The Scouting Expeditions of McCulloch's Texas Rangers; or, the Summer and Fall Campaign of the Army of the United States in Mexico--1846; including Skirmishes with the Mexicans, and an accurate detail of the Storming of Monterey; also the Daring Scouts at Buena Vista together with anecdotes, incidents, descriptions of country, and sketches of the lives of the celebrated partisan chiefs, Hays, McCulloch, and Walker. Page: 100
251 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.View a full description of this book.
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100 THE RANGER'S LOVE STORY.
the sun had shaded his complexion to a dark brown. He spoie
the lingo perfectly well, and, if he was born in the States, his
English some how had a sort of a twist in it. There were many
strange stories told about him; and it was said he once lived in
Italy. No one ever knew his real name. The Mexicans called
him Capitan Bill. He was about five feet six inches in stature,
and rather delicate than robust; his features were regular, and
nothing about him very striking, except that one of his eyes had
a notion never to leave the corner nearest his nose." Here the
group smiled and turned a look on Tom.
" It was about fifteen years ago, at the time of the colonization
of Texas, when I was that many years old," continued the Ranger,
" that Capitan Bill first came down to our settlement, and there some
how he got the name of Strabismus Bill."
( Got the name of what ?" said Tom.
"Strabismus Bill," repeated the Ranger.
6 What did they call him that for ?" said Tom.
" Why, I believe the way it came about," said the Ranger,
" was that Bill fell in love with a lovely girl, who, at the same
time, was being courted by the doctor of our settlement. Kate
Young was counted the most beautiful girl for miles around, and,
as Bill played on the guitar and sang Italian songs, he sorter took
her first. But the doctor told her one day that Bill had the strabismus,
which so alarmed her that she would never see Bill again.
It was known all about that Kate had kicked Bill on account of
the strabismus, and so long as he remained about them parts they
called him Strabismus Bill.
" Shortly after, Strabismus Bill disappeared from ihe settlement,
and was not heard of for some years. It was after the Texian
war had closed that I met a friend who told me the sad end of
poor Bill. It appeared, after he left us, he went back to his old
trade. Well, it was while on his way from Mazatlan, where he
had been with some Mexican smugglers, and were returning with
a cavallada of some 500 mules, laden with teas and silks, which
had been clandestinely landed on the coast from the East Indies,
that he met with an incident that controlled his after-life. They
had so far eluded the vigilance of the excise officers as to gain
the interior. So well did they know the geography of the
country, and every path and trail, that, in case of an alarm, they
would all scatter out in every direction, so as to avoid pursuit,
then strike for the trail on the course of their route, and thus
all meet again after one or two days of separation. In those days
the smugglers and the bandits made common cause of it, and
afforded each other protection.
" One night as they were travelling along, they passed a ram
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Reid, Samuel C., Jr. The Scouting Expeditions of McCulloch's Texas Rangers; or, the Summer and Fall Campaign of the Army of the United States in Mexico--1846; including Skirmishes with the Mexicans, and an accurate detail of the Storming of Monterey; also the Daring Scouts at Buena Vista together with anecdotes, incidents, descriptions of country, and sketches of the lives of the celebrated partisan chiefs, Hays, McCulloch, and Walker., book, 1859; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38096/m1/106/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.