When I gave the signal to the Arrapahoes to charge, the Apaches
quickened their speed and charged the enemy in front; but they were
checked by the running fire of the well-disciplined troops, and, in
spite of their determination and gallantry, they found in the Mexican
bayonets a barrier of steel which their lances could not penetrate.
The chances, however, were still ours: the Mexican artillery was in our
power, their cavalry dispersed and almost out of sight, and the
infantry, though admirably disciplined, was very hardly pressed both in
flank and in front. At this juncture I sent Gabriel to bring back the
Arrapahoes to the scene of the conflict, for I knew that the Mexican
cavalry would never form again until they had reached the borders of
Senora. Of course, the coadjutors of Martinez had disappeared with the
fugitive cavalry, leaving the old general to regain the lost advantage
and to bear the consequences of their own cowardice and folly.
Now left master of his actions, this talented officer did not yet
despair of success. By an admirable manoeuvre he threw his infantry into
two divisions, so as to check both bodies of cavalry until he could form
them into a solid square, which, charging with impetuosity through the
Shoshones, regained possession of their pieces of artillery, after
which, retreating slowly, they succeeded in reaching, without further
loss, the ground which they had occupied previous to their advance,
which, from its more broken and uneven nature, enabled the infantry to
resist a charge of cavalry with considerable advantage.
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