THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Neil C. Needham
 
 FRONTIER LIFE; 
 
 OK, 
 
 TALES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN BORDER. 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANCIS HARDMAN. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PORTER & COAXES. 
 
 I
 
 CONTENTS/ 
 
 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA 
 
 wi 
 
 ?. THE CYPRESS SWAMP, . . . . t 
 II. THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE, ... 86 
 
 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS 
 
 I. A SCAMPER m THE PRAIRIE, . . 09 
 
 n. LYNCH LAW, 119 
 
 HI. TWENTY TO ONE, 197 
 
 TWO N GHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO 149 
 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS 
 
 I. THE FUGITIVE, .... 29S 
 
 n. THE BLOCKADE, .... 215 
 
 A TALE OF THE MEXICAN WAR - 
 
 THE JAROCHOB, 838 
 
 THE TEXAN RANGER'S BEST SHOT, : M9 
 
 877855
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 
 
 IT was a sultry September afternoon in the year 
 18 . My friend Carleton and myself had been for 
 three days wandering in the prairies, and had nearly 
 filled our tin boxes and other receptacles with speci- 
 mens of rare and curious plants. The penalty of our 
 zeal as naturalists had been a complete roasting 
 from the sun, which had shot down its rays during 
 the whole time of our ramble, with an ardor only 
 to be appreciated by those who have visited the 
 prairies of Louisiana. What made matters worse, 
 our little store of wine had been nearly expended ; 
 some t aflia, with which we had replenished our flasks, 
 had also disappeared ; and the scanty supplies of
 
 8 AOVENTUKES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 water we had been able to discover contained so 
 much vegetable and animal matter, as to be undrink- 
 able, unless in some way qualified. In this dilemma, 
 we came to a halt under a clump of hickory trees, 
 and dispatched Martin, Carleton's Acadian servant, 
 upon a voyage of discovery. He had assured us that 
 we must, ere long, fall in with some party of Amer- 
 icans or Cochon Yankees, as he called them who, 
 in spite of the hatred borne them by the Acadians 
 and Creoles, were daily becoming more numerous 
 in the country. 
 
 After waiting, in anxious expectation of Martin's 
 return, for a full hour, during which the air seemed 
 to grow more and more sultry, my companion 
 waxed impatient. 
 
 "What can the fellow be about?" cried he. " Give 
 a blast on the horn," he added, handing me the in- 
 strument ; " I cannot sound it myself, for my tongue 
 cleaves to my palate from heat and drought." 
 
 I put the horn to my mouth, and gave a blast ; 
 liut the tones emitted were not the clear echo-awak- 
 ening sounds that cheer and strengthen the hunter ; 
 they were dull and short, as though the air had 
 lost all elasticity and vibration, and by its weight 
 crushed back the sounds into the horn. It was a
 
 THE CYPKKSS SWAMP. 9 
 
 warning of some inscrutable danger. We gazed 
 around us, and saw that others were not wanting. 
 
 The spot where we had halted was on the edge 
 of one of those pine forests -that extend, almost with- 
 out interruption, from the hills of the Cote Gelee 
 to J;he Opelousa mountains, and of a vast prairie, 
 sprinkled here and there with palmetto fields, clumps 
 of trees, and broad patches of brushwood, which ap- 
 peared mere dark specks on the immense extent of 
 plain that lay before us, covered with grass of the 
 brightest green, and so long as to reach up to our 
 horses' shoulders. To the right was a plantation of 
 palmettos, half a mile wide, bounded by a sort of 
 creek or gully, whose banks were covered with gigan- 
 tic cypress trees. Beyond this, more prairie and a 
 wood of evergreen oak. To the east, an impenetrable 
 thicket of magnolias, papaws, oak and bean trees 
 to the north, the pine wood before mentioned. 
 
 Such was the rich landscape we had been sur- 
 rounded by, one short hour before. But now, on 
 looking around, we found the scene changed. Our 
 horizon was circumscribed by rising clouds of blu- 
 ish gray vapor, which approached us rapidly from 
 the wind quarter. Each moment this fog thick- 
 ened ; the sun no longer dazzled our eyes when we 
 
 1*
 
 10 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 gazed on it, but showed through the mist like a 
 pale red moon ; the outlines of the forest disap- 
 peared, vailed from our sight by masses of vapor ; 
 and the air, which, during the morning, had been 
 light and elastic, although hot, became heavier and 
 more difficult to inhale. The part of the prairie 
 that was still visible, had the appearance of a 
 narrow, misty vale, inclosed between two mighty 
 ranges of gray mountains, which the fog represented. 
 As we gazed around us and beheld these strange 
 phenomena, our eyes met, and we read in each 
 other's countenance that embarrassment which the 
 bravest and most light-hearted are apt to feel when 
 hemmed in by perils of which they cannot conjec- 
 ture the nature. 
 
 " Fire off your gun," said I to Carleton. I started 
 at the alteration in my own voice. The gun went 
 off, but the report seumed stifled by the compressed 
 atmosphere. It did not even alarm some water-fowl 
 that were plashing and floundering in the creek a 
 few hundred paces from us. 
 
 " Look at our horses ! " exclaimed Carleton. " They 
 are surely going mad." The animals were evidently 
 uneasy. They pricked up their ears, turned half 
 round, and gazed with startled eyes behind them ;
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 11 
 
 then strained their heads and necks in the opposite 
 direction to the vapor, snorting violently, and at 
 last tried to break away from the trees to which 
 they were tethered. A short time previously they 
 had appeared much fatigued, but now they were all 
 fire and impatience. 
 
 "It is impossible to remain here," said Carleton. 
 
 "But whither shall we go?" 
 
 "Whithersoever our horses choose to take us." 
 
 We untied the animals and sprang upon them. 
 Scarcely were we in the saddle, when they started 
 off at a pace as frantic as if a pack of wolves had 
 been at their heels ; and, taking the direction of the 
 creek, which ran between the palmetto plantation 
 and a cypress wood, they continued along its banks 
 at the same wild gallop. As we advanced, the creek 
 widened ; in place of palmettos, clumps of marsh 
 reeds and rushes showed themselves here and there. 
 An unearthly stillness prevailed, only broken now 
 and then by the cry of a wild-goose : and even 
 that had s<>mething strange and unnatural in its 
 sound. 
 
 " What can be the meaning of this ? " cried 
 Carleton. "I burn with heat, and yet have not 
 the slightest moisture on my skin. These signs are
 
 12 AT "VENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 incomprehensible. For God's sake, sound the horn 
 again." 
 
 I did so, but this time the sound seemed forced 
 back through the horn, and died away upon my 
 lips. The air was so hot and parching, that our 
 horses' coats, which, a short time previously, had 
 been dripping with sweat, were now perfectly dry, 
 and the hair plastered together as with lime; the 
 animals' tongues hung out of their mouths, and they 
 panted for cooler air. 
 
 "Look yonder!" cried Carleton, and he pointed 
 to the line of the horizon, which had hitherto been 
 of gray, lead-colored vapor. It was now reddish in 
 the south-west quarter, and the vapor had taken 
 the appearance of smoke. At the same time we 
 heard a distant crackling, like a heavy running-fire 
 of musketry, repeated at short intervals. Each time 
 it was heard, our horses were scared a'nd trembled. 
 
 The creek grew rapidly wider, and the ground 
 was so swampy, that we could proceed no farther. 
 Seeing this, we agreed to return to the i prairie, and 
 to try if it were not cooler among the palmettos. 
 But when we came to the place where we had 
 crossed the creek, our horses refused to take the 
 leap again, and it was with the greatest difficulty
 
 THK CYPKKRS SWAMP. 3 
 
 we at length forced them over. All this time the 
 redness in the horizon was getting brighter, and 
 the atmosphere hotter and drier; the smoke had 
 spread itself over prairie, forest, and plantations. 
 We continued retracing our steps as well as we 
 could to the spot where we had halted. "See 
 there," said Carleton ; "not half an hour ago those 
 reeds were as fresh and green as if they had just 
 sprung out of the earth, and now look at them 
 the leaves hang down parched and curled by the 
 heat." 
 
 The whole prairie, the whole horizon to the 
 south-west, was 'one mass of dense smoke, through 
 which the sun's disk looked scarcely brighter than 
 a paper-lantern. Behind the thick curtain which 
 thus concealed every thing from our view, we heard 
 a loud hissing, like that of a multitude of snakes. 
 The smoke was stifling and unbearable; our horses 
 again turned panting round, and tore madly to- 
 ward the creek. On reaching it we dismounted, 
 but had the greatest difficulty to prevent them 
 from leaping into the water. The streaks of red 
 to our right became brighter and brighter, and 
 gleamed through the huge, dark trunks of the cypress 
 trees; the crackling and hissing were louder than
 
 - ADVKN'iTKKS IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 ever. Suddenly the frightful truth flashed upon us. 
 "THE PRAIKIE is ON FIKE!" exclaimed Carleton and 
 I, in a breath. 
 
 As we uttered the words, there was a loud rust- 
 ling behind us, and a herd of deer broke headlong 
 through a thicket of tall reeds and oulrushes, and 
 dashed up to their necks into the water. There 
 they remained, not fifty paces from us, little more 
 than their heads above the surface grazing at us 
 as though imploring our help and compassion. 
 We fancied we could see tears in the poor beasts' 
 eyes. 
 
 We looked behind us. On came the pillars of 
 flame, flickering and threatening through the smoke, 
 licking up all before them; and preceded by gusts 
 of a wind so hot and blasting that it seemed to 
 dry the very marrow in our bones. The roaring 
 of the fire was now distinctly audible, mingled with 
 hissing, whistling sounds, and cracking reports, as 
 of mighty trees falling. Suddenly a bright flame 
 shot up through the stifling smoke, and immedi- 
 a'ely afterward a sea of fire burst upon our aching 
 eyeballs. The whole palmetto field was in flames. 
 
 The heat was so great, that we every moment 
 expected to see our clothes take fire. Our hordes
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 15 
 
 dragged us still nearer to the creek, sprang into 
 the water, and drew us down the bank after them. 
 Another rustling and noise in the thicket of reeds. 
 A she-bear, with her cubs at her heels, came toward 
 us ; and at the same time a second herd of deer 
 rushed into the water not twenty yards from where 
 we were standing. We pointed our guns at the 
 bears ; they moved off toward the deer, who remained 
 undisturbed at their approach ; and there they stood, 
 bears and deer, not five paces apart, but taking no 
 more notice of each other than if they had been 
 animals of the same species. More beasts now 
 flocked to the river. Deer, wolves, foxes, horses all 
 came in crowds to seek shelter in one element irom 
 the fury of another. Most of them, however, went 
 farther up the creek, where it took a northeasterly 
 direction, and widened into a sort of lake. Those 
 that had first arrived followed the new-comers, and 
 we did the same. 
 
 All of a sudden we heard the baying of hounds. 
 "Hurra! there are dogs; men must be near." A 
 volley from a dozen rifles was the answer to our 
 exclamation. The shots were fired not two hundred 
 yards from us, yet we saw nothing of those wno fired 
 them. The wild beasts around us trembled and
 
 16 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 crouched before this new danger, but did not move a 
 step. We ourselves were standing in the midst of 
 them up to our waists in water. "Who goes there?" 
 we shouted. Another volley, and this time not a 
 hundred yards off. We saw the flashes of the pieces, 
 and heard voices talking in a dialect compounded of 
 French and Indian. We perceived tnat we had to 
 do with Acadians. A third volley, and the bullets 
 whistled about our ears. It was getting past a joke. 
 "Halt!" shouted we; "stop firing till you see what 
 you are firing at." There was a dead silence for a 
 moment, then a burst of savage laughter. "Fire! 
 fire!" cried two or three voices. 
 
 "If you fire," cried I, "look out for yourselves, for 
 we shall do the same. Have a care what you do." 
 
 "Morbleu! Sacre!" roared half a score of voices. 
 "Who is that who dares to give us orders? Fire on 
 the dogs!" 
 
 "If you do, we return it." 
 
 ". Sacre!" screamed the savages. "They are gen- 
 tlemen from the towns. Their speech betrays them. 
 Shoot them the dogs, the spies! What do they 
 want in the prairie?" 
 
 "Your blood be on your own heads!" cried I. 
 And, with the feelings <>f desperate men, we leveled
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 17 
 
 our guns in the direction m which we had seen 
 the flashes of the last volley. At that moment 
 "Halt! What is here?" shouted a stentorian voice 
 close to us. 
 
 "Cease firing, or you are dead men!" cried five or 
 six other voices. 
 
 "Sacre! ce sont des Americains" muttered the 
 Acadians. 
 
 "Monsieur Carleton!" cried a voice. 
 
 "Here!" replied my friend. A boat shot out of 
 the smoke, between us and our antagonists. Carle- 
 ton's servant was in it. The next moment we were 
 surrounded by a score of Acadians and half-a-dozen 
 Americans. 
 
 It appeared that the Acadians, so soon as they 
 perceived tne prairie to be on fire, had got into a 
 boat and descended a creek that flowed into the 
 Chicot creek, on which we now were. The beasts 
 of the forest and prairie, flying to the water, found 
 themselves inclosed in the angle formed by the two 
 creeks, and their retreat being cut off by the fire, they 
 fell an easy prey to the Acadiana wild, half-savage 
 fellows, who slaughtered them in a profusion, and with 
 a brutality, that excited our disgust; a feeling which 
 the Americans seemed to share.
 
 18 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 "Well, stranger," said one of the lattei a old 
 man, to Carleton, " do you go with them Aca ians, or 
 come with us?" 
 
 "Who are you, my friends?" 
 
 "Friends!" repeated the Yankee, shaking his head, 
 *' vour friendships are soon made. Friends, indeed ! 
 We ain't that yet; but if you be minded to come 
 with us, well and good." 
 
 "I met these American gentlemen," now put in 
 .Martin, "and when they heard that you had lost your 
 way, and were out of provisions, they were so good 
 as to come and seek you." 
 
 "You be n't much used to the prairie, I reckon?" 
 observed the American who had spoken before. 
 
 "No, indeed, my friend," said I. 
 
 "I told you a'ready," replied the man, with some 
 degree of pride, "we ain't your friends; but if 
 you choose to accept American hospitality, you're 
 welcome." 
 
 We glanced at the Acadians, who were still firing, 
 and dragging the beasts they slaughtered into their 
 boat and to the shore. They looked like perfect sav- 
 ages, and there was little temptation to seek guidance 
 or assistance at their hands. 
 
 "If it's agreeable to you, we will accompany you,"
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 19 
 
 said I to the American, making a step toward the 
 boat. We were eager to be off, for the heat and 
 smoke were unbearable. The Yankee answered 
 neither yes nor no. His attention was engrossed by 
 the proceedings of the Acadians. 
 
 "They're worse than Injuns," said he to a young 
 man standing by him. "They shoot more in an hour 
 than they could eat in a year, in their tarnation 
 French wastefulness." 
 
 "I've a notion o' makin' 'em leave off," replied the 
 young man. 
 
 "The country's theirs, or their master's, at least," 
 rejoined the other. "I reckon it's no business of 
 1 ours." 
 
 This dialogue was carried on with the greatest 
 possible degree of drawling deliberation, and under 
 circumstances in which certainly none but a Yankee 
 would have thought of wasting time in words. A 
 prairie twenty miles long and ten broad, and a couple 
 of miles of palmetto ground, all in a blaze the 
 flames drawing nearer every minute, and having in 
 some places already reached up to the shores of the 
 creek. On the other side a couple of dozen wild 
 Acadians were firing right and left, without paying 
 the least attention where or whom their bullets
 
 20 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA.. 
 
 struck. Carleton and myself were standing up to 
 our waists in water, but still the Americans chatted 
 together as unconcernedly as if they had been seated 
 under the roofs of their own block-houses. 
 
 "Do you live far from here?" said I at length to 
 the Yankee, rather impatiently. 
 
 "Not so far as- 1 sometimes wish," answered he, 
 with a contemptuous glance at the Acadians, "but 
 far enough to get you an appetite for your supper, if 
 you ain't got one already." And taking a thin roll 
 of tobacco out of his pocket, he bit off a piece of it, 
 laid his hands upon the muzzle of his rifle, leant his 
 chin upon his hands, and seemed to have forgotten 
 all about us. To men in pur situation, such apathy 
 was intolerable. 
 
 "My good man," said I, "will you put your hos- 
 pitable offer into execution, and take " 
 
 I could not continue, for I was suffocated with the 
 heat and smoke. The water of the creek was actually 
 getting warm. 
 
 "I've a notion," said the Yankee, with his usual 
 drawl, and apparently only just perceiving ( our 
 distress, "I've a notion we had better be movin' out 
 o' the way o' the fire. Now, strangers, in with 
 you." And he helped Carleton and myself into the
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 21 
 
 boat, where we lay down, fainting from heat and 
 exhaustion. 
 
 When we recovered a little, we found ourselves in 
 the bottom of the boat, and the old Yankee standing 
 by us, with a bottle of whiskey in his hand, which he 
 invited us to taste. We felt better for the cordial 
 and able to look around us. 
 
 Before us lay an apparently interminable cypress 
 swamp. Behind us was a sheet of water, formed 
 by the junction of the two creeks, and at present 
 overhung by a mass of smoke which concealed the 
 horizon from our view. From time to time there 
 was a burst of flame that lit up the swamp, causing 
 the cypress trees to look as if they grew out of a sea 
 of fire. 
 
 "Come," said the old Yankee, "we must get on. 
 It is near sunset, and we have far to go." 
 
 "And which way lies our road?" I asked. 
 
 " Across the cypress swamp, unless you 'd rather go 
 round it." 
 
 "The shortest road is the best," said Carleton. 
 
 "The shortest road is the best!" repeated the 
 Yankee contemptuously, and turned to his compan- 
 ions. "Spoken like a Britisher. Well, he shall have 
 his own way, and the more so that I believe it ae
 
 22 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 good a one as the other. James," added he, turning 
 to one of the men, "you go farther down, through 
 Snapping Turtle Swamp ; we will cross here." 
 
 "And our horses?" said I. 
 
 "They are grazing in the rushes. They'll be took 
 care of. We shall have rain to-night, and to-morrow 
 they may come round without singeing a hoof." 
 
 I had found myself once or twice upon the borders 
 of the swamp that now lay before us, but had always 
 considered it impenetrable, and I did not understand, 
 as I gazed into its gloomy depths, how we conld 
 possibly cross it. 
 
 "Is there any beaten path or road through the 
 swamp?" inquired I of the old man. 
 
 "Path or road! Do you take it for a gentleman's 
 park? There's the path that natur' has made." And 
 he sprang upon the trunk of a tree covered with moss 
 and creepers, which rose out of the vast depth of mud. 
 
 "Here ' the path," said he. 
 
 "Then we will wait and come round with our 
 horses," I replied. "Where shall we find them?" 
 
 "As you please, stranger. We shall cross the 
 swamp. Only, if you can't do like your horses, 
 and sup off bulrushes, you are likely to fast the next 
 twenty-four hours."
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMF. 23 
 
 "And why so? There is game and wild-fowl for 
 le shooting." 
 
 "No doubt there is, if you can eat them raw, like 
 the Injuns. Where will you find, within two miles 
 round, a square foot of dry land to makQ your 
 fire on?" 
 
 To say the truth, we did not altogether like the 
 company we had fallen into. These Yankee squatters 
 bore in general but an indifferent character. They 
 were said to fear neither God nor man, to trust 
 entirely to their ax and their rifle^ and to be little 
 scrupulous in questions of property; in short, to 
 be scarce less wild and dangerous than the Indians 
 themselves. 
 
 The Yankee who had hitherto acted as spokesman, 
 and who seemed to be in some way or other the 
 chief of the party, was a man apparently near sixty 
 years of age, upward of six feet high, thin in person, 
 but with bone and muscle indicative of great strength. 
 His features were keen and sharp; his eye like a 
 falcon's; his bearing and manners spoke an exalted 
 opinion of himself, and (at least as far as we were 
 concerned) a tolerable degree of contempt for others. 
 His dress consisted of a jacket of skins, secured 
 round the waist by a girdle in which was stuck a
 
 24 ADVENTURES -IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 long knife; leather breeches, a straw hat without a 
 brim, and moccasins. His companions were similarly 
 accoutered. 
 
 "Where is Martin?" cried Carleton. 
 
 "Do you mean the Acadian lad who brought us 
 to you." 
 
 "The same." 
 
 The Yankee pointed toward the smoke. "Yonder, 
 no doubt, with his countrymen ; but I reckon their 
 infernal hunt is over. I hear no more shots." 
 
 "Then we will go to him. But where are our 
 horses?" 
 
 "I've a notion," said one of the younger men, 
 "the stranger don't rightly know what he wants. 
 Your horses are grazing a mile off. You would not 
 have had us make the poor brutes swim through 
 the creek tied to the stern of the boat? 'Lijah is 
 with them." 
 
 "And what will he do with them?" 
 
 "Joel is going back with the boat, and when the 
 fire is out he will bring them round," said the elder 
 
 Yankee. " You don't suppose ?" added he He 
 
 left the sentence unfinished, but a smile of scornful 
 meaning flitted over his features. 
 
 I looked at Carleton. He nodded. "We wiU
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 25 
 
 go with you," said I, "and trust entirely to your 
 guidance." 
 
 "You do well," was the brief reply. "Joel," 
 added he, turning to one of the young men, "where 
 are the torches? We shall want them." 
 
 "Torches?" exclaimed I. 
 
 The Yankee gave me a look, as much as to say 
 You must meddle with every thing, must you? 
 "Yes," replied he; "And if you had ten lives, it 
 would be as much as they are all worth to enter this 
 swamp without torches." So saying, he struck fire, 
 and selecting a couple of pine splinters from several 
 lying in the boat, he lighted them, doing every thing 
 with such extraordinary deliberation, and so oddly, 
 that in spite of our unpleasant situation, we could 
 scarcely help laughing. Meantime the boat pushed 
 off with two men in it, leaving Carleton, myself, the 
 old man, and another American, standing at the 
 edge of the swamp. 
 
 "Follow me, step by step, and as if you were 
 treading on eggs," said our leader; "and you, Jona- 
 than, have an eye to the strangers, and don't wait 
 till they are up to their necks in the mud to pick 
 them out of it." 
 
 We did not feel much comforted by this speech ; 
 2
 
 26 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 but, mustering all our courage, we strode on after 
 our plain-spoken guide. 
 
 We had proceeded but a very short distance into 
 the swamp before we found out the use of the torches. 
 The huge trunks of the cypress-trees, which stood 
 four or five yards asunder, shot up to a height of 
 fifty feet, entirely free from branches, which then, 
 however, spread out at . right angles to the stem, 
 making the trees appear like gigantic umbrellas, and 
 covering the whole morass with an impenetrable roof, 
 through which not even a sunbeam could find a pas- 
 sage. On looking behind us, we saw the daylight at 
 the entrance of the swamp, as at the mouth of a vast 
 cavern. The further we went the thicker became the 
 air ; and at last the effluvia was so stifling and pesti- 
 lential, that the torches burnt pale and dim, and 
 more than once threatened to go out. 
 
 " Yes, yes," muttered our guide to himself, " a night 
 passed in this swamp would leave a man ague-struck 
 for the ~est of his days. A night ay, an hour would 
 do it, if your pores were ever so little open ; but now 
 there's no danger; the prairie fire's good for that; 
 dries the sweat and closes the pores." 
 
 He went on conversing thus with himself, but still 
 striding forward, throwing his torchlight on each log
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 27 
 
 or tree-trunk, and trying its solidity with his foot 
 before he trusted his weight upon it doing all this 
 with a dexterity and speed that proved his familiarity 
 with these dangerous paths. 
 
 "Keep close to me," said he to us, "but make 
 yourselves light as light, at least, as Britishers can 
 
 make themselves. Hold your breath, and ha! 
 
 what is that log? Hollo, Nathan," continued he to 
 himself, "what's come to you, man? Don't you 
 know a sixteen foot alligator from a tree?" 
 
 He had stretched out his foot, but, fortunately, 
 before setting it down, he poked what he took for a 
 log with the butt of his gun. The supposed block of 
 wood gave way a little, and the old squatter, throw- 
 ing himself back, was within an ace of pushing me 
 into the swamp. 
 
 "Aha, friend!" said he, not in the least discon- 
 certed "you thought to sarcumvent honest folk with 
 your devilry and cunnin '." 
 
 "What is the matter?" asked I. 
 
 "Not much the matter," he replied, drawing his 
 knife from its sheath. " Only an alligator : there it 
 is again." 
 
 And in the place of the log, which had disap- 
 peared, the jaws of a huge alligator gaped before us
 
 28 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 I raised my gun to my shoulder. The Yankee seized 
 my arm. 
 
 "Don't fire, whispered he. "Don't fire, so long 
 as you can help it. We ain't alone here. This 
 will do as well," he added, as he stooped down, and 
 drove his long knife into the alligator's eye. The 
 monster gave a frightful howl, and lashed violently 
 with its tail, 'besprinkling us with the black, slimy 
 mud of the swamp. 
 
 "Take that!" said the squatter with a grim smile, 
 "and that, and that!" stabbing the brute repeatedly 
 between the neck and the ribs, while it writhed and 
 snapped furiously at him. Then wiping his knife, 
 he stuck it in his belt, and looked keenly and 
 cautiously around him. 
 
 "I've a notion there must be a tree trunk here- 
 away; it ain't the first time Pve followed this track. 
 There it is, but a good six foot off." And so saying, 
 he gave a spring, and alighted in safety on the 
 stepping place. 
 
 "Have a care, man," cried I. "There is water 
 there. I see it glitter." 
 
 "Pooh, water! What you call water is snakes 
 Come on." 
 
 I hesitated, and a shudder came over me. The
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 29 
 
 leap, as regarded distance, was a trifling one, but it 
 was over an almost bottomless chasm, full of the 
 foulest mud, on which the moccasin snakes, the 
 deadliest of American reptiles, were swarming. 
 
 "Come on!" 
 
 Necessity, lent me strength, and, pressing my left 
 foot firmly against the log on which I stood, and 
 which each moment sank with our weight deeper 
 into the soft slimy ground, I sprang across. Carleton 
 followed me. 
 
 ""Well done!" cried the old man. "Courage, and 
 a couple more such leaps, and we shall be getting 
 over the worst of it." 
 
 We pushed on, steadily but slowly, never setting 
 our foot on a log till we had ascertained its solidity 
 with the butts of our guns. The cypress swamp 
 extended four or five miles along the shores of the 
 creek: it was a deep lake of black mud, covered 
 over and disguised by a deceitful bright green vail 
 of creeping plants and mosses, which had spread 
 themselves in their rank luxuriance over its whole 
 surface, and over the branches and trunks of the 
 trees that were scattered about it. These latter 
 were not placed with any very great regularity, but 
 had yet been evidently arranged by the hand of mail
 
 30 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 "There seems to have been a sort of path made 
 here," said I to our guide, "for " 
 
 "Silence !" interrupted he, in a low tone ; "silence, 
 for your life, till we are on firm ground again. 
 Don't mind the snakes," added he, as the torch-light 
 revealed some enormous ones lying coiled up in the 
 moss and lianas close to us. "Follow me closely." 
 
 But at the very moment that I stretched forward 
 my foot, and was about to place it in the print that 
 his had left, the hideous jaw of an alligator was sud- 
 denly stretched over the tree-trunk, not twelve inches 
 from -my leg, and the creature snapped at me so 
 suddenly, that I had but just time to fire my gun 
 into his glittering, lizard-like eye. The monster 
 bounded back, uttered a sound between a bellow and 
 a groan, and striking wildly about him in the morass, 
 disappeared. 
 
 The American looked around when I fired, and an 
 approving smile played about his mouth as he said 
 something to me which I did not hear, owing to the 
 infernal uproar that now arose on all sides of us, and 
 at first completely deafened me. 
 
 Thousands, tens of thousands, of birds and reptiles, 
 alligators, enormous bull-frogs, night-owls, ahingas, 
 \erons, whose dwellings were in the mud of the
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 31 
 
 swamp, or on its leafy roof, now lifted up their voices, 
 bellowing, booting, shrieking, and groaning. Issuing 
 from the obscene retreats in which they had hitherto 
 lain hidden, the alligators raised their hideous snouts 
 out of the green coating of the swamp, gnashing 
 their teeth, and straining toward us, while the owls 
 and other birds circled round our heads, flapping 
 and striking us with their wings as they passed. We 
 drew our knives and endeavored to defend at least 
 our heads and eyes ; but all was in vain against the 
 multitude of enemies that surrounded us; and the 
 unequal combat could not possibly have lasted long, 
 when suddenly a shot was fired, followed immediately 
 by another. The effect they produced was magical. 
 The growls and cries of rage and fury were ex- 
 changed for howls of fear and complaint : the alliga- 
 tors withdrew gradually into their native mud ; the 
 birds flew in wider circles around us ; the unclean 
 multitude were in full retreat. By degrees the va- 
 rious noises died away. But our torches had gone 
 out, and all around us was as black as pitch. 
 
 "In God's name, are you there, old man?" asked I. 
 
 "What! still alive?" he replied, with a laugh that 
 jarred unpleasantly upon my nerves, "and the other 
 Britisher too ? I told ye we were not alone. These
 
 32 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 brutes defend themselves if you attack them upon 
 their own ground, and a single shot is sufficient to 
 bring them about one's ears. But when they see 
 you're in earnest, they soon get tired of it, and a 
 couple more shots sent among them generally drive 
 them away again ; for they are but senseless squealin' 
 creturs, after all." 
 
 "While he spoke, the old man struck tire, and lit one 
 of the torches. 
 
 "Luckily we have rather better footing here," con- 
 tinued He. "And now, forward quickly ; for the sun 
 is set, and we shall have some way to go." 
 
 And again he led the march with a skill and confi- 
 dence in himself which each moment increased our 
 reliance upon him. After proceeding in this manner 
 for about half an hour, we saw a pale light glimmer 
 in the distance. 
 
 "Five minutes more and your troubles are over; 
 but now is the time to be cautious, for it is on the 
 borders of these cursed swamps the alligators best 
 love to lie." 
 
 In my eagerness to find myself once more on dry 
 land, I scarcely heard the Yankee's words ; and as 
 the stepping places were now near together, I 
 hastened on, and got a little in front of the party
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. 33 
 
 Suddenly I felt a log, on which I had just placed my 
 foot, give way under me. I had scarcely time to 
 call out " Halt ! " when I was up to the armpits in the 
 swamp, with every prospect of sinking deeper. 
 
 "You will hurry on," said the old man, with a 
 laugh ; and at the same time springing forward he 
 caught me by the hair. "Take warning for the 
 future," added he, as he helped me out of the mud ; 
 " and look there ! " I did look, and saw half a dozen 
 alligators writhing and crawling in the noxious slime 
 within a few yards of us. I felt a sickening sensa- 
 tion, and for a moment I could not utter a word : the 
 Yankee produced his whiskey-flask. 
 
 "Take a swallow of this," said he ; "but no, better 
 wait till we are out of the swamp. Stop a little till 
 your heart beats quieter. So, you are better now. 
 When you've made two or three such journeys 
 with old Nathan, you'll be quite another man. 
 Now forward again." 
 
 A few minutes later we were out of the swamp 
 and looking over a field of palmettos that waved and 
 rustled in the moonbeams. The air was fresh, and 
 once more we breathed freely. 
 
 "Now," said our guide, "a dram, and then in half 
 
 an hour we are at the Salt Lick." 
 2*
 
 34 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 "Where?" asked I. 
 
 "At the Salt Lick, to shoot a deer or two for 
 supper. Hallo! what is that?" 
 
 "A thunderclap." 
 
 "A thunderclap! You have heard but few of 
 them in Louisiana, I guess, or you would know the 
 difference betwixt thunder and the crack of a back- 
 woodsman's rifle. To be sure, yonder oak wood has 
 an almighty echo. That's James's rifle he has 
 ehot a stag. There 's another shot." 
 
 This time it was evidently a rifle-shot, but re- 
 echoed like thunder from the depths of the immense 
 forest. 
 
 " We must let them know that we 're still in whole 
 skins, and not in the maw of an alligator," said the 
 old man, who had reloaded his rifle, and now fired 
 it off. 
 
 In half an hour < we were at Salt Lick, where we 
 found our guide's two sons busy disemboweling and 
 cutting up a fine buck, an occupation in which they 
 were so engrossed that they hardly noticed our ar- 
 rival. We sat down, not a little glad to repose after 
 the fatigues and dangers we had gone through. 
 When hind and fore quarters, breast and back, were 
 all divided in right huntsman-like style, the young
 
 THE CYPRESS SWAMP. dO 
 
 men looked at their father. "Will you take a bite 
 and sup here? "said the latter, addressing Carleton 
 and myself, "or will you wait till we get home?" 
 
 " How far is there still to go ? " 
 
 " How far ? With a good trotting horse, and a 
 better road, three quarters of an hour would bring 
 you there. You may reckon it a couple of hours." 
 
 " Then we should prefer eating something here." 
 
 " As you will." 
 
 Without more words, or loss of time, a haunch was 
 cut off one of the hind-quarters ; dry leaves and 
 branches were collected ; and in one minute a fire 
 blazed brightly, the joint turning before it on a 
 wooden spit. In half an hour the party was collected 
 round a roast haunch of venison, which, although 
 eaten without bread or any of the usual condiments, 
 certainly appeared to us the very best we ever had 
 tasted.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 
 
 SUPPER over, and clenched by a pull at Nathan's 
 whisky-flask, we prepared for departure. The Amer 
 leans threw the choicest part of the buck over their 
 shoulders, the old squatter again took the lead, and 
 we resumed our march, first across a prairie, then 
 through a wood, which was succeeded by a sort 
 of thicket, upon whose branches and thorny shrubs 
 we left numerous fragments of our dress. We had 
 walked several miles almost in silence, when Nathan 
 suddenly came to a halt, and let the but-end of his 
 rifle fall heavily on the ground. I took the opportu- 
 nity to ask him where we were. 
 
 "In Louisiana," replied he, "between the Red 
 River, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mississippi; on 
 French ground, and yet in a country where French 
 power is worth little. Do you see that?" added he 
 suddenly, seizing my arm, and pulling me a few
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 37 
 
 paces aside, while he pointed to a dark object which, 
 at that distance and in the moonlight, had the 
 appearance of an earthen wall. "Do you know what 
 that is?" repeated the squatter. 
 
 "'An Indian grave, perhaps," replied I. 
 
 "A grave it is," was the answer, "but not of the 
 redskins. As brave a backwoodsman as ever crossed 
 the Mississippi lies buried there. You are not 
 altogether wrong, though. I believe it was once an 
 Indian mound." 
 
 "We had walked on while he spoke, and I now dis 
 tinguished a hillock or mound of earth, with nearly 
 perpendicular sides, surmounted by a block-house, 
 formed of unhewn cypress trunks, of a solidity and 
 thickness upon which tbur-and-twenty-pounders would 
 have had some difficulty in making an imrression 
 Its roof rose about ten feet above a palisade inclosing 
 the building, and consisting of stout saplings sharp- 
 ened at the top, and stuck in the ground at a very 
 short distance from each other, being, moreover, 
 strengthened and bound together with wattles and 
 branches. The building had evidently been con- 
 structed more as a place of refuge and defense than 
 as a habitual residence. 
 
 A ladder was now lowered, by which we ascended
 
 33 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 to the top of the mound. There was a small door in 
 the palisades, which Nathan opened, and passed 
 hrough, we following. 
 
 The block-house was of equal length and breadth, 
 about forty feet square. On entering it we found 
 nothing but the bare walls, with the exception of a 
 wide chimney of sun-baked brick, and in one corner 
 a large wooden slab partly imbedded in the ground. 
 
 "Don't tread upon that board," said the old man 
 solemnly, as we approached the slab to examine it, 
 "it is holy ground." 
 
 " How holy ground ? " 
 
 "There lies beneath it as brave a fellow as ever 
 handled ax or rifle. He it was built this block-house 
 and christened it the Bloody Block-house ; and bloody 
 it proved to be to him. But you shall hear more of 
 it if you like. You shall hear how six American 
 rifles were too many for ninety French and Spanish 
 muskets. 
 
 Carleton and I shook our heads incredulously. The 
 Yankee signed us to follow him, led us out of the 
 block-house and through the stockade to a grassy 
 projection of the hillock. 
 
 "Ninety French and Spanish muskets!" repeated 
 he in a firm voice, and weighing on each word.
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 39 
 
 ' Opposed to them were Asa Nolins, with his three 
 brothers, his brother-in-law, a cousin, and their wives. 
 He fell like a brave American as he was, but not 
 alone, for the dead bodies of thirty foes lay around 
 the block-house when he died. They are buried 
 there," added he. pointing to a row of cotton-trees a 
 short distance off, which, in the pale moonlight, might 
 have been taken for the specters of the departed ; 
 "Under those cotton-trees they fell, and there they 
 are buried." 
 
 The old squatter remained for a short space in his 
 favorite attitude, his hands crossed on his rifle, and 
 his chin resting upon them. He seemed to be sum- 
 moning up the recollections of a time long gone by. 
 We did not care to interrupt him. The stillness of 
 the night, the light of the moon and stars, that gave 
 the prairie lying before us the appearance of a silvery 
 sea, the somber forest on either side of the block- 
 house, of which the edges only were lighted up by 
 the moonbeams, the vague allusions our guide had 
 made to some fearful scene of strife and slaughter 
 that had been enacted in this now peaceful glade all 
 these circumstances worked upon our imaginations, 
 and we felt unwilling to break the silence which 
 added to the impressive beauty of the forest scene.
 
 JO ADVENTUKES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 " Did you ever float down the Mississippi ? " asked 
 N athan abruptly. As he spoke he sat down upon the 
 bank, and made a sign to us to sit beside him. 
 "Did you ever float down the Mississippi?" 
 " No ; we came up it from New Orleans hither." 
 "That is nothing; the stream is not half so danger- 
 ous there as above Natchez. We came down: six 
 men, four women, and twice as many children, all 
 the way from the mouths of the Ohio to the Red 
 River ; and bad work we had of it, in a crazy old 
 boat, to pass the rapids, and avoid the sand-banks, 
 and snags, and sawyers, and whatever the devil they 
 call them. I calculate we weren't sorry when we 
 left the river and took to dry land again. The first 
 thing we did was to make a wigwam, Injun fashion, 
 with branches of trees. This was to shelter the 
 women and children. Two men remained to protect 
 them, and the other four divided into two parties, and 
 set ofl', one south, and t'other west, to look for a good 
 place for a settlement. I and Righteous, one of Asa's 
 orothers, took the southerly track. 
 
 It was no pleasuring party, that journey, but a 
 right-down hard and dangerous expedition, through 
 cypress swamps, where snapping turtles were plenty 
 as mosquitoes, and at every step the congo and
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 41 
 
 moccasin snakes writhed about our ankles. We 
 persevered, however. We had a few handfuls of 
 corn in our hunting-pouches, and our calabashes well 
 filled with whisky. With that and our rifles, we did 
 not want for food. 
 
 X 
 
 At length, on the fourth day, we caine to an 
 upland or rolling prairie, as we call it, from the top 
 of which we had a view that made our hearts leap 
 for joy. A lovely strip of land lay before us, bounded 
 at the further end by a forest 'of evergreen oaks, 
 honey-locusts, and catalpas. Toward the north was 
 a good ten mile of prairie ; on the right hand a wood 
 of cotton-trees, and on the left the forest in which 
 you now are. We decided at once that we should 
 find no better place than this to fix ourselves ; and 
 we went back to tell Asa and the others of our dis- 
 covery, and to show them the way to it. Asa and 
 one of his brothers returned with us, bringing part 
 of our traps. They were as pleased with the place 
 as we were, and we went back again to fetch the rest. 
 But it was no easy matter to bring our plunder 
 and the women and children through the forests 
 and swamps. We had to cut paths through the 
 thickets, and to make bridges and rafts to cross 
 the ireeks and marshes: After ten days' labor,
 
 4:2 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 however, and with the help of our axes, we weie at 
 our journey's end. 
 
 We began directly clearing and cutting down 
 rees, and in three weeks we had built a log house, 
 and were able to lie down to rest without fear of 
 being disturbed by the wolves or catamounts. "We 
 built two more houses, so as to have one for each two 
 families, and then set to work to clear the land. We 
 had soon shaped out a couple of fields, a ten-acre 
 one for maize, and 'another half the size for tobacco. 
 These we began to dig and hoe ; but the ground was 
 hard ; and though we all worked like slaves, we saw 
 there was nothing to be made of it without plowing. 
 A plowshare we had, and a plow was easily made 
 but horses were wanting: so Asa and I took fifty 
 dollars, which was all the money we had among us, 
 and set out to explore the country forty miles round, 
 and endeavor to meet with somebody who would sell 
 us a couple of horses and two or three cows. Not a 
 clearing or settlement did we find, and at last we 
 returned discouraged, and again took to digging. 
 On the very first day after our return, as we were 
 toiling away in the field, a trampling of horses was 
 beard, and fonr men, mounted, and followed by a 
 r mple of wolf-hounds, came cantering over the
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 43 
 
 prairie. It struck us that this would be a famous 
 chance for buying a pair of horses, and Asa went to 
 meet them, to invite them to alight and refresh. At 
 he same time we took our rifles, which were always 
 beside us when we worked in the fields, and ad- 
 vanced toward the strangers. But when they saw 
 our guns, they set spurs to their horses, and rode off 
 to a greater distance. Asa called out to them not to 
 fear, for our rifles were to use against bears, and 
 wolves, and Redskins, and not against Christian men. 
 Upon this, down they came again ; we brought out a 
 calabash of real Monongahela, and after they had 
 taken a dram, they got off their horses, and came in 
 and ate some venison, which the women had got 
 ready. They were Creoles, half Spanish, half French, 
 with a streak of the Injun ; and they spoke a sort of 
 gibberish not easy to understand. But Asa, who had 
 served in Lafayette's division in the time of the war, 
 knew French well; and when they had eaten and 
 drunk, he tried to make a deal with them for two of 
 Jieir horses. 
 
 It was easy to see that they were not the sort of 
 men with whom decent folk could trade. First they 
 would, then they wouldn't: which horses did we 
 want, and what would we give. We offered them
 
 44 ADVKNTUKE8 IN LOUISIANA.* 
 
 thirty-five dollars tor their two best horses and a 
 heavy price it was, for at that time money was scarce 
 in the settlements. They wanted forty, bfat at last 
 took the thirty-five; and after getting three parts 
 drunk upon taffia, which they asked to wet the bar- 
 gain as they said, they mounted two upon each of the 
 remaining horses and rode away. 
 
 We now got on famously with our fields, and 
 Bowed fifteen acres of maize and tobacco, and then 
 began clearing another ten-acre field. We were one 
 day hard at work at this, when one of my boys came 
 running to us crying out, "Father! father! The 
 .Redskins ! " We snatched up our rifles, and hastened 
 to the top of the little rising ground on which our 
 houses were built, and thence we saw, not Injuns, but 
 fourteen or fifteen Creoles, galloping toward our 
 clearing, halloing and huzzaing like mad. When 
 they were within fifty yards of us, Asa stepped 
 forward to meet them. As soon as they saw him, 
 one of them called out, "There is the the thief! 
 There is the man who stole my brown horse ! " Asa 
 made no answer to this, but waited till they came 
 nearer, when one of them rode up to him and asked 
 who was the chief in the settlement. "There is no 
 chief here," answered Asa; "we are all equals and
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSR . 45 
 
 free citizens." "You have stolen a horse from our 
 friend Monsieur Croupier," replied the other. "You 
 must give it up." 
 
 "Is that all?" said Asa, quietly. 
 
 "No; you must show us by what right you hunt 
 on this territory." 
 
 "Yes," cried half a dozen others, "we'll have no 
 strangers on our hunting grounds ; the bears and 
 caguars are getting scarcer than ever ; and as for 
 buffaloes, they are clean exterminated." And all the 
 time they were talking, they kept leaping and gal- 
 loping about like madmen. 
 
 "The sooner the bears and caguars are killed the 
 better," said Asa. "The land is not for dumb brutes, 
 but for men." 
 
 The Creoles, however, persisted that we had no 
 right to hunt where we were, and swore we should 
 go away. Then Asa asked them what right they 
 had to send us away. This seemed to embarrass 
 them, and they muttered and talked together; BO 
 that it was easy to see there was no magistrate or 
 person in authority among them, but they were a 
 party of scamps who had come in hopes to frighten 
 us. At last they said they should inform the gov- 
 ernor, and the commandant at Natchitochee, and the
 
 46 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 Lord knows who besides, that we had come and 
 squatted ourselves down here, and built houses, and 
 cleared fields, and all without right or permission ; 
 and that then we might look out. So Asa began to 
 lose patience, and told them they might go to the 
 devil, and that, if they were not off soon, he should 
 be apt to hasten their movements. 
 
 "I must have my horse back!" screamed the Creole 
 whom they called Croupier. 
 
 "You shall," replied Asa, "both of them, if you 
 return the five-and-thirty dollars." 
 
 " It was only fifteen dollars," cried the lying Creole. 
 
 Upon this Asa called to us, and we stepped out 
 from among the cotton-trees, behind which we had 
 been standing all the while ; and when the Creoles 
 eaw us, each with his rifle on his arm, they seemed 
 rather confused and drew back a little. 
 
 " Here are my comrades," said Asa, " who will all 
 bear witness that the horses were sold at the prices 
 of twenty dollars for the one and fifteen for the other. 
 And if any one says the contrary, he says that which 
 is not true." 
 
 " Larifari! '" roared Croupier. "You shan't stop 
 here to call us liars, and spoil our hunting-ground, 
 and build houses on our land. His excellency the
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 47 
 
 governor shall be told of it, and the commandant at 
 Katchitoches, and you shall be driven away." And 
 the other Creoles, who, while Asa was speaking, ap- 
 peared to be getting more quiet and reasonable, now 
 became madder than ever, and shrieked, and swore, 
 and galloped backward and forward, brandishing 
 their fowling-pieces like wild Injuns, and screaming 
 out that we should leave the country, the game 
 wasn't too plenty for them, and such like. At 
 length Asa and the rest of us got angry, and called 
 out to them to take themselves off, or they would 
 be sorry for it; and when they saw us bringing 
 our rifles to our shoulders, they put spurs to their 
 horses, and galloped away to a distance of some five 
 hundred yards. There they halted, and set up such 
 a screeching as almost deafened us, fired off some 
 of their old rusty guns, and then rode away. We 
 all laughed at their bragging and cowardice, except 
 Asa, who looked thoughtful. 
 
 "I fear some harm will come of this," said he. 
 " Those fellows will go talking about us in their own 
 country ; and if it gets to the ears of the governors 
 and command ing-offi cere that we have settled down 
 on their territory, they will be sending troops to 
 dislodge us.
 
 i8 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 Asa's words made us reflect, and we held counsel 
 together as to what was best to be done. I proposed 
 that we should build a block-house on the Indian 
 mound to defoiid ourselves in if we were attacked. 
 
 "Yes," said Asa, "but we are only six, and they 
 may send hundreds against us." 
 
 "Yry true," said I; "but if we had a strong 
 block-house on the top of the mound, that would be 
 as good as sixty, and we could hold out against a hun- 
 dred Spanish musketeers. And it's my notion, that 
 if we give up such a handsome piece of ground as we 
 have cleared here, without firing a shot, we deserve 
 to have our rifles broken on our own shoulders." 
 
 Asa, however, did not seem altogether satisfied . It 
 was easy to see he was thinking of the women and 
 children. Then said Asa's wife, Rachel, "I calculate," 
 said she, "that Nathan, although he is my brother, 
 and I oughtn't to say it, has spoke like the son 
 of his father, who would have let himself be scalped 
 ten times over before he would have given up such 
 an almighty beautiful piece of land. And what's 
 more, Asa, I for one won't go back up the omnipotent 
 dirty Mississippi ; and that's a fact." 
 
 " But if a hundred Spanish soldiers come," said 
 Asa, "and I reckon they will come?"
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 49 
 
 "Build the block-house, man, to defend yourselves ; 
 and when our people up at Salt River and Cum- 
 berland hear that the Spaniards are quarreling with 
 us, I guess they won't keep their hands crossed before 
 them." 
 
 So seeing us all, even the women, thus determined, 
 Asa gave in to our way of thinking, and the very 
 same day we began the block-house you see before 
 you. The walls were all of young cypress-trees, and 
 we would fain have roofed it with the same wood ; 
 but the smallest of the cypresses were five or six feet 
 thick, and it was no easy matter to split them. So 
 we were obliged to use fir, which, when it is dried by 
 a few days' sun, burns like tinder. But we little 
 thought when we did so, what sorrow those cursed 
 fir planks would bring us. 
 
 "When all was ready, well and solidly nailed and 
 hammered together, we made a chimney, so that the 
 women might cook if necessary, and then laid in a 
 good store of hams and dried bears' flesh, filled the 
 meal and whisky tubs, and the water casks, and 
 brought our plow and what we had most valuable 
 into the block-house. We then planted the palisades, 
 securing them strongly in the ground, and to each 
 otuer, so that it might not be easy to tear them up.
 
 50 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 We left, as you see, a space of five yards between 
 the stockade and the house, to have room to move 
 about in. An enemy would have to take the pali- 
 sades before he could do injury to the house itself, 
 and we reckoned that with six good rifles in such 
 hands as ours, it would require a pretty many Span- 
 ish musketeers to drive us from our outer defenses. 
 
 In six weeks all was ready; all our tools and 
 rations, except what we wanted for daily use, were 
 carried into the fort, and we stood looking at the 
 work of our hands with much satisfaction. Asa was 
 the only one who seemed cast down. 
 
 "I've a notion," said he, "this block-house will be a 
 bloody one before long; and what's more, I guess it 
 will be the blood of one of us that'll redden it. I've 
 a sort of feelin' of it, and who it '11 be." 
 
 " Pooh, Asa ! what notions be these ! Keep a light 
 heart, man." 
 
 And Asa seemed to cheer up again, and to forget 
 his gloomy fancies, and the next day we returned to 
 working in the fields ; but as we were not using the 
 horses, one of us went every morning to patrol ten 
 or twelve miles backward and forward, just for pre- 
 caution's sake. At night two of us kept watch, 
 relieving one another, and patrolling about the
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 51 
 
 neighborhood of our clearing. One morning we 
 were working in the bush and circling trees, when 
 Kighteous rode up full gallop. 
 
 "They're coming!" cried he ; "a hundred of them 
 at least!" 
 
 "Are they far off?" said Asa, quite quietly, and as 
 if he had been talking of a herd of deer. 
 
 "They are coming over the prairie. In less than 
 half an hour they will be here." 
 
 "How are they marching? With van and rear 
 guard? In what order?" 
 
 "No order at all, but all of a heap together." 
 
 "Good!" said Asa, "they can know but little about 
 bush-fighting or soldiering of any kind. Now then, 
 the women into the block-house." 
 
 Righteous galloped up to our fort, to be there 
 
 
 first in case the enemy should find it. The women 
 
 soon followed, carrying what they could with them. 
 When we were all in the block-house, we pulled up 
 the ladder, made the gate fast, and there we were. 
 
 We felt somehow strange when we found ourselves 
 shut up inside the palisades, and only able to look 
 out through the slits we had left for our rifles. We 
 weren't used to be confined in a place, and it made 
 us right down wolfish. There we remained, however,
 
 52 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 as still as mice. Scarce a whisper was to be heard. 
 Rachel tore up old shirts and greased them, for 
 wadding for the gnns ; we changed our flints, and 
 fixed every thing about the rifles properly, while the 
 women sharpened our knives and axes all in silence. 
 
 Nearly an hour had passed in this way when we 
 heard a shouting and screaming, and a few musket- 
 shots ; and we saw through our loopholes some Span- 
 ish soldiers running backward and forward on the 
 crest of the slope on which our houses stood. Sud- 
 denly a great pillar of smoke arose, then a second, 
 then a third. 
 
 "God be good to us!" said Rachel, "they are 
 burning our houses." We were all trembling, and 
 quite pale with rage. Harkye, stranger, when men 
 have been slaving and sweating for four or five 
 months to build houses for their wives and for the 
 poor worms of children, and then a parcel of devils 
 from hell come and burn them down like maize-stalks 
 in a stubble-field, it is no wonder that their teeth 
 should grind together, and their fists clench of them- 
 seives. So it was with us ; but we said nothing, for 
 our rage would not let us speak. But presently, as 
 we strained our eyes through the loopholes, the 
 Spaniards showed themselves at the opening of the
 
 1HE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 53 
 
 forest yonder, coming toward the block-house We 
 tried to count them, but at first it was impossible, 
 for they came on in a crowd, without any order. 
 They thought little enough of those they were 
 seeking, or they would have been more prudent. 
 However, when they came within five hundred 
 paces, they formed ranks and we were able to count 
 them. There were eighty-two foot soldiers with 
 muskets and carbines, and three officers on horse- 
 back, with drawn swords in their hands. The latter 
 dismounted, and their example was followed by 
 seven other horsemen, among whom we recognized 
 three of the rascally Creoles who had brought all 
 this trouble upon us. He they called Croupier was 
 among them. The other four were also Creoles, 
 Acadians or Canadians. We had seen lots of their 
 sort on the Upper Mississippi, and fine hunters 
 they were, but mostly wild, drunken, debauched 
 barbarians. 
 
 The Acadians came on in front and they set up a 
 whoop when they saw the block-house and stockade ; 
 but finding we were prepared to receive them, they 
 retreated upon the main body. We saw them speak- 
 ing to the officers, as if advising them ; but the latter 
 shook their heads, and the soldiers continued moving
 
 54 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 on. They were in uniforms of all colors blue, 
 white, and brown, but each man dirtier than his 
 neighbor. They marched in good order, nevertheless, 
 the captain and officers coming on in front, and the 
 Acadians keeping on the flanks. The latter, however, 
 edged gradually oft* toward the cotton-trees, and 
 presently disappeared among them. 
 
 "Them be the first men to pick off," said Asa, when 
 he saw this maneuver of the Creoles. "They've 
 steady hands and sharp eyes ; but if once we get rid 
 of them, we need not mind the others." 
 
 The Spaniards were now within a hundred yards 
 of us. 
 
 "Shall I let fly at the thievin' incendiaries?" said 
 Righteous. 
 
 " God forbid ! " replied Asa, quite solemn-like. '" "We 
 will defend ourselves like men; but let us wait till 
 we are attacked and may the blood that is shed lie 
 at the door of the aggressors." 
 
 The Spaniards now saw plainly that they would 
 have to take the stockade before they could get at us, 
 and the officers seemed consulting together. 
 
 "Halt!" cried Asa, suddenly. 
 
 "Messieurs lea Americains? said the captain, 
 looking up at our loopholes.
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE, 55 
 
 "What's your pleasure?" demanded Asa. 
 
 Upon this the captain stuck a dirty pocket-hand- 
 kerchief upon the point of his sword, and laughing 
 with his officers, moved some twenty paces forward, 
 followed by the troops. Thereupon Asa again shouted 
 to him to halt. 
 
 "This is not according to the customs of war," said 
 he. "The flag of truce may advance, but if it is 
 accompanied, we fire." 
 
 It was evident that the Spaniards never dreamed 
 of our attempting to resist them ; for there they stood 
 in line before us, and if we had fired, every shot must 
 have told. The Acadians, who kept themselves all 
 this time snug behind the cotton-trees, called more 
 than once to the captain to withdraw his men into the 
 wood ; but he only shook his head contemptuously. 
 When, however, he heard Asa threaten to fire, he 
 looked puzzled, and as if he thought it just possible 
 we might do as we said. He ordered his men to halt, 
 and called out to us not to fire till he had explained 
 what they came for. 
 
 "Then cut it short," cried Asa, sternly. "You'd 
 have done better to explain before you burned down 
 our houses, like a pack of Mohawks on the war-path." 
 
 As he spoke three bullets whistled from the edge
 
 56 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 of the forest, and struck the stockades within a few 
 inches of the loophole at which he stood. They 
 were fired by the Creoles, who, although they could 
 not possibly distinguish Asa, had probably seen his 
 rifle barrel glitter through the opening. As soon as 
 they had fired, they sprang behind their trees again, 
 craning their heads forward to hear if there was a 
 groan or a cry. They'd have done better to have 
 kept quiet ; for Righteous and I caught sight of them, 
 and let fly at the same moment. Two of them fell 
 and rolled from behind the trees, and we saw that 
 they were the Creole called Croupier, and another of 
 our horse-dealing friends. 
 
 "When the Spanish officer heard the shots, he ran 
 back to his men, and shouted out, " Forward ! To the 
 assault ! " They came on like mad, for a distance of 
 thirty paces, and then, as if they thought we were 
 wild-geese, to be frightened by their noise, they fired 
 a volley against the block-house. 
 
 "Now then!" cried Asa, "are you loaded, Nathan 
 and Righteous? I take the captain you, Nathan, the 
 lieutenant Righteous, the third officer James, the 
 sergeant. Mark your men, and waste no powder." 
 
 The Spaniards were still some sixty yards off", but 
 we were sure of our mark at a hundred and sixty ;
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 57 
 
 and that if they had been squirrels instead of men. 
 We fired : the captain and lieutenant, the third officer, 
 two sergeants, and another man writhed for an 
 instant upon the grass. The next moment they 
 stretched themselves out dead. 
 
