Les scalpeurs blancs. English. Read online

  CHAPTER VI.

  THE BATTLE OF CERRO PARDO.

  The battle of Cerro Pardo was one of those sanguinary days, whose memorya nation retains for ages as an ill-omened date. In order to explain tothe reader thoroughly how the events happened which we are about tonarrate, we must give a detailed account of the ground on which theytook place.

  The spot selected by the Mexicans to effect their landing after leavingGalveston, had been very cleverly chosen by General Rubio. The stream,which, for some distance, is enclosed by high banks, runs at that spotthrough an extensive plain, covered with tall grass and clumps of trees,the last relics of a virgin forest, which the claims of trade havealmost destroyed. This plain is closed by a species of _canyon_, or verynarrow gorge, enclosed between two lofty Mils, whose scarped flanks arecarpeted at all seasons with plants and flowers. These two hills are theCerro Pardo and the Cerro Prieto,--that is to say, the Red Mountain andthe Black Mountain.

  At the canyon begins a road, or, to speak more correctly, a rather widetrack, bordered by bogs and morasses, and running to the cross we havebefore visited. This road is the only one that can be followed in goingfrom the interior to the seashore. A little in advance of the two hills,whose summit is covered with dense wood and scrub, extend marshes, whichare the more dangerous, because their surface is perfidiously coveredwith close green grass, which completely conceals from the traveller theterrible danger to which he is exposed if he venture on to this movingabyss. The Cerro Pardo, which is much higher than the other hill, notonly commands the latter, but also the surrounding country, as well asthe sea.

  After what we have said, the reader will easily perceive that theenterprise attempted by the Texans was only possible in the event of thecoast being entirely undefended; but under the present circumstances,the inconceivable obstinacy of the Commander-in-Chief was the moreincomprehensible, because he was not only thoroughly acquainted with thecountry, but at the moment when the army was about to begin its forwardmovements, several spies came in in succession, bringing news whichentirely coincided with the positive reports already made by John Davis.

  Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first blind. This wise andthoughtful man, who had ever acted with extreme prudence, and whoseconceptions up to this day had been remarkable for their lucidity, wasdeaf to all remonstrances, and the order was given to march. The army atonce set out; Don Felix Paz went on ahead with his guerillas, while theJaguar's cuadrilla, on the contrary, remained in the rear. Tranquil, inspite of the wounds he had received, would not remain in the fort; hecame along lying in a cart, having at his side Carmela and Quoniam, whopaid him the utmost attention; while Lanzi, at the head of a dozenpicked Freebooters given him by the Jaguar, escorted the cart, in theevent of the army being disturbed during the march.

  The Jaguar was sorrowful, a gloomy presentiment seemed to warn him of amisfortune. This daring man, who carried out as if in sport the maddestand most venturesome deeds, now advanced reluctantly, hesitating andconstantly looking about him suspiciously, and almost timidly.Assuredly, he feared no personal danger; what did he care for an attack?What alarm did he feel about dying? Peril was his element; the heatedatmosphere of battle, the odour of powder intoxicated him, and made himfeel strange delight; but at this moment Carmela was near him; Carmela,whom he had so miraculously found again, and whom he feared to loseagain. This strong man felt his heart soften at the thought, hence heinsisted on taking the rear guard, in order to watch more closely overthe maiden, and be in a position to help her if necessary.

  The superior Commander had not dared to refuse the bold partisan thispost, which he asked for as a favour. This condescension on the part ofthe Chief had terrible consequences, and was partly the cause of theevents that happened a few hours later.

  The Texan troops, in spite of the various element of which they werecomposed, advanced, however, with an order and discipline that wouldhave done honour to regulars. Don Felix Paz had thrown out to the rightand left of the road flankers ordered to investigate the chaparral, andguarantee the safety of the route; but in spite of these precautions,whether the Mexicans were really ambushed in inaccessible places, or forsome other reason, the flankers did not discover them, and the vanguardadvanced at a pace which heightened the security of the main body, andgradually induced the Chiefs to relax their previous watchfulness.

