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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Vol.
+1 of 2, by Brantz Mayer
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Vol. 1 of 2
+       A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and
+       Social Account of That Country From the Period of the
+       Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time; With a View
+       of the Ancient Aztec Empire and Civilization; A Historical
+       Sketch of the Late War; And Notices of New Mexico and
+       California
+
+Author: Brantz Mayer
+
+Release Date: October 31, 2011 [EBook #37887]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEXICO, AZTEC, SPANISH AND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Larry B. Harrison and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: HERNANDO CORTA%Z.
+
+(Autograph)]
+
+
+
+
+  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;
+  WITH A VIEW OF THE
+  ANCIENT AZTEC EMPIRE AND CIVILIZATION;
+  A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE LATE WAR;
+  AND NOTICES OF
+  NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA
+
+  BY
+  BRANTZ MAYER,
+  FORMERLY SECRETARY OF LEGATION TO MEXICO
+
+  IN TWO VOLUMES
+  VOLUME I.
+
+  HARTFORD:
+  S. DRAKE AND COMPANY.
+  MDCCCLII.
+
+
+
+
+  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 literature; and it is,
+naturally, their delight to offer for your acceptance, upon every
+suitable occasion, an acknowledgment of cordial thankfulness.
+
+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 with
+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 regions,
+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 language
+or lineage, we were the first to welcome her and the new American
+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--observers 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 majestic
+mountains they had learned, at least, to admire the sublimity of
+nature. The returned warriors did not fail to report around their
+firesides the marvels they witnessed during their campaigns, and
+numerous works have been written to sketch the story of individual
+adventure, or to portray the most interesting physical features of
+various sections of the republic. Thus by war and literature, by
+ancient curiosity and political sympathy, by geographical position and
+commercial 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
+unfavorably 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 only 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
+occupied an undue portion of the book, would be ostentatiously and
+tediously pedantic in a work of so little pretension as mine. I may
+state, however, that no important fact has been asserted without
+authority, 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
+accidental into error, whilst honestly seeking to shun misstatement.
+If those whose information 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.
+
+
+I. HISTORICAL.
+
+    Cartas de CortA(C)z ed. Lorenzana.
+
+    Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva EspaA+-a--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 Siglos 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 Articles
+    on Mexico, by Mr. Gallatin.
+
+    Researches, Philosophical and Antiquarian, concerning the
+    Aboriginal History of America, by J. H. McCulloh.
+
+    Pesquisia contra Pedro de Alvarado y NuA+-o de Guzman.
+
+    Lives of the Viceroys in the Liceo Mejicano.
+
+    Notas y esclarecimientos A  la historia de la Conquista de Mejico,
+    por JosA(C) 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 Mexican 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 Recollections of Mexico.
+
+    Apuntes para la historia de la guerra entre Mejico y los Estados
+    Unidos.
+
+    Lectures on Mexican history, by JosA(C) Maria Lacunza, Professor in
+    the College of San Juan de Letran.
+
+    Constituciones de Mejico y de los Estados Mejicanos.
+
+    _Thirteen_ octavo volumes of documents published by the Congress
+    of the United States, relative to our intercourse and war with
+    Mexico, collected by myself.
+
+    Tributo A  la Verdad,--Vera Cruz 1847.
+
+
+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.
+
+    MA1/4hlenpfordt--Die Republik Mejico.
+
+    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 Johnston--Journals in New Mexico and
+    California--1848.
+
+    FrA(C)mont's Expeditions, 1842-'3-'4.
+
+    FrA(C)mont's California, 1848.
+
+    T. Butler King's Report on California, 1850.
+
+    W. Carey Jones's   do.         do.     1850.
+
+    Executive documents in relation to California, 1850.
+
+    Forbes's California.
+
+    Bryant's     do.
+
+    Kendall's Santa FA(C) 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.
+
+    Gama--Piedras Antiguas de Mejico.
+
+    El Museo Mejicano.
+
+    Isidro R. Gondra's Notes on Mexican Antiquities, in the 3rd vol.
+    (with plates) of the Mexican translation of Prescott.
+
+    Nebel--Voyage ArquA(C)ologique et Pittoresque en Mexique.
+
+    Memoir of the Mexican Minister of Foreign and Domestic Affairs 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 Departamento de QuerA(C)taro, 1845.
+
+    Nos. 1, 2, 3, Boletin del Instituto Nacional de Geografia y
+    Estadistica, 1839-1849.
+
+    Collecion de documentos relativos al departamento de Californias,
+    1846.
+
+    El Observador Judicial de Mejico.
+
+    Semanario de la Industria Mejicana.
+
+    El Mosaico Mejicano.
+
+    Journal des Economistes.
+
+    Lyell'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--CortA(C)z appointed
+  by Velasquez--Biographical notice of CortA(C)z--CortA(C)z Captain
+  General of the Armada--Equipment of the Expedition--Quarrel of
+  Velasquez--Firmness of CortA(C)z--Expedition departs under CortA(C)z,     13
+
+  CHAPTER II.--Olmeda preaches to the Indians--Aguilar and
+  Mariana--interpreters--CortA(C)z lands--interview with the
+  Aztecs--Diplomacy--Montezuma's presents--Montezuma refuses to
+  receive CortA(C)z,                                                     22
+
+  CHAPTER III.--CortA(C)z founds La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz--Fleet
+  destroyed--March to Mexico--Conquest of Tlascala--Cholula--
+  Slaughter in Cholula--Valley of Mexico--CortA(C)z 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--CortA(C)z at the Great Temple--Description
+  of it--Place of Sacrifice--Sanctuaries--Huitzilopotchtli--
+  Tezcatlipoca--Danger of CortA(C)z--Montezuma seized--Montezuma a
+  prisoner--his submissiveness--Arrival of Narvaez--CortA(C)z's
+  diplomacy--CortA(C)z overcomes Narvaez, and recruits his forces,       35
+
+  CHAPTER V.--CortA(C)z returns to the Capital--Causes of the revolt
+  against the Spaniards--CortA(C)z 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--CortA(C)z is encountered by a new
+  army of Aztecs and auxiliaries--Victory of the Spaniards at
+  Otumba--Proposed re-alliance of Aztecs and Tlascalans--Forays of
+  CortA(C)z--reduction of the eastern regions--CortA(C)z proposes the
+  reconquest--sends off the disaffected--CortA(C)z settles the
+  Tlascalan succession,                                               50
+
+  CHAPTER VII.--Death of Cuitlahua--he is succeeded by
+  Guatemozin--Aztecs learn the proposed reconquest--CortA(C)z's forces
+  for this enterprise--CortA(C)z at Tezcoco--his plans and
+  acts--Military expeditions of CortA(C)z in the Valley--Operations
+  at Chalco and Cuernavaca--Xochimilco--return to Tacuba--CortA(C)z
+  returns to Tezcoco and is reinforced,                               56
+
+  CHAPTER VIII.--CortA(C)z returns--conspiracy among his men
+  detected--Execution of VillafaA+-a--Brigantines launched--
+  Xicotencatl'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 captives--Flight of
+  allies--Contest renewed--Starvation,                                62
+
+  CHAPTER IX.--Aztec prediction--it is not verified--CortA(C)z
+  reinforced by fresh arrivals--Famine in the city--CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z--Materials of the Conquest--
+  Adventurers--Priests--Indian allies--Historical aspects of the
+  Conquest,                                                           75
+
+  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 CortA(C)z--Fonseca--Narvaez--Tapia--Charles
+  V. protects CortA(C)z and confirms his acts,                           80
+
+  CHAPTER XII.--CortA(C)z commissioned by the Emperor--Velasquez--his
+  death--Mexico rebuilt--Immigration--Repartimientos of
+  Indians--Honduras--Guatemozin--Mariana--CortA(C)z accused--ordered
+  to Spain for trial--his reception, honors and titles--he
+  marries--his return to Mexico--resides at Tezcoco--Expeditions
+  of CortA(C)z--California--Quivara--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 emigration 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--Military
+  system and hospitals--Coin--Revenues--Aztec mythology--Image of
+  Teoyaomiqui--Teocalli--Two kinds of sacrifice--Why the Aztecs
+  sacrificed their prisoners--Common Sacrifice--Gladitorial
+  Sacrifice--Sacrificial Stone--Aztec Calendar--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
+  property--Inquisition--The acts of the Inquisition--
+  Repartimientos--Indians--Agriculturists--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 Jalisco--Viceroy suppresses it--Council of
+  the Indies on Repartimientos--Indian Servitude--Quivara--
+  Expeditions of Coronado and Alarcon--Pest in 1546--Revolution--
+  Council of Bishops--Mines--Zapotecs revolt--Mendoza removed to
+  Peru,                                                              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 CortA(C)z--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 MuA+-oz and his return--Vindication
+  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--Reforms under a new
+  Viceroy--His power as Viceroy and Inquisitor--ZuA+-iga
+  Viceroy--Treasure--Piracy--Cavendish--Drake captures a
+  galeon--ZuA+-iga and the Audiencia of Guadalajara--His deposition
+  from power,                                                        160
+
+  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
+  Indians--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--Quarrel between Gelves and the
+  Archbishop--Viceroy excommunicated--Archbishop at Guadalupe--he
+  is arrested at the altar--sent to Spain--Mexia threatened--Mob
+  attacks the Palace--it is sacked--Viceroy escapes--Retribution,    187
+
+  CHAPTER VIII.--The Audiencia rules in the interregnum--Carillo
+  Visitador--Inquisitorial 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 Tarahumares--Success of the
+  Indians--Indian wars--Duke de Alburquerque Viceroy--Attempt
+  to assassinate him--Count de BaA+-os Viceroy--Attempt to
+  colonize--Escobar y Llamas and De Toledo Viceroys--Depredations
+  of British cruisers--NuA+-o 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 reconquer--Vera Cruz sacked--Count Monclova
+  Viceroy--Count Galve Viceroy--Tarrahumaric revolt--Indians
+  pacified--Texas--Hispaniola attacked--Insurrection--Burning of
+  the Palace--Famine--Earthquake,                                    212
+
+  CHAPTER XI.--MontaA+-ez Viceroy--Spiritual Conquest of
+  California--Valladares Viceroy--Fair at Acapulco--Spanish
+  monarchy--Austria--Bourbon--MontaA+-ez Viceroy--Jesuits in
+  California--La Cueva Viceroy--Duke de Linares 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,                                          221
+
+  CHAPTER XII.--Vizarron and Eguiarreta Viceroy--Eventless
+  government--Salazar Viceroy--Colonial fears--Fuen-Clara
+  Viceroy--Galeon lost--Mexico under Revilla-Gigedo I.--Ferdinand
+  VI.--Indians--Taxes--Colonies in the north--Famine--Mines at
+  BolaA+-os--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 conduct 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
+
+  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 fugitive 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 manufactures--Threatened
+  revolt--Marquina Viceroy--Revolt in Jalisco--Iturrigaray
+  Viceroy--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,           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--Hidalgo--Allende--First
+  outbreak--Guanajuato sacked--Las Cruces--Mexico menaced--Indian
+  bravery at Aculco--Marfil--Massacre at Guanajuato--Calleja--
+  Insurgents defeated--Execution of Hidalgo,                         279
+
+  CHAPTER II.--Venegas Viceroy--Rayon--Junta in 1811--its
+  willingness 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,           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 continued--Montayno--
+  Guerrero--Gomez Pedraza President--is overthrown--Federalists--
+  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
+  President,                                                         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
+
+  CHAPTER VIII.--General Taylor ordered to the Rio Grande--History
+  of Texan boundaries--Origin of the war--Military preparations--
+  Commencement of hostilities--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--FrA(C)mont--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--FrA(C)mont's character, services,
+  trial,                                                             342
+
+  CHAPTER X.--Valley of the Rio Grande--Santa Anna at San
+  Luis--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--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--Polko 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--PerotA(C) 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 PeA+-on--Mexicalzingo--Tezcoco--Chalco--Outer and
+  inner lines around the city--Scott's advance by Chalco--The
+  American army at San Augustin,                                     381
+
+  CHAPTER XIV.--Difficulties of the advance--The Pedregal--San
+  Antonio--Hacienda--Relative position of American and Mexican
+  armies--Path over the Pedregal to Contreras--Valencia
+  disconcerts 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,                                                           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--Parties 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 armistice--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--Preparations to
+  attack Chapultepec--Storming of Chapultepec and of the city Gates
+  of San CosmA(C) and Belen--Retreat of the Mexican army and
+  government--American occupation of the city of Mexico,             408
+
+  CHAPTER XVII.--Attack of the city mob on the army--Quitman
+  Governor--PeA+-a 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--PeA+-a 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 QuerA(C)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 CORTA%Z,
+  WITH A SKETCH OF AZTEC CIVILIZATION
+  1511-1530.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK I.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+1511 TO 1519.
+
+    DISCOVERIES OF CORDOVA AND GRIJALVA.--CORTA%Z APPOINTED BY
+    VELASQUEZ.--BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF CORTA%Z.--CORTA%Z CAPTAIN GENERAL
+    OF THE ARMADA.--EQUIPMENT OF THE EXPEDITION.--QUARREL OF
+    VELASQUEZ--FIRMNESS OF CORTA%Z.--EXPEDITION DEPARTS UNDER CORTA%Z.
+
+
+There is perhaps no page in modern history so full of dramatic
+incidents and useful consequences, as that which records the
+discovery, conquest and development of America by the Spanish and
+Anglo Saxon races. The extraordinary achievements of Columbus, CortA(C)z,
+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 CortA(C)z.
+
+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.[1]
+
+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 CatochA(C). 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
+CampechA(C); 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 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
+EspaA+-a-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 the 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; 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 CORTA%Z; "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 CORTA%Z, 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 of 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 CortA(C)z de Monroy, and his mother, DoA+-a
+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 CortA(C)z 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. It was well for Spain and for himself, that the
+chivalric wish of CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z, 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
+CortA(C)z was persuaded to accept a grant of land, a _repartimiento_ of
+Indians, and the office of notary in the village of AASec.ua. 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, CortA(C)z
+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 who flocked in crowds to the New World, and, in
+all probability, clustered around CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z
+was fixed on as the bearer of the message in an open boat, 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.
+
+CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z, 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. CortA(C)z and Velasquez were
+alike fired by the alluring story. The old flame of enterprise 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 CortA(C)z, 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 CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z, 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 were 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 was 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, 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 CortA(C)z.
+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; Cristoval de Olid, Alonzo de Avila, Juan
+Velasquez de Leon, Hernandez de Puerto Carrero, and Gonzalo de Sandoval,
+united their fortunes 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, CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z, 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_ CortA(C)z, 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 vain;--whilst
+CortA(C)z, 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
+crossbowmen 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, HERNANDO CORTA%Z,
+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!"
+
+[Footnote 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.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+1519.
+
+    OLMEDO PREACHES TO THE INDIANS.--AGUILAR AND
+    MARIANA--INTERPRETERS.--CORTA%Z LANDS--INTERVIEW WITH THE
+    AZTECS.--DIPLOMACY--MONTEZUMA'S PRESENTS.--MONTEZUMA REFUSES TO
+    RECEIVE CORTA%Z.
+
+
+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 the warm season,
+scattered and dismantled the small squadron, sweeping it far to the
+south of its original destination. CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)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 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
+BartolomA(C) de Olmedo, the latter of whom,--who remained with the army
+during the whole expedition,--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, CortA(C)z 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 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 CortA(C)z 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
+CortA(C)z 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 adventures, and was so useful as a sagacious friend and
+discreet interpreter. 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, CortA(C)z 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? CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z 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 dyed; and baskets filled
+with golden ornaments. CortA(C)z, 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
+CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z 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 qualifications as a soldier and a priest. His reign commenced
+energetically; 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 sumptuous,
+and his people were grievously taxed to support its unbounded
+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 seacoast,--a brave and
+stubborn foe, whose civilization, unimpaired resources, 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 CortA(C)z's arrival
+became the subject of discussion in Mexico. Some were for open or wily
+resistance. Others were oppressed with superstitious 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 courteously 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 themselves 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 recollect 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
+CortA(C)z, that it would give him pleasure to communicate 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, 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 naA-ve 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
+Spanish visitors. Nor was CortA(C)z 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 peremptory denial.
+
+CortA(C)z 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. CortA(C)z, 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.
+
+    CORTA%Z FOUNDS LA VILLA RICA DE LA VERA CRUZ.--FLEET
+    DESTROYED--MARCH TO MEXICO.--CONQUEST OF
+    TLASCALA--CHOLULA.--SLAUGHTER IN CHOLULA--VALLEY OF
+    MEXICO.--CORTA%Z 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 with 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.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CortA(C)z 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 forthwith 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 independent of Velasquez; and he formed an alliance with the
+Totonacos 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 the Emperor Charles V., in
+order to secure a confirmation of his proceedings. The most daring act
+of this period was the destruction 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
+enterprise 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 betrayed, 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, CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z 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 Montezuma, 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 soon manifested. CortA(C)z 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 Montezuma,
+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
+CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z, "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 embassy came from Montezuma with magnificent gifts and an
+invitation to his capital, yet with a request that he would break with
+his new allies and approach Mexico through the friendly city of Cholula.
+The policy of this request on the part of Montezuma, will be seen in the
+sequel. Our hero, accompanied by six thousand volunteers 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. Montezuma, she learned, had stationed twenty
+thousand Mexicans near 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 visitors 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.
+
+CortA(C)z, 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 CortA(C)z 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 mountains 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.[2] 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, intermingled 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 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 which Nature had
+devised for the fairest of her jewels."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CortA(C)z 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 Montezuma, 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 personages, to welcome the
+invaders to the capital. The friendly summons was of course not
+disregarded by CortA(C)z, who forthwith proceeded along the most splendid
+and massive structure of the New World--a gigantic causeway, five
+miles in length, constructed 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 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 monarch, 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."[3]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As this mighty prince approached, CortA(C)z halted his men, and,
+advancing with a few of his principal retainers, was most courteously
+welcomed by Montezuma, who, adroitly concealing his chagrin,
+diplomatically expressed the uncommon delight he experienced at this
+unexpected visit of the strangers to his capital. Our hero thanked
+him for his friendly welcome and bounteous gifts,--and hung around his
+neck a chain set with colored crystal. Montezuma 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.[4]
+
+[Footnote 2: Between nine and ten thousand feet above the level of the
+sea, at this point of the road.]
+
+[Footnote 3: Prescott.]
+
+[Footnote 4: "The province which constitutes the principal territory
+of Montezuma," (says CortA(C)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
+which 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.
+
+"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."--_Letters of CortA(C)z to Charles V._]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+1519-1520.
+
+    DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF TENOCHTITLAN.--MONTEZUMA'S WAY OF
+    LIFE--MARKET-PLACE.--CORTA%Z AT THE GREAT TEMPLE--DESCRIPTION OF
+    IT.--PLACE OF SACRIFICE--SANCTUARIES--HUITZILOPOTCHTLI.--
+    TEZCATLIPOCA--DANGER OF CORTA%Z--MONTEZUMA SEIZED.--MONTEZUMA A
+    PRISONER--HIS SUBMISSIVENESS.--ARRIVAL OF NARVAEZ--CORTA%Z'S
+    DIPLOMACY.--CORTA%Z 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 drawbridges; 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 conquerors 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. 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 which 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 numbers 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,
+CortA(C)z, 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, vegetables, all the necessaries of life and
+all its luxuries, together with restaurateurs and shops for the sale of
+medical drugs, confectionery, 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 topography 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 wall 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.
+
+[Illustration: RESTORATION OF GREAT TEMPLE.]
+
+When CortA(C)z 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 _Teocalli_; 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 _Teopan_, 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 erected to Huitzilopotchtli and Tezcatlipoca, over which the idol
+representatives of these divinities were placed in state.
+
+Within the enclosure of the Teocalli there were forty other 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 accommodation 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.
+
+CortA(C)z 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 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 providential
+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 inhumanity, 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 CortA(C)z that four of his countrymen, 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 reliable followers, who charged the monarch with the
+treachery of his subordinate, and demanded the apprehension of the
+cacique to answer for the slaughter of their inoffensive countrymen.
+Montezuma, of course, immediately disavowed the treason and ordered the
+arrest of the Governor; but CortA(C)z 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 surprising 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 CortA(C)z 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
+CortA(C)z. 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 CortA(C)z tried the national nerve most
+daringly by interfering with the religious superstitions of a
+dissatisfied town, and when every symptom of a general rebellion 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 revengeful Velasquez, to
+arrest the hero and send him in chains to St. Jago.
+
+A more unfortunate train of circumstances can scarcely be conceived. 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 CortA(C)z, 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 consideration, this is fully
+exhibited in the diplomacy with which he 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
+uncertainty of another conquest.
+
+Accordingly CortA(C)z addressed a letter to Narvaez requesting him not to
+kindle a spirit of insubordination among the natives by proclaiming
+his enmity. Yet this failed to affect his jealous countryman. 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 countrymen, 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. CortA(C)z, 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 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 CortA(C)z enabled him to convert the very elements
+of disaster into the means of present strength and future success!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+1520.
+
+    CORTA%Z RETURNS TO THE CAPITAL--CAUSES OF THE REVOLT AGAINST THE
+    SPANIARDS.--CORTA%Z 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.
+
+
+Whilst CortA(C)z 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, intelligence
+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 conqueror with
+the Emperor's continued fidelity, and to exculpate him from all blame
+in the movement against Alvarado.
+
+On the 24th June, 1520, CortA(C)z 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 attributed 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 "incensing of
+Huitzilopotchtli." Six hundred victims, were, on that occasion, slain
+by the Spaniards, in cold blood, in the neighborhood of the Great
+Temple; nor was a single native, engaged in 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 forever tarnish his
+fame. It is far more probable that rapacity was the true cause of the
+onslaught, and that the reckless companion 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 assault upon the works of
+Alvarado; but they strictly blockaded the enemy in his castle, cut off
+all supplies, and entrenched themselves in hastily constructed
+barricades thrown up around the habitation 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
+CortA(C)z, 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 CortA(C)z 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 reconciliation 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
+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 lingering 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 turret 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 satisfactory 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. CortA(C)z had been
+wounded and disabled in 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, accompanied 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 CortA(C)z sent them back to his quarters; yet he managed
+to repulse the squadrons 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 increased 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
+containing 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 impediments, 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 streaming hair and sable garments,
+urging their superstitious children to the contest. Men tumbled
+headlong over the sides of the area, and even CortA(C)z 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 manA"uvre, whilst the Spaniards passed unmolested to
+their quarters, from which, at night, they again sallied to burn three
+hundred houses of the citizens.
+
+CortA(C)z thought that these successes would naturally dismay the Mexicans,
+and proposed, through Mariana,--his faithful interpreter, 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 convinced that a soldier who destroyed
+their gods, laid a part of their capital in ruins, and was able to
+inflict still more direful chastisement, 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, accordingly,
+CortA(C)z 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
+American history, as the _noche triste_, or "melancholy night." The
+Mexicans were not usually alert during the darkness, and CortA(C)z 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
+ammunition 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.[5] 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 miraculous leap with the aid of his lance-staff over a canal, to
+whose edge he had been pursued by the foe. And when CortA(C)z, 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.
+
+[Footnote 5: These numbers are variously stated by different
+authorities.--See Prescott, vol. 2d, p. 377.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+1520.
+
+    RETREAT TO OTUMBA.--CORTA%Z IS ENCOUNTERED BY A NEW ARMY OF AZTECS
+    AND AUXILIARIES.--VICTORY OF THE SPANIARDS AT OTUMBA.--PROPOSED
+    RE-ALLIANCE OF AZTECS AND TLASCALANS.--FORAYS OF CORTA%Z--REDUCTION
+    OF THE EASTERN REGIONS.--CORTA%Z PROPOSES THE RECONQUEST--SENDS OFF
+    THE DISAFFECTED.--CORTA%Z SETTLES THE TLASCALAN SUCCESSION.
