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TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
the place & was actually within three leagues of it before any 1rnspicion was even entertained that such an expedition was contemplated- Bis force was 1000 regulars and about 600 Presidia] troops- We were detained prisoners five days in San Antonio, and then ordered to march under a guard of 150 or 160 men for the Rio Hrande- Some of us by special favor permitted to ride- others from inability to walk were also allowwd horses if they could get them - In 8 days .we reached the Rio Grande, a bold, rapid river two hundred & fifty or three hundred yards wide, which was crossed i11 two canoes- The day was pretty much spent in getting over & we ~pent the night on the opposite bank- Here we learned the death of John R. Cunningham who had been compelled to lE>ave Bexar sick with congestive fever & had been left behind us on the third day in one of the carts which conveyed the Mexicans wonnde<l in our fight, who numbered about thirty- Cunnin~ham died from want of atten- tion and were there not so many stain!" upon the Mexican character for other & more enormous atrodties, it would be recorrled & remem- bered to their eternal disgrace as a nation- We had been promised by General Woll that on our arrival at the Rio Grande, we would be released by his Superior Genl. Reyes- We found ourselves deceived & aft.er a detention of seven davs at San Fernando were ordered to march for the city of Mexicq - Our escort consisted of about 80 men, all mounted, who rode on each side of us while we occupied the road- Onr journeys were long or short each day to suit the country thro' which we travelled, and some days we were marched from daylight until near night, making 13 & H Leagues- The country thro' which we travelled from San Fernando to Monclova was generally poor, broken, sometimes mountainous- Here & there rich bodies of land susceptible of irrigation by streams from the mountains & producing corn &c very abundantly- No tim- ber except musquit & chaperal thickets- From Monclova to Saltillo the character of the country was very similar- except the first two days travel which was thro' a wretched barren country in which no body lived & none could live, being destitute of water- Saltillo the Capital of Coahuila is a city of 18 or 20,000 inhabitants, built after the Spanish style & here we were detained for 16 days closely housed uo & never permitted to leave the Cuartel- From Saltillo to the Mathuala we passed thro' a poor and almost unpopu- lated country- from Matahuala to San Luis Potosi the country is more thickly populated and in many plaees there are handsome estat.es- San Luis Potosi is a handsome city of 40,000 inhabitants-We were paraded through every public street in it as a show, followed by an immense crowd of people chiefly of the lower classes- We remained here two days & were visited hv the Governor and several persons of dis- tinction in that country, besideA manv foreiu-ners- From San Luis to the city of Mexieo is 300 miles-the road passes many splendid estates the entire grounds of some of which are en- closed by stone walls beautifully constructed- One enclosure was said to contain 36 square miles- On arriving within twenty leag-nes of the City we were detainf'd a wePk in misPrable prison at a place called Tula, wlwre we were informed that our clestination wns not ihe
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