Skip to main content

Full text of "The history of Paraguay, with notes of personal observations, and reminiscences of diplomacy under difficulties"

See other formats 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


* 


(From  a  rhotogr.ifh  taken  in  1859  ) 
FRANCISCO    SOLANO    LOPEZ. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  PARAGUAY, 


Notes    of  Personal   Observations, 


AND 


REMINISCENCES  OF  DIPLOMACY  UNDER 
DIFFICULTIES. 


CHARLES  A.   WASHBURN, 

COMMISSIONER  AND  MINISTER  RESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AT  ASUNCION 

FROM    l86l    TO    1868. 


IN   TWO   VOLUMES. 
VOL.   II. 


BOSTON: 
LEE   AND    SHEPARD,    PUBLISHERS. 

NEW    YORK: 
LEE,   SHEPARD,   AND   DILLINGHAM. 


G>~    *     r»    4 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870, 

BY   CHARLES   A.   WASHBURN, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washingto 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS  :  WELCH,  BIGELOW,  &  Co., 
CAMBRIDGE. 


53 


. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Personal.  —  I  receive  Leave  of  -Absence.  —  Interview  with  the  President.  — 
The  Passengers  and  Crew  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda.  —  Lopez's  War  Pol- 
icy. —  Expedition  to  Matto  Grosso.  —  Capture  of  Fort  Coimbra.  —  Cap- 
ture and  Sack  of  Corumba.  —  Massacre  of  the  Prisoners.  —  Interview 
with  the  President.  —  I  take  my  Departure  from  Paraguay  .  .  .  i 

CHAPTER    II. 

Buenos  Aires  declines  an  Alliance  with  Brazil.  —  Seizure  of  two  Argentine 
War  Steamers.  —  Don  Ramon  Capdevila.  —  Siege  of  Paisandu.  —  Death 
of  Leandro  Gomez.  —  Spanish  American  Ideas  of  National  Honor  and 
National  Neutrality.  —  Capitulation  of  Montevideo.  —  The  Oriental  Lega- 
tion in  Paraguay.  —  Correspondence  between  Lopez  and  Urquiza.  — Colo- 
nel Coriolano  Marquez.  —  Capture  of  Corrientes  by  General  Robles.  — 
Provisional  Government  established.  —  Excitement  in  Buenos  Aires.  — 
Speech  of  President  Mitre.  —  The  Triple  Alliance.  — The  Campaign  in 
Corrientes.  —  Duplicity  of  Urquiza.  —  Colonel  George  Thompson  .  .  12 

CHAPTER    III. 

Popular  Demonstrations  in  Support  of  the  Government.  —  The  Press  of 
Paraguay.  —  The  Paraguay  Independiente.  —  The  Eco  del  Paraguay.  — 
The  Semanario.  —  Inordinate  Vanity  of  Lopez.  —  Sources  of  Information. 
—  The  Postmaster-General  of  Paraguay.  —  Antipathy  of  the  Paraguayans 
to  the  Brazilians.  —  The  Paraguayan  verms  the  Brazilian  Soldiers.— 
Matto  Grosso.  —  Mitre  refuses  to  permit  the  Paraguayans  to  pass  through 
the  Misiones.  —  Brazil  vainly  seeks* an  Alliance  with  Buenos  Aires  against 
Lopez.  —  Buenos  Aires  determines  to  remain  Neutral.  —  General  Ur- 
quiza's  Intrigues  with  Lopez  and  Mitre.  —  Congress  convoked.  — 
Charges  against  the  Argentine  Government.  —  Lopez  made  Marshal.— 
The  Order  of  Merit  ,  .28 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Birth  and  early  Education  of  F.  S.  Lopez.  —  He  enters  the  Army.  —  Briga- 
dier-General. —  Personal  Appearance   and   Habits.  —  His   Cowardice.  — 


IV  CONTENTS. 

His  House  of  Shelter.  —  His  Fright  at  a  Distant  Shell.  — No  Respect  for 
old  Friends  or  former  Mistresses.  —  The  Fate  of  Pancha  Garmendia.— 
Carlos  Antonio  Lopez's  Improvement  on  Francia's  System  of  Espionage.  — 
Ignorance  and  Superstition.  —Juan  Gregorio  Urbieta,  Bishop  of  Paraguay. 
—  His  Successor,  Manuel  Antonio  Palacios. — Character  of  Palacios. — 
The  Catechism  of  San  Alberto. — The  Divine  Right  of  Kings  and  Magis- 
trates. —  Letter  from  Palacios  to  Lopez.  —  The  Padre,  Fidel  Maiz.  —  His 
Talents  and  Popularity.  —  Arrest,  Imprisonment,  and  Torture.  —  His 
Reconciliation  with  Lopez.  —  His  Profane  Confession.  —  His  final  Es- 
cape   46 


CHAPTER    V. 

Departure  of  the  Paraguayan  Fleet  from  Asuncion.  —  Arrival  at  Humaita.  — 
The  English  Engineer,  John  Watts.  —  Admiral  Mesa.  —  The  Battle  of 
Riachuelo.  — Confusion.  — The  Pilot  of  the  Amazonas.  —  Defeat  of  the 
Paraguayans.  —  Rewards  of  Merit 64 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Inaction  of  the  Brazilians.  —  Results  of  the  Battle  of  Riachuelo.  —  The  Cam- 
paign in  Corrientes.  —  General  Robles  suspected  of  Treason.  —  Espion- 
age.—  Colonel  Alen.  —  Arrest,  Imprisonment,  and  Execution  of  General 
Robles  and  Others.  —  The  Campaign  in  Rio  Grande.  —  Capture  of  San 
Borja  by  Estigarribia.  —  Battle  of  Arroyo  Mbutuy.  —  Movements  of  the 
Allied  Forces.  —  Critical  Situation  of  Duarte.  —  Destruction  of  his  Army. 
' —  Estigarribia  summoned  to  surrender.  —  Negotiations.  —  Capitulation  of 
Estigarribia.  —  His  Character.  —  Treatment  of  the  Prisoners. —  Character 
of  Robles.  —  Interview  with  the  Marques  de  Caxias.  —  Reception  of  the 
News  at  Asuncion.  —  Disappointment  and  Rage  of  Lopez.  —  Public  Meet- 
ings.—  Evacuation  of  Corrientes.  —  Removing  the  Spoils.  —  The  Brazilian 
Fleet  —  Review  of  the  Campaign .  .  -74 


CHAPTER    VII. 

A  new  Palace  commenced.  —  Colonel  Francisco  Fernandez.  —  Lopez  disap- 
pointed in  his  Efforts  to  form  a  Royal  Alliance.  —  Madam  Lynch.  —  Colo- 
nel Wisner.  —  Character  of  Lopez — Public  Amusements.  —  Balls. — 
Peinetas de oro.—  Jewelry.—  Sortija.  — Blill-Fights.—  Their  Influence  upon 
the  People. —  Celebrating  the  Anniversary  of  the  President's  Birthday. — 
A  Step  towards  Imperialism.  —  Changes  in  Matters  of  Etiquette  and  De- 
portment.—  The  Clothes  Question.  —  General  Illumination.  —  Triumphal 
Arches.  —  Mottoes.  —  Fulsome  Praises  of  Lopez.  —  Demonstration  by  the 
Ladies.  —  Magnificent  Displays.  —  Reception  of  the  President.  —  Patriotic 
Speeches.  —  The  President's  Reply.  —  Government  Officials  Present. — 
Their  Subsequent  Fate 93 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Discussion  with  Lopez.  —  Return  from  the  United  States.  —  Rear- Admiral 
S.  W.  Godon.  —  First  Visit  to  General  Mitre.  —  A  Repulse  from  Admiral 
Tamandare. —  Mitre's  Subterfuges.  —  A  Perplexing  Dilemma.  — The  Al- 
lies invade  Paraguay.  —  The  Brazilian  Special  Envoy.  —  His  Attempts  at 
Bribery.  —  Protest  against  further  Delay.  —  Instructions  from  Wash- 
ington  113 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Threatened  Rupture  with  the  United  States.  —  Further  Delays.  —  Strange 
Conduct  of  Admiral  Godon.  —  Later  Instructions.  —  The  Shamokin 
finally  ordered  to  Paraguay.  —  Firmness  and  Gallantry  of  Captain  Pierce 
Crosby.  —  Tamandare  blusters  and  yields.  —  Arrival  at  Curupaiti. — Joy 
of  the  Paraguayans.  —  The  French  Consul,  M.  Cochelet.  —  Don  Luis 
Jara.  —  The  American  Legation  Premises  in  Asuncion  .  .  .  .126 

CHAPTER    X. 

Reception  at  Asuncion.  —  General  Anxiety.  —  Englishmen  in  Prison.  — 
J.  J.  Acuna.  —  G  F.  Masterman  :  his  Arrest,  Trial,  and  Imprisonment  — 
His  Dungeon.  —  Treatment  of  Prisoners.  —  Ramon  Capdevila.  —  Inter- 
cession for  Masterman.  —  His  Release.  —  Life  in  Asuncion.  —  Captain 
Simon  Fidanza.  —  The  Casals .  .  .141 

CHAPTER    XI. 

A  Visit  to  Lopez's  Head-Quarters.  —  Description  of  Humaita.  —  The  En- 
campment at  Paso  Pucu.  —  Dr.  Stewart,  the  Surgeon-General. —Other 
English  Officers.  — Their  Warnings  and  Forebodings.  —  Interviews  with 
Lopez.  —  His  Opinion  of  Brazilian  Soldiers.  —  Release  of  Americans  from 
Prison.  —  Obsequiousness  of  Lopez's  Officers.  —  Admiral  Tamandare.  — 
Brazilian  Artillery  Practice.  — An  American  Claim  allowed  by  Lopez.— 
Arrest  of  Don  Luis  Jara.  —  Picking  a  Money-Box.  —  Alleged  Paraguayan 
Victories.  —  Prospect  of  American  Mediation 156 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Impressment  of  all  Paraguayans  into  Military  Service.  —  Battle  of  Estero 
Bellaco.  —  Brazilian  Chivalry.  —  Denunciations  against  Deserters.  — 
Story  of  Dona  Carmelita  Cordal.  —  She  publicly  renounces  her  Husband. 
—  Her  Confidential  Explanations.  —  Universal  Hypocrisy  of  Para- 
guayans. —  Enforced  Contributions.  —  Dr.  Tristan  Roca.  —  Levies  upon 
Foreigners.  —  Testimonials  to  Lopez.  —  The  Album,  the  Flag,  and  the 
Sword.  —The  Women  offer  all  their  Jewels.  —  Their  Patriotic  Speeches. 


VI*  CONTENTS. 

—  Lopez  accepts  only  a  Part.  —  The  Women  volunteer  as  Soldiers.  —  A 
Tragical  Farce 167 


CHAPTER     XIII. 

An  Offer  of  Mediation.  —  Voyage  to  Head-Quarters.  —  Conversation  with 
Benigno  Lopez.  —  Interviews  with  the  Marshal.  —  Exchange  of  Messages 
with  Caxias.  —  Lopez's  Hopes  and  Fears.  —  The  Passage  through  the 
Lines.  —  Rudeness  of  Pancho  Lynch.  —  Reception  by  Caxias.  —  His  Re- 
ply to  the  Offer  of  Mediation.  —  Discussion  of  the  Chances  of  the  War.  — 
The  Polish  Officer's  Map.  —  Return  to  Paso  Pucu.  —  A  Breakfast  with 
Lopez.  —  Anger  of  the  Marshal.  —  Extract  from  my  Diary.  —  Final  In- 
terview with  Lopez.  —  He  announces  a  Memorable  Resolution.  —  He 
will  never  surrender.  —  His  Place  in  History  secure  .  .  .  -179 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Another  Visit  to  Paso  Pucu.  —  Arrival  of  Despatches.  —  Letter  from  Gen- 
eral Asboth.  —  He  is  insulted  by  Admiral  Godon.  —  Note  to  Caxias.  — 
Patriotic  Offerings  by  the  Paraguayans.  —  Grand  National  Testimonial  to 
Marshal  Lopez.  —  Public  Meetings  and  Addresses.  —  Specimen  of  the 
Adulation  of  the  Masses.  —  Discourse  of  Adelina  Lopez.  —  English  Offer 
of  Mediation.  —  Mr.  Gould's  Propositions.  —  Bad  Faith  of  Lopez.  —  His 
Reasons  for  breaking  off  Negotiations.  —  French  and  English  Gunboats 
pass  the  Blockade.  —  Folly  of  the  Naval  Officers.  —  They  become  Tools 
of  Lopez.  —  Departure  of  Consul  Cochelet.  —  Lopez's  Hatred  of  him.  — 
He  is  detained  at  Humaita,  and  exposed  to  the  Fire  of  the  Allies  .  .  196 


CHAPTER    XV. 

The  Mother  and  Sisters  of  Lopez.  —  Their  Fears.  —  Conversations  with 
Prominent  Paraguayans.  — Their  Reserve.  —  Venancio  Lopez.  —  The 
Semanario.  —  Benigno  Lopez. —  His  Character  and  Opinions.  —  The 
Quinta  de  Trinidad  —Passage  of  Humaita. —James  Manlove.— His 
Capture  by  the  Paraguayans.  —  His  Treatment  by  Lopez.  —  His  Charac- 
ter and  Antecedents.  —  What  the  Birds  told  Berges  —The  Beginning  of 
the  End. —  Our  Hopes  of  Deliverance.  —  Asuncion  evacuated.  —  Prop- 
erty deposited  in  the  American  Legation.  —  A  Meeting  of  the  Consuls. 
—  They  resolve  to  leave 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

The  City  of  Asuncion.  —  Its  Appearance  and  Characteristics.  —  Scenes  in 
the  Market-Place.  —  The  Government  at  the  Time  of  the  Evacuation.  — 
Vice-President  Sanchez.  —  Anecdotes  of  his  Career.  —  Minister  Berges.  — 
His  Visit  to  the  United  States.  —  His  Shrewdness.  —  Venancio  Lopez.  — 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

Colonel  Francisco  Fernandez.  —  Major  Gomez.  —  Benigno  Lopez.  — 
Extracts  from  Diary.  —  A  Council  held  at  Asuncion.  —  Deliberations  on 
the  Situation.  —  It  is  resolved  to  resist  the  Ironclads.  —  Consequences 
of  this  Council.  —  Its  Members  incur  Suspicion  and  Persecution. — 
Their  Fate 226 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

New  Members  of  the  American  Legation.  —  Dr.  Carreras  and  Senor  Rod- 
riguez. —  They  become  my  Guests.  —  Madam  Lynch  sends  her  Valua- 
bles. —  Dispersion  of  the  Paraguayan  Residents.  —  The  English  Engi- 
neers. —  Bombardment  of  the  Fort.  —  Flight  of  the  Ironclads.  — Our 
Servant  Basilio.  —  Watts  and  Manlove.  — They  get  into  Difficulty. — 
Scene  at  the  Police-Office.  —  Strategy  of  Lopez.  —  Attack  on  the  Iron- 
clads.—  Its  Failure 236 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Routine  of  Life  at  the  Legation.  —  Captain  Fidanza.  —  Fears  entertained  by 
Lopez's  Mother.  —  Her  Isolation.  —  She  asks  for  Protection.  —  Don  Sa- 
turnino  Bedoya.  —  His  Imprisonment.  —  Lopez's  Flight  from  Paso  Pucu. 

—  Passage  of  the  Army  through  the  Chaco.  —  Colonel  Martinez.  —  Mas- 
sacre of  Prisoners.  —  Extracts  from  my  Diary.  —  The  Vice- President  and 
•Berges  called  below.  —  Inertness  of  the  Allies.  —  Colonel  Paulino  Alen. 

—  The  Allies  occupy  Paso  Pucu.  —  They  closely  invest  Humaita.  —  Colo- 
nel Alen  escapes  to  Lopez.  —  His  Fate.  —  Martinez  evacuates  Humaita. 

—  He  capitulates  in  the  Chaco 253 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Colonel  Martinez  accused  of  Treason.  —  His  Wife  arrested  and  tortured.  — 
Her  Sufferings  and  Execution.  —  Extract  from  a  Despatch  sent  to  Wash- 
ington. —  Difficulty  of  Transmitting  Correspondence.  —  French  De- 
spatches by  Flag  of  Truce. —  Signs  of  an  Impending  Crisis  .  .  .268 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Petty  Annoyances  become  Frequent.  —  Our  Fears  of  Impending  Troubles.  — 
Political  Views  of  Dr.  Carreras.  —  Brilliant  Qualities  and  Attainments  of 
Rodriguez.  —  Hope  entertained  by  Natives  and  Foreigners  of  Protection 
under  the  American  Flag.  —  The  Mother  and  Sisters  of  Lopez  share  this 
Hope.  —  Letters  received  by  an  American  Gunboat  addressed  to  Car- 
reras and  Vasconcellos.  —  Their  Contents.  —  News  of  the  Assassination 
of  Flores.  —  Another  Visit  to  Lopez's  Head-Quarters.  —  Dr.  Carreras 
becomes  Heir  to  a  Fortune  in  Bolivia.  —  Lopez  refuses  him  Permission 
to  leave  the  Country.  —  Altered  Aspect  of  Affairs  at  Head-Quarters. — 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

Frigidity  of  Lopez.  —  Conversations  with  Drs.  Stewart  and  Fox.  —  Be- 
doya  and  Benigno  Lopez  are  Prisoners.  —  A  Card-Party  given  by  Madam 
Lynch.  —  Her  Duplicity.  —  Return  to  Asuncion 276 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Correspondence  with  Commander  Kirkland.  —  Numerous  Arrests.  —  Vic- 
tories reported  in  the  Semanario.  —  Difficulty  of  obtaining  Provisions.  — 
A  Period  of  Anxiety.  —  Our  English  Guests.  —  Arrest  of  Captain  Fidanza 
and  of  many  Foreigners.  —  The  Portuguese  Consul,  Leite  Pereira.  —  His 
Exequatur  is  withdrawn.  —  He  takes  Refuge  in  the  American  Legation. 

—  Consultations  on  his  Case.  —  His  Surrender  is  demanded  and  refused. 

—  Note  to  Benitez 289 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

Benitez's  Note  of  July  n,  1868.  —  The  Beginning  of  the  End.  —  The  Eng- 
lish leave  the  Legation.  —  Leite  Pereira  surrenders  himself.  —  Pickets 
are  placed  around  the  Legation.  —  Carreras  and  Rodriguez  are  demanded. 

—  Mysterious   Charges  against   them.  —  Anxious   Consultations.  —  Ad- 
mirable Conduct  of  Rodriguez.  —  They  finally  give   themselves  up. — 
Note  to  Benitez  in  their  Behalf.  —  Rights  of  Legation  insisted  on.  —  The 
Saddest  Moment  in  this   History.  —  Lopez  demands  the  Surrender  of 
Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  They  are  accused  of  High  Crimes  and  Misde- 
meanors. —  The  Demand  refused  and  Passports  called  for.  —  Rapid  Suc- 
cession of  Notes.  —  Fresh  Charges  against  Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  Offer 
to  send  them  out  of  the  Country.  —  Treatment  of  the  English.  —  Sweep- 
ing Arrests  at  Luque.  —  A  Brazilian  Spy  about  the  Legation.  —  Thomas 
Carter.  —  The  Prisoners  taken  to  the  Army 301 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Visit  from  the  Italian  Consul  —Particulars  of  the  Arrests  at  Luque.— 
Masterman  writes  his  Vindication.  —  Papers  of  Mr.  Bliss.  —  Their  Prepa- 
rations for  Arrest.  —  Artifices  to  conceal  our  Manuscripts.  —  Colton's 
Atlas.  —  We  learn  of  many  Executions.  —  Visit  from  Madam  Lynch.  — 
She  announces  the  Discovery  of  a  great  Conspiracy.  —  She  vouches  for 
Lopez's  Kindness  of  Heart.  —  Her  Threats.  —  That  Ominous  Knock.  — 
Benitez  gives  Particulars  of  an  Intended  Outbreak  to  take  Place  July  24. 

—  He  charges  Mr.  Bliss  with  a  Design  to  assassinate  Lopez.  —  Extract 
from  his  Note.  — The  Dangers  thickening 320 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

A  more  Ominous  Letter.  —  The  Purposes  of  Lopez  become  more  Evident.  — 
Visit  to  Berges.  —  Bliss  and  Masterman  declared  not  entitled  to  Legation 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Privileges.  —  Threats  to  take  them  by  Force.  —  Uncertainties  and 
Doubts.  —  Was  there  a  Conspiracy  ?  —  Speculations.  —  Colonel  Marquez 
and  other  Refugees.  —  Official  Receptions.  —  Correspondence  with  Beni- 
tez.  —  Benitez  visits  the  Legation. —  An  Excited  Discussion.  —  He 
threatens  Strong  Measures.  —  Arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  hourly  ex- 
pected. —  Life  in  the  Legation 333 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

Correspondence.with  Benitez.  —  Berges's  Imaginary  Papers  again  demand- 
ed. —  Threats.  —  The  Object  of  Benitez's  Visit.  —  Accusations  of  Berges. 
—  Commander  Kirkland  accused  of  forwarding  Letters  from  Caxias.  — 
Notice  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  will  be  taken.  —  Passports.  —  Theory 
of  Berges's  Declaration.  —  Its  Evident  Falsehoods.  —  Carreras's  Decla- 
ration. —  Its  Inexplicable  Mixture  of  Truth  and  Falsehoods.  —  John  F. 
Gowland.  — The  Semanario.  —  Its  Sanguinary  Contents.  —  Its  Denun- 
ciations of  Traitors.  —  The  President's  Birthday  celebrated  at  the  New 
Capital.  —  The  Women  denounce  their  Husbands,  Brothers,  and  Sons. — 
Great  Enthusiasm.  —  The  Peace  not  disturbed  in  the  General  Joy  .  .  350 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Lopez's  Opinion  of  American  Admirals.  —  Benitez's  Letters  inexplicable. — 
Publication  of  the  Correspondence.  —  Berges  in  the  Double  Character  of 
Traitor  and  Patriot.  —  Letter  from  Berges  and  Reply  thereto.  — The 
Status  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  Rights  of  Legation.  —  Solitude  of 
Asuncion.  —  Houses  sealed  up.  —  Fate  of  their  Owners.  —  Fernandez 
and  Sanabria.  —  A  Long  Silence.  —  Arrest  of  Benitez. —  His  Character. 
—  Madam  Lynch  withdraws  her  Treasures  from  the  Legation.  —  Effects 
of  Protracted  Anxiety.  —  Death  the  Least  of  the  Terrors.  —  Lopez  and 
Lynch  have  their  Plans  matured.  —  The  American  Minister  and  Wife  to 
be  subjected  to  the  same  Treatment  as  the  Brothers  and  Sisters  of  Lo- 
pez. —  Details  of  the  Plan.  —  Causes  of  Lopez's  Antipathy.  —  His  Inde- 
cent Exhibitions  of  himself.  —  Testimony  of  Dr.  William  Stewart  .  .  367 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

The  Transactions  at  Head-Quarters  unknown  in  Asuncion.  —  Arrest  of 
General  Barrios.  —  His  Character.  —  Indications  that  Lopez  believed  in 
a  Conspiracy.  —  Other  Indications  that  it  was  all  previously  planned  by 
himself.  —  Forging  Fetters.  —  Lopez's  Conduct  inexplicable.  —  General 
Bruguez's  Fall,  Arrest,  and  Execution.  —  What  was  it  for? — Barrios 
attempts  Suicide.  —  His  Wife,  Lopez's  Sister,  horribly  flogged  —  Insan- 
jty  and  Execution  of  Barrios.  —  Affected  Piety  of  Lopez.  —  Why  did  no 
one  rebel  or  resist  ?  —  His  Constant  Fear  of  Assassination.  —  Anecdote 
from  Thompson's  Book.  —  Madam  Lynch  increases  his  Natural  Cow- 


:  CONTENTS. 

ardice.  —  Her  Selfishness.  —  She  causes  many  to  be  arrested  and  tortured. 
—  The  other  Intimates  of  Lopez.  —  Their  Fate.  —  Madam  Lynch  in 
Danger.  —  Brazilian  Chivalry.  —  The  "Conspiracy."  —  No  other  Proof 
than  that  of  Tortured  Witnesses 389 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Silence  and  Anxiety.  —  Reflections  of  Persons  in  Time  of  Danger.  —  Indi- 
cations that  Lopez's  Plans  are  deranged.  —  Luis  Caminos.  —  Lopez  re- 
tires unmolested  from  San  Fernando.  —  The  French  Chancellor  accused. 
—  Robbery  of  the  National  Treasury.  —  Lopez's  Object.  —  Letter  from 
Captain  Kirkland.  — The  Delay  explained.  —  Long  Letter  of  Accusations 
from  Caminos.  —  Passports  promised  to  all  but  Bliss,  Masterman,  and 
Baltazar 404 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

The  Situation  of  the  Wasp.  —  The  Wild  Beast  in  his  Cage.  —  Anxious 
Conferences.  —  Unanimity  in  the  Plan  of  Escape.  —  Money,  etc.,  left  in 
the  Legation.  —  Some  of  the  English  withdraw  theirs.  —  Dispute  with 
Caminos  in  regard  to  Property  left  in  the  Legation.  —  Not  allowed  to  take 
any  Property  but  my  own  aboard  the  Paraguayan  Steamer.  —  Further 
Delays.  —  Indications  that  Lopez  still  intends  to  keep  us  Prisoners.  — 
Danger  in  taking  away  Masterman's  Property.  —  My  Baggage  opened 
and  examined.  —  A  Fruitless  Search.  —  Another  Letter  from  Kirkland.  — 
Mrs.  Leite  Pereira.  —  Antonio  Jara.  — The  Legation  Premises  left  in 
Charge  of  the  Italian  Consul.  —  Basilio.  —  Parting  Interview.  —  Depar- 
ture from  the  Legation.  —  Arrest  of  Bliss,  Masterman,  and  Baltazar.  — 
Fears  of  the  Consuls  for  their  own  Safety.  —  Mr.  Hunter  and  the  Money 
of  the  English.  — The  Paraguayan  Steamer.  — The  Wasp  .  .  .419 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

The  Officers  of  the  Wasp.  —  Interview  between  Kirkland  and  Lopez.  — 
Lopez  threatens  to  detain  the  American  Minister.  —  Kirkland  warns  him 
of  the  Consequences.  —  Lopez  frightened.  —  The  Correspondence  detained 
by  Caxias.  —  Discourtesy  and  Dishonesty  of  Caxias.  —  Parting  Visit  of 
Kirkland  to  Lopez.  —  Messages  to  Lopez.  —  Letters  from  Mr.  Bliss  and 
Mr.  Masterman.  —  A  Parthian  Arrow.  —  Masterman  ;  Account  of  his  Ar- 
rest, Torture,  and  Imprisonment.  —  Lopez's  Protestations  to  Commander 
Kirkland.  —  Condition  of  Carreras,  Fidanza,  and  other  Prisoners  .  .  435 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Final    Departure.  —  Corrientes.  —  Duties   of  Neutrals.  —  Excitement    at 
Buenos  Aires.  —  The  Semanario.  —  Published  Correspondence.  —  Letter 


CONTENTS.  xi 

to  the  English  Minister.  —  Hostility  of  the  Allies.  —  The  Wasp  sent  to 
the  Seat  of  War.  —  Refused  a  Passage  through  the  Blockade.  —  Return 
to  Montevideo.  —  General  J.  Watson  Webb.  —  His  Energetic  Action.  — 
He  demands  his  Passports.  —  The  Objections  withdrawn.  — The  Wasp 
returns  to  Paraguay. — Her  Arrival  a  Surprise  to  Lopez. —  His  PJans 
deranged.  —  Indignation  of  the  Allies.  —  Gaucho  Ideas  of  the  Duties  of 
a  Neutral  Minister.  —  The  American  Navy  :  the  System  and  the  Prac- 
tices under  it.  —  Despotic  Powers  of  the  Admiral.  —  Rear-Admiral 
Charles  H.  Davis.  —  His  Fleet-Captain,  Francis  M.  Ramsey.  —  Differ- 
ence of  Opinion  between  the  Admiral  and  General  Webb.  —  Insulting 
Letter  from  the  Admiral.  —  He  shows  his  Independence  by  delaying  the 
Departure  of  the  Squadron 458 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

The  Commercial  Interests  of  Paraguay.  —  Policy  of  the  United  States  in 
Regard  to  the  Republics  of  South  America.  —  M.  T.  McMahon  appointed 
United  States  Minister  to  Paraguay.  —  Conflict  of  Testimony.  —  Admiral 
Davis's  Excuses  for  Delay.  —  Extract  from  General  Webb's  Testimony. 
—  Davis  and  McMahon. — Indorsement  of  Commander  Kirkland.  —  His 
Letter  to  Admiral  Davis 475 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

Investigation  of  Paraguayan  Affairs  by  Congress.  —  Its  Object.  —  The 
Course  taken  by  the  Naval  Department.  —  Extracts  from  the  Report  of 
the  Congressional  Committee.  —  Admiral  Godon  censured.  —  Extracts 
from  the  Testimony  of  Captain  Clark  H.  Wells.  —  Interview  with  Admiral 
Davis  and  General  McMahon.  —  The  Admiral's  Forgetfulness.  —  He 
determines  to  demand  the  Release  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  Extract 
from  a  Letter  to  McMahon.  —  His  Subsequent  Course.  —  Antecedents  of 
McMahon.  —  Return  to  the  United  States.  —  Naval  Courtesy.  —  Captain 
Ramsey 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

Delay  of  Admiral  Davis  in  going  to  the  Rescue  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  — 
The  Paraguayan  Tribunal.  —  Examination  of  Mr.  Bliss.— Specimen  of 
his  Testimony,  as  taken  down  by  the  Tribunal.  —  Torture.  —  Political 
Prisoners.  —  The  Narrative  of  Mr.  Masterman.  —  His  Fellow-Prisoners, 
Dr.  Carreras,  Don  Benigno  Lopez,  and  others.  —The  Cefo  Uriigitayana.  — 
Its  Origin.  —  Mr.  Taylor's  Experience  in  it  —  Other  Victims  —  Suffer- 
ings and  Privations  of  the  Prisoners. —  The  President's  Sisters. —  His 
Mother 497 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

The  Depositions  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  Contradictions.  —  A  Conspir- 
acy to  overthrow  Republicanism  in  South  America.  —  Lopez's  Mode  of 
eliciting  the  Truth.  —  Measures  adopted  by  Bliss  and  Masterman  to  gain 
Time.  —  Bliss  becomes  my  Biographer.  —  Youthful  Infirmities.  —  Klep- 
tomania.—  College  Life.  —  Favorite  Books.  —  Experience  as  a  Lawyer, 
Doctor,  and  in  other  Capacities.  —  Removal  to  California,  —  Novelist, 
Editor,  Poet.  —  Appointed  Minister  to  Paraguay.  —  Magnanimity  of  Lopez. 
—  My  Ingratitude.  — The  Paid  Agent  of  the  Brazilians.  — Pretended  Ex- 
tracts from  my  Forthcoming  Book.  —  Parallel  between  Lopez  and  Reho- 
boam.  — My  Opinion  of  Lopez  and  the  Principal  Characters  among  the 
Allies. — Character  of  the  Book.  —  Robinson  Crusoe  and  Gulliver  out- 
done. —  Circumstances  under  which  it  was  written.  —  Remarkable  Mem- 
ory of  the  Author.— His  Style.  — He  endeavors  to  excite  the  Supersti- 
tious Fears  of  Lopez.  — The  Letter  "B."  — Previous  Relations  with  Mr. 
Bliss.  —  Want  of  Taste  and  Delicacy  shown  in  the  Book.  —  Extenuating 
Circumstances.  — The  Writer  accomplishes  his  Object.  —  Indignation  of 


the  Naval  Officers 


514 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

Arrival  of  the  Wasp.  —  Admiral  Davis's  Letter  to  Lopez. —  The   New 
American  Minister.  —  The  Release  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  demanded. 

—  Lopez  boasts  that  he  has  the  Naval  Officers  on  his  Side.  —  Interviews 
between  Davis  and  Lopez.  —  Bliss  and  Masterman  regarded  as  Criminals. 

—  Lopez's  Opinion  of  Davis.  —  Davis  sends  two  of  his  Officers  to  verify 
the  Declarations  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  before  the  Tribunal.  —  Extracts 
from  the  Testimony  taken  during  the  Paraguayan  Investigation.  — Joy  of 
Bliss  and  Masterman  on  learning  that  their  Deliverance  was  at  Hand.  — 
Lopez's  sudden  Turn  of  Affection  for  Bliss.  —  The  Incomprehensible 
Character  of  Lopez 536 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

Arrival  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  on  Board  the  Wasp.  — Their  Recep- 
tion.—  They  exchange  one  Prison  for  another.  —  Cor.xparing  Notes. — 
McMahon  refuses  Bliss  an  Interview.  —  The  American  Naval  System.  — 
The  first  Version  of  the  Affair  sent  to  the  United  States.  —  Dr.  Marius 
Duvall.  —  Arrival  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  in  the  United  States.  — They 
memorialize  Congress 549 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

McMahon  presents  his  Credentials.  —  His  Reception  by  Lopez.  —  Mutual 
Sympathy.  —  He  becomes   the   Confidant  of  Madam   Lynch.  —  Lopez 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

makes  his  Will.  —  McMahon  constituted  Custodian  and  Trustee.  — 
The  Blockade  broken.  — The  British  Secretary  of  Legation  in  Buenos 
Aires  visits  Paraguay.  —  Lopez  abandons  the  Tebicuari  and  falls  back  to 
Angostura.  —  Battle  of  Pikysyry.  —  Defeat  of  the  Paraguayans.  —  Mas- 
sacre of  Prisoners.  —  Departure  of  McMahon  for  Pirebebui. —  Sufferings 
and  Misery  of  the  Paraguayan  Women  and  Children.  —  Lopez's  Cabinet 
Ministers.  —  Furious  Bombardment  by  the  Allies.  —  Bravery  of  the  Para- 
guayan Troops.  —  Cowardly  Flight  of  Lopez.  —  Lopez's  System  of  Vica- 
rious Punishments.  —  Dr.  Stewart.  —  Treatment  of  his  Family  by  Lopez. 
—  Inaction  of  the  Brazilians.  —  Lopez  allowed  to  fortify  himself  at  the 
Pass  of  Ascurra.  —  Capitulation  of  Colonel  Thompson  ....  556 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

The  Count  d'Eu  takes  Command  of  the  Brazilian  Army.  —  Lopez  at  the 
Pass  of  Ascurra.  —  The  Paraguayan  Women  and  Children  driven  before 
the  Army. — Their  Condition  one  of  Appalling  Wretchedness.  —  Gen- 
eral McMahon  at  Pirebebui.  —  He  is  recalled.  —  His  Departure  from 
Paraguay.  —  Reception  in  Buenos  Aires.  —  Burlesque  Procession.  —  He 
endeavors  to  interest  the  United  States  in  Behalf  of  Lopez.  —  Closing 
Events  of  the  War.  —  Statement  of  General  Resquin.  —  Capture  of  Pire- 
bebui by  the  Brazilians.  —  Retreat  of  the  Paraguayan  Army.  —  More 
Conspiracies.  —  Execution  of  the  Alleged  Conspirators.  —  The  Mother, 
Sisters,  and  Brother  of  Lopez  accused  of  conspiring  against  him.  — 
Execution  of  Venancio  Lopez.  —  Statement  of  Dona  Inocencia  .  .  573 

CHAPTER-  XL. 

Lopez's  System  of  Warfare  no  longer  practicable.  —  His  Army  melts 
away.  —  His  Encampment  on  the  Banks  of  the  Aquidaban.  —  A  Sur- 
prise. —  Flight  of  Lopez.  —  Capture  and  Death  of  his  Ministers  and 
Principal  Officers.  —  The  Pursuit  of  Lopez.  —  His  Death.  —  Flight  and 
Capture  of  Madam  Lynch.  —  Death  of  Pancho  Lynch.  —  The  Rescue  of 
Lopez's  Mother  and  Sisters.  —  Return  to  Asuncion.  —  Ruined  Condi- 
tion of  the  City. —  The  Havocs  of  the  War. —  Nine  Tenths  of  the 
Population  destroyed.  —  Desire  of  the  Paraguayan  Women  to  wreak 
their  Vengeance  on  Madam  Lynch.  —  She  is  protected  from  their  Fury 
by  the  Brazilians.  —  Her  Property  sequestrated. — The  Fugitives  in 
Asuncion. —Their  Wretched  Condition.  —  The  Provisional  Govern- 
ment.—Efforts  to  relieve  the  General  Distress 588 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

The  Surviving  Companions  of  Lopez  unable  to  explain  his  Conduct. — 
He  left  no  Evidence  against  his  Victims.  —  His  most  trusted  Officers 
alarmed  for  their  own  Safety.  —  Bewildered  by  a  Phantom.  —  His 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

Charge  against  Don  Benigno.  —  Lopez,  dying,  left  no  Friend  to  mourn 
him.  —  His  Name  universally  accursed.  —  The  Character  of  Lopez  not 
to  be  judged  by  any  Human  Standard.  —  A  Mental  and  Moral  De- 
formity.—  Likeness  and  Unlikeness  to  Francia.  —  His  Treatment  of 
his  Family.  —  The  Curse  of  Solomon.  —  The  Future  of  Paraguay. — 
The  Immigration  needed.  —  Advantages  which  the  Country  offers.  — 
The  Present  Government.  —  Conclusion.  ...  .  600 


APPENDIX. 
Correspondence  between  Rear-Admiral  Davis  and  President  Lopez.  .        .    609 


INDEX 615 


HISTORY    OF    PARAGUAY. 


VOL.   II. 


PARAGUAY, 


CHAPTER     I. 

Personal.  —  I  receive  Leave  of  Absence.  —  Interview  with  the  President.  —  The 
Passengers  and  Crew  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda.  —  Lopez's  War  Policy.  — 
Expedition  to  Matto  Grosso.  —  Capture  of  Fort  Coimbra.  —  Capture  and 
Sack  of  Corumba.  —  Massacre  of  the  Prisoners.  —  Interview  with  the  Presi- 
dent. —  I  take  my  Departure  from  Paraguay. 

T  N  commencing  this  work  a  strange  story  was  promised  to 
JL  the  reader.  However  imperfectly  it  has  been  told,  I  be- 
lieve the  promise  has  thus  far  been  fulfilled.  But  the  strangest 
and  darkest  part  is  yet  to  come,  and,  to  give  anything  like  a 
full  and  connected  narrative  of  the  closing  acts  of  the  long 
tragedy,  the  work  must  be  made  up  to  a  large  extent  of  per- 
sonal reminiscences.  Therefore  no  apology  is  made  for  the 
free  use  of  the  first  person,  or  for  the  introduction  of  those 
matters  personal  to  myself  which  are  necessary  to  a  full  nar- 
rative of  the  events  as  they  occurred.  For  any  value  that  this 
work  may  have,  I  must  depend  from  this  time  to  the  conclu- 
sion on  my  testimony  as  a  witness,  rather  than  on  any  arrange- 
ment or  collocation  of  evidence  gathered  from  other  sources, 
and  which  is  open  to  others.  I  prefer  to  incur  the  risk  of  be- 
ing charged  with  egotism,  and  with  giving  my  own  affairs  an 
undue  prominence,  rather  than  to  weaken  the  narrative  by  any 
circumlocution  or  affected  modesty.  I  was  so  situated  and 
compelled  to  take  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  events  which  I 
have  to  relate,  that  without  vanity  I  may  quote  as  applicable 
to  myself  the  familiar  words  of  ^Eneas  :  — 

"  Quaeque  ipse  miserrima  vidi, 
Et  quorum  pars  magna  fui." 
VOL.  II.  i 


2  PARAGUAY. 

Having  resided  for  several  years  in  Paraguay  previous  to 
the  war,  I  became  familiar  with  the  habits  and  character  of  the 
people.  I  had  seen,  that,  from  causes  which  I  have  already 
traced,  a  race  had  been  developed  in  which  the  last  spark  of 
personal  liberty  had  been  extinguished,  and  which  knew  no 
exceptions  to  the  rule  of  implicit,  unquestioning  obedience  to 
constituted  authority.  A  whole  nation  thus  helpless  and  in- 
capable of  self-assertion  I  had  seen  led  by  a  despotic  ruler 
into  an  unnecessary  war,  which  was  only  to  end  when  the 
Paraguayans  as  a  people  should  no  longer  exist.  More  than 
this,  I  had  seen  that  when  the  author  of  these  calamities 
was  about  to  be  overtaken  by  the  consequences  of  his  own 
folly  and  ambition,  he  had  endeavored  to  be  revenged  on 
mankind  by  destroying  every  human  being  that  was  in  his 
power,  and,  under  Providence,  I  had  been  the  means  of 
thwarting  his  plans  to  such  an  extent  that  some  persons 
escaped,  who  were  capable  of  bearing  witness  to  his  enor- 
mities. I  had  been  destined  by  him  for  the  fate  that  he  in- 
tended for  all,  and  his  conduct  towards  me  had  shown  such 
a  combination  of  every  bad  quality  in  the  same  individual, 
such  depravity  and  low  cunning,  such  delight  in  cruelty, 
such  effrontery  in  falsehood,  that  without  a  plain  and  succinct 
narrative  of  events  as  they  occurred  no  one  would  believe 
nature  capable  of  producing  a  character  so  depraved.  I  had 
seen  many  of  my  best  friends  seized  and  carried  off  to  be 
starved,  tortured,  and  executed  for  no  crime  whatever,  and  an 
attempt  made  to  blast  their  names,  after  they  were  dead,  by 
false  accusations.  It  is  my  duty,  therefore,  to  vindicate  them, 
and  in  doing  so  to  expose,  not  only  the  character  of  their 
destroyer,  but  the  infamy  of  his  apologists  and  abettors. 
Lopez,  the  cause  of  all  this  sacrifice  and  misery,  has  gone 
to  his  final  account,  his  soul  stained  with  the  blood  of 
seven  hundred  thousand  of  his  own  people,  the  victims  of 
his  ambition  and  cruelty.  His  defenders,  who,  knowing  his 
character,  encouraged  him  to  prolong  the  hopeless  contest, 
and  who  shared,  and  still  hold,  the  spoils  of  his  murdered 
victims,  should  have  their  names  pilloried  in  history,  that  in 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEPARTURE.         3 

after  times,  when  the  world  shall  wonder  how  such  a  wretch 
was  ever  permitted  to  live,  they  shall  be  condemned  to  share 
his  execrable  immortality. 

Such  a  calamity  as  the  destruction  of  a  nation  and  the  ex- 
termination of  an  entire  race  should  not  be  allowed  to  pass 
unnoticed  into  oblivion.  There  survive  but  few  witnesses 
who  can  or  will  make  public  what  they  know  of  the  long 
tragedy  ;  and  perhaps  none  but  myself  will  ever  attempt 
to  publish  the  story  of  what  they  have  seen,  heard,  and  suf- 
fered. Of  these  few  who  escaped,  nearly  all  were  either  in 
prison  for  a  long  time,  or  kept  under  such  surveillance  around 
the  army  head-quarters  that  they  knew  little  of  what  was 
transpiring  in  the  country  except  what  passed  under  their 
own  eyes.  My  means  of  observation  were  also  very  imper- 
fect, owing  to  the  constant  efforts  of  Lopez  to  prevent  com- 
munication between  his  camp  and  the  capital,  and  to  the  in- 
extricable mystery  in  which  I  found  myself  involved.  I  can, 
however,  give  my  own  experience,  and  in  time,  perhaps,  some 
one  else  may  be  able  to  produce  a  connected  narrative  from 
the  various  fragmentary  statements  of  the  different  witnesses. 

Soon  after  the  seizure  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda,  and  while 
the  question  whether  or  not  the  Brazilian  Minister,  Cesar 
Sauvan  Vianna  de  Lima,  would  be  permitted  to  leave  the 
country  was  still  in  doubt,  I  received  from  the  Department  of 
State  the  leave  of  absence  which  I  had  asked  for  some  months 
before.  I  said  nothing  of  this,  however,  until  after  my  unfor- 
tunate colleague  was  safely  out  of  the  country,  and  the  steamer 
which  was  sent  to  carry  him  away  had  returned  to  Paraguay. 
I  knew  that  if  I  asked  for  passports  to  leave  immediately 
after  I  had  secured  the  safety  of  the  Brazilian  Minister,  and 
before  the  steamer  that  carried  him  away  had  returned,  that 
Lopez  would  suspect  there  was  collusion  between  us,  —  that 
we  had  played  him  a  trick,  and  that  his  steamer  would  be 
seized  as  a  prize  of  war  by  the  first  Brazilian  gunboat  it 
might  encounter  ;  and  also  that  other  vessels  in  the  river  des- 
tined for  Paraguay  with  valuable  cargoes,  composed  largely 


4  PARAGUAY. 

of  munitions  of  war,  would  likewise  be  captured.  I  therefore 
remained  quiet  until  I  found  that  all  the  pledges  given  by 
Vianna  de  Lima  had  been  faithfully  respected  by  his  govern- 
ment. About  a  week,  however,  after  the  return  of  the 
Parana,  and  while  waiting  to  learn  if  all  the  other  vessels 
had  arrived  unmolested,  I  took  occasion  to  visit  the  President. 
Alas,  how  had  I  fallen  from  grace !  Instead  of  the  bland  and 
courteous  manner  which  he  had  always  before  assumed  in 
private  interviews,  he  had  a  dark  and  forbidding  scowl,  and 
his  eyes  had  a  sort  of  liquid,  inflamed,  fiendish  look  such  as  I 
had  never  before  seen  in  the  head  of  a  human  being,  —  I 
have  seen  something  like  it  in  wild  beasts  that  have  been 
goaded  to  madness  by  their  tormentors,  —  and  his  whole  ap- 
pearance at  that  time  gave  me  an  impression  of  his  char- 
acter which  has  since  been  fearfully  confirmed  by  his  acts. 
My  ostensible  business  with  him  at  that  time  was  to  bring  to 
his  attention  the  project  of  the  Collins  Telegraph  Company 
to  extend  their  lines  to  all  the  principal  towns  and  cities  of 
South  America.  He  heard  my  statement  of  the  project,  an- 
swered scarcely  a  word,  and  as  soon  as  I  had  concluded  broke 
forth  in  a  furious  tirade  in  regard  to  the  officious  part  I  had 
taken  in  behalf  of  the  Brazilian  Minister.  I  reminded  him, 
that,  if  he  had  any  complaints  to  make  against  me  for  the  part 
I  had  taken,  the  proper  way  for  them  to  be  made  would  be 
officially  through  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs.  No,  he 
abruptly  said,  he  did  not  wish  the  correspondence  reopened, 
but  he  wanted  to  express  his  opinions  to  me  verbally.  He 
said  that  I  had  already  gone  out  of  my  way,  exceeded  my  duties 
as  the  minister  of  a  neutral  nation,  and  shown  myself  to  be 
no  friend  to  Paraguay.  I  had  taken  advantage  of  the  inter- 
view he  had  condescended  to  grant  me,  and  brought  into  my 
official  notes  that  which  he  had  not  spoken  as  official  or  bind- 
ing, but  as  mere  suggestions  to  be  followed  out  or  not,  as 
might  afterwards  suit  his  purposes.  But,  not  satisfied  with 
this,  I  had  in  the  correspondence  made  use  of  several  sharp 
and  objectionable  phrases.  I  replied  I  had  only  followed  the 
strict  but  plain  line  of  duty  ;  and  that  no  stranger,  no  neutral 


LOPEZ   IN   A   RAGE.  5 

or  impartial  person  who  was  familiar  with  the  English  language, 
could  find  anything  to  object  to  either  in  the  course  I  had 
pursued  or  the  language  I  had  employed.  To  this  he  replied, 
striking  his  breast  in  a  theatrical  manner :  "  It  matters  not 
what  other  people  and  other  nations  may  say  or  think  of  the 
matter  ;  it  is  what  I  say.  I  am  to  decide  these  questions."  I 
then  turned  upon  him  and  said,  that,  in  my  opinion,  I  had  most 
reason  to  complain.  Though  I  had  come  in  as  the  friend  of 
both  parties  to  arrange  a  troublesome  question,  and  had  en- 
deavored to  so  manage  it  that  no  Paraguayan  interest  could 
in  any  way  be  prejudiced,  yet  I  had  been  treated  all  through 
with  distrust  and  suspicion  ;  the  most  commonplace  expres- 
sions and  sentences  had  been  carped  at  and  complained  of ; 
and  throughout  I  had  been  regarded  as  an  enemy  trying  to 
overreach  the  Paraguayan  government.  After  several  more 
passages  not  distinguished  for  amiability,  I  took  my  leave,  un- 
able to  conceive  how  I  had  given  such  terrible  offence.  Could 
it  be  because  the  Brazilian  Minister  had  escaped  from  his 
hands  ? 

But  the  cause  of  his  perturbation  was  soon  apparent. 
Thinking  that  he  had  displayed  wonderful  astuteness  and 
statesmanship  in  the  correspondence  between  his  minister 
and  myself,  he  published  it  in  the  Semanario.  In  the  same 
number  he  had  a  fulsome  editorial  in  praise  of  himself,  —  of 
course  written  at  his  own  dictation,  —  for  his  great  magna- 
nimity, courtesy,  and  strict  observance  of  the  laws  of  nations. 
When  the  Semanario,  however,  containing  this  correspond- 
ence reached  Buenos  Aires,  the  newspapers  there  did  not  at 
all  concur  with  him  in  their  estimate  of  his  conduct  or  his 
sagacity  as  displayed  in  the  letters  of  his  minister.  On  the 
contrary,  they  uniformly  condemned  his  mode  of  beginning 
the  war  and  the  detention  of  the  Minister  as  being  the  acts 
of  a  semi-savage.  They  accused  him  of  an  intention  to  keep 
Vianna  de  Lima  as  a  prisoner  in  Paraguay,  and  said  he  had 
only  been  bullied  out  of  it  by  fear  of  the  United  States. 
But  whatever  was  the  cause  of  his  anger  with  me,  I  resolved 
that,  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  permit,  I  would  avail 


6  PARAGUAY. 

myself  of  my  leave  of  absence,  and  ask  my  passports,  and  that 
I  would  see  him  no  more  before  my  departure. 

I  was  soon  forced,  however,  to  abandon  the  idea  that  I 
would  not  again  see  the  man  on  whose  will  depended  the  life 
and  death  of  every  man  in  the  country.  The  Brazilian  con- 
sul, Senor  Amarro  Jose  dos  Santos  Barboza,  came  to  me  a 
few  days  after  in  great  affliction  and  excitement,  telling  me 
that  all  the  passengers  and  crew  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda, 
who  since  her  capture  had  been  kept  as  close  prisoners  in  the 
government  barracks,  were  to  be  sent  away  into  the  interior  of 
the  country,  where  he  feared  they  would  be  exposed  to  severe 
hardships.  He  begged  me  to  go  and  see  the  President,  and 
request  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  live  in  his  house  as 
prisoners,  giving  their  parole  not  to  leave  it  or  go  outside  ex- 
cept with  permission.  I  told  the  consul  that  the  President 
had,  in  my  last  interview  with  him,  shown  himself  to  be  so 
angry  with  me  for  the  part  I  had  already  taken  in  behalf 
of  his  countrymen,  it  was  very  doubtful  whether  any  further 
interference  on  my  part  would  not  do  more  harm  than  good. 
He  begged  me,  however,  to  go ;  and  I  was  obliged  to  dissem- 
ble the  resentment  I  felt  at  the  President's  rudeness  on  the 
last  occasion,  and  make  the  intercession. 

To  my  surprise  his  Excellency  was  now  all  smiles  and  con- 
descension. I  told  him  I  had  come  at  the  instance  of  the 
Brazilian  consul,  Amarro  Barboza,  to  request  that  the  passen- 
gers and  crew  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda  might  be  permitted 
to  live  in  his  house,  —  giving  their  parole  not  to  leave  it,  —  and 
not  be  sent  into  the  interior.  But  I  added,  as  my  own  sugges- 
tion, that  it  would  be  far  better  for  him  and  for  Paraguay  that 
he  should  allow  them  to  leave  the  country  altogether  ;  that  if 
they  were  kept  as  prisoners,  Brazil  would  be  obliged  to  make 
war  to  the  bitter  end.  She  could  not,  and  would  not,  treat  for 
peace  if  they  were  detained.  The  taking  of  the  steamer  was 
an  affair  that  might  be  peaceably  adjudicated,  but  not  so  the 
detention  of  her  passengers  and  crew.  But  he  did  not  see  it 
in  the  same  light.  He  said  they  would  not  be  allowed  to 
depart  until  the  final  settlement  of  all  the  questions  at  issue. 


LOPEZ'S  PROMISES  OF  GOOD  BEHAVIOR.  7 

But  he  added,  that,  as  they  did  not  enter  the  country  as  ene- 
mies, they  would  not  be  treated  as  such.  They  would  be  sent 
into  the  interior  to  the  district  of  San  Joaquin,  some  thirty 
leagues  from  the  capital,  where,  if  they  kept  quiet,  they  would 
be  allowed  to  live  without  molestation  ;  they  might  hunt,  or 
ride,  or  divert  themselves  in  any  way  that  they  saw  fit 
He  said,  moreover,  that  in  carrying  on  war  he  should  conduct 
it  in  a  way  that  would  put  to  shame  all  his  neighbors  ;  that 
he  knew  the  warfare  of  South  America  had  always  been  bar- 
barous, savage,  and  sanguinary.  But  he  was  resolved  to 
put  to  shame  the  practice  of  killing  and  maltreating  pris- 
oners, and  should  strictly  observe  and  be  bound  by  the 
rules  of  war  as  held  and  practised  by  the  most  civilized 
nations.  He  was  to  be  the  pink  of  South  American  chiv- 
alry, the  Chevalier  Bayard  of  modern  times.  Prisoners  should 
not  only  be  protected  in  their  lives,  but  should  have  good 
treatment.  The  gaucho  system  of  robbing,  sacking,  and  cut- 
ting throats  would  be  entirely  prohibited  in  his  army ;  and 
whatever  might  be  the  result,  the  world  should  say  that  Fran- 
cisco Solano  Lopez  conducted  his  military  operations  on  prin- 
ciples humane  and  honorable.  I  expressed  my  gratification 
at  this,  and  told  him  that,  following  this  course,  he  would  have 
a  great  name  in  history,  and  that  adherence  to  the  practice 
would  of  itself  entitle  him  to  the  respect  of  all  foreign  nations ; 
that  most  of  the  military  leaders  of  South  America,  it  was 
well  known,  had  so  tarnished  their  names  with  cruelties 
practised  on  prisoners  that  the  character  of  the  Spanish 
American  people  was  generally  regarded  as  sanguinary  and 
semi-savage,  and  that  by  pursuing  a  course  marked  by  hu- 
manity and  justice  towards  his  enemies  he  might  acquire  an 
illustrious  name.  He  smiled  approvingly,  and  said  that  he 
was  resolved  upon  it.  True,  I  had  some  doubts  whether  he 
would  do  all  that  he  had  promised,  as  I  had  never  seen  him 
practise  either  magnanimity  or  justice  towards  any  one  who 
had  offended  him  ;  nevertheless,  if  encouraged  to  that  course, 
he  might  treat  his  prisoners  better  than  he  otherwise  would. 
I  now  told  him  that  I  had  received  leave  of  absence  from 


8  PARAGUAY. 

my  post  several  weeks  previously,  and  had  only  deferred  my 
departure  till  all  questions  were  settled  growing  out  of  the 
departure  of  Vianna  de  Lima.  He  expressed  regret  that  I 
should  go  away  just  then,  as  there  would  be  important  nego- 
tiations to  arrange  within  a  short  time.  The  war  would  be 
^  over  in  three  or  four  months  at  the  furthest,  and,  as  foreign 
ministers  might  be  called  in  to  arrange  the  terms  of  peace,  it 
would  be  well  that  there  might  be  one  of  them,  at  least,  who 
had  lived  in  Paraguay  and  was  familiar  with  the  character  and 
condition  of  the  people,  and  not  unduly  prejudiced  in  favor  of 
their  enemies.  He  seemed  to  think  that  all  the  representa- 
tives of  foreign  governments  in  Buenos  Aires,  Montevideo, 
and  Rio  Janeiro  were  entirely  enlisted  in  favor  of  Brazil,  and 
that  Mr.  Thornton,  the  English  Minister,  had  a  feeling  of 
strong  enmity  to  him.  I  told  him  that  probably  I  should  re- 
turn long  before  the  first  step  would  be  taken  by  any  party 
looking  towards  peace.  I  should  very  likely  be  back  in  six 
months,  and  in  that  time  Brazil  would  not  be  ready  to  begin 
the  war.  A  government  having  so  vast  a  territory  as  Brazil, 
with  a  sparsely  settled  population,  could  not  in  less  than  ten 
or  twelve  months  collect,  arm,  and  discipline  a  force  that  it 
would  venture  near  the  large  and  well-drilled  army  of  Para- 
guay. Beside,  it  must  create  a  navy,  and  this  would  take  a 
year  at  least.  In  my  opinion,  Brazil  would  begin  the  war 
with  the  determination  of  conquering  Paraguay,  if  not  destroy- 
ing it  as  an  independent  nation. 

This  reasoning  of  mine  the  President  thought  preposter- 
ous. Brazil  would  be  glad  enough  to  treat  whenever  it 
suited  him  to  listen  to  her  proposals,  and  he  was  not  dis- 
posed to  prolong  the  war  needlessly,  or  for  any  selfish  or  am- 
bitious purpose.  But  the  interests  of  Paraguay  required  that 
she  should  show  to  the  world  that  she  had  sufficient  strength 
and  material  resources  to  command  respect.  I  told  him  we 
would  see  who  was  right  and  who  was  wrong ;  to  which,  with 
some  asperity,  he  responded  :  "Yes,  we  shall  see  ;  si,  veremos." 

The  war  had  indeed  commenced  before  this  interview  with 
aqtive  operations  against  the  province  of  Matto  Grosso.  The 


EXPEDITION   TO   MATTO   GROSSO.  9 

people  in  that  remote  district  had  no  knowledge  of  what  had 
been  transpiring  elsewhere  for  the  last  two  months.  Their 
sole  dependence  for  information  from  abroad  was  the  packet 
steamer  Marques  de  Olinda.  They  knew  she  had  not  arrived 
when  due,  yet  her  delay  might  be  accounted  for  in  so  many 
ways  that  it  occasioned  no  alarm.  But  while  they  had  been 
awaiting  the  packet's  arrival,  Lopez  was  preparing  a  surprise 
for  them.  He  had  taken  five  of  his  best  steamers  with  two 
gunboats  in  tow,  each  with  a  sixty-eight-pounder  on  board. 
On  each  of  the  steamers  he  had  placed  several  cannon  of 
lighter  calibre,  but  adapted  to  the  size  of  the  vessels.  Some 
five  thousand  of  the  best  troops  were  then  taken  on  board, 
and  the  expedition,  under  command  of  General  Vicente  Barrios, 
brother-in-law  of  the .  President,  on  the  I4th  of  December 
started  on  her  voyage  of  conquest.  On  the  26th  the  expedition 
came  in  sight  of  Fort  Coimbra,  situate  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  nearly  two  hundred  leagues  from  Asuncion,  and 
twenty  from  the  frontiers  claimed  by  Paraguay.  This  fort 
was  considered  to  be  very  strong,  and  so  it  would  have  been 
in  the  hands  of  any  other  people  than  the  Brazilians.  Bar- 
rios sent  a  summons  to  the  commander  to  surrender.  The 
reply  sent  back  was  of  a  character  to  indicate  that  the  fort 
would  never  be  surrendered  while  there  was  a  man  left  to 
defend  it.  Barrios  then  began  to  bombard  with  his  sixty- 
eight-pounders,  which,  being  of  much  heavier  calibre  and 
longer  range  than  any  guns  of  the  fort,  could  have  easily 
silenced  them  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  He,  however,  made 
an  assault  that  was  repulsed  with  much  loss,  and  the  next  day 
sent  a  detachment  to  occupy  an  eminence  that  commanded 
the  fort.  The  next  night  the  fort  was  evacuated,  and  the  force, 
consisting  of  less  than  two  hundred  men,  left  on  the  little 
steamer  Anhambay,  that  was  lying  just  above  and  out  of 
range  of  the  guns  of  the  Paraguayans.  When  the  latter  en- 
tered the  fort,  they  found  an  immense  quantity  of  ammunition, 
including  powder  enough  to  last  the  whole  Paraguayan  army 
for  at  least  a  year  of  active  war.  The  cannon,  thirty-seven 
in  number,  were  all  taken,  and  a  Brazilian  flag  and  two  of 


10  PARAGUAY. 

the  steamers  were  despatched  below  to  give  an  account  of  the 
great  victory  achieved  by  five  thousand  men  over  two  hun- 
dred. On  their  arrival  at  Asuncion  some  three  hundred  peo- 
ple paraded  through  the  streets,  bearing  the  captured  flag, 
and  shouting  vivas  to  the  great  Lopez  and  his  army  of  heroes. 
Among  the  shouts,  however,  were  mingled  other  cries,  like 
"  Death  to  the  Brazilians  ! "  "  Death  to  the  Portenos  !  " 

The  expedition,  after  the  capture  of  Coimbra,  moved  on  to 
Alberquerque,  a  small  settlement  a  few  leagues  above.  This 
place  was  taken  without  resistance,  and  the  party  went  on  to 
Corumba,  the  principal  town  in  that  part  of  Brazil,  though 
containing  only  about  two  thousand  inhabitants.  The  news 
of  the  taking  of  Coimbra  had  already  reached  there  when 
the  expedition  arrived  to  find  the  town  abandoned.  The  in- 
habitants had  fled,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  foreigners. 
The  town  was  sacked,  the  foreigners  were  carried  prisoners 
to  Asuncion,  and  several  Brazilians  who  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Paraguayans  were  pierced  to  death  with  lances  on  the 
allegation  that  they  were  spies.  The  ears  of  many  of  the 
slain  were  cut  off  and  carried  as  trophies  to  Asuncion  ;  and  of 
the  prisoners  taken,  not  one  ever  left  Paraguay  alive.  In  fact, 
the  whole  conduct  of  the  Paraguayans,  in  regard  to  the  lives 
and  property  of  the  unhappy  people  who  had  been  surprised 
by  them,  was  entirely  contrary  to  what  President  Lopez  had 
told  me  with  great  complacency  it  would  be  a  day  or  two  before. 

A  few  days  after  the  departure  of  the  expedition  from 
Asuncion,  a  little  English  steamer,  the  Ranger,  reached  Para- 
guay, bound  for  Matto  Grosso.  As  the  government  had  an- 
nounced, in  commencing  the  war,  that  the  navigation  of  the  river 
would  be  left  free  to  all  nations  except  Brazil,  it  was  allowed, 
after  several  days'  detention,  and  a  search  and  scrutiny  that 
left  no  piece  of  merchandise  untouched,  to  proceed  to  its 
destination.  It  returned  to  Asuncion  soon  after,  and  on 
the  i6th  of  January,  1865,  I  availed  myself  of  the  kindness 
of  its  commander,  Captain  Harrison,  to  take  my  departure 
from  Paraguay. 

I  was  doubting  in  my  own  mind  whether  I  should  ever 


UNCERTAINTY   OF    RETURNING.  1 1 

return ;  but  were  I  to  come  back  at  all,  I  supposed  I  should 
not  be  absent  for  more  than  six  or  seven  months.  Unforeseen 
events,  however,  determined  me  to  go  again  to  South  Amer- 
ica ;  but  instead  of  reaching  my  post  in  the  course  of  six  or 
eight  weeks  after  leaving  the  United  States,  it  was,  owing 
to  circumstances  that  will  be  fully  related  hereafter,  four- 
teen months  after  leaving  New  York  before  I  again  set  foot 
in  Paraguay. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Buenos  Aires  declines  an  Alliance  with  Brazil.  —  Seizure  of  Two  Argentine  War 
Steamers.  —  Don  Ramon  Capdevila.  —  Siege  of  Paisandu.  —  Death  of  Leandro 
Gomez.  —  Spanish  American  Ideas  of  National  Honor  and  National  Neu- 
trality.—  Capitulation  of  Montevideo. — The  Oriental  Legation  in  Paraguay. 

—  Correspondence  between  Lopez  and  Urquiza.  —  Colonel  Coriolano  Marquez. 

—  Capture  of  Corrientes  by  General  Robles.  —  Provisional  Government  estab- 
lished. —  Excitement  in  Buenos  Aires.  —  Speech  of  President   Mitre.  —  The 
Triple   Alliance.  —  The  Campaign   in  Corrientes.  —  Duplicity  of  Urquiza. — 
Colonel  George  Thompson. 

FROM  the  time  of  the  seizure  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda, 
in  October,  1864,  until  the  meeting  of  the  Congress  in 
the  following  March,  scarcely  any  communication  had  been 
allowed  between  Paraguay  and  the  country  below,  and  after 
the  Congress  met  it  was  strictly  and  jealously  prohibited. 

The  project  of  a  sudden  invasion  of  Corrientes  had  been 
discussed  in  the  Congress  ;  and  as  the  member  who  proposed 
it,  Don  Andres  Gill,  was  known  to  have  intimate  relations 
with  Lopez,  it  was  understood  that  this  would  be  one  of  the 
first  acts  of  hostility  after  war  had  been  declared.  It  was  not 
anticipated,  however,  by  any  one  in  Buenos  Aires,  nor  in 
Corrientes,  that  Lopez,  having  commenced  war  with  Brazil 
in  a  manner  that  would  call  forth  all  the  resources  of  the  Em- 
pire to  attack  him,  would  also  provoke  the  hostility  of  the 
Argentines.  If  there  was  to  be  war  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, the  true  policy  of  the  Argentine  Republic  was  to  remain 
at  peace ;  and  as  the  troops  and  munitions  of  war  must  nearly 
all  be  conveyed  by  way  of  the  river,  it  was  supposed  that  a 
rich  harvest  would  be  reaped  by  the  merchants  of  Montevideo, 
Buenos  Aires,  and  the  ports  upon  the  river,  at  the  expense  of 
the  belligerents.  The  Brazilian  government  was  very  de- 
sirous to  engage  the  Argentine  Republic  to  make  common 


MITRE   REFUSES   AN   ALLIANCE.  13 

cause  with  it  against  Lopez.  Councillor  Paranhos  was  sent 
specially  from  Rio'de  Janeiro  to  Buenos  Aires  to  effect,  if 
possible,  an  alliance  between  the  two  powers.  He  foreseeing 
that  in  a  war  carried  on  between  his  country  and  Paraguay  it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  send  all  the  troops  and  supplies  by 
way  of  the  river  to  attack  Paraguay,  and  that  it  was  of  the 
first  importance  to  have  a  base  on  Argentine  territory,  en- 
deavored to  draw  President  Mitre  into  an  alliance  with  the 
Emperor.  He  desired  the  moral  support  of  the  Argentine 
Republic  in  the  war,  and  was  ready  to  stipulate  that  all  the 
expense,  both  in  men  and  money,  should  be  borne  by  Brazil. 
Mitre,  however,  refused  to  listen  to  any  such  proposition  ; 
he  said  the  policy  of  his  country  was  peace,  and  peace  he 
would  maintain  if  possible.  The  attitude  taken  by  Presi- 
dent Mitre  at  this  time  was  almost  universally  approved  by 
the  Argentine  people.  Though  they  generally  regarded  Lo- 
pez as  a  common  enemy  of  civilization  and  progress,  the 
hereditary  prejudice  and  antipathy  against  the  Brazilians  was 
such  that  they  did  not  wish  to  make  an  alliance  with  them 
even  against  a  semi-savage.  The  mission  of  Paranhos,  there- 
fore, was  a  complete  failure,  and  he  returned  to  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
where,  soon  after,  the  unexpected  but  grateful  news  came  to 
the  ears  of  the  distinguished  envoy,  that  on  the  I3th  of  April, 
1865,  Lopez  had,  without  any  previous  warning  to  the  Argen- 
tine government,  sent  a  fleet  of  his  steamers  down  the  river 
to  Corrientes,  and  there  seized  two  Argentine  war  steamers, 
killed  many  of  their  crews, 'captured  the  rest,  and,  taking  the 
vessels  in  tow,  returned  to  Paraguay. 

The  capture  of  these  vessels  was  attended  by  circumstances 
of  greater  audacity  and  barbarity  than  had  been  the  seizure  of 
the  Marques  de  Olinda.  It  was  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning;  all  was  peace  and  quiet  on  the  river  and  in  the 
town  of  Corrientes,  and  no  one  was  expecting  danger  from 
any  quarter,  when  steamers  bearing  the  Paraguayan  flag  were 
seen  approaching  from  up  the  river.  As  they  came  down 
past  the  town  the  flags  of  the  Argentine  vessels  were  dipped 
in  courtesy  to  them,  after  which  they  came  round  and  inside 


14  PARAGUAY. 

of  the  Argentine  vessels,  whose  officers  so  little  suspected  any 
hostile  intent  on  their  part,  that  the  crews  were  not  diverted 
from  their  occupations,  but  at  the  moment  were  taking  their 
morning  coffee  in  the  cabin.  As  the  Paraguayan  vessels 
arrived  alongside  of  the  Argentines,  a  large  number  of  sol- 
diers sprang  on  deck,  and  began  firing  upon  all  who  were  in 
sight.  Surprised  and  confounded  at  the  suddenness  of  this  at- 
tack, several  of  the  crew  jumped  overboard  and  attempted  to 
swim  ashore.  Few  of  them,  however,  were  successful,  as  the 
Paraguayans  shot  at  them  while  in  the  water,  and  scarcely 
any  succeeded  in  reaching  the  bank  and  escaping.  The 
steamers  as  soon  as  possible  were  taken  in  tow,  and  all  who 
remained  on  board  were  made  prisoners  and  carried  to  Para- 
guay, where  they  were  placed  in  a  common  prison  and  made 
to  work  in  fetters  upon  the  streets.  They  were  most  miser- 
ably fed,  and  soon  contracted  diseases  from  which  several  died, 
and  more  would  have  done  so  but  for  the  kindness  and  care 
with  which  they  were  attended  to  by  Don  Ramon  Capdevila, 
an  Argentine  gentleman  who  had  long  lived  in  Paraguay, 
and  who  for  a  time  ministered  to  their  wants,  trusting  that 
when  the  war  should  be  over  his  own  government  would  rec- 
ompense him  for  any  outlay  he  might  be  at  on  their  account. 
His  interest  in  these  unfortunate  people  and  his  kindness  to- 
wards them  were,  however,  construed  by  Lopez  as  evincing 
disapproval  of  his  acts  and  sympathy  with  his  own  country 
and  people.  For  this  he  was  arrested,  thrown  into  prison,  and 
loaded  with  fetters,  and  his  fellow-countrymen  were  left  to  the 
bare  prison  fare  and  treatment,  under  which  some  died  and 
others  lingered  on  until  Lopez  thought  it  more  convenient  to 
execute  them  than  to  keep  them  any  longer.-  It  is  perhaps 
needless  to  say  that  Capdevila,  after  prolonged  torture  of 
years,  and  for  no  other  offence,  so  far  as  is  known,  except  that 
of  feeding  the  hungry  and  clothing  the  naked,  was  finally  exe- 
cuted ;  and  his  wife,  an  accomplished  Argentine  lady,  and 
four  young  children  were  driven  into  the  Cordilleras,  and  ex- 
posed to  hardships  that  can  scarcely  be  imagined,  much  less 
described. 


THE   SIEGE   OF   PAISANDU.  15 

While  Lopez,  during  the  year  1864  and  the  beginning  of 
1865,  had  been  engaged  in  recruiting  his  army,  and  forcing 
all  who  were  not  in  the  ranks  to  pledge  to  him  their  lives 
and  fortunes,  to  make  it  appear  to  the  world  that  he  was  sus- 
tained by  the  whole  Paraguayan  people,  events  were  trans- 
piring in  the  Banda  Oriental  such  as  he  had  not  anticipated, 
and  which  effectually  deranged  his  plans.  The  Brazilians, 
in  accordance  with  a  threat  that  had  been  made  by  Saraiva  to 
occupy  Oriental  territory  in  case  the  exorbitant  demands  of 
his  government  were  not  immediately  complied  with,  had  sent 
a  large  force  into  Uruguay,  that  united  with  Flores  and  cap- 
tured the  important  town  of  Salto,  on  the  Uruguay,  on  the 
28th  of  November,  and  early  in  December  commenced  the 
siege  of  Paisandu,  a  town  of  some  five  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  land  forces  were  supported  by  the  Brazilian  squadron, 
that  at  the  same  time  commenced  the  bombardment  from  the 
river.  The  military  operations,  both  by  land  and  water,  were 
doubtless  directed  by  the  Brazilian  envoy,  Paranhos,  who  had" 
arrived  but  a  short  time  before  at  Buenos  Aires,  clothed  with 
almost  viceregal  amplitude  of  authority  to  conduct  the  war 
against  Uruguay  and  to  negotiate  with  the  Argentine  govern- 
ment. As  yet,  however,  he  could  make  no  impression  on 
President  Mitre,  who  still  refused  to  be  drawn  into  a  war 
against  Paraguay,  notwithstanding  that,  without  having  de- 
clared war  against  the  Oriental  Republic,  he  had  rendered 
every  assistance  in  his  power  to  the  Brazilians  towards  over- 
throwing the  legal  and  established  government  of  that 
country.  Paisandu  was  defended  nearly  the  whole  month  of 
December  by  a  small  garrison  of  about  six  hundred  men, 
under  the  command  of  General  Leandro  Gomez  and  General 
Lucas  Piriz.  It  was  defended  with  a  bravery  and  endurance 
that  have  never  been  excelled,  and  seldom  equalled,  in  modern 
warfare.  The  gallantry  with  which  this  little  band  sustained 
for  so  long  a  time  the  attack  of  forces  so  many  times  out- 
numbering their  own  must  render  this  siege  one  of  the  most 
memorable  in  South  American  history.  The  long  resistance 
was  stimulated  by  the  vain  hope  of  succor  from  Paraguay,  as, 


1 6  PARAGUAY. 

misled  by  the  vague  promises  of  Lopez  to  come  to  the  rescue 
of  the  imperilled  Banda  Oriental,  the  press  of  Montevideo  had 
been  constantly  announcing  for  several  weeks  that  a  strong 
Paraguayan  force  was  advancing  through  the  Misiones  to  the 
Oriental  frontier.  But  no  amount  of  gallantry  can  long  pre- 
vail against  overwhelming  odds,  and  on  the  2d  of  January, 
1865,  the  town  of  Paisandu  was  stormed  and  taken,  after  a 
great  part  of  the  defenders,  including  General  Piriz,  had  per- 
ished. General  Leandro  Gomez,  when  he  saw  that  the  Bra- 
zilians, with  Flores  and  his  gauchos,  had  got  inside  the  town, 
realized  that  further  resistance  would  be  useless.  He  had 
just  gone  to  his  room  to  write  a  note,  offering  to  capitulate, 
when  it  was  entered  by  the  Brazilian  troops,  and  he  sur- 
rendered himself  and  his  staff  as  prisoners  of  war.  Im- 
mediately after  a  small  body  of  Flores's  men,  under  the  com- 
mand of  one  Goyo  Suarez,  entered  the  apartment,  and  insisted 
that  the  distinguished  prisoner  should  be  delivered  into  their 
care,  inasmuch  as  being  an  Oriental  he  ought  properly  to  be 
regarded  as  the  prisoner  of  the  Oriental  troops.  Gomez, 
when  he  heard  this  demand,  requested  that  it  might  be 
granted,  stating  that  he  could  have  no  objection  to  delivering 
himself  to  his  own  countrymen.  Suarez  had  no  sooner  got 
possession  of  the  dreaded  and  gallant  general  whose  bravery 
and  skill  had  already  rendered  the  siege  famous  throughout 
the  country,  than  he  ordered  him  to  be  conducted  into  an  ad- 
joining yard  and  summarily  executed.  His  remains  were 
then  most  shamefully  mutilated,  the  body  dragged  out  by  a 
rope  and  cast  ignominiously  into  a  pit  along  with  hundreds  of 
his  fellow-victims.  This  shameful  murder  of  a  man  whose 
valor  had  been  so  distinguished  as  to  cause  the  Oriental  name 
to  be  honored  by  both  Brazilians  and  Argentines  caused  a 
general  outburst  of  disgust  and  indignation  from  all  persons 
not  blind  to  every  sense  of  honor  and  good  faith.  To  the 
credit  of  the  Brazilians  it  should  be  said  that  they  disclaimed 
all  responsibility  for  the  act,  and  denounced  it  as  one  that 
must  naturally  reflect  on  the  cause  which  they  had  espoused. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  said  that  there  were  some, 


SPANISH  AMERICAN  NEUTRALITY.  17 

and  not  a  few  nor  the  most  ignorant,  who  justified  and  de- 
fended the  act  on  the  ground  that  by  killing  Gomez  they  had 
done  an  irreparable  injury  to  his  party,  as  one  general  like 
him  was  worth  ten  thousand  ordinary  troops  to  his  cause.  It 
could  have  better  spared  ten  thousand  of  its  best  troops  than 
one  general  so  valiant  and  tireless.  / 

One   other  incident   connected  with  this  siege  should  be  ^ 
noted,  as   it  shows  how   little   of   good   faith   and   common 
honesty  was  observed  by  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  and  President 
Mitre   in   their  warfare   upon   the  Oriental   Republic.     The 
Argentine  government  at  the  time  of  this  siege  still  professed 
neutrality  in  the  Oriental  difficulties,  and  yet  the  bombs  which 
were  used  by  the  Brazilian  squadron  in  the  bombardment  of 
Paisandu  had   been  furnished  by  President  Mitre  from  the 
armories  of  Buenos  Aires.     Such  are  Spanish  American  ideas  4 
of  national  honor  and  national  neutrality. 

Paisandu  having  fallen,  the  combined  forces  of  Brazil  and 
Flores  laid  close  siege  to  Montevideo,  after  conceding  seven 
days  for  the  neutral  portion  of  the  population  to  retire.  On 
the  1 5th  of  February,  the  term  of  office  of  President  Aguierre 
expired,  and  the  President  of  the  Senate,  Don  Tomas  Villalba, 
took  the  vacant  post.  Some  of  the  more  ardent  members  of 
the  government,  like  Carreras  and  others,  were  disposed  to 
resist  until  Montevideo  should  be  levelled  like  Paisandu,  but 
Villalba  was  not  prepared  to  go  to  such  extremities,  and  imme- 
diately opened  negotiations  with  the  besiegers,  which  resulted 
in  the  capitulation  of  the  city  on  the  22d  of  February.  On 
learning  of  the  fall  of  Paisandu,  and  that  Montevideo  was  in 
so  desperate  a  situation  that  it  must  either  capitulate  or  share 
the  same  fate,  the  Oriental  Minister  in  Paraguay,  Sagastume, 
retired,  leaving  his  secretary,  Francisco  Rodriguez  Larreta,  in 
charge  of  the  legation.  Among  the  acts  of  the  five  days' 
presidency  of  Villalba  was  the  recall  of  that  legation  ;  but  as 
no  official  notice  of  it  reached  Paraguay  for  a  long  time  after- 
wards, Rodriguez  kept  his  flag  flying  and  claimed  to  be  the 
representative  of  the  Oriental  government  for  some  months 
after,  and  until  the  Paraguayan  government  declined  to  longer 


1 8  PARAGUAY. 

recognize  his  official  capacity.  Before  his  diplomatic  relations 
had  been  formally  closed,  however,  he  had  asked  for  his  pass- 
ports to  leave  the  country.  They  were  not  given  to  him ;  and 
though  afterwards  he  repeatedly  asked  for  them,  and  notified 
the  government  of  his  desire  to  go  away,  he  was  not  permit- 
ted to  do  so.  Though  coming  to  Paraguay  in  a  diplomatic 
capacity,  and  according  to  all  the  rules  of  international  law 
entitled  to  protection  of  his  person  while  in  the  country  and 
to  full  liberty  to  leave  it  without  molestation  or  hindrance,  he 
was  detained  in  Paraguay,  and  finally,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter, 
made  a  close  prisoner,  tortured,  and  executed. 

The  members  of  the  Oriental  government  who  had  made 
themselves  particularly  obnoxious  to  their  conquerors  fled,  on 
the  surrender  of  the  city,  on  board  of  the  English  and  other 
men-of-war  lying  in  the  harbor,  and  thence  were  generally 
conveyed  to  Concepcion  del  Uruguay,  the  capital  of  Entre 
Rios,  where  they  were  well  received,  and  remained  for  some 
months  under  the  avowed  protection  of  General  Urquiza. 
Urquiza's  attitude  in  this  war  had,  up  to  this  time,  been  evasive 
and  suspicious.  Lopez  had  long  been  endeavoring  to  engage 
him  in  some  sort  of  a  secret  alliance,  by  which  he  would  sup- 
port him  in  the  war  which  he  contemplated  against  Mitre,  as  it 
was  supposed  that  the  Ex-President  was  not  satisfied  with  the 
unimportant  part  he  was  playing  at  that  time,  but  was  anxious 
to  be  again  at  the  head  of  the  government  of  the  Argen- 
tine Confederation.  Urquiza,  it  was  well  known,  had  been 
engaged  in  a  protracted  correspondence  with  Lopez,  having  in 
view  all  the  time  his  own  interests,  and  ready  to  take  up  arms 
simultaneously  with  Lopez,  provided  such  an  act  would  not 
too  much  endanger  his  influence  and  authority  in  Entre  Rios, 
—  which  province  he  ruled  almost  as  absolutely  as  Lopez  did 
Paraguay,  notwithstanding  that  it  was  counted  as  one  of  the 
states  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  and  was  duly  represented 
in  the  general  Congress.  What  the  substance  of  the  corre- 
spondence was  will  probably  never  be  divulged,  though,  know- 
ing what  were  then  the  designs  of  Lopez,  and  knowing  that 
many  secret  agents  were  passing  to  and  fro  between  them, 


FUGITIVES  TO  PARAGUAY.  19 

and  from  another  fact  to  be  hereafter  related,  the  general  tenor 
of  it  may  be  divined.  The  last  of  the  bearers  of  these  letters 
from  Urquiza  to  Lopez  was  Don  Jose  Ramirez,  who  visited 
Asuncion  in  January,  1865,  and  Major  Carranza,  who  arrived 
the  following  March.  Towards  the  latter  part  of  the  war 
they  both  fell  under  the  suspicion  of  Lopez,  for  what  cause  is 
unknown,  and  both  were  subjected  to  long  imprisonment  and 
torture,  and  were  finally  shot.  About  the  same  time  Colo- 
nel Francisco  Laguna  also  arrived  in  Paraguay.  He  had 
come  as  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  Oriental  exiles  then 
living  in  Concepcion  del  Uruguay.  Another  person  of  note, 
who  appeared  soon  after,  was  Colonel  Coriolano  Marquez, 
who,  having  been  one  of  the  followers  and  upholders  of  Rosas 
during  the  days  of  his  terrible  power,  naturally  fled  to  Lopez 
as  a  person  whose  government  he  would  approve  and  whom 
he  would  like  to  serve.  Having,  for  some  recent  act  of 
atrocity,  been  condemned  to  death  and  cast  into  prison,  Mar- 
quez had  managed  to  escape  from  his  jailers,  and  served  for  a 
month  or  two  in  the  Oriental  army  ;  but  being  suspected  of 
conspiring  against  the  government  of  President  Aguierre, 
whose  policy  and  measures  were  not  sufficiently  sanguinary 
to  suit  his  gaucho  nature,  he  abandoned  him  and  fled  to  Para- 
guay. He  was  not  looked  upon,  however,  as  a  valuable 
acquisition  by  Lopez,  though  he  was  allowed  for  some  three 
years  to  live  unmolested  in  or  near  the  capital,  where  his 
means  of  support  was  writing  patriotic  and  fulsome  eulogies 
of  the  great,  the  brave,  the  magnanimous  Lopez  for  the  illite- 
rate but  patriotic  women  of  the  country,  who  were  ordered 
to  appear  at  public  festivals  and  pronounce  discourses  in 
praise  of  their  brave  protector,  the  Marshal  President  of 
Paraguay. 

The  capture  of  the  Argentine  steamers  in  the  port  of 
Corrientes  on  the  I3th  of  April  was  followed  up  on  the  I4th 
—  the  day  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  —  by 
the  despatch  of  a  Paraguayan  force  under  command  of  Gen- 
eral Wenceslao  Robles  (the  same  officer  who  was  the  hero  in 
the  attack  upon  the  Water  Witch  at  Fort  Itapiru,  and  subse- 


20  PARAGUAY. 

quently  the  chief  of  the  military  tribunal  which  investigated 
the  charges  of  conspiracy  against  Padre  Maiz  and  others 
immediately  after  the  election  of  President  Lopez,  in  1862),  to 
occupy  the  town  of  Corrientes.  The  descent  upon  this  unfor- 
tunate town  was  so  sudden  that  no  resistance  was  made.  The 
telegraph  having  before  this  been  completed  from  Asuncion  to 
Humaita,  the  news  was  received  the  same  day  at  the  former 
place ;  and  that  night  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Jose 
Berges,  embarked  for  Corrientes  with  a  number  of  other  Para- 
guayans to  serve  as  assistants  in  administering  the  affairs  of 
that  province.  He  was  accompanied  also  by  two  Correntinos 
then  residing  in  Asuncion.  One  of  these,  Victor  Silvero, 
who  had  been  known  as  an  intriguing  politician  in  Corrientes, 
became  subsequently  the  principal  writer  for  the  Scmanario ; 
and  the  other,  Sinforiano  Caceres,  was  a  cattle-dealer,  who, 
previous  to  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  had  brought  over 
large  numbers  of  cattle  for  the  Paraguayan  army.  In  this 
business  Caceres  had  a  partnership  with  Mrs.  Lynch,  and 
through  her  influence  with  Lopez  he  was  able  to  secure  very 
profitable  contracts. 

The  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  party  at  Corrientes,  the 
people  of  the  town  were  summoned  to  elect  a  provisional  gov- 
ernment in  place  of  the  one  of  which  all  the  members  had  fled 
the  night  before  the  entry  of  the  Paraguayans.  The  latter, 
with  a  few  of  the  citizens  who  were  influenced  by  Silvero  and 
Caceres,  held  an  election,  the  result  of  which  was  that  Silvero 
and  Caceres,  with  an  old  man  by  the  name  of  Gauna,  were 
declared  to  be  elected  as  a  government  Junta.  This  Junta 
had  no  real  powers,  for  the  election  was  but  a  farce,  and 
intended  only  to  make  it  appear  that  whatever  outrages  might 
be  committed  were  to  be  charged  to  a  government  elected  by 
the  people  themselves,  while  all  real  authority  was  in  the 
hands  of  Lopez's  minister.  The  people  of  Corrientes  sub- 
mitted sullenly  and  silently  to  a  state  of  affairs  to  which 
they  were  in  no  condition  to  make  any  resistance ;  but  on  the 
whole  their  rights  and  property  were  more  respected  than  in 
any  of  the  other  towns  that  were  taken  by  the  troops  of 


EXCITEMENT  IN  BUENOS  AIRES.  2I 

Lopez,  as  the  city  was  not  sacked,  and  the  soldiers  were  kept 
under  a  fair  degree  of  restraint.  Some  of  the  prominent  men, 
including  the  Spanish  consul,  were  arrested  and  sent  to  Hu- 
maita,  where,  after  a  long  imprisonment,  they  shared  the  fate 
of  all  others  on  whom  the  heavy  hand  of  Lopez  chanced  to 
fall.  Several  Correntino  ladies,  whose  husbands  were  known 
to  be  in  the  army,  were  likewise  arrested,  and,  with  their 
young  children,  carried  as  prisoners  to  Paraguay,  where  they 
were  subjected  to  the  most  inhuman  treatment  till  all,  women 
and  children  alike,  perished  of  want,  exposure,  or  worse. 

The  news  of  the  invasion  of  Corrientes,  following  as  it  did 
the  seizure  of  the  steamers,  created  among  the  people  of 
Buenos  Aires  a  most  intense  excitement.  The  people  with 
one  voice  cried  out  for  vengeance  against  the  selfish  despot  of 
Paraguay,  who,  like  a  barbarian  and  savage,  had  commenced 
war  without  giving  notice,  and  in  a  manner  unknown  to  civi- 
lized nations.  They  hitherto  had  approved  the  action  of 
President  Mitre  in  refusing  to  be  drawn  into  a  war  with  Para- 
guay, but  this  outrage  was  such  an  insult  to  the  national 
dignity  that  the  whole  nation  cried  out  for  war,  and  the  same 
evening  that  the  news  of  it  reached  Buenos  Aires  a  great 
multitude  of  people  assembled  in  front  of  President  Mitre's 
house,  all  clamorous  for  action  against  Lopez.  Mitre  ad- 
dressed the  crowd  in  his  usual  eloquent,  though  somewhat 
inflated  style,  and  told  them  that  the  government  would  not 
be  wanting  in  energy  to  avenge  the  insult  of  the  despot  of 
Paraguay.  "  Go  home,"  said  he,  "  to  your  beds,  and  to-mor- 
row meet  me  at  the  barracks.  Within  one  week  we  will  be  on 
the  march  to  Corrientes,  and  within  three  months  we  will  be  in 
.Asuncion." 

Lopez  by  his  folly  had  done  for  Brazil  what  Paranhos,  with 
all  his  promises,  had  not  been  able  to  effect.  He  had  forced 
the  Argentines  to  take  up  arms  against  him,  and,  if  they  were 
to  make  war  successfully,  to  form  an  alliance  against  him  as 
against  a  common  foe. 

In  despair  of  enlisting  President  Mitre  as  an  ally,  Paranhos 
had  returned  to  Rio,  when  the  news  of  the  invasion  of  Cor- 


22  PARAGUAY. 

rientes  reached  Buenos  Aires,  and  had  been  succeeded  by 
Councillor  Octaviano  d'Almeida  Rosa,  who  was  sent  as  a 
special  envoy  to  the  Plata,  to  have  a  general  superintendence 
of  Brazilian  interests  in  the  river.  But  it  was  now  easy  for 
Octaviano  to  do  what  his  more  able  and  experienced  prede- 
cessor had  been  unable  to  accomplish.  The  government  at 
Montevideo,  which  had  been  established  by  Flores  with  the 
assistance  of  Brazil,  was  summoned  to  despatch  a  plenipoten- 
tiary to  Buenos  Aires  to  participate  in  the  formation  of  an 
alliance  of  the  three  powers  against  Paraguay,  and  the  famous 
secret  treaty  known  as  the  "  Triple  Alliance  "  was  soon  after 
formed. 

The  provisions  of  this  treaty  are  so  curious  as  to  merit  more 
attention  than  the  nature  of  this  work  will  permit.  The  first 
five  articles  of  the  treaty  provide  that  the  three  powers 
shall  respectively  contribute  all  the  means  at  their  disposal  to 
the  common  cause  ;  that  the  chief  command  and  direction  of 
the  allied  armies  by  land  shall  be  confided  to  General  Bar- 
tholomd  Mitre,  President  of  the  Argentine  Republic  ;  that  the 
maritime  forces  shall  be  under  the  command  of  Vice-Admiral 
Viscount  Tamandare;  that  General  Flores  shall  have  a  sepa- 
rate, though  subordinate,  command  of  the  forces,  composed 
of  a  division  of  Argentine  troops  and  another  of  Brazilian,  be- 
sides the  quota  furnished  by  Uruguay  ;  and  that  the  Brazilian 
land  forces  shall  be  under  the  immediate  orders  of  General 
Osorio,  but  subordinate  to  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
whole  army,  General  Mitre.  Each  government  was  to  furnish 
the  arms,  clothing,  equipments,  and  all  other  supplies,  required 
by  its  own  troops.  These  preliminaries  arranged,  the  treaty 
then  stipulates  that  the  allies  will  not  lay  down  their  arms 
until  they  have  abolished  the  existing  government  of  Paraguay, 
neither  treat  separately  with  Lopez  nor  sign  any  treaty  of 
peace,  truce,  or  armistice,  or  suspend  the  war  unless  by  the 
common  consent  of  all.  The  treaty  then  asserts  that  the  war 
is  not  against  the  people  of  Paraguay,  but  against  the  existing 
government,  and  that  the  allies  will  permit  a  Paraguayan 
legion  to  be  formed  of  the  citizens  of  that  nation  who  may 


THE  "TRIPLE  ALLIANCE."  23 

wish  to  assist  in  deposing  Lopez  from  power.  In  this  treaty 
the  allies  also  bound  themselves  to  respect  the  independence 
and  sovereignty  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay  ;  that  the  Para- 
guayan people  should  be  at  liberty  to  elect  their  own  govern- 
ment and  give  it  any  institutions  they  might  desire ;  and  that 
no  one  of  the  allies  would  either  annex  it  to  their  own  terri- 
tory or  establish  any  protectorate  as  a  consequence  of  the 
war.  The  treaty,  moreover,  stipulated  that,  when  the  exist- 
ing government  of  Paraguay  had  disappeared,  the  allies  would 
make  such  arrangements  with  that  which  might  succeed  it  as 
to  insure  the  free  navigation  of  the  rivers  Parana  and  Para- 
guay, so  that  in  future  the  laws  of  that  Republic  should  not 
obstruct  or  prevent  the  direct  navigation  of  war  or  merchant 
vessels  of  the  allied  states  on  their  voyages  to  their  respective 
territories  and  dominions. 

Another  provision  of  this  treaty,  which  shows  how  little  the 
allies  understood  the  nature  of  the  contest  into  which  they  ^. 
were  about  to  enter,  or  of  the  resources  of  the  country  whose 
government  they  had  undertaken  to  overthrow,  provided  that 
the  expenses  of  the  war  should  be  borne  by  Paraguay,  and 
that  all  the  damages  caused  to  public  or  private  property  or 
to  the  persons  of  their  citizens  previous  to  the  declaration 
of  war,  and  all  damages  subsequently  done  in  violation  of 
the  laws  of  war,  should  be  paid  for  from  the  Paraguayan  ex- 
chequer. Besides  these  provisions,  it  had  others  providing 
what  should  be  the  future  boundaries  of  Paraguay  ;  the  Bra- 
zilians taking  to  themselves  all  that  they  had  ever  claimed 
during  the  long  controversy  which  had  been  pending  from 
the  time  of  the  early  settlement  of  the  country. 

To  the  treaty  containing  such  stipulations,  and  many  others 
almost  equally  absurd,  was  appended  a  protocol,  in  which  it-was 
declared  that  the  fortifications  at  Humaita  should  be  demol- 
ished, and  the  construction  of  any  others  like  them  should 
never  be  permitted ;  and  that  the  government  which  might  be 
established  in  Paraguay  after  the  overthrow  of  Lopez  should 
not  be  left  in  possession  -of  any  arms  or  munitions  of  war,  but 
that  whatever  might  be  found  in  the  country  should  be  equally 


24  PARAGUAY. 

distributed  among  the  allies,  and  all  trophies  or  booty  which 
might  be  taken  from  the  enemy  should  be  divided  between 
the  allies  and  the  one  making  the  capture.  The  parties  to 
this  singular  treaty  wiseiy  resolved  that  the  provisions  of  it 
should  be  kept  secret,  but,  like  most  state  secrets,  it  became 
prematurely  public.  The  Oriental  plenipotentiary  having 
given  it  in  confidence  to  Mr.  Lettsom,  the  English  Chargt 
d' Affaires  in  Montevideo,  he,  in  turn,  sent  it  as  a  secret  com- 
munication to  his  own  government.  It  was  then  published 
in  utter  disregard  of  the  faith  and  confidence  under  which 
it  had  been  confided  to  Mr.  Lettsom. 

Immediately  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  by  the  ministers 
of  the  three  powers,  the  Brazilian  fleet,  which  had  been  lying 
at  Montevideo,  moved  up  the  Parana  to  hold  in  check  the 
advancing  Paraguayan  forces,  and  to  prevent  all  communica- 
tion between  Paraguay  and  the  lower  countries.  As  soon  as 
a  force  could  be  collected  by  General  Mitre,  General  Paunero 
was  sent  with  a  small  army  to  take  up  his  station  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  province  of  Corrientes  and  watch  the 
Paraguayans  who  were  now  marching  in  force  from  Corrientes 
along  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  had  reached  Bella  Vista,  a 
town  of  some  four  thousand  inhabitants.  General  Robles,  on 
moving  south  from  Corrientes,  had  with  him  an  army  of 
twenty-five  thousand  men,  having  left  a  garrison  of  only  fif- 
teen hundred  troops  and  two  small  guns  for  the  defence  of 
that  city.  After  he  had  left,  and  was  engaged  in  ravaging 
the  country  to  the  southward  and  sacking  the  towns,  the 
war-worn  and  scarred  Argentine  veteran,  General  Paunero, 
succeeded  in  persuading  the  Brazilian  commander  of  the 
squadron  to  take  on  board  a  body  of  four  thousand  men, 
and  convey  them  above  the  main  force  of  Robles  for  the 
purpose  of  recapturing  Corrientes.  The  squadron,  consist- 
ing of  eight  Brazilian  and  two  Argentine  steamers,  moved 
up  the  river  and  took  position  in  front  of  the  city  so  as  to 
rake  the  streets.  About  two  thousand  of  these  troops  were 
landed  with  two  six-pounder  guns,  and  while  the  fleet  was 
bombarding  the  Paraguayans,  they  were  also  attacked  by  the 


DUPLICITY  OF  URQUIZA.  25 

Argentine  troops  that  had  been  landed,  and  a  fierce  hand-to- 
hand  fight  took  place,  in  which  it  is  said  great  courage  was 
displayed  on  both  sides.  The  Paraguayans,  however,  were 
obliged  to  leave  the  city,  and  made  a  stand  on  a  stone  bridge, 
half  a  mile  to  the  north,  where  they  were  all  the  while  exposed 
to  the  fire  of  the  fleet  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  infantry. 

As  Colonel  Thompson  says  in  his  history  of  the  war,  "  the 
Brazilians  here  first  showed  a  peculiarity  in  their  tactics,  which 
consists  in  firing  whenever  they  have  any  guns  to  fire  with, 
whether  or  not  they  see  what  they  are  firing  at,  no  matter 
whether  they  kill  friend  or  foe,  or  both  together,  —  which  last 
is  generally  the  case."  The  Paraguayans  were  finally  forced 
to  retreat ;  and  as  Paunero  had  not  sufficient  force  to  hold  the 
city  in  case  the  Paraguayans  should  be  reinforced  by  Robles, 
he  re-embarked  and  went  down  the  river  to  join  his  main 
army.  The  triumvirate  government  of  Lopez,  that  had  re- 
treated from  the  city  before  the  battle  commenced,  returned 
as  soon  as  Paunero  and  his  troops  had  re-embarked,  and  re- 
established their  government. 

The  attitude  of  General  Urquiza  by  this  time  had  become 
a  very  important  consideration  to  both  parties  in  the  war. 
He  had  undoubtedly  coquetted  with  Lopez,  and  encouraged 
him  in  his  warlike  preparations  with  assurances  that  at  the 
proper  time  he  would  make  common  cause  with  him  against 
Mitre.  But  in  this  Urquiza  had  not  foreseen  that  Lopez 
would  commence  the  war  with  such  an  outrage  on  Brazil  as 
would  compel  the  Emperor  to  put  forth  all  the  energies  of  the 
government  for  his  destruction.  A  war  against  the  Argentine 
Republic  alone,  or  against  Flores  in  support  of  the  legitimate 
government  of  Montevideo,  was  what  Urquiza  had  been  con- 
templating during  all  the  time  that  he  was  holding  such 
friendly  correspondence  with  Lopez ;  but  now  since  the  legal 
government  of  Montevideo  had  fallen,  and  Montevideo,  and 
indeed  the  whole  country  of  the  Uruguay,  was  subject  to  his 
authority,  supported  as  it  was  by  the  entire  Brazilian  army  and 
navy,  with  the  Argentine  government  in  alliance  with  the  two, 
Urquiza  shrunk  from  compromising  himself  any  further  with 


26  PARAGUAY. 

Lopez.  On  the  contrary,  he  hastened  to  make  peace  with 
Mitre  by  giving  extraordinary  pledges  of  loyalty  and  devotion 
to  the  national  cause ;  and  in  proof  that  he  was  acting  in  good 
faith,  he  delivered  unopened  into  his  hands  a  package  of  de- 
spatches from  Lopez  that  had  just  reached  him.  Mitre  ordered 
the  publication  of  the  letters,  and  put  the  bearer  of  them  in 
prison.  Urquiza,  doubtful  of  what  might  be  the  general  re- 
sult, and  feeling  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  do  some- 
thing to  make  good  his  professions  by  acts,  returned  to  his 
own  province  of  Entre  Rios,  and  began  to  collect  the  troops 
that  he  had  promised  to  furnish  to  the  national  army.  His 
whole  course  during  the  war,  however,  was  evasive.  Though 
he  collected  his  army,  for  which  he  received  arms  and  cloth- 
ing from  the  federal  government,  yet  he  contrived  to  infuse 
into  them  his  own  spirit,  so  that  when  they  were  sent  to  join 
Mitre  they  all  scattered  on  the  route  and  returned  to  their 
homes.  Urquiza  pretended  that  they  had  done  this  in  spite 
of  him  and  against  his  will,  and  promised  to  have  a  still  larger 
force  ready  for  the  field  within  a  month.  But  his  troops  were 
of  little  or  no  service  in  the  war.  He  was  a  bad  man  and  a 
bad  subject,  and  was  ready  at  any  time  to  join  Lopez,  could 
he  have  foreseen  that  such  a  step  would  have  been  to  his 
advantage.  He  was  one  of  those  successful  gauchos,  who 
had  begun  his  career  by  cutting  throats  and  appropriating  to 
himself  the  property  of  his  victims  until  he  had  got  an 
entire  province  almost  wholly  under  his  sway,  and  was  ready 
to  make  war  if  by  so  doing  he  could  establish  himself  again 
at  the  head  of  the  federal  government,  and  yet  incur  no  risk 
of  endangering  his  immense  but  ill-gotten  possessions.* 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  give  anything  like  a 
history  of  the  war.  The  writer  had  few  advantages  beyond 
people  who  were  not  near  the  scene  of  it  that  would  enable 

*  Of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in  the  late  war  it  is  remarkable  how  many  of 
them  perished  by  violence.  Netto,  the  feudal  lord,  who  dragooned  the  Brazilian 
government  into  espousing  the  cause  of  Flores,  perished,  ere  reaching  Paraguay, 
at  Corrientes  ;  Flores  was  assassinated  in  Montevideo  in  1868 ;  and  Urquiza 
shared  a  like  fate  in  his  palace,  in  Entre  Rios,  just  as  the  war,  which  he  had  en- 
couraged in  its  first  stages,  had  closed  with  the  death  of  Lopez. 


.       COLONEL  GEORGE  THOMPSON.  2J 

him  to  describe  the  events  as  they  appeared  to  those  who  were 
in  the  respective  camps  of  the  belligerents.  Besides,  the  his- 
tory of  the  war,  as  it  appeared  from  the  Paraguayan  side,  has 
been  written  by  the  person  most  competent  of  all  in  the  Para- 
guayan camp  to  give  a  succinct  narrative  of  the  long-pro- 
tracted struggle.  From  this  work'  numerous  extracts  will  be 
made,  but  mainly  in  reference  to  the  peculiar  discipline  of 
the  Paraguayan  camp,  rather  than  to  the  military  operations 
or  the  progress  of  the  war.* 

*  "  The  War  in  Paraguay,  with  a  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Country  and  its 
People,  and  Notes  upon  the  Military  Engineering  of  the  War.  By  George 
Thompson,  C.  E.,  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  Engineers  in  the  Paraguayan  Army, 
Aide-de-Camp  to  President  Lopez,  Knight  of  the  Order  of  Merit  of  Paraguay, 
etc."  The  author  of  this  work  was  the  principal  engineer  of  Lopez,  and  under 
his  strategetical  eye  were  the  points  selected  for  the  erection  of  the  batteries, 
which,  under  his  superintendence  were  so  formidable  in  repelling  the  attacks  of 
the  Allies,  and  for  the  defence  of  which  Lopez  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  send  his 
troops  and  guns  in  accordance  with  the  suggestions  of  his  engineer.  Though 
Colonel  Thompson  takes  no  particular  credit  to  himself  for  the  part  which  he 
took,  yet  his  simple  and  plain  narrative  of  events  as  they  transpired,  and  of  the 
labors  in  which  he  was  engaged,  shows  very  clearly  that  the  credit  for  military 
skill  which  has  been  claimed  for  Lopez  is  nearly  all  due  to  the  unpretending 
Englishman  whose  services  Lopez  finally  requited  by  denouncing  him  as  a  traitor 
and  deserter.  * 


CHAPTER     III. 

Popular  Demonstrations  in  Support  of  the  Government.  —  The  Press  of  Para- 
guay. —  The  Paraguay  Independiente.  —  The  Eco  del  Paraguay.  —  The  Sema- 
nario.  —  Inordinate  Vanity  of  Lopez.  —  Sources  of  Information.  —  The  Post- 
master-General of  Paraguay.  —  Antipathy  of  the  Paraguayans  to  the  Brazilians. 

—  The  Paraguayan  versus  the  Brazilian  Soldiers. —  Matto  Grosso.  —  Mitre  re- 
fuses to  permit  the  Paraguayans  to  pass  through  the  Misiones.  —  Brazil  vainly 
seeks  an  Alliance  with  Buenos  Aires  against  Lopez.  —  Buenos  Aires  deter- 
mines to  remain  Neutral.  — General  Urquiza's  Intrigues  with  Lopez  and  Mitre. 

—  Congress  convoked.  —  Charges  against  the  Argentine  Government.  —  Lopez 
made  Marshal.  —  The  Order  of  Merit. 

WHILE  the  government  had  been  occupied  in  its  war- 
like preparations  preceding  the  first  act  of  overt  hos- 
tility, it  had  not  been  unmindful  of  its  interior  affairs.  The 
public  that  never  for  fifty  years  had  dared  dissent  from,  cen- 
sure, or  criticise  a  single  act  of  the  sovereign,  whether  official 
or  private,  had  let  every  act  of  tyranny  or  oppression  pass 
without  protest  and  with  seeming  approval.  But  now  that 
war  was  resolved  upon,  the  people  were  required  to  make 
public  demonstrations  of  loyalty  and  enthusiasm.  The  am- 
biguous protest  of  the  3Oth  of  August  might  mean  war  or 
peace.  No  one  outside  of  Paraguay,  unless  it  were  the  Ori- 
ental ambassadors,  supposed  that  it  meant  the  former,  and 
the  Paraguayan  people  had  no  idea  whom  they  were  to  war 
against.  They  had  judged  from  the  Semanario  that  the 
offending  power  was  the  Argentine  Republic,  for  up  to  that 
time  there  had  been  no  recent  complaint  of  Brazil.  From 
this  "  Protest,"  however,  it  appeared  that  Brazil  was  the 
greater  offender,  and  that  the  Paraguayan  arms  would  be 
turned  against  the  Empire.  Hence  it  was  pretended  that  it 
was  in  the  holy  cause  of  republicanism  against  the  encroach- 
ments of  monarchy  and  slavery  that  the  war  was  to  be 


POPULAR  DEMONSTRATIONS.  29 

waged.  The  demonstrations  in  support  of  the  government 
were  made  to  take  the  form  of  public  meetings  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  At  these  meetings  the  people  were 
invited  to  attend,  but  the  invitation  was  of  that  kind  that  all 
knew  it  would  be  disregarded  at  the  price  of  life  or  liberty. 
At  such  meetings,  all  who  were  competent  to  do  it  were  ex- 
pected to  make  patriotic  speeches,  pledging  themselves  to 
support  the  government  to  the  last.  Then,  to  fix  them  more 
irrevocably,  they  were  invited  to  sign  declarations  in  the  form 
of  addresses  to  the  President,  in  which,  after  reciting  their 
approval  of  his  valiant  and  spirited  conduct,  they  pledge  to 
him  "  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor."  At  all 
these  ratification  meetings  the  President  was  sure  to  have 
not  only  the  gefes  and  juezes  of  the  district,  who  had  been 
appointed  by  himself  to  be  his  agents  and  instruments  of 
despotism,  but  his  secret  spies  to  report  the  least  expression 
or  indication  of  dissent  from  the  course  he  was  pursuing. 
The  people,  who  knew  this,  and  knew  that  anything  short  of 
implicit  acquiescence  and  assumed  enthusiasm  would  consign 
them  to  prison,  gave  their  names  without  exception.  For 
weeks  after  the  publication  of  the  protest  the  Scmanario  was 
filled  with  the  names  of  all  the  principal  men  of  the  country, 
—  all  those  who  had  any  property  that  was  worth  taking,  or 
sufficient  influence  or  standing  to  pretend  to  respectability. 
The  people  of  the  capital  were  first  subjected  to  this  sacri- 
ficial process.  In  the  Semanario  of  the  i/th  of  September, 
1864,  are  given  the  names  of  every  man  who  was  the  head  of  a 
family  within  the  limits  of  the  capital,  and  of  all  others  above 
the  rank  of  peon  or  slave.  I  append  the  names  of  seventy- 
eight  persons  who,  being  leading  citizens  of  Asuncion,  had 
the  honor  of  heading  the  list.*  None  of  them  were  living  at 

*  Andres  Gill,  Chief-Justice  ;  died  September,  1865.  Jose  Maria  Montiel, 
Criminal  Judge  ;  died  in  prison.  Jose  Falcon,  Keeper  of  Archives  ;  sent  to  the 
army  in  disgrace,  with  two  pairs  of  fetters  ;  afterwards  a  judge  in  the  inquisition. 
Domingo  Rojas  Aranda,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  cousin  of  Lopez;  imprisoned,  with 
two  pairs  of  fetters  ;  was  released,  and  soon  died.  Saturnino  Bedoya,  Treasurer ; 
married  Lopez's  sister  ;  degraded  to  the  ranks  as  a  private  soldier,  accused  of 
conspiracy,  and  expired  in  the  torture.  Miguel  Antonio  Baez,  Justice  of  the  Peace ; 


30  PARAGUAY. 

the  end  of  the  war,  except  three  or  four  who  deserted  or  were 
taken  prisoners.  Of  the  rest,  nearly  all  were  either  executed 
by  order  of  Lopez,  or  died  while  in  prison  from  starvation 
and  torture.  In  his  official  papers,  those  who  expired  under 
the  torture  are  simply  mentioned  as  having  died. 

The  Semanario  was  the  only  paper  published  in  Paraguay 
for  seven  years  preceding  the  war,  and  of  course  was  the 
government  organ.  The  first  periodical  ever  published  in 
the  country  was  called  the  Paragnayo  Indepcndiente,  and 
the  first  number  was  issued  in  April,  1845.  It  was  estab- 
lished as  an  organ  for  the  elder  Lopez,  and  was  conducted 
by  him  at  the  state's  expense,  and  the  leading  articles  were 
all  from  his  pen.  It  continued  with  more  or  less  regularity 

died  1865.  Silvestre  Aveiro,  Escrlbano  ;  became  major,  Campaign  Secretary,  and 
chief  torturer.  Carlos  Riveros,  Chief  Clerk  of  Interior  ;  imprisoned,  with  two 
pairs  of  fetters  ;  afterward  accused  of  conspiracy,  and  shot,  August  26,  1868. 
Miguel  Haedo,  became  captain  in  the  army;  shot  as  a  traitor,  August  26,  1868. 
Miguel  Berges,  Justice  of  the  Peace  ;  received  Order  of  Merit ;  died  in  prison  in 
the  army,  July  20,  1868.  Luis  Caminos,  became  Chief  Campaign  Secretary  and 
Minister  of  State  and  of  War;  killed  with  Lopez,  March  I,  1870.  Jose  Maria 
Ibanez.  Santiago  Aramburu,  merchant ;  died  April,  1866.  Gumesindo  Benitez, 
editor  of  Semanario,  became  Secretary  of  State,  and  conducted  Lopez's  corre- 
spondence concerning  Carreras,  Bliss,  and  Masterman  ;  was  himself  accused  of 
conspiracy  in  August,  loaded  with  the  heaviest  fetters,  and  shot  with  Carreras 
and  forty-five  others,  on  Sunday,  September  27,  1868.  Natalicio  Talavera,  army 
correspondent;  died  September,  1867.  Jose  Maria  Larqas,  private  soldier; 
killed  May  24,  1866.  Julian  Aquino,  Director  of  Government  Printing  Press ; 
shot  August  9,  1868.  Bernardo  Ortellado,  Secretary  of  Legation  in  United 
States  in  1860  ;  Chief- Justice,  1867  ;  shot  as  a  traitor,  September  27, 1868.  Adolfo 
Saguier,  cousin  of  Lopez,  artillery  officer  ;  made  judge  in  conspiracy  trials  ;  thrown 
into  prison,  and  captured  by  Brazilians,  December,  1868.  Francisco  Fernandez, 
chief  overseer  of  Lopez's  private  estate,  colonel,  and  acting  Minister  of  War ;  shot 
August  26,  1868.  Ramon  Villa,  died  1867.  Feliz  Larrosa,  Justice  of  the  Peace; 
made  private  soldier,  died  in  the  army.  Manuel  M.  Rivarola,  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
private  soldier,  died  1867;  his  daughter  Dolores  bayoneted,  December,  1868. 
Pablo  A.  Gonzalez,  Collector  of  Customs  ;  shot  August  26,  1868.  Vicente  Dentella, 
Inspector  of  Tobacco ;  private  soldier,  shot  September  27,  1868.  Policarpo  G. 
Garro,  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  Criminal  Court,  "died  in  prison,"  July  15,  1868. 
Jose  Vicente  Urdapilleta,  Chief-Justice  ;  shot  August  22,  1868,  with  one  hundred 
and  seven  others.  Escolastico  Garcete,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  "  died  in  prison,"  July 
25,  1868.  Isidore  Recalde,  died  1867.  Apolinar  Chirife,  made  common  soldier  ; 
died  1867,  daughters  imprisoned.  Fermin  Bazaraz,  Criminal  Judge  ;  shot  August  9, 
1868.  Eustaquio  Recalde,  died  in  prison.  Santiago  Ozcariz,  Justice  of  the  Peace, 


THE  PRESS  OF  PARAGUAY.  31 

till  September,  1852,  when  it  was  suspended  ;  and  the  gov- 
ernment had  no  organ  till  May,  1853,  at  which  time  the 
first  number  of  the  Semanario  appeared,  at  first  under  the 
editorial  direction  of  Dr.  Juan  Andres  Gelly,  who  was  after- 
wards the  secretary  of  the  younger  Lopez  on  his  diplomatic 
mission  to  Europe.  He  was  the  father  of  General  Gelly 
y  Obes,  who  subsequently  figured  in  the  war  of  the  "  Triple 
Alliance"  against  Paraguay  as  the  Argentine  Minister  of 
War.  This  was  published,  as  it  name  imports,  weekly,  and 
had  the  field  to  itself  until  1856,  when  a  Spanish  adventurer 
by  the  name  of  Bermejo  started  another,  though  not  a  rival 
paper,  that  he  called  the  Eco  del  Paraguay.  This  was  started 
as  a  hebdomadal,  with  pretensions  to  a  literary  character  ;  but 

shot  July  29,  1868.  Pastor  Gonzalez,  died  in  the  army.  Abdon  Molinas,  officer 
of  Treasury ;  "  died  in  prison,"  August  4,  1868.  Pascual  Bedoya,  officer  of 
Treasury  ;  died  1868.  Sebastian  Ibarra,  officer  of  Treasury ;  shot  August  22, 
1868.  Zenon  Rodriguez,  Fiscal  of  Criminal  Court ;  died  1868.  Francisco  Acosta. 
Miguel  A.  Haedo,  in  Buenos  Aires  during  the  war.  Ramon  Marecos,  chief  of 
Villa  Rica,  poet  and  nephew  of  Francia,  imprisoned  and  died.  Indalecio  Benitez, 
died  in  the  army.  German  Serrano ;  became  colonel,  was  wounded,  and  captured 
by  allies,  November,  1868.  Cesareo  Montiel,  clerk  in  War  Office  ;  imprisoned 
and  died.  Jose  Maria  Caminos,  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Recoleta ;  imprisoned, 
further  fate  unknown.  Higinio  Uriarte.  Jose  D.  Candia,  government  clerk  ;  died 
1867.  Elias  Ortellado,  lieutenant ;  shot  with  his  brother,  the  last  Chief-Justice, 
September  27,  1868.  Ildefonso  Machain,  merchant,  lost  three  sons  in  the  army, 
was  persecuted  and  ruined,  and  died  1868.  Antonio  Sayas.  Hilario  Recalde, 
merchant,  died  in  prison.  Pedro  P.  Haedo,  died  1868.  Guillermo  Sosa,  made 
private  soldier,  imprisoned,  and  died.  Juan  C.  Centurion,  educated  in  England, 
confidant  of  Lopez,  fate  unknown.  Nicolas  A.  Isasi,  ecclesiastical  notary; 
wounded  May  24,  1866.  Juan  B.  Castillo.  Sinforiano  Pereira,  captain  ;  wounded 
repeatedly,  died  1868.  Andres  A.  Urdapilleta,  shot  with  his  brother  the  Chief- 
Justice,  August  22,  1868.  Jaime  Garcia,  deserted  from  Curuzu,  September, 
1866 ;  mother  and  sisters  exiled,  property  confiscated.  Manuel  Solalinde,  army 
surgeon.  Bernardo  Decoud,  killed  in  battle.  Miguel  A.  Elorduy,  major-domo 
of  the  cathedral ;  shot  as  a  traitor,  July  16,  1868.  Juan  F.  Escauriza,  died  1867. 
Juan  A.  Ibarra.  Benigno  Gonzalez,  died  1867.  Juan  M.  Villalba.  Francisco  de 
P.  Bedoya,  died.  Manuel  Perina,  died  1867,  in  the  army.  Jose  Maria  Sandoval, 
died  1866,  in  the  army.  Juan  B.  Gill,  taken  as  medical  assistant,  fate  unknown. 
Bernardino  Cabral,  government  clerk ;  shot  August  22,  1868.  Leonardo  Sion, 
clerk  in  Treasury,  son  of  Lopez's  brother-in-law  ;  shot  August  23,  1868.  Laure- 
ano  Gomez,  fate  unknown.  Facundo  Talavera,  killed  in  battle.  Jose  Isidoro 
Troche,  "  died  in  prison,"  July  19,  1868.  Matias  Sanabria,  Chief  of  Police, 
and  major;  shot  September  27,  1868. 


