Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session of the Thirty-ninth Congress
Señor Romero to Mr. Seward
Mr. Secretary: I have the honor to transmit to you, for the information of the government of the United States, No. 21 of the official paper of the constitutional government of the Mexican republic, dated the 20th July last, and containing [Page 249] a brief and correct account of events in the city of Parral, State of Chihuahua, which occurred in the months of March and April of this year, while the French were in possession of that portion of the country. It will give you some idea of the outrages of all kinds committed by the French troops upon a defenceless and peaceable population, who are guilty before the interventionists of the crime of loving their country.
I am pleased to have this opportunty to renew to you, Mr. Secretary, the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.
Hon. William H. Seward, &c., &c., &c.
Notes for the history of the French intervention.
The decree of the 3d of October was published at Parral on the 2d of March. There was a dance that night at Allende, attended mostly by the town people. Some of the attendants, excited by the hate they all have for the empire, shouted for the republic and disarmed the imperial guard. The greater part of the citizens then assembled, and, fearing some disturbance, Don Guadalupe Soto, a man of note in the place, put himself at the head of the insurgents.
When troops came from Parral, Soto, having no arms or ammunition, fell back to Atotonilco, where he asked aid of Augustin Vasquez to attack the imperialists, or, at least, to give him arms. Vasquez refused, because he had no orders from the State governor, with whom he was in communication.
The prefect of Parral, in the mean time, had published a circular addressed to the chief citizens, notifying them to furnish a man mounted and armed, for each family, to defend the place. This order was partly obeyed.
The rural guard and some infantry came from the valley, under Guillermo Ortiz, to attack Soto, while he was trying to surprise them. The two parties met at Amoles Secos, and after a few shots the rustics scattered, and Soto fell back with the loss of eighteen prisoners and a few wounded. The imperial forces then went back to Parral with the prisoners and arms they had captured.
About the middle of March Soto again marched to the valley, and had an interview with Vasquez, who had received orders from General Terrazas to occupy Parral. When they had joined, the latter took command of the column.
As soon as the prefect of Parral learned that Soto and Vasquez were at El Valle, he assembled the rural guard and, on the evening of the 20th, issued an order for all the inhabitants to assemble, armed, at eight o’clock, under penalty of the decree of the 3d of October. Nobody obeyed the order.
The next day, at two o’clock, another order was published, commanding those who had not responded to the call of the day previous to send two armed men to the prefecture at six o’clock that evening, else be subjected to a fine of two hundred or two thousand dollars and be condemned to public works from one to six months. In spite of the severity of these penalties very few persons obeyed the order.
On the 22d, at noon, the advance of the imperialists heard that the troops of Vasquez and Soto had passed Alamillo. The imperial troops sallied out at once to attack the assaulters from the cemetery heights. The rural guard scattered. The force that had remained in the palace also dispersed. They were composed of a few armed men commanded by some merchants. A few soldiers remained in the Rayo church, guarding the Valle prisoners. About two in the afternoon the battle began in the edge of the town. The assaulters were in two columns. That under Vasquez entered the St. Nicolas side, while Soto’s, driving back the enemy, came in by the Rayo church.
Bonifacio Pavia, the commander, falling back, tried to reach the palace, but he fell near the market, before he got to the square. Commander Ortiz, some distance behind Pavia, could not come up with him, and fell back to the Rayo church. Vasquez, wishing to save life, sent a flag of parley to Commander Ortiz. Vicente Ochoa had charge of it. He took a white flag and started towards the church. When Ortiz recognized Ochoa he came out to meet him. Hostilities were suspended while the terms of capitulation were arranged between Ortiz and Vasquez at the house of the latter. The chiefs signed the capitulation at six o’clock in the evening. By it Ortiz was allowed to retire with the eighteen men he had left as an escort for four days. The men who surrendered refused to follow their commander, so he had to leave alone, after giving up the eighteen arms.
The next day Vasquez, as civil chief of the district, proceeded to appoint constitutional authorities.
News of the capture of Chihuahua was received on the 27th, and the city was illuminated the next night.
[Page 250]On the 30th news reached us that a French force had arrived at Cerro Gordo, but the number of men was not ascertained. That day Vasquez asked two thousand dollars of the merchants, to be paid the next day.
On the 31st the town was alarmed, at seven and a half at night, by some shots in the direction of Rayo hill. It was an express messenger from Rio Florida, bringing the news that 831 French had reached that place. The constitutional forces fell back towards Chihuahua.
On the 2d of April, at half past ten in the morning, 381 French and some of the scattered imperialists of Chihuahua and Parral, tinder Alvisi, came into the town. He went to several houses to hunt quarters for his officers, and threatened and insulted the owners and persons living in them, without even regard for the ladies.
On the 3d a meeting of the city council was called to compel the people to restore the beds and cots the French had left in the hospital when they quit the place. These beds had been furnished by the merchants of the place.
On the 4th the house of José M. Munoz was destroyed, his goods, furniture, and clothing burned, only because some drunken men and low women said he shot Pavia from the door of his house. This sentence was executed without the least investigation of the case, either by a civil court or military authority.
On the same day the civil prefect put out the following circular:
Hidalgo, April 4, 1866.
The commander-in-chief of the French forces orders that all merchants and important personages of the city assemble in the Council Hall, fronting on the public square, at two o’clock to-morrow, without fail. Those unable to attend from absence, sickness, or other causes, will send substitutes, with their excuses. Those who refuse to attend will be arrested and imprisoned, and their property confiscated; and if they desert, their houses will be burned.
