We took him down the
street, turned a corner, and laid him on the floor of a church some
distance beyond. He had an arm broken and a bad wound in his body,--a
hopeless man; but upborne and defiant through _aguardiente_ and native
strength. After getting him off our hands, we returned to our company,
which we found sheltering behind the _adobe_ where we had halted when on
the advance. Here we remained some time, with instructions from General
Walker (whom, at this time, we seemed to follow as personal guard) to
keep ourselves out of reach of the missiles flying on either side of the
house. The darkness was so thick that we could see only what was passing
immediately around us, and therefore were ignorant as to the position
of the foot, and what was now doing amongst them. It was said, however,
afterwards, that their officers strove to rally and bring them up to
another charge, but that they proved mutinous, and refused to move.
They had suffered, indeed, discouragement enough. Colonel O'Neal, who
had led them, was mortally wounded; the barricade was too high and
dangerous; they had tried to fire it without success. Some of the forty
recruits, who were in front of the party, had climbed over it; and these
afterwards affirmed, that, had the others followed then, the barricade
had been gained; but the older soldiers had degenerated, possessed
little of these men's zeal or spirit, hesitated, and, their colonel
falling, gave back.
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