32  PARAGUAY. 

afterwards  it  was  issued  for  a  few  weeks  as  a  semi-weekly,  and 
in  the  end  became  so  like  the  official  organ,  that,  after  an  ex- 
istence of  about  a  year  and  a  half,  it  ceased,  and  its  founder  was 
made  editor  of  the  Scmanario.  He  was  a  man  of  some  liter- 
ary acquirements  ;  and  during  the  time  that  he  occupied  the 
tripod  the  articles  were  better  written,  and  smacked  less  of 
fulsome  adulation  of  the  ruling  power,  than  ever  before  or 
since.  But  even  then  it  was  so  entirely  a  government  organ 
that  an  editorial  notice  had  almost  as  much  force  as  an  offi- 
cial decree.  A  remark  in  it  tending  to  show  that  any  indi- 
vidual had  committed  any  breach  of  etiquette  or  duty  was  suffi- 
cient to  cause  other  people  to  avoid  him,  and  thus  his  business 
might  be  ruined.  If  there  were  any  question  of  difference  with 
another  government,  its  columns  were  filled  with  the  grossest 
abuse  of  that  government  and  its  people,  so  that  such  as 
happened  to  be  resident  in  the  country  were  the  marks  for 
the  insolence  of  officials  and  the  insults  of  the  populace. 

On  the  accession  of  the  younger  Lopez  to  the  Presidency, 
however,  the  Semanario  as  it  had  been  was  not  enough 
for  his  grosser  appetite.  The  young  man,  though  he  had 
not,  like  Achilles,  been  reared  on  bears'  marrow  and  lions' 
hearts,  had  fed  so  much  on  adulation  and  sycophancy  that 
nothing  else  agreed  with  his  stomach.  His  name  and  fame 
must  figure  exclusively  in  every  page  and  every  column. 
He  was  not  like  Themistocles,  who  complained  that  the  hon- 
ors of  Miltiades  would  not  let  him  sleep  ;  but,  rather,  like 
Dionysius,  he  could  not  endure  that  his  subjects  should 
talk  or  think  of  anybody  but  himself.  Bermejo,  who  was  a 
Spaniard  and  had  seen  other  parts  of  the  world,  could  not 
seriously  make  his  praises  sufficiently  eulogistic  and  fulsome 
to  suit  the  inordinate  vanity  of  his  master,  and  therefore  he 
was  dismissed  from  his  thankless  position,  that  had  given  him 
but  a  meagre  living  during  his  years  of  servitude,  soon  after 
which  he  left  the  country.  He  was  succeeded  in  this  office 
by  a  native  named  Gumesindo  Benitez,  —  a  man  who  after- 
wards united  to  the  duties  of  editor  those  of  Acting  Secretary 
of  Foreign  Affairs  and  chief  spy,  until  his  master,  having  re- 


GUMESINDO  BENITEZ. 


33 


solved  on  the  general  massacre  of  the  foreigners  in  his  power, 
as  well  as  of  all  the  more  intelligent  Paraguayans,  caused  him 
to  be  arrested  and  subjected  to  a  refinement  of  torture  un- 
known to  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  and  afterwards  shot.  His 
part  in  the  terrible  oppressions  of  the  people,  to  which  he 
seemed  to  lend  a  willing  hand,  will  appear  from  time  to  time 
as  the  narrative  proceeds  ;  and  the  extracts  I  shall  make 
from  the  Semanario  will  give  a  good  illustration  of  the  perfect 
union  of  servility  and  tyranny  in  the  same  character.  With 
the  change  of  editors,  the  character  and  tone  of  the  paper 
changed.  Though  the  editorials  were  more  loosely  written, 
they  were  more  abounding  in  praise  of  "  the  great  Lopez."  As 
the  paper  had  few  extracts  and  scarcely  any  business  notices, 
but  was  made  up  almost  entirely  of  original  matter,  the  labor 
of  writing  the  editorials  was  considerable,  although  the  paper 
was  issued  only  once  a  week,  and  on  a  small  folio  sheet  of 
twenty-one  by  fourteen  inches  to  the  page.  Others  besides 
Benitez  were  employed  to  write  on  such  subjects  as  were 
given  them,  but  all  was  submitted  to  the  revision  of  the 
President,  who  might  thus  be  literally  styled  the  chief  ed- 
itor of  the  paper.  Thus  all  the  fulsome  and  disgusting  flat- 
tery and  adulation  that  filled  its  columns  was  written  and 
published  by  his  orders  ;  and  if  they  were  always  in  the  same 
strain,  extolling  him  as  the  wisest  and  greatest  man  of  all 
time,  who  so  well  as  himself  knew  how  great  he  was  ? 

Bermejo  left  early  in  1863,  and  soon  after  it  was  found 
necessary  to  enlarge  the  paper  and  increase  the  capacity  of 
the  printing-office.  New  presses  and  type  were  accordingly 
ordered  from  England  ;  a  new  building  was  erected  ;  and  in 
April,  1864,  the  new  office  was  opened  with  as  much  formality 
as  would  be  observed  in  our  country  in  dedicating  a  cathe- 
dral. The  President  was  to  honor  the  occasion,  and  after  the 
usual  manner  people  were  invited  to  attend.  Having  had 
the  honor  to  be  present,  I  was  struck,  notwithstanding  I  had 
by  this  time  become  used  to  such  things,  by  the  placards  on 
the  walls,  all  in  the  same  strain  of  idolatry  to  the  President. 
The  different  presses  had  their  forms  already  set  to  work  off 

VOL.    II.  3 


34  PARAGUAY. 

and  distribute  hand-bills,  mottoes,  and  apostrophes  among  the 
crowd.  From  one  of  these  we  quote  sufficient  to  show  the 
style  of  the  whole  :  "  Let  the  press  be  the  means  of  publicly 
conveying  the  sincere  expression  of  gratitude  to  our  illustri- 
ous President  ;  let  it  do  justice  to  its  indefatigable  protector, 
the  laborious  citizen  who  devotes  his  life  and  genius  to  the 
sacred  cause  of  the  country  ;  let  it  be  ready  to  defend  with 
dignity  the  inalienable  rights  of  Paraguay,  to  diffuse  knowl- 
edge and  morality  among  her  children,  and  to  crown  the 
Republic  with  glory,  power,  and  civilization.  Long  live  the 
President !  Long  live  the  enlightened  protector  of  the  Para- 
guayan press  ! " 

Another  slip  was  filled  with  the  following  morsels  suited  to 
the  delicate  taste  of  the  President.  "No.  I.  Glory  to  the  illus- 
trious CITIZEN  CARLOS  ANTONIO  LOPEZ,  Founder  of  the 
National  Press !  —  No.  2.  Vive  the  most  Excellent  Sefior 
President  of  the  Republic,  Citizen  Francisco  Solano  Lopez!  — 
No.  3.  Vive  the  illustrious  Protector  of  the  National  Press  !  — 
No.  4.  Gratitude  to  the  Supreme  Magistrate  of  the  Republic 
that  has  deigned  to  honor  the  establishment  of  the  National 
Press  !  -•-  No.  5.  Gratitude  to  the  intelligent  assembly  that 
does  us  the  honor  of  visiting  the  establishment  of  the  National 
Press  !  —  No.  6.  Vive  this  day,  igth  of  April,  memorable  to 
the  establishment  of  the  Press  of  the  Republic  for  the  visit  of 
the  most  excellent  Senor  President  of  the  Republic,  the  bless- 
ing of  the  establishment,  and  the  numerous  company  that 
honors  it ! " 

This  is  the  kind  of  stuff  that  the  morbid  vanity  of  the 
President  craved ;  and  as  he  strutted  through  the  office,  the 
people  near  him  silent  and  subdued,  looking  awestruck  and 
afraid,  he  evidently  felt  himself  a  god. 

After  the  war  commenced  the  Scmanario  was  looked  for 
with  more  interest  than  ever  before ;  for  though  it  contained 
little  news,  it  informed  people  on  what  subjects  they  might 
converse.  It  might  be  known  that  something  disastrous  had 
occurred,  but  until  the  fact  was  promulgated  in  the  Semauario 
it  was  unsafe  to  speak  of  it ;  and  many  instances  occurred  of 


THE  SEMANARIO.  35 

persons  being  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison  for  spreading 
false  reports,  which,  however,  the  Scmanario  a  few  days  later 
would  be  obliged  to  confirm.  Nothing  unfavorable  was  ever 
published  in  its  columns  unless  it  was  of  such  magnitude  that 
it  could  not  be  kept  a  secret ;  and  then,  if  it  were  a  repulse 
or  defeat  in  battle,  it  was  always  represented  as  a  great  vic- 
tory, and  the  explosion  of  a  powder  magazine  or  the  loss  of  a 
steamer  was  only  alluded  to  as  a  trifling  incident,  so  insignifi- 
cant as  to  call  for  an  apology  for  making  mention  of  it.  Yet, 
as  it  was  the  only  newspaper  in  the  capital,  people,  in  their 
doubt  and  anxiety,  looked  for  its  appearance  with  an  impa- 
tience such  as  perhaps  few  papers  in  the  history  of  the  world 
ever  excited.  This  interest  was  much  increased  by  the  great 
irregularity  in  its  days  of  publication.  Though  professing  at 
the  head  of  its  columns  to  be  issued  every  Saturday,  yet, 
during  the  first  four  years  of  the  war,  though  it  appeared  on 
every  other  day  of  the  week,  it  never  was  issued  on  a  Satur- 
day. Rarely  it  would  be  out  on  Sunday,  often  on  Monday, 
Tuesday,  or  Wednesday,  and  not  unfrequently  it  would  not 
appear  before  Friday.  The  delay  would  naturally  lead  to  the 
expectation  of  important  news ;  but  so  often  was  the  paper, 
which  was  so  eagerly  looked  for,  filled  with  little  else  than 
rhapsodies  on  the  great  Lopez,  that  after  a  time  people  lost 
interest  in  it.  They  learned  that  it  was  not  published  to 
give  information  of  the  actual  circumstances,  but  to  create 
such  a  belief  in  the  situation  as  the  President  desired  should 
prevail. 

Before  the  war  the  Paraguayan  people  had  scarcely  any 
other  source  of  information  than  this  government  organ  for 
obtaining  news  respecting  what  was  going  on  in  other  parts 
of  the  world.  The  newspapers  from  Buenos  Aires  and  Mon- 
tevideo were  virtually  prohibited  to  them,  and  I  question  if 
there  was  a  native  of  the  country  who  was  a  subscriber  to 
one  of  them.  Foreigners  resident  in  Asuncion  subscribed 
for  such  papers,  but  there  was  never  a  package  of  them  en- 
tered the  country,  except  such  as  were  addressed  to  a  foreign 
minister  or  consul,  without  being  broken  open  at  the  post- 


36  PARAGUAY. 

office  and  read,  to  see  if  it  might  contain  something  against 
Paraguay  or  its  benign  government.  The  person  to  whom 
was  assigned  this  ungrateful  task  was  an  old  man  by  the  name 
of  Acuna.  He  was  the  Postmaster-General  of  Paraguay, 
and,  though  a  native  of  the  Argentine  province  of  Tucuman, 
had  come  in  his  youth  to  Paraguay,  where  he  had  married  into 
the  unfortunate  Machain  family.  Notwithstanding  his  being 
so  far  in  the  confidence  of  the  government  as  to  be  intrusted 
with  this  office,  he  was  a  most  excellent  man,  and  was  my  inti- 
mate friend.  His  wife  was  one  of  those  rare  persons  who 
spend  their  whole  lives  in  acts  of  charity.  Their  unhappy 
fate  will  be  related  in  its  place. 

The  hereditary  feeling  of  hatred  and  antipathy  against  the 
Brazilians,  which  had  in  a  measure  subsided  during  the  long 
isolation  of  Paraguay,  was  now  fanned  into  flame  by  the 
Semanario.  The  space  in  its  columns  not  occupied  by 
praises  of  Lopez  as  the  greatest,  bravest  hero  of  all  time  was 
devoted  to  abuse  of  the  Brazilians,  who  were  always  spoken  of 
as  creatures  almost  beneath  contempt ;  as  macacos  (monkeys) 
that  would  fly  from  the  face  of  the  great  warrior  of  Paraguay 
and  his  valiant  legions  like  withered  leaves  before  the  tem- 
pest. The  Paraguayans,  even  then,  seemed  to  be  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  "  one  Paraguayan  could  whip  ten 
Brazilians,"  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  as  the  war  went  on 
they  had  little  reason  to  change  their  opinion.  The  Para- 
guayans throughout  the  war  fought  with  a  courage  never 
surpassed ;  while  the  Brazilian  officers,  with  very  few  excep- 
tions, showed  such  cowardice,  such  lack  of  generalship,  such 
weakness  and  imbecility,  as  could  hardly  be  believed  of  any 
people  who  were  not  born  slaves.  This  charge,  however, 
cannot  be  justly  made  against  the  soldiers  in  the  ranks. 
They  were  generally  strong,  healthy  men,  and  with  good  offi- 
cers would  have  made  excellent  soldiers.  Nor  did  they  lack 
for  courage,  as  wherever  they  were  ordered  to  go  there  they 
went ;  and  in  those  engagements  in  which  they  were  thrown 
into  confusion  and  so  terribly  cut  to  pieces,  it  was  because 
the  officers  had  failed  to  do  their  duty  and  keep  their  troops 


MISIONES:  THE  DISPUTED  TERRITORY.  37 

in  order.  Many  a  time  during  the  war  would  Lopez  and  his 
whole  army  have  been  destroyed  or  captured,  had  the  Brazil- 
ian commanders  followed  up  their  first  successes.  But  the 
necessary  command  was  not  given,  and  so  time  after  time  the 
golden  opportunity  was  lost. 

The  expedition  to  Matto  Grosso  had  been  a  success,  so  far 
that  the  lower  part  of  the  province,  including  the  city  of  Co- 
rumba,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Paraguayans ;  but  to  take  the 
whole  province  would  have  required  a  larger  force  than  Lopez 
cared  to  risk  so  far  away  from  his  own  territory.  The  city  of 
Cuyaba,  having  a  population  of  some  twenty-five  thousand  in- 
habitants, is  situated  so  high  upon  the  head-waters  of  the 
river  Paraguay,  being  some  two  hundred  leagues  above  the 
frontiers  of  the  country,  that  it  is  only  reached  by  steamers 
of  light  draught,  and  it  was  therefore  impracticable  to  take 
the  whole  province  at  that  time.  To  attempt  it  would  have 
required  most  of  the  disposable  forces,  and  before  it  could 
be  accomplished  very  likely  the  Brazilians  would  attack  from 
below.  It  was  therefore  left  to  a  subsequent  season,  in  order 
to  strike  a  blow  at  a  more  accessible  point  of  the  Empire. 
Unfortunately,  there  is  a  narrow  strip  of  country  lying  be- 
tween the  Parana  and  the  Uruguay,  which  separates  Paraguay 
from  Brazil,  and  which  belongs  to  the  Argentine  Republic. 
This  is  called  the  Misiones,  and  it  was  here  that  the  Jesuits  / 
attained  their  greatest  power  and  wealth.  The  title  to  it  has  v 
always  been  in  dispute  between  Paraguay  and  the  Argentine 
government,  though  the  Paraguayans  have  always  exercised 
jurisdiction  over  the  northern  part  of  it,  while  the  Argentines 
have  held  exclusive  sway  over  the  southern  part.  To  attack 
Brazil  in  this  direction,  Lopez  must  pass  his  troops  over 
territory  not  his  own  ;  and  accordingly  in  February,  1865,  he 
sent  a  note  to  the  Argentine  government,  asking  permis- 
sion to  send  an  army  across  this  district  of  Misiones.  Of 
course  it  could  not  be  granted  officially  and  formally  without 
involving  the  country  in  the  war  ;  and  of  all  things  President 
Mitre  desired  to  avoid  any  complication  that  would  array  his 
country  again  in  arms.  The  last  civil  war  had  resulted  in 


38  PARAGUAY. 

uniting  all  the  provinces  under  one  government,  with  him- 
self at  the  head  of  it  ;  and  if  peace  could  only  be  maintained, 
the  whole  country  had  a  fairer  prospect  for  advancement  and 
prosperity  than  it  had  ever  enjoyed.  The  Brazilian  govern- 
ment, however,  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  form  an  alliance 
with  the  Argentine  ;  and  its  two  ablest  ministers,  Saraiva 
and  Paranhos,  had  exhausted  all  their  diplomacy  to  induce 
Mitre  and  his  government  to  give  at  least  their  moral  sup- 
port to  the  Brazilians.  They  offered  all  they  could  promise 
to  this  end,  proposing  to  furnish  all  the  men,  money,  ships, 
and  munitions  of  war,  if  they  might  formally  and  publicly 
claim  them  as  allies.  They  evidently  saw  that,  to  carry  on 
a  war  against  Paraguay,  in  which  they  must  send  their  troops 
and  supplies  by  the  river  through  a  thousand  miles  of  Ar- 
gentine territory,  or  else  pass  them  by  land  over  the  same 
Misiones  that  had  been  refused  to  Lopez  for  a  like  purpose, 
would  in  all  probability  bring  on  a  collision,  and,  sooner  or  later, 
war  with  Buenos  Aires.  Therefore  an  alliance  was  sought 
by  every  means  possible.  President  Mitre,  however,  was  in- 
flexible. Appealed  to  by  both  parties,  he  declared  his  purpose 
to  remain  neutral  and  impartial.  To  Lopez's  absurd  request 
he  replied  in  terms  so  curt  as  to  savor  of  disdain,  and  it  seemed 
strange  that  so  preposterous  a  proposition  should  ever  have 
been  made. 

At  this  moment  it  was  discovered  that  General  Urquiza,  the 
governor  of  the  province  of  Entre  Rios,  who  fills  so  conspicu- 
ous a  place  in  the  Argentine  history,  had  not  been  idle  dur- 
ing the  impending  difficulties.  He  had  been  intriguing  with 
Mitre  and  Lopez,  and  supposed  he  knew  their  secrets.  He 
had  both  fear  and  dislike  of  the  Brazilians,  as,  like  many  others, 
he  apprehended  that  it  was  the  ulterior  object  of  Brazil  to 
make  the  rivers  Paraguay  and  Parana  the  western  boundary 
of  the  Empire.  This  project,  if  carried  into  effect,  would  of 
course  destroy  his  power  as  absolute  despot  of  the  province  of 
Entre  Rios,  and  would  deprive  him  of  his  enormous  and  ill- 
gotten  fortune.  It  was  by  his  advice  that  Lopez  had  made  his 
application  ;  and  assurances  were  given,  that,  if  it  was  refused, 


PERMISSION  TO  CROSS  THE  MISIONES  REFUSED. 


39 


Urquiza  would  pronounce  against  Mitre.  But  though  the 
request  of  Lopez  was  so  laconically  denied,  Urquiza  failed  to 
make  good  his  promises.  In  fact,  it  was  too  late  for  him 
to  move  without  bringing  on  himself,  not  only  his  own  gov- 
ernment, but  that  of  Brazil  and  the  forces  under  Flores,  who 
was  already  in  alliance  with  Brazil  and  in  possession  of  nearly 
all  the  defensible  points  of  the  Oriental  Republic.  Of  course, 
Urquiza  would  not  make  an  alliance  with  Paraguay  with  such 
odds  against  him  ;  and  Lopez  found  that,  after  all  his  craft  and 
intrigue,  he  was  finally  to  be  left  to  carry  on  the  war  alone. 

There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  if,  instead  of  asking  per- 
mission of  Mitre  to  send  his  troops  across  the  Misiones,  he 
had  actually  done  so,  there  would  have  been  no  other  result 
than  a  long  diplomatic  correspondence,  complaints  of  viola- 
tion of  territory,  explanations,  and  new  protests  of  friendship. 
The  people  of  Buenos  Aires  were  very  strongly  opposed  to 
any  act  that  might  lead  to  war,  and  the  same  sentiments  pre- 
vailed throughout  all  the  provinces.  The  passage  of  an  army 
of  ten  or  twenty  thousand  men  through  a  tract  of  country  al- 
most uninhabited  would  not  have  been  regarded  either  by  Mitre, 
or  his  government,  or  the  people  of  Buenos  Aires,  as  suffi- 
cient cause  for  declaring  war  against  Paraguay  ;  and  had  Lopez 
sent  over  at  that  time  one  fourth  part  of  his  disposable  force, 
he  would  have  made  such  havoc  on  the  western  frontier  of  the 
province  of  Rio  Grande,  which  was  then  all  unprotected  and 
exposed,  as  would  have  done  infinite  injury  to  Brazil,  and  per- 
haps have  forced  it  to  overlook  the  indignity  and  insult  of  the 
capture  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda,  and  propose  terms  of  peace. 

This  course,  however,  Lopez  did  not  follow.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  took  a  step  that  compelled  Mitre  and  the  Argentine 
nation  to  do  the  very  thing  that  Saraiva  and  Paranhos  had 
failed  to  accomplish.  Not  only  had  he  begun  war  on 
Brazil  in  such  an  insulting  manner  that  it  would  never,  treat 
with  him,  but  he  now  resolved  to  do  the  same  thing  towards 
Buenos  Aires.  He  determined,  without  previous  notice,  and 
when  it  was  wholly  unexpected,  to  commit  an  act  of  such  gross 
violence  and  illegality  as  would  unite  the  whole  Argentine  peo- 


40  PARAGUAY. 

pie  against  him,  and  force  the  government  into  a  war  that  could 
never  end  but  with  his  own  destruction.  As  we  have  before 
said,  he  regarded  Mitre  as  the  Mordecai  in  the  gate, —  the  man 
whose  military  and  civil  successes  were  shutting  out  from  the 
world  the  light  of  his  own  greatness,  and  his  earlier  prepara- 
tions for  war  had  been  made  with  the  idea  of  measuring  swords 
with  the  hero  of  Pavon.  Now  he  seemed  to  think  his  shield 
was  broad  enough  to  take  the  points  of  both  Mitre  and  the 
Emperor,  and  that  his  arm  was  strong  enough  to  overpower 
them  both. 

He  had  begun  the  war  on  Brazil  of  his  own  volition,  and 
without  the  formality  of  consulting  a  national  Congress.  But 
he  found  by  this  time  that  the  seizure  of  the  Marques  de  Olin- 
da  was  universally  condemned  by  all  who  were  not  in  awe 
of  his  power.  He  accordingly  resolved  to  proceed  in  this 
instance  with  more  circumspection,  and  to  conform  to  the 
usages  of  civilized  nations  so  far  as  he  could  do  this  and  still 
be  absolute  in  everything.  His  plan  was  worthy  of  a  Jesuit 
father.  He  called  a  Congress.  On  Sunday  morning,  Febru- 
ary 26,  the  Semanario  appeared  before  its  usual  time,  though 
it  was  dated  the  25th,  containing  a  decree  of  the  President 
dated  ten  days  previously,  summoning  a  Congress  to  assemble 
on  the  following  Sunday,  or  March  5th.  No  one  in  the  capi- 
tal save  the  President  knew  anything  of  this  decree  previous 
to  its  publication,  though  it  professed  on  its  face  to  have 
been  issued  eleven  days  before,  nor  did  any  one  suspect  the 
object  for  which  the  Congress  was  to  assemble.  The  citi- 
zens of  the  capital  were  informally  notified  by  the  police  that 
they  were  to  choose  their  deputies  the  same  day ;  and  they 
dutifully  obeyed,  and  elected  those  men  that  were  known 
to  be  Lopez's  most  abject  creatures,  and  that  he  had  previ- 
ously indicated  as  entitled  to  his  confidence  for  their  patriot- 
ism, intelligence,  and  loyalty.  Measures  had  already  been 
taken  for  the  elections  in  other  parts  to  be  all  held  the  same 
day.  Orders  had  been  sent  to  the  different  partidos,  com- 
manding the  juezes  and  gefes,  after  going  through  a  certain 
form,  to  send  such  and  such  men  to  the  capital  to  attend  the 


CONGRESSIONAL   PROCEEDINGS.  41 

Congress  that  was  to  convene  on  the  5th  of  March.  The 
men  thus  honored  hurried  off  to  Asuncion,  not  having  the 
least  idea  of  the  business  on  which  they  had  been  called. 
From  the  more  distant  partidos  the  deputies  had  hardly  time 
to  reach  the  capital  before  the  meeting  of  the  Congress. 

The  report  of  the  proceedings  of  this  singular  and  anoma- 
lous legislative  body,  as  published  in  the  Semanario,  is  a  most 
curious  document,  and  shows  most  completely  that  no  one  in 
Paraguay,  not  even  President  Lopez,  had  any  idea  of  the  man- 
ner of  conducting  a  deliberative  assembly.  The  body  was 
presided  over  by  Jose  Falcon,  with  the  title  of  Vice-President, 
though  the  official  report  does  not  inform  us  how  he  attained 
that  position,  nor  was  he  afterwards  designated  by  that  title. 
Every  suggestion  made  by  the  different  members  was  referred 
to  a  so-called  double  committee,  consisting  of  sixteen  mem- 
bers, though  it  does  not  appear  from  the  report  that  the  Con- 
gress had  anything  to  do  with  the  appointment  of  this  com- 
mittee. There  was  no  voting  by  yeas  and  nays  ;  but  as  all  the 
propositions  submitted  were  understood  to  have  already  re- 
ceived the  approval  of  Lopez,  they  were  declared  carried  by 
acclamation,  and  in  no  case  does  there  appear  to  have  been  a 
dissenting  voice.  The  speeches  made  by  the  members  had 
little  if  any  reference  to  any  business  before  the  Congress, 
but  were  the  mere  rambling  eulogies  of  the  wisdom  and  patri- 
otism of  the  President,  which  they  had  been  accustomed  with 
slight  variations  to  pronounce  for  many  years  on  all  public 
occasions,  though  on  this  occasion  they  all  terminated  with 
the  desire  to  leave  the  whole  management  of  the  national 
interests  in  the  hands  of  Lopez,  untrammelled  by  any  con- 
ditions. Two  propositions,  however,  were  strenuously  in- 
sisted upon  by  Congress,  apparently  against  the  desire  of 
the  government.  These  were,  first,  that  the  President  should 
not  absent  himself  from  the  limits  of  the  Republic  during  the 
impending  war  ;  second,  that  the  President's  salary  should  be 
raised  to  sixty  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  Lopez  appeared 
several  times  before  the  Congress,  and  protested  against  being 
denied  the  privilege  of  sharing  the  toils  and  dangers  of  the 


42  PARAGUAY. 

camp  with  his  patriotic  legions,  and  refused  to  receive  this 
increased  salary,  saying  that,  as  they  had  all  pledged  their 
lives  and  fortunes  to  sustain  the  great  cause,  and  as  the  state 
would  require  all  its  means  to  maintain  its  rights  and  chastise 
the  insolent  foe  that  was  threatening  the  very  existence  of  the 
Republic,  he  would  accept  no  additional  compensation.  The 
members,  however,  knew  him  too  well  to  take  him  at  his 
word.  The  propositions  in  both  instances  had  come  from 
those  who  were  most  in  his  confidence,  and  therefore  his  pre- 
tending to  disapprove  of  them  they  knew  was  but  a  farce,  and 
they  clamorously  and  loudly  insisted  that  he  should  yield  to 
their  demands  ;  that  he  should  not  expose  his  valuable  life  to 
the  dangers  of  the  camp  and  the  battle-field  ;  and  that  they 
should  be  allowed  to  contribute  from  the  national  fund,  as  a 
slight  return  for  the  sacrifices  he  made,  and  as  an  expression 
of  gratitude  for  his  services.  To  these  appeals  Lopez,  with 
well-feigned  reluctance,  and  after  many  expressions  of  thanks 
to  the  Congress  for  their  patriotism  and  confidence,  finally 
yielded.  The  war  was  to  go  on,  and  if  he  did  not  take  the 
field  thenceforward  he  was  not  to  be  accused  of  cowardice  or 
indifference,  for  the  Congress  had  forbidden  his  absenting  him- 
self from  the  country  or  exposing  his  life  in  the  territory  of 
the  enemy. 

The  members  had  learned,  previous  to  their  being  called 
together,  of  the  warlike  acts  that  had  already  taken  place 
against  Brazil,  and  had  supposed  that  the  proceedings  of  the 
Congress  would  have  reference  only  to  a  war  with  that  country. 
But  in  the  messages  of  the  President  and  of  the  ministers 
they  were  advised  that  the  Argentine  government  had  com- 
mitted such  outrages  against  the  rights  and  dignity  of  Para- 
guay as  demanded  the  serious  attention  of  the  government. 
These  outrages  were,  first,  that  President  Mitre  had  refused  per- 
mission for  the  Paraguayan  troops  to  pass  through  the  Argen- 
tine territory  to  make  war  on  Brazil ;  second,  he  had  been  in 
connivance  with  Brazil  and  Flores  against  the  independence 
of  Uruguay  ;  and  third,  he  had  permitted  the  publication  of 
libels  and  satires  by  Paraguayan  exiles  in  Buenos  Aires  on  the 


LOPEZ  TAKES  THE  TITLE  OF  MARSHAL.  43 

character  and  conduct  of  President  Lopez,  and  was  responsible 
for  the  hostile  spirit  of  the  Argentine  people  to  Paraguay  as 
expressed  through  the  columns  of  the  newspapers.  For  these 
grave  wrongs  and  insults  war  was  recommended  against  the 
Argentine  Republic,  and  was  formally  declared  on  the  i8th 
of  March,  1865.  Lopez  was  ambitious  of  a  higher  military 
title  than  that  of  General  or  President,  and  for  some  time 
hesitated  what  one  to  take.  Mrs.  Lynch  and  a  few  others 
who  shared  his  confidence  advised  him  then  and  there  to 
have  himself  declared  Emperor,  and  assured  him  that  such 
a  step  would  secure  to  him  the  sympathy,  if  not  the  support, 
of  the  monarchical  governments  of  Europe.  But  Lopez,  fore- 
seeing that  it  would  array  against  him  all  the  republics  of 
South  America,  wisely  decided  to  defer  it  till  he  had  proved 
to  the  world  his  ability  to  sustain  himself  against  all  his  neigh- 
bors, and  instead  of  Emperor  took  the  title  of  Marshal,  which 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  an  act  of  the  Congress.  "  The 
most  excellent  General  of  Division,  Citizen  Francisco  Solano 
Lopez,  is  hereby  appointed  Marshal  of  the  armies  of  the 
Republic,  with  all  the  exemptions,  pre-eminences,  honors, 
privileges,  and  salaries  which  are  inherent  in  this  supreme 
military  grade."  As  nothing  like  the  office  or  title  of  Mar- 
shal had  ever  been  known  before  in  Paraguay,  the  members 
of  the  Congress  that  passed  this  act  had  probably  no  idea 
what  honors,  privileges,  or-  salaries  were  inherent  to  it ;  and  it 
mattered  little  to  them  what  they  were,  as  they  knew  that  no 
law  which  they  could  pass  could  make  Lopez  more  absolute, 
either  as  civil  magistrate  or  military  ruler,  than  he  already 
was.  The  Congress  also  passed  a  law  providing  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  three  generals  of  division  and  six  brigadiers  ; 
but  only  one  general  of  division  was  ever  appointed,  and 
those  who  were  promoted  to  be  brigadiers  during  the  five 
years  of  the  war,  with  two  exceptions,  were  subsequently 
executed  by  Lopez  as  traitors  or  conspirators.  The  other 
most  important  acts  of  the  Congress  were  one  approving 
of  the  declaration  of  war  against  Brazil,  and  one  authorizing 
Lopez  to  conduct  the  war  at  his  own  discretion,  and  to 


44  PARAGUAY. 

make  peace  whenever  and  under  whatever  conditions  he 
might  judge  proper.  Another  act,  the  precursor  of  many 
like  it,  though  less  official  in  form,  was  passed,  ordering  the 
presentation  of  a  magnificent  set  of  jewelry  and  a  sword  of 
honor  to  the  Marshal  at  the  national  expense.  And,  finally, 
an  act  authorizing  a  loan  of  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars  for 
the  expenses  of  the  war,  —  which  loan,  it  may  be  here  said,  was 
never  made,  as  the  money  was  not  needed  for  use  within  the 
limits  of  Paraguay,  since  Lopez  could  take  everything  there  at 
his  own  price  in  the  paper  money  of  the  country  which  he 
could  increase  at  pleasure,  and  no  serious  attempts  were  ever 
made  to  float  the  loan  in  Europe. 

A  proposition  made  in  the  Congress  during  the  last  days 
of  the  session,  on  which  no  formal  action  was  taken,  will 
serve  to  show  how  completely  the  whole  body  was  con- 
trolled by  Lopez.  The  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Don  Mariano 
Gonzales,  announced  that  the  President  was  desirous  of 
establishing  some  mode  of  rewarding  such  persons  as  might 
render  important  services  to  the  country,  and  that  he  pro- 
posed, therefore,  the  creation  of  an  "  institution  of  premiums." 
The  proposition  was,  of  course,  unanimously  approved,  and 
the  minister  was  requested  to  submit  the  project  for  such  an 
institution  to  the  Congress.  No  further  action,  however, 
seems  to  have  been  taken  on  it  by  that  body,  but  after  its 
adjournment  it  was  officially  announced  that  the  Marshal 
President  of  the  Republic  was  authorized  to  create  and  estab- 
lish an  order  of  merit  for  the  object  of  rewarding  eminent 
military  and  civil  services,  and  that  the  whole  matter  was 
referred  to  the  President  himself,  in  the  following  terms : 
"  The  organization,  composition,  designation  of  grades,  and 
other  ordinances,  will  be  established  by  the  President  of  the 
Republic  ;  also  the  President  will  confer  the  titles  and  decora- 
tions." On  the  2Qth  of  April,  1865,  the  foundation  of  the 
order  was  officially  announced.  In  its  details  it  was  in  imita- 
tion of  the  French  Legion  of  Honor,  and  provided  that  it 
should  consist  of  five  grades,  Knight,  Official,  Commander, 
Grand  Official,  and  Grand  Cross  ;  that  they  should  all  be  for 


THE  NATIONAL  ORDER  OF  MERIT.        45 

life,  and  could  only  be  forfeited  after  sentence  of  a  competent 
tribunal,  and  that  the  President  only  could  confer  them.  It 
provided  that  the  decorations  should  be  of  different  kinds, 
according  to  the  grade  conferred,  and  also  declared  who  were 
eligible  to  the  higher  grades.  For  the  highest,  or  Grand 
Cross,  that  citizen  should  be  eligible  who,  by  a  vote  of  the 
national  Congress,  had  been  elevated  to  the  Presidential  chair, 
and  the  President  should  be  ex  officio  chief  of  the  order.  Be- 
sides the  President,  no  one  in  Paraguay  was  eligible  to  this 
highest  grade,  except  the  head  of  the  church.  It  could  not 
be  conferred  on  any  foreigner,  except  an  hereditary  or  life 
sovereign.  The  other  grades  could  all  be  conferred  at  the 
will  of  the  President  on  such  natives  and  foreigners  as  he 
might  think  worthy  of  the  high  honor. 

The  creation  of  this  order  was  regarded  by  the  foreigners 
in  Paraguay,  and  was  doubtless  intended  by  Lopez,  as  a  step 
towards  the  establishment  of  a  monarchical  government.  It 
could  not  be  conferred  on  the  President  of  another  republic, 
nor  on  any  other  foreigner  except  a  sovereign  for  life,  so  that 
however  exalted  might  be  the  name  or  fame  of  any  person  not 
an  hereditary  sovereign,  he  could  never  receive  the  Grand 
Cross  of  the  Paraguayan  National  Order  of  Merit ;  and  the 
object  which  Lopez  had  in  limiting  it  to  crowned  heads  could 
have  been  none  other  than  that,  when  the  war  should  be  over, 
and  he  should  have  established  himself  as  the  Emperor  of 
Paraguay,  he  could  interchange  with  the  different  sovereigns 
of  the  world  their  respective  orders.  Had  the  people  of  the 
other  republics  of  South  America  and  of  the  United  States 
at  the  time  fully  understood  the  ulterior  object  in  establishing 
this  order,  it  would  very  likely  have  disabused  them  of  the 
idea  that  Lopez  was  carrying  on  war  in  the  interest  of  repub- 
licanism and  against  monarchy,  and  all  those  aspirants  for 
presidential  honors  in  both  South  and  North  America  would 
have  learned  that,  however  successful  they  might  be  in  their 
own  countries,  and  whatever  dignities  or  titles  they  might 
there  acquire,  yet,  not  being  sovereigns  for  life,  they  could 
never  be  eligible  to  the  Grand  Cross  of  Paraguay. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Birth  and  early  Education  ot  F.  S.  Lopez.  —  He  enters  the  Army.  —  Brigadier- 
General. —  Personal  Appearance  and  Habits.  —  His  Cowardice.  —  His  House 
of  Shelter.  —  His  Fright  at  a  Distant  Shell.  —  No  Respect  for  old  Friends 
or  former  Mistresses.  —  The  Fate  of  Pancha  Garmendia.  —  Carlos  Antonio 
Lopez's  Improvement  on  Fraiicia's  System  of  Espionage.  —  Ignorance  and 
Superstition.  — Juan  Gregorio  Urbieta,  Bishop  of  Paraguay.  —  His  Successor, 
Manuel  Antonio  Palacios.  —  Character  of  Palacios.  —  The  Catechism  of  San 
Alberto.  —  The  Divine  Right  of  Kings  and  Magistrates.  —  Letter  from  Pala- 
cios to  Lopez.  —  The  Padre,  Fidel  Maiz.  —  His  Talents  and  Popularity.  — 
Arrest,  Imprisonment,  and  Torture.  —  His  Reconciliation  with  Lopez.  —  His 
Profane  Confession.  —  His  final  Escape. 

FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ  was  born  July  24, 
1826.  His  early  years  were  passed  at  the  family 
homestead  of  his  mother,  near  the  Trinidad,  a  league  and  a 
half  from  the  capital.  Francia  being  at  that  time  in  abso- 
lute authority,  there  were  no  puolic  schools,  and  only  those 
parents  whose  means  would  permit  them  to  send  their  chil- 
dren to  private  teachers  received  any  education.  The  Lopez 
children,  however,  all  learned  to  read  and  write  in  their  child- 
hood ;  and  after  Carlos  Antonio  was  elected  Consul,  Francisco 
Solano  attended  the  school  of  Juan  Pedro  Escalada,  in  the 
capital,  for  about  a  year.  After  this  he  received  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  army,  and  soon  after  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  the  highest  grade  then  known  in  the  Para- 
guayan military  service.  At  the  time  of  the  campaign  of  Cor- 
rientes,  in  1845,  when  he  led  his  army  across  the  border,  he 
was  but  nineteen  years  of  age  ;  and  after  his  return  he  was  so 
devoted  to  pleasure  and  the  gratification  of  his  passions  that 
he  made  no  attempt  to  supply  the  defects  of  early  education. 
He  may  be  said  never  to  have  read  anything.  His  knowl- 


PERSONAL  APPEARANCE  OF  LOPEZ.       47 

edge  of  history  was  less   than   that   of  most  New  England 
school-boys  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 

He  was,  however,  apt  to  learn,  of  quick  perceptions,  and 
must  have  had  naturally  an  excellent  memory.  He  was  early 
taken  into  the  counsels  of  the  President,  and  the  only  ideas  of 
government  of  both  were  those  that  had  been  learned  from 
Francia.  The  old  man  had  seen  that  the  Dictator  had  gov- 
erned absolutely  through  his  system  of  espionage,  and  the 
young  man,  while  yet  a  boy,  learned  that  art  to  perfection. 
Hence  his  mental  training  was  all  in  that  direction,  and  hav- 
ing a  retentive  memory,  he  learned  with  great  facility  all  the 
details  respecting  the  family  of  every  man  in  the  country 
whose  position  or  influence  made  him  worthy  of  attention. 
By  the  continued  exercise  of  these  faculties  from  boyhood 
he  became  wonderfully  expert  as  a  spy,  and  managed,  through 
his  numerous  agents  and  informers,  to  learn  all  about  the 
private  affairs  of  the  principal  people  in  the  country. 

In  person  he  was  short  and  stout.  His  height  was  about 
five  feet  four,  and,  though  always  inclining  to  corpulency,  his 
figure  in  his  younger  days  was  very  good.  He  dressed  with 
great  care  and  precision,  and  endeavored  to  give  himself  a 
smart  and  natty  appearance.  His  hands  and  feet  were  very  » 
small,  indicating  his  Indian  origin.  His  complexion  was 
dark,  and  gave  evidence  of  a  strong  taint  of  Guarani  blood. 
He  was  proud  of  his  Indian  descent,  and  used  frequently  to 
boast  of  it.  As  he  could  not  pretend  to  be  of  pure  Spanish 
blood,  he  would  rather  ascribe  his  swarthy  color  to  a  mixture 
with  the  Indian  than  the  negro  race.  Hence  he  was  as 
prone  to  talk  of  his  Indian  ancestry  as  ever  were  the  de- 
scendants of  Pocahontas.  He  also  had  many  of  the  tastes  * 
peculiar  to  the  savage.  Before  going  to  Europe  he  dressed 
grotesquely,  but  his  costume  was  always  expensive  and  elab- 
orately finished.  He  wore  enormous  silver  spurs,  such  as 
would  have  been  the  envy  of  a  gaucho,  and  the  trappings  of 
his  horse  were  so  completely  covered  with  silver  as  to  almost 
form  a  coat  of  mail.  After  his  return  from  abroad  he  adopted 
a  more  civilized  costume,  but  always  indulged  in  a  gorgeous 


48  PARAGUAY. 

display  of  gold  lace  and  bright  buttons.  He  conversed  with 
fluency  and  had  a  good  command  of  language,  and  when  in 
good-humor  his  manners  were  courteous  and  agreeable.  His 
eyes,  when  he  was  pleased,  had  a  mild  and  amiable  expres- 
sion ;  but  when  he  was  enraged  the  pupil  seemed  to  dilate 
till  it  included  the  whole  iris,  and  the  eye  did  not  appear 
to  be  that  of  a  human  being,  but  rather  of  a  wild  beast 
goaded  to  madness.  He  had,  however,  a  gross  animal  look 
that  was  repulsive  when  his  face  was  in  repose.  His  forehead 
was  narrow  and  his  head  small,  with  the  rear  organs  largely 
developed.  He  was  an  inveterate  smoker  of  the  strongest 
kind  of  Paraguayan  cigars.  His  teeth  were  very  much  de- 
cayed, and  so  many  of  the  front  ones  were  gone  as  to  render 
his  articulation  somewhat  difficult  and  indistinct.  He  appar- 
ently took  no  pains  to  keep  them  clean,  and  those  which 
remained  were  unwholesome  in  appearance,  and  nearly  as 
dark  as  the  cigar  that  he  had  almost  constantly  between 
them.  His  face  was  rather  fiat,  and  his  nose  and  hair  indi- 
cated more  of  the  negro  than  the  Indian.  His  cheeks  had 
a  fulness  that  extended  to  the  jowl,  giving  him  a  sort  of  bull- 
dog expression.  In  his  later  years  he  grew  enormously  fat ;  so 
much  so  that  few  would  believe  that  a  true  photograph  of  his 
figure  was  not  a  caricature.  He  was  very  irregular  in  his 
hours  of  eating ;  but  when  he  did  eat,  the  quantity  he  con- 
sumed was  enormous.  He  was  a  gormand,  but  not  an 
epicure.  His  taste  was  for  rank  and  greasy  food,  and  the 
dishes  he  preferred  would  have  repelled  a  delicate  taste. 
His  drinking  was  in  keeping  with  his  eating.  He  always 
kept  a  large  stock  of  foreign  wines,  liquors,  and  ale,  but  he 
had  little  discrimination  in  the  use  of  them.  He,  however, 
drank  enormous  quantities  of  them  all,  and  was  altogether  so 
gross  and  sensual  in  his  habits  as  to  be  a  very  uncomfortable 
patient  for  his  physician.  His  excesses  were  constantly  bring- 
ing on  ill-turns,  and  at  last  brought  on  a  chronic  infirmity 
that  must  have  soon  ended  his  days,  had  he  not  perished  by 
a  lance.  Though  he  habitually  drank  largely,  yet  he  often 
exceeded  his  own  free  limits,  and  on  such  occasions  he  was 


COWARDICE   OF   TYRANTS.  49 

liable  to  break  out  in  the  most  furious  abuse  of  all  who  were 
about  him.  He  would  then  indulge  in  the  most  revolting 
obscenity,  and  would  sometimes  give  orders  for  the  most 
barbarous  acts.  When  recovered  from  such  debauches  he 
would  stay  the  execution  of  his  orders,  if  they  had  not  been 
already  enforced.  But  it  was  so  dangerous  for  his  subor- 
dinates to  hesitate  in  their  obedience,  that,  when  he  came 
out  of  his  drunken  fits,  it  would  generally  be  too  late,  the 
victims  would  be  already  executed. 

Of  the  three  most  noted  tyrants  of  South  America,  Francia, 
Rosas,  and  the  second  Lopez,  all  have  been  distinguished  for 
one  quality,  that  is,  personal  cowardice.  Francia,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  in  such  perpetual  fear  of  his  life  that  he  kept  himself 
constantly  surrounded  by  a  guard,  and  imagined  that  an  as- 
sassin lurked  behind  every  bush  or  wall  or  building  he  passed. 
Rosas  was  a  notorious  coward.  Many  instances  in  which  he 
showed  the  most  craven  fear  are  well  known  to  the  older 
residents  of  the  Plata.  But  the  cowardly  nature  of  Lopez 
was  so  apparent,  he  scarcely  took  pains  to  conceal  it.  He 
never  exposed  himself  to  the  least  danger,  when  he  could  pos- 
sibly avoid  it.  He  usually  had  his  head-quarters  so  far  in  the 
rear  that  a  shot  from  the  enemy  could  never  reach  him.  At  Paso 
Pucu,  however,  the  allies  got  in  his  rear,  and  so  invested  his 
entire  camp  that  at  rare  intervals  a  stray  shot  or  shell  would 
fall  in  the  vicinity.  But  it  was  very  seldom  anything  of  the 
kind  occurred,  and  nobody  was  ever  hit  within  many  yards  of 
his  house.  Nevertheless,  such  a  thing  was  possible,  and  he 
therefore  had  another  house  built  close  adjoining  the  one  in 
which  he  lived,  surrounded  on  all  sides  with  walls  of  earth  at 
least  twenty  feet  thick,  and  with  a  roof  of  the  same  material 
so  thick  that  no  shot  or  shell  that  might  light  upon  it  could 
ever  penetrate  deep  enough  to  do  any  damage.  While  all 
was  still  along  the  enemy's  lines,  Lopez  would  bravely  remain 
in  the  adjoining  house  ;  but  so  surely  as  any  firing  was  heard 
in  the  direction  of  the  enemy's  nearest  batteries,  he  would  in- 
stantly saunter  out  in  feigned  carelessness,  trying  hard  to  dis- 
guise his  fear,  and  slink  into  his  hole,  and  not  show  his  face 
VOL.  ii  4 


PARAGUAY. 


again  outside  until  the  firing  had  ceased.  For  several  months 
before  the  abandonment  of  Paso  Pucu,  however,  the  firing 
from  different  points  of  the  allied  lines  was  so  frequent  that 
Lopez  seldom  ventured  out  of  his  cave.  He  ate  and  slept, 
protected  by  the  thick  walls  of  earth,  and  from  within  his  dark 
abode  issued  his  orders  to  his  army ;  and  at  the  very  time  that 
he  was  thus  hid  away  from  danger,  he  had  his  correspondents 
for  the  Semanario  around  him,  writing  the  most  extravagant 


LOPEZ   LEADING    HIS    LEGIONS   TO   BATTLE. 


articles  in  praise  of  his  valor,  his  sacrifices,  and  his  generalship. 
The  people  of  Paraguay  could  never  pay  the  debt  they  owed 
him,  who,  while  they  were  living  in  security  and  abundance, 
was  daily  leading  his  legions  to  battle  and  exposing  his  life  to 
constant  danger. 

His  utter  lack  of  courage  was  known  to  the  whole  army. 
In  his  youth  he  had  been  accustomed  to  ride  on  horseback  a 
great  deal,  and  had  learned  to  ride  well  ;  but  after  he  became 


LOPEZ    IN   A   FRIGHT.  5! 

older  and  stouter  he  rode  but  little,  and  always  on  a  very  tame 
horse  and  at  a  very  moderate  pace.  His  timidity  was  such 
that  he  did  not  dare  to  walk  the  gangway  plank  of  a  steamer 
unless  he  had  a  trusted  officer  on  each  side  to  save  him  from 
falling  into  the  water;  and  his  short  steps  and  frightened  look, 
as  I  have  heard  them  described  by  certain  Englishmen  who 
had  seen  him  on  such  occasions,  were  enough  to  put  to  shame 
a  nervous  old  woman  of  fourscore. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1866,  before  the  bomb-proof 
house  at  Paso  Pucu  had  been  erected,  Lopez  with  his  staff 
was  out  one  morning  inspecting  his  camp.  The  allies  had 
been  firing  irregularly  all  the  morning,  but  as  Lopez  was  out 
of  the  range  of  their  line  of  fire,  and  beyond  the  reach  of 
their  guns,  no  one  had  suspected  any  danger.  As  the  party 
was  quietly  riding  along,  a  shell  that  had  overshot  its  mark 
fell  at  a  distance  of  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
party,  and  as  it  struck  exploded.  Instantly  Lopez  turned  and 
galloped  away  at  a  speed  he  had  not  been  accustomed  to  for 
years,  and  his  staff,  as  a  matter  of  course,  followed  him.  They 
knew  it  would  have  been  construed  as  worse  than  treason  for 
them  to  show  less  fear  than  their  chief.  Unfortunately,  the 
broad  hat  of  the  bishop  was  caught  by  the  breeze  created  by  its 
owner's  flight,  and  went  sailing  through  the  air,  and  was  left 
to  be  picked  up  afterwards  by  a  soldier.  This  sorry  exhibition 
of  fear  in  the  face  of  so  many  of  his  officers  afterwards  caused 
him  great  mortification  ;  and  as  so  many  had  witnessed  it  that 
the  facts  could  not  be  suppressed,  he  had  an  article  published 
in  the  Semanario,  abusing  the  allies  roundly  for  their  barba- 
rous way  of  making  war.  Among  civilized  and  gallant  nations 
it  was  a  point  of  honor  never  to  fire  in  the  direction  of  the 
king ;  and  this  act  of  the  allies  in  firing  towards  his  Excel- 
lency the  Marshal  President  was  therefore  unchivalric,  treach- 
erous, and  cowardly. 

In  the  gratification  of  his  passions  and  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  ambitious  plans,  he  was  no  respecter  of  persons. 
Of  those  most  in  his  confidence  when  the  war  began,  and 
who  were  supposed  to  be  his  personal  friends,  nearly  all 


52  PARAGUAY. 

were  subsequently  tortured  and  put  to  death  by  his  orders. 
Among  these  were  Fernandez,  Bishop  Palacios,  and  Gen- 
erals Barrios  and  Bruguez,  his  two  most  successful  generals. 
His  brother-in-law,  Bedoya,  was  treated  even  worse,  as  he 
expired  under  the  torture. 


Burgos.  Lynch.  Pesoa. 

MISTRESSES  OF  LOPEZ. — From  Photographs. 

His  treatment  of  his  best  and  at  one  time  most  trusted 
officers  was  in  keeping  with  that  of  his  former  mistresses. 
The  favorite  before  his  visit  to  Europe,  by  whom  he  had  one 
or  two  children,  was  a  young  woman  by  the  name  of  Pesoa, 
from  the  Villa  del  Filar.  She  was  a  sister  of  the  wife  of 
Polycarpo  Garro,  a  leading  merchant  of  Asuncion.  She 
was,  however,  driven  into  the  Cordilleras,  and  was  exposed 
to  the  most  terrible  hardships,  and,  it  is  supposed,  perished  of 
want  and  exposure.  Garro,  her  brother-in-law,  was  arrested, 
starved,  and  tortured  as  a  traitor  till  he  expired,  July  15, 


ESPIONAGE  ESSENTIAL  TO  DESPOTISM.  53 

1868,  as  appears  by  Resquin's  diary.  After  the  advent  of 
Madam  Lynch,  though  she  was  understood  to  be  the  favorite, 
yet  Lopez  still  kept  up  his  relations  with  some  of  his  old 
mistresses,  and  was  frequently  adding  to  the  number  of  his  con- 
quests. The  latest  addition  to  the  long  list,  at  the  time  of  my 
arrival  in  Paraguay,  in  1861,  was  a  tall  and  rather  fine-looking 
young  woman,  daughter  of  Pedro  Burgos,  judge  of  the  partido 
of  Luque.  As  this  was  during  the  Presidency  of  the  elder 
Lopez,  some  of  the  foreigners  thought  it  strange  that  a  man 
in  her  father's  position  would  permit  such  an  arrangement. 
He  did  not  object,  however,  and  the  young  woman  continued 
occasionally  to  visit  the  house  of  Lopez  until  he  left  for  Humaita 
in  1865  ;  and  her  father  was  rewarded  for  his  acquiescence  by 
being  arrested  and  taken  to  head-quarters,  where  he  experienced 
the  same  treatment  as  Garro,  and  died  on  the  i/th  of  August, 
1 868.  The  fate  of  the  woman  is  unknown  to  me.  She  may 
have  expired  like  a  hundred  thousand  others  in  the  wilderness, 
or  may  have  been  one  of  those  unhappy  wretches  whose  suffer- 
ings had  been  such  that,  on  being  rescued  from  the  power  of 
Lopez,  the  very  instincts  of  modesty  had  been  almost  destroyed. 

Poor  Pancha  Garmendia,  the  daughter  of  one  of  Francia's 
victims,  and  who  for  her  resistance  to  the  infamous  proposals 
of  Lopez  long  before  he  became  President  was  doomed  to  see 
her  brothers  sacrificed  to  his  wrath  and  to  bear  a  life  of  per- 
secution and  seclusion,  had  perhaps  a  worse  fate  than  the 
thousands  of  others  who  starved  to  death.  She  was  dragged 
or  driven  along  as  a  prisoner  in  the  train  of  Lopez,  and  kept 
alive  apparently  with  no  other  motive  than  that  she  might 
bear  the  floggings  that  were  almost  daily  visited  on  her  once 
fair  and  round,  but  now  emaciated  and  shrunken  shoulders. 

To  a  perfect  despotism  a  system  of  close  espionage  is  indis- 
pensable. Such  a  system  was  established  by  Francia  that  he 
was  able  to  repress  every  symptom  or  sign  of  discontent  or 
disaffection.  But  he  did  not  carry  it  so  far  that  he  could  tell 
the  innermost  thoughts  of  his  subjects,  —  thoughts  that  they 
dared  not  express  to  their  most  intimate  friends,  or  even 
breathe  them  aloud  to  the  winds.  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez 


54  PARAGUAY. 

improved  on  this  by  adding  the  power  of  the  confessional  to 
his  other  enginery  of  power.  The  priests  were  all  required 
/  to  confess  to  him,  or  rather  to  reveal  to  him  all  the  secrets 
^that  they  could  draw  from  the  penitents  who  confessed  to 
them.  They  were  particularly  charged  to  question  those  who 
confessed  in  regard  to  matters  of  a  political  nature,  and  learn 
what  were  their  sentiments  towards  the  government.  And  of 
the  secrets  thus  obtained  the  priests  dared  not  make  a  false 
report  to  Lopez ;  for  if  by  other  means  he  learned  that  one  of 
them  had  been  deceiving  him,  the  father  confessor  was  treated 
with  no  more  consideration  than  a  common  thief. 

Paraguay,  from  its  first  settlement,  never  departed  from  the 
"  age  of  faith."  Neither  doubt  nor  free  thinking  in  regard  to 
spiritual  affairs  ever  perplexed  the  people,  but  in  all  religious 
matters  they  accepted  the  words  of  the  fathers  as  the  unques- 
tionable truth.  Unfortunately,  the  priests  were,  with  scarcely 
an  exception,  lazy  and  profligate.  It  was  little  shame  to  a 
priest  to  be  credited  with  a  numerous  progeny  among  his  pa- 
rishioners. Yet  the  people  \vere  so  superstitious  and  credu- 
lous they  feared  to  disobey  them  or  reserve  anything  which 
they  might  be  required  to  confess.  Nevertheless,  from  the 
system  of  vicarious  punishment  that  was  adopted,  people  would 
sometimes,  to  save  their  friends,  postpone  confessions  that 
would  affect  their  families  till  they  believed  their  final  hour 
had  come  ;  and  then  they  feared  to  reserve  anything.  Such 
occasions  were  taken  to  extort  frcm  them  their  real  sentiments 
towards  Lopez,  his  family  and  his  government,  and  also  to  learn 
the  feelings  of  all  those  most  loved  whom  they  were  to  leave 
behind  them.  On  information  thus  obtained  the  President 
would  persecute  in  various  ways  such  as  had  ever  ventured  to 
repine  under  his  despotic  rule ;  and  so  well  aware  were  the 
better  class  of  people  of  this  power  over  them  that  they  tried 
to  repress,  and  refused  to  acknowledge  to  themselves,  all  feel- 
ings of  resentment  or  discontent.  Though  they  did  not 
attribute  to  Lopez  the  supernatural  gifts  they  had  ascribed  to 
Francia,  they  knew  that  he  had  a  means  more  effective  than 
the  Dictator  ever  possessed  for  finding  out,  sooner  or  later, 


BISHOP    URBIETA. 


55 


their  innermost  thoughts.^  When  Francisco  Solano  Lopez 
became  the  head  of  the  government,  he  had  this  terrible 
machinery  of  power  over  the  minds  and  thoughts  of  his  sub- 
jects ready  fitted  to  his  hands.  As  subordinate  to  and  in  the 
confidence  of  Carlos  Antonio,  he  had  learned  how  to  effectu- 
ally use  it. 

The  Bishop  of  Paraguay  at  the  time  of  Francisco's  election 
as  President,  Juan  Gregorio  Urbieta,  was  very  old  and  infirm. 
He  was  a  simple-minded,  inoffensive  man,  who  had  spent  a 
great  part  of  his  life  in  reading  the  works  of  the  early  Fathers, 
and  never  pretended  to  question  the  right  of  the  government 
to  render  his  spiritual  functions  entirely  subordinate  to  the 
temporal  authority.  In  his  later  years  he  had  little  to  do 
except  to  officiate  at  high  mass  on  public  occasions,  leaving  all 
parochial  measures  to  the  suffragan  bishop,  Manuel  Antonio 
Palacios.  The  latter  for  some  time  previous  to  the  death  of 
Carlos  Antonio  was  the  most  confidential  friend  and  adviser 
of  the  young  Francisco,  and  continued  so  for  several  years 
afterwards.  He  was  consecrated  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1862  as  suffragan  bishop,  with  the  right  of  succession  as 
bishop  when  a  vacancy  should  occur.  He  had  been  recom- 
mended to  the  Pope  for  this  office  by  the  elder  Lopez  at  the 
solicitation  of  the  younger,  for  no  other  reason,  so  far  as  was 
known,  than  that,  of  all  the  priests  in  Paraguay,  he  was  the 
most  abject  and  servile  flatterer  of  the  heir  expectant.  His 
education  was  very  limited  and  his  appearance  sinister  and 
forbidding.  He  was  never  accused  of  a  good  act,  and  had  the 
credit  of  always  advising  the  most  sanguinary  measures  and 
the  most  cruel  treatment  of  prisoners,  both  natives  and 
foreigners.  Yet  he  had  considerable  volubility,  and  on  formal 
occasions,  when  his  Excellency  was  in  attendance,  had  the 
honor  of  preaching  before  him.  His  sermons  were  the  bald- 
est blasphemy,  and  entirely  devoted  to  the  praise  of  Lopez, 
and  to  instructing  the  people  in  their  duties  towards  him. 
Lopez  having  been  set  over  them  by  God  as  their  ruler,  it 
was  their  duty  to  devote  their  lives,  their  labors,  and  their 
fortunes  to  him,  to  count  nothing  a  sacrifice  that  he  might 


56  PARAGUAY. 

require,  as  for  all  they  did  to  exalt  and  strengthen  him  they 
would  be  rewarded,  both  in  this  world  and  in  the  life  to  come. 
A  few  months  before  the  death  of  Bishop  Urbieta,  a  pam- 
phlet was  published  as  coming  from  him,  that  was  intended  to 
impress  on  the  people  similar  ideas  of  their  relations  to  Lopez 
to  those  which  Palacios  preached  in  his  sermons.  It  was  a 
modified  copy  of  a  work  called  the  Catechism  of  San  Alberto, 
Bishop  of  Tucuman,  first  published  in  1784,  and  was  intended 
to  instruct  people  on  the  "principal  obligations  that  the  vas- 
sal owes  to  his  king  and  lord."  The  doctrines  of  this  cate- 
chism are  such  as  were  held  by  crowned  heads  three  hundred 
years  ago,  but  which  no  monarch  of  the  present  age  would 
venture  to  avow.  The  king  is  declared  to  rule  by  Divine 
Right,  and  under  no  circumstances  is  the  subject  to  know  any 
other  rule  of  action  but  unquestioned  implicit  obedience  to 
royal  authority.  A  bad  king  and  a  good  one  are  to  be  obeyed 
with  equal  respect  and  deference,  and  the  innocent  man  con- 
demned to  death  should  not  only  submit  to  his  fate  without  a 
murmur,  but  mount  the  gallows  and  adjust  the  rope  around  his 
own  neck  with  cheerfulness  and  alacrity.* 

*  "  The  state  by  its  organization  cannot  tolerate  nor  leave  unpunished  offences, 
especially  those  which  tend  to  annihilate  religion,  which  has,  since  its  happy 

union  with  the  state,  become  its  first  fundamental  law The  prison,  then, 

exile,  forced  service,  the  scourge,  confiscation,  fire,  the  scaffold,  the  knife,  and 
death  in  whatever  form,  are  penalties  justly  put  in  force  against  the  disobedient 
vassal 

"  Q.  Is  the  vassal  obliged  to  accept  and  suffer  the  penalties  ? 

"  A.  Yes  ;  for  they  are  just  and  ordained  by  law. 

"  Q.  Is  he  bound  to  execute  them  himself? 

"A.  Yes  ;  except  the  gravest  or  those  of  a  capital  kind. 

"  Q.  And  must  he  aid  indirectly  to  execute  even  these  ? 

"A.  Yes  ;  to  show  that  he  accepts  and  suffers  them  patiently. 

"  Q.  What  is  meant  by  aiding  indirectly  ? 

"A.  To  mount  the  scaffold  to  be  hung,  or  bare  the  throat  to  the  axe  if  be- 
headed for  crime." 

[In  the  Introduction  to  the  Paraguayan  edition,  it  is  noted  that  "  teachers  will 
take  pains  to  explain  to  the  children  that  in  the  word  king  every  supreme  magis- 
trate is  comprehended."  The  old  Bishop  Urbieta  adds  a  charge  to  all  priests, 
teachers,  parents,  and  other  citizens,  in  which  he  declares  that  God  has  inspired 
the  supreme  government  with  the  idea  of  reprinting  this  treatise.] 

"  Q.  May  the  king  impose  laws  upon  his  vassals  ? 


BISHOP   PALACIOS.  57 

The  inculcation  of  such. doctrines  was  a  part  of  the  prep- 
arations for  war  and  for  the  new  empire,  and  was  carried  on 
pari  passu  with  the  importation  of  arms  and  the  increase  of 
the  army.  The  people  in  their  innocence  and  ignorance  were 
taught  to  believe  that  anything  like  defection  was  an  unpar- 
donable sin,  and  that  if  they  perished  in  executing  the  orders 
of  Lopez  they  would  pass  at  once  to  a  state  of  unending  bliss. 
Among  the  papers  taken  by  the  allies  after  the  defeat  of 
Lopez  at  Lomas  Valentinas,  in  December,  1868,  was  found  a 
letter  written  to  him  by  the  bishop,  and  dated  at  Paso  de  la 
Patria,  November  24,  1865.  That  no  one  may  think  I  have 
exaggerated  in  portraying  the  character  of  Lopez  and  his 
bishop,  or  in  representing  the  base  uses  that  were  made  of  the 
confessional,  I  give  an  extract  from  this  remarkable  letter  :  — 

"  I  feel,  excellent  sir,  great  satisfaction  at  seeing  that  all  my  com- 
munications have  been  agreeable  to  your  Excellency.  '  The  love  of 
Christianity  and  true  patriotism  which  has  been  developed  in  this 

"A.  Yes  ;  for  God  has  given  him  legislative  power  over  them. 

"  Q.  Can  he  impose  laws  which  shall  be  binding  upon  their  consciences  ? 

"A.  Yes  ;  according  to  the  saying  of  the  Apostle  :  'Be  ye  subject,  not  only  for 
fear  of  wrath,  but  also  through  conscientious  obligation.' 

"  Q.  That  laws  may  be  binding,  is  it  necessary  that  they  be  generally  known  ? 

"  A.  No  ;  for  in  that  case  they  would  rarely  be  binding,  as  it  is  not  easy  for 
them  to  reach  the  knowledge  of  all. 

"  Q.  Must  the  promulgation  of  the  laws  be  made  in  all  the  cities  of  the  realm  ? 

"  A.  It  is  not  necessary,  and  it  is  enough  if  it  be  d9ne  at  the  court  or  another 
customary  place. 

"  Q.  For  laws  to  become  binding,  is  it  necessary  that  the  people  accept  them  ? 

"  A.  No  ;  for  that  would  be  to  govern  according  to  their  own  will  rather  than 
by  that  of  the  sovereign. 

"  Q.  When  the  law  seems  burdensome,  what  must  the  vassal  do  ? 

"A.  Obey,  and  humbly  prefer  his  petition. 

"  Q.  Is  it  a  sin  to  murmur  against  or  speak  evil  of  kings  and  magistrates  ? 

"  A.  Yes  ;  for  God  says  :  '  Thou  shalt  not  murmur  against  thy  Gods,  nor  curse 
the  Prince  of  thy  people.' 

"  Q.  What  kind  of  a  sin  is  it  ? 

"A.  A  mortal  one,  if  upon  a  serious  subject;  or  venial,  if  upon  a  light  matter. 

"  Q.  Does  he  who  speaks  evil  of  his  minisrlrs  speak  evil  of  the  king  ? 

"  A.  Yes  ;  for  they  are  his  envoys  and  represent  his  person. 

"  Q.  Whom  does  he  despise,  who  expresses  contempt  for  the  king  or  his  minis- 
ters ? 

"  A.  He  despises  God,  who  says  :  '  He  who  despises  you  despises  me.' " 


58  PARAGUAY. 

division  will,  when  the  time  comes,  make  all  the  soldiers  fight  with 
such  self-abnegation  and  heroism  as  will  enable  us  to  save  the  coun- 
try and  triumph  over  our  enemies.  With  the  desire  to  excite  this 
spirit,  and  with  much  success,  we  are  continuing  our  pastoral  labors 
with  all  possible  care  and  force,  omitting  no  measure  or  diligence, 
using  the  power  and  influence  of  the  Holy  Religion,  whose  repre- 
sentation and  ministry  have  been  confided  to  us  by  God  among  this 
chosen  portion  of  the  flock  of  Jesus  Christ  of  our  dear  country, 
with  the  end  of  directing  it  in  the  path  of  justice,  good  order,  and 
patriotism.  It  has  been  with  no  small  difficulty,  excellent  sir,  that 
we  have  labored  with  a  people  so  unwarlike  as  ours  ;  but  happily 
this  difficulty  we  have  now  overcome  and  made  to  almost  disappear 
by  the  words  of  evangelical  truth,  and  by  means  of  the  confessional, 
in  which  daily  we  are  engaged  confessing  hundreds  of  soldiers,  dis- 
posing and  fortifying  them  for  the  struggle,  and  making  them  to 
understand  with  the  greatest  clearness,  that  those  who  give  their 
lives  in  the  combat  for  their  country  will  be  recompensed  and  eter- 
nally rewarded  by  the  Eternal  Creator,  according  to  those  words  of 
St.  Paul,  '  Reposta  est  mihi  corona  justicice  quam  redet  mihi  domi- 
nus.'  All  this  inspires  us  with  the  strong  belief,  that,  although  the 
enemy  may  appear  with  a  greater  and  more  powerful  array,  still  it 
will  only  be  necessary  to  animate  our  troops,  who,  by  their  secure 
confidence  in  God,  will  certainly  prove  superior  in  force  and  valor, 
as  says  and  affirms  the  soldier  King,  who  was  fashioned  after  the 
will  of  God,  '  Non  timebo  milla  populi  circumdantis  me.'  " 

The  priest  who  enjoyed  more  of  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  Carlos  Antonio  and  of  his  wife  than  any  other  at  the  time 
of  the  old  man's  decease  was  the  Padre  Fidel  Maiz.  He 
was  then  at  the  head  of  the  college  at  which  the  candidates 
for  orders  were  educated,  and  it  was  supposed  he  was  to  be 
the  bishop  to  succeed  Urbieta.  He  was  the  trusted  friend 
and  confessor  of  the  Lady  President,  and  was  considered 
a  man  of  spotless  character.  He  was  the  only  one  of  all 
the  priests  in  Paraguay,  so  far  as  I  had  any  knowledge  of 
them,  who  was  respected  for  his  morality.  He  was  about  the 
age  of  Francisco  Solano,  and  was  early  distinguished  for 
his  application  and  scholarship.  The  old  President  re- 
spected him  for  his  talents,  learning,  and  correct  deport- 


THE  PRIEST  FIDEL  MAIZ.  CQ 

ment,  and  the  old  lady  for  his  piety.  His  superiority  to  the 
other  youths  of  Paraguay  provoked  very  early  the  jealousy 
and  envy  of  young  Lopez.  His  mental  accomplishments, 
however,  were  not  so  offensive  to  the  heir  apparent  as  his  phys- 
ical advantages  over  him.  He  was  tall  and  graceful,  with  a 
fair,  open  countenance,  whereas  Lopez  was  short  and  stout, 
with  features  that  were  neither  handsome  nor  agreeable. 
Padre  Maiz  was  the  favorite  confessor  of  the  venerable  madres 
and  the  young  senoritas,  and  Lopez  was  jealous  of  his  popu- 
larity with  them. 

On  the  death  of  the  old  President,  Padre  Maiz  was  imme- 
diately arrested,  thrown  into  prison  with  heavy  fetters  on  his 
ankles,  and  subjected  to  other  most  cruel  indignities.  He 
was  kept  in  solitary  confinement  with  a  sentinel  at  his  door, 
who  threw  him  his  coarse  food  as  to  a  wild  beast.  The 
charge  alleged  against  him,  as  published  in  the  Scmanario, 
was  that  he  had  taught  heretical  doctrines  to  his  pupils. 
Many  other  priests  were  arrested  about  the  same  time,  be- 
sides several  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Asuncion,  and  all 
thrown  into  prison  ;  and  soon  after  it  was  given  out  by  those 
who  were  understood  to  speak  by  authority,  that  Padre  Maiz 
had  been  detected  in  a  conspiracy  to  have  himself  elected 
President  instead  of  Francisco  Solano  Lopez.  He  was  sub- 
jected to  a  very  long  military  trial.  The  tribunal  before 
which  he  was  arraigned  was  presided  over  by  General  Wen- 
ceslao  Robles,  and  the  principal  prosecutor  was  Bishop  Pala- 
cios.  The  proceedings  were  all  secret,  but  no  one  doubted 
that  Maiz  was  horribly  tortured,  as  his  confessions,  or  the  re- 
ports of  them  that  were  put  in  circulation  with  the  govern- 
ment approval,  were  such  that  nobody  believed  them.  It  was 
said  that  this  priest,  who  had  been  considered  so  immaculate, 
so  pure  in  his  walk  and  conversation,  was  the  greatest  hypo- 
crite and  libertine  in  Paraguay,  and  that  when  brought  before 
the  tribunal  he  confessed  that  for  many  years  he  had 
been  given  up  to  debauchery,  and  had  been  the  first  to 
lead  astray  scores  of  innocent  young  women.  The  verdict 
of  the  tribunal  was  never  made  public  ;  but  as  the  govern- 


60  PARAGUAY. 

ment  was  at  such  pains  to  establish  his  infamy,  no  one 
supposed  he  would  ever  leave  his  prison  alive.  Yet  he  was 
permitted  to  live  till  long  after  the  war  commenced,  and  was 
afterwards  taken  to  the  army  head-quarters  at  Paso  Pucu, 
where  he  was  treated  with  more  humanity,  and  after  a  time 
was  permitted  to  make  confession  to  the  President,  and  ask 
his  forgiveness.  What  his  real  offence  was,  no  one  knew. 
The  conspiracy  laid  to  his  charge  was  believed  to  be,  like  the 
conspiracies  of  Francia  and  the  elder  Lopez,  invented  as  a 
pretext  for  putting  obnoxious  people  out  of  the  way,  and 
the  people  were  never  informed  of  the  heretical  doctrines 
which  he  taught  his  pupils.  Lopez  had  now  begun  to  tire 
of  the  sycophancy  and  subserviency  of  Bishop  Palacios. 
The  war  was  not  progressing  favorably,  and  the  bishop, 
Madam  Lynch,  Colonel  Wisner,  and  others  who  had  been 
most  ardent  in  advising  him  to  begin  it,  were  very  much 
out  of  favor. 

About  this  time  Padre  Maiz  was  permitted  to  make  a  long 
written  confession  to  the  President,  which  was  published 
in  the  Scmanano  of  December  i,  1866.  In  this  he  does  not 
confess  to  any  specific  charge,  or  tell  what  particular  crime 
he  had  committed.  Probably  at  the  time  of  his  arrest  he 
was  unconscious  of  having  committed  any  ;  but  torture  such 
as  Lopez  knew  how  to  inflict,  as  we  shall  have  frequent  oc- 
casion hereafter  to  show,  could  extort  confession  of  crimes 
before  unthought  of.  After  the  publication  of  this  document 
Maiz  seemed,  greatly  to  the  disgust  of  Palacios,  to  regain  the 
favor  of  the  President  very  fast.  He  had  supplanted  the 
bishop  by  his  idolatrous  confession,  by  his  blasphemies  that 
were  enough  to  make  an  atheist  shudder. 

I  make  no  apology  for  the  long  extracts  that  I  give  from 
this  remarkable  confession. 

"EXPRESSION   OF  GRATITUDE. 

"  '  Be  ye  thankful.'  —  Colossians  iii.  15. 

"  Would  that  I  might  consign  to  an  eternal  oblivion  the  sad 
antecedents  of  my  grave  and  numerous  political  and  moral  faults, 


CONFESSION  OF  MAIZ.  6r 

which  brought  upon  myself  the  avenging  action  of  the  law  and 
the  just  indignation  of  the  offended  people,  so  as  not  to  renew 
along  with  their  recollection  the  fatal  ideas  of  so  great  aberrations 
and  such  shameful  enormities 

"  But  it  is  not  possible ;  they  are,  and  will  be,  publicly  known 
until  the  latest  generation.  Let  it  be  so  !  It  is  just !  .... 

"  Prematurely  possessed  by  the  pernicious  and  perverse  ideas  of 
a  false  and  gilded  liberty,  which  is  really  only  license  or  insubordi- 
nation and  the  unchaining  of  all  the  passions,  ....  victim  of  those 
most  odious  principles  of  dissolution  and  detestable  systems  of  a 
fictitious  liberalism  which  amount  to  nothing  but  the  ignoring  or 
practical  negation  of  all  respect  and  obedience  to  the  constituted 
authorities,  ....  the  natural  effects  of  these  things  were  in  me 
very  visible  and  alarming. 

"  Disordered  affections,  vanity,  envy,  evil  inclinations,  ambition, 
pride,  error,  and  vice  governed  me  even  without  my  knowing  it,  and 
inclined  me  forcibly  to  irreligion,  to  libertinism  and  moral  relaxa- 
tion ;  so  that  my  heart  and  my  understanding  remained  profoundly 
vitiated,  and,  so  to  speak,  radically  perverted  in  the  very  morning 
of  my  existence. 

"  Unhappy  wretch  that  I  was !  how  could  I  have  avoided  it  ? 
It  was  impossible ;  the  first  guides  of  my  spirit,  —  I  mean  those 
charged  with  my  education  and  training,  those  authorized  to  instil 
into  my  soul  the  sound  principles  of  social  science,  which  defines 
for  man  his  rights  and  duties,  and  the  pure  morality  of  the  eternal 
Gospel,  which  conducts  man,  through  the  faithful  fulfilment  of  his 
obligations  toward  God  its  ultimate  end,  to  make  me  happy,  not  only 
in  time,  but  in  eternity,  —  it  was  precisely  they  who  caused  me  to  drink 
at  the  fountain  the  fatal  principle  or  fundamental  root  of  all  my 
aberrations,  misfortunes,  and  miseries,  the  lack  of  respect  to  the 
Supreme  Authority,  disaffection  towards  my  country  and  its  govern- 
ment, and  hatred  of  the  laws  which  form  the  basis  of  the  political 
administration  of  the  Republic,  regarding  them,  even  without  know- 
ing them,  as  retrograde,  anti-liberal,  and  tyrannical. 

"  Who  could  bring  me  forth  from  such  a  deplorable  state  ?  How 
could  a  stop  be  put  to  those  indefinable  aspirations  of  my  heart,  and 
cut  short  my  wild  chase  after  the  madness  of  the  age  ?  None  but  the 
very  God  of  Heaven,  —  none  but  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ,  who 
occupies  His  place  upon  earth Only  He  was  able  to  call  to 


62  PARAGUAY. 

me  with  his  sovereign  voice,  as  to  another  Lazarus  :  Come  forth  ! 
....  only  He  (Lopez)  has  known  how  not  to  break  the  bruised  reed, 
and  not  to  quench  the  smoking  flax ;  ....  only  He  has  been  able, 
finally,  to  convert  me  from  the  error  of  my  -way,  to  save  my  soul  from 
death,  and  cover  the  multitude  of  my  transgressions. 

"Who  but  a  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ,  full  of  mildness  and 
suavity,  and  employing  with  the  most  surprising  skill  all  the  re- 
sources of  the  most  intimate  knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  —  of  the 
most  consummate  knowledge  in  all  branches  of  science,  whether 
religious  and  moral,  historic  and  social,  philosophical  and  juridical, 
canonical  and  civil,  sacred  and  profane,  —  could  cause  that  where 
sin  abounded  grace  should  much  more  abound,  that  as  sin  reigned  to 
death,  so  also  may  grace  reign  through  justice  to  eternal  life  ?  .  .  .  . 

"  O  the  grace  !  the  ineffable  grace  of  my  pardon  and  liberation  ! 
How  can  I  esteem  it  or  even  admire  it  sufficiently  ?  .  .  .  .  There 
are  no  examples  in  history,  there  are  no  images  in  nature,  there  are 
no  colors  in  art,  there  are  no  figures  nor  flowers  in  rhetoric,  ade- 
quate to  describe  and  appreciate  this  most  singular  grace  as  it  really 
is,  and  its  reality  can  only  be  believed  by  considering  the  amazing 
magnanimity  of  soul,  and  the  actions,  all  of  them  so  rarely  and 
wonderfully  glorious  and  noble,  of  him  who  has  granted  that  pardon. 

"  Let  us  pray  continually  that  his  precious  and  never- to-be-re- 
placed existence  may  be  spared  for  ages  and  cycles  of  ages.  Let 
his  immortal  Name  resound  unceasingly  from  our  lips ;  let  his 
glorious  image  abide  forever  at  the  bottom  of  our  hearts ;  let  his 
august  Person  be  the  entire  object  of  our  contemplations  ;  let  us 
think  in  Him,  think  with  Him,  think  by  Him,  let  us  not  sleep,  let 
us  not  wake,  but  under  the  sweet  and  vivifying  influence  and  under 
the  beneficient  and  refreshing  shade  of  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ, 
who  is  so  justly  the  glory,  the  honor,  and  the  joy  of  his  country, 
its  only  and  entire  hope. 

"  Full  of  gratitude,  of  respect  and  love,  let  us  venerate,  applaud, 
and  exalt  this  prodigiously  Divine  Being,  this  Guardian  Angel,  this 
Anointed  of  our  people  whom  the  Lord  has  given  us  in  pledge  of 
his  divine  paternal  protection,  and  of  that  adorable  Supreme  Provi- 
dence which  watches  ever  for  the  preservation  of  innocent  and  in- 
offensive nations  like  Paraguay,  to  insure  their  happiness. 


PADRE  MAIZ  REINSTATED.  63 

"  Saint  Bernard  used  to  say  he  had  no  pleasure  in  reading  or  in 
conversation  unless  the  name  of  Jesus  were  perpetually  used  ;  that 
Jesus  is  honey  in  the  mouth,  melody  in  the  ear,  and  joy  in  the  heart. 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  as  much,  for  my  own  part,  concerning  him 
who  holds  His  place  among  our  people 

"  Ah !  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ  is  for  me  more  than  for  any 
other  Paraguayan  a  true  Father  and  Saviour ;  and  for  the  same 
reason  he  is  also  for  me  very  especially  the  only  object  of  the  new 
affections  of  my  converted  heart.  May  He  deign  to  look  ever  pro- 
pitiously upon  his  prodigal  son  prostrate  at  his  feet 

"  FIDEL  MAIZ. 
"  ENCAMPMENT  OF  PASO  Pucu,  November  17,  1866." 

After  making  this  confession,  Padre  Maiz  succeeded  in 
gradually  supplanting  the  bishop  in  the  esteem  of  the  Presi- 
dent, until  at  last  he  had  the  satisfaction,  some  two  years  later, 
of  seeing  the  consecrated  representative  of  the  Pope  led  out 
to  execution  and  shot  like  a  malefactor.* 

*  Padre  Maiz  survived  Lopez,  having  been  taken  prisoner  in  the  last  battle  of 
the  war  in  which  Lopez  was  slain.  He  probably  can  give  more  information  than 
all  other  persons  living  in  regard  to  many  things  that  appear  mysterious  and 
utterly  inexplicable  to  everybody  else.  He  may  perhaps  explain  why  Lopez 
killed  so  many  of  those  who  were,  as  all  supposed,  his  most  faithful  and  able  offi- 
cers. He  may  tell,  too,  why  he  killed  his  brothers,  and  flogged  and  otherwise  tor- 
tured his  mother  and  his  sisters.  He  may  also  possibly  be  able  to  tell  whether 
or  not  Lopez  ever  believed  in  the  existence  of  the  conspiracy  which  he  pretended 
to  discover,  and  for  alleged  complicity  with  which  so  many  hundreds  were 
tortured  and  executed. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Departure  of  the  Paraguayan  Fleet  from  Asuncion.  —  Arrival  at  Humaita. — 
The  English  Engineer,  John  Watts.  —  Admiral  Mesa.  —  The  Battle  of  Ria- 
chuelo.  —  Confusion.  —  The  Pilot  of  the  Amazonas.  —  Defeat  of  the  Para- 
guayans. —  Rewards  of  Merit. 

ON  the  8th  of  June  the  Paraguayan  fleet  was  ready  for 
departure  from  Asuncion.  The  President  himself  was 
to  go  with  it  as  far  as  Humaita,  where  he  was  to  disem- 
bark, as  he  had  caused  his  Congress  to  pass  a  resolution 
that  he  should  not  leave  the  country.  The  day  was  one  of 
great  excitement  in  the  capital,  and  the  whole  population  were 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  to  witness  the  embarkation.  It  was 
known  that  the  President  was  going  away,  and  everybody 
knew  that  it  would  be  construed  into  an  unpardonable  affront 
not  to  be  present  and  show  an  interest  in  so  great  an  event. 
The  whole  population  was  accordingly,  from  an  instinct  of 
danger,  gathered  near  the  river  to  witness  the 'scene.  It  had 
been  given  out  that  the  fleet  would  sail  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  ;  but  the  morning  had  been  taken  up  with  a  long 
mass  in  the  church,  and  afterwards  by  a  reception  in  the 
Palace,  where  all  the  military  and  civil  functionaries  paid  their 
respects  in  turn,  and  so  many  addresses  were  made  and  an- 
swered that  the  hours  passed  by  unheeded  till  it  was  nearly 
night.  In  the  mean  while,  however,  the  troops  that  were  to 
accompany  the  expedition,  four  thousand  in  number,  were 
being  embarked.  This,  with  the  facilities  at  hand,  was  a  slow 
operation  ;  and  as  most  of  them  had  friends  and  relations 
among  the  crowd,  there  was  much  leave-taking  that  still  fur- 
ther delayed  the  embarkation.  But  as  the  twilight  had  begun 
to  gather  the  President's  carriage  made  its  appearance,  followed 
by  several  others  in  which  rode  the  Vice-President,  the  gov- 
ernment ministers,  the  members  of  the  Marshal's  staff,  and 


THE   ENGLISHMAN'S   PLAN    OF   BATTLE.  65 

other  noted  characters.  At  a  little  distance  from  the  mole 
they  descended  from  the  carnages ;  and  the  crowd  falling  back 
and  opening  the  way,  they  marched  in  awful  dignity  and 
silence  to  the  river,  and  were  conveyed  on  board  in  funereal 
grandeur.  Some  slight  attempts  at  a  cheer  or  viva  were  made, 
but  I  never  yet  heard  a  Paraguayan  attempt  a  cheer  that  he 
did  not  "  back  recoil,  he  knew  not  why,  e'en  at  the  sound 
himself  had  made."  Like  Macbeth's  amen,  the  viva  always 
seemed  to  stick  in  their  throats. 

It  was  not  till  eleven  o'clock  that  the  fleet  started  ;  and 
before  this  hour  the  people  had  generally  stolen  off  to  their 
homes,  tired  and  disappointed.  The  scenic  effect  that  had 
been  counted  on  was  nearly  all  lost  from  over-punctilio :  a  bad 
omen,  as  it  showed  poor  management  and  worse  calculation 
on  the  part  of  the  Marshal  President,  that  augured  but  ill  for 
the  success  of  the  expedition. 

The  fleet  reached  Humaita  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  second  day.  On  the  way  down  the  President  called 
the  chief  engineer  of  the  steamer  on  which  he  and  his  staff 
had  taken  passage,  —  the  flag-ship  Tacuari,  —  and  so  far  con- 
descended as  to  ask  his  opinion  regarding  the  best  way  to  at- 
tack the  Brazilian  squadron.  The  engineer,  an  Englishman  by 
the  name  of  John  Watts,  and  an  intelligent  man,  had  formerly 
been  employed  in  a  similar  capacity  in  the  Brazilian  service, 
and,  knowing  the  character  of  the  Brazilians,  replied  that,  in 
his  opinion,  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  take  their  entire 
squadron.  His  plan  was  for  the  Paraguayan  vessels  to  run 
down  near  the  enemy  in  the  night,  and  just  at  break  of  day, 
as  soon  as  they  could  be  fairly  seen,  each  Paraguayan  vessel 
should  select  its  antagonist,  and  run  full  head  upon  it  and 
board  it  instantly.  For  this  each  Paraguayan  vessel  should 
have  three  or  four  times  as  many  men  aboard  as  the  steamer 
it  was  to  attack,  and  as  the  enemy  would  be  caught  with 
banked  or  extinguished  fires,  and  probably  most  of  the  men 
asleep,  their  fleet  would  be  destroyed  and  themselves  prisoners 
before  they  could  make  any  resistance.  The  President  then 
asked  if  the  Brazilians  were  as  brave  as  the  Paraguayans.  The 


66  PARAGUAY. 

engineer  replied  that  they  were  not ;  that  naturally  they  were 
great  cowards ;  and  that  the  Brazilian  Admiral  Barroso  was 
one  of  the  most  arrant  poltroons  he  had  ever  seen.  Watts 
had  been  in  the  Brazilian  expedition  against  Paraguay  in 
1855,  and  had  seen  how  that  whole  squadron  of  nineteen  ves- 
sels had  been  stopped  at  Cerrito  by  twenty-eight  men,  when 
there  were  no  fortifications  there,  and  that  through  sheer 
cowardice  the  design  of  the  whole  expedition  was  defeated. 
Only  one  steamer  passed  up  to  Asuncion,  and  then  the  elder 
Lopez  managed  to  outwit  the  Brazilian  Envoy,  Leal,  and  ob- 
tain such  delay  in  the  settlement  of  the  pending  questions, 
that,  when  Brazil  thought  to  renew  her  forcible  attempts  at 
adjustment,  Humaita  was  strongly  fortified. 

The  plan  of  the  engineer  was  simple  and  feasible,  and  if 
followed  would  doubtless  have  been  a  complete  success.  But 
it  was  a  defect  in  the  character  of  the  great  Lopez  that  he 
knew  too  much,  —  so  much  that  he  could  never  receive  a  hint 
or  suggestion  from  anybody.  His  own  plan  and  what  came 
of  it  we  shall  soon  see. 

The  troops  were  disembarked  at  Humaita  on  the  gth,  and 
on  the  loth  those  who  were  to  take  part  in  the  coming  action 
were  re-embarked.  They  consisted  of  some  eight  hundred 
men  besides  the  crews  ;  and  nine  steamers,  being  nearly  all  that 
Paraguay  possessed,  were  ordered  to  take  part  in  the  battle. 
Their  names  were  as  follows  :  Tacuari  (flag-ship),  Paraguari, 
Igurey,  Marques  de  Olinda,  Salto  Oriental,  Ipora,  Peribebui, 
Jejui,  and  Ibera.  The  admiral  of  this  squadron  was  Pedro  I. 
Mesa,  a  man  whose  only  merit  was  the  one  that  would  have 
commended  him  to  Julius  Caesar,  —  he  was  fat.  He  had  long 
been  the  flag-officer  of  the  Paraguayan  squadron,  but  he  was  as 
ignorant  of  naval  warfare  as  a  Guaicuru  Indian.  He  was  not 
only  fat,  but  he  was  old  and  sick.  He  knew  he  was  unfit  for 
his  position,  and  had  desired  to  be  relieved  from  it.  But  he 
was  not  allowed  to  retire,  and  was  sent  in  command  of  this 
expedition.  What  his  instructions  were  from  the  President  is 
unknown,  further  than  that  they  certainly  were  such  as  he 
attempted  to  follow,  as  he  knew  full  well  that  anything  short 


A  FATAL  DELAY.  67 

of  exact  and  implicit  obedience  could  only  be  atoned  for  with 
his  life.  The  plan  of  the  battle  should  therefore  be  ascribed 
to  President  Lopez,  though  he  never  claimed  it,  notwithstand- 
ing his  newspaper  claimed  a  great  victory. 

At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  nth  of  June  the  fleet 
steamed  away  from  Humaita,  the  Marques  de  Olinda  taking 
the  lead.  With  moderate  haste  it  should  have  been  at  the 
Tres  Bocas  an  hour  later,  but  with  an  alacrity  of  slowness 
shown  throughout  the  battle  it  did  not  reach  there  till  5  A.  M. 
Here  were  in  waiting  six  gunboats,  or  rather  launches,  each 
having  on  board  a  sixty-eight  pounder,  to  be  taken  in  tow  by 
the  steamers.  It  was  half  past  six  before  the  first  boat  got 
started  again.  But  it  had  not  been  under  way  more  than 
five  minutes  when  the  screw  of  one  of  the  steamers,  the  Ibera, 
got  out  of  gear,  and  all  were  signalled  to  anchor  again.  The 
engineer  of  the  flag-ship  was  ordered  to  go  on  board  and  see 
what  was  the  trouble  with  the  disabled  vessel.  When  half- 
way there,  it  occurred  to  the  admiral  that  he  wanted  his  own 
chief  engineer  to  remain  by  his  side,  in  case  anything  unex- 
pected might  occur.  So  he  hailed  him  to  return,  and  after- 
wards sent  the  engineer  of  the  Igurey  to  report  the  damage. 
The  "latter  accordingly  went  aboard  the  Ibera,  and  soon 
returned  and  reported  that  the  screw  propeller  was  detached 
from  the  shaft.  The  order  was  then  given  for  the  rest  of  the 
fleet  to  move  on,  leaving  the  Ibera  behind.  But  so  much 
time  had  been  consumed  by  the  pottering  operations  of  the 
admiral,  that  it  was  half  past  seven  in  the  morning  before  the 
fleet  started  again,  so  that  all  idea  of  a  surprise  of  the  enemy 
was  abandoned.  Had  the  Brazilians  been  anything  else  but 
Brazilians,  they  would  have  had  pickets  or  spies  on  the  lookout 
to  give  early  notice  of  any  such  attack  ;  but  being  such  as 
nature  and  their  lack  of  discipline  had  made  them,  they  were 
lying  idle  and  unprepared,  till  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
the  Paraguayan  fleet  was  seen  bearing  down  full  upon  them. 
The  steam  was  not  up  on  a  single  vessel,  and  for  immediate  ac- 
tion they  were  helpless  as  so  many  sailing  vessels.  The  Para- 
guayans, thanks  to  their  enemy's  supineness,  had  surprised 


68  PARAGUAY. 

them  ;  and  each  of  the  attacking  steamers,  having  on  a  full  head 
of  steam,  could  have  run  directly  at  a  Brazilian  and  cut  her  in 
two  amidships.  But  the  six  launches  in  tow,  with  their  sixty- 
eight-pounders,  which  the  military  genius  of  Paraguay  had  or- 
dered to  be  attached  as  a  drag  to  his  steamers,  so  that  no  such 
sensible  thing  should  be  done,  must  be  cast  adrift  if  an  attack 
of  this  kind  were  to  be  attempted.  But  the  admiral  did  not 
dare  to  cast  them  off  without  orders,  for  he  could  not  realize 
that  success  and  a  great  victory  would  atone  for  disobedience. 
The  Brazilians  were  anchored  near  the  right  or  Chaco  side 
of  the  river,  in  line  of  battle  ;  that  is,  one  below  the  other,  with 
the  main  anchor  at  the  prow  and  a  kedge  astern,  drawing 
the  after  part  against  the  current  and  towards  the  middle  of 
the  stream,  so  that  each  steamer  could  give  a  broadside  at 
long  range  to  any  vessel  approaching  from  above.  The  fleet 
consisted  of  nine  armed  steamers,  besides  one  small  transport. 
They  were  generally  of  much  heavier  tonnage  and  had  guns 
of  much  larger  calibre  than  the  Paraguayans,  and  for  the 
latter  to  attack  them  except  at  close  quarters  would  be  either 
stupidity  or  madness.  The  commander  of  the  Brazilian 
squadron  was  the  same  Barroso  who,  in  1855,  had  allowed 
his  entire  fleet  of  vessels  to  be  stopped  in  the  river  below 
Humaita,  at  a  time  when  that  place  had  scarcely  any  fortifica- 
tions and  but  twenty-eight  men  to  hold  them.  Had  he  been 
advised  that  the  Paraguayans  were  coming  in  time  to  get  up 
steam,  he  would  probably,  as  is  to  be  inferred  from  his  con- 
duct in  the  battle,  have  run  away  with  all  his  fleet ;  but  being 
surprised  he  could  not  do  that,  and  as  the  enemy  bore  clown 
towards  him  his  vessels  let  drive  their  broadsides.  Fortu- 
nately for  him,  the  Paraguayans,  instead  of  trying  to  run 
down  his  vessels,  kept  to  the  channel  of  the  river,  and  la- 
bored to  get  below  him,  as  if  their  object  was  to  pass  his  squad- 
ron, and  not  to  attack  it.  In  doing  this  the  Igurey  received 
a  shot  in  one  of  her  boilers  that  in  its  explosion  caused  the 
death  of  some  twenty  persons.  The  little  Jejui  also  received 
a  shot  in  her  only  boiler,  and  was  left  helpless  to  float  down 
the  stream.  But  with  these  slight  injuries  the  whole  fleet 


« RIACHUELO."  69 

passed  by,  and  was  just  where  it  ought  not  to  have  been,  that 
is,  below  the  Brazilian  squadron,  and  whence  not  one  of  them 
could  ever  return  except  through  the  fault  of  their  adversaries. 
As  they  passed,  the  Paraguayans  returned  the  fire  of  the 
Brazilians,  but  with  little  effect,  as  their  guns  were  small,  and, 
being  in  motion,  their  aim  was  wild. 

They  had  passed  the  Brazilian  squadron,  and  though  two 
vessels  had  been  disabled,  one  partially  and  the  other  wholly, 
none  had  been  lost.  They  were  below  their  enemies,  and 
apparently  entirely  cut  off  from  their  own  country.  On  the 
left  bank  of  the  river,  just  opposite  to  where  the  Brazilian 
fleet  was  anchored,  the  Paraguayans  had  previously  placed  a 
battery  of  flying  artillery.  This  battery  was  under  command 
of  General  Bruges,  an  officer  of  a  different  stamp  from  Ad- 
miral Mesa.  He  had  seen  the  squadron  pass  with  amazement, 
as  if  bent  on  its  own  destruction.  He  had  placed  his  bat- 
tery where  it  was,  for  the  reason  that  he  knew  the  Brazilian 
squadron,  though  lying  "in  deep  water  near  the  Chaco,  and  at 
so  long  a  distance  that  his  guns  could  do  them  little  injury, 
could  not  get  into  the  channel  below  without  going  higher  up 
to  make  a  turn,  and  thence  pass  him  within  short  range.  But 
when  he  saw  the  whole  Paraguayan  fleet  had  gone  below  the 
Brazilians,  he  naturally  thought  that  it  was  lost  unless  he 
could  cover  it  or  protect  it  with  his  artillery.  He  accordingly 
moved  below  with  all  possible  celerity,  and  took  a  position 
that  commanded  the  Riachuelo. 

Riacho  in  Spanish  means  a  little  river,  and  riachuelo  is  the 
further  diminutive,  that  means  simply  brook,  or  less  than  little 
river.  About  three  leagues  below  Corrientes,  one  of  these 
riachuelos  enters  the  main  river.  Just  below  where  it  joins 
the  main  current  is  a  bend  in  the  river,  and  between  the  Ria- 
chuelo and  the  projecting  angle  of  the  bend  there  is  formed  a 
deep,  broad  basin,  in  which  steamers  of  any  size  that  can 
ascend  so  far  have  ample  room  to  turn  or  otherwise  manoeu- 
vre. Just  above  this,  dividing  the  channel,  is,  at  low  water, 
an  island,  and  at  high  water  a  sand-bar.  This  point  of  the 
river,  within  the  bend  that  forms  the  deep  broad  basin,  is 


70  PARAGUAY. 

called  Riachuclo,  and  it  was  in  or  near  this  that  nearly  all  the 
fighting  took  place. 

After  having  passed  the  Brazilians,  Admiral  Mesa  seemed 
to  have  no  idea  what  he  was  next  to  do.  He  signalled  all  his 
steamers  to  stop  where  they  were,  and  called  on  board  the  com- 
manders of  the  Igurey  and  the  Marques  de  Olinda  to  consult 
with  them.  He  then  went  below  with  them,  and  might  have 
stayed  there  an  hour  if  he  had  not  been  hailed  to  his  duty  by  his 
chief  engineer,  who  told  him  that  the  Brazilians  were  getting  up 
steam  and  would  be  down  upon  them  shortly.  The  old  man 
then  said  they  must  try  and  get  back  at  night.  The  engineer, 
however,  told  him  that  would  be  fatal,  as  they  could  not  turn 
where  they  were,  and  their  only  chance  was  to  run  for  the 
Riachuelo,  where  they  could  turn  and  manoeuvre  so  as  to  be  in 
a  position  to  damage  the  Brazilians,  should  they  bear  down 
upon  them.  The  advice  was  taken,  and  the  whole  fleet  moved 
to  that  point  The  disabled  Jejui  drifted  of  itself  to  the  same 
place,  and  was  afterwards  taken  in  tow  by  another  steamer. 

The  two  fleets  had  thus  apparently  changed  places.  The 
Paraguayans,  now  below  their  enemies,  were  ranged  so  as  to 
give  battle  to  the  Brazilians  should  they  attempt  to  pass  them. 
Barroso  saw  himself  and  his  squadron  between  the  upper  and 
nether  millstone.  Why  had  those  terrible  Paraguayans  gone 
past  him,  except  to  cut  him  off,  capture  his  fleet,  and  take  him 
a  prisoner  to  share  the  dungeon  with  Carneiro  de  Campos  ? 
Evidently  he  was  a  lost  man,  and  with  a  resignation  com- 
mendable in  some  cases,  if  not  in  the  present,  he  retired  to  his 
cabin  to  reflect  on  the  mutability  of  human  affairs.  The  fleet, 
however,  having  got  the  steam  up,  moved  forward  and  turned 
downwards  into  the  main  channel  and  passed  below,  the  bat- 
tery of  Bruges  being  already  on  its  way  to  the  Riachuelo 
to  protect  the  Paraguayan  squadron.  The  Brazilians,  as  they 
steamed  down,  delivered  their  broadsides  at  the  Paraguayans, 
but  with  little  or  no  effect.  With  one  exception  they  all  kept 
the  outer  channel,  leaving  the  sand-bar  above  the  Riachuelo 
on  the  left,  and  scudding  by  as  if  running  a  blockade,  and  not 
fighting  a  battle.  Two  steamers,  however,  attempted  to  pass 


CONFUSION    IN   THE   BATTLE.  71 

through  the  inner  channel.  Unfortunately,  one  of  them,  the 
Jequitinhonha,  struck  on  the  sand-bar,  and  was  left  helpless 
under  the  guns  of  Bruges,  that  were  directly  opposite.  She 
was  soon  riddled  and  sunk.  The  other,  the  Paranahyba, 
passed  the  bar,  but  just  below  touched  the  shore  ;  and,  her 
stern  being  caught  by  the  current,  she  drifted  round,  and, 
dropping  down,  came  against  the  Tacuari,  so  that  the  two  lay 
side  by  side.  The  Paraguayans,  with  instinctive  courage,  in- 
stantly boarded,  while  most  of  the  crew  of  the  Paranahyba, 
being  under  no  discipline,  jumped  overboard.  At  the  same 
time  the  Marques  de  Olinda  came  up  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Paranahyba,  while  the  disabled  Jejui  lay  just  below,  so 
that  with  a  single  shot  she  might  have  disabled  the  rudder. 
But  by  this  time  the  Paranahyba  was  covered  with  Paraguay- 
ans, and  the  commander  of  the  Jejui  would  not  fire  for  fear  of 
injuring  his  own  people.  There  was,  however,  in  the  forward 
part  of  the  Paranahyba  a  considerable  number  who  had  not 
jumped  overboard,  and  who  made  so  good  a  defence  that  the 
Paraguayan  admiral  got  alarmed  and  attempted  to  go  below. 
Descending  from  the  bridge,  he  was  just  passing  to  his  cabin 
when  a  ball  struck  him  in  the  chest,  and  he  fell  mortally 
wounded.  Just  after  this  was  heard  the  order  of  an  officer 
of  the  Paranahyba  to  go  astern.  The  next  moment  he  was 
cut  down  by  a  Paraguayan  sabre.  The  order,  however,  was 
obeyed,  and  the  vessel  slipped  from  between  her  adversaries. 
The  admiral  of  the  Tacuari  being  mortally  wounded,  and  the 
next  in  command  being  dead  drunk  on  the  bridge,  a  lieuten- 
ant ordered  her  to  move  ahead.  It  was  fortunate  for  her  that 
she  did  so,  for  directly  after  the  Brazilian  flag-ship,  the  Arna- 
zonas,  that  had  passed  below,  was  seen  returning  at  full  speed, 
and,  converting  herself  into  a  ram,  was  running  down  one 
steamer  after  another  as  if  they  were  targets. 

The  Brazilian  admiral,  Barroso,  after  running  the  gantlet  of 
the  enemy  and  placing  his  vessel  below  so  as  to  be  at  a  disad- 
vantage, as  the  Paraguayan  admiral  had  just  done,  was  again, 
like  him,  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  But  two  of  the  steamers  were 
left  behind,  and  it  would  not  do  to  run  away  and  abandon 


72  PARAGUAY. 

them.  The  admiral,  was  too  frightened  to  give  an  order. 
He  sat  in  his  cabin,  literally  paralyzed  with  fear  and  unable 
to  speak.  When  appealed  to  by  a  subordinate  to  give  orders 
to  the  fleet,  he  sat  transfixed  and  speechless.  The  fleet,  how- 
ever, having  got  below  again,  turned  about  and  came  into 
position  and  steamed  back  among  the  Paraguayans.  It  was 
then  that  one  brave  man  changed  the  fate  of  the  day,  and 
converted  what  would  otherwise  have  been  a  shameful  defeat 
into  a  signal  victory.  This  was  an  Italian,  the  pilot  of  the 
Amazonas.  Seeing  everything  going  in  favor  of  the  Para- 
guayans and  no  one  to  give  orders,  he  took  the  responsibility 
of  acting  without  them.  First  he  drove  at  the  Paraguayri, 
one  of  .the  largest  and  best  of  the  Paraguayan  vessels.  She 
went  down  like  a  cockle-shell  before  the  huge  Amazonas  ; 
then  he  drove  at  the  Marques  de  Olinda ;  then  at  the  Salto, 
and  lastly  at  the  Jejui,  and  each  went  down  like  ships  of 
pasteboard.  The  launches,  with  the  sixty-eight  pounders, 
got  adrift  early  in  the  action.  Two  of  these  were  likewise 
run  down  by  the  Amazonas,  and  the  other  four  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Brazilians.  Two  of  the  Brazilian  steamers  gave 
chase  for  the  Tacuari  and  the  Igurey,  the  latter  keeping  in 
the  rear  to  protect  the  other,  that,  being  disabled  by  the  loss 
of  one  boiler,  could  make  but  little  headway.  The  pursuers 
could  with  difficulty  keep  in  the  rear  of  the  pursued  ;  so  with 
true  Brazilian  pluck  they  closed  their  port-holes  and  prepared 
to  defend  themselves  in  case  the  Paraguayans  should  try  to 
board  them,  keeping  always  behind,  and  firing  their  bow-chas- 
ers under  such  a  sense  of  danger  as  did  not  permit  them  to 
aim  near  the  mark.  With  a  commendable  prudence,  therefore, 
they  soon  gave  up  the  pursuit,  though  the  commandante  of 
the  Igurey,  Cabral,  now  flag-officer  of  the  squadron,  when 
arrived  opposite  Corrientes,  came  to  and  dropped  anchor,  as 
if  to  invite  them  to  attack  him.  But  with  that  better  part 
of  valor  called  discretion  they  declined  to  do  so,  and  soon 
turned  tail  and  returned  to  the  vicinity  of  the  flagship  to 
celebrate,  with  Admiral  Barroso,  their  great  courage  and 
great  victory. 


REWARDS  OF  MERIT.  73 

A  great  victory  it  was,  but  the  whole  credit  is  due  to  a 
subordinate  of  low  grade,  and  that  subordinate  not  a  Brazil- 
ian, but  a  countryman  of  Garibaldi.  Of  the  eight  Paraguayan 
vessels  that  took  part  in  the  fight,  four  returned,  all  more 
or  less  disabled.  That  these  were  saved  was  due  to  an 
English  engineer.  This  Englishman  for  his  services  received 
the  lowest  order  of  the  Decoration  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
But  he  was,  not  long  after,  for  some  slight  offence,  subjected 
to  three  months'  imprisonment,  and  three  years  after  was  ar- 
rested, tortured,  and  shot  as  a  traitor.  The  Italian  pilot  was 
rewarded  by  the  Emperor  with  a  present  of  five  hundred  gold 
ounces  and  the  commission  of  lieutenant-colonel. 

As  an  offset  to  this  act  of  magnanimity  and  justice  of  the 
Emperor,  it  should  be  stated  that  his  admiral,  who  had  slunk 
in  fear  from  the  battle,  was  promoted  to  a  higher  rank  in  the 
navy,  and  was  ennobled,  being  created  Baron  das  Amazonas. 
It  will  be  found  hereafter,  that,  with  scarcely  an  exception, 
whenever  a.ny  officer  high  in  position  and  authority  in  the 
Brazilian  service  disgraced  his  flag,  his  country,  and  himself  by 
acts  of  cowardice  or  imbecility  which  in  most  countries  would 
have  caused  him  to  be  cashiered,  if  not  shot,  he  was  promoted 
and  covered  with  benefits,  and  taken  to  his  Majesty's  bosom. 

The  Paraguayan  admiral  survived  his  wounds  but  a  short 
time.  Though  he  had  conducted  the  battle  very  unskilfully, 
and  shown  personal  fear,  he  had  displayed  less  cowardice  than 
Barroso.  But  had  he  lived  his  rewards  would  have  been  very 
different  from  those  which  his  antagonist  received.  He  would 
have  been  ignominiously  shot,  as  Lopez  himself  declared,  and 
as  thousands  of  others  were  during  the  war,  not  often  for 
cowardice,  but  for  not  doing  what  they  had  been  ordered  to 
perform.  A  miscarriage  or  failure  in  any  enterprise  could 
never  be  ascribed  te  the  erroneous  judgment  or  bad  combina- 
tion of  the  commander-in-chief,  but  the  blame  was  always 
laid  on  the  troops  sent  to  perform  it,  and  those  who  were  so 
fortunate  as  to  escape  alive  were  afterwards  remorsely  deci- 
mated and  shot  in  the  presence  of  their  companions. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Inaction  of  the  Brazilians.  —  Results  of  the  Battle  of  Riachuelo.  —  The  Cam- 
paign in  Corrientes.  —  General  Robles  suspected  of  Treason.  —  Espionage.  — 
Colonel  Alen.  —  Arrest,  Imprisonment,  and  Execution  of  General  Robles  and 
Others.  —  The  Campaign  in  Rio  Grande.  —  Capture  of  San  Borja  by  Estigar- 
ribia.  —  Battle  of  Arroyo  Mbutuy.  —  Movements  of  the  Allied  Forces.  —  Criti- 
cal Situation  of  Duarte.  —  Destruction  of  his  Army.  —  Estigarribia  summoned 
to  surrender.  —  Negotiations.  —  Capitulation  of  Estigarribia.  —  His  Character. 
—  Treatment  of  the  Prisoners.  —  Character  of  Robles.  —  Interview  with  the 
Marques  de  Caxias.  —  Reception  of  the  News  at  Asuncion.  —  Disappointment 
and  Rage  of  Lopez.  —  Public  Meetings.  —  Evacuation  of  Corrientes.  —  Re- 
moving the  Spoils.  —  The  Brazilian  Fleet.  —  Review  of  the  Campaign. 


the  result  of  this  battle  was  a  defeat  to  the 
JL  Paraguayans  and  a  loss  of  half  their  fleet,  yet  the  Bra- 
zilians failed  to  follow  up  their  success,  which  had  they  done, 
not  one  of  the  Paraguayan  vessels  would  ever  have  returned 
to  tell  the  tale  of  the  great  disaster.  The  Brazilians  in  this 
action,  as  in  many  others  that  occurred  during  the  war,  neg- 
lected to  improve  their  victory,  but  seemed  to  think  that, 
having  repulsed  the  enemy,  they  had  done  all  that  could  be 
expected  of  them,  and  that  nothing  further  was  demanded 
than  to  rest  on  their  laurels  and  wait  further  orders  and  pro- 
motions from  home.  A  slight  attempt  was  made,  however, 
two  days  after  the  battle,  to  recover  the  lost  steamer,  which 
was  one  of  the  best  of  the  squadron,  the  Jequitinhonha  ;  but 
the  battery  of  horse  artillery  that  hovered  along  the  bank  of 
the  river,  near  where  the  battle  took  place,  succeeded  m  driv- 
ing back  the  fleet,  and  the  Jequitinhonha,  the  Paraguari,  the 
Marques  de  Olinda,  and  the  Salto  were  left  where  they  had 
been  sunk  during  the  action.  So  supine  and  demoralized  did 
the  Brazilians  appear  to  have  been  rendered  by  the  battle, 
that  they  moved  down  the  river  as  if  afraid  of  another  attack. 


TREACHERY  OF  GENERAL  ROBLES.  75 

The  Paraguayans,  did  not  thus  abandon  what  they  had  lost, 
as  the  Brazilians  were  hardly  out  of  sight  when  parties  were 
sent  down  from  Corrientes  that  took  out  the  guns  and  what- 
ever else  was  valuable  which  had  been  left  on  the  Jequitin- 
honha  and  their  own  abandoned  steamers,  and  they  also  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  the  hull  of  the  burnt  Paraguari  and  taking 
it  to  Asuncion. 

This  defeat  at  Riachuelo  was  an  irreparable  loss  to  Lopez  ; 
it  completely  deranged  all  his  plans.  Had  it  been  a  success, 
and  could  he  have  captured  the  entire  squadron,  as  under  the 
circumstances  it  would  have  been  easy  to  do  had  he  con- 
ducted the  battle  with  ordinary  sagacity,  he  would  then  have 
had  the  entire  command  of  the  river  from  Asuncion  to  Monte- 
video. The  allies  had  at  that  time  nothing  in  the  river  which 
could  have  withstood  the  fleet  that  he  would  then  have  had  at 
his  command,  and  in  the  panic  which  would  have  followed  the 
disaster  to  the  allies  he  could  have  dictated  almost  any  terms 
to  the  defenceless  Buenos-Aireans.  Such  were  his  hopes,  but 
this  battle  had  destroyed  them  all,  and  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  him  ever  to  send  another  squadron  against  the  Bra^ 
zilian  naval  forces  then  in  the  river,  that  were  being  almost 
daily  augmented. 

But  the  attack  on  the  squadron  was  only  a  part  of  his  gen- 
eral plan.  General  Robles  having  occupied  Corrientes  for  a 
time,  as  we  have  seen,  was  ordered  to  move  down  the  left 
bank  of  the  river  as  far  as  Goya. 

Here  he  remained  until  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Riachuelo, 
when  he  commenced  a  retreat  up  the  river  as  far  as  Em- 
pedrado,  twelve  miles  below  Corrientes,  where  he  encamped 
and  waited  until  the  23d  of  July.  While  here  the  Bra- 
zilians managed  to  open  a  secret  correspondence  with  him, 
and  he  had  made  the  preliminary  arrangements  to  betray  his 
whole  force  into  the  hands  of  the  allies.  Lopez,  however, 
who  mistrusted  everybody,  had  spies  to  watch  all  his  prin- 
cipal officers.  The  first  letters  he  received  in  which  corrupt 
propositions  were  made  to  him  he  immediately  forwarded  to 
Lopez,  mistrusting  that  it  was  a  device  to  entrap  him,  of 


76  PARAGUAY. 

which  Lopez,  if  he  was  not  already  informed,  probably  soon 
would  be.  But  though  these  letters  were  sent  forward  to 
Lopez,  he  contrived  to  send  answers  to  them,  in  which  he 
intimated  that  he  was  none  too  good  to  leave  the  service  of 
his  chief,  provided  he  were  to  receive  due  consideration  for  his 
treason.  Lopez,  up  to  this  time,  had  had  every  confidence  in 
Robles,  as  for  a  long  time  he  had  been  next  in  command  to 
himself  in  the  army,  and  had  been  his  favorite  officer,  had  pre- 
sided over  his  tribunals,  had  adjudged  death  to  hundreds  or 
thousands  of  obnoxious  people,  and  owed  his  position  entirely 
to  the  favor  of  his  chief.  But  Lopez  thought  it  well  to  watch 
more  sharply  his  future  conduct.  He  therefore  promoted 
another  of  his  favorites,  Colonel  Resquin,  to  be  brigadier- 
general,  and  sent  him  to  Corrientes,  to  be  next  in  command  to 
Robles.  The  person  intrusted  specially  with  the  duty  of 
watching  the  two  generals  was  Colonel  Alen,  whose  devotion 
to  Lopez  had  taken  that  form  which  was  most  sure  to  secure 
him  favor  and  confidence.  He  was  his  most  favored  and 
trusted  informer,  and  was  as  zealous  and  eager  to  make  ac- 
cusations against  others  as  if  he  believed  that,  by  exciting  the 
suspicions  of  his  master  against  all  his  best  men  so  that  he 
would  destroy  them,  he  was  doing  him  a  great  service.  His 
zeal,  however,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  did  not  suffice  to  save 
him  from  a  fate  worse,  if  possible,  than  that  which  he  had 
brought  upon  many  innocent  persons  by  his  accusations.  Of 
the  many  victims  of  Lopez's  suspicion  and  cruelty,  perhaps 
none  died  a  more  miserable,  agonizing  death  than  did  this 
same  Colonel  Alen.  Having  been  sent  with  special  orders  to 
keep  watch  over  Robles,  he  was  not  able  to  discover  anything; 
but  Madam  Lynch,  who  had  long  regarded  Robles  with  dis- 
like, for  the  reason  that  he  had  too  much  influence  with  Lopez, 
thereby  exciting  her  jealousy,  had  some  spies  of  her  own  in  a 
menial  capacity  around  Robles's  camp,  and  from  them  she  was 
able  to  learn  that  something  mysterious  was  passing  between 
the  general  in  command  and  the  allies.  She  instantly  made 
known  her  suspicions  to  Lopez,  and  besought  him  at  once  to 
have  Robles  superseded,  and  some  one  else,  in  whom  both 


ARREST  OF  OFFICERS. 


