There is no reason why the attack should not be immediate. Under the
stimulus of Bull Run the entire Southern population of California
would flock to the new standard. Three months should see the Confederate
cavalry pasturing their steeds in the prairies of California.

The friends sicken at the delay, as weary months drag on. Sibley's
Texans should be now on the Gila. They have guides, leaders, scouts,
and spies from the Southern refugees pouring over the Gila. Every
golden day has its gloomy sunset. Hardin's brow furrows with deep
lines. His sagacity tells him that the time has passed for the
movement to succeed.

And he is right. Sibley wearies out the winter in Texas. The
magnet of Eastern fields of glory draws the fiery Texans across the
Mississippi. The Californian volunteers are arming and drilling.
They stream out to Salt Lake. They send the heavy column of General
Carleton toward El Paso.

The two chiefs of the Golden Circle are unaware of the destination
of Carleton. Loyalty has learned silence. There are no traitor
department clerks here, to furnish maps, plans, and duplicate
orders.

Canby in New Mexico, unknown to the secessionists of California,
aided by Kit Carson, gathers a force to strike Sibley in flank.
It is fatal to Californian conquest. Hardin and Valois learn of
the lethargy of the great Confederate army, flushed with success.
Sibley's dalliance at Fort Bliss continues.

The "army of New Mexico," on September 19, 1861, is only a few