themselves with ammunition, ours being nearly expended; but the powder
of the cartridges turned out so bad as to be useless. It was little
better than coal dust, and would not carry a ball fifty paces to kill
or wound. This accounted for our apparent invulnerability to the fire
of the Mexicans. The muskets also were of a very inferior description.
Both they and the cartridges were of English make; the former being
stamped Birmingham, and the latter having the name of an English
powder manufactory, with the significant addition, "for exportation."

Under these circumstances, we had nothing to do but let the Mexicans
run. We sent a detachment to the muskeet island, to unite itself with
the twelve men who had done such good service there, and thence
advance towards the ford. We ourselves proceeded slowly in the latter
direction. This demonstration brought the fugitives back again, for
they had, most of them, in the wild precipitation of their flight,
passed the only place where they could cross the river. They began
crowding over in the greatest confusion, foot and horse all mixed up
together; and by the time we got within a hundred paces of the ford,
the prairie was nearly clear of them. There were still a couple of
hundred men on our side of the water, completely at our mercy, and
Wharton, who was a little in front with thirty men, gave the word to
fire upon them. No one obeyed. He repeated the command. Not a rifle
was raised. He stared at his men, astonished and impatient at this
strange disobedience. An old weather-beaten bear-hunter stepped
forward, squirting out his tobacco juice with all imaginable
deliberation.

"I tell ye what, capting!" said he, passing his quid over from his
right cheek to his left; "I calkilate, capting," he continued, "we'd
better leave the poor devils of dons alone."