41 o Life of Audubon. 



or two cabins occupied by Texan officers and soldiers. 

 A dozen or more long guns lay about on the sand, and 

 one of about the same calibre was mounted. There was 

 a look-out house fronting and commanding the entrance 

 to the harbor, and at the point where the three channels 

 meet there were four guns mounted of smaller calibre. 

 We readily observed that not much nicety prevailed among 

 the Mexican prisoners, and we learned that their habits were 

 as filthy as their persons. We also found a few beautiful 

 flowers, and among them one which Harris and I at once 

 nicknamed the Texan daisy ; and we gathered a number of 

 their seeds, hoping to make them flourish elsewhere. On 

 the top of one of the huts we saw a badly-stuffed skin of 

 a grey or black wolf, of the same species as I have seen 

 on the Missouri. When we were returning to the vessel 

 we discovered a large sword-fish grounded on one of the 

 sandbanks, and after a sharp contest killed her with our 

 guns. In what we took to be a continuation of the stom- 

 ach of this fish, we found four young ones, and in another 

 part resembling the stomach six more were packed, all 

 of them alive and wriggling about as soon as they were 

 thrown on the sand. It would be a fact worth solving to 

 know if these fish carry their young like viviparous rep- 

 tiles. The young were about thirty inches in length, and 

 minute sharp teeth were already formed. 



" May 8. To-day we hoisted anchor, bound to Hous- 

 ton : after grounding a few times, we reached Red Fish 

 Bar, distant twelve miles, where we found several Ameri- 

 can schooners and one brig. It blew hard all night, and 

 we were uncomfortable. 



" May 9. We left Red Fish Bar with the Crusader and 

 the gig, and with a fair wind proceeded rapidly, and soon 

 came up to the new-born town of New Washington, 

 owned mostly by Mr. Swartwout the collector of customs 

 of New York. We passed several plantations ; and the 



