San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-11-27
HEROES OF sUENA VISTA.
Their Sadly Neglected Burial Ground
Near SaItiIlO, Mexico.

Near SaItiIlo, Mexico.
The hardy young Americans who left
their comfortable homes in the United
States more than half a century ago
and came to Mexico with Gen. Taylor to
fight against the people of this country
probably did not think that should they
fall in battle their bones would be left
to crumble to dust in an unmarked
spot in this distant land But to-day the
dead heroes of the Buena Vista battle
field lie under but few feet of earth
in neglected place just outside this
city. AT the time of their hasty burial
their devoted comrades evidently sought
to make the spot somewhat sacred by
constructing an adobe wall around it.
This wall is fast succumbing to the raw
ages of time, and in places it is conn
pletely gone. Visited the burial ground
of the dead heroes recently. A tram
car took me as far as the pretty San
Francisco plaza and from there walked
through dirty, narrow street until ]
came to an arroyo, on the other side of
which the faint marks indicating the
cemetery may be seen. Had not re-
ceiyed careful directions would have
passed the place unnoticed. On the side
toward the city the wall is entirely gone
for the most part, and much travelled
wagon road passes through the place
and over the sacred dead. The place
which had once been inclosed by the
adobe wall embraces probably two
acres, but investigation shows that
many were buried west of the wall and
up close to the arroyo.
Some time ago the report was pub.
lished in the press of the United States
that the bones of the buried soldiers
were protruding from the ground, and
that the place presented a sickenins
spectacle. This report was not strictly
true, but it is undoubtedly a fact that
parts of many of the skeletons have
come to the surface. The ground Is
strewn with fragments of bones, and il
is evident that they come from the men
who were buried there. None of these
bones is large, as the heavy traffic
through the place has broken them mp
into small pieces. If any skulls came to
the surface they were no doubt quickly
taken by the Mexican children who were
about, and made innocent playthings
of. Had they ever appeared they GER
tainly would not have remained intact
on the surface long. In the arroyo
through which floods of water pass al
times and wash one side of the burial
ground, there are also many pieces OF
bones among the rocks, and among
them saw an unbroken rib bone which
looked like that of human.
There is not spear of grass nor a
sign of vegetable life within the inclo
sure. 1t is perfectly barren. The place
should certainly receive attention at the
hands of the United States congress
even if nothing more is done than to
take such steps as will stay the ravages
of time and weather on the treacherous
soil, and permit the bodies lying there
to rest undisturbed. 1t could easily be
made an attractive and even beautiful
place by laying it out in walks and
planting trees and plants. The rayages
of the floods in the arroyo on the soil of
the cemetery could be checked by the
building of substantial wall along that
side. In addition to the several hun
dred who were killed in battle, all of the
soldiers who died in the hospital here
were also buried there.---St. Louis Globe
Democrat.