Carolina Watchman

              the crows stalin a supper.-the rocky mountains a horse ■'- for food cold and hunger crossing the mountains a splcndi 1 sunset a passage found — i'll angosturas — a party ol mexicans — indian c alp-dance — guides sent back — a scene of feast its of starvation — shepherd's dogs — ka and their uses on tlk 10th of september the day fol lowing that on which our whilom guide i;l 1 i en seen we found what appeared to be an old cart road and also a deserted mexican camp the road we followed until it was lost upon a sandy prairie des titute of vegetation this day three monti - were discovered in a southwest di rection and some fifteen miles distant which bore the strongest resemblance to the description carlos had often given us of the crows it seemed too as though we could discover a passage through the chain of smaller hills north of ihem — an opening resembling the angosturas have fieri before mentioned — but we had been s i often deceive 1 that lew of us could now anticipate any such good fortune jii she mean time our men were driven nearly to desperation by hunger little or no order could be preserved by the of ficers the volunteers scattering about in every direction hunting for plums grapes nnd game as might fall in their way — pew deer or antelope were seen and they were so shy that it was impossible to shoot them but in place of them every tortoise and snake every living and creep ing thing was seized upon and swallowed by our famishing men with a rapacity that nothing but the direst hunger could in occasional ly a skunk or polecat would reward some one more fortunate lhan the rest ; but seven out of every ten of us were compelled to journey on with out a morsel of anything lo appease our sufferings oue amusing little anecdote i will here relate to show in lhe first place the dire ful straits to which our men were driven and in the second to give my readers an it into the trickery of old campaign we bad reached a camping-ground late one evening where a sufficiency of wood was found to kindle good substan tial fires while a knot of us were re clining around one of the fires specula ting as to our prospects a youngster brought in a spotted-backed land tortoise alive and kicking which he had been for tunate enough to find upon the prairie — ■ throwing it upon the ground and placing the end of his rifle upon the back ofthe animal fo prevent its crawling off he next asked an old hunter how to cook his prize the answer was that he must open the coals and throw the tortoise in cover it over and allow it to remain for at least half an hour in tbe fire — a longer time i only serve to make the repast more savoury no sooner said than done ; for iti less than a minute the unfortunate tortoise was masting alive beneath a bushel of co.als the countenance of the young man was lit with joy in anticipation of a meal which although at any other time it would have been revolting lie now coveted with that longing which starvation only can create but it was a meal he was not mid to enjoy the old campaigner after telling him three or four limes that his supper was not cooked finally found means to withdraw the youngster's atten tion from the coals and then to whip the animal out with his iron ramrod was but the work ofa moment another moment tiiul the well-roasted terrapin was safe be hind the back oflhe more elderly ranger and where the youngster could not see it j don'l you think he's nearly done ?'* in quired the latter now turning his betid ind looking wistfully at thc fast-expiring ■ bed of coals " pretty well cooked by this time — you can take him out retorted the old borber er while he quit ily watched the first spea ker as he eagerly raked open the embers j the movements ofthe youngster as he \ firsl commenced opening lhe coals were i slow and decided : by-and-by as he near i'il the bottom of lhe mouldering heap his action grew excited and hurried the ex pression ofhis countenance mav be easi er imagined than described as after hav ing dug to the hard ground itself he turn < 1 to the author of his misfortune and in utter ignorance of the trick exclaimed ll's gone !" '' gone !" slowly repeated the veteran borderer " was he alive when you threw im in the fire ?" certainly why wkyr " es ulu ?" b cause continued the ranger you must have thought the terrapin mightily troubled with the simples if you supposed e would stay in the lire and be roasted alive when he could easily crawl out and toake tracks off gloomily the youngster dragged him sp*l to his blanket supperless while the id trickster quietly wended his way to a neighboring lire to pick the scanty meat from his ill-got prize and chuckle at his success in doing tin green-horn out of nis supper to return to my narrative he road we had found and followed some distance in the morning we hunted r in vain in the afternoon aii the old had lost themselves in a bar rci1 