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

RABBIT HUNTING. 269
favorite diversion was rabbit-catching by a circular hunt or
6"surround.9 Those animals were neither rare nor shy in
that vicinity; and from their unusual size and the extraordinary length of their ears, were designated by the specific
term "jackass-rabbit-s.' Some of them are nearly as large as
the red fox of the North. Their hair is very long and fine,
and it is known that the ancient Mexicans possessed the art
of weaving it into a soft and delicate web. Three or four
hundred of the men, unarmedl, generally united in the hunt,
the scene of which was a plain adjoining our camp, covered
with sedge and bushes not much higher than the knee. By
skillfilly and rapidly forming a large circle, the men always
inclosed one or more rabbits. Then marching with loud
shouts toward the center, and closing the intervals between
them as they advanced, no means of escape were left to the
terrified and bewildered animals, save by jumping over the
heads of the soldiers, which was sometimes successfully
attempted.
The day after our arrival, I visited Saltillo on military
business and to see the town. It contains some handsome
and extensive buildings, and the streets are tolerably well
paved. The principal plaza is embellished with shade trees
and a fountain, and the whole city is abundantly supplied
with good water. The church is a vast and irregular edifice,
nearly two hundred and fifty feet in length, and elaborately
ornamented within and without. The wall behind the grand
altar is about fifty feet high, and all covered with a mass of
gilding in raised figures, that dazzled and wearied the eye.
A profusion of paintings, statues and wax figures, were dis129