Sketches of the campaign in northern Mexico : in eighteen hundred forty-six and seven / by an officer of the First Regiment of Ohio volunteers.

C EIlRIAAL O. 11 P
inclined to the south, and led us into a more hilly and broken
region. There, too, the mountains of Cei'ralvo were first
discerned in the misty distance, their airy tops so softly
blending with the clouds,
"That the cheated eye
Forgets or which is earth, or which is heaven."
On the fourth day, we encamped by a clear and rapid
stream, near Pontaguada, (in which village, enz Jpessanzt, we
obtained solne delicious dried figs;) and on the fifth we entered Cerralvo thus mnaking as good time as the Iegulars
who preceded us. It was gratifying to witness the improvement in the health and spirits of the troops as we approached
the mountains. The tender feet of many unaccustemed to
Sucli laborious exercise, hardened as they progressedcl, and
each day added to their knowledge in the business of campaigning. In the pure streams of the tlpper country, they
washed away their wasting fevers, and before reaching Monterey, were generally in excellent condition for service.
Amid subsequent toils and trials, the hardships of the first
da-y's march were sometimes blithely recalledl, and often
served to assuage the severity of present privations.
Cerralvo is a smiling little town, of about twelve hundred
inhabitants, and is built chiefly of white limestone, which is
quite abundant in the neighborhood. The houses, as in all
tile Mexican towns we saw, were of the old Spanish style;
with massive walls, flat cement roofs, and a few narrow,
barred, and unglazed windows. The thick inside shutters,
substituted for sash, exclude both air and light. Though devoid of all architectural beauty, they are not without their