77 


had  more  confidence,  placed  in  command  of  his  army.  Lopez 
was  greatly  alarmed  at  the  earnest  representations  made  by 
his  mistress,  who  was  then  in  Asuncion,  and  despatched  a 
steamer  with  his  brother-in-law,  Barrios,  to  relieve  the  sus- 
pected general. 

The  latter  was  encamped  at  Empedrado,  about  a  mile  from 
the  river ;  and  when  Barrios  approached  with  his  staff  to  the 
tent  of  the  commanding  general,  the  latter  came  out  to  salute 
him.  Barrios  declined  to  return  his  civility,  and  delivered  to 
him  a  letter  from  Lopez,  which  he  told  him  to  read.  It  was 
an  order  from  him  to  turn  over  the  command  of  his  army  to 
Barrios,  with  which  Robles  immediately  complied,  and  de- 
livered his  sword  to  Barrios,  who  sent  him  as  a  prisoner  on 
board  a  steamer  ;  his  papers  were  then  seized,  and  the  dis- 
graced general  was  sent  under  guard  to  Humaita.  The  evi- 
dence against  him  was  intangible,  and  not  satisfactory  to 
Lopez,  for  he  was  not  able  to  make  out  from  it  whether 
Robles  was  a  traitor  or  not.  He  was  kept  in  solitary  con- 
finement for  a  long  time  at  Humaita,  as  were  all  the  mem- 
bers of  his  staff,  saving  and  excepting  only  Colonel  Alen, 
whose  fidelity  to  Lopez  had  not  then  ever  been  questioned. 
A  large  number  of  the  commanding  officers  in  the  camp 
besides  the  staff  were  also  arrested  and  put  in  irons  ;  and 
in  this  condition  they  were  held  for  some  six  months,  Lo- 
pez being  unable  to  assure  himself  whether  there  was  any 
just  ground  for  complaint  against  any  of  them.  On  the  8th 
of  January,  1866,  however,  he  decided  to  have  Robles  exe- 
cuted, on  the  charge  of  not  having  done  his  duty  in  Cor- 
rientes.  He  was  not  condemned  as  a  traitor,  as  it  was  not  de- 
sirable that  the  troops  should  know  that  the  two  most  trusted 
commanders  of  the  great  unerring  Lopez  had  betrayed  him. 

Several  of  the  staff  of  Robles  were  executed  with  him  ; 
and  among  these  was  his  secretary,  Captain  Valiente,  the 
half-brother  of  Gumesindo  Benitez,  who  afterwards  figured 
as  the  acting  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  in  the  corre- 
spondence with  the  writer  of  this  work,  in  which  he  en- 
deavored to  prove  that  the  American  legation  was  the  focus 


78  PARAGUAY. 

and  head  of  a  conspiracy  against  Lopez,  and  for  which  he 
received  the  reward  which  Lopez  almost  invariably  granted  to 
his  most  servile  adherents,  —  torture  and  execution.  Robles, 
dressed  in  full  uniform,  was  paraded  with  his  staff  before  the 
whole  army,  which  was  drawn  up  to  witness  the  ceremony,  and, 
the  sentence  being  read,  the  fallen  general,  his  secretary,  and 
several  others,  were  shot.  Lopez  witnessed  this  tragic  scene 
from  a  window  of  his  house.  Most  of  the  officers,  however, 
who  had  long  been  in  prison  and  in  irons,  were  pardoned,  and 
were  restored  to  the  positions  they  had  held  in  the  army.  No 
one  seemed  to  have  any  pity  or  sympathy  for  Robles,  as  he 
was  a  hard  and  cruel  man,  and  had  ever  shown  great  alacrity 
in  executing  the  commands  of  his  unscrupulous  master.  He 
had  always  maintained  the  severest  discipline  in  the  army  by 
inflicting  the  most  terrible  punishments  for  slight  offences, 
either  on  officers  or  men.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for 
him  to  order  officers  of  as  high  a  grade  as  captain,  and  from 
the  best  families  of  Paraguay,  to  be  unmercifully  flogged  in 
the  presence  of  the  soldiers.  Nor  was  it  an  unusual  thing  for 
him  to  order  any  one  who  from  thoughtlessness  or  ignorance 
had  omitted  the  performance  of  any  insignificant  duty  to  be 
made  a  spread-eagle  of,  fastened  to  the  ground,  and  left  there, 
exposed  to  the  scorching  sun  by  day  and  to  the  winds,  storms, 
and  dews  of  night,  for  weeks  and  months  at  a  time,  or  till  they 
expired  from  their  sufferings.  His  ambition  seemed  to  be 
to  please  Lopez  by  imitating  him  in  all  things  ;  and  wherever 
he  was  in  command  it  was  his  habit  to  send  to  the  houses  of 
people  in  the  vicinity  and  require  the  presence,  at  his  camp, 
of  any  young  woman  that  pleased  his  fancy.  If  the  order 
were  disobeyed,  he  would  find  means  to  enforce  it ;  and  as  he 
was  known  to  be  a  great  favorite  of  Lopez,  no  one  would  dare 
to  complain  of  the  outrage.  After  he  was  dead,  people  who, 
while  he  was  in  favor,  would  never  have  dared  to  breathe  a 
word  against  him,  spoke  of  him  with  the  bitterness  of  hate 
which  such  cruelty  was  calculated  to  engender.  Whether 
or  not  he  had  been  guilty  of  treason  to  Lopez,  they  neither 
knew  nor  cared ;  but  they  were  glad  he  had  met  the  fate  that 
his  other  crimes  so  richly  merited. 


FEARS  OF  ASSASSINATION.  79 

Lopez  was  beginning  to  realize,  by  this  time,  that  the  peo- 
ple by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  and  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  natter  him  on  all  occasions,  and  to  profess  their  will- 
ingness to  sacrifice  everything  they  had  in  the  world  to  save 
him,  did  not,  in  making  these  professions,  express  their  real 
sentiments,  and  that  those  who  were  most  free  with  their 
praises  and  protests  only  lacked  the  opportunity  to  betray  him. 
The  state  of  mind  he  was  in  about  this  time  may  be  inferred 
from  the  following  extract  from  Colonel  Thompson's  book  :  — 

"  Lopez  was  continually  in  great  fear  of  being  assassinated,  and 
at  night  had  a  double  cordon  of  sentinels  round  his  house.  This 
was  afterwards  increased  to  a  treble  one.  During  the  daytime  these 
were  removed,  and  the  guard  was  kept  under  a  roof,  next  door  to 
Lopez.  People  who  wished  to  see  him  had  to  wait  under  this  same 
roof.  One  evening  I  was  waiting  there  to  see  Lopez,  as  were  also 
several  other  officers,  and  a  sergeant  of  the  guard  entered  into  con- 
versation with  me.  After  a  short  time  there  was  a  great  stir,  officers 
going  in  and  out  of  Lopez's  room,  the  guard  relieved,  and  the  other 
officers  who  were  waiting  all  arrested.  One  of  Lopez's  aides-de-camp 
came  and  said  to  me,  '  His  Excellency  sends  word  to  you  to  write 
down  all  the  conversation  you  have  had  with  the  sergeant  of  the 
guard  and  bring  it  to-morrow  morning.'  I  went  away,  not  expecting 
to  be  able  to  remember  a  twentieth  part  of  the  silly  talk  of  the  ser- 
geant ;  but  as  things  looked  serious,  I  tried,  and  probably  remembered 
it  all.  It  filled  a  whole  sheet  of  paper,  and  was  all  of  it  somewhat  in 
this  style  :  '  The  sergeant  asked  me  if  Queen  Victoria  always  wore 
her  crown  when  she  went  out  to  walk.  The  sergeant  asked  me  if  I 
should  wear  the  Paraguayan  uniform  when  I  went  to  England.'  It 
was  sealed  up  and  taken  next  morning  to  Lopez,  about  7  A.  M. 
He  was  not  yet  up,  but  the  sergeant  was  already  shot,  and  all  the 
soldiers  of  the  guard  had  received  one  hundred  lashes  each.  A  few 
months  afterwards  I  heard  that  the  sergeant  had  been  convicted  of 
conspiring  with  two  men  who  had  just  returned  from  Uruguayana 
to  murder  the  President,  and  that  the  two  men  had  been  found  that 
night  in  the  yard  of  Lopez's  house.  The  sergeant's  manner  that 
evening  was  certainly  not  that  of  a  conspirator.  Lopez  never  said 
a  word  about  it  to  me,  nor  acknowledged  receipt  of  the  written  con- 
versation, probably  feeling  ashamed  to  do  so." 


80  PARAGUAY. 

At  the  same  time  that  General  Robles  was  sent  with  his 
column  of  men  along  the  bank  of  the  river  to  capture  the 
different  towns  on  the  route,  Colonel  Antonio  Estigarribia,  with 
a  column  of  twelve  thousand  men  and  six  guns,  crossing  the 
Parana  at  Encarnacion,  a  hundred  miles  above  Paso  de  la 
Patria,  marched  across  the  Misiones  to  the  Uruguay  with  the 
object  of  invading  the  Brazilian  province  of  Rio  Grande.  On 
reaching  the  banks  of  that  river  he  divided  his  army  into 
two  columns,  crossing  over  with  about  eight  thousand  of  his 
men,  and  leaving  twenty-five  hundred  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  under  the  command  of  Major  Duarte.  The  two 
armies  then  proceeded  down  the  river  on  opposite  sides,  and, 
on  the  loth  of  June,  Estigarribia  took  possession  of  San 
Borja  after  a  slight  skirmish.  On  the  26th  of  June  a  part  of 
his  force,  while  on  their  march,  fell  in  with  a  considerable 
force  of  the  Brazilians  at  Arroyo  Mbutuy,  and  a  battle  ensued 
which  both  parties  claimed  as  a  victory.  On  the  5th  of 
August,  Estigarribia  with  his  army  occupied  the  important 
Brazilian  town  of  Uruguayana.  Though  the  Brazilians  along 
the  frontiers  of  the  invaded  province  had  two  or  three  times 
the  number  of  troops  under  Estigarribia,  they  made  little  or 
no  effort  to  impede  his  march,  as  they  saw  that  the  farther  he 
got  away  from  his  own  country  the  more  complete  and  disas- 
trous must  be  his  ultimate  overthrow.  Meanwhile  Duarte, 
with  his  army  of  twenty-five  hundred  men,  occupied  the  town 
of  Yatai,  on  the  Argentine  or  opposite  side  of  the  Uruguay. 
The  combined  forces  of  the  two  armies  amounted  to  about 
ten  thousand  men,  about  two  thousand  having  been  lost 
on  the  route  since  they  had  crossed  the  Parana.  By  this 
time  the  allies  began  to  gather  around  them  in  great  force, 
and  indeed  in  such  overwhelming  numbers  that  it  was 
evident  that  without  generalship  peculiarly  Brazilian  the 
whole  Paraguayan  army  would  be  destroyed  or  taken  pris- 
oners. Six  hundred  men  under  General  Flores  were  ap- 
proaching the  camp  of  Duarte,  who  sent  to  Estigarribia  for 
reinforcements.  He  received  for  a  reply  the  insulting  answer 
that,  if  he  was  afraid,  some  one  else  should  be  sent  to  command 


BATTLE  AT  YATAI.  8 1 

in  his  stead.  Hoping  that  General  Robles,  who  had  been  de- 
spatched in  the  same  general  direction,  might  be  near,  he  also 
wrote  to  him,  advising  him  of  the  desperate  strait  he  was  in. 
In  this  letter,  which  was  captured  by  General  Paunero,  Duarte 
says  that  his  orders  from  Lopez  were  to  kill  all  the  prisoners 
he  took.  This  letter,  it  should  be  noted,  was  written  early  in 
the  war,  and  before  Lopez  had  been  rendered  desperate  by  the 
reverses  that  subsequently  overtook  him,  and  proves  how  little 
value  is  to  be  attached  to  the  professions  made  by  him  before 
the  commencement  of  hostilities,  that  he  should  carry  on 
the  war  with  the  strictest  regard  to  the  laws  of  nations,  and 
with  such  respect  for  the  dictates  of  humanity,  that  his  con- 
duct in  this  war  should  offer  a  striking  contrast  to  that  which 
had  generally  been  the  practice  of  the  sanguinary  caudillos, 
whose  exploits  had  disgraced  almost  every  page  of  South 
American  history. 

Flores's  forces  had  increased  so  rapidly  that  on  the  iyth  of 
August  they  numbered  more  than  thirteen  thousand  men. 
He  at  once  sent  a  summons  to  Duarte  to  surrender,  which 
the  latter  refused  to  do,  saying,  as  was  almost  invariably  said 
at  that  time  by  every  Paraguayan,  when  summoned  to  sur- 
render, that  he  had  no  orders  to  do  so  from  "El  Supremo." 
An  attack  was  then  ordered,  and  in  the  battle  which  followed 
the  Paraguayans  fought  with  a  valor  never  surpassed,  not  even 
at  Thermopylae.  But  the  superiority  of  numbers  was  so  over- 
whelmingly against  them  that  their  valor  was  of  no  avail. 
They  all  refused  to  surrender,  but  fought  until  they  were 
killed,  and  of  the  whole  twenty-five  hundred  only  between 
two  and  three  hundred  of  those  who  were  not  engaged  in  the 
immediate  contest  were  taken  prisoners.  In  this  battle,  as  in 
many  others,  it  would  not  unfrequently  occur  that  one  Para- 
guayan would  be  surrounded  by  a  dozen  of  the  enemy,  all 
calling  on  him  to  surrender,  to  which  he  would  make  no 
response,  but  fight  on  until  he  was  killed  ;  or  if  by  chance 
he  was  disarmed  during  the  unequal  contest  and  forcibly 
made  a  prisoner,  he  would  take  the  first  opportunity  when 
his  hands  were  free  to  seize  a  musket  or  bludgeon  of  any 

VOL.    II.  6 


82  PARAGUAY. 

kind,  and   kill   as   many  as   possible,  until   he  was  himself 
knocked  senseless. 

In  this  action  the  allies  lost  a  number  fully  equal  to  the 
whole  force  of  the  Paraguayans,  so  that  on  the  average  every 
Paraguayan  had  killed  his  man.  The  allies  now  turned  their 
attention  to  Estigarribia  and  his  larger  army,  who  were  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  engaged  in  fortifying  their  position. 
As  he  saw  that  the  troops  of  the  enemy  which  were  gathering 
around  him  were  far  in  excess  of  his  own,  he  commenced  a 
retreat,  which  had  he  continued  he  might  probably  have 
saved  himself  and  a  part  of  his  army.  But  he  knew  the 
character  of  his  master  too  well  to  venture  to  retreat  without 
orders,  and  therefore  returned  to  Uruguayana  to  await  in- 
structions or  reinforcements.  Meanwhile  four  gunboats  had 
been  sent  up  the  river  by  Admiral  Tamandare,  which  took  a 
position  so  that  their  guns  commanded  the  town.  The  ques- 
tion with  the  allies  now  was,  whether  Estigarribia  would  fight, 
as  Duarte  had  done,  until  all  his  men  were  killed.  Were  he 
to  do  so,  they  might  count  on  a  loss  equal  to  all,  or  nearly  all, 
the  Paraguayan  army,  and  the  moral  effect  of  such  another 
Thermopylae  could  not  but  be  disastrous  to  the  allied  cause. 
They  therefore  sent  a  note  to  the  Paraguayan  commander, 
proposing  that  he  should  surrender,  and  promising  that  he 
and  his  men  should  be  permitted  to  retire  with  all  the  honors 
of  war.  Estigarribia  replied  to  this  note  in  a  long  letter, 
declining  to  entertain  any  such  proposition.  The  allies  soon 
after  sent  him  a  second  letter,  in  which  they  represented  that 
their  troops  greatly  outnumbered  his,  and  they  had  such  su- 
periority of  artillery  that  he  was  completely  invested  by  land, 
while  he  was  exposed  to  the  heavy  guns  of  the  squadron  which 
was  lying  near  by  in  the  river.  For  him  to  make  resistance 
under  such  circumstances,  when  victory  was  impossible  and 
defeat  inevitable,  would  be  to  sacrifice  his  entire  army  to  cer- 
tain destruction.  It  has  been  said,  that,  at  the  time  this  letter 
was  sent,  another  communication  of  a  different  character  was 
also  forwarded,  in  which  Estigarribia  was  promised  ample  re- 
wards if  he  would  not  subject  the  allies  to  the  losses  and 


CHARACTER   OF   ESTIGARRIBIA.  g^ 

inconvenience  of  a  battle,  and  that  an  arrangement  was  then 
made,  according  to  which  he  was  to  answer  scornfully  the 
proposal  that  he  should  capitulate,  and  keep  up  the  appear- 
ance of  defiance,  till  the  Emperor,  who  was  then  on  his  way, 
should  have  time  to  come  up  and  be  present  at  the  surrender. 
To  the  summons  to  surrender,  Estigarribia  replied,  on  the 
5th  of  September,  in  a  letter  the  terms  of  which  are  so 
grandiloquent  and  inflated  as  to  create  the  impression  that 
at  the  time  it  was  sent  he  was  already  resolved  on  capitu- 
lation.* This  letter  was  not  written  by  Estigarribia,  but  by 
a  priest  who  accompanied  him  to  write  his  letters  and  act  as 
chaplain.  Estigarribia  was  a  man  of  little  ability  and  no 
education,  and  would  never  have  been  selected  for  this  im- 
portant command  had  Lopez  been  either  a  good  judge  of  men 
or  of  the  qualities  essential  in  the  commander  of  so  desperate 
an  enterprise.  He  had  been  known  in  Asuncion  as  belonging 

*  "  VIVE  THE   REPUBLIC   OF   PARAGUAY ! 

"CAMP  AT  URUGUAYANA,  Septembers,  1865. 

"  The  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Division  in  Operation  on  the  River  Uruguay,  to 
the  Representatives  of  the  Vanguard  of  the  Allied  Army. 

"  The  undersigned,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Paraguayan  division  in  opera- 
tion on  the  river  Uruguay,  has  the  honor  to  reply  to  the  note  which  your  Excel- 
lencies addressed  to  him  on  the  2d  instant,  proposing  the  basis  of  an  arrangement. 

"Before  entering  upon  the  principal  part  of  your  Excellencies'  note,  I  may  be 
allowed  to  refute,  with  the  decency  and  dignity  of  a  soldier  of  honor,  all  those 
statements  in  said  note  which  are  injurious  to  the  supreme  government  of  the 
undersigned.  With  the  permission  of  your  Excellencies,  such  statements  place 
that  note  on  the  same  level  as  the  newspapers  of  Buenos  Aires,  which  for  some 
years  have  done  nothing  else  and  have  had  no  other  object  than  grossly  and 
severely  to  blacken  the  government  of  Paraguay,  throwing  out  at  the  same  time 
rude  calumnies  against  the  people,  who  have  replied  to  them  by  honestly  labor- 
ing for  their  domestic  happiness,  —  their  greatest  delight  being  in  maintaining 
internal  peace,  which  is  the  fundamental  base  of  the  preponderance  of  a  nation. 

"  As  your  Excellencies  show  so  much  zeal  in  giving  the  Paraguayan  nation  its 
liberty,  according  to  your  own  expressions,  why  have  you  not  begun  by  freeing  the 
unhappy  negroes  of  Brazil,  who  form  the  greater  part  of  its  population,  and  who 
groan  under  the  hardest  and  most  terrible  slavery  to  enrich  and  keep  in  idleness 
a  few  hundreds  of  the  grandees  of  the  Empire  ?  Since  when  has  a  nation,  which 
by  its  own  spontaneous  and  free  will  elects  the  government  which  presides  over 
its  destinies,  been  called  a  nation  of  slaves  ?  Doubtless,  since  Brazil  has  under- 
taken the  affairs  of  the  river  Plata,  with  the  decided  desire  of  subjugating  and 


84  PARAGUAY. 

to  the  staff  of  Lopez,  and  as  being  one  of  the  most  ready  and 
willing  to  commit  any  barbarity  or  enforce  without  mercy  any 
tyrannical  order  that  his  master  might  command.  His  fam- 
ily was  of  the  lowest  class  in  Asuncion,  and  he  had  no  other 
stake  in  the  country,  and  was  altogether  such  a  man  as,  hav- 
ing nothing  to  lose,  would  be  open  to  propositions  from  any 
source. 

These  brave  words  were  not  followed  up  by  corresponding 
actions  ;  for  no  sooner  were  they  written  than  he  began  to 
stipulate  for  terms  to  himself,  in  case  that  he  would  sur- 
render his  whole  army.  But  the  allies,  not  knowing,  or  at 
least  pretending  not  to  know,  what  his  ulterior  purposes  were, 
began  to  make  active  preparations  for  assaulting  the  place. 
They  had  four  times  the  number  of  troops  that  he  had,  besides 
their  gunboats  ;  they  had  also  forty-two  rifled  cannon  of  longer 
range  than  those  possessed  by  Estigarribia,  so  that  they  could 

enslaving  the  sister  Republics  of  Paraguay,  and  perhaps  even  Paraguay  itself,  had 
it  not  counted  on  a  patriotic  and  foreseeing  government. 

"  Your  Excellencies  will  allow  me  these  digressions,  since  you  have  provoked 
them  by  insulting  the  government  of  my  fatherland  in  your  note. 

"  I  am  not  of  the  same  opinion  with  your  Excellencies,  that  a  military  man  of 
honor  and  a  true  patriot  should  limit  himself  to  fight  only  when  he  has  a  proba- 
bility of  conquering. 

"  If  your  Excellencies  open  any  History,  you  will  learn,  from  the  records  of  that 
great  book  of  humanity,  that  the  great  captains  whom  the  world  still  remembers 
with  pride  counted  neither  the  number  of  their  enemies  nor  the  elements  they 
disposed  of,  but  conquered  or  died  in  the  name  of  their  country.  Recollect  that 
Leonidas,  when  he  was  keeping  the  Pass  of  Thermopylae  with  three  hundred 
Spartans,  would  not  listen  to  the  propositions  of  the  King  of  Persia;  and  when  a 
soldier  told  him  that  his  enemies  were  so  numerous  that  their  arrows  darkened 
the  sun,  he  answered,  "  So  much  the  better,  we  will  fight  in  the  shade."  Like 
the  Spartan  captain,  I  cannot  listen  to  the  propositions  made  by  the  enemy  ;  for 
I  have  been  sent,  with  my  companions,  to  fight  in  defence  of  the  rights  of  Para- 
guay ;  and  as  its  soldier  I  must  answer  your  Excellencies  when  you  enumerate 
to  me  the  number  of  your  forces  and  the  amount  of  artillery  at  your  disposal, 
4  So  much  the  better ;  the  smoke  of  the  cannon  shall  be  our  shade.' 

"  If  fortune  should  decree  us  a  tomb  in  this  city  of  Uruguayana,  our  fellow-citi- 
zens will  preserve  the  remembrance  of  those  Paraguayans  who  died  fighting  for 
the  cause  of  their  country,  and  who,  while  they  lived,  did  not  surrender  to  the 
enemy  the  sacred  ensign  of  the  liberty  of  their  nation. 

44  God  preserve  your  Excellencies  many  years  ! 

"  ANTONIO  ESTIGARRIBIA." 


TREATMENT   OF   PRISONERS.  85 

knock  down  the  town  and  destroy  every  Paraguayan  in  it  with- 
out exposing  themselves  to  any  danger.  It  was  a  situation 
well  calculated  to  display  Brazilian  courage  in  all  its  perfection, 
as  no  braver  troops  were  ever  known  than  they  are  when  be- 
yond the  reach  of  danger.  But  while  the  allies  were  getting 
ready  to  make  this  attack,  the  provisions  in  the  camp  of  Esti- 
garribia  were  getting  very  low.  The  army  had  eaten  up  all  the 
horned  cattle,  and  had  commenced  upon  the  horses,  and  Esti- 
garribia  saw  that,  unless  he  could  escape  from  the  trap  into 
which  he  had  fallen,  he  must  either  surrender,  or  else  his  troops 
must  all  perish  either  in  battle  or  from  hunger.  He  therefore 
sent  another  note  to  General  Mitre,  proposing  to  treat  for 
terms.  Mitre,  however,  seeing  that  he  had  him  completely  in 
his  power,  did  not  reply  to  his  letter,  reserving  that  task  until 
he  should  be  ready  for  a  general  assault,  when  his  answer 
would  be  a  summons  to  an  unconditional  surrender.  This  was 
done  on  the  i8th  of  September,  the  whole  allied  army  being  in 
position  for  an  attack.  Mitre  now  sent  a  summons  to  Estigar- 
ribia  to  surrender  within  four  hours.  The  latter  replied,  offer- 
ing to  surrender  on  condition  that  the  rank  and  file  should  be 
treated  as  prisoners  of  war  ;  that  the  officers  should  be  allowed 
to  keep  their  swords  and  go  wherever  they  liked,  even  to  Para- 
guay ;  and  that  the  Orientals  in  his  army  should  be  prisoners 
to  Brazil.  These  terms  were  accepted,  with  the  exception"  that 
the  officers  were  to  give  up  their  swords,  and  might  reside 
wherever  they  pleased,  except  that  they  should  not  return  to 
Paraguay.  The  formal  surrender  was  then  made,  and  the 
whole  army,  consisting  of  nearly  six  thousand  men  (some  two 
thousand  having  died  from  disease  or  want,  or  been  killed  in 
the  occasional  skirmishes  that  had  taken  place),  were  marched 
out  as  prisoners  of  war. 

The  treatment  of  these  prisoners  by  the  allies  was  not  only 
a  violation  of  all  the  laws  of  war,  but  was  in  every  respect 
treacherous,  dishonest,  and  disgraceful.  They  were  drafted 
into  the  allied  armies  and  compelled  to  fight  against  their 
own  countrymen,  brothers  in  arms.  This  act  was  not  only  a 
crime,  but  it  was  a  great  mistake.  The  Paraguayans,  when 


86  PARAGUAY. 

they  left  their  country  on  this  invading  expedition,  believed 
that  they  were  going  to  fight  an  enemy  who  had  come  to 
make  war  upon  their  country  and  carry  them  away,  to  dis- 
tribute their  women  among  the  soldiers  and  carry  off  the 
men  as  slaves  to  Brazil ;  and  they  had  been  trained  to  such 
implicit  obedience,  and  were  so  thoroughly  subject  to  the 
orders  of  their  superiors,  that  with  this  fear  before  them  they 
could  be  made  to  fight  in  a  manner  more  desperate  and  fear- 
less than  was  ever  known  before.  It  was  long  after  they  had 
been  taken  prisoners  before  they  became  disabused  of  the 
idea  that  they  were  finally  to  be  taken  to  Brazil  as  slaves,  and 
that  they  were  never  to  see  their  homes,  their  wives  and 
children  again,  unless  by  deserting  they  could  make  their  way 
back  to  their  own  country.  Many  of  them  did  so  desert, 
and  found  their  way  back  to  the  camp  of  Lopez,  where,  for  a 
while,  they  were  received  as  true  men,  who  had  been  betrayed 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  by  their  commander.  As  they 
had  not  been  long  enough  in  the  Brazilian  army  to  lose  their 
hatred  of  the  Brazilians,  or  to  become  disabused  of  the  idea 
that  they  were  going  to  be  made  slaves  of,  they  were  nearly 
L_all  again  drafted  into  the  army. 

It  is  asserted  that  Estigarribia  had,  previous  to  his  surren- 
der, made  terms  with  the  Brazilians,  by  which  he  was  to 
receive  a  very  large  sum  of  money  in  case  he  would  lay  down 
his  arms  without  forcing  the  allies  to  the  extremity  of  a 
battle.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  treated  by  the  Brazilians 
with  great  consideration  ;  that  he  went  to  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
where  he  was  treated  with  great  distinction  ;  and  that  he 
had  the  means  to  support  himself  in  a  style  such  as  he  had 
never  known  before.  His  annual  salary  under  Lopez  had  not 
been  as  much  as  were  his  daily  expenses  in  Rio  de  Janeiro 
after  his  surrender.  No  one  but  Lopez  could  blame  him  for 
having  surrendered  as  he  did,  for  had  he  held  out  as  did 
Duarte  his  army  must  have  shared  the  fate  of  his  subordi- 
nate. Yet  Lopez  had  been  well  pleased  with  the  battle  of 
Yatai ;  for  he  thought  that,  though  the  whole  army  had 
been  destroyed,  it  would  show  the  allies  that  the  people 


ANGER   OF    LOPEZ.  87 

whom  they  were  to  encounter  were  resolved  to  perish  to 
the  last  man  sooner  than  be  conquered.  Should  Estigarribia 
imitate  Duarte  and  his  army,  and  make  as  good  a  report 
of  himself  as  they  did,  then  the  allies  would  hesitate  long 
before  venturing  to  encounter  another  Paraguayan  army. 
But  when  the  news  of  Estigarribia's  surrender  reached  him, 
he  saw  that  he  had  not  only  lost  his  army,  but  that  he  had 
shown  a  great  want  of  generalship  by  sending  so  large  a  force 
away  from  his  base  and  leaving  it  to  be  cut  off  and  captured, 
and  he  had  lost  all  the  moral  advantages  that  had  been  gained 
by  the  army  of  Duarte.  The  news  of  this  surrender,  coming 
so  soon  after  the  defeat  at  Riachuelo,  rendered  Lopez  for  a 
time  as  savage  and  furious  as  he  afterwards  became  in  his 
general  character.  He  had  lost  a  great  part  of  his  fleet  that 
was  to  have  swept  the  river  and  brought  the  cities  of  Monte- 
video, Buenos  Aires,  Rosario,  and  Parana  as  supplicants  to 
his  feet ;  and  he  had  lost  the  whole  army  that  he  had  intended 
should  carry  fire  and  sword  through  the  Brazilian  camp,  and 
even  bring  the  Emperor  to  sue  for  terms.  His  rage  on  this 
occasion  has  been  described  as  having  been  very  undignified 
for  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  nation.  Gathering  all  his  prin- 
cipal officers,  he  broke  forth  in  curses  and  maledictions  of 
Estigarribia  as  a  traitor,  a  purchased  knave,  whose  name  and 
memory  were  deserving  of  universal  execration.  He  then 
turned  upon  those  present,  and  in  terms  of  the  most  bitter 
invective  told  them  that  they  were  all  traitors  to  a  great  ex- 
tent ;  that  none  of  them  had  his  cause  and  his  person  so  much 
at  heart  as  they  ought  to  have  it  ;  that  he  should  watch  them 
more  sharply  than  he  had  ever  done  before ;  and  that  they 
might  count  that  at  the  least  defection,  the  least  sign  of  diso- 
bedience or  disinclination  to  carry  out  his  orders  to  the  fullest 
extent,  they  should  feel  his  heavy  hand  upon  them  in  such  a 
way  that  they  could  never  fear  it  a  second  time. 

The  wrath  of  Lopez  against  Estagarribia  was  greatly  aggra- 
vated by  the  fact  that  he  had  escaped  from  his  power,  and 
was  then  rioting  on  the  rewards  of  his  disobedience.  He  had 
not  even  the  poor  consolation  of  inflicting  vicarious  punish- 


88  PARAGUAY. 

r  ment  on  his  family,  for  he  had  no  family  but  a  wife  that  he 
cared  nothing  about,  and  who  was  low  and  abandoned.  Not- 
withstanding this,  however,  she  both  renounced  and  denounced 
him,  and  petitioned  the  government  for  leave  to  change  her 
name,  and  not  be  longer  known  or  called  by  one  that  her 
husband  had  made  infamous.  Having  done  this,  she  was 
allowed  to  remain  at  large,  while  the  families  of  others  who 
had  deserted  or  proved  recreant,  if  they  had  the  misfortune 
to  be  respectable  and  possessed  of  property,  were  stripped 
of  all  they  possessed  and  sent  into  exile  in  remote  and  desti- 
tute places  of  the  interior. 

In  regard  to  the  treason  of  Robles,  Lopez  was  for  a  long 
time  in  doubt.  The  whole  Corrientes  expedition  had  proved 
a  miserable  disastrous  failure,  and,  as  Estigarribia  had  escaped, 
Robles  must  suffer  for  the  shortcomings  of  both.  His  fidelity 
was  suspected,  and  yet  nothing  could  be  proved  against  him. 
This  fact  Lopez  confessed  more  than  a  year  after,  under  the 
following  circumstances.  The  writer  of  this  work  had  just 
returned  from  the  camp  of  the  allies,  where  he  had  several 
interviews  with  their  commander-in-chief,  the  Marques  de 
Caxias.  On  these  occasions  the  Marques  was  very  free  in  boast- 
ing of  his  great  resources  and  of  his  ability  to  ride  over  and 
destroy  the  army  of  Lopez  whenever  be  should  choose  to  do 
so.  He  evidently  wished  all  he  said  to  be  repeated  to  Lopez, 
with  the  object  of  convincing  him  that  he  was  irretrievably 
lost.  He  boasted  that  he  knew  the  position  of  every  gun 
in  Lopez's  camp  and  the  number  of  troops  at  each  point,  and 
directed  his  principal  engineer,  a  Pole,  who  had  been  in  the 
American  war  on  the  staff  of  General  Grant,  to  give  me  a 
plan  of  Lopez's  camp,  with  its  defences  and  connections,  so 
that  on  showing  it  to  Lopez  he  would  see  that  Caxias  was  not 
speaking  at  random.  He  also  boasted  that  he  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  information  from  within  the  Paraguayan 
lines,  and  said  that  he  had  numerous  spies  and  informers 
there.  He  stated  that  the  disastrous  attack  on  the  island  near 
Paso  de  la  Patria  had  been  all  arranged  previously  by  Mitre 
and  the  Paraguayan  commander,  Romero,  by  which  the  lat- 


PUBLIC  INDIGNATION.  89 

ter  was  to  be  taken  prisoner  and  all  his  command  also  taken 
or  killed.  He  declared  that  if  Robles  had  not  been  arrested 
for  two  or  three  days  longer,  he  and  his  whole  army  would 
have  been  taken  at  as  cheap  a  rate  as  had  previously  that 
of  Estigarribia.  It  struck  me  at  the  time  as  very  singular 
that  the  commander-in -chief  of  an  army  should  speak  thus 
openly  and  boastingly  of  the  means  he  employed  to  corrupt 
his  enemies  and  induce  them  to  turn  traitors.  There  was, 
however,  probably,  an  object  in  it.  He  did  not  affect  to 
tell  me  anything  in  confidence,  but,  on  the  contrary,  said 
that  I  might  tell  Lopez  everything;  his  object  as  I  sup- 
posed being  to  impress  upon  him  that  his  cause  was  lost,  and 
he  had  better  give  up  the  contest  without  further  bloodshed. 

When  I  related  to  Lopez  what  Caxias  had  said  of  the 
treachery  of  Robles,  I  had  no  suspicion  that  he  had  exe- 
cuted him  while  in  doubt  of  his  guilt.  But  in  his  reply  he 
admitted  that  such  was  the  fact.  He  said  he  was  greatly  re- 
lieved and  gratified  by  what  I  had  told  him,  as  it  was  the  first 
information  of  a  positive  character  he  had  ever  received  that 
Robles  was  a  traitor.  Caxias  had,  however,  denied  that  Esli- 
garribia  was  a  traitor.  He  said  that  he  had  only  surrendered 
under  such  circumstances  as  would  have  justified  any  military 
man  in  surrendering,  and  that  it  would  have  been  folly,  mad- 
ness, and  crime  for  him  to  have  resisted  against  odds  so  over- 
whelming ;  that  his  army  must  have  been  entirely  destroyed  in 
case  it  had  not  capitulated.  Lopez  still  refused  to  admit  that 
Estigarribia  was  not  a  traitor  equally  guilty  and  base  with 
Robles.  It  was  his  idea  that  it  was  the  duty  of  every  soldier 
of  his  army  to  fight  with  all  his  men  until  every  one  was 
killed  rather  than  to  surrender,  for  by  doing  this  they  could 
inflict  injury  on  the  allies,  and  thereby  help  his  cause;  and 
so  that  his  cause  was  aided,  Lopez  did  not  consider  that  a 
general  or  soldier  had  any  right  whatever  to  consider  his  own 
life  or  that  of  his  fellow-soldiers  as  worthy  of  a  thought. 

The  news  of  the  surrender  of  Estigarribia,  when  it  reached 
Asuncion,  caused  great  dismay,  and  public  meetings  were 
held  to  denounce  his  treachery  and  cowardice.  But  while 


go  PARAGUAY. 

the  escaped  traitor  was  denounced  and  stigmatized  by  every 
possible  epithet  that  could  be  found  either  in  Spanish  or  Gua- 
rani,  those  who  reviled  him  felt  it  incumbent  upon  them,  or 
at  least  prudent,  to  praise  the  great  strategy  of  Lopez,  who 
had  sent  him  on  the  expedition  with  a  large  army  that  must 
inevitably  be  lost  if  his  orders  were  obeyed.  In  the  Seina- 
iiario  he  was  likened  to  as  many  of  the  heroes  of  ancient 
times  as  the  editors  had  ever  heard  of;  and  when  the  Ameri- 
can, Mr.  Bliss,  suggested  that  the  name  of  Cincinnatus  should 
be  added  to  the  others,  it  was  done,  though  probably  not  one  of 
the  readers,  Paraguayans,  had  ever  heard  of  Cincinnatus,  and, 
if  they  had,  would  certainly  have  found  it  difficult  to  trace  the 
similarity  between  him  and  Lopez. 

After  these  two  great  disasters,  Lopez  saw  that  he  could 
no  longer  maintain  an  aggressive  war  on  foreign  territory. 
If  he  would  not  have  his  whole  forces  destroyed,  he  must  re- 
call them  within  the  limits  of  Paraguay  and  then  fight  on  the 
defensive.  He  accordingly  ordered  the  evacuation  of  Corri- 
entes,  and  withdrew  his  troops.  They  had  during  the  time  of 
occupation  descended  along  the  banks  of  the  river  as  far  as  the 
important  town  of  Goya,  which,  with  Bella  Vista,  Empedrado, 
and  other  places  of  less  note,  they  had  sacked,  and  had  taken 
away  everything  that  they  could  carry  which  would  be  of  use 
to  them  in  their  own  country.  The  chief  wealth  of  the  province 
of  Corrientes,  however,  was  the  cattle ;  and  General  Barrios, 
who  was  in  command  after  the  arrest  of  Robles,  deployed  his 
army  into  a  long  line  from  the  river,  and,  marching  to  the 
north,  swept  before  him  all  the  cattle  and  horses  that  could 
be  found  until  they  came  to  the  Parana,  where  they  were  fer- 
ried over  in  steamers  and  lighters  to  the  Paraguayan  shore. 
While  this  was  going  on  the  Brazilian  squadron  was  lying  idle 
in  the  river,  and  doing  nothing  to  prevent  the  Paraguayans 
from  recrossing  and  taking  all  their  plunder  with  them.  The 
Paraguayan  steamers  that  had  not  been  destroyed  in  the 
battle  of  Riachuelo  were  actively  employed  in  running  up  and 
down  the  river,  and  carrying  away  their  artillery  and  the  spoils 
which  they  had  taken  from  the  Correntino  towns.  As  soon 


THE  FEAR  OF  MASKED  BATTERIES.       91 

as  they  had  completed  this  work,  and  had  evacuated  first 
one  town  and  then  another,  the  Brazilian  fleet  followed  on 
after  them.  They  were  careful  not  to  pursue  the  game  while 
the  tracks  were  too  fresh. 

On  the  day  that  the  Paraguayan  army  began  to  cross  the 
river  from  Paso  de  la  Patria  to  Itapiru,  five  Brazilian  steam- 
ers came  in  sight  of  the  place,  and  saw  what  was  going  on. 
The  Paraguayans  had  two  steamers  to  transport  the  entire 
army,  and,  had  the  Brazilians  moved  higher  up  the  river, 
they  could  easily  have  destroyed  them,  and  completely  cut  off 
the  retreat  of  the  Paraguayans  ;  but  when  they  saw  what 
the  Paraguayans  were  doing,  instead  of  attacking  them  they 
turned  about  and  ran  away.  The  allied  army  was  coming  up 
by  land  in  number  vastly  exceeding  that  of  the  Paraguayans 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  and  the  Brazilians  had  it  in  their 
power  to  cut  off  their  retreat,  so  that  they  must  all  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  their  enemies ;  but  the  Brazilians,  who, 
throughout  the  war,  seemed  to  think  that  all  the  science  and 
strategy  in  war  was  expressed  in  the  proverb  of  a  golden  bridge 
for  a  flying  enemy,  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  destroy  the 
only  means  of  escape  for  the  Paraguayans.  Afterwards,  when 
this  fatal  blunder  was  known  and  criticised,  it  was  alleged 
that  there  was  not  sufficient  depth  of  water  for  their  vessels. 
That,  however,  was  not  the  true  reason.  The  river  was  at 
that  time  high  enough  for  vessels  drawing  much  more  water 
than  did  any  of  this  squadron.  Another  reason  alleged,  and 
the  true  one,  was  they  did  not  know  but  that  the  Paraguay- 
ans had  masked  batteries  which  might  injure  their  vessels. 
It  was  the  imaginary  masked  battery  of  the  Paraguayans 
that  almost  invariably  prevented  the  Brazilians  from  follow- 
ing up  a  victory  which  they  had  gained.  They  chose  rather 
to  bear  the  ills  of  a  longer  war  and  other  campaigns  than 
the  others  that  they  knew  not  of  in  the  form  of  possible 
masked  batteries. 

It  was  not  till  about  the  ist  of  November,  1865,  that  the 
Paraguayans  had  all  returned  from  the  invasion  of  Corrientes. 
The  campaign  had  been  a  disastrous  one  to  the  cause  of 


92  PARAGUAY. 

Lopez.  Since  it  commenced  he  had  lost  the  better  part  of 
his  squadron  and  nearly  twenty  thousand  men,  and  all  he  had 
got  in  return  was  the  spoils  taken  from  the  towns  he  had 
sacked,  and  the  cattle,  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  in 
number,  which  he  had  collected  and  taken  across  the  river. 
These  cattle  were  of  little  use  to  him,  as,  rinding  a  poison- 
ous plant  in  Paraguay  to  which  they  were  unused,  and 
which  they  ate,  the  greater  part  of  them  died  in  and  about 
the  Paraguayan  camp,  creating  a  state  of  the  atmosphere  so 
tainted  as  to  seriously  injure  the  health  of  the  troops.  In 
fact,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  it  would  not  have  been  bet- 
ter for  Lopez  had  every  one  of  the  cattle  which  had  been  col- 
lected in  Corrientes  been  drowned  in  attempting  to  cross  the 
river. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

A  new  Palace  commenced.  —  Colonel  Francisco  Fernandez.  —  Lopez  disap- 
pointed in  his  Efforts  to  form  a  Royal  Alliance.  —  Madam  Lynch.  —  Colonel 
Wisner.  —  Character  of  Lopez.  —  Public  Amusements.  —  Balls.  — Peinetas  de 
oro.  —  Jewelry.  —  Sortija.  —  Bull-Fights  —  Their  Influence  upon  the  People. — 
Celebrating  the  Anniversary  of  the  President's  Birthday.  — :  A  Step  towards 
Imperialism. —Changes  in  Matters  of  Etiquette  and  Deportment.  —  The 
Clothes  Question.  —  General  Illumination.  —  Triumphal  Arches.  —  Mottoes. — 
Fulsome  Praises  of  Lopez.  —  Demonstration  by  the  Ladies.  —  Magnificent  Dis- 
plays. —  Reception  of  the  President.  —  Patriotic  Speeches.  —  The  President's 
Reply.  —  Government  Officials  present.  —  Their  Subsequent  Fate. 

WHILE  Lopez  was  indulging  in  the  pleasing  dream  that 
he  would  have  an  imperial  bride  to  share  his  throne, 
he  began  to  build  a  palace,  intending  it  to  be  fit  for  a  princess. 
He  selected  as  a  site  for  this  noble  structure  a  point  of  land 
between  the  old  Palace,  or  Government  House,  and  the  arsenal, 
overlooking  the  river  and  commanding  a  view  to  the  west, 
north,  and  east.  Part  of  the  ground  was  unoccupied,  and  the 
rest  was  covered  with  the  shanties  and  hovels  of  poor  people, 
who  knew  better  than  to  complain  at  being  driven  off.  Its 
foundation  was  of  limestone,  and  the  work  was  massive  and 
substantial.  The  basement  fronting  the  river  was  intended 
to  serve  as  a  stable,  and  was  as  full  of  dark  rooms,  winding 
passages,  and  stairways,  as  any  old  feudal  castle.  It  had  a 
frontage  of,  if  I  recollect  aright,  two  hundred  feet,  with  a  deep 
L  running  back  at  each  end,  leaving  an  open  space  for  a  court 
between  them.  Above  the  basement  it  was  built  of  brick  and 
covered  with  stucco,  so  that  it  had  the  appearance  of  stone 
at  a  little  distance.  The  architect  and  builder  were  both 
Englishmen,  and  the  work  was  done  in  a  most  substantial 
manner,  and  the  general  appearance  of  the  building  as  seen 
at  a  distance  was  grand  and  palatial.  The  adjoining  build- 


94  PARAGUAY. 

ings  being  all  small  and  inferior,  they  served  to  set  off  this 
massive  pile  in  striking  relief. 

The  labor  on  this  palace  was  nearly  all  done  by  boys  from 
nine  to  twelve  years  of  age.  The  stone  had  been  quarried  at 
a  place  called  Empedrado,  some  ten  leagues  above  Asuncion, 
and  near  the  bank  of  the  river.  It  was  a  sort  of  stone  easily 
worked,  and  the  young  lads  did  all  the  labor  of  drilling,  pick- 
ing, and  trimming  it.  To  lift  the  large  blocks,  or  to  fix  them 
in  position,  of  course  required  the  assistance  of  strong  men ;  but 
the  able-bodied  men  were  nearly  all  conscripted  for  the  army, 
and  the  master-builder,  Mr.  Alonzo  Taylor,  was  obliged  to  de- 
pend on  boys  to  do  everything  that  they  had  the  strength  to 
perform.  It  was  a  sad  sight  to  see  the  little  fellows  made  pre- 
maturely old  by  the  labor  to  which  they  were  condemned. 
They  were  constantly  watched  that  they  should  never  idle 
away  a  moment ;  and  in  passing  through  the  grounds  where 
they  wrought  they  appeared  like  worn-out  slaves,  in  whom  all 
hope  was  so  utterly  extinguished  that  they  never  looked  up 
or  ceased  a  moment  from  their  labor.  They  had  a  starved 
and  hungry  look,  for  besides  being  so  severely  worked  they 
were  scantily  fed.  The  poor  little  wretches  were  allowed  only 
six  or  eight  cents  a  day  with  which  to  buy  their  food.  A 
bit  of  mandioca,  or  maiz  chipa,  not  half  so  much  as  nature 
required,  was  all  they  could  procure  with  this  scanty  pittance. 
The  lads  had  been  picked  up  with  as  little  regard  to  the  feel- 
ings, either  of  themselves  or  their  parents,  as  has  the  slave- 
trader  on  the  coast  of  Africa  for  the  mother  whose  children 
he  steals.  They  were  taken  from  their  homes  and  set  to 
work  as  slaves,  and  continued  at  it  till  they  were  sent  to  the 
army  to  be  there  sacrificed. 

The  superintendence  of  this  building  was  given  to  Colonel 
Francisco  Fernandez,  who  was  the  general  agent  and  confiden- 
tial business  man  of  Lopez  in  all  his  private  affairs.  He  was, 
of  all  Lopez's  officers  and  subordinates,  the  best  liked  by  the 
foreigners.  He  was  believed  to  have  more  of  the  confidence 
of  his  master  than  any  other  man  in  the  country,  and  would 
take  on  himself  the  responsibility  of  granting  favors  or  giving 


MADAM   LYNCH   AND   COLONEL  WISNER.  95 

orders  on  unimportant  matters  that  would  have  cost  others 
imprisonment  and  fetters,  if  not  their  lives.  His  was  the 
task  of  keeping  these  boys  at  work,  and  such  was  his  fidel- 
ity to  his  chief  that  he  did  not  spare  them.  And  he  had  his 
reward.  He  was  tortured  and  shot.  His  wife  and  children 
were  driven  destitute  into  the  wilderness,  and  where  are 
they  ? 

The  work  on  the  palace  had  not  progressed  far  before  the 
President's  illusion  of  a  royal  alliance  vanished  into  air.  When 
this  hope  was  gone,  he  seemed  to  surrender  to  the  counsels  of 
his  Irish  mistress,  Madam  Lynch.  Her  hopes  and  plans,  that 
had  long  been  held  subordinate  to  the  ambition  of  her  para- 
mour, now  had  a  prospect  of  being  realized.  She  purchased 
the  houses  and  lots  on  a  square  adjoining  the  new  palace,  and 
openly  talked  of  her  purpose  of  building  another,  of  almost 
equal  magnificence,  for  herself.  Her  most  trusted  adviser  was  | 
an  old  Hungarian  refugee  by  the  name  of  Wisner.  Many 
years  before,  this  man,  for  certain  reasons,  had  left  his  own 
country  and  emigrated  to  Brazil.  From  there  he  passed  over 
into  Paraguay  and  took  service  under  the  elder  Lopez  as  a 
sort  of  civil  engineer  and  architect.  He  was  said  to  be  of 
noble  family,  and  he  certainly  was  a  man  of  most  courtly  man- 
ners and  of  considerable  attainments.  At  this  time  he  was 
nearly  sixty-five  years  of  age,  and  played  the  courtier  to  Madam 
Lynch  by  agreeing  with  her  in  all  her  ambitious  schemes,  and 
seconding  her  efforts  to  influence  the  mind  of  Lopez.  They 
both  clearly  saw  and  realized  equally  with  Lopez,  that  for 
him  to  declare  Paraguay  an  empire  before  something  had  been 
done  to  make  the  world  know  there  was  such  a  country  would 
be  absurd  and  ludicrous.  Wisner  then  began  to  argue,  not 
only  with  Lopez,  but  with  every  one,  that  war  was  a  necessity 
to  bring  out  Paraguay ;  that  she  would  never  be  respected 
abroad,  or  have  any  standing  as  a  nation,  till  she  had  demon- 
strated her  capacity  to  defend  her  rights  and  chastise  her 
enemies. 

Unfortunately  for  Lopez,  though  he  had  many  flatterers, 
he  had  no  advisers.     At  a  very  early  period  of  his  life  he  had 


96  PARAGUAY. 

been  placed  in  authority  over  all  who  were  about  him,  and 
these  had  soon  learned  that  the  way  to  favor  and  preferment 
was  through  adulation  and  flattery.  Hence  all  flattered  till 
he  came  to  regard  any  one  who  might  venture  to  express  an 
opinion  different  from  his  own  as  an  enemy ;  and  when  the 
question  of  war  was  discussed,  those  around  him  who  had  most 
of  his  confidence  could  never  express  a  doubt  as  to  what  the 
issue  might  be  without  incurring  his  severest  displeasure. 
Their  own  safety  required  that  they  should  tell  him  he  was 
invincible,  and  had  only  to  lead  his  legions  to  battle  and  he 
would  scatter  his  enemies  like  chaff  before  the  wind ;  that 
they  and  the  whole  Paraguayan  people  so  loved,  honored, 
and  revered  him,  they  would  all  spring  to  arms  at  the  first 
call,  and  deem  it  an  honor  too  great  for  so  unworthy  sub- 
jects as  themselves  to  sacrifice  their  lives  and  fortunes  in 
following  his  banners.  This  was  what  he  heard  in  private 
conversation  ;  and  the  same  ideas,  with  numberless  changes, 
were  the  sum  and  substance  of  all  the  speeches  pronounced 
in  the  public  meetings.  Every  man  of  any  influence  or  re- 
spectability was  expected  to  join  in  and  swell  the  chorus  of 
praises ;  and  if  any  one  from  inadvertence  failed  to  do  so,  he 
was  sure  to  get  a  reminder  that  his  want  of  patriotism  had 
greatly  surprised  his  Excellency.  A  hint  of  this  kind  was 
never  repeated.  Anything  like  lukewarmness  after  that  was 
sure  to  be  punished  by  arrest,  imprisonment,  and  fetters. 
Previous  to  the  war  such  warnings  were  confined  to  Para- 
guayans ;  but  subsequently  nearly  all  the  foreigners,  before 
they  were  accused  of  the  conspiracy  for  which  they  were  exe- 
cuted, received  notice  that  they  did  not,  on  public  occasions, 
evince  sufficient  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  government  that 
protected  them. 

All  history  shows  that  it  is  not  in  human  nature  for  a  person 
to  be  constantly  told  that  he  is  the  greatest,  wisest,  and  bra- 
vest of  all  mankind  without  in  time  coming  to  believe  it.  Such 
was  the  youthful  experience  of  Lopez.  While  yet  a  boy  he 
was  placed  in  authority  over  people  who  had  grown  up  under 
such  a  reign  of  cruel  terror  that  they  never  questioned  the 


PUBLIC  AMUSEMENTS.  97 

wisdom  or  the  justice  of  any  act  emanating  from  the  govern- 
ment. He  was  addressed  by  all,  young  as  he  was,  in  terms  of 
obsequious  obedience ;  and  it  is,  perhaps,  not  strange  that  in 
time  he  should  regard  their  constant  praises  as  his  due,  and 
himself  as  meriting  all  the  attentions  he  received.  To  be 
constantly  flattered  became  a  necessity  to  him,  and  he  came 
to  look  upon  any  one  who  failed  to  minister  to  his  unnatural 
appetite  for  flattery,  not  only  as  an  enemy  to  himself,  but  an 
enemy  to  the  country  that  had  all  its  hopes  and  glories  cen- 
tred  in  his  person. 

Considerations  of  this  kind  may  indeed  to  some  extent 
account  for  the  strange  perversity  of  his  character  in  after 
life.  Had  he  been  so  circumstanced  in  his  youth  as  to  have 
been  brought  in  contact  with  others  of  his  own  age  on  terms 
of  equality,  he  must  have  learned  that,  while  he  was  superior 
in  natural  gifts  to  some  and  inferior  to  others,  he  was  liable  to 
err,  and  needed,  like  all  men,  to  be  assisted  by  the  experience 
and  counsels  of  others.  Left,  however,  to  the  indulgence  of 
a  disposition  naturally  cruel,  with  no  one  to  check  or  censure 
him,  but  encouraged  by  those  around  him  to  believe  that  all 
he  did  must  be  right,  he  developed  into  an  unnatural  character, 
in  which  all  the  evil  passions  known  to  the  human  race  had 
full  sway,  entirely  unrestrained  by  any  sentiment  of  pity  for 
human  misery  or  respect  for  human  life ;  and  even  became 
insensible  to  the  ties  of  consanguinity. 

As  a  matter  of  policy  it  was  always  the  custom  of  the  first 
Lopez  to  render  the  people  oblivious  of  their  slavery  and 
degradation  by  encouraging  them  to  indulge  in  public  amuse- 
ments. Under  Francia's  reign,  popular  assemblages  of  all 
kinds  were  forbidden  ;  and  when  this  restriction  was  removed 
by  his  successor,  they  thought  it  a  great  privilege,  even  under 
the  closest  surveillance  of  the  police,  to  be  permitted  to  meet, 
to  dance,  to  race  their  horses,  to  tilt  at  the  sortija,  and  to  have 
public  feasts  and  bull-fights.  Several  balls  were  accordingly 
given  every  year  by  authority  of  the  government,  to  which 
only  the  better  class  of  people  were  invited.  Others  of  a 
more  democratic  character  were  given,  generally  in  the  open 

VOL.  ir.  7 


98  PARAGUAY. 

air,  in  which  all  could  participate.  The  occasions  for  these 
festivities  were  usually  the  anniversaries  of  the  birthday  of 
the  President,  the  day  of  the  patron  saint  of  the  capital, 
Asuncion,  of  the  independence  of  the  state,  or  of  some  other 
important  event  in  the  nation's  history. 

At  all  times  of  the  year  music  was  kept  up  at  or  near  the 
barracks  for  several  hours  in  the  day.  This  custom  existed 
in  the  time  of  the  first  Lopez.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing during  the  summer  months,  and  four  in  the  winter,  the 
band  would  commence  to  play,  and  would  keep  it  up  for  four 
or  five  hours  without  intermission.  Towards  evening  the 
musicians  were  compelled  to  practise  as  many  hours  more. 
The  band  at  the  capital  was  very  large,  and  the  music  was 
uniformly  excellent,  but  the  duties  required  of  the  performers 
on  wind  instruments  were  so  severe  that  a  great  many  young 
men  were  completely  ruined  in  health  by  it.  There  was  al- 
ways music  for  any  kind  of  a  jubilee,  whether  it  were  a  ball 
at  the  Club,  a  promenade  through  the  streets,  a  serenade  to 
Lopez  or  Madam  Lynch,  or  a  dance  in  the  open  air  by  the 
pdnetas  de  oro. 

The  class  of  women  called /fzV/f/to  de  oro,  or  golden  combs, 
were  of  the  poorer  class,  whose  wealth  consisted  to  a  great  ex- 
tent in  their  jewelry.  These  women  were  not  of  the  poorest 
class,  but  usually  had  some  means  of  subsistence  independent 
of  menial  labor,  the  most  of  them  holding  illicit  relations  with 
men  who  were  engaged  in  business  in  the  employ  of  the  gov- 
ernment. They  constituted  a  very  large  part  of  the  female 
community  of  Asuncion,  and  were  less  depraved  and  aban- 
doned than  women  holding  such  relations  usually  are  in  other 
countries.  Among  their  other  jewels  they  have  large  old- 
fashioned  shell  combs  richly  mounted  with  fine  gold  elabo- 
rately worked  into  borders  and  flowers.  Sometimes  as  much  as 
three  or  four  ounces  of  pure  gold  are  worked  up  in  the  setting 
of  one  of  these  peinetas  de  oro.  They  were  not,  however,  worn 
by  the  ladies  of  the  higher  class,  and  were  never  seen  in  the 
balls  or  other  assemblages  where  the  forms  and  customs  of 
other  countries  were  observed.  This  class  frequently  had 


BALLS  IN  THE  OPEN  AIR. 


99 


dances  —  or,  as  they  were  called,  tertulias  —  at  their  own 
houses  ;  but  in  the  times  of  rejoicing,  as  on  national  holidays, 
their  performances  were  in  the  open  air.  In  the  later  days  of 
the  Republic,  balls  for  all  classes  were  frequently  given  in  the 
plaza  in  front  of  the  Government  House.  On  these  occasions 
three  distinct  apartments  would  be  fitted  up  for  as  many  grades 
of  people.  The  first  would  have  seats  around  it  and  carpets 
covering  the  ground.  In  this  apartment  might  be  found  the 
Vice-President,  the  Cabinet  ministers,  the  Mayor  of  the  Plaza 
and  Chief  of  Police,  and,  of  course,  the  better  class  of  citizens 
with  their  wives  and  daughters.  Besides  these  were  the  dif- 
ferent mistresses  of  Lopez  and  his  brothers.  Next  adjoin- 
ing this  apartment  was  another  very  like  it,  except  that  there 
were  no  carpets.  This  was  for  the  peinetas  de  oro,  such 
soldiers  as  had  risen  above  the  rank  of  a  private,  and  artisans 
and  others  not  of  the  class  of  peons.  In  this  division,  though 


DE  ORO.  —  From  a  Photograph. 


TOO 


PARAGUAY. 


there  were  few  of  the  female  dancers  that  had  not  jewelry 
worth  from  three  or  four  ounces  to  as  many  hundreds  of  dol- 
lars, yet  the  feet  of  every  one  were,  and  always  had  been, 
innocent  of  shoes.  Men  and  women  alike  were  barefoot. 
The  next  division  was  allotted  to  the  poorest  class,  —  to  women 
who  earned  their  subsistence  by  carrying  water,  by  keeping 
little  stands  in  the  market,  by  domestic  service,  or  in  any  way 
with  little  regard  to  decency  or  morality.  The  men  that 
shared  the  dance  with  them  were  common  soldiers,  peons,  or 
slaves.  The  three  orders,  however,  all  danced  to  the  same 
music.  The  invitations  to  all  were  given  by  the  police,  and 
from  them  an  invitation  was  an  order.  On  one  occasion  our 
friends  from  Limpio,  Anita  and  Conchita  Casal,  being  in  town, 


—  From  a  Photograph. 


went  to  view  as  spectators  one  of  these  out-door  balls  of  the 
capital.     They  stood  for  some  minutes  at  a  distance,  watch- 


BULL-FIGHTS.  IOI 

ing  the  scene,  and  hoping  to  escape  observation.  But  the 
quick  eye  of  a  policeman  observed  them,  and  he  asked  them 
to  enter  the  arena  and  join  the  dancers.  They  replied  that 
they  had  not  come  to  dance,  but  only  to  look  on.  "  Go  in  and 
dance,"  said  the  patrol  sternly,  "  or  you  go  to  the  calaboose." 
This  invitation  was  too  strong  to  be  resisted,  and  they  went 
in,  and  with  fear  and  trembling  danced  away  till,  seeing  an 
opportunity  to  withdraw  unobserved,  they  hied  away  like 
frightened  deer. 

Riding  at  the  ring,  or  sortija,  is  an  old  Spanish  amusement, 
and  is  practised  in  all  parts  of  South  America.  Two  upright 
posts  are  fixed  in  the  ground  about  ten  feet  apart,  with  a  cross- 
bar at  the  top  some  twelve  feet  from  the  ground.  From  this 
cross-bar  a  small  ring  of  trifling  value  is  loosely  suspended,  to 
become  the  property  of  him  who,  riding  his  horse  at  full  gal- 
lop beneath  it,  shall  carry  it  off  on  the  point  of  his  sword. 
There  was  always  a  band  of  music  in  attendance,  that  struck 
up  a  triumphant  air  when  the  feat  was  accomplished. 

The  festivities  of  all  kinds  were  given  on  a  more  extensive 
and  more  expensive  scale  after  the  accession  of  the  younger 
Lopez  to  power  than  they  had  ever  been  before.  On  the 
anniversary  of  his  birthday  next  succeeding  his  election  as 
President,  the  balls,  bull-fights  and  races  were  kept  up  for  a 
month.  Just  in  the  rear  of  the  old  palace,  or  cabildo,  where 
had  once  been  the  channel  of  the  river,  but  was  now  a  broad 
level  space,  a  circus,  some  sixty  yards  across,  was  built,  with 
galleries  some  six  feet  from  the  ground  running  all  around  it, 
and  commanding  a  view  of  the  arena,  which  were  divided  into 
compartments,  some  of  which  were  covered  with  cotton  cloth 
to  keep  out  the  sun.  A  few  of  them  were  fitted  up  with  cur- 
tains of  bright  and  striking  colors  for  the  use  of  Lopez,  his 
mistresses,  his  Cabinet  ministers,  officers  and  their  families. 
The  people  seemed  to  enjoy  these  exhibitions  and  pastimes  ex- 
ceedingly, and  turned  out  in  vast  numbers  to  witness  them.  As 
bull-fights,  however,  they  were  but  burlesques  on  that  barbarous 
amusement.  The  bulls,  generally,  were  not  bulls  at  all,  but 
oxen,  and  so  tame  that  they  could  hardly  be  provoked  to  rush 


102  PARAGUAY. 

at  the  picador,  or  resent  with  any  spirit  his  pricks  and  jibes. 
The  multitude,  however,  enjoyed  the  sport  of  seeing  the  poor 
animals  stabbed  or  goaded  till  some  one  of  the  matadorcs,  more 
bold  than  the  rest,  would  manage  to  plant  his  dagger  in  the 
neck  just  back  of  the  horns,  when  the  poor  brute  would  fall 
quivering  to  the  earth.  At  this  feat  a  shout  would  go  up  from 
the  crowd,  the  entrance-way  would  be  opened,  and  a  man  with 
a  lasso  would  ride  in  and  drag  out  the  helpless  beast,  to  be 
skinned  and  dressed,  and  his  flesh  given  as  food  for  the  sol- 
diers. Had  it  been  the  object  of  Lopez  to  brutalize  his  peo- 
ple, and  to  render  them  the  willing  instruments  of  the  cruel 
acts  that  marked  his  subsequent  career,  he  could  have  devised 
nothing  to  accomplish  his  object  more  effective  than  this. 
Neither  courage  nor  agility  were  required  in  the  arena  when 
such  tame  cattle  were  to  be  tortured,  and  it  would  seem  that 
there  could  be  no  object  in  such  displays  but-to  accustom  peo- 
ple, young  and  old,  male  and  female,  to  take  delight  in  wit- 
nessing the  infliction  of  pain. 

The  first  of  the  balls  given  this  year  (1863),  on  the  anni- 
versary of  the  President's  birthday,  was  held  in  the  old  Gov- 
ernment House.  This,  as  was  customary,  was  given  in  the 
name  of  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy.  Though  given 
in  their  name,  it  was  at  the  government  expense,  as,  with  two 
or  three  exceptions,  not  one  of  the  officers  of  high  grade  in 
the  country  could  have  raised  fifty  dollars  without  pawning  his 
clothes.  They  had  scarcely  any  salary,  and  being  almost  all 
of  them  taken  from  the  lowest  class,  they  had  no  fortune  of 
their  own.  Their  uniforms  were  furnished  by  the  state,  and 
were  rich  and  elegant.  For  them  to  have  given  the  ball  and 
banquet  on  this  occasion  would  have  taken  all  their  salaries 
for  at  least  a  year.  But  the  great  ball  of  the  season  was  to  be 
in  the  Club.  A  step  towards  imperialism  was  to  be  publicly 
made  on  that  occasion.  The  dancing-hall  was  refitted  and 
refurnished,  and  at  the  upper  end,  where  the  President  and  his 
ministers  were  accustomed  to  sit,  a  raised  semicircular  plat- 
form was  erected.  This  platform  was  about  twenty  feet  across, 
and  had  an  elevation  of  about  a  foot  from  the  floor.  Upon 


ABJECT  OBSERVANCES.  IC>3 

this  was  placed  another  of  about  two  yards  across,  and  raised 
above  the  main  platform  some  ten  or  twelve  inches,  and  on 
this  was  a  large  arm-chair  gorgeously  trimmed  with  damask 
and  gold  as  a  seat  for  the  President  in  esse  and  the  Emperor 
in  posse.  At  each  hand,  on  the  lower  platform,  stood  two 
other  arm-chairs,  less  richly  decorated,  for  the  Vice-Presideht 
and  the  Cabinet  ministers.  Above,  and  directly  over  the 
head  of  the  President  of  the  Republic,  was  a  semicircular 
frame,  corresponding  in  size  with  the  smaller  platform  below, 
faced  with  purple  velvet  about  fifteen  inches  wide  and  with 
deep  rich  fringe  pendent  from  it.  Heavy  damask  curtains 
were  draped  so  as  to  fall  in  the  rear  of  the  ministerial  chairs, 
while  wrought  in  gold  in  the  broad  velvet  facing  of  the  canopy 
overhead  were  the  letters  F.  S.  L. 

About  this  time  the  word  had  been  passed  to  certain  officials 
that  no  one  was  ever  to  sit  in  the  presence  of  his  Excellency 
when  he  was  himself  standing.  A  hint  to  that  effect  from  an 
officer  in  uniform  was  sufficient  to  insure  obedience  among 
Paraguayans  ;  but  no  official  order  was  given  to  that  effect,  and 
the  foreigners  were  not  advised  that  for  the  future  any  such 
marks  of  homage  would  be  required.  They  were  left  to  be 
instructed  when  they  should  commit  a  breach  of  the  new  rule. 
Some  Englishmen  who  had  long  been  in  the  country  were  the 
first  to  offend.  Never  having  been  accustomed  to  observe,  on 
previous  occasions,  whether  the  President  was  standing  or 
sitting,  they  seated  themselves  in  the  lower  part  of  the  hall, 
not  observing  that  the  President  was  standing  on  the  first  step 
of  the  platform  in  front  of  the  throne.  They  were  quietly 
informed  that  it  was  not  permitted  to  sit  while  his  Excel- 
lency was  standing,  and  before  the  next  ball  was  given  it  was 
known  among  all  the  foreigners  that  respect  for  the  President 
demanded  they  should  never  sit  in  his  presence  unless  he 
was  also  sitting.  Other  signs  of  an  intention  to  demand  more 
abject  obsequiousness  than  had  before  prevailed  were  also  to 
be  observed.  Whenever  the  President  was  in  sight,  everybody 
was  expected  to  be  uncovered.  The  guard  in  attendance 
upon  him  was  increased,  and  more  formality  in  approaching 


104  PARAGUAY. 

him  was  observed.  Even  then  I  saw  that  these  changes  in 
matters  of  etiquette  and  deportment  were  but  preliminary  to 
a  change  in  the  form  of  government,  and  I  took  pains  to  show 
my  disapprobation  of  them  by  openly  disregarding  them.  It 
may  not  have  been  diplomatic,  and  certainly  was  not  courtier- 
like,  but  I  took  a  sort  of  malicious  pleasure,  when  everybody 
else  in  the  room  was  standing,  to  sit  in  a  conspicuous  place, 
indifferent  whether  the  President  were  standing  or  not.  These 
offences  were  laid  up  against  me,  to  be  brought  up  years  after- 
wards. 

Another  change  in  the  etiquette  of  the  court  was  intro- 
duced about  the  same  time  with  the  prohibition  to  sit  while 
his  Excellency  was  standing.  At  the  balls,  which  the  Presi- 
dent honored  by  his  presence,  I  observed  that  the  dancers,  in 
making  up  their  sets  for  quadrilles, "  lancers,"  or  other  square 
dances,  formed  them  diagonally  across  the  hall  instead  of  in 
figures  corresponding  to  the  form  of  the  room,  as  had  always 
previously  been  the  custom.  When  I  asked,  in  my  innocence 
and  ignorance  of  imperial  etiquette,  what  was  the  meaning  of 
this  innovation,  I  was  told,  in  a  whisper,  that  it  was  not  proper 
for  any  one  to  turn  his  back  on  the  President.  Hence  the 
figures  were  so  formed  that,  when  his  Excellency  was  seated 
on  the  throne  or  standing  in  front  of  it,  no  one  would  be  forced 
to  the  indecorum  of  standing  with  his  back  towards  him. 

These  changes,  that  were  understood  by  all  to  be  but  initial 
steps  towards  the  empire,  were  made  before  the  war  com- 
menced and  while  yet  Lopez  was  at  the  capital.  Two  years 
later,  on  my  return  from  the  United  States,  I  found  that, 
under  the  direction  of  his  mistress,  the  people  were  subjected 
to  still  more  degrading  observances.  As  Lopez  could  not  be 
present  at  the  public  balls,  a  large  picture  of  him  was  always 
placed  in  front  of  the  throne,  to  which  the  same  respect 
must  be  shown  as  to  the  great  Lopez  in  person.  The  quad- 
rilles must  still  be  formed  diagonally,  as  it  was  disrespectful 
for  any  one  to  turn  his  back  on  the  picture  of  his  Excellency. 
Whenever  I  saw  this  picture  thus  displayed  as  an  object  of 
reverence,  if  not  of  worship,  I  could  not  but  think  of  Gesler 


THE  GREAT  CLOTHES  QUESTION.  105 

and  William  Tell.  But  the  spirit  of  the  Paraguayan  people 
was  so  completely  broken,  that  there  remained  no  hope  to 
them  that  a  deliverance  from  their  degradation  could  ever 
come  from  themselves. 

The  great  ball  of  the  24th  of  July,  the  President's  birthday, 
when  the  new  throne  was  to  be  inaugurated,  was  announced 
as  to  be  given  by  the  citizens  of  Asuncion.  It  was  intended 
to  be  the  grandest  affair  of  the  kind  ever  known  in  Paraguay. 
It  was  destined,  however,  to  be  a  dismal  failure,  and  I  fear 
that  I  was,  unwittingly,  the  cause  of  it.  To  the  court  or  official 
balls  in  Paraguay  nothing  in  the  way  of  a  uniform  or  court 
dress  had  ever  been  required  for  admission.  It  had,  however, 
always  been  the  custom  of  the  agents  of  foreign  governments, 
diplomatic  and  consular,  to  attend  in  uniform.  The  invita- 
tions generally  expressed  on  their  face  the  object  or  occasion 
of  the  assemblage,  and  if  it  were  to  be  a  formal,  official  affair, 
to  be  attended  by  the  President  and  his  Cabinet,  then  people 
who  had  uniforms  were  expected  to  wear  them.  On  this  occa- 
sion, however,  the  ball  was  given  by  the  citizens  to  testify  their 
joy  at  the  return  of  his  Excellency's  birthday.  I  therefore  told 
my  colleague  (I  had  but  one),  the  Oriental  Minister,  and  the 
different  consuls,  that  as  I  had  received  no  notice  that  the  ball 
was  to  be  of  an  official  character,  and  attended  by  the  Presi- 
dent or  his  Cabinet,  I  should  assume  the  contrary,  and  go  in 
citizen's  dress.  They  all  followed  my  example,  though  reluc- 
tantly, as  from  common  report  they  all  knew,  and  I  knew, 
that  it  was  intended  to  be  not  only  official,  but  gorgeous  and 
magnificent,  and  that  his  Excellency  was  to  occupy  the  new 
throne  for  the  first  time.  We  accordingly  all  went  in  a  body 
in  plain  evening  dress.  We  arrived  a  little  late,  and  not  till 
after  the  President,  having  been  seated  on  the  throne  for  a 
while,  had  risen  and  was  standing  in  front  of  it.  Making  our 
way  through  the  densely  packed  company,  we  approached  to 
make  our  bows,  express  our  felicitations,  and  fall  back  to  join 
in  the  dance  or  converse  with  the  scnoritas.  As  we  ap- 
proached, we  could  see  that  a  scowl  was  on  his  face  and 
that  he  was  in  a  towering  passion.  To  our  salute  he  re- 


106  PARAGUAY. 

turned  but  a  grudging  nod.  The  ball,  which  to  that  moment 
had  been  as  lively  and  cheerful  as  usual  when  he  was  present, 
instantly  became  as  sombre  and  chilling  as  a  funeral.  The 
dancers  moved  about  in  a  manner  as  measured  and  solemn  as 
though  they  expected  the  company  was  to  be  decimated  for 
execution  before  morning.  Our  coming  as  we  did  had  cast  a 
shadow  on  the  whole  affair.  The  lack  of  a  few  brass  buttons 
had  ruined  the  ball.  There  was  no  mirth  or  hilarity  after  our 
arrival.  The  President  left  early,  for  his  wrath  was  not  modi- 
fied, though  some  of  the  offenders  sought  to  draw  him  into 
conversation  ;  but  he  would  not  be  comforted.  He  had  been 
touched  in  a  tender  point  in  his  first  open  step  towards  mon- 
archy, and  he  had  no  remedy.  The  parties  who  had  offended 
him  were  not  amenable  to  his  power.  After  his  Excellency 
had  withdrawn,  and  the  guests  had  partaken  of  the  elegant 
banquet  that  had  been  prepared,  they  withdrew  to  their  homes, 
anxiously  expecting  the  developments  of  the  next  day.  But 
the  next  day  brought  nothing  new.  On  reflection,  the  Presi- 
dent doubtless  saw  that  he  had  made  a  silly  and  foolish  ex- 
hibition of  ill-temper,  and  thought  the  less  said  about  the 
whole  affair  the  more  it  would  be  to  his  credit. 

A  few  nights  afterwards  another  ball  was  given  under  sim- 
ilar circumstances.  But,  having  been  so  rudely  treated  at  the 
last  one,  we  now  determined  to  stand  for  our  rights,  and  go  in 
the  same  costume  as  when  we  had  offended  so  grievously.  On 
this  occasion  the  President  was  as  bland  and  courteous  as  I 
had  ever  seen  him,  and  I  took  occasion  to  ask  his  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  Jose  Berges,  why  we  of  the  consular  and 
diplomatic  bodies  were  not  advised  beforehand  whether  or 
not  the  various  festivals  to  which  we  were  invited  were  to 
be  of  an  official  character  and  attended  by  the  President  and 
his  Cabinet.  Such  an  important  question  as  that  he  could  not 
answer  without  orders,  and  therefore  he  deferred  his  reply  till 
the  next  day,  when  he  sent  me  a  formal  and  verbose  note  in 
which,  after  a  great  deal  of  circumlocution,  he  said  that  in 
reply  to  my  question  of  the  previous  evening  he  was  happy 
to  inform  me  that  for  the  future  he  would  advise  me,  on  appli- 


THE  GREAT  CLOTHES  QUESTION.  107 

cation,  whether  or  not  any  festival  which  I  might  be  inclined 
to  attend  were  to  be  of  a  formal  and  official  character,  and 
honored  by  the  presence  of  his  Excellency  the  President,  and 
thus  relieve  me  of  any  doubt  whether  I  should  go  in  uniform 
or  not.  To  this  I  replied  in  substance,  that  it  was  not  my 
business  to  go  to  him  to  inquire  what  clothes  I  should  wear, 
but  that  it  was  his  business,  in  sending  out  invitations,  to 
advise  their  recipients  of  the  character  of  the  entertainment, 
and  if  that  were  done,  I  was  disposed,  in  lesser  things  as  well 
as  in  those  of  more  importance,  to  conform  to  the  usages 
and  customs  of  the  country  whenever  I  could  do  so  with 
propriety  and  self-respect.  The  reply  to  this  was,  that  in 
future  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  would  advise  the 
deans  of  the  diplomatic  and  consular  bodies  whenever  any 
festival,  to  which  they  might  be  invited,  was  to  be  of  an  official 
character  and  attended  by  the  President  and  his  ministers. 

The  clothes  question,  which  has  given  rise  to  so  much  discus- 
sion between  American  ministers  and  the  courts  to  which 
they  have  been  accredited,  was  thus  disposed  of  for  the  time 
in  Paraguay.  Lopez,  however,  was  greatly  ashamed  of  the 
whole  affair.  In  this  case  he  admitted  himself  in  the  wrong ; 
the  only  time,  probably,  he  ever  did  so  in  his  life.  He  even 
went  so  far  as  to  give  another  ball  some  time  after,  and  to  send 
notice  to  me  and  to  the  dean  of  the  consuls  that  it  was  not  to 
be  an  official  affair,  but  that  he  should  himself  attend,  though 
not  in  full  uniform,  and  his  ministers  who  were  not  military 
men  would  go  in  citizen's  dress.  He  was  greatly  afraid  that 
his  boorishness  at  the  first  ball  would  be  complained  of  by 
other  governments.  It  was  always  his  particular  ambition  to 
be  thought  a  very  pattern  of  deportment,  and  as  far  as  possi- 
ble removed  from  the  rude  manners  of  the  gaucho  or  of  his 
own  Indian  ancestors ;  and  when,  some  months  after,  he 
learned  that  the  French  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  M. 
Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  had  absolutely  refused  to  grant  an  interview 
to  his  Charge"  d*  Affaires  in  Paris,  Don  Candido  Bareiro,  he 
was  for  a  time  greatly  concerned  lest  the  reason  of  it  should 
be  alleged  to  be  his  own  rude  treatment  of  the  French  consul 


108  PARAGUAY. 

and  other  representatives  of  foreign  governments.  The 
French  consul,  however,  when  questioned  on  the  matter  by 
Minister  Berges,  replied  that  he  had  thought  so  little  of  the 
affair  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence  that  he  had  never  alluded 
to  it  in  his  despatches  to  his  government.  • 

On  the  occasion  of  the  next  birthday  of  the  President,  the 
festivities  were  continued  so  long  that  a  stranger  would  have 
supposed  that  balls  and  bull-fights,  races,  and  tilting  at  the 
sortija,  were  the  employments  to  which  the  people  devoted 
themselves.  The  joyful  demonstrations  commenced  with  a 
grand  ball  given  at  the  new  railroad  station,  in  which  a  large 
dancing-hall  had  been  magnificently  fitted  up,  and  they  were 
continued  in  one  form  or  another  from  the  24th  of  July  till 
the  loth  of  September.  As  many  balls  were  given  at  the 
Club  as  there  were  different  occupations  of  people.  The  citi- 
zens of  Asuncion  gave  one,  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  an- 
other, the  officers  of  the  army  another,  and  the  officers  of  the 
navy  still  another.  The  merchants  of  the  capital  gave  one,-/ 
the  foreign  employees  of  the  government  gave  one,  and  the 
judges  another.  It  was  expected  that  the  same  people  would 
attend  each  of  these,  as  whoever  was  eligible  to  one  was  eligi- 
ble to  them  all.  As  a  banquet  was  given  at  each  of  these 
balls,  several  days  must  intervene  between  them,  and  the  in- 
tervening nights  were  given  up  to  the  peinetas  de  oro  and  the 
water-carriers.  Night  after  night  a  great  multitude  was  col- 
lected in  the  Plaza  del  Gobierno  ;  and  whether  tired,  or  hun- 
gry, or  sick,  they  must  join  in  the  dance  and  keep  it  up  at 
least  till  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  They  must  rejoice, 
they  must  dance  and  sing  and  shout,  for  they  were  celebrating 
the  birthday  of  the  great  Lopez. 

One  peculiar  feature  of  these  festivities  in  honor  of  the 
President's  birthday  was  the  general  illumination  of  the  prin- 
cipal squares  of  the  city.  For  several  days  before  they  com- 
menced, a  large  force  was  set  at  work  to  decorate  the  city. 
Triumphal  arches  were  erected  in  different  places.  These 
were  of  light  framework,  and  covered  with  white  cotton  cloth; 
on  which  were  displayed  in  large  letters  a  great  number  of 


A   MONOPOLY   OF   HONORS.  IOg 

sentiments,  all  eulogistic  of  the  great  Lopez.  The  Club  also 
was  adorned  with  similar  texts  and  mottoes,  and  paper  lan- 
terns by  the  hundred  were  placed  along  the  street,  each  one  of 
which  had  on  it  a  sentence  laudatory  of  the  great  hero.  The 
ingenuity  of  the  people  in  framing  so  many  expressions  on 
the  same  barren  subject  was  wonderful.  All  the  great  and  n 
good  qualities  they  had  ever  heard  applied  to  any  and  every- 
body else  were  blazoned  on  arch  or  wall  or  transparency. 
Lopez,  the  great  man,  the  unequalled  warrior,  the  father  of 
his  people,  the  defender  of  his  country,  the  great  pacificator,  the 
promoter  of  national  progress,  the  champion  of  independence, 
the  guardian  of  liberty,  the  dauntless  hero,  and  every  other 
form  of  flattery  and  adulation,  were  paraded  in  the  streets 
through  which  his  Excellency  was  to  pass.  But  no  word  of  J 
honor  or  approval  was  ever  permitted  to  any  other  living  per- 
son. Occasionally  there  would  be  an  allusion  to  the  services 
of  Don  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez,  but  never  was  the  name  of  any 
of  his  officers,  no  matter  how  great  their  services  and  sacri- 
fices, allowed  to  appear  in  his  newspaper  or  in  any  public  place. 
So  long  as  they  lived  he  was  jealous  of  them,  but  when  killed 
in  battle  he  had  nothing  more  to  fear  from  them,  and  he  would 
order  them  great  funerals,  at  which  all  who  were  able  to  do  so 
were  required  to  pronounce  funeral  orations,  in  which  the 
dead  were  to  be  praised  and  honored  for  having  fallen  in  sus- 
taining the  banners  of  the  great,  the  daring,  the  matchless 
Lopez. 

After  every  grade  and  class  of  people  in  Asuncion  had 
shown  their  loyalty  and  devotion  to  Lopez  by  balls,  games, 
and  festivals  of  various  kinds,  it  was  announced  that  the 
ladies  of  the  capital  were  anxious  to  manifest  their  patriotism 
and  celebrate  the  birthday  of  the  President.  This  was  but 
the  precursor  of  many  other  testimonials  given  by  the  ladies 
of  the  country  to  Lopez.  They  were  all  managed  in  the 
same  way.  Madam  Lynch  would  first  suggest  to  the  wives  of 
two  or  three  foreigners  who  were  trembling  for  their  lives  that 
such  a  demonstration  would  probably  be  acceptable  to  his 
Excellency,  and  the  poor  women  would  at  once  take  the  hint 


1 10  PARAGUAY. 

that  they  must  take  the  initiative  in  the  matter  or  evil  would 
befall  them.  They  would  accordingly  go  around  and  notify 
others  that  they  were  expected  to  take  part  and  contribute  to 
the  expense.  None  would  dare  refuse,  and  hence  such  a 
demonstration  was  no  sooner  proposed  than  its  success  was 
certain. 

On  this  occasion  the  hall  of  the  Club  was  decorated  with 
unusual  magnificence,  and  the  street  from  the  President's 
house  to  the  Club  was  a  perfect  blaze  of  light.  A  magnificent 
arch  covered  with  mottoes  expressive  of  the  genius  and  merits 
of  Lopez  was  erected  between  them,  and  the  way  on  each 
side  was  lined  with  transparencies  all  testifying  to  his  great- 
ness. The  hall  was  closely  packed  with  the  younger  people 
of  the  best  families  in  the  country,  and  the  young  ladies  were 
more  severely  taxed  than  they  had  ever  been  before,  that  their 
toilets  might  correspond  with  the  general  magnificence  of  the 
occasion.  At  this  time  there  chanced  to  be  an  unusual  num- 
ber of  strangers  in  Asuncion,  including  as  many  as  four  min- 
isters and  five  or  six  consuls,  more  of  both  than  at  any  time 
before  or  since.  The  approach  of  his  Excellency  was  her- 
alded by  the  firing  of  rockets,  and  a  brilliant  display  of  fire- 
works in  the  Plaza;  and  as  he  entered  the  hall,  accompanied 
by  his  ministers,  a  passage-way  was  made  for  him,  good  care 
being  taken  that  it  should  be  lined  on  both  sides  with  the 
most  beautiful  young  ladies  in  the  room.  Bowing  his  way  to 
the  upper  end  of  the  hall,  he  stopped  when  he  reached  the  foot 
of  the  throne,  and  facing  the  crowd,  a  chorus  of  female  singers 
commenced  singing  an  ode  in  his  praise.  When  this  was 
concluded,  one  of  the  young  ladies  stepped  forward  bearing  a 
crown  of  laurel  in  her  hand,  and  pronounced  a  discourse  eulo- 
gizing Lopez  as  the  greatest,  the  bravest,  and  best  of  man- 
kind. She  was  succeeded  by  about  a  dozen  others,  each  of  whom 
delivered  the  little  speech  that  had  been  prepared  for  her,  and 
which  had  beforehand  been  approved  by  Lopez.  Among  the 
young  ladies  thus  privileged  were  two  or  three  of  his  cast-off 
mistresses.  When  all  had  concluded  their  discourses,  Lopez 
replied  to  them,  expressing  his  surprise  and  gratification  at 


TESTIMONIAL   FROM   THE   LADIES.  j  i  i 

such  demonstrations  of  patriotism  and  loyalty.  But  he  did 
not  take  it  as  at  all  personal  to  himself.  No  ;  he  accepted  it  as 
proof  that  the  ladies  of  Paraguay  would  sustain  him  in  main- 
taining the  independence,  the  honor,  and  the  dignity  of  the 
country,  and  that  thus  encouraged  he  would  go  on  in  the 
task  imposed  upon  him  by  the  office  that  the  people  had  con- 
ferred upon  him. 

Among  the  crowd  in  attendance  on  this  occasion  were 
several  whose  nearest  and  dearest  relatives  were  at  that  very 
moment  in  prison  ;  and  I  well  recollect  the  sad  face  of 
a  lady  who  was  one  of  the  chorus,  as,  with  a  breaking  heart, 
she  repressed  her  tears  and  forced  her  tongue  to  swell  the 
strains  in  praise  of  Lopez.  Poor  woman  !  Her  husband  for 
some  cause  known  only  to  Lopez  had  been  thrown  into  prison 
a  few  weeks  before  and  loaded  with  fetters,  from  which  he  had 
been  freed  by  death  but  two  days  before  ;  but  she  must  never- 
theless attend,  and  join  in  the  chant  glorifying  the  murderer 
of  her  husband. 

The  speeches  and  singing  were  followed  by  dancing,  and 
on  this  occasion,  for  the  first  and  only  time,  Lopez  took  part 
in  a  quadrille.  For  the  first  dance  the  ladies  were  to  choose 
their  partners,  each  one  being  before  advised  whom  she  was 
to  select.  Of  course  no  one  could  be  found  sufficiently  ele- 
vated in  character,  position,  and  family  to  select  the  President, 
except  his  own  sister.  He  was  therefore  selected  for  a  part- 
ner by  Dona  Inocencia,  the  wife  of  General  Barrios,  while  such 
other  ladies  as  were  supposed  to  approach  more  nearly  to 
her  lofty  station  were  detailed  to  dance  with  the  members  of 
the  Cabinet  and  the  ministers  of  other  countries.  Madam 
Lynch  was  not  permitted  to  enter  the  royal  set.  Until  some 
time  after  this  she  was  obliged  to  keep  in  the  background 
on  public  occasions  ;  and  though  present  at  this  ball,  Lopez 
did  not  venture  to  insult  the  foreign  guests  by  bringing  her 
face  to  face  with  them  in  so  public  a  manner.  Besides  the 
foreigners,  the  first  set  was  composed  of  Lopez  and  his  Vice- 
President,  Sanchez ;  his  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Berges  ; 
his  Minister  of  Government,  Gonzales  ;  and  his  brother  Ve- 


!  i  2  PARAGUAY. 

nancio,  then  Minister  of  War  and  Marine.  Berges  and  Gon-. 
zales  were  old  men  at  that  time.  But  they  were  to  die,  as 
well  as  was  Don  Venancio,  an  ignominious  and  horrible  death 
at  the  hands  of  Lopez  ;  and  of  all  the  females  who  participated 
in  the  festivities  of  that  night,  there  is  not  probably  now,  six 
years  later,  one  in  twenty  yet  alive.  Many  were  flogged  and 
executed,  others  expired  under  torture  or  from  drudgery  and 
starvation  in  the  camp,  and  many  died  of  exposure,  hard- 
ship, and  privation  in  the  mountains  to  which  they  had  been 
driven  by  the  same  remorseless  despot  who  had  forced  them 
to  chant  his  praises  and  crown  him  with  laurel  while  yet 
they  had  homes  and  a  hope  of  deliverance  from  his  terrible 
power. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Discussion  with  Lopez.  —  Return  from  the  United  States.  —  Rear-Admiral  S. 
W.  Godon. — First  Visit  to  General  Mitre.  —  A  Repulse  from  Admiral  Ta- 
mandare  —  Mitre's  Subterfuges.  —  A  Perplexing  Dilemma.  —  The  Allies  in- 
vade Paraguay.  —  The  Brazilian  Special  Envoy.  —  His  Attempts  at  Bribery.  — 
Protest  against  further  Delay.  —  Instructions  from  Washington. 

IN  my  last  interview  with  President  Lopez  previous  to  my( 
return  to  the  United  States,  I  argued  with  him  to  the  best 
of  my  ability  that  it  was  his  true  policy  to  allow  the  officers 
and  crew  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda,  and  the  new  President  of 
Matto  Grosso,  Carneiro  de  Campos,  to  leave  the  country.  I 
endeavored* to  convince  him  that  by  so  doing  the  questions  at 
issue  between  him  and  Brazil  would  be  much  more  easy  of 
adjustment.  The  seizure  of  the  vessel  would  not  provoke 
either  the  government  or  the  people  of  Brazil  to  put  forth  the 
same  energies  in  a  war  as  would  the  detention  of  his  Majes- 
ty's subjects.  If  the  two  nations  were  already  at  war,  as 
Lopez  said  they  were,  it  was  not  good  policy  for  him  to  do 
any  acts  that  should  tend  to  unite  the  whole  Brazilian  people 
against  him.  He  did  not  seem  inclined  to  listen  to  these  sug- 
gestions, and  said  the  war  was  to  be  but  a  brief  campaign, 
and  would  be  all  over  before  I  should  be  back  from  the  United 
States.  I  was  anxious,  not  only  that  these  unfortunate  peo- 
ple should  be  allowed  to  depart,  but  that  some  mode  of  ad- 
justment might  be  left  open  so  that  the  war  should  not  as- 
sume that  character  which  I  even  then  foresaw  it  must  unless 
Lopez  would  show  some  respect  to  the  laws  of  nations.  Hav- 
ing seized  them  in  a  manner  so  barbarous  and  in  such  utter 
defiance  of  the  laws  of  nations,  it  was  plain  that  Brazil  could 
not,  without  incurring  the  contempt  of  the  whole  civilized 


114  PARAGUAY. 

9 

world,  treat  with  him  as  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation,  and 
that,  cruel  despot  as  he  was,  he  would  sacrifice  the  life  of 
.  every  Paraguayan  sooner  than  relinquish  his  own  power. 

But  we  did  not  agree,  as  he  felt  confident  that  Brazil  would 
be  glad  to  offer  terms  to  him  as  soon  as  he  should  be  willing 
to  listen  to  them.  Accordingly  I  took  my  departure  for  the 

/  United  States  on  the  i6th  of  January,  1865  ;  and  it  was  my 
expectation,  if  I  should  return  at  all,  to  be  back  there  in  the 
course  of  seven  or  eight  months.  I  did  not,  however,  leave 
New  York  till  the  6th  of  September  of  the  same  year,  and  in 
the  ordinary  way  of  travel  I  should  have  reached  Asuncion 
about  the  middle  of  November.  But  a  series  of  delays  and 
annoyances  occurred  that  were  persisted  in  by  the  allies  so 
long  that  it  was  not  till  a  year  later  I  again  set  foot  in  Para- 
guay. The  history  of  that  year  will  be  given  very  briefly; 
and  I  would  gladly  omit  it  entirely,  as  in  relating  it  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  expose  the  conduct  of  an  official  of  high  rank 
in  the  American  Navy.  Still,  as  this  delay  had  an  important 
bearing  on  the  conduct  of  the  war,  and  seriously  affected  my 
relations  with  President  Lopez,  it  is  necessary  to  give  it  as 
a  key,  or  explanation,  of  many  things  that  transpired  subse- 
quently. 

On  my  way  to  the  Plata  I  reached  Rio  de  Janeiro  on  the 
3d  of  October,  where  I  learned  that  my  predictions  to  Presi- 
dent Lopez  in  regard  to  the  slow  progress  of  the  war  had 
been  fulfilled.  I  also  learned  that  all  communication  between 

v  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  Paraguay  had  ceased  ;  and  that,  as 
no  merchant  vessels  were  permitted  by  the  allies  to  ascend 
the  river  and  pass  within  the  lines  of  Lopez,  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  me  to  go  to  my  post  without  the  aid  of  an  Amer- 
ican gunboat.  Fortunately,  as  I  then  thought,  we  had  a 
large  squadron  on  that  station,  with  nothing  to  do  but  be  ready 
on  occasion  to  give  protection  to  our  citizens  and  to  vindicate 
the  national  character.  The  squadron  was  under  the  com- 
mand of  Acting  Rear-Admiral  S.  W.  Godon.  I  conferred 
with  him  in  regard  to  the  situation  in  which  I  should  probably 
find  myself  on  my  arrival  at  the  river,  and  advised  him  that 


"A  BEGGAR  ON  HORSEBACK."  115 

without  the  aid  of  a  vessel  from  his  squadron  I  should  not  "be 
able  to  reach  my  post.  Under  such  circumstances  his  duty 
was  clear,  and  so  he  understood  it,  for  he  advised  me  that  he 
should  soon  proceed  to  the  river  with  his  squadron,  and,  if  he 
found  the  situation  as  I  suspected,  should  himself,  on  his 
arrival,  detach  a  vessel  to  take  me  to  Paraguay.  This  being 
arranged,  I  proceeded  to  Buenos  Aires,  where  I  awaited  for 
some  six  weeks  the  arrival  of  the  Admiral.  When  he  did  at 
last  arrive,  I  found,  greatly  to  my  chagrin  and  to  the  mortifi- 
cation of  all  the  Americans  in  the  Plata,  he  was  not  disposed 
to  help  me  forward  to  my  destination.  I  was  therefore 
compelled  to  make  the  effort  to  reach  Paraguay  without  the 
aid  of  a  national  vessel.  I  had  already  lost  more  than  two 
months  waiting  for  him  to  redeem  his  promise,  but  he  seemed 
insensible  to  the  scandal  and  contempt  that  his  conduct  was 
bringing  on  the  naval  service,  and  I  could  not  wait  till  the 
government  could  be  advised  of  his  strange  perversity  and 
send  out  instructions  to  him.  I  must  therefore  make  the  at- 
tempt to  reach  my  post  as  best  I  could. 

The  singular  conduct  of  the  Admiral  throughout  this  whole 
affair  having  been  made  the  subject  of  a  Congressional  inves- 
tigation, and  condemned  in  terms  of  great  severity  in  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  I  shall  pass 
over  the  frivolous  excuses  that  he  alleged  for  not  comply- 
ing with  my  request,  and  shall  only  relate  so  much  of  his 
connection  with  my  detention  as  was  made  use  of  by  the 
allies  in  justification  of  their  conduct  in  resisting  my  pas- 
sage through  their  lines  until  they  saw  themselves  on  the 
verge  of  war  with  the  United  States.  The  history  of  the 
whole  affair  will  serve  to  show  the  truth  of  the  old  adage 
of  the  beggar  on  horseback,  and  how,  when  the  command 
of  a  naval  squadron  in  distant  waters  is  intrusted  to  an  in- 
competent commander,  the  greatest  interests  of  the  country 
may  be  jeopardized,  and  the  nation  may  be  so  compromised 
as  to  be  compelled  to  declare  war  in  vindication  of  rights  that 
have  been  invaded  with  the  approval  and  connivance  of 
officials  holding  high  rank  in  its  own  service. 


Il6  PARAGUAY. 

It  might  not  be  a  very  dignified  proceeding  for  a  duly 
accredited  minister  of  a  government  hitherto  considered  re- 
spectable to  go  to  the  head-quarters  of  one  of  the  belligerents 
and  beg  permission,  like  a  tourist  or  a  pedler,  to  pass  the 
military  lines,  when  it  was  publicly  known  that  we  had  on  the 
station  a  large  squadron,  consisting  of  one  First-Rate,  serving 
as  a  pleasure-yacht  for  the  admiral,  and  several  light-draught 
gunboats,  any  one  of  which  could  at  little  expense  and  no 
inconvenience  take  him  to  his  post  in  a  manner  consistent 
with  the  national  dignity.  But  there  was  no  alternative ;  I 
must  obey  orders. 

Leaving  my  family,  therefore,  in  Buenos  Aires,  I  set  forth 
on  a  river  packet  for  Corrientes,  which  town  is  situate  about 
thirty  miles  from  where  the  allied  armies  were  encamped. 
Thence  I  made  my  way  immediately  to  the  head-quarters  of 
General  Mitre,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  allied  forces  and 
President  of  the  Argentine  Republic.  I  made  known  to  him 
that  my  object  in  coming  to  his  camp  was  to  advise  him  I 
was  on  my  way  back  to  my  post  of  official  duty,  to  which  I 
could  return  only  by  passing  through  his  military  lines.  His 
reply  was  that,  in  his  opinion,  I  had  a  right  to  pass  through 
them,  but  it  was  not  a  matter  for  him  alone  to  decide.  Though 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army,  the  passage  of  a  foreign  min- 
ister through  the  lines  was  a  question  to  be  treated  by  all  the 
parties  to  the  alliance.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  could  commu- 
nicate with  his  government  at  Buenos  Aires  he  had  no  doubt 
that  it  would  immediately  secure  the  concurrence  of  the  Brazil- 
ian special  minister  and  of  the  government  of  Montevideo  in 
his  views,  and  that,  so  soon  as  he  could  learn  of  their  joint 
approval,  he  would  be  enabled  to  tender  me  all  the  facilities 
for  reaching  Paraguay  that  national  courtesy  and  comity  could 
demand.  A  very  brief  delay  only  was  asked  for  certain  forms 
to  be  complied  with,  and,  if  I  would  consent  to  that,  then  all 
embarrassment  would  be  avoided.  I  had  no  alternative  but  to 
submit,  which  I  did  the  more  willingly  as  in  the  time  required 
for  him  to  get  the  assent  of  his  allies  I  could  return  for  my 
family,  and  take  them  with  me  to  Paraguay. 


RETURN  TO  THE  ALLIED  CAMP.  u^ 

Returning  to  Buenos  Aires  I  went  directly  to  the  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  Senor  Elizalde,  and  stated  the  result  of 
my  interview  with  President  Mitre.  The  Minister  assented 
to  all  that  his  chief  had  said,  and  added  that  the  Brazilian 
special  envoy  concurred  in  their  views,  and  on  my  return  to 
Corrientes  every  facility  for  reaching  Paraguay  would  be 
extended  to  me.  In  conformity  with  these  expressions  he 
offered  me  a  letter  to  President  Mitre,  requesting  him,  in  the 
name  of  the  allies,  to  grant  all  the  means  of  reaching  my  post 
that  he  had  promised. 

Thus  armed,  I  started  again  for  Corrientes,  this  time  with 
my  family.  The  first  night,  the  steamer  in  which  we  had 
taken  passage  run  so  hard  and  fast  aground  that  it  was 
found  impossible  to  get  her  off  again  without  discharging 
her  cargo.  Another  steamer,  coming  along  the  next  day, 
took  us  off  and  carried  us  as  far  as  Rosario,  though  we 
were  obliged  to  leave  our  baggage  behind  us.  From  Rosa- 
rio we  proceeded  immediately  to  Corrientes,  where,  after  wait- 
ing for  some  three  weeks,  our  trunks  and  provisions  at  last 
arrived.  I  hurried  at  once  to  head-quarters,  which  had  been 
moved  to  Paso  de  la  Patria  since  my  former  visit  to  the 
camp.  I  took  passage  on  an  English  transport  for  this  place, 
where,  on  landing,  I  met  the  Argentine  Minister  of  War,  Gen- 
eral Gelly  y  Obes.  By  him  I  was  informed  that  Mitre  had 
not  yet  moved  his  own  quarters,  but,  being  indisposed,  had 
remained  behind  the  army  when  it  moved  in  near  the  river. 
He  would,  however,  advise  him  of  my  return,  and  arrange  it 
so  that  I  could  have  an  interview  with  him  on  the  succeeding 
day.  The  next  day  Gelly  y  Obes  came  on  board  the  trans- 
port to  inform  me  that  Mitre  was  still  indisposed  at  his  camp, 
and  that  any  business  I  had  with  him  could  be  arranged 
equally  well  with  the  admiral  of  the  allied  squadron,  Baron 
Tamandare",  and  he  offered  me  his  boat  to  take  me  to  the 
flag-ship. 

I  accordingly  went  to  confer  with  the  Admiral.  I  was 
received  by  him  with  civility,  but  told  that  I  positively 
should  not  pass  through  his  squadron.  He  said  his  orders 


Il8  PARAGUAY. 

were  to  permit  no  person  whatever  to  pass  his  blockade,  and 
he  should  obey  instructions.  He  said,  too,  that  his  govern- 
ment had  the  right  to  issue  and  enforce  such  an  order,  and 
that  while  he  was  in  Buenos  Aires  Admiral  Godon  had  ad- 
mitted such  right.  I  denied  that  Admiral  Godon  had  any 
authority  in  the  matter,  or  that  the  opinion  of  a  naval  com- 
mander had  anything  to  do  with  my  detention.  The  Admiral 
then  said  he  should  take  the  responsibility  of  stopping  me,  and 
then  —  to  quote  my  own  words,  as  given  in  my  official  account 
of  this  interview  to  the  Secretary  of  State  —  "  the  Admiral  ex- 
pressed his  regret  that  his  orders  and  duty  imposed  on  him 
the  necessity  of  doing  what  might  seem  to  me  an  act  of  dis- 
courtesy, and  said  that  anything  that  I  might  require  I  could 
have  ;  he  would  place  a  steamer  at  my  disposal  to  return  with 
me  to  Buenos  Aires,  and  bring  me  back  at  my  pleasure.  He 
also  said  that  if  I  wanted  any  money  during  my  detention  I 
could  have  it.  I  told  him  I  did  not  want  his  money,  nor  did  I 
want  a  steamer  to  go  to  Buenos  Aires,  but  I  did  want  to  go  to 
Paraguay,  for  it  was  there  my  government  had  ordered  me. 
With  this  result  —  unsatisfactory,  I  believe,  on  both  sides  —  I 
left  the  Admiral  and  returned  to  the  transport  steamer  on  which 
I  was  staying."  He  added  that  it  could  make  but  little  differ- 
ence to  me  whether  I  went  through  his  military  lines  or  not, 
as  he  should  pass  Humaita  with  his  squadron  within  fifteen 
days,  after  which  the  war  would  be  virtually  over,  and  the 
river  open  to  Asuncion.  As  I  left  the  ship  the  fleet  band 
was  paraded  on  deck,  and  though  I  doubt  not  it  discoursed 
fine  music,  meant  as  a  courtesy  to  me,  I  could  not  appreciate 
it.  I  had  been  insulted,  and  was  powerless  to  resent  the  in- 
dignity, and  doubt  if  ever  the  "  Rogues'  March "  fell  more 
heavily  on  the  ears  of  a  deserter  than  did  the  national  air 
of  Brazil  on  mine  as  I  turned  my  back  on  Tamandare  and  his 
fellow-officers.  But  months  after  I  was  destined  to  hear  the 
music  of  that  band  again  and  under  other  circumstances. 

I  returned  again  to  the  transport  vessel,  and,  learning  that 
President  Mitre  was  encamped  near  the  river,  I  found  my  way 
as  soon  as  possible  to  his  head-quarters.  I  presented  to  the 


THE   ALLIES    IN   A  QUANDARY.  119 

Commander-in-Chief  the  letter  of  his  Minister  of  Foreign  Re- 
lations, which  letter,  after  stating  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
allied  powers  to  provide  me  with  the  facilities  necessary  to 
pass  through  the  allied  lines  and  into  those  of  the  Para- 
guayans, concluded  by  saying  the  Minister  expects  of  the 
President  "that  he  will  be  pleased  to  give  the  necessary 
orders,  in  order  that  the  promise  made  by  the  government 
shall  be  duly  fulfilled." 

This  letter,  which  on  its  face  showed  that  his  government 
was  committed  to  withdraw  all  hindrance  to  my  passage, 
seemed  greatly  to  disturb  and  embarrass  President  Mitre. 
He  said  he  would  go  at  once  and  see  Admiral  Tamandare, 
General  Osorio,  and  others  of  the  higher  grade  of  officers, 
and  have  the  order  of  Tamandare  so  modified  that  I  could 
pass  through.  So,  ordering  some  horses,  he  gave  me  his 
large  milk-white  war-horse  to  ride,  and  mounting  an  inferior 
animal  himself  we  rode  to  the  landing,  where  we  dismounted, 
he  to  go  on  board  the  flag-ship,  and  I  to  return  to  the  trans- 
port. Before  parting,  however,  he  said  he  would  advise  me 
of  the  result  of  the  interview  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two, 
so  that  I  could  return  to  Corrientes  the  same  day.  He  did 
not,  however,  succeed  in  converting  Tamandare  to  his  views, 
and  sent  me  a  note  advising  me  that  he  could  not  give  me 
an  answer  on  that  afternoon,  but  would,  on  the  following  day, 
address  me  a  letter  at  Corrientes.  I  therefore  went  back  to 
the  latter  place  to  await  his  answer.  It  came,  as  promised  ; 
but,  as  before,  it  was  no  answer  to  my  question.  He  could 
not  yet  tell  me  whether  or  not  I  could  pass  through  his  mil- 
itary lines.  The  circumstances  had  changed  since  my  first 
visit  to  his  camp,  and  he  must  again  refer  the  question  to  his 
government,  to  be  decided  in  conjunction  with  its  allies.  He 
would  at  once  refer  the  matter  to  them,  and  as  soon  as  he 
could  get  an  answer  he  would  advise  me  of  the  result. 

What  then  was  to  be  done  ?  I  suspected  that  the  allies 
did  not  intend  to  allow  me  to  pass  their  lines  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, if  they  could  stop  me  in  any  way  short  of  bring- 
ing on  a  conflict  with  the  United  States.  I  knew  that  our 


I2Q  PARAGUAY. 

admiral  was  a  convenient  instrument  in  their  hands,  justifying 
them  in  their  duplicity  and  encouraging  them  in  the  indigni- 
ties they  were  putting  upon  a  diplomatic  agent  of  his  own 
country.  I  could  not  turn  back  and  return  to  the  United 
States,  for  that  would  have  been  a  concession  that  the  allies 
and  Admiral  Godon  were  in  the  right  and  I  in  the  wrong.  I 
was  eight  thousand  miles  from  home,  and  I  had  no  colleague 
on  the  South  Atlantic  coast  with  whom  to  consult.  Our  min- 
isters, both  at  Buenos  Aires  and  Rio  Janeiro,  had  returned 
home  on  leave  of  absence,  and  the  only  United  States  official 
of  high  grade  in  the  vicinity  had  repudiated  my  pretensions 
and  taken  counsel  with  the  allies  to  detain  me.  The  people 
in  Corrientes  could  not  understand  why  the  minister  of  a  great 
and  powerful  nation  should  be  thus  hanging  on  in  the  rear 
of  the  allied  army  like  a  camp  follower,  and  I  heard  of 
numerous  discussions  whether  or  not  I  was  an  accredited 
minister  or  an  impostor.  They  had  never  heard  before,  nor, 
probably,  had  anybody  else,  of  a  minister  so  situated,  —  unable 
to  get  to  his  post,  while  his  government  had  a  large  squadron 
lying  idle  in  the  vicinity. 

But  disagreeable  and  galling  as  was  the  situation,  not  only 
to  myself  but  to  the  pride  of  every  America.n  in  that  part  of 
the  world,  I  could  do  nothing,  and  must  wait  till  my  own  gov- 
ernment should  come  to  my  relief,  either  by  adopting  the 
views  of  the  admiral  and  the  allies  and  recalling  me,  or  by 
sending  me  the  means  of  forcing  the  blockade. 

In  the  mean  while  the  allies  were  prosecuting  the  war  after 
the  Brazilian  fashion.  Fort  Itapiru,  with  its  two  guns,  situate 
just  above  Paso  de  la  Patria,  still  held  out  defiantly,  while  the 
huge  squadron  of  the  allies  lay  a  league  or  two  below,  bom- 
/  barding  at  long  range.  At  this  time  Lopez's  entire  army  was 
just  in  the  rear  of  the  fort,  one  half  of  his  troops  at  least 
being  sick  with  the  measles.  The  disease  was  so  general  and 
the  means  of  taking  care  of  the  sick  so  scanty,  that  twenty 
thousand  men,  or  more  than  a  third  of  the  Paraguayan  forces, 
as  I  was  afterwards  informed,  died  there  and  then.  The  fort 
stood  on  a  point  of  a  rock  jutting  into  the  river,  with  deep 


CROSSING  THE   PARANA.  12 1 

water  on  two  sides  of  it;  so  that  had  the  whole  squadron 
advanced,  firing  at  the  fort  as  it  moved,  it  would  have  silenced 
almost  instantly  its  two  pieces,  and,  turning  the  point,  had  the 
whole  Paraguayan  army  directly  exposed  to  its  guns  ;  and  if 
then  the  transports  had  followed  with  troops,  the  entire  army, 
with  the  exception  of  Lopez,  his  staff,  and  mistresses,  that  al- 
ways kept  out  of  danger,  might  have  been  easily  captured.  But 
instead  of  attacking  in  this  way,  Tamandare  kept  his  squadron  , 
at  a  safe  distance,  bombarding  furiously  for  twenty-eight  days. 

During  this  time  the  measles  had  run  its  course,  and  Lopez 
withdrew  his  army  towards  Humaita.  As  soon  as  it  was 
seen  that  the  Paraguayans  had  retired,  Tamandare',  with 
characteristic  valor,  advised  Mitre  that  he  was  ready  to  assist 
him  to  pass  the  troops  to  the  Paraguayan  side  of  the  river. 
Mitre,  who  had  long  been  chafing  at  the  Admiral's  mode  of 
attack,  at  once  embarked  his  whole  force,  and  they  all  crossed 
the  river  without  catching  sight  of  a  single  Paraguayan. 
Itapiru  was  taken  when  no  one  was  left  to  defend  it,  and  it 
was  at  once  published  to  the  world  that  the  allies  had  crossed 
the  Parana  in  the  face  of  the  whole  Paraguayan  army,  that 
with  desperate  valor  opposed  their  landing  and  disputed  the 
ground  inch  by  inch  till,  overcome  by  the  heroic  onslaught  of 
the  Brazilians,  a  mere  remnant  escaped,  with  Lopez  at  their 
head,  to  the  intrenchments  at  Humaita. 

On  my  first  arrival  in  Buenos  Aires,  when  it  was  taken  for 
granted  that  I  should  go  up  the  river  in  an  American  gunboat, 
to  which  they  did  not  pretend  that  they  had  any  right  to  object,  I 
had  an  interview  with  the  Brazilian  special  envoy,  Senor  Oc-  ^ 
taviano.  On  this  occasion  he  told  me  that  it  was  not  neces- 
sary for  me  to  wait  for  an  American  gunboat,  as,  if  I  would 
accept  it,  a  Brazilian  steamer  should  be  specially  detailed  to 
take  me  to  Paraguay.  I  declined  his  offer  for  several  reasons, 
among  others  alleging  that  if  I  were  to  go  on  a  Brazilian  ves- 
sel Lopez  would  suspect  me  of  being  in  the  interest  of  the 
allies,  and  would  always  regard  me  with  such  suspicion  that 
any  influence  I  might  otherwise  have  with  him  would  be  lost. 
Some  weeks  afterwards,  when  I  found  that  an  American  gun- 


122  PARAGUAY. 

boat  would  not  go  up,  I  addressed  a  note  to  the  Minister, 
intimating  to  him  that  I  should  accept  his  offer  of  several 
weeks  before,  which  he  had  repeated  to  me  once  or  twice 
afterwards.  In  the  mean  while'  he  had  seen  Admiral  Godon, 
and  was  so  thoroughly  converted  to  the  opinion  that  an  Amer- 
ican Minister  had  no  rights  in  foreign  countries,  and  might  be 
treated  with  indignity  without  danger  of  offending  the  govern- 
ment, that  he  not  only  did  not  fulfil  his  promise  previously 
made,  but  had  not  the  courtesy  to  answer  my  letter. 

Some  months  after  this,  in  June,  1866,  while  I  was  waiting 
with  dreary  impatience  in  Corrientes  General  Mitre's  an- 
swer to  my  repeated  request,  Octaviano  came  up  to  that 
place  and  established  his  head-quarters  in  the  town.  The 
war  had  dragged  on  so  much  longer  than  had  been  anticipated 
when  Tamandare  offered  to  give  me  a  steamer  and  all  the 
money  I  wanted,  that  Octaviano  seemed  to  think  that  if  I 
could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  keep  quiet,  serious  difficulties 
with  the  United  States  might  arise.  He  therefore  thought 
to  make  use  of  the  argument  so  often  used  by  Brazilians, 
but  which  had  been  so  unsuccessfully  employed  by  Taman- 
dare. He  came  one  day,  —  it  was  the  4th  of  July,  1866,  — 
and,  after  a  brief  conversation  on  general  topics,  told  me 
he  was  aware  I  was  very  unpleasantly  situated  where  I  was, 
and  that,  as  the  difficulties  in  my  way  had  all  been  caused 
by  the  allies,  it  was  but  right  that  they  should  recompense 
me  liberally  for  all  the  inconvenience  to  which  through  their 
action  I  was  exposed.  He  said  that  his  proposition  was  to 
be  strictly  confidential,  and  I  might  have  no  hesitation  in 
accepting  it,  as,  if  our  circumstances  were  reversed,  and  he 
was  in  the  United  States,  he  should  not  hesitate  in  accepting 
such  an  offer  from  our  government.  I  told  him  I  could  not 
entertain  any  such  proposition,  but  that  I  should  respect  his 
confidence.  He  had  been  more  cautious  and  diplomatic  than 
Tama-ndare,  who  made  his  offer  openly  and  without  indicating 
in  any  manner  that  he  thought  there  could  be  any  insult  in 
offering  a  bribe. 

