The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 18, 1918, Page 5

COTTON, THE BIG CROP OF TEXAS 4 qy ¢ of ‘g”‘fi This is how cotton looks when it is baled. - Twelve hundred bales, worth at present prices nearly ‘$200,000, are shown in this picture. The split places in each vl bale show where buyers have cut into the bale to take out cotton for sampling and grading. The cotton lost by this method and by the rot which often starts " around the cut, means a loss of millions of dollars, in the aggregate, to Southern cotton growers each year. R ! and foresaw the extortion of their farmers.' Per- = came Houston’s “army,” 783 men at this time, mak- victory in what is known as the battle of San Jacin- haps they were experiencing a taste of that extor- ing about as good time as the civilian fugitives, and to, captured Santa Anna, general in command of o ‘ tion then. ¥ behind them the jubilant Mexican army of many the Mexican army and president of Mexico, and e However that may be, the Texans chose a man ~ thousands. Other officers in the army pleaded with forced him to sign a treaty of peace guaranteeing named Austin as their delegate to take their pro- Houston to make a stand. They called him a the independence of Texas as a republic. b posed constitution to Mexican authorities and de- coward. Houston kept on retreating and the re- The Texans set up their own government. They ¥ mand separate statehood. Austin was received . treat every day looked more like a real runaway. elected Sam Houston president and named a city LT 2l politely enough and given plenty of fine sounding 3 after him. They named a county after “Deaf” Smith i . promises—and then was thrown in jail as he at-- ¥IEXICO _: ORCED TO GIVE and its official name is “Deaf Smith county” to this o b tempted to return to Texas. ' EXAS ITS INDEPENDENCE day. They adopted & flag with one star. ; 5 Finally the pursuing Mexican army had reached ' For ten years Texas existed as an independent - IHFEESVEIISGEA?:S-‘II:H:A?ILYAMO’ 3 a place very near the present site of the city of republic. Then it was annexed to the United States. L Houston. They were camped in the angle between As the result of disputes over the southern boun- " This treatment, added to other indignities, threw - the Rie Brazos and Buffalo bayou. Then, when he dary of Texas the United States immediately be- 8 Texas into revolt. The Texans called a convoea- Was ready, Houston made his stand. He sent a Came involved in war with Mexico in 1846 and as ] vt tion of 55 of their most prominent citizens. They trusted lieutenant, Erasmus Smith, known as “Deaf” the result of the war the Rio Grande (Great river) y proclaimed their independence of Mexico, announc- Smith, behind the Mexican lines to cut the bridge Was established as the international boundary. "", : ed that they would organize a separate republic, over the Rio Brazos. Then he fell upon the Mexi- TEXAS ASKED TO : J N and elected Sam Houston as commander in chief of can army. The Mexicans weren't expecting any- SELL STATE LAND | their army. thing of the kind. They started back to find the R The army of the republic of Texas was a small bridge over the Rio Brazos gone. They started in But when Texas came into the Union, it came in ¥ i affair, It never had more than 2000 men. Opposed another direction to find their passage blocked by on different terms from other states. It insisted R to it were always several times that number of the Buffalo bayou. They were thrown into complete that all the public land within its borders belonged ) A Mexicans. confusion-and Houston’s 783 men, in dead, wounded to the state, and not to the national government. [ The Mexicans made their numbers felt.. One of 3nd captured, accounted for more than twice that The United States government agreed to this. As f‘, the first actions of consequence was the seige of - Aumber of Mexicans, while the rest of the invaders a result Uncle Sam has never had any homestead " 3 the Alamo, a Catholic church at San Antonio. One Peat it back for Mexico in confusion. land to give away in Texas. How Texas got rid | huridred and eighty-two Texans, under Colonel More than this, the Texans, as a result of this _of it we will see later. B James- Bowie, Davy Crockett and other pioneer ad- One of the first problems that confronted Texas b venturers, were attacked by a force of 2500 Mexi- . ‘ after it became an independent republic was the NS cans. There was not a chance for the Texans; o 3 2 2 land question. In making their declaration of in- ¥ they were forced back from position to position, This is the ninth in ‘the series of fact- dependence the Texas convocation had put out Es but at every position they lost the sharp shooting stories of the League states. There will a decree declaring the most flagrant of the land 4 Texans took a heavy toll of their enemies. Finally, - be two stories in this series about Texas. grants made by the Coahuila legislature to be in- when the Texans were half starved, the final attack. This one deals with Texas and its lands valid and had prohibited any further land grants. b was made. The Mexicans, by sheer weight of num- and tells how the greatest inheritance But when they had won their independence a big Bk bers, fought their way inside the Alamo.. The ossessed by any stat S looted and faction wanted to validate all other land titles and i Texans, every one an expert rifleman, picked them P 3 hy o o £C 4 start to make money. There was a considerable realla § off like squirrels, but fresh Mexicans advanced over wasted. The second story about Texafx, demand for land; there was no chance to sell it g the fallen bodies. With half the Texans gone and which will appear in next week’s and “cleanup” until titles were validated, they cdo the rest forced against-the last wall, they were Leader;-will tell about what the farm- urged. Besides, they said, Texas had a practically 5 offered a chance to surrender. ers have done, through organization, to ' inexhaustible supply of land—there was enough . “We fight to the last man,” was their answer. stop the looters. It W111 tell the story | . for everybody and to spare for the next 100 years. thAnl;il th; las(;lof ;h:h IS?A'II‘exans ;ve;‘e kitl;d i:gdaintsl: of the sensational cotton-holding move- thBu:Z f’residex{;l;-l H(éusttgn, w‘i:th a ke;m eye Hout ttox' 8 e blank wall o e Alamo. Before their death : e future, advise em to go slow. ouston () they had accounted for several times that number gg:ltlywv];:: fillalggom%fihzgcz?nigggng knew there was no such thing as an inexhaustible soiafie of Mexicans. § supply of land or anything else, and he saw. already article also tells the interesting story of Sam Houston, one of the most re- _started a retreat. They called that retreat the “run- _ markable men the United States ever exploit it. the g‘reed of northern land speculators with their eyes upon the great republic of Texas, eager to There were other reverses, and General Houston, faced by an overdvhelming force of Mexicans, away.” -Thousands of Texan colonists behind Pmduced You can start this popular belongings and fled to the north. Behind them fore it was passed and the interests of the people s Sy T G WPAG_Emvfi : i e : ; / ; R e b T A 8 e P S b N Tt TR T I e ANy G o By T Yy e L P e o e A P T B T T T R BT ~ As a result of Houston’s counsel to go slow, : Honston’s army started to-pull up all their movable < serles Wlth any issue, e many changes were made in the validating act be- Wt consea s