Sketches of the campaign in northern Mexico : in eighteen hundred forty-six and seven / by an officer of the First Regiment of Ohio volunteers.

322 CANALES OVERHAULS OUR MESSENGER.
But being anxious that the important dispatches fi'om
Buena Vista should not be delayed, he next concluded to
divide his force,-to leave one-half at Cerralvo in charge of
the train, and march with the other to Camargo. Hie stated
to Major Coffee and Mr. Crittenden the embarrassments of
our position, arising from the temper and conduct of tile
drivers; and informed his officers of the plan proposed. To
this it was replied among other things, that there was a scarcity of cartridges,-but ten or twelve rounds remaining for
the muskets and a less number for the artillery; —and that
if the enemy had not retreated toward Victoria, and should
be tempted by a division of our force to invest Cerralvo, as
he had besieged Marin; a failure of ammunition or of supplies from the surrounding country would be fatal to the
party left with the wagons. After calmly weighing all the
difficulties that surrounded him, the commanding officer
finally decided to await the arrival of a force under Colonel
Curtis, supposed to be on the march from Camargo; and in
the meantime dispatched a messenger to Major Crossman,
thle quarter-m-aster at that post, requesting the provision of
supplies on the route. The messenger who was a Mexican
smuggler, familiar with the frontier, returned in a few hours
and stated that he had encountered some of Canales' men;
but as he had fortunately refused to take a written message,
they had released him after searching his clothes and saddle
for papers. He however, stated his belief that it was possible to get through by making a circuit to the north-west,
crossing the Rio Grande and descending to Camargo on the
Texan bank. This he immediately undertook to do, in com