CHAPTER XXIX.
THE REVOLUTION.
We will now return to the Hacienda del Barrio, in order to explain tothe reader certain important events which had occurred, the knowledgeof which is indispensable to understand coming facts. The conspirators,after the departure of Count de Melgosa, whose unexpected visit had sodisagreeably surprised them, had immediately separated, not through anyfear of the consequences which this visit might have for them, but, onthe contrary, to arm their peons and adherents, and put themselves asquickly as possible in a position to resist any attempted aggression onthe part of the Spanish government.
The Mexicans, instructed and hardened to war by ten years' fightingand their numerous defeats, were no longer the half-savage men whomarched without order or discipline, impelled solely by religiousfanaticism or the ardent love of liberty, and let themselves be bravelyslaughtered by the old Spanish bands on the plains of Calderon. Hidalgoand Morelos, those sublime champions of liberty, had lost their livesin their generous attempts at emancipation; but their blood had not invain bedewed that Mexican soil which the Spaniards fancied enslavedforever. Other chiefs, electrified by the heroic devotion of theirpredecessors, had risen in their turn, and, profiting by past errors,organized the revolt, and gradually, by their skilful and incessantguidance, the insurrection, at first timid and retired, extended, andeventually became a revolution.
The knell of Spain had rung: her power, ruined on all sides, crumbledaway in hands too feeble to hold it. The Viceroys of New Spain,incessantly pressed, were involuntarily forced to try concessions--afatal resolve for tyranny, which it is impossible to check, forno sooner is one difficulty smoothed than another larger and moreformidable rises up. The supreme struggle began. The proclamation ofIguala, published by General Iturbide--that is to say, the independenceof New Spain, union between the Spanish and Mexican races, and theexclusive maintenance of the Catholic religion--gave the signal forrevolt. It was general; insurgent bands were organized on all sides.
Don Pelagio Sandoval summoned all the hacenderos of the province,and two days after the conference we have described, the insurgentforces, amounting to more than ten thousand well-armed men, infantryand cavalry, and having a battery of six mountain guns, quitted theHacienda del Barrio, where their chief only left a weak garrison tohold the Indians in check, and advanced by forced marches on Coahuila.This capital of the province was a town of nine or ten thousand souls,built on an affluent of the Rio Sabina, surrounded by walls, and;owing to the arrangements made long before by General Cardenas, it wasperfectly defended from a surprise. The progress of the insurrectionaryarmy was truly a triumphant march. At each step reinforcementsreached it, and the Mexicans everywhere took up arms. Leona Vicario,Castanuello, Parras, Nueva Bilbao, and Santa Rosa expelled theSpaniards, and proclaimed their independence by hoisting the green,white, and red flag, the emblem of the three guarantees of the treatyof Iguala, independence, union, and religion.
Don Pelagio Sandoval, not wishing to leave any enemy in his rear,suddenly attacked the Presidio of the Rio Grande as well as the fortsof the Agua Verde and Bahia, built on the Rio del Norte, in orderto protect the border against Indian forays, and after a vigorousresistance, carried them by storm. The insurgent general, in order notto embarrass his army with prisoners, contented himself with disarmingthe Spanish garrisons, and left them free to retire wherever theypleased. This merciful policy formed too great a contrast with therigorous system hitherto adopted by the government, not to producea good result, whose effect was immediately felt; many officersand soldiers, natives of New Spain, offered their swords to theinsurrection, and passed into the ranks of the Mexican army. One townalone still resisted the general movement and remained faithful toSpain; this town was Coahuila.
General Don Lopez de Cardenas, at the first insurrectionary movement,called in all the Spanish garrisons scattered through the other towns,which he despaired of defending effectually against the formidableforces of the insurgents, and shut himself up in Coahuila, resolvedto bury himself beneath the smoking ashes sooner than open the gatesto men whom he regarded as miserable rebels, deceived and seduced bya fanatic priest. After proclaiming independence in all the towns ofthe province, and establishing the national government, Don Pelagioled on Coahuila the forces at his disposal, which, as we said, hadbeen largely augmented by the contingents constantly supplied by theliberals, and now rose to the really formidable number of 25,000 men.
