second effort made to reach the top of the wall; but again the assailants were beaten back. For a few minutes there was a pause. A third attempt was made with more success. Some reached the top of the wall, wavered and fell; but their places were supplied by hundreds pressing up behind them on every ladder. At last, cut down, killed and wounded, the Texan defenders began to give way. Instantly the fort was filled with hundreds of infuriated murderers. The survivors within the walls still continued the battle. They clubbed their guns, and with shouts and yells of defiance, fought from wall to wall, from room to room. Some few cried for quarter, but no quarter was given. Travis and Crockett fell with piles of dead Mexicans around them. Major Evans, in attempting to set fire to the magazine, was shot down. Colonel Bowie, who was sick in his bed, was murdered and his body mangled. Major Dickinson, in attempting to leap from the wall with his child tied on his back, was instantly killed. Thus, one by one those noble heroes sold their lives; and by sunrise on that Sabbath morn, every one had perished, and all was still. But around them lay the dead bodies of over five hundred Mexicans, with an equal number of wounded.

The only survivors of this terrible conflict were Mrs. Dickinson, her child, a negro servant of Colonel Travis, and two Mexican women. The bodies of the Texans were stripped, mutilated, and then thrown into heaps and burnt.

As not one of all the defenders of the Alamo escaped, we shall never know the full particulars of that desperate struggle.

About a year after, their bones and ashes were collected, placed in a coffin, and buried with due solemnity. A small monument was made from the stones of the fortress in 1841, was purchased by the State, and now

stands in the Capitol at Austin. But the most lasting monument of the heroes of the Alamo is found in the hearts of their countrymen, who will cherish their memory, and tell each succeeding generation the tale of their sufferings, their endurance, and their heroic end. They fell unnoticed, but undying

The very gales their names seem sighing.

CAPTURE AND SLAUGHTER OF FANNIN'S MEN AT

GOLIAD.

The news of the fall of the Alamo and the entire destruction of its brave defenders soon spread throughout Texas. It now became necessary that the army of the young republic should retreat before the advance of the larger force under Santa Anna, and make a stand against him in the eastern part of the country. Accordingly, General Houston, who was at the time at Gonzales, issued orders that the scattered troops should fall back and unite at some more favorable place. In this retreat the two armies had frequent skirmishes, in some of which the Texans gained signal advantages.

Colonel Fannin, who was stationed at Goliad with three hundred men, began his retreat. Thinking that the enemy would not pursue him, he was not sufficiently on his guard, and was overtaken at the Coleta Creek, about thirty miles east of Goliad, on the 20th of March. He and his men were in an open prairie, and the infantry and cavalry of the enemy were concealed in the timber near the creek. The enemy's cavalry, coming up within a quarter of a mile, dismounted, and began to advance and fire. Fannin ordered his men to reserve their fire and to lie down in the grass. The Mexicans having now come within one hundred yards, the Texans opened a fire of rifles, muskets, and artillery. Fannin here received a flesh wound in the leg.

While thus engaged with the Mexican cavalry on their right flank, they suddenly discovered the enemy's infantry, one thousand strong, advancing on their left and rear, and concealing themselves in the long grass. Whenever they would rise to shoot, and show their heads, the Texas rifles generally took them down. The battle soon became general. The Texans having no water to sponge their cannon, the pieces soon became so hot that they could not use them, and they were forced to rely wholly on their small arms. With these they kept up the fight from one o'clock until sundown. At dusk, a party of Camanche Indians, who had joined the Mexicans, were placed in the high grass, about thirty yards from the Texans, from which they poured a destructive fire. But, as soon as it became sufficiently dark for the Texans to see the flash of their guns, they seldom flashed twice from the same place. A little after dark, the enemy drew off their troops.

The Texans lost, during the day, seven killed and sixty wounded. The enemy's loss must have been five times as great.

The Mexicans took position, during the night, in the skirt of the woods. Early in the morning they renewed the attack, and, arranging their whole force in the most imposing manner, surrounded the little band of Texans. with overwhelming numbers. Fannin and his officers now held a consultation, and it was the opinion of the majority that they should surrender. A white flag was raised, and terms were agreed on. It was stipulated that the Texans should be received as prisoners of war, and in eight days should be sent to the coast and shipped to the United States. This agreement was reduced to writing in both the English and Spanish. languages, read over two or three times, and the writing exchanged "in the most formal and solemn manner.”

The Texans immediately stacked their arms and such of them as were able to walk, were marched back to Goliad on the same day. At Goliad they were crowded into the old church, with no other food than a little beef, without bread or salt. Some other prisoners were also brought in who had been captured at other points. Here they were kept until the 27th of the month, expecting every day to leave for the United States. The prisoners were spending the evening of the 27th in the most pleasant manner. Colonel Fannin was entertaining his friends with the prospect of a speedy return to the United States; and some of the young men, who could perform well on the flute, were singing "Home, Sweet Home." Alas! how little they knew of the sad fate that was awaiting them. At seven o'clock at night, a courier arrived with an order from Santa Anna, that the prisoners should all be shot! Accordingly, on the next morning at the dawn of day, the Texans were awakened by a Mexican officer, who said he wished them to form a line that they might be counted. The men were marched out in several divisions, under different pretexts. Some were told that they were to be taken to Copano, to be sent immediately home; others, that they were going out to kill beeves; and others again, that they were being removed from the church to make room for Santa Anna and his suite. Dr. Shackleford, who had been reserved as a surgeon for the wounded Mexicans, and was invited to the tent of a Mexican officer, a little distance from the fort, says: "In about half an hour we heard the report of a volley of small arms on the east of the fort. I immediately inquired the cause of the firing. The officer replied that he did not know, but supposed it was the guard firing off their guns. In about fifteen or twenty minutes after, another such volley was heard directly south

of us. At the same time I could distinguish the heads of some of the men through the branches of some peachtrees, and could hear their screams. It was then, for the first time, that the awful conviction seized upon our minds, that treachery and murder had begun their work. I then asked the officer if it could be possible they were murdering our men. He replied that it was so, but that he had not given the order, neither had executed it. In about an hour more the wounded were dragged out and butchered. Colonel Fannin was the last to suffer. When informed of his fate, he met it like a soldier. He handed his watch to the man who was to kill him, and requested him to shoot him in the head, and not in the back. He then seated himself in a chair, tied a handkerchief over his eyes, bared his bosom, and received the fire.

"As different divisions were brought to the place of execution, they were ordered to sit down with their backs to the guard. A young man, of the name of Fenner, rose on his feet, and exclaimed, 'Boys, they are going to kill us-die with your faces to them, like men!' At the same time, two other young men, swinging their caps over their heads, shouted at the top of their voices, Hurrah for Texas!'

"Many attempted to escape; but most of those who survived the first fire were pursued by the cavalry and cut down. It is believed that twenty-seven of those who were marched out to be slaughtered made their escape, leaving three hundred and thirty who were butchered in cold blood. The dead were then stripped, and their naked bodies thrown into piles, and though an attempt was made to burn them, it did not fully succeed, and many of them were left a prey to dogs and vultures."

Peace to the ashes of these noble martyrs of liberty!