"Our dinner ended with frijoles, or beans; and we remark here that beans are the principal food of the Mexicans of the lower ranks of life, and are largely used by the middle and upper classes. The great majority of Mexicans eat them twice a day, and a dinner would be incomplete without them. The annual crop of these beans in Mexico must be something enormous, and its failure would be as bad as that of wheat in our Northern States, potatoes in Ireland, or codfish along the New England coast.
"They cook them in various ways, but the favorite form is in a stew. They are usually considered unwholesome if eaten on the day they are cooked; they are always prepared with pepper, either green or red, and the preparation is so hot with pepper that one seems to be eating melted lead while partaking of frijoles à la Mexican. Peppers enter into nearly all the Mexican cookery; an American who does not like them told us that the proportions for a Mexican stew were one pound of meat, one quart of water, and one pound of hashed peppers. It is a common remark in Texas and Colorado that a wolf will not eat a dead Mexican because he is so impregnated with pepper that even the stomach of that voracious animal can't stand it."
The Mexican dinner proved a digestible one; at all events Frank and Fred slept soundly and were fully refreshed for the visit to the battle-field on the following day. Saddle-horses were in readiness as soon as breakfast was over, and the party made a good start. We will listen to Fred's account of the excursion:
THE GUIDE ON THE BATTLE FIELD.
"After the capture of Monterey, General Taylor remained for a while at that city, and then marched upon Saltillo, which he occupied without opposition. General Scott ordered the divisions of Worth and Twiggs to join him at Vera Cruz for the advance upon the City of Mexico, and this reduced Taylor's force to 5000 men, nearly all of them volunteers. The Mexicans assembled a large army at San Luis Potosi, and advanced upon Saltillo with 20,000 men, expecting to drive the Americans out of the country.
"On the 22d of February, 1847—Washington's birthday—General Taylor met them at Buena Vista, or rather at the pass of La Angostura (the narrows), three miles south of the hacienda which gives the name to the battle. He occupied a position where he had great advantage, as a single battery of artillery protected the entire front, while the flanks were defended by steep gullies and ravines that the Mexicans could not hope to pass, and by the mountains that rose on the east to a height of 2000 feet.
"There is a plateau to the east which Santa Anna, the Mexican commander, tried to reach, as by gaining it he would be able to turn the pass where the Americans were posted. Some of his troops advanced to it during the afternoon of the 22d, but were driven back by the Americans; during the night the Mexican army gained the plateau, and the Americans then changed their position to the plain at the base, but continuing to hold the entrance of the pass.