Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1849-04-06
From the New Orleans Delta.
OUR VOLUNTEERS IN YUCATAN.

eHts OdptdH lOOIlS which, lHOukH Vi ES. /
note date, refers TO events inwhich the friends
If the Yucatan, volunteers take deep inter-
.st, and is in other respects worthy of cru.
val. We have another of the Captains epis-
lies on hand, of later date, which will ap-
pear to morrow.
VALADoLID, (Yucatan,) Jan. 18. 1849.
Dig Dear Delta: Many happy returns Of
the season Since shaking hands with you at
New Orleans, we have all had plenty Of hard
and hard fighting, sometimes with
short commons, and at others with plenty
Our march commenced on the day we ar
rived at Sisal. the seaport for Merida, (the
capital of the Siate,) distant thirty.fve miles.
The road is excellent. and through many
beautiful situated villages and ranches, now
nearly destroyed by the Indians. Merida is
very handsome city, and contains $4,000 in
habitants it is said 10 have had population
OF $4,000 some years ago. We remained
there four days, mastering in the companies,
and commissioning the officers. My COM
mission was that of First Lieutennt During
our stay, feast day occuled, and we had a
good opportunity of seeing the Yucateca bellies.
They drove during the evening, in their
volantes, round and round the Corso. (their
promenade,) and made a graceful display un-
ill after dusk. Many of them are as fair as
the whitest Northern ladies', and all elegant
ly and tastefully dressed. AS 10 the Peones,
or serfs, the men are low sized and athletic,
and the women, short, dumpy and very square
built, and look, at first sight, rear view.
like feather-bed, or whales tongue. Our
route from Merida was through a large num-
Der of ruined ranches and towns, TO Taesu-
cab, one hundred and ffty-miles, which we
made at the rate of fifteen or eighteen miles
per night, resting during the heat of the day.
wherever water could procured, and that was
no easy matter. have not seen stream yet
and wells are from six to twelve miles part
and one hundred feet deep, so that unless we
carry buckets and ropes, which we now do
they are o: but little if any service to US. A
one small village, curious animal, called &
Padre, got very drunk amongst the boys, anc
made foolish display of valuable silvel
chalice, richly chased with gold. In the NOR
ming the Padre awoke, missed his chalice
and complained outrageously TO Col. White
of the theft. The Padre was filthy little
disgrace to his profession, and looked like a
man who wanted his bitters badly; and Col
White was obliged to turn him of, after an in
afectual attempt TO discover the thief. The
Padre then poured out his bile on me in Span
ish, and was forced to threaten him with {
cafabash, before he sheered off. This excited
Capt. Ms anger; and he swore, " no mattel
how big a blackguard the Padre was, hi:
gown ought to protect him." He then &C
cused me of having stolen the chalice myself.
returned the compliment, and told him I'd pub
fish it. 'Oh don't, said he, "for the Lords
sake; what would Father Mullen or my wife
say, if they heard OF it' They'd think it wa
true" Some one composed dogrel on it il
this wise:
"At Home, NJ is thought a saint,
AtSacrilege he'd surely faint;
But, here, with viprous fendsh malice,
He stole drunken PADRES chalice."
The verse was chanted by every one, and tn
poor Captain became furious but he wa
completely exonerated from the charge ~
Christmas day, when we got into our first &C
ton with the Indians, and the first man killeC
was the veritable thief.
We reached Taesucah, one hundred ant
eighty miles from Ssal, on the 23d De
cember, rested the oath, and started on tn,
25th in search of the enemy and, on my
word, they were not hard to find. | hat
thought, at first, this was mere Eruption o
savage Indians but, now discovered, tina
it is in reality sort of servile war, and tn
Spartacus is half breed-a cross between
= | d !
called Prince Pat, and is said to be man O
talent, education and wealth. Our road ha
been cut through dense chapparal and wa
very tortuous. At almost every angle, Prime
Pat displayed his talents in the construction
of barricades, (here called trancheros,) ant
= their sites were chosen with skill that woul
not be discreditable TO the most accomplishe
engineer from West Point.
A. hoF al boro
i from behind the trancheros: and, the Yucate
y cos, led by their own officers, slipped into tn
:. chapparal, on either side the road, and acte
as flankers; and, on signal from their brgle
. the Americans charged in front, and in tn
way carried dozen or fifteen barbados, lie
on for the most part by Col. White himsel
> though many of US demonstrated with hin
J. and requested to be allowed to take his plac
'e Capt. Linton's company, which was in III
IS advance, was completely knocked up by III
constant running from barricade TO barricade
and Capt Freeland, who came next, was soc
l. in the same fix My little crowd passed Cap
20 F. with hole in his hat, and seven of b
:. men dead or wounded near him. / thong
, we were ahead, and had only time to ga
!, " Bad luck to you, Capt. Jack" and receive
d for answer, {" The same TO you, George" v
then rushed on, and carried four more ranch
! ros, and, in obedience to a call from the b,
~ giles, returned to Taesucah, seven miles, ca
~ rying with US twentysix killed and wound
~ Americans. Five were killed on the spc
.. four have since died, and the balance a
h more or less wounded. The Yucatecos 10
;r fifteen or twenty men. They are excelle
# soldiers-far superior to the Mexicans of Il
=. North. Amongst our dead is Lieut.. Gallaghe
.. of Capt Molloy's company. He fell pierre
Sr through the body with one ball, and throus
n. the thigh with another; third also took {
10 the top of a finger. He fingered thirty-s
no hours !; had every attention paid him and W
-. buried with the honors Of war. 1t may
n gratifying to his friends to learn, that c.
"a Sartinez, the commandant of Taesucah, bel
~ informed that he was Catholic, ordered
st solemn, military religious mass TO be celebI
~ ~ ted for his soul in the Cathedral; and t
y spectacle was one of the most imposing e1
~ witnessed. Peace TO his ashes!
ct The Temporary Closing of our Coal Mn
ne That our friends abroad may understa
Cd the object of suspending all shipments of CT
u from this county for three weeks, we des
P to explain, viz Since the railroad has open
us access to the market in the winter season,
IT. has been the improvident custom of our n
-. ners 10 pile up coal on the wharves at Phi
ol delphia, in advance of the spring market.