Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/804

794 E. C. Barkci' make Texas my abiding-place. In adopting this Course / ivill never forget the country of my birth. ^ Returning now to Colonel Anthony Butler, we find that his hopes were disappointed in the new Mexican administration. Santa Anna became president in April, 1833, but for a year he only occa- sionally exercised the duties of the office, and during his frequent and prolonged absences power rested in the hands of the vice-presi- dent, Gomez Farias — a narrow-minded but reputedly honest and patriotic citizen. The unstable equilibrium created by the alterna- tion between the policies of Santa Anna and Farias, and the upright character of the latter, were not favorable to Butler's operations, and by the end of September (26th) he despaired of success, unless President Jackson would consent to apply pressure in a way which he proceeded to indicate. A glance at the map will show that the Sabine River, some miles above its mouth, flows through a considerable lake. West of the Sabine the Neches River flows into the same lake. By the treaty of 1819 the boundary of the United States followed the west bank of the Sabine from its mouth, ^ which would necessitate crossing the Neches where it debouched into the lake. Jackson believed, how- ever, that the Neches was merely a westerly branch of the Sabine, therefore the territory between the Sabine and the so-called Neches belonged to the United States. The question was suspended by agreement, pending the findings of a future boundary commission. Butler now urged that the President occupy this disputed strip, and garrison Nacogdoches. The Texan colonists would not consent to see the country divided and would revolt from IMexico, which would then, no doubt, accept his offer and sell to the United States. On October 2 he urged this again, and argued the boundary ambiguity naively and at length. To one acquainted with Texas streams his description of the Neches is ludicrous. It was nearly a mile wide, he said, where it flowed into the lake — " a bold and deep " navigable river ; while the Sabine was shallow and un- navigable. Had Mr. Adams known the topography of the country, he was very certain " that a different specification of boundary would have been made ". Therefore " the question is whether com- mon sense and the reason of the thing does not authorize the inter- pretation that the western branch of the two rivers . . . should ... be deemed the branch contemplated in the treaty as the boundary ". No reply from the President is found. ' Crane, Life and Select Literary Remains of Sam Houston.' j[6-a7- 'United Stales Treaties and Conventions (ed. 1889), 1017.