It was quite dark on taking my place in the diligence, but getting
comfortably seated, I heard one of the passengers inquire if there was
to be an escort; so putting my head out of the window, I asked my man
Juan if he had any idea where the troops were concealed? _No Senor, no
hay!_--not a soul to be seen. _Bueno!_ I consoled myself by being sure
of meeting them at the garita--and then we came to the gate, but never a
sabre visible! Malditos were of no avail. Senor Rosa, in a multiplicity
of _negocios_ had forgotten me! Truly, I was scared out of sleep the
first few posts, but at last my eyelids gained the day--I sailed away in
the land of dreams, and never awoke until reaching Salamanca--much
refreshed and decidedly happy not to have been rifled by ladrons.
It was four o'clock and raining heavily as we drove into the cellar, as
it were, of the sky-built city of Guanajuato. The water was bounding and
leaping down the naked sides of the hills, converting every narrow gully
into a boiling torrent, until cascades and rivulets all poured into the
deep valley beneath, and went roaring and foaming away, increasing in
bulk and impetuosity at every gorge, to feed some rapid river in the
plains beyond. I was intently occupied speculating upon the chances
whether the diligence would be swept along with other floating matter,
or ultimately stranded on dry land; for not long before, one of these
same vehicles had been caught in a freshet--carried some distance,
drowning three insides. But fortunately, we steered clear of these
dangers by flood and coach--with saturated garments--and were soon
safely housed in the comfortable fonda.
Much to my chagrin, the rain prevented a visit to the great mines of La
Luz. They are said to be the largest in the world, and well worthy of a
sight, employing no less than fifteen thousand workmen, including their
families. The owner died in Queretero the day previous to my departure,
bequeathing a fortune of twenty millions of dollars to his heirs.
I left Guanajuato before daylight--the heavens were dropping tears,
although not sufficiently lacrymose to keep the gorges surcharged, and
thus we again escaped coach-wreck. We reached Leon to a late
breakfast--there I exchanged the youthful valet Juan for my horse
equipments, and having but a single companion in the person of an
Englishman bound to Zacatecas, we continued the route: the cocheros
swore there were none other than virtuous people in that vicinity and we
had no fears of being molested: the road became rocky and
uneven--occasionally no beaten track at all--and had not the coach and
our bones been constructed of the toughest materials, I imagine neither
could have reached Lagos--but we got there at three o'clock, with no
more serious mishap than being jolted asleep and awake, at least four or
five times in as many minutes.
Our stopping place was a decent little fonda, administered by an old
Spaniard. While standing in the gateway I observed two persons, and,
from something indescribable in their appearance, immediately accosted
them in Anglo-Saxon: they were North Americans, and had resided many
years in Mexico: they treated me kindly, and extended every assistance
in their power. I visited one and saw as pretty a wife and family as any
batchelor might envy. The town itself is extremely pretty--a remarkably
handsome church faces the Plaza--the houses elegantly adorned externally
in fanciful frescoes, with designs of flowers, wreaths, gardens, and
mythological figures, while a branch of the Rio Grande rushes swiftly
through the heart of the town, fringed with a profusion of verdant
foliage. During my visit the river coursed in two separate channels,
divided by a narrow strip of pebbly sand, whereon were hundreds of
little nude boys and girls, and women nearly so, bathing and washing in
the pools along the shores.
Returning from the walk, we had hardly entered the inn, which looked
into the Plaza, when some fifty ragamuffins, armed with many varieties
of weapons, but principally broken muskets and naked sabres, passed by;
they had music, too, an undeniable drum, which never for a moment ceased
being thumped and pounded, during all the proceedings that afterwards
transpired. There was to be a Mexican Pronunciamento! The band marched
straight to the Quartel near the upper end of the square by the church,
where, after much shouting, expostulation, bluster, and reading of
proclamations, they induced about five and twenty meagre soldiers, who
composed the garrison, to declare in favor of the rebellion; then a
number of bottles of strong waters circulated briskly, the mob mingled
with the fraternised soldiery, possessed themselves of their muskets,
broke up into groups, and filled the air with cries of "_Abajo los
Yankees! Viva Paredes! Viva la Guerra! Viva El Padre Jarauta!_"
The Pronunciamento was completed.
My friends prepared me for this ebullition by stating it to be part of a
combined movement, fomented by Paredes, who was at Aguas Calientes,
seven leagues beyond, awaiting the action of Guadalajara and the western
provinces.
