p229  To the Fair of San Juan de los Lagos

Cerro Gordo was the frontier town where all trains passing from one state to the other were compelled to present their guías,​241 or manifests, for inspection. The custom-house officers were notorious for their rascality and cunning in drawing strangers into their foils for the purpose of collecting boodle. Many Americans had been drawn into the foils of the rascals and skinned.

We, of course, were on our guard, and careful to give no excuse for them to demand our detention beyond the time necessary to examine our manifests. But as it was •about forty miles to the next water or camping place (La Zarca), we were compelled to stay over night, and had to be on the constant watch lest we or our men should do something to compromise us and enable the rascals to bleed us. The men were constantly approached by the people to trade or swap for some article of wearing apparel, and we were asked, [as] a special favor to some of the merchants, to sell them some goods of which they were out, and [were] offered  p230 extravagant prices for them. By selling them we should have made ourselves liable to have our train detained [a] sufficient time for them to examine all our goods in search of contraband articles. This would have caused us sufficient detention, with the expenses of fifty men and five hundred animals, to have enabled them to demand a large sum by way of boodle, or consideración, for our release. We were fortunate enough not to be drawn into any compromise either by ourselves or our men, and left the next morning in high spirits, and the boodlers mortified but watching for the next chance, which was on our return presented to them. And they were not slow to avail themselves of it.

I forgot to mention that while in Cerro Gordo one of the men came to camp and told me a man in town claimed two of my mules. I had bought two mules of Mr. Speyer which he had bought from one of the heirs of La Zarca in a lot of some thirty, and these two were the ones claimed. I went to the house of the claimant, Don Juan Sánchez, and was received very gentlemanly and informed that the mules claimed belonged to his wife, who owned a large ranch formerly belonging to La Zarca. I told them how I came by them, and he said his brother-in‑law had sold Mr. S. some mules, and if I could prove that these were a part of them, it would be all he would ask. John Devoe, who was traveling with us and well known in the town, stated that he knew the mules were among those sold to Mr. Speyer by his brother-in‑law, and there was no further trouble.

Our men bought some mules in Cerro Gordo, and we traveled on to La Zarca​242 in hopes they would get  p231 enough to leave our train a few miles beyond for General Wool's camp at Monclova. We arrived at La Zarca before dark and camped, and sent our mules to a stream •a mile or so west of the hacienda under escort of some fifteen or twenty men, as the people warned us that within a day or two they had seen Indian signs, and they expected a visit from the Comanche at any time. We detained a few animals in camp to assist in driving in the mules or giving warning of danger in case of the appearance of the Indians. The animals had got to the creek and [were] nearly through drinking, when on the hills to the west of them, but somewhat farther from them than our camp, we saw a large body of Indians pouring over the hills towards our animals. The men saw them about as soon as we did and came towards camp, making the best time possible. The Indians saw they would be unable to overtake them before reinforcements would arrive, [and] turned and disappeared over the hills.

The people were in great dread of the morrow. They said the Comanche frequently made raids upon the hacienda and carried off female prisoners, and would order the men to bring up the herd of horses and select the best; and if they had any tired or poor animals, leave them, making the sign that they must be well cared for, as they should demand them on their return, and they [the horses] must be well rested and fat. This was formerly the richest hacienda in Mexico. It was said of the former proprietor that previous to the revolution of Mexico, the Spanish government sent a regiment of dragoons to Vera Cruz to be mounted there for service. The proprietor sent, as a present to the government, one thousand gray horses of one year's foal, from this hacienda. The property was still in possession of  p232 the heirs, but they are comparatively poor. And the Indians from our side of the Río Grande made annual incursions, driving off stock, killing the people, and taking prisoners, producing great impoverishment and demoralization.

