Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1851-11-08
Imnortaut from the Rio Grande
Later From Matamoros.
THE FIGHTING STILL CONTINUES.

THE FIGHTING STILL CONTINUES.
By the arrival siuce our last Of the steam
ship Fanny, Capt. Aud, says the P'cayu"e,
we have dates from Matamoros and the seat
of war up to the 3Oth ult. The Fanny brought
twenty-six passengers, and S34,45l in spe-
Gle.
The fighting within the city Of Matamoros
still continued wien The Fanny sailed, the "d-
verse forces having been engaged, with little
intermission, for oresthan q week. Cara'a-
jal was advancing upon the west side of the
town, and on the 3otks October was within four
squares of the Plaza, where Gen. Ayalos had
his head quarters. Here the latter was posted
" it'll eight or nine pieces of artillery, so dispo-
sed as to cover each other. The revolutionary
leader had but a single piece, and was doubt
less fighting his way from house to house. AS
near as we can r~ecollect, the buildings on the
western side of the city, until a position with
in two or three squares of the Plaza could be
gained, are principally low and built of adobes
or sundried bricks. There may, however, be a
few commanding brick or stone houses on that
side, and if there are, Caravajal doubtless has
possession of them.
The following, which we copy from the Rio
Bravo of the Goth ult. gives us full particulars
of the fighting up to that date as we have
seen. We find it under the head of "Siege Of
Matamoros and Skirmishes in the Streets"
We gave our readers a hasty sketch: of the
first battle at Matanoros, in our last papers,
and now proceed to furnish a brief summary OF
the subsequent occurrences, up TO the moment
of going to press. Gen. Avalos has kept
strictly within his fortified position, in the cen
ire of the city, which is defended with a good
deal of skill by nine guns. Gen. Carayajal
has removed his head quarters from Fort Pare
des, into the market place. and within the
rear portion of the town. He has only one
six FOUNDER, and with this inadequate battery,
has been forced to fight under every disadvan-
tace, against Avalos' forces and heavy guns.
Daily skirmishes have taken place, and on
some DAYS and nights. three or four happened
of a fierce and determined character. Besides
innumerable shots of rifles, muskets and piS-
tolls, Avalos has fired between four and five
hundred cannon shots Of canister, grape and
ball-and Caraval about one hundred. The
exact number of killed and wounded on the
Mexican side, is not known to lis, but two days
ago, there were elO4 wounded men III their
hospital. a number have been wounded and
killed since, and it is fair to presume. that
nearly half as many have been killed, Us are
wounded. This would make the killed and
wounded on the side of Avalos, about 10, or
$50 men. Caravajal has had three or four Kill
led and about a dozen wounded. Lieut.. Cu!-
yer and Surgeon Finley are two of the killed,
and Coz. Ford, Capt. Norton, and F. R. Ora
cesaui-the latter by an acN Dntal discharge
of a gun-wounded.
When the circumstances are considered, this
disparity of loss is almost miraculous. The
fighting has been often hand to hand, boil,
sides firing through the same hoe in brick
walls, at each other. The siege has lasted six
or seven days, and with constant hostile action
the men are worn down but do not complain.
They are resolved to take the place. and this
resolution they will, probably, make good
quickly. fCaravajal had a twelve or eigIteen
FOUNDER he would capture Ava.os whole force
in two hours. AS we are writing, the fire is
tremendous, and we have reason to think a
decided movement is at hand. We have been
unable to procure a list Of the officers in Cara
~vajaIs army, and the services of each company
and detachment; as soon as we can do so we
will publish them-and we are happy in the
meantime to state that all who had an opportu-
nifty to participate in the.confjct have behaved
witt, the most commendable g%allantry and firm
ness. The contest has been harrassing and
exhausting beyond description, and it is to the
highest honor Of all engaged, from the gener-
al down to the humblest private, to state that
they have faithfully discharged their duty. We
learn that some pilIaging of houses has been
committed, but by whom is unknown. A con-
siderable band Of maraudirg scoundrels hang
about all such beleagured places as Matamoros,
ready to rob or murder all who fall in their
way. We are glad to learn that Caravajal has
resolved to punish, with the utmost rigor, eve
ry disreputable offender that he can detect.