+
+
+After the disasters and fatigues of the _noche triste_, the melancholy
+and broken band of CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z 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
+dispirited 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
+CortA(C)z 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 dividing ridge that overlooked the vale of
+Otompan, it beheld the levels below filled, as far as eye could
+reach, with the spears and standards of the Aztec victors, whose
+forces had been augmented by levies from the territory of the
+neighboring Tezcoco. CortA(C)z presented 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. Suddenly CortA(C)z
+descried the ensignia of the enemy's commanding general, and knowing
+that the fortunes of the day, in all probability, 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. CortA(C)z 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 miraculous preservation
+as well as for the hope with which their success reinspired them.[6]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+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 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 CortA(C)z, 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. Murmurs, 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 CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z; for, in the present feeble condition of his Spanish
+force, his whole reliance consisted in adroitly playing off one part
+of the Indian population 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 CortA(C)z 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 commander who had led them through success and
+defeat with equal skill.
+
+Accordingly CortA(C)z 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 success, 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 inhabitants, whose chief was 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, CortA(C)z himself assumed command
+of the expedition. In fact, the conqueror was singularly unfortunate
+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, CortA(C)z
+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.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CortA(C)z 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 seacoast. Those who are familiar with the geography of Mexico,
+will see at a glance, with what masterly generalship the dispositions
+of CortA(C)z 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 obtained in his dealings with
+his countrymen as well as the natives at this period of extreme
+danger. When Mexico was lost after the _noche triste_, the military
+resources of CortA(C)z 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 overshadowed it."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the judgment of CortA(C)z, the moment had now arrived when he was
+strong enough, and when it was proper, that he should attempt the
+reconquest 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 discontented 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 Audiencia at St. Domingo to
+interest its members in his cause, and when he despatched four vessels
+from Vera Cruz for additional military supplies, he freighted them
+with specimens of gold and Indian fabrics to inflame the cupidity of
+new adventurers.
+
+In Tlascala, he settled the question of succession in the government;
+constructed new arms and caused old ones to be repaired; made powder
+with sulphur obtained from the volcano of Popocatopetl; 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.
+
+[Footnote 6: We have no accurate estimate of the numbers engaged in
+this battle, or of the slain.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+1520-1521.
+
+    DEATH OF CUITLAHUA--HE IS SUCCEEDED BY GUATEMOZIN.--AZTECS LEARN
+    THE PROPOSED RECONQUEST--CORTA%Z's FORCES FOR THIS
+    ENTERPRISE.--CORTA%Z AT TEZCOCO--HIS PLANS AND ACTS.--MILITARY
+    EXPEDITIONS OF CORTA%Z IN THE VALLEY.--OPERATIONS AT CHALCO AND
+    CUERNAVACA.--XOCHIMILCO--RETURN TO TACUBA.--CORTA%Z 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 CortA(C)z. 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 undisguised, 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 munitions he received from Vera Cruz, was quickly
+brought to the city of Mexico; and every suitable preparation was made,
+by strengthening the defences, encouraging the vassals, and disciplining
+the troops, to protect the menaced empire from impending ruin.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Nor was CortA(C)z, 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. 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 indifferent powder, constituted his train
+of artillery. His army of Indian allies is estimated at the 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 reaching 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, CortA(C)z 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 seacoast, 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 neighborhood of the
+great causeway between the lakes as would command 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. Accordingly, 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 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, CortA(C)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 northwardly
+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 recollections 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, CortA(C)z and his men
+returned 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 CortA(C)z 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, CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z had sent back to support the contested
+town as soon as the news of the fresh attack reached him.
+
+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 ammunition, 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
+CortA(C)z.
+
+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, CortA(C)z 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 neutrality, 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 lieutenant 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.
+
+CortA(C)z 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 harrassing 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 threaded 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 was the capital of the Tlahuicas, and an
+important and wealthy tributary of the Aztecs. Here too he encountered
+hostile resistance 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, CortA(C)z 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 mountains, where the
+cool air of the temperate clime sings through the limbs and tassels of
+hardy pines, CortA(C)z 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 appearance 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. 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 brigantines were ready to be launched
+for the last blow at the heart of the empire.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+1521.
+
+    CORTA%Z RETURNS--CONSPIRACY AMONG HIS MEN DETECTED.--EXECUTION OF
+    VILLAFAA'A--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 CAPTIVES--FLIGHT OF ALLIES.--CONTEST
+    RENEWED--STARVATION.
+
+
+The return of CortA(C)z 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 flocked 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 VillafaA+-a, a common soldier; and it was the design of the
+recreant band to assassinate Sandoval, Olid and Alvarado, together
+with CortA(C)z, 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 despatches,
+which were to be suddenly presented, as if just arrived from Castile.
+But, a day before the consummation of the treachery, one of the party
+threw himself at the feet of CortA(C)z and betrayed the project, together
+with the fact, that, in the possession of VillafaA+-a, would be found a
+paper containing the names of his associates in infamy.
+
+CortA(C)z immediately summoned the leaders whose lives were threatened,
+and, after a brief consultation, the party hastened to the quarters of
+VillafaA+-a 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 CortA(C)z, 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 enterprise.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+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 Texcoco.
+
+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 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.[7] 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 appointed
+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 CortA(C)z 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 back 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, CortA(C)z 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 conqueror, therefore, was
+to shut up the capital, and cut off all access to the country by an
+efficient blockade of the lake, with his brigantines, 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 thousand 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 around
+the northern head of the lake of Tezcoco, whilst Sandoval, supported by
+CortA(C)z 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 conflicts 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 CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z, 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 CortA(C)z, 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 CortA(C)z to be made by the two commanders at the other
+military points nearest their quarters. The brigantines sailed 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. CortA(C)z, 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 Spaniards. The
+Prince of Tezcoco, too, despatched fifty thousand levies to the aid of
+CortA(C)z. 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 CortA(C)z, 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 success of CortA(C)z, 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 supplies 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
+friendly towns, and never experienced the sufferings from famine that
+were soon to overtake the beleaguered capital.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At length the day was fixed for a general assault upon the city by the
+two divisions under Alvarado and CortA(C)z. 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 CortA(C)z, 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, Spaniards, Tlascalans, Tezcocans and Otomies, were mixed
+in a common crowd of combatants. From the tops of houses; from
+converging 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. CortA(C)z 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 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 Teocalli. It was the
+dread signal of sacrifice. The wretched Spaniards, who had been
+captured in the fight, were, one after another, stretched on the stone
+in front of the hideous idols, and their reeking 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 outraged 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, Tezcocans, 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
+CortA(C)z 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 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.
+
+[Footnote 7: The writer sounded the lake in the channel from Mexico to
+Tezcoco in 1842, and did not find more than 2A1/2 feet in the deepest
+path. The Indians, at present, wade over all parts of the lake.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+1521.
+
+    AZTEC PREDICTION--IT IS NOT VERIFIED.--CORTA%Z REINFORCED BY FRESH
+    ARRIVALS.--FAMINE IN THE CITY.--CORTA%Z 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 prediction, the
+beleaguered city would be delivered from the Spaniards. But the sun
+rose on the ninth over the inexorable foes still in position 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, CortA(C)z 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.
+
+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 perfectly
+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 flat roofs and
+protecting parapets, which sheltered the assailants, whilst the
+innumerable canals bisecting the streets served as so many pitfalls
+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, CortA(C)z 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 unflinching firmness of the
+Castilian squadrons. At length, CortA(C)z believed that the moment for
+final action had arrived. He gave orders for the advance of the
+several corps of the army simultaneously 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 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. CortA(C)z 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 condition
+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 famished,
+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 CortA(C)z
+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 Spaniards 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 expulsion, 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 was made by CortA(C)z 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 patriotism or savage madness could
+induce the sovereign to refrain from saving, at least, the
+unfortunate non-combatants who still were loyal to his throne and
+person. But the judgment of the conqueror 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 Guatemozin, 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 CortA(C)z. As
+soon as his noble figure and dignified face were seen on the _azotA(C)a_
+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--Mariana--stood by the intrepid CortA(C)z 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 survived 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 conquerors; 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 conceive 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 offensive
+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, notwithstanding they usually
+devoured their prisoners, no instance occurred when, amidst all the
+famine and starvation of this siege, they preyed upon each other.[8]
+The remnant of the population went, at the request of the conquered
+Guatemozin, to the neighboring villages, until the town could be
+purified and the dead removed."
+
+[Footnote 8: 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.--CHARACTER AND
+    DEEDS OF CORTA%Z.--MATERIALS OF THE CONQUEST.--ADVENTURERS--
+    PRIESTS--INDIAN ALLIES.--HISTORICAL 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
+prejudices 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 which was then acknowledged 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 narrative has confined us more to the detail
+of prominent incidents than we would have desired had it been our task
+to disclose the wondrous tale of the conquest alone; but it would be
+wrong, even in 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 CortA(C)z as the great controlling 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 wonderful and varied combinations of this adventure, was to be
+carried into successful execution, it was CortA(C)z 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 manifested 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
+CortA(C)z, but no rivalries. _Men from the ranks_ conspired to displace
+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 CortA(C)z 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 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 CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z.
+
+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 discrimination 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; for 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 original army
+that flocked to the standard of CortA(C)z. The Spanish court and
+camps,--the Spanish towns and sea-ports,--had sent forth a motley band
+to the islands. The sedate and worthier portions of Castilian society
+were not wooed abroad by the alluring accounts of the New World and its
+prolific wealth. They did not choose to leave hereditary homes and
+comfortable emoluments 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 magnified 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
+posterity 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 disgrace or dignify them
+on the pages of history.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Such were the Spanish materials of the armies with which CortA(C)z
+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 indestructible 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 destroy rather than to
+sustain him, and when not only their allegiance but their religion
+invoked a dreadful vengeance on the sacreligious 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 whatever 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 subsequent 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
+    CORTA%Z--FONSECA--NARVAEZ---TAPIA.--CHARLES V. PROTECTS CORTA%Z 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 CortA(C)z for his supposed concealment of the plunder. There
+was a mingled sentiment of distrust both of the conqueror and
+Guatemozin; and, at last, the querulousness 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 CortA(C)z 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, and finally even
+its king, to the capital;--and two small detachments of Spaniards
+returned with the new visitors, 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 districts, and brought with them the first
+specimens of gold and pearls from the region now known as California.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was not long, however, before CortA(C)z resolved to make his conquest
+available by the reconstruction 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 CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z in his authority and
+to ratify all his proceedings. QuinoA+-es 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 despatches of CortA(C)z 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, numerous
+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, Adrian, who was Regent whilst
+the Emperor resided in Germany, an order for the seizure of CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z. 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 conqueror, 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 CortA(C)z, for a time, freed from the active hostility
+of the Spanish Court, whilst he retained his authority over his
+conquest merely by military right and power of forcible occupation.
+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 visitors for information concerning the empire of the
+Montezumas and the adjacent territories of independent 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 bestirred themselves in the
+foul labor of blasting the fame of CortA(C)z, 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, CortA(C)z was not without staunch kinsmen and warm friends who
+stood up valiantly in his 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 CortA(C)z. 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 assigned 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 CortA(C)z. His bigoted and narrow
+soul,--schooled in forms, and trained by early discipline, into a
+querulousness which could neither tolerate anything 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.
+
+    CORTA%Z COMMISSIONED BY THE EMPEROR.--VELASQUEZ--HIS DEATH.--MEXICO
+    REBUILT.--IMMIGRATION--REPARTIMIENTOS OF INDIANS.--HONDURAS--
+    GUATEMOZIN--MARIANA.--CORTA%Z ACCUSED--ORDERED TO SPAIN FOR
+    TRIAL.--HIS RECEPTION, HONORS AND TITLES--HE MARRIES--HIS
+    RETURN TO MEXICO--RESIDES AT TEZCOCO.--EXPEDITIONS OF
+    CORTA%Z--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 CortA(C)z 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 CortA(C)z 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.
+
+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. CortA(C)z
+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. Tradesmen, craftsmen and merchants,
+thronged its streets and remaining canals.
+
+CortA(C)z was not less anxious to establish, in the interior of the old
+Aztec empire, towns or points of rendezvous, which 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.[9] 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 ordinances 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 CortA(C)z.
+
+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 CortA(C)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 adventurous 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, CortA(C)z 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.[10]
+
+This sketch of a brief period after the subjugation of Mexico
+developes the _constructive_ genius of CortA(C)z, as the preceding
+chapters 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 historical narrative which is designed to treat exclusively of
+Mexico, it might perhaps be considered inappropriate to relate that
+portion of the biography of CortA(C)z 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 DoA+-a 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 CortA(C)z, named after his grand-father
+Don Martin, became distinguished 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, CortA(C)z was suddenly
+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 commissioner 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 CortA(C)z in extreme dishonesty 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 CortA(C)z, 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 EspaA+-a, and CortA(C)z 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.
+
+CortA(C)z 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 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
+CortA(C)z 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 vassals." 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
+government 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 acquired
+jewels to ambitious and daring adventurers who might ripen into
+disloyal usurpers.
+
+CortA(C)z 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. CortA(C)z 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, DoA+-a Juana ZuA+-iga, 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 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 conqueror, NuA+-o de Guzman. The evidence was
+taken upon eight scandalous charges against CortA(C)z, 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.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CortA(C)z 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 oppressive 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
+CortA(C)z,--a man so capable of establishing for himself an independent
+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 Tezcoco, 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 revisited 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 disputes of even a
+more bitter character, until, at length, he turned his back on the
+glorious valley,--the scene of his noblest exploits,--forever, and took
+up his abode in his town of Cuernavaca, which, it will be recollected,
+he captured from the Aztecs before the capital 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, encouraging 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 CortA(C)z, nor upon his various adventures
+in Mexico. It is sufficient to say that he planned several
+expeditions, the most important of which, was unsuccessful 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 NuA+-o de
+Guzman; and having assembled the vessels he had commanded to be built
+in Tehuantepec, 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 CortA(C)z."
+
+His expenses in these expeditions exceeded three hundred thousand
+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 represented as
+enjoying an almost European civilization. CortA(C)z claimed his right to
+take part in or command an expedition which 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 powerful
+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 remained 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 of December, 1547.
+
+CortA(C)z provided in his will that his body should be interred 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 CortA(C)z 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.[11]
+
+[Footnote 9: Prescott 3d, 261.]
+
+[Footnote 10: Prescott, vol. 3, 274.]
+
+[Footnote 11: See Alaman, Disertaciones sobre la historia de la
+Republica Mexicana, vol. 2, p. 93 Appendix.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+650-1500.
+
+    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, 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 archives 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 hieroglyphic 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 conquest, and
+hardly anything that relates to prior events. The question 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 transmitted 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."[12]
+
+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 development 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 possessed 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
+lengthened with time, some of its links were adorned with the
+embellishments 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 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 civilization. Architecture never lies. It is one of those
+massive records which require too much labor in order to record a
+falsehood. 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 manifestations 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
+authority,--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 influence
+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
+CortA(C)z 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.
+
+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 extensive 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 centuries, 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 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 previous 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 transferred 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. Accordingly
+we find that the sway of this small tribe, which had but 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 periods of the emigration of various tribes and the
+    reigns of their sovereigns, are carefully presented in the
+    following table, given by Albert Gallatin, in his essay on the
+    Mexican nations--1 vol. Ethnol. Soc. Transac. 162.
+
+  Column Headings:
+    A: _Alva._
+    B: _Sahagun._
+    C: _Veytia._
+    D: _Clavigero._
+
+      TOLTECS.
+                                                   A    B     C    D
+
+  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
+  Huetzin}
+  Tlotzin} 3rd 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-Coyotzin 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
+    according 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
+      "      "    at Chicomotzoc                            1168
+      "      "    at valley of Mexico            1141       1227  1216
+      "      "    at Chapultepec                           {1248  1245
+                                                           {1276
+
+  Column Headings:
+    A: _Mendoza's Collection._
+    B: _Codex Tellurianus._
+    C: _Acosta._
+    D: _Siguenza._
+    E: _D'Alva._
+    F: _Sahagun._
+    G: _Veytia._
+    H: _Clavigero._
+
+      MEXICANS OR AZTECS.
+                               A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H
+  Foundation of Mexico or
+    Tenochtitlan             1324           1325 1220      1325 1325
+  Acamapichtli, elected King 1375 1399 1384 1361 1141 1384 1361 1352
+  Huitzilihuitl, accession   1396 1406 1424 1403 1353      1402 1389
+  Chimalpopoca               1417 1414 1427 1414 1357      1414 1409
+  Ytzcoatl                   1427 1426 1437 1427 1427      1427 1423
+  Montezuma 1st              1440 1440 1449 1440 1440           1436
+  Acayacatl                  1469 1469 1481 1468 1469           1464
+  Tizoc                      1482 1483 1487 1481 1483           1477
+  Ahuitzol                   1486 1486 1492 1486 1486           1482
+  Montezuma 2d               1502 1502 1503 1502 1503           1502
+
+      DURATION OF REIGNS OF MEXICAN KINGS.
+  Acamapichtli                 21    7   40   42  150   21   41   37
+  Huitzilihuitl                21    8    3   11   50   21   12   20
+  Chimalpopoca                 10   12   10   13   70   10   13   14
+  Ytzcoatl                     13   14   12   13   13   14        13
+  Montezuma 1st                29   29   32   28   29   30        28
+  Acayacatl                    13   14    6   13   14   14        13
+  Tizoc                         4    3    5    5    3    4         5
+  Ahuitzol                     16   16   11   16   17    8        16
+  Montezuma 2d                 17   17   16   17   17   19        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 constituting 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 Michoacan, 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 probably
+    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 CortA(C)z, we should never forget,--as we have
+    remarked in the text,--the material assistance he received from
+    his Indian allies--the Tlascalans.
+
+[Footnote 12: 1 vol. Trans. Am. Ethnol. Soc., p. 145. Art. Mexican
+Hist. Chron., &c. &c., by Albert Gallatin.]
+
+[Illustration: 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 TENOCHTITLAN.--MONTEZUMA'S WAY
+    OF LIFE.--DESPOTIC POWER OF THE EMPEROR OVER LIFE AND
+    LAW.--THEFT--INTEMPERANCE--MARRIAGE--SLAVERY--WAR.--MILITARY
+    SYSTEM AND HOSPITALS--COIN--REVENUES.--AZTEC MYTHOLOGY.--IMAGE OF
+    TEOYAOMIQUI.--TEOCALLI--TWO KINDS OF SACRIFICE.--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 criticisms 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 picture 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 empire, 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 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 essentially on the vivid imagination which supplies
+the missing fragments 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 CortA(C)z 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 preceding 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, according 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
+yesterday;--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 hundred of his nobility stood as
+guards in his ante-chamber.
+
+"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 apartment 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 CortA(C)z 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 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 presented 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 presented 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,[13] 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.
+
+"The meal of the monarch ended, all his guards and domestics sat down
+to dinner; and, as near as I could judge, above a thousand 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."[14]
+
+Besides this sumptuous residence in the city, the Emperor is supposed
+to have had others at Chapultepec, Tezcoco and elsewhere, 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, powerful 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 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 guardian 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."[15]
+
+Slavery seems to have always prevailed in Mexico. The captives 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. Montezuma, 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 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 empire;--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 establishments 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 generally, were paid in "cotton
+dresses and mantles of feather-work; ornamented armor; vases of gold;
+gold dust, bands and bracelets; crystal, gilt and varnished jars and
+goblets; bells, arms and utensils of copper; reams of paper; grain;
+fruits, copal, amber, cochineal, 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.[16]
+
+The Mexican Mythology was a barbarous compound of spiritualism 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 himself;" while their counter-spirit or
+demon, who was ever the enemy and seducer of their race bore the
+inauspicious title of Tlaleatecolototl, 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 spiritual 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 female, 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 regarded 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. Huitzilopotchtli 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 favorite 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 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,
+unilluminated by the twinkling of a single ray, was the only
+punishment, and the probable type of annihilation.
+
+[Illustration: TEOYAOMIQUI. (FRONT.)]
+
+[Illustration: TEOYAOMIQUI. (PROFILE.)]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The figure which is delineated in the plate representing Teoyaomiqui,
+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 glistening 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 sculptured 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.
+
+[Illustration: 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 ancient 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 CortA(C)z 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 presented in a plate in the
+preceding portion of this work.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Mexican theology indulged in two kinds of sacrifice, one of which
+was an ordinary offering of a common victim, while the other, or
+gladiatorial sacrifice, was only used for captives of extraordinary
+courage and bravery.
+
+When we recollect the fact that the Aztec tribe was an intruder 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 victims, to sacrifice
+their numerous captives, who if retained in idleness 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 history 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 superstition and policy, grew into
+an ordinance of faith and worship.
+
+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 immediately 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 reverence. 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 sacrifice, 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 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 deadly encounter. If the
+prisoner was conquered he was immediately borne to the altar of common
+sacrifice. If he overcame six assailants 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 thousand 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.
+
+[Illustration: 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 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 similarity of these figures to some that are delineated in
+the first volume of Stephens' Yucatan is remarkable.
+
+[Illustration: SIDE OF SACRIFICIAL STONE.]
+
+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 Tenochtitlan, or that it was placed
+in some of the adjoining edifices on 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 Teoyaomiqui, 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 astronomical
+science of Tenochtitlan is to be attributed,--these primitive
+children of the New World believed that the world was in danger of
+instant destruction. Accordingly, its termination became one of their
+most serious and awful epochs, and they anxiously 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 dwellings 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 instrument, 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
+brightness 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 promise. 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 preservation 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 village 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 themselves to joy and
+festivity in token of gratitude and relief from impending doom.
+
+[Illustration: AZTEC CALENDAR STONE.]
+
+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 elements of science and
+superstition that so largely characterized the empire of Montezuma.
+The stone itself has engaged the attention, 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 portion 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.
+   2 Xochitl.
+   3 Quiahuitl.
+   4 Tecpatl.
+   5 Ollin.
+   6 Cozcaquauhitli.
+   7 Quauhtli.
+   8 Ocelotl.
+   9 Acatl.
+  10 Malinalli.
+  11 Ozomatli.
+  12 Itzeuinitli.
+  13 Atl.
+  14 Tochtli.
+  15 Mazatl.
+  16 Miquiztli.
+  17 Cohualt.
+  18 Cuetzpalni.
+  19 Calli.
+  20 Ehecatl.
+
+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 which
+clouds and storms originated. These fanciful interpretations, 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 selected 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.[17]
+
+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 hereafter
+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 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 sustained 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 obscure, 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 connected 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 by the zenith of
+the city of Mexico, which, by the observations of Humboldt, lies in
+19A deg. 25' and 57" north latitude and in 101A deg. 25' 20" 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 interior
+circumference or representation of the sun, which indicate the dates
+of some celebrated feasts of the Aztecs. The three following
+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."[18]
+
+MEXICAN ALMANAC,
+
+ACCORDING TO GAMA.
+
+  Column Headings:
+    A: Names of the months.
+    B: Tititl.
+    C: Itzcalli.
+    D: Xilomanaliztli.
+    E: Tlacaxipehnaliztli.
+    F: Tozoztontli.
+    G: Hueytozoztli.
+    H: Toxcall.
+    I: Etzalqualiztli.
+    J: Tecuilhuitontli.
+    K: Heuytecuilhuitl.
+    L: Miccailhuitonili.
+    M: Heuymiccailhuitl.
+    N: Ochpaniztli.
+    O: Pachtli.
+    P: Heuypachtli.
