Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and republican: a historical, geographical, political, statistical and social account of that country from the period of the invasion by the Spaniards to the present time;

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AZTEC, SPANISH AND REPUBLICAN: :j

\ HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, POLITICAL, STATISTICAL AND SOCIAL

ACCOUNT OF THAT COUNTRY FROM THE PERIOD OF THE INVASION

BY THE SPANL\RDS TO THE PRESENT TIME;

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WITH A VIEW OF THK

ANCIENT AZTEC EMPIRE AND CIVILIZATION;

A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE LATE WAR;

AND NOTICES OF

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA

BY

BRANTZ 'm A YER,'

FOUMEQLY SECRETARY OF LEGATION TO MEXICO

IN TWO VOLUM ES

VOLUME I.

HARTFORD:

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S. DRAKE AND COMPANY. "lA

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by

SIDNEY DRAKE,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut.

C. A. ALVORD, PRINTER,
29 Gold-st, N. Y.

TO THE

HONORABLE HENRY CLAY:

My Dear Sir:

I take the liberty to inscribe these volumes to you
as a testimonial of personal gratitude. In the midst of engrossing
cares you have often been pleased to turn aside for a while to foster
those who were following the humbler and quieter walks of litera
ture ; and it is, naturally, their delight to offer for your acceptance,
upon every suitable occasion, an acknowledgment of cordial thank-
fulness.

Allow me, then, as the only tribute I can tender, to present a
work designed to illustrate the history and resources of one of those
American States which were summoned into the brotherhood of
nations by your sympathy and eloquence.
I am, with the greatest respect,

Your friend and servant,

BRANTZ MAYER.
Baltimore, July, 1850.

PREFACE

The people of the United States have always felt a deep interest in
the history and destiny of Mexico. It was not only the commercial
spirit of our citizens that awakened this sentiment. In former times,
when the exclusive policy of Spain closed the door of intercourse
wTith her American colonies, the ancient history of Peru and Mexico
attracted the curiosity of our students. They were eager to solve the
enigma of a strange civilization which had originated in the central
portions of our continent in isolated independence of all the world.
They desired, moreover, to know something of those enchanted re-
gions, which, like the fabled garden of the Hesperides, were watched
and warded with such jealous vigilance ; and they craved to behold
those marvelous mines whose boundless wealth was poured into the
lap of Spain. The valuable work of Baron Humboldt, published in
the early part of this century, stimulated this natural curiosity ; and,
when the revolutionary spirit of Europe penetrated our continent, and
the masses rose to cast off colonial bondage, we hailed with joy every
effort of the patriots who fought so bravely in the war of liberation.
Bound to Mexico by geographical ties, though without a common lan-
guage or lineage, we were the first to welcome her and the new Ameri-
can Sovereignties into the brotherhood of nations, and to fortify our
continental alliance by embassies and treaties.

After more than twenty years of peaceful intercourse, the war of
1846 broke out between Mexico and our Union. Thousands, of all
classes, professions and occupations, — educated and uneducated — ob-
servers and idlers, — poured into the territory of the invaded republic
In the course of the conflict these sturdy adventurers traversed the
central and northern regions of Mexico, scoured her coasts, possessed
themselves for many months of her beautiful Capital, and although they
returned to their homes worn with the toils of war, none have ceased
to remember the delicious land, amid whose sunny valleys and majes-
tic mountains they had learned, at least, to admire the sublimity of
nature. The returned warriors did not fail to report around their fire-
sides the marvels they witnessed during their campaigns, and nu-

2 PREFACE.

merous works have been written to sketch the story of individual ad-
venture, or to portray the most interesting physical features of various
sections of the republic. Thus by war and literature, by ancient cu-
riosity and political sympathy, by geographical position and commer-
cial interest, Mexico has become perhaps the most interesting portion
of the world to our countrymen at the present moment. And I have
been led to believe that the American people would not receive unfa-
vorably a work designed to describe the entire country, to develop its
resources and condition, and to sketch impartially its history from the
conquest to the present day.

It has been no ordinary task to chronicle the career of a nation for
more than three centuries, to unveil the colonial government of sixty-
two Viceroys, to follow the thread of war and politics through the
mazes of revolution, and to track the rebellious spirit of intrigue amid
the numerous civil outbreaks which have occurred since the downfall
of Iturbide. The complete Viceroyal history of Mexico is now for
the first time presented to the world in the English language, while,
in Spanish, no single author has ever attempted it continuously. Free
from the bias of Mexican partizanship, I have endeavored to narrate
events fairly, and to paint character without regard to individual
men. In describing the country, its resources, geography, finances,
church, agriculture, army, industrial condition, and social as well as
political prospects, I have taken care to provide myself with the most
recent and respectable authorities. My residence in the country, and
intimacy with many of its educated and intelligent patriots, enabled
me to gather information in which I confided, and I have endeavored
to fuse the whole mass of knowledge thus laboriously procured, with
my personal, and, I hope, unprejudiced, observation.

I have not deemed it proper to encumber the margin of my pages
with continual references to authorities that are rarely consulted by
general readers, and could onty be desired by critics who would often
be tantalized by the citation of works, which, in all likelihood, are not
to be found except in private collections in the United States, and some
of which, I am quite sure, exist only in my own library or in the
Mexican Legation, at Washington. Such references, whilst they oc-
cupied an undue portion of the book, would be ostentatiously and te-
diously pedantic in a work of so little pretension as mine. I may
state, however, that no important fact has been asserted without au-
thority, and, in order to indicate the greater portion of my published
sources of reliance, I have subjoined a list of the principal materials
consulted and carefully verified in the composition of these volumes.
Nevertheless, I have perhaps failed sometimes to procure the standard
works that are accessible to native or permanent residents of the
country, and thus, may have fallen accidently into error, whilst hon-
estly seeking to shun misstatement. If those whose information

PREFACE

3

enables them to detect important mistakes will be kind enough to
point them out candidly and clearly, I will gladly correct such serious
faults if another edition should ever be required by an indulgent
public.

BRANTZ MAYER.
Baltimore, August, 1850.

AUTHORITIES USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS WORK.

T. HISTORICA L.

Cartas de Cortez ed. Lorenzana.

Historia Verdadera de la Conquis-
ta de la Nueva Esparia — Bernal
Diaz.

Peter Martyr.

Conquista de Mejico, by De Solis.

Veytia. Herrera.

Robertson's History of America.

Clavigero — Historia Antigua de
Mejico.

Prescott's History of the Conquest
of Mexico.

Cavo y Bustamante — Tres Siglo3
de Mejico.

Alaman — Disertaciones sobre la
Historia de Mejico.

Father Gage's America.

Ternaux-Compans's History of the
Conquest.

Recopilacion de las leyes de las
Indias.

Mendez — Observaciones sobre las
leyes, &c, &c.

N. American Review, vol. XIX.

Transactions of the American
Ethnological Society, in the Ar-
ticles on Mexico, by Mr. Gal-
latin.

Researches, Philosophical and An-
tiquarian, concerning the Abo-
riginal History of America, by
J. H. McCulloh.

Pesquisia contra Pedro de Alva-
rado y Nuno de Guzman.

Lives of the Viceroys in the Liceo
Mejicano.

Notas y esclarecimientos a la his-
toria de la Conquista de Mejico,
por Jose F. Ramirez. — 2d vol. of
Mexican translation of Prescott.

Zavala — Revoluciones de Mejico
desde 1808, hasta 1830.

Don Vicente Pazo's Letters on
the United Provinces of South
America.

Robinson's Memoirs of the Mexi-
can Revolution.

Ward's Mexico in 1827, &c.

Foote's History of Texas.

Tejas in 1836.

Memorias para la Historia de la
Guerra de Tejas, por General
Vicente Filisola.

Forbes's California.

Greenhow's Oregon and California.

American State Papers.

Ranke— Fursten und Volker.

Dr. Dunham's History of Spain
and Portugal.

General Waddy Thompson's Re-
collections of Mexico.

Apuntes para la historia de la
guerra entre Mejico y los Esta-
dos Unidos.

Lectures on Mexican history, by
Jose Maria Lacunza, Professor
in the College of San Juan de
Letran.

Constituciones de Mejico y de los
Estados Mejicanos.

Thirteen octavo volumes of docu-
ments published by the Con-
gress of the United States, rela-
tive to our intercourse and war
with Mexico, collected by my-
self.

Tributo a la Verdad, — Vera Cruz
1847.

PREF A C E.

II. DESCRIPTIVE.

Humboldt, Essai Politique sur la
Nouvelle Espagne.

Poinsett's Notes on Mexico.

Bullock's Mexico.

Lieut. Hardy's Journey in Mexico.

Ward's Mexico in 1827.

Folsom's Mexico in 1842.

Miihlenpfordt — Die Republik Me-
jico.

Mejico en 1842, por Luis Manuel
de Rivero.

Mexico as it Was and as it Is, 1844.

Ensayo sobre el verdadero estado
de la cuestion social y politica
que se agita en la Republica
Mejicana. por Otero, 1842.

Madame Calderon de la Barca's
Life in Mexico.

Kennedy's Texas.

Emory, Abert, Cooke and John-
ston— Journals in New Mexico
and California— 1848.

Fremont's Expeditions, 1842-'3-'4.

Fremont's California, 1848.

T. Butler King's Report on Cali-
fornia, 1850.

W. Carey Jones's do. do. 1850.

Executive documents in relation
to California, 1850.

Forbes's California.

Bryant's do.

Kendall's Santa Fe Expedition.

Wilkes's Exploring Expedition.

Wise — Los Gringos.

Ruxton's Travels in Mexico, &c.

Norman's Rambles in Yucatan.
" " in Mexico.

Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies.

Dr. Wislizenius's Memoir on New
Mexico.

Stephens's Central America.
" Yucatan.

Gam a — Piedras Antiguas de Me-
jico.

El Museo Mejicano.

Isidro R. Gondra's Notes on Mexi-
can Antiquities, in the 3rd vol.
(with plates) of the Mexican
translation of Prescott.

Nebel — Voyage Arqueologique et
Pittoresque en Mexique.

Memoir of the Mexican Minister
of Foreign and Domestic Af-
fairs on the condition of the
country in 1846.

Idem in 1849.

Memoir of the Mexican Minister
of War, 1844.

Idem in 1846.

Idem in 1849.

Memoir of the Mexican Minister
of Finance on the condition of
the Treasury, 1841.

Idem in 1846.

Idem in 1848.

Idem in 1849.

Memoir on the Agriculture and
Manufactures of Mexico, by Don
Lucas Alaman, 1843.

Memoir on the Liquidation of the
National Debt, by Alaman, 1845.

Noticias Estadisticas del Estado
de Chihuahua, 1834.

Noticias Estadisticas sobre el De-
partamento de Queretaro, 1845.

Nos. 1, 2, 3, Boletin del Instituto
Nacional de Geografia y Esta-
distica, 1839-1849.

Collecion de documentos relativos
al departamento de Californias,
1846.

El Observador Judicial'de Mejico.

Semanario de la Industria Meji-
cana.

El Mosaico Mejicano.

Journal des Economistes.

Ly ell's Geology.

Lerdo — Consideraciones sobre la
condicion social y politica de la
Republica Mejicana en 1847.

CONTENTS

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I. — Discoveries of Cordova and Grijalva — Cortez appointed by Velas-
quez— Biographical notice of Cortez — Cortez Captain General of the Armada —
Equipment of the Expedition — Quarrel of Velasquez — Firmness of Cortez — Ex-
pedition departs under Cortez, 13

CHAPTER II. — Olmeda preaches to the Indians — Aguilar and Mariana — interpre-
ters— Cortez lands — interview with the Aztecs — Diplomacy — Montezuma's pres-
ents— Montezuma refuses to receive Cortez, 22

CHAPTER III.— Cortez founds La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz— Fleet destroyed—
March to Mexico — Conquest of Tlascala — Cholula — Slaughter in Cholula — Valley
of Mexico — Cortez enters the Valley — Gigantic Causeway — Lake of Tezcoco —
Reception by Montezuma — Spaniards enter the capital, 28

CHAPTER IV. — Description of the City of Tenochtitlan — Montezuma's way of
life — Market-place — Cortez at the Great Temple — Description of it — Place of Sa-
crifice— Sanctuaries — Huitzilopotchtli — Tezcatlipoca — Danger of Cortez — Monte-
zuma seized — Montezuma a prisoner — his submissiveness — Arrival of Narvaez —
Cortez 's diplomacy — Cortez overcomes Narvaez, and recruits his forces, . . 35

CHAPTER V. — Cortez returns to the Capital — Causes of the revolt against the
Spaniards — Cortez condemns Alvarado — his conduct to Montezuma — Battle in the
city — Montezuma mediates — Fight on the Great Temple or Teocalli — Retreat of
the Spaniards — Noche Triste — Flight of the Spaniards to Tacuba, .... 44

CHAPTER VI. — Retreat to Otumba — Cortez is encountered by a new army of Az-
tecs and auxiliaries — Victory of the Spaniards at Otumba — Proposed re-alliance of
Aztecs and Tlascalans — Forays of Cortez — reduction of the eastern regions — Cor-
tez proposes the re-conquest — sends off the disaffected — Cortez settles the Tlascalan
succession, 50

CHAPTER VII.— Death of Cuitlahua — he is succeeded by Guatemozin — Aztecs
learn the proposed re-conquest — Cortez 's forces for this enterprise — Cortez at Tez-
coco— his plans and acts — Military expeditions of Cortez in the Valley — Operations
at Chalco and Cuernavaca — Xochimilco — return to Tacuba — Cortez returns to
Tezcoco and is reinforced, 56

CHAPTER VIII. — Cortez returns — conspiracy among his men detected — Execution
of Villafafia — Brigantines launched — Xicotencatl's treason and execution — Dispo-
sition of forces to attack the city — Siege and assaults on the city — Fight and re-
verses of the Spaniards — Sacrifice of captives — Flight of allies — Contest renewed —
Starvation, 62

CHAPTER IX. — Aztec prediction — it is not verified — Cortez reinforced by fresh
arrivals — Famine in the city — Cortez levels the city to its foundation — Condition
of the capital — Attack renewed — Capture of Guatemozin — Surrender of the city —
Frightful condition of the city, 70

CHAPTER X. — Duty of a historian — Motives of the Conquest — Character and
deeds of Cortez — Materials of the Conquest — Adventurers — Priests — Indian allies
— Historical aspecto of the Conquest, 75

6 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI. — Discontent at not finding gold — Torture of Guatemozin — Results
of the fall of the capital — Mission from Michoacan — Rebuilding of the capital —
Letters to the King — Intrigues against Cortez — Fonseca — Narvaez — Tapia —
Charles V. protects Cortez and confirms his acts, 80

CHAPTER XII. — Cortez commissioned by the Emperor — Velasquez — his death —
Mexico rebuilt — Immigration — Repartimientos of Indians — Honduras — Guatemo-
zin— Mariana — Cortez accused — ordered to Spain for trial — his reception, honors
and titles — he marries — his return to Mexico — resides at Tezcoco — Expeditions of
Cortez — California — Gluivara — returns to Spain — death — Where are his bones? 84

CHAPTER XIII. — Archbishop Zumarraga's destruction of Mexican monuments,
writings, documents — Mr. Gallatin's opinion of them — Traditions — two sources of
accurate knowledge — Speculations on antiquity — Aztecs — Toltecs — Nahuatlacs —
Acolhuans, &c. — Aztecs emigrate from Aztlan — settle in Anahuac — Tables of emi-
gration of the original tribes — Other tribes in the empire 92

CHAPTER XIV. — Difficulty of estimating the civilization of the Aztecs— Nations
in Yucatan — Value of contemporary history — The Aztec monarchy — elective —
Royal style in Tenochtitlan — Montezuma's way of life — Despotic power of the
Emperor over life and law — Theft — intemperance — marriage — slavery — war — Mili-
tary system and hospitals — Coin — Revenues — Aztec mythology — Image of Teo-
yaomiqui — Teocalli — Two kinds of sacrifice — Why the Aztecs sacrificed their
prisoners — Common Sacrifice — Gladitorial Sacrifice — Sacrificial Stone — Aztec Ca-
lendar—week, month, year, cycle — Procession of the New Fire — Astronomical
Science — Aztec Calendar — Tables, 99

BOOK II.

CHAPTER I. — Colonial system — Early grants of power to rulers in Mexico by the
Emperor Charles V. — Abuse of it — Council of the Indies — Laws — Royal audiences
— Cabildos — Fueros — Relative positions of Spaniards and Creoles — Scheme of
Spanish colonial trade — Restrictions on trade — Alcabala — Taxes — Papal Bulls —
Bulls de Cruzada — de Defuntos — of Composition — Power of the Church — its pro-
perty— Inquisition — The acts of the Inquisition — Repartimientos — Indians — Agri-
culturists— Miners — Mita — Excuses for maladministration, . . . . . . 127

CHAPTER II. — Founding of the Viceroyalty of New Spain — New Audiencia —
Fuenleal — Mendoza — Early acts of the first Viceroy — Coinage — Rebellion in Ja-
lisco— Viceroy suppresses it — Council of the Indies on Repartimientos — Indian
Servitude — Gluivara — Expeditions of Coronado and Alarcon — Pest in 1546 — Revo-
lution— Council of Bishops — Mines — Zapotecs revolt — Mendoza removed to Peru,

Page 139.

CHAPTER III. — Velasco endeavors to ameliorate the condition of the Indians —
University of Mexico established— Inundation— Military colonization— Philip II —
Florida — Intrigues against Velasco — Philipine Isles — Death of Velasco — Marques
de Falces — Baptism of the grand-children of Cortez — Conspiracy against the Mar-
ques del Valle — his arrest — execution of his friends — Marques de Falces — charges
against him— his fall— Errors of Philip II.— Fall of Munoz and his return— Vin-
dication of the Viceroy, , . . . . 148

CHAPTER IV. — Almanza Viceroy — Chichimecas revolt — Jesuits — Inquisition —
Pestilence — No Indian tribute exacted — Almanza departs — Xuares Viceroy — Weak
Administration — Increase of commerce — Pedro Moya de Contreras Viceroy — Re-
forms under a new Viceroy — His power as Viceroy and Inquisitor — Zuniga Vice-
roy— Treasure — Piracy — Cavendish — Drake captures a galeon — Zuniga and the
Audiencia of Guadalajara— His deposition from power 160

CONTENTS. 7

CHAPTER V. — Luis de Velasco II. becomes Viceroy — Delight of the Mexicans —
Factories reopened — Chichimecas — Colonization — Alameda — Indians taxed for
European wars — Composition — Fowls — Acebedo Viceroy — Expedition to New
Mexico — Indian ameliorations — Death of Philip II. — New scheme of hiring In-
dians— California — Montesclaros Viceroy — Inundation — Albarrada, . . . 170

CHAPTER VI. — Second administration of Don Luis Velasco — His great work for
the Drainage of the Valley — Lakes in the Valley — Danger of Inundation — History
of the Desague of Huehuetoca — Operations of the engineers Martinez and Boot —
The Franciscans — Completion of the Desague — La Obra del Consulado — Negro
revolt — Extension of Oriental trade — Guerra Viceroy — De Cordova Viceroy —
Indian revolt — Cordova founded, 178

CHAPTER VII. — Marques de Gelves Viceroy — his reforms — Narrative of Father
Gage — Gelves forestalls the market — The Archbishop excommunicates Mexia, his
agent — duarrel between Gelves and the Archbishop — Viceroy excommunicated —
Archbishop at Guadalupe — he is arrested at the altar — sent to Spain — Mexia threa-
tened— Mob attacks the Palace — it is sacked — Viceroy escapes — Retribution, 187

CHAPTER VIII. — The Audiencia rules in the interregnum — Carillo Visitador — In-
quisitorial examination — Acapulco taken — Attacks by the Dutch — Removal of the
Capital proposed — Armendariz Viceroy — Escalona Viceroy — Palafox's conduct to
the Viceroy — Palafox Viceroy — His good and evil, 195

CHAPTER IX. — Sotomayor Viceroy — Escalona vindicated — Monastic property —
Bigotry of Palafox — Guzman Viceroy — Indian insurrection — Revolt of the Tara-
humares — Success of the Indians — Indian wars — Duke de Alburquerque Viceroy —
Attempt to assassinate him — Count de Banos Viceroy — Attempt to colonize — Es-
cobar y Llamas and De Toledo Viceroys — Depredations of British cruisers — Nuno
de Portugal Viceroy, 201

CHAPTER X.— Rivera Viceroy— La Cerda Viceroy— Revolt in New Mexico-
Success of the Indians — Colony destroyed — Efforts of the Spaniards to re-conquer
— Vera Cruz sacked — Count Monclova Viceroy — Count Galve Viceroy — Tarrahu-
maric revolt — Indians pacified — Texas — Hispaniola attacked — Insurrection — Burn-
ing of the Palace — Famine — Earthquake, 212

CHAPTER XI.— Montanez Viceroy— Spiritual Conquest of California— Valladares
Viceroy — Fair at Acapulco — Spanish monarchy — Austria — Bourbon — Montanez
Viceroy — Jesuits in California — La Cueva Viceroy — Duke de Linares Viceroy —
British slavery treaty — Colonization — Nuevo Leon — Texas — Operations in Texas
r— -Alarcon — Aguayo — Casa-Fuerte's virtuous administration — Louis I. — Oriental
trade — Spanish jealousy — The King's opinion of Casa-Fuerte — his acts, . . 221

CHAPTER XII. — Vizarron and Eguiarreta Viceroy — Eventless government — Sala-
zar Viceroy — Colonial fears — Fuen-Clara Viceroy — Galeon lost — Mexico under
Revilla-Gigedo I. — Ferdinand VI. — Indians — Taxes — Colonies in the north —
Famine — Mines at Bolanos — Horcasitas — Character of Revilla-Gigedo — Villalon
Viceroy — Charles III. — Cagigal Viceroy, 232

CHAPTER XIII. — Marques de Cruillas Viceroy — Charles III. proclaimed — Havana
taken by the British — Military preparations — Peace — Pestilence — Galvez Visitador
— Reforms — Tobacco monopoly — De Croix Viceroy — The Jesuits — their expulsion
from Spanish dominions — their arrival in Europe — banished — Causes of this con-
duct to the order — Origin of the military character of Mexico, 240

CHAPTER XIV.— Bucareli y Ursua Viceroy— Progress of New Spain— Gold
placers in Sonora — Mineral wealth at that period — Intellectual condition of the
country — Line of Presidios — Mayorga Viceroy — Policy of Spain to England and
her colonies — Operations on the Spanish Main, &c. — Matias Galvez Viceroy— his
acts, 248

8 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV.— Bernardo de Galvez Viceroy — Chapultepec — Galvez dies— his
daughter — Haro Viceroy — Corruption of Alcaldes — Flores Viceroy — his system of
ruling the northern frontier — Mining interests — II. Revilla-Gigedo Viceroy —
Charles IV. — Revilla-Gigedo 's colonial improvements — his advice as to California
Anecdotes of his police regulations — The street of Revilla-Gigedo — Arrest of fugi-
tive lovers — Punishes the culprits, 255

CHAPTER XVI. — Branciforte Viceroy — his grasping and avaricious character —
Corruption tolerated — Persecution of Frenchmen — Encampments — Branciforte 's
character — Azanza Viceroy — Effect of European wars on colonial trade and manu-
factures— Threatened revolt — Marquina Viceroy — Revolt in Jalisco — Iturrigaray
Viceroy — Godoy's corruption — War — Defences against the United States — Miran-
da— Humboldt — Mexico taxed for European wars — Ferdinand VII. — Napoleon in
Spain — King Joseph Bonaparte — Iturrigaray arrested — Garibay Viceroy, 267

BOOK III.

CHAPTER I. — Lianza Viceroy — Audiencia — Venegas Viceroy — True sources of
the Revolution — Creoles loyal to Ferdinand — Spaniards in favor of King Joseph —
Mexican subscriptions for Spain — Secret union in Mexico against Spaniards — Hi-
dalgo— Allende — First outbreak — Guanajuato sacked — Las Cruces — Mexico men-
aced— Indian bravery at Aculco — Marfil — Massacre at Guanajuato — Calleja — In-
surgents defeated — Execution of Hidalgo, 279

CHAPTER II. — Venegas Viceroy — Rayon — Junta in 1811 — its willingness to re-
ceive Ferdinand VII. — Proclamation by the Junta — Morelos — Acapulco taken —
Successes of the insurgents — Siege of Cuautla — Izucar — Orizaba — Oaxaca — Chil-
panzingo — Calleja Viceroy — Iturbide — Reverses of insurgents — Morelos shot, 287

CHAPTER III. — Apodaca Viceroy — Spanish constitution of 1812 proclaimed in
Mexico — Condition of the revolutionary party — Victoria — Mina lands at Soto la
Marina — his efforts — Los Remedios — Guerrillas — he is shot — Padre Torres —
Iturbide — Apodaca selects him to establish absolutism — Iturbide promulgates the
Plan of Iguala — Army of the Three Guaranties, 293

CHAPTER IV. — O'Donoju Viceroy— Conduct of Iturbide— Novella— Revolt-
Treaty of Cordova — First Mexican Cortes — Iturbide Emperor — his career — exiled
to Italy — Iturbide returns — arrest — execution — his character and services, 301

CHAPTER V. — Review of the condition of Mexico and the formation of parties —
Viceroyal government — The people — The army — The church — Constitution of
1824 — Echavari revolts — Victoria President — Escocesses — Yorkinos — Revolts con-
tinued— Montayno — Guerrero — Gomez Pedraza President — is overthrown — Fed-
eralists— Centralists — Guerrero President — Abolition of Slavery in Mexico, 307

CHAPTER VI. — Conspiracy against Guerrero by Bustamante — Guerrero betrayed
and shot — Anecdote — Revolt under Santa Anna — he restores Pedraza and becomes
President — Gomez Farias deposed — Church — Central Constitution of 1836 — Santa
Anna — his Texan disgrace — Mexia — Bustamante President — French at Vera Cruz
Revolts in the north and in the capital — Bustamante deposed — Santa Anna Presi-
dent, . • 316

CHAPTER VII. — Reconquest of Texas proposed — Canalizo President ad interim —
Revolution under Paredes in 1844 — Santa Anna falls — Herrera President — Texan
revolt — Origin of war with the United States — Texan war for the Constitution
of 1824 — Nationality recognized — Annexation to the United States — Proposition
to Mexico — Herrera overthrown — Paredes President — Our minister rejected —
Character of General Paredes, . . . 326

CONTENTS. y

CHAPTER VIII.— General Taylor ordered to the Rio Grande— History of Texan
boundaries — Origin of the war — Military preparations — Commencement of hostili-
ties— Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca — Matamoros — Taylor's advance — Fall of
Monterey, 334

CHAPTER IX. — General Wool inspects and musters the western troops — Army
of the Centre — New Mexico — Kearney — Macnamara — California — Fremont — So-
noma— Californian independence — Possession taken — Sloat — Stockton — A revolt —
Pico — Treaty of Couenga — Kearney at San Pascual — is relieved — Disputes — San
Gabrielle — Mesa — Los Angeles — Fremont's character, services, trial, . 342

CHAPTER X.— Valley of the Rio Grande — Santa Anna at San Luis— Scott com-
mander-in-chief— Plan of attack on the east coast — General Scott's plan — Doni-
phan's expedition — Bracito — Sacramento — Revolt in New Mexico — Murder of
Richie — Selection of battle ground — Description of it — Battle of Angostura or
Buena Vista — Mexican retreat — Tabasco — Tampico, .... 350

CHAPTER XI. — Santa Anna's return — changes his principles — Salas executive —
Constitution of 1824 restored — Paredes — Plans of Salas and Santa Anna — his letter
to Almonte — his views of the war — refuses the Dictatorship — commands the army
— State of parties in Mexico — Puros— Moderados — Santa Anna at San Luis —
Peace propositions — Internal troubles — Farias's controversy with the church — Pol-
ko revolution in the capital — Vice Presidency suppressed — Important decree, 358

CHAPTER XII.— General Scott at Lobos— Landing at and siege of Vera Cruz-
Capitulation and condition of Vera Cruz — Condition of Mexico — Alvarado, etc.,
captured — Scott's advance — Description of Cerra Gordo — Mexican defences and
military disposal there — Battle of Cerro Gordo — Perote and Puebla yield — Santa
Anna returns — Constitution of 1824 readopted — Mexican politics of the day —
"War spirit — Guerillas — Peace negotiations — Santa Anna's secret negotiations, 370

CHAPTER XIII.— Scott at Puebla— Tampico and Orizaba taken— Scott's advance
— Topography of the Valley of Mexico — Routes to the capital — El Peiion — Mex-
icalzingo — Tezcoco — Chalco — Outer and inner lines around the city — Scott's ad-
vance by Chalco — The American army at San Augustin, . . 381

CHAPTER XIV.— Difficulties of the advance— The Pedregal— San Antonio— Ha-
cienda— Relative position of American and Mexican armies — Path over the Ped-
regal to Contreras — Valencia disconcerts Santa Anna's plan of battle — American
advance and victory at Contreras — San Antonio turned by "Worth — Battle of Chu-
rubusco — Battle at the Convent and Tete de Pont — Their capture, . . 391

CHAPTER XV.— Why the city was not entered on the 20th— Condition of the
city — Deliberation of the Mexican cabinet and proposals — Reasons why General
Scott proposed and granted the armistice — Deliberations of commissioners — Par-
ties against Santa Anna — Failure of the negotiation — Mexican desire to destroy
Santa Anna, . 400

CHAPTER XVI. — Military position of the Americans at the end of the armis-
tice— Mexican defences — Plan of attack — Reconnoissances of Scott and Mason —
Importance of Mexican position at Molino del Rey — Scott's scheme of capturing
the city — Battle of Molino del Rey — Reflections and criticism on this battle — Pre-
parations to attack Chapultepec — Storming of Chapultepec and of the city Gates
of San Cosme and Belen — Retreat of the Mexican army and government — Ame-
rican occupation of the city of Mexico, 408

CHAPTER XVII.— Attack of the city mob on the army— Gluitman Governor—
Peiia President — Congress ordered — Siege of Puebla — Lane's, Lally's, and
Childs's victories — Guerrilleros broken up — Mexican politics — Anaya President —
Peace negotiations — Scott's decree — Peiia President — Santa Anna and Lane —
Santa Anna leaves Mexico for Jamaica — Treaty entered into — Its character — Santa
Cruz de Rosales — Court of Inquiry — Internal troubles — Ambassadors at Q,uere-
taro — Treaty ratified — Evacuation — Revolutionary attempts — Condition of Mexico
since the war — Character of Santa Anna — Note on the military critics, 420

BOOK I

HISTORY OF THE

CONQUEST OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ,

WITH A SKETCH OF AZTEC CIVILIZATION.

1511 — 1530.

BOOK I

CHAPTER I
1511 to 1519.

DISCOVERIES OF CORDOVA AND GRIJALVA. CORTEZ APPOINTED

BY VELASQUEZ. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF CORTEZ. COR-
TEZ CAPTAIN GENERAL OF THE ARMADA. EQUIPMENT OF

THE EXPEDITION. QUARREL OF VELASQUEZ FIRMNESS OF

CORTEZ. EXPEDITION DEPARTS UNDER CORTEZ.

There is perhaps no page in modern history so full of dramatic
incidents and useful consequences, as that which records the dis-
covery, conquest and development of America by the Spanish and
Anglo Saxon races. The extraordinary achievements of Columbus,
Cortez, Pizarro, and Washington, have resulted in the acquisition
of broad lands, immense wealth, and rational liberty; and the
names of these heroes are thus indissolubly connected with the
physical and intellectual progress of mankind.

In the following pages we propose to write the history, and
depict the manners, customs and condition of Mexico. Our
narrative begins with the first movements that were made for
the conquest of the country; yet, we shall recount, fully and
accurately, the story of those Indian princes, — the splendor of
whose courts, and the misery of whose tragic doom, enhance the
picturesque grandeur and solemn lessons that are exhibited in
the career of Hernando Cortez.

14 DISCOVERIES OF CORDOVA AND GRIJALVA.

Cuba was the second island discovered, in the West Indies ;
but it was not until 1511, that Diego, son of the gallant admiral,
who had hitherto maintained the seat of government in Hispaniola,
resolved to occupy the adjacent isle of Fernandina, — as it was
then called, — amid whose virgin mountains and forests he hoped
to find new mines to repair the loss of those which were rapidly-
failing in Hispaniola. *

For the conquest of this imagined El Dorado, he prepared a
small armament, under the command of Diego Velasquez, an
ambitious and covetous leader, who, together with his lieutenant,
Narvaez, soon established the Spanish authority in the island, of
which he was appointed Governor.

Columbus, after coasting the shores of Cuba for a great distance,
had always believed that it constituted a portion of the continent,
but it was soon discovered that the illustrious admiral had been in
error, and that Cuba, extensive as it appeared to be, was, in fact,
only an island.

In February, 1517, a Spanish hidalgo, Hernandez de Cordova,
set sail, with three vessels, towards the adjacent Bahamas in search
of slaves. He was driven by a succession of severe storms on
coasts which had hitherto been unknown to the Spanish adventurers,
and finally landed on that part of the continent which forms the
north-eastern end of the peninsula of Yucatan, and is known as
Cape Catoche. Here he first discovered the evidence of a more
liberal civilization than had been hitherto known among his
adventurous countrymen in the New World. Large and solid
buildings, formed of stone ; — cultivated fields ; — delicate fabrics
of cotton and precious metals, — indicated the presence of a race
that had long emerged from the semi-barbarism of the Indian Isles.
The bold but accidental explorer continued his voyage along the
coast of the peninsula until he reached the site of Campeche ; and
then, after an absence of seven months and severe losses among
his men, returned to Cuba, with but half the number of his reckless
companions. He brought back with him, however, numerous
evidences of the wealth and progress of the people he had
fortuitously discovered on the American main ; but he soon died,
and left to others the task of completing the enterprise he had so
auspiciously begun. The fruits of his discoveries remained to be
gathered by Velasquez, who at once equipped four vessels and

1 In 1525, the gold washings of Hispaniola were already exhausted ; and sugar and
hides are alone mentioned as exports. Petri Mart : Ep. 806, Kal. Mart. 1525.

CORTEZ APPOINTED BY VELASQUEZ. 15

entrusted them to the command of his nephew, Juan de Grijalva,
and on the 1st of May, 1518, this new commander left the port
of St. Jago de Cuba. The first land he touched on his voyage
of discovery, was the Island of Cozumel, whence he passed to the
continent, glancing at the spots that had been previously visited by
Cordova. So struck was he by the architecture, the improved
agriculture, the civilized tastes, the friendly character and demeanor
of the inhabitants, and, especially, by the sight of " large stone
crosses, evidently objects of worship," that, in the enthusiasm
of the moment, he gave to the land the name of Nueva Espana-
or New Spain, — a title which has since been extended from the
peninsula of Yucatan to even more than the entire empire of
Montezuma and the Aztecs.

Grijalva did not content himself with a mere casual visit to the
continent, but pursued his course along the coast, stopping at
fhe Rio de Tabasco. Whilst at Rio de Vanderas, he enjoyed
the first intercourse that ever took place between the Spaniards
and Mexicans. The Cacique of the Province sought from the
strangers a full account of their distant country and the motives
of their visit, in order that he might convey the intelligence to
his Aztec master. Presents were interchanged, and Grijalva
received, in return for his toys and tinsel, a mass of jewels,
together with ornaments and vessels of gold, which satisfied the
adventurers that they had reached a country whose resources would
repay them for the toil of further exploration. Accordingly, he
despatched to Cuba with the joyous news, Pedro de Alvarado, one
of his captains, — a man who was destined to play a conspicuous
part in the future conquest, — whilst he, with the remainder of his
companies, continued his coasting voyage to San Juan de Ulua,
the Island of Sacrificios, and the northern shores, until he reached
the Province of Panuco ; whence, after an absence of six months,
he set sail for Cuba, having been the first Spanish adventurer who
trod the soil of Mexico.

But his return was not hailed even with gratitude. The florid
reports of Pedro de Alvarado had already inflamed the ambition
and avarice of Velasquez, who, impatient of the prolonged absence
of Grijalva, had despatched a vessel under the command of Olid
in search of his tardy officer. Nor was he content with this
jealous exhibition of his temper ; for, anxious to secure to himself
all the glory and treasure to be derived from the boundless resources
of a continent, he solicited authority from the Spanish crown to
prosecute the adventures that had been so auspiciously begun*;

16 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF CORTEZ.

and, in the meanwhile, after considerable deliberation, resolved to
fit out another armament on a scale, in some degree, commensurate
with the military subjugation of the country, should he find
himself opposed by its sovereign and people. After considerable
doubt, difficulty and delay, he resolved to entrust this expedition
to the command of Hernando Cortez ; " the last man," says
Prescott, "to whom Velasquez, — could he have foreseen the
results, — would have confided the enterprise."

It will not be foreign to our purpose to sketch, briefly, the
previous life of a man who subsequently became so eminent in the
history of both worlds. Seven years before Columbus planted the
standard of Castile and Arragon in the West Indies, Hernando
Cortez, was born, of a noble lineage, in the town of Medellin,
in the Province of Estremadura, in Spain. His infancy was frail
and delicate, but his constitution strengthened as he grew, until,
at the age of fourteen, he was placed in the venerable university
of Salamanca, where his parents, who rejoiced in the extreme
vivacity of his talents, designed to prepare him for the profession
of law, the emoluments of which were, at that period, most
tempting in Spain. But the restless spirit of the future conqueror
was not to be manacled by the musty ritual of a tedious science
whose pursuit would confine him to a quiet life. He wasted two
years at the college, and, like many men who subsequently became
renowned either for thought or action, was finally sent home in
disgrace. Nevertheless, in the midst of his recklessness, and by the
quickness of1 his genius, he had learned " a little store of Latin,"
and acquired the habit of writing good prose, or. of versifying
agreeably. His father, — Don Martin Cortez de Monroy, and
his mother, Dona Catalina Pizarro Altamirano, — seem to have
been accomplished people, nor is it improbable, that the greater
part of their son's information was obtained under the influence of
the domestic circle. At college he was free from all restraint, —
giving himself up to the spirit of adventure, the pursuit of pleasure,
and convivial intercourse, — so that no hope was entertained of his
further improvement from scholastic studies. His worthy parents
were, moreover, people of limited fortune, and unable to prolong
these agreeable but profitless pursuits. Accordingly, when Cortez
attained the age of seventeen, they yielded to his proposal to
enlist under the banner of Gonsalvo of Cordova, and to devote
himself, heart and soul, to the military life which seemed most
suitable for one of his wild, adventurous and resolute disposition.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CORTEZ. 17

It was well for Spain and for himself, that the chivalric wish of
Cortez was not thwarted, — and that one of the ablest soldiers
produced by Castile at that period, was not dwarfed by parental
control into a bad lawyer or pestilent pettifogger.

The attention of our hero was soon directed towards the New
World, — the stories of whose wealth had now for upwards of
twenty years been pouring into the greedy ear of Spain, — and he
speedily determined to embark in the armament which Nicolas
de Ovando, the successor of Columbus, was fitting out for the
West Indies. This design was frustrated, however, for two years
longer, by an accident which occurred in one of his amours ; nor
did another opportunity present itself, until, at the age of nineteen,
in 1504, he bade adieu to Spain in a small squadron bound to the
Islands.

As soon as Cortez reached Hispaniola, he visited the Governor,
whom he had formerly known at home. Ovando was absent, but
his secretary received the emigrant kindly, and assured him " a
liberal grant of land." "I come for gold" replied Cortez,
sneeringly, "and not to toil like a peasant!" Ovando, however,
was more fortunate than the secretary, in prevailing upon the
future conqueror to forego the lottery of adventure, for no sooner
had he returned to his post, than Cortez was persuaded to accept a
grant of land, a repartimiento of Indians, and the office of notary
in the village of Acua. Here he seems to have dwelt until 1511,
varying the routine of notarial and agricultural pursuits by an
occasional adventure, of an amorous character, which involved him
in duels. Sometimes he took part in the military expeditions
under Diego Velasquez for the suppression of Indian insurrections
in the interior. This was the school in which he learned his
tactics, and here did he study the native character until he joined
Velasquez for the conquest of Cuba.

As soon as this famous Island was reduced to Spanish authority,
Cortez became high in favor with Velasquez, who had received
the commission of Governor. But love, intrigues, jealousy and
ambition, quickly began to chequer the wayward life of our hero,
and estranged him from Velasquez, for the new Governor found it
difficult to satisfy the cravings of those rapacious adventurers wTho
flocked in crowds to the New World, and, in all probability,
clustered around Cortez as the nucleus of discontent. It was
soon resolved by these men to submit their complaints against
Velasquez to the higher authorities in Hispaniola, and the daring
Cortez was fixed on as the bearer of the message in an open boat,
3

18 cortez captain general of the armada.

across the eighteen intervening leagues. But the conspiracy was
detected, — the rash ambassador confined in chains, — and only
saved from hanging by the interposition of powerful friends.

Cortez speedily contrived to relieve himself of the fetters with
which he was bound, and, forcing a window, escaped from his
prison to the sanctuary of a neighboring church. A few days
after, however, he was seized whilst standing carelessly in front
of the sacred edifice, and conveyed on board a vessel bound for
Hispaniola, where he was to be tried. But -his intrepidity and
skill did not forsake him even in this strait. Ascending cautiously
from the vessel's hold to the deck, he dropped into a boat and
pulled near ashore, when dreading to risk the frail bark in the
breakers, he abandoned his skiff, — plunged boldly into the surf, —
and landing on the sands, sought again the sanctuary, whence he
had been rudely snatched by the myrmidons of the Governor.

One of the causes of his quarrel with Velasquez had been an
intrigue with a beautiful woman, in whose family the Governor
was, perhaps, personally interested. The fickle Cortez cruelly
abandoned the fair Catalina Xuares at a most inauspicious moment
of her fate, and was condemned for his conduct by all the best
people in the Island ; but now, under the influence of penitence
or policy, his feelings suddenly experienced a strange revulsion.
He expressed a contrite desire to do justice to the injured woman
by marriage, and thus, at once obtained the favor of her family and
the pardon of the Governor, who becoming permanently reconciled
to Cortez, presented him a liberal repartimiento of Indians together
with broad lands in the neighborhood of St. Jago, of which he
was soon made alcalde.

The future conqueror devoted himself henceforth to his duties
with remarkable assiduity. Agriculture, — the introduction of
cattle of the best breeds, — and the revenues of a share of the mines
which he wrought, — soon began to enrich the restless adventurer
who had settled down for a while into the quiet life of a married
man. His beautiful wife fulfilled her share of the cares of life
with remarkable fidelity, and seems to have contented the heart
even of her liege lord, who declared himself as happy with his
bride as if she had been the daughter of a duchess.

At this juncture Alvarado returned with the account of the
discoveries, the wealth, and the golden prospects of continental
adventure which we have already narrated. Cortez and Velasquez
were alike fired by the alluring story. The old flame of enterprise

EQUIPMENT OF THE EXPEDITION. 19

was rekindled in the breast of the wild boy of Medellin, and when
the Governor looked around for one who could command the
projected expedition, he found none, among the hosts who pressed
for service, better fitted for the enterprise by personal qualities
and fortune, than Hernando Cortez, whom he named Captain
General of his Armada.

The high office and the important task imposed on him seem
to have sobered the excitable, and heretofore fickle, mind of our
hero. His ardent animal spirits, under the influence of a bold
and lofty purpose, became the servants rather than the masters
of his indomitable will, and he at once proceeded to arrange all
the details of the expedition which he was to lead to Mexico.
The means that he did not already possess in his own coffers, he
raised by mortgage, and he applied the funds, thus obtained, to
the purchase of vessels, rations, and military stores, or to the
furnishing of adequate equipments for adventurers who were too
poor to provide their own outfit. It is somewhat questionable
whether Velasquez, the Governor, was very liberal in his personal
and pecuniary contributions to this expedition, the cost of which
amounted to about twenty thousand gold ducats. It has been
alleged that Cortez was the chief support of the adventure, and
it is certain, that in later years, this question resulted in bitter
litigation between the parties.

Six ships and three hundred followers were soon prepared for
the enterprise under Cortez, and the Governor proceeded to give
instructions to the leader, all of which are couched in language of
unquestionable liberality.

The captain of the Armada was first to seek the missing Grijalva,
after which the two commanders were to unite in their quest of
gold and adventure. Six Christians, supposed to be lingering in
captivity in Yucatan, were to be sought and released. Barter and
traffic, generally, with the natives wrere to be encouraged and
carried on, so as to avoid all offence against humanity or kindness
The Indians were to be christianized; — for the conversion of
heathens wras one of the dearest objects of the Spanish king.
The aborigines, in turn, were to manifest their good will by ample
gifts of jewels and treasure. The coasts and adjacent streams
were to be surveyed, — and the productions of the country, its
races, civilization, and institutions, were to be noted with minute
accuracy, so that a faithful report might be returned to the crown,

20 QUARREL OF VELASQUEZ FIRMNESS OF CORTEZ.

to whose honor and the service of God, it was hoped the enterprise
would certainly redound.

Such was the state of things in the port of St. Jago, when
jealous fears began to interrupt the confidence between Velasquez
and Cortez. The counsel of friends who were companions of the
Governor, and his own notice of that personage's altered conduct,
soon put the new Captain General of the Armada on his guard.
Neither his equipment nor his crew was yet complete ; nevertheless,
he supplied his fleet with all the provisions he could hastily obtain
at midnight; and, paying the provider with a massive chain which
he had worn about his neck, — the last available remnant,
perhaps, of his fortune, — he hastened with his officers on board
the vessels.

On the 18th of November, 1518, he made sail for the port of
Macaca, about fifteen leagues distant, and thence he proceeded to
Trinidad, on the southern coast of Cuba. Here he obtained stores
from the royal farms, whilst he recruited his forces from all classes,
but especially from the returned troops and sailors of Grijalva's
expedition. Pedro de Alvarado and his brothers ; Crist6val de Olid,
Alonzo de Avila, Juan Velasquez de Leon, Hernandez de Puerto
Carrero, and Gonzalo de Sandoval, united their To rtunes to his,
and thus identified themselves forever with the conquest of Mexico.
He added considerably to his stock by the seizure of several
vessels and cargoes ; and prudently got rid of Diego de Ordaz,
whom he regarded as a spy of the estranged Velasquez.

At Trinidad, Cortez was overtaken by orders for detention from
his former friend and patron. These commands, however, were
not enforced by the cautious official who received them; and
Cortez, forthwith, despatched Alvarado, by land, to Havana,
whilst he prepared to follow with his fleet around the coast
and western part of the island. At Havana he again added
to his forces, — prepared arms and quilted armor as a defence
against the Indian arrows, — and distributed* his men into eleven
companies under the command of experienced officers. But,
before all his arrangements were completed, the commander of the
place, Don Pedro Barba, was ordered, by express from Velasquez,
to arrest Cortez, whilst the Captain General of the Armada himself
received a hypocritical letter from the same personage, " requesting
him to delay his voyage till the governor could communicate with
him in person ! " Barba, however, knew that the attempt to seize
the leader of such an enterprise and of such a band, would be

EXPEDITION DEPARTS UNDER CORTEZ. 21

vain; — whilst Cortez, in reply to Velasquez, "implored his
Excellency to rely on his boundless devotion to the interests of his
Governor, but assured him, nevertheless, that he and his fleet, by
divine permission, would sail on the following day ! "

Accordingly, on the 18th of February, 1519, the little squadron
weighed anchor, with one hundred and ten mariners, sixteen horses,
five hundred and fifty-three soldiers, including thirty-two crossbow-
men and thirteen arquebusiers, besides two hundred Indians of the
island and a few native women, for menial offices. The ordnance
consisted of ten heavy guns, four lighter pieces or falconets,
together with a good supply of ammunition.

With this insignificant command and paltry equipment, Her-
nando Cortez, at the age of thirty-three, set sail for the conquest
of Mexico. He invoked on his enterprise the blessing of his
patron, Saint Peter ; — he addressed his followers in the language
of encouragement and resolution ; — he unfurled a velvet banner
on which was emblazoned the figure of a crimson cross amid
flames of blue and white, and he pointed to the motto which was
to be the presage of victory : " Friends, let us follow the Cross :
and under this sign, if we have faith, we shall conquer ! "

CHAPTER II

1519.

OLMEDO PREACHES TO THE INDIANS. AGUILAR AND MARIANA

INTERPRETERS. CORTEZ LANDS INTERVIEW WITH THE AZ-
TECS. — diplomacy — montezuma's presents. — montezuma

REFUSES TO RECEIVE CORTEZ.

Soon after the adventurers departed from the coast of Cuba, the
weather, which had been hitherto fine, suddenly changed, and one
of those violent hurricanes which ravage the Indian Isles during
tne warm season, scattered and dismantled the small squadron,
sweeping it far to the south of its original destination. Cortez
was the last to reach the Island of Cozumel, having been forced
to linger in order to watch for the safety of one of his battered
craft. But, immediately on landing, he was pained to learn that
the impetuous Pedro de Alvarado had rashly entered the
temples, despoiled them of their ornaments, and terrified the
natives into promiscuous flight. He immediately devoted himself
to the task of obliterating this stain on Spanish humanity, by
kindly releasing two of the captives taken by Alvarado. Through
an interpreter he satisfied them of the pacific purpose of his voyage,
and despatched them to their homes with valuable gifts. This
humane policy appears to have succeeded with the natives, who
speedily returned from the interior, and commenced a brisk traffic
of gold for trinkets.

The chief objection of Cort£z to the headlong destruction which
Alvarado had committed in the temples, seems rather to have been
against the robbery than the religious motive, if such existed in the
breast of his impetuous companion. We have already said that
the conversion of the heathen was one of the alleged primary
objects of this expedition, for the instructions of the Governor
of Cuba were full of zeal for the spread of Christianity ; yet, in
the diffusion of this novel creed among the aborigines, it sometimes
happened that its military propagandists regarded the sword as

OLMEDO PREACHES TO THE INDIANS. 23

more powerful than the sermon. The idolatrous practices of the
inhabitants of Cozumel shocked the sensibility of the commander,
and he set about the work of christianization through the labors
of the licentiate Juan Diaz and Bartolome de Olmedo, the latter
of whom, — who remained with the army during the whole expe-
dition,— was, indeed, a mirror of zeal and charity. The discourses
of these worthy priests were, however, unavailing ; — the Indians,
who of course could not comprehend their eloquent exhortations
or pious logic, refused to abandon their idols ; and our hero
resolved at once to convince them, by palpable arguments, of the
inefficiency of those hideous emblems, either to save themselves
from destruction, or to bestow blessings on the blind adorers. An
order was, therefore, forthwith given for the immediate destruction
of the Indian images ; and, in their place, the Virgin and her Son
were erected on a hastily constructed altar. Olmedo and his
companion were thus the first to offer the sacrifice of the mass in
New Spain, where they, finally, induced numbers of the aborigines
to renounce idolatry and embrace the Catholic faith.

In spite of this marauding crusade against their property and
creed, the Indians kindly furnished the fleet with provisions, which
enabled the squadron to sail in the ensuing March. But a leak
in one of the vessels compelled the adventurers to return to port, —
a circumstance which was regarded by many as providential, —
inasmuch as it was the means of restoring to his countryman, a
Spaniard, named Aguilar, who had been wrecked on the coast of
Yucatan eight years before. The long residence of this person in
the country made him familiar with the language of the inhabitants
of that neighborhood, and thus a valuable interpreter, — one of its
most pressing wants, — was added to the expedition.

After the vessels were refitted, Cortez coasted the shores of
Yucatan until he reached the Rio de Tabasco or Grijalva, where
he encountered the first serious opposition to the Spanish arms.
He had a severe conflict, in the vicinity of his landing, with a
large force of the natives ; but the valor of his men, the terror
inspired by fire arms, and the singular spectacle presented to the
astonished Indians by the extraordinary appearance of cavalry,
soon turned the tide of victory in his favor. The subdued tribes
appeased his anger by valuable gifts, and forthwith established
friendly relations with their dreaded conqueror. Among the
presents offered upon this occasion by the vanquished, were
twenty female slaves ; — and after one of the holy fathers had

24 AGUILAR AND MARIANA INTERPRETERS.

attempted, as usual, to impress the truths of Christianity upon the
natives, and had closed the ceremonies of the day by a pompous
procession, with all the impressive ceremonial of the Roman
church, the fleet again sailed towards the empire Cortez was
destined to penetrate and subdue.

In Passion week, of the year 1519, the squadron dropped anchor
under the lee of the Island or reef of St. Juan de Ulua. The
natives immediately boarded the vessel of the Captain General ;
but their language was altogether different from that of the Mayan
dialects spoken in Yucatan and its immediate dependencies. In
this emergency Cortez learned that, among the twenty female
slaves who had been recently presented him, there was one
who knew the Mexican language, and, in fact, that she was an
Aztec by birth. This was the celebrated Marina or Mariana,
who accompanied the conqueror throughout his subsequent adven-
tures, and was so useful as a sagacious friend and discreet inter-
preter. Acquainted with the languages of her native land and of
the Yucatecos, she found it easy to translate the idiom of the
Aztecs into the Mayan dialect which Aguilar, the Spaniard, had
learned during his captivity. Through this medium, Cortez was
apprised that these Mexicans or Aztecs were the subjects of a
powerful sovereign who ruled an empire bounded by two seas,
and that his name was Montezuma.

On the 21st of April the Captain General landed on the sandy
and desolate beach whereon is now built the modern city of Vera
Cruz. Within a few days the native Governor of the province
arrived to greet him, and expressed great anxiety to learn whence
the " fair and bearded strangers " had come ? Cortez told him
that he was the " subject of a mighty monarch beyond the sea
who ruled over an immense empire and had kings and princes for
his vassals ; — that, acquainted with the greatness of the Mexican
emperor, his master desired to enter into communication with so
great a personage, and had sent him, as an envoy, to wait on
Montezuma with a present in token of his good will, and a
friendly message which he must deliver in person." The Indian
Governor expressed surprise that there was another king as great
as his master, yet assured Cortez that as soon as he learned
Montezuma's determination, he would again converse with him on
the subject. Teuhtle then presented the Captain General ten
loads of fine cottons ; mantles of curious feather work, beautifully

CORTEZ LANDS INTERVIEW WITH THE AZTECS. 25

dyed ; and baskets filled with golden ornaments. Cortez, in turn,
produced the gifts for the emperor, which were comparatively
insignificant ; but, when the Aztec Governor desired to receive
the glittering helmet of one of the men, it was readily given as an
offering to the emperor, with the significant request that it might
be returned filled with gold, which Cortez told him was " a specific
remedy for a disease of the heart with which his countrymen, the
Spaniards, were sorely afflicted ! "

During this interview between the functionaries it was noticed
by the adventurers that men were eagerly employed among the
Indians in sketching every thing they beheld in the ranks of the
strangers, — for, by this picture-writing, the Mexican monarch was
to be apprised in accurate detail of the men, horses, ships, armor,
force, and weapons of this motley band of invaders.

These pictorial missives were swiftly borne by the Mexican
couriers to the Aztec capital among the mountains, and, together
with the oral account of the landing of Cortez and his demand for
an interview, were laid before the Imperial Court. It may well be
imagined that the extraordinary advent of the Captain General and
his squadron was productive of no small degree of excitement and
even tremor, among this primitive people ; for, not only were they
unnerved by the dread which all secluded races feel for innovation,
but an ancient prophecy had foretold the downfall of the empire
through the instrumentality of beings, who, like these adventurers,
were to "come from the rising sun." Montezuma, who was
then on the throne, had been elected to that dignity in 1502 in
preference to his brothers, in consequence of his superior quali-
fications as a soldier and a priest. His reign commenced ener-
getically; and whilst he, at first, administered the interior affairs
of his realm with justice, capacity, and moderation, his hand fell
heavily on all who dared to raise their arms against, his people.
But, as he waxed older and firmer in power, and as his empire
extended, he began to exhibit those selfish traits which so often
characterize men who possess, for a length of time, supreme power
untrammelled by constitutional restraints. His court was sump-
tuous, and his people were grievously taxed to support its un-
bounded extravagance. This, in some degree, alienated the loyalty
of his subjects, while continued oppression finally led to frequent
insurrection. In addition to these internal discontents of the Aztec
empire, Montezuma had met in the nominal republic of Tlascala, —
lying midway between the valley of Mexico and the sea-coast, —
a brave and stubborn foe, whose civilization, unimpaired resources,
4

26 diplomacy — montezuma's presents.

and martial character, enabled it to resist the combined forces of
the Aztecs for upwards of two hundred years.

Such was the state of the empire when the news of CorteVs
arrival became the subject of discussion in Mexico. Some were
for open or wily resistance. Others were oppressed with supersti-
tious fears. But Montezuma, adopting a medium but fatal course,
resolved, without delay, to send an embassy with such gifts as he
imagined would impress the strangers with the idea of his
magnificence and power, whilst, at the same time, he cour-
teously commanded the adventurers to refrain from approaching
his capital.

Meanwhile the Spaniards restlessly endured the scorching heats
and manifold annoyances of the coast, and were amusing them-
selves by a paltry traffic with the Indians, whose offerings were
generally of but trifling value. After the expiration of a week,
however, the returned couriers and the embassy approached the
camp. The time is seemingly short when we consider the
difficulty of transportation through a mountain country, and recol-
lect that the Mexicans, who were without horses, had been obliged
to traverse the distance on foot. But it is related on ample
authority, — so perfectly were the posts arranged among these
semi-civilized people, — that tidings were borne in the short period
of twenty-four hours from the city to the sea, and, consequently,
that three or four days were ample for the journey of the envoys
of Montezuma, upon a matter of so much national importance.

The two Aztec nobles, accompanied by the Governor of the
province, Teuhtle, did not approach with empty hands the men
whom they hoped to bribe if they could not intimidate. Gold and
native fabrics of the most delicate character; shields, helmets,
cuirasses, collars, bracelets, sandals, fans, pearls, precious stones ;
loads of cotton cloth, extraordinary manufactures of feathers,
circular plates of gold and silver as large as carriage wheels, and
the Spanish helmet filled with golden grains ; were all spread out,
as a free gift from the Emperor to the Spaniards !

With these magnificent presents, Montezuma replied to the
request of Cortez, that it would give him pleasure to com-
municate with so mighty a monarch as the king of Spain, whom
he respected highly, but that he could not gratify himself by
according the foreign envoy a personal interview, inasmuch as the
distance to his capital was great, and the toilsome journey among
the mountains was beset with dangers from formidable enemies.
He could do no more, therefore, than bid the strangers farewell,

MONTEZUMA REFUSES TO RECEIVE CORTEZ. 27

and request them to return to their homes over the sea with these
proofs of his perfect friendship.

It may well be supposed that this na'ive system of diplomacy
could have but little effect on men who were bent on improving
their fortunes, and whose rapacity was only stimulated by the
evidences of unbounded wealth which the simple-minded king
had so lavishly bestowed on them. Montezuma was the dupe
of his own credulity, and only inflamed, by the very means he
imagined would assuage the avarice or ambition of his Sjianish
visiters. Nor was Cortez less resolved than his companions.
Accordingly he made another pacific effort, by means of additional
presents and a gentle message, to change the resolution of the
Indian emperor. Still the Aztec sovereign was obstinate in his
refusal of a personal interview, although he sent fresh gifts by the
persons who bore to the Spaniards his polite but firm and peremp-
tory denial.

Cortez could hardly conceal his disappointment at this second
rebuff; but, as the vesper bell tolled, whilst the ambassadors were
in his presence, he threw himself on his knees with his soldiers,
and, after a prayer, Father Olmedo expounded to the Aztec chiefs,
by his interpreters, the doctrines of Christianity, and putting into
their hands an image of the Virgin and Saviour, he exhorted
them to abandon their hideous idolatry, and to place these milder
emblems of faith and hope on the altars of their bloody gods.
That very night the Indians abandoned the Spanish camp and the
neighborhood, leaving the adventurers without the copious supplies
of food that hitherto had been bountifully furnished. Cortez,
nevertheless, was undismayed by these menacing symptoms, and
exclaimed to his hardy followers : "It shall yet go hard, but we
will one day pay this powerful prince a visit in his gorgeous
capital ! "

CHAPTER III.

1519.

CORTEZ FOUNDS LA VILLA RICA DE LA VERA CRUZ. FLEET

DESTROYED MARCH TO MEXICO. CONQUEST OF TLASCALA

CHOLULA. SLAUGHTER IN CHOLULA VALLEY OF MEXICO.

CORTEZ ENTERS THE VALLEY GIGANTIC CAUSEWAY. LAKE

OF TEZCOCO RECEPTION BY MONTEZUMA. SPANIARDS ENTER

THE CAPITAL.

It is impossible, in a work like the present, which is designed
to cover the history of a country during three hundred years, to
present the reader with as complete a narrative of events as
we would desire. Happily, the task of recording the story of
the conquest, has fallen into the hands of the classic historians of
Spain, England and America ; and the astonishing particulars of
that mighty enterprise may be found, minutely recounted, in the
works of De Solis, Robertson and Prescott. We shall therefore
content ourselves with as rapid a summary as is consistent wTith
the development of the modern Mexican character, and shall refer
those who are anxious for more explicit and perfect details to the
writings of the authors we have mentioned.

Cortez was not long idle after the withdrawal of the Aztec
emissaries and the surly departure of the Indians, who, as we
have related in the last chapter, quitted his camp and neighborhood
on the same night with the ambassadors of Montezuma. He forth-
with proceeded to establish a military and civil colony, of which he
became Captain General and Chief Justice ; he founded the Villa
Rica de la Vera Cruz in order to secure a base on the coast for
future military operation, by means of which he might be inde-
pendent of Velasquez ; and he formed an alliance with the Toto-
nacos of Cempoalla, whose loyalty, — though they were subjects of
Montezuma, — was alienated from him by his merciless exactions.
We shall not dwell upon the skill with which he fomented a breach
between the Totonacos and the ambassadors of Montezuma, nor
upon the valuable gifts, and discreet despatches he forwarded to

FLEET DESTROYED MARCH TO MEXICO. 29

the Emperor Charles V., in order to secure a confirmation of his
proceedings. The most daring act of this period was the destruc-
tion of the squadron which had wafted him to Mexico. It was a
deed of wise policy, which deliberately cut off all hope of retreat, —
pacified, in some degree, the querulous conspirators who lurked in
his camp, — and placed before all who were embarked in the enter-
prise the alternative of conquest or destruction. But one vessel
remained. Nine out of the ten were dismantled and sunk. When
his men murmured for a moment, and imagined themselves be-
trayed, he addressed them in that language of bland diplomacy
which he was so well skilled to use whenever the occasion required.
"As for me," said he, "I will remain here whilst there is one to
bear me company ! Let the cravens shrink from danger and go
home in the single vessel that remains. Let them hasten to Cuba,
and relate how they deserted their commander and comrades ; and
there let them wait in patience till we return laden with the spoils
of Mexico ! "

This was an appeal that rekindled the combined enthusiasm
and avarice of the despondent murmurers ; and the reply was a
universal shout: "To Mexico! to Mexico!"

On the 16th of August, 1519, Cortez set out with his small army
of about four hundred men, now swelled by the addition of thirteen
hundred Indian warriors and a thousand porters, and accompanied
by forty of the chief Totonacs as hostages and advisers. From the
burning climate of the coast the army gradually ascended to the
cooler regions of the tierra templada, and tierra fria, encountering
all degrees of temperature on the route. After a journey of three
days, the forces arrived at a town on one of the table lands of the
interior, whose chief magistrate confirmed the stories of the power
of Montezuma. Here Cortez tarried three days for repose, and
then proceeded towards the Republic of Tlascala, which lay
directly in his path, and with whose inhabitants he hoped to
form an alliance founded on the elements of discontent which he
knew existed among these inveterate foes of the central Aztec
power. But he was mistaken in his calculations. The Tlascalans
were not so easily won as his allies, the Totonacs, who, dwelling in
a warmer climate, had not the hardier virtues of these mountaineers.
The Tlascalans entertained no favorable feeling towards Monte-
zuma, but they nourished quite as little cordiality for men whose
characters they did not know, and whose purposes they had cause
to dread. A deadly hostility to the Spaniards was consequently

30 CONQUEST OF TLASCALA CHOLULA.

soon manifested. Cortez was attacked by them on the borders of
their Republic, and fought four sharp battles with fifty thousand
warriors who maintained, in all the conflicts, their reputation for
military skill and hardihood. At length the Tlascalans were forced
to acknowledge the superiority of the invaders, whom they could
not overcome either by stratagem or battle, and, after the exchange
of embassies and gifts, they honored our hero with a triumphal
entry into their capital.

The news of these victories as well as of the fatal alliance which
ensued with the Tlascalans, was soon borne to the court of Monte-
zuma, who began to tremble for the fate of his empire when he saw
the fall of the indomitable foes who had held him so long at bay.
Two embassies to Cortez succeeded each other, in vain. Presents
were no longer of avail. His offer of tribute to the Spanish king
was not listened to. All requests that the conqueror should not
advance towards his capital were unheeded. " The command of
his own emperor," said Cortez, " was the only reason which could
induce him to disregard the wishes of an Aztec prince, for whom
he cherished the profoundest respect ! " Soon after, another em-
bassy came from Montezuma with magnificent gifts and an invita-
tion to his capital, yet with a request that he would break with his
new allies and approach Mexico through the friendly city of Cho-
lula. The policy of this request on the part of Montezuma, will be
seen in the sequel. Our hero, accompanied by six thousand volun-
teers from Tlascala, advanced towards the sacred city, — the site
of the most splendid temple in the empire, whose foundations yet
remain in the nineteenth century. The six intervening leagues
were soon crossed, and he entered Cholula with his Spanish army,
attended by no other Indians than those who accompanied him from
Cempoalla. At first, the General and his companions were treated
hospitably, and the suspicions which had been instilled into his
mind by the Tlascalans were lulled to sleep. However, he soon
had cause to become fearful of treachery. Messengers arrived
from Montezuma, and his entertainers were observed to be less
gracious in their demeanor. It was noticed that several important
streets had been barricaded or converted into pitfalls, whilst stones,
missiles and weapons were heaped on the flat roofs of houses.
Besides this, Mariana had become intimate with the wife of one
of the Caciques, and cunningly drew from her gossiping friend the
whole conspiracy that was brewing against the adventurers. Mon-
tezuma, she learned, had stationed twenty thousand Mexicans near

SLAUGHTER IN CHOLULA VALLEY OF MEXICO. 31

the city, who, together with the Cholulans, were to assault the
invaders in the narrow streets and avenues, as they quitted the
town ; and, thus, he hoped, by successful treachery, to rid the land
of such dangerous visiters either by slaughter in conflict, or to offer
them, when made captive, upon the altars of the sacred temple in
Cholula and on the teocallis of Mexico, as proper sacrifices to the
bloody gods of his country.

Cortez, however, was not to be so easily outwitted and entrapped.
He, in turn, resorted to stratagem. Concentrating all his Spanish
army, and concerting a signal for co-operation with his Indian allies,
he suddenly fell upon the Cholulans, at an unexpected moment.
Three thousand of the citizens perished in the frightful massacre
that ensued ; and Cortez pursued his uninterrupted way towards
the fated capital of the Aztecs, after this awful chastisement,
which was perhaps needful to relieve him from the danger of utter
annihilation in the heart of an enemy's country with so small a
band of countrymen in whom he could confide.

From the plain of Cholula, — which is now known as the fruitful
vale of Puebla, — the conqueror ascended the last ridge of moun-
tains that separated him from the city of Mexico ; and, as he
turned the edge of the Cordillera, the beautiful valley was at once
revealed to him in all its indescribable loveliness. l It lay at his
feet, surrounded by the placid waters of Tezcoco. The sight that
burst upon the Spaniards from this lofty eminence, in the language
of Prescott, was that of the vale of Tenochtitlan, as it was called
by the natives, "which, with its picturesque assemblage of water,
woodland, and cultivated plains ; its shining cities and shadowy
hills, was spread out like some gay and gorgeous panorama before
them. In the highly rarefied atmosphere of these upper regions,
even remote objects have a brilliancy of coloring and a distinctness
of outline which seems to annihilate distance. Stretching far away
at their feet, were seen noble forests of oak, sycamore, and cedar;
and beyond, yellow fields of maize and the towering maguey, inter-
mingled with orchards and blooming gardens ; for flowers, in such
demand for their religious festivals, were even more abundant in this
populous valley, than in other parts of Anahuac. In the centre of
the great basin, were beheld the lakes, occupying then a much
larger portion of its surface than at present ; their borders thickly

1 Between nine and ten thousand feet above the level of the sea, at this point
of the road.

33 CORTEZ ENTERS THE VALLEY GIGANTIC CAUSEWAY.

studded with towns and hamlets, and, in the midst, — like some
Indian empress with her coronal of pearls, — the fair city of Mexico,
with her white towers and pyramidal temples reposing, as it were,
on the bosom of the waters — the far-famed 'Venice of the Aztecs.'
High over all rose the royal hill of Chapultepec, the residence of the
Mexican monarchs, belted with the same grove of gigantic cypresses,
which at this day fling their broad shadows over the land. In the
distance, to the north, beyond the blue waters of the lake, and
nearly screened by intervening foliage, was seen a shining speck,
the rival capital of Tezcoco; and, still further on, the dark belt of
porphyry, girdling the valley around, like a rich setting whicji
Nature had devised for the fairest of her jewels."

Cortez easily descended with his troops by the mountain road
towards the plain of the valley; and as he passed along the levels,
or through the numerous villages and hamlets, he endeavored to
foster and foment the ill feeling which he found secretly existing
against the government of the Mexican Emperor. When he had
advanced somewhat into the heart of the valley he was met by an
embassy of the chief lords of the Aztec court, sent to him by Mon-
tezuma, with gifts of considerable value; but he rejected a proffered
bribe of "four loads of gold to the General, and one to each of his
captains, with a yearly tribute to their sovereign," provided the
Spanish troops would quit the country. Heedless of all menaced
opposition as well as appeals to his avarice, he seems, at this
period, to have cast aside the earlier and sordid motives which
might then have been easily satisfied had his pursuit been gold
alone. The most abundant wealth was cast at his feet ; but the
higher qualities of his nature were now allowed the fullest play,
and strengthened him in his resolution to risk all in the daring and
glorious project of subjecting a splendid empire to his control.
Accordingly, he advanced though Amaquemecan, a town of several
thousand inhabitants, where he was met by a nephew of the
Emperor, the Lord of Tezcoco, who had been despatched by his
vacillating uncle, at the head of a large number of influential per-
sonages, to welcome the invaders to the capital. The friendly
summons was of course not disregarded by Cortez, who forthwith
proceeded along the most splendid and massive structure of the
New World — a gigantic causeway, five miles in length, con-
structed of huge stones, which passed along the narrow strait of
sand that separated the waters of Chalco from those of Tezcoco.
The lakes were covered with boats filled with natives. Floating

LAKE OF TEZCOCO RECEPTION BY MONTEZUMA. 33

islands, made of reeds and wicker-work, covered with soil, brimmed
with luxuriant vegetation whose splendid fruits and odorous petals
rested on the waters. Several large towns were built on artificial
foundations in the lake. And, every where, around the Spaniards,
were beheld the evidences of a dense population, whose edifices,
agriculture, and labors denoted a high degree of civilization and
intelligence. As the foreign warriors proceeded onwards towards
the city, which rose before them with its temples, palaces and
shrines, covered with hard stucco that glistened in the sun, they
crossed a wooden drawbridge in the causeway ; and, as they passed
it, they felt that now, indeed, if they faltered, they were completely
in the grasp of the Mexicans, and more effectually cut off from all
retreat than they had been when the fleet was destroyed at Vera
Cruz.

Near this spot they were encountered by Montezuma with his
court, who came forth in regal state to salute his future conqueror.
Surrounded by all the pageantry and splendor of an oriental mon-
arch, he descended from the litter in which he was borne from the
city, and, leaning on the shoulders of the Lords of Tezcoco and of
Iztapalapan, — his nephew and brother, — he advanced towards the
Spaniards, under a canopy and over a cotton carpet, whilst his
prostrate subjects manifested, by their abject demeanor, the fear or
respect which the presence of their sovereign inspired.

" Montezuma was at this time about forty years of age. His
person was tall and slender, but not ill-made. His hair, which was
black and straight, was not very long. His beard was thin ; his
complexion somewhat paler than is often found in his dusky, or
rather copper-colored race. His features, though serious in their
expression, did not wear the look of melancholy, or dejection, which
characterizes his portrait, and which may well have settled on them
at a later period. He moved with dignity, and his whole demeanor,
tempered by an expression of benignity not to have been anticipated
from the reports circulated of his character, was worthy of a great
prince. Such is the picture left to us of the celebrated Indian
Emperor in this his first interview with the white men."1

As this mighty prince approached, Cortez halted his men, and,
advancing with a few of his principal retainers, was most cour-
teously welcomed by Montezuma, who, adroitly concealing his cha-
grin, diplomatically expressed the uncommon delight he experienced
at this unexpected visit of the strangers to his capital. Our hero

1 Prescott.

34 SPANIARDS ENTER THE CAPITAL.

thanked him for his friendly welcome and bounteous gifts, — and
hung around his neck a chain set with colored crystal. Monte-
zuma then opened his gates to the Spaniards and appointed his
brother to conduct the General with his troops, to the city.

Here he found a spacious edifice, surrounded by a wall, assigned
for his future residence; and, having stationed sentinels, and placed
his cannon on the battlements so as to command all the important
avenues to his palace, he proceeded to examine the city and to
acquaint himself with the character, occupations, and temper of
the people.1

I " The province which constitutes the principal territory of Montezuma,'' (says
Cort£z in his letter to Charles the V.,) "is circular, and entirely surrounded by
lofty and rugged mountains, and the circumference of it is full seventy leagues.
In this plain there are two lakes which nearly occupy the whole of it, as the people
use canoes for more than fifty leagues round. One of these lakes is of fresh water,
and the other, which is larger, is of salt water. They are divided, on one side, by
a small collection of high hills,- which stand in the centre of the plain, and they
unite in a level strait formed between these hills and the high mountains, which
strait is a gun-shot wide, and the people of the cities and other settlements Avhich
are in these lakes, communicate together in their canoes by water, without the
necessity of going by land. And as this great salt lake ebbs and flows with the
tide, as the sea does, in every flood the water flows from it into the other fresh
lake as impetuously as if it were a large river, and consequently at the ebb, the
fresh lake flows into the salt.

" This great city of Temixtitlan, (meaning Tenochtitlan, Mexico,) is founded
in this salt lake ; and from terra firma to the body of the city, the distance is two
leagues on whichever side they please to enter it.

II It has four entrances, or causeways, made by the hand of man, as wide as two
horsemen's lances.

" The city is as large as Seville and Cordova. The streets (I mean the principal
ones,) are very wide, and others very narrow ; and some of the latter and all the
others are one-half land and the other half water, along which the inhabitants go
in their canoes ; and all the streets, at given distances, are open, so that the water
passes from one to the other ; and in all their openings, some of which are very
wide, there are very wide bridges, made of massive beams joined together and well
wrought; and so wide that ten horsemen may pass abreast over many of them."-
Letlers of Corlez to Charles V

CHAPTER IV.

1519—1520.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF TENOCHTITLAN.

WAY OF LIFE MARKET-PLACE. CORTEZ AT THE GREAT TEM-
PLE DESCRIPTION OF IT. PLACE OF SACRIFICE SANCTUA-
RIES HUITZILOPOTCHTLI. TEZCATLIPOCA DANGER OF COR-
TEZ MONTEZUMA SEIZED. MONTEZUMA A PRISONER HIS

SUBMISSIVENESS. ARRIVAL OF NARVAEZ CORTEz's DIPLO-
MACY. CORTEZ OVERCOMES NARVAEZ, AND RECRUITS HIS

FORCES.

The city of Mexico, or Tenochtitlan, was, as we have already
said, encompassed by the lake of Tezcoco, over which three solid
causeways formed the only approaches. This inland sea was,
indeed, " an archipelago of wandering islands." The whole city
was penetrated throughout its entire length by a principal street,
which was intersected by numerous canals, crossed by draw-
bridges ; and, wherever the eye could reach, long vistas of low
stone buildings rose on every side among beautiful gardens or
luxuriant foliage. The quadrangular palaces of the nobles who
Montezuma encouraged to reside at his court, were spread over a
wide extent of ground, embellished with beautiful fountains which
shot their spray amid porticoes and columns of polished porphyry.
The palace of Montezuma was so vast a pile, that one of the con-
querors alleges its terraced roof afforded ample room for thirty
knights to tilt in tournament. A royal armory was filled with
curious and dangerous weapons, and adorned with an ample store of
military dresses, equipments and armor. Huge granaries contained
the tributary supplies which were brought to the Prince by the
provinces for the maintenance of the royal family, and there was
an aviary in which three hundred attendants fed and reared birds
of the sweetest voice or rarest plumage ; whilst, near it, rose a
menagerie, filled with specimens of all the native beasts, together
with a museum, in which, with an oddity of taste unparalleled in
history, there had been collected a vast number of human monsters,
cripples, dwarfs, Albinos and other freaks and caprices of nature.

36 Montezuma's way of life — market-place.

The royal gardens are described by eye-witnesses as spots of
unsurpassed elegance, adorned with rare shrubs, medicinal plants,
and ponds, supplied by aqueducts and fountains, wherein, amid
beautiful flowers, the finest fish and aquatic birds were seen forever
floating in undisturbed quiet. The interior of the palace was
equally attractive for its comfort and elegance. Spacious halls
were covered with ceilings of odoriferous 'wood, while the lofty walls
were hung with richly tinted fabrics of cotton, the skins of animals,
or feather work wrought in mosaic imitation of birds, reptiles,
insects and flowers. Nor was the Emperor alone amid the
splendid wastes of his palace. A thousand women thronged
these royal chambers, ministering to the tastes and passions of
the elegant voluptuary. The rarest viands, from far and near,
supplied his table, the service of which was performed by numerous
attendants on utensils and equipage of the choicest material and
shape. Four times, daily, the Emperor changed his apparel, and
never put on again the dress he once had worn, or defiled his lips
twice with the same vessels from wrhich he fed.

Such was the sovereign's palace and way of life, nor can we
suppose that this refinement of luxury was to be found alone in
the dwelling of Montezuma and his nobles. It is to be regretted
that we are not more fully informed of the condition of property,
wealth and labor among the masses of this singular empire. The
conquerors did not trouble themselves with acquiring accurate
statistical information, nor do they seem to have counted num-
bers carefully, except when they had .enemies to conquer or spoil
to divide. In all primitive nations, however, the best idea of a
people is to be attained from visiting the market-place, — or rather
the fair, — in which it is their custom to sell or barter the products
of their industry ; and, to this rendezvous of the Aztecs, Cortez,
with the astuteness that never forsook him during his perilous
enterprise, soon betook himself after his arrival in the city.

The market of Tenochtitlan was a scene of commercial activity
as well as of humble thrift. It was devoted to all kinds of native
traffic. In the centre of the city the conqueror found a magnificent
square surrounded by porticoes, in which, it is alleged, that sixty
thousand traders were engaged in buying and selling every species
of merchandize produced in the realm; jewels, goldware, toys,
curious imitations of natural objects, wrought with the utmost
skill of deception; weapons of copper alloyed with tin, pottery
of all degrees of fineness, carved vases, bales of richly dyed cotton ;
beautifully woven feather- work, wild and tame animals, grain, fish,

CORTEZ AT THE GREAT TEMPLE DESCRIPTION OF IT. 37

vegetables, all the necessaries of life and all its luxuries, together
with restaurateurs and shops for the sale of medical drugs, con-
fectionery, or stimulating drinks. It was, in fact, an immense
bazaar, which, at a glance, gave an insight into the tastes, wants
and productive industry of the nation.

Satisfied with this inspection of the people and their talents, the
next visit of the General was, doubtless, made with the double
object of becoming acquainted with that class of men, who in all
countries so powerfully influence public opinion, whilst, from the
top of their tall temple, situated on their lofty central Teocalli or
pyramid, he might, with a military eye, scan the general topo-
graphy of the city.

This pyramidal structure, or Great Temple, as it is generally
called, was perhaps rather the base of a religious structure, than
the religious edifice itself. We possess no accurate drawing of it
among the contemporary or early relics of the conquest, that have
descended to us ; but it is known to have been pyramidal in
shape, over one hundred and twenty feet in altitude, with a base
of three hundred and twenty. It stood in a large area, surrounded
by a wrall eight feet high, sculptured with the figures of serpents in
relief. From one end of the base of this structure, a flight of steps
rose to a terrace at the base of the second story of the pyramid.
Around this terrace, a person, in ascending, was obliged to pass
until he came to the corner immediately above the first flight,
where he encountered another set of steps, up which he passed
to the second terrace, and so on, continuously, to the third and
fourth terraces, until, by a fifth flight, he attained the summit
platform of the Teocalli. These spaces or terraces, at each story,
are represented to have been about six feet in width, so that three
or four persons could easily ascend abreast. It will be perceived
that in attaining the top of the edifice it was necessary to pass
round it entirely four times and to ascend five stairways. Within
the enclosure, built of stone and crowned with battlements, a
village of five hundred houses might have been built. Its area
was paved with smooth and polished stones, and the pyramid that
rose in its centre seems to have been constructed as well for
military as religious purposes, inasmuch as its architecture made
it fully capable of resistance as a citadel ; and we may properly
assume this opinion as a fact, from the circumstance that the
enclosing walls were entered by four gates, facing the cardinal
points, while over each portal was erected a military arsenal filled
with immense stores of warlike equipments.

PLACE OF SACRIFICE SANCTUARIES HUITZILOPOTCHTLI. 39

When Cort6z arrived in front of this truncated pyramid, two
priests and several caciques were in attendance, by order of
Montezuma, to bear him in their arms to its summit. But the
hardy conqueror declined this effeminate means of transportation,
and marched up slowly at the head of his soldiers. On the paved
and level area at the top, they found a large block of jasper, the
peculiar shape of which showed it was the stone on which the
bodies of the unhappy victims were stretched for sacrifice. Its
convex surface, rising breast high, enabled the priest to perform
more easily his diabolical task of removing the heart. Besides
this, there were two sanctuaries erected on the level surface of
the Tcocalli ; two altars, glowing with a fire that was never
extinguished ; and a large circular drum, which was struck only
on occasions of great public concern.

Such was the Teocalli or House of God. There were other
edifices, having the name of Teopa?i, or Places of God. Some
writers allege that there were two towers erected on the great
Teocalli of Tenochtitlan ; but it may be safely asserted that there
was at least one of these, which rose to the height of about fifty-six
feet, and was divided into three stories, the lower being of stone,
while the others were constructed of wrought and painted wood.
In the basement of these towers were the sanctuaries, where two
splendid altars had been erqcted to Huitzilopotchtli and Tezcatli-
poca, over which the idol representatives of these divinities were
placed in state.

Within the enclosure of the Teocalli there wrere forty othei
temples dedicated to various Aztec gods. Besides these, there
were colleges or residences and seminaries of the priests, together
with a splendid house of entertainment, devoted to the accommo-
dation of eminent strangers who visited the temple and the court.
All these sumptuous ecclesiastical establishments were grouped
around the pyramid, protected by the quadrangular wall, and
built amid gardens and groves.

Cortez asked leave of the Emperor, who accompanied him on
his visit, to enter the sanctuaries of the Aztec deities. In a
spacious stuccoed saloon, roofed with carved and gilt timber,
stood the gigantic idol of Huitzilopotchtli, the Mexican Mars.
His countenance was harsh and menacing. In his hands he
grasped a bow and golden arrows. He was girt with the folds
of a serpent, formed of precious materials, whilst his left foot was
feathered with the plumage of the humming-bird, from which he
took his name. Around his throat hung suspended a massive

40 TEZCATLIPOCA CORTEZ MONTEZUMA SEIZED.

necklace of alternate gold and silver hearts ; and on the altar
before . him, three human hearts which had recently been torn
from living breasts, were still quivering and bleeding, fresh from
the immolated victims.

In the other chamber, or sanctuary, were the milder emblems of
Tezcatlipoca, who " created the world and watched it with provi-
dential care." The lineaments of this idol were those of a youth,
whose image, carved in black and polished stone, was adorned
with discs of burnished gold, and embellished with a brilliant
shield. Nevertheless, the worship of this more benign deity was
stained with homicide, for on its altar, in a plate of gold, the
conqueror found five human hearts ; and, in these dens of inhu-
manity, Bernal Diaz tells us, that the "stench was more intolerable
than in the slaughter houses of Castile ! "

Such is a brief summary of the observations made by the
Spaniards during a week's residence in the city. They found
themselves in the heart .of a rich and populous empire, whose
civilization, however, was, by a strange contradiction for which
we shall hereafter endeavor to account, stained with the most
shocking barbarity under the name of religion. The unscrupulous
murder, which was dignified with the associations and practice of
national worship, was by no means consolatory to the minds of
men who were really in the power of semi-civilized rulers and
bloody priests. They discovered, from their own experience, that
the sovereign was both fickle and feeble, and that a caprice, a
hope, or a fear, might suffice to make him free his country from a
handful of dangerous guests by offering them as sacrifices to his
gods. The Tlascalans were already looked upon with no kind
feelings by their hereditary foes. A spark might kindle a fatal
flame. It was a moment for bold and unscrupulous action, and
it was needful to obtain some signal advantage by which the
Spaniards could, at least, effect their retreat, if not ensure an
ultimate victory.

News just then was brought to Cortez that four of his country-
men, whom he left behind at Cempoalla, had been treacherously
slain by one of the tributary caciques of Montezuma ; and this at
once gave him a motive, or at least a pretext, for seizing the
Emperor himself, as a hostage for the good faith of his nation.
Accordingly, he visited Montezuma with a band of his most reli-
able followers, who charged the monarch with the treachery of his

MONTEZUMA A PRISONER HIS SUBMISSIVENESS. 41

subordinate, and demanded the apprehension of the cacique to
answer for the slaughter of their inoffensive countrymen. Monte-
zuma, of course, immediately disavowed the treason and ordered
the arrest of the Governor ; but Cortez would not receive an
apology or verbal reparation of the injury, — although he professed
to believe the exculpation of Montezuma himself, — unless that
sovereign would restore the Spaniard's confidence in his fidelity by
quitting his palace and changing his residence to the quarters of
the invaders !

This was, indeed, an unexpected blow. It was one of those
strokes of unparalleled boldness which paralyzed their victim by
sheer amazement. After considerable discussion and useless
appeals, the entrapped Emperor tamely submitted to the sur-
prising demand, for he saw, in the resolved faces of his armed
and steel-clad foes, that resistance was useless, if he attempted to
save his own life, with the small and unprepared forces that were
at hand.

For a while the most ceremonious respect was paid by the
conqueror and his men to their royal prisoner, who, under strict
surveillance, maintained his usual courtly pomp, and performed all
the functions of Emperor. But Cortez soon became his master.
The will of an effeminate king was no match for the indomitable
courage, effrontery and genius of the Spanish knight. The offending
cacique of Cempoalla was burned alive, either to glut his vengeance
or inspire dread ; and when the traitor endeavored to compromise
Montezuma in his crime, fetters were placed for an hour on the limbs
of the imprisoned sovereign. Every day the disgraced Emperor
became, more and more, the mere minister of Cortez. He was forced
to discountenance publicly those who murmured at his confinement,
or to arrest the leading conspirators for his deliverance. He
granted a province to the Castilian crown and swore allegiance
to it. He collected the tribute and revenue from dependant cities
or districts in the name of the Spanish king ; and, at last, struck a
blow even at his hereditary and superstitious faith by ordering the
great Teocalli to be purged of its human gore and the erection of
an altar on its summit, on which, before the cross and the images
of the Virgin and her Son, the Christian mass might be celebrated
in the presence of the Aztec multitude.

It was at this moment, when Cortez tried the national nerve
most daringly by interfering with the religious superstitions of a
dissatisfied town, and when every symptom of a general rebellion
6

42 ARRIVAL OF NARVAEZ CORTEz's DIPLOMACY.

was visible, that the conqueror received the startling news of the
arrival on the coast of Don Pamphilo de Narvaez, with eighteen
vessels and nine hundred men, who had been sent, by the revenge-
ful Velasquez, to arrest the hero and send him in chains to St.
Jago.

A more unfortunate train of circumstances can scarcely be con-
ceived. In the midst of an enemy's capital, with a handful of
men, — menaced by a numerous and outraged nation, on the
one hand, and, with a Spanish force sent, in the name of law
by authorities to whom he owed loyal respect, to arrest him,
on the other, — it is indeed difficult to imagine a situation better
calculated to try the soul and task the genius of a general. But it
was one of those perilous emergencies which, throughout his whole
career, seem to have imparted additional energy, rather than
dismay, to the heart of Cortez, and which prove him to have been,
like Nelson, a man who never knew the sensation of fear. Nor
must it be imagined that difficulty made him rash. Seldom has a
hero appeared in history more perfectly free from precipitancy after
he undertook his great enterprise ; — and, in the period under con
sideration, this is fully exhibited in the diplomacy with which hf
approached the hostile Spaniards on the coast who had been
despatched to dislodge and disgrace him. He resolved, at once,
not to abandon what he had already gained in the capital ; but, at
the same time, he endeavored to tranquilize or foil Narvaez if he
could not win him over to his enterprise ; for it was evidently the
policy of the newly arrived general to unite in a spoil which was
almost ready for division rather than to incur the perils and uncer-
tainty of another conquest.

Accordingly Cortez addressed a letter to Narvaez requesting him
not 1o kindle a spirit of insubordination among the natives by pro-
claiming his enmity. Yet this failed to affect his jealous country-
man. He then desired Narvaez to receive his band as brothers in
arms, and to share the treasure and fame of the conquest. But
this, also, was rejected ; while the loyal tool of Velasquez diligently
applied himself to fomenting the Aztec discontent against his coun-
trymen, and proclaimed his design of marching to Mexico to
release the Emperor from the grasp of his Spanish oppressor.

There was now no other opening for diplomacy, nor was delay
to be longer suffered. Cortez, therefore, leaving the mutinous
capital in the hands of Pedro de Alvarado, with a band of but one
hundred and fifty men to protect the treasure he had amassed, —
departed for the shores of the Gulf with only seventy soldiers, but

CORTEZ OVERCOMES NARVAEZ, AND RECRUITS HIS FORCES. 43

was joined, on his way, by one hundred and twenty men who had
retreated from the garrison at Vera Cruz. He was not long in
traversing the plains and Cordilleras towards the eastern sea ; and
falling suddenly on the camp of Narvaez, in the dead of night, he
turned the captured artillery against his foe, seized the general,
received the capitulation of the army of nine hundred well
equipped men, and soon healed the factions which of course
existed between the conquerors and the conquered. He had
acquired the prestige which always attends extraordinary success
or capacity ; and men preferred the chances of splendid results
under such a leader to the certainty of moderate gain under a
general who did not possess his matchless genius. Thus it was
that the lordly spirit and commanding talents of Cort6z enabled
him to convert the very elements of disaster into the means of
present strength and future success !

CHAPTER V
1520.

CORTEZ RETURNS TO THE CAPITAL CAUSES OF THE REVOLT

AGAINST THE SPANIARDS. CORTEZ CONDEMNS ALVARADO

HIS CONDUCT TO MONTEZUMA. BATTLE IN THE CITY MON-
TEZUMA MEDIATES. FIGHT ON THE GREAT TEMPLE OR TEO-

CALLI. RETREAT OF THE SPANIARDS NOCHE TRISTE.

FLIGHT OF THE SPANIARDS TO TACUBA.

Whilst Cortez was beset with the difficulties recounted in our
last chapter, and engaged in overcoming Narvaez on the coast, the
news reached him of an insurrection in the capital, towards which
he immediately turned his steps. On approaching the city, intelli-
gence was brought that the active hostilities of the natives had
been changed, for the last fortnight, into a blockade, and that the
garrison had suffered dreadfully during his absence. Montezuma,
too, despatched an envoy who was instructed to impress the con-
queror with the Emperor's continued fidelity, and to exculpate him
from all blame in the movement against Alvarado.

On the 24th June, 1520, Cortez reached the capital. On all
sides he saw the melancholy evidences of war. There were neither
greeting crowds on the causeways, nor boats on the lake ; bridges
were broken down ; the brigantines or boats he had constructed to
secure a retreat over the waters of these inland seas, were destroyed ;
the whole population seemed to have vanished, and silence brooded
over the melancholy scene.

The revolt against the lieutenant Alvarado was generally attri-
buted to his fiery impetuosity, and to the inhuman and motiveless
slaughter committed by the Spanish troops, under his authority,
during the celebration of a solemn Aztec festival, called the " in-
censing of Huitzilopotchtli." Six hundred victims, were, on that
occasion, slain by the Spaniards, in cold blood, in the neighbor-
hood of the Great Temple ; nor was a single native, engaged in

45 cortez condemns ALVARADO HIS CONDUCT TO MONTEZUMA.

the mysterious rites, left alive to tell the tale of the sudden and
brutal assault.

Alvarado, it is true, pretended that his spies had satisfactorily
proved the existence of a well founded conspiracy, which was
designed to explode upon this occasion ; but the evidence is not
sufficient to justify the disgraceful and horrid deed that must for-
ever tarnish his fame. It is far more probable that rapacity
was the true cause of the onslaught, and that the reckless compan-
ion of the conqueror, who had been entrusted with brief authority
during his absence, miscalculated the power of his Indian foe, and
confounded the warlike Mexican of the valley with the weaker
soldiers, dwelling in more emasculating climates, whom he had so
rapidly confounded and overthrown in his march to the capital.

It may well be supposed that this slaughter, combined with
the other causes of discontent already existing among the Aztecs,
served to kindle the outraged national feeling with intense hatred
of the invaders. The city rose in arms, and the Spaniards were
hemmed within their defences. Montezuma himself addressed
the people from the battlements, and stayed their active as-
sault upon the works of Alvarado ; but they strictly blockaded
the enemy in his castle, cut off all supplies, and entrenched them-
selves in hastily constructed barricades thrown up around the habi-
tation of the Spaniards, resolved to rest behind these works until
despair and famine would finally and surely throw the helpless
victims into their power. Here the invaders, with scant provisions
and brackish water, awaited the approach of Cortez, who received
the explanations of Alvarado with manifest disgust : — " You have
been false to your trust," said he, " you have done badly, indeed,
and your conduct has been that of a madman ! "

Yet this was not a moment to break entirely with Alvarado,
whose qualities, and perhaps, even, whose conduct, rendered him
popular with a large class of the Spanish adventurers. The newly
recruited forces of Cortez gave the conqueror additional strength,
for he was now at the head of no less than twelve hundred and
fifty Spaniards, and eight thousand auxiliaries, chiefly Tlascalans.
Yet, under the untoward circumstances, the increase of his forces
augmented the difficulties of their support. Montezuma hastened
to greet him. But the Spaniard was in no mood to trust the
Emperor ; and, as his Mexican subjects made no sign of recon-
ciliation or submission, he refused the proferred interview : —
" What have I," exclaimed he, haughtily, " to do with this dog of
a king who suffers us to starve before his eyes ! " He would

46 BATTLE IN THE CITY MONTEZUMA MEDIATES.

receive no apology from his countrymen who sought to exculpate
the sovereign, or from the mediating nobles of the court : — " Go
tell your master," was his reply, " to open the markets, or we will
do it for him, at his cost ! "

But the stern resistance of the natives was not intermitted. On
the contrary, active preparations were made to assault the irregular
pile of stone buildings which formed the Palace of Axayacatl, in
which the Spaniards were lodged. The furious populace rushed
through every avenue towards this edifice, and encountered with
wonderful nerve and endurance, the ceaseless storm of iron hail
which its stout defenders rained upon them from every quarter. Yet
the onset of the Aztecs was almost too fierce to be borne much
longer by the besieged, when the Spaniards resorted to the linger-
ing authority of Montezuma to save them from annihilation. The
pliant Emperor, still their prisoner, assumed his royal robes, and,
with the symbol of sovereignty in his hand, ascended the central tur-
ret of the palace. Immediately, at this royal apparition, the tumult
of the fight was hushed whilst the king addressed his subjects in the
language of conciliation and rebuke. Yet the appeal was not satis-,
factory or effectual. " Base Aztec," — shouted the chiefs, — " the
white men have made you a woman, fit only to weave and spin ! " —
whilst a cloud of stones, spears and arrows fell upon the monarch,
who sank wounded to the ground, though the bucklers of the
Spaniards were promptly interposed to shield his person from
violence. He was borne to his apartments below ; and, bowed to
the earth by the humiliation he had suffered alike from his subjects
and his foes, he would neither receive comfort nor permit his
wounds to be treated by those who were skilled in surgery. He
reclined, in moody silence, brooding over his ancient majesty and
the deep disgrace which he felt he had too long survived.

Meanwhile the war without continued to rage. The great
Teocalli or Mound-Temple, already described, was situated at a
short distance opposite the Spanish defences ; and, from this
elevated position, which commanded the invader's quarters, a body
of five or six hundred Mexicans, began to throw their missiles into
the Spanish garrison, whilst the natives, under the shelter of the
sanctuaries, were screened from the fire of the besieged. It
was necessary to dislodge this dangerous armament. An assault,
under Escobar, was hastily prepared, but the hundred men who
composed it, were thrice repulsed, and obliged finally to retreat
with considerable loss. Cortez had been wounded and disabled in

FIGHT ON THE GREAT TEMPLE OR TEOCALLI. 47

his left hand, in the previous fight, but he bound his buckler to the
crippled limb, and, at the head of three hundred chosen men, accom-
panied by Alvarado, Sandoval, Ordaz and others of his most gallant
cavaliers, he sallied from the besieged palace. It was soon found
that horses were useless in charging the Indians over the smooth and
slippery pavements of the town and square, and accordingly Cortez
sent them back to his quarters ; yet he managed to repulse the squad-
rons in the court-yard of the Teocalli, and to hold them in check
by a file of arquebusiers. The singular architecture of this Mound-
Temple will be recollected by the reader, and the difficulty of its
ascent, by means of five stairways and four terraces, was now in-
creased by the crowds that thronged these narrow avenues. From
stair to stair, from gallery to gallery, the Spaniards fought onward
and upward with resistless courage, incessantly flinging their Indian
foes, by main strength, over the narrow ledges. At length they
reached the level platform of the top, which was capable of contain-
ing a thousand warriors. Here, at the shrine of the Aztec war-
god, was a site for the noblest contest in the empire. The area
was paved with broad and level stones. Free from all impedi-
ments, it was unguarded at its edges by battlements, parapets, or,
any defences which could protect the assailants from falling if they
approached the sides too closely. Quarter was out of the question.
The battle was hand to hand, and body to body. Combatants
grappled and wrestled in deadly efforts to cast each other from the
steep and sheer ledges. Indian priests ran to and fro with stream-
ing hair and sable garments, urging their superstitious children to
the contest. Men tumbled headlong over the sides of the area,
and even Cortez himself, by superior agility, alone, was saved from
the grasp of two warriors who dragged him to the brink of the
lofty pyramid and were about to dash him to the earth.

For three hours the battle raged until every Indian combatant
was either slain on the summit or hurled to the base. Forty-five
of the Spaniards were killed, and nearly all wounded. A few
Aztec priests, alone, of all the Indian band, survived to behold the
destruction of the sanctuaries, which had so often been desecrated
by the hideous rites and offerings of their bloody religion.

For a moment the natives were panic-struck by this masterly
and victorious manoeuvre, whilst the Spaniards passed unmolested
to their quarters, from which, at night, they again sallied to burn
three hundred houses of the citizens.

Cortez thought that these successes would naturally dismay the
Mexicans, and proposed, through Mariana, — his faithful interpre-

48 RETREAT OJ THE SPANIARDS NOCHE TRISTE.

ter, who had continued throughout his adventures the chief
reliance of the Spaniards for intercourse with the Indians, — that
this conflict should cease at once, for the Aztecs must be con-
vinced that a soldier who destroyed their gods, laid a part of their
capital in ruins, and was able to inflict still more direful chastise-
ment, was, indeed, invincible.

But the day of successful threats had passed. The force of the
Aztecs was still undiminished ; the bridges were destroyed ; the
numbers of the Spaniards were lessened ; hunger and thirst were
beginning to do their deadly work on the invaders ; " there
will be only too few of you left," said they in reply, — "to satisfy
the revenge of our gods."

There was no longer time for diplomacy or delay, and, accord-
ingly, Cortez resolved to quit the city as soon as practicable, and
prepared the means to accomplish this desirable retreat ; but, on
his first attempt he was unable to reach the open country through
the easily defended highway of the capital or the enfilading canals
and lanes. From house tops and cross streets, innumerable
Indians beset his path wherever he turned. Yet it was essential
for the salvation of the Spaniards that they should evacuate the
city. No other resource remained, and, desperate as it was, the
conqueror persevered, unflinchingly, amid the more hazardous
assaults of the Mexicans, and all the internal discords of his
own band, whom a common danger did not perfectly unite. He
packed the treasure, gathered during the days of prosperous
adventure, on his stoutest horses, and, with a portable bridge, to be
thrown hastily over the canals, he departed from his stronghold on
the dark and rainy evening which has become memorable in Ameri-
can history, as the noche triste, or " melancholy night." The
Mexicans were not usually alert during the darkness, and Cortez
hoped that he might steal off unperceived in this unwatchful
period. But he was mistaken in his calculations. The Aztecs
had become acquainted with Spanish tactics and were eager for
the arrival of the moment, by day or night, when the expected
victims would fall into their hands. As soon as the Spanish band
had advanced a short distance along the causeway of Tlacopan, the
attack began by land and water ; for the Indians assaulted them
from their boats, with spears and arrows, or quitting their skiffs,
grappled with the retreating soldiers in mortal agony, and rolled
them from the causeway into the waters of the lake. The bridge
was wedged inextricably between the sides of a dyke, whilst am-

FLIGHT OF THE SPANIARDS TO TACUBA. 49

munition wagons, heavy guns, bales of rich cloths, chests of gold,
artillery, and the bodies of men or horses, were piled in heaps on
the highway or rolled into the water. Forty-six of the cavalry
were cut off and four hundred and fifty of the Christians killed,
whilst four thousand of the Indian auxiliaries perished.1 The
General's baggage, papers, and minute diary of his adventures,
were swallowed in the waters. The ammunition, the artillery, and
every musket were lost. Meanwhile Montezuma had perished
from his wounds some days before the sortie was attempted, and
his body had been delivered to his subjects with suitable honors.
Alvarado, — Tonatiuh, the "child of the sun," as the natives
delighted to call him, escaped during the noche triste by a miracu-
lous leap with the aid of his lance-staff over a canal, to whose
edge he had been pursued by the foe. And when Cortez, at
length, found himself with his thin and battered band, on the
heights of Tacuba, west of the city, beyond the borders of the
lake, it may be said, without exaggeration, that nothing was left
to reassure him but his indomitable heart and the faithful Indian
girl whose lips, and perhaps whose counsel, had been so useful in
his service.

1 These numbers are variously stated by different authorities. — See Prescott, vol.
2d, p. 377.

CHAPTER VI.

1520.

RETREAT TO OTUMBA. CORTEZ IS ENCOUNTERED BY A NEW

ARMY OF AZTECS AND AUXILIARIES. VICTORY OF THE SPAN-
IARDS AT OTUMBA. PROPOSED RE -ALLIANCE OF AZTECS AND

TLASCALANS. FORAYS OF CORTEZ REDUCTION OF THE EAST-
ERN REGIONS. CORTEZ PROPOSES THE RE-CONQUEST SENDS

OFF THE DISAFFECTED. CORTEZ SETTLES THE TLASCALAN

SUCCESSION.

After the disasters and fatigues of the noche triste, the melan-
choly and broken band of Cortez rested for a day at Tacuba,
whilst the Mexicans returned to their capital, probably to bury the
dead and purify their city. It is singular, yet it is certain, that
they did not follow up their successes by a death blow at the
disarmed Spaniards. But this momentary paralysis of their efforts
was not to be trusted, and accordingly Cortez began to retreat
eastwardly, under the guidance of the Tlascalans, by a circuitous
route around the northern limits of lake Zumpango. The flying
forces and their auxiliaries were soon in a famishing condition,
subsisting alone on corn or on wild cherries gathered in the forest,
with occasional refreshment and support from the carcase of a
horse that perished by the way. For six days these wretched
fragments of the Spanish army continued their weary pilgrimage,
and, on the seventh, reached Otumba on the way from Mexico to
Tlascala. Along the whole of this march the fainting and dis-
pirited band was, ever and anon, assailed by detached squadrons
of the enemy, who threw stones and rolled rocks on the men as
they passed beneath precipices, or assaulted them with arrows and
spears. As Cortez advanced, the enemy gathered in his rear and
bade him "Go on whither he should meet the vengeance due to
his robbery and his crimes," for the main body of the Aztecs had
meanwhile passed by an eastern route across the country, and
placed itself in a position to intercept the Spaniards on the plains
of Otumba. As the army of the conqueror crossed the last divid-
ing ridge that overlooked the vale of Otompan, it beheld the levels

VICTORY OF THE SPANIARDS AT OTUMBA. 51

below filled, as far as eye could reach, with the spears and stand-
ards of the Aztec victors, whose forces had been augmented by
levies from the territory of the neighboring Tezcoco. Cortez pre-
sented a sorry array to be launched from the cliffs upon this sea of
lances. But he was not the man to tremble or hesitate. He
spread out his main body as widely as possible, and guarded the
flanks by the twenty horsemen who survived the noche triste, and
the disastrous march from Tacuba. He ordered his cavalry not to
cast away their lances, but to aim them constantly at the faces of
the Indians, whilst the infantry were to thrust and not to strike
with their swords ; — the leaders of the enemy were especially to
be selected as marks ; and he, finally, bade his men trust in God,
who would not permit them to perish by the hands of infidels.
The signal was given for the charge. Spaniard and Tlascalan
fought hand to hand with the foe. Long and doubtfully the battle
raged on both sides, until every Spaniard was wounded. Sud-
denly Cortez descried the ensignia of the enemy's commanding
general, and knowing that the fortunes of the day, in all proba-
bility, depended upon securing or slaying that personage, he
commanded Sandoval, Olid, Alvarado, and Avila to follow and
support him as he dashed towards the Indian chief. The Aztecs
fell back as he rushed on, leaving a lane for the group of galloping
cavaliers. Cortez and his companions soon reached the fatal spot,
and the conqueror driving his lance through the Aztec leader, left
him to be dispatched by Juan de Salamanca. This was the work
of a moment. The death of the general struck a panic into the
combined forces of Tenochtitlan and Tezcoco, and a promiscuous
flight began on all sides. At sunset, on the 8th of July, 1520,
the Spaniards were victors on the field of Otumba, and gathering
together in an Indian temple, which they found on an eminence
overlooking the plain, they offered up a Te Deum for their miracu-
lous preservation as well as for the hope with which their success
reinspired them.1

The next day the invaders quitted their encampment on the battle
field and hastened towards the territory of their friends, the
Tlascalans. The Spaniards now presented themselves to the
rulers of their allies in a different guise from that they wore when
they first advanced towards Mexico. Fully equipped, mounted,
and furnished with ammunition, they had then compelled the

1 We have no accurate estimate of the numbers engaged in this battle, or of the
slain.

52 PROPOSED RE-ALLIANCE OF AZTECS AND TLASCALANS.

prompt submission of the Tlascalans, and, assuring their alliance,
had conquered the Cholulans, and obtained the control even of the
capital and person of the Aztec Emperor himself. But now they
returned defeated, plundered, unarmed, poor, scarcely clad, and
with the loss of a large part of those Indian allies who had
accompanied the expedition. There was reason for disheartening
fear in the breast of Cortez, had it been susceptible of such an
emotion. But the Lord of Tlascala reassured him, when he
declared that their " cause was common against Mexico, and,
come weal, come woe, they would prove loyal to the death ! "

The Spaniards were glad to find a friendly palace in Tlascala,
in which to shelter themselves after the dreadful storms that had
recently broken on their head. Yet, in the quiet of their retreat,
and in the excitement of their rallying blood, they began to reflect
upon the past and the disheartening aspect of the future. Mur-
murs, which were at first confined to the barrack, at length
assumed public significance, and a large body of the men, chiefly
the soldiers of Narvaez, presented to Cortez a petition which was
headed by his own secretary, demanding permission to retreat to La
Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz. Just at this moment, too, Cuitlahua,
who mounted the throne of Mexico on the death of Montezuma,
despatched a mission to the Tlascalans, proposing to bury the
hatchet, and to unite in sweeping the Spaniards from the realm.
The hours which were consumed by the Tlascalans in deliberating
on this dread proposal were full of deep anxiety to Cortez ; for, in
the present feeble condition of his Spanish force, his whole reliance
consisted in adroitly playing off one part of the Indian popula-
tion against another. If he lost the aid, alliance, or neutrality of
the Tlascalans, his cause was lost, and all hope of reconquest, or
perhaps even of retreat, was gone forever.

The promised alliance of the Mexicans was warmly and sternly
supported in the debates of the Tlascalan council by some of the
nobles ; yet, after full and even passionate discussion, which ended
in personal violence between two of the chiefs, it was unanimously
resolved to reject the proposal of their hereditary foes, who had
never been able to subdue them as a nation in battle, but hoped to
entrap them into alliance in the hour of common danger. These
discussions, together with the positive rejection by Cortez of the
Spanish petition, seem to have allayed the anxiety of the invaders
to return to Vera Cruz. With the assured friendship of the
Tlascalans they could rely upon some good turn in fortune, and,
at length, the vision of the conquest might be realized under the

FORAYS OF CORTEZ REDUCTION OF THE EASTERN REGIONS. 53

commander who had led them through success and defeat with
equal skill.

Accordingly Cortez did not allow his men to remain long in
idle garrisons, brooding over the past, or becoming moody and
querulous. If he could not Conquer a nation by a blow, he
might perhaps subdue a tribe by a foray, while the military suc-
cess, or golden plunder, would serve to keep alive the fire of
enterprise in the breasts of his troopers. His first attack, after
he had recruited the strength of his men, was on the Tepeacans,
whom he speedily overthrew, and in whose chief town of Tepeaca,
on the Mexican frontier, he established his head quarters, in the
midst of a flourishing and productive district, whence his supplies
were easily gathered. Here he received an invitation from the
cacique of Quauhquechollan, — a town of thirty thousand inhabi-
tants, whose chief wras impatient of the Mexican yoke, — to march
to his relief. Olid was despatched on this expedition ; but getting
entangled in disputes and frays with the Cholulans, whose people
he assaulted and took prisoners, Cortez himself assumed command
of the expedition. In fact, the conqueror was singularly unfor-
tunate in the conduct of his subordinates, for all his disasters arose
from confidence in men whose judgment or temper was unequal
to the task and discipline of control. In the assault and capture
of this town, Cortez and his men obtained a rich booty. They
followed up the blow by taking the strong city of Itzocan, which
had also been held by a Mexican garrison ; and here, too, the
captors seized upon rich spoils, while the Indian auxiliaries were
soon inflamed by the reports of booty, and hastened in numbers to
the chief who led them to victory and plunder.

