They're calling in the buffalo hunters and those who went out to fight the Comanches and Lipans." Ned had alternations of hope and despondency.

He saw anew how few the Texans were.

Their numbers could be counted only in thousands, while the Mexicans had millions.

Moreover, the tiny settlements were scattered widely.

Could such a thin force make a successful defense against the armies of Cos and Santa Anna?
But after every moment of despair, the rebound came, and he saw that the spirit of the people was indomitable.
At last, they rode into a straggling little village by the side of a wide and shallow river.