Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/262

222 troops were elated, however, with the idea that the Americans were retreating before them, and he determined to advance by the direct road to Saltillo. There were other passes through the mountains, by way of Heclionda on his right, and La Punta de Santa Elena on his left, by which he could have gained the Saltillo road in rear of Buena Vista; but either of these routes would have required three or four days' march, and the state of his supplies forbade any further delay. He passed the night of the 21st with his main body, in the vicinity of Agua Nueva, and at early dawn on the following morning took up his line of march towards the pass of Angostura.

The position selected by General Taylor for the reception of the enemy is nearly one mile in advance of the hacienda of Buena Vista. At this point the bases of the mountainous ridges are about two miles apart. The main road to Agua Nueva passes through a narrow defile inclining to the west before it enters the gorge, and then turning to the east. Upon its right is a valley, or alluvial bottom, formed from the débris of the neighboring hills, with a small branch of the San Juan winding through it, and everywhere cut up by deep gullies, and yawning pits and chasms, washed out by the torrents plunging from the mountain sides during the rainy seasons, which render it impracticable for cavalry or artillery; and further beyond, there is an intermediate range of hills, with a narrow pass intervening between them and the mountains. Upon the left the ground descends gradually from the heights towards the road, forming an elevated plain of table land, free from timber, with the exception of a few shrubs and bushes, but intersected by a succession of