Page:Young Folks History Of Mexico.pdf/557

Rh force of Mexican troops that was dispatched to the front and being closely pursued took refuge in American territory. Meanwhile General Sandival, who was busy recruiting an army in the northern district, succeeded in spreading disaffection among the Mexicans in Texas, who rallied to support him. The United States cavalry at Fort Ringold and the Texas Rangers took the field, and other regular troops were hurried to the frontier, but the guerillas, though superior in point of numbers, evaded collision and when hard pressed, disguised as herdsmen, would escape detection, the wildness of the country being favorable for their mode of warfare. A strong appeal was made by Garza in the name of the "oppressed priests and plundered masses," and he called upon the "patriots" to support the cause. One thousand stand of arms, shipped to the rebels from New York, was seized at the frontier. The federal government, now thoroughly alarmed at the magnitude of the revolt, dispatched nearly 10,000 troops, who patrolled the entire border in squads of fifty men; the Texans were compelled to return to their ranches, and in the general "round up" that followed, some of the ringleaders were captured.

Representative delegates from each state were summoned in December to attend an economic conference to consider the best method for the removal of the taxes upon certain articles of imported merchandise, which impeded trade progress and caused a serious diminution in the revenue. Among other reforms contemplated, the following were the most important:

1. The abolishment of the interior custom houses.

2. The establishment of an indirect tax, in place of the