Cortez returned to Tepeaca from these expeditions, which were
not alone predatory in their character, but were calculated to pave
the way for his military approach once more to the city of Mexico,
as soon as his schemes ripened for the conquest. The ruling idea
of ultimate success never for a moment left his mind. From
Tepeaca he despatched his officers on various expeditions, and
marched Sandoval against a large body of the enemy lying
between his camp and Vera Cruz. These detachments defeated
the Mexicans in two battles ; reduced the whole country which is
now known as lying between Orizaba and the western skirts of the
plain of Puebla, and thus secured the communication with the sea-
coast. Those who are familiar with the geography of Mexico,
will see at a glance, with what masterly generalship the dispo-

54 cortez proposes the re-conquest.

sitions of Cortez were made to secure the success of his darling
project. Nor can we fail to recognize the power of a single
indomitable will over masses of Christians and Indians, in the
wonderful as well as successful control which the conqueror ob-
tained in his dealings with his coifhtrymen as well as the natives
at this period of extreme danger. When Mexico was lost after
the noche triste, the military resources of Cortez were really
nothing, for his slender band was deprived of its most effective
weapons, was broken in moral courage and placed on an equality,
as to arms, with the Indians. The successes he obtained at
Otumba, Tlascala, Tepeaca, and elsewhere, not only re-established
the prestige of his genius among his countrymen, but affected even
the Indians. The native cities and towns in the adjacent country
appealed to him to decide in their difficulties, and his discretion
and justice, as an arbitrator, assured him an ascendancy which it
is surprising that a stranger who was ignorant of their language
could acquire among men who were in the semi-civilized and
naturally jealous state in which he found the Aztec and Tlascalan
tribes. Thus it is that, under the influence of his will and genius,
" a new empire grew up, in the very heart of the land, forming
a counterpoise to the colossal power which had so long over-
shadowed it."

In the judgment of Cortez, the moment had now arrived when
he was strong enough, and when it was proper, that he should
attempt the re-conquest of the capital. His alliance with the
Tlascalans reposed upon a firm basis, and consequently he could
rely upon adequate support from the Indians who would form the
majority of his army. Nor were his losses of military equipments
and stores unrepaired. Fortune favored him by the arrival of
several vessels at Vera Cruz, from which he obtained munitions
of war and additional troops. One hundred and fifty well provided
men and twenty horses were joined to his forces by these arrivals.

Before his departure, however, he despatched the few discon-
tented men from his camp and gave them a vessel with which they
might regain their homes. He wrote an account of his adventures,
moreover, to his government in Spain, and besought his sovereign
to confirm his authority in the lands and over the people he might
add to the Spanish crown. He addressed, also, the Royal Audi-
encia at St. Domingo to interest its members in his cause, and
when he despatched four vessels from Vera Cruz for additional

cortez settles the tlascalan succession. 55

military supplies, he freighted them with specimens of gold and
Tndian fabrics to inflame the cupidity of new adventurers.

In Tlascala, he settled the question of succession in the govern-
ment ; constructed new arms and caused old ones to be repaired ;
made powder with sulphur obtained from the volcano of Popoca-
topetl; and, under the direction of his builder, Lopez, prepared
the timber for brigantines, which he designed to carry, in pieces,
and launch on the lake at the town of Tezcoco. At that port, he
resolved to prepare himself fully for the final attack, and, this time,
he determined to assault the enemy's capital by water, as well as
by land.

CHAPTER VII

1520 — 1521.

DEATH OF CUTTLAHUA HE IS SUCCEEDED BY GUATEMOZIN.

AZTECS LEARN THE PROPOSED RE-CONQUEST CORTEz's FORCES

FOR THIS ENTERPRISE. CORTEZ AT TEZCOCO HIS PLANS AND

ACTS. MILITARY EXPEDITIONS OF CORTEZ IN THE VALLEY.

OPERATIONS AT CHALCO AND CUERNAVACA. XOCHIMILCO

RETURN TO TACUBA. CORTEZ RETURNS TO TEZCOCO AND IS

REINFORCED.

After a short and brilliant reign of four months, Cuitlahua,
the successor of Montezuma, died of small pox, which, at
that period, raged throughout Mexico, and he was succeeded by
Guauhtemotzin, or, Guatemozin, the nephew of the two , last
Emperors. This sovereign ascended the Aztec throne in his
twenty-fifth year, yet he seems to have been experienced as a
soldier and firm as a patriot.

It is not to be imagined that the Aztec court was long ignorant
of the doings of Cortez. It was evident that the bold and daring
Spaniard had not only been unconquered in heart and resolution,
but that he even meditated a speedy return to the scene of his
former successful exploits. The Mexicans felt sure that, upon
this occasion, his advent and purposes would be altogether undis-
guised, and that when he again descended to the valley in which
their capital nestled, he would, in all probability, be prepared to
sustain himself and his followers in any position his good fortune
and strong arm might secure to him. The news, moreover, of his
firm alliance with the Tlascalans and all the discontented tributaries
of the Aztec throne, as well as of the reinforcements and muni-
tions he received from Vera Cruz, was quickly brought to the city
of Mexico ; and every suitable preparation was made, by strength-
ening the defences, encouraging the vassals, and disciplining the
troops, to protect the menaced empire from impending ruin.

Nor was Cortez, in his turn, idle in exciting the combined
forces of the Spaniards and Indians for the last effort which it was
probable he could make for the success of his great enterprise.

CORTKZ AT TKZCOCO — HIS PLANS AND ACTS. 57

His Spanish force consisted of nigh six hundred men, forty
of whom were cavalry, together with eighty arquebusiers and
crossbowmen. Nine cannon of small calibre, supplied with indif-
ferent powder, constituted his train of artillery. His army of
Indian allies is estimated at tjie doubtless exaggerated number of
over one hundred thousand, armed with the maquahuatil, pikes,
bows, arrows, and divided into battalions, each with its own
banners, insignia and commanders. His appeal to all the members
of this motley array was couched in language likely to touch the
passions, the bigotry, the enthusiasm and avarice of various
classes ; and, after once more crossing the mountains, and reach-
ing the margin of the lakes, he encamped on the 31st of December,
1520, within the venerable precincts of Tezcoco, "the place of
rest."

At Tezcoco, Cortez was firmly planted on the eastern edge of
the valley of Mexico, in full sight of the capital which lay across
the lake, near its western shore, at the distance of about twelve
miles. Behind him, towards the sea-coast, he commanded the
country, as we have already related, while, by passes through
lower spurs of the mountains, he might easily communicate with
the valleys of which the Tlascalans and Cholulans were masters.

Fortifying himself strongly in his dwelling and in the quarters
of his men, in Tezcoco, he at once applied himself to the task
of securing such military positions in the valley and in the neigh-
borhood of the great causeway between the lakes as would com-
mand an outlet from the capital by land, and enable him to
advance across the waters of Tezcoco without the annoyance of
enemies who might sally forth from strongholds on his left flank.
On his right, the chain of lakes, extending farther than the eye
can reach, furnished the best protection he could desire. Accord-
ingly, he first of all reduced and destroyed the ancient city of
Iztapalapan, — a place of fifty thousand inhabitants, distant about
six leagues from the town of Tezcoco, — which was built on the
narrow isthmus dividing the lake of that name from the waters of
Chalco. He next directed his forces against the city of Chalco,
lying on the eastern extremity of the lake that bore, its name,
where his army was received in triumph by the peaceful citizens
after the evacuation of the Mexican garrison. Such were the
chief of his military and precautionary expeditions, until the
arrival of the materials for the boats or brigantines which Martin
Lopez, and his four Spanish assistant carpenters, had already
8

;

58 MILITARY EXPEDITIONS OF CORTEZ IN THE VALLEY.

put together and tried on the waters of Zahuapan ; and which,
after a successful experiment, they had taken to pieces again and
borne in fragments to Tezcoco.

Early in the spring of 1521, CorJ^z entrusted his garrison at
Tezcoco to Sandoval, and, with three hundred and fifty Spaniards,
and nearly all his Indian allies, departed on an expedition designed
to reconnoitre the capital. He passed from his stronghold north-
wardly around the head of the lakes north of Tezcoco, — one of
which is now called San Cristoval, — and took possession of the
insular town of Xaltocan. Passing thence along the western
edge of the vale of Anahuac or Mexico, he reached the city of
Tacuba, west of the capital, with which so many disastrous recol-
lections were connected on his first sad exit from the imperial city.
During this expedition the troops of the conqueror were almost
daily engaged in skirmishes with the guerilla forces of the Aztecs ;
yet, notwithstanding their constant annoyance and stout resistance,
the Spaniards were invariably successful and even managed to
secure some booty of trifling value. After a fortnight of rapid
marching, fighting and reconnoitering, Cortez and his men re-
turned to Tezcoco. Here he was met by an embassy from the
friendly Chalcans and pressed for a sufficient force to sustain them
against the Mexicans, who despatched the warriors of certain
neighboring and loyal strongholds to annoy the inhabitants of a
town which had exhibited a desire to fraternize with the invading
Spaniards. Indeed, the Aztecs saw the importance of maintaining
the control of a point which commanded the most important
avenue to their capital from the Atlantic coast. The wearied
troops of Cortez were in no plight to respond to the summons of
the Chalcans at that moment, for their hurried foray and incessant
conflicts with the enemy had made them anxious for the repose
they might justly expect in Tezcoco. Nevertheless, Cortez did
not choose to rely upon his naval enterprise alone ; but, conscious
as he was of holding the main key of the land as well as water, he
despatched, without delay, his trusty Sandoval with three hundred
Spanish infantry and twenty horse to protect the town of Chalco
and reduce the hostile fortifications in its vicinity. This duty he
soon successfully performed. But the Aztecs renewed the assault
on Chalco with a fleet of boats, and were again beaten off with the
loss of a number of their nobles, who were delivered by the victors
to Sandoval whom Cortez had sent back to support the contested
town as soon as the news of the fresh attack reached him.

OPERATIONS AT CHALCO AND CUERNAVACA.

By this time the brigantines were nearly completed, and the
canal dug by which they were to be carried to the waters of the
lake, for, at that time, the town of Tezcoco was distant from its
margin. He dared not trust these precious materials for his future
success beyond the shelter of his citadel in Tezcoco, since every
effort had been already made by hostile and marauding parties to
destroy them ; and he was therefore obliged to undergo the trouble
of digging this canal, about half a league in length, in order to
launch his vessels when the moment for final action arrived.

Nor was his heart uncheered by fresh arrivals from the old
world. Two hundred men, well provided with arms and ammuni-
tion, and with upwards of seventy horses, — coming most probably
from Hispaniola, — found their way from Vera Cruz to Tezcoco,
and united themselves with the corps of Cortez.

In the meantime the Emperor again directed his arms against
his recreant subjects of Chalco, which he seemed resolved to
subdue and hold at all hazards, so as effectually to cut off the most
important land approach to his capital. Envoys arrived in the
Spanish camp with reports of the danger that menaced them, and
earnest appeals for efficient support. This time, Cortez resolved
to lead the party destined for this service, and, on the 5th of April,
set out with thirty horsemen, three hundred infantry and a large
body of Tlascalans and Tezcocans, to succor a city whose neu-
trality, at least, it was important, as we have already shown,
should eventually be secured. He seems to have effected, by his
personal influence in Chalco and its neighborhood, what his lieu-
tenant Sandoval had been unable to do by arms, so that, he not
only rendered a large number of loyal Aztecs passive, but even
secured the co-operation of additional auxiliaries from among the
Chalcans and the tribes that dwelt on the borders of their lake.

Cortez was not, however, content with this demonstration
against his near neighbors, but, resolved, now that he was once
more in the saddle, to cross the sierra that hemmed in the vale
of Anahuac, on the south, and to descend its southern slopes on a
visit to the warmer regions that basked at their feet. Accordingly
he prosecuted his southern march through large bodies of harass-
ing skirmishers, who hung upon the rear and flanks of his troop,
and annoyed it with arrows and missiles, which they hurled from
the crags as his men thrided the narrow defiles of the mountains.
Passing through Huaxtepec and Jauhtepec, he arrived on the ninth
day of his march, before the strong town of Guauhnahuac, or
Cuernavaca, as it is now known in the geography of Mexico. It

60 XOCHIMILCO RETURN TO TACUBA.

was the capital of the Tlahuicas, and an important and wealthy
tributary of the Aztecs. Here too he encountered hostile resist-
ance which he quickly overcame. His name as a successful
warrior had preceded him among these more effeminate races, and
the trembling lords of the territory soon submitted to his mercy.
Departing from Cuernavaca, Cortez turned again northwards, and
ascending the sierra in a new direction re-entered the valley of
Anahuac or Mexico, by the main route which now penetrates the
southern portion of its rim. From the summits of these moun-
tains, where the cool air of the temperate clime sings through the
limbs and tassels of hardy pines, Cort6z swooped down upon
Xochimilco, or the " field of flowers," where he was again
encountered by guerillas and more formidable squadrons from
the Aztec capital which was but twelve miles distant. Here,
again, after several turns in the tide of fortune, the Spaniards were
triumphant and obtained a rich booty. From Xochimilco the little
band and the auxiliaries advanced, among continual dangers,
around the western margin of the lakes, and, skirting the feet of
the mountains, attained, once more, the town of Tacuba.

The conqueror had thus circled the valley, and penetrated the
adjacent southern vale, in his two expeditions. Wherever he
went, the strange weapons of his Spaniards, the singular appear-
ance of his mounted men, and his uniform success, served to
inspire the natives with a salutary dread of his mysterious power.
He now knew perfectly the topography of the country, — for he
was forced to be his own engineer as well as general. He had
become acquainted with the state of the Aztec defences, as well as
with the slender hold the central power of the empire retained over
the tributary tribes, towns, and districts which had been so often
vexed by taxation to support a voluptuous sovereign and avaricious
aristocracy. He found the sentiment of patriotic union and loyalty
but feeble among the various populations he visited. The ties of
international league had every where been adroitly loosened by the
conqueror, either through his eloquence or his weapons ; and, from
all his careful investigations, both of character and country, he had
reason to believe that the realm of Mexico was at length almost
within his grasp. The capital was now encircled with a cordon
of disloyal cities. Every place of importance had been visited,
conquered, subdued, or destroyed in its moral courage or natural
allegiance. But Tacuba was too near the capital to justify him in
trusting his jaded band within so dangerous a neighborhood.

cortez returns to tezcoco and is reinforced. 61

Accordingly, he did not delay a day in that city, but, gathering his
soldiers as soon as they were refreshed, he departed for Tezcoco
by the northern journey around the lakes. His way was again
beset with difficulties. The season of rain and storm in those lofty
regions had just set in. The road was flooded, and the soldiers
were forced to plough through mud in drenched garments. But
as they approached their destination, Sandoval came forth to meet
them, with companions who had freshly arrived from the West
Indies ; and, besides, he bore the cheering news that the brigan-
tines were ready to be launched for the last blow at the heart of
the empire.

CHAPTER VIII
1521.

CORTEZ RETURNS CONSPIRACY AMONG HIS MEN DETECTED.

EXECUTION OF VILLAFANA BRIGANTINES LAUNCHED. XICO

TENCATL'S TREASON AND EXECUTION. DISPOSITION OF FORCES

TO ATTACK THE CITY. SIEGE AND ASSAULTS ON THE CITY.

FIGHT AND REVERSES OF THE SPANIARDS. SACRIFICE OF CAP-
TIVES FLIGHT OF ALLIES. CONTEST RENEWED STARVA-
TION.

The return of Cortez to his camp, after all the toils of his
arduous expedition, was not hailed with unanimous delight by
those who had hitherto shared his dangers and successes, since
the loss of the capital. There were persons in the small band
of Spaniards, — especially among those who had been added from
the troops of Narvaez, — who still brooded over the disaffection
and mutinous feelings which had been manifested at Tlascala
before the march to Tezcoco. They were men who eagerly
nocked to the standard of the conqueror for plunder; whose
hearts were incapable of appreciating the true spirit of glorious
adventure in the subjugation of an empire, and who despised
victories that were productive of nothing but fame.

These discontented men conspired, about this period, under the
lead of Antonio Villafana, a common soldier ; and it was the design
of the recreant band to assassinate Sandoval, Olid and Alvarado,
together with Cortez, and other important men who were known
to be deepest in the General's councils or interests. After the
death of these leaders, — with whose fall the enterprise would
doubtless have perished, — a brother-in-law of Velasquez, by name
Francisco Verdugo, who was altogether ignorant of the designs of
the conspirators, was to be placed in command of the panic-
stricken troop, which, it was supposed, would instantly unite
under the new general.

It was the project of these wretched dastards to assault and
despatch the conqueror and his officers whilst engaged in opening

KXECUTION OF VILLAFANA BRIGANTINES LAUNCHED. 63

despatches, which were to be suddenly presented, as if just arrived
from Castile. But, a day before the consummation of the treach-
ery, one of the party threw himself at the feet of Cortez and
betrayed the project, together with the fact, that, in the possession
of Villafana, would be found a paper containing the names of his
associates in infamy.

Cort6z immediately summoned the leaders whose lives were
threatened, and, after a brief consultation, the party hastened to
the quarters of Villafana accompanied by four officers. The arch
conspirator was arrested, and the paper wrested from him as he
attempted to swallow it. He was instantaneously tried by a
military court, — and, after brief time for confession and shrift,
was swung by the neck from the casement of his quarters. The
prompt and striking sentence was executed before the army knew
of the crime ; and the scroll of names being destroyed by Cort6z,
the memory of the meditated treachery was forever buried in
oblivion. The commander, however, knew and marked the men
whose participation had been so unexpectedly revealed to him;
but he stifled all discontent by letting it be understood that the
only persons who suffered for the shameful crime had made no
confession ! He could not spare men from his thin ranks even at
the demand of justice ; for even the felons who sought his life
were wanted in the toils and battles of his great and final enter-
prise.

It was on the 28th of April, 1521, amid the solemn services of
religion, and in the presence of the combined army of Spaniards
and Indians, that the long cherished project of launching the
brigantines was finally accomplished. They reached the lake
safely through the canal which had been dug for them from the
town of Tezcoco.

The Spanish forces, designed to operate in this last attack,
consisted of eighty-seven horse and eight hundred and eighteen
infantry, of which one hundred and eighteen were arquebusiers
and crossbowmen. Three large iron field pieces and fifteen brazen
falconets formed the ordnance. A plentiful supply of shot and
balls, together with fifty thousand copper-headed arrows, composed
the ammunition. Three hundred men were sent on board the twelve
vessels which were used in the enterprise, for unfortunately, one of
the thirteen that were originally ordered to be built, proved useless
upon trial. The navigation of these brigantines, each one of which
carried a piece of heavy cannon, was, of course, not difficult, for

1

64 xicotencatl's treason and execution.

although the waters of the lake have evidently shrunken since the
days of the conquest, it is not probable that it was more than
three or four feet deeper than at present.1 The distance to be
traversed from Tezcoco to the capital was about twelve miles, and
the subsequent service was to be rendered in the neighborhood of
the causeways, and under the protection of the walls of the city.

The Indian allies from Tlascala came up in force at the ap-
pointed time. These fifty thousand well equipped men were led
by Xicotencatl, who, as the expedition was about to set forth by
land and water for the final attack, seems to have been seized
with a sudden panic, and deserted his standard with a number
of followers. There was no hope for conquest without the alliance
and loyal support of the Tlascalans. The decision of Cortez upon
the occurrence of this dastardly act of a man in whose faith he had
religiously confided, although he knew he was not very friendly to
the Spaniards, was prompt and terribly severe. A chosen band
was directed to follow the fugitive even to the walls of Tlascala.
There, the deserter was arrested, brought fcack to Tezcoco, and
hanged on a lofty gallows in the great square of that city. This
man, says Prescott, "was the only Tlascalan who swerved from his
loyalty to the Spaniards."

All being now prepared, Cortez planned his attack. It will be
recollected that the city of Mexico rose, like Venice, from the
bosom of the placid waters, and that its communication with the
main land was kept up by the great causeways which were described
in the earlier portion of this narrative. The object of the con-
queror, therefore, was to shut up the capital, and cut off all access
to the country by an efficient blockade of the lake, with his brigan-
tines, and of the land with his infantry and cavalry. Accordingly
he distributed his forces into three bodies or separate camps. The
first of these, under Pedro de Alvarado, consisting of thirty horse,
one hundred and sixty-eight Spanish infantry, and twenty-five thou-
sand Tlascalans, was to command the causeway of Tacuba. The
second division, of equal magnitude, under Olid, was to be posted
at Cojohuacan, so as to command the causeways that led eastwardly
into the city. The third equal corps of the Spanish army was
entrusted to Sandoval, but its Indian force was to be drawn from
native allies at Chalco. Alvarado and Olid were to proceed

1 The writer sounded the lake in the channel from Mexico to Tezcoco in 1842,
and did not find more than 2| feet in the deepest path. The Indians, at
present, wade over all parts of the lake.

DISPOSITION OF FORCES TO ATTACK THE CITY. 65

around the northern head of the lake of Tezcoco, whilst Sandoval,
supported by Cortez with the brigantines, passed around the
southern portion of it, to complete the destruction of the town of
Iztapalapan, which was deemed by the conqueror altogether too
important a point to be left in the rear. In the latter part of May,
1521, all these cavaliers got into their assigned military positions,
and it is from this period that the commencement of the siege of
Mexico is dated, although Alvarado had previously had some con-
flicts with the people on the causeway that led to his head quarters
in Tacuba, and had already destroyed the pipes that fed the water-
tanks and fountains of the capital.

At length Cortez set sail with his flotilla in order to sustain
Sandoval's march to Iztapalapan. As he passed across the lake
and under the shadow of the " rock of the Marquis," he descried
from his brigantines several hundred canoes of the Mexicans filled
with soldiers and advancing rapidly over the calm lake. There
was no wind to swell his sails or give him command of his vessels'
motion, and the conqueror was obliged to await the arrival of the
canoes without making such disposition for action as was needful
in the emergency. But as the Indian squadron approached, a
breeze suddenly sprang up, and Cortez, widening his line of
battle, bore down upon the frail skiffs, overturning, crushing and
sinking them by the first blow of his formidable prows, whilst he
fired to the right and left amid the discomfitted flotilla. But few
of these Indian boats returned to the canals of the city, and this
signal victory made Cortez, forever after, the undisputed master
of the lake.

The conqueror took up his head quarters at Xoloc, where the
causeway of Cojohuacan met the great causeway of the south.
The chief avenues to Mexico had been occupied for some time, as
has been already related, but either through ignorance or singular
neglect, there was the third great causeway, of Tepejacac, on the
north, which still afforded the means of communication with the
people of the surrounding country. This had been altogether
neglected. Alvarado was immediately ordered to close this outlet,
and Sandoval took up his position on the dyke. Thus far the
efforts of the Spaniards and auxiliaries had been confined to
precautionary movements rather than to decisive assaults upon the
capital. But it soon became evident that a city like Mexico might
hold out long against a blockade alone. Accordingly an attack
was ordered by Cortez to be made by the two commanders at the
other military points nearest their quarters. The brigantines sailed
9

QQ SIEGE AND ASSAULTS ON THE CITY.

along the sides of the causeways, and aided by their enfilading
fires, the advance of the squadrons on land. The infantry and
cavalry advanced upon the great avenue that divided the town from
north to south. Their heavy guns were brought up and soon
mowed a path for the musketeers and crossbowmen. The flying
enemy retreated towards the great square in the centre of the city,
and were followed by the impetuous Spaniards and their Indian
allies. The outer wall of the Great Temple, itself, was soon
passed by the hot-blooded cavaliers, some of whom rushed up the
stairs and circling corridors of the Teocalli, whence they pushed
the priests over the sides Of the pyramid and tore off the golden
mask and jewels of the Aztec war-god. But the small band of
invaders had, for a moment only, appalled the Mexicans, who
rallied in numbers at this daring outrage, and sprang vindictively
upon the sacrilegious assailants. The Spaniards and their allies
fled ; but the panic with which they were seized deprived their
retreat of all order or security. Cortez, himself, was unable to
restore discipline, when suddenly, a troop of Spanish horsemen
dashed into the thick of the fight, and intimidating the Indians, by
their superstitious fears of cavalry, they soon managed to gather
and form the broken files of their Spanish and Indian army, so
that, soon after the hour of vespers, the combined forces drew
off with their artillery and ammunition to the barrack at Xoloc.

About this period, the inhabitants of Xochimilco and some tribes
of rude but valiant Otomies gave in their adhesion to the Span-
iards. The Prince of Tezcoco, too, despatched fifty thousand
levies to the aid of Cortez. Thus strengthened, another attack
was made upon the city. Most of the injuries which had been
done to the causeways in the first onslaught had been repaired, so
that the gates of the capital, and finally the great square, were
reached by the Spaniards with nearly as great difficulty as upon
their former attempt. But this time the invaders advanced more
cautiously into the heart of the city, where they fired and destroyed
their ancient quarters in the old palace of Axayacatl and the
edifices adjoining the royal palace on the other side of the square.
These incursions into the capital were frequently repeated by
Cortez, nor were the Mexicans idle in their systematic plans to
defeat the Spaniards. All communication with the country, by
the causeways was permanently interrupted ; yet the foe stealthily,
and in the night, managed to evade the vigilance of the twelve
cruisers whose numbers were indeed insufficient to maintain a
stringent naval blockade of so large a city as Mexico. But the

I

FIGHT AND REVERSES OF THE SPANIARDS. 67

success of Cortez, in all his engagements by land and water, his
victorious incursions into the very heart of the city, and the general
odium which was cherished against the central power of the empire
by all the tributary tribes and dependant provinces, combined, at
this moment, to aid the efforts of the conqueror in cutting off sup-
plies from the famishing capital. The great towns and small
villages in the neighborhood threw off their allegiance, and the
camps, of the Spanish leaders thronged with one hundred and fifty
thousand auxiliaries selected from among the recreants. The
Spaniards were amply supplied with food from these friendl)
towns, and never experienced the sufferings from famine that were
soon to overtake the beleagured capital.

At length the day was fixed for a general assault upon the city
by the two divisions under Alvarado and Cortez. As usual, the
battle was preceded by the celebration of mass, and the army then
advanced in three divisions up the most important streets. They
entered the town, cast down the barricades which had been erected
to impede their progress, and, with remarkable ease, penetrated
even to the neighborhood of the market-place. But the very
facility of their advance alarmed the cautious mind of Cortez, and
induced him to believe that this slack resistance was but designed
to seduce him farther and farther within the city walls until he
found himself beyond the reach of succor or retreat. This made
him pause. His men, more eager for victory and plunder than
anxious to secure themselves by filling up the canals and clearing
the streets of their impediments, had rushed madly on without
taking proper precaution to protect their rear, if the enemy became
too hot in front. Suddenly the horn of Guatemozin was heard
from a neighboring Teocalli, and the flying Indians, at the sacred
and warning sound, turned upon the Spaniards with all the
mingled feeling of reinspired revenge and religion. For a while
the utmost disorder prevailed in the ranks of the invaders, Span-
iards, Tlascalans, Tezcocans and Otomies, were mixed in a com-
mon crowd of combatants. From the tops of houses ; from con-
verging streets; from the edges of canals, — crowds of Aztecs
swarmed and poured their vollies of javelins, arrows and stones.
Many were driven into the lake. Cortez himself had nigh fallen a
victim in the dreadful melee, and was rescued with difficulty.
Meanwhile, Alvarado and Sandoval had penetrated the city from
the western causeway, and aided in stemming the onslaught of
the Aztecs. For a while the combined forces served to check the

68 SACRIFICE OF CAPTIVES FLIGHT OF ALLIES.

boiling tide of battle sufficiently to enable those who were most
sorely pressed to be gradually withdrawn, yet not until sixty-two
Spaniards and a multitude of allies, besides many killed and
wounded, had fallen captives and victims in the hands of their
implacable enemies.

It was yet day when the broken band withdrew from the city,
and returned to the camps either on the first slopes of the hills, or
at the terminations of the causeways. But sad, indeed, was the
spectacle that presented itself to their eyes, as they gazed towards
the city, through the clear atmosphere of those elevated regions,
when they heard the drum sound from the top of the Great Teo-
calli. It was the dread signal of sacrifice. The wretched Span-
iards, who had been captured in the fight, were, one after another,
stretched on the stone in front of the hideous idols, and their reek-
ing hearts, torn from their bosoms, thrown as propitiating morsels
into the flames before the deities. The mutilated remains of the
captives were then flung down the steep sides of the pyramid, to
glut the crowds at its base with a " cannibal repast."

Whilst these repulses and dreadful misfortunes served to dispirit
the Spaniards and elate the Aztecs, they were not without their
signally bad effects upon the auxiliaries. Messages were sent to
these insurgent bodies by the Emperor. He conjured them to
return to their allegiance. He showed them how bravely their out-
raged gods had been revenged. He spoke of the reverses that
had befallen the white men in both their invasions, and warned
them that a parricidal war like this could " come to no good for
the people of Anahuac." Otomies, Cholulans, Tepeacans, Tezco-
cans, and even the loyal Tlascalans, the hereditary enemies of the
Montezumas and Guatemozins, stole off secretly under the cover
of night. There were of course exceptions in this inglorious
desertion; but it seems that perhaps the majority of the tribes
departed for their homes with the belief that the tide had turned
against the Spanish conqueror and that it was best to escape
before it was too late, the scandal or danger of open treason
against their lawful Emperor. But, amid all these disasters, the
noble heart of Cortez remained firm and true to his purpose. He
placed his artillery again in position upon the causeways, and,
never wasting his ammunition, contrived to husband it carefully
until the assaulting Aztecs swarmed in such numbers on the
dykes that his discharges mowed them down like grass as
they advanced to attack him. It was a gloomy time, requiring

CONTEST RENEWED

STARVATION.

69

vigilance by day and by night — by land and by water. The
brigantines were still secure. They swept the lake continually
and cut off supplies designed for the capital. The Spaniards
hermetically sealed the causeways with their cannon, and thus, at
length, was the city that would not yield to storm given over to
starvation.

CHAPTER IX.

1521.

AZTEC PREDICTION IT IS NOT VERIFIED. CORTEZ REINFORCED

BY FRESH ARRIVALS. FAMINE IN THE CITY. CORTEZ LEVELS

THE CITY TO ITS FOUNDATION. CONDITION OF THE CAPITAL-
ATTACK RENEWED. CAPTURE OF GUATEMOZIN SURRENDER

OF THE CITY. FRIGHTFUL CONDITION OF THE CITY.

The desertion of numerous allies, which we have noticed in the
last chapter, was not alone prompted by the judgment of the flying
Indians, but was stimulated in a great degree by the prophecy of
the Aztec priests, that, within eight days from the period of predic-
tion, the beleagured city would be delivered from the Spaniards.
But the sun rose on the ninth over the inexorable foes still in posi-
tion on the causeways and on the lake. The news was soon sent
by the allies who had remained faithful, to those who had fled, and
the deficient ranks were quickly restored by the numbers who
flocked back to the Spanish standard as soon as they were relieved
from superstitious fear.

About this time, moreover, a vessel that had been destined for
Ponce de Leon, in his romantic quest of Florida, put into Vera
Cruz with ammunition and military stores, which were soon
forwarded to the valley. Thus strengthened by his renerved
Indian auxiliaries, and reinforced with Spanish powder and guns,
Cortez was speedily again in train to assail the capital ; for he was
not content to be idle except when the most serious disasters
forced him to endure the slow and murderous process of subduing
the city by famine. There may, perhaps, be something noble and
chivalrous in this feeling of the Castilian hero. His heart revolted
at the sight of misery inflicted without a chance of escape, and it
delighted in those conflicts which matched man with man, and
gave the ultimate victory to valor and not to stratagem.

cortez levels the city to its foundation. 71

Accordingly the conqueror resolved again to commence active
hostilities. But, this time, he designed to permit no hazards of the
moment, and no personal carelessness of his officers to obstruct his
entry or egress from the city. As he advanced the town was to be
demolished; the canals filled up; the breaches in the dykes per-
fectly repaired ; and, as he moved onwards to the north and west, he
determined that his path should be over a level and solid surface
on which he might encounter none of the dangers that had hitherto
proved so disastrous. The necessity of this course will be evident
when it is recollected that all the houses were terraced with ilat
roofs and protecting parapets, which sheltered the assailants,
whilst the innumerable canals bisecting the streets served as so
many pit-falls for cavalry, footmen and Indians, when they became
confused in the hurry of a promiscuous onset or retreat.

Meanwhile the Aztecs within the city suffered the pangs of
famine. The stores that had been gathered for the siege were
gone. Human bodies, roots, rats, reptiles, served for a season,
to assuage the famished stomachs of the starving crowds ; — when
suddenly, Cortez despatched three Aztec nobles to Guatemozin,
who were instructed to praise his defence, to assure him he had
saved the honor of himself and soldiery, and to point out the utter
uselessness of longer delay in submitting to inevitable fate. The
message of the conqueror was weighed by the court with more
favor than by the proud and spirited Emperor, whose patriotic
bosom burned at the disgraceful proposal of surrender. The
priests turned the tide against the white men ; and, after two days,
the answer to the summons came in a warlike sortie from the city
which well nigh swept the Spanish defenders from the dykes.
But cannon and musketry were too strong for mere numbers.
The vessels poured in their volumes of iron hail on the flanks, and
the last dread effort of defensive despair expired before the un-
flinching firmness of the Castilian squadrons. At length, Cortez
believed that the moment for final action had arrived. He gave
orders for the advance of the several corps of the army siinulta
neously by their several causeways ; and although it pained him
greatly to destroy a capital which he deemed " the gem of the
world," yet he put into execution his resolve to raze the city to its
foundation unless it surrendered at discretion. The number of
laborers was increased daily by the hosts that flocked like vultures
to the carcase of an expiring victim. The palaces, temples and
dwellings were plundered, thrown down, and cast into the canals

72 CONDITION OF THE CAPITAL ATTACK RENEWED.

The water was entirely excluded from the city. On all sides there
was fast and level land. But the Mexicans were not mere idle,
contemptible spectators of their imperial city's ruin. Day after
day squadrons sallied from the remains of the capital, and engaged
the harrassed invaders. Yet the indomitable constancy of the
Spaniards was not to be resisted. Cortez and Alvarado had toiled
onward towards each other, from opposite sides, till they met.
The palace of Guatemozin fell and was burned. The district of
Tlatelolco, in the north of the city, was reached, and the great
market-place secured. One of the great Teocallis, in this quarter,
was stormed, its sanctuaries burned, and the standard of Castile
placed on its summit. Havoc, death, ruin, starvation, despair,
hatred, were every where manifest. Every hour added to the
misery of the numerous and retreating Aztecs who were pent up,
as the besieging circle narrowed and narrowed by its advances.
Women remained three days and nights up to their necks in water
among the reeds. Hundreds died daily. Others became insane
from famine and thirst. ^

The conqueror hoped, for several days, that this disastrous con-
dition of the people would have induced the Emperor to come to
terms ; but, failing in this, he resolved upon a general assault.
Before he resorted to this dreadful alternative, which his chivalrous
heart taught him could result only in the slaughter of men so fam-
ished, dispirited and broken, he once more sought an interview
with the Emperor. This was granted ; but, at the appointed
time, Guatemozin did not appear. Again the appeal was renewed,
and, again, was Cortez disappointed in the arrival of the sovereign.
Nothing, then, remained for him but an assault, and, as may
readily be imagined, the carnage in this combined attack of Span-
iards and confederate Indians was indescribably horrible. The
, long endurance of the Aztecs ; their prolonged resistance and
cruelty to the Spaniards; the dreadful sacrifice of the captives
during the entire period of the siege ; the memory of the first ex-
pulsion, and the speedy hope of golden rewards, nerved the arms
and hearts of these ferocious men, and led them on, in the work of
revenge and conquest, until the sun sunk and night descended on
the tragic scene.

On the 13th of August, 1521, the last appeal wTas made by
Cortez to the Emperor for a surrender of his capital. After the
bloody scenes of the preceding day, and the increased misery of
the last night, it was not to be imagined that even insane patriot-
ism or savage madness could induce the sovereign to refrain from

CAPTURE OF GUATEMOZIN SURRENDER OF THE CITY. 73

saving, at least, the unfortunate non-combatants who still were
loyal to his throne and person. But the judgment of the con-
queror was wrong. " Guatemozin would die where he was ! " -
was the reply of the royal stoic.

Again the infuriate troops were let loose, and again were the
scenes of the day before re-enacted on the bloody theatre. Many
escaped in boats by the lake ; but the brave or reckless Guate-
mozin, who seems, at the last moment, to have changed his mind
as to perishing, was taken prisoner and brought, with his family,
into the presence of Cortez. As soon as his noble figure and dig-
nified face were seen on the azotea or terraced roof, beside the
conqueror, the battle ceased. The Indians beheld their monarch
captive ! And she who had witnessed the beginning of these
adventures, — who had followed the fortunes of the General through
all their vicissitudes — the gentle but brave Indian girl — Mari-
ana — stood by the intrepid Cortez to act as his interpreter in this
last scene of the splendid and eventful drama.

It was on the following day that the Mexicans who still sur-
vived the slaughter and famine, evacuated the city. It was a
desert — but a desert covered with dead. The men who rushed
in to plunder, — plundered as if robbing graves. Between one
and two hundred thousand people perished during the three
months' siege, and their festering bodies tainted the air. The booty,
though considerable, was far beneath the expectations of the con-
querors ; yet there was doubtless enough to reward amply the stout
men at arms who had achieved a victory unparalleled in the annals
of modern warfare.

" What I am going to say is truth, and I swear, and say Amen
to it!" — exclaims Bernal Diaz del Castillo, in his quaint style —
" I have read of the destruction of Jerusalem, but I cannot con-
ceive that the mortality there exceeded that of Mexico ; for all the
people from the distant provinces, which belonged to this empire,
had concentrated themselves here, where they mostly died. The -
streets, and squares, and houses, and the courts of the Tlatelolco
were covered with dead bodies; we could not step without
treading on them ; the lake and canals were filled with them, and
the stench was intolerable.

" When all those who had been able, quitted the city, we went
to examine it, which was as I have described ; and some poor
creatures were crawling about in different stages of the most offen-
10

74 FRIGHTFUL CONDITION OF THE CITY.

sivc disorders, the consequences of famine and improper food.
There was no water ; the ground had been torn up and the roots
gnawed. The very trees were stripped of their bark ; yet, not-
withstanding they usually devoured their prisoners, no instance
occurred when, amidst all the famine and starvation of this siege,
they preyed upon each other.1 The remnant of the population
went, at the request of the conquered Guatemozin, to the neigh-
boring villages, until the town could be purified and the dead
removed."

'This fact, as stated by Bernal Diaz, is doubted by some other writers, and
seems, unfortunately, not fully sustained by authority.

CHAPTER X.

1521.

DUTY OF A HISTORIAN. MOTIVES OF THE CONQUEST. CHAR-
ACTER AND DEEDS OF CORTEZ. MATERIALS OF THE CON-
QUEST. ADVENTURERS PRIESTS INDIAN ALLIES. HIS-
TORICAL ASPECTS OF THE CONQUEST.

It is perhaps one of the most difficult duties of a historian, who
desires to present a faithful picture of a remote age, to place himself
in such a position as to draw the moral from his story with justice
to the people and the deeds he has described. He is obliged to
forget, not only his individuality and all the associations or preju-
dices with which he has grown up surrounded, but he must, in
fact, endeavor to make himself a man and an actor in the age of
which he writes. He must sympathize justly, but impartially, with
the past, and estimate the motives of his fellow beings in the epoch
he describes. He must measure his heroes, not by the standard of
advanced Christian civilization under which he has been educated,
but by the scale of enlightened opinion wThich was then acknow-
ledged by the most respectable and intellectual classes of society.

When we approach the Conquest of Mexico with these impartial
feelings, we are induced to pass lighter judgments on the prominent
men of that wonderful enterprise. The love of adventure or glory,
the passion of avarice, and the zeal of religion, — all of which
mingled their threads with the meshes of this Indian web, were,
unquestionably, the predominant motives that led the conquerors
to Mexico. In some of them, a single one of these impulses was
sufficient to set the bold adventurer in motion ; — in others, perhaps,
they were all combined. The necessary rapidity of our narra-
tive has confined us more to the detail of prominent incidents than
we would have desired had it been our task to disclose the won-
Irous tale of the conquest alone ; but it would be wrong, even in

76 CHARACTER AND DEEDS OF CORTEZ.

the briefest summary of the enterprise, to pass from the topic
without awarding to the moving spirit of the romantic drama the
fair estimate which his character and deeds demand.

We have ever regarded Hernando Cortez as the great con-
troling spirit and embodiment of the conquest, regardless of
the brilliant and able men who were grouped around him,
all of whom, tempered and regulated by his genius, moved the
military machine, step by step, and act by act, until the capital fell
before the united armies of discontented Indians and invading
Spaniards. It was in the mind of this remarkable personage that
every scheme appears to have originated and ripened. This is the
report of the most authentic contemporaries. He took counsel, it
is true, of his captains, and heard the reports of Sandoval, Olid,
and Alvarado ; but whenever a great enterprise, in all the wonder-
ful and varied combinations of this adventure, was to be carried
into successful execution, it was Cortez himself who planned it,
placed himself at its head, and fought in its midst. The rash
youth whom we saw either idling over his tasks at school, or a
reckless stripling as he advanced in life, seems to have mellowed
suddenly into greatness under the glow of Indian suns which
would have emasculated a character of less rude or nervous
strength. As soon as a project, worthy of the real power of his
genius, presented itself to his mind and opened to his grasp, he
became a sobered, steadfast, serious, discreet man. He was at
once isolated by his superiority, and contrived to retain, by his
wisdom in command, the superiority which was so perfectly mani-
fested by this isolation. This alone, was no trifling task. His
natural adroitness not only taught him quickly the value of every
man in his command, but also rendered keener the tact by which
he strove to use those men when their talents, for good or evil,
were once completely ascertained. There were jealousies of
Cortez, but no rivalries. Men from the ranks conspired to dis-
place him, but no leader ever ventured, or perhaps even conceived
the idea, whilst under his orders, of superceding the hero of the
Mexican conquest. The skill with which he won the loyal heart
of that clever Indian girl — his mistress and companion through
all the warfare, — discloses to us his power of attaching a sex
which is always quickest to detect merit and readiest to discard
conceit. We speak now of Cortez during that period of his
career when he was essentially the soul of the conquest, and in
which the stern demands of war upon his intellect and heart, did

.

MATERIALS OF THE CONQUEST. 77

not allow him to sleep for a moment on his post, or to tamper
with the elements upon which he relied for success. In all this
time he made but few mistakes. The loss of the capital during
the first visit is not to be attributed to him. The stain of that
calamity must rest forever upon the escutcheon of Alvarado,
for the irreparable harm was already done when Cortez returned
from the subjugation of Narvaez.

Nor is it alone as a soldier, at this time, that we are called on
to appreciate the talents of our hero. Whilst he planned, fought,
travelled, retreated, and diplomatised, he kept an accurate account
of the adventures of his troop ; and, in his celebrated letters to
the Emperor, he has presented us a series of military memoirs,
which, after three hundred years, furnish, in reality, the best, but
least pretending, narrative of the conquest. Other contemporaries,
looking upon the scenes from a variety of points, may serve to add
interesting details and more copious illustration to the story ; but
they support without diminishing the value and truth of the
despatches of Cortez.

The conqueror, in truth, was one of those men whose minds
seem to reach results intuitively. Education often ripens genius,
as the genial sun and air mature the fruits of the earth which
would languish without them. But we sometimes find individuals
whose dealings on earth are to be chiefly in energetic and constant
action with their fellow creatures, and who are gifted with a finer
tact which enables them to penetrate the hearts of all they
approach, and by this skilful detection of character are empowered
to mould them to their purposes. There are, it is true, many
subordinate qualities, besides the mere perceptive faculties, that
are needful in such a person. He must possess self-control and dis-
crimination in a remarkable degree. His courage and self-reliance
must be unquestionable. He must be able to win by gentleness
as well as to control by command or to rule by stratagem ; foi
there are persons whom neither kindness, reason nor authority can
lead, but who are nevertheless too important to be disregarded in
such an enterprise as that of the conquest of Mexico.

Nor is our admiration of the characteristics we have endeavored
to sketch, diminished when we examine the elements of the ori-
ginal army that flocked to the standard of Cortez. The Spanish
court and camps, — the Spanish towns and sea-ports, — had sent
forth a motley band to the islands. The sedate and worthier por-
tions of Castdian society were not wooed abroad by the alluring
accounts of the New World and its prolific wealth. They did

78 ADVENTURERS PRIESTS INDIAN ALLIES.

not choose to leave hereditary homes and comfortable emolument
which made those homes the permanent abodes of contentment if
not of luxury. But there were others in the dense crowds of
Spain whose habits, disposition and education, fostered in them all
the love of ease and elegance, without bestowing the means
of gratifying their desires. These men regarded the New-
World as a short and easy road to opulence and distinction.
There were others too, whose reckless or dissipated habits had
wasted their fortunes and blasted their names in their native
towns, and who could not bear to look upon the scenes of their
youth, or the companions of their more fortunate days, whilst
poverty and disgrace deprived them of the rights of free and equal
social intercourse. These were the poor and proud; — the noisy
and the riotous; — the soldier, half bandit, half warrior; — the
sailor, half mutineer, half pirate ; — the zealot whose bigotry mag-
nified the dangers of Indian life into the glory of martyrdom; and
the avaricious man who dreamed that the very sands of the Indian
Isles were strewn with gems and gold. Among all this mass of
wayward lust and ambition, there were some lofty spirits whose
love of glory, whose passionate devotion to adventure, and whose
genuine anxiety to spread the true word of God among the infidels,
sanctified and adorned the enterprise, whilst their personal efforts
and influence were continually directed towards the noble purpose
of redeeming it from cruelty. These men recollected that pos-
terity would set its seal upon their deeds, whilst many of them
acted from a higher and purer Christian motive, devoid of all
that narrow selfishness with which others kept their eyes fixed on
the present and the future for the popular opinion that was to dis-
grace or dignify them on the pages of history.

Such were the Spanish materials of the armies with which
Cortez invaded Mexico ; and yet, even with all the masterly genius
he possessed to mould and lead such discordant elements, what
could he have substantially effected, against the Aztec Empire,
with his handful of men, — armed, mounted and equipped as they
were, — without his Indian allies ? These he had to conquer, to
win, to control, to bind to him, forever, with the chains of an in-
destructible loyalty. He did not even know their language, but
relied on the double interpretation of an Indian girl and a Spanish
soldier. Nor is it less remarkable that he not only gained these
allies, but preserved their fealty, not in success alone, but under
the most disheartening disaster, when it was really their interest to

HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF THE CONQUEST. 79

destroy rather than to sustain him, and when not only their alle-
giance but their religion invoked a dreadful vengeance on the sac-
religious hands that despoiled their temples, overthrew their Gods,
and made a jest of their most sacred rites. It was, indeed, not
only a victory over the judgments, but over the superstitions, of
an excitable, ardent and perhaps unreflective nation ; and, in what-
ever aspect we regard the man who effected it solely by the
omnipotence of his will, we are more and more forced to admire
the majesty of his genius and the fortune or providence that made
him a chosen and conspicuous instrument in the development of
our continent.

The conquest of Mexico, — in its relation to the rest of the
world, — has a double aspect, worthy of examination. The sub-
sequent history and condition of the country, which we design to
treat in the following pages, will develope one of these topics; —
the condition of the country, at the period of the conquest, will
disclose another, whilst it palliates, if it does not altogether
apologize for the cruelties and apparent rapine by which the
subjugation of the empire was effected.

CHAPTER XI
1521—1522.

DISCONTENT AT NOT FINDING GOLD TORTURE OF GUATEMOZIN.-

RESULTS OF THE FALL OF THE CAPITAL. MISSION FROM

MICHOACAN. REBUILDING OF THE CAPITAL. LETTERS TO

THE KING. INTRIGUES AGAINST CORTEZ FONSECA NAR-

VAEZ — -TAPIA. CHARLES V. PROTECTS CORTEZ AND CONFIRMS

HIS ACTS.

The capital had no sooner fallen and the ruins been searched
in vain for the abundant treasures which the conquerors imagined
were hoarded by the Aztecs, than murmurs of discontent broke
forth in the Spanish camp against Cortez for his supposed conceal-
ment of the plunder. There was a mingled sentiment of distrust
both of the conqueror and Guatemozin ; and, at last, the queru-
lousness and taunts rose to such an offensive height, that it was
resolved to apply the torture to the dethroned prince in order to
wrest from him the secret hiding place of his ancestral wealth.
We blush to record that Cortez consented to this iniquity, but it
was probably owing to an avaricious and mutinous spirit in his
ranks which he was unable at the moment to control. The same
Indian stoicism that characterised the unfortunate prince during
the war, still nerved him in his hours of abject disaster. He bore
the pangs without quivering or complaint and without revealing
any thing that could gratify the Spanish lust of gold, save that
vast quantities of the precious metal had been thrown into the
lake, — from which but little was ultimately recovered even by the
most expert divers.

The news of the fall of Mexico was soon spread from sea to sea,
and couriers were despatched by distant tribes and princes to
ascertain the truth of the prodigious disaster. The independent
kingdom of Michoacan, lying between the vale of Anahuac or
Mexico and the Pacific, was one of the first to send its envoys,

REBUILDING OF THE CAPITAL LETTERS TO THE KING. 81

and finall) even its king, to the capital; — and two small detach-
ments of Spaniards returned with the new visiters, penetrating
their country and passing with them even to the waters of the
western ocean itself, on whose shores they planted the cross in
token of rightful possession. They returned by the northern dis-
tricts, and brought with them the first specimens of gold and pearls
from the region now known as California.

It was not long, however, before Cortez resolved to make his
conquest available by the re-construction of the capital that he had
been forced reluctantly to mutilate and partly level during the
siege. The ancient city was nearly in ruins. The massive relics
of idolatry, and the huge stones of which the chief palaces had
been constructed, were cast into the canals. The desolation was
complete on the site of the ancient imperial residence. And the
Indians, who had served in the work of dilapidation, were even
compelled by their Spanish leader and his task masters to be the
principal laborers in the toil of building up a city which should
surpass in splendor the ancient pride of Anahuac.

Meanwhile the sagacious mind of Cortez was not only busy
with the present duties and occupations of his men in Mexico, but
began to dwell, — now that the intense excitement of active war
was over, — upon the condition of his relations with the Spanish
Court and the government in the islands. He despatched to
Castile, letters, presents, and the " royal fifth," together with an
enormous emerald whose base was as broad as the palm of his
hand. With the General's missives, went a letter from his army,
commending the heroic leader, and beseeching its royal master to
confirm Cortez in his authority and to ratify all his proceedings.
Quinones and Avila, the two envoys, sailed for home ; but one of
them, lucklessly, perished in a brawl at the Azores, whilst Avila,
who resumed the voyage to Spain, after the loss of his companion,
was taken by a French privateer, who bore the spoils of the
Mexicans to the Court of Francis the First. The letters and de-
spatches of Cortez and his army, however, were saved, and Avila,
privately and safely forwarded them to the Spanish sovereign.

At the Court of Charles the Fifth there were, of course, numer-
ous intrigues against the successful conqueror. The hatred of
Velasquez had not been suffered to slumber in the breast of that
disappointed governor, and Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos, who was
chief of the colonial department, and doubtless adroitly plied and
stimulated by Velasquez, managed to obtain from the churchman,
11

82 INTRIGUES AGAINST CORTEZ FONSECA NARVAEZ TAPIA.

Adrian, who was Regent whilst the Emperor resided in Germany,
an order for the seizure of Cortez and the sequestration of his
property until the will of the court should be finally made known.
But, the avaricious Velasquez, the vindictive Fonseca, and the
Veedor Cristoval de Tapia, whom they employed to execute so
delicate and dangerous a commission against a man who at that
moment, was surrounded by faithful soldiers and whose troops had
been augmented by recent arrivals at Vera Cruz, — reasoned with
but little judgment when they planned their unjust and ungrateful
measures against Cortez. The commissioner, himself, seems to
have soon arrived at the same conclusion, for, scarcely had he
landed, before the danger of the enterprise and the gold of the
conquerer, persuaded him prudently to decline penetrating into the
heart of the country as the bearer of so ungrateful a reply to the
wishes of a hero whose genius and sword had given an empire,
and almost a world, to Spain.

Thus, at last, was Cortez, for a time, freed from the active hos-
tility of the Spanish Court, whilst he retained his authority over
his conquest merely by military right and power of forcible occu-
pation. But he did not remain idly contented with what he had
already done. His restless heart craved to compass the whole
continent, and to discover, visit, explore, whatever lay within the
reach of his small forces and of all who chose to swell them. He
continually pressed his Indian visiters for information concerning
the empire of the Montezumas and the adjacent territories of inde-
pendent kings or tributaries. Wherever discontent lifted its head,
or rebellious manifestations were made, he despatched sufficient
forces to whip the mutineers into contrite submission. The new
capital progressed apace, and stately edifices rose on the solid land
which his soldiers had formed out of the fragments of ancient
Mexico.

Whilst thus engaged in his newly-acquired domain, Narvaez,
his old enemy, and Tapia, his more recent foe, had reached the
Spanish Court, where, aided by Fonseca, they once more be-
stirred themselves in the foul labor of blasting the fame of Cortez,
and wresting from his grasp the splendid fruits of his valor.
Luckily, however, the Emperor returned, about this period, from
eastern Europe, and, from this moment the tide of intrigue seems
to have been stayed if not altogether turned. Reviled as he had
hitherto been in the purlieus of the court, Cortez was not without
staunch kinsmen and warm friends who stood up valiantly in his

CHARLES V. PROTECTS CORTEZ AND CONFIRMS HIS ACTS. 83

behalf, both before councils and king. His father, Don Martin,
and his friend, the Duke of Bejar, had been prominent among
many in espousing the cause of the absent hero, even before the
sovereign's return; — and now, the monarch, whose heart was not
indeed ungrateful for the effectual service rendered his throne by
the conqueror, and whose mind probably saw not only the justice
but the policy of preserving, unalienated, the fidelity and services
of so remarkable a personage, — soon determined to look leniently
upon all that was really censurable in the early deeds of Cortez.
Whilst Charles confirmed his acts in their full extent, he moreover
constituted him " Governor, Captain General and Chief Justice of
New Spain", with power to appoint to all offices, civil and military,
and to order any person to leave the country whose residence
there might be deemed prejudicial to the crown."

On the 15th of October, 1522, this righteous commission was
signed by Charles V., at Valladolid. A liberal salary was as-
signed the Captain General; his leading officers were crowned
with honors and emoluments, and the troops were promised liberal
grants of land. Thus, the wisdom of the king, and of the most
respectable Spanish nobility, finally crushed the mean, jealous,
or avaricious spirits who had striven to leave their slimy traces on
the fame of the conqueror ; whilst the Emperor, himself, with his
own hand, acknowledged the services of the troops and their
leader, in a letter to the Spanish army in Mexico.

Among the men who felt severely the censure implied by this
just and wise conduct of Charles V., was the ascetic Bishop of
Burgos, Fonseca, whose baleful influence had fallen alike upon
the discoveries of Columbus, and the conquests of Cortez. His
bigoted and narrow soul, — schooled in forms, and trained by early
discipline, into a querulousness which could neither tolerate any-
thing that did not accord with his rules or originate under his
orders, — was unable to comprehend the splendid glory of the
enterprises of these two heroic chieftains. Had it been his
generous policy to foster them, history would have selected this
son of the church as the guardian angel over the cradle of the New
World; but he chose to be the shadow rather than the shining
light of his era, and, whether from age or chagrin, he died in the
year after this kingly rebuff* from a prince whose councils he had
long and unwisely served.

CHAPTER XII.

1522—1547.

CORTEZ COMMISSIONED BY THE EMPEROR. VELASQUEZ HIS

DEATH. MEXICO REBUILT. IMMIGRATION REPARTIMIEN-

TOS OF INDIANS. HONDURAS GUATEMOZIN MARIANA.

CORTEZ ACCUSED ORDERED TO SPAIN FOR TRIAL. HIS RE-
CEPTION, HONORS AND TITLES HE MARRIES HIS RETURN

TO MEXICO RESIDES AT TEZCOCO. EXPEDITIONS OF CORTEZ

CALIFORNIA QUIVARA. RETURNS TO SPAIN DEATH

WHERE ARE HIS BONES?

The royal commission^ of which we have spoken in the last
chapter, was speedily borne to New Spain, where it was joyfully
received by all who had participated in the conquest or joined
the original forces since that event. Men not only recognized the
justice of the act, but they felt that if the harvest was rightfully due
to him who had planted the seed, it was also most probable that
no one could be found in Spain or the Islands more capable than
Cortez of consolidating the new empire. Velasquez, the darling
object of whose latter years had been to circumvent, entrap or foil
the conqueror, was sadly stricken by the defeat of his machinations.
The reckless but capable soldier, whom he designed to mould into
the pliant tool of his avarice and glory, had suddenly become his
master. Wealth, renown, and even royal gratitude, crowned his
labors ; and the disobedience, the errors, and the flagrant wrongs
he was charged with whilst subject to gubernatorial authority,
were passed by in silence or forgotten in the acclamation
that sounded his praise throughout Spain and Europe. Even
Fonseca, — the chief of the council, — had been unable to thwart
this darling of genius and good fortune. Velasquez, himself, was
nothing. The great error of his life had been in breaking with
Cortez before he sailed for Mexico. He was straitened in fortune,
foiled in ambition, mocked by the men whose career of dangerous
adventure he had personally failed to share ; and, at last, disgusted
with the time and its men, he retired to brood over his melancholy
reverses until death soon relieved him of his earthly jealousies and
annoyances.

I
IMMIGRATION REPARTIMIENTOS OF INDIANS. 85

Four years had not entirely elapsed since the fall of Mexico,
when a new and splendid city rose from its ruins and attracted the
eager Spaniards, of all classes, from the old world and the islands.
Cortez designed this to be the continental nucleus of population.
Situated on the central plateau of the realm, midway between the
two seas, in a genial climate whose heat never scorched and whose
cold never froze, it was, indeed, an alluring region to which
men of all temperaments might resort with safety. Strongholds,
churches, palaces, were erected on the sites of the royal residences
of the Aztecs and their blood-stained Teocallis. Strangers were
next invited to the new capital, and, in a few years, the Spanish
quarter contained two thousand families, while the Indian district
of Tlatelolco, numbered not less than thirty thousand inhabitants.
The city soon assumed the air and bustle of a great mart. Trades-
men, craftsmen and merchants, thronged its streets and remaining
canals.

Cortez was not less anxious to establish, in the interior of the
old Aztec empire, towns or points of rendezvous, whiih in the
course of time, would grow up into important cities. These were
placed with a view to the future wants of travel and trade in New
Spain. Liberal grants of land were made to settlers who were
compelled to provide themselves with wives under penalty of
forfeiture within eighteen months. Celibacy was too great a
luxury for a young country.1 The Indians were divided among
the Spaniards by the system of repartimientos, which will be more
fully discussed in a subsequent part of this work. The necessities
and cupidity of the early settlers in so vast a region rendered this
necessary perhaps, though it was promptly discountenanced but
never successfully suppressed by the Spanish crown. The scene
of action was too remote, the subjects too selfish, and the ministers
too venal or interested to carry out, with fidelity, the benign ordi-
nances of the government at home. From this apportionment of
Indians, which subjected them, in fact, to a species of slavery, it
is but just to the conquerors to state that the Tlascalans, upon
whom the burden of the fighting had fallen, were entirely exempted
at the recommendation of Cortez.

Among all the tribes the work of conversion prospered, for the
ceremonious ritual of the Aztec religion easily introduced the
native worshippers to the splendid forms of the Roman Catholic.
Agriculture and the mines were not neglected in the policy of

1 Prescott 3d, 261.

86 HONDURAS GUATEMOZIN MARIANA.

Cort£z, and, in fact he speedily set in motion all the machinery of
civilization, which was gradually to operate upon the native
population whilst it attracted the overflowing, industrious or adven-
turous masses of his native land. Various expeditions, too, for
the purpose of exploration and extension, were fitted out by the
Captain General of New Spain ; so that, within three years after
the conquest, Cortez had reduced to the Spanish sway, a territory
of over four hundred leagues, or twelve hundred miles on the
Atlantic coast, and of more than five hundred leagues or fifteen
hundred miles on the Pacific.1

This sketch of a brief period after the subjugation of Mexico
developes the constructive genius of Cortez, as the preceding chap-
ters had very fully exhibited his destructive abilities. It shows,
however, that he was not liable justly to the censure which has so
often been cast upon him, — of being, only, a piratical plunderer
who was seduced into the conquest by the spirit of rapine alone.

In a hiftorical narrative which is designed to treat exclusively
of Mexico, it might perhaps be considered inappropriate to relate
that portion of the biography of Cortez which is covered by his
expedition to Honduras, whither he marched after he learned the
defection of his lieutenant Olid whom he had sent to that distant
region with a body of Spanish soldiers to found a dependant
colony. It was whilst on this disastrous march that the report of
a conspiracy to slay the Spaniards, in which Guatemozin was
implicated, reached his ears, and that the dethroned monarch,
together with several princes and inferior nobles, was hanged, by
his orders, on the branches of a tree. There is a difference of
opinion among contemporary writers as to the guilt of Guatemozin
and the Aztec nobles ; but it is probable that the unfortunate prince
had become a dangerous and formidable captive and that the grave
was a safer prison for such a personage, than the tents and
bivouacs of a menaced army.

Another renowned character in this drama — the serviceable and
gentle Indian girl Dona Mariana, — was no longer needed and was
disposed of during this expedition, by marriage with Don Martin
Xamarillo, to whom she brought a noble dowry of estates, which
were assigned her by the conqueror in her native province, where,
in all likelihood she ended her romantic career. Her son by
Cortez, named after his grand-father Don Martin, became distin-

1 Prescott, vol. 3, 274.

CORTEZ ACCUSED ORDERED TO SPAIN FOR TRIAL. 87

guished in the annals of the colony and of Spain, but in 1568, he
was cruelly treated in the capital which had been won by the valor
and fidelity of his parents.

From this digression in his Mexican career, Cortez was sud-
denly recalled by the news of disturbances in the capital, which he
reached after a tempestuous and dangerous voyage. His journey
from the coast to the valley was a continued scene of triumphs ;
and, from Tezcoco, in June, 1526, he made his stately entrance
into the city of Mexico amid brilliant cavalcades, decorated streets,
and lakes and canals covered with the fanciful skiffs of Indians.

A month later, the joy of his rapturous reception was disturbed
by the announcement that the Spanish Court had sent a commis-
sioner to supercede him temporarily in the government. The
work of sapping his power and influence had long been carried on
at home ; and false reports, involving Cortez in extreme dis-
honesty not only to the subjects but to the crown of Spain itself,
at length infused suspicions into the sovereign's mind. The
Emperor resolved to search the matter fairly to its core, and,
accordingly, despatched Don Luis Ponce de Leon, a young, but
able nobleman to perform this delicate task, at the same time that
he wrote with his own hand to the conqueror, assuring him that his
sole design was not to distrust or deprive him of his honors, but to
afford him the opportunity of placing his integrity in a clear light
before the world.

De Leon, and the delegate chosen on his death bed, died within
a few months, and were succeeded by Estrada, the royal treasurer,
who was hostile to Cortez, and whose malicious mismanagement
of the investigation soon convinced even the Spanish court that
it was unjust to leave so delicate and tangled a question in his
hands. Accordingly the affair was transferred from Estrada to a
commission styled the Audiencia Real de Espana, and Cortez was
commanded to hasten across the Atlantic in order to vindicate
himself from the aspersions before this august body, which sat in
the midst of his countrymen.

Cortez resolved to go at once ; and, loyal to the last, rejected
all the offers that were made him to reassume the reins of power,
independently of Spain. He carried with him a number of natives,
together with specimens of all the natural and artificial products of
his viceroyalty ; nor did he forget a plentiful supply of gold, silver,
and jewels, with which he might maintain, in the eyes of his
luxurious countrymen, the state that was appropriate for one whose

88 HIS RECEPTION, HONORS AND TITLES HE MARRIES.

conquests and acquisitions were so extensive. Sandoval and
Tapia, too, departed with their beloved companion in arms, the
former of whom, only, lived to land once more on his native land.

As he journeyed from the sea-port towards Toledo, the curious
crowds poured out on the way side to ' behold and welcome the
hero of the New World ; and from the gates of the city a gallant
crowd of cavaliers poured forth, with the Duke de Bejar and the
Count de Aguilar, to attend him to his dwelling.

The Emperor received him with marked respect on the following
day, and from the bountiful gifts and splendid titles which were
showered upon Cortez before the close of 1529, it seems that his
sovereign was soon personally satisfied in his frequent and frank
interviews with the conqueror, that the tales he had heard from
across the sea were mere calumnies unworthy his notice. The title
of " Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca " was bestowed on him.
Lands in the rich province of Oaxaca, and estates in the city of
Mexico and other places, were also ceded to him. " The princely
domain thus granted him," says Prescott, " comprehended more
than twenty towns and villages and twenty-three thousand vas-
sals." The court and sovereign vied with each other in honoring
and appreciating his services, and every privilege was no sooner
demanded than granted, save that of again assuming the govern-
ment of New Spain !

It was the policy of the Spanish court not to entrust the rule of
conquered countries to the men who had subdued them. There
was fancied, and perhaps real danger in confiding such dearly ac-
quired jewels to ambitious and daring adventurers who might ripen
into disloyal usurpers.

Cortez bowed submissively to the will of the Emperor. He was
grateful for what had been graciously conceded to his merits and
services ; nor was he unwilling to enjoy the luxury of careless
repose after so many years of toil. His first wife, — wedded as
we have related in the Islands, — died a short time after she
joined him in the capital after the conquest. Cortez was yet
young, nor was he ill favored or indisposed to slight the charms of
the sex. A fair relative of the Aguilars and Bejars, Dona Juana
Zuniga, at this moment attracted his attention and was soon won.
Her dower of jewels, wrested from the Aztecs, and carved by their
most skilful workmen, was indescribably magnificent, and, after
her splendid nuptials, she embarked, in 1530, with the conqueror

HIS RETURN TO MEXICO RESIDES AT TEZCOCO. 89

and his aged mother to return to the Indian Islands, and finally
to New Spain.

At Hispaniola he met an Audiencia Real, which was still to
have jurisdiction of his case, if it ever came to trial, and at whose
head was an avowed enemy of the conquerer, Nuno de Guzman.
The evidence was taken upon eight scandalous charges against
Cortez, and is of so suspicious a character that it not only disgusts
the general reader, but also failed in its effect upon the Spanish
court by which no action was finally taken in regard to it.

Cortez remained two months in the island before he set sail for
Vera Cruz, in July 1530; and, in the meantime, the Bishop of
San Domingo was selected to preside over a new Audiencia,
inasmuch as the conduct of the late Audiencia, and of Guzman
especially, in relation to the Indians, had become so odiously op-
pressive that fears were entertained of an outbreak. The bishop
and his coadjutors were men of a different stamp, who inspired the
conqueror with better hopes for the future prosperity of the Indian
colonies.

So jealous was the home government of the dangerous influence
of Cort6z, — a man so capable of establishing for himself an inde-
pendent empire in the New World, — that he had been inhibited
from approaching the capital nearer than thirty leagues. But this
did not prevent the people from approaching him. He returned
to the scene of his conquest, with all the personal resentments and
annoyances that had been felt by individuals of old, softened by
the lapse of time during his prolonged absence in Spain. He
came back, too, with all the prestige of his Emperor's favor; and,
thus, both by the new honors he had won at court, and the
memory of his deeds, the masses felt disposed to acknowledge, at
the moment of joyous meeting, that it was alone to him they owed
their possessions, their wealth, their comfort, and their importance
in New Spain.

Accordingly, Mexico was deserted by the courtiers, and Tez-
coco, where he established his headquarters was thronged by
eager crowds who came not only to visit but to consult the man
whose wit and wisdom were as keen as his sword, and who re-
visited Mexico, ripened into an astute statesman.

Nevertheless, the seeming cordiality between the magistrates of
the capital and the partly exiled Captain General, did not long-
continue. Occasions arose for difference of opinion and for dis-
putes of even a more bitter character, until, at length, he turned his
12

90 EXPEDITIONS OF CORTEZ CALIFORNIA QUIVARA.

back on the glorious valley, — the scene of his noblest exploits,
forever, and took up his abode in his town of Cuernavaca, whic
it will be recollected, he captured from the Aztecs before the capi-
tal fell into his hands. This was a place lying in the lap of a
beautiful valley, sheltered from the north winds and fronting the
genial sun of the south, and here he once more returned to the
cares of agriculture, — introducing the sugar cane from Cuba, en-
couraging the cultivation of flax and hemp, and teaching the
people the value of lands, cattle and husbandry which they had
never known or fully appreciated. Gold and silver he drew from
Zacatecas and Tehuantepec ; but he seems to have wisely thought
that the permanent wealth and revenue of himself and his heirs
would best be found in tillage.

Our limits will not permit us to dwell upon the agricultural,
mineral and commercial speculations of Cortez, nor upon his
various adventures in Mexico. It is sufficient to say that he
planned several expeditions, the most important of which, was un-
successful in consequence of his necessary absence in Spain,
whither he had been driven, as we have seen, to defend himself
against the attacks of his enemies. Immediately, however, upon
his return to Mexico, he not only sent forth various navigators, to
make further discoveries, but departed himself for the coast of
Jalisco, which he visited in 1534 and 1535. He recovered a
ship, which had been seized by Nuno de Guzman ; and having
assembled the vessels he had commanded to be built in Tehuante-
pec, he embarked every thing needful to found a colony. The
sufferings he experienced in this expedition were extraordinarily
great ; his little fleet was assailed by famine and tempests, and, so
long was he unheard of, in Mexico, that, at the earnest instance of
his wife, the viceroy Mendoza sent two vessels to search for him.
He returned, at length, to Acapulco ; but not content with his
luckless efforts, he made arrangements for a new examination of
the coasts, by Francisco de Ulloa, which resulted in the discovery
of California, as far as the Isle de Cedros, and of all that gulf, to
which geographers have given the name of the " Sea of Cortez."

His expenses in these expeditions exceeded three hundred thou-
sand castellanos of gold, which were never returned to him by the
government of Spain. Subsequently, a Franciscan missionary,
Fray Marcos de Niza, reported the discovery, north of Sonoma, of
a rich and powerful nation called Quivara, whose capital he repre-
sented as enjoying an almost European civilization. Cortez
claimed his right to take part in or command an expedition which

RETURNS TO SPAIN DEATH WHERE ARE HIS BONES? 91

the viceroy Mendoza was fitting out for its conquest. But he was
baulked in his wishes, and was obliged to confine his future efforts
for Mexico to works of beneficence in the capital.

That portion of the conqueror's life which impressed its power-
ful characteristics upon New Spain was now over. The rest of his
story belongs rather to biography and the Old World than to
a compressed narrative of Mexican history, for although he re-
mained long in the country, and afterwards fought successfully
under the Emperor's banner in other lands, it appears that he was
unable to win the Spanish crown to grant him authority over the
empire he had subdued. He died at Castilleja de la Cuesta, near
Seville, on the 2d o£ December, 1547.

Cort6z provided in his will that his body should be in-
terred in the place where he died, if that event occurred in Spain,
and that, within ten years, his bones should be removed to
New Spain and deposited in a convent of Franciscan nuns,
which, under the name of La Concepcion, he ordered to be
founded in Cuyoacan. Accordingly, his corpse was first of all
laid in the convent of San Isidro, outside the walls of Seville,
whence it was carried to Mexico and deposited in the church of
San Francisco, at Tezcoco, inasmuch as the convent of Cuyoacan
was not yet built. Thence the ashes of the hero were carried, in
1629, to the principal chapel of the church of San Francis, in the
capital; and, at last, were translated, on the 8th of November, 1794,
to the church of the Hospital of Jesus, which Cortez had founded.
When the revolution broke out, a vindictive feeling prevailed not
only against the living Spaniards, but against the dead, and men
were found, who invoked the people to tear these honored relics from
their grave, and after burning them at San Lazaro, to scatter the
hated ashes to the winds. But, in the government and among the
principal citizens, there were many individuals who eagerly sought
an opportunity to save Mexico from this disgraceful act. These
persons secretly removed the monument, tablet, and remains of the
conqueror from their resting place in the Church of Jesus, and
there is reason to believe, that at length they repose in peaceful
concealment in the vaults of the family in Italy. Past generations
deprived him, whilst living, of the right to rule the country he had
won by his valor. Modern Mexico has denied his corpse even the
refuge of a grave. ]

1 See Alaman, Disertaciones sobre la historia de la Republica Mexicana, vol.
2, p. 93 Appendix.

CHAPTER XIII

650—1500.

MONU-
MENTS, WRITINGS, DOCUMENTS MR. GALLATIN^ OPINION OP

THEM. TRADITIONS TWO SOURCES OF ACCURATE KNOW-
LEDGE. SPECULATIONS ON ANTIQUITY. AZTECS TOLTECS

NAHUATLACS ACOLHUANS, ETC. AZTECS EMIGRATE FROM

AZTLAN SETTLE IN ANAHUAC. TABLES OF EMIGRATION OF

THE ORIGINAL TRIBES OTHER TRIBES IN THE EMPIRE.

One of the most disgraceful destructions of property, recorded in
history, is that which was accomplished in Mexico by the first
Archbishop of New Spain, Juan de Zumarraga. He collected
from all quarters, but especially from Tezcoco, where the national
archieves were deposited, all the Indian manuscripts he could
discover, and causing them to be piled in a great heap in the
market place of Tlatelolco, he burned all these precious records,
which under the skilful interpretation of competent natives, might
have relieved the early history of the Aztecs from the obscurity
with which it is now clouded. The superstitious soldiery eagerly
imitated the pious example of this prelate, and emulated each other
in destroying all the books, charts, and papers, which bore hiero-
glyphic signs, whose import, they had been taught to believe
was as sacrilegiously symbolic and pernicious as that of the idols
they had already hurled from the Indian temples.

And yet, it may be questioned, whether these documents, had
they been spared even as the curious relics of the literature or art
of a semi-civilized people, would have enlightened the path of the
historical student. "It has been shown," says Mr. Gallatin, "that
those which have been preserved contain but a meagre account of
the Mexican history for the one hundred years preceding the con-
quest, and hardly anything that relates to prior events. The ques-
tion naturally arises — from what source those writers derived their
information, who have attempted to write not only the modern
history of Mexico, but that of ancient times? It may, without
hesitation, be answered, that their information was traditional.
The memory of important events is generally preserved and trans-

TRADITIONS TWO SOURCES OF ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE. 93

mitted by songs and ballads, in those nations which have attained
a certain degree of civilization, and had not the use of letters.
Unfortunately, if we except the hymns of the great monarch of
Tezcoco, which are of recent date, and allude to no historical fact
of an earlier epoch than his own times, no such Mexican remnants
have been transmitted to us, or published. On the other hand the
recollection and oral transmission of events may have been aided
by the hieroglyphics imperfect as they were ; thus, those of the
significant names of a king and of a city, together with the symbol
of the year, would remind the Mexicans of the history of the war
of that king against that city which had been early taught him
whilst a student in the temple." l

It is thus, perhaps, that the virtuoso rather than the historical
student has been the sufferer by the superstitious conflagrations of
Zumarraga and the Spanish soldiers. We have unquestionably
lost most of the minute events of early Aztec history. We have
remained ignorant of much of the internal policy of the realm, and
have been obliged to play the antiquarian in the discussion of dates
and epochs, whose perfect solution, even, would not cast a solitary
ray of light upon the grand problem of this continent's develop-
ment or population. But amid all this obscurity, ignorance, and
diffuseness, we have the satisfaction to know that some valuable
facts escaped the grasp of these destroyers, and that the grand
historical traditions of the empire were eagerly listened to and
recorded by some of the most enlightened Europeans who hastened
after the conquest to New Spain. The song, the story, and the
anecdote, handed down from sire to son in a nation which pos-
sessed no books, no system of writing, no letters, no alphabet, —
formed in reality the great chain connecting age with age, king
with king, family with family; — and, as the gigantic bond length-
ened with time, some of its links were adorned with the embel-
lishments of fancy, whilst others, in the dim and distant past,
became almost imperceptible. Nor were the conquerors and their
successors men devoted to the antiquities of the Mexicans with the
generous love of enthusiasts who delight in disclosing the means
by which a people emerged from the obscurity of a tribe into the
grandeur of a civilized nation. In most cases the only object they
had in magnifying, or even in manifesting the real character,
genius and works of the Mexicans, is to be found in their desire to
satisfy their country and the world that they had indeed conquered

1 1 vol. Trans. Am. Ethnol. Soc, p. 145. Art. Mexican Hist. Chron., &c. &c,
by Albert Gallatin.

94 SPECULATIONS ON ANTIQUITY.

an empire, and not waged exterminating war against naked but
wealthy savages. It was, in fact, a species of self laudation ; and
it has, therefore, not been without at least a slight degree of
incredulity that we read the glowing early accounts of the palaces,
the state and the power of the Mexican emperors. The graphic
works of Mr. Stephens on Yucatan and Central America, seem,
however, to open new authorities upon this vast problem of civili-
zation. Architecture never lies. It is one of those massive
records which require too much labor in order to record a false-
hood. The men who could build the edifices of Uxmal, Palenque,
Copan and Chichen-Itza, were far removed from the aboriginal
condition of Nomadic tribes. Taste and luxury had been long
grafted on the mere wants of the natives. They had learned not
only to build for protection against weather, but for permanent
homes whose internal arrangements should afford them comfort,
and whose external appearance should gratify the public taste.
Order, symmetry, elegance, beauty of ornament, gracefulness of
symbolic imagery, had all combined to exhibit the external mani-
festations which are always seen among people who are not only
anxious to gratify others as well as themselves, but to vie with
each other in the exhibition of individual tastes. Here, however,
as in Egypt, the architectural remains are chiefly of temples,
tombs and palaces. The worship of God, — the safety of the body
after death, — and the permanent idea of loyal obedience to autho-
rity,— are symbolized by the temple, — tomb, — and the rock-built
palace. The masses, who felt they had no constant abiding place
on earth, did not in all probability, build for themselves those
substantial and beautifully embellished homes, under whose influ-
ence modern civilization has so far exceeded the barren humanism
of the valley of the Nile. It was useless, they deemed, to enshrine
in marble whilst living, the miserable spirit that, after death, might
crawl in a crocodile or burrow in a hog. Christianity, alone, has
made the Dwelling paramount to the Tomb and the Palace.

We cannot leave the early history of Spanish occupation without
naturally casting our eyes over the empire which it was the destiny
of Cortez to conquer. Of its geographical boundaries we know
but little. The dominions of the original Aztecs covered but a
small part of the territory comprehended in modern Mexico ; and
although they were enlarged during the empire, they did not even
then extend beyond the eighteenth degree and the twenty- first on
the Atlantic or Gulf, and beyond the fourteenth and nineteenth
degree including a narrow slip on the Pacific.

AZTECS TOLTECS NAHUATLACS ACOLHUANS. 95

The seat and centre of the Mexican empire was in the valley of
Mexico, in a temperate climate, whose genial mildness is gained
by its elevation of over seven thousand feet above the level of the
sea. The features of this region, — the same now as at the
conquest, — will be more fully described hereafter in those chapters
which treat of the geography and statistics of modern Mexico.

On the eastern or western borders of the lake of Tezcoco, facing
each other, stood the ancient cities of Tenochtitlan or Mexico,
and of Tezcoco. These were the capitals of the two most famous,
flourishing and civilized states of Anahuac, the sources of whose
population and progress are veiled in the general mystery that
overhangs the early history of our continent.

The general, and best received tradition that we possess upon
the subject, declares that the original inhabitants of this beautiful
valley came from the north ; and that perhaps the earliest as well
as the most conspicuous in the legends, were the Toltecs, who
moved to the south before the end of the seventh century, and
settled at Tollan or Tula, north of the Mexican valley, where ex-
tensive architectural remains were yet to be found at the period of
the conquest. This spot seems to have gradually become the
parent hive of civilization and advancement ; but, after four cen-
turies, during which they extended their sway over the whole of
Anahuac, the Toltecs are alleged to have wasted away by famine,
disease, and the slow desolation of unsuccessful wars. This
occurred about the year 1051, as the Indian tradition relates, — and
the few who escaped the ravages of death, departed for those
more southern regions now known as Yucatan and Guatemala, in
which we perhaps find the present remains of their civilization
displayed in the temples, edifices and tombs of Palenque and
Uxmal. During the next century these valleys and mountains
were nearly desolate and bare of population, until a rude and
altogether uncivilized tribe, known as the Chichimecas, came from
Amaquemecan, in the north, and settled in villages among the ruins
of their Toltec predecessors. After eight years, six other Indian
tribes called Nahuatlacs arrived, and announced the approach of
another band from the north, known as the Aztecs, who, soon
afterwards, entered Anahuac. About this period the Acolhuans,
who are said to have emigrated from Teoacolhucan, near the
original territories of the Chichimecas, advanced into the valley
and speedily allied themselves with their ancient neighbors.
These tribes appear to have been the founders of the Tezcocan

96 AZTECS EMIGRATE FROM AZTLAN SETTLE IN ANAHUAC.

government and nation which was once assailed successfully by
the Tepanecs, but was finally delivered from thraldom by the
signal bravery and talents of the prince Nezahualcoyotl, who was
heir of the crown, supported by his Mexican allies.

Our chief concern, however, in groping our way through the
tangled labyrinth of tradition, is to ascertain the story of the
Aztecs, whose advent has been already announced. It was
about the year 1160, that they departed from Aztlan, the original
seat of their tribe, on their journey of southern emigration. Their
pilgrimage seems to have been interrupted by numerous halts and
delays, both on their route through the northern regions now
comprehended in the modern Republic of Mexico, as well as in
different parts of the Mexican valley which was subsequently to
become their home and capital. At length, in 1325, they descried
an eagle resting on a cactus which sprang from the crevice of a
rock in the lake of Tezcoco, and grasping in his talons a writhing
serpent. This had been designated by the Aztec oracles as the
site of the home in which the tribe should rest after its long and
weary migration ; and, accordingly, the city of Tenochtitlan, was
founded upon the sacred spot, and like another Venice rose from
the bosom of the placid waters.

It was near a hundred years after the founding of the city, and
in the beginning of the fifteenth century, that the Tepanecs
attacked the Tezcocan monarchy, as has been related in the pre-
vious part of this chapter. The Tezcocans and the Aztecs or
Mexicans united to put down the power of the spoiler, and as a
recompense for the important services of the allies, the supreme
dominion of the territory of the royal house of Tezcoco was trans-
ferred to the Aztecs. The Tezcocan sovereigns thus became, in a
measure, mediatized princes of the Mexican throne ; and the two
states, together with the neighboring small kingdom of Tlacopan,
south of the lake of Chalco, formed an offensive and defensive league
which was sustained with unwavering fidelity through all the wars
and assaults which ensued during the succeeding century. The
bold leaguers united in that spirit of plunder and conquest which
characterizes a martial people, as soon as they are surrounded by
the necessaries, comforts, and elegances of life in their own
country, and whenever the increase of population begins to require
a vent through which it may expand those energies that would
destroy the state by rebellions or civil war, if pent up within the
narrow limits of so small a realm as the valley of Mexico. Ac-
cordingly we find that the sway of this small tribe, which had but

TABLES OF EMIGRATION OF THE ORIGINAL TRIBES.

97

just nestled among the reeds, rocks and marshes of the lake, was
quickly spread beyond the mountain barrier that hemmed in the
valley. Like the Hollanders, they became great by the very
wretchedness of their site, and the vigilant industry it enforced.
The Aztec arms were triumphant throughout all the plains that
swept downward towards the Atlantic, and, as we have seen, even
maintained dominion on the shores of the Pacific, or penetrated,
under the bloody Ahuitzotl, the remotest corners of Guatemala and
Nicaragua.

Such was the extent of Aztec power at the beginning of the
16th century, at the period of the Spanish incursion.

Note. — The discrepancies in the dates assigned by several writers as to the pe-
riods of the emigration of various tribes and the reigns of their sovereigns, are care-
fully presented in the following table, given by Albert Gallatin, in his essay on
the Mexican nations — 1 vol. Ethnol. Soc. Transac. 162.

Toltecs.

Jilva. Sahagun. Vcytia. Clavigero.

Arrived at Huehuetlalpallan 387

Departed from do 596 544

They found Tula 498 713 720

Monarchy begins 510 667

Monarchy ends 959 1116 1051

Chichimecas and Acolhuans or Tezcocans. ( about

Xolotl, 1st King occupies the valley of Mexico 963 1120 \ 1170

Napoltzin, 2d King ascends the throne 1075 .... 1232 13 cen

rp,.ue. z.m > 3d King, so called erroneously, ascends

the throne 1107 1263 14 cen

Quinantzin, 4th King ascends the throne 1141 .... 1298 14 cen

Tlaltecatzin 1st King according to Sahagun ascends

the throne 1246

Techotlalatzin 5th (2d, Sahagun) ascends the throne 1253 1271 1357 14 cen

Ixtlilxochitl 6th (3d, Sahagun) " " " 1357 1331 1409 1406
Netzahual-Covotzin 7th (4th, Sahagun) ascends the

throne ' 1418 1392 1418 1426

Netzahual-Pilzintli 8th (5th, Sahagun) ascends the

throne 1462 1463 .... 1470

Netzahual-Pilzintli dies 1515 1516 .... 1516

Tepanecs, or Tecpanecs of Acapulco.

Acolhua arrives 1011 .... 1158 ....

Acolhua 2d son of Acolhua 1st arrives 1239 ....

Tezozomac son according to D'Alva, grandson ac-
cording to Veytia of the 1st Acolhua arrives 1299 1348 1343

Maxtlan, son of Tezozomac arrives 1427 .... 1427 1422

Mexicans or Aztecs.

Mexicans leave Aztlan 1064 1160

" arrive at Huelcolhuacan 1168

11 " at Chicomotzoc 1168 ....

" " at valley of Mexico 1141 1227 1216

f 1248 10yl(.

" M at Chapultepec J 1276

13

98 TABLE OF EMIGRATION OTHER TRIBES IN THE EMPIRE.

II Hi t r-'-I

Mexicans or Aztecs. g~ >|t § & ^ j|

^oo-2^ £ q eg
Foundation of Mexico or Te-

nochtitlan 1324 1325 1220

Acamapichtli, elected King. 1375 1399 1384 1361 1141 1384

Huitzilihuitl, accession 1396 1406 1424 1403 1353

Chimalpopoca 1417 1414 1427 1414 1357

Ytzcoatl 1427 1426 1437 1427 1427

Montezuma 1st 1440 1440 1449 1440 1440

Acayacatl 1469 1469 1481 1468 1469

Tizoc 1482 1483 1487 1481 1483

Ahuitzol 1486 1486 1492 1486 1486

Montezuma 2d 1502 1502 1503 1502 1503

Duration of reigns of Mexi-
can Kings.

Acamapichtli 21 7 40 42 150 21

Huitzilihuitl 21 8 3 11 50 21

Chimalpopoca 10 12 10 13 70 10

Ytzcoatl 13 14 12 13 13 14

Montezuma 1st 29 29 32 28 29 30

Acayacatl 13 14 6 13 14 14

Tizoc 4 3 5 5 3 4

Ahuitzol 16 16 11 16 17 8

Montezuma 2d 17 17 16 17 17 19

1325
1361
1402
1414
1427

41
12
13

o

1325
1352
1389
1409
1423
1436
1464
1477
1482
1502

3?
20
14
13
28
13
5
16
17

The writers and documents cited in the preceding columns are esteemed the
highest authority upon Mexican history and antiquities.

This is perhaps the best comparative table of Mexican Chronology, — up to the
period of the conquest, — that has ever been compiled ; and the great discrepancy
between the dates assigned by various authorities, exhibits the guess work upon
which the earlier Mexican history is founded.

In addition to the tribes or States enumerated in the preceding tables as consti-
tuting the nucleus of the Mexican empire under Montezuma, at the period of the
Spanish conquest, it must be recollected that there were numerous other Indian
States, — such as the Tlascalans, Cholulans, &c, whose origin is more obscure
even than that of the Aztecs. Besides these, there were, on the territories now
comprehended within the Mexican republic, the Tarascos who inhabited Michoa-
can, an independent sovereignty ; — the barbarous Ottomies ; the Olmecs ; the
Xicalancas ; the Miztecas, and Zapotecas. The last named are supposed by Baron
Humboldt to have been superior, in civilization, to the Mexicans, and probably
preceded the Toltecs in the date of their emigration. Their architectural remains
are found in Oaxaca. If we consider the comparatively small space in which the
original tribes were gathered together in the valley of Mexico, which is not proba-
bly over two hundred and fifty miles in circumference, we cannot but be surprised
that such remarkable results were achieved from such paltry beginnings and upon
so narrow a theatre. The subjugation of so large a territory and such numerous
tribes, by the Aztecs and Tezcocans is perhaps quite as wonderful an achievement,
as the final subjugation of those victorious nations by the Spaniards. But in all our
estimates of Spanish valor and generalship, in the splendid campaigns of Cortez,
we should never forget, — as we have remarked in the text, — the material assist-
ance he received from his Indian allies — the Tlascalans

AZTEC COSTUMES AND ARMS.

CHAPTER XIV.

1521.

DIFFICULTY OF ESTIMATING THE CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS.

NATIONS IN YUCATAN. VALUE OF CONTEMPORARY HISTORY.

THE AZTEC MONARCHY ELECTIVE. ROYAL STYLE IN TE-

NOCHTITLAN. MONTEZUMA^ WAY OF LIFE. DESPOTIC POWER

OF THE EMPEROR OVER LIFE AND LAW. THEFT INTEM-
PERANCE MARRIAGE SLAVERY WAR. MILITARY SYSTEM

AND HOSPITALS COIN REVENUES. AZTEC MYTHOLOGY.

IMAGE OF TEOYAOMIQUI. TEOCALLI TWO KINDS OF SACRI-
FICE. WHY THE AZTECS SACRIFICED THEIR PRISONERS.

COMMON SACRIFICE GLADIATORIAL SACRIFICE SACRIFICIAL

STONE. AZTEC CALENDAR WEEK, MONTH, YEAR, CYCLE.

PROCESSION OF THE NEW FIRE ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCE.

AZTEC CALENDAR. TABLES.

It is perhaps altogether impossible to judge, at this remote day,
of the absolute degree of civilization, enjoyed at the period of the
conquest, by the inhabitants not only of the valley of Mexico and
Tezcoco, but also of Oaxaca, Tlascala, Michoacan, Yucatan, and
their various dependencies. In studying this subject carefully, even
in the classical pages of Mr. Prescott, and in the laborious criti-
cisms of Mr. Gallatin, we find ourselves frequently bewildered in
the labyrinth of historical details and picturesque legends, which
have been carefully gathered and grouped to form a romantic pic-
ture of the Aztec nation. Yet facts enough have survived, not only
the wreck of the conquest, but also the comparative stagnation of
the viceroyalty, to satisfy us that there was a large class of people,
at least in the capitals and their vicinity, whose tastes, habits, and
social principles, were nearly equal to the civilization of the Old
World at that time. There were strange inconsistences in the
principles and conduct of the Mexicans, and strange blendings of
softness and brutality, for the savage was as yet but rudely grafted
on the citizen and the wandering or predatory habits of a tribe
were scarcely tamed by the needful restraints of municipal law.

It is probable that the Aztec refinement existed chiefly in the
city of Tenochtitlan or Mexico ; or, that the capital of the em-
pire, like the capital of France, absorbed the greater share of the
genius and cultivation of the whole country. Our knowledge of
Yucatan, and of the wonderful cities which have been revealed in
its forests by the industry of Mr. Stephens, is altogether too
limited to allow any conjectures, at this period, in regard to their

100 VALUE OF CONTEMPORARY HISTORY.

inhabitants. It is likely that they were offshoots from the same
race as the Aztecs, and that they all owed the first germs of their
separate civilizations to the Toltecs, who, according to the legends,
were the great traditionary ancestors of all the progressive races
that succeeded each other in emigrating from the north, and finally
nestled in the lovely vale of Anahuac.

It is in the examination of such a period that we feel sensibly
the want of careful contemporary history, and learn to value those
narratives which present us the living picture of an age, even
though they are sometimes tainted with the intolerance of religious
sectarianism and bigotry, or by the merciless rancor of party
malice. They give us, at least, certain material facts, which are
independent of the spirit or context of the story. Posterity, which
is now eager for details, infinitely prefers a sketch like this, warm
and breathing with the vitality of the beings in whose presence
and from whose persons it is drawn, to the cold mosaics, made up
by skilful artizans, from the disjointed chips which they are forced
to discover, harmonize, and polish, amid the discordant materials
left by -a hundred writers. Such labors, when undertaken by
patient men, may sometimes reanimate the past and bring back
its scenes, systems and people, with wonderful freshness ; yet,
after all, they are but mere restorations, and often depend essen-
tially on the vivid imagination which supplies the missing frag-
ments and fills them, for a moment, with an electrical instead of a
natural life.

After a careful review of nearly all the historians and writers
upon the ancient history of Mexico, we have never encountered a
satisfactory view of the Aztec empire, except in the history of the
conquest, by our countryman Prescott. His chapters upon the
Mexican civilization, are the best specimens in our literature, since
the days of Gibbon, of that laborious, truthful, antiquarian temper,
which should always characterize a historian who ventures upon
the difficult task of portraying the distant past.

In our rapid sketch of the conquest, we have been compelled to
present, occasionally, a few descriptive glimpses of the Aztec
architecture, manners, customs and institutions, which have
already acquainted the reader with some of the leading features
of national character. But it will not be improper, in a work
like this, to combine in a separate chapter such views of the whole
structure of Mexican society, under the original empire, as may
not only afford an idea of the advancement of the nation which

THE AZTEC MONARCHY ELECTIVE. 101

Cortez conquered, but, perhaps, will present the student with some
national characteristics of a race that still inhabits Mexico jointly
with the Spanish emigrants, and which is the lawful descendant
of the wandering tribes who founded the city of Tenochtitlan.

The Aztec government was a monarchy, but the right to the
throne did not fall by the accident of descent upon a lineal relative
of the last king, whose age would have entitled him, by European
rule, to the royal succession. The brothers of the deceased prince,
or his nephews, if he had no nearer kin, were the individuals from
whom the new sovereign was chosen by four nobles who had been
selected as electors by their own aristocratic body during the pre-
ceding reign. These electors, together with the two royal allies of
Tezcoco and Tlacopan, who were united in the college as merely
honorary personages, decided the question as to the candidate,
whose warlike and intellectual qualities were always closely
scanned by these severe judges.

The elevation of the new monarch to the throne was pompous :
yet, republican and just as was the rite of selection, the ceremony
of coronation was not performed until the new king had procured,
by conquest in war, a crowd of victims to grace his assumption
of the crown with their sacrifice at the altar. The palaces of these
princes and their nobles were of the most sumptuous character, ac-
cording to the description that has been left us by the conquerors
themselves.

The royal state and style of these people may be best described
in the artless language of Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a soldier of
the conquest, whose simple narrative, though sometimes colored
with the superstitions of his age, is one of the most valuable and
veritable relics of that great event that has been handed down to
posterity.

In describing the entrance of the Spaniards into the city — Diaz
declares, with characteristic energy, that the whole of what he saw
on that occasion appeared to him as if he had beheld it but yester-
day; — and he fervently exclaims: "Glory be to our Lord Jesus
Christ, who gave us courage to venture on such dangers and
brought us safely through them ! "

The Spaniards, as we have already said in a preceding chapter,
were lodged and entertained at the expense of Montezuma, who
welcomed them as his guests, and unwisely attempted to convince
them of his power by exhibiting his wealth and state. Two hun-
dred of his nobility stood as guards in his ante-chamber.

102 ROYAL STYLE IN TENOCHTITLAN.

" Of these," says Diaz, " only certain persons could speak to
him, and when they entered, they took off their rich mantles and put
on others of less ornament, but clean. They approached his apart-
ment barefooted, their eyes fixed on the ground and making three
inclinations of the body as they approached him. In addressing
the king they said, " Lord — my lord — great lord ! " When they
had finished, he dismissed them with a few words, and they retired
with their faces toward him and their eyes fixed on the ground. I
also observed, that when great men came from a distance about
business, they entered his palace barefooted, and in plain habit;
and also, that they did not come in by the gate directly, but took
a circuit in going toward it.

" His cooks had upward of thirty different ways of dressing
meats, and they had earthen vessels so contrived as to keep them
constantly hot. For the table of Montezuma himself, above three
hundred dishes were dressed, and for his guards above a thousand.
Before dinner, Montezuma would sometimes go out and inspect
the preparations, and his officers would point out to him which
were the best, and explain of what birds and flesh they were
composed ; and of those he would eat. But this was more for
amusement than anything else.

"It is said, that at times the flesh of young children was dressed
for him ; but the ordinary meats were domestic fowls, pheasants,
geese, partridges, quails, venison, Indian hogs, pigeons, hares and
rabbits, with many other animals and birds peculiar to the country.
This is certain — that after Cortez had spoken to him relative to
the dressing of human flesh, it was not practised in his palace.
At his meals, in the cold weather, a number of torches of the bark
of a wood which makes no smoke, and has an aromatic smell,
were lighted; and, that they should not throw too much heat,
screens, ornamented with gold and painted with figures of idols,
were placed before them.

" Montezuma was seated on a low throne or chair, at a table
proportioned to the height of his seat. The table was covered
with white cloths and napkins, and four beautiful women presented
him with water for his hands, in vessels which they call xicales,
with other vessels under them, like plates, to catch the water.
They also presented him with towels.

" Then two other women brought small cakes of bread, and,
when the king began to eat, a large screen of gilded wood was
placed before him, so that during that period people should not
behold him. The women having retired to a little distance, four

103

ancient lords stood by the throne, to whom Montezuma, from time
to time, spoke or addressed questions, and as a mark of particular
favor, gave to each of them a plate of that which he was eating.
I was told that these old lords, who were his near relations, were
also counsellors and judges. The plates which Montezuma pre-
sented to them they received with high respect, eating what was
on them without taking their eyes off the ground. He was served
in earthenware of Cholula, red and black. While the king was at
the table, no one of his guards in the vicinity of his apartment
dared, for their lives, make any noise. Fruit of all kinds produced
in the country, was laid before him ; he ate very little ; but, from
time to time, a liquor prepared from cocoa, and of a stimulative
quality, as we were told, was presented to him in golden cups.
We could not, at that time, see whether he drank it or not ; but I
observed a number of jars, above fifty, brought in, filled with
foaming chocolate, of which he took some that the women pre-
sented him.

" At different intervals during the time of dinner, there entered
certain Indians, humpbacked, very deformed, and ugly, who played
tricks of buffoonery; and others who, they said, were jesters.
There was also a company of singers and dancers, who afforded
Montezuma much entertainment. To these he ordered the vases
of chocolate to be distributed. The four female attendants then
took away the cloths, and again, with much respect, presented him
with water to wash his hands, during which time Montezuma
conferred with the four old noblemen formerly mentioned, after
which they took their leave with many ceremonies.

" One thing I forgot (and no wonder,) to mention in its place,
and that is, during the time that Montezuma was at dinner, two
very beautiful women were busily employed making small cakes,1
with eggs and other things mixed therein. These were delicately
white, and, when made, they presented them to him on plates
covered with napkins. Also another kind of bread was brought
to him in long leaves, and plates of cakes resembling wafers.

" After he had dined, they presented to him three little canes,
highly ornamented, containing liquid-amber, mixed with an herb
they call tobacco ; and when he had sufficiently viewed and heard
the singers* dancers, and buffoons, he took a little of the smoke of
one of these canes, .and then laid himself down to sleep.

1 No doubt tortillias, or maize cakes — still the staff of life with all the Indians
and, indeed, a favorite arid daily food of all classes of Mexicans.

14

104 DESPOTIC POWER OF THE EMPEROR OVER LIFE AND LAW.

" The meal of the monarch ended, all his guards and domestics
sat down to dinner ; and, as near as I could judge, above a thou-
sand plates of those eatables that I have mentioned, were laid
before them, with vessels of foaming chocolate and fruit in
immense quantity. For his women, and various inferior servants,
his establishment was of a prodigious expense ; and we were
astonished, amid such a profusion, at the vast regularity that
prevailed.

" His major domo kept the accounts of Montezuma's rents in
books which occupied an entire house.

" Montezuma had two buildings filled with every kind of arms,
richly ornamented with gold and jewels ; such as shields, large and
small clubs like two-handed swords, and lances much larger than
ours, with blades six feet in length, so strong that if they fix in a
shield they do not break ; and sharp enough to use as razors.

" There was also an immense quantity of bows and arrows, and
darts, together with slings, and shields which roll up into a small
compass and in action are let fall, and thereby cover the whole
body. He had also much defensive armor of quilted cotton,
ornamented with feathers in different devices, and casques for the
head, made of wood and bone, with plumes of feathers, and many
other articles too tedious to mention."1

Besides this sumptuous residence in the city, the Emperor is
supposed to have had others at Chapultepec, Tezcoco and else-
where, which will be spoken of when we describe the ancient
remains of Mexico in the valley of Mexico.

If the sovereign lived, thus, in state befitting the ruler of such
an empire, it may be supposed that his courtiers were not less
sumptuous in their style of domestic arrangements. The great
body of the nobles and caciques, possessed extensive estates, the
tenures of which were chiefly of a military character ; — and, upon
these large possessions, surrounded by warlike natives and numerous
slaves, they lived, doubtless, like many of the independent, power-
ful chieftains in Europe, who, in the middle ages, maintained their
feudal splendor, both in private life and in active service whenever
summoned by their sovereigns to give aid in war.

The power of the Emperor over the laws of the country as well
as over the lives of the people, was perfectly despotic There
were supreme judges in the chief towns, appointed by the Emperor
who possessed final jurisdiction in civil and criminal causes ; and
there were, besides, minor courts in each province, as well as

1 Bernal Diaz Del Castillo's Hist. Conq. Mexico.

THEFT INTEMPERANCE MARRIAGE SLAVERY WAR. 105

subordinate officers, who performed the duty of police officers or
spies over the families that were assigned to their vigilance.
Records were kept in these courts of the decisions of the judges ;
and the laws of the realm were likewise perpetuated and made
certain, in the same hieroglyphic or picture writing. " The
great crimes against society, " says Prescott, "were all made
capital ; — even the murder of a slave was punished with death.
Adulterers, as among the Jews, were stoned to death. Thieving,
according to the degree of the offence, was punished with slavery
or death. It was a capital offence to remove the boundaries of
another's lands ; to alter the established measures ; and for a guar-
dian not to be able to give a good account of his ward's property.
Prodigals who squandered their patrimony were punished in like
manner. Intemperance was visited with the severest penalties,
as if they had foreseen in it the consuming canker of their own as
well as of the other Indian races in later times. It was punished
in the young with death, and in older persons with loss of rank
and confiscation of property.

" The rites of marriage were celebrated with as much formality
as in any christian country; and the institution was held in such
reverence, that a tribunal was established for the sole purpose of
determining questions in regard to it. Divorces could not be
obtained, until authorized by a sentence of this court after a patient
hearing of the parties. " x

Slavery seems to have always prevailed in Mexico. The cap-
tives taken in war were devoted to the gods under the sacrificial
knife ; but criminals, public debtors, extreme paupers, persons who
willingly resigned their freedom, and children who were sold by
their parents, — were allowed to be held in bondage and to be
transferred from hand to hand, but only in cases in which their
masters were compelled by poverty to part with them.

A nation over which the god of war presided and whose king
was selected, mainly, for his abilities as a chieftain, naturally
guarded and surrounded itself with a well devised military system.
Religion and war were blended in the imperial ritual. Monte-
zuma, himself had been a priest before he ascended the throne.
This dogma of the Aztec policy, originated, perhaps, in the
necessity of keeping up a constant military spirit among a people
whose instincts were probably civilized, but whose geographical
position exposed them, in the beginning, to the attacks of unquiet
and annoying tribes. The captives were sacrificed to the bloody

Prescott, vol. 1, p. 35.

106 MILITARY SYSTEM AND HOSPITALS, COIN REVENUES.

deity in all likelihood, because it was necessary to free the country
from dangerous Indians, who could neither be imprisoned, for they
were too numerous, nor allowed to return to their tribes, because
they would speedily renew the attack on their Aztec liberators.

Accordingly we find that the Mexican armies were properly
officered, divided, supported and garrisoned, throughout the em-
pire ; — that there were military orders of merit ; — that the dresses
of the leaders, and even of some of the regiments, were gaudily
picturesque; — that their arms were excellent; — and that the
soldier who died in combat, was considered by his superstitious
countrymen, as passing at once to " the region of ineffable bliss in
the bright mansions of the sun." Nor were these military establish-
ments left to the caprice of petty officers for their judicial system.
They possessed a set of recorded laws which were as sure and
severe as the civil or criminal code of the empire ; — and, finally,
when the Aztec soldier became too old to fight, or was disabled
in the national wars, he was provided for in admirable hospitals
which were established in all the principal cities of the realm.

But all this expensive machinery of state and royalty, was not
supported without ample revenues from the people. There was a
currency of different values regulated by trade, which consisted of
quills filled with gold dust ; of pieces of tin cut in the form of a T ;
of balls of cotton, and bags of cacao containing a specified number
of grains. The greater part of Aztec trade was, nevertheless,
carried on by barter ; and, thus, we find that the large taxes which
were derived by Montezuma from the crown lands, agriculture,
manufactures, and the labors or occupations of the people gene-
rally, were paid in " cotton dresses and mantles of featherwork ;
ornamented armor ; vases of gold ; gold dust, bands and bracelets ;
crystal, gilt and varnished jars and goblets ; bells, arms and uten-
sils of copper ; reams of paper ; grain ; fruits, copal, amber, coch-
ineal, cacao, wild animals, birds, timber, lime, mats, " and a general
medley in which the luxuries and necessaries of life were strangely
mixed. It is not a little singular that silver, which since the
conquest has become the leading staple export of Mexico, is not
mentioned in the royal inventories which escaped destruction.1

The Mexican Mythology was a barbarous compound of spiritual-
ism and idolatry. The Aztecs believed in and relied on a supreme
God whom they called Teotl, " God," or Ipalnemoani — " he by
whom we live," and Tloque Nahuaque, — "he who has all in him
self; " while their counter- spirit or demon, who was ever the enemy

1 Prescott, vol. 1, p. 39, and compare Lorenzana's edition of Cortez's letters.

AZTEC MYTHOLOGY. 107

and seducer of their race bore the inauspicious title of Tlaleatecolo-
totl, or the " Rational Owl. " The dark, nocturnal deeds of this
ominous bird, probably indicated its greater fitness for the typification
of wickedness than of wisdom, of which the Greeks had flatteringly
made it the symbol, as the pet of Minerva. These supreme spi-
ritual essences were surrounded by a numerous court of satellites
or lesser deities, who were perhaps the ministerial agents by which
the behests of Teotl were performed. There was Huitzilopotchtli,
the god of war, and Teoyaomiqui, his spouse, whose tender duties
were confined to conducting the souls of warriors who perished in
defence of their homes and shrines, into the "house of the sun,"
which was the Aztec heaven. The image in the plate, presented
in front and in profile, is alleged to represent this graceful fe-
male, though it gives no idea of her holy offices. Tetzcatlipoca
was the shining mirror, the god of providence, the soul of the
world, creator of heaven and earth, and master of all things.
Ometcuctli and Omecihuatl, a god and goddess presided over
new born children, and, reigning in Paradise, benignantly granted
the wishes of mortals. Cihuacohuatl, or, woman-serpent, was re-
garded as the mother of human beings. Tonatricli and Meztli were
deifications of the sun and moon. Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc were
deities of the air and of water, whilst Xiuhteuctli was the god of
fire to whom the first morsel and the first draught at table were
always devoted by the Aztecs. Mictlanteuctli and Joalteuctli
were the gods of hell and night, while the generous goddess of the
earth and grain who was worshipped by the Totonacos as an
Indian Ceres, enjoyed the more euphonious title of Centeotl. Huit-
zilopotchtli or Mexitli, the god of war, was an especial favorite with
the Aztecs, for it was this divinity according to their legends who
had led them from the north, and protected them during their long
journey until they settled in the valley of Mexico. Nor did he
desert them during the rise and progress of their nation. Addicted
as they were to war, this deity was always invoked before battle
and was recompensed for the victories he bestowed upon his fa-
vorite people by bloody hecatombs of captives taken from the
enemies of the empire. We have already spoken of this personage
in the portion of this work which treats of the Spanish conquest of
Mexico.

If the Mexicans had their gods, so also had they their final
abodes of blessedness and misery. Soldiers who were slain in
conflict for their country or who perished in captivity, and the

TEOYAOMIQUI. (FRONT.)

TEOYAOMIQUI. (PROFILE.)

110 IMAGE OF TEOYAOMIQUI.

spirits of women who died in child-birth, went at once to the
" house of the sun " to enjoy a life of eternal pleasure. At dawn
they hailed the rising orb with song and dances, and attended him
to the meridian and his setting with music and festivity. The
Aztecs believed that, after some years spent amid these pleasures,
the beatified spirits of the departed were changed into clouds or
birds of beautiful plumage, though they had power to ascend again
whenever they pleased to the heaven they had left. There was
another place called Tlalocan the dwelling place of Tlaloc, the
deity of water, which was also an Aztec elysium. It was the
spirit-home of those who were drowned or struck by lightning, —
of children sacrificed in honor of Tlaloc, — and of those who died
of dropsy, tumors, or similar diseases. Last of all, was Mictlan, a
gloomy hell of perfect darkness, in which, incessant night, unil-
luminated by the twinkling of a single ray, was the only punish-
ment, and the probable type of annihilation.

The figure which is delineated in the plate representing Teoyao-
miqui, is cut from a single block of basalt, and is nine feet high
and five and a half broad. It is a horrid assemblage of hideous
emblems. Claws, fangs, tusks, skulls and serpents, writhe and
hang in garlands around the shapeless mass. Four open hands
rest, apparently without any purpose, upon the bared breasts of a
female. In profile, it is not unlike a squatting toad, whose glisten-
ing eyes and broad mouth expand above the cincture of skulls
and serpents. Seen in this direction it appears to have more shape
and meaning than in front. On the top of the statue there is a
hollow, which was probably used as the receptacle of offerings or
incense during sacrifice. The bottom of this mass is also sculp-
tured in relief, and as it will be observed in the plate, that there
are projections of the body near the waist, it is supposed that this
frightful idol was suspended by them aloft on pillars, so that its
worshippers might pass beneath the massive stone.

In 1790, this idol was found buried in the great square of
Mexico, whence it was removed to the court of the university; but
as the priests feared that it might again tempt the Indians to their
ancient worship, it was interred until the year 1821, since which
time it has been exhibited to the public.

TEOCALLI TWO KINDS OF SACRIFICE.

in

BOTTOM OF TEOYAOMIQUI.

The reader who has accompanied us from the beginning of this
volume and perused the history of the Spanish conquest, has
doubtless become somewhat familiar with the great square of an-
cient Tenochtitlan, its Teocalli, or pyramidal temple, and the
bloody rites that were celebrated upon it, by the Aztec priests and
princes. It served as a place of sacrifice, not only for the Indian
victims of war, but streamed with the blood of the unfortunate
Spaniards who fell into the power of the Mexicans when Cortez
was driven from the city.

