The Journey Home—Love and the Texas Ranger—A Short Story

This is a short story I wrote for a Texas Mountain Trail Writer's Retreat. It was included in the clubs Chaos  Book that is put out yearly after the retreat. Recently a group of authors at Champagne Books put together an Anthology with stories from 16 authors. This story was included.

Shared Whispers is a collection of short stories created by an eclectic group of sixteen award-winning writers from across the globe who create novels in such diverse genres as romance, suspense, mystery, thrillers, paranormal, fantasy, and science fiction. What’s the common theme to the anthology you’re about to read? Each story reflects the allure and importance of amore in our lives.

Why the title, Shared Whispers? Every writer has a unique voice in which they reflect the fictional Story Behind the Story, the seed from which the idea evolved. You’ll also find a brief bio of their writing career and other titles that might be of interest.
world carried in their mind’s eye. It can be the flow of their words or the rhythm or pulse to their scenes. The elegance of some voices pull you into the story, envelop you with their characters and offer momentary release from the drudgery and the complexity of modern life. In essence, these stories reveal the thoughts, the murmurs, the whispers shared with the Muse, our individual guide that holds our hand from the first to the last word. At the end of each creation, each author offers the

Life is hard and dangerous on the Texas plain for a couple separated by time, distance, and duty. Love brings them together—forever.

Romance and the Texas Ranger

The Journey Home

Texas Ranger Caleb Johnson slumped atop his horse, swaying to the pace of his sorrel mare. His head bobbed with the gait as he struggled to stay in the saddle and catch a few winks of sleep. It was a ritual he and Red were accustomed to. He’d ridden many miles while asleep and his horse hadn’t tossed him once. Some weeks it was the only sleep he got. Now wasn’t a good time not to be aware of his surroundings. He was alone, wounded, and weak. The pain from his shoulder injury screamed with each movement.

The captain ordered him to stay in camp until he could send him home with an escort. But, Caleb wouldn’t have it. Hell, he was shot, not dead. He’d stolen away in the middle of the night. All he wanted was to get home to Amy. It’d been five years since he’d seen her. Maybe he no longer had a wife. Rangers weren’t good marriage material and she’d not wanted him to join up. They’d had a terrible row. Her blue eyes flashed fire as she screamed, “I won’t be here when you decide to come home.”

Contrite over her scalding words, Amy wrote him faithfully at least once a month. It’d been a year now since he’d heard from her. Every time he thought he’d get home, his division was dispatched to another area and he couldn’t go. He shuddered. Was the tremor from his wound or fear? Something was wrong at home. He could feel it in his bones.

He struggled to stay awake, but fatigue, blood loss, and now with a raging fever, illness won out. His chin hit his chest and darkness clouded his consciousness. Dreams whirled through his mind—Amy on their wedding day, her shiny brown hair piled high on her head, ringlets curling around her face. Eyes spitting fire the day he left, her face red, almost as dark as the freckles that covered her pert nose. Oh, she was a corker. He loved her spit and vinegar.

            Red kicked up her heels, sending him forward, jolting him awake. Like a drunk woken by the nudge of a boot, blurry eyed, he glanced around and noticed three Indian braves on the mesa top to the west, a half a mile away.

            He wrapped the reins around the saddle horn, pulled his Winchester from its scabbard, and propped the butt on his thigh. He’d show them he was armed. Hell, he was so weak he couldn’t shoot a rabbit.  Hopefully they hadn’t seen him swaying in the saddle like a drunk. His knees tightened around Red. She sprinted forward but didn’t break into a full gallop. Don’t let them think you’re afraid and running. They’ll be on you like ants.

            War whoops echoed behind him. He raised the rifle with one arm, propping the butt at the juncture of his shoulder, turned and shot wild. A bullet slammed into his chest. He hit the packed earth. Red broke her stride and returned to him, nudging him with her nose and whinnying for him to get up.

            Shouts of victory surrounded him. Red’s reins were grabbed by a young brave. She fought against the restriction but the Indian coaxed her forward, gently stroked her muzzle and whispered in her ear. Soon, she quieted and stopped struggling though she snorted and stamped her hooves in agitation at the smell of blood.

            Vision fuzzy, Caleb spotted his valued star adorning the shirt of an older brave. Several men poked him with their rifles. He didn’t feel pain, only a roaring in his ears, and a calming sense of peace. The war party rode away in a flurry of triumphant shouts.

