Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/44

38 and a small deer. The Frenchman pleaded for his fowl and particularly his pet deer, but it was no use, they brought the plunder to camp and it wasn't long afterwards before they had their stolen game killed and on the fire cooking.

In the evening the Frenchman came to camp and asked for his pet deer, and when he was told it was killed and some of it on the fire, he shed tears and went to Capt. Hill and he told the Captain that he would go to the city to-morrow and get out a warrant for the whole of Co. D, for stealing and killing his poultry.

Sunday, January 10, 1847.—This morning there is a great change in the weather; instead of a scorching sun, it sprung up with a northern wind, and commenced to snow and rain all the morning, forming a pond of water and ice around our encampment, and running into our tents, the ground being so low that nearly all our quarters were overflowed with water. So we private soldiers were now in a bad fix. Some I noticed were taking their blankets and knapsacks to hunt more comfortable quarters; they mostly all hunted up the slave's huts, and slept there among the slaves, and were cursing the day that they went soldiering. Our mess succeeded after we arrived here to get some boards, and made a floor about six inches from the ground, so we were all right as far as the wet ground was concerned, but our roof, I must say, leaked at several places.

The Frenchman's warrant for the arrest of the whole of Co. D has not yet arrived, and I have been informed that the officers and our Quartermaster will pay the Frenchman a reasonable price for his lost fowl and pet deer; and gave him (the Frenchman) notice that in case any soldiers came around his place again to defend his flock, even though he would have to shoot several men for it.

Midnight. It is still raining and snowing, it is awful cold, can't sleep at all. Oh! we wish it was in the morning so we could get around our camp-fire.