This Teocalli is said to have been completed in the year 1486,
during the reign of the eighth sovereign of Tenochtitlan or Mexico,
and occupied that portion of the present city upon which the
cathedral stands and which is occupied by some of the adjacent
streets and buildings. Its massive proportions and great extent
may be estimated from the restoration of this edifice, which we
have attempted to form from the best authorities, and have pre-
sented in a plate in the preceding portion of this work.

The Mexican theology indulged in two kinds of sacrifice, one

15

112 WHY THE AZTECS SACRIFICED THEIR PRISONERS.

of which was an ordinary offering of a common victim, while the
other, or gladiatorial sacrifice, was only used for captives of extra-
ordinary courage and bravery.

When we recollect the fact that the Aztec tribe was an intrudei
into the valley of Anahuac, and that it laid the foundations of its
capital in the midst of enemies, we are not surprised that so hardy
.a race, from the northern hive, was both warlike in its habits and
sanguinary in its religion." With a beautiful land around it on all
sides, — level, fruitful, but incapable of easy defence, — it was
forced to quit the solid earth and to build its stronghold in the
waters of the lake. We can conceive no other reason for the
selection of such a site. The eagle may have been seen on a rock
amid the water devouring the serpent ; but we do not believe that
this emblem of the will of heaven, in guiding the wanderers to
their refuge in the lake of Tezcoco, was known to more than the
leaders of the tribe until it became necessary to control the band by
the interposition of a miracle. Something more was needed than
mere argument, to plant a capital in the water, and, thus, we doubt
not, that the singular omen, in which the modern arms of Mexico
have originated, was contrived or invented by the priests or chiefs
of the unsettled Aztecs.

Surrounded by enemies, with nothing that they could strictly
call their own, save the frail retreat among the reeds and rushes of
their mimic Venice, it undoubtedly became necessary for the Aztecs
to keep no captives taken in war. Their gardens, like their town,
were constructed upon the Chinampas, or floating beds of earth
and wicker work, which were anchored in the lake. They could
not venture, at any distance from its margin, to cultivate the fields.
When they sallied from their city, they usually left it for the battle
field ; and, when they returned, it is probable that it seemed to
them not only a propitiation of their gods, but a mercy to the vic-
tims, to sacrifice their numerous captives, who if retained in idle-
ness as prisoners would exact too large a body for their custody,
or, if allowed to go at large, might rise against their victors, and,
in either case, would soon consume the slender stores they were
enabled to raise by their scant horticulture. In examining the his-
tory of the Aztecs, and noticing the mixture of civilization which
adorned their public and private life, and the barbarism which
characterized their merciless religion, we have been convinced
that the Aztec rite of sacrifice originated, in the infancy of the state
in a national necessity, and, at length, under the influence of super
stition and policy, grew into an ordinance of faith and worship

COMMON SACRIFICE. 113

The Common Sacrifice, offered in the Aztec temples was
performed by a chief priest, and six assistants. The principal
flamen, habited in a red scapulary fringed with cotton, and
crowned with a circlet of green and yellow plumes, assumed, for
the occasion, the name of the deity to whom the offering was
made. His acolytes, — clad in white robes embroidered with
black ; their hands covered with leathern thongs ; their foreheads
filleted with parti-colored papers ; and their bodies dyed perfectly
black, — prepared the victim for the altar, and having dressed him
in the insignia of the deity to whom he was to be sacrificed, bore
him through the town begging alms for the temple. He was then
carried to the summit of the Teocalli, where four priests extended
him across the curving surface of an arched stone placed on the
sacrificial stone, while another held his head firmly beneath the
yoke which is represented elsewhere. The chief priest, — the
topiltzin or sacrificer, then stretched the breast of the victim
tightly by bending his body back as far as possible, and, seizing
the obsidian knife of sacrifice, cut a deep gash across the region
of the captive's heart. The extreme tension of the flesh and
muscles, at once yielded beneath the blade, and the heart of the
victim lay palpitating in the bloody gap. The sacrificer immedi-
ately thrust his hand into the wound, and, tearing out the quivering
vital, threw it at the feet of the idol, — inserted it with a golden
spoon into its mouth, — or, after offering it to the deity, consumed
it in fire and preserved the sacred ashes with the greatest rever-
ence. When these horrid rites were finished in the temple, the
victim's body was thrown from the top of the Teocalli, whence it
was borne to the dwelling of the individual who offered the sacri-
fice, where it was eaten by himself and his friends, or, was devoted
to feed the beasts in the royal menagerie.

Numerous cruel sacrifices were practised by the Indians of
Mexico, and especially among the Quauhtitlans, who, every four
years, slew eight slaves or captives, in a manner almost too brutal
for description. Sometimes the Aztecs contented themselves with
other and more significant oblations ; and flowers, fruits, bread,
meat, copal, gums, quails, and rabbits, were offered on the altars
of their gods. The priests, no doubt, approved these gifts far
more than the tough flesh of captives or slaves !

The Gladiatorial Sacrifice was reserved, as we have already
said for noble and courageous captives. According to Clavigero,
a circular mass, three feet high, resembling a mill stone, was
placed within the area of the great temple upon a raised terrace

114

GLADIATORIAL SACRIFICE

SACRIFICIAL STONE.

about eight feet from the wall. The captive was bound to this stone
by one foot, and was armed with a sword or maquahuitl and shield.
In this position, and thus accoutred, he was attacked by a Mexican
soldier or officer, who was better prepared with weapons for the dead-
ly encounter. If the prisoner was conquered he was immediately
borne to the altar of common sacrifice. If he overcame six assail-
ants he was rewarded with life and liberty, and permitted once more
to return to his native land with the spoils that had been taken from
him in war. Clavigero supposes that for many years, twenty thou-
sand victims were offered on the Mexican teocallis, in the "common
sacrifice ;" and in the consecration of the great temple, sixty thousand
persons were slain in order to baptise the pyramid with their blood.

/ SACRIFICIAL STONE.

An excellent idea of the sacrificial stone, will be obtained from
the plates which are annexed. Neat and graceful ornaments, are
raised in relief on the surface, and in the centre is a deep bowl,
whence, a canal or gutter leads to the edge of the cylinder. It is
a mass of basaltic rock nine feet in diameter and three in height,
and was found in the great square in 1790, near the site of the
large teocalli or pyramid. On its sides are repeated, all round the

IDE OF SACRIFICIAL STONE.

AZTEC CALENDAR WEEK, MONTH, YEAR, CYCLE. 115

stone, the same two figures which are drawn in the second plate.
They evidently represent a victor and a prisoner. The conqueror-
is in the act of tearing the plumes from the crest of the vanquished,
who bows beneath the blow and lowers his weapons. The simi-
larity of these figures to some that are delineated in the first
volume of Stephens' Yucatan is remarkable.

The Aztec Calendar Stone, another monument of Mexican
antiquity, was found in December, 1790, buried under ground in the
great square of the capital. Like the idol image of Teoyaomiqui,
and the sacrificial stone, it is carved from a mass of basalt, and is
eleven feet eight inches in diameter, the depth of its circular edge
being about seven and a half inches from the fractured square of
rock out of which it was originally cut. It is supposed, from the
fact that it was found beneath the pavement of the present plaza,
that it was part of the fixtures of the great Teocalli of Tenoch-
titlan, or that it was placed in some of the adjoining edifices or
palaces surrounding the temple. It is now walled into the west
side of the cathedral, and is a remarkable specimen of the talent
of the Indians for sculpture, at the same time that its huge mass,
together with those of the sacrificial stone and the idol Teoyao-
miqui, denote the skill of their inventors in the movement of
immense weights, without the aid of horses.

The Aztecs calculated their civil year by the solar ; they divided
it into eighteen months of twenty days each, and added five
complimentary days, as in Egypt, to make up the complete number
of three hundred and sixty-five. After the last of these months
the five nemontemi or "useless days" were intercalated, and,
belonging to no particular month, were regarded as unlucky, by the
superstitious natives. Their week consisted of five days, the last
of which was the market day ; and a month was composed of four
of these weeks. As the tropical year is composed of about six
hours more than three hundred and sixty-five days, they lost a day
every fourth year, which they supplied, not at the termination of
that period, but at the expiration of their cycle of fifty-two years,
when they intercalated the twelve days and a half that were lost.
Thus it was found, at the period of the Spanish conquest, that
their computation of time corresponded with the European, as
calculated by the most accurate astronomers.

At the end of the Aztec or Toltec cycle of fifty-two years, —
for it is not accurately ascertained to which of the tribes the as-
tronomical science of Tenochtitlan is to be attributed, — these

116 PROCESSION OF THE NEW FIRE SACRIFICE.

primitive children of the New World believed that the world was in
danger of instant destruction. Accordingly, its termination be-
came one of their most serious and awful epochs, and they anx-
iously awaited the moment when the sun would be blotted out from
the heavens, and the globe itself once more resolved unto chaos.
As the cycle ended in the winter, the season of the year, with its
drearier sky and colder air, in the lofty regions of the valley, added
to the gloom that fell upon the hearts of the people. On the
last day of the fifty- two years, all the fires in temples and dwell-
ings were extinguished, and the natives devoted themselves to
fasting and prayer. They destroyed alike their valuable and
worthless wares ; rent their garments ; put out their lights, and
hid themselves, for awhile in solitude. Pregnant women seem to
have been the objects of their especial dread at this moment.
They covered their faces with masks and imprisoned them
securely, for they imagined, that on the occurrence of the grand
and final catastrophe, these beings, who, elsewhere, are always
the objects of peculiar interest and tenderness, would be suddenly
turned into beasts of prey and would join the descending legions
of demons, to revenge the injustice or cruelty of man.

At dark, on the last dread evening, — as soon as the sun had
set, as they imagined, forever, — a sad and solemn procession of
priests and people marched forth from the city to a neighboring
hill, to rekindle the " New Fire." This mournful march was
called the "procession of the gods," and was supposed to be their
final departure from their temples and altars.

As soon as the melancholy array reached the summit of the hill,
it reposed in fearful anxiety until the Pleiades reached the zenith in
the sky, whereupon the priests immediately began the sacrifice of
a human victim, whose breast was covered with a wooden shield,
which the chief flamen kindled by friction. When the sufferer
received the fatal stab from the sacrificial knife of obsidian, the
machine was set in motion on his bosom, until the blaze had
kindled. The anxious crowd stood round with fear and trembling.
Silence reigned over nature and man. Not a word was uttered
among the countless multitude that thronged the hill-sides and
plains, whilst the priest performed his direful duty to the gods.
At length, as the first sparks gleamed faintly from the whirling in-
strument, low sobs and ejaculations were whispered among the
eager masses. As the sparks kindled into a blaze, and the blaze
into a flame, and the flaming shield and victim were cast together
on a pile of combustibles which burst at once into the bright-

FEAST OF THE NEW FIRE

CALENDAR.

117

ness of a conflagration, the air was rent with the joyous
shouts of the relieved and panic stricken Indians. Far and
wide over the dusky crowds beamed the blaze like a star of prom-
ise. Myriads of upturned faces greeted it from hills, mountains,
temples, terraces, teocallis, house tops and city walls ; and the
prostrate multitudes hailed the emblem of light, life and fruition as
a blessed omen of the restored favor of their gods and the preser-
vation of the race for another cycle. At regular intervals, Indian
couriers held aloft brands of resinous wood, by which they
transmitted the " New Fire " from hand to hand, from vil-
lage to village, and town to town, throughout the Aztec empire.
Light was radiated from the imperial or ecclesiastical centre of the
realm. In every temple and dwelling it was rekindled, from the
sacred source ; and when the sun rose again on the following
morning, the solemn , procession of priests, princes and subjects,
which had taken up its march from the capital on the preceding
night, with solemn steps, returned once more to the abandoned
capital, and restoring the gods to their altars, abandoned them-
selves to joy and festivity in token of gratitude and relief from
impending doom.

AZTEC CALENDAR STONE.
10

118 AZTECS ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCE.

We have thought it proper and interesting to preface the
description of the calendar stone by the preceding account of the
Aztec festival of the New Fire, which illustrates the mingled ele-
ments of science and superstition that so largely characterized the
empire of Montezuma. The stone itself has engaged the atten-
tion, for years, of numerous antiquarians in Mexico, Europe and
America, but it has received from none so perfect a description, as
from the late Albert Gallatin, who devoted a large portion of his
declining years to the study of the ancient Mexican chronology and
languages. In the first volume of the Transactions of the American
Ethnological Society he has contributed an admirable summary of
his investigations of the semi-civilized nations of Mexico, Yucatan
and Central America, and from this we shall condense the por-
tion which relates to this remarkable monument.

Around the principal central figure, representing the sun, are
delineated in a circular form the twenty days of the month ; which
are marked from 1 to 20, with figures in the plates, and, in this
order, are the following :

1 Cipactli. 8 Ocelotl. 15 Mazatl.

2 Xochitl. 9 Acatl. 16 Miquiztli.

3 Quiahuitl. 10 Malinalli. 17 Cohualt.

4 Tecpatl. 11 Ozomatli. 18 Cuetzpalni.

5 Ollin. 12 Itzeuinitli. 19 Calli.

6 Cozcaquauhitli. 13 Atl. 20 Ehecatl.

7 Quauhtli. 14 Tochtli.

The triangular figure I, above the circle enclosing the emblem
of the sun, denotes the beginning of the year. Around the
circumference which bounds the symbols of the days and months
are found the places of fifty-two small squares, of which only
forty are actually visible, the other twelve being covered by
the four principal rays of the sun marked R. These doubtless
denote the cycle of 52 years ; and each of these squares contains
five small oblongs, making in all 260 for the 52 squares. They
are presumed to represent the 260 days or the period of the twenty
first series of thirteen days. All the portion, included between the
outer circumference of these 260 days and the external zone, has
not been decyphered accurately. The external zone consists,
except at the extremities, of a symbol twenty times repeated, and is
alleged by Gama, a Mexican who first described and attempted to
interpret the stone, to represent the milky way. The waving lines
connected with it are supposed by this writer to represent clouds,
while others imagine them to be the symbols of the mountains in

AZTEC CALENDAR. 119

which clouds and storms originated. These fanciful interpreta-
tions, however, are unavailable in all scientific descriptions, and
Mr. Gallatin supposes the figures to be altogether ornamental.

The whole circle is divided into eight equal parts by the eight
triangles R, which designate the rays of the sun. The intervals
between these are each divided into two equal parts by the small
circles indicated by the letter L. At the top of the vertical ray
is found the hieroglyphic 13 Acatl, which shows that this stone
applies to that year. It must be recollected that, although this
Mexican calendar is in its arrangement the same for every year in
the cycle, there was a variation at the rate of a day for every four
years, between the several years of the cycle and the corresponding
solar years. Gama presumes that this date of 13 Acatl was se-
lected on account of its being the twenty-sixth year of the cycle
and equally removed from its beginning and termination. Beneath
this hieroglyphic, in correct drawings of the stone — but not in
that of Gama which has been reproduced by Mr. Gallatin — will
be found, between the letters Y and G, the distinct sign of 2, Acatl,
and the ray above it points to the sign of the year 13 Acatl, which
coincides with our 21st of December, and is undoubtedly the
hitherto undetermined date of the winter solstice in the Mexican
calendar. 1

The smaller interior circle, we have already said, contains the
image of the sun, as usually painted by the Indians ; and to it are
united the four parallelograms, A, B, C, D, which are supposed by
some writers to denote the four weeks into which the twenty days
of the month were divided, but which contain the hieroglyphics,
A, of 4 Ocelotl ; B, of 4 Ehecatl ; C, of 4 Quiahuitl ; and D, of 4
Atl. The lateral figures E and F, according to Gama denote
claws, which are symbolical of two great Indian astrologers who
were man and wife, and were represented as eagles or owls.

The representations in these parallelograms, are believed to have
originated in the Mexican fable of the suns, which will be here-
after noticed. The Aztecs believed that this luminary had died
four times, and that the one which at present lights the earth, was
the fifth, but which nevertheless was doomed to destruction like the
preceding orbs. From the creation, the first age or sun, lasted 676
years, comprising 13 cycles, when the crops failed, men perished of
famine and their bodies were consumed by the beasts of the field.
This occurred in the year 1 Acatl, and on the day 4 Ocelotl, and

1 See Ethnological Trans. 1 vol., p. 96, and Am. Journal of Science and Arts,
second series, vol. vii., p. 155. March No. for 1849.

120 AZTEC CALENDAR.

the ruin lasted for thirteen years. The next age and sun endured
364 years or 7 cycles, and terminated in the year 1 Tecpatl on the
day 4 Ehecatl, when hurricanes and rain desolated the globe and
men were metamorphosed into monkeys. The third age continued
for 312 years, or 6 cycles, when fire or earthquakes rent the earth
and human beings were converted into owls in the year 1 Tecpatl,
on the day 4 Quiahuitl ; — while the fourth age or sun lasted but
for a single cycle of 52 years, and the world was destroyed by a
flood, which either drowned the people or changed them into
fishes, in the year 1 Calli, on the day 4 Atl. The four epochs of
destruction are precisely the days typified by the hieroglyphics in
the four parallelograms A, B, C and D.

It will be seen by adding the several periods together that the
Aztecs counted 1469 years from the creation of the world to the
flood ; yet there is an incongruity in this imaginary antediluvian
history. If the fourth age had lasted only 52 years, it would have
terminated in the year 1 Tecpatl instead of 1 Calli. Bustamante,
the publisher and annotator of Gama, states that some authorities
contend for only three antecedent periods, and that the present age
is expected to end by fire. But Mr. Gallatin alleges that the
four ages and five suns have been generally adopted, and are sus-
tained by the ancient Aztec paintings contained in the Codex
Vaticanus, plates 7 to 10. Like most of the Mexican antiquities,
this branch of the Chronology is admitted to be exceedingly ob-
scure, for it is asserted in the Appendix to Mr. Gallatin's essay that
the hieroglyphics annexed to these paintings, may be interpreted
as giving to the four ages respectively the duration of either 682,
530, 576, and 582, or of 5206, 2010, 4404, and 4008 years.

" This would appear to be purely mythological, but the fact that
all these imaginary antediluvian periods consist of a certain number
of cycles, shows that this fable was invented subsequent to the time
when the Mexicans had attained a knowledge of cycles, years and
of the approximate length of the solar year. It seems, therefore,
probable that the mythological representation is in some way con-
nected with celestial phenomena, and it is accordingly, found that
the days designated in the parallelograms A and C, as 4 Ocelotl,
and 4 Quiahuitl, correspond respectively, ( on the assumption that
the first year of the cycle corresponds with the 31st of December, )
with the 13th of May and 17th of July, old style, or 22d of May
and 26th of July, new style. And these two days 22d of May and
26th of July, are those, according to Gama, of the transit of the sun
oy the zenith of the city of Mexico, which, by the observations of

AZTEC CALENDAR. 121

Humboldt, lies in 19° 25' and 57" north latitude and in 101° 25'
80" west longitude from Paris. The two other days 4 Ehecatl,
and 4 Atl, do not correspond either in the first year of the cycle or
in the year 13 Acatl, with any station of the sun or any other
celestial phenomena.

" There are three other hieroglyphics contained within the inte-
rior circumference or representation of the sun, which indicate the
dates of some celebrated feasts of the Aztecs. The three follow-
ing indications or hieroglyphics are found immediately below the
figure of the sun. The first of these, designated by the letter H, is
placed between the parallelograms C and D, and consists of two
squares of five oblongs each, indicating the Aztec numeral 10.
The symbol of the day is not annexed, but the whole of the central
figure is itself the sign Olin Tonatiah, and the hieroglyphic of the
day Olin, as delineated on the stone among the other emblems of
the days, is on a small scale and abbreviated form of that central
and principal figure of the stone. The day designated here, is
consequently, 10 Olin. Below this, and on each side respectively
of the great vertical ray of the sun, are found the hieroglyphics of
the days 1 Quiahuitl, and 2 Ozomatli. Of the last mentioned
days, — 10 Olin corresponds in the first year of the cycle, with the
22d day of September, new style ; — 1 Quiahuitl with the 28th of
March, and 2 Ozomatli with the 28th of June, as will be seen by
the table at the end of this description of the calendar.

" We find, therefore, delineated on this stone all the dates of the
principal positions of the sun, and it thus appears that the Aztecs
had ascertained with considerable precision the respective days of
the two passages of the sun by the zenith of Mexico, of the two
equinoxes, and of the summer and winter solstices. They had
therefore six different means of ascertaining and verifying the
length of the solar year by counting the number of days elapsed
till the sun returned to each of these six points, — the two solstices,
the two equinoxes, and the two passages by the zenith." 1

1 See Trans. Amer. Ethnol. Soc'y., vol. 1, p. 94. We should remark that the
letters Q. Q., X. Z., P. P., S. Y., on the edge of the stone, denote holes out
into it, in which it is asserted that gnomons were placed whose shadows on the
calendar converted it into a dial.

122

MEXICAN ALMANAC, ACCORDING TO GAMA.

MEXICAN ALMANAC,

ACCORDING TO GAMA.

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TABLE, ETC

123

( Xiuhteuctli
I Tletl.

t).

Tecpatl.

c.

Xochitl.

d.

Cinteotl.

e.

Miquiztli.

i.

Atl.

K.

Tlazolteotl.

h.

Tepeyolotli.

i.

Quiahuitl.

In this perpetual almanac, each day in the year is desig-
nated by three characteristics derived from the combination
of three series, viz. : That of the 20 days of the month, each
of which has a distinct name and hieroglyphic, from Cipactli
to Xochitl ; and as these names are the same and in the
same order in every month, the column in which they are
set down answers for every month. The series of 13 days,
designed by its proper numeral from 1 to 13. And the se-
ries of the 9 night companions, designated in this Table by
the letters a, b,. . . .h, i, viz. :

Thus every day in the year is so distinguished that it can never be confounded
with any other. The day 4 Ollin is the 17th day of both the first and the four-
teenth month ; but in the first instance it is distinguished by the letter h, and in the
second by the letter g. If the characteristics of the 9th day of the 10th month be
required, the Table shows that it is 7 Atl i ; and thus also the 13th day of the 16th
month (Quecholli) is shown to be 1 Acatl g, and the 313th of the year.

But it is only for the first year of the cycle (1 Tochtli) that the Mexican year cor-
responds with ours in the manner stated in the Table. For, on account of our inter-
calation of one day every bissextile year, the Mexican year receded, as compared
with ours, one day every four years. This correction must therefore be made,
whenever a comparison of the dates is wanted for any other than the first year of
the cycle. The Mexican intercalation of 13 days at the end of the cycle of 52
years made again the first year of every cycle correspond with our year, in the
manner stated in the Table.

Another correction is again necessary, when we have a Tescocan instead of a
Mexican date. For the first year of the Mexican cycle was 1 Tochtli, and that of
Tescoco was 1 Acatl ; which caused a difference now of three, now of ten days in
their calendars, which in every other respect were the same. Both corrections
appear in the second Table. — Trans. Amer. Ethnol. Soc., vol. i, p. 114. Tables C.
andC2

IstyearofMexic'n Cycle

Bissextile year

do

do

Tescocan inter'n 13 days
1st year of Tesco'n Cycle

Bissextile year

do

do

do.

do,

do,

do.

do.

do

do.

Mexican intercal.l3days
lstyear of Mexic'n Cycle

Bissextile year. . ,

do

do

Tescocan inter'n 13 days
1st year Tesco'n Cycle
Cortez enters Mexico

Bissextile year

Capture of Mexico. .

Mexican

A. D.

Julian
Old Style.

year.

New Style.

1454

Mexico.

Tescoco.

Mexico.

Tescoco. ■
Dec. 30

1 Tochtli

Dec. 31

Dec. 21

Jan. 9

3 Tecpatl

1456

30

20

8

29:

7 do.

1460

29

19

7

28|

11 do.

1464

28

18

6

27

1 Acatl

1467

28

31

6

Jan. 9

2 Tecpatl

1468

27

30

5

8

6 do.

1472

26

29

4

7

10 do.

1476

25

28

3

6

1 do.

1480

24

27

2

5

5 do.

1484

23

26

1

4

9 do.

1488

22

25
24

Dec. 31

3

13 do.

1492

21

30

2

4 do.

1496

20

23

29

1

8 do.

1500

19

22

28

Dec. 31

12 do.

1504

18

21

27

30

1 Tochtli

1506

31

21

Jan. 9

30

3 Tecpatl

1508

30

20

8

29

7 do.

1512

29

19

7

28

11 do.

1516

28

18

6

27

1 Acatl

1519

28

31

6

Jan. 9

2 Tecpatl

1520

27

30

5

8

3 Calli

1521

27

:<o

5

8

124

MEXICAN CYCLE OF FIFTY-TWO YEARS.

MEXICAN CYCLE OF 52 YEARS

1st year.

1 Tochtli

2 Acatl
Tecpatl
Calli
Tochtli
Acatl
Tecpatl

8 Calli

9 Tochtli

10 Acatl

11 Tecpatl

12 Calli
.13 Tochtli

14lh year.

Acatl

Tecpatl

Calli

Tochtli

Acatl

Tecpatl

Calli

8 Tochtli

9 Acatl

10 Tecpatl

11 Calli

12 Tochtli

13 Acatl

27lh year.

1 Tecpatl

2 Calli

3 Tochtli

4 Acatl

5 Tecpatl

6 Calli

7 Tochtli

8 Acatl

9 Tecpatl

10 Calli

11 Tochtli

12 Acatl

13 Tecpatl

40th year.

1 Calli

2 Tochtli

3 Acatl

4 Tecpatl

5 Calli

6 Tochtli

7 Acatl

8 Tecpatl

9 Calli

10 Tochtli

11 Acatl

12 Tecpatl

13 Calli

See 1st vol. Ethnol. Trans, ut antea page 63.

BOOK 11

NEW SPAIN

UNDER THE VICEROYAL GOVERNMENT.
1530 — 1809.

17

BOOK II.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY

COLONIAL SYSTEM EARLY GRANTS OF POWER TO RULERS IN

MEXICO, BY THE EMPEROR CHARLES V ABUSE OF IT. —

COUNCIL OF THE INDIES LAWS. ROYAL AUDIENCES CA-

BILDOS FUEROS. RELATIVE POSITIONS OF SPANIARDS AND

CREOLES. SCHEME OF SPANISH COLONIAL TRADE. RE-
STRICTIONS ON TRADE. ALCABALA TAXES PAPAL BULLS.

BULLS DE CRUZADA DE DEFUNTOS OF COMPOSITION.

POWER OF THE CHURCH ITS PROPERTY INQUISITION. THE

ACTS OF THE INQUISITION REPARTIMIENTOS. INDIANS

AGRICULTURISTS MINERS MITA. EXCUSES FOR MALAD-
MINISTRATION.

Before we present the reader a brief sketch of the viceroyal
government of New Spain, it may, in no small degree, contribute
to the elucidation of this period if we review the Spanish colonial
system that prevailed from the conquest to the revolution which
resulted in independence.

As soon as the Spaniards had plundered the wealth accumulated
by the Incas and the Aztecs in the semi-civilized empires of
Mexico and Peru, they turned their attention to the government
of the colonies which they saw springing up as if by enchantment.
The allurements of gold and the enticements of a prolific soil,
under delicious skies, had not yet ceased to inflame the ardent
national fancy of Spain, so that an eager immigration escaped by
every route to America. An almost regal and absolute power was
vested by special grants from the king in the persons who were
despatched from his court to found the first governments in the
New World. But this authority was so abused by some of the
ministerial agents that Charles V. took an early occasion to curb

128 COUNCIL OF THE INDIES — LAWS.

their power and diminish their original privileges. The Indian
who had been divided with the lands among the conquerors b
the slavish system of repartimientos, were declared to be the
king's subjects. In 1537 the Pope issued a decree declaring the
aborigines to be "really and truly men," — "ipsos veros homi
nes," — who were capable of receiving the christian faith.

The sovereign was ever regarded from the first as the direct
fountain of all authority throughout Spanish America. All his
provinces were governed as colonies and and his word was their
supreme law. In 1511, Ferdinand created a new governmenta
department for the control of his American subjects, denominatec
the Council of the Indies, but it was not fully organized unti
the reign of Charles the Fifth in 1524. The Recopilacion de las
leyes de las Indias declared that this council should have suprem
jurisdiction over all the Western Indies pertaining to the Spanish
crown, which had been discovered, at that period, or which might
thereafter be discovered; — that this jurisdiction should extenc
over all their interests and affairs ; and, moreover, that the council,
with the royal assent, should make all laws and ordinances, neces
sary for the welfare of those provinces.1 This Council of the
Indies consisted of a president, who was the king, four secretaries
and twenty-two counsellors, and the members were usually chosen
from among those who had either been viceroys or held high
stations abroad. It appointed all the officers employed in America
in compliance with the nomination of the crown, and every one
was responsible to it for his conduct. As soon as this politica
and legislative machine was created it began its scheme of law
making for the colonies, not, however, upon principles of nationa
right, but according to* such dictates of expediency or profit as
might accrue to the Spaniards. From time to time they were
apprised of the wants of the colonists, but far separated as they
were from the subject of their legislation, they naturally committed
many errors in regard to a people with whom they had not the
sympathy of a common country, and common social or industrial
interests. They legislated either for abstractions or with the selfish
view of working the colonies for the advantage of the Spanish
crown rather than for the gradual and beautiful development of
American capabilities. The mines of this continent first attracted
the attention of Spain, and the prevailing principle of the scheme
adopted in regard to them, was, that the mother country should

1 Recop. de las leyes, lib. 2, title 2, ley 2.

ROYAL AUDIENCES CABILDOS FUEROS. 129

produce the necessaries or luxuries of life for her colonial vassals,

whilst they recompensed their parent with a bountiful revenue of
crold and silver.

9

The bungling, blind, and often corrupt legislation of the Council
of the Indies soon filled its records with masses of contradictory
and useless laws, so that although there were many beneficent acts,
designed especially for the comfort of the Indians, the administra-
tion of so confused a system became almost incompatible with
justice. If the source of law was vicious its administration was
not less impure. The principal courts of justice were the Audi-
encias reales, or Royal Audiences. In addition to the presi-
dent,— who was the Viceroy, or Captain General, — the audiencia
or court was composed of a regent, three judges, two flscales or
attorneys, (one for civil and the other for criminal cases) a reporter,
and an alguazil, or constable. The members of these courts were
appointed by the king himself, and, being almost without excep-
tion, natives of old Spain, they possessed but few sympathies for
the colonists.

After the Royal Audiences, came the Cabildos whose members,
consisting of regidores and other persons appointed by the king,
and of two alcaldes annually elected by the regidores from among
the people, — constituted a municipal body in almost every town
or village of importance. These cabildos had no legislative juris-
diction, but superintended the execution of the laws within their
districts and regulated all minor local matters. The office of
regidor was a regular matter of bargain and sale ; and, as the
regidores subsequently elected the alcaldes, it will be seen that
this admitted of great corruption, and tended to augment the
direct oppression of the masses subjected to their jurisdiction. It
was an instrument to increase the wealth and strengthen the tyran-
nical power of the rulers.

These ill regulated audiencias and cabildos, were, in themselves,
capable of destroying all principles of just harmony, and were
sufficient to corrupt the laws both in their enactment and adminis-
tration. But all men were not equal before these tribunals. A
system of fueros or privileges, opposed innumerable obstacles.
These were the privileges of corporate bodies and of the profes-
sions; of the clergy, called public or common ; and of the monks,
canons, inquisitions, college, and universities; the privileges of
persons employed in the royal revenue service ; the general privi-
leges of the military, which were extended also to the militia, and
the especial privileges of the marines, of engineers, and of the

130 RELATIVE POSITION OF SPANIARDS AND CREOLES.

artillery. An individual enjoying any of these privileges was
elevated above the civil authority, and, whether as plaintiff or
defendant, was subject only to the chief of the body to which he
belonged, both in civil and criminal cases. So great a number of
jurisdictions created an extricable labyrinth, which, by keeping
up a ceaseless conflict between the chiefs in regard to the extent
of their powers, stimulated each one to sustain his own authority
at all hazards, and, with such resoluteness as to employ even
force to gain his purpose.1 Bribery, intrigue, delay, denial of jus-
tice, outrage, ruin, were the natural results of such a system of
complicated irresponsibility ; and consequently it is not singular
to find even now in Mexico and South America large masses of
people who are utterly ignorant of the true principles upon which
justice should be administered or laws enacted for its immaculate
protection. The manifesto of independence issued by the Buenos
Ayrean Congress in 1816, declares that all public offices be-
long exclusively to the Spaniards; and although the Ameri-
cans were equally entitled to them by the laws, they were
appointed only in rare instances, and even then, not without satia-
ting the cupidity of the court by enormous sums of money. Of
one hundred and seventy viceroys who governed on this continent
but four were Americans ; and of six hundred and ten Captains
General and Governors, all but fourteen were natives of old
Spain ! Thus it is evident that not only were the Spanish laws
bad in their origin, but the administrative system under which
they operated denied natives of America in almost all cases the
possibility of self government.

The evil schemes of Spain did not stop, however, with the
enactment of laws, or their administration. The precious metals
had originally tempted her, as we have already seen, and she did
not fail to build up a commercial system which was at once to
bind the colonists forever to the mines, whilst it enriched and
excited her industry at home in arts, manufactures, agriculture,
and navigation. As the Atlantic rolled between the old world and
the new, America was excluded from all easy or direct means of
intercourse with other states of Europe, especially at a period
when the naval power of Spain was important, and frequent wars
made the navigation of foreign merchantmen or smugglers some-
what dangerous in the face of her cruisers. Spain therefore inter-
dicted all commercial intercourse between her colonies and the rest

1 Mendez, Observaciones sobre les leyes de Indias y sobre la independencia de
America. London, 1823. p. 174.

SCHEME OF SPANISH COLONIAL TRADE. 131

of the world, thus maintaining a strict monopoly of trade in her
own hands. All imports and exports were conveyed in Spanish
bottoms, nor was any vessel permitted to sail for Vera Cruz or
Porto Bello, her only two authorized American ports, except from
Seville, until the year 1720, when the trade was removed to Cadiz
as a more convenient outlet. It was not until the War of the
Succession that the trade of Peru was opened, and, even then, only
to the French. By the peace of Utrecht, in 1713, Great Britain
with the asiento, or contract for the supply of slaves, obtained
a direct participation in the American trade, by virtue of a permis-
sion granted her to send a vessel of five hundred tons annually to
the fair at Porto Bello. This privilege ceased with the partial
hostilities in 1737, but Spain found herself compelled, on the
restoration of peace in 1739, to make some provision for meeting
the additional demand which the comparatively free communica-
tion with Europe had created. Licenses were granted, with this
view, to vessels called register-ships, which were chartered during
the intervals between the usual periods for the departure of the
galleons. In 1764, a further improvement was made by the estab-
lishment of monthly packets to Havana, Porto Rico and Buenos
Ayres, which were allowed to carry out half cargoes of goods.
This was followed in 1774, by the removal of the interdict upon
the intercourse of the colonies with each other; and, this again,
in 1778, under what is termed a decree of free trade, by which
seven of the principal ports of the peninsula were allowed to carry
on a direct intercourse with Buenos Ayres and the South Sea.1
Up to the period when these civilized modifications of the original
interdict were made, the colonists were forbidden to trade either
with foreigners or with each other's states, under any pretext
whatever. The penalty of disobedience and detection was death.
Having thus enacted that the sole vehicle of colonial commerce
should be Spanish, the next effort of the paternal government was
to make the things it conveyed Spanish also. As an adjunct in
this system of imposition, the laws of the Indies prohibited the
manufacture or cultivation in the colonies, of all those articles
which could be manufactured or produced in Spain. Factories
were therefore inhibited, and foreign articles were permitted to
enter the viceroyalties, direct from Spain alone, where they were,
of course, subjected to duty previous to re-exportation. But these
foreign products were not allowed to be imported in unstinted
quantities. Spain fixed both the amount and the price ; so that by

1 Ward's Mexico in 1827, vol. 1, p. 116.

132 RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE.

extorting, ultimately, from the purchaser, the government was a
gainer in charges, profits and duties ; whilst the merchants of
Cadiz and Seville, who enjoyed the monopoly of trade, were ena-
bled to affix any valuation they pleased to their commodities. The
ingenuity of the Spaniards in contriving methods to exact the
utmost farthing from their submissive colonists, is not a little
remarkable. " They took advantage of the wants of the settlers,
and were, at one time, sparing in their supplies, so that the price
might be enhanced, whilst, at another, they sent goods of poor
quality, at a rate much above their value, because it was known
they must be purchased. It was a standing practice to despatch
European commodities in such small quantities as to quicken the
competition of purchasers and command an exorbitant profit. In
the most flourishing period of the trade of Seville, the whole
amount of shipping employed was less than twenty-eight thou-
sand tons, and many of the vessels made no more than annual
voyages. The evident motive on the part of the crown for limit-
ing the supply was, that the same amount of revenue could be
more easily levied, and collected with more certainty as well as
despatch, on a small than on a large amount of goods."1

Whilst the commerce of Spain was thus burdened by enormous
impositions, the colonies were of course cramped in all their ener-
gies. There could be no independent action of trade, manufacture,
or even agriculture, under such a system.

America, — under the tropics and in the temperate regions,
abounding in a prolific soil, — was not allowed to cultivate the
grape or the olive, whilst, even some kinds of provisions which
could easily have been produced on this continent were imported
from Spain.

Such were some of the selfish and unnatural means by which
the Council of the Indies, — whose laws have been styled, by
some writers, beneficent — sought to drain America of her wealth,
whilst they created a market for Spain. This was the external
code of oppression ; but the internal system of this continent,
which was justified and enacted by the same council, was not less
odious. Taxation, without representation or self government, was
the foundation of our revolt; yet, the patient colonies of Spain
were forced to bear it from the beginning of their career, so that
the idea of freedom, either of opinion or of impost, never entered
the minds of an American Creole.

Duties, taxes, and tithes were the vexatious instruments of royal

1 North American Review, vol. xix p. 117.

ALCABALA TAXES PAPAL BULLS. 133

plunder. The alcabala, an impost upon all purchases and sales,
including even the smallest transactions, was perhaps the most
burthensome. "Every species of merchandise, whenever it passed
from one owner to another, was subject to a new tax; and
merchants, shopkeepers and small dealers, were obliged to report
the amount of their purchases and sales under oath." From the
acquisition of an estate, to the simple sale of butter, eggs, 01
vegetables in market, all contracts and persons were subject to
this tax, except travellers, clergymen and paupers. Independently
of the destruction of trade, which must always ensue from such a
system, the reader will at once observe the temptations to vice
opened by it. The natural spirit of gain tempts a dealer to cheat
an oppressive government by every means in his power. It
is therefore not wonderful to find the country filled with con-
trabandists, and the towns with dishonest tradesmen. Men who
defraud in acts, will lie in words, nor will they hesitate to con-
ceal their infamy under the sanction of an oath. Thus was it
that the oppressive taxation of Spain became the direct instrument
of popular corruption, and, by extending imposts to the minutest
ramifications of society, it made the people smugglers, cheats, and
perjurers. In addition to the alcabala, there were transit duties
through the country, under which, it has been alleged, that Euro-
pean articles were sometimes taxed thirty times before they reached
their consumer. The king had his royal fifth of all the gold and
silver, and his monopolies of tobacco, salt and gunpowder. He
often openly vended the colonial offices, both civil and ecclesias-
tical. He stamped paper, and derived a revenue from its sale.
He affixed a poll tax on every Indian ; and, finally, by the most
infamous of all impositions, he derived an extensive revenue from
the religious superstition of the people. It was not enough to tax
the necessaries and luxuries of life, — things actually in existence
and tangible, — but, through a refined alchemy of political inven-
tion, he managed to coin even the superstitions of the people, and
add to the royal income by the sale of " Bulls de cruzada," —
"Bulls de defuntos," — " Bulls for eating milk and eggs during
lent" — and " Bulls of composition." Bales upon bales of these
badly printed licenses were sent out from Spain and sold by priests
under the direction of a commissary. The villany of this scheme
may be more evident if we detain the reader a moment in order to
describe the character of these spiritual licenses. Whoever pos-
sessed a " Bull de cruzada" might be absolved from all crimes
except heresy ; nor, could he be suspected even of so deadly a sin,

18

134 BULLS DE CRUZADA DE DEFUNTOS OF COMPOSITION.

as long as this talismanic paper was in his possession. Besides
this, it exempted him from many of the rigorous fasts of the
church ; while two of them, of course, possessed double the virtue
of one. The "Bull for the dead" was a needful passport for a
sinner's soul from purgatory. There was no escape without it
from the satanic police, and the poor and ignorant classes suffered
all the pains of their miserable friends who had gone to the other
world, until they were able to purchase the inestimable ticket of
release. But of all these wretched impostures, the " Bull of com-
position" was, probably, the most shameful as well as dangerous.
It " released persons who had stolen goods from the obligation to
restore them to the owner, provided the thief had not been moved
to commit his crime in consequence of a belief that he might
escape from its sin by subsequently purchasing the immaculate
'Bull.' " Nor were these all the virtues of this miraculous docu-
ment. It had the power to " correct the moral offence of false
weights and measures ; tricks and frauds in trade ; all the obliqui-
ties of principle and conduct by which swindlers rob honest folks
of their property ; and, finally, whilst it converted stolen articles
into the lawful property of the thief, it also assured to purchasers
the absolute ownership of whatever they obtained by modes that
ought to have brought them to the gallows. The price of these
Bulls depended on the amount of goods stolen ; but it is just to
add, that only fifty of them could be taken by the same person in
a year." l

These disgusting details might suffice to show the student how
greatly America was oppressed and corrupted by the Spanish
government; yet we regret that there are other important matters
of misrule which we are not authorised to pass by unnoticed.
Thus far we have considered the direct administration and taxing
power of the king and Council of the Indies ; we must now turn
to the despotism exercised over the mind as well as the body of
the Creoles.

The holy church held all its appointments directly from the
king, though the pope enjoyed the privilege of nomination ; conse-
quently the actual influence and power of the Hispano-American
church, rested in the sovereign. The Recopilacion de las Jeyes
expressly prohibits the erection of cathedrals, parish churches,
monasteries, hospitals, native chapels, or other pious or religious

1 See Pazo's letters on South America, pages 88, 89, North American Review,
art. antec, pages 186 and 187, et Depons.

POWER OF THE CHURCH ITS PROPERTY INQUISITION. 135

edifices, without the express license of the monarch.1 As all the
ecclesiastical revenues went to him, his power and patronage were
immense. The religious jurisdiction of the church tribunals
extended to monasteries, priests, donations, or legacies for sacred
purposes, tithes, marriages, and all spiritual concerns. The
fueros of the clergy have been already alluded to. " Instead of
any restraint on the claims of the ecclesiastics," says Dr. Robert-
son, "the inconsistent zeal of the Spanish legislators admitted
them into America to their full extent, and, at once imposed on
the Spanish colonies a burden which is in no slight degree oppres-
sive to society in its most improved state. As early as 1501 the
payment of tithes as it wTas called, in the colonies was enjoined,
and the mode of it regulated by law. Every article of primary
necessity towards which the attention of settlers must naturally
be turned was submitted to that grievous exaction. Nor were the
demands of the clergy confined to articles of simple and easy
culture. Its more artificial and operose productions, such as
sugar, indigo, and cochineal, were declared to be titheable, and,
in this manner, the planter's industry was taxed in every stage of
its progress from its rudest essay to its highest improvement."2
Thus it is that even now, after all the desolating revolutions that
have occurred, we see the wealth of the Mexican church so exor-
bitantly exceeding that of the richest lay proprietors. The clergy
readily became the royal agents in this scheme of aggrandizement ;
convent after convent was built ; estate after estate was added to
their possessions ; dollar after dollar, and diamond after diamond
were cast into their gorged treasuries, until their present accumu-
lations are estimated at a sum not far beneath one hundred
millions.3 The monasteries of the Dominicans and Carmelites
possess immense riches, chiefly in real estate both in town and
country ; whilst the convents of nuns in the city of Mexico, —
especially those of Concepcion, Encarnacion and Santa Terasa, —
are owners of three-fourths of the private houses in the capital, and
proportionably, of property in the different states of the republic. 4

Wherever the church of Rome obtained a foothold in the six-
teenth century the Holy Inquisition was not long in asserting
and establishing its power. Unfortunately for the zealots of this
monastic tribunal, the ignorance of the Indians did not permit

1 Recopilacion, lib. i, Tit. vi, Ley 2, North American Review, art. antec. p. 189.

2 Robertson's Hist, of Amer. ; Zavala Hist. Revo, of Mexico.

3 Otero, Cuestion social, pages 38, 39, 43.

4 Zavala Hist. Revo, de Mexico, pages 16, 17, vol. 1.

138 THE ACTS OF THE INQUISITION REPARTIMIENTOS.

them to wander into the mazes of heresy, so that the Dominican
monks found but slender employment for their cruel skill. The
poor aborigines were hardly worth the trouble of persecution, for
the conquerors had already plundered them, and, unfortunately, the
Jews did not emigrate to the wilds of America. The inquisition,
however, could not restrain its natural love of labor, so, that,
diverting its attention from the bodies of its victims it devoted
itself, with the occasional recreation of an auto da fe, to the
spiritual guardianship of Spanish and Indian intellects. Educa-
tion was of course modified and repressed by such baneful influ-
ences. Men dared neither learn nor read, except what was
selected for them by the monks. At the end of the eighteenth
century there were but three presses in Spanish America, — one
in Mexico, one in Lima, and one which belonged to the Jesuits at
Cordova ; but these presses were designed for the use of the
government alone in the dissemination of its decrees. The eye of
the inquisition was of course jealously directed to all publications.
Booksellers were bound to furnish the Holy Fathers annually with
a list of their merchandise, and the fraternity was empowered to
enter wheresoever it pleased, to seek and seize prohibited litera-
ture. Luther, Calvin, Vattel, Montesquieu, PufFendorfF, Robertson,
Addison, and even the Roman Catholic Fenelon, were all pro-
scribed. The inquisition was the great censor of the press, and
nothing was submitted to the people unless it had passed the fiery
ordeal of the holy office. It was quite enough for a book to be
wise, classical, or progressive, to subject it to condemnation.
Even viceroys and governors were forbidden to license the publi-
cation of a work unless the inquisition sanctioned it ; and we have
seen volumes in Mexico, still kept as curiosities in private libraries,
out of which pages were torn and passages obliterated by the
Holy Fathers, before they were permitted to be sold. 1

Inasmuch as the Indians formed the great bulk of Hispano-
American population, the king, of course, soon after the discovery,
directed his attention to their capabilities for labor. We have seen
in a previous part of this chapter that by a system of repartimientos
they were divided among the conquerors and made vassals of the
land holders, although always kept distinct from the negroes who
were afterwards imported from Africa. Although the Emperor
Charles V., enacted a number of mild laws for the amelioration of
their fate, their condition seems, nevertheless, to have been very
little improved, --according to our personal observation, — even to

1 See Zavala, vol. 1, p. 52.

IN IHANS AGRICULTURISTS MINERS MITA. 137

the present day. We have noticed that a capitation tax was levied
on every Indian, and that it varied in different parts of Spanish
America, from four to fifteen dollars, according to the ability of the
Indians. They were likewise doomed to labor on the public
works, as well as to cultivate the soil for the general benefit of the
country, whilst by the imposition of the mita they were forced to
toil in the mines under a rigorous and debasing system which the
world believed altogether unequalled in mineral districts until the
British parliamentary reports of a few years past disclosed the fact,
that even in England, men and women are sometimes degraded into
beasts of burden in the mines whose galleries traverse in every
direction the bowels of that proud kingdom.1 Toils and suffering
were the natural conditions of the poor Indian in America after the
conquest, and it might have been supposed that the plain dictates
of humanity would make the Spaniards content with the labor of
their serfs, without attempting afterwards, to rob them of the wages
of such ignominious labor. But even in this, the Spanish inge-
nuity and avarice were not to be foiled, for the corregidores in the
towns and villages, to whom were granted the minor monopolies
of almost all the necessaries of life, made this a pretext of obliging
the Indians to purchase what they required at the prices they chose
to affix to their goods. Monopoly — was the order of the day in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its oppressions extended
through all ranks, and its grasping advantages were eagerly seized
by every magistrate from the alguazil to the viceroy. The people
groaned, but paid the burthensome exaction, whilst the relentless
officer, hardened by the contemplation of misery, and the constant
commission of legalized robbery, only became more watchful, sa-
gacious and grinding in proportion as he discovered how much the
down-trodden masses could bear. Benevolent viceroys and liberal
kings, frequently interposed to prevent the continuance of these un-
just acts, but they were unable to cope with the numerous officials
who performed all the minor ministerial duties throughout the colony.
These inferior agents, in a new and partially unorganized country,
had every advantage in their favor over the central authorities in the
capital. The poorer Spaniards and the Indian serfs had no means
of making their complaints heard in the palace. There was no
press or public opinion to give voice to the sorrows of the masses,
and personal fear often silenced the few who might have reached
the ear of merciful and just rulers. At court, the rich, powerful

1 See British Parliamentary Report on the condition of the miners and mining
districts

138 EXCUSES FOR MALADMINISTRATION.

and influential miners or land holders, always discovered pliant
tools who were ready by intrigue and corruption to smother the cry
of discontent, or to account plausibly for the murmurs, which upon
extraordinary occasions, burst through all restraints until they
reached either the Audiencia or the representative of the sovereign.
These slender excuses may, in some degree, account for and pal-
liate the maladministration of Spanish America from the middle of
the sixteenth to the beginning of the nineteenth century.

The ensuing chapters of this book contain the annals of New
Spain from the foundation of the viceroyal system to the beginning
of the revolution that grew out of its corruptions. The materials
for this portion of Mexican history are exceedingly scant. During
the jealous despotism and ecclesiastical vigilance of old Spanish
rule, and the anarchy of modern miscalled republicanism, few
authors have ventured to penetrate the gloom of this mysterious
period. The Jesuit Father Cavo, and Don Carlos Maria Busta-
mante have alone essayed to narrate, consecutively, the events of
the viceroyalty ; and although no student of the past is attracted by
their crude and careless style, yet we may confidently rely on the
characteristic facts detailed in their tedious work. J

1 " Los Tres Siglos de Mejico, durante el Gobierno Espanol, " 1521 to 1766,
written by Father Andres Cavo, of the Society of Jesus ; 1767 to 1821, written b*
Don Carlos Maria Bustamante.

CHAPTER II.
1530—1551.

FOUNDING OF THE VICEROYALTY OF NEW SPAIN. NEW AUDIENCIA

FUENLEAL MENDOZA. EARLY ACTS OF THE FIRST VICE-
ROY COINAGE. REBELLION IN JALISCO VICEROY SUP-
PRESSES IT. COUNCIL OF THE INDIES ON REEARTIMIENTOS.

INDIAN SERVITUDE. QUIVARA EXPEDITIONS OF CORONADO

AND ALARCON. PEST IN 1546 REVOLUTION COUNCIL OF

BISHOPS. MINES ZAPOTECS REVOLT MENDOZA REMOVED

TO PERU.

Antonio de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla,

I. Viceroy of New Spain.

1530 — 1551.

In the year 1530, the accusations received in Spain against
Nuno de Guzman, and the oidores Matinezo and Delgadillo, who at
that period ruled in Mexico under royal authority, were not only
so frequent, but of so terrible a character, that Charles V. , resolved
to adopt some means of remedying the evils of his transatlantic
subjects. He was about to depart from Spain however, for Flan-
ders, and charged the Empress to adopt the necessary measures
for this purpose during his absence. This enlightened personage,
perceiving the difficulty of ruling so distant, extended and rich an
appendage of the Spanish crown, by inferior officials alone, wisely
determined to establish a Viceroyalty in New Spain. It was a
measure which seemed to place the two worlds in more loyal
affinity. The vice king, it was supposed, would be the impersona-
tion of sovereignty, the direct representative of the national head,
and would always form an independent and truthful channel of
information. His position set him, eminently, above the crowd of
adventurers who were tempted to the shores of America ; and, re-
movable at the royal pleasure, as well as selected from among
those Spanish nobles whose fidelity to the crown was unquestion-
able, there was but little danger that even the most ambitious
subject would ever be tempted to alienate from the Emperor the
affection and services either of emigrants or natives.

140 NEW AUDIENCIA FUENLEAL MENDOZA.

The Empress, in fulfilling the wishes of her august spouse, at
first fixed her eyes upon the Count de Oropesa and on the Marshal
de Fromesta, as persons well fitted to undertake the difficult charge
of founding the Mexican viceroyalty. But these individuals, upon
various pretexts, declined the mission, which was next tendered to
Don Manuel Benavides, whose exorbitant demands for money and
authority, finally induced the sovereign to withdraw her nomina-
tion. Finally, she resolved to despatch Don Antonio de Mendoza,
Count of Tendilla, one of her chamberlains, who requested only
sufficient time to regulate his private affairs before he joyfully set
forth for his viceroyalty of New Spain. In the meantime, however,
in order not to lose a moment in remedying the disorders on the
other side of the Atlantic, the Empress created a new Jludiencia,
at the head of which was Don Sebastian Ramirez de Fuenleal,
bishop of St. Domingo, and whose members were the Licenciados
Vasco de Quiroga, Alonso Maldonado, Francisco Cainos and Juan
de Salmeron. The appointment of the bishop was well justified
by his subsequent career of integrity, beneficence and wisdom
whilst Vasco de Quiroga has left in Michoacan, and, indeed, in all
Mexico, a venerated name, whose renown is not forgotten, in
private life and the legends of the country to the present day.

In 1535, Mendoza arrived in Mexico with letters for the Au-
diencia, and was received with all the pomp and splendor becoming
the representative of royalty. His instructions were couched in
the most liberal terms, for, after all, it was chiefly on the personal
integrity and discretion of a viceroy that the Spanish sovereigns
were obliged to rely for the sure foundation of their American
empire. Of the desire of the Emperor and Empress to act their
parts justly and honestly in the opening of this splendid drama in
America there can be no doubt. Their true policy was to develope,
not to destroy; and they at once perceived that, in the New
World, they no longer dealt with those organized classes of civ-
ilized society which, in Europe, yield either instinctively to the
feeling of loyalty, or are easily coerced into obedience to the laws.

Mendoza was commanded, in the first place, to direct his atten-
tion to the condition of public worship ; to the punishment of
clergymen who scandalized their calling ; to the conversion and
good treatment of the Indian population, and to the erection of a
mint in which silver should be coined according to laws made
upon this subject by Ferdinand and Isabella. All the wealth
which was found in Indian tombs or temples was to be sought out
and devoted to the royal treasury. It was forbidden, under heavy

EARLY ACTS OF THE FIRST VICEROY COINAGE. 141

penalties, to sell arms to negroes or Indians, and the latter were,
moreover, denied the privilege of learning to work in those more
difficult or elegant branches of labor which might interfere with
the sale of Spanish imported productions.

During the following year Mendoza received despatches from
the Emperor in which, after bestowing encomiums for the manifes-
tations of good government which the viceroy had already given,
he was directed to pay particular attention to the Indians ; and,
together with these missives, came a summary of the laws which
the Council of the Indies had formed for the welfare of the natives.
These benevolent intentions, not only of the sovereign but of the
Spanish people also, were made known to the Indians and their
caciques, upon an occasion of festivity, by a clergyman who was
versed in their language, and, in a similar way, they were dissemi-
nated throughout the whole viceroyalty. This year was, moreover,
memorable in Mexican annals as that in which the first book,
entitled La Escala de San Juan Climaca, was published in Mexico,
in the establishment of Juan Pablos, having been printed at a press
brought to the country by the viceroy Mendoza. Nor was 1536
alone signalized by the first literary issue of the new kingdom ; for
the first money, as well as the first book came at this time from the
Mexican mint. According to Torquemada two hundred thousand
dollars were coined in copper ; but the emission of a circulating
medium, in this base metal,, was so distasteful to the Mexicans,
that it became necessary for the viceroy to use stringent means in
order to compel its reception for the ordinary purposes of trade.

Between the years 1536 and 1540 the history of the Mexican
viceroyalty was uneventful, save in the gradual progressive efforts
made not only by Mendoza, but by the Emperor himself, in en-
deavoring to model and consolidate the Spanish empire on our
continent. Schools were established ; hospitals were erected ;
the protection of the Indians, under the apostolic labors of Las
Casas was honestly fostered, and every effort appears to have
been zealously made to give a permanent and domestic character
to the population which found its way rapidly into New Spain.
In 1541 the copper coin, of which we have already spoken as being
distasteful to the Mexicans, suddenly disappeared altogether from
circulation, and it was discovered that the natives had either buried
or thrown it into the lake as utterly worthless. The viceroy en-
deavored to remedy the evil and dispel the popular prejudice by
coining cuartillas of silver ; but these, from their extreme smallness
and the constant risk of loss, were equally unacceptable to the

19

142 REBELLION IN JALISCO VICEROY SUPPRESSES IT

people, who either collected large quantities and melted them into
bars, or cast them contemptuously into the water as they had before
done with the despised copper.

It was not until about the year 1542, that we perceive in the
viceroyal history, any attempts upon the part of the Indians to
make formidable assaults against the Spaniards, whose oppressive
and grinding system of repartimientos was undoubtedly beginning
to be felt. At this period the Indians of Jalisco rose in arms, and
symptoms of discontent were observed to prevail, also, among the
Tarascos and Tlascalans, who even manifested an intention of
uniting with the rebellious natives of the north. Mendoza was
not an idle spectator of these movements, but resolved to go forth,
in person, at the head of his troops to put down the insurgents.
Accordingly he called on the Tlascalans, Cholulans, Huexotzinques,
Tezcocans, and other bands or tribes for support, and permitted
the caciques to use horses and the same arms that were borne by
the Spaniards. This concession seems to have greatly pleased the
natives of the country, though it was unsatisfactory to some of
their foreign masters.

In the meanwhile, the coasts of America on the west, and the
shores of California especially, were examined by the Portuguese
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, as far north as near the 41 st° of latitude;
whilst another expedition was despatched to the Spice islands,
under the charge of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos.

The viceroy was moreover busy with the preparation of his army
designed to march upon Jalisco, and, on the 8th of October, 1542,
departed from Mexico with a force of fifty thousand Indians, three
hundred cavalry, and one hundred and fifty Spanish infantry.
Passing through Michoacan, where he was detained for some time,
he, at length, reached the scene of the insurrection in Jalisco ; but
before he attacked the rebels he proclaimed through the ecclesi-
astics who accompanied him, his earnest wish to accommodate
difficulties, and, even, to pardon, graciously, all who would lay
down their arms and return to their allegiance. He ordered that
no prisoners should be made except of such as were needed to
transport the baggage and equipments of his troops ; and, in every
possible way, he manifested a humane desire to soften the asperities
and disasters of the unequal warfare. But the rebellious Indians
were unwilling to listen to terms: — "We are lords of all these
lands," said they, heroically, in reply, " and we wish to die in
their defence ! "

Various actions ensued between the Spaniards, their allies, and

COUNCIL OF THE INDIES ON REPARTIMIENTOS. 143

the insurgents, until at length, Mendoza obtained such decided
advantages over his opponents that they gave up the contest, threw
down their arms, and enabled the viceroy to return to his capital
with the assurance that the revolted territory was entirely and per-
manently pacified. His conduct to the Indians after his successes
was characterized by all the suavity of a noble soul. He took no
revenge for this assault upon the Spanish authority, and seems, to
have continually endeavored to win the natives to their allegiance
by kindness rather than compulsion.

These outbreaks among the Indians were of course not unknown
in Spain, where they occasioned no trifling fear for the integrity
and ultimate dominion of New Spain. The natural disposition of
the Emperor towards the aborigines, was, as we have said, kind
and gentle ; but he perceived that the causes of these Indian dis-
contents might be attributed not so much, perhaps, to a patriotic
desire to recover their violated rights over the country, as to the
cruelty they endured at the hands of bold and reckless adventurers
who had emigrated to New Spain and converted the inoffensive
children of the country into slaves. Accordingly, the Emperor,
convened a council composed of eminent persons in Spain, to
consider the condition of his American subjects. This council
undertook the commission in a proper spirit, and adopted a liberal
system towards the aborigines, as well as towards the proprietors
of estates in the islands and on the main, which, in time, would
have fostered the industry and secured the ultimate prosperity of
all classes. There were to be no slaves made in the future wars
of these countries ; the system of repartimientos was to be aban-
doned ; and the Indians were not, as a class, to be solely devoted
to ignoble tasks. l The widest publicity was given to these
humane intentions in Spain. The Visitador of Hispaniola, or San
Domingo, Miguel Diaz de Armendariz, was directed to see their
strict fulfilment in the islands ; and Francisco Tello de Sandoval
was commissioned to cross the Atlantic to Mexico, with full powers
and instructions from the Emperor, to enforce their obedience in
New Spain.

In February, 1544, this functionary disembarked at St. Juan de
Ulua, and, a month afterwards, arrived in the capital. No sooner
did he appear in Mexico than the object of his mission became
gradually noised about among the proprietors and planters whose
wealth depended chiefly upon the preservation of their estates and
Indians in the servile condition in which they were before the

1 Herrera Deoade vii., lib. vi., chap. v.

144 INDIAN SERVITUDE.

assemblage of the Emperor's council in Spain during the previous
year. Every effort was therefore made by these persons and their
sattelites to prevent the execution of the royal will. Appeals were
addressed to Sandoval invoking him to remain silent. He was
cautioned not to interfere with a state of society upon which the
property of the realm depended. The ruin of many families, the
general destruction of property, the complete revolution of the
American system, were painted in glowing colors, by these men
who pretended to regard the just decrees of the Emperor as mere
"innovations" upon the established laws of New Spain. But
Sandoval was firm, and he was stoutly sustained in his honorable
loyalty to his sovereign and Christianity, by the countenance of
the viceroy Mendoza. Accordingly, the imperial decrees were
promulgated throughout New Spain, and resulted in seditious
movements among the disaffected proprietors which became so
formidable that the peace of the country was seriously endangered.
In this dilemma, — feeling, probably, that the great mass of the
people was the only bulwark of the government against the Indians,
and that it was needful to conciliate so powerful a body, — per-
mission was granted by the authorities, to appoint certain represen-
tatives as a commission to lay the cause before the Emperor himself.
Accordingly two delegates were despatched to Spain together with
the provincials of San Francisco, Santo Domingo and San Agustin,
and other Spaniards of wealth and influence in the colony.

In the following year, Sandoval, who had somewhat relaxed his
authority, took upon himself the dangerous task of absolutely en-
forcing the orders of the Emperor with some degree of strictness,
notwithstanding the visit of the representatives of the discontented
Mexicans to Spain. He displaced several oidores and other
officers who disgraced their trusts, and deprived various proprie-
tors of their repartimientos or portions of Indians who had been
abused by the cruel exercise of authority. But, in the meantime,
the agents had not ceased to labor at the court in Spain. Money,
influence, falsehood and intrigue were freely used to sustain the
system of masked slavery among the subjugated natives, and, at
last, a royal cedula was procured commanding the revocation of
the humane decrees and ordering the division of the royal domain
among the conquerors. The Indians, of course, followed the fate
of the soil ; and thus, by chicanery and influence, the gentle efforts
of the better portion of Spanish society were rendered entirely
nugatory. The news of this decree spread joy among the Mexican
landed proprietors. The chains of slavery were rivetted upon the

QT1VARA EXPEDITIONS OF CORONADO AND ALARCON. 145

natives. The principle of compulsory labor was established for-
ever ; and, even to this day, the Indian of Mexico remains the
bondsman he was doomed to become in the sixteenth century.

Between the years 1540 and 1542, an expedition was undertaken
for the subjugation of an important nation which it was alleged
existed far to the north of Mexico. A Franciscan missionary,
Marcos de Naza, reported that he had discovered, north of Sonora,
a rich and powerful people inhabiting a realm known as Quivara,
or the seven cities, whose capital, Cibola, was quite as civilized as
an European city. After the report had reached and been consid-
ered in Spain, it was determined to send an armed force to this
region in order to explore, and if possible to reduce the Quivarans
to the Spanish yoke. Mendoza had designed to entrust this expe-
dition to Pedro de Alvarado, after having refused Cortez permis-
sion to lead the adventurers, — a task which he had demanded as
his right. But when all the troops were enlisted, Alvarado had
not yet reached Mexico from Guatemala, and, accordingly, the vice-
roy despatched Vasquez de Coronado, at the head of the enterprise.
At the same time he fitted out another expedition, with two ships,
under the orders of Francisco Alarcon, who was to make a recon-
noisance of the coast as far as the thirty-sixth degree, and, after
having frequently visited the shores, he was, in that latitude to
meet the forces sent by land.

Coronado set forth from Culiacan, with three hundred and fifty
Spaniards and eight hundred Indians, and, after reaching the
source of the Gila, passed the mountains to the Rio del Norte.
He wintered twice in the region now called New Mexico, explored
it thoroughly from north to south, and then, striking off to the north
east, crossed the mountains and wandering eastwardly as far north
as the fortieth degree of latitude, he unfortunately found neither
Quivara nor gold. A few wretched ruins of Indian villages were
all the discoveries made by these hardy pioneers, and thus the en-
chanted kingdom eluded the grasp of Spain forever. The troop of
strangers and Indians soon became disorganized and disbanded ;
nor was Alarcon more successful by sea than Coronado by land.
His vessels explored the shores of the Pacific carefully, but they
found no wealthy cities to plunder, nor could the sailors hear of
any from the Indians with whom they held intercourse.

In 1546, a desolating pestilence swept over the land, destroying,
according to some writers, eight hundred thousand Indians, and,
according to others, five-sixths of the whole population. It lasted
for about six months ; and, at this period, a projected insurrection

146 PEST IN 1546 REVOLUTION COUNCIL OF BISHOPS.

among the black slaves and the Tenochan and Tlaltelolcan Indians,
was detected through a negro. This menaced outbreak was soon
crushed by Mendoza, who seized and promptly executed the
ringleaders.

A portion of the Visitador Sandoval's orders related to the conv(
cation of the Mexican bishops with a view to the spiritual welfare
of the natives, and the prelates were accordingly all summoned to
the capital, with the exception of the virtuous Las Casas, whose
humane efforts in behalf of the Indians, and whose efforts
to free them from the slavery of the repartimientos had sub-
jected him to the mortal hatred of the planters. The council
of ecclesiastics met ; but it is probable that their efforts were
quite as ineffectual as the humane decrees of the Emperor, and
that even in the church itself, there may have been persons
who were willing to tolerate the involuntary servitude of the natives
rather than forego the practical and beneficial enjoyment of estates
which were beginning to fall into the possession of convents and
monastaries on the death of pious penitents.

Meanwhile the population of New Spain increased considerably,
especially towards the westward. It was soon perceived by Men-
doza that a single Audiencia was no longer sufficient for so
extended a country. He, therefore, recommended the appointment
of another, in Compostella de la Nueva Gallacia, and in 1547, the
Emperor ordered two letrados for the administration of justice in
that quarter. The ultimate reduction of the province of Vera-Paz
was likewise accomplished at this period. The benignant name
of " True Peace " was bestowed on this territory from the fact that
the inhabitants yielded gracefully and speedily to the persuasive
influence and spiritual conquest of the Dominican monks, and that
not a single soldier was needed to teach them the religion of Christ
at the point of the sword.

During the two or three following years there was but little to
disturb the quietness of the colony, save in brief and easily sup-
pressed outbreaks among the Indians. Royal lands were divided
among poor and meritorious Spaniards ; property which was found
to be valueless in the neighborhood of cities was allowed to be
exchanged for mountain tracts, in which the eager adventurers
supposed, they might discover mineral wealth ; and the valuable
mines of Tasco, Zultepec, and Temascaltepec, together with others,
probably well known to the ancient Mexicans, were once more
thrown open and diligently worked.

The wise administration of the Mexican viceroyalty by Mendoza

MINES ZAPOTECS REVOLT MENDOZA REMOVED TO PERU. 147

had been often acknowledged by the Emperor. He found in this
distinguished person a man qualified by nature to deal with the
elements of a new society when they were in their wildest moments
of confusion, and before they had become organized into the order
and system of a regular state. Mendoza, by nature firm, amiable,
and just, seems nevertheless to have been a person who knew
when it was necessary in a new country, to bend before the storm
of popular opinion in order to avoid the destruction, not only of his
own influence, but perhaps of society, civilization and the Spanish
authorities themselves. In the midst of all the fiery and unregu-
lated spirit of a colony like Mexico, he sustained the dignity of his
office unimpaired, and by command, diplomacy, management, and
probably sometimes by intrigue, he appears to have ensured
obedience to the laws even when they were distasteful to the
masses. He was successful upon all occasions except in the en-
forcement of the complete emancipation of the Indians ; but it may
be questioned whether he did not deem it needful, in the infancy of
the viceroyalty at least, to subject the Indians to labors which his
countrymen were either too few in number or too little acclimated
in Mexico to perform successfully. History must at least do him
the justice to record the fact that his administration was tempered
with mercy, for even the Indians revered him as a man who was
their signal protector against wanton inhumanity.

Whilst these events occurred in Mexico, Pizarro had subjugated
Peru, and added it to the Spanish crown. But there, as in Mexico,
an able man was needed to organize the fragmentary society which
was in the utmost disorder after the conquest. No one appeared
to the Emperor better fitted for the task than the viceroy whose
administration had been so successful in Mexico. Accordingly,
in 1550, the viceroyalty of Peru was offered to him, and its accep-
tance urged by the Emperor at a moment when a revolt against
the Spaniards occurred among the Zapotecas, instigated by their
old men and chiefs, who, availing themselves of an ancient pro-
phecy relative to the return of Quetzalcoatl, assured the youths
and warriors of their tribe that the predicted period had arrived and
that, under the protection of their restored deity, their chains would
be broken. In this, as in all other endeavors to preserve order,
the efforts of Mendoza were successful. He appeased the Indians,
accepted the proffered task of governing Peru ; and, after meeting
and conferring with his successor, Velasco, in Cholula, departed
from Mexico for the scene of his new labors on the distant shores
of the Pacific.

CHAPTER III

1551—1564.

VELASCO ENDEAVORS TO AMELIORATE THE CONDITION OF TH1

INDIANS. UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO ESTABLISHED INUNDA

TION. MILITARY COLONIZATION PHILIP II. FLORIDA.

INTRIGUES AGAINST VELASCO PHILIPINE ISLES. DEATH OF

VELASCO MARQUES DE FALCES. BAPTISM OF THE GRAND

CHILDREN OF CORTEZ. CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE MARQUES

DEL VALLE HIS ARREST EXECUTION OF HIS FRIENDS.

MARQUES DE FALCES CHARGES AGAINST HIM HIS FALL.

ERRORS OF PHILIP II. FALL OF MUNOZ AND HIS RETURN.

VINDICATION OF THE VICEROY.

Don Luis de Velasco,
II. Viceroy of New Spain.

1551 — 1564.

The new viceroy, Don' Luis de Velasco, arrived in Mexico
without especial orders changing the character of the govern-
ment. He was selected by the Emperor as a person deemed
eminently fitted to sustain the judicious policy of his predecessor ;
and it is t probable that he had secret commands from the court to
attempt once more the amelioration of the Indian population.
There is no doubt that Charles the Fifth was sincere in his wish to
protect the natives ; and, if he yielded at all, — as we have seen in
the narrative of the last viceroyalty, — to the demands of the owners
of repartimientos, it was probably with the hope that a better op-
portunity of sustaining his humane desires would occur as soon as
the conquerors or their followers, were glutted by the rich harvests
they might reap during the early years of the settlement.

Accordingly, we find, as soon as Velasco had been received in
Mexico with all suitable ceremony and honor, that, notwithstand-
ing the continued opposition of the proprietors and planters, he
proclaimed his determination to carry out the orders that had been
given to Mendoza, so far as they tended to relieve the Indians
from the personal labors, tributes, and severe service in the mines
with which they had been burdened by the conquerors. This, as

UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO ESTABLISHED INUNDATION. 149

was expected, created extraordinary discontent. The cupidity of
the sovereign and of his representative were appealed to. It was
alleged that not only wrould the Spanish emigrants suffer for the
want of laborers, but that the royal treasury would soon be emptied
of the taxes and income which, thus far, had regularly flowed into
it. But Don Luis was firm in his resolution, and declared that "the
liberty of the Indians was of more importance than all the mines in
the world, and that the revenues they yielded to the Spanish crown
were not of such a character that all divine and human laws should
be sacrificed, in order to obtain them. "

In 1553, the attention of the viceroy was specially directed to
the subject of education, for the population had so greatly increased
in the few years of stable government, that unless the best means
of instructing the growing generation were speedily adopted, it
was probable that New Spain would lose many of the descendants
of those families which it was the policy of the crown to establish
permanently in America. The University of Mexico was therefore
consecrated and opened in this year; and, in 1555, Paul IV., be-
stowed upon it the same privileges and rights as were enjoyed by
that of Salamanca in Spain.

But this wTas a sad year for the city of Mexico, in other respects.
The first inundation since the conquest, occurred in 1553, and for
three days the capital was under water and the communication kept
up in boats and canoes. Every effort was made by the viceroy to
prevent the recurrence of the evil, by the erection of a dyke to dam
up the waters of the lake ; and it is related by contemporary his-
torians, that he even wrought with his own hands at the gigantic
work, during the first day, in order to show a good example to the
citizens who were called on to contribute their personal labor for
their future protection from such a disaster.

There were few outbreaks among the Indians during this vice-
royalty, yet there were troublesome persons among the original
tribes of the Chichimecas, — some bands of whom were not yet
entirely subjected to the Spanish government, — who contrived to
keep up a guerilla warfare, which interrupted the free circulation
of the Spaniards through the plains and mountain passes of the
Bajio. These were, in all probability, mere predatory attacks ; but
as it was impossible for the viceroy to spare sufficient numbers of
faithful soldiers for the purpose of scouring the hiding places and
fastnesses of these robber bands, he resolved to found a number of
villages composed of natives and foreigners, and to place in them,

20

150 MILITARY COLONIZATION PHILIP II FLORIDA.

permanently, sufficient numbers of troops to protect the adjace:
country roads, and to form the nucleus of towns, which, in the
course of time, would grow to importance. Such was the origin,
by military colonization, of San Felipe Yztlahuaca, and of San
Miguel el Grande, now known as Allende, from the hero of that
name to whom it gave birth. It was the constant policy of the
Emperor to extend the avenues of industry for his emigrant subjects
by such a system of security and protection; and, accordingly, Don
Francisco Ibarra, was despatched to the interior with orders to
explore the northern and western regions, but, on no account, to
use arms against the natives except in case of the utmost urgency.
Ibarra traversed a wide and nearly unknown region, discovered
rich mines of gold and silver, and colonized many places of con-
siderable importance in the subsequent development of Mexico,
and among them, the city of Durango, which is now the capital of
the state of that name.

The abdication of Charles V. was unofficially announced in
Mexico in 1556 ; but it was not until the 6th of June of the follow-
ing year that his successor Philip II. was proclaimed in the capital
of New Spain. The policy of the old Emperor was not changed
by the accession of the new king ; nor does the monarch appear to
have influenced in any particular manner the destiny of Mexico
during the continuance of Velasco's government, except by the
fitting out, at his special command, under the order of his viceroy,
of an expedition for the conquest of Florida, which proved disas-
trous to all concerned in it. Crowds flocked in the year 1558 to
the standard raised for this adventure, which it was supposed
would result in gratifying the Spanish thirst for gold. In the
following year the few who remained of the untoward enterprise,
returned with their commanders to Havana and thence to New
Spain.

Thus far Velasco's administration had been successful in pre-
serving the peace in Mexico, — in opening the resources of the
country in mines, agriculture and pastoral affairs, — and in alle-
viating the condition of the Indians by gradual restraints on his
countrymen. His power was unlimited ; but he had, in no
instance abused it, or countenanced its abuse in others. Anxious
not to rely exclusively upon his own resources, but to take council
from the best authorities in cases of difficulty or doubt, he invaria-
bly consulted the Audiencia in all emergencies. But, just and
loyal as had been his official conduct, it had not saved him from

INTRIGUES AGAINST VELASCO PHILIPINE ISLES. 151

creating enemies ; and these, unfortunately, were not only found
among the rich oppressors whose shameless conduct he strove to
punish, but even among the members of the Audiencia itself.
These men combined secretly to undermine the influence of the
viceroy, and despatched commissioners to Spain, who represented
to the king that the health of his representative was in a failing
state, and that it was extremely needful he should be sustained by
a council whose duty it was to direct him upon all questions of
public interest. The intriguers were successful in their appeal,
and a decree soon arrived in New Spain announcing that the
viceroy should thenceforth do nothing without the previous sanction
of the Audiencia. This order of the king immediately put the
power into the hands of individuals whose object was rather to
acquire sudden wealth than to govern a new and semi-civilized
nation justly, or to enact laws which would develope the resources
of the country. The viceroy had been impartial. He held the
balance between the Indian laborer and the Spanish extortioner.
His office and emoluments placed him, at that period, high above
the ordinary temptations of avarice. But the Audiencia, composed
of several persons, whose position was far inferior to the viceroy's,
was accessible to intrigue and corruption, and the unfortunate
Indians soon found to their cost, that the royal limitation on
Velasco's power had lost them a friend and staunch supporter.
The Audiencia and the viceroy were soon surrounded by parties
who advocated their different causes with zeal; but the loyal
viceroy did not murmur in the discharge of his duty and faithfully
followed the order of the king to submit his judgment to the
council. Nevertheless all were not so patient as Velasco. Coun-
ter statements were sent, by skilful advocates, to Spain ; and
Velasco himself required an examination to be made into his
official conduct.

Accordingly, Philip II. appointed a certain licenciado Valder-
rama, as visitador of New Spain, who arrived in 1563, and
immediately began the discharge of his functions by a course of
exaction, especially from the Indians, which neither the appeals
nor the arguments of the viceroy could induce him to abandon.
The arrival of this harsh and cruel personage, was, indeed, sad for
Mexico, and, in the country's history, he still retains the name of
"El Molestador de los Indios."

Fortunately for Velasco an escape from the double tyranny of
the Audiencia and of Valderrama was opened to him in an expedi-
tion to the Philipine islands which the king had ordered him to

152 DEATH OF VELASCO MARQUES DE FALCES.

colonize. But whilst he was engaged in organizing his forces
preparing for the voyage, his health suddenly gave way, and o]
the 31st of July, 1564, he expired amid the general grief of all th
worthier classes of Mexico, and, especially, of the Indians, whom
he had befriended. Death silenced the murmurs of the intriguers
When the beneficent viceroy could no longer interfere with the
selfish interests of the multitude, crowds flocked around his bier to
honor his harmless remains.

Don Gaston de Peralta, Marques de Falces,

III. Viceroy of New Spain.

1564—1568.

On the death of Don Luis de Velasco the First, the reins of gov-
ernment remained in the hands of the Royal Audiencia, in con
formity with the order of Philip II. Francisco de Zeinos, Pedro
de Villalobos, and Geronimo de Orozoco were then the oidores ;
while Valderrama, whose visit occurred during the government of
Don Luis de Velasco, as we have already narrated, had departed
for Spain. In 1564, the expedition which was planned and pre
pared under the last viceroy, sailed for the Philipine islands, and
founded the celebrated city of Manilla, which has since played so
distinguished a part in the history of oriental commerce.

The year 1566 wTas an important one, at least in the social his-
tory of Mexico, for it was fraught with danger to the son and
representative of the illustrious conqueror. The Marques del Valle,
heir of Hernando Cortez, had been for sometime established in the
capital, where he formed the nucleus of a noble circle, and was ad-
mired by all classes for the splendor with which he maintained th
honor of his house. His palace was constantly filled with the
flower of Mexican aristocracy, and among the knightly train of
gallant men, few were more distinguished for gentle bearing and
personal accomplishment than Alonso de Avila Alvarado, and his
brother Gil Gonzalez. The Marques del Valle, distinguished the
former by his special attentions, and this, together with the impru-
dent conduct or expressions of Alonso, made him suspected by
persons who simulated an extraordinary zeal for the Spanish mon
archy, whilst, in fact, their chief object was to ingratiate them
selves with men of power or influence in order to further their
private interests.

On the 30th of June, 1566, the Dean of the Cathedral, Don
Juan Chico de Molina, baptized in that sacred edifice, the twin

BAPTISM OF THE GRAND CHILDREN OF CORTEZ. 153

j daughters of the Marques del Valle, whose sponsors were Don
Lucas de Castilla and Dona Juana de Sosa. The festivities of the
gallant Marques upon this occasion of family rejoicing, were, as
usual among the rich in Spanish countries, attended with the
utmost magnificence ; and in order to present our readers a picture
I of the manners of the period, we shall describe the scene as it is
related by those who witnessed it.

It was a day of general rejoicing and festivity in the city of
Mexico. From the palace of the Marques to the door of the
cathedral, a passage was formed under lofty and splendid canopies
composed of the richest stuffs. A salute of artillery announced the
entry of the twins into the church, and it was repeated at their
departure. At the moment when the rites of religion were com-
pleted and the infants were borne back to their home through the
covered way, the spectators in the plaza were amused by a chival-
ric tournament between twelve knights in complete steel. Other
rare and costly diversions succeeded in an artificial grove, which
the Marques had caused to be erected in the plazuela, or lesser
square, intervening between his palace and the cathedral. Nor
were these amusements designed alone for persons of his own
rank, for the masses of the people were also summoned to partake
his bountiful hospitality. At the doors of his princely dwelling
tables were sumptuously spread with roasted oxen, all kinds of
wild fowl and numberless delicacies, whilst two casks of white and
red wine, — then esteemed in Mexico the most luxurious rari-
ties,— were set flowing for the people.

At night, Alonso Gonzalez de Avila, the intimate companion
of the Marques, entertained the chief personages of Mexico with a
splendid ball, during which there was a performance, or symbolical
masque representing the reception of Hernando Cortez by the Em-
peror Montezuma. Alonso, splendidly attirecj, sustained the part
of the Mexican sovereign. During one of the evolutions of the
spectacle, Avila threw around the neck of the young Marques a
collar of intermingled flowers and jewels, similar to the one with
which his father had been adorned by Montezuma ; and, at the
conclusion of the scene, he placed on the heads of the Marques and
his wife a coronet of laurel, with the exclamation, — " How well
these crowns befit your noble brows ! "

These simple diversions of a family festival were, doubtless,
altogether innocent, and, certainly, not designed to prefigure an
intention upon the part of the Marques and his friends to usurp the
o-overnment of the New World. But it is probable that he had

:

154 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE MARQUES DEL VALLE.

unwisely made enemies of men in power who were either ridicu-
lously suspicious, or eagerly sought for any pretext, no matter how
silly, to lay violent hands upon the son of Cortez. It is probable,
too, that the prestige, — the moral power, — of the great con-
queror's name had not yet ceased to operate in Mexico ; and, in
those days when individuals were not dainty in ridding themselves
of dangerous intruders, it is not unlikely that it was trie policy of
the Audiencia and its coadjutors to drive the gallant Marques froi
scenes, which, in the course of time, might tempt his ambition.
The extreme popularity of such a man was not to be tolerated.

However, the domestic festival, symbolical as it was deemed by
some of a desire to foreshadow the destiny of the son of Cortez,
was allowed to pass over. The oidores and their spies, meditating
in secret over the crowning of Cortez and his wife by Avila, anc
the remarkable words by which the graceful act was accompanied,
resolved to embrace the first opportunity to detect what they de-
clared was a conspiracy to wrest the dominion of New Spain from
Philip II.

When men are anxious to commit a crime, a pretext or an
occasion is not generally long wanting to accomplish the wickec
design. Accordingly we find that on the 13th of August, the
anniversary of the capture of the capital, the alleged conspiracy,
was to break out. A national procession, in honor of the day, was
to pass along the street of San Francisco and to return through that
which now bears the name of Tacuba. Certain armed bands, con-
vened under the pretext of military display, were to be stationed
in the way, while, from a small turret in which he had concealec
himself, Don Martin Cortez, the son of the conquerer by the In-
dian girl Mariana, was to sally forth, and seize the royal standard,
and being immediately joined by the armed bands, was, forthwith,
to proclaim the Marques del Valle king of Mexico and to slay the
oidores as well as all who should offer the least resistance.

Such was the story which the authorities had heard or feignec
to have heard through their trusty spies. Nearly a month before
the dreaded day, however, the Audiencia assembled, and requestec
the presence of the Marques del Valle, under the pretext that de-
spatches had been received from the king of Spain, which, by his
special order, were only to be opened in presence of the son of
Cortez. The Marques, who imagined no evil, immediately re-
sponded to the call of the oidores, and the moment he entered the
hall the doors were guarded by armed men. Cortez was ordered
to seat himself on a common stool, while one of the functionaries

HIS ARREST EXECUTION OF HIS FRIENDS. 155

announced to him that he was a prisoner, in the name of the king.
"For what?" eagerly demanded the Marques. "As a traitor
to his Majesty!" was the foul reply. " You lieV exclaimed
Cortez, springing from his seat, and grasping the hilt of his dag-
ger;— "I am no traitor to my king, — nor are there traitors
among any of my lineage ! "

The natural excitement of the loyal nobleman subsided after a
moment's reflection. He had been entrapped into the hands of the
Audiencia, and finding himself completely, though unjustly, in
their power, he at once resolved to offer no childish opposition,
when resistance would be so utterly useless. With the manly
dignity of a chivalrous Spaniard, he immediately yielded up his
weapons and was taken prisoner to the apartments that had been
prepared for him. His half brother, Don Martin, was also appre-
hended, and orders were sent to the city of Tezcoco for the seizure
of Don Luis Cortez who resided there as justice or governor. In
Mexico, Alonso Avila Alvarado, and his brother Gil Gonzalez,
with many other distinguished men were incarcerated, and the
papers of all the prisoners were, of course, seized and eagerly
scrutinized by the sattelites who hoped to find in them a confirma-
tion of the imaginary conspiracy.

Among the documents of Alonso de Avila a large number of
love letters were found ; but neither in his papers nor in those of
his brother, or of the many victims of these foul suspicions, who
languished in prison, did they discover a single line to justify their
arrest. Nevertheless, Don Alonso and his brother Don Gil Gon-
zalez, were singled out as victims and doomed to death. The
authorities dared not, probably, strike at a person so illustrious and
so popular as the Marques del Valle ; but they resolved to justify,
in the public eye, their inquisitorial investigation, by the sacrifice of
some one. The public would believe that there was in reality a
crime when the scaffold reeked with blood ; and, besides, the blow
would fall heaviest on the family of Cortez when it struck the
cherished companions of his home and heart.

On the 7th of August, at seven in the evening, Alonso and Gil
Gonzalez were led forth to the place of execution in front of the Casa
de Cabildo. Their heads were struck off and stuck on spears on
the roof of the edifice ; whence they were finally taken, at the ear-
nest remonstrance of the Ayuntamiento, and buried with the bodies
of the victims in the church of San Agustin. Every effort had
been made to save the lives of these truly innocent young men.
But although the principal persons in the viceroyalty, united in the

156 MARQUES DE FALCES CHARGES AGAINST HIM.

appeal for mercy if- not for justice, the inexorable oidores carriec
out their remorseless and bloody decree. It is even asserted that
these cruel men would not have hesitated to inflict capital punish-
ment upon the Marques himself had not the new viceroy, Don
Gaston de Peralta, Marques de Falces, arrived at San Juan de
Ulua, on the 17th of September, 1566.

As soon as this personage reached Mexico he began to enquire
into the outrage. He was quickly satisfied that the whole pro-
ceeding was founded in malice. The oidores were removed, anc
others being placed in their posts, the viceroy despatched a missive
to the court of Spain containing his views and comments upon the
conduct of the late officials. But the document was sent by a
man who was secretly a warm friend of the brutal oidores, and, to
save them from the condign punishment they deserved, he with-
held it from the king.

Yet these functionaries, still fearing that their crime would be
finally punished, not only treacherously intercepted the despatch
of the viceroy, but also took the speediest opportunity to send to
the king accusations against Don Gaston himself, in which they
charged him with negligence in his examination of the conspiracy,
with treasonable alliance with the Marques del Valle, and with
design to usurp the government of New Spain. They founded
their allegations upon the false oaths of several deponents, who
alleged that the viceroy had already prepared and held at his orders
thirty thousand armed men. This base imposture, as ridiculous as
it was false, originated in an act of Peralta which was altogether
innocent. Being a man of fine taste, and determining that the
viceroyal residence should be worthy the abode of his sovereign's
representative, he caused the palace to be refitted, and, among the
adornments of the various saloons, he ordered a large painting to
be placed on the walls of one of the chambers in which a battle
was represented containing an immense number of combatants
This was the army which the witnesses, upon their oaths, repre
sented to the king, as having been raised and commanded by the
viceroy ! It can scarcely be supposed possible that the Audiencia
of Mexico would have resorted to such flimsy means to cover their
infamy. It seems incredible that such mingled cruelty and child-
ishness could ever have proceeded from men who were deputed to
govern the greatest colony of Spain. Yet such is the unques-
tionable fact, and it indicates, at once, the character of the age
and of the men who managed, through the intrigues of court, to

HIS FALL ERRORS OF PHILIP II. 157

crawl to eminence and power which they only used to gratify
vindictive selfishness or to glut their inordinate avarice.

Philip the II. could not, at first, believe the accusations of the
oidores against the family of Cortez and the distinguished noble-
man whom he had sent to represent him in Mexico. He resolved,
therefore, to wait the despatches of the viceroy. But the oidores
had been too watchful to allow those documents to reach the court
of Spain ; and Philip, therefore, construing the silence of Don
Gaston de Peralta, into a tacit confession of his guilt, sent the
Licenciados Jaraba, Munoz, and Carillo to New Spain, as Jueces
Pesquisidores, with letters for the viceroy commanding him to yield
up the government and to return to Spain in order to account for
his conduct.

These men immediately departed on their mission and arrived
safely in America without accident, save in the death of Jaraba
one of their colleagues. As soon as they reached Mexico, they
presented their despatches to the viceroy, and Munoz took posses-
sion of the government of New Spain. The worthy and noble
Marques de Falces was naturally stunned by so unprecedented and
unexpected a proceeding; but, satisfied of the justice of his cause
as well as of the purity of his conduct, he left the capital and
retired to the castle of San Juan de Ulua, leaving the reins of
power in the hands of Munoz whose tyrannical conduct soon
destroyed all the confidence which hitherto had always existed, at
least between the Audiencia and the people of the metropolis.1
It was probably before this time that the Marques del Valle was
released ; — and deeming the new empire which his father had
given to Spain no safe resting place for his descendants, he
departed once more for the Spanish court. The viceroy himself,
had fallen a victim to deception and intrigue.

It seems to have been one of the weaknesses of Philip the
Second's character to have but little confidence in men. With
such examples as we have just seen, it may, nevertheless, have
been an evidence of his wisdom that he did not rely upon the
courtiers who usually surround a king. He had doubted, in
reality, the actual guilt of the Marques de Falces, and was, there-
fore, not surprised when he learned the truth upon these weighty
matters in the year 1568. The government of Munoz, his visita-
dor, was, moreover, represented to him as cruel and bloody. The
conduct of the previous Audiencia had been humane when com-

Liceo Mexicano vol. 1, p. 263, et seq.
21

158 FALL OF MUNOZ AND HIS RETURN.

pared with the acting governor's. The prisons, which already-
existed in Mexico were not adequate to contain his victims, and
he built others whose dark, damp and narrow architecture rendered
incarceration doubly painful to the sufferers. Don Martin Cort6z,
the half brother of the Marques del Valle, who remained in the
metropolis as the attorney and representative of his kinsman, was
seized and put to torture for no crime save that the blood of the
conqueror flowed in his veins, and that he had enjoyed friendly
relations with the suspected conspirators. Torture, it was ima-
gined would wring from him a confession which might justify the
oidores. The situation of New Spain could not, indeed, be worse
than it was, for no man felt safe in the midst of such unrestrained
power and relentless cruelty ; and we may be permitted to believe
that outraged humanity would soon have risen to vindicate itself
against such brutes and to wrest the fruits of the conquest from a
government that sent forth such wicked sattelites. Even the
Audiencia itself, — the moving cause of this new and bad govern-
ment,— began to tremble when it experienced the humiliating
contempt with which it was invariably treated by the monster
Munoz.

But all these acts of maladministration were more safely re-
ported to the Spanish court by the nobles and oidores of Mexico,
than the despatches of the unfortunate Marques de Falces*. Philip
eagerly responded to the demand for the removal of Munoz. He
despatched the oidores Villanueva and Vasco de Puga, to Mexico,
with orders to Munoz to give up the government in three hours
after he received the royal despatch, and to return immediately to
Spain for judgment of his conduct. The envoys lost no time in
reaching their destination, where they found that Munoz had
retired to the convent of Santo Domingo, probably as a sanctuary,
in order to pass Holy Week. But the impatient emissaries, re-
sponding to the joyful impatience of the people, immediately fol-
lowed him to his retreat, and, after waiting a considerable time in
the anti-chamber, and being, at last, most haughtily received by
Munoz, who scarcely saluted them with a nod, Villanueva drew
from his breast the royal cedula, and commanded his secretary to
read it in a loud voice.

For a while the foiled visitador sat silent, moody and thought-
ful, scarcely believing the reality of what he heard. After a pause,
in which all parties preserved silence, he rose and declared his
willingness to yield to the king's command ; and thus, this brutal
chief, who but a few hours before believed himself a sovereign in

VINDICATION OF THE VICEROY. 159

Mexico, was indebted to the charity of some citizens for a carriage
in which he travelled to Vera Cruz. Here a fleet was waiting to
transport him to Spain. The late viceroy, the Marques de Falces,
departed in a ship of the same squadron, and, upon his arrival at
the court, soon found means to justify himself entirely in the eyes
of his sovereign. But it wrent harder with Munoz. He vainly
tried his skill at exculpation with the king. Philip seems to have
despised him too much to enter into discussion upon the merits of
the accusations. The facts were too flagrant. The king returned
him his sword, declining to hear any argument in his justification.
" I sent you to the Indies to govern, not to destroy ! " said Philip,
as he departed from his presence ; and that very night the visitador
suddenly expired !

Whether he died of mortification or violence, is one of those
state secrets, which, like many others of a similar character, the
chronicles of Spain do not reveal !

Don Martin Cortez and his family took refuge in Spain where
his case was fully examined ; and whilst the investigation lasted,
from 1567 to 1574, his estates in Mexico were confiscated. He
was finally declared innocent of all the charges, but his valuable
property had been seriously injured and wasted by the officers of
the crown, to whom it was intrusted during the long period of
sequestration.

CHAPTER IV

1568 — 1589.

ALMANZA VICEROY. CHICHIMECAS REVOLT JESUITS INQUI-
SITION. PESTILENCE. NO INDIAN TRIBUTE EXACTED. AL-
MANZA DEPARTS XUARES VICEROY. WEAK ADMINISTRA-
TION INCREASE OF COMMERCE. PEDRO MOYA DE CONTRE-

RAS VICEROY. REFORMS UNDER A NEW VICEROY. HIS POW-
ER AS VICEROY AND INQUISITOR. ZUNIGA VICEROY. TREA-
SURE PIRACY. CAVENDISH DRAKE CAPTURES A GALEON.

ZUNIGA AND THE AUDIENCIA OF GUADALAJARA HIS DEPOSI-
TION FROM POWER.

Don Martin Enriquez de Almanza.

IV. Viceroy of New Spain.

1568—1580.

The salutary lesson received by the Audiencia in the events
which occurred in the metropolis during late years, induced its
members to conduct themselves with less arrogance during the
short time they held supreme power after the departure of the Visi-
tadores. In October of 1568, a new viceroy, Don Martin Enriquez
de Almanza, arrived at Vera Cruz, whence he reached the capital
on the 5th of the following November after having routed the
English whom he found in possession of the Isle of Sacrificios.

Don Martin immediately perceived, upon assuming the reins of
government, that it was necessary to calm the public mind in the
metropolis which, from recent occurrences, now began to regard
all men in authority with jealousy and distrust. He let the people
understand, therefore, from the first, that he did not design to
countenance any proceedings similar to those which had lately
almost disorganized and revolutionized the colony. An occasion
soon presented itself in which his prudence and discretion were
required to adjust a serious dispute concerning the Franciscan
monks and in which the people sympathized with the brotherhood
and their supposed rights. Any act of rigor or harshness would

CHICHIM.ECAS REVOLT JESUITS INQUISITION. 161

nave kindled the flame of sedition, but the mild diplomacy of the
viceroy sufficed to calm the litigants and to restore perfect peace to
the capital. A religious dispute, in such a community as Mexico
then was, seemed, indeed, an affair of no small moment, especially
when it arose in so tempestuous a period of the nation and was
the first occasion to try the temper and talents of a new viceroy.

But the attention of Don Martin was soon to be drawn from the
capital towards the frontiers of his government, where he found
that the troublesome bands of wandering Chichimecas, had been
busy in their old work of robbery and spoliation, whilst the Audi-
encia was engaged in its intrigues and corruption in the city of
Mexico. The impunity with which these martial vagabonds had
been allowed to proceed, increased their daring, and the evils they
inflicted on the country were becoming continually greater. Not
satisfied with having despatched the chief alcalde of the hostile
region with the militia to punish the rebels, he joined the forces of
that officer, and succeeded after great slaughter in compelling the
Indians to quit the soil they had hitherto ravaged. It should be
recorded, in justice to the viceroy, that he ordered the Indian
children who fell into the hands of his soldiery, to be spared, and,
at the end of the campaign, brought them all to the metropolis,
where he distributed them among rich families so that they might
receive a christian education. In order to save the region from
further devastation he established therein a colony, to which he
gave the name of San Felipe, perhaps in honor of his king, as he
bestowed upon it the title of " city. "

Such was the condition of things when Pedro Moya de Contreras
arrived in Mexico as Inquisitor, having been sent by Philip to
establish the dread tribunal of the faith in that capital. The
Spanish king feared that the doctrines of the reformation which
were then rife in Europe might find friends among his transatlantic
subjects, and he mercifully resolved to give them, as a guardian of
their consciences, this sad and dreadful present. In 1572, Doctor
Pedro Sanchez, a Jesuit, with various brethren of the same order,
came to the city of Mexico, and founded a college in certain edi-
fices which were ceded to them for that purpose by Alonso Villaseca.
The brethren of the holy office, or inquisition, meanwhile organ-
ized their body, for future operations, and settled under the wings
of the church of Santo Domingo.

It was at this period, also, that Don Martin established the
alcabala ; and, although the merchants opposed the measure, which
was entirely new to them, and alleged that it was a mortal blow to

162 PESTILENCE NO INDIAN TRIBUTE EXACTED.

their business, they were unable to force the viceroy to retract his
measure. His determination was founded on the fact that trade
had now become established on a firm and robust basis, and that it
could well bear without injury an impost of this character.

In the years 1574 and 1575 there were serious discussions
between the temporal and spiritual powers of Mexico, growing out
of a royal order that no prelate should be admitted in the country
unless he bore a suitable license from the Council of the Indies.
In 1576, Mexico was again visited by a frightful pestilence, which
spread rapidly, and carried off large numbers of victims. The
whole of New Spain was ravaged by it, and neither care, nor
medical science, seems to have had the least effect either in curing
or in alleviating the sufferers. The symptoms of this malady were
a violent pain in the head which was succeeded by a burning fever,
under which the patient sank. None survived the seventh day,
and it is reported that near two millions perished under the dread-
ful scourge. The malady abated at the close of the rainy season,
and disappeared entirely at the beginning of 1577.

In the two succeeding years, Don Martin commanded that
the usual annual tribute should not be collected from the Indians.
This measure was designed to alleviate the lot of these suffering
subjects of the king and to testify the paternal regard which he
cherished for a race that served him and his subjects so beneficially
in the mines. It was in the mineral districts that the Indians were
m reality the greatest sufferers and laborers in New Spain. Their
toil was incessant. Their task masters gave them no respite in
the bowels of the earth, for they wrought as if they designed to
scrape every vein and artery of the colony's soil. Silver and labor
were calculated with exactness, and no limit to the Indian's indus-
try was prescribed save that which was imposed by his capacity
for work and his power of endurance. The viceroy, seeking to
alleviate this, introduced a milder system, as far as he was able,
among the leading miners of the colony. He insisted upon per-
mitting the Indians regular repose, and he forbade their entire
confinement within the mines, but commanded that they should be
allowed time to breathe the fresh air on the surface of the earth, and
suffered to attend to their own domestic labors, or to toil on public
works for a competent recompense.

The government of Don Martin had thus far been unusually
calm, but his last moments in Mexico were to be disturbed by a
quarrel with a Franciscan monk, named Rivera, who had called at

ALMANZA DEPARTS XUARES VICEROY. 163

the palace to see the viceroy on a matter of business for his con-
vent, and had been forced to wait a considerable time without
being finally honored with an audience. The petulant friar re-
garded this as a slight upon the brotherhood, and, shortly after-
wards, whilst preaching in the cathedral, declared, with a sneering
and offensive purpose against the viceroy, that " in the palace all
became equal, and that no difference was made between ecclesi-
astics and secular folks ! "

The viceroy could not permit so flagrant a breach of decorum
and so dangerous a taunt in a popular appeal, to rest unrebuked.
He therefore demanded the punishment of the pulpit critic, and
the Audiencia ordered Rivera to depart forthwith for Spain. But
the haughty monk in order to avoid the disgrace of expulsion,
united the whole body of his fraternity in the quarrel, and singing
the psalm " In exitu Israel de iEgipto," they departed from the
city by the road leading to Vera Cruz. The viceroy seems to have
been moved by this act of the brotherhood, and immediately wrote
to Rivera in soothing terms requesting him to return to Mexico
where justice should be done him. The Franciscan returned, but
soon after received a royal order to depart for Spain.

In 1580, the abundant rain caused again an inundation of the
capital, and Don Martin Enriquez was about to engage in the
construction of the celebrated canal of Huehuetoca, when he was
removed to the viceroy alty of Peru.

Don Lorenzo Xuares, Conde de la Coruna,

V. Viceroy of Mexico.

1580—1583.

Don Lorenzo Xuares, Conde de la Coruna, was appointed by
the king, successor of Almanza, and made his triumphal entry into
the city of Mexico on the evening of the 4th of October, 1580.
The gay and affable character of this personage at once attracted
the people and the colonial court ; and in consequence of the rapidly
increasing population, wealth, and luxury of New Spain, as well
as from the unreserved demeanor of the viceroy, it was supposed
that a golden age had arrived in the history of Mexico, which
would forever signalize the administration of Xuares.

Perhaps the viceroy was too lenient and amiable for the task
that had been imposed on him in America. The epoch of specu-
lation and adventure had not yet passed by, and of course, the
corruption which ever follows in their train required still to be

164 WEAK ADMINISTRATION INCREASE OF COMMERCE.

closely watched and quickly checked. To this duty Xuares
not immediately address himself, and the result was that the
oidores, the alcaldes, and all who administered justice, at once put
themselves up to auction and sold their services, their favors, or
their decisions to the highest bidder. Disorder reigned in every
department, in the year following the arrival of Xuares ; and even
the royal revenues, which hitherto had generally remained sacred,
were squandered or secreted by the persons to whose care and
fidelity their collection was intrusted. The limitations which we
have already seen were placed upon a viceroy's power in the time
of Velasco, now tied the hands of Xuares. He could not dismiss
or even suspend the defrauders of the revenue or the public
wretches who prostituted their official power for gold. Nor was
he, probably, unwilling to be deprived of a dangerous right which
would have placed him in direct hostility to the army of specula-
tors and jobbers. And yet it was necessary for the preservation
of the colony that these evils should be quickly abated. In this
political strait, concealing his intentions from the viceroyal court,
he applied to Philip to send a Visitador with ample powers to re-
adjust the disorganized realm.

The commerce of New Spain had augmented astonishingly within
a few years. Vera Cruz and Acapulco had become splendid em-
poriums of wealth and trade. The east and the west poured their
people into Mexico through these cities ; and, in the capital, some
of the most distinguished merchants of Europe, Asia, and Africa
met every year, midway between Spain and China, to transact
business and exchange opinions upon the growing facilities of an
extended commerce. Peru and Mexico furnished the precious
metals which were always so greedily demanded by the east. In
1581, Philip II., in view of this state of things in his colony,
issued a royal order for the establishment in Mexico for a Tribunal
de Consulado,1 though, it was not, in fact, actually put in effective
operation until the year 1593, under the administration of Velasco
the Second. In the midsummer of 1582, the viceroy expired, pro-
bably of mingled anxiety and old age ; and it was well for Mexico
that he passed so rapidly from a stage in whose delicate drama, his
years and his abilities altogether unfitted him to play so con-
spicuous a part.

1 This was a mercantile tribunal.

reforms under a new viceroy. 165

Don Pedro Moya de Contreras,
Archbishop of Mexico, First Inquisitor and Visitador, and

VI. Viceroy of New Spain.
- 1583—1585.

Upon the death of Xuares, the Audiencia immediately assumed
the direction of the state ; but the members of this august tribunal
were altogether ignorant of the demand made by the late vice-
roy for a Visitador, until Don Pedro de Contreras, placed in
their hands the despatch from Philip, naming him for this impor-
tant service.

The archbishop was a man well known in Mexico. Cold, aus
tere, rigid in his demeanor and principles, he was the very man to
be chosen for the dangerous duty of contending with a band of
rich, proud and unscrupulous officials. His sacred character as
arch-prelate of Mexico, was of no little use in such an exigency,
for it gave him spiritual as well as temporal power over masses
which might sometimes be swayed by their conscientious dread of
the church, even when they could not be controled by the arm of
law. Besides this, he was the first Inquisitor of Mexico, and in
the dreaded mysteries of the holy office, there was an overwhelm-
ing power before which the most daring offenders would not ven-
ture to rebel or intrigue.

It may be well imagined that the unexpected appearance of so
formidable an ecclesiastic upon the state, armed with the sword
as well as the cross, was well calculated to awe the profligate offi-
cials. The members of the Audiencia trembled when they read
the royal order, for the archbishop knew them well, and had been
long cognizant, not only of their own maladministration but of the
irregularities they countenanced in others.

Don Pedro immediately undertook the discharge of his office,
and in a few days, heard a great number of complaints against
various individuals, but as he did not design proceeding with re-
vengeful severity against even the most culpable, he resolved to
report his proceedings to the king, and, in the meanwhile, to
retain in office all persons who performed their duties faithfully
whilst he put an end to the most flagrant abuses.

As soon as Philip II. heard, in 1584, of the death of Mendoza,he
added the title and powers of viceroy to those already possessed by
the archbishop, and, with his commission as royal representative,
he sent him additional authority which had never been enjoyed by

22

166 HIS POWER AS VICEROY AND INQUISITOR.

any of his predecessors. He was, thus, empowered to remove, at
will, all persons from public employment, and even to expel minis-
ters and oidores, as well as to visit with severe punishments all
who deserved them. Under this ample discretion the viceroy
removed some of the oidores, suspended others, hanged certain
royal officers who had disgraced their trusts, and brought the tribu-
nals of justice into perfect order. The king had proposed to bring
the dispersed Indians into towns and villages so as to control them
more effectually, but the viceroy, after consulting the priests who
were best acquainted with that population, deemed it best to defer
the execution of the royal order until he laid the objections to it
before Philip.1 In 1585, a seminary for the Indians was estab-
lished, in which they were taught to read, write and comprehend
the rudiments of the Catholic faith. This institution was under
the charge of the Jesuits, whose zeal for education has been cele-
brated in the history of all countries into which this powerful and
enlightened order of the priesthood has penetrated. A provincial
council of American bishops, was, moreover, convened this year
in Mexico under the auspices of Contreras.

Nor was the viceroy eager only to correct the civil and religious
abuses of the country without attending to the fiscal advantages
which he knew the king was always eager to secure from his
colonies. In testimony of his zeal he despatched, at this period, a
rich fleet for Spain. It bore three millions three hundred thou-
sand ducats in coined silver, and one thousand one hundred marks
in gold, together with a variety of other valuable products, all of
which arrived safely in port.

The power of this vigorous ruler, as viceroy, continued, how-
ever, but for a single year. He was the scourge of officials in all
classes, while the good men of the colony prayed heartily for the
continuance of his authority ; but it is probable that his rigor had
excited against him the talents for intrigue which we have hereto-
fore seen were sometimes so actively and successfully employed
both in Mexico and Spain. In October of 1585, his successor
arrived in the capital.

1 The Indians alluded to in this passage were vaguely designated as Chichimecas,
Otomies, and Mexican. They probably inhabited a tract of country lying north
west of the kingdom of Michoacan. — See 1st. vol. Trans. Amn. Ethnl. Soc. p 2.

ZUNIGA VICEROY TREASURE PIRACY. 167

Don Alvaro Enrique de Zuniga, Marques de Villa Man-

rique,

VII. Viceroy of Mexico.
1585 — 1589.

The arrival of the Marques de Villa Manrique was not designed
to interfere with the functions of the archbishop and former viceroy
Contreras, as Visitador. He was solicited to contiuue his plenary
examination into the abuses of government in New Spain, and to
clear the country of all malefactors before he retired once more to
the cloisters. Accordingly, Don Pedro remained in Mexico some
time discharging his duties, and it is probably owing to his
presence that the first year of the new viceroy passed off in perfect
peace. But in the succeeding year, in which the archbishop
departed for Spain, his troubles began by a serious discussion with
the Franciscans, Agustins and Dominicans, in which the monks
at last appealed from the viceroy to the king. Before Contreras,
the visitador, left Mexico he had managed to change all the judges
composing the tribunals of the colony. The men he selected in
their stead were all personally known to him or were appointed
upon the recommendation of persons whose integrity and capacity
for judgment were unquestionable.

This remarkable man died soon after his arrival in Madrid,
where he had been appointed president of the Council of the Indies
Like all reformers he went to his grave poor ; but when the king
learned his indigence he took upon himself the costs of sepulture,
and laid his colonial representative and bishop to the tomb in a
manner befitting one who had exercised so great and beneficial an
influence in the temporary reform of the New World. The sole
stain upon the memory of Contreras is perhaps the fact that he
was an inquisitor.

In 1587, the viceroy Zuniga despatched a large amount of
treasure to Spain.. Enormous sums were drained annually from
the colonies for the royal metropolis ; but, in this year the fleet
from Vera Cruz sailed with eleven hundred and fifty-six marks of
gold, in addition to an immense amount of coined silver and mer
chandise of great value. These sums passed safely to the hands
of the court; but such was not the case with all the precious
freights that left the American coasts, for, at this . period, the
shores of our continent, on both oceans, began to swarm with
pirates. The subjects of various European nations, but especially
the English, were most active in enterprises which, in those days,

168 CAVENDISH DRAKE CAPTURES A GALEON.

were probably regarded more as privateering than as the bandit
expeditions they have since been considered not only in morals
but in law. In the year before, Cavendish had taken in the
Pacific, a Spanish ship, which was bound from Manilla to Aca-
pulco, with a rich cargo of wares from China; and, in this year, it
was known that Drake, another noted adventurer, after making
himself celebrated by the capture of San Agustin, in Florida, had
sailed for the Pacific ocean, whose rich coasts, as well as the
oriental traders, formed a tempting booty for the bucanier.

