nt Isabel,--distant about eighteen miles from the former and ten from
the latter,--where he left the infantry brigades under the command of
General Worth, with instructions to press on in the direction of
Matamoros until a suitable position for encampment was obtained, at
which he might halt, holding the route in observation, whilst the
commander-in-chief proceeded with the cavalry to Point Isabel. At that
post General Taylor expected to meet the transports from Corpus Christi
with the force under Major Monroe, and to make the necessary
arrangements for the establishment and defence of a depot.

As soon as the army left the Colorado a new object, of more interest in
natural history than military memoirs, presented itself to the notice of
our troops. The soil was covered with a long wiry grass among which
glided immense numbers of huge rattlesnakes, more appalling to our
soldiers than the Mexicans. The country literally swarmed with serpents.
From the Colorado to within a few miles of Point Isabel their warning
rattle was heard on all sides. They crept between the ranks as our men
marched through the long herbage, and at night coiled themselves
comfortably under their blankets for warmth.

* * * * *

Familiar as we are with the campaigns of Frederick and Napoleon, and
willing to record as classical the great deeds of the old world's
heroes, we are still often loath to do justice to the brave men in our
own country who have served the State so zealously in Florida and
Mexico. It is not simple bravery in battle that commends a soldier to
admiration, for few are cowards when the excitement of action hurries
them headlong among their foes amid the shouts and thunder of actual
carnage. But it is the preparatory discipline that tests a military
character. The camp and the march are the soldier's training. The dreary
winter-quarter passed in patient service, and the wearying advance over
burning plains or snowy mountains, are the real touchstones of courage,
and prove those powers of _endurance and subordination_ which make
resistance staunch and stubborn. These are the sources of discipline;
and it was with troops that had borne the winter hardships at Corpus
Christi, I have described, and made the short but arduous march to Point
Isabel, that Taylor felt sure of victory. They had encountered
extraordinary fatigue, and yet were ready at a moment's notice for
battle without flinching. With such