p255  Returning to Chihuahua

We were now compelled to consider the propriety of a new adventure. We had our teams and did not know when we would be permitted to leave the country; so [we] concluded to load with Mexican goods and start home by way of Chihuahua. Our Zacatecas friend advised us where we could best purchase the goods we wanted, and we loaded our four wagons with sugar and piloncillo⁠258 principally, and a few rebozos,⁠259 shoes, chocolate, and assorted goods suitable to the Chihuahua market. There were large stocks of sugar exposed for sale in the open air on the loma (hill) east of the town and •a half mile or so distant from our warehouse. We bought about ten tons. We could not get to the ground with our wagons to load, but contracted with a man to transport it to our wagons by cargadores.⁠260 The sugar was packed in bales of •from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and seventy-five pounds for transportation on mules and donkeys — two bales to the load, with two hundred and fifty pounds for a donkey, and three hundred and fifty for a mule, load. . .

While at the fair, a good many Mexican troops passed through, as we understood on their way to San Luis Potosí, where Santa Anna was organizing an army to attack General Taylor. We took our meals at a restaurant; and one day there were several officers there  p256 at dinner, two of whom sat opposite me. After they were through eating and [while] waiting for their coffee, one of them took from his pocket a silver toothpick shaped like a sword sheathed in a scabbard. Unsheathing the sword, he began picking his teeth, when his companion asked him if [he] proposed to use the same weapon for picking his teeth and fighting the gringos.

"Oh yes," he replied, holding it before him. "It is handsome and convenient as a toothpick; and if with the enemy, it will be sufficient as a weapon of attack or defense" — both looking at me as if the conversation was for my especial benefit.

I carefully avoided any demonstration, either by word or look, to lead them to suppose I could understand the conversation. I thought, however, that if they met our army they would have reason to believe they would need more effective weapons and greater skill and courage in the use of them than they had displayed in the past, or they would return in greater haste than they were advancing.

We desired to be safe from the persecutions of the customs officers, and got our friend from Zacatecas to make our guías (manifests); and not knowing where our troops might be, we took them for Zacatecas, Durango, or Chihuahua, thinking possibly [our] troops might be on the route from the north or from Monclova to Durango, and we would not be permitted to pass to the protection of our armies. Mr. Speyer had sold all his wagons except one, and many of his drivers had consented to go with the wagons; so our train was made up of four wagons and an ambulance of our own, one wagon of Mr. Speyer's, and one of John Devoe. And about the middle of December we started on our return,  p257 under the protection of a British passport of Mr. Doan. [We] took our old route through Aguascalientes and Zacatecas. But on reaching the boundary of Durango, we bore east through Juan Pérez and Totonilco to El Gallo, thence to La Zarca and Cerro Gordo, a place approached with dreadful forebodings [on] account of the meanness and dishonesty of the custom-house officers.

We arrived about eleven at night, having made the long drive from La Zarca of •forty-five miles; and I asked Mr. Doan to take our guías to the custom-house and leave them there for examination. He thought it would be just as well to present them in the morning, as it was so late and probably all [were] in bed, and we were also tired and sleepy. So we lay down and rested till morning. Our guías were placed in his trunk at San Juan, and we had no occasion to look at them until we arrived at this place. No officer on the borders of either Zacatecas or Durango had asked to look at them. But we felt perfectly safe that they were all right and that there could be no reason for delay; so we began "catching up," and Mr. Doan went to the custom-house with the papers. The officer said he would look them over, and he could call for them in an hour. Mr. D. remonstrated and said they were all right, and he could assure him that however anxious he might be to find some reason to bleed us, he would find we were beyond his power of persecution. He coolly replied that he could leave them for an hour, and [then] call for them. At the expiration of the time, he went and demand the guías, and was very coolly informed that the time for presenting them in Chihuahua had expired the night before, when, if he had presented  p258 them [to him] and asked [for] an extension of time to reach Chihuahua, he [the officer] would have been compelled to have granted it; but the delay had rendered the goods contraband and liable to confiscation. Mr. Doan examined the papers and found he was correct, and that we were in the hands of an unscrupulous and unmitigated scoundrel.