Our    conversation   being   interrupted   by  the   arrival  of  a 


OCTAVIANO  AND  GODON. 


123 


third  party,  Octaviano  took  his  leave.  He  was  then  in  an  ex- 
ceedingly infirm  state  of  health ;  and  as  he  stood  in  front  of 
my  door,  and  looked  up  and  down  the  street  as  if  debating 
which  way  to  go,  he  seemed  to  me,  though  the  envoy  of  a 
great  empire,  whose  check  would  be  honored  for  millions,  to 
be  an  object  of  pity  and  unspeakable  contempt. 

Soon  after  this  Octaviano  returned  to  Buenos  Aires,  and 
when  he  next  met  Admiral  Godon  the  two  friends  compared 
notes,  and  the  incidents  of  the  confidential  interview  were 
revealed.  When  I  learned  of  this  casually  through  some  of 
the  subordinate  officers  in  the  navy,  I  was  exonerated  from 
regarding  it  longer  on  my  part  as  confidential.  I,  however, 
never  made  use  of  Octaviano's  name  in  connection  with  the 
affair  till  the  whole  story  was  reluctantly  admitted  by  Godon, 
before  the  Investigating  Committee  of  Congress.* 

In  the  mean  time  weeks  passed  away,  and  I  received  no 

*  "  Q.  Did  he  (Octaviano)  ever  allude  to  the  offer  of  money  made  by  Ad- 
miral Tamandare  ? 

"  A.  No,  not  by  Admiral  Tamandare,  but  he  did  allude  to  an  affair  of  money. 

"  Q.  Made  by  whom  ? 

"  A.  Not  by  Admiral  Tamandare. 

"  By  Mr.  Washburn  :  — 

"  Q.  To  me  ? 

"  A.  Yes,  sir.     Would  you  like  me  to  state  anything  more  ? 

"  Mr.  Washburn.  I  am  willing  to  have  you  state  it 

"  Admiral  Godon.  I  will  state  all  he  did  say. 

"  Mr.  Washburn.  I  would  like  to  hear  it. 

"Admiral  Godon.  I  said  to  Mr.  Octaviano  that  I  did  not  see  anything  in  that 
letter  that  he  might  not  have  answered  ;  he  said,  '  What  was  I  to  offer  to  him  ? 
What  was  I  to  give  him  ?  He  did  not  ask  for  a  vessel,  but  simply  said  he  left  it 
to  me  to  determine  what  to  do.'  I  said,  '  Well,  why  did  you  not  offer  him  to  go 
up  there  ? '  He  said,  '  I  could  not  offer  that,  because  that  had  been  refused  by 
General  Mitre.  But  it  left  the  impression  upon  my  mind  that  I  must  do  some- 
thing. I  could  not  answer  the  letter  ;  I  had  seen  Mr.  Washburn  before  ;  he  was 
in  Corrientes.  He  complained  of  the  expense,  of  the  annoyance,  trouble,  and 
that  the  very  fact  of  his  having  assisted  the  Minister  made  this  thing  of  immense 
expense  to  him.  What  could  I  think  of  in  regard  to  that  ?  I  said  I  will  lend 
you  any  amount  of  money  ;  it  is  a  matter  which  you  can  do  ;  I  have  control  of 
it ;  it  is  there,  and  I  can  do  it.  Well,  Mr.  Washburn  said  no,  it  was  not  that.' 
He  said  afterwards  that  he  felt  that  perhaps  that  was  not  the  way  he  ought  to  do 
this  thing.  He  sent  a  person  of  rank  and  position  to  offer  him  the  money. 

"  Q.  Did  he  say  the  money  was  accepted  ? 

"  A.  No,  sir  ;  it  was  not     I  said  to  Mr.  Octaviano,  '  Why,  you  surprise  me  ; 


1 24  PARAGUAY. 

notice  from  Mitre  of  the  action  of  his  government  and  its 
allies  in  regard  to  my  going  through  to  Paraguay.  I  ^wrote  a 
letter  intimating  that  sufficient  time  had  passed  for  him  to 
learn  of  their  decision,  and  saying  I  impatiently  awaited  his 
answer.  He  replied  without  delay,  that,  for  reasons  unknown 
to  him,  he  had  received  nothing  on  the  subject  from  his  gov- 
ernment ;  but  he  would  write  again  and  demand  immediate 
attention  to  the  matter.  Again  weeks  elapsed,  and  I  got 
nothing  more  from  Mitre  ;  and  again  I  went  to  visit  him  at  his 
head-quarters,  that  were  then  on  Paraguayan  soil,  near  what 
was  called  the  Estero  Bellaco.  Polite  and  courteous  as  ever, 
General  Mitre  protested  his  friendly  intentions  and  his  pro- 
found regret  that  his  government  had  not  replied  to  his 
repeated  demand  that  it  should,  concurrently  with  its  allies, 
relieve  him  from  the  responsibility  of  my  longer  detention. 
But  a  reply  was  now  daily,  even  hourly,  expected,  and  as  soon 
as  it  should  be  received  he  would  immediately  give  me  notice. 
At  any  rate,  I  might  depend  on  hearing  from  him  in  a  very 
few  days.  With  words  like  these,  the  value  of  which  I  had 
learned  too  well  how  to  appreciate,  I  returned  to  Corrientes. 
There  I  waited  again  for  some  two  weeks  longer,  when  I 
received  a  visit  from  the  private  secretary  of  Mitre,  who  had 
been  sent  by  his  chief  to  see  me  and  explain  why  it  was  that 
he  had  not  sent  me  sooner  the  promised  answer  to  my  long- 
delayed  demand.  But  the  secretary  brought  no  other  mes- 
sage than  that  Mitre  would  give  me  a  final  answer  so  soon 
as  the  Brazilian  special  envoy,  Seflor  Octaviano,  who  was 
already  on  his  way  back  up  the  river,  should  reach  his  camp. 
If  I  would  only  hold  my  peace  for  a  few  days  longer,  all  would 
be  satisfactorily  arranged.  As  I  could  not  help  myself,  I  was 
obliged  to  yield  to  this  request,  and  possess  myself  in  such 
patience  as  I  could  command. 

did  Mr.  Washburn  say  anything  ? '  Mr.  Octaviano  said  no  ;  that  he  would  not 
accept  it. 

"  Mr.  Washlwrn.  In  my  testimony  the  other  day  I  said  that  another  high  offi- 
cial had  offered  me  money,  but  I  did  not  say  who  it  was.  I  can  now  say  that  it 
was  Minister  Octaviano,  because  it  has  come  up  in  this  way."  —  Testimony  before 
Congressional  Investigating  Committee,  p.  105. 


INSTRUCTIONS  FROM  WASHINGTON.  I2$ 

The  Brazilian  Minister  soon  arrived,  as  expected,  and  pro- 
ceeded directly  to  the  army  head-quarters.  But  no  answer 
came  from  Mitre  ;  and  after  waiting  for  some  ten  days,  I  wrote 
him  a  long  letter,  reciting  his  acts  of  duplicity  and  words  of 
prevarication,  and  concluded  with  a  protest  in  the  following 
words :  "  It  is  with  extreme  regret  that  I  find  myself  com- 
pelled to  speak,  after  so  long  a  delay,  of  my  detention  in 
this  place,  and  to  enter,  as  I  now  most  earnestly  do,  my  pro- 
test against  it.  I  protest  against  the  detention  as  a  violation 
of  the  laws  of  nations  and  of  all  diplomatic  usages  and  cour- 
tesies. I  protest  against  the  detention  as  unnecessary  and 
unlawful  in  itself,  and  I  protest  against  the  manner  in  which 
it  has  been  effected.  If  it  were  your  purpose  to  thwart  the 
wishes  of  my  government,  and  prevent  me  from  doing  what  it 
had  ordered  me  to  do,  I  certainly  had  a  right  to  know  it  long 
before  this.  I  protest  against  the  repeated  intimations  and 
assurances  I  have  from  time  to  time  received,  that  within  a 
few  days  a  final  answer  should  be  given  me,  when  now  nearly 
six  months  have  passed,  and  such  answer  has  not  yet  been 
received  " 

This  protest  was  despatched  on  the  22d  July,  1866,  and  on 
the  25th  my  long  and  eagerly  desired  instructions  from  the 
Secretary  of  State  arrived.  In  terms  curt  and  explicit,  Mr. 
Seward  expressed  his  surprise  and  indignation  at  the  conduct 
of  the  allies.  He  entered  into  no  argument  to  prove  they 
were  in  the  wrong,  nor  did  he  consent  to  be  governed  by  the 
superior  authority  of  Admiral  Godon.  On  the  contrary,  he 
ordered  that,  after  duly  advising  President  Mitre  of  my  official 
character  and  purposes,  if  a  safe-conduct  for  myself,  family, 
and  domestics  were  not  promptly  forthcoming,  I  should  call 
on  Admiral  Godon  for  a  vessel  and  convoy  from  the  squadron 
to  take  me  through  the  military  lines. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Threatened  Rupture  with  the  United  States.  —  Further  Delays.— Strange  Con- 
duct of  Admiral  Godon.  —  Later  Instructions.  —  The  Shamokin  finally  or- 
dered to  Paraguay.  —  Firmness  and  Gallantry  of  Captain  Pierce  Crosby.  — 
Tamandare  blusters  and  yields.  —  Arrival  at  Curupaiti. — Joy  of  the  Para- 
guayans. —  The  French  Consul,  M.  Cochelet.  —  Don  Luis  Jara.  —  The  Ameri- 
can Legation  Premises  in  Asuncion. 

IT  is  not  often,  in  these  modern  times,  that  nations  go  to 
war  except  of  deliberate  purpose,  and  when  important 
interests  are  at  stake ;  and  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  at 
no  time  was  there  any  real  danger  of  hostilities  between  the 
United  States  and  the  allies,  since  both  parties  were  ear- 
nestly desirous  of  peace.  Yet  a  question  had  arisen  concern- 
ing which  one  or  the  other  must  humbly  recede  from  its 
position  ;  and  as  it  was  certain  not  to  be  the  United  States, 
it  was  only  necessary  that  the  allies  should  be  convinced 
that  our  government  was  determined  to  enforce  its  demand 
for  them  to  concede  it.  They  had,  however,  by  listening  to 
the  opinions  of  Admiral  Godon,  put  themselves  entirely  in 
the  wrong  ;  and  the  orders  of  the  President  were  to  the  effect 
that,  if  they  did  not  promptly  yield  the  disputed  point,  the 
employment  of  force  should  instantly  follow  a  renewed  refusal. 
Under  these  circumstances  I  had  but  to  reply  instantly  to  the 
last  letter  of  President  Mitre,  renew  my  demand  for  permis- 
sion to  pass  through  his  military  lines,  and,  if  again  refused, 
to  call  for  a  gunboat  and  convoy,  in  the  sending  of  which  no 
discretion  was  left  to  the  Admiral,  and  which  Mitre  must 
either  have  stopped  by  force  or  have  subjected  himself  to  ex- 
treme humiliation  and  the  contempt  of  his  whole  army.  I 
was  then  in  a  position  such  as  no  representative  of  the  United 
States  ever  was  in  before.  I  could  certainly  make  a  figure 


THREATENED   RUPTURE. 


I27 


in  the  newspapers,  and  should  appear  legally  and  morally  en- 
tirely in  the  right,  and  the  government  would  be  obliged  to 
sustain  me.  But  I  knew  that  the  allies  had  been  led  into 
their  untenable  position  through  listening  to  the  counsels  of 
an  ignorant  garrulous  American  admiral,  and  that  they  would 
concede  all  that  I  had  ever  asked  sooner  than  provoke  hostili- 
ties with  the  United  States.  They  must  first  be  made  aware, 
however,  that  the  government  had  not  delegated  its  power  to 
a  naval  commander,  but  had  repudiated  the  doctrine  advanced 
by  Admiral  Godon,  that  the  allies  had  a  right  to  prevent  the 
minister  of  a  neutral  nation  from  passing  through  their  mili- 
tary lines  to  return  to  his  post  of  official  duties.  The  ques- 
tion then  with  me  was,  should  I  obey  my  instructions  literally, 
and,  while  Mitre  still  believed  I  should  not  be  sustained,  make 
a  demand  which  I  knew  would  be  rejected,  or  should  I  wait 
till  he  should  see  that  a  persistent  refusal  would  be  followed 
by  war  with  the  United  States.  The  temptation  to  the  for- 
mer course  was  great,  and  I  could  not  doubt  that  I  should  be 
fully  sustained  in  it.  But  I  knew  it  was  not  the  interest  nor 
the  desire  of  either  the  government  or  the  people  of  the  United 
States  to  become  involved  in  the  Paraguayan  war.  It  would 
cost  millions  of  money,  and  there  were  no  material  interests 
.  at  stake.  Besides,  I  had  seen  enough  of  Lopez  and  his  system 
of  government  to  realize  that  it  would  be  little  creditable  to 
the  United  States  to  become  in  any  sense  his  aid  or  ally.  If 
from  the  folly  of  the  allies  the  United  States  were  to  be 
drawn  into  the  contest,  it  was  evident  that  Lopez  would  come 
out  of  the  war  triumphant,  and  the  people  of  Paraguay  would 
be  condemned  to  endure  perhaps  for  another  generation  the 
terrible  despotism  under  which  they  had  so  long  suffered. 

That  the  allies  might  be  convinced  of  the  determination  of 
our  government  before  they  had  so  far  committed  themselves 
that  they  could  not  recede,  they  must  see  something  more 
formidable  than  despatches  and  protests.  I  had  therefore  to 
return  to  Buenos  Aires  and  advise  the  Admiral  that  I  had 
been  repulsed  by  the  allies  in  all  my  efforts  to  reach  my  post, 
and  request  him  to  furnish  the  vessel  and  necessary  convoy 


128  PARAGUAY. 

from  the  squadron,  as  he  had  been  ordered  to  do  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy. 

On  reaching  Buenos  Aires  I  learned  that  our  government 
had  taken  the  preliminary  steps  to  actual  war,  having  in- 
structed our  ministers  at  Rio  and  Buenos  Aires,  as  well  as 
myself,  to  return  to  the  United  States  unless  all  hindrance  to 
my  passage  through  the  military  lines  were  promptly  with- 
drawn. But  I  found  the  Admiral  was  still  disinclined  to  yield 
the  position  which  he  had  taken,  that  the  allies  were  in  the 
right  and  our  government  in  the  wrong.  I  learned  that  he 
had  been  strangely  intimate,  during  his  stay  there,  with 
Admiral  Tamandare  and  Special  Minister  Octaviano,  both  of 
whom  had  been  greatly  impressed  with  his  knowledge  of 
diplomacy  and  international  law.  He  had  told  them  that  they 
had  a  perfect  right  to  detain  me,  and  having  got  him  in  tow 
they  hoped  to  finish  the  war  before  any  counter-orders  could 
come  from  Washington.  What  Godon  expected,  it  is  hard  to 
conjecture.  He  could  hardly  be  a  rear-admiral  and  yet  so 
ignorant  of  the  laws  of  nations  and  so  insensible  to  the 
national  honor  as  to  suppose  our  government  would  submit 
to  such  indignities.  Yet  having  assured  his  Brazilian  friends 
that  they  were  in  the  exercise  of  their  perfect  right  in  holding 
me  as  a  camp  follower  in  their  rear,  he  returned  in  a  high , 
state  of  self-complacency  to  Rio,  leaving  every  American  in 
the  Plata  mortified  and  disgusted  with  his  conduct,  while  all 
the  officers  of  his  squadron,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three 
necessary  confidants,  felt  humiliated  and  disgraced  at  the  sorry 
exhibition  the  squadron  had  made. 

The  Admiral,  however,  had  not  been  long  at  Rio  when  he 
learned  that  our  government  was  not  of  his  opinion  in  re- 
gard to  the  conduct  of  the  allies.  On  the  contrary,  he  was 
advised  that  it  was  indignant  at  their  course,  and  was  ordered, 
on  being  applied  to  again,  to  furnish,  not  only  a  gunboat  to 
take  me  through  the  blockade,  but  a  convoy,  should  it  be 
necessary. 

Though  thus  rebuked  by  his  own  government,  the  Admiral 
did  not  yet  despair  of  showing  to  his  Brazilian  friends  that  he 


A   DIPLOMATIC   INSTRUCTOR.  129 

should  do  as  he  pleased,  and  they  might  still  detain  me  at 
their  pleasure.  He  had  been  ordered  to  send  a  gunboat  to 
Paraguay  whenever  I  should  call  for  it,  but  he  could  easily  so 
manage  that  no  communication  from  me  should  reach  him  for 
a  long  time.  So  after  waiting  till  it  was  nearly  time  to  expect 
a  letter  from  me  to  reach  Rio,  he  set  sail  in  his  flag-ship  for 
the  port  of  Bahia,  some  five  hundred  miles  to  the  north,  leav- 
ing orders  for  his  mail  to  be  detained  till  his  return. 

After  an  absence  of  several  weeks,  the  Admiral  returned  to 
the  station  at  Rio,  where  my  dreaded  letter  had  been  awaiting 
him  for  about  a  month.  But  the  Brazilians  were  as  much 
as  ever  disinclined  to  have  me  pass  their  lines,  and  our  Admiral, 
having  stood  by  them  so  long,  could  not  acknowledge  his  own 
humiliation  and  abandon  them  now.  To  break  up  his  har- 
monious and  profitable  relations  would  be  not  only  unpleasant, 
but  personally  damaging.  He  therefore,  with  a  courage  in- 
dicating the  high  confidence  that  he  enjoyed  with  the  late 
Secretary  of  Navy,  refused  to  obey  his  orders,  and  in  reply 
to  my  request  for  a  gunboat  and  convoy  he  said  that  he  would 
not  send  them,  as  I  Jtad  not  yet  complied  with  my  instructions. 

My  position  now  was  more  embarrassing  than  ever.  It  was 
known  by  everybody  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  that  our  gov- 
ernment had  ordered  the  blockade  to  be  forced,  if  necessary,  to 
carry  me  to  Paraguay  ;  and  it  was  known  I  was  still  in  Buenos 
Aires,  that  several  light-draught  war-steamers  were  at  hand, 
and  yet  I  did  not  leave.  Godon  had  written  me  that  I  must 
again  ask  permission  of  the  allies  to  pass  their  lines  with- 
out a  gunboat  before  he  would  send  one.  But  the  Brazilian 
special  envoy  would  not  even  answer  my  letters ;  and  General 
Mitre,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  had  informed  me  he  would 
hold  no  more  correspondence  with  me.  So  between  the 
three  they  had  me  hard  and  fast 

Under  these  circumstances  there  was  nothing  for  me  to  do 
but  to  wait  and  see  what  further  action  would  be  taken  by  our 
own  government.  I  had  written  to  the  Secretary  of  State  that 
I  had  been  turned  back  a  second  time  by  Mitre,  and  once  after 
I  had  brought  a  letter  from  his  government  requesting  him 

VOL.    II.  9 


130  PARAGUAY. 

to  provide  me  with  the  facilities  for  going  through.      I  was 
then  awaiting  an  answer. 

It  came.  Our  government  sent  instructions  to  General  Webb 
at  Rio,  and  General  Asboth,  who  was  then  on  his  way  to  Bue- 
nos Aires,  that  unless  all  hindrance  to  my  passage  were  prompt- 
ly withdrawn  they  should  demand  their  passports,  close  their 
legations,  and  return  to  the  United  States.  The  Brazilians  now 
saw  that,  kind  and  accommodating  as  was  Admiral  Godon,  and 
great  master  as  he  was  of  international  law,  they  must  allow 
me  to  pass  their  lines  or  provoke  a  war  with  the  United  States. 
General  Webb,  our  minister  at  Rio,  who  had  been  absent 
during  all  the  harmonious  concord  between  the  Admiral  and 
the  Brazilians,  had  now  returned  and  was  inexorable.  The 
Brazilians  were  not  prepared  for  war  with  the  Untied  States, 
and  knew  there  was  to  be  no  trifling  with  General  Webb. 
They  therefore  told  him  that  all  obstructions  to  my  going  up 
through  their  squadron  should  be  withdrawn.  But  they  still 
hoped  to  make  use  of  their  obliging  friend  awhile  longer, 
and  they  succeeded.  They  requested  Godon  to  wait  awhile 
before  sending  his  orders  for  a  gunboat  to  go  up  the  river, 
so  that  they  might  have  time  to  advise  their  admiral  to  with- 
draw all  obstructions  to  its  passage  through  the  blockade. 
He  even  obligingly  consented  to  this ;  and  so  I  still  re- 
mained in  Buenos  Aires,  uncertain  whether  or  not  I  should 
see  Paraguay  again  till  several  months  later,  or  till  the  ad- 
miral might  be  exchanged  for  one  who  would  obey  orders. 
At  last,  however,  when  no  more  pretexts  or  excuses  for  my 
further  detention  could  be  raised,  the  Admiral  sent  orders 
to  the  commander  of  the  United  States  steamer  Shamokin, 
Captain  Pierce  Crosby,  to  receive  me  and  my  family  on  board 
and  take  us  to  Paraguay. 

On  the  24th  of  October,  one  year  lacking  ten  days  after  my 
arrival,  I  embarked,  and  we  proceeded  on  our  voyage.  The 
Shamokin  was  a  large  and  very  long  double-ender  of  light 
draft,  and  very  difficult  to  steer.  Uncharitable  people  even 
suspected  that  it  was  the  latter  quality  that  h'ad  influenced 
the  Admiral  in  detailing  her  for  the  service.  At  any  rate,  it 


A  FAITHFUL  OFFICER.  131 

was  generally  believed  that  she  was  so  unwieldy  she  would 
never  reach  Paraguay.  There  were  good  reasons  for  believ- 
ing that  the  Admiral  would  have  been  better  pleased  had 
these  predictions  been  fulfilled.  But  if  such  was  his  desire, 
he  made  a  great  mistake  in  intrusting  the  command  of  the 
vessel  to  such  a  man  as  Pierce  Crosby.  He  had  his  written 
official  instructions,  and  he  obeyed  them  with  alacrity  and  to 
the  letter.  The  channel  of  the  river  being  variable  and  tortu- 
ous, with  currents  and  cross-currents  chopping  it  in  places 
into  eddies  and  dead  water,  it  was  clear  that  with  her  ordi- 
nary steering  gear  it  would  be  impossible  to  prevent  her 
from  running  now  hard  and  fast  into  a  bank  or  on  a  bar, 
and  now  from  turning  clear  round  and  heading  down  stream. 
Captain  Crosby,  however,  in  spite  of  the  known  wishes  of  his 
superior  that  he  should  not  reach  Paraguay,  set  his  wits  to 
work  to  contrive  some  extra  steering  apparatus  by  which, 
with  his  large  crew  and  excellent  discipline,  he  could  with 
close  watchfulness  keep  the  ship  under  control.  To  the  sur- 
prise of  everybody  the  vessel  never  touched  the  ground 
during  the  voyage. 

On  reaching  the  Tres  Bocas,  on  the  evening  of  Novem- 
ber 2,  we  came  near  the  lower  vessel  of  the  blockading  squad- 
ron, and  were  boarded  by  her  commander,  who  inquired  of 
Captain  Crosby  what  he  was  there  for.  Crosby  replied  that 
he  was  there  by  order  of  his  government,  on  his  way  to  Para- 
guay, to  convey  the  United  States  Minister,  accredited  to 
that  country,  to  his  post,  and  that  he  desired  immediately  to 
communicate  with  Admiral  Tamandare  and  advise  him  of  his 
intentions.  The  Brazilian  said  that  neither  the  Shamokin  nor 
the  Minister  could  pass  the  military  lines.  The  orders  from 
his  government  were  imperative  to  stop  everybody,  and  they 
had  never  been  remitted  towards  any  individual  or  the  war 
vessels  of  any  nation.  Captain  Crosby  said  his  orders  were 
as  imperative  to  go  to  Paraguay,  and  that  he  had  letters  from 
General  Webb  and  Admiral  Godon  which  stated  that  the 
Brazilian  government  had  engaged  to  withdraw  all  obstruc- 
tions to  the  passing  through  the  blockade.  These  facts  he 


132  PARAGUAY. 

wished  to  communicate  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  Brazilian 
admiral,  after  which  he  should  proceed  to  carry  out  his 
instructions. 

The  Brazilian  commander  said  he  would  refer  the  matter  to 
his  admiral,  and  a  small  tender  was  immediately  despatched, 
with  Ensign  Pendleton  of  the  Shamokin,  to  deliver  Captain 
Crosby's  letter  to  Tamandare,  who  was  on  board  his  flag-ship, 
some  twenty  miles  higher  up  the  river.  Mr.  Pendleton  re- 
turned, after  having  delivered  the  letter,  reaching  the  Sha- 
mokin about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  reported  that 
Tamandare  had  said  the  same  in  substance  as  the  officer  who 
had  first  boarded  us,  —  that  the  Shamokin  could  not  pass  the 
squadron  ;  that  his  orders  were  to  allow  no  one  to  pass,  and 
no  counter-orders  had  ever  been  received  by  him. 

It  thus  appeared  that  the  delay  made  by  Admiral  Godon,  at 
the  request  of  the  Brazilians,  had  either  been  gained  through  a 
subterfuge  of  the  latter,  or  had  been  a  made-up  thing  between 
the  two.  They  had  begged  him  to  defer  sending  his  orders 
for  the  gunboat  to  go  up  the  river  until  they  could  first  send 
forward  their  orders  to  Admiral  Tamandare".  He  had  com- 
plied, and  yet  no  such  orders  had  been  sent  to  him.  On  the 
contrary,  his  only  instructions  were  to  sink  any  vessel  that , 
attempted  to  pass  his  blockade.  Besides  the  verbal  message, 
brought  back  by  Ensign  Pendleton,  was  another,  that  the 
Admiral  would  visit  the  Shamokin  that  morning  at  ten 
o'clock. 

It  was  now  clear  that,  if  both  parties  obeyed  orders,  there 
must  be  a  fight.  One  or  the  other  must  back  down,  or  some- 
body must  be  hurt.  I  was  confident  that  Captain  Crosby 
would  not  turn  back%  When  the  morning  broke  I  went  on 
deck,  and  found  I  had  not  been  mistaken.  He  was  getting 
ready  for  action.  The  guns  were  all  loaded  with  shot  and 
shell,  and  all  was  made  ready  so  that  the  Shamokin  might 
give  a  good  account  of  herself  should  the  Admiral  adhere  to 
his  expressed  determination. 

All  being  ready  and  everything  removed  from  the  decks 
that  could  give  any  indication  of  the  recent  preparations  for 


INTERVIEW  WITH  TAMANDARE.  133 

action,  we  awaited  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Tamandare.  He 
came  near  the  appointed  hour,  and  repeated  verbally  what  he 
had  said  the  night  before  to  Mr.  Pendleton.  The  Shamokin 
could  not  go  through.  He  could  not  permit  her  to  do  so, 
without  a  direct  violation  of  the  orders  of  his  Majesty's  gov- 
ernment. He  said,  however,  he  had  thought  of  a  way  by 
which  all  difficulties  could  be  avoided,  and  I  might  reach  my 
destination.  He  would  furnish  me  with  a  Brazilian  gunboat 
to  take  me,  my  family,  and  effects  through  the  Brazilian  lines, 
and  land  me  at  any  point  above  that  I  might  select.  To  this 
I  replied  that  his  proposition  came  too  late.  Eight  months 
before  I  had  applied  to  him  and  to  General  Mitre  for  the 
means  of  passing  through  to  my  post,  and  they  had  been  re- 
fused. At  that  time  I  did  not  ask  even  what  he  now  offered 
me.  If  he  would  then  have  allowed  me  a  flag  of  truce,  I 
would  have  gone  on  horseback  or  in  a  whale-boat ;  but  he  had 
told  me  that  he  would  not  permit  me  under  any  circumstances 
to  pass  through  his  lines,  and  I  had  been  compelled  to  apply 
to  my  own  government  for  the  means  to  send  me  through,  — 
by  force  if  necessary.  In  the  mean  while  my  detention  had 
become  a  matter  of  public  notoriety,  and  the  question  had 
assumed  a  national  importance.  My  government  had  decided 
that  the  action  of  the  allies  in  detaining  me  had  been  dis- 
courteous and  illegal,  and  that  not  only  had  it  a  right  to  send 
its  ministers  to  those  governments  with  which  it  is  at  peace, 
but  to  send  them  on  men-of-war  if  it  so  chose  to  do.  It  had 
therefore  sent  orders  for  the  Shamokin  to  go  to  Paraguay, 
and  go  it  would,  unless  it  was  stopped  by  force.  Captain 
Crosby  also  told  him  that  his  instructions  were  imperative  to 
take  the  American  Minister  to  Paraguay,  and  he  should  obey 
his  orders,  unless  forcibly  prevented.  The  Admiral  then  said 
that  Brazil  could  not  at  that  time  afford  to  engage  in  a  war 
with  the  United  States  ;  that  if  we  were  fully  determined  to  go 
through  with  the  Shamokin,  he  should  be  obliged  to  let  her 
pass,  but  that  he  should  protest  against  it.  We  told  him  that 
he  might  protest  as  much  as  he  liked,  but  nevertheless  we 
should  go  through.  Having  thus  ungraciously  yielded  the 


134  PARAGUAY. 

point,  the  admiral  then  offered  us  every  facility  for  continuing 
the  voyage.  It  was  known  that  Lopez  had  been  putting  down 
torpedoes  in  some  parts  of  the  river,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
have  a  Paraguayan  pilot  who  knew  where  they  were ;  he 
offered  to  send  a  flag  of  truce  with  an  officer  from  the  Sha- 
mokin,  bearing  a  letter  from  me  to  Lopez,  informing  him  of 
our  arrival  and  of  our  need  of  a  Paraguayan  pilot,  so  soon  as 
we  should  pass  above  the  blockading  squadron.  Mr.  Pendle- 
ton  was  accordingly  despatched  with  such  a  letter,  and  went 
through  to  the  Paraguayan  head-quarters. 

Lopez  received  the  young  officer  courteously,  although  he 
was  greatly  disappointed  when  he  found  the  Shamokin  was 
coming  through  unmolested.  He  had  hoped  that  the  Brazil- 
ians would  insist  on  their  right  to  stop  her,  and  would  resort 
to  force  sooner  than  permit  her  to  pass  through  the  blockade. 
This  would  of  course  bring  the  United  States  into  the  contest, 
and  make  them  to  all  intents  and  purposes  an  ally  of  Para- 
guay, and  then  the  result  of  the  war  would  be  no  longer  doubt- 
ful. He  told  Mr.  Pendleton  that  the  Shamokin  could  not  go 
above  Curupaiti  without  incurring  great  danger  from  the  tor- 
pedoes, some  of  which  it  would  be  so  difficult  to  find  that  they 
could  not  all  be  removed  without  causing  great  delay  ;  but  that 
if  Captain  Crosby  chose  to  take  the  risk  of  them,  he  was  at 
full  liberty  to  go  to  Asuncion.  He  would,  however,  upon  the 
approach  of  the  Shamokin  above  the  blockade,  have  a  pilot  who 
had  seen  all  the  torpedoes  laid  down  to  take  the  Shamokin  as 
far  as  Curupaiti ;  then,  if  I  chose  to  disembark  at  that  point, 
he  would  find  a  carriage  for  myself  and  family  to  Humaita,  and 
carts  for  my  luggage  and  provisions.  From  there  I  could  go 
to  Asuncion  on  a  Paraguayan  steamer  whenever  I  pleased. 
The  next  day  Mr.  Pendleton  returned  ;  and  having  advised  the 
Admiral  that  we  were  then  ready  to  start,  on  the  fifth  day 
of  November,  at  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  again 
got  under  way.  As  we  passed  up  the  river  from  Tres  Bocas 
through  the  blockading  squadron,  it  seemed  incredible  to 
us  that  such  an  immense  squadron  of  war  vessels,  including 
monitors,  iron-clads,  and  wooden  steamers,  all  having  heavy 


LANDING  AT  CURUPAITI.  1^ 

armaments,  besides  an  immense  number  of  transports,  store- 
ships,  and  merchant  vessels,  should  be  required  to  force  a 
passage  of  the  river  above  Humaita.  It  was  doubtless  very 
humiliating  to  the  Brazilians  to  see  the  Shamokin  defiantly 
pass  up  through  this  vast  squadron,  after  having  boasted  so 
often  and  so  loudly  that  they  had  a  right  to  stop  her  or  any 
other  neutral  vessel  from  passing  through,  and  would  exercise 
it  at  all  hazards.  We  passed  close  alongside  the  flag-ship  of 
the  Admiral,  who  had  the  same  band  of  music  on  the  deck  to 
do  us  honor,  as  we  steamed  by,  that  he  had  brought  out,  as  it 
seemed  to  me  then,  to  insult  me,  when,  eight  months  before, 
he  had  parted  with  me  on  board  the  same  vessel,  telling  me 
that  I  never  should  pass  through  his  blockade.  Having  gone 
above  the  squadron,  a  Paraguayan  boat,  with  an  officer  and 
pilot,  soon  pushed  off  from  the  shore  above  and  came  aboard, 
and  the  pilot,  taking  the  direction  of  the  vessel,  took  us  by  a 
tortuous  course  under  the  guns  of  Curupaiti,  where  we  landed 
the  same  evening.  As  soon  as  our  baggage  and  provisions 
could  be  put  on  shore,  the  Shamokin,  having  fired  the  custom- 
ary salute,  which  was  returned  by  the  Paraguayans,  immedi- 
ately withdrew  and  went  below  the  blockade.  The  Admiral 
before  we  passed  up  had  sent  word  that  her  remaining  any 
considerable  time  in  the  line  between  the  Paraguayan  fortifica- 
tions and  the  squadron  might  interfere  with  the  bombardment 
which  he  might  have  occasion  to  renew  soon  after.  That  I 
might,  after  having  been  so  long  delayed  in  reaching  my  post, 
which  had  almost  threatened  to  involve  the  United  States  in 
a  war,  advise  the  government  of  my  safe  arrival  in  Paraguay, 
and  of  the  general  condition  of  affairs  there,  I  had  requested 
Captain  Crosby  to  permit  Mr.  Pendleton  to  land  with  me,  and 
return  by  land  with  a  flag  of  truce  through  the  allied  lines, 
taking  my  despatches  with  him.  To  this  request  he  of  course 
acceded. 

The  Shamokin,  having  succeeded  in  passing  the  blockade 
and  landing  the  Minister,  returned  to  Buenos  Aires,  where 
her  gallant  commander,  Captain  Crosby,  was  subjected  to 
repeated  annoyances  and  persecutions  by  the  Admiral,  appar- 


136  PARAGUAY. 

ently  for  the  reason  that  he  had  not  taken  the  hint  to  oblige 
the  Brazilians  by  running  his  vessel  aground  in  the  river, 
rather  than  force  the  blockade.  Another  commanding  officer, 
Captain  Clark  H.  Wells,  of  the  Kansas,  was  subjected  to  still 
greater  annoyance,  and  sent  off  to  hunt  imaginary  rocks 
in  the  ocean,  to  punish  him  for  his  contumacy  in  presuming 
to  hold  relations  of  friendship  and  intimacy  with  persons  with 
whom  the  Admiral  had  quarrelled.  These  differences  in  the 
squadron  became  so  notorious  outside  of  it,  that  the  allies, 
who  were  flattering  the  Admiral  and  assuring  him  he  was  a 
great  diplomat,  must  have  seen  that  while  he  was  playing 
into  their  hands  so  readily  he  was  bringing  the  naval  service 
of  his  own  country  into  contempt. 

On  landing  at  Curupaiti,  a  great  multitude  of  people 
gathered  around  us,  all  expressing  the  greatest  joy  and  the 
warmest  welcome.  Among  them  were  several  of  my  old 
acquaintances.  They  seemed  to  think  that  the  United  States 
was  coming  to  their  rescue,  as  Lopez  had  held  out  the  idea  to 
them  for  a  long  time  that  such  would  be  the  case  ;  and  when 
they  saw  the  Shamokin  come  up  the  river  through  the  block- 
ading squadron,  they  regarded  her  as  a  harbinger  of  peace. 
The  poor  wretches  had  hoped  that  the  war  was  soon  to  end, 
and  they  seemed  to  regard  me,  not  only  as  the  bearer  of  good 
tidings,  but  as  one  who  could  deliver  them  from  their  troubles. 
Soon  after  landing,  a  coach  arrived  at  Curupaiti,  and  carried 
us  to  Humaita,  a  distance  of  some  two  and  a  half  leagues 
above. 

The  next  day  I  busied  myself  in  writing  despatches  to 
send  back  by  Mr.  Pendleton,  and  was  somewhat  surprised 
that  during  the  day  I  did  not  receive  an  invitation  to  visit  his 
Excellency  at  his  head-quarters  in  Paso  Pucu.  Toward  even- 
ing, however,  Dr.  Stewart  came  in  to  tell  me  that  the  Presi- 
dent was  very  unwell,  and  that  it  might  be  some  days  before  he 
would  be  able  give  me  an  interview.  The  steamer  Igurey  was 
lying  then  at  the  bank  of  the  river,  ready  to  take  me  to  Asun- 
cion whenever  I  wished  to  go,  whence  I  could  return  almost 
any  day  so  soon  as  the  President  should  sufficiently  recover 


DISAPPOINTMENT  OF  LOPEZ. 


137 


to  be  able  to  converse  with  me.  The  same  evening,  therefore, 
we  embarked  for  the  capital.  During  the  time  of  our  brief 
stay  there,  several  of  the  English  physicians,  and  a  few  other 
foreigners  in  the  service,  called  to  see  me,  and  all  alike  ex- 
pressed their  great  relief  at  my  return.  They  intimated  that 
matters  were  going  very  badly,  and  that  Lopez  was  getting 
desperate,  and  had  developed  into  such  a  blood-thirsty  char- 
acter that  there  was  no  safety  or  security  for  any  person 
whatever  in  the  country.  They  believed  that  the  presence 
of  the  minister  of  a  strong  government  would  have  a  restrain- 
ing influence  upon  him,  or  at  least  that  such  a  person  would 
have  it  in  his  power  to  advise  the  world  of  the  condition  of 
affairs  in  Paraguay,  which  no  one  else  in  the  country  was  per- 
mitted to  do. 

Though  I  had  been  thus  welcomed,  yet  the  sickness  of 
Lopez  was  caused,  as  I  believe,  mainly  from  disappointment 
that  I  had  not  been  stopped  by  the  Brazilians.  He  had 
learned  ere  this  that  he  had  made  a  great  mistake  in  com- 
mencing, the  war  as  he  had  done,  and  that  the  allies  were  de- 
termined to  pursue  it  until  he  was  killed  or  driven  out  of  the 
country.  The  alliance,  much  to  his  disappointment,  had  en- 
dured for  nearly  two  years,  and  there  were  no  signs  of  a  rup- 
ture, nor  was  either  party  to  it  disposed  to  withdraw  ;  and  if 
they  continued  united  and  persistent,  their  great  superiority  of 
resources  must  eventually  result  in  his  overthrow.  He  had, 
therefore,  nourished  the  idea  that  the  Brazilians  would  make 
good  their  boasting  words  that  they  would  never  permit  an 
American  Minister  or  vessel  to  pass  their  blockade  ;  and  as  he 
was  pretty  well  convinced  that  the  American  government 
would  never  tolerate  such  insolence,  he  cherished  the  hope 
that  war  would  result,  and  that  thus  he  would  be  able  to  es- 
cape from  the  dilemma  in  which  his  own  rashness  and  ambi- 
tion had  involved  him.  But  when  the  Brazilians  receded 
from  this  position,  and  permitted  the  Shamokin  to  pass,  his 
illusion  was  dispelled,  and  on  the  day  following  my  arrival 
he  gave  way  to  such  hopeless  despair  that  he  fell  into  a 
state  of  syncope,  and  was  at  the  point  of  death  for  nearly 


138  PARAGUAY. 

a  week.  Had  he  died  then,  the  world  would  have  given 
him  the  undeserved  credit  of  having  been  a  patriot  and  a 
hero  ;  and  half  a  million  Paraguayans,  that  were  afterwards 
sacrificed  to  his  selfishness,  cruelty,  and  ambition,  would  be 
now  alive  to  mount  his  loss.  From  this  condition  he  gradu- 
ally rallied,  and  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  weeks  regained 
his  former  health. 

On  reaching  Asuncion  we  were  received  very  cordially  by 
all  classes  of  people.  In  coming  we  had  opened  the  door  for 
a  ray  of  light  to  penetrate  from  the  outer  world,  concerning 
which  the  inhabitants  there  had  been  for  more  than  a  year 
entirely  ignorant.  Since  I  had  been  away  all  communication 
had  been  so  completely  cut  off,  that  my  good  friend,  the 
French  Consul,  M.  Laurent  Cochelet,  had  been  eleven 
months  without  receiving  a  letter,  paper,  or  any  message 
whatever  from  beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay.  Mr.  Cochelet 
had  unfortunately,  soon  after  his  arrival  in  the  country,  incurred 
the  dislike  of  Lopez.  There  were  a  considerable  number  of 
Frenchmen  in  the  country,  and  they  had  from  time  to  time 
complaints  to  make  against  their  treatment  by  the  local 
authorities.  Their  consul  was  a  gentleman  of  refinement 
and  education,  zealous  in  his  office  ;  and  whenever  a  country- 
man appealed  to  him  to  obtain  redress  for  any  grievance,  he 
was  prompt  to  inquire  into  his  case,  and,  if  necessary,  to  de- 
mand justice.  The  government  of  Paraguay,  however,  had 
been  long  accustomed,  even  before  the  time  of  Lopez,  to  treat 
all  persons,  foreigners  and  natives  alike,  according  to  its  own 
will,  and  to  permit  no  inquiry  to  be  made  into  the  justice  of 
its  proceedings.  M.  Cochelet,  therefore,  was  thought  to  be 
officious  and  meddlesome,  and,  before  he  had  been  long  in  the 
country,  Lopez  intimated  to  the  French  government  that  it 
would  be  agreeable  to  him  if  Cochelet  could  be  withdrawn, 
and  somebody  else  sent  in  his  place.  The  French  govern- 
ment replied  that  it  had  every  confidence  in  M.  Cochelet. 
Then  Lopez  denied  that  a  consul  had  any  right  to  treat  with 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  said  that  that  privilege 
was  conceded  only  to  ministers,  or  to  persons  of  diplomatic 


M.  LAURENT  COCHELET.  139 

character.  To  this  the  French  government  replied,  that  if 
Paraguay  did  not  choose  to  treat  with  a  consul  on  questions 
other  than  those  purely  commercial,  it  would  withdraw  M. 
Cochelet,  and  not  send  anybody  else  in  his  place.  It  was  a 
matter  of  choice,  either  to  treat  with  M.  Cochelet  or  no- 
body. Lopez,  being  extremely  anxious  to  have  the  leading 
governments  of  the  world  represented  at  his  court,  —  by  min- 
isters if  possible,  and,  if  not  by  consuls,  —  would  not  break 
off  all  relations  with  France.  England  had  no  consul  there, 
neither  had  Spain  nor  Italy,  nor  had  any  great  power  except 
France ;  and  therefore,  obnoxious  as  M.  Cochelet  was  to 
Lopez,  he  tolerated  his  presence,  notwithstanding  he  would 
look  after  the  interests  of  his  countrymen  when  Lopez  wished 
to  arrest,  imprison,  or  rob  them  without  giving  any  reasons 
therefor. 

On  reaching  Asuncion  my  first  care  was  to  obtain  a  house. 
Fortunately,  the  best  house  in  the  place,  not  belonging  to  the 
Lopez  family,  was  vacant.  It  belonged  to  Don  Luis  Jara, 
who  was  in  the  army,  and  whose  partner  in  Buenos  Aires,  v 
Don  Carlos  Saguier,  had  given  me  a  letter  to  him,  requesting 
him  to  tender  the  use  of  his  house  to  me.  Jara  was  very 
glad  to  do  this,  as  the  premises  being  occupied  by  me  would  be 
protected  in  case  the  town  should  be  taken  by  the  allies,  and 
would  not  be  liable  at  any  time  to  be  taken  for  hospital  pur- 
poses by  Lopez.  The  house  was  very  large,  and  occupied 
nearly  an  entire  square.  It  was  built  in  the  Moorish  fashion, 
with  a  large  yard,  or  patio,  in  the  centre,  with  a  corridor  ex- 
tending the  whole  length  in  front,  and  other  corridors  within 
extending  along  three  sides  of  the  patio.  It  was  finely  fur- 
nished, and  two  slaves  of  Jara  had  been  left  there  by  him  to 
take  care  of  it.  All  that  he  required  of  me  was,  that  when- 
ever he  should  come  to  the  capital  he  should  have  one 
room  set  apart  for  his  occupancy.  He,  however,  never  came 
to  claim  even  this  small  privilege  in  his  own  house,  for  he 
died  about  a  year  after.  He  had  never  been  married,  but, 
like  most  Paraguayans  of  wealth,  he  had  several  illegitimate 
families ;  as  he  left  no  will,  none  of  these  children  were  heirs 


140 


PARAGUAY. 


to  the  estate,  which,  I  suppose,  according  to  the  laws  of  Para- 
guay, escheated  to  the  government.  The  description  of 
the  premises  which  I  occupied,  and  the  manner  in  which  I 
came  into  their  possession,  are  given  here  for  reasons  that 
will  appear  hereafter. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Reception  at  Asuncion.  —  General  Anxiety.  —  Englishmen  in  Prison.  —  J.  J. 
Acuna. —  G.  F.  Masterman  :  his  Arrest,  Trial,  and  Imprisonment. —  His 
Dungeon.  —  Treatment  of  Prisoners.  —  Ramon  Capdevila.  —  Intercession 
for  Masterman.  —  His  Release.  —  Life  in  Asuncion.  —  Captain  Simon  Fi- 
danza.  —  The  Casals. 

WE  reached  Asuncion  on  the  morning  of  November  8,  * 
1866,  fourteen  months  and  two  days  having  elapsed 
since  we  left  New  York.  Our  welcome,  alike  by  former 
friends  and  by  those  with  whom  I  had  never  been  acquainted, 
was  such  as  I  hope  never  to  experience  again.  It  was  sincere 
and  earnest,  but  it  was  based  on  a  hope  that,  the  blockade 
having  been  once  broken,  the  war  must  soon  end.  I  had 
brought  with  me  a  ray  of  light  from  beyond  their  prison,  but 
beyond  that  I  knew  they  were  deceived,  and  that  I  should 
have  no  power  to  aid  or  protect  them.  Yet  the  people,  both 
natives  and  foreigners,  nourished  the  hope  that  Lopez  would  at 
least  respect  the  minister  of  a  strong  neutral  nation,  and  that 
such  a  person  among  them  would  afford  some  protection  from 
the  dangers  that  seemed  to  be  gathering  thick  and  ominous 
all  around  them.  It  had  evidently  been  intimated  by  the 
police  to  the  native  Paraguayans,  that  civility  and  attention 
would  not  be  displeasing  to  the  government ;  and  the  next 
number  of  the  Semanario  was  abounding  with  its  admiration 
of  the  great  Republic  of  the  North,  and  of  its  minister,  who, 
against  all  the  discourtesies  and  efforts  of  the  allies  to  detain 
him,  had  finally  forced  their  blockade.  It  stigmatized  in  bit- 
ter, though  just,  terms  the  whole  conduct  of  the  allies  to- 
wards me.  It  ridiculed  the  assumption  that  they  had  a  right 
to  stop  me,  and  taunted  them  with  acting  the  bully  and  the 
coward  by  first  insisting  that  they  had  a  right  to  stop  me,  a 
right  which  they  would  never  yield,  but  which  they  notwith- 


142  PARAGUAY. 

standing  did  yield  when  they  found  that  the  government  of 
the  United  States  would  not  submit  to  their  insulting  preten- 
sions. It  also  contained  numerous  paragraphs  highly  eulogis- 
tic of  myself,  and  commending  me  in  the  strongest  terms  for 
persisting  in  enforcing  my  way,  until  in  mortification  and  dis- 
grace the  allies  had  been  forced  to  humble  themselves,  and 
permit  the  American  gunboat  to  pass  through  their  blockade, 
flaunting  the  American  flag  in  derision  and  contempt  in  their 
faces. 

The  people  of  Asuncion  took  the  hint  from  these  semi-offi- 
cial notices  that  there  was  no  danger  in  showing  us  attentions, 
and  as  soon  as  we  were  fairly  domiciled,  the  principal  people 
of  the  place  called  upon  us,  to  bid  us  welcome,  and  were  al- 
most oppressive  in  their  kindness  and  offers  of  assistance  and 
service.  Flowers,  fruit,  and  dulces  were  sent  to  us  every  day 
by  different  families,  and  in  a  manner  that  showed  the  kindest 
feelings  on  the  part  of  the  donors.  The  hospitality  of  the 
Paraguayans,  whenever  the  exercise  of  it  did  not  expose  them 
to  danger  from  the  government,  has  been  remarked  by  nearly 
all  travellers  who  have  ever  visited  that  country.  But  such 
general  manifestations  of  it  as  we  received  were  probably  un- 
precedented in  the  country.  After  our  long  and  anxious  voy- 
age, the  many  annoyances,  and,  I  may  say,  humiliations, 
which  we  had  experienced  from  the  allies,  it  was  with  a  great 
sense  of  relief  that  we  found  ourselves  at  last  settled  in  our 
own  house  in  Asuncion.  Having  brought  a  supply  of  provi- 
sions which  were  intended  to  be  sufficient  for  at  least  a  year, 
beyond  which  time  I  did  not  suppose  it  possible  that  the  war 
could  last,  we  lacked  for  nothing  necessary  to  health  or  com- 
fort ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  people  around  us  ap- 
peared to  be  so  anxious  about  the  future,  and  that  there  were 
so  many  people,  some  of  them  my  former  intimate  friends,  in 
prison,  and  such  a  general  state  of  anxiety,  our  position  would 
have  been  very  agreeable. 

Among  the  prisoners  in  whom  I  took  the  most  interest  were 
Drs.  John  Fox  and  James  Rhind,  English  physicians,  and 
Mr.  George  F.  Masterman,  an  English  apothecary.  I  learned 


THE    POSTMASTER-GENERAL.  ^3 

that  they  had  been  arrested  some  two  weeks  before  my  arrival. 
The  offence  for  which  the  two  former  were  imprisoned  was 
this.  The  mother  of  the  President,  Dona  Juana  Carillo  de 
Lopez,  having  been  sick  for  several  days,  a  telegram  was 
sent  to  her  son,  at  head-quarters,  advising  him  that  her  symp- 
toms were  worse,  and  requesting  permission  to  call  in  these 
two  physicians.  An  order  was  sent  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening  to  Dr.  Rhind,  to  take  Dr.  Fox  with  him  and  go  and 
visit  the  old  lady.  The  latter,  unfortunately,  was  not  at  his 
house,  and  could  not  be  found  immediately ;  and  Dr.  Rhind, 
knowing  the  danger  that  would  result  from  his  disobeying 
orders  and  going  alone,  thought  he  must  wait  until  Dr.  Fox 
should  appear.  In  the  mean  while  the  old  lady  got  impatient, 
and  another  telegram  was  sent  to  the  President,  informing 
him  that  the  physicians  had  not  come.  Another  order  was 
immediately  sent,  commanding  the  immediate  arrest  and  im- 
prisonment of  the  two  doctors.  They  were  accordingly  sent 
to  prison,  and  confined  separately  in  dark,  damp  cells,  with 
sentinels  placed  over  them.  This  was  their  situation  at  the 
time  of  my  return  to  Paraguay. 

The  old  Postmaster-General  of  Asuncion,  Don  Juan  J. 
Acuna,  and  his  wife,  were  also  prisoners  at  the  time  of  my 
return,  and  had  been  for  several  months.  Senor  Acuna  was 
an  old  man,  nearly  seventy  years  of  age.  He  was  a  native  of 
the  Argentine  province  of  Tucuman,  and  had  come  to  Para- 
guay in  his  youth,  where  he  had  married  a  young  lady,  a 
member  of  the  ill-fated  and  long-persecuted  Machain  family. 
During  my  first  residence  in  Paraguay,  I  was  more  intimate 
with  the  old  gentleman  than  with  any  other  Paraguayan.  I 
visited  very  often  at  his  house,  and  we  were  in  the  habit  of 
playing  chess  together  almost  every  day.  His  position  as 
Postmaster-General  was  a  very  disagreeable  one,  as  it  devolved 
upon  him  the  task  of  examining  all  the  newspapers  that  came 
into  the  country,  and  seeing  that  no  paper  containing  anything 
disrespectful  to  the  government  of  Paraguay  was  allowed  to 
go  out  of  the  post-office.  A  person  in  this  position  would 
naturally  be  disliked  by  foreigners  and  by  others  whose  papers 


144  PARAGUAY. 

he  was  required  to  detain,  and  it  was  not  strange  that  they 
should  regard  him  as  a  tool  or  spy  of  the  government.  Yet 
he  was  so  obliging,  and  always  so  sociable  and  good-natured, 
that  he  was  almost  universally  liked.  His  wife,  Dona  Pancha, 
came  as  near  to  my  idea  of  a  Christian  woman  as  any  per- 
son I  have  ever  met.  Her  family  had  been  persecuted 
by  Francia  and  by  the  elder  Lopez  until  it  was  nearly  de- 
stroyed. Most  of  the  surviving  members  of  it  were  beyond 
the  limits  of  Paraguay.  But  affliction  or  persecution  had  not 
chilled  her  heart,  but  rather  made  it  more  sensitive  to  the 
sufferings  of  others.  The  office  of  Postmaster-General  of  Para- 
guay only  afforded  the  incumbent  the  small  pittance  of  thirty 
dollars  a  month,  and  as  the  family  had  no  fortune  beyond  the 
house  they  lived  in,  the  old  lady,  with  her  servants,  eked  out 
the  supplies,  not  only  for  the  support  of  her  own  family,  but 
for  a  large  number  of  the  infirm  and  destitute,  by  the  making 
of  chipa  and  dulces.  She  appeared  to  be  always  at  work ; 
and  I  was  assured  by  my  fair  countrywoman,  the  wife  of  the 
"French  Consul,  Izarie",  who  assisted  the  old  lady  very  much 
in  these  contributions,  that  the  number  of  poor  dependants  on 
this  family  was  almost  incredible. 

To  my  surprise,  on  my  return  to  Paraguay,  I  found  the 
two  were  prisoners.  What  offence  they  had  committed  no 
one  seemed  to  know.  They  were  in  solitary  confinement  in 
separate  cells,  and  no  one,  not  even  their  children,  was  per- 
mitted to  visit  them,  or  even  to  see  them.  Some  two  months 
after  my  return,  in  passing  one  morning  through  the  street 
not  far  from  their  house,  I  thought  I  saw,  on  the  opposite  side 
and  a  little  in  front  of  me,  my  old  friend.  I  stepped  quickly 
after  him,  and,  hailing  him,  he  greeted  me  very  cordially,  and 
we  walked  along  together  for  a  short  distance.  He  told  me 
that  he  and  his  wife  had  both  been  let  out  of  prison  the  day 
before  ;  that  the  old  lady  was  very  sick  indeed,  and  would  be 
very  glad  if  I  would  call  and  see  her.  I  promised  to  do  so, 
and  the  next  day  I  went  to  the  house,  and  was  invited  into 
the  room  where  the  poor  invalid  was  lying  upon  the  bed. 
She  was  a  mere  skeleton  ;  her  voice  was  gone,  and  she  could 


THE  ACU5JAS.  I45 

hardly  speak  in  a  whisper.  She  seemed  very  glad  to  see  me, 
and  undertook  to  tell  me  something  of  her  sufferings.  I 
could  only  make  out,  as  she  held  up  her  bony  fingers  and 
motioned  towards  the  prison  where  she  had  been  confined, 
"Eight  months,  eight  months."  Those  two  words  told  the 
whole  story.  The  poor  old  lady  had  been  in  solitary  con- 
finement, with  no  human  face  that  she  could  look  upon 
except  a  brutal  soldier,  for  eight  months,  and  had  only  been 
let  out  of  prison  in  time  to  die.  A  day  or  two  after  that  I 
was  greatly  surprised  to  receive  a  note  from  the  old  man. 
What  temerity,  thought  I,  for  a  person  in  his  situation  to 
send  me  a  note.  Of  course  the  government  would  know 
all  about  it.  However,  when  I  read  the  note  I  thought  it 
could  not  be  so  very  dangerous,  as  it  was  simply  a  request 
that  I  would  call  down  and  play  a  game  of  chess  with  him. 
I  went,  and  took  with  me  a  letter  for  him  which  had  come 
to  my  care  from  his  long-time  near  neighbor  and  our  common 
friend,  Mr.  George  Paddison,  formerly  chief  engineer  of  the 
railroad.  He  said  he  would  not  open  the  letter  nor  read  it ; 
that  his  wife  had  been  arrested  for  no  other  reason,  that  he 
knew  of,  than  that  a  nephew  of  hers,  in  Buenos  Aires,  had 
written  her  a  letter  which  had  been  intercepted  by  the  gov- 
ernment, and  of  the  contents  of  which  they  knew  nothing  ; 
and  therefore,  lest  this  letter  might  do  him  harm,  and  lest  the 
very  fact  that  he  had  received  a  letter  unbeknown  to  the  gov- 
ernment might  some  time  become  known  and  be  construed  to 
his  prejudice,  he  tore  it  up  into  fragments  before  my  eyes 
without  reading  it.  He  said,  moreover,  that  he  had  not  the 
most  remote  idea,  at  that  moment,  of  the  reason  why  he  had 
been  imprisoned.  He  could  understand  why  the  old  lady  had 
been,  as  her  relations  were  known  to  be  among  the  most  influ- 
ential of  the  Paraguayans  in  Buenos  Aires,  and  were  using  all 
their  influence  against  Lopez  ;  but  for  himself  he  could  not 
conceive  what  had  been  the  motive  of  his  arrest.  He  said 
that  his  object  in  sending  me  the  invitation  to  come  and 
play  chess  with  him  was  that  he  might  request  me  not  to 
visit  his  house  any  more.  He  was  a  marked  man,  and  though 

VOL.    II.  I0 


146  PARAGUAY. 

he  would  have  been  delighted  if  we  could  resume  our  former 
relations,  yet  it  was  too  dangerous.  I  told  him  I  fully  appre- 
ciated his  situation,  and  bade  him  adieu.  Within  a  few  days 
I  was  relieved  by  learning  that  the  old  lady  was  dead,  and 
within  a  fifcw  weeks  after  that  the  old  man  had  joined  her  in 
the  unseen  world.  Even  at  that  period,  the  best  news  I  could 
receive  from  many  of  my  friends  was  that  they  were  dead. 

The  English  doctors,  Fox  and  Rhind,  remained  in  prison 
about  two  months.  They  were  both  of  them  in  feeble  health 
at  the  time  of  their  arrest,  and,  being  confined  in  dark,  damp 
cells,  it  was  a  wonder  that  they  survived.  They  were  both 
very  sick  during  the  term  of  their  imprisonment,  but  were 
not  permitted  to  hold  communication  with  any  one,  not  even 
to  converse  with  the  sentinel  who  was  over  them.  They  could 
not  send  to  their  houses  for  changes  of  clothing,  or  for  the 
medicine  which  they  felt  they  must  have  or  soon  die.  They 
did  not  die,  however,  but  at  the  end  of  two  months'  confine- 
ment were  pardoned  out  of  prison,  after  which  Dr.  Fox 
was  called  down  to  the  army,  and  Dr.  Rhind  remained  in 
charge  of  the  hospitals  at  Asuncion.  The  latter  never  left 
Paraguay,  but  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  die  a  natural  death, 
instead  of  sharing  the  fate  of  most  of  the  foreigners  in  the 
country  at  the  time  of  his  imprisonment.  Masterman,  how- 
ever, still  remained  in  prison.  His  arrest  had  not  taken  place 
until  a  few  days  after  that  of  his  fellow-countrymen.  The  of- 
f  •  fence  alleged  against  him  was,  that  he  had  endeavored  to  de- 
liver some  letters  from  England  for  Dr.  Rhind,  which  had 
been  given  him  for  that  purpose  by  the  French  consul. 
There  being  no  law  against  it,  neither  Masterman  nor  any- 
body else  supposed  there  was  anything  criminal  in  an  act  that 
was  in  accordance  with  universal  custom. 

The  description  of  the  prison,  and  the  trial  to  which  he  was 
subjected,  I  give  in  Masterman's  own  words.* 

*  Seven  Eventful  Years  in  Paraguay :  A  Narrative  of  Personal  Experience 
amongst  the  Paraguayans.  By  George  Frederick  Masterman,  late  Assistant 
Surgeon,  Professor  of  Materia  Medica,  Chief  Military  Apothecary  General  Hos- 
pital, Asuncion,  Paraguay.  Formerly  of  Medical  Staff  of  her  Majesty's  Sad 
Regiment. 


MASTERMAN  IN  PRISON.  j^y 

"  I  then,  as  far  as  the  dim  light  of  the  candle  allowed  me,  ex- 
amined my  dungeon.  It  was  about  twelve  feet  by  eight,  the  walls 
of  rough  adobes.  From  a  heavy  column  in  the  centre  of  the  wall 
sprung  two  arches,  and  above  them  the  roof  at  a  considerable 
height,  palm  trunks  and  tiles  laid  in  earth.  The  floor  was  of 
mud,  full  of  hollows,  cold  and  wet ;  the  only  furniture  a  cartrt, 
that  is,  a  hide  stretched  on  a  wooden  frame,  and  a  broken  chair.  I 
soon  found  my  prison  was  so  situated  that,  except  in  bright  weather, 
I  should  live  almost  in  darkness.  The  large  door  was  wide  open, 
but  as  it  looked  only  into  a  long,  arched  passage  connecting  the  two 
courtyards  of  the  Colegio  (for  I  was  within  the  old  Jesuit  College), 
all  the  light  I  could  get  would  be  that  reflected  from  the  wall. 

"  About  ten  in  the  morning  a  sergeant  came  in,  and  ordered  me 
to  follow  him.  I  did  so,  and  was  taken  to  a  small  room  in  front  of 
the  building.  I  found  there  Captain  Silva,  an  alferez,  a  sergeant, 
and  Senor  Ortellado,  a  notary.  By  the  latter  I  was  sworn  on  a 
sword,  and  then  examined  very  tediously  for  several  hours.  Written 
questions  were  read  to  me  ;  my  answers  were  taken  down  on  loose 
sheets,  and  then  copied  on  stamped  paper.  I  was  first  asked  a 
number  of  formal  questions  about  my  name,  age,  birthplace,  relig- 
ion, and  so  on,  and  then  if  I  knew  why  I  had  been  arrested.  No. 
Did  I  not  know  that  it  was  the  first  duty  of  a  soldier  to  obey  his  su- 
periors ?  Yes,  certainly;  but  I  was  not  a  soldier,  my  rank  being 
honorary.  Was  I  in  the  service  of  the  Republic  ?  Yes,  but  without 
a  contract,  and  in  a  non-military  capacity.  Did  I  not  know  that  it 
was  forbidden  by  law  to  deliver  letters  which  had  not  passed  through 
the  post-office  ?  No  ;  I  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  such  a  law,  nor 
had  I  even  infringed  it  since  I  had  never  delivered  the  letters. 
Would  send  them  there,  if  permitted,  and  would,  of  course,  pay  the 
postage.  He  then  asked  me  if  I  had  the  letters,  and  ordered  me  to 
give  them  up.  I  demurred,  questioning  their  right  to  deprive  me  of 
them,  as  they  had  not  shown  me  by  what  authority  they  were  acting. 
Captain  Silva  told  the  sergeant  to  put  a  set  of  griUos  (fetters) 
on  the  table.  Taking  the  hint,  for  of  course  resistance  was  out  of 
the  question,  I  gave  up  the  letters.  I  was  then  examined  at  great 
length  about  my  private  correspondence,  the  people  I  wrote  to, 
where  they  lived,  and  so  on 

"  On  returning  to  my  cell,  I  found  it  had  been  improved  by  the 
arrival  of  some  bedding  from  my  quarters,  with  a  wash-hand  basin, 


148  PARAGUAY. 

a  water-jar,  and  a  chair ;  but  it  was  still  a  most  wretched  place,  and 
miserably  cold. 

"  Near  the  threshold,  but  in  the  passage,  stood,  day  and  night, 
a  sentry  armed  with  musket  and  bayonet,  and  relieved  every  two 
hours,  —  a  more  effectual  guard  than  bolts  or  bars.  He  stood  facing 
me,  and  about  eight  feet  from  my  bed  ;  and  from  nine  o'clock  at 
night  until  the  reveille  sounded  the  next  morning,  every  quarter  of 
an  hour  he  shouted  '  Sentinela  alerta  ! '  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  to 
show  that  he  was  not  sleeping.  This  startling  cry  was  taken  up  in 
succession  by  the  others,  in  the  chain  of  sentries,  within  and  without 
the  prison,  and  by  the  time  the  last  had  finished  the  first  began 
again.  It  was  terrible  !  To  be  thus  awakened  by  a  sudden  yell, 
all  hope  of  sound  and  peaceful  sleep  destroyed,  and  the  painful 
consciousness  that  one  was  a  prisoner  perpetually  forced  upon  the 
attention,  was  a  cruel  torture.  Never  shall  I  be  able  to  efface  it 
from  my  memory. 

"  Often  have  I  passed  the  whole  night  pacing  wearily  up  and 
down  the  short  length  of  my  prison,  or  lying  with  my  fingers  firmly 
pressed  up  my  ears,  lest  I  should  fall  asleep  but  to  be  awakened  by 
that  dreaded  cry.  For  months  I  only  slept  the  third  night. 

"  To  return  to  my  examination.  The  next  day  I  was  called  to 
hear  the  evidence  read  over  to  me  from  beginning  to  end.  When  it 
was  being  taken,  I  noticed  that  Captain  Silva  and  the  notary  fre- 
quently left  the  room  with  the  papers,  and  I  now  found  why  they 
had  done  so.  My  replies,  nominally  copied  from  the  loose  sheets, 
had  been  grossly  distorted  ;  all  that  tended  to  exculpate  me  was 
omitted  ;  and  they  had  inserted  a  fictitious  confession  of  guilt,  that 
I  had  asked  pardon  for  my  offences,  and  that  I  had  stated  I  was 
willing  to  bear  any  punishment  awarded  me !  .... 

"Up  to  that  time  I  had  received  no  ill-treatment  from  him 
(Lopez),  and  thought  that  as  an  Englishman,  and  one  who  had 
faithfully  served  him  many  years,  I  should  soon  be  set  at  liberty. 
Without  a  reply,  Ortellado  told  me  to  sign  the  depositions.  I  de- 
clined to  do  so,  saying  that  they  knew  they  were  falsified  and  un- 
just to  me.  He  called  my  attention  to  the  irons  again,  and  at  the 
same  time  assured  me  that  if  I  would  give  him  no  further  trouble  I 
should  be  set  at  liberty  in  a  few  days.  Seeing  it  was  useless  to 
resist,  and  dreading  the  severities  to  which  I  should  have  been  ex- 
posed had  I  been  put  in  irons,  —  deprived  of  bed  and  chair,  and 


TORTURE   OF   PRISONERS. 


I49 


with  only  a  hide  upon  the  ground  to  sit  or  lie  upon,  —  I  reluctantly 

signed  the  papers I  gradually  became  accustomed  to  the  dim 

light  reflected  from  the  wall  of  the  passage,  and  in  clear  weather 
could  see  to  read  for  several  hours  a  day.  But  when  the  sky  was 
overcast,  and  until  the  sun  was  high,  I  was  in  a  gloom  so  deep  that 
to  any  one  entering  from  without  it  would  have  seemed  total  dark- 
ness. My  greatest  fear  was  that  the  damp  would  affect  my  health ; 
for  the  mud  floor  was  beneath  the  level  of  the  courtyard,  and  the 
walls,  the  beams,  and  even  my  mattress  on  its  under  side,  were  cov- 
ered with  fungoid  growths,  green  and  slimy  with  mouldiness.  The 
cell  was  miserably  cold,  but  they  would  not  let  me  have  a  blanket 
from  my  quarters,  and  I  had  only  a  tattered  piece  of  red  baize, 

which  had  long  done  duty  as   a  table-cover,  in  place  of  it 

Next  to  my  prison  was  an  open  corridor,  where  a  great  many  presos 
were  confined  in  chains,  which  all  day  long  clanked  dismally,  and 
often  in  the  night  I  heard  them  clash  suddenly  when  the  prisoners 
were  startled  in  their  sleep  by  the  cry  of  the  sentries.  Now  and 
then  I  caught  sight  of  them  through  a  chink  in  the  thick  boards 
which  covered  the  window,  and  sometimes  they  passed  to  the 
great  quadrangle  through  the  passage  in  front  of  my  door.  They 
were  of  all  ages,  some  very  old  men,  others  but  boys,  but  all 
reduced  to  the  last  stage  of  emaciation,  mere  brown  skin  and  bone. 
All  had  one  pair  of  heavy  fetters  riveted  on  their  ankles,  rough  with 
callosities  and  cicatrices  of  old  wounds,  several  two  ;  and  one  man 
bore  on  his  skeleton-like  legs  three  heavy  bars,  which  swung  back- 
wards and  forwards  as  he  slowly  shuffled  along.  Yet  these  sufferers 
were  not  half  so  wretched  as  one  would  have  thought ;  they  used  to 
laugh  and  sing,  and  have  clattering,  staggering  races  in  their  narrow 

den Every  week  or  so,  one  and  another  of  them  would  be 

taken  out  to  the  patio  to  be  flogged.  These  were  sad  days  for  me. 
I  dreaded  their  coming,  and  did  not  recover  my  equanimity  for 
many  hours  afterwards. 

"  I  think  the  fact  of  hearing,  without  being  able  to  see  the  inflic- 
tion of  the  punishments,  made  them  more  terrible.  To  hear  the 
dull,  heavy  thud  of  the  stick  wielded  by  those  stalwart,  pitiless  cor- 
porals, and  to  know  that  it  was  descending  on  living  flesh,  quivering 
in  agony,  made  me  faint  and  sick  with  horror.  As  a  surgeon,  I 
was,  they  told  me,  one  of  the  coolest  of  operators,  and  yet  these 
sounds  used  to  unnerve  me  completely  the  whole  day  through.  I 


150 


PARAGUAY. 


then  little  thought  that  I  should  one  day  have  to  suffer  a  worse  pun- 
ishment  In  the  inner  courtyard  were  several  political  prisoners, 

all  well  known  to  me.     One,  an  Argentine  named  Capdevila,  I  saw  ^ 
pass  my  door  several  times;  he  had  been  a  merchant  of  some  wealth 

in  Asuncion His  wife  bribed  Mrs.  Lynch  to  intercede  for  him, 

and  he,  with  one  or  two  others,  was  set  at  liberty.  Pitying  his 
countrymen  who  were  still  in  captivity,  he  sent  them  food  and 
clothes  several  times ;  but  this  act  of  charity  was  construed  into  an 
offence  against  Lopez,  and  he  was  sent  to  the  Colegio  and  put  in 
irons.  About  a  month  afterwards  I  saw  the  poor  old  man  marched 
off  (to  the  Policia,  I  suppose),  and  return  with  two  pairs  of  grilles 
on  his  legs  ;  they  took  away  also  his,  hide  cartre,  and  left  him  to  lie 
on  the  bare  ground.  Three  weeks  afterwards  he  passed  slowly  and 
feebly,  and  returned  some  hours  later  with  three  bars.  He  caught 
sight  of  me  as  he  went  by,  and  in  raising  his  hat  stumbled  and  fell. 
He  was  brutally  kicked  until  he  scrambled  up  again.  His  cup  of 
misery  was  not  yet  full ;  after  a  shorter  interval  he  was  once  more 
marched  out,  and,  as  several  hours  passed  away,  I  made  sure  that 
he  had  been  set  at  liberty,  but  to  my  grief  and  horror  he  returned 
late  at  night  in  a  far  worse  plight  than  before.  He  still  wore  three 
bars,  and  so  thick  and  long  that  he  staggered  under  their  weight, 
and  was  more  than  half  an  hour  crossing  the  patio,  inch  by  inch, 
and  at  length  he  crawled  by  my  door  on  his  hands  and  knees.  Yet 
he  did  not  die  for  several  months  afterwards !  * 

*'  Sometimes  I  heard  blows,  but  frequently  the  cries  of  the  victim 
alone  told  how  they  were  torturing  him.  One  afternoon  a  poor  fel- 
low was  estacado,  horizontally  crucified,  just  beneath  my  window. 
Never  shall  I  forget  what  I  endured  that  day  in  listening  to  his 
moans  and  occasional  frantic  yells  and  prayers  for  mercy,  and  in 
picturing  to  myself  what  he  was  suffering.  After  hours  of  such  tor- 
ments I  would  see  them  sometimes  led,  sometimes  carried,  back 
again,  pale  and  bleeding,  a  piteous  spectacle." 

In  this  wretched   place,  and   subject   to   such   treatment, 

J  *  In  Resquin's  diary  the  name  of  Ramon  Capedevila  appears  in  a  list  of  forty- 
one  who  were  executed  as  traitors  on  the  gth  of  August,  1868.  His  brother, 
AureHano,  according  to  the  same  authority,  was  executed  on  the  23d  of  the  same 
month,  with  twenty-two  others,  including  John  Watts,  the  hero  of  Riachuelo,  but 
for  whose  valor  and  judgment  not  a  vessel  of  the  Paraguayan  squadron  would 
have  returned  from  that  disastrous  conflict. 


EFFORTS   IN   BEHALF   OF   MASTERMAN.          151 

Masterman  was  held  a  prisoner  for  eleven  months.  As  I 
had  been  so  well  received  by  Lopez  on  my  return,  I  often 
thought  whether  or>'  not  I  might  venture  to  request  the  lib- 
eration of  these  three  Englishmen.  Greatly  to  my  relief,  Fox 
and  Rhind  were  set  at  liberty  at  the  end  of  two  months, 
and  I  was  daily  hoping  to  hear  the  same  of  Masterman. 
But  month  passed  after  month,  and  his  prison  doors  were 
not  opened,  and  many  a  night  did  I  lay  awake,  perplexing 
my  brain  to  devise  some  way  to  extricate  him  from  his 
miserable  prison.  But  what  could  I  do  ?  To  intercede 
for  him  on  the  ground  that  he  was  not  guilty,  or  that  his 
punishment  was  excessive,  would  greatly  enrage  Lopez,  and 
would  probably  subject  Masterman  to  worse  treatment.  I 
knew  him  to  be  a  weakling,  both  bodily  and  mentally,  that 
his  real  offence  could  have  been  nothing  more  than  some 
unfortunate  expressions  which  his  ungovernable  and  foolish 
tongue  had  let  fall,  but  which  in  any  other  country  would 
never  have  been  noticed.  At  length,  however,  the  occasion 
seemed  opportune  to  intercede  in  his  favor.  If  I  could  not 
ask  his  release  on  his  own  account,  I  could  on  account  of 
my  family.  Mrs.  VVashburn  was  in  a  precarious  state  of 
health,  and  as  the  only  doctor  in  the  capital  (Rhind)  was 
unreliable,  being  frequently  unable,  from  sickness,  to  leave 
his  house  for  days  together,  I  suggested  to  Minister  Berges 
that  it  would  be  a  great  favor  to  me  and  Mrs.  Washburn  if 
Masterman  might  be  set  at  liberty,  in  order  to  attend  my 
family.  It  was  a  very  delicate  affair  to  manage,  and  I  was 
compelled  to  so  far  put  aside  all  questions  of  dignity  as  to 
solicit  the  influence  of  Madam  Lynch.  In  any  country  but 
Paraguay,  it  would  have  been  manifestly  improper  to  ask  for 
such  intercession.  But  "  is  it  lawful  to  do  good,  or  to  do  evil  ? 
to  save  life  or  to  destroy  it  ? "  Again,  was  it  right  to  deceive 
his  Excellency,  and  to  prefer  my  request  on  the  ground  of  a 
personal  favor,  when,  in  fact,  my  real  motive  was  to  extri- 
cate Masterman  ?  I  leave  the  answer  to  casuists. 

My  diplomacy  was  successful  ;  he  was  set  at  liberty  ;   and 
that  he  might  be  more  secure,  I  took  him  into  my  house,  and 


1 52  PARAGUAY. 

kept  him  there  until  he  was  seized  from  my  side  by  the  sol- 
diers of  Lopez,  as  he  started  from  the  legation  to  accompany  me 
when  I  was  finally  leaving  the  country.  After  I  had  secured 
his  liberation,  I  soon  found  I  had  a  diminutive  white  elephant 
on  my  hands,  one  that  I  could  not  send  away,  for  that  would 
be  equivalent  to  sending  him  to  torture  and  execution.  I  was 
obliged  to  tolerate  him,  though  he  had  many  eccentricities 
that  were  not  agreeable.  Yet  he  was  skilful  in  his  profession 
of  pill-mixer,  and  had  learned  to  be  a  very  fair  physician.  My 
efforts  to  obtain  his  rescue  a  second  time,  in  which  I  was  also 
successful,  will  be  related  in  the  proper  place. 

Excepting  for  the  miseries  and  troubles  of  other  people  that 
came  to  my  knowledge,  the  time  for  the  first  few  months  after 
my  return  to  Asuncion  would  have  been,  if  not  altogether 
agreeable,  still  tolerable.  I  had  scarcely  anything  to  do  of  an 
official  character,  and  busied  myself  to  a  great  extent  in  get- 
ting together  the  materials  for  the  first  part  of  this  work,  in 
which  I  was  very  much  assisted  by  Mr.  Bliss,  who  had  already 
commenced,  at  the  instance  of  the  government,  to  write  a  his- 
tory of  Paraguay  in  Spanish,  and  as  he  had  collected  and  ar- 
ranged in  their  chronological  order  a  great  mass  of  facts,  the 
work  was  comparatively  easy. 

Perhaps  my  return  to  Paraguay  was  not  so  welcome  to  any 
other  person  in  the  country  as  to  the  French  Consul,  M. 
Cochelet.  As  before  said,  he  was  greatly  out  of  favor  with 
the  President,  so  much  so,  that  the  Paraguayan  people,  as  well 
as  the  foreigners,  dared  not  visit  him  or  hold  any  communi- 
cation with  him.  Before  leaving  Paraguay  to  return  to  the 
United  States,  we  had  lived  in  adjoining  houses  and  had  been 
extremely  intimate,  and  my  return  was  particularly  desired  by 
him,  as  then  there  would  be  one  family  in  the  country  that  he 
and  his  could  visit  whenever  they  chose.  I  had  a  billiard- 
table  in  my  house,  and  scarcely  a  day  passed  until  he  left  the 
country  but  that  we  played  several  games  of  billiards  and  of 
chess.  We  often  went  partridge  shooting  together,  and  our 
rides  through  those  little-frequented  roads  which,  running  in 
all  directions  around  Asuncion,  pass  over  the  gentle  hills,  and 


CAMPO  GRANDE.' 


153 


between  cultivated  fields,  the  citron-trees  on  both  sides  emit- 
ting the  most  fragrant  odor  imaginable,  and  with  a  great 
variety  of  other  trees  of  variegated  hues,  all  extremely  beau- 
tiful, formed  the  most  grateful  diversion  during  this  dark  and 
anxious  period.  For  riding  on  horseback  the  roads  were  alto- 
gether the  finest,  the  most  diversified  and  charming,  that  I 
have  ever  seen  in  any  country. 

Back  from  Asuncion,  about  a  league  and  a  half  from  the 
town,  is  a  large  open  plain,  about  two  leagues  wide  and  five  or 
six  in  length,  called  Campo  Grande.  This  camp  was  bounded 
on  each  side  by  gentle  wooded  acclivities,  and  at  a  distance 


RANCHO   OF  THE    POORER   CLASS. 


varying  from  quarter  to  half  a  mile  apart  were  the  ranches 
in  which  the  inhabitants  lived.  Some  of  these  were  little  bet- 
ter than  huts,  but  generally,  though  they  made  but  an  unpre- 
tending appearance,  they  were  very  comfortable  habitations. 


1 54  PARAGUAY. 

One  of  the  best  houses  standing  on  the  border  of  this 
camp  was  rented,  soon  after  my  arrival  in  the  country,  by 
an  Italian  named  Fidanza,  who  had  been  a  man  of  consid- 
erable means  in  Buenos  Aires,  having  interests  in  several 
steamers,  one  of  which  he  usually  commanded.  About  the 
time  that  the  war  with  Brazil  commenced  he  had  come  up  to 
Paraguay  with  a  steamer  called  the  Villa  del  Salto.  His 
object  had  been  to  make  a  sale  of  the  vessel  and  cargo  to 
Lopez,  and  he  had  nearly  completed  his  bargain,  and  sup- 
posed that  he  should  be  able  to  leave,  having  made  a  profit- 
able operation,  when  Lopez  concluded  to  declare  war  against 
the  Argentine  Confederation,  to  take  his  steamer  without 
paying  for  it,  and  declare  it  a  prize  of  war.  With  a  considera- 
tion to  Fidanza,  however,  very  different  from  what  he  had 
shown  to  the  officers  of  the  Marques  de  Olinda,  he  allowed 
him  to  take  of  his  own  stores  a  considerable  supply,  enough, 
as  Fidanza  supposed,  to  last  him  for  two  or  three  years. 
Finding  that  he  was  not  likely  to  get  away  from  the  country 
for  a  long  time,  he  took  this  rancho  in  Campo  Grande,  and 
removed  his  stores  to  that  place,  where  he  lived  with  profuse 
hospitality,  welcoming  all  who  went  to  visit  him  with  the  best 
that  his  house  could  afford.  In  our  partridge-shooting  expe- 
ditions in  Campo  Grande  we  usually  dined  at  his  house,  and 
though  we  enjoyed  exceedingly  his  generous  fare,  yet  he 
seemed  to  enjoy  in  playing  the  host  even  greater  pleasure 
than  we  did  in  partaking  of  his  bounty.  His  house  being 
about  half-way  on  the  road  to  Limpio,  where  I  continued  after 
my  return  from  the  United  States  to  visit,  as  formerly,  my 
old  friend  Don  Mauricio,  I  was  his  frequent  guest.  He  was 
exceedingly  anxious  to  get  out  of  the  country  and  return  to 
his  family  in  Buenos  Aires;  and  while  the  situation  there 
was  yet  tolerable,  and  he  was  supposed  to  be  in  favor  with 
Lopez,  he  said  he  would  gladly  surrender  half  his  fortune, 
which  was  considerable,  could  he  again  set  foot  beyond  the 
limits  of  Paraguay. 

Don  Mauricio  had  heard  of  my  return  with  great  satisfac- 
tion, as,  but  a  short  time  before,  his  elder  son  had  been  sent 


A   SUCCESSFUL  APPEAL.  155 

up,  a  helpless  invalid,  from  the  army  to  the  hospital  in  the 
capital.  The  old  man  being  too  aged  and  infirm  ever  to  leave 
home,  and  his  sons,  slaves,  and  peons  having  all  been  taken 
for  soldiers,  he  sent  his  daughters  to  the  capital  to  bid  us  wel- 
come and  to  invite  us  to  visit  him  at  Limpio.  They  were 
also  to  look  after  their  brother,  who  lay  helpless  and  paralyzed 
in  his  lower  extremities  in  the  hospital.  While  in  town  they 
learned,  greatly  to  their  consternation,  that  he  was  to  be  sent 
to  the  encampment  at  Cerro  Leon,  where,  with  the  fare  com- 
monly given  to  the  sick,  and  the  rough  treatment  of  the 
Paraguayan  surgeons,  they  feared  he  would  not  long  survive. 
They  accordingly  came  to  me  and  asked  if  I  could  not  inter- 
cede and  get  permission  for  him  to  go  to  his  home  at  Limpio, 
where  it  was  possible  he  might  recover,  and  would  certainly 
relieve  the  state  of  the  expense  of  taking  care  of  him.  It 
was  not  within  the  rules  of  the  diplomatic  regulations  for  me 
to  make  any  such  request  of  the  government,  neither  had  it 
been  within  the  same  rules,  when  the  other  brother  was  con- 
scripted as  a  soldier,  to  make  it  a  personal  request  that  he 
should  be  discharged,  and  allowed  to  return  to  his  home  ; 
nevertheless,  I  did  so,  and  in  both  instances  my  request  was 
granted.  I  had  no  sooner  left  the  country,  however,  than  he 
was  re-enlisted,  and  when  I  returned  was  a  soldier  at  Humaita, 
while  the  other  was  an  invalid  in  the  hospital. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

A  Visit  to  Lopez's  Head-Quarters.  —  Description  of  Huraaita.  —  The  Encamp- 
ment at  Paso  Pucu.  —  Dr.  Stewart,  the  Surgeon-General.  —  Other  English 
Officers.  —  Their  Warnings  and  Forebodings.  —  Interviews  with  Lopez.  —  His 
Opinion  of  Brazilian  Soldiers.  —  Release  of  Americans  from  Prison.  —  Obse- 
quiousness of  Lopez's  Officers.  —  Admiral  Tamandare. —  Brazilian  Artillery 
Practice.  —  An  American  Claim  allowed  by  Lopez.  —  Arrest  of  Don  Luis 
Jara.  —  Picking  a  Money-Box.  —  Alleged  Paraguayan  Victories.  —  Prospect 
of  American  Mediation. 

ON  the  2Oth  of  December,  about  seven  weeks  after  my 
return  to  Asuncion,  I  was  advised  by  the  Minister  for 
Foreign  Relations,  Don  Jose  Berges,  that  the  President,  having 
recovered  his  health,  would  be  pleased  to  see  me  at  his  head- 
quarters, and  that  a  steamer  would  be  at  my  disposal  to  take 
me  to  Humaita  whenever  it  would  suit  my  pleasure  to  visit 
his  Excellency.  I  accordingly  left  the  same  evening,  and  on 
the  morning  of  the  second  day  reached  Humaita,  where  I 
was  furnished  with  a  horse  and  guide  to  take  me  to  Paso 
Pucu. 

Of  the  great  natural  advantages  of  Humaita,  a  very  correct 
idea  may  be  formed  by  the  following  description  by  Colonel 
Thompson  :  "  Humaita,  is  situated  on  a  level  cliff,  about  thirty 
feet  above  the  river,  on  a  sharp  horse-shoe  bend  of  the  stream, 
to  which  it  presents  a  concave  surface,  thus  giving  the  power 
of  concentrating  the  fire  of  all  the  batteries  on  any  point  in 
the  bend.  The  cliff  is  2,500  yards  long,  being  bounded  by 
a  carrisal  *  at  each  end,  and  the  village  is  surrounded  by  a 
trench  resting  at  both  ends  on  the  river ;  at  the  commence- 

*  Carrisal  is  a  broad  sheet  of  water  sometimes  surrounded,  like  a  lake,  and 
sometimes  on  the  margin  of  a  river,  full  of  coarse  strong  grass  that  gives  it  at 
a  little  distance  the  appearance  of  a  plain,  and  which  is  so  thick  that  a  canoe  can 
with  difficulty  be  forced  through  it. 


v 

* 


1  'm  S  ft   P^  '  "£.      ^A 


HUMAITA. 


'57 


ment  of  the  two  carrisals  this  trench  is  14,800  yards  long, 
including  the  redans,  which  are  placed  about  every  250  yards, 
and  encloses  a  space  of  flat  pasture-land  4,000  yards  long  and 
2,000  yards  wide.  Going  up  the  river  from  Humaita,  there 
is  no  possible  communication  with  the  land  before  reaching 
Filar,  on  account  of  the  carrisals,  with  the  exception  of  a  cliff 
called  Tayi,  fifteen  miles  above  Humaita,  where  there  is  a 
road  leading  to  the  inland  high  roads.  The  carrisal  between 
Humaita  and  Tayi  is  more  or  less  in  the  shape  of  a  diamond, 
with  perpendiculars  respectively  seven  and  four  miles  long, 
and  is  called  the  Potrero  Obella.  It  is  totally  impassable  in 
most  parts,  but  there  are  one  or  two  tracks  by  which  it  can  be 
traversed.  On  the  land  side  it  is  completely  shut  off  by  an 
impenetrable  jungle,  having  only  one  opening,  by  which  cat- 
tle were  introduced  in  large  quantities,  and  were  taken  out 
as  required  at  the  Humaita  end.  When  the  river  is  low,  there 
is  a  path  along  the  edge  of  it  from  Tayi  to  Humaita,  but 
the  Arroyo  Hondo  has  to  be  crossed  in  canoes.  Outside  the 
trench  of  Humaita,  the  ground  for  some  leagues  is  full  of 
morasses,  with  thin  pieces  of  dry  land  between  them,  more 
especially  near  San  Solano  and  Tuyucue,  but  most  of  the 
ground  near  the  trench  is  passable." 

Below  Humaita,  about  a  league  and  a  half,  is  Curupaiti, 
which  was  fortified,  until  after  it  had  been  passed  by  the 
Brazilian  squadron,  even  more  strongly  than  Humaita.  At 
about  an  equal  distance  from  the  two  points,  situate  on  a 
fine  open  plain  having  a  gentle  incline,  with  several  orange- 
groves  that  diversified  the  scene  and  gave  shelter  from  the 
sun,  stood  the  head-quarters  of  Lopez  at  Paso  Pucu.  On  the 
edge  of  the  grove  was  the  house  occupied  by  the  President. 
It  was  made  of  bamboo  and  thatch,  its  roof  being  of  the 
latter.  There  was  a  deep  awning  in  front,  and  alongside 
was  a  long  building  occupied  as  quarters  for  his  staff.  In 
the  rear,  completely  hidden  by  the  orange-trees,  was  the  house 
of  Madam  Lynch,  and  beyond  that  was  another  occupied  by 
General  Barrios  and  his  wife.  Other  officers  enjoying  the 
confidence  of  Lopez,  like  Generals  Resquin  and  Bruguez,  Colo- 


158  PARAGUAY. 

nel  Thompson,  and  others,  had  houses  near  by,  and  all  pro- 
tected by  the  orange-grove  from  the  sun  and  rain.  I  was 
assigned  a  house  of  similar  structure  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  grove,  very  near  one  occupied  by  Dr.  Stewart,  the  Surgeon- 
General  of  the  army.  This  suited  me  very  well,  for  our  rela- 
tions had  long  been  of  the  most  intimate  and  confidential 
kind,  and  I  could  learn  more  from  him  of  the  true  state  of 
affairs  there  than  from  all  the  other  Englishmen  in  the  country. 
Dr.  Stewart  had  come  to  Paraguay  as  early  as  1856,  and  soon 
after  entered  into  military  service  as  surgeon  in  the  army,  and 
had  been  promoted  to  the  highest  medical  rank  on  account 
of  his  efficient  services.  He  was  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  had 
seen  service  in  the  Crimea,  was  a  man  of  easy,  winning  man- 
ners, thoroughly  informed  both  in  the  theory  and  the  practice 
of  medicine  and  surgery,  and  was  a  great  acquisition  to  the 
military  service  of  Paraguay.  He  had  organized  a  system  of 
hospitals,  and  had  induced  the  government  to  bring  out  sev- 
eral other  English  physicians  as  assistants,  so  that  during  the 
war  the  medical  branch  of  the  service  was  far  more  efficient 
and  better  conducted  than  in  the  camp  of  either  the  Brazilians 
or  the  Argentines.  Having  been  physician  to  Lopez  for  several 
years,  he  knew  more  of  his  character  than  any  other  foreigner 
in  the  country  ;  and  before  I  made  my  visit  home  in  1865, 
I  had  learned  through  him  that  the  vanity  and  ambition  of  the 
young  President  were  unbounded,  and  that  no  consideration 
for  his  people  would  ever  interfere  with  his  selfish  plans. 

On  reaching  the  encampment,  I  was  astonished  to  observe 
the  great  change  that  had  come  over,  not  only  Dr.  Stewart, 
but  the  other  Englishmen  at  head-quarters,  Colonel  Thomp- 
son, and  the  civil  engineer,  Mr.  Valpy.  Before  I  had  left  Para- 
guay, though  they  all  knew  Lopez  was  a  tyrant  capable  of  any 
atrocity,  they  had  never  supposed  that  they  were  themselves 
in  any  personal  danger.  But  it  was  all  changed  now.  They 
had  seen  that  Lopez  was  resolved  that,  if  he  could  not  con- 
tinue to  rule  over  Paraguay,  no  one  else  should,  and  was  bent 
on  the  destruction  of  the  entire  people.  They  early  warned 
me  to  be  very  careful  in  my  intercourse  with  him  ;  that,  if  I 


LOPEZ  STILL  HOPEFUL.  1 59 

could  keep  in  favor  with  him,  my  presence  in  the  country 
might  somewhat  restrain  his  barbarities ;  but  that,  were  he  to 
quarrel  with  me,  it  would  have  been  infinitely  better  for  them 
all  had  I  never  returned.  They  all  of  them  expressed  the 
opinion  that  they  would  never  leave  the  country  alive,  and 
gave  me  the  cheering  information  that  my  chance  of  escape 
was  little  better  than  theirs.  Yet,  strange  as  it  may  appear, 
when  nearly  everybody  about  the  camp  had  either  been 
killed  in  battle,  died  of  disease,  or  been  murdered  by  Lopez, 
these  three  Englishmen  were  all  taken  prisoners  by  the  Bra- 
zilians, and  are  now  alive  to  testify  to  the  barbarities  of  this 
common  enemy  of  mankind.  With  one  other  exception, — 
Colonel  VVisner,  the  Hungarian,  —  all  the  rest,  so  far  as  I  knew 
or  can  recollect  them,  perished  before  the  cause  of  all  their 
misery  fell,  pierced  by  a  lance  in  the  mud  of  the  Aquidaban. 

During  my  stay  at  head-quarters  I  had  several  protracted 
interviews  with  Lopez,  during  which  we  discussed  the  situa- 
tion at  considerable  length.  He  said  his  situation  was  not 
so  desperate  as  it  had  been  previously,  nothing  like  so  des- 
perate as  it  had  been  when  his  whole  army  was  prostrate 
with  the  measles  at  Itapiru,  while  Tamandare"  was  bombard- 
ing for  twenty-eight  days,  at  long  range,  doing  no  harm,  and 
only  wasting  his  ammunition. 

He  said  it  was  a  mistake  which  many  made  to  suppose 
that  the  Brazilian  soldiers  would  not  fight.     The  men  were 
brave  enough,  but  the  officers  were  ignorant  and  incompetent. 
He  had  seen  feats  of  valor  performed  by  Brazilian  soldiers  equal 
to  anything  in  his  own  army  ;  but  there  was  such  a  lack  of 
energy,  such  an  indisposition  to  follow  up  any  temporary  ad- 
vantage which  they  gained,  that  it  was  easy  for  him  to  keep 
them  at  bay  for  a  long  time.     His  principal  hope  was  that  the 
allies  would  quarrel  among  themselves  and  the  alliance  be    , 
broken  up.     He  believed  that  the  Brazilian  exchequer  could  v 
not  long  endure  such  a  strain  upon  it  as  the  war  was  caus-    \ 
ing  ;  that  the  Empire  would  become  exhausted  in  its  material     \ 
resources  before  Paraguay  could  be  overrun  and  conquered.        ^J 

I  had  learned,  since  my  return,  that  at  the  time  of  the  cap- 


160  PARAGUAY. 

ture  of  the  Argentine  steamers  at  Corrientes  there  were  three 
Americans  on  board  of  them,  and  that  they  were  prisoners 
then  in  Paraguay.  I  told  Lopez  that  when  these  men  had 
taken  service  on  board  of  these  steamers  war  did  not  exist 
between  Paraguay  and  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  they  had 
no  suspicion  that  such  would  be  the  case  ;  therefore,  being 
American  citizens,  I  thought  he  ought  to  release  them,  and 
that  unless  he  would  do  so  I  should  be  obliged  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  United  States  government  to  their  situation. 
He  insisted  that  they  were  lawful  prisoners  ;  that  the  capture 
of  the  steamers  had  been  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of 
war ;  and  that  these  men,  being  on  board,  were  as  liable  to 
capture  and  detention  as  any  others,  and  that  by  releasing 
them  it  would  be  an  acknowledgment  of  the  irregularity  of 
his  proceedings  in  seizing  the  steamers.  I  then  told  him  that, 
as  there  were  very  few  Americans  in  the  country,  I  was  anx- 
ious to  do  all  I  could  to  make  their  condition  as  tolerable  as  pos- 
sible ;  and  that,  as  one  of  these  men  was  a  cook,  and  another 
a  man  who  might  otherwise  be  useful  to  me,  and  it  was  no 
advantage  to  the  government  to  keep  them  as  prisoners,  I 
should  regard  it  as  a  favor  that  they  might  be  so  far  released 
that  I  could  employ  them  as  servants,  waiving  for  the  time 
the  question  of  the  legality  of  their  capture.  After  a  great 
deal  of  hesitation  and  discussion,  in  which  he  said  it  must 
be  clearly  understood  that  they  were  not  to  acquire  any 
rights  as  members  of  the  legation,  but  were  to  be  availa- 
ble as  prisoners  in  case  of  an  exchange,  my  request  was 
granted.  Unfortunately,  one  of  the  three,  on  being  captured, 
had  denied  his  nationality,  and  said  he  was  an  Englishman  ; 
therefore  I  was  obliged  to  surrender  all  claims  to  him.  An- 
other, who  had  been  sent  to  labor  in  the  iron-mines  at  Ibicui, 
was  sent  to  the  capital  to  be  allowed  to  come  into  my  service. 
The  third,  who  was  a  cook,  was  a  colored  man  by  the  name 
of  George  Bowen,  from  the  city  of  Washington,  a  very  power- 
ful, active  fellow.  He  was  released,  and  -came  to  live  at  my 
house.  But  I  soon  found  that,  instead  of  getting  a  diminutive 
white  elephant  on  my  hands,  as  in  the  case  of  Masterman,  I 


UNIVERSAL  OBSEQUIOUSNESS.  161 

had  got  a  big  black  one,  —  a  fellow  who  would  get  drunk 
every  chance  he  could  get,  and  would  steal  anything  he  could 
lay  his  hands  on  to  give  away  to  his  numerous  female  friends, 
of  whom  he  seemed  to  have  almost  as  many  as  Lopez  himself. 
When  drunk,  he  was  so  quarrelsome  that  the  other  servants 
were  afraid  to  remain  in  the  house  with  him ;  and,  after 
repeated  warnings  and  threats,  all  of  which  were  entirely 
unavailing,  I  was  obliged  to  send  him  away.  What  became 
of  him  afterwards  I  never  knew. 

While  at  the  camp  on  this  occasion,  I  observed  a  degree  of 
obsequiousness,  and  an  appearance  of  terror  when  in  the  pres- 
ence of  his  Excellency,  on  the  part  of  all,  foreigners  and  natives 
alike,  that  I  had  never  witnessed  before.  When  Lopez  was  in 
sight,  everybody,  from  his  chu'ef  of  staff  to  the  scullions  about 
the  camp,  stood  or  moved  uncovered.  On  one  occasion,  he  asked 
me  to  take  a  short  stroll  with  him,  and  look  at  some  round  shot 
and  some  unexploded  shells  of  the  enemy  that  had  been  picked 
up  in  his  camp,  and  also  some  field-pieces  which  had  been 
captured  a  short  time  before.  His  staff  and  a  number  of  other 
principal  officers  followed  close  by.  But  whether  it  was  as 
a  guard  to  protect  him  if  I  should  turn  upon  him  and  attempt 
to  strangle  him,  or  as  an  invariable  habit,  I  am  not  aware. 
Though  it  was  about  two  o'clock,  p.  M.,  and  therefore  the 
very  hottest  part  of  the  day,  the  sun  out  in  full  force,  yet 
every  man  except  Lopez  and  myself  stood  cap  in  hand,  look- 
ing with  the  sun  beating  down  in  full  force  upon  their  heads, 
several  of  which  were  quite  bald.  Upon  another  occasion, — 
it  was  Christmas  day,  after  dinner,  —  I  walked  up  to  visit 
Colonel  Thompson  at  his  house  in  the  orange-grove,  close 
adjoining  that  of  Madam  Lynch.  Not  finding  him  in,  I 
strolled  around  where  I  found  the  Madam,  Colonel  Thomp- 
son, General  Resquin,  General  Bruguez,  and  several  others 
engaged  in  conversation,  and  was  invited  to  take  a  seat  among 
them.  I  did  so,  and  while  sitting  there  conversing  I  suddenly 
saw  every  one  around  me  jump  up  hastily  and  stand  with  a 
reverent  air,  all  facing  in  the  same  direction.  Casting  my 
eyes  that  way,  I  saw  the  President  at  a  distance  of  several 

VOL.  II.  ii 


1 62  PARAGUAY. 

rods,  strolling  leisurely  through  the  grove.  For  my  part,  I 
let  him  stroll,  and  kept  my  seat,  which  act  of  discourtesy 
would  probably  have  cost  the  life  of  any  other  person  in  the 
group. 

During  all  the  time  I  was  at  the  camp  the  squadron  was 
employed  after  the  manner  that  it  had  formerly  been  accus- 
tomed at  Paso  de  la  Patria,  in  bombarding  at  long  range. 
After  the  retirement  of  the  Brazilians  from  Itapiru  and  the 
passage  of  the  army  into  Paraguayan  territory,  when  all  could 
see  how  easy  it  would  have  been  for  Lopez's  whole  army  to 
have  been  captured  had  the  Brazilian  admiral  possessed  the 
capacity  of  an  ordinary  wood-sawyer,  he  was  recalled  by  the 
Emperor,  and  Admiral  Ignacio  was  appointed  in  his  place. 
The  treatment  of  Tamandare"  by  .the  Emperor  after  his  recall 
was  one  of  the  most  singular  of  the  many  strange  episodes 

—  of  the  war.  Though  his  incapacity  and  his  inertness  had 
cost  the  Empire  many  millions  of  dollars  and  many  thousands 
of  lives,  and  he  had  left  Lopez  stronger  than  he  found  him, 
yet  on  his  return  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  he  was  welcomed  by  the 
Emperor  in  the  most  complimentary  terms,  publicly  thanked 
for  his  great  and  valiant  services,  and  decorated  with  orders, 
and  assured  that  his  whole  course  was  approved  by  his  im- 
perial master.  The  only  difference  between  Tamandare"  and 
his  successor  was  that  the  latter  was  more  wasteful  of  his 
ammunition.  His  iron-clads  were  brought  up  to  within  long 
range  of  Curupaiti,  and  there  they  continued,  day  after  day 
and  month  after  month,  firing  shot  and  shell  into  the  Para- 

p"  guayan  lines,  but  scarcely  ever  doing  the  least  harm.  I 
was  assured  by  the  English  doctors,  that  though  some  days 
the  number  of  shot  that  fell  within  the  lines  was  to  be 
counted  by  thousands,  yet  the  average  loss  to  the  Paraguay- 
ans, notwithstanding  all  this  waste  of  war  material,  did  not 
amount  to  two  persons  a  day,  killed  or  wounded.  One  after- 
noon the  bombarding  was  very  heavy,  and  just  about  an  hour 
after  it  ceased  in  the  evening  I  was  sitting  with  Lopez  at  the 
door  of  his  house,  when  General  Diaz,  who  was  in  command  at 
Curupaiti,  came  in  to  report  the  day's  doings  ;  and  when  Lopez 


A  CLAIM   FOR   DAMAGES.  jg* 

asked  him  the  result  of  that  terrible  bombardment  we  had 
been  hearing  through  the  afternoon,  he  said  that  all  the  harm 
it  had  done  was  to  wound  one  old  cow. 

If  the  allies,  in  pursuance  of  their  mutual  engagement  not 
to  lay  down  their  arms  until  they  had  driven  Lopez  from 
Paraguay,  were  to  prosecute  the  war  in  that  fashion  until  they 
accomplished  their  object,  what  misery  and  protracted  suffer- 
ing must  not  the  Paraguayan  people  endure  ! 

During  this  visit,  I  also  called  the  President's  attention  to  y 
the  fact,  that,  at  the  time  of  the  sack  of  Bella  Vista,  in  the 
province  of  Corrientes,  the  stock  of  a  merchant  there  who 
claimed  to  be  an  American  citizen,  and  had  the  American  flag  / 
over  his  premises,  had  been  taken,  and  receipts  had  been  given 
by  the  officer  in  command.  This  merchant  had  requested  me  v' 
to  present  his  claim,  and  ask  that  it  might  be  allowed  and  paid. 
Lopez  asked  me  the  amount  of  the  receipts.  I  replied  that  it 
was  between  seven  and  eight  thousand  dollars  in  coin.  With/ 
a  magnificent  air  he  replied :  "  It  matters  not  whether  it  is 
seven  thousand  or  seventy  thousand,  if  you  have  the  receipts 
you  have  only  to  present  them  and  the  money  will  be  paid ; 
present  the  case  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs."  Having 
thus  secured  the  release  of  my  countrymen  from  imprison- 
ment and  obtained  an  assurance  of  the  adjustment  of  this-'' 
claim,  and  having  no  other  business  there,  I  soon  afterwards 
informed  his  Excellency  that  I  would  return  to  Asuncion 
whenever  a  steamer  might  be  going  up  the  river.  To  this  he 
replied,  in  a  manner  equally  magnificent,  that  it  did  not  matter 
whether  a  steamer  was  going  or  not ;  if  I  desired  to  return, 
that  was  sufficient ;  a  steamer  would  be  despatched  at  any  hour 
that  I  desired  for  my  accommodation.  I  prepared  to  return, 
therefore,  very  well  satisfied  with  my  trip,  and  believed  that 
the  fears  which  my  English  friends  had  expressed  as  to  the 
desperate  measures  to  which  Lopez  might  resort  were  not 
well  founded.  But  an  hour  or  so  before  I  left  the  camp  to  go 
to  Humaita,  at  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  I  was  some- 
what staggered  when  Dr.  Stewart  came  into  my  house  in 
great  excitement,  and  said  his  chief  commissary,  who  was  no 


1 64 


PARAGUAY. 


other  than  my  landlord,  the  owner  of  the  house  I  lived  in, 
Don  Luis  Jara,  had  been  arrested,  taken  to  prison,  and  put  in 
the  stocks.  What  his  crime  was  no  one  knew  except  Lopez, 
but  as  he  had  been  somewhat  intimate  with  me  during  my 
stay  there,  and  had  expressed  his  great  satisfaction  that  I  was 
occupying  his  fine  house,  and  had  told  me  that  I  should  be 
welcome  to  it  so  long  as  I  remained  in  the  country,  and  to 
everything  it  contained,  that  he  should  ask  no  rent,  but  should 
consider  himself  fully  compensated  for  the  protection  that,  in 
certain  contingencies,  I  might  give  it,  I  was  afraid  that,  not- 
withstanding Lopez's  great  politeness  and  civility  towards  me, 
Don  Luis  had  somehow  got  into  trouble  on  my  account. 

I  left  the  same  evening  for  Humaita,  and  an  incident  oc- 
curred that  night  that  I  may  here  relate,  as  it  served  to  put 
me  on  my  guard  for  the  future,  as  well  as  to  show  how  com- 
pletely the  secrets  of  everybody  were  in  the  possession  of 
Lopez.  While  the  Shamokin  was  lying  in  front  of  Corrien- 
tes,  on  her  way  up  the  river  to  pass  through  the  blockading 
squadron,  a  gentleman  whose  wife  and  infant  child  had  been 
carried  off  as  prisoners  to  Paraguay  at  the  time  that  the  city 
was  evacuated  by  the  Paraguayan  troops  came  on  board  the 
steamer.  He  brought  with  him  some  thirty  or  forty  gold 
ounces,  which  he  requested  me  to  take,  and,  if  I  had  the  op- 
portunity, to  send  them  to  his  wife  ;  and  if  I  could  not  send  the 
money,  to  make  use  of  it  in  purchasing  whatever  I  thought 
she  might  most  need  and  which  I  might  be  permitted  to  send 
her.  I  took  it,  and  promised  to  do  the  best  I  could  with  it. 
While  at  Asuncion  I  had  learned  from  Berges  that  this  lady 
was  detained  at  a  small  capilla  not  far  above  Humaita,  and 
that  she  was  not  a  close  prisoner.  Thinking  that  the  money 
would  be  more  available  if  changed  into  silver  dollars  than  in 
ounces,  I  took  about  half  the  amount  in  silver  in  a  small  tin 
box,  intending  to  speak  to  Lopez  in  regard  to  the  matter,  and 
request  that  it  might  be  forwarded  to  the  lady.  I  accord- 
ingly, when  in  conversation  with  him  at  Paso  Pucu,  took  up 
the  subject,  and  said  that  I  had  the  money  with  me,  and 
if  he  had  no  objection,  I  would  leave  it  to  be  sent  to  her. 


NEWS    FROM   ABROAD. 


165 


He  said  that  if  I  would  leave  it  with  a  certain  officer  at 
Humaita,  it  should  be  forwarded.  On  returning  to  Humaita, 
I  found,  on  taking  the  box  from  my  trunk,  that  I  had  left  the 
key  in  Asuncion.  I  proposed  to  force  the  lock,  or  to  cut  a 
hole  in  the  side  of  the  box,  so  that  the  money  could  be  taken 
out.  The  officer,  however,  said  that  was  unnecessary,  and  sent 
immediately  and  brought  an  expert,  who  picked  the  lock  with- 
out difficulty.  I  then  thought  that,  if  prepared  to  pick  locks 
so  readily,  what  security  was  there  in  an  official  seal  ? 

Returning  to  the  capital,  the  same  dreary  monotony  con- 
tinued. The  Seinanario  would  frequently  contain  accounts  of 
great  victories.  These  victories  were  generally  represented 
to  be  the  sallies  of  small  bodies  of  Paraguayan  troops,  who 
would  attack  the  enemy  in  position,  and  after  slaying  hundreds 
or  thousands,  causing  complete  havoc  and  consternation,  they 
would  return  in  good  order,  and  perhaps  report  the  loss  of  two 
or  three  killed  and  as  many  wounded.  But  unfortunately,  in 
spite  of  all  precautions  taken  by  the  government  to  prevent 
the  people  of  Asuncion  from  learning  the  facts,  they  would 
frequently  hear  that  what  the  Semanario  reported  as  a  great 
victory  was  in  fact  a  disastrous  repulse,  so  that  from  the  ac- 
counts in  the  Semanario  we  could  judge  absolutely  nothing  of 
the  progress  of  the  war. 

In  one  of  these  forays  some  newspapers  had  been  captured, 
and  from  them  it  was  ascertained  that  the  United  States  had 
offered  their  mediation  in  the  war,  and  had  sent  instructions 
to  the  different  ministers  in  Rio,  Buenos  Aires,  and  Paraguay, 
to  make  the  tender  of  their  good  offices  to  the  governments 
to  which  they  were  respectively  accredited.  I  had  received  V 
no  official  notice  of  this  ;  in  fact,  I  had  received  nothing  from 
beyond  the  military  lines  since  my  arrival  in  Paraguay.  No 
despatches  had  come  through,  and  as  the  allies  had  made  so 
much  resistance  to  my  passage  through  their  lines,  it  was 
possible  that  my  correspondence  was  delayed  in  the  allied 
camp.  I  therefore  proposed  to  go  through  to  the  head-quar- 
ters of  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  allies,  the  Marques  de 
Caxias,  and  learn  what  progress  had  been  made  in  the  pro- 


!66  PARAGUAY. 

posed  mediation,  and  obtain  my  despatches  or  other  mail 
matter,  if  there  were  anything  of  the  kind  to  be  found  on 
that  side  of  the  line. 

On  making  a  suggestion  of  this  kind  to  Berges,  he  imme- 
diately telegraphed  to  Lopez,  and  on  the  same  day  I  was  ad- 
vised that  his  Excellency  would  give  me  every  facility  for 
passing  through  to  the  allied  camp. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Impressment  of  all  Paraguayans  into  Military  Service.  —  Battle  of  Estero  Bellaco. 
—  Brazilian  Chivalry.  —  Denunciations  against  Deserters.  —  Story  of  Dona 
Carmelita  Cordal. —  She  publicly  renounces  her  Husband.  —  Her  Confidential 
Explanations.  —  Universal  Hypocrisy  of  Paraguayans.  —  Enforced  Contribu- 
tions. —  Dr.  Tristan  Roca.  —  Levies  upon  Foreigners.  —  Testimonials  to 
Lopez.  —  The  Album,  the  Flag,  and  the  Sword.  —  The  Women  offer  all  their 
Jewels.  —  Their  Patriotic  Speeches.—  Lopez  accepts  only  a  Part.  — The  Wo- 
men volunteer  as  Soldiers.  —  A  Tragical  Farce. 

THE  men  in  Asuncion,  and  indeed  throughout  Paraguay, 
had  been  enlisted  into  the  army  previous  to  my  return. 
There  was  not  a  single  able-bodied  man  in  the  whole  country 
between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  sixty  who  was  not,  in  some 
capacity  or  other,  in  the  government  service.  The  recruiting 
after  that  was  from  the  very  old  and  the  very  young,  untiK 
all  from  eight  to  eighty,  who  were  not  in  prison,  were  forced 
into  the  army.  Of  the  better  class  of  citizens  in  Asuncion 
with  whom  I  had  been  previously  acquainted,  those  engaged 
in  business  as  merchants,  and  those  having  an  income  from 
their  property  sufficient  for  their  support,  had  all  been  con- 
scripted in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1866,  and  sent  to  the 
head-quarters  as  common  soldiers.  To  serve  in  the  ranks, 
they  were  required  to  cast  off  their  shoes  and  the  clothes 
of  a  citizen,  and  don  the  uniform  of  a  Paraguayan  soldier, 
—  white  pantaloons,  a  red  shirt,  and  a  soldier's  cap.  The 
battalion  into  which  they  were  drafted  was  No.  40,  and  they 
had  but  just  got  fairly  organized  in  the  camp  at  the  time  of 
the  battle  of  the  24th  of  May,  in  which  Lopez  received  a  most 
terrible  defeat.  The  25th  of  May  being  the  anniversary  of 
Argentine  independence,  General  Mitre  had  resolved  on  that 
day  to  make  a  general  attack  along  the  lines  of  Lopez,  and 


1 68  PARAGUAY. 

the  day  preceding  he  was  engaged  in  getting  everything  ready 
for  a  great  battle.  There  was  to  have  been  a  general  review 
at  one  o'clock  in  the  day,  and  the  men  had  but  just  laid  aside 
their  arms  to  cook  their  asado,  when  the  alarm  wa§  given  that 
the  Paraguayans  were  approaching.  It  was  quickly  seen  that 
at  several  different  points  large  bodies  of  men  were  marching 
from  the  woods,  while  another  force  was  bearing  down  directly 
in  front.  Instantly  the  allied  ranks  were  formed  for  action, 
and  the  greatest  battle  of  the  war  then  took  place.  The  Para- 
guayans fought  with  the  courage  of  desperation,  and  their 
shock  was  received  with  equal  valor,  until  the  advancing  legions 
were  hurled  back  at  all  points.  Lopez,  at  a  safe  distance,  was 
watching  the  course  of  the  battle,  and  seeing  that  all  his 
plans  had  miscarried,  and  that  his  troops  were  being  cut  to 
pieces,  he  sounded  a  retreat.  The  retreat  was  more  disastrous 
than  the  attack,  as  the  Argentine  artillery  was  in  such  a 
position  as  to  rake  the  only  open  space  of  ground  through 
which  they  must  retire.  President  Mitre  was  in  command  at 
this  time,  and  why  he  did  not  follow  up  his  advantage  has 
always  been  a  mystery.  Had  any  of  the  Brazilian  generals 
been  in  command,  there  would  have  been  no  mystery  about  it, 
for  they  always  practised  a  kind  of  chivalry  unknown  in  other 
wars,  .and  whenever  they  had  gained  a  victory,  routed  the 
enemy  and  driven  them  back  in  consternation,  they  were  so 
extremely  chivalrous  that  they  would  not  pursue  their  advan- 
tage, until  the  retreating  foe  could  have  time  to  reorganize 
and  prepare  for  another  advance.  In  this  action,  Lopez  had 
given  the  post  of  honor  to  the  Fortieth  Battalion,  that  is, 
he  had  placed  it  where  there  was  the  greatest  danger,  and 
where  it  was  supposed  he  had  intended  that  they  should  be 
killed  off.  Whether  that  was  his  intention  or  not,  such  was 
the  fact,  as  very  few  ever  returned  alive.  Two  or  three,  how- 
ever, were  taken  prisoners  ;  and  as  soon  as  this  fact  was  known 
they  were  denounced  as  deserters  in  the  Scmanario,  and  con- 
fiscation of  their  property  was  threatened.  One  of  these  un- 
fortunate prisoners  I  had  met  while  I  was  in  Corrientes  wait- 
ing for  a  gunboat.  His  name  was  Fernando  Cordal.  He  had 


FERNANDO  CORDAL.  169. 

been  desperately  wounded  in  the  action,  having  received  three 
balls  in  different  parts  of  his  body. 