 All was now confusion among the musketeers, who 
 ran in every direction. Most of them took to the 
 wood, but about a dozen remained and lifted up their 
 officers, to see if there was any spark of life left 
 in them. 
 
 " Load again quick ! " said Asa, in a low voice. 
 We did so ; and six more Spaniards tumbled over. 
 Those who still kept their legs ran off as if the soles 
 of their shoes had been of red-hot iron. 
 
 We set to work to pick out our touch-holes and 
 clean our rifles, knowing that we might not have time 
 later, and that a single miss-fire might cost us all our 
 lives. We then loaded, and began calculating what 
 the Spaniards would do next. It is true they had 
 lost their officers ; but there were five Acadians with 
 them, and those were the men we had most reason to 
 fear. Meantime the vultures and turkey-buzzards 
 had already begun to assemble, and presently hun- 
 dreds of them were circling and hovering over the 
 
 carcasses, which they as yet feared to touch. 
 
 3*
 
 58 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 . Just then Kighteous, who had the sharpest eye of 
 us all, pointed to the corner of the wood, just yonder, 
 where it joins the brushwood thicket. I made a sign 
 to Asa, and we all looked, and saw there was some- 
 thing creeping and moving through the underwood. 
 Presently we distinguished two Acadians heading a 
 score of Spaniards, and endeavoring, under cover of 
 the bushes, to steal across the open ground to the 
 east side of the forest. 
 
 "The Acadians for yon, Nathan and Righteous 
 the Spaniards for us," said Asa. The next moment 
 two Acadians and four Spaniards lay bleeding in the 
 brushwood. But the bullets were scarcely out of our 
 rifles when a third Acadian, whom we had not seen, 
 started up. "Now's the time," shouted he, "before 
 they have loaded again. Follow me! we will have 
 their block-house yet." And he sprang across, fol- 
 lowed by the Spaniards. Although we had killed or 
 disabled a score of our enemies, those who remained 
 were more than ten to one of us ; and we were even 
 worse off than at first, for then they were all together, 
 and now we had them on each side of us. But we 
 did not let ourselves be discouraged, although we 
 could not help feeling that the odds against us were 
 fearfully great.
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 59 
 
 W^e had now to keep a sharp look-out ; for if one 
 of us showed himself at a loophole, a dozen bullets 
 rattled about his ears. There were many shot-holes 
 through the palisades, which were covered with 
 white streaks where the splinters had been torn off 
 by the lead. The musketeers had spread themselves 
 all along the edge of the forest, and had learned by 
 experience to keep close to their cover. We now and 
 then ffot a shot at them, and four or five more were 
 killed ; but it was slow work, and the time seemed 
 very long. 
 
 Suddenly the Spaniards set up a loud shout. At 
 first we could not make out what was the matter, but 
 presently we heard a hissing and crackling on the 
 roof of the block-house. They had wrapped tow 
 around their cartridges, and one of the shots had set 
 light to the fir-boards. Just as we found it out, they 
 gave three more hurras, and we saw the dry planks 
 begin to flame, and the fire to spread. 
 
 "We must put that out and at once," said Asa, "if 
 we don't wish to be roasted alive. Some one must get 
 np the chimney with a bucket of water. I '11 go myself." 
 
 " Let me go, Asa," said Righteous. 
 
 "You stop here. It don't matter who goes. The 
 thing will be done in a minute."
 
 60 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 He put a chair on the table, and got upon it, and 
 then seizing a bar which was fixed across the chimney 
 to hang hams upon, he drew himself up by his arms, 
 and Rachel handed him a pail of water. All thig 
 time the flame was burning brighter, and the Span- 
 iards getting louder in their rejoicings and hurras. 
 Asa stood upon the bar, and raising the pail above 
 his head, poured the water out of the chimney upon 
 the roof." 
 
 "More to the left, Asa," said Righteous; "the fire 
 is strongest to the left." 
 
 "Tarnation seize it!" cried Asa, "I can't see. 
 Hand me another pailfull." 
 
 "We did so ; and when he had got it, he put his head 
 out at the top of the chimney to see where the fire 
 was, and threw the water over the exact spot. But 
 at the very moment that he did, the report of a dozen 
 muskets was heard. 
 
 "Ha!" cried Asa, in an altered voice, "I have it." 
 And the hams and bucket came tumbling down the 
 chimney, and Asa after them, all covered with blood. 
 
 "In God's name, man, are you hurt?" cried Rachel. 
 
 " Hush, wife !" replied Asa; "keep quiet. I have 
 enough for the rest of my life, which won't be long : 
 out never mind, lads; defend yourselves well, and
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 01 
 
 don't fire two at the same man. Save your lead, for 
 you will want it all. Promise me that." 
 
 " Asa ! my beloved Asa ! " shrieked Rachel ; " if you 
 die, I shall die too." 
 
 "Silence! foolish woman ; and think of our child, 
 and the one yet unborn! Hark! I hear the Span- 
 iards! Defend yourselves; and Nathan*, be a father 
 to my children." 
 
 I had barely time to press his hand and promise. 
 The Spaniards, who had guessed our loss, rushed like 
 mad wolves up the mound, twenty on one side, and 
 thirty or more on the other. 
 
 "Steady!" cried I. "Righteous, here with me; 
 and you, Rachel, show yourself worthy to be Hiram 
 Strong's daughter, and Asa's wife : load this rifle for 
 me while I fire my own." 
 
 "O God! O God!" cried Rachel; "The hell-hounds 
 have murdered my Asa!" 
 
 She clasped her husband's body in her arms, and 
 there was no getting her away. I felt sad enough, 
 myself, but there was scanty time for grieving; for a 
 party of Spaniards, headed by one of the Acadians, 
 was close up to the mound on the side which I was 
 defending. I shot the Acadian ; but another, the 
 aixth, and last but one. took his place. "Rachel!"
 
 02 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 cried I, " the rifle, for God's sake, the rifle ! a single 
 bullet may save all our lives." 
 
 But no Rachel came ; and the Acadian and Span- 
 iards, who, from the cessation of our fire, guessed that 
 we were either unloaded, or had expended our 
 ammunition, now sprang forward, and by climbing, 
 and scrabbling, and getting on one another's shoul- 
 ders, managed to scale the side of the mound, almost 
 perpendicular as you see it is. And in a minute 
 the Acadian and half a dozen Spaniards, with axes, 
 were chopping away at the palisades, and severing 
 the wattles which bound them together. To give the 
 devil his due, if there had been three like that Aca- 
 dian, it would have been all up with us. He handled 
 his ax like a real backwoodsman ; but the Spaniards 
 wanted either the skill or the strength of arm, and 
 made little impression. There were only Righteous 
 and myself to oppose them ; for a dozen more soldiers, 
 with the seventh of those cursed Acadians, were 
 attacking the other side of the stockade. 
 
 Righteous shot down one of the Spaniards; but 
 just as he had done so, the Acadian tore up a pali- 
 sade by the roots, (how he did it I know not to this 
 hour,) held it with the wattles and branches hanging 
 round it like a shield before him, guarding off a blow
 
 THE BLODY' BEaCK-HUUSK. 63 
 
 I aimed at him, then hurled it against me with such 
 force that I staggered backward, and ho sprang 
 past me. I thought it was all over with us. It is 
 true that Righteous, with the butt of his rifle, split 
 the skull of the first Spaniard who entered, and drove 
 his hunting-knife into the next; but the Acadian 
 alone was man enough to give us abundant occupa- 
 tion, now he had got in our rear. Just then there 
 was a crack of a rifle, the Acadian gave a leap into 
 the air and fell dead, and at the same moment my 
 son Godsend, a boy ten years old, sprang forward, in 
 his hand Asa's rifle, still smoking from muzzle and 
 touch-hole. The glorious boy had loaded the piece 
 when he saw that Rachel did not do it, and in the 
 very nick of time had shot the Acadian through the 
 heart. This brought me to myself again, and with ax 
 in one hand and knife in the other, I rushed in 
 among the Spaniards, hacking and hewing right and 
 left. It was a real butchery, which lasted a good 
 quarter of an hour, as it seemed to me, but certainly 
 some minutes ; until at last the Spaniards got sick of 
 it, and would have done so sooner had they known 
 that their leader was shot. They jumped off the 
 mound and ran away, such of them as were able* 
 Righteous and I put the palisade in its place again,
 
 64: ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 securing it as well as we could, and then, telling my 
 boy to keep watch, ran over to the other side, where 
 a desperate fight was going on. 
 
 Three of our party, assisted by the women, were 
 defending the stockade against a score of Spaniards, 
 who kept poking their bayonets between the pali- 
 sades, till all our people were wounded and bleeding. 
 But Rachel had now recovered from her first grief at 
 her husband's death, or rather it had turned to rage 
 and revenge, and there she was like a furious tigress, 
 seizing the bayonets as they were thrust through the 
 stockade, and wrenching them off the muskets, and 
 sometimes pulling the muskets themselves out of the 
 soldiers' hands. But all this struggling had loosened 
 the palisades, and there were one or two openings 
 in them through which the thin-bodied Spaniards, 
 pushed on by their comrades, were able to pass. 
 Just as we came up, two or three of these copper- 
 colored Dons had squeezed themselves through, 
 without their muskets, but with their short sabers in 
 their hands. They are active, dangerous fellows, 
 those Spaniards, in a hand-to-hand tussel. One of 
 them sprang at me, and if it had not been for my 
 hunting-knife, I was done for, for I had no room to 
 swing my ax ; but as he came on I hit him a blow
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 65 
 
 with my fist, which knocked him down, and then 
 ran my knife into him, and jumping over his body 
 snatched a musket out of Rachel's hand, and began 
 laying about me with the but-end of it. I was sorry 
 not to have my rifle, which was handier than those 
 heavy Spanish muskets. The women were now in 
 the way we had n't room for so many so I called 
 out to them to get into the block-house and load the 
 rifles. There was still another Acadian alive, and 
 I knew that the fight would n't end till he was done 
 for. But while we were fighting, Godsend and the 
 women loaded the rifles and brought them out, and 
 firing through the stockade, killed three or four, and, 
 as luck would have it, the Acadian was one of the 
 number. So when the Spaniards, who are just like 
 hounds, and only come on if led and encouraged, 
 saw their leader had fallen, they sprang off' the 
 mound, with a ' Carajo ! Malditos ! ' and ran away 
 as if a shell had burst among them." 
 
 The old squatter paused, and drew a deep breath. 
 He had forgotten his usual drawl and deliberation, 
 and had become animated and eager while describ- 
 ing the stirring incidents in which he had borne 
 so active a part. When he had taken breath, he 
 continued :
 
 66 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 " I could n't say how long the fight lasted ; it 
 seemed short we were so busy, and yet long, deadly 
 long. It is no joke to have to defend one's life, and 
 the lives of those one loves best, againt fourscore 
 bloodthirsty Spaniards, and that with only half a 
 dozen rifles for arms, and a few palisades for shelter. 
 When it was over we were so dog-tired that we fell 
 down where we were, like over-driven oxen, and 
 without minding the blood which lay like water on 
 the ground. Seven Spaniards and two Acadians 
 lay dead within the stockade. We ourselves were 
 all wounded and hacked about, some with knife- 
 stabs and saber-cuts, others with musket-shots ; ugly 
 wounds enough, some of them, but none mortal. If 
 the Spaniards had returned to the attack, they would 
 have made short work of us ; for as soon as we left 
 off fighting, and our blood cooled, we became stifl' 
 and helpless. But now came the women with rags 
 and bandages, and washed our wounds and bound 
 them up, and we dragged ourselves into the block- 
 house and lay down upon our mattresses of dry 
 leaves. And Godsend loaded the rifles and a dozen 
 Spanish muskets that were lying about, to be in readi- 
 ness for another attack, and the women kept watch 
 while we slept. But the Spaniards had had enough,
 
 THE BLOODY BLOCK-HOUSE. 67 
 
 and we saw no more of them. Only the next morn- 
 ing, when Jonas went down the ladder to reconnoiter, 
 he found thirty dead and dying, and a few wounded, 
 who begged hard for a drink of 'water, for that their 
 comrades had deserted them. We got them up into 
 the block-house and had their wounds dressed, and 
 after a time they were cured and left us." 
 
 "And were you never attacked again?" said I. "I 
 wonder at your courage in remaining here when 
 aware of the dangers you were exposed to." 
 
 " We reckoned we had more right than ever to the 
 land after all the blood it had cost us, and then the 
 news of the fight had 'got carried into the settle- 
 ments, and up as far as Salt River ; and some of our 
 friends and kinsfolk came down to join us, and there 
 were soon enough of us not to care for twice as many 
 Spaniards as we had beaten off before." 
 
 While speaking, the old squatter descended the 
 ladder and led us out of the forest and over the ridge 
 of a low hill, on the side of which stood a dozen 
 log-houses, casting their black shadows on the moon- 
 lit slope. We met with a rough but kind welcome 
 few words but plenty of good cheer and we made 
 acquaintance with the heroes and heroines of the 
 block-house siege, and with their sons and daughters,
 
 68 ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 
 
 all buxom, strapping damsels, and fine manly lads. 
 I have often enjoyed a softer bed, but never a sounder 
 sleep than that night. 
 
 The next day our horses were brought round from 
 the swamp, and we took our departure ; but as hard- 
 ships, however painful to endure, are pleasant to look 
 back upon, so have I often thought with pleasure of 
 our adventures in the prairies, and recurred with 
 the strongest interest to old Nathan's thrilling 
 narrative of the Bloody Block-house.
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 
 
 - WHAT took you to Texas ? " is a question that has 
 so frequently been asked me by friends in the States, 
 that a reply to it is perhaps the most appropriate 
 commencement I can make to a sketch of my adven- 
 tures in that country. Many of my fellow-citizens 
 have expressed their surprise more flattering to me 
 and my family than to Texas that a son of Judge 
 Morse of Maryland, instead of pitching his tent in 
 his native State, should have destrted it for a land 
 which certainly, at the time I first went to it, was in 
 any thing but good repute, and of whose population 
 the Anglo-Saxon portion mainly consisted of out- 
 laws and bad characters, expelled or fugitive from
 
 70 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 the Union. The facts of the case were these: 1 
 went to Texas, endorsed, as I may say, by a com- 
 pany of our enlightened New York Yankees, whose 
 speculative attention was just then particularly di- 
 rected to that country. In other words, I had the 
 good or ill luck, as you may choose to think it, to bo 
 the possessor of a Texas-Land-Scrip that is to say, 
 a certificate issued by the Galveston Bay and Texas 
 Land Company, declaring and making known to all 
 whom it might concern, that Mr. Edwin Morse had 
 paid into the hands of the cashier of said company 
 the sum of one thousand dollars, in consideration of 
 which, he, the said Edward Morse, was duly entitled 
 and authorized to select, within the district and ter- 
 ritory of the aforesaid Galveston Bay and Texas 
 Land Company, a tract of land of the extent of ten 
 thousand acres, neither more nor less, to take pos- 
 session of and settle upon it, and, in a word, to 
 exercise over it all the rights of a proprietor ; under 
 the sole condition that in the selection of his ten 
 thousand acres he should not infringe on the prop- 
 erty or rights of the holders of previously given 
 certificates. 
 
 Ten thousand acres of the finest land in the world, 
 and under a heaven compared to which, our
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PKAIBIE. 71 
 
 Maryland sky, bright as it is, appears dull and foggy ! 
 It was certainly a tempting bait ; too tempting by 
 far not to be caught at by many in those times of 
 speculation ; and accordingly, our free and enlight- 
 ened citizens bought and sold their millions of Texan 
 acres just as readily as they did their thousands of 
 towns and villages in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and 
 Michigan, and tens of thousands of shares in banks 
 and railways. It was a speculative fever, which has 
 since, we may hope, been in some degree cured. At 
 any rate, the remedies applied have been tolerably 
 severe. 
 
 I had not escaped the contagion, and having got 
 the land on paper, I thought I should like to see it in 
 dirty acres. My intention was to select my plot of 
 ground and take possession of it, and then, if I did 
 not like the country, to turn it into dollars again. If, 
 upon the other hand, the country pleased me, I would 
 return to Maryland, get together what was need- 
 ful for the undertaking, and set up my roof-tree in 
 Texas for good and all. Accordingly, in company 
 with a friend who had a similar venture, I embarked 
 at Baltimore on board the Catcher schooner, and, 
 after a three weeks' voyage, arrived in Galveston 
 Bay.
 
 72 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 The grassy shores of this bay, into which the rivei 
 Brazos empties itself, rise so little above the surface 
 of the water, which they strongly resemble in color, 
 that it would be difficult to discover them, were it 
 not for three stunted trees growing on the western 
 extremity of a long lizard-shaped island that stretches 
 nearly sixty miles across the bay, and conceals the 
 mouth of the river. These trees are the only land- 
 mark for the mariner; and, with their exception r 
 not a single object not a hill, a house, nor so much 
 as a bush relieves the level sameness of the island 
 and adjacent continent. 
 
 After we had, with some difficulty, got on the inner 
 side of the island, a pilot came on board and took 
 charge of the vessel. The first thing he did was to 
 run us on a sand-bank, off of which we got with no 
 small labor, and by the united exertions of sailors 
 and passengers, and at length entered the river. In 
 our impatience to land, I and my friend left the 
 schooner in a cockleshell of a boat, which upset in 
 the surge, and we found ourselves floundering in 
 the water. Luckily it was not very deep, a^id we 
 escaped with a thorough drenching. 
 
 When we had scrambled on shore, we gazed about 
 as for some time before we could persuade ourselves
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 73 
 
 that we were actually upon land, so unusual was its 
 aspect. It was, without exception, the strangest 
 coast that we had ever seen, and there was scarcely 
 a possibility of distinguishing the boundary between 
 earth and water. The green grass grew down to the 
 edge of the green sea, and there was only the streak 
 of white foam left by the latter upon the former to 
 serve as a line of demarkation. Before us was a per- 
 fectly level plain, a hundred or more miles in extent, 
 covered with long, fine grass, rolling in waves before 
 each puff of the sea-breeze, with neither tree, nor 
 house, nor hill, to vary tl^e unbroken monotony of the 
 surface. Ten or twelve miles toward the north and 
 north-west, we distinguished some dark masses, which 
 we afterward discovered to be a group of trees ; but 
 to our eyes they looked exactly like islands in a 
 green sea, and we subsequently learned that such 
 groups, innumerable in Texan prairies, are called 
 islands] by the people of the country. A more 
 appropriate name, or one better describing their 
 appearance, could not be given to them. 
 
 Proceeding along the shore, we came to a block- 
 house situated behind a small tongue of land project- 
 ing into the river, and decorated with the flag of the 
 Mexican republic, waving in all its glory from tho
 
 74 DVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 roof. This building, the only one of which at that 
 time, Galveston harbor could boast, served, as may 
 be supposed, for a great variety of uses. It was the 
 custom-house and the barracks for the garrison, (con- 
 sisting of a company of Mexican infantry,) the 
 residence of the controller of customs, and of the 
 civil and military intend ant, the head-quarters of the 
 officer commanding, and it served, moreover, as hotel, 
 and wine and spirit store. Alongside the board, on 
 which was depicted a sort of hieroglyphic, intended 
 for the Mexican eagle, hung a rum-bottle, doing duty 
 as a sign, and the republican banner threw its pro- 
 tecting shadow over an announcement of "Brandy, 
 "Whisky, and Accommodation for Man and Beas f ." 
 Approaching the house, we saw the whole garrison 
 assembled before the door. It consisted of a dozen 
 dwarfish, spindle-shanked Mexican soldiers, none of 
 them so big or half so strong as American boys of 
 fifteen, and whom I would have backed a single 
 Kentucky woodsman armed with a riding-whip to 
 have driven to the four winds of heaven. These 
 heroes all sported tremendous beards, whiskers, and 
 mustaches, and had a habit of knitting their brows, 
 in the endeavor, as we supposed, to look fierce and 
 formidable. They were crowding round a table of
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 75 
 
 rough planks, playing a game at cards, in which they 
 were so engrossed, that they took no notice of our 
 approach. Their officer, however, came out of the 
 house to meet us with a friendly greeting. 
 
 Captain Cotton, formerly editor of the Mexican 
 Gazette, now civil and military superintendent of 
 Galveston, customs-director, harbor-master, and tav- 
 ern-keeper, and a Yankee to boot, seemed to trouble 
 his head to the credit of his good sense be it said 
 much less about his various dignities and titles (of 
 which he had more than there were soldiers in his 
 garrison) than about his capital French and Spanish 
 wines, which, it is to be presumed, he laid in duty 
 free. As to the soldiers, in all my life I never saw 
 such wretched-looking, shriveled dwarfs. I could 
 not help fancying them grotesque elves or goblins, 
 transported thither by some old sorcerer's power. 
 "We were never tired of staring at them and at the 
 country, which also had something supernatural in 
 its aspect. It was like an everlasting billiard-table, 
 without an end. It is a strange feeling, I can tell 
 you, after being three weeks at sea, to run into a 
 harbor which is no harbor, and to land upon a shore 
 which is only half land, and which seems each 
 moment about to roll away in waves from under
 
 76 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 your feet. Our fellow-passengers, several of whom 
 had now landed and joined us, gazed about them as 
 puzzled and bewildered as we were, and hastened into 
 the block-house with a speed which showed them to 
 be assailed by the same uneasy feeling as ourselves. 
 Looking out from the block-house, the interminable 
 expanse of meadow and ocean, was blended into 
 one vast plain, out of which the building rose like a 
 diminutive island. It was with a sensation of great 
 relief that we once more found ourselves on board 
 our schooner. 
 
 It took us three full days to ascend the river 
 Brazos to the town of Brazoria, a distance of only 
 thirty miles. On the first day nothing but the ever- 
 lasting meadow was to be seen on either hand ; but, 
 on the second, we got nearer to islands : the pasture 
 became a park, dotted with magnificent groups of 
 trees. Not a sign of man was visible in this stu- 
 pendous park a boundless ocean of grass and foli- 
 age. An ocean of this kind has a far more powerful 
 effect upon those who for the first time wander 
 through its solitudes, than has an ocean of water. 
 We saw this exemplified in our traveling compan- 
 ions, land-seekers like ourselves, with the sole dif- 
 ference that, not being overburthened with the
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIKIE. 77 
 
 circulating medium, they had come without scrip 
 They were by no means of the class of sentimental 
 travelers nothing of the Yorick about them but, 
 on the contrary, were wild, rough fellows, who had 
 played all sorts of mad pranks during the three 
 weeks' voyage. Here, however, they all, without ex- 
 ception, became quiet nay, sedate and serious. 
 The very wildest of them, and some of them really 
 were as rude and desperate a lot as ever roamed 
 the world round in search of adventures grew 
 taciturn, and gave utterance to none of the coarse 
 oaths and horrible blasphemies with which, when at 
 sea, they had frequently disgusted us. They behaved 
 like people who had just entered a church. All their 
 countenances wore an expression of gravity and awe. 
 And, in a certain sense, we surely might be said to 
 have entered one of God's temples ; for what more 
 noble temple could be erected in his honor than the 
 magnificent scene around us! All was so still, and 
 solemn, and majestic! Forest and meadow, trees and 
 grass, all so pure and fresh, as if just from the hand 
 of the mighty and eternal Artificer. No trace of 
 man's sinful hand, but all the beautiful, immaculate 
 work of God ! 
 
 Fifteen miles above the mouth of the river Brazos,
 
 78 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 we entered the first forest. Sycamores, and, furthci 
 on, pecan-trees, waved on either hand over the water. 
 We saw a herd of deer, and a large flock of wild 
 turkeys, both of which, already tolerably shy, took 
 to flight on our appearance. The quality of the land 
 was, as will be easily imagined, the point to which 
 our attention was chiefly directed. On the coast we 
 had found it light and sandy, with a very thin crust 
 of good soil, but without any signs of swamp or 
 slime ; further from the sea, the crust or fertile sur- 
 face increased in thickness from one to four eight 
 twelve at last fifteen and, at Brazoria, twenty feet 
 over the bed of sand and loam. As yet we had seen 
 nothing like a hillock or a stone; and, indeed, it 
 would have been very difficult, in a district a hun- 
 dred miles broad and long, to have found a stone as 
 big as a pigeon's egg. On the other hand, there was 
 wood in plenty for houses and fences ; so we had no 
 cause for anxiety in that respect. Our hopes grew 
 brighter each mile that we advanced. 
 
 On our arrival at Brazoria, however, those san- 
 guine hopes received a cruel blow. At the time I 
 speak of namely, in the year 1832 Brazoria was 
 an important town for Texas, that is to say con- 
 sisting of above thirty houses, three of which wein
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 79 
 
 of brick, three of boards, and the remainder of logs, 
 all thoroughly American, with the streets arranged 
 in the American manner, in straight lines and at 
 right angles to each other. The only objection to the 
 place was, that in the spring, at the season of the 
 floods, it was all under water ; but the worthy Brazo- 
 rians overlooked this little inconvenience, in consid- 
 eration of the inexhaustible fertility of the soil. It 
 was early in March when we arrived, but we found 
 already an abundance of new potatoes, beans, peas, 
 and the most delicious artichokes that ever rejoiced 
 an epicure. But we also found something else, much 
 less agreeable to my friend and myself, and that 
 was, that our scrip was not quite so good as it 
 might be, and like much other scrips, past, present, 
 and to come bore a stronger resemblance to waste 
 paper than to bank-notes. Our unpleasant doubts 
 became a fatal certainty on the arrival of William 
 Austin, son of Colonel Austin. He gave us to read 
 the report of the proceedings of the Mexican Con- 
 gress, after perusing which, we were within an ace 
 of lighting our cigars with 'our certificates. 
 
 It appeared that, in the year 1824, the Mexican 
 Congress had passed an act, having for its object the 
 encouragement of emigration from the United Statea
 
 80 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 to Texas. In consequence of this act, an agreement 
 was entered into with contractors, or empresarios, 
 as they called them in Mexico, who bound themselves 
 to bring a certain number of settlers into Texas 
 within a given time, at their own charges, and with- 
 out any expense to the Mexican government. On 
 the other hand, the Mexican government had en- 
 gaged to furnish land to these emigrants at the rate 
 of five square leagues to every hundred families , 
 but to this agreement the special condition was at- 
 tached, that all settlers should be, or become, Eoman 
 Catholics. Failing this, and until they gave sat- 
 isfactory proofs of their belonging to the Church 
 of Rome, the validity of their claims to the land 
 was not recognized, and they were liable any day 
 to be turned out of the country at the point of the 
 bayonet. 
 
 Of all this, the New York " Galveston-Bay-and- 
 Texas-Land-Company," like smart Yankees as they 
 were, had wisely said not a word to us, but had sold 
 us the land with the assurance that it had been placed 
 at their disposal by the M*exican government, on the 
 sole condition of their importing into it, within the 
 year, a certain number of settlers. Such was the 
 tenor of their verbal and written declarations, such
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 81 
 
 the tenor of tue scrip ; trusting to which, we had set 
 out on our wild-goose chase. Clear it now was that 
 we had been duped and taken in ; equally evident 
 that the Roman jCatholic Mexican government would 
 have nothing to say to us heretics. 
 
 This information threw us into no small perplexity. 
 Our Yankee friends at Brazoria, however, laughed at 
 our dilemma, and told us we were only in the same 
 plight as hundreds of our countrymen, who had 
 come to Texas in total ignorance of this condition, 
 but who had not the less taken possession of their 
 land and settled there ; that they themselves were 
 among the number, and that although it was just as 
 likely they would turn negroes as Roman Catholics, 
 they had no idea of being turned out of their houses 
 and plantations ; that, at any rate, if the Mexicans 
 tried it, they had their rifles with them, and should 
 be apt, they reckoned, to burn powder before they 
 allowed themselves to be kicked off such an almighty 
 fine piece of soil. So, after a while, we began to 
 think, that as we had paid our money, and come so 
 far, we might do as others had done before us 
 occupy our land, and wait the course of events. The 
 next day we each bought a horse, or mustang, as 
 
 they call them there, which animals were selling at 
 4*
 
 82 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 Brazoria, for next to nothing, and rode out into the 
 prairie to look for a convenient spot to settle. 
 
 These mustangs are small horses, rarely above 
 fourteen hands high, and are descended from the 
 Spanish breed introduced by the original conquerors 
 of the country. During the three centuries that 
 have elapsed since the conquest of Mexico, they have 
 increased and multiplied to an extraordinary extent, 
 and are to be found in vast droves in the Texan 
 prairies, although they now begin to be somewhat 
 scarcer. They are taken with the lasso, concern- 
 ing which instrument or weapon, I will here say a 
 word or two, notwithstanding that it has been often 
 described. 
 
 The lasso is usually from twenty to thirty feet long, 
 very flexible, and composed of strips of twisted ox- 
 hide. One end is fastened to the saddle, and the 
 other, which forms a running noose, held in the hand 
 of the hunter who, thus equipped, rides out into the 
 prairie. "When he discovers a troop of wild horses 
 he maneuvers to get windward of them, and then to 
 approach as near to them as possible. If he be an 
 experienced hand, the horses seldom or never escape 
 him ; and as soon as he finds himself within twanty 
 or thirty feet of them, he throws the . noose with
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PEAIRIE. 83 
 
 nnerrmg aim over the neck of the one he nas 
 selected for his prey. This done, he turns his own 
 horse sharp round, gives him the spur, and gallops 
 away, dragging his unfortunate captive after him, 
 breathless, and with .his windpipe so compressed by 
 the noose, that he is unable to make the smallest 
 resistance, but, after a few yards, falls headlong to 
 the ground, and lies motionless and almost lifeless, 
 sometimes indeed badly hurt and disabled. From 
 that day forward, the horse which has been thus 
 caught, never forgets the lasso ; the mere sight of it 
 makes him tremble in. every limb; and however 
 wild he may be, it is sufficient to show it to him, or 
 to lay it on his neck, to render him as tame and 
 docile as a lamb. 
 
 The horse taken, next comes the breaking in, 
 which is effected in a no less brutal manner than his 
 capture. The eyes of the unfortunate animal are 
 covered with a bandage, and a tremendous bit, a 
 pound weight or more, clapped into his mouth ; the 
 horse-breaker puts on a pair of spurs six inches long, 
 with rowels like pen-knives, and jumping on his 
 back, urges him to his utmost speed. If the horse 
 tries to rear, or turns restive, one pull, and not a 
 very hard one either, at the instrument of torture
 
 84 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 they call a bit, is sufficient to tear his mouth U 
 shreds and cause the blood to flow in streams. I 
 have myself seen horses' teeth broken with these bar- 
 barous bits. The poor beast whinnies and groans 
 with pain and terror ; but there is no help for him ; 
 the spurs are at his flanks, and on he goes full gallop, 
 till he is ready to sink from fatigue and exhaustion. 
 He then has a quarter of an hour's rest allowed him ; 
 but scarcely has he recovered breath, which has been 
 ridden and spurred out of his body, when he is again 
 mounted, and has to go through the same violent 
 process as before. If he breaks down during thu 
 rude trial, he is either knocked on the head or driven 
 away as useless ; but if he holds out, he is marked 
 with a hot iron, and left to graze on the prairie. 
 Henceforward, there is no particular difficulty in 
 catching him when wanted ; his wildness is com- 
 pletely punished out of him, but for it is substituted 
 the most confirmed vice and malice that can possibly 
 be conceived. These mustangs are unquestionably 
 the most deceitful and spiteful of all the equine race. 
 They seem perpetually looking out for an opportunity 
 of playing their master a trick ; and very soon after 
 I got possession of mine, I was near paying for him 
 in a way that I had certainly not calculated upon.
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PKAIRIE. 85 
 
 "We were going to Bolivar and had to cross the 
 river Brazos. I was the last but one to get into the 
 boat, and was leading my horse carelessly by the 
 bridle. Just as I was about to step in, a sudden 
 jerk, and a cry of "Mind your beast!" made me 
 jump on one side ; and lucky was it that I did so. 
 My mustang had suddenly sprung, and thrown him- 
 self forward upon me with such force and fury, that, 
 as I got out of his way, his fore feet went completely 
 through the bottom of the boat. I never in my life 
 saw an animal in such a paroxysm of rage. He 
 curled his lips till his whole range of teeth was visi- 
 ble, his eyes literally shot fire, the foam fiew from his 
 mouth, and he gave a wild screaming neigh that had 
 something quite diabolical in its sound. While I 
 stood perfectly thunderstruck at this outbreak, one 
 of the party took a lasso and very quietly laid it 
 over the animal's neck. The effect was magical. 
 With closed mouth, drooping ears, and head low, 
 there stood the mustang, meek and docile as any old 
 jackass. The change was so sudden and comical, 
 that we all burst out laughing ; although, when I 
 came to reflect on the danger I had run, it required 
 all my love of horsos to prevent me from shooting 
 the brute on the spot.
 
 86 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 Mounted on this ticklish steed, and in company with 
 my friend, I made various excursions to Bolivar, Mar- 
 ion, Columbia, Anahuac incipient cities, consisting 
 of from five to twenty houses. We also visited 
 numerous plantations and clearings, to the owners 
 of some of which we were known or had letters of 
 introduction ; but either with or without such recom- 
 mendations, we always found a hearty welcome and 
 hospitable reception, and it was rare that we were 
 allowed to pay for our entertainment. 
 
 We arrived one day at a clearing, which lay a few 
 miles off the way from Harrisburg to San Felipe de 
 Austin, and belonged to a Mr. Neal. He had been 
 three years in the country, occupying himself with 
 the breeding of cattle, which is unquestionably the 
 most agreeable, as well as profitable occupation 
 that can be followed in Texas. He had between 
 seven and eight hundred head of cattle, and from 
 fifty to sixty horses, all mustangs. His plantation, 
 like nearly all the plantations in Texas at that time, 
 was as yet in a very rough state ; and his house, 
 although roomy and comfortable enough on the in- 
 side, was built of unhewn tree-trunks, in a- true 
 backwoodsman style. It was situated on the border 
 of one of the islands, or .group of trees, between twc
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 87 
 
 gigantic sycamores, which sheltered it from the sun- 
 and wind. In front and as far as could be seen, lay 
 the prairie, with its waving grass and many-colored 
 flowers ; behind the dwelling arose the cluster of 
 forest trees in all their primeval majesty, laced and 
 bound together by an infinity of wild vines, which 
 ehot their tendrils and clinging branches hundreds of 
 feet upward to the very top of the trees, embracing 
 and covering the whole island with a green net-work, 
 and converting it into an immense bower of vine 
 leaves, which would have been no unsuitable abode 
 for Bacchus and his train. 
 
 These islands are one of the most enchanting 
 features of Texan scenery. Of infinite variety and 
 beauty of form, and unrivaled in the growth and 
 magnitude of the trees composing them, they are of 
 all shapes circular, parallelograms, hexagons, octa- 
 gons some again twisting and winding like dark 
 green snakes over the brighter surface of the prairie. 
 In no park or artificially laid-out grounds could any 
 thing be found equaling these natural shrubberies in 
 beauty and symmetry. In the morning and evening 
 especially, when surrounded by a sort of vail of 
 light-grayish mist, and with horizontal beams of the 
 rising or setting sun gleaming, through them, they
 
 88 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 Coffer pictures which it is impossible to weary of 
 admiring. 
 
 Mr. Neal was a jovial Kentuckian, and he received 
 us with the greatest hospitality, and only asking in 
 return all the news we could give him from the 
 States. It is difficult to imagine, without having 
 witnessed it, the feverish eagerness and curiosity 
 with which all intelligence from their native country 
 is sought after and listened to by these dwellers in 
 the desert. Men, women and children crowded 
 round us ; and though we had arrived in the after- 
 noon, it was near sunrise before we could escape 
 from the inquiries by which we were overwhelmed, 
 and retire to the beds that had been prepared for us. 
 
 I had not slept very long when I was roused by 
 our worthy host. He was going out to catch twenty 
 or thirty oxen, wanted for the market at New 
 Orleans. As the kind of chase which takes place 
 after these animals is very interesting, and rarely 
 dangerous, we willingly accepted the invitation to 
 accompany him; and having dressed and break- 
 fasted in all haste, got upon our mustangs and rode 
 off into the prairie. 
 
 The party was half a dozen strong, consisting of 
 Mr. Neal, my friend and myself, and three negroes
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 
 
 80 
 
 What we had to do was to drive the cattle, which 
 were grazing on the prairie in herds of from thirty to 
 fifty head, to the house, and then those selected for 
 he market were to be taken with the lasso and sent 
 off to Brazoria. 
 
 After riding four or five miles, we came in sight of 
 a drove; splendid animals, standing very high, and 
 of most symmetrical form. The h^rns of these 
 cattle are of unusual length, and in tho distance, have 
 more the appearance of stags' antleis than of bulls' 
 horns. "We approached the herd U> within a quarter 
 of a mile. They remained quite quiet. We rode 
 round them, and in like manner got in rear of a second 
 and third drove, and then spread out, so as to form 
 a half circle and drive the cattle toward the house. 
 
 Hitherto my mustang had behaved exceedingly 
 well, cantering freely along, and not attempting to 
 play any tricks. I had scarcely, however, left the 
 remainder of the party a couple of hundred yards, 
 when the devil by which he was possessed began to 
 wake up. The mustangs belonging to the plantation 
 were grazing some three-quarters of a mile off; and 
 no sooner did my beast catch sight of them, than he 
 commenced practicing every species of jump and 
 leap that it is possible for a horse to execute, and
 
 90 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 many of a nature so extraordinary, that I should have 
 thought that no brute that ever went on four legs 
 would have been able to accomplish them. He shied, 
 reared, pranced, leaped forward, backward, and side- 
 ways ; in short, played such internal pranks, that, 
 although a practiced rider, I found it no easy matter 
 to keep my seat. I heartily regretted that I had 
 brought no lasso with me, which would have tamed 
 him at once, and that, contrary to Mr. Neal's advice, 
 I had put on my American bit instead of a Mexican 
 one. Without these auxiliaries, all my horsemanship 
 was useless. The brute galloped like a mad creature 
 some five hundred yards, caring nothing for my 
 efforts to stop him; and then, finding himself close to 
 the troop of mustangs, he stopped suddenly short, 
 threw his head between his fore-legs, and his hind 
 feet into the air, with such vicious violence, that I was 
 pitched clean out of the saddle. Before I well knew 
 where I was, I had the satisfaction of seeing him put 
 his fore feet on the bridle, pull bit and bridoon out of 
 his mouth, and then, with a neigh of exultation, 
 spring into the midst of the herd of mustangs. 
 
 I got up out of the long grass in a towering passion. 
 One of the negroes who was nearest to me came gal- 
 loping to my assistance, and begged me to let the
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 91 
 
 beast run for a while, and that when Anthony, the 
 huntsman, came, he would soon catch him. I was 
 too angry to listen to reason, and I ordered him to 
 get off his horse, and let me mount. The black 
 begged and prayed of me not to ride after the brute ; 
 and Mr. Neal, who was some distance off, shouted to 
 me, as loud as he could, for Heaven's sake, to stop ; 
 that I did not know what it was to chase a wild horse 
 in a Texan prairie, and that I must not fancy myself 
 in the meadows of Louisiana or Florida. I paid no 
 attention to all this I was in too great a rage at the 
 trick the beast had played me; and, jumping on the 
 negro's horse, I galloped away like mad. 
 
 My rebellious steed was grazing quietly with his 
 companions, and he allowed me to come within a 
 couple of Hundred paces of him ; but just as I had 
 prepared the lasso, which was fastened to the negro's 
 saddle-bow, he gave a start, and galloped off some 
 distance further, I after him. Again he made a 
 
 pause, and munched a mouthful of grass then off 
 ^ 
 again for another half mile. This time I had great 
 
 hopes of catching him, for he let me come within a 
 hundred yards ; but, just as I was creeping up to him, 
 away he went with one of his shrill neighs. When I 
 galloped fast, he went faster ; when I rode slowly, he
 
 92 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS.' 
 
 slackened his pace. At least ten times did he let 
 me approach him within a couple of hundred yards, 
 without for that being a bit nearer getting hold of 
 him. It was certainly high time to desist from such 
 a mad chase, but I never dreamed of doing so ; and 
 indeed the longer it lasted, the more obstinate I got. 
 I rode on after the beast, who let me come nearer and 
 nearer, and then darted off again with his loud, Jaugh- 
 ing neigh. It was this infernal neigh that made me 
 BO savage there was something spiteful and tri- 
 umphant in it, as though the animal knew he was 
 making a fool of me, and exulted in so doing. At 
 last, however, I got so sick of my horse-hunt that I 
 determined to make a last trial, and, if that failed, to 
 turn back. The runaway had stopped near one of 
 the islands of trees, and was grazing quite close to its 
 edge. I thought that, if I were to creep round to the 
 other side of the island, and then steal across it, 
 through the trees, I should be able to throw the lasso 
 over his head, or, at any rate, to drive him back to 
 the house. This plan I put in execution : rode round 
 the island, then through it, lasso in hand, and as 
 softly as if I had been riding over eggs. To my con- 
 sternation, however, on arriving at the edge of the 
 trees, and at the exact spot where, only a few
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 93 
 
 minutes before, I had seen the mustang grazing, no 
 signs of him were to be perceived. I made the 
 circuit of the island, but in vain the animal had 
 disappeared. With a hearty curse, I put spurs to my 
 horse, and started off to ride back to the plantation. 
 
 Neither the plantation, the cattle, nor my compan- 
 ions, were visible, it is true ; but this gave me no 
 uneasiness. I felt sure that I knew the direction in 
 which I had come, and that the island I had just left 
 was one which was visible from the house, while 
 all around me were such numerous tracks of horses, 
 that the possibility of my having lost my way never 
 occurred to me, and I rode on quite unconcernedly. 
 
 After riding for about an hour, I began to find the 
 time rather long. I looked at my watch : it was past 
 one o'clock. We had started at nine, and, allowing 
 an hour and a half to have been spent in finding the 
 cattle, I had passed nearly three hours in my wild 
 and unsuccessful hunt. I began to think I must have 
 got further from the plantation than I had as yet 
 iupposed. 
 
 It was toward the end of March, the day clear and 
 warm, just like a May -day in the Southern States. 
 The sun now shone brightly out, but the early part of 
 :he morning had been somewhat foggy ; and as I had
 
 94 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 only arrived at the plantation the day before, and 
 had passed the whole afternoon and evening indoors ; 
 I had had no opportunity of getting acquainted with 
 the bearings of the house. This reflection made me 
 rather uneasy, particularly when I remembered the 
 entreaties of the negro, and the loud exhortations Mr. 
 Neal addressed to me* as I rode away. I said to 
 myself, however, that I could not be more than ten or 
 fifteen miles from the plantation, that I should soon 
 come in sight of the herds of cattle, and that then 
 there would be no difficulty in finding my way. But 
 when I had ridden another hour without seeing the 
 smallest sign either of man or beast, I got seriously 
 uneasy. In my impatience, I abused poor Neal for 
 not sending somebody to find me. His huntsman, I 
 had heard, was gone to Anahuac, and would not be 
 back for two or three days ; but he might have sent a 
 couple of his lazy negroes : or, if he had only fired a 
 shot or two as a signal. . I stopped and listened, in 
 hopes of hearing the crack of a rifle. But the deep- 
 est stillness reigned around, scarcely the chirp of a 
 bird was heard all nature seemed to be taking the 
 siesta. As far as the eye could reach was a waving 
 sea of grass, here and there an island of trees, but 
 not a trace of a human being. At last I thought I
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 95 
 
 had made a discovery. The nearest cluinp of trees 
 was undoubtedly the same which I had admired aftd 
 pointed out to my companions soon after we left the 
 house. It bore a fantastical resemblance to a snake 
 coiled up and about to dart upon its prey. About six 
 or seven miles from the plantation, we had passed it 
 on our right hand, and if I now kept, upon my left, I 
 could not fail to be going in a proper direction. So 
 said, so done. I trotted on most perseveringly toward 
 the point of the horizon where I felt certain the house 
 must lie. One hour passed, then a second, then a 
 third : every now and then I stopped and listened, 
 but nothing was audible not a shot nor a shout. 
 But although I heard nothing, I saw something which 
 gave me no great pleasure. In the direction in which 
 we had ridden out, the grass was very abundant and 
 the flowers scarce ; whereas, the part of the prairie in 
 which I now found myself, presented the appearance 
 of a perfect flower-garden, with scarcely a square foot 
 of green to be seen. The most variegated carpet of 
 flowers I ever beheld lay unrolled before me; red, yel- 
 low, violet, blue every color, every tint was there ; 
 millions of magnificent prairie roses, tuberoses, asters, 
 dahlias, and fifty other kinds of flower?. The finest 
 artificial garden in the world sinks into insignificance
 
 96 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 when compared with this parterre of nature's own 
 planting. My horse could hardly make his way 
 through the wilderness of flowers, and I, for a time, 
 remained lost in admiration of this scene of extraor- 
 dinary beauty. The prairie, in the distance, looked as 
 if clothed with rainbows, that waved to and fro over 
 its surface. 
 
 But the difficulties and anxieties of my situation 
 Boon banished all other thoughts, and I rode on with 
 complete indifference through scenes which, under 
 other circumstances, would have captivated my entire 
 attention. All the stories I had heard of mishaps in 
 these endless prairies, recurred in vivid coloring to 
 my memory not mere backwoodsmen's legends, but 
 facts well authenticated by persons of undoubted 
 veracity, who had warned me, before I came to Texas, 
 against venturing without guide or compass into these 
 dangerous wilds. Even men who had been long in 
 the country were often known to lose themselves, and 
 to wander for days and weeks over these oceans of 
 grass, where no hill or variety of surface offers a land- 
 mark to the traveler. In summer and autumn, such a 
 position would have one danger the less that is to 
 say, there would be no risk of dying of hunger ; for 
 at those seasons the most delicious fruits grapes
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE 97 
 
 ^lums, peaches, and others are to be found in abun- 
 dance. But we were now in early spring, and al- 
 though I saw numbers of peach and plum-trees, they 
 were only in blossom. Of game, also, there was 
 plenty, both fur and feather ; but I had no gun, and 
 nothing appeared more probable than that I should be 
 starved, although surrounded by food, and in one of 
 the most fruitful countries in the world. This thought 
 flashed suddenly across me, and for a moment my 
 heart sunk within me as I first perceived the real 
 danger of my position. 
 
 After a time, however, other : deas came to console 
 me. I had been already four weeks in the country, 
 and had ridden over a large slice of it in every di- 
 rection, always through prairies, and I had never had 
 any difficulty in finding my way. True, but then I 
 had always had a compass, and been in company. It 
 was this sort of over-confidence and feeling of security 
 that had made me adventure so rashly, and in spite of 
 all warning, in pursuit of the mustang. I had not 
 waited to reflect, that a little more than four weeks' 
 experience was necessary to make one acquainted with 
 the bearings of a district three times as big as New 
 York State. Still I thought it impossible that I should 
 have got so far out of the right track as not to be able
 
 98 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 to find the house before nightfall, although that was 
 now rapidly approaching. Indeed, the first shades 
 of evening, strange as it may seem, gave this persua- 
 sion increased strength. Home-bred and gently nur- 
 tured as I was, my life, before coming to Texas, had 
 been by no means one of adventure, and I was so 
 used to 'sleep with a roof over my head, that when I 
 saw it getting dusk I felt certain I could not be far 
 from the house. The idea fixed itself so strongly in 
 my mind, that I involuntarily spurred my mustang, 
 and trotted on, peering out through the now fast- 
 gathering gloom, in 'jxpectation of seeing a light. 
 Several times I fancied I heard the barking of the 
 dogs, the cattle lowing, or the merry laugh of the 
 children. 
 
 " Hurra! there is the house at last I can see the 
 lights in the parlor windows." 
 
 I urged my horse on, but when I came near the 
 house, it proved to be an island of trees. What I had 
 taken for candles were fire-flies, that now issued in 
 swarms from out of the darkness of the islands, and 
 spread themselves over the prairie, darting about in 
 every direction, their small blue flames literally light- 
 ing up the plain, and making it appear as if I were 
 surrounded by a sea of Bengal fire. Nothing could
 
 A STAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 99 
 
 be more bewildering than such a ride as mine, on a 
 warm March night, through the interminable, never- 
 varying prairie ; overhead the deep blue firmament, 
 with its host of bright stars ; at my feet, and all 
 around, an ocean of magical light, myriads of fire-flies 
 floating upon the soft, still air. It was like a scene of 
 enchantment. I could distinguish every blade of 
 grass, every flower, every leaf on the trees but all 
 in a strange, unnatural sort of light, and in altered 
 colors. Tuberoses and asters, prairie roses and gera- 
 niums, dahlias and vine branches, began to wave and 
 move, to range themselves in ranks and rows. The 
 whole vegetable world around me appeared to dance, 
 as the swarms of living lights passed over it. 
 
 Suddenly, from out of the sea of fire, sounded a 
 loud and long-drawn note. I stopped, listened, and 
 gazed around me. It was not repeated, and I rode on. 
 Again the same sound, but this time the cadence was 
 sad and plaintive. Again I made a halt, and listened. 
 It was repeated a third time in a yet more melancholy 
 tone, and I recognized it as the cry of a whippowil. 
 Presently it was answered from a neighboring island 
 by a katydid. My heart leaped for joy at hearing the 
 note of this bird, the native minstrel of my own dear 
 Maryland. In an instant the house where I was born
 
 100 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 stood before the eyesight of my imagination. There 
 were the negro huts, the garden, the plantation, every 
 thing exactly as I had left it. So powerful was the 
 illusion, that I. gave my horse the spur, persuaded 
 that my father's house lay before me. The island 
 too, I took for the grove that surrounded our house. 
 On reaching its border, I literally dismounted, and 
 shouted out for Charon Tommy. There was a stream 
 running through our .plantation, which, for nine 
 months out of the twelve, was passable only by means 
 of a ferry, and the old negro who officiated as ferry- 
 man was indebted to me for the above classical cog- 
 nomen. I believe I called twice, nay,- three times 
 but no Charon Tommy answered ; and I awoke 
 as from a pleasant dream, somewhat ashamed of 
 the lengths to which my excited imagination had 
 hurried me. 
 
 I now felt so weary and exhausted, so hungry and 
 thirsty, and, withal, my mind was so anxious and 
 harassed by my dangerous position, and by the uncer- 
 tainty how I should get out of it, that I was really 
 incapable of going any further. I felt quite bewil- 
 dered, and stood for some time gazing before me, and 
 scarcely even troubling myself to think. At length 
 I mechanically drew my clasp-knife from my pocket,
 
 A. SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 1</1 
 
 and set to work to dig a hole in the rich black soil of 
 the prairie. Into this hole I put the knotted end of 
 my lasso, and then, filling in the earth and stamping 
 it down with my foot, as I had seen others do since I 
 had been in Texas, I passed the noose over my mus-. 
 tang's neck, and left him to graze, while I myself lay 
 down outside the circle which the lasso would allow 
 him to describe. An odd manner, it may seem, of 
 tying up a horse; but the most convenient and 
 natural one in a country where one may often find 
 oneself fifty miles from any house, and five-and- 
 twenty from a tree or bush. 
 
 I found it no easy matter to sleep, for on all sides 
 I heard the howling of wolves and jaguars an un- 
 pleasant serenade at any time, but most of all so in 
 the prairie, unarmed and defenseless as I was. My 
 nerves, too, were all in commotion ; and I felt so 
 feverish that I do not know what I should have done, 
 had I not fortunately remembered that I had my 
 cigar-case and a roll of tobacco, real Virginia dul- 
 cisaimus, in my pocket invaluable treasures in my 
 present situation, and which on this, as on many 
 other occasions, did not fail to soothe and calm my 
 agitated thoughts. 
 
 Luckily, too, being a tolerably confirmed smoker.
 
 102 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 I carried a flint and steel with me; for otherwise, 
 although surrounded by lights, I should have been 
 sadly at a loss for fire. A couple of Havanas did 
 me an infinite deal of good, and after a while I sank 
 into the slumber of which I stood so much in need. 
 
 The day was hardly well broken when I awoke. 
 The refreshing sleep I had enjoyed had given me 
 new energy and courage. I felt hungry enough, to 
 be sure, but light and cheerful, and I hastened to dig 
 up the end of the lasso, and to saddle my horse. I 
 trusted that, although I had been condemned to 
 wander over the prairie the whole of the preceding 
 day, as a sort of punishment for my rashness, I 
 should now have better luck, and, having expiated 
 my fault, be at length allowed to find my way. 
 With this hope I mounted my mustang and resumed 
 my ride. 
 
 I passed several beautiful islands of pecan, plum, 
 and peach trees. It is a peculiarity worthy of re- 
 mark, that these islands are nearly always of one 
 sort of tree. It is very rare to meet with one where 
 there are two sorts. Like the beasts of the forest, 
 that herd together according to their kind, so does 
 this wild vegetation preserve itself distinct in its 
 different species One island will be entirely
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 103 
 
 composed of live oaks, another of plum, and a third 
 of pecan trees ; the vine only, common to them all, 
 embraces them all alike with its slender but tena- 
 cious branches. I rode through several of these 
 islands. They were perfectly free from bushes and 
 brushwood, and carpeted with the most beautiful ver- 
 dure possible to behold. I gazed at them in astonish- 
 ment. It seemed incredible that nature, abandoned 
 to herself, should preserve herself so beautifully clean 
 and pure, and I involuntarily looked around me for 
 some trace of the hand of man. But none was there. 
 I saw nothing but herds of deer, that gazed wonder- 
 ingly at me with their large clear eyes, and when I 
 approached too near, galloped off in alarm. What 
 would I not have given for an ounce of lead, a charge 
 of powder, and a Kentucky rifle! Nevertheless, the 
 mere sight of the beasts gladdened me, and raised 
 my spirits. They were a sort of society. Something 
 of the same feeling seemed imparted to my horse, 
 who bounded under me, and neighed merrily, as he 
 cantered along in the fresh spring morning. 
 
 I was now skirting the side of an island of treei 
 of greater extent than most of those I had hitherto 
 seen. On reaching the end of it, I suddenly came in 
 iight of an object whose extraordinary appearanco
 
 104 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 far surpassed any of the natural wonders I had as 
 yet beheld, either in Texas or the United States. 
 
 At the distance of about two miles rose a colossal 
 mass, in shape somewhat like a monumental mound 
 or tumulus, and apparently of the brightest silver. 
 As I came in view of it, the sun was just covered by 
 a passing cloud, from the lower edge of which the 
 bright rays shot down obliquely upon this extraordi- 
 nary phenomenon, lighting it up in the most brilliant 
 manner. At one moment it looked like a huge silver 
 cone ; then took the appearance of an illuminated 
 castie with pinnacles and towers, or the dome of some 
 great cathedral ; then of a gigantic elephant, covered 
 with trappings, but always of solid silver, and inde- 
 scribably magnificent. Had all the treasures of the 
 earth been offered me to say what it was, I should 
 have been unable to answer. Bewildered by my 
 interminable wanderings in the prairie, and weak- 
 ened by fatigue and hunger, a superstitious feeling 
 for a moment came over me, and I half asked myself 
 whether I had not reached some enchanted region, 
 into which the evil spirit of the prairie was luring 
 me to destruction by appearances of supernatural 
 Htrangeness and beauty. 
 
 Banishing these wild imaginings, I rode on in the
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 105 
 
 direction of this strange object ; but it was only when 
 I came within a very short distance that I was able 
 to distinguish its nature. It was a live oak of most 
 stupendous dimensions, the very patriarch of the 
 prairie, grown gray in the lapse of ages. Its lower 
 limbs had shot out in a horizontal, or rather a down- 
 ward-slanting direction, and, reaching nearly to the 
 ground, completed the base of a vast dome, several 
 hundred feet in diameter, and full a hundred and 
 thirty feet high. It had no appearance of a tree, for 
 neither trunk nor branches were visible. It seemed 
 a mountain of whitish green scales, fringed with long 
 silvery moss, that hung like innumerable beards from 
 every bough and twig. Nothing could better convey 
 the idea of immense and incalculable age than the 
 hoary beard and venerable appearance of this mon- 
 arch of the woods. Spanish moss of a silvery gray 
 draped the whole mass of wood and foliage, from the 
 topmost bough down to the very ground ; short near 
 the top of the tree, but gradually increasing in length 
 as it descended, until it hung like a deep fringe from 
 the lower branches. I separated the vegetable curtain 
 with my hands, and entered this august temple with 
 feelings of involuntary awe. The change from the 
 bright sunlight to the comparative darkness beneath
 
 106 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 the leafy vault was so great, that I at first could dis- 
 tinguish scarcely any thing. But when my eyes got 
 accustomed to the gloom, nothing could be more 
 beautiful than the effect of the sun's rays, which, in 
 forcing their way through the silvered leaves and 
 mosses, took as many varieties of color as if they had 
 passed through a window of painted glass, and gave 
 the rich, subdued, and solemn light observable in old 
 cathedrals. 
 
 The trunk of the tree rose, free from all branches, 
 full forty feet from the ground, rough and knotted, and 
 of such enormous size that it might have been taken 
 for a mass of rock covered with moss and lichens, 
 while many of its boughs were nearly as thick as the 
 trunk of any tree I had ever previously seen. 
 
