There was “Deaf” Smith, whose real name was Erasmus Smith, but who was hard of hearing. Texas was a great place for nicknames. A small, spare, leathery-faced and wrinkled-faced man was “Deaf” Smith, of New York, who kept very much to himself and rarely had anything to say to anybody. He had come to Texas in 1817, and in 1825 had been one of the first settlers at Gonzales. He had married a Mexican woman and now lived at San Antonio. He was a famous hunter and Indian scout.
And in Gonzales itself there was Colonel Green DeWitt, the founder of the colony and of the town: a rather heavy-set, full-faced, smooth-shaven gentleman, with wavy hair well brushed down, a pleasant smile, and courtly manners. His family were with him.
There was Major James Kerr, the other founder of the town. But he had lost his wife and two children. A little girl was in the care of friends at San Felipe.
There was Captain Matthew Caldwell, an Indian fighter. He was one of the early settlers, and was called “Old Paint” Caldwell because his ruddy complexion was blotched with white.
There was Almeron Dickinson, not far turned twenty, who had settled away out here, found a pretty wife, and was one of the most popular citizens, and altogether a splendid young man.
And there was Ezekiel Williams, the first officially-elected alcalde or mayor, who had come out in 1829, and now lived in the “outer” town, seven miles up the river. And James B. Patrick, the new alcalde; and Almond Cottle, the new sindico or town attorney; and Byrd Lockhart, the surveyor; and Winslow Turner, of Turner’s two-story hotel; and Eli Mitchell, who had a large house; and Dr. Thomas R. Miller, at whose house the council sometimes met; and the McCoys (seven of them), some of whom were original settlers; and the two McClures (Abe and Bart); and the Fulshears (Ben, Churchill and Graves); and the Jacob Darst family, where there was a boy about Ernest’s age; and Andrew Ponton, the smart Frenchman; and bold John Castleman, who contemplated moving on west; and the Fuquas, and Tumlinsons, and Zumwalts, and a lot more, of the “inner” town and the “outer” town――all forming a large family in which scarcely anybody was over fifty, and the majority were under forty.