Sectional Troubles. From the time Lincoln was elected President of the United States (1860), the warclouds gathered thick and fast. Houston was opposed to the State leaving the Union, and did all he could to prevent it. The great mass of the people favored secession, and had no sympathy with the Governor's views. January, 1861, Houston called an extra session of the Legislature to consider what should be done.

In

State Convention.-The people were too excited by this time to wait for, or be satisfied with, the Legislature. They at once elected delegates to a State Convention. This body assembled in Austin, January 28, 1861. On February 1, the all-important question came up. By a vote of one hundred and sixty-six "ayes" to seven "nays," Texas withdrew from the Union. This action was (February 23) submitted to the people, and was ratified by an overwhelming majority, and the last tie that bound

Texas to the United States was severed.

reply. Whether she had been ordered by the Indians to be silent, or had forgotten the English language, Colonel Williams could not tell. Cynthia Ann was soon married to a brave young chief, Peta Nacona. She was devoted to him and her children. When the Texans, under young Ross, attacked and defeated the Comanches, Peta Nacona tried to escape with his wife and little ones. He was killed; the two sons fled, and Cynthia Ann with her little daughter, Prairie Flower, was captured. So soon as General Ross noticed her blue eyes, he felt sure she was the Cynthia Ann of whom he had heard so much during his boyhood. She was sent to her uncle, who welcomed her heartily. She did not like the new life, and longed for her wild home with her savage chief. The separation from her boys distressed her. She tried to escape, but her uncle prevented this. Finally she became more reconciled; some remembrance of her childish days returned; she learned English again, and became able to do some forms of domestic labor. In 1864, she and her child died. One of her sons, Quanah Parker, became a chief of the Comanches.

Texas Joins the Confederacy. The Convention then decided that Texas should join the Southern States in forming the Confederate States of America. All officers were required to take the oath of allegiance to the new government. This was willingly done by all but Governor Houston and Secretary of State Cave. Their offices were at once declared vacant. Houston refused to retire, saying, that neither the Legislature nor Convention had the right to thus deprive him of honors granted him by the citizens. In spite of his protests, Lieutenant-governor Clarke was sworn in.*

CLARKE'S

ADMINISTRATION.t

(March 18, 1861-December, 1861.)

Preparations for War.-Nothing was thought of during this time except preparations for war. Texas was divided into eleven military districts; camp instruction was given in each district. By November, there were fifteen thousand Texans in the Confederate army. All intercourse with the North was forbidden. Northern citizens were given twenty days in which to leave the State. The United States troops that were in Texas were forced to

* Houston's last official act was to send a message to the Legislature remonstrating at the injustice they had done him. He then retired to his home in Huntsville. Though strongly opposed to secession, he gave permission to his oldest son to enlist in the Confederate army.

+ Edward Clarke was born in Georgia. When he came to Texas, is not known. After holding the offices of State Representative, Senator, and Secretary of State, he was, in 1859, elected Lieutenant-governor,

surrender. All their supplies fell into the hands of the Texans. The Northern vessels completely blockaded the coast.

LUBBOCK'S

ADMINISTRATION.*

(1861-1863.)

Sibley Expedition. In the fall of 1861, a brigade was fitted out under General Sibley, to invade the Territory of New Mexico, drive out the Union forces, and take possession of the public property in the name of the Confederacy. This, like the Santa Fe Expedition, was most unfortunate. The Texans found their force too small to accomplish their purpose, as the great majority of the people of New Mexico were strong Unionists. The brigade returned, having gained nothing. Their loss was not less than five hundred men.

Galveston Captured.-In October, 1862, Galveston was

* Frank R. Lubbock was born in South Carolina, in 1815. In 1829, his mother was left a widow, with six children to support. He went to work to care for the family. Influential friends secured for him a West Point cadetship, but he nobly refused it, saying, his first duty was to his mother. When only twenty, he married, his bride being sixteen. In 1836, he came to Texas in search of a younger brother. A few months later, he moved to Houston. In 1837, he was made Comptroller under President Houston. When Lamar became President, Lubbock was thrown out of a position. Not finding more congenial work, he at once began farming and wood-cutting. Such industry was bound to succeed. He soon became a commission merchant, and continued in that business until he was again made Comptroller by Houston. He was, in 1861, elected Governor. At the close of his term, he entered the Confederate army. He was selected by President Jefferson Davis as one of his aides. At the end of the war, Governor Lubbock was imprisoned for seven months. In 1878, he was elected State Treasurer, an office he has held ever since. His cordial manner and sterling character make him universally popular.

taken by the Northern troops. In December, General Magruder, by a well-planned attack, retook the city, captured several Federal vessels, and frightened away all blockading ships. For a few days, Galveston was once more an open port. In a short time, however, the blockade was renewed.

Battle at Sabine Pass.-Texas was free from further conflicts till September 6, 1863. A fort had been built to defend Sabine Pass. The garrison numbered only forty-one men. On the above-named date, a Union fleet of twenty vessels appeared off the coast, and several of the ships commenced a bombardment. The little garrison at once fired away with all their guns, and so bravely did they keep up the fight, that soon two of the ships were wrecked, while the rest hastily sailed away.

Condition of Texas.-During this administration Texas, of course, suffered from the war, but her lot was much better than that of the other Southern States. She had ninety thousand men in the Confederate army; she voted money in generous sums; her people often gave up their private property; she endured the miseries of the conscript and of martial law; her mothers, wives, and sisters knew many a heart-ache; but can less be expected from the monster, War? While the women and children in other Confederate States suffered from hunger, the

* By this conscript law every male person, who had passed his sixteenth birthday, unless entirely disabled or unless he was excused by the Constitution, was forced to enlist in the army when called upon.