 I was so absorbed in the contemplation of the 
 vegetable giant, that for a short space I almost forgot 
 my troubles ; but as I rode away from the tree, they 
 returned to me in full force, and my reflections were 
 certainly of no very cheering or consolatory nature. 
 I rode on, however, most perseveringly. The morning 
 slipped away ; it was noon, the sun stood high in the 
 cloudless heavens. My hunger had now increased to 
 an insupportable degree, and I felt as if something 
 were gnawing within me something like a crab
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 107 
 
 tugging and riving at my stomach with his sharp 
 claws. This feeling left me after a time, and was 
 replaced by a sort of squeamishness a faint sickly 
 sensation. But if hunger was bad, thirst was worse. 
 For some hours I suifered martyrdom. At length, 
 like hunger it died away, and was succeeded by a 
 feeling of sickness. The thirty hours' fatigue and 
 fasting I had endured were beginning to tell upon 
 my naturally strong nerves : I felt my reasoning 
 powers growing weaker, and my presence of mind 
 leaving me. A feeling of despondency came over 
 me a thousand wild fancies passed through my 
 bewildered brain ; while, at times, my head grew 
 dizzy, and I reeled in my saddle like a drunken man 
 These weak fits, as I may call them, did not last 
 long ; and each time that I recovered I spurred my 
 mustang onward. But all was in vain ride as far 
 and as fast as I would, nothing was visible but a 
 boundless sea of grass. 
 
 At length I gave up hope, except in that God 
 whose almighty hand was so manifest in the beaute- 
 ous works around me. I let the bridle fall on my 
 horse's neck, clasped my hands together, and prayed 
 as I had never before prayed, so heartily and earn- 
 estly. When I had finished my prayer I felt greatly
 
 108 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 comforted. It seemed to me, that here in the 
 wilderness, which man had not as yet polluted, I 
 was nearer to God, and that my petition would 
 assuredly be heard. I gazed cheerfully around, 
 persuaded that I should yet escape the peril in which 
 I stood. Just then, with what astonishment and 
 inexpressible delight did I perceive not ten paces off, 
 the track of a horse! 
 
 The effect of this discovery was like an electric 
 shock, and drew a cry of joy from my lips that made 
 my mustang start and prick his ears. Tears of de- 
 light and gratitude to Heaven came into my eyes, 
 and I could scarcely refrain from leaping off my 
 horse and kissing the welcome signs that gave me 
 assurance of succor. With renewed strength I gal- 
 loped onward ; and had I been a lover flying to 
 rescue his mistress from an Indian war party, I could 
 not have displayed more eagerness than I did in 
 following up the trail of an unknown traveler. 
 
 Never had I felt so thankful to Providence as at 
 that moment. I uttered thanksgivings as I rode on, 
 and contemplated the wonderful evidences of His 
 Bkill and might that offered themselves to me on all 
 sides. The aspect of every thing seemed changed, 
 and I gazed with renewed admiration at the scenes
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 109 
 
 through which I passed, and which I had previously 
 been too preoccupied by the danger of my position to 
 notice. The beautiful appearance of the islands struck 
 me particularly, as they loomed in the distance, swim- 
 ming in the bright golden beams of the noonday sun, 
 dark spots of foliage in the midst of the waving 
 grasses and many-hued flowers of the prairie. Before 
 me lay the eternal flower-carpet with its innumerable 
 asters, tuberoses, and mimosas that delicate plant 
 which, when approached, lifts its head, seems to look 
 at you, and then droops and shrinks back in alarm. 
 This I saw it do when I was two or three paces from 
 it, and without my horse's foot having touched it. 
 Its long roots stretch out horizontally in the ground, 
 and the approaching tread of a horse or man is com- 
 municated through them to the plant and produces 
 this singular phenomenon. When the danger is gone 
 by, and the earth ceases to vibrate, the mimosa may 
 be seen again to raise its head, quivering and trem- 
 bling, as though not yet fully recovered from its fears. 
 I had ridden on for three or four hours, following 
 the track I had so fortunately discovered, when I 
 came upon the trace of a second horseman, who ap- 
 peared to have here joined the first traveler. It ran 
 in a parallel direction to the one I was following.
 
 1 10 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 Had it been possible to increase my joy, this dis- 
 covery would have done so. I could now entertain 
 no doubt that I had hit upon the way out of this 
 terrible prairie. It struck me as rather singular that 
 two travelers should have met in this immense plain, 
 which so few persons traversed ; but that they had 
 done so was certain, for there were the tracks of the 
 two horses, as distinct as possible. The trail was 
 fresh, too, and it was evidently not long since the 
 horsemen had passed. It might still be possible to 
 overtake them ; and in this hope I rode on faster than 
 ever, as fast, at least, as my mustang could carry me 
 through the thick grass and flowers, which, in some 
 places, were four or five feet high. 
 
 During the next three hours I passed over ten or 
 twelve miles of ground ; but although the trail still 
 lay plainly and broadly marked before me, I saw 
 nothing of those who had left it. Still I persevered. 
 I must overtake them sooner or later, provided I did 
 not lose the track ; and that I was most careful not to 
 do, keeping my eyes fixed upon the ground as I rode 
 along, and never deviating from the line which the 
 travelers had followed. 
 
 Thus the day passed away, and evening ap- 
 proached. I still retained hope and courage; but
 
 A. SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. Ill 
 
 my physical strength was giving away. The gnawing 
 sensation of hunger increased. I felt sick and faint; 
 my limbs were heavy, my blood seemed chill in my 
 veins, and all my senses grew duller under the influ- 
 ence of exhaustion, thirst, and hunger. My eyesight 
 was misty, my hearing less acute, the bridle felt cold 
 and heavy in my fingers. 
 
 Still 1 rode on. Sooner or later I must find an 
 outlet; the prairie must have an end somewhere. 
 True, that the whole of Southern Texas is one vast 
 prairie ; but then there are rivers flowing through it, 
 and if I could reach one of those, I should not be far 
 from the abodes of men. By following the streams 
 five or six miles up or down, I should be sure to find 
 a plantation. 
 
 While thus reasoning with, and encouraging my- 
 self, I perceived the traces of a third horse, running 
 parallel to the two which I had so long followed. 
 This was indeed encouragement. It was certain that 
 three travelers, arriving from different points of the 
 prairie, and all going in the same direction, must 
 have some object, must be repairing to some village 
 or clearing; and where or what this was had now 
 become indifferent to me, so long as I once more 
 found myself in the habitations of men. I spurred
 
 112 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 on my mustang, who began to flag a little in his pace 
 with the fatigue of our long ride. 
 
 The sun set behind the high trees of an island 
 that bounded my view westward, and there being 
 little or no twilight in those southerly latitudes, the 
 broad day was almost instantaneously replaced by 
 the darkness of night. I could proceed no further 
 without losing the track of the three horsemen ; and, 
 as I happened to be close to an island, I fastened 
 my mustang to a branch with the lasso, and threw 
 myself on the grass under the trees. 
 
 This night, however, I had no fancy for tobacco. 
 Neither the cigars nor the dulcissimus tempted me. 
 I tried to sleep, but in vain. Once or twice I began 
 to doze, but was roused again by violent cramps and 
 twitchings in all my limbs. I know of nothing more 
 horrible than a night passed as I passed that one 
 faint and weak, enduring torture from hunger and 
 thirst, striving after sleep, and never finding it. The 
 sensation of hunger I experienced can only be com- 
 pared to that of twenty pairs of pinchers tearing at 
 the stomach. 
 
 With the first gray light of morning I got up and 
 prepared for departure. It was a long business, how- 
 ever, to get my horse ready. The saddle, which at
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 113 
 
 other times I could throw upon his back with two 
 fingers, now seemed of lead, and it was as much as 
 I could do to lift it. I had still more difficulty in 
 drawing the girths tight ; but at last I accomplished 
 this, and, scrambling upon my beast, rode off. 
 Luckily, my mustang's spirit was pretty well taken 
 out of him by the last two days' work ; for if he had 
 been fresh, the smallest spring on one side would 
 have sufficed to throw me out of the saddle. As it 
 was I sat upon him like an automaton, hanging for- 
 ward over his neck, sometimes grasping the mane, 
 and almost unable to use either rein or spur. 
 
 I had ridden for some hours in this helpless plight, 
 when I came to a place where the three horsemen, 
 whose track I was following, had apparently made a 
 halt perhaps had passed the previous night. The 
 grass was trampled and beaten down in a circum- 
 ference of some fifty or sixty feet, and there was a 
 confusion in the horse-tracks as if they had ridden 
 backward and forward. Fearful of losing the right 
 trail, I was looking carefully about me to see in what* 
 direction they had recommenced their journey, when 
 I noticed something white among the long grass. 1 
 got off my horse to pick it up. It was a piece of 
 paper with iny own name written upon it; and 1
 
 114: ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 9 
 
 recognized it as the back of a letter in which my 
 tobacco had been wrapped, and I had thrown away 
 at my halting-place of the preceding night. I looked 
 around, and recognized the island and the very tree 
 under which I had slept, or endeavored to sleep. 
 The horrible truth instantly flashed across me the 
 horse tracks I had followed were my own : since the 
 preceding morning, I had been riding in a, circle. 
 
 I stood for a few seconds thunderstruck by this 
 discovery, and then sank upon the ground in utter 
 despair. At that moment I should have been thank- 
 ful to any one who would have knocked me on the 
 head as I lay. All I wished was to die as speedily 
 as possible. 
 
 I remained I know not how long in a desponding, 
 half insensible state upon the grass. Several hours 
 must have elapsed ; for when I got up the sun was 
 low in the western heavens. My head was so weak 
 and wandering, that I could not well explain to my- 
 self how it was that I had been thus riding after my 
 own shadow. Yet the thing was clear enough. 
 Without landmarks and in the monotonous scenery 
 of the prairie, I might have gone on forever following 
 my horse's track, and going back when I thought I 
 was going forward, had it not been for the discovery
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PKAJKIE. 115 
 
 of the tobacco-paper. I was, as I subsequently 
 learned, in the Jacinto prairie, one of the most beau- 
 tiful in Texas, full sixty miles long and broad, but in 
 which the most experienced hunters never risked 
 themselves without a compass. It was little wonder, 
 then, that I, a mere boy of two-and-twenty, just 
 escaped from college, should have gone astray in it. 
 
 I now gave myself up for lost, and with the bridle 
 twisted round my hand, and holding on as well as I 
 could by the saddle and mane, I let my horse choose 
 his own road. It would perhaps have been better 
 had I done this sooner. The beast's instinct would 
 probably have led him to some plantation. When 
 he found himself left to his own guidance, he threw 
 up his head, snuffed the air three or four times, and 
 then turning round, set off in a contrary direction to 
 that he was before following, and at such a brisk pace 
 
 that it was as much as I could do to keep upon him. 
 
 
 
 Every jolt caused me so much pain, that I was more 
 than once tempted to let myself fall off his back. 
 
 At last night came, and thanks to the lasso, which 
 kept my horse in awe, I managed to dismount and 
 secure him. The whole night through I suffered 
 from racking pains in head, limbs, and body. I felt 
 as if I had been broken on the wheel ; not an inch
 
 116 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 of my whole person but ached and smarted. My 
 hands were grown thin and transparent, my cheeks 
 fallen in, my eyes deep sunk in their sockets. 
 When I touched my face I could feel the change 
 that had taken place ; and as I did so, I caught 
 myself once or twice laughing like a child. I was 
 becoming delirious. 
 
 In the morning I could scarcely rise from the 
 ground, so utterly weak and exhausted was I by my 
 three days' fasting, anxiety and fatigue. I have 
 heard say that a man in good health can live nine 
 days without food. It may be so in a room, or in a 
 prison, but assuredly not in a Texan p'rairie. I am 
 quite certain that the fifth day would have seen the 
 last of me. 
 
 . I should never have been able to mount my mus- 
 tang, but he had fortunately lain down, so I got into 
 
 the saddle, and he rose up with me and started off 
 
 
 of his own accord. As I rode along, the strangest 
 
 visions passed before me. I saw the most beautiful 
 cities that painter'% fancy ever conceived, with tow- 
 ers, cupolas, and columns, whose summits lost them- 
 selves in the clouds ; marble basins and fountains of 
 bright, sparkling water, rivers flowing with liquid 
 gold and gardens whose trees were bowed down with
 
 A SCAMPER IN THE PRAIRIE. 117 
 
 magnificent fruit fruit which I had not strength to 
 raise my hand to pluck. My limbs were heavy as 
 lead, my tongue,-lips and gums, dry and parched. I 
 breathed with the greatest difficulty, and within me 
 was a burning sensation, as if I had swallowed hot 
 coals ; while my extremities, both hands and feet, did 
 not appear to form a part of myself, but to be instru- 
 ments of torture affixed to me, and cau&iiig me the 
 most intense suffering. 
 
 I have a confused recollection of a sort of rushing 
 sound, the nature of which I was unable to determine, 
 so nearly had all consciousness left me ; then of find- 
 ing myself among trees, the leaves and boughs of 
 which scratched and beat against my face as I passed 
 through them; then of a sudden and rapid descent, 
 with the broad, bright surface of a river below me. 
 I clutched at a branch, but my fingers lacked 
 strength to retain their grasp there was a hissing, 
 splashing noise, and the waters closed above my 
 head. 
 
 I soon rose, and endeavored to strike out with 
 my arms and legs, but in vain ; I was too weak 
 to swim, and again I went down. A thousand 
 lights danced before my eyes ; there was a noise 
 in my brain as if a four-and-twenty pounder had
 
 118 ADVEITTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 been fired close to my ear. Just then a hard hand 
 was wrung into my neckcloth, and I felt myself 
 dragged out of the water. The next instant my 
 senses left me.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LYNCH LAW. 
 
 WHEN I recovered from my state of insensibility, 
 and once more opened my eyes, I was lying on the 
 bank of a small but deep river. My horse grazed 
 quietly a few yards off, and beside me stood a man 
 with folded arms, holding a wicker-covered flask in 
 his hand. This was all 1 was able to observe; for 
 my state of weakness prevented me from getting up 
 and looking around me. 
 
 " Where am I?" I gasped. 
 
 "Where are you stranger? By the Jacinto; and 
 that you are by it, and not in it, is no fault of your'n, 
 I reckon." 
 
 There was something harsh and repulsive in the 
 tone and manner in which these words were spoken, 
 and in the grating, scornful laugh which accompanied 
 them, that jarred upon my nerves, and inspired me 
 with a feeling of aversion toward the speaker. I knew
 
 120 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 be was my deliverer ; that he had saved my life when 
 my mustang, raging with thirst, had sprung head- 
 foremost into the water; that, without him, I must 
 inevitably have been drowned, even had the river 
 been less deep than it was ; and that it was by his 
 care, and the whisky he had made me swallow, 
 and of which I still had the flavor on my tongue, 
 that had been- recovered from my deathlike swoon. 
 But had he done ten times as much for me, I could 
 not have repressed the feeling of repugnance, the 
 inexplicable dislike, with which the mere tones of 
 his voice filled me. I turned my head away in 
 order not to see him. There was a silence of some 
 moments' duration. 
 
 "Don't seem as if my company was over and 
 above agreeable," said the man at last. 
 
 " Your company not agreeable ? This is the fourth 
 day since I saw the face of a human being. During 
 that time not a bit nor a drop has passed my tongue. 1 ' 
 
 " Hallo ! That 's a lie! " shouted the man, with an- 
 other strange, wild laugh. "You've taken a mouthful 
 out of my flask ; not taken it, certainly, but it went 
 over your tongue all the same. Where do you come 
 from? The beast ain't your'n." 
 
 "Mr. Neal's," answered I.
 
 LYNCH LAW. 121 
 
 "See it is by the brand. But what brings you 
 here from Mr. Neal's ? It 's a good seventy miles to 
 his plantation, right across the prairie. Ain't stole 
 the horse, have you ? " 
 
 "Lost my way four days eaten nothing." 
 
 Those words were all I could articulate. I was too 
 weak to talk. 
 
 "Four days without eatin'!" said the man, with a 
 laugh like the sharpening of a saw, " and that in a 
 Texas prairie, and with islands on all sides of you! 
 Ha ! I see how it is. You 're a gentleman that 's 
 plain enough. I was a sort of one myself once. 
 You thought our Texas prairies was like the prairies 
 in the States. Ha, ha! And so you didn't know 
 how to help yourself. Did you see no bees in the air, 
 no strawberries on the airth?" 
 
 "Bees? Strawberries'?" repeated I. 
 
 " Yes, bees, which live in the hollow trees. Out of 
 twenty trees there is sure to be one full of honey. 
 So you saw no bees, eh? Perhaps you don't know 
 the creturs when you see 'em ? Ain't altogether so 
 big as wild-geese or turkeys. But you must know 
 what strawberries are, and that they don't grow upon 
 the trees." 
 
 All this was spoken in the same sneering, savage 
 G
 
 122 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 manner as before, with the speaker's head half turned 
 over his shoulder, while his features were distorted 
 into a contemptuous grin. 
 
 "And if I had seen the bees, how was I to get at 
 the honey without an ax ? " 
 
 "How did you lose yourself?" 
 
 "My mustang ran away " 
 
 "I see. And you after him. You 'd have done bet- 
 ter to let him run. But what d'ye mean to do now?" 
 
 " I am weak sick to death. I wish to get to the 
 nearest house an inn anywhere where men are." 
 
 " Where men are," repeated the stranger, with his 
 scornful smile. " Where men are," he muttered again, 
 taking a few steps on one side. 
 
 I was hardly able to turn my head, but there was 
 something strange in the man's movement that 
 alarmed me ; and making a violent effort, I changed 
 my position sufficiently to get him in sight again. 
 He had drawn a long knife from his girdle, which he 
 clutched in one hand, while he ran the fore-finger of 
 the other along its edge. I now for the first time got 
 a full view of his face, and the impression it made 
 upon me was any thing but favorable. His counte- 
 nance was the wildest I had ever seen ; his blood-shot 
 eyes rolled like balls of fire in their sockets ; his
 
 LYNCH LAW. 123 
 
 movements and manner were indicative of a violent 
 inward struggle. He did not stand still for three sec- 
 onds together, but paced backward and forward with 
 hurried, irregular steps, casting wild glances over his 
 shoulder, his fingers playing all the while with the 
 knife, with the rapid and objectless movements of a 
 maniac. 
 
 I felt convinced that I was the cause of the struggle 
 visibly going on within him that my life or death 
 was what he was deciding upon. But, in the state I 
 then was, death had no terrors for me. The image of 
 my mother, sisters, and father, passed before my eyes. 
 I gave one thought to my peaceful, happy home and 
 then looked upward and prayed. 
 
 The man had walked off to some distance. I 
 turned myself a little more'round, and, as I did so, I 
 caught sight of the same magnificent phenomenon 
 which I had met with on the second day of my wan- 
 derings. The colossal live oak rose in all its silvery 
 splendor, at the distance of a couple of miles. While 
 I was gazing at it, and reflecting on the strange ill' 
 luck that had made me pass within BO short a 
 distance of the river without finding it, I saw my 
 new acquaintance approach a neighboring cluster of 
 trees, among which he disappeared.
 
 124 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 After a short time I agaiii perceived him coming 
 toward me with a slow and staggering step. As he 
 drew near, I had an opportunity of examining his 
 whole appearance. He was very tall and lean, but 
 large-boned, and apparently of great strength. His 
 face, which had not been shaved for several weeks, 
 was so tanned by sun and weather, that he might 
 have been taken for an Indian, had not the beard 
 proved his claim to white blood. But his eyes were 
 what most struck me. There was something so 
 frightfully wild in their expression, a look of terror 
 and desperation, like that of a man whom all the 
 furies of hell were hunting and persecuting. His 
 hair hung in long ragged locks over his forehead, 
 cheeks, and neck, and round his head was bound a 
 handkerchief on which were several stains of a brown- 
 ish-black color. Spots of the same kind were visible 
 upon his leathern jacket, breeches, and moccasins ; 
 they were evidently blood stains. His hunting-knife, 
 which was nearly two feet long, with a rude wooden 
 handle, was now replaced in his girdle, but in its 
 stead he grasped a Kentucky rifle. 
 
 Although I did my utmost to assume an indifferent 
 countenance, my features doubtless expressed some- 
 thing of the repugnance and horror with which the
 
 LYNCH LAW. 125 
 
 man inspired me. He looked loweringly at me for 
 a moment from under his shaggy eyebrows. 
 
 "You don't seem to like the company you've got 
 into," said he. "Do I look so very desperate then? 
 Is it written so plainly on my face?" 
 
 "What should there be written upon your face?" 
 
 "What? What? Them questions are for foola 
 and children." 
 
 " I will ask you none ; but as a Christian, as a 
 countryman, I beseech you " 
 
 "Christian?" interrupted he, with a hollow laugh. 
 " Countryman ! " He struck the but of his rifle hard 
 upon the ground. "That is my countryman my 
 only friend!" he continued, as he examined the flint 
 and lock of his weapon. "That releases from all 
 troubles : that's a true friend. Pooh! perhaps it'll 
 release you too put you to rest." 
 
 These last words were uttered aside, and musingly. 
 
 " Put him to rest as well as . Pooh ! One more 
 
 or less Perhaps it would drive away that cursed 
 spectre." All this seemed to be spoken to his rifle. 
 
 " Will you swear not to betray me ? " cried he to 
 me. "Else, one touch " 
 
 As he spoke, he brought the gun to his shoulder, 
 the muzzle pointed full at my breast.
 
 126 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 I felt no fear. I am sure my pulse did not give 
 a throb the more for this menace. So deadly weak 
 and helpless as I lay, it was unnecessary to shoot me. 
 
 The slightest blow from the but of the rifle, would 
 have driven the last faint spark of life out of my 
 exhausted body. I looked calmly, indifferently even, 
 into the muzzle of the piece. 
 
 " If you can answer it to your God, to your and 
 my Judge and Creator, do your will." 
 
 My words, which from faintness I could scarcely 
 render audible, had, nevertheless, a sudden and start- 
 ling effect upon the man. He trembled from head 
 to foot, let the but of his gun fall heavily to the 
 ground, and gazed at me with open mouth and 
 staring eyes. 
 
 "This one, too. comes with his God ! " muttered he. 
 "God! and your and niy Creator and Judge." 
 
 He seemed hardly able to articulate these words, 
 which were uttered by gasps and efforts, as though 
 something had choked him. 
 
 " His and my Judge " groaned he again. " Can 
 there be a God, a Creator and Judge?" 
 
 As he stood thus muttering to himself, his eyes 
 suddenly became fixed, and his features horribly 
 distorted.
 
 L1NCH LAW. 127 
 
 " Do it not ! " cried he, in a shrill tone of horror, 
 that rung through my head. "It will bring no 
 blessin' with it. 1 am a dead man! God be mer- 
 ciful to me! My poor wife! my poor children!" 
 
 The rifle fell from his hands, and he smote his 
 breast and forehead in a paroxysm of the wildest 
 fury and despair. It was frightful to behold the 
 conscience-stricken wretch, stamping madly about, 
 and casting glances of terror behind him, as though 
 demons had been hunting him down. The foam flew 
 from his mouth, and I expected each moment to see 
 him fall to the ground in a fit of epilepsy. Gradually, 
 however, he grew more tranquil. 
 
 "D'ye see nothin' in my face?" said he in a 
 hoarse whisper, suddenly pausing close to where 
 Hay. 
 
 "What should I see?" 
 
 He came yet nearer. 
 
 "Look well at me through me, if you can. 
 D'ye see nothin' now?" 
 
 "I see nothing," replied I. 
 
 " Ah ! I understand ; you can see nothin'. Ain't 
 in a spyin' humor, I calkilate. No, no, that you 
 ain't. After four days and nights fastin', one loses 
 the fancy for many things. I've tried it for two
 
 128 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 days myself. So, you are weak and faint, eh ? Bui 
 I need n't ask that, I reckon. You look bad enough. 
 Take another drop of whisky; it'll strengthen you. 
 But wait till I mix it." 
 
 As he spoke, he stepped down to the edge of the 
 river, and scooping up the water in the hollow of his 
 hand, filled up his flask with it. Then returning to 
 me, he poured a little into my mouth. 
 
 Even the bood-thirsty Indian appears less of a 
 savage when engaged in a compassionate act, and 
 the wild desperado I had fallen in with seemed 
 softened and humanized by the service he was ren- 
 dering me. His voice sounded less harsh; his 
 manner was calmer and milder. 
 
 " You wish to go to an inn ? " 
 
 " For Heaven's sake, yes. These four days I have 
 tasted nothing but a bit of tobacco." 
 
 " Can you spare a bit of that ? " 
 
 "All I have." 
 
 I handed him my cigar-case, and the roll of dul- 
 cissimus. He snatched the latter from me. and bit 
 into it with the furious eagerness of a wolf. 
 
 "Ah! the right sort this!" muttered he to himself. 
 "Ah, young man, or old man you're an old man 
 ain't you? How old are you?"
 
 LYNCH LAW. 129 
 
 I 
 
 " Two-and-twenty." 
 
 He shook his head doubtingly. 
 
 "Can hardly believe that. But four days in the 
 prairie, and nothin' to eat. Well, it may be so. But, 
 stranger, if I had had this bit of tobacco only ten 
 
 days ago A bit of tobacco is worth a deal 
 
 sometimes. It might have saved a man's life!" 
 
 Again he groaned, and his accents were wild and 
 unnatural. 
 
 "I say, stranger!" cried he in a threatening tone. 
 "I say? D'ye see yonder live oak? D'ye see it? 
 It's the Patriarch, and a finer and a mightier one 
 yon won't find in the prairies, I reckon. D'ye 
 see it?" 
 
 "I do see it." 
 
 "Ah! you see it," he cried fiercely. "And what 
 is it to you ? What have you to do with the Patri- 
 arch, or what lies under it? I reckon you had best 
 not be too curious that way. If you dare take a step 
 
 under that tree " He swore an oath too horrible 
 
 to be repeated. 
 
 "There's a specter there," cried he; "a specter 
 that would fright you to death. You'd better keep 
 away." 
 
 "I will keep away," replied I. "I never thought 
 6*
 
 130 AD\ENTUEE8 IN TEXAS. 
 
 of going near it. All I want is to get to the nearest 
 plantation or inn." 
 
 "Ah! true, man the next inn. I'll show you 
 the way. I will." 
 
 " You will save my life by so doing," said I, " and 
 I shall be ever grateful to you as my deliverer." 
 
 " Deliverer ! " repeated he with a wild laugh. 
 "Pooh ! If you knew what sort of a deliverer 
 Pooh ! What 's the use of savin' a life, when yet 
 I will I will save yours ; perhaps the cursed spec- 
 ter will leave me then. Will you not? Will you 
 not?" cried he, suddenly changing his scornful, 
 mocking tone to one of entreaty and supplication, 
 and turning his face in the direction of the live oak. 
 Again his wildness of manner returned, and his eyes 
 were fixed as he gazed for some moments at the 
 gigantic tree. Then darting away, he disappeared 
 among the trees, whence he had fetched his rifle, 
 and presently emerged again, leading a saddled horse 
 with him. He called to me to mount mine, but 
 seeing that I was unable even to rise from the ground 
 he stepped up to me, and with the greatest ease 
 lifted me into the saddle with one hand, so light had 
 I become during my long fast. Then taking the end 
 of my lasso, he got upon his own horse and set off,
 
 LYNCH LAW. 131 
 
 leading my mustang after him. We rode on for 
 some time without exchanging a word. My guide 
 kept up a sort of muttered soliloquy ; but as I was 
 full ten paces in his rear, I could distinguish nothing 
 of what he said. At times he would raise his rifle to 
 his shoulder, then lower it again, and speak to it, 
 sometimes caressingly, sometimes in anger. More 
 than once he turned his head, and cast keen, search- 
 ing glances at me, as though to see whether I were 
 watching him or not. 
 
 We had ridden more than an hour, and the 
 strength the whisky had given me was fast failing, 
 so that I expected each moment to fall from my 
 horse, when suddenly I caught sight of a kind of 
 rude hedge, and, almost immediately afterward, of 
 the wall of a small block-house. A faint cry of joy 
 escaped me, and I endeavored, but in vain, to give 
 my horse the spur. My guide turned round, fixed 
 his wild eyes upon me, and spoke in a threatening 
 tone. 
 
 " You are impatient, man 1 impatient, I sec. You 
 think now. perhaps " 
 
 "I am dying," was all I could utter. In fact my 
 senses were leaving me from exhaustion, and I reallv 
 thought my last hour was come.
 
 132 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 "Pooh! dy in'! One don't die so easy And yet 
 d n! it might be true." 
 
 He sprang off his horse, and was just in time to 
 catch me in his arms as 1 fell from the saddle. A 
 few drops of whisky, however, restored me to con* 
 sciousness. My guide replaced me upon my mustang, 
 and after passing through a potato ground, a field 
 of Indian corn, and a small grove of peach-trees, we 
 found ourselves at the door of the block-house. 
 
 I was so utterly helpless, that my strange compan- 
 ion was obliged to lift me off my horse, and carry 
 me into the dwelling. He set me down upon a 
 bench, passive and powerless as an infant. Strange 
 to say, I was never better able to observe all that 
 passed around me, than during the few hours of 
 physical debility that succeeded my immersion in the 
 Jacinto. A blow with a reed would have knocked 
 me off my seat, but my mental faculties, instead of 
 participating in this weakness, seemed sharpened to 
 an unusual degree of acuteness. 
 
 The block-house in which we now were was of the 
 poorest possible description ; a mere log hut, con- 
 sisting of one room, that served as a kitchen, sitting 
 room, and bed-chamber. The door of rough planks 
 swung heavily upon two hooks, which fitted into iron
 
 LYNCH LAW. 133 
 
 rings, and formed a clumsy substitute for hinges ; a 
 wooden latch and heavy bar served to secure it ; 
 windows, properly speaking, there were none, but in 
 their stead a few holes covered with dirty oiled 
 paper ; the floor was of clay, stamped hard and dry 
 in the middle, but out of which at the sides of the 
 room, a crop of rank grass was growing a foot or 
 more high. In one corner stood a clumsy bedstead, 
 in another stood a sort of bar or counter, on which 
 were half a dozen drinking glasses of various sizes 
 and patterns. The table consisted of four thick 
 posts, firmly planted in the ground, and on which 
 were nailed three boards that had apparently be- 
 longed to some chest or case, for they were partly 
 painted, and there was a date, and the three first 
 letters of a word upon one of them. A shelf fixed 
 against the side of the hut supported an earthern pot 
 or two, and three or four bottles, uncorked, and ap- 
 parently empty; and from some wooden pegs, wedged 
 in between the logs, hung suspended a few articles 
 of wearing apparel of no very cleanly aspect. 
 
 Pacing up and down the hut with a kind of 
 stealthy, cat-like pace, was an individual, whose un- 
 prepossessing exterior was in good keeping with the 
 wretched appearance of this Texan shebeen house,
 
 134: ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 He was an undersized, stooping figure, red-haired 
 and large-mouthed, with small reddish pig's eyes, 
 which he seemed totally unable to raise from the 
 ground, and whose lowering, hang-dog expression 
 corresponded fully with the treacherous, restless, 
 panther-like stealthiness of his step and movements. 
 Without greeting us either by word or look, this per- 
 sonage dived into a dark corner of the tenement, 
 brought out a full bottle, and, placing it and glasses 
 upon the table, resumed the monotonous exercise in 
 which he had been indulging on our entrance. 
 
 My guide and deliverer said nothing while the 
 tavern-keeper was getting out the bottle, although he 
 watched all his movements with a keen and suspicious 
 eye. He now filled a large glass of spirits, and 
 tossed it off at a single draught. "When he had done 
 this, he spoke for the first time. 
 
 "Johnny!" 
 
 Johnny made no answer. 
 
 "This gentleman has eaten nothing for four days." 
 
 "Indeed," replied Johnny, without looking up, or 
 intermitting his sneaking, restless walk from one 
 corner of the room to the other. 
 
 "I said four days, d'ye hear? Four days. Bring 
 him tea immediately, strong tea, then make some
 
 LYNCH LAW. 135 
 
 good beef-soup. I know you have bought some tea 
 and rum and sugar. The tea must be ready directly, 
 the soup in an hour at farthest, d'ye understand? 
 And then I want some whisky for myself, and a 
 beefsteak and potatoes. Now tell all that to your 
 Sambo." 
 
 Johnny did not seem to hear, but continued his 
 walk, creeping along with a noiseless step, and each 
 time that he turned, giving a sort of spring like a 
 cat or panther. 
 
 "I've money, Johnny," said my guide. "Money, 
 man, d'ye hear?" And so saying, he produced a 
 toleraly full purse. 
 
 For the first time Johnny raised his head, gave an 
 indefinable glance at the purse, and then, springing 
 forward, fixed his small, cunning eyes upon those of 
 my guide, while a smile of strange meaning spread 
 over his repulsive features. 
 
 The two men stood for the space of a minute, 
 staring at each other, without uttering a word. An 
 infernal grin distended Johnny's coarse mouth from 
 ear to ear. My guide gasped for breath. 
 
 "I've money," cried he at last, striking the but of 
 his rifle violently on the ground. D'ye understand, 
 Johnny? Money ; and a rifle too, if needs be."
 
 136 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 He stepped to the table and filled another glass of 
 raw spirits which disappeared like the preceding one. 
 While he drank, Johnny stole out of the room so 
 softly that my companion was only made aware of 
 his departure by the noise of the wooden latch. He 
 then came up to me, took me in his arms without 
 saying a word, and carrying me to the bed, laid me 
 gently down upon it. 
 
 "You make yourself at home," snarled Johnny, 
 who just then came in again. 
 
 "Always do that, I reckon, when I'm in a tavern," 
 answered my guide, quietly pouring out and swal- 
 lowing another glassful. " The gentleman shall have 
 your bed to-day. You and your Sambo may sleep in 
 the pig-sty. You have none though, I believe ? " 
 
 " Bob ! " screamed Johnny furiously. 
 
 "That's my name Bob Kock." 
 
 "For the present," hissed Johnny with a sneer. 
 
 " Just as yours is Johnny Down," replied Bob in 
 the same tone. "Pooh! Johnny, guess we know one 
 another?" 
 
 "Rather calkilate we do," replied Johnny through 
 his teeth. 
 
 "And have done many a day," laughed Bob. 
 
 " You 're the famous Bob from Sodoma in Georgia."
 
 LYNCH LAW. 137 
 
 "Sodoma in Alabama, Johnny. Sodoma lies in 
 Alabama," said Bob, filling another glass. " Do n't 
 you know that yet, you who were above a year in 
 Columbus, doin' all sorts of dirty work?" 
 
 " Better hold your tongue, Bob," said Johnny, with 
 a dangerous look at me. 
 
 "Pooh! Don't mind him; he won't talk, I'll an- 
 swer for it. He's lost the taste for chatterin' in the 
 Jacinto prairie. But Sodoma," continued Bob, "is 
 in Alabama, man! Columbus in Georgia! They 
 are parted by the Chatahoochie. Ah ! that was a 
 jolly life on the Chatahoochie. But nothin' lasts in 
 this world, as my old schoolmaster used to say. 
 Pooh! They've druv the Injuns a step further over 
 the Mississippi now. But it was a glorious life 
 warn'tit?" 
 
 Again he filled his glass and drank. 
 
 The information I gathered from this conversation 
 as to the previous life and habits of these two men, 
 had nothing in it very satisfactory or encouraging 
 or me. In the whole of the south-western States 
 there was no place that could boast of being the 
 resort of so many outlaws and bad characters as the 
 town of Sodoma. It is situated, or was situated, at 
 least, a few years previously to the time I speak of,
 
 138 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 in Alabama, on Indian ground, and was the harbor 
 of refuge for all the murderers and outcasts from the 
 western and south-western parts of the Union. There, 
 under Indian government, they found shelter and 
 security ; and frightful were the crimes and cruelties 
 perpetrated at that place. Scarcely a day passed 
 without an assassination, not secretly committed, but 
 in broad sunlight. Bands of these wretches, armed 
 with knives and rifles, used to cross the Chatahoochie, 
 and make inroads into Columbus ; break into houses, 
 rob, murder, ill-treat women, and then return in 
 triumph to their dens, laden with booty, and laughing 
 at the laws. It was useless to think of pursuing 
 them, or of obtaining justice, for they were on Indian 
 territory ; and many of the chiefs were in league 
 with them. At length, General Jackson and the 
 government took it up. The Indians were driven 
 over the Mississippi, the outlaws and murderers fled, 
 Sodoma itself disappeared ; and, released from its 
 troublesome neighbors, Columbus is now as flourish- 
 ing a State as any in the west. 
 
 The recollections of their former life and exploits 
 seemed highly interesting to the two comrades ; and 
 their communications became more and more con- 
 fidential. Johnny filled himself a glass, and the
 
 LYNCH LAW. 139 
 
 conversation soon increased in animation. I could 
 understand a little of what they said, for they spoke 
 a sort of thieves' jargon. After a time, their voices 
 sounded as a confused hum in my ears, the objects 
 ID the room got gradually less distinct, and I fell 
 asleep. 
 
 I was roused, not very gently, by a mulatto woman, 
 who poured a spoonful of tea into my mouth before 
 I had well opened my eyes. She at first did not 
 attend to me with much apparent good-will ; but by 
 the time she had given me half-a-dozen spoonfuls, 
 her womanly sympathies were awakened, and her 
 manner became kinder. The tea did me an infinite 
 deal of good, and infused new life into my veins. 
 I finished the cup, and the mulatto laid me down 
 again on my pillow, with far more gentleness than 
 she had lifted me up. 
 
 "Gor! Gor!" cried she, " what poor young man! 
 Berry weak. Him soon better. One hour, massa, 
 good soup." 
 
 "Soup! What do you want with soup?" grumbled 
 Johnny. 
 
 "Him take soup. I cook it," screamed the woman. 
 
 "Worse for you if she don't, Johnny," eaid Bob; 
 u worse for you, I say."
 
 14:0 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 Johnny muttered something in reply, but I did 
 not distinguish what it was, for my eyes closed, and 
 I again fell asleep. 
 
 It seemed as if I had not been five minutes 
 slumbering when the mulatto returned with the soup. 
 The tea had revived me, but this gave me strength ; 
 and when I had taken it I was able to sit up in the bed. 
 
 While the woman fed me, Bob ate his beef-steak. 
 It was a piece of meat that might have sufficed for 
 six persons, but the man was as hungry as if he had 
 eaten nothing for three days. He cut off wedges 
 half as big as his fist, swallowed them with ravenous 
 eagerness, and, instead of bread, bit into some un- 
 peeled potatoes. All this was washed down with 
 glass after glass of raw spirits, which had the effect 
 of wakening him up, and infusing a certain cheerful 
 ness into his strange humor. He still spoke more to 
 himself than to Johnny, but his recollections seemed 
 agreeable ; he nodded self-approvingly, and sometimes 
 laughed aloud. At last he began to abuse Johnny 
 for being, as he said, such a sneaking, cowardly 
 fellow such a treacherous, false-hearted gallows-bird. 
 
 "It's true," said he, "I am gallows-bird enough 
 myself, but then I'm open, and no man can say I'm 
 afeard ; but Johnny, Johnny, who"
 
 LYNCH LAW. 141 
 
 I do not know what he was about to say, for 
 Johnny sprang toward him, and placed both hands 
 over his mouth, receiving in return a blow that 
 knocked him as far as the door, through which he 
 retreated, cursing and grumbling. 
 
 I soon fell asleep again, and while in that state x 
 had a confused consciousness of various noises in the 
 room, loud words, blows, and shouting. Wearied as 
 I was, however, I believe no noise would have 
 fully roused me, although hunger at last did. 
 
 When I opened my eyes I saw the mulatto woman 
 sitting by my bed, and keeping off the mnsquitoes. 
 She brought me the remainder of the soup, and 
 promised, if I would sleep a couple of hours more, to 
 bring me as good a beef-steak, as ever came off a 
 gridiron. Before the two hours had elapsed 1 awoke, 
 hungrier than ever. After I had eaten all the beef- 
 steak the woman would allow me, which was a very 
 moderate quantity, she brought me a beer-glass full 
 of the most delicious punch I ever tasted. I asked 
 her where she had got the rum and lemons, and she 
 told me that it was she who had bought them, as well 
 as a stock of coffee and tea; that Johnny was her 
 partner, but that he had done nothing but build the 
 house, and badly built it was. She then began to
 
 142 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 abuse Johnny, and said he was a gambler, and worse 
 still; that he had had plenty of money once, but 
 had lost it all ; that she had first known him in 
 Lower Natchez, but he had been obliged to run 
 away from there in the night to save his neck. Bob 
 was no better, she said; on the contrary and here 
 she made the gesture of cutting a man's throat he 
 was a very bad fellow, she added. He had got drunk 
 after his dinner, knocked Johnny down, and broken 
 every thing. He was now lying asleep outside the 
 door ; and Johnny had hidden himself somewhere. 
 
 How long she continued speaking I know not, 
 for I again fell into a deep sleep, which this time 
 lasted six or seven hours. 
 
 I was awakened by a strong grasp laid upon my 
 arm, which made me cry out, more, however, from 
 alarm than pain. Bob stood by my bedside; the 
 traces of the preceding night's debauch plainly 
 written on his haggard, countenance. His blood -shot 
 eyes were inflamed and swollen, and rolled with 
 even more than their usual wild ness ; his month was 
 open, and the jaws were stiff and fixed ; he looked 
 like one fresh from the perpetration of some frightful 
 deed. I could have fancied the first murderer to 
 have worn such an aspect when gazing on the body
 
 LYNCH LAW. 14:3 
 
 of his slaughtered brother. I shrunk back, horror- 
 struck at his appearance. 
 
 "In God's name, man, what do you want?" 
 
 He made no answer. 
 
 "You are in a fever. You've the ague! " 
 
 "Ay, a fever," groaned he, shivering as he spoke; 
 "a fever, but not the one you mean; a fever, young 
 man, such as God keep you from ever having." 
 
 His whole frame shuddered as he uttered these 
 words. There was a short pause. 
 
 " Curious that," continued he ; "I 'vt, served more 
 than one in the same way, but never thought of it 
 afterward was forgotten in less than no time Got 
 to pay the whole score at once, I suppose. Can't 
 rest a minute. In the open prairie it's the worst; 
 there stands the old man, so plain, with his silver 
 beard and the specter just behind him." 
 
 His eyes rolled, he clenched his fists, and striking 
 his forehead furiously, rushed out of the hut. 
 
 In a few minutes he returned, apparently moro 
 
 % 
 composed, and walked straight up to my bed. 
 
 "Stranger, you must do me a service," said he 
 abruptly. 
 
 "Ten rather than one," replied I; "any thing that 
 is in my power. Do I not owe you my life?"
 
 144 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 "You're a gentleman, I see, and a Christian. You 
 must come with me to the squire the Alcalde." 
 
 "To the Alcalde, man? What must I go there for?" 
 
 "You'll see and hear when you get there; I've 
 something to tell him something for his own ear." 
 
 He drew a deep breath, and remained silent for a 
 snort time, gazing anxiously on all sides of him. 
 
 "Something," whispered he, "that nobody else 
 must hear." 
 
 "But there's Johnny there. Why not take him?" 
 
 "Johnny!" cried he, with a scornful laugh 
 w Johnny ! who 's ten times worse than I am, bad as I 
 be ; and bad I am to be sure, but yet open and 
 fcbove board, always, till this time; but Johnny! 
 he 'd sell his own mother. He 's a cowardly, sneakin', 
 treacherous hound, is Johnny." 
 
 It was unnecessary to tell me this, for Johnny's 
 character was written plainly enough upon his 
 countenance. 
 
 "But why do you want me to go to the Alcalde !" 
 
 "Why does one want people before the judge? 
 He's a judge, man; a Mexican one certainly, but 
 chosen by us Americans ; and an American himself, 
 
 as you and I are." 
 
 "And how soon must I go?"
 
 LYNCH LAW. 145 
 
 " Directly. I can't bear it any longer. It leaves 
 me no peace. Not an hour's rest have I had for the 
 last eight days. When I go out into the prairie, the 
 specter stands before me and beckons me on ; and if 
 I try to go another way, he comes behind me and 
 drives me before him under the Patriarch. I see 
 him just as plainly as when he was alive, only paler 
 and sadder. It seems as if I could touch him with 
 my hand. Even the bottle is no use now; neither 
 rum, nor whisky, nor brandy, rid me of him; it 
 don't, by the 'tarnal. Curious that! I got drunk 
 yesterday thought to get rid of him; but he came 
 in the night and drove me out. I was obliged to go. 
 Would n't let me sleep ; was forced to go under the 
 Patriarch." 
 
 "Under the Patriarch? the live oak?" cried I, in 
 astonishment. "Were you there in the night?" 
 
 " Ay, that was I," replied he in the same horribly 
 confidential tone ; " and the spirit threatened me, and 
 aid, says he, '1 will leave you no peace, Bob, till you 
 go to the Alcalde and tell him.'" 
 
 "Then I will go with you to the Alcalde, and that 
 immediately," said I, raising myself up in bed. I could 
 not help pitying the poor fellow from my very soul. 
 
 "Where are you going?" croaked Johnny, who at 
 7
 
 146 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 this moment glided into the room. "Not a step shall 
 you stir till you've paid." 
 
 "Johnny," said Bob, seizing his less powerful com- 
 panion by the shoulders, lifting him up like a child, 
 and then setting him down again with such force, 
 
 
 
 that his knees cracked and bent under him; 
 "Johnny, this gentleman is my guest, d'ye under- 
 stand? And here is the reckonin', and mind yourself, 
 Johnny mind yourself, that's all." 
 
 Johnny crept into a corner like a flogged hound ; 
 the mulatto woman, however, did not seem disposed 
 to be so easily intimidated. Sticking her arms in 
 her sides, she waddled boldly forward. 
 
 "You not take him 'way, Massa Bob?" screamed 
 she. "Him stop here. Him berry weak notable 
 for ride not able for stand on him foot." 
 
 This was true enough. Strong as I had felt in bed, 
 I could hardly stand upright when I got out of it. 
 
 For a moment, Bob seemed undecided, but only 
 for a moment ; then, stepping up to the mulatto, he 
 lifted her, fat .and heavy as she was, in the same 
 manner as he had done her partner, at least a foot 
 from the ground, and carried her screaming and 
 struggling to the door, which he kicked open. Then 
 Betting her down outside, " Silence ! " roared he, " and
 
 LYNCH LAW. 147 
 
 Borne strong tea instead of your cursed chatter, and 
 a fresh beef-steak instead of your stinking carcass. 
 That will strengthen the gentleman; so be quick 
 about it, you old brown-skinned beast, you!" 
 
 I had slept in my clothes, and my toilet was con- 
 sequently soon made, by the help of a bowl of water 
 and a towel, which Bob made Johnny bring, and 
 then ordered him to go and get our horses ready. 
 
 A hearty breakfast of tea, butter, Indian-corn 
 bread, and steaks, increased my strength so much, 
 that I was able to mount my mustang. I had still 
 pains in all my limbs, but we rode slowly ; the 
 morning was bright, the air fresh and elastic, and I 
 felt myself gradually getting better. Our path led 
 through the prairie ; the river, fringed with wood, on 
 the one hand, the vast ocean of grass, sprinkled with 
 innumerable islands of trees, on the other. We saw 
 abundance of game, which sprang up under the very 
 feet of our horses ; but although Bob had his rifle, he 
 made no use of it. He muttered continually to him- 
 self, and seemed to be arranging what he should say 
 to the judge ; for I heard him talking of things which 
 I would just as soon not have listened to, if I could 
 have helped it. I was heartily glad when we at 
 length reached the plantation of the Alcalde.
 
 14:8 ADVENTURES IN TEiAS. 
 
 It seemed a very considerable one, and the size 
 and appearance of the frame-work house bespoke 
 comfort and even luxury. The building was sur- 
 rounded by a group of China trees, which I should 
 have thought about ten years of age, but which I 
 afterward learned had not been planted half that 
 time, although they were already large enough to 
 afford a very agreeable shade. Right in front of the 
 house rose a live oak, inferior in size to the one in 
 the prairie, but still of immense age and great 
 beauty. To the left were some two hundred acres 
 of cotton fields, extending to the bank of the Jacinto, 
 which at this spot made a sharp turn, and winding 
 round the plantation, inclosed it on three sides. 
 Before the house lay the prairie, with its archipelago 
 of islands, and herds of grazing cattle and mus- 
 tangs ; to the right, more cotton fields ; and in rear 
 of the dwelling, the negro cottages and out-buildings. 
 There was a Sabbath-like stillness pervading the 
 whole scene, which seemed to strike even Bob. He 
 paused as though in deep thought, and allowed his 
 hand to rest for a moment on the handle of the 
 lattice door. Then, with a sudden and resolute jerk, 
 bespeaking an equally energetic resolve, he pushed 
 open the gate, and we entered a garden planted with
 
 LYNCH LAW. 149 
 
 orange, banana, and citron trees, the path through 
 which was inclosed between palisades, and led to a 
 sort of front court, with another lattice-work door, 
 beside which hung a bell. Upon ringing this, a 
 negro appeared. 
 
 The black seemed to know Bob very well, for he 
 nodded to him as to an old acquaintance, and said 
 the squire wanted him, and asked after him several 
 times. He then led the way to a large parlor, very 
 handsomely furnished for Texas, and in which we 
 found the squire, or more properly speaking, the 
 Alcalde, sitting smoking his cigar. He had just 
 breakfasted, and the plates and dishes were still upon 
 the table. He did not appear to be much given to 
 compliments or ceremony, or to partake at all of 
 the Yankee failing of curiosity, for he answered 
 our salutation with a laconic "good-morning," and 
 scarcely even looked at us. At the very first glance, 
 it was easy to see that he came from Tennessee or 
 Virginia, the only provinces in which one finds men 
 of his gigantic mould. Even sitting, his head rose 
 above those of the negro servants in waiting. Nor 
 was his height alone remarkable ; he had the true 
 West- Virginian build ; the enormous chest and shoul- 
 ders, and herculean limbs, the massive features and
 
 150 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 sharp gray eyes ; altogether an exterior well calcu- 
 lated to impose on the rough backwoodsmen with 
 whom he had to deal. 
 
 I was tired with my ride, and took a chair. The 
 squire apparently did not deem me worthy of notice, 
 or else reserved me for a later scrutiny ; but he fixed 
 a long, searching look upon Bob, who remained 
 standing, with his head sunk on his breast. 
 
 The judge at last broke silence. 
 
 "So here you are again, Bob. It's long since 
 we've seen you, and I thought you had clean for- 
 gotten us. Well, Bob, we should n't have broke our 
 hearts, I reckon; for I hate gamblers ay, that I 
 do worse than skunks. It's a vile thing is play, 
 and has ruined many a man, both in this world and 
 the next. It's ruined you too, Bob." 
 
 Bob said nothing. 
 
 "You'd have been mighty useful here last week; 
 there was plenty for you to do. My step-daughter 
 arrived ; but as you were n't to be found, we had to 
 send to Joel to shoot us a buck and a few snipes. 
 Ah, Bob ! one might still make a good citizen of you, 
 if you 'd only leave off that cursed play ! " 
 
 Bob still remained silent. 
 
 " Now go into the kitchen and get some breakfast."
 
 LYNCH LAW. 151 
 
 Bob neither answered nor moved. 
 
 "D'ye hear? Go into the kitchen and get some- 
 thing to 9.t And, Ptoly" added he to the ne- 
 gro "tell Veny to give him a pint of ram." 
 
 "Don't want yer ram aint thirsty" growled 
 Bob. 
 
 "Very like, very like," said the judge sharply. 
 "Reckon you've taken too much already. Look as 
 if you could swallow a wild-cat alive. And you," 
 added he, turning to me "Ptoly, what the devil 
 are you at? Do n't you see the man wants his break- 
 fast? Where's the coffee? Or would you rather 
 have tea?" 
 
 "Thank you, Alcalde, I have breakfasted already." 
 
 "Do n't look as if. Ain't sick, are you? "Where 
 do you come from ? "What 's happened to you ? Ain't 
 got the ague, have you ? "What are you doing with 
 Bob?" 
 
 He looked keenly and searchingly at me, and then 
 again at Bob. My appearance was certainly not very 
 prepossessing, unshaven as I was, and with my 
 clothes and linen soiled and torn. He was evidently 
 considering what could be the motive ot our visit, 
 and what had brought me into Bob's society. The 
 result of his physiognomical observations did not
 
 152 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 appear very favorable either to me or my companion. 
 I hastened to explain. 
 
 "You shall hear how it was, judge. 1 a,m indebted 
 to Bob for my life." 
 
 " Tour life ! Indebted to Bob for your life ! " re- 
 peated the judge, shaking his head incredulously. 
 
 I related now I had lost my way in the prairie ; 
 had been carried into the Jacinto by my horse ; and 
 how I should inevitably have been drowned but for 
 Bob's aid. 
 
 "Indeed!" said the judge, when I had done speak- 
 ing. So Bob saved your life ! Is that true, Bob ? 
 Well, I am glad of it, Bob very glad of it. Ah! 
 if you could only keep away from that Johnny. I 
 tell you, Bob, Johnny will be the ruin of you. 
 Better keep out of his way." 
 
 This was spoken gravely and earnestly, the speaker 
 pausing between the sentences to take a pull at his 
 cigar, and a sup out of his glass. 
 
 " Yes, Bob," he repeated ; " only keep away from 
 Johnny ! " 
 
 "It's too late," answered Bob. 
 "Do n't know why it should be. Never too late to 
 leave a debauched, sinful life ; never, man ! " 
 
 " Galkilate it is, though," replied Bob, sullenly.
 
 LYNCH LAW. 153 
 
 "You calculate it is?" said the judge fixing his 
 eyes upon him. "And why do you calculate that? 
 Take a glass Ptoly, a glass and tell me, man, 
 why should it be too late?" 
 
 "I ain't thirsty, squire," said Bob. 
 
 "Do n't talk to me of your thirst ; rum J s not for 
 thirst, but to strengthen the heart and nerves, to 
 drive away the blue-devils. And a good thing it is, 
 taken in moderation." 
 
 As he spoke he tilled himself a glass, and drank 
 half of it otf. Bob shook his head. 
 
 "No rum for me, squire. I take no pleasure in 
 it. J 've something on my mind .too heavy for rum 
 to wash away." 
 
 "And what is that, Bob? Come, let's hear what 
 you 've got to say. Or, perhaps, you 'd rather speak 
 to me alone. It's Sunday to-day, and no business 
 ought to be done ; but for once, and for you, we'll 
 make an exception." 
 
 "J brought the gentleman with me on purpose to 
 witness what I had to say," answered Bob, taking 
 a cigar out of the box that stood on the table. 
 Although the judge had not asked him to take 
 one, he very quietly offered him a light. Bob 
 
 smoked a whiff or two, looked thoughtfully at the 
 7*
 
 154 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 judge, and then threw the cigar through the open 
 window. 
 
 "It don't relish, squire ; nothin' does now." 
 
 "Ah, Bob! if you'd leave off play and drink! 
 They 're your ruin ; worse than the ague or fever." 
 
 "It's no use," continued Bob, as if he did not hear 
 the judge's remark ; it must out. I fo't agin it, 
 and thought to drive it away, but it can't be done. 
 I 've put a bit of lead into several before now, but 
 this one" 
 
 "What's that?" cried the judge, chucking his 
 cigar away, and looking sternly at Bob. "What's 
 up now? What are you saying about a bit of lead? 
 None of your Sodom a and Lower Natchez tricks, I 
 hope? They won't do here. Don't understand such 
 jokes." , 
 
 "Pooh! they don't understand them a bit more in 
 Natchez. If they did, I shouldn't be in Texas." 
 
 "The less said of that the better, Bob. You prom- 
 ised to lead a new life here ; so we won't rake up old 
 stories." 
 
 "I did, I did!" groaned Bob; "and I meant it 
 too ; but it 's all no use. I shall never be better till 
 I 'm hung." 
 
 I stared at the man in astonishment. The judge,
 
 LYNCH LAW. 155 
 
 however, took another cigar, lighted it, and, after 
 puffing out a cloud of smoke, said, very uncon- 
 cernedly 
 
 "Not better till you're hung! What do you want 
 to be hung for? To be sure, you should have been 
 long ago, if the Georgia and Alabama papers don't 
 lie. But we are not in the States here, but in Texas, 
 under Mexican laws. It's nothing to us what you've 
 done yonder. Where there is no accuser there can 
 be no judge." 
 
 "Send away the nigger, squire," said Bob. "What 
 a free white man has to say, shouldn't be heard by 
 black ears." 
 
 "Go away, Ptoly," said the judge. "Now then," 
 added he, turning to Bob, "say what you have to 
 say ; but mind, nobody forces you to do it, and it's 
 only out of good-will that I listen to you, for to-day 's 
 Sunday." 
 
 "I know that," muttered Bob; "I know that, 
 
 but it leaves me no peace, and it must out. I've 
 i 
 
 been to San Felipe de Austin, to Anahuac, every- 
 where, but it's all no use. Wherever I go the specter 
 follows me, and drives me back under the cursed 
 Patriarch." 
 
 "Under the Patriarch!" exclaimed the judge.
 
 156 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 " Ay, under the Patriarch ! " groaned Bob. " Do n't 
 you know the Patriarch ; the old live oak near the 
 ford, on the Jacinto ? " 
 
 "I know, I know!" answered the judge. "And 
 what drives you under the Patriarch?" 
 
