Jim Bowie (8 page)

As we neared the old mission, I saw the first men of Santa Anna’s army entering San Antonio. Inside the Alamo men climbed to the top of the walls to look at the enemy army, while the women and children tried to find a place to stay in the old chapel. I saw Susannah Dickinson carrying her baby into the chapel. Her husband, Almeron, was one of the men standing by a cannon, watching the enemy enter the town.

Jim sent the women into the chapel and then climbed onto the wall. I stood beside him. I could see through a crack in the wall. The enemy army was much larger than the small group of Texans. I saw a large red flag flying from a flagpole in the center of San Antonio.

One of the men shouted to Juan Seguin.

“What does that flag mean?”

Juan took off his hat and wiped his forehead. “It means they’ll give us no mercy when the fighting starts.”

The men stared silently at the flag flapping in the breeze. Travis walked over to Jim.

“Do you have any suggestions, Jim?”

Jim shook his head. He pointed toward a rider heading toward the Alamo. “I think we’re about to find out what Santa Anna’s thinking,” he said.

Soon the enemy officer stopped his horse in front of the Alamo walls. He pulled out a sheet of paper and read a message from Santa Anna. The message said that the Texans should surrender. Santa Anna would then decide what he would do with the men. If they did not surrender, he would attack the Alamo without mercy.

Jim looked at Travis. “What do you say to that?”

Travis looked at Captain Dickinson. “Fire the cannon,” Travis shouted.

Captain Dickinson put his torch to the powder, and the cannon roared. The men watched as the cannonball bounced down the main street of San Antonio. It finally came to rest against the wall of a small house. The enemy messenger turned and rode back toward the enemy army.

Travis turned to Jim. “What do you think of my answer?”

Jim looked at the enemy soldiers moving around in the town.

“I say you spoke very loudly and very clearly. And now we’ve got a fight on our hands.”

Jim started coughing and leaned against the cannon for support.

“Jim.” Travis walked over to him. “You should go and see Dr. Pollard.”

Jim waved him away. “I’ve been to see him. There’s nothing he can do. Excuse me, Colonel Travis, I need to see about my sisters-in-law.”

I followed Jim down the ramp. We walked across the courtyard toward the chapel. Jim staggered as he walked. He stopped several times to catch his breath. He looked down at me and smiled.

“It sure is a long way across this courtyard. I don’t remember it being so far.”

He coughed again, then started walking toward the chapel. I heard the roar of an enemy cannon being fired. The cannonball whistled as it flew through the air. It landed in the courtyard and exploded, throwing dirt and metal all around. I ducked under a wagon when I heard the cannonball coming. When the smoke cleared away, I looked out from under the wagon. Jim lay on the ground. He was not moving.

“Did the CANNONBALL hit Jim?” Princess asked as tears filled her eyes.

The old dog licked her face as he went on with his story…

I ran to Jim as fast as I could. The dust and smoke still filled the air. I sniffed him and licked his face. There was no blood, but Jim’s face was covered with sweat. Colonel Travis, Davy Crockett, and several other men rushed over to us. They pushed me aside as they kneeled by Jim.

“Where’s Dr. Pollard?” Travis called.

A man pushed his way through the crowd. “Here I am.”

He felt Jim’s head then checked his body for wounds. “He wasn’t hit by the cannonball,” he said.

“What’s wrong with him?” Davy Crockett asked.

Dr. Pollard felt Jim’s head again. “He’s very sick. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s very serious.” He looked at the crowd. “Stand back. Give him some air. Some of you men pick him up and carry him into that room.”

Several men picked Jim up and carried him inside a small room in one of the buildings. I followed them in and sat in a corner. I watched them lay Jim on a small bed.

“Bring me some water and some towels,” Dr. Pollard said.

“What’s happened to Jim?” Juana asked as she and Gertrudis ran into the room.

“He’s very sick,” Dr. Pollard said. Someone brought a bowl of water and some towels. Dr. Pollard began to wash the dirt from Jim’s face.

“All right, everyone,” Colonel Travis said. “Time to get back to your posts. The enemy might attack any time.”

The men left the room. Colonel Travis walked over to Dr. Pollard.

“I need to write some letters. I’ll check on him later.”

Dr. Pollard nodded and continued to wash Jim’s face. I moved over by the bed. Travis patted me on the head as he left. Juana knelt next to Jim’s bed. She looked up at Dr. Pollard.

