Miss Benjamin

Antonio Ochoa, a.l.s. to General Don Ramón Corona, Guadalupe y Calvo,
20 April 1866

Guadalupe y Calvo Abril 20 de 1866

Señor General

Don Ramon Corona

Donde se halle

General

Se dice con razon que las grandes emociones no pueden espresarse con
palabras, y convencido de esta verdad, yo desearia estar cerca de V.
para darle un estrecho abrazo, cuya significacion sería : mi gratitud
como mexicano por la revindicacion de los sagrados derechos del honor
y dignidad de mi patria, conseguida en parte en los gloriosos triunfos
obtenidos en la villa de la Union, Concordia y otros puntos : mi admiracion
como hombre por las victorias del patriotismo heroico sin recursos y sin
pretensiones vanidosas, contra el orgullo apoyado en ejércitos disciplinados,
provistos de todo con abundancia y reputados como invencibles; y por
último, mi profunda conviccion como creyente en la Divinidad, de que hay
una Justicia eterna que castiga los crímenes del robo de una nacionalidad
y el desnaturalizado de traicion à la patria por medios, considerados por
la baja adulacion y el insensato envanecimiento de la grandeza humana,
como impotentes y despreciables.

La soberbia incomensurable de la Europa, personificada con usura por la
Francia, ha sido humillada por los humildes é insurgentes soldados de los

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remotos y oscuros territorios que se llaman Sinaloa y Jalisco en la
República de Mexico, calificada por los ilustrados europeos como indigna
de figurar entre las naciones civilizadas de la tierra.

El semidios Napoleon 3º., considerado así por la rastrera adulacion
del/gran pueblo, mandará azotar al mar como Jerjes, y desterrará al sol,
por que el uno ha oido las plegarias de pardon M[onsieur] y el ruido
estrepitoso de la huida de sus afamados pretorianos, y el otro ha visto
la completa derrota en varios combates de los infatuados vencedores de
Europa y primeros soldados del mundo.(").Napoleon, orgulloso è injusto
déspota, oye si es posible, las siguientes palabras dirigidas, desde la
cumbre de unas montañas desiertas en la Sierra Madre, por unos cuantos
hombres oscuros y pobres, pero de corazon libre è independiente que no
se deslumbran por el brillo de tus Joyas mal adquiridas, por que estan
acostumbradas á ver diariamente el espandente sol de su patria : Tu
triste mision de opresor del mundo, patrimonio de tu familia, va à eclipsarse
comenzando por las playas del Pacífico en el puerto de Mazatlan" !

Soy, General, su amigo y admizador que le desea el éxito mas completo
en la santa y grande obra de libertar á su Patria

Antonio Ochoa.

Miss Benjamin

Don Antonio Ochoa, a.l.s. to General Ramón Corona, Guadalupe y Calvo,

20 April 1866

Guadalupe y Calvo

20 July 1866

To General

Don Ramón Corona, wherever he may be

General,

It is rightly said that great emotions cannot be expressed in words, and, being convinced of that truth, I would like to be near you, so as to embrace you with fervor. The meaning of that embrace would be: my gratitude as a Mexican for the vindication of my country's sacred rights to honor and dignity, partly gained in the glorious triumphs won in the town of La Unión, Concordia and other places; my admiration as a man for the victories that heroic patriotism, without rich resources or vainglorious pretensions, has won against pride supported by disciplined armies, provided with everything in plenty and with the reputation of invincibility; and, lastly, the profound conviction that I, as one who believes in the Deity, have that there is an eternal Justice which punishes the crimes of theft of nationality and of denaturing the Fatherland by means which vile adulation and the insensate vanity of human pomposity believe to be impotent and contemptible.

The unbounded pride of Europe, personified by France with interest, has been humbled by the humble and rebellious soldiers of the remote and obscure territories known as Sinaloa and Jalisco in the Republic of Mexico, described by enlightened Europeans as being unworthy of

figuring among the civilized nations of the Earth.

The demigod Napoleon III, thus esteemed by the fawning adulation of a great nation, will have to order the sea to be chastised like Xerxes did, and will have to banish the Sun, because the one of them has heard the prayers of "Pardon, Monsieur" and the terrible news of the flight of his celebrated Praetorians, while the other has witnessed the complete defeat in several battles of the infatuated victors of Europe, the finest soldiers in the world. Napoleon, proud and unjust despot ! Hear, if it be possible, the following words addressed to you from the peaks of deserted mountains in the Sierra Madre by a number of men obscure and poor, but with free and independent hearts, and who are not dazzled by the brilliance of your ill-gotten jewels, because they are accustomed to witness every day the splendid sun of their Fatherland: "Your sad rôle as oppressor of the world, an inheritance of your family, is going into eclipse, beginning on the shores of the Pacific in the port of Mazatlán !"

I am, General, your friend and admirer who wishes you the most complete success in your sacred and great work of liberating the Fatherland

Antonio Ochoa.