 ""What drives me? What drives a man who 
 who" 
 
 "A man who" repeated the judge, gently. 
 
 "A man," continued Bob, in the same low tone, 
 " who has sent a rifle bullet into another's heart. He 
 lies there, under the Patriarch, whom I" 
 
 "Whom you?" asked the judge. 
 
 " Whom I killed!" said Bob, in a hollow whisper. 
 
 " Killed 1 " exclaimed the judge. " You killed him ? 
 Who?" 
 
 "Ah! who? Why do n't you let me speak? You 
 always interrupt me with your palaver," growled Bob. 
 
 "You are getting saucy, Bob," said the judge im- 
 patiently. "Go on, however. I reckon it's only one 
 of your usual tantrums." 
 
 Bob shook his head. The judge looked keenly at 
 nim for a moment, and then resumed in a sort of 
 confidential, encouraging tone. 
 
 " Under the Patriarch ; and how did he come 
 under the Patriarch?"
 
 LYNCH LAW. 157 
 
 "I dragged him there, and buried him there," 
 replied Bob. 
 
 "Dragged him there! Why did you drag him 
 there?" 
 
 "Because he couldn't go himself, with more than 
 half an ounce of lead in his body." 
 
 "And you put the half ounce of lead into him, 
 Bob? Well, if it was Johnny, you've done the 
 country a service, and saved it a rope." 
 
 Bob shook his head negatively. 
 
 "It wasn't Johnny, although But you shall 
 
 hear all about it. It's just ten days since you paid 
 me twenty dollars fifty." 
 
 "I did so, Bob; twenty dollars fifty cents; and I 
 advised you at the same time to let the money lie till 
 you had a couple of hundred dollars, or enougli to 
 buy a quarter or an eighth of Sitio land ; but advice 
 is thrown away upon you." 
 
 "When I got the money, I thought I'd go down 
 to San Felipe, to the Mexicans, and try my luck, and, 
 at the same time, to see the doctor about my fever. 
 As I was goin' there, I passed near Johnny's house, 
 and fancied a glass, but determined not to get off my 
 horse. I rode up to the window, and looked in. 
 There was a man sittin' at the table, havin' a hearty
 
 158 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 good dinner of steaks and potatoes, and washin' it 
 down with a stiff glass of grog. I began to feel 
 hungry myself, and while I was considerin' whether 
 I should 'light or not, Johnny came sneakin' out, and 
 whispered to me to come in, that there was a man 
 inside with whom somethin' might be done if we 
 went the right way to work ; a man who had a 
 leather belt round his waist cram-full of hard Jack- 
 son ; and that if we got out the cards and pretended 
 to play a little together, he would soon take the bait 
 and join us. 
 
 "I wasn't much inclined," continued Bob; "but 
 Johnny bothered me so to go in, that I got off my 
 horse. As I did so, the dollars chinked in my 
 pocket, and the sound was like the devil's voice 
 'ticing me to play. 
 
 "I went in; and Johnny fetched me the whisky 
 bottle. One glass followed another. There were 
 beefsteaks and potatoes too, but I only eat a couple 
 of mouthfuls. When I had drank two, three, ay, four 
 glasses. Johnny brought the cards and dice. 'Hallo, 
 Johnny!' says I; 'cards and dice, Johnny! I've 
 twenty dollars fifty in my pocket. Let's have a 
 game! But no more drink for me; for I know you, 
 Johnny, I know you'
 
 LYNCH LAW. 159 
 
 "Johnny larfed slyly, and rattled the dice, and 
 we sat down to play. I had n't meant to drink any 
 more, but play makes one thirsty ; and with every 
 glass 1 got more eager, and my dollars got fewer. I 
 reckoned, however, that the stranger would join us, 
 and that I should be able to win back from him ; but 
 not a bit of it : he sat quite quiet, and ate and drank 
 as if he did n't see we were there. I went on playin' 
 madder than ever, and before half an hour was over, I 
 was cleaned out ; my twenty dollars fifty gone to the 
 devil, or what's the same thing, into Johnny's pocket. 
 
 "When I found myself without a cent, I was mad. 
 I reckon. It warn't the first time, nor the hundredth, 
 that I had lost money. Many bigger sums than 
 that ay, hundreds and thousands of dollars had 1 
 played away but they had none of them cost me 
 the hundredth or thousandth part of the trouble to 
 get that these twenty dollars fifty had ; two full 
 months had I been slavin' away in the woods and 
 prairies to airn them, and caught the fever there. 
 The fever I had still, but no money to cure it with. 
 Johnny only larfed in ray face, and rattled my dol- 
 lars. I made a hit at him, which, if he hadn't 
 jumped on one side, would have cured him of la*fiu' 
 for a week or two.
 
 160 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 1 "Presently, however, he came sneakin' up to me 
 and winkin, and whisperin'; and, 'Bob!' says he, 
 'is it come to that with you? are you grown so 
 chicken-hearted that you don't see the beltful of 
 money round his body?' said he, lookin' at it. 'JSTo 
 end of hard coin, I guess; and all to be had for 
 little more than half an ounce of lead.' " 
 
 "Did he say that?" asked the judge. 
 
 "Ay, that did he, but I wouldn't listen to him. I 
 was mad with him for winning my twenty dollars ; and 
 I told him that, if he wanted the stranger's purse, he 
 
 might take it himself, an<J be d d ; that I was n't 
 
 goin' to pull the hot chestnuts out of the fire for him. 
 And I got on my horse, and rode away likft mad. 
 
 " My head spun round like a mill. I could A't get 
 over my loss. I took the twenty dollars fifty more to 
 heart than any money I had ever gambled. I did n't 
 know where to go. I did n't dare go back to yon, for 
 I knew you would scold me." 
 
 "I shouldn't have scolded you, Bob; or, if I had, 
 it would only have been for your good. I shonld 
 have summoned Johnny before me, called together a 
 jury of twelve of the neighbors, got you back your 
 twenty dollars fifty, and sent Johnny out of the 
 country ; or, better still, out of the world."
 
 LYNCH LAW. 161 
 
 These words were spoken with much phlegm, but 
 yet with a degree of feeling and sympathy whicn 
 greatly improved my opinion of the worthy judge. 
 Bob also seemed touched. He drew a deep sigh, and 
 gazed at the Alcalde with a melancholy look. 
 
 "It's too late," muttered he; "too late, squire." 
 
 "Perhaps not," replied the judge; but let's hear 
 the rest." 
 
 "Well," continued Bob, "I kept ridin' on at ran- 
 dom, and when evenin' came I found myself near the 
 palmetto field on the bank of the Jacinto. As I was 
 ridin' past it, I heard all at once a tramp of a horse. 
 At that moment the queerest feelin' I ever had came 
 over me ; a sort of cold shiverin' feel. I forgot where 
 I was ; sight and hearin' left me ; I could only see 
 two things, my twenty dollars fifty, and the well-filled 
 belt of the stranger I had left at Johnny's. Just 
 then a voice called to me. 
 
 "'Whence come, countryman, and whither going?' 
 it said. 
 
 " ' Whence and whither,' answered I, as surly as 
 could be; 'to the devil at a gallop, and you'd better 
 ride on and tell tim I'm cominV 
 
 444 You can do the errand yourself,' answered the 
 stranger, larfin'; 'my road don't lie that way.'
 
 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 " As he spoke, I looked round, and saw, what I was 
 pretty sure of before, that it was the man with the 
 belt full of money. 
 
 "'Ain't you the stranger I see'd in the inn yonder?' 
 asked he. 
 
 "'And if I am,' says I, 'what's that to you?' 
 
 " ' Nothin',' said he ; ' nothin', certainly.' 
 
 "'Better ride on,' says I, 'and leave me quiet.' 
 
 "'Will so, stranger; but you needn't take it so 
 mighty onkind. A word ain't a tomahawk, I reckon,' 
 said he. 'But I rayther expect your losin's at play 
 ain't put you in a very church-goin' humor ; and, if 
 I was you, I'd keep my dollars in my pocket, and 
 not set them on cards and dice.' 
 
 "It riled me to hear him cast my losin's in my 
 teeth that way. 
 
 "'You're a nice feller, said I, 'to throw a 
 man's losses in his face. A pitiful chap you are,' 
 says I. 
 
 "I thought to provoke him, and that he'd tackle 
 me. But he seemed tc have no fancy for a fight, for 
 he said, quite humble like 
 
 " ' I throw nothin' in your face ; God forbid I should 
 reproach you with your losses! I'm sorry for you, 
 on the contrary. Don't look like a man who can
 
 LYNCH LAW. 163 
 
 afford to lose his dollars. Seem to me one who 
 aims his money by hard work.' 
 
 " We were just then halted at the further end of 
 the cane-brake, close to the trees that border the 
 Jacinto. I had turned my horse, and was frontin' 
 the stranger. And all the time the devil was busy 
 whisperin' to me, and pointin' to the belt round the 
 man's waist. I could see where it was plain enough, 
 though he had buttoned his coat over it. 
 
 "'Hard work, indeed,' says I; 'and now I've lost 
 every thing ; not a cent left for a quid of baccy.' 
 
 '"If that's all,' says he, 'there's help for that. I 
 don't chew myself, and I ain't a rich man ; I've wife 
 and children, and want every cent I've got, but its 
 one's duty to help a countryman. You shall have 
 money for tobacco and a dram.' 
 
 " And so sayin', he took a purse out of his pocket, 
 in which he carried his change. It was pretty full ; 
 there may have been some twenty dollars in it ; and 
 as he drew the string, it was as if the devil laughed 
 and nodded to me out of the openin' of the pui'se. 
 
 "'Halves!' cried I. 
 
 "'No, not that,' says he; 'I've wife and child, and 
 what I have belongs to them ; but half a dollar ' 
 
 "'Halves!' cried I again, 'or else '
 
 164: ADVENTURES DH TEXAS. 
 
 "'Or else?' repeated he; and as he spoke, he put 
 the purse back into his pocket, and laid hold of the 
 rifle which was slung on his shoulder. 
 
 "'Don't force me to do you a mischief,' said he, 
 ' Do n't,' says he ; 'we might both be sorry for it. 
 What you're thinkin' of brings no blessin'.' 
 
 "I was past seein' or hearin'. A thousand deviis 
 from, hell possessed me. 
 
 "'Halves!' I screeched out; and, as I said the 
 word, he sprang out of the saddle, and fell back over 
 his norse's crupper to the ground. 
 
 "'I'm a dead man!' cried he, as well as the rattle 
 in his throat would let him. 'God be merciful to 
 me! My poor wife, my poor children!'" 
 
 Bob paused ; he gasped for breath, and the sweat 
 stood in large drops upon his forehead. He gazed 
 wildly round the* room. The judge himself looked 
 very pale. I tried to rise, but sank back in my chair. 
 Without the table, I believe I should have fallen to 
 the ground. 
 
 There was a gloomy pause of some moments' 
 duration. At last the judge broke silence. 
 
 "A hard, hard case!" said he. "Father, mother, 
 children, all at one blow. Bob, you are a bad fellow ; 
 a very bad fellow ; a great villain ! n
 
 LYNCH LAW. 165 
 
 "A great villain," groaned Bob. "The ball was 
 gone right through his breast." 
 
 "Perhaps your gun went off" by accident," said the 
 judge, anxiously. "Perhaps it was his own ball." 
 
 Bob shook his head. 
 
 "I can see him now, judge, as plain as can be, 
 when he said, 'Don't force me to do you a mischief; 
 we might both be sorry for it.' But I pulled the 
 trigger. His bullet is still in his rifle. 
 
 " When I saw him lie dead before me, I can't tell 
 you what I felt. It warn't the first I had sent to his 
 account; but yet I would have given all the purses 
 and money in the world to have had him alive agin. 
 I must have dragged him under the Patriarch, and 
 dug a grave with my huntin'-knife, for 1 found him 
 there afterward." 
 
 "You found him there?" repeated the judge. 
 
 "Yes. I don't know how he came there. I must 
 have brought him, but I recollect nothin' about it." 
 
 The judge had risen from his chair, and was 
 walking up and down the room, apparently in deep 
 thought. Suddenly he stopped short. 
 "What have you done with his money?" 
 "I took his purse, but buried his belt with him, as 
 well as a flask of rum. and some bread and beef he
 
 166 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 had brought away from Johnny's. I set out for San 
 Felipe, and rode the whole day. In the eveniii', 
 when I looked about me, expectin' to see the town, 
 where do you think I was?" 
 
 The judge and I stared at him. 
 
 "Under the Patriarch. The ghost of the murdered 
 man had driven me there. I had no peace till I'd 
 dug him up and buried him agin. ]SText day I set 
 off in another direction. I was out of tobacco, and 
 I started across the prairie to Anahuac. Lord, what 
 a day I passed ! Wherever I went, he stood before 
 me. If I turned, he turned too. Sometimes he came 
 behind me, and looked over my shoulder. I spurred 
 my mustang till the blood came, hopin' to get away 
 from him, but it was all no use. I thought when I 
 got to Anahuac I should be quit of him, and I gal- 
 loped on for life or death. But in the evenin', instead 
 of being close to the salt-works as I expected, there 
 was I agin, under the Patriarch. I dug him up a 
 second time, and sat and stared at him, and then 
 buried him again." 
 
 "Queer that," observed the judge. 
 
 "Ay, very queer!" said Bob, mournfully. "But 
 it's all no use. Nothin' does me any good. I shan't 
 be better I shall never have peace till I'm hung."
 
 LYNCH LAW. 167 
 
 Bob evidently felt relieved now; he had in a 
 manner passed sentence on himself. Strange as it 
 may appear, I had a similar feeling, and could not 
 help nodding my head approvingly. The judge alone 
 preserved an unmoved countenance. 
 
 "Indeed!" said he: "ijideed! You think you'll 
 be no better till you're hung?" 
 
 ." Yes," answered Bob, with eager haste. " Hung 
 on the same tree under which he lies buried." 
 
 "Well, if you will have it so, we'll see what can 
 be done for you. We'll call a jury of the neighbors 
 together to-morrow." 
 
 "Thank ye, squire," murmured Bob, visibly com 
 forted by this promise. 
 
 l<: We '11 summon a jury," repeated the Alcalde, 
 " and see what can be done for you. You '11 perhaps 
 have changed your mind by that time." 
 
 I stared at him like one fallen from the clouds, but 
 he did not seem to notice my surprise. 
 
 "There is, perhaps, some other way to get rid of 
 your life, if you are tired of it," he continued. 
 "We might hit upon one that would satisfy your 
 conscience." 
 
 Bob shook his head. I involuntarily made the 
 aame movement.
 
 168 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 "At any rate, we'll hear what the neighbors say," 
 added the judge. 
 
 Bob stepped up to the judge, and held out his hand 
 to bid him farewell. The other did not take it, and 
 turning to me, said, " You had better stop here, 1 
 think." 
 
 Bob turned round impetuously. 
 
 "The gentleman must come with me." 
 
 " Why must he?" said the judge. 
 
 "Ask himself." 
 
 I again explained the obligations I was under 
 to Bob, how we had fallen in with one another, 
 and what care and attention he had shown me at 
 Johnny's. 
 
 The judge nodded approvingly. "Nevertheless," 
 said he, "you will remain here, and Bob go alone. 
 You are in a state of mind, Bob, in which a man is 
 better alone, d'ye see ; and so leave the young man 
 here. Another misfortune might happen ; and, at 
 any rate, he's better here than at Johnny's. Como 
 back to-morrow, and we'll see what can be done 
 for you." 
 
 These words were spoken in a decided manner, 
 which seemed to have its effect upon Bob. He 
 nodded assentingly, and left the room. 1 remained
 
 LYNCH LAW. 169 
 
 staring at the judge, and lost in wonder at these 
 strange proceedings. 
 
 When Bob was gone, the Alcalde gave a blast on 
 a shell, which supplied the place of a bell. Then 
 seizing the cigar-box, he tried one cigar after another, 
 broke them peevishly up, and threw the pieces out 
 of the window. The negro, whom the bell had 
 summoned, stood for some time waiting, while his 
 master broke up the cigars and threw them away. 
 At last the judge's patience seemed quite to leave 
 him. 
 
 "Hark ye, Ptoly!" growled he to the frightened 
 black, "the next time you bring me cigars that 
 neither draw nor smoke, I '11 make your back smoke 
 for it. Mind that now. There 's not a single one of 
 them worth a rotten maize-stalk. Tell that old 
 coffee-colored hag of Johnny's, that I'll have no 
 more of her cigars. Ride over to Mr. Ducie's and 
 fetch a box. And d'ye hear? tell him I want to 
 speak a word with him and the neighbors. Ask him 
 to bring the neighbors with him to-morrow morning. 
 And mind you 're home again by two o'clock. Take 
 the mustang we caught last week. I want to see 
 how he goes." 
 
 The negro listened to these various commands with 
 8
 
 170 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 open mouth and staring eyes, then, giving a per- 
 plexed look at his master, shot out of the room. 
 
 "Whither away, Ptoly?" shouted the Alcalde 
 after him. 
 
 "To Massa Ducie." 
 
 " "Without a pass, Ptoly ? And what are you going 
 to say to Mr. Ducie ? " 
 
 "Him nebber send bad cigar again, him coffee- 
 cullud hag. Massa speak to Johnny and neighbors. 
 Johnny bring neighbors here." 
 
 "I thought as much," said the judge, with perfect 
 equanimity. "Wait a minute; I '11 write the pass, 
 and a couple of lines for Mr. Ducie." 
 
 This was soon done, and the negro dispatched on 
 his errand. The judge waited till he heard the sound 
 of the horse's feet galloping away, and then, laying 
 hold of the box of despised cigars, lit the first which 
 came to hand. It smoked capitally, as did also one 
 that I took. They were Principes, and as good as I 
 ever tasted. 
 
 I passed the whole of that day alone with the 
 judge, who, I soon found, knew various friends of 
 mine in the States. I told him the circumstances 
 under which I had come to Texas, and the intention 
 I had of settling there, should I find the country to
 
 LYNCH LAW. 171 
 
 tojr iikiiig. During our long conversation, I was able 
 to form a very different, and much more favorable, 
 estimate of his character, than I had done from his 
 interview with Bob. He was the very man to be 
 useful to a new country; of great energy, sound 
 judgment, enlarged and liberal views. He gave me 
 some curious information as to the state of things in 
 Texas ; and did not think it necessary to conceal 
 from me, as an American, and one who intended 
 settling in the country, that there was a plan in 
 agitation for throwing off the Mexican yoke, and 
 declaring Texas an independent republic. The high- 
 spirited, and, for the most part, intelligent emigrants 
 from the United States, who formed a very .large 
 majority of the population of Texas, saw themselves, 
 with no very patient feeling, under the rule of a 
 people both morally and physically inferior to them- 
 selves. They looked with contempt, and justly so, 
 on the bigoted, idle, and ignorant Mexicans, while 
 the difference of religion, and the interference of the 
 priests, served to increase the dislike between the 
 Spanish and Anglo-American races. 
 
 Although the project was not yet quite ripe for 
 execution, it was discussed freely and openly by the 
 American settlers. "It is the interest of every man
 
 172 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 to keep it secret," said the judge; "and there can 
 be nothing to induce even the worst among us to 
 betray a cause, by the success of which he is sure 
 to profit. We have many bad characters in Texas, 
 the offscourings of the United States men like 
 Bob, or far worse than he ; but debauched, gambling, 
 drunken villains though they be, they are the men 
 we want when it comes to a struggle ; and when that 
 time arrives, they will all be found ready to put 
 their shoulders to the wheel, use knife and rifle, and 
 shed the last drop of their blood in defense of their 
 fellow-citizens, and of the new and independent re- 
 public of Texas. At this moment we must wink at 
 manjs things which would be severely punished in an 
 older and more settled country ; each man's arm is 
 of immense value to the State; for on the day of 
 battle we shall have, not two to one, but twenty to 
 one opposed to us." 
 
 I was awakened the following morning by the sound 
 of a horse's feet ; and looking out of the window, 
 saw Bob dismounting from his mustang. The last 
 twenty-four hours had told fearfully upon him. His 
 limbs seemed powerless, and he reeled and staggered 
 in such a manner that I at first thought him intoxi- 
 cated. But such was not the case. His was the
 
 LYNCH LAW. 173 
 
 deadly weariness caused by mental anguish. Ho 
 looked like one just taken off the rack. 
 
 Hastily putting on my clothes, I hurried down 
 stairs and opened the house door. Bob stood with 
 his head resting on his horse's neck, and his hand 
 crossed, shivering and groaning. When I spoke to 
 him, he looked up, but did not seem to know me. 1 
 tied his horse to a post, and taking his hand, led him 
 into the house. He followed like a child, apparently 
 without the will or power to resist ; and when I 
 placed him a chair, he fell into it with a weight 
 that made it crack under him, and shook the 
 house. I could not get him to speak, and was about 
 to return to my room to complete my toilet, when 
 I again heard the tramp of mustangs. This was 
 a party of half-a-dozen horsemen, all dressed in 
 hunting shirts over buckskin breeches and jackets, 
 and armed with rifles and bowie-knives ; stout, 
 daring looking fellows, evidently from the south- 
 western states, with the true Kentucky half-horse 
 half-alligator profile, and the usual allowance of 
 thunder, lightning, and earthquake. It struck me, 
 when I saw them, that two or three thousand such 
 men would have small difficulty in dealing with a 
 whole army of Mexicans, if the latter were all of the
 
 174 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 pigmy, spindle-shanked breed I had seen on first 
 landing. These giants could easily have walked 
 away with a Mexican in each hand. 
 
 They jumped off their horses, and threw the bridles 
 to the negroes in the usual Kentuckian devil-may-care 
 style, and then walked into the house with the air 
 of people who make themselves at home everywhere, 
 and who know themselves to be more masters in 
 Texas than the Mexicans themselves. On entering 
 the parlor, they nodded a "good-morning" to me, 
 rather coldly to be sure, for they had seen me talking 
 with Bob, which probably did not much recommend 
 me. Presently, four more horsemen rode up, and 
 then a third party, so that there were now fourteen 
 of them assembled, all decided-looking men, in the 
 prime of life and strength. The judge, who slept 
 in an adjoining room, had been awakened by the 
 noise. I heard him jump out of bed, and not three 
 minutes elapsed before he entered the parlor. 
 
 After he had shaken hands with all his visitors, he 
 presented me to them, and I found that I was in the 
 presence of no less important persons than the Ayun- 
 tamiento of San Felipe de Austin ; and that two of 
 my worthy countrymen were corregidors, one a 
 procurador, and the others huenoa horribres^ or
 
 LYNCH LAW. 175 
 
 freeholders. They did not seem, however, to prize 
 their titles much, for they addressed one another by 
 their surnames only. 
 
 Tne negro brought a light, opened the cigar-box, 
 and arranged the chairs; the judge pointed to the 
 sideboard and to the cigars, and then sat down. 
 Some took a dram, others lit a cigar. 
 
 Several minutes elapsed, during which the men 
 sat in perfect silence, as if they were collecting their 
 thoughts, or as though it was undignified to show 
 any haste or impatience to speak. This grave sort 
 of deliberation, which is met with among certain 
 classes, and in certain provinces of the Union, has 
 often struck me as a curious feature of our national 
 character. It partakes of the stoical dignity of the 
 Indian at his council fire, and the stern religious 
 gravity of the early Puritan settlers in America. 
 
 During this pause Bob was writhing on his chair 
 like a worm, his face concealed by his hands, his 
 elbows on his knees. At last, when all had drunk 
 and smoked, the judge laid down his cigar. 
 
 "Men! "said he. 
 
 " Squire ! " answered they. 
 
 "We've a business before us, which I calculate will 
 be best explained by him whom it concerns.**
 
 376 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 The men looked at the Squire, then at Bob, then 
 at me. 
 
 "Bob Rock! or whatever your name may be, 
 if you have aught to say, say it!" continued the 
 judge. 
 
 "Said it all yesterday," muttered Bob, his face still 
 covered by his hands. 
 
 "Yes, but you must say it again to-day. Tester- 
 day was Sunday, and Sunday is a day of rest, and 
 not of business. I will neither judge you, nor allow 
 you to be judged, by what you said yesterday. 
 Besides, it was all between ourselves, for I don't 
 reckon Mr. Morse as any thing ; I count him still as 
 a stranger. 
 
 "What's the use of so much palaver, when the 
 thing's plain enough?" said Bob peevishly, raising 
 his head as he spoke. 
 
 The men stared at him in grave astonishment. He 
 was really frightful to behold ; his face of a sort of 
 blue tint; his cheeks hollow; his beard wild and 
 ragged ; his blood-shot eyes rolling and deep sunk in 
 their sockets. His appearance was scarcely human. 
 
 "I tell you again," said the judge, "I will condemn 
 no man upon his one word alone; much less you, 
 who have been in my service, and eaten of my bread.
 
 LYNCH LAW. 177 
 
 Fou accu d yourself yesterday, but you were" de- 
 lirious at the time you had the fever upon you '' 
 
 " It 's no use, Squire," said Bob, apparently touched 
 by the kindness of the judge. " You mean well, ] 
 see ; but though you might deliver me out of men'a 
 hands, you could n't rescue me from myself. It 's no 
 use I must be hung hung on the same tree under 
 which the man I killed lies buried." 
 
 The men, or the jurors, as I may call them, looked 
 at one another, but said nothing. 
 
 "It's no use," again cried Bob, in a shrill, agonizing 
 tone. "If he had attacked me, or only threatened 
 me; but no, he didn't do it. I hear his words still, 
 when he said, ' do it not man ! I Ve a wife and child. 
 What you intend brings no blessin' on the doer.' 
 But I heard nothin' then except the voice of the 
 devil ; I brought the rifle down leveled fired " 
 
 The man's agony was so intense that even the iron- 
 featured jury seemed moved by it. They cast sharp 
 but stolen glances at Bob. There was a short silence. 
 
 "So you have killed a man?" said a deep bass 
 voice at last. 
 
 " Ay, that have I ! " gasped Bob. 
 
 "And how came that? "continued his questioner. 
 
 "How it came? You must asu: the devil, or 
 
 8*
 
 178 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 Johnny. No, not Johnny, he can tell you nothing , 
 he was not there. No one can tell you but ine ; and 
 "I hardly know how it was. The man was at Johnny's, 
 and Johnny showed me his belt full of money." 
 
 " Johnny ! " exclaimed several of the jury. 
 
 " Ay, Johnny ! He reckoned on winning it from 
 him, but the man was too cautious for that ; and when 
 Johnny had plucked all my feathers, won my twenty 
 dollars fifty " 
 
 "Twenty dollars fifty cents," interposed the judge, 
 " which I paid him for catching mustangs and shoot- 
 ing game." 
 
 The men nodded. 
 
 "And then, because he wouldn't play, you shot 
 him?" asked the same deep-toned voice as before. 
 
 "No some hours after by the Jacinto, near 
 the Patriarch met him down there and killed 
 him." 
 
 " Thought there was something out o' the common 
 thereaway," said one of the jury ; "for as we rode by 
 the tree a whole nation of kites and turkey buzzards 
 flew out. Did n't they, Mr. Heart ? " 
 
 Mr. Heart nodded. 
 
 "Met him by the river, and wanted halves of his 
 money," continued Bob, mechanically. " He said
 
 LYNCH LAW. 179 
 
 he d give me something to buy a quid, and more 
 than enough for that, but not halves. 'I've wife and 
 child,' said he " 
 
 "And you?" asked the juror with the deep voice, 
 which, at this time, had a hollow sound in it. 
 
 "Shot him down," said Bob, with a wild, hoarse 
 laugh. 
 
 There was a dead silence of some duration. The 
 jury sat with eyes fixed upon the ground. 
 
 "And who was the man?" said a juror at last. 
 
 " Did n't ask him ; and it warn't written in his 
 face. He was from the States ; but whether a 
 hosier, or a buckeye, or a mudhead, is more than I 
 can say." 
 
 "The thing must be investigated, Alcalde," said 
 another of the jury, after a second pause. 
 
 "It must so," answered the Alcalde. 
 
 "What's the good of so much investigation?" 
 grumbled Bob. 
 
 "What good?" repeated Alcalde. "Because we 
 owe it to ourselves, to the dead man, and to you, not 
 to sentence you without having held an inquest on 
 the body. There's another thing which I must call 
 your attention to," continued he, turning to the jury ; 
 "the man is half out of his mind not compos
 
 180 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 mentis, as .they say. He 's got the fever, and had it 
 when he did the deed ; he was urged on by Johnny, 
 and maddened by his losses at play. In spite of his 
 wild excitement, however, he saved that gentleman's 
 life yonder, Mr. Edward Nathaniel Morse." 
 
 "Did he so?" said one of the jury. 
 
 "That did he," replied I, "not only by saving me 
 from drowning when my horse dragged me, half-dead 
 and helpless, into the river, but also by the care and 
 attention he forced Johnny and his mulatto to bestow 
 upon me. Without him I should not be alive at 
 this moment." 
 
 Bob gave me a look which went to my heart. The 
 tears were standing in his eyes. The jury heard me 
 in deep silence. 
 
 "It seems that Johnny led you on and excited 
 you to this?" said one of the jurors. 
 
 "I didn't say that. I only said that he pointed 
 
 to the man's money-bag, and said- But what is 
 
 it to you what Johnny said? I'm the man who 
 did it. I speak for myself, and I'll be hanged for 
 myself." 
 
 "All very good, Bob," interposed the Alcalde ; "but 
 we can't hang you without being sure you deserve 
 it. What do you say to it, Mr. Whyte? You're the
 
 LYNCH LAW. 
 
 procnrador and you, Mr. Heart and Mr. Stone? 
 Help yourselves to rum or brandy ; and, Mr. Bright 
 and Irwin, take another cigar. They're considerable 
 tolerable the cigars ain't they? That's brandy, 
 Mr. "Whyte, in the diamond bottle." 
 
 Mr. "Whyte had got up to give his opinion, as I 
 thought ; but I was mistaken. He stepped to the 
 sideboard, took up a bottle in one hand and a glass 
 in the other, every movement being performed with 
 the greatest deliberation. 
 
 "Well, Squire," said he, "or rather Alcalde " 
 
 After the word "Alcalde," he filled the glass half 
 full of rum. 
 
 u lf it's as we've heard," added he, pouring about 
 a spoonful of water on the rum, "and Bob has killed 
 the man" he continued, throwing in some lumps 
 of sugar "murdered him" he went on, crushing 
 the sugar with a wooden stamp "I rather cal- 
 kilate" here he raised the glass "Bob ought to 
 be hung," he concluded, putting the tumbler to his 
 mouth and emptying it. 
 
 The jurors nodded in silence. Bob drew a deep . 
 breath, as if a load were taken off his breast. 
 
 "Well," said the judge, who did not look over 
 well pleased, "if you think so, and Bob is agreed, I
 
 182 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 calculate we must do as lie wishes. I tell you, 
 though, I don't do it willingly. At any rate, we 
 must find the dead man first, and examine Johnny. 
 We owe that to ourselves and to Bob." 
 
 "Certainly," said the jury with one voice. 
 
 "You are a dreadful murderer, Bob, a very con- 
 siderable one," continued the judge; "but I tell you 
 to your face, and not to flatter you, there is more 
 good in your little finger than in Johnny's whole 
 hide. And I'm sorry for you, because, at the bot- 
 tom, you are not a bad man, though you've been 
 led away by bad company and example. I calculate 
 you might still be reformed, and made very useful 
 more so, perhaps, than you think. Your rifle's a 
 capital good one." 
 
 At these last words the men all looked up, and 
 threw a keen, inquiring glance at Bob. 
 
 "You might be of great service," continued the 
 judge encouragingly, "to the country and to your 
 fellow-citizens. You're worth a dozen Mexicans any 
 day." 
 
 While the judge spoke, Bob let his head fall on 
 his breast, and seemed reflecting. He now looked up. 
 
 "1 understand, Squire ; I see what you're drivin' 
 at But I can't do it I can't wait so long. My
 
 LYNCH LAW. 183 
 
 life's a burden and a sufferin' to me. Wherever I 
 go, by day or by night, he's always there, standin' 
 before me, and drivin' me under the Patriarch." 
 
 There was a pause of some duration. The judge 
 resumed. 
 
 " So be it then," said he with a sort of suppressed 
 sigh. "We'll see the body to-day, Bob, and you may 
 come to-morrow at ten o'clock." 
 
 "Couldn't it be sooner?" asked Bob impatiently. 
 
 "Why sooner? Are you in such a hurry?" asked 
 Mr. Heart. 
 
 "What's the use of palaverin'?" said Bob sulkily. 
 "I told you already I'm sick of my life. If you 
 don't come till ten o'clock, by the time you've 
 had your talk out, and ridden to the Patriarch, the 
 fever 'il be upon me." 
 
 "But we can't be flying about like a parcel of wild 
 geese, because of your fever," said the procurador 
 
 " Certainly not," said Bob humbly. 
 
 "It's an ugly customer the fever, though, Mr. 
 Whyte," observed Mr. Trace; "and I calculate we 
 ought to do him that pleasure. What do you think, 
 Squire?" 
 
 "I reckon he's rather indiscreet in bis askin's," 
 said the judge, in a tone of vexation. "However,
 
 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 as he wishes it, and if it is agreeable to you," added 
 he, turning to the Ayuntamiento ; "and as it's you, 
 Bob, I calculate we must do what you ask." 
 
 "Thankee," said Bob. 
 
 "Nothing to thank for," growled the judge; "and 
 now go into the kitchen and get a good meal of roast 
 beef, d'ye hear?" He knocked upon the table. 
 "Some good roast beef for Bob," said he to a negress 
 who entered; "and see that he eats it. And get 
 yourself dressed more decently, Bob like a white 
 man and a Christian, not like a wild redskin." 
 
 The negress and Bob left the room. The conver- 
 sation now turned upon Johnny, who appeared, from 
 all accounts, to be a very bad and dangerous fellow ; 
 and after a short discussion, they agreed to lynch 
 him, in backwoodsman's phrase, just as coolly as if 
 they had been talking of catching a mustang. When 
 the men had come to this satisfactory conclusion, 
 they got up, drank the judge's health and mine, 
 shook us by the hand, and left the room and the 
 house. 
 
 The day passed more heavily than the preceding 
 one. I was too engrossed with the strange scene I 
 had witnessed to talk much. The judge, too, was in 
 a very bad humor. He was vexed that a man should
 
 LYNCH LAW. 185 
 
 be hung who might render the country much good 
 service if he remained alive. That Johnny, the 
 miserable, cowardly, treacherous Johnny, should be 
 ent out of the world as quickly as possible, was 
 perfectly correct, but with Bob it was very different. 
 In vain did I remind him of the crime of which 
 Bob had been guilty of the outraged laws of God 
 and man and of the atonement due. It was of no 
 use. If Bob had sinned against society, he could 
 repair his fault much better by remaining alive than 
 by being hung ; and as to any thing else, God would 
 avenge it in his own time. We parted for the night, 
 neither of us convinced by each other's arguments. 
 
 We were sitting at breakfast the next morning, 
 when a man, dressed in black, rode up to the door. 
 It was Bob, but so metamorphosed that I scarcely 
 knew him. Instead of the torn and bloodstained 
 handkerchief round his head, he wore a hat; instead 
 of the leathern jacket, a decent cloth coat. He had 
 shaved off his beard too, and looked quite another man. 
 His manner had altered with his dress ; he seemed 
 tranquil and resigned. With a mild, submissive look, 
 he held out his hand to the judge, who shook it 
 heartily. 
 
 "Ah, Bob!" said he, "if you had only listened to
 
 186 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 what I so often told you ! I had those clothes brought 
 on purpose from New Orleans, that, on Sundays at 
 least, you might look like a decent man. How often 
 havb I asked yon to put them on, and come with us 
 to meeting, to hear Mr. Bliss preach? There is some 
 truth in the saying, that the coat makes the man. 
 With his Sunday coat, a man often puts on other and 
 better thoughts. If that had been your case only 
 fifty-two times in the year, you'd have learned to 
 avoid Johnny before now." 
 
 Bob said nothing. 
 
 " Well, well ! I 've done all I could to make a better 
 man of you all that was in my power." 
 
 "That you have," answered Bob, much moved. 
 " God reward you for it ! " 
 
 I could not help holding out my hand to the worthy 
 judge ; and as I did so, I thought I saw a moisture 
 in his eye, which he suppressed, however, and, turn- 
 ing to the breakfast table, bade us sit down. Bob 
 thanked him humbly, but declined, saying that he 
 wished to appear fasting before hie offended Creator. 
 The judge insisted, and reasoned with him, and at 
 last he took a chair. 
 
 Before we had done breakfast, our friends of the 
 preceding day began to drop in, and some of them
 
 LYNCH LAW. 187 
 
 joined us at the meal. "When they had all taken 
 what they chose, the judge ordered the negroes 
 to clear away, and leave the room. This done, he 
 seated himself at the upper end of the table, 
 with the Ayuntamiento on either side, and Bob facing 
 him. 
 
 " Mr. Why te," said the Alcalde, " have you, as 
 procuradur, any thing to state ? " 
 
 "Yes, Alcalde," replied the procurador. "In virtue 
 of my office, 1 made a search in the place mentioned 
 by Bob Rock, and there found the body of a man 
 who had met his death by a gunshot wound. I also 
 found a belt full of money, and several letters of 
 recommendation to different planters, from which it 
 appears that the man was on his way from Illinois to 
 San Felipe, to buy land of Colonel Austin, and settle 
 in Texas." 
 
 The procurador then produced a pair of saddle- 
 bags, out of which he took a leathern belt stuffed 
 with money, which he laid on the table, together 
 with the letters. The judge opened the belt, and 
 counted the money. It amounted to upward of five 
 hundred dollars in gold and silver. The procnrador 
 then read the letters. 
 
 One of the corregidors now announced that Johnnv
 
 188 ADVENTURES IN TKXAS. 
 
 and his mulatto had left their house and fled. He, 
 the corregidor, had sent the people in pursuit of 
 them, but as yet there were no tidings of their 
 capture. This piece of intelligence seemed to vex 
 the judge greatly, but he made no remark on it at 
 the time. 
 
 "BobKock!" cried he. 
 
 Bob stepped forward. 
 
 "Bob Kock, or by whatever other name you may 
 be known, are you guilty or not guilty of this man's 
 death!" 
 
 " Guilty ! " replied Bob, in a low tone. 
 
 "Gentlemen of the jury, will you be pleased to give 
 your verdict?" 
 
 The jury left the room. In ten minutes they 
 returned. 
 
 " Guilty ! " said the foreman. 
 
 "Bob Hock," said the judge solemnly, "your 
 fellow-citizens have found you guilty ; and I pro- 
 nounce the sentence that you be hung by the 
 neck until yon are dead. The Lord be merciful to 
 your soul 1 " 
 
 "Amen !" said all' present. 
 
 "Thank ye," murmured Bob. 
 
 "We will seal up the property of the deceased,"
 
 LYNCH LAW. 189 
 
 said the judge, "and then proceed to oar painful 
 duty." 
 
 He called for a light, and he and the procuradcr 
 and corregidors sealed up the papers and money. 
 
 "Has any one aught to alledge why the sentence 
 should not be put into execution ? " said the Alcalde, 
 with a glance at me. 
 
 "He saved my life, judge and fellow-citizens?" 
 cried I, deeply moved. 
 
 Bob shook his head mournfully. 
 
 " Let us go, then, in God's name," said the judge. 
 
 Without another word being spoken, we left the 
 house and mounted our horses. The judge had 
 brought a Bible with him ; and he rode on a little in 
 front, with Bob, doing his best to prepare him for the 
 eternity to which he was hastening. Bob listened 
 attentively for some time ; but at last he seemed to 
 get impatient, and pushed his mustang into so fast a 
 trot, that for a moment we suspected him of wishing 
 to escape the doom he had so eagerly sought. But 
 it was only that he feared the fever might return 
 before the expiration of the short time he yet had 
 to live. 
 
 After an hour's ride, we came to the enormous live 
 oak distinguished as the Patriarch Two or three
 
 190 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 of the men dismounted, and held aside the heavy 
 moss-covered branches, which swept the ground and 
 formed a complete curtain round the tree. The party 
 rode through the opening thus made, and drew up in 
 a circle beneath the huge leafy dome. In the center 
 / of this ring stood Bob, trembling like an aspen leaf, 
 his eyes fixed on a small mound of fresh earth, 
 partly concealed by the branches, and which had 
 escaped my notice on my former visit to the tree. It 
 was the grave of the murdered man. 
 
 A magnificent burial place was that : no poet 
 could have dreamed or desired a better. Above, 
 the huge vault, with its natural frettings and arches ; 
 below, the greenest, freshest grass ; around, an eter- 
 nal half light, streaked and varied, and radiant as a 
 rainbow. It was imposingly beautiful. 
 
 Bob, the judge, and the corregidors, remained sit- 
 ting on their horses, but several of the other men 
 dismounted. One of the latter cut the lasso from 
 Bob's saddle, and threw an end of it over one of the 
 lowermost branches; then uniting the two ends, 
 formed them into a strong noose, which he left 
 dangling from the bough. This simple preparation 
 completed, the Alcalde took oft' his hat and folded 
 his hands. The others followed his example.
 
 LYNCH LAW. 191 
 
 "Bob!" said the judge to the unfortunate criminal, 
 whose head was bowed on his horse's mane ; " Bob ! 
 we will pray for your poor soul, which is about to 
 part from your sinful body." 
 
 Bob raised his head. "I had something to say,* 
 exclaimed he, in a wandering and husky tone 
 "Something I wanted to say." 
 
 "What have you to say?" 
 
 Bob stared around him ; his lips moved, but no 
 word escaped him. His spirit was evidently no 
 longer with things of this earth. 
 
 "Bob!" said the judge again, "we will pray for 
 your soul." 
 
 "Pray! pray ! " gioaned he. "I shall need it." 
 
 In slow and solemn accents, and with great feeling, 
 the judge uttered the Lord's Prayer. Bob repeated 
 every word after him. When it was ended " May 
 God be merciful to his soull" exclaimed the judge. 
 
 "Amen !" said all present. 
 
 One of the corregidors now passed the noose ot 
 the lasso round Bob's neck, another bound his eyes, 
 a third person drew his feet out of the stirrups, while 
 a fourth stepped behind his horse with a heavy 
 riding-whip. All was done in the deepest silence; 
 not a word was breathed, nor a foot-fall heard on the
 
 192 ADVENTUBE8 IN TEXAS. 
 
 soft, yielding turf. There was something awful and 
 oppressive in the profound stillness that reigned in 
 the vast inclosure. 
 
 The whip fell. The horse gave a spring forward. 
 At the same moment Bob made a desperate clutch at 
 the bridle, and a loud "Hold!" burst in thrilling 
 tones from the lips of the judge. 
 
 It was too late ; Bob was already hanging. The 
 judge pushed forward, nearly riding down the man 
 who held the whip, and seizing Bob in his arms, 
 raised him on his own horse, supporting him with one 
 hand, while with the other he strove to unfasten the 
 noose. His whole gigantic frame trembled with 
 eagerness and exertion. The procurador, corregi- 
 dors all, in short, stood in open-mouthed wonder at 
 this strange proceeding. 
 
 " Whisky ! whisky ! Has nobody any whisky ! " 
 shouted the judge. 
 
 One of the men sprang forward with a whisky- 
 flask, another supported the body, and a third the 
 feet of the half-hanged man, while the judge poured 
 a few drops of spirits into his mouth. The cravat, 
 wnich had not been taken off, had hindered the 
 breaking 'of the neck. Bob at last opened his eyes, 
 and gazed vacantly around him.
 
 LYNCH LAW. 193 
 
 "Bob," said the judge, "you had something to say, 
 had n't you, about Johnny ? " 
 
 "Johnny," gasped Bob, "Johnny." 
 
 "What 's become of him?" 
 
 "He's gone to San Antonio, Johnny." 
 
 "To San Antonio!" repeated the judge, with an 
 expression of great alarm overspreading his features. 
 
 "To San Antonio to Padre Jose," continued 
 Bob; "a Catholic. Beware!" 
 
 "A traitor, then!" muttered several. 
 
 " Catholic ! " exclaimed the judge. The words he 
 bad heard seemed to deprive him of all strength. 
 His arms fell slowly and gradually by his side, and 
 Bob was again hanging from the lasso. 
 
 " A Catholic ! a traitor ! repeated several of the 
 men ; " a citizen and a traitor ! " 
 
 "So it is men ! " exclaimed the judge. "We Ve no 
 time to lose," continued he, in a harsh, hurried voice; 
 " no time to lose ; we must catch him." 
 
 "That must we," said several, "or our plans are 
 betrayed to the Mexicans." 
 
 "After him immediately to San Antonio!" cried 
 the judge, with the same desperately hurried manner. 
 
 "To San Antonio!" repeated the men, pushing 
 
 their way through the curtain of moss and branches. 
 
 9
 
 194 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 As soon as they were outside, those who were dis- 
 mounted sprang into the saddle, and, without another 
 word, the whole party galloped away in the direction 
 of San Antonio. 
 
 The judge alone remained, seemingly lost in 
 thought ; his countenance pale and anxious, and his 
 eyes following the riders. His reverie, however, had 
 lasted but a very few seconds, when he seized my 
 arm. 
 
 "Hasten to my house!" cried he; "lose no time; 
 don't spare horse-flesh. Take Ptoly and a fresh 
 beast ; hurry over to San Felipe, and tell Stephen 
 Austin what has happened, and what you have seen 
 and heard." 
 
 "But, judge " 
 
 "Off with you at once, if you would serve and 
 save Texas. Bring my wife and daughter back." 
 
 And so saying, he literally drove me from under 
 the tree, pushing me out with both hands. I was so 
 startled at the expression of violent impatience and 
 anxiety which his features assumed, that, without 
 venturing to make farther objection, I struck the 
 spurs into my mustang and galloped off. 
 
 Before I had got fifty yards from the tree, I looked 
 round : the judge was nowhere to be seen.
 
 LYNCH LAW. 
 
 I rode full speed to the judge's house, and thence 
 011 a fresh horse to San Felipe, where I found Colonel 
 Austin, who seemed much alarmed by the news I 
 brought him, had horses saddled, and sent round to 
 all the neighbors. Before the wife and step-daughter 
 of the judge had made their preparations to accom- 
 pany me home, he and fifty armed men rode off in 
 the direction of San Antonio. 
 
 I escorted the ladies to their house, but scarcely 
 had we arrived there, when I was seized with a fever, 
 the result of my recent fatigues and sufferings. For 
 some days my life was in danger, but a good consti- 
 tution, and the kindest and most watchful nursing, 
 triumphed over the disease. As soon as I was able 
 to mount a horse, I set out for Mr. Neal's plantation, 
 in company with his huntsman Anthony, who, after 
 spending many days, and riding over hundreds of 
 miles of ground in quest of me, had at last found 
 me out. 
 
 Our way led past the Patriarch ; and, as we ap- 
 proached it, we saw innumerable birds of prey and 
 carrion-crows circling round it, croaking and scream- 
 ing. I turned my eyes in another direction ; but, 
 nevertheless, I felt a strange sort of longing to revisit 
 the tree. Anthony had ridden on, and was already
 
 196 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 hidden from view behind its branches. Presently I 
 heard him give a loud shout of exultation. I jumped 
 off my horse, and led it through a small opening in 
 the leafage. 
 
 Some forty paces from me, the body of a man was 
 hanging by a lasso from the very same branch on 
 which Bob had been hung. It was not Bob, however, 
 for the corpse was much too short and small for him. 
 
 I drew nearer. "Johnny !" I exclaimed. "That's 
 Johnny!" 
 
 "It was? answered Anthony. "Thank Heaven, 
 there's an end of him!" 
 
 I shuddered. "But where is Bob?" 
 
 " Bob ? " cried Anthony. " Bob ! " 
 
 I glanced at the grave. The mound of earth 
 seemed larger and higher than when I had last seen 
 it. Doubtless the murderer lay beside his victim. 
 
 "Shall we not render the last service to this wretch, 
 Anthony?" asked I. 
 
 "The scoundrel!" answered the huntsman. "I 
 won't dirty my hands with him. Let him poison 
 the kites and the crows!" 
 
 We rode on.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 
 
 I HAD been but three or four months in Texas, 
 when, in consequence of the oppressive conduct of 
 the Mexican military authorities, symptoms of dis- 
 content showed themselves, and several skirmishes 
 occurred between the American settlers and the 
 soldiery. The two small forts of Velasco and Kacog- 
 doches were taken by the former, and their garrisons 
 and a couple of field-officers made prisoners; soon 
 after which, however, the quarrel was made up by 
 the intervention of Colonel Austin on the part of 
 Texas, and Colonel Mejia on the part of the Mexican 
 authorities. 
 
 But in the year '33, occurred Santa Anna's defec- 
 tion from the liberal party, and the imprisonment 
 of Stephen F. Austin, the Texan representative in 
 the Mexican congress, by the vice-president, Gomez 
 Farias. This was followed by Texas adopting the
 
 198 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 constitution of 1824, and declaring itself an indepen- 
 dent state of the Mexican republic. Finally, toward 
 the close of 1835, Texas threw off the Mexican yoke 
 altogether, voted itself a free and sovereign republic, 
 and prepared to defend by arms, its newly asserted 
 liberty. 
 
 The first step to be taken was, to secure our 
 communications with the United States by getting 
 possession of the sea-ports. General Cos had occu- 
 pied Galveston harbor, and built and garrisoned a 
 block-fort, nominally for the purpose of enforcing 
 the custom laws, but in reality with a view to cut 
 off our communications with New Orleans and the 
 States. This fort it was necessary to get posses- 
 sion of, and my friend Fanning and myself were ap- 
 pointed to that duty by the Alcalde, who had taken 
 a prominent part in all that had occurred. 
 
 Our whole force and equipment wherewith to 
 accomplish this enterprise consisted in a sealed 
 dispatch, to be opened at the town of Columbia, and 
 a half-breed, named Agostino, who acted as our 
 guide. On reaching Columbia, we called together 
 the principal inhabitants of the place, and of the 
 neighboring towns of Bolivar and Marion, unsealed 
 the letter in their presence, and six hours afterward
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 199 
 
 the forces therein specified were assembled, and we 
 were on our march toward Galveston. The next 
 day the fort was taken, and the garrison made 
 prisoners, without our losing a single man. -<- 
 
 We sent off our guide to the government at San 
 Felipe with the news of our success. In nine days 
 he returned, bringing us the thanks of congress and 
 fresh orders. We were to leave a garrison in the 
 fort, and then ascend Trinity River, and march 
 toward San Antonio de Bexar. This route was all 
 the more agreeable to Fanning and myself, as it 
 would bring us into the immediate vicinity of the 
 haciendas, or estates, of which we had some time 
 previously obtained a grant from the Texan govern- 
 ment ; and we did not doubt that we were indebted 
 to our friend the Alcalde for the orders which thus 
 conciliated our private convenience with our public 
 duty. 
 
 As we marched along, we found the whoie country 
 in commotion, the settlers all arming, and hastening 
 to the distant place of rendezvous. We arrived at 
 Trinity River one afternoon, and immediately sent 
 messengers for forty miles in all directions to sum- 
 mon the inhabitants. At the period in question, 
 the plantations in that part of the country were
 
 200 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 very few and far between, but, nevertheless, by thd 
 afternoon of the next day, we had got together four- 
 and-thirty men, mounted on mustangs, each equipped 
 with rifle and bowie-knife, powder-horn and bullet-bag, 
 and furnished with provisions for several days. With 
 these we started for San Antonio de Bexar, a march 
 of two hundred and fifty miles, through trackless 
 prairies intersected with rivers and streams, which, 
 although not quite so big as the Mississippi or Poto- 
 mac, were yet deep and wide enough to offer serious 
 impediment to regular armies. But to Texan farm- 
 ers and backwoodsmen they were trifling obstacles. 
 Those we could not wade through we swam across ; 
 and in due time, and without any incident worthy 
 of note,, reached the appointed place of rendezvous, 
 which was on the river Salado, about fifteen miles 
 from San Antonio, the principal city of the province. 
 This latter place it was intended to attack an enter- 
 prise of some boldness and risk, considering that 
 the town was protected by a strong fort, amply 
 provided with heavy artillery, and had a garrison 
 of nearly three thousand men, most of whose offi- 
 cers had distinguished themselves in the revolution- 
 ary wars against the Spaniards. Our whole army, 
 which we found encamped on the Salado, under the
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 201 
 
 command of General Austin, did not exceed eight 
 hundred men. 
 
 The day after that on which Fanning and myself, 
 with our four-and-thirty recruits, reached head-quar- 
 ters, a council of war was held, and it was resolved 
 to advance as far as the mission of Santa Espada. 
 The advanced guard was to push forward immedi- 
 ately; the main body would follow the next day. 
 Fanning and myself were appointed to the command 
 of the vanguard, in conjunction with Mr. Wharton, 
 a wealthy planter, who had brought a strong party 
 of volunteers with him, and whose mature age and 
 cool judgment, it was thought, would counterbalance 
 any excess of youthful heat and impetuosity on our 
 part. Selecting ninety-two men out of the eight 
 hundred, who, to a man, volunteered to accompany 
 us, we set out for the mission. 
 
 These missions are a sort of picket-houses or out- 
 posts of the Catholic Church, and are found in great 
 numbers in all the frontier provinces of Spanish 
 America, especially in Texas, Santa Fe, and Cohahu- 
 ila. They are usually of sufficient strength to afford 
 their inmates security against any predatory party 
 of Indians or other marauders, and are occupied by 
 
 priests, who, while using their endeavors to spread 
 9*
 
 202 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 the doctrines of the Church of Rome, act also as 
 spies and agents of the Mexican government. 
 
 On reaching Santa Espada we held a discussion 
 as to the propriety of remaining there until the 
 general came up, or of advancing at once toward 
 the river. Wharton inclined to the former plan, and 
 it was certainly the most prudent, for the mission 
 was a strong building, surrounded by a high wall, 
 and might have been held against very superior 
 numbers. Fanning and I, however, did not like the 
 idea of being cooped up in a house, and at last 
 Wharton yielded. We left our horses and mustangs 
 in charge of eight men, and with the remainder set 
 out in the direction of the Salad o, which flows from 
 north to south, a third of a mile to the westward of 
 the mission. About half-way between the latter and 
 the river was a small group, or island, of muskeet 
 trees, the only object that broke the uniformity of 
 the prairie. The bank of the river on our side was 
 tolerably steep, about eight or ten feet high, hol- 
 lowed out here and there, and covered with a thick 
 network of wild vines. The Salado at this spot 
 describes a sort of bower-shaped curve, with a ford 
 at either end, by which alone the river can be passed ; 
 for although not very broad, it is rapid and deep.
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 203 
 
 We resolved to take up a position within this bow, 
 calculating that we might manage to defend the two 
 fords, which were not above a quarter of a mile apart 
 
 At the same time we did not lose sight of the dan- 
 gers of such a position, and of the almost certainty 
 that, if the enemy managed to cross the river, we 
 should be surrounded and cut off But our success 
 on the few occasions on which we had hitherto come 
 to blows with the Mexicans, at Velasco, Nacogdoches, 
 and Galveston, had inspired us with so much con- 
 fidence that we considered ourselves a match for 
 thousands of such foes, and actually began to wish 
 the enemy would attack us before our main body 
 came up. We reconnoitered the ground, stationed a 
 picket of twelve men at each ford, and an equal 
 number in the island of muskeet trees, and established 
 ourselves with the remainder among the vines and 
 in the hollows on the river bank. 
 
 The commissariat department of the Texan army 
 was, as may be supposed, not yet placed up>n any 
 very regular footing. In fact, every man was, for 
 the present, his own commissary-general. Finding 
 our stock of provisions very small, we sent out a 
 party of foragers, who soon returned with three sheep, 
 which they had taken from a rancho^ within a mile
 
 204 ADVENTURES m TEXAS. 
 
 of San Antonio. An old priest, whom they found 
 there, had threatened them with the anger of Heaven 
 and of General Cos; but they paid little attention 
 
 
 
 to his denunciations, and, throwing down three dol- 
 lars, walked off with the sheep. The priest was 
 furious, got upon his mule, and trotted away in the 
 direction of the city to complain to General Cos of 
 the misconduct of the heretics. 
 
 After this we made no doubt that we should soon 
 have a visit from the Dons. Nevertheless, the evening 
 and the night passed away without incident. Day 
 broke still no signs of the Mexicans. This treach 
 erous calm, we thought, might forbode a storm, and 
 we did not allow it to lull us into security. We let 
 the men get their breakfast, which they had hardly 
 finished when the picket from the upper ford came 
 in with the news that a strong body of cavalry was 
 approaching the river, and that their vanguard was 
 already in the hollow way leading to the ford. We 
 had scarcely received this intelligence when we heard 
 the blare of the trumpets, and the next moment ;ve 
 saw the officers push their horses up the declivitous 
 bank, closely followed by their men, whom they 
 formed up in the prairie. We counted six small 
 squadrons, about three hundred men in all. They
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 205 
 
 were the Durango dragoons smart troops enough 
 to all appearance, capitally mounted and equipped, 
 and armed with carbines and sabers. 
 
