surrounded by a high wall, and might have been held against very
superior numbers. Fanning and I, however, did not like the idea of
being cooped up in a house, and at last Wharton yielded. We left our
horses and mustangs in charge of eight men, and with the remainder set
out in the direction of the Salado, which flows from north to south, a
third of a mile to the westward of the mission. About half-way between
the latter and the river, was a small group, or island, of muskeet
trees, the only object that broke the uniformity of the prairie. The
bank of the river on our side was tolerably steep, about eight or ten
feet high, hollowed out here and there, and covered with a thick
network of wild vines. The Salado at this spot describes a sort of
bow-shaped curve, with a ford at either end, by which alone the river
can be passed, for although not very broad, it is rapid and deep. We
resolved to take up a position within this bow, calculating that we
might manage to defend the two fords, which were not above a quarter
of a mile apart.

At the same time we did not lose sight of the dangers of such a
position, and of the almost certainty that if the enemy managed to
cross the river, we should be surrounded and cut off. But our success
on the few occasions on which we had hitherto come to blows with the
Mexicans, at Velasco, Nacogdoches, and Galveston, had inspired us with
so much confidence, that we considered ourselves a match for thousands
of such foes, and actually began to wish the enemy would attack us
before our main body came up. We reconnoitred the ground, stationed a
picket of twelve men at each ford, and an equal number in the island
of muskeet trees; and established ourselves with the remainder amongst
the vines and in the hollows on the river bank.

The commissariat department of the Texian army was, as may be