Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/289

Rh the revolutionists would arrive at the wells of Bajan on the morning of the 21st, Elizondo arranged to meet them with all due honors; and on the 19th sallied forth with 342 well appointed troops, having informed Jimenez that he would welcome them on the road.

Previous to starting on their ill-starred journey, a council was held by the revolutionary leaders in order to arrange about the chief command and the management of the cause during their absence. This was on the 16th, and in turn both Abasolo and Arias—who, as the reader will recollect, played a somewhat dubious rôle at Querétaro — declined to accept the responsibility. The command was finally given to Ignacio Rayon, the licentiate Arrieta being his second, and José María Liceaga his third officer.

All was now ready for their departure from Saltillo. Their road lay through a rugged desert in which water could only be obtained at long intervals and in small quantities, even when the occasional wells were not dry. The thirsty men and animals would hasten to the wells of Bajan to refresh themselves; and there Elizondo waited for them. The ground was favorable for his design. Concealed in a recess, he left in his rear fifty of his men, and in his front placed an equally well hidden ambush. At nine o'clock on the morning of the 21st, Allende appeared in sight. He had left Saltillo with a force of nearly 2,000 men, twenty-four pieces of artillery, a great quantity of jewelry, and more than half a million of money. He was accompanied by all the principal leaders, who, to the number sixty, travelled in fourteen carriages. The march across the desert was most toilsome, and such was Allende's confidence that no military order was preserved, and a long straggling line enveloped in dust revealed to Elizondo how easily his design would be accomplished. The carriages and horsemen