The Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma were fought May 8 and 9, respectively, 1846. The battlefield of the latter is about three miles from old Fort Brown on the Rio Grande.
I
According to John Lewis, who was boss on the Collins Ranch, in Cameron County, on which is the site of the battle of Palo Alto, seven cartloads of pay money for the Mexican army were buried on the battlefield. In proof of the claim, he found a part of an old-fashioned Mexican cart while he was digging on Agua Dulce Creek, which runs close to the battlefield.
A Mexican named Santiago in Austin claims that one of his ancestors helped bury seven cartloads of army money on Palo Alto battlefield. Taylor’s army was pressing the Mexicans. To save time the Mexicans had to lighten baggage. The officer in charge of the pay-carts had orders to bury the money. He told off his detail and ordered them to dig a trench by a gully or little creek lined with mesquite brush. When the trench was made, the officer ordered the money transferred to it from the carts. While the last cartload was being put in the trench, Santiago’s ancestor ran, for he knew that the men who made the trench would have to follow [[52]]the treasure. He had no more than got out of sight in the mesquites when he heard shots that told very plainly he had acted prudently in leaving.
II
This account was given to me by Mr. Bob Nutt of Sabinal, who got it from an old ferryman named Ramón down on the Rio Grande. Ramón claimed to have been ferryman when the Mexican troops crossed over into Texas at the beginning of the war between the United States and Mexico.
“It took me three days to get the army over,” Ramón would tell, “crossing and crossing back, day and night. And, oh señor, I had muchas ganas (many desires) to go with the troops. There was música, oh, so lively, and there were the banderas (flags) all bright in the air, and the men were all happy and singing. But I did not go, and in three days more here they were back, but without any música or banderas and not needing any ferry boat. They came in flocks, running and crawling like tortugas (turtles), and they fell into the water flat on all fours like tortugas and never stopped till they were into Mexico.
“They had been at the fight of what we call La Resaca de La Palma, and I was very glad that I had not been with them. They did not have time even to bring back the señor general’s chest of money or any of the silver platas that he ate out of. There was a great bulto of it, and it was left in La Resaca de La Palma. There three tall palms make a triangle and in the middle of that triangle it is buried. They dug a hole and put the chest and the silverware and a golden cross in it, and then filled up the hole and made a great fire on top of it so that it would look as if some military stores had been burned. And then they came back here into the river like so many tortugas and los Americanos were so bravos that no one of those who helped hide away the tesoro ever would go back to it. Besides, most of them were killed at Monterrey.”