Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/261

Rh acts on the part of Guatemala roused the agitation of a party, which encouraged Mexican troops to enter and take possession in August 1842.

On the other hand appeared a series of unfortunate events and despotic acts that far outweighed the benefits conferred. Early spring frosts inflicted great injury on the crops round the capital, and the flight of laborers before the severe conscription law added to the scarcity. The usual indulgence in pronunciamientos and outbreaks rippled the political surface and spread their evil in different sections. Sonora was stirred by civil war, waged against Comandante General Urrea by Gándara, a native aspirant for power. Lower California had a similar lighter experience, and the provinces eastward suffered from the usual bloody raids of wild Indians; while the mountaineers of the Chilapa region rose against the government, and encouraged by the sheltering ranges and several military successes, they promoted an extensive if not very strong movement all along the Mescala into Puebla and Oajaca, which continued throughout this and the following years.