men, commanded by officers who
had, for the most part, distinguished themselves in the revolutionary
wars against the Spaniards. Our whole army, which we found encamped on
the Salado, under the command of General Austin, did not exceed eight
hundred men.

The day after that on which Fanning and myself, with our four and
thirty recruits, reached headquarters, a council of war was held, and
it was resolved to advance as far as the mission of Santa Espada. The
advanced guard was to push forward immediately; the main body would
follow the next day. Fanning and myself were appointed to the command
of the vanguard, in conjunction with Mr Wharton, a wealthy planter,
who had brought a strong party of volunteers with him, and whose
mature age and cool judgment, it was thought, would counterbalance any
excess of youthful heat and impetuosity on our part. Selecting
ninety-two men out of the eight hundred, who, to a man, volunteered to
accompany us, we set out for the mission.

These missions are a sort of picket-houses or outposts of the Catholic
church, and are found in great numbers in all the frontier provinces
of Spanish America, especially in Texas, Santa Fe, and Cohahuila. They
are usually of sufficient strength to afford their inmates security
against any predatory party of Indians or other marauders, and are
occupied by priests, who, while using their endeavours to spread the
doctrines of the Church of Rome, act also as spies and agents of the
Mexican government.

On reaching San Espada we held a discussion as to the propriety of
remaining there until the general came up, or of advancing at once
towards the river. Wharton inclined to the former plan, and it was
certainly the most prudent, for the mission was a strong building,
surrounded by a high wall, and might have been held against very
superior numbers. Fanning and I, however, did not like the idea of
being cooped up in a house, and at last Wharton yielded. We left our
horses and mustangs in charge of eight men, and with the remainder set
out in the direction of the Salado, which flows from north to south, a
third of a mile to the westward of the mission. About half-way between
the latter and the river, was a small group, or island, of muskeet
trees, the only object that broke the uniformity of the prairie. The
bank of the river on our side was tolerably steep, about eight or ten
feet high, hollowed out here and there, and covered with a thick
network of wild vin