His desire to secure this region for his country was as strong as
ever.
[Illustration: Scene of Houston's Campaign.]
At that time Texas was a part of Mexico. Already before Houston went down
to that far-away land many people from the United States had begun to
settle there. At first they were welcomed. But when the Mexicans saw the
Americans rapidly growing in numbers they began to oppress them. The
Mexican Government went so far as to require them to give up their private
arms, which would leave them defenseless against the Indians as well as
bad men. Then it passed a law which said, in effect, that no more settlers
should come to Texas from the United States, so that the few thousand
Americans could not be strengthened in numbers.
[Illustration: Flag of the Republic of Texas.]
Of course, the Texans were indignant, and they rebelled against Mexico,
declaring Texas to be an independent republic. At the same time they
elected Houston commander-in-chief of all the Texan troops. This began a
bitter war. The Mexican dictator, Santa Anna, with an army four or five
thousand strong, marched into Texas to force the people to submit to the
government.
The first important event of this struggle was the capture of the Alamo,
an old Texan fortress at San Antonio.
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