The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1846-06-16
May she never feel as did her heart-brokeu
mother. the terrible effects of a mere fashion
able education The Ray.
MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS.

MEXICO AND THE MEXICANS.
From Retoliections Of Merico.-By Waddy
Thompson, Esq, late ENJOY Ertraordinary
and Minister Plenipatent'ary cfthe United
States at Mcrico.-Nev York: Wiley ana
Putnam,
That which is in all respects the greatest
nuisance, and he most insuperable barrier To
he prosperity and progress of Mexico, is the
army. They will tell you there it amounts
10 forty thousand men: but they have never
had bali number. | have no doubt thai
The accounts at the Department of War ex-
hbit nearly The number stated, but Il large
portion of them ar. men of straw-icTilious
names fraudulenrly inserted for the benefit OF
The officers who pay them. They are paid
every day. or rather. that is the law; but the
paw is just as fictitious as the muster oils.
They have more Than two hundred gener
ais, most of them without commands. Every
officer who commands n regiment has the
title of general, and is distinguished from gen
erals, who have no commands by the addi-
ton of General eifectve.'-The rate of pay
is not very different from that of our own
army. Each officer and soldier, however, is
his own commisSary, no raiions being issued !;
and they well satisfied if they receive G.
nough Of their pay to procure scan'y iations.
which was very rarely the case, except with
Santa Annals favOrlIe troops, whom he al
ways kept about his person. and his made il
their interest TO sustain him. In one of The
last conversrtions winch / had with him. !
told him thai the army would remain faithful
To him just long as he could pay them.
aud no longer, and that did not see how it
for hi, IN than, ranch To-,
ger.
The result proved the truth Of both predic
lions. aud that, have no doubt, was The
cause of the revolution which overthrow
hIn. 1t was not alone with the French san
Sca!o'tes thai IA liherie Ell la peine' is cry of
fearful PoleDcy. Shortly before left Mexi-
co, an officer in the army came 10 the city and
settled his accounts wl.h he War Depart
nent. aud received a certificate that p hun
dred dollars were due 10 him after hawking
it about amongst the brokers, lie sold the
claim Tor hundred and twenty five dollars,
~hich was five cents on the dollar
They say they are obliged to have stan
ling arms, and that they can only enforce
heir laws by the grace of God aud guupow-
der This may be true, bat doubt il. But
if This be. IS there any military man Tho will
isGiN lfldt I'VE lDoiiSdlu SflrIS .ttil-tlal0.
aud ciplmcd, would be more eiiici-ur than
hlty thousand such troops as they have ii
has been the policy of all great commanders
not To take doubtful and uudisciplined troops
inrn a great battle. | do not hcsilaIe to say
that if | was in command Of an army of ten
thousand disciplined troops, and was going
nto barlc, and was offered ten thousand
mare Mexican troops, thai | would not take
them. Napier. in his history Of the Peninsu-
ar War, describing some hattie, uses this ex-
preston: The British arTnv WAS strength
ened or rather lredkeEed by twenty thousand
undsciplned Spanish troops The Unequal
Hy between disciplined and undscipinch
iroopsis estimated by m lilary men as one to
Eve. Til .n2qualuy is much greater with
large masses. and / Il" not think thai any COM
mander could perform tactical evolution
with five thousand Mexican troops. | do
not believe that such an one-a manoeuvre
in the face Of an eremy-was ever attempted
in any MEXICAN batIle; they have all heen
mere mclres, or mob fights, and generally
terminated by charge of cavalry. which is.
therefore, the favOrite corps with all Mexit an
officers. | SHOULD regard it. from the dlmin-
uiive size of their horses and equally diminu-
i've stature aud feebleness Of their riders. rs
utterly inefficient against any common infan-
Try. said So in conversation with Colonel
B-n, au officer who had seen some SER
vice, and had some reputation. | was not
title amused at his reply He admitted that
squares of Infantry were generally impregna-
BILE 10 cavalry, bnt said it was not 50 with
Mexican cavalry. that they had one resource
Wy which they never had any difficulty in
eakIng the square. | was curious TO know
what this new and important discovery in the
art of war was, and waited impatiently the
push of his own thing when 10 my infinite
amusement he repiied-ihe Lasso: hat the
cavalry armed with lassos rode up and threw
them over the men forming the square and
pulled them out, and thus made the breach.
remembered that my old nurse had often
got me 10 sleep when a child, by promising
II catch me some birds the next day. by put
ting salt on their tails, which ! thought quite
easy an operation rs this new discovery
o. the Mexican colonel. ! bad read of 'kneel
ing ranks and charging squadrons, but this
idea of !asSoiug Squadrons was altogether new
10 me. BUuaparte fought and gained the
battle Of the Pyramids against the best caval-
ry in the world, Mamelukes. entirely in
squares. He lost the battle of Waterloo be-
cause the British squares were impeneirahle
TO the next best-rhe French cavalry-durine
all of that long and awful conflict. This idea
however. Of the lasso did not occur TO the
Mamelukes of Egypt. nor to Bonapare AT
Waterloo. ! was reminded of the equally
i.ovel attack Of the Chinese npon the English
when they were all HORNED IN battle array and
The Chinese threw somersets al them instead
of cannon balls and shells.
The Mexican army, and more particularly
their cavalry, may do very well To fight each
other. but in any conflict with our own Of
European troops, il would not be banle but
a massacre. Frederick the Great, who was
the author, IN Sreat degree, Of the modern
system Of tactics. had three maxims as to cav
airy. First, thar cavalry corps should
never be charged hut should always make the
charge. Second. that. in charge OF cavalry
Trey were not going fast enough unless when
hailed the froih from the mouth of the horse
strnck the rider in the face ; and ihiid, which
was rather the summing up OF the first two.
that the spur was more important than The
sword. In other words that The impulse and
momentum of the horse was of more conse-