Returning to camp, we consulted what it was best to do, and as there was a Chihuahua lawyer on the road somewhere, and probably within two or three days' travel, we concluded to send a man back to meet him and hurry him up. We "turned out," and sent Old Ramon, our mule herder, on [an] express. And we held council upon expedients to be tried to release ourselves from the difficulty. Mr. Doan called several times during the day with several propositions, but all were declined. Expostulation, and appeal for leniency, as our violation of the law was only technical and not from any wilful evasion, received no consideration, although met with cold politeness and promise that possibly some compromise might be effected.

Mr. Doan made a remark (during these anxious hours of consultation between ourselves) which I shall never forget, [and] which shows that it is a very important part of a lawyer's education to try projects. He was educated a lawyer and licensed to practice. I don't recollect the proposition, but it was one for which I could see no ground for indulging a hope of its being accepted; and [I] so expressed myself.

"Well," said he, "I am going to try it on; and if I fail, there is nothing lost. And if accepted, there is everything gained."

He tried it on, and failed.

 p259  The day passed in great anxiety, with frequent visits by Mr. Doan to the custom-house, but with no ground for the hope of relief. The next morning Mr. Doan was informed that there was one way the matter might be arranged. Mr. D. could pay the consumos duties, and he [the officer] would accept the guías as all right. And he [Mr. Doan] would [then] get bills from one of the clerks for the same goods, as [having been] bought in Cerro Gordo; and he [the officer] would issue guías for presentation in Chihuahua. But this, [he said], would be attended with considerable labor, and of course they [the officials] would be entitled to some consideración in the way of money. We concluded to accept the proposition, and Mr. Doan returned to the office and told them to make out the papers and all the necessary entries, and he would go in the afternoon and settle and take the papers and be ready for an early start the next morning.

About four or five o'clock he took a bag of $1,000, as he was told the duties would amount to some seven hundred dollars which he would [have to] pay leaving about three hundred dollars for [a] consideration. On calling for the guías, he found the duties amounted to about seven hundred and fifty dollars, and inquired what the amount of consideration would be.

"In view of the labor and responsibility we take," [replied the officials], "we think $1,000 is as little as we can accept."

"Then am I to understand that your demand is seven hundred and fifty dollars [for] duties and $11,000 [for a] consideration, making $1,750 you require me to pay?"

"That is the amount, sir."

 p260  Mr. D. took the bag of money in his hand, bade them good afternoon, and bowed himself out of the door. We were still on the anxious seat, and could see no way but to wait for the arrival of the lawyer to turn up something to help us out.

The next morning, a little after breakfast, one of our men beckoned me to one side. And walking behind a wagon, and looking around to be sure that no person was within hearing, [he] drew a paper from his pocket and handed [it to] me, saying that the gentleman who claimed the two mules as we went down, Don Juan Sánchez, called him into his store and told him to hand this paper to us. And [Sánchez said] that it was the form of an appeal to him [Sánchez], who was the judge before whom the case would tried if it came to trial; but [declared] that our first step would be to go to the custom-house and make tender of the amount of duties and demand the guías. He was very sure he [the officer] would not dare refuse them, but if he did we must get a sheet of paper like the sample, and copy the writing verbatim and present it to him [Sánchez], and he would see us out. The officer spent the evening with him [Sánchez] the night before, and bragged a good deal about having the gringos in his power, and [declared] he was going to skin them. The duties they must pay, [said Sánchez], but not a cent for consideration unless they chose; and from his [the officer's] treatment of them he was not entitled to any.

Mr. Doan immediately went and demanded the guías, which were handed him; and then the boot was changed, they became the suppliants. After "catching up," we gave them one hundred dollars, with the understanding that it was a present.⁠261 We gave the  p261 order to drive out, went on our way without further molestation from the customs officers, and that night camped within the boundaries of the state of Chihuahua.

