Seralvo and Marin. He therefore decided to pursue that route, as it would require less transportation by land, and to establish his main dépôt at Camargo.[1]
The Rio Grande has been very properly termed, "the muddiest, crookedest, and swiftest river in North America." The channel is constantly shifting, and the navigation obstructed by so many sand-bars, that it is difficult for the smallest steamboats to proceed further up than Reinosa, except in high water. Notwithstanding the efforts made by the Quartermaster's Department to forward supplies for the army, and procure suitable boats to navigate the river, most of which had to be obtained in the United States, and at remote distances from the seaboard, it was not until the month of August that General Taylor was able to move forward with his troops. The causes of this delay were various, and, in most cases, could not well have been avoided. In some instances requisitions were not made in due season; in others the contractors failed to fulfil their obligations; and in others still, the officers of the bureau may have been at fault, although the official correspondence of General Jesup, the Quartermaster-general, and his subordinates, shows that they labored most assiduously in the performance of their duties.[2]
- ↑ Camargo is situated at the mouth of the San Juan, on its southern shore, and on the right bank of the Rio Grande. It is 48 miles above Reinosa, and 93 from Matamoras.
- ↑ In September, 1846, General Jesup asked, and obtained leave to join the army on the Rio Grande, and remained there and at New Orleans for several months, constantly employed in the duties of his office. After this time, there was less complaint in regard to the want of transportation and supplies — See Correspondence of Quartermaster's Department, House of Rep. Exec. Doc. 119, (pp. 950, et. seq.) 2nd session, 29th Congress.