As soon as the viceroy heard of this piratical sailor's approach
to the western boundary of his colony, he commanded the troops
in Guadalajara to embark at Acapulco, under the orders of Doctor
Palacios, in all the vessels which were then in port, and to scour
the shores of America until the British marauder was captured.
But, upon the commander's arrival at Acapulco, he was informed
that the freebooter had already abandoned the west coast after
sacking several towns, and that he had not been seen or heard of
any where for a long period. Drake, meanwhile, was in con-
cealment among the distant and unfrequented coves of California,
in such a situation, however, that he could easily intercept the
galeon, which passed every year from the Philipines to Mexico,
"laden with goods and metals of considerable value. In due time
he pounced upon his unsuspecting prey ; and, carrying her into a
bay near the Cape of San Lucas, plundered her valuable cargo, and
set fire to the deserted hull. The news of this mishap soon reached
the ears of Palacios, who, of course, immediately set sail after the
corsair. But Drake was already far on his way to a spot of safety
in which he and his companions might enjoy the fruits of their
piratical adventure.

This successful attack upon a vessel of so much importance to
the colony, — for only one was annually permitted to cross the
Pacific, — greatly troubled the people who depended upon its
arrival for their yearly supply of oriental wares. But as soon as
the general calm was gradually restored, an internal trouble arose
which was well nigh proving of serious import to the viceroyalty.
Zuniga does not seem to have been contented with the jurisdiction
which had hitherto been conceded to the viceroy, but, being
anxious to extend his authority over certain towns and villages,
under the control of the Audiencia of Guadalajara, he demanded of
that body the surrender of their dominion. The Audiencia, how-
ever, was jealous of its rights, and would not yield to the viceroy
who was equally pertinacious. The dispute ran high between the

ZUNIGA AND THE AUDIENCIA OF GUADALAJARA. 169

parties. Threats were used when diplomacy failed, and at length,
the disputants reached, but did not pass, the verge of civil war,
for, on both sides they seem to have ordered out troops, who, for-
tunately never actually engaged in combat.

This ill judged act of the viceroy was fatal to his power. Let-
ters and petitions were forthwith despatched to Madrid requiring
and begging the removal of a man whose rashness was near pro-
ducing a civil war. This was a charge not to be disregarded by
the king, and, accordingly, we find that a successor to Zuniga was
immediately named, and that the bishop of Tlascala was appointed
visitador to examine the conduct of the deposed viceroy.

On the 17th of January, 1590, this prelate, who seems to have
been originally inimical to Zuniga, and who should therefore have
disdained the office of his judge, ordered him to depart from
Mexico. All the property of the late viceroy, — even the linen of
his wife, — was sequestrated ; the most harassing annoyances were
constantly inflicted upon him ; and, after six years, poor and worn
down by unceasing trials, he returned to Spain, where the influence
of his friends at court procured the restoration of his property.

CHAPTER V.

1589 — 1607.

LUIS DE VELASCO THE SECOND BECOMES VICEROY. DE-
LIGHT OF THE MEXICANS. FACTORIES REOPENED CHICHI-

MECAS COLONIZATION. ALAMEDA INDIANS TAXED FOR

EUROPEAN WARS. COMPOSITION FOWLS ACEBEDO VICE

ROY. EXPEDITION TO NEW MEXICO. INDIAN AMELIORATIONS.

DEATH OF PHILIP II. NEW SCHEME OF HIREING INDIANS.

CALIFORNIA. MONTESCLAROS VICEROY. INUNDATION.

ALBARRADA.

Don Luis de Velasco, — the Second, — Conde de Santiago,
VIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1589 — 1595.

Luis de Velasco, Count de Santiago, was the son of the
second viceroy of New Spain, and during the administration of his
father, as well as for some years afterwards, had resided in Mexico
where he filled several offices, and especially that of corregidor of
Zempoala. He was not on friendly terms with the last viceroy,
Zuniga, for he had suddenly quitted New Spain in the same vessel
that brought his predecessor to America. Upon his arrival at the
Spanish court he was sent as ambassador to Florence ; and the
exaggerated news of the supposed civil war in Mexico having been
received just as he returned from his mission, Philip determined
to send him back to New Spain. This decision was, no doubt,
founded upon Velasco's intimate acquaintance with Mexico and its
people, with whom his interests had been so long bound up that
he might almost be regarded as a native of the country.

On the 25th of January, 1590, Velasco entered the capital with
more pomp and rejoicing than had ever attended the # advent of
previous viceroys, for the Mexicans looked upon him as a country-
man. As soon as he was seated in power his first acts demon-

FACTORIES REOPENED CHICHIMECAS COLONIZATION. 171

sfrated his good sense and mature judgment. His wish was to
dev elope the country ; to make not only its mineral and agricultural
resources available to Spain, but to open the channels through
which labor could obtain its best rewards. He therefore ordered
the manufactories of coarse stuffs and cloths which had been es-
tablished by Mendoza to be once more opened, after the long
period in which the Spanish mercantile influence had kept them
shut. This naturally produced an excitement among the inter-
ested foreign traders, but the viceroy firmly maintained his deter-
mination to punish severely any one who should oppose his decree.

In 1591, the troublesome Chichimecas, of whose disturbances
we have already spoken in other chapters, again manifested a
desire to attack the Spaniards. They were congregated in strongly
armed bands in the neighborhood of Zacatecas, and menaced the
Spanish population living in the neighborhood of the rich mines.
Travellers could not pass through the country without a military
escort. Strong garrisons had been placed by the government on
the frontiers, and merciless war declared against them, but all was
unavailing to stop their marauding expeditions among the whites.
In this year, however, they sent commissioners to treat with the
Spaniards in Mexico, and after confessing that they were tired of
a war which they found useless, they consented to abstain from
further molestation of the district, provided the viceroy would agree
to furnish them with a sufficiency of meat for their support. Ve-
lasco of course consented to this demand of the cattle stealers, and,
moreover, obtained their consent to the admission among them of
a body of Tlascalans who would instruct them in a civil and chris-
tian mode of life. Four hundred families of these faithful friends
of the Mexicans were selected for this colony; and, together with
some Franciscan friars, they settled in four bodies so as to form an
equal number of colonies. One of these settlements was made on
the side of a rich mineral hill and took the name of San Luis
Potosi, — the second formed San Miguel Mesqitic, — the third
San Andres, — and the fourth Colotlan. Such was the origin of
these towns, in which the two tribes lived for many years in perfect
harmony, but without intermingling or losing their individuality.

Another attempt was also made, as had been done previously, to
gather the dispersed bands of Mexican and Otomi Indians into
villages and settlements, where they would gradually become ac-
customed to civilized life. Velasco, like his predecessor Moya,
consulted with the curas and the people who were best acquainted
with the temper of these races, and learned that they still opposed

172 ALAMEDA INDIANS TAXED FOR EUROPEAN WARS.

humane efforts for civilization, preferring the vagabond life they
had so long led and which had now become necessary and natural.
Nevertheless he thought it his duty to try the experiment. But
the first Otomi who was reduced to the necessity of abandoning
his nomadic habits and building for himself a regular habitation,
not only destroyed his wife and children, but terminated his own
existence by hanging. The viceroy then suspended his operations
and reported the untoward result, together with the opinion of his
advisers, to the court of Spain.

Velasco, ever anxious not only for the amelioration of the con-
dition of the Indians, but for the embellishment of the capital
which was now growing into considerable importance, caused the
Alameda of Mexico to be laid out and planted in 1593, for the
recreation of the citizens. This magnificent grove, with its beauti
fully shaded avenues and walks, — embellished by fountains and
filled with every thing that can give repose or comfort to the fa
tigued people who are anxious to steal off awhile from the toil and
bustle of a large city, — still exists in Mexico as an evidence of
the taste and liberality of the viceroy, and will be more particu-
larly described, hereafter, in that portion of this work which treats
of the city of Mexico, and of .the manners and customs of its
inhabitants.

In 1594, Philip the Second finding himself straitened for means
to carry on the European wars in which he was engaged, recurred
to the unfortunate and unjust system of forced loans to increase his
revenue. He did not confine himself in this odious compulsory
tax to the old world which was most concerned in the result of his
wars, but instructed Velasco to impose a tribute of four reales or
fifty cents upon Indians, in addition to the sum they already paid
his majesty. Velasco reluctantly undertook the unwelcome task ;
but anxious to lighten the burden upon the natives as much as
possible, and, at the same time, to foster the raising of poultry and
cattle among these people, he compounded the whole tax of a
dollar which they were obliged to pay, for seven reales, or eighty-
seven and a half cents and one fowl, which, at that time, was
valued at a single real, or twelve and a half cents. This, it will be
perceived, was amiably designed by the viceroy, but became imme-
diately the subject of gross abuse. The Indians are slowly moved
either to new modes of cultivation or to new objects of care, even
of the most domestic and useful character. Instead of devoting
themselves to the raising of poultry with the industrious thrift that

COMPOSITION FOWLS ACEBEDO VICEROY. 173

would have saved one-eighth of their taxation or twelve and a
half per cent, they allowed the time to pass without providing
the required bird in their homesteads, so that when the tax gath-
erer arrived they were forced to buy the fowl instead of selling it.
This of course raised the price, and the consequence was that the
Indian was obliged often to pay two or three reales more than the
original amount of the whole taxation of one dollar ! It is related
that one of the oidores who had taken eight hundred fowls, re-
served two hundred for the consumption of his house, and through
an agent sold the rest at three reales, or thirty-seven and a half
cents each, by which he contrived to make a profit of two hundred
per cent. Various efforts were made to remedy this shameful
abuse or to revoke the decree, but the system was fouud to be too
profitable among the officials, to be abandoned without a severe
struggle. We are unable to discover that the viceroy, in this in-
stance, used his authority to restore the Indians to their original
rights.

In 1595, it was determined to colonize the supposed kingdom of
Quivara, which now received the name of New Mexico, but, before
the expedition could set forth under the command of Juan de
Onate, Velasco received a despatch informing him that he had
been named viceroy of Peru, and that his successor Don Gaspar
de Zuiiiga Acebedo, Conde de Monterey, would soon appear m
the colonial metropolis.

Don Gaspar de Zuniga Acebedo, Conde de Monterey,

IX. Viceroy of New Spain.

1595 — 1603.

The Count of Monterey arrived at San Juan de Ulua on the 18th
of September, 1595, and on the 5th of the following November,
entered the capital as viceroy. At first he exhibited a cold and
apathetic temper, and appeared to take but little interest in the
affairs of the government ; but it is supposed, that being a prudent
and cautious man, he was in no haste to underake the direction of
affairs whilst he was altogether unacquainted both with the temper
of the people and the nature of their institutions. An early mea-
sure, however, of his administration deserves to be recorded and
remembered. He found the Indians still suffering and complaining
under the odious fowl tax, created by his predecessor for the pro-
tection of domestic industry, but which had been perverted for the

23

174 EXPEDITION TO NEW MEXICO.

selfish and avaricious purposes of the receivers. He immediately
abolished this impost, and diminished the whole amount of taxation
upon the Indians.

In consequence of the loss of the galeon from the Philipines,
which we have related, the king ordered an expedition, under the
command of General Sebastian Viscaino, to examine and scour
the coasts of the Californias, where it was alleged the precious
metals, and, especially, the most valuable pearls would be found
in abundance. Viscaino recruited a large number of follow-
ers in Mexico for this enterprise, and set sail with three vessels,
in 1596, from Acapulco. The adventurers coasted the territory
for a considerable time without finding a suitable location in which
they might settle advantageously, until, at length, they disem-
barked in the port of La Paz, whence, however, they soon departed
for want of provisions and supplies of every kind.

Meanwhile the Count of Monterey examined into the state of the
expedition to New Mexico, which he found had been projected and
partly prepared by his predecessor. He made some changes in the
plan agreed on between Velasco and Onate, and, in order to ex-
hibit his good will to the latter personage, he joined with him, in
the enterprise, his relation Vicente Saldivar, who had gathered
a number of emigrants for these remote and northern regions.
People were tempted to abandon their homes by the reports of ex-
traordinary mineral wealth which was to be obtained in these unex-
plored portions of New Spain ; and, accordingly, when the stand-
ard of the expedition was raised in the great square of the capital,
crowds of men with their families flocked around it to enlist for the
hazardous and toilsome service.

The first news received from the. emigrant colonists, when they
reached Caxco, two hundred leagues from the capital, was disas-
trous. Quarrels had originated among the adventurers, who as-
serted that the terms of the expedition had not been complied with
faithfully. As soon as the viceroy heard of the discontent, he
despatched Don Lope de Ulloa as a pacificator, to the inflamed
band which was quickly reduced to harmony and persuaded to
continue its journey to the promised land. At length the weary
emigrants reached the boasted El Dorado ; but finding the reports
of mineral wealth altogether exaggerated, and doubting the advan-
tage of residing with their families permanently in such distant out-
posts, many of them retraced their way southward to regions that
were more densely populated.

In 1598, another effort was resolved on to gather the dispersed

INDIAN AMELIORATIONS DEATH OF PHILIP II. 175

and refractory vagabond Indians who wandered about the territory
under the name of Mexicans and Otomies. Whilst they main-
tained their perfectly nomadic state it was evident that tKey were
useless either as productive laborers for the Spaniards, or as objects
of taxation for the sovereign. It was a wise policy, therefore, to
attempt what was philanthropically called — their civilization; —
but upon this occasion, as upon all the others that preceded it, the
failure was signal. Commissioners and notaries were selected and
large salaries paid these officials to ensure their faithful services in
congregating the dispersed natives. But the government agents,
who well knew the difficulty if not the absolute impossibility of
achieving the desired object, amused themselves by receiving and
spending the liberal salaries disbursed by the government, whilst
the Indians still continued as uncontroled as ever. The Count
of Monterey was nevertheless obstinately bent on the prosecution
of this favorite policy of the king, and squandered, upon these vile
ministerial agents, upwards of two hundred thousand dollars, with-
out producing the least beneficial result. In the following viceroy's
reign he was sentenced to pay the government this large sum as
having been unwisely spent; but was finally absolved from its
discharge by the court to which he appealed from the decision of
his successor.

In the beginning of 1599, the news was received in Mexico of
the death of Philip II. and of the accession of Philip III. This
event was perhaps the most remarkable in the annals of the colony,
during the last year of the sixteenth century, except that the town
of Monterey in New Leon was founded, and that a change was
made by the viceroy of the port of Vera Cruz from its former sickly
site at la Antigua, to one which has since become equally unhealthy.

The first three years of the seventeenth century were chiefly
characterized by renewed viceroyal efforts among the Indians.
The project of congregating the nomadic natives was abandoned,
and various attempts were made to break up the system of
repartimientos, which had been, as we have seen, the established
policy of the colony if not of the king, ever since the conquest.
If the Indians were abandoned to their own free will, it was
supposed that their habits were naturally so thriftless that they
would become burthensome instead of beneficial to the Spanish
colonists, and, ultimately, might resolve themselves into mere
wanderers like the Otomies and their vagabond companions. Yet,
it was acknowledged that their involuntary servitude, and the
disastrous train of impositions it entailed, were unchristian and

176 NEW SCHEME OF HIRING INDIANS CALIFORNIA.

unjust. There was a dilemma, in fact between idleness and
tyranny ; but the viceroy conceived it his duty to endeavor once
more, with an honest zeal, to sustain the humane policy of freedom
which was recommended not only by the sovereign but by the reli-
gious orders who were supposed to know the natives best. Various
projects were adopted to harmonize their freedom with a necessary
degree of labor, in order to ensure them wages and support, whilst
they were preserved together in organized societies. After the
repartimientos were abrogated, the Indians were compelled to
assemble, on every Sabbath, in the public squares of the villages
and towns, where they made their contracts of service by the day.
The viceroy himself, anxious to prevent fraud, assisted personally
in the reunions at the plazas or squares of San Juan and Santiago.
But it was all in vain. The proprietors, land owners, and agents,
were < opposed to the scheme. Brokers interposed, and, after
hiring the Indians at moderate rates in contracts made with
themselves, sub-let them to others on higher terms. And, at last,
it is alleged that the unfortunate natives, seeing the bad operation
of the viceroy's kind intentions in their behalf, and finding their
condition less happy when they had to take care of themselves
than when they were taken care of, appealed to the Count of
Monterey to restore the old system of repartimientos under which
they were at least spared the trouble of seeking for task-masters
and support. Indolent by nature ; creatures of habit ; and living
in a country whose bosom afforded them spontaneously most of
the luxuries required by such a class, they submitted to what, in
fact, was the greatest evil of their lot, because it relieved them of
the trouble of individual effort!

In 1602, Philip III. commanded another expedition for the
colonization and exploration of the Californias. It departed in
three ships and a barque from Acapulco, on the fifth of May,
under the command of Viscaino. Torribio Gomez Corban was
the admiral of the little fleet, and Antonio Flores, pilot. From the
day of its departure, it was driven by severe gales, but, at length,
the port of Monterey was reached by the weary crews, who
continued along the coast until they arrived at Cape Blanco de
San Sabastian, somewhat beyond Cape Mendozino. There the
voyagers were sorely attacked with scurvy which thinned their
numbers to such an extent, that, of the whole, only six were able
to do duty. With this scant equipment of men, the vessels
reached Mazatlan, where the crews recruited their health ; and,
passing thence to Acapulco, the expedition once more landed in

MONTESCLAROS VICEROY INUNDATION ALBARRADA. 177

the midst of civilization and hastened back to the capital to give
a bad report of the country which in our day and generation has
become the El Dorado of the world.

The Conde de Monterey, was transferred to the viceroyalty of
Peru in 1603, and left the capital amid the general grief of a
society whose cordial esteem he seems to have won and retained
during his whole administration.

Don Juan de Mendoza y Luna, Marques de Montesclaros,

X. Viceroy of New Spain.

1603 — 1607.

The advent of the Marques de Montesclaros to the viceroyalty
of New Spain was distinguished by an unusual degree of tran-
quillity throughout the colony. During -the preceding adminis-
trations most of the subjects of internal discontent were set at
rest, and the aborigines who had been subjected to the yoke were
now becoming accustomed to bear it. In 1604, the abundant
rains in the valley of Mexico during the month of August, caused
an inundation which greatly alarmed the population. The city and
adjacent country were laid under water, and such was the general
distress that the Marques solicited the opinions of skilful persons
in regard to the canal of Huehuetoca, which had heretofore been
spoken of as the only means of freeing the capital from destruction
by the swollen flood of the lakes. The reports made to him,
however, represented the enterprise as one of immense labor and
expense, as well as requiring a great length of time for its comple-
tion. He therefore abandoned the project for the present, and
merely repaired the albarrada or dyke which Velasco had already
constructed. In addition to this precautionary measure he caused
the calzadas, or raised turnpikes of Guadalupe and San Cristoval
to be constructed, which, whilst they led to the open country be-
yond the city, served, also, as additional barriers against the waters.
After the completion of these highways, he next directed his at-
tention to those of San Antonio and Chapultepec, which were
quickly finished, and merited the name of "Roman works," for
the massive strength and durability of their construction. Various
other useful municipal works, such as aqueducts and sewers, en-
gaged the notice of the viceroy until, in 1607; and after the
proclamation of the Prince of Asturias (Philip IV.) by order of the
king, he was ordered to pa*s from Mexico to Peru where he was
charged with the duties of the viceroyalty.

CHAPTER VI
1607—1621.

*

SECOND ADMINISTRATION OF DON LUIS VELASCO HIS GREAT

WORK FOR THE DRAINAGE OF THE VALLEY. LAKES IN THE

VALLEY DANGER OF INUNDATION. HISTORY OF THE DE-

SAGUE OF HUEHUETOCA. OPERATIONS OF THE ENGINEERS

MARTINEZ AND BOOT. THE FRANCISCANS. COMPLETION OF

THE DESAGUE. LA OBRA DEL CONSULADO. NEGRO REVOLT.

EXTENSION OF ORIENTAL TRADE. GUERRA VICEROY. DE

CORDOVA VICEROY. INDIAN REVOLT. CORDOVA FOUNDED.

Don Luis Velasco, — the Second, — Conde de Santiago and

First Marques de Salinas,

XI. Viceroy of Mexico. His Second Administration.

1607 — 1611.

Don Luis Velasco had been seven years viceroy of Peru since
he left the government of Mexico, when he was summoned once
more to rule a country of which he felt himself almost a native. *
He was tired of public life, and being advanced in years would
gladly have devoted the rest of his existence to the care of his
family and the management of his valuable estates in the colony.
But he could not refuse the nomination of the king, and at the age
of seventy, once more found himself at the head of affairs in New
Spain.

The government of this excellent nobleman has been signalized
in history by the erection of the magnificent public work, designed
for the drainage of the valley, of which we spoke during the last
viceroyalty. The results of Velasco's labors were permanent, and
as his work, or at least a large portion of it remains to the present
day, and serves to secure the capital from the floods with which it is
constantly menaced, we shall describe the whole of this magnificent
enterprise at present, though our description will carry us, chrono-
logically, out of the period under consideration, and lead us from
the seventeenth to the nineteenth century.

1 Velasco had been sent to Peru eleven years before, and after governing it seven,
had returned to reside in Mexico, when he was unexpectedly reappointed viceroy.

LAKES IN THE VALLEY DANGER OF INUNDATION. 179

The valley of Mexico is a great basin, which although seven
thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea, and of cours*
subject to constant and rapid evaporation, is yet exceedingly humid
for so elevated a region. No stream, except the small arroyo, 01
rivulet of Tequisquiac, issues from the valley, whilst the rivers Papa-
Iotla, Tezcoco, Teotihuacan, Guadalupe, Pachuca and Guautitlan
pour into it and form the five lakes of Chalco, Xochimilco, Tezcoco,
San Cristoval and Zumpango. " These lakes rise by stages as they
approach the northern extremity of the valley; the waters of Tez-
coco, being, in their ordinary state, four Mexican varas and eight
inches lower than the waters of the lake of San Cristoval, which
again, are six varas lower than the waters of the lake Zumpango,
which froms the northernmost link of this dangerous chain. The
level of Mexico in 1803 was exactly one vara, one foot and one
inch above that of the lake of Tezcoco, ] and, consequently, was
nine varas and five inches lower than that of the lake of Zum-
pango ; a disproportion, the effects of which have been more se-
verely felt because the lake of Zumpango receives the tributary
streams of the river Guautitlan, whose volume is more considerable
than that of all the other rivers which enter the valley combined.

" In the inundations to which this peculiarity in the formation of
the valley of Mexico has given rise, a similar succession of events
has been always observed. The lake of Zumpango, swollen by the
rapid increase of the river Guautitlan during the rainy season,
forms a junction with that of San Cristoval, and the waters of the
two combined burst the dykes which separate them from the lake
of Tezcoco. The waters of this last again, raised suddenly more
than a vara above their usual level, and prevented from extending
themselves to the east and south-east, by the rapid rise of the
ground in that direction, rush back towards the capital and fill the
streets which approach nearest to their own level. This was the
case in the years 1553, 1580, 1604 and 1607, in each of which
years the capital was entirely under water, and the dykes which
had been constructed for its protection destroyed."2

Such is a topographical sketch of the country accurately given
by a careful writer ; and to protect an important region so con-
stantly menaced with inundation, the viceroy now addressed him-
self. Accordingly he commissioned the engineer Enrique Martinez,
in 1607 to attempt the drainage of the lake of Zumpango, by the

1 The level of Tezcoco is now, according to Miihlcnpfordt, five feet seven inches
(Spanish) below that of the city of Mexico.

2 Ward's Mexico in 1827, vol. 2, p. 282 et seq.

180 HISTORY OF THE DESAGUE OF HUEHUETOCA.

stupendous canal now known under the name of the Desague de

HUEHUETOCA.

" The plan of Martinez appears to have embraced two distinct
objects, the first of which extended to the lakes of Tezcoco and San
Cristoval, while the second was confined to the lake of Zumpango
whose superfluous waters were to be carried into the valley of Tula
by a subterraneous canal into which the river Guautitlan was like-
wise compelled to flow. The second of these projects only was
approved by the government ; and the line of the canal having been
traced by Martinez between the Cerro or hill of Sincoque and the
hill of Nochistongo to the north-west of Huehuetoca, where the
mountains that surrounded the valley are less elevated than in any
other spot, — the great subterraneous gallery of Nochistongo was
commenced on the 28th of November, 1607. Fifteen thousand
Indians were employed in this work, and as a number of air shafts
were sunk, in order to enable them to work upon the different
points at once, in eleven months a tunnel of six thousand six hun-
dred metres1 in length, three metres five in breadth and four metres
two in height, was concluded.

" From the northern extremity of this tunnel called la boca de
San Gregorio, an open cut of eight thousand six hundred metres
conducted the waters to the salto or fall of the river Tula, where,
quitting the valley of Mexico, they precipitate themselves into that
of Tula, from a natural terrace of twenty Mexican varas in height,
and take their course towards the bar of Tampico where they enter
the gulf of Mexico. An enterprise of such magnitude could hardly
be free from defects, and Martinez soon discovered that the un-
baked bricks, of which the interior of the tunnel was composed,
were unable to resist the action of water, which, being confined
within narrow limits, was at times impelled through the tunnel
with irresistible violence. A facing of wood proved equally
ineffectual, and masonry was at last resorted to ; but even this,
though successful for a time, did not answer permanently, because
the engineer, instead of an elliptical arch, constructed nothing but
a sort of vault, the sides of which rested upon a foundation of no
solidity. The consequence was that the walls were gradually un-
dermined by the water, and that the vault itself in many parts
fell in.

" This accident rendered the government indifferent to the fate
of the gallery which was neglected, and finally abandoned in the

1 The metre is equal to thirty-nine thousand three hundred and seventy-one
English inches.

OPERATIONS OF THE ENGINEERS MARTINEZ AND BOOT. 181

year 1623, when a Dutch engineer, named Adrian Boot, induced
the viceroy to resume the old system of dyke and embankments,
and to give orders for closing the tunnel of Nochistongo. A sud-
den rise in the lake of Tezcoco caused these orders to be revoked,
and Martinez was again allowed to proceed with his works which
he continued until the 20th of June, 1629, when an event took
place, the real causes of which have never been ascertained."

"The rainy season having set in with unusual violence, Martinez,
either desirous to convince the inhabitants of the capital of the
utility of his gallery, or fearful, as he himself stated, that the fruits
of his labor would be destroyed by the entrance of too great a vo-
lume of water, closed the mouth of the tunnel, without communi-
cating to any one his intention to do so. The effect was instanta
neous ; and, in one night, the whole town of Mexico was laid
under water, with the exception of the great square, and one of the
suburbs. In all the other streets the water rose upwards of three
feet, and during five years, from 1629 to 1634, canoes formed the
only medium of communication between them. The foundations
of many of the principal houses were destroyed ; trade was para-
lyzed ; the lower classes reduced to the lowest state of misery ; and
orders were actually given by the court of Madrid to abandon the
town and build a new capital in the elevated plains between
Tacuba and Tacubaya, to which the waters of the lakes, even
before the conquest, had never been known to extend.

" The necessity of this measure was obviated by a succession of
earthquakes in the dry year of 1634, when the valley was cracked
and rent in various directions, and the waters gradually disap-
peared; a miracle for which due credit should be given to the
Virgin of Guadalupe, by whose powerful intercession it is said to
have been effected.

"Martinez, who had been thrown into confinement in 1629, was
released upon the termination of the evils which his imprudence
was said to have occasioned ; and was again placed by a new vice-
roy,—the Marques de Cerralvo, — at the head of the works by
which similar visitations were to be averted in future. Under his
superintendence the great dyke, or Calzada of San Cristoval was
put in order,1 by which the lake of that name is divided from that
of Tezcoco. This gigantic work which consists of two distinct
masses, the first, one league, and the second, one thousand five
hundred varas in length, is ten varas in width or thickness

1 The Calzada of San Cristoval was originally erected, according to good author-
ity, in the year 1G05. See Liceo Mexicano, vol. 2, p. 6.

182 THE FRANCISCANS COMPLETION OF THE DESAGUE.

throughout, and from three and a half to four varas in height. It
is composed entirely of stone, with buttresses of solid masonry on
both sides, and three sluices, by which, in any emergency, a com-
munication between the lakes can be effected and regulated at the
same time. The whole was concluded, like the gallery of Nochis-
tongo, in eleven months, although as many years would now be re-
quired for such an undertaking. But in those days the sacrifice of
life, and particularly of Indian life, in public works, was not re-
garded. Many thousands of the natives perished before the desague
was completed ; and to their loss, as well as to the hardships en-
dured by the survivors, may be ascribed the horror with which the
name of Huehuetoca is pronounced by their descendants.

"It is not our intention to follow the progress of the canal of
Huehuetoca through all the various changes which occurred in
the plans pursued with respect to it from 1637, when the direction
of the work was again taken from Martinez and confided to the
Franciscan monks, until 1767, when, under the viceroyalty of the
Marques de Croix, the Consulado or corporate body of Mexican
merchants, engaged to complete this great national undertaking.
The necessity of converting the tunnel of Martinez into an open
cut, had long been acknowledged, it having been found impossible
to prevent the tunnel from being continually choked up by the
sand and rubbish deposited by the water on its passage ; but as
the work was only prosecuted with vigor when the danger of an
inundation became imminent, and was almost suspended in the dry
years, two thousand three hundred and ten varas of the northern
gallery remained untouched, after the expiration of one hundred
and thirty years when the Consulado was intrusted with the
completion of the arduous task. As the old line of the gallery
was to be preserved, it became necessary to give the cut which
was to be sunk, perpendicularly upon it, an enormous width at
the top, in order to prevent the sides from falling in ; and in the
more elevated parts, between the mountains of Sincoque and the
hill of Nochistongo, for the space of two thousand six hundred
and twenty-four feet, the width, across, varies from two hundred
and seventy-eight to six hundred and thirty feet, while the perpen-
dicular depth is from one hundred and forty-seven to one hundred
and ninety- six feet. The whole length of the cut from the sluice
called the vertideros to the salto or fall of the river Tula, is sixty-
\even thousand five hundred and thirty-seven feet or twenty-four
thousand five hundred and thirty Mexican varas. The highest
point of the hill of Nochistongo is that called Boveda Real, and it

LA OBRA DEL CONSULADO NEGRO REVOLT. 183

would be difficult when looking down from it, upon the stream
below, and, following with the eye the vast opening through which
it seeks an issue, to conceive that the whole is, indeed, the work
of man, did not the mounds on either side, as yet but imperfectly
covered with vegetation, and the regular outline of the terraces,
denote both the recentness of its completion, and the impossibility
of attributing it to any natural convulsion.

" The Obra del Consulado, as the opening cut is called, was
concluded in the year 1789. It cost nearly a million of dollars ;
and the whole expense of the drainage from 1607 to the beginning
of the present century, including the various projects commenced
and abandoned when only partially executed, — the dykes con-
nected with the desague, — and the two canals which communicate
with the lakes of San Cristoval and Zumpango, — is estimated at
six millions two hundred and forty-seven thousand six hundred
and seventy dollars, or one million two hundred and forty-nine
thousand five hundred and thirty-four pounds. It is supposed that
one-third of this sum would have proved sufficient to cover all the
expenses, had Martinez been furnished in the first instance with
the means of executing his project upon the scale which he had
judged necessary; for it is in the reduced dimensions of the
gallery of Nochistongo, which was never equal to the volume of
water to which at particular seasons it afforded an outlet, that all
the subsequent expenditure has originated." x

We have judged it better to group together in this place all the
facts relative to this most important national work, — so as to
afford the reader a complete picture of the undertaking, — than to
relate the slow and tedious history of the work as it advanced to
completion during the reigns of many viceroys. The present
condition of the desague and its advantages will be treated in
another portion of this work ; and we shall therefore revert at once
to the year 1609, in which a large number of negroes rebelled
against the Spaniards. It seems that the blacks in the neighbor-
hood of Cordova, who were in fact slaves on many of the hiciendas
or plantations, having been treated in an inhuman manner by their
owners, rose against them in great force, and gathering together
in the adjacent mountains menaced their tyrannical task-masters
with death, and their property with ruin. Velasco sent one hun-
dred soldiers, one hundred volunteers, one hundred Indian archers,

1 Ward, vol. 2, p. 283, et seq.

184 EXTENSION OF ORIENTAL TRADE GUERRA VICEROY.

together with two hundred Spaniards and Mestizos, to attack them
in their fastnesses. Several skirmishes took place between the
slaves and these forces, and at length the negroes yielded to the
Spaniards, — craving their pardon, inasmuch as their "insurrection
was not against the king," — and promising that they would no
longer afford a refuge to the blacks who absconded from the
plantations. Velasco at once granted their request, and permitted
them to settle in the town of San Lorenzo.

In 1610 and 1611, there were but few important incidents in ihe
history of New Spain, which was now gradually forming itself into
a regularly organized state, free from all those violent internal
commotions, which nations, like men, are forced to undergo in
their infancy. The viceroy still endeavored to ameliorate the
condition of the Indians, and despatched a mission to Japan in
order to extend the oriental commerce of Spain. The true policy
of Castile would have been, instead of crushing Mexico by colo-
nial restrictions, to have raised her gradually into a gigantic state,
which, situated in the centre of America, on the narrowest part of
the continent between the two oceans, and holding in her veins the
precious metals in exhaustless quantities, would have surely
grasped and held the commerce of the east and of Europe. Such
would seem the natural destiny of Mexico if we examine her
geographical features carefully ; nor do we venture too much in
predicting that the time will come when that destiny will be
fulfilled.

Velasco was now well stricken in years and required repose.
His master, appreciating his faithful services and his unques-
tionable loyalty, added to his already well earned titles that of
Marques of Salinas, and creating him president of the Council of
the Indies recalled him to Spain where he could pass in quiet the
evening of his days, whilst he was also enabled to impart the
results of his vast American experience to the king and court

Fray Garcia Guerra, Archbishop of Mexico,
XII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1611 — 1612.

Velasco, as an especial mark of royal favor, was desired to re-
tain his power as viceroy until the moment of embarkation for
Spain, and then to depose it in favor of the monk Garcia Guerra,
who had been the worthy prior of a Dominican convent at Burgos

DE CORDOVA VICEROY INDIAN REVOLT. 185

in Spain, until he was nominated to the Archepiscopal See of
Mexico. His government was brief and altogether eventless. He
became viceroy on the 17th of June, 1611, and died on the 22d of
February in the following year, of a wound he received in falling
as he descended from his coach.

Don Diego Fernandez de Cordova,

Marques de Guadalcazar.

XIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1612 — 1621.

Upon the death of the last viceroy, the Audiencia, of course,
took possession of the government during the interregnum ; — and,
as it seems that this body of men was always doomed to celebrate
its authority by acts of folly or cruelty, we find that soon after
its accession to power the city was alarmed by the news of another
outbreak among the negroes. The people were panic struck. A
terrible noise had been heard in the streets of the metropolis during
the night, and, although it was proved that the disturbance was
entirely caused by the entrance, during the darkness, of a large
drove of hogs, the Audiencia determined, nevertheless, to ap-
pease public opinion by the execution of twenty-nine male negroes
and four negro women ! Their withered and fetid bodies were
left to hang on the gallows, tainting the air and shocking the eyes
of every passer, until the neighborhood could no longer bear the
sickly stench and imperiously demanded their removal.

The Marques de Guadalcazar took possession of the viceroyalty
on the 28th of October, 1612, and his government passed in quiet
engaged in the mere ordinary discharge of executive duties during
the first four years, subsequent to which an Indian insurrection of
a formidable character broke out in one of the departments, under a
chief who styled himself " Son of the Sun and God of Heaven and
Earth. " This assault was fatal to every Spaniard within reach of
the infuriate natives, who broke into the churches, murdered the
whites seeking sanctuary at their altars, and spared not even the
ecclesiastics, who, in all times, have so zealously proved them-
selves to be the defenders of their race. Don Gaspar Alvear, Gov-
ernor of Durango, assembled a large force as soon as the viceroy
informed him of the insurrection, and marched against the savages.
After three months of fighting, executions and diplomacy, this func-

186

CORDOVA FOUNDED.

tionary succeeded in suffocating the rebellion ; but he was probabl
more indebted, for the final reconciliation of the Indians, to the
persuasive talents of the Jesuits who accompanied the expedition,
than to the arms of his soldiers.

The remaining years of this viceroyalty are only signalized by
the founding of the city of Cordova, — whose neighborhood is re
nowned for the excellent tobacco it produces, — and for the con-
struction of the beautiful aqueduct of San Cosme which brings the
sweet waters of Santa Fe to the capital. This monument to the
intelligence and memory of Guadalcazar was completed in 1620 •,
and, in March, 1621, the viceroy was removed to the government
of Peru.

CHAPTER VII

1621 — 1624.

MARQUES DE GELVES VICEROY HIS REFORMS NARRATIVE OF

FATHER GAGE. GELVES FORESTALLS THE MARKET THE

ARCHBISHOP EXCOMMUNICATES MEXIA, HIS AGENT. QUARREL

BETWEEN GELVES AND THE ARCHBISHOP. VICEROY EXCOM-
MUNICATED. ARCHBISHOP AT GUADALUPE HE IS ARRESTED

AT THE ALTAR SENT TO SPAIN. MEXIA THREATENED.

MOB ATTACKS THE PALACE IT IS SACKED. VICEROY ES-
CAPES. RETRIBUTION.

Don Diego Carillo Mendoza y Pimentel,

Count de Priego and Marques de Gelves,

XIV. Viceroy of New Spain.

1621 — 1624.

Upon the removal of the Marques of Guadalcazar, and until the
21st of September, 1621, the Audiencia again ruled in Mexico,
without any interruption however, upon this occasion, of the public
peace. The six months of the interregnum might, indeed, have
been altogether forgotten, in the history of the country, had not the
Audiencia been obliged to announce the reception of a royal cedula
from Philip IV., communicating the news of his father's death, and
commanding a national mourning for his memory. In September,
the new viceroy arrived in the capital, and immediately caused the
royal order to be carried into effect and allegiance to be sworn
solemnly to Philip IV. as king and lord of Old and New Spain. 1

The Marques de Gelves was selected by the sovereign for the
reputation he bore in Spain as a lover of justice and order, —
qualities which would ensure his utility in a country whose quiet-
ness, during several of the last viceroyal reigns, had indicated
either a very good or a very bad government, which it was im-
possible for the king to examine personally. Accordingly Gelves

1 " Como Rey y Senor de las Espafias, " says the authority.

188 GELVES FORESTALLS THE MARKET.

took the reins with a firm hand. He found many of the depart
ments of government in a bad condition, and is said to hav
reformed certain abuses which were gradually undermining th
political and social structure of the colony. In these duties th
two first years of his viceroyalty passed away quietly; but Gelves
though an excellent magistrate so far as the internal police of the
country is concerned, was, nevertheless, a selfish and avaricious
person, and seems to have resolved that his fortune should prosper
by his government of New Spain.

The incidents which we are about to relate are stated on the
authority of Father Gage, an English friar who visited Mexico in
1625 ; and whose pictures of the manners of the people corresponc
so well with our personal knowledge of them, at present, that we
are scarcely at liberty to question his fidelity as a historian. 1

In the year 1624, Mexico was, for a time, in a state of great
distraction, and well nigh revolted from the Spanish throne. The
passion for acquiring fortune, which had manifested itself some
what in other viceroys, seems in Gelves unbounded. He resolvec
to achieve his end by a bold stroke ; and, in 1623, having deter-
mined to monopolize the staff of life among the Indians and Creoles,
he despatched one of the wealthiest Mexicans, Don Pedro de
Mexia, to buy up corn in all the provinces at the rate of fourteen
reales, the sum fixed by law at which the corn was sold in
times of famine. The farmers, who, of course, knew nothing of
Mexia's plan readily disposed of their corn, with which the artful
purveyor filled his store houses all over the country. After the
remnant of the crop was brought to market and sold, men began

1 " A new survey of the West Indies, or The English American, his Travels by
land and sea ; by Thomas Gage, London, 1677, see p. 176. " It is due to impar-
tial history and to the memory of the Marques de Gelves to state that a different
account of these occurrences is given by Ramon J. Alcaraz, a modern Mexican
writer in the Liceo Mexicano, vol. 2, p. 120. Alcaraz fortifies his views by some
documents, and by a justificatory commentary of the Marques himself. But he,
like Gage, does not state his authorities. The story as related by the English friar
is very characteristic of the age, and, si non e vero e ben trovato. Those who are
anxious to discover the innocence or guilt of the viceroy, with certainty, will have
a difficult task in exploring the Spanish manuscripts of the period. The British
traveller Gage, was on the spot in the year after the events occurred, and his subsequent
abandonment of the Catholic church would not be likely to lead him into the
espousal of the archbishop de la Serna's cause against the viceroy.

Cavo in his work entitled — " Tres Siglos de Mexico, " — states that the account
he gives of this transaction is taken from Jive different narratives of it which were
published at the time of its occurrence — three in favor of the viceroy and two
sustaining the cause of the archbishop. In the last two, he alleges, that all the
imputations against the archbishop were disproved, and that all the charges
against the viceroy were sustained by solid argument.

THE ARCHBISHOP EXCOMMUNICATES MEXIA, HIS AGENT. ] §,0

to compare notes, and suddenly discovered that corn was no where
to be procured, save from the granaries of Mexia. " The poor
began to murmur, the rich began to complain ; and the tariff of
fourteen reales was demanded from the viceroy. " But he, the
secret accomplice of Mexia, decided, that as the crops had been
plentiful during the year, it could not be regarded as one of
scarcity according to the evident intention of the law, so that it
would be unfair to reduce the price of grain to that of famine.
And thus the people, balked in their effort to obtain justice from
their ruler, though suffering from extreme imposition, resolved to
bear the oppression, rather than resort to violence for redress.

After awhile, however, the intimacy between Gelves and Mexia
became more apparent as the confederates supposed they had less
cause for concealment; and the poor, again, besought the viceroy
for justice and the legal tariff. But the temptation was too great
for the avaricious representative of the king. He again denied
their petition ; and, then, as a last hope, they resorted to a higher
power, which, in such conflicts with their rulers, had usually
been successful.

In those days, Don Alonzo de la Serna, a man of lofty character
and intrepid spirit, was archbishop of Mexico, and perceiving the
avaricious trick of the viceroy and his pimp, threw himself on the
popular side and promptly excommunicated Mexia. But the
sturdy merchant, protected by viceroyal authority, was not to be
conquered by so immaterial a thing as a prelate's curse placarded
on the door of a cathedral. He remained quietly ensconced in his
house, despatched orders to his agents, and even raised the price
of his extravagant bread stuffs. For a moment, perhaps, De la
Serna was confounded by this rebellious son of the church, yet the
act convinced him, if indeed, he entertained any doubt on the
subject, that Mexia was backed by the viceroy, and, consequently,
that any further attempts would bring him in direct conflict with
the government. Nevertheless, a man like him was not to be
easily alarmed or forced to retreat so quickly. The church,
supreme in spiritual power, would never yield, especially in a
matter of popular and vital concern, and the archbishop, therefore,
determined to adopt the severest method at once, and by an order of
cessatio divinis, to stop, immediately, all religious worship through-
out the colony. This was a direful interdict, the potency of which
can only be imagined by those who have lived in Catholic
countries whose piety is not periodically regulated upon the
principle of a seven day clock, but where worship is celebrated

25

190 QUARREL BETWEEN GELVES AND THE ARCHBISHOP.

from hour to hour in the churches. The doors of chapels, cathe
drals and religious buildings were firmly closed. A death-like
silence prevailed over the land. No familiar bells sounded for ma
tins or vespers. The people, usually warned by them of their hours
of labor or repose, had now no means of measuring time. The
priests went from house to house, lamenting the grievous affliction
with which the country was visited and sympathizing cordiall;
with the people. The church mourned for the unnatural pains her
rebellious son had brought upon her patient children. But sti
the contumacious Mexia sold his corn and exacted his price !

At length, however, popular discontent became so clamorous,
that even among this orderly and enduring people, the life of the
viceroy's agent was no longer safe. He retreated therefore from his
own dwelling to the palace, which was strongly guarded, and de
manded protection from Gelves. The viceroy admitted him an(
took issue with the archbishop. He immediately sent orders to
the priests and curates of the several parishes, to cause the orders
of interdict and excommunication to be torn from the church walls
and all the chapels to be thrown open for service. But the resolute
clergy, firm in their adherence to the prelate, would receive no
command from the viceroy. Finding the churches still closed
and the people still more clamorous and angry, Gelves commandec
De la Serna to revoke his censures ; but the archbishop answered
that " what he had done was but an act of divine justice against a
cruel oppressor of the poor, whose cries had moved him to com-
passion, and that the offender's contempt for his excommunication
had deserved the rigor of both of his censures, neither of which he
would recal until Don Pedro de Mexia submitted himself reverently
to the church, received public absolution, and threw up the uncon-
scionable monopoly wherewith he had wronged the common
wealth. " " But, " says the chronicle of the day, " the viceroy
not brooking the saucy answer of a churchman, nor permitting him
to imitate the spirit of the holy Ambrose against the Emperor Theo-
dosius," forthwith sent orders to arrest De la Serna, and to carry
him to Vera Cruz, where he was to be confined in the castle of San
Juan de Ulua until he could be despatched to Spain. The arch-
bishop, however, followed by a long train of his prebends, priests,
and curates, immediately retired from the capital to the neighboring
village of Guadalupe, but left a sentence of excommunication on
the cathedral door against the viceroy himself! This was too
much for the haughty representative of the Spanish king to bea
without resentment, and left no means open for conciliation betwee:

VICEROY EXCOMMUNICATED ARCHBISHOP AT GUADALUPE. 191

church and state. Gelves could as little yield now, as De la Serna
could before, and of course, nothing remained for him but to lay
violent hands on the prelate wherever he might be found. His
well paid soldiers were still faithfully devoted to the viceroy, and
he forthwith committed the archbishop's arrest to a reckless and
unscrupulous officer named Tirol. As soon as he had selected a
band of armed men, upon whose courage and obedience he could
rely, this person hastened to the village of Guadalupe. In the
meantime the archbishop was apprised of his coming and prepared
to meet him. He summoned his faithful clergy to attend in the
sanctuary of the church, clad in their sacred vestments. For the
first time, after many a long and weary day, the ears of the people
were saluted by the sound of bells calling them to the house of
God. Abandoning their business, some of them immediately filled
the square, eagerly demanding by what blessed interposition they
had been relieved from the fearful interdict, — while others thronged
the doors and crowded the aisles of the long forsaken chapel. The
candles on the altar were lighted ; the choir struck up a solemn
hymn for the church ; and, then, advancing along the aisle in gor-
geous procession, De la Serna and his priestly train took up their
position in front of the tabernacle, where, crowned with his mitre,
his crozier in one hand, and the holy sacrament in the other, this
brave prelate awaited the forces which had been sent to seize him.
It is difficult to say, if De la Serna designed by so imposing a
spectacle to strike awe into the mind of the sacrilegious soldier, or
whether he thought it his duty to be arrested, if arrested he must
be, at that altar he had sworn to serve. It is probable, however,
from his exalted character and courage, that the latter was the true
motive of his act, and if so, he met his fate nobly in the cause of
justice and religion.

Tirol was not long in traversing the distance between Mexico
and Guadalupe. As soon as he arrived, he entered the church
accompanied by his officers and seemed appalled by the gorgeous
and dramatic display round the shrine. Not a whisper was heard
in the edifice as the crowd slowly parted to make way for the
soldiers, who advanced along the aisle and humbly knelt, for a mo-
ment, at the altar in prayer. This done, Tirol approached De la
Serna, and with " fair and courteous words " required him to lay
down the sacrament, to quit the sanctuary, and to listen to the
orders issued in the royal name. The archbishop abruptly refused
to comply, and answered, that "As the viceroy was excommuni-
cated he regarded him as beyond the pale of the church and in no

192 HE IS ARRESTED AT THE ALTAR SENT TO SPAIN.

way empowered to command in Mexico ; " he, therefore, ordered
the soldiers, as they valued the peace of their souls, to desist from
infringing the privileges of the church by the exercise of secular
power within its limits, and, he finally declared " that he would,
on no account, depart from the altar unless torn from it with the
sacrament. " Upon this Tirol arose, and read the order for his
arrest, describing him as a " traitor to the king, a disturber of the
peace, and a mover of sedition in the commonwealth. "

De la Serna smiled contemptuously at the officer as he finished,
and taunted him with the viceroy's miserable attempt to cast upon
the church the odium of sedition, when his creature Mexia was, in
fact, the shameless offender. He conjured Tirol " not to violate
the sanctuary to which he had retreated, lest his hand should be
withered like that of Jeroboam, who stretched forth an arm against
the prophet of the Lord at the altar ! "

Tirol seems to have been a man upon whose nerves such appeals
had but little effect. He was a blunt soldier, who received the
orders of his superiors and performed them to the letter. He had
been ordered to arrest the archbishop wherever he found him, and
he left the ecclesiastical scandal to be settled by those who sent
him. Beckoning to a recreant priest who had been tampered
with and brought along for the purpose, he commanded him in
the king's name, to wrest the sacrament from the prelate's hand.
The clergyman, immediately mounting the steps of the altar,
obeyed the orders, and the desecrated bishop at once threw off his
pontifical robes and yielded to civil power. The cowardly Mexi-
cans made no attempt to protect their intrepid friend, who, as he
left the sanctuary, paused for a moment and stretched his hands in
benediction over the recreants. Then bidding an affectionate fare-
well to his clergy, whom he called to witness how zealously he
had striven to preserve the church from outrage, as well as the
poor from plunder, he departed as a prisoner for Vera Cruz,
whence he was despatched for Spain in a vessel expressly
equiped for his conveyance.

For a while the people were panic struck at this high-handed
movement against the archbishop, but when the momentary effect
had passed away and they began to reflect on the disgrace of the
church as well as the loss of their protector, they vented their dis-
pleasure openly against Mexia and the viceroy. The temper of the
masses was at once noticed by the clergy, who were still faith-
ful to their persecuted bishop, nor did they hesitate to fan the

MEXIA THREATENED MOB ATTACKS THE PALACE. 193

flame of discontent among the suffering Indians, Mestizos and
Creoles, who omitted no occasion to express their hatred of the
Spaniards, and especially of Tirol, who had been the viceroy's tool
in De la Serna's arrest. A fortnight elapsed after the occurrences
we have just detailed, and that daring officer had already delivered
his prisoner at Vera Cruz, and returned to Mexico. Popular
clamor at once became loud against him; whenever he appeared in
public he was assailed with curses and stones ; until, at last, an
enraged mob attacked him in his carriage with such violence that
it was alone owing to the swiftness of the mules, lashed by the
affrighted postillion, that he escaped into the viceroyal palace,
whose gates were immediately barred against his pursurers.
Meantime the news had spread over town that this w Judas," —
"this excommunicated dog," — had taken refuge with Gelves,
and the neighboring market place became suddenly filled with an
infuriated mob-, numbering near seven thousand Indians, negroes
and mulattoes, who rushed towards the palace with the evident in-
tention of attacking it. Seeing this outbreak from a window, the
viceroy sent a message to the assailants desiring them to retire, and
declaring that Tirol had escaped by a postern. But the blood of the
people was up, and not to be calmed by excuses. At this junc-
ture several priests entered the crowd, and a certain Salazar was
especially zealous in exciting the multitude to summary revenge.
The pangs of hunger, were, for a moment, forgotten in the more
bitter excitement of religious outrage. By this time the mob ob-
tained whatever arms were nearest at hand. Poles, pikes, pistols,
guns, halberds, and stones were brought to the ground, and fierce
onsets were made on every accessible point of the palace. Neither
the judges nor the police came forward to aid in staying the riot
and protecting Gelves : — " Let the youngsters alone," exclaimed
the observers, " they will soon find out both Mexia and Tirol, as
well as their patron, and the wrongs of the people will be quickly
redressed!" A portion of the mob drew off to an adjacent prison,
whose doors were soon forced and the convicts released.

At length, things became alarming to the besieged inmates of
the palace, for they seemed to be entirely deserted by the re-
spectable citizens and police. Thereupon the viceroy ascended to
the azotea or flat roof of the palace with his guard and retainers,
and, displaying the royal standard, caused a trumpet to be sounded
calling the people to uphold the king's authority. But the reply
to his summons was still in an unrelenting tone — " Viva el Rey !
Muera el mal gobierno ; mueran los dos comulgados ! " " Long

194 IT IS SACKED VICEROY ESCAPES RETRIBUTION.

live the king ! but down with the wicked government, and death
to the excommunicated wretches ! " These shouts, yelled forth
by the dense and surging mob, were followed by volleys, discharged
at the persons on the azotea, who, for three "hours, returned the
shots and skirmished with the insurgents. Stones, also, were
hurled from the parapet upon the crowd, but it is related in the
chronicles of the time, that not a single piece of ordnance was
discharged upon the people, " for the viceroy, in those days, had
none for the defence of his palace or person, neither had that great
city any for its strength and security. "

So passed the noon and evening of that disastrous day ; but, at
night fall, the baffled mob that had been unable to make any
impression with their feeble weapons upon the massive walls of the
palace, brought pitch and inflamable materials, with which they
fired the gates of the viceroyal palace. The bright flames of these
combustibles sent up their light in the still evening air, and, far
and wide over the town spread the news that the beautiful city was
about to be destroyed. Frightened from their retreats, the judges
and chief citizens who had influence with the people rushed to the
plaza, and, by their urgent entreaties, efforts were made to extin-
guish the fire. But the palace gates had already fallen, and, over
their smouldering ruins, the infuriated assailants rushed into the
edifice to commence the work of destruction. The magistrates,
however, who had never taken part against the people in their
quarrels, soon appeared upon the field, and, by loud entreaties,
stopped the saqueo. It was soon discovered that Mexia and Tirol
had escaped by a postern, whilst the conquered viceroy, disguised
as a friar, stole through the crowd to the Franciscan cloister,
where, for many a day, he lay concealed in the sanctuary which
his rapacious spirit had denied to the venerable De la Serna.

So ended this base attempt of a Spanish nobleman and repre-
sentative of royalty in America, to enrich himself by plundering the
docile Mexicans. The fate of Mexia and Tirol is unknown. But
Spanish injustice towards the colonies was strongly marked by the
reception of the viceroy and the archbishop on their return from
Madrid. Gelves, it is true, was recalled, but, after being graciously
welcomed at court, was made " master of the royal horse ; " while
the noble hearted De la Serna was degraded from his Mexican arch-
prelacy and banished to the petty bishopric of Zamora in Castile !

CHAPTER VIII
1624—1642.

THE AUDIENCIA RULES IN THE INTERREGNUM. CARILLO VISI-

TADOR. INQUISITORIAL EXAMINATION. ACAPULCO TAKEN.

ATTACKS BY THE DUTCH. REMOVAL OF THE CAPITAL PRO-
POSED. ARMENDARIZ VICEROY. ESCALONA VICEROY. PALA-

FOx's CONDUCT TO THE VICEROY. PALAFOX VICEROY HIS

GOOD AND EVIL.

Don Roderigo Pacheco Osorio, Marques de Cerralvo,
XV. Viceroy of New Spain.

1624 — 1635.

Upon the violent expulsion of the viceroy Gelves by the popular
outbreak, narrated in the last chapter, the government of New
Spain fell once more into the hands of the Audiencia during the
interregnum. This body immediately adopted suitable measures
to terminate the disaffection. The people were calmed by the
deposition of one they deemed an unjust ruler ; but for a long time
it was found necessary to keep on foot in the capital, large bands
of armed men, in order to restain those troublesome persons who
are always ready to avail themselves of any pretext for tumultuary
attacks either against property or upon people who are disposed to
maintain the supremacy of law and order.

As soon as Philip IV. was apprised of the disturbances in his
transatlantic colony, he trembled for the security of Spanish power
in that distant realm, and immediately despatched Don Martin
Carillo, Inquisitor of Valladolid, with unlimited power to examine
into the riots of the capital and to punish the guilty participants in
a signal and summary manner. It is not our purpose, at present,
to discuss the propriety of sending from Spain special judges, in
the character of Visitadores or Inquisitors, whenever crimes were
committed by eminent individuals in the colony, or by large bodies
of people, which required the infliction of decided punishment.

196 INQUISITORIAL EXAMINATION. ACAPULCO TAKEN.

But it may be regarded as one of the characteristic features of the
age, and as demonstrative of the peculiar temper of the king that
an Inquisitor was selected upon thi's occasion for so delicate and
dangerous a duty. It is true that the church, through the late arch-
bishop, was concerned in this painful affair ; but it little accords
with the ideas of our age to believe it necessary that a subject of
such public concern as the insurrection against an unjust and
odious viceroy should be confined to the walls of an inquisition or
conducted by one of its leading functionaries alone. Had the in-
vestigation been intrusted exclusively to a civil and not an ecclesi
astical judge, it is very questionable whether he should have been
sent from Spain for this purpose alone. Being a foreigner, at least
so far as the colony was concerned, he could have scarcely any
knowledge of or sympathy with the colonists. Extreme impar-
tiality may have been ensured by this fact ; yet as the Visitador or
Inquisitor departed, as soon as his special function ceased, he was
never responsible for his decrees to that wholesome public opinion
which visits the conduct of a judge with praise or condemnation
during his life time when he permanently resides in a country, and,
is always the safest guardian of the liberty of the citizen.

It seems, however, that the Inquisitor administered his office
fairly and even leniently in this case, for his judgments fell chiefly
on the thieves who stole the personal effects of the viceroy during
the sacking of the palace. The principal movers in the insurrec-
tion had absented themselves from the capital, and prudently re-
mained in concealment until the Visitador terminated his examina-
tions, inflicted his punishments upon the culprits he convicted, and
crossed the sea to report his proceedings at court.

Carillo had been accompanied to New Spain by a new viceroy,
Don Roderigo Pacheco Osorio, Marques of Cerralvo, who arrived
in the capital on the 3d of November, 1624, and assumed the
government. He left the examination of the insurrection entirely
in the hands of the Inquisitor and directed his attention to the
public affairs of the colony. These he found peaceful, except that
a Dutch squadron, under the command of the prince of Nassau
attacked Acapulco, and the feeble city and garrison readily sur-
rendered without resistance. The fleet held the city, however,
only for a few days, and set sail for other enterprises. This
assault upon an important port alarmed the viceroy, who, at once,
sent orders to have the town immediately surrounded with a wall,
and suitable forts and bastions erected which would guard it in all

ATTACKS BY DUTCH REMOVAL OF CAPITAL PROPOSED. 197

subsequent attacks. These fortifications were hardly commenced
when another Dutch fleet appeared before the town. But this time
the visit was not of a hostile nature ; — it was an exhausted fleet,
demanding water and provisions, after recovering which it resumed
its track for the East Indies. Whilst the Spaniards were thus
succoring and sustaining their enemies the Dutch, a dreadful
famine scourged Sinaloa and neighboring provinces, carrying off
upwards of eight thousand Indians.

During the long reign of the present monarch, Philip IV., Spain
was frequently at war with England, Holland, and France ; and
the Dutch, who inflicted dreadful ravages on the American coasts,
secured immense spoil from the Spaniards. In 1628, Pedro Hein,
a Hollander of great distinction, placed a squadron in the gulf on
the coasts of Florida to intercept the fleet of New Spain. The
resistance made by the Spaniards was feeble, and, their vessels
being captured by the Dutch, the commerce of Mexico experienced
a severe blow from which it was long in recovering.

In 1629, there were ecclesiastical troubles in the colony,
growing out of an attempt by the higher order of the Spanish
clergy to prevent the increase of the regular priesthood from among
the natives of the country. They feared that in the course of time
the dominion of the establishment would thus be wrested from their
hands by the power of the Mexicans. The king, himself was
appealed to on this subject and caused it to be examined into
carefully. In 1631, in consequence of the repeated danger of the
capital from floods, the project of removing the site from its present
location, to the loftier levels between Tacuba and Tacubaya, was
seriously argued before the people. But the interest of property
holders, and inhabitants of the city would have been so seriously
affected by this act, that the idea was abandoned.

The remaining years of this viceroyalty were consumed in
matters of mere local detail and domestic government, and in fact
we know but little of it, save that the severe inundations of 1629
caused the authorities to use their utmost efforts in prosecuting the
work of the desague, as we have already seen in the general
account given of that gigantic enterprise. In 1635 this viceroy's
reign terminated.

198 armendariz viceroy escalona viceroy.

Don Lope Diaz de Armendariz, Marques de Cadereitj
XVI. Viceroy of New Spain
1635—1640.

The five years of this personage's government were unmarked by
any events of consequence in the colony ; except that in the last
of them, — 1640, — he despatched an expedition to the north,
where he founded in New Leon, the town of Cadereita, which the
emigrants named in honor of their viceroy.

Don Diego Lopez Pacheco Cabrera y Bobadilla,

Duke of Escalona, Marques of Vilbua and Grandee of

Spain of the first class.

XVII. Viceroy of New Spain.
1640— 1642.

The Duke of Escalona succeeded the Marques of Cadereita, and
arrived in Mexico on the 28th of June, 1640, together with the
venerable Palafox, who came, in the character of Visitador, to
inquire into the administration of the last viceroy whose reputation,
like that of other chief magistrates in New Spain, had suffered
considerably in the hands of his enemies. Whilst this functionary
proceeded with his disagreeable task against a man who was no
longer in power, the duke, in compliance with the king's command
ordered the governor of Sinaloa, Don Luis Cestinos, accompanied
by two Jesuits, to visit the Californias and examine their coasts
and the neighboring isles in search of the wealth in pearls and
precious metals with which they were reputed to be filled. The
reports of the explorers were altogether satisfactory both as to the
character of the natives and of the riches of the waters as well as
of the mines, though they represented the soil as extremely sterile.
The gold of California was reserved for another age.

Ever since the conquest the instruction of Indians in christian
doctrine had been confided exclusively to the regular clergy of the
Roman Catholic church. The secular priests were, thus, entirely
deprived of the privilege of mingling their cares with their monastic
brethren, who, in the course of time, began to regard this as an
absolute, indefeasible right, whose enjoyment they were unwilling
to forego, especially as the obvencio?ies or tributes of the Indian
converts, formed no small item of corporate wealth in their
respective orders. The Indians were, in fact, lawful tributaries,

THE VICEROY. 199

not only of the whole church, in the estimation of these friars, but
of the special sect or brotherhood which happened to obtain the
first hold on a tribe or nation by its missionary residence among
its people. Palafox requested the Duke of Escalona to deprive the
monkish orders of this monopoly ; a desire to which the viceroy
at once acceded, inasmuch as he was anxious to serve the bishop
in all matters pertaining to his religious functions.

The kindly feeling of the viceroy does not appear to have been
appreciated, or sincerely responded to by Palafox. This personage
was removed in 1642, to the archiepiscopal see of Mexico, and
under the pretext of installation in his new office and opening his
tribunals, he visited the capital with the actual design of occupying
the viceroyal throne to which he had been appointed ! This was
a sudden and altogether unexpected blow to the worthy duke,
who was so unceremoniously supplanted. No one seems to have
whispered to him even a suspicion of the approaching calamity,
until the crafty Palafox assembled the oidores at midnight on the
eve of Pentecost, and read to them the royal despatches containing
his commission. His conduct to the jovial hearted duke, who was
no match, in all probability, for the wily churchman, was not only
insincere but unmannerly, for, immediately after the assumption of
his power at dead of night, he commanded a strong guard to
surround the palace at dawn, and required the Oidor Lugo, to read
the royal cedula to the duke even before he left his bed. The
deposed viceroy immediately departed for the convent at Churu-
busco, outside the city walls on the road to San Agustin de las
Cuevas. All his property was sequestrated, and his money and
jewels were secured within the treasury.

The reader will naturally seek for an explanation of this political
enigma, or base intrigue, and its solution is again eminently char-
acteristic of the reign in which it occurred. It will be remembered
that the Duke of Braganza had been declared King of Portugal,
which kingdom had separated itself from the Spanish domination,
causing no small degree of animosity among the Castilians against
the Portuguese and all who favored them. The Duke of Escalona,
unfortunately, was related to the house of Braganza, and the credu-
lous Philip having heard that his viceroy exhibited some evidences
of attachment to the Portuguese, resolved to supercede him by Pala-
fox. Besides this, the Duke committed the impolitic act of ap-
pointing a Portuguese, to the post of Castellan of St. Juan de Ulua;
and, upon a certain occasion, when two horses had been presented
to him by Don Pedro de Castilla, and Don Cristobal de Portugal,

200 PALAFOX VICEROY HIS GOOD AND EVIL.

he unluckily, remarked that he liked best the horse that was offeree
by Portugal! It is difficult to believe that such trifles would affec
the destiny of empires, when they were discussed by grave states
men and monarchs. But such was the miserable reign of Phili
IV. ; — the most disastrous indeed, in the annals of Spain, excep
that of Roderic the Goth. Folly like this may justly be attributec
to the imbecile king, who witnessed the Catalan insurection, th
loss of Rousillon, Conflans, a part of Cordana, Jamaica, and, above
all, of Portugal ; and who, moreover, recognized the independenc
of the Seven United Provinces.

Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza,

Bishop of Puebla — Chosen Archbishop of Mexico,

Visitador of New Spain, &c. &c,

XVIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1642.

t

The administration of Palafox as viceroy was of but short dura
tion. He occupied the colonial throne but five months, yet, during
that brief space, he did something that signalized his name both
honorably and disgracefully. He seems to have been ridiculously
bent upon the sacrifice of all the interesting monuments which
were still preserved from the period of the conquest as memorials
of the art and idolatry of the Aztecs. These he collected from al
quarters and destroyed. He was evidently no friend of the friars
but sought to build up and strengthen the secular clergy whose
free circulation in the world brought them directly under the eye
of society, and whose order made them dependent upon that society,
and not upon a corporation, for maintenance. During his short
reign he manifested kindness for the Indians ; caused justice to b
promptly administered, and even suspended certain worthy oidores
who did not work as quickly and decide as promptly as he thought
they ought to ; he regulated the ordinances of the Audiencia ; pre-
pared the statutes of the university; raised a large body of militia
to be in readiness in case of an attack from the Portuguese ; visited
the colleges under his secular jurisdiction ; and, finally, in proof of
his disinterestedness, refused the salary of viceroy and visitador

CHAPTER IX.

1642 — 1654.

SOTOMAYOR VICEROY. ESCALONA VINDICATED. MONASTIC PRO-
PERTY. BIGOTRY OF PALAFOX. GUZMAN VICEROY. INDIAN

INSURRECTION. REVOLT OF THE TARAHUMARES. SUCCESS

OF THE INDIANS INDIAN WARS. DUKE DE ALBURQUERQUE

VICEROY ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE HIM. COUNT DE BANOS

VICEROY. ATTEMPT TO COLONIZE. ESCOBAR Y LLAMAS AND

DE TOLEDO VICEROYS. DEPREDATIONS OF BRITISH CRUISERS.

NUNO DE PORTUGAL VICEROY.

Don Garcia Sarmiento de Sotomayor,

Count de Salvatierra, Marques de Sobroso,

XIX. Viceroy of New Spain.

1642 — 1648.

Philip IV. seems to have been more anxious to use Palafox as
an instrument to remove the Duke of Escalona, than to empower
him, for any length of time, with viceroyal authority; for, no sooner
did he suppose that the duke was displaced quietly without leaving
the government in the hands of the Audiencia, than he appointed
the Conde de Salvatierra as his representative. This nobleman
reached his government on the 23d of November, 1642, and Pala-
fox immediately retired from his office, still preserving, however,
the functions of Visitador. At the conclusion of this year the duke
departed from Churubusco for San Martin, in order to prepare for
his voyage home ; and in 1643, this ill used personage left New
Spain having previously fortified himself with numerous certificates
of his loyalty to the Spanish crown, all of which he used so skil-
fully in vindication before the vacillating and imbecile king, that
he was not only exculpated entirely, but offered once more the
viceroyalty from which he had been so rudely thrust. The duke
promptly rejected the proposed restoration, but accepted the vice-
royalty of Sicilv. Before he departed for the seat of government,

202 MONASTIC PROPERTY BIGOTRY OF PALAFOX.

he gave the king many wise councils as to his American colonies ,
but, especially advised him to colonize the Californias. Don Pedro
Portal de Casanete was commissioned by Philip for this purpose.

In 1644, there were already in Mexico twelve convents of nuns,
and nearly an equal number for males, which, either by the unwise
but pious zeal of wealthy persons, were becoming rich and ag-
gregating to themselves a large amount of urban and rural property
Besides this the dependants upon these convents, both males and
females, were largely increasing ; — all of which so greatly pre-
judiced not only property but population, that the Ayuntamiento or
City Council solicited the king not to permit the establishment in
future of similar foundations, and to prohibit the acquisition of rea
estate by monasteries, inasmuch as the time might come when these
establishments would be the only proprietors.

Meanwhile Casanete arrived in Mexico on his way to the shores
of the Pacific. Salvatierra received him kindly and made proper
efforts to equip him for the enterprise. The chiefs and governors
of the interior were ordered to aid him in every way ; but just as
ne was about to sail, two of his vessels were burned, whereupon
his soldiers dispersed, whilst the families of his colonists with
drew, in hope of being again soon summoned to embark.

The civil government of Salvatierra passed in quietness ; but the
domineering spirit of Palafox did not allow the church to remai
at peace with the state. In 1647, this lordly churchman engagec
in warm discussion with the Jesuits and other orders. Most scan-
dalous scenes occurred in the churches of Puebla. Anathemas
excommunications, and all the artillery of the church were usee
against each other. Palafox persevered in his rancorous contro-
versy as long as he remained in America, and even after his return
to Europe, pursued his quarrel at the court of Rome. At the close
of this year Salvatierra was removed to the viceroyalty of Peru.

Don Marcos de Torres y Rueda,

Bishop of Yucatan — Governor of New Spain.

XX. Viceroy of New Spain.

1648 — 1649.

The rule of Torres y Rueda was brief and eventless. It ex-
tended from the 13th of March, 1648, to the 22d of April, 1645,
when the bishop- governor died, and was sumptuously interred in
the church of San Agustin in the city of Mexico.

guzman viceroy indian insurrection. 203

Don Luis Enriquez de Guzman, Count de Alvadeliste.

XXI. Viceroy of New Spain.

1649 — 1654.

The Audiencia ruled in New Spain until the 3d of July, 1650,
the period of the Conde de Alvadeliste's arrival in the capital.
This nobleman had been, in fact, appointed by the king immedi-
ately upon the transfer of the Conde de Salvatierra to Peru ; but
inasmuch as he could not immediately cross the Atlantic, the
bishop of Yucatan had been directed to assume his functions ad
interim. Alvadeliste, a man of amiable character and gentle man-
ners, soon won the good . opinion of the Spanish colonists and
Creoles. But if he was to experience but little trouble from his
countrymen and their descendants, he was not to escape a vexa-
tious outbreak among the northern Indians, who had remained
quiet for so long that it was supposed they were finally and suc-
cessfully subjected to the Spanish yoke.

The viceroy had not been long installed when he received news
of a rebellion against the Spaniards by the Tarahumares, who in-
habited portions of Chihuahua and Sinaloa, and who hitherto
yielded implicitly to the gentle and persuasive voice of the evangeli-
cal teachers dwelling among them. The portion of this tribe in-
habiting Sinaloa, commenced the assault, but the immediate cause
of the rebellion is not known. We are not aware whether they
experienced a severe local government at the hands of the Span-
iards, whether they were tired of the presence of the children of
the Peninsula, or whether they feared that the priestly rule was
only another means of subjecting them more easily to the crown
of Castile. Perhaps all these causes influenced the rebellion.
Already in 1648, the chief of the nation had compromised three
other tribes in the meditated outbreak ; but, lacking the concerted
action of the Tepehuanes and other bands, upon whose aid they
confidently counted, they resolved to attack, alone, the village of
San Francisco de Borja, whose garrison and village they slaught-
ered and burned. San Francisco was the settlement which sup-
plied the local missions with provisions, and its loss was conse-
quently irreparable to that portion of the country.

As soon as the chief judge of Parral heard of this sanguinary
onslaught he hastily gathered the neighboring farmers, herdsmen,
and merchants, and hastened into the wilderness against the in-
surgents, who fled when they had destroyed the great depot of

204 REVOLT OF THE TARAHUMARES.

the Spaniards. The troops, hardy as they were on these distan
frontiers, were not calculated for the rough warfare of woodsmen
and after some insignificant and unsuccessful skirmishes with the
marauders, the new levies retired hastily to their homes.

Fajardo, governor of Nueva Biscaya, soon heard of the rebellion
and of the ineffectual efforts to suppress it. He was satisfier
that no time was to be lost in crushing the rebellion, and, accord-
ingly marched with Juan Barraza, to the seat of war with an ade-
quate force. The Indians had meanwhile left their villages anc
betaken themselves to the mountains, woods and fastnesses. Fa-
jardo immediately burned their abandoned habitations and deso-
lated their cultivated fields ; and when the Indians, who were now
satisfied of their impotence, demanded peace, he granted it on
condition that the four insurgent chiefs of the rebellion should hi
surrendered for punishment. The natives, in reply, brought him
the head of one of their leaders, together with his wife and child
soon after another head was delivered to him, and, in a few days,
the other two leaders surrendered.

This, for a while, calmed the country ; but in order to confirm
the peace and friendship which seemed to be now tolerably wel
established, a mission was founded in the valley of Papigochi, in
which the chief population of the Tarahumares resided. The
reverend Jesuit, Father Bendin, was charged with the duty ol
establishing this benignant government of the church, and in a
short time it appeared that he had succeeded in civilizing the
Indians and in converting them to the christian faith. There
were, nevertheless, discontented men among the tribes, whose
incautious acts occasionally gave warning of the animosity which
still lingered in the breasts of the Indians. The most prudent oi
the Spaniards warned the governor of Nueva Biscaya to beware a
sudden or personal attack. But this personage treated the advice
with contempt, and felt certain that the country was substantially
pacified. Nevertheless, whilst things wore this aspect of seeming
calm, three chiefs or caciques, who had embraced the Catholic
faith, prepared the elements for a new rebellion, and, on the 5th
of June, 1649, at daybreak, they attacked the dwelling of the
missionaries, set fire to its combustible materials, and surrounding
the blazing house in numbers, awaited the moment when the
unsuspecting inmates attempted to escape. The venerable Bendin
and his companions were quickly aroused, but no sooner did they
rush from the flames than they were cruelly slain by the Indians.
The church was then sacked. The valuables were secured and

SUCCESS OF THE INDIANS. 205

carried off by the murderous robbers, but all the images and
religious emblems were sacrilegiously destroyed before the Indians
fled to the country.

Fajardo once more despatched Juan Barraza, with three hundred
Spanish soldiers and some Indians against the rebel Tarahumares.
But the tribe had, in its intercourse with the foreigners, acquired
some little knowledge of the art of war and consequently did not
await the expected attack in the open or level fields, where the
Spanish cavalry could act powerfully against them. They re-
tired, accordingly, to a rocky pass, flanked by two streams,
which they fortified, at all points, with stone walls and other
formidable impediments. Here they rested in security until the
Spanish forces approached them ; nor did they, even then abandon
their defensive warfare. Barraza, finding the Indians thus skil-
fully entrenched behind barriers and ready to repel his attack, was
unable, after numerous efforts, to dislodge them from their position.
Indeed, he appears to have suffered serious losses in his vain
assaults ; so that, instead of routing the natives entirely, he found
it necessary to withdraw his troops who were greatly weakened by
losses, whilst the daring insurgents continually received auxiliary
reinforcements. In this untoward state of affairs, Barraza resolved
to make his escape, during the night, from such dangerous
quarters, and, ordering his Indian allies to light the usual watch-
fires, and keep up the ordinary bustle of a camp, he silently but
gradually withdrew all his Spanish and native forces, so that at
daybreak the Tarahumares found the country cleared of their foes.

As soon as Fajardo heard of the forced retreat of Barraza he
determined to take the management of the campaign in his own
hands. But his military efforts were as unsuccessful as those of
his unfortunate captain. The rainy season came on before he
could make a successful lodgement in the heart of the enemy's
country, and his march was impeded by floods which destroyed the
roads and rendered the streams impassable. Accordingly he
retired to Parral, where he received orders from the viceroy to
establish a garrison in Papigochi.

The Spaniards found that their cruelty in the first campaign
against these untamed savages had inflamed their minds against
the viceroyal troops. They attempted, therefore, to use, once
more, the language of persuasion, and, offering the insurgents a
perfect amnesty for the past, prevailed upon the old inhabitants
of the vale of Papigochi to return to their former residences.

27

206 INDIAN WARS DUKE DE ALBURQUERQUE VICEROY.

where, however, they did not long remain faithful to their promised
allegiance. The new garrison was established, as had been com
manded by the viceroy ; but, in 1652, the relentless tribes, again
seizing an unguarded moment, burned the barracks, and destroy ec
in the flames a number of Spaniards, two Franciscan monks, anc
a Jesuit priest. The soldiery of Barraza and the governor retiree
from the doomed spot, amid showers of Indian arrows.

In 1653, the war was resumed. The whole country was arousec
and armed against these hitherto invincible bands. Other Indian
tribes were subdued by the Spanish forces, and their arms were
then, once more, turned upon the Tarahumares, at a moment when
the Indian chiefs were distant from the field. But the absence of
the leaders neither dismayed nor disconcerted these relentless
warriors. The Spaniards were again forced to retire ; and the
viceroy caused an extensive enlistment to be undertaken, and large
sums appropriated to crush or pacify the audacious bands. Before
the final issue and subjugation, however, the Conde de Alvadeliste,
received the king's command to pass from Mexico to the govern
ment of Peru, and, awaiting only the arrival of his successor, he
sailed from Acapulco for his new viceroyalty.

Don Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva,

Duke de Alburquerque,

XXII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1654—1660.

The Duke of Alburquerque, who had married the Dona Juana
daughter of the former viceroy, Don Lope Diaz de Armendariz,
arrived in Mexico on the 16th of August, 1654, as successor of
Alvadeliste. His accession was signalized by unusually splendid
ceremonies in the capital, and the new viceroy immediately
devoted himself to the improvement of Mexico, as well as to th
internal administration of affairs. He zealously promoted the pub-
lic works of the country; labored diligently to finish the cathedral;
devoted himself, in hours of leisure, to the promotion of literature
and the fine arts ; regulated the studies in the university ; and
caused the country to be scoured for the apprehension of robbers
and vagabonds who infested and rendered insecure all the high-
ways of the colony. Great numbers of these wretches were soon
seized and hanged after summary trials.

!

ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE HIM. 207

In 1656, the British forces having been successful against
Jamaica, the Mexicans were apprehensive that their arms would
next be turned against New Spain ; and accordingly Alburquerque
fitted out an armada to operate against the enemy among the
islands before they could reach the coast of his viceroyalty. This
well designed expedition failed, and most of the soldiers who en-
gaged in it, perished. The duke, unsuccessful in war, next turned
his attention to the gradual and peaceful extension, northward, of
the colonial emigration ; and, distributing a large portion of the
territory of New Mexico among a hundred families, he founded
the city of Alburquerque, and established in it several Franciscan
missions as the nucleus of future population.

The year 1659 was signalized in Mexico by one of those horrid
dramas which occasionally took place in all countries into which
the monstrous institution of the Inquisition was unfortunately
naturalized, and fifty human victims were burned alive by order of
the Audiencia. For the credit of the country it must be remem-
bered that this was the first occurrence of the kind, but, either from
curiosity or from a superior sense of duty, the dreadful pageant
was not only witnessed by an immense crowd of eager spectators,
but was even presided over by the viceroy himself. In 1660 the
duke narrowly escaped death by the hands of an assassin. Whilst
on his knees at prayer in a chapel of the cathedral, the murderer,
— a youthful soldier seventeen years old, — stole behind him, and
was in the act of striking the fatal blow when he was arrested. In
less than twelve hours he had gone to account for the meditated
crime.

Alburquerque appears to have been popular, useful and intelli-
gent, though, from his portrait which is preserved in the gallery of
the viceroys in Mexico, we would have imagined him to be a gross
sensualist, resembling more the usual pictorial representations of
Sancho Panza than one who was calculated to wield the destinies
of an empire. Nevertheless the expression of public sorrow was
unfeigned and loud among all classes when he departed for Spain
in the year 1660.

208 count de banoz viceroy attempt to colonize.

Don Juan de Leyva y de la Cerda,

Marques de Leyva y de la Cerda, Count de Banos

XXIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1660 — 1664.

The successor of the Duke of Alburquerque entered Mexico 01
the 16th of September, 1660. Don Juan de Leyva y de la Cere
approached the colony with the best wishes and resolutions to ac
vance its prosperity and glory. His earliest efforts were directec
to the pacification of the Tarahumares, whose insurrection wa
still entirely unquelled, and whose successes were alarmingly dis-
astrous in New Mexico, whither they advanced in the course
their savage warfare. With the same liberal spirit that character
ized his predecessor, he continued to be the zealous friend of thos
remote, frontier colonists, and, in a short time, formed twenty-fou
villages. It was, doubtless, his plan to subdue and pacify the
north by an armed occupation.

In 1661 and 1662, the despotic conduct of the Spaniards to th
Indians stirred up sedition in the south as well as at the north
The natives of Tehuantepec were, at this period, moved to rebel
lion, with the hope of securing their personal liberty, even if they
could not reconquer their national independence. Spanish forces
were immediately marched to crush thev insurrection ; but the sof
children of the south were not as firmly pertinacious in resistance
as their sturdier brothers of the northern frontier. More accessibl
to the gentle voices of an insinuating clergy, they yielded to th<
persuasive eloquence of the bishop Ildefonzo Davalos, who, ani
mated by honest and humane zeal for the children of the forest
went among the incensed tribes, and, by kindness, secured th<
submission which arms could not compel at the north. For thi
voluntary and valuable service the sovereign conferred on him th<
mitre of Mexico, which, in the year 1664, was renounced bj
Osorio Escobar. *

The only other event of note, during this viceroyalty, was an
attempt at colonization and pearl fishing on the coasts of Californi
by Bernal Pinaredo, who seems rather to have disturbed than to
have benefitted the sparse settlers on those distant shores. He wa
coldly received on his return by the viceroy, who formally accusec
him to the court for misconduct during the expedition.

Don Juan de Leyva sailed for Spain in 1664, and soon afte
died, afflicted by severe family distresses, and, especially by thi
misconduct of his son and heir.

escobar y llamas and de toledo viceroys. 209
Don Diego Osorio Escobar y Llamas, Bishop of Puebla.

XXIV. Viceroy of New Spain.

1664.

The reign of this ecclesiastic was remarkable for nothing except
its extraordinarily brief duration. The bishop entered upon his
duties on the 29th of June, and resigned them in favor of his suc-
cessor on the 15th of the next October.

Don Sebastian de Toledo, Marques de Mancera ;

XXV. Viceroy of New Spain.

1664—1673.

New Spain enjoyed profound internal peace when Don Sebastian
arrived in the capital on the 15th of October, 1664. But the
calm of the political world does not seem to have extended to the
terrestrial, for, about this period, occurred one of the few eruptions
of the famous mountain of Popocatepetl, — the majestic volcano
which lies on the eastern edge of the valley, and is the most
conspicuous object from all parts of the upper table lands of
Mexico. For four days it poured forth showers of stones from its
crater and then, suddenly, subsided into quietness.

In the beginning of 1666 a royal cedula was received from the
queen apprising her faithful subjects of her husband's death, and
that during the minority of Charles II. the government would be
carried on by her. The loss of Jamaica, during the last reign was
ineparable for Spain. The possession of so important an island
by the British, enabled the enemies of Castile to find a lurking
place in the neighborhood of her richest colonies from which the
pirates and privateers could readily issue for the capture of Spanish
commerce or wealth. The armada of the Marques of Cadareita,
was useless against the small armed craft which not only possessed
great advantages in swiftness of sailing, but was able, also, to
escape from the enemies' pursuit or guns in the shallows along the
coast into which the larger vessels dared not follow them. But
the general war in Europe which had troubled the peace of the old
world for so many years, had now drawn to a close, and a peace
was once more, for a while re-established. The ambitious desires
of the Europeans, were now, however, turned towards America,
anrl, with ea^er and envious glances at the possessions of the

210 DEPREDATIONS OF BRITISH CRUIZERS.

Spaniards. The narrow, protective system of Spain, had, as we
have related in our introductory chapter, closed the colonial ports
against all vessels and cargoes that were not Spanish. This,
of course, was the origin of an extensive system of contraband,
which had doubtless done much to corrupt the character of the
masses, whilst it created a class of bold, daring and reckless men,
whose representatives may still be found, even at this day, in the
ports of Mexico and South America. This contraband trade not
only affected the personal character of the people, but naturally
injured the commerce and impaired the revenues of New Spain.
Accordingly the ministers in Madrid negotiated a treaty with
Charles II. of England, by which the sovereigns of the two nations
pledged themselves not to permit their subjects to trade in their
colonies. Notwithstanding the treaty, however, Governor Lynch,
of Jamaica, still allowed the equipment of privateers and smug-
glers, in his island, where they were furnished with the necessary
papers ; but the king removed him as soon as he was apprised of
the fact, and replaced the conniving official by a more discreet and
conscientious governor. Nevertheless the privateers and pirates
still continued their voyages, believing that this act of the British
government was not intended in good faith to suppress their
adventures, but simply to show Spain that in England treaties
were regarded as religiously binding upon the state and the
people. They did not imagine that the new governor would,
finally, enforce the stringent laws against them. But this per-
sonage permitted the outlaws to finish their voyages without
interference on the high seas, and the moment some of them landed,
they were hanged, as an example to all who were still willing to
set laws and treaties at defiance.

In 1670, the prolonged Tarahumaric war was brought to a close,
by Nicolas Barraza. An Indian girl pointed out the place in
which the majority of the warriors might be surprised ; and, all the
passes being speedily seized and guarded, three hundred captives
fell into the victors' hands. In 1673, the viceroy departed for
Spain, after an unusually long and quiet reign of eight years.

nuno de portugal viceroy. 211

Don Pedro Nuno Colon de Portugal,

Duke of Veraguas and Knight of the Golden Fleece,
XXVI. T7icercy or New Spain.

1673.

The nomination of this distinguished nobleman and descendant
of the discoverer of America, was unquestionably designed merely
as a compliment to the memory of a man, whose genius had given
a new world to Castile. l He was so far advanced in life, that it
was scarcely presumed he would be able to withstand the hardships
of the voyage or reach the Mexican metropolis. And such,
indeed, was the result of his toilsome journey. His baton of
office, — assumed on the 8th of December, 1673, — fell from his
decrepit hand on the 13th of the same month. So sure was the
Spanish court that the viceroy would not long survive his arrival,
that it had already appointed his successor, and sent a sealed
despatch with the commission, which was to be opened in the
event of Don Pedro's death. It thus happened that the funeral of
one viceroy, was presided over by his successor ; and the august
ceremonial was doubtless more solemn from the fact that this
successor was Rivera, who, at that time, was the archbishop
of Mexico.

The Duke of Veraguas of course neither originated any thing
nor completed any public work that had been already commenced ;
but the companions of his voyage to America, long remembered
and spoke of the good will and wise measures which he constantly
manifested in conversation relative to the government of New Spain.

1 " A Castilla y a Leon,
" Mundo nuebo dio Colon, "
Is the motto attached to the arms of this house.

CHAPTER X,

1674 — 1696.

RIVERA VICEROY. LA CERDA VICEROY. REVOLT IN NEW MEXI-
CO. SUCCESS OF THE INDIANS. COLONY DESTROYED.

EFFORTS OF THE SPANIARDS TO RECONQUER. VERA CRUZ

SACKED. COUNT MONCLOVA VICEROY. COUNT GALVE VICE-
ROY. TARRAHUMARIC REVOLT. INDIANS PACIFIED. TEXAS.

HISPANIOLA ATTACKED. INSURRECTION BURNING OF THE

PALACE. FAMINE EARTHQUAKE.

Fray Payo Enriquez de Rivera, Archbishop Of Mexic<
XXVII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1674—1680.

The Duke of Veraguas, as wre have seen, enjoyed none of his
viceroyal honors save those which crowned his entrance into the
capital ; and as soon as his remains were temporarily interred in
the cathedral, Fray Payo Enriquez de Rivera assumed the reins of
government.

This excellent prelate had fulfilled the functions of his bishopric,
for nine years, in Guatemala, so satisfactorily to the masses, that
his elevation to supreme power in Mexico was hailed as a national
blessing. He devoted himself from the first, diligently, to the
adornment of the capital and the just and impartial administration
of public affairs. He improved the roads and entrances into the
city ; and, by his moderation, justice and mildness, united with
liberality and economy, raised the reputation of his government to
such a degree of popular favor that, in the annals of New Spain, it
is referred to as a model public administration.

In 1677, by the orders of the queen regent, Rivera, despatched a
colony to California; and in the following year, Charles II., who
had attained his majority, signified his gratitude to the viceroy for
his paternal government of New Spain, as well as for the care he

LA CERDA VICEROY REVOLT IN NEW MEXICO. 213

had shown not only for the social, artistical and political improve-
ment of the nation committed to his charge, but for the honest
collection of the royal income, which, in those days, was a matter
of no small moment or interest to the Spanish kings. But in 1680,
the viceroy's health began to fail, and Charles the Second, who
still desired to preserve and secure the invaluable services of so
excellent a personage to his country, nominated him bishop of
Ouenca, and created him president of the Council of the Indies.

Don Tomas Antonio Manrique de la Cerda,

Marques de la Laguna,

XXVIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1680 — 1686.

The archbishop Rivera, when he left the viceroyal chair handed
to his successor in 1680, on the 30th of November, the letter he had
just received from the north, imparting the sad news of a general
rising of the Indians in New Mexico against the Spaniards. The
aborigines of that region, who then amounted to about twenty-
five thousand, residing in twenty-four villages, had entered into
combination with the wilder tribes thronging the broad plains
of the north and the recesses of the neighboring mountains, and
had suddenly descended, in great force, upon the unfortunate
Spaniards scattered through the country. The secret of the con-
spiracy was well kept until the final moment of rupture. The
spirit of discontent, and the bond of Indian union were fostered
and strengthened, silently, steadily and gradually, throughout a
territory of one hundred and twenty-five leagues in extent, without
the revelation of the fact to any of the foreigners in the region.
Nor did the strangers dream of impending danger until the 10th
of August, when, at the same moment, the various villages of In-
dians, took arms against the Spaniards, and, slaughtering all who
were not under the immediate protection of garrisons, even wreaked
their vengeance upon twenty-one Franciscan monks who had la-
bored for the improvement of their social condition as well as for
their conversion to Christianity.

Having successfully assaulted all the outposts of this remote
government of New Spain, the Indians next directed their arms
against the capital, Santa Fe, which was the seat of government
and the residence of the wealthiest and most distinguished inhalu-

28

214 SUCCESS OF THE INDIANS COLONY DESTROYED.

tants of the north. But the garrison was warned in time by a few
natives who still remained faithful to their foreign task-masters
•\nd was thus enabled to muster its forces and to put its arms in

Jer, so as to receive the meditated assault. The Spanish soldier
allowed the rebellious conspirators to approach their defences, unti
they were sure of their aim, and, then, discharging their pieces
upon the impetuous masses, covered the fields with dead anc
wounded. But the brave Indians were too excited, resolved anc
numerous to be stayed or repulsed by the feeble garrison. New
auxiliaries took the places of the slaughtered ranks. On all sides
the country was dark with crowds of dusky warriors whose shout;
and warwhoops continually rent the air. Clouds of arrows, anc
showers of stones were discharged on the heads of the beleagurec
townsmen. No man dared show himself beyond the covering o
houses and parapets ; and thus, for ten days, the Indian siege was
unintermitted for a' single moment around the walls of Santa Fe
At the expiration of this period the provisions as well as the mu-
nitions of the Spaniards were expended, and the wretched inhabi-
tants, who could no longer endure the stench from the carcasses of
the slain which lay in putrefying heaps around their town, resolve
to evacuate the untenable place. Accordingly, under cover of the
night, they contrived to elude the besiegers' vigilance, and quitting
the town by secret and lonely paths, they fled to Paso del Norte
whence they despatched messengers to the viceroy with the news
of their misfortune. The day after this precipitate retreat, the
Indians, who were altogether unaware of the Spaniards' departure
expected a renewal of the combat. But the town was silent. Ad-
vancing cautiously from house to house and street to street, they
saw that Santa Fe was, in reality deserted; and, content with having
driven their oppressors from the country, they expended their wrath
upon the town by destroying and burning the buildings. The
cause of this rising was the bad conduct of the Spaniards to the
Indians and the desire of these wilder northern tribes to regain
their natural rights.

In the commencement of 1681, the viceroy began to fear that this
rebellion, which seemed so deeply rooted and so well organized,
would spread throughout the neighboring provinces, and, accord-
ingly, despatched various squadrons of soldiers to New Mexico
and ordered levies to join them as they marched to the north
towards El Paso del Norte, which was the present refuge of the
expelled and flying government. In this place all the requisite
preparations for a campaign were diligently prepared, and thence

EFFORTS OF THE SPANIARDS TO RECONQUER 215

the troops departed in quest of the headstrong rebels. But all
their pains and efforts were fruitless. The object of the Indians
seems to have been accomplished in driving off the Spaniards and
destroying their settlements. The wild children of the soil and of
the forest neither desired the possession of their goods, nor waged
war in order to enjoy the estates they had been forced to till. It
was a simple effort to recover once more the wild liberty of
which they had been deprived, and to overthrow the masked
slavery to which the more ennervated races of the south submitted
tamely, under the controling presence of ampler forces. They
contented themselves, therefore, with destroying towns, planta-
tions, farms, and villages, and, flying to the fastnesses of the
mountain forests, either kept out of reach of the military bands that
traversed the country or descended in force upon detached parties.
The Spaniards were thus denied all opportunity to make a suc-
cessful military demonstration against the Indians ; and, after
waiting a season in fruitless efforts to subdue the natives, they
retired to El Paso, leaving the country still in the possession of
their foes who would neither fight nor come to terms, although an
unconditional pardon and a future security of rights were freely
promised.

The unsuccessful expedition of the previous year, induced the
viceroy, in 1682, to adopt other means for the reduction of the
refractory Indians to obedience. That vast region was not to be
lost, nor were the few inhabitants who still continued to reside on
its frontiers, to be abandoned to the mercy of savages. The
Marques de la Laguna, therefore resolved to re-colonize Santa F6,
and, accordingly, despatched three hundred families of Spaniards
and mulattoes, among whom he divided the land by caballerias.
Besides this, he augmented the garrison in all the forts and strong-
holds scattered throughout the territory, so that agriculture and
trade, grouped under the guns of his soldiery, might once more
lift up their heads in that remote region in spite of Indian hostility.
This measure was of great service in controling the natives else-
where. The Indians in the neighboring provinces had begun to
exhibit a strong desire to imitate the example of the New Mexican
bands, and, in all probability, were only prevented by this strin-
gent measure of the viceroy from freeing themselves from the
Spanish yoke.

The administration of the Marques de la Laguna was an unfor-
tunate one for his peace if not for his fame. The expedition which

216 VERA CRUZ SACKED COUNT MONCLOVA VICEROY.

he despatched in 1683 to California, under Don Isidro Otondo
and in which were Jesuits among whom was the celebrated Father
Kino, returned from that country three years afterwards after
fruitless voyage and exploration of the coasts. Nor was the
eastern coast of New Spain more grateful for the cares of the
viceroy. Vera Cruz, the chief port of the realm, was, at this time
warmly besieged and finally sacked by the English pirate Nicholas
Agramont, who was drawn thither by a mulatto, Lorencellio
after taking refuge in Jamaica for a crime that he had committee
in New Spain. On the 17th of May, Vera Cruz, surrendered to
the robbers, who possessed themselves of property to the amount
of seven millions of dollars, which was awaiting the arrival in the
harbor of the fleet that was to carry it to Spain. The chief
portion of the inhabitants took sanctuary in the churches, where
they remained pent up for a length of time ; but the pirates
contrived to seize a large number of clergymen, monks and women
whom they forced to bear the spoils of the city to their vessels, anc
afterwards treated with the greatest inhumanity.

The coasts of Mexico were, at this period, sorely harassed with
the piratical vessels of France and England. The wealth of the
New World, inadequately protected by Spanish cruisers, in its
transit to Europe, was a tempting prize to the bold nautical adven
turers of the north of Europe ; and the advantages of the Spanish
colonies were thus reaped by nations who were freed from the
expenses of colonial possessions. There are perhaps still many
families in these countries whose fortunes were founded upon th
robbery of Castilian galeons.

Don Melchor Portocarrero Laso de la Vega,

Count de la Monclova.

XXIX. Viceroy of New Spain.

1686 — 1688.

The Conde de Monclova, surnamed " Brazo de Plata " from the
fact that he supplied with a silver arm the member he had lost in
battle, arrived in Mexico on the 30th of November, 1686, and
immediately devoted himself to the improvement of the capital, the
completion of the canal which was to free the city from inundations,
and the protection of the northern provinces and the coasts of the
gulf against the menaced settlements of the French. He despatch-
ed several Spanish men of war and launches to scour the harbors

COUNT GALVE VICEROY TARRAHUMARIC REVOLT. 217

and inlets of the eastern shores, as far as Florida, in order to
dislodge the intruders ; and, having obtained control over the
Indians of Coahuila he established a strong garrison, and founded
a colonial settlement, called the town of Monclova, with a hundred
and fifty families, in which there were two hundred and seventy
men capable of bearing arms against the French whom he expect-
ed to encounter in that quarter.

The Conde de Monclova contemplated various plans for the con-
solidation and advancement of New Spain, but before two years
had expired he was relieved from the government and transferred
to the viceroyalty of Peru.

Don Gaspar de Sandoval Silva y Mendoza,
Count de Galve.
XXX. Viceroy of New Spain.
1688.

The Conde de Galve entered upon his government on the 17th
of September, 1688; and even before the departure of his predeces-
sor for Peru, he learned that the fears of that functionary had been
realized by the discovery of attempts by the French to found settle-
ments in New Spain. The governor of Coahuila in the course of
his explorations in the wilderness found a fort which had been
commenced, and the remains of a large number of dead French-
men, who had no doubt been engaged in the erection of the strong-
hold when they fell under the blows and arrows of the savages.

Besides this intrusion in the north, from which the Spaniards
were, nevertheless, somewhat protected by the Indians who hated
the French quite as much as they did the subjects of Spain, — the
viceroy heard, moreover, that the Tarrahumare and Tepehuane
tribes had united with other wild bands of the north-west, and
were in open rebellion. Forces were immediately despatched
against the insurgents, but they fared no better than the Spanish
troops had done in previous years in New Mexico. The love of
liberty, or the desire of entire freedom from labor, was in this case,
as in the former, the sole cause of the insurrection. When the
blow was struck, the Indians fled to their fastnesses, and when the
regular soldiery arrived on the field to fight them according to the
regular laws of war, the children of the forest were, as usual, no
where to be found ! Nor is it likely that the rebellion would
have been easily suppressed, or improbable that those provinces

218 INDIANS PACIFIED TEXAS HISPANIOLA ATTACKED.

would have been lost, had not the Jesuits, who enjoyed consider
ble influence over the insurgent tribes, devoted themselves, forth-
with, to calming the excited bands. Among the foremost of these
clerical benefactors of Spain was the noble Milanese Jesuit, Salva-
tierra, whose authority over the Indians was perhaps paramount to
all others, and whose successful zeal was acknowledged by
grateful letter from the viceroy. This worthy priest had been one
of the ablest missionaries among these warlike tribes. He won
their love and confidence whilst endeavoring to diffuse Christianity
among them, and the power he obtained through his humanity
and unvarying goodness, was now the means of once more subject-
ing the revolted Indians to the Spaniards. The cross achieved a
victory which they refused to the sword.

In 1690, another effort was made to populate California, in vir-
tue of new orders received from Charles ; and, whilst the prepara-
tions were making to carry the royal will into effect, the viceroy
commanded the governor of Coahuila to place a garrison at San
Bernardo, where the French attempted to build their fort. Orders
were also sent about the same time by Galve to extend the Spanish
power northward, and, in 1691, the province of Asinais, or Texas,
as it was called by the Spaniards, was settled by some emigrants,
and visited by fourteen Franciscan monks, who were anxious to
devote themselves to the conversion of the Indians. A garrison
and a mission were established, at that time, in Texas ; but in con-
sequence, not only of an extraordinary drought which occurred two
or three years after, destroying the crops and the cattle, but also
of a sudden rebellion among the natives against the Spaniards who
desired to subject them to the same ignoble toils that were
patiently endured by the southern tribes, nearly all the posts anc
missions were immediately abandoned.

The year 1690 was signalized in the annals of New Spain by an
attack and successful onslaught made by the orders of the viceroy
with Creole troops upon the island of Hispaniola, which was occu-
pied by the French. Six ships of the line and a frigate, with two
thousand seven hundred soldiers, sailed from the port of Vera
Cruz, upon this warlike mission ; and after fighting a decisive bat-
tle and destroying the settlements upon parts of the island, but
without attacking the more thickly peopled and better defended
districts of the west, they returned to New Spain with a multitude
of prisoners and some booty.

But the rejoicings to which these victories gave rise were of
short duration. The early frosts of 1691 had injured the crops,

INSURRECTION BURNING OF THE PALACE. 219

and the country was menaced with famine. On the 9th of June,
in this year, the rain fell in torrents, and, accompanied as it was
by hail, destroyed the grain that was cultivated not only around
the capital, but also in many of the best agricultural districts. The
roads became impassable, and many parts of the city of Mexico
were inundated by floods from the lake, which continued to lie in
the low level streets until the end of the year. Every effort was
made by the authorities to supply the people with corn, — the staff
of life among the lower classes, — and commissaries were even
despatched to the provinces to purchase grain which might be
stored and sold to the masses at reasonable prices. But the sus-
picious multitude did not justly regard this provident and humane
act. They imagined that the viceroy and his friends designed to
profit by the scarcity of food, and to enrich themselves by the
misery of the country. Accordingly, loud murmurs of discontent
arose among the lower classes in the capital, and on the 8th of
June, 1692, the excited mob rushed suddenly to the palace of the
viceroy, and setting fire not only to it but to the Casa de Cabildo
and the adjacent buildings, destroyed that splendid edifice together
with most of the archives, records and historical documents which
had been preserved since the settlement of the country. A dili-
gent search was made for the authors of this atrocious calamity,
and eight persons were tried, convicted and executed for the
crime. The wretched incendiaries were found among the dregs
of the people. Many of their accomplices were also found guilty
and punished with stripes ; and the viceroy took measures to drive
the hordes of skulking Indians who had been chiefly active in the
mob, from their haunts in the city, as well as to deprive them of
the intoxicating drinks, and especially their favorite pulque, in
which they were habituated to indulge. The crop of 1693, in
some degree, repaired the losses of previous years, and in the en-
suing calm the Conde de Galve commenced the rebuilding of
the viceroyal palace. The property destroyed in the conflagration
in June, 1692, amounted in value to at least three millions of
dollars.

In this year, the viceroy, who was anxious for the protection of
the northern shores of the gulf, and desirous to guard the territory
of Florida, from the invasion or settlement of the northern nations
of Europe, fitted out an expedition of expert engineers to Pensa-
cola, who designed and laid the foundations of the fortifications of
this important port. Three years afterwards, before the termina-

220 FAMINE EARTHQUAKE.

tion of his command in New Spain, Galve had the satisfaction
despatch from Vera Cruz the colony and garrison which were to
occupy and defend this stronghold.

In 1694, the capital and the adjacent province were once more
afflicted with scarcity, and to this was added the scourge of an
epidemic that carried thousands to the grave. In the following
year a dreadful earthquake shook the city of Mexico, on the night
of the 24th of August, and at seven o'clock of the following morn
ing. But amid all these afflictions, which were regarded by multi
tudes as specially sent by the hand of God to punish the people for
their sins, the authorities managed to preserve order throughout
the country, and in 1695, sent large reinforcements for the expedi-
tion which the English and Spaniards united in fitting out against
the French who still maintained their hold on the island of His
paniola. This adventure was perfectly successful. The combinec
forces assaulted the Gauls with extraordinary energy, and bore off
eighty-one cannons as trophies of their victorious descent. The
checquered administration of the Conde de Galve was thus satis
factorily terminated, and he returned to Spain after eight years of
government, renowned for the equity and prudence of his adminis
tration during a period of unusual peril.

CHAPTER XI

1696 — 1734.

MONTANEZ VICEROY. SPIRITUAL CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA.

VALLADARES VICEROY. FAIR AT ACAPULCO. SPANISH MON-
ARCHY AUSTRIA BOURBON. MONTANEZ VICEROY. JE-
SUITS IN CALIFORNIA. LA CUEVA VICEROY. DUKE DE LI-
NARES VICEROY. BRITISH SLAVERY TREATY. COLONIZATION.

NUEVO LEON. TEXAS. OPERATIONS IN TEXAS ALARCON

AGUAYO. CASA-FUERTE'S VIRTUOUS ADMINISTRATION LOUIS

I. ORIENTAL TRADE SPANISH JEALOUSY. THE KING'S

OPINION OF CASA-FUERTE HIS ACTS.

Don Juan de Ortega Montanez, Bishop of Michoacan,
XXXI. Viceroy of New Spain.

1696 — 1702.

Scarcely had Galve departed, and the new episcopal viceroy
Montanez assumed the reins of government, on the 27th of
February, 1696, when news reached Mexico that a French squad-
ron was laying in wait near Havana, to seize the galeons which
were to leave Vera Cruz in the spring for Spain. The fleet was
accordingly ordered to delay its departure until the summer, whilst
masses were said and prayers addressed to the miraculous image
of the Virgin of Remedios to protect the vessels and their treasure
from disaster. The failure of the fleet to sail at the appointed day
seems to have caused the French squadron to depart for Europe,
after waiting a considerable time to effect their piratical enterprise ;
and, in the end, all the galeons, save one, reached the harbor of
Cadiz, where the duties alone on their precious freights amounted
to four hundred and twelve thousand dollars !

At this period the settlement of the Californias, which was al-
ways a favorite project among the Mexicans, began again to be
agitated. The coasts had been constantly visited by adventurers
engaged in the pearl fishery ; but these persons, whose manners

29

22? VALLADARES VICEROY FAIR AT ACAPULCO.

were not conciliatory, and whose purposes were altogether selfish
did not contribute to strengthen the ties between the Spaniards am
the natives. Indeed, the Indians continually complained of th<
fishermen's ill usage, and were unwilling to enter either into trad
or friendship with so wild a class of unsettled visiters. Tfo
colonial efforts, previously made, had failed in consequence of th
scarcity of supplies, nor could sufficient forces be spared to com-
pel the submission of the large and savage tribes that dwelt in
those remote regions. Accordingly, when the worthy Father Sal
vatierra, moved by the descriptions of Father Kino, prayed th
Audiencia to intrust the reduction of the Californias to the care o:
the Jesuits, who would undertake it without supplies from th
royal treasury, that body and the episcopal viceroy, consented to
the proposed spiritual conquest, and imposed on the holy father no
other conditions except that the effort should be made without cos
to Spain, and that the territory subdued should be taken possession
of in the name of Charles II. Besides this concession to the
Jesuits, the viceroy and Audiencia granted to Salvatierra and Kino
the right to levy troops and name commanders for their protection
in the wilderness. A few days after the conclusion of this contrac
with the zealous missionaries, the government of Montanez was
terminated by the arrival of his successor, the Conde de Montezuma.

Don Jose Sarmiento Valladares,

Count de Montezuma y Tula

XXXII. Viceroy of Mexico.

1696 — 1702.

The Conde de Montezuma arrived in Mexico on the 18th
December, 1696. Early in the ensuing January the annual galeoi
from the Philipine islands reached the port of Acapulco, and thij
year the advent of the vessel, laden with oriental products seems to
have been the motive for the assemblage of people not only from
all parts of Mexico, but even from Peru, at a fair, at which nearly
two millions of dollars were spent by inhabitants of the latter vice-
royalty in merchandise from China. Hardly had the festivities oJ
this universal concourse ended when a violent earthquake shook
the soil of New Spain, and extended from the west coast to the
interior beyond the capital, in which the inhabitants were suffering
from scarcity, and beginning already to exhibit symptoms of dis-
content, as they had done five years before, against the supreme

SPANISH MONARCHY AUSTRIA BOURBON. 223

authorities, who they always accused of criminally withholding
grain or maintaining its exorbitant price whenever the seasons were
inauspicious. But the Conde de Montezuma was on his guard,
and immediately took means to control the Indians and lower
classes who inhabited the suburbs of the capital. In the mean-
while he caused large quantities of corn to be sent to Mexico from
the provinces, and, as long as the scarcity continued and until it
was ascertained that the new crop would be abundant, he ordered
grain to be served out carefully to those who were really in want
or unable to supply themselves at the prices of the day. 1

In 1698 the joyful news of the peace concluded in the preceding
year between France, Spain, Holland and England, reached
Mexico, and gave rise to unusual rejoicings among the people.
Commerce, which had suffered greatly from the war, recovered its
wonted activity. The two following years passed over New
Spain uneventfully ; but the beginning of the eighteenth century
was signalized by a matter which not only affected the politics of
Europe, but might have interfered essentially with the loyalty and
prosperity of the New World.

In 1701, the monarchy of Spain passed from the house of
Austria to that of Bourbon. The history of this transition of the
crown, and of the conflicts to which it gave rise not only in Spain
but throughout Europe, is well known at the present day. Yet
America does not appear to have been shaken in its fidelity, amid
all the convulsions of the parent state. Patient, submissive and
obedient to the authorities sent them from across the sea, the people
of Mexico were as willing to receive a sovereign of a new race, as
to hail the advent in their capital of a new viceroy. Accordingly
the inhabitants immediately manifested their fealty to the succes-
sor named by Charles II., a fact which afforded no small degree
of consolation to Philip V. during all the vicissitudes of his fortune.
It is even related that this monarch thought at one period of taking
refuge among his American subjects, and thus relieving himself of
the quarrels and conflicts by which he was surrounded and assailed
in Europe.

The public mourning and funeral obsequies for the late sovereign
were celebrated in Mexico with great pomp according to a precise

1 In 1697 there was an eruption of the volcano of Popocatepetl, on the 29th of
October.

224 MONTA&EZ VICEROY JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA.

ritual which was sent from the Spanish court, and, whilst the
people were thinking of the festivities which were to signalize
Philip's accession to the throne, the Conde de Montezuma returnee
to Spain after four years of uneventful rule.

Don Juan de Ortega Montanez,

Archbishop of Mexico,

His Second Viceroyalty.

XXXIII. Viceroy of Mexico.

1701 — 1702.

