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Rh the imperial troops, after success in other parts of Mexico, turned their attention seriously to tlie southern states, and, invading the state of Oaxaca, besieged Diaz in the capital, where he was forced to capitulate in February, 1865, and was a second time taken a prisoner to Puebla, but a second time escaped in September. In the next year he was again at the head of 900 men in the east, and won at Miahuatlan a victory over more than double his forces. In the battle of La Carbonera he took 500 Austrian prisoners. After the French army had abandoned Mexico, in February, 1867, Diaz rapidly augmented his forces, and, together with the forces of Gens. Alatorre and Alvarez, who joined him, be- sieged Puebla, commanded by Gen. Oronos. After a bloody assault, the city was captured, 2 April, 1867. Diaz immediately marched against the army of Marquez, who had attempted to relieve Puebla, defeating him at San Lorenzo, and, after his re- treat to the city of Mexico, laid siege to that city, which surrendered on 21 June, 1867. Some acts of cruelty were attributed to Diaz during this cam- paign. In the French chambers, and especially in the senate, grave charges were brought against him for his unmerciful conduct toward those who fell into his power, and crimes were mentioned by Marshal Forey and several senators in the session of March, 1865. Some French writers, and among them Count Keratry, in his " Elevation and Down- fall of Maximilian," accuse Gen. Diaz of cruelty ; but Count Keratry is not an unbiased writer, and, according to the judgment of impartial persons well informed of the facts, while it is true that Diaz is endowed with an unbending will which does not stop at bloodshed when he believes it necessary to the realization of his purposes, he can not in any way be considered as a sanguinary man. After the final reconstruction of the re- public, Diaz retired to his ranche, " La Noria," in Oaxaca. In the elections of October, 1867, he was an unsuccessful candidate against Juarez for the presidency of the republic, and from that time he continually conspired against the govern- ment. After the revolutionary revolt at La Ciuda- dela in favor of Diaz, the latter proclaimed the plan of La Noria, at the city of Oaxaca, and, ac- companied by Gen. Gal van, disguised one as a clergyman and the other as valet, he directed his steps to Sierra de Alica, district of Tepic, with the intention of winning over to his cause Losada, called the "Tiger of Alica"; but, for unknown reasons, Diaz changed his mind and went to Mazat- lan. He won over to his cause Gens. Garcia de la Cadena, Huerta, Toledo, Paz, and several others, and after fighting several battles, the most impor- tant one being that of La Bufa, Diaz left Mexico by way of Matamoros and Brownsville. Juarez died at the city of Mexico a short time after (18 July, 1872), and was succeeded by Lerdo, who issued a decree of amnesty under which Diaz then re- turned to his country and remained some time at the estate of La Candelaria, located in the canton of Tlacotalpan, state of Vera Cruz, where he manu- factured sugar. He was elected deputy to the con- gress of the union by the city of Vera Cruz, and occupied that position during Lerdo's presidential term. The political friends of Diaz proclaimed in 1875, just before, the presidential elections, the revolutionary plan of Tuxtepec, a village belonging to the state of Oaxaca, a plan which was accepted by Diaz and reformed at Palo Blanco in 1876, advocating free suffrage, the abolition of internal I'evenue and excise laws, the independence of the federal district, and the ineligibility of the presi- dent to succeed himself. He won over the military commander of Matamoros, Toledo, and with the garrison offered battle to Gen. Fuero, by whom he was pursued. Diaz was defeated at Icamole, and escaped to New Orleans, where he remained until called by his partisans to Oaxaca, the centre of the revolution against Lerdo's government.

On the voyage to Vera Cruz, while the steamer was at anchor oflf one of the towns on the coast, thinking that his presence had been discovered, and that he would be arrested by government offi- cials, he threw himself into the sea with the inten- tion of swimming ashore, but he was picked up by a boat and taken back to the steamer. When he had reached the harbor of Vei-a Cruz he disguised himself as a coal-heaver, and, with the assistance of the purser, was put on shore. On his arrival at Oaxaca he was acknowledged by the chiefs who favored his cause, and advanced" upon Puebla at' the head of 7,000 men. The bloody battles of Epa- tlan and El Jazmin were fought and lost by Diaz's generals, and were followed by that of Tecoae, where Diaz himself took the command and de- feated the Lerdo government forces (16 Nov., 1876), and occupied shortly afterward the capital of the republic five days after Lerdo's flight to the United States. When Lerdo and some of his ministers, among whom were Gen. Escobedo and Romero Rubio, abandoned the country, Jose Maria Iglesias, then president of the federal supreme court of jus- tice, declared himself, in accordance with the pro- visions of the constitution of 1857. president pro temjjore of the republic, and was supported by sev- eral states and politicians ; but immediately after- ward Gen. Diaz marched from the capital, with a large force, toward the interior, with the purpose of attacking the troops sustaining Iglesias. A con- ference was held between Gen. Diaz and Iglesias at the estate of La Capilla, but they could not agree. Gen. Diaz said he had no alternative but revolu- tion, whereupon Iglesias assured the general that, if he (Diaz) obtained dominion over the republic by military force, he would be a " fortunate soldier, but never a constitutional president." Such was the situation at the beginning of 1877 ; but the troops who were still faithful to the cause of Igle- sias were quickly put to flight at Union de Adobes by Diaz. The military prestige of Diaz, the supe- rior force at his command, and the desire to seek an early solution to the existing difficulties, were powerful motives for the recognition of the " plan of Tuxtepec " by many as the only practicable remedy. For a short period Mexico had four presi- dents at once : Lerdo, Iglesias, Mendez, and Diaz. Gen. Mendez was temporarily intrusted with the management of the government's affairs during Gen. Diaz's absence on his m.ilitary expedition, and on the following days the elections took place for deputies to the congress of the union, for president of the republic, and for magistrates of the supreme court of justice. Gen. Diaz was elected president. Congress assembled on 1 April, and on 5 May, 1877, Diaz took the oath of office, and was duly inaugurated as chief magistrate of the nation until 30 Nov., 1880. In June occurred the difficulties with the United States respecting American troojis on the frontier, but in an interview at Piedras Negras. in July, between Gens. Ord and Trevifio, these difficulties were amicably settled. The gov- ernment of Gen. Diaz by the month of August had been officially recognized by those of Germany, Guatemala, San Salvador, and Italy ; but not until March, 1878, was it flnally recognized by the United States. In 1878-'9 there were revolts in different parts of the country, which Diaz, with his experi- ence as a revolutionist and conspirator, finally sub-