+    Q: Quecholli.
+    R: Panquetzaliztli.
+    S: Atenioztli.
+    T: The five Nemontemi.
+
+  =====================================================================
+  ||                A              | B  | C  | D  | E  | F  | G  | H  |
+  ||-------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
+  ||             Months.           |1st | 2d | 3d |4th |5th |6th |7th |
+  ||                               |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
+  ||Day of the Julian year, N. S.,}|Jan.|Jan.|Feb.|Mar.|Mar.|Apr.|May |
+  ||on which each month begins.   }| 9  |29  |18  |10  |30  |19  | 9  |
+  ||                               |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
+  || 1| Sea Animal   |Cipactli     | 1 a| 8 c| 2 e| 9 g| 3 i|10 b| 4 d|
+  || 2| Wind         |Ehecatl      | 2 b| 9 d| 3 f|10 h| 4 a|11 c| 5 e|
+  || 3| House        |Calli        | 3 c|10 e| 4 g|11 i| 5 b|12 d| 6 f|
+  || 4| Small Lizard |Cuetzpalin   | 4 d|11 f| 5 h|12 a| 6 c|13 e| 7 g|
+  || 5| Serpent      |Cohuatl      | 5 e|12 g| 6 i|13 b| 7 d| 1 f| 8 h|
+  || 6| Death        |Miquiztli    | 6 f|13 h| 7 a| 1 c| 8 e| 2 g| 9 i|
+  || 7| Deer         |Mazatl       | 7 g| 1 i| 8 b| 2 d| 9 f| 3 h|10 a|
+  || 8| Rabbit       |Tochtli      | 8 h| 2 a| 9 c| 3 e|10 g| 4 i|11 b|
+  || 9| Water        |Atl          | 9 i| 3 b|10 d| 4 f|11 h| 5 a|12 c|
+  ||10| Dog          |Itzcuintli   |10 a| 4 c|11 e| 5 g|12 i| 6 b|13 d|
+  ||11| Ape          |Ozomatli     |11 b| 5 d| 2 f| 6 h|13 a| 7 c| 1 e|
+  ||12| Twisted Grass|Malinalli    |12 c| 6 e|13 g| 7 i| 1 b| 8 d| 2 f|
+  ||13| Reed         |Acatl        |13 d| 7 f| 1 h| 8 a| 2 c| 9 e| 3 g|
+  ||14| Tiger        |Ocelotl      | 1 e| 8 g| 2 i| 9 b| 3 d|10 f| 4 h|
+  ||15| Eagle        |Quauhtli     | 2 f| 9 h| 3 a|10 c| 4 e|11 g| 5 i|
+  ||16| Bird (Aura)  |Cozcaquauhtli| 3 g|10 i| 4 b|11 d| 5 f|12 h| 6 a|
+  ||17| Motion of Sun|Ollin        | 4 h|11 a| 5 c|12 e| 6 g|13 i| 7 b|
+  ||18| Pedestal}    |Tecpatl      | 5 i|12 b| 6 d|13 f| 7 h| 1 a| 8 c|
+  ||  | Silex   }    |             |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
+  ||19| Rain         |Quiahuitl    | 6 a|13 c| 7 e| 1 g| 8 i| 2 b| 9 d|
+  ||20| Flower       |Xochitl      | 7 b| 1 d| 8 f| 2 h| 9 a| 3 c|10 e|
+  ||-------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
+  ||Day of the year corresponding }| 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 |100 |120 |140 |
+  || with last day of each month. }|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
+  ||Day of the Julian year, N. S.,}|Jan.|Feb.|Mar.|Mar.|Apr.|May |May |
+  || on which each month ends.    }| 28 | 17 |  9 | 29 | 18 |  8 | 28 |
+  =====================================================================
+
+MEXICAN ALMANAC, (Table Continued)
+
+ACCORDING TO GAMA.
+
+  Column Headings:
+    A: Names of the months.
+    B: Tititl.
+    C: Itzcalli.
+    D: Xilomanaliztli.
+    E: Tlacaxipehnaliztli.
+    F: Tozoztontli.
+    G: Hueytozoztli.
+    H: Toxcall.
+    I: Etzalqualiztli.
+    J: Tecuilhuitontli.
+    K: Heuytecuilhuitl.
+    L: Miccailhuitonili.
+    M: Heuymiccailhuitl.
+    N: Ochpaniztli.
+    O: Pachtli.
+    P: Heuypachtli.
+    Q: Quecholli.
+    R: Panquetzaliztli.
+    S: Atenioztli.
+    T: The five Nemontemi.
+  =====================================================================
+  ||                A              | I  | J  | K  | L  | M  | N  | O  |
+  ||-------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
+  ||             Months.           |8th |9th |10th|11th|12th|13th|14th|
+  ||                               |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
+  ||Day of the Julian year, N. S.,}|May |June|July|July|Aug.|Sept|Sept|
+  ||on which each month begins.   }|29  |18  | 8  |28  |17  | 6  |26  |
+  ||                               |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
+  || 1| Sea Animal   |Cipactli     |11 f| 5 h|12 a| 6 c|13 e| 7 g| 1 i|
+  || 2| Wind         |Ehecatl      |12 g| 6 i|13 b| 7 d| 1 f| 8 h| 2 a|
+  || 3| House        |Calli        |13 h| 7 a| 1 c| 8 e| 2 g| 9 i| 3 b|
+  || 4| Small Lizard |Cuetzpalin   | 1 i| 8 b| 2 d| 9 f| 3 h|10 a| 4 c|
+  || 5| Serpent      |Cohuatl      | 2 a| 9 c| 3 e|10 g| 4 i|11 b| 5 d|
+  || 6| Death        |Miquiztli    | 3 b|10 d| 4 f|11 h| 5 a|12 c| 6 e|
+  || 7| Deer         |Mazatl       | 4 c|11 e| 5 g|12 i| 6 b|13 d| 7 f|
+  || 8| Rabbit       |Tochtli      | 5 d|12 f| 6 h|13 a| 7 c| 1 e| 8 g|
+  || 9| Water        |Atl          | 6 e|13 g| 7 i| 1 b| 8 d| 2 f| 9 h|
+  ||10| Dog          |Itzcuintli   | 7 f| 1 h| 8 a| 2 c| 9 e| 3 g|10 i|
+  ||11| Ape          |Ozomatli     | 8 g| 2 i| 9 b| 3 d|10 f| 4 h|11 a|
+  ||12| Twisted Grass|Malinalli    | 9 h| 3 a|10 c| 4 e|11 g| 5 i|12 b|
+  ||13| Reed         |Acatl        |10 i| 4 b|11 d| 5 f|12 h| 6 a|13 c|
+  ||14| Tiger        |Ocelotl      |11 a| 5 c|12 e| 6 g|13 i| 7 b| 1 d|
+  ||15| Eagle        |Quauhtli     |12 b| 6 d|13 f| 7 h| 1 a| 8 c| 2 e|
+  ||16| Bird (Aura)  |Cozcaquauhtli|13 c| 7 e| 1 g| 8 i| 2 b| 9 d| 3 f|
+  ||17| Motion of Sun|Ollin        | 1 d| 8 f| 2 h| 9 a| 3 c|10 e| 4 g|
+  ||18| Pedestal}    |Tecpatl      | 2 e| 9 g| 3 i|10 b| 4 d|11 f| 5 h|
+  ||  | Silex   }    |             |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
+  ||19| Rain         |Quiahuitl    | 3 f|10 h| 4 a|11 c| 5 e|12 g| 6 i|
+  ||20| Flower       |Xochitl      | 4 g|11 i| 5 b|12 d| 6 f|13 h| 7 a|
+  ||-------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
+  ||Day of the year corresponding }|160 |180 |200 |220 |240 |260 |280 |
+  || with last day of each month. }|    |    |    |    |    |    |    |
+  ||Day of the Julian year, N. S.,}|June|July|July|Aug.|Sept|Sept|Oct.|
+  || on which each month ends.    }| 17 |  7 | 27 | 16 |  5 | 25 | 15 |
+  =====================================================================
+
+MEXICAN ALMANAC, (Table Continued)
+
+ACCORDING TO GAMA.
+
+  Column Headings:
+    A: Names of the months.
+    B: Tititl.
+    C: Itzcalli.
+    D: Xilomanaliztli.
+    E: Tlacaxipehnaliztli.
+    F: Tozoztontli.
+    G: Hueytozoztli.
+    H: Toxcall.
+    I: Etzalqualiztli.
+    J: Tecuilhuitontli.
+    K: Heuytecuilhuitl.
+    L: Miccailhuitonili.
+    M: Heuymiccailhuitl.
+    N: Ochpaniztli.
+    O: Pachtli.
+    P: Heuypachtli.
+    Q: Quecholli.
+    R: Panquetzaliztli.
+    S: Atenioztli.
+    T: The five Nemontemi.
+  ============================================================
+  ||                A              | P  | Q  | R  | S    T  ||
+  ||-------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----||
+  ||             Months.           |15th|16th|17th|18th|    ||
+  ||                               |    |    |    |    |    ||
+  ||Day of the Julian year, N. S.,}|Oct.|Nov.|Nov.|Dec.|Jan.||
+  ||on which each month begins.   }|16  | 5  |25  |15  |  4 ||
+  ||                               |    |    |    |    |    ||
+  || 1| Sea Animal   |Cipactli     | 8 b| 2 d| 9 f| 3 h| 10 ||
+  || 2| Wind         |Ehecatl      | 9 c| 3 e|10 g| 4 i| 11 ||
+  || 3| House        |Calli        |10 d| 4 f|11 h| 5 a| 12 ||
+  || 4| Small Lizard |Cuetzpalin   |11 e| 5 g|12 i| 6 b| 13 ||
+  || 5| Serpent      |Cohuatl      |12 f| 6 h|13 a| 7 c|    ||
+  || 6| Death        |Miquiztli    |13 g| 7 i| 1 b| 8 d|    ||
+  || 7| Deer         |Mazatl       | 1 h| 8 a| 2 c| 9 e|    ||
+  || 8| Rabbit       |Tochtli      | 2 i| 9 b| 3 d|10 f|    ||
+  || 9| Water        |Atl          | 3 a|10 c| 4 e|11 g|    ||
+  ||10| Dog          |Itzcuintli   | 4 b|11 d| 5 f|12 h|    ||
+  ||11| Ape          |Ozomatli     | 5 c|12 e| 6 g|13 i|    ||
+  ||12| Twisted Grass|Malinalli    | 6 d|13 f| 7 h| 1 a|    ||
+  ||13| Reed         |Acatl        | 7 e| 1 g| 8 i| 2 b|    ||
+  ||14| Tiger        |Ocelotl      | 8 f| 2 h| 9 a| 3 c|    ||
+  ||15| Eagle        |Quauhtli     | 9 g| 3 i|10 b| 4 d|    ||
+  ||16| Bird (Aura)  |Cozcaquauhtli|10 h| 4 a|11 c| 5 e|    ||
+  ||17| Motion of Sun|Ollin        |11 i| 5 b|12 d| 6 f|    ||
+  ||18| Pedestal}    |Tecpatl      |12 a| 6 c|13 e| 7 g|    ||
+  ||  | Silex   }    |             |    |    |    |    |    ||
+  ||19| Rain         |Quiahuitl    |13 b| 7 d| 1 f| 8 h|    ||
+  ||20| Flower       |Xochitl      | 1 c| 8 e| 2 g| 9 i|    ||
+  ||-------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----||
+  ||Day of the year corresponding }|300 |320 |340 |360 |365 ||
+  || with last day of each month. }|    |    |    |    |    ||
+  ||Day of the Julian year, N. S.,}|Nov.|Nov.|Dec.|Jan.|Jan.||
+  || on which each month ends.    }|  4 | 24 | 14 |  3 |  8 ||
+  ============================================================
+
+    In this perpetual almanac, each day in the year is designated 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 series of the 9 night companions, designated in this Table
+    by the letters a, b, ... h, i, viz.:
+
+  a. {Xiuhteuctli.
+     {Tletl.
+  b.  Tecpatl.
+  c.  Xochitl.
+  d.  Cinteotl.
+  e.  Miquiztli.
+  f.  Atl.
+  g.  Tlazolteotl.
+  h.  Tepeyolotli.
+  i.  Quiahuitl.
+
+    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 fourteenth 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 corresponds with ours in the manner stated in the
+    Table. For, on account of our intercalation 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^1, and C^2.
+
+  Column Headings:
+    A: Mexico.
+    B: Tescoco.
+
+  ----------------------------------------------------------------
+  |                         |          |     |    Julian Year.   |
+  |                         | Mexican  |A. D.|Old Style|New Style|
+  |                         |  year.   |     |  A    B |  A    B |
+  |-------------------------+----------+-----+----+----+----+----|
+  |                         |          |     |Dec.|Dec.|Jan.|Dec.|
+  |1st year of Mexican Cycle| 1 Tochtli| 1454|  31|  21|   9|  30|
+  |  Bissextile year        | 3 Tecpatl| 1456|  30|  20|   8|  29|
+  |    do.                  | 7   do.  | 1460|  29|  19|   7|  28|
+  |    do.                  |11   do.  | 1464|  28|  18|   6|  27|
+  |Tescocan inter'n 13 days |          |     |    |    |    |Jan.|
+  |1st year of Tesco'n Cycle| 1 Acatl  | 1467|  28|  31|   6|   9|
+  |  Bissextile year        | 2 Tecpatl| 1468|  27|  30|   5|   8|
+  |    do.                  | 6   do.  | 1472|  26|  29|   4|   7|
+  |    do.                  |10   do.  | 1476|  25|  28|   3|   6|
+  |    do.                  | 1   do.  | 1480|  24|  27|   2|   5|
+  |    do.                  | 5   do.  | 1484|  23|  26|   1|   4|
+  |                         |          |     |    |    |Dec.|    |
+  |    do.                  | 9   do.  | 1488|  22|  25|  31|   3|
+  |    do.                  |13   do.  | 1492|  21|  24|  30|   2|
+  |    do.                  | 4   do.  | 1496|  20|  23|  29|   1|
+  |                         |          |     |    |    |    |Dec.|
+  |    do.                  | 8   do.  | 1500|  19|  22|  28|  31|
+  |    do.                  |12   do.  | 1504|  18|  21|  27|  30|
+  |Mexican intercal 13 days |          |     |    |    |Jan.|    |
+  |1st year of Mexic'n Cycle| 1 Tochtli| 1506|  31|  21|   9|  30|
+  |  Bissextile year        | 3 Tecpatl| 1508|  30|  20|   8|  29|
+  |    do.                  | 7   do.  | 1512|  29|  19|   7|  28|
+  |    do.                  |11   do.  | 1516|  28|  18|   6|  27|
+  |Tescocan inter'n 13 days |          |     |    |    |    |    |
+  |1st year Tesco'n Cycle } |          |     |    |    |    |Jan.|
+  |CortA(C)z enters Mexico   } | 1 Acatl  | 1519|  28|  31|   6|   9|
+  |  Bissextile year        | 2 Tecpatl| 1520|  27|  30|   5|   8|
+  |  Capture of Mexico      | 3 Calli  | 1521|  27|  30|   5|   8|
+  ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+  MEXICAN CYCLE OF 52 YEARS.
+
+   1st year.  | 14th year.  |  27th year. | 40th year.
+              |             |             |
+   1 Tochtli  |  1 Acatl    |  1 Tecpatl  |  1 Calli
+   2 Acatl    |  2 Tecpatl  |  2 Calli    |  2 Tochtli
+   3 Tecpatl  |  3 Calli    |  3 Tochtli  |  3 Acatl
+   4 Calli    |  4 Tochtli  |  4 Acatl    |  4 Tecpatl
+   5 Tochtli  |  5 Acatl    |  5 Tecpatl  |  5 Calli
+   6 Acatl    |  6 Tecpatl  |  6 Calli    |  6 Tochtli
+   7 Tecpatl  |  7 Calli    |  7 Tochtli  |  7 Acatl
+   8 Calli    |  8 Tochtli  |  8 Acatl    |  8 Tecpatl
+   9 Tochtli  |  9 Acatl    |  9 Tecpatl  |  9 Calli
+  10 Acatl    | 10 Tecpatl  | 10 Calli    | 10 Tochtli
+  11 Tecpatl  | 11 Calli    | 11 Tochtli  | 11 Acatl
+  12 Calli    | 12 Tochtli  | 12 Acatl    | 12 Tecpatl
+  13 Tochtli  | 13 Acatl    | 13 Tecpatl  | 13 Calli
+
+  See 1st vol. Ethnol. Trans. ut antea page 63.
+
+[Footnote 13: No doubt tortillias, or maize cakes--still the staff of
+life with all the Indians and, indeed, a favorite and daily food of
+all classes of Mexicans.]
+
+[Footnote 14: Bernal Diaz Del Castillo's Hist. Conq. Mexico.]
+
+[Footnote 15: Prescott, vol. 1, p. 35.]
+
+[Footnote 16: Prescott, vol. 1, p. 39, and compare Lorenzana's edition
+of CortA(C)z's letters.]
+
+[Footnote 17: See Ethnological Trans. 1 vol., p. 96, and Am. Journal of
+Science and Arts, second series, vol. vii., p. 155. March No. for 1849.]
+
+[Footnote 18: 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 cut into it, in which it is asserted that gnomons
+were placed whose shadows on the calendar converted it into a dial.]
+
+
+
+
+  BOOK II.
+
+  NEW SPAIN
+  UNDER THE VICEROYAL GOVERNMENT.
+  1530-1809.
+
+
+
+
+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--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 PROPERTY--INQUISITION.--THE ACTS OF THE
+    INQUISITION--REPARTIMIENTOS.--INDIANS--AGRICULTURISTS--MINERS--
+    MITA.--EXCUSES FOR MALADMINISTRATION.
+
+
+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 their power and diminish their original privileges. The Indians
+who had been divided with the lands among the conquerors by 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 homines,"--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 his word was their supreme law. In 1511,
+Ferdinand created a new governmental department for the control of his
+American subjects, denominated the COUNCIL OF THE INDIES, but it was
+not fully organized until the reign of Charles the Fifth in 1524. The
+_Recopilacion de las leyes de las Indias_ declared that this council
+should have supreme 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 extend over all their interests and affairs; and,
+moreover, that the council, with the royal assent, should make all
+laws and ordinances, necessary for the welfare of those provinces.[19]
+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 political and
+legislative machine was created it began its scheme of law making for
+the colonies, not, however, upon principles of national 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 produce the necessaries or luxuries of life for
+her colonial vassals, whilst they recompensed their parent with a
+bountiful revenue of gold and silver.
+
+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 administration
+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 AUDIENCIAS REALES, or Royal
+Audiences. In addition to the president,--who was the Viceroy, or
+Captain General,--the _audiencia_ or court was composed of a regent,
+three judges, two _fiscales_ 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 exception, 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 jurisdiction, 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 tyrannical 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
+administration. 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 professions; 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 privileges of the
+military, which were extended also to the militia, and the especial
+privileges of the marines, of engineers, and of the 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.[20] Bribery,
+intrigue, delay, denial of justice, 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
+belong exclusively to the Spaniards; and although the Americans were
+equally entitled to them by the laws, they were appointed only in rare
+instances, and even then, not without satiating 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 somewhat dangerous in the face of her cruisers. Spain
+therefore interdicted all commercial intercourse between her colonies
+and the rest 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 permission 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 communication 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 galeons. In 1764, a further improvement was made by the
+establishment 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.[21] 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 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 enabled 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 thousand tons, and many of the vessels made
+no more than annual voyages. The evident motive on the part of the
+crown for limiting 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."[22]
+
+Whilst the commerce of Spain was thus burdened by enormous
+impositions, the colonies were of course cramped in all their
+energies. 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
+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, or 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 contrabandists, and the towns with dishonest tradesmen. Men who
+defraud in acts, will lie in words, nor will they hesitate to conceal
+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 European 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 ecclesiastical. 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 invention, 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
+possessed a "Bull de cruzada" might be absolved from all crimes except
+heresy; nor, could he be suspected even of so deadly a sin, 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 composition" 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 document.
+It had the power to "correct the moral offence of false weights and
+measures; tricks and frauds in trade; all the obliquities 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."[23]
+
+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; consequently the
+actual influence and power of the Hispano-American church, rested in
+the sovereign. The Recopilacion de las leyes expressly prohibits the
+erection of cathedrals, parish churches, monasteries, hospitals,
+native chapels, or other pious or religious edifices, without the
+express license of the monarch.[24] 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. Robertson, "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 oppressive to society in its most improved state. As
+early as 1501 the payment of _tithes_ as it was 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."[25] Thus
+it is that even now, after all the desolating revolutions that have
+occurred, we see the wealth of the Mexican church so exorbitantly
+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 accumulations are
+estimated at a sum not far beneath one hundred millions.[26] 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.[27]
+
+Wherever the church of Rome obtained a foothold in the sixteenth
+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 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. Education was of course modified and
+repressed by such baneful influences. 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 literature.
+Luther, Calvin, Vattel, Montesquieu, Puffendorff, Robertson, Addison,
+and even the Roman Catholic Fenelon, were all proscribed. 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 publication 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.[28]
+
+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 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.[29] 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 ingenuity 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, sagacious 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 unjust 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 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 palliate 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 Bustamante 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.[30]
+
+[Footnote 19: Recop. de las leyes, lib. 2, title 2, ley 2.]
+
+[Footnote 20: Mendez, Observaciones sobre les leyes de Indias y sobre
+la independencia de America. London, 1823. p. 174.]
+
+[Footnote 21: Ward's Mexico in 1827, vol. 1, p. 116.]
+
+[Footnote 22: North American Review, vol. xix. p. 117.]
+
+[Footnote 23: See Pazo's letters on South America, pages 88, 89, North
+American Review, art. antec., pages 186 and 187, et Depons.]
+
+[Footnote 24: Recopilacion, lib. i, Tit. vi, Ley 2, North American
+Review, art. antec. p. 189.]
+
+[Footnote 25: Robertson's Hist. of Amer.; Zavala Hist. Revo. of Mexico.]
+
+[Footnote 26: Otero, Cuestion social, pages 38, 39, 43.]
+
+[Footnote 27: Zavala Hist. Revo. de Mexico, pages 16, 17, vol. 1.]
+
+[Footnote 28: See Zavala, vol. 1, p. 52.]
+
+[Footnote 29: See British Parliamentary Report on the condition of the
+miners and mining districts.]
+
+[Footnote 30: "Los Tres Siglos de Mejico, durante el Gobierno
+EspaA+-ol," 1521 to 1766, written by Father Andres Cavo, of the Society
+of Jesus; 1767 to 1821, written by Don Carlos Maria Bustamante.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+1530-1551.
+
+    FOUNDING OF THE VICEROYALTY OF NEW SPAIN.--NEW
+    AUDIENCIA--FUENLEAL--MENDOZA.--EARLY ACTS OF THE FIRST
+    VICEROY--COINAGE.--REBELLION IN JALISCO--VICEROY SUPPRESSES
+    IT.--COUNCIL OF THE INDIES ON REPARTIMIENTOS.--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 NuA+-o 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 Flanders, 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 impersonation 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, removable at the royal pleasure, as well as selected
+from among those Spanish nobles whose fidelity to the crown was
+unquestionable, 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.