On  reaching  Asuncion  I  learned,  greatly  to  my  disgust  and 
horror,  that  he  had  been  denounced  as  a  traitor,  and  that  his 
wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Don  Andres  Gill,  for  many 
years  the  principal  secretary  and  adviser  of  Carlos  Antonio 
Lopez,  had  been  threatened  with  exile  and  confiscation  of  all 
her  property,  and  that  to  avert  such  a  fate  she  had  published 
a  card  denouncing  her  husband  and  anathematizing  him  as  a 
traitor  and  deserter.  I  found,  indeed,  that  all  those  whose 
near  kindred  had  been  taken  prisoners  or  in  any  way  had 
escaped  from  the  power  of  the  allies  were  obliged  to  de- 
nounce them  and  repudiate  them,  or  else  be  driven,  proscribed 
and  destitute,  far  into  the  interior.  Notwithstanding  this 
renunciation  of  her  husband,  to  whom  she  was  fondly  at- 
tached, Dona  Carmelita  was  constantly  in  dread  of  being 
stripped  of  her  whole  fortune,  which  had  been  considerable, 
and  sent,  like  many  others,  into  the  wilderness.  When  I 
reached  Asuncion,  I  narrated  what  I  had  known  of  him  ; 
I  told  everybody  that  I  had  seen  her  husband  in  Corrientes 
desperately  wounded ;  that  he  had  received  his  wounds 
when  gallantly  fighting  the  enemy,  and  was  finally  over- 
powered and  taken  to  the  hospital,  where  he  died  a  few 
days  after.  These  facts  being  made  known  to  Lopez,  Dona 
Carmelita  was  allowed  to  remain  at  the  capital.  She  was 
one  of  our  nearest  neighbors,  and  a  woman  of  superior  intel- 
ligence, very  sprightly  and  vivacious,  and  from  her  I  was  able 
to  learn  a  great  many  things  in  regard  to  the  condition  of 
affairs  around  us,  and  the  real  sentiments  of  the  people 
towards  Lopez.  She  used  to  frighten  me  with  the  stories  she 
told  me  of  his  atrocities,  which  she  said  were  known  to  all  her 
acquaintances  ;  she  said  that  the  hypocrisy  among  the  people 
in  their  professions  of  devotion  and  loyalty  was  beyond  belief, 
it  was  universal ;  and  they  were  in  such  constant  fear  and  anx- 
iety that  they  would  be  willing  to  surrender  everything  in 
the  world  but  life  and  health,  so  that  the  Lopez  family  might 
be  driven  from  Paraguay.  She  said :  "  They  have  taken  our 


1 7<D  PARAGUAY. 

husbands,  our  fathers,  and  our  sons ;  they  have  taken  the 
greater  part  of  our  fortunes,  and  will  take  all  if  allowed  to 
remain.  They  are  welcome  to  everything,  provided  they  will 
leave  us  simply  our  lives.  But,"  said  she,  "  Lopez  is  a  great 
tiger  ;  we  all  fear  the  last  stroke  of  his  paw.  He  will  kill  us 
all,  if  possible,  in  his  dying  gasp."  When  I  asked  her  how 
she  could  denounce  her  husband  as  she  did,  she  said  that  no 
Paraguayan  would  respect  her  the  less  for  that,  neither  would 
her  husband,  if  he  were  alive,  and  that  the  lives  of  herself 
and  her  three  children  probably  were  dependent  upon  some 
such  humiliating  act.  When  I  asked  her  how  she  dared  to 
talk  to  me  in  that  way,  when  she  knew  so  well  the  character 
of  Lopez,  and  that  if  it  were  known  she  would  be  subjected 
to  the  most  terrible  fate,  she  replied  that  she  knew  to  whom 
she  was  talking,  and  that  if  I  were  acquainted  with  all  the 
better  class  of  ladies  in  Asuncion  I  should  find  that,  with- 
out exception,  they  entertained  the  same  sentiments.  I  am 
thus  particular  in  speaking  of  the  revelations  of  Doila  Carme- 
lita,  as  it  will  afford  a  clew  to  many  things  which  occurred 
afterwards.  When  the  day  of  the  general  arrest,  imprison- 
ment, and  torture  of  all  the  foreigners  and  all  the  better  class 
of  Paraguayans  came,  they  were  questioned  in  regard  to  each 
other  and  of  what  they  had  said  of  his  Excellency,  the  good 
President,  Marshal  Lopez,  and  they  were  tortured  until  they 
would  not  only  admit  everything  which  had  been  charged 
against  them,  but  would  accuse  others  ;  thus  with  the  suffer- 
ing from  the  grilles,  the  straps  and  lashes,  and  the  cepo 
uruguayana,  when  in  their  agony  and  weakness  they  could 
endure  no  longer,  they  sought  to  put  an  end  to  their  woes 
by  accusing  their  former  companions  and  friends,  and  reveal- 
ing not  only  all  they  had  ever  said  against  the  Lopez  family 
but  a  great  deal  more,  and  even  going  so  far  as  to  accuse 
persons  with  whom  they  had  no  confidences  and  scarcely 
acquaintanceship. 

The  system  of  enforced  contributions  had  begun  at  a  very 
early  period  of  the  war.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Congress 
which  declared  war  against  the  Argentine  Republic,  it  had 


POPULAR  DEMONSTRATIONS.  jyi 

been  voted  that  the  government  should  bestow  upon  Lopez 
some  insignia  of  honor,  leaving  it  for  him  to  decide  at  any 
time  what  that  should  be,  and  soon  after  it  would  be  given 
out,  in  a  sort  of  semi-official  manner,  that  the  people  were 
to  present  him  with  some  token  of  their  regard.  The  ini- 
tiation of  any  movement  of  this  kind  would  usually  be  under- 
taken by  the  wives  of  certain  foreigners  in  the  country,  who 
were  on  intimate  terms  with  Madam  Lynch.  The  two  most 
forward  in  this  business  were  the  wife  of  Sinforiano  Caceres, 
formerly  partner  of  Madam  Lynch  in  the  importation  and 
sale  of  cattle,  and  the  wife  of  Dr.  Tristan  Roca,  a  refugee  i- 
from  Bolivia.  Both  these  men  were  on  all  public  occasions 
most  enthusiastic  defenders  and  eulogists  of  Lopez  and  the 
Paraguayan  cause.  Dr.  Roca,  who  was  a  man  of  education, 
and  had  formerly  been  a  member  of  the  Bolivian  government, 
was  invariably  present  at  all  public  meetings,  and  made 
speeches  glorifying  the  great  hero  of  the  age.  He  also  con- 
tributed many  vigorous  articles  to  the  Seinanario,  in  the  same 
strain,  and  became  the  editor  of  a  sort  of  newspaper  called 
the  Centinela,  which  was  prepared  expressly  for  the  army,  and 
was  distributed  about  the  camp  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiery. 
The  ball  being  once  set  in  motion,  whoever  was  invited  to 
contribute  was,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  compelled  to  do 
so.  As  soon  as  it  had  become  generally  known  that  the  peo- 
ple were  to  be  assessed  for  any  offering,  a  public  meeting 
would  be  called  of  the  ladies  of  Asuncion,  and  then  a  formal 
proposition  would  be  made  that  they  should  all  unite  in  con- 
tributing some  testimonial  of  gratitude  for  the  protection  that 
the  great  Lopez  had  afforded  them,  and  of  admiration  for  his 
heroic  services  in  the  field,  in  defending  his  country  against 
the  invasion  of  a  barbarous  foe.  As  early  as  1866,  the  gov- 
ernment employees  raised  a  national  subscription  to  present 
him  an  album  with  solid  gold  covers,  ornamented  with  precious 
stones,  in  a  gold  box,  and  with  an  equestrian  statue  of  gold 
on  it.  Shortly  afterwards  the  Paraguayan  women  united  their 
offerings  to  present  him  a  magnificent  flag  embroidered  in 
gold,  with  diamonds  and  rubies,  and  a  silver  staff,  with  mount- 


172  PARAGUAY. 

ings  to  correspond.  A  sash,  as  the  insignia  of  the  head  of  the 
National  Order  of  Merit,  on  a  similar  scale  of  extravagant 
value,  was  added  to  the  preceding  testimonial.  But  a  few 
weeks  were  allowed  to  the  ladies  after  the  people  had  been 
assessed  for  the  sum  requested  to  make  this  costly  offer,  before 
another  proposition  would  be  started  in  a  similar  way.  At 
one  time  it  was  proposed  to  present  him  with  a  sword  of  honor 
and  a  crown  of  laurel-leaves,  all  in  gold.  The  sheath  was 
likewise  to  be  of  gold,  and  over  this  sheath  was  to  be  an- 
other, likewise  of  gold.  Everything  was  to  be  elaborately 
worked  by  the  goldsmiths  of  Asuncion,  of  which  there  were 
several  very  competent  and  skilful.  Besides  this,  the  people 
were  being  continually  assessed  for  public  demonstrations  in 
the  way  of  balls,  at  which  all  were  expected  to  attend,  and 
pronounce  eulogistic  discourses  in  praise  of  their  great  protec- 
tor. These  things  were  repeated  so  often,  that  at  last  they 
became  absolutely  disgusting.  Some  of  the  foreigners  who 
kept  their  money  and  valuables  in  my  house,  whenever  any- 
thing of  this  kind  had  been  resolved  upon  would  come  and 
take  away  sufficient  to  pay  their  assessment ;  for  though  called 
by  another  name,  they  had  no  hesitation  in  telling  me  that  it 
was  an  assessment,  and  they  must  either  pay  or  go  to  prison. 
The  Paraguayan  women  of  all  classes,  as  I  have  said  in  an- 
other place,  had,  considering  their  general  poverty,  an  incredi- 
ble amount  of  jewelry.  It  had  been  so  from  the  old  colonial 
times.  But  this  process  of  extorting  their  wealth  from  them 
by  pretended  voluntary  contributions  was  too  slow  for  Lopez 
and  Madam  Lynch,  and  they  resolved  to  lay  their  hands  on 
all  the  jewelry  in  the  country,  and  the  plan  of  operations  for 
accomplishing  this  object  was  eminently  worthy  of  the  parties 
for  whose  benefit  it  was  conceived.  First,  it  was  hinted,  after 
the  usual  manner,  that  the  women  of  Paraguay  proposed  to 
contribute  all  their  jewelry  to  the  state,  in  order  to  furnish 
his  Excellency  the  President  the  means  of  carrying  on  the 
war,  and  defending  them  from  the  barbarous  enemy.  A  meet- 
ing was  called  to  take  the  subject  into  consideration,  at  which 
the  ladies  of  the  capital,  were  to  make  speeches,  and  to  ex- 


PATRIOTIC  OFFERS. 


'73 


press  their  desire  to  lay  at  the  feet  of  their  great  defender  all 
their  treasures,  and  even  to  take  up  arms,  if  he  would  permit 
them,  ana  allow  them  the  privilege  of  entering  the  ranks  as 
soldiers.  The  speeches  made  on  these  occasions  were  always 
published  in  the  Semanario.  They  were  usually  written  by 
priests,  or  by  some  of  those  men  employed  about  the  govern- 
ment offices,  like  Benitez,  and  by  such  strangers  as  were  de- 
tained in  the  country,  and  who,  being  unable  to  obtain  a  live- 
lihood in  any  other  way,  were  glad  to  eke  out  a  subsistence  in 
this  degrading  work.  The  most  prolific  of  these  writers  were 
the  Argentine  Colonel  Coriolano  Marquez,  and  Dr.  Tristan 
Roca,  of  Bolivia.  Almost  simultaneously  with  this  movement 
in  the  capital,  a  similar  demonstration  was  made  throughout  the 
towns  and  districts  of  the  interior,  and  from  all  the  capillas  in 
the  country  there  came  letters  for  publication  in  the  Sema- 
nario,  stating  that  the  women  had  no  sooner  heard  of  this  prop- 
osition than  they  had  come  together  in  great  enthusiasm,  and 
demanded  that  they  should  be  permitted  to  join  in  this  offer- 
ing. In  what  manner  their  jewels  or  money  could  be  used  for 
the  national  defence  did  not  appear,  as  the  treasures  contrib- 
uted could  not  be  sent  out  of  the  country,  nor  could  they  be 
used  for  the  purchase  of  anything  that  could  be  brought  from 
the  exterior.  Everything  in  the  way  of  provisions  or  clothing, 
all  that  could  contribute  in  any  way  to  supply  the  army,  had 
been  ruthlessly  taken  from  the  outset,  without  question. 
Their  horses  and  their  cattle  had  been  taken  ;  every  house 
had  been  ransacked,  and  the  people  robbed  of  their  bedding 
and  their  clothes  not  in  actual  use ;  and  even  their  kettles, 
in  which  they  cooked  their  scanty  food,  were  carried  off  to 
the  army  head-quarters.  The  people  knew  that  all  their 
contributions  would  go  to  swell  the  private  fortunes  of  Lo- 
pez and  his  paramour,  and  yet  they  were  forced  to  dissem- 
ble, and  to  feign  that  they  contributed  everything  willingly, 
in  the  full  belief  that  it  was  to  enable  the  Marshal  Presi- 
dent to  defend  their  country  and  drive  back  a  dreaded  and 
barbarous  foe. 

At  the  meeting  held  in  Asuncion  an  address  to  the  Presi- 


1 74  PARAGUAY. 

dent  was  adopted,  expressive  of  their  gratitude  to  him,  and 
of  their  desire  that,  while  their  sons,  brothers,  and  husbands 
were  fighting  in  the  ranks  under  his  gallant  leadership,  they 
might  also  be  allowed  to  contribute  in  every  way  to  the  gen- 
eral cause,  and  requesting  Lopez  to  permit  them  thus  to 
strengthen  his  arms  with  their  humble  contributions.  The 
President  replied  in  a  formal  letter,  which  was  published  in 
the  Semanario  of  the  8th  of  September,  1867.  In  this,  after 
expressing  his  gratitude  to  the  fair  daughters  of  Paraguay 
for  their  patriotism  in  thus  offering  their  treasures,  he  said : 
"The  national  resources,  and  those  that  the  patriotism  of  my 
citizens  has  placed  in  my  hands,  have  been  until  now  suffi- 
cient to  meet  our  necessities,  and  I  expect  that  they  will  be ; 
yet  in  order  to  put  a  climax  to  the  great  strife,  and  that  we 
may  sustain  and  save  the  country  with  its  honor  and  its 
rights,  God  protecting  us  and  the  valorous  legions  that  fight 
at  my  orders,  these  considerations  that  I  am  pleased  to  offer 
to  the  deputation  of  the  signers  have  decided  me  to  accept 
but  a  twentieth  part  of  their  patriotic  offering,  in  order  that  I 
may  issue  the  first  national  gold  coin,  having  in  this  the  object 
of  exhibiting  to  posterity  the  sublime  virtue  with  which  the 
daughters  of  the  country  have  distinguished  themselves  in  a 
time  of  trial,  rather  than  to  seek  for  a  circulating  medium  that 
may  serve  for  commerce." 

Agents  were  immediately  appointed  to  receive  the  five  per 
cent  indicated  by  the  letter  of  the  President;  and  all  the 
women  of  the  country,  rich  and  poor  alike,  were  obliged  to 
take  their  jewels  to  those  agents  and  have  them  weighed,  a 
twentieth  part  of  their  value  contributed,  and  a  full  list  of  all 
the  rest  taken.  The  same  thing  was  done  in  all  the  different 
districts  of  the  entire  state,  so  that  when  the  whole  affair  was 
concluded  Lopez  had  received  five  per  cent  of  all  the  jewelry 
in  Paraguay,  and,  more  important  than  that,  he  then  knew  how 
to  lay  his  hands  on  all  the  rest.  During  the  time  that  this 
work  was  going  on,  the  different  districts  of  the  interior  were 
required  to  send  in  their  delegates,  two  or  three  from  each 
partido,  to  deliver  the  lists  of  those  who  were  to  participate  in 


ENLISTMENT  OF  THE  WOMEN. 


J75 


the  festivities  of  the  capital  and  to  make  patriotic  speeches  in 
behalf  of  the  ladies  of  their  particular  districts.  They  were 
detained  in  the  capital  for  several  weeks,  and  during  all  this 
time  they  were  required  to  be  in  attendance  day  and  evening 
at  public  meetings,  at  balls,  or  in  the  various  ways  which  were 
dictated  to  them,  in  order  that  they  might  show  their  patri- 
otism and  their  gratitude  to  the  great  hero,  the  immortal 
Lopez. 

Great  pains  were  taken  to  make  it  appear  that  the  women, 
in  offering  to  volunteer  as  soldiers,  had  acted  of  their  own 
free  will.  The  object  in  this,  like  that  of  many  other  of  the 
popular  demonstrations,  could  not  have  been  for  any  effect 
that  it  could  have  in  Paraguay,  for  neither  Lopez  nor  Madam 
Lynch  could  have  been  so  entirely  ignorant  of  the  real  feel- 
ings of  the  people  as  to  suppose  for  a  moment  that  they  were 
acting,  either  in  giving  up  their  jewels  or  in  volunteering  as 
soldiers,  except  under  fear  and  compulsion.  The  only  object 
must  have  been  for  the  impression  that  would  be  created 
abroad  by  having  it  published  to  the  world  that  even  the 
women  of  Paraguay  were  so  patriotic,  so  devoted  to  the  cause 
which  the  great  Lopez  was  defending,  that  they  offered  to 
give  up  their  jewels  to  enable  him  to  defend  his  country,  and 
to  bear  arms  as  soldiers  in  the  field.  At  the  first  meeting 
which  was  held  by  them,  for  which  everything  had  been  pre- 
arranged by  Madam  Lynch,  after  numerous  speeches  in  which 
all  spoke  of  the  great  sacrifices  an'd  great  heroism  of  the  father 
of  the  country,  and  of  the  many  blessings  that  he  had  con- 
ferred upon  them,  which  it  would  never  be  possible  for  them 
to  repay  by  any  services  which  they  could  render,  it  was  pro- 
posed that  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  request  one 
more  signal  favor  from  his  Excellency.  This  was  that  they 
might  be  permitted  to  take  up  arms  and  enter  the  ranks  as 
soldiers.  Such  a  pathetic  appeal  was  obviously  too  much  for 
the  tender  heart  of  Lopez;  he  could  not  resist  it,  and  through- 
out the  state  companies  were  organized.  A  style  of  uni- 
form was  prescribed  for  the  volunteers,  and  officers  from  the 
army,  lieutenants  or  ensigns  who  had  been  in  the  hospital  and 


1 76  PARAGUAY. 

were  convalescing,  were  assigned  to  the  duty  of  teaching 
them  the  military  evolutions.  The  only  weapon  which  they 
were  instructed  in  the  use  of  was  the  lance.  Fire-arms  were 
never  put  into  their  hands.  But  in  the  capital,  and  at  all  the 
different  capillas  of  the  state,  the  women  between  the  ages 
of  sixteen  and  forty  were  conscripted.  In  the  capital,  for 
some  reason  or  other,  those  women  who  belonged  to  the 
upper  classes,  or  what  was  called  the  alta  categoria,  were  not 
called  upon  to  volunteer.  But  there  were  no  such  exemptions 
in  the  interior,  and  the  daughters  of  the  most  wealthy  and 
respectable  citizens  were  required,  equally  with  the  slaves 
and  peons,  to  resort  to  the  capillas,  don  the  uniform,  take  the 
lance,  and  learn  the  drill.  None  of  the  companies  thus  or- 
ganized were  ever  sent  to  the  army  as  soldiers.  Hundreds 
and  thousands  of  them  were  sent  as  laborers,  where  they 
were  required  to  do  all  kinds  of  menial  labor,  to  keep  the 
camps  in  order,  to  cut  and  bring  wood,  and  even  to  work  in 
the  trenches. 

While  the  Paraguayans  of  all  classes  were  in  these  various 
ways  demonstrating  their  loyalty,  their  patriotism  and  devo- 
tion to  Lopez,  the  foreigners  were  not  neglected.  They  too 
were  also  reminded  that  popular  demonstrations  of  gratitude 
would  be  acceptable,  and  there  were  not  wanting  those  who  were 
eager  to  take  the  initiative,  hoping  thereby  to  win  greater  favors 
and  higher  consideration  either  from  Lopez  or  Madam  Lynch. 
In  the  month  of  December,  1866,  therefore,  the  foreigners 
proposed  that  they  would  give  a  grand  ball  at  the  Club.  The 
preliminary  steps  were  taken  for  an  entertainment  which  it 
was  intended  should  be  in  all  its  appointments  in  the  best 
style  possible  under  the  circumstances  in  which  the  country 
was  situated.  A  subscription-list  was  circulated,  and  all  for- 
eigners having  any  social  position  contributed,  the  most  of 
them  with  a  liberality  far  beyond  their  ability.  A  list  of  the 
subscribers  is  appended,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  signed 
by  fifty-four  persons.*  Of  these  but  one,  Mr.  Porter  C.  Bliss, 

•*  Every  one  of  the  following  list  of  foreigners,  who,  in  December,  1866,  signed 
a  testimonial  of  gratitude  to  Lopez,  is  now  dead,  except  Mr.  Bliss  ;  and  all  but  two 


EXECUTION  OF  FOREIGNERS.  177 

survived  at  the  close  of  the  war.  All  the  others  (with  the 
exception  of  Jose  Solis,  who  was  killed  in  the  last  battle  of 
the  war)  were  executed  or  perished  from  torture,  or  from  the 
exposure  and  hardships  to  which  they  were  subjected  by  him 
in  whose  honor  they  had  proposed  to  give  this  proof  of  their 
gratitude  and  regard. 

The  men  being  all  taken  for  the  army,  all  the  farm  labor  /) 
throughout  the  country  was  performed  by  the  women.  Though 
nearly  all  the  cattle  and  horses  were  taken  for  the  service  of 
the  state,  yet  one  or  two  yoke  of  oxen  was  usually  left  for 
each  family,  that  the  women  might  be  enabled  to  plough  the 
ground  and  plant  the  maize  and  the  mandioca,  which  when 
grown  was  mostly   taken   for  the  use  of  the  troops.     The 
women  were  compelled  to  yoke  the  oxen  and  to  plough  the  / 
fields  ;  the  butchering  at  the  slaughter-yards  near  the  capital  - 
was  also  performed  by  women,  and  in  the  market-place  of  s 
Asuncion  none  but  women  were  to  be  seen,  except  the  police, 
who  were  always  present  to  overhear  and  report  any  remark 
of  discontent  or  impatience  at  the  hardships  to  which  they 

or  three  (who  had  died  previously)  figure  in  Resquin's  Diary  as  traitors,  who  were 
executed,  or  who  died  in  prison,  or  as  it  was  sometimes  added,  with  grim  sarcasm, 
of  a  natural  death :  — 

Tristan  Roca,  Bolivian ;  Porter  C.  Bliss,  American ;  Jose  Solis,  Spaniard ;  ./ 
Antonio  Rebaudi,  Italian ;  Antonio  Susini,  Italian  ;  Pedro  Anglade,  French ; 
Ignacio  de  Galarraga,  Spaniard  ;  Antonio  de  las  Carreras,  Oriental ;  Francisco 
Rodriguez  Larreta,  Oriental  ;  Antonio  Nin  y  Reyes,  Oriental ;  Jose  M.  Vilas, 
Spaniard  ;  Ramon  Babanoli,  Italian ;  Jose  Balet,  French  ;  Pedro  Solari,  Italian ; 
Carlos  Reiso,  Italian  ;  Pelayo  Azcona,  Spaniard ;  Francisco  Vilas,  Spaniard ; 
Emilio  Neumann,  German  ;  Jose  Maria  Leite  Pereira,  Portuguese  Consul ; 
Eugenio  Matheu  Aguiar,  Spaniard  ;  Gustavo  Haman,  German  ;  Joaquin  Roma- 
guera,  Spaniard  ;  Lizardo  Baca,  Bolivian  ;  Juan  Agustin  Uribe,  Spaniard  ;  Nar- 
ciso  Prada,  Spaniard  ;  Francisco  da  C.  Leite  Falcao,  Brazilian  ;  Hipolito  Perez, 
Spaniard  ;  Rafael  Pena,  Bolivian  ;  Nicolas  Ribera,  Bolivian  ;  Andres  Dellepiane, 
Italian  ;  Augustin  Piaggio,  Italian  ;  Venanio  Uribe,  Spaniard  ;  Martin  Madrenas, 
Spaniard  ;  Pedro  Falca,  Spaniard  ;  Pio  Pozzoli,  Italian  ;  James  Manlove,  Amer- 
ican ;  Narciso  Lasserre,  French ;  Baldomero  Ferreira,  Spaniard ;  Federico 
Anavitarte,  Oriental  ;  Faustino  J.  Martinez,  Oriental  ;  Ignacio  Ruiz,  Spaniard  ; 
Jose  T.  Ramirez,  Argentine  ;  Jose  M.  Cano,  Argentine  ;  Nicolas  Susini,  Italian ; 
Isidro  Codina,  Spaniard ;  Joaquin  Vargas  Aldado,  Oriental  ;  Teodoro  Gauna, 
Argentine;  Pedro  N.  Rolon,  Argentine  ;  Federico  Hoffman,  German;  Antonio 
Vasconcellos,  Portuguese  ;  Julio  Veia,  Italian  ;  Simon  Fidanza,  Italian  ;  Estevan 
Pule,  Italian  ;  Angel  Silva,  Argentine. 

VOL.  II.  12 


1 78  PARAGUAY. 

were  subjected.  An  expression  of  a  wish  that  the  war  might 
end,  if  overheard,  would  surely  send  a  woman  to  prison,  sev- 
eral instances  of  which  came  to  my  knowledge.  More  fre- 
quently, however,  such  enemies  to  the  state  would  be  sent 
to  the  army,  where  they  were  subjected  to  the  most  revolting 
\ treatment. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

An  Offer  of  Mediation. — Voyage  to  Head-Quarters.  —  Conversation  with  Be- 
nigno  Lopez.  —  Interviews  with  the  Marshal.  —  Exchange  of  Messages  with 
Caxias.  —  Lopez's  Hopes  and  Fears.  —  The  Passage  through  the  Lines.  — 
Rudeness  of  Pancho  Lynch.  —  Reception  by  Caxias.  —  His  Reply  to  the  Offer 
of  Mediation.  —  Discussion  of  the  Chances  of  the  War. — The  Polish  Officer's 
Map.  —  Return  to  Paso  Pucu.  —  A  Breakfast  with  Lopez.  —  Anger  of  the  Mar- 
shal. —  Extract  from  my  Diary.  —  Final  Interview  with  Lopez.  —  He  announ- 
ces a  Memorable  Resolution.  —  He  will  never  surrender.  —  His  Place  in  His- 
tory secure. 

HAVING  arranged  with  Berges  to  go  a  second  time  to 
the  army  head-quarters,  and  then  to  cross  over  to  the 
camp  of  the  allies,  I  was  informed  that  the  little  steamer 
Olimpo  would  be  ready  to  take  me  to  Humaita  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  /th  of  March.  I  accordingly  went  aboard,  where 
I  found  the  President's  younger  brother,  Don  Benigno,  who 
was  going  as  my  fellow-passenger.  On  our  way  down  the 
river  we  talked  at  considerable  length  of  the  situation  of 
affairs,  of  the  prospects  of  Paraguay  for  the  future,  and  the 
probable  issue  of  the  war.  We  were  both  of  us  very  guarded, 
and  were  distrustful  of  each  other.  I  took  it  for  granted  that 
whatever  I  might  say  to  Benigno  would  be  reported  by  him 
to  his  brother,  and  I  supposed  that  he  expected  the  same  of 
me.  Knowing  him  to  be  much  more  familiar  with  the  coun- 
try than  myself,  I  inquired  about  the  natural  difficulties  that 
would  interfere  with  the  advance  of  the  allies,  and  we  specu- 
lated as  to  what  would  probably  be  their  next  move,  and,  if 
successful,  what  would  be  the  succeeding  step,  and  what  would 
be  the  result  provided  it  were  disastrous,  like  the  battle  -OJ^.^ 
Curupaiti.  We  also  talked  a  good  deal  in  regard  to  the  re- 
sources  of  the  Brazilians,  and  I  remember  well  that  Benigno  y 


1 80  PARAGUAY. 

'told  me  that  Brazil  had  already  contracted  such  a  debt  in 
Europe,  that  her  creditors  could  not  afford  to  have  her  de- 
feated, as  if  she  were  not  to  succeed,  and  her  armies  were  to 
be  conquered  and  driven  out  of  Paraguay,  the  nation  would 
probably  repudiate  the  debt  which  they  had  already  con- 
tracted. I  remember  that  the  creditors  were  compared  by 
one  of  us  to  a  man  who  should  commence  to  dig  a  well,  think- 
ing to  find  water  within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface,  and  who, 
having  once  begun,  would  be  unwilling  to  lose  the  labor 
already  performed,  and  so  would  continue  digging  away  until 
he  had  gone  twenty  times  deeper  than  he  had  anticipated 
would  be  necessary.^  Though  I  had  known  that  Benigno 
had  formerly  been  on  bad  terms  with  his  brother,  I  had  sup- 
posed that  harmony  between  them  was  restored  ;  and  as  I  had 
learned  that  at  the  public  meetings  and  festivals  he  had  made 
several  speeches  very  eulogistic  of  his  brother,  and  had  been 
decorated  with  the  Order  of  Merit,  I  supposed  that  he  was  no 
longer  under  a  cloud,  and  would  report  anything  that  I  might 
say  with  as  much  fidelity  to  his  master  as  any  of  the  most 
trusted  spies.  We  reached  Humaita  on  the  morning  of  the 
9th,  and,  being  furnished  with  a  horse  and  guide,  I  proceeded 
to  the  camp  of  Paso  Pucu,  which  I  reached  at  about  eleven 
o'clock.  I  was  assigned  the  same  house  in  which  I  had  lived 
when  at  the  camp  some  two  months  before,  and,  after  getting 
some  breakfast,  I  had  an  interview  with  his  Excellency.  He 
seemed  greatly  pleased  that  I  was  going  through  to  the  camp 
of  Caxias,  and  seemed  to  have  high  hopes  that  something 
greatly  to  his  advantage  would  result  from  the  proposed  me- 
diation of  the  United  States.  I  anticipated,  however,  very 
little  from  it,  and  so  I  told  him ;  but,  as  I  had  learned  that 
my  government  had  sent  instructions  to  me,  I  was  anxious  to 
obtain  them,  and  if  through  mediation  or  in  any  other  way 
any  avenue  could  be  discovered  through  which  the  parties  to 
the  war  could  retire  from  it,  I  should  do  all  in  my  power  to 
attain  that  end.  As  the  allies  had  made  so  much  objection 
to  my  passing  through  their  lines  on  a  previous  occasion,  and 
as  I  did  not  know  how  near  to  the  advanced  outposts  the 


LETTER  TO  CAXIAS.  igi 

head-quarters  of  the  Marques  de  Caxias  might  be,  or  whether 
I  should  have  a  personal  interview  with  him,  I  prepared  a 
letter  previous  to  setting  out  to  send  him,  in  case  I  was  sub- 
jected to  any  detention,  or  prevented  from  going  immediately 
to  his  head-quarters.  In  this  letter  I  set  forth  the  object  of 
my  visit,  stating  that,  not  having  received  my  correspondence 
for  a  long  time,  and  having  heard  that  my  government  had 
offered  its  mediation  in  the  war,  I  was  extremely  anxious  to 
learn  what  the  probabilities  were  that  such  mediation  would 
be  accepted  on  the  part  of  the  allies  in  the  same  manner  as  I 
had  good  reason  to  believe  it  would  be  accepted  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  Paraguay. 

During  the  time  that  I  remained  at  the  Paraguayan  head- 
quarters I  had  several  interviews  with  Lopez,  and  conversed 
with  him  with  considerable  freedom.  I  also  talked  a  great 
deal  with  those  Englishmen  who  were  living  at  his  head-quar- 
ters, Dr.  Stewart,  Colonel  Thompson,  and  Mr.  Valpy,  and  told 
them  all  that,  with  what  I  could  learn  from  Lopez  and  from 
themselves,  I  had  little  or  no  confidence  in  being  able  to  effect 
what  was  expected  of  me  ;  that  from  what  I  knew  of  the  tem- 
per and  determination  of  the  allies,  they  would  not  accept 
the  mediation  of  any  nation  ;  and  that  I  greatly  feared  if  I 
were  to  go  through,  and  my  mission  should  be  unsuccessful, 
it  would  render  the  situation  of  us  all  more  desperate  than 
it  had  ever  been.  Still  there  was  a  chance  that  it  might  be 
otherwise,  and  as  all  were  hoping  for  so  much,  I  would  go. 
Accordingly,  on  Monday,  the  i  ith  of  March,  a  flag  of  truce  . 
was  despatched  to  the  front,  with  a  message  to  the  Marques 
de  Caxias  announcing  that  the  American  Minister  was  with- 
in the  Paraguayan  lines,  and  desirous  of  passing  through 
to  his  head-quarters.  An  answer  was  promptly  returned, 
stating  that  the  Minister  would  be  at  full  liberty  to  enter  his 
camp,  that  firing  would  be  suspended,  and  he  might  come 
with  an  escort  of  a  whole  battalion  to  the  Paraguayan  front, 
and  no  one  would  be  injured.  Lopez,  when  he  received  this 
answer,  affected  to  be  greatly  indignant,  and  said :  "  Why 
should  he  say  that  a  whole  battalion  may  go  as  an  escort  to 


1 82  PARAGUAY. 

the  Paraguayan  front  ?  Of  course  the  whole  army  may  go 
if  I  say  so.  It  was  meant  as  an  insult."  To  this  I  replied 
that  I  considered  it  in  exactly  the  contrary  sense  ;  that  the 
Marques  de  Caxias  intended  to  say  that  if  the  American 
Minister  wished  to  pass  through  his  lines,  and  a  whole  bat- 
talion were  to  go  as  his  escort,  he  would  not  'open  fire  upon 
it.  Lopez,  however,  still  pretended  that  Caxias  was  medi- 
tating some  trick,  some  fraud,  and  that  his  object  was  to  in- 
duce him  to  send  a  force  in  that  direction  in  some  exposed 
position,  and  then  open  fire  upon  it.  I  told  him  that  I  enter- 
tained no  fears  of  that  kind,  that  I  should  be  willing  to  go,  and 
did  not  believe  there  would  be  the  least  danger.  He  then 
gave  orders,  that,  if  there  was  any  firing  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
road  which  we  were  to  take,  the  escort  should  return.  And  it 
appeared  to  me  that  he  was  quite  willing  that  there  should  be 
something  of  that  kind,  so  that  I  should  have  occasion  to  make 
a  complaint  to  my  government  that  the  flag  of  truce  had  not 
been  respected,  but  that,  when  the  Brazilians  knew  I  was 
approaching  their  outposts,  they  deliberately  fired  upon  me. 
At  about  two  o'clock  in  the  day,  the  escort  that  was  to  ac- 
company me  was  ready.  I  was  provided  with  a  carriage 
and  about  thirty  men,  among  whom  was  Colonel  Thompson, 
who  rode  in  the  carriage  with  me.  Among  the  other  per- 
sons in  the  escort  was  the  oldest  son  of  Madam  Lynch, 
who  was  then  about  fourteen  years  old,  and  went  by  the 
name  of  Pancho  Lopez.  It  was  a  winding,  difficult  road 
through  which  we  had  to  pass,  and  it  was  some  two  hours 
before  we  were  met  by  the  escort  which  had  been  sent  by  the 
Marques  de  Caxias  to  meet  us,  and  accompany  me  to  his  head- 
quarters. When  the  two  escorts  met,  the  officers  and  men  in 
each  mingled  together,  and  fell  into  conversation  in  regard  to 
the  prospects  for  peace.  Young  Pancho  Lopez,  though  but 
about  fourteen  years  of  age,  was  very  forward  in  expressing 
his  opinion,  and  was  so  insolent  to  some  of  the  officers  from 
the  other  side,  that  it  would  not  have  been  strange  had  he  re- 
ceived a  slap  in  the  face  in  return  for  his  ill- manners.  This 
would  have  been  followed  by  a  general  fight,  and  such  a  catas- 


VISIT  TO  THE  ALLIED  CAMP.  ^3 

trophe  was  averted  by  the  presence  of  mind  of  an  Oriental 
officer,  who  turned  to  us  and  told  us  to  start  along,  while  he 
alone  would  stay  to  dismiss  their  Paraguayan  friends.  Madam 
Lynch  afterwards  professed  to  be  greatly  mortified  at  the 
rudeness  of  her  son,  and  the  evidence  of  ill-breeding  he  had 
exhibited  on  an  occasion  that  demanded  the  strictest  cour- 
tesy and  propriety. 

Passing  along  through  the  trenches  of  the  allies,  the  escort 
took  me  through  the  centre  of  their  camp  to  the  house  of  the 
Marques  at  Tuyuti,  where  I  was  courteously  received  by  him.  I 
told  him,  in  such  poor  Spanish  as  I  could  command,  the  object 
of  my  visit  to  his  head-quarters,  and  said  that,  as  I  had  not 
been  certain  of  an  immediate  personal  interview  with  him,  I 
had,  before  leaving  the  Paraguayan  camp,  prepared  a  letter  to 
send  to  him,  and  that  from  that  he  would  learn  the  object  of 
my  visit  more  clearly  than  I  could  explain  it  to  him  verbally, 
and  that  I  would,  therefore,  deliver  it  to  him.  Before  open- 
ing it,  he  asked  me  if  I  had  come  at  the  instance  of  Lopez,  or 
on  my  own  motion.  I  replied  that  I  had  come  entirely  on 
my  own  business,  and  had  brought  no  proposition  or  message 
from  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Paraguayan  "army.  He 
sent  the  letter  to  be  translated,  and  I  then  asked  him  if  any 
despatches  or  other  communications  had  been  received  at  his 
head-quarters  for  me,  as  I  had  heard  that  my  government  had 
offered  its  mediation  between  the  belligerents.  He  said  that 
nothing  whatever  had  been  received.  I  then  asked  him  if 
there  was  any  truth  in  the  rumor,  which  I  had  heard  while  in 
Paraguay,  that  General  Asboth,  United  States  Minister  at 
Buenos  Aires,  was  coming  to  the  seat  of  war.  He  immedi- 
ately went  to  his  desk  and  took  out  a  file  of  letters,  spread 
them  on  the  table  before  him,  and,  as  if  intending  that  I 
should  look  over  the  part  which  he  pointed  out  with  his  finger 
as  he  read  it,  and  which  appeared  to  be  an  official  letter,  he 
read  substantially  this :  that  the  American  Minister  in  Buenos 
Aires,  General  Alexander  Asboth,  having  received  instructions 
in  regard  to  the  mediation  of  the  United  States  in  the  exist- 
ing war,  had  proposed  to  go  up  to  the  seat  of  war  and  pass 


1 84  PARAGUAY. 

through  to  the  camp  of  President  Lopez  to  confer  with  his 
colleague  there,  Mr.  Washburn,  but  that  they  (the  writers  or 
authors  of  the  letter)  had  seen  the  admiral  of  the  American 
squadron  and  had  confidentially  arranged  it  with  him  so  that 
the  Minister  at  Buenos  Aires  could  not  go  on  the  gunboat 
which  was  to  be  sent  to  carry  up  the  despatches  of  the  Min- 
ister in  Paraguay. 

Near  the  house  of  the  Marques  was  a  very  nice  tent  of 
heavy  pilot-cloth,  elegantly  'finished,  and  provided  with  cots 
and  everything  necessary  to  make  its  occupant  as  comfortable 
as  possible.  This  tent,  apparently,  was  reserved  for  visitors 
to  whom  the  Marques  was  disposed  to  show  particular  atten- 
tion. I  was  told  that  it  was  at  my  disposition,  and  that  I  should 
be  expected  to  take  my  meals  with  his  Excellency.  That 
evening  we  talked  until  late  of  various  matters ;  but  as  Lopez 
kept  all  his  affairs  so  entirely  to  himself,  I  had  no  information 
to  give  him  in  regard  to  his  strength  or  resources ;  and  had  I 
known  all  about  them,  I  could  not,  with  propriety,  have  com- 
municated anything  to  him.  The  next  day  a  member  of  the 
Marques's  staff,  a  Pole,  whom  I  had  previously  met  at  Corri- 
entes,  and  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  American  war  and 
on  the  staff  of  General  Grant,  brought  me  some  newspapers. 
From  them  I  learned  that  the  offer  of  mediation  by  the 
United  States  had  not  been  favorably  received  by  the  allies, 
and  I  was  confirmed  in  my  impression  that  my  mission  would 
amount  to  nothing.  The  Marques,  who  was  out  at  daylight 
next  morning  inspecting  his  troops  and  his  fortifications,  re- 
turned about  ten  o'clock,  and  at  eleven  we  had  breakfast,  after 
which  I  received  a  formal  answer  to  my  note  which  I  had  deliv- 
ered the  day  before.  In  this  reply  Caxias  assumed  diplomatic 
as  well  as  military  functions.  He  stated,  in  regard  to  the 
offer  of  mediation  by  the  United  States,  that  it  would  never 
be  accepted  by  the  allies ;  that  they  had  been  forced  into  the 
war  by  the  unlawful  and  barbarous  acts  of  Lopez,  and  would 
never  treat  with  him  ;  that  he  must  leave  the  country,  and 
that  when  he  would  do  so  the  way  would  be  open  for  a  speedy 
and  honorable  peace  to  all  parties.  He  concluded  his  letter 


INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  MARQUES.  ^5 

by  intimating  to  me  that  my  visit  was  not  particularly  wel- 
come, and  that  I  need  not  come  across  the  lines  again,  if  I 
had  no  other  object  in  view  than  to  obtain  my  correspond- 
ence, as  he  would  send  to  me  directly  anything  to  my  ad- 
dress which  might  come  into  his  hands.  I  was  very  busy 
during  the  day,  writing  despatches  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and  also  to  General  Asboth  at  Buenos  Aires,  and  General 
Webb  at  Rio.  To  all  of  them  I  complained  of  the  strange 
conduct  of  Admiral  Godon,  who,  it  seems,  not  satisfied  with 
aiding  the  allies  in  detaining  me,  was  still  in  confidential 
relations  with  them,  and  was  intriguing  to  defeat  the  plan  of 
mediation  which  had  been  proposed  by  our  government,  and 
had  refused  to  give  passage  on  a  gunboat  to  General  Asboth 
at  a  time  when  the  latter  thought  that  if  he  could  have  the 
full  co-operation  of  the  squadron  such  mediation  might  have 
been  accepted. 

In  the  course  of  conversation  with  Caxias,  I  asked  him  what  ~| 
Lopez  could  do  if  the  allies  would  not  treat  with  him  under 
any  circumstances.  He.  could  not  escape  through  their  lines, 
nor  was  there  any  way  open  by  which  he  could  get  out  of 
Paraguay  and  go  to  Europe  or  the  United  States.  He  was 
completely  at  bay,  and  in  that  situation  he  would  probably 
fight  to  the  last,  and  would  give  the  allies  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  before  he  was  conquered.  To  this  the  Marques  re- 
plied, quoting  a  Portuguese  proverb  to  this  effect :  "  Always 
provide  a  golden  bridge  for  a  fleeing  enemy  "  ;  from  which  I 
inferred  that,  whenever  Lopez  should  be  prepared  to  leave 
Paraguay,  he  would  have  his  own  terms  as  to  the  amount  of 
money  he  should  receive  in  return  for  so  great  a  service.  The  \__. 
Polish  engineer  had  told  me  the  same  thing  during  the  day  in 
regard  to  the  resources  of  Lopez,  and  I  had  requested  him  to 
give  me  a  sketch  of  the  Paraguayan  encampment.  He  re- 
plied that  he  could  not  do  so  without  the  permission  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief,  which  if  he  could  obtain,  he  would  very 
gladly  furnish  me  with  the  complete  plan  of  the  country,  in- 
cluding not  only  the  camp  of  Lopez,  but  the  whole  region 
from  Curupaiti  to  Villa  Franca. 


!  86  PARAGUAY. 

Having  learned  that  the  proffered  mediation  of  the  United 
States  was  not  to  be  accepted  by  the  allies,  and  not  finding  any 
despatches  or  other  correspondence  for  me,  I  determined  to  re- 
turn to  the  Paraguayan  camp  on  the  following  day,  the  second 
after  my  arrival.  Having  advised  the  Marques  of  my  inten- 
tion, he  assured  me  that  everything  should  be  ready,  and  an  es- 
cort and  flag  of  truce  would  be  ready  to  start  at  seven  o'clock, 
A.  M.  It  was  a  beautiful  clear  morning  when  we  were  ready  to 
start.  The  Marques  sent  his  chief  of  staff,  with  his  own  body- 
guard, consisting  of  some  forty  men,  as  an  escort.  The  men 
were  all  dressed  in  a  very  rich  and  peculiar  uniform,  and  were 
well  mounted.  Bidding  the  Marques  adieu,  and  expressing  my 
thanks  for  his  courtesy,  I  started  to  repass  the  lines.  While 
on  the  way  I  was  overtaken  by  the  Polish  engineer,  who  gave 
me  a  tracing  of  the  camp  of  Lopez,  giving  the  position  of  the 
batteries,  the  troops,  the  head-quarters,  and  all  the  defences 
which  it  could  oppose  to  the  advance  of  the  allies.  He  told 
me  that  I  was  at  perfect  liberty  to  make  any  use  of  it  I 
pleased,  that  it  had  been  prepared  for  me  by  permission  of  the 
Marques,  and  was  in  no  respect  to  be  considered  as  confiden- 
tial. The  inference  that  I  drew  from  this  was,  that  the  Mar- 
ques hoped  that  by  showing  Lopez  how  entirely  the  allies 
were  possessed  of  the  facts  in  regard  to  his  situation,  he 
would  see  that  he  was  completely  in  their  power,  and  would 
consider  that  the  best  thing  he  could  do  would  be  to  make 
terms  ;  and  that  the  hint  of  -the  proverb  he  had  quoted  the 
day  before  about  a  golden  bridge  was  but  an  intimation  that, 
if  I  could  hire  Lopez  to  go  away,  any  amount  of  money  that 
might  be  required  would  be  at  my  disposal. 

We  passed  along  by  the  same  road  which  we  had  come 
over  two  days  before,  and  in  the  same  place  where  the  two 
escorts  had  met  on  that  occasion  we  encountered  the  advance 
guard  of  the  Paraguayans.  Evidently  my  return  had  not  been 
expected  so  soon,  as  only  some  three  or  four  men  with  horses 
were  at  the  front.  The  officer  in  command  of  the  small  force 
was  Captain  Andres  Maciel,  one  of  the  many  afterwards  exe* 
cuted  by  Lopez  as  traitors,  as  appears  from  Resquin's  Diary. 


A  BREAKFAST  PARTY.  jg^ 

I  reached  the  head-quarters  of  Lopez  at  about  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  had  barely  time  to  attend  to  my  toilet  when  I  re- 
ceived an  invitation  to  take  breakfast  with  him  at  his  house. 
I  found  him  at  his  table,  where  were  present  with  him  such 
friends  as  he  was  in  the  habit  of  treating  with  most  considera- 
tion, among  whom  were  the  Bishop,  General  Barrios,  General 
Bruguez,  Dr.  Stewart,  Coloner  Wisner,  young  Pancho  Lopez, 
and  one  or  two  others.  I  could  see  that  all  were  intensely 
anxious  to  know  the  result  of  my  mission,  and  I  wondered 
very  much  why  Lopez  had  not  sent  the  others  away  until  he 
should  learn  from  me  what  I  had  seen  and  heard.  About  the 
first  question  he  asked  me  was  in  regard  to  the  political  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  Buenos  Aires.  He  had  inferred  from  some 
newspapers  that  had  been  captured,  or  from  the  declarations  of 
certain  prisoners  who  had  been  tortured  into  making  such 
statements  as  would  please  him,  that  a  revolution  in  Buenos 
Aires  was  imminent  ;  that  General  Mitre,  on  his  return  from 
the  army,  after  having  resigned  the  chief  command  to  the 
Marques  de  Caxias,  had  been  received  with  great  coldness  by 
the  people  of  Buenos  Aires  ;  that  there  was  a  general  clamor 
for  peace  ;  and  that  the  feeling  against  a  further  continuance 
of  the  war  was  such  that  the  alliance  must  very  soon  be  given 
up.  This  delusive  hope  I  was  obliged  to  dispel.  I  told  him 
that  General  Mitre  had  been  received  with  acclamations  by  all 
classes  of  people  in  Buenos  Aires  ;  that  nothing  had  occurred 
to  change  the  character  of  the  situation  ;  and  that,  so  far  as 
I  could  see,  the  allies  would  continue  the  war  indefinitely  ; 
nor  could  I  learn  that  the  Brazilians  were  experiencing  any 
new  difficulty  in  raising  money  abroad.  He  inquired  partic- 
ularly about  the  Marques  de  Caxias,  and  what  sort  of  a  man 
he  seemed  to  be.  I  told  him  that  he  was  an  old  man  who  ap- 
peared to  be  very  active  and  an  excellent  disciplinarian  ;  that 
the  allied  camp  was  3i  a  much  better  condition  than  I  had 
ever  seen  it  before,  though  I  had  visited  it  several  times.  I 
told  him  that  he  had  treated  me  with  courtesy,  and  that  I 
had  taken  my  meals  at  his  table  ;  that  he  certainly  did  not 
maintain  that  Spartan  simplicity  in  his  mode  of  life  which  it 


1 88  PARAGUAY. 

was  supposed  was  incident  to  the  life  of  a  soldier,  as  he  had 
an  abundance  of  the  finest  mutton  and  beef,  which  must  have 
been  brought  from  a  great  distance,  and  also  very  fine 
fruits  that  must  have  come  from  Montevideo.  Long  after- 
wards I  learned  that  what  I  then  said  in  regard  to  the  sump- 
tuous table  of  the  Marques  caused  very  great  offence  to  the 
Marshal  ;  that  he  often  used  to  speak  of  it  with  bitterness, 
and  seemed  to  think  that  I  had  intended  to  reflect  on  the 
poverty  of  his  table  and  the  scantiness  of  his  resources  by 
comparing  the  repast  before  me  with  that  which  I  had  wit- 
nessed on  the  table  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  allied 
army.  He  did  not  evince,  however,  at  that  time,  any  dis- 
pleasure at  what  I  said  ;  and  as  my  remarks  were  intended 
to  be  rather  complimentary  than  otherwise  to  the  Paraguay- 
ans, who  could  carry  on  war  without  those  luxuries,  and  to 
reflect  on  the  Brazilian  officers  for  giving  more  attention  to 
their  own  comfort  than  to  the  severe  duties  of  the  soldier,  I 
never  suspected  that  I  had  given  any  offence,  and  it  was  not 
until  after  I  had  left  Paraguay  that  I  learned  that  my  conver- 
sation on  that  occasion  was  one  of  the  most  serious  charges 
that  he  ever  had  to  make  against  me.  I  will  here  quote  from 
my  journal,  or  rather  from  the  memoranda  which  I  wrote  im- 
mediately after  I  left  the  camp  of  Marshal  Lopez  to  return  to 
Asuncion,  and  while  I  was  on  board  the  steamer  on  my  way 
up  the  river.  The  conversations  which  I  had  had  with  him 
I  then  thought  might  be  of  some  historic  value  at  a  future 
time,  and  I  accordingly  wrote  out  from  memory,  within  a  day 
or  two  afterwards,  the  substance  of  what  was  said  at  our  differ- 
ent interviews. 

"  After  a  little  time  he  sent  away  all  the  rest,  and  requested 
me  to  remain.  I  then  told  him  that  the  proposed  mediation 
had  been  rejected,  and  that  so  far  as  I  could  see  there  was  no 
prospect  whatever  of  peace  ;  that  the  war  must  go  on  indefi- 
nitely until  one  or  the  other  of  the  belligerent  parties  was  ut- 
terly destroyed.  I  gave  him  the  plans  of  his  own  grounds 
given  me  by  the  Polish  engineer,  which  showed,  as  I  thought, 
that  they  were  well  informed  in  regard  to  his  situation.  He 


DISCUSSION  OF  THE  SITUATION.  jgg 

looked  at  the  plans,  and  said  that  they  were  much  better  in- 
formed than  he  supposed  ;  there  were  some  mistakes  in  it,  but 
nevertheless  they  had  means  of  obtaining  information  within 
his  lines  which  he  had  not  suspected.  I  also  told  him  that 
General  Osorio  was  to  cross  the  Parana  at  Encarnacion  with 
ten  thousand  troops,  mostly  cavalry.  He  replied  that  he  had 
heard  of  that  before,  except  that  the  number  was  only  five 
thousand.  He  said  that  he  had  no  fears  of  anything  that 
Osorio  could  do  at  that  point  He  had  formed  a  high  opin- 
ion, as  indeed  had  everybody  else,  of  the  military  capacity  of 
Osorio,  and  were  he  to  join  forces  with  Caxias  at  Tuyuti,  he 
would  have  reason  to  apprehend  serious  difficulty ;  but  that  if 
he  attempted  to  cross  the  Parana  near  Encarnacion,  and  to 
advance  towards  Asuncion,  he  would  find  nothing  but  a  desert 
to  cross,  with  roads  at  that  season  almost,  impassable,  and  with 
many  gorges,  where  he  could  be  cut  to  pieces  by  a  greatly 
inferior  force.  He  seemed  to  be  considerably  cast  down  at 
the  report  I  gave  him  of  the  situation  of  the  allies,  particularly 
at  the  continued  popularity  of  Mitre,  and  requested  me  to  call 
and  see  him  again,  as  he  wished  to  have  further  conversation 
with  me.  To  my  inquiry  when  it  would  be  most  convenient 
for  me  to  return  to  the  capital,  he  replied  that  one  steamer,  a 
small  one,  would  start  that  afternoon,  and  that  the  next  even- 
ing the  Ipora,  which  had  very  good  accommodations,  would 
also  start  for  the  capital,  and  I  could  take  my  choice  as  to 
which  steamer  I  would  take  passage  on.  I  concluded  to  wait 
for  the  Ipora.  I  saw  him  again  that  evening  but  a  short 
time  when  others  were  present,  and  we  had  no  particular  con- 
versation. The  next  day,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
I  went  to  see  him  again,  and  we  had  a  long  private  interview. 
He  commenced  discussing  his  situation  ;  said  he  knew  it 
was  very  grave,  but  assumed  to  be  confident  that  if  the  allies 
were  to  attack  him  he  could  repulse  them  at  every  point,  yet 
he  showed  that  he  felt  his  chances  of  final  success  to  be  very 
slight.  The  odds  against  him  were  very  great,  and  if  the 
allies  could  hold  together  long  enough,  and  sustain  the  enor- 
mous expenses  to  which  they  were  subjected  by  the  war,  it 


190  PARAGUAY. 

was  probable  that,  sooner  or  later,  they  might  overrun  and  con- 
quer Paraguay.  He  then  went  on  to  express  his  surprise  and 
regret  that  foreign  governments  had  not  come  to  his  rescue. 
He  said  that  no  one  of  them,  except  the  United  States,  had 
ever  shown  any  interest  in  him  or  his  cause,  and  the  United 
States  had  not  done  much.  It  had  two  ministers  of  age  and 
experience,  one  in  Brazil  and  one  in  Buenos  Aires,  both  of 
whom  were  acting  in  the  interest  of  the  allies,  while  the  Min- 
ister to  Paraguay  was  but  young  in  diplomatic  experience, 
and  his  representations  did  not  have  the  weight  with  the  gov- 
ernment that  those  of  his  colleagues  did.  Besides,  they  were 
nearer  home,  and  could  communicate  more  frequently  with 
the  government  than  I  could,  and,  by  denying  my  representa- 
tions, could  circumvent  anything  that  I  might  do  unfavorable 
to  the  cause  of  the  allies.  He  said  he  saw  very  clearly  what 
the  purpose  of  Caxias  was  in  sending  the  plans  of  the  Para- 
guayan camp  to  him,  and  that  his  remark  of  the  golden  bridge 
to  a  fleeing  enemy  was  but  a  hint  to  him  that  there  would 
be  no  difficulty  in  his  getting  out  of  the  country  with  all  the 
money  he  might  ever  need.  That,  he  said,  he  should  never  do. 
He  would  fight  to  the  last,  and  fall  with  his  last  guard.  His 
bones  must  rest  in  his  own  country,  and  his  enemies  should 
only  have  the  satisfaction  of  beholding  his  tomb ;  he  would 
not  give  them  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  a  fugitive  in  Europe 
or  elsewhere  ;  he  would  sooner  die  than  be  a  second  Rosas. 
If  the  worst  came,  it  was  to  be  no  surrender,  but  all  were  to 
fight  until  they  were  killed  ;  that  he  was  prepared  to  resort  to 
more  extreme  measures  than  any  one  imagined,  if  necessary  ; 
it  was  better  to  fall  after  his  whole  people  had  been  destroyed, 
than  treat  on  the  condition  of  leaving  the  country.  Unless 
he  should  succeed  and  come  off  conqueror,  there  was  no  fu- 
ture for  him,  nor  did  he  want  to  live.  Whatever  of  glory 
or  fame  would  result  from  the  war,  long  protracted  against 
odds  infinitely  superior,  was  already  his,  and  he  would  never 
be  deprived  of  it ;  his  fame  in  history  was,  at  any  rate,  se- 
cure. It  was  not  his  ambition  to  rank  with  any  South 
American  hero  like  San  Martin,  Bolivar,  or  Belgrano ;  they 


SACRIFICES  AND  ABNEGATION.  191 

were  persons  for  whom  he  had  no  respect,  nor  had  he  any 
desire  to  be  classed  with  men  who  had  made  such  a  con- 
temptible figure  in  history  ;  but  it  was  his  ambition  to  have 
his  name  enrolled  on  the  same  page  of  history  with  those 
of  Washington  and  Lincoln;  that  he  would,  if  necessary, 
crown  his  triumphs  with  an  act  of  heroism,  and  perish  at  the 
head  of  his  legions.  He  had  labored  so  long  for  his  coun- 
try, and  with  such  self-abnegation,  had  been  sustained  by  his 
people  so  bravely  and  with  such  free  and  spontaneous  will, 
that  all  these  things  must  justify  him  in  history,  and  give  him 
a  place  such  as  no  South  American  hero  ever  held.  He  said 
it  was  glory  enough  for  him,  while  living,  to  have  three  na- 
tions making  war  so  long  against  his  single  arm,  and  that  the 
world  must  then  be  wondering  at  the  defence  he  was  making ; 
and  why  none  of  the  other  nations  of  the  world,  especially 
the  United  States,  did  not  come  to  his  aid,  was  to  him  a  mat- 
ter of  the  greatest  surprise  and  mortification  ;  but  that  if  they 
persisted  in  leaving  him  to  fight  it  out  without  their  assist- 
ance, on  them  would  be  the  responsibility  of  the  disasters  and 
miseries  that  might  result  from  the  prolongation  of  the  war." 

I  could  hardly  believe  that  the  man  was  in  earnest  when  he 
spoke  in  this  way ;  that  he  could  really  be  such  a  dolt  and  fool 
as  not  to  know  that  the  people  who  were  fighting  under  his 
orders  were  but  abject  slaves,  and  obeyed  only  from  fear,  and 
that  there  was  not  the  least  particle  of  free  will  or  inde- 
pendence of  thought  tolerated  in  the  country  ;  forgetting  that 
if  at  that  moment  he  were  to  learn  of  a  single  individual  in  the 
whole  state  who  had  ventured  to  advise  that  he  should  make 
the  best  attainable  peace,  he  would  order  him  to  be  shot 
before  the  next  morning.  It  convinced  me,  however,  that  in 
his  utter  selfishness,  his  conceit  and  vanity,  he  would  sacrifice 
every  Paraguayan  before  he  would  consent  to  leave  the  coun- 
try ;  and  I  saw  that  the  fate  which  he  had  resolved  upon  for 
the  Paraguayan  people  would,  unless  he  died  in  the  mean 
while,  certainly  be  theirs  but  for  one  thing.  I  knew  that  he 
was  a  coward,  and  I  believed  that,  sooner  or  later,  he  would 
treat  in  time  to  save  his  own  life  :  that  his  talk  about  falling 


192  PARAGUAY. 

at  last  at  the  head  of  his  legions  was  all  bombast.  I  knew  he 
had  never  exposed  himself  to  any  danger  when  he  could  possi- 
bly avoid  it,  and  I  did  not  believe  he  ever  would  do  so  ;  and  in 
conversations  which  I  had  after  that  with  Dr.  Stewart  and 
others,  in  speaking  of  his  vaunting  resolution  to  perish  at  the 
head  of  his  legions,  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  all  who 
knew  him  that  he  would  do  no  such  thing,  that  he  would  con- 
tinue to  expose  his  men  in  battle  as  long  as  there  was  a  possi- 
bility of  his  being  able  to  treat  with  the  enemy  on  the  basis 
of  his  remaining  in  the  country  and  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment, but  that  so  soon  as  he  saw  there  was  no  hope  of  that, 
he  would  make  the  best  terms  he  could  and  get  out  of  the 
country  with  as  much  of  the  property  belonging  to  himself 
and  the  Paraguayan  people  as  he  could  take  with  him.  We 
were  not  mistaken  in  our  estimate  of  his  character ;  for  al- 
though he  never  did  leave  the  country  alive,  and  fell  at  last 
after  all  his  army  had  been  destroyed,  yet,  as  will  be  seen 
hereafter,  he  never  exposed  himself  to  danger  when  he  could 
avoid  it,  and  instead  of  falling  at  the  head  of  his  legions, 
he  was  finally  killed  while  running  away  and  trying  to 
escape.  Foreseeing  as  I  did  the  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  lives  that  would  be  sacrificed  before  he  could  be  sub- 
dued if  he  adhered  to  the  resolutions  which  he  said  he  had 
taken,  and  believing  also  that  the  allies  never  would  treat 
with  him  except  on  the  condition  that  he  should  leave  the 
country,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  express  my  opinions  to 
him  in  regard  to  the  course  he  was  pursuing.  I  knew  I 
was  treading  on  dangerous  ground,  and  that  I  must  be  very 
guarded  in  what  I  said,  else  I  should  so  enrage  him  that 
the  situation,  not  only  of  myself,  but  of  all  the  foreigners  in 
the  country,  would  be  much  worse  than  it  already  was.  I 
saw,  too,  that  I  must  mix  with  my  disapproval  a  great  deal 
of  personal  flattery,  to  make  it  appear  that,  even  if  he  were 
to  leave  the  country,  he  could  do  so  as  a  hero,  and  be  held 
as  such  throughout  the  world. 

I  will  therefore  resume  my  journal,  and  relate  in  substance 
what  I  replied  to  him  :  "  I  said,  in  reference  to  this,  that  I  was 


A  DESPERATE  RESOLUTION. 


193 


very  sorry  to  hear  him  talk  so ;  that  if  worst  came  to  worst, 
and  he  saw  he  must  fall,  the  way  he  proposed  was  not  the 
best ;  that  if  the  result  was  to  be  the  triumph  of  the  allies 
and  the  conquest  of  Paraguay,  it  were  better  to  look  the  truth 
in  the  face  and  act  with  reason,  rather  than  attempt  the  roman- 
tic ;  that  his  name  was  already  well  known  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  and  the  heroic  defence  made  by  the  Paraguayan  people 
against  the  vastly  stronger  foe  had  given  them  the  sympathy 
of  the  world,  and  if  he  were  to  treat  after  he  found  a  contin- 
uance of  the  war  could  only  result  in  the  sacrifice  of  his 
people,  he  would  be  received  abroad  with  welcome  and  greatly 
honored  wherever  he  might  go  ;  that  it  would  be  better,  and 
more  to  his  fame  and  credit,  to  save  his  life  and  the  lives  of 
thousands  of  others,  rather  than  uselessly  and  recklessly  throw 
them  away.  But  no,  he  said  there  was  no  future  for  him  ;  he 
should  leave  no  one  in  whom  he  had  an  interest ;  save  only  the 
children  I  saw  around  him  (Madam  Lynch's),  there  was  no- 
body else  in  the  world  that  he  cared  anything  for.  Life  was 
a  mere  nothing,  a  thing  of  a  few  years  more  or  less.  He  had 
not  lived  very  long,  but  he  had  lived  much  ;  and  it  were  better 
to  fall  at  the  pinnacle  of  honor  than  to  live  longer  a  fugitive, 
his  country  given  up  as  spoil  to  the  enemy.  He  spoke  of 
the  refusal  of  Caxias  to  entertain  any  proposition  of  media- 
tion, and  said  that  there  was  no  alternative  for  him  then  but 
to  fight  it  out  to  the  last.  I  replied  to  him  that  I  thought  the 
letter  of  Caxias  to  me,  in  which  he  had  said  that  no  proposition 
of  mediation  from  any  source  would  be  listened  to  for  a  mo- 
ment except  on  condition  that  Lopez  should  leave  Paraguay,  was 
not  respectful  to  the  government  that  had  offered  it,  and  that 
I  should  probably  answer  it  to  that  effect.  This  conversation 
lasted  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  and,  promising  to  consider  all 
he  had  said  and  see  him  the  next  morning,  I  took  my  leave. 

"The  next  day,  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M.,  I  went  to  see  him 
again,  and  found  him  at  breakfast  with  Don  Benigno,  Colonel 
Aguiar,  and  Pancho.  After  they  had  finished  breakfast,  he 
sent  off  the  others,  and  we  resumed  conversation  on  the  same 
subject  that  we  had  been  engaged  upon  the  day  before.  I 

VOL.  n.  13 


194  PARAGUAY. 

told  him  I  had  been  thinking  of  all  he  had  said,  and  it  ap- 
peared to  me  the  proposed  course  would  have  an  effect  the 
reverse  of  what  he  supposed  on  his  fame.  Other  people,  his- 
torians and  literary  men  generally,  on  whose  judgment  the 
active  participants  in  the  great  events  of  the  world  must 
depend  for  their  future  fame,  would  never  approve  the  useless 
sacrifice  of  life  after  all  was  lost,  but  would  rather  condemn 
it,  and  he  would  thus  lose  whatever  of  fame  and  glory  he  had 
already  achieved.  He  said  no  ;  he  was  resolved,  and  the 
extremities  to  which  he  should  resort  sooner  than  give  up 
would  be  chargeable  to  other  nations  that  had  thus  left  him 
without  support.  When  he  began  the  war,  he  had  never 
thought  it  would  come  to  this  ;  he  had  not  supposed  it  would 
be  so  long  or  so  desperate  ;  but  he  had  carried  it  on  in  a  way 
that  must  give  him  a  great  name  in  history,  and  why  other 
governments  showed  no  interest  in  him  was  a  wonder,  —  again 
giving  me  the  left-handed  compliment  of  having  small  influ- 
ence, or  else  I  would  have  so  enlisted  my  government  in  his 
behalf  that  it  would  have  come  to  his  rescue.  I  replied  that 
a  good  cause  bravely  fought  did  not  the  less  secure  the  sym- 
pathy and  respect  of  the  world,  if  it  finally  yielded  to  greatly 
superior  forces.  What  men  of  modern  times  had  been  re- 
ceived with  the  most  enthusiasm  and  respect  ?  Not  the  vic- 
tors with  laurels ;  not  those  who  had  triumphed,  irrespective 
of  their  cause,  by  means  of  superior  resources,  or  even  supe- 
rior genius  and  ability.  Napoleon  was  none  the  less  honored 
for  having  died  a  prisoner  at  St.  Helena  than  he  would  have 
been  had  he  conquered  at  Waterloo  and  afterwards  expired  in 
the  Tuileries.  And  of  all  the  heroes  of  later  times  who  had 
been  hailed  with  most  enthusiasm  by  the  crowds  of  people 
that  had  followed  their  chariots,  those  who  had  been  most 
honored  and  most  eagerly  welcomed  among  the  first  nations 
of  the  world  were  the  great  soldiers  in  the  cause  of  freedom, 
Kossuth  and  Garibaldi ;  and  that  he,  therefore,  though  forced 
to  yield  and  retire,  might  expect  to  receive  great  attention. 
This  flattery  seemed  greatly  to  please  him,  but  it  could  not 
move  him  from  his  resolution.  He  said  he  knew  his  name 


RETURN  TO  ASUNCION. 


'95 


was  enough,  go  where  he  might,  to  insure  him  the  highest 
honors,  but  he  had  shown  from  the  first  that  he  was  not  a 
man  to  change  his  mind  or  his  purpose.  Especially  should 
the  Emperor  of  Brazil  learn  that  he  had  mistaken  his  man 
when  he  had  provoked  the  hostility  of  Francisco  Solano 
Lopez.  He  had  no  ambition,  never  had  ;  he  labored  for 
his  country,  and  was  determined  to  survive  or  fall  with  it. 
He  dwelt  much  on  his  own  abnegation,  and  could  not  under- 
stand why  such  an  example  of  self-sacrifice  had  not  won  to 
his  support  the  other  nations  of  the  earth.  But  his  acts 
would  justify  him,  and  he  wanted  no  other  advocate  in  the 
future.  By  his  acts  he  stood,  and  they  should  be  his  monu- 
ment in  future  ages.  '  Mis  hechos,  mis  kechos.'  Later  in  the 
day  I  went  to  see  him  again,  and  we  talked  for  an  hour. 
He  was  anxious  I  should  inform  Berges  officially,  that  the 
mediation  proffered  by  the  United  States  had  been  rejected 
by  the  allies,  as  his  army  had  had  their  hopes  greatly  exalted 
from  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  the  mediation  of  the 
United  States  had  been  tendered,  and  had  expected  that 
peace  might  result  from  my  visit  to  their  camp.  At  the 
time  I  had  come  through  on  the  Shamokin  they  had  been 
greatly  disappointed,  as  then  they  had  also  been  led  to  be- 
lieve that  peace  would  soon  follow  the  forcing  of  the  block- 
ade. Bidding  him  adieu,  and  telling  him  I  still  cherished  the 
hope  that  the  war  would  never  be  carried  to  the  extremities 
which  he  had  intimated  that  it  might  be,  I  left  Paso  Pucu  a 
little  after  sunset,  and  went  to  Humaita,  where  the  Ipora  was 
waiting  with  her  steam  up  to  take  me  on  board  and  carry  me 
to  the  capital." 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

Another  Visit  to  Paso  Pucu.  —  Arrival  of  Despatches.  —  Letter  from  General 
Asboth.  —  He  is  insulted  by  Admiral  Godon.  —  Note  to  Caxias. —  Patriotic 
Offerings  by  the  Paraguayans.  —  Grand  National  Testimonial  to  Marshal  Lo- 
pez. —  Public  Meetings  and  Addresses.  —  Specimen  of  the  Adulation  of  the 
Masses.  —  Discourse  of  Adelina  Lopez.  —  English  Offer  of  Mediation.  —  Mr. 
Gould's  Propositions.  —  Bad  Faith  of  Lopez.  —  His  Reasons  for  breaking  off 
Negotiations.  —  French  and  English  Gunboats  pass  the  Blockade.  —  Folly  of 
the  Naval  Officers.  —  They  become  Tools  of  Lopez.  —  Departure  of  Consul 
Cochelet.  —  Lopez's  Hatred  of  him. —  He  is  detained  at  Humaita,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  Fire  of  the  Allies. 

BUT  two  days  had  elapsed  after  my  return  from  the 
army  head-quarters  to  Asuncion,  when  I  received  a 
telegram  advising  me  that  the  United  States  gunboat  Wasp 
had  come  up  as  far  as  Itapiru,  and  that  her  commander, 
W.  A.  Kirkland,  had  come  through  the  military  lines,  and 
brought  despatches  for  me,  and  would  remain  at  head-quarters 
until  he  might  receive  any  correspondence  that  I  might  wish 
to  send  away.  At  the  same  time  I  was  informed  that  a 
steamer  would  be  at  my  disposal  to  go  down  to  Humaita  on 
the  following  day.  Accordingly,  on  the  2ist,  I  again  started 
for  the  army  head-quarters,  and  arrived  there  on  the  morning 
of  the  23d.  Among  the  despatches  which  I  received  were  the 
long-delayed  instructions  in  regard  to  the  proposed  mediation 
of  the  United  States,  and  also  a  letter  from  our  Minister  in 
Buenos  Aires,  advising  me  that  while  the  offer  of  mediation 
had  not  in  terms  been  refused  by  the  allies,  it  had  not  been 
accepted,  and  that  he  believed  the  points  of  difference  between 
the  belligerents  were  not  so  irreconcilable  but  that  some 
means  might  be  discovered  by  which  both  parties  might  be 
induced  to  open  negotiations  for  a  cessation  of  the  war.  He 


REPLY   TO    CAXIAS. 


197 


cherished  the  idea,  which  was  long  afterwards  entertained  by 
the  ministers  of  other  nations  in  Buenos  Aires,  that  terms 
might  be  offered  to  Lopez  by  the  allies,  such  as  he  would  ac- 
cept. When  he  learned,  therefore,  that  a  gunboat  was  to  be 
sent  for  the  purpose  of  taking  up  my  despatches,  he  notified 
Admiral  Godon,  that,  in  order  more  fully  to  carry  out  the  in- 
structions of  his  government  in  regard  to  mediation,  he  would 
like  a  passage  up  the  river  on  a  national  vessel.  The  Ad- 
miral told  him  that,  though  the  gunboat  was  going,  he  must 
stay  at  home  ;  and  the  scarred,  war-worn  old  veteran  had  the 
mortification  of  seeing  the  gunboat  sail  away  without  him, 
and  was  therefore  obliged  to  abandon  all  hope  that  the  media- 
tion would  ever  be  accepted.  On  the  return  of  Commander 
Kirkland  from  the  Paraguayan  to  the  allied  camp,  I  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  opportunity  to  send  a  letter  to  the  Marques  de 
Caxias,  in  reply  to  the  one  he  had  written  me  at  the  time  I 
visited  his  camp,  in  which  he  had  stated  that  the  allies  would 
never  accept  the  mediation  of  the  United  States,  or  entertain 
any  proposition  for  peace,  until  the  terms  of  the  Triple  Alli- 
ance were  complied  with,  and  Lopez  was  driven  from  power 
and  from  the  country.  To  this  letter  I  replied  :  "  The  United 
States,  in  offering  their  mediation  to  bring  about  a  cessation 
of  hostilities  between  the  allied  powers  and  Paraguay,  were 
actuated  only  by  the  most  laudable  desire  to  be  of  service  to 
all  parties  engaged  in  the  war,  as  well  as  to  conserve  in  gen- 
eral the  interests  of  peace,  in  which  all  the  world  is  con- 
cerned ;  but  your  Excellency  meets  the  offer  by  stipulating  a 
condition  precedent  even  to  considering  the  question  of  media- 
tion. This  condition  is,  that  the  President  of  Paraguay  now 
in  authority  shall  first  abdicate  his  office  and  leave  the  coun- 
try. It  certainly  never  could  have  been  the  intention  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States  to  offer  its  mediation  on  any 
such  presupposed  basis.  The  fundamental  principle  of  that 
government  is,  that  the  people  of  every  nation  have  a  clear 
and  unquestionable  right  to  that  form  of  government  which 
they  shall  select,  and  that  all  just  powers  emanate  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed  ;  that  no  foreign  power  has  a  right  to 


198  PARAGUAY. 

impose  upon  a  neighboring  and  independent  country  a  govern- 
ment not  selected  by  its  people ;  and  as  the  people  of  Para- 
guay have  never  evinced  a  desire  to  change  their  form  of 
government,  or  to  place  at  the  head  of  it  any  other  than  the 
present  chief  magistrate,  the  government  of  the  United  States 
cannot,  consistently  with  its  traditional  policy,  regard  with 
favor  the  treaty  of  alliance  by  which  the  three  powers  bound 
themselves  to  impose  other  authority  than  the  present  on  the 
people  of  Paraguay. 

"  But  the  allied  powers,  as  appears  by  the  note  of  your  Ex- 
cellency, are  resolved  to  prosecute  the  war  until  the  pres- 
ent duly  elected  President  of  the  Republic,  Francisco  Solano 
Lopez,  may  be  deposed  or  driven  from  the  country.  This 
condition  precedent  to  mediation  is  certainly  so  antagonistic 
to  all  ideas  of  national  self-government  that  the  undersigned 
believes  it  to  be  his  duty  to  his  government,  that  never  could 
have  contemplated  such  a  reply  to  its  offer  of  mediation, 
to  protest  against  it ;  and  the  undersigned  is  of  the  opinion 
that  your  Excellency  would  regard  it  as  extraordinary  were 
the  circumstances  reversed  and  the  same  demand  on  the  part 
of  President  Lopez  made  a  condition  precedent  to  mediation, 
and  he  should  require,  as  a  preliminary  condition,  that  the 
Emperor  of  Brazil  should  abdicate  his  throne  and  President 
Mitre  his  presidential  chair.  How  such  a  reply  to  the  offer 
of  a  neutral  and  friendly  power  would  be  justly  regarded  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  by  that  of  his  Impe- 
rial Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  the  undersigned  leaves  to 
the  consideration  of  your  Excellency.  The  position  thus 
taken  by  the  allies,  that  no  mediation  can  be  entertained  until 
one  of  the  parties  concerned  no  longer  has  a  political  exist- 
ence, appears  to  render  impossible  anything  like  a  peaceful 
solution  of  the  impending  strife,  and  the  war  must  accordingly 
go  on  until  one  of  them,  from  its  chief  to  its  last  squad  of 
soldiers,  is  destroyed,  or  the  other  becomes  worn  out  and 
exhausted.  Either  of  these  results  the  government  of  the 
United  States  would  deeply  deplore,  and  in  offering  its  media- 
tion its  object  was  to  avert  such  a  catastrophe.  But  its  good 


ANGER  AND   REVENGE   OF   THE   ALLIES.          199 

offices  being  refused,  and  even  denied  a  hearing,  it  can  only 
await  with  deep  interest  the  impending  issue." 

This  reply,  I  soon  afterwards  learned,  gave  great  offence, 
not  only  to  the  Marques  de  Caxias,  but  to  all  the  allies  ;  and 
the  manner  in  which  they  evinced  their  displeasure  was  cer- 
tainly not  dignified,  nor  worthy  of  an  alliance  embracing  three 
nations.  They  would  have  it  that  in  forcing  their  block- 
ade, and  in  exposing  the  absurd  features  of  the  Triple  Alli- 
ance, I  was  acting  in  the  interest  of  Lopez,  and  several  months 
afterwards  they  gratified  their  spite  by  laying  hold  of  some 
provisions  I  had  ordered  from  Buenos  Aires  and  detaining 
them  for  a  long  time  in  Corrientes,  alleging,  as  an  excuse  for 
such  contemptible  conduct,  that  I  did  not  need  so  much,  and, 
besides,  that  my  boxes  contained  contraband  of  war.  These 
provisions  were  finally  brought  through  by  an  English  gun- 
boat, but  after  that  the  allies  took  every  means  possible  to 
render  my  longer  stay  in  Paraguay  disagreeable.  Despatches, 
newspapers,  and  provisions,  all  alike  were  detained  ;  and  when 
at  last  I  got  out  of  Paraguay  I  found  all  my  mail  matter  for 
nearly  a  year  previous  stored  at  Corrientes,  and  on  reaching 
Buenos  Aires  I  was  presented  with  numerous  bills  for  supplies 
which  I  had  never  received.  Thus  the  allies  had  their  revenge. 

When  in  the  camp  of  the  Marques  de  Caxias,  in  March,  1867, 
he  appeared  so  confident  of  his  ability  to  overrun  Paraguay  and 
destroy  Lopez  and  his  whole  army,  that  after  my  return  to 
Asuncion  I  was  greatly  surprised  that  for  months  and  months 
there  was  no  movement  of  his  army,  and  that  he  appeared  to 
be  held  in  check  and  powerless  to  do  anything.  I  was  con- 
vinced he  had  at  least  three  times  the  number  of  troops  that 
Lopez  had,  and  also  everything  else  that  money  could  procure 
to  render  his  army  formidable.  Still  he  made  no  sign  that  we 
could  hear  of  at  the  capital.  The  Semanario  frequently  had  ac- 
counts of  skirmishes  which  were  magnified  into  great  victories  ; 
but  beyond  that  we  could  not  hear  of  anything  whatever  of  a 
warlike  nature  transpiring  at  the  front.  We  could  see  that 
Paraguay  was  becoming  exhausted ;  that  older  men  and  younger 
boys  were  being  conscripted  and  sent  to  the  army  ;  that  the 


200  PARAGUAY. 

women  throughout  the  country  were  subjected  to  harder  toil, 
compelled  to  labor  more  in  the  fields,  to  plant  corn  and  man- 
dioca,  and  to  contribute  more  and  more  of  the  little  that  had 
been  left  to  them  of  clothing,  of  their  cattle  and  their  horses. 
The  popular  demonstrations  of  gratitude  to  Lopez  seemed 
each  time  to  have  a  more  forced  and  ghastly  character.  In 
September  of  that  year,  after  the  silversmiths  had  been  work- 
ing up  the  gold  which  had  been  contributed  in  such  vast 
quantities  to  make  golden  book-covers,  sheaths,  and  caskets, 
all  to  be  presented  to  the  great  Lopez,  it  was  given  out  that 
there  was  to  be  a  grand  ceremony  in  the  Palace,  at  which  the 
presents  intended  for  his  Excellency  were  to  be  exhibited,  and 
addresses  m?de  by  the  ladies  of  the  country,  and  also  by  the 
Vice-President  and  the  Cabinet  Ministers.  It  was  intended 
that  this  meeting  should  be  of  a  semi-official  character,  and  I 
had  the  honor  of  receiving  an  invitation  to  be  present.  On 
a  table  in  the  centre  of  the  room  were  placed  the  costly 
presents.  One  of  them  was  in  the  form  of  an  album,  with 
covers  of  solid  gold  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  and  con- 
tained a  dedicatory  address  to  his  Excellency,  written  in  the 
same  adulatory  style  as  everything  else  of  a  public  nature 
which  was  permitted  to  be  delivered  in  the  public  meetings, 
and  purporting  to  be  signed  by  many  hundreds  of  the  prin- 
cipal women  of  Paraguay.  At  the  head  of  the  list  was  the 
mother  of  the  President,  Dona  Juana  Carillo  de  Lopez.  The 
Vice-President,  Sanchez,  Berges,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, his  assistant,  Benitez,  and  several  others  high  in  au- 
thority, were  present ;  and  a  vast  crowd  of  women,  among 
whom  were  at  least  a  dozen  of  the  present  and  past  mistresses 
of  Lopez.  The  old  Vice-President  opened  the  proceedings 
by  reading  a  very  long  discourse.  This  was  succeeded  by 
addresses  read  by  the  wife  of  Colonel  Fernandez,  by  Dona 
Rafaela,  the  sister  of  Lopez,  and  many  other  ladies  of  the 
highest  rank  at  the  Paraguayan  court.  Most  of  them  were 
unable  to  read  themselves,  and  their  addresses,  which  had 
been  prepared  for  them,  were  read  by  the  Vice-President 
or  some  other  high  official,  or  by  some  of  their  friends  who 


PUBLIC  ADDRESSES  TO  LOPEZ.  2OI 

had  been  better  educated.  The  address  which  was  bound  in 
the  golden  volume  was  read  by  Benitez.  Forty  or  fifty  of  the 
leading  women  of  the  country,  headed  by  the  mother  and 
sisters  of  Lopez  himself,  by  three  of  his  mistresses,  and  the 
mothers  of  two  others,  signed  this  characteristic  effusion.  A 
few  paragraphs  from  this  document  will  serve  as  a  specimen 
of  many  of  the  same  class  :  — 

"  The  exalted  merits  of  your  Excellency,  and  your  entire  conse- 
cration to  the  interests  of  your  country,  are  of  such  a  nature,  and 
your  grand  services  for  the  Republic  are  of  such  transcendental 
importance,  that  they  do  not  need  our  eulogies,  our  good  words,  or 
our  presents.  We  recognize,  sire,  this  truth  ;  but  as  your  Excellency 
is  the  hero  of  the  nation,  the  anchor  of  salvation  for  the  country, 
and  with  it  the  anchor  of  our  honor,  of  our  rights,  and  of  our  inter- 
ests, and  of  those  of  our  families,  and  since  your  Excellency  and 
the  Republic  of  Paraguay  are  one  and  the  same  thing,  as  is  proved 
by  many  eloquent  testimonials,  and  especially  by  the  great  deeds  of 
the  present  war,  the  daughters  of  Paraguay  cannot  fulfil  the  desires 
of  their  hearts  unless  they  be  permitted  to  offer  their  contingent  to 
the  defence  of  the  national  cause  as  a  demonstration  of  their  love 
and  gratitude  in  particular  towards  the  beloved  son  of  their  coun- 
try, and  who  is  to-day  its  father  and  savior.  Deign,  therefore,  sire, 
to  accept  as  a  personal  tribute  the  present  book,  in  which  is  placed 
the  national  subscription  of  Paraguayan  female  citizens,  and  their 
patriotic  sentiments,  in  these  solemn  moments  of  the  Republic. 
This  humble  but  sincere  homage  is  but  a  weak  proof  of  the  very 
particular  estimation  and  gratitude  which  we  cherish  towards  the 
most  excellent  Marshal  Lopez  ;  a  tribute  certainly  unworthy  of  the 
inestimable  merits  of  your  Excellency,  but  which,  as  a  moral  pledge 
of  the  love  and  indissoluble  union  of  the  Paraguayan  people  with 
the  illustrious  paternal  government  of  your  Excellency,  we  hope  will 
be  received  propitiously  by  the  hero  who  sustains  gloriously  the 
principles  and  the  vital  interests  of  America,  along  with  those  which 
constitute  the  honor,  the  rights,  the  prosperity,  the  glory  and  felicity, 
of  the  Paraguayan  people.  It  being  the  especial  duty  of  the  com- 
mission charged  to  present  this  to  your  Excellency  to  express  with 
their  own  voices  the  national  sentiments  of  the  Paraguayan  ladies  as 
well  as  their  own  eternal  thankfulness  for  the  eminent  benefits  which 
your  Excellency  has  conferred  upon  them,  and  their  sincere  prayers 


202  PARAGUAY. 

for  the  important  health  and  happiness  of  your  Excellency  and  that 
of  the  invincible  armies  under  your  command,  and  following  up 
the  impulse  of  our  hearts  respecting  the  lofty  principles  which  the 
Republic  sustains  in  the  war  to  the  death  into  which  it  has  been 
dragged  by  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  and  his  allies,  we  cannot  recog- 
nize, most  excellent  sire,  any  other  principle,  any  other  banner, 
than  that  which  our  brothers  have  raised  in  the  fields  of  battle,  in- 
scribed '  Independence  or  Death '  ;  and  the  ladies  of  Paraguay  beg 
of  your  Excellency  that  you  will  deign  to  give  credit  to  our  con- 
stant and  invariable  decision  of  not  reserving  even  the  sacrifice  of 
our  lives  in  support  and  defence  of  the  country  which  we  so  much 
love.  May  God  our  Lord  happily  preserve  your  Excellency  for 
many  years ! 

"ASUNCION,  CAPITAL  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY, 
24th  of  July,  1867." 

From  many  hundreds  of  speeches  which,  upon  this  and 
other  similar  occasions,  were  pronounced  by  the  Paraguayan 
ladies  in  the  act  of  offering  their  jewels,  we  will  select  a  few 
paragraphs  from  a  single  one,  which  was  pronounced  by 
Adelina  Lopez,  one  of  the  many  illegitimate  daughters  of  the 
Marshal.  It  was  not,  of  course,  her  own  production,  having 
been  written  for  her  by  the  Bolivian  refugee,  Dr.  Roca,  who 
has  already  been  mentioned :  — 

"  Mr.  Vice-President :  There  is  in  history  one  deed  which  consti- 
tutes one  of  its  most  glorious  pages.  A  woman,  guided  by  her  vir- 
tue and  by  her  religious  and  humane  sentiments,  laid  aside  one  day 
her  richest  and  most  valuable  jewels,  and,  trusting  in  the  genius  of 
the  man  who  pointed  out  to  her  the  pathway  towards  one  of  the 
most  precious  conquests  for  humanity,  deposited  in  his  hands  those 
precious  jewels,  in  order  to  realize  that  great  thought.  This  woman 
was  Isabella  the  Catholic ;  this  great  genius  was  the  immortal  Co- 
lumbus. The  Paraguayan  woman,  sire,  in  this  period,  in  these  most 
solemn  moments,  when  in  the  ocean  of  the  political  life  of  the 
country  the  tempest  of  her  desolating  war  is  roaring,  has  at  last  met 
with  a  Columbus  who  points  out  to  her  the  happy  shores  whither  he 
will  bring,  in  all  its  glory,  the  precious  ship  of  our  native  country ; 
and  the  Paraguayan  woman,  sire,  has  lifted  herself  up  with  the  sen- 
timents of  the  duty  which  patriotism  imposes  upon  her,  with  all  the 


ENGLISH  MEDIATION. 


203 


abnegation  and  enthusiasm  with  which  the  national  cause  inspires 
her,  to  say,  in  the  words  of  Isabella,  to  him  who  points  out  the 
means  for  the  salvation  of  the  country,  '  Take  these  my  jewels,  and 
realize  your  sacred  thought.'  " 

During  the  year  1867  the  governments  of  France  and  Eng- 
land made  several  feeble  efforts  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of 
their  subjects  in  Paraguay.  In  the  month  of  August,  an 
English  gunboat  came  through  the  blockade,  bringing  the 
Secretary  of  Legation  at  Buenos  Aires,  Mr.  G.  Z.  Gould.  He 
remained  for  several  weeks  at  the  Paraguayan  head-quarters, 
as  Lopez  would  not  permit  him  to  go  to  Asuncion.  His  ob- 
ject was  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  his  countrymen,  and 
get  permission  for  those  to  leave  who  desired  to  do  so.  Lo- 
pez pretended  that  no  one  wished  to  go  away,  and  that  all 
were  contented  where  they  were.  Yet  he  would  not  allow 
him  to  see  any  of  them  except  the  three  or  four  who  were  in 
the  camp.  From  them  he  learned  that  all  were  very  anxious 
to  get  away,  but  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  say  so.  No 
one  of  them  dared  make  any  complaint.  Even  those  in  the 
camp  with  whom  he  conversed  begged  him  not  to  tell  Lopez 
that  they  wished  to  get  away,  as  they  knew  he  would  not  per- 
mit them  to  go,  and  that,  as  soon  as  the  Secretary  was  gone, 
they  would  be  made  to  suffer  for  their  expressions  of  discon- 
tent. The  gunboat  was  allowed,  however,  to  take  away  the 
widows  and  children  of  three  English  mechanics  who  had 
died  in  the  Paraguayan  service. 

While  at  the  camp  at  Paso  Pucu,  Mr.  Gould  was  so  far  im- 
posed upon  by  the  protestations  of  Lopez  that  he  was  anxious 
for  peace,  and  would  accept  any  honorable  terms  that  might 
be  proposed,  that  he  undertook  to  initiate  negotiations  with 
the  allies.  Having  arranged  conditions  with  Lopez,  such  as  he 
believed  would  be  acceptable  to  them,  he  went  back  to  their 
camp  to  submit  them  to  the  allied  generals.  The  proposed 
bases  were  as  follows  :  — 

ist.  A  secret  and  previous  understanding  will  assume  to  the 
allied  powers  the  acceptance  by  the  government  of  Paraguay 
of  the  proposals  they  are  inclined  to  make. 


204  PARAGUAY. 

2d.  The  independence  and  integrity  of  the  Republic  will  be 
formally  recognized  by  the  allied  powers. 

3d.  All  questions  relating  to  territories  and  limits  in  dis- 
pute before  the  present  war  will  be  reserved  for  future  con- 
sideration, or  submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  neutral  powers. 

4th.  The  allied  forces  will  retire  from  the  territory  of  the 
Republic  of  Paraguay,  and  the  Paraguayan  troops  will  evacuate 
the  positions  held  by  them  in  the  territory  of  Brazil,  so  soon 
as  the  conclusion  of  peace  is  assured. 

5th.  No  indemnity  for  the  expenses  of  the  war  will  be  de- 
manded. 

6th.  Prisoners  of  war  will,  on  one  side  and  the  other,  be  im- 
mediately placed  at  liberty. 

7th.  The  forces  of  Paraguay  will  be  disbanded,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  number  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  order 
in  the  interior  of  the  Republic. 

8th.  His  Excellency  the  Marshal  President,  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  peace,  or  the  preliminaries  thereof,  will  retire  to  Eu- 
rope, leaving  the  government  in  the  hands  of  his  Excellency 
the  Vice-President,  who,  according  to  the  constitution  of  the 
Republic,  remains  in  charge  in  similar  cases. 

With  these  proposals,  which  Mr.  Gould  says  had  been  sub- 
mitted to  Lopez  and  approved  by  him,  the  Secretary  passed 
over  to  the  allied  camp.  The  allied  generals  believed  they 
would  be  acceptable  to  their  respective  governments,  and 
despatched  a  messenger  to  them  for  authority  to  negotiate  on 
such  bases.  Mr.  Gould  returned,  without  waiting  for  a  defini- 
tive reply,  to  the  Paraguayan  camp,  and  on  reporting  that  the 
terms,  as  approved  by  Lopez,  had  been  submitted,  he  was 
told  by  the  military  secretary,  Luis  Caminos,  who  ostensibly 
conducted  the  correspondence,  that  the  eighth  article  had 
never  been  assented  to  by  Lopez,  and  that  he  had  previously 
repudiated  all  and  every  proposition  for  his  withdrawal  from 
the  country.  Disgusted  with  such  falsehood  and  duplicity, 
Mr.  Gould  withdrew  from  the  country  without  condescending 
to  answer  the  letter  of  Caminos,  which  was  but  a  tissue  of 
audacious  falsehoods. 


LOPEZ'S  ONLY  SAFETY  IN  WAR. 


205 


The  Semanario,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  attempted 
mediation  of  Mr.  Gould,  represented  that  the  eighth  article 
had  been  added  by  the  allies.  This  was  the  only  version  of 
it  we  had  in  Asuncion  while  I  remained  in  the  country. 
Colonel  Thompson  says  "  that  the  real  reason  why  Lopez,  at 
this  juncture,  refused  the  terms  which  he  had  previously  ac- 
cepted was  that,  while  Mr.  Gould  was  in  the  allied  camp 
offering  them,  he  received  news  of  a  revolt  in  the  Argentine 
Confederation,  which  he  expected  would  force  the  allies  to 
make  peace  with  him  on  any  terms." 

Lopez,  however,  had  other  reasons  for  refusing  any  terms 
that  would  oblige  him  to  leave  the  country.  He  knew  that 
there  were  scores  of  men  whose  families  and  friends  he  had 
treated  so  atrociously  that .  only  by  keeping  an  army  between 
him  and  them  could  he  hope  for  a  life  lease  of  a  single  month. 
Many  of  the  brothers,  sons,  and  husbands  of  women  whom 
he  had  persecuted  had  sent  letters  to  him  telling  him  that 
wherever  or  whenever  they  might  meet  him  they  would  kill 
him  at  sight.  Indeed,  as  he  had  told  me  six  months  before, 
there  was  no  future  for  him  beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay. 

There  were  several  neutral  gunboats,  French,  English,  and 
Italian,  that,  following  in  the  wake  of  the  Shamokin,  which 
had  opened  a  road  for  them,  passed  through  the  blockade  to 
hold  communication  with  Lopez  ;  and  it  is  a  singular  fact,*/ 
that  every  naval  officer  who  went  through  to  his  encampment 
came  away  a  friend,  apologist,  and  defender  of  the  tyrant, 
while  all  who  went  in  a  diplomatic  capacity  afterwards  repre- 
sented him  to  their  governments  as  a  monster  without  par- 
allel. Hence  it  was  that,  on  the  return  of  these  gunboats,  two 
reports  invariably  got  into  circulation  in  regard  to  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  Paraguay.  The  naval  officers  usually 
remained  but  a  short  time  in  the  camp,  and  while  they  were 
there  Lopez  took  good  care  that  they  should  see  nothing  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  be  seen.  If  they  were  permitted  to  have 
interviews  with  their  countrymen,  it  was  only  in  the  presence 
of  others  who  would  report  all  that  passed  ;  and  under  those 
circumstances  the  very  men  who  would  gladly  have  given 


206  PARAGUAY. 

anything  they  had  in  the  world  to  get  away  from  Paraguay 
would  not  dare  to  express  a  word  of  discontent,  or  hint  a 
wish  to  return  to  their  native  land.  In  the  mean  while  Lopez 
and  Madam  Lynch  would  treat  them  with  great  attention  and 
hospitality,  and  give  them  some  trifling  presents,  so  that  they 
would  go  away  impressed  with  the  idea  that  Lopez  and  the 
Madam  were  much  abused  and  slandered  people,  and  on 
reaching  Buenos  Aires  would  report  that  they  saw  no  signs 
of  want  or  suffering  in  Paraguay,  and  that,  among  all  the 
foreigners  they  had  seen,  not  one  had  expressed  a  desire  to  go 
away.  These  reports  being  sent  to  Europe  and  the  United 
States  by  the  agents  of  Lopez  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the 
newspapers  throughout  Christendom  would  republish  them 
as  proof  tfiat  Lopez  was  a  wise  and  just  ruler,  and  all  the 
stories  of  his  cruelties  but  falsehoods  invented  and  circulated 
by  the  allies.  The  naval  commanders  thus  treated  by  Lopez 
were  either  English,  Italian,  or  American ;  and  from  their 
readiness  to  become  his  trumpeters  and  champions,  it  would 
seem  that  they  were  of  such  cheap  material  that  a  good  din- 
ner, a  ring  or  towel  of  Paraguayan  manufacture,  or  a  tercio 
of  yerba,  was  sufficient  to  induce  them  to  betray  their  trust 
and  leave  their  countrymen  to  be  tortured  and  executed. 

The  French  Consul,  M.  Cochelet,  was,  for  a  long  time,  ex- 
tremely concerned  lest  he  should  never  be  able  to  leave  the 
country  alive.  He  had  repeatedly  asked  to  be  recalled  by  his 
government,  but  the  man  first  sent  to  relieve  him  had  been 
taken  sick,  and  after  a  long  delay  at  Buenos  Aires  was  obliged 
to  return  to  France.  Cochelet  was  extremely  obnoxious  to 
Lopez,  and  there  is  little  or  no  doubt  that  his'  fears  would 
have  been  realized  had  the  gunboat  which  came  to  take  him 
away  not  arrived  till  a  few  months  later.  At  the  time  of  his 
departure  there  was  no  one  in  the  country,  so  far  as  could  be 
judged  from  appearances,  that  Lopez  so  longed  to  arrest,  tor- 
ture, and  execute.  Both  he  and  his  wife  often  expressed  the 
opinion  that  Lopez  meant  that  they  should  not  leave  the 
country  till  the  war  was  over ;  and  events  that  occurred  after 
they  left  convinced  every  one  that,  had  M.  Cochelet  been  in 


DEPARTURE   OF   M.    COCHELET. 


207 


Paraguay  six  months  later,  his  consular  character  would  not 
have  saved  him,  but  that  he  would  have  shared  the  fate  of 
Rodriguez,  Nin  y  Reyes,  Leite  Pereira,  and  Vasconcellos,  all 
of  whom,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  or  afterwards,  were 
there  in  a  diplomatic  or  consular  capacity. 

On  the  Qth  of  October,  1867,  they  were  cheered  by  the 
news  that  a  gunboat  had  arrived  at  Curupaiti  to  take  them 
away,  having  brought  another  consul  to  take  the  place  of  M. 
Cochelet.  We  were  then  to  lose  our  nearest  and  most  inti- 
mate neighbors  ;  but  much  as  they  had  done  to  relieve  the  sad 
monotony  of  our  secluded  life,  we  were  greatly  rejoiced  at 
their  good  fortune.  The  signs  and  premonitions  of  evil  were 
so  dark  and  ominous  that  everybody  was  in  danger,  and 
nearly  everybody  in  fear  for  his  life ;  and  as  M.  Cochelet,  in 
looking  after  the  interests  of  his  countrymen,  had  made  him- 
self more  obnoxious  to  Lopez  than  any  other  man  in  the 
country,  we  feared  that  the  French  Consul  would  be  one  of 
the  first  victims.  But  he  was  allowed  to  depart  in  peace,  and 
was  succeeded  by  a  person  by  the  name  of  Cuberville,  a  man 
who  at  once  became  the  apologist  and  flatterer  of  Lopez  and 
Madam  Lynch,  and  made  use  of  his  official  character  to  as- 
sist them  in  securing  the  spoils  which  they  had  stolen  from 
people  whom  they  afterwards  murdered. 

The  French  steamer  Decidee,  that  had  come  through  the 
blockade,  was  required  to  fall  below  it  again,  after  landing  M. 
Cuberville,  and  remain  there  until  the  retiring  consul  should 
be  heard  from.  On  the  I5th  M.  Cochelet  and  family  em- 
barked on  a  Paraguayan  steamer  for  Humaita,  and  on  ar- 
riving there  they  were  assigned  some  rooms  in  a  house  situate 
in  the  line  of  the  fortifications,  which  the  Brazilians  had  been 
actually  bombarding  for  several  days  previously.  He  imme- 
diately sent  a  letter  to  be  forwarded  by  flag  of  truce  through 
the  lines  to  the  commander  of  the  Decided.  No  answer  was 
returned  for  nine  days,  and  all  the  while  the  bombardment 
was  going  on,  and  the  shot  and  shell  were  falling  around  the 
house  occupied  by  the  family  that  appeared  to  be  doomed  to 
destruction.  So  long  a  time  had  elapsed  since  they  had  been 


208  PARAGUAY. 

thus  exposed,  that  they  had  almost  given  way  to  despair. 
They  believed  that  Lopez  had  exposed  them  purposely  to 
destruction,  and  would  keep  them  there  till  they  were  all 
killed.  At  last,  however,  a  few  hours  after  the  request  of  the 
consul  to  be  removed  to  a  less  exposed  and  dangerous  place 
had  been  refused,  their  hearts  were  made  glad  by  the  news 
that  the  Decidee  had  returned,  and  they  could  embark  the 
next  day.  The  next  morning  some  carts  were  provided  for 
them  to  go  through  to  the  place  of  embarkation,  and  dur- 
ing that  very  day  a  shell  fell  and  exploded  in  the  centre  of 
the  room  where  they  had  been  imprisoned  for  nine  days. 
Colonel  Alen,  who  had  been  in  charge  of  the  prisoners,  and 
doubtless  knew  the  motive  of  Lopez  in  exposing  them  in  such 
a  place,  could  not  conceal  his  chagrin  that  this  shell  had  not 
fallen  a  day  sooner,  and  was  overheard  to  so  express  himself. 

M.  Cochelet  lost  no  time  in  reporting  to  his  government 
that  he  had  left  many  of  his  countrymen  in  prison,  and  that 
they,  as  well  as  all  the  other  Frenchmen  in  Paraguay,  would  all 
be  killed,  if  prompt  measures  were  not  taken  for  their  rescue. 
But  nobody  outside  of  Paraguay  would  believe  that  Lopez 
was  so  bad  as  we  who  had  been  there  knew  him  to  be.  The 
French  government  therefore  did  nothing,  and  the  prophecy 
of  M.  Cochelet  was  fulfilled.  Every  Frenchman  in  Para- 
guay, —  nearly  a  hundred  in  number,  —  excepting  only  Cuber- 
ville  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Consulate,  M.  Libertad,  was 
killed  by  Lopez. 

To  escape  from  the  heat  of  Asuncion,  which  in  the  summer- 
time is  excessive,  and  to  get  a  change  of  air  and  a  diversion 
from  the  weary  monotony  of  the  life,  I  began  to  look  for  a 
quinta  or  country-house  not  far  from  the  capital,  where  my  fam- 
ily might  pass  the  hottest  period  of  the  year.  A  very  com- 
fortable furnished  house  at  Limpio,  near  by  the  residence  of 
my  friend  Don  Mauricio  Casal,  was  offered  to  us,  and  we  were 
preparing  to  move  out  to  it,  when  our  intentions  became  known 
to  the  Lopez  family,  and  we  were  offered  a  much  finer  house, 
with  fine  large  airy  chambers,  situate  on  an  elevated  spot  so 
as  to  catch  the  breezes  from  all  directions.  This  house  was 


DONA  RAFAELA   LOPEZ.  209 

the  property  of  Dofia  Rafaela,  the  younger  sister  of  the 
President,  who,  after  the  war  had  commenced,  was  married 
to  Saturnine  Bedoya.  I  suspected  that  there  was  an  ob- 
ject in  this  other  than  personal  regard,  and  that  in  antici- 
pation of  the  capture  of  the  capital  and  surrounding  country 
by  the  allies,  they  were  looking  for  a  place  of  refuge  and  secu- 
rity for  such  an  emergency.  But  whatever  the  motive  may 
have  been,  the  old  Lady  President  and  Dona  Rafaela  treated 
us  with  great  kindness ;  and  we  should  have  been  but  too 
happy  to  have  saved  them  from  the  allies,  had  the  anticipated 
sacking  taken  place,  or  from  the  unnatural  cruelties  of  the 
son  and  brother,  whom  even  then  they  feared  a  thousand  times 
more  than  the  whole  allied  army.  Dofia  Rafaela  had  done 
us  a  great  favor  in  offering  us  the  use  of  her  quinta,  and  the 
acquaintance  we  formed  with  her  served  to  confirm  the  fa- 
vorable opinion  we  had  heard  expressed  of  her  by  several 
Paraguayans.  They  had  told  us  that  she  did  not  seem  to  be 
one  of  the  Lopez  family  ;  that  she  was  charitable  and  amia- 
ble, and  with  a  free  hand  and  a  kind  word  for  the  needy  and 
suffering,  and  had  none  of  that  grasping  avarice  which  charac- 
terized all  the  rest  of  the  family.  An  account  of  the  terrible 
suffering  and  tortures  she  experienced  at  the  hands  of  her 
brother  will  be  given  hereafter.  But  she  lived  to  rejoice  at 
his  death,  and  to  denounce  him  as  a  monster. 


CHAPTER     XV. 

The  Mother  and  Sisters  of  Lopez.  —  Their  Fears.  —  Conversations  with  Promi- 
nent Paraguayans.  —  Their  Reserve.  —  Venancio  Lopez.  —  The  Semanario.  — 
Benigno  Lopez.  —  His  Character  and  Opinions.  —  The  Quinta  de  Trinidad.  — 
Passage  of  Humaita.  —  James  Manlove.  —  His  Capture  by  the  Paraguayans. 
—  His  Treatment  by  Lopez.  —  His  Character  and  Antecedents.  —  What  the 
Birds  told  Berges.  —  The  Beginning  of  the  End.  —  Our  Hopes  of  Deliver- 
ance. —  Asuncion  evacuated.  —  Property  deposited  in  the  American  Lega- 
tion.—  A  Meeting  of  the  Consuls.  —  They  resolve  to  leave. 

SIX  months  had  passed  since  the  passage  of  Curupaiti,  and 
during  all  that  time  not  a  ray  of  hope  had  penetrated  the 
gloom  that  enshrouded  the  unfortunate  residents  of  the  capi- 
tal. For  four  months  we  had  not  received  a  word  or  line  of 
what  was  transpiring  in  the  world  beyond.  There  was  no 
imaginable  reason  for  this  delay,  and  our  only  hope  was  in 
this,  that  it  could  not  always  last.  During  nearly  all  this  time 
I  had  been  living  in  the  house  of  Dona  Rafaela,  the  sister  of 
the  President.  Often  and  often,  as  I  have  sat  on  the  upper 
balcony  of  the  house,  with  my  eyes  cast  towards  the  city  that 
lay  in  death-like  silence  before  me,  have  I  reflected  that  among 
the  whole  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  persons  within  its  limits 
there  was  not  one  who  was  not  unspeakably  anxious  and 
wretched,  not  one  who  dared  speak  but  with  bated  breath, 
and  who  did  not  regard  the  little  liberty  still  left  as  held  by 
a  most  precarious  tenure,  liable  to  be  followed  at  any  hour 
by  dungeons  and  fetters.  I  would  frequently  go  into  town, 
as  I  still  kept  my  house  there,  in  which  my  private  secretary 
and  Mr.  Masterman  continued  to  reside.  A  few  of  the  bet- 
ter class  of  citizens,  the  most  of  them  in  some  way  in  the 
government  employ,  still  remained  in  town.  Among  these 
was  Don  Vicente  Urdapilleta,  the  Chief- Justice,  the  same 


LIFE  AT  THE  QUINTA.  211 

who,  in  his  youth,  had  suffered  twelve  years'  imprisonment 
under  Francia.  With  these  persons,  if  I  chance^  to  meet 
them,  I  would  usually  have  a  few  words  of  the  most  casual 
and  unimportant  character,  such  as  to  ask  for  the  news,  to 
speak  of  the  weather,  and,  with  the  merest  exchange  of 
civilities,  go  my  way.  They  never  had  anything  to  tell,  and 
though  always  courteous  and  looking  as  though  they  would 
like  to  talk  with  me,  I  could  see  that  they  feared  to  do  so ; 
and  as  I  knew  that  any  conversation  I  might  hold  with  them 
they  would  be  obliged,  for  their  own  safety,  to  report  to  the 
government,  I  felt  I  was  doing  them  a  favor  by  limiting 
my  remarks  to  the  most  commonplace  affairs,  and  was  al- 
ways as  brief  with  them  as  courtesy  would  permit.  They 
had  never  anything  to  communicate  ;  for  if  they  knew  any- 
thing they  did  not  dare  speak  of  it  until  it  had  been  an- 
nounced in  the  Scinanario.  I  usually,  however,  when  I  went 
to  town,  called  on  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Relations,  Don 
Jose  Berges,.and  once  or  twice  on  Lopez's  brother  Venancio. 
The  former  would  always  endeavor  to  draw  me  out  and  get 
my  opinion  of  the  situation,  but  without  giving  me  any  infor- 
mation in  return.  I  suspected  that,  directly  on  my  leaving,  he 
made  notes  of  all  I  had  said,  and  sent  them  to  the  President 
at  his  head-quarters.  This  suspicion  I  afterwards  learned 
was  correct.  Those  notes,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  received 
a  strange  explanation  from  the  Minister,  and  a  construction 
was  put  upon  them  such  as  he  little  suspected  when  he  jotted 
them  down.  But  Don  Venancio  never  knew  anything,  at 
least  never  would  speak  of  anything,  that  had  not  been  licensed 
by  its  publication  in  the  Semanario.  Sometimes  rumors  would 
get  out  of  defeat  and  disaster  before  the  desired  version  could 
be  announced  in  the  official  organ  ;  though  unless  they  were 
of  such  magnitude  that  it  was  impossible  to  prevent  them  from 
being  known,  they  were  never  alluded  to.  But  neither  Berges 
nor  Venancio  could  ever  give  me  a  word  of  information  on 
such  matters.  The  little  information  I  did  get  generally 
came  from  the  English  engineers  of  the  steamers  that  ran  up 
and  down  between  the  army  head-quarters  and  Asuncion. 


212  PARAGUAY. 

But  they  could  only  tell  what  they  knew  at  the  peril  of  their 
lives,  and  with  a  certainty  that  a  dungeon  and  fetters  awaited 
them  the  moment  it  should  be  suspected  that  they  had  told 
me  anything  which  the  government  desired  should  be  kept 
secret.  When,  therefore,  I  would  ask  Berges  in  regard  to  the 
truth  of  the  reports  I  had  heard,  he  would  sometimes  ask  me 
how  I  had  heard  them.  I  would  reply  that  "  the  birds  had  told 
me."  It  was  doubtless  imprudent  and  unwise  to  hold  such 
conversations,  knowing  as  I  did  that  they  would  be  reported 
to  Lopez.  As  he  did  not  know  how  I  had  got  my  informa- 
tion, and  was  unable  to  force  me  to  tell  as  he  could  everybody 
else,  he  may  have  begun  to  suspect  that  there  were  some 
secret  channels  of  communication  between  me  and  the  army, 
and  perhaps  with  the  outer  world.  But  it  all  came  through 
the  English  engineers,  who  generally  would  be  able  to  com- 
municate with  me  or  with  one  of  their  own  countrymen  every 
time  they  came  up  to  the  capital. 

Venarucio,  however,  would  never  talk  of  anything  except  his 
health  and  my  health  and  that  of  my  family,  the  weather,  or 
some  such  matter  that  could  not  be  construed  to  mean  any- 
thing. He  appeared  to  be  in  a  chronic  fright.  Did  I  speak 
of  any  event  that  had  been  mentioned  in  the  paper,  he  would 
say,  "  Yes,  so  says  the  Semanario"  But  if  I  asked  of  any 
matter  not  yet  officially  promulgated,  his  answer  was  always 
the  same,  "  No  s/  nada  "  (I  know  nothing).  What  the  reason 
of  this  great  trepidation  of  Venancio  was,  I  could  not  sur- 
mise. I  suspected  he  had  done  something  that  had  given 
offence  to  his  brother.  He  was  in  a  miserable  state  of  health, 
that  had  been  caused  by  his  early  excesses.  His  physician,  an 
Italian  by  the  name  of  Domingo  Parodi,  often  spoke  to  me 
of  his  unhappy  patient.  He  was  obliged  to  visit  him  every 
day,  but  if  he  asked  him  about  anything  of  a  public  character, 
it  was  always  "  No  s<f  ftada"  or  "  Asi  dice  el  Semanario"  (So 
the  Semanario  says).  The  man  was  in  one  sense  a  prisoner, 
as  all  his  own  countrymen  were  as  afraid  to  visit  him  as  he 
was  to  talk  to  them.  Nevertheless,  he  nominally  held  a  high 
official  position,  being  commandant  of  arms,  and  having  duties 


VENANCIO   AND   BENIGNO. 


213 


to  perform  that  required  him  to  visit  the  arsenal,  barracks,  and 
fort  at  Asuncion  every  day  that  his  health  would  permit. 
What  had  he  done  that  he  appeared  even  more  frightened 
and  depressed  than  others  who  were  afterwards  accused  of 
being  his  fellow-conspirators  ?  Probably  nothing ;  but  he 
knew  better  than  they  did  the  terrible  character  of  his  brother, 
who,  he  was  even  then  aware,  had  ceased  to  respect  his 
mother's  gray  hairs,  and  regarded  all  ties  of  consanguinity  as 
matters  of  indifference. 

The  other  brother  of  Lopez,  who  was  the  youngest  of  the 
family,  had  visited  me  once  or  twice  when  I  was  residing  at 
his  sister's  quinta.  He  was  a  man  of  much  more  capacity 
than  Venancio,  and  was  much  more  communicative  with  me. 
The  general  tone  of  his  conversation  was  despondent,  and  he 
seemed  to  be  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  Francisco 
would  sooner  or  later  make  an  end  of  him.  Like  many 
others,  he  said  to  me  that  if  he  could  get  out  of  Paraguay 
alive,  he  would  willingly  sacrifice  all  his  property.  He  was 
sharp,  shrewd,  and  avaricious,  and  was  the  favorite  child  of 
his  mother.  The  Paraguayans  disliked  him  exceedingly.  In 
his  greed  for  wealth,  he  had,  in  the  time  of  his  father,  imposed 
on  the  common  people  without  mercy.  He  would  take  their 
cattle  at  his  own  price,  and  they  dared  not  complain  or  appeal 
to  the  government,  for  they  all  knew  that  his  own  father  was 
the  government.  He  was  fond  of  gambling,  but  it  was  dan- 
gerous to  win  from  him.  Before  the  war  many  of  the  mer- 
chants and  others  having  any  money  used  to  meet  at  the 
Club  almost  every  night,  and  pass  the  evening  in  play. 
To  them  the  appearance  of  Benigno  was  always  unwelcome. 
They  did  not  dare  to  refuse  to  play  with  him  or  to  win  his 
money.  In  either  case  they  feared  they  would  incur  his  ill- 
will  ;  and  knowing  him  to  be  vindictive  as  well  as  avaricious, 
they  feared  he  would  try  to  injure  their  business,  either  by 
prejudicing  his  father  or  brother  against  them,  or  by  intimidat- 
ing subordinate  government  officials,  and  inducing  them  to 
embarrass  their  mercantile  operations.  His  father  always  al- 
lowed him  extraordinary  privileges  in  collecting  and  shipping 


2I4 


PARAGUAY. 


away  the  yerba  mate",  tobacco,  and  other  products  of  the  coun- 
try without  paying  the  duties  to  which  others  were  subjected. 
To  him,  as  well  as  to  the  other  children  of  Carlos  Antonio, 
several  of  the  finest  and  largest  estancias  in  the  state  had  in 
some  way  fallen  during  his  father's  reign,  so  that  at  the  time 
of  the  old  man's  death  he  was,  for  that  country,  enormously 
rich.  He  was,  however,  universally  detested,  and  I  have  often 
heard  the  remark  made  that  he  was  worse  than  his  brother. 


BENIGNO  LOPEZ.     (Executed  by  his  brother,  Dec.  27,  1868.) 