gravelly prairie that we must find a passage through or over the mountains efore us was considered certain but that passage was no one could iin ' we were far from being aware 01 u at the time but thev proved to be jjfcr and eastern spurs of the rocky fountains as the sun gradually sank etnnd tin r lofty and ragged summits a v chill breeze sprang up from their p-hboihood it was the lirst cold wea j a"f'r e had experienced and in our weak 7 exhausted condition the biting wind to pierce directly through us c continued our march until wereach ie bed ofa mountain stream np , he banks of which we encamped for e n'ght a flock of wild turkeys had the carolina watchman bruner & james ) f " ksep a check upon all toctl editors <$• proprietors v is safe -. ' '• $ new series rrlers do this avd lleeett { ______ _„ gen'l harrison j lmber 1 of volume ii ~~ salisbury n c may 3 1845 taken shelter under the banks running oil is we approached their roost altho contrary to strict orders nothing could re strain our men from banging and blazing away at the turkeys as they sped across the prairie — fifty rides and muskets being discharged at them before they were out of sight two or three only were killed by the volley and running lire which en sued and they were but half grown and so extremely poor that they did not furnish | a meal for half a dozen men to go far ther without something to eat was now deemed impossible — the wild and hag gard pression lhe sunken eyes and sal low ii shless faces ofthe men too plainly showed that some means of sustenance must be speedily provided a horse for merly belonging to howland which in the early part of lhe campaign had been one ofthe best animals in the cpmrnand was now found to be so poor and badly broken down that it was resolved to shoot him and divide his flesh among the differ ent messes as ihey led the once proud and gallant animal to execution the words of an old nursery song came fresh to my | mind — one that i had neither heard nor , thought of for many many years the ; burden ofthe ballad was •' poor old horse ! he must die !" i and i have only mentioned the circum 1 stance to illustrate the well-known eccen tricities of memory a man is often plac ; ed in situations and becomes a witness of scenes which suddenly awaken and bring back hie long-forgotten associations of his childhood but to return to lhe actual the horse was killed and in less time than it dikes '■ me to tell it his hide was off and his flesh distributed i have before said that the flesh ofa young mustang is excellent — but that of an old broken-down horse is quite nnoiher affair it was tough as in dia-rubber and the more a piece of it was i masticated the larger it became in the mouth poor as it was however and hard to swallow i am confident that ma ny a mau in the party ate four or five i pounds of it half cooked and without salt — i know that 1 devoured my share that ; i lost some of the good opinion i cntertain ! ed of myself while eating this food i will not pretend to den and even a buzzard that sat perched upon a dry limb of a cot ton-wood overhead appeared to look down upon us reproachfully as he saw ns ap propriating food that legitimately belong ed to him there was something too ; like honest indignation expressed in the countenance of a wolf which sat quietly watching our operations from the adjoin ing prairie ; but at the time we were hun gry enough to make a meal even of him had he fallen into our hands a man ne ver knows what he will eat until driven by a week's starvation our tough and most unsavoury meal over we spread our blankets in the r.a vine where we could be partially profec ! ted from the biting northeast wind ; but the cutting blasts found their way through our scanty covering chilling our weaken ; ed frames to such a degree as almost en tirely to prevent sleep with theordina j ry stock of flesh and blood we should have j been far belter able to withstand the bit ter wind ; as it was we could only shrug and shake and pass a sleepless night weak and unrefreshed we arose in the morning — breakfastless and desponding we mounted our horses and once more result ! our gloomy march our course was southwest and in the direction of what appeared to be a passage through the mountains but after travelling some six or eight miles we found our farther progress cut oil hy high precipitous as ! cents to return was our only alterna tive and at noon we again found ourselves . near the point whence we had started in the morning a consultation was now held as to our future course running directly north was j a high chain of mountains extending as : far as the eye could reach and many con tended that our best course would be to ! travel along the base of this chain until we either found a passage through or met , with lhe trail of the st louis traders — others again thought our wisest and saf est plan would be to attempt crossing di