CHAPTER XVI
FANNIN'S CAMP
When Ned made his startling announcement he leaped down lightly from thewall.
"If you will look through the loophole there," he said to Colonel Ward,"you will see a great force only a few hundred yards away. The man onthe large horse in front is General Urrea, who commands them. He is oneof Santa Anna's most trusted generals. His nephew, Captain Urrea, ledthe cavalry who besieged us yesterday and last night."
Captain Ward looked, but the Mexicans turned into the wood and werehidden from sight. Then the belief became strong among the recruits thatNed was mistaken. This was only a little force that had come, and Wardand King shared their faith. Ward, against Ned's protest, sent King andthirteen men out to scout.
Ned sadly watched them go. He was one of the youngest present, but hewas first in experience, and he knew that he had seen aright. GeneralUrrea and the main army were certainly at hand. But he deemed it wiserto say nothing more. Instead, he resumed his place on the wall, and keptsharp watch on the point where he thought the Mexican force lay. Kingand his scouts were already out of sight.
Ned suddenly heard the sound of shots, and he saw puffs of smoke fromthe wood. Then a great shout arose and Mexican cavalry dashed from theedge of the forest. Some of the other watchers thought the mission wasabout to be attacked, but the horsemen bore down upon another point tothe northward. Ned divined instantly that they had discovered King andhis men and were surrounding them.
He leaped once more from the wall and shouted the alarm to Ward.
"The men out there are surrounded," he cried. "They will have no chancewithout help!"
Ward was brave enough, and his men, though lacking skill, were braveenough, too. At his command they threw open the gate of the mission andrushed out to the relief of their comrades. Ned was by the side of Ward,near the front. As they appeared in the opening they heard a greatshouting, and a powerful detachment of cavalry galloped toward theirright, while an equally strong force of infantry moved on their left.The recruits were outnumbered at least five to one, but in such adesperate situation they did not blench.
"Take good aim with your rifles," shouted Ward. And they did. A showerof bullets cut gaps in the Mexican line, both horse and foot. Manyriderless horses galloped through the ranks of the foe, adding to theconfusion. But the Mexican numbers were so great that they continued topress the Texans. Young Urrea, his head in thick bandages, was againwith the cavalry, and animated by more than one furious impulse he drovethem on.
It became evident now even to the rawest that the whole Mexican army waspresent. It spread out to a great distance, and enfolded the Texans onthree sides, firing hundreds of muskets and keeping up a great shouting,Ned's keen ear also detected other firing off to the right, and he knewthat it was King and his men making a hopeless defence againstoverpowering numbers.
"We cannot reach King," groaned Ward.
"We have no earthly chance of doing so," said Ned, "and I think,Colonel, that your own force will have a hard fight to get back insidethe mission."
The truth of Ned's words was soon evident to everyone. It was only thedeadly Texan rifles that kept the Mexican cavalry from galloping overthem and crushing them at once. The Mexican fire itself, coming frommuskets of shorter range, did little damage. Yet the Texans werecompelled to load and pull trigger very fast, as they retreated slowlyupon the mission.
At last they reached the great door and began to pass rapidly inside.Now the Mexicans pressed closer, firing heavy volleys.
A score of the best Texan marksmen whirled and sent their bullets at thepursuing Mexicans with such good aim that a dozen saddles were emptied,and the whole force reeled back. Then all the Texans darted inside, andthe great door was closed and barricaded. Many of the men sank down,breathless from their exertions, regardless of the Mexican bullets thatwere pattering upon the church. Ward leaned against the wall, and wipedthe perspiration from his face.
"My God!" he exclaimed. "What has become of King?"
There was no answer. The Mexicans ceased to fire and shout, andretreated toward the wood. Ward was destined never to know what hadbecome of King and his men, but Ned soon learned the terrible facts, andthey only hardened him still further. The thirteen had been compelled tosurrender to overwhelming numbers. Then they were immediately tied totrees and killed, where their skeletons remained upright until theTexans found them.
"You were right, Fulton," said Ward, after a long silence. "The Mexicanarmy was there, as we have plenty of evidence to show."
He smiled sadly, as he wiped the smoke and perspiration from his face.Ned did not reply, but watched through a loophole. He had seen a glintof bronze in the wood, and presently he saw the Mexicans pushing acannon from cover.
"They have artillery," he said to Ward. "See the gun. But I don't thinkit can damage our walls greatly. They never did much with the cannon atthe Alamo. When they came too close there, we shot down all theircannoneers, and we can do the same here."
