Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/382

376 Wednesday, October 27, 1847.—This morning we left Napaluco at daylight, and took the back or ciego ruta (blind road, so-called), and marched on until we came to the hacienda San de Esora, where we dug up the remains of Capt. Samuel H. Walker, who was killed at the battle of Huamantla, near this spot. He was wrapped up in fine linen and placed in a neat coffin which we brought with us from Puebla, and then placed into a wagon and brought him with us to Vera Cruz, from thereto be shipped to Baltimore, Maryland, his native home.

When the officer took the measurement of Capt. Walker's body when first buried, he took it too small, and the carpenter made a botch of it; whereupon, Lieut. Clinton, of Co. H, First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, off with his uniform coat, rolled up his sleeves and went to work and made him, Capt. Walker, a coffin himself. Lieut. Clinton is a carpenter, and I am informed hails from Southwark, Philadelphia, Pa. Lieut. Breeze, of the same company, who is a blacksmith, entered a smithy and made nails for the coffin, and in about a half hour, the whole coffin was completed, and well finished. So much for Philadelphia's mechanics and Pennsylvania's volunteers.

We then started and passed a small town named Huape Escla, where we laid in a fresh supply of water, after which we again started, and went into camp at a villa of considerable size named Ve Raiguas.

On our march to-day, we saw some two hundred guerillas wayoff to our left, at a small town, but they kept their distance, and we did not trouble them.

Capt. Small and one of our men named Joseph Funston, had words about riding in the company's wagon; it seems from what I can learn, that private Funston rode in the wagon most all the way down, and kept those who were really sick from riding, whereupon, Gapt. Small remonstrated against it, and told Funston to get out of the wagon and let those who were sick ride, as he, Funston, was as able to walk as any man in his company; at this, Funston called Capt. Small a