Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/447

Rh To-night I stayed in the city with Capt. Irwin's company.

Thursday, January 6. 1848.—This morning I was awakened by a great ringing of bells, and on inquiring of the cause of the Mexicans, I found out it was All Feasts' Day. So after breakfast I visited the Catholic Cathedral here. I saw the whole inside of the building, was strung with beautiful pictures and other costly paintings. The ceremonies were highly imposing. After spending several hours here, I went out and saw in the plaza soldiers ready to go on a march. I made inquiry and was informed that it was Gen. George Cadwalader's brigade, getting ready to march to Lerma and Toluca, the seat of the state capital, which is about forty miles from this city. I believe it is in direction of Pachuca, already occupied by the Ninth Infantry. They left with cheers for Lerma and Toluca. After I had seen them off I started for San Angel, and on the road I met a great number of leperos, ladrones and greasers, but they did not attempt to attack me for I had one of those shooting irons about me, exposed, which they don't like. However, I had not arrived at our quarters more than twenty minutes before one of the Texan Rangers came in, full gallop, reporting that the road above was full of guerillas, and had killed several of our men, who were coming from the city to San Angel. Then you should seen the excitement among the soldiers. A party armed themselves with all the deadly weapons known in the art of warfare, went in pursuit of the guerillas, and they were not long gone before they started up a party of ladrones from a polque bush, but they would show no fight, and retreated; but they had not gone far before the Texan Rangers, under Lieut. E M. Daggett, overtook them, and by the aid of their six-shooters laid some of the guerillas out. They kept up the chase until they had at least twenty laid dead and wounded on the road, and God only knows where it would have stopped at had not the dark evening stopped the chase. In this fight one of Co. B, First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, named John Douty, was killed, and two other soldiers severely wounded, not expected to live, and thus