Page:California Historical Society Quarterly vol 22.djvu/52

 as the Forces are withdrawn, which they must be from the nature of things in a short time, being composed chiefly of sailors & Volunteers for 3 & six months— there being only one company of regular troops in the concern— The people will rise again, and we will have the same scenes enacted over again, it is reported however that Cook is at Warners pass— here we have some six hundred men who can be kept in service a short time then the New york regiment may arrive in the mean time. Two of our vaccaroes got into a fight today— one attempted to run the other through, he with the lance, got a pistol shot in the breast, right side, between the 7*^ & 8*^ ribs, the ball ranging downwards and backwards & came out about 3 Yz inches to the right of the spine— When the fellow came in [the] hospital his pulse was ex- tremely feeble— & perspiration on his forehead, he was in a very depressed state, simple dressing applied to the wound with a roller & a little Brandy & Tinct opii^^^ given, about 4 P M he had a passage from his bowels and passed about a quart of blood— at ten P.M, I examined him his pulse was good- breathing easy, and his surface [Paper torn.] the rest of the wounded are doing well, suppuration in most of the wounds has been established and in one or two the sloughs begin to come away and granulations to form.

As our fighting is all over it is well as one thinks of the scenes previous to the fight and during the action to note them down. On the morning of the 8^^ I accompanied the old Gen^ around to every division of the force on the field. The old fellow I believe had been informed that we would certainly have a fight that day. He appeared in fine spirits, and was particularly gay- he made a short speech to each corps as he passed, he did not fail to remind the men of the day, that it was the 8^^^ of Jany— and that we had a right on that day to flog any thing that we might come in contact with— that after the fight that the Jack tars would have a good long yarn to spin to each other on the subject— and that then we would have a good fat bullock for our supper. Jack got the fight, as promised, licked the enemy— had an oppor- tunity of spining a short yarn by the camp fire— but swore that the beef was not what had been promised— our Commissary seemed to have a desire to reserve the fat ones for some special purpose— We heard today that Gen^ [Zachary] Taylor was at [blank] & that Santa Anna was at San Luis Potosi determined to give battle, that the Americans had taken Tampico, and that a large reinforcement was marching by that place to join Gen^ Taylor— that our army was exclusive of the reinforcement some 25,000 or 30,000 men; and that the Mexican force was about the same. The Californians had hung out in hopes of obtaining aid from Mexico, but when they were told of what had taken place they gave up all ideas of assistance— They declared that they had but two men killed— & 1 2 wounded, and 1 8 horses killed in the two actions, and what is singular, all of their wounded are officers. This report is not believed by us, they treat their soldiery with great brutallity— and hide them away when wounded— this we know, as we found six wounded men