THE ALAMO. BUILT 1718. 
 
2 N _ D MISSION "RUINS"- NORTHEAST. 
 
 AQUEDUCT AT MISSION SAN JUAN. 
 
CATHEDRAL DE SAN FERNANDO. 
 
 SIEGE OF. THE ALAMO, march 6™ J836. 
 
2 
 
 SAN PEDRO SPRINGS. MAIN SPRING. 
 
U. S. MILITARY POST, FROM TOWER. 
 
COM M ERCE, STREET. LOOKING WEST. 
 
 BEAUTICS OF SAN ANTONIO Rl 
 
 R. GUENTHER'S LOWER Ml 
 
OUR MEXICAN CITIZENS. 
 
BANAI 
 
 MAGUEY - CENTURY PLAN1 
 
 |R.aTHOFHEINZ. 
 
 TE ■ AS E' 
 
 STREET SCENE, "broken down." 
 
 CHIL!-CON - CARNE. OR MEXICAN SUPPER. 
 
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 ' ' I-’ G O b.'. '-^Ah . ccr/'.'.i f. ; ^'P, 
 
 TEXAS STATE CAPITOL, AUSTIN. 
 

B 8CSC5 
 
 "LA CONCEPCION" BUILT 173). 
 
 FIRST MISSION 
 
SECOND MISSION "SAN JOSE" built me. 
 
7 n, 34 - f' Mr-e cU-^ 
 
 the ur-y of the 
 
 7- 
 
 S/J/foi 
 
 un:v: y ^jllmjisanto^io. 
 
 San Antonio of to-day, an American, yet cosmopolitan city of some 50,000 inhabit¬ 
 ants is so little the San Antonio of even modern history, it has been deemed proper 
 that the facts should 1>cl given to the world by an historian whose words though 
 few will be found impartial to any race or creed, whose fortune it has been to dwell 
 in its delightful climate. 
 
 Being the oldest incorporated city in the United States it would seem strange 
 that Histories make so little mention of it were it not for the fact that the whole 
 State of Texas was only annexed to the United States in 1845 just prior to the 
 Mexican war. 
 
 Situated in latitude 30, longitude 98 at an elevation of G50 feet adove the sea 
 level, in the center of the finest grazing lands in the world and some hundreds of 
 miles distant from any other large cities. It has long enjoyed a thrifty commercial 
 activity. Ttie Southern Pacific, the Missouri Pacific, the International and great 
 Northern It. R's and Arransas Pass R. R. (built by the citizens of San Antonio to 
 the coast,) furnish quick communication with all ports of the United States as well 
 as the republic of Mexico. 
 
 The mean temperature for the month of January is about 52 degrees; exactly 
 the same as that of Los Angelos, Cal, and the city of Mexico, and ten degrees 
 warmer than ths average temperature of sunny Italy during the same period. The 
 mean temperature for the year is about 58 degrees. People can sit out of doors 
 of evenings on their verandas or porches all winter without inconvenience, 
 except when an occasional norther, (cool north wind) comes, during which fires are 
 needed. Northers occur at intervals of about ten days, but do not last long and are 
 regarded as a pleasant and health-giving change. Thousands of people come yearly 
 to this section to spend the winter, it being regarded as the best suited for con¬ 
 sumptives of all the known winter resorts; for the elevation guarantees about the 
 proper density of atmosphere, and there being no swamps, lakes or stagnant 
 waters within hundreds of miles, a dryness is perceived in the air highly beneficial 
 to those affected with weakness of the lungs. Relief also from malarial effects of 
 decaying vegetation in the swamp, such as is experienced in Florida and other win¬ 
 ter resorts in the south, go far towards guaranteeing renewed vigor to all who will 
 come to this locality, and remain long enough to receive permanent benefit. 
 
 THE STATE OF TEXAS. 
 
 The history of Texas differs from tnat of the other states that have been added 
 to tne union in this, that its people had achieved their own independence by revol¬ 
 ting against Mexico, and had been recognised hy the leading powers of the world 
 as a newborn nation. The first white settlement of Texas was made in 1(185 when 
 Sieur de La Salle lauded a colony of French emigrants on the coast of Lavaca and 
 erected fort St. Louis. In 1690 Captain De Leon, a Spanish officer, with one hun¬ 
 dred and ten men and some Franciscan monks took the place and established it as 
 the mission of San Francisco, but the settlement was abandoned in 1693 on acount 
 of the failure of the crops and hostilities of the Indians. In 1714 Huchereau St. 
 Dluis, a Frenchman, penetrated as far as the Rio Grande, was taken prisonor at the 
 mission of San Juan, married the Spanish governor’s daughter, and introduced Spa¬ 
 nish missionaries into Texas who founded several missions; among others the one 
 on the banks of the San Pedro river near San Antonio. Then followed a forty-three 
 years of quiet growth when the Indians in 1758 started such cruel wars upon the 
 settlers, they were well nigh exterminated. In 1765 there were scarcely seven hun¬ 
 dred and fifty white settlers in the entire domain. 
 