  The vanguard reached the cross, and nothing had as yet happened in anyway to trouble the march of the army. Don Felix, after allowing hiscuadrilla to halt for twenty minutes, resolutely entered the road thatled to the spot where the Mexicans had landed. From the cross to the RioTrinidad was no great distance, and could be covered in less than twohours by troops marching at the ordinary pace. The road, however, afterpassing the cross, insensibly becomes narrower, and soon changes into avery confined track, in which three persons can scarce walk abreast.

  We have said that trembling prairies extend on either side of this road.We will explain, in a few sentences, what these trembling prairies are,which are met with in several parts of America, but principally in Texasand Louisiana. These prairies, if we may trust to the frequently falsetheories of science, have a similar organ to that of Artesian springs,for the earth does in one case what water does in the other. Through theaction of geological dynamics, the earthy matter which constitutes thetrembling prairies ascends to the surface of lakes and ponds, while inArtesian wells the water rushes up from the depths through the pressureof the strata by which it was held down.

  Nothing is more dangerous than those trembling prairies, covered with aperfidious vegetation that deceives the eye. The Rio Trinidad flows at afew hundred yards from the prairie we have just described, conveyinginto the Gulf of Mexico the sedimentary deposits which would consolidatethis shifting soil. Nature has already traced canals intersecting theprairie, and which run between banks formed by mysterious forces. Thewild beasts, whose admirable instinct never deceives them, have for agespast formed tracks across these dangerous zones, and the path followedby the Texan army was no other than one of those trails trodden by thewild beasts when they go down at night to water.

  I know not whether, since Texas has gained its liberty and beenincorporated with the United States, any attempt has been made to drainthese prairies. And yet, I believe that it would require but a veryslight effort to complete the work so intelligently sketched out bynature. It would be sufficient to dig a series of _colmates_, oraqueducts, which would introduce into the trembling prairie the turbidwaters of the river, and convey to it the sedimentary matter; and,before all, the vegetation growing on the prairie should not be burnt,as is the unfortunate custom. With these two conditions, a firm, rich,and fertile soil would soon be attained in the line of these slimy andpestilential marshes that poison the air, produce contagious diseases,and cause the death of so many unfortunate travellers, deceived by theluxuriant appearance of these prairies, and who perish miserably, bybeing swallowed up in their fetid mud.

  But in America it is not so much land that is wanting as men. Probably,the trembling prairies will remain for a long time what they are at thepresent day, for no one has a really personal interest in draining andgetting rid of them.

  We will now take up our story at the point where we broke it off,begging the reader to forgive us the long digression in which weindulged, but which has its value, we think, in a work intended to makeknown a country which is destined ere long to assume an important partin the trade of the world.

  The Texan Vanguard passed the cross at about nine A.M. It had halted forabout twenty minutes and then resumed its march. Still, without anyapparent motive, after crossing without obstacle the defile of the CerroPardo, instead of advancing in the direction of the river, on the bankof which the stranded boats could already be seen, Don Felix ordered hiscuadrilla to wheel at about two hundred yards from the defile, andformed a front of fifty horses by ten deep. After commanding a halt, hedug his spurs in and returned to the gorge, but on this occasion alone.

  While galloping, the partisan l
ooked searchingly around him. As far asthe eye could see, the road was entirely deserted. Don Felix halted andbent over his horse's neck, as if wishing to arrange some buckle, butwhile patting his noble animal he twice repeated the croak of a rook. Atonce the harsh cry of the puffin rose from the bushes that bordered theright hand side of the road; the branches were then parted--a manappeared--it was Colonel Don Juan Melendez de Gongora. Don Felix did notappear at all surprised at seeing him; on the contrary, he advancedhurriedly towards him.

  "Return to your ambush, Colonel," he said, "you know that there is aneye in every leaf. If I am seen alone on the road my presence willarouse no suspicions; but you, Cuerpo de Cristo! You must not be seen.We can converse equally well at a distance, as the ears able to overhearus are those of friends."

  "You are always prudent, Don Felix."

  "I, not at all; I merely wish to avenge myself on those bandits who haveplundered so many magnificent haciendas, and hatred renders a manprudent."

  "Whatever be the motive that impels you, it gives you good inspirations,that is the main point. But let us return to our business: what do youwant with me?"

