Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-04-22
From the N. Y Emporium.
THE MEXICAN MOTHER.
A ROMANCE OF THE RIO GRANDE
BY MAYNE REID.

A ROMANCE OF THE RIO GRANDE.
BY MAYNE REID.
In the autumn of 1915, rowing band of
Camanche Indians made a hostile descent
upon the settlements of the Rio Grande.
Mexico was then in her first revolution
most of the rdncherOS were absent from the
valley, serving in the ranks of the patricia
army, under Torres, and other chieftans
Before a sufficient force could be collected
to oppose them, the savages succeeded in
committing many outrages Several fami-
lies were barbarously murdered--ranchos
were pilaged and burned-and many wo-
men and children made prisoners. These
with large number of horses and cattle
were carried off into the mountains.
party of rdncher0S started in pursuit,
but were nsuccessful-pursuit was vain
the invaders had escaped, carrying their
booty into the mountain Businesses of Wes-
tern Texas
The stirring events Of a fierce partisan
war, distracted the minds of men. Their
swords were turned against one another, and
amidst daily scenes of blood and pilage, the
Indian enemy was little thought Of
There were some, however, who would
never forget that fierce foray-the husband
who had lost wife, the lover who missed
his sweetheart, and the mother who lament
ed her child
OF this last class, was the Dona Josefa
Flores. Her daughter an only child of sew
en- years old, had been rudely torn from her
embrace, and carried off prisoner. She,
herself, narrowly escaped death by mere
accident.
There is perhaps no feeling of the human
heart that yields less to the touch of tine,
than the anguish of the ieresFed ncothcrr
Love becomes mellowed, and sometimes eff
faced by the possession of another object !;
revenge, too, loses the keenness ofits edge /;
but the pure and holy longing of mothers
heart is often only eXtinguished by death.
SO it was with the Mexican mother. Of
ten might she be seen in the door of her
palm-screened dwelling, gazing with wistful
eyes upon the distant hills, and sadly MUIR
muring, "My child-my poor child p
The reflection would arise-how her lit
tie Inez was treated by her captors-wheth-
er she was tendery nurtured to become the
wife of some savage chieftain or whether,
a drudging slave, she was constrained to
bear the vile bondage and rude hardships of
an Indian life? Many bitter tear did such
reflections wiring from the heart of Dona
Josefa.
Years rolled past-the civil war still rag
ed-and as no general expedition was plan
ned against the Indian enemy, there SEEM
ed but little hope of the captives being re-
stored. Several expeditions of armed ranch
eros, had penetrated the Camanche country,
but were unsuccessful in meeting with the
enemy they sought. The great body Of
these tribes had, it was supposed, moved to-
wards the head-waters of the Rio Roxo-a
country inaccessible to the Mexican rancho
rOs.
At length, in the year 1924, the brave
Gudaloupe Victoria, the Washington of Mex
leo, gave to her distracted citizens peace and
free government. An expedition was inn
mediately planned by the settlers on the Rio
Grande, against the Camanche Indians, for
the double purpose of furnishing past outra-
ges, and of releasing the Mexicans who were
said to be held in captivity by the savage
enemy.
Before this expedition left the valley, it
was reported that a company of Mexican
" ciboleros," (buffalo hunters, who had been
out for several months, had returned to the
settlements, and were now on their way down
the river to Matamoras, with the proceeds
of long campaign upon the prairies. They
were accompanied by young Mexican glr
whom they had captured frop rowing band
of Camanche Indians She had either new
er spoken or had altogether forgotten the
Spanish language, and was therefore unable
to account for her captivity; but the cibole-
ros had learnt from one of the Indians whom
they had also captured, that this girl along
with others, had been carried off nearly ten
years ago, from the settlements above Presi-
do Aguande.
You cannot conceive the interest this re-
| port created, when it reached the rancho vii
! lage of San Fernando. What heartfelt anx-
iety, what maternal solicitude; for more
than one mother had been left childess by
the incursions of the savage Camanches.
AT length the ciboleros arrived at San Fer
nando, leading beautiful girl into thepub-
lie piazza, declaring their willingness to give
her up as soon as she was claimed by her
relations. This they had done in several
towns on their route, but no one had claim
ed her. The hunters testified to the author
tiles of the place, that the girls behavior had
much altered on approaching San Fernan-
do-that instead of the apathy she had here
tofore exhibited, she now seemed to view OBJ
jects with apparent recognition, speaking
much in the Indian tongne, and from these
things they concluded that this was without
doubt the place of her nativity. AS soon as
it became known among the ranches of San
Fernando that the ciboleros had arrived,
anxious mothers were seen rushing towards
the public piazza, exhibiting in their looks
and gestures the appearance of frantic wo-
men. But the deep, wild yearnings of ma
ternal affection were destined to be disap-
! pointed, Each in their turn embraced the