128                             TEXAS  AND  MEXICO.
bers. The Mexican woman, half dead with terror and
fatigue, was carried into a hut, where she was provided
with clothes, and conveyed to Castroville. After a little
rest, she related to us her adventures, which were well
attested by the dreadful wounds which she had received.
Castroville itself was at one time thrown into a state
of consternation by a fearful tragedy. Four Alsacians
had disappeared : the butcher who had hung the Swiss ;
a child eleven years of age who had lived with him ; and
two young colonists who lived with their father near us.
On Christmas Eve these unfortunate people went to fetch
their cattle, and to cut wood near the San Hyeronimo,
but unguardedly they fell asleep under a tree, and in
this state they were surprised by Indians, who pinned
the two youngest victims to the earth with their arrows.
The two others awoke from their sleep, and being quite
unarmed, made all the resistance they could. How they
fought no one can tell, but the combat must have been
long and obstinate, for in one place we found the broken
blade of a lance ; in another, a lance with its iron twisted,
and the grass trodden down in a most remarkable
manner. The victims had endeavoured, no doubt, to seize
the arms of their enemies, for the hands of each were
cut and hacked in a shocking manner, and their bodies
were riddled with arrows. The butcher had run away,
but he fared even worse than the others. The dead
body of his companion was found twenty yards further
off. The latter evidently tried to escape by flight ; but
an arrow was sent right through his body, piercing
the spinal marrow in its passage. We were not able to
discover the tribe which had committed this frightful
butchery, for the grooves of the arrows were of different
forms.    When the Indians go on marauding excursions,