“Let me do that. You have other people to look after.”

Dr. Pollard handed her the towel. “Keep washing his face. We need to keep him cool. He has a fever. I’ll check on him later. I’ll see if there’s any medicine I can give him.”

Dr. Pollard walked out of the room. Juana and Gertrudis were taking good care of Jim, so I walked outside. Men were looking over the walls at the enemy army. The enemy cannons fired every now and then. They caused some damage, but no one was injured. I saw Colonel Travis walk out of his room and hand a letter to a man on horseback. Travis said something to the man. The man nodded, then turned his horse and rode out of the gate. The gates closed after the messenger rode off.

Although there were people everywhere, I felt alone as I walked around the old mission. I was worried about Jim. I knew he had more than a cold. I walked by the chapel where the women and children were staying. Susannah Dickinson walked out holding her baby. She stared across the courtyard at her husband firing a cannon at the enemy. She sat down and leaned against the chapel wall. I sat next to her. She put a hand on my head. We sat there a long time, neither of us moving. Susannah watched her husband while I thought about Jim. The baby started to cry. Susannah patted my head, stood up, and walked back into the chapel.

I trotted over to Jim’s room. As my eyes adjusted to the dark room, I saw Jim sitting up in bed. Juana was feeding him some soup. I ran over to the bed and stood on my back legs with my front legs on Jim’s bed.

Gertrudis tried to push me away. “Go on, Gator. Jim needs to eat and rest.”

Jim shook his head. “Leave him alone, Gertrudis. We’ve been friends for a long time. I’m happy to see him.”

Jim put his hand on my head. His touch was weak. Juana tried to give Jim some soup. She spilled some and the hot soup fell on my nose. I yelped and jumped back. Jim laughed until he began to cough. He patted the bed beside where he was lying.

“Come here, boy. That was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while. You always could make me laugh.”

I put my head on the bed next to Jim. He laid his hand on me and scratched between my ears. Outside the cannons were shooting and the men were yelling, but in that small room with Jim scratching my ears, I felt a strange peace.

Jim grew weaker with each passing day. Juana and Gertrudis stayed with him and did the best they could to make him feel better, but there was not much they could do. One day Dr. Pollard stopped by. He checked Jim, then walked outside with Juana. I followed them into the courtyard.

“You’re doing a good job,” Dr. Pollard said.

Juana’s eyes filled with tears. “He’s not getting any better. Sometimes he feels stronger, but then he begins to cough and he becomes very sick. What’s wrong with him, Doctor?”

Dr. Pollard took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I don’t know for sure. He has tuberculosis or pneumonia, or typhoid, or all of them. I just call it consumption. You’re doing all you can for him. Just keep him comfortable and try to get him to eat something. I better go. I have some sick men over in the next room I need to check on.”

Juana watched him walk away, then went back into the little room. Gertrudis was wiping Jim’s forehead with a wet cloth. Juana sat in a chair next to the bed. Jim was sleeping.

“Gertrudis, why don’t you go outside for awhile? I’ll stay with Jim.”

Gertrudis put down her cloth. “All right. It’s getting cold. I’ll find some wood for the fire.”

She put her shawl around her shoulders and walked outside. Suddenly there was a lot of shooting going on. I ran outside and saw men firing from the wall. Davy Crockett was walking behind the men, patting them on the back and encouraging them. Finally the firing stopped. The men on the wall cheered. I heard one of them say, “Look at them run.”

I walked back into the room. Jim was sitting up, asking Juana what was happening. She told Jim she didn’t know. At that moment Davy Crockett walked through the door. He took off his cap and stood next to the bed.

“How are you doing, Jim?”

Jim smiled weakly at Davy “Why, I’m just fine, Davy. Pretty soon I’ll be wrestling alligators again. What was all the shooting about?”

“The enemy made a brief attack. I think they just wanted to see how strong we were. We drove them off, but those little shacks just outside the walls give them good cover.”

Jim coughed, then looked up at Davy. “You need to burn them down. I bet there are some enemy soldiers in them right now. They’ll be a big problem if you leave them.”

“That’s what I was thinking, Jim. I told Travis to let me take some men out there and burn them down. We’re going in a few minutes. I just wanted to check on you.”