Mr. Speyer did not travel with us on our return, but spent some days in Zacatecas and Durango on [the] way back, and returned at his leisure. We took the road direct to Chihuahua and arrived without adventure at the Plaza de Toros, the usual camping ground.⁠262 [We] presented our guías at the custom-house and proceeded direct to a store we had rented on the public square west of the main plaza, the name of which I have forgotten.

After we had unloaded, and while our teams were yet standing in front of the store, a Mexican came in and inquired if I was Don Santiago. Receiving an affirmative answer, he said the prefect ordered me to proceed to his office immediately. On my arrival, the prefect was in his judicial seat, and inquired in a very authoritative tone if I was Don Santiago. To my reply that I was, he responded:

"You are fined ten dollars.

"What for?" said I.

"Your teams on entering the city took a street not open to public travel by wagons, and crossed the acequia at a forbidden point and soiled the water so it was unfit for drinking."

To my protest that I had done it ignorantly, and that the offense should not be repeated, he ordered me to pay the money without further words, and leave. I paid the money and left.

 p262  On returning to the store, I found the wagons had returned to the camp, and being busy in arranging the goods and preparing to settle down for a while, I made no inquiries of their route of return. In a short time the former messenger entered and inquired if I was Don Santiago. On my reply that I was, he ordered me to appear at the prefect's office immediately. I went, and on entering, the former inquiry was repeated, the same response given, and the same fine imposed. The reason assigned was that the teams had returned by the same route they entered, contaminating the water [and] making it unfit for drinking purposes. I paid the fine without protest, and left the court.

The next day the messenger again entered and inquired if I was Don Santiago. An affirmative response elicited the third order to appear at the prefect's office. On entering court, the former inquiries were repeated, the same reply made, and a fine of twenty dollars imposed. The reason assigned for the fine was that I had failed to report myself at the prefect's court, as required by law, within twenty-four hours of my arrival in the city. I informed the court that I had twice appeared in court within the last twenty-four hours, and [had] twice been fined ten dollars, and I thought the court [should] accept them as a sufficient compliance with the law and remit the fine.

The response of the court was, "Shut your mouth and pay the money."

While this was going on, Mr. Doan appeared in response to a similar summons, and was ordered to pay the same amount of fine. He showed his English passport and requested the privilege of sending for Mr. John Potts, the director of the mint (whose acquaintance  p263 he had made while in the city on his way to the fair), to explain matters and use his influence for the remission of the fines. Permission was granted; and Mr. Potts soon appeared and explained that it was through ignorance of the law and not from any wish to defy or evade it, that we had failed to report, and he hoped, as a personal favor to him, the court would consider the case with clemency and remit for Ines. He finally concluded, in consideration of Mr. Doan's being an English subject and fellow countryman of Mr. Potts, [that] he would reduce his fine to the nominal sum of five dollars; but that the American gringo should pay the full amount. We paid the fines and left the court.

American citizens had been subject to these and like abuses for many years. Our consul in Santa Fé, Don Manuel Álvarez, had been insulted, abused, and his life threatened, in his official capacity and office, several years previous.⁠263 And all over the republic an American passport simply exposed the holder to abuse and insult, while an English, French, or German passport was respected, and guaranteed to the holder the protection of the State and National governments whenever presented. Dr. Connelly and Mr. Macmanus entered Chihuahua from New Mexico at the same time with Mr. Doan. They were taken prisoners, subjected to much trouble and abuse, and compelled to submit to being placed in the custody of two citizens of the city, while Mr. Doan was released and permitted to travel wherever he pleased on presenting his passport with the seal of Lion and the Unicorn. I myself kept my American passport secreted in the bottom of my trunk, and traveled as assistant wagon master, with myself and  p264 goods under the protection of a Prussian passport held by Mr. Albert Speyer, a Prussian Jew. It may well be argued, in justification of the Mexican government, that it was in time of war between the two nations. . .

