Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/359

Rh six pieces of artillery had arrived at El Paso. The column moved forward on the 23rd of December, presenting quite a picturesque appearance as they wound their way across valley and plain; the soldiers all mounted and well armed, and the white cotton tilts of the Conestogas, as the traders' wagons were styled, gleaming brightly in the sunlight.

About three o'clock in the afternoon of Christmas day, Colonel Doniphan had halted, with the advance of 500 men, at Temascalitos, on an arm of the river called Bracito, for the purpose of camping; the horses were unsaddled and sent some distance from the camp to graze, and the men were soon busily engaged in carrying wood and water. While thus employed, a heavy cloud of dust was suddenly discovered rolling up from the south, and in a moment after the advance guard descried the enemy approaching in force. Lieutenant Colonel Jackson was still several miles in the rear with the remainder of the troops. The rally was instantly sounded, and Colonel Doniphan formed his men in open order on foot as skirmishers, throwing the extreme points of the two wings towards the river, to protect his flanks and baggage. The Americans were somewhat taken by surprise, but a few moments sufficed to complete their dispositions. The enemy halted within half a mile, and formed in line of battle — the Vera Cruz lancers on the right, the Chihuahua battalion on the left, and the infantry and militia, with a two-pounder howitzer, in the centre. The Mexican cavalry were gayly decorated with bright scarlet coats and white belts, with shining brass helmets and dark waving plumes, and their polished sabres and escopetas, and their long lances, ornamented with pennons of red and green, glistened in the rays of the evening sun.