won respect and admiration from the
other law-makers. He was always a curious and noticeable figure in
Washington, both on account of his dress, which was similar to that of
his backwoods companions, and because of his manner, which was as
strange as his clothes. Such a man could not help being noticed, and on
a trip which he made to Philadelphia, New York and Boston, he was
received everywhere kindly and added not a little to his fame.

He was defeated at the close of his third term in Congress, and being
stirred by the exciting news that came from Texas, he left his home in
Tennessee and went West to join those men who were fighting the Mexicans
in an endeavor to make Texas really a free and independent state.

He kept a journal during this trip, and in it he describes very
entertainingly his companions and their experiences. Among them were
three curious characters: a bee hunter, who was well known through Texas
and who left his wife Kate at Nacogdoches; a fierce old man, who had
been a pirate and had abandoned the sea for more exciting events on
shore; and a quaint gambler, whom Crockett picked up near the
Mississippi and persuaded to abandon the petty shell game by which he
was getting small sums from the people he met on the way. The real name
of this man Crockett never told, but assigned to him the nickname
"Thimblerig."

We shall tell of the fall of the Alamo in another place (page 141), but
Crockett's connection with it is so intimate that we must borrow a
little from his diary.

We find him writing at San Antonio on the nineteenth of February in high
spirits, although he confesses to a shortage of provisions, but hopes to
satisfy his appetite with fighting if in no other way. On the
twenty-third the enemy came in sight, and the little garrison resolved
to defend the Alamo to the last extremity. They made a large national
flag of thirteen stripes, red and white alternately on a blue ground,
with a large white star in the center, and between the points the word
"Texas." When the flag was raised, the bee hunter sang in his
wonderfully mellow voice the following patriotic song, that roused the
enthusiasm of his hearers to the highest pitch:

"Up with your banner, Freedom,
The champions cling to thee;
They'll follow where'er you lead 'em,
To death, or victory;--
Up with your banner, Freedom.
Tyrants and slaves are rushing
To tread thee in the dust;
Their blood will soo