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: 42
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42 MATAMORAS.
and batten undisturbed upon the dainty feast prepared for their revolting
appetites by man. Terrible and sad as are the scenes of
savage or civilized warfare; awful as are its sights and sounds, it
hath no sadder or more soul-chilling sight, than the lonely, deserted
battle-field; no more disgusting, heart-freezing sounds, than the
snarl and growl of the wild wolf, as he tears his helpless prey, or
the flapping wings and discordant cry of the carrion bird, as he
stoops to his hateful feast.
Matamoras! Matamoras! was shouted along the line as we
came in sight of the town we had so ardently desired to see. And
far in the distance, with its white walls and turrets gleaming in
the sunlight, with the American flag floating proudly over it, we
beheld the first Mexican town captured by American arms. Mexican
towns are all magnificent at a distance; but you must not approach
too closely, unless you wish to find, in many of them, all
your beautiful dreams of Moorish palaces and Oriental gardens,
orange groves, and shady avenues immediately fade away, and in
their place, cherish recollections of rude mud-built houses, plastered
and whitewashed; windows without glass, hot dusty streets,
and a dirty, lazy, and most unpoetical-looking set of inhabitants.
As we approached the river bank, drums were beating and fifes
blowing, and on all sides were noise and excitement; flags fluttering,
arms gleaming, teamsters cursing at their unruly animals;
soldiers drilling, dogs barking, and Mexican hucksters bawling
their goods at their voices' tops. Pursuing our way through the
various groups which lined the road side, we rode by several companies,
who presented arms as we passed, and returning their
salute, we proceeded to our quarters, which were almost directly
under the walls of Fort Brown. Here we found Walker's and
Price's companies of Rangers encamped, and here we constructed
our tents for the present,-constructed, we say, because the government
never furnished us, during our whole term of service,
with a patch of canvass large enough to keep out a drop of rain,
or shield us from a ray of the scorching sun. Whether it was
because they thought the Texian troops were accustomed to, and
could endure more hardships than any other troops in the field, we
do not know. One thing is certain, they gave us as ample an opportunity
to evince our greatest powers of endurance and fortitude as
the disciples of Diogenes could have desired, had they been placed
in our room and stead. We were left to shift for ourselves, wholly
unprovided with tents, camp equipage, or cooking utensils. Had
we been allowed to appropriate to our own use the unoccupied
houses of the enemy, we would have asked no favours from friend
or foe; but while the strictest injunctions were laid upon us, in
regard to the property of the Mexicans, we were charitably left'
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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/m1/46/: 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.