 Although the enemy had doubtless reconnoitered 
 us from the opposite shore, and ascertained our posi 
 tion, he could not form any accurate idea of our 
 numbers, for, with a view to deceive him, we kept 
 the men in constant motion, sometimes showing a 
 part of them on the prairie, then causing them to 
 disappear again behind the vines and bushes. This 
 was all very knowing for young soldiers as we were ; 
 but, on the other hand, we had committed a grievous 
 error, and sinned against all established military 
 rules, by not placing a picket on the farther side of 
 the river, to warn us of the approach of the enemy, 
 and the direction in which he was coming. There 
 can be little doubt that, if we had had earlier notice 
 of their approach, thirty or forty good marksmen 
 and all our people were that might not only have 
 delayed the advance of the Mexicans, but perhaps 
 even totally disgusted them of their attempt to cross 
 the Salado. The hollow way on the other side of the 
 river, leading to the ford, was narrow and tolerably 
 Bteep, and the bank at least six times as high as on 
 our side. Nothing would have been easier than to
 
 206 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 have so stationed a party as to pick off the cavalry 
 while winding through this sort of pass, and emerg- 
 ing two by two upon the shore. Our error, however, 
 did not strike us till it was too late to repair it ; so we 
 were fain to console ourselves with the reflection that 
 the Mexicans would be much more likely to attribute 
 our negligence to an excess of confidence in our 
 resources, than to inexperience in military matters, 
 which was its real cause. We resolved to do our 
 best to merit the good opinion which we thus sup- 
 posed them to entertain of us. 
 
 When the whole of the dragoons had crossed the 
 water, they marched on for a short distance in an 
 easterly direction ; then, wheeling to the .right, pro- 
 ceeded southward, until within some five hundred 
 paces of us, where they halted. In this position, the 
 line of cavalry formed the chord of the arc described 
 by the river and occupied by us. 
 
 As soon as they halted, they opened their fire, 
 although they could not see one of us, for we were 
 completely sheltered by the bank. Our Mexican 
 heroes, however, did not think it necessary to be 
 within sight or range of their opponents before firing, 
 for they gave us a rattling volley at a distance which 
 no carbine would carry. This done, others galloped
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 207 
 
 on for about a hundred yards, halted again, loaded, 
 fired another volley, and then giving another volley, 
 fired again. They continued this work till they 
 found themselves within two hundred and fifty paces 
 of us, and then appeared inclined to take a little 
 time for reflection. 
 
 We kept ourselves perfectly still. The dragoons 
 evidently did not like the aspect of matters. Our 
 remaining concealed, and not replying to their fire, 
 bothered them. We saw the officers taking a deal of 
 pains to encourage their men, and at last two squad- 
 rons advanced, the others following more slowly, a 
 short distance in the rear. This was the moment we 
 had waited for. No sooner had the dragoons got 
 into a canter, than .six of our men, who had received 
 orders to that effect, sprang up the bank, took steady 
 aim at the officers, fired, and then jumped down 
 again. 
 
 As we expected, the small numbers that had shown 
 themselves encouraged the Mexicans to advance. 
 They at first seemed taken rather aback by the fall 
 of four of their officers ; but nevertheless, after a 
 moment's hesitation, they came thundering along 
 fall speed. They were within sixty or seventy yards 
 of us, when Fanning and thirty of our riflemen
 
 208 AnVEOTUBES IN TEXAS. 
 
 ascended the bank, and with a coolness and precision 
 that would have done credit to the most veteran 
 troops, poured a steady fire into the ranks of the 
 dragoons. 
 
 It requires some nerve and courage for men who 
 have never gone through any regular military train- 
 ing, to stand their ground, singly and .unprotected, 
 within fifty yards of an advancing line of cavalry. 
 Our fellows did it, however, and fired, not all at 
 once, or in a hurry, but slowly and deliberately a 
 running fire, every shot of which told. Saddle after 
 saddle was emptied ; the men, as they had been 
 ordered, always picking out the foremost horse'men, 
 and as soon as they had fired, jumping down the 
 bank to reload. When the whole of the thirty men 
 had discharged their rifles, Wharton and myself, 
 with the reserve of six-and-thirty more, took their 
 places ; but the dragoons had had almost enough 
 already, and we had scarcely fired ten shots when 
 they executed a right-about turn, with a uniformity 
 and rapidity which did infinite credit to their drill, 
 and went off at a pace that soon carried them out of 
 the reach of our bullets. They had evidently not 
 expected so warm a reception. We saw their ofiicers 
 doing every thing they could to check their flight,
 
 TWENTY TO OTTE. 209 
 
 imploring, threatening, even cutting at them with 
 their sabers, but it was all of no use : if they were 
 to be killed, it must be in their own way, and they 
 preferred being cut down by their officers to encoun- 
 tering the deadly- precision of rifles, in the hands of 
 men who, being sure of hitting a squirrel at a hun- 
 dred yards, were not likely to miss a Durango dra- 
 goon at any point within range. 
 
 Our object in ordering the men to fire slowly was, 
 always to have thirty or forty rifles loaded, wherewith 
 to- receive the enemy should he attempt a general 
 charge. But our first greeting had been a sickener, 
 and it appeared doubtful whether he would venture 
 to attack us again, although the officers did every 
 thing in their power to induce theii men to advance. 
 For a long time, neither threats, em "eaties, nor re- 
 proaches produced any effect. We saw the officers 
 gesticulating furiously, pointing to us with their 
 sabers, and impatiently spurring their horses, till 
 the fiery animals plunged and reared, and sprang 
 with all four feet from the ground. It is only iust to 
 Bay, that the officers exhibited a degree of courage 
 far beyond any thing we had expected from them. 
 Of the two squadrons that charged us, two-thirds of 
 the officers had fallen ; but those who remained,
 
 210 ADVENTU-RES IN TEXAS. 
 
 instead of appearing intimidated by their comrades' 
 fate, redoubled their efforts to bring their men 
 forward. 
 
 At last there appeared some probability of their 
 accomplishing this, after a curious and truly Mexican 
 fashion. Posting themselves in front of their squad- 
 rons, they rode on alone for a hundred yards or so, 
 halted, looked round, as much as to say, " You see 
 there is no danger as far as this," and then, galloping 
 back, led their men on. Each time that they exe- 
 cuted this maneuver, the dragoons would advance 
 slowly some thirty or forty paces, and then halt as 
 simultaneously as if the word of command had been 
 given. Off went the officers again some distance to 
 the front, and th',n back again to their men, and got 
 them on a little farther. In this manner these heroes 
 were inveigled once more to within a hundred and 
 fifty yards of our position. 
 
 Of course, at each of the numerous halts which 
 they made during their advance, they favored us 
 with a general but most innocuous discharge of their 
 carbines ; and at last, gaining confidence, I suppose, 
 from our passiveness, and from the noise and smoke 
 they themselves had made, three squadrons, which 
 had not yet been under fire, formed open column and
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 21 J 
 
 Advanced at a trot. Without giving them time to 
 halt or reflect "Forward! Charge!" shouted the 
 officers, urging their own horses to their utmost 
 speed ; and following the impulse thus given, the 
 three squadrons came charging furiously along. 
 
 Up sprang thirty of our men to receive them. 
 Their orders were to fire slowly, and not throw away 
 a shot, but the gleaming sabers and rapid approach 
 of the dragoons flurried some of them, and, firing 
 a hasty volley, they jumped down the bank again. 
 This precipitation had nearly been fatal to us. Sev- 
 eral of the dragoons fell, and there was some confu- 
 sion and a momentary faltering among the others; 
 but they still came on. At this critical moment, 
 Wharton and myself, with the reserve, showed our- 
 selves on the bank. "Slow and sure mark your 
 men!" shouted we both, Wharton on the right and 
 I on the left. The command was obeyed ; rifle after 
 rifle cracked off, always aimed at the foremost of 
 the dragoons, and at every report .a saddle was 
 emptied. Before we had all fired, Fanning and 
 a dozen of his smartest men had again loaded, and 
 were by our side. For nearly a minute the Mexicans 
 paused, as if stupefied by our murderous fire, and 
 uncertain whether to advance or retire; bit as
 
 212 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 those who attempted the former were invariably 
 shot down, they at last began a retreat, which was 
 soon converted into a rout. We gave them a fare- 
 well volley, which eased a few more horses of their 
 riders, and then got under cover again, to await 
 what might next occur. 
 
 But the Mexican caballeros had no notion of com- 
 ing to the scratch a third time. They kept patrolling 
 about some three or four hundred yards off, and 
 firing volleys at us, which they were able to do with 
 perfect impunity, as at that distance we did not 
 think' proper to return a shot. 
 
 The skirmish had lasted nearly three quarters ol 
 an hour. Strange to say, we had not had a single 
 man wounded, although at times the bullets had 
 fallen about us as thick as hail. We could not ac 
 count for this. Many of us had been hit by the 
 balls, but a bruise or a graze of the skin were the 
 worst consequences. We were in a fair way to deem 
 ourselves invulnerable. 
 
 We began to think the fight over for the day, 
 when our vedettes at the lower ford brought us the 
 somewhat unpleasant intelligence that large masses 
 of infantry were approaching the river, and would 
 soon be in sight. The words were hardly uttered,
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 213 
 
 when the roll of drums and the shrill squeak of the 
 fife were audible, and in a few minutes the head of 
 the column of infantry, having crossed the ford, as- 
 cended the sloping bank, and defiled in the prairie 
 opposite the island of muskeet trees. As company 
 after company appeared, we were able to form a 
 pretty exact estimate of their numbers. There were 
 two battalions, together about a thousand men ; and 
 they brought a field-piece with them. 
 
 These were certainly rather long odds to be op- 
 posed to seventy-two men and three officers ; for it 
 must be remembered that we had left eight of our 
 people at the mission, and twelve in the island of 
 trees. Two battalions of infantry, and six squadrons 
 of dragoons the latter, to be sure, disheartened 
 and diminished by the loss of some fifty men, but 
 nevertheless formidable opponents, now that they 
 were supported by the foot soldiers. About twenty 
 Mexicans to each of us. It was getting past a joke. 
 "We were all capital shots, and most of us, besides 
 our rifles, had a brace of pistols in our belts ; but 
 what were seventy-five rifles, and five or six score 
 pistols, against a thousand muskets and bayonets, 
 two hundred and fifty dragoons, and a field piece 
 loaded with canister? If the Mexicans had a spark
 
 214 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 of courage or soldiership about them, our fate was 
 sealed. But it was exactly this courage and soldier- 
 ship which we made sure would be wanting. 
 
 Nevertheless we, the officers, could not repress a 
 feeling of anxiety and self-reproach, when we re- 
 flected that we had brought our comrades into such 
 a hazardous predicament. But on looking around 
 us, our apprehensions vanished. Nothing could 
 exceed the perfect coolness and confidence with 
 which the men were cleaning and preparing their 
 rifles for the approaching conflict; no bravado no 
 boasting, talking or laughing, but a calm decision of 
 manner, which at once told us that, if it were possi- 
 ble to overcome such odds as were brought against 
 us, those were the men to do it. 
 
 Our arrangements for the approaching struggle 
 were soon completed. Fanning and Wharton were 
 to make head against the infantry and cavalry. I 
 was to capture the field-piece an eight-pounder. 
 
 This gun was placed by the Mexicans upon their 
 extreme left, close to the river, the shores of which 
 it commanded for a considerable distance. The 
 bank along which we were posted was, as before 
 mentioned, indented by caves and hollows, and 
 cohered with a thick tapestry of vines and other
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 21d 
 
 plants, very usful in concealing us from the artillery- 
 men. The latter made a pretty good guess at our 
 position, however, and at the first discharge the 
 canister whizzed past us at a very short distance. 
 There was not a moment to lose, for one well-directed 
 shot might exterminate half of us. Followed by a 
 dozen men, I worked my way as well as I could 
 through the labyrinth of vines and bushes, and was 
 not more than fifty yards from the gun, when it was 
 again fired. No one was hurt, although the shot was 
 evidently intended for my party. The enemy could 
 Dot see us ; but the motion of the vines, as we passed 
 through them, had betrayed our whereabouts : so, 
 perceiving we were discovered, I sprang up the bank 
 into the prairie, followed by my men, to whom 1 
 shouted to be sure and aim at the artillerymen. 
 
 I had raised my own rifle to my shoulder, when 
 I let it fall again in astonishment at an apparition 
 that presented itself to my view. It was a tall, lean, 
 wild figure, with a face overgrown by a long beard 
 that hung down upon his breast, and dressed in a 
 leather cap, jacket, and moccasins. Where this man 
 had sprung from was a perfect riddle. He was 
 unknown to any of us, although I had some vague 
 recollection of having seen him before, but where
 
 216 AI/VENTITKES IN TEXAS. 
 
 or when I could not recall to mind. He had a long 
 rifle in his hands, which he must have fired once 
 already, for one of the artillerymen lay dead by the 
 gun. At the moment I first caught sight of him, he 
 shot down another, and then began reloading, with 
 a rapid dexterity that proved him well used to the 
 thing. My men were as much astonished as I was 
 by this strange apparition, which appeared to have 
 started out of the earth ; and for a few seconds they 
 forgot to fire, and stood gazing at the stranger. The 
 latter evidently disapproved their inaction. 
 
 "D yer eyes, ye starin' fools!" shouted he in 
 
 a rough, hoarse voice, "don't ye see them artillery- 
 men? Why don't ye knock 'em on the head?" 
 
 It certainly was not the moment to remain idle. 
 We fired ; but our astonishment had thrown us off 
 our balance, and we nearly all missed. We sprang 
 down the bank again to load, just as the men serving 
 the gun were slewing it round, so as to bring it to 
 bear upon us. Before this was accomplished, we 
 were under cover, and the stranger had the benefit 
 of the discharge, of which he took no more notice 
 than if he had borne a charmed life. Again we 
 heard the crack of his rifle, and when, having re- 
 loaded, we once more ascended the bank, he was
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 2l7 
 
 X 
 
 taking aim at the last artilleryman, who fell, as his 
 companions had done. 
 
 " D ye, for laggin' fellers ! " growled the stran- 
 ger. "Why don't you take that 'ere big gun?" 
 
 The smallness of our numbers, the bad direction 
 of our first volley, but, above all, the precipitation 
 with which we had jumped down the bank after 
 firing it, had so encouraged the enemy, that a com- 
 pany of infantry, drawn up some distance in rear 
 of the field-piece, fired a volley, and advanced at 
 double-quick time, part of them making a smaL 
 circuit with the intention of cutting us off from our 
 friends. At this moment we saw Fanning and 
 thirty men coming along the river bank to our 
 assistance; so without minding the Mexicans, who 
 were getting behind us, we rushed forward to within 
 twenty paces of those in our front, and taking 
 steady aim, brought down every man his bird. The 
 sort of desperate coolness with which this was done, 
 produced the greater effect on our opponents, as 
 being something quite out of their way. They 
 would, perhaps, have stood firm against a volley 
 from five times our number, at a rather greater dis- 
 tance ; but they did not like having their mustaches 
 
 singed by our powder; and after a moment's 
 10
 
 218 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 wavering and hesitation, they shouted out "Diablos! 
 Diablos!" and throwing away their muskets, broke 
 into a precipitate flight. 
 
 Fanning and Wharton now came up with all the 
 men. Under cover of the infantry's advance, the 
 gun had been remanned, but, luckily for us, only by 
 infantry soldiers ; for had there been artillerymen to 
 seize the moment when we were all standing exposed 
 on the prairie, they might have diminished our 
 numbers not a little. The fuse *vas already burning, 
 and we had just time to get under the bank when 
 the gun went off. Up we jumped again, and looked 
 about us to see what was next to be done. 
 
 Although hitherto all the advantage had been on 
 our side, our situation was still a very perilous one. 
 The company we had put to flight had rejoined its 
 battalion, which now advanced by echelon of com- 
 panies. The second battalion, which was rather 
 farther from us, moved forward in like manner, and 
 in a parallel direction. We should probably, there- 
 fore, nave to resist the attack of a dozen companies, 
 one after the other ; and it was -to be feared that the 
 Mexicans would at last get over their panic-terror 
 of our rifles, and exchange their distant and ineffec- 
 tual platoon firing for a charge with the bayonet, in
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 219 
 
 which their superior numbers would tell. "We ob- 
 served, also, that the cavalry, which had kept at a 
 safe distance, was now put in motion, and formed up 
 close to the island of muskeet trees, to which the 
 right flank of the infantry was also extending itself. 
 Thence they had clear ground for a charge* down 
 upon us. 
 
 Meanwhile, what had become of the twelve men 
 whom we had left in the island? Were they still 
 there, or had they fallen back upon the mission in 
 dismay at the overwhelming force of the Mexicans? 
 If the latter, it was a bad business for us, for they 
 were all capital shots, and well armed with rifles 
 and pistols. We heartily wished we had brought 
 them with us, as well as the eight men at the mission. 
 Cut off from us as they were, what could they do 
 against the whole of the cavalry, and two companies 
 of infantry now approaching the island? To add 
 to our difficulties, ammunition began to run short. 
 Many of us had had only enough powder and ball for 
 fifteen or sixteen charges, which were now reduced to 
 six or seven. It was no use desponding, however; 
 and, after a hurried consultation, it was agreed that 
 Fanning and Wharton should open a fire upon the 
 enemy's center, while I made a dash at the field-
 
 220 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 piece before more infantry had come up for its pro 
 tection. 
 
 The infantry-men who had remanned the gun 
 were "by this time shot down, and, as none had come 
 to replace them, it was served by an officer alone. 
 Just as I gave the order to advance to the twenty 
 men who were to follow me, this officer fell. Simul- 
 taneously with his fall, I heard a sort of yell behind 
 me, and turning round, saw that it proceeded from 
 the wild, specter-looking stranger, whom I had lost 
 eight of during the last few minutes. A ball had 
 struck him, and he fell heavily to the ground, his 
 rifle which had just been discharged, and still 
 smoked from muzzle and touchhole clutched con- 
 vulsively in both hands ; his features distorted ; his 
 eyes rolling frightfully. There was something in the 
 expression of his face at that moment which brought 
 back to me, in vivid colors, one of the earliest and 
 most striking incidents of my residence in Texas. 
 Had I not myself seen him hung, I could have sworn 
 that Bob Rock, the murderer, now lay before me. 
 
 A second look at the man gave additional torce 
 to this idea. 
 
 "Bob!" I exclaimed. 
 
 "Bob!" repeated the wounded man in a broken
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 221 
 
 voice, and with a look of astonishment, almost of 
 dismay. "Who calls Bob?" 
 
 A wild gleam shot from his eyes, which the next 
 instant closed. His senses had left him. 
 
 it was neither the time nor the place to indulge 
 in speculations on this singular resurrection of a man 
 whose execution I had myself witnessed. With 
 twelve hundred foes around us, we had plenty to 
 occupy all our thoughts and attention. My people 
 were already masters of the gun, and some of them 
 drew it forward and pointed it against the enemy, 
 while the others spread out right and left to protect 
 it with their rifles, i was busy loading the piece 
 when an exclamation of surprise from one of the 
 men made me look up. 
 
 There seemed to be something extraordinary hap- 
 pening among the Mexicans, to judge from the degree 
 of confusion which suddenly showed itself in their 
 ranks, and which, beginning with the cavalry and 
 right flank of the infantry, soon became general 
 throughout their whole force. It was a sort of wa- 
 vering and unsteadiness which, to us, was quite 
 unaccountable, for Fanning and "Wharton had not 
 yet fired twenty shots, and, indeed, had only just 
 come within range of the enemy. Not knowing
 
 *222 ADVENTURES IM TEXAS. 
 
 what it could portend, I called in nay men. and sta- 
 tioned them round the gun, which I dorble-shotted. 
 and stood ready to fire. 
 
 The confusion in the Mexican ranks increased. 
 For about a minute they waved and reeled to and 
 fro, as if uncertain which way to go ; and at last 
 the cavalry and right of the line fairly broke, and 
 ran for it. This example was followed by the center, 
 and presently the whole of the two battalions and 
 three hundred cavalry were scattered over the prai- 
 rie in the wildest and most disorderly flight. I gave 
 them a parting salute from the eight-pounder, which 
 would doubtless have accelerated their movements 
 had it b';en possible to run faster than they were 
 already doing. 
 
 We stood staring after the fugitives in bewilder- 
 ment, totally unable to explain their apparently 
 causless panic. At last the report of several rifles 
 from the island of trees gave us a clue to the mystery. 
 
 The infantry, whose left flank extended to the 
 Salado, had pushed their right into the prairie as 
 far as the island of muskeet trees, in order to con- 
 nect their line with the dragoons, and then, by a 
 general advance, to attack us on all sides at once, 
 and get the full advantage of their superior numbers.
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 223 
 
 The plan was not a bad one. Infantry and cavalry 
 approached the island, quite unsuspicious of its 
 concealing an enemy. The twelve riflemen whom 
 we had stationed there remained perfectly quiet, 
 concealed behind the trees ; allowed squadrons and 
 companies to come within twenty paces of them, 
 and then opened their fire, first from their pistols, 
 then from their rifles. 
 
 Some six-and-thirty shots, every one of which 
 told, fired suddenly from a cover close to their rear, 
 were enough to startle even the best troops, much 
 more so our Mexican Dons, who, already sufficiently 
 inclined to a panic, now believed themselves fallen 
 into an ambuscade, and surrounded on all sides by 
 the incarnate diablos, as they called us. The cav- 
 alry, who had not yet recovered the thrashing we 
 had given them, were ready enough for a run, and 
 the infantry were not slow to follow. 
 
 Our first impulse was naturally to pursue the 
 flying enemy, but a discovery made by some of the 
 men induced us to abandon that idea. They had 
 opened the pouches of the dead Mexicans in order 
 to supply themselves with ammunition, ours being 
 aearly expended ; but the powder of the cartridges 
 turned out so bad as to be useless. It was little
 
 224 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 better than charcoal-dust, and would not carry a 
 ball fifty paces to kill or wound. This accounted 
 for our apparent invulnerability to the fire of the 
 Mexicans. The muskets also were of a very inferior 
 description. Both they and the cartridges were of 
 English make ; the former being stamped Birming- 
 ham^ the latter having the name of an English pow- 
 der-manufactory, with the insignificant addition, "foi 
 exportation." 
 
 Under these circumstances, we had nothing to do 
 but to let the Mexicans run. We sent a detachment 
 to the muskeet island to reinforce the twelve men 
 who had done such good service, and thence to ad- 
 vance toward the ford. We ourselves proceeded 
 slowly in the latter direction. This demonstration 
 brought the fugitives back again, for most of them, 
 in the wild precipitation of their flight, had passed 
 the only place where they could traverse the river, 
 across which they now crowded in the greatest con- 
 fusion, foot and horse all mixed up together ; and by 
 the time we got within a hundred paces of the ford, 
 the prairie was nearly clear of them. There were 
 still a couple of hundred men on our side the water, 
 completely at our mercy, and Wharton, who was a 
 little in front with thirty men, gave the word to fire
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 
 
 upon them. No one obeyed. He repeated the com- 
 mand. Not a rifle was raised. He stared at his 
 men, astonished and impatient at this strange diso- 
 bedience. An old weather-beaten bear-hunter step- 
 ped forward, squirting out his tobacco juice with all 
 imaginable deliberation. 
 
 "I tell ye what, capting!" said he, passing his 
 quid over from his right cheek to his left; "I cal- 
 kilate, capting," he continued, "we'd better leave 
 the poor devils of Dons alone." 
 
 "The poor devils of Dons alone!" repeated Whar- 
 ton in a rage. " Are you mad, man ? " 
 
 Fanning and I had just come up with our detach- 
 ment, and were not less surprised and angry than 
 Wharton at this breach of discipline. The mau, 
 however, did not suffer himself to be disconcerted. 
 
 "There's a proverb, gentlemen," said he, turning 
 to us, "which says, that one should build a golden 
 bridge for a beaten enemy ; and a good proverb it 
 is, I calkilate a considerable good one." 
 
 "What do you mean, man, with your golden 
 bridge?" cried Fanning "this is no time for 
 proverbs." 
 
 "Do you know that you are liable tc be punished 
 
 for insubordination?" said L "It's your duty to 
 10*
 
 226 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 fire, and do the enemy all the harm you can not to 
 be quoting proverbs." 
 
 "Calkilate it is," replied the man very coolly. 
 "Calkilate I could shoot 'em without either danger 
 or trouble ; but I reckon that would be like Span- 
 iards or Mexicans ; not like Americans not pru- 
 dent." 
 
 " Not like Americans ? Would you let the enemy 
 escape, then, when we have him in our power?" 
 
 " Calkilate I would. Calkilate we should do our- 
 selves more harm than him by shootin'.down his 
 people. That was a considerable sensible command- 
 ment of yourn, always to shoot the foremost of the 
 Mexicans when they attacked. It discouraged the 
 bold ones, and was kinder premium on cowardice. 
 Them as lagged behind escaped, them as came 
 bravely on were shot. It was a good calkilation. If 
 we had shot 'em without discrimination, the cowards 
 would have got bold, seein' that they weren't safer 
 in rear than in front. The cowards are our best 
 friends. Now them runaways," continued he, point- 
 ing to the Mexicans, who were crowding over the 
 river, " are jest the most cowardly of 'em all, for in 
 their fright they quite forgot the ford, and it's be- 
 cause they ran so far beyond it that they are last to
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 227 
 
 cross the water. And if you fire at 'em now, they '11 
 find that they get nothin' by bein' cowards ; and the 
 next time, I reckon, they '11 pell their hides as dear as 
 they can." 
 
 Untimely as this palaver, to use a popular word, 
 undoubtedly was, we could scarcely forbear smiling 
 at the simple, artless manner in which the old Yan- 
 kee spoke his mind. 
 
 "Calkilate, captings," he concluded, "you'd better 
 let the poor devils run. We shall get more profit 
 by it than if we shot five hundred of 'em. Next 
 time they'll run away directly, to show their gratitude 
 for our giuerosity." 
 
 The man stepped back into the ranks, and his 
 comrades nodded approvingly, and calculated and 
 reckoned that Zebediah had spoke a true word ; and 
 meanwhile the enemy had crossed the river, and was 
 out of our reach. "We were forced to content our- 
 selves with sending a party across the water to follow 
 np the Mexicans, and observe the direction they took. 
 We then returned to our old position. 
 
 My first thought on arriving there was to search 
 for the body of Bob Rock for he it undoubtedly 
 *ras who had so mysteriously appeared among us. 
 F repaired to the spot where I had seen him fall, but
 
 228 ADVENTUBES IN TEXAS. 
 
 could find no trace of him, either dead or alive. I 
 went over the whole scene of the fight, searched 
 among the vines and along the bank of the river; 
 there were plenty of dead Mexicans cavalry, in- 
 fantry, and artillery but no Bob was to be found, 
 nor could any one inform me what had become ot 
 him, although several had seen him fall. 
 
 I was continuing my search, when I met Wharton, 
 who asked me what I was seeking, and on learning, 
 shook his head gravely. He had seen the wild 
 prairieman, he said, but whence he came, or whither 
 he was gone, was more than he could tell. It was a 
 long time since any thing had startled and astonished 
 him so much as this man's appearance and proceed- 
 ings. He (Wharton) was stationed with his party 
 among the vines, about fifty paces in rear of Tan- 
 ning's people, when, just as the Mexican infantry had 
 crossed the ford, and were forming up, he saw a man 
 approaching at a brisk trot from the north side of the 
 prairie. He halted about a couple of hundred yards 
 from Wharton, tied his mustang to a bush, and, with 
 his rifle on his arm, strode along the edge of the prai- 
 rie in the direction of the Mexicans. When he passed 
 near Wharton, the latter called out to him to halt, and 
 to say who he was, whence he came, and whither going
 
 'TWENTY TO ONE. 229 
 
 "Who I am is no business of yourn," replied the 
 man ; "nor where I come from neither. You'll soon 
 see where I'm goin'. I'm goin' agin' the enemy." 
 
 "Then you must come and join us," cried Wharton. 
 
 This the stranger testily refused to do. He'd 
 fight on his own hook, he said. 
 
 Wharton told him he must not do that. 
 
 He should like to see who'd hinder him, he said, 
 and walked on. The next moment he shot the first 
 artjjleryman. After that they let him take his own 
 way. 
 
 Neither Wharton, nor any of his men, knew what 
 had become of him ; but at last I met with a bear- 
 hunter, who gave me the following information. 
 
 " Calkilatin'," said he, " that the wild prairieman's 
 rifle was a capital good one as good a one as ever 
 killed a bear he tho't it a pity that it should fall 
 into bad hands, so went to secure it himself, although 
 the frontispiece of its dead owner warn't very in- 
 vitin'. But when he stooped to take the gun, he got 
 such a shove as knocked him backward ; and on 
 getting up, he saw the prairieman openin' his jacket 
 and examinin' a wound on his breast, which was 
 neither deep nor dangerous, although it had taken 
 away the man's senses for a while. The ball had
 
 230 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 struck the . breast bone, and was quite near the skin, 
 so that the wounded man pushed it out with his 
 fingers; and then, supporting himself on his rifle, 
 got up from the ground, and without either a 
 thankje, or a d nye, walked to where his mustang 
 was tied up, got on its back, and rode slowly away 
 in a northerly direction." 
 
 This was all the information I could obtain on the 
 subject, and shortly afterward the maui body of our 
 army came up, and I had other matters to occupy 
 my attention. General Austin expressed his 'grati- 
 tude and approbation to our brave fellows, after a 
 truly republican and democratic fashion. He shook 
 hands with all the rough bear and buffalo hunters, 
 and drank with 'them. Fanning and myself he pro- 
 moted on the spot to the rank of colonel. 
 
 We were giving the general a detailed account 
 of the morning's events, when a Mexican priest 
 appeared with a flag of truce and several wagons, 
 and craved permission to take away the dead. This 
 was of course granted, and we had some talk with 
 the padre, who, however, was too wily a customer 
 to allow himself to be Damped. What little we did 
 get out of him determined us to advance the same 
 afternoon against San Antonio. We thought there
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 281 
 
 was some chance that, in the present panic-struck 
 state of the Mexicans, we might obtain possession 
 of -the place by a bold and sudden assault. 
 
 In this, however, we were mistaken. "We found 
 the gates closed, and the enemy on his guard, but 
 too dispirited to oppose our taking up a position at 
 about cannon-shot from the great redoubt. We had 
 
 soon invested all the outlets from the city. 
 
 i 
 
 San Antonio de Bexar lies in a fertile and well- 
 irrigated valley, stretching westward from the river 
 Salado. In the center of the town rises the fort of 
 the Alamo, which at that time was armed with 
 forty-eight pieces of artillery of various calibre. The 
 garrison of the town and fortress was nearly three 
 thousand strong. 
 
 Our artillery consisted of two batteries of four 
 six-pounders and five eight-pounders ; our army of 
 eleven hundred men, with which we had not only 
 to carry on the siege, but also to make head against 
 the forces that would be sent against us from 
 Cohahuila, on the frontier of which province General 
 Cos was stationed, with a strong body of troops. 
 
 We were not discouraged, however, and opened 
 our tire upon the city. During the first week, not a 
 day passed without smart skirmishes. General Cos's
 
 232 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 dragoons swarmed about us like so many Bedouins. 
 But although well mounted, and capital horsemen, 
 they were no match for our backwoodsmen. Those 
 from the western states, especially, accustomed to 
 Indian warfare and cunning, laid traps and ambus- 
 cades for the Mexicans, and were constantly destroy- 
 ing their detachments. As for the besieged, if one 
 of them showed his head for ten seconds above the 
 city wall, he was sure of getting a rifle bullet through 
 it. I cannot say that our besieging army was a 
 perfect model of military discipline ; but any defi- 
 ciencies in that respect were made good by the intel- 
 ligence of our men, and the zeal and unanimity with 
 which they pursued the accomplishment of one great 
 object the capture of the city the liberty and 
 
 independence of Texas. 
 
 t 
 
 The badness of the gunpowder used by the Mexi- 
 cans was again of great service to us. Many of their 
 cannon-balls that fell far short of us were collected, 
 and returned to them with powerful effect. We kept 
 a sharp look-out for convoys, and captured no less 
 than three one of horses, anotner of provisions, 
 
 and twenty thousand dollars in money. 
 
 
 
 After an eight weeks' siege, a breach having been 
 made, the city surrendered, and a month later, the
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 233 
 
 fort followed the example. With a powerful park of 
 artillery we then advanced upon Goliad, the strong- 
 est fortress in Texas, which likewise capitulated in 
 about four weeks' time. We were now masters of 
 the whole country, and the war was apparently at an 
 end. 
 
 But the Mexicans were not the people to give up 
 their best province so easily. They have too much 
 of the old Spanish character about them that deter- 
 mined obstinacy which sustained the Spaniards du- 
 ring their protracted struggle against the Moors. The 
 honor of their republic was compromised, and that 
 must be redeemed. Thundering proclamations were 
 issued, denouncing the Texans as rebels, who should 
 be swept off the face of the earth, and threatening 
 the United States for having aided us with money 
 and volunteers. Ten thousand of the best troops in 
 Mexico entered Texas, and were shortly to be followed 
 by ten thousand more. The President, General Santa 
 Anna, himself came to take the command, attended 
 by a numerous and brilliant staff. 
 
 The Texans laughed at the fanfaronades of the 
 Dons, and did not attach sufficient importance to 
 these formidable preparations. Their good opinion 
 of themselves, and contempt of their foes, had been
 
 234 ADVENTUKES IN TEXAS. 
 
 increased to an unreasonable degree by their recent 
 and rapid successes. They forgot that the troops to 
 which they had hitherto been opposed were for the 
 most part militia, and that those now advancing 
 against them were of a far better description, and 
 had probably better powder. The call to arms made 
 by our president, Burnet, was disregarded by many, 
 and we could only get together about two thousand 
 men, of whom nearly two-thirds had to be left to 
 garrison the forts of Goliad and Alamo. In the first- 
 named place, we left seven hundred and sixty men, 
 under the command of Fanning ; in the latter, some- 
 thing more than five hundred. With the remaining 
 seven or eight hundred we took the field. 
 
 The Mexicans advanced so rapidly that they were 
 npon us before we were aware of it, and we were 
 compelled to retreat, leaving the garrisons of the two 
 forts to their fate, and a right melancholy one it 
 proved. 
 
 One morning news was brought to Goliad that a 
 number of country people, principally women and 
 children, were on their way to the fort, closely pur- 
 sued by the Mexicans. Fanning, losing sight of 
 prudence in his compassion for these poor people, 
 immediately ordered a battalion of five hundred
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 235 
 
 men, under the command of Major Ward, to go and 
 meet the fugitives and escort them in. The major 
 and several officers of the garrison doubted as to the 
 propriety of this measure ; but Fanning, full of sym- 
 pathy for his unprotected countrywomen, insisted, 
 and the battalion moved on. They soon came in' 
 sight of the fugitives, as they thought, but on draw- 
 ing nearer, the latter turned out to be Mexican dra- 
 goons, who sprang upon their horses", which were 
 concealed in the neighboring islands of trees, and a 
 desperate fight began. The Mexicans, far superior in 
 numbers, received every moment accessions to their 
 strength. The Louis-Potosi and Santa F6 cavalry, 
 fellows who seem born on horseback, were there. 
 Our unfortunate countrymen were hemmed in on all 
 sides. The fight lasted two days, and only two men 
 out of the five hundred escaped with their lives. 
 
 Before the news of this misfortune reached us, 
 orders had been sent to Fanning to evacuate the fort 
 and join us with six pieces of artillery. He received 
 the order, and proceeded to execute it. But what 
 might have been very practicable for eight hundred 
 and sixty men, was impossible for three hundred 
 and sixty. Nevertheless, Fanning began his march 
 through the prairie. His little band was almost
 
 236 AD VENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 immediately surrounded by the enemy. After a 
 gallant defense, which lasted twelve hours, they suc- 
 ceeded in reaching an island ; but scarcely had they 
 established themselves there, when they found that 
 their ammunition was expended. There was nothing 
 left for them but to accept the terms offered by the 
 Mexicans, who pledged themselves that, if they laid 
 down their arms, they should be permitted to return 
 to their homes. But the rifles were no sooner piled 
 than the Texans found themselves charged by theii 
 treacherous foes, who butchered them without mercy. 
 Only an advanced post of three men succeeded in 
 escaping. 
 
 The five hundred men whom we had left in San 
 Antonio de Bexar fared no better. "Not sufficiently 
 numerous to hold out the town as well as the Alamo, 
 they retreated into the latter. The Mexican artil- 
 lery soon laid a part of the fort in ruins. Still its 
 defenders held out. After eight days' fighting, 
 during which the loss of the besiegers was tremen- 
 dously severe, the Alamo was taken, and not a single 
 Texan left alive. 
 
 We thus, hy these two cruel blows, lost two-thirds 
 of our army, and little more than seven hundred 
 men remained to resist the numerous legion? of our
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 237 
 
 victorious foe. The prospect before us was one welJ 
 calculated to daunt the stoutest heart. 
 
 The Mexican general, Santa Anna, moved his 
 army forward in two divisions, one stretching along 
 the coast toward Velasco, the other advancing 
 toward San Felipe de Austin. He himself, with a 
 small force, marched in the center. At Fort Bend, 
 twenty miles below San Felipe, he crossed the 
 Brazos, and shortly afterward established himself, 
 with about fifteen hundred men, in an intrenched 
 camp. Our army, under the command of General 
 Houston, was in front of Harrisburg, to which place 
 the congress had retreated. 
 
 It was on the night of the 20th of April, and oui 
 whole disposable force, some seven hundred men, 
 was bivouacked in and about an island of sycamores. 
 It was a cloudy, stormy evening ; a high wind blew, 
 and the branches of the trees groaned and creaked 
 above our heads. The weather harmonized well 
 enough with our feelings, which were sad and de- 
 sponding when we thought of the desperate state 
 of our cause. "We (the officers) were seated in a 
 circle round thp general and Alcalde, both of whom 
 appeared uneasy and anxious. More than once 
 they got up, and walked backward and forward.
 
 238 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 seemingly impatient, and as if they waited for or 
 expected something. There was a deep silence 
 throughout the whole bivouac; some slept, and 
 those who watched were in no humor for idle chat. 
 
 "Who goes there?" suddenly shouted a sentry. 
 The answer we did not hear, but it was apparently 
 satisfactory, for there was no further challenge, and 
 a few seconds afterward au orderly came up, and 
 whispered something in the ear of the Alcalde. The 
 latter hurried away, and, presently returning, spoke 
 a few words in a low tone to the general, and then 
 to us officers! In an instant we were all upon our 
 feet. In less then ten minutes the bivouac was 
 broken up, and our little army on the march. 
 
 All our people were well mounted, and armed 
 with rifles, pistols, and bowie-knives. "We had six 
 field-pieces, but we only took four, harnessed with 
 twice the usual number of horses. We marched at 
 a rapid trot the whole night, led by a tall, gaunt 
 figure of a man who acted as our guide, and kept 
 eome distance in front. I more than once asked the 
 Alcalde who this was. " You will know by and by," 
 was his answer. 
 
 Before daybreak we had ridden five-and-twenty 
 miles, but had been compelled to abandon two more
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 239 
 
 guns. As yet, no one knew the object of this forced 
 march. The general commanded a halt, and ordered 
 the men to refresh and strengthen themselves by food 
 and drink. While they did this, he assembled 
 the officers around him, and the meaning of our 
 night-march was explained to us. The camp in 
 which the Mexican president and general-in-chief 
 had intrenched himself was within a mile of us ; 
 General Parza, with two thousand men, was twenty 
 miles farther to the rear ; General Filasola, with one 
 thousand, eighteen miles lower down on the Brazos ; 
 Yisca, with fifteen hundred, twenty-five miles higher 
 up. One bold, decided blow, and Texas might yet 
 be free. There was not a moment to lose, nor was 
 one lost. The general addressed the men. 
 
 "Friends! Brothers! Citizens! General Santa 
 Anna is within a mile of us with fifteen hundred men. 
 The hour that is to decide the queston of Texan lib- 
 erty, is now arrived. What say you? Do we attack? " 
 
 " We do ! " exclaimed the men with one voice, 
 cheerfully and decidedly. 
 
 In the most perfect stillness we arrived within two 
 hundred paces of the enemy's camp. The reveille 
 of the sleeping Mexicans was the discharge of our 
 two field-pieces loaded with canister. Rushing oil to
 
 240 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 within twenty-five paces of the intrenchment, we 
 gave them a deadly volley from our rifles, and then, 
 throwing away the latter, bounded up the breast- 
 works, a pistol in each hand. The Mexicans, scared 
 and stupefied by this sudden attack, ran to and fro 
 in the wildest confusion, seeking their arms, and not 
 knowing which way to turn. After firing our pistols, 
 we threw them away as we had done our rifles, and, 
 drawing our bowie-knives, fell, with a shout, upon 
 the masses of the terrified foe. It was more like the 
 boarding of a ship than any land fight I had ever 
 seen or imagined. 
 
 My station was on the right of the line, where 
 the breastwork, ending in a redoubt, was steep and 
 high. I made two attempts to climb up, but both 
 times slipped back. On the third trial I nearly 
 gained the summit; but was again slipping down, 
 when a hand seized me by the collar, and pulled me 
 up on the bank. In the darkness and confusion, I 
 did not distinguish the face of the man who rendered 
 me this assistance. I only saw the glitter of a bayo- 
 not which a Mexican thrust into his shoulder, at the 
 very moment he helped me up. He neither flinched 
 nor let go his hold of me till I was fairly on my 
 feet ; then, turning slowly round, he leveled a pistol
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 
 
 at the soldier, who, at that very moment, was struck 
 down by the Alcalde. 
 
 "No thanks to ye, squire!" exclaimed the man, in 
 a voice that made me start, even in that moment of 
 excitement and bustle. I looked at the speaker, but 
 could only see his back, for he had already plunged 
 into the thick of the fight, and was engaged with a 
 party of Mexicans, who defended themselves desper- 
 ately. He fought like a man as anxious to be killed 
 as to kill, striking furiously right and left, but never 
 guarding a blow, though the Alcalde, who was by his 
 side, warded off several which were aimed at him. 
 
 By this time my men had scrambled up after me. 
 I looked round to see where our help was most wanted, 
 and was about to lead them forward, when I heard 
 the voice of the Alcalde. 
 
 "Are you badly hurt, Bob?" said he in an anxious 
 tone. 
 
 I glanced at the spot whence the voice came 
 There lay Bob Rock, covered with blood, and appa- 
 rently insensible. The Alcalde was supporting his 
 head on his arm. Before I had time to give a second 
 look, I was hurried forward with the rest toward the 
 center of the camp, where the fight was the hottest. 
 
 About five hundred men, the pick of the Mexican 
 11
 
 242 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 army, had collected round a knot of staff-officers, and 
 were making a most gallant defense. General Hous- 
 ton had attacked them with three hundred of our 
 people, but had not been able to break their ranks. 
 His charge, however, had shaken them a little, and, 
 before they had time to recover from it, I came up. 
 With a wild hurrah, my men fired their pistols, 
 hurled them at their enemies' heads, and then, spring- 
 ing over the corpses of the fallenj dashed like a thun- 
 derbolt into the broken ranks of the Mexicans. 
 
 A frightful butchery ensued. Our men, who were 
 for the most part, and at most times, peaceable and 
 humane in disposition, were converted into perfect 
 fiends. Whole ranks of the enemy fell under their 
 knives. Some idea may be formed of the horrible 
 slaughter, from the fact that the fight, from beginning 
 to end, did not last above ten minutes, and in that 
 time nearly eight hundred Mexicans were cut or shot 
 down. "No quarter!" was the cry of the infuriated 
 assailants: " Remember Alamo ! Remember Goli ad ! 
 Think of Fanning, Ward!" The Mexicans threw 
 themselves on their knees, imploring mercy. " Mis- 
 ericordia ! Cuartel,por el amor de Dios ! " shrieked 
 they in heart-rending tones ; but their supplications 
 were not listened to, and every man of them would
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 243 
 
 inevitably have been butchered, had not General 
 Houston and the officers dashed in between the vic- 
 tors and the vanquished, and with the greatest diffi- 
 culty, and by threats of cutting down our men if 
 they did not desist, put an end to this scene of blood- 
 shed, and saved the Texan character from the stain 
 of unmanly cruelty. 
 
 When all was over, I hurried to the spot where I 
 had left the Alcalde with Bob, who lay, bleeding 
 from six wounds, only a few paces from the spot 
 where he had helped me up the breastwork. The 
 bodies of two dead Mexicans served him for a pillow. 
 The Alcalde was kneeling by his side, gazing sadly 
 and earnestly into the face of the dying man. 
 
 For Bob was dying ; but it was no longer the 
 death of the despairing murderer. The expression 
 of his features was calm and composed, and his eyes 
 were raised to heaven with a look of hope and sup- 
 plication. 
 
 I stooped down and asked him how he felt him- 
 self, but he made no answer, and evidently did not 
 remember me. After a minute or two, "How goes it 
 with the fight ? " he asked in a broken voice. 
 
 "We have conquered, Bob. The enemy killed or 
 taken. Not a man escaped."
 
 244 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 Ho paused a little, and then spoke again. 
 
 " Have I done iny duty ? May I hope to be for- 
 given ? " 
 
 The Alcalde answered him in an agitated voice. 
 
 "He who forgave the sinner on the cross will 
 doubtless be merciful to you, Bob. His holy book 
 Bays : ' There is more joy over one sinner that repent- 
 eth than over ninety and nine just men.' Be of good 
 hope, Bob! the Almighty will surely be merciful tc 
 you!" 
 
 "Thank ye, squire," gasped Bob, "you're a true 
 friend, a friend in life and death. Well, it's come 
 at last," said he, a resigned and happy smile stealing 
 over his- features. "I've prayed for it long enough. 
 Thank God, it's come at last! " 
 
 He gazed upon the Alcalde with a kindly expres- 
 sion of countenance. There was a slight shud- 
 dering movement of his whole frame Bob was 
 dead. 
 
 The Alcalde remained kneeling for a short time 
 by the side of the corpse, his lips moving in prayer. 
 At last he rose to his feet. 
 
 "God desireth not the death of the sinner, but 
 rather that he may turn from his wickedness and 
 live," said he, in a low and solemn tone; "I had
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 245 
 
 those words in my thoughts four years ago, when I 
 cut him down from the branch of the Patriarch." 
 
 "Four years ago!" cried I. "Then you cut him 
 down, and were in time to save him ! Was it he who 
 yesterday brought us news of the vicinity of the foe ? " 
 
 "It was, and much more than that has he done," 
 replied the Alcalde, no longer striving to conceal the 
 tears that fell from his eyes. " For four years has he 
 served us, lived, fought, and spied for us, without 
 honor, reward, hope, or consolation without a single 
 hour of tranquillity, or a wish for aught except death. 
 All this to serve Texas and his countrymen. Who 
 shall say this man was not a true patriot ? " 
 
 " God will surely be merciful to his soul," said the 
 Alcalde, after a pause. 
 
 "I trust he will," answered I, profoundly affected. 
 
 We were interrupted at this moment by a message 
 from General Houston, to whom we immediately 
 hastened. All was uproar and confusion. Santa 
 Anna could not be found among the prisoners. 
 
 This was a terrible disappointment, for the capture 
 of the Mexican president had been our principal 
 object, and the victory we had gained was compara- 
 tively unimportant if he escaped. Indeed, the hope 
 of putting an end to the war by his capture had more
 
 246 ADVENTURES IN TEXAS. 
 
 than any thing encouraged and stimulated us to the 
 unequal conflict. 
 
 The moment was a very critical one. Among our 
 men were some thirty or forty desperate characters, 
 who began handling their knives, and casting looks 
 upon the prisoners, the meaning of which it was im- 
 possible to mistake. Selecting some of our trustiest 
 
 men, we stationed them as a guard over the captives, 
 
 
 
 and, having thus assured the safety of the latter, 
 questioned them as to what had become of their 
 general. 
 
 They had none of them seen Santa Anna since the 
 commencement of the fight, and it was clear that he 
 must have made his escape while we were getting 
 over the breastworks. He could not be very far off, 
 and we at once took measures to find him. A hun- 
 dred men were sent off with the prisoners to Harris- 
 burg, and a hundred others, capitally mounted on 
 horses found in the Mexican camp, started to scour 
 the country in search of the fugitive chief. I accom- 
 panied the latter detachment. 
 
 "We had been twelve hours in the saddle, and had 
 ridden over nearly a hundred miles of ground. We 
 almost despaired of finding the game we were in 
 quest of, and thought of abandoning the chase, when,
 
 TWENTY TO ONE. 247 
 
 at a distance of about seven miles from the camp, 
 one of our most experienced hunters discovered the 
 print of a small and delicate boot upon some soft 
 ground leading to a marsh. Following this trail, it 
 at last led us to a man sunk up to his waist in the 
 swamp, and so covered with mud and filth as to be 
 quite unrecognizable. We drew him from his hiding- 
 place, half dead with cold and terror, and, having 
 washed the dirt from his face, we found him to be a 
 man of about forty years of age, with blue eyes, of a 
 mild, but crafty expression ; a narrov, high forehead ; 
 long, thin nose, rather fleshy at the the tip ; project- 
 ing upper lip, and long chin. These features tallied 
 too exactly with the description we had had of the 
 Mexican president for us to doubt that our prisoner 
 was Santa Anna himself. 
 
 The only thing that at all tended to shake this 
 conviction was the extraordinary poltroonery of our 
 new captive. He threw himself on his knees, beg- 
 ging us, in the name of God and all the saints, to 
 spare his life. Our reiterated assurances and prom- 
 ises were insufficient to convince him of his perfect 
 safety, or to induce him to adopt a demeanor more 
 consistent with his dignity and high station. 
 
 The events which succeeded this fortunate capture
 
 248 ADVENTUEES IS TEXAS. 
 
 are too well known to require more than a very 
 brief recapitulation. The same evening, a truce was 
 agreed upon between Houston and Santa Anna, the 
 latter sending orders to his different generals to 
 retire upon San Antonio de Bexar, and other places 
 in the direction of the Mexican frontier. These 
 orders, valueless as emanating from a prisoner, most 
 of the generals were weak or cowardly enough to 
 obey an obedience for which they were afterward 
 brought to trial by the Mexican congress. In a few 
 days, two-thirds of Texas was in our possession. 
 
 The news of these successes brought crowds of 
 volunteers to our standard. In three weeks we had 
 an army of several thousand men, with which we 
 advanced against the Mexicans. There was no more 
 fighting, however, for our antagonists had had 
 enough, and allowed themselves to be driven from 
 one position to another, till, in a month's time, there 
 was not one of them left in the country. 
 
 The struggle was over, and Texas was Free 1
 
 Jtoo Ift 
 
 u A CAPITAL place this for our bivouac ! " cried I, 
 swinging myself off my mule, and stretching my 
 arms and legs, stiffened by a long ride. 
 
 "We had halted in a snug ravine, well shaded by 
 mahogany trees ; the ground was covered with the 
 luxuriant vegetation of that tropical region, a little 
 stream bubbled and leaped and dashed down one of 
 the high rocks that flanked the hollow, and rippled 
 away through the tall fern toward the rear of our 
 halting-place, at the distance of a hundred yards 
 from which the ground was low and shelving. 
 
 "A capital place this for our bivouac!" 
 
 My companion nodded. As to the lazy Mexican 
 a/rrieros and servants, they said nothing, but began 
 making arrangements for passing the night. Curse 
 the fellows! Had they seen us preparing to lie 
 
 down in a swamp, cheek by jowl with an alligator, 
 11*
 
 250 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 I believe they would have offered no word of remon- 
 strance. Those Mexican half-breeds, half Indian 
 half Spaniard, with sometimes a dash of the Negro, 
 are themselves so little pervious to the dangers and 
 evils of their soil and climate, that they forget that 
 Yankee flesh and blood may be rather more suscepti 
 ble ; that niguas* and musquitos, and vomito prieto, 
 as they call their infernal fever, are no trifles to 
 ancounter; without mentioning the snakes, and 
 scorpions, and alligators, and other creatures of the 
 kind, which infest their strange, wild, unnatural, and 
 yet beautiful country. 
 
 I had corne to Mexico in company with Jonathan 
 Rowley, a youth of Virginia raising, six-and-twenty 
 years of age, six feet two in his stockings, with the 
 limbs of a Hercules, and shoulders like the side of 
 a house. It was toward the close of 1824 ; and the 
 recent emancipation of Mexico from the Spanish 
 yoke, and* its self-formation into a republic, had 
 given it a new and strong interest to us Americans. 
 We had been told much, too, of the beauty of the 
 
 * The nigua is a small but very dangerous insect, which fixes itself 
 in the feet, bores holes in the skin, and lays its eggs there. These, 
 if not extracted, (which extraction, by the by, is a most painful 
 operation,) cause first an intolerable -itching, and, subsequently, sores 
 and ulcers of a sufficiently serious nature to entail the loss of the feet
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 251 
 
 country out in thiu we were at first rather disap- 
 pointed ; and we reached the capital without having 
 seen any thing, except some parts of the province of 
 Vera Cruz, that could justify the extravagant enco- 
 miums we had heard lavished in the States upon the 
 splendid scenery of Mexico. We had not, however, 
 to go far southward from the chief city, before the 
 character of the country altered, and became such 
 as to satisfy our most sanguine expectations. Forests 
 of palms, of oranges, citrons, and bananas, filled tho 
 valleys : the marshes and low grounds were crowded 
 with mahogany-trees, and with immense fern plants, 
 in height equal to trees. All nature was on a gigan- 
 tic scale the mountains of an enormous height, 
 the face of the country seamed and split by barran- 
 cas or ravines, hundreds, ay, thousands of feet deep, 
 and filled with the most abundant and varied veg- 
 etation. The sky, too, was of the deep glowing blue 
 of the tropics, the sort of blue which seems varnished 
 or clouded with gold. But this ardent climate and 
 teeming soil are not without their disadvantages. 
 Vermin and reptiles of all kinds, and the deadly 
 fever of those latitudes, render the low lands unin- 
 habitable for eight months out of the twelve. At 
 the same time, there are large districts comparatively
 
 252 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 free from those plagues perfect gardens of Eden, 
 of such extreme beauty, that the mere act of living 
 and breathing among their enchanting scenes be- 
 comes a positive and real enjoyment. The heart 
 leaps with delight, and the soul is elevated, by the 
 contemplation of those regions of fairy-like magnifi 
 cence. 
 
 The most celebrated among these favored prov- 
 inces is the valley of Oaxaca, in which two moun- 
 tainous districts, the Mistecca, and Tzapoteca, bear 
 off the palm of beauty. It was through this immense 
 valley, nearly three hundred leagues in length, and 
 surrounded by the highest mountains in Mexico, that 
 we were now journeying. The kind attention of our 
 charged' affaires 'at the Mexican capital, had pro- 
 cured us every possible facility in traveling through 
 a country whose soil was at that time rarely trodden 
 by any but native feet. We had numerous letters to 
 the alcaldes and authorities of the towns and villages 
 which are sparingly sprinkled over the southern pro- 
 vinces of Mexico ; we were to have escorts when 
 necessary ; every assistance, protection, and facility, 
 were to be afforded us. But as neither the authori- 
 ties nor his excellency, Uncle Sam's envoy, could 
 make inns and houses where none existed, it followed
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 that we were often obliged to sleep a ia 'belle etoile, 
 with the sky for a covering. And a right splendid 
 roof it was to our bedchamber, that tropical sky, with 
 its constellations, all new to us northerns, and every 
 star magnified, by the effect of the atmosphere, to an 
 incredible size. Mars and Saturn, Yenus and Jupiter, 
 had disappeared ; the great and little Bear were still 
 to be seen ; in the far distance the ship Argo and the 
 glowing Centaur; and, beautiful above all, the glo- 
 rious sign of Christianity, the colossal Southern Cross, 
 in all its brightness and sublimity, glittering in sil- 
 very magnificence out of its setting of dark blue 
 crystal. 
 
 We were traveling with a state and degree of lux- 
 ury that would have excited the contempt of our 
 backwoodsmen ; but in a strange country we thought 
 it best to do as the natives did ; and accordingly, 
 instead of mounting our horses and setting forth 
 alone, with our rifles slung on our shoulders, and a 
 few handfuls of parched corn and dried flesh in our 
 hunting pouches, we journeyed Mexican fashion, with 
 a whole string of mules, a guide, a couple of a'rrieros 
 or muleteers, a cook, and one or two other attendants. 
 While the latter slung our hammocks tc the lower- 
 most branches of a tree for in that part of Mexico
 
 254 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 it is not very safe to sleep upon the ground, on ac- 
 count of the snakes and vermin our cocinero lit a 
 fire against the rock, and in a very few minutes an 
 iguana which we had shot that day was spitted and 
 roasting before it. It was strange to see this hideous 
 creature, in shape between a lizard and a dragon, 
 twisting and turning in the light of the fire ; and its 
 disgusting appearance might have taken away some 
 people's appetites ; but we knew by experience that 
 there is no better eating than a roasted iguana. We 
 made a hearty meal off this one, concluding it with 
 a pull at the rum flask, and then clambered into our 
 hammocks ; the Mexicans stretched themselves on 
 the g^und with their heads upon the saddles of the 
 mules, and both masters and men were soon asleep. 
 It was somewhere about midnight when I was 
 awakened by an indescribable sensation of oppres- 
 sion from the surrounding atmosphere. The air 
 seemed to be no longer air, but some poisonous ex- 
 halation that had suddenly arisen and enveloped us. 
 From the rear of the ravine in which we lay, billows 
 of dark mephitic mist rolled forward, surrounding 
 us with their baneful influence. It was the vomito 
 prieto, the fever itself, embodied in the shape of a 
 log. At the same moment, and while I was gasping
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 255 
 
 for breath, a sort of cloud seemed to settle upon me, 
 and a thousand stings, like red hot needles, were run 
 into my hands, face, neck into every part of my 
 limbs and body that was not triply guarded by cloth- 
 ing. I instinctively stretched forth my hands and 
 closed them, clutching by the action, hundreds of 
 enormous musquitos, whose droning, singing noise 
 Bpw almost deafened me. The air was literally 
 filled with a dense swarm of these insects ; and the 
 agony caused by their repeated and venomous stings 
 was indescribable. It was a real plague of Egypt. 
 