rectly over the mountains where we then were laborious as w;ts the prospect the latter party prevailed and the attempt to was immediately made after incredible fatigue to both horses nnd men for we were obliged to dismount and carry our arms and baggage in our bands the ascent was finally achieved i arrived at the summit a beautiful pros pect was before us below a peaceful and lovely valley was spread out through the centre of whicli the large stream we had left the previous day wound along innumerable brooks taking their rise in thc mountains around meandered through this valley and finally found their way to tbe larger stream their immedi.ate bor ders were fringed with small trees and bushes of the deepest green while the banks of thc river were skirted with a nar row belt of timber of larger and more lux uriant growth the valley was hemmed in on all sides by mountains whose frown ; ing and precipitous fronts appeared to of fer impassable barriers against all ap proach to the tranquil and beautiful scene lying far below us at another time these ragged and dangerous steeps might have stayed our further advance ; but now af ter allowing our poor nnd foot-sore ani mals a short rest we drove them down and i'i less than an hou found ourselves safe in the valley it was now discover ed that two ofour men were missing un able probably from their own weakness and jaded condition of their horses lo keep up with the main body we could only hope that they might be able to follow our trail and overtake us at our encampment — it was impossible so weak and lame were all our horses to go back in search of them o.i reaching the timber of the river batiks we immediately encamped and turned our animals loose to graze and rest themselves after their fatiguing mountain march the river was found to abound with catfish and as we had several hooks and lines with us a sufficient number were ' caught to give us all a meal 1 should per haps call it a feast : for even without salt or seasoning of any kind mtiiiy ofour men ate pound alter pound of the coarse fish with a relish which a gouty alderman might covet but could never enjoy over the best bowl of turtle soup the ingenuity ' of man ever compounded sunset in this secluded valley present : i ed a scene of almost unrivalled magniii ' cence as well as of mild and heavenly beauty the topsof the surrounding moun | tains upon which the blue vault of hea ven seemed to rest were gilded by the sun's last most brilliant rays while the deep-black shadows as some beam of sun light would dance around and kiss for tbe last time a more towering summit would | course hurriedly down the frowning moan ! tain sides as if to find their homes iu lhe j depths below ere darkness assumed her ! _ sway a soothing an ethereal quiet reign ed throughout the valley broken only by the evening hymn of some turtle-dove vowing anew her constancy to her mate ■ or by the last bark of the squirrel as with light and buoyant leaps he wended his : way from the river to his nest among the i mountain cliffs by-and-by a brood of ! wild turkeys which had been hunting for theirsupper at the base ofthe rocky steeps flew over our heads and sought their roost j in a large cotton-wood which overhung the river the sharp crack of a rifle soon announced the doom of one of the flock , \ while the report taken up by a thousand echoes reverberated from grot and glen , from steep hill-side and quiet dell until lost to the ear in distance night had thrown her sable mantle alike over tin 1 valley and the recently-gilded mountain • '. iops before i could turn from the contem plation of the lovely scene i early the next morning mr hunt our guide set off in company with captain sutton in search ofa passage through the mountains which would lead us along the river banks they returned in two or three hours with the joyful intelligence that they had discovered an excellent route in a western direction one which would extricate us from our present dilemma without much labor to saddle and mount our horses was a work of but ihxv mo ' ments and then with hearts much light ened we resumed the journey after crossing the river and emerging from the timber which lined its banks we entered a narrow but open valley that had been concealed from view by a projecting point of one of thc mountains two hour's ride brought us into a road whicli had ev idently been used for carls as we found yoke-keys standards and other trappings belonging to a mexican vehicle scattered along its sides on eilher hand the frown ing and rocky sides of mountains rose high above us and we now knew and felt that we were in the angosturas or where lbe stream has forced its passage through the eastern spur of the rocky mountains — well do these mountains deserve iheir name for they are nothing but immense heaps of stones irregularly piled up while but little vegetation is to be found upon their sides