ORDER OF THE EXPEDITION AT TRAVEL

Traveling with such a large Expedition, consisting of over two hundred people and over a thousand animals, presented daily logistical challenges. Each morning, camp was taken down and packed, animals were rounded up, and the Expedition assembled. At the end of each day’s travel, camp was made, people and animals were accounted for, food was prepared, and the animals were watered and grazed.
Padre Font in his diary for October 22, 1775, describes how the Expedition was organized when on the move:
"Ahead went four soldiers, as scouts to show the road. Leading the vanguard went the commander, and then I came. Behind me followed the people, men, women, and children, and the soldiers who went escorting and caring for their families. The lieutenant with the rear guard concluded the train. Behind him the pack mules usually followed; after them came the loose riding animals; and finally all the cattle, so that altogether they made up a very long procession."