William Johnstone - Eyes of Eagles

Their mouths dropped open when Jamie said, “They’ll be here in three days. They’re camped along the Rio Hondo.” He told them why he’d been gone so long.

“The Rio Hondo!” Travis exclaimed. “That’s only fifty miles away.”

“How many?” Crockett asked, putting a cooler tongue into the situation.

“Between five and seven thousand.”

Travis and Crockett said nothing, letting their expressions mutely state their inner feelings. Jamie could sense that Travis did not believe him. Bowie said, “May God have mercy on our souls.” Then he took a drink of whiskey from a small flask and bent over double in a fit of coughing. He spat blood onto the ground.

Crockett and Travis appeared not to notice. “Get some food into you, Jamie” Bowie said. “And rest for a time. I’m sending you out again in a few hours with a message for Fannin. If this won’t move him into action, then nothing else will — except perhaps a direct command from God.”

* * *

Fannin, some ninety-five miles away, had renamed the Goliad mission Fort Defiance. He had received several earlier messages from Travis and Bowie, each of them urging him to mount his men and come at once. He had ignored them. He would later claim that he had sent messages back to the Alamo. No one knows for sure.

But Fannin felt he had more pressing matters to attend to than to concern himself with rumors and myths about a huge Mexican army about to attack the Alamo. On February 13th, acting governor Robinson had instructed Fannin to fortify and defend Goliad and do battle with enemy forces should they appear. Robinson had also taken over Sam Houston’s title and now declared himself acting governor and commander-in-chief of the Army of Texas. He furthermore wrote Fannin and told him to ignore any orders he may have previously received from Houston.

In the days past, Fannin had received many commu-niqués from Travis and Bowie. Sometimes, when they were penned by Bowie’s hand, they were quite blunt and to the point. These were not ignored, they just weren’t acted on. But Fannin wasn’t sure what to do. He would receive a message from the Alamo. He would write a letter to the advisory committee asking for orders. They would issue none.

As Santa Anna’s troops neared the Alamo, the fate of the men and the few women and children now at the Alamo was sealed.

* * *

“Goddamn the man!” Bowie raged, when Jamie returned empty-handed, with no firm commitment from Fannin.

“I don’t believe Fannin knows what to do,” Jamie said to Travis, Bowie, and several more officers gathered around. “But I know from talking to the men that his supplies are very nearly gone. And he is really quite fearful of being attacked by General Urrea.”

“General Urrea has about a thousand men and we’re looking at six to seven thousand,” the commander of the Alamo’s cannon, Almeron Dickerson said. He shook his head and walked away. Dickerson and his men had worked like demons for days getting the cannon ready.

Travis looked at Jim. “Any suggestions, Bowie?”

“Yeah,” Bowie said, winking at Jamie. “Get drunk!”

Travis glared daggers at Jim Bowie’s back. He grew even angrier when he turned back to Jamie and he was smiling. “You find this amusing?” he demanded.

Jamie put a big hand on the commander’s shoulder. “Loosen up, sir. I reckon we all have to deal with this in our own way.”

Jamie turned and walked away. Travis watched him go, a slow smile spreading over his face. “Yes,” he whispered. “I reckon we do, at that.”

* * *

Several hundred miles to the north, in what was known as Indian Territory, snow had sprinkled the ground and it was very cold. A Shawnee scout entered the central lodge and faced Tall Bull.

“You have been gone a long time, Deer Runner. We were worried about you. You look exhausted,” Tall Bull said. “Eat and rest here. Then we’ll talk.”

Deer Woman brought him a bowl of stew and Deer Runner ate hungrily. When he had filled his belly, he said, “Man Who Is Not Afraid is with the soldiers to the south. They have taken refuge in an old church in the town of San Antonio. They are doomed. Soon thousands of soldiers from the south will be upon them. They will all be killed.”

Deer Woman said nothing. Her face did not change. Tall Bull grunted. “I despise Man Who Is Not Afraid, but I must respect his courage. However, I was looking toward the day when I would kill him.”

“Little Wolf and Bad Leg will be disappointed,” Deer Runner said.

Tall Bull waved that off. “Bad Leg is crazy in his head and Little Wolfs hatred of Man Who Is Not Afraid has clouded his mind, obscuring all else. What about Han-nah — Quiet Woman?”

“She is living with her husband in the dark swamps to the south and east. The wife of Man Who Is Not Afraid and their many children also live there. But I am told it is a terrible place, Tall Bull.”

Tall Bull nodded his head. “There are runners in place to bring us news of this great battle?”

“Oh, yes. As you instructed. Many of them. We will know the outcome within days.”

But Tall Bull was not happy with his own plan. “I think we shall ride south, Deer Runner. Man Who Is Not Afraid leads a charmed life. He just might escape this death trap you say he is in. If he does, he will not escape me. Not this time. I have sought him too long.”

“Tall Bull,” Deer Woman said. “Don’t go.”

“ What? ” Tall Bull was clearly startled. His wife never questioned his decisions — well, not often.

“We have all heard of the strength and cunning and bravery of Man Who Is Not Afraid. I fear if you go, I will never see you again.”

“Bah!” Tall Bull scoffed. “You talk nonsense, woman. Stop your babbling.”

In the years since whites drove the Shawnee west, Tall Bull’s band had shrunk. No more than a few dozen families now traveled with Tall Bull. But among those families were twenty-five of the bravest men, fierce warriors all.

“We’ll leave ten men behind to protect our town,” Tall Bull said. “You rest well, Deer Runner. We leave at first light.”

That night, Deer Woman had a vision: she would never see her husband again.

* * *

On Sunday, February 21, Jamie rode back into the Alamo and stabled his horse. He went straight to Travis’s quarters. “Santa Anna and his forward units are camped along the Rio Medina,” he reported.

The Rio Medina was twenty-five miles from the Alamo.

Travis nodded his head in acceptance of Jamie’s words. But incredibly, the man still refused to believe that an army of the size that Jamie reported was at hand.

Jamie left Travis’s quarters and found Bowie. “He doesn’t believe me. He still doesn’t believe me.”

Bowie coughed and shook his head. “He’ll believe it when the first cannonball comes crashing against the walls.”

“Any word from Fannin?”

“No,” Bowie said softly. He stared at Jamie. “Get out of here, Jamie. Ride out and don’t look back. You’re far too young to die for people who don’t appreciate what we’re doing.”

“They care, Jim. The majority of them don’t even know we’re here.”

“Perhaps,” Bowie said, taking a sip of whiskey. “Perhaps.”

Jamie left the barricaded old mission and walked the streets of San Antonio. He could feel the panic that was now gripping the citizens. Many of them had already started packing up to leave. Few of them paid any attention to the tall, buckskin clad young man walking among them. Jamie stopped at a cantina. It was empty save for the bartender. He took a table and ordered food and drink.

“You are the scout from the Alamo?” the man asked, placing a plate of food before Jamie.

“Yes. One of them.”