The brief period during which the archiepiscopal viceroy exer-
cised his functions in Mexico for the second time, is chiefly, and
perhaps, only, memorable, for the additional efforts made by the
worthy Jesuits in California to subdue and settle that distant
province. The colonists and clergymen who had already gone
thither complained incessantly of their sufferings in consequence of
the sterility of the coasts. But Salvatierra remained firm in his
resolution to spread the power of Spain and of his church among
the wild tribes at the feet of the western sierra along the Pacific
coast. His labors and those of his diligent coadjutors were slow
but incessant. Trusting confidently in Providence, they maintained
their post at the Presidio of Loreto, and gathered around them, by
their persuasive eloquence and gentle demeanor, large numbers of
natives, until the success of their teachings threatened them with
starvation in consequence of the abundance of their converts, all of
whom relied upon the fathers for maintenance as soon as they
abandoned their savage life. Yet there was no other means of
attaching the Indians to the Spanish government. The authorities
in Mexico had refused and continued obstinate in their denial of
men or money to conquer or hold the country ; so that, after
various efforts to obtain the aid of the government, the pious
mendicants resolved to return again to their remote missions with
no other reliance than honest zeal and the support of God. At
this juncture Philip V., and a number of influential people in the
capital, volunteered to aid the cause of Christianity and Spain, by
supplies which would ensure the final success of the Jesuits.

la cueva viceroy. 225

Don Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva,

DUQUE DE ALBURQUERQUE.

XXXIV. Viceroy of New Spain.
1702 — 1709.

As soon as the Duke of Alburquerque assumed the government
of Mexico, he perceived that more than ordinary care was neces-
sary to consolidate a loyal alliance between the throne and its
American possessions, during the dangerous period in which por-
tions of Spain, in the old world, were armed and aroused against
the lawful authorities of the land. Accordingly the new viceroy
immediately strengthened the military arm of the colony, and ex-
tended the government of provinces and the custody of his strong-
holds and fastnesses to Spaniards upon whose fidelity he could im-
plicitly rely. Without these precautions, he, perhaps, justly feared
that notwithstanding the loyalty manifested in New Spain upon the
accession of Philip, the insubordination of certain parts of the
Spanish monarchy, at home, might serve as a bad example to the
American colonists, and, finally, result in a civil war that would
drench the land with blood. Besides this, the foreign fleets and
pirates were again beginning to swarm along the coasts, lying in
wait for the treasure which was annually despatched to Spain ; but
to meet and control these adventurers, the careful duke increased
the squadron of Barlovento, who was instructed to watch the coast
incessantly, and to lose no opportunity to make prizes of the ene-
my's vessels.

Peace was thus preserved in New Spain both on land and water,
whilst the Jesuits of California still continued their efforts, unaided
by the government, whose resources were drained for the wars of
the old world. Thus, after eight years of a strong but pacific reign,
during which he saved New Spain from imitating the disgraceful
dissensions of the parent state, the Duke of Alburquerque resigned
his government into the hands of the Duke of Linares.

226 duke de linares viceroy british slavery treaty.

Don Fernando Alencastre Norona y Silva,
Duke de Linares,
XXXV. Viceroy of New Spain.
1710—1716.

The Duke of Linares entered Mexico in 1710. The first years
of his administration were uneventful, nor was his whole govern-
ment distinguished, in fact, by any matter which will make it par-
ticularly memorable in the history of New Spain.

In J512, Philip V. found himself master of nearly the whole
of Spain, and being naturally anxious to end the war with honor,
his emmissaries improved every opportunity to withdraw members
of the combined powers from a contest which threatened to be in-
terminable. Accordingly, he approached the English with the
temptations of trade, and through his ambassadors who were
assisting at the congress of Utrecht, he proposed that the British
Queen Anne should withdraw from the contest, if he granted her
subjects the right to establish trading houses in his ports on the
main and in the islands, for the purpose of supplying the colonies
with African slaves. A similar contract had been made ten years
before with the French, and was about to expire on the 1st of May.

Anne, who was wearied of the war and was glad to escape from
its expense and danger, was not loath to accept the proffered terms ;
and the treaty, known by the name of El Jisiento, which was put
in force in Vera Cruz and other Spanish ports, resulted most bene-
ficially to the English. They filled the markets with negroes, and,
at the same time, continued to reap profit from the goods they
smuggled into the colonies, notwithstanding the treaty forbade the
introduction of British merchandise to the detriment of Spanish
manufactures. This combined inhumane and illicit trade contin-
ued for a considerable time, until the authorities were obliged to
menace the officers of customs with death if they connived any
longer at the secret and scandalous introduction of British wares.

In 1714, a brief famine and severe epidemic again ravaged the
colony. In this year, too, the Indians of Texas once more mani-
fested a desire to submit themselves to Spain and to embrace the
christian faith. Orders were, therefore, given to garrison that
northern province, and the Franciscan monks were again com-

Note. — The year 1711, is remarkable in the annals of the valley of Mexico for
a snow storm, which is only known to have occurred again on the Feast of the Puri-
fication of the Virgin in 1767. In August of 1711, there was an awful earthquake,
which shattered the city and destroyed many of its strongest houses.

COLONIZATION NUEVO LEON TEXAS. 227

manded to return to their missions among the Ansinais. At the
same time, a new colony was founded in Nuevo Leon, forty
leagues south-east from Monterey, which, in honor of the viceroy
received the name of San Felipe de Linares. At the close of this
year, 1715, the garrisons of Texas were already completed, and
the Franciscan friars busy in their mission of inducing the sav-
ages to abandon their nomadic habits for the quieter life of villa-
gers. This was always the most successful effort of the Spaniards
in controling the restless wanderers and hunters of the wilder-
ness. It was the first step in the modified civilization that usually
ended in a mere knowledge of the formula of prayers which was
called Christianity, and in the more substantial labor of the fndians
which was in reality nothing but slavery.

The year 1716 was the last of the reign of the Duke of Linares,
who in the month of August resigned his post to the Duke of Arion.

Don Baltazar de Zuniga Guzman, Sotomayor y Mendoza,

Duke de Arion and Marques de Valero.

XXXVI. Viceroy of New Spain

1716 _ 1722.

Scarcely had the Duke de Arion taken charge of the viceroyal
government, when he received an express from Texas, despatched
by Domingo Ramon, who was captain of the Spaniards in the
province, informing the authorities of the famine wrhich prevailed
throughout his command, and demanding supplies, without which,
he would be obliged to abandon his post and take refuge with his
soldiers in Coahuila. The new viceroy saw at once the impor-
tance of preserving this province as an outpost and frontier against
the French who had already begun their settlements in Louisiana,
and accordingly he commanded the governor of Coahuila to send
provisions and troops to Texas, together with mechanics who
should teach the useful arts to the Indians.

While these occurrences took place in the north of Mexico, war
was once more declared between Spain and France without any
apparent motive save the hatred which the Duke of Orleans,
the regent during the minority of Louis XV., entertained for the
Cardinal Alberoni who was prime minister of Spain and had in-
trigued to dispossess him of his regency. The news of this war
reached New Spain, and on the 19th of May, 1719, the French
attacked Pensacola and received the capitulation of the governor,

228 OPERATIONS IN TEXAS ALARCON AGUAYO.

who was unprepared, either with men or provisions to resist the
invaders. In the following month the garrison and missionaries
of Texas returned hastily to Coahuila, and apprised the viceroy of
their flight for safety. But that functionary saw at once the ne-
cessity of strengthening the frontier. Levies were, therefore, im
mediately made. Munitions were despatched to the north. And
live hundred men, divided into eight companies, marched forthwith
to re-establish the garrisons and missions under the command of
the Marques San Miguel de Aguayo, the new governor of Florida
and Texas. ]

Notwithstanding the hostilities between France and Spain, and
the eager watchfulness of the fleets and privateers of the former
nations, the galeons of New Spain, reached Cadiz in 1721, with a
freight of eleven millions of dollars ! The years 1722 and 1723
were signalized by some outbreaks among the Indians which were
successfully quelled by the colonial troops ; and, in October, the
Duke of Arion, who had controlled New Spain for six years, was
succeeded by the Marques of Casa-Fuerte, a general of artillery.
He entered Mexico amid the applauses of the people not only be-
cause he was a Creole or native of America, but for the love that
was borne him by Philip the Fifth, who well knew the services for
which the crown was indebted to so brave a warrior.

1 It may not be uninteresting or unprofitable to state in this place some of the
efforts at positive settlement in Texas which were made by the Spaniards during
the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Alarcon, the governor, early in 1718,
crossed the Medina, with a large number of soldiers, settlers and mechanics, and
founded the town of Bejar, with the fortress of San Antonio, and the mission of San
Antonio Valero. Thence he pushed on to the country of the Cenis Indians, where,
having strengthened the missionary force, he crossed the river Adayes, which he
called the Rio de San Francisco de Sabinas, or the Sabine, and began the founda-
tion of a fortress, within a short distance of the French fort, at Natchitoches, named
by him the Presido de San Miguel Arcangel de Linares de Adayes. These establish-
ments were reinforced during the next year, and another stronghold was erected on
the Oreoquisas, probably the San Jacinto, emptying into Galveston bay, west of
the mouth of the Trinity.

The French, who were not unobservant of these Spanish acts of occupation in a
country they claimed by virtue of La Salle's discovery and possession in 1684, im-
mediately began to establish counter-settlements, on the Mississippi, and in the
valley of the Red river. When Alarcon was removed from the government of
Texas he was succeeded by the Marques de Aguayo, who made expeditions through
the country in 1721 and 1722, during which he considerably increased the Spanish
establishments, and, after this period, no attempt was ever made by the French to
occupy any spot south-west of Natchitoches. See History of Florida, Louisiana
and Texas, by Robert Greenhow.

casa-fuerte's VIRTUOUS ADMINISTRATION LOUIS I. 229

Don Juan de Acuna, Marques de Casa-Fuerte,

XXXVII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1722 — 1734.

In recording these brief memorials of the viceroys of Mexico it
has been our purpose rather to mention the principal public events
that signalized their reigns, and developed or protected the na-
tion committed to their charge, than to trace the intrigues or ex-
hibit the misconduct of those functionaries and their courtiers. We
have abstained, therefore, from noticing many of the corrupt prac-
tices which crept into the administration of Mexico, leaving such
matters to be studied in the summary view we have presented
of the colonial government of Spain. But, in sketching the vice-
royalty of the Marques de Casa-Fuerte, we cannot justly avoid ob-
serving the marked and moral change he wrought in the govern-
ment of the country, and the diligence with which this brave and
trusty soldier labored to purify the corrupt court of New Spain.
Other viceroys had endeavored zealously to aid the progress of the
colony. They had planted towns, villages, and garrisons through-
out the interior. They had sought to develope the mining districts
and to foster agricultural interests. But almost all of them were
more or less tainted with avarice, and willingly fell into the habits
of the age, which countenanced the traffic in office, or permitted
the reception of liberal " gratifications " whenever an advantage
was to be derived by an individual from his transactions with the
government.

In the time of Casa-Fuerte, there was no path to the palace but
that which was open to all. Merit was the test of employment and
reward. He forbade the members of his family to receive gifts
or to become intercessors for office seekers ; and, in all branches
of public affairs, he introduced wholesome reforms which were
carefully maintained during the whole of his long and virtuous
administration.

In 1724, Philip V. suddenly and unexpectedly for his American
subjects, resolved to abdicate the crown of Spain and raise his son
Louis I. to the throne. Scarcely had the news reached Mexico,
and while the inhabitants were about to celebrate the accession of
the prince, when they learned that he was already dead, and that
his father, fearing to seat the minor Ferdinand in the place of his
lost son, had again resumed the sceptre. The Marques de Casa
Fuerte, instantly proclaimed the fact to the people, whose loyalty

30

230 ORIENTAL TRADE SPANISH JEALOUSY.

to the old sovereign continued unabated ; and during the unusually
long and successful government of this viceroy, the greatest cor
diality and confidence was maintained between himself and his
royal master.

Casa-Fuerte despatched a colony of emigrants from the Canary
Isles to Texas, and establishing a town for their occupation, he
modestly refused the proffered honor of bestowing upon it his name,
but caused it to be called San Fernando, in honor of the heir of
the Spanish crown. Nor did he neglect commerce whilst he
attended to a discreet colonization in the north which might encoun-
ter and stay the southern progress of the English and the French.
In 1731, the oriental trade of New Spain had become exceedingly
important. The galeons that regularly passed across the Pacific,
from the East Indies, and arrived every year in America about
Christmas, had enjoyed almost a monopoly of the Indian trade in
consequence of the wars which continually existed during that
century and filled the northern and southern Atlantic with pirates
and vessels of war. The Pacific, however, was comparatively free
from these dangers, and the galeons were allowed to go and come
with but little interruption. The American Creoles, in reality
preferred the manufactures of China to those of Europe ; for the
fabrics of silk and cotton, especially, which were sent to Mexico
from Asia, had been sold at half the price demanded for similar
articles produced in Spain. The galeon of 1731, which discharged
its cargo in Acapulco, bore a freight of unusual value, whence we
may estimate the Mexican commerce of that age. The duties
collected upon this oriental merchandise exceeded one hundred
and seventy thousand dollars, exhibiting an extraordinary increase
of eastern trade with Mexico, compared with thirty-five years
before, when the impost collected on similar commerce in 1697,
amounted to but eighty thousand dollars. The anxiety to preserve
the mercantile importance of Cadiz and to prevent the ruin of the
old world's commerce, interposed many difficulties in the trade
between the East Indies and New Spain ; but the influence of
Spanish houses in Manilla still secured the annual galeon, and the
thrifty merchants stowed the vessels with nearly double the freight
that was carried by similar ships on ordinary voyages. Acapulco
thus became the emporium of an important trade, and its streets
were crowded with merchants and strangers from all parts of
Mexico in spite of the dangerous diseases with which they were
almost sure to be attacked whilst visiting the western coast.

THE KING'S OPINION OF CASA-FUERTE HIS ACTS. 231

The year 1734 was a sad one for New Spain. The Marques de
Casa-Fuerte, who governed the country for twelve years most
successfully, and had served the crown for fifty- nine, departed this
life, at the age of seventy-seven. He was a native of Lima, and
like a true Creole seems to have had the good of America con-
stantly at heart. Philip V. fully appreciated his meritorious ser-
vices, and, had the viceroy lived, would doubtless have continued
him longer in the government of Mexico. The counsellors of the
king often hinted to their sovereign that it was time to remove the
Mexican viceroy ; but the only reply they received from Philip was
" Long live Casa-Fuerte ! " The courtiers answered that they
hoped he might, indeed, live long, but, that oppressed with years
and toils, he was no longer able to endure the burdens of so
arduous a government. "As long as Casa-Fuerte lives," answer-
ed the king, " his talents and virtues, will give him all the vigor
required for a good minister. "

Impartial posterity has confirmed the sensibility and judgment
of the king. During the reign of Casa-Fuerte the capital of New
Spain was adorned with many of its most sumptuous and elegant
edifices. The royal mint and custom house were built under his
orders. All the garrisons throughout the viceroyalty were visited,
examined, and reported. He was liberal with alms for the poor,
and even left a sum to be distributed twice a year for food among
the prisoners. He endowed an asylum for orphans ; expended a
large part of his fortune in charitable works, and is still known in
the traditionary history of the country as the " Great Governor of
New Spain." His cherished remains were interred with great
pomp, and are still preserved in the church of the Franciscans of
San Cosine and Damian.

CHAPTER XII.

1734 — 1760.

VIZARRON AND EGUIARRETA VICEROY EVENTLESS GOVERNMENT.

SALAZAR VICEROY COLONIAL FEARS. FUEN-CLARA VICE-
ROY GALEON LOST. MEXICO UNDER REVILLA-GIGEDO I.

FERDINAND VI. INDIANS TAXES COLONIES IN THE NORTH.

FAMINE MINES AT BOLANOS HORCASITAS. CHARAC-
TER OF REVILLA-GIGEDO. VILLALON VICEROY. CHARLES

III. CAGIGAL VICEROY.

Don Juan Antonio de Vizarron y Eguiarreta,

Archbishop of Mexico.

XXXVIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1734 — 1740.

This viceroy who governed New Spain from the year 1734 to
1740, passed an uneventful reign, so far as the internal peace and
order of the colony were concerned. War was declared, during
this period, between France and Spain, but Mexico escaped from
all its desolating consequences, and nothing appears to have dis-
turbed the quiet of colonial life but a severe epidemic, which is
said to have resembled the yellow fever, and carried off many thou-
sands of the inhabitants, especially in the north-eastern section
of the territory The viceroy was naturally solicitous to follow the
example of his predecessors, in preventing the encroachments of
the French on the northern indefinite boundaries of New Spain,
and took measures to support the, feeble garrisons and colonies
which were the only representatives of Spanish rights and power
in that remote quarter.

salazar viceroy colonial feabs. 233

Don Pedro Castro Figueroa Salazar,

Duke de la Conquista and Marques de Garcia-Real,

XXXIX. Viceroy of New Spain.

1740 — 1741.

On the 17th of August the new viceroy reached the capital, and
learned from the governor of New Mexico that the French had
actually visited that region of the colonial possessions, yet, find-
ing the soil and country unsuited to their purposes, had returned
again to their own villages and settlements. At the same time the
English, under the command of Oglethrope, bombarded the town
and fort of San Agustin in Florida, but the brave defence made by
the Spaniards, obliged them to raise the siege and depart.

In 1741 the sky of New Spain was obscured by the approach-
ing clouds of war, for Admiral Vernon, who had inflicted great
damages upon the commerce of the Indies, captured Porto Bello,
and occupied the forts of Cartagena. New Spain, was thus in con-
stant dread of the arrival of a formidable enemy upon her own
coasts ; and the Duke de la Conquista, anxious for the fate of Vera
Cruz, hastily levied an adequate force for the protection of the shore
along the gulf, and resolved to visit it personally in order to hasten
the works which were requisite to resist the English. He de-
parted for the eastern districts of New Spain upon the warlike mis-
sion, but, in the midst of his labors, was suddenly seized by a
severe illness which obliged him to return to the capital, where he
died on the 22d of August. His body was interred with great
pomp, amid the lamentations of the Mexicans, for in the brief
period of his government he had manifested talents of the highest
order, and exhibited the deepest interest in the welfare and progress
of the country committed to his charge. His noble title of "Duke
of Conquest," was bravely won on the battle field of Bitonto;
and although it is .said that Philip slighted him during the year of
his viceroyalty, yet it is certain that he was repaid by the admira-
tion of the Mexican people for the lost favor of his king. Upon
his death the Audiencia took charge of the government, and con-
tinued in power until the following November, without any serious
disturbance from the enemy. Anson, with his vessels, was in the
Pacific, and waited anxiously in the neighborhood of Acapulco to
make a prize of the galeon which was to sail for the East Indies,
laden with a rich cargo of silver to purchase oriental fabrics.
But the inhabitants of Acapulco and the Audiencia were on their
guard, and the vessel and treasure of New Spain escaped the grasp
of the English adventurer.

234 fuen- clara viceroy galeon lost.

Don Pedro Cebrian y Agus'tin, Count de Fuen-Cla

XL. Viceroy of New Spain.

1742 — 1746.

The Count de Fuen- Clara assumed the viceroyal baton on the
3d of November, 1742. His term of four years was passed with-
out any events of remarkable importance for New Spain save the
capture, by Anson, of one of the East Indian galeons with a freight
of one million three hundred and thirteen thousand dollars in
coined silver, and four thousand four hundred and seventy marks
of the same precious metal, besides a quantity of the most valua-
ble products of Mexico. This period of the viceroyalty must ne-
cessarily be uninteresting and eventless. The wars of the old
world were confined to the continent and to the sea. Mexico,
locked up amid her mountains, was not easily assailed by enemies
who could spare no large armies from the contests at home for enter-
prises in so distant a country. Besides, it was easier to grasp the
harvest on the ocean that had been gathered on the land. England
contented herself, therefore, with harassing and pilfering the com-
merce of Castile, while Mexico devoted all her energies to the de-
velopment of her internal resources of mineral and agricultural
wealth. Emigrants poured into the country. The waste lands
were filling up. North, south, east and west, the country was oc-
cupied by industrious settlers and zealous curates, who were en-
gaged, in the cultivation of the soil and the spiritual subjection of
the Indians. The spirit as well as the dangers of the conquest
were past, and Mexico, assumed, in the history of the age, the
position of a quiet, growing nation, equally distant from the roman-
tic or adventurous era of early settlement when danger and diffi-
culty surrounded the Spaniards, and from the lethean stagnation
into which she fell in future years under Spanish misrule.

Don Juan Francisco Guemes y Horcasitas,

Count de Revilla-Gigedo — the first.

XLI. Viceroy of New Spain.

1746 — 1755.

The Conde de Revilla-Gigedo, the first of that name who was

viceroy of Mexico, reached the capital on the 9th of July, 1746,

and on the 12th of the same month, his master, Philip V. died,

leaving Ferdinand VI. as his successor. Under the reign of this

MEXICO UNDER REVILLA-GIGEDO I. FERDINAND VI. 235

enlightened nobleman the colony prospered rapidly, and his services
in increasing the royal revenues were so signally successful that
he was retained in power for nine years. Mexico had become a
large and beautiful city. The mining districts were extraordinarily
prolific, and no year of his government yielded less than eleven
millions of dollars; — the whole sum that passed through' the
national mint during his term being one hundred and fourteen
millions, two hundred and thirty-one thousand dollars of the pre-
cious metals ! The population of the capital amounted to fifty
thousand families composed of Spaniards, Europeans and Creoles,
— forty thousand mestizos, mulattoes, negroes, — and eight thou-
sand Indians, who inhabited the suburbs. This population annu-
ally consumed at least two millions arobas of flour, about a hundred
and sixty thousand fanegas of corn, three hundred thousand sheep,
fifteen thousand five hundred beeves, and about twenty-five thou-
sand swine. In this account, the consumption of many religious
establishments is not included, as they were privately supplied
from their estates, nor can we count the numerous and valuable
presents which were sent by residents of the country to their friends
in the capital.

It has been already said that this viceroy augmented largely the
income of Spain. The taxes of the capital, accounted for by the
Consulado, were collected yearly, and amounted to three hundred
and thirty-three thousand, three hundred and thirty-three dollars,
whilst those of the whole viceroyalty reached seven hundred and
eighteen thousand, three hundred and seventy-five. The income
from pulque alone, — the favorite drink of the masses, — was one
hundred and seventy-two thousand dollars, while other imposts
swelled the gross income in proportion.

The collection of tributes was not effected invariably in the same
manner throughout the territory of New Spain. In Mexico the
Administrator- General imposed this task on the justices whose
duty it was to watch over the Indians. The aborigines in the
capital were divided into two sections, one comprising the Teno-
chas of San Juan, and the other the Tlaltelolcos of Santiago, both
of which had their governors and other police officers, according
to Spanish custom. The first of these bands, dwelling on the
north and east of the capital, was, in the olden time, the most
powerful and noble, and at that period numbered five thousand
nine hundred families. The other division, existing on the west
and south, was reduced to two thousand five hundred families. In

236 INDIANS TAXES COLONIES IN THE NORTH.

the several provinces of the viceroy alty the Indian tributes were
collected through the intervention of one hundred and forty-nine
chief alcaldes who governed them, and who, before they took pos
session of their offices, were required to give security for the
tribute taxed within their jurisdiction. The frontier provinces of
this vast territory, inhabited only by garrisons, and a few scattered
colonists, were exempt from this odious charge. In all the various
sections of the nation, however, the Indians were accurately enu-
merated. Two natives were taxed together, in order to facilitate
the collection by making both responsible, and, every four months
from this united pair, six reales were collected, making in all
eighteen in the course of the year. This gross tax of two dollars
and twenty-five cents was divided as follows : eight reales were
taxed as tribute ; — four for the royal service ; — four and a half as
commutation for a half fanega of corn which was due to the royal
granary ; — half a real for the royal hospital, in which the Indians
were lodged when ill ; another half real for the costs of their law
suits ; and, finally, the remaining half real for the construction
of cathedrals:

In 1748, the Count Revilla-Gigedo, in conformity to the orders
of the king, and after consultation in general meeting with the
officers of various tribunals, determined to lay the foundation of a
grand colony in the north, under the guidance of Colonel Jose
Escandon, who was forthwith appointed governor. This decree,
together with an account of the privileges and lands which would
be granted to colonists, was extensively published, and, in a few
years, a multitude of families and single emigrants founded eleven
villages of Spaniards and mulattoes between Alta-Mira and Ca-
margo. The Indians who were gathered in this neighborhood
composed four missions ; and, although it was found impossible to
clear the harbor of Santander, or to render it capable of receiving
vessels of deep draft, the government was nevertheless enabled to
found several flourishing villages which were vigilant in the pro-
tection of the coast against pirates.

In 1749 the crops were lost in many of the provinces where
the early frost blighted the fields of corn and fruit. The crowded
capital and its neighborhood, fortunately, did not experience the
want of food, which in other regions of the tierra adentro amounted
to absolute famine. The people believed that the frown of Heaven
was upon the land, — for, to this calamity, repeated earthquakes
were added, and the whole region, from the volcano of Colima to

FAMINE MINES AT BOLANOS HORCASITAS. 237

far beyond Gaudalajara, was violently shaken and rent, causing the
death of many persons and the ruin of large and valuable villages.
In 1750, Mexico was still free from scarcity, and even able, not
only to support its own population, but to feed the numerous
strangers who fled to it from the unfruitful districts. Yet, in the
cities and villages of the north and west, where the crops had been
again lost, want and famine prevailed as in the previous year.
From Guanajuato, a city rich in mines, to Zacatecas, the scarcity
of food was excessive, and the enormous sum of twenty-five dollars
was demanded and paid for a fanega of corn. Neither man nor
beast had wherewith to support life, and, for a while, the labors
in the mines of this rich region were suspended. The unfortunate
people left their towns in crowds to subsist on roots and berries
which they found in the forests. Many of them removed to other
parts of the country, and, as it was at this period that the rich
veins of silver at Bolanos were discovered, some of the poor emi-
grants found work and food in a district whose sudden mineral
importance induced the merchants to supply it liberally with pro-
visions. The end of the year, however, was fortunately crowned
with abundant crops.

In 1755, — after founding the Presidio of Horcasitas, in Sonora,
designed to restrain the incursions of the Apaches into that pro-
vince,— the Count Revilla-Gigedo, was recalled, at his own re-
quest, from the Mexican viceroyalty in order that he might devote
himself to the management of his private property, which had
increased enormously, during his government. In the history of
Mexican viceroys, this nobleman is celebrated as a speculative and
industrious trader. There was no kind of commercial enterprise
or profitable traffic in which he did not personally engage. His
palace degenerated into an exchange, frequented by all kinds of
adventurers, while gaming tables were openly spread out to catch
the doubloons of the viceroyal courtiers. The speculations and
profits of Revilla-Gigedo enabled him to found Mayorazgos for his
sons in Spain, and he was regarded, throughout Europe, as the
richest vassal of Ferdinand the VI. His son, who subsequently
became a Mexican viceroy, and was the second bearing the family
title, labored to blot out the stain which the trading propensities of
his father had cast upon his name. He was a model of pro-
priety in every respect ; but, whilst he made no open display of
anxiety to enrich himself corruptly through official influence or
position, he, nevertheless, exhibited the avaricious traits of his

31

238 CHARACTER OF REVILLA-GIGEDO VILLALON VICEROY.

father in requiring from his butler, each night an exact accoun
of every cent that was spent during the day, and every dish th
was prepared in his kitchen.

Notwithstanding the notorious and corrupting habits of the firs
count, that personage contrived to exercise an extraordinary in
fluence or control over the masses in Mexico. The people feare
and respected him ; and, upon a certain occasion, when they wer
roused in the capital and gathered in menacing mobs, this resolut
viceroy, whose wild and savage aspect aided the authority of h
determined address, rode into the midst of the turbulent assemblag
without a soldier in attendance, and immediately dispersed th
revolutionists by the mere authority of his presence and commanc

Don Agustin de Ahumada y Villalon,

Marques de las Amarillas,

XLII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1755 — 1760.

The government of the Marques de ^as Amarillas commenced o
the 10th of November, 1755 ; and he immediately devoted himse
to the task of reforming many of the abuses which had doubtles
crept into the administration of public affairs during the reign
his trafhcing predecessor. Valuable mineral deposits were dis
covered in New Leon, whose veins were found so rich am
tempting that crowds of miners from Zacatecas and Guanajuat
flocked to the prolific region. Great works were commenced
facilitate the working of the drifts, but the wealth which had s<
suddenly appeared on the scene as if by magic, vanished amid th
interminable quarrels and law suits of the parties. Many of th
foremost adventurers who imagined themselves masters of incalcu
lable riches were finally forced to quit their discoveries, on foot
without a dollar to supply themselves with food.

In 1759 a general mourning was proclaimed in Mexico for th<
queen of Spain, Maria Barbara of Portugal, who was speedily
followed to the tomb by her husband Ferdinand VI. His brother
Charles III. ascended the throne, and whilst the mingled ceremo-
nies of sorrow and festivity for the dead and living were bein£
performed in Mexico, the worthy viceroy was suddenly struck with
apoplexy which his physicians thought might be alleviated by his
residence in the healthful and lower regions of Cuernavaca. Bui
neither the change of level nor temperature improved the conditioi

CHARLES III CAGIGAL VICEROY. 239

of the viceroy, who died of this malady on the 5th of January,
1760, in the beautiful city to which he had retreated. He was a
remarkable contrast to his predecessor in many respects, and
although he had been viceroy for five years, it is stated, as a
singular fact in the annals of Mexico, that he left his widow
poor and altogether unprovided for. But his virtuous conduct as
an efficient minister of the crown had won the confidence and
respect of the Mexicans who were anxious to succor those whom
he left dependant upon the favor of the crown. The liberality of
the archbishop Rubio y Salinas, however supplied all the wants of
the gentle Marquesa, who was thus enabled to maintain a suitable
state until her return to the court of Spain, where the merits of her
husband, as a Spanish soldier in the Italian wars, doubtless procured
her a proper pension for life.

As the death of the Marques de las Amarillas was sudden and
unexpected, the king of Spain had not supplied the government
with the usual pliego de mortaja, or mortuary despatch, which was
generally sent from Madrid whenever the health of a viceroy was
feeble, so as to supply his place by an immediate successor in the
event of death. The Audiencia, of course, became the depository
of executive power during the interregnum, and its dean Don
Francisco Echavarri, directed public affairs, under its sanction,
until the arrival of the viceroy, ad interim, from Havana.

Don Francisco de Cagigal,

XLIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1760 — April to October.

The government of this personage was so brief, and his tenure
so completely nominal, that he employed himself merely in the
adornment of the capital and the general police of the colony. He
was engaged in some improvements in the great square of Mexico,
when his successor arrived ; but he left the capital with the hearty
regrets of the townsmen, for his intelligence and affability had won
their confidence and induced them to expect the best results from
his prolonged reign.

CHAPTER XIII

1760 — 1771.

MARQUES D£ CRUILLAS VICEROY. CHARLES III. PROCLAIMED

HAVANA TAKEN BY THE BRITISH. MILITARY PREPARATIONS

PEACE PESTILENCE. GALVEZ VISITADOR REFORMS

TOBACCO MONOPOLY. DE CROIX VICEROY. THE JESUITS

THEIR EXPULSION FROM SPANISH DOMINIONS THEIR ARRIVAL

IN EUROPE BANISHED. CAUSES OF THIS CONDUCT TO THE

ORDER. ORIGIN OF THE MILITARY CHARACTER OF MEXICO

Don Joaquim de Monserrat, Marques de Cruillas,
XLIV. Viceroy of New Spain.
1760—1766.

In 1761, soon after the entrance of the Marques de Cruillas into
Mexico, the ceremony of proclaiming the accession of Charles III,
to the throne, was performed with great pomp, by the viceroy, th(
nobles, and the municipality. But the period of rejoicing was
short, for news soon reached Mexico, that war was again declare(
between Spain and England ; a fact which was previously con-
cealed, in consequence of the interception of despatches that
had been sent to Havana. Don Juan de Prado was the governor
of that important point, and he, as well as the viceroy of Mexico,
had consequently been unable to make suitable preparations for the
attacks of the British on the West Indian and American posses
sions of Spain.

In the meantime an English squadron, which had recruited its
forces and supplied itself with provisions in Jamaica, disembarkec
its troops without resistance, on the 6th of June, two leagues
east of the Moro Castle. The Havanese fought bravely with
various success against the invaders until the 30th of July,
when the Spaniards, satisfied that all further defence was vain anc
rash, surrendered the Moro Castle to the foe. On the 13th
of August the town also capitulated ; private property and the
rights of religion being preserved intact. By this conquest the

MILITARY PREPARATIONS PEACE PESTILENCE. 241

English obtained nine ships of the line, four frigates, and all the
smaller vessels belonging to the sovereign and his subjects, which
were in the port ; while four millions, six hundred thousand dollars,
belonging to the king and found in the city, swelled the booty
of the fortunate invaders.

Whilst this was passing in Havana it was falsely reported in
Mexico that the British, being unsuccessful in their attacks on
Cuba, had raised the siege, and were about to leave the islands for
the Spanish main. The important port of Vera Cruz and its de-
fences were of course not to be neglected under such circumstances.
This incorrect rumor was, however, soon rectified by the authentic
news of the capture of the Moro Castle and of the city of
Havana. The Marques de Cruillas immediately ordered all the
militia to be raised in the provinces, even six hundred miles from
the eastern coast, and to maTch forthwith to Vera Cruz. That
city and its castle were at once placed in the best possible condi-
tion of defence ; but the unacclimated troops from the high and
healthy regions of the interior who had been brought suddenly to
the sickly sea shore of the tierra caliente, suffered so much from
malaria, that the viceroy was obliged to withdraw them to Jalapa
and Perote.

Whilst Mexico was thus in a state of alarm in 1763, and whilst
the government was troubled in consequence of the arrest of a
clergyman who had been seized as a British spy, the joyful news
arrived that peace had again been negotiated between France and
England.

Pestilence, as well as war, appears to have menaced Mexico at
this epoch. The small pox broke out in the capital and carried
off ten thousand persons. Besides this, another malady, which is
described by the writers of the period as similar to that which had
ravaged the country a hundred and seven years before, and which
terminated by an unceasing flow of blood from the nostrils, filled
the hospitals of the capital with its victims. From Mexico this
frightful and contagious malady passed to the interior, where im-
mense numbers, unable to obtain medical advice, medicine, or at-
tendance, were carried to the grave.

The general administration of the viceroyalty by the Marques de
Cruillas was unsatisfactory both to the crown and the people of
New Spain. The best historians of the period are not definite in
their charges of misconduct against this nobleman, but his de-
meanor as an executive officer required the appointment of a visi-
tador, in order to examine and remedy his abuse of power. The

242 GALVEZ VISITADOR REFORMS TOBACCO MONOPOLY.

person charged with this important task, — Don Jose Galvez, —
was endowed with unlimited authority entirely independent of the
viceroy, and he executed his office with severity. He arrested
high officers of the government, and deprived them of their em-
ployments. His extraordinary talents and remarkable indust*—
enabled him to comprehend at once, and search into, all the tribu
nals and governmental posts of this vast kingdom. In Vera Cruz
he removed the royal accountants from their offices. In Puebla,
and in Mexico, he turned out the superintendents of customs, and
throughout the country, all who were employed in public civil
stations, feared, from day to day, that they would either be sus-
pended or deposed. Whilst Galvez attended, thus, to the faithful
discharge of duty by the officers of the crown, he labored, also, to
increase the royal revenue. Until that period the cultivation of
tobacco had been free, but Galvez determined to control it, as in
Spain, and made its preparation and sale a monopoly for the
government. Gladly as his other alterations and reforms were re-
ceived by the people, this interference with one of their cherished
luxuries was well nigh the cause of serious difficulties. In the city
of Cordova, and in many neighboring places, some of the wealthiest
and most influential colonists depended for their fortunes and in-
come upon the unrestrained production and manufacture of this
article. Thousands of the poorer classes were engaged in its pre-
paration for market, while in all the cities, towns, and villages,
there were multitudes who lived by selling it to the people. Every
man, and perhaps every woman, in Mexico, used tobacco, and con-
sequently this project of the visitador gave reasonable cause for dis-
satisfaction to the whole of New Spain. Nevertheless, the firmness
of Galvez, the good temper of the Mexicans, and their habitual
submission to authority, overcame all difficulties. The inhabitants
of Cordova were not deprived of all control over the cultivation of
tobacco, and were simply obliged to sell it to the officers of the
king at a definite price, whilst these personages were ordered to
continue supplying the families of the poor, with materials for the
manufacture of cigars ; and by this device the public treasury was
enabled to derive an important revenue from an article of universal
consumption. Thus the visitador appears to have employed his
authority in the reform of the colony and the augmentation of the
royal revenue, without much attention to the actual viceroy, who
was displaced in 1766. The fiscal or attorney general of the Audi-
encia of Manilla, Don Jose Areche, was ordered officially to ex-
amine into the executive conduct of the Marques de Cruillas who

DE CROIX VICEROY THE JESUITS. 243

had retired from the city of Mexico to Cholula, and although it
had been universally the custom to permit other viceroys to answer
the charges made against them by attorney, this favor was denied
to the Marques, who was subjected to much inconvenience and
suffering during the long trial that ensued.

Don Carlos Francisco de Croix, Marques de Croix,

XLV. Viceroy of New Spain.

1766 — 1771.

The Marques de Croix was a native of the city of Lille in Flan-
ders, and, born of an illustrious family, had obtained his military
renown by a service of fifty years in the command of Ceuta, Santa-
Maria, and the Captaincy General of Galicia. He entered Mexico
as viceroy on the 25th of August, 1766.

For many years past, in the old world and in the new, there had
been a silent but increasing fear of the Jesuits. It was known that
in America their missionary zeal among the Indians in the remotest
provinces was unequalled. The winning manners of the culti-
vated gentlemen who composed this powerful order in the Catholic
church, gave them a proper and natural influence with the children
of the forest, whom they had withdrawn from idolatry and par-
tially civilized. But the worthy Jesuits, did not confine their
zealous labors to the wilderness. Members of the order, all of
whom were responsible and implicitly obedient to their great
central power, were spread throughout the world, and were found
in courts and camps as well as in the lonely mission house of the
frontier or in the wigwam of the Indian. They had become rich
as well as powerful, for, whilst they taught Christianity, they did
not despise the wealth of the world. Whatever may have been
their personal humility, their love for the progressive power and
dignity of the order, was never permitted for a moment to sleep.
A body, stimulated by such a combined political and ecclesiastical
passion, all of whose movements, might be controled by a single,
central, despotic will, may now be kept in subjection in the old
world, where the civil and military police is ever alert in support
of the national authorities. But, at that epoch of transition in
America whose vast regions were filled with credulous and
ignorant aborigines, and thinly sprinkled with intelligent, educated
and loyal Europeans, it was deemed dangerous to leave the super-
stitious Indians to become the prey, rather than the flock, — the
instruments, rather than the acolytes of such insidious shepherds.

244 THEIR EXPULSION FROM SPANISH DOMINIONS.

These fears had seized the mind of Charles III. who dreaded a
divided dominion in America, with the venerable fathers. We do
not believe that there was just cause for the royal alarm. We do
not suppose that the Jesuits whose members, it is true, were
composed of the subjects of all the Catholic powers of Europe,
ever meditated political supremacy in Spanish America, or designed
to interfere with the rights of 'Charles or his successors. But the
various orders of the Roman church, — the various congregations,
and convents of priests and friars, — are unfortunately, not free
from that jealous rivalry which distinguishes the career of laymen
in all the other walks of life.

It may be that some of the pious brethren, whose education,
manners, position, wealth or power, was not equal to the influence,
social rank and control, of the Jesuits, had, perhaps, been anxious
to drive this respectable order from America. It may be, that the
king and his council were willing to embrace any pretext to rid his
colonial possessions of the Jesuits. But certain it is, that on the
25th of June, before the dawn of day, at the same hour, through-
out the whole of New Spain the decree for their expulsion was
promulgated by order of Charles. The king was so anxious
upon this subject, that he wrote, with his own hand, to the viceroy
of Mexico, soliciting his best services in the fulfilment of the royal
will. When the question was discussed in the privy council of the
sovereign, a chart of both Americas was spread upon the table, —
the distances between the colleges of the Jesuits accurately calcu-
lated, — and the time required for the passage of couriers, carefully
estimated, so that the blow might fall simultaneously upon the
order. The invasion of Havana by the English and its successful
capture, induced the king to supply his American possessions
with better troops, and more skilful commanders than had been,
hitherto, sent to the colonies. Thus there were yarious, veteran
Spanish regiments in Mexico capable of restraining any outbreaks
of the people in favor of the outraged fathers who had won their
respect and loyal obedience.

At the appointed hour, the order of Charles, was enforced.
The Jesuits were shut up in their colleges, and all avenues to
these retreats of learning and piety were filled with troops.
The fathers were despatched from Mexico for Vera Cruz on
the 28th of June, surrounded by soldiers. They halted awhile
in the town of Guadalupe, where the Visitador Galvez, who
governed the expedition, permitted them to enter, once more, into
the national sanctuary, where amid the weeping crowds of Mexi-

THEIR ARRIVAL IN EUROPE BANISHED. 245

cans, they poured forth their last, and fervent vows, for the
happiness of a people, who idolized them. Their entrance into
Jalapa was a triumph. Windows, balconies, streets, and house
tops were filled with people, whose demeanor manifested what was
passing in their hearts, but who were restrained by massive ranks
of surrounding soldiery from all demonstration in behalf of the
banished priests. In Vera Cruz some silent but respectful tokens
of veneration were bestowed upon the fathers, several of whom
died in that pestilential city before the vessels were ready to
transport them beyond the sea. Nor did their sufferings cease with
their departure from New Spain. Their voyage was long, tem-
pestuous and disastrous, and after their arrival in Spain, under strict
guardianship, they were again embarked for Italy, where they
were finally settled with a slender support in Rome, Bologna,
Ferrara and other cities, in which they honored the country whence
they had been driven by literary labors and charitable works.
The names of Abade, Alegre, Clavigero, Landibares, Maneyro,
Cavo, Lacunza and Marques, sufficiently attest the historical merit
of these Mexican Jesuits, wTho were victims of the suspicious
Charles. For a long time the Mexican mind was sorely vexed by
the oppressive act against this favorite order. But the Visitador
Galvez imposed absolute silence upon the people, — telling them
in insulting language that it was their " sole duty to obey, " and
that they must " speak neither for nor against the royal order,
which had been passed for motives reserved alone for the sove-
reign's conscience ! "

Thus, all expression of public sentiment, as well as of amiable
feeling, at this daring act against the worthiest and most benevolent
clergymen of Mexico was effectually stifled. It had been well for
New Spain if Charles had banished the Friars, and spared the
Jesuits. The church of Mexico, in our age, would then have
resembled the church of the United States, whose foundation and
renown are owing chiefly to the labors of enlightened Sulpicians
and Jesuits, as well as to the exclusion of monks and of all the
orders that dwell in the idle seclusion of cloisters instead of passing
useful lives amid secular occupations and temporal interests. If
the act of Henry VIII. in England was unjust and cruel, it was
matched both in boldness and wickedness by the despotic decree
of the unrelenting Charles of Spain. Nor can the latter sovereign
claim the merit of having substituted virtue for vice as the British
king pretended he had done in the suppression of the monasteries.
Henry swept priest and friar from his kingdom with the same

32

246 CAUSES OF THIS CONDUCT TO THE ORDER.

blow ; but the trimming Charles banished the intellectual Jesuit
whilst he saved and screened the lazy monk.

The pretext of Charles III. for his outrageous conduct was
found in an insurrection which occurred on the evening of Palm
Sunday, 1766, and gave up the capital of Spain, for forty-eight
hours, to a lawless mob. It was doubtless the result of a precon
certed plan to get rid of an obnoxious minister ; and, as soon as it
was known that this personage had been exiled, the rioters in
stantly surrendered their arms, made friends with the soldiers, and
departed to their homes. In fact, it was a political intrigue, which
the king and his minister charged on some of the Spanish grandees
and on the Jesuits. But as the former were too powerful to be
assailed by the king, his wrath was vented on the Fathers of the
Order of Jesus, whose lives, at this time, were not only innocent
but meritorious.

" Some years preceding, on a charge as destitute of foundation,
they had been expelled from Portugal. In 1764, their inveterate
foe, the Duke de Choiseul, minister of Louis XV., had driven them
from France ; and, in Spain, their possessions were regarded with an
avaricious eye by some of the needy courtiers. To effect their down-
fall, the French minister eagerly joined with the advocates of plun-
der ; and intrigues were adopted which must cover their authors
with everlasting infamy. Not only was the public alarm carefully
excited by a report of pretended plots, and the public indignation,
by slanderous representations of their persons and principles ; but,
in the name of the chiefs of the order, letters were forged, which
involved the most monstrous doctrines and the most criminal de-
signs. A pretended circular from the general of the order, at
Rome, to the provincial, calling on him to join with the insurgents;
the deposition of perjured witnesses to prove that the recent com-
motion was chiefly the work of the body, deeply alarmed Charles,
and drew him into the views of the French cabinet."1

Spain was thus made a tool of France in an act of gross injustice,
not only to the reverend sufferers, but to the people over whose
spiritual and intellectual wants they had so beneficially watched.

From this digression to the mingled politics of Mexico and
Europe we shall now return to the appropriate scene of our brief
annals. The captain of so important a port as Havana, and the
inadequate protection of the coast along the main, obliged the
government to think seriously about the increase and discipline of
domestic troops, and especially, to improve the condition of the

1 Dr. Dunham's History of Spain and Portugal, vol. 5, p. 175

ORIGIN OF THE MILITARY CHARACTER OF MEXICO. 247

coast defence. These fears were, surely, not groundless. The
possessions of Great Britain, north of Mexico, on the continent,
were growing rapidly in size and importance ; and from the pro-
vinces which now form the United States, the viceroy imagined
England might easily despatch sufficient troops, without being
obliged to transport reinforcements from Europe. Accordingly
suitable preparations were made to receive the enemy should he
venture to descend suddenly on the Spanish main. The veteran
regiments of Savoy and Flanders were sent to the colony in June,
1768, and the Marshal de Rubi was charged with the disposition of
the army. From that period, it may be said, that Mexico assumed the
military aspect, which it has continuously worn to the present time.

Besides the increase and improvement of the troops of the line,
the government's attention was directed towards the fortification
of the ports and interior passes. The Castle of San Juan de Ulua
was repaired at a cost of a million and a half of dollars. The
small island of Anton Lizardo was protected by military works at
an expense of a million two hundred thousand dollars. A splendid
battery was sent from Spain for the castle, and the inefficient guns
of Acapulco were despatched to the Fillipine islands to be recast
and sent back to America. In the interior of the country, in the
midst of the plain of Perote, the Castle of San Carlos was built in
the most substantial and scientific manner ; and although this fort-
ress seems useless, placed as it is in the centre of a broad and
easily traversed prairie, yet, at the time of its construction, it was
designed as an entre depot between the capital and the coast, in
which the royal property might always be safely kept until the mo-
ment of exportation, instead of being exposed to the danger of a
sudden seizure by the enemy in the port of Vera Cruz. Many
other points along the road from Vera Cruz are better calculated to
defend the interior passes of the country from invasion ; but as the
attacks of the enemy were not expected to be made beyond the
coast upon which they naturally supposed they would find the
treasure they desired to plunder, it was deemed best to establish
and arm the fortress of San Carlos de Perote.

Such were some of the leading acts and occurrences in New
Spain during the viceroyalty of the Marques de Croix. His gen-
eral administration of affairs is characterized by justice. He lived
in harmony with the rigid Visitador Galvez, and although the
gossips of the day declared he was too fond of wine, yet, on his
return to Spain he was named Captain General of the army, and
treated most kindly by the king.

CHAPTER XIV

1771 — 1784.

BUCARELI Y URSUA VICEROY. PROGRESS OF NEW SPAIN. GOLD

PLACERES IN SONORA. MINERAL WEALTH AT THAT PERIOD.

INTELLECTUAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. LINE OF PRE

SIDIOS. MAYORGA VICEROY. POLICY OF SPAIN TO ENGLAND

AND HER COLONIES. OPERATIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN

ETC. MATIAS GALVEZ VICEROY HIS ACTS.

Don Antonio Maria de Bucareli y Ursua,

Lieutenant General of the Spanish Arms,

XL VI. Viceroy of New Spain.

177J _ 1779.

Bucareli reached Vera Cruz from Havana on the 23d of
August, 1771, and took possession of the viceroyalty on the 2d of
the following month. During his administration the military char-
acter of the colony was still carefully fostered, whilst the domestic
interests of the people were studied, and every effort made to es-
tablish the public works and national institutions upon a firm basis.
The new mint and the Monte de Piadad are monuments of this
epoch. Commerce flourished in those days in Mexico. The fleet
under the command of Don Luis de Cordova departed for Cadiz
on the 30th of November, 1773, with twenty-six millions two hun-
dred and fifty-five dollars, exclusive of a quantity of cacao, coch-
ineal and twenty- two marks of fine gold, and the fleet of 1774 was
freighted with twenty-six millions four hundred and fifty-seven
thousand dollars.

Nor was the accumulation of wealth derived at that time from
the golden placeres of Cieneguilla in Sonora less remarkable.
From the 1st of January, 1773, to the 17th of November of the
year following, there were accounted for, in the royal office at

MINERAL WEALTH AT THAT PERIOD. 249

Alamos, four thousand, eight hundred and thirty-two marks of
gold, the royal duties on which, of tithe and senorage, amounted to
seventy-two thousand, three hundred and forty-eight dollars. The
custom house of Mexico, according to the accounts of the consulado,
produced, in 1772, six hundred and eighty-seven thousand and
forty-one dollars, the duty on pulque alone, being two hundred and
forty-four thousand, five hundred and thirty.

In 1776, Bucareli endeavored to liberate trade from many of the
odious restrictions which had been cast around it by old commer-
cial usages, and by the restrictive policy of Spain. The con-
sulado of Mexico complained to Bucareli of the suffering it en-
dured by the monopoly which had hitherto been enjoyed by the
merchants of Cadiz, and through the viceroy solicited the court to
be permitted to remit its funds to Spain, and to bring back the re-
turn freights in vessels on its own account, Bucareli supported
this demand with his influence, and may be said to have given the
first impulse to free -trade. Meanwhile, the mineral resources of
Mexico were not neglected. During the seven years of Bucareli's
reign, the yield of the mines had every year been greater than at
any period since the conquest. One hundred and twenty-seven
millions, three hundred and ninety-six thousand dollars, in gold
and silver, were coined during his viceroyalty. Laborde, in Zaca-
tecas, and Terreros in Pachuca, had undertaken extensive works at
the great and rich mine of Quebradilla and in the splendid vein of
Vizcayna. Other mines were most successfully wrought by their
proprietors. From 1770 to the end of 1778, Don Antonio Obregon
presented to the royal officers, in order to be taxed, four thousand
six hundred and ninety-nine bars of silver, the royal income from
which amounted to six hundred and forty-eight thousand nine hun-
dred and seventy-two dollars. The same individual had, more-
over, presented to the same personage, fifty-three thousand and
eighty-eight castellanos of gold, which paid thirteen thousand eight
hundred and seventy-one dollars in duties. In order to work his
metals, Obregon had been furnished, to that date, one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-nine quintals of quicksilver, for which he paid a
hundred and fifty -nine thousand two hundred and forty-one dollars.

In June, 1778, the mineral deposits of Hostotipaquillo, in the
province of Guadalajara, now Jalisco, were discovered, and pro-
mised the most extraordinary returns of wealth. In the following
year, the valuable mines of Catorce, were accidentally found by a
soldier whilst searching for a lost horse. All these discoveries and
beneficial labors induced Bucareli to recommend the mineral inter-

250 INTELLECTUAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY.

ests of New Spain particularly to the sovereign, and various
persons were charged to explore the country, for the discovery of
quicksilver mines, which it was alleged existed in Mexico. The
extraction of quicksilver from American mines had hitherto been
prohibited by Spain, but the fear of wars, which might prevent its
importation from abroad, and consequently, destroy the increasing
mineral industry of the nation, induced the court to send Don
Raphael Heling and Don Antonio Posada, with several subordin-
ates, who formerly wrought in the mines of Almaden, to examine
the deposits at Talchapa and others in the neighborhood of Aju-
chitlan, in October, 1778, under the direction of padre Alzate
But this reconnoisance proved unavailing at that time, inasmuch
as the explorers found no veins or deposits which repaid the cost
and labor of working.

At this epoch the Spanish government began to manifest a
desire to propagate information in its American possessions
There is a gleam of intellectual dawn seen in a royal order of
Charles, in 1776, commanding educated ecclesiastics to devote
themselves to the study of Mexican antiquities, mineralogy, metal-
lurgy, geology, and fossils. This decree was directed to the
clergy because his majesty, perhaps justly supposed, that they were
the only persons who possessed any knowledge of natural sciences,
whilst the rest of his American subjects were in the most profound
ignorance. Archbishop Lorenzano published in Mexico in 1770
his annotated edition of the letters of Cortez, which is a well
printed work, adorned with coarse engravings, a few maps, and
the curious fac-simile pictures of the tributes paid to the Emperor
Montezuma. But the jealous monks of the inquisition kept a
vigilant watch over the issues of the press, and we find that, in
those days, the commercial house of Prado and Freyre was forced
to crave a license from the court empowering them to ship two
boxes of types to be used in the printing of the calendar !

The administration of Bucareli was not disturbed by insurrec
tions among the Creoles and Spaniards, for he was a just ruler and
the people respected his orders, even when they were apparently
injurious to their interests. The viceroy adorned their capital,
built aqueducts, improved roads, and facilitated intercourse between
the various parts of the country ; but the Indians of the north in
the province of Chihuahua harassed the colonists dwelling near the
outposts during nearly all the period of his government. These
warlike, nomadic tribes have been the scourge of the frontier
provinces since the foundation of the first outpost settlement.

LINE OF PRESIDIOS MAYORGA VICEROY. 251

They are wild hunters, and appear to have no feeling in common
with those southern bands who were subdued by the mingled
influences of the sword and of the cross into tame agriculturists.
Bucareli attacked and conquered parties of these wandering war-
riors, but every year fresh numbers descended upon the scattered
pioneers along the frontier, so that the labor of recolonization and
fighting was annually repeated. Towards the close of his admin-
istration, De Croix, who succeeded Hugo Oconor in the command
along the northern line, established a chain of well appointed
presidios, which in some degree restrained the inroads of these
barbarians.

Bucareli died, after a short illness, on the 9th of April, 1779,
and his remains were deposited in the church of Guadalupe in
front of the sacred and protecting image of the virgin who watches
according to the legend, over the destinies of Mexico.

Don Martin de Mayorga,

XL VII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1779 _ 1783.

In consequence of the death of Bucareli the Audiencia assumed
the government of New Spain until the appointment of his succes-
sor, and in the meanwhile, on the 18th of May, 1779, Charles III,
solemnly declared war against England. The misunderstanding
which gave rise to the revolutionary outbreak in the English colo-
nies of North America was beginning to attract the notice of Eu-
rope. France saw in the quarrel between the Americans and the
British an opportunity to humiliate her dangerous foe ; and al-
though Spain had no interest in such a contest, the minister of
Charles, Florida Blanca, persuaded his master to unite with France
in behalf of the revolted colonies. Spain, in this instance, as in
the expulsion of the Jesuits, was, doubtless, submissive to the will
of the French court, and willingly embraced an occasion to humble
the pride or destroy the power of a haughty nation whose fleets
and piratical cruisers had so long preyed upon the wealthy com-
merce of her American possessions. The Spanish minister did
not probably dream of the dangerous neighbor whose creation he
was aiding, north of the Gulf of Mexico. It is not likely that he
imagined republicanism would be soon and firmly established in
the British united colonies of America, and that the infectious love
of freedom would spread beyond the wastes of Texas and the
deserts of California to the plateaus and plains of Mexico and Peru.

POLICY OF SPAIN TO ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES. 25

The policy was at once blind and revengeful. If it was producec
by the intrigue of France, the old hereditary foe and rival of Eng
land, it was still less pardonable, for a fault or a crime when per-
petrated originally and boldly by a nation sometimes rises almost
into glory, if successful ; but a second-hand iniquity, conceivec
in jealousy and vindictiveness, is as mean as it is short sighted
England had no friends at that epoch. Her previous conduct hac
been so selfishly grasping, that all Europe rejoiced when her colo-
nial power was broken by the American revolution. Portugal, Hol-
land, Russia, Morocco and Austria, all, secretly favored the course
of Spain and France, and the most discreet politicians of Europe
believed that the condition of Great Britain was hopeless.

The declaration of this impolitic war was finally made in Mexico
on the 12th of August, 1779, before the arrival of Mayorga, the
new viceroy, who did not reach the capital till the 23d of the same
month. The Mexicans were not as well acquainted with the poli
tics of the world as the Spanish cabinet, and did not appreciate
all the delicate and diplomatic motives which actuated Charles III.
They regarded a war with England as a direct invitation to the
British to ravage their coasts and harass their trade ; and, accord
ingly as soon. as the direful news was announced, prayers were so
lemnly uttered in all the churches for the successful issue of the
contest. Nor did war alone strike the Mexicans with panic ; for
in this same period the small pox broke out in the capital ; and
in the ensuing months in the space of sixty-seven days, no less
than eight thousand eight hundred and twenty-one persons were
hurried by it to the grave. It was a sad season of pestilence and
anxiety. The 'streets were filled with dead bodies, while the
temples were crowded with the diseased and the healthy who
rushed promiscuously to the holy images, in order to implore
divine aid and compassion. This indiscriminate mixture of all
classes and conditions, — this stupid reunion of the sound and the
sick, whose superstitions led them to the altar instead of the hospi-
tal, soon spread the contagion far and wide, until all New Spain
suffered from its desolating ravages and scarcely a person was
found unmarked by its frightful ravages.

An expedition had been ordered during the viceroyalty of
Bucareli to explore portions of the Pacific adjacent to the Mexi-
can coast, and in February of 1799, it reached a point 55° 17
minutes north. It continued its voyage, until on the 1st of July,
when it took possession of the land at 60° 13 minutes, in the name
of Charles III. It then proceeded onwards, in sight of the coast,

O 'K-RATIONS ON THE SPANISH MAIN, ETC. 253

and on the 1st of August, arrived at a group of islands, at 59° 8'
upon one of which the explorers landed and named the spot,
"Nuestra Senora de Regla."

The expected assaults of the English in the Atlantic were not
long withheld, for in this year, on the 20th of October, they seized
Omoa in Guatemala, for the recovery of which the president, Don
Matias Galvez, quitted the capital immediately and demanded
' succor from Mexico. The Indians, it is related, aided the British
in this attack, but the assailants abandoned the captured port, after
stripping it of its cannon and munitions of war, in consequence of
the insalubrity of the climate. The British had established a post
at a place then called Wallis, the centre of a region rich in dye-
woods, and aptly situated so as to aid in the contraband trade
which they carried on with Yucatan, Guatemala and Chiapas ; and,
accordingly Don Roberto Rivas Vetancourt attacked the settle-
ment successfully, making prisoners of all the inhabitants, more
than three hundred slaves, and capturing a number of small vessels.
But just as hostilities ceased, two English frigates and another
armed vessel, arrived to succor the settlement, and forced .the
Spanish governor to abandon his enterprise and depart with his
flotilla. Nevertheless Vetancourt, burned more than forty different
foreign establishments, and succeeded in capturing an English bri-
gantine of forty -four guns. The commander believed that this sig-
nal devastation of the enemy's settlement and property wTould result
in freeing the land from such dangerous neighbors.

About this period the Spanish government detached General
Solano and a part of his squadron, with orders for America, to aid
in the military enterprises designed against Florida, in which
Mexico was to take a significant part. This commander was to co-
operate with Don Bernardo de Galvez, and both these personages,
in the years 1779, 1780 and 1781, making common cause with
the French against the English, carried the war actively up the
Mississippi and into various portions of Florida. The remaining
period of Mayorga's viceroyalty was chiefly occupied with prepara-
tions in the neighborhood of Vera Cruz against an assault from the
British, and in suppressing, by the aid of the alcalde Urizar, a
trifling revolt among the Indians of Izucar. An unfortunate disa-
agreement arose between Mayorga and the Spanish minister Gal-
vez, and he was finally, after many insults from the count, dis
placed, in order to make room for Don Matias Galvez. The un
fortunate viceroy departed for Spain but never reached his native
land. He died in sight of Cadiz, and his wife was indemnified for

33

254 MATIAS GALVEZ VICEROY HIS ACTS.

the ill treatment of her husband by the contemptible gift of twenty
thousand dollars.

Mayorga was the victim apparently of an ill disposed minister
who controled the pliant mind of Charles. The viceroy in reality
had discharged his duties as lieutenant of the king, with singular
fidelity. All branches of art and industry in Mexico received his
fostering care ; but he had enemies who sought his disgrace at
court, and they were finally successful in their shameful efforts. x

Don Matias de Galvez,

XL VIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1783 — 1784.

Don Matias Galvez, hastened rapidly from Guatemala to take
possession of the viceroyalty, and soon exhibited his generous
character and his ardent desire to improve and embellish the beau-
tiful capital. The academy of fine arts was one of his especial
favorites, and he insisted that Charles should not only endow it
with nine thousand dollars, but should render it an effective estab-
lishment, by the introduction of the best models for the students
These evidences of his munificence and taste, still exist in the fine
but untenanted halls of the neglected academy. Galvez directed
his attention, also, to the police of Mexico and its prisons; — he
required the streets to be leveled and paved ; prohibited the raising
of recruits for Manilla, and solicited from the king authority to re
construct the magnificent palace of Chapultepec on the well known
and beautiful hill of that name which lies about two miles west of
the capital, still girt with its ancient cypresses.

It was during the brief reign of this personage that the political
Gazette of Mexico was established, and the exclusive privilege of
its publication granted to Manuel Valdez. On the 3d of November
Don Matias died, after a brief illness, unusually lamented by the
people, from amidst whose masses he had risen to supreme power
in the most important colony of Spain. Mexico had regarded his
appointment as a singular good fortune, and it was fondly but
vainly hoped that his reign might have been long, and that he
would have been enabled to carry out the beneficent projects he
designed for the country.

As the death of this officer was sudden and unexpected, no
carta de mortaja, or mortuary despatch, had been sent from Spain
announcing his successor, and, accordingly the Audiencia assumed
the reins of government until the arrival of the new viceroy

1 See Bustamante's continuation of Cavo, vol. 3, pp. 45, 46.

CHAPTER XV.
1785 — 1794.

BERNARDO DE GALVEZ VICEROY. CHAPULTEPEC GALVEZ DIES

HIS DAUGHTER. HARO VICEROY CORRUPTION OF AL-
CALDES. FLORES VICEROY HIS SYSTEM OF RULING THE

NORTHERN FRONTIER MINING INTERESTS. II. REVILLA-GI-

GEDO VICEROY CHARLES IV. REVILLA-GIGEDo's COLONIAL

IMPROVEMENTS HIS ADVICE AS TO CALIFORNIA ANECDOTES

OF HIS POLICE REGULATIONS. THE STREET OF REVILLA-

GIGEDO. ARREST OF FUGITIVE LOVERS PUNISHES THE

CULPRITS.

Don Bernardo de Galvez, Count de Galvez,

XLIX. Viceroy of New Spain.

1785 — 1786.

The Count Galvez, son of the last viceroy, Don Matias, took
charge of the government on the 17th of June, 1785, but enjoyed
as brief a reign as his respected father. Hardly had he attained
power when a great scarcity of food was experienced among the
people of New Spain in consequence of an extraordinarily unfavora-
ble season. The excellent disposition of the new officer was
shown in his incessant and liberal efforts to relieve the public
distress in all parts of the country afflicted by misery. Meetings
were held and committees appointed under his auspices, composed
of the most distinguished Spanish and native subjects to aid in
this beneficent labor ; and over four hundred thousand dollars were
given by the Archbishop of Mexico, and the bishops of Puebla and
Michoacan, to encourage agriculture, as well as to relieve the most
pressing wants of the people. In order to afford employment to
the indigent, at the same time that he permanently improved and
beautified the capital and the country generally, the viceroy either
commenced or continued a number of important public works,
among which were the national roads and the magnificent palace
of Chapultepec, the favorite retreat of his father. This splendid

256 CHAPULTEPEC GALVEZ DIES HIS DAUGHTER.

architectural combination of fortress and palace, was a costly
luxury to the Spanish government, for the documents of the period
declare that, up to the month of January, 1787, one hundred and
twenty- three thousand and seventy-seven dollars had been expend-
ed in its construction. Nor was the ministry well pleased with so
lavish an outlay upon this royal domain. Placed on a solitary hill,
at a short distance from the capital, and built evidently for the
double purpose of defence and dwelling, it created a fear, in the
minds of some sensitive persons, that its design might not be
altogether so peaceful as was pretended. An ambitious viceroy,
surrounded by troops whose attachment and firmness could be
relied on, might easily convert the palace into a citadel ; and it was
noted that Galvez, had upon various occasions played the dema-
gogue among the military men who surrounded him in the capital.
All these fears were, however, idle. If the count, in reality, enter-
tained any ambitious projects, or desired to put himself at the head
of an American kingdom independent of Spain, these hopes were
soon and sadly blighted by his early death. He expired on the
30th of November, 1786, in the archiepiscopal palace of Tacubaya.

His funeral ceremonies were conducted by the archbishop, and
his honored remains interred in the church of San Fernando. At
the period of the viceroy's decease his wife was pregnant ; and it
is stated, in the chronicles of the day, — and we mention it as a
singular illustration of Spanish habits, — that the daughter, of
which she was delivered in the following month of December,
received the names of, Maria de Guadalupe Bernarda Isabel Felipa
de Jesus Juana Nepomucena Felicilas, to which was joined at the
period of the lady's confirmation, the additional one of Fernanda !
The Ayuntamiento of Mexico, in order to show its appreciation of
the viceroy's memory, offered to become god-father of the infant,
and the ceremony of its baptism was performed with all the splen-
dor of the Catholic church, in the presence of the court and of a
portion of the army. The defunct viceroy had become popular
with the masses, and the people strove to manifest their love for
the dead by their affectionate courtesy to his orphan, daughter and
desolate widow.

The Audiencia Real assumed the government of Mexico,
inasmuch as the Spanish ministry had provided no successor in
the event of the count's death. Its power continued until the
following February, during which period no event of note occurred
in New Spain, save the destruction by fire of valuable mining
property at Bolanos, and a violent hurricane at Acapulco, accom-

HARO VICEROY CORRUPTION OF ALCALDES. 257

panied by earthquakes, which swept the sea over the coast, ana
caused great losses to the farmers and herdsmen who dwelt on the
neighboring lowlands.

Nunez de Haro, Archbishop of Mexico,
L. Viceroy, ad interim, of New Spain.

1787.

The appointment of this eminent prelate to the viceroyalty ad
interim by a royal order of 25th February, 1787, was perhaps one
of those strokes of policy by which the Spanish ministry strove to
reconcile and connect the ecclesiastical and civil unity of the
American empire. The sway of the archbishop, complimentary as
it was to himself and to the church, was exceedingly brief, for he
entered upon the government on the 8th of May and was super-
ceded by Flores on the 17th of August of the same year. New
Spain was undisturbed during his government; and no event
is worthy of historical record in these brief annals of the country,
save the effort that was made to prohibit the repartimiento or sub-
division of the Indians among the agriculturists and miners by the
sub-delegados, who had succeeded the alcaldes may ores, in the per-
formance of this odious task. The conduct of the latter personages
had been extremely cruel to the natives. They either used their
power to oppress the Indians, or had trafficked in the dispensation
of justice by plowing the sufferers to purchase exemption from
punishment ; and it is related that in certain alcaldias mayores in
Oaxaca, the alcaldes had enriched themselves to the extent of more
than two hundred thousand dollars by these brutal exactions. In-
humanity like this, was severely denounced to the king by the
bishop Ortigoza, — who merited, according to Revilla-Gigedo,
the title of the Saint Paul of his day, — and the eloquent prelate
complained in behalf of his beloved Indians as vehemently as
Las Casas at an earlier period of this loathsome oppression. But
interest overcome the appeals of mercy in almost all instances
since the foundation of the American empire. The Spaniards re-
quired laborers. The ignorant and unarmed Indians of the south
and of the table lands, were docile or unorganized, and, although
the Spanish court and Council of the Indies seconded the viceroy's
zeal in attempting to suppress the cruelty of the planters and
miners, the unfortunate aborigines only experienced occasional
brief intervals of respite in the system of forced labor to which
they were devoted by their legal task-masters.

258 flores viceroy his system of ruling

Don Manuel Flores,

LI. Viceroy of New Spain.

1787 — 1789.

Don Manuel Flores assumed the government of New Spain on
the 16th of May, 1787, but his power over the finances of the na-
tion was taken from him and given to Fernando Mangino, with the
title of Superintendente sub-delegado de Hacienda. Flores was
thus left in possession solely of the civil administration generally,
and of the military organization of the viceroyalty. Being satisfied
that the ordinary militia system of New Spain was inadequate for
national protection during war, he immediately devoted himself to
the forced levy and equipment of three regiments of infantry,
named "Puebla," "Mexico" and "New Spain. " The command
of these forces was given to the most distinguished and noble young
men of Mexico ; — and as the minister Galvez died, and Mangino
was, about this period, transferred to the Council of the Indies, the
superintendence of the finances of Mexico, was appropriately re-
stored again to the viceroyal government.

The northern part of Mexico, in 1788 and for many previous
years had been constantly ravaged by the wild Indian tribes that
ranged across the whole frontier from the western limits of Sonora to
the Gulf of Mexico. Immense sums were squandered in the support
of garrisons or the maintenance of numerous officers, whose duty
it was to hold these barbarians in check. But their efforts had
been vain. The fine agricultural districts of Chihuahua, New
Leon, New Mexico and even in parts of Texas, had attracted large
numbers of adventurous pioneers into that remote region ; yet no
sooner did their fields begin to flourish and their flocks or herds to
increase, than these savages descended upon the scattered settlers
and carried off their produce and their families. Whenever the
arms of New Spain obtained a signal victory over one of these
marauding bands, the Indians would talk of peace and even con-
sent to bind themselves by treaties. But these compacts were im-
mediately broken, as soon as they found the country beginning to
flourish again, or the military power in the least degree relaxed.

Flores appears to have understood the condition of the northern
frontier and the temper of the Indians. He did not believe that
treaties, concessions or kindness would suffice to protect the
Spanish pioneers, and yet he was satisfied that it was necessary to

THE NORTH FRONTIER MINING INTERESTS. 259

sustain the settlements, in that quarter, in order to prevent the
southern progress of European adventurers who were eager to
seize the wild and debatable lands lying on both sides of the Rio
Grande. Accordingly he proposed to the Spanish court to carry on
a war of most inexorable character against the. Apaches, Lipans
and Mesclaros. He characterized, in his despatches, all the In-
dian tribes dwelling or wandering between the Presidio of the Bay
of Espiritu Santo, in the province of Texas, to beyond Santa Ger-
trudis del Altar, in Sonora, — the two opposite points of the dan
gerous frontier line, — as Apaches or their hostile colleagues ; and
he resolved to fight them, without quarter, truce, or mercy, until
they surrendered unconditionally to the power of Spain.

The subsequent history of these provinces, and the experience
of our own government, have shown the wisdom of this advice in
regard to a band of savages whose habits are peculiarly warlike
and whose robber traits have made them equally dangerous to all
classes of settlers in the lonely districts of the Rio Grande or of
the Gila and Colorado of the west. His secretary, Bonilla, — who
had fought bravely in the northern provinces, and was practically
acquainted with warfare among these barbarians, — seconded the
mature opinion of the viceroy. The plan was successful for the
time, and the frontier enjoyed a degree of peace, whilst the military
power was sustained throughout the line of Presidios, which it has
not known since the revolution in Mexico attracted the attention
of all towards the central parts of the nation and left the north
comparatively exposed. Flores enforced his system rigidly, during
his viceroyalty. He equiped the expeditions liberally ; promoted
the officers who distinguished themselves ; rewarded the bravest
soldiers ; and despatched a choice regiment of dragoons to Durango,
whose officers, formed, in that city, the nucleus of its future
civilization.

Nor was this viceroy stinted in his efforts to improve the capi-
tal and protect the growing arts and sciences of the colony. He
labored to establish a botanical garden, under the auspices of
Don Martin Sese ; but the perfect realization of this beneficial and
useful project was reserved for his successor the Count Revilla-
Gigedo.

The mining interests, too, were prospering, and improvements
on the ancient Spanish system were sought to be introduced,
through the instrumentality of eleven German miners whose services
had been engaged by the home government in Dresden, through
its envoy Don Luis Orcis. These personages presented themselves

260 II. REVILLA-GIGEDO VICEROY CHARLES IV.

in New Spain with the pompous title of practical professors of
mineralogy, but they were altogether unskilled in the actual work-
ing of mines, and unable to render those of Mexico more produc-
tive. The only benefit derived from this mineralogical mission
was the establishment of a course of chemical lectures in the
seminary of mines, under the direction of Lewis Leinder, who set
up the first laboratory in Mexico.

On the 23d of December, 1788, the minister of the Indies
apprised the viceroy of the death of Charles III, which had
occurred in the middle of that month. Funeral ceremonies were
celebrated, with great pomp, in Mexico, in honor of the defunct
monarch ; and, on the 22d of February, 1789, the resignation of
the viceroyalty by Flores, — who desired heartily to retire from
public life — was graciously accepted by the Spanish court, and
his successor named, in the person of the second Count Revilla-
Gigedo.

The Count de Revilla-Gigedo — the second,

LII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1789 — 1794.

This distinguished nobleman, whose name figures so favorably
in the annals of Mexico, reached Guadalupe on the 16th of October
1789, and on the following day entered the capital with all the
pompous ceremonies usual in New Spain upon the advent of a
new ruler. In the following month — the new sovereign Charles
IV. was proclaimed ; and the viceroy, at once set about the regula-
tion of the municipal police of his capital which seems to have
been somewhat relaxed since the days of his dreaded and avaricious
father. Assassinations of the most scandalous and daring charac-
ter, had recently warned the viceroy of the insecurity of life and
property even in the midst of his guards. But Revilla-Gigedo
possessed some of the sterner qualities that distinguished his parent,
and never rested until the guilty parties were discovered and
brought to prompt and signal justice. The capital soon exhibited
a different aspect under his just and rigorous government. He did
not trust alone to the reports of his agents in order to satisfy his
mind in regard to the wants of Mexico ;. for he visited every quarter
of the city personally, and often descended unexpectedly upon his
officers when they least expected a visit from such a personage.

Sc-

IMPROVEMENTS. 261

The poor as well as the rich received his paternal notice. He
enquired into their wants and studied their interests. One of his
most beneficent schemes was the erection of a Monte Pio, for their
relief, yet the sum he destined for this object was withheld by the
court and used for the payment of royal debts. Agriculture, hor-
ticulture and botany were especially fostered by this enlightened
nobleman. He carried out the project of his predecessor by
founding the botanical garden, and liberally rewarded and encour-
aged the pupils of this establishment, for he deemed the rich
vegetable resources of Mexico quite as worthy of national attention
as the mines which had hitherto absorbed the public interest.
Literature, too, did not escape his fostering care, as far as the
jealous rules of the Inquisition and of royal policy permitted its
liberal encouragement by a viceroy. He found the streets of the
capital and its suburbs badly paved and kept, and he rigidly
enforced all the police regulations which were necessary for their
purity and safety. As he knew that one of the best means of
developing and binding together the provinces of the empire, was
the construction of substantial and secure roads, — he proposed that
the highways to Vera Cruz, Acapulco, Meztitlan de la Sierra, and
Toluca, should be reconstructed in the most enduring manner.
But the Junta Superior de Hacienda opposed the measure, and the
count was obliged to expend, from his own purse, the requisite
sums for the most important repairs. He established weekly posts
between the capitals of the Intendencies ; — regulated and restrict-
ed the cutting of timber in the adjacent mountains; — established
a professorship of anatomy in the Hospital de Naturales ; destroyed
the provincial militia system and formed regular corps out of the
best veterans found in the ranks. Knowing the difficulty with
which the poor or uninfluential reached the ear of their Mexican
governors, he placed a locked case in one of the halls of his palace
into which all persons were at liberty to throw their memorials
designed for the viceroy's scrutiny. It was, in reality, a secret
mode of espionage, but it brought to the count's knowledge many
an important fact which he would never have learned through the
ordinary channels of the court. Without this secret chest, whose
key was never out of his possession, Revilla-Gigedo, with all his
personal industry, might never have comprehended the actual con-
dition of Mexico, or, have adopted the numerous measures for its
improvement which distinguished his reign.

Besides this provident measure for the internal safety and pro-
gressive comfort of New Spain, the count directed his attention to

34

262 HIS ADVICE AS TO CALIFORNIA.

the western coast of America, upon which, he believed, the future
interests of Spain would materially rely. The settlement of the
Californias had engaged the attention of many preceding viceroys,
as we have already related, and their coasts had been explored and
missionary settlements made wherever the indentures of the sea
shore indicated the utility of such enterprises. But the count fore-
saw that the day would come when the commercial enterprises of
European nations, and, especially of the English, would render this
portion of the Mexican realm an invaluable acquisition. Accord
ingly he despatched an expedition to the Californias to secure the
possessions of Spain in that quarter ; and has left, for posterity, an
invaluable summary or recopilacion of all the enterprises of dis-
covery made by the Spaniards in that portion of the west coast of
America. This document, — more useful to the antiquarian than
the politician, now that the boundaries between the possessions of
Mexico, England and the United States have been definitely settled
by treaties, — may be found in the third volume of u Los Tres
Siglos de Mejico, " a work which was commenced by the Jesuit
Father Cavo, and continued to the year 1821, by Don Carlos
Maria Bustamante. Re villa- Gigedo recommended the Spanish
court to avoid all useless parade or expense, but resolutely to
prevent the approach of the English or of any other foreign power
to their possessions in California, and to occupy, promptly, the
port of Bodega, and even the shores of the Columbia river, if it
was deemed necessary. He advised the minister, moreover, to
fortify these two points ; to garrison strongly San Francisco, Mon-
terey, San Diego and Loreto ; to change the department of San
Bias toAcapulco; and to guard ihefondos piadosos of the missions,
as well as the salt works of Zapotillo, by which the treasury would
be partly relieved of the ecclesiastical expenses of California, while
the needful marine force was suitably supported. These safe-
guards were believed by the viceroy sufficient to confine the
enterprising English to the regions in which they might traffic for
peltries without being tempted into the dominions of Spain, at the
same time that they served as safeguards against all illicit or con-
traband commerce. *

We have, thus endeavored to describe rather than to narrate
historically, the principal events that occurred in the reign of the

1 During the administration of the second Count Revilla-Gigedo the sum of one
hundred and nine millions, seven hundred and four thousand, four hundred and
seventeen dollars, was coined in gold and silver in Mexico.

ANECDOTES OF HIS POLICE REGULATIONS. 263

second Count Re villa- Gigedo, all of which have characterized him
as a just, liberal and far-seeing ruler. In the account of his
father's reign, we have already noticed some of this viceroy's
meritorious qualities ; but we shall now break the ordinary tenor
of these brief annals by inserting a few anecdotes which are still
traditionally current in the country whose administration he so
honestly conducted.

The Conde was accustomed to make nightly rounds in the city,
in order to assure himself that its regulations for quiet and security
were carried into effect. On one occasion, it is related, that in pass-
ing through a street which he had ordered to be paved, he suddenly
stopped and despatched a messenger to the director of the work,
requiring his instant presence. The usual phrase with which he
wound up such commands was "lo espero aqui," — " I await him
here," — which had the effect of producing an extraordinary degree
of celerity in those who received the command. On this occasion
the officer, who was enjoying his midnight repose, sprang from his
bed on receiving the startling summons, and rushed, half dressed,
to learn the purport of what he presumed to be an important busi-
ness. He found the viceroy standing stiff and composed on the
side walk. When the panting officer had paid his obeisance to
his master : — " I regret to have disturbed you, Senor," said the
latter, " in order to call your attention to the state of your pave-
ment. You will observe that this flag stone is not perfectly even,"
touching with his toe one which rose about half an inch above the
rest of the side walk, " I had the misfortune to strike my foot
against it this evening, and I fear that some others may be as
unlucky as myself, unless the fault be immediately remedied. You
will attend to it, sir, and report to me to-morrow morning! " With
these words he continued his round, leaving the officer in a state
of stupefaction ; but it is asserted that the pavements of Mexico for
the rest of his excellency's government were unexceptionable.

Another anecdote, of this kind, places his peculiarity of temper
in a still stronger light. In perambulating the city one pleasant
evening about sunset, he found that the street in which he was
walking terminated abruptly against a mass of wretched tenements,
apparently the lurking places of vice and beggary. He inquired
how it happened that the highway was carried no farther, or why
these hovels were allowed to exist ; but the only information he
could gain was that such had always been the case, and that none
of the authorities considered themselves bound to remedy the evil.
Revilla- Gigedo sent immediately to the corregidor : — "tell him

264 THE STREET OF REVILLA-GIGEDO.

that I await him here," he concluded, in a tone that had the effect
of bringing that functionary at once to the spot, and he received
orders to open, without delay, a broad and straight avenue through
the quarter as far as the barrier of the city. It must be finished,
— was the imperious command, — that very night, so as to allow
the viceroy to drive through it on his way to mass the next morn-
ing. With this the count turned on his heel, and the corregidor
was left to reflect upon his disagreeable predicament.

The fear of losing his office, or perhaps worse consequences,
stimulated his energy. No time was to be wasted. All his subor-
dinate officers were instantly summoned, and laborers were col-
lected from all parts of the city. The very buildings that were to
be removed sent forth crowds of leperos willing for a few reales to
aid in destroying the walls which had once harbored them. A
hundred torches shed their radiance over the scene. All night
long the shouts of the workmen, the noise of pick-axe and crow-
bar, the crash of falling roofs, and the rumbling of carts, kept the
city in a fever of excitement. Precisely at sunrise the state car-
riage, with the viceroy, his family and suite, left the palace, and
rattled over the pavements in the direction from which the noise
had proceeded. At length the new street opened before them,
a thousand workmen, in double file, fell back on either side
and made the air resound with vivas, as they passed. Through
clouds of dust and dirt, — over the unpaved earth, strewn with
fragments of stone and plaster, — the coach and train swept on-
ward, till at the junction of the new street with the road leading
to the suburbs, the corregidor, hat in hand, with a smile of con-
scious desert, stepped forward to receive his excellency, and to
listen to the commendation bestowed on the prompt and skilful
execution of his commands !

Should any one doubt the truth of this story, let him be awa:
that the Calle de Re villa- Gigedo still remains in Mexico to attest
its verity.

These anecdotes impart some idea of the authority exercised by
the viceroys, which was certainly far more arbitrary and personal
than that of their sovereign in his Spanish dominions.

There is another adventure told to display the excellence of Re-
villa-Gigedo's police, in which the count figures rather melodra-
matically. It seems that among the Creole nobles, who, with the
high officers of government, made up the viceroy's court, there
was a certain marques, whom fortune had endowed with great estates
and two remarkably pretty daughters, and it was doubted by some

ARREST OF FUGITIVE LOVERS. 265

whether the care of his cash or his heiresses gave him most

anxiety. The eldest, who bore her father's title, was celebrated

for beauty of an uncommon kind in those regions. She had blue

yes, brilliant complexion, and golden hair, and was every where

known as the fair haired marquesa. Her sister who, on the con-
trary, was very dark, with eyes like the gazelle and raven hair,
was called the pretty brunette. But, different as they were in looks
and perhaps in character, there was one trait in which they per-
fectly agreed, for they were remarkable coquettes ! It is unknown
how many offers of the wealthiest grandees and most gallant cava-
liers about court they had refused ; and the poor marques, who was
by no means a domestic tyrant and desired to govern his family
only by kindness, was quite worn out in persuading them to know
there own minds. One night he was roused from his sleep by a
message from the viceroy, who awaited him in the palace. Not
for his best estate would the loyal marques have kept the represen-
tative of his sovereign waiting a moment longer than necessary.
Wondering what reason of state could require his presence at that
unusual hour, he dressed himself hastily, and hurried to the palace.
The viceroy was in his cabinet, surrounded by several of his house-
hold, and all in a state of painful curiosity. " Marques, " said the
viceroy, as soon as the nobleman entered, " my lieutenant of police
here, complains that you did not take proper care to secure the
doors of your mansion last evening." " I assure your highness,"
replied the marques in great surprise, "that my steward locked
both the great gate and the outer door, according to the invariable
custom of my mansion, before retiring for the night. " " But have
you not a postern opening into the next street ? " returned the
count, "and are you equally heedful in regard to it? But, in
short," he continued, "you must know, that this watchful lieu-
tenant of mine has saved you to-night from robbery. " " Robbery !
your excellency, is it possible ? " ejaculated the marques, startled
for a moment out of his habitual composure. " Yes, — and of the
worst kind " replied the viceroy, " the felons were in the act of
carrying off your most exquisite treasures which are now restored
to you. " At these words, a door at the side of the cabinet flew
open, and the astonished marques beheld his two daughters, dressed
for travelling, and locked in each other's arms. They seemed over-
whelmed with confusion; the fair hair all dishevelled and the
black eyes drowned in tears. "And these are the robbers,"
added the viceroy pointing to a door on the opposite side, which
also flew open. The marques turned mechanically, and saw two

266 PUNISHES THE CULPRITS.

of the gayest, handsomest, and most dissipated youths of the court,
whom he recollected as occasional visitors at his house. They
appeared no less confused, and, with their embarrassment, there
was an evident mixture of alarm. The truth now began to break
on the mind of the nobleman. "You see, marques," said the
count, " that but for the vigilance of my police, you would have
had the honor of being father-in-law to two of the greatest scamps
in my viceroyalty. See what a dilemma your carelessness has
brought me into, my dear sir! I am obliged to wound the feelings
of two of the most lovely ladies in my court, to save them from the
machinations of scoundrels unworthy of their charms, and I fear
they will never forgive me ! Farewell, senor marques ; take my
advice, and brick up your postern. Calderon * was a wise man,
and he tells us that a house with two doors is hard to keep.
As for these young scape-graces, they sail in the next galeon, for
Manilla, where they can exercise their fascinating powers on the
chinas and mulatas of the Philip ines ! "

1 One of Calderon's comedies is named " Casa con dos puertas mala es de guardar."
See Lady's Magazine for 1844.

CHAPTER XVI

1794—1808.

BRANCIFORTE VICEROY HIS GRASPING AND AVARICIOUS CHAR-
ACTER CORRUPTION TOLERATED. PERSECUTION OF FRENCH-
MEN ENCAMPMENTS. BRANCIFORTE's CHARACTER. AZAN-

ZA VICEROY. EFFECT OF EUROPEAN WARS ON COLONIAL

TRADE AND MANUFACTURES. THREATENED REVOLT. MAR-

QUINA VICEROY REVOLT IN JALISCO. ITURRIGARAY VICE-
ROY. GODOY'S CORRUPTION WAR. DEFENCES AGAINST THE

UNITED STATES MIRANDA HUMBOLDT. MEXICO TAXED

FOR EUROPEAN WARS FERDINAND VII. NAPOLEON IN SPAIN

KING JOSEPH BONAPARTE. ITURRIGARAY ARRESTED.

GARIBAY VICEROY.

The Marques de Branciforte,

LIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

1794_1798.

The Marques Branciforte, who reaehed Mexico on the 11th of
July, 1794, contrasts unfavorably, in history, with his illustrious
predecessor Revilla-Gigedo. Partaking of the avaricious qualities
of this personage's father, he seems to have possessed but few of
his virtues, and probably accepted the viceroyalty of New Spain
with no purpose but that of plunder.

Scarcely had he begun to reign, when his rapacity was signally
exhibited. It is said that his first essay in extortion, was the sale
of the sub- delegation of Villa- Alta to a certain Don Francisco Ruiz
de Conejares, for the sum of forty thousand dollars, and the
bestowal of the office of apoderado on the Count de Contramina,
the offices of whose subordinates were bought and sold in the po-
litical market like ordinary merchandise.

At this epoch the warlike hostility to France was excessive, and
orders had been received to exercise the strictest vigilance over the
subjects of that nation who resided in Mexico. Their number,
however, was small, for Spanish America was almost as closely

268 PERSECUTION OF FRENCHMEN ENCAMPMENTS.

sealed as China against the entrance of strangers. Nevertheless
Branciforte encouraged a most disgraceful persecution against these
unfortunate persons, by arresting them on the slightest pretexts,
throwing them into prison, and seizing their possessions. He
found, in his assessor general, Don Pedro Jacinto Valenzuela, and
in his criminal prosecutor, Francisco Xavier de Borbon, fitting
instruments to carry out his inexorable determinations. Upon one
occasion he even demanded of the Sala de Audiencia that certain
Frenchmen, after execution, should have their tongues impaled
upon iron spikes at the city gates, because they had spoken slight-
ingly of the virtue of the queen Maria Louisa ! Fortunately,
however, for the wretched culprits, the Sala was composed of
virtuous magistrates who refused to sanction the cruel demand, and
the victims were alone despoiled of their valuable property. These
acts, it may well be supposed, covered the name of Branciforte
with infamy even in Mexico.

In 1796, on the 7th of October, wrar was declared by Spain
against England, in consequence of which the viceroy immediately
distributed the colonial army, consisting of not less than eight
thousand men, in Orizaba, Cordova, Jalapa, and Perote ; and, in
the beginning of the following year, he left the capital to command
the forces from his headquarters near the eastern coast. This
circumstance enabled him to leave, with an air of triumph, a city
in which he was profoundly hated. The people manifested their
contempt of so despicable an extortioner and flatterer of royalty,
not only by words, but by caricatures. When the sovereign sent
him the order of the golden fleece, they depicted Branciforte with
a collar of the noble order, but in lieu of the lamb, which terminates
the insignia, they placed the figure of a cat ! At his departure,
the civil and financial government of the capital was entrusted to
the regency of the audiencia, while its military affairs were con-
ducted by the Brigadier Davalos. In Orizaba the conduct of
Branciforte was that of an absolute monarch. All his troops were
placed under the best discipline, but none of them were permitted
to descend to Vera Cruz ; yet, scarcely had he been established in
this new military command, when it was known that Don Miguel
Jose de Azanza was named as his viceroyal successor. Never-
theless Branciforte continued in control, with the same domineering
demeanor, as in the first days of his government, relying for justi-
fication and defence in Spain upon the support of his relative, the
Prince of Peace. In Orizaba he was surrounded by flatterers and
his court was a scene of disgraceful orgies ; yet the day of his fall

BRANCIFORTe's CHARACTER AZANZA VICEROY. 269

was at hand. The ship Monarch anchored at Vera Cruz, on the
17th of May, 1798, and, on the 31st of the same month, Azanza,
the new viceroy who reached America in her, received the vice-
royal baton from Branciforte. This supercilious peculator departed
from New Spain with five millions of dollars, a large portion of
which was his private property, in the vessel that had brought his
successor, and arrived at Ferol, after a narrow escape from the
English in the waters of Cadiz. But he returned to Spain loaded
with wealth and curses, for never had the Mexicans complained so
bitterly against any Spaniard who was commissioned to rule them.
The respectable and wealthy inhabitants of the colony were loudest
in their denunciations of an "Italian adventurer," who enriched
himself at the expense of their unfortunate country, nor was his
conduct less hateful because he had been the immediate successor
of so just and upright a viceroy as Revilla-Gigedo.

The character of Branciforte was keen and hypocritical. He
tried, at times, but vainly, to conceal his avarice, wmile his pre-
tended love for the " Virgin of Guadalupe " and for the royal
family, was incessantly reiterated in familiar conversation. Every
Saturday during his government, and on the twelfth of every month,
he made pious pilgrimages to the sanctuary of the Mexican pro-
tectress. He placed a large image of the virgin on the balcony of
the palace, and ordered a salute to be fired at daybreak in honor
of the saint on the twelfth of every December. With these cheap
ceremonials, however, he satisfied his hypocritical piety and absorb-
ing avarice, but he never bestowed a farthing upon the collegiate
church of the Virgin. Whenever he spoke in his court of the sov-
ereign of Spain it was with an humble mien, a reverential voice,
and all the external manifestations of subserviency for the royal per-
sonages who conferred such unmerited honors upon him. Such is
the picture which has been left by Mexican annalists of one of their
worst rulers.

Don Miguel Jose de Azanza,
LIV. Viceroy of New Spain. — 1798— 1800.

Azanza, who, as we have i elated, assumed the viceroyalty m
May, 1798, was exceedingly well received in Mexico. His
worthy character was already known to the people, and almost any
new viceroy would have been hailed as a deliverer from the odious
administration of Branciforte. Azanza was urbane towards all
classes, and his discreet conversation, at once, secured the respect

35

270 EFFECT OF EUROPEAN WARS ON COLONIAL TRADE

and confidence of the colonists. Besides this, the early measure
of his administration were exceedingly wise. He dissolved th
various military encampments, established and maintained a
enormous cost, by his predecessor in the neighborhood of the
eastern coasts. This heavy charge on the treasury was dis
tasteful to the people, while so large an assemblage of colonia
troops necessarily withdrew multitudes from agricultural and com
mercial pursuits, and greatly interfered with the business of New
Spain. Anxious, however, to protect the important post of Vera
Cruz, the viceroy formed a less numerous encampment in it
neighborhood; but the greater portion of its officers and men
perished in that unhealthy climate.

The war with England was not altogether disadvantageous to
Mexico, for although the royal order of the 18th of November
1797, was repeated on the 20th of April, 1799, by which a com-
merce in neutral vessels had been permitted with the colony's ports,
yet, as the seas were filled with enemy's cruisers, the Spanish
trade in national vessels was narrowed chiefly to exports from the
mother country. This course of commerce resulted in retaining
the specie of Mexico within her territory, for the precious metali
had hitherto been the principal article of export to Spain in retur
for merchandise despatched from Cadiz. The internal trad
of Mexico was, accordingly, fostered and beneficially sustained b
the continuance of its large annual metallic products within th
viceroyalty until peace permitted their safe transmission abroad
The beneficial retention of silver and gold in the country was no
only manifested in the activity of domestic trade, but in the im
provement of its towns and cities, and in the encouragement of
manufactures of silk, cotton and wool. In Oaxaca, Guadalaxara,
Valladolid, Puebla, Cuautitlan, San Juan Teotihuacan, Zempoala,
Metepec, Ixtlahuaca, Tulancingo, the number of looms increased
rapidly between 1796 and 1800. In Oaxaca thirty were added ; in
San Juan Teotihuacan thirty- three ; in Queretaro, three thousand
four hundred persons were employed ; while, in the town of Cade-
reita, there existed more than two hundred looms, giving employ-
ment to more than five hundred individuals.

In attending wisely and justly to the civil administration of New
Spain, and in fostering the internal trade and industry, Azanza
bestirred himself whilst the war continued. There were but few
actions between the combatants, but as the contest between the
nations sealed the ports in a great degree, Mexico was made
chiefly dependent on herself for the first time since her national

AND MANUFACTURES THREATENED REVOLT. 271

existence. The politics and intrigues of the old world thus ac-
quainted the colony with her resources and taught her the value of
independence.

Azanza's administration was, for a while, disturbed by a threat-
ened outbreak among the lower classes, whose chief conspirators
assembled in an obscure house in the capital, and designed, at a
suitable moment, rising in great numbers and murdering, without
discrimination, all the wealthiest or most distinguished Spaniards.
This treasonable project was discovered to the viceroy, who went
in person, with a guard, to the quarters of the leaguers, and ar-
rested them on the spot. They were speedily brought to trial ; but
the cause hung in the courts until after the departure of Azanza,
when powerful and touching intercessions were made with his suc-
cessor to save the lives of the culprits. The project of a pardon
was maturely considered by the proper authorities, and it was re-
solved not lo execute the guilty chiefs, inasmuch as it was believed
that their appearance upon a scaffold would be the signal for a
general revolt of the people against the dominion of the parent
country. The sounds of the approaching storm were already heard
in the distance, and justice yielded to policy.

Azanza, with all his excellent qualities as a Governor in Ame-
rica, did not give satisfaction to the court at home. There is no
doubt of the value of his administration in Mexico, and it is, there-
fore, difficult to account for his loss of favor, except upon the
ground of intrigue and corruption which were rife in Madrid.
The reign of Charles IV. and the administration of the Prince of
Peace, are celebrated in history as the least respectable in modern
Spanish annals. Whilst the royal favorite controled the king's
councils, favoritism and intrigue ruled the day. Among other le-
gends of the time, it is asserted by Bustamante, in his continuation
of Cavo's " Tres Siglos de Mejico, " that the Mexican viceroyalty
was almost put up at auction in Madrid, and offered for eighty
thousand dollars to the secretary Bonilla. In consequence of this
personage's inability to procure the requisite sum, it was conferred,
through another bargain and sale, upon Don Felix Berenguer de
Marquina, an obscure officer, who was unknown to the king either
personally or as a meritorious servant of the crown and people.

The Mexican author to whom we have just referred, charac-
terizes Azanza as the wisest, most politic and amiable viceroy,
ever sent by Spain to rule over his beautiful country. l

1 Cavo y Bustamante : Tres Siglos de Mejico, tomo 3°, 190.

272 marquina viceroy revolt in jalisco.

Don Felix Berenguer de Marquina,
LV. Viceroy of New Spain.
1800—1802.

Marquina took charge of the viceroyalty on the 30th of April,
1800, after a sudden and mysterious arrival in New Spain, having
passed through the enemy's squadron and been taken prisoner. It
was inconceivable to the Mexicans why the vice-admiral of Ja
maica deemed it proper to release a Spanish officer who came to
America on a warlike mission; yet it is now known that in Novem
ber, of 1800, the king ordered forty thousand dollars to be paid the
viceroy to reimburse the extraordinary expenses of his voyage!

The government of this personage was not remarkable in the
development of the colony. The war with England still con
tinued, but it was of a mild character, and vessels .constantly
passed between the belligerants with flags of truce, through whose
intervention the Mexicans were permitted to purchase in Jamaica,
the paper, quicksilver, and European stuffs, which the British
crusiers had captured from Spanish ships in the Gulf.

In 1801, an Indian named Mariano, of Tepic in Jalisco, son ot
the governor of the village of Tlascala in that department, at
tempted to excite a revolution among the people of his class, bj
means of an anonymous circular which proclaimed him king
Measures were immediately taken to suppress this outbreak, anc
numbers of the natives were apprehended and carried to Guadala
jara. The fears of Marquina were greatly excited by this paltr]
rebellion, which he imagined, or feigned to believe, a wide spreac.
conspiracy excited by the North Americans and designed tc
overthrow the Spanish power. The viceroy, accordingly, detailed
his services in exaggerated terms to the home government, and it
is probably owing to the eulogium passed by him upon the conduct
of Abascal, president of Guadalaxara, that this personage was made
viceroy of Buenos Ayres, and afterwards honored with the govern
ment of Peru and created Marques de la Concordia.

A definitive treaty of peace was concluded between 'the principal
European and American belligerants in 1802, and soon after, Mar-
quina, who was offended by some slights received from the Spanish
ministry, resigned an office for the performance of whose manifold
duties and intricate labors he manifested no ability save that of a
good disposition. He was probably better fitted to govern a vil-
lage of fifty inhabitants than the vast and important empire of
New Spain.

iturrigaray viceroy godoy's corruption war. 273

Don Jose Iturrigaray,

Lieutenant General of the Spanish Army,

LVI. Viceroy of New Spain.— 1803 — 1808.

On the morning of the 4th of January, 1803, Don Jos6 Iturri-
garay reached Guadalupe near Mexico, where he received the staff
of office from his predecessor and was welcomed by the Audiencia,
tribunals, and nobility of the capital.

The revolution in the British provinces of North America had
been successful, and they had consolidated themselves into na-
tionality under the title of United States. France followed in the
footsteps of liberty, and, overthrowing the rotten throne of the
Bourbons, was the first European state to give an impulse to free-
dom in the old world. The whole western part of that continent
was more or less agitated by the throes of the moral and political
volcano whose fiery eruption was soon to cover Europe with de-
struction. In the midst of this epoch of convulsive change, Spain
alone exhibited the aspect of passive insignificance, for the king,
queen, and Prince of Peace, still conducted the government of that
great nation, and their corrupt rule has become a proverb of imbe-
cility and contempt. Godoy, the misnamed " Prince of Peace, "
was the virtual ruler of the nation. His administration was, at
once, selfish, depraved and silly. The favorite of the king, and
the alleged paramour of the queen, he controled both whenever it
was necessary, while the colonies, as well as the parent state,
naturally experienced all the evil consequences of his debauched
government. Bad as had been the management of affairs in
America during the reign of the long series of viceroys who
commanded on our continent, it became even worse whilst Godoy
swayed Charles IV. through the influence of his dissolute queen.
Most of the serious and exciting annoyances which afterwards
festered and broke out in the Mexican revolution, owe their origin
to this epoch of Spanish misrule.

Iturrigaray was exceedingly well received in Mexico, where his
reputation as an eminent servant of the crown preceded him.
Shortly after his arrival he undertook a journey to the interior, in
order to examine personally into the condition of the mining
districts ; and, after his return to the capital, he devoted himself to
the ordinary routine of colonial administration until it became
necessary, in consequence of the breaking out of the war, between
Spain and England, to adopt measures for the protection of his
viceroyalty. In consequence of this rupture Iturrigaray received

274 DEFENCES AGAINST U. STATES MIRANDA HUMBOLDT.

orders from the court to put the country in a state of complete
defence, and accordingly, he gathered, in haste the troops of
Mexico, Puebla, Perote, Jalapa and Vera Cruz, and, descending
several times to the latter place, personally inspected all the en-
campments and garrisons along the route. Besides this, he made
a rapid military reconnoissance of the country along the coast and
the chief highways to the interior. The road from Vera Cruz to
Mexico was constructed in the best manner under his orders, and
the celebrated bridge called El Puente del rey, now known as El
Ptiente National, was finally completed.

These preparations were designed not only to guard New Spain
from the invasions of the English, but also, from a dreaded attack
by the people of the United States. This fear seems to have been
fostered by the Marques de Casa Irujo who was Spanish envoy in
Washington at this epoch, and informed the government that the
menaced expedition against Mexico, would throw twenty thousand
men upon her shores. Nor was the attention of Iturrigaray divert
ed from the enterprise which was projected by Don Francisco
Miranda to secure the independence of Caraccas ; and although the
scheme failed, it appears to have aroused the whole of Spanish
America to assert and maintain its rights.

It was during the government of this viceroy, that the celebrated
Baron Humboldt, visited Mexico, — by permission of the patriotic
minister D'Urquijo, — authorized, by the home government, to
examine its dominions and their archives, and to receive from
the colonial authorities all the information they possessed in regard
to America. He was the first writer who developed the resources
or described the condition of the Spanish portion of our continent,
which, until that time, had been studiously veiled from the exami-
nation of all strangers who were likely to reveal their knowledge to
the world.

In 1806, the news of the destruction of the combined fleets in
the waters of Cadiz became known in Mexico, and the resident
Spaniards, exhibiting a lively sympathy with the mother country in
this sad affliction, collected upwards of thirty thousand dollars for
the widows of their brave companions who had fallen in action.
Meanwhile, the war in Europe was not only destroying the sub-
jects of the desperate belligerants, but was rapidly consuming their
national substance. In this state of things America was called
upon to contribute for the maintenance of a bloody struggle in
which she had no interest save that of loyal dependence. Taxes,
duties, and exactions of all sorts were laid upon the Mexicans, and,

MEXICO TAXED FOR EUROPEAN WARS FERDINAND VII. 275

under this dread infliction, the domestic and foreign trade languish-
ed notwithstanding the extraordinary yield of the mines, which, in
1805, sent upwards of twenty millions into circulation. Of all the
royal interferences with Mexican interests and capital, none seems
to have been more vexatiously unpopular, than the decree for the
consolidation of the capitals of obras piasy or, charitable and pious
revenues, which was issued by the court ; and Iturrigaray, as the
executive officer employed in this consolidation, drew upon himself
the general odium of all the best classes in the colony.

Charles IV. fell before the revolutionary storm in Europe, and
signed his abdication on the 9th of August, 1808, in favor of
his son Ferdinand VII. But the weak and irresolute monarch
soon protested against this abdication, alleging that the act had
been extorted from him by threats against his life; and, whilst the
Supreme council of Spain was examining into the validity of
Charles's renunciation, and Ferdinand was treating his father's pro-
test with contempt, Napoleon, who had steadily advanced to su-
preme power after the success of the French revolution, took
prompt advantage of the dissentions in the peninsula, and, making
himself master of it, seated his brother Joseph on the Spanish
throne. As soon as Joseph was firmly placed in power, Ferdinand
congratulated him upon his elevation, and ordered all his Spanish
and colonial subjects to recognize the upstart king. But the ser-
vility of Ferdinand to the ascending star of European power did
not meet with obedience from the people of Mexico, who, resolv-
ing to continue loyal to their legitimate sovereign, forthwith pro-
claimed Ferdinand VII. throughout New Spain. The conduct of
the colonists was secretly approved by the dissembling monarch,
although he ratified a decree of the Council of the Indies, com-
manding the Mexicans to obey Joseph. The natives of the Penin-
sula, dwelling in New Spain, were nearly all opposed to the Bour-
bons and faithful to the French propagandists, whilst the Creoles,
or American natives denounced the adherents of Joseph and
burned the proclamation which declared him to be their king.
The orders received at this period by Iturrigaray 'from Ferdinand,
Joseph, and the Council of the Indies, were, of course, all in con-
flict with each other ; and, in order to relieve himself from the
political dilemma in which he was placed by these mixed com-
mands, Iturrigaray determined to summon a Junta of Notable Per-
sons, similar to that of Seville, which was to be composed of the
viceroy, the archbishop of Mexico and representatives from the
army, the nobility, the principal citizens and the ayuntamiento of

276 ITURRIGARAY ARRESTED GARIBAY VICEROY.

the capital. But inasmuch as this plan of concord leaned in favor
of the people, by proposing to place the Creoles of America upon
an equality with the natives of Spain, the old hatred or jealousy
between the races was at once aroused. The Europeans, who
composed the partisans of France, headed by Don Gabriel Yermo,
a rich Spaniard and proprietor of some of the finest sugar estates
in the valley of Cuernavaca, at once resolved to frustrate the vice-
roy's design. Arming themselves hastily, they proceeded, on the
night of the 15th of September, 1808, to his palace, where they
arrested Iturrigaray, and accusing him of heresy and treason, sent
him as prisoner to Spain. This revolutionary act was openly
countenanced by the Audiencia, the Oidores Aguirre and Bataller,
and the body of Spanish traders. For three years, until released
by an act of amnesty in 1811, Iturrigaray continued in close con-
finement; and, although he was not regarded favorably by all
classes of Mexicans, this outrage against his person by the Span-
ish emigrants seems to have produced a partial reaction in his
favor among the loyal natives.

The administration of Iturrigaray was not only defective, but
corrupt in many executive acts, for offices were scandalously sold
at his court, — a fact which was proved in the judicial inquiry sub-
sequently made into his conduct. The Council of the Indies, in
1819, sentenced him to pay upwards of three hundred and eighty-
four thousand dollars, in consequence of the maladministration
that was charged and maintained against him.

Field Marshal Don Pedro Garibay,
LVII. Viceroy of New Spain. — 1808.

This chief was more than eighty years of age when honore
with the viceroyalty of New Spain. He had passed the greater
portion of his life in Mexico, and rose from the humble grade of
lieutenant of provincial militia to the highest post in the colony.
He was familiar with the habits and feelings of the people ; was
generally esteemed for the moderation with which he conducted
himself in office, and was altogether the most endurable viceroy
who could have been imposed upon the Mexicans at that revolu-
tionary period.

During the government of the preceding viceroy the troubles
which began, as we have seen, in the old world, had extended to
the new, and we shall therefore group the history of the war that
resulted in Mexican independence, under the titles of the last vice-
roys who were empowered by Peninsular authorities to stay, if they
could not entirely control, the progress of American liberty.

red

BOOK III.

CONCLUSION OF THE VICEROYAL GOVERNMENT;

HISTORY OF THE REVOLUTION AND

WAR OF INDEPENDENCE;

MEXICO UNDER THE EMPIRE OF ITURBIDE

AND UNDER THE REPUBLIC;

WAR WITH TEXAS AND THE UNITED STATES

1809—1850.

30

BOOK III

CHAPTER I

1809—1810.

LIANZA VICEROY. AUDIENCIA. VENEGAS VICEROY. TRUE

SOURCES OF THE REVOLUTION. CREOLES LOYAL TO FERDI-
NAND. SPANIARDS IN FAVOR OF KING JOSEPH. MEXICAN

SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR SPAIN. SECRET UNION IN MEXICO

AGAINST SPANIARDS. HIDALGO ALLENDE FIRST OUT-
BREAK. GUANAJUATO SACKED LAS CRUCES. MEXICO MEN-
ACED. INDIAN BRAVERY AT ACULCO. MARFIL — MASSACRE

AT GUANAJUATO CALLEJA. INSURGENTS DEFEATED EXE-
CUTION OF HIDALGO.

The Archbishop Francisco Xavier de Lianza,

LVIII. Viceroy of New Spain.

The Audiencia of Mexico, and Venegas, LIX. Viceroy .

1809—1810.

The pictures presented in the introductory chapter to the vice-
royal history and in the subsequent detailed narrative of that epoch,
will suffice, we presume, to convince our readers that they need not
penetrate deeply for the true causes of misery and misrule in
Spanish America. The decadence of Spain as well as the present
unhappiness of nearly all her ancient colonies may be fairly attributed
to the same source of national ruin — bad, unnatural government.
A distinguished statesman of our country has remarked that " the
European alliance of emperors and kings assumed, as the founda-
tion of human society, the doctrine of unalienable allegiance, whilst
our doctrine was founded on the principle of unalienable right. " 1
This mistaken European view, or rather assumption of royal pre-

1 John Quincy Adams's letter to Mr. Anderson, minister to Columbia, May 27,
1823. See President's message on the Panama Congress, March, 1823.

280 MEXICAN SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR SPAIN.

rogative and correlative human duties, was the baleful origin of
colonial misrule. The house of Austria did not govern Spain as
wisely as its predecessors. The Spain that Philip I. received and
the Spain of those who followed him, present a sad contrast. As
the conquest of America had not been conceived, although it was
declared to be, in a beneficent spirit, the sovereigns continued the
system of plunder with which it was begun. Its results are
known. The Americans were their subjects, bound to them by
" unalienable allegiance ; n vassals, serfs creatures, whose hu-
man rights, in effect, were nothing when compared to the mon-
arch's will. This doctrine at once converted the southern portions
of our continent into a soulless machine, which the king had a right
to use as he pleased, and especially, as he deemed most beneficial
for his domestic realm. The consequence was, that, in concur-
rence with the Council of the Indies, he established, as we have
seen, an entirely artificial system, which contradicted nature, and
utterly thwarted both physical and intellectual development.

The Indians and Creoles of Mexico and Peru, ignorant and
stupid as they were believed to be by Spain, had, nevertheless,
sense enough to understand and feel the wretchedness of their
condition. They cherished in their hearts an intense hatred for
their foreign masters. There was no positive or merely natural
enmity of races in this, but rather a suppressed desire to avenge
their wrongs.