Bright light enclosed him. A form stepped out and knelt at his side. Pink lips, accompanied by a pert freckled nose and blue eyes, smiled. She leaned down and kissed him sweetly on the mouth. Her lilac scent filled his nostrils and joy filled his heart.

            “It’s time, Caleb. Time for you to come home.” Amy helped him rise and took his hand. “Come, my love.” Together they walked into the light.

                                                                        The End

If you'd like to purchase a copy of Shared Whispers, click on the link. It is also available at Amazon.com/

Thank you for stopping by today!
Linda

Pearl Hart – American Desperado

By Anna Kathryn Lanier

What should have been a life of modesty and respect, instead turned into a life of crime and legend.  Pearl Taylor,  the daughter of middle-class parents in Ontario, Canada, met and fell in love at the age of seventeen with a Nar ‘do well gambler and drinker, Fred Hart and eloped.

Five years later, in 1893, the couple made their way to the Colombian Exposition in Chicago where Fred found a job as a sideshow barker.  Pearl worked a number of odd jobs and escaped her dreary life by spending the afternoons watching Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show and dreaming of the romantic West.

Finally tiring of her hard-drinking, abusive husband, Pearl packed up and headed West for the start of a new life. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived dream when she discovered she was pregnant. She returned to Canada and her family for the support they could give her.  After giving birth to a son, Pearl left the baby in her mother’s care and moved to Arizona.  She worked odd jobs to support herself in a less than glamorous and heroic West than she had envisioned. 

Fred followed her trail and when he caught up with her, he begged forgiveness and promised changes.  For a while, the couple lived a happier domestic life, however, after the arrival of a daughter Fred abandoned his family, allegedly to join Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.

Pearl once again returned to her parents for support.  She didn’t stay long and soon returned to Arizona, leaving both her children behind.  Once back in the West, she worked odd jobs and as a cook in the various mining towns.  In 1899, she took up with a miner by the name of Joe Boot. After she received word that her mother was ill and needed money for medical care, she and Joe devised several schemes to raise the money.  When none of them proved lucrative enough, they decided to rob the Globe-to-Florence stagecoach.

With her hair cut and wearing Joe’s clothing, Pearl helped rob the three passengers of over $400 and a gun.  Feeling sorry for the passengers, Pearl is said to have returned a dollar to each for food.  The bandits high-tailed it into the unfamiliar desert foothills, where they promptly got lost.  After wandering around aimlessly for several days, they awoke one morning to find themselves surrounded by a sheriff and his posse.

While being held for trial, the “Queen Bandit” milked her fame for all its worth.  Allowed access to visitors and reports, she posed for pictures and signed autographs. In a surprise verdict and despite pleading guilty, the jury acquitted her, perhaps finding sympathy in her claim that she was trying to raise money for her dear, sick mother.  The judge, however, was furious.  He had Pearl tried again for “unlawfully carrying a gun,” the gun being the one stolen in the robbery.  This time, she was found guilty and sentenced to five years in the Yuma Territorial Prison.

Her fame grew as she served her time.  Reporters visited her often, posing her for pictures with unloaded guns.  By the time she was paroled 18 months into her sentence, she was a legend.  She also claimed she was pregnant and may have been paroled early to avoid a scandal, as she would have conceived while in custody.  The claim seems to have been a ruse, though. There’s no record of a third child being born.

The Two Pearl Harts:

 

After her release from prison, Pearl moved to Kansas City and starred in a theater production (written by her sister) of her life.  The play was short-lived though and Pearl’s fame faded.

In 1924, she’s alleged to have visited the courthouse where she was tried. Upon leaving, she told the attendant, “Nothing’s changed.” He asked who she was and, rather dramatically she replied, “Pearl Hart, the lady bandit.”

What happened to Pearl after that is unclear.  There is a claim she died in 1925 in Kansas City, another she lived in California until 1952.  The most knocked about story, however, is that she married an Arizona rancher, Calvin Bywater, and lived until the mid-1950’s as a hard-working, cigar-smoking, blue-streak-cussing law abiding citizen.  Whatever happened to Pearl in her later years, her younger ones were certainly bigger than life and she appears to be the only woman tried for robbing a stagecoach.

