charge of the few wagons allotted to the 4th infantry and of the pack
train to supplement them. There were not men enough in the army to
manage that train without the help of Mexicans who had learned how. As
it was the difficulty was great enough. The troops would take up their
march at an early hour each day. After they had started, the tents and
cooking utensils had to be made into packages, so that they could be
lashed to the backs of the mules. Sheet-iron kettles, tent-poles and
mess chests were inconvenient articles to transport in that way. It
took several hours to get ready to start each morning, and by the time
we were ready some of the mules first loaded would be tired of standing
so long with their loads on their backs. Sometimes one would start to
run, bowing his back and kicking up until he scattered his load; others
would lie down and try to disarrange their loads by attempting to get on
the top of them by rolling on them; others with tent-poles for part of
their loads would manage to run a tent-pole on one side of a sapling
while they would take the other. I am not aware of ever having used a
profane expletive in my life; but I would have the charity to excuse
those who may have done so, if they were in charge of a train of Mexican
pack mules at the time.

CHAPTER VIII.

ADVANCE ON MONTEREY--THE BLACK FORT--THE BATTLE OF MONTEREY--SURRENDER
OF THE CITY.

The advance from Camargo was commenced on the 5th of September. The army
was divided into four columns, separated from each other by one day's
march. The advance reached Cerralvo in four days and halted for the
remainder of the troops to come up. By the 13th the rear-guard had
arrived, and the same day the advance resumed its march, followed as
before, a day separating the divisions. The forward division halted
again at Marin, twenty-four miles from Monterey. Both this place and
Cerralvo were nearly deserted, and men, women and children were seen
running and scattered over the hills as we approached; but when the
people returned they found all their abandoned property safe, which must
have given them a favorable opinion of Los Grengos--"the Yankees." From
Marin the movement was in mass. On the 19th General Taylor, with is
army, was encamped at Walnut Springs, within three miles of Monterey.

The town is on a small stream coming out of the mountain-pass, and is
backed by a range of hills of moderate elevation. To the north, between
the