_Battles before Mexico_.--With eleven thousand men the march was resumed (August 7), and in three days the army reached the crest of the Cordilleras, where the magnificent valley of Mexico lay stretched before them. In the midst was the city, surrounded by fertile plains and cloud-capped mountains. But the way thither was guarded by thirty thousand men and strong fortifications. Turning to the south to avoid the strongest points, by a route considered impassable, the army came before the intrenched camp of _Contreras_, within fourteen miles of Mexico (Aug. 19). The next morning this was taken, the troops having moved to their positions in darkness so intense that, to avoid being separated, they had to touch each other as they marched. The same day the height of _Churubusco_ was stormed, numerous batteries were captured, and the defences laid bare to the causeways leading to the very gates of the city. An armistice and fruitless negotiations for peace delayed the advance until General Scott found that the Mexicans were only improving the time in strengthening their works. Once more (September 8) our army moved to the assault. The attack was irresistible. The formidable outworks were taken one by one. At last the castle of _Chapultepec_ (cha-pool-te-pek), situated on a high rock commanding the city, was stormed. The next day (September 14) the army entered the city, and the stars and stripes waved in triumph over the palace of the Montezumas. PEACE.--The fall of the capital virtually closed the war. A treaty was concluded February 2, 1848. The United States gained the vast territory reaching south to the Gila (ghee-lah), and west to the Pacific (maps of IVth and VIth Epochs). DOMESTIC AFFAIRS.--_The Wilmot Proviso_.--Texas, the prize of the war, became at once the bone of contention. David Wilmot offered in Congress (August, 1846) a bill forbidding slavery in any territory which should be acquired. This measure, though lost, excited violent debate in and out of Congress, and became the great feature of the fall election.