Gold! (14 page)

“On that vessel, we found Col. Webb's company, consisting of one hundred men, bound for California. They were fine looking intelligent gentlemen, well calculated
to be successful in such an expedition. Also, Simons' New Orleans company, comprising forty stalwart adventurers, bound for the same promising land, our own company at that time consisting of twenty persons, all inspired by hope and joviality. But, in the course of ocean events, this hilarity was doomed to come to an end, when the mountainous billows of the Gulf commenced operating on the susceptible frames of the landsmen, all suffering from sea-sickness except myself and another person, which afflicted them until our vessel arrived at the Brazos on March 4th.”

Brazos was a small town consisting of about fifty houses at the mouth of the Rio Grande, from Fort Brown twenty-five miles by land, and sixty by water. There, forty men from Colonel Webb's company caught cholera and died. The rest returned to New Orleans, “the very pictures of despair, without money and without health.” McNeil and his companions stayed on. Brazos was a place where argonauts could get fitted out with transportation for the journey west.

“I had before frequently advised my companions not to take so much provision and baggage with us, but was constantly opposed; but they found at last that the Shoemaker prophet was inspired for the occasion. At the Brazos, we purchased a wagon and six mules for the conveyance of our goods, and a horse for each, the horses costing from ten to fifty dollars.”

McNeil and company followed the coastline south until they got to Fort Brown, on the Rio Grande, in southwestern Texas, where “we were obliged to purchase
an additional wagon and four mules. I tried there to pursuade [sic] them to sell the wagons and mules, and proceed on horses, but without effect. The others concluded to elect a captain, which I opposed, stating that if we could not rule ourselves for the good of the whole, and each take care of his own money, we were not fit for the journey to California, but I was not successful in my argument.

“We then elected for our captain, a Mr. Perkins of Cincinnati, an overbearing ignorant Englishman, who did not suit my strict republican principles.”

Mr. Perkins of Cincinnati was definitely the kind of stuffy, ignorant Englishman who could only be characterized as plain stupid. “Six of the mules Mr. Perkins of Cincinnati was permitted to purchase soon dropped dead. The company was then displeased with me, because I would not permit him to purchase one for myself.”

The shoemaker knew mule flesh.

“I selected and bought one which I rode safely and happily one thousand miles. On 8th of March, we started from Fort Brown for Reynosa [Mexico] 60 miles [west],” paralleling “the Rio Grande, experiencing much difficulty in keeping the road, and finding water for ourselves and mules. At Charcoal Lake, about half way, we hired a guide and interpreter, for $300, to take us through to Mazatlán, on the Pacific Ocean, one thousand miles from the Brazos.

“We remained at this lake three days. Although the water was so stagnant that the fish were lying dead upon its shores, we were obliged to cook and drink with it. We
then proceeded to Reynosa, at which place we arrived on the 20th. Finding there that our complement of wagons would not conveniently carry our goods, obliging us to drag along at the rate of ten miles per day, we purchased another wagon and four mules, which I also opposed, but with the same want of success. I was actually enraged at the increase of our expenses.

“We had then about $1000 worth of wagons and mules, and were now obliged to pay a duty of $60 on each wagon on passing from Texas into Mexico, our personal baggage having already cost more than its value. Firmly believing that Perkins would wastefully spend all our money, if permitted to have his own way, we ejected him from his office, electing in his stead, to act as governors, a committee of three persons, viz: Stambaugh, Hart, and Perkins.”

And then, just as the argonauts from Lancaster, Ohio, were about get matters settled, cholera struck again.

8.

ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND THE OCEAN

Over the border was Mexico. The path from there to California was across the Sonora Desert. Even-before they got a chance to face those deprivations, disease struck McNeil's party.

“The cholera appeared in our band, attacking Brown, of Alabama, who joined our company at Brazos, and Stambaugh, from Lancaster, but fortunately both recovered. So frightened was Brown, that he left our company and returned home.”

Brown was one of the lucky ones. Most victims of cholera died from severe diarrhea: the proper medical diagnosis would be dehydration.

