Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-06-29

00
dressed to General Taylor at letter,
as follows:
Your government in an incred-
ible manner-you will permit me to
say. an e~xtrayagent one, if the
usages, or general rules, established
and received among civilized ma
lions are regarded-has not only in
Isulted, but has exasperated the Mex
lean nation. bearing its conquering
banner to the left bank of the Rio
Brave del Norte; and in this case,
by explicit and definite orders of
my government, which neither can
will, nor should receive new out
RACES, ] require you in all force, and
at the latest in the ~peremptory term
of t~wenty-four hours, to break your
camp and retire to the other bank
of the Nueces river, while our gov
iernments are regulating the pend
ing questions in delation to Texas.
$3.50
If you insist upon remaining upon
the soil of the department of Tamau-
lipas, it will clearly result that arms.
and arms alone, must decide the
question:; and in that case | advise
you that we accept the war TO
which, with SO much injustice, on
your part, you provoke us, and that,
on our part, this war shall be con-
Quoted conformably to the principles
established by the most civilized ma
itions; that is to say, that the laws
Of nations and of war shall be the
guide of my operations, trusting
that on your part the same will be
observed. With this view, l tender
you the consideration due your per-
son and respectable Office"
General Taylor's reply was short
and to the point, among others the
words:
1.-THE Instructions under which I
am acting will not permit me to re-
trograde from the position | now oc-
cupy. In view of the relations be-
tween our respective governments, |
regret the alternative which you Of
fer: but, at the same time, wish it
understood that | shall by no means
avoid such alternative, leaving the
responsibility with those who rashly
commence hostilities."
"a Mexican vessel coming off the
mouth of the Rio Grande with pro-
visions for the Mexican army, was
stopped and the provisions seized by
the revenue cutter Woodbury. and
the steamer Lawrence. General Am
pudia objected to the blockading of
the mouth of the river and the seiz-
ure of these stores, and wrote Gen
eral Taylor as follows:
"You have taken possession of
these provisions by force, and
against the will Of the proprietors
Zone a Spaniard and the other an
E~nglishman). Nothing can have
authorized you in such a course. The
commerce of nations is not suspended
or interrupted except in consequence
of a solemn declaration Of blockade,
communicated and established in the
form prescribed by international
law, etc"
A Mr.. Rodgers and his family,
wife, two daughters and a son, pre-
coded General Taylor's army on
their march southwark TO Browns
willie. AT a place called Sombrerito,
in what is now known as the San
Juan de Carricitos grant, wherein
is situated Raymondville, Mexicans
under the command of a well known
captain of the Mexican army, ap-
peared and murdered the entire
family save and except a young son
named Billy. When they arrived al
the Arroyo, Billy's throat was cut
and he was thrown for dead head
foremost into the waters of the Ar
royo. After the Mexicans had with
drawn, he craw1ed out OF the water
and made his way on foot to what
was then called Villa Nueva, the
present pumping site of the Browns
Vile Irrigation company. Here he
was taken in by a Mrs. Brennan. an
American lady living there, and she
nursed him until he recovered. At
the time that he arrived at her
house. screw-worms had appeared in
his wounded neck.
Colonel Trueman Cross, chief
quartermaster of General Taylor's
army, on April 8, 1916, twenty days
after the army had encamped oppo-
site Matamoros, started out with his
young son, a mere lad, on a short
ride. Later in the day the little boy
returned without his father. Not