the trumpets, and the next
moment we saw the officers push their horses up the declivitous bank,
closely followed by their men, whom they formed up in the prairie. We
counted six small squadrons, about three hundred men in all. They were
the Durango dragoons--smart troops enough to all appearance, capitally
mounted and equipped, and armed with carbines and sabres.

Although the enemy had doubtless reconnoitred us from the opposite
shore, and ascertained our position, he could not form any accurate
idea of our numbers, for with a view to deceive him, we kept the men
in constant motion, sometimes showing a part of them on the prairie,
then causing them to disappear again behind the vines and bushes. This
was all very knowing for young soldiers such as we were; but, on the
other hand, we had committed a grievous error, and sinned against all
established military rules, by not placing a picket on the further
side of the river, to warn us of the approach of the enemy, and the
direction in which he was coming. There can be little doubt that if we
had earlier notice of their approach, thirty or forty good
marksmen--and all our people were that--might not only have delayed
the advance of the Mexicans, but perhaps even totally disgusted them
of their attempt to cross the Salado. The hollow way on the other side
of the river, leading to the ford, was narrow and tolerably steep, and
the bank was at least six times as high as on our side. Nothing would
have been easier than to have stationed a party, so as to pick off the
cavalry as they wound through this kind of pass, and emerged two by
two upon the shore. Our error, however, did not strike us till it was
too late to repair it; so we were fain to console ourselves with the
reflection that the Mexicans would be much more likely to attribute
our negligence to an excess of confidence in our resources, than to
the inexperience in military matters, which was its real cause. We
resolved to do our best to merit the good opinion which we thus
supposed them to entertain of us.

When the whole of the dragoons had crossed the water, they marched on
for a short distance in an easterly direction: then, wheeling to the
right, proceeded southward, until within some five hundred paces of
us, where they halted. In this position, the line of cavalry formed
the chord of the arc described by the river, and occupied by us.

As soon as they halted, they opened their fire, although the could not
se