This account was given to me by Mr. Bob Nutt of Sabinal, who got it
from an old ferryman named Ramón down on the Rio Grande. Ramón claimed
to have been ferryman when the Mexican troops crossed over into Texas
at the beginning of the war between the United States and Mexico.
“It took me three days to get the army over,” Ramón would tell,
“crossing and crossing back, day and night. And, oh señor, I had muchas
ganas (many desires) to go with the troops. There was música, oh, so
lively, and there were the banderas (flags) all bright in the air, and
the men were all happy and singing. But I did not go, and in three days
more here they were back, but without any música or banderas and not
needing any ferry boat. They came in flocks, running and crawling like
tortugas (turtles), and they fell into the water flat on all fours like
tortugas and never stopped till they were into Mexico.
“They had been at the fight of what we call La Resaca de La Palma, and
I was very glad that I had not been with them. They did not have time
even to bring back the señor general’s chest of money or any of the
silver platas that he ate out of. There was a great bulto of it, and it
was left in La Resaca de La Palma. There three tall palms make a
triangle and in the middle of that triangle it is buried. They dug a
hole and put the chest and the silverware and a golden cross in it, and
then filled up the hole and made a great fire on top of it so that it
would look as if some military stores had been burned. And then they
came back here into the river like so many tortugas and los Americanos
were so bravos that no one of those who helped hide away the tesoro
ever would go back to it. Besides, most of them were killed at
Monterrey.”