+
+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 nomination. 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 _Audiencia_, 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 Audiencia, 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 civilized 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 attention 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 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 manifestations 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 disseminated 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 endeavoring 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 endeavored 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 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 41stA deg. 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 ecclesiastics 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 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 permanently
+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 discontents 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 abandoned; and the Indians were not, as a class, to be solely
+devoted to ignoble tasks.[31] 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 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,--permission was granted by the
+authorities, to appoint certain representatives 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
+enforcing 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 proprietors 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 natives. The principle of compulsory labor was
+established forever; 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 considered 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 expedition to Pedro de Alvarado, after having
+refused CortA(C)z permission 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 viceroy 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
+reconnoisance 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 enchanted 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
+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 convocation
+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 subjected 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 Mendoza 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 suppressed
+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 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 unregulated 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
+enforcement 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 acceptance 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 prophecy 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.
+
+[Footnote 31: Herrera Decade vii., lib. vi., chap. v.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+1551-1564.
+
+    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 CORTA%Z.--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 MUA'OZ 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 government. He was
+selected by the Emperor as a person deemed eminently fitted to sustain
+the judicious policy of his predecessor; and it is 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 opportunity 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, notwithstanding 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 was expected,
+created extraordinary discontent. The cupidity of the sovereign and of
+his representative were appealed to. It was alleged that not only
+would 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., bestowed upon it the same
+privileges and rights as were enjoyed by that of Salamanca in Spain.
+
+But this was 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 historians, 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 viceroyalty,
+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, permanently, sufficient numbers
+of troops to protect the adjacent 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
+considerable 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 following 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 disastrous 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 preserving
+the peace in Mexico,--in opening the resources of the country in
+mines, agriculture and pastoral affairs,--and in alleviating 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 invariably consulted the Audiencia in
+all emergencies. But, just and loyal as had been his official conduct,
+it had not saved him from 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. Counter 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_ Valderrama,
+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 expedition to the
+Philipine islands which the king had ordered him to colonize. But
+whilst he was engaged in organizing his forces and preparing for the
+voyage, his health suddenly gave way, and on the 31st of July, 1564,
+he expired amid the general grief of all the 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 government
+remained in the hands of the Royal Audiencia, in conformity 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 prepared 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 was an important one, at least in the social history of
+Mexico, for it was fraught with danger to the son and representative
+of the illustrious conqueror. The Marques del Valle, heir of Hernando
+CortA(C)z, had been for sometime established in the capital, where he
+formed the nucleus of a noble circle, and was admired by all classes
+for the splendor with which he maintained the 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 imprudent conduct or expressions of Alonso,
+made him suspected by persons who simulated an extraordinary zeal for
+the Spanish monarchy, whilst, in fact, their chief object was to
+ingratiate themselves 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 daughters of the
+Marques del Valle, whose sponsors were Don Lucas de Castilla and DoA+-a
+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 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 completed and the infants were borne back
+to their home through the covered way, the spectators in the _plaza_
+were amused by a chivalric 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 rarities,--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 CortA(C)z by the Emperor Montezuma.
+Alonso, splendidly attired, 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
+government of the New World. But it is probable that he had unwisely
+made enemies of men in power who were either ridiculously suspicious,
+or eagerly sought for any pretext, no matter how silly, to lay violent
+hands upon the son of CortA(C)z. It is probable, too, that the
+prestige,--the moral power,--of the great conqueror'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 the policy of the Audiencia and its coadjutors to
+drive the gallant Marques from 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 CortA(C)z, was allowed
+to pass over. The oidores and their spies, meditating in secret over
+the crowning of CortA(C)z and his wife by Avila, and the remarkable words
+by which the graceful act was accompanied, resolved to embrace the
+first opportunity to detect what they declared 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 wicked 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, convened under the pretext of military display,
+were to be stationed in the way, while, from a small turret in which he
+had concealed himself, Don Martin CortA(C)z, the son of the conqueror by
+the Indian 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 feigned to have
+heard through their trusty spies. Nearly a month before the dreaded
+day, however, the Audiencia assembled, and requested the presence of
+the Marques del Valle, under the pretext that despatches had been
+received from the king of Spain, which, by his special order, were
+only to be opened in presence of the son of CortA(C)z. The Marques, who
+imagined no evil, immediately responded to the call of the oidores,
+and the moment he entered the hall the doors were guarded by armed
+men. CortA(C)z was ordered to seat himself on a common stool, while one
+of the functionaries 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 lie!_" exclaimed
+CortA(C)z, springing from his seat, and grasping the hilt of his
+dagger;--"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 apprehended, and orders were sent to the city of
+Tezcoco for the seizure of Don Luis CortA(C)z 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 confirmation
+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 Gonzalez, 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 CortA(C)z 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 earnest
+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 appeal for mercy
+if not for justice, the inexorable oidores carried out their
+remorseless and bloody decree. It is even asserted that these cruel
+men would not have hesitated to inflict capital punishment 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 proceeding was
+founded in malice. The oidores were removed, and 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 withheld 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 a 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, represented 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 childishness could ever have proceeded
+from men who were deputed to govern the greatest colony of Spain. Yet
+such is the unquestionable fact, and it indicates, at once, the
+character of the age and of the men who managed, through the intrigues
+of court, to 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 CortA(C)z and the distinguished nobleman
+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,
+MuA+-oz, 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 MuA+-oz took possession 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 MuA+-oz whose
+tyrannical conduct soon destroyed all the confidence which hitherto
+had always existed, at least between the Audiencia and the people of
+the metropolis.[32] 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, therefore, not surprised when he learned the truth
+upon these weighty matters in the year 1568. The government of MuA+-oz,
+his visitador, was, moreover, represented to him as cruel and bloody.
+The conduct of the previous Audiencia had been humane when compared
+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 CortA(C)z, 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 imagined 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
+government,--began to tremble when it experienced the humiliating
+contempt with which it was invariably treated by the monster MuA+-oz.
+
+But all these acts of maladministration were more safely reported 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 MuA+-oz. He despatched the
+oidores Villanueva and Vasco de Puga, to Mexico, with orders to MuA+-oz
+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 MuA+-oz had retired to the convent of Santo Domingo,
+probably as a sanctuary, in order to pass Holy Week. But the impatient
+emissaries, responding to the joyful impatience of the people,
+immediately followed him to his retreat, and, after waiting a
+considerable time in the anti-chamber, and being, at last, most
+haughtily received by MuA+-oz, 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 thoughtful,
+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
+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 went harder with MuA+-oz. 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 CortA(C)z 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.
+
+[Footnote 32: Liceo Mexicano vol. 1, p. 263, et seq.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+1568-1589.
+
+    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.--REFORMS UNDER A NEW VICEROY.--HIS POWER AS
+    VICEROY AND INQUISITOR.--ZUA'IGA VICEROY.--TREASURE--PIRACY.--
+    CAVENDISH--DRAKE CAPTURES A GALEON. ZUA'IGA AND THE AUDIENCIA OF
+    GUADALAJARA--HIS DEPOSITION 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 Visitadores. 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 have 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 Audiencia 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 edifices which were ceded to them for
+that purpose by Alonso Villaseca. The brethren of the holy office, or
+inquisition, meanwhile organized _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 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 dreadful 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 in 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 industry 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 permitting 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 the palace to see
+the viceroy on a matter of business for his convent, and had been
+forced to wait a considerable time without being finally honored with
+an audience. The petulant friar regarded this as a slight upon the
+brotherhood, and, shortly afterwards, 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 ecclesiastics 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
+A†gipto," 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 viceroyalty
+of Peru.
+
+
+DON LORENZO XUARES, CONDE DE LA CORUA'A, V. VICEROY OF MEXICO.
+1580-1583.
+
+Don Lorenzo Xuares, Conde de la CoruA+-a, 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 speculation and adventure
+had not yet passed by, and of course, the corruption which ever
+follows in their train required still to be closely watched and
+quickly checked. To this duty Xuares did 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 speculators
+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 readjust the
+disorganized realm.
+
+The commerce of New Spain had augmented astonishingly within a few
+years. Vera Cruz and Acapulco had become splendid emporiums 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,[33] 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, probably 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 conspicuous a part.
+
+
+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 viceroy for a
+Visitador, until Don Pedro de Contreras, placed in their hands the
+despatch from Philip, naming him for this important service.
+
+The archbishop was a man well known in Mexico. Cold, austere, 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 controlled 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 overwhelming power before which the most daring
+offenders would not venture 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
+officials. 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 revengeful
+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 any of
+his predecessors. He was, thus, empowered to remove, at will, all
+persons from public employment, and even to expel ministers 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 tribunals 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.[34] In
+1585, a seminary for the Indians was established, 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 celebrated 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 thousand 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, however, 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 heretofore seen
+were sometimes so actively and successfully employed both in Mexico
+and Spain. In October of 1585, his successor arrived in the capital.
+
+
+DON ALVARO ENRIQUE DE ZUA'IGA, MARQUES DE VILLA MANRIQUE, 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 continue 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 ZuA+-iga 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 merchandise 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, 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 Acapulco, 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 concealment 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. ZuA+-iga 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, however, was jealous of its rights, and
+would not yield to the viceroy who was equally pertinacious. The
+dispute ran high between the 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, fortunately never actually engaged in combat.
+
+This ill judged act of the viceroy was fatal to his power. Letters and
+petitions were forthwith despatched to Madrid requiring and begging
+the removal of a man whose rashness was near producing a civil war.
+This was a charge not to be disregarded by the king, and, accordingly,
+we find that a successor to ZuA+-iga 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 ZuA+-iga, 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.
+
+[Footnote 33: This was a mercantile tribunal.]
+
+[Footnote 34: The Indians alluded to in this passage were vaguely
+designated as Chichimecas, Otomics, 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.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+1589-1607.
+
+    LUIS DE VELASCO--THE SECOND--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 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, ZuA+-iga, 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 countryman. As soon as
+he was seated in power his first acts demonstrated his good sense and
+mature judgment. His wish was to develope 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 established 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 interested
+foreign traders, but the viceroy firmly maintained his determination
+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. Velasco 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 christian 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 accustomed 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 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 condition
+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 beautifully shaded avenues and
+walks,--embellished by fountains and filled with every thing that can
+give repose or comfort to the fatigued 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 particularly 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 immediately 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 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 gatherer 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,
+reserved 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 found to be too profitable among
+the officials, to be abandoned without a severe struggle. We are
+unable to discover that the viceroy, in this instance, 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 OA+-ate, Velasco
+received a despatch informing him that he had been named viceroy of
+Peru, and that his successor Don Gaspar de ZuA+-iga Acebedo, Conde de
+Monterey, would soon appear in the colonial metropolis.
+
+
+DON GASPAR DE ZUA'IGA 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 undertake the direction of affairs whilst he was
+altogether unacquainted both with the temper of the people and the
+nature of their institutions. An early measure, 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 protection of domestic industry,
+but which had been perverted for the 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 followers 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
+disembarked 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 OA+-ate, and, in order to exhibit 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 extraordinary mineral wealth which was
+to be obtained in these unexplored portions of New Spain; and,
+accordingly, when the standard 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 disastrous. Quarrels
+had originated among the adventurers, who asserted 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
+advantage of residing with their families permanently in such distant
+outposts, 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 and
+refractory vagabond Indians who wandered about the territory under the
+name of Mexicans and Otomies. Whilst they maintained their perfectly
+nomadic state it was evident that they 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 uncontrolled 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, without 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
+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 religious 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 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 tranquillity
+throughout the colony. During the preceding administrations 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 completion. 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 beyond the city, served, also, as additional barriers against
+the waters. After the completion of these highways, he next directed
+his attention 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, engaged 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 pass 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 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.
+
+
+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.[35] 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,
+chronologically, out of the period under consideration, and lead us
+from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century.
+
+The valley of Mexico is a great basin, which although seven thousand
+five hundred feet above the level of the sea, and of course subject to
+constant and rapid evaporation, is yet exceedingly humid for so elevated
+a region. No stream, except the small _arroyo_, or rivulet of
+Tequisquiac, issues from the valley, whilst the rivers Papalotla,
+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 Tezcoco, 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 forms 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,[36] and,
+consequently, was nine varas and five inches lower than that of the lake
+of Zumpango; a disproportion, the effects of which have been more
+severely 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."[37]
+
+Such is a topographical sketch of the country accurately given by a
+careful writer; and to protect an important region so constantly
+menaced with inundation, the viceroy now addressed himself.
+Accordingly he commissioned the engineer Enrique Martinez, in 1607 to
+attempt the drainage of the lake of Zumpango, by the 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 likewise
+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 hundred metres[38] 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 unbaked 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 undermined 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 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 sudden 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
+volume of water, closed the mouth of the tunnel, without communicating
+to any one his intention to do so. The effect was instantaneous; 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 paralyzed; 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 disappeared; 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 viceroy,--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,[39] 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 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 communication between the lakes can be effected and
+regulated at the same time. The whole was concluded, like the gallery
+of Nochistongo, in eleven months, although as many years would now be
+required for such an undertaking. But in those days the sacrifice of
+life, and particularly of Indian life, in public works, was not
+regarded. Many thousands of the natives perished before the _desague_
+was completed; and to their loss, as well as to the hardships endured
+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 perpendicular 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-seven 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 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 connected 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."[40]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+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
+neighborhood 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 hundred soldiers,
+one hundred volunteers, one hundred Indian archers, 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 the
+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 colonial 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 unquestionable
+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 retain 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 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 appease 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 themselves to be the defenders of their race. Don Gaspar Alvear,
+Governor 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 functionary
+succeeded in suffocating the rebellion; but he was probably 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 renowned for
+the excellent tobacco it produces,--and for the construction of the
+beautiful aqueduct of San CosmA(C) which brings the sweet waters of Santa
+FA(C) 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.
+
+[Footnote 35: 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.]
+
+[Footnote 36: The level of Tezcoco is now, according to MA1/4hlenpfordt,
+five feet seven inches (Spanish) below that of the city of Mexico.]
+
+[Footnote 37: Ward's Mexico in 1827, vol. 2, p. 282 et seq.]
+
+[Footnote 38: The metre is equal to thirty-nine thousand three hundred
+and seventy-one English inches.]
+
+[Footnote 39: The Calzada of San Cristoval was originally erected,
+according to good authority, in the year 1605. See Liceo Mexicano,
+vol. 2, p. 6.]
+
+[Footnote 40: Ward, vol. 2, p. 283, et seq.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+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 EXCOMMUNICATED.--ARCHBISHOP AT GUADALUPE--HE
+    IS ARRESTED AT THE ALTAR--SENT TO SPAIN.--MEXIA THREATENED.--MOB
+    ATTACKS THE PALACE--IT IS SACKED.--VICEROY ESCAPES.--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.[41]
+
+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 quietness, during several
+of the last viceroyal reigns, had indicated either a very good or a
+very bad government, which it was impossible for the king to examine
+personally. Accordingly Gelves took the reins with a firm hand. He
+found many of the departments of government in a bad condition, and is
+said to have reformed certain abuses which were gradually undermining
+the political and social structure of the colony. In these duties the
+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 correspond so well with our
+personal knowledge of them, at present, that we are scarcely at
+liberty to question his fidelity as a historian.[42]
+
+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 somewhat in
+other viceroys, seems in Gelves unbounded. He resolved to achieve his
+end by a bold stroke; and, in 1623, having determined 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 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 throughout 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 from
+hour to hour in the churches. The doors of chapels, cathedrals and
+religious buildings were firmly closed. A death-like silence prevailed
+over the land. No familiar bells sounded for matins 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 cordially with the people. The church mourned for the
+unnatural pains her rebellious son had brought upon her patient
+children. But still 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 demanded protection
+from Gelves. The viceroy admitted him and 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 commanded 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 compassion, and that the offender's contempt for his
+excommunication had deserved the rigor of both of his censures,
+neither of which he would recall until Don Pedro de Mexia submitted
+himself reverently to the church, received public absolution, and
+threw up the unconscionable monopoly wherewith he had wronged the
+commonwealth." "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
+Theodosius," 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 archbishop,
+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 bear without resentment,
+and left no means open for conciliation between 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 gorgeous
+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 moment, 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
+excommunicated he regarded him as beyond the pale of the church and in
+no 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 Mexicans 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
+farewell 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 equipped 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 displeasure openly against
+Mexia and the viceroy. The temper of the masses was at once noticed by
+the clergy, who were still faithful to their persecuted bishop, nor
+did they hesitate to fan the 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 pursuers. Meantime the
+news had spread over town that this "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 intention 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
+juncture 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 obtained
+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 respectable
+citizens and police. Thereupon the viceroy ascended to the azotA(C)a 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 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 azotA(C)a, 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 inflammable 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 extinguish 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 representative 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!
+
+[Footnote 41: "Como Rey y SeA+-or de las EspaA+-as," says the authority.]
+
+[Footnote 42: "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 impartial 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 _five_ 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.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+1624-1642.
+
+    THE AUDIENCIA RULES IN THE INTERREGNUM.--CARILLO
+    VISITADOR.--INQUISITORIAL 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.
+
+
+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 restrain 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. 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 this
+occasion for so delicate and dangerous a duty. It is true that the
+church, through the late archbishop, 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 investigation been intrusted exclusively to a civil and not an
+ecclesiastical 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 impartiality 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 insurrection had
+absented themselves from the capital, and prudently remained in
+concealment until the Visitador terminated his examinations, 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 surrendered 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 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.
+
+
+DON LOPE DIAZ DE ARMENDARIZ, MARQUES DE CADEREITA, 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 _obvenciones_ or tributes of the Indian
+converts, formed no small item of corporate wealth in their respective
+orders. The Indians were, in fact, lawful tributaries, 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 Churubusco, 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
+characteristic 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 credulous
+Philip having heard that his viceroy exhibited some evidences of
+attachment to the Portuguese, resolved to supercede him by Palafox.
+Besides this, the Duke committed the impolitic act of appointing 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_, he unluckily,
+remarked that he liked best the horse that was offered by _Portugal_!
+It is difficult to believe that such trifles would affect the destiny
+of empires, when they were discussed by grave statesmen and monarchs.
+But such was the miserable reign of Philip IV.;--the most disastrous
+indeed, in the annals of Spain, except that of Roderic the Goth. Folly
+like this may justly be attributed to the imbecile king, who witnessed
+the Catalan insurection, the loss of Rousillon, Conflans, a part of
+CordaA+-a, Jamaica, and, above all, of Portugal; and who, moreover,
+recognized the independence 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.
+
+The administration of Palafox as viceroy was of but short duration. 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 all 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 eyes 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 be 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; prepared 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
+    PROPERTY.--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 Palafox 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 skilfully 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 viceroyalty of Sicily. Before he departed for the
+seat of government, he gave the king many wise councils as to his
+American colonies, but, especially advised him to colonize the
+Californias. Don Pedro Portal de CasaA+-ete 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 aggregating 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 prejudiced 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 real estate by
+monasteries, inasmuch as the time might come when these establishments
+would be the only proprietors.
+
+Meanwhile CasaA+-ete 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 he was about to
+sail, two of his vessels were burned, whereupon his soldiers
+dispersed, whilst the families of his colonists withdrew, 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 remain at
+peace with the state. In 1647, this lordly churchman engaged in warm
+discussion with the Jesuits and other orders. Most scandalous scenes
+occurred in the churches of Puebla. Anathemas, excommunications, and
+all the artillery of the church were used against each other. Palafox
+persevered in his rancorous controversy 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 extended from
+the 13th of March, 1648, to the 22d of April, 1649, when the
+bishop-governor died, and was sumptuously interred in the church of
+San Agustin in the city of Mexico.
+
+
+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 immediately 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 manners, 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 vexatious outbreak among the northern Indians, who had
+remained quiet for so long that it was supposed they were finally and
+successfully 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 inhabited
+portions of Chihuahua and Sinaloa, and who hitherto yielded implicitly
+to the gentle and persuasive voice of the evangelical teachers
+dwelling among them. The portion of this tribe inhabiting 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 Spaniards, 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 slaughtered
+and burned. San Francisco was the settlement which supplied the local
+missions with provisions, and its loss was consequently 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 insurgents,
+who fled when they had destroyed the great depot of the Spaniards.
+The troops, hardy as they were on these distant 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 satisfied that no time
+was to be lost in crushing the rebellion, and, accordingly marched
+with Juan Barraza, to the seat of war with an adequate force. The
+Indians had meanwhile left their villages and betaken themselves to
+the mountains, woods and fastnesses. Fajardo immediately burned their
+abandoned habitations and desolated 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 be 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 well
+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 of 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 of 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 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 retired, 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 skilfully 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, where, however, they did not long
+remain faithful to their promised allegiance. The new garrison was
+established, as had been commanded by the viceroy; but, in 1652, the
+relentless tribes, again seizing an unguarded moment, burned the
+barracks, and destroyed in the flames a number of Spaniards, two
+Franciscan monks, and a Jesuit priest. The soldiery of Barraza and the
+governor retired from the doomed spot, amid showers of Indian arrows.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In 1653, the war was resumed. The whole country was aroused 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 government 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 DoA+-a 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 the internal administration of affairs. He
+zealously promoted the public 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 highways of the colony. Great numbers of these
+wretches were soon seized and hanged after summary trials.
+
+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 engaged 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 remembered 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 intelligent,
+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.
+
+
+DON JUAN DE LEYVA Y DE LA CERDA, MARQUES DE LEYVA Y DE LA CERDA, COUNT
+DE BAA'OS XXIII. VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN. 1660-1664.
+
+The successor of the Duke of Alburquerque entered Mexico on the 16th
+of September, 1660. Don Juan de Leyva y de la Cerda approached the
+colony with the best wishes and resolutions to advance its prosperity
+and glory. His earliest efforts were directed to the pacification of
+the Tarahumares, whose insurrection was still entirely unquelled, and
+whose successes were alarmingly disastrous in New Mexico, whither they
+advanced in the course of their savage warfare. With the same liberal
+spirit that characterized his predecessor, he continued to be the
+zealous friend of those remote, frontier colonists, and, in a short
+time, formed twenty-four 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 the Indians
+stirred up sedition in the south as well as at the north. The natives
+of Tehuantepec were, at this period, moved to rebellion, with the hope
+of securing their personal liberty, even if they could not reconquer
+their national independence. Spanish forces were immediately marched
+to crush the insurrection; but the soft children of the south were not
+as firmly pertinacious in resistance as their sturdier brothers of the
+northern frontier. More accessible to the gentle voices of an
+insinuating clergy, they yielded to the persuasive eloquence of the
+bishop Ildefonzo Davalos, who, animated by honest and humane zeal for
+the children of the forest, went among the incensed tribes, and, by
+kindness, secured the submission which arms could not compel at the
+north. For this voluntary and valuable service the sovereign conferred
+on him the mitre of Mexico, which, in the year 1664, was renounced by
+Osorio Escobar.
+
+The only other event of note, during this viceroyalty, was an attempt
+at colonization and pearl fishing on the coasts of California by
+Bernal PiA+-aredo, who seems rather to have disturbed than to have
+benefitted the sparse settlers on those distant shores. He was coldly
+received on his return by the viceroy, who formally accused him to the
+court for misconduct during the expedition.
+
+Don Juan de Leyva sailed for Spain in 1664, and soon after died,
+afflicted by severe family distresses, and, especially by the
+misconduct of his son and heir.
+
+
+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 successor 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 irreparable 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, and, with eager and envious glances at the possessions of
+the 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 smugglers, 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 personage 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.
+
+
+DON PEDRO NUA'O COLON DE PORTUGAL, DUKE OF VERAGUAS AND KNIGHT OF THE
+GOLDEN FLEECE, XXVI. VICEROY OF 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.[43] 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.
+
+[Footnote 43:
+
+      "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 MEXICO.--SUCCESS
+    OF THE INDIANS.--COLONY DESTROYED.--EFFORTS OF THE SPANIARDS TO
+    RECONQUER.--VERA CRUZ SACKED.--COUNT MONCLOVA VICEROY.--COUNT
+    GALVE VICEROY.--TARRAHUMARIC REVOLT.--INDIANS PACIFIED.--TEXAS.--
+    HISPANIOLA ATTACKED.--INSURRECTION--BURNING OF THE PALACE.--
+    FAMINE--EARTHQUAKE.