 Rowley, whose hammock was slung some ten yards 
 from mine, soon gave tongue : I heard him kicking 
 and plunging, spluttering and swearing, with a vigor 
 and energy that would have been ludicrous under 
 any other circumstances ; but matters were just then 
 too serious for a laugh. With the torture, for such 
 it was, of the musquito bites, and the effect of the 
 vapors that each moment thickened around me, I 
 was already in a high state of fever, alternately 
 gl(.wing with heat and shivering with cold, my 
 tongue parched, my eyelids throbbing, my brain on 
 fire. 
 
 There was a heavy thump upon the ground. It was 
 Rowley jumping out of his hammock. " Damnation ! n
 
 256 TWO NIGHTS IN SOTTTHEBN MEXICO. 
 
 roared he, " where are we ? On the earth, or undci 
 
 the earth? "We must be we are in theii 
 
 Mexican purgatory. We are, or there's no snakes 
 in Virginny. Hallo, arrieros! Pablo! Mateo!" 
 
 At that moment a scream but a scream of such 
 terror and anguish as I never heard before or since 
 a scream as of women in their hour of agony and 
 extreme peril sounded within a few paces of us. 
 I sprang out of my hammock ; and, as I did so, two 
 white and graceful female figures darted or rather 
 flew past me, shrieking and oh! in what heart-rend- 
 ing tones for " Socorro ! Socorro ! POT Dios ! 
 Help! Help!" Close upon the heels of the fugi- 
 tives, bounding and leaping along with enormous 
 strides and springs, came three or four dark objects 
 which resembled nothing earthly. The human form 
 they certainly possessed ; but so hideous and horri- 
 ble, so unnatural and specter-like was their aspect, 
 that their sudden encounter in that gloomy ravine, 
 and in the almost darkness that surrounded us, 
 might well have shaken the strongest nerves. We 
 stood for a second, Rowley and myself, paralyzed 
 with astonishment at these strange appearances ; but 
 another piercing scream restored to us our presence 
 of mind. One of the women had either tripped or
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 257 
 
 fallen from fatigue, and she lay, a white heap, upon 
 the ground. The drapery of the other was in the 
 clutch of one of the specters, or devils, or whatever 
 they were, when Rowley, with a cry of horror, 
 rushed forward and struck a furious blow at the 
 monster with his machete. At the same time, and 
 almost without knowing how, I found myself en- 
 gaged with another of the creatures. But the 
 contest was no equal one. In vain did we stab 
 and strike with our machetes ; our antagonists were 
 covered and defended with a hard bristly hide, 
 which our knives, although keen and pointed, had 
 great difficulty in penetrating; and on the other 
 hand we found ourselves clutched in long sinewy 
 arms, terminating in hands and fingers, whose nails 
 were as sharp and strong as an eagle's talons. I felt 
 these horrible claws strike into my shoulders as the 
 creature seized me, and, drawing me toward him, 
 pressed me as in the hug of a bear; while his hide- 
 ous half-man, half-brute visage was grinning and 
 narling at me, and his long keen white teeth were 
 snapping and gnashing within six inches of my face. 
 
 "God of heaven! This is horrible! Rowley! 
 Help!" 
 
 But Rowley, in spite of his gigantic strength, wag
 
 258 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 powerless as an infant in the grasp of those terrible 
 opponents. He was within a few paces of me, strug- 
 gling with two of them, and making superhuman 
 efforts to regain possession of his knife, which had 
 dropped or been wrenched from his hand. And all 
 this time, where were our arrieros? Were they 
 attacked likewise? Why did'nt they come and help 
 
 us? All this time! pshaw! it was no time: it 
 
 all passed in the space of a few seconds, in the cir- 
 cumference of a few yards, and in the feeble glim- 
 mering light of the stars, and of the smouldering 
 embers of our fire, which was at some distance 
 from us. 
 
 "Ha! that has told!" A stab, dealt with the 
 energy of despair, had entered my antagonist's side. 
 But I was like to pay dearly for it. Uttering a 
 deafening yell of pain and fury, the monster, clasped 
 me closer to his foul and loathsome body ; his sharp 
 claws, dug deeper into my back, seemed to tear up 
 iny flesh: the agony was insupportable my eyes 
 swam, and my senses almost left me. Just then 
 Crack! crack! Two four a dozen musket and 
 pistol shots, followed by such a chorus of yellings 
 and bowlings and unearthly laughter! The creature 
 that held me seemed startled relaxed his grasp
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 259 
 
 ilightly. At that moment a dark arm was passed 
 before my face, there was a blinding flash, a yell, 
 and I fell to the ground, released from the clutch of 
 my opponent. I remember nothing more. Over- 
 come by pain, fatigue, terror, and the noxious vapors 
 of that vile ravine, my senses abandoned me, and I 
 swooned away. 
 
 When consciousness returned, I found myself 
 lying upon some blankets, under a sort of arbor of 
 foliage and flowers. It was broad day ; the sun 
 shone brightly, the blossoms smelled sweet, the gay- 
 plurnaged humming-birds darted and shot about in 
 the sunbeams like so many animated fragments of 
 a prism. A Mexican Indian, standing beside my 
 couch, and whose face was unknown to me, held out 
 a cocoa-nutshell containing some liquid, which 1 
 eagerly seized and drank off. The draught (it was 
 a mixture of citron juice and water) revived me 
 greatly ; and raising myself on my elbow, although 
 with much pain and difficulty, I looked around, and 
 beheld a scene of bustle and life which to me was 
 quite unintelligible. Upon the shelving hillside on 
 which I lay, a sort of encampment was established. 
 A number of mules and horses wandered about at 
 liberty, or, fastened to trees and bushes, ate the
 
 260 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 forage that had been collected and laid before them. 
 Some were provided with handsome and commodious 
 saddles ; others had pack-saddles, intended appar- 
 ently for the conveyance of numerous sacks, cases, 
 and wallets, that were scattered about on the grouna. 
 Several muskets and rifles rested here and there 
 against the trees ; and a dozen or fifteen men were 
 occupied in various ways some filling up saddle- 
 bags or fastening luggage on the mules, others lying 
 on the ground smoking, one party surrounding a fire 
 at which cooking was going on. At a short distance 
 from my bed was another similarly composed couch, 
 occupied by a man muffled up in blankets, and hav- 
 ing his back turned toward me, so that I was unable 
 to obtain a view of his features. 
 
 "What is all this? Where am I? Where is Kow- 
 ley our guide where are they all?" 
 
 "J\^b entiendo" answered my brown-visaged Gan- 
 ymede, shaking his head, and with a good-humored 
 smile. 
 
 "Adonde estamosf" 
 
 " En el valle Chihuatan, en el gran valle de Oan~ 
 aca y Guatemala; diez leguas de Tarifa? In the 
 valley of Chihuatan ; ten leagues from Tarifa. 
 
 The figure lying on the bed near me now made H
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 26] 
 
 movement, and turned round. What could it be? Ita 
 face was like a lump of raw flesh streaked and stained 
 
 * 
 
 with blood. No features were distinguishable. 
 
 " Who are you ? Who are you ? " cried I. 
 
 " Rowley," it answered : " Rowley I was, at least, 
 if those devils have n't changed me. 
 
 "Then changed you they have," cried I, with a 
 wild laugh. "Good God! have they scalped him 
 alive, or what? That is not Rowley." 
 
 The^Mexican, who had gone to give some drink 
 to the creature claiming to be Rowley, now opened 
 a valise that lay on the ground a short distance off, 
 and took out a small looking-glass, which he brought 
 and held before my eyes. It was then only that I 
 called past occurrences to mind, and understood how 
 it was that the mask of human flesh lying near me 
 might indeed be Rowley. He was, if any thing, 
 less altered than myself. My eyes were almost 
 closed ; my lips, nose, and whole face swollen to an 
 immense size, and perfectly unrecognizable. I invol- 
 untarily recoiled in dismay and disgust at my own 
 appearance. The horrible night passed in the ravine, 
 the foul and suffocating vapors, the furious attack of 
 the musquitos the bites of which, and the conse- 
 quent fever and inflammation, had thus disfigured
 
 262 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 us all recurred to our memory. But the women 
 the fight with the monsters beasts Indians 
 whatever they were, that was still incomprehensible 
 It was no dream : my back and shoulders still 
 smarted from the wounds inflicted on them by the 
 claws of those creatures, and I now felt that various 
 parts of my limbs and body were swathed in wet 
 bandages. I was mustering my Spanish to ask an 
 explanation of the Mexican who stood beside me, 
 when I suddenly perceived a great bustle in the 
 encampment, and saw everybody crowding to meet 
 a number of persons who just then emerged from the 
 high fern, and among whom I recognized our arrieros 
 and servants. The new-comers were grouped around 
 something which they dragged along the ground ; 
 several women for the most part young and grace- 
 ful creatures, their slender, supple forms muffled in 
 the flowing picturesque rebozos and frazadas pre- 
 ceded the party, looking back occasionally with an 
 expression of mingled horror and triumph ; all with 
 rosaries in their hands, the beads of which ran rapidly 
 through their fingers, while they occasionally kissed 
 the cross, or made the sign on their breasts or in the air 
 " Un Zambo muerto ! Un Zambo muerto /" 
 shouted they as they drew near.
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 268 
 
 "Han matado un Zambo! They have killed a 
 Zambo ! " repeated my attendant in a tone of exul- 
 tation. 
 
 The party came close up to where Rowley and 1 
 lay ; the women stood aside, jumping and laugh- 
 ing and crossing themselves, and crying out, " Un 
 Zambo! Un Zambo muerto!" the group opened, 
 and we saw, lying dead upon the ground, one of 
 our horrible antagonists of the preceding night. 
 
 "Good God, what is that?" cried Kowley and I, 
 with one breath. " Un demonio! a devil!" 
 
 " Perdonen vds, Senores Un Zambo mono 
 muy terribles los Zambos. Terrible monkeys these 
 Zambos." 
 
 "Monkeys!" cried I. 
 
 " Monkeys ! " repeated Rowley, raising himself up 
 into a sitting posture by the help of his hands. 
 "Monkeys apes by Jove! We've been fighting 
 with monkeys, and it's they who have mauled us in 
 this way. Well, Jonathan Rowley, think of your 
 coming from old Yirginny to Mexico to be whipped 
 by a monkey. It's gone goose with your character. 
 You can never show your face in the States again 
 Whipped by an ape! an ape, with a tail and 
 * hairy O Lord ! Whipped by a monkey ! "
 
 264 TWO BIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 And the ludicrousness of the notion overcoming 
 his mortification, and the pain of his wounds and 
 bites, he sank back upon the bed of blankets and 
 banana leaves, laughing as well as his swollen face 
 and sausage-looking lips would allow him. 
 
 It was as much as I could do to persuade myself 
 that the carcass lying before me had never been in- 
 habited by a human soul. It was humiliating to 
 behold the close affinity between this huge ape and 
 our own species. Had it not been for the tail, I 
 could have fancied I saw the dead body of some 
 prairie hunter dressed in skins. It was exactly lite 
 a powerful, well-grown man; and even the expres- 
 sion of the face had more of bad human passions 
 than of animal instinct. The feet and thighs were 
 those of a muscular man ; the legs rather too curved 
 and calfless, though I have seen Negroes who had 
 scarcely better ones ; the tendons of the hands stood 
 out like whipcords ; the nails were as long as 
 a tiger's claws. No wonder that we had been 
 overmatched in our struggle with the brutes. No 
 man could have withstood them. The arms of 
 this one were like packets of cordage, all muscle, 
 nerve, and sinew; and the hands were clasped to- 
 gether with such force, that the efforts of eight or ten
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 265 
 
 Mexicans and Indians were insufficient to disunite 
 them. 
 
 Whatever remained to be cleared up in our night's 
 adventures was now soon explained. Our guide, 
 through ignorance or thoughtlessness, had allowed 
 us to take up our bivouac within a very unsafe dis 
 tance of one of the most pestiferous swamps in the 
 whole province. Shortly after we had fallen asleep, 
 a party of Mexican travelers had arrived, and estab- 
 lished themselves within a few hundred yards of us, 
 but on a rising ground, where they avoided the me- 
 phitic vapors and the musquitos which had so tor- 
 tured Rowley and myself. In the night, two of the 
 women, having ventured a short distance from the 
 encampment, were surprised by the zambos, or huge 
 man-apes, common in some parts of Southern Mex- 
 ico ; and finding themselves cut off from their 
 friends, had fled they knew not whither, fortunately 
 for them in the direction of our bivouac. Their 
 screams, our shouts, and the yellings and diabolical 
 laughter of the zambos, had brought the Mexicans 
 to our assistance. The monkeys showed no fight 
 after the first volley ; several of them must have 
 been wounded, but o.nly the one now lying before ua 
 
 had remained upon the field. 
 12
 
 266 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 The Mexicans we had fallen among were from 
 the Tzapoteca, principally cochineal gatherers, and 
 kinder-hearted people there could not well be. They 
 seemed to think they never could do enough for 
 us the women especially, and more particularly 
 the two whom we had endeavored to rescue from the 
 power of the apes. These latter certainly had cause 
 to be grateful. It made us shudder to think of their 
 fate had they not met with us. It was the delay 
 caused by our attacking the brutes that had given 
 the Mexicans time to come up. 
 
 Every attention was shown to us. We were fanned 
 with palm-leaves, refreshed with cooling drinks, our 
 wounds carefully dressed and bandaged, our heated, 
 irritated, musquito-bitten limbs and faces washed 
 with balsam and the juice of herbs : more tender and 
 careful nurses it would be impossible to find. We 
 soon felt better, and were able to sit up and look 
 about us, carefully avoiding, however, to look at each 
 other, for we could not get reconciled to the horrible 
 appearance of our swollen, bloody, disgusting fea- 
 tures. From our position on the rising ground, we 
 had a full view over the frightful swamp at the en- 
 trance of which all our misfortunes had happened. 
 There it lay, steaming like a great kettle ; endless
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 267 
 
 mists rising from it, out of which appeared here and 
 there the crown of some mighty tree towering above 
 the banks of vapor. To the left were cliffs and crags, 
 which had the appearance of being baseless, and of 
 swimming on the top of the mist. Yultures and 
 carrion-birds circled screaming above the huge cal- 
 dron, or perched on the tops of the tall palms, which 
 looked like enormous umbrellas, or like the roofs of 
 Chinese summer-houses. Out of the swamp itself 
 proceeded the yellings, snarlings, and growlings, of 
 the alligators, bull-frogs, and myriads of unclean 
 beasts that it harbored. 
 
 The air was unusually sultry and oppressive : 
 from time to time the rolling of distant thunder was 
 audible. "We could hear the Mexicans consulting 
 among themselves as to the propriety of continuing 
 their journey, to which our suffering state seemed to 
 be the chief obstacle. From what we could collect 
 of their discourse, they were unwilling to leave us 
 in this dangerous district, and in our helpless condi- 
 tion, with a guide and attendants who were either 
 untrustworthy or totally incompetent to lead us 
 aright. Yet there seemed to be pressing necessity 
 for continuing the march ; and presently some of the 
 older Mexicans, who appeared to have the direction
 
 268 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 of the caravan, came up to us and inquired how we 
 felt, and if we thought we were able to travel ; add- 
 ing that, from the signs on the earth and in the air, 
 they feared a storm, and that the nearest habitation 
 or shelter was at many leagues' distance. Thanks to 
 the. remedies that had been applied, our sufferings 
 were much diminished. We felt weak and hungry ; 
 and telling the Mexicans we should be ready to pro- 
 ceed in half-an-hour, we desired our servants to get 
 us something to eat. But our new friends forestalled 
 them, and brought us a large piece of iguana, with 
 roasted bananas, and cocoa-nutshell cups full of cof- 
 fee, to all of which Rowley and I applied ourselves 
 with much gusto. Meanwhile our muleteers and the 
 Tzapotecans were busy packing their beasts and 
 making ready for the start. 
 
 We had not eaten a dozen mouthfuls when we saw 
 a man running down the hill with a branch in each 
 hand. As soon as he appeared, a number of the 
 Mexicans left their occupations and hurried to meet 
 him. 
 
 "Siete floras /" shouted the man. "Seven hours 
 and no more!" 
 
 "No more than seven hours!" echoed the Tzapote- 
 cans, in tones of the wildest terror and alarm. " La
 
 TWO NIOHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 269 
 
 Santissima nos guarde ! It will take more than ten 
 to reach the village." 
 
 "What's all this about? "said I, with my mouth 
 full, to Rowley. 
 
 "Don't know some of their Indian tricks, I 
 suppose." 
 
 " Que es esto f " asked I carelessly. " What 's the 
 matter?" 
 
 " Que es esto ! " repeated an old Tzapotecan, with 
 long gray hair curling from under his sombrero, and 
 a withered but finely marked countenance. "Las 
 aguas! El ouracan! In seven hours the deluge 
 and the hurricane ! " 
 
 " Vamos, por la Santissima ! For the blessed 
 Virgin's sake, let us be gone ! " cried a dozen of the 
 Mexicans, pushing two green boughs into our very 
 faces. 
 
 "What are those branches?" 
 
 " From the tempest-tree the prophet of the storm," 
 was the reply. 
 
 And Tzapotecans and women, arrieros and ser- 
 vants, ran about in the utmost terror and confusion, 
 with cries of " Vamos, paso reddblado ! Off with 
 no, or we are all lost, man and beast," and saddling, 
 packing, and scrambling on their mules. And before
 
 270 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 Rowley and I knew where we were, they tore us 
 away from our iguana and coffee, and hoisted and 
 pushed us into our saddles. Such a scene of bustle 
 and desperate hurry I never beheld. The place where 
 the encampment had been was alive with men and 
 women, horses and mules, shouting, shrieking, talk- 
 ing, neighing, and kicking ; but with all the con- 
 fusion there was little time lost, and, in less than 
 three minutes from the first alarm being given, we 
 were scampering away over stock and stone, in a 
 long, wild, irregular train. 
 
 The rapidity and excitement of our ride had the 
 effect of calming our various sufferings, or of making 
 us forget them ; and we soon thought no more of 
 the fever, or of stings or mosquito bites. It was a 
 ride for life or death, and our horses stepped out 
 as if they knew how much depended on their 
 exertions. 
 
 In the hurry and confusion we had been mounted 
 on horses instead of our own mules ; and splendid 
 animals they were. I doubt if our Virginians could 
 beat them, and that is saying a great deal. There 
 was no effort or straining in their movements ; it 
 was mere play to them to surmount the numerous 
 difficulties we encountered on our road. Over
 
 TWO .NIGHTS IK SOUTHERN MEXICO. 273 
 
 mountain and valley, swamp and barranca, always 
 the same steady surefooted ness crawling like cats 
 over the soft places, gliding like snakes up the 
 steep rocky ascents, and stretching out with prodi- 
 gious energy when the ground was favorable-;, yet 
 with such easy action that we scarcely felt the 
 motion. We should have sat in the roomy Spanish 
 saddles as comfortably as in arm-chairs, had it not 
 been for the numerous obstacles in our path, which 
 was strewed with fallen trees and masses of rock. 
 We .were obliged perpetually to stoop and bow our 
 heads to avoid the creeping plants that swung and 
 twined and twisted across the track, intermingled 
 often with huge thorns as long as a man's arm. 
 These latter stuck out from the trees on which they 
 grew like so many brown bayonets ; and a man 
 who had run up against one of them would have 
 been transfixed by it as surely as though it had been 
 of steel. We pushed on, in Indian file, following 
 the two guides, who kept at the head of the party, 
 and making our way through places where a wild- 
 cat would have difficulty in passing; through thickets 
 of mangroves, mimosas, and tall fern, and cactuses 
 with their thorny leaves full twenty feet long; the 
 path turning and winding all the while. Now and
 
 272 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 then a momentary improvement in the nature of the 
 ground enabled us to catch a glimpse of the whole 
 column of march. We were struck by its picturesque 
 appearance, the guides in front acting as pioneers, 
 and looking out on all sides as cautiously and anx- 
 iously as though they had been soldiers expecting 
 an ambuscade ; the graceful forms of the women 
 bowing and bending over their horses' manes, and 
 often leaving fragments of their mantillas and rebozos 
 on the branches and thorns of the labyrinth through 
 which we struggled. But it was no time to indulge 
 in contemplation of the picturesque, and of this we 
 were constantly made aware by the anxious voci- 
 ferations of the Mexicans. " Vamos ! Por Dios, 
 vamos ! " cried they, if the slightest symptom of flag- 
 ging became visible in the movements of any of 
 the party ; and at the words, our horses, as though 
 gifted with understanding, pushed forward with 
 renewed vigor and alacrity. 
 
 On we went up hill and down, in the depths of 
 the valley and over the soft fetid swamp. That 
 valley of Oaxaca has just as much right to be 
 called a valley as our Alleghanies would have to 
 be called bottoms. In the States we should call it 
 a chain of mountains. Out of it rise at every step
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 273 
 
 hills a good two thousand feet above the level of the 
 valley, and four or five thousand above that of the 
 sea ; but these are lost sight of, and become flat 
 ground by force of comparison that is, when 
 compared with the gigantic mountains that surround 
 the valley on all sides like a frame. And what a 
 splendid frame they compose, those colossal moun- 
 tains, in their rich variety of form and coloring! 
 here shining out like molten gold, there changing to 
 a dark bronze; covered lower down with various 
 shades of green, and with the crimson and purple, 
 and violet and bright yellow, and azure and dazzling 
 white, of the millions or paulinias and convolvuluses 
 and other flowering plants, from among which rise 
 the stately palm-trees, full a hundred feet high, their 
 majestic green turbans towering like sultans' heads 
 above the luxuriance of the surrounding flower and 
 vegetable world. Then the mahogany-trees, the 
 chicozapotes, and again in the barrancas the cande- 
 labra-like cactuses, and higher up the knotted and 
 majestic live oak. An incessant change of plants, 
 trees, and climate. We had been five hours in the 
 saddle, and had already clanged our climate three 
 timee ; passed from the tempon.te zone, the tiemi 
 
 templada* into the torrid heat of the tierra muy 
 12*
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 saliente. ~It was in the latter temperature that we 
 found ourselves at the expiration of the atjove time, 
 dripping with perspiration, roasting and stewing 
 in the heat. We were surrounded by a new world 
 of plants and animals. The borax and mangroves 
 and fern were here as lofty as forest-trees, while the 
 trees themselves shot up like steeples. In the thick- 
 ets around us were numbers of black tigers we 
 saw dozens of those cowardly, sneaking beasts 
 iguanas full three feet long, squirrels double the 
 size of any we had ever seen, and panthers, and 
 wild pigs, and jackals, and apes and monkeys of 
 every tribe and description, who threatened and 
 grinned and chattered at us from the branches of 
 the trees. But what is that yonder to the right, that 
 stands out so white against the dark blue sky and 
 the bronze-colored rocks? A town Quidricovi, 
 d'ye call it? 
 
 We had now ridden a good five or six leagues, 
 and began to think we had escaped the aguas or 
 deluge, of which the prospect had so terrified onr 
 friends the Tzapotecans. Rowley calculated, as ho 
 went puffing and grumbling along, that it wouldn't 
 do any harm to let our beasts draw breath for a 
 minute or two. The scrambling and constant change
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 275 
 
 af pace rendered necessary by the nature of the 
 road, or rather track, was certainly dreadfully fatigu 
 ing both to man and horse. As for conversation, it 
 was out of the question. We had plenty to do to 
 avoid getting our necks broken, or our teeth knocked 
 out, as we struggled along, up and down barrancas, 
 through marshes and thickets, over rocks and fallen 
 trees, and through mimosas and bushes laced and 
 twined together with thorns arid creeping plants all 
 which would have been beautiful in a picture, but 
 was most infernally unpoetical in reality. 
 
 " Vamos ! POT la /Santissima Madre, vamos ! " 
 yelled our guides, and the cry was taken up by the 
 Mexicans, in a shrill, wild tone that jarred strangely 
 upon our ears, and made the horses start and strain 
 forward. Hurra! on we go, through thorns and 
 bushes, which scratch and flog us, and tear our 
 clothes to rags. We shall be naked if this lasts long. 
 It is a regular race. In front the two guides, stoop- 
 ing, nodding, bowing, crouching down, first to one 
 side, then to the other, like a couple of mandarins 
 or Indian idols behind them a Tzapotecan in his 
 picturesque capsi, then the women, then moreTzapo- 
 tecans. There is little thought about precedence or 
 ceremony ; and Rowley and I, havii.g been in the
 
 276 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 least Lurry to start, find ourselves bringing up tlio 
 rear of the whole column. 
 
 " Vamos ! Por la Santissima ! Las aguas, las 
 aguas!" is again yelled by twenty voices. Hang the 
 fools ! Can't they be quiet with their eternal vamos? 
 "We can have barely two leagues more to go to reach 
 the rancho, or village, they were talking of, and 
 appearances are not as yet very alarming. It is 
 getting rather thick, to be sure ; but that's nothing, 
 only the exhalations from the swamp, for we are 
 again approaching one of those cursed swamps, and 
 can hear the music of the alligators and bull-frogs. 
 There they are, the beauties ; a couple of them are 
 taking a peep at us, sticking their elegant heads and 
 long, delicate snouts out of the slime and mud. The 
 neighborhood is none of the best; but luckily the 
 path is firm and good, carefully made, evidently by 
 Indian hands. None but Indians could live and 
 labor and travel habitually, in such a pestilential 
 at.nosphere Thank God! we are out of it at last. 
 Again on firm forest ground, amidst the magnificent 
 monotony of the eternal palms and mahogany-trees. 
 But see there ! 
 
 A new and surpassingly beautiful landscape burst 
 suddenly upon our view, seeming to dance in the
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 2T> 
 
 transparent atmosphere. On either side, mountains, 
 those on the left in deep shadow, those on the right 
 standing forth like colossal figures of light, in a 
 beauty and splendor that seemed really supernatural, 
 every tree, every branch, shining in its own vivid and 
 most glorious coloring. There lay the valley in its 
 tropical luxuriance and beauty, one sheet of bloom 
 and blossom up to the topmost crown of the palm- 
 trees, that shot up, some of them, a hundred and 
 fifty and a hundred and eighty feet high. Thousands 
 and millions of convolvuluses, paulinias, bignonias, 
 dendrobiums, climbing from the fern to the tree 
 trunks, from the trunks to the branches and summits 
 of the trees, and thence again falling gracefully 
 down, and catching and clinging to the mangroves 
 and blocks of granite. It burst upon us like a scene 
 of enchantment, as we emerged from the darkness 
 of the forest into the dazzling light and coloring of 
 that glorious valley. 
 
 " Misericordia, misericordia ! Audi nos pecca- 
 dors! Muericordia, las aguas!" suddenly screamed 
 and exclaimed the Mexicans in various intonations 
 of terror and despair. We looked around us. What 
 can be the matter? We see nothing. Nothing, ex- 
 cept that from just behind those two mountains,
 
 278 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 which project like promontories into the valley, a 
 cloud begins to rise. "What is it? What is wrong?" 
 A dozen voices answered us 
 
 " POT la Santa Virgen, for the holy Virgin's sake, 
 on, on ! There is no time for words. We have still 
 two leagues to go, and in one hour comes the flood." 
 
 And they recommenced their howling, yelling 
 chorus of "Misericordia! Audi nos peccadores I '" 
 and "Santissima Virgen, and Todos santos y 
 angeles ! " 
 
 "Are the fellows mad? "shouted Rowley, "What 
 if the water does come? It won't swallow you. A 
 ducking more or less is no such great matter. You 're 
 not made of sugar or safc. JVIany's the drenching 
 I've had in the States, and none the worse for it. 
 Yet our rains are no child's play neither." 
 
 On looking round us, however, we were involunta- 
 rily struck with the sudden change in the appearance 
 of the heavens. The usual golden blue color of the 
 eky was gone, and had been replaced by a dull, 
 gloomy gray. The quality of the air had also 
 changed ; it was neither very warm nor very cold, 
 but it had lost its lightness and elasticity, and op- 
 pressed and weighed us down. Presently we saw 
 the dark cloud rise gradually from behind the hilla,
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 279 
 
 completely clearing their summits., and then sweep 
 along until it hung over the valley, in form and 
 appearance like some monstrous night-moth, resting 
 the tips of its enormous wings on the mountains 
 on either side. To our right we still saw the roofs 
 and walls of Quidricovi, apparently at a very short 
 distance. 
 
 "Why not go to Quidricovi?" shouted I to the 
 guides "we cannot be far off." 
 
 "More than five leagues," answered the men, 
 shaking their heads and looking up anxiously at the 
 huge moth, which still crept and crawled on, each 
 moment darker and more threatening. It was like 
 a frightful monster, or the fabled Kraken, working 
 itself along by its claws, which were struck deep 
 
 ^into the mountain-wall on either side of its line of 
 
 \ 
 
 progress, and casting its hideous shadow over hill 
 and dale, forest and valley, clothing them in gloom 
 and darkness. To our right hand and behind us, 
 the mountains were still of a glowing golden red, 
 lighted up by the sun; but to the left, and in our 
 
 front, all was black and dark. With the same 
 
 / 
 
 glance we beheld the deepest gloorn and the brightest 
 day, meeting each other, but not mingling. It was 
 a strange and ominous sight.
 
 280 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHEBN MEXICO. 
 
 Ominous enough ; and the brute creation feel it so 
 as well as ourselves. The chattering parrots, the 
 hopping, gibbering, quarrelsome apes, all the birds 
 and beasts, scream, and cry, and flutter, and spring 
 about, as though seeking a refuge from some impend- 
 ing danger. Even our horses tremble and groan 
 refuse to go on, start and snort. The whole animal 
 world is in commotion seized with an overwhelming 
 panic. The forest teems with inhabitants. Whence 
 come they, all these living things ? On every side is 
 heard the howling and snarling of beasts, the frights 
 ened cries and chirpings of birds. The vultures and 
 turkey-buzzards, which a few minutes before circled 
 high in the air. now scream amidst the branches of the 
 mahogany-trees ; every creature that has life is run-? 
 ning, scampering, flying apes and tigers, birds and 
 creeping things. 
 
 " Vamos, par la Santissima ! On ! or we are all 
 lost." 
 
 And we ride, we rush along neither masses of 
 rock, nor fallen trees, nor thorns and brambles, check 
 our wild career. Over every thing we go, leaping, 
 scrambling, plunging, riding like desperate men, 
 flying from a danger of which the nature is not 
 clearly defined, but which we feel to be great and
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 2 Si 
 
 imminent. It is a frightful, terror-striking foe, that 
 huge night-moth, which comes ever nearer, growing 
 each moment bigger and blacker. Looking behind 
 us, we catch one last glimpse of the red and blood- 
 shot sun, which the next instant disappears behind 
 the edge of the mighty cloud. 
 
 Still we push on. Hosts of tigers, and monkey* 
 both large and small, and squirrels and jackals, come 
 close up to us as if seeking shelter, and then, finding 
 none, retreat howling into the forest. There is not a 
 breath of air stirring, yet all nature plants and trees, 
 men and beasts quivers and trembles with appre- 
 hension. Our horses pant and groan as they bound 
 along with dilated nostrils and glaring eyes, shaking 
 in every limb, sweating at every pore, half wild 
 with terror; giving springs and leaps that more 
 resemble those of a hunted tiger than of a horse. 
 
 The prayers and exclamations of the terrified 
 Mexicans, continued without intermission, whispered 
 and shrieked and groaned in every variety of intona- 
 tion. The earthly hue of intense terror was upon 
 every countenance. For some moments a deathlike 
 stillness, an unnatural calm, reigned around us : it 
 was as though the elements held their breath, and 
 collected their energies for some mighty outbreak.
 
 TWO NIGHTS EX SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 fhen came a low, indistinct, moaning sound, that 
 Eeemed to issue from the bowels of the earth. The 
 warning was significant. 
 
 "Halt! stop!" shouted we to the guides. "Stop! 
 and let us seek shelter from the storm." 
 
 "On! for God's sake, on ! or we are lost," was the 
 reply. 
 
 Thank Heaven! the path gets wider we come to 
 a descent it leads us out of the forest. If the storm 
 came on while we were among the trees, we might be 
 crushed to death by the falling branches. We are 
 close to a barranca. 
 
 "Alertof Alerto!" shrieked the Mexicans. "Jfo- 
 dre dt Dios! Dion! Dios! n 
 
 And well might they call to God for help in that 
 awful moment The gigantic night-moth gaped and 
 shot forth tongues of fire a ghastly white flame, that 
 contrasted strangely and horribly with the dense black 
 cloud whence it issued. There was a peal of thunder 
 that shook the earth, then a pause, during which 
 nothing was heard but the panting of our horses as 
 they dashed across the barranca, and strained np 
 the steep side of a knoll or hillock. The cloud again 
 opened; for a second every thing was lighted np 
 Another thunder-clap, and then, as though the gates
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 283 
 
 ol its prison had been suddenly burst, the tempest 
 came forth in its might and fury, breaking, crushing, 
 and sweeping away all that opposed it. The trees of 
 the forest staggered and tottered for a moment, as if 
 making an effort to bear up against the storm ; but it 
 was in vain : the next instant, with a report like that 
 of ten thousand cannon, whole 'acres of mighty trees 
 were snapped off, their branches shivered, their roots 
 torn up ; it was no longer a forest ' but a chaos, an 
 ocean of boughs and tree-trunks, that were tossed 
 about like the waves of the sea, or thrown into the 
 air like straws. The atmosphere was darkened with 
 dust, and leaves, and branches. 
 
 "God be merciful to us! Rowley! where are you? 
 No answer. What is become of them all?" 
 
 A second blast more furious than the first. Can 
 the mountains resist it? will they stand? By the 
 Almighty ! they do not. The earth trembles ; the 
 hillock, on the lee-side of which we are, rocks and 
 shakes. The air is thick and suffocating full of 
 dust and saltpeter and sulphur. We are like to choke. 
 All around is dark as night. We see nothing, hear 
 nothing but the howling of the hurricane, and the 
 thunder and rattle of falling trees and shivered 
 branches.
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 Suddenly the hurricane ceases, and all is hushed ; 
 but so suddenly, that the change is startling and un- 
 natural. No sound is audible save the creaking and 
 moaning of the trees with which the ground is cum- 
 bered. It is like a sudden pause in a battle, when the 
 roar of cannon and clang of charging squadrons cease, 
 and naught is heard but the groaning of the wounded, 
 the agonized sobs and gasps of the dying. 
 
 The report of a pistol is heard ; then another, a 
 third, hundreds, thousands of them. It is the flood, 
 las aguas ; the shots are drops of rain ; but such 
 drops ! each as big as a hen's egg. They strike with 
 the force of enormous hailstones stunning and 
 blinding us. The next moment there is no distinc- 
 tion of drops, the windows of heaven are opened ; it 
 is no longer rain or flood, but a sea, a cataract, a 
 Niagara. The hillock on which I stand, undermined 
 by the waters, gives way and crumbles under me ; in 
 ten seconds' time I find myself in the barranca, which 
 is converted into a river, off my horse, which is gone 
 I know not whither. The only person I see near me 
 is Rowley, also dismounted and struggling against 
 the stream, which, already up to our waists, sweeps 
 along 'with it huge branches, and entire trees, that 
 threaten each moment to carry us away with them,
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 285 
 
 jr to crush us against the rocks. We avoid these 
 dangers. God knows how, make violent efforts to 
 Btem the torrent and gain the side of t.l:e barranca ; 
 although, even should we succeed, it is so steep that 
 we can scarcely hope to climb it without assistance. 
 And whence is that assistance to come? Of the 
 Mexicans we see or hear nothing. Doubtless they 
 are all drowned or dashed to pieces. They were 
 higher up on the hillock than we were, must conse- 
 quently have been swept down with more force, and 
 were probably carried away by the torrent. Nor can 
 we hope for a better fate. Wearied by our ride, 
 weakened by the fever and sufferings of the preced- 
 ing night, we are in no condition to strive much 
 longer with the furious elements. For one step that 
 we gain, we lose two. The waters rise ; already they 
 arc nearly to our arm-pits. It is in vain to resist. 
 Our fate is sealed. 
 
 "Rowley, all is over let us die like men. God 
 have mercy on our souls ! " 
 
 Rowley was a few paces higher up the barranca. 
 He made me no answer, but looked at me with a 
 calm, cold, and yet somewhat regretful smile upon his 
 countenance. Then all at once he ceased his efforts 
 *o reeirt the stream and gain the bank, folded his
 
 286 TWO NIGHTS EN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 arms on his breast and gave a look up and around 
 him, as though to bid farewell to the world he waff 
 about to leave. The current was sweeping him 
 rapidly down toward me, when a wild hurrah burst 
 from his lips, and he suddenly recommenced his 
 struggles against the waters, striving violently to 
 retain a footing on the slippery, uneven bed of the 
 stream. 
 
 "Tenga! Tenga!" screamed a dozen voices, that 
 seemed to proceed from the spirits of the air ; and at 
 the same moment something whistled about my ears 
 arid struck me a smart blow across the face. With 
 the instinct of a drowning man, I clutched the lasso 
 that had been thrown to me. Rowley was at my 
 elbow and seized it also. It was immediately drawn 
 tight, and by its aid we gained the bank, and ascended 
 the side of the barranca, composed of rugged, decliv- 
 itous rocks, affording but scanty foothold. God grant 
 the lasso prove tough! The strain on it is fearful. 
 Rowley is a good fifteen stone, and I am no feather ; 
 and in some parts of our perilous ascent the rocks 
 are almost as perpendicular and smooth as a wall of 
 masonry, and we are obliged to cling with our whole 
 weight to the lasso, which stretches and cracks, and 
 seems to grow visibly thinner. Nothing but a strip
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 287 
 
 of twisted cowhide between us and a frightful, ag- 
 onizing death on the sharp rocks and in the foaming 
 waters below. But the lasso holds good, and now the 
 chief peril is past: we get footing a point of rock, 
 or a tree-root to clutch at. Another strain up this 
 rugged slope of granite, another pull at the lasso ; 
 a leap, a last violent effort, and Viva! we are 
 seized under the arms, dragged up, held upon our 
 feet for a moment, and then we sink exhausted to 
 the ground in the midst of the Tzapotecans, mules, 
 arrieros, guides, and women, who are sheltered from 
 the storm in a sort of natural cavern. 
 
 At the moment at which the hillock gave way under 
 Rowley and myself, who were a short distance in rear 
 of the party, the Mexicans succeeded in attaining firm 
 footing on a broad, rocky ledge, a shelf of the precipice 
 that flanked the barranca. Upon this ledge, which 
 gradually widened into a platform, they found them- 
 selves in safety under some projecting crags that 
 sheltered them completely from the tempest. Thence 
 tliey looked down upon the barranca, where they de- 
 scried Rowley and myself struggling for our lives in 
 the roaring torrent ; and thence, by knotting several 
 lassos together, they were able to give ns the opportune 
 aid which had rescued us from our desperate situation,
 
 288 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 But whether this aid hao^ come soon enough to save 
 our lives was still a question, or at least for some time 
 appeared to be so. The life was driven out of our 
 bodies by all we had gone through: we could not 
 move a finger, and lay helpless and motionless, with 
 only a glimmering, indistinct perception, not amount- 
 ing to consciousness, of what was going on around 
 us. Fatigue, fever, and the sufferings of all kinds 
 we had endured in the course of the last twenty 
 hours, had completely exhausted and broken us down. 
 The storm did not last long in its violence, but 
 swept onward, leaving a broad track of desolation 
 behind it. The Mexicans recommenced their journey, 
 with the exception of four or five who remained with 
 us and our arrieros and servants. The village to 
 which we were proceeding was not above a league 
 off; but even that short distance Rowley and myself 
 were in no condition to accomplish. The kind-hearted 
 Tzapotecans made us swallow cordials, stripped off 
 our drenched and tattered garments, and wrapped us 
 in an abundance of blankets. We fell into a deep 
 sleep, which lasted all that evening and the greater 
 part of the night, and so much refreshed us that 
 about an hour before daybreak we were able to 
 resume our march at a slow pace, it is true, and
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 289 
 
 suffering grievously in every part of our bruised and 
 wounded limbs and bodies, at each jclt or rough 
 motion of the mules, upon which we clung rathei 
 than sat. 
 
 Our path lay over hill and dale, perpetually rising 
 and falling. We soon got out of the district or zone 
 that had been swept by the preceding day's hurri- 
 cane, and after nearly an hour's ride, we paused, on 
 the crest of a deep descent, at whose foot, our guides 
 informed us, lay the land of promise, the long-looked- 
 for rancho. While the muleteers saw to the girths of 
 their beasts, and gave the due equilibrium to the bag- 
 gage, before commencing the downward march, Row- 
 ley and I sat upon our mules, wrapped in large Mexican 
 capas, gazing at the morning-star as it sank down, and 
 grew gradually paler and fainter. Suddenly the sky 
 brightened, and a brilliant beam appeared a point no 
 bigger than a star, yet not a star, but of far rosier hue. 
 The next moment a second sparkling spot appeared, 
 near to the first, which now swelled out into a sort of 
 fiery tongue, that licked round the silvery summit of 
 the snow-clad mountain. As we gazed, five ten 
 twenty hill-tops were tinged with the same rose-colored 
 glow ; the next moment they were like fiery banners 
 
 spread out against the heavens, while sparkling tonguee 
 18
 
 290 TWO NIGHTS IN 8OUTHEKN MEXICO. 
 
 and rays of golden light flashed and flamed round them, 
 springing meteor-like from one mountain summit to 
 another, lighting them up like a succession of beacons. 
 Scarcely five minutes had elapsed since tha distant 
 pinnacles of the mountains had appeared to us as 
 huge, phantom-like figures of a silvery white, dimly 
 marked out upon a dark, star-spangled ground ; now 
 the whole immense chain blazed like volcanoes cov- 
 ered with glowing lava, rising out of the darkness 
 that still lingered on their flanks and bases, visible 
 and wonderful witnesses to the omnipotence of Him 
 who said, "Let there be light, and there was light." 
 
 Above, all was broad day, flaming sunlight ; below, 
 all black night. Here and there streams of light 
 burst through clefts and openings in the mountains, 
 and then ensued an extraordinary kind of conflict. 
 The shades of darkness lived and moved, struggled 
 against the bright beams that fell among them and 
 broke their masses, forcing them down the wooded 
 heights, tearing them asunder and dispersing them 
 like tissues of cobweb ; so that, successively, as by 
 a stroke of enchantment, were revealed first the deep 
 indigo blue of the tamarinds and chicozapotes, then 
 the bright green of the sugar-canes, lower down the 
 darker green of the nopal-trees, lower still the white
 
 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 291 
 
 and green and gold and bright yellow of the orange 
 and citron groves, and lowest of all, the stately fan- 
 palins, and date-palms, and bananas all glittering 
 with millions of dewdrops, that covered them like a 
 gauze vail embroidered with diamonds and rubies. 
 And still, in the very next valley, all was darkness. 
 
 We sat silent and motionless, gazing at this scene 
 of enchantment. 
 
 Presently the sun rose higher, and a flood of light 
 illumined the whole valley, which lay some few hun- 
 dred feet below us a perfect garden, such as no 
 northern imagination could picture forth ; a garden 
 of sugar-canes, cotton, and nopal-trees, intermixed 
 with thickets of pomegranate and strawberry-trees, 
 and groves of orange, fig, and lemon, giants of their 
 kind, shooting up to a far greater height than the oak 
 attains in the States every tree a perfect hothouse, 
 a pyramid of flowers, covered with bloom and blos- 
 som to its topmost spray. All was light, and fresh- 
 ness, and beauty ; every object danced and rejoiced 
 in the clear, elastic, golden atmosphere. It was an 
 earthly paradise, fresh from the hand of its Creator, 
 and at first we could discover no sign of man or his 
 works. Presently, however, we discerned the village, 
 lying almost at our feet, the small stone houses
 
 292 TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. 
 
 overgrown with flowers and imbedded in trees ; sc 
 that scarcely a square foot of roof or wall was to be 
 seen. Even the church was concealed in a garland of 
 orange-trees, and had lianas and star-flowered creep- 
 ers climbing over and dangling from it, up as high 
 as the slender cross that surmounted its square white 
 tower. As we gazed, the first sign of life appeared 
 in the village. A puff of blue smoke rose curling 
 and spiral from a chimney, and the matin bell rung 
 out its summons to prayer. Our Mexicans fell on 
 their knees and crossed themselves, repeating their 
 Ave-Marias. We involuntarily took off our hats, 
 and whispered a thanksgiving to the God who had 
 been with us in the hour of peril, and was now so 
 visible to us in his works. 
 
 The Mexicans rose from their knees. 
 
 " Vamos! Senores" said one of them, laying his 
 hand on the bridle of my mule. "To the rancho^ 
 to breakfast." 
 
 We rode slowly down into the valley.
 
 i(efcf| 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 
 
 THE year 1816 was a disastrous one for the cause 
 of South American independence. The loss of the 
 battle of Cachiri, following close upon the equally 
 unlucky affairs of Puerta, Araguita, and Alto de 
 Tanumba, crushed for a time the hopes of the pat- 
 riots. Their sufferings were great their prospects 
 in the highest degree gloomy. 
 
 On a November morning, of the above-named 
 year, about half-an-hour before daybreak, the door 
 of an obscure house in the calzada of Guadalupe, at 
 the Havannah, was cautiously opened, and a man 
 put out his head, and gazed up and down the street 
 as if to assure himself that no one was near. All 
 was silence and solitude at that early hour, and pres- 
 ently the door, opening wider, gave egress to a young
 
 29-t A SKETCH IN THE TR( >PICS. 
 
 man muffled in a shabby cloak, who, with hurried 
 but stealthy step, took the direction of the port. 
 Hastening noiselessly through the deserted streets 
 and lanes, he soon reached the quay, upon which 
 were numerous storehouses of sugar and other mer- 
 chandise, and piles of dye-wood, awaiting shipment. 
 Upon approaching one of the latter, the young man 
 gave a low whistle, and the next instant a figure 
 glided from between two huge heaps of logwood, 
 and, seizing his hand, drew him into the hiding- 
 place from which it had emerged. 
 
 A quarter of an hour elapsed, and the first faint 
 tinge of day just appeared, when the noise of oars 
 was heard, and presently, in the gray light, a boat 
 was seen darting out of the mist that hung over the 
 water. As it neared the quay, the two men left 
 their concealment, and one of them, pointing to the 
 person who sat in the stern of the boat, pressed his 
 companion's hand, and, hurrying away, soon disap- 
 peared in the labyrinth of goods and warehouses. 
 
 The boat came up to the stairs. Of the three per- 
 sons it contained, two sailors, who had been rowing, 
 remained in it ; the third, whose dress and appear- 
 ance were those of the master of a merchant- vessel, 
 sprang on shore, and walked in the direction of the
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 295 
 
 town. As he passed before the logwood, the strangei 
 stepped out and accosted him. 
 
 The seaman's first movement, and not an unnatu- 
 ral one, considering he was at the Havannah, and the 
 day not yet broken, was to half-draw his cutlass from 
 its scabbard; but the next moment he let it drop 
 back again. The appearance of the person who ad- 
 dressed him was, if not altogethei prepossessing, at 
 least not much calculated to inspire alarm. He was 
 a young man of handsome and even noble counte- 
 nance, but /yale and sickly looking, like one bowed 
 down by sorrow arid illness. 
 
 "Are you the captain of the Philadelphian schooner 
 that is on the point of sailing?" inquired he anxiously. 
 
 The seamar looked hard in the young man's face, 
 and answered in the affirmative. The stranger's 
 eyes sparkled 
 
 " Can I ha re a passage for myself, a friend, and 
 two children 1 " demanded he. 
 
 The sailor hesitated before he replied, and again 
 bcanned his interlocutor with his keen gray eyes. 
 There was t unething inconsistent, not to say suspi- 
 cious, in the Granger's whole appearance. Hia cloak 
 was ctiiivri ind shabby, and his words were humble ; 
 but there r/is a fire in his eye that flashed forth in
 
 296 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 spite o mmself, and his voice had that particular 
 tone which the habit of command alone gives. The 
 result of the sailor's scrutiny was unfavorable, and 
 he shook his head negatively. The young man 
 gasped for breath, and drew a well-filled purse from 
 his bosom. 
 
 "I will pay beforehand," said he; "1 will pay 
 whatever you ask." 
 
 The American started ; the contrast was too strik- 
 'ing between the applicant's beggarly exterior and 
 his heavy purse and large offers. He shook his head 
 more decidedly than before. The stranger bit his 
 lip till the blood came, his breast heaved, bis whole 
 manner .was that of one who abandons himself to 
 despair. The sailor felt a touch of compassion. 
 
 "Young man," said he in Spanish, "you are no 
 merchant. What do you want at Philadelphia?" 
 
 "I want to go to Philadelphia. Here is my pas- 
 sage-money, here my pass. You are captain of the 
 scnooner. What do you require more?" 
 
 There was a wild vehemence in the tone and man 
 ner in which these last words were spoken, that indis- 
 posed the seaman still more against his would-be 
 passenger. Again he shook his head, and was about 
 to pass on. The young man seized his arm
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 297 
 
 * 
 
 "For the love of God, captain, take me with you! 
 Pake my unhappy wife and my poor children." 
 
 "Wife and children! repeated the captain. "Have 
 you a wife and children ? " 
 
 The words had brought home and its endearments 
 vividly to the seaman's memory, and had touched a 
 chord that readily vibrates in the heart either of 
 American or Englishman. 
 
 The strange? groaned. 
 
 "You have committed no crime? you are not flying 
 from the arm of justice?" asked the captain sharply. 
 
 "So may God help me, no crime whatever have I 
 committed I " replied the young man, raising his hand 
 toward heaven. 
 
 "Then I will take you. Keep your money till you 
 ure on board. In an hour at furthest I weigh anchor." 
 
 The stranger answered nothing, but, as if relieved 
 from some dreadful anxiety, drew a deep breath, and 
 with *i grateful look to heaven hurried from the spot. 
 
 When Captain Ready, of the sinart-snilinjr. Haiti 
 more-built schooner, "The Speedy Tom," returned on 
 board his vessel, and descended into the cabin, he was 
 met by his new passenger, on whose arm l.ung a iauy 
 of dazzling beauty and grace. She was very plainly 
 
 dressed as were also two lovely children who 
 13*
 
 298 A SKETCH I.V THE TEOPIC8. 
 
 * 
 
 accompanied her ; but their clothes were of the finest 
 materials, and the elegance of their appearance con- 
 trasted strangely with the rags and wretchedness of 
 their husband and father. Lying on a chest, however, 
 Captain Ready saw a pelisse and two children's cloaks 
 of the shabbiest description, and which the new- 
 comers had evidently just taken off. 
 
 This disguise and mystery revived the seaman's 
 suspicions ; and a doubt again arose in his mind as 
 to the propriety of taking passengers who came on 
 board under such equivocal circumstances. A feeling 
 of compassion, however, added to the graceful man- 
 ners and sweet voice of the lady, decided him to 
 persevere in his original intention ; and politely re- 
 questing her to make herself at home in the cabin, he 
 returned on deck. Ten minutes later the anchor was 
 weighed, and the schooner in motion. 
 
 The snn had risen and dissipated the morning mist. 
 Some distance astern of the fast-advancing schooner 
 rose the streets and houses of the Havannah, and the 
 forest of masts occupying its port; to the right 
 frowned the castle of the Molo, whose threatening 
 embrasures the vessel rapidly approached. Husband 
 and wife stood upon the cabin stairs, gazing with 
 breathless anxiety at the fortress.
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 299 
 
 As the schooner arrived opposite the castle, a small 
 postern, leading out upon the jetty, was opened, and 
 an officer and six soldiers issued forth. Foui men, 
 who had been lying on their oars in a boat at the jetty 
 stairs, sprang up. The soldiers jumped in, their 
 bayonets glittering in the early sunbeams, and the 
 rowers pulled in the direction of the schooner. 
 
 " Jesus Maria y Jose!" exclaimed the lady. 
 
 "Madre de Dios!" groaned her husband. 
 
 At this moment the fort made a signal. 
 
 " Up with the helm ! " shouted Captain Ready. 
 
 The schooner rounded to ; the boat came flying 
 over the water, and in a few moments was alongside. 
 The soldiers and their commander stepped on board. 
 
 The latter was a very young man, possessed of a 
 truly Spanish countenance grave and stern. In a 
 few words he desired the captain to produce his ship's 
 papers, and parade his seamen and passengers. The 
 papers were handed to him without an observation ; 
 he glanced his eye over them, inspected the sailors 
 one after the other, and then looked in the direction 
 of the cabin, expecting the appearance of the passen- 
 gers, who at length came on deck, the stranger carry- 
 ing one of the children, and his wife the other. The 
 Spanish officer started .
 
 300 A SKETCH IN THE TROPIC3. 
 
 "Do you know that you have a state criminal 
 on board?" thundered he to the captain. "What 
 means this ? " 
 
 '-'Santa Yirgenf" exclaimed the lady, and fell 
 fainting into her husband's arms. There was a mo- 
 ment's deep silence. All present seemed touched by 
 the misfortunes of this youthful pair. The young 
 officer sprang to the assistance of the husband, and, 
 relieving him of the child, enabled him to give his 
 attention to his wife, whom he laid gently down upon 
 the deck. 
 
 " I am grieved at the necessity," said the officer, 
 " but you must return with me." 
 
 The American captain, who had contemplated 
 this scene apparently quite unmoved, now ejected 
 from his mouth a huge quid of tobacco, replaced it 
 by another, and then stepping up to the officer, 
 touched him on the arm, and offered him the pass he 
 had received from his passengers. The Spaniard 
 waved him back almost with disgust. There was, 
 in fact, something very unpleasant in the apathy 
 and indifference with which the Yankee contem- 
 plated the scene of despair and misery before him. 
 Such cold-bloodedness was premature and unnatural 
 ^n a man wlio could not yet have seen more than
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 301 
 
 fi ve-and-twenty summers. A close observer, how- 
 ever, would have remarked that the muscles of his 
 face were agitated by a slight convulsive twitching, 
 when at that moment his mate stepped forward 
 and whispered to him. Approaching the Spaniard 
 for the second time, Ready invited him to partake 
 of a slight refreshment in his cabin, a courtesy 
 which it is usual for the captains of merchant- 
 vessels to pay to the visiting officer. The Spaniard 
 accepted, and they went below. 
 
 The steward was busy covering the cabin table 
 with plates of Boston crackers, olives, and almonds, 
 and he then uncorked a bottle of fine old Madeira, 
 which looked like liquid gold as it gurgled into 
 the glasses. Captain Ready was quite a diiferent 
 person in the cabin and on deck. Throwing aside 
 his dry, say-little manner, he was now good humor 
 and civility personified, and lavished on his guest 
 all those obliging attentions which no one better 
 knows the use of than a Yankee, when he wishes to 
 administer a dose of what he himself would call 
 "soft sawder." Ready soon pecsuaded the officer 
 of his entire guiltlessness in the unpleasant affaii 
 that had just occurred ; and the Spaniard told him 
 by no means to make himself uneasy, that the
 
 302 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 pass had been given for another person, and that 
 the prisoner was a man of great importance, whom 
 he considered himself excessively lucky to have 
 been able to recapture. 
 
 Most Spaniards like a glass of Madeira, particu- 
 larly when olives serve as the whet. The American's 
 wine was first-rate, and the officer found himselt 
 particularly comfortable in the cabin. He did not 
 forget, however, to desire that the prisoner's bag- 
 gage might be placed in the boat, and, with a 
 courteous apology for leaving him a moment alone, 
 Captain Ready hastened to give the necessary 
 ciders. 
 
 When the captain reached the deck, a heart- 
 rending scene presented itself to him. His unfoi 
 tunate passenger was seated on one of the hatch- 
 ways, despair legibly written on his pale features. 
 The eldest child had climbed up on his knee, anu 
 looked wistfully into its father's face, and his wife 
 hung round his neck, sobbing audibly. A young 
 negress, who had come on board with them, held 
 the other child, an infant a few months old, in her 
 arms. Ready took the prisoner's hand. 
 
 "I hate tyranny," said he, "as every American 
 must* Had you confided your position to me a
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 303 
 
 few hours sooner, I would have got yon safe off. 
 But now I see nothing to be done. We are under 
 the cannon of the fort, which could sink us in ten 
 seconds. Who and what are you? Say quickly, for 
 time is precious." 
 
