144 



NARRATIVE OP A 



by dealing in hogs, which he bought in the country, and 

 sold in the market of Guatemala. When the sanitary 

 regulations were adopted, he was appointed to the charge 

 of one of the stations, with the command of about a dozen 

 men. With these few men, whom he seduced, and per- 

 suaded to follow him in his hazardous enterprise, he ap- 

 peared in open rebellion, proclaiming a new order of 

 things, and calling upon the inhabitants of the Indian vil- 

 lages he marched through to join his standard. This little 

 force increased almost immediately to sixty men, and con- 

 tinuing to augment, enabled Carrera to attack and destroy, 

 on several occasions, the scattered troops of the Govern- 

 ment, whose arms and accoutrements he distributed among 

 his followers. The views which Carrera professed to en- 

 tertain could not be more flattering to the prejudices, nor 

 better calculated to dazzle the minds, of the infatuated In- 

 dians. These views he declared to be, the reinstatement 

 of the Archbishop, who had been expelled from Guatemala, 

 the restitution of the Church property, the restoration of 

 the Monkish orders, the revival of the old Spanish laws, 

 the expulsion of foreigners, and the abolition of contri- 

 butions. 



In the mean time, the inactivity of the Executive, and 

 the want of system and concert on the part of the military 

 commanders, permitted the insurrection to progress to 

 such a degree, that when measures were at length adopted 

 for suppressing it, the strength of the Government proved 

 inadequate to the task. The factious Indians did not hesi- 

 tate to meet the Federal troops in the field, and in some 

 engagements with them, came off with complete success. 

 They now attacked and entered considerable towns, levied 

 contributions, and threatened the capital. In this state of 

 things a resolution was adopted, which, so far from being 

 attended with the favourable result expected, only served 

 to expose the weakness of the Government, and to encou- 

 rage the insurrection. It was resolved to send a deputa- 

 tion to Carrera, to negotiate with him, and to induce him, 