One  day,  while  we  were  living  at  the  gninta,  he  called  to 
see  me,  and  informed  me  that  he  had  received  orders  to  pro- 
ceed to  head-quarters.  He  had  previously,  while  we  were  in 
town,  intimated  to  me  that  he  might  wish  to  leave  in  my  care 
certain  valuables  —  diamonds  and  jewelry,  as  I  supposed  — 
belonging  to  himself  and  his  sister,  Dona  Rafaela  ;  but  he 
must  do  so  in  a  very  clandestine  manner,  so  that  none  of  the 


BENIGNO  AND  CUBERVILLE.- 


215 


spies,  who  were  thick  as  the  street-corners,  should  suspect  what 
he  was  doing,  and  report  him  to  his  Excellency  the  President. 
It  was  suggested  that  he  could  send  me  a  box  of  cigars,  and 
if  within  the  larger  box  were  another  containing  the  treasures, 
the  bearer  would  know  nothing  of  it.  But  neither  the  cigars 
nor  jewels  were  ever  sent ;  and  when  he  came  to  see  me  at  the 
quinta,  he  told  me  that  if  the  time  should  come  when  it 
might  seem  safer  to  leave  them  with  me,  they  would  be  sent 
to  me  by  his  sister,  Dona  Rafaela.  They  never  came,  how- 
ever. Before  the  threatened  calamity  from  an  invasion  of  the 
allies  came  upon  them,  a  greater  calamity  had  ingulfed  them  all. 
Our  life  at  the  quinta  was  very  quiet  and  monotonous, 
though  the  mother  and  sister  of  Lopez  did  all  they  could  to 
render  it  pleasant.  When  we  first  went  to  live  there,  they 
lived  very  near  to  us,  in  the  old  family  mansion,  near  the 
church  of  La  Trinidad.  But  they  soon  moved  to  the  quinta 
of  Saturnine  Bedoya,  the  husband  of  Rafaela,  about  a  league 
distant,  on  the  border  of  what  is  called  Campo  Grande,  and 
about  five  miles  distant  from  the  old  homestead.  The  few 
people  who  came  to  visit  us  were  foreigners,  and  they  came 
but  rarely  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  hottest  season  was  over,  we 
resolved  to  return  to  town.  Before  leaving,  I  went  out  to  see 
the  old  lady  and  Dona  Rafaela,  to  thank  them  for  the  use  of 
the  quinta^  and  for  their  many  acts  of  kindness.  I  found  that 
Don  Benigno  had  not  yet  gone  below,  but  was  still  with  them. 
He  spoke  to  me  quite  freely  of  the  suspicion  that  his  brother 
had  in  regard  to  him,  and  professed  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
cause.  I  told  him  that  he  had  been  imprudent  in  talking  to 
the  French  Consul,  M.  Cuberville,  who  was  at  best  a  fool,  and 
not  always  sober  ;  that  he  had  told  me  of  a  conversation  they 
had  held  together,  in  which  he  had  asked  Benigno  who  was 
the  most  suitable  man  to  put  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment in  case  Francisco  Solano  should  not  be  able  to  main- 
tain himself,  and  that  Benigno  had  suggested  the  name  of 
his  brother-in-law,  Bedoya,  as  the  most  eligible  and  proper 
person.  I  told  him  that  if  Cuberville  had  said  so  to  me,  he 
had  probably  said  the  same  to  others,  and  probably  to  Madam 


2l6  PARAGUAY. 

Lynch.  Benigno  denied  that  he  had  ever  said  anything  of 
the  kind ;  that  Cuberville  himself  had  suggested  something 
of  the  sort,  but  that  for  himself  he  had  not  indulged  in  any 
such  calculations. 

In  any  country  but  Paraguay,  it  would  not  be  considered  a 
very  grave  crime  to  speculate  on  what  might  occur  in  certain 
possible  contingencies.  But  there  it  was  considered  high  trea- 
son to  entertain  a  thought  that  Lopez  might  be  overthrown. 
He  had  announced  himself  in  his  Semanario  as  in  partner- 
ship with  the  Almighty,  and  often  declared  to  his  soldiers 
that  he  had  achieved  such  prodigies  of  valor  and  prowess 
only  because  God  had  inspired  his  mind  and  guided  his  arm. 
He  was  ever  boasting  that  he  was  fighting  the  battles  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  Lord  was  backing  him  up,  so  that  his  final  tri- 
umph was  inevitable.  Therefore  it  was  treason  and  heresy 
united  to  suggest  or  think  it  possible  that  he  should  not  over- 
come all  his  enemies  ;  and  when  it  came  to  his  ears  that  his 
brother  Benigno  had  entertained  such  a  thought,  he  had  com- 
mitted the  unpardonable  sin,  his  doom  was  sealed. 

It  was  apparently  a  most  fortunate  thing  for  me  that  I  re- 
turned to  town,  and  resumed  my  residence  in  the  Legation 
at  the  time  I  did.  Had  I  not  done  so  for  two  weeks  later,  it 
is  most  likely  I  should  never  have  left  Paraguay  alive.  I  re- 
turned on  the  1 2th  of  February,  1868,  and  on  the  2ist  the 
news  came  that  the  ironclads  had  passed  Humaita,  and  the 
order  was  given  for  the  evacuation  of  the  town. 

On  reaching  my  house  in  the  capital,  I  was  told  by  my 
secretary,  Mr.  Meincke,  that  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs, 
Berges,  was  desirous  of  seeing  me.  I  went  to  visit  him  at 
his  quinta,  a  short  distance  from  the  capital.  He  wished  to 
see  me  in  regard  to  the  application  of  an  American  by  the 
name  of  James  Manlove  for  permission  to  leave  town  and  go 
into  the  interior,  in  order  that  he  might  do  something  to  earn 
his  living.  He,  as  well  as  nearly  every  other  American  in 
Paraguay,  had  been  almost  entirely  dependent  on  me  for  his 
support  since  my  return  to  Paraguay  in  November,  1866. 

This  Manlove  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  had  been  in 


JAMES  MANLOVE.  217 

the  Rebel  army  all  through  the  war,  and  at  its  close  had 
the  rank  of  major.  He  was  a  man  of  herculean  strength,  six 
feet  four  in  height,  and  had  seen  much  service  in  the  war, 
having  many  scars  to  show  that  he  seen  hard  fighting.  I  first 
met  him  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  on  my  way  out  in  1865,  and  after- 
wards at  Buenos  Aires.  At  first  he  told  me  he  was  travelling 
for  amusement  merely,  that  he  desired  to  make  a  brief  visit  to 
Paraguay,  thence  to  cross  over  to  Chili,  and  return  to  the  United 
States  by  way  of  the  Pacific.  As  he  supposed  that  I  would 
soon  be  going  to  Paraguay  on  a  gunboat,  he  begged  me  to 
take  him  along  with  me.  I  told  him  I  could  do  nothing  in 
the  matter,  but  that  he  must  get  the  permission  of  the  Admi- 
ral if  he  wished  to  go  up  in  a  national  vessel.  But  he  seemed 
to  think  that  if  I  would  request  a  passage  for  him  it  would  be 
granted,  while  it  would  probably  be  refused  if  requested  only 
by  himself.  He  therefore  thought  to  enlist  me  in  his  interest 
by  telling  me  what  his  real  object  was  in  going  to  Paraguay. 
He  said  he  had  seen  several  of  the  owners  of  blockade-run- 
ners, and  had  letters  from  some  of  them,  particularly  one  from 
John  Frazer  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  indorsing  his 
character,  though  for  prudential  reasons  not  stating  anything 
of  the  business  in  contemplation.  His  plan  was  to  pass 
through  to  Paraguay,  in  order  to  get  blank  commissions  from 
President  Lopez  duly  executed  and  signed,  and  with  them 
return  to  the  United  States,  and  start  out  several  unemployed 
blockade-runners  to  prey  on  Brazilian  transports  and  mer- 
chant vessels.  He  alleged  that  England  had  furnished  them  a 
beautiful  precedent,  and  that  as  none  of  the  nations  of  the 
world  had  treated  the  Alabama,  Florida,  and  Shenandoah  as 
pirates,  they  could  not  treat  their  vessels  as  such,  if  they  only 
had  regular  commissions  from  the  government  of  Paraguay. 
They  would  follow  the  example  of  the  Alabama  in  all  respects, 
having  Paraguayans  nominally  as  commanders,  while  the  crews 
would  be  such  adventurers  as  they  could  pick  up. 

When  I  learned  that  such  were  his  plans,  I  told  him  that 
he  should  not  have  told  me  about  them,  as  then  I  should 
be  obliged  to  object  to  his  going  on  a  United  States  vessel 


2l8  PARAGUAY. 

with  me,  even  though  the  Admiral  might  not.  But  as  he 
had  told  me  his  plans  in  confidence  I  could  not  expose  him. 
I  could  only  take  good  care  that  he  did  not  impose  on  any 
officer  or  representative  of  the  United  States.  I  advised 
him  that  he  was  going  on  a  bootless  errand,  that  Lopez 
was  so  suspicious  and  distrustful  that  he  would  not  adopt 
his  plans,  and  that  if  he  ever  got  into  the  country  he  would 
find  it  very  difficult  to  get  out  of  it.  He  said  he  was  not 
afraid  of  that,  for  if  he  could  only  get  there  and  get  his  com- 
missions he  would  find  his  way  back  to  the  United  States, 
even  if  he  had  to  cross  over  to  the  Pacific  coast.  I  did  not 
wish  him  to  go,  partly  for  his  own  sake,  but  more  for  my  own. 
If  Lopez  should  listen  to  his  proposals,  it  would  place  me  in  a 
very  embarrassing  position,  and  it  would  have  been  my  duty 
to  do  all  I  could  to  thwart  the  plans  of  them  both.  I  must 
then  advise  our  government  that  a  project  was  on  foot  for  pi- 
rates of  the  Alabama  class  to  leave  our  ports  for  the  purpose 
of  preying  on  Brazilian  commerce.  I  knew  also,  that  if,  in 
spite  of  my  efforts  to  prevent  it,  one  such  vessel  should  once 
get  on  the  high  seas,  I  should  be  charged,  among  the  allies 
at  least,  with  all  the  damage  that  she  might  do  them. 

Finding  that  he  could  get  no  assistance  from  me  towards 
passing  through  the  military  lines,  he  started  up  river  for 
the  army,  then  encamped  near  Corrientes.  I  saw  him  after- 
wards several  times  at  that  place/and  he  told  me  he  was  in 
the  Argentine  camp,  where  he  had  been  treated  with  great 
kindness,  especially  by  President  Mitre.  He  did  not  enlist  in 
any  capacity  as  an  officer  or  soldier,  though  he  messed  with 
Colonel  Mansilla  and  other  officers  of  a  high  grade.  His 
position  was  anomalous,  as  he  professed  a  desire  to  serve  the 
allies,  while  he  would  accept  no  commission.  He  had  extraor- 
dinary skill  as  a  marksman,  which  he  showed  to  his  hosts, 
and  asked  for  a  company  of  sharpshooters  to  skirt  along  in 
front  of  the  lines  and  pick  off  Paraguayans.  His  request  was 
not  granted,  however,  and  he  amused  himself  by  frequently 
going  beyond  the  confines  of  the  camp  to  shoot  ducks.  One 
day  he  failed  to  return,  and  some  time  after  a  note  from  him 


MANLOVE   TREATED    AS   A   SPY.  219 

was  found  attached  to  a  bush  in  which  he  said  he  had  been 
taken  prisoner.  No  one  doubted  that  he  had  sought  to  be 
captured  ;  and  as,  a  few  days  before,  he  had  been  at  Corrientes, 
it  was  published  in  all  the  papers  at  Buenos  Aires  that  he  had 
gone  through  at  my  instigation  and  as  my  agent.  The  allies 
even  before  that  would  have  it  that  I  was  a  friend  and  in  the 
interest  of  Lopez,  or  else  I  should  not  have  been  so  eager  to 
get  to  my  post. 

On  reaching  Asuncion,  some  months  afterwards,  I  found 
him  there.  He  said  that  the  night  after  he  left  the  camp  of 
President  Mitre  he  worked  his  way  towards  the  Paraguayan 
lines,  and  hid  himself  in  the  grass  till  daylight  came,  and 
when  he  saw  some  pickets  coming  in  that  direction  he  hailed 
them,  and  they  came  forward  and  took  him  prisoner.  He 
was  taken  immediately,  blindfold,  to  Lopez's  head-quarters, 
and  kept  a  close  prisoner.  He  was  questioned  as  to  who  and 
what  he  was,  and  what  were  his  motives  in  making  his  way  to 
Paraguay  at  such  risk  of  his  life.  He  stated  what  his  plans 
were,  as  he  had  told  them  to  me  in  Buenos  Aires.  His  papers 
were  taken  and  examined,  and  as  there  was  nothing  among 
them  to  show  that  he  was  supported  by  any  responsible  par- 
ties, Lopez,  as  usual,  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  a 
spy  or  assassin,  and  his  first  impulse  was  to  shoot  him.  He 
sent  different  persons  to  question  him,  among  them  his  favor- 
ite inquisitor,  Luis  Caminos.  He  was  very  anxious  to  learn 
something  about  me,  and  why  I  delayed  so  long  down  the 
river.  He  told  them  all  he  knew  about  me,  and  said  that  I 
knew  what  his  object  was  in  coming  to  Paraguay.  Why  then 
had  I  not  written  ?  He  replied  that  as  a  minister  of  a  nation 
on  friendly  terms  with  all  the  belligerents,  I  could  not,  and 
would  not,  take  any  part  in  his  schemes.  But  why  did  I  not 
come  through  ?  Why  was  I  delaying  so  on  the  other  side  ? 
He  said  I  could  not  get  through,  that  the  allies  would  not 
permit  me  to  pass  their  lines,  and  the  American  admiral 
was  acting  in  conjunction  with  them  to  prevent  my  coming. 
Caminos  then  told  him  he  was  lying,  that  he  was  a  spy,  that 
he  knew  very  well  the  reason  why  I  did  not  go  through  to 


220  PARAGUAY. 

Paraguay  was  because  I  had  been  bribed  by  the  Brazilians  to 
linger  on  the  way ;  they  knew  all  about  it,  and  if  he  wished  to 
save  himself  he  had  better  confess.  They  knew  I  was  the 
enemy  of  Paraguay,  and  if  he  did  not  tell  all  he  knew  they 
should  publish  in  the  Semanario  that  he  had  come  as  my 
agent  to  propose  an  infamous  scheme  of  piracy,  which  his 
magnanimous  Excellency  had  scorned  to  entertain,  and  which 
publication  would  ruin  me  both  at  home  and  abroad.  At  this 
Manlove,  who  was  of  a  most  violent  and  ungovernable  temper, 
got  into  a  great  rage,  and  said  that  any  such  statements  would 
be  infamous  falsehoods,  that  in  everything  I  had  acted  honor- 
ably towards  him,  towards  Paraguay,  and  towards  the  allies. 
This  conversation  being  carried  on  through  an  interpreter, 
Manlove  asked  the  latter  to  tell  Caminos  to  leave  him  and 
not  come  again,  and  to  say  to  the  President  that  if  he  wanted 
to  question  him  any  further  to  send  gentlemen  to  talk  with 
him,  instead  of  such  fellows  as  Caminos.  The  inquisitors  left 
him,  and  he  had  little  doubt  that  he  would  be  led  out  to  exe- 
cution the  next  morning.  The  President,  on  this  occasion, 
took  counsel  with  his  staff.  His  bishop,  Palacios,  who  always 
recommended  and  approved  the  most  sanguinary  measures, 
insisted  that  he  should  be  shot.  So  did  Colonel  Wisner  and 
General  Barrios.  Dr.  Stewart,  however,  professed  faith  in 
Manlove's  statement,  and  urged  that  his  refusal  to  say  any- 
thing against  me,  even  though  he  might  be  executed  for  it, 
was  a  proof  that  he  was  a  man  of  veracity  and  honor.  Be- 
sides, Stewart  said,  that  if  Manlove's  story  was  true,  and  I 
could  not  pass  the  lines  through  the  fault  of  an  incompetent 
or  corrupt  admiral,  the  government  of  the  United  States 
would  soon  overrule  the  admiral,  and  I  should  erelong  arrive 
in  Paraguay.  Madam  Lynch  inclined  to  the  same  opinion 
as  Dr.  Stewart ;  and  as  Lopez  still  hoped  much  from  the  in- 
tervention of  the  United  States,  he  hesitated,  and  Manlove,  un- 
fortunately for  himself,  was  not  then  executed.  He  remained 
a  prisoner,  however,  for  several  weeks  at  Paso  Pucu,  until  l.is 
health  began  to  fail,  when  he  was  allowed  to  go  to  Asuncion, 
and  a  small  sum  of  money  was  given  him  to  pay  his  expenses. 


ANTECEDENTS  OF  MANLOVE.         22I 

He  was  there  on  my  arrival  in  November,  1866.  His  plans 
had  miscarried,  as  I  had  forewarned  him  they  would,  and  he 
could  not  get  away,  nor  had  he  any  means  of  supporting  him- 
self. He  had  been  a  rebel  through  our  war,  and  had  quar- 
relled with  his  kindred  by  taking  the  part  he  did.  Being  a 
Marylander,  he  could  not  allege  the  miserable  pretence  of 
State  sovereignty  and  State  rights  as  a  justification  for  being 
a  rebel.  He  had  been  attached  to  General  Forrest's  com- 
mand, and  participated  in  the  Fort  Pillow  massacre  (though 
he  always  denied  that  there  was  any  massacre  or  any  viola- 
tion of  the  rules  and  customs  of  war),  and  had  been  in  many 
desperate  raids.  Altogether  he  was,  from  his  antecedents, 
one  of  the  last  men  who  could  claim  sympathy  or  aid  from  a 
minister  of  the  United  States.  But  he  was  an  American, 
helpless  and  in  want,  and  I  supplied  him  with  all  his  neces- 
sities required  so  long  as  I  was  permitted  to  do  so.  His 
violent,  ungovernable  temper,  the  worst,  I  think,  I  ever  saw 
in  any  man,  —  a  weakness  which  he  often  spoke  of  and 
lamented,  —  led  him  to  quarrel  with  nearly  every  foreigner 
that  he  had  any  intimacy  with  in  the  country.  But  he  was  a 
man  generally  of  courteous  manners  and  of  fair  education,  and 
of  extensive  reading  and  information.  His  defects  of  temper 
I  would  pass  unnoticed  but  for  his  tragic  end,  since  he  might, 
perhaps,  except  for  that  fact,  have  escaped,  as  did  Bliss  and 
Masterman. 

During  his  forced  detention  in  Asuncion  he  made  repeated 
efforts  to  engage  in  some  business  by  which  he  could  sup- 
port himself,  and  with  that  view  he  had  asked  permission  to  go 
into  the  interior  to  cultivate  a  chacm.  I  had  represented  his 
case  to  Berges  as  one  of  great  hardship,  and  said  that  as  he 
had  come  to  Paraguay  to  do  a  great  service  to  the  cause  of 
President  Lopez,  he  ought  at  least  not  to  suffer  from  want  or 
be  dependent  on  me  for  his  support.  Berges  promised  to  con- 
sult Lopez  in  regard  to  him,  and  on  my  return  to  town  I 
found,  on  visiting  him,  that  it  was  on  his  account  he  desired  to 
see  me.  He  said  that,  under  the  circumstances,  the  President 
did  not  deem  it  prudent  that  any  of  the  foreigners  then  in  the 


222  PARAGUAY. 

capital  should  remove  into  the  interior,  but  that  his  Excel- 
lency had  advised  him  to  furnish  Major  Manlove  with  three 
hundred  dollars  Paraguayan  currency,  equivalent  then  to  about 
seventy-five  dollars  in  coin,  to  supply  his  immediate  necessi- 
ties. A  day  or  two  after  Manlove  himself  went  to  see  the  Min- 
ister, and  the  money,  three  hundred  dollars,  was  given  to  him, 
and  on  the  igih  I  went  myself  to  see  Berges,  as  I  had  heard 
a  rumor  of  another  grand  triumph  of  Paraguayan  arms,  and 
desired  to  question  him  about  it.  I  did  not  expect  to  learn 
£ny  news,  as  he  never  told  me  any  unless  the  Scmanario  was 
about  coming  out,  and  he  knew  what  it  was  to  contain.  In 
that  case  I  could  sometimes  learn  from  him  a  few  hours  ear- 
lier than  other  people  if  anything  of  importance  had  occurred. 
On  this  occasion  he  said,  in  reply  to  my  usual  inquiry  for  the 
news  from  the  army,  that  he  knew  nothing,  though  he  sus- 
pected something  important  was  to  take  place  soon  ;  and  on 
my  asking  what  his  reasons  were  for  so  believing,  he  replied 
by  using  the  expression  I  had  often  used  to  him,  that  "  the 
birds  had  told  him." 

On  the  1 8th,  our  friends  from  the  country,  the  Casals, 
whom  we  had  so  often  visited,  came  in  from  Limpio.  One 
of  the  sisters,  Anita,  had  been  with  us  for  some  three  months 
before,  and  the  pretty  Conchita  came  in  with  her  married 
sister  and  niece  to  visit  her.  There  was  nothing  about  town 
to  indicate  that  anything  unusual  had  happened  at  head- 
quarters, and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  2ist  I  went  with  Man- 
love  to  shoot  ducks  in  the  lagunas,  situate  about  a  league  from 
town  and  near  the  quinta  of  the  Lady  President  We  were 
returning  just  at  dusk  when  we  were  met  on  the  way  by  the 
engineers  Burrell  and  Valpy,  who  told  us  in  great  confidence 
that  the  crisis  was  at  hand,  the  Brazilian  squadron  had  passed 
Humaita  and  was  on  its  way  to  Asuncion.  They  were  in 
great  glee  over  the  news,  as  they  believed  their  long  imprison- 
ment and  forced  service  would  soon  be  over.  I  confess  I 
shared  their  pleasure.  If  the  fleet  had  passed  Humaita,  then 
it  seemed  that  Lopez  and  his  whole  army  were  surrounded 
and  besieged  so  effectually  they  could  never  escape.  The 


EVACUATION    OF   ASUNCION. 


223 


war  must  soon  be  over.  Lopez  was  in  a  trap.  For  a  long 
time  his  only  means  of  communicating  with  the  capital  or  of 
receiving  supplies  had  been  by  the  river,  and  the  ironclads 
and  monitors  could  easily  cut  that  off.  We  all  then  entered 
the  town,  more  joyous  than  we  had  been  for  many  months, 
supposing  that  the  startling  news  was  not  yet  known  to  the 
public.  But  on  reaching  my  house  I  found  that  everybody 
knew  it,  and  that  already  the  evacuation  of  the  town  had  been 
ordered.  People  were  rushing  to  my  house  in  great  numbers, 
asking  me  what  they  should  do,  and  what  I  would  do.  I 
found,  too,  that  Berges  had  sent  me  a  message,  requesting  me 
to  visit  him  at  the  Government  House  as  soon  as  possible.  I 
went  accordingly,  and  he  told  me  that  four  ironclads  had 
passed  Humaita,  and  two  of  them  were  already  as  high  up 
the  river  as  Villa  Franca  on  the  way  to  Asuncion  ;  that  the 
town  was  to  be  evacuated,  declared  a  military  point,  and  the 
capital  removed  to  Luque  ;  and  he  had  sent  for  me  to  offer  me 
any  assistance  in  obtaining  a  suitable  and  convenient  place  of 
residence  in  some  place  beyond  the  city  limits.  I  at  once 
told  him  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  his  taking  that  trou- 
ble, as  I  should  not  leave  Asuncion.  I  told  him  that  the 
United  States  Legation  was  for  the  time  United  States  terri- 
tory ;  that  the  government  of  Paraguay  had  no  power  or 
authority  over  me  ;  and  that  if  there  were  danger  that  the 
town  might  be  taken  by  the  Brazilians,  that  was  a  reason  why 
I  should  remain  in  it.  He  said  that  it  would  be  very  danger- 
ous to  remain  in  town,  as  it  would  very  likely  be  bombarded, 
and  besides,  if  the  people  all  left,  it  would  be  difficult  to  get 
the  supply  of  food  necessary  for  my  family.  My  reply  to  this 
was,  I  should  trust  to  my  flag  for  protection,  and  if  any  one 
ventured  to  violate  it  he  would  find  it  an  expensive  pastime  ; 
and  as  for  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  supplies,  I  would  take 
that  into  consideration  when  it  might  occur.  I  told  him  also 
that  I  questioned  the  right  of  the  government  to  compel  for- 
eigners to  leave  the  town  ;  for  if  it  were  taken  by  the  enemy, 
their  property  would  very  likely  be  seized  by  them  and  appro- 
priated ;  while,  if  they  were  allowed  to  remain  and  guard  it, 


224  PARAGUAY. 

it  would  undoubtedly,  as  it  belonged  to  foreigners,  be  re- 
spected. 

He  insisted,  however,  that  the  right  of  the  government  to 
drive  them  into  the  interior  was  perfect ;  and  I  saw  it  was  use- 
less to  argue  the  question,  for,  whether  it  was  or  not,  the  order 
would  be  put  in  force. 

On  returning  to  my  house  I  found  a  multitude  of  people, 
foreigners  and  natives,  all  eager  to  know  what  I  intended  to 
do.  I  told  them  promptly  that  I  should  stay.  Many  then 
besought  me  to  permit  them  to  move  into  the  vacant  rooms 
of  my  house ;  but  I  told  them  that  I  could  not  do  that,  for  my 
premises,  though  large,  were  not  large  enough  to  take  in  all 
who  might  desire  to  come,  and  besides,  it  would  give  offence 
to  the  government  and  render  it  worse  for  themselves.  They 
then  asked  if  they  could  be  permitted  to  bring  their  trunks 
and  most  valuable  effects  and  leave  them  in  my  care.  To 
this  I  assented,  and  told  them  if  they  considered  my  house 
safer  than  their  own,  they  were  welcome  to  whatever  security 
it  would  give,  but  that,  as  it  was  impossible  to  take  any  account 
of  what  they  might  bring  at  such  a  moment,  and  my  own  house 
might  also  not  be  respected,  all  they  left  in  it  would  be  at  their 
own  risk.  They  must,  however,  have  them  all  duly  marked 
and  labelled,  so  that  I  might  know  to  whom  they  belonged. 

The  people  began  to  bring  in  their  valuables  the  same  night 
and  pile  them  into  my  spare  rooms.  All  was  confusion  and 
alarm.  The  long-threatened  evil  had  now  come.  The  people 
must  flee  to  the  mountains,  for  the  government  had  so  ordered. 
They  could  take  little  away  with  them,  and  what  they  might 
take  they  would  be  exposed  to  lose.  For  people  so  poor,  the 
Paraguayans  had  a  great  deal  of  fine  jewelry,  which  they  re- 
garded with  a  sort  of  idolatrous  devotion.  A  part  of  this 
they  had  been  forced  to  give  up  -voluntarily,  and  now  they 
were  liable  to  lose  the  remainder.  The  poorer  class,  gener- 
ally, took  their  gold  beads  and  rings  and  chains  with  them, 
but  those  having  considerable  amounts  of  money  or  jewels 
could  not  be  encumbered  with  it  in  their  flight,  and,  as  their 
only  hope,  came  with  it  to  the  United  States  Legation. 


THE  CONSULS  LEAVE  THE  CAPITAL.  225 

Late  in  the  evening  the  three  consuls — the  Italian,  French, 
and  Portuguese  —  came  to  my  house  to  advise  with  me  about 
the  situation.  The  only  full  consul  was  the  Italian,  Lorenzo 
Chapperon.  He  had  been  in  the  country  but  a  short  time, 
and  hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  the  strange  situation  in 
which  he  found  himself.  The  Frenchman,  Cuberville,  had 
been  there  longer,  but  was  only  acting  consul,  having  been 
sent  up  by  the  Minister  at  Buenos  Aires  to  relieve  the  former 
consul,  M.  Laurent  Cochelet.  I  told  them  that  I  should 
remain  in  the  city,  and  that,  in  my  opinion,  they  ought  to  do 
the  same,  and  look  after  the  interests  and  property  of  their 
countrymen ;  that  their  presence  was  more  needed  in  the  capi- 
tal than  ever  before,  and  it  was  their  and  my  duty  to  remain. 
Leite  Pereira,  the  Portuguese,  was  of  my  opinion ;  but  Cuber- 
ville, who  seemed  to  have  become  a  mere  creature  of  Lopez, 
said  we  ought  to  go  with  the  government  and  had  no  right 
to  disobey  its  orders.  Besides,  he  said  it  would  be  very  dan- 
gerous to  remain.  The  Brazilians  might  bombard  the  place, 
and  we  were  not  bound  to  incur  any  such  danger.  His  pol- 
troonery disgusted  me  more  than  did  his  subserviency  to  Lopez, 
and  I  told  him  that  for  us  to  abandon  our  post  at  that  time, 
when  our  presence  was  most  needed,  would  be  disgraceful,  and 
that  the  Brazilians  might  come  and  shoot  down  my  flag  and 
knock  down  my  house,  but  I  should  not  leave  my  post.  The 
Italian  said  little,  though  he  was  inclined  to  follow  the  French- 
man, while  Leite  Pereira  was  disposed  to  remain  in  the  city. 
This  conference  broke  up  about  midnight,  yet,  though  no  one 
but  the  three  consuls  and  myself  were  pfesent,  the  government 
was  informed  of  what  had  transpired  in  it  before  morning,  for 
Leite  Pereira  was  notified,  at  seven  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
to  leave  the  town  immediately.  Cuberville  had  acted  the  spy 
and  informer,  and  when  remonstrated  with  the  next  day  by 
some  of  his  countrymen  for  not  remaining  at  his  post  to  pro- 
tect the  property  they  could  not  protect  for  themselves,  he 
replied  that  his  skin  was  of  more  importance  to  him  than  all 
the  French  interests  in  Paraguay. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

The  City  of  Asuncion.  —  Its  Appearance  and  Characteristics.  —  Scenes  in  the 
Market-Place.  —  The  Government  at  the  Time  of  the  Evacuation.  —  Vice- 
President  Sanchez.  —  Anecdotes  of  his  Career.  —  Minister  Berges.  —  His 
Visit  to  the  United  States. — His  Shrewdness.  —  Venancio  Lopez. — Colonel 
Francisco  Fernandez.  —  Major  Gomez.  —  Benigno  Lopez.  —  Extracts  from 
Diary.  —  A  Council  held  at  Asuncion.  —  Deliberations  on  the  Situation.  —  It 
is  resolved  to  resist  the  Ironclads.  —  Consequences  of  this  Council. — Its 
Members  incur  Suspicion  and  Persecution.  — Their  Fate. 

THE  city  of  Asuncion,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was 
supposed  to  contain  from  eighteen  to  twenty  thousand 
inhabitants.  Du  Graty,  a  Belgian  adventurer,  who  was  em- 
ployed by  the  elder  Lopez  to  write  a  work  in  praise  of  the 
ruling  family,  and  to  prove  that,  while  Paraguay  was  the  finest 
country  in  the  world,  Lopez  was  the  wisest  and  best  ruler, 
gives  the  number  in  Asuncion  and  the  immediate  suburbs  of 
Trinidad,  Recoleta,  and  Lambare"  at  forty-eight  thousand. 
This 'estimate  exceeds  the  true  number  by  at  least  one  half, 
and  the  estimate  of  the  same  author  in  regard  to  the  popula- 
tion of  the  whole  state  is  greatly  at  variance  with  the  truth. 
The  entire  population  in  1857,  as  given  by  him,  was  1,337,439. 
But  Du  Graty  was  never  in  Paraguay  for  more  than  two  months, 
and  in  that  time  saw  very  little  of  the  country.  While  there, 
Carlos  Antonio  Lopez  made  a  contract  with  him  to  furnish 
the  materials  for  a  book,  while  Du  Graty  should  furnish  praise. 
The  figures  were  all  furnished  by  Lopez,  and  the  principal 
object  of  the  work  was  to  convince  the  world  that  Paraguay 
was  much  richer,  stronger,  and  more  populous  than  was  really 
the  case.  There  is  no  reliance  whatever,  therefore,  to  be 
placed  in  Du  Graty's  figures,  as  neither  Carlos  nor  Francisco 
Lopez  had  any  regard  for  truth.  No  census  of  the  coun- 
try ever  was  taken,  and  all  estimates  of  the  population  are 


ASUNCION. 


227 


mere  guesswork.  If  the  government  had  any  reliable  statis- 
tics of  the  population,  they  were  never  given  to  the  public, 
and  every  intelligent  person  in  the  country  knew  that  Du  Gra- 
ty's  figures  were  greatly  exaggerated.  It  will  probably  never 
be  known  within  one  hundred  thousand  of  the  exact  number, 
how  many  people  were  in  the  country  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  late  war.  But  from  the  best  calculation  I  have 
been  able  to  make  from  the  few  statistics  I  could  get,  I  con- 
clude that  at  the  death  of  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez  the  entire 
population  of  the  state  was  about  eight  hundred  thousand,  ^ 
and  that  Asuncion  proper  contained  less  than  eighteen  thou- 
sand souls. 

The  city  as  approached  from  above  by  the  river  had  a  very 
fine  appearance.  The  Paraguay  here  forms  a  bend,  and 
from  the  inner  curve  the  land  rises  gently  and  irregularly,  yet 
so  that,  for  several  miles  up  the  river,  nearly  the  whole  town 
could  be  taken  in  at  a  glance.  The  government  buildings  and 
those  which  belonged  to  the  Lopez  family  are  distinctly  in 
sight ;  and  as  in  the  patios  of  the  better  class  of  houses  and 
among  the  hovels  of  the  poor  there  were  a  great  number  of 
orange-trees,  the  general  aspect  of  the  city  as  seen  at  a  dis- 
tance was  most  agreeable. 

When  within  the  city,  however,  the  appearance  was  very 
different.  The  streets  were  generally  in  bad  condition,  un- 
paved,  and  irregular.  The  sidewalks  throughout  the  whole 
city,  if  joined  in  a  line,  would  not  exceed  a  mile  in  length ; 
and  the  houses  of  the  poorer  classes,  that,  shaded  by  orange- 
trees,  had  such  a  quiet  arcadian  appearance  at  a  distance, 
were  found  to  be  miserable  hovels,  with  every  appearance  of 
discomfort. 

The  principal  plaza,  or  market-place,  of  Asuncion  was  situ--/ 
ate  in  the  central  part  of  the  city,  and  of  a  bright,  clear  morn- 
ing had  a  most  interesting  aspect.  The  meat-market,  which 
was  usually  a  monopoly  of  some  member  of  the  Lopez  fam- 
ily, was  in  a  large  adobe  building  fronting  this  plaza ;  but 
everything  else  in  the  way  of  eatables  was  offered  for  sale  in 
the  open  market.  Carts  from  the  country  would  come  in  at 


228  PARAGUAY. 

night  loaded  with  maize,  oranges,  melons,  wood,  and  molasses, 
and  in  the  morning  would  be  ranged  along  on  one  side,  and 
their  cargoes  exposed  for  sale.  Scores  of  women  would  also 
come  in  at  night  driving  donkeys  with  panniers  filled  with 
chipa,  chickens,  eggs,  mandioca,  and  everything  else  they  had 
to  sell,  and  which  might  find  a  sale  in  the  capital.  The  don- 
keys would  be  turned  loose,  and  each  woman  would  take  her 
place  in  the  open  plaza  to  dispose  of  her  stock.  These  women 
were  generally  ambitious  to  have  a  smart  and  cleanly  appear- 
ance. Their  soiled  dresses,  in  which  they  might  have  walked 
twenty  miles  the  night  before  to  bring  their  scanty  wares  to 
market,  would  be  exchanged  for  others  that  were  white  and 
clean.  The  number  thus  engaged  every  morning  was  usually 
from  four  to  five  hundred,  and  from  sunrise  till  eight  or  nine 
o'clock  the  scene  was  one  of  the  most  unique  and  lively  that 
can  be  imagined. 

The  government  at  Asuncion,  previous  to  the  passage  of  the 
ironclads  and  the  interruption  of  communication,  maintained 
the  formality  of  a  Cabinet,  though  no  member  of  it  ever  pre- 
sumed to  do  the  least  thing  without  the  order  of  the  Presi- 
dent. The  telegraph  was  always  busy,  and  all  events,  from 
the  lukewarmness  of  a  Cabinet  officer  to  the  jest  of  a  peon 
or  slave,  were  instantly  reported  at  head-quarters.  The  Vice- 
President,  Sanchez,  was  nominally  the  President  of  the  coun- 
cil when  Lopez  was  absent.  But  he  dared  suggest  nothing 
unless  ordered  by  his  chief,  and  an  order  from  him  was  never 
to  be  discussed.  Hence  the  Cabinet  Ministers  were  only  so 
many  clerks,  receiving  their  instructions  direct  from  Lopez, 
to  whose  clerical  duties  was  superadded  that  of  being  spies 
on  each  other. 

Sanchez  was  at  this  time  a  feeble  and  decrepit  old  man  of 
about  eighty-two  years  of  age.  He  had  been  the  writing-man 
of  the  government  for  many  years.  He  had  a  good  share  of 
Jesuitical  craft,  and  an  easy  style,  not  wanting  in  dignity.  He 
had  first  been  in  the  service  of  Francia,  and  the  elder  Lopez 
made  use  of  him  to  express,  in  language  which  he  himself  was 
not  sufficiently  educated  to  command,  the  ideas  he  wished  to 


THE  VICE-PRESIDENT,  SANCHEZ.  229 

promulgate  in  his  state  papers.  The  younger  made  him  Vice- 
President,  as  he  was  without  ambition  and  was  too  old  to  be 
a  rival.  He  never  had  anything  to  suggest  of  his  own  voli- 
tion, and  hence  never  provoked  the  jealousy  of  either  of  the 
despots  he  served.  The  elder  Lopez  invariably  treated  him 
with  the  greatest  rudeness  and  contempt,  which  he  bore  with 
the  utmost  humility.  Official  letters  addressed  to  him  he  was 
not  to  open,  and  if  handed  to  him  by  any  person  like  a  min- 
ister or  consul,  he  would  lay  it  aside  till  his  departure.  But 
if  the  bearer  commenced  discussing  the  subject-matter  of  the 
letter,  the  old  man  was  sure  to  have  mislaid  his  spectacles, 
but  would  promise  to  look  for  them  immediately,  and  give  the 
subject  his  earliest  attention.  As  Minister  for  Foreign  Rela- 
tions, he  was  addressed  officially  by  ministers  from  abroad 
as  "  Your  Excellency,"  and  as  this  was  also  the  title  by  which 
the  President  was  addressed,  it  gave  great  offence  to  the  first 
President,  who  abused  him  because  he  was  so  called  by  those 
whom  he  could  not  control.  On  one  occasion  when  an  Eng- 
lish Minister  was  there,  Sanchez  ventured  very  meekly  to 
request  him  to  address  him  in  his  official  letters  by  some 
lower  title  than  that  of  Excellency.  The  Englishman,  how- 
ever, told  him  that  such  was  the  custom  and  etiquette  of 
foreign  nations,  and  he  must  conform  to  it.  Sanchez 
then  begged  him  to  speak  to  the  President  on  the  matter, 
and  take  the  blame  to  himself.  The  Englishman  did  so, 
and  showed  the  old  savage  that  it  would  be  disrespectful  to 
himself  to  address  his  minister  by  any  lower  title  than  his 
Excellency. 

"  O  well,  then,"  testily  replied  the  old  man,  "  call  him 
his  Excellency,  if  you  like  ;  he  is  only  a  beast." 

Jose  Berges,  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  of  whom  so 
much  has  already  been  said,  was  about  sixty  years  of  age  at 
this  time  (1868).  He  was  a  man  of  good  judgment  and  much 
astuteness,  and  had  been  selected  by  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez 
as  his  commissioner  to  the  United  States  in  1856.  In  that 
capacity  he  had  managed  his  case  with  such  dexterity  and 
success,  that  on  his  return  he  was  retired,  much  to  his  own 


230  PARAGUAY. 

satisfaction,  from  all  public  service.  As  a  public  man  who  had 
rendered  an  important  service  to  the  country,  his  presence 
was  obnoxious  to  his  master,  and  he  considered  himself  for- 
tunate, on  his  return,  that  he  was  not  rewarded  with  imprison- 
ment and  fetters.  By  the  time  that  Francisco  Solano  suc- 
ceeded to  power,  however,  the  American  question  no  longer 
engrossed  public  attention,  and  Berges's  services  had  been 
forgotten,  and  he  was  then  appointed  minister  de  los  Rela- 
ciones  Exteriores.  It  was  an  honor  he  did  not  covet,  but  he 
dared  not  refuse  it.  Lopez  knew  he  was  far  better  qualified 
for  the  position  than  any  other  of  his  subjects  that  he  could 
trust,  and  Berges  was  compelled  to  accept  a  position  that  re- 
quired of  him  services  at  which  his  soul  revolted.  He  knew 
he  must  be  both  the  slave  and  the  spy  of  an  imperious,  self- 
ish, and  brutal  master,  but  he  also  knew  that  there  was  but 
one  step  from  refusal  to  imprisonment.  His  position  was 
most  trying.  He  was  compelled  to  treat  with  the  represen- 
tatives of  foreign  nations  in  personal  interviews  in  which 
questions  would  arise  that  he  could  not  even  discuss  with- 
out danger  of  incurring  the  anger  of  his  master,  and  hence 
the  reputation  he  acquired  among  them  all  was  that  he  was 
deceitful  and  Jesuitical.  The  French  Consul,  M.  Laurent 
Cochelet,  ever  vigilant  and  watchful  over  the  interests  of  his 
countrymen,  often  complained  of  his  duplicity  and  evasive- 
ness, and  the  half-promises  that  he  did  not  respect.  He 
could  not  believe  at  that  time  that  the  Minister  could  con- 
verse with  him  only  with  a  halter  around  his  neck.  But  the 
sad  fate  that  afterwards  overtook  him  convinced  the  consul 
that  he  had  misunderstood  the  character  both  of  the  unhappy 
minister  and  his  terrible  master. 

Gumesindo  Benitez,  who  held  the  position  of  assistant  to 
Berges,  was  also  the  principal  writer  in  the  Seinanario,  and 
besides  it  was  his  business  to  get  up  patriotic  speeches  for  the 
women  to  deliver  at  their  spontaneous  assemblies,  when  they 
offered  their  jewels  and  their  lives  in  devotion  to  his  Excel- 
lency, and  so  expert  had  he  become  in  the  work  of  adulation, 
he  seemed  to  have  been  convinced  by  his  own  words  that 


BENITEZ,  VENANCIO  LOPEZ,  AND  FERNANDEZ.     231 

Lopez  was  a  being  of  a  superior  order.  He  was  one  of  the 
very  few  who  in  praising  Lopez  seemed  to  believe  what  he 
said.  His  faith  and  fidelity,  however,  availed  him  no  more  at 
the  last  than  did  the  hypocrisy  and  submission  of  the  others. 
All  alike  were  to  die  as  traitors  or  conspirators. 

Venancio  Lopez  had  been  Minister  of  War  and  Marine  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war.  He  was  some  five  years  younger 
than  Francisco,  and,  though  the  least  intelligent,  was  the  best 
liked  of  the  three  brothers.  Like  them  he  was  coarse  and  sen- 
sual, but  he  was  not  so  grasping  and  avaricious,  and  did  not 
aspire  to  the  honors  or  dangers  of  the  government.  He  would 
have  preferred  a  life  of  ease  and  license  on  one  of  the  estan- 
cias  obtained  for  him  by  his  father  at  the  expense  of  others. 
His  father,  however,  forced  him  into  the  military  service,  and 
compelled  him  to  reside  in  the  capital.  Soon  after  the  acces- 
sion of  his  brother  to  power  he  fell  into  disgrace,  and  for  a 
while  was  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house.  What  his  offence  was 
I  never  could  learn,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  he  himself  knew  any 
better  than  I  did.  Probably  he  had  ventured  to  act  on  his 
own  responsibility  in  some  trivial  matter,  and  his  punishment 
was  meant  to  remind  him  that  he  could  presume  on  no  indul- 
gence, as  in  his  father's  lifetime,  by  reason  of  his  kinship 
with  the  President,  and  that  he,  like  all  others,  held  every- 
thing, even  life,  at  the  will  of  his  brother.  After  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  he  was  kept  at  head-quarters  for  a  long 
time,  doing  no  duty,  though  holding  the  rank  of  colonel. 
Owing  to  his  shattered  health,  he  had  been  allowed  to  return 
to  Asuncion  several  months  before  the  ironclads  passed  Hu- 
maita,  and  at  that  time  held  the  office  of  comandante  de  las 
annas. 

The  active  commandant  at  the  time,  on  whom  appeared  to 
devolve  all  the  responsibility  for  enforcing  the  orders  of 
Lopez,  was  Colonel  Francisco  Fernandez,  of  whose  character 
and  relations  with  Lopez  as  his  confidential  agent  and  busi- 
ness manager  of  his  affairs  a  brief  notice  has  been  already 
given.  He  had  acquired,  partly  by  inheritance  and  partly 
through  the  favor  of  his  master,  a  considerable  property.  He 


2$2  PARAGUAY. 

alone,  of  all  whom  Lopez  pretended  to  admit  to  his  councils, 
was  a  married  man.  His  wife  was  a  beautiful  woman  of 
nearly  pure  Spanish  blood,  and  on  such  intimate  terms  with 
the  sisters  of  Lopez  that  she  was  permitted  to  vie  with  them 
and  with  the  imported  Jezebel  in  richness  of  attire  and  in 
wealth  of  jewels.  By  all  the  subordinates  and  government 
employees,  Fernandez  was  much  better  liked  than  any  one 
else  who  had  the  ear  of  Lopez ;  for  he  would  listen  to  their 
complaints,  and  sometimes  grant  their  requests,  which  no  one 
else  would  dare  even  to  report. 

The  Mayor  de  la  Plaza,  Juan  Gomez,  was  next  in  author- 
ity to  Fernandez.  His  duties  were  those  of  commandant  or 
executive  officer  of  the  troops  about  the  capital.  He  was  a 
handsome,  soldierly  looking  man,  who  in  the  army  had  won 
the  approval  of  Lopez  by  his  courage  in  fighting  and  his 
brutal  treatment  of  his  men. 

The  Chief  of  Police  may  also  be  counted  as  having  been  a 
member  of  the  government,  as  he  was  the  head  spy,  and  the 
lower  class  of  people  were  in  more  immediate  terror  of  him 
than  of  any  of  the  others.  For  this  post,  Lopez,  like  his  father 
before  him,  always  selected  a  man  who  delighted  in  cruelty, 
and  who  would  resort  to  any  measure  to  extort  from  servants 
and  slaves  the  secrets  of  their  masters  and  mistresses.  At 
this  time  the  office  was  held  by  Captain  Matias  Sanabria,  a 
man  whose  fidelity  in  wickedness  it  was  supposed  would  have 
saved  him  from  the  fate  that  afterwards  befell  him,  as  it  befell 
hundreds  of  others  whom  he  had  denounced. 

To  the  conclave  of  persons  mentioned  above,  Benigno 
Lopez,  the  younger  brother  of  the  President,  should  be  added. 
He  held  no  official  position,  and  it  was  known  that  he  had 
long  been  under  the  suspicion  of  his  brother,  but  yet  none  of 
the  officials  dared  refuse  to  recognize  him  as  a  man  to  be  con- 
sulted and  treated  with  consideration.  Whenever  a  member 
of  the  Lopez  family  went  through  the  streets,  the  people  had 
long  understood  it  to  be  their  duty  to  stand,  hat  in  hand,  till 
he  had  passed,  and  as  no  order  had  ever  been  given  to  make 
an  exception  in  the  case  of  Benigno,  it  would  have  been  dan- 


HESITATION  AND  DOUBT. 


233 


gerous  even  for  the  Vice- President  to  have  shown  him  any 
disrespect. 

Except  to  the  above-described  persons  it  was  not  known 
that  anything  of  an  unusual  nature  had  occurred  below,  until 
the  evening  of  the  2 1st  of  February.  It  was  known  by  them 
on  the  igth.  On  that  day  I  called  on  Berges,  and,  as  always, 
he  told  me  that  there  was  no  news  from  the  army.  He  said, 
however,  that  we  should  hear  something  of  importance  very 
soon.  He  must  have  known  at  that  time  that  the  ironclads 
were  above  Humaita.  To  show  the  utter  ignorance  which  we 
were  in  of  the  real  situation,  I  will  transcribe  from  my  jour- 
nal the  entry  of  that  day  :  — 

"  Wednesday,  February  igth.  —  Went  to  visit  the  Minister, 
who  says  there  is  nothing  new,  but  that  something  will  hap- 
pen very  soon.  He  asked  me  to  send  Manlove  to  his  office  to- 
morrow. The  Italian  Consul  called  on  us  in  the  evening,  and 
he  says  that  a  great  battle  has  taken  place,  which  resulted,  as 
they  all  do,  in  a  grand  triumph.  He  also  says  that  the  enemy 
are  in  great  force  in  the  Chaco,  and  that  there  has  been  no 
communication  by  that  road  for  eight  days.  Our  friends  Can- 
dida, Conchita,  and  Dolores  Casal  came  in  from  Limpio." 

What  orders  Lopez  had  given  to  be  observed  in  the  event 
that  the  ironclads  should  pass  above  him  and  cut  off  his  com- 
munication with  the  capital  will  probably  never  be  known, 
as  he  soon  after  arrested,  and  finally  executed,  every  one  of 
those  who  could  have  known  them.  It  is  probable  that  he 
had  not  given  any,  taking  it  for  granted  that  every  man,  wo- 
man, and  child,  if  the  enemy  should  attempt  a  landing  at 
Asuncion,  would  turn  out  to  repel  the  invaders.  Anything 
short  of  that  in  his  eyes  was  always  treason. 

We,  however,  who  lived  there,  had  inferred,  from  what  we 
could  learn  of  the  military  situation,  that,  as  soon  as  the  squad- 
ron should  pass  Humaita,  the  war  would  be  over.  By  land 
Lopez  was  completely  invested,  and  if  communication  by  the 
river  were  cut  off  it  did  not  seem  possible  that  he  could 
escape  with  any  considerable  portion  of  his  army.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  officials  in  command  there  were  of  the  same 


234  PARAGUAY. 

opinion.  When  the  news  came,  therefore,  that  the  ironclads 
had  passed,  they  thought  themselves  lost ;  and  as  the  Vice- 
President  had  no  authority  in  military  matters,  and  neither 
Fernandez  nor  Venancio  Lopez  dared  take  the  responsibility 
of  any  independent  orders,  a  meeting,  consisting  of  Sanchez, 
Fernandez,  Berges,  Benitez,  and  Venancio  Lopez,  was  held  to 
deliberate  on  the  unexpected  crisis.  Had  there  been  one  of 
the  number  who  had  ever  entertained  a  thought  of  a  revolu- 
tion, or  of  resisting  the  wish  of  Lopez,  it  would  have  been 
easy  at  this  time  to  have  left  him  to  inevitable  destruction. 
Had  Berges,  Fernandez,  or  Don  Venancio  then  seized  the 
telegraph  and  pretended  to  act  by  supreme  orders,  the  whole 
country  above  the  Tebicuari  would  have  been  as  absolutely 
in  his  power  as  ever  it  had  been  in  that  of  Lopez.  But 
no  such  thought  had,  in  all  probability,  ever  entered  the 
mind  of  a  single  one  of  them  ;  and  they  were  so  completely 
spell-bound  by  the  dreadful  tyranny  that  had  so  long  en- 
thralled them,  that  no  one,  so  far  as  any  evidence  now  exists, 
or  in  the  belief  of  any  intelligent  living  person,  had  any  other 
idea  than  to  do  what  they  supposed  would  be  the  will  of 
Lopez  if  he  could  make  it  known  to  them.  What  that  will 
was  they  could  only  infer  from  the  threats  which  had  been 
made  through  the  Semanario  that  the  allies  would  never  enter 
Asuncion  but  to  find  it  abandoned  by  its  people  or  destroyed 
like  a  second  Moscow.  Yet  every  one  of  them  was  soon 
after  arrested  and  accused  of  having  been  at  that  time  and 
for  months  before  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  to  overthrow  him, 
and  all  of  them  (save  only  the  Vice-President)  were,  for  their 
blind  fidelity,  tortured  and  executed. 

The  result  of  these  deliberations,  of  which  no  one  but  them- 
selves had  any  knowledge,  was  the  conclusion  that  they  must 
defend  the  town  as  best  they  could  with  the  few  hundred  men 
they  had  at  command.  The  only  fortification  they  had  to  op- 
pose to  the  invulnerable  ironclads  was  a  little  fort  standing  on 
a  small  bluff  nearly  opposite  the  town  and  below  the  landing. 
All  the  available  guns  had  long  before  been  carried  below, 
to  strengthen  the  fortifications  around  Humaita.  Some 


DEFENCELESS  CONDITION  OF  ASUNCION. 


235 


three  or  four  field-pieces,  however,  had  been  left  as  unser- 
viceable, and  a  large,  new  cannon  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  calibre,  just  finished,  had  never  left  the  arsenal.  With 
great  effort  this  was  carried  to  the  top  of  the  bluff  before  the 
ironclads  appeared.  Thus  defenceless  was  Asuncion  when  the 
dreaded  ironclads,  that  had  been  months,  or  rather  years,  get- 
ting ready  for  action,  moved  upon  the  exposed  city. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

New  Members  of  the  American  Legation.  —  Dr.  Carreras  and  Senor  Rodriguez. 

—  They  become  my  Guests.  —  Madam  Lynch  sends   her  Valuables.  —  Dis- 
persion of  the  Paraguayan  Residents.  —  The  English  Engineers.  —  Bombard- 
ment of  the    Fort.  —  Flight  of   the   Ironclads.  —  Our    Servant  Basilio.  — 
Watts  and  Manlove.  —  They  get  into  Difficulty.  —  Scene  at  the  Police-Office. 

—  Strategy  of  Lopez.  —  Attack  on  the  Ironclads.  —  Its  Failure. 

WHEN,  afterwards,  it  was  found  that  the  allies,  with  their 
characteristic  sluggishness  and  inefficiency,  did  not  fol- 
low up  their  advantage,  but  allowed  Lopez  to  open  communi- 
cations and  receive  supplies  through  the  Chaco,  the  members 
of  this  council  hastened  to  denounce  each  other  to  Lopez. 
Benitez,  Gomez,  and  Sanabria,  being  first  to  accuse,  were  per- 
mitted to  remain  at  their  posts,  while  Sanchez  and  Berges 
were  immediately  called  below  to  answer  for  their  conduct. 

This,  however,  could  not  be  done  for  several  days.  In  the 
mean  while  the  evacuation  went  on.  On  the  morning  of  the 
22d,  the  people  came  in  larger  numbers  to  deposit  their  most 
valuable  effects  with  me,  and  I  saw  that  I  must  have  more 
assistance  than  that  of  my  single  secretary  for  the  labors  that 
were  crowding  upon  me.  I  therefore  engaged  Mr.  Bliss  and 
Major  Manlove  to  enter  into  my  employ  and  become  members 
of  the  Legation.  Manlove  had  a  room  in  a  house  adjoining 
mine.  This  house  had  been  leased  by  a  German  of  the  name 
of  Carlos  Ulrich,  from  whom  I  immediately  rented  the  whole 
building  and  premises.  I  sent  a  note  to  the  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  in  which  I  stated  that  finding  it  necessary,  under 
the  peculiar  circumstances,  to  increase  the  number  of  persons 
in  my  service,  I  sent  a  list  of  all  who  were  in  my  Legation  and 
for  whom  I  should  expect  Legation  privileges.  In  this  list  were 
the  names  of  Bliss  and  Manlove,  though  through  inadvertence 


ACCESSIONS   TO  THE   LEGATION. 


237 


that  of  Masterman,  who  had  been  long  living  in  my  house, 
was  omitted. 

This  note  I  despatched  on  the  22d,  and  on  the  evening  of 
the  23d  I  received  an  answer  from  Minister  Berges,  in  which 
no  exception  was  taken  to  my  receiving  any  of  the  persons 
named  into  the  Legation.  In  my  note  I  had  not  specified  the 
character  or  position  of  the  different  persons  I  had  thus  added 
to  my  suite.  But  the  word  service,  as  used  by  me,  had  been 
mistranslated,  and  Berges  had  understood  from  it  that  I  had 
engaged  them  as  servants ;  and  as  persons  of  their  known 
standing  and  position  in  society  would  not  be  recognized  by 
the  police  as  servants,  it  would  be  better,  to  save  them  and  me 
from  annoyance,  that  they  should  not  expose  themselves  on 
the  streets,  as  the  patrols  had  orders  to  arrest  all  who  might 
remain  in  town.  To  correct  this  impression  that  I  had  taken 
Manlove  and  Bliss  into  my  service  in  the  capacity  of  servants, 
and  also  to  correct  the  omission  of  Mr.  Masterman's  name,  I 
sent  another  list  the  next  day  to  be  delivered  to  Minister 
Berges ;  but  he  had  already  left  town.  It  was  said  he  had 
gone  out  to  Luque,  the  new  capital.  I  endeavored  to  send 
this  note  after  him,  but  no  one  dared  to  take  it.  The  mayor 
of  the  plaza,  the  Chief  of  Police,  and  the  conductor  of  the  rail- 
road, were  in  turn  applied  to  the  same  day,  but  they  all  re- 
fused to  receive  it ;  and  the  next  day  I  learned,  incidentally,  that 
Berges  had  gone  below,  and  I  had  no  notice  that  anybody  had 
been  named  to  act  in  his  place.  So  the  letter  remained  on 
my  table  for  several  weeks,  and  was  only  sent  on  the  4th  of 
April  with  a  note  explaining  why  it  had  not  been  sent  at  the 
time  it  was  written. 

There  was  one  man  at  this  time  in  Paraguay,  who  had  long 
before,  in  anticipation  of  the  emergency  that  had  now  arisen, 
asked  me  to  afford  him  shelter  in  the  Legation.  This  was  Dr. 
Carreras.  He  had  made  himself  so  obnoxious  to  the  Bra- 
zilians, while  at  the  head  of  the  government  of  Montevideo, 
and  had  so  energetically  opposed  the  invasion  of  the  Banda 
Oriental  by  Flores  and  his  gaucho  band,  that  he  feared, 
and  with  reason,  he  would  meet  the  fate  of  the  hero  of  Pay- 


238  PARAGUAY. 

sandu,  Leandro  Gomez,  if  he  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
allies.  I  told  him  that  whenever  the  danger  might  seem  near, 
I  should  have  a  room  for  him  in  my  house.  On  the  22d,  his 
friend  Rodriguez,  formerly  Chargt  d* Affaires  of  the  Oriental 
Republic,  came  in  from  the  quinta  where  they  both  were  re- 
siding, and  said  that  Carreras  would  then,  if  it  were  still 
agreeable  to  me,  accept  my  offer  of  refuge.  He  said  that  for 
himself  he  would  be  obliged  to  go  with  the  multitude  into  the 
interior,  unless  I  could  find  room  for  him  too  in  my  house. 
I  told  him  I  not  only  had  room  enough,  but  that  he  would  be 
most  welcome.  They  accordingly  both  came  in  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  22d,  and  took  up  their  residence,  as  my  guests,  in 
the  Legation.  They  were  never  to  leave  it  again  till  they 
were  taken  off  to  be  starved,  tortured,  and  executed. 

During  the  day  I  received  a  message  from  Madam  Lynch, 
saying  she  wanted  to  see  me.  I  went  to  her  house,  as  re- 
quested, and  found  her  in  great  tribulation.  She  had  before 
intimated  that  the  time  might  come  when  she  should  ask 
me  to  do  her  a  favor.  She  had  always  seemed  to  have  a  dis- 
trust of  me,  which  I  ascribed  to  the  fact  that  I  had  never 
professed  that  enthusiasm  and  admiration  for  Lopez  that 
everybody  else  in  the  country  was  obliged  to  profess.  And 
yet  she  saw  that  the  time  might  come  when  she  herself  might 
desire  to  flee  for  refuge  to  my  house,  and  she  endeavored 
to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  friendly  relations.  On  this 
occasion  she  questioned  me  of  what  the  Brazilians  would  do 
now  they  had  passed  Humaita.  I  told  her  that  they  would 
probably  keep  Lopez  and  his  army  shut  up  where  he  was,  and 
advance  on  Asuncion  with  such  force  as  to  take  it,  and  then, 
by  cutting  off  his  supplies  at  all  points,  he  would  be  obliged 
to  capitulate  or  else  to  attack  them  in  their  intrenchments, 
which,  with  his  unequal  forces,  could  not  be  done  success- 
fully. The  cause  was  lost,  and  she  could  see  it  as  well  as 
I.  "  Some  natural  tears  she  shed,"  and  asked  me  if  I  would 
receive  her  most  valuable  articles  into  my  house.  I  replied 
that  I  had  done  that  for  many  other  people,  and  had  offered 
to  do  it  for  all  ;  that  if  she  thought  her  property  would  be 


BLIGHTED   HOPES.  239 

more  safe  there  than  elsewhere,  she  could  send  it,  and  I 
could  answer  that  while  there  it  would  never  be  taken  by 
the  allies  unless  they  forcibly  violated  the  United  States  Lega- 
tion. She  was  very  despondent,  and  said  that  she  did  not  know 
what  would  become  of  her,  and  seemed  to  be  aware  that  she 
neither  deserved  nor  could  expect  any  mercy  if  she  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  She  intimated  that  she  might,  at 
the  last  moment,  apply  to  me  for  shelter.  Her  house  furni- 
ture, which  was  very  rich  and  enormously  expensive,  would  of 
course  fall  into  vandal  hands  if  the  city  were  taken.  But 
being  an  Englishwoman,  she  should  look  to  that  government 
to  enforce  restitution.  The  ambitious  plans  that  had  induced 
her  to  invest  such  large  sums  of  money  in  furniture  and 
adornments  not  to  be  found  elsewhere  except  in  palaces 
seemed  to  have  miscarried.  Two  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
the  price  of  the  toil  and  sweat  and  blood  of  thousands  of  half- 
fed,  overworked  Paraguayans  seemed  about  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  hated  Brazilians,  and  the  illusion  of  the  Lopez 
dynasty,  with  her  first-born  as  the  heir  apparent  to  the  throne 
of  her  paramour,  and  her  other  sons  as  royal  princes,  had  all 
vanished,  and  she  then  only  thought  of  saving  her  life  and 
the  lives  of  her  children,  and  escaping  with  her  ill-gotten  gains 
to  Europe. 

The  people  were  not  allowed  to  remove  to  those  neighbor- 
ing districts  where  they  had  friends  and  relatives,  but  were 
obliged  to  go  where  the  wretch  Sanabria,  the  Chief  of  Police, 
ordered  them  to  go.  It  was  impossible  to  find  carts  or  other 
means  of  conveyance  for  a  tenth  part  of  the  people  to  carry 
away  with  them  those  things  most  indispensable  for  use  in 
the  interior.  The  streets  outward  leading  from  the  city  were 
therefore  filled  with  women  and  children,  —  for  no  men  were 
left  to  emigrate  except  foreigners, — bearing  bundles  of  clothes, 
cooking-utensils,  and  such  scanty  food  as  they  could  lay  their 
hands  on,  and  which  might  serve  them  till  they  reached  the 
resting-place  of  banishment. 

It  was  a  sad  sight  to  witness  young  children  and  delicate 
women  —  in  some  cases  old  and  infirm  —  trudging  through 


240  PARAGUAY. 

the  dust,  sand,  and  heat,  towards  the  Trinidad,  San  Lorenzo,  or 
the  Recoleta,  with  their  heavy  burdens  on  their  heads  and  in 
their  arms.  Ignorant  and  superstitious,  their  home  attach- 
ments were  none  the  less  strong  on  that  account.  They  knew 
they  were  going  at  the  order  of  a  power  that  to  them  had 
ever  appeared  supreme,  and  which  must  be  obeyed  with  blind 
submission.  Few  murmurs  or  complaints  were  heard.  They 
had  learned  that  the  least  sign  of  restiveness  or  the  least 
symptom  of  discontent  would  subject  them  to  stripes,  fetters, 
and  imprisonment ;  and  they  silently  turned  their  backs  on 
their  humble  homes,  and  groped  their  way  with  suppressed 
tears  and  smothered  sighs  they  knew  not  whither.  Very  few 
of  them  were  ever  to  return.  The  most  of  them  were  to  per- 
ish of  hardship  and  cruelty  when  nature  could  endure  no 
more.  Before  the  order  of  evacuation,  I  had  heard  of  numer- 
ous instances  of  women  of  the  lower  order  being  sent  to 
prison  and  kept  for  months  in  the  stocks,  for  simply  expressing 
such  a  natural  wish  as  that  the  war  might  end.  But  after  the 
evacuation  I  was  told  that  there  were  hundreds  of  wretches 
in  the  improvised  prisons  of  the  new  capital  chained  to  the 
ground  for  having  given  way  to  expressions  of  sorrow. 

The  English  engineers  at  work  in  the  arsenal  were  greatly 
elated  when  they  heard  the  Brazilians  had  forced  the  passage 
at  Humaita,  and  as  they  believed  the  town  would  be  taken  by 
the  allies  within  a  few  days  they  were  desirous  of  remaining, 
for  then  their  imprisonment  would  be  at  an  end  ;  whereas, 
if  they  went  into  the  interior,  they  would  still  be  in  Lopez's 
power,  from  which  they  might  never  escape.  They  therefore 
asked  permission  to  occupy  the  rear  rooms  of  my  premises. 
I  granted  their  request,  but  advised  them  to  get  the  consent  of 
the  government  before  taking  a  step  that  might  not  be  ap- 
proved, and  which,  if  not  approved,  would  subject  them  to  sus- 
picion and  persecution.  The  men  went  in  a  body,  therefore, 
to  prefer  their  request.  It  was  granted  ;  and  the  next  day  four 
men  with  their  families,  and  two  widows,  each  with  two  or  three 
children,  twenty-two  persons  in  all,  came  and  occupied  the 
rooms.  In  all  there  were  forty-two  persons  under  my  roof. 


APPROACH  OF  THE  IRONCLADS.       241 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th  it  was  evident  from  appear- 
ances that  the  gunboats  were  near.  The  only  fort  to  oppose 
them  was  situate  only  about  forty  rods  from  my  house,  and  in 
a  line  with  the  street  on  which  it  stood.  From  the  great  ac- 
tivity that  we  observed  in  and  about  the  fort,  it  was  evident 
that  something  extraordinary  was  anticipated.  We  could  also 
see  a  small  body  of  cavalry  stationed  back  of  a  hill,  where  it 
could  not  be  seen  from  the  river,  and  evidently  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  an  attack  on  any  forces  that  might  effect  a 
landing. 

The  strength  of  the  fort  consisted  in  a  large  hundred-and- 
fifty-pounder,  so  badly  mounted  that  it  could  not  be  handled, 
and  a  few  little  field-pieces  that  were  utterly  impotent  and 
harmless  against  ironclads.  The  large  gun  was  made  in 
Paraguay,  and  was  but  just  finished  when  the  news  of  the 
passage  of  Humaita  was  received.  It  was  hardly  got  into 
position  when  the  ironclads  appeared.  The  first  shot  passed 
high  above  the  approaching  vessels ;  and  though  the  muzzle 
was  depressed  as  much  as  possible,  it  was  found  that  it  was 
utterly  useless  without  digging  away  the  edge  of  the  bluff  on 
which  it  stood.  From  the  roofs  of  the  houses  we  could  see 
the  tops  of  the  steamers'  chimneys  as  they  steamed  up,  and, 
when  as  near  as  they  cared  to  venture,  discharged  their 
heavy  pieces.  They  fired  shell,  whose  harsh,  hissing  sound 
and  explosion  in  the  air  enabled  us  to  trace  their  course. 
We  could  see  the  Paraguayans  working  like  beavers  about 
their  big  gun.  It  was  not  discharged  more  than  three  or 
four  times,  and  there  were  but  few  shots  from  their  field- 
pieces.  The  firing  of  the  Brazilians  was  very  wild,  and  almost 
in  every  instance  they  fired  much  too  high,  and,  as  I  after- 
wards found,  very  wide  of  the  mark.  From  the  roofs  we 
could  see  the  chimneys  of  the  steamers  move  slowly  up,  and 
then  drop  down  again  as  soon  as  a  couple  of  shot  had  been 
discharged.  The  little  fort,  however,  after  a  few  shots,  almost 
ceased  firing,  and  we  expected  every  moment  to  see  the  gun- 
boats return  and  steam  up  by  the  fort.  They  could  have 
done  this  without  the  slightest  danger.  The  only  large  gun 

VOL.  n.  16 


242  PARAGUAY. 

was  powerless  to  harm  them,  as  it  could  not  be  depressed  to 
touch  them  at  long  range,  and  the  closer  they  came  the  safer 
they  were.  The  shot  from  the  little  field-pieces  were  as  harm- 
less as  paper  pellets  against  the  heavy  plates  of  the  ironclads. 
But  after  discharging  some  thirty  shot  and  shell,  receiving  no 
harm  to  themselves,  the  gunboats  again  fell  back,  and  did  not 
return.  We  all  supposed  that  they  were  waiting  for  other 
vessels  to  come  up,  and  that  then  they  would  pass  the  fort, 
effect  a  landing,  and  possess  the  town.  But  hour  passed  after 
hour  and  day  after  day,  and  our  ears  were  not  again  cheered 
by  the  sound  of  their  cannon  ;  and  it  was  only  after  weeks  of 
impatience  and  anxiety  that  we  learned  that,  after  such  an 
inglorious  and  cowardly  exhibition  of  themselves,  the  ironclads 
had  turned  tail  and  run  away. 

They  had  achieved  a  Brazilian  victory,  and  they  returned  to 
announce  it  to  the  world.  They  went  down  as  far  as  Tayi, 
some  two  or  three  leagues  above  Humaita,  where,  under  the 
protection  of  their  own  fortifications  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
they  came  to,  —  the  officers  to  be  decorated  and  promoted  for 
their  valor,  and  the  men  to  rest  and  recuperate  after  their 
arduous  labors. 

It  was  months  before  we,  who  were  in  Asuncion,  could 
learn  anything  of  what  the  allies  had  achieved  by  this  ap- 
proach to  Asuncion  or  the  object  of  it.  In  time,  however,  we 
learned  that  it  had  been  proclaimed  at  Buenos  Aires  and  Rio 
as  a  great  naval  victory,  compared  with  which  the  battle  of 
the  Nile,  of  Trafalgar,  Mobile,  and  Fort  Fisher  were  mere  petty 
skirmishes;  that  the  invincible  Brazilian  fleet  had  passed  above 
Humaita  to  find  a  Gibraltar  just  below  Asuncion,  which  had 
been  reduced,  and  the  fleet  had  passed  it,  and  held  Asuncion 
an  easy  prey  at  its  mercy;  that  Minister  Berges  had  come  off 
under  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  flag-ship,  and  advised  her  com- 
mander that  the  capital  had  been  evacuated  by  all  the  inhab- 
itants, and  that  to  bombard  the  place  would  be  only  a  useless 
destruction  of  the  property  of  innocent  people,  many  of  whom 
were  foreigners ;  and  that  with  that  magnanimity  characteristic 
of  a  brave  and  chivalrous  people,  especially  the  Brazilians,  they 


HOPES   AND   DISAPPOINTMENTS.  243 

had  left  everything  untouched,  while  they  reported  that  Asun- 
cion had  fallen,  and  therefore  the  war  was  virtually  at  an  end. 
To  this  day  it  is  generally  believed  in  Rio  Janeiro  that  on  the 
24th  of  February  the  Brazilian  fleet  achieved  a  great  victory. 
Great  pains  were  taken  to  create  this  impression,  and  the  only 
persons  to  contradict  it  are  the  few  members  of  the  United 
States  Legation  who  witnessed  the  battle  and  still  survive. 

But  being  as  yet  ignorant  of  the  perfection  to  which  the 
Brazilians  had  attained  in  the  art  of  carrying  on  war  with- 
out exposing  themselves  to  danger,  we  could  not  but  be- 
lieve for  several  days  that  at  any  moment  we  might  hear  the 
guns  of  the  returning  vessels.  We  were,  perhaps,  selfish 
in  our  hopes,  for  we  felt  that  if  Asuncion  were  taken  we 
should  be  safe  beyond  the  reach  of  Lopez ;  but  until  then,  or 
until  he  himself  was  a  captive,  we  felt  we  were  still  exposed  to 
his  savage  fury. 

When  we  found  the  gunboats  did  not  return  for  several 
days,  we  nourished  the  hope  that  they  had  gone  below  to 
assist  in  rendering  the  siege  of  Humaita  more  perfect.  As 
we  knew  that  it  was  completely  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
heavy  trenches,  so  strongly  fortified  that  Lopez  could  not  cut 
his  way  out  by  land,  and  as  the  allies  had  now  the  command 
of  the  river,  we  thought  the  time  had  come  when  he  must 
either  capitulate  or  carry  out  his  oft-repeated  threat  to  perish 
at  the  head  of  his  last  legion.  No  one,  indeed,  believed  he 
would  end  his  inglorious  career,  unmarked  thus  far  by  an  act 
of  courage,  by  a  deed  of  heroism.  In  spite  of  his  espionage 
and  his  long  reign  of  terror,  everybody  had  come  to  know 
that  he  was  as  cowardly  as  he  was  cruel.  But  in  whatever 
way  his  career  might  close,  we  took  it  for  granted  its  end  was 
near.  He  could  not  possibly  have  provisions  enough  for 
more  than  a  few  days,  and  his  communications  were  all  cut 
off.  We  saw,  as  we  thought,  that  his  doom  was  sealed,  and 
that  he  would  never  be  able  to  carry  out  his  gloomy  threat, 
that,  if  fall  he  must,  it  would  only  be  when  the  whole  Para- 
guayan people  were  exterminated.  We  then  thought  that, 
though  nearly  all  the  men  in  the  country  had  perished  during 


244 


PARAGUAY. 


the  war,  yet  the  larger  part  of  the  women  and  children  would 
survive  to  defeat  the  sanguinary  purpose  of  their  self-styled 
protector. 


A  STREET  IN  ASUNCION  AFTER  THE  EVACUATION. 

It  was  astonishing  to  see  the  rapidity  with  which  the  capital 
had  been  evacuated.  In  two  days  after  the  order  had  been 
promulgated,  not  a  soul,  with  two  or  three  exceptions,  save 
the  police  and  military,  were  left  in  town.  The  exceptions 
were  Duffield  and  Carter,  Americans,  a  Brazilian  named  Fran- 
cisco, and  an  Englishman  some  eighty  years  of  age,  who  was 
known  among  his  countrymen  by  the  name  of  "  Old  William." 
Duffield  lived  just  across  the  street,  and  lingered  behind, 
taking  shelter  in  the  Legation  with  the  English,  who  had  come 
into  it  without  either  permission  or  remonstrance  from  any- 
body. Old  William  remained  because  he  was  too  old  and 
infirm  to  get  away  without  assistance,  and  was  known  to  have 


PARAGUAYAN  SERVANTS.  245 

been  for  a  long  time  a  helpless  dependant  upon  me,  though  he 
lived  in  a  house  some  forty  rods  distant  from  mine.  Every 
two  or  three  days  since  my  last  arrival  in  the  country  he  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  coming  to  my  house  and  getting  each 
time  a  bit  of  beef,  a  little  yerba,  and,  if  it  could  be  spared,  a 
little  sugar,  a  little  chipa,  some  salt,  pepper,  and  occasionally 
a  half-bottle  of  cana,  which  he  would  take  away  and  live  upon 
so  long  as  they'lasted,  when  he  would  come  again  to  replenish 
his  stores.  With  these  exceptions  and  the  United  States 
Legation  the  city  was  entirely  depopulated.  On  the  evening 
of  the  evacuation  I  took  a  ride  through  the  streets,  and  not  a 
soul  was  to  be  seen  save  the  numerous  rodillas  of  policemen 
who  were  sauntering  about  or  standing  on  the  street-corners. 
It  was  a  sickening  sight  to  behold,  and  a  forcible  commentary 
on  the  beauties  of  a  strong  government. 

During  these  anxious  days,  and  for  some  time  before,  our 
little  child,  four  months  old,  thus  early  fated  to  figure  in 
events  of  historic  interest,  was  dangerously  sick.  As  usual, 
anxiety  and  watchfulness  prostrated  the  mother,  and  it  was 
clear  that  had  I  at  that  time  gone  into  the  interior  it  would 
have  been  at  the  risk,  if  not  at  the  sacrifice,  of  both  their 
lives.  That  was  not  the  only  consideration,  however,  which 
influenced  my  action.  Months  before,  I  had  written  to  the 
State  Department  in  anticipation  of  what  had  now  occurred, 
and  had  said  that  I  should  not  leave  my  post  unless  carried 
away  as  a  prisoner.  I  little  thought  at  the  time  how  near  I 
was  to  leaving  it,  some  months  later,  in  that  character. 

Our  visitors  from  Limpio,  who  had  shared  our  hopes  that 
the  day  of  deliverance  was  at  hand  when  they  heard  the 
sound  of  the  Brazilian  cannon,  soon  began  to  grow  uneasy 
as  they  found  that  it  was  delayed.  They  feared  their  re- 
maining with  us  would  subject  their  family  to  that  vicarious 
punishment  which  Lopez  was  accustomed  to  apply  to  the  fam- 
ilies and  friends  of  those  whom  he  could  not  touch.  They 
feared  to  remain  longer,  and  on  the  2Qth  I  mounted  the  pretty 
Conchita  and  the  petite  Dolores  on  horseback,  and  sent  them 
home,  accompanied  by  the  ever-faithful  Paraguayan  servant, 


246  PARAGUAY. 

Basilic.  The  other  one,  the  amiable  and  good-natured  Anita, 
would  not  leave  us  then  while  the  child  was  so  sick,  and  the 
mother  worn  down  with  care  and  anxiety  for  its  life.  It  was 
always  a  mystery  to  me  why  Basilio  and  his  mother,  Melchora, 
were  permitted  to  remain  in  my  service.  I  supposed  that 
he,  as  well  as  every  other  Paraguayan  servant,  was  frequently 
called  before  the  police  to  give  a  report  of  everything  they 
knew  that  transpired  in  my  house ;  but  as  they  could  never 
have  anything  to  tell  of  any  importance,  and  as  I  could  not 
prove  that  they  were  ever  interrogated,  I  regarded  it  as  one 
of  the  necessities  of  the  situation,  and  thought  little  of  it.  I 
knew  Basilio  desired  to  serve  me  faithfully  and  well,  and  that 
if  he  acted  the  spy  it  was  because  he  dared  not  do  otherwise. 
He  had  been  recognized  always  since  my  return  from  the 
United  States  as  my  servant,  and  I  knew  he  wished  to  remain 
with  me  ;  but  had  he  received  the  first  hint  from  head-quar- 
ters that  he  should  leave  me,  he  would  not  have  dared  to  re- 
main a  single  day.  After  the  town  had  been  evacuated,  he 
was  most  useful  as  a  forager.  The  people,  except  those  who 
were  foreigners,  living  near  the  capillas  of  Trinidad  and  the 
Recoleta,  were  still  allowed  to  remain  there,  and  there  was  a 
sort  of  market  at  each  place,  where  generally  could  be  had 
fresh  beef,  eggs,  chickens,  mandioca,  and  oranges.  The  sup- 
ply for  our  household  of  more  than  forty  persons  made  good 
loads  for  two  horses,  and  every  morning  Basilio  was  sent  off 
to  bring  in  such  needed  provisions  as  he  could  find. 

For  several  days  after  the  evacuation,  the  English  and 
Americans,  who,  instead  of  obeying  the  general  order  to  re- 
tire into  the  interior,  had  come  to  my  house,  ventured  to 
stroll  about  in  the  immediate  vicinity ;  and  this  might  have 
continued  some  time  longer  but  for  the  imprudence  of  Man- 
love,  who  had  not  yet  learned  to  conform  to  the  circumstances 
by  which  he  was  surrounded. 

During  the  days  of  the  evacuation  the  people  were  eager  to 
sell  such  things  as  chickens,  ducks,  and  even  cows,  as  they 
could  not  take  them  with  them,  and  if  left  behind  they  would 
probably  never  see  them  again.  I  therefore  enjoined  Manlove 


IMPRUDENCE   OF   MANLOVE.  247 

to  purchase  whatever  might  serve  to  maintain  us  in  the  event 
of  a  protracted  siege,  and  of  our  being  unable  to  obtain  sup- 
plies from  the  interior.  Among  other  things  he  purchased 
two  or  three  cows,  which  he  tethered  in  a  vacant  yard  a  few 
squares  from  my  own  house,  where  the  grass  was  rank  and 
abundant.  On  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  March,  ten  days 
after  the  evacuation,  he  and  Watts,  the  hero  of  the  battle  of 
Riachuelo,  started  on  horseback  to  go  and  look  after  these 
animals.  They  had  galloped  across  the  Plaza  Vieja,  and 
were  just  turning  a  corner,  when  they  encountered  nine 
policemen.  They  were  ordered  to  stop,  and  told  that  they 
were  violating  the  city  ordinance,  which  prohibited  galloping 
through  the  streets.  Watts  replied  they  were  only  going  to 
look  after  some  animals,  and  were  doing  no  harm,  as  there 
were  no  people  in  the  streets  or  in  the  town.  The  police 
sergeant  replied  that  they  could  go  on,  but  that  they  must 
report  themselves  the  next  day  to  the  police-office.  Watts  then 
turned  back,  and  had  Manlove  done  the  same  there  would 
have  been  an  end  of  the  matter.  The  American,  feeling  in- 
dignant at  being  stopped,  said  he  would  go  and  see  the  Chief 
of  Police.  So  he  turned  back,  and  rode  to  the  police-office. 
His  conduct  here  will  show  so  well  the  temper  and  character 
of  the  man,  that  I  will  give  the  conversation  that  took  place 
between  him  and  the  Chief.  On  entering  the  office  he  met 
the  Chief,  Sanabria,  and  undertook  to  tell  him,  in  his  imperfect 
Spanish,  what  had  occurred.  The  Chief  replied  :  "  You  were 
very  rude  to  the  Mayor  of  the  Plaza.  He  passed  your  door, 
and  you  did  not  salute  him."  "  Yes,"  replied  Manlove,  "  I 
did  not  salute  him  ;  but  the  reason  was,  I  thought  it  was  you." 
"  And  why  would  you  not  salute  me  ?  "  "  Because  I  rank 
you.  In  my  country  I  am  a  major,  and  you  are  only  a  cap- 
tain." "  Wait  there  by  the  door,"  said  the  enraged  Chief,  and 
strode  off  in  anger  to  get  orders  as  to  what  he  should  do  with 
so  contumacious  a  gringo. 

On  returning  from  a  paseo  that  evening,  a  half-hour  after 
this  occurrence,  I  learned  from  Watts  of  what  had  taken 
place  in  the  street.  I  knew  the  character  of  Sanabria,  and 


248  PARAGUAY. 

that  he  was  one  of  Lopez's  most  trusted  and  willing  tools  ; 
that  he  was  hated  and  feared  by  all,  both  natives  and  foreign- 
ers, and  as  Manlove  did  not  return  for  an  hour  or  more,  I 
walked  down  to  the  police-office  to  look  for  him.  I  found  him 
sitting  under  the  corridor  of  the  building,  with  at  least  a  dozen 
policemen  guarding  him.  I  asked  him  what  he  was  doing 
there.  He  replied  the  Chief  had  ordered  him  to  wait  there, 
and  had  gone  off.  I  told  him  to  mount  his  horse  instantly, 
and  go  directly  home.  He  started  to  do  so,  when  the  police- 
men gathered  around  to  stop  him.  I  said  to  them  :  "  Let  him 
alone,  he  belongs  to  me"  (Dejale,  el pertenece d me).  Aston- 
ished at  what  to  them  seemed  great  audacity,  they  stood  con- 
founded, and  Manlove  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  away ;  and 
before  Sanabria  returned  he  was  safe  as  any  man  could  be 
within  the  walls  of  the  United  States  Legation. 

I  regretted  this  affair,  as  I  knew  that  it  would  be  reported 
to  Lopez,  and  would  greatly  enrage  him,  and  that  he  would 
revenge  himself  in  some  way,  not  only  on  Manlove,  but  on 
everybody  in  the  Legation.  There  had  never  been  a  time  for 
forty  years  that  such  an  insult  to  an  officer  of  El  Supremo 
would  not  have  been  followed  by  the  speedy  execution  of  the 
offender  ;  and  I  knew  that  if  Manlove  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  police  again,  he  would  only  escape  through  death's  door. 
I  therefore  told  him  if  he  went  out  again  it  would  be  at  his 
own  risk,  I  would  not  again  interfere  in  his  behalf.  He  was 
not  to  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  his  violent  temper  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  safety  and  comfort  of  forty  others. 

This  affair  did  not  have  the  immediate  result  which  we  all 
anticipated.  I  was  obliged,  however,  to  enter  into  a  corres- 
pondence in  regard  to  it,  and  to  make  explanations  in  behalf 
of  Manlove  which  were  so  far  accepted  that  the  matter  was 
dropped. 

It  was  now  evident  that  the  passage  of  the  Brazilian  squad- 
ron above  Humaita  was  to  prove,  like  all  the  preceding  victo- 
ries of  the  allies,  fruitless.  Anybody  but  a  Brazilian  com- 
mander, having  Lopez  where  he  was,  would  have  forced  him 
and  his  whole  army  to  capitulate  or  starve  within  two  weeks. 


ATTACK   ON   THE    IRONCLADS. 


249 


But  to  our  surprise  and  disgust  we  soon  learned  that  the 
Paraguayans  were  soon  after  sending  large  numbers. of  cattle 
across  the  river  into  the  Chaco,  and  passing  them  down  the 
right  bank  to  a  point  nearly  opposite  Humaita,  and  thence 
towing  and  swimming  them  across  a  second  time,  landing 
them  safely  within  their  own  lines.  In  the  mean  time  the 
ironclads  were  lying  idle  at  Tayi.  Such  a  tremendous  vic- 
tory as  they  had  achieved  was  not  to  be  repeated  oftener  than 
once  in  three  or  four  months.  They  must  wait  till  the  news 
of  their  exploits  could  be  announced  in  Rio,  till  the  end  of 
the  war  could  be  again  proclaimed  by  the  Emperor,  and  his 
heroic  veterans  congratulated  and  rewarded  for  their  dash  and 
valor. 

In  the  mean  time,  while  the  allies  were  literally  wasting 
away  from  inaction,  Lopez  was  preparing  for  them  another 
surprise.  His  own  safety  was  ever  the  first  consideration,  and 
he  had  been  contending  against  the  Brazilians  so  long,  he  had 
learned  that  after  a  victory  they  would  give  him  several 
months'  quiet  in  which  to  recuperate.  But  though  van- 
quished and  surrounded,  he  still  kept  up  the  offensive.  The 
Brazilians  were  rejoicing  that  he  was  cooped  up  with  a  force 
so  small  that  he  and  his  whole  army,  consisting  as  they  said 
of  a  mere  handful,  must  soon  surrender.  To  dispel  this  illu- 
sion, Lopez  resorted  to  his  favorite  device  of  sending  a  force 
on  an  apparently  hopeless  errand,  by  which  it  would  be  made 
to  appear  that  he  had  more  troops  than  he  needed,  and  it 
mattered  not  how  many  he  sacrificed. 

On  this  occasion  his  expedient  was  to  send  a  force  of  some 
four  hundred  men  in  canoes  to  attack  the  ironclads  that  were 
lying  idle  and  exposed  at  Tayi.  Foolhardy  and  stupid  as 
this  would  seem  to  any  one  not  familiar  with  Brazilian  strat- 
egy, it  was  nearly  successful  the  first  time  it  was  attempted. 

Two  of  the  ironclads  were  lying  at  anchor  a  short  distance 
from  each  other,  with  banked  fires,  and  Lopez  had  prepared  a 
large  number  of  canoes,  in  which  some  four  hundred  picked 
men  were  placed,  with  orders  to  go  and  capture  them.  An 
order  from  Lopez  was  to  his  men  like  a  decree  of  fate.  They 


250 


PARAGUAY. 


were  to  make  the  attempt  without  flinching,  even  though 
inevitable  death  awaited  them.  Their  orders  were  to  attack 
simultaneously  the  two  vessels,  and  board  them  if  possible, 
and  get  possession.  It  was  a  night  attack.  The  canoes, 
filled  with  men  armed  with  cutlasses  and  hooks,  stole  out  from 
their  hiding-places  at  a  little  past  midnight  and  drifted  down 
towards  the  unsuspecting  enemy.  All  was  silent  and  dark, 
and  the  canoes  crept  along  unheard  and  unsuspected  by  the 
sentinels  on  deck,  who  were,  as  usual,  faithfully  sleeping  at 
their  posts.  By  some  mistake  or  miscalculation,  the  force  sent 
to  attack  one  of  the  vessels  reached  it  while  the  other  party 
was  still  some  distance  from  its  intended  prize.  The  Bra- 
zilians, unsuspicious  of  danger,  were  fast  asleep,  a  large  part 
of  the  crew  lying  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel.  The  first  symp- 
tom of  alarm  was  a  shout  from  the  Paraguayans,  as  they 
sprang  on  board,  and  with  a  yell  began  to  cut  down  the 
stupefied  Brazilians.  It  was  but  the  work  of  a  few  minutes 
to  clear  the  deck,  but  the  vessel  had  been  made  so  as  to 
guard  against  being  successfully  boarded.  The  men  below, 
on  hearing  the  noise  above,  had  firmly  closed  and  fastened  the 
iron  doors  leading  to  the  deck,  so  they  could  not  be  reached 
by  the  assailants.  The  Paraguayans  were  in  possession  of 
the  vessel,  though  they  could  do  nothing  with  her  without 
forcing  open  the  hold,  and  that  would  require  considerable 
time.  They,  however,  ran  up  the  Paraguayan  flag,  and 
raised  a  shout  of  triumph.  The  other  vessel  had  caught 
the  alarm,  and  before  the  canoes  that  were  making  for  her 
had  got  near,  was  ready  to  receive  them.  The  assailants, 
therefore,  after  vainly  endeavoring  to  board,  and,  losing  a 
large  part  of  their  men,  made  for  the  other  vessel,  and  climb- 
ing on  board,  all  joined  in  the  desperate  effort  to  make  an 
opening  into  the  hold.  In  the  mean  time  the  other  vessel 
quickly  fanned  her  banked  fires  into  a  heat,  and  as  soon  as 
steam  could  be  got  up,  and  the  anchor  raised,  instead  of  run- 
ning away,  as  was  to  have  been  expected  from  the  antecedents 
of  the  squadron,  came  to  the  rescue  of  her  mate.  The  light 
that  was  breaking  showed  the  deck  of  the  huge  ironclad  cov- 


WASTEFULNESS   OF   LIFE.  2^T 

ered  with  Paraguayans,  and  the  Paraguayan  flag  flying  at  the 
poop.  These  poor  victims,  of  course,  were  utterly  defenceless 
against  the  heavy  guns  of  the  other  vessel.  Their  plan  had 
evidently  miscarried,  and  on  seeing  the  other  gunboat  ap- 
proach they  could  have  easily  escaped.  But  Lopez  had  ordered 
them  to  capture  the  vessel,  and  bring  it  with  them  as  a  prize, 
and  they  knew  the  fate  that  awaited  them  if  they  returned 
without  having  fulfilled  his  order.  Death  to  them  was  inevit- 
able. If  .they  did  not  perish  then  and  there,  a  worse  death 
awaited  them  at  the  hands  of  Lopez.  The  big  guns  of  the 
other  vessel,  filled  with  grape  and  metralla,  belched  forth  upon 
them,  and  soon  not  a  soul  was  to  be  seen  on  the  deck.  Of  the 
four  hundred  who  had  made  the  attack,  only  about  twenty 
escaped  back  to  the  camp  of  Lopez.  Of  these,  some  were 
shot,  and  the  rest  set  to  work  on  the  trenches,  where  they 
were  flogged  and  starved  till  they  died.  No  such  traitors 
ever  were  allowed  to  participate  in  the  glory  of  another  battle. 

This,  like  nearly  every  action  of  the  war,  was  claimed  as  a 
victory  by  both  sides.  The  Semanario  boasted  that  the  Para- 
guayans had  captured  and  held  for  a  considerable  time  one  of 
the  enemy's  ironclads,  flaunting  their  flag  triumphantly  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy  over  their  prize.  The  Brazilians  boasted, 
as  usual,  of  another  great  victory,  in  which  those  who  were 
locked  up  in  the  hold,  and  those  who  in  their  fright  jumped 
overboard  and  were  drowned,  all  alike  performed  prodigies  of 
valor. 

Though  the  affair  was  so  disastrous  in  one  way  to  Lopez,  in 
another  it  had  its  desired  effect.  The  desperation  and  waste- 
fulness shown  confounded  and  confused  the  allies,  who  had 
imagined  that  the  Paraguayans  were  past  further  resistance. 
They  now  found  that  the  enemy  was  still  unconquered  and  auda- 
cious as  ever,  and  took  good  care  not  to  be  surprised  in  that  way 
again.  Such  a  rash  and  unexpected  assault  as  this  could  not 
be  expected  to  succeed,  by  any  possibility,  except  the  first  time 
it  was  made.  Its  only  possible  chance  of  success  consisted  in 
its  apparent  impracticability.  Lulled  by  the  sense  of  perfect 
security  within  their  iron  walls,  it  was  possible  they  might  be 


252  PARAGUAY. 

surprised  and  captured,  though  the  chances  were  as  a  hun- 
dred to  one  against  it.  After  one  attempt,  however,  it  was 
madness  to  think  they  might  be  surprised  a  second  time. 
Nevertheless,  a  second  attack  of  the  same  kind  was  made 
some  three  or  four  weeks  later,  and  with  results  even  more 
disastrous  than  the  first  The  Brazilians  were  this  time  pre- 
pared, and  all  the  attacking  party,  with  the  exception  of  about 
a  dozen,  were  killed.  Enough  returned  to  tell  the  story  of 
the  hopelessness  of  the  slaughter  to  which  they  had  been  ex- 
posed. Yet  this  did  not  change  the  plans  of  Lopez.  A  third 
force  was  sent  on  the  same  errand,  when  nothing  but  inevit- 
able death  awaited  them.  It  was  a  kind  of  warfare  that 
suited  Lopez.  His  men  could  not  desert  or  surrender,  and 
the  act  of  sending  them  in  such  numbers  to  hopeless  slaugh- 
ter would  show  to  the  enemy  that  he  had  enough  and  to  spare; 
at  the  same  time  it  would  prove  to  the  world  how  valiant  the/ 
were,  and  how  devoted  to  him  and  their  country. 


CHAPTER     XVIII. 

Routine  of  Life  at  the  Legation.  —  Captain  Fidanza.  —  Fears  entertained  by 
Lopez's  Mother.  —  Her  Isolation.  —  She  asks  for  Protection. —  Don  Saturnino 
Bedoya.  —  His  Imprisonment.  —  Lopez's  Flight  from  Paso  Pucu.  —  Passage 
of  the  Army  through  the  Chaco.  —  Colonel  Martinez.  —  Massacre  of  Pris- 
oners. —  Extracts  from  my  Diary.  —  The  Vice-President  and  Berges  called 
below.  —  Inertness  of  the  Allies.  —  Colonel  Paulino  Alen.  —  The  Allies  occupy 
Paso  Pucu.  —They  closely  invest  Humaita.  —  Colonel  Alen  escapes  to  Lopez. 
—  His  Fate.  —  Martinez  evacuates  Humaita.  —  He  capitulates  in  the  Chaco. 

IT  was  about  six  weeks  after  the  evacuation  of  Asuncion 
when  we  heard  that  Lopez,  having  left  his  stronghold  at 
Humaita,  had  escaped  with  the  larger  part  of  his  army,  and 
was  fortifying  at  a  point  some  fifty  miles  higher  up  the  river 
and  just  above  the  confluence  of  the  Tebicuari  with  the  Para- 
guay. And  such  was  the  fact.  While  we  were  indulging  the 
hope  that  the  war  was  near  its  end,  and  that  a  considerable 
part  of  the  population  would  yet  survive  the  fall  of  the  tyrant, 
we  learned  that  the  imbecile  wretches  who  but  lately  had  him 
completely  shut  up  at  their  mercy  had  allowed  him  to  escape, 
while  they  were  rejoicing  over  the  great  feat  of  passing 
Humaita  and  firing  a  few  shells  at  Asuncion.  We  had  fancied 
our  own  deliverance .  was  at  hand,  and  that  the  caged  tiger 
was  fast  in  the  leash.  Our  indignation  and  contempt  for  the 
Brazilians  was  intense.  At  that  time  I  did  not  anticipate  any 
great  personal  danger  to  myself  or  family,  but  I  feared  that 
Lopez  would  yet  have  all  those  who,  not  belonging  to  the 
Legation,  were  still  living  in  it.  I  foresaw  that  after  a  time  he 
would  be  driven  from  the  Tebicuari ;  and  if  he  were  forced  to 
retire  to  the  mountains,  I  knew  he  would  not  leave  me  nor 
anybody  about  me  behind  him.  Often  and  anxiously  we 
discussed  our  situation.  The  inaction  and  supineness  of  the 


254  PARAGUAY. 

allies  was  a  mystery  to  us ;  and  to  my  oft-repeated  question  to 
my  guests,  "  Why  don't  the  allies  move  ?  why  don't  they  follow 
up  their  advantages?"  the  reply  was  always  the  same,  — "  Son 
Brasilcros"  ("They  are  Brazilians"). 

And  yet  up  to  this  time,  and  until  near  the  middle  of 
July,  notwithstanding  our  anxiety  and  ignorance  of  what  was 
going  on  elsewhere,  and  the  lack  of  many  things  that  we 
had  been  accustomed  to  regard  as  the  very  necessaries  of  life, 
we  were  the  happiest  people  by  far  in  Paraguay.  We  could 
get  beef,  chickens,  eggs,  Indian  corn,  mandioca,  and  the  Para- 
guayan tea,  or  yerba  mate,  so  that  we  did  not  really  suffer  for 
anything.  In  fact,  this  was  the  happiest  period  during  all 
our  residence  after  my  return  to  Paraguay.  The  English 
families  in  the  rear  were  all  decent  and  respectable  people ; 
and  though,  crowded  in  as  they  were  with  nothing  to  do,  they 
had  their  petty  bickerings,  they  were  so  happy  in  the  belief  that 
they  were  beyond  the  power  of  Lopez  that  they  counted  their 
minor  troubles  and  discomforts  as  nothing.  Carreras  and 
Rodriguez  were  both  highly  educated  and  refined  gentlemen, 
and  the  latter  had  an  exuberance  of  spirits  that  made  him  a 
most  agreeable  companion.  The  mornings,  from  the  hour  of 
taking  the  early  cup  of  mate  till  breakfast  at  eleven  o'clock, 
were  passed  by  us  in  literary  avocations.  Carreras  and  Rodri- 
guez were  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  English  language, 
though  the  former  spent  much  of  his  time  writing  out  notes 
of  his  own  times  for  me  to  use  in  this  history  ;  Masterman 
quietly  pursued  his  scientific  investigations  in  his  own  room ; 
and  Bliss  was  always  reading  anything,  in  English,  Spanish, 
French,  or  Portuguese  that  could  add  to  his  great  stores  of 
knowledge,  that  caused  us  all  to  regard  him  as  a  walking 
encyclopaedia. 

The  breakfast  was  always  followed  by  a  few  games  at  bil- 
liards, as  fortunately  I  had  a  fine  large  American  billiard-table 
in  my  house,  and  then  all  indulged  in  the  luxury  of  a  siesta. 
After  this  came  another  mate,  and  after  that  books  and  writing 
again,  and  long  and  anxious  discussions  of  the  situation  till 
five  or  six  o'clock,  when  I  alone,  or  perhaps  myself  and  wife, 


LOPEZ'S  TREATMENT  OF  HIS  MOTHER.  255 

would  indulge  in  a  pasco  on  horseback.  The  others,  save 
only  my  secretary  and  servants,  dared  not  venture  into  the 
streets,  and  would  while  away  the  time  till  sunset  or  dinner- 
time as  best  they  could.  After  dinner  we  would  play  whist 
and  chess  till  bedtime,  and  thus  we  filled  up  the  days  when 
nothing  of  an  unusual  character  occurred  outside  of  the  Lega- 
tion to  divert  our  attention  or  lead  us  into  new  speculations 
on  our  darkening  future. 

During  these  days  I  would  occasionally  ride  out  as  far  as 
the  quinta  of  the  old  Lady  President,  and  sometimes  would  go 
out  to  that  of  Captain  Fidanza  in  Campo  Grande,  and  at 
others  would  go  as  far  as  the  house  of  my  friends  in  Limpio, 
the  Casal  family.  The  latter  being  some  six  leagues  from 
town,  I  would  usually  go  out  in  the  afternoon  of  one  day  and 
return  on  the  following  morning.  The  mother  of  Lopez  and 
her  younger  daughter,  Dona  Rafaela,  were  always  very  glad 
to  see  me,  and  always  treated  me  with  the  greatest  kindness 
and  attention.  She  hoped  to  learn  from  me  something  of  the 
condition  of  her  youngest  son,  Benigno,  and  of  her  son-in-law, 
the  husband  of  Rafaela,  both  of  whom  she  had  heard  were 
prisoners  at  the  head-quarters  of  her  merciless  first-born. 
She  said  that  she  and  her  daughter  were  virtually  prisoners 
within  their  own  premises.  Even  her  second  son,  Venancio, 
who  yet  remained  at  Asuncion,  and  whose  country-house 
where  he  lived  was  within  a  mile  of  her  own,  was  not  per- 
mitted to  visit  them  without  the  permission  of  his  big  brother ; 
neither  could  the  practicante,  or  native  physician,  come  near 
her,  though  she  were  dying,  without  orders  from  her  cruel  and 
unnatural  son.  The  native  women  of  the  neighborhood  were 
afraid  to  visit  her,  and  her  own  servants  were  unwilling 
spies  of  all  her  acts.  Her  capataz,  or  the  manager  of  her 
estancia,  was  taken  away  a  prisoner,  for  what  cause  she  knew 
not ;  and  the  priest  and  juez  (judge  of  the  district)  had  also 
been  carried  off  in  irons.  They  were,  however,  well  pro- 
vided with  everything  in  the  way  of  provisions  from  their 
stores  accumulated  before  the  war.  The  old  lady  sometimes 
spoke  of  the  possibility  that  the  time  might  come  when  she 


256  PARAGUAY. 

too  might  wish  to  flee  to  my  house,  though  the  contingency 
she  referred  to  was  in  view  of  the  threatened  capture  of  the 
capital  by  the  allies,  for  she  feared  that  neither  her  sex  nor 
her  gray  hairs  would  save  her  from  the  fury  of  the  conquering 
army.  She  shared  the  fears  which  her  son  had  impressed  on 
the  whole  people,  that  if  they  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Brazilians  they  would  all  be  massacred  or  carried  away  and 
sold  into  hopeless  slavery. 

I  assured  her  that,  if  the  time  should  ever  come  when  she 
and  her  daughter  might  seek  a  refuge  in  my  house,  they 
should  have  all  the  protection  my  flag  could  afford.  The  old 
lady  was  evidently  prompted  to  her  generosity  towards  me 
to  a  great  extent  by  self-interest.  This  is  an  ungracious  thing 
to  say,  but  truth  compels  it,  as  she  was  not  noted  for  her  liber- 
ality. On  the  contrary,  she  had  been  too  thrifty,  during  the 
lifetime  of  her  husband,  to  be  a  desirable  neighbor.  She  not 
only  managed  her  own  estancias  with  great  economy,  but  took 
advantage  of  the  fear  entertained  by  all  of  giving  offence  to 
any  of  her  family  to  drive  most  usurious  bargains.  She  had 
at  times  the  monopoly  of  supplying  beef  to  the  capital ;  and 
if  the  supply  from  her  own  estancias  were  insufficient,  she 
would  purchase  of  others  at  her  own  price,  which  was  not 
more  than  a  half  or  a  third  of  the  actual  value.  Then,  if  she 
desired  to  purchase  an  estancia,  she  would  get  it  on  her  own 
terms.  She  was  seconded  in  all  these  doings  by  her  husband, 
and  the  result  was  that  many  of  the  best  estancias  in  the 
country  had  been  wrested  from  their  owners  to  enrich  the 
Lopez  family.  Each  one  of  her  children  had  several  of  them, 
so  that,  at  the  time  of  Don  Carlos's  death,  they  all  had  princely 
estates.  Notwithstanding  this  undue  exercise  of  power,  how- 
ever, the  old  lady  was  generally  respected.  She  would  listen 
to  the  complaints  and  petitions  of  those  who  had  fallen  under 
the  displeasure  of  the  government,  and  often  intercede  in 
their  behalf,  and  many  persons  owed  to  her  good  offices  their 
liberation  from  prison  or  from  service  in  the  army. 

But  whatever  was  her  disposition  and  whatever  her  mo- 
tives in  her  liberality  towards  me,  she  was  an  object  of  pity 


THE    REWARD   OF   PATRIOTISM.  257 

and  commiseration.  Her  situation  might  be  compared  to 
that  of  a  hen,  that,  having  hatched  out  a  brood  of  chickens,  is 
horrified  to  find  that  one  of  them  is  a  hawk  and  has  begun 
devouring  the  others  ;  that  he  heeds  not  her  clucking  or  her 
cries,  but  that  he  will  go  on  killing  one  after  another,  and 
finally  strike  his  ravenous  beak  in  her  own  breast. 

Some  two  months  before  the  passage  of  the  ironclads 
above  Humaita,  the  delegation  that  was  chosen  to  carry  the 
diamond-hilted  sword  and  gold  scabbard,  the  golden  inkstand, 
and  books  with  golden  covers  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  had 
proceeded  to  head-quarters  to  discharge  their  agreeable  task. 
The  delegation  was  composed  of  men  who  had  been  engaged 
in  the  civil  service  in  various  capacities.  They  were  all  men 
distinguished  for  their  loyalty  and  patriotism,  that  is,  those 
who  on  all  public  occasions  were  most  prompt  to  make 
speeches  eulogistic  of  the  great  Lopez,  and  to  protest  their 
resolution  to  shed  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  in  defence  of 
the  sacred  cause  of  liberty,  of  which  he  was  the  great  cham- 
pion. Unfortunately,  of  this  delegation  of  ardent  patriots 
the  most  of  them  failed  to  come  back.  At  the  ceremony  of 
presentation,  the  delegates  through  their  chairman,  Saturnino 
Bedoya,  the  brother-in-law  of  Lopez,  expressed  their  grati- 
tude to  him  as  their  saviour  and  defender,  covering  him  with 
the  most  fulsome  adulation,  as  if  he  were  indeed  a  hero  in- 
stead of  the  heartless  coward  they  all  knew  him  to  be.  To 
their  expressions  of  loyalty  and  devotion  Lopez  responded, 
promising  to  lead  his  brave  legions  to  renewed  victories,  and 
fall  at  last,  if  fall  he  must,  at  the  head  of  his  columns. 

The  ceremony  over,  the  most  of  the  delegates,  including 
Bedoya  and  Urbieta,  the  literary  confrere  of  Bliss  in  the  play 
of  the  Triple  Alliance,  and  who  was  fool  enough  actually  to 
believe  in  Lopez,  were  arrested  and  loaded  down  with  fetters. 
Of  the  twelve  who  went  below,  only  three  ever  returned. 
The  others  were  all  kept  in  prison,  and  subjected  to  the  most 
horrid  cruelties  ;  and  those  of  them  who  did  not  expire  under 
the  torture,  or,  as  Lopez  expressed  it  in  his  official  papers, 
die  a  natural  death,  were  shot,  or  perhaps  bayoneted  to  save 
ammunition. 

VOL.    II.  1 7 


258  PARAGUAY. 

The  flight  of  Lopez  from  Paso  Pucu  was  characteristic  of  the 
man,  as  his  first  care  was  for  his  own  safety.  Previously  to 
the  passage  of  the  squadron  above  Humaita,  he  had  scarcely 
ventured  outside  of  his  cave  for  months,  lest  ^some  stray 
shot  might  put  an  end  to  his  valuable  life.  But  as  it  now  ap- 
peared doubtful  whether  he  could  long  maintain  himself  where 
he  was,  and  his  cave  could  no  longer  protect  him,  he  ignomin- 
iously  ran  away.  Disguising  himself  so  as  not  to  be  recog- 
nized in  the  night  either  by  friend  or  foe,  he  stole  out  of  his 
cave  at  nightfall  and,  accompanied  by  a  single  soldier  as  a 
guide,  sneaked  away  in  the  darkness  in  the  same  way  that 
he  had  skulked  away  from  Itapiru  more  than  a  year  and  a 
half  before.  In  this  way  he  crept  towards  Humaita,  whence 
he  passed  over  the  river  to  the  Chaco,  and  from  there  he  sent 
back  orders  for  the  larger  part  of  the  forces  to  follow  him, 
taking  with  them  as  many  of  the  guns  as  there  was  any 
possibility  of  their  being  able  to  drag  through  the  swamps 
and  thickets  of  the  Chaco  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tebicuari, 
where  he  had  decided  to  make  his  next  stronghold.  The 
success  with  which  this  retreat  was  accomplished  is  aston- 
ishing, considering  how  easy  it  would  have  been  for  the  allies 
to  have  cut  it  off  entirely.  The  only  explanation  of  it  I  can 
give  is  that  so  often  given  by  the  poor  Orientales  when  speak- 
ing of  the  stupid  inaction  of  the  enemy,  —  "  Son  Brasileros  " 
("  They  are  Brazilians  ").  It  was  not  only  necessary  for  the  worn 
and  wasted  Paraguayans,  after  reaching  the  Chaco,  to  drag  their 
guns  and  other  munitions  of  war  through  swamps  and  forests 
that  the  allies  had  declared  utterly  impenetrable,  but  to  cross 
at  least  one  large  river,  the  Bermejo,  and  again  cross  the  Para- 
guay at  San  Fernando,  the  point  selected  for  the  new  camp. 
All  this  while  the  allies  were  celebrating  the  great  feat  of  the 
passage  above  Humaita,  and  the  bells  of  Buenos  Aires  and 
Rio  de  Janeiro  were  rung,  and  bonfires  were  lighted,  and  peo- 
ple were  bid  to  rejoice,  for  Lopez  and  his  army  were  in  a  trap, 
Asuncion  had  been  taken,  and  the  end  of  the  war  was  at  hand. 

Lopez,  having  no  further  use  for  his  cave  at  Paso  Pucu, 
gave  orders  to  abandon  that  part  of  his  camp,  and  contract 


COLONELS   ALEN    AND    MARTINEZ.  259 

the  lines  to  a  comparatively  small  space  immediately  around 
Humaita,  which  he  left  in  charge  of  two  of  his  most. trusted 
lieutenants,  Alen  and  Martinez.  They  were  both  feared  and 
disliked,  as  they  were  believed  to  be  too  willing  to  execute  the 
cruel  orders  of  their  master.  Martinez  was  more  trusted  than 
any  other  man  whom  Lopez  permitted  to  come  near  him. 
For  two  years  he  served  as  his  body-guard,  never  sleeping  at 
the  same  time  with  his  chief,  but  keeping  watch  at  his  door, 
permitting  no  one  to  enter  unless  it  were  the  mistress  he  had 
summoned.  His  wife,  a  pretty,  plump,  laughing,  and  heedless 
young  woman,  had  been  honored  beyond  any  other  Paraguayan 
woman,  as  she  was  made  the  companion  and  intimate  of  Madam 
Lynch,  with  whom  she  lived  when  the  latter  was  in  Asuncion, 
or  at  her  country-house  at  Patino-cu6.  But  notwithstanding 
the  confidence  that  Lopez  had  in  Martinez,  he  did  not  dare 
to  trust  him  with  an  independent  command.  No  service  or 
proofs  of  fidelity  could  disarm  Lopez  of  the  impression  that 
all  around  him  were  secretly  his  enemies.  It  was  from  this 
distrust  that  Ale"n  was  ordered  to  share  the  command  with 
Martinez  ;  each  was  to  be  a  watch  and  spy  on  the  other,  and 
at  the  least  sign  of  flagging,  or  the  first  inclination  to  treat 
or  make  terms  with  the  enemy,  he  was  to  arrest  him  and 
send  him  before  their  common  master.  They  were  left  but  a 
mere  handful  of  men  to  stay  the  advance  of  ten  times  their 
number.  Their  orders  were  the  same  that  Lopez  always  gave 
out, —  never  under  any  circumstances  to  surrender,  but  to  fight 
till  the  last  man  'was  killed.  To  do  less  than  that,  in  Lopez's 
eyes,  was  treason,  which  would  not  only  subject  them  to  be 
punished,  if  they  ever  fell  into  his  power  again,  with  torture 
and  death,  but  would  expose  their  families  to  every  indig- 
nity that  the  malign  genius  of  Lopez  could  devise.  The  offi- 
cers of  lower  grade  knew  full  well  that  the  most  pleasing 
service  they  could  do  to  Lopez  was  to  act  the  spy  on  their 
superiors  and  report  directly  to  him.  The  situation  of  these 
two  commanders,  who  had  not  the  least  confidence  in  each 
other,  and  each  of  whom  knew  that  the  other  was  watching 
to  report  any  act  or  expression  that  might  imply  a  doubt  of 


260  PARAGUAY. 

the  infallibility  of  his  chief,  was  most  trying.  They  were  both 
men  of  reckless  courage,  for  Lopez  would  have  none  others  in 
high  or  responsible  positions.  Like  Cromwell,  he  would  have 
none  under  him  who  were  not  incapable  of  fear.  He  did  not, 
however,  like  Cromwell,  bid  those  who  did  not  come  up  to 
his  standard  to  return  to  their  homes,  but  had  them  publicly 
executed. 

At  the  time  of  the  flight  of  Lopez  from  Paso  Pucu,  there 
was  a  large  number  of  prisoners  in  his  camp.  The  most  of 
them  were  prisoners  of  war,  though  some  were  foreigners 
who  had  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  in  the  country  at  the 
commencement  of  hostilities.  Others  were  Paraguayans,  in- 
cluding his  Vice-President,  his  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
the  bearers  of  the  golden  presents,  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Bedoya,  at  their  head,  and  others  who  had  incurred  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  President  of  the  Republic.  Of  the  first  class 
all  were  massacred,  except  a  few  of  the  higher  grade  of 
officers,  who  were  reserved  to  be  driven  to  his  new  encamp- 
ment, there  to  be  tortured,  that  he  might  feast  his  eyes  with 
their  miseries,  and  drink  in  the  music,  so  sweet  to  his  ears, 
of  their  shrieks  and  dying  groans.  They  were  to  furnish  a 
bonne  bouche  which  he  could  not  bear  to  lose. 

While  this  scene  of  horrors  was  being  enacted  at  head- 
quarters, we,  at  Asuncion,  were  in  complete  ignorance  of  what 
was  transpiring  everywhere  else.  So  far  as  we  knew,  there 
was  no  government  left  at  either  the  old  or  the  new  capital. 
All  the  civil  officials  had  gone  to  head-quarters.  The  old 
Vice-President  and  Berges  had  been  called  below  to  Humaita 
soon  after  the  passage  of  the  squadron  above  that  point  ;  and 
Benitez,  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  Fer- 
nandez, the  military  commander  at  Asuncion,  were  summoned 
to  San  Fernando,  to  report  to  Lopez  of  what  had  transpired 
at  Asuncion.  Save  that  the  police  were  as  numerous  and 
watchful  as  ever,  we  saw  no  signs  of  authority. 

I  will  here  give  some  brief  extracts  from  my  journal,  as 
they  will  show  how  completely  we  were  in  the  dark  in  respect 
to  what  was  going  on  elsewhere. 


EXTRACTS   FROM   MY  JOURNAL.  261 

"  Sunday,  February  2$d.  —  The  morning  broke  bright  and 
clear  ;  no  news  of  the  ironclads  ;  people  very  much  occupied 
in  moving  out  of  the  capital,  and  by  midday  the  city  ap- 
peared abandoned. 

"  Monday,  February  2^th.  —  The  day  broke  calm  as  usual, 
but  rumors  were  in  circulation  that  the  ironclads  were  near 
Lambare.  At  half  past  nine  we  heard  firing  from  the  battery 
between  our  house  and  the  river,  and  very  soon  from  the  iron- 
clads, that  continued  till  near  twelve,  when  it  ceased.  At 
8  A.  M.  I  sent  a  note  to  the  Minister  (Berges),  but  the  bearer 
found  the  office  closed,  and  could  not  find  any  one  to  whom 
to  deliver  it,  nor  any  one  who  could  tell  him  where  the  Min- 
ister was.  From  noon  till  nightfall  silence  prevailed. 

"  Ttiesday,  February  2$th.  —  Silence  through  the  day ;  I 
sent  Basilic  to  the  Recoleta  to  buy  meat  and  vegetables. 
Towards  evening  I  took  a  ride  through  the  streets,  and  met 
scarcely  anybody,  the  city  appearing  to  be  deserted.  Hester 
has  now  been  sick  for  a  week. 

"  Wednesday,  February  26th.  —  Another  day  of  silence,  and 
we  know  nothing  of  what  has  happened  since  day  before  yes- 
terday. The  child  continues  sick. 

"  TJiursday,  February  2jth. — The  little  one  very  bad,  and  the 
mother  has  not  slept  a  moment  during  the  whole  night.  'T  is 
said  that  Madam  Lynch,  Minister  Berges,  Benitez,  and  Ri- 
veros  went  on  board  the  Salto  at  twelve  o'clock  last  night  to 
go  down  to  the  Tebicuari,  where  they  are  to  cross  over  to  the 
Chaco,  and  thence  to  Paso  Pucu. 