save a few stunted pines and cedars for three or four miles after first entering thc angosturas our road was along a solid ledge of rorks the river on our right and running nearly east and west the greatest width of the pass through which the stream runs until the traveller leaves the rocky road cannot be more than half a mile while the towering fronts ol the mountains on either side are so steep that even a goat would iincl much difficulty in climbing them on leaving the ledge of rocks the pass grows gradually wider and the road becomes sandy we had no sootier struck the latter than the track of in lies and asses were plainly visible a little farther on the foot . prints of men were also seen and every ap pearance they had been made but few hours not a sign ofa human habitation had we dis covered cither in the beautiful valley where wc had spent the previous night or along the road we were now travelling but that we had at length reached au open highway and were close upon a partv of mexicans was evident enough with feelings the most joyful we now spurred a animals briskly forward the sagacious brutes themselves seemed to know that they were near the end of their long and tiresome journey for they pricked up their ears and wil lingly responded to our call upon them for a faster pace gradually the narrows became wider the road grew smoother and just as the sun was losing itself behind the western moun tains we came up with the mexicans encamp ed at the mouth of the gorge at which the river enters the angosturas as carlos had always told us the river at this point turns immediately north watering a narrow and fertile valley those ofmy readers who have ever mado a long sea voyage may remember how eagerly at j the approach of its termination when the pilot til-it placed his foot upon deck they crowded around and pressed him with idle questions in numerable : so with us in coming up with these strangers every one among us who could speak a word of spanish earnestly showered upon the ragged swarthy and half-frightened mexicans volumes of interrogations without giving thera time to answer one of them even had they been able cr willing the fellows were just returning with a small drove of bro ken-down mules and donkeys from a trading trip of some two months duration among the cayguas and camanches they frankly told us as soon as we gave them time to breathe and collect the little scattering sense they had that they had seen us easly in the morning a:id that such of their companions as were better moun ted had instantly lied in fear that wc plight rob them in answering to the question as to thc state of feeling in new mexico regarding our approach they could ive us no intbrrriation — npon this point they knew nothing they had been ab sent months from the settlements and were tra ding with the cayguas when the unfortunate hull and his party were killed although they had no part or lot in that massacre thev al so told us that they were in the main camp ofthe indians when the murdering party returned bringing the dead bodies of eleven oi their war riors among whom was a principal chief the ceremonies and performances on the occasion — the wild dances of the warriors around the scalps of their victims with the painful penance ofthe c men in token of their grief for the loss of the warriors of the tribe — were described by our new acquaintances with graphic effect — the women smote and cut their breasts and ran naked through thorns and prickly pear-bush es to show the intensity of their affection we next asked lhe mexicans the distance to the palo duro or rather to the spot where our main body with lhe wagons were encamped they said that a good mule could travel the dis tance easily in four days upon our telling them thc route wc had taken and that we had been thirteen days on the road they expressed the greatest astonishment — said it was wonder ful that we had been able to cross the immense chasms and mountains at all thev said that if we had taken a course directly west on start ing we should have avoided the deep canons altogether and had a good smooth road the whole distance in addition they informed us that carlos and his companions had passed ihem in the morning completely worn down by hunger and fatigue by this it would seem that the runaway guide had taken a course too much to the north and fallen into the same errors which bad caused us so much trouble as regards provisions the mexicans were almost as badly off as ourselves their stock be ing nearly exhausted thev gave the mess to which i was attached however a small quanti ty of barley meal ; just enough for a taste and that was all they said that san iiguel was sliil some seventy or eighty miles distant but before reaching it we should fall in with large herds of sh ep and also the little village of anton chico at the latter p!sce we could pro cure tortillas and a'olc ; the former a