Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1850-08-31

| pfesett life We are so apt to l6sok to nthe
temporal" 10 the exclusion Of "tlie eternal, y
that We must be vigilaht III we shall he
carried altogether hway fftH, the power d
tlie motives at The Gospel and never ton.
leitiplHte tile overwhelmingly solemi, ID.
fetetice Of all ouf doings to the fa,yUr u
wrath Of God Let lis hot forget That we
afe surfuut'lei witl, the pafaphefiiAlih II
death, That he Of whom we speak is il, a.
mother state Of esistesee, and TINT his aes
tons lave pissed theaIeview OF THE great
tribunal, as We proceed Idtelieafse seltit Iii
cidents iii the life of tile late President.
ZathHry Taylor bears f,anie distit,.
guisl,sl iii the early history uf the country,
Ills father, a pioneer in the track VI west,
eri civilization, before the revolution, pen
etfated The tinbroken fBfest, atid IN The
spirit Of enterprise wliich. distinguished
the men uf that period seleeseI Hume in
Kentucky, to which at tttH tluse Of the
wHt IN which he was iiu inehn actor he
retrieved willie his soil wis All infnnt, The
youth Of zaclafy Taylor wis speht amidst
stirring scenes. Kentucky was then, in
truth, the dark aHd ijeudy ground. Wild
beasts aud wilder men disputed the st,ve.
fignty Of tile WILDERNESS with those whose
labors have since made it the garden OF
the west. His pursuits III early life were
agricultural, and he never lost his relish for
his early employment. Tits he acquired
that strong constitution which enabled him
to endure the t,tigne to which go much Of
his life was exposed
| In lEOS he was commissioned by IRE.
sident Madison, first Lieutenant in the 7th
Infantry, and with n brief interval he con.
tinued III the army Until elected to the
Presidency From the first, those who
knew Him intimately predicted his success.
lie determined To master The stiehte ri
military tactics ah1 devoted himself to its
study with ,,nweared assiduity.
| Rasl,ness is fault IF which General
Taylor was never accused, bit tifct,n,=
stances beyond bis eentol often threw
him into the ,hidst Of perils from which
there seemed i,o escape Soon after his
promotion to n Captaii,ey in 1912 he was
sent by General Harrison to the command
VI Itft sINttfSbtl tlt ttlS w NlWHlt NtIt
nt midnight he was attacked by force
or four hundred Indians lie was reused
| from his bed by the alarm Of the sentinel,
and in lie pitchy darkness Of tenpestuoils
| night, will, but sixteen i,ieii fit for duty,
with the sl,tieks Of won,ei, and children,
who had fesotteH to the fort ft,r safety, in
his ears. block house on fire. surrounded
hy nerciess enemy twenty times his
own nrnher-it,lnrnitahe courage pre-
vailed. the flames were extinguisl,nd and
by daylight the assailaiits were tepused.
Never perhaps were his skill and prudence
effort had been spared by the willy foe TO
delnde him into feeling Of security. Had
they succeeded the tala Of Fort Harrison
had been ~ the tragedy Of Fort Mimn,s.
This defence was said at the titne to lie
"unparalleled.
General Taylor was not Inactive in the
Black Hawk war. and aoon after lin
1887 at Fort Crawford in Prairie du
Chen, was appointed Indian agent, No
exeftion was wanting to promote the com
fort OF the red man. the wretcl,es who et-
deavor to corrupt and rob the Indians in
the traffic Of ardent spirits were lanisted.
and his contenanee was the encourage
nient Of the missionaries in their trying
aud thankless lal,ofs.
The same constaney and courage which
had heretofore been associated with the
name Of General Taylor, characterized his
command in the Florida war. lie track
ed the enemy through swamps aud forests,
IN marches OF weeks in duration, until he
had rallied and defeated them, amidst tile
marshes OF Oekeehebee In speaking of
Tie victory he there achieved, lie says
~ experienced one Of the tn,st trying pc.
RODS OF my life. and if any one could have
looked with indifference, his nerves must
have been differently organized from my
own. Besides, the killed, there lay one
hundred and twelve wounded officers aud
soldiers who had accompanied me one
hundred and forty FIVE miles. most Of the
way through All unesplofed wilderness
without guides, who had 20 gallantly
beaten the enemy under my orders in his
strongest position. and who had to be con.
veyed back through swsmps and ham.
moeks from whence We came, without any
apparent means of doing 40. y
Though fresh in our memories it will
not be deemed Inappropriate on the present
occasion TO consider some Of the incidents
Of the Mexican war, which added SO great.
ly to the glory Of our army. and the fatne
Of its commander. We remember the
feeling of apprehension awakened, by the
intelligence that the .''army Of observation"
was IN imminent peril. that eommnnicn-
tons with Fort Brown were cut off, and
that our troops were threatened by an
enemy vastly superior In numbers. BE.
fore the volunteers, who had rushed to the
rescue, could reach the scene Of danger
the battle had been fought and, won.
Never can we forget the universal enth,,-
siasm when first was announced tho event
Of the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de
Ia Palma. The hands of strong men trena-
bled with excitement, as they seized the
journals which conveyed the intelligence.
With the shout, which in the delirum Of
the hour arose from the whole people, was
mingled to the echo, the nane Of TAYLOR.
Entrusted with the honor Of his country
when the crisis came he had not been
wanting. ! His person had been exposed
to the same dangers as the hnmbest sol
dier, and the commands which resulted il
the rout Of the opposing legions had
issued, from beneath their deadliest fre.m
Matamoras, Carnage, Monterey and
Saltillo, will sever be associated with his
name. The neighborhood Of the lastof
these witnessed the closing event, in the
active military career cf the great leader.