United States or Niger ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The debarkation took place inside of the little island of Sacrificios, some three miles south of Vera Cruz. The vessels could not get anywhere near shore, so that everything had to be landed in lighters or surf-boats; General Scott had provided these before leaving the North. The breakers were sometimes high, so that the landing was tedious.
We named this Isla de los Sacrificios, or Sacrifice Island. We landed on the coast opposite to this island, where we built huts for ourselves and remained for some days, expecting the natives to trade with us for gold. Many of them came to visit us, but they brought very little of that metal, and seemed very shy and timid, on which account we reimbarked and continued our voyage.
The Mexicans moored her to the walls of the Castle of San Juan for safety; but the officers of the 'Somers' resolved to cut her out or burn her. Hynson was the leading spirit in the affair, though Lieutenant James Parker, of Pennsylvania, was the senior officer. They took a boat one afternoon and pulled in to visit the officers of an English man-of-war lying under Sacrificios Island.
While we proceeded along the coast, such of us as had been there before along with Grijalva, pointed out to Cortes the different places which we recollected; saying here is la Rambla, there Tonala, or St Antonio, there the river of Coatzacualco, the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Mountains, and those of St Martin, the Roca Partida, or Pierced Rock, the rivers of Alvarado, and the Vanderas, Isla Blanca, Isla Verda, Isla de los Sacrificios, and early in the evening of Holy Thursday, 21st April, we arrived at the harbour of St Juan de Ulua.
I now remembered that this man joined us at Sacrificios, just after the landing of the expedition. He had been living in the country previous to our arrival, and was well acquainted with it. "Are you a good horseman?" I inquired. "I have seen five years of cavalry service." "True. Do you think you can pass them? They are nearly in your track."
The transports, eighty in number, having embarked their freight, were directed to rendezvous in the road stead of Lobos, one hundred and twenty miles north of Vera Cruz; and when the whole had assembled, the fleet set sail for Los Sacrificios, the island where Cortez had landed in 1520, three miles south of the city.
After stopping to coal at Fort-de-France, in the beautiful island of Martinique, and a few days later stopping at Santiago de Cuba, we finally, on May 2, caught sight of a dark, broadening line upon the horizon, behind which soon loomed up in solitary dignity the snow-capped peak of Orizaba; and passing the Cangrejos and the island of Sacrificios, we anchored off the fort of San Juan de Ulloa, where we awaited a clean bill of health from the quarantine officers who came on board.
They selected the mainland abreast of Sacrificios Island. On the 9th of March, the steamers "Spitfire" and "Vixen" and several gunboats ran close inshore and shelled the sand-hills and chaparral in which the enemy might be concealed. Only a few horsemen were made to scamper away. The Government for this very landing had sent out a number of surf-boats, flat on the bottom and sharp at both ends.
The right of this chain pitched its tents opposite the isle of Sacrificios; while five miles off to the north, its left rested upon the hamlet Vergara. The sea covered the complement of this circle, guarded by a fleet of dark and warlike ships. The diameter hourly grew shorter.
On the night of the 24th General Scott received a communication, signed by the British, French, Spanish, and Prussian consuls in Vera Cruz, asking time to permit the neutrals and women and children to withdraw from the city; to which he replied that up to the 23d the communication between the neutrals in Vera Cruz and the neutral ships of war lying off Sacrificios was left open to allow them an exit, and that he had given notice to the consuls.
Word Of The Day