species of thin cake in universal use throughout mexico and lhe latter a thin mush made of meal and water or cow's or coat's milk and also a send ing dish of the country anything but more especially any preparation of meal or flrur would have been as welcome lo us as manna was to thc suffering israelites in the wilder ness the next morning three of the mexicans were hired to go back to our companions one ofour mexican servants matias disguised com pletely so that he might not be suspected by any indians they should meet on the route ac companying them they were provided with the best and least jaded males we had and took with them a package of letters to general lvicleod the purport of those letters was that we had arrived within two or three days ride of the settlements and that thc best course the command could pursue would be to march immediately under direction of the guides to wards san miguel thc mexicans after re ceiving full instructions from colonel cooke and doctor brenham set out on their journey across the immense prairie and as we after ward learned were lea than four days in going a distance which had occupied us thirteen ! shortly after matias and his three companions had left us we resumed our march towards san miguel not a morsel of food did we have du ring the day and at night we encamped supper less on the banks ofa small creek emptying in to the rio mora on this stream the mexicans who bad thus far accompanied us had their pla ces of residence after giving us instructions for our route towards san miguel they left us o.i the ensuing morning for their homes in the mountains before we set out our commander despatch ed four of our best-mounted men in advance to make arrangements for provisions while the rest of us followed as fast as our weary animals could travel as we neared the point where we knew that food could be procured in abund ance not only our hunger but our impatience in creased during the day i was fortunate enough in company with the madcap fitzgerald to find half a hat-ful of wild parsley and this we swal lowed raw with the greatest avidity about the middle ofthe afternoon one ofthe four who had been sent forward returned wilh the joyful intelligence that they had fallen in with a herd of no less than seventeen thousand sheep and had succeeded purchasing a suf ficiency for the whole command again we put spurs to our horses and a ride of ball an hour brought us up with the shepherds and their charge and to a fine camping-ground on the rio gallinas here a scene of feasting ensued which beg gars description wc had been thirteen days upon the road wilh really not provisions enough for three and now that there was an abundance our starving men at once abandoned themselves to eating perhaps i should rather call it gor mandizing or stuffing no less than twenty large fat sheep had been purchased and dress ed and every ramrod as well as every slick that could be found was graced wilh smoking ribs and shoulders livers and hearts many made themselves sick by overeating : but an at tempt to restrain the appetites of ha starved men except by main force would be the very extrrme oi folly hid the food been anything but mutton anj had we imt procured an ample supply of salt from the mexicans to season it our men might have died ofthe surfeit i have never yet seen a treatise cr disserta tion upon starving _ . death — i can speak nc ingly uf nearly every stage except tbe last tor tiie lirst two days ihn ugh wbicb a strong and healthy man is doomed to exist upon nothing his sufferings are perhaps more acute than in the remaining stages be feels an inordinate unappeasable craving at the stomach night and day tbe mind runs up a bed bread a:;d oth er substantiate ; but still in a great measure the body r tains its strength oa ihe third and fourth days but especially on the fourth this incessant craving gives dace to a sinking and weakness of the stomach accompanied iiv nau sea th unfortunate sufferer stiil desires food but with hiss of strength he loses that eag r craving which is felt in the earlier staj^s — should he chance to obtain a m rse or two of fond as was occasionally lbe case with us he swallows it with a wolfish avidity ; but tive mi nutes afterward his suffeiings are more intense than ever he feeis as if lie had swallowed a bving lobster which is clawing and feeding up on the very foundation of his existence on the fifth day his cheeks suddenly appear hollow and sunken his body attenuate i his colour an ashy pale and his eye wild glassy cannibal ish the different parts of the system now war with each ether tbe stomach calls upon tbe leg to go with it in qi st of food thei _>. frum tlie very weakness rei ise tlie sixth day brings wish it increased suffering although the r i i _. - ° ° . pangs oi hunger are lost m an overpowering langti r and sickness the head becomes gid dy — tlie ghosts of well-remembered