Читать книгу With Sam Houston in Texas онлайн

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Three delegates were appointed to carry the wishes of Texas to the City of Mexico; but only one made the trip. He was Stephen F. Austin himself, the “Father of Texas.” And when he passed through Gonzales, Ernest saw him for the first time.

It was not difficult to understand why the people of Texas loved Austin so, but he looked more like a student than a pioneer who had brought the first settlers into Texas, a dozen years ago, and had lived here ever since. He was slender and graceful and of only medium height, and wore a fringed suit of soft seal-brown buckskin—although it was said that he had a suit of broadcloth with him, to wear in the City of Mexico. His hair was brown and curly, his smooth face long and fair, and his gray-blue eyes were large and thoughtful. He appeared tired and perplexed, and not very strong. It was claimed that he was a college graduate, and that since coming to Texas he had studied the Spanish language until he could speak it thoroughly, and that nobody was better acquainted with the Mexican laws than he. He and Sam Houston had been born in the same year, in Virginia; but no two men were more different. Sam Houston was massive and majestic; whereas Stephen Austin was slight and modest.