Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/437

Rh Miñon with a strong detachment of cavalry had been stationed in advance for some time at the hacienda of Potosí, observing the movements of the enemy. Santa Anna's advance was conducted under every hardship that nature could inflict. Pitiless storms of rain, alternating with icy sleet and impeding snow, beat for days upon the ill-clad troops, who at night bivouacked shelterless and half-frozen on the cold ground. When the sky cleared the burning sun, as it poured its rays on the desert, caused no less affliction. Heat and thirst were as insupportable as the cold and wet. Many perished, numbers sank exhausted on the ground, and desertions were numerous. By the time the army reached Encarnacion, it was greatly reduced.

While Taylor was absent on his expedition to Victoria, some partial success had attended the Mexican operations. Wool, who was stationed at Buena Vista, upon rumors arising that the army at San Luis Potosí was advancing, sent forward, January 18th, a reconnoitring party of fifty cavalrymen under Major Borland, to Encarnacion. Borland was joined the next day by Major Gaines and Captain Clay with about thirty men, and decided to extend his reconnoissance to Salado. That night, however, the hacienda was surrounded by Miñon's cavalry, which had rapidly moved from Matehuala, and the American officers, deeming resistance useless, surrendered, the whole