Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-05-15

Tbi4 fosenco ny good Friend, D..
julius y. SkiiiNh. ex-ehief consul for
the United States, came 10 my hotel
and said, sShan We 70 and zee our bat
tIe-felds ~ i was only too happy, and
We started without loss Of time.
Our course lay westward along the
pasea, or drive, which was extended hg
MaximiIian, far beyond its old limits
towards the commanding ediGees which
stands % the site where the court q
Mpnfeznms is Fernted n have stood
before the sword If Corzex sIrack 1he
eFo ID B III BIUN s. - - nesEtz
tee. The hncloaaed Sin shons down
fercely warrn, ard the dust rose in
dense cclumns-suehd dust as only Mex
leo can produce.
The road lay between The two long
squeducts, which the veterans viii re-
member well, San Corfne on our right
and Belen on our LEFT. These draw
from the mountains -fhe water which
supplies the capital, and come together
near the rock OF ChsPultepec, their pom.
derous walls forming q portion Of the
formidable barrier which Gen. Scott
had 10 surmount before he completed
his conquest. On reaching fhe foot OF
the rock, the road became rough, and
we lefi the carriage, continuing our
course on foot.
We followed the route on the north
side Of the San Corme equeduct, the
arches OF which were built up by Santa
Anna to prevent our troops from avail
ing themselves Of the openings. j
looked with interest at the big wall, and
saw there, so thick that finger could
not be placed between them, the pock-
marks in the mortar produced by show
ers ofmusket balls. Suddenly we turned
q sharp sngle, the wall running direct
ly south. In front Of il, the ordinary
width of the street, stood a row Of din
nv adobe houses now devoted TO the
sale Of groceries and pulque. To the
southwark of those houses, on q gentle
slope, which commanded the road, we
sighted monument.
Directly east oi that Landmarks huge
gate broke the continuity Of the long
wall already mentioned. That wall,
too, was honeycombed with bullet dints.
Toward the centre there rose q long,
red-walled, sseep-roofed building, pre-
senting q gable east and west. Beyond
that again was another building, some
what longer and taller, red-walled also,
representing gable north and south.
MY companion pointed to the latter
building and said, "El Moiino del
ReyY
The words were, in themselves,
history. There, however" said he,
sis where The battle began, and he in
dicated some low, white-walled build
ings, surrounded by dun ramparts OF
adobe, situated about aquarter Of a mile
westward from where we stood. Be-
yond these again lay a couple Of haci-
endos. A few bayonets glttered on
the brown ramparts. "That," said the
doctor, sis the Casa Mata. Shall We
60 there"
Iassented, and few minutes walk
over the hard slope brought ns to gate,
W here q Mexican soldier, in sandals,
challenged Us. Children screamed,
dogs barked and man in uniform, des-
li.ute OF q bat, advanced 10 meet U.s.
A boy ran after him with bis kept and
an umbrella. The man without hat
was the ccmmandante Of the fort.
Happily DR.. Skilton speaks Spanish
like q native, and the Mexican officer
admitted US at once. The guard pre-
sented arms as we entered, being evi-
IDENTIFY struck by opr martial appear
ance, for the doctor wore Q stovepipe
hat. Inside the casa the ramparts rose
only couple Of feet above the court
ward. We looked over the edge and
saw q moat l6 feet wide by ~ feet
deep. presenting a strong obstruction to
any force that might attack the place.
The line Of rampant was quite extensive
and capable OF accommodating large
force. Beyond lay country sloping
from the mountains 50 gently that 1t ap-
peared 10 be plain. | looked with
particular interest toward the south. be-
cause I knew there. only afew hundred
yards distant, Duncan's battery, Of Gen.
Worth's division, opened FIRE against
the Casa on the morning Of September
8, lS47; an hour before daylight.
Col. Kelly, Of New Orleans, who
participated in the engagement, told me
all about il three weeks ago In st.
Charles hotel. His description was so
Vivid that / had no difficulty in recog-
mixing the different positions. Gen.
Scott, as history tells, did not expect
much. more than 'san affair" at the Cash
aata and Molino del Rey. He did not.
IL would appear, sufficiently estimate
the importance Of the position. the Mo-
limo being, in reality. an outwurk OF
Chapultepec, which. IS the key Of the
capital to an army advancing from The
west. During the night Gen. Worth
received information that Santa Anna,
taking advantage Of the over-conEdence
Of Gen. Scott. was pouring troops from
the city into the defences Of Molino del
Rey and lis surroundings. This fact the
soldiers Of the devoted division were
mot aware Of. They, too. expected only
n sharp skirmish. Gen. Scott wished
10 capture the Molino in order that the
moulds used for casting cannon by the
|Mexicans might be captured and des.
troyed. Worth was Of opinion that 1t
would be better to make one meal Of
the whole thing and assault ChaPnlte-
pee ut the same time. This the COM
mander-in.chief would not listen to and
the attack was ordered with Worthis