After remaining some days in Chihuahua, and the governor declining to permit us to leave the country, we began to look around for occupation for our men and teams [in order] to pay expenses. We heard of a lot of cotton in San Pablo (below Chihuahua) which the owner desired freighted to Querétaro, and made arrangements to freight five loads — our four wagons, and John Devoe with his one. I remained in Chihuahua to dispose of the goods brought from the fair; and Mr. Doan, our Englishman, [was] to take the freight to the low country, and purchase goods likely to pay freight to a northern market.

The cotton was packed in large sacks, but the only means of compression was by the stamping in of a man. The freight was very bulky, and they could not load full loads in weight. And a load of •four thousand to forty-five hundred pounds would be as bulky as a load of loose hay with us (of equal weight). The wagon bows were taken off, and the cotton loaded as far over the sides as was safe, and bales packed as compact as possible and bound fast by wet rawhide straps, which, as they dried, would shrink enough to hold the load strong and firm upon the wagon. Great caution was necessary in transporting loads so bulky on the roads of that country, where no repairs had been made in the memory of man, except by the trains as they passed. On sidling places, it took all hands with ropes to hold the wagons from upsetting, and in miry places many expedients became necessary to avoid unloading. On  p265 one occasion they put eighteen mules to pull upon the load, and all the spare men on the lower side to lift, and six mules pulling upon the rope thrown over the wagon and tied to the body on the lower side; and by digging to loosen the wheels, and all exerting their utmost strength in lifting, pulling, and yelling, succeeded in getting out without unloading.

The cotton was delivered at Querétaro, and the train proceeded to Guadalajara, where Mexican goods, principally sugar and rebozos, returned north in search of a market and a home or place of security and rest. Mr. Doan met with no special adventure or annoyance on the whole trip.

I very soon moved onto the main plaza, into a store (near the church) owned by Padre Terrazas, a brother of Don Juan, the prefect. Several Americans had arrived in the city during our absence, and by keeping themselves pretty closely in their rooms were getting along without much annoyance. News began to arrive of an expedition from New Mexico and marching towards Chihuahua. "Volunteer" companies were formed (by impressment), and Mr. Potts was employed to cast several cannon, and quite a large force of laborers employed to proceed to Sacramento and build defenses against the approach of our army. The priests were holding mass and preaching to the christian population, exhorting them to organize in every possible way to annoy the gringos, Tejanos, heretics, and enemies as they approached the city. It was a very exciting time, and the excitement increased daily after our army left El Paso.⁠264 The priests told the people that the American  p266 general, to stimulate his soldiers to greater energy and courage, had promised them (in case they won the battle and entered the city) [that] they [would have] one hour to sack the city, one hour to ravish, and one hour to kill.⁠265

It was soon known that our people, including soldiers, teamsters connected with the army, and men belonging to the merchants' trains (Connelly, Owens and Aull, and Macmanus), numbered less than 1,000⁠266 men in all. The artillery consisted, I think, of six pieces — four twelve-pound howitzers and two small cannon carrying solid ball. The Mexican organized forces consisted of full 3,000⁠267 men with ten pieces of artillery protected by defenses which they were two or three weeks in building. The difference in numbers between the two armies was so great that the Americans were at times quite despondent, as in addition to the inducements to defend their people and city from the invaders, they [the Mexican authorities] had promised free appropriation of all the property and goods belonging to the merchants by soldiers or citizens who would be upon the ground ready to avail themselves of the advantages of the expected victory.

Some ten days before the battle an order was issued by Governor Trias sending all Americans to a town •sixty or seventy miles south of Chihuahua. But some  p267 ten of us succeeded in escaping from the execution of the order. We kept ourselves pretty close for some time, but I think they were not very earnest in the search for all of us. But some fifteen or twenty were marched off on foot and were not seen until after the battle, when they returned to the city.

