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Show [ 7 J 28 "Ther•' go my army-you s e but a small portion of it; there are many more brhind-re. ista.nce i. u cle.s. "Mr. alcalde, and you two cap tain s of militia, the laws of my country require that all men who hold office und er it sha ll take the oath of all gian ce . J do nol wi h for the prcse11t, until affi1ir become mor ,ettl ed, to disturb your form Of goYerntn cnt. lf you arc pr parcel to t ak oath~ of all<'giance, l hall continue you in office and support your authority." This was a bitter pill; bul it w<~s swallowe(l by the cli scoutented captain, with downcast eyes. The grncral remarked to him, in hearing of all the peopl e : "Captain, look me in the fare while you reprat the oath of office." The hint was under too<l; the oath tak en, and the alcal(le and the two ·aptain. pronounced to be ·continued in oflice. The eitizens were cnjoine:d to obey the alcalde, & ·. &c. The p oplc grinn ed, t~nd exchanged looks of sa ti faction; but seemed not to have the boldness lo express what th ·y ev id ently felt-that thrir burdens, if not relieved, were at lea ·t shifted to some un ga·ll ed part of the body. We descended by the amc riclcctty ladder by which we had climbetl to the top of the houses , mounted our horses, and rode briskly forward to encounter our 600 Mexicans in the gorge of the mountains, two miles distant. · 'l'he sun shone with daz7.ling brightnr~~; the guillons and colors of each squadron, regiment, and battalion were for the first time unfurled. The drooping horses seemed to t ake courage from the gay array. The trumpeters sounded "to horse," with spirit, and the hills multiplied and rc-ccbo~d thr eall. All wore the aspect of a gala day; and, as we approached the gorge, wh re we expected to meet the enemy, we broke into a britik trot, then into a full rrallop, preceded by a squadron of horse. The gorge was passed,bbut no person seen. One by one the guidons were furled; the men looked disappointed, an(l a few minutrs found us dragging our slow len!!ths alonrr with the us~tal in(lifferencc in re gard to every subje ·t exc pt that of overcom111g space. Two mile i"urther brought us to another pass as formidable as the first, an1l all the interm diate country ·was broken and covered with a dense growth of pin c, p iflon, and cedar. I1 ere the mountains of red sand-ston e, di sposed in horizontal strt~ta herrin to rise to the height of a thou and fee~ aboYe the road. Ni'ne 1~iles more brought us to Tacolot6. I_Iere we met the alcalde and the people in the cool and spacious resulcnce of the former, \Yhere the drama above de. crihell was again ena?te1l. _,.fhis time it was g raced by the presence of the women w1lh then bare ankles, round plump arms, and slippered feet. We marched t_en miles farther, to the Vernal spring, and halted at the upp r spnng, ancl observed for time and latitude about 500 feet south of the upper .' pring. Observe(l. 9 altitudes of polari~, 7 of alpha aquihe, and 7 of arcturus. Latttude 35° 23' 19"; longitude 7h. Olm. 23s. 29 [ 7] H eight in(li ca tcd by th ba rorn el r G,299 fc•ct. .111~gust 16.-We marched to San Miguel, where Gt'neral Kearny assembled the people and harangu ·d them lllt JCh in the ame manncr as at the Vegas. Reports now reached us at every step that the people were rising, an d that A r rn i j o was · o ll c ct in g a form i d a u l (' force t o oppose our march at. the celebrated pass of the Caiion, J5 miles from 'anta F6. .A.bout the middle of the day's mar ·h the two Pu 'blo Indi ans, previou ly sent in to ~ound the ch ief men of that formidabl · tribe, were seen in tl1c di lance, at full spc d, with arm:s and legs both thumping into the sid H of their mules at t>very stride·. Something was now surely in the wind. The smaller nnd for most of the two dashe(l up to the gcn •ral, his face radiant with joy, and exclnimcd, H th y arc in the Caiion, my brave, pluck up your <·ourao·c and push them out." As oon as his extravagant deligbt at the prosp et of a fight, and the pI casu r e of com m u n i cat in g the news, had ~;u b i tl c d, he ga YC a pr tty ac ·urate id ca of Armijo's forc:e and posi lion. The road passed ovN to -day wn: good, but the fa ·c of the country xcccdingly rugg 'd, brok 'n, and cover •d with pilion antl etlar. To the 1cfL, one or two miles distant, towers a wall, nearly perpendicular, 2,000 feet hi gh, apparently level on th top, aud showing, as near as I ould judge from the road, an immense stratum of red sand- tone. We tnrne(l from the road to tl1e creek, where there w rc a few ran ch erias, to encamp; at which place w ·pas ·eel an uncomfortable nigl1l, the wa.t 'r b 'ing hard to reach, and the gras!:l vpry bad. Barometric height 6,316 feet. .flttgust 17.-'l'he picket g uard, statione(l on the road, captured the son of Saliza, who, il is said, i to play an important part in the defence of this eountry , and the sam ... who bcl1av cl so brutally to the T exan pri oncrs. 'l'h · sou W<\ at ""an .l'vliguel yesterday, and h eard from a concealed place all that passed. It is ~ up po cd, at this time, he was examining the position, strength, &c., of our army, to report to his father. A rumor has reached camp that the 2,000 "t\1" xic:1n assembled in the Cn ilon to oppose us, have quarrelled among th crnsclYc ; that Armijo, taking advantage of the di. scnsions, fled with hi dragoons and artillery to the outh . J I ' l1 as long bern suspecte(l of wishing an cxcu ·e to fly. It is well known he hils been aver ·c to a battle, but . om of his people threatened his life if he rcfu ·ed to fi ght. li e has b en, for some d.ays, more in fear of hi· own people than of the American army. If e has seen what th<'y arc blind to: the hop elc sness oC rcsislanc . As we appronchcd tllC ruins of the ancient town of Pec·os, a large fat" fellow, mounted on a. mule, came towards us at full . pee(l, an1l extending his han(l to the genNal, congratulated him on the arrival of himself and a.nny . lie said, with a roar of laughter, Armijo and his troops have gone to hell, ''and the 'ailon i all cl ar." This was the a leald e of the settl em ·n t, two miles up the l)ecos from the ruins, where we encamped, 15J miles from our las t c.amp, anu two miles from the road. |
