Jim Bowie by Robert E. Hollmann Read Free Book Online Page A

to see you, Jim. We can use men like you.”
    “Hello, Mr. Austin. We heard you were headed to San Antonio so we thought we would join up and see what we can find.”
    Austin led Jim into his tent. I followed them and curled up in a corner.
    “Jim, I think there will be a fight when we get to San Antonio. You have lived there for awhile, tell me about the town.”
    “Well, let’s see. A lot of the people there don’t like Santa Anna. But they’re not sure your army can win. So they’re going to try and stay out of the fight. Juan Seguin will fight with us. He has a few men. I think most of the people are going to wait and see what happens. There’s an old mission there called the Alamo. The Mexican army has been working on it in case they need a fort. It’s not a fort, though. It’s a mission and wasn’t built to be a fort.”
    Austin listened carefully to Jim.
    “I want you to take some men and scout out the town. Find out what’s happening and let me know.”
    Jim shook his head. “I have no authority over these men.”
    Austin smiled. “As commander of this army, I’m placing you on my staff with the rank of colonel. Now you can lead the men.”
    Jim smiled. “Colonel. That sounds mighty important. When do you want me to leave?”
    “In the morning. I want you to check out the Mission Concepcion near San Antonio. There’s a man here I want you to take with you. He is Captain James Fannin. He might be of some help. He went to West Point for a year.”
    Jim stood up.
    “All right, sir. I’ll be glad to take Captain Fannin. I’ll tell the men to be ready to leave the first thing in the morning.”
    Early the next morning, Jim and ninety other men rode out of the camp. We headed toward San Antonio. Fall was in the air, but the day warmed up as the sun rose higher in the sky. I felt good as I trotted alongside Jim’s horse. Every now and then a rabbit would jump up from the high grass. I would chase him, but I never caught a single rabbit. As we got closer to San Antonio, I could hear a bell ringing in the distance. It was a bell at one of the missions. Jim stopped his horse and listened to the bell. Captain Fannin rode up beside Jim.
    “Why is the bell ringing, Colonel? Do you think they know we’re coming?”
    Jim shook his head.
    “No. It’s getting to be time for the evening services. We should be getting close to Mission Concepcion. We’ll wait here until dark. Then we’ll check out the area.”
    When the sun set, we rode to the old mission. There was no one around. Jim went into the mission. It was empty, but there were signs that someone had been there not long before. Jim walked back outside and spoke to the waiting men.
    “It looks like the people have left. They probably saw us coming and ran to town. That means that the Mexican army will know we’re here. I want the guards to keep a close watch tonight. I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and see a Mexican soldier looking down at me.”
    Guards were posted and soon those not on guard duty were asleep. We did not light any fires because Jim did not want to show the enemy where we were. The men ate cold bread and cheese. I tried to find some meat scraps or a bone, but I couldn’t find any and my stomach was growling as I lay down next to Jim. I finally went to sleep. I woke up early in the morning. A fog covered the area making it hard to see. I thought I heard the sound of someone walking. I listened but could not tell what it was. Suddenly one of the sentries shouted.
    “Colonel Bowie. The enemy’s coming. A lot of them!”

Chapter Sixteen
    AS THE ENEMY EMERGED FROM THE FOG, I hid under a table next to the old mission. I could hear them yelling as they charged us. Then the rifles began to fire and the shouts could no longer be heard. I saw Jim run by me. I heard him yell to the men to keep their aim low. The flashes from the rifles lit up the foggy morning. Suddenly there was a loud roar. The enemy was firing a cannon at us. I