Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/343

Rh ﬁelds of corn, and wheat, and barley. Scattered about over the luxuriant plains were tall mountain peaks, fringed with the funereal pine;or piles of blackened scoriæ,marking the places once lighted by the fires of the now slumbering volcano. At El Pinal they crossed another ridge, and then descended into the valley, in the midst of which lies Puebla "The city of the An-_ gels." To the stranger, as he approaches, it seems like some rich gem lying in the bosom of the Cordilleras; but within, vice, degradation, and depravity, the most hideous and loathsome, meet him at every turn. The church, and the few citizens — comparatively the very few — Who may be seen at sunset rolling in their antique coaches, around the Alameda, enjoying the fragrance of its flowers, and inhaling the atmosphere cooled by its gushing fountains, have amassed all the property, and the great multitude are miserably poor and wretched.

General Worth halted at Amasoque, twelve miles from Puebla, with his division, on the 14th of May, to await the arrival of General Quitman. About eight o'clock in the forenoon he found his position suddenly menaced by about 3,000 Mexican cavalry, commanded by Santa Anna. When first discovered they appeared to be moving along on the right flank of the Americans, towards their rear, and it was soon reported that a heavy column were also approaching on the main road. Colonel Garland, with the 2nd artillery and a section of Duncan's battery, and Major Bonneville, with the 6th infantry and Steptoe's battery, were ordered to attack the cavalry force, and the remainder of the troops prepared to meet the enemy said to be advancing in front. No other party was discovered,