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him very much, particularly in the towns of Mier, Roma, Renosa Vico, Renosa San Antonio and Camargo. He had the reputation of being a very brave man, but the cruelties he perpetrated on those who fell into his hands indicated that he was influenced by a brutal nature. He took special delight in humiliating the victims that were overpowered

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      by his gang and robbed, by forcing them to dance at the muzzle of a six-shooter and then maltreated them by whipping them cruelly with a quirt before they were finally dismissed.

      When passing through the territory in which he operated, Mr. Christ and myself observed a continual watchfulness, but nothing was seen that excited suspicion, though we came in contact with a party of unfortunate Mexicans who had been subjected to his unmerciful treatment. They had come from Saltillo or Monterey with a lot of superior horses, some fine Mexican blankets, saddles, and other things that were intended for the Texas market, when they encountered Caballero Blanco near the river, at Roma. The property, which was valuable, was all taken from them, and the entire party of six men, after being forced to dance, were horribly beaten, but one more severely than the others. Their condition was such that it was necessary to convey them to Renosa San Antonio for medical treatment, and Mr. Sanders, a merchant of Roma, a particular friend of theirs, was summoned to their bed-side.

      After seeing the evidence of his deviltry, our party, like every one else, was fearful of meeting Caballero Blanco, and we kept constantly on the watch until our destination was reached. As I left Mexico a few months later and did not return for several years, I heard no mention of him, nor do I know what became of him.

      Persons who violate the law in Mexico are quickly arrested, and generally the penalties are impartially en-forced ; but some people think otherwise, and many stories have been published which convey a different impression.

      I recall an unusual incident which came to my knowledge that happened at Mier, near the Rio Grande, when I and my three companions, Tom Egg, John Heinemann, and Bill McFarland, were stopping there. The third day after our arrival four other Texans put up at the little meson where we were quartered. The next morning the

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      new-comers led their horses to water and when returning from the river they observed a Mexican woman moving slowly in the trail before them. A large jar that held about four gallons was gracefully poised on her head, without any support from her hands, which contained water that she had procured at the river and she was carrying it to her home half a mile distant.

      One of the young men in the party was an excellent marksman with a pistol, and he wanted to show his skill by breaking the jar with a bullet. His aim was accurate, the vessel was broken, and the poor woman received an unexpected shower-bath. It was a mean thing for him to do, and perhaps he feared the consequences or else his offer to compensate the woman for her loss by paying her a dollar, showed that he regretted his thoughtless act.

      She communicated the circumstances to her friends, who complained to the Alcalde of the place, and in a short time eight armed men appeared before the meson and conveyed the young gentleman to jail. Until then no one in my party knew what had happened, and then Messrs. Heinemann, Egg, and McFarland, accompanied by the prisoner's three friends, followed him and the guard, but I remained in camp.

      Heinemann, who had married in a prominent Mexican family in Laredo, could speak Spanish fluently and he undertook to defend the young Texan. He proved by the testimony of his friends that the prisoner was an expert with a pistol, who could shoot an egg off a man's head at any reasonable distance, and that the woman's life was in no danger when he fired at the jar.

      But for Heineman's influence it is probable that some sort of punishment would have been meted out to the young man, and he was fortunate in escaping so easily, because then Americans were looked upon with less favor than now. Possibly when he returned to Texas he made himself a hero by telling incredible stories about Mexico, like others have done, but they only deceive the ignorant.

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      After arriving in Brownsville, Mr. Christ exerted his influence over me and in compliance with his earnest solici- tations I enlisted in the United States army, in December, 1863, as a private in Captain Braubach's company of scouts. The company was an independent organization, raised for service on the Rio Grande, and it was composed of white Americans exclusively. I was then in my seventeenth year and when the officers were elected I was made second corporal. The First Texas Cavalry was then in camp at Brownsville, under the command of Colonel Davis, who was afterwards governor of Texas, and my company was embodied with it and was known as Company H. During the six months that the command remained in that region it was constantly engaged in scouting along the Texas border.

      On one occasion a detachment of the regiment, consisting of twenty men, was sent to Padre Island with orders to collect a lot of beeves under the protection of a vessel that was to sail a mile or so from shore and warn us of the enemy's presence should any appear. After proceeding some distance we came in sight of a herd of cattle and soon headed them toward our lines. We did not make much progress before the enemy appeared with a larger force that compelled us to retreat and the beeves were recaptured. The vessel off shore promptly came to our rescue and shelled our opponents, but they could not be prevented from driving off the cattle to a place of safety.

      A large Federal force, represented by all branches of the service, was then concentrated in the vicinity of Brownsville, and the commodious buildings at Fort Brown, on the banks of the Rio Grande, opposite Matamoras, were occupied by them. An invasion of Texas was in contemplation that was to be conducted on a large scale by two armies, one on Red River and the other on the Rio Grande, both acting in concert, but the battles of Mans- field and Pleasant H'ill changed these plans and Texas

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      was spared from witnessing the havoc incident to the ravages of war.

      After Banks' army was defeated on Red River and driven back to Morganza, on the Mississippi River, the western division, that was to have participated in the invasion of Texas from the west, was ordered to rendezvous at that point in Louisiana. Only five companies of the First Texas Cavalry were included in the order, and Companies A, B and C remained in Brownsville under the command of Captain Zoeller until the close of the war, when they were reunited with the regiment.

      When we arrived at Morganza the encampment of General Banks' army of 80,000 men extended along the river a distance of about ten miles and the line of outposts was, necessarily, about twenty miles long. A reorganization of the army was in progress and it was understood that preparations were being made for another advance into Texas. During that period the picket line was constantly harassed by the enemy's scouts and they sustained many losses, although they had a strong support and were always on the alert. Every day a dozen or more of the poor fellows were either killed, wounded, or captured, and it seemed as if it was impossible to restrain the Rebs, who seemed to be always ready to attack our front. These fatalities do not figure in history, but it is an actual fact that the Confederates caused more losses to the Union army in that encampment than was sustained by the American forces in the recent Spanish war.

      The Confederates occupied a fortification on Bayou Atchafalaya, about twenty-five miles distant and west of our position, which gave them a strong support. When the attacks became insufferable it was determined to drive them from that location, and, if possible, force them to abandon the country east of that stream. For that purpose a force numbering about three thousand infantry, with four or five batteries and one thousand cavalry, was

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      sent against them with orders to treat all Confederate scouts as guerrillas and show no mercy to those who should fall in their hands.

      The excuse for vigorous action and the adoption of harsh penalties was justified by the report that the Confederates had hung several Federal soldiers; but the reason for doing so was unknown, and if it was a fact the circumstances did not warrant such extremely harsh measures, though many acts are perpetrated in time of war which are unjustifiable. Possibly they were executed as spies or deserters, but it is more probable that they

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