The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926 Page: 273
330 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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A Trip to Texas in 1828
on the same boat, through the midst of the flooded woods until we
reached the road we were to follow afterwards. We landed after
the sun had disappeared completely, and we were trying to decide
what to do, being ignorant of the whereabouts of the carriages,
when we heard someone calling from the opposite bank of the
bayou where we were. We at once made our way to the spot
where the voice was heard. We found a soldier of our escort who
told us that the carriages had not been able to pull out of the mud
holes, and that they would not arrive until next morning. Like-
wise, he told us that a little over half a league away there was a
house where the officer of the escort awaited us. Having heard
this, and that horses were available there, Messrs. Batres and
Chovell started for the house in spite of the darkness. The gen-
eral ordered his cot to be placed in the woods, and Mr. Berlandier
and I remained in the boat lying on the cargo. To the unbear-
able heat were added the continuous croaking of frogs, the dis-
cordant singing of the drunken negroes, and a numberless legion of
mosquitoes that bit us everywhere, all of which kept us from sleep-
ing a wink. When the longed-for dawn broke we saw the
terrible onslaught that these cursed insects had made upon us,
leaving us full of swollen spots, especially on the face of the gen-
eral, which was so raw that it seemed as if it had been flayed.
May 11.-With infinite difficulty we succeeded in getting the
wagons across the bayou, and we at once started for a house situ-
ated about three leagues away where the remainder of the party,
who had gone ahead, waited for us.
May 12.-Our beasts of burden not being used to this climate
suffered a great deal because of the bad forage. For this reason
the general ordered that I should go to Mr. Groce, an American,
to buy corn; and Mr. Chovell, wishing to accompany me, we
started on our mission with a corporal and four soldiers through
plains covered with grass and flowers, but at the same time so full
of water that it seemed as if we were traveling through lakes, so
deep did the horses sink in the bog. At about three in the after-
noon we arrived at Groce's place and secured the corn we were to
take back. We asked for some food, and it was given to us in the
house, consisting, as is customary among Americans, of bacon,
milk, and coffee; and when we had finished, we were taken up-
stairs to see Mr. Groce who was in bed and unable to move. Our273
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926, periodical, 1926; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117141/m1/299/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.