Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/358

308 a shower of rain, and frequently intersected by broad gulfy ravines. Few zephyrs love to sport among the tussocks of grass which cover this arid stretch of country; the dark close-set leaves of the grease-wood hang droopingly from their stems; the tufts of the wild sage seem parched with heat; occasionally a pile of stones surmounted by a cross, the rude memorial reared above the grave of the wayfarer who perished on his journey, meets the eye of the traveller; but all is still, solemn, voiceless as the tomb. Most appropriately has the Mexican termed the passage over this dreary waste, La Jornada del Muerto. In their progress to the south, the Americans often crossed similar tracts, though less extensive — they.were poorly provided with sustenance and raiment, but their hardships and privations were submitted to without murmuring or complaint.

The different detachments of Colonel Doniphan's command were concentrated at Doña Ana. sixty miles from El Paso, and they were now also joined by a number of traders with over 300 wagons, who had left Santa Fé in September, but had become too much alarmed to proceed on their route. Here intelligence was received that seven hundred Mexican troops and