380 



SANTA ANNA'S SECRET NEGOTIATIONS. 



the matter to a council of general officers of the army. This body, 

 however, was quite as timorous as Congress, and dismissed the pro- 

 ject by declaring that "it was inexpedient to enter into negotiations 

 for peace, until another opportunity had been afforded Mexico to 

 retrieve her fortunes in the field." 



These were the negotiations that met the public eye, and are 

 reported in the military and diplomatic despatches of the day ; but 

 there was a secret correspondence, also, which denotes either the 

 duplicity or stratagy of Santa Anna, and must be faithfully recorded. 

 It seems that the Mexican President, about the time that the public 

 answer was proclaimed, sent private communications to the Ameri- 

 can head quarters at Puebla, intimating that if a million of dollars 

 were placed at his disposal, to be paid upon the conclusion of a 

 treaty of peace, and ten thousand dollars were paid forthwith, he 

 would appoint commissioners to negotiate! The proposal was re- 

 ceived and discussed by General Scott, Mr. Trist, and the leading 

 officers, and being agreed to, though not unanimously, the ten thou- 

 sand dollars were disbursed from the secret service money which 

 Scott had at his disposal, and communications were opened in cy- 

 pher, the key of which had been sent from Mexico. Intimations 

 soon reached Puebla, from Santa x4nna, that it would be also neces- 

 sary for the American army to advance and threaten the Capital; — 

 and, finally, another message was received, urging Scott to pene- 

 trate the valley and carry one of the outworks of the Mexican line 

 of defences, in order to enable him to negotiate ! 1 



The sincerity of these proposals from the Mexican President, is 

 very questionable, and we are still in doubt whether he designed 

 merely to procrastinate and feel the temper of the Americans, or 

 whether he was in reality angling for the splendid bribe of a million 

 which he might appropriate privately, in the event of playing suc- 

 cessfully upon the feelings or fears of the masses. The attempt, 

 however, proved abortive; and although both General Scott and 

 Mr. Trist deemed it proper to entertain the proposal, the command- 

 er-in-chief never for a moment delayed his military preparations for 

 an advance with all the force he could gather. Thus were the last 

 efforts of the American authorities in Mexico and Washington re- 

 pulsed in the same demagogue spirit that hastened the rupture be- 

 tween the nations in the spring of 1846, and nothing remained but 

 to try again whether the sword was mightier than the pen. 



1 See Major Ripley's History of the War with Mexico, p. 148. et seq. 



