Failed to Stop Ball Honoring Davy Crockett.
San Antonio Express newspaper, February 21, 1937, Sunday.
It was 1 o'clock the morning of Feb. 11, 1836, and the chivalry and beauty of San Antonio danced in honor of Mr. David Crockett who had come a month before. A galloper slid wearily from a fagged horse and knocked authoritatively at the door. He inquired for Colonel Erasmo Seguin. The colonel was not present. He ask for Antonio Menchaca. When that gentleman came forward the rider handed him a letter.
James Bowie came up and read over his shoulder and Bowie called to a youthful lawyer, senior officer at San Antonio, William B. Travis. Col. Travis was dancing with the belle of the evening. He smiled at his partner and told Bowie he had no time for letters. But Bowie was insistent. Travis knew his man. Bowie was not a man given to excitement or to making mountains of mole hills. If Bowie said it was important in was probably important. Travis courtesied to his lovely partner and excused himself. With Crockett, he joined Bowie and Menchaca. Travis read the letter. It was from Placido Benavides at Camargo. Travis read:
"At this moment I have received a very certain notice that the commander-in chief, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, marches for the City of San Antonio to take possession thereof, with 13,000 men."
Travis calculated swiftly. It would take a Mexican force of 13,000 at least 12 or 14 days to get here from the Presidio de Rio Grande. Now we have excellent music and lovely partners. On with the dance. We can consider measures for the reception of General Santa Anna later.
The dance broke up at 7 a.m. and thereafter officers gathered with Travis to formulate plans for defending San Antonio.
This incident is one of the bright lights in the bloody history of San Antonio during the first 36 years of the 19th century as recorded in the memoirs of Antonio Menchaca which, with a report on the Spanish Archives by Carlos Eduardo Castaneda, Latin-American librarian of the University of Texas, which have just been published for members of the Yanaguana Society.
Prof. Castaneda's work consists of a brief history of San Antonio covering the Spanish-Mexican period, 1715-1836 and a comprehensive catalogue of ancient Spanish papers and documents in the office of the Bexar County clerk. In his introduction the librarian reports that when Santa Anna was defeated at San Jacinto in 1836 the Spanish archives of San Antonio de Bexar were practically complete here. In 1841 certain papers were sent to Austin, where they became mixed with the Nacogdoches archives. In 1896 Bexar County surrendered to the University of Texas what was thought to be the complete collection of Bexar records, retaining. It was said, such papers as were related to land grants, deeds, will and similar legal and semi-legal documents. An investigation disclosed Bexar County had retained more than 2,000 documents, ranging from one to 80 pages, which are not legal papers.
Menchaca's memoirs were dictated to Charles M. Barnes and they came into the possession of James P. Newcomb, who knew Menchaca well. they are now owned by Pearson Newcomb, who permitted their publication for the Yanaguana Society. The book is prefaced with an introduction by James Newcomb. He described Menchaca: "In persona appearance he was physically a large man, not overly tall, but massive; his complexion fair, his eyes blue, his countenance strong and dignified; he bore the marks of a long line of Castillian ancestors." He draws a charming picture of cock fights in the shade of" San Fernando" Sunday afternoon when church was over; festivities of which Menchaca, invariably served as referee and Newcomb wrote, "It required a man of stern character and unbending dignity to decide the fine points of these tournaments."
Menchaca was also an arbiter in legal questions particularly in questions of land titles where his great memory and his deep knowledge of the genealogy of San Antonio's people served the little town. He was also a close friend of Bowie and of Houston. The friendship between the elder Newcomb and Menchaca was apparently a post-Civil War development for Newcomb speaks of meeting the old patriot after that period and of receiving the handwritten copy of his memoirs from him.
Newcomb explains he has made no effort to reconcile any statements with generally accepted belief that appear to conflict with what Menchaca recorded and he speaks of "all its barrenness of invention and lack of coloring" that marks Menchaca's valuable papers, with a provoking frugality of words and frequently resorts to abbreviation and more frequently identified important personages only by initials.
Menchaca was born in 1800 and baptized in San Fernando de Austria (San Fernando Cathedral) Jan. 12 of that year. Lieut. Col. Antonio Cordero was governor and a good one he was. Among his public works were the straightening of what are now Main Avenue and Flores Street, the construction of a bridge and the creation of a powder house.