Here the men procured mules sufficient to mount the company. And the next day •some fifteen or twenty miles from La Zarca, either twenty‑one or twenty-three left our train in high spirits, expecting to reach our people in at least four or five days and be again free men in the midst of friends. They chose David McCoy, whom I hired in Westport, Missouri, and [who] crossed the plains with me to Santa Fé and there hired to Mr. Speyer, as their captain. He was a very clever man and a good hand, but the responsibility of the leader­ship appeared to be too great for his capacity, and they got lost in the desert of Mapimí and separated and wandered about until half of them famished; and the rest succeeded in gaining the settlements in a wretched and famishing condition.​243

One of them, named Lyman Marsh, came to the Fair of San Juan before we left, and I hired him there, and he continued in my employ until I returned to "the States." He and Rogers, who left my employ, became separated from the crowd and wandered over the desert for days in search of water. Rogers' mule died, and he  p233 became so exhausted that he was unable to travel, when Marsh left him with instructions to remain where he was, and if he [Marsh] found water he would return for him.

During the day he [Marsh] came in sight of a range of hills, and from the appearances of the country and the many birds flying around a particular location, he thought he should find water. He left his mule at the foot of the hills and by great effort arrived at the point; and looking down into a deep crevice in the rocks, [he] discovered a pool of water which had flown into the crevice from the surrounding surface during the rainy season, and enough remained to relieve all immediate wants. He was so weak that it was [only] by great effort and risk of life even — that it was only the stimulant of relief in sight — that enabled him to get to the water; and then the self-denial! He dipped the water in his boot and drank from it by the single swallow, resting betimes for some time, and then went to the relief of his mule, carrying both boots full and allowing her to drink from the top of the leg; and setting them down on the ground she would press down until all was gone. Thus he continued until the wants of man and beast were satisfied.

He then returned to where he left Rogers, carrying all the water he could, but only to find him gone. He hunted till dark but saw no trace of him, and went to the hills and camped for the night. In the morning he returned and continued the hunt until hope was gone. And the beginning of hunger reminded him that he must use all his remaining strength to get to the settlements, which he reached in about two days.

His description of the suffering for the want of  p234 water — and the description I afterwards heard from "Wash" Train, one of the Mier prisoners who escaped from Santa Anna's forces in Mexico and wandered in the prairie for nine days without water, and [from] a lost soldier from Colonel Sumner's forces who became separated from his comrades after his (Sumner's) battle with the Cheyenne in 1858 or 1859, and who wandered without food or drink for four days until we overtook him — convinces me that the place of the greatest conceivable torment is that where no water is found, and that the parable of Dives calling upon Abraham to send Lazarus with a drop of water to cool his parched tongue, is a picture of the greatest suffering possible for mankind to endure either here or in the hereafter. Want of food is no comparison. After the third day they said there is no suffering from hunger, and when food is procurable it is impossible to eat. But day and night, asleep and awake, the only thought or dream is for water, water, water.

We were not anxious to make the regular drives on the route to the Fair of San Juan de los Lagos for two reasons: first, we were early for the fair; and second, our mules were not sufficiently strong. Our delays and the uncertainty of our course (or rather the uncertainty of our treatment by the Mexican government), and the large expenditures consequent upon our delay compelled us to trust to the nourishment of grass for our animals, with as little expenditure for grain as we could get along with. So instead of making the drive from La Zarca to El Gallo in one day, as was the custom, we took about two and a half or three.

We, of course, sought camp at night where there was  p235 water. And the second night we were traveling late, and just before arriving at camp we had to descend a step hill with a sharp turn at the bottom and a deep gully on the left, close to the road. One of my teams driven by a Mexican had a very light pair of wheelers, but were quick to obey and when called to hold back would do their best, and the near mule would slide on all fours as long as possible. On making the turn at the bottom of the hill, she was so persistent and determined in her efforts that she brought the wagon to the edge of the ditch and turned it over, wheels up, in the bottom — mules some in the ditch and some out, and all struggling to get out of the entanglement. Here was work for the balance of the night: to get the goods out of the wagon, the wagon out of the ditch, and all set up and in order for starting in the morning. The gully was so deep that the wheels were considerably below the surface of the ground. By hard work we got everything out and loaded ready for starting in the morning. But the load was without form or comeliness — every bow broken in pieces and beyond repair. But it was the dry season, and [there was] no danger of getting our goods wet.