"  Monday,  March  2d>  —  Basilic  went  to  get  a  passport  to  the 
Recoleta,  but  after  waiting  two  hours,  without  being  able  to 
obtain  it,  returned.  From  the  looks  of  the  people,  it  seems  as 
if  matters  were  going  very  badly  below. 

"Tuesday,  March  $d.  —  At  7  A.  M.  went  to  the  Minis- 
tcrio  to  complain  of  the  treatment  of  Basilic  by  the  Geff. 
Major  Fernandez  was  very  civil,  and  protested  there  had  been 
no  intention  to  molest  me,  and  promised  that  a  similar  occur- 
rence should  not  happen  again.  He  says  there  is  nothing 
new  from  below.  Silence  only.  The  ironclads  are  a  little 


262  PARAGUAY. 

above  Humaita,  doing  nothing  to  prevent  the  Paraguayans 
from  crossing  the  river.  What  fools  are  the  Brazilians  ! 

"Wednesday,  MarcJi  ^th. — The  weather  continues  oppres- 
sive, with  nothing  to  break  the  monotony.  The  days  seem 
very  long,  but,  thank  God !  we  are  now  all  in  good  health." 

Up  to  this  time  we  had  seen  little  to  change  our  opinion 
that  the  allies  would  follow  up  their  advantages  and  soon  end 
the  war.  Why  they  had  not  done  it  before  we  could  not 
explain.  They  had  Lopez  and  his  whole  force  at  their  mercy, 
if  their  commanders  had  possessed,  not  military  genius,  but 
common  sense.  They  had  an  army  five  times  as  numerous  as 
that  of  Lopez,  and  for  months  had  him  invested  on  every  side 
except  by  the  river.  Thousands  of  men  had  been  lying  idle, 
absolutely  dying  for  want  of  exercise,  waiting  for  the  squadron 
to  force  a  passage  above  Humaita,  and  when  that  was  effected 
it  seemed  that  the  last  hope  of  Lopez  would  be  gone. 

It  had  been  a  mystery  to  us  why  these  idle  troops  had  not 
been  put  to  work  long  before  to  cut  a  road  through  the  Chaco 
to  some  point  above  Humaita.  This  matter  had  been  dis- 
cussed in  the  newspapers  in  Buenos  Aires,  but  it  had  been 
declared  to  be  impracticable,  as  the  Chaco  was  but  a  dense 
forest  full  of  marshes  and  swamps,  intersected  with  deep  and 
wide  streams.  It  seemed  to  us,  however,  who,  not  being 
military  men,  were  perhaps  not  competent  to  judge,  that  if 
the  men  who  had  died  in  the  low  grounds  about  the  Tres 
Bocas  within  the  past  year  had  been  set  to  work  to  make  a 
corduroy  road  from  Cerrito  to  Fort  Olimpo,  they  could  easily 
have  done  it,  and  one  half  of  them  been  still  alive. 

Events  of  a  suspicious  character  were  going  on  around  us. 
The  silence  that  prevailed  was  ominous.  The  only  two  per- 
sons connected  with  the  government  with  whom  I  ever  con- 
versed, Fernandez  and  Venancio  Lopez,  could  never  tell  me 
anything.  We  heard  of  certain  foreigners  being  arrested  and 
sent  below,  but  as  they  were  not  our  acquaintances  we  had 
no  suspicion  of  what  offences  they  were  accused.  The  twelve 
public-spirited  patriots,  with  the  President's  brother-in-law, 
Saturnine  Bedoya,  at  their  head,  who  had  gone  to  head-quar- 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   CONSPIRACY.  263 

ters  to  bear  the  voluntary  gifts  of  the  diamond-hilted  sword 
with  gold  scabbard,  the  patriotic  addresses  bound  in  volumes 
with  golden  covers,  and  other  gifts  into  which  the  jewels  of 
the  poor  women  had  been  wrought,  had  not  returned.  The 
Seinanario,  in  its  account  of  their  reception,  said  the  Presi- 
dent had  received  the  sword  and  been  deeply  affected  by 
this  evidence  of  their  devotion  to  their  country's  cause,  and 
with  that  sword  would  lead  them  to  victory  or  perish  at 
their  head.  Few  of  the  committee,  however,  were  ever  to 
return  again  to  Asuncion.  Bedoya  was  arrested  for  no  cause 
that  I  could  ever  learn,  except  that  the  French  Consul, 
Cuberville,  had  told  Benigno,  that,  in  case  the  President 
should  abdicate,  he  would  be  the  proper  man  for  the  succes- 
sion. There  may  have  been  other  reasons,  but  any  one  know- 
ing Lopez  would  regard  that  as  sufficient,  and  would  not 
care  to  look  further.  A  whispered  possibility  that  there 
might  be  a  change  was  high  treason  in  Lopez's  eyes ;  and 
though  it  was  the  consul  who  made  it,  yet  it  was  enough  to 
awaken  the  suspicion  that  the  brother  and  brother-in-law  were 
already  providing  for  the  succession.  With  this,  as  I  believe, 
commenced  the  first  idea  of  a  conspiracy  in  Lopez's  mind.  A 
man,  half  knave,  half  fool,  who  had  been  but  a  short  time  in 
the  country,  made  a  suggestion  innocent  in  itself,  but  coming 
to  the  ears  of  Lopez  it  was  enough  to  inflame  him  to  resolve 
on  the  destruction  of  every  one  who  might  profit  by  his  fall. 

At  this  time  the  government  at  Asuncion  was  to  all  appear- 
ance in  the  hands  of  Fernandez.  Venancio  was  still  there, 
but  was  too  sick  to  do  anything,  and  too  frightened  to  venture 
on  any  act  without  orders.  Sanabria,  at  Luque,  was  the  only 
executive  man  there ;  and  had  there  been  any  treachery  medi- 
tated, it  must  have  been  at  them  or  through  them.  Sanabria, 
however,  was  too  universally  detested  to  be  suspected  of  being 
in  the  confidence  of  any  one  but  his  master,  and  all  accused 
parties  being  seized  by  his  orders,  it  seemed  that  those  two 
were  "  among  the  faithless,  faithful  only  found." 

The  Vice-President,  Berges,  and  Benitez,  were  all  called  to 
head-quarters  as  soon  as  Lopez  learned  that  they  had  taken 


264  PARAGUAY. 

counsel  together  in  regard  to  the  defence  of  Asuncion  after 
the  passage  of  the  ironclads,  and  Fernandez  and  Sanabria 
had  been  left  only  because  their  services  were  required  to 
keep  the  people  in  subjection  and  order. 

Both  the  Vice-President  and  Berges  were  held  close  prison- 
ers at  Paso  Pucu  as  soon  as  they  arrived  there.  Benitez  was 
treated  with  more  indulgence,  as  Lopez  must  show  favor  to 
some,  in  order  to  retain  their  services  for  a  while  longer,  but 
they  had  undoubtedly  all  committed  the  same  offence. 

The  non-return  of  the  ironclads  to  effect  the  capture  of 
Asuncion  after  their  first  inglorious  exploit  caused  great  un- 
easiness to  all  who  had  taken  refuge  in  my  house.  They 
feared  that  in  coming  there  they  had  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  Lopez  ;  and  had  they  supposed  the  end  was  so  distant,  they 
never  would  have  taken  so  hazardous  a  step.  Their  disgust, 
therefore,  grew  daily  more  intense,  as  day  after  day  passed 
and  there  was  no  indication  that  any  effort  was  to  be  made  to 
cut  Lopez  off  from  his  supplies.  This  feeling  was  greatly  in- 
creased when  we  learned  that  the  Paraguayans  were  passing 
large  numbers  of  cattle  across  to  the  Chaco,  and  thence  driv- 
ing them  down  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and  then  passing 
them  back  into  Humaita,  For  two  years  the  impenetrable 
Chaco  had  kept  the  allies  powerless  on  that  side  of  the  river,  and 
yet  no  sooner  did  Lopez  require  a  road  there  than  he  found  it. 
The  great  inert  mass  of  the  allied  army  still  sat  idle,  and  the 
officers  spent  their  time  in  celebrating  the  late  great  victory, 
by  which  they  had  got  Lopez  surrounded  and  so  completely 
at  their  mercy  that  his  capitulation  was  only  a  matter  of  a  few 
days  more  or  less.  Marshal  Caxias  and  Admiral  Ignacio 
were  too  busy  sending  off  the  reports  of  victories  and  magni- 
fying those  services  that  were  to  bring  them  honors  and  pro- 
motion, to  look  after  the  prostrate  enemy.  The  ironclads, 
having  captured  Asuncion,  according  to  the  reports  of  their 
gallant  commanders,  could  attempt  nothing  more  till  they  had 
orders  from  home.  If  they  could  keep  their  vessels  from  cap- 
ture by  the  Paraguayans,  they  thought  they  were  performing 
prodigies  of  valor.  It  would  have  been  supposed  they  would 


PASO   PUCU   ABANDONED.  265 

have  moved  up  and  down  the  river  at  those  points  where  the 
cattle  were  carried  over,  and  have  prevented  this  at  least,  and 
also  the  escape  of  any  considerable  portion  of  the  army  of 
Lopez  ;  but  they  all  rested,  apparently  in  sluggish  indifference 
to  what  Lopez  might  do. 

As  before  mentioned,  Humaita  was  left  in  command  of 
Colonels  Martinez  and  Alen.  Of  the  former  I  have  already 
spoken.  Colonel  Paulino  Alen  was  a  man  in  all  respects 
superior  to  Martinez,  was  a  man  of  tried  courage,  and  had 
won  the  confidence  of  his  chief  by  his  fidelity  as  a  spy.  By 
the  few  foreigners  about  the  camp  he  was  regarded  with  the 
greatest  aversion,  as  he  was  known  to  be  ever  trying  to  in- 
spire Lopez  with  suspicion  of  them,  and  indeed  of  everybody 
else.  He  resembled  Lopez  in  many  particulars,  being  short 
and  stout,  with  much  Indian  blood  in  him,  and  more  of 
the  Indian  suspicion  and  ferocity  of  character.  He  had  a 
better  education  than  most  Paraguayans,  having  been  a  mem- 
ber of  Lopez's  suite  in  Europe,  and  his  secretary  at  the  time 
of  his  mediation  in  Buenos  Aires. 

These  two  being  left  in  command,  Lopez  withdrew  and 
crossed  over  to  the  Chaco,  and  thence  made  his  way  to  San 
Fernando.  When  assured  of  his  safety,  they  destroyed  his 
bomb-proof  house,  that  this  evidence  of  his  cowardice  should 
not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  allies.  The  large  guns,  such 
as  could  be  dragged  through  the  swamps  of  the  Chaco,  were 
withdrawn  from  their  positions  around  Paso  Pucu,  and  sent  to 
San  Fernando,  and  wooden  dummies,  or  Quaker  guns,  left  to 
keep  the  Brazilians  in  check,  and  all  the  forces  left  were  con- 
centrated within  the  inner  lines  of  Humaita.  The  Brazilians 
as  usual,  however,  kept  up  their  bombardment  for  a  long  time 
after  the  place  was  abandoned  except  by  a  few  whose  business 
it  was  to  light  camp-fires  in  the  deserted  places. 

At  length,  as  no  response  was  made  for  days,  the  assailants 
ventured  nearer  and  nearer,  till  at  last  it  was  evident  that 
they  had  been  wasting  their  ammunition  on  empty  forts  and 
Quaker  guns.  Then,  with  characteristic  valor,  they  entered 
just  in  time  to  see  the  few  pickets  escape  to  the  inner 


266  PARAGUAY. 

trenches.  Another  great  victory  was  then  to  be  celebrated. 
Steamers  were  once  more  to  be  despatched  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river  and  to  Rio,  with  the  news  that  the  brave  Caxias  had 
taken  Paso  Pucu,  and  Lopez  had  at  last  been  so  thoroughly 
routed  he  could  never  make  a  stand  again.  Humaita,  how- 
ever, still  held  out,  and  Lopez  with  the  larger  part  of  his 
army  was  fifty  miles  up  the  river,  fortifying  at  San  Fernando. 
He  had  also  a  considerable  force  strongly  posted  at  a  point 
called  Timbo,  a  little  above  Humaita,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river.  The  allies  had,  however,  after  as  many  months  as  they 
should  have  been  days,  made  a  road  through  the  Chaco,  and  cut 
off  all  communication  between  the  two  places,  so  that  Mar- 
tinez and  Alen  were  completely  surrounded.  They  managed 
to  send  through  a  courier  to  Lopez,  advising  him  of  their 
situation,  and  that  their  provisions  were  exhausted.  He  re- 
turned orders  that  they  were  to  remain  at  their  posts  till  six 
days  after  the  supplies  were  all  gone,  and  then,  if  no  relief 
came,  to  cross  over  the  river  and  cut  their  way  through  to  his 
head-quarters.  In  this  desperate  situation  Alen  ventured  an 
act  of  disobedience.  Under  the  anxiety  and  hardships  to 
which  he  had  been  exposed,  his  mind  gave  way,  and  he 
started  for  San  Fernando,  which,  unfortunately  for  himself,  he 
reached  alive.  He  was  received  with  such  displeasure,  that 
he  instantly  divined  that  the  torture  and  death  he  had  so 
often  inflicted  with  alacrity  on  others  would  probably  be  his 
own  doom.  To  escape  such  a  fate  he  attempted  suicide  by 
blowing  his  brains  out.  But  in  this  he  was  still  more  unfortu- 
nate, for  he  only  succeeded  in  inflicting  a  ghastly,  though  not 
fatal,  wound  that  destroyed  one  eye. 

Martinez,  supported  by  Captains  Gill  and  Cabral,  literally 
obeyed  their  instructions  to  remain  in  Humaita  till  the  pro- 
visions should  have  been  six  days  exhausted.  Then  they 
crossed  over  the  river  with  the  remnant  of  their  forces.  It  is 
well  to  give  here  the  account  of  this  retreat  as  given  by  Lo- 
pez in  his  own  Semanario  of  August  I,  1868  :  — 

"  Six  days  had  passed  since  the  commandants  of  Humaita  had  ad- 
vised his  Excellency  that  their  provisions  were  entirely  finished,  but 


HEROIC   DEFENCE   OF    HUMAITA.  267 

as  so  unexpected  an  accident  brought  with  it  very  serious  difficul- 
ties in  the  matter  of  evacuating  the  post,  the  work —  that  is,  the  for- 
tifications at  San  Fernando  —  went  on.  His  Excellency,  the  wise 
and  just  appreciator  of  the  singular  qualities  of  the  Paraguayan 
soldier,  of  his  love  of  country,  of  his  discipline,  and  his  valor  and 
constancy,  ordered  the  troops  and  their  commanders  that  they 
should  eat  nothing  for  six  days,  and  that  after  that  vigil  they  should 
effect  the  passage  of  the  river  on  a  given  day.  The  commanders 
and  the  troops  at  Humaita  did  not  eat,  then,  for  six  days,  and  after 
that  they  realized  their  happy  passage  with  the  most  complete  and 
admirable  result. 

"  It  is  just  that  this  heroic  episode  of  the  Paraguayan  army 
should  be  noted,  which,  having  no  other  example  in  the  history  of 
wars,  comes  to  demonstrate  the  inestimable  virtues  of  the  Para- 
guayan soldier,  and  the  influence  that  the  more  than  magic  voice, 
the  divine  voice,  of  Marshal  Lopez  exercises  over  them,  at  the  same 
time  it  reveals  to  us  and  proclaims  to  the  enemy  and  to  the  world 
of  how  much  that  soldier,  guided  by  his  Marshal,  is  capable. 

"  Admiration  suspends  its  flight  to  detain  itself  over  it  as  the 
point  most  signal  to  which  it  can  ascend.  And  can  the  conquest 
and  enslavement  of  a  nation  with  such  sons  and  such  gifts  be  pre- 
sumed ?  Only  the  barbarian  can  nourish  it,  but  he  may  know  and 
the  world  may  know  that  it  will  never  be  possible 

"  Admiration  and  praise  eternal  to  Marshal  Lopez,  that  with  his 
word  only  attains  consummate  and  splendid  victories  over  the  bar- 
barous enemy,  and  counts  colossal  pyramids  of  heroism.  '  Do  not 
eat,'  he  has  said  to  the  troops  at  Humaita,  and  they  did  not  eat. 
'  Pass,'  he  said  to  them,  and  they  passed,  leaving  the  enemy  com- 
pletely nonplussed  in  their  protracted  plans  of  reducing  it  by 
hunger.  O,  this  is  superior  to  all  praise,  there  are  no  words  with 
which  to  make  its  due  appreciation  !  " 

Such  were  the  praises  of  himself  and  of  the  valiant  defend- 
ers of  Humaita  that  he  caused  to  be  published  in  his  Sema- 
nario.  His  voice,  more  than  magical,  his  divine  voice,  had  in- 
spired all ;  and  in  proof  that  he  was  guided  by  a  higher  power, 
it  was  announced  that  the  waters  had  abated  at  a  difficult 
pass,  as  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  once  retired  for  the  Israel- 
ites to  pass  through,  so  that  his  devoted  troops  went  out  un- 
harmed and  in  safety  from  their  dangerous  position. 


CHAPTER     XIX. 

Colonel  Martinez  accused  of  Treason.  —  His  Wife  arrested  and  tortured.  —  Her 
Sufferings  and  Execution.  —  Extract  from  a  Despatch  sent  to  Washington.  — 
Difficulty  of  Transmitting  Correspondence.  —  Fresh  Despatches  by  Flag  of 
Truce.  —  Signs  of  an  Impending  Crisis. 

IN  a  little  time  the  praises  bestowed  so  lavishly  on  the  de- 
fenders of  Humaita  ceased.  They  had  been  ordered,  not 
only  to  retire,  but  to  fight  their  way  back  to  the  new  lines 
of  Lopez,  and  whoever  did  not  do  that  knew  full  well  he  would 
be  denounced  as  a  traitor,  and  his  family  subjected  to  inde- 
scribable indignities  and  suffering.  When,  therefore,  they 
found  themselves  in  the  Chaco,  they  made  most  desperate 
efforts  to  cut  their  way  through  to  Lopez's  head-quarters,  and 
thus  prove  that  they  were  not  traitors.  But  their  sufferings 
had  told  upon  them  till  they  had  scarcely  strength  enough  to 
walk,  and  on  all  sides  they  were  confronted  by  three  times 
their  number.  The  only  roads  or  trails  were  held  in  force  by 
the  allies,  and  they  had  only  their  side-arms  and  muskets  to 
oppose  to  them.  Had  they  been  in  their  full  health  and 
strength,  doubtless  many  of  them  would  have  crawled  by 
night  through  the  swamps  and  thickets,  and  so  escaped.  But 
in  the  state  in  which  they  were,  they  had  not  the  strength,  if 
they  fell  into  a  marsh,  to  drag  themselves  out.  There  was  no 
possibility,  apparently,  that  one  of  them  could  ever  reach  the 
lines  of  Lopez  alive.  They  must  either  surrender  or  die.  If 
they  surrendered  they  would  be  denounced  as  traitors,  for  it 
was  a  part  of  the  policy  of  Lopez  that  no  one  under  any  cir- 
cumstances should  accept  quarter,  and  while  his  men  had 
health  and  strength  very  few  cared  to  bring  the  misery  on 
their  friends  that  such  an  act  was  sure  to  entail.  But  these 


THE   DEFENDERS   OF   HUMAITA.  269 

men  were  past  hope  and  past  resistance.  Martinez  was  too 
weak  to  speak  aloud,  and  his  men  were  mere  walking  skele- 
tons, falling  one  after  another  from  exhaustion,  never  to  rise 
again.  Who  will  excuse  Martinez  ?  Who  will  excuse  Gill 
for  surrendering  ?  It  is  not  for  me  to  do  it.  Knowing  as 
they  did  the  character  of  Lopez,  they  should  have  died  in 
their  tracks.  What  came  of  their  surrender  ? 

At  the  time  I  was  in  Asuncion,  I  had  heard  of  the  heroic  de- 
fence of  Humaita,  and  I  had  heard  of  its  successful  evacuation. 
The  bells  had  been  rung  and  people  about  the  new  capital 
had  been  commanded  to  rejoice  over  the  great  victory 
achieved  by  Martinez  and  his  gallant  men.  But  now  came 
another  report  It  was  in  the  winter-time,  and  a  cold  storm 
had  been  prevailing  for  a  day  or  two.  Some  one  told  me 
with  bated  breath,  that,  the  night  before,  two  soldiers  had  gone 
to  Madam  Lynch's  house  at  Patino-cue"  and  seized  the  wife 
of  Martinez  and  bid  her  march  to  the  capital.  The  distance 
was  eight  leagues,  and  the  soldiers  with  frequent  blows  of 
their  sabres  drove  her  over  the  rough  ground  to  Asuncion. 
Of  course  she  could  have  no  idea  what  offence  she  had 
committed,  but  she  knew  well  the  character  of  Lopez  and  that 
of  the  treacherous  she-dragon  with  whom  she  had  lived  for 
months  past.  She  had  seen  many  others,  apparently  high  in 
the  favor  of  this  abandoned  harridan,  sent  with  her  approval  to 
prison  and  chains ;  and  that  the  same  fortune  had  fallen  to  her- 
self could  not  have  been  so  surprising  as  if  she  had  dwelt  among 
people  having  the  feelings  of  ordinary  humanity.  The  poor 
woman  was  driven  through  the  mud  and  over  the  rough  roads 
without  rest  or  relief  till  she  came  to  the  town.  Her  light 
shoes  soon  gave  out,  and  her  feet  were  cut,  bruised,  bleeding, 
and  torn  long  ere  her  walk  was  over.  Arrived  at  the  landing- 
place  of  the  capital,  she  was  taken  into  a  room  of  the  arsenal 
and  loaded  with  heavy  iron  fetters,  and  left  for  a  few  hours  to 
meditate  on  the  mutability  of  human  affairs.  She  was  then 
driven  on  board  of  a  steamer  and  taken  to  head-quarters, 
where  she  was  subjected  to  every  torture  that  Lopez  and  her 
bosom  friend,  Madam  Lynch,  could  devise.  With  that  mock- 


270  PARAGUAY. 

ery  of  the  forms  of  justice  that  Lopez  pretended  so  scrupu- 
lously to  observe,  she  was  brought  before  his  tribunal  of 
priests  and  torturers,  and  questioned  in  regard  to  the  treachery 
of  her  husband.  As  she  had  not  seen  him  for  months,  she 
could  have  known  nothing  of  his  recent  acts,  and  probably 
was  not  even  aware  at  that  time  of  his  having  surrendered. 

Lopez  believed,  or  pretended  to  believe,  that  a  conspiracy 
had  been  in  progress  for  a  long  time,  and  the  fact  that  Mar- 
tinez had  surrendered  rather  than  die  of  starvation  was  proof 
that  he  was  one  of  the  conspirators,  and  his  wife  was  ordered 
to  confess  that  it  was  so,  and  give  all  the  particulars  of  the  plan 
and  the  names  of  the  parties  to  it.  But  the  poor  woman  knew 
nothing,  and  could  not  confess.  She  had  only  known  her  hus- 
band as  one  who  had  served  his  master  too  faithfully  and  car- 
ried out  his  orders  with  horrible  fidelity.  She  was  then  flogged 
with  sticks,  and  the  flesh  literally  cut  from  her  shoulders  and 
back,  and  in  this  way  encouraged  to  confess.  What  could  she 
tell  ?  She  knew  nothing.  Then  the  cepo  Uruguay  ana  was  ap- 
plied, which  was  never  known  to  fail  in  bringing  out  any  con- 
fession that  was  asked.  Bliss,  Taylor,  Saguier,  Masterman,  all 
admit  that  the  agony  of  this  torture  was  such  that  they  would 
promise  to  tell  anything  required.  Their  greatest  difficulty 
was  to  know  what  to  confess.  They  knew  nothing,  and  yet 
must  admit  they  knew  much,  and  their  stories  must  be  such  as 
agreed  with  the  confessions  of  others.  Their  time  of  confes- 
sion came  long  after  that  of  poor  Mrs.  Martinez,  and  when 
the  conspiracy  story  had  taken  such  form  and  consistency 
that  the  inquisitors  knew  what  they  were  expected  to  extort, 
and  had  learned  how  to  put  their  questions  so  as  to  imply 
what  answers  were  required.  But  she  had  nothing  to  guide 
her,  and  could  only  protest  that  she  knew  nothing. 

The  mother  of  Martinez  was  also  brought  to  head-quarters 
and  subjected  to  similar  treatment,  and  afterwards  executed 
at  the  same  time  with  her  son's  wife.  Lopez  knew  well 
enough  that  neither  had  anything  to  tell,  but  he  wished  to 
make  an  example  of  them,  that  his  other  most  trusted  offi- 
cers might  see  what  was  in  store  for  their  wives,  mothers, 


PROLONGED  TORTURES.  271 

and  sisters  in  case  they  should  ever  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  Other  indignities  not  to  be  described,  and  the  nature 
of  which  cannot  even  be  hinted  at,  were  also  inflicted  on  this 
favorite  and  friend  of  Madam  Lynch,  as  if  to  warn  them  of 
the  fate  in  s.tore  for  their  own  wives  and  sisters  should  they 
ever  come  short  of  obedience  to  the  orders  of  Lopez.  They 
might  learn  from  the  fate  of  Martinez's  wife  and  mother  that 
they  must  fight  until  they  died  or  were  killed,  or  all  they  loved 
would  suffer  the  same  cruel  fate. 

It  was  a  part  of  the  policy  of  Lopez  to  husband  his  mate- 
rials for  torture.  If  they  died  under  the  infliction  it  greatly 
enraged  him,  and  his  inquisitors  kept  him  well  informed  of 
the  condition  of  the  tortured.  The  pain  and  agony  of  others 
had  become  his  principal  delight ;  when  a  victim  escaped  him 
through  the  gate  of  death,  he  felt  it  as  a  wrong  to  himself, 
and  that  he  had  been  robbed  of  a  source  of  pleasure. 

The  inquisitors  and  torturers  therefore  knew  that  they  were 
to  graduate  the  sufferings  of  the  wife  and  mother  of  Martinez, 
so  they  should  not  die.  On  one  day  the  flogging  would  be 
applied  until  its  continuance  would  endanger  life,  and  as  soon 
as  the  wounds  were  slightly  healed,  the  cepo  tiruguayana 
was  repeated,  until  death  should  threaten  to  snatch  them 
away,  when  they  were  left  to  recover  sufficiently  to  bear  a 
repetition  of  these  horrid  practices.  The  effect  of  the  cepo 
uruguayana  was  such  that  persons  subjected  to  it  remained 
in  a  state  of  semi-consciousness  for  several  days  afterwards. 
Yet  the  wife  of  Martinez  was  kept  alive  long  enough  to  un- 
dergo it  at  six  different  times,  between  whiles  being  flogged 
till  her  whole  body  was  a  livid  mass  ! 

Yet  Lopez  would  not  let  her  die.  She  was  still  kept  alive  ; 
and  when,  more  than  six  months  after  her  arrest,  he  saw  that 
the  dangers  were  thickening  around  him  so  fast  that  those 
whom  he  had  so  long  held  near  his  head-quarters  to  be  tor- 
tured for  his  special  delectation  might  escape  through  the 
chances  of  war,  he  took  measures  to  prevent  such  a  catastro- 
phe by  ordering  her  and  many  others  to  be  shot. 

Of  the  tragical  events  transpiring  at  head-quarters  we  at 


272  PARAGUAY. 

Asuncion  knew  very  little.  We  would  learn  from  time  to 
time  of  the  disappearance  of  different  people,  but  of  their  fate 
we  could  judge  nothing,  except  from  what  we  knew  of  the 
disposition  of  Lopez,  and  this  led  us  to  fear  the  worst  that 
malignity,  human  or  diabolical,  could  invent.  Our  forebodings, 
alas  !  as  we  afterwards  learned,  all  proved  true. 

The  long  delay  of  the  ironclads  in  returning  to  take  pos- 
session of  Asuncion  after  it  had  been  evacuated,  had  caused 
us  all  the  greatest  uneasiness.  There  was  no  reason,  so  far  as 
we  could  see,  why  it  should  not  have  been  taken  at  any  time,  as 
we  knew  there  were  no  forces  there  to  prevent  it.  The  strong 
measures  taken  by  Lopez  in  driving  people  into  the  interior 
indicated  that  he  would  make  good  his  threat  of  a  year  and 
a  half  before,  that,  if  he  should  be  forced  at  last  to  succumb, 
it  should  not  be  until  the  last  Paraguayan  was  destroyed. 
Many  acts  of  great  cruelty  and  hardship  had  come  to  my 
knowledge,  and  I  was  fully  convinced  that  Lopez  was  greatly 
displeased  that  I  had  given  shelter  to  so  many  people  in  my 
Legation.  The  incident  of  Manlove's  arrest  and  detention 
showed  that  I  would  be  molested  in  any  way  that  he  might 
think  it  prudent  to  venture  upon,  and  it  was  clear  that  if  he 
were  to  be  driven  back  to  the  interior  before  Asuncion  was 
taken,  he  would  not  allow  those  persons  in  my  house  not  be- 
longing to  the  Legation  to  be  left  behind,  and  it  was  very 
doubtful  whether  he  would  allow  me  to  remain.  In  fact,  I  did 
not  believe  he  would,  and  was  anticipating  a  dispute  with  him 
on  that  point,  of  which  it  was  easy  to  foresee  the  issue  when 
the  might  was  in  hands  that  paid  no  regard  to  the  right. 

In  my  despatch  of  January  13,  the  last  I  had  sent  to  Wash- 
ington, and  which  I  had  intrusted  to  Lopez  to  send  through 
the  lines,  I  had  advised  Mr.  Seward  of  the  dangers  that 
seemed  to  be  gathering  about  us,  and  requested  my  recall. 
But  as  I  was  well  aware  that  all  the  foreigners  there  regarded 
the  presence  of  the  minister  of  some  strong  power  as  a  pro- 
tection to  themselves,  not  only  against  Lopez,  but  against  the 
allies,  should  they  ever  take  the  town,  I  expressed  the  opinion 
that  a  successor  should  be  sent  to  take  my  place.  Having 


APPLICATION   TO    BE   RECALLED. 


273 


twice  before  asked  for  my  recall,  and  my  request  not  having 
been  granted,  on  the  ground  that  I  had  made  my  resignation 
conditional,  and  not  absolute,  I  now  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  as  follows  :  "  You  remark  that  the  President  desires 
that  I  should  remain  here,  but  say  that  if  my  resignation 
should  be  made  absolute  it  would  be  accepted.  From  the 
preceding  statement  of  the  circumstances  in  which  I  am  situ- 
ated, I  think  I  shall  appear  justified  in  making  my  resignation 
thus  absolute  ;  but  though  it  be  absolute  and  unconditional,  I 
trust  that  with  my  recall  may  come  a  successor.  I  know  that 
my  presence  as  United  States  Minister,  and  the  only  minister 
of  a  neutral  power  here,  gives  a  great  sense  of  security  to 
many  people,  and  especially  to  all  foreigners.  My  departure 
before  the  arrival  of  a  successor  would  also,  I  am  persuaded, 
be  regarded  with  great  regret  by  this  government.  At  the 
same  time,  I  think  that  at  this  crisis,  when  important  political 
changes  seem  impending  in  this  part  of  the  world,  this  Lega- 
tion should  be  continued  ;  but  I  do  not  want  this  to  be  taken 
as  a  condition  of  my  resignation.  On  the  contrary,  I  now 
ask  my  recall  unconditionally,  and  with  this  make  my  resig- 
nation absolute." 

This  despatch  I  delivered  to  Berges  on  the  I7th  of  Janu- 
ary, and  supposed  that  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  I 
should  receive  my  recall  in  May  or  June.  But  I  began  to  have 
doubts  lest  Lopez  should  have  detained  it.  I  had  learned 
that  I  had  previously  given  him  mortal  offence  in  my  note  to 
Berges,  expressing  regret  at  the  reported  death  of  President 
Mitre,  and  these  despatches  had  been  sent  but  a  few  days 
after  that  indiscretion.  The  engineer  Valpy,  who  had  re- 
turned from  head-quarters,  had  informed  me  that  Lopez  was 
greatly  enraged  that  I  had  spoken  well  of  Mitre,  and  said  that 
it  was  several  days  after  my  despatches  were  received  before 
any  flag  of  truce  was  sent  to  the  front.  I  was  therefore  per- 
suaded that  if  they  had  been  sent  they  had  first  been  opened 
and  read  ;  for  I  had  already  learned  that  Lopez  knew  and 
practised  the  art  of  opening  and  closing  sealed  packages  in  a 
manner  so  artistic  as  to  defy  detection. 

VOL.   II.  1 8 


274  PARAGUAY. 

Unfortunately,  I  had  little  more  faith  in  the  honor  of  the 
allies  than  I  had  in  that  of  Lopez.  I  had  experienced  so 
much  incivility  and  bad  faith  from  them,  that  I  considered  it 
highly  problematical  whether  or  not  my  despatches  would  be 
forwarded,  even  if  Lopez  sent  them  to  be  delivered  into  their 
hands.  But  our  condition  was  getting  so  disagreeable  and 
desperate  at  Asuncion,  that  I  resolved  on  another  effort 
to  make  it  known.  I  knew  that  if  I  evinced  any  discontent 
or  uneasiness,  Lopez  would  suspect  that  I  wanted  to  get 
away,  and  would  open  my  despatches,  and,  if  they  contained 
anything  displeasing  to  him,  would  detain  them.  That  would 
render  my  situation  worse  than  before,  for  he  considered  it  an 
unpardonable  offence  for  any  one  to  entertain  the  thought  that 
he  would  not  come  triumphant  out  of  the  war ;  and  if  I  were 
to  express  a  desire  to  .get  away,  he  would  regard  it  as  proof 
that  I  considered  his  cause  lost,  or  at  least  doubtful.  This 
despatch  was  dated  the  /th  of  April,  or  seven  weeks  after  the 
evacuation  of  the  capital,  and  with  it  I  enclosed  copies  of  the 
correspondence  in  the  Manlove  difficulty,  thinking  that  he 
could  not  complain  of  that,  even  though  it  should  reveal  a 
strange  situation  for  a  minister  to  be  in  ;  and  in  my  synopsis 
of  its  contents  I  remarked  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  govern- 
ment of  Paraguay  had  shown  great  disregard  of  the  courtesies 
due  to  my  Legation,  if  not  a  direct  violation  of  its  rights. 
I  also  complained  of  the  neglect  of  our  government  in  not 
keeping  the  way  open  so  that  I  could  communicate  with  it, 
though  taking  care  to  lay  the  blame  mainly  on  the  allies 
for  detaining  my  correspondence.  In  fact,  my  official  cor- 
respondence was  carefully  worded,  so  that  if  it  were  opened 
and  read  it  would  not  give  offence,  and  would  be  resealed 
and  sent  forward.  In  a  private  letter,  however,  to  a  friend, 
who  was  supposed  at  that  time  to  have  considerable  influ- 
ence, I  stated  more  freely  my  apprehensions ;  and  though  I 
did  not  enter  into  an  account  of  our  situation,  I  complained 
of  being  so  neglected  by  the  government,  and  said  that  if 
it  did  not  manifest  more  interest  in  us,  a  very  grave  responsi- 
bility would,  before  long,  rest  upon  somebody.  Whether  or 


DESPATCHES    DETAINED  .BY    LOPEZ. 


275 


not  my  friend  should  understand  that  unless  a  gunboat  should 
come  to  our  rescue  soon  we  should  never  get  away  alive,  I 
was  sure  he  would  hasten  to  Washington  and  represent  our 
situation  to  the  head  of  the  State  Department,  and  induce 
him  to  rouse  up  the  Rip  Van  Winkle  of  the  navy,  and  per- 
suade him  to  order  a  gunboat  to  our  relief. 

Besides  my  own  correspondence,  I  enclosed  a  few  letters  for 
other  parties,  being,  as  I  thought,  very  careful  not  to  send  any- 
thing of  a  political  character  or  to  which  either  of  the  belliger- 
ents would  object.  Among  these  was  an  open  letter  from  Don 
Domingo  Parodi,  relating  only  to  a  small  matter  of  business. 
I  also  sent  a  letter  from  Dr.  Carreras  to  his  brother.  He 
assured  me  it  contained  nothing  except  a  notice  to  his  fam- 
ily that  he  was  in  good  health  ;  and  as  he  participated  with 
me  in  the  apprehension  that  everything  would  be  scruti- 
nized by  Lopez,  he  was  sure  to  write  nothing  that  was  not 
favorable  to  him  and  hostile  to  the  allies.  His  only  fear  re- 
garding anything  he  might  write  was  that  it  should  be  sus- 
pected by  the  Brazilians,  if  it  were  addressed  to  any  of  his 
own  family.  He  therefore  sent  it  under  cover  to  a  friend 
of  his  and  mine,  Mr.  John  F.  Gowland  of  Buenos  Aires 
Strictly  speaking,  I  had,  perhaps,  no  right  to  send  any  letters 
but  my  own  ;  but  as  I  knew  they  contained  nothing  of  a 
political  character,  I  enclosed  them  in  my  package  of  de- 
spatches, which  I  sent  to  head-quarters  with  a  request  that 
they  might  be  forwarded  through  the  military  lines.  A  few 
days  after  I  was  notified  that  they  had  been  sent  through  as 
requested,  and  thought  no  more  about  them  till  long  after- 
wards. I  then  learned  that  they  never  went  beyond  the  camp 
of  Lopez. 


CHAPTER     XX. 

Petty  Annoyances  become  Frequent.  —  Our  Fears  of  Impending  Troubles.  — 
Political  Views  of  Dr.  Carreras.  —  Brilliant  Qualities  and  Attainments  of 
Rodriguez.  —  Hope  entertained  by  Natives  and  Foreigners  of  Protection 
under  the  American  Flag.  —  The  Mother  and  Sisters  of  Lopez  share  this 
Hope.  —  Letters  received  by  an  American  Gunboat  addressed  to  Carreras 
and  Vasconcellos.  —  Their  Contents.  —  News  of  the  Assassination  of  Flores. 

—  Another  Visit  to  Lopez's  Head-Quarters.  —  Dr.  Carreras  becomes  Heir 
to  a    Fortune    in    Bolivia.  —  Lopez    refuses   him    Permission  to  leave  the 
Country.  —  Altered  Aspect  of  Affairs  at  Head-Quarters.  —  Frigidity  of  Lopez. 

—  Conversations  with  Drs.  Stewart  and  Fox.  —  Bedoya  and  Benigno  Lopez  are 
Prisoners.  —  A  Card-Party  given  by  Madam  Lynch.  —  Her  Duplicity.—  Return 
to  Asuncion. 

THE  continuance  of  the  war  for  so  long  a  time  after  the 
town  had  been  evacuated  caused  great  anxiety  to  the 
people  who  had  taken  up  their  residence  in  my  house  in  the 
hope  that  they  would  need  its  protection  but  for  a  few  days. 
Though  they  had  fled  to  it  for  protection  against  the  Brazil- 
ians, they  began  to  fear  lest  they  had  made  a  mistake.  The 
strange  inaction  of  the  allies  was  the  principal  topic  of  our 
daily  discourse.  If  they  delayed  too  long,  all  realized  that 
these  annoyances  would  increase  till  they  would  be  unbearable, 
and  the  English  and  Orientales  feared  lest  they  should  be- 
come so  offensive  that  I  should  be  driven  to  demand  my  pass- 
ports and  leave  the  country.  They  would  then  all  fall  into 
Lopez's  power,  when  he  would  doubtless  take  a  terrible  re- 
venge on  them  for  daring  to  suspect  that  he  could  not  and 
would  not  defend  and  protect  them.  It  was  now  clear  that  I 
could  be  of  no  service  except  to  those  who  were  in  my  house, 
and  but  for  them  I  should  have  resented  several  annoyances, 
especially  the  arrest  of  Manlove,  and,  if  they  were  not  discon- 
tinued and  satisfaction  given,  should  have  demanded  my  pass- 
ports peremptorily  and  closed  all  official  relations. 


FRANCISCO   RODRIGUEZ   LARRETA.  277 

I  was  extremely  averse  to  taking  any  step  that  would 
expose  Rodriguez  and  Carreras.  They  were,  both  of  them, 
most  agreeable  and  intelligent  gentlemen,  though  Carreras 
was  a  violent  partisan,  and  had  some  of  the  most  obnoxious 
characteristics  of  the  Spanish  American  politician.  I  had 
a  great  many  sharp  discussions  with  him  on  political  af- 
fairs and  the  character  of  South  American  notabilities.  In 
common  with  Lopez  he  had  a  great  dislike  of  President 
Mitre,  and,  personally,  I  had  little  reason  for  differing  with 
them.  But  the  animosities  of  South  American  politicians 
are  so  intense  that  it  is  considered  impossible  for  an  op- 
ponent to  have  any  merit ;  and  as  I  often  defended  Mitre 
for  his  courage,  his  eloquence,  his  literary  accomplishments, 
and  his  courteous  deportment,  I  found,  long  afterwards,  that 
every  word  I  had  said  in  his  favor  had  been  treasured  up  to 
be  quoted  to  my  prejudice.  Rodriguez,  however,  though 
strongly  partisan,  was,  without  exception,  the  most  earnest, 
intelligent,  sincere,  and  agreeable  man  that  I  ever  met  in  all 
my  experience  in  South  America.  He  had  the  brightest 
intellect,  the  highest  tone  of  integrity  and  honor,  and  in  my 
whole  life  I  have  never  encountered  in  any  country  a  person 
to  whom,  in  the  same  length  of  time,  I  became  so  strongly 
attached.  He  was  a  man  of  whom  I  often  thought,  that,  if  he 
should  ever  escape  alive  from  Paraguay,  he  would  be  a  promi- 
nent figure  in  the  history  of  the  regions  of  the  Plata.  True,  in 
many  respects  we  differed  politically.  He  was  possessed  of  the 
idea  which  is  so  common  in  South  American  countries,  that 
liberty  and  independence  are  one  and  the  same  thing,  and  in 
all  his  acts  he  seemed  to  feel  that  the  independence  of  the 
Banda  Oriental  was  the  first  object  to  be  considered  by  the 
public  men  of  that  Republic.  Questions  affecting  the  policy 
or  measures  necessary  to  the  development  and  progress  of  the 
country  were  all  to  be  subordinated  to  the  idea  of  indepen- 
dence, which  he  carried  to  such  an  extreme  that  he  had  an 
almost  idolatrous  reverence  and  regard  for  the  memory  of  that 
great  cut-throat  and  assassin,  Artigas.  He  it  was  of  whom 
I  have  before  spoken  as  having  obtained  a  brick  from  the 


278 


PARAGUAY. 


house  in  which  Artigas  lived  in  Paraguay  to  carry  to  Monte- 
video as  a  relic,  to  be  preserved  as  of  especial  interest  to  his 
countrymen.  Yet  he  had  the  ability  and  the  sincerity  of 
character  to  have  made  him  an  eminent  man,  and  his  ex- 
perience in  Paraguay  was  such  as  to  modify  his  views  very 
much  as  to  the  advantages  of  independence  without  liberty. 
Paraguay  had  been  independent  for  more  than  fifty  years, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  admit  that  so  little  liberty  was 
never  possessed  by  any  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  I 
felt,  therefore,  that  it  would  be  cowardly  and  wicked  for  me 
to  take  any  steps  that  would  prejudice  the  situation  both 
of  Rodriguez  and  Carreras ;  that  I  ought  to  remain  at  any 
sacrifice  personal  to  myself,  short  of  exposing  and  subject- 
ing others  who  had  stronger  obligations  upon  me  to  danger 
of  their  lives.  In  addition  to  these  two,  there  were  several 
others  who  felt  that  their  safety  depended  very  much  upon 
my  remaining  in  Paraguay.  This  was  the  case  with  Bliss 
and  Masterman,  and  all  the  foreigners  in  the  country  felt 
that  the  presence  of  the  minister  of  a  strong  foreign  power 
would  be  a  security  for  them.  It  was  the  same  with  many 
Paraguayans,  — in  fact,  with  all  of  the  better  class  with  whom 
I  had  any  acquaintance.  The  mother  of  the  President  re- 
peatedly spoke  to  me  of  that  fact.  She  and  her  younger 
daughter,  who  lived  near  the  capital  at  that  time,  and  whom  I 
often  visited,  seemed  to  think  that  I  might  be  disposed  to  go 
away  from  the  country,  and  they  often  expressed  to  me  their 
hopes  that  I  should  remain  until  the  end  of  the  war.  They 
said  that  if  the  enemy  were  to  come,  I  and  my  house  would 
be  the  only  place  secure  from  sack,  and  they  intimated  to  me 
that  there  were  other  dangers  which  they  dreaded  more  than 
they  did  the  allies.  I  told  them  all  that  I  should  remain  as 
long  as  I  could  be  of  any  service ;  that  in  the  trying  circum- 
stances in  which  they  were,  I  would  not  abandon  them ;  that 
I  would  do  all  that  I  could  to  give  them  shelter  and  protec- 
tion, if  worse  times  should  befall  us  than  we  then  experienced. 
It  was  under  this  general  aspect  of  affairs,  that,  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th  of  May,  I  was  gratified  to  receive  a  visit 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  WASP. 


279 


from  young  Caspar  Lopez,  a  clerk  in  the  Office  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  who  brought  me  a  despatch  from  Captain  Kirkland, 
commander  of  the  Wasp,  and  also  a  small  package  of  letters 
addressed  to  Don  Antonio  Vasconcellos,  the  Portuguese  Vice- 
Consul.  The  letter  of  Captain  Kirkland  I  immediately 
opened  and  read.  In  it  he  stated  that  he  had  come  by  order 
of  our  government  to  take  me  and  my  family  away,  provided 
I  wished  to  go  ;  that  he  was  below  the  blockading  squadron 
of  the  Brazilians,  and  was  not  permitted  to  go  any  higher, 
and  that  he  should  wait  there  to  hear  from  me.  Young 
Caspar  was  very  anxious  to  hear  the  news  which  I  had  re- 
ceived, that  he  might,  as  I  supposed,  communicate  it  to  his 
government.  I  told  him  that  the  letter  from  Captain  Kirk- 
land was  only  a  brief  note,  informing  me  of  his  arrival  and 
that  he  had  come  to  take  me  away  ;  but  as  for  news,  political 
or  otherwise,  beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay,  there  was  not 
a  word,  and  I  had  no  letters  from  other  sources.  Caspar 
returned  to  the  new  capital  of  Luque  immediately,  and  in 
the  afternoon,  as  I  had  received  no  news  from  below,  with 
the  letter  from  Captain  Kirkland  I  went  to  the  house  of  Vas- 
concellos, a  distance  of  about  a  league  and  a  half  from  the 
capital,  to  carry  his  letter,  and  ascertain  what  news  it  might 
contain.  On  reaching  his  house  I  took  a  seat  in  the  corridor, 
and  delivered  the  package.  This  package  had  on  the  margin 
the  name  of  G.  Z.  Gould,  the  English  Secretary  of  Legation 
in  Buenos  Aires.  Vasconcellos  took  it  into  his  house,  and 
directly  returned  with  several  letters,  which  he  had  hastily 
glanced  over,  and  read  their  contents  to  me  and  to  the  Consul 
of  Portugal,  Leite  Pereira.  These  letters  were  written  by  par- 
ties bitterly  opposed  to  the  war  against  Paraguay,  and  gave 
exulting  accounts  of  the  difficulties  existing  in  Montevideo. 
They  gave  several  particulars  of  the  assassination  of  Presi- 
dent Flores,  and  were  extravagant  in  praise  of  Lopez  and  his 
cause,  and  the  valor  of  the  Paraguayans,  and  gave  words  of 
encouragement  to  hold  out  a  little  longer,  for  that  the  alliance 
could  not  long  continue,  and  if  Lopez  could  still  hold  his  own 
for  a  few  weeks  or  months  he  would  come  out  triumphant. 


280  PARAGUAY. 

Vasconcellos  told  me  also  that  his  package  contained  two  or 
three  other  letters,  one  of  which  was  for  Don  Antonio  Tome, 
and  the  other  was  for  my  guest,  Carreras.  That  letter  ne 
gave  to  me  to  take  in  and  deliver.  It  was  a  very  small  letter, 
contained  in  a  thin,  light,  and  very  small  envelope.  Return- 
ing to  my  house,  I  delivered  it  to  Carreras,  and  on  opening  it 
he  found  that  the  envelope  contained  two  letters.  One  of 
them  he  read  to  me,  and  its  contents  were  in  all  respects  sim- 
ilar to  the  letters  which  Vasconcellos  had  received,  giving  the 
political  condition  of  affairs  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The 
other  was  a  brief  letter  from  his  brother  Edward,  in  which 
he  wrote  that  an  uncle  of  theirs  had  recently  died  in  the 
town  of  Corocoro,  in  Bolivia,  that  he  had  left  a  large  fortune 
and  no  lineal  heirs,  and  that  their  family  would  inherit  the 
estate,  and  advising  him  to  get  permission  from  Lopez  to 
go  through  to  Bolivia  and  look  after  the  estate  and  inter- 
ests of  the  family,  stating  that  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  as 
according  to  the  laws  of  Bolivia  the  heirs  of  deceased  for- 
eigners must  present  their  claims  within  one  year  after  their 
decease. 

The  next  day  I  saw  Colonel  Fernandez,  and  advised  him 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp,  and  that  she  had  come  to  take 
me  and  my  family  away ;  that  I  did  not  wish  to  leave,  but 
would  send  away  my  family,  provided  the  steamer  would 
come  up  the  river  far  enough,  so  that  they  could  conven- 
iently embark ;  and  that  I  thought  it  would  be  well  for  me  to 
go  to  San  Fernando  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements 
for  sending  through  my  despatches,  and  for  making  any  other 
arrangements  which  might  be  required  in  case  the  Wasp 
should  come  above  the  blockade.  I  received  no  answer  from 
him  nor  from  anybody  during  that  day,  nor  the  next,  which 
was  a  bad  indication  as  to  the  temper  and  disposition  of  the 
President  towards  me. 

On  the  third  day  I  called  at  the  house  of  the  Lady  President, 
or  Lopez's  mother.  I  told  her  and  her  daughter  Rafaela  that 
it  was  very  likely  I  should  soon  go  to  the  head-quarters,  as 
a  United  States  steamer  had  come  to  take  me  away.  They 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  MOTHER.  2Sl 

expressed  the  greatest  concern  lest  I  should  go,  as  the  old 
lady  said  very  decidedly  that  I  was  the  only  person  in  Para- 
guay having  any  security  whatever.  She  begged  me,  if  I 
went  below,  to  ascertain  as  much  as  possible  in  regard  to  her 
son  Benigno  and  her  son-in-law  Saturnino  Bedoya.  She  said 
she  had  heard  they  were  both  prisoners,  but  could  not  learn 
any  of  the  particulars.  Her  son  Venancio,  who  was  still 
living  near  the  capital,  was  not  allowed  to  visit  her ;  no- 
body was  allowed  to  visit  her.  The  peons  and  the  poor 
people  around  her  all  kept  away,  and  she  could  not  learn  as 
much  of  what  was  going  on  as  the  most  abject  and  miserable 
person  in  the  neighborhood.  But  her  great  distress  and  anxi- 
ety seemed  to  be  in  regard  to  her  son  Benigno.  She  showed 
great  emotion,  and  implored  me  to  bring  her  some  tidings 
from  him.  I  told  her  I  would  do  the  best  that  I  could. 
She  was  profuse  in  her  thanks,  and  offered  to  send  to  me 
certain  articles  very  necessary  to  the  comfort  of  my  family, 
such  as  sugar,  tea,  coffee,  chickens,  and  milch  cows.  The 
next  day  I  received  an  answer  to  my  letter  to  Benitez,  in 
which  he  said  that  the  President  would  be  pleased  to  receive 
a  visit  from  me  at  his  head-quarters,  and  that  he  would  give 
me  a  steamer  to  go  down  to  that  place.  It  was  not  until  the 
1 2th,  however,  that  I  was  informed  the  steamer  was  about  to 
start.  Carreras  requested  me  to  inform  Lopez  of  his  situation, 
of  the  fact  that  his  uncle  had  died  in  Corocoro,  leaving  him 
a  large  fortune,  and  that  he  was  very  anxious  to  get  permis- 
sion to  go  through  to  Bolivia  ;  that  he  was  still,  as  he  ever  had 
been,  a  decided  enemy  of  the  Brazilians,  and  if  he  could  go  to 
Bolivia,  Peru,  and  Chili,  he  should  make  it  his  business  to  en- 
list the  governments  and  people  of  those  countries  in  behalf 
of  Paraguay  and  against  the  allies  ;  that,  if  it  were  not  con- 
venient that  he  should  go  through  by  land  to  Bolivia,  he 
would  be  glad  to  take  passage  on  the  Wasp,  on  her  return  to 
Montevideo,  and  would  make  any  stipulation,  if  desired,  not 
to  make  a  landing  at  any  place  in  the  river  ;  and  that  he 
would  embark  on  some  steamer  that  might  touch  at  Monte- 
video on  her  way  to  Chili,  and  would  do  nothing  that  could 


2g2  PARAGUAY. 

possibly  compromise  or  injure  the  cause  of  Lopez,  but  every- 
thing that  might  lay  in  his  power  to  assist  it. 

I  left  Asuncion  on  the  I2th  of  May  for  San  Fernando, 
and  reached  the  landing-place  on  the  succeeding  day  at  about 
three  o'clock.  I  was  there  provided  with  a  horse  and  escort 
to  take  me  to  the  head-quarters,  some  four  miles  from  the 
bank  of  the  river,  and  to  get  there  I  was  obliged  to  pass 
over  a  road  in  some  places  extremely  difficult.  I  reached  the 
head-quarters  a  little  before  sunset.  I  was  taken  to  a  straw 
house,  which  was  one  of  several  of  a  similar  character,  and 
which  I  was  told  had  been  until  the  day  before  occupied  by 
General  Bruguez,  but  I  saw  no  acquaintances,  and  nobody 
came  near  me.  A  servant,  the  same  whom  I  had  had  on  other 
occasions  to  wait  upon  me,  was  assigned  to  me ;  and  he  told 
me  that  the  President  and  his  staff,  and  Madam  Lynch, 
and  others  whom  I  supposed  to  be  still  in  favor,  had  gone  on 
an  excursion  in  a  steamer.  He,  however,  brought  me  some 
supper,  and  as  the  night  was  very  cold,  and  I  had  nobody 
to  converse  with,  I  went  to  bed  about  nine  o'clock.  Soon 
after,  I  judged  from  the  sound  that  the  President  had  re- 
turned, and  about  ten  o'clock  I  received  notice  that  if  I  de- 
sired to  see  him  that  evening  he  would  see  me.  I  sent  word 
that  I  would  postpone  my  visit  till  the  next  day.  In  the 
morning  I  got  up,  and,  looking  about,  was  surprised  that  all 
of  my  old  English  friends,  who  were  accustomed  to  visit  me 
with  great  familiarity  and  frequency,  kept  away.  Nobody 
came  near  that  I  could  talk  to.  The  old  Vice-President  had 
a  room  next  to  mine.  I  got  sight  of  him,  but  he  looked 
forlorn  and  woe-begone,  and  turned  away,  as  if  afraid  to  be 
seen  recognizing  me.  I  requested  my  servant  to  go  and  tell 
Colonel  Thompson  that  I  wished  to  see  him.  He  came,  and 
in  reply  to  my  questions  regarding  recent  events  he  was 
very  reticent,  and  gave  me  to  understand  that  the  less  he 
said  the  better  it  might  be  for  him,  for  if  it  were  ascer- 
tained that  I  had  derived  any  contraband  information,  Lopez 
would  trace  it  to  its  source.  There  was  a  sort  of  tacit 
understanding  among  all  the  foreigners,  and  I  fully  appre- 


CONVERSATION   WITH    LOPEZ.  2g^ 

elated  the  delicate  position  of  Colonel  Thompson,  and  was 
well  aware  that  his  representations  of  the  impregnable  situ- 
ation in  which  Lopez  then  was  had  been  made  with  the 
apprehension  that  inadvertently  I  might  express  an  opinion 
that  he  was  not  so  strong  as  he  wished  to  have  it  supposed. 
But  his  call  was  very  brief,  and  an  hour  or  two  later  I  was 
informed  that  the  President  would  see  me  at  his  house.  I 
went  immediately,  and  was  received  with  a  formality  such  as, 
with  one  exception,  I  had  never  observed  in  any  previous  in- 
terview. I  commenced  conversation  with  him  upon  the  busi- 
ness that  had  brought  me  to  his  head-quarters,  and  stated  my 
wishes  that,  as  the  government  had  sent  a  boat  to  take  me 
away,  I  wished  to  avail  myself  of  its  presence  to  send  off  my 
family,  but  that  for  myself  I  preferred  to  remain  to  the  end  of 
the  war ;  that  I  wished  to  communicate  with  Captain  Kirk- 
land,  and  urge  upon  him  that  he  should  come  above  the  block- 
ade. The  conversation  gradually  became  more  free,  and  he 
expressed  his  opinion  that  the  boat  ought  to  come  above  the 
blockade,  that  the  allies  had  no  right  to  stop  her,  and  said 
he  would  give  me  every  facility  for  communicating  with  the 
commander  of  the  vessel.  I  said  then  that  I  would  write  to 
Captain  Kirkland  that  I  wished  to  embark  my  family  at 
Asuncion,  or  as  near  there  as  possible,  and  he  could  send 
the  letter  through  with  a  flag  of  truce. 

The  preliminaries  of  these  arrangements  were  all  made 
satisfactorily  to  me,  and  then  I  proceeded  to  speak  about 
the  request  of  Carreras.  I  told  him  that  he  had  received  a 
letter  from  his  family  advising  him  of  the  death  of  his  uncle 
in  Bolivia,  and  was  very  anxious  to  leave  the  country.  I 
stated  to  him,  moreover,  what  Carreras  said  in  regard  to  his 
feelings  towards  the  Brazilians,  and  of  his  disposition  to  aid 
the  cause  of  Paraguay  in  Bolivia,  Peru,  or  Chili,  could  he  pass 
over  to  those  countries.  I  observed,  as  I  began  to  talk  in  this 
way,  that  the  countenance  of  Lopez  changed,  and  that  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  suppressed  anger  working  behind  those 
eyes,  that  were  assuming  a  fiendish  character.  I  saw  at  once 
that  I  could  hope  for  nothing  in  behalf  of  Carreras,  and  I  dis- 


284  PARAGUAY. 

continued  the  conversation  for  him  to  reply,  but  he  said  very 
little.  He  asked,  however,  why  Carreras  had  gone  to  my 
house.  I  told  him  that  being  aware  that  he  was  extremely 
obnoxious  to  the  Brazilians,  and  not  knowing  but  when  the 
ironclads  went  to  Asuncion  they  would  capture  the  town,  and 
fearing  that  if  they  did  they  would  do  to  him  as  they  formerly 
did  to  Leandro  Gomez,  he  sought  shelter  from  them.  He 
asked  why  he  continued  in  my  house  after  the  ironclads  had 
gone  away,  and  there  was  no  further  danger.  I  replied  that 
he  and  Rodriguez  came  there  as  guests ;  that  we  had  be- 
come well  acquainted,  and  I  had  found  them  agreeable,  intelli- 
gent gentlemen,  and  as  we  had  no  society  since  the  evacua- 
tion of  the  town,  we  desired  to  have  them  remain  for  com- 
pany and  companionship ;  that  I  personally  wished  them  to 
remain.  He  said  that  was  a  very  good  reason  so  far  as  I 
was  concerned,  but  he  evidently  felt  a  great  animosity  to- 
wards Carreras.  I  took  my  leave  of  him,  and  prepared  my 
letter  to  Captain  Kirkland.  After  this  I  had  another  interview, 
when  Lopez  made  some  suggestions  regarding  the  signals 
that  Captain  Kirkland  would  do  well  to  use  coming  up  the 
river.  I  therefore  wrote  a  second  letter  to  Kirkland.  He 
sent  me,  late  in  the  evening  of  the  following  day,  the  orders 
which  he  had  written  for  the  commandants  at  Humaita  and 
Timbo,  and  I  stayed  another  night  at  his  camp,  as  I  could 
not  deliver  my  letters  for  Kirkland  until  the  next  morning. 
I  then  went  to  see  him  again.  During  that  interview  I  talked 
with  him  about  the  case  of  Manlove,  and  stated  my  views  in 
regard  to  his  arrest.  He  then  spoke  about  my  right  of  keep- 
ing so  many  people  in  my  house  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
Legation,  and  intimated  that  he  might  officially  call  it  in 
question,  and  that  if  I  persisted  in  it  a  diplomatic  correspond- 
ence would  follow.  I  told  him  that  the  English  had  come 
there  by  permission  of  the  government ;  that  to  the  presence 
of  Carreras  and  Rodriguez  no  objection  had  been  made  for 
months,  though  the  government  was  aware  of  it ;  and  that, 
as  circumstances  then  were,  I  was  not  disposed  to  send  any 
of  them  away.  But  as  to  Manlove  he  gave  no  encourage- 


THE   REIGN   OF   TERROR.  285 

ment  that  he  would  be  set  at  liberty.  I  then  told  him  that  as 
it  would  be  several  days  before  any  answer  could  be  received 
from  Captain  Kirkland,  I  wished  to  return  to  Asuncion  as 
soon  as  possible.  He  said  that  the  steamer  would  leave  that 
afternoon  as  soon  as  I  desired,  —  in  form,  if  not  in  manner, 
fully  complying  with  all  that  etiquette  or  diplomatic  courtesy 
could  expect  or  require. 

Finding  that  the  English  who  were  in  the  camp  were  afraid 
to  come  near  me,  I  went  to  see  them.  I  went  several  times 
to  the  house  of  Dr.  Stewart,  and  there  I  met  not  only  him,  but 
Dr.  Fox.  They  both  expressed  their  desire  to  call  upon  me, 
but  they  knew  that  it  would  be  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  to 
do  it,  whereas,  as  I  had  called  upon  them,  they  could  excuse 
themselves  by  saying  that  they  had  not  invited  me,  but  they 
did  not  wish  to  be  rude  to  me  and  send  me  away.  In  fact, 
they  were  very  anxious  to  see  and  converge  with  me.  On  one 
of  these  visits  Dr.  Stewart  told  me  that  the  English  govern- 
ment was  moving  in  behalf  of  the  English  subjects  in  Para- 
guay ;  that  he  did  not  know  much  about  it,  but  he  was  per- 
suaded her  Majesty's  government  had  made  a  peremptory  de- 
mand for  all  the  English  in  the  country,  and  that  it  would  not 
be  put  off  by  any  assurances  from  them  that  they  were  con- 
tented, and  did  not  wish  to  leave,  nor  would  it  be  satisfied  by 
letters  written  by  them  while  in  the  power  of  Lopez.  They 
must  be  delivered  ;  then,  if  they  wished  to  return,  it  would  be 
a  matter  of  their  own  choice.  I  also  saw  Madam  Lynch  on 
several  occasions.  She,  as  usual,  was  all  suavity,  and  abound- 
ing in  expressions  of  interest  in  and  kindness  towards  every- 
body, even  those  whom  she  had  instigated  Lopez  to  arrest  and 
torture.  I  had  inquired  of  Dr.  Stewart  as  to  the  condition  and 
situation  of  Don  Benigno  and  Bedoya.  He  told  me  that  they 
were  both  prisoners  ;  that  Bedoya  was  a  close  prisoner,  and 
was  being  badly  treated ;  that  Benigno  was  a  prisoner  in  a 
shanty  near  by,  but  further  than  that  he  knew  nothing.  The 
information  from  Dr.  Stewart  I  could  not  convey  to  the  Presi- 
dent's mother,  as  she  would  probably  intercede  in  behalf  of 
Benigno  and  Bedoya  if  she  knew  their  situation ;  and  il  in- 


286  PARAGUAY. 

quired  of  from  whom  she  obtained  her  information,  she  would 
doubtless  give  my  name.  Then,  as  I  had  been  able  to  com- 
municate only  with  Stewart,  Fox,  and  Thompson,  the  informa- 
tion would  be  traced  to  them,  and  the  offending  party  must 
suffer.  I  therefore  asked  Madam  Lynch  in  regard  to  them. 
I  was  obliged,  however,  to  observe  great  circumspection,  and 
I  remarked,  as  if  casually,  that  I  did  not  see  several  of  my  old 
friends,  two  or  three  of  whom  I  was  expecting  to  see,  for  in- 
stance, Jos6  Berges,  Don  Benigno,  and  Bedoya,  and  I  asked 
her  how  they  all  were.  She  said  that  Berges  was  quite  feeble, 
that  Benigno  and  Bedoya  were  very  well.  This  information 
derived  from  her  I  could  communicate  to  the  old  lady,  and 
compromise  nobody.  The  more  particular  information  de- 
rived from  Dr.  Stewart  I  could  not  impart  to  her  without 
its  being  traced  back  to  him,  the  result  of  which  would  very 
likely  have  been  his'  imprisonment,  and  perhaps  his  execution. 

Dr.  Stewart  also  informed  me  that  the  Vice-President  had 
been  a  prisoner,  but  was  then  at  large  ;  that  both  he  and  Don 
Jose  Berges  had  suffered  extremely  in  coming  from  Humaita 
to  San  Fernando  ;  that  Berges  had  come  so  near  dying  on 
the  road,  he  at  one  time  was  left  alone  to  expire  under  a  tree, 
but  afterwards  he  was  got  through  to  San  Fernando,  and 
there  detained  as  a  prisoner.  The  Vice-President  at  that 
time  was  so  far  liberated  that  he  was  allowed  to  go  out  of 
his  house  and  visit  the  President.  I  saw  the  poor  man  sev- 
eral times,  and  a  more  pitiable  object  it  is  hard  to  imagine. 
A  man  more  than  eighty  years  old,  with  little  more  flesh  on 
his  bones  than  a  skeleton,  with  only  a  thin  old  cloak  about 
him,  though  the  weather,  for  that  country,  was  extremely  cold ; 
he  looked  as  though  he  had  not  blood  enough  in  his  veins 
to  keep  life  within  his  body.  I  observed  him  standing  about, 
with  a  most  obsequious,  forlorn  look,  apparently  anxious  to 
catch  the  President's  eye,  and  by  his  extreme  deference  and 
attention  to  merit  his  forgiveness  for  some  act  of  which  he 
probably  knew  not  the  criminality. 

The  last  evening  I  was  there  I  was  invited  by  Madam 
Lynch  to  her  house,  or  to  the  President's  house,  as  apparently 


A  WHIST-PARTY.  287 

they  lived  in  the  same  mud  building,  to  play  whist.  I  com- 
plied with  the  invitation,  and  the  whist-party  was  made  up 
of  Madam  Lynch,  the  Hungarian  Colonel  Wisner,  Colonel 
Thompson,  and  myself.  Colonel  Thompson,  however,  soon 
gave  up  his  place  to  General  Bruguez,  who  came  in  after  the 
game  had  commenced.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  all  of  that 
party  escaped  alive  from  the  hands  of  Lopez  except  General 
Bruguez,  who  was  shot  subsequently  as  a  traitor.  This  Bru- 
guez, I  may  here  say,  was  probably  the  best  fighting  officer 
that  Lopez  ever  had,  with  one  or  two  exceptions.  He  was  a 
man  noted  for  his  cruelty  and  for  his  fidelity  to  his  master, 
and  had  exposed  himself  with  a  recklessness  and  a  valor  which 
were  extremely  rare  even  among  Paraguayans,  who  usually 
think  nothing  of  danger.  His  services  to  his  master  had 
been  of  such  a  character  that  it  was  supposed  his  only  hope  of 
escape  from  destruction  was  in  the  final  triumph  of  Lopez,  as 
he  had  been  the  instrument  of  so  many  cruelties,  that,  if  taken 
prisoner,  he  could  never  expect  anything  less  than  immediate 
death.  And  yet  Lopez  observed  towards  him  that  impartial- 
ity which  was  so  remarkable  in  his  character.  He  was  sub- 
jected to  the  same  horrid  tortures  and  experienced  the  same 
terrible  death  as  though  he  had  been  of  great  injury,  instead  of 
service,  to  his  chief. 

Leaving  the  court  of  Lopez  on  the  i6th  of  May,  I  returned 
to  the  bank  of  the  river  and  embarked  for  Asuncion.  I  ob- 
served a  large  quantity  of  rubbish,  consisting  mainly  of  dried 
hides  for  holding  corn,  on  the  deck  between  the  after  cabin 
and  the  fore  part  of  the  steamer,  as  if  thrown  there  carelessly 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  carrying  it  to  Asuncion.  I  learned, 
however,  from  one  of  the  engineers  of  the  boat,  an  English- 
man, that  there  was  a  large  number  of  wounded  in  the  fore 
part  of  the  vessel,  and  that  these  hides  had  been  thrown  in 
the  way  to  prevent  me  from  going  forward  and  learning  of 
their  presence,  as  every  effort  was  made  on  all  occasions  to 
prevent  people  from  knowing  that  any  disaster  had  occurred 
in  battle,  or  any  persons  been  wounded. 

I  went  immediately,  on  my  return,  to  call  upon  the  Presi- 


288  PARAGUAY. 

dent's  mother  and  sister  at  the  Trinidad.  They  were  ex- 
tremely desirous  of  seeing  me,  as  they  supposed  that  I  could 
give  them  some  information,  the  one  in  regard  to  the  situation 
of  her  son  and  son-in-law,  and  the  other  of  her  brother  and 
husband.  I  could  only  communicate  to  them  what  Madam 
Lynch  had  told  me,  that  they  were  very  well  in  health.  I 
knew  they  were  prisoners,  for  Dr.  Stewart  had  told  me  so  ; 
but  had  I  told  the  old  lady  that  fact,  the  authority  for  it 
would  have  been  traced  to  Dr.  Stewart.  Therefore  I  could  say 
nothing  more  than  that  I  believed  they  were  still  in  health. 
As  to  their  being  prisoners  in  irons  and  badly  treated  I 
could  give  them  no  information.  Perhaps  I  was  not  frank ; 
perhaps  I  denied  having  knowledge  which  I  really  possessed ; 
but  if  I  erred  lest  I  should  subject  others  to  suspicion,  torture, 
and  death  by  telling  all  I  knew,  I  can  only  hope  that  my  pre- 
varication may  have  been  blotted  out  after  the  manner  of 
Uncle  Toby's  oath. 


CHAPTER     XXI. 

Correspondence  with  Commander  Kirkland.  —  Numerous  Arrests. — Victories 
reported  in  the  Semanario.  —  Difficulty  of  obtaining  Provisions.  —  A  Period 
of  Anxiety.  —  Our  English  Guests.  —  Arrest  of  Captain  Fidanza  and  of  many 
Foreigners.  —  The  Portuguese  Consul,  Leite  Pereira.  —  His  Exequatur  is 
withdrawn.  —  He  takes  Refuge  in  the  American  Legation.  —  Consultations 
on  his  Case.  —  His  Surrender  is  demanded  and  refused.  —  Note  to  Benitez. 

IT  was  not  until  the  3<Dth  of  May,  more  than  two  weeks 
after  I  had  sent  my  letter,  that  I  received  an  answer  to  it 
from  Captain  Kirkland.  This  delay  had  caused  us  consider- 
able uneasiness,  as  had  the  proper  facilities  been  granted  for 
making  communication  I  should  have  received  an  answer 
within  five  days.  In  his  letter,  Captain  Kirkland  stated  that 
the  Marques  de  Caxias  would  not  permit  the  Wasp  to  pass 
above  the  blockade,  but  offered,  if  I  and  my  family  would 
come  to  his  lines  at  Pilar  and  Tayi  in  a  Paraguayan  steamer, 
to  provide  us  with  the  means  of  going  by  land  from  either  of 
those  places  to  a  point  below  the  blockade,  whence  we  could 
embark  on  board  the  Wasp.  To  our  great  surprise  and  disap- 
pointment, Kirkland  sent  us  neither  letter  nor  newspaper,  nor 
any  news  whatever  from  the  outer  world,  though  he  must  have 
known  that  we  had  been  many  months,  as  it  were,  in  prison, 
and  without  means  of  communicating  with  any  one  beyond 
the  limits  of  Paraguay.  I  immediately  answered  the  letter, 
declining  the  offer  of  the  Marques  de  Caxias,  stating  that  he 
had  no  right  to  detain  the  Wasp  or  prevent  her  from  coming 
through  the  blockade.  I  also  said  that  the  state  of  Mrs. 
Washburn's  health  was  such  that  she  could  not  and  would 
not  attempt  to  go  by  land  from  Pilar  and  Tayi  to  the  point  in- 
dicated by  him.  I  did  not  tell  Kirkland  that  it  was  my  inten- 
tion to  remain,  and  only  to  send  my  family.  I  distrusted  his 
VOL.  ii.  19 


290  PARAGUAY. 

motives  and  his  judgment,  and  feared  that  if  I  stated  any- 
thing of  that  kind  he  would  consider  that  he  had  complied 
with  his  orders,  and  return  to  Montevideo.  I  told  him  by 
all  means  not  to  return,  but  to  come  through  if  possible. 
I  told  him,  also,  that  if  the  Marques  de  Caxias  persisted  in 
refusing  him  permission  to  pass  the  blockade,  he  should  at- 
tempt it  without  any  permission  ;  that  the  question  of  the 
right  of  a  government  to  communicate  with  its  minister  by 
means  of  its  naval  vessels  had  been  settled  already  in  the 
case  of  the  Shamokin  at  the  time  of  my  coming  to  Paraguay  ; 
and  that  he  should  give  notice  to  Caxias,  if  permission  was 
still  refused,  that  he  was  going  through  without  it ;  and  that, 
should  he  start  to  pass  through  the  blockade,  I  did  not  believe 
he  would  be  forcibly  stopped.  If  he  were,  and  the  Brazilians 
fired  upon  his  vessel,  then  he  could  turn  back,  and  not  expose 
the  vessel  to  be  sunk  or  destroyed,  but  that  I  did  not  believe 
they  would  venture  to  fire  upon  her,  and  it  was  a  matter  of 
great  importance  that  she  should  come  through.  I  could  not 
write  to  him  of  our  real  situation,  or  tell  him  that  our  lives 
were  in  danger,  and  that  Lopez  had  entered  upon  a  course 
that  promised  extermination  of  all  the  foreigners  in  his  do- 
minions, for  my  letter  was  to  pass  through  the  hands  of  Lopez, 
and  would  most  likely  be  read  by  him  before  it  reached  Cap- 
tain Kirkland.  I,  however,  urged  him  very  strongly  not  to  go 
below,  but  to  remain  within  call  if  possible.  I  told  him  they 
had  no  right  to  prevent  his  passing  the  blockade,  and  would 
not  dare  to  fire  upon  him,  and  advised  him  to  disregard  their 
protests  and  come  through.  I  knew  our  danger,  and  I  knew 
that  if  he -went  away,  and  the  fate  that  seemed  to  be  impend- 
ing should  overtake  us,  and  it  should  appear  that  by  his  leav- 
ing the  river  the  evils  that  Lopez  was  preparing  for  us  should 
overtake  us,  he  would  be  held  to  a  very  grave  responsibility. 
My  object  was  to  get  the  steamer  above  the  blockade,  and  get 
my  family  on  board  of  her  first,  and  then  to  force  Lopez  to 
make  certain  explanations,  and  give  certain  satisfaction,  with 
security  for  the  future,  or  else  to  leave  myself.  I  believed 
that,  with  a  gunboat  at  hand,  I  could  secure  any  explanations 


RUMORS    FROM   THE   SEAT   OF   WAR. 


29I 


that  I  demanded,  and  that  I  could  forward  such  representa- 
tions to  the  admiral  of  the  squadron  (who,  I  had  learned,  was 
not  Godon)  that  I  should  not  be  left  again  for  any  consider- 
able time  without  the  means  of  communicating  with  him  or 
the  government.  I  had  told  Lopez  that  it  was  not  my  inten- 
tion to  go  away  until  the  war  was  over,  though  I  had  said 
nothing  of  my  intention  to  go  provided  there  was  not  a  full 
and  complete  understanding  as  to  what  my  relations  were  to 
be  if  I  remained.  I  knew  very  well  that  if  I  should  then  tell 
Lopez  that  I  and  my  family  were  all  going  away,  he  would 
not  send  my  letters  to  the  commander  of  the  gunboat.  I 
knew  that  he  would  refuse  a  steamer  to  carry  us  below,  and 
it  would  not  have  been  possible  for  us  to  get  away  without 
it.  I  was  therefore  obliged  to  use  diplomacy  in  order  to  get 
the  Wasp  within  hailing  distance.  He  was  anxious  that  the 
blockade  should  be  forced,  but  he  was  more  anxious  that  the 
only  minister  in  the  country  should  not  appear  to  abandon 
him. 

After  having  despatched  this  letter,  the  time  passed  as 
usual,  with  nothing  to  vary  the  monotony  of  our  existence 
except  the  accounts  which  came  to  us  nearly  every  day  of 
persons  arrested  and  sent  in  irons  to  head-quarters.  We  also 
heard  various  reports  of  the  movements  of  the  army  ;  at  one 
time  that  the  ironclads  were  near  San  Fernando,  and  that 
a  large  body  of  troops  was  approaching  that  point  by  land. 
The  Semanario  invariably  contained  accounts  of  battles,  all 
of  which  resulted  in  great  victories  for  the  Paraguayans. 
Scarcely  a  number  of  the  paper  appeared  without  containing 
accounts  of  actions  in  which  one  or  two  hundred  Paraguayans 
were  engaged  with  three  or  four  thousand  or  more  of  the 
enemy,  the  result  of  which  always  was  that,  after  performing 
prodigies  of  valor,  each  man  slaying  his  dozens,  they  retired  in 
good  order,  after  the  enemy  had  retreated,  leaving  thousands 
of  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field  of  combat,  and  with  a  loss 
to  themselves  of  not  usually  more  than  two  or  three  killed  and 
twenty  or  thirty  wounded.  The  impression  among  the  Eng- 
lish and  other  foreigners  seemed  to  be  that  the  allies  were 


292  PARAGUAY. 

approaching  by  land  and  water,  and  that  the  war  could  last 
but  very  little  longer. 

It  was  on  the  3d  of  June  that  I  sent  my  last  letter  to  Cap- 
tain Kirkland,  advising  him  that  my  family  could  not  go  away 
on  the  Wasp  unless  she  were  to  come  above  the  blockading 
squadron.  On  the  2$d  I  received  his  reply,  in  which  he 
stated  that  the  Marques  de  Caxias  positively  refused  permis- 
sion for  him  to  pass  the  blockade,  and  that,  after  waiting  for 
nearly  two  months,  he  should  return  to  Montevideo  for  further 
instructions,  not  doubting  he  should  return  immediately  with 
orders  to  pass  the  allied  fleet.  But  as  we  knew  not  where  the 
admiral  was,  or  if  he  was  of  a  similar  character  to  his  prede- 
cessor, it  was  uncertain  whether  the  gunboat  would  return  in 
one  month,  or  three,  or  six. 

During  this  time  I  was  occupied  very  much  in  foraging  for 
my  large  family.  Having  more  than  forty  persons  in  my 
house,  and  the  inhabitants  being  driven  from  the  capital  and 
from  the  neighborhood  towards  the  interior,  it  was  with  dif- 
ficulty that  I  could  obtain  a  sufficiency  of  such  provisions  as 
the  country  produced.  My  Paraguayan  servant,  Basilic,  was 
also  employed  a  large  portion  of  his  time  in  the  same  occupa- 
tion ;  and  between  us  we  were  able  to  obtain  everything 
absolutely  necessary  for  health  and  comfort,  if  not  for  luxury. 
With  beef,  which  was  generally  very  good,  and  the  maize,  or 
Indian  corn,  from  the  meal  of  which  we  made  our  bread,  with 
the  mandioca  as  a  substitute  for  potatoes,  and  the  eggs  and 
chickens,  and  the  Paraguayan  tea,  or  mate,  with  a  little  sugar 
and  wine  which  the  mother  of  the  President  occasionally  sent 
us,  the  want  of  provisions  was  the  least  of  our  troubles.  In 
fact,  but  for  our  apprehensions  of  danger  from  Lopez,  ours 
would  have  been  a  very  happy  family.  Engaged  in  literary 
occupations  through  several  hours  of  the  day,  with  billiards 
for  exercise  and  amusement  in  the  daytime,  and  whist  and 
chess  in  the  evening,  the  days  passed  away  on  the  whole  very 
happily.  When  talking  of  our  situation  we  naturally  became 
anxious,  and  the  arrest  of  so  many  persons  which  was  going 
on  around  us  led  us  to  fear  lest  some  similar  evil  might  over- 


THE   ENGLISH    AT   THE   LEGATION. 


293 


take  ourselves.  But  it  is  not  in  human  nature  to  give  way 
to  protracted  anxiety,  and  the  very  depression  which  we  ex- 
perienced sometimes  seemed  to  be  followed  by  rebounds  of 
careless  hilarity.  Our  English  friends  residing  in  the  rear 
rooms  of  the  Legation  were  uneasy,  and,  situated  as  they 
were,  were  not  always  very  amiable  towards  each  other.  On 
my  return  from  San  Fernando  I  had  told  them  what  Dr. 
Stewart  had  said  to  me,  though  without  giving  him  for  au- 
thority ;  that  I  had  learned  their  government  was  moving 
in  their  behalf,  and  I  believed  that  erelong  they  would  be 
rescued  from  their  unfortunate  situation.  About  this  time 
the  men  among  them  received  word  that  if  they  would  leave 
with  their  families  and  reside  elsewhere,  they  would  again 
be  taken  into  the  government  employ.  It  was  unfortunate 
for  them  that  I  had  told  them  of  what  Dr.  Stewart  had  in- 
formed me,  for,  had  they  not  been  so  advised,  they  would 
probably  have  accepted  the  offer  at  that  time,  and  saved 
themselves  from  a  great  deal  of  subsequent  misery.  As  it 
was,  trusting  that  their  government,  which  they  knew  was 
fully  informed  of  their  situation,  would  do  something  for  their 
relief,  they  determined  to  remain  with  me.  The  English  gov- 
ernment, however,  left  them  to  destruction,  and,  as  I  found 
afterwards,  the  information  which  Dr.  Stewart  had  received 
in  regard  to  its  intended  action  was  not  in  accordance  with 
the  facts.  These  English  were  all  most  respectable  and 
worthy  people.  They  were  consuming  at  a  rapid  rate  the 
earnings  of  years.  Though  I  had  received  them  into  my 
house,  I  did  not  supply  them  with  provisions  further  than 
to  allow  my  servant  to  bring  in  for  them  the  food  which  he 
procured  at  the  time  he  was  foraging  for  my  own  family. 
The  Legation  might  be  said  to  consist  of  a  sort  of  colony, 
as,  besides  my  own  family,  of  which  Rodriguez  and  Carreras 
were  members,  there  was  another  party  living  by  themselves, 
consisting  of  Meincke,  my  private  secretary,  Bliss,  Master- 
man,  and  Manlove  up  to  the  time  that  he  was  arrested.  They 
had  a  cook  to  themselves,  a  German,  who  was  employed  by 
Manlove  and  Masterman  at  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of  the 
town. 


294  PARAGUAY. 

Among  those  arrested  about  this  time  was  Captain  Simon 
Fidanza.  This  man  was  an  Italian,  and  the  owner  of  one  or 
two  steamers  which  plied  on  the  waters  of  the  Plata.  Just 
before  the  war  commenced  he  came  to  Paraguay  with  one 
of  his  steamers  in  order  to  sell  it.  Lopez  made  a  bargain 
with  him  to  buy  the  steamer  and  the  cargo,  which  consisted 
mainly  of  provisions,  for  a  stipulated  price.  Before  the  money 
was  paid,  or  Fidanza  could  get  away,  Lopez  changed  his  mind 
and  resolved  to  confiscate  the  steamer,  as  it  had  come  to 
Paraguay  under  the  Argentine  flag.  He  therefore  took  pos- 
session of  it  as  a  prize  of  war,  and  would  not  permit  Fidanza 
to  leave  the  country.  He  was,  however,  allowed  to  take  a 
considerable  quantity  of  the  provisions  from  the  vessel  for  his 
own  use,  and  he  accordingly  remained  in  Asuncion  for  about 
a  year  and  a  half,  when,  as  there  was  no  prospect  of  the  war's 
ending  immediately,  he  took  a  chacra  about  three  leagues 
from  the  capital,  in  what  is  called  the  Campo  Grande.  He 
seemed  to  have  abundant  means,  had  quite  a  retinue  of  serv- 
ants around  him,  and,  being  naturally  inclined  to  hospital- 
ity, he  liberally  entertained  everybody  that  chose  to  call  on 
him.  There  I  visited  him  very  often.  His  house  was  directly 
on  the  road  to  Limpio,  where  I  was  accustomed  to  go  very 
frequently,  and  I  never  went  or  returned  without  giving  him 
a  call.  It  was  also  a  resting-place,  not  only  for  me,  but  for 
the  French  Consul,  M.  Cochelet,  and  others,  whenever  we 
wished  to  go  into  the  Campo  for  partridge  shooting.  We 
had  always  supposed,  from  the  fact  that  Lopez  had  allowed 
him  so  large  a  share  of  his  own  property,  that  he  stood  in 
high  favor ;  and  from  the  freedom  with  which  he  conversed 
with  us,  and  from  the  confidential  way  in  which  he  talked 
with  me  particularly,  I  knew  that  he  never  could  have  been 
engaged  in  anything  that  ought  to  excite  the  suspicion  of 
Lopez.  I  was  therefore  greatly  surprised  to  learn  of  his 
arrest.  I  heard  that  he  was  a  prisoner  in  Asuncion,  and  I 
went  to  see  Colonel  Fernandez,  to  request  permission  to  send 
his  meals  from  my  house.  He  told  me  that  he  had  gone 
below,  not  as  a  prisoner,  but  that  the  President  desired  to 


ARREST  OF  FIDANZA  AND  OTHERS. 


295 


see  him  in  regard  to  certain  matters,  and  that  he  would  be 
well  treated. 

I  also  heard,  about  this  time,  of  the  arrest  of  a  great  many 
other  foreigners.  In  fact,  it  seemed  that  all  the  foreigners 
were  to  be  arrested  and  sent  below.  My  boy  Basilio  used  to 
tell  me  with  bated  breath,  on  his  return  from  the  market,  that 
he  had  seen  this,  that,  and  the  other  man  going  towards  the 
police-office,  accompanied  by  a  sargente.  From  some  of  the 
English  about  the  arsenal  I  learned  that  they  were  all  taken 
in  irons  to  San  Fernando  by  the  different  steamers.  And  not 
only  were  there  many  men  thus  arrested  and  taken  away,  but 
many  women,  and  almost  invariably  the  women  belonging  to 
the  best  families  in  Paraguay.  They  were  detained  some- 
times a  day  or  two  at  or  near  the  arsenal,  with  heavy  fetters 
upon  their  ankles,  before  they  were  taken  down  the  river. 
Of  such  I  believe  that  no  one  ever  returned.  Poor  Fidanza 
was  kept  a  long  time  a  prisoner,  and  treated  with  such  in- 
human cruelty  that  he  became  insane,  and  in  his  delirium 
accused  nearly  everybody,  not  only  of  conspiracy  against 
Lopez,  but  of  many  atrocious  crimes.  He  was  tortured  until 
he  was  about  to  die,  and  then,  in  accordance  with  the  custom 
of  Lopez  to  finally  execute  those  who  would  otherwise  soon 
expire,  he  was  shot. 

Of  these  transactions  which  were  going  on  in  the  army  we 
knew  nothing  more  than  that  the  parties  had  been  arrested. 
We  did  not  know  how  many,  but  we  knew  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  foreigners  had  been  sent  below,  and  from  our  knowl- 
edge of  Lopez's  character  we  had  little  hope  ever  to  see  them 
again.  As  I  look  back  upon  those  days,  I  can  hardly  believe 
that  we  treated  the  subject  of  our  own  situation  so  lightly  as 
we  did,  and  that  the  days  passed  without  constant  and  unin- 
terrupted fear  and  anxiety.  Yet  so  they  did.  It  may  have 
been  that  we  were  selfish  and  had  too  little  sympathy  for 
those  who  had  been  arrested  ;  and  yet  we  all  felt  that  the 
same  miseries  to  which  they  were  subjected  would  very  likely 
soon  be  ours.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  human  nature  is  so 
constituted  that  unusual  anxiety  and  depression  of  spirits  will 


296  PARAGUAY. 

be  followed,  in  spite  of  reason,  in  spite  of  danger,  by  alternate 
periods  of  carelessness  and  mirth.  So  long  as  we  enjoyed 
immunity  we  made  the  most  of  it,  and  allowed  the  impending 
dangers  to  annoy  us  as  little  as  possible. 

But  this  feeling  of  comparative  indifference  as  to  the  fu- 
ture was  interrupted  on  the  i6th  of  June  by  the  appearance 
of  the  Portuguese  Consul,  Leite  Pereira,  and  his  wife,  who 
came  to  my  house  about  twelve  o'clock  of  that  day,  in  a  state 
of  great  fear  and  anxiety,  to  ask  me  to  give  them  shelter  and 
protection  in  my  Legation.  A  few  days  before  this,  the 
French  Consul,  Cuberville,  who  had  just  before  been  at  San 
Fernando  paying  court  to  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch,  had  re- 
turned, and  had  told  Pereira  the  President  was  very  much 
enraged  with  him.  He  believed  him  to  be  a  friend  of  the 
Brazilians,  for  if  he  were  not,  and  had  no  arrangement  with 
them,  he  did  not  understand  why  he  would  pay  out  so  much 
money  to  assist  and  support  Brazilian  prisoners  and  other  des- 
titute foreigners.  He  believed  that  he  had  some  assurances 
of  compensation.  Pereira,  on  hearing  this,  became  greatly 
alarmed,  and  on  coming  to  my  house  told  me  he  had  received 
a  letter  from  Benitez  a  few  hours  before,  informing  him  that 
his  consular  character  would  be  no  longer  respected.  Sus- 
pecting that  this  letter  would  be  followed  by  a  police  force  to 
arrest  him,  he  and  his  wife  had  mounted  their  horses,  galloped 
into  town,  and  came  to  the  Legation  to  ask  me  to  protect 
them.  Pereira  said  that  his  only  object  was  to  find  some  shel- 
ter for  his  wife.  They  had  previously  brought  to  my  house 
all  their  most  valuable  papers,  and  Pereira  said  that  they  con- 
tained vouchers  for  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars 
of  money  which  he  had  expended  for  the  relief  of  Brazilian 
and  Argentine  prisoners,  and  for  the  destitute  subjects  of  other 
countries.  His  succor  of  these  unhappy  people  was  the  only 
offence  which  he  had  committed  against  Lopez,  and  these 
vouchers  were  the  only  records  of  his  guilt.  He  desired  me 
to  retain  them,  and,  if  he  were  never  to  escape  alive  from 
Paraguay,  to  endeavor  to  take  them  out  of  the  country  and 
deliver  them  to  the  Portuguese  Minister  at  Montevideo.  He 


LEITE  PERE1RA  AND  WIFE  ASK  FOR  SHELTER.    297 

said  that  if  the  government  of  Paraguay  should  request  me 
to  surrender  him,  he  should  not  ask,  and  would  not  permit, 
that  I  should  endanger  the  safety  of  the  other  people  in  my 
Legation  on  his  account ;  that  he  would  stay  there,  if  I  would 
permit  him,  until  the  government  of  Paraguay  should  call  for 
him,  which,  perhaps,  they  would  not  do,  but  if  they  did  he 
should  deliver  himself  up.  He  should  in  that  case  only  ask 
me  to  do  the  best  I  could  for  his  wife,  and  to  save  his  prop- 
erty if  possible. 

I  was  greatly  embarrassed  by  this  unexpected  call  upon 
me.  I  knew  that  if  I  received  them,  and  permitted  them  to 
remain,  it  would  greatly  enrage  Lopez,  and  that  it  would 
increase  the  danger  which  Rodriguez,  Can-eras,  and,  in  fact, 
all  the  rest  of  us,  were  in.  I  consulted  with  both  Rodri- 
guez and  Carreras  as  to  what  I  should  do.  They  said  that 
it  was  a  very  embarrassing  affair  ;  they  wished  it  had  not 
happened  ;  but  as  it  was,  they  thought  that  I  was  not  bound 
to  send  them  away  until  the  government  should  ask  for  them. 
This  view  corresponded  with  my  own.  In  fact,  I  felt  from 
the  first  that  I  could  not  turn  them  into  the  streets,  and  it 
was  a  great  relief  to  me  to  have  Rodriguez  and  Carreras 
take  the  same  view  of  the  matter.  I  was  playing,  as  it  were, 
with  life  and  death.  If  I  received  Pereira  into  my  house, 
it  might  cause  the  death  of  Rodriguez,  Carreras,  and  others ;  if 
I  sent  him  and  his  wife  away,  they  might  be  subjected  to  tor- 
ture and  execution,  which  possibly  might  be  averted  if  I  per- 
mitted them  to  stay.  Therefore  I  was  in  duty  bound  to  con- 
sult with  the  Orientales,  and  when  they  approved  of  my  course 
I  felt  relieved  very  much  from  the  responsibility.  Though 
evil  should  come  upon  themselves,  they  could  never  censure 
me  for  it.  The  Pereiras  therefore  remained,  and  for  two  or 
three  days  everything  about  us  seemed  as  quiet  as  before.  On 
the  23d  I  received  a  note  from  Benitez,  which  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  very  long,  and,  on  my  part,  anxious  correspondence, 
and  on  the  part  of  Benitez  probably  equally  so,  as  before  it 
was  concluded  he  was  called  below,  and,  after  being  subjected 
to  the  customary  torture,  executed.  To  form  a  correct  idea  of 


298  PARAGUAY. 

the  Jesuitical  cunning  and  malignant  mendacity  of  Lopez,  as 
he  laid  his  plans  by  which  he  hoped  to  destroy  us  all  and 
yet  appear  justified  to  the  world,  this  entire  correspondence 
should  be  given.  That,  however,  would  require  an  additional 
volume,  and  therefore  I  must  content  myself  with  giving  a  brief 
synopsis,  showing  how,  with  the  appliances  he  had  at  hand, 
he  could  manufacture  such  testimony  as  he  wanted.  In  the 
first  letter  I  was  asked  if  Leite  Pereira  was  in  my  house.  I 
could  not  deny  that  he  was,  though  I  complained  of  the  terms 
in  which  the  information  was  demanded. 

On  the  27th  I  received  another  letter  from  Benitez,  in 
which,  if  I  was  not  peremptorily  ordered,  I  was  very  urgently 
invited,  to  deliver  Leite  Pereira  into  the  hands  of  a  police  of- 
ficer, who  would  present  himself  at  my  house  two  hours  after 
the  delivery  of  the  letter.  To  this  letter  I  replied  on  the  suc- 
ceeding day.  In  my  reply  I  stated  to  Benitez  that  his  note 
had  occasioned  me  great  surprise,  as  it  had  not  shown  a 
proper  respect  for  the  accredited  minister  of  a  friendly  na- 
tion ;  that  I  was  requested,  in  a  manner  almost  peremptory,  to 
deliver  up  a  guest  of  mine  against  whom  no  specific  crime  or 
charge  was  laid,  and  who,  like  myself,  was  entirely  ignorant 
of  the  nature  of  the  accusation  that  had  been  made  against 
him.  I  was  also  requested  to  deliver  him  to  a  police  officer 
who  was  to  be  sent  to  take  him  away.  I  answered,  with  some 
asperity,  that  this  request  for  a  foreign  minister  to  deliver  a 
party  to  the  police  appeared  to  me  of  so  strange  a  nature  that 
I  must,  under  any  and  all  circumstances,  decline  to  accede  to 
it.  All  that  I  could  do,  even  were  a  specific  crime  laid  to  the 
charge  of  Pereira,  would  be  to  advise  him  that  my  house  could 
no  longer  give  him  an  asylum.  I  also  stated  that  all  the 
writers  on  international  law  whom  I  had  been  able  to  consult 
agreed,  both  in  regard  to  the  extradition  from  one  country 
to  another,  and  to  the  delivery  of  persons  who  have  fled  for 
asylum  to  the  Legation  of  a  foreign  minister,  that  he  is  not 
under  any  obligation  to  deliver  them  except  for  some  definite 
and  high  crime  against  the  state  or  sovereign.  This  being 
recognized  as  the  law  in  such  cases,  it  followed  that  before 


THE  RENDITION  OF  PEREIRA  DEMANDED.       299 

surrendering  Leite  Pereira  I  must  first  ask  for  the  specific 
offence  or  offences  of  which  he  was  accused  ;  and  in  sup- 
port of  this  view  I  gave  a  pertinent  quotation  from  "  Vat- 
tel's  Law  of  Nations,"  and  added  that,  according  to  that  dis- 
tinguished writer,  the  mere  allegation  that  a  person  is  ac- 
cused, without  stating  his  offence,  is  not  a  sufficient  reason 
why  he  should  be  delivered  up,  and  that  if  I  had  not  sur- 
rendered him  it  was  from  no  wish  or  intention  of  shielding 
any  accused  person  from  the  penalties  of  violated  laws,  but 
simply  to  conform  to  the  law  established  for  such  cases,  so 
as  to  be  my  own  justification.  I  added,  that  the  case  was 
one  of  greater  delicacy  and  responsibility,  from  the  fact  that 
up  to  the  day  that  Pereira  came  to  my  house  he  had  been 
known  to  me  and  recognized  by  the  government  of  Paraguay 
in  an  official  capacity,  that  of  Acting  Consul  of  Portugal. 
His  offence  or  crime,  therefore,  must  have  been  committed 
while  he  still  held  that  character,  and  the  case  presented 
grave  doubts  whether  the  consul  of  one  nation  has  not  ex- 
ceptional and  stronger  claims  on  the  protection  of  the  min- 
ister of  another  than  a  person  holding  no  public  position. 
I  then  went  on  to  quote  from  distinguished  writers  on  inter- 
national law,  showing  that  consuls,  to  some  extent,  enjoy 
the  privileges  and  immunities  of  ministers  ;  that,  therefore, 
my  position  was  one  of  difficulty  and  delicacy  ;  that  a  too 
ready  acquiescence  would  justly  expose  me  to  the  severe  cen- 
sure of  my  own  government  and  to  the  obloquy  of  the  civ- 
ilized world,  and  therefore  I  should  request  that  the  specific 
charges  against  Leite  Pereira  should  first  be  made,  and  that 
then,  if  they  should  be  of  the  grave  character  which  should  re- 
quire it,  he  would  be  advised  that  my  Legation  could  no  longer 
give  him  an  asylum.  I  also  stated  that  Leite  Pereira  had 
at  all  times  expressed  his  entire  willingness  to  leave  my  Lega- 
tion, and  even  surrender  himself  to  the  authorities  of  the  coun- 
try, whenever  I  should  indicate  that  my  house  could  no  longer 
give  him  protection  ;  that,  conscious  of  no  offence,  and  rely- 
ing on  the  justice  of  the  tribunals  of  Paraguay,  he  would  be 
ready  to  meet  and  disprove  any  allegations  that  might  be 


300  PARAGUAY. 

brought  against  him.  This  last  statement,  to  Lopez  and  to 
all  who  knew  the  character  of  the  tribunals  there,  must  have 
seemed  a  grim  sarcasm ;  and  when  Pereira  advised  me  to 
insert  something  to  that  effect,  it  was  with  the  avowed  hope 
that  it  might  mitigate  the  punishment  which  he  feared  was 
in  reserve  for  him. 

This  letter  was  despatched  on  the  28th  of  June,  and  we  all 
waited  in  fear  and  trembling  for  the  answer.  But  several 
days  passed,  and,  as  no  reply  came,  we  began  to  hope  that 
Lopez  would  not  insist  on  the  rendition  of  Pereira.  The  ex- 
citement and  fear  of  the  first  few  days  gradually  wore  off,  and 
Pereira  and  his  wife,  who  at  first  showed  an  apprehension  and 
fear  only  to  be  compared  with  that  of  two  fugitive  slaves  who, 
in  the  good  old  times  when  bloodhounds  and  slave-hunters 
were  in  fashion,  had  escaped  beyond  the  borders  of  the  slave- 
region  and  were  hid  in  the  house  of  some  good  Quaker,  yet 
knew  that  the  hounds  and  the  hunters,  backed  up  by  the 
law,  were  on  their  track.  Gradually  they  got  into  a  more 
normal  state  of  mind  ;  and  as  they  were  both  most  excellent 
and  agreeable  persons,  the  time  passed  with  us  perhaps  even 
more  pleasantly  than  it  had  before  their  arrival.  True,  we 
discussed  anxiously  each  day  our  situation  and  prospects,  and 
many  and  curious  were  the  speculations  as  to  what  course 
Lopez  would  take.  But  yet,  as  we  heard  nothing,  we  con- 
tinued our  usual  literary  avocations  for  some  hours  each  day, 
interspersed  with  several  games  of  billiards  ;  and  when  even- 
ing came  we  had  invariably  our  games  of  whist,  chess,  and 
euchre,  and  always  retired  fearful,  yet  hopeful,  in  regard  to  the 
morrow. 


CHAPTER     XXII. 

Benitez's  Note  of  July  n,  1868.  — The  Beginning  of  the  End.  —  The  English 
leave  the  Legation.  —  Leite  Pereira  surrenders  himself.  —  Pickets  are  placed 
around  the  Legation.  —  Carreras  and  Rodriguez  are  demanded.  —  Mysterious 
Charges  against  them. — Anxious  Consultations.  — Admirable  Conduct  of  Rod- 
riguez. —  They  finally  give  themselves  up.  —  Note  to  Benitez  in  their  Behalf.  — 
Rights  of  Legation  insisted  on.  —  The  Saddest  Moment  in  this  History.  — 
Lopez  demands  the  Surrender  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  They  are  accused  of 
High  Crimes  and  Misdemeanors.  —  The  Demand  refused  and  Passports 
called  for.  —  Rapid  Succession  of  Notes.  —  Fresh  Charges  against  Bliss  and 
Masterman.  —  Offer  to  send  them  out  of  the  Country.  — Treatment  of  the 
English.  —  Sweeping  Arrests  at  Luque.  —  A  Brazilian  Spy  about  the  Legation. 
—  Thomas  Carter.  —  The  Prisoners  taken  to  the  Army. 

THIS  period  of  expectation  was  of  short  duration.  On  the 
evening  of  the  nth  of  July,  on  returning  from  my 
customary  paseo  on  horseback,  I  found  that  a  letter  had  just 
been  received  from  Benitez.  All  were  intensely  anxious  to 
know  its  contents.  On  opening  the  letter  I  found  it  very 
long,  consisting  of  nearly  forty  closely  written  pages.  I 
glanced  over  it  first  to  learn  its  general  tenor,  and  found  it 
was  a  recital  of  my  own  offences  in  having  refused  to  leave 
the  capital  at  the  time  its  evacuation  was  ordered,  of  having 
received  so  many  persons  into  my  Legation,  of  not  having 
answered  certain  official  notes,  and  a  multiplicity  of  offences 
that  I  had  never  before  thought  of  or  suspected  that  I  had 
committed.  It  concluded  with  the  notice  that  the  asylum 
which  had  been  given  to  persons  in  my  Legation,  who  were 
not  connected  with  it,  must  cease,  and  that,  although  it  had 
been  tolerated  at  the  time  of  the  evacuation,  it  would  not  be 
permitted  any  longer,  and  the  government  would  give  no  ex- 
planation in  regard  to  the  individuals  or  the  charges  which 
it  had  to  make  against  them.  I  was  therefore  requested  to 


302  PARAGUAY. 

dismiss,  on  the  following  day,  all  the  persons  in  my  house  who 
were  not  members  of  my  Legation,  and  in  such  terms  that 
the  only  inference  was,  if  they  were  not  sent  away  they  would 
be  taken  by  force.  All  the  persons  in  the  house  were  imme- 
diately advised  of  the  contents  of  this  letter,  and  there  was 
great  consternation  among  them.  Pereira  said  that,  for  his 
part,  he  should  go  immediately.  He  feared  that  he  had  pre- 
cipitated the  trouble  which  had  come  upon  others,  and  con- 
sidered that  he  could  do  no  less  than  depart.  I  told  him  that 
I  was  under  no  obligations  to  send  away  anybody  until  spe- 
cific crimes  and  offences  were  charged,  and  as  no  charges  had 
been  made  in  his  case,  I  should  not  turn  him  out  of  my  house. 
He  could  act  his  pleasure  in  the  matter.  To  the  English  I 
also  said  they  could  go  or  stay,  as  they  thought  it  best  for  them- 
selves. No  charge  had  been  made  against  them,  and  Lopez 
had  no  right  to  demand  them  until  something  specific  was 
alleged  against  them.  They  all  saw,  however,  that  the  terms 
of  the  note  were  such  as  to  show  a  determination  to  have 
them  in  one  way  or  another,  and  that  if  they  remained  be- 
cause specific  charges  of  crime  were  not  made  against  them, 
it  would  be  but  a  short  time  before  such  charges  would  be 
manufactured  and  forthcoming. 

Of  what  nature  those  charges  might  be,  neither  they  nor  I 
could  have  any  idea  ;  but  if  specific  crimes  were  alleged  against 
them,  I  should  then  have  no  alternative  but  to  give  them 
up,  even  though  convinced  they  were  false.  Lopez  would 
then  treat  them  as  if  they  had  committed  the  crimes  charged 
and  they  were  proved  against  them.  They  all  concluded  that 
the  best  thing  they  could  do  was  to  leave  voluntarily  the  next 
morning,  and  they  commenced  making  their  preparations  to 
do  so  the  same  night.  Whither  they  were  to  go,  or  what  was 
to  become  of  them,  they  knew  not.  Carreras  and  Rodriguez 
seemed  to  think  that  it  was  not  they  that  Lopez  wished  to  get 
hold  of,  and  did  not  believe  that,  if  the  others  went,  he  would 
insist  upon  their  departure  ;  and  it  was  finally  understood  that 
the  next  day  Pereira  would  go  into  the  streets,  where,  of  course, 
he  would  be  immediately  arrested,  and  the  English  would  go 


THE  LEGATION  SURROUNDED  BY  SOLDIERS.     303 

and  report  themselves  to  the  police,  and  request  to  be  sent  to 
such  place  in  the  interior  as  the  government  might  assign  to 
them.  Poor  Leite  Pereira  and  his  wife  that  night  were  two 
of  the  most  miserable  beings  that  it  has  ever  been  my  fortune  to 
meet.  They  both  seemed  to  realize  that  their  separation  was 
to  be  final.  They  were  most  tenderly  attached  to  each  other, 
and  the  misery  depicted  on  their  faces  was  such,  that  from  sym- 
pathy there  was  scarce  a  wink  of  sleep  in  the  whole  house  dur- 
ing that  night.  The  next  morning  I  found  my  house  sur- 
rounded by  a  great  number  of  police  and  soldiers.  The  Eng- 
lish, when  they  opened  their  doors  in  the  morning,  found  such 
a  force  watching  for  them  as  caused  them  to  fear  they  were 
all  to  be  taken  to  prison  the  moment  they  left  the  house. 
They  requested  me  to  go  and  see  Colonel  Fernandez  in  their 
behalf,  and  to  learn  of  him  what  it  was  the  desire  of  the  gov- 
ernment they  should  do,  where  they  were  to  go,  and  to  ex- 
press to  him  their  apprehension  lest  they  were  to  be  arrested 
as  prisoners.  I  complied  with  their  request,  and  when  I  told 
Fernandez  what  they  had  said  to  me,  he  answered  that  they 
were  not  to  be  arrested  nor  to  be  taken  to  prison  ;  that  they 
should  go,  all  of  them,  to  the  railroad  station,  where  he 
would  give  me  his  word  of  honor  they  should  be  kindly  and 
respectfully  treated,  and  that  assistance  would  be  given  them 
in  carrying  any  of  their  goods,  furniture,  or  provisions  to  the 
station  ;  and  that  within  a  day  or  two  after  they  would  be  noti- 
fied to  what  points  in  the  interior  they  were  to  be  removed. 
They  accordingly  commenced  making  preparations  to  depart. 
I  busied  myself  in  writing  a  brief  letter  in  answer  to  that 
very  long  one  from  Benitez,  in  which  I  stated  that  I  differed 
entirely  from  the  opinions  and  conclusions  advanced  in  his 
letter  in  relation  to  the  rights  and  immunities  of  foreign  min- 
isters and  legations,  but  that  this  did  not  affect  the  prac- 
tical view  of  the  case,  as  all  the  persons  mentioned  by  name 
by  him  had  informed  me  of  their  intention  to  leave  my  house 
voluntarily  ;  and  as  I  supposed  the  government  would  not  ob- 
ject that  Mrs.  Pereira  should  remain,  she  would  do  so,  unless 
objection  was  made  to  it  by  the  government.  Carreras  and 


304  PARAGUAY. 

Rodriguez  would  remain  for  the  present,  as  such  was  their 
desire  ;  I  did  not  understand,  and  it  had  not  been  alleged, 
that  any  offence  was  charged  against  them,  except  that  they 
had  remained  in  the  Legation  ;  and  if  for  that  offence  the 
government  were  to  insist  on  their  leaving,  it  would  assume 
that  I  had  no  right  to  have  either  guests  or  visitors  in  my 
house. 

At  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  English  all  left 
and  went  to  the  railroad  station.  Fernandez  had  been  as 
good  as  his  word,  and  sent  peons  and  carts  to  assist  them. 
Pereira  left  at  four  o'clock.  He  started  from  the  front  door 
of  the  Legation,  and  as  he  reached  the  corner  of  the  street 
several  policemen  who  had  been  watching  approached  and 
arrested  him,  and  this  was  the  last  I  ever  saw  of  him.  At  his 
departure,  poor  Mrs.  Pereira  seemed  almost  frantic.  Carreras 
and  Rodriguez,  as  did  also  Mrs.  Washburn  and  myself,  endeav- 
ored to  console  her  by  representations  in  which  we  ourselves 
had  no  confidence.  Little  did  Carreras  and  Rodriguez  then 
realize  that  within  twenty-four  hours  their  own  situation  would 
be  as  desperate  as  that  of  Pereira. 

With  the  departure  of  Pereira  and  the  English  we  all  hoped 
that  the  government  would  be  satisfied.  Pereira  had  excited 
the  suspicion  and  jealousy  of  Lopez,  and  we  could  understand 
why  the  latter  wanted  to  get  possession  of  his  person,  and  we 
supposed  that  the  object  in  requiring  the  English  to  leave  the 
Legation  was  to  induce  the  mechanics  to  re-enter  the  service 
of  Paraguay.  In  his  letter  of  the  nth  of  July,  Benitez  had 
complained  that,  by  giving  shelter  to  them,  the  public  work- 
shops were  deprived  of  their  services.  Having  attained  these 
two  objects,  the  person  of  Pereira  and  the  services  of  the  Eng- 
lish, we  hoped  that  the  rest  of  us  would  be  left  alone  and  un- 
molested, though  our  fears  that  we  should  not  be  by  far  ex- 
ceeded any  such  hopes.  It  may  be  supposed  that  during  the 
evening  our  situation  was  earnestly  discussed,  and  that  when 
we  retired  we  were  all  exceedingly  anxious  as  to  what  the 
morrow  might  bring  forth.  By  this  time  sleep  was,  to  me  at 
least,  no  longer  tired  nature's  sweet  restorer.  The  following 


RODRIGUEZ  AND  CARRERAS  DEMANDED. 


305 


morning  I  arose  very  early,  but  before  my  toilet  was  com- 
pleted I  heard  an  ominous  knock  at  my  door.  I  hastened  to 
answer  it,  and  there  I  found  the  soldier  who  usually  brought 
such  missives  with  another  letter,  similar  in  appearance  to  all 
the  others  I  had  lately  received,  in  his  hand.  I  took  it,  and 
retired  to  read  it  alone  before  making  its  contents  known  to 
anybody  else.  I  found  that  in  its  purport  it  was  worse  than 
ever  I  had  even  feared.  It  stated  that  I  was  in  error  in  sup- 
posing that  the  only  offence  of  Carreras  and  Rodriguez  was 
in  their  remaining  in  the  Legation,  and  I  was  informed  that 
they  were  demanded  by  justice,  and  the  necessity  of  their  ap- 
pearance before  the  tribunals  was  so  urgent  that  I  was  re- 
quested to  dismiss  them  before  one  o'clock  of  that  day.  And, 
as  a  specimen  of  the  character  and  tone  of  the  notes  which 
I  received,  I  will  give  this  brief  extract :  — 

"  Your  Excellency  will  perceive  that  there  exist  offences  on  the 
part  of  these  Orientales,  and  that  not  only  are  they  to  be  brought 
before  the  tribunal,  but  that  it  is  urgent  to  do  so,  and  I  trust  that 
though  your  Excellency  has  counselled  them,  and  requested  them 
to  remain  in  your  hotel  when  they  were  disposed  to  leave  it,  now 
that  you  know  they  are  guilty  you  will  hasten  to  dismiss  them." 

As  I  did  not  know  that  they  were  guilty,  and  had  no  proof 
that  they  were  except  this  statement  of  Benitez,  and  believed 
they  were  entirely  innocent,  and  as  it  was  clearly  intimated 
that  they  would  be  taken  by  force  if  they  did  not  deliver  them- 
selves up  voluntarily,  I  then  saw  that  my  rights  as  a  minister 
would  be  of  very  little  protection  to  them.  As  soon  as  Rod- 
riguez and  Carreras  had  arisen  that  morning  I  showed  them 
the  letter,  and  great  was  their  surprise  that  they  should  be 
accused  and  declared  guilty  of  grave  offences.  Of  the  nature 
of  their  offences  they  professed  to  be,  and  I  believe  were,  en- 
tirely ignorant ;  and  the  question  then  was,  what  course  they 
should  take.  They  were  at  full  liberty  to  go,  or  wait  till  they 
might  be  taken  by  force.  I  should  adhere  to  my  resolution  to 
deliver  nobody  up  unless  specific  charges  were  alleged  against 
them  ;  but  if  these  charges  should  be  made,  then  I  could  no 

VOL.  n.  20 


306  PARAGUAY. 

longer  give  them  shelter  in  the  Legation.  We  discussed  anx- 
iously the  probable  course  that  would  be  taken  by  Lopez  in 
the  event  of  their  going  away  or  of  their  remaining.  Car- 
reras  at  first  seemed  to  think  that  the  war  was  nearly  at  an 
end,  and  that  if  he  remained  in  the  Legation  he  should  per- 
haps escape  with  his  life,  for  he  did  not  believe  that  Lopez 
would  violate  the  Legation  and  take  him  by  force,  and  said 
if  I  would  promise  to  remain  where  I  was  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  he  should  not  deliver  himself  up.  That,  I  foresaw,  I 
could  not  do  ;  for  if  I  made  such  a  promise  I  most  probably 
could  not  fulfil  it,  as  subsequent  facts  soon  demonstrated.  I 
had  long  before  sent  in  my  resignation,  and  was  every  day  ex- 
pecting notice  of  my  recall,  and  a  successor  to  come  to  take 
my  place.  Lopez  would  take  good  care  to  see  that  successor 
before  I  did  ;  and  as  the  capital  had  then  been  in  another 
place  than  Asuncion  for  some  five  months,  it  was  not  likely 
that  another  minister  would  take  up  his  residence  there,  and, 
if  he  did  not,  then  my  house  would  be  no  protection.  Besides, 
I  had  taken  the  ground  that  I  was  under  no  obligations  to 
send  any  one  away  till  specific  charges  were  alleged  against 
him,  and  that  if  such  charges  should  be  made,  as  it  was  laid 
down  by  all  the  writers  on  international  law  that  the  house 
of  an  ambassador  cannot  be  used  as  a  refuge  for  criminals, 
then,  the  moment  I  was  notified  of  the  offence  committed,  if 
it  were  of  a  grave  character,  and  whether  true  or  false  would 
not  matter,  I  should  have  no  alternative  but  to  send  them 
away.  If  I  returned  for  answer  that  I  would  not  dismiss 
them  till  some  crime  were  laid  to  their  charge,  it  was  very 
certain  that  if  they  were  not  taken  by  force  immediately,  such 
a  charge  would  be  made  soon  after,  and  then  it  would  be 
worse  for  them  than  if  they  had  gone  voluntarily.  Rodri- 
guez was  of  the  opinion  that  the  best  thing  for  them  both 
was  that  they  should  go  as  if  voluntarily,  and  afterwards 
Carreras  was  of  the  same  opinion,  and  they  made  up  their 
minds  that  before  the  hour  indicated  in  Benitez's  letter  they 
would  take  their  departure.  On  this  occasion  I  saw  very  much 
in  the  character  of  Rodriguez  to  admire.  He  was  well  aware 


CHIVALRIC   CONDUCT   OF   RODRIGUEZ. 


