The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-09-26
CHAPTER Ill.

| CHAPTER III.
Close beside her. family moaning fair young soldier
| lay,
Torn with shot pierced with lancss bleeding slow his
life away"
| The battle Of Churubusco was over the thun-
der of cannon had ceased, and the currents of air
| slowly resuming their wonted motion, began TO
| part and lift the dense smoke that brooded over
| the field as if to hide 1t from the eye of Heaven.
4 Now And ths.-.,s = report OF scattering lsi-tal
1 shots and here and there pursuing party, re-
i'~~ I'm ~ ''~s eisv>i - ~zs2 ~~~~~~1 shn
! field, rcgaidless q ,ss'AeSa' s&A ;y>s Sex.~.-k
their horses feet, their faces begrimed with
smoke, and rendered fierce, almost demoniac by
| the action Of all the evil passions which such
scenes are calculated TO excite, and were lost in
the gathering darkness.
| Scattered far and wide, or piled in heaps upon
| that battle field, lay Saxon and Aztec, friend and
| foe, with the grin Of defiance or the scowl Of re
venge distorting their features-in many instan-
! ces still graspiBg their bood-stsined weapons in
their stiffening hands--and here and there lay
one in strange contrast with features as calm and
| limbs as decently composed il the hand of
affection had "laid him outp beneath his fathers
| roof There was the horse, with fierce, distended
nostrils, and his proud rider half enveloped half
entangled in the folds of the silken standard he
| had died TO defend and all around lay drum,
| trumpet, bugle, and FIFE crushed and mute, and
no voice rose from that field of carnage, save the
| groans of the wounded and dying, and the low
sobs Of the Mexican women as they bent over the
dead, and sought to recognise among those mutt
lated dsfgured forms, the features OF their
| missing friends. ...>..>e>>
( A mournful sight indeed, was edat Oart1e held,
thick sown with the heirs of eternal life, and
startling commentary on the pride of conquest, as
| many brave soldier felt as he wandered over
4 the slippery field in search of some well-tred
comrade and friend And yet Nature felt 1t not
as the clouds of smoke cleared away, the blue arc
of the southern heaven bent as lovingly over it,
| and the quiet stars looked down upon il with the
| same mild radiance as when, eighteen centuries
before, that balmy air, now heavy with the breath
| Of death, had echoed to the jubisnt song of the
angels" Peace earth, and good will to men"
! In that part of the field where foot to foot and
hand to hand the victory had been most holly
| contested, a Mexican mother bent low in search
Of her dead. Slowly, with blsnched cheek and
lip compressed with agony, she pursued her
dreadful task, scanning with the same eager in
terest the features Of friend and foe, for, be-
grimed with smoke and dust, and mutilated as
they were, it was difficult, even for the eye of
affection, to distinguish between friend and foe.
For time her search seemed fruitless but
suddenly her eye rested a dark-hared youth,
and with hands trembling with fear and hope,
she raised the head to her knee, and eagerly
scanned the features Carefully she brushed
away the thick hair from his brow and with a
dash of water from the canteen by her side re-
moved the smoke from his face. Alas it was the
face Of a stranger As she laid the head gently
from her knee, and turned away the young soldier,
revived by the water upon his brow, uttered
low moan, coupled with the word, smother"
1t was a strange word, uttered in Strange
and Northern tongue uninteligible TO her I'M
Outstanding, but her motber-heart seemed to COM
| prehend it at once. Regardless of the pool of
blood by his side, she again knet down, and rails
| ing his head placed cup of water to his parched
lips Re drank eagerly, and while he strove to
which he still sraspsa Ii s s hsr s
| round him to stanch the blood which at every
movement flowed from his side. Seeing some
American soldiers approach she left him to their
| care and turned away to continue her painful
task.
They bore him away to the city of the Monte
zumas-not to her regal halls but to loathsome
hospital where with the bare brick pavement for
couch and a military coat for pillow, he lay
amid filth and vermin, groans, shrieks, prayers,
and curses.
We shudder when we think of that scene, as
described to us by an eyewitness, and feel that
fearful indeed must be the perversion of that
persons mind who could look upon it and feel
aught of the pride of victory-aught but the utter
worthlessness Of all glory, Individual or national
| that is won at such price.
Here they laid down our young Harry Gordon,
with all his ambitious dreams Of greatness I'M
realized The glttering mirage Of military glory
| had led him onward and onward until Ii left him
to die in that hideous place of suffering Happily
he was unconscious of the dreadful scenes and
sights around him, for fierce fever soorched his
brain. and coursed through his veins like burning
lava and the rough but kind attentions of his
viving comrades and the limited means of the
surgeon could avail little against its power.
| He took no heed Of the CHASTITY forms of death
around him, for his mind wandered far away
| from that fearful place. to his home amid the
| New England hills. Household names and
snatches of old songs were on his lips old faces
lowered about him, and familiar voices sounded
| in his ears, and more than one rough heart grew
soft, more than one eye turned aside to conceal
| the gathering dampness, rs with touching tender
| uess the words, Mother - Amy" fell again and
again from his parched lips.
| About one week after the Americans had taken
| possession Of the city, as General W. made the
rounds of the hospital speaking words of cheer to
such as retained their reason and supplying their
necessities far as he was able, from his own
scanty purse, his eye fell upon Harry Gordon.
| Struck by the singular beauty that still charac-
|
Of disease, he fingered by his side, speaking words
of hope and cheer. For the frst time for many
days, Harry was sane and calm A faint smile
lowered about his mouth as he comprehended his
officers kind words, but with a slight motion of
the hand he declined his proffered aid. Poor
boy young as he was, he knew right well that
earthly aid was useless As the General was
turning away, a thought seemed to strike him he
beckoned him to pause, and with great difficulty
war1u in Ala ant v ha
General crossed the room to where the surgeon
was performing some operation, and taking the
Doctors scissors returned and placed them in the
young soldiers hand.
Ralyng all his strength and assisted by the
kind officer, the young man partly raised himself
from his pallet, and severed two thick locks from
his mass Of dark hair With a request 80 broken
and inartculate as 10 be inaudible to all save the
kind-hearted officer that bent over him, and one
poor comrade who lay close by his side, he placed
il in the Generals hand, and almost before the
latter had promised to fulfil his request, he sank
back on his pillow--a corpse.
All honor be to the memory Of that man who,
amid the multifarious duties Of his Office failed
not TO remember his promise to the dying soldier,
and see that II WAS religiously fulfilled.
Scarcely h I'd the cannon which celebrated their
} victory ceased to echo amid our New England
hills when large franked letter, directed TO Esq
!, Gordon, arrived at the village post Office.
The postmaster and the wise ones about the
Office were unanimous in thinking that the letter
contained news of Harry; therefore they decided
IL was proper to forward 1t immediately to the
! Gordon farm house, instead Of allowing 1t to lie
there until Sunday noon, when the Esq. usually
, took his paper and letters
The news Of letter from Mexico soon drew
the whole family, including Amy Averil, together
With trembling hand the old Esq. broke the
seal, and, unfolding the letter. took from 1t two
heavy locks Of raven hair. For moment they
sat gazing at them as IL spell bound then whittier