  "Merely to know two things."

  "What are they?"

  "Whether General Rubio is really satisfied with the plan I submitted tohim?"

  "You have a proof of it before you; if he were not so, should I behere?"

  "That is true."

  "Now for the second."

  "That is of an extremely delicate nature."

  "Ah, ah! You pique my curiosity," the Colonel said, laughingly.

  Don Felix frowned and lowered his voice, as it were involuntarily.

  "It is very serious, Don Juan," he continued; "I wish, before thebattle, to know if you have retained towards me that esteem andfriendship with which you deigned to honour me at the Larch-treehacienda?"

  The Colonel turned away in embarrassment.

  "Why ask that question at this moment?" he remarked.

  Don Felix turned pale and fixed a flashing glance upon him.

  "Answer me, I implore yon, Don Juan," he said, pressingly. "Whatever youmay think, whatever opinion you may have of me, I wish to know it; itmust be so."

  "Do not press me, I beg, Don Felix. What can you care for any opinion Imay have, which is isolated and unimportant?"

  "What can I care, do you ask?" he exclaimed, hotly; "but it is, indeed,useless to press you farther, for I know all I wish to know. Thank you,Don Juan, I ask no more. When a man of so noble a character and such aloyal heart as yours condemns the conduct of another man, it is becausethat conduct is really blameable."

  "Well, be it so; since you absolutely insist, I will explain my views,Don Felix. Yes, I blame but do not condemn you, for I cannot and willnot be your judge. Don Felix, I am internally convinced in my soul andconscience that the man who makes himself, no matter the motive thatimpels him, the agent of treachery, commits worse than a crime, for heis guilty of an act of cowardice! Such a man I can pity, but no longeresteem."

  The ex-Mayor-domo listened to these harsh words with a forehead drippingwith perspiration, but with head erect and eye sparkling with a gloomyfire. When the officer stopped he bowed coldly and took the hand whichDon Juan did not attempt to draw from his grasp.

  "It is well," he said; "your words are rude, but they are true. I thankyou for your frankness, Don Juan; I know now what remains for me todo."

  The Colonel, who had involuntarily allowed his feelings of the moment tocarry him away, fancied that he had gone too far, and was alarmed at theconsequences of his imprudence.

  "Don Felix," he added, "forgive me; I spoke to you like a madman."

  "Come, come, Don Juan," he replied, with a bitter smile, "do not attemptto recall your words, you were but the echo of my conscience; what youhave said aloud my heart has often whispered to me. Fear not that Ishall let myself be overcome by a passing feeling of passion. No! I amone of those men who, when they have once entered a path, persevere init at all hazards. But enough of this; I notice a dust, which probablyannounces our friends," he added, with a poignant irony. "Farewell, DonJuan, farewell."

  And, not waiting for the answer Don Juan was preparing to give him, DonFelix spurred his horse, turned hastily round, and went off as rapidlyas he had come. The Colonel looked after him for a moment thoughtfully.

  "Alas!" he muttered, "that man is now more unhappy than culpable, or Iam greatly mistaken; if he be not killed today it will not be for wantof seeking death."

  He then buried himself again in the chaparral with a melancholy shake ofhis head. In the meanwhile, the Texan army rapidly advanced; like theMexicans, each mounted man had a foot soldier behind him. At about agunshot from the cross roads, the Texans came upon the edge of thetrembling prairie; they were consequently obliged to halt in order tocall in their flankers, scattered on the right and left, which naturallyproduced a momentary disorder, promptly repaired, however, by theactivity of the chief, then they started again.

  The order of march was necessarily altered, the path grew narrower atevery step, and the cavalry were unable to keep their ranks any longer.However, from the moment of the start, the vanguard had not announcedany danger. The army, trusting in the experience of the officer detachedto clear the way, marched in perfect security, which was augmented bythe hope of speedily reaching the mouth of the Rio Trinidad, and at onceembarking for Galveston.

  The Jaguar alone did not share the general confidence: accustomed for along period to a war of ambushes, the ground he now trod seemed to himso suitable in every way for a surprise, that he could not persuadehimself that they would reach the seashore without an attack. In a word,the young Chief had an intuition of approaching danger. He guessed it,felt it, so to speak, though he could not tell from what quarter itwould come, and suddenly burst on his comrades and himself.

