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

183' REACHI SAN FRANCISCO.
musician, and humorously insisted upon being " toted"
across. The little animal, already overladed, sank deep in
the mire under the additional weight, and becoming seriously
alarmed, stretched its head toward the dry land and brayed
both loud and long. In vain did the merry bugler coax, or
the soldier en crou pe, prick with his bayonet. The beast of
Balaam was not more immoveable. The predicament of the
pet donkey, naturally enough, elicited many amusing remarks
from the men, as they waded across. " Well, Bob," said
one to a comrade, " I always did admire music on the water,
and that ere jackass is a full brass band —7e is." Another
hailing the bugler, poli.tely desired to be informed "' whether
he intended to run all night'? A third ventured to tell him
that if he wished to stop, he could do so by " pulling the
strings." The hind quarters of the poor animal were, by
this time, setting rapidly in the bog, while its ears stuck out
like the masts of a stranded ship.'Twig him now,"
shouted some one,'"he's going down stern foremost."
" Throw your guns overboard! " Take to the life boats!'
and many other such exclamations were made by the crowd.
The bugler's donkey was finally brought over, as were the
wagons, by dint of much laborious pushing and pulling.
After a general scraping off we again moved forward, and
though halting "to noon" at the village of Agua Frio,
reached camp at San Francisco before sunset.
Such scenes as that I have attempted to describe, often
enlivened our march to Monterey; and toward the close of
it, the regiment was in excellent health and cheerfully encountered every labor and difficulty. To our young troops,