8. Bowie decided to leave creditors, and other legal issues behind in 1828
The Sandbar fight left James Bowie badly wounded, and it took him many weeks to recover. As he did, he considered his future in Louisiana and Arkansas. He began to look favorably at relocating to Texas, which at the time was opened to American settlement by the Mexican Government, under the laws of the Constitution of 1824. The Mexicans encouraged American settlement in part to help quell the raids of the Indians in the vast territory. The Mexican Constitution also prohibited the practice of religions other than Roman Catholicism. To Bowie, religion was of no consequence, and he was baptized into the Catholic Church in San Antonio de Bexar in April, 1828.
Bowie traveled throughout Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi during the ensuing two years, engaging in land speculation and enhancing his reputation as a rugged and daring man of the frontier. He spent most of his time in New Orleans, where he was known as a heavy drinker with a taste for the brothels and other entertainments the city offered. In 1829 he proposed marriage to Cecilia Wells of Alexandria, Louisiana. She died just weeks before the two were to be married. At the end of the year, Bowie decided to permanently move to Texas. The Mexican Constitution gave precedence to Mexican citizens over Americans when they applied for land grants. Bowie derived a scheme to take advantage of the law to acquire land in the Mexican state, and relocated there in January 1830.