PAPERS OF MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR 37 city of Mexico, but the Castle of Perote, & that we would not be per- mitted to pass through the city although we should go in sight of it- On the 22 Dec. we arrived at the Castle of Perote- a very strong fortress at the foot of the extinct Volcano called "Confra de Perote"- The Castle is on the Table Lands, just at the point at which the descent to the Gulf commences- its elevation 7500 feet- it was built in 1773- mounts 96 pieces of cannon & covers 26 acres inside of the outer pickets- The main building within the mote covers ten acres or near it.- Well manned I should say that this fortress would re- sist a very powerful force- The first four days after our arrival we were allowed to go about the castle- On the fifth we were chained in pairs- and on the eighth ·or tenth day were put to work, packing sand stone lime &c into the castle- Our food consisted of poor beef, one day in three; beans, potatoes, rice & bread~ badly cooked- the rations of these artic-les were always small, not being sufficient for a hearty man-At night we were locked up-- in the morning the doors were opened- at nine o'clock paraded & counted-put to work immediately afterwards-- the same after dinner &c- On the 22 March Judge Hutchinson Mr. Maverick & myself were ordered to the city of Mexico under a guard, our chains having been knocked off before we left the castle- We were permitted to ride by paying the hire of horses; we paid also our own ex-penses altho' we were still prisoners- This journey gave us many opportunities of witnessing the complete & perfect dominion of the military over the civil authorities- On our arrival at the citv of Mexico we were first paraded for a quarter of an hour ragged & dirty, in front of the Palace-then escorted into it & finally sent to prison- We were however released soon after & took lodgings at the same house at which Genl. Thompson boarded- to whom were [~c 1 indebted for our lib- erty entirely- it having been granted as a personal favor to him- Mr. Maverick & myself were acquainted with him in the U. S.- We remained three days in the city at perfect liberty- endeavoring to see everything to be seen in that remarkable place, in that short time- Our passage to Vera Cruz & thence to Pensacola &c it is un- necessary to speak of in a sketch like this- I should have been glad had the opportunity been such as to permit the attempt. to have given you such information as I obtained in re- lation the [sic] affairs of Mexico- Her Government-4er military organizations- t.he church- the peon or slave system- the probable plans of Santa Anna-their views in relation to Texas; the cau;,es of the continuance of the war- the causes of the treatment. we re- ceived &c &c but it is useless to make the attempt here- Many inci- dents & details of our journey would be interesting- The prisoners taken at San Antonio consisted of the Judge of the District- the District attorney, clerk- all the members of the bar except one-together with citizens of Bexar & the adjacent counties The names have all been published several times- [Endorsed] Wm. E. Jones respecting his captivity---
Powered by FlippingBook