“We remained ten days encamped on the bank of the river opposite Reynosa. From our encampment every morning and every evening, we heard about
three hundred bells ringing in Reynosa, so terrifically that we thought at first the town was on fire, or about to be attacked by some enemy, and felt inclined to cross the river to render our assistance; but found afterwards they were ringing for religious purposes. The Mexicans called them
Joy Bells
, but it was an obstreperous joy to which we were not accustomed.

“On the second day of our stay there, we were surprised on seeing a Hungarian gentleman ride into our camp, stating that he belonged to a company of traders from Mexico, returning to the United States, with three wagons laden with silver in the bar and coin, which they had received for goods during their expedition, adding that they had smuggled it across the river three miles above Reynosa, and wished to encamp that night with us for protection, which we readily granted. We were glad we did so, for the Hungarian adventurer gave us much valuable information respecting our route.

“As we are encamped on the bank of the Rio Grande, the shoemaker must have a little liberty to
shoe
some of its traits. Rio Grande, in English, means the
Great
River, and I can assure our readers that it is the
greatest
river for winding I ever saw. Descending this river the first prominent town is Santa Fe, an old Spanish town. It is a great trading place, where most of the goods sold and stored there were brought overland from St. Louis, 1500 miles distant in the United States.”

Traders from the East would return with rich furs, peltry, Mexican silver, and gold. Matamoros, opposite Fort Brown, is another of the principal towns on the Rio
Grande's banks, “60 miles above its mouth, containing a population of 8,000. One of its principal curiosities is a
barberess
, a French girl, pretty and smart, who cuts the heart and the beard at the same time.”

The idea of being entertained by an exotic French
barberess
must have filled the parochial shoemaker from Lancaster, whose eyes were rapidly being opened, with much glee. But once the barberess finished her ministrations to McNeil's person, and the others in the Lancaster party who wished to partake of her wicked, scissor-filled fingers, it was time to move on.

In traveling west, Lewis and Clark sometimes had to collapse their entire party into boats that would transport them over liquid terrain that could not be traversed in any other way. McNeil's band was forced to adapt similarly.

“On the 30th we crossed to Reynosa, in canoes, taking our wagons to pieces and crossing them in the same way, swimming over our mules, which occupied us three days. Of course, we were soon saluted by the custom house officers, for their dues. While our committee waited on them to settle that matter, the rest of our company rushed into the Rio Grande to bathe, which proved a delicious treat.

“Some senoritas, married and unmarried, I presume, had been watching us, and came down to bathe and show off their celestial charms, stripping to the skin while talking like so many parrots, and then mingled with us in the nautical amusement. As we had too much modesty to do in Mexico what they do there, we left the watery angels to their sweet selves, and going ashore, dressed, and
watched them a considerable time while they scrutinized us critically.”

McNeil goes quickly from the philosophical to the sublime, anticipating this question: With so many beautiful senoritas and so many horny men, not one of them
attempts
a seduction?

“One cause why we did not stay in the water with them was this—We were aware of the excessive jealousy existing in the Spanish Mexican character, knowing, that although it would have passed unnoticed had we been Mexicans, that, being Americans, it might have ended fatally had we remained with them in the water, and we should have experienced from their male friends the stiletto or pistol instead of words of friendship.

“I love to follow the advice of a celebrated traveller [sic], who says, that in order to get along safely with the males in foreign countries, he avoided the females as much as possible, knowing that jealousy is accompanied by the same fatality in every land.”

Considering that murders are frequently committed because of jealousy, McNeil showed good judgment.

“Reynosa contains about 3000 inhabitants, who were terribly frightened and scathed by cholera, during our stay of three days in the place. The day we left, sixty persons died in the place from its effects. In fact, every house we passed in our progress from Fort Brown to Saltillo had one or more persons in it dead from cholera. Eight of our company, who were Romanites [Catholics], before leaving, fearing that disease, purchased from a Spanish priest a sufficiency of prayers that
would last them till we got to Monterey or to some other place in the other world if they died on the way.”

