Page:The rise and fall of the Emperor Maximilian.djvu/40

24 with the resources and localities of the district, should have ascended without delay on to the plateau of San Andres, which was rich in maize and cattle. The regiments which had just disembarked should have closely followed, and would thus have escaped the unhealthy action of the 'hot grounds.' A constant supply of food would have been thus assured for the various columns converging on Puebla by the routes of Tehuacan, Palmar, and Perote. The French army would have entered Mexico, as it were, at a bound, without any great loss, and without plundering, or allowing others to plunder, the country, to which the sudden war must have already proved sufficiently hurtful.

All the anticipations of the army, which was impatient to begin operations, were destined to be deceived. General Forey's proceedings were so slow that he gave the Juarists time to prepare their defence, to raise the Indians en masse, to muster the contingents which were farthest removed from the centre of the territory, to ravage for their own benefit the haciendas on the high plateaus, to burn the provisions which they could not carry away, and, finally, to shelter Puebla behind a double barrier of ramparts and cannon.

Five long months were thus spent in marches and counter-marches full of fatigue, until in April 1863 the French army advanced, but at a slow pace, impoverishing the country by its prolonged stay, and redoubling the confidence of the liberals by the excess of its precautions.

Thus, when we ascended the Cumbres, the enemy had cleared everything off before our columns on the plateau of Anahuac. The country was devastated, and almost barren. The hot climate had decimated our forces, and it was necessary to ask the United