February 3 the General received these instructions, and replied that he should lose no time. Three days later the army was formally ordered to "be prepared for a field movement at short notice." But, although Taylor had been on the ground for six months, he was "utterly ignorant"--said Hitchcock--of the way to Matamoros, and had now to investigate the matter. By February 24 he possessed the necessary data, and ordered the troops to be in readiness to set out "at forty-eight hours notice"; yet it was not until the eighth of March that his cavalry, led by the impetuous Twiggs and accompanied by Ringgold's handsome battery, actually moved off. The infantry brigades followed at intervals of a day with Duncan's and Bragg's field artillery; and transports prepared to remove the convalescents, extra baggage and Major Munroe's artillery company to Point Isabel, near the mouth of the Rio Grande.[7.17] [THE ADVANCE TO THE RIO GRANDE] Soon after receiving the instructions to advance, Taylor had given notice of his orders to influential citizens of Matamoros then at Corpus Christi, explaining that his march would be entirely pacific, and that he expected the pending questions to be settled by negotiation; and similar assurances were conveyed to the Mexican customhouse office at "Brazos Santiago," near Point Isabel. March 8 a more formal announcement appeared in General Orders No. 30. Taylor here expressed the hope that his movement would be "beneficial to all concerned," insisted upon a scrupulous regard for the civil and religious rights of the people, and commanded that everything required for the use of the army should be paid for "at the highest market price." These orders, which merely anticipated instructions then on their way from Washington, were translated into Spanish, and placed in circulation along the border.[7.18] To the troops the march proved a refreshing and beneficial change. The weather was now fine, the road almost free from mud, and the breeze balmy. Frequently the blue lupine, the gay verbena, the saucy marigold and countless other bright flowers carpeted the ground. The cactus and the cochineal excited and gratified curiosity. Ducks and geese often flew up from the line of advance. Many rabbits and many deer scampered across the plain; and occasionally wolves, catamounts and panthers were frightened from cover. Wild horses would gaze for an instant at their cousins in bondage, and then gallop off, tossing their manes disdainfully; and once a herd of them, spaced as if to allow room for cannon, were taken for Mexican cavalry. Innumerable centipedes, tarantulas and rattlesnakes furnished a good deal of interest, if not of charm. The boundless prairie had somewhat the fascination of the sea; and occasionally, when a mirage conjured up a range of blue mountains--clothed with forests and reflected in lakes--that melted presently into the air, one had a sense of moving on enchanted ground.[7.19]