with maize and supplied with water, the alhóndiga[1] was the only place where the intendente could hope to hold out till the arrival of Calleja, whom he expected within a week. Anticipating that the movement would meet with opposition, on the night of the 24th he caused secretly to be conveyed thither all the royal and municipal treasures, amounting to over $620,000 in money, bars of silver, and gold ounces,[2] the archives of the government and ayuntamiento, and eventually the treasures of many private persons, estimated at three million pesos.[3] Thither, also, were removed the arms and ammunition of the barracks, sacks of flour, and other provisions. In the dead of the night, too, the barricades were taken down and the material carried to the alhóndiga. Then the troops were withdrawn from the barracks and outlying posts, numbers of the Europeans mustered together, and soldiers and civilians, in one common lot, took refuge within the walls of this building.
When morning dawned and the city was astir the news spread. The unguarded streets, the disappearance of the barricades, and the silent barracks proclaimed to the populace that their reluctant allegiance had been recognized, and that they were left to choose between loyalty and rebellion. Fear fell on all. The ayuntamiento in great excitement requested the intendente to preside over a junta composed of its own members, the curas, prelates of the religious orders,
- ↑ An anonymous correspondent in a letter to the intendente's brother, dated Guanajuato, October 2, 1810, says: 'Este edificio es una verdadera fortaleza, y acaso la única que hay en el reino. El Sr Riaño cuando la hizo se propuso formar un Castillo para defensa del lugar, dándole el nombre de Alhóndiga.' Zerecero, Disc. Civic., 30.
- ↑ 'Se pasaron de las reales caxas á la alhóndiga trescientas nueve barras de plata, ciento setenta y quatro mil pesos efectivos, treinta y dos mil en onzas de oro, treinta y ocho mil de la ciudad, que estaban en las arcas de provincia, y treinta y tres mil que se hallaban en las del cabildo; veinte mil de la minería y depósitos, catorce mil de la renta de tabacos, y mil y pico de correos.' Guan. Pub. Vind. Ayunt., 14-15. A bar of silver weighed 135 marcs and its standard value was 1,100 pesos.
- ↑ Bustamante states the value of property in the precious metals, jewelry, and valuable merchandise that was removed into the alhóndiga during the night and following days amounted to 5,000,000 pesos. There were also 700 quintales of quicksilver deposited there. Cuad. Hist., i. 25.