Ward chose the best sharpshooters, posting them at the loopholes and onthe walls. They quickly slew the Mexicans who tried to man the gun, andGeneral Urrea was forced to withdraw it to such a distance that itsballs and shells had no effect whatever upon the strong walls of thechurch.
There was another period of silence, but the watchers in the old missionsaw that much movement was going on in the wood and presently theybeheld the result. The Mexican army charged directly upon the church,carrying in its center men with heavy bars of wood to be used insmashing in the door. But they yielded once more to the rapid fire ofthe Texan rifles, and did not succeed in reaching the building. Thosewho bore the logs and bars dropped them, and fled out of range.
A great cheer burst from the young recruits. They thought victorycomplete already, but Ned knew that the Mexicans would not abandon theenterprise. General Urrea, after another futile charge, repulsed in thesame deadly manner, withdrew some distance, but posted a strong line ofsentinels about the church.
Having much food and water the recruits rejoiced again and thoughtthemselves secure, but Ned noticed a look of consternation on the faceof Ward, and he divined the cause.
"It must be the ammunition, Colonel," he said in a whisper.
"It is," replied Ward. "We have only three or four rounds left. We couldnot possibly repel another attack."
"Then," said young Fulton, "there is nothing to do but for us to slipout at night, and try to cut our way through."
"That is so," said Ward. "The Mexican general doubtless will not expectany such move on our part, and we may get away."
He said nothing of his plan to the recruits until the darkness came, andthen the state of the powder horns and the bullet pouches was announced.Most of the men had supposed that they alone were suffering from theshortage, and something like despair came over them when they found thatthey were practically without weapons. They were more than willing toleave the church, as soon as the night deepened, and seek refuge overthe prairie.
"You think that we can break through?" said Ward to Ned.
"I have no doubt of it," replied Ned, "but in any event it seems to me,Colonel, that we ought to try it. All the valor and devotion of the menin the Alamo did not suffice to save them. We cannot hold the placeagainst a determined assault."
"That is undoubtedly true," said Ward, "and flushed by the success thatthey have had elsewhere it seems likely to me that the Mexicans willmake such an attack very soon."
"In any event," said Ned, "we are isolated here, cut off from Fannin,and exposed to imminent destruction."
"We start at midnight," said Ward.
Ned climbed upon the walls, and examined all the surrounding country. Hesaw lights in the wood, and now and then he discerned the figures ofMexican horsemen, riding in a circle about the church, members of thepatrol that had been left by General Urrea. He did not think it adifficult thing to cut through this patrol, but the Texans, in theirflight, must become disorganized to a certain extent. Nevertheless itwas the onl
y alternative.
The men were drawn up at the appointed time, and Ward told them brieflywhat they were to do. They must keep as well together as possible, andthe plan was to make their way to Victoria, where they expected torejoin Fannin. They gave calabashes of water and provisions to severalmen too badly wounded to move, and left them to the mercy of theMexicans, a mercy that did not exist, as Urrea's troops massacred themthe moment they entered the church.
Luckily it was a dark night, and Ned believed that they had more thanhalf a chance of getting away. The great door was thrown silently open,and, with a moving farewell to their wounded and disabled comrades, theyfiled silently out, leaving the door open behind them.
Then the column of nearly one hundred and fifty men slipped away, everyman treading softly. They had chosen a course that lay directly awayfrom the Mexican army, but they did not expect to escape without analarm, and it came in five minutes. A Mexican horseman, one of thepatrol, saw the dark file, fired a shot and gave an alarm. In aninstant all the sentinels were firing and shouting, and Urrea's army inthe wood was awakening.
But the Texans now pressed forward rapidly. Their rifles cracked,quickly cutting a path through the patrol, and before Urrea could get uphis main force they were gone through the forest and over the prairie.
Knowing that the whole country was swarming with the Mexican forces,they chose a circuitous course through forests and swamps and pressed onuntil daylight. Some of the Mexicans on horseback followed them for awhile, but a dozen of the best Texan shots were told off to halt them.When three or four saddles were emptied the remainder of the Mexicansdisappeared and they pursued their flight in peace.
Morning found them in woods and thickets by the banks of a little creekof clear water. They drank from the stream, ate of their cold food, andrested. Ned and some others left the wood and scouted upon the prairie.They saw no human being and returned to their own people, feeling surethat they were safe from pursuit for the present.
Yet the Texans felt no exultation. They had been compelled to retreatbefore the Mexicans, and they could not forget King and his men, andthose whom they had left behind in the church. Ned, in his heart,knowing the Mexicans so well, did not believe that a single one of themhad been saved.