References:

Ladies First: History’s greatest female trailblazers, winners and mavericks by Lynn Santa Lucia

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-pearlhart.html

http://ladybelleoutlaw.homestead.com/WomenOfTheWest.html

 

http://www.annalsofcrime.com/04-03.htm

This lecture first appeared on Faith V. Smith’s blog on May 18, 2011. http://faithvsmith.blogspot.com/2011/05/make-welcome-anna-kathryn-lanier.html

 

Learn more about Pioneering Women in my online workshop, November 4-29, 2013.  Learn more about it HERE.

 

Anna Kathryn Lanier
Romance Author, A GIFT BEYOND ALL MEASURE

http://aklanier.com/

El Muerto: the Headless Horseman of South Texas

Serial published in 1865

First published in 1820, Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” has been frightening children for generations. Though the tale of a hapless schoolmaster’s midnight gallop through the New York woods made the phrase “headless horseman” a household term in America, by the time Irving’s story appeared, headless horsemen had been staples of European folklore for centuries. German, Irish, Scandinavian, and English legends all offered versions of the ghoulish phantoms, who usually were said to appear to proud, arrogant people as a warning.

South Texas has its own gruesome headless horseman legend. Unlike Irving’s unforgettable spook, however, Texas’ decapitated caballero rode among the living once upon a time.

Some say he still does.

In the summer of 1850, a Mexican bandito by the name of Vidal made an egregious error: He and several compadres rustled a sizable herd of horses from several ranches south of San Antonio. One of the ranches belonged to Texas Ranger Creed Taylor, a veteran of the Texas War for Independence and a man not inclined to forgive his enemies. (Taylor later would be one of the participants in the Sutton-Taylor Feud, a bloody, years-long running gun battle that rivaled the better-known fracas between the Hatfields and McCoys.)

Rustling cattle already had earned Vidal’s head a dead-or-alive bounty. Stealing a Texas Ranger’s horses proved the proverbial last straw. Together with fellow Ranger William A.A. “Big Foot” Wallace and another local rancher, Taylor set out to put a stop to Vidal’s unbearable insolence.

As a group, the early Texas Rangers were hard men. Tasked with protecting an enormous patch of land rife with outlaws and Indians, the early Rangers were expert trackers, accomplished gunmen, and not opposed to meting out immediate — and often brutal — “frontier justice.” Vidal was about to discover that in a very personal way.

Creed Taylor c. 1872

After tracking the banditos to their camp, Taylor, Wallace, and the third man mounted a surprise attack while the outlaws were asleep. Killing the desperados was not enough for Taylor and Wallace, though. The entire Ranger force was fed up with the rash of rustling plaguing Texas at the time. Not even leaving bodies hanging from trees or hacking them to pieces and using the bits for predator bait had made a strong enough statement.

So Wallace got creative. After beheading Vidal, he secured the corpse upright on the back of the wildest of the rustled horses, lashed the bandito’s hands to the saddle horn and his feet to the stirrups, and tied the stirrups beneath the animal’s belly. Just to make sure anyone who saw the ghoulish specter got the message, he looped a rawhide thong through the head’s jaws and around Vidal’s sombrero, and slung the bloody bundle from the saddle’s pommel. Then Wallace and his friends sent the terrified mustang galloping off into the night.

Not long thereafter, vaqueros began to report seeing a headless horseman rampaging through the scrub on a dark, wild horse. As sightings spread, some claimed flames shot from the animal’s nostrils and lightning bolts from its hooves. Bullets seemed to have no effect on the grisly marauder. They dubbed the apparition el Muerto — the dead man — and attributed all sorts of evil and misfortune to the mysterious rider.

Big Foot Wallace c. 1872

Eventually, a posse of cowboys brought down the horse at a watering hole near Ben Bolt, Texas. By then the dried-up body had been riddled with bullets and arrows, and the head had shriveled in the sun. The posse laid Vidal’s remains to rest in an unmarked grave on the La Trinidad Ranch. Only then did Wallace and Taylor take public credit for the deed. The episode contributed to Wallace’s reputation and had the intended effect on rustling.

Even the revelation of the truth behind the legend did not end el Muerto’s reign of terror. Until nearby Fort Inge was decommissioned in 1869, soldiers reported seeing a headless rider roaming the countryside around Uvalde, near Taylor’s ranch. Thirty years later, a rise in the ground 250 miles to the southeast, near San Patricio, Texas, was christened Headless Horseman Hill after a wagon train reported an encounter with el Muerto. A sighting occurred in 1917 outside San Diego, Texas, and another near Freer in 1969.

