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X-heofitsKerrville, klt;*rr County, Texas Thursday, June 19, 1941Side Glances onTexas HistoryBy CHARLES O. HTJCKER University of Texas LibraryOF PIIILIF NOLAN: WHAT DIO HE WANT?In the mixture of racial stocks that makes up the American people, the Irish hold a rank which is justly celebrated, and part of their impressive American heritage is at the heart of the development of Texas. It may even be, perhaps, that it was a native Irishman who first dreamed of a free and independent Republic of Texas.This man was Philip Nolan, who is remembered in history as the first of the Anglo-Americans who led filibustering campaigns intoTexas. The story of his expedition is one of the most intriguing tales ever turned up in the Texas Collection of the University of Texas Library.In 1797 Nolan, who for 12 years had been trading illegally between San Antonio and Natchez, Mississippi. rounded up a herd of wild Texas mustangs for the United States cavalry, entering Texas this time with the written permission of Spanish officials in Mexico. And three years later he returned, carrying his original passport and a blithe disdain for the objections of the Spanish consul at Natchez, who suspected his intentions.1 hr Spanish ObjectK»r months trnngs went well withthe 18 men who crossed the Red River late in 1800 On the plains of northern Texas they found tremendous herds of mustangs and corralled hundreds, They won the friendship of various Indian tribes of the district, notably the powerful Coman-ches. They were prospering. But at last, on March 22. 1801, a troop of 150 Spanish soldiers laid seige to their little log enclosure on the plain, and shortly after dawn Philip Nolan lay dead with a rifle-ball in his head. fDespite Nolans death, however, the 11 surviving Americans fought on past noon under the command of 17-year-old Ellis IV Bean Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon they surrendered They surrendered on twoconditions: that they be allowed to keep their arms and that they be escorted safely to the Louisiana border. With such an understanding. they were mached off towardNacogdoches.The Americans had one chance toescape. When they reached the flooded Trinity River. Bean fixed up a canoe and managed to maneuver the crossing so that at one time he had all of the Spanish soldiers on the east bank and their arms and their commander on the west bank with his and1 his followers; and he immediately proposed that the Americans lt;*nd the Spanish officer across, dump the enemy arms into the river, and proceed back to the plains. But on the repeated promise of a safe return to the United States, the men chose to keep on toward NacogdochesThe .MysteryThere they waited a month for anofficial order releasing them, and then suddenly all were clapped in irons Six years passed and they were still in irons deep in the interior, and the Nolan escapade was closed history. Yet it still needed a little unraveling: finally one of the | men was hanged, and another— Bean—had a long and remarkable future in Mexico What became of the others remains a mystery.a.tfwO PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES — JAMES BUCHANAN ANDABRAHAM LINCOLN -WERE EX-RAILROADERS.ACCURACY PLUSmost 50 76.468 ipeak of Thebeen fragencieAggrction reyear, \years b dropper to 418.0'\re/-American railroadsSPENT MORE THAN 3J4 BILLION DOLLARS IN 1940 TO BUYmFUEL, MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES, NEW EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES, AND TO PAY WAGES AND TAXES.ATCHES CARRIED BYOFFICERS AND EMPLOYEESOF RAILROAD OPERATING DEPARTMENTS MUST NOT VARY MORE THAN 30 SECONDS A WEEK FROM PERTECT TIME.BUEPgentina its luke contineiitary Itnations, to tour. ♦ ljgz$tMmiAis i sumits S80t 907,000fflvL JJSJ IHiw iouiMImt, itc.**-iffi%6V.980706A Of S |SffAXfSz*USE# * * A .lt;*lt;■*** * #* w -1wt AWiBrazil livia. CStates ’lions. 1Ministewhen A anniverSpain.It W(1936. PeaceB resultthfit iof theered in It vvathe deliEnrTl^ greatest mystery of ,A\. however, concerns the original purpose of the expedition, for no one can prove definitely what it was Perhaps, as some historians claim, it was only to get more horses Perhaps. as has also been suggested, it was to seek rich gold mines in the land of the Comanchcs, But—and Spanish officials for years claimed they could prove this with documents- perhaps it was to separate Texas from Mexico.Well, what was dashing Philip Nolan, son of Ireland? Merely a fortune-hunter? Or ought he be remembered as the first in the long line of dreamers who ultimately setTexas free*?the s survtindie1 bm oremiJitsincihermeant the displacement of am workers, who became un-ed or were forced to seek i the cities Tenancy reachedest proportion, 48 9 per cent, 910, however, and the num*croppers declined^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiI «‘xa« llorM** MavSoon llo as llariCarrier l*i«eonDALLAS — That popular song about “riding the range in a Ford V-8 * may be more truth than lyrics, a United States census of Texas agriculture hintedCattle population increased slightly. the number of sheep jumpedsharply, but something was happening to the horse.Thirty years ago, Texas prairie land harbored 1,125,834 horses andmules As of April 1 1940. this figure had been more than halved to 638.408 The decrease has been continual.Sheep-raising seemed to be supplanting other enterprises in rural Texas, on a rapidly expanding scale Tabulated at 8.447809 last year, thlt; sheep population had increased from 7.026534 in 1935; 5,319,248 in 1930 and a recorded low of 1.377 724 in 1910.The figure for cattle, 6,281,537 compared with 5,583.471 in 1930 and 6.212.284 in 1910An increase' in the size of the average farm without a corresponding gain in total cultivated acreage in*ANitrriiils I9FIRMEiSI’IJDS.lbs.APPLES. dozenBANAWS. 2 dozen
Newspaper Details
Kerrville Daily Times
Kerrville, Texas, US
Thu, Jun 19, 1941
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Butt-Holdsworth M.
Texas, USA 04 Dec 2021
Other Publications Near Kerrville, Texas
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Kerrville Mountain Sun
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