In 1811 Cordero was succeeded by Manuel Salcedo, lieutenant colonel of the royal Spanish armies and it was in this year San Antonio got its first touch of rebellion against Spain. Many residents of San Antonio were invited to join and insurrection and several agreed. The plot leaked out and 15 to 20 leaders were arrested. Some were executed and others sent to prison. Among those imprisoned for life was Captain Jose Menchaca. The principal leader, Juan Bautista Casas was shot to death here.
Menchaca records the viceregal edict of March 11, 1811, under which San Fernando de Austria and San Antonio de Balero were incorporated under the name of San Antonio de Bexar. In Castaneda's report he mentions the existence of three separate entities here, the missions, the civil authority and the military and he comments rather ruefully the three did not always see eye to eye. In fact many of the records, listed by Castaneda as locked in the county clerk's vaults, confirm Menchaca's accounts. One incident is especially interesting.
A force of some 4,000 Mexicans were near Goliad fighting, with no success, the American filibuster Magee, when a Comanche Chief, Captain Cordero, came here with 1,500 warriors and demanded a bribe, either for his neutrality or for his aid. Jose Flores de Abrego was in command here in the absence of Gov. Salcedo, was not authorized to buy the Indian and sent him to Goliad. There the governor likewise refused to be shaken down. The Comanche frankly told the governor unless given a "regalo" he would destroy the ranches and steal the horses. Salcedo invited Cordero to fight Magee's Americans but he refused. In the meantime Salcedo sent Flores word to bring everything into San Antonio and to fortify the city. The record of Cordero's demands are included in the Castaneda catalogue.
The entry of Magee's filibusters into San Antonio after the Spanish defeat is mentioned at some length by Menchaca, including the butchery of Spanish prisoners who had surrendered. He records also the Battle of Medina, which brought the brutal Arredondo into San Antonio and wrote into San Antonio's history the black page of the Quinta house where Arredondo imprisoned all the city's women and forced them to all indignities.
Menchaca records the arrival in March, 1830, of James Bowie with Governor Wharton. Bowie went to Saltillo, where he met Juan M. Veramendi of San Antonio. The two became fast friends and when the Veramendi family returned to San Antonio, Bowie accompanied them. Bowie became engaged to Ursula Veramendi, but insisted he did not have the money to get married on. He went back to Kentucky, returning to San Antonio in March, 1831. Menchaca goes rather fully into Bowie's political and personal movements, including the removal of Veramendi's and Bowie's families to Monclova, where their wives died of cholera.
In his recollections of the battle at San Jacinto, Menchaca reveals his own insubordination and offers a sharp insight into the lack of discipline in Houston's army. In short, Houston sent orders to Menchaca to command the guard placed on stores. Menchaca went personally to Houston and refused. He quotes himself as saying he told Houston he was there to fight, not guard horses, and if Houston insisted on his doing the latter he would join his family. Houston gave in and Menchaca die not record who relieved him on the horse guard.
` Menchaca, in his colorless way, gives an excellent account of the San Jacinto fight and he adds some information as to why Santa Anna was not killed, not generally reported in histories. Speaking of Santa Anna's capture the day after the fight, Menchaca wrote: "He (Santa Anna) was taken to Houston and many were in favor of putting him to death. But as he was a Mason, and most of the (Texas) officers were Masons, he was protected.
Castaneda has catalogued the archives in the county clerk's office here both chronologically and by subject matter. Under the latter classification he had listed records under these headings: Land grants, deed of sale, etc., 50 pages of the book; wills and estates, seven pages; protocols, four pages; lands outside of Bexar County, six pages; mission records, 14 pages; miscellaneous, 57 pages.
In the earlier years, Castaneda has indexed the Bexar records by years, but as the province developed and became more and more important, the volume of public and semi-public papers increased, and during the revolutionary period these papers are indexed by both year and month.
There may have been some excuse for the sulkiness of the Canary Islanders. A viceregal order issued by Casa Fuerte Dec. 31, 1731, prohibiting them leaving Texas on any pretext while others were permitted to go and come freely.
Castaneda records the development of San Antonio was very slow at first,
but began to expand rapidly by the close of the 18th Century. In 1800 the
population was about 3,000 and in 1822 it has reached nearly 5,000.
