The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1883-12-20

is asserted that not only here, but on
other battleheds Hidalgo was forced
to wink obliquely or grant a sullen
concession to the revengeful character
of his followers, in order to retain their
allegiance, and this view is doubtless
the great blot upon the PADRES con-
duct of the war, which neither apology
can gloss over nor circumstances ex-
tenuate. Wherever this hastily organ
lied army passed Spaniards and UNI
complying creoles were indiscrimin-
ately slaughtered. On leaving Zelaya
his fierce and undisciplined recruits
now numbered 10000, and pushing on
at the head of his depredatory troops
Hidalgo, with the swoop Of an eagle,
descended the Sierras upon the noble
city Of Guanajuato, in the heart of the
wealthiest mining district of Mexico.
This city then contained a population
of $4,000. Hidalgo called upon its
people to surrender, offering them
terms the most humane. These were
rejected with derision, the commander
Of the place desiring to know who was
the leader of these ragged, half-clad
hosts. "Tell him." said Hidalgo, "the
Captain General Of America must have
his CITY," After a short but bravely
resisted siege Guanajuato fell. Here
the storming forces repeated the mas
sacres Of Zelaya, before the insurgent
priest could stay the savage fury of his
troops. 1t had now become indeed a
war of races. The sacking lasted for
three days; the houses Of the Span
iards were demolished, and the troops
in their drunken glee made murder a
pastime by night and by day. Six
millions of dollars fell into the empty
army chests Of the invader.
Meanwhile the Viceroy Venaga was
not idle. To him the war at its out
break appeared merely as riot, a
turbulent raid Of Indian and mixed
bloods, who could be easily quelled by
few attachments OF soldiery, if, in
deed, the proneness of the native rev.
olutionists to drunkenness did not ac-
complish their dispersion without re-
sorting to violent measures. But as
every hour bore to the ears of the
Kings representative at the capital
the tidings of the prodigious successes
and rapid advance of Hidalgo, he
quickly perceived that the emeute had
assumed the proportions Of a national
rebellion.
THE sPANIARDs AROUSED.
Venago was not slow to act. He
hurriedly dispatched General Truxillo
with large army to quell the insurec-
ton. At the same time the aid of the
Church was invoked, which Numbered
its anathemas and accommodation
against the patriot priest and his adj
herents, while Hidalgo in turn excom-
municated the Archbishop of Mexico
and all his supporters. Before leaving
GuanaJuato, Hidalgo established a
mint and a foundry for the manufac-
ture of cannon, and then pushed on to
give battle to lruxillo at Las Cruces,
only eight leagues from the capitol.
So rapidly had his army now increased
that it numbered no less than 3d.
men. Uniting as he did in his person
both the priest and warrior, Hidalgo
was looked up to by his rude, enthusi-
astic soldiers as a heaven-sent liber-
ator of his people, and which an un-
broken series Of victories went far to
confirm in their credulous minds.
Meeting for the first time large army
of disciplined troops under Truxillo at
Las Cruces, Hidalgo's men showed no
fear at the perilous novelty of the SIT
uation. The fate of the day hung
evenly poised until the afternoon,
when Truxillo, under flag of truce,
caused numbers of his enemies to be
treacherously shot down. Then with
death to the Gachupines," the on
slaught was renewed by the rebels.
They charged up to the Spanish guns,
taking them at the point of their ma
ehete, or spiking Others with the straw
sombreros from off their heads. There
was no resisting them; and General
Truxillo incontinently retreated to the
Bity Of Mexico, with the loss of all his
artillery. Hidalgo followed the fugi-