 "I am a Columbian by birth," replied the young 
 man, " an officer in the Patriot army. I was taken 
 prisoner at the battle of Cachiri, and brought to the 
 Havannah with several companions in misfortune. 
 My wife and children were allowed to follow me, for 
 the Spaniards were not sorry to have one of the first 
 families of Columbia entirely in their power. Four 
 months I lay in a frightful dungeon, with rats and 
 reptiles for sole companions. It is a miracle that 1 
 am still alive. Out of seven hundred prisoners, but 
 a handful of emaciated objects remain to testify to 
 the barbarous cruelty of our captors. A fortnight 
 back they took me out of my prison a mere skeleton, 
 in order to preserve my life, and quartered me in a 
 house in the city. Two days ago I heard that I was 
 to return to the dungeon. It was my death-warrant, 
 for I could not live another week in that frightful 
 cell. A true friend, in spite of danger, and by dint 
 of gold, procured me the pass of a Spaniard dead 
 of the yellow fever. By means of that paper and
 
 304 A SKETCH IN THE TEOPIC8. 
 
 by your assistance, we trusted to escape. Captain ! * 
 said the young man, starting to his feet, and clasping 
 Ready's hand, his hollow, sunken eye gleaming wildly 
 as he spoke, " my only hope is in you. If you give 
 me up, I am a dead man, for I have sworn to perish 
 rather than return to the miseries of my prison. I 
 fear not death I am a soldier; but alas for my 
 poor wife, my helpless, deserted children ! " 
 
 The Yankee captain passed his hand across his 
 forehead with the air of one greatly perplexed, then 
 turned away without a word, and walked to the 
 other end of the vessel. Giving a glance upward 
 and around him that seemed to take in the -appear- 
 ance of the sky, and the probabilities of good or bad 
 weather, he ordered some of the sailors to bring the 
 luggage of the passenger upon deck, but not to put 
 it into the boat. He told the steward to give the 
 soldiers and boatmen a couple of bottles of rum, and 
 then, after whispering for a few seconds in the ear 
 of his mate, he approached the cabin stairs. As he 
 passed the Columbian family, he said in a low voice, 
 and without looking at them, 
 
 "Trust in Him who helps when need is at the 
 greatest." 
 
 Scarcely had the Captain uttered the words, when
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 305 
 
 the Spanish officer sprang up the cabin stairs, and 
 as soon as he saw the prisoners, ordered them into 
 the boat. Ready, however, interfered, and begged 
 him to allow his unfortunate passenger to take a 
 farewell glass before he left the vessel. To this the 
 young officer good-naturedly consented, and himself 
 led the way into the cabin. 
 
 They took their places at the table, and the captain 
 opened a fresh bottle, at the very first glass of which 
 the Spaniard's eye glistened and his lips smacked. 
 The conversation became more and more lively ; 
 Ready spoke Spanish fluently, and gave proof of 
 a jovialty which no one would have suspected to 
 belong to his character, dry and saturnine as his 
 manner usually was. A quarter of an hour or 
 more had passed in this way, when the schooner 
 gave a sudden lurch, and the glasses and bottles 
 jingled and clattered together on the table. The 
 Spaniard started up. 
 
 "Captain!" cried he furiously, "the schooner is 
 sailing!" 
 
 "Certainly," replied the captain, very coolly. 
 "You surely did not expect, Senor, that we were 
 going to miss the finest breeze that ever filled a 
 sail?" V
 
 306 A SKETCH m THE TROPICS. 
 
 Without answering, the officer rushed upon deck, 
 and looked in the direction of the Molo. They had 
 loft the fort full two miles behind them. The 
 Spaniard literally foamed at the mouth. 
 
 "Soldiers!" vociferated he, "seize the captain 
 and the prisoners. We are betrayed. And you, 
 steersman, put about." 
 
 And betrayed they assuredly were ; for while 
 the officer had been quaffing his Madeira, and the 
 soldiers and boatmen regaling themselves with the 
 steward's rum, sail had been made on the vessel 
 without noise or bustle, and favored by the breeze, 
 she was rapidly increasing her distance from land. 
 Ready preserved the utmost composure. 
 
 " Betrayed ! " repeated he, replying to the vehe- 
 ment ejaculation of the Spaniard. "Thank God we 
 are Americans, and have no trust to break, nothing 
 to betray. As to this prisoner of yours, however, 
 he must remain here." 
 
 "Here!" sneered the Spaniard "we'll soon see 
 about that, you treacherous " 
 
 " Here ! " quietly interrupted the captain. " Do 
 not give yourself needless trouble, Senor; your 
 soldiers' guns, as you may see, are in our hands, 
 and my six sailors well provided with pistols and
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 307 
 
 cutlasses. We eight are more than a match for you 
 ten, and at the first suspicious movement you make, 
 we fire on you." 
 
 The officer looked around, and his jaw dropped 
 when he beheld his soldiers' muskets piled upon 
 the deck, and guarded by two well-armed and 
 determined-looking sailors. 
 
 "You would not dare" exclaimed he. 
 
 "Indeed would I," replied Ready; "but I hope 
 you will not force me to it. You must remain 
 a few hours longer my guest, and then you can 
 return to port in your boat. You will get off with 
 a month's arrest, and as compensation, you will 
 have the satisfaction of having delivered a brave 
 enemy from despair and death." 
 
 All this was spoken quietly and gravely, but, at 
 the same time with such resolute decision of man- 
 ner, that the Spaniard winced with vexation. Yet 
 he made one more attempt to intimidate his 
 captor. 
 
 "Captain! captain!" cried he, "this is dangerous 
 jeeting ; for of course, it is but a jest." 
 
 "We Americans are not much given to jesting," 
 carelessly replied the captain. 
 
 "Do you know that you are committing a capital
 
 308 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 crime incurring the punishment of death?" cried 
 the Spaniard vehemently. 
 
 ""Were I a Spaniard, yes; as an American, no," 
 said the captain, dipping his finger, with a gesture 
 of indescribably dry humor, into a bucket of sea- 
 water, which the steward just then lifted over the 
 ship's side. "We are on the sea, on the American 
 sea, on which you well know that we Americans 
 are masters, and far too proud to let ourselves be 
 dictated to by any nation whatever. Be reasonable 
 and humane," he added in a more friendly tone. 
 "This Patriot officer has committed no crime, but, 
 on the contrary, has done his duty has done 
 what our Washingtons, Putnams, Greenes, and 
 thousands of our revolutionary heroes also did 
 has fought for his country's freedom ; and you, 
 instead of treating him, an unhappy prisoner, with 
 humanity, have tortured him to a skeleton! Look 
 at him, and say if I must not have a heart harder 
 than stone to deliver him into the. clutches of your 
 inquisitors. He shall not go back." 
 
 The officer ground his teeth togethei, but even 
 yet he did not give up all hopes of getting out of 
 the scrape. Resistance was evidently not to be 
 thought of, his men's muskets being in the power
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 309 
 
 of the Americans, who, with cocked pistols and 
 naked cutlasses, stood on guard over them. The 
 soldiers themselves did not seem very full of fight, 
 and the boatmen were negroes, and consequently 
 non-combatants. But there were several trincadores 
 and armed cutters cruising about, and if he could 
 manage to hail or make a signal to one of them, 
 the schooner would be brought to, and the tables 
 turned. He gazed earnestly at a sloop that just 
 then crossed them at no great distance, staggering 
 in toward the harbor under press of sail. The 
 American read his thoughts. 
 
 "Do me the honor, Senor," said he, "to partake 
 of a slight dejeuner-a-la-fourchette in the cabin. 
 "We shall also hope for the pleasure of your com- 
 pany at dinner. Supper you will probably eat at 
 home." 
 
 And so saying, he motioned courteously toward 
 the cabin stairs. The Spaniard looked in the sea- 
 man's face, and read in its decided expression, and 
 in the slight smile of intelligence that played upon 
 it, that he must not hope either to resist or outwit 
 his polite but peremptory entertainer. So making 
 a virtue of necessity, he descended into the cabin. 
 
 Left to themselves, husband and wife fell, with
 
 310 A SKETCH IN THE TROPIC* 
 
 an inarticulate but joyful cry, into each other's 
 arms. Their hearts were too full for words ; their 
 lips refused utterance to the feelings of joy and 
 thankfulness that overpowered them. They clung 
 sobbing to each other, as closely clasped as if they 
 never again would separate; then they laughed 
 out loud, delirious with delight, murmured broken 
 sentences of affection, and gazed back shudderingly, 
 and with eyes fixed and distended, at the cruel 
 Havannah at the horrible Molo. 
 
 Gradually the endless masses of the city, the 
 confused chaos of sails, ropes and masts, and the 
 grim Molo itself, receded from the view of the 
 fugitives. A glittering streak unrolled itself be- 
 tween them and the city, at first no wider than a 
 silvered ribbon, but speedily increasing in length 
 and breadth. With ecstasy inexpressible they 
 watched its rapid growth ; and as the narrow 
 strip grew into a broad ocean-mirror, it seemed to 
 them a sign from heaven, promising deliverance 
 and announcing safety. On went the schooner; 
 fainter and fainter became the outlines of city and 
 narbor. Already the masts of the vessels were 
 invisible ; only the pennons on their top-masts still 
 fluttered like sea-birds at the far-distant horizon.
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 311 
 
 The south-west breeze freshened, and the lively 
 schooner was making her ten knots an houi. Ab- 
 sorbed in blissful feelings, the fugitives heeded not 
 what passed around them, felt no fatigue, were in- 
 sensible to hunger and thirst The voice of the 
 Spanish officer on the cabin stairs first roused them 
 from a state that resembled a bewildering dream. 
 
 The young Spaniard was in all the better humor 
 for the dejeuner-arla-fourchette. His national grav- 
 ity had unbent, and he was remarkably sociable 
 and talkative. He was laughing as he ascended 
 the stairs, and assuring the captain that he had 
 enjoyed the trip and was well pleased to have 
 made the acquaintance of a Yankee-Americano, 
 although the pleasure was likely to cost him rather 
 dear a couple of months in the fortress, at the 
 very least. All he hoped was, that if ever, in the 
 varying chances of war, he should find himself in 
 a similar predicament to the Columbian, he might 
 also have the luck to meet with a Yankee to help 
 him at a pinch. Frank 'and friendly was the cap- 
 tain's reply. Whoever had seen him then, would 
 hardly have recognized the man whose aspect, two 
 short hours previously, had been so gloomy and 
 unprepossessing. The consciousness of a good and
 
 312 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 generous action lit up his manly, honest countenance 
 and gleamed joyfully in his eyes as, arm in arm with 
 the Spaniard, he paced his schooner's deck. Noble 
 indeed, worthy of a hero or a demigod, did his coun- 
 tenance appear in the eyes of the rescued patriot and 
 his happy wife. 
 
 But the schooner was now twenty miles from the 
 Havannah ; the Molo could hardly be discerned. It 
 was time to part. The distance was great enough to 
 guarantee the escape of the fugitives, and as great as 
 was prudent for those to come who had to return to 
 shore in an open boat. The soldiers were ordered 
 into their's ; the officer, as he stepped over the side, 
 shook the captain heartily by the hand ; the negroes 
 dipped their oars into the water, and soon, from the 
 schooner's deck, the boat was visible but as a mere 
 speck upon the vast expanse of ocean. 
 
 The voyage was prosperous, and in eleven days the 
 vessel reached its destination. The Columbian officer, 
 his wife and children, were received with the utmost 
 kindness and hospitality by the young and handsome 
 wife of Captain Heady, in whose house they took up 
 their quarters. They remained there two months, 
 living in the most retired manner, with the double 
 object of economizing their scanty resources, and of
 
 THE FUGITIVE. 313 
 
 avoiding the notice of the Philadelphians, who at 
 that time viewed the patriots of Southern America 
 with no very favorable eye. The insurrection against 
 the Spaniards had injured the commerce between the 
 United States and the Spanish colonies, and the 
 purely mercantile and lucre-loving spirit of the Phil- 
 adelphians made them look with dislike on any 
 circumstances or persons who caused a diminution 
 of their trade and profits. 
 
 At the expiration of the two months, an opportunity 
 oifered of a vessel going to Marguerite, then the head- 
 quarters of the patriots, and the place where the first 
 expeditions were formed under Bolivar against the 
 Spaniards. Estoval (that was the name by which the 
 Columbian officer was designated in his passport) 
 gladly seized the opportunity, took a grateful and 
 affectionate leave :f his deliverer, and embarked with 
 his wife and children. They had been several days 
 at sea before they remembered that they had forgotten 
 to tell their American friends their real name. The 
 latter never inquired it, and the Estovals being accus- 
 tomed to address one another by their Christian 
 Dames, it had never been mentioned. 
 
 Meantime, the good seed Captain Ready had sown, 
 
 brought the honest Yankee but a sorry harvest. His 
 14
 
 314 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 employers had small sympathy with the feelings wf 
 humanity which had induced him to risk carrying off 
 a Spanish state-prisoner from under the guns of a 
 Spanish battery. Their correspondents at the Havan- 
 nah had trouble and difficulty on account of the affair, 
 and wrote to Philadelphia to complain of it. Heady 
 lost his ship, and could only obtain from his employers 
 certificates of character of so ambiguous and unsatis- 
 factory a nature, that for a long time he found it 
 impossible to get the command of another vessel.
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 
 
 IT was in the month of March, 1825, that I found 
 myself in company with several Americans and 
 
 Englishmen for the most part masters of merchant 
 
 . 
 
 vessels seated in front of the French coffee-house 
 at Lima. The subject of our conversation was not a 
 very pleasant one at least to me. Callao was at 
 that time blockaded by the patriots, both by land 
 and water; and we had been bound thither with 
 
 * 
 
 Spanish goods on board. This may suffice to give an 
 idea of the disagreeable topic of our discourse. To 
 be more explicit, however, I may mention that we 
 had left home that is to say, Baltimore in the 
 month of November, 1824, had sailed to Havannah, 
 got rid of our cargo, taken in another partly on our 
 own, partly on Spanish government account and 
 had left the Havannah on the 1st December, just 
 eight days before the famous battle Ayacucho, the
 
 316 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 news of which followed on our heels, but never over- 
 took us, so that we sailed round the South American 
 continent ; and only learned them on reaching the 
 latitude of Callao, when it was too late to turn back. 
 
 There was no disguising the fact that we were 
 bound to Callao; our cargo which comprised 
 twenty thousand dollars' worth of cigars, for the 
 fortress spoke too plainly ; but I also doubt 
 whether, even if disguise had been possible, my 
 captain would have been withheld from the attempt 
 to break the blockade. He had attempted the feat 
 four years previously, when the patriot fleet was 
 commanded by Cochrane, and had succeeded no 
 easy matter, as will be admitted by all who knew 
 Cochrane. Moreover, he had his own Yankee 
 notions notions which, when once they get fixed 
 in a Yankee noddle are not to be eradicated. These 
 notions tended to prevent the fall of Callao. Odd 
 as the calculation may seem, it was the very decided 
 one, not only of my captain, but of all his country- 
 men in a like predicament. They appeared more 
 anxious about the fate of the fortress than about the 
 confiscation of their cargoes. This sympathy of 
 American republicans with the duration of despotic 
 power is easily explained, by calling to mind that,
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 31 7 
 
 with the fall of Callao Spain's last stronghold in 
 South America the war on that continent would be 
 as good as ended, and that our commerce would lose, 
 by the consequent pacification, not only one of its 
 most profitable, but one of its most interesting 
 branches. I say one of its most interesting, because, 
 assuredly, in the majority of cases, it was less the 
 prospect of gain although this is never indifferent 
 to an American than the fascination of the innu- 
 merable dangers and adventures inseparable from 
 that traffic, which made it so dear to our citizens and 
 seamen. Of this gainful and adventurous commerce 
 we had enjoyed a complete monopoly first, because 
 we were nearest, and, secondly, because we produced 
 exactly the articles which patriots as well as Span- 
 iards most needed. As was to be expected of prudent 
 people, we had worked this monopoly in a way which 
 made a prolongation of the interesting status quo 
 appear extremely desirable. We had carried flour 
 and meal for the Spaniards, when the Spaniards were 
 at the hungriest, and when the carriage was attended 
 with the greatest risk and with proportionate gain ; 
 and we had rendered similar services to the patriots, 
 just at the very moment when these had nothing left 
 to gnaw at. During the blockade, it was of course
 
 318 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 the Spaniards who stood in greatest need of supplies, 
 and it seemed all the juster to take them these, that 
 they paid very well for them. 
 
 It was while tacking to and fro at a distance of four 
 or five miles from the entrance of the harbor 
 watching, in reality, an opportunity to slip in that 
 the brig "Perseverance" Captain Ready, of which I 
 had the honor to be supercargo, was hailed and 
 brought to by a patriot cruiser. What ensued 
 showed us pretty plainly that we should have 
 difficulty in getting out of this scrape. Our personal 
 effects we were allowed to retain, but we ourselves 
 were forthwith sent ashore and taken to Lima. There 
 we had remained ever since, hearing no word either 
 of brig or cargo. In the latter I was greatly inter- 
 ested, inasmuch as my whole capital the savings of 
 ten years' hard desk- work was therein embarked. 
 The captain was also interested to the extent of one 
 fifth, and he was half owner of the brig. 
 
 For a young man, on his first spec, undertaken 
 with the modest earnings of a long servitude, it was 
 not very encouraging to find his hopes of fortune thus 
 unexpectedly run aground. My bark was evidently 
 upon a sandbank, with but little hopes of getting 
 afloat again, and with plenty of sharks hovering
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 31 
 
 around, greedy for the spoil. The sharks were here 
 represented by the patriots, who to my eyes were 
 more odious than any sharks that ever swam. I 
 hated them so heartily that I could with pleasure 
 have seen them all hanged. 
 
 Very different was the temper of my worthy 
 captain. He displayed infinite philosophy"*, passed 
 his days with a penknife and stick in his hand, 
 whittling away, Yankee fashion ; and, when he had 
 chopped up his stick, he would set to work notching 
 and hacking chair, bench, or table. "When spoken 
 to about the brig, he ground his teeth a little, but 
 said nothing, and whittled harder than before. This 
 was consistent with his character; he had always 
 passed for any thing but talkative. Weeks had often 
 elapsed, during our long sea-voyage, without his ut- 
 tering a word except to give the needful orders. 
 So confirmed was his taciturnity, so little inviting his 
 manner, that few cared to importune him with their 
 conversation. His vinegar physiognomy, compressed 
 lips and dark gloomy eyes which seemed to swim 
 in a dull cloud like those of a drunken man were 
 any thing but prepossessing, and people thought 
 twice before accosting him. His redeeming point 
 was his voice. When he did speak, it was music.
 
 320 A SKETCH IN THE TBOPICS. 
 
 Even on board ship, when shouting his orders through 
 the storm, its tones were mellow and harmonious, as 
 though it would have lulled and appeased the hum- 
 cane. There was an indescribable charm in that man's 
 voice. When he spoke, his dark, dry countenance 
 assumed a gentle and benevolent expression, and this 
 was particularly observable when he did anybody a 
 good office. His features, on such occasions, beamed 
 with kindliness, and one felt irresistibly led to like 
 him. Hence, in spite of his peculiarities, he was 
 generally beloved by his brother captains, and by all 
 who knew him. When he spoke, his words, the more 
 prized by reason of their rarity, were always listened 
 to with attention. Rough as sea-faring men generally 
 are, I remember not to have ever heard a rough word 
 addressed to him. and often his mere entrance sufficed 
 to still disputes. 
 
 During the whole time he had sailed for the Balti- 
 more house, in whose service I was, he had shown 
 nimself a model of trustworthiness and seamanship, 
 and enjoyed the full confidence of his employers. It 
 was said, however, that his early life had not been 
 irreproachable ; that when he first, and as a very 
 young man, had command of a Philadelphian ship, 
 something had occurred which had thrown a stain
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 321 
 
 upon his character. What this was, I had never 
 heard very distinctly stated. He himself was far 
 too proud and reserved to give an explanation. It 
 was said, that he had favored the escape of a male 
 factor, and ensnared some officers who were sent on 
 board his vessel to seize him. All this was very 
 vague ; but what was positive was the fact, that the 
 owners and consignees of the ship he then com- 
 manded had had much trouble about the matter, and 
 Ready himself remained long unemployed, until the 
 rapid increase of trade between the United States 
 and the infant republics of South America attribu- 
 table to the revival of the war, in consequence of 
 Bolivar's indefatigable exertions caused seamen 
 of ability to be in much request, and he was offered 
 the command of a vessel by our house, although not 
 without much hesitation. They had no cause to re- 
 pent it. On the contrary, the captain's skill, dar- 
 ing, and activity had been the chief cause of their 
 acknowledged pre-eminence among the Baltimore 
 houses in the South American trade. When his 
 former employers knew this, they made him very 
 favorable offers to re-enter their service, but he ab- 
 ruptly rejected them. And it was observed that, 
 when their names were mentioned before him, a bitter
 
 322 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 smile played round his mouth, succeeded by so sullen 
 a gloom that none ventured to question him on the 
 subject. 
 
 It was afternoon, and we were seated, as before 
 mentioned, outside the French coffee-house at Lima. 
 The party consisted of seven or eight captains of 
 merchant vessels that had been seized, and they were 
 doing their best to kill the time ; some smoking, others 
 chewing, but nearly all with penknife and stick in 
 hand, whittling as for a wager. On their first arrival 
 at Lima, and adoption of this coffee-house as a place 
 of resort, the tables and chairs belonging to it seemed 
 in a fair way to be cut to pieces by these indefatiga- 
 ble whittlers ; but the coffee-house-keeper had hit 
 upon a plan to avoid such deterioration of his chat- 
 tels, and had placed in every corner of the room 
 bundles of sticks, at which his Yankee customers cut 
 and notched, till the coffee-house assumed the appear- 
 ance df a carpenter's shop. 
 
 The costume and airs of the patriots, as they called 
 themselves, were no small source of amusement to us. 
 They strutted about in all the pride of their fire-new 
 freedom, regular caricatures of soldiers. One would 
 have on a Spanish jacket, part of the spoils of Aya- 
 cucho; another, an American one, purchased from
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 323 
 
 some sailor; a third, a monk's robe, cut short, and 
 fashioned into a sort of doublet. Here was a shako 
 wanting a peak, in company with a gold-laced velvet 
 coat of the time of Philip Y. ; there, a hussar jacket 
 and an old-fashioned cocked hat. The volunteers 
 were the best clothed, also in great part from the 
 plunder of the battle of Ayacucho. Their uniforms 
 were laden with gold and silver lace ; and some of 
 the officers, not satisfied with two epaulettes, had half- 
 a-dozen dangling from their shoulders. 
 
 As we sat smoking, whittling, and quizzing the 
 patriots, a side-door of the coffee-house was suddenly 
 opened, and an officer came out, whose appearance 
 was calculated to give us a far more favorable opin- 
 ion of the military men of South America. He was 
 about thirty years of age, plainly but tastefully 
 dressed, and of that unassuming, engaging demeanor 
 which is so often found the companion of the greatest 
 decision of character, and which contrasted with ftie 
 martial deportment of a young man who followed 
 him, and who, although in much more showy uni- 
 form, was evidently his inferior in rank. We bowed 
 as he passed before us, and he acknowledged the 
 salutation by raising his cocked hat slightly, but 
 courteously, from his head. He was passing on.
 
 324 A SKETCH IN THE TKOPIC8. 
 
 when his eyes suddenly fell upon Captain Ready, 
 who was standing a little on one side, notching away 
 at his tonth or twelfth stick, and who at that moment 
 happened to look up. The officer started, gazed ear- 
 nestly at Ready for the space of a second or two, and 
 
 k 
 
 then, with delight expressed on his countenance, 
 sprang forward and clasped him in his arms. 
 
 "Captain Ready!" 
 
 "That is my name," quietly replied the captain. 
 
 "Is it possible you do not know me?" exclaimed 
 the officer. 
 
 Ready looked hard at him, and seemed a little in 
 doubt. At last he shook his head. 
 
 "You do not know me?" repeated the other, al- 
 most reproachfully, and then whispered something in 
 his ear. 
 
 It was now Ready's turn to start and look surprised. 
 One of his sunny smiles, a smile of friendly and 
 well-pleased recognition, lit up his countenance as he 
 grasped the hand of the officer, who took his arm and 
 dragged him away into the house. 
 
 A quarter of an hour elapsed, during which we 
 lost ourselves in conjectures as to who this acquaint- 
 ance of Ready's could be. At the end of that time 
 the captain and his new (or old) friend reappeared
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 325 
 
 The latter walked away, an we saw him enter the 
 government house, while Ready joined us, silent and 
 phlegmatic as ever, and resumed ms stick and pen- 
 knife. In reply to our inquiries as to who the officer 
 was, he only said mai ne oelonsred to the army be- 
 sieging Callao. and that he had once made a voyage 
 as his passenger. This was all the information we 
 could extract from our taciturn friend ; but we saw 
 plainly that the officer was somebody of importance, 
 from the respect paid him by the soldiers and others 
 whom he met. 
 
 The morning following this incident we were seated 
 at our chocolate, when an orderly dragoon came to 
 ask for Captain Ready. The captain went out to 
 speak to him, and presently returning, went on with 
 his breakfast very deliberately. 
 
 When he had done, ne asked me if I were inclined 
 for a little excursion out of the town, which would, 
 perhaps, keep us a couple of days away. I willingly 
 accepted, heartily sick as I was of the monotonous 
 life we were leading. We packed up our valises, 
 took our pistols and cutlasses, and went out. 
 
 To my astonishment the orderly was waiting at 
 the door with two magnificent Spanish chargers, 
 splendidly accoutred. They were the finest horses
 
 326 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 I had seen in Peru, and my curiosity was strongly 
 excited to know who had sent them, and whither wo 
 \>ere going. To my questions, Ready replied, that 
 we were going to visit the officer whom he had 
 spoken to on the preceding day, and who was with 
 the besieging army, and had once been his passenger ; 
 but he declared he did not know his name or rank. 
 
 We had left the town about a mile behind us, when 
 we heard the sound of cannon ; it became louder as 
 we went on, and about a mile farther we met a string 
 of carts, full of wounded, going in to Lima. Here 
 and there we caught sight of parties of marauders, 
 who disappeared as soon as they saw our orderly. I 
 felt a great longing and curiosity to witness the fight 
 tnat was evidently going on not, however, that I 
 was particularly desirous of taking share in it, or 
 putting myself in the way of the bullets. My friend 
 the captain jogged on l.y my side, taking little heed 
 of the roar of the cannon, which to him was no 
 novelty ; for having passed his life at sea, he had had 
 more than one encounter with pirates and other rough 
 customers, and had been many times under the fire 
 of batteries, running in and out of blockaded 
 American ports. His whole attention was now 
 engrossed by the management of his horse, which
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 327 
 
 was somewhat restive, and he, like most sailors, 
 was a very indifferent rider. 
 
 On reaching the top of a small rising ground, we 
 beheld to the left the dark frowning bastions of the 
 fort, and to the right the village of Bella Vista, 
 which, although commanded by the guns of Callao. 
 had teen chosen as the headquarters of the besieging 
 army the houses being for the most part built of 
 huge blocks of stone, and offering sufficient resistance 
 to the balls. The orderly pointed out to us the various 
 batteries, and especially one just completed, which 
 was situated about three hundred yards from the 
 fortress. It had not yet been used, and was still 
 masked from the enemy by some houses in its front. 
 
 While we were looking about us, Ready's horse, 
 irritated by the noise of the firing, the flashes of 
 the guns, and perhaps more than any thing by 
 the captain's bad riding, became more and more 
 unmanageable, and at last, taking the bit between 
 his teeth, started off at a mad gallop, closely followed 
 by myself and the orderly, to whose horses the panic 
 Beemed to have communicated itself. The clouds of 
 dust raised by the animals' feet prevented us from 
 seeing whither we were going. Suddenly there 
 was an explosion that seemed to shake the very
 
 328 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 earth under us, and Ready, the orderly, and myself, 
 lay sprawling, with our horses, on the ground. Be- 
 fore we could collect our senses and get up, we were 
 nearly deafened by a tremendous roar of artillery 
 close to us, and, at the same moment, a shower of 
 stonep and fragments of brick and mortar clattered 
 about our ears. 
 
 The orderly was scanned by his fall ; I was bruised 
 and bewildered. Ready was the only one who 
 seemed in no way put out. Extricating himself, 
 with his usual phlegm, from under his horse, he 
 came to our assistance. I was soon on my legs, and 
 endeavoring to discover the cause of all this uproar. 
 
 Our unruly steeds had brought us close to the new 
 battery, at the very moment that the train of a mine 
 under the houses in front of it had been fired. The 
 instant the obstacle was removed, the artillerymen 
 had opened a tremendous fire on the fort. The 
 Spaniards were not slow to return the compliment, 
 and. fortunate it was that a solid fragment of wall 
 intervened between us and their fire, or all our 
 troubles about the brig, and every thing else, would 
 have been at an end. Already upward of twenty 
 balls had struck the old broken wall. Shot and shell 
 were flying in every direction, the smoke was stifling,
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 329 
 
 the uproar indescribable. It was so dark with the 
 smoke and dust from the fallen houses, that we could 
 not see an arm's length before us. The captain asked 
 two or three soldiers who were hurrying by, where 
 the battery was ; but they were in too great haste to 
 answer, and it was only when the smoke cleared 
 away a little that we discovered we were not twenty 
 paces from it. Ready seized my arm, and, pulling me 
 with him, I the next moment found myself standing 
 beside a gun, under cover of the breastworks. 
 
 The battery consisted of thirty guns, twenty-four 
 and thirty-six pounders, served with a zeal and cour- 
 age which far exceeded any thing I had expected to 
 find in the patriot army. The fellows were really 
 more than brave, they were foolhardy. They danced, 
 rather than walked, round the guns, and exhibited a 
 contempt of death that could not well be surpassed. 
 As to drawing the guns back from the embrasures 
 while loading them, they never dreamed of such a 
 thing. They stood jeering and scoffing the Spaniards 
 and bidding them take better aim. 
 
 It must be remembered that this was only three 
 months after the battle of Ayacucho, the greatest feat 
 of arms which the South American patriots had 
 achieved during the whole of their protracted struggle
 
 330 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 with Spain. The victory had literally electrified the 
 troops, and inspired them with a contempt of their 
 enemy, which frequently showed itself, as on this 
 occasion, in acts of the greatest daring and temerity. 
 
 At the gun by which Ready and myself took our 
 stand, half the artillerymen were already killed, and 
 we had scarcely come there, when a cannoii-ahot took 
 the head off a man standing close to me. The wind 
 of the ball was so great that I believe it would have 
 suffocated me, had I not fortunately been standing 
 sideways in the battery. At the same moment, some- 
 thing hot splashed over my neck and face, and nearly 
 blinded me. I looked, and saw the man lying with- 
 out his head before me. I can not describe the sicken- 
 ing sensation that came over me. It was not the first 
 man I had seen killed in my life, but it was the first 
 whose blood and brains had spurted into my face. 
 My knees shook, and my head swam ; I was obliged 
 to lean against the wall, or I should have fallen. 
 
 Another ball fell close beside me, and, strange to 
 eay, it brought me partly to myself again ; and by 
 the time a third and fourth had bounced into the bat- 
 tery, I began to take things pretty coolly my heart 
 beating rather quicker than usual, I acknowledge; 
 but, nevertheless, I found an indescribable sort of
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 331 
 
 pleasure, a mischievous joy, if I may so call it, iu the 
 peril and excitement of the scene. 
 
 While I was getting over my terrors, my companion 
 moved about the battery with his usual sang-froid, 
 reconnoitering the enemy. . He ran no useless risk, 
 kept himself well behind the breastworks, stooping 
 down when necessary, and taking all proper care of 
 himself. When he had completed his reconnoissance, 
 he, to my no small astonishment, took off his coat, 
 and neck-handkerchief, the latter of which he tied 
 tight round his waist, then, taking a rammer from 
 the hand of a soldier who had just fallen, he ordered 
 or rather signed to the artillerymen to draw the gun 
 back. 
 
 There was something so cool and decided in his 
 manner, that they obeyed, without testifying any 
 surprise at his interference, and as though he had 
 been one of their own officers. He loaded . the piece, 
 had it drawn forward again, pointed and fired it. He 
 then went to the next gun and did the same thing 
 there. He seemed so perfectly at home in the battery, 
 that nobody ever dreamed of disputing his authority, 
 and the two guns were entirely under his direction. 
 I had now got used to the thing myself, so I went 
 forward and offered my services, which, in the scarcity
 
 332 A SKETCH IN THE TKOPICS. 
 
 of men, (so many having been killed,) were not to be 
 refused, and I helped to draw the guns backward 
 and forward, and to load them. The captain kept 
 running from one to the other, pointing them, and 
 admirably well, too ; for every shot took effect within 
 a circumference of a few feet on the bastion in front 
 of us. 
 
 This lasted nearly an hour, at the end of which 
 time the fire was considerably slackened, for the 
 greater part of our guns had become unserviceable. 
 Only about a dozen kept up the fire, (the ball, I was 
 going to say,) and among them were the two that 
 Ready commanded. He had given them time to cool 
 after firing, whereas most of the others, in their des- 
 perate haste and eagerness, had neglected that pre- 
 caution. Although the patriots had now been fifteen 
 years at war with the Spaniards, they were still very 
 indifferent artillerymen for artillery had little to do 
 in most of their fights, which were generally decided 
 by cavalry and infantry ; and even in that of Ayacu- 
 cho there were only a few small field-pieces in use on 
 either side. The mountainous nature of the country, 
 intersected, too, by mighty rivers, and the want of 
 good roads, were the reasons of the insignificant part 
 played by the artillery in those wars.
 
 THK BL'-CK ,T)K. 333 
 
 While we were thus hard at, work, 'who should 
 enter the battery but the very officer we had left 
 Lima to visit? He was attended* by a numerous 
 staff, and was evidently of a very high rank. He 
 stood a little back, watching all Captain Ready's 
 movements, and rubbing his hands with visible 
 satisfaction. Just at that moment the captain tired 
 one of the guns, and, as the smoke cleared away a 
 little, we saw the opposite bastion rock, and then sink 
 down into the moat. A joyous hurra greeted its fall, 
 and the general and his staff sprang forward. 
 
 One must have witnessed the scene that followed, 
 in order to form any adequate idea of the mad joy 
 and enthusiasm of its actors. The general seized 
 Ready in his arms, and eagerly embraced him, then 
 almost threw him to one of his officers, who per- 
 formed the like ceremony, and, in his turn, passed 
 him to a third. The imperturbable captain flew, or 
 was tossed, like a ball, from one to the other. I also 
 came in for my share of the embraces. 
 
 I thought them all stark-staring mad ; and, indeed, 
 I do not believe they were far from it. The balls 
 were still hailing into the battery ; one of them cut a 
 poor devil of an orderly nearly in two, but no notice 
 was taken of such trifles. It was a curious seen*
 
 334 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 enough ; the cannon-balls bouncing about our ears 
 the ground under our feet slippery with blood 
 wounded and dying on all sides and we ourselves 
 pushed and passed about from the arms of one black 
 bearded fellow into those of another. There was 
 something thoroughly exotic, completely South Amer- 
 ican and tropical, in this impromptu. 
 
 Strange to say, now that the breach was made, and 
 a breach such that a determined regiment, assisted 
 by a well-directed fire of artillery, could have had 
 no difficulty in storming the town, there was no ap- 
 pearance of a disposition to profit by it. The patriots 
 were quite contented with what had been done ; most 
 of the officers left the batteries, and the thing was 
 evidently over for the day. I knew little of Spanish 
 Americans then, or I should have felt less surprised 
 than I did at their not following up their advantage. 
 It was not from want of courage, for it was impossi- 
 ble to have exhibited more than they had done that 
 morning ; but they had had their moment of fury, of 
 wild energy and exertion, and the other side of the 
 national character indolence now showed itself. 
 After fighting like devils, they now, at the very mo- 
 ment when activity was of most importance, lay 
 down and took the siesta.
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 335 
 
 "We were about leaving the battery, with the inten- 
 tion of visiting some of the others, when our orderly 
 came up in all haste, with orders to conduct us to the 
 general's quarters. We followed him, and soon 
 reached a noble villa, at the door of which a guard 
 was stationed. Here we were given over to a sort of 
 major-domo, who led us through a crowd of aides-de- 
 camp, staff-officers, and orderlies, to a chamber, 
 w lather our valises had preceded us. We were de- 
 sired to make haste with our toilet, as dinner would 
 be served so soon as his Excellency returned from 
 the batteries; and, indeed, we had -scarcely changed 
 our dress, and washed the blood and smoke from our 
 persons, when the major-domo reappeared, and an 
 nounced the general's return. 
 
 Dinner was laid out in a large saloon, in wnich 
 some sixty officers were assembled when we entered 
 it. With small regard to etiquette, and not waiting 
 for the general to welcome us, they all sprang to 
 meet us with a " Bien venidos, capitanes ! " 
 
 Tl e dinner was such as might be expected at the 
 table of a general who commanded at the same time 
 an army and the blockade of a much-frequented port. 
 The most delicious French and Spanish wines were 
 there in profusion ; the convivialitv of the guests was
 
 336 A SKETCH IN THE TROPICS. 
 
 unbounded ; but although they drank their cham- 
 pagne out of tumblers, no one showed the smallest 
 symptom of inebriety. 
 
 The first toast given, was Bolivar. 
 
 The second Sucre. 
 
 The third The Battle of Ayacucho. 
 
 The fourth Union between Columbia and Peru 
 
 Tiie fifth Hualero. 
 
 The general rose to return thanks, and we now, for 
 the first time, knew his name. He raised his glass, 
 and spoke, evidently with much emotion. 
 
 " Senores ! Amigos ! " said he, " that I am this day 
 among you, and able to thank you for your kindly sen- 
 timents toward your general and brother in arms, is 
 owing under Providence, to the good and brave stran 
 ger whose acquaintance you have only this day made, 
 but who is one of my oldest and best friends." And 
 so saying he left his place, and, approaching Captain 
 Ready, affectionately embraced him. The seaman's 
 iron features lost their usual imperturbability, and his 
 lips quivered as he stammered out the two words 
 
 "Amigo siempre." 
 
 The following day we passed in the camp, and 
 upon the next returned to Lima, the general insisting 
 on our taking up our quarters in his house.
 
 THE BLOCKADE. 337 
 
 From Hualero and his lady I learned the origin of 
 the friendship existing between the distinguished 
 Columbian general and my taciturn Yankee captain. 
 It was the honorable explanation of the mysterious 
 stain upon Ready's character. 
 
 Our difficulties regarding the brig were now soon 
 at an end. - The vessel and cargo were returned to 
 us, with the exception of a large quantity of cigars 
 belonging to the Spanish government. These were, 
 of course, confiscated, but the general bought theiu, 
 and made them a present to Captain Ready, who 
 sold them by auction ; and cigars being in no small 
 demand among that tobacco-loving population, they 
 fetched immense prices, and put thirty thousand 
 dollars into my friend's pocket. 
 
 To be brief, in three weeks we sailed from Lima, 
 and in a vastly better humor th&n when we arrived 
 khore.
 
 A TALE OF THE MEXICAN WAR. 
 
 The following is a chapter from a book on the lata 
 Mexican war. The characters named, having been 
 previously introduced, will come upon the reader 
 rather abruptly; but they will explain themselves, 
 before the conclusion of the narrative. 
 
 We headed toward the National Bridge. Raoul 
 had a friend half way on the route, an old com- 
 rade upon whom he could depend. We should find 
 refreshment there; and, if not a bed, a roof, and a 
 petate. His ranche was in a secluded spot, near the 
 road that leads to the rinconada of San Martin. We 
 should not be likely to meet any one, as it was ten 
 miles off; and it would be late when we reached it. 
 
 It was late, near midnight, when we dropped in 
 upon the contrabandista for such was the friend 
 Df Raoul but he and his family were still astir, 
 tinder the light of a very dull wax candle.
 
 THE JAROCHOS. 339 
 
 Jose" Antonio, that was his name, was a little 
 "sprung" at the five bare-headed apparitions that 
 burst so suddenly upon him ; but recognizing Raoul, 
 we were cordially welcomed. Our host was a spare, 
 bony old fellow, in leathern jacket and calsoneros, 
 with a keen, shrewd eye, that took in our situation at 
 a single glance, and saved the Frenchman a great 
 deal of explanation. Notwithstanding the cordiality 
 with which his friend received him, I noticed that 
 Raoul seemed uneasy about something, as he glanced 
 around the room; for the ranche a small cane 
 structure had only one. 
 
 There were two women stirring about the wife 
 of the contrabandista, and his daughter, a plump 
 good-looking girl of eighteen or thereabout. 
 
 "No han cenado, caballeros?" (You have not 
 supped, gentlemen,) inquired, or rather affirmed, Jos6 
 Antonio, for our looks had answered the question 
 before it was asked. 
 
 ^ Ni comino ni almorzado" (Nor dined; nor 
 breakfasted ;) replied Raoul with a grin. 
 
 " Gurrambo ! Rafaela Jesusita ! " shouted our 
 host, with a sign ; such as, among the Mexicans, often 
 conveys a whole chapter of intelligence. The effect 
 was magical. It sent Jesusita (Little Jesus) to her
 
 340 THE JAROCHO8. 
 
 knees before the tortilla stones ; and Kafaela, Jose's 
 
 
 
 wife, seized a string of tassajo, and plunged it into 
 the olla. Then the little palm leaf fan was handled ; 
 and the charcoal blazed and crackled ; and the beef 
 boiled ; and the black beans simmered ; and the 
 chocolate frothed up, and we all felt happy under the 
 prospect of a savory supper. 
 
 It may appear strange to some Christians, when 
 they learn that the name of the Saviour is much used 
 as a surname among the Mexicans. Such, however, 
 is the fact ; and what is equally strange to a Saxon 
 foreigner, it is used indifferently as far as regards sex. 
 Men as well as women carry this appellation. 
 
 Tassajo, or jerk beef is much used in all Spanish 
 countries where salt is scarce. It is beef cured by 
 being cut into long strings and dried in the sun. It 
 is generally eaten in hashes, stews, &c., and cooked 
 by the Mexicans with chili Colorado, is not bad eat- 
 ing. It frequently, however, by its smell, suggests 
 unpleasant ideas of decomposition. 
 
 I think that any one who has spent a week among 
 the Mexican peasantry, will recognize these little 
 incidents. Cooking is accomplished almost every- 
 where by charcoal. This proceeds from the scarcity 
 of fuel in nearly all parts of the country. There are
 
 THE JAEOCHOS. 341 
 
 no chimneys therefore, as there is no smoke. There 
 are no grates nor stoves, and no great fires for peo- 
 ple to warm themselves at. The climate does away 
 with the necessity of these things. There are not a 
 dozen houses in Mexico where you might sit by a 
 fire except in their kitchens and the few fire- 
 places I have seen were luxuries of the wealthy, kept 
 for some peculiar visit from the northern winds. In 
 the cottage you find a bank of painted mason-work 
 as high as a table. It is frequently in the center of 
 the cottage in the cane huts of the tierra, caliente, 
 but oftener built against the side. Several square 
 holes, nine inches square, are sunk on the top and 
 near the edge ; and from the bottoms of these, small 
 apertures run out horizontally to the sides of the 
 bank. The charcoal is placed in these little wells 
 and ignited. It is fanned by means of the horizontal 
 apertures below. This structure then is a brazero, 
 found in almost every Mexican house ; of course 
 larger, and containing a greater number of charcoal 
 wells, in the kitchens of the wealthy. 
 
 I had noticed that, notwithstanding all the bright 
 prospects of a good supper, Raoul seemed uneasy. 
 In the corner I discovered the cause of his solicitude, 
 in the shape of a small, spare man, wearing the
 
 342 THE JAEOCHOB. 
 
 shovel hat, and black capote, of a priest. I knew 
 that my comrade was not partial to priests, and 
 that he would sooner have trusted Satan himself 
 than one of the tribe ; and I attributed his uneasiness 
 to this natural dislike. 
 
 "Who is he, Antone?" I heard him whisper to the 
 contrabandists. 
 
 "The cure" of San Martin," was the reply. 
 
 ^"He is new, then," said Raoul. 
 
 "Hombre de fiien" (a good man) answered the 
 Mexican, nodding as he spoke. 
 
 Raoul seemed satisfied, and remained silent 
 
 I could not help noticing the "hombre de bien" 
 myself; and no more could I help fancying, after a 
 nhort observation, that the ranche was indebted for 
 the honor of his presence, more to the black eyes of 
 Jesusita, than to any zeal on his part, regarding the 
 spiritual welfare of the contraband ista. 
 
 There was a villanous expression upon his lip, as he 
 watched the girl moving over the floor ; and, once or 
 twice, I caught him scowling upon Chane, who, in 
 his usual Irish way, was " blarneying" with her, and 
 helping her to fan the charcoal. 
 
 "Where's the Padre?" whispered Raoul, to our host. 
 
 "He was in the Rinconada this morning."
 
 THE JAEOCHOS. 343 
 
 "In the Rinconada!" exclaimed the Frenchman, 
 starting. 
 
 " They 're gone down to the bridge. The band has 
 had a fandango (as our battles were jocularly termed 
 by the Mexicans,) with your people, and lost some 
 men. They say they have killed a good many 
 stragglers along the road." 
 
 "So he was in the Rinconada, you say? and this 
 morning too ?" inquired Raoul, in a half soliloquy, and 
 without heeding the last remarks of the contrabandista. 
 
 "We've got to look sharp then," he added. 
 
 " There 's no danger," replied the other, " if you 
 keep from the road. Your people have already 
 reached El Plain, and are preparing to attack the 
 Pass of the Cerro. El Cojo,* they say, has twenty 
 thousand men to defend it." 
 
 During this dialogue, which was carried on in 
 whispers, I had noticed the little Padre shifting 
 about uneasily on his seat. At its conclusion he 
 rose up, and bidding our host "buenas noches!" was 
 about to withdraw, when Lincoln, who had been 
 
 quietly eyeing him for some time, with that sharp 
 
 
 
 t " Tbe lame one," a name given in derision to Santa Anna, and 
 given by his own countrymen, in whose cause he lost the very leg 
 which bad rendert'd him eligible to the appellation.
 
 344 THE JAJBOCHOB. 
 
 searching look peculiar to men of his kidney, jumped 
 up, and placing himself before the door, exclaimed 
 in a drawling emphatic tone, 
 
 "Que cosaV (what's the matter?) asked the Padre 
 indignantly. 
 
 " Kay or no Kay Cosser or no Cosser yer don't 
 go out o' here, afore we do. Howl, ax yer friend for 
 a piece o' twine, will yer ? " 
 
 The Padre appealed to our host, and he, in turu, 
 appealed to Raoul. The Mexican was in a dilemma. 
 He dared not offend the cure", and, on the other hand, 
 he did not wish to dictate to his old comrade Eaoul. 
 Moreover, the fierce hunter, who stood like a huge 
 giant in the door, had a voice in the matter ; and 
 therefore Jose" Antonio had three minds to consult at 
 one time. 
 
 "It aint Bob Linkin id infringe the rules of hosper 
 tality," said the hunter, "but this yeer's a peculiar 
 case an I don't like the look of that ar priest, no 
 how yer kin fix it." 
 
 Raoul, however, sided with the contraband ista, and 
 explained to Lincoln that the Padre was the peaceable 
 cure of the neighboring village, and the friend of 
 Don Antonio ; and the hunter, seeing that I did not
 
 THE JAEOCHOS. 34:5 
 
 interpose for at the moment I was in one of those 
 moods of abstraction, and scarcely noticed %hat was 
 going on permitted the priest to pass oat. I was 
 recalled to myself more by some peculiar expressions, 
 which I heard Lincoln mattering, after it was over, 
 than by the incidents of the scene itsel 
 
 The occurrence had rendered us all somewhat 
 uneasy ; and we resolved upon swallowing our 
 suppers hastily, and, after poshing forward some 
 distance, to sleep in the woods. 
 
 The tortillas were now ready, and the pretty Jesnsita 
 was pouring out the chocolate ; so we set to work like 
 men who had appetites. 
 
 The supper was soon dispatched, but our host had 
 Bome^mro*in the house a luxury we had not enjoyed 
 lately ; and hating to hurry away from such comfortable 
 quarters, we determined to stay, and take a smoke. 
 
 We had hardly lit our cigars, when Je&usita, who 
 had gone to the door, came hastily back, exclaiming : 
 
 11 Papa papa, ! hay gente fuera / " (Papa, there 
 are people outside.) 
 
 As we sprang to our feet, several shadows appeared 
 through the open walls. Lincoln seized his rifle, and 
 ran to the door. The next moment be rushed back, 
 
 shouting out 
 
 15*
 
 346 THE JAROCHOS. 
 
 " I told yer so." 
 
 And, dashing his huge body against the back of 
 the ranche, he broke through the cane pickets with a 
 crash ! 
 
 "We were hastening to follow him. when the frail 
 structure gave way ; and we found ourselves buried, 
 along with our host and his women, under a heavy 
 thatch of tule (a species of gigantic rushes) and palm 
 leaves. 
 
 "We heard the crack of our comrade's rifle without 
 the scream of a victim the reports of pistols and 
 escepettes the yelling of savage men and then, 
 the roof was raised again ; and we were pulled out 
 and dragged down among the trees, and tied to their 
 trunks, and taunted and goaded, and kicked and 
 cufied, by the most villanous looking set of despera- 
 does, it has ever been my fortune to fall among. 
 They seemed to take a delight in abusing us yelling 
 all the while, like so many demons let loose. 
 
 Our late acquaintance, the cur6, was among them ; 
 and it was plain that he had brought the party on 
 us. His "reverence" looked high and low for 
 Lincoln ; but, to his great mortification, the hunter had 
 escaped. 
 
 "We were not long in learning in whose hands we
 
 THE JAROCHOS. 347 
 
 had fallen ; for the name " Jarauta,"* was on every 
 tongue. They were the dreaded Jarochos of the 
 bandit priest. 
 
 "We're in for it now," said Raoul, deeply mortified 
 at the part he had taken in the affair with the cure". 
 "It's a wonder they have kept us so long. Perhaps 
 he 's not here himself, and they 're waiting for him." 
 
 As Raoul said this, the clatter of hoofs sounded 
 along the narrow road ; and a horseman came gal- 
 loping up to the ranche, riding over every thing and 
 every body, with a perfect recklessness. 
 
 "That's Jarauta," whispered Raoul. "If he sees 
 me but it don't matter much," he added, in a lower 
 tone, "we'll have a quick shrift all the same : he can't 
 more than hang and that he '11 be sure to do." 
 
 "Where are these Yankees?" cried Jarauta, leaping 
 out of his saddle. 
 
 "Here, Car-*ain," answered one of the Jarochos, a 
 hideous look 1 jg griffe, dressed in a scarlet unilorm, 
 and apparen .ly the lieutenant of the band. 
 
 "How many?" 
 
 "Four, Captain." 
 
 u Very well what are you waiting for?" 
 
 ** To know whether I shall hang or shoot them." * 
 
 Pronounced Harowta.
 
 THE JAROCHOS. 
 
 'Shoot them, by all means! Carrambo! we have 
 no time for neck-stretching!" 
 
 "There are some nice trees here, Captain," suggested 
 another of the band, with as much coolness as if he 
 had been conversing about the hanging of so many 
 dogs. He wished a curiosity not uncommon to 
 witness the spectacle of hanging. 
 
 "Madre de Dios! stupid. I tell you we havn't 
 time for such silly sport. Out with you there. San- 
 chez! Gabriel! Carlos! send your bullets through 
 their Saxon skulls. Quick !" 
 
 Several of the Jarochos commenced unslinging 
 their carbines, while those who guarded us fell back 
 to be cut cf range of the lead. 
 
 " Come," exclaimed Raoul, " it can't be worse 
 than this we can only die; and I'll let the padre 
 know who he has got, before I take leave of him 
 a souvenir that won't make him sleen any sounder 
 to-night. Oyez! Padre Jarauta" continued he 
 calling out in a tone of irony ; " hav 3 you found 
 Marguerite yet?" 
 
 We could see between us and the dim rushlight, 
 that the Jarocho started, as if a shot had passed 
 thftmgh his heart. 
 
 "Hold!' : he shouted to the men, who were about
 
 THE JAEOCHOS. 349 
 
 taking aim, " trail those scoundrels hither! A light 
 there fire the thatch ! Yaya ! " 
 
 In a moment, the hut of the contrabandista was in 
 flames, the dry palm-leaves blazing up like flax. 
 
 " Merciful heaven ! they a/re going to roast us ! " 
 
 With this horrible apprehension, we were dragged 
 up toward the burning pile, close to which stood our 
 fierce judge and executioner. 
 
 The bamboos blazed and crackled, and under their 
 red glare, we could now see our captors with a terri- 
 ble distinctness. A more demon-like set, I think, 
 could not have been found any where out of the 
 infernal regions. 
 
 Most of them were Zamboes* and Mestizoes,f and 
 not a few pure Africans of the blackest hue, maroons 
 from Cuba, and the Antilles, many of them with 
 their coarse woolly hair sticking out in matted tufts, 
 their white teeth, set in savage grins, their strange 
 armor and grotesque attitudes, their wild and pictur- 
 esque attire, formed a coup cTceil that might have 
 pleased a painter in his studio, but which, at the time, 
 had no charm for us. 
 
 There were Pintos among them, too spotted men 
 from the tangled forests of Acapulco pied and 
 
 Zambo half Indian, half Negro, t Meatizoe, half Indian half Spanish.
 
 350 THE JAROOHQS. 
 
 speckled with blotches of red, and black and white, 
 like hounds and horses. They were the first of this 
 race I had ever seen, and their unnatural complexions, 
 even at this fearful moment, impressed me with feel- 
 ings of disgust and loathing. There exists a vast 
 tribe of these strange men in a district of the tierra 
 caliente, near Acapulco. They can scarcely be said 
 to belong to the Mexican government, as the only 
 man, whose authority they care a calaco for, is General 
 Alvarez, an old Indian, who is himself quite as odd a 
 character as any one of the Pintos. Alvarez obeyed 
 the call of his government during the late war, and, 
 collecting about three thousand Indians, among whom 
 there was a sharp "sprinkling" of Pintos, turned the 
 rear of our army at Puebla, and followed us up into 
 the valley of Mexico, without striking a blow ; and 
 yet these Pintos and Indians of Alvarez are repre- 
 sented by the Mexicans, as fierce and warlike! 
 Alvarez frequently gets up a pronunciamento 
 against the government; and they have not been 
 able hitherto to interfere either with him, or his 
 spotted warriors. 
 
 A single glance at this motley crew would have 
 convinced us, had we not been quite sure of it already, 
 that we had no favors to exx>ect. There was not a
 
 THE JAROCHO8 351 
 
 countenance among them that exhibited the slightest 
 trait of grace, or mercy. No such expression could 
 be seen around us, and we felt satisfied that our time 
 was come. 
 
 The appearance of their leader did not shake this 
 conviction. Revenge and hatred were playing upon 
 his sharp sallow features, and his thin lips quivered 
 with an expression of malice, plainly habitual. His 
 nose, like a parrot's beak, had been broken by a blow, 
 which added to its sinister shape ; and his small black 
 eyes twinkled with metallic brightness. 
 
 He wore a purplish-colored manga, that covered 
 his whole body, and his feet were cased in the red 
 leather boots of the country, with heavy silver spurs 
 strapped over them. A black sombrero, with its 
 band of gold bullion, and tags of the same material, 
 completed the tout ensemble of his costume. He 
 wore neither beard nor moustache, but his hair, black 
 and snaky, hung down trailing over the velvet em- 
 broidery of his manga which is a most beautiful 
 and graceful garment, peculiar, I believe to Mexico. 
 
 This garment, resembles the scrape", in one thing. 
 Both have a vent, through which the head is thrust, 
 leaving the garment to rest upon the shoulders. 
 Around this, the manga is always embroidered and
 
 THE JAEOCHOS. 
 
 braided, over a circle of two feet in diameter. The 
 serape is only a blanket-shaped article, while the 
 manga is fashioned something after the style of a 
 circle cloak. It is uniform in color ; in this again 
 differing from the serape, which is speckled like a 
 carpet. The color of the manga is often very gay. 
 Purple ones are frequently seen, and even red ; 
 black and blue are common. The manga is rare, 
 not being worn so commonly as the serape. It is 
 costly, and requires some art in the making up ; still, 
 you will meet with it now and then, and often cover- 
 ing the shoulders of a common ranchero. It is a 
 picture to see a fine-looking specimen of the ranchero, 
 dressed in one of these graceful robes. 
 
 Such was the Padre Jarauta. 
 
 Raoul's face was before him, upon which he looked 
 for some moments without speaking. His features 
 twitched, as if under galvanic action, and we could 
 see that his fingers jerked in a similar manner. 
 
 They were painful memories that could produce 
 this eft'ect upon a heart of such iron deviltry ; and 
 Raoul alone knew them. The latter seemed to enjoy 
 the interlude, for he lay upon the ground looking 
 up at the Jarocho with a smile of triumph upon his 
 reckless features !
 
 THE JAEOCHOS. 353 
 
 We were expecting the next speech of the padre 
 to be an order for flinging us into the fire, which now 
 burned fiercely. Fortunately, this fancy did not seem 
 to strike him just then. 
 
