Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/498

482 marches. He encountered little difficulty on the way, and on the 24th of November established his headquarters in an hacienda distant only three leagues from the city. In approaching the hacienda there was some skirmishing with royalists, who were easily driven within the city's defences. These had been built on a plan approved by the superior government. An intelligent Catalan had made thirty-six fine guns of various calibre, and a large quantity of shell and other missiles. Ammunition, much of it from Guatemala,

was abundant. The garrison was not under 2,000 men, made up of Spaniards residing in and about the