+
+
+FRAY PAYO ENRIQUEZ DE RIVERA, ARCHBISHOP OF MEXICO, XXVII. VICEROY OF
+NEW SPAIN. 1674-1680.
+
+The Duke of Veraguas, as we 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 had
+shown not only for the social, artistical and political improvement 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 Cuenca, 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 conspiracy 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
+Indians, 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 labored 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 FA(C), which was the seat of government and the
+residence of the wealthiest and most distinguished inhabitants of the
+north. But the garrison was warned in time by a few natives who still
+remained faithful to their foreign task-masters, and was thus enabled
+to muster its forces and to put its arms in order, so as to receive
+the meditated assault. The Spanish soldiers allowed the rebellious
+conspirators to approach their defences, until they were sure of their
+aim, and, then, discharging their pieces upon the impetuous masses,
+covered the fields with dead and wounded. But the brave Indians were
+too excited, resolved and 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 shouts and warwhoops continually rent the air. Clouds
+of arrows, and showers of stones were discharged on the heads of the
+beleagured townsmen. No man dared show himself beyond the covering of
+houses and parapets; and thus, for ten days, the Indian siege was
+unintermitted for a single moment around the walls of Santa FA(C). At the
+expiration of this period the provisions as well as the munitions of
+the Spaniards were expended, and the wretched inhabitants, who could
+no longer endure the stench from the carcasses of the slain which lay
+in putrefying heaps around their town, resolved 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. Advancing cautiously from house to house and
+street to street, they saw that Santa FA(C) 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, accordingly,
+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 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 controlling presence of ampler
+forces. They contented themselves, therefore, with destroying towns,
+plantations, 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 successful
+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 FA(C), 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 strongholds 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 controlling the natives elsewhere. 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 stringent measure of the viceroy from freeing themselves from
+the Spanish yoke.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The administration of the Marques de la Laguna was an unfortunate one
+for his peace if not for his fame. The expedition which 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 a 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 committed 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, and 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 adventurers 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 the 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 despatched several Spanish men of war
+and launches to scour the harbors 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 expected to encounter in that quarter.
+
+The Conde de Monclova contemplated various plans for the consolidation
+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 predecessor for
+Peru, he learned that the fears of that functionary had been realized
+by the discovery of attempts by the French to found settlements 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 Frenchmen, who had no doubt been engaged in
+the erection of the stronghold 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 would have been lost, had not the Jesuits, who enjoyed
+considerable influence over the insurgent tribes, devoted themselves,
+forthwith, to calming the excited bands. Among the foremost of these
+clerical benefactors of Spain was the noble Milanese Jesuit,
+Salvatierra, whose authority over the Indians was perhaps paramount to
+all others, and whose successful zeal was acknowledged by a 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 subjecting 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 virtue of
+new orders received from Charles; and, whilst the preparations 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 consequence, 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 and 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 occupied 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 battle 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, 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 suspicious 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 diligent 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
+ensuing 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 Pensacola, who
+designed and laid the foundations of the fortifications of this
+important port. Three years afterwards, before the termination of his
+command in New Spain, Galve had the satisfaction to 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 morning. But amid all
+these afflictions, which were regarded by multitudes 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 expedition which the English
+and Spaniards united in fitting out against the French who still
+maintained their hold on the island of Hispaniola. This adventure was
+perfectly successful. The combined 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 satisfactorily terminated, and he returned to Spain
+after eight years of government, renowned for the equity and prudence
+of his administration during a period of unusual peril.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+1696-1734.
+
+    MONTAA'EZ VICEROY.--SPIRITUAL CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA.--VALLADARES
+    VICEROY.--FAIR AT ACAPULCO.--SPANISH MONARCHY--AUSTRIA--BOURBON.--
+    MONTAA'EZ VICEROY.--JESUITS IN CALIFORNIA.--LA CUEVA VICEROY.--DUKE
+    DE LINARES 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 MONTAA'EZ, BISHOP OF MICHOACAN, XXXI. VICEROY OF NEW
+SPAIN. 1696-1702.
+
+Scarcely had Galve departed, and the new episcopal viceroy MontaA+-ez
+assumed the reins of government, on the 27th of February, 1696, when
+news reached Mexico that a French squadron 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 always 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 were not conciliatory, and
+whose purposes were altogether selfish, did not contribute to
+strengthen the ties between the Spaniards and the natives. Indeed, the
+Indians continually complained of the fishermen's ill usage, and were
+unwilling to enter either into trade or friendship with so wild a
+class of unsettled visitors. The colonial efforts, previously made,
+had failed in consequence of the scarcity of supplies, nor could
+sufficient forces be spared to compel the submission of the large and
+savage tribes that dwelt in those remote regions. Accordingly, when
+the worthy Father Salvatierra, moved by the descriptions of Father
+Kino, prayed the Audiencia to intrust the reduction of the Californias
+to the care of the Jesuits, who would undertake it without supplies
+from the 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 cost 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 contract with
+the zealous missionaries, the government of MontaA+-ez was terminated by
+the arrival of his successor, the Conde de Montezuma.
+
+
+DON JOSA% SARMIENTO VALLADARES, COUNT DE MONTEZUMA Y TULA XXXII.
+VICEROY OF MEXICO. 1696-1702.
+
+The Conde de Montezuma arrived in Mexico on the 18th of December,
+1696. Early in the ensuing January the annual galeon from the
+Philipine islands reached the port of Acapulco, and this 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 viceroyalty in
+merchandise from China. Hardly had the festivities of 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 discontent, as they had done five years
+before, against the supreme 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
+meanwhile 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.[44]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+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 successor 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 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 returned to Spain after four
+years of uneventful rule.
+
+
+DON JUAN DE ORTEGA MONTAA'EZ, ARCHBISHOP OF MEXICO, HIS SECOND
+VICEROYALTY. XXXIII. VICEROY OF MEXICO. 1701-1702.
+
+The brief period during which the archiepiscopal viceroy exercised 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.
+
+
+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 necessary to consolidate
+a loyal alliance between the throne and its American possessions,
+during the dangerous period in which portions 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 extended the government of provinces
+and the custody of his strongholds and fastnesses to Spaniards upon
+whose fidelity he could implicitly 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 enemy'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.
+
+
+DON FERNANDO ALCENCASTRE NOROA'A 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 government
+distinguished, in fact, by any matter which will make it particularly
+memorable in the history of New Spain.
+
+In 1712, 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 interminable. 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 Asiento_, which was put in force
+in Vera Cruz and other Spanish ports, resulted most beneficially 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 continued 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 manifested 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 commanded 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 savages to
+abandon their nomadic habits for the quieter life of villagers. This
+was always the most successful effort of the Spaniards in controlling
+the restless wanderers and hunters of the wilderness. 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 Indians which was in reality
+nothing but slavery.
+
+    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 Purification 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.
+
+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 ZUA'IGA 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 which 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 importance 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 intrigued 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, 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 necessity of strengthening
+the frontier. Levies were, therefore, immediately made. Munitions were
+despatched to the north. And five 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.[45]
+
+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 because 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.
+
+
+DON JUAN DE ACUA'A, 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 nation
+committed to their charge, than to trace the intrigues or exhibit the
+misconduct of those functionaries and their courtiers. We have
+abstained, therefore, from noticing many of the corrupt practices
+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 viceroyalty of the Marques
+de Casa-Fuerte, we cannot justly avoid observing the marked and moral
+change he wrought in the government 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 throughout 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 to the old
+sovereign continued unabated; and during the unusually long and
+successful government of this viceroy, the greatest cordiality 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 encounter 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 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 constantly at heart. Philip V. fully
+appreciated his meritorious services, 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,"
+answered 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 CosmA(C) and Damian.
+
+[Footnote 44: In 1697 there was an eruption of the volcano of
+Popocatepetl, on the 29th of October.]
+
+[Footnote 45: 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 foundation 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 establishments 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, immediately 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.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+1734-1760.
+
+    VIZARRON AND EGUIARRETA VICEROY--EVENTLESS GOVERNMENT.--SALAZAR
+    VICEROY--COLONIAL FEARS.--FUEN-CLARA VICEROY--GALEON LOST.--MEXICO
+    UNDER REVILLA-GIGEDO I.--FERDINAND VI.--INDIANS--TAXES--COLONIES
+    IN THE NORTH.--FAMINE--MINES AT BOLAA'OS--HORCASITAS.--CHARACTER 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 disturbed the quiet of
+colonial life but a severe epidemic, which is said to have resembled
+the yellow fever, and carried off many thousands 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.
+
+
+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, finding 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 approaching 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 constant 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 departed for the eastern districts of New Spain
+upon the warlike mission, 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
+admiration of the Mexican people for the lost favor of his king. Upon
+his death the Audiencia took charge of the government, and continued
+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.
+
+
+DON PEDRO CEBRIAN Y AGUSTIN, COUNT DE FUEN-CLARA. 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 without 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 valuable products of Mexico. This
+period of the viceroyalty must necessarily 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 enterprises 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 commerce of Castile, while Mexico devoted all her
+energies to the development 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
+occupied by industrious settlers and zealous curates, who were engaged
+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 romantic or
+adventurous era of early settlement when danger and difficulty
+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 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
+precious metals! The population of the capital amounted to fifty
+thousand families composed of Spaniards, Europeans and creoles,--forty
+thousand mestizos, mulattoes, negroes,--and eight thousand Indians,
+who inhabited the suburbs. This population annually 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 thousand 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
+_Administrador-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 Tenochas 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 the several provinces of the viceroyalty the Indian
+tributes were collected through the intervention of one hundred and
+forty-nine chief _alcaldes_ who governed them, and who, before they took
+possession 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 enumerated.
+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 JosA(C) 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 Camargo. 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 protection 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 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 BolaA+-os were discovered, some of the poor emigrants found
+work and food in a district whose sudden mineral importance induced the
+merchants to supply it liberally with provisions. 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
+province,--the Count Revilla-Gigedo, was recalled, at his own request,
+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
+propriety 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
+father in requiring from his butler, each night an exact account of
+every cent that was spent during the day, and every dish that was
+prepared in his kitchen.
+
+Notwithstanding the notorious and corrupting habits of the first
+count, that personage contrived to exercise an extraordinary influence
+or control over the masses in Mexico. The people feared and respected
+him; and, upon a certain occasion, when they were roused in the
+capital and gathered in menacing mobs, this resolute viceroy, whose
+wild and savage aspect aided the authority of his determined address,
+rode into the midst of the turbulent assemblage without a soldier in
+attendance, and immediately dispersed the revolutionists by the mere
+authority of his presence and command.
+
+
+DON AGUSTIN DE AHUMADA Y VILLALON, MARQUES DE LAS AMARILLAS, XLII.
+VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN. 1755-1760.
+
+The government of the Marques de las Amarillas commenced on the 10th
+of November, 1755; and he immediately devoted himself to the task of
+reforming many of the abuses which had doubtless crept into the
+administration of public affairs during the reign of his trafficing
+predecessor. Valuable mineral deposits were discovered in New Leon,
+whose veins were found so rich and tempting that crowds of miners from
+Zacatecas and Guanajuato flocked to the prolific region. Great works
+were commenced to facilitate the working of the drifts, but the wealth
+which had so suddenly appeared on the scene as if by magic, vanished
+amid the interminable quarrels and law suits of the parties. Many of
+the foremost adventurers who imagined themselves masters of
+incalculable 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 the 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 ceremonies of sorrow and festivity
+for the dead and living were being 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. But neither the change of level nor temperature
+improved the condition 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 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 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, the nobles,
+and the municipality. But the period of rejoicing was short, for news
+soon reached Mexico, that war was again declared between Spain and
+England; a fact which was previously concealed, 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 possessions of Spain.
+
+In the meantime an English squadron, which had recruited its forces
+and supplied itself with provisions in Jamaica, disembarked 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 and 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 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 defences 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 march forthwith to Vera Cruz. That city
+and its castle were at once placed in the best possible condition 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 PerotA(C).
+
+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 immense numbers, unable to obtain
+medical advice, medicine, or attendance, 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 demeanor as an executive
+officer required the appointment of a _visitador_, in order to examine
+and remedy his abuse of power. The person charged with this important
+task,--Don JosA(C) 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
+employments. His extraordinary talents and remarkable industry enabled
+him to comprehend at once, and search into, all the tribunals 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 suspended 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 received 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 income upon the unrestrained
+production and manufacture of this article. Thousands of the poorer
+classes were engaged in its preparation 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 consequently this project of the _visitador_ gave
+reasonable cause for dissatisfaction 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 Audiencia of Manilla, Don JosA(C)
+ArA(C)chA(C), was ordered officially to examine into the executive conduct of
+the Marques de Cruillas who 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 Flanders,
+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 cultivated
+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 partially 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 controlled 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 superstitious Indians
+to become the prey, rather than the flock,--the instruments, rather
+than the acolytes of such insidious shepherds. 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, throughout 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 calculated,--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
+various, 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 Mexicans, 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, tempestuous 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, who 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 sovereign'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 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 preconcerted plan to get rid of an
+obnoxious minister; and, as soon as it was known that this personage
+had been exiled, the rioters instantly 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 downfall, the French
+minister eagerly joined with the advocates of plunder; 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 designs. 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 commotion was chiefly the work of
+the body, deeply alarmed Charles, and drew him into the views of the
+French cabinet."[46]
+
+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 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 provinces 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
+PerotA(C), the Castle of San Carlos was built in the most substantial and
+scientific manner; and although this fortress 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 moment 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 PerotA(C).
+
+Such were some of the leading acts and occurrences in New Spain during
+the viceroyalty of the Marques de Croix. His general 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.
+
+[Footnote 46: Dr. Dunham's History of Spain and Portugal, vol. 5, p.
+175.]
+
+
+
+
+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 PRESIDIOS.--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 ARMY, XLVI. VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN. 1771-1779.
+
+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 character of the colony was
+still carefully fostered, whilst the domestic interests of the people
+were studied, and every effort made to establish 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
+hundred and fifty-five dollars, exclusive of a quantity of cacao,
+cochineal 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 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 commercial usages,
+and by the restrictive policy of Spain. The _consulado_ of Mexico
+complained to Bucareli of the suffering it endured 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 return 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
+Zacatecas, 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 hundred
+and seventy-two dollars. The same individual had, moreover, 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 promised
+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 interests 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 subordinates, who formerly wrought in the mines of
+Almaden, to examine the deposits at Talchapa and others in the
+neighborhood of Ajuchitlan, 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, metallurgy, 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
+CortA(C)z, 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 insurrections
+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. 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 warriors, 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 administration, 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, XLVII. 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 successor, 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 colonies of North America was
+beginning to attract the notice of Europe. France saw in the quarrel
+between the Americans and the British an opportunity to humiliate her
+dangerous foe; and although 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 commerce 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. The policy was at once blind and revengeful. If it was
+produced by the intrigue of France, the old hereditary foe and rival of
+England, it was still less pardonable, for a fault or a crime when
+perpetrated originally and boldly by a nation sometimes rises almost
+into glory, if successful; but a second-hand iniquity, conceived in
+jealousy and vindictiveness, is as mean as it is short sighted. England
+had no friends at that epoch. Her previous conduct had been so selfishly
+grasping, that all Europe rejoiced when her colonial power was broken by
+the American revolution. Portugal, Holland, 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 politics 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, accordingly as soon as the direful
+news was announced, prayers were solemnly 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 hospital, 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 Mexican coast, and in
+February of 1799, it reached a point 55A deg. 17 minutes north. It
+continued its voyage, until on the 1st of July, when it took
+possession of the land at 60A deg. 13 minutes, in the name of Charles III.
+It then proceeded onwards, in sight of the coast, and on the 1st of
+August, arrived at a group of islands, at 59A deg. 8' upon one of which the
+explorers landed and named the spot, "Nuestra SeA+-ora 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 settlement 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 brigantine of forty-four guns. The commander believed that
+this signal devastation of the enemy's settlement and property would
+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
+preparations 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 disagreement
+arose between Mayorga and the Spanish minister Galvez, and he was
+finally, after many insults from the count, displaced, in order to make
+room for Don Matias Galvez. The unfortunate viceroy departed for Spain
+but never reached his native land. He died in sight of Cadiz, and his
+wife was indemnified for 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
+controlled 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.[47]
+
+
+DON MATIAS DE GALVEZ, XLVIII. 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 beautiful 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 establishment, 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 reconstruct 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.
+
+[Footnote 47: See Bustamante's continuation of Cavo, vol. 3, pp. 45, 46.]
+
+[Illustration: CHAPULTEPEC.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+1785-1794.
+
+    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 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 unfavorable 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
+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 expended 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 demagogue among the military men who surrounded
+him in the capital. All these fears were, however, idle. If the count,
+in reality, entertained 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
+Felicitas_, 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 splendor 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 BolaA+-os, and a violent hurricane
+at Acapulco, accompanied by earthquakes, which swept the sea over the
+coast, and caused great losses to the farmers and herdsmen who dwelt
+on the neighboring lowlands.
+
+
+NUA'EZ 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 superceded 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 subdivision of the Indians among the
+agriculturists and miners by the _sub-delegados_, who had succeeded
+the _alcaldes mayores_, in the performance 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 allowing 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. Inhumanity 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
+required 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.
+
+
+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 nation 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 restored 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 consent
+to bind themselves by treaties. But these compacts were immediately
+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 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 Indian tribes dwelling or wandering between
+the Presidio of the Bay of Espiritu Santo, in the province of Texas,
+to beyond Santa Gertrudis del Altar, in Sonora,--the two opposite
+points of the dangerous 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 equipped 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 capital and
+protect the growing arts and sciences of the colony. He labored to
+establish a botanical garden, under the auspices of Don Martin SesA(C);
+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 in New Spain with the
+pompous title of practical professors of mineralogy, but they were
+altogether unskilled in the actual working of mines, and unable to
+render those of Mexico more productive. 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 regulation 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 character, 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. 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,
+horticulture 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 encouraged 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 restricted 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
+condition of Mexico, or, have adopted the numerous measures for its
+improvement which distinguished his reign.
+
+Besides this provident measure for the internal safety and progressive
+comfort of New Spain, the count directed his attention to 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 foresaw 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. Accordingly 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 discovery 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
+"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. Revilla-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, Monterey, San Diego and Loreto; to change the
+department of San Blas to Acapulco; and to guard the _fondos 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 safeguards 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
+contraband commerce.[48]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We have, thus endeavored to describe rather than to narrate
+historically, the principal events that occurred in the reign of the
+second Count Revilla-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 passing
+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 business. 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, SeA+-or,"
+said the latter, "in order to call your attention to the state of your
+pavement. 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 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 morning. 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 subordinate
+officers were instantly summoned, and laborers were collected 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 crowbar, the crash of falling
+roofs, and the rumbling of carts, kept the city in a fever of
+excitement. Precisely at sunrise the state carriage, 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
+onward, till at the junction of the new street with the road leading
+to the suburbs, the _corregidor_, hat in hand, with a smile of
+conscious 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 aware that the
+Calle de Revilla-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
+Revilla-Gigedo's police, in which the count figures rather
+melodramatically. 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 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 eyes, brilliant
+complexion, and golden hair, and was every where known as the fair
+haired marquesa. Her sister who, on the contrary, 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 perfectly agreed, for they were remarkable
+coquettes! It is unknown how many offers of the wealthiest grandees
+and most gallant cavaliers 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 representative 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 household, 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 lieutenant 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 overwhelmed
+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 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, seA+-or marques; take my
+advice, and brick up your postern. Calderon[49] 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 Philipines!"
+
+[Footnote 48: 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.]
+
+[Footnote 49: 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
+    CHARACTER--CORRUPTION TOLERATED.--PERSECUTION OF
+    FRENCHMEN--ENCAMPMENTS.--BRANCIFORTE'S CHARACTER.--AZANZA
+    VICEROY.--EFFECT OF EUROPEAN WARS ON COLONIAL TRADE AND
+    MANUFACTURES.--THREATENED REVOLT.--MARQUINA VICEROY--REVOLT IN
+    JALISCO.--ITURRIGARAY VICEROY.--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 reached 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 political 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 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 slightingly 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, war 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 PerotA(C); 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 conducted 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 JosA(C) de Azanza was named as his
+viceroyal successor. Nevertheless Branciforte continued in control,
+with the same domineering demeanor, as in the first days of his
+government, relying for justification 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 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 viceroyal 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, while his pretended 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 protectress. 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 absorbing avarice, but he never bestowed a
+farthing upon the collegiate church of the Virgin. Whenever he spoke
+in his court of the sovereign of Spain it was with an humble mien, a
+reverential voice, and all the external manifestations of subserviency
+for the royal personages 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 JOSA% DE AZANZA, LIV. VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN.--1798-1800.
+
+Azanza, who, as we have related, assumed the viceroyalty in 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 and confidence of the colonists. Besides
+this, the early measures of his administration were exceedingly wise. He
+dissolved the various military encampments, established and maintained
+at enormous cost, by his predecessor in the neighborhood of the eastern
+coasts. This heavy charge on the treasury was distasteful to the people,
+while so large an assemblage of colonial troops necessarily withdrew
+multitudes from agricultural and commercial 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 its 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 commerce 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 metals had hitherto been the principal
+article of export to Spain in return for merchandise despatched from
+Cadiz. The _internal_ trade of Mexico was, accordingly, fostered and
+beneficially sustained by the continuance of its large annual metallic
+products within the viceroyalty until peace permitted their safe
+transmission abroad. The beneficial retention of silver and gold in
+the country was not only manifested in the activity of domestic trade,
+but in the improvement 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 QuerA(C)taro, three thousand
+four hundred persons were employed; while, in the town of Cadereita,
+there existed more than two hundred looms, giving employment 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 existence. The politics
+and intrigues of the old world thus acquainted the colony with her
+resources and taught her the value of independence.
+
+Azanza's administration was, for a while, disturbed by a threatened
+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 arrested 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 successor to save the lives of the
+culprits. The project of a pardon was maturely considered by the
+proper authorities, and it was resolved not to 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 America, did
+not give satisfaction to the court at home. There is no doubt of the
+value of his administration in Mexico, and it is, therefore, 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
+controlled the king's councils, favoritism and intrigue ruled the day.
+Among other legends 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, characterizes Azanza
+as the wisest, most politic and amiable viceroy, ever sent by Spain to
+rule over his beautiful country.[50]
+
+
+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 Jamaica deemed
+it proper to release a Spanish officer who came to America on a
+warlike mission; yet it is now known that in November, 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 continued, 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 of the
+governor of the village of Tlascala in that department, attempted to
+excite a revolution among the people of his class, by means of an
+anonymous circular which proclaimed him king. Measures were immediately
+taken to suppress this outbreak, and numbers of the natives were
+apprehended and carried to Guadalajara. The fears of Marquina were
+greatly excited by this paltry rebellion, which he imagined, or feigned
+to believe, a wide spread conspiracy excited by the NORTH AMERICANS and
+designed to 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 government 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, Marquina,
+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 village of
+fifty inhabitants than the vast and important empire of New Spain.
+
+
+DON JOSA% ITURRIGARAY, LIEUTENANT GENERAL OF THE SPANISH ARMY, LVI.
+VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN.--1803-1808.
