Having effected his escape from the town, Talbot took post in the neighbouring hills, to await the return of the troops. Being discovered in his retreat, the Californians burned him out, and, with infinite peril and difficulty, he and his band escaped into the mountains, and thence, after a month's travel over some five hundred miles, enduring much hardship and suffering, they effected a junction with Colonel Fremont at Monterey, where the latter was recruiting for the expedition to the south.

Informed of the revolt, Commodore Stockton had sent down. the Savannah" to San Pedro. He followed himself in the "Congress," and took up his march for Los Angelos, dragging along by hand six of the ship's guns. Now he was in possession of San Diego, with his noble force of sailors and marines, doing duty merrily on shore, as horse, foot, and artillery.

Having further learned from Captain Gillespie, that an armed band of the enemy, with an extra supply of horses, was encamped at the Indian village of San Pasqual, nine miles distant from his present position, General Kearny sent out Lieutenant Hammond with a party to reconnoitre. This party saw, and was seen by, the foe. The reveille sounded at two o'clock on the morning of the 6th December, and at three the march was resumed in order of battle. The enemy, one hundred and eighty fresh, wellarmed, and well-mounted men, under Colonel Andreas Pico, were already in the saddle, prepared for an attack. Here then, at length, the little section of the army, weary and worn from its perilous and most harassing march over the half of a mighty continent, ill clad, ill mounted, and ill fed, was to grapple for the first time, and at his own door, with the foe.

General Kearny, with Lieutenants Emory and Warner at his side, rode immediately in rear of Captain Johnson and the advanced guard of twelve dragoons, mounted on the best horses that remained. Then followed Captain Moore, with about fifty of the dragoons, mounted, with few exceptions, on the jaded and

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famished mules they had ridden, over one thousand and fifty miles, from Santa Fé. Next came Captains Gibson and Gillespie, with twenty of their volunteers: Lieutenant Davidson, with the two howitzers, managed by dragoons, brought up the rear. The remainder of the force, dragoons, volunteers, and citizens, were left to protect and bring on the baggage, under command of Major Swords, the quartermaster of the expedition.

Drawn nigh to the enemy, Captain Johnson made a furious charge upon them with his advanced guard, promptly supported by General Kearny and Captain Moore. The Californians withstood not the shock, but pouring in a continual fire, gave way and retreated to an open plain about half a mile distant. Eagerly Captain Moore, with the few dragoons on horseback, pursued; the tired mules slowly seconded the ardour of their riders, and soon an interval was left between the hot pursuers and these thus retarded in their support. Well mounted, and among the most expert horsemen in the world, the enemy rallied in full force, took advantage of the interval, charged with desperation on the advance, and from their overwhelming superiority in numbers, made dreadful havoc with their long lances. For five minutes they furiously held the ground, for five minutes the rapidly thinning handful around the general bore up against the storm: the support came up, hand to hand the fierce but unequal fight continued for half an hour; then the outnumbering foe was repulsed, and fled from the field, to which they returned not again. The affrighted and wholly unmanageable mules had refused to bring their howitzers into the fight.

With the dawning of the day, the smoke cleared off from the battle-field, permitting the victors to collect their wounded and their dead. Of officers and men, sixteen wounded and nineteen slain, gave melancholy evidence of how hardly the victory had been won. The killed were Captains Johnson and Moore, Lieutenant Hammond, Sergeants Moore and Whitehurst, Cor

porals Clapin and West, and ten privates of the 1st dragoons, one private of the topographical corps, and one volunteer. The wounded included General Kearny, Captains Gibson and Gillespie, Lieutenant Warner, Mr. Robideaux, Sergeant Cox, and ten privates of the dragoons. On the next day, the gallant Sergeant Cox died of his wounds. Many of the survivors had from two to ten lance-wounds; Captain Gillespie and Lieutenant Warner had three each; the general two, and these so serious, that during the remainder of the day, Captain Turner assumed the command. The loss of the enemy was not ascertained, they having carried off in their final retreat all the wounded and the dead, excepting six; but it must have been severe.

Having been assured that the dead, wherever buried, would be dug up, that the bodies might be stripped of their clothing, the sorrowing victors bound on mules the remains of their fallen companions, with the intention of taking them to San Diego, there to be decently interred; but the number of mules required for conveyance of the wounded, caused this intention to be abandoned, and the men were engaged in fortifying the camp for the night. During the whole of the 6th, the enemy hovering around, kept the camp in constant and harassing excitement. Early in the day three of Captain Gillespie's volunteers were despatched to San Diego, thirty-nine miles distant, to procure conveyances for the wounded. As night closed in, under a willow that grew beside the battle-field, were laid to rest, in all possible silence and secrecy, the departed brave. Thus to lay down for ever in the strange land, far away from kindred and from home, those whom a march together of two thousand miles, common hopes and hardships, common dangers, enjoyments and privations, had familarized and endeared, was to the survivors of this little band of brothers no common grief.

On the ground where they were forced to encamp, rocks and cacti afforded scarcely so much of level space as to accommodate the