Massacre on the Nueces River; story of a Civil War tragedy. Page: 25 of 39
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22 THE MASSACRE ON THE NUECES RIVER
by that scoundrel Luck and the rest of the party. When it did so
dawn at last, many of the men threw themselves on the ground,
and declared they could, and would not, go any further. We
certainly were in a dreadful plight, but what was ours compared
with that of the unfortunate men in the litters? It was plain
we were sold, and would have to carry our burdens through
that dreadful heat, perhaps fifteen, perhaps twenty miles, with-
out a drop of water. But for the sake of our suffering comrades
we must go through with it-if we could. The doctor was with
us and behaved like a man, taking his turn at the litters, and
backed by some of us, at last got the men going again.
Oge and three others of us picked up our litter and started,
and the rest soon followed, the doctor bringing up the rear, to
see that none lingered behind. To add to our troubles, and
they were bad enough, we were in dangerous Indian country,
and had no arms with us, not even a six-shooter!
Our own poor comrade Woodward was past utterance, for
he was at the point of death, but the groans of some of the
other poor creatures were piteous to hear.
To cut a long story short we staggered on till near sundown,
when we came out on a high rolling prairie on which we saw
traces of wheel-marks-joyful signs indeed that we really were
on the road to the fort, for till then we had not been sure we
were right. On the prairie were plenty of nopals, or prickly
pears, with ripe fruit on them; and how good the juice was to
. our cracked lips and parched throats! Just after sunset, pain-
fully stumbling along with our weary burdens, we saw two
wagons and two ambulances coming over the prairie. Was ever
sight more delightful to longing eyes? In one of the former
was a plentiful supply of water, and I don't think any I ever
tasted seemed so good as that.
Soon we had the wounded stowed in the ambulances and
ourselves, as best we could, in the wagons. We were five miles
from the fort, and had come, they told us, a good thirty miles
from the scene of the fight. It was the most awful journey I ever
made. My shoulders were cut to the bone by the litter-poles, my
feet were bleeding from the sharp rocks, and I was utterly broken
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Williams, R. H. & Sansom, John W. Massacre on the Nueces River; story of a Civil War tragedy., book, Date Unknown; Grand Prairie, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2409/m1/25/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .