San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-02-15
Written for the FREn PREss,
"reminiscences OF Texas Veteran.-.The
Santa Fe Expedition, etc.
ny O. ERHARn.
fCopyrighted.l /
YI.

Now the reader may ask how we managed
to cook without firewood? At dusk when we
reached our next camp, each man took hia
blanket, hunted and gathered up buffalo
chips (that is dried buffalo mapurel, carried
il to camps, then square hole was dug in
the ground, the dry manure ignited, which
made glimmering coal fire, similar TO peat,
the camp kettle was placed over it, and in
probably less than an hour orr scanty ration
of beef was 'done bailed"
The smoke of said buffalo chips would
have been enough to drive mosquitoes and
all other insects away, but it was even too
dry and arid country for them to live in.
Having had many of our horses as pre-
viously mentioned, stampeded, we had on
ly enough to furnish our 100 men advance
guard with horses; after that 1 think there
were not Ii horses left to our command.
Therefore most of our men had to foot it.
carrying their muskets and ammunition on
their shoulders and stand guard after night
which was generally every other night, for
ii took many men to guard camps and our
beef cattle and work oxen.
We had only two meals dav, consisting
of poor beef slaughtered, or work OK too
poor to draw even the light load of our
wagons. for every thing which could be dis
pensed with, even tents, were abandoned
and burnt up long ago, to save freight
and surplus wagons were abandoned.
Now imagine poor work OK, SO broke
down that he had to be slaughtered, for he
was too weak to travel any moro; there was
not pound of tallow in the whole animal
when killed; but on such and nearly equally
US poor beef cattle we had to subsist.
After they were slaughtered, next morn
ing nothing was left but horns, hoofs and
the larger bones, our men even ate the hide
broiled on Goals or boiled all night. We
had not even salt or pepper to season with.
I remember well, that tried beef hide
thrown on Goals to roast it ,as we'll as to get
clear of the hair when done it was as
tough as sole leather, and from youth UP.
not having very sound teeth, the longer
chewed on it the tougher it got; it began
to swell and increase in size, bat could
not bite morsels of it, it would not crack
or break like hard crnst of bread.
/ tried beef hide boiled all night previous-
ly having the hair singed off, next morning
it was like soft glue, and having no season.
ing to it, hungry though 1 was, that dish
was too unpalatable for me to eat.
Suppose it had raiRed while We passed the
Plain, we would have been compelled To
eat our poor beef raw. But Gu our whole
trip we had only one heavy rain, that vas
some days before we reached camp Essolu-
ton. From thence through our whole trip
through Mexico, our blankets meyer were
wet only one night in New Mexico, we had
a slight snev on us. OF course i must
rain there sometimes, and then perhaps in
torrents, for few and far between as the
rivers ard creeks are in Mexico, ye. they
would dsy up If it did not rain at Oestain
periods.
All farms in Mexico are only hit-bls by
irrigation, and with all their primat.ys sgri-
cultural irnplem -n.s, ]; is really wonder
what crops they can produce in these irrigst-
ed valleys; Of from them, the eerntry is
ttsrile.
go