It had been my intention to take the route to Mazatlan by way of
Zacatecas and Durango, but I was earnestly urged not to attempt it in
the present unsettled state of that district, and as the advice was
based on sensible grounds--not without a deal of regret--I at once
ordered horses for Guadalajara. Whilst dinner was preparing I took a
stroll with the innkeeper, around the Plaza to get a glimpse, if
possible, of the sanctified assassin Padre Jarauta. I had heard much of
the villain's atrocities, both from the papers and individuals. The
young adjutant whom I met in Guanajuato related of him, that he boasted
of having killed fifty-three Americans with his own cuchillo, and though
styling himself priest was nothing but a student who had taken to arms
"con amore." To say the least of this good padre, he possessed
unparalleled courage and audacity, had done immense mischief to small
corps and trains of our army, and he was, in fact, the boldest,
bloodiest Guerrilla chief in all Mexico.
I was gratified for my exertions, and passed twice beside him; he was
striking in expression, perhaps thirty years old, with fine fierce dark
eyes, and little beard: he was about the middle height, dressed in a
round jacket and cloak, with a short straight sword on his hip. He
appeared absorbed with great events, regarding the sky and other
celestial bodies, never deigning to honor me with a glance.
One of my countrymen dined with me, and we had an excellent repast, but
it was most unseasonably interrupted by the entrance of the host, who
after a short consultation with my friend, informed me that the good
Padre Jarauta had learned the arrival of an American officer, and had
expressed a determination to make an _ejemplo_ of him in the square! I
reposed full faith in his pious regard, and did not doubt for an instant
that he would be at all loth in executing his virtuous designs--and as
for my passport and papers, they might possibly have given additional
zest to his holy orders, and been considered just long enough to cock
half a dozen carbines, and--_fuego!_ However, there was no time to
deliberate, and but one course to avoid the dilemma--_Gracios a
Dios_--the horses were fortunately in the Corral of the meson, and in a
very few seconds the guide had clasped on my spurs, and I jumped into
the saddle. With warmest thanks to my friends, and a trifle, more solid,
to the true Biscayno for his good offices, in the darkness, the animals
were led down a stone flight of steps, through some outbuildings, where,
gaining a back street, we made the dust whirl in clouds around us, as we
gave lash and steel to the beasts.
At early dawn we halted at a place called Encarnacion for change of
horses, and losing no time, mounted and struck a bypath to shorten the
distance. At sunrise we observed a group of travellers ahead, and pushed
on to overtake them. Perceiving, however, a wish to avoid us, and
warlike demonstrations begun by two individuals unslinging carbines in
the rear, I sent the guide in advance to relieve their anxiety; they
proved to be the family of the commandant of Lagos, flying bag and
baggage to a more safe retreat; there were two ladies in the party, and
we remained in company for some miles: they had lost a valise in their
flight, and, on parting, I was under the belief that they regarded me as
the lucky finder thereof.
Further on we passed a remarkable elevation called _La Mesa_, a table
hill of a perfect oval, rising like the palisades of Hudson River; some
three hundred feet, with a dead flat surface, and but one gateway-like
aperture leading to the summit--making altogether a most regular and
inaccessible natural fortress. My guide assured me, there was a deep,
clear lake on top, and many acres of good soil.
The sun was getting high up, when we drew bridles at a fork of the road,
beneath a wide-spreading tree, and in fact the only one to be seen.
Here, squatted on a stone, was a jolly old gentleman, with a great
earthen jar of pulque, and platter filled with the same sour
fermentation, on the grass before him; the guide, as in honor bound,
swallowed a centavo's worth, but I was contented with a little diluted
museal, which is far more palatable, and has much the taste of Scotch
whiskey. Both preparations are made from the same species of plant--the
American Argave--and to see the immense extent of land under
cultivation--the great droves of beasts carrying the juice to market,
one might readily believe enough was made to keep the whole Mexican
nation in one continued state of intoxication. The keeper of the small
ambulating pulperia informed us that a pronunciamento had taken place
that very morning at San Juan de Lagos, and that large bands of armed
men had entered the town at daylight. Padre Jarauta had destroyed my
appetite the night previous, and this news equally perplexed me--for
there was but one route directly through the town, and I had no
inclination to run a muck; so following the advice of my guide Jose
Maria, to lay by a few hours, and learn the state of affairs from some
one passing along the road, we descended a small ravine entirely
sheltered from view, where the horses were unsaddled, and a temporary
screen made with the serapas, to shield us from the noontide sun. Here I
stretched myself upon the grass, and before many minutes elapsed had cut
buttons and straps from my jacket: the uniform I wore was generally
taken for that of a Mexican cavalry officer, but in this instance I was
resolved to make assurance doubly sure, and not be mistaken for a
gringo: and accordingly hurled buttons and lace far down the gully.
