Narrative of the Texan Sante Fé Expedition: Comprising a Description of a Tour Through Texas, and Across the Great Southwestern Prairies, the Camanche and Caygüa Hunting-grounds, with an Account of the Sufferings from Want of Food, Losses from Hostile Indians, and Final Capture of the Texans, and Their March, as Prisoners, to the City of Mexico ; with Illustrations and a Map, Volume 1

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Harper and Brothers, 1844 - Mexico - 585 pages
 

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Page 199 - ... seen. North and south, as far as the eye could reach, nothing could be seen but a sandy plain, covered with dwarf oaks two and three feet high, and bearing innumerable acorns of a large size.
Page 192 - ... as though he was the president, mayor, or chief — at all events, he was the 'big dog
Page 383 - We then sat down to dinner, which consisted of various dishes, excellent wines, and, to crown all, we were waited on by half a dozen of those beautiful girls who, like Hebe at the feast of the gods, converted our wine to nectar, and with their ambrosial breath shed incense on our cups.
Page 192 - Narrative," describing a scene presented by one of these prairie commonwealths. "In their habits they are clannish, social, and extremely convivial, never living alone like other animals, but, on the contrary, always found in villages or large settlements. They are a wild, frolicsome, madcap set of fellows when undisturbed, uneasy and ever on the move, and appear to take especial delight in chattering away the time, and visiting from hole to hole to gossip and talk over each other's affairs — at...
Page 173 - ... quality, and swallowed only to allay the intolerable thirst brought on by a long day's march under the hot sun. The hard buffalo chase had jaded my horse severely, and at such a time I well knew he needed water more than ever ; but not a drop could I procure for him.
Page 193 - ... for a moment, and I thought I could discover a gravity in his deportment not discernible in those by which he was surrounded. Far is it from me to say that the visits he received were upon business, or had anything to do with the local government of the village ; but it certainly appeared so. If any animal has a system of laws regulating the body politic, it is certainly the prairie dog.
Page 230 - ... striking his shoulder against a projecting rock, was precipitated some fifteen or twenty feet directly upon his back. All thought he must be killed by the fall ; but...
Page 228 - Below, an occasional spot of green relieved the eye, and a stream of water, now visible, now concealed behind some huge rock, was bubbling and foaming along. Immense walls, columns, and, in some places, what appeared to be arches...
Page 228 - Several large stones were loosened from their fastenings by our men, during the frightful descent ; these would leap, dash, and thunder down the precipitous sides, and strike against the bottom far below us with a terrific and reverberating crash. We found a running stream on reaching the lower...
Page 266 - The mind runs upon beef, bread and other substances, but still, in a great measure, the body retains its strength. On the third and fourth days, but especially on the fourth, this incessant craving gives place to a sinking and weakness of the stomach, accompanied by nausea. The unfortunate sufferer still desires food, but with a loss of strength he loses that eager craving which he felt in the earlier stages.

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