Mr. Potts and his brother asked several of us to take refuge in the mint when the battle occurred, as most of [the] citizens and officers would go out to the battleground either to witness the battle or [to] participate in the scramble for the spoils, and it was uncertain what the feeling might be at its close. They might attack us in our quarters either in revenge for defeat or to complete their triumph by exterminating all of the gringos they could lay their hands on. Another motive was for the protection of the mint. All the prisoners in the jails had been set free and might take a notion to sack the mint. We took all our arms there and prepared a large quantity of ammunition, and they were placed on top of the building; and ladders [were] provided so we could ascend at the first alarm to a position commanding the entrance. A few could defend themselves against greatly superior numbers. If driven from that position, we could retreat to a second, taking our arms with us. And we had other weapons of defense provided in the shape of several leaden tubs filled with acid and provided with dippers for throwing the acid, if our ammunition gave out or we had no time for reloading. The report of the first cannon from the battleground was to be the signal for making all haste to the rendezvous.

We were in suspense for a day or so after [we had] news of our troops near the battleground — the time  p268 occupied in reconnoitering the position and defense of the Mexicans and [in] disposing of the merchants' and quartermaster's trains in such [a] manner as they could best defend themselves from attack and not require too many of the small force of soldiers for protection. About 11 A.M. Mr. Anderson knocked at my door and asked why I was not at the rendezvous.

"I have heard no guns," [I replied].

"They have been firing some time."

We took a by‑street and on arrival found all there — six or eight — the two brothers Potts, Francis Macmanus, Alfonso Anderson, George Carter, myself, and, I think, one or two others, but I do not recollect.

The hacienda of Sacramento is some ten or twelve miles⁠268 north of Chihuahua, and the hacienda and battleground would have been in view of our position but for a small peak or butte a short distance this side. We all went to our position of defense on the building, fa­cing the main entrance to the courtyard, where we also had [a] full view over the plain to the butte near the field of battle. We hoped, and had wrought our courage and confidence to a point that we expected, to see a race between our people and the Mexicans — the latter retreating, and the former pursuing. After some time the firing of cannon ceased, and we excitedly watched for signs of victory by our troops. An hour or so passed, and [there was] no sign of retreat or report of cannon.

"What is the matter?" [we asked]. "Are our people defeated? Or is the battle still waged with small arms?"

Minutes became hours. Hope gave place to doubt, doubt to despond, and despond to despair, and each in  p271 turn becoming possessed by one or the other of these emotions. Macmanus was very hopeful and I think held out the longest of any of us, but he at last broke down, and walking back and forth on the roof, wrapped in his cloth Spanish cloak, his hat drawn over his eyes, his head bowed, a complete picture of despair, finally expressed his feelings as follows:

"Have I got to live to see the day when I shall see the women — prostitutes of this town — walking the streets, dressed in goods from my wagons after all the risk and anxiety I have had to get this far? And de locos⁠269 — for nothing! I hope the boys will set every wagon on fire first." Again: "Hark! Did you hear a cannon? No, nothing." Again: "Look! Do you see anyone coming? No, there's no one on the road." Again: "Do you think we've lost, and they're pillaging the wagons? I don't think anything — I don't know what to think." Bang! Bang! Bang! — Macmanus jumping at least three feet from the ground. Bang! Bang! Bang! "Do you hear that? I tell you, they're giving them hell now! Hurah‑h‑h!"

Mr. Potts [warned]: "Keep cool, Mac. They'll hear you on the street, and you may raise a row."

The emotions of such a moment — can anyone realize them who has not felt them?

(p269)

Battle of Sacramento, February 28, 1847 From Álbum Pintoresco de la República Mexicana, Mexico, circa 1850

 (p270 is blank)  The firing after a time ceased, but it was dark before we got news from the battleground. At length we heard the rattling of hoofs at a running gateº on the pavement down the street and nearing our position, and while passing, the rider was accosted by a man on the sidewalk with the inquiry:

"Qué novedades?" (What news?).

 p272  "Ya perdimos!" (We've lost!)⁠270

Macmanus' tone was changed: "I knew it. I'll bet a hundred — yes, I'll bet five hundred — dollars we've not lost forty — thirty — twenty men. Yes, I'll bet a hundred dollars we've not lost ten men! Pshaw! I don't believe we've lost five men. These people can't shoot anyhow."

