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== The Most Probable Cause ==

Jim Bowie, due to his excessive drinking and fearless actions, essentially harmed himself to the point that death was imminent regardless of the events that transpired that March morning in San Antonio. Alcohol abuse causes many detrimental effects on the human body, not least of which is cardiomyopathy.<ref>An enlargement of the heart causing it to no longer function properly.</ref> Another serious complication that has been overlooked by historians, is that of alcoholic pneumonia. This is a condition wherein an individual drinks to the point of unconsciousness and regurgitates the contents of the stomach into the lungs. Once foreign matter is introduced, the sacs in the lungs inflame due to the excessive amount of white blood cells present trying to rid the body of the invasive substance. Resulting from this physiological phenomenon is the presence of fluid in the lungs known as pneumonia. Untreated, pneumonia can be fatal and produce such symptoms as a bloody cough, debilitating weakness, fever, chills, and shortness of breath.<ref>Carter, Interview.</ref> Given Bowie’s alcoholic tendencies and documented history as a binge drinker, this diagnosis is highly plausible if not probable.

Death was inevitable for Bowie, whether at the hands of the Mexican army or his own. The abuses he inflicted on his body produce a shortened life-span, even in today’s technologically advance society. Frontier medicine of the 19th century was rudimentary and often times unattainable. Had Bowie received care in March of 1836 he would not have recovered to the extent possible due to his alcohol consumption. By participating in the illegal slave-trade of post-1808 North America, he indirectly enabled disease ridden insects access to the continent. Slavery was not practiced in Mexico, yet slaves were present at the Alamo compound because of men like Bowie. Stagnant water was on hand due to the well inside the fortress. The preponderance of evidence suggests yellow fever as being the nature of Jim Bowie’s illness but alcoholic pneumonia needs further investigation as Bowie was a prime candidate for such an affliction. Other possibilities exist but due to Santa Anna’s choice to cremate the dead bodies found on the morning of March 6, 1836, no definitive conclusion can be drawn. Death took Jim Bowie in the same manner in which he approached life; fearlessly and without doubt.