Note 2 — XV CHIHUAHUA December, 1846—May, 1847

Arriving at Santa Fe without provisions, the soldiers soon ate up what supplies could be obtained there, and as the people were declared to be American citizens, nothing could be taken without the consent of the owners. Besides, Kearny had no adequate funds. By a surprising blunder the contracts for the supplies that followed him called for delivery, not at Santa Fe, but at Bent’s Fort. Doniphan’s setting out for the south was delayed by a lack of provisions. The description of his men is based upon a large number of documents (particularly the diaries of Gibson and Hastings and Ruxton’s Adventures) which will be cited when the occupation of New Mexico comes to be considered (chap. xxxi).