They walked the whole day, making for the town of Victoria, where theyexpected to meet Fannin, and shortly before night they stopped in awood, footsore and exhausted. Again their camp was pitched on the banksof a little creek and some of the hunters shot two fine fat deer furtherup the stream.
Seeking as much cheer as they could they built fires, and roasted thedeer. The spirits of the young recruits rose. They would meet Fanninto-morrow or the next day and they would avenge the insult that theMexicans had put upon them. They were eager for a new action in whichthe odds should not be so great against them, and they felt sure ofvictory. Then, posting their sentinels, they slept soundly.
But Ned did not feel so confident. Toward morning he rose from hisblankets. Yet he saw nothing. The prairie was bare. There was not asingle sign of pursuit. He was surprised. He believed that at least theyounger Urrea with the cavalry would follow.
Ned now surmised the plan that the enemy had carried out. Instead offollowing the Texans through the forests and swamps they had gonestraight to Victoria, knowing that the fugitives would make for thatpoint. Where Fannin was he could not even guess, but it was certain thatWard and his men were left practically without ammunition to defendthemselves as best they could against a horde of foes.
The hunted Texans sought the swamps of the Guadalupe, where Mexicancavalry could not follow them, but where they were soon overtaken byskirmishers. Hope was now oozing from the raw recruits. There seemed tobe no place in the world for them. Hunted here and there they neverfound rest. But the most terrible fact of all was the lack ofammunition. Only a single round for every man was left, and they repliedsparingly to the Mexican skirmishers.
They lay now in miry woods, and on the other side of them flowed thewide and yellow river. The men sought, often in vain, for firm spots onwhich they might rest. The food, like the ammunition, was all gone, andthey were famished and weak. The scouts reported that the Mexicans wereincreasing every hour.
It was obvious to Ned that Ward must surrender. What could men withoutammunition do against many times their number, well armed? He resolvedthat he would not be taken with them, and shortly before day he pulledthrough the mud to the edge of the Guadalupe. He undressed and made hisclothes and rifle into a bundle. He had been very careful of his ownammunition, and he had a half dozen rounds left, which he also tied intothe bundle.
Then shoving a fallen log into the water he bestrode it, holding hisprecious pack high and dry. Paddling with one hand he was able to directthe log in a diagonal course across the stream. He toiled throughanother swamp on that shore, and, coming out upon a little prairie,dressed again.
He looked back toward the swamp in which the Texans lay, but he saw nolights and he heard no sounds there. He knew that within a short timethey would be prisoners of the Mexicans. Everything seemed to be workingfor the benefit of Santa Anna. The indecision of the Texans and thescattering of their forces enabled the Mexicans to present overwhelmingforces at all points. It seemed to Ned that fortune, which had worked intheir favor until the capture of San Antonio, was now working againstthem steadily and with overwhelming power.
He gathered himself together as best he could, and began his journeysouthward. He believed that Fannin would be at Goliad or near it. Oncemore that feeling of vengeance hardened within him. The tremendousimpression of the Alamo had not faded a particle, and now the incidentof Ward, Refugio and the swamps of the Guadalupe was cumulative.Remembering what he had seen he did not believe that a single one ofWard's men would be spared when they were taken as they surely would be.There were humane men among the Mexicans, like Almonte, but the ruthlesspolicy of Santa Anna was to spare no one, and Santa Anna held all thepower.
He held on toward Goliad, passing through alternate regions of forestand prairie, and he maintained a fair pace until night. He had not eatensince morning, and all his venison was gone, but strangely enough he wasnot hungry. When the darkness was coming he sat down in one of thelittle groves so frequent in that region, and he was conscious of agreat weariness. His bones ached. But it was not the ache that comesfrom exertion. It seemed to go to the very marrow. It became a painrather than exhaustion.
He noticed that everything about him appeared unreal. The trees and theearth itself wavered. His head began to ache and his stomach was weak.Had the finest of food been presented to him he could not have eaten it.He had an extraordinary feeling of depression and despair.
Ned knew what was the matter with him. He was suffering either fromoverwhelming nervous and physical exhaustion, or he had contractedmalaria in the swamps of the Guadalupe. Despite every effort of thewill, he began to shake with cold, and he knew that a chill was coming.He had retained his blankets, his frontiersman's foresight not desertinghim, and now, knowing that he could not continue his flight for thepresent, he sought the deepest part of the thicket. He crept into aplace so dense that it would have been suited for an animal's den, andlying down there he wrapped the blankets tightly about himself, hisrifle and his ammunition.
