126 MEXICO. Capital, and was turned to great account by the friends of the Independent cause. Hidalgo remained in quiet possession of Guanajuato until the 10th of October, when he set out with his whole army for ValadollTd, partly from a report thatCalleja was approach- ing, and partly to put a stop to the ravages, which a licen- tious life, and an almost habitual state of drunkenness, were producing amongst his followers : Valladolid was abandoned by the Bishop, and most of the Spaniards, on his approach ; and no resistance being attempted, he took quiet possession of the town on the 17th of October. His army had increased so enormously on the march, and during his stay at Guana) liato, that it consisted of nearly fifty thousand men. Hidalgo made some valuable additions to this force at Valladolid, where he was joined by the regi- ment of Provincial militia, and the dragoons of MTchoacan,* both armed, and well equipped : but a greater acquisition still was Don Jose Maria Morelos, Cura of Nuciipetaro, an old college friend of Hidalgo, and one, of whose talents he was so well aware, that he immediately gave him a commis- sion to command in chief on the whole South-W estern line of coast. The confidence which Morelos showed in his own re- sources by accepting this commission, and setting out, accom- panied only by five servants armed with old muskets, with a promise to take Acapulco within the year, is the more worthy of notice, as the event proved it to be well-founded. But as we shall have occasion hereafter to trace the progress of this extraordinary man, who proved one of the most distinguished characters of the Mexican Revolution, I must confine myself at present to Hidalgo. On the 19th of October the army left Valladolid, and on the 28th, reached Toluca, a town within twelve leagues of the Capital.
- Michoacan is the Indian name for the province (now State) of Val-
ladolid.