 By the year 1830, after many changes of administration and sovereignty, the re¬ 
 gion began to attract settlers from the United States, who, it seems, were wery 
 badly treated by the Mexican government which confiscated their property and 
 drove them out whenever they could. In 1833, however, the American settlers, 
 
 library 
 
 THE L!U ”1 OF THE 
 
 Diversity of iuinois 
 
 V Of IUINOIS 
 
now numbering twenty-thousand, held a convention, prepared a constitution, and 
 demanded of the Mexican Government, of which Santa Anna was at tiie head, that 
 they be admittel as a separate state into the Republic: to this Santa Anna sought 
 to amuse the Texans for a couple of years while lie was preparing an army, and 
 finally entered the country, bent on exterminating the American settlers. Several 
 skirmishes occurred in the Fall of 1835. Goliad was captured by the Texans Oct. 
 9, and the battle of Conception was fought Oct. 28, near San Antonio. On Nov 3, 
 delegates from ill sections met at San Felipede, Austin, and organixd a provisional 
 government and a general council with Henry Smith as Governor, Sain Houston, 
 Military Commander, and Austin as Commissioner to the United States. San An¬ 
 tonio was taken Dec. 10, after a cannonade of six days, and the o L tire Mexican 
 army driven out of Texas. On Dec. 20, the Declaration of Indepedeiiee was pre¬ 
 pared. Santa Anna again set out with an army, this time, of seven thousand five 
 hundred men well equipped. On Feb. 23, 1830, he invested the Alamo. On March 
 0, the Alamo was taken and the whole garrison were put to tne sword. On March 
 1, a convention assembled at Washington, on the Brazos, and on the 2d issued a 
 declaration of independence; on the 16th a provisional president (David G. Burned 
 and other officers were elected, and a Constitution was adopied which was signed 
 on the 17th.) Meanwhile, Gen. Houston found it necessary, on the approach of 
 Santa Anna, to evacuate Gonzales. The tragedy of the Alamo, the murder of Col. 
 Fannin’s command iu cold blood at Goliad, March 27, 1833, by santa Anna’s ordre, 
 in violation of the terms of surrender, and the successive defeats of the Texans, pro¬ 
 duced a short panic. The alarm soon passed away, and having colie' ted a force of 
 about eight hundred troops, he gave battle on April 21 to the Mexican forces which 
 had pursued them, of about twice the number, and defended them completely, killing 
 six hundred and thirty, wounding two hundred and eight and taking seven hundred 
 and thirty prisoners; among the latter, though not captured till the next day, was 
 the Mexican president, who commanded in person. The Mexicans were at once 
 demoralized. Santa Anna was held a prisoner, but the war practically ended; and 
 though the Mexican government made several attempts to fit out other armies to 
 reconquer Texas, and refused to acknowledge its independence, their forces did 
 not again invade the country. Gen. Houston, who had been wounded in the battle 
 of San Jacinto, and had resigned his command of the army, was elected President 
 in September, 1836, and on October 22 was inaugurated. 
 
 The first Congress of the Republic assembled about the same time, the Constitu¬ 
 tion having been adopted in the election of September. In 1843, President Tyler 
 of the United States made propositions to the President of Texas for her annexa¬ 
 tion, which was favorably received. On July 4th, 1845, the Texans ratified the 
 agreement for annexation, and the United States Congress on December 29, 1845, 
 by a joint resolution declared Texas admitted to the Union. At that time its area 
 was 376,1(13 square miles. In 1850 the State ceded to the United States its claim 
 for all territory beyond its present limits in consideration of *10,000,000 in bounds, 
 with the proceeds of which tne State debt was paid. Until this time San Antonio 
 had always, occupied a position of more or less military prominence, and seemed 
 to have been the point of attack in scores of skirmishes unmentioned in this brief 
 account; from this time on, peace and prosperity commenced, and those who live 
 there to-day, are reaping the harvests their predecessors sowed in much blood and 
 in war-like times, the equal of which is only seen in the histories of the dark ages. 
 
 Short description of the different pictures contained in the San Antonio Album, published by 
 PAUL WAGNER. 
 
 First Paije. 
 
IliMilililii 
 
 
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 Util fit 
 

 
 VnryM |p Library 
 
 53 
 
 /3g6 
 
 ... . . ,." irr 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 22 , 24 & 26 COMMERCE STREET, 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 From the library of 
 William W. R. Woodbury 
 Presented by his family 
 1934 
 
 IMPORTER AND DEALER IN 
 fAJNfGy GOOD/: Toy/ < AJ\fD JvfO'flOJ'Ss 
 MEXK^lsf9\NfD IjfDIAN 
 
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