When the French seized Spain, the colonies in America were,
for a period, forced to rely upon themselves for temporary govern-
ment. They did not, at once, desire to adopt republican institu-
tions, but rather adhered to monarchy, provided they could free
themselves from bad rulers and vicious laws. This especially was
the case in Mexico. Her war against the mother country origina-
ted in a loynl desire to be completely independent of France.
The news of the departure of Ferdinand VII. for Bayonne, and the
alleged perfidy of Napoleon in that city, excited an enthusiasm
among the Mexicans for the legitimate king, and created a mortal
hatred against the conqueror of Europe. All classes of original
Mexican society seem to have been united in these sentiments.
Subscriptions were freely opened and in a few months, seven
millions were collected to aid their Peninsular friends who were
fighting for religion, king, and nationality. The idea did not
strike any Mexican that it was a proper time to free his native land
entirely from colonial thraldom. 1 But after a short time, the

1 Zavala, Historia, vol. 1, p. 38

SECRET UNION IN MEXICO AGAINST SPANIARDS. 281

people began to reflect. The prestige of Spanish power, to which
we have alluded heretofore, was destroyed. A French king sat
upon the Spanish throne. The wand of the enchanter, with which
he had spell-bound America across the wide Atlantic, was broken
forever. The treasured memory of oppression, conquest, bad
government and misery, was suddenly refreshed, and it is not
surprising to find that when the popular rising finally took place, it
manifested its bitterness in an universal outcry against the Spaniards.

After the occurrences at Bayonne, emissaries from king Joseph
Bonaparte spread themselves over the continent to prepare the
people for the ratification and permanence of the French govern-
ment. These political propagandists were charged, as we have
stated with orders from Ferdinand VII. and the Council of the
Indies, to transfer the allegiance of America to France. ] It may
be imagined that this would have gratified the masses in America,
who perhaps, had heard that the French were the unquestionable
patrons of " liberty and equality. " But, the exact reverse was the
case among the Creoles, whilst the Spaniards in America, received
the emissaries with welcome, and bowed down submissively to the
orders they brought. Blinded for centuries to all ideas of govern-
ment save those of regal character, the Mexicans had no notion of
rule or ruler except their traditionary Spanish king. They clung
to him, therefore, with confidence, for they felt the necessity of
some paramount authority, as political self control was, as yet, an
utter impossibility.

A secret union among leading men was, therefore, formed in
1810, which contemplated a general rising throughout the pro-
vinces, but the plot was detected at the moment when it was ripe
for development. This conspiracy was based upon a desire to
overthrow the Spaniards. " They felt, " says Mr. Ward, " that
the question was not now one between themselves as subjects,
but between themselves and their fellow subjects, the European
Spaniards, as to which should possess the right of representing the
absent king, " as guardians and preservers of the rights of Ferdi-
nand. The Europeans claimed this privilege exclusively, with
customary insolence. "The Ayuntamiento of Mexico was told by
the Audiencia that it possessed no authority except over the leperos"
— or mob of the capital ; and it was a favorite maxim of the oidor
Battaller that " while a Manchego mule or a Castilian cobler re-
mained in the Peninsula, he had a right to govern. " 2

1 Robinson's Hist. Mex. Rev. p. 10.

1 Ward's Mexico, vol. 1, p. 127. Id. p. 157.

282 HIDALGO ALLENDE FIRST OUTBREAK.

In those times, a certain country curate, by name Miguel Hi-
dalgo y Costilla, dwelt in the Indian village of Dolores, adjacent to
the town of San Miguel el Grande, lying in the province of Guana-
juanto. One of the conspirators being about to die, sent for his
priest, and confessing the plot, revealed also the names of his ac-
complices. The curate Hidalgo was one of the chiefs of this
revolutionary band, and the viceroy Venegas hoping to crush the
league in its bud, despatched orders for his arrest and imprison-
ment, as soon as the confession of the dead conspirator was dis-
closed to him. Hidalgo's colleagues were also included in this
order, but some of the secret friends of the insurgents learned
what was occurring at court and apprised the patriot priest of
his imminent danger. The news first reached Don Ignacio Al-
lende, who commanded a small body of the king's troops in San
Miguel, and who hastened with the disastrous tidings to his friend
at Dolores. Concealment and flight were now equally unavailing.
The troops of Allende were speedily won to the cause of their
captain, while the Indians of Dolores rushed to defend their be-
loved pastor. As they marched from their village to San Miguel
ind thence to Zelaya, the natives, armed with clubs, slings, staves
\nd missiles, thronged to their ranks from every mountain and
Talley. The wretched equipment of the insurgents shows their
legraded condition as well as the passionate fervor with which
they blindly rushed upon the enemies of their race. Hidalgo put
on his military coat over the cassock, and, perhaps unwisely, threw
himself at the head of a revolution, which rallied at the cry of
" Death to the Gachupines. " *

The result of this onslaught was dreadful. Wherever the rebel-
lious army passed, Spaniards and uncomplying Creoles they were in-
discriminately slaughtered, and though many of the latter were
originally combined with the conspirators and eagerly longed for
the emancipation of their country, they were dismayed by the
atrocities of the wild insurgents. As the rebel chief, armed with the
sword and cross, pressed onward, immense numbers of Indians
flocked to his banner, so that when he left Zelaya, a fierce and un-
disciplined mob of twenty thousand hailed him as undisputed com-
mander. At the head of this predatory band he descended upon
the noble city of Guanajuanto, in the heart of the wealthiest mining
district of Mexico. The Spaniards and some of the Creoles re-

1 This term has heen variously interpreted; it is supposed to he an ancient In-
dian word significant of contempt. It is applied hy the natives to the European
Spaniards or their full blooded descendants. See Robinson's His. Rev. Mex., 15.

GUANAJUATO SACKED LAS CRUCES. 283

solved upon a stout resistance, shut themselves up in the city and
refused the humane terms offered by Hidalgo upon condition of
surrender. This rash rejection led to an immediate attack and
victory. When the city fell, it was too late for the insurgent priest
to stay the savage fury of his troops. The Spaniards and their
adherents were promiscuously slaughtered by the troops, and, for
three days the sacking of the city continued, until wearied with
conquest, the rebels, at length, stopped the plunder of the town.
Immense treasures, hoarded in this place for many years, were the
fruits of this atrocious victory which terrified the Mexican authori-
ties and convinced them that the \ olcanic nature of the people had
been fully roused, and that safety existed alone in uncompromising
resistance.

The original rebellion was thus thrown from the hands of the
Creoles into those of the Indians. A war of races was about to
break out ; and although there were not among the insurgents more
than a thousand muskets, yet the mere numerical force of such an
infuriate crowd, was sufficient to dismay the staunchest. The
viceroy Venegas, and the church, therefore, speedily combined to
hurl their weapons against the rebels. Whilst the former issued
proclamations or decrees, and despatched troops under the com-
mand of Truxillo to check Hidalgo who was advancing on the
capital, the latter declared all the rebels to be heretics, and excom-
municated them in a body. Venegas ordered all the higher clergy
" to represent from the pulpit, and circulate the idea privately, that
the great object of the revolution was to destoy and subvert the holy
Catholic religion, while he directed the subaltern ministers to sow
discord in families by the confessional."1 But the arms of the
Spanish chiefs and the anathemas of the Roman church, were un-
equal to the task of resistance. Hidalgo was attacked by Truxillo
at Las Cruces, about eight leagues from the capital, where the In-
dian army overwhelmed the Spanish general and drove him back to
Mexico, with the loss of his artillery. In this action we find it
difficult to apportion the ferocity, with justice, between the com*
batants, for Truxillo boasted in his despatch that he had defended
the defile with the " obstinacy of Leonidas," and had even " fired
upon the bearers of a flag of truce which Hidalgo sent him."2

The insurgents followed up their success at Las Cruces by pur-
suing the foe until they arrived at the hacienda of Quaximalpa,
within fifteen miles of the city of Mexico. But here a fatal distrust
of his powers seems first to have seized the warrior priest. Vene-

1 Robinson Memoir Mex. Rev. 19. * lb. p. 20.

284 MEXICO MENACED INDIAN BRAVERY AT ACULCO.

gas, it is said, contrived to introduce secret emmissaries into his
camp, who impressed Hidalgo and his officers with the belief that
the capital was abundantly prepared for defence, and that an assault
upon the disciplined troops of Spain, by a disordered multitude
without fire arms, would only terminate in the rout and destruction
of all his forces. In fact, he seems to have been panic stricken,
and to have felt unable to control the revolutionary tempest he had
raised. Accordingly, in an evil moment for his cause, he com-
menced a retreat, after having remained several days in sight of
the beautiful city of Mexico, upon which he might easily have
swept down from the mountain like an eagle to his prey.

It is related by the historians of these wars, that in spite of all
Venegas's boasted valor and assurance, he was not a little dis-
mayed by the approach of Hidalgo. The people shared his alarm,
and would probably have yielded at once to the insurgents, whose
imposing forces were crowding into the valley. But in this strait
the viceroy had recourse to the well known superstitions of the
people, in order to allay their fears. He caused the celebrated
image of the Virgin of Remedios to be brought from the mountain
village, where it was generally kept in a chapel, to the cathedral,
with great pomp and ceremony. Thither he proceeded, in full
uniform, to pay his respects to the figure, and after imploring the
Virgin to take the government into her own hands, he terminated
his appeal by laying his baton of command at her feet. 1

It is now that we first encounter in Mexican history the name
of Don Felix Maria Calleja, — a name that is coupled with all that
is shameless, bloody, and atrocious, in modern warfare. Calleja
was placed at the head of a well appointed Creole army of ten thou-
sand men and a train of artillery, and with these disciplined forces,
which he had been for some time concentrating, he was ordered to
pursue Hidalgo. 2 The armies met at Aculco, and the Indians, in
their first encounter with a body of regulars, exhibited an enthusi-
astic bravery that nearly defies belief. They were almost as com-
pletely ignorant of the use or power of fire arms as their Aztec
ancestors three hundred years before. They threw themselves
upon the serried ranks of infantry with clubs and staves. Rushing
up to the mouths of the cannon they drove their sombreros or hats
of straw, into the muzzles. Order, command, or discipline, were

1 Wards' Mexico in 1827, vol. i. p, 169.

2 The Creoles although unfriendly to the Spaniards, and ready to rebel against
them, were nevertheless willing to aid them against the Indians whom they more
reasonably regarded, under the circumstances as the more dangerous of the two
classes.

MARFIL MASSACRE AT GUANAJUATO CALLEJA. 285

entirely unknown to them. Their effort was simply to overwhelm
by superiority of numbers. But the cool phalanx of Creoles stood
firm, until the Indian disorder became so great, and their strength
so exhausted by repeated yet fruitless efforts, that the regulars
commenced the work of slaughter with impunity. Calleja boasts
hat Hidalgo lost " ten thousand men, of whom five thousand were
put to the sword. " It seems, however, that he was unable to
capture or disband the remaining insurgents ; for Hidalgo retreated
to Guanajuato, and then fell back on Guadalaxara, leaving in the
former city a guard under his friend Allende.

Calleja next attacked the rebel forces at the hacienda of Marfil,
and having defeated Allende, who defended himself bravely, rushed
onward towards the city of Guanajuato. This place he entered as
conqueror. "The sacrifice of the prisoners of Marfil," says Ro-
binson, " was not sufficient to satiate his vindictive spirit. He
glutted his vengeance on the defenceless population of Guanajuato.
Men, women and children, were driven by his orders, into the
great square; and fourteen thousand of these wretches, it is alleged,
were butchered in a most barbarous manner. Their throats were
cut. The principal fountain of the city literally overflowed with
blood. But, far from concealing these savage acts, Calleja, in his
account of the cop/lict, exults in the honor of communicating the
intelligence that he had purged the city of its rebellious popula-
tion. The only apology offered for the sacrifice was that it would
have wasted too much powder to have shot them, and therefore,
on the principle of economy he cut their throats. Thus was this
unfortunate city, in a single campaign, made the victim of both
loyalists and insurgents.

Hidalgo and his division were soon joined by Allende, and al-
though they suffered all the disasters of a bad retreat as well as of
Spanish victories, he still numbered about eighty thousand under
his banners. He awaited Calleja at Guadalaxara, which he had
surrounded with fortifications and armed with cannon, dragged by
the Indians, over mountain districts from the port of San Bias, on
the Pacific ; but it is painful to record the fact, that in this city Hi-
dalgo was guilty of great cruelties to all the Europeans. Ward
relates that between seven and eight hundred victims fell beneath
the assassin's blade. A letter, produced on Hidalgo's trial, writ-
ten to one of his lieutenants, charges the officer to seize as many
Spaniards as he possibly can, and, moreover, directs him, if he has
any reason to suspect his prisoners of entertaining seditious or
restless ideas, to burv them at once in oblivion by putting such

37

286 INSURGENTS DEFEATED EXECUTION OF HIDALGO.

persons to death in some secret and solitary place, where their fate
may remain forever unknown ! As the cruelty of Old Spain to
the Mexicans had well nigh driven them to despair, such savage
assassinations, in turn, drove the Spaniards to revenge, or, at least
furnished them with an excuse for their horrible atrocities.

Calleja, intent on the pursuit of his Indian prey, was not long in
following Hidalgo. The insurgent chief endeavored to excite the
ardor of his troops, while he preserved some show of discipline in
their ranks ; and, thus prepared, he gave battle to the Spaniards,
at the bridge of Calderon, on the 17th of January, 1811. At first
Hidalgo, was successful, but the rebels were no match for the
royal troops kept in reserve by Calleja. With these he made a
fierce charge upon the Indians, and sweeping through their broken
masses he "pursued and massacred them by thousands. "

Calleja was not a person either to conciliate or to pause in
victory. He believed that rebellion could only be rooted out by
utter destruction of the insurgents and their seed. Accordingly
orders were issued to " exterminate the inhabitants of every town
or village that showed symptoms of adherence to the rebels, "
whilst, from the pulpit, new denunciations were fulminated against
all who opposed the royal authority. The insurgent chiefs fled,
and reached Saltillo with about four thousand men. There it was
resolved to leave Rayon in command, while Hidalgo, Allende,
Aldama and Absolo endeavored to reach the United States with
an escort for the purpose of purchasing munitions of war with the
treasure they had saved from the sacking of Guanajuato. But
these fierce and vindictive soldiers were destined to end their lives
by treachery. Hidalgo's associate rebel, Ignacio Elizondo, hoping
to make his peace with the government by betraying so rich a
prize, delivered them up to the authorities on the 21st of March,
1811, at Acatila de Bajan. Hidalgo was taken to Chihuahua, and,
after being degraded from holy orders, was shot on the 27th of
July, whilst Calleja was rewarded for his victories with the title of
Conde de Calderon, won by his brilliant charge at the bridge near
Guanajuato.

Such is an outline of the warfare between the Sylla and Marius
of this continent, and of some of the most prominent events in the
origin of that revolution which finally resulted in the Mexican
independence.

CHAPTER II.
1810 — 1816.

VENEGAS VICEROY. RAYON. JUNTA IN 1811 ITS WILLING-
NESS TO RECEIVE FERDINAND VII. PROCLAMATION BY THE

JUNTA MORELOS. ACAPULCO TAKEN SUCCESSES OF THE

INSURGENTS. SIEGE OF CUAUTLA IZUCAR ORIZABA

OAXACA CHILPANZINGO. CALLEJA VICEROY ITURBIDE.

REVERSES OF INSURGENTS MORELOS SHOT.

Lieutenant General Don Francisco Xavier Venegas,

LIX. Viceroy of New Spain.

1810 — 1813.

After Hidalgo's death the country was for a considerable
time involved in a guerilla warfare which extended throughout the
whole territory of Mexico, to the provincas internas of the north
Rayon assumed command of the fragments of Hidalgo's forces at
Saltillo and retired to Zacatecas, but he had no command, or in-
deed authority, except over his own men. The whole country was
in ferment. The valley of Mexico was full of eager partisans, who
lazo^d the sentinels even at the gates of the town ; yet, in all the
chief cities, the viceroy's authority was still permanently acknow-
ledged.

Men of reflection immediately saw that the cause of liberation
would be lost, if, amid all these elements of boiling discontent,
there was no unity of opinion and action. The materials of success
were ample throughout the nation ; but they required organization
under men in whose judgment and bravery the insurgent masses
could rely.

Such were the opinions of Rayon and his friends, who, in May,
1811, occupied Zitacuaro, when on the 10th of the following Sep-
tember, they assembled a Junta, or, central government, composed
of five members chosen by a large body of the most respectable
landed proprietors in the neighborhood, in conjunction with the
Ayuntamiento and inhabitants of the town.

The doctrines of this Junta were liberal, but they maintained a
close intimacy with Spain, and even admitted the people's willing-
ness to receive Ferdinand VJT. as sovereign of Mexico provided he

288 PROCLAMATION BY THE JUNTA MORELOS.

abandoned his European possessions for New Spain. When
Morelos, joined the Junta he disapproved this last concession to
the royalists, though it was chiefly defended by Rayon as an expe-
dient measure when dealing with people over whom the name of
king still exercised the greatest influence. This Junta was finally
merged in the congress of Chilpanzingo. Its manifesto, directed
to the viceroy in March, 1812, is worthy of rememberance, as
it contains the several doctrines of the revolution admirably ex-
pressed by Dr. Cos, who was its author. He paints in forci-
ble language the misery created by the fifteen months of civil
war, and the small reliance that Spain could place on Creole
troops, whose sympathies, at present, and whose efforts, in the
end, would all be thrown into the scale of their country. He as-
sumes as fundamental principles that America and Spain are nat-
urally equal; that iVmerica has as much right to her Cortes as
Spain has to hers ; that the existing rulers in the Peninsula have
no just authority over Mexico as long as their sovereign is a cap-
tive, and, finally, he proposes that if " the Europeans will consent
to give up the offices they hold, and allow the assemblage of a
general congress, their persons and property shall be religiously
respected, their salaries paid, and the same privileges granted them
as to native Mexicans, who, on their side, "will acknowledge Fer-
dinand as the legitimate sovereign, and assist the Peninsula with
their treasure, whilst they will at all times regard the Spaniards
as fellow subjects of the same great empire."

The alternative of war was presented to the viceroy together
with these moderate demands, but he was only requested to abate
the personal cruelties that had hitherto been committed, and to
save the towns and villages from sacking or destruction by fire.
Yet the insane Venegas would listen to no terms with the rebels,
and caused the manifesto to be burned in the great square, by the
common executioner. The principles of the document, however,
had been spread abroad among the people, and the flames of the
hangman could no longer destroy the liberal doctrines which were
deeply sown in the hearts of the people.

The distinguished revolutionary chief Morelos, a clergyman, now
appears prominently upon the stage. He had been commissioned
by Hidalgo as Captain General of the provinces on the south-west
coast in 1810, and departed for his government with as sorry an
army as the troop of FalstafF. His escort consisted of a few ser-
vants from his curacy, armed with six muskets and some old
lances. But he gathered forces as he advanced. The Galeanas

ACAPULCO TAKEN SUCCESSES OF THE INSURGENTS. 289

joined him with their adherents and swelled his numbers to near a
thousand. They advanced to Acapulco, and having captured it
with abundant booty, the insurgents soon found their ranks joined
by numerous important persons, and, among them the Cura Mata-
moros and the Bravos, whose names have, ever since, been promi-
nently connected with the history and development of Mexico.

The year 1811 was passed in a series of petty engagements ;
but, in January, 1812, the insurgents penetrated within twenty-
five leagues of the capital, where Galeana and Bravo took the
town of Tasco.

Morelos was victorious in several other actions in the same and
succeeding months, and pushed his advanced guards into the val-
ley of Mexico, where he occupied Chalco and San Agustin de
las Cuevas, about twelve miles from the metropolis. Morelos
finally resolved to make his stand at Cuautla, in the tierra caliente,
on the other side of the mountain ranges which hem in the valley ;
and, to this place the viceroy Venegas despatched Calleja, who
was summoned from the north and west, where, as may readily be
imagined, so fiery a spirit had not been idle or innocent since the
defeat of Hidalgo.

On the 1st of January, 1812, Calleja reached Zitacuaro, whence
the alarmed Junta fled to Sultepec. The insatiate Spaniard took
the town, decimated the inhabitants, razed the walls to the ground,
and burnt the dwellings, sparing only the churches and convents.
After this dreadful revenge upon a settlement which had committed
no crime but in harboring the Junta, he made a triumphal' entrance
into Mexico, and, on the 14th of February, after a quarrel with the
viceroy, and a solemn Te Deum, he departed towards Morelos,
who was shut up in Cuautla de Amilpas.

On the 19th Calleja attacked the town, but was forced to retreat.
He then regularly besieged the place and its insurgent visiters for
more than two months and a half. In this period, the troops on
Doth sides were not unoccupied. Various skirmishes took place,
but without signal results of importance to either party. Morelos
strove to prolong the siege until the rainy season set in, when he
felt confident that Calleja would be forced to withdraw his troops,
who could not endure the combined heat and moisture of the tierra
caliente during the summer months. Calleja, on the other hand,
supposed that by sealing the town hermetically, and cutting off all
supplies, its inhabitants and troops would soon be forced to sur-
render. Nor did he act unwisely for the success of his master.
Famine prevailed in the besieged garrison. Corn was almost the

290 SIEGE OF CUAUTLA IZUCAR ORIZABA.

only food A cat sold for six dollars, a lizard for two, and rat
and other vermin for one. But Morelos still continued firm,
hoping by procrastination and endurance, to preserve the con-
stancy of his men until the month of June, when the country is
generally deluged with rain and rendered insalubrious to all who
dwell habitually in colder regions, or are unacclimated in the lower
vallies and table lands of Mexico. His hopes, however, were not
destined to be realized, for, upon consultation, it was found abso-
lutely necessary to risk a general engagement or to abandon the
town. The general engagement was considered injudicious in the
present condition of his troops, so that no alternative remained but
that of retreat. This was safely effected on the night of the 2d of
May, 1812, notwithstanding the whole army of the insurgents was
obliged to pass between the enemy's batteries. After quitting the
town, the forces were ordered to disperse, so as to avoid forming
any concentrated point of attack for the pursuing Spaniards, and to
reunite as soon as possible at Izucar, which was held by Don
Miguel Bravo. Calleja entered the abandoned town cautiously
after the departure of the besieged, but the cruel revenge he took
on the innocent inhabitants and harmless edifices, is indelibly im-
printed in Mexican history as one of the darkest stains on the
character of a soldier, whose memory deserves the execration of
civilized men.

From Izucar, Morelos entered Tehuacan triumphantly, whence
he passed to Orizaba where he captured artillery, vast quantities
of tobacco, and a large amount of treasure. But he was not allow-
ed to rest long in peace. The regular forces pursued his partizan
warriors ; and we next hear of him at Oaxaca, where he took pos-
session of the town after a brief resistance. It was at this place
that Guadalupe Victoria, afterwards president of the republic,
performed a feat which merits special remembrance as an act of
extraordinary heroism and daring in the face of an enemy. The
town was moated and the single drawbridge suspended, so as to
cut off the approach of the insurgents. There were no boats to
cross the stagnant water ; and the insurgents, as they approached,
were dismayed by the difficulty of reaching a town which seemed
almost in their grasp. At this moment Guadalupe Victoria, sprang
into the moat, swam across the strait in sight of the soldiers in the
town who seem to have been panic struck by his signal courage,
and cut the ropes that suspended the drawbridge, which, immedi-
ately falling over the moat, allowed the soldiers of Morelos a free
entrance into the city !

OAXACA CHILPANZINGO CALLEJA VICEROY ITURBIDE. 291

Here he rested for some time undisturbed by the Spaniards.
He conquered the whole of the province with the exception of
Acapulco, to which he laid siege in February, 1813, but it did not
lower its flag until the following August. The control of a whole
province, and the victories of Bravo and Matamoros, elsewhere in
1812 and 1813, considerably increased the importance and influence
of Morelos, who now devoted himself to the assemblage of a
national Congress at Chilpanzingo composed of the original Junta
of Zitacuaro, the deputies elected by the province of Oaxaca, and
others selected by them as representatives of the provinces which
were in the royalists' hands. On the 13th of November, 1813, this
body published a declaration of the absolute independence of
Mexico. J

Don Felix Maria Calleja,
LX. Viceroy of New Spain. — 1813 — 1816.

This was the period at which the star of the great leader, More-
los, culminated. Bravo was still occasionally successful, and the
commander-in-chief, concentrating his forces at Chilpanzingo,
prepared an expedition against the province of Valladolid. He
departed on the 8th of November, 1813 ; and, marching across a
hitherto untraversed country of a hundred leagues, he reached this
point about Christmas. But here he found a large force under
Llano and Colonel Iturbide, — who was still a loyalist — drawn
up to encounter him. He attacked the enemy rashly with his jaded
troops, and on the following day, was routed, with the loss of his
best regiments and all his artillery.

At Puruaran, Iturbide again assailed Morelos successfully, and
Matamoros was taken prisoner. Efforts were made to save the
life of this eminent soldier, yet Calleja, who had succeeded Venegas
as viceroy was too cruelly ungenerous to spare so daring a rebel.
He was shot, and his death was avenged by the slaughter of all
the prisoners who were in the hands of the insurgents.

For a while Morelos struggled bravely against adversity, his

1 We must mention an event, characteristic of Bravo, which occurred during this
period. Bravo took Palmar, by storm, after a resistance of three days. Three
hundred prisoners fell into his hands, who were placed at his disposal by Morelos,
Bravo immediately offered them to the viceroy Venegas in exchange for his father
Don Leonardo Bravo, who had been sentenced to death in the capital. The o#*r
was rejected, and Don Leonardo ordered to immediate execution. But the son at
once commanded the prisoners to be liberated, — savin- ihit ho M wished *o put it
out of his power to avenge his parent's death, lest, in the first moments oCgr>C thft
temptation should prove irresistible. " — Ward, 1 vol. 204.

292 REVERSES OF INSURGENTS MORELOS SHOT.

character and resources rising with every new danger, difficulty or
loss. But the die was cast. Oaxaca was recaptured by the royal-
ists on the 28th of March, 1814. Miguel Bravo died at Puebla on
the scaffold ; Galeana fell in battle ; and the Congress was driven
from Chilpanzingo to the forest of Apatzingo, where, on the 22d
of October, 1814, it enacted the constitution which bears the name
of its wild birth-place.

From this temporary refuge the insurgents resolved to cross the
country by rapid marches to Tehuacan in the province of Puebla,
where Mier y Teran had gathered a considerable force, which
Morelos imagined would become the nucleus of an overwhelming
army, as soon as he joined them. But his hopes were not destined
to be realized. He had advanced as far as Tesmaluca, when the
Indians of the village betrayed his slender forces to General
Concha, who fell upon them, on the 5th of November, 1815, in the
narrow gorge of a mountain road. The assault was from the rear ;
so that Morelos, ordering Nocalas Bravo to hasten his march with
the main body of the army as an escort for the illstared congress,
resolved to fight the royalists until he placed the national legisla-
ture out of danger. " My life " — said he — " is of little conse-
quence, provided congress be saved : — my race was run when I
saw an independent government established ! "

The brave soldier-priest, with fifty men, maintained the pass
against Concha, until only one trooper was left beside him. So
furious was his personal bearing, during this mortal conflict, that
the royalists feared to advance until he was bereft of all support.
When finally captured, he was stripped, chained, treated with the
most shameless cruelty, and carried back to Tesmaluca. Concha,
however, was less cruel than his men. He received the rebel
chief politely, and despatched him to the capital for trial. Crowds
of eager citizens flocked to see the celebrated partizan warrior who
had so long held the Spanish forces at bay. But his doom was
sealed ; and, on the 22d of December, 1815, Concha removed him
to the hospital of San Cristoval. After dining with the general,
and thanking him for his kindness, he walked to the rear of the
building, where, kneeling down, he bound a handkerchief over his
eyes and uttering the simple ejaculation, " Lord, if I have done
well, thou knowest it ; — if ill, to thy infinite mercy I commend my
soul, " — he gave the fatal signal to the soldiers who were drawn
up to shoot him.

CHAPTER III.

1816 — 1821.

APODACA VICEROY. — SPANISH CONSTITUTION OF 1812 PROCLAIM-
ED IN MEXICO. CONDITION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY.

VICTORIA MINA LANDS AT SOTO LA MARINA HIS EF-
FORTS LOS REMEDIOS GUERILLAS HE IS SHOT. PADRE

TORRES ITURBIDE APODOCA SELECTS HIM TO ESTABLISH

ABSOLUTISM. ITURBIDE PROMULGATES THE PLAN OF IGUA

LA ARMY OF THE THREE GUARANTIES.

Don Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, Conde del Venadito,
LXI. Viceroy of New Spain.

1816 — 1821.

With the death of Morelos the hopes of the insurgents were
crushed and their efforts paralized. This extraordinary man, so
fertile in resources, and blending in himself the mingled power of
priest and general, had secured the confidence of the masses, who
found among his officers, none upon whom they could rally with
perfect reliance. Besides this, the congress which had been con-
ducted safely to Tehuacan by Bravo, was summarily dissolved by
General Teran, who considered it an "inconvenient appendage of a
camp. " We cannot but regard this act of the general as unwise
at a moment, when the insurgents lost such a commander as
Morelos. By the dissolution of the congress the nation abandoned
another point of reunion ; and from that moment, the cause began
to fail in all parts of the country.

The Constitution, sanctioned by the Cortes in 1812, had,
meanwhile, been proclaimed in Mexico, on the 29th of September
of that year ; and, whilst the people felt somewhat freer under it,
they were enabled, by the liberty of the press, which lasted sixty-
six days, to expend their new-born patriotism on paper instead of

38

294 CONDITION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY.

in battles. These popular excitements, served to sustain the
spirits of the people, notwithstanding the losses of the army ; so
that when Apodaca, assumed the reins of the viceroyalty in 1816,
the country was still republican at heart, though all the insurgent
generals were either captured or hidden in the wilderness, whilst
their disbanded forces, in most instances, had accepted the indultoy
or pardon, proffered for their return to allegiance.

The remaining officers of Morelos spread themselves over the
country, as there was no longer any centre of action ; and each of
them, occupying a different district, managed, for a while, to sup-
port revolutionary fervor throughout the neighborhood. " Guerrero
occupied the west coast, where he maintained himself until the
year 1821, when he joined Iturbide. Rayon commanded in the
vicinity of Tlalpujahua, where he successively maintained two for-
tified camps on the Cerro del Gallo, and on Coporo. Teran held
the district of Tehuacan, in Puebla. Bravo was a wanderer
throughout the country. The Bajio was tyrannized over by the
Padre Torres, while Guadalupe Victoria occupied the important
province of Vera Cruz. " l

The chief spite of the royalists, — who hunted these republican
heroes, among the forests and mountain fastnesses of Mexico, as
the Covenanters had been hunted in Scotland, — seems to have
fallen upon the last named of these patriot generals. Victoria's
haunt was chiefly in the passes near the Puente del Rey, now the
Puente Nacional, or National bridge, on the road leading from the
port of Vera Cruz to the capital. He was prepared to act either
with a large force of guerillas, or, with a simple body guard ; and,
knowing the country perfectly, he was enabled to descend from his
fastnesses among the rocks, and thus to cut off, almost entirely, all
communication between the coast and the metropolis. At length,
superior forces were sent to pursue him with relentless fury. His
men gradually deserted, when the villages that formerly supplied
them with food refused further contributions. Efforts were made
to seduce him from his principles and to ensure his loyalty. But
he refused the rank and rewards offered by the viceroy as the price
of his submission. At length he found himself alone in his
resistance, in the midst of countrymen, who, if they would no
longer fight under his banner, were too faithful to betray him.
Yet he would not abandon the cause, but, taking his sword and
a small stock of raiment, departed for the mountains, where he

1 Ward vol. i, 221.

VICTORIA MINA LANDS AT SOTO LA MARINA. 295

wandered for thirty months, living on the fruits of the forest and
gnawing the bones of dead animals found in their recesses. Nor
did he emerge from this impenetrable concealment, until two faith-
ful Indians, whom he had known in prosperous days, sought him
out with great difficulty, and, communicating the joyous intelli-
gence of the revolution of 1821, brought him back once more to
their villages where he was received with enthusiastic reverence as
a patriot raised from the dead. When discovered by the Indians
he was worn to a skeleton, covered with hair, and clad in a tattered
wrapper ; but, amid all his distresses and losses, he had preserved
and treasured his loyalty to the cause of liberty and his untarnish-
ed sword !

Meanwhile another actor in this revolutionary army had appeared
upon the stage. This was Xavier Mina, a guerilla chief of old
Spain, who fled from his country, in consequence of the unfortu-
nate effort to organize an outbreak in favor of the Cortes, at
Pampeluna, after the dissolution of that assembly by the king. He
landed on the coast of Mexico at Soto la Marina with a brave band
of foreigners, chiefly North Americans, on the 15th of April, 1817.
His forces amounted to only three hundred and fifty-nine men,
including officers, of whom fifty-one deserted before he marched
into the interior. Leaving one hundred of these soldiers at Soto la
Marina under the command of Major Sarda, he attempted with the
remainder, to join the independents in the heart of the country.

Mina pressed onwards successfully, defeating several royalist
parties, until he reached Sombrero, wrhence he sallied forth upon
numerous expeditions, one ' of which was against the fortified
hacienda or plantation of the Marques of Jaral, a Creole nobleman,
from which the inhabitants and the owner fled at his approach.
His troops sacked this wealthy establishment, and Mina transferred
to the public chest one hundred and forty thousand dollars, found
concealed in the house. This nobleman, it is true, had given in
his adhesion to the royal cause and fortified his dwelling against
the insurgents who hitherto refrained from attacking him. Never-
theless, the unprovoked blow of an independent leader against a
native of the country, and especially against a man whose exten-
sive farming operations concentrated the interests of so large a
laboring class, was not calculated to inspire confidence in Mina
among the masses of the people.

Whilst the guerilla chief was thus pursuing his way successfully
in the heart of the country, and receiving occasional reinforcements
from the natives, the garrison he left at Soto la Marina fell into the

296 HIS EFFORTS LOS REMEDIOS GUERILLAS.

hands of Spanish levies, two thousand of whom surrounded the
slender band. Notwithstanding the inequality of forces between
the assailants and the besieged, the royalists were unable to take
the place by storm ; but, after repeated repulses, General Arre-
dondo proposed terms wrhich were accepted by Major Sarda, the
independent commander. It is scarcely necessary to say that this
condition was not fulfilled by the Spaniards, who sent the capitu-
lated garrison in irons, by a circuitous journey, to the sickly Castle
of San Juan de Ulua at Vera Cruz, whence some of the unfortunate
wretches were marched into the interior whilst others were de-
spatched across the sea to the dungeons of Cadiz, Melilla and
Ceuta. This was a severe blow to Mina, who nevertheless was
unparalized by it but continued active in the vicinity of Sombrero
to which he retreated after an illjudged attempt upon the town of
Leon, where the number of his troops was considerably diminished.
Sombrero was invested, soon after, by a force of three thousand
five hundred and forty soldiers, under Don Pascual Linan, who
had been appointed Field Marshal, by Apodaca, and despatched to
the Bajio. This siege was ultimately successful on the part of the
royalists. The fresh supplies promised to Mina did not arrive.
Colonel Young, his second in command, died in repulsing an as-
sault ; and, upon the garrison's attempting to evacuate the towTn,
under Qolonel Bradburn, on the night of the 19th of August, the
enemy leil upon the independents with such vigor that but fifty of
Mina's whole corps escaped. " No quarter," says Ward, "was
given in the field, and the unfortunate wretches who had been
left in the hospital wounded, were by Linan's orders, carried or
dragged along the ground from their beds to the square where they
were stripped and shot ! "

Mina, as a last resort, threw himself into the fort of Los Reme-
dios, a natural fortification on the lofty mountain chain rising out
of the plains of the Bajio between Silao and Penjamo, separated
from the rest by precipices, and deep ravines.

Linan's army sat down before Remedios on the 27th of August.
Mina left the town so as to assail the army from without by his
guerillas, whilst the garrison kept the main body engaged with the
fort. During this period he formed the project of attacking the
town of Guanajuato, which, in fact, he accomplished; yet, after his
troops had penetrated the heart of the city, their courage failed and
they retreated before the loyalists who rallied after the panic created
by the unexpected assault at nightfall. On retreating from Guana-
juato, our partizan warrior took the road to the Rancho del Vena-

HE IS SHOT PADRE TORRES ITURBIDE. 297

dito where he designed passing the night in order to consult upon
his future plans with his friend Mariano Herrera. Here he was
detected by a friar, who apprised Orrantia of the brave Mina's
presence, and, on the morning of the 27th of October, he was
seized and conveyed to Irapuato. On the 11th of November,
1817, in the 28th year of his age, he was shot by order of Apo-
daca, on a rock, in sight of Los Remedios.

At the end of December the ammunition of the insurgents in this
stronghold was entirely exhausted, and its evacuation was resolved
on. This was attempted on the 1st of January, 1818, but, wTith
the exception of Padre Torres, the commander, and twelve of
Mina's division, few or none of the daring fugitives escaped. The
wretched inmates of the fort, the women, and garrison hospitals of
wounded, were cut down, bayoneted, and burned. On the 6th of
March, the fort of Jauxilla, the insurgents' last stronghold in the
central parts of the country, fell, while, towards the middle of the
year, all the revolutionary chiefs were dislodged and without com-
mands, except Guerrero, who still maintained himself on the right
bank of the river Zacatula, near Colima, on the Pacific. But even
he was cut off from communication with the interior, and was al-
together without hope of assistance from without. The heart of
the nation, and the east coast, — which was of most importance so
far as the reception of auxiliaries by the independents was con-
cerned,— were, thus, in complete possession of the royalists; so
that a viceroy declared in his despatches to Spain, "that he
would be answerable for the safety of Mexico without a single ad-
ditional soldier being sent out to reinforce the armies that were in
the field. "

But the viceroy Apodaca, confident as he was of the defeat of
the insurrection, did not know the people with whom he dealt as
well as his predecessor Calleja,1 who, with all his cruelty, seems
to have enjoyed sagacious intervals in which he comprehended
perfectly the deep seated causes of revolutionary feeling in Mexico,
even if he was indisposed to sympathize wTith them or to permit
their manifestation by the people. In fact, the revolution was not
quelled. It slept, for want of a leader ; — but, at last he appeared
in the person of Agustin de Iturbide, a native Mexican, whose
military career, in the loyalist cause had been not only brilliant but
eminently useful, for it was in consequence of the two severe blows
inflicted by him upon the insurgents in the actions of Valladolid

' See Calleja's confidential letter to the Spanish minister of war, with a private
report on the Mexican Revolution. Ward, vol. i, p. 509 — Appendix.

298 APODOCA SELECTS HIM TO ESTABLISH ABSOLUTISM.

and Puruaran that the great army of Morelos was routed and de-
stroyed.

In 1820, Apodoca, who was no friend of the constitution, and
who suffered a diminution of power by its operation, was well dis-
posed to put it down by force, and to proclaim once more the ab-
solute authority of the king. The elective privileges, which the
constitution secured to the people, together with the principles of
freedom which those elections were calculated to foster among the
masses, were considered by the viceroy as dangerous in a country
so recently the theatre of revolution. The insurrection was re-
garded by him as ended forever. He despised, perhaps, the few
distinguished persons who yet quietly manifested their preference
for liberalism ; and, like all men of despotic character and confident
of power, he undervalued the popular masses, among whom there
is ever to be found common sense, true appreciation of natural
rights, and firmness to vindicate them whenever they are confident
of the leaders who are to control their destiny when embarked
upon the stormy sea of rebellion.

Apodaca, in pursuit of his project to restore absolutism on this
continent, fixed his eyes upon the gallant Iturbide, whose po-
lished manners, captivating address, elegant person, ambitious
spirit, and renowned military services, signalized him as a person
likely to play a distinguished part in the restoration of a supreme
power whose first favors would probably be showered upon the
successful soldier of a crusade against constitutional freedom.

Accordingly the viceroy offered Iturbide the command of a force
upon the west coast, at the head of which he was to proclaim the
re-establishment of the king's absolute authority. The command
was accepted ; but Iturbide, who had been for four years unem-
ployed, had, in this interval of repose, reflected well upon the con-
dition of Mexico, and was satisfied that if the Creoles could be in-
duced to co-operate with the independents, the Spanish yoke might
be cast off. There were only eleven Spanish expeditionary regi-
ments in the whole of Mexico, and although there were upwards
of seventy thousand old Spaniards in the different provinces who
supported these soldiers, they could not oppose, effectually, the
seven veteran and seventeen provincial regiments of natives, aided
by the masses of people who had signified their attachment to
liberalism.

Instead, therefore, of allying himself with the cause of a falling
monarchy, whose reliance must chiefly be confined to succors from
across the ocean, Iturbide resolved to abandon the viceroy and his

ITURBIDE PROMULGATES THE PLAN OF IGUALA. 299

criminal project against the constitution, and to throw himself with
his forces upon the popular cause of the country. It was a bold
but successful move.

On the 24th of February, 1821, he was at the small town of
Iguala, on the road to Acapulco ; and on that day, at his head-
quarters, he proclaimed the celebrated Plan of Iguala, the sev-
eral principles of which are : — " Independence, the maintenance
of Roman Catholicity, and Union;" — whence his forces obtained
the name of the "Army of the three Guaranties."

As this is probably one of the most important state papers in the
history of Mexico, and is often referred to without being fully un-
derstood, we shall present it to the reader entire :
Plan of Iguala.

Article 1. — The Mexican nation is independent of the Span-
ish nation, and of every other, even on its own continent.

Art. 2. — Its religion shall be the Catholic, which all its in-
habitants profess.

Art. 3. — They shall all be united, without any distinction
between Americans and Europeans.

Art. 4. — The government shall be a constitutional monarchy.

Art. 5. — A Junta shall be named, consisting of individuals
who enjoy the highest reputation in different parties which have
shown themselves.

Art. 6. — This Junta shall be under the presidency of his ex-
cellency the Conde del Venadito, the present viceroy of Mexico.

Art. 7. — It shall govern in the name of the nation, according
to the laws now in force, and its principal business will be to
convoke, according to such rules as it shall deem expedient, a
congress for the formation of a constitution more suitable to the
country.

Art. 8. — His Majesty Ferdinand VII. shall be invited to the
throne of the empire, and in case of his refusal, the Infantes
Don Carlos and Don Francisco De Paula.

Art. 9. — Should his Majesty Ferdinand VII. and his august
brothers, decline the invitation, the nation is at liberty to invite to
the imperial throne any member of reigning families whom it may
choose to select.

Art. 10. — The formation of the constitution by the congress,
and the oath of the emperor to observe it, must precede his entry
into the country.

Art. 11. — The distinction of castes is abolished, which was
made by the Spanish law, excluding them from the rights of citi-

300 , ARMY OF THE THREE GUARANTIES.

zenship. All the inhabitants are citizens, and equal, and the door
of advancement is open to virtue and merit.

Art. 12. — An army shall be formed for the support of religion,
independence, and union, guaranteeing these three principles, and
therefore shall be called the army of the three guaranties.

Art* 13. — It shall solemnly swear to defend the fundamental
basis of this plan.

Art. 14. — It shall strictly observe the military ordinances now
in force.

Art. 15. — There shall be no other promotions than those which
are due to seniority, or which are necessary for the good of the
service.

Art. 16. — The army shall be considered as of the line.

Art. 17. — The old partizans of independence who shall adhere
to this plan, shall be considered as individuals of this army.

Art. 18. — The patriots and peasants who shall adhere to it
hereafter, shall be considered as provincial militiamen.

Art. 19. — The secular and regular priests shall be continued in
the state which they now are.

Art. 20. — All the public functionaries, civil, ecclesiastical, po-
litical and military, who adhere to the cause of independence, shall
oe continued in their offices, without any distinction between
Americans and Europeans.

Art. 21. — Those functionaries, of whatever degree and condi-
tion who dissent from the cause of independence, shall be divested
of their offices, and shall quit the territory without taking with
them their families and effects.

Art. 22. — The military commandants shall regulate themselves
according to the general instructions in conformity with this plan,
which shall be transmitted to them.

Art. 23. — No accused person shall be condemned capitally by
the military commandants. Those accused of treason against the
nation, which is the next greatest crime after that of treason to the
Divine Ruler, shall be conveyed to the fortress of Barbaras, where
they shall remain until congress shall resolve on the punishment
that ought to be inflicted on them.

Art. 24. — It being indispensable to the country, that this plan
should be carried into effect, inasmuch as the welfare of that
country is its object, every individual of the army shall maintain it,
to the shedding ( if it be necessary) of the last drop of his blood.

Town of Iguala, 24th February, 1821.

CHAPTER IV
1821 — 1824.

CONDUCT OF ITURBIDE NOVELLA. RE-
VOLT TREATY OF CORDOVA. FIRST MEXICAN CORTES

ITURBIDE EMPEROR HIS CAREER EXILED TO ITALY.

ITURBIDE RETURNS ARREST EXECUTION HIS CHARACTER

AND SERVICES.

O'Donoju, LXII. Viceroy of New Spain,
Iturbide, Emperor of Mexico. — 1821 — 1824.

It will be seen by the Plan of Iguala, that Mexico was designed
to become an independent sovereignty under Ferdinand VII. or, in
the event of his refusal, under the Infantes Don Carlos and Don
Francisco de Paula. Iturbide was still a royalist — not a repub-
lican ; and it is very doubtful whether he would ever have assented
to popular authority, even had his life been spared to witness the
final development of the revolution. It is probable that his pene-
trating mind distinguished between popular hatred of unjust
restraint, and the genuine capacity of a nation for liberty, nor is it
unlikely that he found among his countrymen but few of those self-
controling, self-sacrificing and progressive elements, which consti-
tute the only foundation upon which a republic can be securely
founded. His ambition had not yet been fully developed by
success, and it cannot be imagined that he had already fixed his
beart upon the imperial throne.

When the Plan of Iguala was proclaimed, the entire army of the
future emperor, consisted of only eight hundred men, all of whom
took the oath of fidelity to the project, though many deserted when
they found the country was not immediately unanimous in its
approval.

In the capital, the viceroy appears to have been paralized by the
sudden and unexpected movement of his officer. He paused,
hesitated, failed to act, and was deposed by the Europeans, who
treated him as they had Iturrigaray in 1808. Don Francisco de
Novella, an artillery officer, was installed temporarily in his stead,
but the appointment created a dissension among the people in the

39

302 REVOLT TREATY OF CORDOVA.

capital and the country, and this so completely prostrated the action
of the central authorities, who might have crushed the revolution
by a blow, that Iturbide was enabled to prosecute his designs
throughout the most important parts of the interior of the country
without the slightest resistance.

He seized a million of dollars on their way to the west coast
and joined Guerrero who still held out on the river Zacatula with
the last remnant of the old revolutionary forces. Guerrero gave in
his adhesion to Iturbide, as soon as he ascertained that it was the
general's design to make Mexico independent, though, in all likeli-
hood, he disapproved the other features of the plan. Guerrero's
act was of the greatest national importance It rallied all the
veteran fighters and friends of Morelos and the Bravos. Almost
all of the former leaders and their dispersed bands, came forth, at
the cry of "independence," under the banner of Iturbide. Vic
toria even, for a while, befriended the rising hero \ but he had
fought for a liberal government, and did not long continue on
amicable terms with one who could not control his truly indepen-
dent spirit. The clergy, as well as the people, signified their
intention to support the gallant insurgent; — and, in fact, the
whole country, from Vera Cruz to Acapulco, with the exception of
the capital, was soon open in its adhesion to him and his army.

Don Juan O'Donoju,
LXII. Viceroy of New Spain. — 1821.

of
•ch

Iturbide was now in full authority, and whilst preparing to march
on the city of Mexico, in which the viceroy, ad interim, was shut
up, he learned that Don Juan O'Donoju had arrived at San Juan
de Ulua to fill the place of Apodaca as viceroy. Proposals were
immediately sent by the general to this new functionary, and in an
interview with him at Cordova, Iturbide proposed the adoption of
the Plan of Iguala by treaty, as the only project by which the
Spaniards in Mexico could be saved from the fury of the people,
and the sovereignty of the colony preserved for Ferdinand. We
shall not pause to enquire whether the viceroy was justified or even
empowered, to compromise the rights of Spain by such a compact.
O'Donoju, though under the safeguard of a truce, was in truth a
helpless man as soon as he touched the soil of Mexico, for no
portions of it were actually under the Spanish authority except the
castle of San Juan de Ulua and the capital, whose garrisons were
chiefly composed of European levies. Humanity, perhaps, ulti-
mately controled his decision, and in the name of his master, he

FIRST MEXICAN CORTES ITURBIDE EMPEROR. 303

recognised the independence of Mexico and yielded the metropolis
to the " army of the three Guaranties, " which entered it peacefully
on the 27th of September, 1821. A provisional Junta of thirty-six
persons immediately elected a regency of five, of which Iturbide
was president, and, at the same time, he was created Generalissimo,
Lord High Admiral, and assigned a yearly stipend of one hundred
and twenty thousand dollars.

On the 24th of February, 1822, the first Mexican Congress or
Cortes, met; but it contained within it the germ of all the future
discontents, which since that day, have harassed and nearly ruined
Mexico. Scarcely had this body met when three parties manifested
their bitter animosities and personal ambitions. The Bourbonists
adhered, loyally, to the Plan of Iguala, a constitutional monarchy
and the sovereignty of Ferdinand. The Republicans, discarded
the plan as a device that had served its day, and insisted upon a
central or federal republic ; and, last of all, the partisans of the
successful soldier, still clung to all of the plan save the clause
which gave the throne to a Bourbon prince, for, at heart, they
desired to place Iturbide himself upon it, and thus to cut off their
country forever from all connection with Europe.

As soon as O'Donoju's treaty of Cordova reached Spain, it was
nullified by the Cortes, and the Bourbon party in Mexico, of course
fell with it. The Republicans and Iturbidists, alone remained on
the field to contend for the prize, and after congress had disgraced
itself by incessant bickerings over the army and the public funds, a
certain Pio Marcha, first sergeant of the first regiment of infantry
gathered a band of leperos before the palace of Iturbide on the
night of the 18th of May, 1822, and proclaimed him Emperor, with
the title of Agustin the First. A show of resistance was made
by Iturbide against the proffered crown ; but it is likely that it was
in reality, as faint as his joy was unbounded at the sudden elevation
from a barrack room to the imperial palace. Congress, of course,
approved the decision of the mob and army. The provinces
sanctioned the acts of their representatives, and Iturbide ascended
the throne.

But his reign was brief. Rapid success, love of power, impa-
tience of restraint, — all of which are characteristic of the Spanish
soldier, — made him strain the bonds of constitutional right. His
struggles for control were incessant. " He demanded," says
Ward, " a veto upon all articles of the constitution then under dis-
cussion, and the right of appointing and removing, at pleasure, the
members of the supreme tribunal of justice. He recommended

304 HIS CAREER EXILED TO ITALY.

also the establishment of a military tribunal in the capital, \nth
powers but little inferior to those exercised by the Spanish com
mandants during the revolution ; and when these proposals were
firmly rejected, he arrested, on the night of the 26th August, 1822
fourteen of the deputies who had advocated, during the discussion
principles but little in unison with the views of the government."

This high handed measure, and the openly manifested displea
sure of congress, produced so complete a rupture between the em
peror and the popular representatives, that it was impossible to
conduct public affairs with any concert of action. Accordingly
Iturbide dissolved the assembly, and on the 30th of October, 1822
created an Instituent Junta of forty-five persons selected by himseli
from amongst the most pliant members of the recent congress
This irregularly formed body was intolerable to the people, while
the expelled deputies, who returned to their respective districts
soon spread the spirit of discontent and proclaimed the American
usurper to be as dangerous as the European despot.

In November, General Garza headed a revolt in the northern
provinces. Santa Anna, then governor of Vera Cruz, declared
againt the emperor. General Echavari, sent by Iturbide to crush
the future president of Mexico, resolved not to stem the torrent of
public opinion, and joined the general he had been commissioned
to capture. Guadalupe Victoria, — driven to his fastnesses by the
emperor, who was unable to win the incorruptible patriot, de-
scended once more from the mountain forests, where he had been
concealed, and joined the battalions of Santa Anna. And, on the
1st of February, 1823, a convention, called the "Act of Casa-
Mata," was signed, by which the re-establishment of the National
Representative Assembly was pledged.

The country was soon in arms. The Marques Vibanco, Gen-
erals Guerrero, Bravo, and Negrete, in various sections of the
nation, proclaimed their adhesion to the popular movement ; and
on the 8th of March, 1823, Iturbide, finding that the day was lost,
offered his abdication to such members of the old congress as he
was able to assemble hastily in the metropolis. The abdication
was, however, twice refused on the ground that congress, by ac-
cepting it, would necessarily sanction the legality of his right to
wear the crown ; nevertheless, that body permitted his departure
from Mexico, after endowing him liberally with an income of
twenty-five thousand dollars a year, besides providing a vessel to
bear him and his family to Leghorn in Italy.

Victoria, Bravo, and Negrete entered the capital on the 27th of

ITURBIDE RETURNS ARREST EXECUTION. 305

March, and were chosen by the old congress which quickly reas-
sembled, as a triumvirate to exercise supreme executive powers
until the new congress assembled in the following August. In
October, 1824, this body finally sanctioned the federal constitution,
which, after various revolutions, overthrows, and reforms, was re-
adopted in the year 1847.

On the 14th of July, 1824, a vessel under British colors was per-
ceived on the Mexican coast near the mouth of the Santander. On
the next day, a Polish gentlemen came on shore from the ship, and,
announcing himself as Charles de Beneski, visited General Felix la
Garza, commandant of the district of Soto la Marina* He pro-
fessed to visit that remote district, with a friend, for the purpose of
purchasing land from the government on which they designed es-
tablishing a colony. Garza gave them leave to enter the country
for this purpose ; but suspicions were soon aroused against the
singular visiters and they were arrested. As soon as the friend of
the Pole was stripped of his disguise, the Emperor Iturbide stood
in front of Garza, whom he had disgraced for his participation in
the revolt during his brief reign.

La Garza immediately secured the prisoner, and sent him to
Padilla, where he delivered him to the authorities of Tamaulipas.
The state legislature being in session, promptly resolved, in the
excess of patriotic zeal, to execute a decree of the congress, passed
in the preceding April, by condemning the royal exile to death.
Short time was given Iturbide to arrange his affairs. He was
allowed no appeal to the general government. He confessed to a
priest on the evening of the 19th of July, and was led to the place
of execution, where he fell, pierced with four balls, two of which
took effect in his brain and two in his heart !

Thus perished the hero who, suddenly, unexpectedly, and ef-
fectually, crushed the power of Spain in North America. It is not
fair to judge him by the standards that are generally applied to the
life of a distinguished civilian, or even of a successful soldier, in
countries where the habits and education of the people fit them for
duties requiring forbearance, patience, or high intellectual culture.
Iturbide was, according to all reliable accounts, a refined gentle-
man, yet he was tyrannical and sometimes cruel, for it is recorded
in his own handwriting, that on Good Friday, 1814, " in honor of
the day, he had just ordered three hundred excommunk;iinl
wretches to be shot ! " His early life was passed in the saddle
and the barrack room ; nor had he much leisure to pursue the
studies of a statesman, even if his mind had been capable of re-

306 HIS CHARACTER AND SERVICES.

solving all their mysteries. His temper was not calculated for the
liberal debates of a free senate. He was better fitted to discipline
an army than to guide a nation. Educated in a school in which
subordination is a necessity, and where unquestioning obedience is
exacted, he was unable to appreciate the rights of deliberative as-
semblies. He felt, perhaps, that, in the disorganized condition of
his country, it was needful to control the people by force in order
to save the remnant of civilization from complete anarchy. But he
wanted conciliatory manners to seduce the congress into obedience
to his behests, — and he therefore unfortunately and unwisely
played the military despot when he should have acted the part of a
quiet diplomatist. Finding himself, in two years, emperor of
Mexico, after being, at the commencement of that period, nothing
more than commander of a regiment, it may be pardoned if he was
bewildered by the rapidity of his rise, and if the air he breathed in
his extraordinary ascent was too etherial for a man of so excitable
a temperament.

In every aspect of his character, we must regard him as one al-
together inadequate to shape the destiny of a nation emerging from
the blood and smoke of two revolutions, — a nation whose political
tendencies towards absolute freedom, were at that time, naturally,
the positive reverse of his own.

Death sealed the lips of men who might have clamored for him
in the course of a few years, when the insubordinate spirit that was
soon manifested needed as bold an arm as that of Iturbide, in his
best days, to check or guide it. Public opinion was decidedly op-
posed to his sudden and cruel slaughter. Mexicans candidly ac-
knowledged that their country's independence was owing to him ;
and whilst they admitted that Garza's zeal for the emperor's exe-
cution might have been lawful, they believed that revenge foi
his former disgrace, rather than patriotism, induced the rash and
ruthless soldier to hasten the death of the noble victim whom for-
tune had thrown in his lonely path.

^^t^^ Jks j^£u»j&^

CHAPTER V.

1824 — 1829.

REVIEW OF THE CONDITION OF MEXICO AND THE FORMATION OF

PARTIES. VICEROYAL GOVERNMENT THE PEOPLE THE

ARMY THE CHURCH. CONSTITUTION OF 1824. ECHAVARI

REVOLTS. VICTORIA PRESIDENT ESCOCESSES YORKINOS

REVOLTS CONTINUED. MONTAYNO GUERRERO. GOMEZ

PEDRAZA PRESIDENT IS OVERTHROWN. FEDERALISTS

CENTRALISTS GUERRERO PRESIDENT. ABOLITION OF SLAVE-
RY IN MEXICO.

We must pause a moment over the past history of Mexico,
for the portion we now approach has few of the elements either
of union or patriotism which characterized the early struggles for
national independence. The revolutionary war had merited and
received the commendation of freemen throughout the world. The
prolonged struggle exhibited powers of endurance, an unceasing
resolution, and a determination to throw off European thraldom,
which won the respect of those northern powers on this continent
who were most concerned in securing to themselves a republican
neighborhood. But, as soon as the dominion of Spain was
crushed, the domestic quarrels of Mexico began, and we have
already shown that in the three parties formed in the first congress,
were to be found the germs of all the feuds that have since vexed
the republic or impeded its successful progress towards national
grandeur. After the country had been so long a battle field, it
was perhaps difficult immediately to accustom the people to civil
rule or to free them from the baleful influence which military glory
is apt to throw round individuals who render important services to
their country in war. Even in our own union, where the ballot
box instead of the bayonet has always controled elections, and
where loyalty to the constitution would blast the effort of ambitious
men to place a conqueror in power by any other means than that
of peaceful election, we constantly find how difficult it is to screen
the people's eyes from the bewildering glare of military glory.
What then could we expect from a country in which the self-rely-
ing, self-ruling, civil idea never existed at any period of its pre-
vious history? The revolution of the North American colonies

308 VICEROYAL GOVERNMENT THE PEOPLE.

I

was not designed to obtain liberty, for they were already free ; but
it was excited and successfully pursued in order to prevent th%
burthensome and aggressive impositions of England which would
have curtailed that freedom, and, reduced us to colonial depen-
dence as well as royal or ministerial dictation. Mexico, on the con-
trary, had never been free. Spain regarded the cotmtry as a mine
which was to be diligently wrought, and the masses of the people
as acclimated serfs whose services were the legitimate perquisites
of a court and aristocracy beyond the sea. There had been,
among the kings and viceroys who controled the destinies of New
Spain, men who were swayed by just and amiable views of colo-
nial government ; but the majority considered Mexico as a specula-
tion rather than an infant colony whose progressive destiny it was
their duty to foster with all the care and wisdom of christian magis-
trates. The minor officials misruled and peculated, as we have
related in our introductory sketch of the viceroyal government.
They were all men of the hour, and, even the viceroys themselves,
regarded their governments on the American continent as rewards
for services in Europe, enabling them to secure fortunes with
which they returned to the Castilian court, forgetful of the Indian
miner and agriculturist from whose sweat their wealth was coined.
The Spaniard never identified himself with Mexico. His home
was on the other side of the Atlantic. Few of the best class
formed permanent establishments in the viceroyalty; and all of
them were too much interested in maintaining both the state of
society and the castes which had been created by the conquerors,
to spend a thought upon the amelioration of the people. We do
not desire to blacken, by our commentary, the fame of a great
nation like that of Spain ; yet this dreary but true portrait of
national selfishness has been so often verified by all the colonial
historians of America, and especially by Pazo and Zavala, in their
admirable historical sketches of Castilian misrule, that we deem
it fair to introduce these palliations of Mexican misconduct since
the revolution. Y

The people of New Spain were poor and uneducated, — the
aristocracy was rich, supercilious, and almost equally illiterate. It
was a society without a middle ground, — in which gold stood out
in broad relief against rags. Was such a state of barbaric semi-
civilization entitled or fitted to emerge at once into republicanism ?

1 Zavala's Hist. Rev. of Mex. 2 vols.; — and Pazo's letters on the United Provinces
of South America.

THE ARMY THE CHURCH. 309

Was it to be imagined that men who had always been controled,
could learn immediately to control themselves ? Was it to be
believed that the military personages, whose ambition is as pro-
verbial as it is natural, would voluntarily surrender the power they
possessed over the masses, and retire to the obscurity and poverty
of private life when they could enjoy the wealth and influence of
political control, so long as they maintained their rank in the
army ? This would have been too much to expect from the self-
denial of Creole chiefs ; nor is it surprising to behold the people
themselves looking towards these very men as proper persons to
consolidate or shape the government they had established. It was
the most natural thing conceivable to find Iturbide, Guerrero, Bus-
tamante, Negrete, Bravo, Santa Anna, Paredes, and the whole host
of revolutionary heroes succeeding each other in power, either con-
stitutionally or by violence. The people knew no others. The
military idea, — military success, — a name won in action, and re-
peated from lip to lip until the traditionary sound became a house-
hold word among the herdsmen, rancheros, vaqueros and Indians,
— these were the sources of Mexican renown or popularity, and the
appropriate objects of political reward and confidence. What in-
dividual among the four or five millions of Indians knew anything
of the statesmen of their country who had never mixed in the
revolutionary war or in the domestic brawls constantly occurring.
There were no gazettes to spread their fame or merit, and even if
there had been, the people were unable to buy or peruse them.
Among the mixed breeds, and lower class of Creoles., an equal de-
gree of ignorance prevailed; — and thus, from the first epoch of in-
dependence, the People ceased to be a true republican tribunal in
Mexico, while the city was surrendered as the battle field of all the
political aspirants who had won reputations in the camp which
were to serve them for other purposes in the capital. By this
means the army rose to immediate significance and became the
general arbiter in all political controversies. Nor was the church,
— that other overshadowing influence in all countries in which re-
ligion and the state are combined, — a silent spectator in the
division of national power. The Roman Hierarchy, a large land-
holder, — as will be hereafter seen in our statistical view of the
country, — had much at stake in Mexico, besides the mere au-
thority which so powerful a body is always anxious to maintain
over the consciences of the multitude. The church was, thus, a
political element of great strength ; and, combined with the army,
created and sustained an important party, which has been untiring

40

310 CONSTITUTION OF 1824 ECHAVARI REVOLTS.

in its efforts to support centralism, as the true political principle of
Mexican government.

.

On the 4th of October, 1824, a federal constitution, framed
partly upon the model of the constitution of the United States, with
some grafts from the Spanish constitution, was adopted by Con-
gress ; and, by it, the territory comprehended in the old vieeroyalty
of New Spain, the Captaincy General of Yucatan, the commandan-
cies of the eastern and western Internal Provinces, Upper and
Lower California, with the lands and isles adjacent in both seas,
were placed under the protection of this organic law. The religion
of the Mexican nation was declared to be, in perpetuity, the
Catholic Apostolic Roman ; and the nation pledged its protection,
at the same time prohibiting the exercise of any other !

Previous, however, to these constitutional enactments the coun-
try had not been entirely quiet, for as early as January of this year,
General Echavari, who occupied the state of Puebla, raised the
standard of revolt against the Triumvirate. This seditious move-
ment was soon suppressed by the staunch old warrior, Guerrero,
who seized and bore the insurgent chief to the capital as a prisoner.
Another insurrection, occurred not long after in Cuernavaca, which
was also quelled by Guerrero. Both of these outbreaks were
caused by the centralists, who strove to put down by violence the
popular desire for the federal system. Instead of destroying the
favorite charter, however, they only served to cement the sections,
who sustained liberal doctrines in the different provinces or states
of the nation, and finally, aided materially in enforcing the adop-
tion of the federal system.

Another insurrection occurred in the city of Mexico, growing
out of the old and national animosity between the Creoles and the
European Spaniards. The expulsion of the latter from all public
employments was demanded by the Creoles of the capital, backed
by the garrison commanded by Colonels Lobato and Staboli. The
revolt was suppressed at the moment ; but it was deemed advisable
to conciliate feeling in regard to the unfortunate foreigners ; and,
accordingly, changes were made in the departments, in which the
offices were given to native Mexicans, whilst the Spaniards were
allowed a pension for life of one-third of their pay. At this period,
moreover, the supreme executive power was altered, and Nicolas
Bravo, Vicente Guerrero, and Miguel Dominguez, were appointed
to control public affairs until a president was elected under the
new constitution.

VICTORIA PRESIDENT ESCOCESSES YORKINOS. 311

Early in 1825, the general congress assembled in the city of
Mexico. Guadalupe Victoria was declared president, and Nicolas
Bravo vice president. The national finances were recruited by a
loan from England; and a legislative effort was made to narrow
the influence of the priesthood, according to the just limits it should
occupy in a republic.

All Spanish America had been in a ferment for several years,
and the power of Castile was forever broken on this continent
Peru, as well as Mexico, had cast off the bonds of dependence,
for the brilliant battle of Ayacucho rescued the republican banner
from the danger with which for a while it was menaced. The
European forces, had never been really formidable, except for their
superior discipline and control under royalist leaders, — but they
were now driven out of the heart of the continent, — whilst the
few pertinacious troops and generals who still remained, were con-
fined to the coasts of Mexico, Puru, and Chili, where they clung
to the fortress of San Juan de Ulua, the castle of Callao, and the
strongholds of Chiloe.

Victoria was sworn into office on the 15th of April, 1825.
Several foreign nations had already recognized the independence
of Mexico, or soon hastened to do so ; for all were eager to grasp
a share of the commerce and mines which they imagined had been
so profitable to Spain. The British, especially, who had become
holders of Mexican bonds, were particularly desirous to open com-
mercial intercourse and to guard it by international treaties.

In the winter of 1826, it was discovered, by the discussions in
congress of projects for their suppression, that the party leaders,
fearing an open attempt to conduct their unconstitutional machina-
tions, had sought the concealment of masonic institutions in which
they might foster their antagonistic schemes. The rival lodges
were designated as Escocesses and Yorkinos, the former numbering
among its members the vice president Nicolas Bravo, Gomez Pe-
draza, and Jose Montayno, while the Yorkinos boasted of Generals
Victoria, Santa Anna, Guerrero, Lorenzo de Zavala, and Busta-
mante. The adherents of the Escocesses were said to be in favor
of a limited monarchy with a Spanish prince at its head ; but the
Yorkinos maintained the supremacy of the constitution and declared
themselves hostile to all movements of a central character. The
latter party was, by far, the most numerous. The intelligent libe-
rals of all classes sustained it ; yet its leaders had to contend with
the dignitaries of the church, the opulent agriculturists, land holders
and miners, and many of the higher officers of the army whose

312

REVOLTS CONTINUED MONTAYNO GUERRERO.

names had been identified with the early struggles of the indepen
dents against the Spaniards.

These party discussions, mainly excited by the personal ambi-
tions of the disputants, which were carried on not only openly in
congress, but secretly in the lodges, absorbed for a long time, the
entire attention of the selfish but intelligent persons who should
have forgotten themselves in the holy purpose of consolidating the
free and republican principles of the constitution of 1824. The
result of this personal warfare was soon exhibited in the total neg-
lect of popular interests, so far as they were to be fostered or ad-
vanced by the action of congress. The states, however, were in
some degree, free from these internecine contests ; for the boldest
of the various leaders, and the most ambitious aspirants for power,
had left the provinces to settle their quarrels in the capital. This
was fortunate for the country, inasmuch as the states were in some
measure recompensed by their own care of the various domestic
industrial interests for the neglect they suffered at the hands of
national legislators.

At the close of 1827, Colonel Jose Montayno, a member of the
Escocesses, proclaimed, in Otumba, the plan which in the history
of Mexican pronunciamientos, or revolts, is known by the name of
this leader. Another attempt of a similar character had been pre-
viously made, against the federative system and in favor of central-
ism, by Padre Arenas ; but both of these outbreaks were not con-
sidered dangerous, until Bravo denounced president Victoria for his
union with the Yorkinos, and, taking arms against the government,
joined the rebels in Tulancingo, where he declared himself in favor
of the central plan of Montayno. The country was aroused. The
insurgents appeared in great strength. The army exhibited de-
cided symptoms of favor towards the revolted party; and the church
strengthened the elements of discontent by its secret influence with
the people. Such was the revolutionary state of Mexico, when the
patriot Guerrero was once more summoned by the executive to use
his energetic efforts in quelling the insurrection. Nor was he un-
successful in his loyal endeavors to support the constitution. As
soon as he marched against the insurgents, they dispersed through-
out the country ; so that, without bloodshed, he was enabled to
crush the revolt and save the nation from the civil war. Thus,
amid the embittered quarrels of parties, who had actually designed
to transfer their contests from congress and lodges to the field of
battle, terminated the administration of Guadalupe Victoria, the
first president of Mexico. His successor, Gomez Pedraza, the

GOMEZ PEDRAZA PRESIDENT IS OVERTHROWN. 313

candidate of the Escocesses, was elected by a majority of but two
votes over his competitor, Guerrero, the representative of the libe-
ral Yorkinos.

These internal discontents of Mexico began to inspire the Span-
ish court with hope that its estranged colony would be induced, or
perhaps easily compelled, after a short time, to return to its alle-
giance ; and, accordingly, it was soon understood in Mexico, even
during Victoria's administration, that active efforts were making in
Cuba to raise an adequate force for another attempt upon the re-
public. This, for a moment, restrained the fraternal hands raised
against each other within the limits of Mexico, and forced all par-
ties to unite against the common danger from abroad. Suitable
measures were taken to guard the coasts where an attack was most
imminent, and it was the good fortune of the government to secure
the services of Commodore Porter, a distinguished officer of the
United States Navy, who commanded the Mexican squadron most
effectively for the protection of the shores along the gulf, and took
a number of Spanish vessels, even in the ports of Cuba, some of
which were laden with large and costly cargoes.

The success of the centralist Pedraza over the federalist Guerrero,
a man whose name and reputation were scarcely less dear to the
genuine republicans than that of Guadalupe Victoria, — was not
calculated to heal the animosities of the two factions, especially, as
the scant majority of two votes had placed the Escoces partizan in the
presidential chair. The defeated candidate and his incensed com-
panions of the liberal lodge, did not exhibit upon this occasion that
loyal obedience to constitutional law, which should have taught
them that the first duty of a republican is to conceal his mortifica-
tion at a political defeat and to bow reverentially to the lawful de-
cision of a majority. It is a subject of deep regret that the first
bold and successful attack upon the organic law of Mexico was
made by the federalists. They may have deemed it their duty to
prevent their unreliable competitors from controling the destinies
of Mexico even for a moment under the sanction of the constitu-
tion ; but there can be no doubt that they should have waited until
acts, instead of suspicions or fears, entitled them to exercise their
right of impeachment under the constitution. In an unregulated,
military nation, such as Mexico was at that period, men do not
pause for the slow operations of law when there is a personal or a
party quarrel in question. The hot blood of the impetuous, tropical
region, combines with the active intellectual temperament of the

314 FEDERALISTS CENTRALISTS GUERRERO PRESIDENT.

people, and laws and constitutions are equally disregarded under
the impulse of passion or interest. Such was the case in the pre-
sent juncture. The Yorkinos had been outvoted lawfully, accord-
ing to the solemn record of congress, yet they resolved not to
submit ; and, accordingly, Lorenzo de Zavala, the Grand Master
of their lodge, and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who was then a
professed federalist, in conjunction with the defeated candidate
Guerrero and Generals Montezuma and Lobato, determined to
prevent Pedraza from occupying the chair of state. Santa Anna,
who now appeared prominently on the stage, was the chief agitator
in the scheme, and being in garrison at Jalapa, in the autumn of
1828, pronounced against the chief magistrate elect, and denounced
his nomination as "illegal, fraudulent and unconstitutional." The
movement was popular, for the people were in fact friendly to
Guerrero. The prejudices of the native or Creole party against the
Spaniards and their supposed defenders the Escocesses, were
studiously fomented in the capital ; and, on the 4th of December,
the pronunciamiento of the Accordada, in the capital, seconded the
sedition of Santa Anna in the provinces. By this time the arch
conspirator in this drama had reached the metropolis and labored
to control the elements of disorder which were at hand to support
his favorite Guerrero. The defenceless Spaniards were relentlessly
assailed by the infuriate mob which was let loose upon them by the
insurgent chiefs. Guerrero was in the field in person at the head of
the Yorkinos. The Parian in the capital, and the dwellings of many
of the noted Escocesses were attacked and pillaged, and for some
time the city was given up to anarchy and bloodshed. Pedraza,
who still fulfilled the functions of minister of war previous to his
inauguration, fled from the official post which he abandoned to his
rival Santa Anna; and on the 1st of January, 1829, congress, —
reversing its former act, — declared Guerrero to have been duly
elected president of the republic ! General Bustamante was chosen
vice president, and the government again resumed its operation
under the federal system of 1824.

Note. — Although a masked Indian slavery or peonage, is permitted and en-
couraged in Mexico, African slavery is prohibited by positive enactments as well
as by the constitution itself. But as it may interest the reader to know the Mexi-
can enactments relative to negroes, on this subject, the following documents are
subjoined for reference : —

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.

The President of the Mexican United States to the Inhabitants of the Republic.
Be it known — That, being desirous to signalize the anniversary of independence,
in the year 1829, by an act of national justice and beneficence, which may redound

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN MEXICO. 315

to the advantage and support of so inestimable a good ; which may further insure
the public tranquillity; which may tend to the aggrandisement of the republic, and
may reinstate an unfortunate portion of its inhabitants in the sacred rights which
nature gave to them, and the nation should protect by wise and just laws, con-
formably with the dispositions of the thirtieth article of the constituent act, employ-
ing the extrordinary faculties which have been conceded to me, I have resolved to
decree —

1. Slavery is and shall remain abolished in the republic.

2. In consequence, those who have hitherto been regarded as slaves, are free.

3. Whensoever the condition of the treasury shall permit, the owners of the
slaves shall be indemnified according to the terms which the law may dispose.

Guerrero.
Mexico, Sept. 15, 1829.

MEXICAN LAW FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE REPUBLIC.

Art. 1. — Slavery is abolished, without any exception, throughout the whole
republic.

2. The owners of the slaves manumitted by the present law, or by the decree of
September 15, 1829, shall be indemnified for their interests in them, to be estimated
according to the proofs which may be presented of their personal qualities; to
which effect, one appraiser shall be appointed by the commissary general, or the
person performing his duties, and another by the owner ; and, in case of disagree-
ment, a third, who shall be appointed by the respective constitutional alcalde ; and
from the decision thus made, there shall be no appeal. The indemnification men-
tioned in this article shall not be extended to the colonists of Texas, who may have
taken part in the revolution in that department.

3. The owners to whom the original documents drawn up with regard to the
proofs mentioned in the preceding article, shall be delivered gratis — shall them-
selves present them to the supreme government, which will authorise the general
treasury to issue to them the corresponding orders for the amount of their respec-
tive interests.

4. The payment of the said orders shall be made in the manner which may seem
most equitable to the government, with the view of reconciling the rights of indi-
viduals with the actual state of the public finances.

April 5, 1837.

The Constitution of 1843, or Bases organicas de la Republica Mejicana, of that year,
declares that: " JVb one is a slave in the territory cfthe nation, and that any slave who
may be introduced, shall be considered free and remain under the protection of the
laws."— Title 2d.

The Constitution of 1847— which, in fact, is the old Federal Constitution of 1824
—does not reenact this clause ; but, in the Acta dc Reformas annexed to it in 1847,
declares, " that every Mexican, either by birth or naturalization, who has attained
the age of twenty years, who possesses the means of an honest livelihood, and who
has not been condemned by legal process to any infamous punishment, is a citizen
of the United Mexican States."— Acta de Reformas, Article 1. "In order to secure
the rights of man which the Constitution recognizes, a law shall fix the guaranties
of liberty, security, property and equality, which all the inhabitants of the republic enjoy,
and shall establish the means requisite to make them effective."— Id. Article 5. The
third article provides that " the exercise of the rights of citizenship are suspended by
habitual intemperance; by professional gambling or vagabondage; by religious or
ders; by legal interdict in virtue of trial for those crimes which forfeit citizenship,
and by refusal to fulfil public duties imposed by popular nomination" (nombramienlc
popular.)

CHAPTER VI.

1829 — 1843.

CONSPIRACY AGAINST GUERRERO BY BUSTAMANTE GUERRERO

BETRAYED AND SHOT. ANECDOTE REVOLT UNDER SANTA

ANNA HE RESTORES PEDRAZA AND BECOMES PRESIDENT.

GOMEZ FARIAS DEPOSED CHURCH. — CENTRAL CONSTITUTION

OF 1836 SANTA ANNA HIS TEXAN DISGRACE MEXIA. ; —

BUSTAMANTE PRESIDENT. FRENCH AT VERA CRUZ. RE-
VOLTS IN THE NORTH AND IN THE CAPITAL. BUSTAMANTE

DEPOSED SANTA ANNA PRESIDENT.

Violent as was the conduct of the pretended liberals in over-
throwing their rivals the Escocesses, and firmly as it may be
supposed such a band was cemented in opposition to the machina-
tion of a bold monarchical party, we, nevertheless, find that treason
existed in the hearts of the conspirators against the patriot hero
whom they had used in their usurpation of the presidency. Scarce-
ly had Guerrero been seated in the chair of state when it became
known that there was a conspiracy to displace him. He had been
induced by the condition of the country, and by the bad advice of
his enemies to assume the authority of dictator. This power, he
alleged, was exercised only for the suppression of the intriguing
Escocesses ; but its continued exercise served as a pretext at least,
for the vice president, General Bustamante, to place himself at the
head of a republican division and pronounce against the president
he had so recently contributed to ; place in power. The executive
commanded Santa Anna to advance against the assailants ; but this
chief, at first, feebly opposed the insurgents, and, finally, frater-
nizing with Bustamante, marched on the capital whence they drove
Guerrero and his partisans to Valladolid in Michoacan. Here the
dethroned dictator organized a government, whilst the usurping
vice president, Bustamante, assumed the reins in the capital. In
Michoacan, Guerrero, who was well known and loved for his
revolutionary enterprises in the west of Mexico, found no difficulty
in recruiting a force with which he hoped to regain his executive
post. Congress was divided in opinion between the rival factions
of the liberalists, and the republic was shaken by the continual

GUERRERO BETRAYED AND SHOT. 317

strife, until Bustamante despatched a powerful division against
Guerrero, which defeated, and dispersed his army. This was the
conclusion of that successful warrior's career. He was a good
soldier but a miserable statesman. His private character and
natural disposition are represented, by those who knew him best,
to have been irreproachable ; yet he was fitted alone for the early
struggles of Mexico in the field, and was so ignorant of the admin-
istrative functions needed in his country at such a period, that it is
not surprising to find he had been used as a tool, and cast aside
when the service for which his intriguing coadjutors required him
was performed. His historical popularity and character rendered
him available for a reckless party in overthrowing a constitutional
election ; and, even when beaten by the new usurper, and with
scarcely the shadow of a party in the nation, it was still feared
that his ancient usefulness in the wars of independence, might
render him again the nucleus of political discontent. Accordingly,
the pursuit of Guerrero was not abandoned when his army fled.
The west coast was watched by the myrmidons of the usurpers,
and the war-worn hero was finally betrayed on board a vessel by a
spy, where he was arrested for bearing arms against the govern-
ment of which he was the real head, according to the solemn
decision of congress ! In February, 1831, a court martial, ordered
by General Montezuma tried him for this pretended crime. His
sentence was, of course, known as soon as his judges were named;
and, thus, another chief of the revolutionary war was rewarded by
death for his patriotic services. We cannot regard this act of
Bustamante and Santa Anna, except as a deliberate murder for
which they richly deserve the condemnation of impartial history,
even if they had no other crimes to answer at the bar of God
and their country.

Whilst these internal contests were agitating the heart of Mexico,
an expedition had been fitted out at Havana composed of four
thousand troops commanded by Barradas, designed to invade the
lost colony and restore it to the Spanish crown. The accounts
given of this force and its condition when landed at Tampico, vary
according to the partizans by whom they are written ; but there is
reason to believe that the Spanish troops were so weakened by
disease and losses in the summer of 1830, that when Santa Anna
and a French officer, — Colonel Woll — attacked them In the
month of September, they fell an easy prey into the hands of the
Mexicans. Santa Anna, however, with his usual talent for such
composition, magnified the defeat into a magnificent conquest. He

41

318 ANECDOTE REVOLT UNDER SANTA ANNA.

was hailed as the victor who broke the last link between Spain and
her viceroyalty. Pompous bulletins and despatches were publish-
ed in the papers ; and the commander-in-chief returned to the
capital, covered with honors, as the saviour of the republic.

There is an anecdote connected with the final expulsion of the
Spaniards from Mexico, which deserves to be recorded as it exhib-
its a fact which superstitious persons might conceive to be the
avenging decree of retributive providence. Dona Isabel Monte-
zuma, the eldest daughter of the unfortunate Emperor had been
married to his successor on the Aztec throne, and, after his wretch-
ed death, was united to various distinguished Spaniards, the last
of whom was Juan Andrade, ancestor of the Andrade Montezumas
and Counts of Miravalle. General Miguel Barragan, who after-
wards became president ad interim of Mexico, and to whom the
castle of San Juan de Ulua was surrendered by the European forces
— was married to Manuela Trebuesta y Casasola, daughter of the
lad Count of Miravalle, and it is thus a singular coincidence that
the husband of a lady who was the legitimate descendant of Mon-
tezuma, should have been destined to receive the keys of the last
stronghold on which the Spanish banner floated on this continent'1

By intrigue and victories Santa Anna had acquired so much
popular renown throughout the country and with the army that he
found the time was arriving when he might safely avail himself of
his old and recent services against Iturbide and Barradas. Under
the influence of his machinations Bustamante began to fail in popu-
lar estimation. He was spoken of as a tyrant ; his administration
was characterized as inauspicious ; and the public mind was gradu-
ally prepared for an outbreak in 1832. Santa Anna, who had, in
fact, placed and sustained Bustamante in power, was, in reality,
the instigator of this revolt. The ambitious chief, first of all
issued his pronunciamiento against the ministry of the president,
and then, shortly after, against that functionary himself. But Bus-
tamante, a man of nerve and capacity, was not to be destroyed as
easily as his victim, Guerrero. He threw himself at the head of
his loyal troops and encountering the rebels at Tolomi routed them
completely. Santa Anna, therefore, retired to Vera Cruz, and,
strengthening his forces from some of the other states, declared
himself in favor of the restoration of the constitutional president
Pedraza, whom he had previously driven out of Mexico. As
Bustamante advanced towards the coast his army melted away.

Alaman Diserlaciones, vol. i, p. 219.

HE RESTORES PEDRAZA AND BECOMES PRESIDENT. 319

The country was opposed to him. He was wise enough to per-
ceive that his usurped power was lost; and prudently entered into
a pacific convention with Santa Anna at Zavaleta in December,
1832. The successful insurgent immediately despatched a vessel
for the banished Pedraza, and brought him back to the capital to
serve out the remaining three months of his unexpired admin-
istration !

The object of Santa Anna in restoring Pedraza was not to sus-
tain any one of the old parties which had now become strangely
mingled and confused by the factions or ambitions of all the
leaders. His main design was to secure the services and influence
of the centralists, as far as they were yet available, in controling
his election to the presidency upon which he had fixed his heart.
On the 16th of May, 1833, he reached the goal of his ambition.1

1 The following letter from Santa Anna to a distinguished foreigner, will afford
the reader a specimen of his personal modesty and political humility. The individ
ual to whom it was written, was afterwards expelled by Santa Anna from the re-
public during his presidency, after having been invited by him to the country:

"Vera Cruz, October 31th, 1831.

" My Esteemed Friend : — I have the pleasure to answer your favor of the 5th
ultimo, by which 1 perceive that my letter of the 9th of April last, came to hand.
I have received the prospectus of the " Foreign College " you contemplate to es-
tablish, which not only meets with my entire approbation, but, considering your
talents and uncommon acquirements, I congratulate you on employing them in a
manner so generally useful, and personally honorable. I thank you cordially for
the news and observations you have had the kindness to communicate to me, and
both make me desire the continuation of your esteemed epistles. Retired as I am,
on my farm, and there exclusively devoted to the cultivation and improvement of my small
estate, I cannot reply, as I desire, to the news with which you have favored me. But, even
in that retirement, and though separated from the arena of politics, I could never
view with indifference any discredit thrown on my country, nor any thing which
might, in the smallest degree, possess that tendency. We enjoy at present peace
and tranquillity, and I do not know of any other question of public interest now in
agitation, than the approaching elections of President and Vice President. When
that period shall arrive, should I obtain a majority of suffrages, I am ready to accept
the honor, and to sacrifice, for the benefit of the nation my repose and the charms
of private life. My fixed system is to be called (ser llamado), resembling in this a
modest maid (modesta doncella), who rather expects to he desired, than to shoio herself to
be desiring. I think that my position justifies me in this respect. Nevertheless, as
what is written in a foreign country has much influence at home, especially among
us, in your city I think it proper to make a great step on this subject ; and by fixing the
true aspect, in which such or such services should be regarded, as respects the
various candidates, one could undoubtedly contribute to fix here public opinion, u-hich
is at present extremely wavering and uncertain. Of course, this i.s the peculiar pro-
vince of the friends of Mexico ; and as well by this title, as on account of the ac-
quirements and instruction you possess, I knoto of no one better qualtfud than ynuntlf
to execute such a benevolent undertaking. *

" 1 hope you will favor me from time to time with information, which will al-
ways give satisfaction to your true friend and servant, who kisses your hand!."

"Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna."

320 GOMEZ FARIAS DEPOSED CHURCH.

The congress of 1834 was unquestionably federal republican in
its character, and Santa Anna seemed to be perfectly in accord
with his vice presidential compeer, Gomez Farias. But the
church, — warned by a bill introduced into congress the previous
year by Zavala, by which he aimed a blow at the temporalities of
the spiritual lords, — did not remain contented spectators while
the power reposed in the hands of his federal partizans. The
popular representatives were accordingly approached by skilful
emissaries, and it was soon found that the centralists were strongly
represented in a body hitherto regarded as altogether republican.
It is charged in Mexico, that bribery was freely resorted to ; and,
when the solicitations became sufficiently powerful, even the in-
flexible patriotism of Santa Anna yielded, though the vice presi-
dent Farias, remained incorruptible.

On the 13th of May, 1834, the president suddenly and unwar
rantably dissolved congress, and maintained his arbitrary decree
and power by the army, which was entirely at his service. In the
following year, Gomez Farias was deposed from the vice presidency
by the venal congress, and Barragan raised to the vacant post.
The militia was disarmed, the central forces strengthened, and the
people placed entirely at the mercy of the executive and his min-
ions, who completed the destruction of the constitution of 1824 by
blotting it from the statute book of Mexico.

Puebla, Jalisco, Oaxaca, parts of Mexico, Zacatecas and Texas
revolted against this assumption of the centralists, though they were
finally not able to maintain absolutely their free stand against the
dictator. Zacatecas and Texas, alone, presented a formidable
aspect to Santa Anna, who was, nevertheless, too strong and skil-
ful for the ill regulated forces of the former state. The victorious
troops entered the rebellious capital with savage fury ; and, after
committing the most disgusting acts of brutality and violence
against all classes and sexes, they disarmed the citizens entirely
and placed a military governor over the province. In Coahuila
and Texas, symptoms of discontent were far more important, for
the federalists met at Monclova, and, after electing Agustin Viesca
governor, defied the opposite faction by which a military officer
had been assigned to perform the executive duties of the state-
General Cos, however, soon dispersed the legislature by violence
and imprisoned the governor and his companions whom he ar-
rested as they were hastening to cross the Rio Grande. These
evil doings were regarded sorrowfully but sternly by the North
Americans who had flocked to Texas, under the sanctions and as-

CENTRAL CONSTITUTION OF 1836 SANTA ANNA. 321

surances of the federal constitution, and they resolved not to coun-
tenance the usurpation of their unquestionable rights.

Such was the state of affairs in the Mexican Republic when
the Plan of Toluca was issued, by which the federal constitu-
tion was absolutely abolished, and the principles of a consolidated
central government fully announced. Previous to this, however,
a pronunciamiento had been made by a certain Escalada at Morelia,
in favor of the fueros, or especial privileges and rights of the
church and army. This outbreak was, of course, central in its
character ; whilst another ferment in Cuautla had been productive
of Santa Anna's nomination as dictator, an office which he promptly
refused to accept.

The Plan of Toluca was unquestionably favored by Santa Anna
who had gone over to the centralists. It was a scheme designed
to test national feeling and to prepare the people for the overthrow
of state governments. The supreme power was vested by it in the
executive and national congress ; and the states were changed
into departments under the command of military governors, who
were responsible for their trust to the chief national authorities in-
stead of the people. Such was the Central Constitution of 1836.

It is quite probable that Santa Anna's prudent care of himself
and his popularity, as well as his military patriotism induced him
to leave the government in the hands of the vice president Barra-
gan whilst the new constitution was under discussion, and to lead
the Mexican troops, personally, against the revolted Texans, who
had never desisted from open hostility to the central usurpations.
But as the history of that luckless expedition is to be recounted
elsewhere in this volume, we shall content ourselves with simply
recording the fact that on the 21st of April, 1836, the president
and his army were completely routed by General Houston and the
Texans ; and, that instead of returning to the metropolis crowned
with glory, as he had done from the capture of Barradas, Santa
Anna owed his life to the generosity of the Texan insurgents
whose companions in arms had recently been butchered by his
orders at Goliad and San Antonio de Bejar. x

During Santa Anna's absence, vice president Barragan filled the
executive office up to the time of his death, when he was succeeded
by Coro, until the return from France of Bustamante, who had
been elected president under the new central constitution of 1836.
In the following year Santa Anna was sent back to Mexico in a

1 See Gen. Waddy Thompson's Recollections of Mexico, p. G9, for Santa Anna's
wretched vindication of these sanguinary deeds.

322 HIS TEXAN DISGRACE MEXIA.

vessel of the United States government. But he was a disgraced
man in the nation's eyes. He returned to his hacienda of Manga de
Clavo, and burying himself for a while in obscurity, was screened
from the open manifestation of popular odium. Here he lurked
until the brilliant attempt was made to disenthral his country by
Mexia, in 1838. Demanding, once more, the privilege of leading
the army, he was entrusted with its command, and, encountering
the defender of federation in the neighborhood of Puebla, he gave
him battle immediately. Mexia lost the day ; and, with brief time
for shrift or communication with his family, he was condemned b)
a drum-head court martial and shot upon the field of battle. This
was a severe doom ; but the personal animosity between the com-
manders was equally unrelenting, for when the sentence was an-
nounced to the brave but rash Mexia, he promptly and firmly de-
clared that Santa Anna was right to execute him on the spot,
inasmuch, as he would not have granted the usurper half the time
that elapsed since his capture, had it been his destiny to prove
victorious !

Soon after the accession of Bustamante there had been gritos in
favor of federation and Gomez Farias, who was, at that period,
imprisoned ; but these trifling outbreaks were merely local and
easily suppressed by Pedraza and Rodriguez.

In the winter of 1838, however, Mexico was more severely
threatened from abroad than she had recently been by her internal
discords. It was at this time that a French fleet appeared at Vera
Cruz, under the orders of Admiral Baudin, to demand satisfaction
for injuries to French subjects, and unsettled pecuniary claims which
had been long and unavailingly subjects of diplomacy. Distracted
for years by internal broils that paralized the industry of the country
ever since the outbreak of the revolution, Mexico was in no condi-
tion to respond promptly to demands for money. But national
pride forbade the idea of surrendering without a blow. The mili-
tary resources of the country and of the Castle of San Juan de
Ulua, were, accordingly, mustered with due celerity, and the as-
sailed department of Vera Cruz entrusted to the defence of Santa
Anna, whose fame had been somewhat refreshed by his victory
over Mexia. Meanwhile the French fleet kept up a stringent
blockade of Vera Cruz, and still more crippled the commercial
revenues of Mexico by cutting off the greater part of its most valu-
able trade. Finding, however, that neither the blockade nor ad-
ditional diplomacy would induce the stubborn government to ac-
cede to terms which the Mexicans knew would finally be forced

BUSTAMANTE PBESIDENT FRENCH AT VERA CRUZ. 323

on them, the French squadron attacked the city with forces landed
from the vessels, whilst they assailed the redoubtable castle with
three frigates, a corvette and two bomb vessels, whence, during an
action of six hours, they threw three hundred and two shells, one
hundred and seventy-seven paixhan, and seven thousand seven hun-
dred and seventy-one solid shot. The assaults upon the town were
not so successful as those on the castle, where the explosion of a
magazine forced the Mexicans to surrender. The troops that had
been landed were not numerous enough to hold the advantages they
gained ; and it was in gallantly repulsing a storming party at the
gates of the city, that Santa Anna lost a leg by a parting shot from
a small piece of ordnance as the French retreated on the quay to
their boats.

The capture of the castle, however, placed the city at the mercy
of the French, and the Mexicans were soon induced to enter into
satisfactory stipulations for the adjustment of all debts and dif-
ficulties.

In 1839, General Canales fomented a revolt in some of the
the north-eastern departments. The proposal of this insurgent was
to form a republican confederation of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Du-
rango, which three states or departments, he designed should adopt
for themselves the federal constitution of 1824, and, assuming the
title of the independent "Republic of the Rio Grande," should
pledge themselves to co-operate with Texas against Bustamante
and the centralists. An alliance was entered into with Texas to
that effect, and an expedition of united Texans and Republicans of
the Rio Grande, was set on foot to occupy Coahuila ; but at the
appearance of General Arista in the field early in 1840, and after*
an action in which the combined forces were defeated, Canales left
the discomfitted Texans to seek safety by hastening back to their
own territory.

The administration of Bustamante was sorely tried by foreign
and domestic broils, for, whilst Texas and the Republic of the Rio
Grande were assailing him in the north, the federalists attacked
him in the capital, and the Yucatecos revolted in the south. This
last outbreak was not quelled as easily as the rebellion in the north ;
nor was it, in fact, until long afterwards during another adminis-
tration, that the people of the Peninsula were again induced to
return to their allegiance. Bustamante seems to have vexed the
Yucatecos by unwise interference in the commcicinl and industrial
interests of the country. The revolt was temporarily successful ;

324 REVOLTS IN THE NORTH AND IN THE CAPITAL.

On the 31st of March, 1841, a constitution was proclaimed ii
Yucatan, which erected it into a free and sovereign state, and ex-
empted the people from many burdens as well as the odious intoler-
ance of all other religions except the Roman Catholic, that had
been imposed by both the federal constitution of 1824 and the cen-
tral one of 1836;

The discontent with Bustamante's administration, arising chiefly
from a consumption duty of 15 per cent, which had been imposed
by congress, was now well spread throughout the republic. The
pronunciamiento of Urrea on the 15th of July, 1840, at the palace
of Mexico was mainly an effort of the federalists to put down vio-
lently the constitution of 1836 ; and although the insurgents had
possession, at one period, of the person of the president, yet the
revolt was easily suppressed by Valencia, and his faithful troops in
the capital.

But, a year later, the revolutionary spirit had ripened into readi-
ness for successful action. We have reason to believe that the
most extensive combinations were made by active agents in all
parts of Mexico to ensure the downfall of Bustamante and the
elevation of Santa Anna. Accordingly, in August, 1841, a pro-
nunciamiento of General Paredes, in Guadalajara, was speedily
responded to by Valencia and Lombardini in the capital, and by
Santa Anna himself at Vera Cruz. But the outbreak was not con-
fined merely to proclamations or the adhesion of military garrisons ;
for a large body of troops and citizens continued loyal to the pre-
sident and resolved to sustain the government in the capital. This
fierce fidelity to the constitution on the one hand, and bitter
'hostility to the chief magistrate on the other, resulted in one of the
most sanguinary conflicts that had taken place in Mexico since the
early days of independence. For a whole month the contest was
carried on with balls and grape shot in the streets of Mexico,
whilst the rebels, who held the citadel outside the city, finished the
shameless drama, by throwing a shower of bombs into the metro-
polis, shattering the houses, and involving innocent and guilty,
citizens, strangers, combatants and non-combatants, in a common
fate. This cowardly assault under the orders of Valencia, was
made solely with the view of forcing the citizens, who were uncon-
cerned in the quarrel between the factions, into insisting upon the
surrender of Mexico, in order to save their town and families from
destruction. There was a faint show of military manoeuvres in the
fields adjoining the city ; but the troops on both sides shrank from

BUSTAMANTE DEPOSED SANTA ANNA PRESIDENT. 325

battle when they were removed from the protecting shelter of walls
and houses. At length, the intervention of Mexican citizens
who were most interested in the cessation of hostilities, produced
an arrangement between the belligerants at Estanzuela near the
capital, and, finally, the Plan of Tacubaya was agreed on by
the chiefs — as a substitute for the constitution of 1836. By the
seventh article of this document, Santa Anna was effectually invest-
ed with dictatorial powers until a new constitution was formed.

The Plan of Tacubaya provided that a congress should be con-
vened, in 1842, to form a new constitution, and in June, a body of
patriotic citizens, chosen by the people, assembled for that purpose
in the metropolis. Santa Anna opened the session with a speech
m which he announced his predilection for a strong central govern-
ment, but he professed perfect willingness to yield to whatever
might be the decision of congress. Nevertheless, in December of
the same year, after the assembly had made two efforts to form a
constitution suitable to the country and the cabinet, president Santa
Anna, — in spite of his professed submission to the national will
expressed through the representatives, — suddenly and unauthor-
izedly, dissolved the congress. It was a daring act ; but Santa
Anna knew that he could rely upon his troops, his officers, and the
mercantile classes for support. The capital wanted quietness for a
while ; and the interests of trade as well as the army united in con-
fidence in the strong will of one who was disposed to maintain
order by force.

After congress had been dissolved by Santa Anna, there was, of
course, no further necessity of an appeal to the people. The
nation had spoken, but its voice was disregarded. Nothing there-
fore remained, save to allow the dictator, himself, to frame the
organic laws ; and for this purpose he appointed a Junta of Nota-
bles, who proclaimed, on the 13th of June, 1843, an instrument
which never took the name of a constitution, but bore the mongrel
title of "Bases of the Political Organization of the Mexican Repub-
lic. " It is essentially central, in its provisions ; and whilst it is
as intolerant upon the subject of religion, as the two former funda-
mental systems, it is even less popular in its general provisions than
the constitution of 1836.

42

CHAPTEK VII

1843—1846.

RECONQUEST OF TEXAS PROPOSED. CANALIZO PRESIDENT

INTERIM. REVOLUTION UNDER PAREDES IN 1844. SANTA

ANNA FALLS HERRERA PRESIDENT TEXAN REVOLT. ORI-
GIN OF WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES. TEXAN WAR FOR

THE CONSTITUTION OF 1824 NATIONALITY RECOGNIZED

ANNEXATION TO THE UNITED STATES. PROPOSITION TO MEXICO.

HERRERA OVERTHROWN PAREDES PRESIDENT OUR MIN-
ISTER REJECTED. CHARACTER OF GENERAL PAREDES.

After the foundation of the new system in 1843, the country-
continued quiet for a while, and when the Mexican Congress met,
in January 1844, propositions were made by the executive depart-
ment to carry out Santa Anna's favorite project of re-conquering
Texas. It is probable that there was not much sincerity in the
president's desire to march his troops into a territory the recollection
of which must have been, at least, distasteful to him. There is
more reason to believe that the large sum which it was necessary to
appropriate for the expenses of the campaign — the management of
which would belong to the administration, — was the real object he
had in view. Four millions were granted for the re-conquest, but
when Santa Anna demanded ten millions more while the first grant
was still uncollected, the members refused to sustain the president's
demand. The congressmen were convinced of that chieftain's rapa-
city, and resolved to afford him no further opportunity to plunder
the people under the guise of patriotism.

Santa Anna's sagacious knowledge of his countrymen immediately
apprised him of approaching danger, and having obtained permission
from congress to retire to his estate at Mango de Clavo, near Vera
Cruz, he departed from the capital, leaving his friend General Cana-
lizo as president ad interim. Hardly had he reached his plantation
in the midst of friends and faithful troops, when a revolt burst out
in Jalisco, Agnas Calientes, Zacatecas, Sinaloa and Sonora, against
his government, headed by General Paredes. Santa Anna rapidly
crossed the country to suppress the rebellion, but as he disobeyed

SANTA ANNA FALLS HERRERA TEXAN REVOLT. 327

the constitutional compact by taking actual command of the army
whilst he was president, without the previous assent of congress, he
became amenable to law for this violation of his oath. He was soon
at enmity with the rebels and with the constitutional congress, and
thus a three fold contest was carried on, chiefly through correspond-
ence, until the 4th of January, 1845, when Santa Anna finally fell.
He fled from the insurgents and constitutional authorities towards
the eastern coast, but being captured at the village of Jico, was con-
ducted to Perote, where he remained imprisoned under a charge and
examination for treason, until an amnesty for the late political fac-
tionists permitted, him to depart on the 29th of May, 1845, with his
family, for Havana.

Upon Santa Anna's ejection from the executive chair, the presi-
dent of the council of government, became under the laws of the
country, provisional president of the republic. This person was
General Jose Joaquim de Herrera, during whose administration the
controversies rose which resulted in the war between Mexico and
the United States.

The thread of policy and action in both conntries is so closely
interwoven during this pernicious contest, that the history of the war
becomes, in reality, the history of Mexico for the epoch. We are
therefore compelled to narrate, succinctly, the circumstances that led
to that lamentable issue.

The first empresario, or contractor, for the colonization of Texas,
was Moses Austin, a native citizen of the United States, who, as
soon as the treaty of limits between Spain and our country was con-
cluded in 1819, conceived the project of establishing a settlement in
that region. Accordingly, in 1821 he obtained from the Command-
ant General of the Provincias Internas, permission to introduce three
hundred foreign families. In 1823, a national colonization law was
approved by the Mexican Emperor Iturbide during his brief reign,
and on the 18th of February, Stephen F. Austin, who had succeeded
his father, after his death, in carrying out the project, was author-
ized to proceed with the founding of the colony. After the emperor's
fall, this decree was confirmed by the first executive council in con-
formity to the express will of congress.

In 1824 the federal constitution of Mexico was, as we have
narrated, adopted, by the republican representatives, upon principles
analogous to those of the constitution of the United States; and by
a decree of the 7th of May, Texas and Coahuila were united in a
state. In this year another general colonization law was enacted

328 ORIGIN OF WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES.

by congress, and foreigners were invited to the new domain by a
special state colonization law of Coahuila and Texas.

Under these local laws and constitutional guaranties, large num-
bers of foreigners nocked to this portion of Mexico, opened farms,
founded towns and villages, re-occupied old Spanish settlements,
introduced improvements in agriculture and manufactures, drove off
the Indians, and formed, in fact, the nucleus of an enterprizing
and progressive population. But there were jealousies between the
race that invited the colonists, and the colonists who accepted the
invitation. The central power in the distant capital did not esti-
mate, at their just value, the independence of the remote pioneers,
or the state-right sovereignty to which they had been accustomed
at their former home in the United States. Mexico was convulsed
by revolutions, but the lonely residents of Texas paid no attention
to the turmoils of the factionists. At length, however, direct acts
of interference upon the part of the national government, not only
by its ministerial agents, but by its legislature, excited the min-
gled alarm and indignation of the colonists, who imagined that in
sheltering themselves under a republic they were protected as amply
as they would have been under the constitution of the North Ameri-
can Union. In this they wTere disappointed ; for, in 1830, an arbi-
trary enactment — based no doubt upon a jealous dread of the
growing value and size of a colony which formed a link between
the United States and Mexico by resting against Tamaulipas and
Louisiana, on the north and south, — prohibited entirely the future
immigration of American settlers into Coahuila and Texas. To
enforce this decree and to watch the loyalty of the actual inhabitants,
military posts, composed of rude and ignorant Mexican soldiers,
were sprinkled over the country. And, at last, the people of Texas
found themselves entirely under military control.

This suited neither the principles nor tastes of the colonists, who,
in 1832, took arms against this warlike interference with their
municipal liberty, and after capturing the fort at Velasco, reduced
to submission the garrisons at Anahuac and Nacogdoches. The
separate state constitution which had been promised Texas in 1824,
was never sanctioned by the Mexican Congress, though the colo-
nists prepared the charter and were duly qualified for admission.
But the crisis arrived when the centralists of 1835, overthrew the
federal constitution of 1824. Several Mexican states rose inde-
pendently against the despotic act. Zacatecas fought bravely for
her rights, and saw her people basely slain by the myrmidons of
Santa Anna. The legislature of Coahuila and Texas was dispersed

TEXAN WAR FOR THE CONSTITUTION OF 1824. 329

by the military; and, at last, the whole republic, save the pertina-
cious North Americans, yielded to the armed power of the resolute
oppressor.

The alarmed settlers gathered together as quickly as they could
and resolved to stand by their federative rights under the charter
whose guaranties allured them into Mexico. Meetings were held in
all the settlements, and a union was formed by means of correspond-
ence. Arms were next resorted to and the Texans were victorious
at Gonzales, Goliad, Bejar, Conception, Lepantitlan, San Patricio
and San Antonio. In November they met in consultation, and in an
able, resolute and dignified paper, declared that they had only taken
up arms in defence of the constitution of 1824 ; that their object was
to continue loyal to the confederacy if laws were made for the guar-
dianship of their political rights, and that they offered their lives and
arms in aid of other members of the republic who would rightfully
rise against the military despotism.

But the othei states, in which there was no infusion of North
Americans or Europeans, refused to second this hardy handful of
pioneers. Mexico will not do justice, in any of her commentaries
on the Texan war, to the motives of the colonists. Charging
them with an original and long meditated design to rob the repub-
lic of one of its most valuable provinces, she forgets entirely or
glosses over, the military acts of Santa Anna's invading army, in
March, 1836, at the Alamo and Goliad, which converted resistance
into revenge. After those disgraceful scenes of carnage peace
was no longer possible. Santa Anna imagined, no doubt, that he
would terrify the settlers into submission if he could not drive them
from the soil. But he mistook both their fortitude and their force;
and, after the fierce encounter at San Jacinto, on the 21st of April,
1836, with Houston and his army, the power of Mexico over the
insurgent state was effectually and forever broken.

After Santa Anna had been taken prisoner by the Texans, in
this fatal encounter, and was released and sent home through the
United States in order to fulfil his promise to secure the recogni-
tion of Texan independence, the colonists diligently began the
work of creating for themselves a distinct nationality, for they
failed in all their early attempts to incorporate themselves with the
United States during the administrations of Jackson and Van Buren.-
These presidents were scrupulous and faithful guardians of national
honor, while they respected the Mexican right of reconquest.
Their natural sympathies were of course yielded to Texas, but
their executive duties, the faith of treaties, and the sanctions of

330 NATIONALITY RECOGNIZED ANNEXATION TO U. STATES.

international law forbade their acceding to the proposed union.
Texas, accordingly, established a national government, elected her
officers, regulated her trade, formed her army and navy, main-
tained her frontier secure from assault, and was recognized as, de
facto, an independent sovereignty by the United States, England,
France and Belgium. But these efforts of the infant republic did
not end in mere preparations for a separate political existence
and future commercial wealth. The rich soil of the lowlands
along the numerous rivers that veined the whole region soon at-
tracted large accessions of immigrants, and the trade of Texas
began to assume significance in the markets of the world.

Meanwhile Mexico busied herself, at home, in revolutions, or
in gathering funds and creating armies, destined, as the authori-
ties professed, to reconquer the lost province. Yet all these mili-
tary and financial efforts were never rendered available in the field,
and, in reality, no adequate force ever marched towards the fron-
tier. The men and money raised through the services and contri-
butions of credulous citizens were actually designed to figure in
the domestic drama of political power in the capital. No hostili-
ties, of any significance, occurred between the revolutionists and
the Mexicans after 1836, for we cannot regard the Texan expe-
dition to Santa Fe, or the Mexican assault upon the town of
Mier. as belligerant acts deserving consideration as grave efforts
made to assert or secure national rights.

Such was the condition of things from 1836 until 1844, during
the whole of which period Texas exhibited to the world a far bet-
ter aspect of well regulated sovereignty than Mexico herself. On
the 12th of April of that year, more than seven years after Texas
had established her independence, a treaty was concluded by Presi-
dent Tyler with the representatives of Texas for the annexation of
that republic to the United States. In March, 1845, Congress
passed a joint resolution annexing Texas to the union upon certain
reasonable conditions, which were acceded to by that nation,
whose convention erected a suitable state constitution, with which
it became finally a member of our confederacy. In the meantime,
the envoys of France and England, had opened negotiations for the
recognition of Texan independence, which terminated successfully;
but when they announced their triumph, on the 20th of May, 1845,
Texas was already annexed conditionally to the United States by
the act of congress.

The joint resolution of annexation, passed by our congress, was
protested against by General Almonte, the Mexican minister at that

PROPOSITIONS TO MEXICO HERRERA OVERTHROWN. 331

period in Washington, as an act of aggression " the most unjust
which can be found in the annals of modern history " and designed
to despoil a friendly nation of a considerable portion of her terri-
tory. He announced, in consequence, the termination of his mis-
sion, and demanded his passports to leave the country. Tn Mex-
ico, soon after, a bitter and badly conducted correspondence took
place between the minister of foreign affairs and Mr. Shannon, our
envoy. And thus, within a brief period, these two nations found
themselves unrepresented in each other's capital and on the eve
of a serious dispute.

But the government of the United States, — still sincerely anx
ious to preserve peace, or at least, willing to try every effort to
soothe the irritated Mexicans and keep the discussion in the cabi-
net rather than transfer it to the battle field, — determined to use
the kindly efforts of our consul, Mr. Black, who still remained in
the capital, to seek an opportunity for the renewal of friendly inter-
course. This officer was accordingly directed to visit the minister
of foreign affairs and ascertain from the Mexican government
whether it would receive an envoy from the United States, in-
vested with full power to adjust all the questions in dispute be-
tween the two governments. The invitation was received with
apparent good will, and in October, 1845, the Mexican govern-
ment agreed to receive one, commissioned with full powers to set-
tle the dispute in a peaceful, reasonable and honorable manner.