Jim reached his hand toward Davy. “Thank you. I’ll be all right. Juana and Gator are taking good care of me. Before long I’ll be right out there with you again.”

I walked beside Davy as he walked into the courtyard. Colonel Travis and a group of men were waiting for him. The men held torches.

“We’re ready, Davy,” Colonel Travis said. “I’ll have the men on the north wall shoot to draw the enemy’s attention away from you. Get those shacks to burning as soon as you can, then hurry back.”

Davy nodded and led his men to a small gate. I walked back to Jim’s room and sat in the doorway. Soon the men on the wall began to fire. The small gate was opened and Davy and his men ran outside the Alamo. Soon I saw smoke rising from the shacks. I heard firing coming from the direction of the burning shacks. Suddenly the small gate opened and Davy and his men ran through the gate and fell to the ground. They were breathing heavily. Before long the men caught their breath and stood up. I saw Davy walking toward Jim’s room. He patted me on the head as he walked past. Jim smiled when he saw Davy walk in.

“Well, Davy. Sounded like you stirred up quite a hornet’s nest.”

Davy shook his head. “It seems they didn’t want to move out. You were right, Jim. There were enemy soldiers hiding in those shacks. I guess they’re going to have to find a new place to live now.”

There was a knock on the door. Colonel Travis and Juan Seguin walked into the room.

“Hello,” Jim said. “We’re getting enough people in here to have a party. What’s going on, Travis?”

“Jim, as you know, we need more men. I’ve sent out messengers requesting more men, but I haven’t heard from any of them. I want Juan to take another message. He doesn’t want to go. I know you are good friends, so I was hoping you could talk him into going.”

“Why don’t you want to go, Juan?” Jim asked.

“Jim, I have many friends here. I can’t go and leave them. Some of these men followed me here. What would they think if they saw me ride away? There are other men who could carry the message.”

“Juan, I told you why I want you to go,” Travis said. “You are familiar with the country. You speak Spanish. You have the best chance to get the message through the enemy lines. After you see General Houston, you can bring me his answer. It’s important that we get more men. I think you’re the one to bring them back to us.”

“He’s right, Juan,” Jim said. “No one will think badly about you. We’ll look forward to you coming back with more men.”

Juan sighed. “All right. I’ll go, but I need to borrow your horse, Jim. Mine’s lame.”

“Sure, Juan. I’ll be glad to let you use him. Good luck.”

Juan shook Jim’s hand. “I’ll be back soon.” The men left the room. In a little while the gate opened and we listened to the sound of the horse’s feet pounding on the road. Soon the hoof beats faded away. I lay down in a corner of the room. The enemy cannons continued to pound the walls. I hoped Juan would bring more men soon.

The weather was colder now. The men standing on the walls blew on their hands and lit small fires to keep warm. I stayed in the room most of the time. I lay next to the fire and tried to keep warm. Juana and Gertrudis took turns watching Jim. They fed him soup and would always bring me a bone or some meat scraps. The enemy cannons fired all the time. They damaged some of the walls, but none of the men had been hurt. Colonel Travis sent out more messengers. So far none of the messengers had come back, so we did not know if anybody was coming to join us.

One night the door to the room opened. Davy Crockett walked into the room. He walked over to Jim’s bed and smiled down at him.

“How do you feel, Jim?” he asked.

“I feel pretty good right now. I’m tired of laying in this bed.”

“Well then, I have a treat for you.” He motioned to the door and four men walked in. They each picked up a corner of the bed and started to carry it outside.

Juana ran and stood in front of the door. “What are you doing?” she asked.

Davy laughed. “John MacGregor and I have a bet about who can play the loudest. He has his bagpipes and I have my fiddle. I thought Jim would like to judge the contest.”

Juana shook her head. “I don’t think Jim should be outside in this cold weather.”

“We have some extra blankets outside. We’ll keep him warm,” Davy told her.

“It’s all right, Juana. I want to go outside. I’ll be fine. It’ll be fun to judge the contest.”

Juana stood aside as the men carried Jim outside. I walked next to her as we followed them. A group of men was gathered around a fire in the courtyard. Some of the women had come out of the chapel and were watching. I saw Colonel Travis come out of his room and walk over to the group. The men placed Jim down close to the fire. Davy Crockett stepped in front of the men and raised his hand.