+
+On the morning of the 4th of January, 1803, Don JosA(C) Iturrigaray
+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 nationality
+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 freedom 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 destruction. 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 imbecility 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 controlled 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 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,
+PerotA(C), Jalapa and Vera Cruz, and, descending several times to the
+latter place, personally inspected all the encampments 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 Puente Nacional_, 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 diverted 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 examination 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 subjects 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, under this
+dread infliction, the domestic and foreign trade languished
+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 pias_, 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 protest with contempt, Napoleon,
+who had steadily advanced to supreme 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
+servility of Ferdinand to the ascending star of European power did not
+meet with obedience from the people of Mexico, who, resolving to
+continue loyal to their legitimate sovereign, forthwith proclaimed
+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, commanding the Mexicans to obey
+Joseph. The natives of the Peninsula, dwelling in New Spain, were
+nearly all opposed to the Bourbons 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 conflict with each other; and, in order to relieve himself from the
+political dilemma in which he was placed by these mixed commands,
+Iturrigaray determined to summon a _Junta_ of Notable Persons, 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 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 viceroy'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
+confinement; and, although he was not regarded favorably by all
+classes of Mexicans, this outrage against his person by the Spanish
+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 subsequently
+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 honored 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 revolutionary 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 viceroys who were
+empowered by Peninsular authorities to stay, if they could not
+entirely control, the progress of American liberty.
+
+[Footnote 50: Cavo y Bustamante: Tres Siglos de Mejico, tomo 3^o, 190.]
+
+
+
+
+  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.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK III.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+1809-1810.
+
+    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.--HIDALGO--ALLENDE--FIRST OUTBREAK.--
+    GUANAJUATO SACKED--LAS CRUCES.--MEXICO MENACED.--INDIAN BRAVERY
+    AT ACULCO.--MARFIL--MASSACRE AT GUANAJUATO--CALLEJA.-- INSURGENTS
+    DEFEATED--EXECUTION 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 viceroyal
+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 foundation of human society, the
+doctrine of unalienable allegiance, whilst our doctrine was founded on
+the principle of unalienable right."[51] This mistaken European view,
+or rather assumption of royal prerogative 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;" vassals, serfs creatures, whose
+human rights, in effect, were nothing when compared to the monarch'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 concurrence 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 government. They
+did not, at once, desire to adopt republican institutions, 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 originated in a loyal 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.[52] But after a short time, the 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 government. 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.[53] 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 government 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 provinces, 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 Ferdinand. 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
+remained in the Peninsula, he had a right to govern."[54]
+
+In those times, a certain country curate, by name Miguel Hidalgo y
+Costilla, dwelt in the Indian village of Dolores, adjacent to the town
+of San Miguel el Grande, lying in the province of Guanajuanto. One of
+the conspirators being about to die, sent for his priest, and
+confessing the plot, revealed also the names of his accomplices. 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 imprisonment, as soon as the confession of
+the dead conspirator was disclosed 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 Allende, 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 beloved pastor. As
+they marched from their village to San Miguel and thence to Zelaya,
+the natives, armed with clubs, slings, staves and missiles, thronged
+to their ranks from every mountain and valley. The wretched equipment
+of the insurgents shows their degraded 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_."[55]
+
+The result of this onslaught was dreadful. Wherever the rebellious
+army passed, Spaniards and uncomplying creoles they were
+indiscriminately 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 undisciplined mob of
+twenty thousand hailed him as undisputed commander. 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 resolved 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
+authorities and convinced them that the volcanic 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 command of Truxillo to check Hidalgo who
+was advancing on the capital, the latter declared all the rebels to be
+heretics, and excommunicated 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 destroy and
+subvert the holy Catholic religion, while he directed the subaltern
+ministers to sow discord in families by the confessional."[56] But the
+arms of the Spanish chiefs and the anathemas of the Roman church, were
+unequal to the task of resistance. Hidalgo was attacked by Truxillo at
+Las Cruces, about eight leagues from the capital, where the Indian
+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 combatants, 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."[57]
+
+The insurgents followed up their success at Las Cruces by pursuing 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. Venegas, 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 commenced 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 dismayed 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.[58]
+
+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 thousand 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.[59] The armies met at Aculco, and the Indians, in their first
+encounter with a body of regulars, exhibited an enthusiastic bravery
+that nearly defies belief. They were almost as completely 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 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 that 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 Robinson, "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 conflict, exults in
+the honor of communicating the intelligence that he had purged the
+city of its rebellious population. 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 although 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 Blas, on the Pacific; but it is
+painful to record the fact, that in this city Hidalgo 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, written 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 bury them at once in
+oblivion by putting such 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.
+
+[Footnote 51: John Quincy Adams's letter to Mr. Anderson, minister to
+Columbia, May 27, 1823. See President's message on the Panama
+Congress, March, 1823.]
+
+[Footnote 52: Zavala, Historia, vol. 1, p. 38.]
+
+[Footnote 53: Robinson's Hist. Mex. Rev. p. 10.]
+
+[Footnote 54: Ward's Mexico, vol. 1, p. 127. Id. p. 157.]
+
+[Footnote 55: This term has been variously interpreted; it is supposed
+to be an ancient Indian word significant of contempt. It is applied by
+the natives to the European Spaniards or their full blooded
+descendants. See Robinson's His. Rey. Mex., 15.]
+
+[Footnote 56: Robinson Memoir Mex. Rev. 19.]
+
+[Footnote 57: Ib. p. 20.]
+
+[Footnote 58: Wards' Mexico in 1827, vol. i. p. 169.]
+
+[Footnote 59: 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.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+1810-1816.
+
+    VENEGAS VICEROY.--RAYON.--JUNTA IN 1811--ITS WILLINGNESS 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 indeed 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 acknowledged.
+
+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 September, 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 willingness to
+receive Ferdinand VII. as sovereign of Mexico provided he 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 expedient 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 expressed by Dr. Cos, who was its author. He
+paints in forcible 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 assumes as
+fundamental principles that America and Spain are naturally equal;
+that America 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 captive, 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 Ferdinand 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 servants from his
+curacy, armed with six muskets and some old lances. But he gathered
+forces as he advanced. The Galeanas 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_ Matamoros and the Bravos, whose names have, ever since, been
+prominently 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 valley 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 visitors for more
+than two months and a half. In this period, the troops on both 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 surrender. Nor did he act unwisely for the
+success of his master. Famine prevailed in the besieged garrison. Corn
+was almost the only food. A cat sold for six dollars, a lizard for two,
+and rats and other vermin for one. But Morelos still continued firm,
+hoping by procrastination and endurance, to preserve the constancy 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 absolutely 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 imprinted 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 allowed to rest long in
+peace. The regular forces pursued his partizan warriors; and we next
+hear of him at Oaxaca, where he took possession 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, immediately
+falling over the moat, allowed the soldiers of Morelos a free entrance
+into the city!
+
+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.[60]
+
+
+DON FELIX MARIA CALLEJA, LX. VICEROY OF NEW SPAIN.--1813-1816.
+
+This was the period at which the star of the great leader, Morelos,
+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
+character and resources rising with every new danger, difficulty or
+loss. But the die was cast. Oaxaca was recaptured by the royalists 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
+ill-starred congress, resolved to fight the royalists until he placed
+the national legislature out of danger. "My life"--said he--"is of
+little consequence, 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.
+
+[Footnote 60: 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 offer was
+rejected, and Don Leonardo ordered to immediate execution. But the son
+at once commanded the prisoners to be liberated,--saying that he
+"wished to put it out of his power to avenge his parent's death, lest,
+in the first moments of grief the temptation should prove
+irresistible."--Ward, 1 vol. 204.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+1816-1821.
+
+    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--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 paralyzed. 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 conducted 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 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 _indulto_, 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 support
+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 fortified 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."[61]
+
+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 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 faithful Indians, whom he had
+known in prosperous days, sought him out with great difficulty, and,
+communicating the joyous intelligence 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 untarnished 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 unfortunate 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, whence 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. Nevertheless, the unprovoked blow of an
+independent leader against a native of the country, and especially
+against a man whose extensive 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
+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 Arredondo proposed terms
+which 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 capitulated 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 despatched across the sea to the dungeons of Cadiz,
+Melilla and Ceuta. This was a severe blow to Mina, who nevertheless
+was unparalyzed 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 LiA+-an, 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 assault; and, upon the
+garrison's attempting to evacuate the town, under Colonel Bradburn, on
+the night of the 19th of August, the enemy fell 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 LiA+-an'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 Remedios, 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.
+
+LiA+-an'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 Guanajuato, our partizan
+warrior took the road to the Rancho del Venadito 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
+Apodaca, 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, with 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 commands, 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 altogether 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 concerned,--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 additional 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,[62] 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 with 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 and Puruaran that the great
+army of Morelos was routed and destroyed.
+
+In 1820, Apodaca, who was no friend of the constitution, and who
+suffered a diminution of power by its operation, was well disposed to
+put it down by force, and to proclaim once more the absolute 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 regarded 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 polished
+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 unemployed, had,
+in this interval of repose, reflected well upon the condition of
+Mexico, and was satisfied that if the creoles could be induced to
+co-operate with the independents, the Spanish yoke might be cast off.
+There were only eleven Spanish expeditionary regiments 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
+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 headquarters, he
+proclaimed the celebrated PLAN OF IGUALA, the several 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
+understood, we shall present it to the reader entire:
+
+
+PLAN OF IGUALA.
+
+ARTICLE 1.--The Mexican nation is independent of the Spanish nation,
+and of every other, even on its own continent.
+
+ART. 2.--Its religion shall be the Catholic, which all its inhabitants
+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 excellency
+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 citizenship. 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,
+political and military, who adhere to the cause of independence, shall
+be continued in their offices, without any distinction between
+Americans and Europeans.
+
+ART. 21.--Those functionaries, of whatever degree and condition 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.
+
+[Footnote 61: Ward vol. i, 221.]
+
+[Footnote 62: 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.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+1821-1824.
+
+    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.
+
+
+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 republican; 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 penetrating
+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-controlling,
+self-sacrificing and progressive elements, which constitute 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 heart 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 paralyzed 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 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 likelihood, 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. Victoria 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 independent 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.
+
+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, ultimately
+controlled his decision, and in the name of his master, he 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, impatience 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 discussion, and
+the right of appointing and removing, at pleasure, the members of the
+supreme tribunal of justice. He recommended also the establishment of
+a military tribunal in the capital, with powers but little inferior to
+those exercised by the Spanish commandants 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 displeasure of
+congress, produced so complete a rupture between the emperor 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 himself 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 against 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, descended 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, Generals 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 accepting 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
+March, and were chosen by the old congress which quickly reassembled,
+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 readopted in the year 1847.
+
+On the 14th of July, 1824, a vessel under British colors was perceived
+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 professed to visit
+that remote district, with a friend, for the purpose of purchasing
+land from the government on which they designed establishing a colony.
+Garza gave them leave to enter the country for this purpose; but
+suspicions were soon aroused against the singular visitors 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 effectually,
+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 gentleman, 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 excommunicated 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 resolving 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 assemblies. 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 altogether
+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 opposed to
+his sudden and cruel slaughter. Mexicans candidly acknowledged that
+their country's independence was owing to him; and whilst they
+admitted that Garza's zeal for the emperor's execution might have been
+lawful, they believed that revenge for his former disgrace, rather
+than patriotism, induced the rash and ruthless soldier to hasten the
+death of the noble victim whom fortune had thrown in his lonely path.
+
+[Illustration: (Signature--Augustine de Iturbide)]
+
+
+
+
+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 SLAVERY 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 controlled 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-relying, self-ruling,
+civil idea never existed at any period of its previous history? The
+revolution of the North American colonies was not designed to obtain
+liberty, for they were already free; but it was excited and
+successfully pursued in order to prevent the burthensome and
+aggressive impositions of England which would have curtailed that
+freedom, and, reduced us to colonial dependence as well as royal or
+ministerial dictation. Mexico, on the contrary, had never been free.
+Spain regarded the country 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
+controlled the destinies of New Spain, men who were swayed by just and
+amiable views of colonial government; but the majority considered
+Mexico as a speculation rather than an infant colony whose progressive
+destiny it was their duty to foster with all the care and wisdom of
+Christian magistrates. 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.[63]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+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? Was it to be imagined that
+men who had always been controlled, could learn immediately to control
+themselves? Was it to be believed that the military personages, whose
+ambition is as proverbial 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, Bustamante, Negrete, Bravo,
+Santa Anna, Paredes, and the whole host of revolutionary heroes
+succeeding each other in power, either constitutionally or by violence.
+The people knew no others. The military idea,--military success,--a name
+won in action, and repeated from lip to lip until the traditionary sound
+became a household 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
+individual 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 degree of ignorance prevailed;--and
+thus, from the first epoch of independence, 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
+religion and the state are combined,--a silent spectator in the division
+of national power. The Roman Hierarchy, a large landholder,--as will be
+hereafter seen in our statistical view of the country,--had much at
+stake in Mexico, besides the mere authority 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 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 Congress; and, by it, the
+territory comprehended in the old viceroyalty of New Spain, the
+Captaincy General of Yucatan, the commandancies 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 country 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 movement 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 adoption 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.
+
+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 confined to the coasts of Mexico, Peru, 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 commercial 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
+machinations, 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 Pedraza, and JosA(C)
+Montayno, while the Yorkinos boasted of Generals Victoria, Santa Anna,
+Guerrero, Lorenzo de Zavala, and Bustamante. 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 liberals 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 names had been identified with the
+early struggles of the independents against the Spaniards.
+
+These party discussions, mainly excited by the personal ambitions 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 neglect of popular interests, so
+far as they were to be fostered or advanced 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 JosA(C) 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 previously
+made, against the federative system and in favor of centralism, by
+Padre ArA(C)nas; but both of these outbreaks were not considered
+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 decided 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 unsuccessful in his loyal
+endeavors to support the constitution. As soon as he marched against
+the insurgents, they dispersed throughout 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 candidate of the Escocesses, was
+elected by a majority of but two votes over his competitor, Guerrero,
+the representative of the liberal Yorkinos.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+These internal discontents of Mexico began to inspire the Spanish
+court with hope that its estranged colony would be induced, or perhaps
+easily compelled, after a short time, to return to its allegiance;
+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 republic. This,
+for a moment, restrained the fraternal hands raised against each other
+within the limits of Mexico, and forced all parties 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 companions
+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 mortification at a
+political defeat and to bow reverentially to the lawful decision 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 controlling the destinies of Mexico even
+for a moment under the sanction of the constitution; 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 people, and laws and
+constitutions are equally disregarded under the impulse of passion or
+interest. Such was the case in the present juncture. The Yorkinos had
+been outvoted lawfully, according 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 encouraged 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 Mexican 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 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, conformably with
+    the dispositions of the thirtieth article of the constituent act,
+    employing 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 disagreement, a third, who shall be appointed by the
+    respective constitutional alcalde; and from the decision thus
+    made, there shall be no appeal. The indemnification mentioned 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 themselves present them to the supreme government,
+    which will authorise the general treasury to issue to them the
+    corresponding orders for the amount of their respective 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 individuals 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: "_No one is a slave in the
+    territory of the 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 rA"enact this clause; but, in the
+    _Acta de 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."--_1d.
+    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 orders; by
+    legal interdict in virtue of trial for those crimes which forfeit
+    citizenship, and by refusal to fulfil public duties imposed by
+    popular nomination" (_nombramiento popular_.)
+
+[Footnote 63: Zavala's Hist. Rev. of Mex. 2 vols.;--and Pazo's letters
+on the United Provinces of South America.]
+
+
+
+
+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.--REVOLTS IN THE NORTH
+    AND IN THE CAPITAL.--BUSTAMANTE DEPOSED--SANTA ANNA PRESIDENT.
+
+
+Violent as was the conduct of the pretended liberals in overthrowing
+their rivals the Escocesses, and firmly as it may be supposed such a
+band was cemented in opposition to the machination 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. Scarcely 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, fraternizing 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 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 administrative 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
+government 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 was hailed as the victor who broke the last link between
+Spain and her viceroyalty. Pompous bulletins and despatches were
+published 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 exhibits a fact which
+superstitious persons might conceive to be the avenging decree of
+retributive providence. DoA+-a Isabel Montezuma, the eldest daughter of
+the unfortunate Emperor had been married to his successor on the Aztec
+throne, and, after his wretched 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 afterwards 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 _last_ Count of
+Miravalle, and it is thus a singular coincidence that the husband of a
+lady who was the legitimate descendant of Montezuma, should have been
+destined to receive the keys of the _last_ stronghold on which the
+Spanish banner floated on this continent![64]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+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 popular estimation. He was
+spoken of as a tyrant; his administration was characterized as
+inauspicious; and the public mind was gradually 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 Bustamante, 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. The
+country was opposed to him. He was wise enough to perceive 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 administration!
+
+The object of Santa Anna in restoring Pedraza was not to sustain 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 controlling 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.[65]
+
+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 inflexible patriotism of Santa Anna yielded, though
+the vice president Farias, remained incorruptible.
+
+On the 13th of May, 1834, the president suddenly and unwarrantably
+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 minions, 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 skilful 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 execute the duties of the state. General
+Cos, however, soon dispersed the legislature by violence and imprisoned
+the governor and his companions whom he arrested 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 assurances of the federal constitution, and they resolved
+not to countenance 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 constitution 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 instead 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 Barragan 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.[66]
+
+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 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 by
+a drum-head court martial and shot upon the field of battle. This was
+a severe doom; but the personal animosity between the commanders was
+equally unrelenting, for when the sentence was announced to the brave
+but rash Mexia, he promptly and firmly declared 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 paralyzed the industry of the country ever since
+the outbreak of the revolution, Mexico was in no condition to respond
+promptly to demands for money. But national pride forbade the idea of
+surrendering without a blow. The military resources of the country and
+of the Castle of San Juan de Ulua, were, accordingly, mustered with
+due celerity, and the assailed 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 valuable trade.
+Finding, however, that neither the blockade nor additional diplomacy
+would induce the stubborn government to accede to terms which the
+Mexicans knew would finally be forced 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 hundred 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 difficulties.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In 1839, General Canales fomented a revolt in some of the
+north-eastern departments. The proposal of this insurgent was to form
+a republican confederation of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Durango, 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 administration, 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 commercial and industrial interests of the
+country. The revolt was temporarily successful; On the 31st of March,
+1841, a constitution was proclaimed in Yucatan, which erected it into
+a free and sovereign state, and exempted the people from many burdens
+as well as the odious intolerance of all other religions except the
+Roman Catholic, that had been imposed by both the federal constitution
+of 1824 and the central 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 violently 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 readiness
+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 _pronunciamiento_ 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 confined merely to proclamations or the adhesion
+of military garrisons; for a large body of troops and citizens
+continued loyal to the president 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 metropolis, 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
+unconcerned 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 manA"uvres in the
+fields adjoining the city; but the troops on both sides shrank from
+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 invested with dictatorial powers until a
+new constitution was formed.
+
+The Plan of Tacubaya provided that a congress should be convened, 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 in which he
+announced his predilection for a strong central government, 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 unauthorizedly, 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 confidence 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 therefore remained,
+save to allow the dictator, himself, to frame the organic laws; and
+for this purpose he appointed a Junta of Notables, 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 Republic." It is essentially _central_, in
+its provisions; and whilst it is as intolerant upon the subject of
+religion, as the two former fundamental systems, it is even less
+popular in its general provisions than the constitution of 1836.
+
+[Footnote 64: Alaman Disertaciones, vol. i, p. 219.]
+
+[Footnote 65: The following letter from Santa Anna to a distinguished
+foreigner, will afford the reader a specimen of his personal modesty
+and political humility. The individual to whom it was written, was
+afterwards expelled by Santa Anna from the republic during his
+presidency, after having been invited by him to the country:
+
+  "VERA CRUZ, October 11th, 1831.
+
+"MY ESTEEMED FRIEND:--I have the pleasure to answer your favor of the
+5th ultimo, by which I 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 establish, 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 be desired, than to show
+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, which is at present extremely wavering and uncertain_.
+Of course, this is the peculiar province of the friends of Mexico; and
+as well by this title, as on account of the acquirements and
+instruction you possess, _I know of no one better qualified than
+yourself to execute such a benevolent undertaking_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I hope you will favor me from time to time with information, which
+will always give satisfaction to your _true friend_ and servant, who
+kisses your hands."
+
+  "ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA."
+]
+
+[Footnote 66: See Gen. Waddy Thompson's Recollections of Mexico, p.
+69, for Santa Anna's wretched vindication of these sanguinary deeds.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+1843-1846.
+
+    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.
+
+
+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 department to carry out Santa
+Anna's favorite project of reconquering 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 reconquest, 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 rapacity, 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
+Canalizo 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
+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 correspondence, 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 conducted to PerotA(C),
+where he remained imprisoned under a charge and examination for
+treason, until an amnesty for the late political factionists 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 president of
+the council of government, became under the laws of the country,
+provisional president of the republic. This person was General JosA(C)
+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 countries 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 concluded in
+1819, conceived the project of establishing a settlement in that
+region. Accordingly, in 1821 he obtained from the Commandant 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 authorized to proceed with
+the founding of the colony. After the emperor's fall, this decree was
+confirmed by the first executive council in conformity 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 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 numbers of
+foreigners flocked 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 estimate, 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 mingled 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 American Union. In this they were
+disappointed; for, in 1830, an arbitrary 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 colonists 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 independently 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 by the military; and, at last, the
+whole republic, save the pertinacious 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 correspondence. 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 guardianship 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 other 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 republic 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 recognition 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 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, maintained 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
+attracted 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 authorities
+professed, to reconquer the lost province. Yet all these military and
+financial efforts were never rendered available in the field, and, in
+reality, no adequate force ever marched towards the frontier. The men
+and money raised through the services and contributions of credulous
+citizens were actually designed to figure in the domestic drama of
+political power in the capital. No hostilities, of any significance,
+occurred between the revolutionists and the Mexicans after 1836, for
+we cannot regard the Texan expedition to Santa FA(C), 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 better 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 President 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
+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 territory. He
+announced, in consequence, the termination of his mission, and demanded
+his passports to leave the country. In Mexico, 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 anxious to
+preserve peace, or at least, willing to try every effort to soothe the
+irritated Mexicans and keep the discussion in the cabinet 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 intercourse. 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, invested with full power to adjust all the
+questions in dispute between the two governments. The invitation was
+received with apparent good will, and in October, 1845, the Mexican
+government agreed to receive one, commissioned with full powers to
+settle 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
+plenipotentiary 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 animosity 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 enunciation. 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 question alone. Such a mission, the
+authorities alleged, placed the countries at once, diplomatically,
+upon an equal and ordinary footing 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 dispute between us, except boundary and
+indemnity;--for Texas, as a sovereignty 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
+acknowledge 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 demonstrations, 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 contest 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 battles, 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.
+
+These military demonstrations denoted the unquestionable design 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
+which might result in the downfall, and total destruction of the
+greatest enemy we possessed on the soil of our sister republic.
+
+[Illustration: (Signature--Ant. Lopez de Santa Anna)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+1846.
+
+    GENERAL TAYLOR ORDERED TO THE RIO GRANDE.--HISTORY OF TEXAN
+    BOUNDARIES.--ORIGIN OF THE WAR.--MILITARY PREPARATIONS--
+    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 arrival 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 vehemently 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 infringement 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, we
+shall relate its history in a summary manner.
+
+Louisiana had been the property of France, and by a secret contract
+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, 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 published 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 execution 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 Louisiana 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 researches
+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 minister from
+Mexico to the United States, published a memoir upon Texas in which,
+whilst describing the Texan department of Bejar, he says--"That
+notwithstanding it has been hitherto believed 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 commence 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, pursuing the east bank of the Medina to its head
+waters, it should terminate on the confines of Chihuahua."[67]
+
+The true origin of the Mexican war was not this march of Taylor 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 government 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 addressed to the commanding officer on
+the northern frontier, that he supposed him at the head of a valiant
+army on the theatre of action;--and that it was indispensable to
+commence hostilities, _the Mexicans themselves taking the initiative_!