  There is nothing so terrible as such a situation, where a man is obligedto stand on his defence against space. The desert tranquilly surroundshim on all sides, in vain does he interrogate the air and earth, to finda clue which constantly escapes him, and yet he has in his heart acertainty for which he finds it impossible to account! He can onlyanswer questions with the enigmatical, though strictly logical phrase,"I do not know, and yet I am sure of it."

  The Jaguar resolved, whatever the consequences might be, to avoidpersonally a surprise, whose results would be disastrous to those he hadvowed to protect and defend, that is to say, to Tranquil and Carmela.Gradually slackening the pace of his detachment, he succeeded in leavinga sufficiently wide distance between himself and the main body, toregain almost entirely his liberty of action. His first care was tocollect round the cart the men in whom he placed most confidence. Thenselecting those of his comrades whom he supposed most conversant withIndian tricks, he placed them under the command of John Davis, withorders to force their way, as well as they could, through the chaparralthat skirted both sides of the track, and enclosed it so completely,that it was impossible to see anything beyond.

  It could not enter the Jaguar's mind that the Mexicans would not profitby the opportunity offered them by the imprudence of the Texans, to tryand take their revenge for the defeats they had suffered. In this viewhe was entirely supported by Davis, who, it will be remembered, hadurgently, though vainly, begged the Commander-in-Chief to give up hisplan. The two men, who had been so long acquainted, understood eachother at the first word, and John Davis immediately spread out his men,as a forlorn hope, on either side of the road. The Jaguar proceeded tothe cart after this, and addressed the hunter.

  "Well, Tranquil," he said to him, "how do you find yourself?"

  "Better," the other answered; "I hope within a few days to besufficiently recovered to give up this wearisome position."

  "And your strength?"

  "Is rapidly returning."

  "All the better. Would you be capable of firing in your own defence,without leaving the cart?"

  "I think so. But do you fear any trap? The spot where we now are,appears most favourable for it."
/>
  "Does it not! Well, you have spoken the truth, I fear an ambuscade. Hereis a rifle, and if needs must, make use of it."

  "Trust to me. Thanks," he added, as he clutched the weapon with adelight he did not attempt to conceal.

  The Jaguar then placed himself at the head of his troop, and gave ordersto set out again. Long before this, the main body of the army had passedthe cross, the heads of the columns were already entering the defile, amovement which, owing to the narrowness, produced some disorder theleaders were trying to repress, when suddenly a shower of canister burstfrom the Cerro Pardo, and made wide gaps in the crowded ranks of theTexans. At the same instant a terrible, shout was heard from the otherend of the gorge, and Don Felix Paz' cuadrilla appeared galloping atfull speed toward the main body.

  At the first moment the Texans had to make way for these horsemen, whomthey supposed to be closely pursued by a still invisible enemy; buttheir surprise changed into terror and stupor when they saw thisvanguard dash at them and mercilessly sabre them with shouts of "Mejico!Mejico! Federacion!"

  The Texans were betrayed! Suffering from a terror that almost attainedto madness, unable to form in this limited spot, decimated by thecanister incessantly discharged at them, and sabred by Don Felix'cuadrilla, they had but one thought--that of flight. But at the momentwhen they tried to turn, the terrible cry of "Mejico! Mejico! mueran losrebeldes!" resounded like a funeral knell in their rear, and ColonelMelendez, at the head of his five hundred horses, dashed at the Texans,who were thus caught between two fires.

  The medley then assumed the fearful proportions of one of those mediaevalbutcheries in which man, having attained the paroxysm of fury,intoxicated by the sharp smell of blood, the powder, smoke, and the dinof battle, kills for the sake of killing with the pleasure of a wildbeast, growing excited by the massacre of every victim that falls, andfar from satiating his hatred, finds it increase in proportion to thecorpses piled up on the blood-stained ground.