El Muerto reportedly still roams the mesquite-covered range in Duval, Jim Wells, and Live Oak counties — still fearsome, still headless, and still reminding those who see him that Texas Rangers didn’t come by their tough-hombre reputation by accident.

 

Kathleen Rice Adams is a rabble-rousing Texan to the bone. Her short story "Peaches" will appear in Prairie Rose Publications' Christmas anthology Wishing for a Cowboy, due in ebook and print Nov. 1.

THE FLAGS OF TEXAS - PART ll

Last month, on the tenth, I started a two part series about the twelve lesser known flags that flew over Texas from 1835-1836 before the battles for Texas Independence in 1836. This post is about the second set of six. I hope you enjoy learning about them.  

 

Most people have heard of Six Flags Over Texas, a fun theme park that opened in the summer of 1961. Through the years it's been the home for the first log flume ride, the Runaway Mine Train roller coaster, and the Texas Cliffhanger, the first freefall ride. Great fun, but not the focus of my post today.

Six flags of government have flown over Texas, Spain (from 1519 to1685), France (from 1685 to 1690), Spain (from 1690 to 1821), Mexico (from 1821 to 1836), Republic of Texas (from 1836 to 1845), United States (from 1845 to 1861), Confederate States (from 1861 to 1865), and United States from 1865 to the current period. These are interesting because they got us where we are today.

The ones I want to share, though, are the lesser known flags of Texas Independence from 1835-1836. Since there are twelve flags in this time period, I'll divide them up into two segments. The following descriptions are used in whole or in part from, http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/indepenflgs.htm. All attempts will be made to give credit where credit is due.


 Baker's Flag of San Felipe. According to the Telegraph and Texas Register, San Felipe, 5 Mar 1836 "....the English Jack showing the origin of Anglo-Americans, thirteen stripes representing that most of the colonists in Texas are from the United States; the Star is Texas, the only state in Mexico retaining the least spark of the light of Liberty; tricolor is Mexican, showing that we onced belonged to the confederacy; the whole flag is historic."

It was dubbed the San Felipe flag and based on ideas expressed to Gail Borden Jr. by Stephen F. Austin in the enclosure to a letter from New Orleans of 18 Jan 1836: "I shall preach independence all over the US wherever I go--What do you think of the inclosed idea of a flag." The flag was presented to the company of volunteers commanded by Captain Moseley Baker (John P. Borden, 1st. Lt.) by Gail Borden Jr. in the name of "two ladies" from the area as they marched from San Felipe 29 Feb 1836 for Gonzales. Capt. Baker made a speech to his company in response to the presentation referring to the flag "this banner of independence." He said "first in your hands is placed the Texas flag; let you be the last to see it strike to the invading foe! Let no other feeling ever glow in your bosom than that expressed in the motto on your banner, 'Our Country's Rights or Death.'.....Let us all raise our hands to heaven and swear, 'The Texas flag shall wave triumphant or we will sleep in death!'" It was claimed to have been flown at San Jacinto by those in Sherman's division. (Modified from Gilbert, Flags of Texas). 

Flag of the New Orleans Greys. Two groups of volunteers from New Orleans joined the Texas resistance to the Mexican centralista dictatorship. Members of the Greys participated in the Siege and Battle of Bexar, the Alamo and Goliad. The bright blue silk banner of the first company with an eagle bearing a banner stating "God and Liberty" is thought to have flown over the Alamo among possibly other flags. It is said to have been retained and transported to Mexico as a symbol of foreign military intervention in the affairs of Mexican Texas. The flag is said to have deteriorated in storage over the years at various locations in Mexico and it is unclear how much of the original still exists versus additions in restoration. Several attempts have been made to obtain the flag for traveling exhibition or even return to a site in Texas or the US. (Image modified from Gilbert, Flags of Texas)

Flag of the Alabama Red Rovers. Like their uniforms, this solid blood red flag was the banner of the Red Rovers, a company of volunteers from Alabama who came to Texas in fall 1835 to aid the Texan forces. The Red Rovers were in large part massacred at Goliad on Palm Sunday, 27 Mar 1836, although some survivors were among them. The Rovers were recruited, supported and commanded by Dr. and Capt. Jack Shackleford of Courtland, Alabama, who was with them at Goliad. Dr. Shackleford's life was spared because he was a surgeon.





