The minor part I bore in these exciting times has been a thrice-told tale at my fireside; and, believing the unfamiliar pictures of life, varied incidents, and historical facts worthy of record, I have written why, and how, we ran “from flag to flag.”
CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
|---|---|---|
| [I.] | A Plantation Home in Louisiana | [7] |
| [II.] | The New Flag—Campaign Sewing Society—Capture of New Orleans | [10] |
| [III.] | A Crevasse—Occupation of Baton Rouge—Defenseless Citizens | [19] |
| [IV.] | Willy’s Errand—Breckinridge’s Message—The Raw Recruits | [27] |
| [V.] | The Battle—Rush to Arlington—Disaster—Departure of our Guests | [33] |
| [VI.] | Restoring Order—Scenes of Vandalism—Preparations for Departure | [42] |
| [VII.] | Second Visit of the Enemy—Midnight Flight—Farewell to Arlington | [53] |
| [VIII.] | “Pickets down dar!”—Hard Journeying—Willy’s Fate—Charlotte | [60] |
| [IX.] | Camping by Night—Forlorn Women—Beaumont—Houston | [66] |
| [X.] | Traveling through Texas—Nearing the Rio Grande | [76] |
| [XI.] | Laredo—Mexican Escort to Piedras Negras—The Custom-House—A Norther—San Antonio—Scarcity of Necessaries | [83] |
| [XII.] | Final Trip to the Rio Grande—Matamoras occupied by the French—Waiting!—Martha before the Alcalde—War over! | [104] |
| [XIII.] | Havana—Hôtel Cubano—Our Home on the Cerro | [125] |
| [XIV.] | Street Sights and Sounds—Evenings in the City—Shops and Shopping—Beggars—Vaccination | [134] |
| [XV.] | A Polyglot—Zell—Beatriz’s School—Ignorant Guajiros | [142] |
| [XVI.] | Plantation purchased—Life at “Desengaño”—At Work Once More | [149] |
| [XVII.] | Rainy Season—Cultivating Abandoned Fields—Don Fulgencio’s Mode—First Summer at Desengaño—Books | [156] |
| [XVIII.] | More Laborers required—Henry shoots Wild Dogs—Military Rule—Extortion | [165] |
| [XIX.] | New Chinese—Coolie Rebellion—Zell’s Bravery—Chinese Labor Contract—Vicious Insects | [170] |
| [XX.] | Ciriaco—Plantation Garden—Tasajo—Negro Music and Dancing | [183] |
| [XXI.] | The Good Old Priest—Religion and Superstition of the Negroes—The Señora’s Ghost | [190] |
| [XXII.] | Cattle—Butter and Churn—Overrun with Cats—Curious Volcano—Maja and Jutia | [197] |
| [XXIII.] | Harassed by the Military—Lawless Situation—Men driven to the Mountains—Restricted Walks | [205] |
| [XXIV.] | Murderous Assault—Complaints to the Captain-General—Carlos Garcia | [210] |
| [XXV.] | “Behold a Man full of Leprosy!” | [222] |
| [XXVI.] | Sugar-making—Dinner at “Josefita’s”—Domestic Service—Poor Don Pedro | [227] |
| [XXVII.] | A Paradise—A Guajiro Ball—Our Neighbors—A Day with the Marquis | [234] |
| [XXVIII.] | Fertility of the Soil—Work during Sugar-making—Fire in the Cane-Fields | [253] |
| [XXIX.] | Don Ruano’s Coffee Estate—Coffee-Mills and Coffee-Pots—Waste of Fruits—Don Ruano and his Mother | [263] |
| [XXX.] | House-building Ants—Ellie’s Young Owls—Henry says “Adios” | [270] |
| [XXXI.] | Beautiful October—View from the Mountain—Terrible Temporal—Devastation | [277] |
| [XXXII.] | Dullness—Isolation—Weariness—Cuba, farewell! | [288] |
FROM FLAG TO FLAG.
CHAPTER I.
A PLANTATION HOME IN LOUISIANA.
A spacious mansion, with deep verandas supported by fluted columns, so closely following the architectural features of the historic Lee homestead on the Potomac as to give the name of “Arlington” to the plantation, was the home of my early married life.
The house faced a broad lawn, dotted here and there with live-oak and pecan trees. An avenue, over which the “pride-of-China” trees cast their shade, and beside which the Cherokee rose grew with great luxuriance, led to the river-bank, and commanded a magnificent view of the Mississippi for many miles above and below.
To this house, with all its attractive appointments, I came a bride, and from this home I took a hurried departure a decade later. Time has not dimmed the memory of those years; on the contrary, it has added to their radiant brightness.