ridor of nine
arches in front. The Texian troops were long quartered here, and,
although always intoxicated, strange to say, the stone carvings have not
been injured. The church has since been repaired, and divine service is
performed in it.

About half a mile further down is the mission of San Juan. The church
forms part of the sides of the square, and on the north-west corner of
the square are the remains of a small stone tower. This mission, as
well as that of La Espada, is inhabited. The church of La Espada,
however, is in ruins, and but two sides of the square, consisting of
mere walls, remain entire; the others have been wantonly destroyed.

The church at San Antonio de Bejar was built in the year 1717; and
although it has suffered much from the many sieges which the city has
undergone, it is still used as a place of public worship. At the time
that San Antonio was attacked and taken, by Colonel Cooke, in 1835,
several cannon-shots struck the dome, and a great deal of damage was
done; in fact, all the houses in the principal square of the town are
marked more or less by shot. One among them has suffered very much; it
is the "Government-house," celebrated for one of the most cowardly
massacres ever committed by a nation of barbarians, and which I shall
here relate.

After some skirmishes betwixt the Comanches and the Texians, in which
the former had always had the advantage, the latter thought it advisable
to propose a treaty of alliance. Messengers, with flags of truce, were
despatched among the Indians, inviting all their chiefs to a council at
San Antonio, where the representatives of Texas would meet them and make
their proposals for an eternal peace. Incapable of treachery
themselves, the brave Comanches never suspected it in others; at the
time agreed upon, forty of their principal chiefs arrived in the town,
and, leaving their horses in the square, proceeded to the
"Government-house." They were all unarmed, their long flowing hair
covered with a profusion of gold and silver ornaments; their dresses
very rich, and their blankets of that fine Mexican texture which
commands in the market from fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars
apiece. Their horses were noble animals and of great value, their
saddles richly embossed with gold and silver. The display of so much
wealth excited all the worst propensities of the Texian populace, who
resolved at any price to obtain possession of so splendid a booty