When This Improper Transaction Came To
The Ears Of Our Captain, He Sent The Soldier A Prisoner To Mexico, And
Immediately Marched To Chamula To Quell The Insurrection, Being Assisted
On This Occasion By The Inhabitants Of Cinacatan, A Polished Tribe Which
Was Addicted To Merchandize.
On our arrival at Chamula, we found the place
strongly fortified by art and nature, and the people well armed, having a
peculiar species of large shield which covered the whole body, and could
be rolled up into a small compass when not in use.
Our cavalry were
ordered to keep guard in the plain in our rear, to watch the motions of
the insurgents in the neighbouring districts; while the infantry
endeavoured to force their way into the town; but our musketeers made very
little impression, as the enemy were covered by their walls, while their
missiles injured us materially, being exposed without any defence. We
continued the attack during the whole day to very little purpose, being
unable to force the ramparts, which were guarded by above 2000 men armed
with lances. We therefore drew off for the time, and procured some timber
from a depopulated town in the neighbourhood, with which we constructed
certain machines named _mantas_ or _burros_, under cover of which twenty
men or more could approach the walls in safety, to work a passage through
them. On our first attempt to do this, the enemy threw down upon our
machines, heavy stones, fire, and scalding water, so that we were
constrained to remove our machines to repair the injury they had sustained.
We again brought forward our machines to the walls, and at length
succeeded in making several breaches.
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