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186 of the district, Don Francisco Paris, at the head of a numerous and well-appointed body of troops. Notwithstanding his superiority, Morelos, aware of the necessity of commencing his operations by a coup-d'éclat, determined to attack the camp of the Royalists by night. The attempt was crowned with complete success. On the 25th of January, 1811, the enemy was surprised, and thrown into such confusion at the first onset, that they thought of nothing but a rapid flight. Eight hundred muskets, five pieces of artillery, a quantity of ammunition, and a considerable sum of money, fell into the hands of Mŏrēlŏs, who thus saw all his wants supplied at once. Seven hundred prisoners were taken at the same time, all of whom were treated with the greatest humanity. This successful enterprize was, as Mŏrēlŏs himself frequently said, the corner-stone of all his later triumphs. The rapidity of his progress, from this moment, was astonishing; and the skill with which he baffled the efforts of the divisions successively detached against him by Venegas, under the Brigadiers Llānŏ and Fūēntĕs, rendered him, in a very short time, the terror of the Spaniards, and the admiration of his own countrymen. His celebrity brought men of talent, from every quarter, to his standard. Those in whom he placed most confidence were, Don Ermenegildo Gălĕānă, the Cura Mătămōrŏs, (whom he appointed his first lieutenant,) and the Brāvŏs, whose whole family joined him, soon after the defeat