With a view of overturning the then existing government, and ousting the incumbents of office from their places, the Rochelanos favored covertly a design on the part of those styling themselves Federalists, to regain the power they had lost in 1834. The 29th of May, 1839, witnessed a tumultuary movement in the village of Tizimin, a small town of the interior, where a militia captain, one Santiago Iman, at the head of a handful of deserters from the third battalion of local militia, counting on the co-operation of several leading personages, set up the standard of revolt, under the specious pretext of proclaiming the Federal constitution of 1824. A feigned attack was immediately made on the neighboring village of Espita, a place of some importance, containing about three thousand inhabitants, and distant from Tizimin six leagues. The military commander at Espita had engaged himself to act in concert, but at the critical moment he played false, and deceived the hopes of the leaders in the plot. He received an intimation from Iman to surrender, as had been previously agreed upon, but retained the messengers, and made preparations for defence. Iman marched to the attack in the night, and, much to his surprise, met with resistance. A very hot firing (as it was styled in the bulletins) was kept up for nearly four hours; but, strange to say, only one was killed, a negro, from the window of one of the houses behind which he had posted himself. Before daylight the firing ceased, and Iman returned unmolested to Tizimin. Those who had instigated him to take the step having failed in their engagements to him, his situation now became very critical, and he was left entirely to his own resources. A retreat to San Fernando was determined on and executed. This is a small village seven leagues from Tizimin, to the northward, inhabited by a colony of negroes from St. Domingo, numbering about seventy males. Here he remained, and threw up some fortifications, composed chiefly of stone barricades across the roads at the entrance of the village, and for the purpose of obstructing their advance, cut down the trees lining the roads by which the troops were to pass. Nearly two months elapsed before he was attacked—then by about four hundred men, chiefly militia, under the orders of the commander of Espita, already named. As might have been anticipated from the character of this person, nothing of importance was effected; but after a great deal of noise and smoke, the defenders ran away, and the attacking party entered, without killing one or taking a single prisoner. This was afterwards trumpeted as a signal victory, and the “hero,” as he was styled, greatly eulogized. The revolution was officially declared to be terminated; but notwithstanding, as no pursuit was ever made, a sufficiency of time was allowed to the insurgents to reunite their scattered numbers.