spccladc Lruly pilil'ul and disa11irnali11g, lo ,1~<! our 1111forlu11ate solclicn; lo:sc their health in serving Lhcir counlry. Inasmuch as the counlry is a desert, 110 other means of su b:sislencc could be found than that of the cattle which the army look with them, that we mel with between Lhc river Colorado and the Guadalupe, belonging lo the colonists: having finished these it was impm,:siblc lo procure olhcrs, without going for them as far as that place, or lo the right bank of the river Bravo, bccam;c Bexar is wanting in every kind of supplies. l11 Goliad we found some provisions brough L in the national schooners Second Correo and Second 13ravo; hut of these, unfortunately, a great part of the biscuit proved lo be rotten, and the little barrels which came as containing four arrobas, did nol produce even lwo and a half. The purveyor finds himself under the necessity in these deserts, not only to provide nourishment for the soldiers, but also for the generals, chiefs, officers, wagons, muleteers, and even for the immense number of women who follow Lhe army, hccaui:.c if he does nol, Lhc soldiers lake the vicluals from their own mouths lo give lo them, debilitate themselves, and then gel sick. So it is, lhal according Lo the nearest calculation I made, J had provisions for twelve days, giving oul a half pound biscuit, and economizing the remainder ru:; far as possible. IL is true that the American :schooner Watchman has been about to sail from Matamoros with provisions Lo Copano, destined for the army, although up Lo the 23d, :;he had nol sailed from that port: but these, according to the note which I annex, only would have lasted, even giving half a ration daily lo each man, scarcely for Len days, and this suppo:;ing that there was no error nor cheat in Lhe weight as in the former remillance; the beans a Ii llle more or less, and may be rice for a day more; in addition, nol a single ounce of salt was senl, which the army were actually in want of, and it is the most indispensabl~ article, because without is, it is not possible lo eal meat, the principal nourishment from which they have sub:sisled, and could have subsisted a fcw days more. AL Guadalupe Victoria I was assured in a positive manner, and by a person worthy of credit, that a north American brig which was coming from New Orleans lo Matamoros, laden with provisions for the army, had been cap lured by a Tt•xian ve~d; and Lhal in New Orkans they had lm;t lht• l-Uil against tht· captain. who had been apprehended, for which n:ason, the house that :.;t•nl
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