THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS. 21 



until one day, as he lay in ignoble ease and 

 sloth, a rider from the south, from the roll- 

 ing plains of the San Antonio and Brazos, 

 brought word that the Texans were up, and 

 in doubtful struggle striving to wrest their free- 

 dom from the lancers and carbineers of Santa 

 Anna. Then his dark soul flamed again 

 into burning life; riding by night and day he 

 joined the risen Texans, was hailed by them 

 as a heaven-sent leader, and at the San Ja- 

 cinto led them on to the overthrow of the Mexi- 

 can host. Thus the stark hunter, who had 

 been alternately Indian fighter and Indian 

 chief, became the President of the new 

 Republic, and, after its admission into the 

 United States, a Senator at Washington ; and, 

 to his hiyh honor, he remained to the end 

 of his days staunchly loyal to the flag of the 

 Union. 



l]y the time that Croc'.cett fell, and Houston 

 became the darling leader of the Texans, the 

 typical hunter and Indian fighter had ceased 

 to be a backwoodsman ; he had become a 

 plains-man, or mountain-man ; for the frontier, 

 east of which he never willingly went, had 

 been pushed beyond the Mississippi. Rest- 

 less, reckless, and hardy, he spent years of 

 ills life in lonely wanderings through the 

 Rockies as a trapper; he guarded the slowly 

 moving caravans, which for purposes of trade 

 journeyed over the dangerous Santa Fe trail ; 

 lie guided the large parties of frontier settlers 

 who, driving before tliem their cattle, with all 

 their household goods in their white-topped 

 wagons, spent periU)us months and seasons 

 on their weary way to Oregon or California, 