We pursued our journey to El Gallo​244 and arrived a little after noon, and made a short stop for the purpose of obtaining provisions. It was impossible, in the small towns through which we were to pass, to get flour in sufficient quantity to last but a day or two, and here we could get but a very small quantity. But the people said it was baking day for several families, and the bread was some in the oven and some ready to go in, and they would sell us what they could spare, and we could leave  p236 a man to bring it to camp when ready. We bargained for the amount and paid for it, and thought it better to leave the with men with an extra mule to bring it to camp.

While there, I asked if anyone had any mules to sell, and one man had some in the prairie and could bring them up in a few hours if we could agree on the price. He showed me about such as he had in selecting from our drove, and gave me his price, but we could not agree on the price by about three dollars a head, and we drove on. General Armijo was encamped near town and said he would break camp and follow us, and travel with us until we left the main road south and struck off for Durango. We traveled •some four or five miles and camped, and General Armijo followed and camped some distance in the rear.

The men [who had been] left for the bread did not arrive as soon as we expected, but we felt no alarm for them as we had seen no Indians since leaving La Zarca. But about ten or eleven o'clock General A. sent us word that one of our men had arrived in camp wounded, and said the Indians attacked them but a short distance from town and killed his companion, wounded him, and took the mules and drove them off. He crawled into the chaparral, and as soon as he was satisfied the Indians had left the vicinity, he made the best time he could for the camp. We went for him and brought him to camp, [and] found he had a flesh wound in his arm, probably from a lance, but suffering in no other way except from fright. We dressed his wound as well as we could, and early in the morning returned in search of his companion and found his body on the roadside, probably where he fell, but not scalped or mangled according to Indian custom. Probably the mules and their mountings  p237 was all they cared for as trophies or reward for the labor of honest good Indians, and the bread was probably accepted with thanksgiving as the gift of the Great Spirit. The body was taken to El Gallo and left in charge of the priest, and expenses paid for the burial.​245 This detained us half a day and enabled us to procure a small quantity of bread in place of that taken.

The day after, while traveling in the valley, on the hills to the west and •a mile or two from the road we saw the Indians busily engaged in rounding up and driving off a herd of mules. And as this was in the neighborhood where the man said his mules were at pasture, I told the boys he had better have taken my offer, as I thought they were the mules I had tried to buy. On our return from the fair, the man told me that the second day after [our departure], the Indians drove off all his mules.

Two or three days later, we camped, and had to drive the mules nearly a mile through the chaparral to water and sent a strong guard for protection, part of the soldiers remaining [in] camp as guard. It was getting dark, and we heard a great rush towards camp and many voices — some American, some Mexican — and a shouting which we could not recognize, whether civilized or savage, which produced great excitement in camp, the Americans running for their arms, the women leaving their tents and running for the corral, the soldiers in great confusion and consternation, several of them hiding under our wagons. The noise of rushing animals through the brush, and approaching nearer and nearer with such a confusion of voices (and we not knowing whether the animals were stampeded or running  p238 from Indians, and if so whether pursued or not) was very exciting to us all. But if asked whether I was frightened, I should of course say "No," in reply, but mentally I should be compelled to acknowledge the coon. What a relief when we saw the man on the bell mare in the lead, and the mules following on the run but in good order, and the men bringing up the rear somewhat excited but ready for defense both in the spirit and with arms! They reported that while the animals were drinking, the Indians appeared within a short distance and made every possible effort to stampede them, and followed for some distance under shelter of the brush, shouting and shooting arrows but not exposing themselves to the fire of our men.

