The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 543
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Life of General Don Manuel de Mier y Terdn
simple grave, in lonely Padilla, unmarked and almost un-
noticed, is proof that the people of Mexico have accepted the
suicide verdict. They are even surprised that his remains were
laid to rest so near the old roofless church of that town.
The letters of Mier y Teran to Dr. Mora and Alaman, during
the spring and summer of 1832, reflect a decided humor som-
brio, and Dr. Mora, on June 29, made an effort, in a long,
cheery letter to dispel the gloom which he realized surrounded
the commandant general. Apparently, neither of these two his-
torians was surprised when he learned of the tragic event at
Padilla on July 3.
The reports of General Mora and the officers of the presidial
company of Aguaverde could have been influenced by the turn
of the revolution in the days following the death of Mier y
Teran, but if this had been the case, it is likely that during
subsequent upheavals, the truth would have been revealed.
Finally, the position of the body and the minor wound, un-
doubtedly self-inflicted the night before, both support the
suicide verdict.
Another question immediately projects itself. Why did Mier
y Teran commit suicide?
This question is more difficult to answer. Why does any
human being violate the first law of nature? Ill health, family
troubles, and worry are all given as causes of suicide. In Mier
y TerAn's case, possibly the first named, ill health, was the
primary cause. As early as the summer of 1828, he began to
have attacks of melancholia; SAnchez feared more than once
for the general's life and often commented on his spells of
despondency. He was ill during the winter of 1829-1830, and
on his journey from Tampico to Matamoros was forced to stop
for more than a month to regain failing strength. In April
and May, 1830, he was so ill that Berlandier had to attend to
all his correspondence. From 1830 to the middle of the year
1832, there are in the documents frequent references to spells
of fever, always, according to his intimate associates, followed
by long periods of depression.
These things we learn from the official correspondence and
diaries already cited. There remains for consideration the last
letter written by Mier y Teran, a personal letter to his friend
Lucas Alaman, on the afternoon of July 2, 1832.
"A great and respectable Mexican nation," he wrote,
"a nation of which we have dreamed and for which we543
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945, periodical, 1945; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146055/m1/611/: accessed June 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.