Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/604

598 Pittsburgh, who had just arrived from that city. The committee formed on deck, where they welcomed the officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania Volunteers to Pennsylvania in a neat and appropriate speech, which was responded to by our Col. Francis M. Wynkoop.

In the evening, large numbers of the citizens and firemen, with their equipments on, visited our boat, and it was laughable to see the people—ladies in particular, who, thank God, always look out for the comfort of the soldiers—coming on board with baskets full of eatables, and offering them to the men, which, of course, was all kindly and thankfully received. I notice the ladies in this section of the country are more liberal and sociable, and chat more to the soldiers of the suffering and hardship they went through, than any other place we have come to. I think some of the ladies are falling in love with some of our men, and one of our men told me that he fell in love with one of the girls, and that as soon as he got home and discharged he was going to correspond with her. The treasures of the deep are not so precious as are the concealed comforts of a man's heart locked up in a woman's love. What say you, my friends?

In the evening Col. Wynkoop received a telegraphic dispatch from our other companies, stating that they had left Cincinnati in the steamboat "Jewess," and would be here (Beaver) to-night or to-morrow morning.

Saturday, July 15, 1848.—This morning we still find that the other companies have not made their appearance. We waited until 1 o'clock,, when we moved off from the shore, and left with cheers from the citizens on shore as well as from the soldiers on board. We passed Rochester, Freedom, Economy and other small villages. At all these towns the people crowded on the wharves and along the river shore, cheering and firing off cannons and other small firearms. Some of the ladies could be seen standing on house-tops waving their handkerchiefs in the air.