In a short time everything became quiet in camp, supper cooked and eaten, and the mules corralled for the night. We started next morning without watering, thinking the Indians might lay in ambush for another attack. Governor Armijo had left us and gone south,​246 and we did not see him again until our arrival at the Fair of San Juan de los Lagos. We saw the Comanche several times on our route, but they made no attempt to molest us except on the two occasions mentioned.

Some three or four days before our arrival at Durango, we discovered two men mounted on mules driving a pack mule some distance from the road, travelling towards the north. One appeared but a foreigner and the other a Mexican servant. On discovering us, the foreigner left his course and came to our train. We asked him who he was and where he was going, and he said [that he] was Lieutenant [Ruxton]​247 of the English  p239 army, and had landed at Vera Cruz and traveled by way of the City of Mexico and all the large cities to Durango, which he left but two or three days since, and intended to go to Chihuahua and thence by way of New Mexico to the United States. We told him we thought he was running [a] great risk, as we had seen the Comanche almost every day for a week or more. But he seemed to think he could go through by keeping a good lookout, and if he was compelled to fight he was well armed and would make the best defense he could. I never met him afterwards, but heard of him in New Mexico, where he was well received by the officers of our army and visited several of the military posts, and afterwards went to St. Louis and back to England. [He] wrote a book giving an account of his travels and adventures.​248 I thought then, and ever since, that no  p240 man of common sense, who had any knowledge of Indian character, would think of taking such a trip, with such an outfit, for pleasure.

[After] arriving at a hacienda •some twelve or fifteen miles from Durango, [and] soon after turning out, two men came to us with a letter from Mr. Stahlknecht, notifying Mr. Speyer that the governor of Durango wanted an explanation of the use he was making of his passport, which was permission for him to "proceed to Durango with fifty armed men" under his (Speyer's) representation that he had "hired Mexican drivers," and he (the governor) had information that the majority of his company were Americans. This created another sensation in camp, and of course we were all anxious about our reception and whether we were again to be taken prisoners and disarmed. We lay by one day, and Mr. Speyer proceeded to Durango to negotiate. The people at the hacienda were very much excited about the Indian news we brought; as [for] if they were on a raid, they would be sure to visit the place as soon as we left. . .

We proceeded on our way and entered Durango, unloaded our wagons in the warehouses of Mr. Stahlknecht, and sent our wagons and men out of the city to a hacienda about a league distant, and also about a league from a hacienda through which we had passed, the two haciendas and the city forming the three points of a triangle. Three or four days later, we heard the Comanche were raiding the ranches about the city and driving off stock. The authorities embargoed [commandeered] several of our wagons to transport troops and provisions to the battleground, and retained them for three days. Our men, from the tops of the houses  p241 where they were, could see the Indians in large numbers rounding up stock (horses and mules), while another portion of the band were threatening and attacking the soldiers who remained behind their barricades on the defensive. The Indians made no attack upon the ranch where our men were, and not an animal was lost, either of our own or belonging to the hacienda. And the proprietor offered to support our men and animals free of cost for provisions and forage, if we would remain a month.

Durango​249 at that time had from 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, and could not raise [a] force [large] enough to defend themselves and their stock from a raid of Indians of a nation •two hundred or more miles distant. It was estimated that the loss of animals to the people of the state by this raid was 25,000 head, besides many men killed and many women carried into captivity. Lo, the poor Indian! In speaking of the loss of animals, it is not to be understood that the Indians secured that number or the half of it, but many were killed, many tired out by the way, many [were] lost in the desert, and many escaped and were lost in other ranches; so that the total loss to the different owners was the number stated. And from the accounts of the raid at the time and on our return, I thought the estimate a fair one. Lyman Marsh told me that several  p242 times in their wanderings they crossed the trail, and the number of dead animals they saw was to them appalling. They felt sure that by following the trail they would ultimately find water, but in their exhausted condition the risk of famishing was great, and if they should come upon the Indians their death was sure.

We had our goods examined by the custom-house officers, and they were passed without any unnecessary delay or expense, and [we] sold quite an amount to Mr. Stahlknecht and other merchants. After remaining some ten days, we loaded up and started on our journey, gratified to our host for his hospitality and to the authorities for not subjecting us to the persecutions we had suffered under while traveling through Chihuahua.

