanIsh ish lair for tor poplar po lar tree tnt was wai given Riven en to It by bythe b bythe the Spanish troops troop who were at one ono onetime onetime time In th the mission In those thos Hays days YI the Alamo covered roer a great deal of ot ground but this nan has been Jeen little by little swallowed up by b the advancing city When its brave d defender f fated faced the Mexicans Mexican In ISM the several buildings were 1 Indo d by hy strong tron walls and n II stockade affording shelter and ant accommodation for 1009 1008 I men flea although the Texan defenders numbered In all but butHI HI while to them were no It less tn than Mexican troop troops well armed l land and by b shrewd commanders That the Texans could hold out for days day against t the onslaught of ot the MOX Mx leans Ican speaks leI vol not only for the courage roue of ot the for or freedom but also allo for the tho stability of ot the Alamo walls wa III The Ib m memorable marable siege Ie began lIn F Fb b bH bIS H IS ISIS when wilen Santa Anna lIn Im i Nm Fan n Antonio otter after Its I by Sam Houlon The remaining I Texan Texans promptly retired to th the prate prot I t lion Don of oC th the mission which by this thill time I had hod developed Into Duo a fort and there therl led ledi let i by Colonel William Travis 1 steadfastly r refused fu d to surrender urr lr nd r to j I Santa Anna The Mexicans bombarded bombar ed the fort Cort to little lit II effect feet and then at attempted attempted tempted to tak lake It by Mortar but w were re driven n bArk back time after time by b the tho th hall of ot bullets with which the defenders defender th Thom m The TIle fleas nen nf at t th the aim was we rich cinch Ich that before ort the end ended on larch t I 1110 teen killed sad and wounded When but dx six x re reo d to the Ih conflict the Alamo Ahmo was surrendered ered to the time In Inu Ina a u aaR r j v I famous Santa Anna who regardless of ot I I humanity or the ethics of ot warfare at nt atI I i once onrE had hatI the survivors massacred Hut But Butone I IJ II J I one VOl woman one servant and antI one on child i were pre sparred the tM bodies OOdles of ot the victims bring being dragged the Alamos plaza and burned I The Alamo lamo Itself was wrecked wrt ked In the 0 ro P r r oJ i iI I g tL C r rr lit 1 is u war t III e t I It 1 t Crochett t fury tury of vt the contest onte The arched roof root one of ot the greatest charms of ot this an nn ancient clout piece of ot architecture was de do strayed the walls willis were fete bruised and broken by the constant c e and the Interior was blackened and tn burned The scene that followed the tho entrance of ot the maddened Mexicans can enn hardly hurdly be described de An n eyewitness himself elt A n Mexican later Inter told an Amer American Amerlean AmerIcan ican lean officer who had hod made a brave brne but fruitless attempt to join the be beleaguered garrison that tho the dead were i I all nil over Oer the main bUIl while tho the gutters were lere running with blood In a Q room on the ground floor noor he MW ea v the tho corpse of ot Howie who ping III and helpless had hid been ruthlessly ruthless butchered Not ot far Jar front from him was tras 48 nil all that was wu left lett of ot Crockett but the moat most Impressive sight light was the body of ot I Travis surrounded by the corpses es of ot fifteen Mexicans whom hom he lie had slain before death embraced him hI in turn Small wonder that thereafter the thought of ot the tho Alamo nerved the Tex Tox Texans one ans and that their battle cry through out the war that culminated in the tho trl tri of ofSan Ran JacInto was 8 the Alamos Alamo For nearly a 1 score of ot years rears after the massacre no repairs repair were attempted In Inthe Inthe inthe the Alamo The Tho church building L and the convent were then rebuilt to con conI I form torm as n nearly as nil possible to the I inal Inn plans Today however er the lire Alamo exteriorly looks look quite quit different t front from tho the Alamo nf ot the tho massacre but Lul Indoors there Is la much to remind one of ot tho the heroic battle against t overwhelming odds One Ono cro crosses s s tine the threshold on which Crockett made mado his last lut stand one sees see on 00 the walls his hI picture and the pictures of ot other of ot the victims and standing It la 11 the little room where hero Tras T ls Ml fell done to t death In lit his hla noble effort to protect Howie one can readily ro believe belliv bell the ghost stories that center about the Maine Alamo stories that mak make he tie blood run jun cold with their detain of ot rattling muskets musket clanking cla kin chains nn footsteps footsteps amid the tire in rn 11 phantom form torm omit of ot Travis Howie Dowle d rd r Crockett once oneo more mare revolting rev the a s i l a 0 of ot their last earthly strife strafe Only a few tow years yen 1 ago uso the prisoners in m ma inn ina a n station adjoining ye i Alamo Alsmo declared that they the were fr At Atoned ht i cried nearly out of ot their the I wits one ri r rainy nT y night by tho sudden appearance of ot three figures width which they had no l I culty cully ull In III recognizing lC ns as the tho throe three i r T leaders lAdera of ot the slaughtered III Texans In prisoner more moro daring than his hla fl Ions Iona ventured to approach the tho whereupon so eo f the tho story tory runs run the tho three Instantly vanished an Is hell the solid stono stone wall That part of ot rho ho Alamo In which the station woe w I s 8 located filled ml up 1111 what whit used to be a 1 het h N low space on the side aide where the lx Ix lean finally a Q breach In he walls l and poured In fn upon tho the de do defenders fenders tenders Tho The plaza on which the Alamo stands sIan I l Is still one of ot the fairest sights in r around San Antonio and seated ir io II ill ifs i gardens one Is la bound bounel to tee see much Iw will bring to t memory the days dals that am are amlong ar arelong long dead The Tho Mexicans who si an I t form torm a n large part parl of oC the population population tion stroll In and nn out between ib lh the palms patine pal illS flowering shrubs and cord much as RS their forefathers promenaded ed edIn In the days when Texas was yet a 1 purl part of ot Mexico nut But from the gardens nn n ens will also abo hear leur the tho rumble of ot cars care and see the city clY n J passing and MI repa o 0 err r the ground where Santa Bunta Anna Ann h his 1 holocaust Whereupon one Is l back to modernity with a 1 sudden Iud den Atari brought back to realize that t nt the lire Alan has as all of mortal build butt brush ou our lived Its usefulness and remain b but butto butto to remind tho the Texans of ot the daring dart IF priests who ho braved the tho t f n religions sake Mke and of ot the tho lion hears l pioneers who Iho B gave ivr up their theft lives for tor ts Mt I cause caule of civil liberty W N X i r f u u |
