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: 33
251 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.View a full description of this book.
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THE RANGERS AT COMARGO. 33
On ascending the bank, we were struck with the desolation and
ruin which had spread itself on every side. The late flood,
which had been the cause of it, came on rapidly in the night,
while the inhabitants were wrapped in their peaceful slumbers,
and many had not the least intimation of it, until the waters had
actually floated them out of their beds. From a description which
we received from a Mexican, who was here at the time, it must
have been heart-rending in the extreme. Mothers were seen
wading waist-deep, carrying their children in their arms, hurrying
to places of safety, filling the air with shrieks of dismay.
The men were engaged saving the children, many of whom were
clinging to floating materials, and carrying them to the tops of the
houses for safety, which had become the only resort among the
poorer classes, who lived in huts, and slept on the ground floorwhile
those who occupied two-story houses were in greater peril,
for the walls becoming saturated, gave way and fell in with a
crash, frequently drowning a whole family, while others were
carried away by the flood, or drowned in their beds. There were
many lives lost, and the destruction of property was very great,
about two hundred houses having been ruined. The town was
once very beautiful, and from the ruined walls we saw, the houses
must have been quite pretty. It contains three plazas, in the
middle one of- which is situated the finest buildings, and where
still stands a neat little church.
Here we were welcomed by many friends, and were soon conducted
to the camp of the Rangers, which lay at the upper end
of the town. Our mess, in company with three others, occupied
a long tent open at both ends, formerly used for an hospital, an old
concern which had served to keep out the sun and rain; while
the rest occupied the vacant and ruined huts around. Many of the
men had just come in from grazing their horses, and were now
occupied in grooming them; others were cooking over fires, and
preparing supper. At sundown we were invited by our mess to
take a cup of coffee, out of a tin pot, and was reminded by them,
after our hearty meal, that our cook-day would come on Monday.
Rations of corn and oats were then served out for our horses-the
guard was paraded, and the sentinels posted. It was a fine evening,
and the Rangers sat round in groups listening to the songs
and stories of their comrades. There is no place like camp for
studying character. Men are there seen in their true light, and
from the intimate association, every trait which is noble and good,
or otherwise, is sure to manifest itself. There can be no deceit
or affectation practised there to advantage. And whatever may
be the rank or station of men in life, in camp all find their level.
The aristocracy of wealth which governs in large cities among
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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/m1/36/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.