We traveled by short journeys through the state of Zacatecas to Aguascalientes, leaving the city of Zacatecas​250 several miles to our right and stopping over a day at the little town of Refugio, on the frontier of Aguascalientes, to wait for Mr. Speyer, who went to the city to get what information he could from the foreign merchants in regard to the prospects for sales at the fair. On the night of his arrival, after having partaken of the hospitalities of a merchant to whom he carried letters from Mr. Stahlknecht, he was aroused from his bed by a message from the governor to appear and give an account of himself. His friend becoming responsible for his appearance the next day, he was allowed to return to his rest. The next day he was subjected to a severe questioning in regard to his commercial adventure while our governments were at war,  p245 how many Americans were in his train, and what news he had from the invading army. Mr. S. had two passports — one from the Prussian government and one from the English, using the English [passport] on nearly all occasions. He thought the intention of the governor was, if he could get him entangled in some way, to demand a large sum for [his] release. But on learning that the train must by this time have arrived within the limits of another state and was beyond his jurisdiction, he released him with politeness and compliments. But the matter caused a day's delay and much anxiety in camp.

(p243)

Plaza of Aguascalientes about 1850 From Álbum Pintoresco de la República Mexicana, Mexico, circa 1850

 (p244 is blank)  Again we proceeded on our journey, and without further molestation arrived at Aguascalientes,​251 where we proposed to remain a few days until the time arrived to proceed and get ready for the opening of the fair. During our stay Mr. Speyer took a room at the hotel, where we spent most of the day. And occasionally some of the city people would come in to see what the Tejanos were about, and we would entertain them with refreshments and do all we could do to avoid molestation during our stay.

One day a monk from a monastery near‑by entered the room with his contribution box and the picture of the Saint, to solicit alms. Without kissing the Saint or inquiring the object, we each put a dollar in the box, when the monk drew a paper from his pocket and placed [it] before Mr. Speyer for this perusal. It was a sheet of Mexican paper but little different in size from  p246 our foolscap paper, with a heading showing it to be for a lottery, and below the heading two columns of names and a few on the other side. Mr. S. took his pen to put down our names, supposing our donations entitled us to chances. The monk immediately placed his hand upon the paper with the exclamation,

"No, no, sir! You aren't dead! You don't understand. I don't want your names. These are the names of persons who have died without confession and whose souls are in purgatory. We solicit donations from christian sympathizers, and when we get a sufficient amount subscribed to pay for mass for the release of one, those names are placed in a box, and it is decided by lot which soul shall have the benefit of the first mass."

The explanation was satisfactory. The monk seated himself and joined us in eating some fruit, and after a pleasant social chat of a half hour or so, left us with many thanks and low bows, inviting Mr. Speyer to visit the institution in the afternoon; which he did and said he had a pleasant and interesting visit.

A day or two later, we were visited by some of the authorities of the city and requested to leave and go to a ranch some distance on our road to San Juan, as they feared if any bad news should come from the seat of war, the populace might become excited, and our interests and perhaps our lives imperiled. At this suggestion we raised camp, and traveled •some ten or twelve miles to a ranch where we could obtain pasturage, grain, and provisions for men and animals until the time arrived to proceed to the fair. I think we remained here some six or seven days. And the time drawing near for the opening of the fair, Mr. S. went ahead to hire rooms and secure accommodations for the men and animals during the fair.

 p247  The Fair of San Juan de los Lagos​252 was at that time the largest and most important fair in Mexico or on the continent. There must have been from 50,000 to 75,000 people present every day during the fair, and visitors were constantly coming and going. We hoped and expected that the ports being blockaded, goods would be very scarce and command high prices. Mr. S. hired a house sufficiently large for the storage of our goods. And as all sales were made in original packages and sold by samples, we did not require a regularly fitted store. He paid four hundred and seventy-five dollars rent for the house during the fair of twelve or fourteen days, when it was rented for the balance of the year for the nominal rent of twenty-five dollars; the object being to keep the property in order during the year and vacated for rent at fair time, and produce a rent of five hundred dollars a year.