We could distinguish the reports of our cannon from those of the enemy (even at that distance) with much certainty. The reports were as different as those of a rifle and musket, owing to the difference in the powder. Our guns gave a sharp short report, not so deep and prolonged as those of the enemy.

About seven o'clock the Mexicans began to come into town in large numbers and prepare for their departure south, and great was the excitement (relating incidents of the battle and hairbreadth escapes) and anxiety to get out of the city with their families before the heretic gringos arrived and began the promised indulgence in their propensities "de saquear, de florear y matar." There was little if any sleep for either Mexicans or Americans that night.

The next morning as soon as it was light I went onto the plaza, and such excitement and wailing I never before witnessed and hope never to see again. The plaza was filled with women and children (but few men) with bundles of clothes, blankets, etc., upon their  p273 backs, and those who could raise a donkey or any other animal capable of bearing the least burden, had them packed. And all were excitedly discussing what they should do or where they should go to escape violence, which the priests had told them they must expect from our soldiers. Many whom I knew came to me for advice.

"Will your people be so brutal," [they asked], "as to abuse poor and helpless women and children?"

I advised them to go to their homes, put their houses in order, and be assured that they would be as safe from persecution and violence from the Americans as they would from their own people. A good many returned to their homes, not in confidence I think, but not knowing how they could do better. Many fled to the plains and hills surrounding the city, where they underwent extreme suffering, and a good many perished from hunger and exposure. Those who remained kept themselves in their houses for several days, and it was seldom they appeared on the streets for a week or so.

But by little and little, confidence was restored, and the city was more lively with business and fandangos than ever before. In the afternoon the army marched into the city and took possession. Our flag floated in triumph at the head of the army (or regiment) and was raised upon the flagstaff on the plaza, and we felt grateful assurance that we were again free. The banished Americans returned to town [and] opened their places of business. Macmanus and Dr. Connelly opened their stores and began distributing their goods for cash value instead of seeing them flouted on the streets "de locos."

Colonel Doniphan sent couriers to General Taylor at  p274 Saltillo with his report, and asking instructions what to do. His men were enlisted for one year, and the term of their enlistment was drawing to a close, and they had been paid but once or twice.

Notwithstanding I was no longer a prisoner, I was still dancing in doubt between the frying pan and the fire. My whole interests [were] within the Mexican lines, and although under the protection of the English government through the passport of Mr. Doan, it was very uncertain whether he would be permitted to come to Chihuahua while occupied by our troops. And if they should be ordered away, and he be permitted to return, would we be able to proceed to New Mexico and thence home? We owed about $15,000 on a capital of about $3,000, and the risk and expenses, with interest accumulating against us, kept me in almost overwhelming anxiety. So great was it that, although more than forty years have passed, all the circumstances and incidents of the time are as vivid as at the time. . .

Colonel Samuel C. Owens, the friend of the traders, the outfitter who would trust us for wagons, teams, provisions, and all the necessary outfit for the trip, who trusted and advised us as if we were his children, and whom we respected as our most trusted friend, was killed in the battle. One of his men told me that he shaved and dressed himself with care, saying he did not know what might happen. If killed in the battle, he wanted to be clean shaved and fitly dressed. He [one of his men] thought that owing to family troubles, he [Owens] courted death, as he told him he "knew of no more honorable or desirable death than to die in battle." Colonel Owens and [Henry] Skillman, an old plainsman, led the charge of the dragoons upon the Mexican  p275 redoubts, and getting as the commander thought too far in the advance, they were ordered to halt. Skillman, looking back, saw the dragoons halted [and] returned and joined them, but Colonel Owens kept on, charged a redoubt alone, and with his pistol fired on the Mexicans, who returned the fire, killing the Colonel's horse, which fell on him. And the Mexicans left their defenses and killed and stripped him of his valuables, and returned and got ready to run at the next charge of our troops. The body was found •not a rod from the embankment thrown up for defense.⁠271

