5,000 men, whose remuneration had long been but half-pay for the men only, with slim prospects for its continuance.[1] The cavalry was for the greater part unmounted, their horses having died of starvation,[2] or been consigned to the butcher. Other meat was almost unknown, save when brought in by some raiding party; and flour and maize were rapidly disappearing, provisions of every description commanding enormous prices. Frijoles, the staple dish, still remained to ward off actual famine, yet hungry-looking faces were visible at every turn, and mothers wandered in eager search for a tortilla and a pinch of salt. In order to equalize the condition somewhat, strict orders had been issued for the surrender of all stocks of produce, and seizures were besides made of moneys as well as food in exchange for worthless drafts. Every conceivable means was brought to bear for procuring funds, from poll, window, and balcony taxes, to weekly payments from all classes who wished to buy exemption from the hard and dangerous work on the fortifications.[3]
It cannot be said, however, that discontent was very marked. Mexicans are a long-suffering race, and the Queretanos submitted with fair grace to the inevitable. The emperor assisted not a little to maintain a good feeling by sharing freely in every hardship and danger, visiting the crowded hospitals[4] to cheer the wounded, exposing himself recklessly in the
- ↑ 43 The officers received hardly anything. The number of men was insufficient for the length of the lines, that between the Pueblito gate and Campana hill being very poorly defended. Salm-Salm, Diary, i. 170-1.
- ↑ Chopped brushwood and leaves formed the main fodder.
- ↑ Varying from 25 cents to several dollars weekly, according to the standing and revenue of the citizen. In Arias, Ensayo, 195-212, 213-21, and Lefêvre, Docs, ii. 381-9, are instances of these exactions and the outrages suffered by many leading people. From 41 persons alone $253,000 was obtained. See also Hans, Quer., 160, etc.; Quer., Caida, 171-2; Basch, and others. Salm-Salm, i. 177-8, relates that about this time the republicans sent a lean ox to the lines of the imperialists, urging them to maintain the sparks of life till the town fell. The latter replied by sending a starved horse wherewith the besiegers might overtake them when they cut their way through.
- ↑ Basch, ii. 82-3, 95, was appointed inspector-general of the hospitals, and strove to improve the arrangements. There were about 800 wounded in the hospitals. Quer., Cuida, 101.