Two hours past meridian I was awakened by Jose, who reported having
heard firing in the town, and that he had learned from a paisano, in hot
haste from Lagos, that Senor Jarauta, after making a forcible razzia of
all animals to be found, marched with over a hundred compatriots for
Aguas Calientes: whether he put himself to any inconvenience or not in
regard to my movements, I did not hear or care, so true is the adage,
"sacabo il pericolo, adio il santo." All I ever learned of his after
history, was that a month later he was made prisoner by the troops of
General Bustamente, and immediately shot. Thus being relieved of the
good father, I gathered courage to proceed, and mounting, we gave spur
for San Juan de Lagos; we had but a league's travel, and I was soon put
out of suspense, for on descending a steep hill, which led down to the
town, we encountered a number of arrieros, who gave the pleasing
intelligence, that the place had declared in favor of the existing
government, and the towns people had driven the agents of Paredes
outside, and thus we rode to a meson without molestation. I noticed
about eighty citizen soldiers drawn up in front of the church, listening
to the harangue of a clerical gentleman, attired in a stove-pipe hat and
flowing gown.
There was not a _remuda_--change--to be had for love or money in San
Juan de Lagos; all the horses having been secured and carried into the
country during the pronunciamentos; after a bowl of frijoles and
tortillas, we were obliged to remount our wearied beasts, and toil
slowly onward.
The same evening we reached the town of San Miguel, when another of
these infernal pronunciamentos was brewing, but a polite old gentleman
procured me a relay, and away we rattled over a dry undulating
champaigne country to Mirondillo, where finding another remuda, and
leaving Cerro Gordo on the left, the full moon lighted us safely into
Tepetitlan. Here I proposed tarrying, but the meson was so filthy and
detestable--so full of fleas and uncomfortable, that wearied as I was,
after vainly trying to sleep on a table, I ordered fresh horses, and
departed at midnight. In two hours, becoming too sleepy to keep the
saddle, notwithstanding Jose made his _macarte_ fast to my steed's neck
and towed us some distance, we fell in with an encampment of arrieros
and their mules, who, after a strict sance, very kindly allowed us to
bivouac near their fires.
In no other part of the world do I believe there can be found such a
worthy, brave, hardworking, and industrious class of persons as the
arrieros of Mexico; they are proverbial for honesty, and there is
scarcely an instance known where they have proved unfaithful; trusted
for weeks and months with the most valuable cargoes, from silks to gold,
in a country, too, where crime in its worst forms is rife, and where
detection is vain, they still appear a distinct race from their thievish
countrymen, and preserve an integrity seldom met with.
At the first blush of morn, the encampment was astir. Calling and
whistling to the mules, the sagacious brutes came regularly to the spot
where their pack was deposited, were in turn loaded, and sent on after
the bell mules in advance. Meanwhile, the drivers prepared a hasty
breakfast, which was hastily eaten--the cigarillo lighted, and off they
trotted after their beasts. A good day's journey is six leagues--resting
during the heat of the day.
I stood gazing at them until they disappeared in the dim light of
morning; then, by the embers of their fires, my guide boiled a small
measure of coffee in a broken earthen pot found near by, when we put
foot in stirrup, and came on in the opposite direction. We rode rapidly
to Puente Calderon, a small village at the foot of an abrupt elevation,
with a noisy torrent dashing its turbid waters against the stone arches
of the bridge. It was the spot where was fought one of the bloodiest
revolutionary battles between the republican and royalist forces.
Dismounting at a rude dwelling fronting the shelving, rocky street, with
_Meson de la Patria_ chalked over the entrance, we entered the patio,
where was standing a huge, ungainly vehicle--a kind of family van, drawn
by nine stout mules--while beneath the portals of the inn-yard were half
a dozen juveniles and a couple of staid, portly parents. _Para servir
ustedes_, quoth I, _Pase vd bien_, murmured the party; _Vamonos
almorzar!_ and accordingly I sat down on a saddle and partook of their
hospitality. The family were destined to Guadalajara from a two months
sojourn on their plantations, and were as ignorant of what was going on
in the world as a fish under water. Indeed, in this particular, they
were not singular examples; and the ignorance of the peasantry was
almost incredible. I frequently met individuals in the Western
provinces, who, though they had heard of the war, had not the slightest
conception with whom--_unos gringos_--some foreigners, they would
say--and as for the simple information regarding short distances from
place to place, or the nature of the road, and such trifling matters, it
defied the most acute cross-examinations.
