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208 derived through his agents. It was certainly no chimerical supposition. The northern provinces were known to be ardently attached to the federal constitution; and when Paredes came into power, there were strong symptoms manifested of a desire to resist his authority. They would naturally have turned to the American army for support, and it is reasonable to suppose, that the fear of losing a large portion of territory south and west of the Rio Grande, might have constrained the Mexican Government to listen to overtures of peace. But before the war had fairly commenced, the project for the re — establishment of the federal constitution, and the return of Santa. Anna, was started by the opponents of Paredes, and his subsequent overthrow put an end to the expectations which had been formed in regard to the secession of the northern provinces.

The suggestions of General Taylor in favor of maintaining a defensive position on the line of the Sierra Madre, and the information communicated by him, showing that a march on San Luis Potosi from Saltillo would be attended with serious difficulty and embarrassment, and that the Santa Barbara pass, opening towards Tampico, and that in the direction of Tula, were both impracticable for artillery, led to an abandonment of the movement designed to be made upon San Luis Potosi, from the north; and in November 1846, General Scott was ordered to repair to the Rio Grande, for the purpose of setting on foot and conducting an expedition against Vera Cruz and the castle of San Juan de Ulua. Previous to this time much valuable information had been procured in