INOCENTE RUBIO, Prefect.
FRANCISCO HOLGUIN, Secretary.
The meeting did not take place on the 5th, on account of the absence of some of those summoned, and was postponed to the 6th. At noon on that day they were all present but two. The colonel ordered the list to be read, and made the following remarks:
“Gentlemen: I will be brief with you, that you may return to your business. I regret I have not the eloquence of Periera, the highwayman, when he spoke in this hall, and said: The French are quitting the country, and it will not be necessary for us to come back here; but we promised to come, and we have kept our word. I am sorry the people did not obey the orders of the prefect, but have shown a preference for the bandits, for those who come here as robbers. They came to rob and pillage, and if they did not commit all sorts of outrages, it was because their leaders had hard work to prevent them. The merchants will not aid brave men to defend them from robbers; will not furnish arms, while they gave the robbers all they wanted. Some person gave twenty-five arms, and some merchants helped them, by shooting the loyalists in the back. I know the names and rank of those persons, but I do not now mention them, because I have no proof; when I have, they shall be shot in the public square. I know of others who told the enemy of my movements. I know their names, and will tell them to remember I shot Esquibel at Rio Florido, for informing the enemy of my movements.
“It is said that Terrazas is coming to attack us. Terrazas may be a man of courage, but his men are all robbers, no better than those who left here. Let them come; it is just what we want. If they come, we will show them we can defend ourselves, and that we will never surrender. If I find it necessary, I will take possession of private houses, and make every citizen take up arms in his own defence.
“General Castagny has ordered me to impose a loan of forty thousand dollars upon this place, to be paid within twenty-four hours; but, as I know it would be hard to raise that sum in so short a time, I grant three days for its payment.
“The contributions will be apportioned according to the wealth of each individual and his behavior. I know how some have behaved. A committee, composed of the civil prefect, president of the council, and revenue collector, is assigned to the duty of assessing the contributions. The money so collected is to pay the imperial forces of the sixth military division. No person is exempt from this contribution, for I am in the habit of carrying out the orders I receive, and I warn every one to contribute according to his means.
“Those who refuse to pay will be imprisoned; their goods, furniture, and clothes will be sold at public auction, and if there are no bidders, which is very likely to be, they shall be burned in the street. Besides this contribution, the whole town must pay two thousand dollars for the support of the families of those who died in defence of the empire, and it shall be distributed by the head of the revenue. All persons having arms fit for the service of the rural guards shall give them up within twenty-four hours, under a severe penalty. No one need try to hide the arms for a domiciliary search shall be made.”
This sum was collected from the liberals; not one interventionist was taxed! The contributions were high compared to the wealth of the inhabitants. Persons whose capital was chiefly in credits were taxed two thousand dollars. One man was fined two thousand dollars for giving a ball and not inviting the intervention authorities, and this was before Vasquez took possession of the place. Another man was fined for beckoning the besiegers with his [Page 251] hat from the house-top; others, because they were said to have furnished arms to the enemy; some for lodging liberal chiefs in their houses; and all for false information attributed on account of their known political principles.
Some, thinking their taxes too onerous, attempted remonstrance, but they were not listened to. After all, only $32,080 were raised. It was impossible to pay this in gold and silver, so copper coin was taken at six per cent. additional.
By five o’clock on the evening of the 10th the money was paid, and very few deductions were made from the original quotas. Out of three who refused to pay, one was put in jail, two ran off, and the furniture and clothes of all were burned in the streets. Deducting this loss, only $33,000 was collected, much of it in copper.
On the eleventh, three companies of infantry were sent to Valle and Atotonilco. Five thousand dollars was assessed on the former of these places, and this notice was stuck up:
“Public notice.— Colonel Alvisi, commander of Parral, having heard that it is the habit of the people of this town to shout for the liberals, and insult the constituted authorities whenever the French forces are not present, and that the public mails have been stopped—now as this conduct is intolerable, I have been ordered to remedy these evils in a summary way, and I therefore warn the inhabitants of this district that, if the authorities are again insulted, the mails interrupted, or treasonable language used publicly, the town shall be burned, the fruit trees cut down, and the severest punishment inflicted upon the guilty persons.
“For general information, I order this notice to be published in triplicate, in the most public places.
“Town of Allende, April 16, 1866.
“DIDIER, Commander of the Town.”
Atotonilco was almost totally destroyed by fire; only a few hours were allowed to the citizens to take out a few things for personal use. As the time was so short, not much was saved from the devouring element.
A portion of this force went to Talamantes, and the rest took the road to Iturralde. The first division commenced by burning Bruno Soto’s house, and the family could get nothing out of it. Provisions, furniture, clothing, everything was burned. When the fire had taken well, the troops withdrew.
The troops that went to Iturralde surrounded Urquidi’s houses, at a distance, and marched up. The French commander arrested the Urquidis and took them to Parral, where they were imprisoned in the centre of the town, allowing no communication except with relatives, who must have a special permit. They have not been informed of the cause of their imprisonment.
On the 16th it was reported that General Terrazas was at Santa Rosalia, with his whole force. At this the French redoubled their vigilance, collected provisions and water, and most of the inhabitants went into the country.
In three days the panic was over, and the families returned to their houses in town.
N * * * *