Before leaving Durango I witnessed one of those civil broils which are so common in Mexico. I was not even aware that any difficulty had been brewing, till I was waked on the morning of the 25th by a report of fire-arms. Stepping out to ascertain what was the matter, I perceived the azotea [roof] of the parochial church occupied by armed men, who seemed to be employed in amusing themselves by discharging their guns at random upon the people in the streets. These bravos, as I was afterwards informed, belonged to the bishop's party, or that of the Escoceses, which was openly at war with the liberalists, anti-hierarchists, or Yorkinos... for at this time the liberal party had the ascendency in the civil government of Durango.

Commerce of the Prairies (1831–1839), Chapter 21 - Trip from Chihuahua to Aguascalientes, in 1835 — Robbers