San Jacinto Liberty Flag of Sherman's Volunteers from Newport, Kentucky. Although there was no single banner representing the Texian Army at the time, of those that were probably displayed, this flag is most commonly associated with the Battle of San Jacinto. This banner was presented to Sherman's Newport Volunteers upon their departure for Texas by the ladies of Newport, Kentucky. Capt. Sherman's new bride, Katherine Isabel Cox, was chosen to make the presentation. Thousands are said to have waved the company off as they departed by steamer from Cincinnatti on the Ohio River. Legend says that Private James A. Sylvester was given a long red glove (a white glove in some accounts) by the daughter of the host at a departure dance just before leaving for Texas which he tied on the flag staff. It was said to be a "talisman" and inspired the ranks at San Jacinto.

Flying the flag, Sherman's regiment met Gen. Houston in Gonzales after the Alamo defeat and followed him into the Battle of San Jacinto. In Aug 1836, the flag was returned to Mrs. Sherman at Frankfort, KY with a letter: "Velasco, August 5, 1836, War Department. This stand of colors, presented by the ladies of Newport, Kentucky, to Captain Sidney Sherman, is the same which triumphantly waved on the memorable field of San Jacinto, and is by the government presented to the lady of Colonel Sidney Sherman as a testimonial of his gallant conduct on that occasion. A. Somerville (signed), Secretary of War. Approved: David G. Burnet." The flag was kept by the family for many years and later returned to the State of Texas in a ceremony in the House of Representatives in 1933. It was placed in custody of the Daughters of the Texas Revolution. The above artist's depiction is thought to be close to the original banner brought from Kentucky. The banner on the sword says "Liberty or Death." Over the years, artist's renditions and historical narratives describing the flag vary in the clothing on the upper body of Liberty. Wooten's color plate depicting the flags of Texas in his Comprehensive History of Texas in 1898 show an out of focus, diffuse, fully-clothed Liberty similar to the Statue of Liberty in New York. The rendition in Gilbert's 1968 edition of A Concise History of Early Texas: As told by its 30 historic flags depict Liberty's upper torso fully covered with a transparent blouse while the 1994 edition shows the depiction above. Attempts at restoration of the original banner are also thought to have altered the details of Liberty's clothing. The original flag was placed in a glass case behind the Speaker's podium in the House of Representatives in Austin. Reportedly insignia on the banner is barely detectable due to fading during storage and display over the years and the actual flag is only displayed from the backside which where an image is more discernable when the House is in session. (Image modified from C. E. Gilbert, A Concise History of Early Texas: As told by its 30 historic flags)

 Suggested Independence Flags of Austin, Wharton and Archer. After the Independence Consultation of November 1835 in San Felipe, Stephen F. Austin, Branch T. Archer and William H. Wharton were sent to the United States to seek aid. In New Orleans they designed and proposed elaborate flags of independence that were never adopted, but highly symbolic of the current state of the evolution toward independence. Austin proposed a flag including the symbols shown at left, the British Union Jack indicating the origin of most Anglo-Texians, the colors of the banners of both the US and Mexico (red, white blue and green), the Lone Star for an independent Texas and the Latin words "Lux Libertas" to symbolize that Texas was the lone star of libertarian principles (light of liberty) in the Mexican Republic.

 At the convention in November 1835, despite intense debate, the objective remained independent statehood in a Federal Mexican Republic under the Constitution of 1824 rather than a full declaration of independence as a sovereign Republic. Most prepared for the latter and the seemingly inevitable impending war. Others saw that long term independence might require the overt protection of the United States and eventual annexation. Wharton and Archer insisted on replacement of the Mexican green stripe with union blue. Moreover, they suggested a sun rather than the star with George Washington's head in the center and the words shown in the banner at left. In a letter to her brother Stephen Austin in New Orleans of 1 Jun 1836, Mary Austin Holley wrote from Lexington, Texas "Miss James has painted your flag on silk--Sun Washington and all--it is beautiful--it is to be presented by Henrietta--with an appropriate speech written for her by myself--Friday afternoon--How interesting to have you here! It is to be in Mrs. Harts lawn....All the military were to parade....I furnished the silk for the flag--Gen. McCalla the Staff and spear head."