As soon as this intelligence reached the United States, Mr. John
Slidell was dispatched as envoy extraordinary and minister pleni-
potentiary on the supposed mission of peace ; but when he reached
Vera Cruz in November, he found the aspect of affairs changed.
The government of Herrera, with which Mr. Black's arrangement
had been made, was tottering. General Paredes, a leader popular
with the people and the army, availing himself of the general ani-
mosity against Texas, and the alleged desire of Herrera's cabinet
to make peace with the United States, had determined to overthrow
the constitutional government. There is scarcely a doubt that
Herrera and his ministers were originally sincere in their desire to
settle the international difficulty, and to maintain the spirit of the
contract they had made. But the internal danger, with which they
were menaced by the army and its daring demagogue, induced
them to prevaricate as soon as Mr. Slidell presented his credentials
for reception. All their pretexts were, in reality, frivolous, when
we consider the serious results which were to flow from their enun-

332 PAREDES PRESIDENT OUR MINISTER REJECTED.

ciation. The principal argument against the reception of our
minister was, that his commission constituted him a regular envoy,
and that, he was not confined to the discussion of the Texan ques-
tion alone. Such a mission, the authorities alleged, placed the
countries at once, diplomatically, upon an equal and ordinary foot-
ing of peace, and their objection therefore, if it had any force, at
all, was to the fact, that we exhibited through the credentials of
our envoy, the strongest evidence that one nation can give to
another of perfect amity ! We had, in truth, no questions in dis-
pute between us, except boundary and indemnity; — for Texas, as
a sovereignity acknowledged by the acts, not only of the United
States and of European powers, but in consequence of her own
maintenance of perfect nationality and independence, had a right to
annex herself to the United States. The consent of Mexico to ac-
knowledge her independence in 1845, under certain conditions,
effectually proved this fact beyond dispute.

Whilst the correspondence between Slidell and the Mexican
ministry was going on, Paredes continued his hostile demonstra-
tions, and, on the 30th of December, 1845, president Herrera, who
anxiously desired to avoid bloodshed, resigned the executive chair
to him without a struggle. Feeble as was the hope of success with
the new authorities, our government, still anxious to close the con-
test peacefully, directed Mr. Slidell to renew the proposal for his
reception to Paredes. These instructions he executed on the first
of March, 1846, but his request was refused by the Mexican
minister of foreign affairs, on the twelfth of that month, and our
minister was forthwith obliged to return from his unsuccessful
mission.

All the public documents, and addresses of Paredes, made during
the early movements of his revolution and administration, breathe
the deadliest animosity to our union. He invokes the god of bat-
tles, and calls the world to witness the valor of Mexican arms.
The revolution which raised him to power, was declared to be
sanctioned by the people, who were impatient for another war, in
which they might avenge the aggressions of a government that
sought to prostrate them. Preparations were made for a Texan
campaign. Loans were raised, and large bodies of troops were
moved to the frontiers. General Arista, suspected of kindness to
our country, was superceded in the north by General Ampudia,
who arrived at Matamoros on the 11th of April, 1846, with two
hundred cavalry, followed by two thousand men to be united with
the large body of soldiery already in Matamoros.

CHARACTER OF GENERAL i'AREDES. r^C

These military demonstrations denoted the unquestionable de-
sign and will of Paredes, who had acquired supreme power by a
revolution founded upon the solemn pledge of hostility against the
United States and reconquest of Texas. His military life in Mexico
made him a despot. He had no confidence in the ability of his
fellow-citizens to govern themselves. He believed republicanism
an Utopian dream of his visionary countrymen. Free discussion
through the press was prohibited, during his short rule, and his
satellites advocated the establishment of a throne to be occupied by
an European prince. These circumstances induced our government
to believe, that any counter-revolution in Mexico, which might
destroy the ambitious and unpatriotic projects of Paredes, would
promote the cause of peace, and accordingly, it saw with pleasure,
the prospect of a new outbreak wThich might result in the downfall,
and total destruction of the greatest enemy we possessed on the
soil of our sister republic.

43

CHAPTER VIII.

1846.

GENERAL TAYLOR ORDERED TO THE RIO GRANDE. HISTORY OF

TEXAN BOUNDARIES. ORIGIN OF THE WAR. MILITARY PRE-
PARATIONS COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. BATTLES OF

PALO ALTO AND RESACA. MATAMOROS TAYLOR'S ADVANCE.

FALL OF MONTEREY.

Whilst Slidell was negotiating, and, in consequence of the
anticipated failure of his effort to be received, — as was clearly
indicated by the conduct of the Mexican government upon his arri-
val in the capital, — General Taylor, who had been stationed at
Corpus Christi, in Texas, since the fall of 1845, with a body of
regular troops, was directed, on the 13th of January, 1846, to move
his men to the mouth of the Rio Grande. He, accordingly left his
encampment on the 8th of March, and, on the 25th, reached Point
Isabel, having encountered no serious opposition on the way. The
march to the Rio Grande has been made the subject of complaint
by politicians in Mexico and the United States, who believed that
the territory lying between that river and the Nueces, was not the
property of Texas. But inasmuch as Mexico still continued vehe-
mently to assert her political right over the whole of Texas, the
occupation of any part of its soil, south of the Sabine, by American
troops, was in that aspect of the case, quite as much an infringe-
ment of Mexican sovereignty, as the march of our troops, from the
Nueces to the Rio Grande.

As it is important that the reader should understand the original
title to Louisiana, under which the boundary of the Rio Grande,
was claimed, first of all for that state, and, subsequently, for Texas,
<ve shall relate its history in a summary manner.

Louisiana had been the property of France, and by a secret con-
tract between that country and Spain in 1762, as well as by treaties
between France, Spain, and England, in the following year, the
French dominion was extinguished on the continent of America.
In consequence of the treaty between this country and England in
1783, the Mississippi became the western boundary of the United
States, from its source to the thirty-first degree of north latitude,

HISTORY OF TEXAN BOUNDARIES. 335

and thence, on the same parallel, to the St. Mary's. France, it
will be remembered, had always claimed dominion in Louisiana to
the Rio Bravo del Norte, or Rio Grande ;"by virtue :

1st. Of the discovery of the Mississippi from near its source to
the ocean.

2d. Of the possession taken, and establishment made by La
Salle, at the bay of Saint Bernard, west of the river Trinity and
Colorado, by authority of Louis XIV. in 1635 — notwithstanding
the subsequent destruction of the colony.

3d. Of the charter of Louis XIV. to Crozat in 1712.

4th. Of the historical authority of Du Pratz, Champigny and
the Count de Vergennes.

5th. Of the authority of De Lisle's map, and of the map publish-
ed in 1762, by Don Thomas Lopez, Geographer to the king of
Spain, as well as of various other maps, atlases, and geographical
authorities.

By an article of the secret treaty of San Ildefonso in October,
1800, Spain retroceded Louisiana to France, but this treaty was
not promulgated until the beginning of 1802. The paragraph of
cession is as follows : " His Catholic majesty engages to retrocede
to the French republic, six months after the full and entire execu-
tion of the conditions and stipulations above recited, relative to his
royal highness the Duke of Parma, the colony and province of
Louisiana, with the same extent that it already has in the hands of
Spain, and that it had when France possessed it, and, such as it
should be, after the treaties passed subsequently between Spain and
other powers." In 1803, Bonaparte, the first consul of the French
republic, ceded Louisiana to the United States, as fully, and in the
same manner, as it had been retroceded to France by Spain, under
the treaty of San Ildefonso ; and, by virtue of this grant, Messrs.
Madison, Monroe, Adams, Clay, Van Buren, Jackson, and Polk,
contended that the original limit of the new state had been the
Rio Grande. However, by the third article of our treaty with
Spain, in 1819, all our pretensions to extend the territory of Lou-
isiana towards Mexico on the Rio Grande, were abandoned by
adopting the river Sabine as our boundary in that quarter.

The Mexican authorities upon this subject are either silent or
doubtful. No light is to be gathered from the geographical re-
searches of Humboldt, whose elucidations of New Spain are in
many respects the fullest and most satisfactory. In the year 1835,
Stephen Austin published a map of Texas, representing the Nueces
as the western confine, — and in 1836, General Almonte the former

336 ORIGIN OF THE WAR.

minister from Mexico to the United States, published a memo
upon Texas in which, whilst describing the Texan department
Bejar, he says — "That notwithstanding it has been hitherto be-
lieved that the Rio de las Nueces is the dividing line of Coahuila
and Texas, inasmuch as it is always thus represented on maps, I
am informed by the government of the state, that geographers have
been in error upon this subject ; and that the true line should com-
mence at the mouth of the river Aransaso, and follow it to its
source ; thence, it should continue by a straight line until it strikes
the junction of the rivers Medina and San Antonio, and then, pur-
suing the east bank of the Medina to its head waters, it should
terminate on the confines of Chihuahua." 1

The true origin of the Mexican war was not this march of Tay-
lor and his troops from the Nueces to the Rio Grande, through the
debatable land. The American and Mexican troops were brought
face to face by the act, and hostilities were the natural result
after the exciting annoyances upon the part of the Mexican gov-
ernment which followed the union of Texas with our confederacy.
Besides this, General Paredes, the usurping president, had already
declared in Mexico, on the 18th of April, 1846, in a letter ad-
dressed to the commanding officer on the northern frontier, that he
supposed him at the head of a valiant army on the theatre of ac-
tion;— and that it was indispensable to commence hostilities, the
Mexicans themselves taking the initiative !

We believe that our nation and its rulers earnestly desired hon-
orable peace, though they did not shun the alternative of war.
It was impossible to permit a conterminous neighbor who owed
us large sums of money, and was hostile to the newly adopted
state, to select unopposed her mode and moment of attack. Mex-
ico would neither resign her pretensions upon Texas, negotiate,
receive our minister, nor remain at peace. She would neither
declare war, nor cultivate friendship, and the* result was, that
when the armies approached each other, but little time was lost in
resorting to the cannon and the sword.

As soon as General Taylor reached the Rio Grande he left a
command at the mouth of the river, and taking post opposite
Matamoros erected a fort, the guns of which bore directly upon the
city. The Mexicans, whose artillery might have been brought to
play upon the works, from the opposite side of the river, made no
hostile demonstration against the left bank for some time, nor did
they interrupt the construction of the fort. Reinforcements, how-

1 Memorias para la historia de la Guerra de Tejas, vol. ii, p. 543.

MILITARY PREPARATIONS. 337

ever, were constantly arriving in the city. Ampudia and Arista
were there. Interviews were held between the Mexican authori-
ties and our officers, in which the latter were ordered to retire from
the soil it was alleged they were usurping. But as this was a
diplomatic, and not a military question, General Taylor resolved to
continue in position, though his forces were perhaps inadequate to
contend with the augmenting numbers of the foe. He examined
the country thoroughly by his scouting parties and pushed his re-
connoissances, on the left bank, from Point Isabel to some distance
beyond his encampment opposite Matamoros. Whilst engaged in
this service, some of his officers and men were captured or killed
by the ranchero cavalry of the enemy : and, on the 24th of April,
Captain Thornton who had been sent to observe the country
above the encampment with sixty-three dragoons, fell into an am-
buscade, out of which they endeavored to cut their way, but were
forced to surrender with a loss of sixteen killed and wounded.
This was the first blood spilled in actual conflict.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the news of Taylor's supposed
danger, greatly exaggerated by rumor, was spread far and wide.
An actual war had, perhaps, not been seriously apprehended. Taylor
had been expressly commanded to refrain from aggression. It was
supposed that the mere presence of our troops on the frontier would
preserve Texas from invasion, and that negotiations would ulti-
mately terminate the dispute. This is the only ground upon which
we can reasonably account for the apparent carelessness of our
government in not placing a force upon the Rio Grande, adequate
to encounter all the opposing array. Congress was in session
when the news reached Washington. The president immediately
announced the fact, and, on the 13th of May, 1846, ten millions of
dollars were appropriated to carry on the war, and fifty thousand
volunteers were ordered to be raised. An "Army or the West"
was directed to be formed under the command of Kearney, at fort
Leavenworth, on the Missouri, which was to cross the country to
the Pacific, after capturing New Mexico. An "Army of the
Centre, " under General Wool, was to assemble at San Antonio
de Bejar whence it was to march upon Coahuila and Chihuahua,
and, whilst the heart and the west of Mexico were penetrated by
these officers, it was designed that Taylor should make war on the
northern and eastern states of the Mexican republic. In addition
to these orders to the army, the naval forces, under Commodores
Stockton and Sloat in the Pacific, and Commodore Conner, in the
Gulf of Mexico, were commanded to co-operate with our land

338

COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES.

forces, to harass the enemy, and to aid, with all their power,
the subjugation and capture of Mexican property and territory.

Immediately after Thornton's surrender, General Taylor, availing
himself of authority with which he had been invested to call upon
the governors of Louisiana and Texas for military aid, demanded
four regiments of volunteers from each state, for the country in the
neighborhood of the Rio Grande was alive with belligerant Mexi-
cans. He then visited the fortifications opposite Matamoros, an(
finding the garrison but scantly supplied with provisions, hastenec
back to Point Isabel with a formidable escort, and obtaining the
requisite rations, commenced his march back to Matamoros anc
the fort on the 7th of May. But, in the interval, General Arista,

had crossed the Rio Grande with his forces, and on

the 8th, our

General encountered him, drawn up in battle array at Palo Alto
and ready to dispute his passage along the road. A sharp engage-
ment ensued between the two armies from two o'clock in the after-
noon until nearly dark, when the Mexicans withdrew from the
action for the night. Our total force in this affair, according to
official reports, was two thousand two hundred and eighty-eight,
while that of Mexico, according to the admission of the officers,
amounted to six thousand regulars with a large and probably un-
disciplined force drawn, at random, from the country.

The night of the 8th was passed with some anxiety in the Ameri-
can camp, for the fierce conflict of the day induced many prudent
officers to believe it best either to return to Point Isabel or await
reinforcements before again giving battle to the enemy. General
Taylor heard and weighed the opinions of his most reliable officers,
but, after due reflection, determined to advance. The conditioi
of the fort opposite Matamoros demanded his urgent aid. Th(
moral effect of a retreat would be great, at the commencement of a
war, both on Mexico and our own troops ; and, moreover, he had
perfect confidence in the disciplined regulars who sustained so
nobly the brunt of the first battle.

Accordingly the troops were advanced early on the 9th, for they
found, at day dawn, that the Mexicans had abandoned Palo Alto
for a stronger position nearer the centre of action and interest at
Matamoros. After advancing cautiously, in readiness for im-
mediate battle, our men came up with the Mexicans, in the Resaca
de la Palma, or as it is properly called La Resaca del Guerrero, —
the " Ravine of the Warrior, " which afforded them a natural de-
fence against our approach along the road. The ravine, curved
across the highway and was flanked by masses of prickly plants

BATTLES OF PALO ALTO AND RESACA. 339

aloes, and undergrowth, matted into impenetrable thickets, known
in Mexico as chapparal. The action was begun by the infantry in
skirmishes with the foe, and after the centre of the position on the
road had been severely harassed and damaged by our flying artil-
lery, a gallant charge of the dragoons broke the Mexican lines and
opened a pathway to Matamoros. The engagement lasted a short
time after this combined movement of artillery and cavalry, but,
before night fall the enemy was in full flight to the river and our
garrison at the fort joyously relieved. In the interval, this position
had been bombarded and cannonaded by the Mexicans from the
opposite side of the river, and its commanding officer slain. In
memory of his valiant defence, the place has been honored with the
name of Fort Brown.

After General Taylor had occupied Matamoros on the 18th of
May, — and he was only prevented from capturing it and all the
Mexican forces and ammunition on the night of the 9th by the
want of a ponton train, which he had vainly demanded, — he es-
tablished his base line for future operations in the interior, along
the Rio Grande, extending several hundred miles near that stream.
His task of organizing, accepting, or rejecting the multitudes of
recruits who flocked to his standard, was not only oppressive but
difficult, for he found it hard to disappoint the patriotic fervor of
hundreds who wrere anxious to engage in the war. The Quater-
master's department, too, was one of incessant toil and anxiety;
because, called unexpectedly and for the first time into active ser-
vice in the field, it was comparatively unprepared to answer the
multitude of requisitions that wrere daily made upon it by the
government, the general officers, and the recruits. The whole
material of a campaign was to be rapidly created. Money was to
be raised ; steamers bought ; ships chartered ; wagons built and
transported ; levies brought to the field of action ; munitions of war
and provisions distributed over the whole vast territory which it
was designed to occupy! Whilst these things were going on, the
country, at home, was ripe, and most eager for action.

Nor was our government inattentive to the internal politics of
Mexico. It perceived at once that there was no hope of effecting
a peace with the administration of Paredes, whose bitter hostility
was of course, not mitigated by the first successes of our arms.
Santa Anna, it will be recollected had left Mexico niter the amnes-
ty in 1845, and it was known there was open hostility between
him and Paredes who had contributed so greatly to his downfall.
Information was, moreover, received from reliable sources in AY

340 MATAMOROS TAYLOR^ ADVANCE.

ington, that a desire prevailed in the republic to recall the banished
chief and to seat him once more in the presidential chair ; and, at
the same time, there was cause to believe that if he again obtained
supreme power he would not be averse to accommodate matters
upon a satisfactory basis between the countries. Orders were,
accordingly issued to Commodore Conner, who commanded the
home squadron in the gulf, to offer no impediment if Santa Anna ap-
proached the coast with a design of entering Mexico. The exiled
president was duly apprised of these facts, and when the revolution
actually occurred in his favor in the following summer and his rival
fell from power, he availed himself of the order to pass the lines of
the blockading squadron at Vera Cruz.

After General Taylor had completely made his preparations to
advance into the interior along his base on the Rio Grande, he
moved forward gradually, capturing and garrisoning all the impor-
tant posts along the river. At length the main body of the army,
under Worth and Taylor reached the neighborhood of Monterey,
the capital of the state of New Leon, situated at the foot of the
Sierra Madre on a plain, but in a position which would enable it
to make a stout resistance, especially as it was understood that the
Mexican army had gathered itself up in this stronghold, which was
the key of the northern provinces and on the main highway to the
interior, in order to strike a death blow at the invaders. On the
5th of September, the divisions concentrated at Marin, and on the
9th they advanced to the Walnut Springs, which afterwards be-
came, for so long a period, the headquarters of the gallant "Army
of Occupation. "

Reconnoissances of the adjacent country were immediately made
and it was resolved to attack the city by a bold movement towards
its southern side that would cut off its communications through the
gap in the mountains by which the road led to Saltillo. Accord-
ingly General Worth was detached on this difficult but honorable
service with a strong and reliable corps, and, after excessive toil,
hard fighting and wonderful endurance upon the part of our men,
the desired object was successfully gained. An unfinished and
fortified edifice called the Bishop's Palace, on the summit of a steep
hill was stormed and taken, and thus an important vantage ground,
commanding the city by a plunging shot, was secured.

Meanwhile, General Taylor seeking to withdraw or distract the
enemy from his designs on the southern and western sides of the
city, made a movement under General Butler, of Kentucky, upon
its northern front. What was probably designed only as a feint

FALL OF MONTEREY. 34]

soon became a severe and deadly conflict. Our men, — especially
the volunteers, — eager to flesh their swords in the first conflict
with which the war indulged them, rushed into the city, which
seems to have been amply prepared, in that quarter, with barri-
cades, forts, loop-holes, and every means of defence suitable for
the narrow streets and flat roofed and parapeted houses of a Span-
ish town. After the first deadly onset there was, of course, no
intention or desire to abandon the conflict, fatal as its prosecution
might ultimately become. On they fought from street to street,
and house to house, and yard to yard, until night closed over the
dying and the dead. On the second day a different system of
approach was adopted. Instead of risking life in the street which
was raked from end to end by artillery, or rendered untenable by
the hidden marksmen who shot our men from behind the walls of
the house tops, our forces were thrown into the dwellings, and
breaking onward through walls and enclosures, gradually mined
their way towards the plaza or great square of Monterey.

Thus, both divisions under the eyes of Worth, Butler and Tay-
lor, successfully performed their assigned tasks, until it became
evident to the Mexicans that their town must fall, and, that if
finally taken by the sword, it would be given up to utter destruction
and pillage. A capitulation was therefore proposed by Ampudia
who stipulated for the withdrawal of his forces and an armistice.
Our force was in no condition to seize, hold, and support a large
body of prisoners of war, nor was it prepared immediately to follow
up the victory by penetrating the interior. General Taylor, who
was resolved not to shed a single drop of needless blood in the
campaign, granted the terms ; and, thus, this strong position, gar-
risoned by nearly ten thousand troops, sustained by more than forty
pieces of artillery, yielded to our army of seven thousand, unsup-
ported by a battering train and winning the day by hard fighting
alone. The attack began on the 21st of September, continued
during the two following days, and the garrison capitulated on the
24th. This capitulation and armistice were assented to by our
commander after mature consultation and approval of his principal
officers. The Mexicans informed him, that Paredes had been de-
posed,—that Santa Anna was in power, and that peace would
soon be made; but the authorities, at home, eager for 'fresh vic-
tories, or pandering to public and political taste, did not approve
and confirm an act, for which General Taylor has, nevertheless re-
ceived, as he truly merits, the just applause of impartial history.

44

CHAPTER IX.

1846 — 1847.

GENERAL WOOL INSPECTS AND MUSTERS THE WESTERN TROOPS.

ARMY OF THE CENTRE. NEW MEXICO KEARNEY MAC-

NAMARA CALIFORNIA. FREMONT SONOMA CALIFORNIAN

INDEPENDENCE POSSESSION TAKEN. SLOAT STOCKTON.

A REVOLT PICO TREATY OF COUENGA. KEARNEY AT

SAN PASCUAL IS RELIEVED DISPUTES SAN GABRIELLE

MESA LOS ANGELES. FREMONT'S CHARACTER, SERVICES,

TRIAL.

General Wool, who had been for a long period inspector gen-
eral of the United States army, was entrusted with the difficult
task of examining the recruits in the west, and set forth on his
journey after receiving his orders on the 29th of May, 1846. He
traversed the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ten-
nessee and Mississippi, and, in somewhat less than two months,
had journeyed three thousand miles and mustered twelve thousand
men into service. This expedition of a hardy soldier exhibits, at
once, the powers of a competent American officer, and the facility
with which an efficient corps d'armee, may at any urgent moment,
be raised in our country.

Nearly nine thousand of these recruits were sent to Taylor on the
Rio Grande, while those who were destined for the " Army of the
Centre," rendezvoused at Bejar, in Texas. At this ; place their
commander Wool joined them, and commenced the rigid system
of discipline, under accomplished officers, which made his division
a model in the army. He marched from Bejar with five hundred
regulars and two thousand four hundred and fifty volunteers, on the
20th of September, and passed onwards though Presidio, Nava,
and across the Sierra of San Jose and Santa Rosa, and the rivers
Alamos, Sabine, and del Norte, until he reached Monclova. He
had been directed to advance to Chihuahua, but as this place was
in a great measure controled by the states of New Leon and Coa-
huila which were already in our possession, he desisted from pur-
suing his march thither, and, after communicating with General
Taylor and learning the fall of Monterey, he pushed on to the fer-
tile region of Parras and thence to the headquarters of General
Taylor, in the month of December, as soon as he was apprised of
the danger which menaced him at that period.

NEW MEXICO KEARNEY — MACNAMARA — CALIFORNIA. 343

on-

We have already said that it was part of our government's
ginal plan to reduce New Mexico and California, — a task which
was imposed upon Colonel Kearney, a hardy frontier fighter, long
used to Indian character and Indian warfare — who, upon being
honored with the command was raised to the rank of Brigadier
General. This officer moved from Fort Leavenworth on the 30th
of June, towards Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, with an
army of sixteen hundred men, and after an unresisted march of
eight hundred and seventy-three miles, he reached his destination
on the 18th of August. Possession of the place was given without
a blow, and it is probable that the discreet Armijo yielded to the
advice of American counsellors in his capital, in surrendering
without bloodshed to our forces. Kearney had been authorized to
organize and muster into service a battalion of emigrants to Oregon
and California, who eagerly availed themselves of this favorable
military opportunity to reach their distant abodes on the shores of
the Pacific. After organizing the new government of Santa F6,
forming a new code of organic laws, and satisfying himself of the
stability of affairs in that quarter, Kearney departed on his mission
to California. But he had not gone far when he was met by an
express with information of the fall of that portion of Mexico, and
immediately sent back the main body of his men, continuing his
route through the wilderness with the escort of one hundred
dragoons alone. In September of this year, a regiment of New
York volunteer infantry had been despatched thither also, by sea,
under the command of Colonel Stevenson.

There is evidence in existence that shortly before the com
mencement of this war, it had been contemplated to place a large
portion of the most valuable districts of California, indirectly, under
British protection, by grants to an Irish Catholic clergyman named
Macnamara, who projected a colony of his countrymen in those
regions. He excited the Mexicans to accede to his proposal by
appeals to their religious prejudices against the Protestants of the
north, who, he alleged, would seize the jewel unless California
was settled by his countrymen whose creed would naturally unite
them with the people and institutions of Mexico. " Within a
year, he declared, California would become a part of the American
nation; and, inundated by cruel invaders, their Catholic institu-
tions would be the prey of Methodist wolves." The government
of Mexico granted three thousand square leagues in the rich valley
of San Joaquin, embracing San Francisco, Monterey, and Santa
Barbara, to this behest of the foreign priest; but his patent could

344 FREMONT SONOMA CALIFORNIAN EXPEDITION.

not be perfected until the governor of California sanctioned his
permanent tenure of the land.

In November, 1845, Lieutenant Gillespie was despatched from
Washington with verbal instructions to Captain Fremont who had
been pursuing his scientific examinations of California, and had
been inhospitably ordered by the authorities to quit the country.
Early in March of 1846, the bold explorer was within the bounda-
ries of Oregon, where he was found, in the following May, by Gil-
lespie, who delivered him his verbal orders and a letter of credence
from the Secretary of State.

In consequence of this message, Fremont abandoned his camp
in the forest, surrounded by hostile Indians, and moved south to
the valley of the Sacramento, where he was at once hailed by the
American settlers, who, together with the foreigners generally, had
received orders from the Mexican General Castro, to leave Califor-
nia. Fremont's small band immediately formed the nucleus of a
revolutionary troop, which gathered in numbers as it advanced
south, and abstaining guardedly from acts which might disgust the
people, they injured no individuals and violated no private pro-
perty. On the 14th of June, Sonoma was taken possession of, and
was garrisoned by a small force, under Mr. Ide, who issued a pro-
clamation, inviting all to come to his camp and aid in forming a
republican government. Coure and Fowler, two young Ameri
cans, were murdered about this period in the neighborhood, and
others were taken prisoners under Padilla. But the belligerants
were pursued to San Raphael by Captain Ford, where they were
conquered by the Americans ; and, on the 25th of June, Fre-
mont, who heard that Castro was approaching with two hun-
dred men, joined the camp at Sonoma. Thus far, every thing had
been conducted with justice and liberality by our men. They stu-
diously avoided disorderly conduct or captures, and invariably
promised payment for the supplies that were taken for the support
of the troopers. The Californians were in reality gratified by the
prospect of American success m their territory, for they believed
that it would secure a stable and progressive government, under
which, that beautiful region would be gradually developed.

On the 5th of July, the Californian Americans declared their
independence, and organizing a battalion, of which Fremont was
the chief, they raised the standard of the Bear and Star.

Fremont, at the head of his new battalion, moved his camp to
Sutter's Fort on the Sacramento, and whilst he was preparing, in
July, to follow General Castro to Santa Clara, he received the joy-

POSSESSION TAKEN SLOAT STOCKTON. 345

ful news that Commodore Sloat had raised the American flag on
the 7th of the month at Monterey, and that war actually existed
between Mexico and the United States. The Californian Ameri-
cans of course immediately abandoned their revolution for the
national war, and substituted the American ensign for the grisly
emblem under which they designed conquering the territory.

On the 8th of July, Commander Montgomery took possession
of San Francisco, and soon after, Fremont joined Commodore
Sloat at Monterey. Sloat, who had in reality acted upon the faith
of Fremont's operations in the north, knowing that Gillespie had
been sent to him tis a special messenger, and having heard, whilst
at Mazatlan, of the warlike movements on the Rio Grande, was
rather fearful that he had been precipitate in his conduct ; but he
resolved to maintain what he had done ; and accordingly, when
admiral Sir George Seymour, arrived in the Collingwood at Mon
terey, on the 6th of July, the grants to the Irish clergyman were
not completed, and the American flag was already floating on every
important post in the north of California. Seymour took Macna-
mara on board his ship, and thus the hopes of the British partizans
were effectually blighted when the Admiral and his passenger sailed
from the coast.

Commodore Stockton arrived at Monterey during this summer
and Sloat returned to the United States, leaving the Commodore
in command. Fremont and Gillespie, who were at the head of
forces on shore determined to act under the orders of the naval
commander, and Stockton immediately prepared for a military
movement against the city of Los Angeles, where, he learned, that
General Castro and the civil governor Pico had assembled six hun-
dred men. Fremont and the Commodore, embarking their forces
at Monterey, sailed for San Pedro and San Diego, where, landing
their troops, they united and took possession of Los Angeles on
the 13th of August. The public buildings, archives and property
fell into their possession without bloodshed, for Castro, the com-
manding general, fled at their approach. Stockton issued a pro-
clamation announcing these facts to the people on the 17th of
August, and having instituted a government, directed elections,
and required an oath of allegiance from the military. He appoint-
ed Fremont, military commandant and Gillespie, secretary. On
the 28th of August he reported these proceedings to the govern-
ment at Washington, by the messenger who \v;.s met by Genera]
Kearney, as we have already related, on his way from Santa Fe to
the Pacific. Carson, the courier, apprised the General of the con-

346 A REVOLT PICO TREATY OF COUENGA.

quest of California, and was obliged by him to return as his guide,
whilst a new messenger was despatched towards the east, with th<
missives, escorted by the residue of the troop which was deemec
useless for further military efforts on the shores of the Pacific.

But before Kearney reached his destination, a change had come
over affairs in California. Castro returned to the charge in Sep-
tember with a large Mexican force headed by General Flores, and
the town of Los Angeles and the surrounding country having
revolted, expelled the American garrison. Four hundred marines
who landed from the Savannah under Captain Mervine, were re-
pulsed, while the garrison of Santa Barbara, under Lieutenant
Talbott had retired before a large body of Californians and Mexi-
cans. Fremont, immediately resolving to increase his battalion,
raised four hundred and twenty-eight men, chiefly from the emi-
grants who moved this year to California. He mounted his troop-
ers on horses procured in the vicinity of San Francisco and Sutter's
Fort, and marched secretly but quickly to San Luis Obispo, where
he surprised and captured. Don Jesus Pico, the commandant of that
military post. Pico having been found in arms had broken his
parole, given during the early pacification, and a court-martial
sentenced him to be shot ; but Fremont, still steadily pursuing his
humane policy towards the Californians, pardoned the popular and
influential chieftain, who, from that hour, was his firm friend
throughout the subsequent troubles.

On Christmas day of 1846, amid storm and rain, in which a
hundred horses and mules perished, Fremont and his brave bat-
talion passed the mountain of Santa Barbara. Skirting the coast
through the long maritime pass at Punto Gordo, — protected on
one flank by one of the vessels of the navy, and assailed, on the
other, by fierce bands of mounted Californians, — they moved
onward until they reached the plain of Couenga where the enemy
was drawn up with a force equal to their own. Fremont sum-
moned the hostile troops to surrender, and after their consent to a
parley, went to them with. Don Jesus Pico and arranged the terms
of the capitulation, by which they bound themselves to deliver their
arms to our soldiers and to conform, at home, to the laws of the
United States, though no Californians should be compelled to take
an oath of allegiance to the United States, until the war was ended
and the treaty either exonerated them or changed their nationality.

Meanwhile General Kearney, on his westward march from Santa
Fe, had reached a place called Warner's Rancho, thirty-three miles
from San Diego, where a captured Californian mail for Sonoma
apprised him that the southern part of the territory was wrested

KEARNEY AT SAN PASCUAL — IS RELIEF Eli. 347

from our troops. The letters exulted over our discomfiture, but it
was supposed that, as usual in Mexico, they exaggerated the mis-
fortune of the Americans. Kearney's small troop was much en-
feebled by the long and fatiguing journey it had made from Santa
Fe amid great privations. From Warner's Rancho the commander
communicated with Stockton by means of a neutral Englishman,
and, on the 5th of December, was joined by Gillespie,°who in-
formed him, that a mounted Californian force, under Andres Pico
was prepared to dispute his passage towards the coast. On the
6th the Americans left the rancho, resolving to come suddenly upon
the enemy, and confident that the usual success of our troops would
attend the exploit ; — but the fresh forces of this hardy and brave
Californian band, composed perhaps, of some of the most expert
horsemen in that region, were far more than a match for the toil-
worn troopers of Kearney. Eighteen of our men were killed in
this action at San Pascual, and thirteen wounded. For several
days the camp of the Americans was besieged by the fierce and
hardy children of the soil. The provisions of the beleagured band
were scant, and it was almost entirely deprived of water. Its posi-
tion was, in every respect, most disastrous, and, in all probability,
it would have perished from famine or fallen an easy prey to the
Mexicans, had not the resolute Carson, accompanied by Lieutenant
Beale and an Indian, volunteered to pass the dangerous lines of the
enemy to seek assistance at San Diego. These heroic men per-
formed their perilous duty, and Lieutenant Grey, with a hundred
and eighty soldiers and marines, reached and relieved his anxious
countrymen on the 10th of December, bringing them, in two days,
to the American camp at San Diego.

As soon as the band had recruited its strength, Kearney naturally
became anxious to engage in active service. He had been sent to
California, according to the language of his instructions, to conquer
and govern it ; but he found Commodore Stockton already in the
position of governor, with an ample naval force at his orders,
whilst the broken remnant of the dragoons who accompanied him
from Santa Fe, was altogether incompetent to subdue the revolted
territory. By himself therefore, he was altogether inadequate for
any successful military move. Stockton, quite as anxious as Kear-
ney to engage in active hostilities, was desirous to accompany the
general as his aid ; but Kearney declined the service, and, in turn,
volunteered to become the aid of Stockton. The commodore, less
accustomed, perhaps, to military etiquette than to prompt and useful
action at a moment of difficulty, resolved at once to end the game of
idle compliments, and accepted the offer of General Kearney; but,

348 DISPUTES SAN GABRIELLE MESA — LOS ANGELES.

before they departed, Stockton agreed that he might command the
expedition in a position subordinate to him as commander-in-chief.

On the 29th of December, with sixty volunteers, four hundred
marines, six heavy pieces of artillery, eleven heavy wagons, and
fifty-seven dragoons composing the remains of General Kearney's
troop, they marched towards the north, and, on the 7th of January,
found themselves near the river San Gabrielle, the passage of which
the enemy, with superior numbers under General Flores, was prepar-
ed to dispute. It was a contest between American sailors and sol-
diers, and California horsemen, for the whole Mexican troop was
mounted; yet the Americans were successful and crossed the river.
This action occurred about nine miles from Los Angeles, and our
men pushed on six miles further, till they reached the Mesa, a level
prairie, where Flores again attacked them and was beaten off. Re-
treating thence to Couenga, the Californians, refusing to submit to
Stockton and Kearney, capitulated, as we have already declared to
Colonel Fremont, who had been raised to this rank by our govern-
ment. On the morning of the 10th of January, 1847, the Americans
took final possession of Los Angeles. Soon after this a govern-
ment was established for California, which was to continue until the
close of the war or until the government or the population of the
region changed it.

The disputes which arose between Stockton, Kearney, and Fre-
mont, as to the right to command in California, under the orders
from their respective departments, are matters rather of private and
personal interest than of such public concern as would entitle them
to be mmutely recounted in this brief sketch of the Mexican war.
It is impossible to present a faithful idea of the controversy and its
merits without entering into a detail of all the circumstances, but
for this, we have no space, in the present history. Strict military
etiquette appears to have demanded of Kearney, immediately upon
his arrival, the assertion of his right to command as a general officer
operating in the interior of the country. This was a question solely
between Stockton and himself, in which Fremont, a subordinate
officer, recently transplanted from the Topographical corps into the
regular army as a Colonel, had of course, no interest save that of
duty. Nevertheless he became involved in the controversy between
the claimants, and although raised to the rank of Governor of Cali-
fornia, by Commodore Stockton, he was deprived of his authority
when General Kearney subsequently assumed that station. The
disputes between the Commodore and the General seem to have
arisen under the somewhat conflicting instructions of the War and

Fremont's character — services — trial. 349

Navy Departments, and were calculated, as distinguished officers
afterwards declared officially, to "embarrass the mind, and to excite
the doubts of officers of greater experience" than the Colonel.

Although Fremont's services were lost for a while on the shores
of the Pacific, he was not forgotten either there, or at home. What
he had done for his country in that remote region by exploring its
solitudes with his hardy band ; what he added to geographical and
general science7; what regions he almost revealed to American
pioneers ; what services he rendered in securing a happy issue to
the war in California — have all been recollected with gratitude and
rewarded with the virgin honors of the new born State. But, at
that time, this brilliant officer who combined the science of Hum-
boldt with the energy and more than the generosity of Cortez, was
doomed to suffer more than the temporary deprivation of power.
After the war was in reality over, after Commodore Stockton had
departed and General Kearney had assumed the governorship which
was subsequently given to Colonel Mason — Fremont was refused
permission to continue his scientific pursuits in California or to join
his regiment on the active fields of Mexico. When General Kear-
ney turned his face homewards, towards the close of the spring of
1847, Fremont was ordered to follow in his train across the moun-
tains, and was finally arrested at Fort Leavenworth, on the borders
of civilization. During the next winter he was tried by a Court
Martial on charges of mutiny, disobedience, and conduct to the
prejudice of good order and military discipline, and being found
guilty was sentenced to be dismissed the service. A majority of
the court, however, considering all the circumstances of the case,
recommended him to the lenient judgment of the President, who not
being satisfied that the facts proved the military crime of mutiny —
though he sustained the court's opinion otherwise — and recognizing
Fremont's previous meritorious and valuable services, released him
from arrest, restored his sword and ordered him to report for duty.
But Fremont, feeling unconscious, as he declared, of having done
any thing to merit the finding of the court, declined the offered
restoration to the service, as he could not, "by accepting the
clemency of the President, admit the justice of the decision against
him."

45

CHAPTEE X

1847.

VALLEY OF THE RIO GRANDE. SANTA ANNA AT SAN %UIS. -

SCOTT COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. PLAN OF ATTACK ON THE EAST

COAST. GENERAL SCOTT'S PLAN. DONIPHAN'S EXPEDITION.

BRACITO SACRAMENTO. REVOLT IN NEW MEXICO.

MURDER OF RICHIE. SELECTION OF BATTLE GROUND DE-
SCRIPTION OF IT. BATTLE OF ANGOSTURA OR BUENA VISTA.

MEXICAN RETREAT — TOBASCO TAMPICO.

We return, from the theatre of these military operations on the
shores of the Pacific, to the valley of the Rio Grande and the head-
quarters of General Taylor. The armistice at Monterey had
ceased by the order of our government, and the commander of our
forces, leaving Generals Worth and Butler at Monterey and Sai-
tillo which had been seized^ hastened with a sufficient body of
troops to the gulf for the purpose of occupying Tampico, the capi
tal of the state of Tamaulipas. But he did not advance furthei
than Victoria, when he found that Tampico had surrendered to
Commodore Conner on the 14th of November.

In the meanwhile the political aspect of Mexico was changed
under the rule of Santa Anna who had returned to power, though
he had not realized the hopes of our president by acceding to an
honorable peace. A secret movement that was made by an agent
sent into the country proved altogether unsuccessful, for the people
were aroused against this union, and would listen, willingly, to no
advances for accommodation. Santa Anna, cautiously noted the
national feeling, and, being altogether unable to control or modify
it, — although he studiously refrained from committing himself
prior to his return to the capital, — he resolved to place himself at
the head of the popular movement in defence of the northern fron-
tier. Accordingly, in December, 1846, he had already assembled
a large force, amounting to twenty thousand men, at San Luis
Pctosi, the capital of the state of that name south of Monterey, on
the direct road to the heart of the internal provinces, and nearly
midway between the gulf and the Pacific.

The news of this hostile gathering which was evidently designed

PLAN OF ATTACK ON THE EAST COAST. 35]

to assail our Army of Occupation, soon reached the officers who had
been left in command at our headquarters during Taylor's absence;
and, in consequence of a despatch sent by express to General
Wool at Parras for reinforcements, that officer immediately put his
whole column in motion, and, after marching one hundred and
twenty miles in four days, found himself at Agua Nueva, within
twenty-one miles of Saltillo. Thus sustained, the officers in com-
mand, awaited with anxiety, the movements of the Mexican chief
and the return of General Taylor.

But, in the meantime, the administration at home, seeing the
inutility of continuing the attacks upon the more northern outposts
of Mexico, — which it was, nevertheless, resolved to hold as in-
demnifying hostages, inasmuch as they were contiguous to our own
soil and boundaries, — determined to strike a blow at the vitals of
Mexico by seizing her principal eastern port and proceeding
thence to the capital. For this purpose, General Scott, who had
been set aside at the commencement of the war in consequence of
a rupture between himself and the war department whilst arranging
the details of the campaign, — was once more summoned into the
field and appointed commander-in-chief of the American army in
Mexico. Up to this period, November, 1846, large recruits of
regulars and volunteers had flocked to the standard of Taylor and
were stationed at various posts in the valley of the Rio Grande,
under the command of Generals Butler, Worth, Patterson, Quit-
man and Pillow. But the project of a descent upon Vera Cruz,
which was warmly advocated by General Scott, made it necessary
to detach a considerable portion of these levies, and of their most
efficient and best drilled members. Taylor and his subordinate
commanders, were thus, placed in a mere defensive position, and
that, too, at a moment when they were threatened in front by the
best army that had been assembled for many a year in Mexico.

It is probable that the government of the United States, at the
moment it planned this expedition to Vera Cruz and the capital,
was not fully apprised of the able and efficient arrangements of
Santa Anna, or imagined that he would immediately quit San
Luis Potosi in order to defend the eastern access to the capital,
inasmuch as it was not probable that Taylor would venture to
penetrate the country with impaired forces, which, in a strictly
military point of view, were not more than adequate for garrison
service along an extended base of three hundred miles. But,
as the sequel showed, they neither estimated properly the time
that would be consumed in concentrating the forces and pre-

I

352 GENERARL SCOTt's PLAN DONIPHAN's EXPEDITION.

paring the means for their transportation to Vera Cruz, nor
judged correctly of the military skill of Santa Anna, who naturally
preferred to crush the weak northern foe with his overwhelming
force than to encounter the strong battalions of veterans who were
to be led against him on the east by the most brilliant captain o:
our country.

The enterprise of General Scott was one of extraordinary mag
nitude and responsibility. With his usual foresight he determined
that he would not advance until the expedition was perfectly com-
plete in every essential of certain success. Nothing was permitted
to disturb his equanimity or patient resolution in carrying out the
scheme as he thought best. He weighed all the dangers and all
the difficulties of the adventure, and placed no reliance upon the
supposed weakness of the enemy. This was the true, soldier-like
view of the splendid project ; and if, at the time, men were found
inconsiderate enough to blame him for procrastinating dalliance,
the glorious result of his enterprise repaid him for all the petty
sneers and misconceptions with which his discretion was under-
valued by the carpet knights at home. There is but one point
upon which we feel justified in disagreeing with his plan of cam-
paign. He should not have weakened the command of Gener
Taylor in the face of Santa Anna's army. It was almost an invi
tation to that chief for an attack upon the valley of the Rio Grande;
and had the Army of Occupation been effectually destroyed at Buen
Vista, scarcely an American would have remained, throughou
the long line of Taylor's base, to tell the tale of cruelties perpe-
trated by the flushed and revengeful victors.

Whilst events were maturing and preparations making in th<
valley of the Rio Grande and the island of Lobos, we shall direct
our attention again for a short time to the central regions of the
north of Mexico in the neighborhood of Santa Fe.

A considerable force of Missourians had been organized under
the command of Colonel Doniphan, and marched to New Mexico,
whence it was designed to despatch him towards Chihuahua.
Soon after General Kearney's departure from Santa Fe for Cali-
fornia, Colonel Price, who was subsequently raised to the rank of
general, reached that post with his western recruits and took com-
mand, whilst Doniphan was directed, by orders from Kearney,
dated near La Joya, to advance with his regiment against the
Navajo Indians, who had threatened with war the New Mexi-
cans, now under our protection. He performed this service sue-

I

BRACITO SACRAMENTO REVOLT IN NEW MEXICO. 353

cessfuUy; and, on the 22d of November, 1846, made a treaty
with the chiefs, binding them to live in amity with the Spaniards
and Americans. Reassembling all his troops at Val Verde, he
commenced ^iis march to the south, in the middle of December,
and, after incredible difficulties and great sufferings from inadequate
supplies and equipments he reached Chihuahua, fighting, on the
march, two successful actions against the Mexicans at Bracito, and
Sacramento. Having completely routed the enemy in the latter
contest, Chihuahua fell into his power. Here he tarried, recruiting
his toil-worn band, for six weeks, and, as the spring opened,
pushed onwards to the south until he reached the headquarters of
Taylor, whence he returned with his regiment to the United States.
His army marched five thousand miles during the campaign, and
its adventures form one of the most romantic episodes in the war
with Mexico.

Whilst Doniphan was advancing southward, the command of
Price was wTell nigh destroyed in New Mexico and the wild region
intervening between its borders and the frontiers of the United
States. A conspiracy had been secretly organized, among the
Mexican and half-breed population, to rise against the Americans.
On the 19th of January, 1847, massacres occurred, simultaneously,
at Taos, Arroyo Hondo, Rio Colorado and Mora. At Taos,
Governor Charles Bent, one of the oldest and most experienced
residents in that region was cruelly slain, and a great deal of valu-
able property destroyed by the merciless foe. Price received intel-
ligence of this onslaught on the 20th, and rapidly calling in his
outposts, marched with a hastily gathered band of about three
hundred and fifty men against the enemy, whom he met, attacked
and overawed on the 24th, at Canada. Reinforced by Captain
Burgwin from Alburquerque, he again advanced against the insur-
gents; and on the 28th, defeated a Mexican force estimated at fif-
teen hundred, at the pass of El Embudo. Passing, thence, over
the Taos mountain, through deep snows, in midwinter, the resolute
commander pursued his way unmolested through the deserted set-
tlement which had been recently ravaged by the rebels, nor did he
encounter another force until he came upon the enemy at Pueblo,
when he stormed the fortified position, and gained the day but
with the loss of the gallant Burgwin and other valuable officers.
Mora was reduced again to subjection, early in February, by Cap-
tain Morin ; and, in all these rapid but successful actions, it is esti-
mated that near three hundred Mexicans paid the forfeit of their lives
for the cruel conspiracy and its fatal results.

354 MURDER OF RICHIE SELECTION OF BATTLE GROUND.

From this moment the tenure of our possessions in New Mexico
was no longer considered secure. The troops in that district were
not the best disciplined or most docile in the army, and, to th(
dangers of another sudden outbreak among the treacherous Mexi-
cans, was added the fear of a sudden rising among the Indian
tribes who were naturally anxious to find any pretext or chance for
ridding the country of a foe whom they feared far more, as a per-
manent neighbor, than the comparatively feeble half-breeds and
Mexicans.

In December of 1846, Lieutenant Richie, who bore despatches
to Taylor apprising him of the meditated attack upon Vera Cruz,
was seized and slain by the Mexicans whilst on his way to the
headquarters, and, thus, Santa Anna became possessed of the plan
of the proposed campaign. The Army of Occupation had been
sadly impaired by the abstraction of its best material for future ac-
tion on the southern line under the commander-in-chief. But
General Taylor resolved at once to face the danger stoutly, and to
manifest no symptom of unsoldierlike querulousness under the in-
justice he experienced from the government. Nevertheless,
prudent in all things, and foreseeing the danger of his command, of
the lower country, and of the morale of the whole army, in the
event of his defeat, — he exposed the error of the war department
in his despatches to the adjutant general and secretary, so that
history, if not arms, might eventually do justice to his discretion
and fortitude.

The note of preparation preceded, for some time, the actual ad-
vent of Santa Anna from San Luis Potosi, and all was bustle in
the American encampments which were spread from Monterey to
Agua Nueva beyond Saltillo, in order to give him the best possible
reception under the circumstances. Wool was encamped with a
force at Agua Nueva, in advance on the road from Saltillo to San
Luis, about thirteen miles from the pass of Angostura, where the
road lies through a mountain gorge, defended, on one side, by a
small table land near the acclivities of the steep sierra and cut wit
the channels of rough barrancas or ravines worn by the waters as
they descend from the summits, and, on the other by an exten-
sive net work of deep and impassable gullies which drained the
slopes of the western spurs.

This spot was decided upon, as the battle ground in the event
of an attack, and the encampment at Agua Nueva, in front of it
was kept up as an extreme outpost, whence the scouts might be
sent forth to watch the approach of Santa Anna.

he

'i

DESCRIPTION OF IT. 355

On tte 21st of February, the positive advance of that chief was
announced. The camp was immediately broken up, and all our
forces rapidly concentrated in the gorge of Angostura. Our troops
did not amount to more than four thousand six hundred and ninety
efficient men, while we had reason to believe that Santa Anna
commanded nearly five times that number and was greatly superior
to us in cavalry, a part of which, had been sent by secret paths
through the mountains, to the rear of our position, so as to cut off
our retreat, in the event of our failure in the battle.

The great object of Taylor in selecting his ground and forming
his plan of battle, was to make his small army equal, as near as
possible, to that of Santa Anna, by narrowing the front of attack,
and thus concentrating his force upon any point through which the
Mexicans might seek to break. In other words, it was his design
to dam up the strait of Angostura with a living mass, and to leave
no portion of the unbroken ground on the narrow table-land unde-
fended by infantry and artillery. The battle ground that had been
selected was admirably calculated for this purpose ; and his fore-
sight was justified by the result. It was not necessary for Taylor
to capture, or annihilate his enemy, for he was victor, if with, but
a single regiment, he kept the valley closed against the Mexicans.
The centre of the American line was the main road, in which was
placed a battery of eight pieces, reduced, during the action to five,
supported by bodies of infantry. On the right of the stream, which
swept along the edge of the western mountains, was a single regi-
ment and some cavalry, with two guns, which it was supposed,
would be sufficient, with the aid of the tangled gulleys to arrest the
Mexicans in that quarter. On the left of the stream, where the
ravines were fewer, and the plain between them wider, stood two
regiments of infantry, suitably furnished with artillery, and extend-
ing from the central battery on the road, to the base of the eastern
mountains, on whose skirts an adequate force of cavalry and rifle-
men was posted.

In order to break this array, Santa Anna divided his army into
three attacking columns, each of which nearly doubled the whole of
Taylor's force. One of these, was opposed to the battery of eight
guns in order to force the road, and the other two were designed to
outflank our position by penetrating or turning the squadrons
stationed at the base of the mountains.

On the afternoon of the 22d of February, the attack began by a
skirmishing attempt to pass to the rear of our left wing ; but as the
Mexicans climbed the mountain, in their endeavor to outflank 111

356 BATTLE OF ANGOSTURA OR BUENA VISTA.

in that quarter, they were opposed by our infantry and riflemen,
who disputed successfully every inch of ground, until night closed
and obliged the Mexicans to retire. General Taylor, fearing an
attack from the cavalry upon Saltillo, immediately departed with a
suitable escort to provide for its safety, and left General Wool to
command during his absence.

After day dawn, on the 23d, Santa Anna again commenced the
battle, by an attack upon the left wing, and, for a while, was with-
stood, until a portion of our forces, after a brave defenee, mistaking
an order to retire, for an order to retreat, became suddenly panic-
struck, and fled from the field. At this moment, Taylor returned
from Saltillo, and found the whole left of our position broken,
whilst the enemy was pouring his masses of infantry and cavalry
along the base of the eastern mountains towards our rear.

Meanwhile the battery in the road had repulsed the Mexican
column sent against it, and spared three of its guns for service on
the upper plain. The regiment, on the right of the stream, had
been brought over to the left bank with its cannons, and was now,
in position with two other regiments, facing the mountains, be-
tween which and this force, was a gap, through whose opening,
the Mexicans steadily advanced under a dreadful fire. Nearly all
the artillery had been concentrated at the same place, while, in
other parts of the field and nearer to the hacienda of Buena Vista,
in the American rear, were bodies of our cavalry, engaged in con-
flict with the advancing foe.

As Taylor approached this disastrous scene, he met the fugitives,
and speedily made his dispositions to stop the carnage. With a
regiment from Mississippi, he restrained a charge of Mexican cav
airy, and ordered all the artillery, save four guns, to the rear t
drive back the exulting Mexicans. This manoeuvre was perfectly
successful, and, so dreadfully was the enemy cut up by the new
attack, that Santa Anna, availed himself of a ruse, by a flag of
truce, in order to suspend the action, whilst he withdrew his men.

The transfer of so large a portion of Taylor's most efficient
troops to the rear of his original line, had greatly weakened his
front, in the best positions, where the inequalities of ground sus-
tained his feeble numbers. Santa Anna was not unmindful of the
advantage he had gained by these untoward events, and prepared
all his best reserves, which were now brought for the first time into
action, for another attack. Taylor had with him three regiments
and four pieces of artillery. His front was rather towards the
mountain than the open pass, while his back was towards the road

i

V

MEXICAN RETREAT TOBASCO TAMPICO. 357

along the stream. On his right was the whole Mexican army ; on
his left, far off in the rear, were the troops that had repulsed and
cut up the Mexican column ; and the great effort, upon whose suc-
cess all depended, was to bring these dispersed squadrons again
into action, whilst he maintained the position against the assault
of the fresh reserves. As Santa Anna advanced with his inspirited
columns, he was met by regiments of infantry, which stood firm,
until, overwhelmed by numbers and driven into a ravine, they
were cruelly slaughtered. After the American infantry had been
overcome, the last hope was in the artillery, and, with this, the
Mexican advance was effectually stopped and the battle won.

The whole day had been spent in fighting, and when night
came, the field was covered with dead. It was an anxious season
for our battered troops, and whilst all were solicitous for the event
of a contest, which it was supposed would be renewed on the mor-
row, the greatest efforts were not only made to inspirit the troops
who had borne the brunt of two days' battle, but to bring up rein-
forcements of artillery and cavalry that had been stationed between
Saltillo and Monterey. At day dawn, however, on the 24th, the
enemy was found to have retreated.

This wonderful battle saved the north of Mexico and the valley
of the Rio Grande ; for Minon and Urrea were already in our rear
with regular troops and bands of rancheros, ready to cut up our
flying army, and descend upon our slender garrisons. Urrea cap-
tured a valuable wagon train at Ramos, in the neighborhood of
Monterey. From the 22d to the 26th of February, he continually
threatened our weakened outposts, and from that period until the
7th of March inflicted severe injuries upon our trains and convoys
from the gulf. In the meantime Santa Anna retreated to San Luis
Potosi with the fragments of his fine army, and not long after,
General Taylor retired from a field of service, in which he was no
longer permitted to advance, or required except for garrison duty.

In the months of October and November, 1846, Tobasco and
Tampico had yielded to our navy ; the former after a severe attack
conducted by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, and the latter with-
out bloodshed.

4<i

CHAPTER XI.

1846 — 1847.

CHANGES HIS PRINCIPLES. SALAS

EXECUTIVE. CONSTITUTION OF 1824 RESTORED PAREDES.

PLANS OF SALAS AND SANTA ANNA HIS LETTER TO AL-
MONTE HIS VIEWS OF THE WAR REFUSES THE DICTATOR-
SHIP COMMANDS THE ARMY. STATE OF PARTIES IN MEX-
ICO PUE.OS MODERADOS SANTA ANNA AT SAN LUIS.

PEACE PROPOSITIONS INTERNAL TROUBLES. FARIAS'S CON-
TROVERSY WITH THE CHURCH. POLKO REVOLUTION IN THE

CAPITAL VICE PRESIDENCY SUPPRESSED IMPORTANT DECREE.

When General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna landed from the
steamer Arab, after having been permitted to pass the line of our
blockading fleet at Vera Cruz he was received by only a few
friends. His reception was in fact not a public one, nor marked
by enthusiasm.

By the revolution which overthrew Paredes, General Salas came
into the exercise of the chief executive authority, and as soon as
Santa Anna arrived he despatched three high officers to welcome
him, among whom was Valentin Gomez Farias, a renowned
leader of the federalist party, in former days a bitter foe of the
exiled chief. Santa Anna, in his communications with the revolu-
tionists from Cuba, had confessed his political mistake, in former
years, in advocating the central system. " The love of provincial
liberty," said he, in a letter to a friend dated in Havana on the 8th
of March, 1846, "being firmly rooted in the minds of all, and the
democratic principle predominating every where, nothing can be
established in a solid manner in the country, which does not con-
form to these tendencies, nor can we without them attain either
order, peace, prosperity or respectability among foreign nations.

" To draw every thing to the centre, and thus to give unity of
action to the republic as I at one time deemed best, is no longer
possible ; nay, more, I say it is dangerous ; it is contrary to the
object I proposed to myself in the unitarian system, because we
thereby expose ourselves to the separation of the northern depart-
ments which are most clamorous for freedom of internal administra-
tion. * * * * I therefore urge you to use all your influence
to reconcile the liberals, communicating with Senor Farias and his

ih

CONSTITUTION OF 1824 RESTORED PAREDES. 359

friends, in order to induce them to come to an understanding with
us- * * * I will in future, support the claims of the

masses ; leaving the people entirely at liberty to organize their
system of government and to regulate their offices in a manner that
may please them best."

These declarations, and the knowledge of Santa Anna's sagacity
and influence with the masses had probably induced Farias to ad-
here to the project of his recall which was embraced in the move-
ments of the revolutionists. And, accordingly, we find that upon
his landing, Santa Anna published a long manifesto to the people
which he concludes by recommending that, until they proclaim a
new constitution, the federal constitution of 1824 be readopted for
the internal administration of the country.

Salas, who had previously ordered the governors of the depart-
ments to be guided solely by the commands of Santa Anna, imme-
diately issued a bando national, or edict, countersigned by the act-
ing secretary of state, Monasterio, which embodied the views of the
returned exile, and proclaimed the constitution of 1824, in accord-
ance with his recommendation.

Paredes, meanwhile, who had been taken prisoner on the 5th of
August, 1846, whilst attempting to fly the country, was held in
close confinement at the castle of Perote. Some persons proposed
to treat him severely in consequence of his monarchical notions ;
but Salas averted dexterously all the spiteful blows that were aimed
at him, and he was finally allowed to retire to Europe, where he
remained until a later period of the war, when he returned to yield
no significant services to his invaded country. Since the termina-
tion of the contest he hns paid the great debt of nature, on his
native soil, and a merciful pen will conceal the faults of a mixed
nature which was not unadorned by virtues, and, under other cir-
cumstances and with different habits, might have made him a use-
ful ruler in Mexico.

General Salas, who exercised supreme command from the 7th to
to the 20th of August, professed to have done as little as possible
of his own will, and only what was urgently demanded by the ne-
cessity of the case. He boasted, however, that he had effected
what he could " to aid the brave men who, in Monterey, have
determined to die rather than succumb to the invasion and per-
fidiousness of the Americans." In his communications to Santa
Anna he urged him to hasten to Mexico as soon as possible to as-
sume his powers, and the Mexican gazettes commend him for re-

360 PLANS OF SALAS AND SANTA ANNA.

fusing to accept the pay of president while discharging the func-
tions of his office.

On the 15th of August, Salas issued a proclamation, in which he
announced to his countrymen that a new insult had been offered to
them, and that another act of baseness had been perpetrated by the
Americans. He alluded to the Californias, which, he said, " the
Americans have now seized by the strong hand, after having vil-
lanously robbed us of Texas."* He announced that the expedition
which had been so long preparing would set forth in two days for
the recovery of the country, and that measures would be taken to
arrange the differences existing between the people of the Califor-
nias and the various preceding central administrations. In con-
clusion, he appealed eloquently to the Californians to second with
their best exertions the attempt, which would be made to drive out
the Americans, and to unite their rich and fertile territories forever
to the Republic.

During the administration of this chief, various proclamations
were issued to arouse the people to take part in the war, by en-
listing and by contributing their means. Efforts were also made
to organize the local militia, but with little effect.

Santa Anna, in his reply to Salas on the 20th of August, accepts
the trust which is formally devolved upon him, and approves of the
acts of the latter, especially in sending forward all the troops to
Monterey, New Mexico, and California, and in summoning a Con-
gress for the 6th of December. These, he says, are the two first
wants of the nation, the formation of a constitution for the country,
and the purification of the soil of the country from foreign invaders.
These ends gained, he will gladly lay down his power. " My
functions will cease," he says, "when I have established the nation
in its rights ; when I see its destinies controled by its legitimate
representatives, and when I may be able, by the blessing of heaven,
to lay at the feet of the national representatives laurels plucked on
the banks of the Sabine — all of which must be due to the force
and the will of the Mexican people."

Santa Anna at length quitted his hacienda, where he had doubt-
less been waiting for the opportune moment to arrive when he
could best exhibit himself to the inhabitants of the capital, and pro-
fit by their highest enthusiasm, pushed to an extreme by alternate
hopes and fears. On the 14th of September he reached Ayotla, a
small town distant twenty-five miles from the city of Mexico.
Here he received a communication from Almonte, the secre-
tary of war, ad interim, proposing to him the supreme executive

HIS LETTER TO ALMONTE. 361

power, or dictatorship. This offer was made on the part of the
provisional government.

Santa Anna immediately replied in the following strain to the
missive of his partizan :
General Santa Anna, commander-in-chief of the Liberating Army,

to General Almonte, minister of war of the republic of Mexico.
Ayotla, 1 o'clock, A. M., Sept. 14, 1846.

Sir : I have received your favor of this date, acknowledging a
decree issued by the supreme government of the nation, embracing
a programme of the proceedings adopted to regulate a due celebra-
tion of the re-establishment of the constitution of 1824, the as-
sumption by myself of the supreme executive power, and the anni-
versary of the glorious grito of Dolores.

My satisfaction is extreme to observe the enthusiasm with which
preparations are made to celebrate the two great blessings which
have fallen upon this nation — her independence and her liberty —
and I am penetrated with the deepest gratitude to find that my ar-
rival at the capital will be made to contribute to the solemnities of
so great an occasion. In furtherance of this object I shall make
my entree into that city to-morrow at mid-day, and desire, in con-
tributing my share to the national jubilee, to observe such a course
as may best accord with my duties to my country — beloved of my
heart — and with the respect due to the will of the sovereign people.

I have been called by the voice of my fellow- citizens to exercise
the office of commander-in-chief of the army of the republic. I
was far from my native land when intelligence of this renewed con-
fidence, and of these new obligations imposed upon me by my coun-
try was brought to me, and I saw that the imminent dangers which
surrounded her on all sides, formed the chief motive for calling me
to the head of the army. I now see a terrible contest with a per-
fidious and daring enemy impending over her, in which the Mexican
republic must reconquer the insignia of her glory and a fortunate
issue, if victorious, or disappear from the face of the earth, if so
unfortunate as to be defeated. I also see a treacherous faction
raising its head from her bosom, which, in calling up a form of
government detested by the united nation, provokes a preferable
submission to foreign dominion ; and I behold, at last, that after
much vacillation, that nation is resolved to establish her right to
act for herself, and to arrange such a form of government as best
suits her wishes.

All this I have observed, and turned a listening ear to the cry of
my desolated country, satisfied that she really needed my weak

362 HIS VIEWS OF THE WAR REFUSES THE

services at so important a period. Hence I have come, without
hesitation or delay, to place myself in subjection to her will ; and,
desirous to be perfectly understood, upon reaching my native soil,
I gave a full and public expression of my sentiments and principles.
The reception which they met convinced me that I had not de-
ceived myself, and I am now the more confirmed in them, not from
having given them more consideration, but because they have found
a general echo in the hearts of my fellow-citizens.

I come, then, to carry my views into operation, and in compli-
ance with the mandate of my country. She calls me as comman-
der-in-chief of the army, and in that capacity I stand ready to
serve. The enemy occupies our harbors — he is despoiling us of
the richest of our territories, and threatens us with his domination !
I go, then, to the head of the Mexican army — an army the off-
spring of a free people — and joined with it, I will fulfil my utmost
duty in opposing the enemies of my country. I will die fighting,
or lead the valiant Mexicans to the enjoyment of a triumph to
which they are alike entitled by justice, by their warlike character,
and by the dignity and enthusiasm which they have preserved, of a
free nation. The war is a necessity of immediate importance ;
every day's delay is an age of infamy; I cannot recede from the
position which the nation has assigned me ; I must go forward,
unless I would draw upon myself the censure due to ingratitude for
the favors with which I have been overwhelmed by my fellow-
citizens ; or, unless I would behold her humbled and suffering
under a perpetuation of her misfortunes.

Your excellency will at once perceive how great an error I
should commit in assuming the supreme magistracy, when my duty
calls me to the field, to fight against the enemies of the republic.
I should disgrace myself, if, when called to the point of danger, I
should spring to that of power ! Neither my loyalty nor my honor
requires the abandonment of interests so dear to me. The single
motive of my heart is to offer my compatriots the sacrifice of that
blood which yet runs in my veins. I wish them to know that I
consecrate myself entirely to their service, as a soldier ought to do,
and am only desirous further to be permitted to point out the course
by which Mexico may attain the rank to which her destinies call her.

In marching against the enemy, and declining to accept pow-
er, I give a proof of the sincerity of my sentiments ; leaving the
nation her own mistress, at liberty to dispose of herself as she
sees fit. The elections for members of a congress to form the con-
stitution which the people wish to adopt, are proceeding. That

DICTATORSHIP COMMANDS THE ARMY. 363

congress will now soon convene, and while I shall be engaged in
the conflict in armed defence of her independence, the nation will
place such safeguards around her liberties as may best suit herself.

If I should permit myself for a single moment, to take the reins
of government, the sincerity of my promises would be rendered
questionable, and no confidence could be placed in them.

I am resolved that they shall not be falsified, for in their redemp-
tion I behold the general good, as well as my honor as a Mexican
and a soldier. I cannot abandon this position. The existing
government has pursued a course with which the nation has shown
itself content, and I have no desire to subvert it by taking its place.
I feel abundant pleasure in remaining where I am, and natter my-
self that the nation will applaud my choice. I shall joyfully accept
such tasks as she shall continue to impose upon me ; and while she
is engaged in promoting the objects of civilization, I will brave
every danger in supporting its benefits, even at the cost of my
existence.

Will your excellency have the goodness to tender to the supreme
government my sincere thanks for their kindness ? I will person
ally repeat them to-morrow, for which purpose I propose to call at
the palace. I shall there embrace my friends, and hastily pressing
them to my heart, bid them a tender farewell, and set out to the
scene of war, to lend my aid to serve my country, or to perish
among its ruins.

I beg to repeat to your excellency assurances of my continued
and especial esteem. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

On the 15th of September, Santa Anna arrived at the capital,
amid rejoicings more enthusiastic than had ever been witnessed
before. The people seemed to behold in him their saviour, and
were almost frantic with joy. The testimonies of attachment to
his person were unbounded, and the next day the most vigorous
measures, so far as declarations go, were adopted by the provision-
al government.

A levy of thirty thousand men to recruit the army was ordered.
Requisitions were forthwith transmitted to all the principal places
in the republic, for their respective quotas of men. Puebla, and
the whole of the towns within a circuit of fifty or sixty leagues of
the metropolis, are stated to have complied with the requisition for
troops, with the greatest alacrity, to facilitate tin- arming and
equipping of this large body, the government ordered that duties
on all munitions of war shall cease to be levied, until further ootice.

364

STATE OF PARTIES IN MEXICO

PUROS,

Santa Anna was thus once more in the capital and effectually at
the head of power ; but he remained only a short time to attend to
political matters, and dreading, doubtless, to assume openly the
management of the government or to trust himself away from the
protection of the military, he hastened to surround his person with
the army ; — as commander-in-chief, he effectually controled all
the departments of the government.

In order to perceive distinctly the perilous position of Santa
Anna, we must understand the state of parties in Mexico. The
revolution which placed him in power was brought about by a
union of the federalists with his partizans. Santa Anna, of course,
retained an influence over his adherents after arriving in Mexico;
but the federalists were divided into two parties — the Puros and
Moderados, or, democrats and conservatives. The dissensions in
these sections enabled Santa Anna, in a degree, to hold the balance
between them. Salas, the acting executive, was a conservative,
and Gomez Farias, president of the council of government, was a
democrat. Intrigue after intrigue occurred in the cabinet and
elsewhere among the ultras to supplant Salas, and several resigna-
tions gave evidence of the ill feeling and dissensions betwixt the
ministers — Cortina and Pacheco, both conservatives, resigned —
and so did Rejon and Farias. The National Guard intimated its
discontent with the condition of things very manifestly, and the
new cabinet was filled with old enemies of Santa Anna. Mean-
while Almonte, the ablest man in the country, retained the ministry
of war.

About this time the state of San Luis Potosi pronounced against
the presidency of General Salas, demanding that General Santa
Anna should assume the executive functions, or that some one
should be named by him. As a precaution against the apprehend-
ed attempts upon his life, Salas retired on the 25th of October from
the capital to Tacubaya. The greater part of the permanent garri-
son of the capital took up its quarters in the same place. Santa
Anna was probably determined that General Salas should not
obtain too absolute an ascendancy. Report said that Salas was
honest enough to attempt to carry into effect all the guaranties of
the revolution of Jalisco and the citadel, and that his policy did not
suit the chief; but Santa Anna professed to act in the utmost har-
mony with him.

This outbreak against the provisional government of General
Salas was soon suppressed, and Santa Anna remained in command
of the armv at San Luis Potosi, but without making any attack

MODERADOS SANTA ANNA AT SAN LUIS. 365

upon our forces on the Rio Grande after the defeat of Ampudia at
Monterey, or endeavoring to prevent our subsequent capture of
Victoria and Tampico.

On the 23d of December congress voted, by states, for provisional
president and vice president. Each state had one vote in this elec-
tion, determined by the majority of its deputies. Twenty-two
states voted, including the federal district of Mexico, and two ter-
ritories. Santa Anna's opponent, Francisco Elorriega, was the
choice of nine states, and Gomez Farias was elected vice presi-
dent. The day before the election the members of the cabinet
threw up their portfolios ; and, in the midst of his evident political
unpopularity with the politicians Santa Anna seems to have been
left by the authorities at San Luis Potosi with an army destitute of
efficient arms, of military knowledge, and of the means of support.
Santa Anna accepted the provisional presidency.

Meanwhile our army had been advancing steadily since the bat-
tles of Resaca de la Palma and Palo Alto on the 8th and 9th of
May, 1846. California had fallen into our hands, and New Mexico
had been subjugated. Tampico was, also, ours, and Taylor had
pushed his victorious army to Saltillo. Santa Anna stood, at bay,
in San Luis Potosi ; for he was not yet prepared to fight, and
popular opinion would not permit him to negotiate. In this forlorn
condition he resorted to the usual occupation of the Mexican gov-
ernment when in distress, and issued, despatch after despalch to
stimulate congress, the cabinet and the people in the lingering war.

Nor was the government of the United States, meanwhile, inatten-
tive to this position of affairs in Mexico, or indisposed to afford the
government an opportunity to reconcile our difficulties by negotia-
tion. Two distinct efforts were made by Mr. Buchanan, our secre-
tary of state in the summer of 1846, and in January, 1847 ; but
both proved abortive, and we were therefore obliged to continue
hostilities.

At length, when Santa Anna perceived the enfeebled condition
of General Taylor, and believed that Scott would be for a long
time hindered from effecting his attack upon Vera Cruz, he marched
to Buena Vista and experienced the sad reverse which we have al-
ready recounted. As soon as the battle was over the wily and
discomfited chief immediately began to repair the losses of his
arms by the eloquence and adroitness of his pen. In a long ac-
count of the battle he treats the affair as almost a victory, and
leaves the public mind of Mexico in doubt as to whether he had

47

366 PEACE PROPOSITIONS INTERNAL TROUBLES.

been beaten or victorious. The few trophies, taken in the saddest
moments of the action, were sent in triumph to the interior and
paraded as the spolia opima in San Luis and the city of Mexico.
The public men of the country knew that Angostura had in reality
been lost, and Minon who was seriously assailed in the press by
Santa Anna for not co-operating at the critical moment, published
a reply in which he treated Santa Anna in the plainest terms and
denounced, as false, the general's statement that his troops were
famishing for food on the 24th of February, and that his failure to
destroy Taylor's army was only owing to this important fact!
This system of mutual denunciation and recrimination was quite
common in Mexico, whenever a defeat was to be accounted for or
thrown on the shoulders of an individual who was not in reality
answerable for it.

When Santa Anna returned to San Luis Potosi, he entered that
city with not one half the army that accompanied him on his de-
parture to the north. It was moreover worn out and disorganized
by the long and painful march over the bleak desert, and had en-
tirely lost its habit of discipline. Such was the condition of things
at San Luis in the month of March, when Santa Anna found him-
self compelled to organize another force to resist the enemy on the
east; but whilst his attention was diligently directed to this subject
the sad news reached him, that Mexico was not only assailed from
without, but that her capital was torn by internal dissensions.

The peace between the president, and the vice president, Don
Valentin Gomez Farias, had been cemented by the good offices
of mutual friends, though it is not likely that any very ardent friend-
ship could have sprung up suddenly between men whose politics
had always been so widely variant. Nor was there less difference
between the moral than the political character of these personages.
Santa Anna, the selfish, arrogant military chieftain, — a man of
unquestionable genius and talent for command, — had passed his
life in spreading his sails to catch the popular breeze, and by his
alliances with the two most powerful elements of Mexican society,
— the army and the church, — had always contrived to sustain his
eminent political position, or recover it when it was temporarily
lost. Such was the case in his return to power after the invasion
of the French, in the attack upon whom he fortunately lost a limb
which became a constant capital upon which to trade in the cor-
rupt but sentimental market of popular favor. Valentin Gomez
Farias, on the contrary was a pure, straightforward, uncompro-
mising patriot, always alive to the true progressive interests of the

Farias's controversy with the church. 367

Mexican nation, and satisfied that these could only be secured by
the successful imitation of our federal system, together with the
destruction of the large standing army, and the release of the large
church properties from the incubus of mortmain.

There was much discontent in Mexico with the election of these
two personages to the presidency and vice presidency. Reflecting
men thought the union unnatural, and although the desperate times
required desperate remedies, there was something so incongruous
in the political alliance between Farias and Santa Anna, that little
good could be expected to issue from it. The clergy were alarmed
for its wealth, and the moderate party was frightened by the ha-
bitual despotism of Santa Anna. The latter personage was in fact,
regarded with more favor at the moment by all classes, than Farias,
because the country had reason to believe him a man of action, and
familiar in times of danger and distress, with all its resources of
men and money; and as he was entirely occupied with the organi-
zation and management of the army at San Luis, the opposition
party directed all its blows against the administration of the vice
presidency.

A few days after the installation of the new governnient, the
agitation of the mort-main question was commenced in congress.
The Puro party united with the executive, made every effort to
destroy the power of the clergy, by undermining the foundation of
its wealth, while the Moderados became the supporters of the ec-
clesiastics, under the lead of Don Mariano Otero.

At length the law was passed, but it was not a frank and de-
cided act, destroying at once the privileges of the clergy and de-
claring their possessions to be the property of the republic. In
fact it was a mere decree for the seizure of ecclesiastical incomes,
which threatened the non-complying with heavy fines if they did
not pay over to the civil authorities, the revenues which had for-
merly been collected by the stewards of convents and monks.

This act, comparatively mild as it was, and temporary as it
might have been considered, did not satisfy the clergy, even in this
moment of national peril. They resorted to the spiritual weapons
which they reserved for extreme occasions. They fulminated ex-
communications ; and published dreadful threats of punishment
hereafter for the crime that had been committed by placing an im-
pious hand upon wealth which they asserted belonged to God
alone. This conduct of the religious orders had its desired effect
not only among the people, but among the officers of government ;
for the chief clerk of the finance department, Hurci, refused to

368 POLKO REVOLUTION IN THE CAPITAL.

sign the law, and it was sometime before a suitable person could
be found to put the law in operation. Santa Anna adroitly kept
himself aloof from the controversy, and wrote from San Luis, that
he merely desired support for the army, and that in other questions,
especially those touching the clergy, he had no desire to enter, but
would limit himself to the recommendation, that neither the canons,
nor the collegiate establishment of Guadalupe, should be molested,
inasmuch as he entertained the greatest friendship for the one, and
the most reverential devotion for the other.

But the executive, fixed in its intention to liberate the property
held in mortmain, took every means to carry the law into effect,
and experienced the utmost resistance from the incumbents, espe-
cially when the property happened to belong to the female sex,
which is always averse from intercourse or dealings with persons
who are regarded as inimical to the church.

This rigorous conduct of the executive, and the opposition it en-
countered from the Moderados, fomented by that powerful, spirit-
ual class which has so long controled the conscience of the
masses, gave rise, at this period, to the outbreak in the capital,
which is known as the revolution of the Polkos. It began on
the 22d of February, 1847, in Mexico, whilst Santa Anna was
firing the first guns at Angostura ; and its great object was to
drive Farias from executive power. The forces on both sides,
amounted to six thousand men, and were divided between the
Polkos and the partizans of the government. Funds were found
to support both factions, and from that time to the 21st of March,
the city of Mexico was converted into a battle field. On the morn-
ing of that day Santa Anna, who had already despatched a portion
of his broken army towards the coast, and who had been ap-
proached on his journey from the capital, by emissaries from both
factions, arrived at Guadalupe, and immediately the contest
ceased The stewards of the convents refused to expend more
money for the support of their partizans, and the treasury of the
government was closed against its adherents. The personal in-
fluence of Santa Anna thus put an end to a disgraceful rebellion
which threatened the nationality of Mexico, within, whilst a
foreign enemy was preparing to attack its most vital parts from
the gulf.

The conflict of arms was over, but the partizans of the clergy
did not intermit their efforts to get rid of the obnoxious vice-presi-
dent ; and at length, they effected pacifically, what they had been
unable to do by force.

VICE PRESIDENCY SUPPRESSED IMPORTANT DECREE. 369

They brought in a bill declaring that " the vice presidency of
the republic, created by the decree of the 21st December, 1846,
should be suppressed." The debate upon this was of the most
animated nature, the friends and enemies of Farias showing equal
vehemence in sustaining their views. On the 31st day of March
the vote was taken, and the proposition carried by a vote of thirty-
eight to thirty-five.

The following day a decree was passed embodying the above
proposition and others :

1. Permission is granted to the actual president of the republic
to take command in person of the forces which the government
may place under his command, to resist the foreign enemy.

2. The vice presidency of the republic, established by the law
of 21st December last, is suppressed.

3. The place of the provisional president shall be filled by a
substitute, named by congress according to the terms of the law
just cited.

4. If in this election the vote of the deputations should be tied,
in place of determining the choice by lot, congress shall decide,
voting by person.

5. The functions of the substitute shall cease when the pro-
visional president shall return to the exercise of power.

6. On the 15th day of May next the legislatures of the states shall
proceed to the election of a president of the republic, according to
the form prescribed by the constitution of 1824, and with no other
difference save voting for one individual only.

7. The same legislatures shall at once transmit to the sovereign
congress the result of the election in a certified despatch.

This decree having been passed, it was at once signified to con-
gress, through a minister, that Santa Anna was desirous of assum-
ing the command of the army immediately and marching to the
east to provide for the national defence. Congress went at once
into permanent session, in order to choose a substitute or the presi-
dent. The election resulted in the choice of Senor D. Pedro Anaya.
He received sixty votes and General Almonte eleven, voting by
persons, and eighteen votes against three, counting by deputa-
tions. The result being promulgated, permission was granted that
Senor Anaya should at once take the oath of office. This was on
the 1st of April, and on the 2d, Anaya entered upon his duties. He
dispensed with the usual visits of congratulation and ceremony on
account of the pressure of public business, and Santa Anna left the
capital for the armv in the afternoon of the same day.

CHAPTEE XII.

1847.

GENERAL SCOTT AT LOBOS LANDING AT AND SIEGE OF VERA

CRUZ CAPITULATION AND CONDITION OF VERA CRUZ CON-
DITION OF MEXICO ALVARADO, ETC., CAPTURED SCOTt's AD-
VANCE DESCRIPTION OF CERRO GORDO MEXICAN DEFENCES

AND MILITARY DISPOSAL THERE BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO.

PEROTE AND PUEBLA YIELD SANTA ANNA RETURNS CONSTI-
TUTION OF 1824 READOPTED MEXICAN POLITICS OF THE

DAY WAR SPIRIT GUERILLAS PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

The extraordinary genius of Santa Anna, and the influence he
possessed over his countrymen were perhaps never more powerfully
manifested than in the manner in which, amid all these disasters, he
maintained his reputation and popularity, and gathered a new army
to defend the eastern frontier of Mexico. But whilst he was en-
gaged preparing in the interior, we must return to the scene of Gen-
eral Scott's operations on the coast. The small island of Lobos,
about a hundred and twenty-five miles from Vera Cruz, had been
selected for the rendezvous of the several corps which were to com-
pose the American invading army; and the magnitude of the enter-
prize may be estimated from the fact, that one 'hundred and sixty-
three vessels were employed as transports. On the seventh of
March, Scott embarked his troops in the squadron under Commo-
dore Connor, and on the ninth, landed the army upon the coast
below the island of Sacrificios without the loss of a man, and with-
out opposition from the neighboring city of Vera Cruz, which he
summoned in vain to surrender. Having planted his batteries, and
placed them under the command of Colonel Bankhead, as Chief of
Artillery, he commenced a vigorous bombardment of the city on the
eighteenth, aided, afloat and on shore, by the guns of the fleet which
had been transferred from Commodore Connor to the command of
Commodore Perry. The town was thus invested by land and water,
and although the Mexican castle, city walls and forts, were but poorly
garrisoned and provided, they held out bravely during the terrible
siege, which nearly converted Vera Cruz into a slaughter-house.
On the morning of the twenty-sixth, when no hope remained for the

CAPITULATION AND CONDITION OF VEItA CRUZ. 371

Mexicans, Genera] Landero, the commander, made overtures for a
capitulation, which being satisfactorily arranged, the principal com-
mercial port, and the most renowned fortress in Mexico were sur-
rendered, together with four hundred guns, five thousand stand of
arms and as many prisoners who were released on parole.

General Scott had endeavored to mitigate the dangers of this ter-
rific attack upon Vera Cruz by the employment of such a force as
would honorably satisfy the inefficient garrison of the town and
castle that it was in truth unable to cope with the American forces.
He delayed opening his batteries to allow the escape of non-com-
batants ; he refrained, moreover, from storming the town, a mode
of assault in wrhich multitudes would have fallen on both sides in
the indiscriminate slaughter which always occurs when an enemy's
town is invaded in hot blood and with a reckless spirit of conquest
and carnage. Yet, weak and badly provided as was the garrison
of both strongholds, the walls of the city, its batteries and its
guardian castle held out for sixteen days, during which time it is
estimated that our army and navy, threw into the town about six
thousand shot and shells, weighing upwards of 463,000 pounds
On the side of the Mexicans the slaughter was exceedingly great.
Nearly a thousand fell victims during the siege ; and, among the
slain, numerous unfortunate citizens, women and children, were
found to have perished by the bombs or paixhan shot wThich de-
stroyed the public and private edifices, and ruined many important
portions of the city.

When this new disaster was reported in the capital and among
the highlands of Mexico, it spread consternation among the more
secluded masses who now began to believe that the heart of the
country was seriously menaced. They had doubtless trusted to the
traditionary, proverbial strength of San Juan de Ulua, and believed
that the danger of disease and storm on the coast would serve to
protect Vera Cruz from the attack of unacclimated strangers, during
a season of hurricanes. Indeed, it was fortunate that our troops were
landed from the transports and men-of-war as early as they were in
March, for almost immediately afterwards, and during the siege, one
of the most violent northers that ever ravaged these shores raged
incessantly, destroying many of the vessels whose warlike freight
of men and munitions had been so recently disembarked.

But if the people were ignorant of the true condition and strength
of Vera Cruz or its castle, such was not the case with the military
men and national authorities. They had made but little effort to
guard it against Scott, of whose designed attack they had been long

372 CONDITION OF MEXICO ALVARADO, ETC., CAPTURED.

apprised, and they were probably prevented from doing so chiefly
by the plans of Santa Anna, who supposed that Taylor would fall
an easy prey to the large Mexican forces in the field at Buena Vista,
especially as the American army had been weakened by the abstrac-
tion of its regulars for the operations at Vera Cruz. Victorious at
Buena Vista, he could have hastened, by forced marches, to attack
the invaders on the eastern coast, and under the dismay of his an-
ticipated victory in the north, he unquestionably imagined that they
too would have fallen at once into his grasp. Besides these military
miscalculations, Mexico was so embarrassed in its pecuniary affairs,
and disorganized in its Central Civil Government, that the proper
directing power in the capital, — warned as it was, — had neither
men nor means at hand to dispose along the coast of the Gulf, or to
station at points in its neighborhood whence they might quickly be
thrown into positions which were menaced.

It was at this juncture that Santa Anna's voice was again heard
in the council and the field. At the conclusion of the last chapter
we left him hastening to the new scene of action ; and when he an-
nounced the capitulation of the vaunted castle and sea port of the
Republic, he declared in his proclamation, that although " chance
might decree the fall of the capital of the Aztec empire under the
power of the proud American host, yet the Nation shall not perish."
" I swear," continues he, "that if my wishes are seconded by a sin-
cere and unanimous effort, Mexico shall triumph! A thousand
times fortunate for the nation will the fall of Vera Cruz prove, if the
disaster shall awaken in Mexican bosoms, the dignified enthusiasm,
and generous ardor of true patriotism !" This was the tone of ap-
peal and encouragement in which he rallied the credulous and vain
masses, the disheartened country, the dispersed troops of the north,
and reanimated the broken fragments of the army which still con-
tinued in the field.

Meanwhile,. General Scott placed Vera Cruz under the command
of General Worth ; opened the port to the long abandoned com-
merce which had languished during the blockade ; established a
moderate tariff, and together with the forces of the navy took pos-
session of the ports of Alvarado and Tlacotlalpam on the south, and
directed the future capture of Tuspan on the north of Vera Cruz.
All his arrangements being completed, and these captures made and
projected, he marched a large portion of his twelve thousand vic-
torious troops towards the capital.

When the road to the interior leaves Vera Cruz, it runs for a mile
or two along the low, sandy, sea-beaten shore, and then strikes off,

I

i

DESCRIPTION OF TERRO GORDO. 373

nearly at a right angle, in a gap among the sand-hills towards the
west. For many miles it winds slowly and heavily through the
deep and shifting soil, until, as the traveller approaches the river
Antigua, the country begins to rise and fall by gentle elevations like
the first heavy swells of the ocean. Passing this river at Puente
Nacional over the noble and renowned bridge of that name, the as-
pect of the territory becomes suddenly changed. The nearer eleva-
tions are steeper and more frequent, the road firmer and more rocky,
while, in the western distance, the tall slopes of the Sierras rise
rapidly in bold and wooded masses. All the features of nature are
still strictly tropical, and wherever a scant and thriftless cultivation
has displaced the thick vines, the rich flowers, and the dense foliage
of the forest, indolent natives may be seen idling about their cane-
built huts, or lazily performing only the most necessary duties of
life. Further on, at Plan del Rio the geological features of the
coast assume another aspect. Here the road again crosses a small
streamlet, and then suddenly strikes boldly into the side of the
mountain which is to be ascended. About seven leagues from Ja-
lapa the edge of one of the table lands of the Cordillera sweeps down
from the west abruptly into this pass of the river Plan. On both
sides of this precipitous elevation the mountains tower majestically.
The road winds slowly and roughly along the scant sides which
have been notched to receive it. When the summit of the pass is
attained' one side of the road is found to be overlooked by the Hill
of the Telegraph, while on the other side the streamlet runs in an
immensely deep and rugged ravine, several hundred feet below the
level of the table land. Between the road and the river many ridges
of the neighboring hills unite and plunge downwards into the im-
passable abyss. At the foot of the Hill of the Telegraph, rises
another eminence known as that of Atalaya, which is hemmed in by
other wooded heights rising from below, and forming, in front of
the position a boundary of rocks and forests beyond which the sight
cannot penetrate.

When Don Manuel Robles left Vera Cruz, after its fall, he was
desired by General Canalizo to examine the site of Cerro Gordo.
After a full reconnoissance it was his opinion that it afforded a fa-
vorable spot in which the invaders might be at least injured or
checked, but that was not the proper point to dispute their passage
to the capital by a decisive victory. The most favorable position
for resistance he believed to be at Corral Falso.

These views, however, did not accord with the opinions of the
commander-in-chief, who when the ground was explored under his

48

374 MEXICAN DEFENCES AND MILITARY DISPOSAL THERE.

own eye, resolved to fortify it for the reception of the Americans.
The brigades of General Pinzon and Ranjel ; the companies of Ja-
lapa and Coatepec, commanded by Mata ; and the veterans of the
division of Angostura arrived also about this period, and their last
sections reached the ground on the 12th. Meanwhile all was ac-
tivity in the work of hasty fortification. Robles constructed a para-
pet at the edge of the three hills, but failing to obtain all requi-
site materials for such a work, his erection merely served to mark
the line of the Mexican operations, and to form a breast-work
whence the artillery and infantry might command the ground over
which, as the defenders supposed, the Americans would be obliged
to advance. Colonel Cano had already cut off the access by the
road at the point where it turned on the right slope of the Tele-
graph, by placing a heavy battery. He also formed a covered way
leading to the positions on the right, while General Alcorta con-
structed a circular work on the summit of the eminence and estab-
lished within it a battery of four guns. In the centre of this the
national flag was hoisted, and off to the left nothing was seen but
thick, thorny dells and barrancas, which were regarded by Santa
Anna as impassable.

Such was the Mexican line of defences extending on the brink of
these precipices for nearly a mile, and, throughout it, the com-
mander-in-chief hastened to distribute his forces. The extreme
right was placed under the command of General Pinzon, the next
position under the naval captain, Buenaventura Aranjo, the next
under Colonel Badillo, the next under General Jarero, the next
post, at the road, under General La Vega, and finally the extreme
left, at the Telegraph, under Generals Vazquez, Uraga and Colonel
Palacios. The forces thus in position, according to the Mexican
account, amounted to three thousand three hundred and seventy
men with fifty-two pieces of ordnance of various calibre. The re-
mainder of the army, with the exception of the cavalry, wThich re-
mained at Corral Falso until the 15th, was encamped on the sides
of the road at the rancheria of Cerro Gordo, situated in the rear of
the position. In this neighborhood was placed the reserve, com-
posed of the 1st, 2nd 3rd and 4th light infantry, comprising 1,700
men; and the 1st and 11th regiments of the line, with 780 men,
together with their artillery. It is said that the army was badly
provided with food and suffered greatly from the climate and the
innumerable insects which infest the region.

As Scott advanced against this position the dangers of his enter-
prize became manifest, and he caused a series of bold reconnois-

BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO. 375

sances to be made by Lieutenant Beaurgard and Captain Lee, of
the engineers. He found that the deep rocky ravine of the river
protected the right flank of the Mexican position, while abrupt and
seemingly impassable mountains and ridges covered the left. Be-
tween these points, for nearly two miles, a succession of fortified
summits bristled with every kind of available defence, while the top
of Cerro Gordo commanded the road on a gentle slope, like a glacis,
for nearly a mile. An attack in front, therefore, would have been
fatal to the American army, and Scott resolved, accordingly, to cut
a road to the right of his position so as to turn the left flank of the
Mexicans. To cover his flank movements, on the 17th of April, he
ordered General Twiggs to advance against the fort on the steep
ascent, in front, and slightly to the left of the Cerro. Colonel Har-
ney, with the rifles and some detachments of infantry and artillery,
carried this position under a heavy fire, and, having secured it, ele-
vated a large gun to the summit of the eminence, and made a de-
monstration against a strong fort in the rear. Early on the 18th,
the columns moved to the general attack. General Pillow's brigade
assaulted the right of the Mexican entrenchments, and although
compelled to retire, produced a powerful impression on that part of
the enemy's line. General Twigg's division stormed the vital part
of Cerro Gordo, pierced the centre, gained command of the fortifi-
cations and cut them off from support ; while Colonel Riley's bri-
gade of infantry rushed on against the main body of the foe, turned
the guns of their own fort against them, and compelled the panic
stricken crowd to fly in utter confusion. Shields' brigade, mean-
while, assaulted the left, and carrying the rear battery, aided mate-
rially in completing the rout of the enemy. The whole American
force, in action and reserve, was 8,500. Three thousand prisoners,
four or five thousand stand of arms, and forty-three pieces of artillery,
fell into Scott's hands. In the two days of conflict our loss amounted
to 33 officers and 398 men, of whom 63 were killed. The enemy's
loss was computed at 1,000 at least, while among the prisoners no
less than two hundred and eighty officers and five generals were in-
cluded. Santa Anna, and General Ampudia who was in the action,
escaped with difficulty; and the commander-in-chief, accompanied
by a few friends and a small escort, finally reached Orizaba in
safety, after encountering numerous dangers amid the mountains and
lonely paths through which he was obliged to pass.

This very decisive victory opened the path for the American arm)
to the highlands of the upper plateau of Mexico, and, acccordin-K,
our forces immediately pushed on to Jalapa and Perots, both of

376 PEROTE AND PUEBLA YIELD SANTA ANNA

which places were abandoned by the Mexicans without firing a gun.
General Worth took possession of Perote on the 22d of April, and
received from Colonel Velasquez, who had been left in charge of the
fortress or castle of San Carlos de Perote" by his retreating country-
men, 54 guns and mortars of iron and bronze, 11,065 cannon balls,
14,300 bombs and hand grenades, and 500 muskets. On capturing
the post he learned that the rout at Cerro Gordo had been complete.
Three thousand cavalry passed the strong hold of Perote in deplora-
ble plight, while not more than two thousand disarmed and famish-
ing infantry had returned towards their homes in the central regions
of Mexico. From Perote Worth advanced towards Puebla on the
direct road to the capital.

Thus was Mexico again reduced to extreme distress by the loss
of two important battles, the destruction of her third army raised
for this war, and the capture of her most valuable artillery and mu-
nitions. But the national spirit of resistance was not subdued. If
the government could no longer restrain the invaders by organized
armies, it resolved to imitate the example of the mother country
during Napoleon's invasion, and to rouse the people to the forma-
tion of guerilla bands under daring and reckless officers. Bold as
was this effort of patriotic despair, and cruelly successful as it subse-
quently proved against individuals or detached parties of the Ameri-
cans, it could effect nothing material against the great body of the
consolidated army. Meanwhile the master spirit of the nation —
Santa Anna — had not been idle in the midst of his disheartening
reverses. In little more than two weeks, he gathered nearly three
thousand men from the fragments of his broken army, and marched
to Puebla, where he received notice of Worth's advance from Pe-
rots. Sallying forth immediately with his force, he attacked the
American general at Amozoque, but, finding himself unable to
check his career, returned with a loss of nearly ninety killed and
wounded. On the 22d of May, Puebla yielded submissively to
General Worth, and Santa Anna retreated in the direction of the
national capital, halting at San Martin Tesmalucan, and again at
Ayotla, about twenty miles from Mexico. Here he learned that the
city was in double fear of the immediate assault of the victorious
Americans and of his supposed intention to defend it within its
own walls, a project which the people believed would only result, in
the present disastrous condition of affairs, in the slaughter of its
citizens and ruin of their property. The commander-in-chief halted
therefore at Ayotla, and playing dexterously on the hopes and fears
of the people in a long despatch addressed to the minister of war,

RETURNS CONSTITUTION OF 1824 RE-ADOPTED. 377

he at length received the Presidential and popular sanction of his
return to Mexico.

In truth, the nation at large had no one but Santa Anna, at that
moment of utter despair, in whose prestige and talents — in spite
of all his misfortunes and defeats — it could rely for even the hope
of escape from destruction, if not of ultimate victory.

Whilst the Mexican nation had been thus sorely vexed by in-
testinal commotions and foreign invasion an Extraordinary Consti-
tuent Congress — Congreso Extraordinario Constituyente — had
been summoned and met in the capital, chiefly to revise the Con-
stitution, or the " Bases of Political Organization," of 1843, which
had been superseded by the temporary adoption of the Federal
Constitution of 1824, according to the edict issued by Salas,
under the direction of Santa Anna soon ctfter that personage's re-
turn from exile. This Extraordinary Congress re-adopted the old
Federal Constitution of 1824 without altering its terms, principles,
or phraseology, and made such slight changes as were deemed
needful by an Acta Constitutiva y de Reformas, containing thirty
articles, which was sanctioned on the 18th, and proclaimed on the
21st of May by Santa Anna, who had reassumed the Presidency.
By this approval of the Federal System the Executive entirely
abandoned the Central policy for which he had so long contended,
but which, as we have seen in the 11th chapter, he no longer be-
lieved, or feigned to believe, suitable for the nation.
i Notwithstanding this submission to popular will, and apparent
desire to deprive the Central Government of its most despotic pre-
rogatives, the conduct of Santa Anna did not save him entirely from
the machinations of his rivals or of intriguers. Much discontent
was expressed publicly and privately, and the President, accord-
ingly tendered his resignation to Congress, intimating a desire to
hasten into private life ! This stratagetic resignation was followed
by the retiracy of General Rincon and General Bravo, who com-
manded the troops in the city. Acts of such vital significance upon
the part of the ablest men in the Republic, in an hour of exceeding
danger, at once recalled Congress and the people to their senses ;
and if they were designed, as they probably were, merely to throw
the anarchists on their own resources and to show them their inef-
ficiency at such an epoch, they seem to have produced the desired
effect, for they placed Santa Anna and his partizans more firmly in
power. Congress refused to accept his resignation. Unfortunate
as he had been, it perhaps saw in him the only commander who was
capable in the exigency of controlling the Mexican elements of re-

378 MEXICAN POLITICS OF THE DAY WAR SPIRIT.

sistance to the invaders, and he was thu£ enabled to form his plans,
to collect men, means and munitions, and to commence the system
of fortifications around the capital. " War to the knife," was still
the rallying cry of the nation. The Congressional resolutions which
had been passed on the 20th of April, immediately after the battle
of Cerro Gordo, proclaimed " every individual a traitor, let him be
private person or public functionary, who should enter into treaties
with the United States !" Parties in the capital were, nevertheless,
not unanimous upon this subject. There were wise men and
patriots who foresawr the issue, and counselled the leaders to come
to honorable terms before the capital was assaulted. Others craved
the continuance of the war with the hope that its disasters would
destroy the individuals wTho conducted it to an unfortunate issue ;
and, among these, they saw that Santa Anna was finally pledged to
abide that issue for weal or woe. Nor were politicians wanting in
the Republic who honestly looked to the prolongation of the conflict
as a blessing to Mexico, believing that it would result in the com-
plete subjugation of the whole country by American arms and its
final annexation to our Union.

In June a coalition was formed at Lagos by deputies from Jalisco,
San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Mexico and Queretaro, in which these
States combined for mutual defence ; but, while they opposed peace,
they resolved to act independently of the General Government.
Many other parts of the republic looked on the scene with apathy.
There was no longer a revenue from foreign commerce. The pro-
ducts of the mines were smuggled from the west coast in British
vessels. Disorder and uncertainty prevailed every where in regard
to the collection of the national income from internal resources.
Individuals, and not States, corporations or municipalities, wTere
now to be relied on for support ; and, as the most important parts
of the nation on the north and east were virtually in the enemy's
hands, the whole effort of the frail authorities was confined to the
protection of the capital. In the midst of all this complication of
confusion Santa Anna found that the election for President, which
was held by the States on the 15th of May, had resulted unfavor-
ably to his pretensions, and, by an adroit movement, he prevailed
on Congress to postpone the counting of the votes from the 15th of
June until January of the following year ! All who opposed his
schemes of defence or resistance, were disposed of by banishment,
persecution or imprisonment, nor did he fail to establish so severe a
censorship of the press, that, in July, it is believed, but one paper
was allowed to be issued in the capital, and that one, of course, en-

GUERILLAS PEACE NEGOTIATIONS TRIST. 379

tirely under his control. Throwing himself, like a true military
demagogue, publicly, if not at heart, at the head of popular feeling
in regard to the war with the United States, he adopted every mea-
sure and availed himself of every resource in his power to place the
city in a state of defence, and to fan the flame of resistance. In
the meanwhile the guerilla forces, organized on the eastern coast,
chiefly under a recreant clergyman named Jarauta, harassed every
American train and detachment on their way to the interior, and ren-
dered the country insecure, until a fearful war of extermination was
adopted by our garrisons on the line.

The government of the United States had, during the whole of
this unfortunate contest, availed itself of every supposed suitable
occasion to sound Mexico in relation to peace. In July, 1846, and
in January 1847, overtures were made to the national authorities
and rejected; and again, early in the spring of 1847, as soon as the
news of the defeat at Cerro Gordo reached Washington, Mr. Nich-
olas P. Trist was despatched by the President upon a mission which
it was hoped would result in the restoration of international amity.
The commissioner reached Vera Cruz while the American army
was advancing towards the interior, but it was not until the forces
reached Puebla, and General Scott had established his head quar-
ters in that capital, that he was enabled, through the intervention of
the British Minister, to communicate with the Mexican government.
The stringent terms of the decree to which we have already alluded,
of course, prevented Santa Anna, powerful as he was, from enter-
taining the proposals in the existing state of the public mind, and,
accordingly, he referred the subject to Congress, a quorum of whose
members was, with difficulty, organized. On the 13th of July,
seventy-four assembled, and voted to strip themselves of the respon-
sibility by a resolution that it was the Executive's duty to receive
ministers, and to make treaties of peace and alliance, and that their
functions were confined to the approval or disapproval of those
treaties or alliances when submitted in due form under the constitu-
tion. But Santa Anna, still adhering to the letter of the mandatory
decree passed after the battle of Cerro Gordo in April, alleged his
legal incapacity to treat, and recommended the repeal of the order,
inasmuch as the American commissioner's letter was courteous,
and the dignity of Mexico required the return of a suitable reply.
Before the appeal could reach Congress, its members had dispersed,
foreseeing probably, the delicacy, if not danger, of the dilemma in
which they were about to be placed. Without a eonstittitioiia] tri-
bunal to relieve him from his position, the President finally referred

380 SANTA ANNA'S SECRET NEGOTIATIONS.

the matter to a council of general officers of the army. This body,
however, was quite as timorous as Congress, and dismissed the pro-
ject by declaring that "it was inexpedient to enter into negotiations
for peace, until another opportunity had been afforded Mexico to
retrieve her fortunes in the field."

These were the negotiations that met the public eye, and are
reported in the military and diplomatic despatches of the day ; but
there was a secret correspondence, also, which denotes either the
duplicity or stratagy of Santa Anna, and must be faithfully recorded.
It seems that the Mexican President, about the time that the public
answer was proclaimed, sent private communications to the Ameri-
can head quarters at Puebla, intimating that if a million of dollars
were placed at his disposal, to be paid upon the conclusion of a
treaty of peace, and ten thousand dollars were paid forthwith, he
would appoint commissioners to negotiate! The proposal was re-
ceived and discussed by General Scott, Mr. Trist, and the leading
officers, and being agreed to, though not unanimously, the ten thou-
sand dollars were disbursed from the secret service money which
Scott had at his disposal, and communications were opened in cy-
pher, the key of which had been sent from Mexico. Intimations
soon reached Puebla, from Santa Anna, that it would be also neces-
sary for the American army to advance and threaten the Capital; —
and, finally, another message was received, urging Scott to pene-
trate the valley and carry one of the outworks of the Mexican line
of defences, in order to enable him to negotiate ! x

The sincerity of these proposals from the Mexican President, is
very questionable, and we are still in doubt whether he designed
merely to procrastinate and feel the temper of the Americans, or
whether he was in reality angling for the splendid bribe of a million
which he might appropriate privately, in the event of playing suc-
cessfully upon the feelings or fears of the masses. The attempt,
however, proved abortive; and although both General Scott and
Mr. Trist deemed it proper to entertain the proposal, the command-
er-in-chief never for a moment delayed his military preparations for
an advance with all the force he could gather. Thus were the last
efforts of the American authorities in Mexico and Washington re-
pulsed in the same demagogue spirit that hastened the rupture be-
tween the nations in the spring of 1846, and nothing remained but
to try again whether the sword was mightier than the pen.

1 See Major Ripley's History of the War with Mexico, p. 148. et seq.

l>niwit A-Eriimnnt by fhaiii.ih I- Simt/i S. V

CHAPTER XIII

1847.

SCOTT AT PUEBLA TAMPICO AND ORIZABA TAKEN SCOTT's

ADVANCE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE VALLEY OF MEXICO

ROUTES TO THE CAPITAL EL PENON MEXICALZINGO

TEZCOCO CHALCO OUTER AND INNER LINES AROUND THE

CITY SCOTT'S ADVANCE BY CHALCO THE AMERICAN ARMY

AT SAN AGUSTIN.

The American forces, as we have stated, had concentrated at
Puebla on the main road to the city of Mexico, but their numbers
had been thinned by desertion, disease and the return of many vol-
unteers whose term of service was over or nearly completed.
Meanwhile the Mexican army was increased by the arrival of General
Valencia from San Luis with five thousand troops and thirty-six
pieces of artillery, and General Alvarez with his Pinto Indians from
the south and south-west, all of which, added to the regiments in
the city and its immediate vicinity, swelled the numbers of the
Mexican combatants to at least twenty-five or thirty thousand. It
was discovered that General Taylor would not advance towards the
south, and consequently the presence of Valencia's men was of more
importance at the point where the vital blow would probably be
struck.

Whilst the events we have related were occurring in the interior,
Commodore Perry had swept down the coast and captured Tobasco,
which, however, owing to its unhealthiness, was not long retained
by the Americans. But every other important port in the Gulf, from
the Rio Grande to Yucatan, was in our possession, while an active
blockade was maintained before those in the Pacific. Colonel Bank-
head subsequently, occupied Orizaba, and seized a large quantity
of valuable public property. It had been the desire of the American
authorities, from the earliest period of the war, to draw a large por-
tion of the means for its support from Mexico, but the commanding
Generals finding the system not only annoying to themselves but

49

382

exasperating to the people and difficult of accomplishment, refrained
from the exercise of a right which invaders have generally used in
other countries. Our officers, accordingly, paid for the supplies
obtained from the natives. Nor did they confine this principle of
action to the operations of the military authorities alone whilst act-
ing for the army at large, but, wherever it was possible, restrained
that spirit of private plunder and destruction which too commonly
characterizes the common soldier when flushed with victory over a
weak but opulent foe. When the ports of Mexico, however, had
fallen into our possession and the blockade was raised, they were at
once opened to the trade of all nations upon the payment of duties
more moderate than those which had been collected by Mexico.
The revenue, thus levied in the form of a military contribution from
Mexican citizens upon articles they consumed, was devoted to the
use of our army and navy. It was, in effect, the seizure of Mexi-
can commercial duties and their application to our necessary pur-
poses, and thus far, only, was the nation compelled to contribute
towards the expense of the war it had provoked.

Early in August, General Scott had been reinforced by the arrival
of new regiments at Puebla, and on the 7th of that month, he re-
solved to march upon the capital. Leaving a competent garrison in
that city, under the command of Colonel Childs, and a large num-
ber of sick and enfeebled men in the hospitals, he departed with
about ten thousand eager soldiers towards the renowned Valley of
Mexico.

In the same month, three hundred and twenty-eight years before,
Hernando Cort6z and his slender military train, departed from the
eastern coasts of Mexico, on the splendid errand of Indian con-
quest. After fighting two battles, with the Tlascalans who then
dwelt in the neighborhood of Puebla, and with the Cholulans whose
solitary pyramid, — a grand and solemn monument of the past, —
still rises majestically from the beautiful plain, he slowly toiled
across the steeps of the grand volcanic sierra which divides the val-
leys and hems in the plain of Mexico. Patiently winding up its
wooded sides and passing the forests of its summit, the same grand
panoramic scene lay spread out in sunshine at the feet of the Ameri-
can General that three centuries before had greeted the eager and
longing eyes of the greatest Castilian soldier who ever trod the
shores of America.

In order to comprehend the military movements which ended the
drama of the Mexican war, it will be necessary for us to describe

I

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE VALLEY OF MEXICO. 383

the topography of the valley with some minuteness, although it is
not designed to recount, in detail, all the events and personal hero-
ism of the battles that ensued. This would require infinitely more
room than we can afFord, and we are, accordingly, spared the dis-
cussion of many circumstances which concern the merits, the opin-
ions, and the acts of various commanders.

Looking downward towards the west from the shoulders of the
lofty elevations which border the feet of the volcano of Popocate-
petl, the spectator beholds a remarkable and perfect basin, enclosed
on every side by mountains whose height varies from two hundred
to ten thousand feet from its bottom. The form of this basin may
be considered nearly circular, the diameter being about fifty miles.
As the eye descends to- the levels below, it beholds every variety of
scenery. Ten extinct volcanoes rear their ancient cones and craters
in the southern part of the valley, multitudes of lesser hills and
elevations break the evenness of the plain, while, interspersed
among its eight hundred and thirty square miles of arable land and
along the shores of its six lakes of Chalco, Xoehimilco, Tezcoco,
San Cristoval, Xaltocan and Zumpango, stretching across the valley
from north to south, are seen the white walls of ten populous cities
and towns. In front of the observer, about forty miles to the west,
is the capital of the Republic, while the main road thither descends
rapidly from the last mountain slopes, at the Venta de Cordova,
until it is lost in the plain on the margin of Lake Chalco near the
Hacienda of Buena Vista. From thence to the town of Ayotla it
sweeps along the plain between a moderate elevation on the north
and the lake of Chalco on the south.

On the 11th of August, General Scott, after crossing the moun-
tains, concentrated his forces in the valley. General Twiggs en-
camped with his division in advance, on the direct road, at Ayotla,
near the northern shore of Lake Chalco ; General Quitman was
stationed with his troops a short distance in the rear; General
Worth occupied the town of Chalco on the western shore of its
lake, while General Pillow brought up the rear by an encampment
near Worth.

This position of the army commanded four routes to the capital
whose capture was the coveted prize. The first of these, as well
as the shortest and most direct, was the main post road which
reaches the city by the gate or garita of San Lazaro on the east.
After passing Ayotla this road winds round the foot of an extinct
volcanic hill for five miles when it approaches the sedgy shores and

384

ROUTES TO THE CAPITAL

EL PENON

marshes of Lake Tezcoco on the north, thence it passes over a
causeway built across an arm of Tezcoco for two miles, and, by an-
other causeway of seven miles finally strikes the city. The road is
good, level, perfectly open and comfortable for ordinary travelling,
but the narrow land between the lakes of Chalco and Tezcoco, com-
pressed still more by broken hills and rocks, admits the most perfect
military defence. At the end of the first causeway over the arm of
Tezcoco which we have just described, is the abrupt oblong vol-
canic hill styled El Penon, four hundred and fifty feet above the
level of the lake, its top accessible in the direction of Ayotla at only
one point, and surrounded by water except on the west towards
Mexico. It is a natural fortress ; yet Santa Anna had not neglected
to add to its original strength, and to seize it as the eastern key of
his defences. Three lines of works were thrown up, at the base,
at the brow, and on the summit of the eminence. The works at the
base, completely encircling El Penon, consisted of a ditch fifteen
feet wide, four and a half feet deep, and a parapet fifteen feet thick
whose slope was raised eight and a half feet above the bottom of the
ditch. Ample breastworks formed the other two lines of the brist-
ling tiara. In addition to this, the causeway across the arm of
Tezcoco, immediately in front, had been cut and was defended by a
battery of two guns, while the fire from all the works, mounting
about sixty pieces, swept the whole length of the causeway.

