The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1884-11-07


June 10, 1871. numbering 800 men. rank
and file. under command of Breyet Brig.
Gen. Hugh Mcleod and Col. VIM. G..
Cook
The expedition was composed of five
companies, commanded by the following
Captains. to-Nit Capts. Lewis, Strain,
Caldwell. alias ''Old Pcinte'' Houghton
and Sutton. The intent Of the expedition
was to take possession of Santa Fe. claim
ed by the late Republic of Texas, but
unfortunately we failed to accomplish our
undertaking through the treachery of
Capt. Lewis, who actually sold us to Gov.
Armejo. as we understood, for $4,000.
| The Lone Star" was not surrendered
at Antoine Chicot, but at Lagua Colorado
about sixty miles south OF Santa Fe, about
the lst of September, 1871 Our provisions
gave out and we had nothing TO eat, only
poor old horse occasionally. The In
dians having driven off the buffalo, ante
| lope aud deer. we coui.i sill 40 game.
and the officers in command held con-
/
send ahead 10 Santa Fe one hundred vol
unteers from the command of Col. w. G..
Cook-Maior Tom Howard, George VII
| kins Kendall and Frank Coombs, son #
Gen. Leslie Coombs, also Capt. Lewis.
accompanied the adyance-for the pur-
pose of procuring provisions and finding
out how the Mexicans stood in relation to
us, and return.
| We waited three weeks or more for the
return of Col. Cook aud men, and not
hearing of them or their fate, Gen. Me-
Leod came to the conclusion of taking up
march and going on to Santa Fe. Two
or three days after Gen. Mcleod resumed
march we struck camp at lake, which
was recollected by one Of our guides as
Iaguna Colorado, the first time since we
had left Austin that we knew where we
We're. Here we camped, and sometime
during the night We found cut from the
.'Sentinela Alerta'' of the Mexican SEN
tinels that body of them were near us,
and on the following morning the first
we saw was Gov. Arnejo, Col. Delmasia
and Capt. Salczos, accompanied f,y Capt.
Lewis, who met our officers, and after
short conversation, through the influence
of Capt. Lewis, the Judas, Gen. Mcleod
surrendered his command as prisoners of
war.
We were then told that Col. W. G..
Cooks command had surrendered as
prisoners of war at 1intone Chicot. None
of them did we ever get to see until we
arrived at the city of Mexico. We were
afterward placed in charge of Col. Dali
masia, and in consequence Of his cruelty
to us while under his charge we dubbed
him '.IIell Smasher." Whenever one Of
Us would sit down for moment to rest
he was sure to be shot. and ''Hell Smash
err would have his ears cut off and
strung on string, for the purpose, he
said, of showing that. none of the Texans
had escaped him. What we suffered
from hunger and fatigue after we were
captured by the Mexicans is really hard
to believe. A small ear Of corn was u
luxury, and foot or two of lariat, raw
hide rope, was considered a. dainty bit.
We camped one night at Santa Cruz de
Rosaies, and early next morning we saw
a Mexican senorita, who appeared to be
enciente, and who from time to time
would make an attempt to get into our
lines rs we marched along the road with
II line of infantry and dragons ON each
side Of the road. Whenever the maiden
would attempt to get into our lines some
heartless Mexican wretch would hit her
with his sword-but their treatment to
her did not make her swerve in her Ge-
termination, for she followed us at least
three miles, and finally succeeded in get
ting into our ranks, when she united
belt or two and was delivered of at least
one bushel of Tartiltias, which we seized
upon and ate. The maiden retirel and
sat down upon a rock, seemingly perfect
ly satisfied, and our boys shouted ssgra-
cios'' to her for more than two hours. /
have never forgotten her.
4 The star on the breech Of this gun /
saw engraved myself; it was done at
Walnut Springs, about mile or so above
Austin, under large oak tree. 1t has
been so lorg ago that I have forgotten
who engraved the star. but am positive
it was either George w. Grover or an
Egyptian, who called himself Hudson. =
The night that Gen. Mcleod surren-
dered slept under the s'Lone Star and
/ am confident that was the last man of
} the Santa Fe Expedition who placed his
hands on the gun. Since then / have
never seen the "Lone STAR
hope Uncle Sam will build a monu-
ment and place the s'Lone Star npon its
top, as a memento Of the suffering of the
men of the ili-fated Santa Fe Expedition.
When we all met at Vera Cruz, Aug. /,
|, 1912, out of $40 men only IG5 could be
accounted for, and to-day do not sup
, pose ten of tine real, simon pure members