of which Allende could rightly assume in his position of captain-general, he perceived that the assertion of his superiority over Iriarte would in all probability provoke a mutiny. Of Iriarte's good faith he was more than doubtful; and his own prestige and popularity had seriously diminished, owing to his late discomfiture, as was indicated by the unsuppressed murmurings of the troops. He therefore decided to join Hidalgo at Guadalajara, and on the 12th of December arrived at the city. Hidalgo went out to meet him, with every demonstration of friendship.
That night a band of captive Spaniards was led out into the darkness, marched a few miles from the city to a lonely spot, and there butchered. And on other occasions the same ceremony was repeated.[1]
Meanwhile Calleja was rapidly approaching. The army which Hidalgo now had under his command was far superior to any force which the insurgents had hitherto brought into the field. It numbered no less than 80,000 men,[2] 20,000 of whom were cavalry, with ninety-five pieces of artillery, many of them of heavy calibre.[3] No exertion was spared by the revolutionary leaders to render this large force as effective as possi-
- ↑ Marroquin, in his testimony at the trial of Hidalgo, states that he assisted at one, and one only, of these massacres, on which occasion 48 victims, more or less, were put to death. Hernandez y Dávalos, Col. Doc., i. 41. Abad y Queipo in his pastoral of September 26, 1812, says: 'Luego que se entronizó en Guadalajara comenzó á degollar en la misma forma, esto es, en partidas diarias de 60, 80 y 100, los muchos europeos y algunos criollos.' Id., 839. Says José María Chico: 'Mandó varios asesinatos, y lo mismo es público y notorio que mandó en Guadalajara, sin embargo de haberlo hecho con tal reserva.' Id., 41. These are the instructions Hidalgo gives to Hermosillo Jan. 3, 1811: 'Deponga U. todo cuidado á cerca de los indultos y libertad de europeos, recogiendo U. todos los que alla (sic) por esa parte para quedar seguro, y al que fuere inquieto, perturbador y seductor, ó se conosca otras disposiciones, los sepultará en el olvido dándoles muerte con las precauciones necesarias en partes ocultas y solitarias para que nadie lo entienda.' Id., 24. In his own declaration he says: 'Se, ejecutaban en el campo á horas deshusadas y lugares solitarios.' Id., 14.
- ↑ This is the number given by José María Zabalza in a letter dated Jan. 18, 1811, and addressed to Mercado. Id., i. 386. Calleja, followed by Alaman, states that the insurgent army numbered 100,000, an estimate which I consider less reliable. Id., ii. 338, 342, 355; Id., iv. 180. Calvillo raises the num ber to 103,000. Sermon, 138.
- ↑ Besides 44 brought from San Blas, a large number had been cast in Guadalajara, many of them very inferior.