dinners pass in hideous procession through the mind — the seventh day comes bringing increased las situde and farther prostration cf strength the arms hang listlessly the legs drag heavily — the desire for food is still left to a degree but it must be brought not sought the mis erable remnant of life which s'.iil hangs to the sufferer is a burden alrai st too grievous to be borne ; yet his inherent five of existence in duces a desire still to preserve it if it can be saved without a tax upou bodily exertion the mind wanders atone momeut he thinks his weary limbs cannot sustain him a mile — the next he is endowed with unnatural strength and it there be a certainty of relief before loin dashes bravely an 1 strongly onward wonder ing whence proceeds this new and sudden im pulse farther than this my experience runneth not the reader may think i have drawn a fancy sketch — hat i have coloured the picture too highly now while i sincerely trust he may never be in a situation l test its truth from ac tual experience i would i:i all sober serious ness say to bim tout rn . ftbe set us i have just described i have myself experienced and sj did the ninety-and-eigbt persons who were with me from the lime we firsl entered the grand prairie until we reached ti il ck of sheep to which m^re pleasing subject i will now return there were very few men wiih the immense herd but i:i their stead were a largo num t of noble d.»gs which appeared to lie peculiarly gifted with the faculty of keeping them togeth er there was no running about no bark or biting in their system ol tactics ; on the con trary they were continually walking up and down like faithful sentinels on the outer side of the flock and should any sheep chance to stray from his fellows the dog on duty at that particular posi would walk gently up take him carefully by the car and lead him back to the fold not the least fear did the sheep man at the approach of these dogs and there was no occasion for it tbcy appeared tome to be of mongrel breed somewhat resembling per haps a cross of lhe newfoundland or .">:. v -.-- nard species with the larger mastiff they possessed mild frank and open countenances were indefatigable in protecting their charge from wolves an i i*;;-:n what i could learn were e x t re me y sagac ious the shepherds had crook in their hands in struments 1 had often read of in poets lavs — the uses to which they were put took away much of thc romance i had associated with crooks and gentle sh»pherds one ofthe lat ter whenever a sheep has been pointed out in the flock either to be killed or for sale thrusts the long hooked stick immediately under the throat ofthe victim and holds it lasl until it fellows have been driven past on either side the sheep is then secured by grappling its wool with the hand — an operation from lirst to last partaking more ofthe practical lhan ofthe poetic now that we had found provisions in plenty we considered the d tngers the fatigues thc de lays and the vexatious of the march as over and bright were the anticipations ofthe fu'ure every fiice was animated wilh joy every heart was filled with gladness how ditfeicnt wool 1 have been our feelings had we known tie ... ferings and privations the indignities and the cruel maltreatment we were yetto endure — the terrible fate that was awaiting us — kendall's sketches of the tei'tan s;in'<i fe expedition john u yog ler &% watch and clock maker 1 / 7s wj ould respectf-i ly inform thecit gw ./-^ ** izens of rowan and the adjoining sii connties that he has opened bis bhop on main street in the oflice formerly occupied by v.'m j piummei is sadd.er three doors below j h tn apothecary store w'jere he is prepared to execute a work in his line of bu=iri his wo:k will recommend itself : to the aged he can s~.y that come and you can have good spectacles also glasses titted to suit any age jew elery made to order ring breast pins c old gold and silver tak-n in exchange lor work jan 11 1s45 ly37 f j jea 3 half chests superior hyson tea wh h i j will sell ai cost to close sales j h e tn iss feb 1,1845 tf-io stationary on hand a superior article of letter paper ruled and azed foolscap account and note paper ; also qoills steel saner black ink redd letter p»^f "■ sealing wax c &<* *» j h e n is i from laie f^?n fcaji recmej a th_s two military execntiom in spaia in the atitnnin of 1 a mutiny broke out in th town of yjmmmx^j u.bimmm.j tw0btt tabons revolted took poases_n \ r u i i • . , v siun ot the place and imprisoned or sent „-,,-,■ h..ir j the troop of cavalry to which i belonged was ; at that time attached to the di . ision of general castaneda who marched against viuarcajn and took it after a three day's siege the re | belious battalions expressed their penitence and ( were allowed to retnrn to their duty with the ex ception of thc ringleaders who were tried bya c art martial anj eight of the condemned tobe sh t it was