The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-01

were marched off to the interior of Mex
i leo.
As we approached the city of Matamo-
| ros'' says Wallace. "a great crowd of
men, women and children came out to
| meet us. They were so anxious to get a
| look al the wild Texans that they couldn't
await our arrival. Some were in vehicles
or various kinds, some mounted on mus
| Tang ponies and not a few mounted on
| the backs of burros. Escorted in this
way, we entered the city amid the firing
! OF muskets, the waving of flags and the
| changing of bells, and, after parading sew
eral times around the public square. we
We're marched off to our quarters I'm the
| outskirts of the city. One morning a little
| boW-egged chap dressed in uniform. came
INTO our quarters and made US a regular
set speech, which was interpreted to us
| by an attendant. He told us among 9TH
er things, what great, magnanmous
people the Mexcans were; that but for
this fact We would have been taken out
and executed as soon as captured; and he
wound up by saying that if the United
states did not cease giving aid and COM
| fort to the rebels of Texas, Mexico would
! collect great and irresistible army that
| would march from one victory to another
| until the Mexican flag would float proudly
! from the dome of the capital at Wash
| ington city. Here some fellow in the
| crowd sang out: ooh, spare the women
| and children" and another, "You had
better whip Texas first before you tackle
! Uncle Sam" But the little speechmaker
7 paid no attention to these remarks.
At Salado The Texans attacked their
captors, killed ten of them and captured
all their guns, ninety-seven horses and
mules and large amount of baggage and
| equipments. They Immediately started
for the Rio Grande, and the first day sew
mil nc alod ".
the little band left the main road and
wandered off into the mountains of the
state of Coahula. Owing to the lack of
water, all the horses and mules had to be
Killed. The meat of the animals was eat
en- by the men. They lost their way in
the mountains and for seven days they
had not drop of water to drink.
| "Oh, those wretched days and nightsl"
SAYS Wallace, in describing his experience.
After to.ing all day over broken, barren
ana rugged mountains suffering the ago
MES of torturing thirst, we lay down at
night upon our rocky beds to dream of
! bubblng springs and ripping brooks
which always disappeared when we were
in the act of quaffing their sparkling wa
ters. One spring in particular haunted
| me in my dreams-one that | had fire.
quented in my boyhood DAYS in one of
the gorges of the Blue Ridge in Virginia
1t poured out from the mouth of a small
cave al the foot of high bluff in a bold
| flYulet larger than my arm which ran
off through an old moss trough six or
eight feet long to the edge of a ravine.
down which il battered and splashed with
| a musical sound very agreeable to the ear
| Oh the passer-by on a hot summers day.
| During my slumbers If I attempted TO
take drink at that spring once l tried It
a thousand times, but something ALWAYS
| prevented me just as / was on the eve of
placing my parched lips to the NOISY
spout.
"On the seventh day that we were with
out water some of our men became crazed.
and they walked along and sang like
drunken persons. When night came on we
did not stop, but containued to reel along
! through the mountains About 10 o'cloc5
mat night we were taken prisoners bv A
! large force of Mexican soldiers. We were
/ Incapable of making any resistance. The
MeXlcans gave US water and we were
grateful TO them for capturing us.
when we reached Salado we were once
| more securely fastened up in the same cor
! raj we had occupied before But a few
moments had elapsed before an officer.
! accompanied by an interpreter entered tbe
! corral and proceeded to read to us from a
! paper he held in his hand a mandate
| from the supreme government of Mexico
ordering the instant execution of every
tenth man. It was determined that the
! seventeen men to be executed should he
/ selected by lottery, and i'm little time a
| squad or Mexican officers came into the
| corral, preceded by a soldier bearing an
earthen vessel which he placed upon a
low stone wall bordering the further side
| of the corral This vessel was intended 10
| hold number of white and black beans.
! corresponding to the number of men and
officers in our command. The Mexican Of
! hcers stationed themselves near the earth
/ en- pot to overlook the lottery and see that
1 every one had a fair chance for his life.
| one OF them had proceeded to count out
| 80 many white beans, which he poured
into the vessel, and then he dropped in the
seventeen fatal black beans on top of
! them, covering the whole with a thick
| cloth. We were then formed into line and
! drawn up In front of the low wall on
which the earthen pot had been placed
our commissioned officers were ordered
| to draw first. Capt. Cameron stepped for
ward and drew out a white bean. He had
! observed when the Mexican officer put the
! beans in the pot that he poured the white
| in first and the black beans on top of
! them, and then set il down without shak-
| ing possibly with the intention of forcing
| as large number as possible of the black
| beans upon our commissioned officers who
were TO have the first drawing. When he
| returned to his place In line he whispered
to those nearest him, Dip deep boys
and by following his advice all of the Off
GERS drew white beans except Capt. East
| land.
! After the officers had all drawn the