Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/183

Rh Seralvo and Marin. He therefore decided to pursue that route, as it would require less transportation by land, and to establish his main dépôt at Camargo.

The Rio Grande has been very properly termed, "the muddiest, crookedest, and swiftest river in North America." The channel is constantly shifting, and the navigation obstructed by so many sand-bars, that it is difficult for the smallest steamboats to proceed further up than Reinosa, except in high water. Notwithstanding the efforts made by the Quartermaster's Department to forward supplies for the army, and procure suitable boats to navigate the river, most of which had to be obtained in the United States, and at remote distances from the seaboard, it was not until the month of August that General Taylor was able to move forward with his troops. The causes of this delay were various, and, in most cases, could not well have been avoided. In some instances requisitions were not made in due season; in others the contractors failed to fulfil their obligations; and in others still, the officers of the bureau may have been at fault, although the official correspondence of General Jesup, the Quartermaster-general, and his subordinates, shows that they labored most assiduously in the performance of their duties.