We entered the town on November 27 or 28,​253 and unloaded our goods and prepared for examination by the customs officers. Guards were stationed at the door that day and night, and next day the examining officers came and began work. The laws of Mexico rendered all domestics and prints coarser than a certain number of threads to the square inch, contraband, also many goods of foreign manufacture without distinction of texture or quality — a protective tariff in its broadest sense. The advantage to merchants in attending this fair was that all goods sold there were free from consumos, or inter- p248 state duties, which were one‑third the introduction duties, and to us would amount to about as much as we had paid.

This was the place appointed for the meeting of people for the exchange of products of the different sections and states of the republic, as well as of foreign countries. Here we came with about one hundred tons of goods, the products of English and American factories. The English goods [were] transported across the ocean •3,000 miles, thence with the American goods to Independence, Missouri, •some 1,200 miles, thence by wagons to the fair about •2,500 miles — in all •about 6,700 miles for the English goods and •3,700 miles for the American. We had been on the road from Independence, Missouri, from May 9 to November 27.

About noon on the second day of the examination, labor was suddenly suspended, and Mr. Speyer and the officers left, and we saw no more of them until late at night. Mr. S. returned and reported the situation of affairs. They had examined a bale of one lot of prints which "did not count" — were too coarse in texture and subject to confiscation. Instead of disputing or appealing to higher authority, he invited them out to dinner and wine, and after a liberal indulgence in the refreshments, the subject of compromise was introduced and discussed, and continued amid smoke and wine at intervals until late at night, when terms were agreed upon. The officers were to discontinue further examination and certify to [the] correctness of the manifests and that all the goods were legal in kind and quality, and at the close of the fair they were to receive $1,800 as a consideration.

On December 1​254 we began selling, and the prices  p249 were such as to justify the hope of a profitable trip. Prints and bleached domestics sold the first day for 8 to 31 cents per vara •(33 inches), and other goods in proportion. But soon news of fresh arrivals of goods and others on the way depressed the market from day to day, until the last sales were made at 18 to 22 cents.​255 And Mr. S. made a large sale at the close to a gambler from the City of Mexico for pearls, jewelry, and silver ornaments and trinkets, which he had taken in payment in the way of business.

Trains of pack mules arrived from Monterrey and Tampico (which we had supposed were blockaded by our armies), and from Vera Cruz, Mazatlán, and other seaports — one day 3,000 pack mules from Mazatlán loaded with English dry goods. And about the tenth day of the fair, [there] arrived a German commission merchant from Guadalajara with samples [of goods] from two vessels which had run the blockade at San Blas, and offered to merchants from the large cities at low prices, the goods to be invoiced as sold at the fair and delivered direct to the business place of the purchasers.

About the eighth or ninth day of the fair, the chief customs officer came in for a call and asked how we were getting along, and during the interview advised us that in his opinion it would be well to hurry sales, as it was somewhat uncertain whether the time would be extended till the fourteenth, as had sometimes been done. The legal time of the fair was twelve days, but the military commander appointed by the government  p250 had discretionary power to extend the time two days when he thought it advisable.

About this time my partner arrived from Santa Fé having recovered from his wound. [He had] traveled to Chihuahua with Dr. Connelly and Francis Macmanus, merchants on their way with trains. But not being allowed to pass by our troops, [they had] left their trains with Colonel Doniphan's command and went ahead to see what the prospects were [for] trade, and the chances of protection or persecution by the authorities in case the troops were defeated or victorious in battle. And [the troops] were afterwards ordered to join General Taylor at Monclova, leaving them [the traders] exposed to the rabble and to the military and civil authorities, on their return. They [Connelly, Doan, and Macmanus] were all taken prisoners. Dr. Connelly being an American, and a Mexican citizen by naturalization, was looked upon with more suspicion, and suspected if not accused of treasonable designs. Mr. Doan said that he was immediately released on his presentation of the Lion and Unicorn (British passport) and allowed to go where he pleased. The others were held as prisoners, in charge of two of the leading citizens of the city, until after the Battle of Sacramento and [when] Colonel Doniphan entered the city.​256