+
+We believe that our nation and its rulers earnestly desired honorable
+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. Mexico 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, however, were constantly arriving in
+the city. Ampudia and Arista were there. Interviews were held between
+the Mexican authorities 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
+reconnoissances, 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 ambuscade, 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.
+
+[Illustration: MATAMOROS.]
+
+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 ultimately 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 OF
+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 forces, to harass the enemy, and to aid, with all their
+power, in 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 Mexicans. He
+then visited the fortifications opposite Matamoros, and finding the
+garrison but scantly supplied with provisions, hastened back to Point
+Isabel with a formidable escort, and obtaining the requisite rations,
+commenced his march back to Matamoros and 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 engagement ensued between the two armies from two
+o'clock in the afternoon 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
+undisciplined force drawn, at random, from the country.
+
+The night of the 8th was passed with some anxiety in the American 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 condition of the fort opposite
+Matamoros demanded his urgent aid. The 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 immediate 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 defence against our approach along the road.
+The ravine, curved across the highway and was flanked by masses of
+prickly plants 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 artillery, 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 established 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 were anxious to engage in the
+war. The Quatermaster's department, too, was one of incessant toil and
+anxiety; because, called unexpectedly and for the first time into
+active service in the field, it was comparatively unprepared to answer
+the multitude of requisitions that were 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 after the amnesty 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 Washington, 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 approached 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 important 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 became, 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. Accordingly 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 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 barricades, forts, loop-holes, and every means of
+defence suitable for the narrow streets and flat roofed and parapeted
+houses of a Spanish 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 Taylor,
+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, garrisoned by nearly ten thousand
+troops, sustained by more than forty pieces of artillery, yielded to
+our army of seven thousand, unsupported 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 deposed,--that Santa Anna was in power, and that peace would soon
+be made; but the authorities, at home, eager for fresh victories, or
+pandering to public and political taste, did not approve and confirm
+an act, for which General Taylor has, nevertheless received, as he
+truly merits, the just applause of impartial history.
+
+[Footnote 67: Memorias para la historia de la Guerra de Tejas, vol.
+ii, p. 543.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+1846-1847.
+
+    GENERAL WOOL INSPECTS AND MUSTERS THE WESTERN TROOPS.--ARMY OF THE
+    CENTRE.--NEW MEXICO--KEARNEY--MACNAMARA--CALIFORNIA.--FRA%MONT--
+    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.--FRA%MONT'S CHARACTER, SERVICES, TRIAL.
+
+
+General Wool, who had been for a long period inspector general 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, Tennessee 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'armA(C)e_, 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 through Presidio, Nava, and across the Sierra of San JosA(C) 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 controlled by the states of New Leon
+and Coahuila which were already in our possession, he desisted from
+pursuing his march thither, and, after communicating with General
+Taylor and learning the fall of Monterey, he pushed on to the fertile
+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.
+
+We have already said that it was part of our government's original 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 FA(C), 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 FA(C), 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 commencement 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 institutions 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 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 FrA(C)mont 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 boundaries of Oregon, where he
+was found, in the following May, by Gillespie, who delivered him his
+verbal orders and a letter of credence from the Secretary of State.
+
+In consequence of this message, FrA(C)mont 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 California. FrA(C)mont'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 property. On the 14th of June,
+Sonoma was taken possession of, and was garrisoned by a small force,
+under Mr. Ide, who issued a proclamation, inviting all to come to his
+camp and aid in forming a republican government. Coure and Fowler, two
+young Americans, 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, FrA(C)mont, who heard that
+Castro was approaching with two hundred men, joined the camp at
+Sonoma. Thus far, every thing had been conducted with justice and
+liberality by our men. They studiously 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 in 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 FrA(C)mont was the
+chief, they raised the standard of the Bear and Star.
+
+[Illustration: MONTEREY.]
+
+FrA(C)mont, 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 joyful 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 Americans 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, FrA(C)mont joined Commodore Sloat at Monterey.
+Sloat, who had in reality acted upon the faith of FrA(C)mont's operations
+in the north, knowing that Gillespie had been sent to him as 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 Monterey, 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 Macnamara 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.
+FrA(C)mont 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 hundred men. FrA(C)mont 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 commanding general, fled at their approach. Stockton
+issued a proclamation 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 appointed
+FrA(C)mont, military commandant and Gillespie, secretary. On the 28th of
+August he reported these proceedings to the government at Washington,
+by the messenger who was met by General Kearney, as we have already
+related, on his way from Santa FA(C) to the Pacific. Carson, the courier,
+apprised the General of the conquest of California, and was obliged
+by him to return as his guide, whilst a new messenger was despatched
+towards the east, with the missives, escorted by the residue of the
+troop which was deemed 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 September 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 repulsed, while the garrison of Santa
+Barbara, under Lieutenant Talbott had retired before a large body of
+Californians and Mexicans. FrA(C)mont, immediately resolving to increase
+his battalion, raised four hundred and twenty-eight men, chiefly from
+the emigrants who moved this year to California. He mounted his
+troopers 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 FrA(C)mont, 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, FrA(C)mont and his brave battalion 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. FrA(C)mont summoned 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 FA(C), 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 from our troops. The
+letters exulted over our discomfiture, but it was supposed that, as
+usual in Mexico, they exaggerated the misfortune of the Americans.
+Kearney's small troop was much enfeebled by the long and fatiguing
+journey it had made from Santa FA(C) 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
+informed 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 position 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 performed 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 FA(C), 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 Kearney 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, 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 prepared to
+dispute. It was a contest between American sailors and soldiers, 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. Retreating thence to Couenga,
+the Californians, refusing to submit to Stockton and Kearney,
+capitulated, as we have already declared to Colonel FrA(C)mont, who had
+been raised to this rank by our government. On the morning of the 10th
+of January, 1847, the Americans took final possession of Los Angeles.
+Soon after this a government 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 FrA(C)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
+minutely 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 FrA(C)mont, 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 California,
+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 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 FrA(C)mont'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
+science; 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 Humboldt with the energy
+and more than the generosity of CortA(C)z, 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--FrA(C)mont was refused permission to continue his scientific
+pursuits in California or to join his regiment on the active fields of
+Mexico. When General Kearney turned his face homewards, towards the
+close of the spring of 1847, FrA(C)mont was ordered to follow in his
+train across the mountains, 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 FrA(C)mont's previous meritorious and valuable services,
+released him from arrest, restored his sword and ordered him to report
+for duty. But FrA(C)mont, 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."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+1847.
+
+    VALLEY OF THE RIO GRANDE.--SANTA ANNA AT SAN LUIS.--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--DESCRIPTION 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 headquarters
+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 Saltillo which had been seized,
+hastened with a sufficient body of troops to the gulf for the purpose
+of occupying Tampico, the capital of the state of Tamaulipas. But he
+did not advance further 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 frontier. Accordingly, in
+December, 1846, he had already assembled a large force, amounting to
+twenty thousand men, at San Luis Potosi, 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 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 command, 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 indemnifying
+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, Quitman 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 preparing 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 of our country.
+
+The enterprise of General Scott was one of extraordinary magnitude and
+responsibility. With his usual foresight he determined that he would
+not advance until the expedition was perfectly complete 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 undervalued by the carpet knights at home.
+There is but one point upon which we feel justified in disagreeing
+with his plan of campaign. He should not have weakened the command of
+General Taylor in the face of Santa Anna's army. It was almost an
+invitation to that chief for an attack upon the valley of the Rio
+Grande; and had the Army of Occupation been effectually destroyed at
+Buena Vista, scarcely an American would have remained, throughout the
+long line of Taylor's base, to tell the tale of cruelties perpetrated
+by the flushed and revengeful victors.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Whilst events were maturing and preparations making in the 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 FA(C).
+
+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 FA(C) for California, Colonel Price, who
+was subsequently raised to the rank of general, reached that post with
+his western recruits and took command, 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 Mexicans, now under our protection. He performed this service
+successfully; 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 his
+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 well
+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 valuable property destroyed by the merciless foe. Price
+received intelligence 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 CaA+-ada. Reinforced by Captain Burgwin
+from Alburquerque, he again advanced against the insurgents; and on
+the 28th, defeated a Mexican force estimated at fifteen 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 settlement 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 Captain Morin; and, in all these rapid but successful
+actions, it is estimated that near three hundred Mexicans paid the
+forfeit of their lives for the cruel conspiracy and its fatal results.
+
+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 the dangers of
+another sudden outbreak among the treacherous Mexicans, 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 permanent 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 action 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 injustice 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 advent 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 with the channels of rough
+barrancas or ravines worn by the waters as they descend from the
+summits, and, on the other by an extensive 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.
+
+[Illustration: SIERRA MADRE PASS.]
+
+On the 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 undefended by infantry and
+artillery. The battle ground that had been selected was admirably
+calculated for this purpose; and his foresight 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 regiment 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 extending from the central battery on the road, to the
+base of the eastern mountains, on whose skirts an adequate force of
+cavalry and riflemen 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 us 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 withstood, until a
+portion of our forces, after a brave defence, 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, between 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 conflict 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 cavalry, and
+ordered all the artillery, save four guns, to the rear to drive back
+the exulting Mexicans. This manA"uvre 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 sustained 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 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
+success 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 morrow, the greatest
+efforts were not only made to inspirit the troops who had borne the
+brunt of two days' battle, but to bring up reinforcements 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 MiA+-on 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 captured 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 without bloodshed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+1846-1847.
+
+    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.--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 revolutionists 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 conform to these tendencies, nor can we without them attain
+either order, peace, prosperity or respectability among foreign nations.
+
+[Illustration: FIELD OF BUENA VISTA.]
+
+"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 departments which are most
+clamorous for freedom of internal administration. * * * * I therefore
+urge you to use all your influence to reconcile the liberals,
+communicating with SeA+-or Farias and his 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 adhere to the
+project of his recall which was embraced in the movements 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 departments to
+be guided solely by the commands of Santa Anna, immediately issued a
+_bando nacional_, or edict, countersigned by the acting secretary of
+state, Monasterio, which embodied the views of the returned exile, and
+proclaimed the constitution of 1824, in accordance 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 PerotA(C). 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 termination of the contest
+he has 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 circumstances and with
+different habits, might have made him a useful ruler in Mexico.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+General Salas, who exercised supreme command from the 7th 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 necessity 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 perfidiousness of the Americans." In his
+communications to Santa Anna he urged him to hasten to Mexico as soon
+as possible to assume his powers, and the Mexican gazettes commend him
+for refusing to accept the pay of president while discharging the
+functions 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 villanously
+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 Californias and the various
+preceding central administrations. In conclusion, 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 enlisting 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 Congress 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 controlled 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 doubtless been
+waiting for the opportune moment to arrive when he could best exhibit
+himself to the inhabitants of the capital, and profit 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 secretary of war, _ad interim_, proposing to him the
+supreme executive 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 celebration
+    of the re-establishment of the constitution of 1824, the
+    assumption by myself of the supreme executive power, and the
+    anniversary 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 arrival 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 entrA(C)e into that city to-morrow at midday, and
+    desire, in contributing 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
+    confidence, and of these new obligations imposed upon me by my
+    country 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 perfidious 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
+    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 deceived 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 compliance
+    with the mandate of my country. She calls me as commander-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 offspring 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 power, 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
+    constitution which the people wish to adopt, are proceeding. That
+    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
+    redemption 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
+    flatter myself 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 personally
+    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 provisional 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 the arming and
+equipping of this large body, the government ordered that duties on
+all munitions of war shall cease to be levied, until further notice.
+
+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 controlled 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 resignations 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. Meanwhile 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 apprehended attempts upon his life,
+Salas retired on the 25th of October from the capital to Tacubaya. The
+greater part of the permanent garrison 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 harmony with him.
+
+This outbreak against the provisional government of General Salas was
+soon suppressed, and Santa Anna remained in command of the army at San
+Luis Potosi, but without making any attack 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
+election, determined by the majority of its deputies. Twenty-two
+states voted, including the federal district of Mexico, and two
+territories. Santa Anna's opponent, Francisco Elorriega, was the
+choice of nine states, and Gomez Farias was elected vice president.
+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 battles 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 government when in
+distress, and issued, despatch after despatch to stimulate congress,
+the cabinet and the people in the lingering war.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Nor was the government of the United States, meanwhile, inattentive to
+this position of affairs in Mexico, or indisposed to afford the
+government an opportunity to reconcile our difficulties by negotiation.
+Two distinct efforts were made by Mr. Buchanan, our secretary 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 already 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 account 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 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 MiA+-A cubedn 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 departure to the
+north. It was moreover worn out and disorganized by the long and
+painful march over the bleak desert, and had entirely lost its habit
+of discipline. Such was the condition of things at San Luis in the
+month of March, when Santa Anna found himself 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 friendship 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 corrupt but sentimental market of popular favor. Valentin
+Gomez Farias, on the contrary was a pure, straightforward,
+uncompromising patriot, always alive to the true progressive interests
+of the 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 habitual
+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 organization 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 government, the agitation
+of the mortmain 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 ecclesiastics, under the lead
+of Don Mariano Otero.
+
+At length the law was passed, but it was not a frank and decided act,
+destroying at once the privileges of the clergy and declaring 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 formerly 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 excommunications; and
+published dreadful threats of punishment hereafter for the crime that
+had been committed by placing an impious 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 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, especially 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
+encountered from the Moderados, fomented by that powerful, spiritual
+class which has so long controlled 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 morning of that day Santa Anna, who had already despatched a
+portion of his broken army towards the coast, and who had been
+approached 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 influence 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-president; and
+at length, they effected pacifically, what they had been unable to do
+by force.
+
+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 provisional
+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 congress,
+through a minister, that Santa Anna was desirous of assuming 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 for the president. The
+election resulted in the choice of SeA+-or D. Pedro Anaya. He received
+sixty votes and General Almonte eleven, voting by persons, and
+eighteen votes against three, counting by deputations. The result
+being promulgated, permission was granted that SeA+-or 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 army in the
+afternoon of the same day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+1847.
+
+    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
+    CERRO GORDO--MEXICAN DEFENCES AND MILITARY DISPOSAL THERE--BATTLE
+    OF CERRO GORDO.--PEROTA% AND PUEBLA YIELD--SANTA ANNA
+    RETURNS--CONSTITUTION OF 1824 READOPTED--MEXICAN POLITICS OF THE
+    DAY--WAR SPIRIT--GUERILLAS--PEACE NEGOTIATIONS--TRIST--SANTA
+    ANNA'S SECRET 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 engaged preparing in the
+interior, we must return to the scene of General 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 compose the American invading army; and
+the magnitude of the enterprize 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
+Commodore Connor, and on the ninth, landed the army upon the coast
+below the island of Sacrificios without the loss of a man, and without
+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 Mexicans, General
+Landero, the commander, made overtures for a capitulation, which being
+satisfactorily arranged, the principal commercial port, and the most
+renowned fortress in Mexico were surrendered, 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 terrific
+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-combatants; he
+refrained, moreover, from storming the town, a mode of assault in
+which 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
+which destroyed 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 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 abstraction 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 anticipated 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 announced 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 sincere 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 appeal 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 continued in the field.
+
+Meanwhile, General Scott placed Vera Cruz under the command of General
+Worth; opened the port to the long abandoned commerce which had
+languished during the blockade; established a moderate tariff, and
+together with the forces of the navy took possession 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 victorious troops towards the capital.
+
+[Illustration: VERA CRUZ.]
+
+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,
+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 aspect of the
+territory becomes suddenly changed. The nearer elevations 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 Jalapa 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 impassable 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 favorable 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 own
+eye, resolved to fortify it for the reception of the Americans. The
+brigades of General Pinzon and Ranjel; the companies of Jalapa 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 activity in the work
+of hasty fortification. Robles constructed a parapet at the edge of
+the three hills, but failing to obtain all requisite 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 Telegraph, by placing a heavy battery. He also
+formed a covered way leading to the positions on the right, while
+General Alcorta constructed a circular work on the summit of the
+eminence and established 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 commander-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
+remainder of the army, with the exception of the cavalry, which remained
+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, composed 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 enterprize
+became manifest, and he caused a series of bold reconnoissances 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. Between 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 Harney, with the rifles and
+some detachments of infantry and artillery, carried this position
+under a heavy fire, and, having secured it, elevated a large gun to
+the summit of the eminence, and made a demonstration 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 fortifications and cut them off from support; while
+Colonel Riley's brigade 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,
+meanwhile, assaulted the left, and carrying the rear battery, aided
+materially 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
+included. 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 army to
+the highlands of the upper _plateau_ of Mexico, and, accordingly, our
+forces immediately pushed on to Jalapa and PerotA(C), both of which
+places were abandoned by the Mexicans without firing a gun. General
+Worth took possession of PerotA(C) 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 PerotA(C) by his retreating countrymen, 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 PerotA(C) in deplorable plight, while not more
+than two thousand disarmed and famishing infantry had returned towards
+their homes in the central regions of Mexico. From PerotA(C) 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 munitions. 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 formation of guerilla bands under daring
+and reckless officers. Bold as was this effort of patriotic despair, and
+cruelly successful as it subsequently proved against individuals or
+detached parties of the Americans, 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
+PerotA(C). 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, 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 intestinal
+commotions and foreign invasion an Extraordinary Constituent
+Congress--_Congreso Extraordinario Constituyente_--had been summoned
+and met in the capital, chiefly to revise the Constitution, 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 after that personage's return from exile. This Extraordinary
+Congress readopted 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 believed, or feigned to believe, suitable for the nation.
+
+Notwithstanding this submission to popular will, and apparent desire
+to deprive the Central Government of its most despotic prerogatives,
+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, accordingly
+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 commanded 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 inefficiency 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 resistance to the invaders, and he was thus
+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 foresaw 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 who 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
+complete 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 QuerA(C)taro, 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 products 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, were 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 unfavorably 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, entirely 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
+measure 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
+rendered 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. Nicholas 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 quarters 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 entertaining 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 responsibility 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 constitution. 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
+constitution tribunal to relieve him from his position, the President
+finally referred the matter to a council of general officers of the
+army. This body, however, was quite as timorous as Congress, and
+dismissed the project 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
+strategy 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 American 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 received and discussed by General
+Scott, Mr. Trist, and the leading officers, and being agreed to,
+though not unanimously, the ten thousand dollars were disbursed from
+the secret service money which Scott had at his disposal, and
+communications were opened in cypher, the key of which had been sent
+from Mexico. Intimations soon reached Puebla, from Santa Anna, that it
+would be also necessary for the American army to advance and threaten
+the Capital;--and, finally, another message was received, urging Scott
+to penetrate the valley and carry one of the outworks of the Mexican
+line of defences, in order to enable him to negotiate![68]
+
+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 successfully 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 commander-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 repulsed in the same demagogue
+spirit that hastened the rupture between the nations in the spring of
+1846, and nothing remained but to try again whether the sword was
+mightier than the pen.
+
+[Footnote 68: See Major Ripley's History of the War with Mexico, p.
+148. et. seq.]
+
+[Illustration: (MAP OF THE VALLEY OF MEXICO WITH A PLAN OF THE MEXICAN
+DEFENCE And Line of U. S. ARMY'S OPERATIONS)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+1847.
+
+    SCOTT AT PUEBLA--TAMPICO AND ORIZABA TAKEN--SCOTT's
+    ADVANCE--TOPOGRAPHY OF THE VALLEY OF MEXICO--ROUTES TO THE
+    CAPITAL--EL PEA'ON--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 volunteers 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 Bankhead 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 portion of the means for
+its support from Mexico, but the commanding Generals finding the
+system not only annoying to themselves but 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 acting 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 Mexican commercial duties and their
+application to our necessary purposes, 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 resolved to
+march upon the capital. Leaving a competent garrison in that city,
+under the command of Colonel Childs, and a large number 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 CortA(C)z and his slender military train, departed from the
+eastern coasts of Mexico, on the splendid errand of Indian conquest.
+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 valleys 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 American 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 the
+topography of the valley with some minuteness, although it is not
+designed to recount, in detail, all the events and personal heroism of
+the battles that ensued. This would require infinitely more room than
+we can afford, and we are, accordingly, spared the discussion of many
+circumstances which concern the merits, the opinions, 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 Popocatepetl, 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, Xochimilco, 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 mountains,
+concentrated his forces in the valley. General Twiggs encamped 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 marshes of Lake
+Tezcoco on the north, thence it passes over a causeway built across an
+arm of Tezcoco for two miles, and, by another 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, compressed 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 volcanic hill styled El PeA+-on, 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 PeA+-on, 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 bristling 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 Istapalapan, 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 impediments, was also
+protected by extensive field works which made it almost as perilous
+for assault as the PeA+-on.
+
+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 westwardly 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 obstacles, until it reaches
+Santiago Zacualco within two miles of Guadalupe. But at the period of
+Scott's invasion of the valley, General Valencia, with the troops that
+were afterwards convened at Contreras, 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 American commander if he attacked
+El PeA+-on, 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 mountains; while on the road to QuerA(C)taro, 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 Guadalupe 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 extend their
+personal observations, the officers obtained from the people 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 remembered, 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 commentators upon the
+valley of Mexico and the march of the American army.[69] "When an
+enemy is in front of El PeA+-on, the communication 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 PeA+-on 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 different 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 opposed successfully his further advance. The
+Mexican forces were not numerically equal to this, and, accordingly,
+they were concentrated at the threatened point. It is evident that as
+long as the American troops were in front of El PeA+-on, 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
+breaking up from a fortified position, it would seem that, instead of
+oversight, 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 necessarily
+acquainted the reader with the important Mexican defences on the
+north, the east, and the north-east of the capital, both by military
+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 PeA+-on,
+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 Pedregal,
+a vast, broken field of lava, spread out along the edge of the main
+road, and skirting it to San Agustin, extended high upon the mountain
+slopes still further west near San Angel and Contreras, whose
+neighboring fields were cut into deep ravines and barrancas by the
+wash from the declivities. The Pedregal was a most formidable obstacle
+in the march or manA"uvres 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.[70] 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 barrancas and
+profound dells, until the ring of the outer series of military 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 American 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, azotA(C)as or
+flat roofs, and windows, all afforded suitable positions for soldiery.
+Large quantities 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 beautiful,
+solid and scientifically constructed tAªte 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 neighborhood 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 PeA+-on. This garita was strengthened by
+strong works on the road, with platforms and embrasures 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 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 advanced 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 CosmA(C) and Belen. "Works
+had been commenced to connect that of San CosmA(C), the most northerly of
+the two, with that of Santiago, and the nature of the country and of
+the buildings, formed obstructions to any advance between San CosmA(C)
+and Belen. Belen was defended principally 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 CosmA(C), 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 niA+-o
+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."[71]
+
+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 marching
+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
+protective works in that quarter. The east had claimed their chief and
+most natural attention, and thus the south and the west became
+unquestionably 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 Mexicans
+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 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 cannon
+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 manifested in their
+last moments, a degree of zeal, calmness, and foresight 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.[72]
+
+Accordingly, on the 15th of August, the movement was commenced 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 communicate 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 mountains. These obstacles necessarily consumed time,
+but the simple-minded Indians of the neighborhood, who had just been
+compelled 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 CortA(C)z. 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 consequently,
+that it was best for him to quit his head quarters at El PeA+-on, while
+he also recalled General Valencia with the most of the troops at
+Tezcoco and at Mexicalzingo, which were no longer menaced 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 centre of the valley in
+front of Mexico.
+
+[Footnote 69: See the admirable Map and Memoir of Lieutenant M. L.
+Smith, and Brevet Captain E. L. F. Hardcastle, published in the Senate
+Document, No. 11 of the first session of the 31st Congress: 1849 '50.]
