Page:Mexico (1829) Volumes 1 and 2.djvu/171

MEXICO. 135 capture. They were made prisoners on the 21st of March, 1811, and conveyed to Chihuahua, where, such was the anxi- ety of the Government to draw from them some information as to the ramifications of the Insurrection, in the different provinces, that tlieir trial was protracted until the end of July ; when Hidalgo, having been previously degraded, was shot. His companions shared the same fate : they all appear to have met death with great firmness ; at least, I have heard even Spaniards allow that the accounts published at the time, of their confessions, and alleged penitence, were fabrications. It is not my intention to follow the history of the Revolu- tion, after Hidalgo's death, through all the mazes of a Guer- rilla war. Throughout the whole territory of Mexico, from Veracruz to the Provincias Internas of the North, Insurgent parties were organized, and the Royalist troops employed in their pursuit. But there was no concert amongst their leaders, many of whom were barbarous and illiterate men, while each considered himself as independent in his own parti- cular district. Rayon assumed the command of the remains of Hidalgos forces at Saltillo, and retreated with them upon Zacatecas ; but his authority was acknowledged by none but his own men. The Baxio was laid under contribution by the parties of Muniz, and the Padre NTivarrete : Serrano and Osorno commanded in the Provinces of La Puebla, and V era- cruz ; and even the valley of Mexico swarmed to such a degree with partizans, that all communication between the Capital and the Interior was cut off, while sentinels were lassoed* at the very gates of the town. But still the autho- rity of the Viceroy was acknowledged in the principal cities, and the Creoles were unable to assemble any force that could • The lasso, respecting which the works of Captain Hall, and Captain Head, contain so many amusing particulars, is as generally used in Mexico, as in Chile, or the Pampas, and that, not merely in catching horses, or cattle, but as an offensive weapon.