San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-09-27
Written for the FREE PREss.
"Reminiscences OF q Texas Yeteran--.Th
Santa Fe Expedition, etc.
BY q. ERHAED.
(Copyrighted.l
XXXIX.
KENpA1.1's NARRATIVE CONTINUED.

KENpAII's NARRATIVE CONTINUED.
Notwithstanding the horrible uproar, fl
nally fell into u half sleep. About one
o'clock in the morning I was awakened by
some disturbance among our animals, and
on going out to ascertain the cause, was
asked by Mexican if l was the captain OF
the party. AS this was about all could un-
derstand, I called Lewis, in the belief that
the fellow had something important to COM
municate, and in this / was not deceived.
He said that we were all to be taken prison.
ers the next day by party who were then
mastering in the valley, near Cuesta. He
further said that the inhabitants of Anton
Chico would fall upon us were they not fear-
full of our arms. To wind up he informed
us that we should most certainly be shot,
and for this peculiarly pleasant news he ask
ed us one dollar! Had his information ex-
tended no further than that we were to be
arrested, and had this statement been gra-
tuitous, we might have paid some heed to
his story; as it was, it sounded very much as
though he had made up what he considered
dollars worth of bad tidings, and thought
us simple enough to pay him for mis- strouble.
We were up at an early hour in the morn.
ing, and after swallowing bowl of atoh
sweetened with little miel, once more took
the road for San Miguel. Although the
inhabitants had every outward appear
ance of friendship, there was still a some
thing suspicious in their movements which
convinced us that they would have acted
otherwise had they not been constrained by
fear. To show that they were not all hon
est, some one of them stole saddle blanke
from me.
We must have been blind, indeed, to tht
evidence around US, not to see that th'
country was in state of excitement occa
stoned by the approach of the Texans-th
suspicious men who had crossed our rout'
the evening before, and then the arrest O
Rowland and his companions, all tended t.
impress us with the belief that we should a
least be questioned closely as to our busi
ness, and the objects which had induced u
to enter the country; if not detained if Ar
migo shonld oppose the advanceof the Tex
ans. But we had no thought of being dis
armed or imprisoned. 1 had no inconsider
able sum of money in gold, confined abou
my body in linen belt; this thought NOR
prudent to conceal. In a country filed, a
knew this to be, with thieves and cut
throats of the worst description, was anr
ious to conceal the fact entirely that haC
valuable property of any kind with me.
On reaching the summit of the steep hill
Overlooking Anton Chico, and emerging
from the cedars in which we were lost tn
evening before, we found level table-lanC
spread out before Us, of rare beauty. Il
the distance, to the north, that spur of th
Rocky Mountains at the foot of which lie
the rnud-buiit city of Santa Fe, was nov
visible.
We had Travelled bat three miles, afte
reaching the table land, before Mexican
who had seen rs approaching from q smal
house a little distant from the roadside
came out 10 meet IA, and without our ask
ing the question, told US that the neares
route to San Miguel would take Us direct,
through the Ettle village Of Cassta, and
no irconsiderzble pins 70 give such direc