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: 14
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14 POINT ISABEL.
island, there are a few miserable huts, inhabited by a Mexican
family, who are supported by a large flock of goats, and trading
with the shipping, &c. There were once two tolerably good
ponds of fresh water on the island, but they have become stagnant
and dry. The only means of obtaining water there, was by
digging wels about three feet deep in the sand, but it was brackish
and unwholesome; the wells dug nearest the sea-shore, however,
proved the best. There was formerly a small village on
this island, which was destroyed by a hurricane; and the sea
making a complete breach over it, the inhabitants perished with it.
There are several legends told, how that, many years ago, the
island was the rendezvous of a gang of pirates, who, when pursued,
invariably made their escape through this dangerous inlet,
and that they frequently enticed vessels ashore, which had drifted
from their course, by means of false lights. At the head of the
island, or the north-west part of it, there is another arm of the
sea, which separates it from the mainland, running around into
the bay, called the Boca Chica, or small mouth. It is about fifty
yards wide, and is generally fordable, though not deep enough
for vessels of even light draught. This inlet, with that of the
other at the foot of the island, forms ( the arms of St. James," from
which the island takes its name.
After the morning parade, on the day following, we went, with
several other officers of our regiment who had obtained leave, to
visit Point Isabel, which is about three miles distant from the
island. For this purpose we chartered a neat sail-boat, and, with
a fine breeze, we soon made the Point, the approach to which,
however, is very shoal. The bluff here is about fifteen or twenty
feet high; and the first thing which strikes one is the commanding
position, overlooking the bay and harbour, and the inclined
plane, receding towards the interior, giving you a full view of the
country. The buildings on the Point are composed of large,
board warehouses, for the use of the commissary and quartermaster's
department, hospitals for the sick, the post-office, and quarters
for the officers. In one of the warehouses, we saw the captured
property of the Mexicans, taken at the celebrated battles of
the 8th and 9th of May, consisting of pack-saddles, scopets, lances,
blankets, and camp utensils. There were no Mexican houses
here, having been burnt by the Mexicans when Gen. Taylor first
appeared with his forces near this place.
Here we met many old friends. On calling on the brave and
lamented Capt. Page, who recognised us at once, he motioned us
to hand him a slate on the table, and, after some conversation, he
wrote on it that ", it was a dear-bought honour, and that he should
be content if he ever reached home." Our friends pressing us
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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/m1/16/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.