  Flight was impossible, and resistance seemed the same. At this supremehour, when all appeared lost and the cause of liberty was about to beeternally buried under the pile of corpses, an irresistible movementsuddenly took place in the terrified crowd, which opened like a ripefruit through the bloody track thus made by main force. The Jaguar nowdashed forward, splendid in his wrath and despair, brandishing hismachete above his head, and followed by his brave cuadrilla. A cry ofdelight saluted the arrival of the daring freebooter, who had beenobliged to cut his way through Colonel Melendez' Mexicans, as theyvainly strove to stop his passage.

  "My lads!" the Jaguar shouted, in a voice that rose above the din ofbattle, "We are surrounded by the enemy, and have been betrayed and ledinto a trap by a coward. Let us show these Mexicans, who believe usalready conquered, and are congratulating themselves on their easyvictory, what men like ourselves are capable of. Follow me--forward!Forward!"

  "Forward!" the Texans vociferated, electrified by these daring words.

  The Jaguar made his horse bound, and dashed at the side of the mountain.His military instinct had not deserted him, for that was, in fact, thekey of the battle. The Texans rushed after him, brandishing theirweapons and uttering yells of fury. But at this moment the troops ofGeneral Rubio made their appearance, who had hitherto remained ambushedbehind the trees and bushes; they crowned the heights, lined the sidesof the road, and the fight began again more terrible and obstinate thanbefore. The efforts were useless; the Texans returned eight times to theassault of the Cerro Pardo, and eight times were driven back in disorderto the foot of the mountain, which they were unable to scale.

  In vain did the Jaguar, Davis, Fray Antonio, El Alferez, and the otherChiefs perform prodigies of valour; the Mexican bullets decimated theirsoldiers, who at length growing discouraged, refused any longer tocontinue an impossible contest. The Commander-in-Chief of the army, whoby his imprudence had caused this grave disaster, resolved to make afinal and supreme effort. Collecting around him all the willing men whostill attempted resistance, he formed them into a column of attack, anddashed like a whirlwind at the Mexican guns, the artillerymen of whichwere cut down without yielding an inch. Surprised by this sudden andfurious charge, the Mexicans broke and abandoned the battery; thisaudacious attempt might change the issue of the battle. Already theTexans, who were almost masters of the plateau, were preparing to takeadvantage of this fortuitous and unhoped-for success; but unfortunately,the revolutionary army, nearly entirely demoralized, did not supportwith the necessary vigour the heroic effort of these few chosen braves;the Mexicans had time to recover from their surprise and compare theirstrength with that of their foes. Ashamed at the check they hadsuffered, they rushed upon the enemy, and after a frightful hand-to-handfight, they succeeded in driving the Texans from the plateau at themoment when the latter formed hopes of holding it.

  Colonel Melendez and Don Felix Paz had at length effected theirjunction; the Texans had not even the possibility of flight left them,but the Jaguar did not yet despair; still, since he could no longerconquer, he would at least save Carmela. But between her and him stood ahuman wall, through which he must clear a road. The young man did nothesitate; turning like a wounded lion, he bounded into the midst of theenemy's ranks, summoning his comrades, and waving round his head theterrible machete he had employed so well during the action. A man boldlyrushed to meet him with uplifted sabre.

  "Ah! the traitor Don Felix!" the Jaguar shouted, on recognising him, andsplit his skull open.

  Then he rushed like an avalanche down the mountain side, overthrowingevery one he came across; and followed by a few of his most devotedcompanions, the ranks of the Mexicans opened to let them pass.

  "Thanks, brother," the Jaguar shouted with considerable emotion toColonel Melendez, who had given his soldiers a sign to let him pass.

  The Colonel turned away and made no answer. The carnage lasted a longtime yet, as the Texans would not accept quarter. Six hundred Texansfell into the hands of the victors, while eight hundred found death onthe field of battle.

  The same evening General Rubio re-entered Galveston at the head of hisvictorious army; the insurrectionists fled in terror in all directions,without hope of ever again collecting. The cause of Texan liberty seemedlost for a long time, if not for ever.

  The Jaguar, on reaching the cross roads, found the cart smashed, andmost of its defenders lying dead on the ground. Singular to say, theyhad all been scalped. Tranquil, Quoniam, Carmela, and Lanzi haddisappeared. What terrible drama could have been performed at this spot?