In a few weeks the writer's family came to him in Matamoras; five hundred miles they came alone, with a lady traveling companion, through a wilderness country, camping out fourteen nights, the Spanish Coyotas making night hideous with their Scottish bagpipe combination of screeching, howling sounds. The country covered much of the way with Mesquite and Cactus "Chaparral." Very little water, except in puddles by the wayside. Our youngest child, eighteen months old, sickened from the water, and nearly died at Matamoras. The overdone condition of Mrs. N., from personal exposure, mental anxiety and fear, she has never fully recovered from. We are vain enough to think that few women could have shown equal heroism under similar experience, and lived through it. Doubtless the experience of previous years in the Methodist Itinerancy had prepared her for such emergencies. We know not, indeed, what we can endure until put to the test.
Only two weeks before making this journey, the family had been flooded out in San Antonio by the sudden rise in the San Antonio River, eighteen feet in two hours. They barely escaped with their lives, losing nearly everything in the line, of household goods—carpets, five feather beds, mattresses, a lot of elegant parlor books, and among them an elegant gold-clasp family Bible, containing the family record, worth thirty dollars and otherwise valuable as a gift of former years. The flood was caused by a sudden discharge of an immense water-spout from the heavens, a few miles above the city in the San Antonio Valley. The water-spout had come from the Gulf, a hundred and fifty miles or more, and discharged itself in the valley, throwing the river over its banks. The writer was in Mexico at the time.
CHAPTER XIX.
LEE'S SURRENDER.—EFFECT UPON TEXAS SOLDIERS.—WRITER'S RETURN TO TEXAS.
We were in Matamoras when Lee's surrender took place in Virginia. As soon as the news reached Texas the Confederate soldiers began to desert in squads—the desperado class—organize into predatory bands, roam at will over the country, and rob everybody and everything they could lay hands on. Took special delight in robbing Northern merchants in the country. They broke into the writer's store at B——m one night, and carried off three to four thousand dollars' worth of goods; and that was the end of it. There was no chance for legal redress, for the condition of the country was that of lawless disorder. It was not certainly known who the robbing parties were, but if it had been, it would have been considered guilty knowledge by them, and probably cost one his life.
On the 15th day of June, 1865, we took passage with our family, on a Government transport, and came to New Orleans. Thence on July 1st we secured passage by the "Star Line" of steamers, for the family, to New York, and in a few days returned ourself to Texas, to gather up, as far as possible, the fragments of business. Landed at Galveston just behind Hamilton, Military Governor of the State. Followed him up country, and on reaching B——m, found Major Curtis, from Southern Illinois, in command of the post, with two companies of troops.
After an absence of a year, we were back again on the ground of former trials and dangers. But now, with an assurance against fear, the first thing we saw was a squad of men sunning themselves on the front gallery of our old dwelling house. Among them was the man T——d, who had made the attack on our life the year before. We walked up and saluted them, saying, "How are you, gentlemen? I see a new order of things here since I left; how do you like it?" Did you ever see the downcast look of a sheep thief? Then you can imagine how some of these scalawags appeared. Some never looked up again after the first glance. Our assailant paled, and looked as if his heart were quoting the interrogatory of the ancient devils: "Hast thou come to torment me before my time?"