erefore, we
engaged two men, with their carts; one in which we might ride and carry
a mattress, which should serve as a bed at night, and the other, to
carry the baggage and provisions for ourselves and the horses, as our
way was mostly through an uncultivated country.

"We knew that General Cortinas, with his troops, was somewhere between
us and Texas, as the State we were in was one of those in rebellion. The
blood-thirsty character of General Cortinas is well known on the
frontier, there being no less than seventeen indictments against him for
murder in the State of Texas. He is regarded as having a special hatred
against Americans, and the Mexicans, themselves, stand in terror of him.

"Our friends and brethren in Cadereita tried hard to deter us from
going, as most likely we would fall into the hands of General Cortinas;
in which event, they said, the very utmost we could expect would be to
escape with our lives, being left destitute of everything, in a
wilderness road; but, as God had seemed to open up the way, providing
the means, we determined to go forward, trusting that He also would
protect us in the way. Therefore, having completed our arrangements, we
started for Matamoras, some three hundred miles distant, on the 19th of
March, the wives of the two men accompanying their husbands, making our
party six adults and one child; the brethren in Cadereita promising to
pray daily for our safety. The third morning, after commending
ourselves, as usual, into the care of our covenant-keeping God, we
started on our journey. Some two hours later, we espied the troops of
General Cortinas, about two miles distant, marching toward us. We again
all looked to God for protection, and prayed that, as he shut the mouths
of the lions, that they should not hurt his servant Daniel, so He would
now restrain the evil passions of men, that they might not hurt nor
injure us--then we went on till we met the advance guard, who commanded
us to halt and wait till the General came up. After nearly half an hour,
General Cortinas, with his escort, rode up to where we were waiting for
him. After the ordinary salutation, he asked: (_?de adonde vienen y
adonde van?_) 'From whence have you come, and where are you going?'--to
which we replied properly; then he asked: 'What is the news from Nueva
Leon?' (the State we left)--to which we replied as faithfully as we
could. Then I asked him, 'Is the road safe between us and Matamoras?' He
replied: '