Page:Life and Select Literary Remains of Sam Houston of Texas (1884).djvu/373

 of you "the reclamation of Texas"; that "if it were an unproductive desert, useless, sterile, yielding' nothing desirable, and abounding only in thorns to wound the feet of the traveler, you would not permit it to exist as an independent government, in derision of your national character, your hearths, and your individuality." Allow me to assure you that our title to Texas has a high sanction: that of purchase, because we have performed our conditions; that of conquest, because we have been victorious; it is ours because you can not subdue us; it has been consecrated ours by the blood of martyred patriots; it is ours by the claims of patriotism, superior intelligence, and unsubduable courage. It is not a sterile waste or a desert; it is the home of freemen—it is the land of promise—it is the garden of America. Every citizen of Texas was born a freeman, and he would die a recreant to the principles imbibed from his ancestry, if he would not freely peril his life in defense of his home, his liberty, and his country.

Although you are pleased to characterize our occupation of Texas and defense of our imprescriptible rights as the "most scandalous robbery of the present age," it is not one-fourth of a century since Mexico perpetrated a similar robbery upon the rights of the Crown of Spain. The magnitude of the theft may give dignity to the robbery. In that you have the advantage. That you should thus have characterized a whole nation I can readily account for. Heretofore you entertained the opinion that Mexico could never conquer Texas, and, if it were possible for her to drive every Texan from the soil, that Mexico could not maintain her position on the Sabine, and the retreat of her army would be the signal for the return of the Anglo-Saxon race, who would reoccupy their homes and pursue the Mexicans as far as the Rio Grande; and that Mexico, in preservation of the integrity of the territory which she then possessed, would gain an advantage by abandoning all hopes of conquering Texas, and direct her attention to the improvement of her internal condition. Your recent opinions, as declared by you, appear to be at variance with these speculations, and are most vehemently avowed. It is an attribute of wisdom to change opinions upon conviction of error, and perhaps for it you are justifiable; at least, I discover that you have one attribute of a new convert: you are quite zealous and wordy in the promulgation of the doctrine which you have espoused.

"Sir, from your lenity and power Texans expect nothing—from your humanity less; and when you invade Texas you will not find " thorns to wound the foot of the traveler," but you will find opposed to Mexican breasts, arms wielded by freemen of unerring certainty, and directed by a purpose not to be eluded. Texans war not for gewgaws and titles; they battle not to sustain dictators or despots; they do not march to the field unwillingly, nor are they dragged to the army in chains, with the mock-title of volunteers. For awhile they lay by the implements of husbandry, and seize their rifles; they rally in defense of their rights; and, when victory has been achieved, they return to the cultivation of the soil. They have laws to protect their rights. Their property is their own. They do not bow to the will of despots; but they bow to the majesty of the Constitution and laws. They are freemen indeed. It is not so with your nation.—From the alcalde to the dictator, all are tyrants m Mexico; and the community is held in bondage, subject not to law, but to the will of a superior, and confined in hopeless subjection to usurpation.

In an individual so intelligent as yourself, it does seem to me that you have