Page:Mexico (1829) Volumes 1 and 2.djvu/164

128 MEXICO. however made for defence, and the approach of the Insuj- gents was hourly expected : but Hidalgo, after advancing within sight of Mexico, retreated without risking an assaul:. His conduct has been attributed to cowardice by some, and by others, to a wish to spare the Capital the horrors of being taken by storm ; but I conceive that neither of these reasors was the true one : Hidalgo had given too many proofs of a daring spirit, for any one to suspect him of want of courage ; and as to the excesses which might have been committed had he succeeded in entering Mexico by assault, he would hae considered them as unavoidable evils, but which could not, for an instant, be set against the advantages which the coun- try would derive from the termination of the contest by so decisive a blow. The fact is, that he had not calculated upon the Viceroy's being able to assemble so considerable a force. His Indians were discouraged by the losses which they had sustained in the battle of Las Cruces, where, from their total ignorance of the nature of artillery, they had rushed upon Truxillo's guns, and tried to stop the mouths of them with their straw hats, until hundreds perished by the discharge. He foresaw that they would never be brought to face the batteries, which Venegas had erected : his whole army, too, had fallen into a state of greater confusion than ever, during the march ; and, on examining his supplies of ammunition, he found that there was a very great scarcity both of powder and ball. In addi- tion to these cogent reasons for not advancing, a courier was intercepted, with dispatches from Calleja, who had already reached Queretaro on his way towards the Capital ; so that there was every reason to suppose that he would push on by forced marches, and inclose the besiegers between his own force, and that of the Viceroy. To avoid this danger Hidalgo commenced his retreat, much to the dissatisfaction of Allende, his second in command ; but his measures were so badly