Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/134

114 the government, because, whether at his own instigation or not, the garrison at Vera Cruz, urged by the authorities of Jalisco and Zacatecas, had on July 5th made a pronunciamiento in favor of restoring legitimacy to the government, or in other words, ignoring Bustamante and proclaiming Pedraza as the rightful president of the republic.

The despatches conveying the failure of the negotiations with Santa Anna reached Mexico at the same time with the news that Zacatecas, Jalisco, and Durango had adopted the plan of placing Pedraza in the presidential chair. Zacatecas placed 4,000 militiamen under arms ready for active service. In Durango General Urrea replaced Governor Elorriaga, who had been deposed in March 1830 by Bustanante's ministers, and in Jalisco the comandante general Cirilo Gomez Anaya was forced to leave Guadalajara.

On the other hand, San Luis Potosí, Michoacan, Chihuahua, Mexico, Puebla, and Tabasco favored Bustamante; but in Tamaulipas Colonel Mejía seized the port of Matamoros, where he obtained the necessary resources for his 600 men and a squadron of six vessels. He then proceeded to Tampico to unite his forces with those of Moctezuma, and not finding him there, joined Santa Anna at Vera Cruz.

Moctezuma made a rapid march toward San Luis Potosí, and at Pozo de los Carmelos defeated the government force under Colonel Otero on the 3d of