Below are links that may be of additional interest:

http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/dewitt.htm
http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/indepenflgs.htm

http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/dewittflgs2.htm

I hope you've enjoyed this post about a turbulent time in Texas history in the beginning fight for Texas Independence. I am passionate about my birth state and not bashful when it comes to sharing.

 

Thanks for visiting with Sweethearts of the West!

Carra

 Buy links for my debut novel, CODE OF HONOR, Texas Code Series, Book One:

Amazon for Kindle ebook and print:  http://tinyurl.com/muln4r9

and, Smashwords for nook, kobo and iTunes:  http://tinyurl.com/llshmbg
 

Find me on my website: http://carracopelin.com
Facebook: http://facebook/carracopelin
Twitter: http://twitter/CarraCopelin
Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/mfynmj2

What Happened to General Santa Anna?

By Celia Yeary

"Captured in Silk Underdrawers" might have been a newspaper headline on April 22, 1836, when Santa Anna and his army had been defeated at the Battle of San Jacinto the day before.

A few weeks earlier, General Santa Anna had taken command of the Mexican army that invaded Texas in 1836. His forces defeated all rebels at the Alamo, and then he had personally ordered the execution of 400 Texan prisoners after the Battle of Goliad.

These two victories planted the seeds for Santa Anna's defeat.

"Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!" became the call for the Texan army to re-group and march to San Jacinto.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gen. Santa Anna brought before Sam Houston

After the San Jacinto defeat, Sam Houston, the leader of the Texas army, had been injured with a musket ball to the ankle. He was reclining under a tree, when two soldiers hauled a Mexican to him and reported that his own men addressed him as "El Presidente, Excelencio Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y Perez de LeBron, Presidente de laRepublica y Comandante del Ejercitio de Mejico."

It is said that Santa Anna had been hiding in the bulrushes in his silk underdrawers.

Now Sam Houston had a problem. What should he do with the Mexican general?
Hang him? The army of Texans and the citizens wanted him to swing from the nearest tree. Sam Houston might have been the only man to recognize just how stupid that act would be.

Houston is reported to have said, "Santa Anna alive is the President of Mexico, and we've got him. Santa Anna dead is just another dead Mexican."

The small General Santa Anna found himself alone amidst the very people he'd been bullying, and they were very angry. If the Texans hung the general, Sam Houston knew Mexico would regard the execution as a mortal insult.

Texas won San Jacinto by a fluke, and nobody knew that better than Sam Houston himself. If the Mexican army had been ready for battle instead of being taken by surprise, Houston's small undisciplined "Texas army" would have been decimated.

The execution of Santa Anna also would probably unite all of Mexico, even though Santa Anna was generally disliked. If that happened, Mexico might have waged a vengeful national war against the exhausted, disorganized, undisciplined, and underarmed Texans.

In the end, Santa Anna signed the Treaty of Velasco that gave Texas freedom from Mexico.

Santa Anna was released in Texas and returned to Mexico a powerless man.

However, during the next twenty years, Santa Anna schemed with groups in Mexico to gain, lose, and regain dictatorial power a total of eleven times.

He was a brilliant man with a lust for power, but ultimately Santa Anna was loyal only to himself.

How Santa Anna really looked.

Trivia about Santa Anna:

~*~Upon his return to Mexico, he engaged the French in Veracruz. During the Mexican retreat after a failed assault, Santa Anna was hit in the hand and leg by cannon fire. Much of his leg required amputation. He ordered that his leg be buried with full military honors.

~*~Some say Santa Anna was in his tent on the morning of the San Jacinto battle with a "high yellow" Negress named Emily West aka. Emily Morgan, and that in seducing him, helped facilitate the Texan victory.

~*~Santa Anna lived in exile in Cuba, Staten Island NY, Colombia, and St. Thomas.

~*~He had two nicknames: The Napoleon of the West, and The Eagle.

~*~ He was married twice.

~*~He had four legitimate children, and at least seven illegitimate children.

~*~He died in poverty at age 82 in Mexico City

Thank you for reading.
Celia Yeary

Sources:
Wikimedia Commons
Wikipedia
Handbook of Texas History On-line.
Texas Tales Your Teacher Never Told You, by C. F. Eckhardt
Disclaimer:
Some statements about Santa Anna may or may not be true. Historians have written some events differently.