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: 22
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22 DESCRIPTION OF 1MATAMORAS.
some very fine melons, and, after recompensing the woman, pro
ceeded on our road, which was very muddy and disagreeable.
A Mexican shortly after overtook us, who told us he was going
to Matamoras. In passing a large cross put up at one side of the
road, he replied to our inquiry that it was for a murder which had
been committed there. The fellow appeared very shrewd and
cunning, and spoke a little English; so we determined to keep a
look out for him, but he made some excuse to lag behind, and
soon after gave us the slip. We were now about five miles from
the town, and passed some very fine houses, with gardens laid off,
and improvements indicating more civilization than we had yet
seen. They were perfectly deserted, however, the proprietors
having left on account of the war. We soon discovered the town
in the distance, where we arrived at 3, P. x. The entrance to
the town, by narrow, dirty streets, was not very prepossessing;
but then, any thing like a town was a great relief to us, and as
we gained the main plaza, we became more reconciled. On the
south-east side of the plaza stands the cathedral, an old ungainly
building, still unfinished, as most of the churches are in Mexico
-an excuse, it is said, for the priests to extort money for their
completion, which seldom takes place. The houses which line
the other sides of the square are generally two stories high
and well built. In another square is a small chapel called La
Capilla, and which, we were told, was the more "fashionable"
church of the two. In all the churches are wax figures, representing
"the crucifixion" and the " Virgin Mary." The furniture
of the churches is very poor. The houses of the poorer
classes are one-story huts, built of stone and mud, and thatched
with cane. The houses which are built of stone and brick
have balconies in front, and the windows below are all barred
with iron railings, as is the case with the houses in the West
Indies and South America. The streets are very narrow, and
partly paved. There were but few families of class in town,
-and what principally struck us was the shops and stores being
occupied by Mexicans, who were still carrying on their trades, as
if nothing had happened to interrupt them. In fact they were
doing a brisker business than ever. The Mexican barracks and
hospital are large and well built; and the latter contained the
wounded of the late battles. It was a most sorrowful sight to see
the pale and haggard countenances of the wounded Mexicans, as
they lay stretched out on the pallets which lined the sides of the
rooms. A stalwart looking man was reclining on his elbow, with
his head resting on his hand, having a fierce moustache, and who
was pointed out to me by the Mexican medico, or surgeon, as
having belonged to the ", Guarda Costa" of the Tampico regiment,
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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/m1/24/: 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.