In spite of his clothing and the warm blankets he grew colder andcolder. His teeth chattered and he shivered all over. He would not haveminded that so much, but his head ached with great violence, and theleast light hurt his eyes. It seemed to him the culmination. Never hadhe been more miserable, more lost of both body and soul. The pain in hishead was so violent that life was scarcely worth the price.
He sank by and by into a stupor. He was remotely conscious that he waslying in a thicket, somewhere in boundless Texas, but it did not reallymatter. Cougars or bears might come there to find him, but he was toosick to raise a hand against them. Besides, he did not care. A millionMexicans might be beating up those thickets for him, and they would besure to find him. Well, what of it? They would shoot
him, and he wouldmerely go at once to some other planet, where he would be better offthan he was now.
It seems that fate reserves her severest ordeals for the strong and thedaring, as if she would respond to the challenges they give. It seemsalso that often she brings them through the test, as if she likes thecourage and enterprise that dare her, the all-powerful, to combat. Ned'sintense chill abated. He ceased to shake so violently, and after a whilehe did not shake at all. Then fever came. Intolerable heat flowedthrough every vein, and his head was ready to burst. After a whileviolent perspiration broke out all over him, and then he becameunconscious.
Ned lay all night in the thicket, wrapped in the blankets, and breathingheavily. Once or twice he half awoke, and remembered things dimly, butthese periods were very brief and he sank back into stupor. When heawoke to stay awake the day was far advanced, and he felt anoverwhelming lassitude. He slowly unwound himself from his blankets andlooked at his hand. It was uncommonly white, and it seemed to him to beas weak as that of a child.
He crept out of the thicket and rose to his feet. He was attacked bydizziness and clutched a bush for support. His head still ached, thoughnot with the violence of the night before, but he was conscious that hehad become a very weak and poor specimen of the human being. Everythingseemed very far away, impossible to be reached.
He gathered strength enough to roll up his blankets and shoulder hisrifle. Then he looked about a little. There was the same alternation ofwoods and prairie, devoid of any human being. He did not expect to seeany Texans, unless, by chance, Fannin came marching that way, but adetachment of Mexican lancers might stumble upon him at any moment. Thethought, however, caused him no alarm. He felt so much weakness anddepression that the possibility of capture or death could not add to it.
Young Fulton was not hungry,--the chill and following fever had takenhis appetite away so thoroughly,--but he felt that he must eat. He foundsome early berries in the thickets and they restored his strength alittle, but the fare was so thin and unsubstantial that he decided tolook for game. He could never reach Fannin or anybody else in hispresent reduced condition.
He saw a line of oaks, which he knew indicated the presence of awater-course, probably one of the shallow creeks, so numerous in EasternTexas, and he walked toward it, still dizzy and his footsteps dragging.His head was yet aching, and the sun, which was now out in fullbrightness, made it worse, but he persisted, and, after an interminabletime, he reached the shade of the oaks, which, as he surmised, linedboth sides of a creek.
He drank of the water, rested a while, and then began a search of theoaks. He was looking for squirrels, which he knew abounded in thesetrees, and, after much slow and painful walking, he shot a fine fat oneamong the boughs. Then followed the yet more mighty task of kindling afire with sticks and tinder, but just when he was completely exhausted,and felt that he must fail, the spark leaped up, set fire to the whiteash that he had scraped with his knife, and in a minute later a goodfire was blazing.
He cooked the tenderest parts of the squirrel and ate, still forcing hisappetite. Then he carefully put out the fire and went a mile further upthe creek. He felt stronger, but he knew that he was not yet in anycondition for a long journey. He was most intent now upon guardingagainst a return of the chill. It was not the right time for one to beill. Again he sought a place in a thicket, like an animal going to itsden, and, wrapping himself tightly in the blankets, lay down.
He watched with anxiety for the first shiver of the dreaded chill. Onceor twice imagination made him feel sure that it had come, but it alwayspassed quickly. His body remained warm, and, while he was still watchingfor the chill, he fell asleep, and slept soundly all through the night.
The break of day aroused him. He felt strong and well, and he was in apleasant glow, because he knew now that the chill would not come. It hadbeen due to overtaxed nerves, and there was no malaria in his system.
He hunted again among the big trees until he found a squirrel on one ofthe high boughs. He fired at it and missed. He found another soon andkilled it at the first shot. But the miss had been a grave matter. Hehad only four bullets left. He took them out and looked at them, littleshining pellets of lead. His life depended upon these four, and he mustnot miss again.