But one member of the company was not as circumspect as McNeil.

“While those Catholics were absent purchasing prayers, a Lancaster lawyer, of our company, asked a splendidly dressed and lovely senorita, if she would go into another room with him, stating that he wished to have some private conversation with her. She understood enough of his speech to reply, ‘
Sí
, Senor.'

“He thinking that she said that some one would
see
them during their innocent interview, I told him that ‘Sí' did not mean
see
but ‘Yes,' and that she was perfectly willing that he should have a harmless kiss. On returning from the interview, the lawyer, thinking that her sweet lips might have imparted the cholera or some other awful disease, requested me to give him some linament immediately, with which he rubbed himself all over, but, it smarted his tender flesh so excessively that he howled around the room like an old wolf, caught at last in a baited trap.

“Oh! these attractive women! whom we find at the
bottom
of every evil prevailing in every land. The lawyer paid dear for his whistle, and he surely whistled with excessive pain for about one long hour, and then had to receive jokes about it forever afterwards!”

Then it was on the road again.

“Proceeding we reached, after two days travel, a town called Chenee, on a river pronounced San Whan, (San Juan) one of the tributaries of the Rio Grande, 50 miles from Reynosa.”

The shoemaker and company had arrived someplace near present-day Los Aldamas, about 100 miles northeast of Monterrey, the provincial capital.

“We arrived at 11 o'clock at night. Progressing, we lost our way, in attempting to find the ford across the San Whan, so that we were obliged to encamp on this side of it. A singular occurrence happened that night.”

The shoemaker was on guard duty when, he was “suddenly startled by the screaming of Strode, who, in his fright, declared that he saw a Comanche [sic] Indian or Mexican crawling towards the encampment. Leverett, who had slept in the same tent,” descended into a wild, racial hysteria, “wrapping a blanket around him, rushed into the chapparel [sic], shrieking that the Indians were about massacreing [sic] the whole band. Of course, we awakened the others, and all who remained, prepared in military order for the expected combat.”

Looking into the gloom, McNeil could have sworn that he heard and saw something threatening moving toward them. If he had known Indian ways, he would have known that if Comanches had intended them harm, they would already be dead. But something was coming toward them from the darkness of night, and assuming hostiles, they marched out to meet it, determined to fight and die, “in the defence [sic] of our rights,” even as Strode and Leverett continued rooted to the spot, screaming in fear.

Handguns had cleared leather, rifles were up with keen eyes gazing down the barrels. Good with a blade, McNeil made sure his bowie knife was at the ready. “We boldly
advanced—advanced—advanced—and found the enemy to be—not a Comanche Indian, not a renegade Mexican, or a wild beast—but an expanded umbrella rolling on the ground towards us, moved by a gentle breeze.”

Strode and Leverett slept well that night. The next morning they forded the San Juan River.

“Leverett was on a very small weak mule. The force of the current swept both away into deep water. As he could not swim, his situation was a critical one. Stripping as fast as possible, I leaped in to his rescue, and succeeded, after much difficulty, in bringing him to shore. The mule, after losing the saddle, swam out.”

On April 10, 1849, the McNeil party finally arrived at Monterrey.

“As the Cholera was raging badly in the town, we disputed whether we should remain or proceed to a mill five miles farther, where there were many conveniences both for health and comfort. The committee determined that we should remain there, which highly displeased the rest of the company.

“That night, about 6 o'clock, a colleague and myself were attacked by cholera. At 6 o'clock the next morning my colleague died, but fortunately I recovered to tell the readers my adventures. We buried him at the Walnut Springs, about eight miles from the city, as we could not be permitted to bury him in a Catholic burial ground in Monterrey, the deceased having been an Episcopalian [sic].

“O cursed hell-born bigotry that separates the living, and then separates the holy dead! A Mr. [Henry] Hyde, from the same place in Virginia, and belonging to the
same Episcopal Church, after helping to drink or finish three kegs of the best 4th proof French brandy, preached an appropriate funeral discourse over our deceased comrade before starting to the grave.”