The Mexicans reached the town after meeting with no further obstaclethan a considerable cavalry corps, probably sent to reconnoitre,and which, after exchanging a few carbine shots with the vanguard,declined a contest and fell back. The town was immediately invested.General Cardenas was not only an old soldier, but also a skilfulstrategist; in the prevision of a revolt, he had abundance of arms andammunition at Coahuila, and so soon as he was shut up in the town, hehad earth breastworks thrown up, and wide ditches dug. Hence a regularsiege was about to begin against an enemy who was too well aware of thehatred he had aroused not to offer a vigorous resistance. The priest'sfirst care was to trace a parallel, and throw up entrenchments. Theflag of independence was haughtily hoisted on the jacal, which servedas headquarters, and Don Pelagio summoned the town to surrender. Onhearing the Mexican bugles, General Cardenas appeared on the ramparts,surrounded by a large party of Spanish officers, smart as gold lacecould make them.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he said in a haughty voice,addressing the officer who commanded the Spanish detachment.
This officer was Don Anibal de Saldibar, whom General Sandoval had madehis first aide-de-camp and major-general. Don Anibal held in his handhis drawn sword, to the blade of which a white scarf was fastened.
"Who are you?" he answered; "I have orders only to address Don Lopez deCardenas, commanding the town."
"And governor of the province," the general interrupted sarcastically.
"The province no longer recognizes the power of the Spanish government."
"Indeed," he said; "and pray what do you want with General Cardenas?"
"I can only tell that to himself."
"Well, speak without further delay, for he is listening to you."
Don Anibal bowed.
"I have orders," he said, "to summon you to surrender the townimmediately to General Don Pelagio Sandoval, commander-in-chief of theMexican forces of the province of Coahuila."
"Ah, ah!" said the general, biting his moustache.
"General Sandoval," Don Anibal continued, "invites you to arrange aninterview with him in order to discuss the terms of the capitulation."
General Cardenas could not stand this any longer; the demands of theinsurgents seemed to him so absurd, that he burst into a laugh, inwhich his officers joined. Don Anibal was not at all affected by thisunseasonable hilarity; he stood coldly with folded arms, waiting tillthe general thought proper to become serious again.
"Well, my good fellow," the latter said presently; "are you stillthere?"
"Certainly, General, and shall remain till you are pleased to answerme."
"Diablos, your pretensions are too exaggerated. Learn that I knowno other army in New Spain but the Spanish. As for the cuadrillaof bandits surrounding the town at this moment, and the cabecillawho commands it, to whom you dare give the title of general, listencarefully to this: I do not treat with rebels, wretched slaves who haverevolted against their masters. I consented to listen to you to theend, and not have you shot at once, but do not try my patience too far.Retire and be careful not to be the bearer of such messages in future,for a misfortune would happen to you; that is the only answer I canand will give you. Now, make haste to be off, if you do not wish me togive the order to treat you as you deserve."
"Take care, General," Don Anibal answered intrepidly, "the struggle youare hurrying on is an impious one, the cause you defend is a lost one.Through humanity, if not through conviction, spare the useless sheddingof innocent blood, which will fall on your head."
"Send a couple of bullets
at that chatterer," the general said witha shrug of his shoulders, as he turned to the troops present at thisinterview.
The soldiers obeyed, and several bullets, badly aimed, perhapspurposely so, whistled portentously past the ears of the bravehacendero. The latter, who had fully heard the order given by thegeneral, did not attempt to avoid them, but merely removed the whitescarf from his sword and threw it from him.
"Of what use is a flag of truce," he said, "when you have to deal withhangmen who despise the law of nations. Farewell, General Cardenas;I had forgotten the name which the inhabitants of this province havebranded you with; you have just reminded me of it." After bowingironically to the Spaniards, he made a sign to his escort to followhim, and retired with a slow, calm step, as if he had nothing to fearfrom the man whom he thus outraged. The general had raised his headand opened his mouth, probably to give some terrible order; but hesucceeded in restraining himself. He smiled cunningly as he lookedafter the flag of truce who had so audaciously braved him, and, as heleft the ramparts, said--
"Come, caballeros, we will return to the cabildo. The bark of thosescoundrels is worse than their bite. I trust before long to prove tothem that they were right to christen me 'the Shark.'"