+
+[Footnote 70: Ripley's War with Mexico, vol. 2, 181.]
+
+[Footnote 71: Ripley, 2d vol., 182.]
+
+[Footnote 72: General Scott had set his heart, even at Puebla, on the
+Chalco route, but he resolved 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 valley_, satisfied him
+as to the propriety of advancing by Chalco.]
+
+[Illustration: PLAIN OF MEXICO. P LOOMIS, SC.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+1847.
+
+    DIFFICULTIES OF THE ADVANCE--THE PEDREGAL--SAN
+    ANTONIO--HACIENDA--RELATIVE POSITION OF AMERICAN AND MEXICAN
+    ARMIES--PATH OVER THE PEDREGAL TO CONTRERAS--VALENCIA DISCONCERTS
+    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
+with 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 looking 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 Contreras, a vast basin, ten or
+twelve square miles in extent, covered with the Pedregal or the field
+of broken lava which we have already mentioned. This mass of jagged
+volcanic matter, we must remember, was at that time barely passable
+with difficulty for infantry, and altogether impassable for cavalry or
+artillery, save by a single mule path. North, beyond the fortified
+_hacienda_ and headquarters 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 northern 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 hacienda of San Antonio, until it crosses the Churubusco river at
+the strong 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 of
+Mexico, built on the bed of an ancient lake, was on a perfect level,
+nor were there any commanding or protecting elevations of importance
+around it within two or three miles, and the first of these, beyond
+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 works, 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 valley from San
+Agustin de las Cuevas, through Contreras or Padierna. Valencia and
+Santa Anna were consequently within supporting distance of each other;
+and in their rear, in front of the city, were the fortifications of
+Churubusco. General Scott, with the whole American 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 despair, 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 hacienda of
+San Antonio, soon disclosed the difficulty in that direction. 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 positions. There is no
+doubt, as subsequent events demonstrated, that the ground in the
+neighborhood of Contreras, where the road descends 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 American advance. It is stated by Mexican
+writers, that General Mendoza, with two members of his topographical
+corps had reconnoitred this route and pass, and pronounced it
+"absolutely indefensible." It is probable, therefore, that no general
+action, involving the fortunes 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 _subsequently_ on the 23d of
+August, was to have made a concerted retrograde 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 manA"uvre 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 General
+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 consequences.
+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 Pedregal, 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 a 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 commanded 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 Contreras 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 extending towards the road from the city and the enemy's
+left, advanced to dislodge the foe. Captain Magruder's field battery
+of twelve and six-pounders, and Lieut. Callender's battery of mountain
+howitzers and rockets, were also pushed forward with great difficulty
+within range of the Mexican fortifications, and, thus, a stationary
+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 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 indefatigable diligence of Captain Lee, of
+the Engineers.
+
+At 3 o'clock A. M. of the 20th August, the movement commenced 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 entrenchments, 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 fugitives, frequent volleys of
+destructive musketry. Smith's own brigade under the temporary command
+of Major Dimick, discovered, opposite and outside the work, a long
+line of Mexican cavalry drawn up in support, and by a charge against
+the flank, routed the horse completely, 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 artificial
+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 accoutrements, 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 indignation 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 differently
+planned and placed at a much earlier day, after mature deliberation 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 Coyoacan, Pillow's and
+Twiggs's divisions would speedily be able to attack 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 Antonio. 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 Captain 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 with the greatest
+rapidity and enthusiasm. Not a moment was lost in pressing the victory
+after the fall of Contreras. Shouting Americans 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 for
+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 enterprise 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 Churubusco in the direct line
+of the active operations of the Americans. Whilst this brave feat of
+out-flanking was performed, Colonel Garland, Major Galt, 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
+comparatively 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 related, soon
+perceived that the hacienda had fallen, and immediately turned to the
+left, through a broken country of swamps and ditches, in 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 _tAªte de pont_ 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 defence;--the nature of the adjacent
+country was a defence;--and here the fragments of the Mexican
+army,--cavalry, artillery and 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 manA"uvre closely upon the
+_tAªte 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, Lieutenant Colonel Smith,
+Garland, Clark, Major White and Lieutenant Colonel Scott continued to
+press onward towards the _tAªte de pont_, until by gradual
+encroachments under a tremendous fire, they attained a position which
+enabled them to assault and carry the formidable work by the bayonet.
+But the convent still held out. Twenty minutes after the _tAªte de
+pont_ had been taken, and after a 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 Mexicans extended their right
+more rapidly, and were supported by several regiments of cavalry, on
+better ground. Shields, accordingly, concentrated his division about a
+hamlet, and attacked in front. The battle was long and bravely
+sustained with varied success, but finally resulted in crowning with
+victory the zeal and courage 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 sharply contested victory.
+
+This was the last conquest on that day of conquests. As soon as the
+_tAªte de pont_ fell, Worth's and Pillow's divisions rushed onward 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 valley
+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, Valencia'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 Valencia 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, according 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 untouched, 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 Churubusco, 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 _general 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 actions, and in fact, his own despatch from
+    Tehuacan, dated 19th Nov. 1847, exhibit no able manA"uvres on
+    the last field with which he was perfectly and personally
+    familiar. 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
+    designed 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, pp. 532 and
+    540. See also _Apuntes para la historia de la guerra_, &c., &c.,
+    chapters XVII-XVIII-XIX, and Ripley's History of the War, vol. 2,
+    p. 256; "_No part of the Mexican force was 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
+    NEGOTIATION--MEXICAN DESIRE TO DESTROY SANTA ANNA.
+
+
+It was 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 was, for the moment,
+utter disorganization among the discomfited, while the jaded band of a
+few thousand invaders had to be rallied and reformed 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 hundred 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.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF THE VOLCANOES FROM TACUBAYA.]
+
+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 indispensable necessity
+of recurring to a truce in order to take a long respite. 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. SeA+-or Pacheco, the Minister
+of Foreign Relations, accordingly addressed Messrs. Mackintosh and
+Bermudez de Castro, entreating them to effect this desired result.
+During the night the British Consul 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 assaulting positions, to authorize him to summon
+the capital to surrender 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 SeA+-or Arrangoiz, with proposals for an armistice in
+order to bury the dead, but without reference to a treaty. Scott had
+already determined 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
+international 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.
+Commissioners were appointed by the commanders of the two armies on
+the 22d; the armistice was signed on the 23d, and ratifications
+exchanged 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. Tacubaya became the
+residence of General Scott, and the headquarters of the
+commander-in-chief were established in the Bishop's Palace.
+
+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 demonstrated. 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
+increase 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 perceives 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
+international difficulties. Diplomacy, with such a nation, is
+extremely delicate. If we exhibited symptoms of leniency, she became
+presumptuous;--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 spectators 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 negotiating, 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 if not with perfect confidence. It still left something to
+the conquered 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 eager 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 authority
+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_ authority 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
+military 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. Wisdom required that what was in the rear should be thought
+of as well as what was in advance.
+
+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 CortA(C)z 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 history 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.[73]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+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 government in any project which might
+prove either presently unpopular or destroy his future influence. The
+instructions, therefore, that were given to General JosA(C) 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 pretensions in
+regard to the position of Texas, the boundary of the Rio Grande and
+the cession of New Mexico and Upper California, were 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 projA(C)t, 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 ultraisms
+of monarchy and democracy. They counted among their number, many of
+the purest and wisest men in the republic, and although they were not
+as inimical to the United States as the _monarquistas_, or as many of
+the _puros_ pretended to be, yet they cordially desired or hoped to
+preserve the nationality and progressive republicanism of Mexico. In
+this junto Santa Anna found a few partizans who adhered to him more
+from policy than principle, for all classes had learned to distrust a
+person who played so many parts in 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, composed 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 supplies 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 support 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 pretended patriotic zeal of all the parties--puros, moderados,
+monarquistas 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
+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 hypocrisy based upon the misnamed
+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 hostilities, 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 millions 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 disorganization of their
+country. With gold and an army they believed him omnipotent; but,
+stripped of these elements of power in Mexico, 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 political 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.
+
+[Footnote 73: It will be remembered that even CortA(C)z 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 a little remarkable also, that the dates of Scott's
+and CortA(C)z's victories coincide so closely. CortA(C)z's victory was on
+the 13th of August, 1521, Scott's on the 20th of August, 1847. The
+date of CortA(C)z'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!]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+1847.
+
+    MILITARY POSITION OF THE AMERICANS AT THE END OF THE
+    ARMISTICE--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--PREPARATIONS TO
+    ATTACK CHAPULTEPEC--STORMING OF CHAPULTEPEC AND OF THE CITY GATES
+    OF SAN COSMA% 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 Tacubaya, 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 CosmA(C)
+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 deposit of powder.
+
+These,--together with the strong citadel, lying near the _garita_ of
+Belen in the south-western corner of the city,--were the principal
+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 Mexicans not only
+as a military defence but for drainage and protection of their
+customs. Each of the eight strong city gates were protected 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, moreover, absolute command of two of the most
+important entrances to the capital, inasmuch as from the eastern foot
+of the hill of Chapultepec two causeways, and aqueducts raised on
+lofty arches, diverged northeastwardly and eastwardly towards the
+city. The northernmost of these entered Mexico by the _garita_ of San
+CosmA(C), 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 designed 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.[74] 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 attacked the castle and hill from the
+south, where the road that ascends 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 commanded 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 September Santa Anna's answer
+to Scott's despatch was received, and on the same day the
+Commander-in-Chief and General Worth examined the enemy's formidable
+dispositions near and around the castle-crowned hill. The Mexican
+array was found to consist of an extended line of cavalry and
+infantry, sustained by a field battery of four guns, either occupying
+directly or supporting a system of defences 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 support 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 several
+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 Morales, 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 between 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 military man, he well knew that the isolated hill and castle
+could not be protected by the defenders within its walls alone or by
+troops stationed 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.
+Possessing himself suddenly of the Molino del Rey and the adjacent
+grounds he was to _retire_ after the capture _without carrying
+Chapultepec_, the key of the roads to the western _garitas_ of San
+CosmA(C) 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
+effectually divert the attention of the Mexicans to that quarter and
+thus induce them to weaken the western defences and strengthen the
+southern. 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 following morning. This
+important work was entrusted to General Worth, whose division was
+reinforced by three squadrons of dragoons; 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 morning of the 8th of September the several columns
+were put in motion on as many different routes, and when the gray dawn
+enabled them to be seen they were as accurately posted as if in midday
+for review. Colonel Duncan was 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, capturing 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 musketry, 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 Captain 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 Garland'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 position, and his captured pieces were now opened on the
+retreating force. While these efforts were successfully making on the
+Mexican 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 fire 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 Casa 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 ammunition 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 spiked and useless,) eight
+hundred prisoners including fifty-two commissioned officers, and a
+large quantity of small arms, with gun and 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, while the gallant
+General Leon and Colonel Balderas fell fighting bravely on the field
+of battle.[75]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The battle was over by nine o'clock in the morning. The Americans,
+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 _morale_ 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 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 Quitman 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 manA"uvre, 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 Mixcoac. 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 operations on
+the west by the capture of Chapultepec. Heavy batteries were
+established and the bombardment and cannonade under Captain Huger,
+were 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 strategy 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
+captured 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 recommenced 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 ladders and poured over
+the walls.[76]
+
+Quitman, supported by Generals Shields and Smith, was meanwhile
+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 entered the outer enclosure of
+Chapultepec in time to join the enterprise 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 CosmA(C) and Belen had fallen;
+the advance works were weak, and the routed troops of Chapultepec fled
+rapidly along the causeways and over the meadows. Still as they
+retreated they fought courageously, and as our men approached the
+walls, the fresh troops in the neighborhood poured their volleys from
+behind parapets, windows and steeples. 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 CosmA(C),
+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 detachments to join the flushed
+victors in the final assault.
+
+Worth speedily reached the street of San CosmA(C) 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 batteries in this suburb, he planted a
+heavy mortar and piece of artillery 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 CosmA(C) 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 manA"uvre and threaten the point so as to favor
+Worth's more dangerous enterprise by San CosmA(C). 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 dangerous 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 point he had won so gloriously, and
+sheltering his men as well as he was able, awaited the return of
+daylight under the guns of the formidable 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 officers
+assembled in the Mexican citadel. After the customary crimination 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. Lombardini, Alcorta and Perez coincided in his
+opinion, and Santa Anna at length closed the panic stricken council by
+declaring that Mexico must be evacuated during the night and by naming
+Lombardini General-in-Chief, and General Perez second in command.
+Between eight and nine o'clock SeA+-or Trigueros called at the citadel
+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, 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
+ascended 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 conquest 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 reconstruction 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.
+
+FORCES.
+
+  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, garrison of Mixcoac and Chapultepec,} 6,000
+
+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   "       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 Mexican army, composed, at the
+    beginning, of thirty odd thousand men, posted always in 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.
+
+[Footnote 74: See Lieut. Smith's Memoir, ut antea, p. 8.]
+
+[Footnote 75: 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 threatened 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_
+attack 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 Mexican cavalry behaved shamefully.
+In Colonel Ramsey's notes on the translation of the Mexican _Apuntes
+para la historia de la Guerra_, &c., 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!"]
+
+[Footnote 76: 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.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+1847-1850.
+
+    ATTACK OF THE CITY MOB ON THE ARMY--QUITMAN GOVERNOR--PEA'A
+    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--PEA'A 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
+    QUERA%TARO--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 commenced 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 horrible scheme of assassination was not
+countenanced by the better classes, but that the base outbreak was
+altogether owing to the liberation 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 division,
+and it was only by the active exertion of Watson's marines, that the
+vagrant crowd was driven from the edifice.
+
+[Illustration: GREAT SQUARE OF MEXICO.]
+
+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 perpetrators will be
+punished. He protects the administration of justice among the Mexicans
+in the courts of the country. He places the city, its churches,
+worship, convents, monasteries, inhabitants and property, under the
+special safeguard 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 conquered 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 QuerA(C)taro, 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,
+SeA+-or PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he despatched
+General Herrera with four thousand troops to QuerA(C)taro, 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
+operations 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 General Rea, a brave and
+accomplished Spaniard, rose upon, and besieged the slender garrison.
+On the 22d, Santa Anna arrived, and increasing the assailants to
+nearly eight thousand, made the most vigorous efforts during the six
+following days and nights to dislodge the Americans from the position
+they had seized.
+
+About the middle of the month, Brigadier General Lane left Vera Cruz
+with a fresh command, and at Jalapa joined the forces of Major 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 Nacional, 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 advancing columns of Lane and
+Lally, who were reported to have convoyed from the coast an immense
+amount of treasure. The combined 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, established his headquarters at
+Huamantla; but whilst manA"uvering 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 bright 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 Americans.
+
+Mexico possesses a wonderful facility in the creation of armies, or in
+the aggregation of men under the name of soldiers. Wherever a standard
+is raised, it is quickly surrounded by the idlers, the thriftless, and
+the improvident, who are willing, at least, to be supported 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, divided into small,
+undisciplined, and consequently inefficient bodies. It is reported
+that Lombardini and Reyes were in QuerA(C)taro with a thousand men; Santa
+Anna's command, now turned over to General Rincon by order of
+President PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a, consisted of four 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; PeA+-a 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 was now almost given up to these
+miscreants under Padre Jarauta and Zenobio, for, in the eastern
+districts, General 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 severe 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 reinforced 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 officers captured in one of the marauding corps,
+and refused the surrender of Jarauta, he drove that recreant priest
+from the neighborhood into the valley of Mexico, in which Lane pursued
+and destroyed his reorganized band.
+
+Whilst these scattered military events were occurring, PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a, as
+President of the Republic, had endeavored, both at Toluca and at
+QuerA(C)taro, 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 suspended Santa Anna;
+ordered Paredes into nominal arrest at Tololopan; directed a court
+martial upon Valencia for his conduct at Contreras; attempted to
+reform the army, and in all his acts seems to have been animated by a
+sincere spirit of national reorganization and peace. Nevertheless,
+among the deputies who were assembled, the same quarrels that
+disgraced former sessions again arose between the Puros, the
+Moderados, the Monarquistas, and Santannistas 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 QuerA(C)taro and elected SeA+-or 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 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 QuerA(C)taro 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 PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a and Anaya were both firm,
+discreet and consistent in their resistance. 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 throughout 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 PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a
+in relation to the renewal of negotiations; but it was not until the
+end of October that the prudent President thought himself justified in
+expressing, through his minister, Don Luis de la Rosa, a simple but
+ardent wish for the cessation of war. When Anaya assumed the
+presidency, a few days afterwards, PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a 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 continuance 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 negotiation 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 negotiations 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. The capital, and the captured towns were still as
+strictly governed; the growing army was organized for future
+operations, and a general order was issued demanding a large
+contribution from each of the states for the support of our army. This
+military decree, moreover, reformed and essentially changed the
+duties, taxation, collection and assaying of the nation; it indicated
+the intention of our government to spread its troops all over the
+land; and while it reasserted the supremacy of law, and the purity of
+its administration, it announced instant death, by sentence of a
+drum-head court-martial, to all who engaged in irregular war. This
+decree satisfied reflecting 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 presidency,--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,
+PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a, who reassumed 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, accordingly, 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 partizan warriors who went in search of the fugitive
+there were many Texans who still smarted under the memory of the
+dreary march from Santa FA(C) in 1841, the decimation at Mier, the
+cruelties of Goliad and the Alamo; and the imprisonments in Mexico,
+Puebla, or PerotA(C) in 1842. But when Lane and his troopers reached
+Tehuacan, the game had escaped, though his lair was still warm. All
+the personal effects left behind in his rapid flight, were plundered,
+with the exception of his wife's wardrobe, which, with a rough though
+chivalrous 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 inimical 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 ungrateful
+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
+steamer Arab in the same neighborhood, to regenerate his country![77]
+
+But 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, Chapultepec, 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 resources, the disorganization of the country,
+the growing strength of the Americans who were pouring into the
+capital under Patterson, Butler and Marshall, and the utter failure of
+the arch-intriguer,--all contributed to strengthen the arm of the
+executive and to authorize both the negotiation of a treaty and the
+arrangement 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 Guadalupe
+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 government of all the claims of
+its citizens against the Mexican Republic to the extent of three and a
+quarter millions, so as to discharge Mexico forever from all
+responsibility; 5th, a compact to restrain the incursions and
+misconduct of the Indians on the northern frontier. The compact
+contained in all, thirty-three articles and a secret article
+prolonging the period of ratification in Washington beyond the four
+months from its date as stipulated in the original instrument.
+
+This important treaty, which, we believe, history will justly
+characterise as one of the most liberal ever assented to by the
+conquerors of so great a country, was despatched immediately by an
+intelligent courier to Washington; and, notwithstanding the irregularity
+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 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
+de Rosales, near Chihuahua; and the diplomatic and military career of
+two of our most distinguished citizens was abruptly 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 O. Butler was ordered to replace him.
+Hot dissensions had occurred 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 capital, 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
+countrymen 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 finishing his
+formal task at _QuerA(C)taro_ but was ordered home almost in disgrace.
+History, however, will render the justice that politicians 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
+FrA(C)mont, the pacificator of the west, 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 capital,
+and the United States Senate, at home, was engaged in ratifying the
+treaty, President PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a and his cabinet still labored zealously
+to assemble a Congress at QuerA(C)taro. The Mexican President resolved,
+if necessary to obtain a quorum, to exclude New 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 fermenting, 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 Tuspan and Tampico on the east coast,--in the interior State of
+Guanajuato,--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 disorganization, 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 contributed 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 _cortA(C)ge_ of American cavalry was seen
+winding along the hills towards QuerA(C)taro as the escort of the
+American commissioners, who were welcomed to the seat of government 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 bitter 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 Deputies. On the 30th of
+May the ratifications were finally exchanged, and the first instalment
+of indemnity being paid in the city of Mexico, our troops evacuated the
+country in the most orderly 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 dreaded military
+authority in the capital, amid all those classes of intriguing
+politicians, soldiers, clergymen, and demagogues, who had so long
+disturbed the nation's peace before Scott's capture of Mexico,
+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 judiciously 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 Constitutional President, and of
+PeA+-a-y-PeA+-a as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. These and other
+conciliatory but firm acts gave peace at least for the moment to the
+heart of the nation; but beyond the capital all the bonds of the
+Federal Union were totally relaxed. Scarcely had the National
+Government been reinstalled in the city of Mexico, when 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
+MiA+-on, Cortazar, and Lombardini, not only put down the revolution of
+Paredes, but, by their influence and admirable conduct imposed order
+and inspired 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
+National Guard of the Federal District faithfully performed its duty
+in this patriotic task. Paredes disappeared after his fall in
+Guanajuato, and remained in concealment or obscurity until his death.
+
+Various outbreaks occurred in Mazatlan, on the western coast; in the
+State of Tobasco; in Chiapas, and among the Indians of Puebla; in the
+Huasteca of the State of Mexico; and in the Sierra Gorda belonging to
+the States of QuerA(C)taro, San Luis, and Guanajuato. These, like the
+revolt in Yucatan, threatened a war of castes, but the energetic
+government found means to subdue the 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 compulsory 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 intriguers are gradually passing from the stage, and,
+with the new men coming upon it, to whom the war has taught terrible
+but salutary lessons, we may hope that another era of civilization and
+progress 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 despotism nor
+become corrupt by the uninterrupted enjoyment of power. The true value
+of the representative system will thus become rapidly 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
+intercourse 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, 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 distinguished the public treasure
+from his private funds. Soldier as he was by profession, he was
+slightly skilled in the duties of a commander 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 pleasure was in training these birds for
+the brutal battle of the pit. Loving money insatiably, he leaned with
+the eagerness of a gambler 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 pleasures. The gentlest being imaginable in tone,
+address, and demeanor to foreigners or his equals, he was oppressively
+haughty to his inferiors, unless they were necessary to his purposes
+or not absolutely 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 or 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 CortA(C)z to superintend the majestic interment of the limb he
+had lost at Vera Cruz.[78]
+
+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 possessed, taught him
+that it was easier to deal corruptly with corruptions than to rise to
+the dignity of a loyal reformer. He and his 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
+democratic sentiment of his country. He ascertained, at an early day,
+that the people would not favor his aspirations, and, abandoning
+federalism, 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 enabled 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.[79]
+
+    NOTE.--These historical sketches of the late war with Mexico are
+    designed to present 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 "History 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 judicious_, 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 actions,
+    and which was entirely inaccessible to the commanders when they
+    fought the battles that are criticised. One thing, however, should
+    gratify our Generals exceedingly, and it is that in truth they
+    _did_ fight and _win_ the several actions in question,
+    notwithstanding their blunders 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 the enemy!
+
+[Footnote 77: 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, _I served
+my country without pay_." This is a singular illustration of Santa
+Anna's characteristic avarice. Perhaps no man ever served his country
+for more liberal and certain 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 Mexican archives,
+that, amid all Santa Anna's political and military distresses he never
+forgot his pecuniary interests. The books of the treasury showed that,
+at the moment 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_!]
+
+[Footnote 78: See page 91, vol. 1, and Mexico as it was and as it is,
+p 207.]
+
+[Footnote 79: See vol. 2, chapter xii, p. 155. Reflections upon the
+Republic.]
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+
+  * Obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired.
+
+  * Footnotes moved to end of respective chapters.
+
+  * Notes moved to end of respective paragraphs.
+
+  * Notes normalized to include -- (Example: Note.--)
+
+  * Hyphenation of words normalized.
+
+  * Pg 226: "1512" changed to "1712" in "In 1512, Philip V. found
+  himself...."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican
+Vol. 1 of 2, by Brantz Mayer
+
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