The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1848-02-11
From the " Q. Picayunc Of the lo:h.
From MeXiC0,

NalH iulU, HrtlNtu mere Ilss tNSNlH% iulli
Vera Cruz, having sailed on the 18th inst
The news we published Yesterday Of an
attack upon the train under Col. Miller, is
conhuaed IN some respects. J he loss may
have been exaggerated, and it VIII, more0-
ves fall principally upon foreign merchants
Ia " HON the pack mules stolen belonged
One house is said 10 have lost property worth
$4,000. 1t was. au English firm. The
French and Spanish merchants robbed were
able TO obtain the restoration oi their goods
10y paying smartly, but no compromise could
be made by English and American mer-
chants. Their reliance now is upon Cen
cral TwigcS, who is expected to assess up
on the district Of Orzaba, whence the brig
suds oHnw, the amount lost. In the Skin
mish it i supposed that three OF four Of the
mounted rifles were killed, aud eight or ten
of the Mexican multteCrs. The portion Of
the train ont otihad incau,iou>ly Jagged be-
hind, Col. Miller could not wait for them
10 cone up, but left a guard Of twenty-five
men behind, which was totally inadequate
against the Sudden onset of four hundred
gucrrllaS.
There has been an arrival at Vera Cruz
from the city of Mexico, with dates to the
Isl inst. The mail came down via Ori7aba.
Gen. Scott has issued an order assessing
upon the States OF Mexico, occupied or
to be occupied by our troops, an annual
tax amounting 10 about three millions
There is nothing in it like peace. From the
Free American, Of the 18th inst, we copy
the following items, derived from the papers
received from the capital;
The American Star, 81 the 3l>t Dcccm-
her. says that il has been known that large
force Of guerrilas was in the vicinity ofthc
city Of Mexico that the [. ). dragons had
failed 10 come mp with them. On the 9th
ult., PaGie Jarauta slept at san Juan Xeot-
huucau. accompanied by eight hundred men.
On the 2S,h. he was al Gaudampc, with an
escort ot fifteen men, and prGs eelCd as far
n the garila. From thence he proceeded
u Hanepantla, some nine miles from the CT
~ of Mexico. on the Queretaro road. His
cry at Guadalupe was, Long live the re.
ljcion" We hope. adds the Star, that some
Of oUr Dragons. or others, VIII shortly get
this precious rascal in their hands. lie is
bold in ventur.ng so near the city, and can
not expect to escape apprehension and the
punishment which he deserves.
\ Railroad meeting was 90 be- helm on the
lst. A committee, Of which Col. Herbert
was chairman, was To make its report in re.
gard to the feasibility of the routes and 9TH
er matters appensining thereto. \ repor,
was made some fifteen years ago, by an.
thority of the Mexican Government. the
substance of which was TO be presented TO
the meeting.
= rumor was aiioat on the 3lst ult that
Colonel Nither'S command, " hich left the
city Of Mexico on the evening Of the Goth.
for Real del Monte, had been cut 10 Iiects
when about twenty miles distant. The Star
does not believe word of 1t, and SAYS that
il would require four " five thousand Mexi-
cans. at least. to rout the 9Th infantry, the
dragons and the artillery, under Col. VS.
command, and that il is fortunate for Padre
Jlrauta and his followers that they did not
reach Guadalupe until two days after Col
Withers' command left that place.
\ train viii probably arrive here in The
course Of next week from the city Of Mex
co.
BY this arrival the dates from Quero;aro
are to the 2Sth Of December. Hopes were
then entertained that the approaching Con-
gress would have a quorum, and there was
much less talk Of prOHUHcismcaioS and rev.
olutonS. y letter Of the Both. says that al
parties are agreed not to send Commissions
ers to Washington. arbitration being prefer
able TO that stage Of degradation.
We iind little said about a treaty Of peace
but there were whispers at Queretaro of an
armiStice OF three months being on the tGpis
The steamship Fanny Capt. Scott, arfv-
ed at New Orleans on the 26th from Brazos.
which she left on the Goth. We have the
"MatamoraS Flag" Of the 18th. but it con-
tains no news &c importance. The follow
iug extracts are taken from a letter which
the Flag" publishes, received in Matamo-
ras from a gentleman in Vera Cruz, dated
the I'd nst.-although the date is not so late
as we have had, the contents are interest.
ing:
Capt Kerr, Of the 2d Dragons, arrived
here last night, six days from the city o.
Mexico. He says Gen. Scott told him he
had nearly concluded peace with Mexico
and our troops would all be oG'from here by
the lSt Of April. do not think so. because
in the first place, Gen. Scott is not authoriz'
ed to make peace, and there is nobody tc
make peace with Just now, that know Of
Capt. Kerr fell in with Torrejon, on hi,
way down from Mexico; he was escortinl
some English property aud had pass frou
General Scott. lie ,sid he was done fight
ing the Americans and would now turn hi,
whole attention toputting down the robbers
The cowardly thief, he never dared fight tn,
Americans since Thornton was taken by
him above Matamoras. The Acalde'.
Courts of Vera Cruz are abolished, and Gen
Twiggs has made new regulations with re-
gard to Mexican thieves; they are tried by
our military court and whipped in the publ,
square. The rascals cry murder and call Of
all the saints, but the saints won't interfere
and the lash is put on well. Twiggs say,
that he intends TO make the people Of thi
town so honest, that person may leave hi
Goa; or hat in the plaza all night and find i
there inthe morning. A difficult job, Itakt
il.
How TnE SETTLERS rEfL.--At recen
meeting of the settlers oftowrships - an,
%, IN 10 Daviss county in this state, rcsoiu
tons were adopted to the effect "that if an,
( person should enter land that is claimed BY
a settler. in the above named townships
within two years from the time the sam,
was offered for sale. that we will conside
such person as RoBBER and prRATr, ant
treat him as such. Also. if any person
shall enter any land that.is claimed by n set
tier, that he. nor any other to whom he ma,
sell or transfer il, shall nerer hare Dgdre1bl