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Left section:
GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
Right section: |
| TEXAS. |
| THE first European
settlement in Texas was made by
the Sieur de la Salle, who in
1685 erected Fort St. Louis, on
the Lavaca, near Matagorda Bay.
The French garrison was destroyed
by the Indians, and five years
later Capt. de Leon and 110
Spanish soldiers and monks
founded on the same site the
mission of San Francisco. After a
gloomy period of Indian
hostilities and failing crops,
they abandoned the country. For
over a century Franciscan
missionaries and other clergy
worked among the Indians,
converting them to Christianity
and semi-civilization. Their
decline began in 1758, after
dreadful massacres. Many missions
still stand in and near San
Antonio, most of them in
picturesque ruins. The mission of
San Antonio de Valero, after
being secularized by the Spanish
Government in 1793, became a
military garrison, and received a
deathless renown under the name
of the Alamo. After 1820 Texas
was settled by Americans. The
United States had made two
attempts to buy Texas in 1827 and
1829, but without success. At
last Texas revolted from Mexico
(of which it was a part), and the
Republic of Texas was
acknowledged by many countries,
and ten years later she joined
the Union. Texas claimed the Rio
Grande as its western boundary,
and Mexico tried to limit her to
the Nueces. This led to the
Mexican War and the triumph of
the American forces. |
| ILLUSTRATIONS. |
Sam
Houston; Wild Horses of Texas;
Houston at San Jacinto,
1836; De la Salle landing in
Texas, 1685. |
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