Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 1.djvu/308

290 only food. A cat sold for six dollars, a lizard for two, and rat and other vermin for one. But Morelos still continued firm, hoping by procrastination and endurance, to preserve the constancy of his men until the month of June, when the country is generally deluged with rain and rendered insalubrious to all who dwell habitually in colder regions, or are unacclimated in the lower vallies and table lands of Mexico. His hopes, however, were not destined to be realized, for, upon consultation, it was found absolutely necessary to risk a general engagement or to abandon the town. The general engagement was considered injudicious in the present condition of his troops, so that no alternative remained but that of retreat. This was safely effected on the night of the 2d of May, 1812, notwithstanding the whole army of the insurgents was obliged to pass between the enemy's batteries. After quitting the town, the forces were ordered to disperse, so as to avoid forming any concentrated point of attack for the pursuing Spaniards, and to reunite as soon as possible at Izucar, which was held by Don Miguel Bravo. Calleja entered the abandoned town cautiously after the departure of the besieged, but the cruel revenge he took on the innocent inhabitants and harmless edifices, is indelibly imprinted in Mexican history as one of the darkest stains on the character of a soldier, whose memory deserves the execration of civilized men.

From Izucar, Morelos entered Tehuacan triumphantly, whence he passed to Orizaba where he captured artillery, vast quantities of tobacco, and a large amount of treasure. But he was not allowed to rest long in peace. The regular forces pursued his partizan warriors; and we next hear of him at Oaxaca, where he took possession of the town after a brief resistance. It was at this place that Guadalupe Victoria, afterwards president of the republic, performed a feat which merits special remembrance as an act of extraordinary heroism and daring in the face of an enemy. The town was moated and the single drawbridge suspended, so as to cut off the approach of the insurgents. There were no boats to cross the stagnant water; and the insurgents, as they approached, were dismayed by the difficulty of reaching a town which seemed almost in their grasp. At this moment Guadalupe Victoria, sprang into the moat, swam across the strait in sight of the soldiers in the town who seem to have been panic struck by his signal courage, and cut the ropes that suspended the drawbridge, which, immediately falling over the moat, allowed the soldiers of Morelos a free entrance into the city!