The conversation at our breakfast ran upon the war, and revolutions of
the country. "And where are you from, Senor?" asked the old lady, as she
chucked a hot tortilla towards me. "From Mexico, and the peace is
declared!" _Valgame Dios!_--is it possible! exclaimed they all in a
breath; "and will those horrible Yankees ever leave the city?" _Si! si!_
"But, Senor, we are wondering who you are?" Oh! I'm one of those
demonios Yankees! _Jesu Maria! dispense mi amigo!_ screamed the Senora.
The old gentleman offered his apologies, and we all laughed heartily;
but still I remarked the younger shoots of the family observing me with
furtive glances, as if I might have been a wild animal lately uncaged.
My hunger was soon appeased, and fresh horses carried us to Puente
Grande. The river was much swollen and flowing over its rocky bed with
turgid violence. Before crossing, I turned up the stream, selected a
clean grassy bank, threw off my clothes, and plunged in. It afforded me
great relief, in its icy coldness, for my leg was still painful with the
hoof-prints of the vicious brute near San Juan del Rio. My ablutions
seemed to create much surprise and amusement to a group of brown damsels
washing on a green islet near by, who, on swimming towards them, changed
their tune and retreated to the willowy thickets. My guide, Jose Maria,
was vastly horrified and shocked, not so much at the conduct of the
girls, as my own regardlessness of life and health, in having the
temerity to lave in cold water. _Se hace dano_--be the death of you--he
continually repeated, and related many direful incidents where persons
had contracted diseases thereby, and had lived but a very few minutes
after coming out; perceiving that I was not affected to that extent, he
at last discovered me to be a _gringo_, who could endure anything. We
again mounted--changed horses in the town--were exempted from paying the
rial toll at the bridge, on account of being an _extraordinario del
Gobierno_--ate a melon--purchased a new whip with a lash like the thongs
of a knout, and thence proceeded towards Guadalajara. Half way, we
overtook two ladies with servants, mounted on fast mules, and we
accompanied them to the city. As we rode through the suburban town of
San Juan--where is the residence of the Bishop of Jalisco, with many
fine houses and beautiful gardens, the rain began to fall, and by the
time we reached the long Paseo, it was descending in cataracts, with
thunder and lightning resounding and flashing around us. I halted for
shelter under the close-leafed protection of the trees that fringed the
promenade; but no arguments could induce my lady companions to do the
same, and they were drenched with a torrent of waters, while standing in
the middle of the road, fearing a shock of the _rayo_, beneath the
foliage.
I was the first to bring confirmed intelligence of the peace, to
Guadalajara. The news of its passage through the Mexican Congress had
already been received, and had caused some demonstrations in one of the
regiments, instigated by agents of Paredes: more was anticipated upon
the confirmation of the treaty, but nothing of importance occurred.
There existed, as in Queretaro, a violent party among the military,
opposed to the new government under Herrera. All moderate and reflecting
_ciudadanos_ were for peace: it was the policy of the State of Jalisco,
though as patriotic as any. It was the wealthiest district of the whole
Republic, and had much to lose and naught to gain, should the waves of
invasion have rolled towards the Pacific. They had drawn a sage moral
from the misfortunes of the neighboring provinces: they had beheld the
largest and best appointed army Mexico ever put in the field, vanquished
at Buena Vista; they had seen a compact body of six thousand troops
cleave their way through six times that force into the garitas of the
capital, and they felt convinced that even half that veteran band of
North Americans could sweep over the grand plateau, and as easily
conquer the fair city of Guadalajara.
At the time of my arrival, the state government felt assured of support,
and besides having means at hand to prevent any insurrection, had
dispatched a battalion of three hundred soldiers, with two pieces of
artillery, to oppose Paredes. Nevertheless, preparations had been made
to guard against any attempt nearer home, and on passing through a
private apartment of an official residence, I observed a number of
persons busily employed making ball-cartridges, but, as usual, they were
too greatly disproportioned with powder, and as a consequence the
Mexicans generally overshoot the mark.