JOURNEY TO GUATEMALA. 147 



pulsed with much loss by a company of sixty Federal sol- 

 diers. He was equally unsuccessful in another attack 

 upon another town, called Salama, where he lost several 

 men, and was obliged to retreat in disorder. As the sea- 

 son advanced, he saw his ranks becoming daily more thin 

 by the desertion of his followers, who left him in order to 

 attend to the collection of their little corn crops, on which 

 the subsistence of their families depended. In this state 

 of things, a conspiracy was formed against him by one of 

 his associates, called Monreal. This man, and a few 

 others who had joined in the enterprise, suddenly fell 

 upon Carrera at a moment when he was alone, secured his 

 person, conducted him to a solitary place, and having tied 

 him to a tree, were on the point of shooting him, when 

 the timely arrival of Laureano, Carrera's brother, saved the 

 victim from the doom that threatened him. The tables 

 were now turned upon Monreal, who, before he could ef- 

 fect his escape, was seized, and shot at the foot of the same 

 tree to which he had tied his chief. 



In the mean time, General Morazan, the President, had 

 taken the command of the army in person, and having or- 

 ganized and increased it, made so skilful a disposition of 

 his troops, that whichever way the insurgents turned, they 

 were met by an opposing force. Carrera now was fain to 

 betake himself to the mountains, from which he descended 

 occasionally, to scour the country and procure the means 

 of subsistence. In these excursions his force was divided 

 into small parties of from twenty to fifty men. His prac- 

 tice was to abstain from touching the persons or properties 

 of the IndianSj or of the poorer class of the whites, and to 

 respect the curates. But the haciendas of the rich were 

 attacked and plundered, the wealthy in small defenceless 

 towns were subjected to heavy contributions, foreigners 

 falling into their hands were cut off without mercy, and 

 the unwary traveller was stopped on the road and stripped 

 of every thing. 



Such was still the posture of affairs at the time of my 



