PAPERS oF MIRABEAU BuoNAPARTE LAMAR 231 agreements about their authority. Their enmity reached such a point that Santa Anna attempted to have Echavarri assassinated in a sortie which the ~paniards made, and so well laid were his plans that Echavarri claimed to have owed his life to the courage of a dozen soldiers and to the fear which seized those who attacked him. As a result of this and of the repeated complaints which had been made to me , against Santa Anna by the Captain General, the provincial deputation, the Consulate, a great number of inhabitants and the Lieutenant-Colonel, as well as several officers of his staff, all of whom opposed his arrogant conduct and arbitrary acts. I found myself forced to remove him from office. I had confided in him because he was brave, a quality which I had always admired in a military man, and had hoped, moreover, that the rank to which I had elevated him would help to correct his faults of which I was aware. I had also hoped that experience anp_ a desire not to have him dislike me would make him more rational. I had pro- moted him to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, which the last Viceroy had granted him by mistake, I had given him the cross of the Order of Guadalupe, I had conferred upon him the command of one of the best regiments of the army, the government of one of the most im- portant places, and finally, I made him second in command of the province and general of brigade. I had always distinguished him and I did not want. to dishonor him on this occasion. I commanded the Minister of War to write the order for his removal in honourable terms, enclosing another order for him to appear at the Court where I would give him an important commission; but none of this was sufficient to repress his volcanic passions. The first thing he did was to seriously, offend the ori.e who had heaped favors upon him and he managed to find means of revenge-for the misfortune which he deserved. He hastened to Veracruz to provoke an outbreak, for the news of his dis- missal had not yet reached that place. Veracruz was a city inhabited for the most part by Spaniards who exercised considerable influence on account of their wealth. They were mortal enemies of the nation's independence, because with it ended the exclusive commerce which had been the source of their wealth for so long and a detriment to the other ~ations and to the Mexicans thems~lves, to whom they sold their mer- chandise at prices which suited them. It was in this place that Santa Anna proclaimed the Republic. He bribed the officers by offering them promotion, he promised the garrison money, he surprised a respectable part of the inhabitants and intimidated the neighboring towns of Alvarado and La Antigua and the colored inhabitants in adjacent places. He intended to surprise the village of Jalapa, but he was de- feated with an entire loss of artillery and infantry. His cavalry was pursued and he owed his life to the swiftness of his horses. While Santa Anna was attacking J alapa the villages of Alvarado and La Antigua reduced the Government to submission." Such is the Emperor's sketch regarding Don Farfulla. Now we shall give ours. Among the reasons presented in the preceding extract for taking away Santa Anna's command is found his intended assas- sination of Echavarri during a sortie of the Spaniards; but Iturbide omits the very notable circumstance that that sortie was the fruit of Santa Anna's intrigues promoted with the· wicked design of taking the life of his superior. Various stories have been told of the hor-
Powered by FlippingBook