 "Ha! Monsieur," exclaimed he at length, ap- 
 proaching Eaoul. "I dreamt that you and I would 
 meet again I dreamt it ha! ha! ha! it was a 
 pleasant dream, but not half so pleasant as the real- 
 ity ; ha! ha! ha! Don't you think so?" he added, 
 striking our comrade over the face with a mule quirt.* 
 "Don't you think so?" he repeated, lashing him as be- 
 fore, while his eyes sparkled with a fiendish malignity. 
 
 "Did you dream of meeting Marguerita again?" 
 inquired Raoul with a satirical laugh, that sounded 
 strange, even fearful, under the circumstances. 
 
 I shall never forget the expression of the Jarocho 
 at that moment. His sallow face turned black, his 
 lips white, his eyes burned like a demon's, and 
 springing forward with a fierce oath, he planted his 
 iron-shod heel upon the face of our comrade. The 
 skin peeled off, and the blood followed. 
 
 There was something so cowardly so redolent of 
 a brutal ferocity in the act, that I could not remain 
 
 * A species of whip without any handle, except a band of leather 
 that fastens it to the hand.
 
 S54 THE JAROCHOS. 
 
 q-aiet. With a desperate wrench, I freed my hands, 
 skinning ray wrists in the effort, and, flinging myself 
 upon him, I clutched at the monster's throat. 
 
 He stepped back ; my ankles were tied, and I fell 
 upon my face at his feet. 
 
 "Ho! ho,!" cried he, "what have we here? An 
 officer, eh? Come!" he continued, "rise up from 
 your prayers, and let me look at you ; ha, a captain I 
 and this? a lieutenant!* Gentlemen, you're too 
 dainty to be shot like common dogs ; we '11 not let 
 the wolves have you ; we '11 put you out of their 
 reach; ha! ha! ha! Out of reach of wolves, do 
 you hear? And what's this?" continued he, turning 
 to Chane, and examining his shoulders. . "Bah, 
 sO'Ai<*do rasOj Irlandes too, carajo /f What do you 
 Jo fighting among these heretics against your own 
 religion. There renegade!" and he kicked the Irish 
 man in the ribs. 
 
 "Thank yer honner," said Chane, with a grunt, 
 " small fay vors thankfully resaved ; much good may 
 it do yer honner!" 
 
 "Here Lopez!" shouted the brigand. 
 
 "Now for the fire! " thought we. 
 
 He knew our rank'from the designations upon our shoulder-straj'a 
 t A private, an Irishman too. ; :
 
 THE JAKRCH08. 355 
 
 " Lopez, I say ! " continued he, calling louder. 
 
 "Aca aca!" answered a voice, and the lieu- 
 tenant who had guarded us, camo up, swinging his 
 scarlet rnanga. 
 
 "Lopez, these, I perceive, are gentlemen of rank; 
 and we must usher them into h a little more grace- 
 fully ; do you hear ? " 
 
 "Yes, Captain," answered the griffe, with stoical 
 composure. 
 
 " Over the cliffs, Lopez. Facilis descensus averni; 
 but you don't understand Latin, Lopez. Over the 
 cliffs, do you hear? You understand that?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain," repeated the Jarocho, moving 
 only his lips. 
 
 " You will have them at the Eagle's Cave, by six 
 in the morning; by six, do you' hear?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain," again replied the subordinate. 
 
 "And if any of them is missing is missing, do 
 you hear?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 "You will take his place in the dance the dance, 
 La ha ha! You understand that, Lopez?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 "Enough then, good Lopez handsome Lopez, 
 beautiful Lopez; enough, and good night to you!"
 
 356 -THE JAROOHOS. 
 
 Whatever might be the nature of the punishment 
 that awaited us at the Eagle's Cave, it was evident 
 that Lopez had no intention of becoming proxy for 
 any of us. This was plain from the manner in which 
 he set about securing us. "We were first gagged with 
 bayonet shanks, and then dragged out into the bushes. 
 
 Here we were thrown upon our backs, each of us 
 in the center of four trees, that formed a parallelogram. 
 Our arms and legs were stretched to their full extent, 
 and tied severally to the trees ; and thus we lay, 
 spread out like raw-hides to dry. Our savage captors 
 drew the cords so taut, that our joints cracked under 
 the cruel tension. In this painful position, with a 
 Jarocho standing over each of us, we passed the 
 remainder of the night. 
 
 It was a long night : the longest I can remember : 
 a night that fully illustrated the horror of monotony. 
 I can compare our feelings to those of one under the 
 influence of the nightmare. But no worse than 
 that. Our savage sentries occasionally sat down 
 upon our bodies, and, lighting their cigarettes, 
 chatted gaily, while we groaned! We could not 
 protest ; we were gagged. But it would have made 
 little difference; they would only have mocked us 
 the more.
 
 THE JAKOCHOS. 357 
 
 We lay glaring upon the moon, as she coursed 
 through a cloudy heaven. The wind whistled 
 through the leaves, and its melancholy moaning 
 sounded like our death-dirge. Several times during 
 the night, I heard the howl of the prairie wolf, and I 
 knew it was Lincoln ; but the Jarochos had pickets 
 all around ; and the hunter dared not approach our 
 position. He could not have helped us. 
 
 The morning broke at last; and we were taken 
 up, and tied upon the backs of vicious mules, and 
 hurried off through the woods. "We traveled for some 
 distance along a ridge, until we had reached its highest 
 point, where the cliff beetled over. Here we were 
 unpacked and thrown upon the grass. About thirty 
 of the Jarochos guarded us, and we now saw 
 them nnder the broad light of day, but they did not 
 look a whit more beautiful than on the preceding 
 night. 
 
 Lopez was at their head, and never relaxed his 
 vigilance for a moment. It was plain that he con- 
 sidered the padre a man of his word. 
 
 AD exclamation from one of tho men drew our 
 attention; and, looking around, we perceived a band 
 of horsemen straggling up the hill at a slow gallop, 
 It was Jarauta, with about fifty of his followers.
 
 858 THE JA&OCBOS. 
 
 "JSuenas dias, caballeros ! "* cried he, in a mocking 
 tone, leaping down and approaching us : "I hope you 
 passed the night comfortably. Lopez, I am sure, 
 provided you with good beds. Didn't you, Lopez? " 
 
 " Yes, Captain," answered the laconic Lopez. ^-~ 
 
 "The gentlemen rested well, didn't they, Lopez?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 "No kicking, or tumbling about, eh?" 
 
 "No, Captain." 
 
 " Oh ! then they rested well ; it's a good thing ; they 
 have a long journey before them, havn't they, Lopez?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 "I hope, gentlemen, you are ready for the road. 
 Do you think you are ready? " 
 
 As each of us had the shank of a bayonet between 
 his teeth, besides being tied neck and heels, it is not 
 likely that this interrogatory received a reply; not 
 did his reverence expect any, as he continued putting 
 similar questions in quick succession, appealing 
 occasionally to his lieutenant for an answer. 
 
 The latter, who was of the taciturn school, con- 
 tented himself, and his superior too, with a simple 
 
 * "Good day, gentlemen," the usual morning salutation. There is 
 BO " good morning " in Spanish ; the words " buena manan" which 
 signify -that, never passing the lips of a Spaniard.
 
 . HE JAROCHOS. 359 
 
 "yes," or "no." Up to this moment, we had no 
 knowledge of the fate that awaited us. We knew 
 we had to die that we knew; but in what way, 
 we were still ignorant. I, for one, had made up my 
 mind that the padre intended pitching us over the 
 cliffs. 
 
 We were at length enlightened upon this important 
 point. We were not to take that awful leap into 
 eternity, which I had been picturing to myself. A 
 fate more horrible still, awaited us. We were to fie 
 hanged over the precipice ! 
 
 As if to aid the monster in his inhuman design, 
 several pine trees grew out horizontally from the edge 
 of the cliffs ; and over the branches of these, the 
 Jarochos commenced reeving their long lassoes. Ex- 
 pert in the handling of ropes, as all Mexicans are, 
 they were not long in completing their preparations, 
 and we soon beheld our gallows. What they can ac- 
 complish with ropes and cords is almost incredible. 
 I had a Mexican servant, a mere lad, who could lash 
 my chests quicker and firmer, and more sure not to 
 come undone, than could be accomplished by any 
 two of our soldiers. I have seen them tie up the 'bois 
 de vache' in ropes, and thus carry it on the backs of 
 donkeys ; and I was almost tempted to believe them
 
 360 THE JAKOCHO8. 
 
 capable of that feat hitherto deemed impossible, of 
 tying up sand in a rope. 
 
 " According to rank, Lopez," cried Jarauta, seeing 
 that all was ready ; the captain first do you hear?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain," answered the imperturbable bri- 
 gand who superintended the operations. 
 
 " I shall keep you to the last, Monsieur," said the 
 priest, addressing Raoul ; "you will have the pleasure 
 of bringing up the rear in your passage through 
 purgatory. Ha ha ha ! Won't he, Lopez? " 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 "May be some of you would like a priest, gentle- 
 men." This Jarauta uttered with an ironical grin 
 that was revolting to behold. "If you would," he 
 continued, "say so. I sometimes officiate in that 
 capacity myself. Don't I, Lopez? " 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 A diabolical laugh burst from the Jarochos, who 
 had dismounted, and were standing out upon the 
 cliff, the better to witness the spectacle of our hang- 
 ing. 
 
 "Well, Lopez, does any of them say 'yes'?" 
 
 "No, Captain." 
 
 " Ask the Irishman there ; ask him ; he ought to 
 be a good Catholic."
 
 THE JAROCHOS 361 
 
 The question was put to Chane in mockery, of 
 course ; for it was impossible for him to answer it ; 
 and yet he did answer it, for his look spoke a curse, 
 as plainly as if it had been uttered through a trumpet. 
 The Jarochos did not heed that, but only laughed tho 
 louder. 
 
 "Well, Lopez, what says St. Patrick? 'Yes' 
 or 'no'?" 
 
 "No, Captain." 
 
 And a fresh peal of ruffian laughter rang out. The 
 rope was placed around my neck in a running noose. 
 The other end had been passed over the tree, and lay 
 coiled near the edge of the cliff. Lopez held it in 
 his hand a short distance above the coil, in order to 
 direct its movements. 
 
 "All ready there, Lopez?" cried the leader. 
 
 Yes, Captain." 
 
 " Swing off the captain, then no, not yet ; let him 
 look at the floor on which he is going to dance ; that 
 is but fair." 
 
 I had been drawn forward, until my feet projected 
 over the edge of the precipice, and close to the root 
 of the tree. I was now forced into a sitting posture, 
 BO that I might look below, my limbs hanging over. 
 Strange to say, I could not resist doing exactly what
 
 862 THE JAEOCH08. 
 
 my tormentor wished. Under other circumstances 
 the sight would have been to ine appalling ; but my 
 nerves were strung by the protracted agony I had 
 been forced to endure. 
 
 The precipice, on whose verge I sat, formed a 
 side of one of those yawning gulfs common in Span- 
 ish America, and known by the name barrancas. It 
 seemed as if a mountain had been scooped out and 
 carried away. Not two hundred yards, horizontally 
 distant, was the twin jaw of the chasm, like a black- 
 burnt wall ; yet the torrent that roared and foamed 
 between them was full six hundred feet below my 
 position! I could have flung the stump of a cigar 
 upon the water ; in fact an object dropping vertically 
 from where I sat, for it was a projecting point, must 
 have fallen plump into the stream. 
 
 It was not unlike the canon where we had tossed 
 over the dogs ; but it was higher, and altogether more 
 deadful and horrible. 
 
 As I looked down, several small birds, whose spe- 
 cies I did not stay to distinguish, were screaming 
 below, and an eagle on his broad bold wing came 
 Bearing over the abyss, and flapped up to my very 
 face. 
 
 "Well Captain," broke in the sharp voice oi
 
 THE JAEOCH08. 
 
 J arauta, " what do you think of it ; a nice soft floor 
 to dance upon, is n't it? Is n't it, Lopez?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 "All ready there? Stop! some music; we must 
 have music; how can he dance without music? 
 Holloa ! Sancho, where 's your bugle ? " 
 
 "Here, Captain!" 
 
 " Strike up then ; play Yankee Doodle. Ha ! ha ! 
 ha! Yankee Doodle, do you hear?" 
 
 '^Yes, Captain," answered the man ; and the next 
 moment the well-known strains of the American 
 national air sounded upon my ear, producing a 
 strange, sad feeling, I shall never forget. 
 
 " Now, Lopez," cried the padre. 
 
 I was expecting to be swung out, when 1 heard 
 him again shout "stay!" at the same time stopping 
 the music. 
 
 "By heavens! Lopez, I have a better plan," he 
 cried ; " why did I not think of it before ? It 's not 
 too late, yet. Ha! ha! ha! Carrambo ! They 
 shall dance upon their heads ! That 's better, is n't 
 it, Lopez?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 A cheer from the Jarochos announced their ap- 
 proval of this change in the. ceremony.
 
 364 THE JAKOCHOS. 
 
 The padre made a sign to Lopez, who approached 
 him, appearing to receive some directions. 
 
 I did not at first comprehend the novelty that was 
 about to be introduced. I was not long in ignorance. 
 One of the Jarochos, seizing me by the collar, 
 dragged me back from the ledge, and transferred the 
 noose from my neck to my ankles. Horror heaped 
 upon .horror ! I was to be hung head downward, 
 and thus left to die by inches ! 
 
 " That will be much prettier, won't it, Lopez ? " 
 
 Yes, Captain." 
 
 u The gentleman will have time to make himself 
 ready for Heaven before he dies ; won't he, Lopez ? " 
 
 "Yes, Captain." 
 
 "Take out the gag ; let him have his tongue free : 
 he '11 need that to pray with ; won't he Lopez ? " 
 
 " Yes, Captain." 
 
 One of the Jarochos jerked the bayonet roughly 
 from my mouth, almost dislocating my jaw. The 
 power of speech was gone. I could not, if I had 
 wished it, have uttered an intelligible word. 
 
 " Give him his hands, too ; he '11 need them to 
 keep off the Zopilotes ;* won't he Lopez 2 " 
 
 "Yes Captain." 
 
 The black vulture of Mexico.
 
 THE JAKOCHOS. 365 
 
 The thong that bound my wrists was cut, leaving my 
 hands free. I was on my back, my feet toward the 
 precipice. A little to my right stood Lopez holding 
 the rope that was about to launch me into eternity. 
 
 "Now, the music! Take the music for your cue 
 Lopez ; then jerk him up ! " cried the sharp voice of 
 the fiend. 
 
 I shut my eyes waiting for the pull. It was but 
 a moment, but it seemed a lifetime. There was a 
 dead silence a stillness like that which precedes 
 the bursting of a rock, or the firing of a jubilee-gun. 
 Then I heard the first note of the bugle, and along 
 with it a crack the crack of a rifle ! A man 
 staggered over me, besprinkling my face with blood ; 
 and, falling forward, disappeared. 
 
 Then came the pluck upon my ancles, and I was 
 jerked, head downward, into the empty air. I felt 
 my feet touching the branches above ; and throwing 
 up my arms, I grasped one, and swung my body 
 upward. After two or three efforts, I lay along the 
 main trunk, which I embraced with the hug of despair. 
 I looked downward. A man was hanging below 
 far below at the end of the lariat ! It was Lopez. 
 I knew his scarlet manga at a glance. He wag 
 bunging by the thigh, in a snarl of the rope.
 
 366 THE JAKOCHOS. 
 
 His bat had fallen off. I could see the red blood 
 running over bis face, and dripping from his long 
 snaky locks. He hung head down. I could see 
 that he was dead ! 
 
 The hard thong was cutting my ancles, and, oh, 
 heaven ! under our united weight, the roots were 
 cracking! 
 
 Appalling thought 1 '''the tree will give way /" 
 
 I held fast with one arm. I drew forth my knife 
 fortunately I still had one with the other. I opened 
 the blade with my teeth ; and, stretching backward 
 and downward, I drew it across the thong. It parted 
 with a " snig," and the red object left me like a flash 
 of light. There was a plunge upon the black water 
 below a plunge and a few white bubbles, but the 
 body of the Jarocho, with its scarlet trappings, never 
 came up after that plunge. 
 
 During all this time, shots were ringing over me. 
 I could hear the shouts and cheering of men, the 
 trampling of heavy hoofs and the clashing of sabers. 
 I knew that some strange deliverance had reached us. 
 I knew that a skirmish was going on above me ; but 
 I could see nothing. I was below the level of the 
 cliff. 
 
 I lay in a terrible suspense listening. I dared
 
 THE JAEOCHOS. 367 
 
 not change my posture. I dared not move. The 
 weight of the Jarocho's body had hitherto held my 
 feet securely m the notch ; but that was gone ; and 
 my ancles were still tied. A movement, and my legs 
 might fall off the limb ; and drag me downward. I 
 was faint too, from the protracted struggle for life and 
 death, and I hugged the tree, and held on like a 
 wounded squirrel.* 
 
 The shots seemed less frequent ; the shouts appeared 
 to recede from the cliffs. Then I heard a cheer an 
 Anglo Saxon cheer, an American cheer and the 
 next moment, a well-known voice rang in my ears. 
 
 " By the livin catamount ! he 's yeer yit ! whooray ! 
 whoop ! Niver say die ! Hole on Cap'n, teeth an 
 toe-nail ! Yeer, boys ! clutch on a wheen o' v yer ! quick, 
 hook my claws, Nat! now pull all thegether! 
 Hooray!" 
 
 I felt a strong hand grasping the collar of my coat, 
 and I was raised from my perch, and landed upon 
 the top of the cliff. 
 
 I looked around upon my deliverers. Lincoln was 
 dancing like a lunatic, uttering his wild, half-Indian 
 yells. A dozen men, in the dark green uniform of 
 
 These little animals, when wounded, will often hang suspended 
 upon a branch till life is extinct
 
 368 THE JAEOCHOB. 
 
 the " mounted rifles," stood looking on, and laughing 
 at this grotesque exhibition. Close by, another party 
 were guarding some prisoners ; while a hundred 
 others were seen, in scattered groups, along the ridge, 
 returning from the pursuit of the Jarochos, whom 
 they had completely routed.
 
 JJesf Sfyof. 
 
 Wilson and Cameron stood apart from their com- 
 panions. With folded arms and thoughtful faces, 
 they watched the shadows of night stealing over lako 
 and chapparel. 
 
 " An hour like this casts a spell upon my spirit," 
 said Cameron. "I love to see the glare of day fade, 
 and give place to the dim, placid twilight." 
 
 "I hare similar feelings," replied Wilson, " but 
 I like night best when more advanced toward the 
 small hours, and the moon and stars are brightly 
 beaming." 
 
 Cameron made no reply, and the parties remained 
 silent. Wilson was the first to speak. 
 
 "That's a heavy rifle of your's," he said, glancing 
 at the weapon upon which Cameron was leaning." 
 u I dare say it has been of service to you in its time." 
 
 "No money could induce me to part with it, because 
 16*
 
 370 THE BANGER'S BEST SHOT. 
 
 I have proved its metal on many occasions. Did 1 
 ever tell you of an adventure that I had once near 
 Red River?" 
 
 " You never did ; I should like to hear it," said 
 Wilson. 
 
 "Several years ago," resumed Cameron, U I was 
 hunting near^Cross Timbers, not far from Red River. 
 The Indians were then troublesome, and frequently 
 committed their depredations upon the frontier 
 settlements : but I was fond of hunting and cared 
 little for them, willing to trust to my own courage 
 and ingenuity in any emergency that might occur. 
 I carried this same rifle, and was called one of the 
 best shots in the country. 
 
 "Many people said the piece was too heavy for 
 common use ; but I was accustomed to it, and it 
 didn't feel burdensome to me; und when I fired, it 
 was sure to do the right thing, for what animal could 
 carry off an ounce and a half of lead, skillfully sped 
 on its errand ? 
 
 "Having discovered Indian signs one flay, I thought 
 it best to change my hunting ground ; and so put 
 a considerable distance between me and the spot, and 
 encamped on a wide prairie, bounded on the east by 
 the Cross Timbers. Not long after this event. I waa
 
 THE BANGER'S BEST SHOT. 371 
 
 fitting on the bank of a small stream, resting mv 
 weary limbs after a long and fatiguing hunt, when I 
 was fired upon and slightly wounded. 
 
 "I was fortunate enough to discover the marksman, 
 who proved to be an Indian of what tribe I do not 
 now remember I instantly shot him dead, and then 
 perceived that he was not alone ; for one of his 
 brethren was with him, who made good his escape 
 Time passed on, and I was undisturbed in mj 
 amusements for a long time. 
 
 " One day, not feeling very well, I returned to my 
 camp sooner than usual. I laid down to sleep, but 
 could not. I felt uneasy and nervous, and so arose 
 and went out on the prairie. The grass was not very 
 tall, and the hot suns of the season had dried it until 
 it was crispy, and rattled as I walked through it. 1 
 ascended a gentle swell and looked around me. The 
 scene was a grand one. On one hand were the Cross 
 Timbers, dimly seen in the distance, resembling a 
 dense wall of wood built by human hands ; while in 
 every other direction the prairie stretched away until 
 lost in the distance. The sun was getting low, and 
 looked like a sunset on the sea. As my eyes 
 wandered from point, to point they were suddenly 
 fixed upon a solitary figure several hundred yards
 
 372 THE RANGKJR'S BEST SHOT. 
 
 distant, at the foot of the long swell or roll upon 
 which I was standing. 
 
 " He stood in an open space, and at first I wondered 
 how that could be, as the grass was so high in every 
 other place ; but the affair soon explained itself. 
 More careful examination showed me that the solitary 
 object was an Indian, and his object in plucking up 
 the dry grass was evident ; he was going to fire the 
 prairie! It was doubtless the same fellow that hat! 
 escaped at the time I had been fired on. He had 
 discovered my retreat, and was about to revenge his 
 comrade in a signal manner. 
 
 "The wind was blowing fresh toward me, and if the 
 grass had been set on fire no power on earth could 
 have saved me, for the fleetest horse could not run 
 fast enough to escape its devouring flames. A terrible 
 dread of that kind of death came over me. I stood 
 like one fascinated, and gazed at the preparations of 
 the savage. He stood in the middle of the open 
 space he had made, with a burning torch in his hand. 
 Innumerable thoughts rushed through my mind in an 
 instant of time. I was never so completely paralyzed 
 and stupefied before in my life. The power of thought 
 seemed to be the only power left me, and that was 
 stimulated to an unnatural degree. The past, present,
 
 THK KAKGKK'S BEST SHOT. 373 
 
 and future, were reviewed and speculated upon, in 
 nat brief and broken fragment of time in which 
 the savage stood waiting for the brand to burn more 
 brightly before thrusting it into the grass. 
 
 "Yes, my destiny was to be burned! some hunter 
 or traveler would find my body charred and black- 
 ened ; and others after a time would pass my bones 
 bleaching in the sun. 
 
 "I shuddered ; my eyes felt hot ; my throat was dry, 
 and I imagined that I felt the flames creeping over 
 rne. If it had been a danger that I could have 
 battled with, or, if I could have seen any chance for 
 escape depending upon my own exertions, it would 
 have been different ; but now all I could do was to 
 stand and stare the most dreadful of all deaths in tho 
 face. 
 
 " You must remember that all these ideas and re- 
 flections rushed through my mind in the shortest 
 appreciable space of time ; for you must know that 
 the sudden prospect of great danger from which there 
 is no apparent mode of escape, imparts to the brain a 
 horrible faculty of thought, of which the mind at ease 
 can form no possible conception. 
 
 " I closed my eyes in prayer, and commended my 
 soul to God ; but it was impossible for me to close
 
 THE BANGEK'8 BEST SHOT. 
 
 mj e)es against the one great and absorbing idea in 
 my mind that of being burnt up like a vile reptile 
 that crawls in the weeds. 
 
 "My lips unclosed ; as they did so, my eyes rested 
 upon my trusty rifle ; it was the first time I had 
 thought of it, for the distance was great between me 
 and my enemy ; but now it looked like an old friend, 
 and the only one that had the power to save me. 
 
 " I embraced the thought that the sight of my 
 rifle called up a species of joy which is nearly 
 overpowered by an antagonizing feeling. 
 
 "One chance still remained a small chance, it 
 was true, but still a chance ; and despair cannot 
 completely paralyze and subdue the heart, while even 
 one faint hope remained. I lifted the instrument 
 upon which hung my destiny. As my glance ran 
 over the intervening distance, I felt how desperate 
 indeed was my prospect of life ; for an hundred good 
 marksmen might try their skill in vain, in aiming 
 at an object so far off. Then I remembered that my 
 weapon was of uncommon calibre and weight, and 
 would throw a ball further than any I had ever seen. 
 I recollected also, that I had loaded it that very day 
 with uncommon care, and for a long shot. 
 
 " The Indian moved the torch, and was about to
 
 THE BANGER'S BEST SHOT. 375 
 
 apply it to the combustible material ; there was no 
 time to lose. The rifle came to my shoulder quick 
 and firm, and I braced up my nerves for a ready aim 
 with a strong effort of the will. I looked through the 
 ' double sights,' and the muzzle covered the Indian's 
 head. My heart seemed to stop beating, held in the 
 grasp of that terrible suspense. It was but an 
 instant then the rifle sent an ounce and a half of 
 lead on its mission with a crack that was unusually 
 loud and sharp, and a recoil which threw me back a 
 few paces. 
 
 "The smoke curled away, but I dared not look. 
 I passed my hand slowly across my forehead, for ray 
 brain was throbbing painfully. Every moment I 
 expected to be greeted by a dense smoke from the 
 burning prairie, and to hear the hissing of the burn- 
 ing flame ; but nothing of the kind occurred, and I 
 ventured to look toward the spot where the savage 
 had stood with his torch ; I took courage, reloaded 
 rny rifle, and hastily walked toward the place. 
 
 " I reached it the Indian lay upon his back, the 
 brand half extinguished, beside him ; an ounce and 
 a half of lead had passed through his head. I sank 
 down, overpowered with gratitude, and the various 
 emotions which such an incident was calculated to
 
 376 THK RANGER^S BEST SHOT. 
 
 inspire. This was the greatest shot I ever made, and 
 probably shall never equal it again. Can you won- 
 der that 1 am at ached to the rifle ? " 
 
 "Not at all,", said the Captain earnestly. "I 
 should never part with it, if it was mine."
 
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 marbled edges, $4.00 ; Turkey morocco, gilt edges, $6.00. 
 " Another of the publications of Porter & Coates, called 'The Poetry of 
 Other Lands,' compiled by N. Clemraons Hunt, we most warmly commend. 
 It is one of the best collections we have seen, containing many exquisite 
 poems and fragments of verse which have not before been put into book 
 form in English words. We fiml many of tho old favorites, which appear 
 in every well-selected collection of sonnets and songs and we miss others, 
 which seem a necessity to complete the bouquet of grasses and flowers, 
 some of which, from time to time, we hope to ropublish in the 'Courier. '" 
 Cincinnati Courier. 
 
 "A book of rare excellence, because it gives a collection of choice gems in 
 many languages not available to the general lover of poetry. It contains 
 translations from the Grei-k, Lnlin, Persian, Arabian, Japanese, Turkish, 
 Servian, Russian, Bohemian, Polish, Dutch, German, Italian, French, 
 Spanish, and Portuguese languages. The book will be an admirable com- 
 panion volume to any one of the collections of English poetry that are now 
 published. With the full index of authors immediately preceding the col- 
 lection, and the arrangement of the poems undi-r headings, the reader will 
 find It convenient for reference. It I* a gift that will be more valued by 
 very many than some of the transitory ones at these holiday times." 
 Philadelphia Methoditt.
 
 PORTER & COATES* PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE FIRESIDE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF POETRY. Edited by 
 HENRY T. COATES. This is the latest, and beyond doijbt the 
 best collection of poetry published. Printed on fine paper and 
 illustrated with thirteen steel engravings and fifteen title 
 pages, containing portraits of prominent American poets and 
 fac-siiniles of their handwriting, made expressly for this book. 
 8vo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, gilt edges, $5.00; half calf, 
 gilt, marbled edges, $7.ob; half morocco, full gilt edges, $7.50; 
 full Turkey morocco, gilt edges, $10.00; tree calf, gilt edges, 
 $12.00; plush, padded side, nickel lettering, $14.00. 
 
 "The editor shows a wide acquaintance with the most precious treasures 
 of English verse, and has gathered the most admirable specimens of their 
 ample wealth. -Many pieces which have been passed by in previous collec- 
 tions hold a place of honor in the present volume, and will be heartily wel- 
 comed by the lovers of poetry as a delightful addition to their sources of 
 enjoyment: It is a volume rich in solace, in entertainment, in inspiration, 
 of which the possession may well be coveted by every lover of poetry. The 
 pictorial illustrations of the work are in keeping with its poetical contents, 
 and the beauty of the typographical execution entitles it to a place among 
 the choicest ornaments of the library." New York Tribune. 
 
 "Lovers of good poetry will find this one of the richest collections ever 
 made. All the best singers in our language are represented, and the selec- 
 tions are generally those which reveal their highest qualities The 
 
 lights and shades, the finer play of thought and imagination belonging to 
 individual authors, are brought out in this way iby the arrangement of 
 poems under subject-headings) as they would not be under any other sys- 
 tem We are deeply impressed with the keen appreciation of poelical 
 
 worth, and also with the good taste manifested by the compiler." Church- 
 man. 
 
 " Cyclopaedias of poetry are numerous, but for sterling value of its contents 
 for the library, or as a book of reference, no work of the. kind will compare 
 with this admirable volume of Mr. Coates It takes the gems from many 
 volumes, culling with rare skill and judgment." Chicago Inter-Ocean. 
 
 THE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF POETRY. Compiled by HENRY 
 T. COATES. Containing over 500 poems carefully selected 
 from the works of the best and most popular writers for chil- 
 dren ; with nearly 200 illustrations. The most complete col- 
 lection of poetry for children ever published. 4to. Cloth, 
 extra, black and gold, gilt side and edges, $3.00 ; full Turkey 
 morocco, gilt edges, $7.50. 
 
 "This seems to us the best book of poetry for children in existence. We 
 have examined many other collections, but we cannot name another that 
 deserves to be compared with this admirable compilation." Worcester Spy. 
 "The special value of the book lies in the fact that it nearly o_r quite 
 covers the entire field. There is not a great deal of good poetry which has 
 been written for children that cannot be found in this book. The collection 
 is particularly ptrong in ballads and tales, which are apt to interest children 
 more than poems of other kinds; and Mr. Coates had shown good judgment 
 in supplementing this department with some of the best poems of that class 
 that have been written for grown people. A surer method of forming the 
 taste of children for good and pure literature than by reading to them from 
 any portion of this book can hardly be imagined. The volume is richly 
 illustrated and beautifully bound." Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. 
 
 "A more excellent volume cannot be found. We have found within the 
 covers of this handsome volume, and upon its fair pages, many of the most 
 exquisite poems which our language contains. It must become a standard 
 volume, and oan never grow old or obsolete." Episcopal Recorder.
 
 PORTER & COATES PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE COMPLETE WORKS OF THOS. HOOD. With engravings 
 on steel. 4 vols., 12mo., tinted paper. Poetical Works ; Up 
 the Rhine; Miscellanies and Hood's Own; Whimsicalities, 
 Whims, and Oddities. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $6.00; 
 red cloth, paper label, gilt top, uncut edges, $6.00; half calf, 
 gilt, marbled edges, $14.00; half Russia, gilt top, $18.00. 
 Hood's verse, whether serious or couiic whether serene like a cloudless 
 autumn evening or sparkling with puns like a frosty January midnight 
 with stars was ever pregnant with materials for the thought. Like every 
 author distinguished for true comic humor, there was a deep vein of melan- 
 choly pathos running through his mirth, and even when his sun shone 
 brightly its light seemed often reflected as if only over the rim of a cloud. 
 
 Well may we say, in the words of Tennyson, " Would he could have 
 stayed with us." for never could it be more truly recorded of any one in 
 the words of Hamlet characterizing Yorick that "he was a follow of in- 
 finite jest, of most excellent fancV- D- M. MOIR. 
 
 THE ILIAD OF HOMER RENDERED INTO ENGLISH 
 
 BLANK VERSE. By EDWARD, EARL OF DERBY. From 
 
 the latest London edition, with all the author's last revisions 
 
 and corrections, and with a Biographical Sketch of Lord 
 
 Derby, by R. SHELTON MACKENZIE, D.C.L. With twelve 
 
 steel engravings from Flaxman's celebrated designs. 2 vols., 
 
 12mo. Cloth, extra, bev. boards, gilt top, $3.50; half calf, gilt, 
 
 marbled edges, $7.00; half Turkey morocco, gilt top, $7.00. 
 
 The same. Popular edition. Two vols. in one. 12uio. Cloth, 
 
 extra, $1.50. 
 
 " It must equally be considered a splendid performance; and for the pres- 
 ent we have no hesitation in saying that it is by far the best representation 
 of Homer's Iliad in tho English language." London Times. 
 
 "The merits of Lord Derby's translation may be summed up in one word, 
 it is eminently attractive; it is instinct with life ; it may be read with fervent 
 interest; it is immeasurably nearer than Pope to the text of the original. . 
 . . . Lord Derby has given a version far more closely allied to the original, 
 and superior to any that has yet been attempted in. the blank verse of our 
 language." JSdinburg Revtow. 
 
 THE WORKS OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. Comprising the Anti- 
 quities of the Jews; a History of the Jewish Wars, and a Life 
 of Flavius Josephus, written by himself. Translated from the 
 original Greek, by WILLIAM WHISTON, A.M. Together with 
 numerous explanatory Notes and seven Dissertations concern- 
 ing Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, James the Just, God's com- 
 mand to Abraham, etc., with an Introductory Essay by Rev. 
 H. STEBBING, D.D. 8vo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, plain 
 edges, $3.00; cloth, red, black and gold, gilt edges, $1.50; sheep, 
 marbled edges, $3.50; Turkey morocco, gilt edges, $8.00. 
 This is the largest type one volume edition published. 
 
 THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS, CARTHA- 
 GINIANS, ASSYRIANS, BABYLONIANS, MEDES AND 
 PERSIANS. GRECIANS AND MACEDONIANS. Including 
 a History of the Arts and Sciences of the Ancients. By 
 CHARLES ROLLIN. With a Life of the Author, by JAMES 
 BELL. 2 vols., royal ttvo. Sheep, marbled edges, per set, $6'.00.
 
 PORTER & COATES PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 COOKERY FROM EXPERIENCE. A Practical Guide for House- 
 keepers in the Preparation of Every-day Meals, containing 
 more than One Thousand Domestic Recipes, mostly tested by 
 Personal Experience, with Suggestions for Meals, Lists of 
 Meats and Vegetables in Season, etc. By Mrs. SARA T. PAUL. 
 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50. 
 Interleaved Edition. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.75. 
 
 THE COMPARATIVE EDITION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 Both Versions in One Book. 
 
 The proof readings of our Comparative Edition have been gone 
 over by so many competent proof readers, that we believe the text 
 is absolutely correct. 
 
 Large 12mo., 700 pp. Cloth, extra, plain edges, $1.50; cloth, 
 extra, bevelled boards and carmine edges, $1.75 ; imitation panelled 
 calf, yellow edges, $2.00; arabesque, gilt edges, $8.50; French mo- 
 rocco, limp, gilt edges, $4.00 ; Turkey morocco, limp, gilt edges, 
 $6.00. 
 
 The Comparative New Testament has been published by Porter & Coates. 
 In parallel columns on each page are given the old and new versions of the 
 Testament, divided also as far as practicable into comparative verses, M> that 
 it is almost impossible for the slightest new word to escape the notice of 
 either the ordinary reader or the analytical student. It is decidedly the 
 best edition yet published of the most interest-exciting literary production 
 of the day. No more convenient form for comparison could be devised 
 either for economizing time or labor. Another feature is the foot-notes, 
 and there is also given in an appendix the various words and <-xpressi"us 
 preferred by the American members of the Revising Commission. The 
 work is handsomely printed on excellent paper with clear, legible type. It 
 contains nearly 700 pages. 
 
 THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. By ALEXANDBE DUMAS. 
 Complete in one volume, with two illustrations by George G. 
 White. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 
 THE THREE GUARDSMEN. By ALEXANDRE DUMAS. Com- 
 plete in one volume, with two illustrations by George G. 
 White. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 There i-i a magic influence in his pen, a magnetic attraction in his descrip- 
 tions, a fertility in his literary resources which are characteristic of Pumas 
 alone, and the seal of the master of light literature is set upon all his works. 
 Even when not strictly historical, his romances give an insight into the 
 habits and modes of thought and action of the people of the time described, 
 which are not offered in any other author's productions. 
 
 THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII. By Sir EDWARD BULWER 
 LYTTON, Bart. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and 
 gold, $1.00. Alta edition, on illustration, 75 cts. 
 
 JANE EYRE. By CHARLOTTE BRONTE (Currer Bell). New Li- 
 brary Edition. With five illustrations by E. M. WIMPERIS. 
 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00. 
 
 SHIRLEY. Bv CHARLOTTE BROXTE (Currer Bell). New Library 
 Edition. With five illustrations by E. M. WIMPEKIS. 12mo. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00.
 
 PORTER & COATES* PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 VILLETTE. By CHARLOTTE BRONTE ( Currer Bell) . New Library 
 Edition. With five illustrations by E. M. WIMPEBIS. 12ino. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00. 
 
 THE PROFESSOR, EMMA and POEMS. By CHARLOTTE BRONTE 
 
 (Currer Bell). New Library Edition. With five illustrations 
 
 by E. M. WIMPERIS. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.00. 
 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold, per set, $4.00; red cloth, paper 
 
 label, gilt top, uncut edges, per set, $5.00 ; half calf, gilt, per set, 
 
 $12.00. The four volumes forming the complete works of Char- 
 
 lotte Bronte (Currer Bell). 
 
 The, wondrous power of Currer Bell's stories consists in their fiery insight 
 Into the human heart, their merciless dissection of passion, and their btern 
 analysis of character and motive. The style of these productions possesses 
 incredible force, sometimes Hluiost grim in its bare severity, then relapsing 
 into passages of melting pathos always direct, natural, and effective in its 
 unpretending strength. They exhibit the identity which always belongs to 
 works of genius by the same author, though without the slightest approach 
 to monotony. The characters portrayed by Currer Bell all have a strongly 
 marked individuality. Once brought before the imagination, they haunt 
 the memory like a strang* dream. The sinewy, muscular strength of her 
 writings guarantees their permanent duration, and thus far they have lost 
 nothing of their intensity of interest since the period of their composition. 
 
 CAPTAIN JACK THE SCOUT; or, The Indian Wars about Old 
 Fort Duquesne. An Historical Novel, with copious notes. 
 By CHARLES MCKNIGHT. Illustrated with eight engravings. 
 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50. 
 
 A work of such rare merit and thrilling interest as to have been repub- 
 lished both in England 'and Germany. This genuine American historical 
 woik has been received with extraordinary popular favor, and has "won 
 golden opinions from all sorts of people" for its freshness, its forest life, and 
 Its fidelity to truth. In many instances it even corrects History and usea 
 the drapery of fiction simply to enliven and illustrate the fact. 
 
 It is a universal favorite with both sexes, and with all ages and condi- 
 tions, and is not only proving a marked and notable success in this country, 
 but has been eagerly taken up abroad and republished in London, England, 
 and issued iu two volumes in the far-famed "Tauchuetz Edition " of Leipsic, 
 Germany. 
 
 ORANGE BLOSSOMS, FRESH AND FADED. By T. S. ARTHUR. 
 
 Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50. 
 "Orange Blossoms" contains a number of short stories of society. Like 
 all of Mr. Arthur's works, it has a special moral purpose, and is especially 
 addressed to the young who have just entered the marital experience, whom 
 it pleasantly warns against those social and moral pitfalls into which they 
 may almost innocently plunge. 
 
 THE BAR ROOMS AT BRANTLEY; or, The Great Hotel Spec- 
 ulation. By T. S. ARTHUR. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, 
 black and gold, $1.50. 
 
 "One of the best temperance stories recently Issued." ff. Y. Commercial 
 Advertiser. 
 
 "Although It Is In the form of a novel, its truthful delineation of charac- 
 ters is such that In every village in the land you meet the broken manhood 
 It pictures upon the streets, and look upon sad. tear-dimmed eyes of women 
 and children. The characters are not overdrawn, but are as truthful as an 
 artist's pencil could make them." Inter-Ocean, Chicago.
 
 10 PORTER & COATES' PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 EMMA._ By JANE AUSTEN. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, 
 
 MANSFIELD PARK. By JANE AUSTEN. Illustrated. 12mo. 
 Cloth, extra, $1.25. 
 
 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE; and Northanger Abbey. By JANE 
 AUSTEN. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.25. 
 
 SENSE AND SENSIBILITY; and Persuasion. By JANE AUSTEN. 
 Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.25. 
 
 The four volumes, forming the complete works of Jane Austen, 
 in a neat box: Cloth, extra, per set, $5.00 ; red cloth, paper label, 
 gilt top, uncut edges, $5.00; half calf, gilt, per set, $12.00. 
 
 "Jane Austen, a woman of whom England is justly proud. In her novels 
 she has given us a multitude of characters, all, in a certain sense, common- 
 place, all such as we meet every day. Yet they are all as perfectly discrimi- 
 nated from each other as if they were the most eccentric of human beinps. 
 .... And almost all this is done by touches so delicate that they elude 
 analysis, that they defy the powers of description, and that we know them 
 to exist only by the general effect to which they have contributed." Ma- 
 cavJay's Essays. 
 
 ART AT HOME. Containing in one volume House Decoration, 
 by RHODA and AGNES GABEETT; Plea for Art in the House, 
 by W. J. LOFTIE ; Music, by JOHN HULLAH ; and Dress, by 
 Mrs. OLIPHANT. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50. 
 
 TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS AT RUGBY. By THOMAS 
 HUGHES. New Edition, large clear type. With 36 illustra- 
 tions after Caldecott and others. 12mo., 400 pp. Cloth, extra, 
 black and gold, $1.25; half calf, gilt, $2.75. 
 Alta Edition. One illustration, 75 cents. 
 
 "It is difficult to estimate the amount, of good which may be done by 
 Tom Brown's School Days.' It gives, in the main, a most faithful and 
 interesting picture of our public schools, the most English institutions of 
 England, and which educate the best and most powerful elements in our 
 upper classes. But it is more than this; it. is an attempt, a very noble and 
 successful attempt, to Christianize the society of our youth, through the 
 only practicable channel hearty and brotherly sympathy with their feel- 
 ings; a book, in short, which a father might well wish to see in the hands 
 of his son." London Time*. 
 
 TOM BROWN AT OXFORD. By THOMAS HUGHES. Illustrated. 
 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50 ; half calf, gilt, $3.00. 
 
 " Fairly entitled to the rank and dignity of an English classic. Plot, style 
 and truthfulness are of the soundest British character. Racy, idiomatic, 
 mirror-like, always interesting, suggesting thought on the knottiest social 
 and religious questions, now deeply moving by its unconscious pathos, and 
 anon inspiring uproarious laughter, it is a work the world will not willingly 
 let die." N. Y. Christian Advocate.
 
 PORTER & COATES' PUBLICATIONS. 11 
 
 SENSIBLE ETIQUETTE OF THE BEST SOCIETY. By Mrs. 
 H. O. WARD. Customs, manners, morals, and home culture, 
 with suggestions how to word notes and letters of invitations, 
 acceptances, and regrets, and general instructions as to calls, 
 rules for watering places, lunches, kettle drums, dinners, re- 
 ceptions, weddings, parties, dress, toilet and manners, saluta- 
 tions, introductions, social reforms, etc., etc. Bound in cloth, 
 with gilt edge, and sent by mail, postage paid, on receipt of 
 $2.00. 
 
 LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S ETIQUETTE: A Complete 
 Manual of the Manners and Dress of American Society. Cor- 
 taining forms of Letters, Invitations, Acceptances, and Eegrets. 
 With a copious index. By E. B. DUFFEY. 12mo. Cloth, 
 extra, black and gold, $1.50. 
 
 "It is peculiarly an American book, especially adapted to our people, and 
 Its greatest beauty is found in the fact that in every line and precept it in- 
 culcates the principles of true politeness, instead of those formal rules that 
 serve only to gild the surfar-e without affecting the substance. It is admir- 
 ably written, the style being clear, terse, and forcible." Si. Louis Times. 
 
 THE UNDERGEOUND CITY; or, The Child of the Cavern. 
 By JULES VERNE. Translated from the French by W. H. 
 KINGSTON. With 43 illustrations. Standard Edition. 12mo. 
 Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50. 
 
 AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS. By JULES VERNE. 
 Translated by GEO. M. TOWLE. With 12 full-page illustrations. 
 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 
 AT THE NORTH POLE ; or, The Voyages and Adventures of 
 Captain Hatteras. By JULES VERNE. With 130 illustrations 
 by Riou. Standard Edition. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and 
 gold, $1.25. 
 
 THE DESERT OF ICE ; or, The Further Adventures of Captain 
 Hatteras. By JULES VERNE. With 126 illustrations by Riou. 
 Standard Edition. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 
 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS; or, 
 The Marvellous and Exciting Adventures of Pierre Arounax, 
 Conseil his servant, and Ned Land, a Canadian Harpooner. By 
 JULES VERNE. Standard Edition. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, 
 extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 
 THE WRECK OF THE CHANCELLOR, Diary of J. R. Kazallon, 
 Passenger, and Martin Paz. By JULES VERNE. Translated 
 from the French by ELLEN FRKWER. With 10 illustrations. 
 Standard Edition. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 Jules Verne U so well known that the mere announcement of anything 
 from hl.t pen is -nmcient to create a demand for it. One of his chief merits 
 In the wonderful art with which he lays under contribution every branch of 
 science and natural hNtory, while he vividly describes with minute exact- 
 ness all parts of the world and its inhabitants.
 
 12 PORTER & COATES' PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE INGOLDSBY LEGENDS; or, Mirth and Marvels. By 
 RICHARD HARRIS BAKHAM (Thomas Ingoldsby, Esq.). New 
 edition, printed from entirely new stereotype plates. Illus 
 trated. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50; half calf, 
 gilt, marbled edges, $3.00. 
 
 "Of his poetical powers it is not too much to say that, for originality of 
 design and diction, for grand illustration and musical verse, they are not 
 surpassed in the English language. The Witches' Frolic is secoud only to 
 Tarn O'Shanter. But why recapitulate the titles of either prose or verse 
 since they have been coufessod t>y every judgment to be singularly rich in 
 classic allusion and modern illustration. From the days of Hudibras ID our 
 time the drollery invested in rhymes has never been so amply or felicitously 
 exemplified." Bentley's Miscellany. 
 
 TEN THOUSAND A YEAE. By SAMTJEL C. WARREN, author of 
 "The Diary of a London Physician." Anew edition,* care- 
 fully revised, with three illustrations by GEORGE G. WHITE. 
 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.50. 
 
 "Mr. Warren has taken a lasting place among the imaginative writers of 
 this period of English history. He possesses, in a remarkable manner, the 
 tenderness of heart and vividness of feeling, as well as powers of description, 
 which are essential to the delineation of the pathetic, and which, when 
 existing in the degree in which be enjoys them, fill his pages with scenes 
 which can never be forgotten." Sir Archibald Alison. 
 
 THOMPSON'S POLITICAL ECONOMY; With Especial Refer- 
 ence to the Industrial History of Nations. By Prof. R. E. 
 THOMPSON, of the University of Pennsylvania. 12mo. Cloth, 
 extra, $1.50. 
 
 This book possesses an especial interest at the present moment. The 
 questions of Free Trade and Protection are before the country more directly 
 than at any earlier period of our history. As a rule the works and text- 
 books used in our American colleges_ are either of English origin or teach 
 Doctrines of a political economy which, as Walter Bagehot says, was made 
 for England. Prof. Thompson belongs to the Nationalist School of Econo- 
 mists, to which Alexander Hamilton, Tench Coxe, Henry Clay, Matthew 
 Carey, and his greater son, Henry C. Carey, Stephen Colwell, and James 
 Abram Garfield were adherents. He believes in that policy of Protection, 
 to American industry which has had the sanction of every great American 
 statesman, not excepting Thomas Jefferson and John C. Calhoun. He makes 
 his appeal to history in defence of that policy, showing that wherever a 
 weaker or less advanced country has practiced Free Trade with one more 
 powerful or richer, the former has lost its industries as well as its money, 
 and has become economically dependent on the latter. Those who wish 
 to learn what is the real source of Irish poverty and discontent will find it 
 here stated fully. 
 
 The method of the book is historical. It is therefore no series of dry and 
 abstract reasonings, such as repel readers from books of this cla*s. The 
 writer does not ride the a priori nag, and say "this must be so," and "that 
 must be conceded." He shows what has been true, and seeks to elicit the 
 laws of the sciencefrom the experience of the world. The book overflows 
 with facts told in an interesting manuer. 
 
 THE ENGLISH PEOPLE IN ITS THREE HOMES, and the 
 Practical Bearings of general European History. By EDWARD 
 A. FREEMAN, LL.D., Author of the "Norman Conquest of 
 England." 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.75.
 
 PORTER & COATES 1 PUBLICATIONS. 13 
 
 HANDY ANDY. A Tale of Irish Life. By SAMUEL LOVER. New 
 Library Edition, with two original illustrations by GEORGE G. 
 WHITE. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 "Decidedly the best story of the day, full of frolic, genuine fun, and ex- 
 quisite touches of Irish humor." Dublin Monitor. 
 
 CHARLES O'MALLEY, The Irish Dragoon. By CHARLES LEVER. 
 New Library Edition, with two original illustrations by F. O. 
 C. DARLEY. 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 
 HARRY LORREQUER. By CHARLES LEVER. New Library 
 Edition, with two original illustrations by GEO. G. WHITE. 
 12mo. Cloth, extra, black and gold, $1.25. 
 
 "Tho intense spirit and frolic of the author's sketches have made him 
 one of the most successful writers of the day." London Literary Gazette. 
 
 "The author is pre-eminent for his mirth-moving powers, for his acute 
 sense of the ridiculous, for the breadth of his humor, and his powers of 
 dramatic writing which render his boldest conceptions with the happiest 
 facility." London Athenceum. 
 
 "We hardly know how to convey an adequate notion of the exuberant 
 whim and drollery hy which this writer is characterized. His works are a 
 perpetual feast of'gayety."- John Bull, London. 
 
 POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. By the Rev. J. G. WOOD, 
 M.A. From entirely new electrotype plates, with five hun- 
 dred illustrations by eminent artists. Crown 8vo. Cloth, 
 extra, black and gold, $1.75. 
 Mr. Wood is an amusing, instructive, and sensible writer always doing 
 
 (food work in a good way and his work on Natural History is without' 
 
 doubt his masterpiece. 
 
 THE ODES OF HORACE. Translated into English verse, with 
 Life and Notes, by THEODORE MARTIN. With a fine portrait 
 of Horace. 16mo. Cloth, extra, $1.00. 
 Mr. Martin's translation has been commendrd as preserving more than 
 
 any other the spirit, and grace of the original. It is the most successful 
 
 attempt ever made to render into English the ininiit able odes of Horace. 
 
 The memoir prefixed to the volume is a most chai ruing piece of biography. 
 
 GREEK MYTHOLOGY SYSTEMATIZED. With complete Tables 
 based on Hcsiod's Theogony; Tables showing the relation of 
 Greek Mythology and History, arranged from Grote's History 
 of Greece; and Gladstone's Homeric Tables. With a full 
 Index. By S. A. SCULL. Profusely illustrated. 12uio. Cloth, 
 black and gold, $1.50. 
 
 "A book which will prove very useful to the student and man of letters, 
 and of Incalculable benefit aa a hand-book." Republic, Wuhingtun. 
 
 "A real want Is supplied by this book, which is. In fact, a cyclopaedia of 
 Greek Mythology, so far an that in possible in single volume ol reasonable 
 sice and moderate cost." Evening Mail, ffeto York. 
 
 "This text-book on Mythology presents tho subj-xrl in a more practical 
 and more attractive style than any other work on th* subject with which 
 we are familiar, and Wftfwil Mtttr*d thai it will at once t;ik- a leading posi- 
 tion among books of Its class '' fhe Teuchtr, Philadelphia.
 
 14 PORTER & COATES' PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. By THOMAS a KEMPIS. New 
 and best edition, from entirely new electrotype plates, single 
 column, large, clear type. 18mo. 
 
 Plain Edition, round corners. Cloth, extra, red edges, 50 cents; 
 French morocco, gilt cross, 75 cents; limp Russia, inlaid cross, red 
 under gold edges, $2.00. 
 
 Red Line Edition, round corners. Cloth, black and gold, red 
 edges, 75 cents; cloth, black and gold, gill edges, $1.00; French 
 morocco, red under gold edges, $1.50; -limp Russia, inlaid cross, red 
 tinder gold edges, $2.50; limp Russia, solid gilt edges, box circuit, 
 $3.00 ; limp calf, red under gold edges, $2.50 ; limp calf, solid gilt 
 edges, box circuit, $3.00. 
 
 THE WORDS AND MIND OF JESUS AND FAITHFUL PROM- 
 
 ISER. By Rev. J. R. MACDUFF, D.D., author of " Morning and 
 
 Night Watches." New and best edition, from entirely new 
 
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 A DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE. Comprising its Antiquities, 
 Biography, Geography, Natural History, and Literature. 
 Edited by WILLIAM SMITH, LL.D. Revised and adapted to 
 the present use of Sunday-school Teachers and Bible Students 
 by Rev. F. N. and M. A. PELOUBET. With eight colored maps 
 and over 350 engravings on wood. 8vo. Cloth, extra, black 
 and gold, $2.00; sheep, marbled edges, $3.00; half morocco, 
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 "No .similar work in our own or in any other language is for a moment to 
 bp compared with Dr. Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. The Christian and 
 the scholar have a treasure-house on every subject connected wilh the 
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 min." London Quarterly Review. 
 
 COMPREHENSIVE BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. Embra- 
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 and professions. By E. A. THOMAS. Crown 8vo. Cloth, extra, 
 gilt top, $2.50; sheep, marbled edges, $3.00; halt morocco, gilt 
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 The aim of the publishers in issuing this work i to present in convenient 
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 professions. 
 
 During the last quarter of a century so many important events have been 
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 1870, and such great advances have been madn in the line of invention and 
 scientific investigation, that within that period many persons have risen by 
 superior merit to conspicuous positions; and as the pl;tn of this work <-m- 
 braces accounts of the living as we'll as of the dead, many names are in- 
 cluded that are not to be found in other dictionaries of biography.
 
 PORTER & COATES' PUBLICATIONS. 15 
 
 THE HORSE IN THE STABLE AND THE FIELD. His Man- 
 agement in Health and Disease. By J. H. WALSH, F.R.C.S. 
 (Stonehenge.) From the last London edition. Illustrated 
 with over 80 engravings, and full-page engravings from photo- 
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 information on the various subjects on which it treats." Harper's Magazine. 
 "This is the best English book on the horse, revised and improved by 
 competent persons for publication In this country. It is the most complete 
 work on the subject, probably, in the English language, and that, of course, 
 means the most complete in existence. Everything relating to a horse that 
 history, science, observation, or practical knowledge cau luruish has a place 
 In it." Worcester Daily Spy. 
 
 THE HORSE. By WILLIAM YOUATT, together with a General 
 History of the Horse; a dissertation on the American Trotting 
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 BOOK OF THE FARM. The Handy-book of Husbandry. Con- 
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 Care and Medical Treatment of the Cattle, Sheep, and Poul- 
 try ; Management of the Dairy ; Useful Tables, etc. By 
 GEORGE E. WARING, JR., of Ogden Farm, author of " Drain- 
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 revised by the author. With 100 illustrations. 12mo. Cloth, 
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 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY; or, The Natural History of the 
 Birds of the United States. By ALEXANDER WILSON and 
 CHA.RLKS LUCIKN BONAPARTE. Popular Edition, complete in 
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 This large and handsome volume, printed in a superior manner on good 
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 It is exactly the same size as the larger edition, with the exception that the 
 engraving* are reduced in size und are not colored, reproducing every line 
 of the original edition. It is one of the host books of permanent value 
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 and power of d'.sTiption, pre-eminent as the ablest work on Ornithology, 
 and now published at a moderate price, that places it within the reach or 
 all. Everv lover of birds, every school, public or family library should 
 have tliis book. WV know of no other way In which so much pleasure, so 
 much iuloruiatiou, and so much usefulness can be had for the price.
 
 16 PORTER & COATES' PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 AMERICAN CHESS PLAYER'S HAND-BOOK. Teaching the 
 Rudiments of the Game, and giving an Analysis of all the 
 recognized openings. Exemplified by appropriate Games act- 
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 AMERICAN GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. Containing complete 
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 DISEASES OF THE HORSE, AND HOW TO TREAT THEM. 
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 JERSEY, ALDERNEY, AND GUERNSEY COWS. Their His- 
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 PORTER & COATES' INTEREST TABLES. Containing accurate 
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 BEADY RECKONER (The Improved,) FORM AND LOGBOOK. 
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