all very easy condemning them but lb difficulty was to carry tbe sentence into execu tion without exciting ;' b disturbances the spanish army wasju__1 then in a very bad state of discipline during tbe summer of tbat year there had been mutinies in various garrison towns especially at miranda pampeluoa vitto ria aud hernant in all of which i seers of rank had . -' res esj art . \ . ■ t a mea sures and some severe examples that be made were certainly i j into bet ter order hut still it was a critical lime and castaneda was obliged to andarcom cmidado as the spaniards say which means being transla ted to mind his eye he w j oot entrust the execution of tbe mutineers to tbe battalions to which lb • d because he feared an olher inbreak ; and on the ether band it a according to spanish military i leas md customs be a mortal affront to those battuliodfe if men out of their ranks were shut by any other corps of the army at last the general hit upon a wav to g t out of this difficulty one i en to tbe wh ile division lo be on the move at daybreak the next morning oily lbe tn p of £ cavalry wa excepted the spaniards ma ched accoidingly and an hour or two afterwards wo were formed ugjusl outside the t wn the j era were brought rentoun i led to ood the :.. i course had very great objection which we i - the staff i i_vr who had heen lefi in comma f the garrison representing 1 . duty was not that of executioners and that by forcing such a service on us he was exp sing us to be come objects of contempt and dislike t > the whole spanish army the officer probably bad orders not to pre - er it we object md be then said that the national t '. \ illarcay >, who were drawn tip on ibe ground musl i i i these nationals who had been put underarms to act as a ga iris ninthe.absei e ofthe regu lars were the n st unsoldierly looking fellows i ever set eye on dressed in every sort of wav some in plain clothes with ci -• l.al los others in uniform c a - o .. i ind bat — their arms were as va garb con sisting of old muskets with and without bayo nets carbines rifles and most i them of rown color !:• m rust and likely dangerous to the pc ns who lired them a to those they were lired at from these militia-men bowen r a firing party were selected the unfortunate prisoners wero made to kneel d wn in front of a wall rod a scattering irregular volley w fired at them s iie ofthe muskets would not go off and th so which did had been so ba ' . i t only ie of the men was killed though ail were wounded it w - the mc st hon 1 ev r beheld i'l , or wretc - th m stretched i tl ihfi grcunu ■ "... r'iii <» their knees were w tin and ter ror and imploring a i>cc<)y death per dios matur n is for god's sake kiil ii ! put us out of misery the nationals had to load again and some of them had no second cartridge tbe i i others had missed fire and th thing whsrewith to draw the charge or pi k out the touch-hole bj some extraordinary negligence no reserve tiring par ty had been tolled off at i.i-t a second volley wa fired bnt even ihis was n i quite flvient and one poor fellow was finished with a pistol it was perfect butchery and made me feel quite sick and as to the men of the tro ;.. alth all fellows accustomed t wound and bloodshed their laces a i glanced along the line were as white as their belts at another execution that i witnessed a char acteristic incident occurred it was in na\ar re at a period of the war when the system of reprisals was carried to great length by both parties the carlists had been committing some atrocities murdering prisoners or some thing of that kind and by way of retaliation twenty oat of a number of prisoners whom the queen's troops bad recently made were to be si t tbe victims had to be chosen by lot and f>r this purpose they wcie brought out < ! their place of confinem •'■?. a wretcbed-lookii they certainly were although they had not been very long prisoners tbe - ualid misery into which thi y ha i s ink was really piti able they w-re of ai ages from la ;'- d iv tecn to men of sixty or who nt least l i •'. old as that being perhaps prematurely aged by the lite of privations they had led and by th suf ferings of their captivity there was no lack however of fine stalwart fi i tows with bronzed faces musculari mis bushy beards nd hair hanging in long curls over their necks ; m dels of spanish mountaineers whose iron frames enabled th m to bear up against all hard-hip tbe var ieties of dress were sti mge and striking p ugh the poor devils bad none ol them too much cl thing and what ihey bad was for the most part worn and tattered here might l-c seen a man with a full dress coat the iuwg soiled a._d greasy a straad or two of ow nished epaulette dangltng :■•.«■;- trou;ers bempen sandals and a p , this formerly white m „ was an officer mau or tlle col off as that jac«.e s _? ; _ ( ,. no m,,,n3 jar torn off were ~ ■> -•■ • • wm onfl numerous and shoes very rar