It took him an hour to start his fire, and he ate only half of thesquirrel, putting the remainder into his bullet pouch for future needs.Then, much invigorated, he resumed his vague journey. But he wascompelled very soon to go slowly and with the utmost caution. There wereeven times when he had to stop and hide. Mexican cavalry appeared uponthe prairies, first in small groups and then in a detachment of aboutthree hundred. Their course and Ned's was the same, and he knew thenthat he was going in the right direction. Fannin was surely somewhereahead.
But it was most troublesome traveling for Ned. If they saw him theycould easily ride him down, and what chance would he have with only fourbullets in his pouch? Or rather, what chance would he have if the pouchcontained a hundred?
The only thing that favored him was the creek which ran in the way thathe wanted to go. He kept in the timber that lined its banks, and, solong as he had this refuge, he felt comparatively safe, since theMexicans, obviously, were not looking for him. Yet they often cameperilously near. Once, a large band rode down to the creek to watertheir horses, when Ned was not fifty feet distant. He instantly lay flatamong some bushes, and did not move. He could hear the horses blowingthe water back with their noses, as they drank.
When the horses were satisfied, the cavalrymen turned and rode away,passing so near that it seemed to him they had only to look down and seehim lying among the bushes. But they went on, and, when they were outof sight, he rose and continued his flight through the timber.
But this alternate fleeing and dodging was most exhausting work, andbefore the day was very old he decided that he would lie down in athicket, and postpone further flight until night. Just when he had foundsuch a place he heard the faint sound of distant firing. He put his earto the earth, and then the crackle of rifles came more distinctly. Hisear, experienced now, told him that many men must be engaged, and he wassure that Fannin and the Mexican army had come into contact.
Young Fulton's heart began to throb. The dark vision of the Alamo camebefore him again. All the hate that he felt for the Mexicans flamed up.He must be there with Fannin, fighting against the hordes of Santa Anna.He rose and ran toward the firing. He saw from the crest of a hillock awide plain with timber on one side and a creek on the other. The centerof the plain was a shallow valley, and there the firing was heavy.
Ned saw many flashes and puffs of smoke, and presently he heard the thudof cannon. Then he saw near him Mexican cavalry galloping through thetimber. He could not doubt any longer that a battle was in progress. Hisexcitement increased, and he ran at full speed through the bushes andgrass into the plain, which he now saw took the shape of a shallowsaucer. The firing indicated that the defensive force stood in thecenter of the saucer, that is, in the lowest and worst place.
A terrible fear assailed young Fulton, as he ran. Could it be possiblethat Fannin also was caught in a trap, here on the open prairie, withthe Mexicans in vastly superior numbers on the high ground around him?He remembered, too, that Fannin's men were raw recruits like those withWard, and his fear, which was not for himself, increased as he ran.
He noticed that there was no firing from one segment of the ring in thesaucer, and he directed his course toward it. As soon as he saw horsesand men moving he threw up his hands and cried loudly over and overagain: "I'm a friend! Do not shoot!" He saw a rifle raised and aimed athim, but a hand struck it down. A few minutes later he sprang breathlessinto the camp, and friendly hands held him up as he was about to pitchforward with exhaustion.
His breath and poise came back in a few moments, and he looked abouthim. He had made no mistake. He was with Fannin's force, and it wasalready pressed hard by Urrea's army. Even as he drew fresh, deepbreaths he saw a heavy mass of Mexican cavalry gallop from the wood,wheel and f
orm a line between Fannin and the creek, the only place wherethe besieged force could obtain water.
"Who are you?" asked an officer, advancing toward Ned.
Young Fulton instantly recognized Fannin.
"My name is Edward Fulton, you will recall me, Colonel," he replied. "Iwas in the Alamo, but went out the day before it fell. I was taken bythe Mexicans, but escaped, fled across the prairie, and was in themission at Refugio when some of your men under Colonel Ward came to thehelp of King."
"I have heard that the church was abandoned, but where is Ward, andwhere are his men?"
Ned hesitated and Fannin read the answer in his eyes.
"You cannot tell me so!" he exclaimed.
"I'm afraid that they will all be taken," said Ned. "They had noammunition when I slipped away, and the Mexicans were following them.There was no possibility of escape."
Fannin paled. But he pressed his lips firmly together for a moment andthen said to Ned:
"Keep this to yourself, will you? Our troops are young and withoutexperience. It would discourage them too much."
"Of course," said Ned. "But meanwhile I wish to fight with you."
"There will be plenty of chance," said Fannin. "Hark to it!"
The sound of firing swelled on all sides of them, and above it rose thetriumphant shouts of the Mexicans.