A day or two after the troops entered Chihuahua, the Lieutenant-colonel under Doniphan asked me about Mr. Speyer — what he did with the arms and ammunition he brought in, and also about his treatment of his men at Río Florido. I explained matters as well as I could, and after listening for some time he interrupted me with the remark,

"Well, if you and his other friends can give any evidence to clear him of what he is accused, all right. If not, we shall hang him in a day or two."

Mr. S. kept "open house" and entertained liberally. Whist parties with wine were held every night in his rooms, and many articles of bric-a‑brac which he had bought at the fair, such as silver bridle reins, silver fans, and other Mexican curiosities, disappeared from his shelves. And after a couple of weeks he was tried before a court-martial and honorably acquitted.⁠272 Who was  p276 hung? And did the silver bridle reins serve as the rope?

I must say here that in this threat and in all the conversation, reports of entertainments, or presents, the name of Colonel Doniphan⁠273 was never mentioned in any manner which would compromise his honor as an officer or his dignity as a man. And Mr. Speyer, in his course with the arms and ammunition and in the treatment of his men at Río Florido, simply followed the course of an enterprising merchant and yielded to what was thought by all for the best interest of his men. For the Americans to divide, was thought by all to be the best course, in order to avoid suspicion and further arrest and persecution.

Colonel Owens was interested in this commercial adventure with a gentleman named Aull⁠274 from Lexington,  p277 Missouri, under the firm name of Owens and Aull. Mr. Aull opened a store and commenced business, but sold goods slowly, as there were a good many who wished to close out and leave as soon as possible. Trade was limited to Chihuahua and a few near‑by settlements. The merchants all were anxious to force sales, the troops were waiting anxiously for orders from General Taylor what to do, and all was anxiety and uncertainty for some time.

At length Squire Collins, the messenger sent to General Taylor, returned with orders to abandon Chihuahua, and march to Monterrey as soon as it could be done and afford a limited time for the traders to protect their interests. Connelly and Glasgow, Macmanus, and Mr. Aull concluded to take their chances and await the return of the Mexican authorities. Solomon Houck, C. C. Branham, and others decided to sell at almost any sacrifice and return to "the States" via Santa Fé; and all the Americans who could do so, agreed to join them. I could only wait in suspense and see whether my partner, Mr. Doan, would turn up, and when.

There was a capitalist in Chihuahua who was always ready to avail himself of a bargain, with cash in hand for almost any amount. This was Don José Cordero. On the announcement of the day set for the departure of the troops, Mr. Branham and others went to him and  p278 accepted his first offer, which was fairly liberal under the circumstances; but Mr. Houck, the old trader who considered himself the smartest of all, declined. A couple of days later, he concluded to accept the offer, but Mr. Cordero offered enough less to make the difference about $1,000, which was declined. The following day he went to accept the offer of the day previous, but was told that the offer was only good for the day, and he could now offer only so much, which was about $1,500 less than the day previous. The offer was accepted, and Mr. Houck was out about $2,500 by his smartness.

---

The Author's Notes:

258 A small loaf of unrefined sugar.

259 Women's shawls.

260 Carriers.

261 Webb made the following entry in his daybook: "Paid cash for duties on goods in Cerro Gordo and bribes to custom-house officers, three hundred and twenty-five dollars." Webb & Doan, Daybook, 1846‑1847, Webb MSS.

262 Webb arrived in the city of Chihuahua early in February, 1847. Ibid.

263 In 1841. See Read, Illustrated History of New Mexico, 400.

264 The United States troops in command of Colonel Doniphan left Paso del Norte on the evening of February 8, 1847. Hughes, Doniphan's Expedition, 317.