The second road to the capital was by Mexicalzingo. After
leaving Ayotla the highway continues along the main post road for
six or seven miles and then deflects southwardly towards the village
of Santa Maria, whence it pursues its way westwardly towards Is-
tapalapan, but, just before reaching Mexicalzingo, it crosses a marsh
formed by the waters of Lake Xochimilco, on a causeway nearly a
mile long. This approach, dangerous as it was by its natural im-
pediments, was also protected by extensive field works which made
it almost as perilous for assault as the Penon.

The third route lay through Tezcoco. Leaving Chalco and the
Hacienda of Buena Vista, it strikes off from the main route directly
north, and passing through the town of Tezcoco, it sweeps west
wardly around the shores of the lake of that name until it crosses
the stone dyke of San Cristoval, near the lake and town of that
name; thence, by a road leading almost directly south for fifteen
miles, through the sacred town of Guadalupe Hidalgo, it enters the
capital. It is an agreeable route through a beautiful country, yet
extremely circuitous though free from all natural or artificial obsta-
cles, until it reaches Santiago Zacualco within two miles of" Guada-

MEXICALZINGO, TEZCOCO, CHALCO. 385

lupe. But at the period of Scott's invasion of the valley, General
Valencia, with the troops that were afterwards convened at Contre-
ras, was stationed at Tezcoco, either for the purpose of observation,
or to induce an attack in that quarter, and thus to draw our forces
into a snare on the northern route, or to fall on the rear of the Amer-
ican commander if he attacked El Penon, or advanced by the way
of Mexicalzingo. At Santiago Zacualco, west of the lake and
on the route, formidable works were thrown up to defend the entire
space between the western shore of lake Tezcoco and the moun-
tains ; while on the road to Queretaro, at the mountain pass north
of Tenepantla, other defences were erected, so as to screen the
country on all sides of the group of hills which lies west of the
lakes of Tezcoco and San Cristoval and north of the town of Gua-
dalupe Hidalgo.

The fourth and last advance to the city was that which turned to
the south from the Hacienda of Buena Vista, and passing by the
town of Chalco, led along the narrow land intervening* between
the shores of lake Chalco and the first steeps of the mountains
forming the southern rim of the valley, until it fell at right angles,
at Tlalpam or San Agustin de las Cuevas, into the main road
from the city of Mexico towards the southern States of the
Republic.

All these routes were boldly reconnoitred by the brave engineers
accompanying the American army, and, where they could not ex-
tend their personal observations, the officers obtained from the peo-
ple of the country, information upon which subsequent events
proved that they were justified in relying. From the knowledge
thus gained as to the route south of the lake of Chalco, they were
induced to believe, although it was rough, untravelled, difficult, and
narrowly hemmed in between the lake and the mountains, yet that
the long and narrow defile, which was open to resistance at many
points, was not sufficiently obstructed or fortified to prevent our
passage. All the routes on the lower lands, it should also be re-
membered, were liable to increased difficulties from the deluging
rains prevailing at this season on the highlands of Mexico, and
which sometimes convert the highways and their borders, for many
leagues, into almost impassable lagunes.

Santa Anna and his engineers had probably supposed that this
southern route would not be adopted, but a reasonable explanation
of his conduct is given by one of the most competent commenta-
tors upon the valley of Mexico and the march of the American ar-

386 OUTER AND INNER LINES

my.1 " When an enemy is in front of El Penon, the communica-
tion between it and troops on the other routes is only by way of the
city of Mexico itself; in other words, the American troops being at
Ayotla, General Santa Anna's forces at El Penon were one day's
march distant from those at Mexicalzingo, three from those under
General Valencia, and would have been about four days' march from
troops thrown forward on the Chalco route. Fords on these differ-
ent routes were by no means within supporting distances of each
other. Holding the position that General Scott then did, it would have
required, of an equal enemy, four times his own force, to have op-
posed successfully his further advance. The Mexican forces were
not numerically equal to this, and, accordingly, they were concen-
trated at the threatened point. It is evident that as long as the
American troops were in front of El Penon, the enemy necessarily
held to their position. In moving off, the former could gain one
day the start. This brought the only difficult parts of the Chalco
route actually nearer General Scott than the Mexican chief. If to
this we add the delay necessary in moving heavy artillery and break-
ing up from a fortified position, it would seem that, instead of over-
sight, it was rather impossible for General Santa Anna to meet our
forces sooner than he did."

The description of the various routes to the capital has necessa-
rily acquainted the reader with the important Mexican defences on
the north, the east, and the north-east of the capital, both by milita-
ry works hastily thrown up after Santa Anna's retreat from Cerro
Gordo, and by the encampment of large bodies of soldiery. We
thus, already know a part of the external line of defences at El
Penon, Mexicalzingo, Tezcoco, Santiago Zacualco, and the Pass
north of Tenepantla. But in addition to these, there are others
that must be noticed on the south and west of the capital, which it
should always be recollected is situated in the lap of the valley, but
near the western edge of the gigantic rim of mountains.

Along the Chalco route there were no more fortifications, but
west of lakes Chalco and Xochimilco, a line of entrenchments had
been commenced, connecting the fortified hacienda, or massive stone
plantation house of San Antonio, about six miles south of the city,
with the town of Mexicalzingo. West of this hacienda, the Ped-
regal, a vast, broken field of lava, spread out along the edge of the

JSee the admirable Map and Memoir of Lieutenant M. L. Smith, and Brevet Cap-
tain E. L. F. Hardcastle, published in the Senate Document, No. 11 of the first ses-
sion of the 31st Congress: 1849 '50.

AROUND THE CITY. 387

main road, and skirting it to San Agustin, extended high upon
the mountain slopes still further west near San Angel and Contre-
ras, whose neighboring fields were cut into deep ravines and bar-
rancas by the wash from the declivities. The Pedregal was a most
formidable obstacle in the march or manoeuvres of an army. But
few levels of arable land were found among its rocky wastes. It
admitted the passage of troops at but few points, and was entirely
impracticable for cavalry or artillery, except by a single mule-path. ]
North of San Angel and the edge of the Pedregal, at the distance
of about four miles, rose the solitary hill and castle of Chapultepec,
which had been amply prepared for defence ; and still further north
on the same line, frowned the stern ridges of the sierra, cut by bar-
rancas and profound dells, until the ring of the outer series of mili-
tary works was thus finally united at the pass beyond Tenepantla.
But inside of this formidable barrier of outworks, nearer the city,
another line of fortifications had been prepared to dispute the Ameri-
can march. The first, and perhaps the most important of these,
was at Churubusco, a scattered village lying midway between San
Agustin and the city of Mexico, directly on the road, at a spot
where the stream or rivulet of Churubusco runs eastwardly from a
point on the road from San Angel to the capital, towards the lake
of Xochimilco. The sides of the water course were planted with
the prickly maguey, and one of the most western buildings in the
village was a strong massive stone convent, whose walls had been
cut for musketry, and whose parapets, azoteas or flat roofs, and
windows, all afforded suitable positions for soldiery. Large quan-
tities of ammunition were stored within the edifice. The enclosure
of the church and convent was defended by about two thousand
men, and mounted seven guns, while, towards the east was a beau-
tiful, solid and scientifically constructed tete de pont which covered
the bridge over the stream by which the road led to the capital.
In this work three heavy guns were mounted, while the neighbor-
hood is said to have swarmed with troops.

We have already mentioned the garita or gate of San Lazaro,
which was the entrance to the city by the main road from the east,
passing the hill and fortification of El Penon. This garita was
strengthened by strong works on the road, with platforms and em-
brasures for heavy cannon, which would have swept the path, while
the marshes on the south were protected by redoubts and lunettes
extending to the garita or entrance of La Candelaria on. the canal

1 Ripley's War with Mexico, vol. 2, 181.

388 LINES AllOUND THE CITY.

from Xochimilco. North of San Lazaro strong works hemmed in
the city to the garita of Peralvillo, and connected with defences and
fortified houses reaching to the garita of Santiago. Other advan-
ced works were begun in that quarter, while the ground in front of
the main line was cut into troux de loups.

On the west of the city are the garitas of San Cosme and Belen.
"Works had been commenced to connect that of San Cosme, the
most northerly of the two, with that of Santiago, and the nature of
the country and of the buildings, formed obstructions to any ad-
vance between San Cosine" and Belen. Belen was defended princi-
pally by the citadel of Mexico, a square bastioned work with wet
ditches, immediately inside the garita. Barricades had also been
commenced ; but the great obstacle to an entrance by either garita,
was presented in the rock and castle of Chapultepec, two miles
south-west of the city. From this hill two aqueducts extend to the
capital, the one, north-east, in a direct line to Belen, and the other,
north, to the suburb of San Cosme, where, turning at right angles,
it continued onward and entered at the garita. The roads from the
west ran along the sides of the aqueducts. Two roads enter the
city from the south, between the garita of San Antonio and Belen,
one at Belen and the other at the garita of El nino Perdido, neither
of these roads have branches to the Acapulco road south of the
Pedregal and the Hacienda of San Antonio, and, therefore, had
been left comparatively unfortified." l

These defences, overlooked by the lofty sierras and the barrancas
which broke their feet, hemmed in the capital, and the Mexicans
readily imagined that they could not be turned by an army march-
ing from the east, so as to reach the city on the west, except by a
tedious circuit which would allow them time to complete their pro-
tective works in that quarter. The east had claimed their chief and
most natural attention, and thus the soulh and the west became un-
questionably their weakest points.

Such were the Mexican lines, natural and artificial, around the
capital in the valley in the middle of August, 1847, and such was
the position of the American troops in front of them. The Mexi-
cans numbered then, with all their levies, probably more than thirty
thousand fighting men, while the Americans did not count more
than ten thousand — under arms at all points. The invaders had
prepared as well as circumstances admitted, and their materiel for

1 Ripley, 2d vol., 182.

I

389

assault or siege had been gathered carefully, and transported slowly
into the interior, through the country intervening between Vera
Cruz and Puebla, every train being usually attacked by guerillas,
and fighting its way boldly through the most dangerous passes.

The equipments of the Mexicans, except the weapons saved from
the wreck of former battles, had been chiefly prepared at the can-
non foundries and powder factories of the country, and it is quite
amazing to notice how completely a great exigency brought forth
the latent energies of the people, teaching them what they might
ordinarily effect, if guided by a spirit of industry and progress.
Under the most disheartening depression, but fired by the stimulus of
despair, by an overpowering sense of patriotic duty, and by religious
enthusiasm which had been excited by the crusading address of the
clergy of San Luis Potosi, issued in the month of April, they mani-
fested in their last moments, a degree of zeal, calmness, and fore-
sight that will forever redound to their credit on the page of history.

The Mexican preparations for defence were not, of course, as
completely known to the Americans as we now describe them.
Through spies, scouts and reconnoisances of our engineers, some of
the exterior, and even of the interior lines were ascertained with
tolerable accuracy; but sufficient was known to satisfy General
Scott that of all the approaching routes to the capital, that which
led along the southern shores of lake Chalco was the only one he
ought to adopt. 1

Accordingly, on the 15th of August, the movement was com-
menced in the reverse order from that in which the army had entered
the valley from Puebla. Worth's division passing Pillow's, led the
advance, Pillow and Quitman followed, while Twiggs' brought up
the rear. Scott took his position with Pillow, so as to communi-
cate easily with all parts of the army. Water transportation, to
some extent, had been obtained by General Worth at Chalco, by
the siezure of market boats which plied between that place and the
capital. When Twiggs moved he was assailed by Alvarez and his
Pintos, but soon drove them off, while the advance columns, after
passing San Gregorio, were frequently assailed by the enemy's light
troops in their front, and harassed and impeded by ditches that had
been hastily cut across the road, or by rocks rolled down from the

1 General Scott had set his heart, even at Puebla, on the Chalco route, but he re-
solved not to be obstinate, if, on a closer examination of the ground, a better route
was presented. The last information of his spies and officers, in the vallcxj, satisfied
him as to the propriety of advancing by Chalco.

50

390

THE AMERICAN ARMY AT SAN AGUSTIN.

mountains. These obstacles necessarily consumed time, but the
simple-minded Indians of the neighborhood, who had just been com-
pelled by the Mexicans to throw the impediments in the Americans'
way, were perhaps more easily induced to aid in clearing the path
for the invaders, than their ancestors had been in the days of Cortez.
On the afternoon of the 17th, Worth, with the advance, reached
San Agustin, at the foot of the mountains, and at the intersection
of the southern road from Mexico to Cuernavaca and Acapulco —
a point whose topography we have already described ; — and, on the
18th, the rear division entered the town.

As soon as Santa Anna discovered Scott's advance by the Chalco
route, and that the attack on Mexico would be made from the south
instead of the east, he at once perceived that it was useless to attack
the American rear, whilst passing the defiles between the lake and
the mountains even if he could possibly come up with it, and con-
sequently, that it was best for him to quit his head quarters at El
Penon, while he also recalled General Valencia with the most of the
troops at Tezcoco and at Mexicalzingo, which were no longer men-
aced by the foe. Santa Anna himself, established his quarters
at the fortified hacienda of San Antonio, and ordered Valencia to
march his whole division, cavalry, infantry and artillery, to the town
of San Angel and Coyoacan, so as to cover the whole west and cen-
tre of the valley in front of Mexico.

rioiissiiiiiE

CHAPTER XIV
1847.

DIFFICULTIES OF THE ADVANCE THE PEDREGAL SAN ANTONIO

HACIENDA RELATIVE POSITION OF AMERICAN AND MEXICAN AR-
MIES PATH OVER THE PEDREGAL TO CONTRERAS VALENCIA DIS-
CONCERTS SANTA ANNA'S PLAN OF BATTLE AMERICAN ADVANCE

AND VICTORY AT CONTRERAS SAN ANTONIO TURNED BY WORTH —

BATTLE OF CHURUBUSCO BATTLE AT THE CONVENT AND TETE DE

PONT THEIR CAPTURE FLIGHT OF THE MEXICANS.

In order to understand the ensuing military movements, it will be
proper for the reader to study the map of the valley, and acquaint
himself fully with the relative posture of both parties. The plans
of both generals in chief were well made ; but the blunders and
obstinacy of the Mexican second in command disconcerted Santa
Anna's desired combination, and ultimately opened the ground to
the American advance wTith more ease than was anticipated.

We will sketch rapidly the military value of the arena upon which
the combatants stood on the 18th of August, 1847.

Let us imagine ourselves beside General Scott, standing on one
of the elevations above the town of San Agustin de las Cuevas,
at the base of the southern mountain barrier of the valley, and look-
ing northward towards the capital. Directly in front, leading to
the city, is the main road, the left or western side of which, even
from the gate of San Agustin to the Hacienda of San Antonio, and
thence westwardly to San Angel, forms, together with the bases of
the southern and western mountains about St. Geronimo and Con-
treras, a vast basin, ten or twelve square miles in extent, covered
with the Pedregal or the field of broken lava which we have alrea-
dy mentioned. This mass of jagged volcanic matter, we must
remember, was at that time barely passable with difficulty for infan-
try, and altogether impassable for cavalry or artillery, save by a
single mule path. North, beyond the fortified hacienda and head-
quarters of Santa Anna at San Antonio, the country opened. A line
of field works, the lake of Xochimilco, a few cultivated farms, and
vast flooded meadows, were on its right to the east, but from the
hacienda, a road branches off to the west, leading around the north-
ern edge of the Pedregal or lava field through Coyoacan and San
Angel, whence it deflects southwardly to Contreras. The main
road, however, continues onward, northwardly, from the hftrienda
of San Antonio, until it crosses the Churubusco river at the sli

392 RELATIVE POSITION OF AMERICAN AND MEXICAN ARMIES.

fortification we have described. Beyond Churubusco the highway
leads straight to the gate of San Antonio Abad, whence a work had
been thrown north-westwardly towards the citadel. The city oT
Mexico, built on the bed of an ancient lake, was on a perfect level,
nor were there any commanding or protecting elevations of import-
ance around it within two or three miles, and the first of these, be-
yond this limit, were chiefly on the north and west.

Thus, General Santa Anna, in front, on the main road to the city,
at the massive fortified hacienda of San Antonio, blocked up the
highway in that direction, protected on his right by the barrier of
the Pedregal; and by the lake of Xochimilco, the field woiks, and
the flooded country on his left. General Valencia had been placed
by him with his troops at San Angel, on the western edge of the
valley, and at the village of Coyoacan, a little further east in the
lap of the valley, on roads communicating easily with his position
at San Antonio, while they commanded the approaches to the city
by the circuitous path of the Pedregal around the edge of the val-
ley from San Agustin de las Cuevas, through Contreras or Padierna.
Valencia and Santa Anna were consequently within supporting dis-
tance of each other; and in their rear, in front of the city, were the
fortifications of Churubusco. General Scott, with the whole Ameri-
can army was, therefore, apparently hemmed in between the lakes
and the Pedregal on his flanks ; the Mexican fortifications and army
in front ; and the steep mountains towards Cuernavaca in his rear.
He was obliged, accordingly, either to retreat by the defiles through
which he had advanced from Chalco, — to climb the steeps behind
him and pass them to the tierra caliente, — to force the position in
front at the hacienda of San Antonio, — or to burst the barrier of
the Pedregal on his left, and, sweeping round the rim of the valley,
to advance towards the capital through the village of San Angel.
Such were some of the dangers and difficulties that menaced Scott
On his arrival at San Agustin. He was in the heart of the enemy's
country, in front of a capital aroused by pride, patriotism and de-
spair, and possessing all the advantages of an accurate knowledge
of the ground on which it stood, or by which it was surrounded.
Scott, on the other hand, like the mariner in storm on a lee shore,
was obliged to feel his way along the dangerous coast with the lead,
and could not advance with that perfect confidence which is ever
the surest harbinger of success.

The reconnoissances of the American engineers which had been
pushed boldly, in front, on the main road, to the north, by the haci-
enda of San Antonio, soon disclosed the difficulty in that direction.

PATH OVER THE PEDREGAL TO CONTRERAS. 393

But among the mass of information which the American General
received at Puebla, his engineers learned that there was a pathway-
through this Pedregal whose route had been indicated by the spies
with .sufficient distinctness and certainty to justify a hope that he
might be able to render it practicable for his whole army, and, thus,
enable him to turn the right flank of the Mexicans' strongest posi-
tions. There is no doubt, as subsequent events demonstrated, that
the ground in the neighborhood of Contreras, where the road de-
scends from the mountains and barrancas towards San Angel was
of great importance to the Mexicans in the defence of the various
modes of access to the city, and it is unquestionable that a strong
post should have been placed in that quarter to cripple the Ameri-
can advance. It is stated by Mexican writers, that General Men-
doza, with two members of his topographical corps had reconnoi-
tred this route and pass, and pronounced it " absolutely indefensible."
It is probable, therefore, that no general action, involving the for-
tunes of a division, or of a large mass of the Mexican army, should
have been risked among the ravines between the mountains and the
Pedregal near Contreras ; yet we do not believe that it should have
been left by Santa Anna without a force capable of making a staunch
resistance.

We are now acquainted with the ground, and with the positions
of the two armies. Scott's plan was to force a passage by either
or both of the two adits to the levels of the valley in front of the
city, while Santa Anna's, according to his manifesto dated subse-
quently on the 23d of August, was to have made a concerted retro-
grade movement with his troops, and to have staked the fortunes
of the capital on a great battle, in which all his fresh, enthusiastic,
and unharmed troops would have been brought into a general action
against the comparatively small American army, upon an open
ground where he would have had full opportunity to use and manoeu-
vre infantry, cavalry and artillery.

But this plan was disconcerted at first, and probably destroyed,
both in its materiel and morale, by the gross disobedience of Gen-
eral Valencia, who forgot as a soldier, that there can never be two
commanders in the field. Valencia, apparently resolving to seize
the first opportunity to attack the Americans, in spite of the reported
untenable character of the ground about Padierna or Contreras, left
his quarters at Coyoacan and San Angel, and advanced, without
consulting his commander, to Contreras, upon whose heights he
threw up an entrenched camp! As soon as Santa Anna learned this
fact, he ordered the vain and reckless officer to retire, but finding

him obstinately resolute in his insubordination, the commander-in-
chief suffered him, in direct opposition to his own opinion, to remain
and to charge himself with the whole responsibility of the conse-
quences. Thus, if Scott advanced upon the main road, he would
meet only Santa Anna in front, and the efficiency of Valencia's
force, on his left flank, would be comparatively destroyed. If he
conquered Valencia, however, at Contreras, after passing the Pedre-
gal, he would rout a whole division of the veterans of the north —
the remnants of San Luis and Angostura, — while the remainder of
the army, composed of recent levies and raw troops, disciplined for
the occasion, would, in all likelihood, fall an easy prey to the eager
Americans.

The reconnoissances of the American army were now completed
both towards San Antonio over the main northern road, and towards
Padierna or Contreras over the southern and south-western edge of
the Pedregal. That brave and accomplished engineer, Captain-
now Colonel Robert E. Lee — had done the work on the American
left across the fields of broken lava, and being convinced that
road could be opened, if needed, for the whole army and its trains,
Scott resolved forthwith to advance.

On the 19th of August, General Pillow's division was com-
manded to open the way, and advancing carefully, bravely and
laboriously over the worst portion of the pass, — cutting its road as
it moved onward, — it arrived about one o'clock in the afternoon
at a point amid the ravines and barrancas near Padierna or Con-
treras where the new road could only be continued under the direct
fire of twenty-two pieces of Mexican artillery, most of which were
of large calibre. These guns were in a strong entrenched camp,
surrounded by every advantage of ground and by large bodies of
infantry and cavalry, reinforced from the city, over an excellent road
beyond the volcanic field. Pillow's and Twiggs's force, with all
its officers on foot, picking a way along the Mexican front and ex-
tending towards the road from the city and the enemy's left, ad-
vanced to dislodge the foe. Captain Magruder's field battery of
twelve and six-pounders, and Lieut. Callender's battery of moun-
tain howitzers and rockets, were also pushed forward with great
difficulty within range of the Mexican fortifications, and, thus, a sta-
tionary battle raged until night fell drearily on the combatants amid
a cold rain which descended in torrents. Wet, chilled, hungry and
sleepless, both armies passed a weary time of watching until early
the next morning, when a movement was made by the Americans
which resulted in a total rout of Valencia's forces. Firing at a

AMERICAN ADVANCE AND VICTORY AT CONTRERAS. 395

long distance against an entrenched camp was worse than useless
on such a ground, and although General Smith's and Colonel Riley's
brigades, supported by Generals Pierce's and Cadwallader's, had
been under a heavy fire of artillery and musketry for more than three
hours along the almost impassable ravine in front and to the left of
the Mexican camp, yet so little had been effected in destroying the
position that the main reliance for success was correctly judged to be
in an assault at close quarters. The plan had been arranged in the
night by Brigadier General Persifer F. Smith, and was sanctioned
by General Scott, to whom it was communicated through the inde-
fatigable diligence of Captain Lee, of the Engineers.

At 3 o'clock A. M. of the 20th August, the movement com-
menced on the rear of the enemy's camp, led by Colonel Riley and
followed successively by Cadwallader's and Smith's brigades, the
whole force being commanded by General Smith.

The march was rendered tedious by rain, mud and darkness ;
but, about sun rise, Riley reached an elevation behind the Mexicans,
whence he threw his men upon the 'works, and, storming the en-
trenchments, planted his flag upon them in seventeen minutes.
Meanwhile Cadwallader brought on the general assault by crossing
the deep ravine in front and pouring into the work and upon the fugi-
tives, frequent volleys of destructive musketry. Smith's own brigade
under the temporary command of Major Dimick, discovered, oppo-
site and outside the work, a long line of Mexican cavalry drawn up
in support, and by a charge against the flank, routed the horse com-
pletely, while General Shields held masses of cavalry, supported by
artillery, in check below him, and captured multitudes who fled
from above.

It was a rapid and brilliant feat of arms. Scott, — the skilful
and experienced General of the field, — doubts in his despatch
whether a more brilliant or decisive victory is to be found on record,
when the disparity of numbers, the nature of the ground, the artifi-
cial defences, and the fact that the Americans accomplished their
end without artillery or cavalry, are duly and honestly considered.
All our forces did not number more than 4,500 rank and file, while
the Mexicans maintained, at least, six thousand on the field, and
double that number in reserve under Santa Anna, who had advanced
to support but probably seeing that it was not a spot for his theory of
a general action, and that an American force intervened, declined
aiding his disobedient officer. The Mexicans lost about 700 killed,
813 prisoners, including 4 Generals among 88 officers. Twenty*
two pieces of brass ordnance, thousands of small arms and accoutre-

396 SAN ANTONIO TURNED BY WORTH.

ments, many colors and standards, large stores of ammunition, 700
pack mules, and numbers of horses fell into the hands of the victors.

The rage of Santa Anna against Valencia knew no bounds. He
ordered him to be shot wherever found ; but the defeated chief fled
precipitately towards the west beyond the mountains, and for a long
time lay in concealment until the storm of private and public indig-
nation had passed. The effect of this battle, resulting in the loss
of the veterans of the north, was disastrous not only in the city, but
to the morale of the remaining troops of the main division under
Santa Anna. It certainly demonstrated the importance of Padierna
or Contreras as a military point of defence ; but it unquestionably
proved that the works designed to maintain it should have been dif-
ferently planned and placed at a much earlier day, after mature de-
liberation by skilful engineers. The hasty decision and work of
Valencia, made without preconcert or sanction of the General-in-
chief, and in total violation of his order of battle, followed by the
complete destruction of the entire division of the northern army,
could only result in final disaster.

Whilst the battle of Contreras was raging early in the day,
brigades from Worth's and Quitman's divisions had been advanced
to support the combatants ; but before they arrived on the field the
post was captured, and they were, accordingly, ordered to return to
their late positions. Worth, advanced from San Agustin, in front
of San Antonio, was now in better position, for a road to the rear
of the hacienda had been opened by forcing the pass of Contreras.
Moving from Contreras or Padierna through San Angel and Coyoa-
can, Pillow's and Twiggs's divisions would speedily be able to at
tack it from the north, while Worth, advancing from the south,
might unquestionably force the position. Accordingly while Pillow
and Twiggs were advanced, General Scott reached Coyoacan, about
two miles, by a cross road, in the rear of the hacienda of San An-
tonio. From Coyoacan he despatched Pillow to attack the rear of
San Antonio, while a reconnoissance was made of Churubusco, on
the main road, and an attack of the place ordered to be effected by
Twiggs with one of his brigades and Captain Taylor's field battery.

General Pierce was next despatched, under the guidance of Cap-
tain Lee, by a road to the left, to attack the enemy's right and rear
in order to favor the movement on the Convent of Churubusco and
cut off retreat to the capital. And, finally, Shields, with the New
York and South Carolina volunteers, was ordered to follow Pierce
and to command the left wing. The battle now raged from the
right to the left of our whole line. All the movements had been made

BATTLE OF CHURUBUSCO. 397

with the greatest rapidity and enthusiasm. Not a moment was lost
in pressing the victory after the fall of Contreras. Shouting Ameri-
cans and rallying Mexicans were spread over every field. Every
one was employed ; and, in truth, there was ample work to do, for
even the commander-in-chief of our forces was left without a reserve
or an escort, and had to advance fcr safety close in Twiggs's rear.

Meanwhile, about an hour earlier, Worth, by a skilful and daring
movement upon the enemy's front and right at the hacienda of San
Antonio, had turned and forced that formidable point whose garrison
no doubt was panic struck by the victory of Contreras. The enter-
prise was nobly achieved. Colonel Clarke's brigade, conducted by
the engineers Mason and Hardcastle, found a practicable path
through the Pedregal west of the road, and, by a wide sweep, came
out upon the main causeway to the capital. At this point the three
thousand men of the Mexican garrison at San Antonio, were met in
retreat, and cut by Clarke in their very centre ; — one portion being
driven off towards Dolores on the right, and the other upon Churu-
busco in the direct line of the active operations of the Americans.
Whilst this brave feat of out-flanking was performed, Colonel Gar-
land, Major Gait, Colonel Belton, and Lieutenant Colonel Duncan
advanced to the front attack of San Antonio, and rushing rapidly
on the flying enemy, took one General prisoner, and seized a large
quantity of public property, ammunition and the five deserted guns.

Thus fell the two main keys of the valley, and thus did all the
divisions of the American army at length reach the open and com-
paratively unobstructed plains of the valley.

Worth soon reunited his division on the main straight road to the
capital, and was joined by General Pillow, who, advancing from
Coyoacan to attack the rear of San Antonio, as we have already re-
lated, soon perceived that the hacienda had fallen, and immediately
turned, to the left, through a broken country of swamps and ditches,
la order to share in the attack on Churubusco. And here, it was
felt on all sides, that the last stand must be made by Mexico in front
of her capital.

The hamlet or scattered houses of Churubusco, formed a strong
military position on the borders of the stream which crosses the
highway, and, besides the fortified and massive convent of San
Pablo, it was guarded by a tete de poni with regular bastions and
curtains at the head of a bridge over which the road passes from
the hacienda of San Antonio to the city. The stream was a de-
fence; — the nature of the adjacent country was a defence; — and
here the fragments of the Mexican army, — cavalry, artillery and

51

398 BATTLE AT THE CONVENT AND TETE DE PONT.

infantry, had been collected from every quarter, — panic stricken, it
is true, — yet apparently resolved to contest the passage of the last
outwork of importance in front of the garita of San Antonio Abad.

When Worth and Pillow reached this point, Twiggs had already
been sometime hotly engaged in attacking the embattled convent.
The two advancing Generals immediately began to manoeuvre close-
ly upon the tete de pont, which was about four hundred and fifty
.yards east of the convent, where Twiggs still earnestly plied the
enemy. Various brigades and regiments under Cadwallader, Lieur
tenant Colonel Smith, Garland, Clark, Major White and Lieutenant
Colonel Scott continued to press onward towards the tete de pont,
until by gradual encroachments under a tremendous fire, they at-
tained a position which enabled them to assault and carry the for-
midable work by the bayonet. But the convent still held out.
Twenty minutes after the tete de pont had been taken, and after
desperate battle of two hours and a half, that stronghold threw out
the white flag. Yet it is probable that even then the conflict would
not have ended, had not the 3d infantry under Captains Alexander,
J. M. Smith, and Lieutenant O. L. Shepherd, cleared the way by
fire and the bayonet to enter the work.

Whilst this gallant task was being performed in front of the
Mexican defences, Generals Pierce and Shields had been engaged
on our left, in turning the enemy's works so as to prevent the escape
of the garrisons, and to oppose the extension of numerous corps
from the rear, upon and around our left. By a winding march of a
mile around to the right, this division under the command of Shields,
found itself on the edge of an open, wet meadow, near the main
road to the capital, in the presence of nearly four thousand of the
enemy's infantry, a little in the rear of Churubusco. Shields posted
his right at a strong edifice, and extended his left wing parallel to
the road, to outflank the enemy towards the capital. But the Mexi-
cans extended their right more rapidly, and were supported by
several regiments of cavalry, on better ground. Shields, accord-
ingly, concentrated his division about a hamlet, and attacked in
front. The battle wras long and bravely sustained with varied suc-
cess, but finally resulted in crowning with victory the zeal and cour-
age of the American commander and his gallant troops. Shields
took 380 prisoners, including officers ; while at Churubusco seven
field pieces, some ammunition, one standard, three Generals, and
1261 prisoners, including other officers, were the fruits of the sharp-
ly contested victory.

This was the last conquest on that day of conquests. As soon

THEIR CAPTURE FLIGHT OF THE MEXICANS. 399

as the tcte de pont fell, Worth's and Pillow's divisions rushed on-
ward by the highway towards the city, which now rose in full sight
before them, at the distance of four miles. Bounding onward,
flushed and exultant, they encountered Shields' division, now also
victorious, and all combined in the headlong pursuit of the flying
foe. At length the columns parted, and a small part of Harney's
cavalry, led by Captain Kearney of the 1st dragoons, dashed to the
front and charged the retreating Mexicans up to the very gates of
the city.

Thus terminated the first series of American victories in the val-
ley of Mexico.

Note. It is ungracious to criticize unfavorably the conduct of a conquered foe,
but there are some things in Santa Anna's behavior at Contreras and Churubusco,
which must not be passed silently. At Contreras, he came with aid, by a short and
fine highway, to the field at a late period, when the Americans, moving slowly over
an unknown and broken country, had already outflanked with a strong force, Valen-
cia's left, and he then made no effort whatever, with his large support, to relieve the
beleagured general. If he did not design doing any thing, why did he come at all ;
and, if as he says, he believed Valencia could, during the night, withdraw all his
forces, after spiking his guns, by a secret path of which he apprised him, why did
he not take the same path to aid him ? Did he believe that it was best to lose Va-
lencia and his division only, without risking the loss of the large support under his
own command ? In the morning of the 20th it was certainly too late for action, but
Santa Anna must have been convinced, when he ordered the retreat from the Hacienda
of San Antonio, and thus voluntarily opened a gate for Worth's advance, that now,
if ever, had arrived the moment for a general action in front of the city, the key of
which, on the main road, was the convent of Churubusco and the adjacent works.
The loss of Valencia's army and materiel was undoubtedly disheartening, but, ac-
cording to his own account, Santa Anna had been prepared for an event which he
foresaw. This should not have destroyed his self-possession if he sincerely desired
victory. When Contreras fell, he had, in reality, only lost a division consisting of
five or six thousand men. The whole centre and left wing of his army were un-
touched, and these must have numbered at least 20,000. Yet, if we admit the brave
resistance of the garrison, only hastily thrown into the convent and works at Churu-
busco, it may then be asked what masterly effort Santa Anna made (at the moment
when he had actually drawn the American army into the valley) to bring on a gen-
eral action with all the fresh troops either under his own command or under that of
obedient, brave, skilful, and patriotic officers? The Mexican accounts of these ac-
tions, and in fact, his own despatch from Tehuacan, dated 19th Nov. 1847, exhibit
no able manoeuvres on the last field with which he was perfectly and personally fa-
miliar. The Americans stormed a single point, — and the battle was over, though
bravely fought by those who were under cover and by the traitor battalion of San
Patricio, formed of renegades from our army. The despatches of Santa Anna, like
most of the Mexican despatches after military or political disaster, seem rather de-
signed to criminate others, and to throw the whole blame of ultimate complete defeat
on Valencia, than to point out the causes of conquest in spite of able generalship
after the fall of Contreras. See Santa Anna's despatches, Mexico 23 Aug. 1847 ; and
Tehuacan, 19 Nov. 1847, in Pillow's Court Martial, ppi .r>.'i2 and f>40. See also
Apuntes para la historia de la guerra, &c, &c, chapters XVII — XV1I1 — XIX, and
Ripley's History of the War, vol. 2, p. 256 ; "No part of the Mexican force teas
ready for battle, except Rincon's command," says this writer.

CHAPTER XV
1847.

WHY THE CITY WAS NOT ENTERED ON THE 20TH CONDITION

OF THE CITY DELIBERATION OF THE MEXICAN CABINET AND

PROPOSALS REASONS WHY GENERAL SCOTT PROPOSED AND

GRANTED THE ARMISTICE DELIBERATIONS OF COMMISSIONERS

PARTIES AGAINST SANTA ANNA FAILURE OF THE NEGOTIA-
TION MEXICAN DESIRE TO DESTROY SANTA ANNA.

It wTas late in the day when the battles ended. One army was
wearied with fighting and victory ; the other equally oppressed by
labor and defeat. The conquered Mexicans fled to their eastern
defences or took refuge within the gates of their city. There wras,
for the moment, utter disorganization among the discomfited, while
the jaded band of a few thousand invaders had to be rallied and re-
formed in their ranks and regiments after the desperate conflicts of
the day over so wide a field. It surely was not a proper moment
for an unconcentrated army, almost cut off from support, three hun-
dred miles in the interior of an enemy's country, and altogether
ignorant of the localities of a great capital containing nearly two
hundred thousand inhabitants, to rush madly, at night fall, into the
midst of that city. Mexico, too, was not an ordinary town with
wide thoroughfares and houses like those in which the invaders had
been accustomed to dwell. Spanish houses are almost castles in
architectural strength and plan, while from their level and embattled
roofs, a mob, when aroused by the spirit of revenge or despair, may
do the service of a disciplined army. Nor was it known whether
the metropolis had been defended by works along its streets, — by
barricades, impediments and batteries, — among which the entangled
assailants might be butchered with impunity in the narrow passages
during the darkness and before they could concentrate upon any
central or commanding spot. Repose and daylight were required
before a prudent General would venture to risk the lives of his men
and the success of his whole mission upon such a die.

Accordingly the army was halted ; the dispersed recalled, the
wounded succored, the dead prepared for burial, and the tired
troops ordered to bivouack on the ground they had wrested from the
enemy.

DELIBERATION OF THE MEXICAN CABINET AND PROPOSALS. 401

Meanwhile the greatest consternation prevailed within the city.
When Santa Anna reached the Palace, he hastily assembled the
Ministers of State and other eminent citizens, and, after reviewing
the disasters of the day and their causes, he proclaimed the indis-
pensable necessity of recurring to a truce in order to take a long re-
spite. There was a difference of opinion upon this subject; but it
was finally agreed that a suspension of arms should be negotiated
through the Spanish Minister and the British Consul General.
Senor Pacheco, the Minister of Foreign Relations, accordingly ad-
dressed Messrs. Mackintosh and Bermudez de Castro, entreating
them to effect this desired result. During the night the British Con-
sul General visited the American camp, and was naturally anxious
to spare the effusion of blood and the assault by an army on a city
in which his country had so deep an interest. On the morning of
the 21st, when General Scott was about to take up battering or as-
saulting positions, to authorize him to summon the capital to sur-
render or to sign an armistice with a pledge to enter at once into
negotiations for peace, he was met by General Mora y Villamil and
Senor Arrangoiz, with proposals for an armistice in order to bury
the dead, but without reference to a treaty. Scott had already de-
termined to offer the alternative of assault or armistice and treaty to
the Mexican government, and this resolution had been long cherished
by him. Accordingly he at once rejected the Mexican proposal,
and, without summoning the city to surrender, despatched a note to
Santa Anna, expressing his willingness to sign, on reasonable terms,
a short armistice, in order that the American Commissioner and the
Mexican Government, might amicably and honorably settle the in-
ternational differences, and thus close an unnatural war in which too
much blood had already been shed. This frank proposal, coming
generously from the victorious chief, was promptly accepted. Com-
missioners were appointed by the commanders of the two armies on
the 22d ; the armistice was signed on the 23d, and ratifications ex-
changed on the 24th ; and thus, the dispute was for a while transferred
once more from the camp to the council chamber. On the morning
of the 21st, the American army was posted in the different villages
in the vicinity. Worth's division occupied Tacubaya. Pillow's
Mixcoac, Twiggs's San Angel, while Quitman's remained still at
San Agustin, where it had served during the battles of the 19th
and 20th in protecting the rear and the trains of the army. Tacu-
baya became the residence of General Scott, and the head-quarters
of the commander-in-chief were established in the Bishop's Palace.

402 REASONS WHY GENERAL SCOTT PROPOSED

There are critics and politicians who are never satisfied with
results, and, whilst their prophecies are usually dated after the
events which they claim to have foreseen, they unfortunately find
too much favor with the mass of readers who are not in the habit
of ascertaining precisely what was known and what was not known
at the period of the occurrences which they seek to condemn.
General Scott has fallen under the heavy censure of these writers
for offering the armistice and avoiding the immediate capture of the
capital, the practicability of which they now consider as demon-
strated. We propose to examine this question, but we believe that
the practicability or impracticability of that event does not become
one of the primary or even early elements of the discussion.

If we understand the spirit of this age correctly, we must believe
that mankind, purified by the progressive blessings of Christianity
and modern civilization, desires the mitigation rather than the in-
crease of the evils of war. It does not seek merely to avert danger
or disaster from the forces of one party in the strife, but strives to
produce peace with as little harm as possible to all who are engaged
in warfare. It is not the mission of a soldier to kill, because his
profession is that of arms. It is ever the imperative duty of a
commander to stop the flow of human blood as soon as he per-
ceives the slightest chance of peace ; and if his honorable efforts
fail entirely, through the folly or obstinacy of the foe, he will be
more fully justified in the subsequent and stringent measures of
coercion.

The Mexican masses, mistaking vanity for true national pride,
had hitherto persevered in resisting every effort to settle the inter-
national difficulties. Diplomacy, with such' a nation, is extremely
delicate. If we exhibited symptoms of leniency, she became pre-
sumptuous ; — if we pushed hostilities to the extreme, she grew
doggedly obstinate. On the 21st of August her capital was in
Scott's power. His victorious army was at her gates. Two terrible
battles had been fought, and the combatants on both sides had
shown courage, skill and endurance. The Mexican army was
routed, but not entirely dispersed or destroyed. At this moment it
doubtless occurred to General Scott, and to all who were calm spec-
tators of the scene, that before the last and fatal move was made, it
was his duty to allow Mexico to save her point of honor by negotia-
ting, ere the city was entered, and while she could yet proclaim to
her citizens and the world, that her capital had never been seized
by the enemy. This assuaged national vanity, and preserved the
last vantage ground upon which the nation might stand with pride

AND GRANTED THE ARMISTICE. 403

if not with perfect confidence. It still left something to the con-
quered people which was not necessary or valuable to us.

There are other matters, unquestionably, that weighed much in
the very responsible deliberations of General Scott. If our army
entered the city triumphantly, or took it by assault, the frail elements
of government still lingering at that period of disorganization, would
either fly or be utterly destroyed. All who were in power, in that
nation of jealous politicians and wily intriguers would be eaoer to
shun the last responsibility. If Santa Anna should be utterly beaten,
the disgrace would blot out the last traces of his remaining prestige.
If so fatal a disaster occurred, as subsequent events proved, the
Americans would be most unfortunately situated in relation to peace,
for there would be no government to negotiate with ! Santa Anna's
government was the only constitutional one that had existed in
Mexico for a long period, and with such a legalized national author-
ity peace must be concluded. It was not our duty to destroy a
government and then gather the fragments to reconstruct another
with which we might treat. If a revolutionary, or provisional au-
thority existed, what prospect had we of enduring pacification?
What guaranty did we hold in a treaty celebrated with a military
despot, a temporary chief, or a sudden usurper, that such a treaty
could be maintained before the nation? What constitutional or
legal right would an American general or commissioner have, to
enter into such a compact ? Was it not, therefore, Scott's duty to
act with such tender caution as not to endanger the fate of the only
man who might still keep himself at the head of his rallied people ?
Besides these political considerations, there are others, of a mili-
tary character, that will commend themselves to the prudent and the
just. The unacclimated American army had marched from Puebla
to the valley of Mexico during the rainy season, in a tropical zone,
when the earth is saturated with water, and no one travels who can
avoid exposure. Our men were forced to undergo the hardships of
such a campaign, to make roads, to travel over broken ground, to
wade marshes, to bivouack on the damp soil with scarce a shelter
from the storm, to march day and night, and finally, without an
interval of repose, to fight two of the sharpest actions of the war.
The seven or eight thousand survivors of these actions, — many of
whom were new levies — demanded care and zealous husbanding
for future events. They were distant from the coast and cut off from
support or immediate succor. The enemy's present or prospective
weakness was not to be relied on. Wisdoni required that what was
in the rear should be thought of as well as what was in advance.

404 DELIBERATIONS OF COMMISSIONERS.

May it not then be justly said that it was a proper moment for a
heroic general to pause in front of a national capital containing two
hundred thousand people, and to allow the civil arm to assume, for
a moment of trial, the place of the military ? Like a truly brave
man, he despised the eclat of entering the capital as Cortez had
done on nearly the same day of the same month, three hundred and
twenty-six years before. Like a wise man, he considered the his-
tory and condition of the enemy, instead of his personal glory, and
laid aside the false ambition of a soldier, to exhibit the forbearance
of a christian statesman. }

The American Commissioner unquestionably entered upon the
negotiations in good faith, and it is probable that Santa Anna was
personally quite as well disposed for peace. He, however, had a
delicate game to play with the politicians of his own country, and
was obliged to study carefully the posture of parties as well as the
momentary strength of his friends and enemies. Well acquainted
as he was with the value of men and the intrigues of the time, he
would have been mad not to guard against the risk of ruin, and,
accordingly, his first efforts were directed rather towards obtaining
the ultimatum of the United States, than to pledging his own gov-
ernment in any project which might prove either presently unpopular
or destroy his future influence. The instructions, therefore, that
were given to General Jose J. de Herrera, Bernardo Couto, Ignacio
Mora y Villamil and Miguel Atristain, the Mexican commissioners,
were couched in such extreme terms, that much could be yielded
before there was a likelihood of approaching the American demands.
In the meanwhile, as negotiations progressed, Mexico obtained time
to rally her soldiers, to appease those who were discontented with
the proposed peace, and to abjure the project if it should be found
either inadmissible or impossible of accomplishment without loss of
popularity.

For several days consultations took place between Mr. Trist and
the commissioners, but it was soon found that the American preten-
sions in regard to the position of Texas, the boundary of the Rio
Grande and the cession of New Mexico and Upper California, were

1 It will be remembered that even Cortez had paused in the precincts of the ancient
capital of the Aztecs, in order to give them a chance of escape before striking the
fatal blow. See Prescott, vol. 3, p. 199. It is alittle remarkable also, that the dates
of Scott's and Cortez's victories coincide so closely. Cortez's victory was on the
13th of August, 1521, Scott's on the 20th of August, 1847. The date of Cortez's
achievement is given according to the Old Style, but if we add ten days to bring it
up to New Style, it will be corrected to the 23d of August!

PARTIES AGAINST SANTA ANNA. 405

of such a character that the Mexicans would not yield to them at the
present moment. The popular feeling, stimulated by the rivals of
Santa Anna, his enemies, and the demagogues, was entirely opposed
to the surrender of territory. Sensible as the President was, that
the true national interests demanded instantaneous peace, he was
dissuaded by his confidential advisers from presenting a counter
projet, which would have resulted in a treaty. Congress, moreover,
had virtually dissolved by the precipitate departure of most of its
members after the battles of the 20th.

All the party leaders labored diligently at this crisis, but none of
them with cordiality for Santa Anna, in whose negotiations of a
successful peace with the United States, they either foresaw or
feared the permanent consolidation of his power. The puros, or
democrats, still clung to their admiration of the constitution of our
Union ; to their opposition to the standing army ; to their desire
for modifying the power and position of the church and its ministers,
and to their united hostility against the President. They were loud
in their exhortations to continue the war, while Olaguibel, one of
their ablest men and most devoted lovers of American institutions,
issued a strong manifesto against the projected treaty. This was
the party which, it is asserted, in fact desired the prolongation of
the war until the destroyed nationality of Mexico took refuge from
domestic intrigues, misgovernment and anarchy, in annexation to
the United States.

The monarquistas, who still adhered to the church and the army,
proclaimed their belief in the total failure of the republican system.
Revolutions and incessant turmoils, according to their opinions,
could only be suppressed by the strong arm of power, and in their
ranks had again appeared General Mariano Paredes y Arrellaga,
who, returning from exile, landed in disguise at Vera Cruz, and
passing secretly through the American lines, proceeded to Mexico
to continue his machinations against Santa Anna, whom he cordially
hated.

The moderados formed a middle party equally opposed to the ul-
traisms of monarchy and democracy. They counted among their
number, many of the purest and wisest men in the republic, and al-
though they were not as inimical to the United States as the monar-
quistas, or as many of the puros pretended to be, yet they cordially
desired or hoped to preserve the nationality and progressive repub-
licanism of Mexico. In this junto Santa Anna found a few parti-
zans who adhered to him more from policy than principle, for all
classes had learned to distrust a person who played so many parts in

52

406 FAILURE OF THE NEGOTIATION.

the national drama of intrigue, war, and government. As a party,
they were doubtless unwilling to risk their strength and prospects
upon a peace which might be made under his auspices.

In this crisis the President had no elements of strength still firmly
attached to him but the army, whose favor, amid all his reverses, he
generally contrived to retain or to win. But that army was now
much disorganized, and the national finances were so low that he
was scarcely able to maintain it from day to day. The mob, com-
posed of the lower classes, and the beastly leperos, knowing nothing
of the principles of the war, and heedless of its consequences, —
plied moreover by the demagogues of all the parties, — shouted
loudly for its continuance, and thus the president was finally forced
to yield to the external pressure, and to be governed by an impulse
which he was either too timid or too weak to control.

The armistice provided that the Americans should receive sup-
plies from the city, and that no additional fortifications should be
undertaken during its continuance; nevertheless the American trains
were assailed by the populace of the city, and, it is alleged, that
Santa Anna disregarded the provision forbidding fortifications.
When it became evident to the American commissioner and General
Scott, that the Mexicans were merely trifling and temporizing, —
that the prolongation of the armistice would be advantageous to the
enemy, without affording any correspondent benefits to us, — and
when their supplies had been increased so as to afford ample sup-
port for the army during the anticipated attack on the city, — it was
promptly resolved to renew the appeal to arms. Accordingly, on
the 6th of September, General Scott addressed Santa Anna, calling
his attention to the infractions of the compact, and declaring that
unless satisfaction was made for the breaches of faith before noon of
the following day, he would consider the armistice terminated from
that hour. Santa Anna returned an answer of false recriminations,
and threw off the mask. He asserted his willingness to rely on
arms; — he issued a bombastic appeal to the people, in which he
announced that the demands of the Americans would have converted
the nation into a colony of our Union. He improved upon the pre-
tended patriotic zeal of all the parties — puros, moderados, monar-
quistas and mob — who had proclaimed themselves in favor of the
war. Instead of opposing or arguing the question, he caught the
war strain of the hour, and sent it forth to the multitude in trumpet
tones. He was determined not to be hedged or entrapped by those
who intrigued to destroy him, and resolved that if he must fall, his
opponents should share the political disaster. Nor was he alone in

MEXICAN DESIRE TO DESTROY SANTA ANNA. 407

his electioneering gasconade, for General Herrera — a man who had
been notoriously the advocate of peace, both before and since the
rupture, — addressed the clergy and the people, craving their aid
by prayer, money, fire and sword, to exterminate the invaders !
All classes were, thus, placed in a false and uncandid position.

This is a sad picture of political hypocricy based upon the mis-
named popular will of a country which had for twenty years been
demoralized by the very chieftain who was about to reap the direful
harvest he had sown in the hearts of his people. Every man. every
party, acknowledged, privately, the impolicy of continued hostili-
ties, yet all men and all parties were resolved that Santa Anna
should not make the peace whilst an American army remained in
the country to sustain it, or an American government dispensed mil-
lions to pay for the ceded territory. Distrusting his honesty and
patriotism, they believed that the money would only be squandered
among his parasites, or used for the prolonged corruption and dis-
organization of their country. With gold and an army they believed
him omnipotent ; but, stripped of these elements of power in Mexi-
co, the great magician dwindled into a haggard and harmless witch.

Combinations arose readily and bravely against the man whose
sway was irresistible as long as he dealt with his countrymen alone
or preserved a loyal army and dependant church, whose strength and
wealth were mutual supports. The sky was dark and lowering
around him, and he must have acknowledged secretly, that the po-
litical parties of his country, if not his countrymen universally, were
more anxious to destroy him than the Americans. The army of the
invaders, they hoped, might perform a task in this drama, which the
Mexicans themselves could not achieve ; and there are multitudes
who would have been glad to see its end become tragic by the death
of one whom they feared in prosperity, and despised in adversity.

CHAPTER XVI

1847.

MILITARY POSITION OF THE AMERICANS AT THE END OF THE AR-
MISTICE MEXICAN DEFENCES PLAN OF ATTACK RECON-

NOISSANCES OF SCOTT AND MASON IMPORTANCE OF MEXICAN

POSITION AT MOLINO DEL REY SCOTT's SCHEME OF CAPTURING

THE CITY BATTLE OF MOLINO DEL REY REFLECTIONS AND

CRITICISM ON THIS BATTLE PREPARATIONS TO ATTACK CHA-

PULTEPEC STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC AND OF THE CITY GATES

OF SAN COSME AND BELEN RETREAT OF THE MEXICAN ARMY

AND GOVERNMENT AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF THE CITY OF

MEXICO.

At the termination of the armistice the position of the American
forces was greatly changed from what it had been on the morning
of the 20th of August. The occupation of San Agustin had
been followed by that of Contreras, San Angel, Coyoacan and
Churubusco in the course of that day, and on the next, Mixcoac
and Tacubaya were taken possession of. Thus the whole southern
and south-western portion of the valley, in front of Mexico, were
now held by the Americans ; and this disposition of their forces,
commanding most of the principal approaches to the capital,
enabled them, for the first time to select their point of attack.

In reconnoitering the chief outworks of the Mexicans by which
he was still opposed, General Scott found that there were several
of great importance. Directly north of his headquarters at Ta-
cubaya, and distant about a mile, arose the lofty, isolated hill of
Chapultepec, surrounded by its massive edifice, half castle, half
palace, crowned with cannon. This point, it was known, had
been strongly fortified to maintain the road leading from Tacubaya
to the garita of San Cosme on the west of the city. Westwardly,
beyond the hill of Chapultepec, whose southern side and feet are
surrounded by a dense grove of cypresses, and on a rising ground
within the military works designed to strengthen the castle, was the
Molino del Rey, or King's Mill, which was represented to be a
cannon foundry to which large quantities of church bells had been
sent to be cast into guns. Still further west, but near the Molino
or Mill, was the fortified Casa Mata, containing a large deposite of
powder.

MEXICAN DEFENCES PLAN OF ATTACK. 409

These, — together with the strong citadel, lying near the garita
of Belen in the south-western corner of the city, — were the prin-
cipal external defences still remaining beyond the immediate limits
of the capital. The city itself stands on a slight swell between lake
Tezcoco and the western edge of the valley, and, throughout its
greater extent, is girdled by a ditch or navigable canal extremely
difficult to bridge in the face of an enemy, which serves the Mexi-
cans not only as a military defence but for drainage and protection
of their customs. Each of the eight strong city gates were pro-
tected by works of various character and merit. Outside and
within the cross fires of these gates there were other obstacles
scarcely less formidable towards the south. The main approaches
to the city across the flat lands of the basin are raised on causeways
flanked by wide and deep ditches designed for their protection and
drainage. These causeways, as well as the minor cross roads
which are similarly built, were cut in many places and had their
bridges destroyed so as to impede the American's advance and to
form an entangling net work; while the adjacent meadows were in
this rainy season either filled with water in many places or liable to
be immediately flooded by a tropical storm.

With these fields for his theatre, of action, and these defences still
in front of him, it was an important and responsible question, whether
General Scott should attack Mexico on the west or on the south.

There can be hardly a doubt that the capture of the hill and
castle of Chapultepec, before assaulting the city, was imperatively
demanded by good generalship. If the capital were taken first,
the Mexicans instead of retreating towards Guadalupe and the
north, when we attacked and captured from the south, would of
course retire to the avoided stronghold of Chapultepec ; and, if our
slender forces were subsequently obliged to leave the city in order
to take the fortress, our sick, wounded and thinned regiments would
be left to the mercy of the mob and the leperos. Chapultepec would
thus become the nucleus and garrison of the whole Mexican army,
and we might be compelled to fight two battles at the same time, —
one in the city, and the other at the castle. But, by capturing the
castle first, and seizing the road northward beyond it, we possessed
all the most important outworks in the lap of the valley, and cut
off the retreat of the Mexicans from the city either to the west, to
the castle, or towards our rear in the valley. We obtained, more-
over, absolute command of two of the most important entrances to
the capital, inasmuch as from the eastern foot of the hill of Cha-
pultepec two causeways, and aqueducts raised on lofty arches, di-

410 RECONNOISSANCES OF SCOTT AND MASON.

verged northeastwardly and eastwardly towards the city. The
northernmost of these entered Mexico by the garita of San Cosme,
while the other reached it by that of Belen near the citadel.

In attacking Chapultepec, it was important to consider the value
of the Molino del Rey or King's Mill, and Casa Mata, both of
which, as we noticed, lie on rising ground within the works de-
signed to protect Chapultepec. Upon examination it will be found
that the Molino del Rey, or King's Mill, bears the relation of a very
strong western outwork both to the castle of Chapultepec and its
approaches by the inclined plain which serves to ascend its summit.
As the Molino del Rey is commanded and defended by the castle,
so it reciprocally, commands and defends the only good approach
to the latter. l As long as the Molino was held by the Mexicans,
it would of course, form an important stronghold easily reached
from the city around the rear of Chapultepec; so that if Scott at-
tacked the castle and hill from the south, where the road that as-
cends it commenced, he would be in danger of an attack on his
left flank from the Mexicans in the defences at Molino and Casa
Mata.

If the King's Mill fell, the result to the enemy would be that, in
addition to the loss of an important outwork and the consequent
weakening of the main work, its occupants or defenders would be
driven from a high position above the roads and fields into the low
grounds at the base of Chapultepec, which were completely com-
manded from the Molino, and thus the Mexicans would be unable
to prevent the American siege pieces from taking up the most
favorable position for battering the castle. It was important,
therefore, not only that the foundry should be destroyed, but, in a
stratagetic view, it was almost indispensable in relation to future
operations that the position should be taken. It is undeniable, as
following events showed, that the Mexicans regarded it as one of
their formidable military points. The capture of Chapultepec and
the destruction of the post at Molino del Rey were, accordingly,
determined on as preliminary to the final assault upon the city.

As soon as the armistice was terminated bold reconnoissances
were made by our engineers in the direction of Chapultepec and
the Molino or King's Mill and Casa Mata. On the 7th of Septem-
ber Santa Anna's answer to Scott's despatch was received, and on
the same day the Commander-in-Chief and General Worth exam-
ined the enemy's formidable dispositions near and around the castle-

1 See Lieut. Smith's Memoir, ut an tea, p. 8.

IMPORTANCE OF MEXICAN POSITIONS AT MOLINO DEL REY. 411

crowned hill. The Mexican array was found to consist of an ex-
tended line of cavalry and infantry, sustained by a field battery of
four guns, either occupying directly or supporting a system of de-
fences collateral to the castle and summit; but as the lines were
skilfully masked a very inadequate idea of the extent of the forces was
obtained. Captain Mason's reconnoissance on the morning of the
same day, represented the enemy's left as resting on and occupying
the group of strong stone buildings at the Molino adjacent to the
grove at the foot of Chapultepec and directly under the castle's
guns. The right of his line rested on the Casa Mata, at the foot
of the ridge sloping gradually to the plain below from the heights
above Tacubaya; while, midway between these buildings, were
the field battery and infantry forces disposed on either side to sup-
port it. This reconnoissance indicated that the centre was the
weak point of the position, and that its left flank was the strongest.
In the Mill or Molino, on the left, was the brigade of General
Leon, reinforced by the brigade of General Rangel ; in the Casa
Mata, on the right, was the brigade of General Perez; and on the
intermediate ground was the brigade of General Ramirez, with sev-
eral pieces of artillery. The Mexican reserve was composed of
the 1st and 3d light, stationed in the groves of Chapultepec, while
the cavalry consisting of 4,000 men, rested at the hacienda of Mo-
rales, not very far from the field. Such was the arrangement
of the Mexican forces made by Santa Anna in person on the 7th
of September, though it has been alleged by Mexican writers that
it was somewhat changed during the following night. The wily
chief had not allowed the time to pass during the negotiation be-
tween Trist and the Commissioners in political discussion alone.
Regarding the failure of the treaty as most probable, he had striven
to strengthen once more the military arm of his nation, and the first
result of this effort was demonstrated in his disposition of troops at
El Molino del Rey. The Americans' attack upon Chapultepec, as
commanding the nearest and most important access to the city had
been foreseen by him as soon as the armistice ended, and as a mili-
tary man, he well knew that the isolated hill and castle could not be
protected by the defenders within its walls alone or by troops sta-
tioned either immediately at its base or on the sloping road along
its sides.

General Scott's plan of assault upon the city seems now to have
been matured, though it required several days for full development
according to the reconnoissances of his engineers. He designed to
make the main assault, on the west and not on the south of the city.

412 scott's scheme of capturing the city.

Possessing himself suddenly of the Molino del Rev and the adjacent
grounds he was to retire after the capture without carrying Chapul-
tepec, the key of the roads to the western garitas of San Cosine"
and Belen. The immediate capture of Chapultepec would have
been a signal to Santa Anna to throw his whole force into the western
defence of the city ; but by retiring, after the fall of the Molino or
King's Mill, and by playing off skilfully on the south of the city in
the direction of the garita of San Antonio Abad, Scott would effec-
tually divert the attention of the Mexicans to that quarter and thus in-
duce them to weaken the western defences and strengthen the south-
ern. At length, at the proper moment, by a rapid inversion of his
forces from the south to the west, he intended to storm the castle-
crowned hill, and rush along the causeways to the capital before the
enemy could recover his position.

In pursuance of this plan, an attack upon El Molino del Rey and
La Casa Mata was the first great work to be accomplished, and as
soon as Santa Anna's reply closing the armistice was received on
the 7th the advance towards that place was ordered for the follow-
ing morning. This important work was entrusted to General
Worth, whose division was reinforced by three squadrons of dra-
goons ; one command of 270 mounted riflemen under Major Sumner;
three field pieces under Captain Drum ; two twenty-four pounders
under Captain Huger, and Cadwallader's brigade 784 strong. The
reconnoissances had been completed ; at three o'clock in the morn-
ing of the 8th of September the several columns were put in
motion on as many different routes, and when the gray dawn en-
abled them to be seen they were as accurately posted as if in mid-
day for review. Colonel Duncan wTas charged with the general
disposition of the artillery, while the cavalry were under Major
Sumner.

At the first glimmer of day Huger's powerful guns saluted the
walls of El Molino and continued to play in that quarter until this
point of the enemy's line became sensibly shaken. At that moment
the assaulting party, commanded by Wright of the 8th Infantry,
dashed forward to assault the centre. Musketry and cannister were
showered upon them by the aroused enemy, but on they rushed,
driving infantry and artillerists at the point of the bayonet, captur-
ing the field pieces and trailing them on the flying foe, until the
Mexicans perceiving that they had been assailed by a mere handful
of men suddenly rallied and reformed. In an instant the reassured
and gallant foe opened upon the Americans a terrific fire of musket-

BATTLE OF MOLINO DEL KEY. 413

ry, striking down eleven out of the fourteen officers who composed
the command, and, for the time, staggering the staunch assailants.
But this paralysis continued for an instant only. A light battalion
which had been held to cover Huger's battery, commanded by Cap-
tain E. Kirby Smith, rushed forward to support, and executing its
bloody task amid horrible carnage, finally succeeded in carrying
the line and occupying it with our troops. In the meanwhile Gar-
land's brigade, sustained by Drum's artillery assaulted the enemy's
left near the Molino, and after an obstinate contest drove him from
his position under the protecting guns of Chapultepec. Drum's
section and Huger's battering guns advanced to the enemy's posi-
tion, and his captured pieces were now opened on the retreating
force. While these efforts were successfully making on the Mexi-
can centre and left, Duncan's battery blazed on the right, and
Colonel Mackintosh was ordered to assault that point. The advance
of his brigade soon brought it between the enemy and Duncan's guns,
and their lire was of course discontinued. Onwards sternly and
steadily moved the troops towards the Casa Mata, which, as it was
approached, proved to be a massive stone work surrounded with
bastioned entrenchments and deep ditches, whence a deadly fire
was delivered and kept up without intermission upon our advancing
troops until they reached the very slope of the parapet surrounding
the citadel. The havoc was dreadful. A large proportion of the
command was either killed or wounded ; but still the ceaseless fire
from the Casta Mata continued its deadly work, until the maimed
and broken band of gallant assailants was withdrawn to the left of
Duncan's battery where its remnants rallied. Duncan and Sumner had
meanwhile been hotly engaged in repelling a charge of Mexican
cavalry on the left, and having just completed the work, the brave
Colonel found his countrymen retired from before the Casa Mata
and the field again open for his terrible weapons. Directing them
at once upon the fatal fort he battered the Mexicans from its walls,
and as they fled from its protecting enclosure he continued to play
upon the fugitives as relentlessly as they had recently done upon
Mackintosh and his doomed brigade.

The Mexicans were now driven from the field at every point. La
Casa Mata was blown up by the conquerors. Captured ammuni-
tion and cannon moulds in El Molino were destroyed. And the
Americans, according to Scott's order previous to the battle, returned
to Tacubaya, with three of the enemy's guns, (a fourth being sp iked
and useless,) eight hundred prisoners including fifty-two commis-
sioned officers, and a large quantity of small arms, with gun and

53

414 REFLECTIONS AND CRITICISM ON THIS BATTLE.

musket ammunition. Three thousand two hundred and fifty-one
Americans, had on this day, driven four times their number from
a selected field ; but they had paid a large and noble tribute to
death for the victory. Nine officers were included in the one
hundred and sixteen of our killed, and forty-nine officers in the six
hundred and sixty-five of our wounded. The Mexicans suffered
greatly in wounded and slain, wliile the gallant General Leon and
Colonel Balderas fell fighting bravely on the field of battle. *

The battle was over by nine o'clock in the morning. The Ameri-
cans, after collecting their dead and wounded, retired from the
bloody field, but they were not allowed to mourn over their painful
losses. They had suffered severely, yet the battle had been most
disastrous to the Mexicans. The fine commands of Generals Perez
and Leon and of Colonel Balderas, were broken up ; the position
once destroyed, could not serve for a second defence, and the mor-
ale of the soldiers had suffered. The Mexicans were beginning to
believe that mere formidable masses, if not directed by skilful chiefs,
were, in truth, but harmless things, and not to be relied on very
confidently for national defence. The new levies, the old regular

1 This was a great but a rash victory. The American infantry relying chiefly on
the bayonet and expecting to effect its object by surprise and even at an earlier hour
of the morning, advanced with portions of the three thousand two hundred and fifty-
one men to attack at least eleven or twelve thousand Mexicans upon a field selected
by themselves, protected by stone walls and ditches, commanded by the fortress of
Chapultepec and the ground swept by artillery, while four thousand cavalry threa-
tened an overwhelming charge ! We have no criticism to make as to inequality of
numbers, but although we believe that our officers did not anticipate so strong
a resistance, we are satisfied that it would have been better to rely at first upon the
fatal work of mortars and siege pieces, of which we had abundance, and, then, to
have permitted the bayonet to complete the task the battering train had begun. If the
difficulty of moving rapidly to the scene of action in the night, prevented a night at-
tack and surprise, it would probably have been better to change the plan of battle
even at a late hour. In the end, Duncan's great guns, effectually destroyed a post
which had been the slaughter house of many a noble American soldier. The Mexi-
can cavalry behaved shamefully. In Colonel Ramsey's notes on the translation of
the Mexican Jlpuntes para la historia de la Guerra, 8fc., p. 347, he says : " it is now
known in Mexico that Santa Anna was in possession of General Scott's order to
attack the Molino del Rey in a few hours after it was written, and during the whole
of the 7th, troops were taking up their positions on that ground. It is believed further
that Santa Anna knew the precise force that was to attack. When, therefore, Scott
supposed that Worth would surprise the Mills and Casa Mata, he was met by what?
Shall the veil be raised a little further? There was a traitor among the list of high
ranking officers in the Mexican army, and for gold he told the Mexican force. Scott
had been betrayed by one not an American, not an officer or soldier, but Santa Anna
was betrayed by one of his own officers" and a Mexican. Santa Anna believed the
information he received and acted on it. General Scott did not believe what he
learned at night, and — the victory was won !"

PREPARATIONS TO ATTACK CHAPULTEPEC. 415

army, and the volunteers of the city, had all been repeatedly beaten
in the valley both before and since the armistice. Nevertheless,
Santa Anna, in spite of all these defeats and disasters at the Molino
and Casa Mata, caused the bells of the city to be merrily rung for
a victory, and sent forth proclamations by extraordinary couriers, in
every direction, announcing the triumph of Mexican valor and arms !

On the morning of the 11th, Scott proceeded to carry out the
remainder of his projected capture of the capital. His troops had
been already for some time hovering around the southern gates, and
he now surveyed them closely covered by General Pillow's division
and Riley's brigade of Twigg's command, and then ordered Quit-
man from Coyoacan to join Pillow by daylight, before the southern
gates. By night, however, the two Generals with their commands
were to pass the two intervening miles between their position and
Tacubaya where they would unite with Worth's division, while
General Twiggs was left, with Riley, Captain Taylor and Steptoe,
in front of the gates to manoeuvre, threaten, or make false attacks
so as to occupy and deceive the enemy. General Smith's brigade
was halted in supporting distance at San Angel, in the rear, till the
morning of the 13th, so as to support our general depot at Mix-
coac. This stratagem against the south was admirably executed
throughout the 12th and until the afternoon of the 13th, when it
was too late for Santa Anna to recover from his delusion.

In the meanwhile preparations had been duly made for the ope-
rations on the west by the capture of Chapultepec. Heavy bat-
teries were established and the bombardment and cannonade under
Captain Huger, w^ere commenced early on the morning of the 12th.
Pillow and Quitman had been in position, as ordered, since early on
the night of the 11th, and Worth was now commanded to hold his
division in reserve near the foundry to support Pillow, while Smith
was summoned to sustain Quitman. Twiggs still continued to
inform us with his guns that he held the Mexicans on the defensive
in that quarter and kept Santa Anna in constant anxiety. Scott's
positions and stratagy perfectly disconcerted him. One moment on
the south — the next at Tacubaya — then reconnoitering the south
again — and, at last, concentrating his forces so that they might be
easily moved northward to Chapultepec or southward to the gate
of San Antonio Abad. These movements rendered him constantly
sensible of every hour's importance, yet he would not agree with
the veteran Bravo who commanded Chapultepec and was convinced
that the hill and castle would be the points assailed. During the
whole of the 12th the American pieces, strengthened by the c;ip-

416 STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC, AND OF

tured guns, poured an incessant shower of shot into the fortress
until nightfall, when the assailants slept upon their arms, to be in
position for an early renewal on the 13th.

At half-past five in the morning the American guns recom-
menced upon Chapultepec ; but still Santa Anna clung to the
southern gates while Scott was silently preparing for the final assault
according to a preconcerted signal. About 8 o'clock, judging that
the missiles had done the work, the heavy batteries suddenly ceased
firing, and instantaneously Pillow's division rushed forward from
the conquered Molino del Rey, and overbearing all obstacles, and
rapidly clambering up the steep acclivities, raised their scaling lad-
ders and poured over the walls. x

Quitman, supported by Generals Shields and Smith, was mean-
while advancing rapidly towards the south-east of the works, over
a causeway with cuts and batteries defended by an army strongly
posted outside the works towards the east. But nothing could
resist the impulse of the storming division, though staunchly opposed
and long held at bay, and whilst it rushed to complete the work,
the New York, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania volunteers, under
Shields, crossed the meadows in front amid a heavy fire, and en-
tered the outer enclosure of Chapultepec in time to join the en-
terprise from the west. The castle was now possessed at every
point. The onslaught had been so rapid and resistless, that the
Mexicans stood appalled as the human tide foamed and burst over
their battlements. Men who had been stationed to fire the mines
either fled or were shot down. Officers fell at their posts, and the
brave old Bravo, fighting to the last, was taken prisoner with a
thousand combatants.

Santa Anna was at last undeceived. He detached at once the
greater portion of his troops from near the garita of San Antonio
Abad ; but it was too late ; — the key to the roads of San Cosine" and
Belen had fallen ; the advance works were weak, and the routed
troops of Chapultepec fled rapidly along the causeways and over

1 The importance of the previous capture of El Molino del Rey was proved in this
assault upon Chapultepec, for Pillow's division started from this very Mill, from
within the enemy's work, and found itself on an equality with the foe up to the very
moment of scaling the walls at the crest of the mount, whereas the other assaulting
column under Quitman taking the only remaining road to the castle, a causeway
leading from Tacubaya, was successfully held at bay by the outworks defending this
road at the base of the hill, until after the castle was taken, and the opposing force
was taken in rear by troops passing through and around Chapultepec. Had El
Molino still been held by the Mexicans, the siege pieces would not have been allowed
to play uninterruptedly, nor would the assaulting parties been able to take position or
attack with impunity. See Lieut. Smith's Memoir, ut antea p. 8.

THE CITY GATES OF SAN COSME AND BELEN. 417

the meadows. Still as they retreated they fought courageously, and
as our men approached the walls, the fresh troops in the neighbor-
hood poured their volleys from behind parapets, windows and stee-
ples. Nevertheless, Santa Anna dared not withdraw all his forces
in the presence of Twigg's threatening division on the south.

Meanwhile Worth had seized the causeway and aqueduct of San
Cosme, while Quitman advanced by the other towards the garita of
Belen. The double roads on each side of these aqueducts which
rested on open arches spanning massive pillars, afforded fine points
for attack and defence. Both the American Generals were prompt
in pursuing the retreating foe, while Scott, who had ascended the
battlements of Chapultepec and beheld the field spread out beneath
him like a map, hastened onward all the stragglers and detach-
ments to join the flushed victors in the final assault.

Worth speedily reached the street of San Cosme and became
engaged in desperate conflict with the enemy from the houses and
defences. Ordering forward Cadwallader's brigade with mountain
howitzers, preceded by skirmishers and pioneers with pick-axes
and crow bars to force windows and doors and to burrow through
the walls, he rapidly attained an equality of position with the
enemy ; and by 8 o'clock in the evening, after carrying two bat-
teries in this suburb, he planted a heavy mortar and piece of artil-
lery from which he might throw shot and shells into the city during
the night. Having posted guards and sentinels and sheltered his
weary men, he at length found himself with no obstacle but the
gate of San Cosme between his gallant band and the great square
of Mexico.

The pursuit by Quitman on the road to the gate of Belen had
been equally hot and successful. Scott originally designed that
this General should only manoeuvre and threaten the point so as to
favor Worth's more dangerous enterprise by San Cosme. But the
brave and impetuous Quitman, seconded by the eager spirits of his
division, longing for the distinction of which they had been hitherto
deprived, heeded neither the external defences nor the more dan-
gerous power of the neighboring citadel. Onward he pressed his
men under flank and direct fires;— seized an intermediate battery
of two guns;— carried the gate of Belen, —and thus, before two
o'clock, was the first to enter the city and maintain his position
with a loss proportionate to the steady firmness of his desperate
assault. After nightfall, he added several new defences to the poinl
he had won so gloriously, and sheltering his men as well as he was

418 RETREAT OF THE MEXICAN ARMY AND GOVERNMENT.

able, awaited the return of daylight under the guns of the formida-
ble and unsubdued citadel.

So ended the battles of the 13th of September, 1847, and so, in
fact, ended the great contests of the war. Santa Anna had been
again " disconcerted" in his plan of battle, by Scott, as he had
previously been thwarted by Valencia's disobedience and wilfulness.
Scott would not attack the south of the city where he expected him,
and consequently the American chief conquered the point where
he had not expected him !

When darkness fell upon the city a council of disheartened offi-
cers assembled in the Mexican citadel. After the customary crimi-
nation and recrimination had been exhausted between Santa Anna
and other officers, it was acknowledged that the time had come to
decide upon future movements. Beaten in every battle, they now
saw one American General already within the city gate, while
another was preparing to enter on the following morning, and kept
the city sleepless by the loud discharges of his heavy cannon or
bursting bombs as they fell in the centre of the capital. General
Carrera believed the demoralization of his army complete. Lom-
bardini, Alcorta and Perez coincided in his opinion, and Santa
Anna at length closed the panic stricken council by declaring that
Mexico must be evacuated duringthe night and by naming Lombar-
dini General-in-Chief, and General Perez second in command.
Between eight and nine o'clock Senor Trigueros called at the cita-
del with his coach, and bore away the luckless military President
to the sacred town of Guadalupe Hidalgo, three miles north of the
capital.

The retreat of the Mexican army began at midnight, and not
long after, a deputation from the Ayuntamiento, or City Council,
waited upon General Scott with the information that the federal
government and troops had fled from the capital. The haggard
visitors demanded terms of capitulation in favor of the church, the
citizens and the municipal authorities. Scott refused the ill-timed
request, and promising no terms that were not self imposed, sent
word to Quitman and Worth to advance as soon as possible on the
following morning, and, guarding carefully against treachery, to
occupy the city's strongest and most commanding points. Worth
was halted at the Alameda, a few squares west of the Plaza, but
Quitman was allowed the honor of advancing to the great square,
and hoisting the American flag on the National Palace. At 9
o'clock the Commander-in-Chief, attended by his brilliant staff, rode
into the vast area in front of the venerable Cathedral and Palace,

AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF THE CITY OF MEXICO. 419

amid the shouts of the exulting army to whose triumphs his prudence
and genius had so greatly contributed. It was a proud moment for
Scott, and he might well have flushed with excitement as he as-
cended the Palace stairs and sat down in the saloon which had been
occupied by so many Viceroys, Ministers, Presidents and Generals,
to write the brief order announcing his occupation of the capital of
Mexico. Yet the elation was but momentary. The cares of con-
quest were now exchanged for those of preservation. He was
allowed no interval of repose from anxiety. His last victories had
entirely disorganized the Republic. There was no longer a national
government, a competent municipal authority, or even a police force
which could be relied on to regulate the fallen city. Having
accomplished the work of destruction, the responsibility of recon-
struction was now imposed upon him ; and first among his duties
was the task of providing for the safety and subordination of that
slender band which had been so suddenly forced into a vast and
turbulent capital.

Note. "We shall record as very interesting historical facts, the numbers with
which General Scott achieved his victories in the valley.

Fo

RCES.

He left Puebla with 10,738 rank and file.

At Contreras and Churubusco, there were . . 8,497 engaged.

At El Molino del Rey and La Casa Mata, . . 3,251 "

On 12th and 13th September, at Chapultepec, &c, 7,180 "

Final attack on city, after deducting killed, wounded, ) g qqq
. garrison of Mixcoac and Chapultepec, ) '

Losses.

At Contreras and Churubusco, 137 killed. 877 wounded. 38 missing.
At El Molino, &c, 116 " 665 " 18 "

September 12th, 13th, and 14th, 130 « 703 " v 29 «'

Grand total of losses, 2,703.
" On the other hand," says Scott in his despatch of 18th September, 1847, " this
small force has beaten on the same occasions, in view of the capital, the whole Mexi-
can army, composed, at the beginning, of thirty odd thousand men, posted always m
chosen positions, behind entrenchments or more formidable defences of nature and
art- — killed or wounded of that number more than 7,000 officers and men, — taken
3 730 prisoners, one-seventh officers, including 13 generals, of whom 3 had been
Presidents of this Republic ;- captured more than 20 colors and standards, 75 pieces
of ordnance, besides 57 wall pieces, 20,000 small arms, and an immense quantity of
shot, shells and powder." See Ex. Doc. No. 1 Senate, 30th Congress, 1st Session,
p. 384.

CHAPTER XVII.

1847—1850.

ATTACK OF THE CITY MOB ON THE ARMY QUITMAN GOVERNOR

PENA PRESIDENT CONGRESS ORDERED SIEGE OF PUEBLA

LANE S,

BROKEN UP MEXICAN POLITICS ANAYA PRESIDENT PEACE

NEGOTIATIONS SCOTT's DECREE PENA PRESIDENT SANTA

ANNA AND LANE SANTA ANNA LEAVES MEXICO FOR JAMAICA

TREATY ENTERED INTO ITS CHARACTER SANTA CRUZ DE RO-

SALES COURT OF INQUIRY INTERNAL TROUBLES AMBAS-
SADORS AT QUERETARO TREATY RATIFIED EVACUATION

REVOLUTIONARY ATTEMPTS CONDITION OF MEXICO SINCE THE

WAR CHARACTER OF SANTA ANNA NOTE ON THE MILITARY

CRITICS.

Scarcely had the divisions of the American army, after the
enthusiastic expression of their joy, begun to disperse from the great
square of Mexico in search of quarters, when the populace com-
menced firing upon them from within the deep embrasures of the
windows and from behind the parapet walls of the house tops. This
dastardly assault by the mob of a surrendered city lasted for two
days, until it was terminated by the vigorous military measures of
General Scott. Yet it is due to the Mexicans to state that this hor-
rible scheme of assassination was not countenanced by the better
classes, but that the base outbreak was altogether owing to the lib-
eration of about two thousand convicts by the flying government
on the previous night. These miscreants, — the scum and outcasts
of Mexico — its common thieves, stabbers and notorious vagrants, —
banded with nearly an equal number of the disorganized army, had
already thronged the Palace when Quitman arrived with his di-
vision, and it was only by the active exertion of Watson's marines,
that the vagrant crowd was driven from the edifice.

General Quitman was immediately appointed civil and military
Governor of the conquered capital, and discharged his duties under
the martial law proclaimed by Scott on the 17th September. The
general order of the Commander-in-Chief breathes the loftiest spirit
of self-respect, honor and national consideration. He points out
clearly the crimes commonly incident to the occupation of subdued
cities, and gives warning of the severity with which their perpe-
trators will be punished. He protects the administration of justice
among the Mexicans in the courts of the country. He places the

I

CONGRESS ORDERED SIEGE OF PUEBLA. 421

city, its churches, worship, convents, monasteries, inhabitants and
property, under the special safe-guard of the faith and honor of the
American army. And finally, instead of demanding, according to
the custom of many generals in the old world, a splendid ransom
from the opulent city, he imposed upon it a trifling contribution of
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, — twenty thousand of which
he devoted to extra comforts for the sick and wounded; ninety
thousand to purchase blankets and shoes for gratuitous distribution
among the common soldiers, while but forty thousand were reserved
for the military chest. This act of clemency and consideration is
in beautiful contrast with the last malignant spitefulness of the con-
quered army, whose commander, unable to overthrow the invaders
in fair combat, had released at midnight, the desperadoes from his
prisons, with the hope that assassination might do the work which
military skill and honorable valor had been unable to effect.

Meanwhile Santa Anna despatched a circular from the town of
Guadalupe recounting to the Governors of the different States the
loss of the capital, and, on the 16th, he issued a decree requiring
Congress to assemble at Queretrao, which was designated as the
future seat of government. As president and politician, he at once
saw that he could do nothing more without compromising himself
still further. Resigning, therefore, the executive chair in favor of
his constitutional successor, Senor Pena-y-Pena, Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court, he despatched General Herrera with four thou-
sand troops to Queretaro, and departed to assail the Americans in
Puebla. On the 18th he evacuated Guadalupe, and took the road
to the eastward, with two thousand cavalry commanded by General
Alvarez. He knew that the communication with our base of ope-
rations in that quarter was seriously interrupted if not entirely cut
off; and he vainly hoped to recover his military prestige by some
brilliant feat of arms over detached or unequal squadrons.

When Scott marched into the valley of Mexico, Puebla was left
in charge of Colonel Childs, with four hundred efficient men and
nearly eighteen hundred in his hospitals. The watchful commander
and his small band preserved order until the false news of Mexican
success at Molino del Rey was received. But, at that moment,
the masses, joined by about three thousand troops under Genera]
Rea, a brave and accomplished Spaniard, rose upon, and besieged
the slender garrison. On the 22d, Santa Anna arrived, and in-
creasing the assailants to nearly eight thousand, made the most vigo-
rous efforts during the six following days and nights to dislodgi- the
Americans from the position they had seized.

54

422 lane's, lally's and childs's victories.

About the middle of the month, Brigadier General Lane left Vera
Cruz with a fresh command, and at Jalapa joined the forces of Ma-
jor Lally, who with nearly a thousand men and a large and valuable
train, had fought his way thither against Jarauta and his guerrilleros
at San Juan, Paso de Ovejas, Puente National, Plan del Rio, Cerro-
Gordo and Los Animas. As soon as the news of Puebla's danger
reached these commanders they marched to support the besieged
band, while Santa Anna believing that Rea could either conquer or
hold Childs in check until his return, departed in quest of the ad-
vancing columns of Lane and Lally, who were reported to have con-
voyed from the coast an immense amount of treasure. The com-
bined lust of glory and gold perhaps stimulated this last effort of the
failing chief. Rea continued the siege of Puebla bravely. Santa
Anna, advancing eastward, and apparently confident of success, es-
tablished his head-quarters at Huamantla; but whilst maneuvering
his troops to attack our approaching columns, Lane fell upon him
suddenly on the 9th of October, and after a sharp action, remained
victor on the field. On the next day our eager general continued his
march to Puebla, and entering it on the 13th of October, drove the
Mexicans from all their positions and effectually relieved the pressed
but pertinacious commander of the beleagured Americans.

It was now the turn of those who had been so long assailed to
become assailants. Rea retired to Atlixco, about twenty-five miles
from Puebla, but the inexorable Lane immediately followed in his
steps, and reaching the retreat at sunset on the 19th, by a brighi
moonlight cannonaded the town from the overlooking heights.
After an hour's incessant labor, Atlixco surrendered, — the enemy
fled, — and thus was destroyed a nest in which many a guerrillero
party had been fitted out for the annoyance or destruction of Ameri-
cans.

Mexico possesses a wonderful facility in the creation of armies.
or in the aggregation of men under the name of soldiers. Wher
ever a standard is raised, it is quickly surrounded by the idlers, the
thriftless, and the improvident, who are willing, at least, to be sup-
ported if not munificently recompensed for the task of bearing arms.
At this period, and notwithstanding all the recent disgraceful and
disheartening defeats, a large corps had been already gathered in
different parts of the republic. The recruits were, however, di-
vided into small, undisciplined, and consequently inefficient bodies.
It is reported that Lombardini and Reyes were in Queretaro with a
thousand men ; Santa Anna's command, now turned over to Gen-
eral Rincon by order of President Pena-y-Peiia, consisted of four

GUERRILLEROS BROKEN UP MEXICAN POLITICS. 423

thousand; in Tobasco and Chiapas there were two thousand; Urrea,
Carrabajal and Canales commanded two thousand; Filisola was at
San Luis Potosi with three thousand ; Pena y Barragan had two
thousand at Toluca ; one thousand were in Oajaca, while nearly
three thousand guerrilleros harassed the road between Puebla and
Vera Cruz and rendered it impassable after the victories in the
valley. The conflict wTas now almost given up to these miscreants
under Padre Jarauta and Zenobio, for, in the eastern districts, Gen-
eral Lane with his ardent partizans held Rincon, Alvarez, and
Rea in complete check.

These guerrilla bands had inflicted such injury upon our people
that it became necessary to destroy them at all hazards. This se-
vere task was accomplished by Colonel Hughes and Major John R.
Kenly who commanded at Jalapa, and by General Patterson,
whose division of four thousand new levies was shortly to be rein-
forced by General Butler with several thousand more. Patterson
garrisoned the National Bridge in the midst of these bandit's
haunts, and having executed, at Jalapa, two paroled Mexican offi-
cers captured in one of the marauding corps, and refused the sur-
render of Jarauta, he drove that recreant priest from the neighbor-
hood into the valley of Mexico, in which Lane pursued and de-
stroyed his re-organized band.

Whilst, these scattered military events were occurring, Pena-y-
Pena, as President of the Republic, had endeavored, both at Toluca
and at Queretaro, to combine once more the elements of a congress
and a government. He summoned, moreover, the Governors of
States to convene and consult upon the condition of affairs ; he sus-
pended Santa Anna ; ordered Paredes into nominal arrest at Tololo-
pan ; directed a court martial upon Valencia for his conduct at Con-
treras ; attempted to reform the army, and in all his acts seems to
have been animated by a sincere spirit of national re-organization
and peace. Nevertheless, among the deputies who were assembled,
the same quarrels that disgraced former sessions again arose be-
tween the Puros, the Moderados, the Monarquistas, and Santan-
nistas or friends of Santa Anna, who now formed themselves into a
zealous party, notwithstanding the disgraceful downfall of their
leader. These contests were continued until early in November,
when a quorum of the members reached Queretaro and elected
Senor Anaya, the former President substitute, to serve until the
month of January, to which period the counting of votes for the
Presidency had been postponed, as we have already stated, by the

424 ANAYA PRESIDENT PEACE NEGOTIATIONS SCOTt's

intrigues of Santa Anna. Anaya's election was a triumph of the
Moderados.

Congress broke up after a few day's session, having provided
for the assemblage of a new one on the 1st of January, 1848; but,
unfortunately most of the leaders did not depart from Queretaro
which was henceforth for many months converted into a political
battle field for the benefit or disgrace of the military partizans.
The Puros, led by Gomez Farias, were joined by the disaffected
officers of the army ready for revolution, pronunciamientos, or any
thing that might prolong the war with the same ultimate views that
animated them during the armistice in August. But Pena-y-Pena
and Anaya were both firm, discreet and consistent in their resis-
tance. The assembled Governors of States resolved to support
the President, his opinions, and acts, with their influence and means,
while the mass of substantial citizens and men of property through-
out the republic joined in an earnest expression of anxiety for
peace. Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, and Jalisco, under the lead
of Santannistas and Puros who mutually hated each other, alone
continued hostile to a treaty.

Mr. Trist, soon after the capture of Mexico, had sounded Pena
y-Pena in relation to the renewal of negotiations ; but it was not until
the end of October that the prudent President thought himself jus-
tified in expressing, through his minister, Don Luis de la Rosa, a sim-
ple but ardent wish for the cessation of war. When Anaya assumed
the presidency, a few days afterwards, Pena-y-Pena did not disdain
to enter his cabinet as minister, and, on the 22d of November,
offered to our envoy the appointment of commissioners. But in
the meanwhile our government at home believing that the continu-
ance of Mr. Trist in Mexico was useless, and probably discontented
with his conduct, had recalled him from the theatre of action. The
American commissioner hastened, therefore, to decline the ne-
gotiation and apprised the Mexicans of his position. But, mature
reflection upon the political state of Mexico, as well as upon the
real desires of his government and people, induced Mr. Trist to
change his views, and accordingly he notified the Mexican cabinet
that, in spite of his recall, he would assume the responsibility of a
final effort to close the war. Good judgment at the moment, and
subsequent events, fully justified our envoy's diplomatic resolve.
Commissioners were at once appointed to meet him, and negotia-
tions were speedily commenced in a spirit of sincerity and peace/.
General Scott, nevertheless, though equally anxious to terminate
the conflict, did not for a moment intermit his military vigilance.

DECREE PENA PRESIDENT SANTA ANNA AND LANE. 425

The capital, and the captured towns were still as strictly governed ;
the growing army was organized for future operations, and a gen-
eral order was issued demanding a large contribution from each of
the states for the support of our army. This military decree, more-
over, reformed and essentially changed the duties, taxation, collec-
tion and assaying of the nation; it indicated the intention of our
government to spread its troops all over the land ; and while it re-
asserted the supremacy of law, and the purity of its administration,
it announced instant death, by sentence of a drum-head court-mar-
tial, to all who engaged in irregular war. This decree satisfied re-
flecting Mexicans, who noticed the steady earnestness and increase
of our army, that their nationality was seriously endangered, and
greatly aided, as doubtless it was designed to do, in stimulating the
action of the cabinet and commissioners.

Thus closed the eventful year of 1847. On the 1st of January,
1848, only thirty deputies of the new congress appeared in their
places; and on the 8th, — the day for the decision of the presi-
dency,— as there was still no quorum in attendance, and Anaya's
term had expired, he promptly resigned his power to his minister of
foreign affairs, Pena-y-Pena, who re-assumed the executive chair,
as he formerly had done, by virtue of his constitutional right as
chief justice. Anaya at once came into his cabinet as minister of
war, while De la Rosa took the port-folio of foreign relations. All
these persons were still sincere coadjutors in the work of peace.

The destiny of Santa Anna was drawing to a close. Huamantla
had been perhaps his last battle field in Mexico. About the middle
of January General Lane received information of the lurking place
of the chieftain, who now, with scarcely the shadow of his ancient
power or influence, was concealed at Tehuacan in the neighborhood
of Puebla. The astute intriguer's admission into the Republic had
once been considered a master stroke of American policy ; but his
death, capture, or expulsion, was now equally desired by those who
had watched him more closely and knew him better. Lane, ac-
cordingly, with a band of about three hundred and fifty mounted
men, undertook the delicate task of seizing Santa Anna and had
he not received timely warning, notwithstanding the secrecy of the
American's movements, it is scarcely probable that he would have
quitted his retreat alive. Among the corps of partiznn warriors
who went in search of the fugitive there were many Texans who
still smarted under the memory of the dreary march from Santa Fe
in 1841, the decimation at Mier, the cruelties of Goliad and the

426 SANTA ANNA LEAVES MEXICO FOR JAMAICA.

Alamo ; and the imprisonments in Mexico, Puebla, or Perote in
1842. But when Lane and his troopers reached Tehuacan, the
game had escaped, though his lair was still warm. All the per-
sonal effects left behind in his rapid flight, were plundered, with the
exception of his wife's wardrobe, which, with a rough though chiv-
alrous gallantry, was sent to the beautiful but ill matched lady. A
picked military escort, personally attached and doubtless well paid,
still attended him. But, beyond this, he had no military command,
and as a soldier and politician, his power in Mexico had departed.
Having sought by public letters to throw, as usual, the disgrace
of his defeats at Belen and Chapultepec, upon General Terres and
the revolutionary hero Bravo, he aroused the united hatred of these
men and the disgust of their numerous friends. Public opinion
openly condemned him every where. After Lane's assault he took
refuge in Oajaca; but the people of that region were equally inimi-
cal and significantly desired his departure. Thus, broken in fame
and character, deprived of a party, personal influence, patronage,
and present use of his wealth, the foiled Warrior-President stood
for a moment at bay. But his resolution was soon taken. From
Cascatlan he wrote to the minister of war on the 1st of February,
demanding passports, and at the same time he intimated to the
American Commander-in-chief his willingness to leave an ungrate-
ful Republic and to "seek an asylum on a foreign soil where he
might pass his last days in that tranquillity which he could never
find in the land of his birth." The desired passports were granted.
He was assured that neither Mexicans nor Americans would molest
his departure; and, moving leisurely towards the eastern coast with
his family, he was met near his Hacienda of Encero by a select
guard, detailed by Colonel Hughes and Major Kenly, and, escorted
with his long train of troopers, domestics, treasure and luggage to
La Antigua, where he embarked on the 5th of April, 1848, on
board a Spanish brig bound to Jamaica. One year and eight
months before, returning from exile, he had landed from the steamei
Arab in the same neighborhood, to regenerate his country ! x

'In his letter to the Secretary of War on the 1st of February from Cascatlan, he
says : " to enable me to live out of the way of the banditti travelling about here in
large parties, I have had to spend more than two thousand dollars, necessary to
maintain a small escort, when, through the scarcity of means in the treasury, /
served my country without pay." This is a singular illustration of Santa Anna's char-
acteristic avarice. Perhaps no man ever served his country for more liberal and cer-
tain pay than this chieftain. We have been informed by one of our highest officers,
who was in the capital after its occupation by our troops, and had access to the Mexi-
can archives, that, amid all Santa Anna's political and military distresses he never

TREATY ENTERED INTO ITS CHARACTER. 427

B ut before his departure probably forever from Mexico, Santa
Anna had been doomed to see the peace concluded. The complete
failure of the Mexicans in all their battles, notwithstanding the
courage with which they individually fought at Churubusco, Cha-
pultepec, and Molino del Rey, impressed the nation deeply with
the conviction of its inability to cope in arms with the United
States. The discomfiture of Paredes, the want of pecuniary re-
sources, the disorganization of the country, the growing strength
of the Americans who were pouring into the capital under Patter-
son, Butler and Marshall, and the utter failure of the arch-in-
triguer,— all contributed to strengthen the arm of the executive
and to authorize both the negotiation of a treaty and the arrange-
ment of an armistice until the two governments should ratify the
terms of peace. Mr. Nicholas P. Trist, Don Luis G. Cuevas, Don
Bernardo Couto, and Don Miguel Atristain, signed the treaty, thus
consummated, on the 2d of February, 1848, at the town of Guada-
lupe Hidalgo. Its chief terms were 1st, the re-establishment of
peace ; 2d, the boundary which confirmed the southern line of
Texas and gave us New Mexico and Upper California ; 3d, the
payment of fifteen millions by the United States, in consideration
of the extension of our boundaries ; 4th, the payment by our gov-
ernment of all the claims of its citizens against the Mexican Re-
public to the extent of three and a quarter millions, so as to dis-
charge Mexico forever from all responsibility ; 5th, a compact to
restrain the incursions and misconduct of the Indians on the north-
ern frontier. The compact contained in all, thirty-three articles
and a secret article pxolonging the period of ratification in Wash-
ington beyond the four months from its date as stipulated in the
original instrument.

This important treaty, which, we believe, history will justly char-
acterise as one of the most liberal ever assented to by the conquer-
ors of so great a country, was despatched immediately by an in-
telligent courier to Washington ; and, notwithstanding the irregu-
larity of its negotiation after Mr. Trist's recall, was at once sent to
the Senate by President Polk. In that illustrious body of statesmen
it was fully debated, and after mature consideration, ratified, with
but slight change, on the 10th of March. Senator Sevier and Mr.
Attorney General Clifford, resigned their posts and were sent as

forgot his pecuniary interests. The books of the treasury showed that, at the mo-
ment when the city was about to fall and when there was scarcely money enough to
maintain the troops, he paid himself the whole of his salary as President up to that date,
and all the arrears which he claimed as due to him, as President also, during the period of
his residence in exile at Havana I

428 SANTA CRUZ DE ROSALES COURT OF INQUIRY.

Plenipotentiaries to Mexico to secure its passage by the Mexican
congress.

Meanwhile the last action of the war was fought and won on the
16th of March, in ignorance of the armistice, by General Price at
Santa Cruz deRosales, near Chihuahua; and the diplomatic and
military career of two of our most distinguished citizens was ab-
ruptly closed on the theatre of their brilliant achievements. Scott,
the victor of so many splendid fields, was suspended from the
command of the army he had led to glory, and General William
0. Butler was ordered to replace him. Hot dissensions had oc-
curred between the Commander-in-chief, Worth, Pillow, and other
meritorious officers, and although our government might well have
avoided a scandalous rupture at such a moment in an enemy's capi-
tal, a Court of Inquiry was, nevertheless, convened to discuss the
battles and the men who had achieved the victories ! Nor was Mr.
Trist, the steadfast, persevering and successful friend of peace,
spared when he had accomplished all that his government and coun-
trymen desired. Learned in the language of Spain ; intimate with
the character of the people ; familiar, by long residence, with their
tastes, feelings and customs, he had been selected by our Secretary
of State in consequence of his peculiar fitness for the mission and
its delicate diplomacy. Yet he was not allowed the honor of finish-
ing his formal task at Queretaro but was ordered home almost in
disgrace. History, however, will render the justice that poli-
ticians and governments deny, and must honestly recognize the
treaty which crowned and closed the war as emphatically the result
of his skill and watchfulness. The fate of the four most eminent
men in this war illustrates a painful passage in the story of our
country, for whilst Fremont, the pacificator of the wTest, was
brought home a prisoner, and Taylor converted into a barrack
master at Monterey, — Scott was almost tried for his victories in the
presence of his conquered foes, and Trist disgraced for the treaty
he had been sent to negotiate ! But the private or public griefs of
our commanders and diplomatists should properly find no place in
these brief historical sketches, nor must we dwell upon them, even
in passing. The great victors and the able negotiators are secure
in the memory and gratitude of the future.

While the court of inquiry pursued its investigations in the capi-
tal, and the United States Senate, at home, was engaged in rati-
fying the treaty, President Pena-y-Pena and his cabinet still labored
zealously to assemble a Congress at Queretaro. The Mexican Pre-
sident resolved, if necessary to obtain a quorum, to exclude New

INTERNAL TROUBLES AMBASSADORS AT QUERETARO. 429

Mexico, California, and Yucatan from representation ; the two first
being in possession of the United States and the latter in revolt.
The disturbance in Yucatan which had been for some time ferment-
ing, broke out fiercely in July, 1847, and became, in fact, a long
continued war of castes. The Indian peones and rancheros, under
their leaders Pat and Chi, carried fire and sword among the thinly
scattered whites, until relief was afforded them by Commodore
Perry, the Havanese, the English of Jamaica and some enlisted
corps of American volunteers returning from the war. About Tus-
pan and Tampico on the east coast, — in the interior State of Gua-
najuato, — and on the northern frontiers of Sonora, Durango, and
San Luis, the wild Indians, and the semi-civilized Indian laborers
were rebellious and extremely annoying to the lonely settlers.
There were symptoms everywhere, not only of national disorgani-
zation, but almost of national dissolution. Yet, difficult as was the
position of the government, amid all these foreign and domestic
dangers, every member strove loyally to sustain the nation and its
character until the return of the ratified treaty. Money was con-
tributed freely by the friends of peace, who sought a renewal of
trade and desired to see the labors of the mines and of agriculture
again pursuing their wonted channels. The clergy, too, who
feared national ruin, annexation, or complete conquest, grudgingly
bestowed a portion of their treasures ; and thus the members of
Congress were supplied with means to assemble at the seat of
government.

On the 25th May, a brilliant cortege of American cavalry was
seen winding along the hills towards Queretaro as the escort of the
American commissioners, who were welcomed to the seat of gov-
ernment by the national authorities, and entertained sumptuously in
an edifice set apart for their accommodation. The town was wild
with rejoicing. Those who had been so recently regarded as bit-
ter foes, were hailed with all the ardor of ancient, and uninterrupted
friendship. No one would have imagined that war had ever been
waged between the soldiers of the north and south who now shared
the same barracks and pledged each other in their social cups. If
the drama was prepared for the occasion by the government, it was
certainly well played, and unquestionably diverted the minds of the
turbulent and dangerous classes of the capital at a moment when
good feeling was most needed.

Congress was in session when our commissioners arrived, and
on the same day the Senate ratified the treaty, which, after a
stormy debate, had been previously sanctioned by the Chamber of

55

430 TREATY RATIFIED EVACUATION REVOLUTIONARY

Deputies. On the 30th of May the ratifications were finally ex-
changed, and the first instalment of indemnity being paid in the
city of Mexico, our troops evacuated the country in the most or-
derly manner during the following summer.

It cannot be denied that the Mexican Government, whose tenure
of power was so frail, almost trembled at the sudden withdrawal of
our forces and the full restoration of a power for which, as patriots,
they naturally craved. The sudden relaxation of a firm and dread-
ed military authority in the capital, amid all those classes of in-
triguing politicians, soldiers, clergymen, and demagogues, who had
so long disturbed the nation's peace before Scott's capture of Mex
ico, naturally alarmed the president and cabinet, who possessed no
reliable army to replace the departing Americans. But the three
millions, received opportunely for indemnity, were no doubt judi-
ciously used by the authorities, while the men of property and
opulent merchants leagued zealously with the municipal authorities
to preserve order until national reorganization might begin. One
of the first steps in this scheme was the election by Congress of
General Herrera, — a hero of revolutionary fame, — as Constitu-
tional President, and of Pena-y-Pena as Chief Justice of the Su-
preme Court. These and other conciliatory but firm acts gave
peace at least for the moment to the heart of the nation ; but be-
yond the capital all the bonds of the Federal Union were totally
relaxed. Scarcely had the National Government been reinstalled
in the city of Mexico, w7hen General Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga
unfurled the standard of rebellion in Guanajuato, under the pretext
of opposing the treaty. The administration, possessing only the
skeleton of an army, did not halt to consider the smallness of its
resources, but promptly placed all its disposable men under the
command of Anastasio Bustamante, who with Minon, Cortazar,
and Lombardini, not only put down the revolution of Paredes, but,
by their influence and admirable conduct imposed order and in-
spired renewed hopes for the future wherever they appeared. In
the same way the strong arm of power was honestly used to destroy
faction wherever it dared to lift its turbulent head, — and the Na-
tional Guard of the Federal District faithfully performed its duty in
this patriotic task. Paredes disappeared after his fall in Guanaju-
ato, and remained in concealment or obscurity until his death.

Various outbreaks occurred in Mazatlan, on the western coast ;
m the State of Tobasco; in Chiapas, and among the Indians of
Puebla; in the Huasteca of the State of Mexico; and in the

ATTEMPTS CONDITION OF MEXICO SINCE THE WAR. 431

Sierra Gorda belonging to the States of Queretaro, San Luis, and
Guanajuato. These, like the revolt in Yucatan, threatened a war
of castes, but the energetic government found means to subdue ti>
rebels, and to reduce their districts to order.

Thus, for more than two years, has the government of President
Herrera maintained its respectability and authority in spite of a
failing treasury, political factionists, and domestic rebellion. The
attempted task of national reorganization has been honestly and
firmly, if not successfully carried out. The army, that canker of
the nation, has been nearly destroyed, and its idle officers and men
discharged to earn their living by honest labor. A great change
has passed over Mexico. Santa Anna lives abroad in almost com-
pulsory exile. Canalizo and Paredes are dead. Bustamante,
without political strength or party, retains a military command.
The force in garrison does not amount to more, probably, than five
or six thousand. The prestige of the army was blurred and
blighted by the war. Nearly all the old political managers and in-
triguers are gradually passing from the stage, and, with the new
men coming upon it, to whom the war has taught terrible but salu-
tary lessons, we may hope that another era of civilization and pro-
gress is about to dawn upon this great country. This hope
is founded on the establishment of order and official responsibility
by a strong government which will neither degenerate into despot-
ism nor become corrupt by the uninterrupted enjoyment of power.
The true value of the representative system will thus become ra-
pidly known to Mexico as she develops her resources, by the
united, constitutional, and peaceful movement of her state and
national machinery.

Among all the agitators of the country no one has been, by turns,
so much courted and dreaded as Santa Anna. His political history,
sketched in this volume, discloses many but not all the features of
his private character. He possessed a wilful, observant, patient
intellect, which had received very little culture ; but constant inter-
course with all classes of men, made him perfectly familiar with
the strength and weaknesses of his countrymen. There was not a
person of note in the Republic whose value he did not know, nor
was there a venal politician with whose price he was unacquainted.
Believing most men corrupt or corruptible, he was constantly busy
in contriving expedients to control or win them. A soldier almost
from his infancy, during turbulent times among semi-civilized troops,

432

CHARACTER OF SANTA ANNA.

he had become so habitually despotic that when he left the camp
for the cabinet he still blent the imperious General with the intriguing
President. He seemed to cherish the idea that his country could
not be virtuously governed. Ambitious, and avaricious, he sought
for power not only to gratify his individual lust of personal glory,
but as a means of enriching himself and purchasing the instruments
who might sustain his authority. Accordingly, he rarely distin-
guished the public treasure from his private funds. Soldier as he
was by profession, he was slightly skilled in the duties of a com-
mander in the field, and never won a great battle except through
the blunders of his opponents. He was a systematic revolutionist;
a manager of men ; an astute intriguer ; — and, personally timid, he
seldom meditated an advance without planning a retreat. Covetous
as a miser, he nevertheless, delighted to watch the mean combat
between fowls upon whose prowess he had staked his thousands.
An agriculturist with vast landed possessions, his chief rural plea-
sure was in training these birds for the brutal battle of the pit.
Loving money insatiably, he leaned with the eagerness of a gam-
bler over the table where those who knew how to propitiate his
greediness learned the graceful art of losing judiciously. Sensual
by constitution, he valued woman only as the minister of his plea-
sures. The gentlest being imaginable in tone, address, and de-
meanor to foreigners or his equals, he was oppressively haughty to
his inferiors, unless they were necessary to his purposes or not ab-
solutely in his power. The correspondence and public papers
which were either written or dictated by him, fully displayed the
sophistry by which he changed defeats into victories or converted
criminal faults into philanthropy. Gifted with an extraordinary
power of expression, he used his splendid language to impose by
sonorous periods, upon the credulity or fancy of his people. No
one excelled him in ingenuity, eloquence, bombast, gasconade 01
dialectic skill. When at the head of power, he lived constantly in
a gorgeous military pageant; and, a perfect master of dramatic
effect upon the excitable masses of his countrymen, he forgot the
exhumation of the dishonored bones of Cortez to superintend the
majestic interment of the limb he had lost at Vera Cruz.1

It will easily be understood how such a man, in the revolutionary
times of Mexico, became neither the Cromwell nor the Washington
of his country. The great talent which he unquestionably pos-
sessed, taught him that it was easier to deal corruptly with corrup-
tions than to rise to the dignity of a loyal reformer. He and his
1 See page 91, vol. 1, and Mexico as it was and as.it is, p 207.

NOTE ON THE MILITARY CRITICS. 433

country mutually acted, and reacted upon each other. Neither a
student nor a traveller, he knew nothing of human character except
as he saw it exhibited at home, and there he certainly sometimes
found excuses for severity and even despotism. It is undeniable
that he was endowed with a peculiar genius, but it was that kind
of energetic genius which may raise a dexterous man from disgrace,
defeat or reverses, rather than sustain him in power when he has
reached it. He never was popular or relied for success on the demo-
cratic sentiment of his country. He ascertained, at an early day,
that the people would not favor his aspirations, and, abandoning fed-
eralism, he threw himself in the embrace of the centralists. The army
and the church-establishment, — combined for mutual protection
under his auspices, — were the only two elements of his political
strength; and as long as he wielded their mingled power, he was en-
abled to do more than any other Mexican in thoroughly demoralizing
his country. As a military demagogue he was often valuable even to
honest patriots who were willing to call him to power for a moment
to save the country either from anarchy or from the grasp of more
dangerous aspirants. Until the army was destroyed, Santa Anna
could not fall, nor would the military politicians yield to the civil.
As long as this dangerous chief and his myrmidons remained in
Mexico, either in or out of power, every citizen felt that he was
suffering under the rod of a Despot or that the progress of his
country would soon be paralyzed by the wand of an unprincipled
Agitator. But with the army reduced to the mere requirements of
a police system, and Santa Anna beyond the limits of the Republic,
the nation may breathe with freedom and vigor.1

1 See vol. 2, chapter xii, p. 155. Reflections upon the Republic.

Note. These historical sketches of the late war with Mexico are designed to pre-
sent a rapid view of the chief events and motives of the international conflict rather
than to portray the separate actions of civil and military men who were engaged in
it. We have, therefore, not been as minute as might be desired either by ourself or
by interested individuals. This, however, will be remedied in the general " His-
tory of the War between Mexico and the United States," which we design
publishing.

In narrating the battles we have sketched them according to the published plans of
the commanders on both sides. This is the fair system of describing and judging ; but
whether those plans were always the most jndicicus, is a matter for military criticism
in which we have not present space to indulge. Resaca de la Palma, Monterey,
Buena Vista, Vera Cruz, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and the time as well as the
mode of capturing the capital, have all been discussed and condemned by the prolific
class of fault finders — most of whose judgments, when at all correct, are founded
upon knowledge acquired or assured subsequently to the anions, and which was en-
tirely inaccessible to the commanders when they fought the battle* thai ere criticised.
One thing, however, should gratify our Generals exceedingly, and it is thai in truth
they did fight and win the several actior.s in question, notwithstanding; their I hinders
and notwithstanding the fact that their junior civil and military critics could have
fought them so much better! They had, it seems, a double triumph — one over
their own stupid ignorance and another over die enemy !

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