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

(612 REYNOSA.
was quite in keeping with the place, if not with the dayo
The manager posted the public that, " On Sunday evening,
August 9th, will be presented for the first time, 6 The Dumb
Girl of Genoa,' and; The Forest Rose,' together with a great
-variety of singing; the whole to conclude with a dance in
wooden shoes, that will be a caution to corns and cockroaches.?
At Matamoros, our men first tasted that inebriating beverage, putlzue, the whisky of Mexico. Whether in conse-,uence of their indulgence in it, or some other cause, some of
i;hem were reported as;" absent without leave," when we left'.he town on the 10th of August; and, by their disobedience,
were compelled to measure with fatiguing steps the land route
to Camargo.
The next village of any importance above Matamoros, is
Reynosa. There we found a small garrison of regular troops.
It is very prettily situated on a commanding elevation, about
a mile from the right bank of the Rio Grande, and contains
some substantial stone houses; but its general appearance, like
that of almost everything else in the country, indicates dilap.
idation and decay. A short distance below the landing, we
passed a number of women bathing in the river; the length
of their hair and tongues disclosing their sex. In the course
of our voyage, we encountered several parties of natives
washing themselves in the discolored stream, many of whom
were as destitute of modesty as of clothing. From the custom, not uncommon among the lowest class, of wearing pantaloons only, their tawny bodies have been dyed by the sun
and air, many shades darker than their legs. Hence the droll