265 See Daily Missouri Republican, May 18, 1847.

266 "Our force was nine hundred and twenty-four effective men, at least one hundred of whom were engaged in holding horses and driving teams," wrote Colonel Doniphan, March 4, 1847. Hughes, Doniphan's Expedition, 317. This number did not include the battalion of one hundred and fifty Santa Fé traders and their teamsters in command of Major Samuel C. Owens, only a few of whom participated in the battle.

267 Colonel Doniphan estimated that the Mexican forces consisted of about 4,000 men, though the Mexicans represented their numbers as considerably less. Ibid., 320; Daily Missouri Republican, Apr. 19, 1847.

268 •About fourteen or fifteen miles.

269 Foolishly.

270 General José Heredia, commander of the Mexican forces, attributed his defeat to the following causes: "The disasters of the battle . . . are owing to the greater part of my forces being raw recruits, to its being the first time of their meeting an enemy, and to the inexperience of most of the officers, who, deficient in that military energy so necessary in such emergencies, could not control their men in the moment of danger, and such is generally the case when a hastily collected mass of men have no regular troops to support them." El Republicano, Mar. 22, 1847, in Daily Missouri Republican, Apr. 19, 1847.

271 Colonel Doniphan described Owens's death as follows: "Col. Samuel C. Owens lost his life by excessive bravery or rather rashness. He rode up to a redoubt filled with armed men, and continued to fire his pistols into it until himself and his horse fell pierced with balls upon its very brink." Daily Missouri Republican, June 18, 1847. Owens was buried in Chihuahua. Ibid., May 19, 1847.

272 On May 18, 1847, the Daily Missouri Republican printed the following news item: "From one of our private letters we learn, that Mr. Speyer, whose hasty journey across the plain to Santa Fé, last spring, excited so much curiosity, was met at Chihuahua, and arrested by Col. Mitchell. It turns out, that Speyer was innocent of any crime. He had six kegs of powder when he left Independence, and sixty muskets, which the Mexicans took from him. Speyer knew he was pursued, but hastened forward to make some $80,000, by being the first in market with his goods."

273 Alexander W. Doniphan was born in Mason county, Kentucky, July 9, 1808. Migrating to Missouri in 1830, he settled at Lexington, where he began the practice of law. Three years later he removed to Liberty, Missouri. On June 18, 1846, he was elected Colonel of the First regiment of Missouri Mounted volunteers, which formed a part of the "Army of the West" under the command of Colonel Stephen W. Kearny. On the following September 23, about a month after the capture of Santa Fé, Kearny ordered Doniphan to proceed from New Mexico to Chihuahua and report to Brigadier-general Wool. After fighting the battles of Brazito and Sacramento, Doniphan returned to Missouri, arriving there in the summer of 1847. He died at Richmond, Missouri, Aug. 8, 1887. Alexander W. Doniphan, Autobiography, MS., Missouri Historical Society; Hughes, Doniphan's Expedition; Connelley, Doniphan's Expedition.

274 James Aull, one of the leading merchants in western Missouri, was born in Newcastle, Delaware, about 1805. In the twenties he removed to Missouri, where he established general stores at Lexington, Independence, Liberty, and Richmond. Residing at Lexington and entrusting the management of his other establishments to competent assistants, he carried on a profitable trade until 1831, when he enlarged his business by joining with his brother, Robert, to found the house of J. & R. Aull. Though this firm closed its doors in 1836, James Aull continued in business in Lexington until the outbreak of the Mexican war. He then formed a partner­ship with Samuel C. Owens and engaged in the Santa Fé trade. On June 23, 1847, after transacting business in Chihuahua for over three months, Aull was murdered in his store by four Mexicans. He was buried in Chihuahua. "Letters of James and Robert Aull" (Bieber, ed.), Missouri Historical Society, Collections, V.268‑270, 296.

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