Just as the Mexican officer repeated his request on Sept. 24, 1841 that the 97 Texans lay down their guns, a missing comrade mysteriously appeared and insisted the wild goose chase into New Mexico was not worth the loss of a single life.
The blood had hardly dried on the battlefield at San Jacinto, when the new Republic declared the Rio Grande to be its western boundary. It was no coincidence that the claim encompassed the 300-year-old settlement of Santa Fe, end of the famous trail that every year attracted $200 million in trade.
The idea of taking over Santa Fe and diverting that commercial bonanza to Texas did not originate with Mirabeau Lamar, second president of the Republic. The tempting prospect was a popular topic throughout the term of his predecessor, Sam Houston.