 p251  What a relief to me when I could confer with a partner whose interest was equal with my own, and we could transact our business independently and travel through the country under the protection of a neutral and power­ful government which afforded ample protection to her citizens whenever their interests called them, and none of whose lawmakers or executors would offer the prayer in [a] legislative assembly that God in wisdom and justice "would grant that the Mexicans might welcome our armies with open arms to hospitable graves."

Mr. Doan assumed control of our interests, under English protection, and I felt much safer from annoyance and persecution than at any time before. I had, it is true, my letter of security. Yet I never used it but on the one occasion, and felt that it was more prudent to abstain unless it appeared absolutely necessary. I had disposed of a good many goods; yet quite an amount remained on hand. And under the recommendation of the customs officer, we thought best to hurry up. So Mr. Doan consulted the representative of an English house​257 in Zacatecas, and he proposed that we should invoice the goods to them as goods sold, and he would take them there and sell them on commission, and he would make returns to us in Chihuahua. We invoiced the goods and marked them with the name of the consignees. And the very next day the officer in charge came in and announced that he had orders to confiscate the goods of all citizens of the United States, and send the proprietors out of the country by way of Mazatlán. Mr. Doan showed his passport, and pointed to the piles of bales and the marks upon them, when he congratulated  p252 him on his good luck, and said he had been informed that probably the goods belonged to an American, and he feared he might have an unpleasant duty to perform.

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The Author's Notes:

241 The guía, or custom-house permit, was a sort of clearance or passport for goods. It certified that the merchandise had been regularly entered at the custom-house and the legal duties paid, and enumerated the points of destination for the commodities listed in the factura, or invoice. The guía was not only required on leaving the port of entry, but also in transporting goods from one state to another, and even from one village or town to another within a state. William S. Messervy to Powhatan Ellis, Sept. 25, 1841, MS., Despatches from Ministers (Mexico), State Department; Gregg, op. cit., XX.147‑148.

242 The hacienda of La Zarca, one of the largest ranches in northern Mexico, was famous for the number and quality of its horses and mules. Gregg, op. cit., XX.163; Kendall, op. cit., II.118‑121; Bartlett, op. cit., II.468‑470.

243 Of the twenty‑one teamsters who left the caravan near La Zarca, ten or eleven perished in the desert. The survivors reached Guajuquilla in the latter part of October, 1846. "Such miserable, emaciated creatures it has never been my lot to see," wrote Ruxton. "With long hair and beards, and thin cadaverous faces, with the cheek-bones projecting almost through the skin, and their mouths cracked with the drought, they dismounted before my door, weak and scarcely able to stand; most of them had entirely lost their voices, and some were giddy and light-headed with the sufferings they had endured." Ruxton, op. cit., 131. See also Hughes, Doniphan's Expedition, 347.

244 San Pedro del Gallo, or St. Peter of the Cock.

245 See Ruxton, op. cit., 115‑116.

246 This is an error. Armijo did not leave Speyer and Webb until after their meeting with George F. Ruxton. Ibid., 110.

247 On October 12, 1846, Armijo, Speyer, and Webb met Lieutenant George F. Ruxton •about seventy miles northeast of the city of Durango. Ruxton described their meeting as follows: "A little farther on I saw the long line of waggons, like ships at sea, crossing a plain before me. They were all drawn by means of eight fine mules, and under the charge and escort of some thirty strapping young Missourians, each with a long heavy rifle across his saddle. I stopped and had a long chat with Armijo, who, a mountain of fat, rolled out of his American dearborn, and inquired the price of cotton goods in Durango, he having some seven waggon-loads with him, and also what they said, in Mexico, of the doings in Santa Fé, alluding to its capture by the Americans without any resistance. I told him that there was but one opinion respecting it expressed all over the country — that General Armijo and the New Mexicans were a pack of arrant cowards; to which he answered, 'Adios! [Á Dios?]. They don't know that I had but seventy-five men to fight 3,000. What could I do?" Ibid.

