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: 77
251 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.View a full description of this book.
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SOLDIERS' ANECDOTES. 77
an' turf,' who iver heard of reconciliation, except with a purty
girl ye had fallen out with ?"
Saturday, 25th. Very hot; improving slowly, but very weak;
amused all the morning listening to an Irish soldier, who was
relating anecdotes of the last battle, which we give literally to the
reader.
" The violent shot of the enemy," as Pat expressed it, 6' when
the 5th came up to support the charge of the dragoons, made the
presperation come on us all; but wasn't it a howl of madre de
dios the divils set up at the 'God-damn-me's,' as they called us
when we scared them out of the chaparral! Be Heavens, the
British never beat that. Just then it was that our colonel (Mcintosh)
got the bayonet in him, when a ball tickled the ear of Capt.
Scott, and the * old coon' turns round, and sez he,' That bullet
never was made for Martin Scott,' and divil a bit was he hurt at
all."
"( Do you mind the day, Larry," continued Pat, ( that we went
out in the morning to bring in the wounded, iv they wasn't all
dead ?"
Troth I do," said Larry.
"Sure it was a sorry looking place," continued Pat, ",and
Holy Mother,' I kept saying me prayers all the while, for fear
some on 'em would come to life and shoot me unawares. Och,
blazes ! but that was the worst ranchero I iver saw."
"Who was that ?" said one.
( Why, when Larry and I was about the middle of the dead
divils, I picks up a canteen full of some liquor; it wasn't whisky,
and the divil knows what it was; but it had the spirit in it, and
barrin the smell, was mighty good tasted."
": Muscal," said some one.
( Ay, perhaps that was it. Well, after tipping the muzzle to
me lips, I hands it over to Larry, when I sees one of the dead
divils open his eyes at me! 6 Och, blood and murther, sure,
Larry,' sez I,' here's one of the dead Mex'ans looking straight
at us with his two eyes !' And with that ' Larry' drops the canteen,
and pints his bayonet right at him, when the ranchero gets
up with one iv our dragoon jackets on him, and all around him
was a heap of plunder, that the villain had stolen from the dead.
So with the plunder we takes him to camp, and turns him and the
plunder over to the ' officer of the day;' and may I never forgive
meself for not blowin' his brains out for the scare he gave me;
for I took the ager at the time, and, by me sowl, I haven't got
over it yit, and I believe it's the cause I'm here now."
Sunday, 26th. Very pleasant. Thanks to the kind-hearted
and genemanly surgeon of the 5th infantry, Dr. James R. Con7*
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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/m1/81/: 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.