Change of Leadership Ends Badly

For two years Sam Houston's economy and moderation kept the republic alive.  Texans were growing impatient for annexation.  The constitution barred Houston from succeeding himself, so in 1838, Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar became the new president.

Lamar was a violinist, a poet and a Houston foe who opposed annexation and dreamed of making Texas a powerful independent nation.  He opened  thousands of acres to settlers by driving Cherokee out of east Texas and crushing the Comanche in west Texas.  He moved the capital to Austin in 1839.

By 1840 Britain, France and the Netherlands all recognized the republic, thanks to Lamar, but his lavish spending exceeded his income by more than $4 million! The Texas "red back" dollar's value plunged, and credit collapsed. 

Then Lamar launched his greatest scheme - a secret invasion of New Mexico.  He hoped to corner Santa Fe trade and extend Texas borders all the way to the Pacific.  He believed that New Mexico, plagued by Indian revolts, would welcome Texas traders and would rally behind the Lone Star Flag.

In June 1841, 300 soldiers and traders, along with 24 wagons set out for Santa Fe. You might say the trip didn't go so well...first they got lost.  Then Indians picked off the stragglers.  Finally prairie fires destroyed the wagons.  After 1300 miles of desert, they were seized by Mexican troops and marched on bleeding feet another 2000 miles to Mexico City and prison.  No, didn't go well!

The fiasco didn't help relations between Texas and Mexico either.  Lamar's career was  obviously over.  Houston took back the presidency in 1841.  As one the people recorded, "Houston drunk in a ditch is worth a thousand of Lamar sober."  :)

Next time...Can you say oui, oui?
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Today in Pioneer History:  On October 24, 1901, a 63-year-old schoolteacher named Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to take the plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel.