The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 20
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
the horses from the north, which were accustomed to such for-
age. The horses that were acquired in Texas needed no other
forage than the native grass of the coastal plain.o
Most of the wagons carrying the camp equipage of each bri-
gade were pulled by mules, which were harnessed five to a
wagon.61 About eighty wagons of the main supply train at the
rear were drawn by the stronger, but slower-going oxen.52 At
night the mules and oxen were hobbled and tethered around the
wagons at intervals with ropes twenty-five to thirty feet long
so they could forage. The oxen were especially good in hauling
heavy loads through mud or sand, but they had tender feet which
often required special ox shoes made of iron, or special ox
"boots" made with a piece of raw bull hide wrapped around
each hoof and drawn tight in purse string fashion.53
Apparently the Army of Occupation had no special difficulty
in crossing any of the streams south of Corpus Christi until it
arrived at the Little Colorado on March 19, 1846. There, the
army experienced its first resistance when a force of about thirty
Mexicans confronted the Americans and warned them that any
attempt to cross the Colorado would be considered an act of
hostility. On the morning of March 20, bugles were blown by
the Mexicans at various points up and down the river to give
the Americans the impression that there was a sizeable force
across the river. As a precautionary measure, General Taylor
placed his artillery along the north bank of the stream.54
By that time, the dragoons and the Ist and 2nd brigades
were concentrated on the Colorado, and General Taylor informed
the Mexicans that "as soon as he cut down the bank, he intended
to cross, and that the first Mexican he saw after our men entered
the water would be shot." The ruts leading down to the Paso Real
crossing were cut deeper, and Taylor's troops crossed-without
5Ibid., 69.
1llbid., 81.
52Lloyd Lewis, Captain Sam Grant (Boston, 1950), 132.
"*Josiah Gregg, Commerce of the Prairies (Norman, 1954), 45.
54Henry, Campaign Sketches of the War with Mexico, 59-60; J. Lee Stambaugh
and Lillian J. Stambaugh, The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (San Antonio,
1954), 65-66.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/34/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.