WHY?

Bullis Room volunteers have been having fun looking through more items in the collection,  at times "oohing" and "aching" over this and that.

We also sometimes stop and say, "Hmm...wonder why they kept this?"

Well, in skimming a document (untitled, author unnamed) about Captain John L. Bullis, we happened upon a possible answer to our question in the following excerpt, which refers to his military career in Texas beginning in the late 1860s:

"His fearless and commendable service...won recognition in the United States Congress, which twice breveted  him for his splendid work. The people of Texas who more fully appreciated what he had done for them, presented him with two beautiful swords, one of them ornamented with scenes and designs commemorative of his achievements. The designs are wrought in gold and the sword cost $1,000. The Captain prizes it still more highly because the poor people whom he had protected and whose homes he had made safe were the contributors to the gift fund, giving of their meagre possessions as evidence of the gratitude and love which they had for the Captain."

The portion of the above quote that is in bold print gives us one answer to our "why did they keep this" question.  Captain Bullis obviously greatly prized his sword from the people of Texas because of what it represented...their sacrifice which resulted from gratitude.

So as we continue to go through more of the Bullis memorabilia, we have one answer to our "why" question. And we'll be looking for more. We'll keep you posted on our progress.

By the way, thank you for reading this post. And remember--you're always welcome to spend some time with us in the Bullis Room. Just leave your contact information at the front desk and we'll make arrangements to meet with you.