The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-02-28
MEXICO.


The latest news from Mexico looks decidedly
unfavorable to the French. They have been
forced to evacuate again q number of places
which had been occupied; in particular, the towns
of Jalapa and Tampico. Both were few hours
after taken possession Of by Mexican troops
At Tsmpico, which was evacuated on January
Is, the French met with q serious loss. one Of
their war steamers, the Lance, running aground
and being burned, and three other vessels being
captured by the Mexicans Another place, near
Cordova, in the State of Vera Cruz, has been
abandoned, and the route between Vera Cruz
and Orizaba ia more infested by guerrillas than
ever before.
The Mexicans have not been slow to take ad !.
vantage of these disasters to the invaders They
try, in particular, to destroy the provisions Of
their enemy, and to take from them their mules,
well knowing how difficult it will be for the
French to replace them. The last intelligence
records more successes of the Mexicans in this
kind of warfare, than has been brought by any
previous arrival. The statements of the Mexi-
can papers appear to be fully trustworthy. On
January 81 q train Of pack-mulee wac attacked
and captured At Arroyo de Puebla, only seven
miles from Orizaba; 800 more were captured
between Tecamalchaleo and Quecholac; 500 9TH
ars near San Augustin del Palmar several
""SohSS q otlus, ouV hudpshChS Oh pioC0
called I'll Organo, in the State of Vera Cruz; 6l2
others by the Mexican military commander Of
Tiaxcala. These successes cannot fail to cause
to the commander of the French troops great
embarrassment, for it was only with the greatest
difficulty that sufficient number of mules were
secured in the West Indies and the United
States to make an advance possible.
In ADDITION to these difficulties, the ranks of
the French troops continue to be terribly thinned
by sickness. No less than 400 sick soldiers
were removed from Jalapa to Perote, and at San
Augustine del Palmar, two hospitals have been
erected, and have already received 1000 pa
tiepts. The sickly season is again approaching,
when disease and mortality, already too fright
full in their ravages, will at once largely increase.
If, therefore, the French General.in Chief is
still instructed to advance upon Puebla, the Sc.
vastapol of Mexico, he must do so soon. There
the first great bettle of the war is likely to be
fought. The Mexicsns are confident Of success
They have made preparations for the attack by
the French, on the most extensive scale, having
2S, 600 soldiers in the town, and some 1900
out of it, and Notifications mounting 1877 guns.
The French, some %, 900 in number, encamped,
up to the 18th, in San Augustine del Palmar, IL
leagues from Pueblo, and they commenced a
further advance on January Is. 1t Was expect.
menced between the 9th and the 10th of the
present month. If this expectation should be
realized, We may hear in one or two weeks Of
stirring news. sa7f
It appears that no progress is made by the
French in conciliating the Hexicans The con.
duct of the French troops, on the contrary, ag.
gravates the feelings of intense hatred which
animates the majority of tie native population.
Several facts are cited. which, if not cleared
up, will certainly cover the French army with
everlasting disgrace. They are reported to
have bombarded, for three days, the town of
Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, without having
given time to remove the women and children.
They are also said to have arrested and shot a
Mexican lieutenant who escorted the United
States Consul, under flag OF truce to the
French line. Not only the native Mexicans
complain of such atrocities, but also Spanish
and other foreign residents and it is an inter-
esting and remarkable fact, that the tone of the
Spanish papers of Havana, in speaking of the
French expedition, shows signs of significant
change. It seems to be certain that If the Mex
leans hold out in the defense of their indepen-
dence, the war will cost France much more mer
aud money than was at the beginning anticipa-
ted. An intercepted letter of the family of Mr.
Jecker in Paris, states that when the Emperor
Napoleon received the dispatch announcing the
defeat of the French at Puebla, he threw it into
Eugenie's lap saying, ut is your fault" Wheth
er the story be true or not, it can hardly be
doubted that the words imputed to the Emperor
express the sentiments of very large portion
of the French people. aargL j ID
'R The french Texas Intrlgues.