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Post by gtj222 on Apr 11, 2012 17:31:18 GMT -5
Travis, Feb 24: " ... We have since found in deserted houses 80 - 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beevesi
My question is this: How the heck did they get 20 or 30 head of Beeves into the fort? None of the Alamo gates were wide enough to accomplish this task.
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Post by Hollowhorn on Apr 11, 2012 17:36:26 GMT -5
The men were poorly fed & clothed & any money they had was going on booze & women. The above comment was ill considered, it is always a mistake to tarnish all with the deeds of some. In my defence, I had just finished reading 'Duel of Eagles' by Jeff Long & was perhaps in a rather cynical mood. I retract the above quoted statement & apologize if it caused offence to any members of this forum. Warmest Regards, Robert.
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Post by Hollowhorn on Apr 11, 2012 17:43:33 GMT -5
Travis, Feb 24: " ... We have since found in deserted houses 80 - 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beevesi My question is this: How the heck did they get 20 or 30 head of Beeves into the fort? None of the Alamo gates were wide enough to accomplish this task. Perhaps the lines should be read as two separate statements, the bushels in the present tense & the beeves in the past tense?
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Post by gtj222 on Apr 11, 2012 17:51:58 GMT -5
Except that he uses the word "since".
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Post by Herb on Apr 11, 2012 18:44:23 GMT -5
Travis, Feb 24: " ... We have since found in deserted houses 80 - 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beevesi My question is this: How the heck did they get 20 or 30 head of Beeves into the fort? None of the Alamo gates were wide enough to accomplish this task. According to Mark Lemon, the lunette was constructed so a wagon could enter and go through the main gate. If cattle aren't pressed too hard they will normally move in a loose column, often even single file. The herd instinct and their fear of man makes most cattle fairly easy to move. The probable entrance at the north end of the long barracks would also have been sufficiently wide. The real question for me is how did they water and feed them during the siege, or were they largely butchered and preserved early on? The so called cattle corral would have been a tight fit for 30 head, a cannon, fighting positions and the garrison's latrines.
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Post by gtj222 on Apr 11, 2012 18:49:02 GMT -5
Are you sure about the north entrance? I don't remember it being that wide. I am also puzzled as to where they kept them and what about horses?
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Post by Herb on Apr 11, 2012 18:55:14 GMT -5
That's what Mark told us. A few years ago, the first time they did a real walking tour, they also chalked the outline of the lunette and main gate on the actual ground. It didn't appear to me to be a problem.
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Post by gtj222 on Apr 11, 2012 19:00:13 GMT -5
I'm sorry, I was speaking about the north entrance. I don't know about the lunette. The lunette looks like it would be really difficult to get cattle through there.
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Post by Herb on Apr 11, 2012 19:00:33 GMT -5
Though I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Long Barracks Gap/Gate was the primary entrance for livestock.
I assume that the traditional names of the horse corral and cattle corral are based on their usage during the siege - though i don't know if we have a first hand source for that usage.
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Post by Herb on Apr 11, 2012 19:03:38 GMT -5
I don't think the north entrance/northern postern was feasible for livestock, except perhaps possibly a single led horse.
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Post by gtj222 on Apr 11, 2012 19:07:36 GMT -5
And once inside, how did they put them in the cattle pens?
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Post by Herb on Apr 11, 2012 19:12:17 GMT -5
My personal opinion, I work cattle daily, moving them into and through the lunette wouldn't be that hard. The more difficult thing would be moving them across the compound to the corrals after they left the constricted space of the lunette/main gate into the more open compound. JMO.
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Post by gtj222 on Apr 11, 2012 19:15:20 GMT -5
Yes and where would they enter the pens?
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Post by Herb on Apr 11, 2012 19:19:30 GMT -5
Having said all that, 3 or 4 men should be able to move/control that few head. One man to push them, the others as flankers. I routinely move 20/30 head by myself on foot.
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Post by gtj222 on Apr 11, 2012 19:20:50 GMT -5
Yes, but WHERE would they enter from the compound into the pens?
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