Don Anibal returned to the jacal, where Father Sandoval was waitingfor him, surrounded by his staff. The general of the insurgentsknew perfectly well that the summons he sent his enemy would remainunanswered, or, if he deigned to give one, that it would be of aninsulting nature; but he thought himself bound to take this step, inorder to have right entirely on his side, by forcing General Cardenas,with whose character he was thoroughly acquainted, to commit one ofthose bloodthirsty acts to which he was accustomed. Such a deed wouldpermit him to make every effort to carry the town and capture thegeneral, of whom he purposed to make an example. Father Sandoval'scalculations were perfectly correct. General Cardenas had not hesitatedto give orders to fire on a flag of truce. He had done even more, asthe Mexican officers soon learned from the formidable clamour that ranalong the whole army.
During the skirmish which took place a short distance from the town,the Spaniards took six or seven prisoners--poor peons, not so wellmounted as their comrades, and who had not been able to rejoin the armyso speedily as they might have liked. These prisoners were taken intothe town, and as ill luck would have it the general perceived themas he entered the cabildo. On seeing them he could not restrain hisfury, but ordered that they should at once be led to the ramparts, andhung in the sight of the Mexican army. In vain did the officers try todissuade him. The general was inexorable, and the poor fellows werehung without any trial. They heaved their last sigh at the very momentwhen Don Anibal de Saldibar entered the jacal, and the army burst intoa fearful clamour, which caused the Mexican general and his officers toshudder with horror and passion.
The siege consequently began under mournful auspices. Every insurgentwho fell into the hands of the Spaniards was hung on the ramparts.General Cardenas had sworn to make a wall of corpses round the town. Ontheir side, the Mexicans mercilessly massacred the hapless Spaniardswhom the chances of war delivered into their hands. It was in vainthat Padre Sandoval implored his comrades to spare their enemies. Theexasperation of the Mexicans was at its height, and they remained deafto the prayers and orders of their chief. At the same time the Spanishgeneral defended himself like a lion. Every patch of ground gained bythe insurgents was disputed inch by inch, and cost streams of blood.
The town had been invested for seven days, and as yet there was noprospect that it would be soon captured. On the eighth day, FatherSandoval received a copy of the treaty signed by General Iturbide andthe Viceroy O'Donoju. This treaty stated substantially that Mexico wasdeclared independent, on the condition of establishing a constitutionaland representative monarchy, of which a member of the family of theSpanish Bourbons should be nominated King. The Viceroy understood thecritical position in which the interests of the home country wereplaced, and despairing completely to preserve to Spain the possessionof this rich colony, he skilfully turned the question, so as to save asmuch as he could.
This treaty terminated the war; but Father Sandoval did not know howto communicate the fact to General Cardenas. After the menaces made bythat general, and the summary executions that followed them, no onecared to go to him. Don Anibal, ever ready to sacrifice himself for thecommon welfare, offered to proceed to the general. The latter, contraryto expectation, let the flag of truce enter the town, and even receivedhim with a certain amount of courtesy, which surprised Don Anibalhimself, especially after the manner in which the first interview hehad with him ended.
The hacendero handed the general a copy of the treaty, adding that hehoped this document would put a stop to the bloodshed. The general tookthe paper, which he read attentively twice, as if weighing all itsclauses. While he was perusing it, Don Anibal tried in vain to followon his face the effect it produced; but the general's features seemedcarved in marble, and no emotion was visible on them.
"My answer will be brief, caballero," he said, in a dry voice, but withan accent of gloomy resolution. "In my opinion, the Viceroy O'Donojuhas no power to settle so serious a question as the independence ofNew Spain. The king, my master and his, delegated him, not to throwaway this colony, but to keep it for him at all risks. This deed istherefore null, so long as the King of Spain and the Indies has notratified it. As for me, caballero, I shall not resign the authorityentrusted to me. A royal order alone will make me return my sword tothe scabbard from which I have drawn it. Whatever the consequences ofthis resolution may be to me, I shall wait for that order. Good day."
The general bowed slightly to the flag of truce, and turned away as ifto make him understand that his audience was over. Don Anibal withdrew,and was conducted to the advanced posts with bandaged eyes, althoughtreated with the utmost respect by the soldiers told off as his escort.The chief of the Liberals was most anxiously awaiting the return of hisemissary, as he feared, with some show of reason, that the general,despising, as usual, the law of nations, had made him undergo unworthytreatment. Hence it was with extreme pleasure that he saw Don Anibalreturn. Unhappily, the reply brought by the hacendero did not leave theslightest hope of peace. Father Sandoval, though recognizing in hisheart the wisdom of his enemy's conduct, resolved with a sigh of regretto deal a heavy blow, and made his preparations accordingly.