248 Ruxton's book, Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains, was first published in 1847. Garrard, who met Ruxton at Bent's Fort in the spring of 1847, described him as "a quiet, good-looking man, with a handsome moustache. He conversed well, but sparingly, speaking little of himself. He has passed over the burning sands of Africa, penetrated the jungles of India, jogged on patient mule through the Tierra Caliente of Mexico, and laid down among the snowdrifts of the Rocky mountains." Ruxton died in St. Louis in the late summer of 1848. Weekly Reveille, Sept. 4, 1848; Garrard, Wah‑To‑Yah, 290.

249 The city of Durango was founded by Francisco de Ibarra about 1563. Situated on a plateau •nearly seven thousand feet high, it was one of the most beauti­ful cities in northern Mexico. "It presents two or three handsome squares," wrote Gregg, "with many fine edifices and some really splendid churches. The town is supplied with water for irrigating the gardens, and for many other ordinary purposes, by several open aqueducts, which lead through the streets, from a large spring, a mile or two distant." Gregg, op. cit., XX.164. See also J. Lloyd Mecham, Francisco de Ibarra and Nueva Vizcaya (Durham, 1927), 123‑124.

250 The city of Zacatecas was founded about 1548. It was located near extensive silver mines, which were the cause for its origin and growth. By 1846 it had a population of thirty or forty thousand. Mecham, op. cit., 44‑46; Ruxton, op. cit., 75.

251 "The city of Aguascalientes is beautifully situated in a level plain," wrote Gregg, "and would appear to contain about twenty thousand inhabitants, who are principally engaged in the manufacture of rebozos and other textures mostly of cotton. As soon as I found myself sufficiently at leisure, I visited the famous warm spring (ojo caliente) in the suburbs, from which the city derives its euphonious name." Gregg, op. cit., XX.169.

252 The Fair of San Juan de los Lagos appears to have had a religious origin. Ever since 1623 pilgrims made annual visits to the town in order to venerate an image of the Virgin Mary. This custom attracted traders. In 1797 Charles IV ordered that the fair be held during the first fifteen days of December. Hubert H. Bancroft, History of Mexico (Works of H. H. Bancroft, XI, San Francisco, 1883), III.640.

253 Webb arrived in San Juan de los Lagos at least as early as November 26. Webb & Doan, Daybook, 1846‑1847, Webb MSS.

254 Webb's first sale was made on November 26. Ibid.

255 Webb sold the following goods at the fair: striped, black, blue, and plaid satinet; brown and blue cloth; bleached domestics; plaid cashmere; cambric; calico; muslin; prints; lienzo [linen cloth]; balzarine; printed lawn; lace; muslin dresses; cotton hose; crêpe shawls; bracelets; buttons; scissors; hooks and eyes; and dress patterns. Ibid.

256 In October, 1846, Connelly, Macmanus, Doan, and Váldez, Santa Fé traders, were taken prisoners by the Mexican at Paso del Norte. They were immediately taken to Chihuahua, arriving there on October 18. Doan was released on showing his English passport. Though the others were detained for a longer period, they appear to have obtained their freedom some time before the Battle of Sacramento, February 28, 1847. Edwards, A Journal of an Expedition to New Mexico and the Southern Provinces, 1846‑1847, MS., Missouri Historical Society; Daily Missouri Republican, Dec. 8, 30, 1846, Feb. 19, 1847; Weekly Reveille, Jan. 4, 1847.

257 William Roxburgh. Webb & Doan, Daybook, 1846‑1847, Webb MSS.

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