I received many letters from the United States expressive of the anxious solicitude of my friends in my welfare, all of which I acknowledged with the warmest gratitude. I am particularly indebted to President Tyler, the Honourable Messrs. Mangum and Haywood, senators, and Mr. Graham, late senator from North Carolina; the Honourable John C. Calhoun, and others, for the warm interest they manifested towards me. The usefulness, however, of my friends was impaired, from the fact that my political connexion with Texas prevented them from coming under pledges of my not taking up arms against Mexico. The following extract from my [296] letter to Mr. Calhoun defined my position: "Eight years of the prime of my life, and a considerable portion of my fortune, have been spent for the establishment of liberty in Texas; therefore my friends must see that I am too closely identified with her to take my liberty upon conditions which may compromise my political relations to her, and I hope they will avoid any promises of that kind." So long as the war shall continue with Mexico, those who know me will require no assurance that I shall be found in the foremost ranks of her enemies.
 

Chapter Seventeen

 
ESCAPE FROM THE CASTLE OF PEROTE

Preparation to Escape. Procuring a Map of the Road. Deceiving the Officer with Shaving Tools. Work upon Breach in the Wall. Letter to our Prisoners in Mexico. Santa Anna's Birthday. President Houston's Orders to Colonel Snively prevents our Liberation. Commodore Moore off Campeachy. Prosecution of the Breach in the Wall. Laying in Provisions to Travel. Last Visit to "Guts." Quarterlero. Voos, his Rheumatism, and Grunts. All decline