equal arms and superior numbers. Delusive dreams! Far different was the fate in store for them. Already death had them in its horrible toils.
About this time Hidalgo received a letter from Cruz,[1] enclosing a copy of the general pardon extended to insurgents by the Spanish córtes,[2] and exhorting him to accept the clemency offered,[3] and avoid the further shedding of blood. But this was not for a moment to be thought of, and for two reasons: Hidalgo would not trust him or his promises, and he would never abandon the cause. Let him now recant, and what hope would there be for another? Perhaps his death would better serve the revolution than any action of his while living; if so, he would cheerfully die. He therefore not only emphatically declined to accept the present offer, but kept the matter secret among the leaders.[4]
Previous to the arrival of Calleja at San Luis Potosí, that city had been held by the insurgents under the leadership of Herrera. By directions of Iriarte, he had successfully attacked two royalist officers, Reyes and Ilagorri, at the hacienda of San Pedro
- ↑ Dated the 28th of Feb. Gaz. de Mex., 1811, ii. 322-3.
- ↑ Decree of Oct. 15, 1810. Cortes, Col. Dec., i. 10; Dublan y Lozano, Leg. Mex., i. 336
- ↑ Cruz prophetically remarks: 'Y quizá único instante de piedad que la suerte le prepara.' Gaz. de Mex., 1811, ii. 322.
- ↑ His not having made public the indulto, of which his followers might have availed themselves, constituted one of the charges against Hidalgo. He answered, even if he had been so inclined, 'Yá no tenia autoridad ni carácter.' Hernandez y Dávalos, Col. Doc., i. 11. The question was discussed by the other leaders, but rejected on the ground of restrictions in regard to themselves with which the offer came. Ib. Hidalgo wrote in answer—at least, so it is said—'In the discharge of our duty we will not lay aside our arms until we have wrested the jewel of liberty from the hands of the oppressor. We are resolved to enter into no arrangement which has not for its basis the liberty of the nation, and the enjoyment of those rights which the God of nature has given to all men—rights inalienable, and which must be sustained by the shedding of rivers of blood if necessary. . . Pardon, your Excellency, is for criminals, not for defenders of their country. Let not your Excellency be deluded by the ephemeral glories of Calleja; they are only so many lightning-flashes which blind rather than enlighten. . .The whole nation is in a ferment; these commotions have roused those who lay in lethargy. . .The agitation is general, and Mexico erelong will discover her mistake if these evils are not opportunely ended.' Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., i. 237-8.
