The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 24, July 1920 - April, 1921 Page: 306
332 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
run of the day. Preparations for pursuit were hastily made, and
shortly after 4 o'clock the troops reached the river, where they
found the thieves forcing the cattle off of a steep bank into the
stream. An encounter took place, but it was soon interrupted by
darkness. Randlett then wrote the alcalde of Las Cuevas de-
manding the return of the cattle and the delivery of the thieves,
whose names he supplied. At the same time, he prepared to move
to the Mexican shore early the next morning.
Just before daybreak Major Clendenin of Ringgold Barracks
arrived and, taking command, forbade Randlett to cross the river
on the ground that it would be bad faith to do so while nego-
tiations were in progress. A little later Randlett received a com-
munication from the alcalde which informed him that while a
few of the cattle had been recovered the thieves had escaped with
most of the herd in the direction of Camargo. Randlett there-
upon sent a dispatch to the authorities of Camargo and enclosed
a copy of his orders. Clendenin, in the meantime, had reported
the situation to the commander at Fort Brown and asked for fur-
ther instructions; and, in reply, had received the following order:
"If you have not crossed when this reaches you, await arrival of
Major Alexander, who will be at Las Cuevas to-morrow with two
companies. General is afraid you have not men enough."
About noon of the 18th, and before Alexander had arrived with
reinforcements, Captain McNally of the Texas Rangers came upon
the scene and declared his intention of crossing the river as soon
as his troop should arrive. Clendenin urged McNally to wait
until Alexander came, but the captain of the Rangers remained
obdurate. Thereupon Clendenin remarked: "If you are deter-
mined to cross, we will cover your return, but cannot cross at
present to help you." A Gatling gun was then placed in position
on the left bank of the Rio Grande, and Randlett was ordered to
protect McNally's return, but not to enter Mexican territory un-
less it appeared that the Texan troops were on the point of being
massacred. Clendenin then departed for Ringgold Barracks, leav-
ing Randlett in charge until Alexander should arrive.
By early morning of the 19th McNally had succeeded in getting
his men and five horses across the Rio Grande. A considerable
skirmish ensued, and about two hundred and fifty Mexican regu-
lars soon put in their appearance. A part of the fighting took
place within sight of the American troops; and Randlett, believ-306
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 24, July 1920 - April, 1921, periodical, 1921; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101078/m1/312/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.