Moreover, as far as I could see, there was now nobody in front who was shooting at us, although some of the men on my left insisted that our own men had fired into us--an allegation which I soon found was almost always made in such a fight, and which in this case was not true.

At this moment some of the regulars appeared across the ravine on our right.

The first thing they did was to fire a volley at us, but one of our first sergeants went up a tree and waved a guidon at them and they stopped.

Firing was still going on to our left, however, and I was never more puzzled to know what to do.

I did not wish to take my men out of their position without orders, for fear that I might thereby be leaving a gap if there was a Spanish force which meditated an offensive return.