Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/22

16 Eurick, Thomas Zeigle, Samuel Stair, Robert Patterson, William Patterson.

Wednesday, December 16, 1846.—This morning after we had something to eat, Bymaster, Welsh, Newman and myself promenaded through the principal streets of Pittsburgh, also to the packet boat landing, here we find that nearly all the soldiers belonging to the First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers had arrived, which makes the streets full of soldiers. The ladies, and particularly the factory girls, seemed to be very sociable and talkative. They swell around the soldiers as if they were in love with them; they talk in a pitiful tone of the dangerous risk in time of war, and particularly in a foreign land to fight. About noon we returned to our quarters, when we were told to form into line, after which we marched to the American Hotel, where we partook of a splendid dinner served up at the company's expense, and after doing justice to the good eatables on the table we departed in broken ranks highly pleased with the food and also delighted with the proceedings. In the afternoon we walked along the wharves on the Ohio river side and found it to be one of the greatest business marts that I ever saw, it beats Philadelphia. Steamboats and canal boats were all busy in loading and reloading merchandise for the Western and Eastern markets.

In the evening a party of us soldiers visited the theatre, which was well attended by citizens and soldiers; when the play was about half over in rushes a party of rowdies and half drunken soldiers, going by the name of "Killers," of the district of Moyamensing, Philadelphia, belonging to Co. D, First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, rushing in past the doorkeeper, entered the theatre, whooping and yelling like so many wild Indians. The police attempted to put them out when they cried out "Go in, Killers!" "Go in, Killers!" which caused a regular row, fighting and knocking one another down; finally quiet was again restored and the play went on without any more disturbance. In this row one of our members, named William