307 


of  the  danger  that  was  before  him,  and  still,  as  there  was  and 
could  be  nothing  against  him,  he  had  some  hope  that  he  would 
escape  with  his  life.  That  he  would  be  forced  to  undergo 
most  inhuman  treatment,  he  had  no  doubt ;  but  it  seemed  to 
him  that  life  at  best  is  but  fof  a  few  years,  and  whether  they 
were  a  score  or.  two  more  or  less  would  not  signify  in  the 
great  future.  He  said  that  as  for  the  suffering,  he  could  endure 
perhaps  as  much  as  any  man.  He  had  always  lived  a  tem- 
perate and  regular  life,  was  in  good  health,  had  a  good  consti- 
tution, and  could  endure  very  much  before  he  would  succumb 
to  the  great  destroyer.  Besides,  he  was  of  a  hopeful  tempera- 
ment, and  in  whatever  situation  of  life  he  found  himself  he 
had  sufficient  philosophy  to  make  the  best  of  it,  and  to  believe 
that  in  the  end  all  was  for  the  best.  He  also  said  that  he  had 
much  greater  apprehensions  in  regard  to  Carreras  than  for 
himself.  Carreras,  he  knew,  was  nervous  and  excitable ;  he 
had  neither  the  endurance  nor  the  temperament  to  undergo 
the  trials  which  he  feared  were  in  store  for  them  both  ;  and  al- 
together he  showed  a  disinterestedness  and  sympathy  for  his 
friend,  at  a  time  when  his  own  dangers  and  his  own  trials 
might  be  supposed  to  be  sufficient  to  engage  all  his  attention, 
such  as  I  have  never  seen  equalled,  nor  have  I  read  either  in 
history  or  fiction  of  such  sublime  self-abnegation.  They  both 
made  such  preparations  as  they  had  time  to  make  in  regard 
to  their  private  affairs,  and  wrote  to  their  friends  of  their  cir- 
cumstances and  situation,  and  of  my  efforts  in  their  behalf, 
and  commissioned  both  myself  and  Mrs.  Washburn  to  bear 
what  might  be  their  last  messages  to  their  friends  and  rela- 
tives. I  busied  myself  during  the  morning  in  writing  a  note 
to  Benitez,  hoping  that  in  some  degree  I  could  placate  the 
wrath  of  his  master,  and  perhaps  obtain  for  them  better  treat- 
ment than  they  would  otherwise  receive.  From  that  note  I 
make  the  following  extract :  — 

"  Your  Honor  then  adds  that  in  regard  to  the  longer  resi- 
dence of  Srs.  Carreras  and  Rodriguez,  instead  of  being  in  no 
other  way  culpable  than  for  remaining  in  this  Legation,  they  are 
claimed  by  the  tribunals  of  justice  and  in  a  manner  so  peremptory 


308  PARAGUAY. 

that  it  is  expected  they  will  leave  this  Legation  by  one  o'clock 
to-day. 

"  Having  advised  those  two  gentlemen  of  the  contents  of  your 
note,  they  manifested  much  surprise,  but  expressed  their  readiness 
to  go  at  once  and  meet  and  refute  any  charges  that  may  be  made 
against  them,  and  they  actually  left  before  the  hour  indicated. 

"  It  is  with  as  profound  regret  as  I  ever  experienced  in  my  life  to 
have  two  friends  whom  I  very  much  esteem,  and  who  have  been  my 
guests  for  some  five  months,  leave  my  house  under  such  circum- 
stances, and  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  no  accusation  can  be  brought 
against  them  from  which  they  will  not  triumphantly  vindicate  them- 
selves. During  their  long  residence  with  me  we  have  naturally 
talked  with  entire  frankness  on  every  manner  of  subject,  and  it 
appears  to  me  that  if  they  had,  either  of  them,  ever  committed  or 
connived  at  any  act  criminal  or  offensive  to  the  government  of 
Paraguay,  I  should  have  learned  something  of  it.  But  I  have  not. 
The  first  named,  Dr.  Carreras,  it  is  well  known,  came  to  Paraguay 
to  give  any  assistance  in  his  power  to  the  cause  of  this  country 
against  Brazil,  risking  his  life  and  fortune  to  arrive  here;  but  as  his 
services  have  not  been  made  available,  he  has  desired  to  leave 
it  for  the  same  object,  believing  that  by  going  abroad  he  could  have 
an  influence  in  enlisting  the  sympathies,  if  not  the  active  assistance, 
of  one  or  more  of  the  Pacific  Republics  in  behalf  of  this  country. 
How  such  a  man,  whose  innermost  sentiments  I  know  so  well,  could 
have  committed  any  offence  against  a  government  he  was  so  anxious 
to  serve,  is  beyond  my  comprehension.  The  same  interest  in  the 
cause  of  Paraguay  has  always  been  evinced  by  Mr.  Rodriguez. 
This  gentleman,  your  Honor  will  recollect,  came  to  Paraguay  in  a 
diplomatic  capacity,  that  of  Secretary  of  the  Oriental  Legation,  of 
which  he  was  left  in  charge  at  the  departure  of  the  Minister,  Sr. 
Vasquez  Sagastume.  After  the  fall  of  the  government  which  he 
represented  his  diplomatic  functions  were  suspended,  and  he  then 
desired  to  leave  the  country,  but  as  yet  has  not  been  able  to  do  so. 
Yet,  as  your  Honor  is  well  aware,  it  is  laid  down  by  all  writers  on  the 
rights  of  legation,  that,  until  they  can  depart  from  the  country,  the 
members  of  a  once  accepted  legation  are  entitled  to  certain  immu- 
nities, and  if  any  one  commits  an  offence,  the  government  to  which 
he  had  been  accredited  is  not  authorized  to  try  him,  but  may  send 
him  out  of  the  country,  and  demand  his  punishment  of  his  own 
government 


DEPARTURE   FROM   THE   LEGATION. 


309 


"  I  have  only  to  add  that,  if  these  gentlemen  or  Sr.  Leite  Pereira 
remain  in  this  city,  it  will  be  a  great  gratification  to  me  if  I  may  be 
permitted  to  send  their  meals  from  my  house,  or  other  things  neces- 
sary to  their  health  or  comfort.  Will  you  please  advise  me  on  this 
point  at  your  earliest  convenience. 

"  The  colored  servant  of  Dr.  Carreras  still  remains  with  me  in  the 
capacity  of  servant." 

This  letter  was  read  to  them  before  they  left,  and  they  ap- 
peared to  feel  that,  coming  as  it  did  from  the  only  minister  of 
a  foreign  nation  in  the  country,  it  would  be  to  some  extent 
respected.  A  little  before  the  hour  named  in  Benitez's  letter 
they  left  the  Legation,  and  each  one  took  with  him  a  bundle 
containing  a  few  things  such  as  they  thought  might  be  most 
needed  in  prison,  —  some  changes  of  linen,  a  few  books  and 
toilet  articles,  and  a  blanket  or  two  to  protect  them  from  the 
cold.  Bidding  us  good  by,  and  with  many  protestations  of 
gratitude  for  the  hospitality  and  protection  which  we  had 
given  them,  they  went  out  of  the  Legation,  and,  reaching  the 
corner  of  the  street,  were  arrested  in  the  same  manner  as  had 
been  Leite  Pereira  the  evening  before.  Their  departure  was 
the  saddest  event  of  my  whole  life,  and  the  sorrow  which  I  felt 
was  participated  in  by  all  who  remained  in  my  house.  After 
they  were  gone  I  reflected  anxiously  upon  my  own  course, 
and  though  I  believed  I  had  acted  with  the  best  judgment 
possible  under  the  circumstances  by  not  insisting  or  begging 
them  to  remain  in  the  Legation  until  they  were  accused  of 
specific  crime  or  taken  by  force,  yet  it  occurred  to  me  that 
possibly  I  had  erred  ;  that  if  I  had  told  them  to  stay,  and  un- 
equivocally replied  to  Benitez  that  they  would  remain  in  my 
Legation  as  long  as  I  remained  there,  unless  taken  away  by 
force,  that  perhaps  they  would  have  been  no  further  molested, 
and  would  thus  escape  the  sufferings  to  which  I  feared  they 
would  then  be  subjected. 

Lopez  had  now  got  all  that  he  had  asked  for  up  to  this 
time.  No  one  was  left  in  my  Legation  who  was  not  a  mem- 
ber of  it.  All  the  others,  of  their  own  accord,  had  gone  away 
from  it,  and  I  supposed  that  we  should  be  left,  for  a  while 


310  PARAGUAY. 

longer  at  least,  to  a  dismal  peace.  But  even  that  was  not 
in  accordance  with  the  plans  of  Lopez.  He  had  evidently 
been  informed  instantly  by  telegraph  of  every  event  that  had 
occurred,  and  within  a  few  moments  of  the  time  of  the  de- 
parture of  Carreras  and  Rodriguez  was  advised  of  it,  for 
the  same  evening,  at  about  five  o'clock,  I  received  still  an- 
other letter  from  Benitez,  and  as  everything  from  him  was 
dictated  by  Lopez  at  his  head-quarters,  and  then  sent  from 
Luque  by  a  chasque,  or  courier,  to  Asuncion,  this  letter  must 
have  been  sent  by  telegraph  from  San  Fernando  very  soon 
after  Carreras  and  Rodriguez  were  arrested.  In  this  last 
letter  I  was  requested  to  dismiss  from  my  house  Porter  Cor- 
nelius Bliss  and  George  F.  Masterman,  as  they  were  accused 
of  crimes  not  less  grave  than  the  others  had  been  charged 
with.  From  this  it  was  evident  that  my  apprehensions  lest  I 
had  made  a  mistake  in  relation  to  Carreras  and  Rodriguez 
were  entirely  groundless.  They  had  both  considered  that,  as 
Bliss  and  Masterman  belonged  to  my  suite,  they  would  not 
be  molested,  nor  did  they  think  that  Lopez  would  commit 
any  act  of  violence  against  my  Legation. 

To  this  letter  I  replied  on  the  following  day,  that  Bliss  and 
Masterman  were  members  of  my  family  ;  that  Masterman  had 
lived  in  my  house  many  months  previous  to  the  order  for  the 
evacuation  of  the  capital ;  his  name  had  been  given,  as  also 
had  that  of  Mr.  Bliss,  a  long  time  before,  as  being  connected 
with  the  Legation,  and  that  no  exception  had  been  taken  to 
their  remaining  in  it ;  and  that,  as  I  considered  them  both 
members  of  my  suite,  I  could  have  no  discussion  in  regard  to 
delivering  them  up  or  sending  them  from  my  house.  To 
yield  to  such  a  demand  I  must  abdicate  all  my  functions  and 
rights  as  a  minister,  for  if  I  acknowledged  the  right  of  the 
government  to  take  away  one  person  whom  I  considered  a 
member  of  my  suite,  I  must  concede  it  for  all,  and  thus,  if  it 
so  pleased  the  government,  I  might  be  left,  not  only  without 
a  servant,  but  without  wife,  child,  or  secretary  ;  for,  according 
to  their  reasoning,  if  it  were  only  alleged  that  any  person  be- 
longing to  my  Legation  was  accused,  I  had  no  recourse  but  to 


PASSPORTS    DEMANDED.  -jn 

deliver  him  up.  I  concluded  by  saying  that  from  the  recent 
occurrences,  and  from  the  tone  and  temper  of  the  recent  cor- 
respondence, it  was  evident  that  I  could  be  of  no  further  use 
by  remaining  in  Paraguay ;  that  it  had  been  my  intention  to 
remain  to  the  end  of  the  war,  and  until  I  could  see  the  Para- 
guayan people  once  more  in  the  enjoyment  of  that  peace  and 
prosperity  which  their  valor  and  devotion  had  so  nobly 
earned,  but  that  I  was  compelled  to  abandon  any  such  hope, 
as  the  course  which  I  had  felt  it  my  duty  to  adopt  seemed  to 
have  been  so  at  variance  with  the  views  of  the  government 
of  Paraguay.  I  could  serve  no  good  purpose  by  remaining 
longer.  I  therefore  requested  passports  for  myself  and  for  all 
persons  belonging  to  the  Legation,  and  for  such  facilities  for 
leaving  the  country  as  comported  with  the  character  of  an 
accredited  minister. 

The  demand  for  my  passports  was  evidently  what  Lopez 
did  not  expect  nor  desire,  and  the  reply  to  this  note  was  some- 
what more  considerate  and  respectful  than  had  been  the  pre- 
ceding ones.  A  long  argument  was  made  to  show  that  neither 
Bliss  nor  Masterman  could  properly  be  claimed  as  members 
of  the  Legation,  and  the  pretence  was  set  up  that  Bliss  hav- 
ing once  been  employed  in  literary  occupations  by  the  gov- 
ernment I  had  no  right  to  receive  him  into  my  service  ;  and 
that  as  Masterman  had  been  released  from  prison  at  my  re- 
quest, to  serve  as  medical  attendant  to  my  family,  it  would  be 
a  very  ungracious  act  on  my  part  to  take  advantage  of  a 
concession  and  favor  to  me  by  giving  shelter  to  a  criminal 
against  the  government. 

There  was  one  statement,  however,  in  this  letter,  which 
greatly  surprised  us,  and  gave  us  the  first  intimation  we  had 
of  what  the  government  was  trying  to  make  out,  and  of  the 
dangers  which  encompassed  us  about.  Bliss  and  Master- 
man were  accused  of  being  members  of  a  conspiracy  which 
by  agreement  with  the  enemy  was  to  have  broken  out  in 
the  country  about  that  time,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
overthrow  the  government  and  destroy  the  army  that  was 
fighting  for  its  existence.  These  points  were  elaborated  with 


312  PARAGUAY. 

considerable  acuteness  and  Jesuitical  cunning,  and  the  pre- 
tence was  set  up  that  they  and  the  others  who  had  already 
left  the  Legation  had  abused  my  confidence,  and  without 
my  knowledge  had  been  guilty  of  crimes,  and  Bliss  and 
Masterman  were  still  criminally  abusing  the  immunities  which 
the  Legation  afforded  them.  The  letter  concluded  by  say- 
ing, that,  after  the  statements  and  arguments  which  it  had 
set  forth,  I  must  know  that  I  was  wrong  in  declining  to  de- 
liver up  "  those  rascals,"  and  that  the  government  was  per- 
fectly right  in  demanding  them,  and  believed  that  I  should 
expel  from  my  house  such  persons,  who,  "bathing  the  na- 
tional soil  with  fratricidal  blood,  pretended  to  undermine  the 
just  title  to  sympathy  of  your  Excellency  which  the  abnega- 
tion and  great  sacrifices  of  my  country  have  acquired,  as  well 
as  that  which  the  singular  and  conspicuous  services  which 
its  Chief  Magistrate  and  General-in-Chief  of  its  armies.  Mar- 
shal Lopez,  has  achieved  in  this  struggle."  In  the  belief  that 
such  would  be  the  case,  and  that  I  should  see  the  error  of 
my  ways  and  the  righteousness  of  those  of  Lopez,  I  was  in- 
formed that  my  passports  would  not  be  sent  to  me,  but  if  I 
still  insisted  upon  it  he  would  ask  for  the  orders  of  Presi- 
dent Lopez  in  regard  to  them. 

From  this  letter  I  inferred  that  Lopez  did  not  intend  at 
that  time  to  take  Bliss  and  Masterman  by  force  ;  that  he 
did  not  desire  me  peremptorily  to  demand  my  passports  ;  and 
that  the  question  of  their  rendition  would  be  allowed  —  for  a 
time,  at  least  —  to  remain  in  abeyance.  I  therefore  took  several 
days  to  answer  the  last  note  of  Benitez,  and  I  entered  into  a 
long  argument  to  show  that,  under  the  circumstances  in  which 
I  had  engaged  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  they  belonged  to 
the  Legation,  and  were  entitled  to  all  its  immunities  ;  that  I 
could  not  give  them  up  without  abandoning  the  rights  of  my 
government,  and  of  myself  as  its  representative.  I  quoted 
largely  from  such  authorities  on  international  law  as  I  had 
in  the  Legation,  including  Martens,  Wheaton,  and  Vattel, 
and  showed  that,  according  to  these  eminent  writers,  even  if 
Bliss  and  Masterman  were  guilty  of  any  crimes  which  might 


THE    LAW   OF   NATIONS.  313 

be  charged  against  them,  not  then  was  it  my  duty  to  sur- 
render them  to  the  tribunals  of  Paraguay  to  be  punished.  It 
was  my  duty  to  send  them  home  to  their  own  governments 
if  they  had  committed  any  violation  of  the  laws  of  Paraguay. 
I  also  protested  against  the  assumption  which  Benitez  had 
made  from  the  beginning,  that  the  persons  whom  he  had 
asked  me  to  deliver  were  guilty  because  they  were  accused,  as 
it  was  in  violation  of  that  maxim  of  the  common  law  that 
every  man  is  innocent  until  proved  guilty,  and  no  proof  had 
ever  been  submitted  to  me  that  either  of  them  had  committed 
any  crime,  and  for  me  therefore  to  send  away  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman  as  guilty,  when  there  was  no  proof  to  that  effect,  and 
I  was  bound  to  regard  them  as  innocent,  would  be  a  great  dere- 
liction on  my  part ;  I  must  be  governed  by  the  laws  of  my 
own  country,  and  according  to  them  I  must  have  proofs  of  the 
offences  charged  before  I  could  treat  these  gentlemen  as  crim- 
inals. I  stated,  moreover,  that  the  law  of  nations  had  clearly 
prescribed  the  course  to  be  followed  when  persons  connected 
with  a  legation  were  found  engaged  in  any  unlawful  proceed- 
ings, and  that  the  government  in  which  the  legation  was 
situated  could  only  demand  that  they  should  be  sent  away  to 
their  own  country  and  government  to  be  tried  ;  and  therefore  if 
they  should  adduce  charges  and  proofs  against  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman,  and  request  me  to  comply  with  the  established  usage, 
I  should  have  no  alternative  but  to  send  them  away  for  that 
purpose.  I  added,  that  I  hoped  this  course  would  be  satis- 
factory to  the  government  of  Paraguay,  as  it  would  remove 
persons  obnoxious  to  it  from  the  country,  and  would  subject 
them  to  trial  according  to  the  laws  of  their  own  countries  ; 
and  as  there  was  little  doubt  that  an  American  gunboat 
would  soon  be  in  those  waters,  there  would  be  but  little  de- 
lay in  carrying  that  plan  into  effect.  I  expressed  my  great 
surprise  at  the  statement  in  his  note,  that  a  conspiracy  had 
been  formed,  and  that  by  agreement  with  the  enemy  it  was 
to  have  broken  out  about  that  time.  I  had  no  knowledge 
or  suspicion  of  any  such  conspiracy,  though  I  had  supposed 
from  the  strange  and  unusual  measures  taken  by  the  gov- 


314  PARAGUAY. 

ernment  that  something  of  a  dangerous  character  had  been 
discovered,  but  of  its  form  or  extent,  or  of  the  persons  im- 
plicated in  it,  I  had  not  the  most  remote  idea.  Such  conspir- 
acies frequently  did  happen  during  long  periods  of  war,  but 
in  Paraguay  I  did  not  suppose  there  were  any  persons  so  fool- 
ish as  to  engage  in  a  combination  that  could  not  offer  any 
other  issue  than  their  own  ruin  ;  but  this  allegation  in  his 
note,  however,  convinced  me  that  something  of  the  kind  had 
been  attempted,  but  that  I  should  cherish  the  hope  it  would  be 
found  very  limited  in  extent,  and  that  I  confidently  believed 
it  would  appear  to  be  confined  to  a  circle  with  which  no  per- 
son who  had  ever  lived  in  my  Legation  had  any  relations, 
connections,  or  intimacies.  I  concluded  this  letter  by  reiter- 
ating my  opinion  that  my  views  differed  as  widely  as  ever 
from  those  of  Lopez,  and  that  I  saw  no  object  in  my  fur- 
ther remaining  in  Paraguay  ;  that  I  had  desired  to  remain  at 
least  until  the  solution  of  the  question  of  the  passage  of  the 
American  gunboat  above  the  blockading  squadron  ;  that  I 
knew  such  gunboat  would  come  sooner  or  later,  if  it  took  the 
whole  American  navy  to  force  its  way ;  and  that  I  did  not 
believe  the  allies  would  venture  to  prevent  its  passage,  and 
thus  provoke  a  war  with  the  United  States,  but  that  the  gun- 
boat would  pass  unmolested,  and  the  allies  would  be  'sub- 
jected to  such  another  humiliation  as  they  had  been  before, 
when  they  attempted  to  prevent  me  from  returning  to  my  post 
of  duty. 

That  there  was  no  conspiracy,  and  that  Lopez  knew  it,  and 
that  he  had  no  suspicion  that  there  was  any,  at  this  stage  of 
the  correspondence,  I  now  know.  At  the  time,  however,  I 
believed  there  was  something,  but  who  the  parties  could  be 
that  were  engaged  in  it  I  could  not  surmise.  And  yet  I  re- 
ceived another  letter  from  Benitez,  dated  on  the  igth  of  July, 
the  day  before  that  one  of  my  own  of  which  I  have  just  given 
a  synopsis,  .telling  me  that  the  servants  in  my  house  who  were 
permitted  to  go  outside  of  the  Legation  were  accused  of 
bearing  communications  from  the  enemy  to  the  refugees  in 
my  house.  Lopez  was  well  aware  that  none  of  the  enemy 


BLISS  AND   MASTERMAN   CONSULTED.          315 

were  within  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  Asuncion,  and  for 
anybody  beyond  the  lines  to  communicate  with  the  capital, 
he  must  send  his  messenger  through  a  region  that  no  fugitive 
trying  to  escape  from  threatened  death  had  been  able  to  pass 
for  fifty  years.  This  letter,  therefore,  was  only  to  be  taken  as 
a  threat,  and  was  another  link  by  which  Lopez  intended  to 
involve,  not  only  Bliss  and  Masterman,  but  myself,  and  all  in 
my  house,  in  his  pretended  conspiracy. 

On  the  2  ist  another  letter  was  received,  of  a  still  more 
ominous  character.  In  this  I  was  told  that  by  agreement  of 
the  traitors  with  the  enemy,  the  latter  were  to  commence  cer- 
tain movements  on  or  before  the  24th,  and  that  as  it  appeared 
probable  the  criminals,  Bliss  and  Masterman,  might  escape 
from  my  house  if  they  should  not  be  previously  imprisoned, 
the  government  "would  view  with  the  greatest  pain  an  oc- 
currence of  so  much  importance,  which  would  once  more 
disappoint  the  good  faith  and  confidence  which  I  was  pleased 
to  show  towards  these  criminals,  in  thinking  it  my  duty  to 
discuss  and  delay  up  to  that  time  the  apprehension  of  indi- 
viduals so  dangerous  to  the  national  cause."  I  was  requested 
to  give  the  speediest  possible  answer  to  this  note. 

To  this  I  replied  on  the  following  day,  after  having  con- 
ferred with  both  Bliss  and  Masterman  as  to  what  it  was  most 
proper  to  do  under  these  circumstances.  From  this  time 
I  did  not  send  any  letter  to  Benitez  without  having  first  sub- 
mitted it  to  them,  and  if  they  had  any  suggestions  to  make 
I  considered  them  deliberately,  and  no  letter  was  sent  away 
containing  anything  which  either  of  them  wished  to  have 
omitted,  or  in  which  I  had  failed  to  advance  any  fact  or 
argument  that  either  of  them  desired  to  have  presented. 
Their  lives  I  considered  were  at  stake,  and  I  did  not  dare 
to  take  the  responsibility  of  any  act  against  their  wishes 
which  might  prejudice  their  safety.  We  were  all  encom- 
passed by  the  same  dangers.  Theirs  were  greater  than  mine. 
They  would  probably  be  seized  before  I  would  be.  But  if 
they  were  seized,  taken  by  force  from  the  Legation,  I  was 
persuaded  that  their  arrest  would  be  followed  by  that  of  my- 


3i6  PARAGUAY. 

self  and  everybody  else  in  my  house,  and  that  no  one  of  us 
would  ever  be  permitted  to  tell  to  the  world  the  story  of  the 
destruction  of  his  companions.  Benitez  had  pretended  that 
the  government  was  apprehensive  lest  they  should  try  to 
escape.  They  knew  that  was  but  an  impudent  pretence,  for 
Lopez  was  well  aware  they  would  not  venture  beyond  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  Legation. if  they  could  avoid  it.  It  was  still  an- 
other link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  which  Lopez  was  forging 
to  show  to  the  world  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  against  him, 
and  the  object  of  it  evidently  had  been  to  have  this  letter  ap- 
pear in  the  published  correspondence  as  a  part  of  the  proof  that, 
the  conspiracy  had  really  existed.  For  me  to  have  said  so,  how- 
ever, would  have  precipitated  the  very  danger  we  were  trying 
to  avert.  I  could  only  reply,  that  I  did  not  participate  in  his 
opinion  regarding  the  criminality  of  these  persons ;  but  as  I 
was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  combi- 
nation to  which  he  alluded,  I  would  take  care  that  if  the  revo- 
lution which  was  said  to  be  impending  should  break  out,  they 
should  not  escape,  for  that  I  would  hold  them  prisoners  in  my 
Legation  until  I  could  send  them  out  of  the  country,  or  until 
the  government  might  not  object  to  their  being  set  at  liberty. 
This  was  the  answer  which  was  considered  by  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman,  as  well  as  myself,  to  be  such  that  Lopez  could  not 
complain  that  I  was  trying  to  screen  criminals,  or  to  aid  them 
in  escaping  clandestinely  from  the  country.  Accordingly  Bliss 
and  Masterman  changed  their  quarters,  and  both  occupied 
the  same  room,  and  I  went  through  the  form  of  locking  them 
in,  and  they  were  there  as  voluntary  prisoners.  This,  how- 
ever, endured  but  a  short  time,  as  Benitez  informed  me  within 
a  few  days  that  such  treatment  of  these  "  criminals  "  was  not 
considered  satisfactory,  after  which  I  made  no  pretence  of  any 
restraint  upon  them. 

The  English,  after  they  left  the  Legation,  all  went  to  the 
railroad  station,  where  they  were  huddled  together  in  a  few 
rooms,  and  found  it  very  difficult  to  obtain  anything  to  eat, 
notwithstanding  Fernandez  had  promised  me  that  they  should 
be  well  treated.  They  were  now  anxious  to  be  sent  into 


PRISONERS  BROUGHT  FROM  THE  INTERIOR.       317 

the  interior,  and  I  went  to  see  Fernandez  to  make  the  re- 
quest that  they  should  be  better  provided  for.  That  they 
were  not,  I  am  persuaded,  was  no  fault  of  his,  for  of  all  the 
Paraguayans  whom  Lopez  had  about  him,  or  who  enjoyed 
any  of  his  confidence,  he  seemed  to  be  the  only  one  having 
any  of  the  feelings  of  humanity,  or  any  desire  to  mitigate  the 
sufferings  of  others.  At  the  time  they  left,  I  had  requested  that 
two  of  the  women  might  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  Lega- 
tion, as  such  was  the  desire  of  Mrs.  Washburn.  Benitez  had 
replied  that  they  would  be  allowed  to  return,  but  as  Bliss  and 
Masterman  had  been  demanded  immediately  after,  and  every- 
thing seemed  to  indicate  that  we  should  all  probably  be  driven 
from  the  city,  if  not  arrested  as  prisoners,  I  could  not  advise 
them  to  separate  from  their  companions. 

While  they  remained  at  the  station,  I  went  every  day  to 
learn  of  their  situation  and  see  what  I  could  do  for  them. 
On  the  1 5th  of  July  they  told  me  that  the  night  before  the 
train  from  Luque  had  come  in  loaded  with  prisoners  in  fet- 
ters. Who  they  were  they  did  not  know,  as  no  lights  were 
allowed  in  the  station,  and  they  could  not  leave  their  rooms. 
They  knew  there  were  a  great  many,  and  they  distinctly 
heard  their  groans  and  sighs  as  they  were  forced  from  the 
cars  and  driven  from  the  station  to  the  bank  of  the  river.  A 
few  days  after  this  I  learned  that  these  English  had  all  gone 
into  the  interior,  but  to  what  point  they  had  been  sent,  or 
whether  they  had  gone  together  or  been  scattered  in  different 
parts,  I  could  not  ascertain. 

I  endeavored  to  comply  with  my  promises  to  Carreras,  Rod- 
riguez, and  Pereira  to  send  them  their  meals  from  my  house, 
provided  they  remained  in  the  capital,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  first  day  the  food  sent  them  was  allowed  to  be  left.  Until 
this  time  I  had  been  permitted  to  send  Manlove  his  meals 
every  day.  At  first,  after  his  arrest,  I  sent  them  by  a  Brazil- 
ian. This  Brazilian  was  the  same  person  whose  presence  in 
and  about  the  rooms  of  Manlove,  Masterman,  and  Bliss  I  had 
prohibited,  as  I  regarded  him  as  a  spy,  and  which  interference 
Manlove  had  resented,  and  on  that  account  left  the  Legation 


31 8  PARAGUAY. 

several  months  before.  While  hanging  about  my  premises  he 
related  to  some  persons  the  story  of  his  capture  and  treat- 
ment by  the  Paraguayans.  Being  a  man  of  some  education, 
he  was  found  useful,  and  therefore  had  never  been  executed. 
He  was  employed,  for  a  long  time,  to  write  letters  over  the 
signatures  of  various  Brazilians  who  had  been  taken  or  killed, 
to  send  into  the  allied  camp,  making  such  statements  as 
Lopez  desired  to  have  circulated  among  the  allies.  They 
were  generally  to  the  effect  that  all  prisoners  were  well 
treated  there ;  that  they  had  plenty  to  eat,  and  did  not  wish 
to  return  ;  that  the  Paraguayans  were  so  strong  they  never 
could  be  conquered,  and  advising  all  his  countrymen  to  come 
over  at  the  first  opportunity,  and  they  would  be  well  received 
and  obtain  great  favors  from  his  Excellency  Marshal  Lopez. 
He  was  also  sent  forward  with  the  pickets  to  the  front,  and 
forced  to  stand  up  and  call  out  to  his  countrymen  to  come 
over,  to  leave  the  ranks  of  the  tyrant  Don  Pedro,  where  they 
were  starved  and  ill-treated,  and  come  over  to  the  land  of 
milk  and  honey,  where  they  would  be  sure  to  be  well  received 
and  provided  with  everything  they  could  desire.  At  the 
evacuation  of  Asuncion  he  had  been  left  there,  and  occupied 
a  house  directly  in  front  of  my  own,  and  I  had  no  doubt  that 
the  object  in  permitting  him  to  remain  was  that  he  should 
serve  as  a  spy  upon  my  premises  ;  though  what  the  object  was 
in  having  a  Brazilian  spy  about  me  I  could  not  understand,  as 
there  were  always  a  large  number  of  Paraguayans  patrolling 
the  streets  in  the  vicinity,  and  always  a  picket  of  three  at  each 
corner  of  the  house.  This  man,  for  a  while,  was  allowed  to 
carry  Manlove  his  meals,  and  in  return  for  this  he  received 
food  for  himself.  Some  time,  however,  before  the  departure  of 
the  English  and  the  Orientals,  he  had  been  arrested,  and  an- 
other person,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Carter,  had  performed 
this  service.  Carter  had  been  a  sailor  on  board  an  American 
gunboat,  and,  going  ashore  at  Montevideo,  he  had  done  as  such 
persons  often  do,  got  drunk,  and  while  in  that  condition  had 
been  taken  off  as  a  soldier  of  the  allies.  In  the  first  battle  in 
which  he  was  engaged,  he  deserted  over  to  the  Paraguayans, 


THOMAS    CARTER. 


319 


and  being  sent  to  the  capital  he  was  soon  taken  sick,  and  in 
such  condition  I  found  him.  Through  the  medical  assistance 
of  Mr.  Masterman  he  partially  recovered,  and  on  the  arrest  of 
the  Brazilian  he  was  employed  to  take  Mr.  Manlove  his  meals. 
He  too  had  been  arrested ;  but  as  he  was  a  prisoner  of  war, 
and  besides  that  was  a  deserter  from  the  American  flag,  I 
could  not  interfere  in  his  behalf,  and  I  made  no  inquiries  in 
respect  to  him.  After  that  I  was  obliged  to  send  the  meals 
by  my  private  secretary,  Mr.  Meincke.  The  day  after  the 
arrest  of  Rodriguez  and  Carreras,  he  was  told  that  he  need 
bring  nothing  more  for  them,  for  they  had  gone  below,  and 
the  next  day  he  was  told  that  he  need  bring  nothing  more  for 
Manlove,  for  "  he  had  gone  to  his  destiny." 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Visit  from  the  Italian  Consul.  —  Particulars  of  the  Arrests  at  Luque.  —  Master- 
man  writes  his  Vindication.  —  Papers  of  Mr.  Bliss.  —  Their  Preparations  for 
Arrest.  —  Artifices  to  conceal  our  Manuscripts.  —  Colton's  Atlas.  —  We  learn 
of  many  Executions.  —  Visit  from  Madam  Lynch.  —  She  announces  the 
Discovery  of  a  Great  Conspiracy.  —  She  vouches  for  Lopez's  Kindness  of 
Heart.  —  Her  Threats.  —  That  Ominous  Knock.  —  Benitez  gives  Particulars 
of  an  Intended  Outbreak  to  take  Place  July  24.  —  He  charges  Mr.  Bliss  with 
a  Design  to  assassinate  Lopez.  —  Extract  from  his  Note. — The  Dangers 
thickening. 

FOR  several  months  after  the  evacuation  of  the  capital  a 
few  foreigners  were  permitted  to  reside  in  quintas  but 
a  few  miles  distant,  so  that  in  my  daily  paseos  I  would  fre- 
quently call  on  them,  to  get  any  news  they  might  have,  and 
discuss  the  situation.  But  about  the  time  of  the  arrest  of 
those  who  had  left  my  house,  I  learned  that  the  men  had  all 
been  arrested  and  carried  to  head-quarters,  and  the  women 
sent  into  the  interior.  The  English  engineers  dared  not  be 
seen  speaking  to  me,  and  I  did  not  force'  my  unwelcome  com- 
pany upon  them.  We  were  surrounded  by  an  appalling  mys- 
tery, and  were  as  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  it  as  though  we 
had  been  all  the  while  a  thousand  miles  away.  Surely,  we 
thought,  all  these  strange  proceedings  are  not  without  motive. 
Lopez  would  not  arrest  all  the  best  men  in  the  country  unless 
he  had  discovered  some  plot  or  conspiracy  that  threatened  his 
power,  and  yet  we  could  not  believe  that  any  of  the  arrested 
persons  with  whom  we  had  been  intimate  had  ever  held  any 
such  designs.  If  they  had,  they  had  been  too  suspicious  of 
us  to  give  us  a  hint  of  their  purposes. 

On  the  1 8th  of  July,  this  monotony  was  interrupted  by  a 
visit  from  the  Italian  Consul,  Signer  Chapperon.  He  was  in 
as  great  a  mystery  as  we  were,  and  could  tell  us  nothing  further 


ARRESTS   AT   LUQUE.  32! 

than  that  it  was  surmised  a  conspiracy  had  been  discovered, 
and  that  the  purpose  of  it  was  to  arrest  or  murder  Fernan- 
dez and  Sanabria,  as  they  alone  had  any  military  authority, 
and  then  start  a  revolution.  It  was  under  the  orders  of 
these  two  that  all  the  recent  arrests  had  been  made,  and  the 
inference  of  Signer  Chapperon  was,  that,  if  there  had  been  a 
conspiracy,  the  first  step  in  the  plot  was  to  put  them  out  of 
the  way.  There  was  but  one  foreigner  left  in  the  new  capital. 
This  was  the  Spaniard  Jose  Solis,  the  confidential  agent  and 
business  man  of  Madam  Lynch.  All  the  civil  officers  of  the 
government  had  been  arrested,  including  the  judges,  the  clerks, 
and  the  accountants  of  the  different  departments.  He  said  that 
Benitez  himself  appeared  to  be  in  a  great  fright,  as  if  fearing 
that  he  too  might  soon  be  arrested  ;  that  for  the  administra- 
tion of  the  government  there  only  remained  at  the  new  cap- 
ital the  old  Vice-President ;  Benitez,  Acting  Minister  for  For- 
eign Affairs ;  the  Chief-Justice ;  Ortellado,  and  the  Chief  of 
Police,  Sanabria. 

The  arrest  of  all  the  others,  without  giving  them  any 
chance  to  confer  together,  was  skilfully  accomplished  by  Sana- 
bria. One  after  another  had  been  ordered  to  the  station, 
where  fetters  were  put  upon  them  all.  The  people  at  Luque 
were  terror-stricken  at  these  proceedings.  They  saw  those 
whom  they  had  supposed  to  be  highest  in  the  confidence  of 
Lopez  taken  off  and  put  in  irons.  Aquino,  the  manager  of 
the  Semanario,  whose  last  years  seemed  to  have  been  spent  in 
little  else  than  glorifying  the  great  Lopez,  lent  a  ready  hand 
to  this  work,  and  appeared  to  be  the  lieutenant  of  Sanabria, 
and  to  seek,  by  his  zeal  and  readiness  to  arrest  and  manacle 
others,  to  win  credit  for  himself.  But  when  all  the  persons 
arrested  had  been  safely  fettered  and  placed  in  the  cars,  Sana- 
bria turned  upon  him,  and  said,  "  You  too:"  The  fetters  were 
accordingly  placed  upon  his  stout  ankles,  and  his  gross  form 
was  placed  upon  the  train  with  the  others.  On  reaching 
the  station  at  Asuncion,  they  were  forced  to  get  down  from 
the  cars  with  their  fetters  upon  them,  and  to  make  their  way 
to  the  river,  whence  they  were  taken  down  to  head-quarters  at 
San  Fernando. 

VOL.    II.  21 


322  PARAGUAY. 

The  information  given  me  by  the  Italian  Consul,  that  be- 
sides the  foreigners  many  Paraguayans  had  been  arrested, 
was  in  one  sense  a  relief  to  us.  We  had  feared  that  all  these 
strange  proceedings  which  had  recently  taken  place  were 
aimed  exclusively  at  the  foreigners  ;  but  when  we  learned  that 
so  many  Paraguayans,  some  of  whom  had  been  the  most  ab- 
ject and  willing  tools  of  Lopez  in  carrying  out  his  arbitrary 
and  tyrannical  measures,  had  also  fallen  into  disgrace,  we  im- 
agined that  something  of  a  dangerous  character  must  have  been 
discovered,  for  we  did  not  then  suppose  he  would  arrest  and 
torture  people  unless  they  had  actually  been  guilty  of  some 
crime.  If  there  were  in  reality  a  conspiracy,  we  believed  the 
parties  to  it  would  be  discovered,  and  that  those  who  had 
had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  when  that  fact  was  ascertained, 
would  be  no  longer  persecuted  ;  and  as  we  were  certain  that 
nobody  in  the  Legation  had  ever  known  or  thought  of  such  a 
thing,  during  their  residence  there  or  before  it,  we  thought  it 
augured  favorably,  not  only  for  us  who  were  left  there,  but  for 
the  others  who  had  been  there  and  on  going  away  were  ar- 
rested. We  knew  nothing,  and  could  only  judge  of  what 
had  transpired  from  what  we  had  actually  seen  and  from 
the  letters  of  Benitez.  We  were  in  a  most  terrible  state 
of  anxiety.  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  expecting  every 
day  to  be  taken  by  force  from  the  Legation.  From  the  mo- 
ment that  they  had  been  accused  of  still  holding  communica- 
tion with  the  enemy,  which  was  an  impossibility,  and  a  charge 
so  absurd  that  it  was  clear  that  Lopez  intended  to  respect 
neither  probabilities,  truth,  nor  right,  we  expected  momentarily 
to  see  the  house  entered  by  a  force  of  soldiers,  and  that  they 
would  be  taken  away  and  the  Legation  searched.  Masterman 
had  prepared  a  statement  of  his  case  and  of  the  cruelties  and 
injustice  which  he  had  suffered,  that  he  desired  to  have  pub- 
lished at  some  future  time  in  an  English  newspaper.  He 
knew  that  if  the  statement  were  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
Lopez  it  would  be  fatal  to  him,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  de- 
stroy it,  for  he  was  not  sure  that  he  would  be  arrested,  or, 
if  he  were,  that  I  might  not  be  able  to  take  away  his  vindica- 


DANGEROUS   PAPERS. 


323 


tion  of  himself.  He  therefore  folded  up  his  manuscript  and 
thrust  it  into  an  empty  demijohn,  thinking  that  if  the  Para- 
guayans should  search  the  house,  as  they  were  not  as  sharp  as 
London  detectives,  they  would  not  think  of  looking  in  any  such 
place,  especially  as  there  were  other  empty  demijohns  in  the 
different  rooms  of  the  house.  Bliss  had  been  very  careful, 
since  his  residence  in  Paraguay,  to  write  nothing  against 
Lopez ;  but  at  the  time  of  the  approach  of  the  ironclads,  in 
February,  thinking  that  the  day  of  deliverance  was  at  hand, 
he  had  commenced  a  narrative  of  the  events  of  that  time,  and 
in  his  introduction  to  it  he  had  made  some  statements  to  the 
effect  that  at  last  we  were  all  delivered  from  the  most  terrible 
despotism  ever  known,  and  that  the  power  of  the  monster 
who  had  inflicted  such  terrors  and  atrocities,  not  only  on  his 
own  people  but  on  foreigners,  was  at  an  end.  This  was  the  only 
thing  he  had  written  which  could  do  him  any  harm  were  it  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  Lopez,  and  he  said  that  would  not  be 
found,  as  he  had  left  it  in  his  former  house  before  taking  up 
his  residence  in  the  Legation.  But  I  told  him  the  police  had 
been  searching  that  house.  With  good  reason  he  started  up 
alarmed,  and  said,  "  If  that  is  so,  I  am  gone.  I  will  go  and 
look  among  my  papers,  and  see  if  I  can  find  it."  Within  a  few 
moments  he  returned,  bringing  the  manuscript,  and  instantly 
the  dangerous  half-page  was  torn  into  fragments. 

Besides  the  papers  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  there  were 
others  of  my  own  in  the  house  that  I  did  not  think  it  pru- 
dent that  Lopez  should  see.  These  were  my  own  manuscripts, 
which  I  had  been  preparing  for  the  purpose  of  this  his- 
tory. The  reader  of  the  preceding  chapters  of  this  work 
may  judge  whether  or  no  their  perusal  would  have  pleased 
Lopez.  I  knew  that  if  he  were  once  to  see  them,  neither  the 
manuscripts  nor  the  writer  of  them  would  ever  leave  Para- 
guay, and  I  was  expecting  daily,  hourly,  that  Bliss  and  Master- 
man would  be  arrested  and  my  house  searched.  I  had  some 
three  hundred  pages  which  I  had  prepared  with  a  great  deal 
of  labor,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Carreras  and  Rodriguez, 
a  part  of  which  is  the  same  that  is  given  in  this  work  in  regard 


324  PARAGUAY. 

to  the  commencement  of  the  war.  If  I  destroyed  this  manu- 
script, I  could  never  get  the  materials  together  again,  and  I 
was  exceedingly  loth  to  lose  it ;  but  if  my  house  were  to  be 
searched,  probably  every  manuscript  paper  would  be  taken 
away.  The  last  letters  from  Benitez  had  so  clearly  expressed 
the  determination  of  the  government  to  have  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman  by  force,  if  I  did  not  send  them  away  voluntarily,  that 
we  had  no  doubt  the  Legation  would  be  violated  and  they 
would  be  dragged  away.  So  convinced  were  they  that  they 
were  to  be  seized,  each  had  a  little  carpet-bag  prepared,  con- 
taining some  clean  linen,  a  few  books,  and  such  other  things  as 
they  thought  might  be  most  necessary,  and  which,  perhaps, 
if  taken  to  prison,  they  would  be  allowed  to  retain.  They 
had  these  things  so  packed  that  at  a  minute's  notice  they 
could  take  each  his  bag  and  march.  But  how  could  I  save 
my  manuscripts  in  that  case  ?  If  the  Legation  were  violated, 
the  house  would  undoubtedly  be  searched,  and  I  knew  not 
where  to  hide  them.  It  was  impossible  to  bury  them  in  any 
part  of  the  yard,  for  by  night  and  by  day  there  were  always 
policemen  about,  peering  through  the  fences,  and  my  Para- 
guayan servants  would  not  dare  to  keep  silence  or  fail  to  re- 
port anything  of  that  kind  which  they  might  see.  In  fact,  to 
attempt  to  bury  them  would  insure  their  capture.  The  floor 
of  my  sleeping-room  was  of  brick,  and  I  considered  whether  I 
could  not  remove  the  carpets,  take  out  a  few  bricks,  and  de- 
posit them  below ;  but  every  night,  as  soon  as  my  windows  and 
blinds  were  closed,  I  could  hear  the  policemen  whispering 
and  their  swords  clanking  beneath  the  window  of  my  bed- 
room. Any  noise  which  they  might  hear  would  only  increase 
suspicion,  and  also  lead  to  the  discovery  of  that  which  I  was 
trying  to  hide.  So  convinced  were  we  for  a  time  that  the 
house  was  to  be  entered  and  searched,  that  I  had  a  fire  built 
in  the  oven  of  my  kitchen  as  if  for  baking,  and  my  manu- 
scripts were  laid  in  the  room  near  by  it,  so  that  Mrs.  Wash- 
burn,  on  the  appearance  of  a  police  force  at  the  door,  and 
while  I  was  parleying  with  them  to  detain  them,  could  fly  to 
the  kitchen  and  throw  the  manuscripts  into  the  fire ;  but  this 


DEVICES   TO   SAVE   MANUSCRIPTS.  325 

repeated  heating  of  the  oven  without  baking  anything  in  it 
would  be  sure  to  attract  the  attention  of  my  servants,  who 
would  report  to  the  police,  and  perhaps  my  object  might  be 
suspected.  Then  I  thought  I  would  destroy  the  manuscripts, 
but  being  dissuaded  from  this  I  hit  upon  the  device  of  taking 
a  large  Colton's  Atlas  and  placing  a  sheet  of  the  manu- 
script between  every  two  leaves  of  the  book,  and  if  the  police 
were  then  to  enter  I  did  not  believe  they  would  be  acute 
enough  to  discover  it.  Accordingly,  one  night,  after  the  doors 
and  blinds  were  all  closed,  I  sat  in  my  parlor  holding  the 
atlas  in  my  hand,  and  turned  over  the  leaves  while  Mrs. 
Washburn  laid  a  sheet  between  each  two  leaves  of  the  book. 
When  this  was  done  I  placed  the  atlas  back  where  it  was  accus- 
tomed to  be,  with  other  books  over  and  around  it,  and  thought 
that  I  had  succeeded  in  concealing  my  work  so  well  that  the 
detectives  of  Lopez  were  not  sharp  enough  to  discover  it. 
But  it  occurred  to  me,  the  next  morning,  that  I  had  not  been 
any  sharper  than  I  had  supposed  the  Paraguayans  to  be,  as 
at  the  very  time  I  was  engaged  with  Mrs.  Washburn  in  put- 
ting the  manuscripts  between  the  pages  of  the  atlas,  the  key- 
hole of  my  parlor  door  was  open,  so  that  if  my  own  servants  or 
the  police  had  looked  in  they  could  have  seen  clearly  what  we 
were  doing.  My  precautions,  therefore,  had  increased  the 
danger,  for  if  the  house  were  to  be  entered,  the  first  thing 
that  would  be  searched  would  probably  be  my  Colton's  Atlas. 
Those  manuscripts  did  not  remain  in  the  atlas  long  after 
that.  They  were  all  shaken  out,  and  then  I  thought  that  the 
danger  attending  their  preservation  was  greater  than  their 
value  would  justify  me  in  incurring.  I  thought  of  every 
possible  place  where  they  might  be  hid,  but  I  could  not 
imagine  one  in  which  the  danger  would  not  be  increased  if 
they  were  deposited  in  it ;  for  if  any  papers  were  discovered 
which  had  been  hidden,  they  would  be  certain  to  be  very 
closely  scrutinized,  whereas  if  they  were  lying  as  if  casually 
among  other  papers,  they  might  be  less  carefully  examined.  In 
this  dilemma  it  occurred  to  me  that  my  dining-table  had  an 
oil-cloth  cover  which  had  never  been  taken  off  during  all  the 


326  PARAGUAY. 

time  I  had  occupied  the  house.  Mrs.  Washburn  was  stationed 
as  a  sentinel,  that  no  one  might  come  near  (for  I  could  not 
even  shut  the  door  or  close  the  windows  in  the  daytime  with- 
out attracting  attention),  while  I  quickly  removed  the  oil-cloth 
cover  and  distributed  the  sheets  evenly  over  the  table,  and 
returned  the  oil-cloth  to  its  place.  I  then  felt  very  sure 
that,  if  the  house  were  searched,  these  papers  would  not  be 
found.  After  that  I  had  little  anxiety  about  them,  though  it 
occurred  to  me  very  often  that  it  was  a  singular  situation  for 
the  minister  of  a  great  nation  to  be  in.  Perhaps  the  danger 
was  magnified  by  my  own  fears  ;  and  yet  I  thought  then  as  I 
think  now,  and  as  I  believe  all  who  were  in  the  country  during 
those  terrible  times  and  escaped  will  say,  that  I  had  good  rea- 
son to  take  these  precautionary  measures.  People  who  know 
nothing  of  the  danger  may  think  otherwise,  but  in  this  case  their 
condemnation  must  be  in  exact  proportion  to  their  ignorance. 

From  our  Paraguayan  servants  we  learned  some  things  in 
regard  to  the  fate  of  the  parties  who  had  been  arrested  and 
sent  to  San  Fernando.  One  of  them  used  frequently  to  go 
out  and  talk  with  the  policemen  or  soldiers  stationed  on  the 
corners  of  the  streets,  and  they  told  her  that  some  of  the 
parties  arrested  had  already  been  executed.  This  information 
confirmed  us  in  our  fears,  that,  if  Bliss  and  Masterman  should 
be  taken,  they  would  soon  share  the  same  fate;  and  that  knock, 
so  often  heard  at  my  door  as  to  become  familiar,  by  the  bearer 
of  government  notes  to  me,  came  to  be  dreaded  as  though  it 
had  been  a  summons  to  execution.  These  portentous  letters 
usually  arrived  at  about  sunrise  in  the  morning  or  sunset  in 
the  evening,  and  we  had  learned  by  this  time  to  expect  that 
every  letter  would  be  worse  than  the  previous  one ;  and  if  a 
morning  passed  till  eight  or  nine  o'clock,  we  would  then  hope 
to  hear  nothing  more  for  that  day  at  least,  and  would  discuss 
during  the  intervening  hours  between  this  and  evening  what 
might  probably  be  the  purport  of  the  next  missive. 

The  2  ist  of  July  was  one  of  our  longest  and  most  anxious 
days.  Sufficient  time  had  passed  for  writing  an  answer  to 
my  last  note  to  Benitez,  and  we  were  somewhat  surprised  that 


A  VISIT   FROM    MADAM    LYNCH. 


327 


nothing  came  for  that  day.  At  about  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  however,  after  the  doors  and  blinds  were  closed,  who 
should  come  to  visit  us  but  Madam  Lynch.  She  had  come 
from  her  own  house  on  foot,  though  the  night  was  very 
dark,  and  it  had  been  cloudy  and  rainy  throughout  the  day.  I 
knew  instantly  that  her  visit  portended  something  important, 
either  good  or  evil.  I  hoped  for  the  best,  and  in  conversation 
with  her  expressed  my  surprise  at  what  I  had  heard  had  taken 
place  ;  so  many  people  had  been  arrested,  some  of  whom  I 
supposed  were  the  most  loyal  men  in  the  country,  and  many 
of  them  I  had  always  believed  to  be  the  most  devoted  friends 
of  Lopez.  I  could  not  understand  what  it  all  meant.  She 
said  that  a  great  conspiracy  had  been  discovered,  but  of  the 
details  of  it  she  could  not  give  me  any  information  ;  she 
would  not  be  allowed  to  do  so,  but  there  was  no  crime  con- 
ceivable but  that  the  conspirators  contemplated  committing. 
I  said,  if  that  was  the  case,  it  was  as  much  for  my  interest  as 
that  of  anybody  else  to  have  it  discovered,  for  if  they  were 
contemplating  any  general  massacre,  as  they  had  none  of  them 
ever  confided  to  me  anything  in  regard  to  it,  but  had  stu- 
diously kept  it  secret  from  'me,  evidently  I  should  be  one  of 
the  victims.  She  said,  "  O  no  ;  that  is  not  in  their  plans  at  all, 
I  believe."  She  spoke  of  Berges  and  Venancio  Lopez  as  being 
among  the  principal  conspirators.  I  expressed  my  great  sur- 
prise at  that,  as  Berges  had  always  appeared  to  me  as  if  he  were 
the  most  devoted  and  loyal  supporter  of  the  government  and 
the  President,  and  I  did  not  understand  how  he  could  at  the 
same  time  have  been  engaged  in  a  conspiracy.  It  was  incredi- 
ble to  me.  She  said  the  discovery  of  this  plot  had  been  a 
great  blow  to  the  President.  Many  of  his  best  friends,  those 
for  whom  he  had  done  the  most  and  on  whom  he  most  relied 
for  support,  had  been  proven  false  and  treacherous.  I  said 
that  it  might  be  so  in  regard  to  some  of  those  who  had  been 
arrested,  as  I  scarcely  knew  them,  and  of  course  could  say 
nothing  about  them  ;  but  in  regard  to  those  who  had  been  in 
the  Legation,  nothing  could  convince  me  that  they  had  ever 
been  engaged  in  any  plot  or  conspiracy.  I  knew  their  every 


328  PARAGUAY. 

thought  so  well,  and  had  discussed  the  situation  in  every  as- 
pect so  thoroughly,  that  I  knew  they  had  never  had  any  such 
ideas  up  to  the  time  of  their  arrest.  "  But  they  have  con- 
fessed," she  said.  I  replied  that  under  certain  circumstances 
confession  was  no  evidence.  People  under  fear,  or  on  promise 
of  reward,  might  confess  to  facts  of  which  they  were  not 
guilty.  "  O  no,"  said  she,  "  there  has  been  no  constraint  put 
upon  them.  It  has  all  been  voluntary.  The  President  would 
never  use  restraint,  or  force  them  to  confess  against  their  will. 
He  is  very  kind-hearted."  This  last  expression  she  repeated 
several  times,  each  time  waiting  for  me  to  respond  to  it.  Evi- 
dently she  had  come  on  a  diplomatic  mission,  and  her  object 
was  to  see  if  I  could  be  induced  to  approve  and  justify  Lopez 
in  all  his  atrocities.  I  remarked  to  her  that  it  had  been  my 
intention  to  leave  Paraguay  for  some  time ;  that  the  situa- 
tion there  was  not  agreeable  ;  cut  off  as  we  were  from  all  com- 
munication with  Buenos  Aires,  we  were  unable  to  obtain 
many  things  absolutely  necessary  for  health  and  comfort,  and 
the  town  being  evacuated,  and  having  no  neighbors  or 
communication  with  anybody,  it  was  a  position  which  I  had 
not  intended  to  occupy  any  longer  than  I  could  avoid,  but 
that,  owing  to  the  strange  turn  which  affairs  had  taken,  I  was 
anxious  to  remain  to  witness  the  denouement,  and  learn  of  the 
facts  in  relation  to  the  conspiracy.  I  should,  however,  send 
my  family  away  very  shortly.  Mrs.  Washburn  found  remain- 
ing there  to  be  very  disagreeable,  and  as  she  could  not  obtain 
many  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  both  she  and  our  child  were 
exposed  to  dangers  and  inconveniences  which  I  was  not  dis- 
posed to  have  them  subjected  to,  and  therefore  she  would  soon 
go  to  Buenos  Aires.  To  this  Madam  Lynch  replied,  "  If  she 
can,"  in  a  tone  that  said  as  clearly  as  words  could  say  that 
neither  Mrs.  Washburn  nor  the  child  would  be  permitted  to 
leave  Paraguay.  I  affected  not  to  understand  it  in  that 
sense,  and  continued  my  conversation,  saying  that  of  course 
she  would  be  able  to  leave,  as  there  could  be  no  difficulty 
in  the  way,  since  a  minister  or  any  member  of  his  family 
could  at  all  times  leave  any  country  whenever  it  suited  their 


THAT  OMINOUS   KNOCK.  329 

convenience ;  and  therefore,  as  she  was  anxious  to  leave,  of 
course  she  would  go  to  Buenos  Aires.  She  again  repeated, 
"  If  she  can."  It  was  evident  from  this  that  she  had  been 
sent  to  learn  if  I  could  be  induced  to  become  the  aid  and 
apologist  of  Lopez  in  the  robbery  and  execution  of  all  the  bet- 
ter class  of  Paraguayans  and  of  the  foreigners,  and,  if  not,  to 
threaten  us  with  the  vengeance  of  the  "  kind-hearted  "  Presi- 
dent. The  intimation  that  Mrs.  Washburn  would  not  be  per- 
mitted to  leave  Paraguay  was  a  semi-official  notice  that  we 
were  entirely  within  the  power  of  Lopez ;  that  our  ambassa- 
dorial privileges  would  not  avail  us  if  we  should  not  in  all 
things  conform  to  his  wishes  ;  that  we  were  prisoners  in  his 
hands,  and  might  expect  the  worst. 

The  next  morning,  a  little  before  sunrise,  at  the  usual  hour 
when  such  notes  were  received,  the  dreaded  knock  was  heard, 
and  the  barefooted  soldier,  with  his  scarlet  sack  and  military 
cap  and  sword,  was  at  my  door  with  another  letter  from  Be- 
nitez.  Madam  Lynch  had  undoubtedly  advised  Lopez  of  her 
visit  to  my  house,  and  that  she  had  made  nothing  by  it,  and 
probably  so  modified  the  report  of  the  conversation  that  had 
taken  place  as  to  suit  her  own  wishes,  as  this  woman  never 
was  known  to  speak  the  truth  when  falsehood  would  serve  her 
purpose  as  well.  The  letter  had  also  undoubtedly  been  pre- 
pared to  be  forwarded  to  me  or  not,  according  as  she  should 
report  the  result  of  her  interview.  When  she  left  the  house  that 
evening,  I  told  both  Bliss  and  Masterman  that  her  visit  boded 
no  good  to  them  or  to  any  of  us,  and  the  next  morning 
I  found,  on  opening  the  letter,  my  prophecy  had  been  ful- 
filled. Great  surprise  was  expressed  that  I  should  still  insist 
on  keeping  in  my  house  "  criminals  and  rascals,"  as  they  were 
called,  "  guilty  of  high  treason,"  and  saying  that  the  conspira- 
tors, together  with  the  enemy,  were  to  make  certain  important 
movements  on  the  24th  of  that  month,  and  that  fears  were 
entertained  lest  on  that  occasion  they  should  attempt  to  es- 
cape from  my  house,  for  which  reason  an  immediate  answer 
was  requested. 

In  my  letter  of  July  22  I  said :  "  Your  Honor  advises  me 


330  PARAGUAY. 

that  the  treasonable  combination  with  the  enemy  was  to  have 
made  certain  movements  on  or  before  the  24th  of  this  month, 
and  it  was  apprehended  that  the  persons  in  my  house  accused 
of  being  engaged  in  it  would  seek  to  escape,  if  not  previously 
made  prisoners." 

In  his  letter  of  the  23d,  however,  Benitez,  with  Jesuitical 
mendacity  and  impudence,  accuses  me,  in  these  words,  of 
having  given  him  the  information  that  such  a  plan  was  in 
contemplation  :  "  It  is  not  I,  Mr.  Minister,  who  have  said  to 
your  Excellency  that  the  complot  had  been  appointed  to  break 
out  to-morrow,  but  I  thank  you  for  the  intelligence."  As  I 
had  given  no  intelligence,  and  had  only  stated  that  he  advised 
me  that  such  was  to  be  the  case,  I  could  but  ill  express  my  in- 
dignation at  the  falsehood  and  impudence  of  Lopez,  and  his 
transparent  intention  of  attempting  to  frighten  and  bully  me 
into  yielding  to  his  demands.  In  addition  to  this  he  also 
said :  "  It  is  now  my  duty  to  express  to  your  Excellency,  that 
from  your  own  house  correspondences  from  the  enemy's  gen- 
erals are  received  and  replied  to,  treating  of  the  details  of  the 
plot ;  and  when  your  Excellency  insists  withal  in  the  terms 
employed,  and  does  not  wish  to  believe  in  ingratitude,  I  am 
obliged  to  fear  that  the  same  conduct  is  still  observed  in  your 
Excellency's  house."  That  was  as  transparent  a  falsehood  to 
my  mind  as  the  other,  in  which  he  accused  me  of  having  given 
him  information  of  the  time  when  the  conspiracy  was  to  have 
broken  out.  Lopez  knew  perfectly  well  that  there  was  no 
enemy  within  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  Asuncion,  and 
that  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  any  communications  to  pass 
to  and  fro  between  my  house  and  the  allied  generals.  Benitez 
then  complains  that  his  official  declarations  have  not  been  ac- 
cepted by  me  as  proof  of  the  guilt  of  Bliss  and  Masterman, 
in  preference  to  their  own  statements.  He  adds  that  he 
shall  not  give  any  specific  details  concerning  the  accusa- 
tions against  them,  since  I  had  declared  that  even  then  I 
would  not  deliver  them  up,  and  says  that  I  did  not  take  into 
consideration  the  condition  of  the  country  and  the  great  dan- 
gey  which  it  was  in,  and  that  if,  under  such  circumstances,  the 


LOPEZ'S   AUDACITY   IN   LYING. 


331 


immunities  of  a  minister  were  to  reach  to  an  extent  which  I 
claimed,  no  nation  in  the  world  would  accept  an  embassy. 
He  then  abuses  Bliss  and  Masterman  as  mendicants,  who 
went  to  Paraguay  begging  their  bread,  and  then  became  there 
agents  of  the  eneiny,  and  who  had  not  appeared  before  the 
tribunal  because,  after  having  become  criminals,  they  had  ob- 
tained access  to  the  Legation  of  a  friendly  power,  in  order  to 
continue  thence  with  impunity  so  iniquitous  a  work.  To  this 
he  added  the  still  more  startling  paragraph  :  — 

"  Let  your  Excellency  add  to  this  that  Porter  Cornelius  Bliss  has 
signed  in  a  secret  committee  of  reciprocal  obligation,  swearing  the 
treacherous  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  Republic. 

"  I  cannot  but  declare  categorically  to  you,  that  this  Ministry 
does  not  recognize  Cornelius  Porter  Bliss,  American  citizen,  and 
George  F.  Masterman,  British  subject,  as  members  of  your  Lega- 
tion, and  consequently  I  cannot  accept  a  discussion  with  your  Ex- 
cellency upon  that  basis.  I  regret,  Mr.  Minister,  that  my  friendly 
notes  have  not  been  able  to  avoid  the  present  statement,  and  I  am 
under  the  unavoidable  obligation  of  again  requesting  the  expulsion 
of  these  criminals  from  your  hotel  before  sunset  on  the  25th  in- 
stant, in  doing  which  you  will  not  only  act  with  justice,  but  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  nations." 

I  now  saw  that  Lopez  intended  to  pay  no  regard  whatever 
to  the  truth,  and  that  the  correspondence  which  he  had  begun 
in  his  Scmanario  was  to  contain  assertions  and  charges 
wholly  false,  but  which,  as  he  intended  that  no  one  should  sur- 
vive who  could  disprove  them,  would  serve  as  his  justification 
beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay.  I  also  understood  from  this 
letter,  that  if,  before  the  time  indicated,  I  did  not  send  away 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  they  would  be  taken  by  force.  They 
understood  it  in  the  same  sense,  and  made  their  preparations 
to  be  carried  off  to  torture  and  execution.  How  anxiously  the 
hours  passed !  How  we  longed  to  hear  that  the  sluggish 
Brazilians  were  in  motion,  and  that  a  great  and  decisive  battle 
had  been  fought !  How  we  longed  to  hear  that  an  American 
gunboat  had  come  to  our  rescue  !  The  Wasp,  we  knew,  had 
been  turned  back  by  the  Brazilians ;  but  we  gathered  hope 


332 


PARAGUAY. 


from  the  fact  that  Admiral  Godon  was  no  longer  in  command 
of  the  squadron,  and  indulged  the  illusion  that  his  successor 
would  have  some  regard  to  the  honor  of  the  American  flag 
and  the  rights  of  his  government,  and  would  not  allow  us  to 
be  held  ther.e  as  prisoners  till  not  one  should  be  left  to  vindi- 
cate his  companions,  and  expose  the  Jesuitical  duplicity,  false- 
hood, and  cruelties  of  Lopez. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

A  more  Ominous  Letter. — The  Purposes  of  Lopez  become  more  Evident. — 
Visit  to  Berges.  —  Bliss  and  Masterman  declared  not  entitled  to  Legation 
Privileges.  —  Threats  to  take  them  by  Force.  —  Uncertainties  and  Doubts. 

.  — Was  there  a  Conspiracy? — Speculations.  —  Colonel  Marquez  and  other 
Refugees.  —  Official  Receptions.  —  Correspondence  with  Benitez.  —  Benitez 
visits  the  Legation.  —  An  Excited  Discussion.  —  He  threatens  Strong  Meas- 
ures.—Arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  hourly  expected.  —  Life  in  the  Lega- 
tion. 

'THROUGH  the  mystery  in  which  we  had  been  so  long 
-1-  groping  could  not  be  more  dense  than  it  had  been  for 
the  last  two  weeks,  it  was  daily  becoming  more  threatening. 
On  the  23d,  another  letter  of  a  far  more  portentous  char- 
acter than  any  preceding  was  received.  It  read  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

"MINISTRY  OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 
LUQUE,  July  23,  1868. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  request  of  your  Excellency  the  immediate 
delivery  of  a  sealed  packet  of  communications  which  the  ex-Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  Josd  Berges,  delivered  to  you  in  his  residence  at 
Salinares,  when,  on  the  afternoon  following  the  arrival  of  Berges 
from  San  Fernando  to  Asuncion,  you  visited  him  in  that  house, 
where  you  personally  took  charge  of  the  said  packet  in  order  to 
keep  it,  as  in  fact,  on  arriving  at  your  Legation  at  nightfall,  you 
went  with  it  to  your  office. 

"  This  packet  being,  Mr.  Minister,  of  great  importance  for  my  gov- 
ernment, you  will  allow  me  to  request  its  delivery  to  the  officer  who 
bears  the  present  communication. 

"  I  improve  this  occasion  to  salute  your  Excellency  with  distin- 
guished consideration. 

"GUMESINDO  BENITEZ." 

A  package  delivered  to  me  by  Berges  the  day  after  his  ar- 


334  PARAGUAY. 

rival  from  San  Fernando  !  I  did  not  see  him  for  weeks  after 
his  return  from  San  Fernando,  and  when  I  did  see  him  he 
gave  me  no  package,  nor  did  he  ever  allude  to  one.  I  had 
seen  him  but  twice  since  his  return,  some  two  months  before. 
A  month  before,  having  learned  that  he  was  at  his  quinta,  and 
very  unwell,  I  had,  as  a  matter  of  courtesy,  gone  out  to*  see 
him,  where  I  found  him  very  sick  and  miserably  forlorn.  His 
limbs  were  partially  paralyzed,  and  he  was  in  such  a  state  he 
could  scarcely  turn  in  his  bed.  I  expressed  regret  at  finding 
him  so  infirm,  and  asked  him  if  I  could  be  of  any  service  to 
him,  or  could  send  him  anything  that  would  conduce  to  his 
health  or  comfort.  He  said  that  there  was  nothing  I  could 
do  for  him,  unless  it  was  to  send  him  a  little  brandy.  I  told 
him  that  I  had  none.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  news  from 
the  army,  and  he  said  no  further  than  that  he  believed  the 
war  was  nearly  over,  as  the  Brazilians  could  not  hold  out 
much  longer,  their  credit  was  exhausted,  and  several  prov- 
inces were  in  revolt.  My  call  was  very  brief,  and,  promising 
to  come  and  see  him  again  within  a  few  days,  I  took  my  leave 
and  went  to  the  house  of  Lopez's  mother,  where  I  had*  some 
conversation  with  her.  She  appeared  to  be  very  sad,  and  very 
anxious  to  know  something  of  the  condition  of  her  children, 
but  I  was  unable  to  give  her  any  information.  I  saw  Berges 
but  once  more,  and  that  was  about  two  weeks  later,  when,  as 
Mrs.  Washburn  and  myself  were  passing  by  on  horseback,  I 
suggested  that  I  would  run  in  a  moment  and  see  the  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs.  I  found  him,  as  before,  in  bed,  and  but 
slightly  improved.  I  had  but  a  very  few  words  with  him,  the 
general  purport  of  which  was  about  the  same  as  on  the  pre- 
vious occasion. 

As  these  were  the  only  times  that  I  had  seen  Berges  since 
his  arrival  from  San  Fernando,  and  as  on  neither  of  them  had 
he  given  me  any  paper  or  said  a  word  which  he  could  have 
objected  to  having  heard  by  Lopez  himself,  I  was  somewhat 
staggered  at  this  letter,  in  which  I  was  requested  to  deliver  a 
package  which  I  had  received,  not  a  letter  that  Berges  said 
I  had  received,  but  which  /  had  received  from  him  on  a  certain 


RECIPROCITY  OF   THANKS. 


335 


day.  I  replied  instantly,  setting  forth  the  facts  as  here  stated. 
But  I  foresaw  that  the  matter  would  not  end  here.  It  was 
getting  more  and  more  evident  that  Lopez  was  forming  a  plan 
to  ingulf  us  all,  and  this  letter  in  regard  to  imaginary  papers 
was  but  a  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  he  was  forging  as  a 
justification  of  his  acts  when  all  those  whom  he  had  accused 
should  no  longer  survive  to  contradict  it. 

Having  replied  to  this  letter,  I  proceeded  to  write  an  an- 
swer to  the  preceding  one  of  Benitez,  in  which  he  so  strenu- 
ously demanded  the  surrender  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  In 
that  letter,  alluding  to  his  statement  that  he  thanked  me  for 
giving  information  in  regard  to  the  complot  which  was  to 
break  out  on  the  24th,  I  said  that  I  was  entitled  to  no  thanks 
from  him  for  that ;  all  the  information  I  had  on  that  point  was 
derived  from  his  letters,  and  what  I  had  said  in  regard  to  it 
was  almost  a  literal  translation  of  his  own  words,  and,  so  far 
from  his  thanking  me,  it  was  rather  for  me  to  thank  him  for 
any  information  of  that  kind.  The  first  knowledge  I  had  of 
the  matter  was  contained  in  his  note  of  the  2ist.  But  I 
waived  all  discussion  as  to  whether  Bliss  and  Masterman  were 
rightfully  and  legally  members  of  the  Legation  ;  I  had  as- 
sumed they  were  so,  I  believed  correctly,  and  could  not  re- 
cede from  that  point.  To  send  them  away  after  that  would 
be  not  only  weak,  but  would  be  acting  illegally,  and  would 
expose  me  to  the  censure  of  my  own  government.  Hold- 
ing the  opinions  I  did,  there  was  no  other  course  for  me  to 
pursue  ;  and  if  Lopez  were  so  confident  that  I  was  legally  in 
the  wrong,  he  could  take  them  by  force,  and  then  the  nations 
of  the  civilized  world  would  be  called  upon  to  pronounce  upon 
the  legality  of  the  act.  My  judgment  might  be  wrong  ;  but  so 
long  as  it  was  my  judgment,  I  should  be  commended  for  ad- 
hering to  it. 

I  stated,  moreover,  that  if  these  parties  -to  whom  I  had 
given  shelter  and  hospitality  had  in  the  mean  time  been 
engaged  in  a  plot  or  conspiracy  against  the  government  of 
Paraguay,  there  was  no  person  in  the  country,  except  those 
whose  lives  were  threatened,  who  had  so  much  reason  as  I 


336  PARAGUAY. 

had  to  desire  that  justice  should  be  done  and  the  criminals 
punished.  If  persons  residing  in  my  house  had  been,  without 
my  knowledge,  engaged  in  a  conspiracy,  it  was  an  act  'of 
gross  bad  faith  to  me,  and  they  deserved,  for  their  conduct 
towards  me  at  least,  to  be  punished.  It  is  true  I  did  not  be- 
lieve, in  fact  I  knew  as  well  as  one  man  can  know  the  opin- 
ions and  sentiments  of  another,  that  nothing  of  the  kind  had 
ever  been  meditated  or  attempted  by  any  person  who  was  or 
had  been  in  my  Legation.  To  suspect  otherwise  I  must  have 
supposed  a  degree  of  hypocrisy  and  ingratitude  towards  me 
such  as  would,  if  proved  against  them,  have  completely  excused 
me  from  any  further  attempts  to  protect  them.  They  had  no 
right,  while  they  were  guests  of  mine,  to  engage  in  any  in- 
trigue or  plot  that  might  expose  me  to  danger  and  disgrace, 
and  I  knew  they  had  not  done  it.  I  added,  that  if  these  men, 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  were  not  members  of  my  Legation,  the 
government  had  its  remedy  at  hand  ;  it  could  pursue  them  as 
criminals  and  fugitives,  and  the  writers  on  international  law 
had  prescribed  how  such  characters  might  be  lawfully  and 
properly  taken  from  the  house  "of  a  minister.  It  would  not  be 
for  me  to  complain  that  any  criminal  was  taken  from  my  Lega- 
tion ;  but  if  these  accused  persons  were  taken,  the  responsibil- 
ity of  the  act  would  be  upon  the  government  of  Paraguay,  and 
not  on  the  minister  who  had  surrendered  them  believing  that 
he  ought  not  to  do  so.  I  also  added,  that  to  the  specific 
charge,  —  referring  to  the  conspiracy  to  assassinate,  —  I  would 
not  allude,  lest  again  he  should  thank  me  for  information 
which  I  had  only  derived  from  him. 

At  this  time  we  all  supposed  that  something  must  have 
been  discovered,  and  we  had  many  discussions  in  the  Lega- 
tion as  to  what  it  might  be,  or  who  were  the  parties  implicated 
in  it.  We  did  not  believe  that  Berges  was  one  of  them, 
though  we  knew  that  he  was  accused  as  one  of  the  princi- 
pals ;  and  we  were  convinced  nobody  who  had  been  in  the 
Legation  knew  anything  about  it.  Nor  could  we  believe  that 
any  person  who  had  long  been  a  resident  of  Paraguay  would 
be  so  stupid,  so  utterly  foolish,  as  to  engage  in  anything  of 


ARGENTINE  REFUGEES.  337 

that  kind  with  the  least  hope  of  success.  The  system  of 
espionage  had  always  been  so  thorough,  and  everybody  was 
in  such  distrust  of  everybody  else,  that  no  two  persons  would 
ever  dare  to  hint  of  such  a  thing  to  each  other.  If  one  Para- 
guayan had  ever  broached  such  an  idea  to  another,  I  care  not 
who  the  two  might  have  been,  he  would  have  been  suspected 
of  being  a  spy  set  to  entrap  him,  and  would  have  been 
instantly  denounced  to  the  government.  In  fact,  if  he  had 
been  betrayed  into  listening  to  him,  it  would  have  been  a  race 
between  them  to  see  who  should  denounce  the  other  first.  It 
was  the  same  between  families  as  between  neighbors,  and  the 
same  between  neighbors  as  strangers.  No  man  dared  either  to 
speak  or  to  hint  anything  against  Lopez  or  his  government,  or 
to  listen  to  anything  of  the  kind,  for  it  was  the  duty  of  every 
one  to  denounce,  not  only  the  man  who  thus  spoke,  but  the 
man  who  would  listen  to  such  words  and  not  report  them 
immediately.  Therefore  we  could  not  conceive  it  to  be  pos- 
sible, from  our  knowledge  of  the  country  and  of  the  terrible 
system  of  espionage  which  obtained,  that  any  Paraguayans 
had  been  concerned  in  this  alleged  conspiracy. 

But  there  were  a  few  Argentines  who  had  come  into  Para- 
guay since  the  war  began,  as  fugitives,  or  to  render  assistance 
to  Lopez,  who,  not  fully  realizing  the  character  of  the  gov- 
ernment, might  possibly  have  been  led  to  attempt  some  such 
feat  as  they  were  accustomed  to  perform  in  their  own  coun- 
tries. There  was  that  Colonel  Marquez,  who  has  been  al- 
ready mentioned,  from  Buenos  Aires,  who  had  been  known 
as  a  sort  of  caudillo  in  his  own  country,  and  was  a  man  of 
some  military  knowledge  and  considerable  literary  attain- 
ments. At  one  time  he  had  written  a  novel,  the  subject 
of  which  was  "  The  City  of  the  Caesars,"  in  which  he  laid 
the  scene  of  his  story  principally  in  that  mythical  or  fab- 
ulous place.  Indeed,  he  had  held  for  a  long  time  that  there 
really  was  such  a  city,  and  that  the  followers  of  Sebastian 
Cabot  who  strayed  away  from  the  fort  at  Espiritu  Santo  had 
in  fact  entered  that  place,  whose  existence  has  since  been  dis- 
puted. He  had  been  engaged  in  the  wars  between  Buenos 


338  PARAGUAY. 

Aires  and  the  other  provinces,  and  had  committed  some  great 
excesses,  for  which  he  was  taken  prisoner,  tried,  and  con- 
demned to  death.  He  was  kept  a  long  time  in  prison  in 
Buenos  Aires,  from  which,  by  the  connivance  of  his  jailer, 
he  escaped,  and  reached  Paraguay  near  the  commencement 
of  the  war.  Lopez  permitted  him  to  remain  there,  but  gave 
him  no  employment,  and  he  had  no  means  of  living  except 
by  the  use  of  his  pen.  Men  of  letters,  however,  could  find 
no  occupation  to  support  them,  except  in  writing  panegyrics 
on  Lopez.  Marquez,  therefore,  was  accustomed  to  write,  at 
a  stipulated  price,  the  patriotic  speeches  of  the  women  of 
Paraguay,  to  be  read  at  the  times  when  they  were  ordered 
by  the  authorities  to  assemble  and  pledge  their  lives,  their 
fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor  to  the  defence  of  the  lib- 
erties of  their  country,  and  to  support  the  great,  the  good, 
the  brave,  and  the  magnanimous  Lopez.  These  speeches 
Marquez  used  to  write  by  the  score  for  the  poor  women,  who 
had  to  deliver  them  or  get  somebody  else  to  read  them.  He 
was  a  soldier  of  fortune,  and  though  he  kept  very  quiet,  it  was 
evident  that  a  man  of  his  nature,  situated  as  he  was,  could 
not  be  very  well  contented.  Besides  him,  there  were  several 
desperadoes  who  had  come  from  one  of  the  western  provinces 
of  the  Argentine  Republic  which  had  been  in  revolt.  These 
adventurers  were  of  the  worst  class  of  caudillos,  or  gaucho 
chiefs.  The  revolution  in  which  they  had  been  engaged  hav- 
ing been  suppressed,  they  escaped  to  Bolivia,  and  thence  came 
to  Paraguay  to  confer  with  Lopez,  and  to  devise  some  plan  by 
which  they  could  make  a  diversion  in  their  own  country  or  in 
Bolivia  in  his  favor.  Lopez,  with  his  accustomed  gratitude  to 
those  who  came  to  his  rescue,  as  in  the  case  of  Carreras  and 
Manlove,  had  them  all  arrested  and  taken  to  his  head-quarters, 
and  their  fate  was  like  that  of  all  the  others  whom  he  had 
arrested,  —  they  were  killed,  either  by  exposure  and  starvation 
or  by  torture  and  execution.  These  men  might  very  naturally 
consider  the  feasibility  of  a  revolution,  and  it  was  our  suspi- 
cion for  a  time  that  they  had  been  engaged  in  sounding  certain 
Paraguayans  to  ascertain  whether  they  would  engage  in  some- 


OFFICIAL   RECEPTION. 


339 


thing  of  the  kind,  and  that  they  had  been  immediately  ex- 
posed,—  as  we  knew  no  Paraguayan  would  dare  to  entertain 
such  a  project  for  a  moment, — and  that  that  was  the  whole 
sum  and  substance  of  the  conspiracy,  if  there  had  been  any. 
Possibly  our  surmise  was  correct,  but  as  Marquez  and  the 
Argentines  were  all  soon  put  out  of  the  way,  there  is  no  evi- 
dence, so  far  as  I  know,  either  for  or  against  it.  It  was  only 
a  suspicion  of  our  own,  and  had  been  surmised  only  when  we 
could  devise  no  other  theory  or  explanation  of  the  strange 
proceedings  which  we  were  witnessing.  As-  was  my  duty, 
however,  when  Benitez  had  stated  in  his  letter,  in  an  official 
form,  that  a  plan  for  the  assassination  of  Lopez  had  been  dis- 
covered and  frustrated,  and  that  it  was  but  a  part  of  a  great 
plot  for  a  revolution,  I  requested  him  to  congratulate  the 
President  on  his  escape  from  it.  I  believed  it  all  to  be  a 
farce,  got  up  expressly  as  a  blind  to  a  terrible  tragedy  ;  yet 
diplomatic  forms  must  be  adhered  to,  though  the  minister 
may  know  that  the  head  of  the  government  to  which  he  is 
accredited  is  a  traitor,  an  assassin,  and  a  perjurer,  as  the  whole 
world  has  recognized  in  its  deportment  to  and  recognition  of 
another  despot  more  successful  than  Lopez. 

It  had  been  intimated,  in  several  of  Benitez's  letters,  that  on 
the  24th  of  July,  the  birthday  of  the  President,  the  allies  were 
to  make  a  grand  movement  against  the  Paraguayan  lines,  and 
that  at  the  same  time  the  conspirators  in  and  about  Asuncion, 
Luque,  and  other  places,  were  to  make  a  demonstration.  But 
the  day  came  and  went,  and  we  saw  nothing  either  of  con- 
spiracy or  conspirators,  and  heard  of  no  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  enemy.  On  this  day  it  was  the  custom  to  have 
an  official  reception,  and  it  was  expected  that  all  persons  hold- 
ing any  public  character,  as  well  as  all  the  more  prominent 
citizens,  would  present  themselves  at  the  Governmental  House, 
to  offer  their  felicitations  to  the  President,  or,  in  his  absence, 
to  the  Vice-President,  for  the  return  of  that  auspicious  day  in 
which  his  Excellency  first  opened  his  eyes  to  illuminate  the 
world.  On  this  occasion  I  had  several  reasons  for  not  com- 
plying with  the  custom.  I  found  it  would  be  very  difficult  to 


340  PARAGUAY. 

frame  any  sort  of  an  address  that  would  not  either  offend  Lo- 
pez or  choke  myself  in  its  delivery.  Besides,  the  very  urgent 
letter  of  Benitez,  of  the  23d,  required  an  immediate  answer  ; 
and  therefore  I  could  not  afford  the  time  to  go  out  to  Luque, 
to  be  present  at,  or  take  part  in,  the  disgusting  ceremony. 

It  had  long  been  one  of  the  most  difficult  duties  of  my  posi- 
tion to  attend  these  receptions.  On  this  occasion  it  was  ex- 
pected that  the  deans  of  the  diplomatic  and  consular  bodies 
would  each  make  an  address  of  congratulation,  and  also  that 
the  chief  of  each  of  the  departments  of  the  government  would 
do  the  same.  The  Paraguayan  officials  of  course  could  say 
nothing  except  in  laudation  of  the  great  Lopez.  Their  ad- 
dresses were  made  up  of  such  fulsome  flattery  as  must  have 
disgusted  any  man  who  had  not  fed  on  adulation  from  child- 
hood. These  addresses  were  virtually  Lopez's  own  produc- 
tions, for  they  were  all  submitted  to  him  beforehand,  or  in  his 
absence  to  Benitez,  who,  in  such  matters,  was  his  factotum, 
and  if  they  were  not  sufficiently  fulsome  and  idolatrous  to 
gratify  his  inordinate  vanity,  they  were  altered  to  his  taste. 
On  previous  occasions,  when  I  had  attended  these  receptions, 
I  endeavored  to  preserve  my  self-respect,  and  at  the  same 
time  not  to  give  offence,  by  dwelling  on  the  heroic  conduct 
of  the  Paraguayan  people  ;  to  express  my  sympathy,  and  my 
desire  that  they  might  soon  enjoy  that  peace  and  prosperity 
which  their  valor  and  sacrifices  had  earned  ;  but  I  studiously 
and  invariably  abstained  from  any  approval  of  him  or  his 
course  ;  and  though  I  said  enough  in  praise  of  the  Paraguayan 
people,  their  valor  and  their  endurance,  I  was  not  without 
misgivings  that  Lopez  would  take  offence  because  I  had  not 
'ascribed  all  the  honor  which  they  had  achieved  in  the  war  to 
himself.  My  continuous  refusal,  either  to  flatter  him  or  to  say 
anything  in  justification  of  his  course  during  the  war,  was 
doubtless  one  of  the  causes  of  his  enmity  towards  me,  as  he 
must  have  observed  that,  however  much  I  might  do  or  say  in 
behalf  of  the  Paraguayan  people,  I  would  not  put  myself  on 
the  record  as  his  champion  or  defender,  and  left  the  way  open 
at  all  times  by  which  I  could,  consistently  with  all  that  I  had 
previously  said  or  done,  expose  and  denounce  his  atrocities. 


A  VISIT   FROM   BENITEZ.  341 

The  next  day,  the  25th,  greatly  to  my  surprise, — and,  I 
may  add,  relief, —  I  received  a  visit  from  the  Minister  for  For- 
eign Affairs,  Benitez.  Up  to  that  time  I  had  believed  that  the 
government  had  really  discovered  something  of  a  revolution- 
ary or  dangerous  character,  and  that  the  object  it  had  in  view 
in  making  so  many  arrests  had  been  to  discover  how  far  it  had 
extended,  and  who  were  engaged  in  it.  I  had  not  till  then  sup- 
posed that  all  which  had  been  done  had  been  but  a  part  of  a 
plan,  the  object  of  which  was  the  destruction  of  all  the  for- 
eigners in  Paraguay,  together  with  the  better  class  of  the 
Paraguayans.  I  supposed,  too,  that  Benitez  must  know  some- 
thing of  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  that,  if  there  had  been  any- 
thing discovered,  he  could  tell  what  it  was,  and  who  were  the 
parties  implicated  in  it.  I  took  it  for  granted  that  by  a  per- 
sonal interview  I  should  learn  something  of  what  was  the  real 
cause  of  all  the  strange  proceedings  that  had  recently  taken 
place.  The  only  notice  I  had  had  that  any  act  offensive  to 
the  government  had  been  committed  was  contained  in  Be- 
nitez's  letters,  in  which  he  stated  that  the  conspirators  were  to 
have  made  a  certain  movement,  in  conjunction  with  the  ene- 
my, on  the  24th,  and  that  Bliss  and  others  had  signed  a  paper 
in  which  they  had  pledged  themselves  to  the  assassination  of 
Lopez.  The  latter  I  knew  was  false,  and  I  believed  the  former 
was.  At  least  the  24th  had  passed,  and  no  movement  had 
been  made.  I  thought  that  by  a  personal  interview  with  Be- 
nitez I  should  learn  what  the  government  was  seeking  to  ac- 
complish or  find  out,  and  that  I  should  be  able  to  satisfy  him 
that  no  one  about  the  United  States  Legation  had  ever  known 
anything  in  regard  to  it.  In  fact,  I  hoped  that  I  should  be 
able  to  impart  such  information,  or  give  him  such  assurances,- 
that  Carreras,  Rodriguez,  and  Pereira  would  soon  be  set  at 
liberty,  and  perhaps  be  permitted  to  return  to  my  house.  I 
invited  him  into  my  parlor,  and  expressed  great  delight  to  see 
him.  He  said  he  was  very  glad  to  see  me,  and  had  come  at 
the  request  of  his  Excellency  to  hold  some  conversation  with 
me.  The  man  was  greatly  agitated,  and  seemed  to  feel  that 
he  had  a  very  difficult  and  dangerous  task  to  perform. 


342  PARAGUAY. 

He  had  evidently  studied  over  what  he  intended  to  say, 
and  proceeded  to  say  it  as  if  he  had  his  lesson  by  heart.  He 
went  on  to  speak  of  the  great  regard  that  the  government 
of  Paraguay  had  for  that  of  the  United  States,  particularly 
for  its  worthy  representative  who  had  so  long  resided  in 
Paraguay  ;  that  it  had  ever  endeavored  to  show  the  most 
friendly  disposition  both  to  me  and  to  my  government,  and  he 
hoped  to  continue  to  do  so.  But  certain  offences  had  arisen 
of  a  very  unusual  character,  which  the  government  was  re- 
quired to  meet  with  promptness  and  decision  ;  and  as  I  should 
be  able  to  render  great  assistance  to  it  in  arriving  at  the  truth, 
and  in  defeating  the  machinations  of  its  enemies,  he  had  come 
to  me  to  speak  with  entire  frankness  of  the  situation,  hoping 
that  I  should  respond  with  equal  frankness,  and  the  govern- 
ment would  then  be  spared  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  cer- 
tain measures  which  it  was  unwilling,  and  hoped  it  would  be 
unnecessary,  to  take.  I  replied  that  I  was  very  anxious  to 
know  the  meaning  of  certain  strange  proceedings  of  which 
I  knew  nothing  more  than  what  he  had  advised  me  in  his  offi- 
cial letters,  and  was  very  desirous  of  knowing  what  reasons  the 
government  had  for  the  very  unusual  measures  recently  taken  ; 
and,  in  the  doubt  and  darkness  in  which  I  was,  I  was  dis- 
posed to  speak  with  entire  freedom,  and  if  anything  of  a 
treasonable  or  criminal  nature  had  been  discovered  I  wanted 
to  know  the  facts  of  the  case,  especially  if  any  one  in  my 
house  was  implicated  in  it.  He  then  said  he  wished  to  ask 
me  if  I  had  not  forgotten  some  things  that  had  occurred,  and 
among  others  that  package  of  letters  which  Berges  had  sent 
to  me.  Very  undiplomatically,  and  perhaps  imprudently,  I  be- 
came very  indignant  at  this  suggestion,  and  told  him,  in  lan- 
guage somewhat  heated,  that  I  had  written  him  on  that  mat- 
ter, and  had  told  him  the  exact  truth  ;  that  anything  of  that 
kind  could  not  be  forgotten,  and  it  was  not  respectful  to  make 
any  such  intimation.  I  had  received  from  everybody  who  cared 
to  leave  anything  in  my  house  whatever  they  had  brought. 
Multitudes  of  foreigners  and  Paraguayans  had  brought  their 
most  valuable  articles  and  deposited  them  in  the  Legation. 


A   FATAL   INTERVIEW.  343 

The  room  in  which  we  were  sitting  was  half  full  of  trunks 
and  boxes  belonging  to  other  people  ;  in  fact,  there  were  three 
large  boxes  there  belonging  to  Madam  Lynch.  They  had 
been  sent  there  at  the  time  when  the  people  were  expecting 
the  town  would  be  taken  by  the  allies.  The  boxes  might  be 
filled  with  treasonable  papers  ;  I  did  not  know,  for  they  were 
locked  or  nailed  up,  and  I  had  not  opened  them  ;  but,  so  far  as 
I  knew,  there  was  not  a  document  or  paper  of  any  kind  that 
contained  anything  adverse  or  unfriendly  to  the  government. 
I  had  seen  Berges  but  twice  after  his  return,  and  it  had 
been  probably  two  weeks  after  he  got  back  from  San  Fernan- 
do before  I  even  knew  that  he  was  in  town,  and  yet  he  had 
said  in  his  letter  "  the  day  after  his  return."  I  took  up  my 
journal  and  showed  where  I  had  made  entries  day  after  day 
of  what  I  had  done,  and  what  had  transpired  on  the  different 
days,  and  it  appeared  that  it  was  the  22d  of  June  when  I 
had  first  seen  Berges  after  his  return,  and  he  had  already 
been,  as  I  had  since  learned,  several  weeks  in  his  house.  I 
called,  as  a  matter  of  courtesy,  to  see  him,  then  proceeded 
to  see  the  Lady  President  (Lopez's  mother),  and  then  to  the 
house  of  Leite  Pereira,  whence  I  brought  a  quantity  of  Para- 
guayan paper  money ;  that  Berges  had  never  said  a  word 
against  the  government,  never  alluded  to  any  conspiracy 
at  that  time  or  the  only  other  time  at  which  I  had  seen  him 
for  several  months.  Benitez  was  evidently  surprised  and 
frightened  at  the  answer  I  made.  He  said  he  regretted  very 
much  that  the  friendly  effort  of  the  government  to  arrange 
a  matter  of  a  delicate  and  difficult  nature  had  been  met  by 
me  in  such  a  way,  and  therefore  it  would  be  compelled  to 
put  into  the  correspondence  what  it  had  no  wish  to  make 
public,  and  to  take  entirely  different  steps  from  what  it  had 
intended.  I  told  him  I  could  not  help  that ;  the  govern- 
ment must  pursue  its  own  policy.  I  could  give  him  no 
further  information  than  I  had  already  given  ;  I  knew  noth- 
ing more  than  I  had  heard  from  him  of  any  revolution,  or 
any  action  hostile  to  the  government.  He  said  that  the 
government  was  already  well  informed  of  all  that  had  trans- 


344  PARAGUAY. 

pired,  and  that  it  was  not  so  much  to  obtain  further  informa- 
tion that  he  had  come  to  see  me,  as  that  the  President  might 
carry  out  his  purposes  without  resorting  to  measures  which  he 
hoped  would  not  be  necessary.  I  understood  from  this  that 
the  government  would  take  violent  measures  towards  me,  un- 
less I  should  accede  to  his  demands  and  deliver  up  papers 
which,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief,  never  had  any 
existence.  I  told  him  that  the  government  could  take  what- 
ever course  it  saw  fit ;  as  for  me,  I  had  nothing  more  to  say 
in  the  matter.  He  said,  "  Sabeinos  todo  "  ("  We  know  all ") ; 
"  We  are  informed  already  of  what  has  transpired  here  in 
this  house  ;  of  the  conversations,  the  toasts  given,  and  all 
the  transactions  within  these  premises."  I  said  :  "  Whatever 
people  may  have  told  you,  if  there  has  been  anybody  here  who 
has  reported  such  things,  it  is  false.  I  know  nothing  about 
them,  only  that  nothing  of  the  kind  ever  transpired  here." 
He  said  he  was  very  sorry  his  friendly  visit  had  no  better  re- 
sult ;  that  they  had  before  known  all  about  what  they  wanted 
to  learn  directly  from  me,  and  therefore  he  had  come  in  that 
friendly  way  to  me  to  save  his  government  from  the  necessity 
of  taking  measures  of  an  extraordinary  character  I  told  him 
that  I  regretted  he  had  been  so  misinformed,  but,  as  he  was 
seeking  for  impossibilities,  there  was  no  remedy  that  I  could 
see,  and  off  he  went.  It  may  be  here  stated  that  Benitez  was 
subsequently  arrested,  tortured,  and  executed  for  the  unfor- 
tunate expression,  "  Sabemos  todo,"  used  in  this  interview. 
Lopez  pretended  that  this  was  an  admission  that  he  knew 
something  which  he  had  never  revealed.  He  knew  all,  while 
the  government  was  not  informed  of  many  things  ;  therefore 
it  was  clear  he  was  one  of  the  conspirators  and  my  accom- 
plice. Away  with  him  ! 

I  immediately  conferred  with  Bliss  and  Masterman  in  re- 
gard to  this  interview,  and  told  them,  as  nearly  as  I  could,  the 
conversation  which  had  occurred.  It  rendered  our  situation 
more  dark  and  hopeless  than  ever.  Evidently  Lopez  was  de- 
termined to  proceed  to  extremities  against  the  Legation. 
They  were  fully  of  my  opinion,  and  from  that  time  we  were 


A   CALCULATION    OF   CHANCES.  345 

expecting,  for  a  few  days  more  anxiously  than  ever,  to  have 
the  Legation  violated,  and  for  them  to  be  taken  away  by 
force.  They  had  their  carpet-bags  ready,  so  that,  in  case  of 
a  descent  upon  the  Legation,  they  could  be  taken  without 
any  delay ;  for  they  did  not  suppose  that  if  the  police  entered 
they  would  be  allowed  a  single  moment  to  prepare  themselves 
for  departure,  or  to  gather  up  anything  they  might  need  as 
prisoners. 

With  the  clouds  thus  gathering  around  us,  we  discussed  our 
situation  as  it  might  be  supposed  that  condemned  convicts 
would  discuss  the  probabilities  of  a  reprieve  after  they  had 
been  notified  that  they  were  to  be  executed  on  the  next  day. 
We  believed  that  there  were  but  two  possible  chances  of  our 
escape :  the  one  was,  that,  ere  the  Legation  had  been  violated, 
a  gunboat  should  come  to  our  relief;  and  the  other  was  that 
the  torpid  Brazilians  might  move  against  Lopez  and  destroy 
him  before  he  had  destroyed  us.  The  latter  we  regarded 
about  as  probable  as  that  he  might  be  struck  by  lightning  in 
the  mean  time.  It  was  time,  we  knew,  for  a  gunboat  to  return ; 
why  it  did  not  we  had  no  means  of  knowing.  Having 
learned  that  a  new  admiral  was  in  command  of  the  South 
Atlantic  Squadron,  that  fact  gave  us  some  hope ;  for  we 
were  well  aware  that  if  Admiral  Godon  had  been  there,  and 
had  known  that  I  and  my  family  were  in  personal  danger,  he 
would  have  gone  off  in  the  opposite  direction  rather  than  send 
a  gunboat  to  our  relief.  Of  the  new  admiral  we  had  no 
knowledge,  but  the  presumption  was  that  he  must  be  better 
than  the  old  one.  We  considered,  also,  that  my  chance  of 
escape  was  very  much  better  than  that  of  either  Bliss  or 
Masterman,  as,  if  they  were  seized,  it  would  not  be  until  some 
days,  perhaps  weeks,  afterwards  that  he  would  be  ready  to 
seize  me,  Mrs.  Washburn,  and  the  other  members  of  my  fam- 
ily, and  in  the  mean  time  the  Wasp  might  return  after  they  had 
been  seized  and  before  he  had  taken  us.  Thus  our  prospect 
of  escape  was  better  than  theirs,  as  they  would  be  taken  first, 
and  every  day  gained  would  improve  our  chances.  That  a 
gunboat  must  come  within  a  month  or  two  we  regarded  as 


346 


.PARAGUAY. 


certain  ;  it  might  come  within  a  day,  and  it  might  not  come 
before  several  weeks.  A  day  under  those  circumstances  was 
an  important  item,  and  we  considered  that  every  possible 
device  to  prevent  Lopez  from  violating  the  Legation  might 
properly  be  taken. 

But  the  days,  the  terrible  days  !  Bliss  and  Masterman 
regarded  themselves  as  lost.  The  chances  seemed  to  be  at 
least  twenty  to  one  against  them.  Ever  since  the  charge 
of  conspiracy  or  of  the  attempt  at  assassination  had  been 
made,  we  were  convinced  that  the  fate  of  Rodriguez,  Car- 
reras,  and  Pereira  was  sealed  ;  that  they  would  be,  if  they  had 
not  already  been,  tortured  and  put  to  death  ;  and  that  if 
Bliss  and  Masterman  fell  into  the  hands  of  Lopez,  they  must 
suffer  the  same  fate.  Every  day  each  of  them  gave  me  what 
might  be  considered  as  final  messages,  requesting  that,  if  I 
should  escape  and  they  should  not,  I  would  vindicate  them 
before  the  world,  and  see  that  my  government  avenged  them. 
Bliss  made  his  will,  which  I  still  retain,  and  from  which  I 
make  the  following  quotation  :  — 

"  Being  accused  of  conspiracy  by  the  Paraguayan  government, 
which  has  denied  me  a  passport  to  leave  the  country  with  the  Amer- 
ican Legation,  to  which  I  belong,  and  that  government  having  de- 
clared that  it  will  put  me  on  trial,  I  declare  myself  completely 
innocent  of  the  charge  made  against  me,  or  of  any  other  offence 
against  the  government  of  Paraguay  ;  and  I  call  upon  my  own  gov- 
ernment to  institute  a  full  investigation  of  the  unexampled  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  and  to  exact  a  fitting  indemnity,  should  the 
proceedings  against  me  result  in  my  death." 

These  anxious  days  were  a  sort  of  eternity.  The  dread  of 
another  letter  from  Benitez  was  constantly  haunting  us,  for 
we  had  no  doubt  that  the  next  would  be  worse  than  the  last, 
and  we  greatly  feared  that  it  would  precede  but  a  few  mo- 
ments their  arrest.  But  the  most  desolate  and  heart-stricken 
of  all  was  poor  Mrs.  Leite  Pereira.  At  first  she  had  hoped 
that  nothing  serious  would  befall  her  husband  ;  that  though 
doubtless  he  would  be  subjected  to  very  severe  treatment,  and 
perhaps  half  starved  to  death,  yet,  as  she  knew  he  had  never 


MRS.   LEITE   PEREIRA. 


347 


done  anything  against  Lopez  or  against  Paraguay,  and  as 
there  could  be  nothing  against  him,  she  still  hoped  that  his 
life  would  be  spared.  But  the  rumors  which  we  heard  from 
below,  together  with  Benitez's  letters,  which  she  insisted  upon 
reading,  nearly  destroyed  her  every  hope,  and  she  went  about 
the  house  like  one  who  could  not  be  comforted.  She  was 
ever  talking  of  Jose  Maria  (her  husband),  and  ever  trying  to 
devise  some  way  by  which  she  could  placate  Lopez  or  do 
something  for  her  husband's  relief.  She  would  propose  one 
day  to  write  to  Madam  Lynch,  another  day  to  write  to  the 
President ;  again  she  would  request  that  I  should  write  to  him 
and  tell  him  that  her  husband  was  not  guilty  of  anything,  and 
then  suggest  that  I  should  write  something  of  a  threatening 
character;  then  she  would  call  to  mind  that  on  a  certain 
occasion  she  had  been  one  of  the  leaders  of  a  patriotic 
demonstration,  that  she  had  given  a  great  deal  of  money  for 
presents  to  his  Excellency,  and  that  she  had  shown  always  a 
good  and  friendly  spirit,  and  that  her  husband  had  done  the 
same.  Then  she  would  propose  to  send  him  a  box  of  provis- 
ions, and  request  me  to  get  permission  to  have  it  sent  below. 
With  these  latter  requests  I  would  comply,  and  several  boxes 
were  sent  from  my  house  to  the  police  station  to  be  taken  to 
head-quarters  for  him,  though  I  had  little  faith  that  he  would 
ever  know  that  they  had  been  sent,  or  receive  any  of  their 
contents. 

It  was  a  relief  when  darkness  closed  upon  us,  for  after  that 
hour  we  never  received  any  letters ;  but  the  nights  were 
so  long  and  sleepless,  it  was  a  greater  relief  for  the  day  to 
dawn,  and  long  before  that  time  I  would  be  up  and  open  the 
front  door  and  take  a  look  out  to  see  if  the  messenger  with  a 
letter  was  not  approaching.  Most  people  know  what  it  is  to 
fall  asleep  with  some  weight  or  trouble  upon  the  mind,  and 
the  disagreeable  sensation  of  first  awakening  with  a  vague 
impression  of  trouble,  and  feeling  a  load  upon  the  stomach 
before  they  can  sufficiently  collect  their  thoughts  to  recollect 
the  cause  of  it  distinctly.  This  was  my  experience  for 
months  ;  a  brief  sleep  for  a  couple  of  hours  was  all  that  the 


348  PARAGUAY. 

anxieties  of  the  time  would  permit.  Then  I  would  lie  awake 
and  reflect  on  what  would  probably  be  the  incidents  of  the 
day  ;  what  would  the  next  letter  contain  ?  would  Bliss  and 
Masterman  be  seized  that  day  ?  and  if  so,  how  many  days 
would  pass  before  I  should  be  obliged  to  follow  them  ?  when 
would  the  Wasp  arrive  ?  how  many  days  had  passed  since  she 
left  for  Montevideo  ?  why  had  she  not  come  before  ?  perhaps 
she  will  not  come  ;  perhaps  the  admiral  has  decided  not  to 
send  her  until  he  gets  further  instructions  from  home  ;  how 
many  months  will  that  take  ?  if  that  has  been  his  course,  she 
will  not  return  for  two  or  three  months  more,  and  that  will 
certainly  be  too  late  to  save  us.  These  reflections  would 
wear  away  the  rest  of  the  night  until  nearly  daylight,  and  then 
I  would  get  up,  and,  after  taking  my  bath,  light  a  cigar  and 
walk  up  and  down  my  inner  corridor,  again  speculating  upon 
our  situation  and  what  was  before  us.  I  endeavored  as  much 
as  possible  to  disguise  my  apprehensions  and  to  conceal  my 
fears  both  from  Mrs.  Washburn  and  Mrs.  Pereira.  To  the 
latter  I  always  pretended  to  believe  that,  as  Lopez  could  have 
nothing  against  her  husband,  he  would  not  put  him  to  death, 
but  that  she  would  see  him  again.  To  Mrs.  Washburn  I  en- 
deavored to  maintain  an  appearance  of  indifference,  and  would 
tell  her  that  as  for  me  and  her  and  our  little  child  we  were 
perfectly  secure.  Lopez  would  never  dare  to  seize  and  exe- 
cute the  minister  of  a  great  and  powerful  nation,  for  he  would 
know  that  the  United  States  would  follow  him  up  and,  cost 
what  it  might,  would,  sooner  or  later,  have  his  head.  These 
efforts,  however,  were  but  partially  successful.  She  knew  I 
had  asked  for  my  passports,  had  not  received  them,  and  could 
not  get  away,  and  suspected  the  reason  of  my  detention,  and, 
in  spite  of  all  my  assumed  confidence,  could  not  but  sometimes 
give  way  to  despair  and  say  that  Lopez  meant  to  kill  us  all, 
that  not  one  of  us  would  ever  leave  the  country  alive. 

But  with  Bliss  and  Masterman,  who  fully  realized  the  situa- 
tion, it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  disguise  the  fact  that  Lopez 
was  resolved  on  the  destruction  of  us  all,  and  that  he  was 
seeking  to  escape  the  consequences  of  his  acts  by  rendering 


THE   VALUE   OF  TIME.  349 

our  names  and  memories  infamous.  They  knew  as  well  as  I 
did  that  Lopez  had  it  in  his  power  to  destroy  us  all,  that  he 
could  make  it  appear  to  the  world  that  some  accident  had 
happened  to  such  of  us  as  he  feared  to  kill  openly,  and  that 
he  could  have  all  of  the  witnesses  put  out  of  the  way  so  that 
no  account  of  our  taking  off,  except  his  own,  would  ever 
reach  the  outer  world.  That  such  was  his  plan  we  had  abun- 
dant reason  for  believing,  and  every  letter  from  Benitez  ren- 
dered it  more  evident,  and  the  day  of  its  execution  more  near. 
He  did  not  believe  the  Wasp  would  return.  We  did.  To 
gain  time  was  everything. 


CHAPTER     XXV. 

Correspondence  with  Benitez.  —  Herges's  Imaginary  Papers  again  demanded.  — 
Threats.  —  The  Object  of  Benitez's  Visit.  —  Accusations  of  Berges. — Com- 
mander Kirkland  accused  of  forwarding  Letters  from  Caxias.  —  Notice  that 
Bliss  and  Masterman  will  be  taken.  —  Passports.  —  Theory  of  Berges's  Dec- 
laration.—  Its  Evident  Falsehoods.  —  Carreras's  Declaration.  —  Its  Inexplicable 
Mixture  of  Truth  and  Falsehoods.  —  John  F.  Gowland.  —  The  Semanario.  — 
Its  Sanguinary  Contents.  —  Its  Denunciations  of  Traitors.  —  The  President's 
Birthday  celebrated  at  the  New  Capital.  —  The  Women  denounce  their 
Husbands,  Brothers,  and  Sons.  —  Great  Enthusiasm.  —  The  Peace  not  dis- 
turbed in  the  General  Joy. 

UNTIL  this  time,  in  the  whole  correspondence,  no  accusa- 
tion had  been  made  against  myself,  nor  had  there  been 
any  intimation  that  I  had  known  anything  of  the  conspiracy,  or 
been  in  any  way  a  party  to  the  plans  of  the  conspirators.  It 
had  invariably  been  represented  that  they  had  imposed  upon 
my  confidence  and  abused  my  hospitality,  and  that  having  done 
so  it  was  my  duty  to  dismiss  them  from  my  house.  On  the 
3 1st  of  July  I  received  another  letter  from  Benitez,  in  which 
he  went  into  a  long  argument  to  show  that  I  could  not  right- 
fully and  legally  maintain  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were 
members  of  my  Legation.  The  letter  was  long,  as  most  of  his 
letters  were,  and  had  several  quotations  from  different  writers 
on  international  law  to  support  his  position  ;  but  the  sum  and 
substance  of  his  argument  was  this :  We  know  they  are 
criminals,  and  we  have  told  you  so,  and  you  therefore  know 
it.  This  government  always  does  justice,  and  always  shows 
great  respect  for  the  laws  of  nations,  and  is  greatly  surprised 
that  you  should  give  shelter  in  your  Legation  to  persons 
who,  after  committing  great  crimes,  are  merely  refugees  in 
your  Legation,  having  no  right  to  its  immunities.  He  added: 
"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  such  individuals  still  remain  in 


THE    IMAGINARY   PAPERS. 


351 


your  house,  protected  by  the  American  flag,  since  your  Ex- 
cellency cannot  but  admit,  upon  your  own  conviction,  that,  far 
from  being  members  of  your  Legation,  they  are  improperly 
housed  in  it  ;  and  as  you  know  and  have  declared  that  your 
hotel  ought  not  to  serve  as  an  asylum  to  criminals,  I  again 
demand  of  you  the  fulfilment  of  this  duty,  urgently  required 
by  justice  and  law."  He  also  endeavored  to  prove  that  my 
action  had  been  inconsistent,  and  that,  as  I  had  sent  away 
others,  I  ought  also  to  send  away  Bliss  and  Masterman,  utter- 
ly ignoring  the  fact  that  I  had  sent  away  nobody,  and  had 
officially  notified  the  government  to  that  effect,  and  that  all 
who  had  left  had  done  so  of  their  own  accord,  while  having 
my  full  permission  to  remain.  The  letter  then  goes  on  to 
state  the  great  consideration  which  had  been  shown  me  in  the 
visit  of  Benitez,  and  the  strong  desire  manifested  by  such 
visit  to  continue  the  friendly  relations,  the  style  of  which  con- 
sideration may  be  inferred  from  the  following  extract  from  the 
letter  :  — 

"  Your  Excellency  will  remember  that  I  then  said  that  I  had 
left  my  post  to  come  and  visit  you,  and  inform  you  in  a  friendly 
manner  that  I  considered  the  ground  you  had  taken  in  the  official 
correspondence  as  very  serious,  and  that  I  desired  I  might  not  be 
obliged  to  say  in  it  things  which  I  wished  to  avoid  for  your  own  honor, 
Mr.  Minister,  and  that  I  should  be  obliged  to  do  so  to  prove  offi- 
cially the  reasons  which  the  government  has  for  being  exigent  with 
you  in  the  pending  questions. 

"  I  also  said  that  I  knew  that  you  had  received  from  Berges 
papers  with  certain  precautions  and  declarations,  and  labelled  them 
with  your  own  hand,  and  that  I  attributed  only  to  forgetfulness  what 
you  said  in  your  note  concerning  this  matter ;  adding  that  I  should 
infinitely  regret  to  be  obliged  to  make  use  of  the  declarations  of  the 
criminals  in  official  notes,  since  that  would  carry  this  ministry  upon 
a  ground  which  it  has  not  wished  to  enter  upon  with  you,  Mr.  Min- 
ister." 

He  then  proceeds  to  give  the  substance  of  the  conversation 
between  us,  and  says,  "  You  ought  to  understand  that  we  are 
in  possession  of  even  your  confidential  communications  with 


352  PARAGUAY. 

the  criminals  from  a  very  early  period,  and  that  we  did  not 
wish  to  state  this  in  notes,  at  least  not  in  all  its  fulness,  un- 
less we  should  be  obliged  to  do  so."  He  also  said  that  when 
he  requested  me  to  appeal  to  my  memory  in  regard  to  those 
papers,  that  I  "  lost  my  temper,  and  replied  that  it  was  false, 
that  there  was  no  such  thing,  that  whoever  had  so  stated  had 
stated  a  falsehood,  a  lie." 

The  visit  of  Benitez  perplexed  me  more  than  anything  else 
that  had  transpired.  If  there  were  no  conspiracy,  as  I  soon 
became  convinced  there  never  had  been,  why  should  he  be 
sent  to  me  on  such  an  errand  ?  why  demand  papers  which 
Lopez  knew  had  no  existence  ?  If  Berges  had  ever  made  any 
statement  of  the  kind,  the  words  had  first  been  put  into  his 
mouth,  and  he  had  been  compelled  by  torture  to  say  it,  and 
Lopez  could  never  have  been  so  utterly  daft  as  to  believe  in 
them.  Why,  then,  had  he  sent  Benitez  to  insult  me  by  telling 
me  that  they  knew  I  had  received  them  and  were  informed 
of  their  purport,  when  he  did  not  believe  that  they  ever  had 
an  existence  ?  The  mystery  was  getting  utterly  impenetrable. 
There  was  only  one  explanation  that  could  be  given  :  he  was 
weaving  a  network  to  justify  himself  in  our  destruction. 

And  yet,  at  that  time,  I  did  not  fully  realize  the  fact.  We 
were  all  of  us  in  such  a  state  of  doubt  as  to  what  had  and 
what  had  not  been  discovered,  that  it  seemed  as  if  nothing 
could  surprise  us  more  than  what  had  already  taken  place. 
The  closing  part  of  this  last  letter,  therefore,  was  scarcely 
more  startling  than  what  had  preceded,  though  it  contained 
the  declaration  that  ex-Minister  Berges  had  stated  before  the 
tribunal  that  I  had  been  his  accomplice  in  a  conspiracy.  It 
said  that  Berges,  in  his  declaration  before  the  tribunal,  had 
said  that  he  had  received  an  original  letter  from  the  Marques 
de  Caxias,  commander-in-chief  of  the  allies,  which  letter  had 
been  received  through  the  United  States  Legation,  and  his  an- 
swer had  been  sent  by  the  same  channel,  the  draught  of  which 
was  to  be  found  in  the  package  that  he  had  delivered  to  me. 
There  was  one  statement  in  this  pretended  declaration  of 
Berges  that  gave  us  a  ray  of  hope ;  at  least  it  would  be  evi- 


COMMANDER   KIRKLAND   ACCUSED.  353 

dence  that  there  was  no  conspiracy  if  all  the  persons  accused 
of  being  parties  to  it  should  be  destroyed.  In  this  declara- 
tion Berges  was  made  to  say  that  when  the  Wasp  came  it 
brought  him  another  letter  from  Caxias,  dated  on  the  ist  of 
June,  but  which  he  did  not  receive  till  July,  when  it  was  de- 
livered to  him  at  his  house  by  me  after  his  return  from  San 
Fernando.  This  statement  inculpated  Commander  Kirkland, 
as  well  as  myself,  as  being  a  party  to  the  conspiracy,  for  all  the 
letters  from  the  Wasp  had  been  forwarded  by  him,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  the  one  letter  sent  to  Vasconcellos  on  his 
first  arrival,  nothing  had  been  sent  except  Kirkland's  own 
brief  letters  to  me.  Lopez  had  already  begun  to  publish  this 
correspondence,  and  if  an  investigation  were  ever  to  be  had  by 
our  government,  as  doubtless  would  be  the  case  if  he  should 
carry  out  his  intention  of  allowing  none  of  us  to  escape,  then 
Kirkland  would  be  a  witness  for  us.  He  could  testify,  not  only 
that  Caxias  never  sent  a  message  or  letter  through  him  to 
anybody  in  Paraguay,  but  that  he  entertained  the  most  un- 
friendly feelings  towards  me  personally,  and  had  prevented 
him  from  coming  through  to  my  relief  or  rescue.  This  letter 
which  Berges  says  was  brought  by  the  Wasp  was  not,  accord- 
ing to  the  same  declaration,  replied  to,  for  the  reason  that  the 
ex-Minister  was  unable  to  write  on  account  of  a  lame  hand, 
and  that  I  had  assisted  him  to  fold  it  up  and  place  it  with  the 
other  documents ;  that  I  took  the  package,  sealed  it,  and 
labelled  it  "  Papers  of  Berges,"  and  took  them  away  with  me 
to  my  house.  And  he  continues  :  — 

"  And  Berges  himself  adds,  in  his  second  declaration,  that  it  was, 
in  fact,  at  the  time  of  the  first  visit  which  you  made  him  at  his 
house  in  Salinares,  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  that  you  per- 
sonally carried  him  the  second  letter  written  by  Caxias  to  him,  when 
you  said  :  '  These  papers  came  by  the  gunboat  Wasp,  and  I  received 
them  under  cover  to  me;. it  would  seem  that  they  are  of  importance.' 
That  Berges  took  them  and  said,  '  Let  us  see,'  reading  them,  there- 
upon, in  your  presence  ;  and  that  after  a  short  time  you  observed  to 
him  that  the  papers  were  long,  and  that  therefore  you  would  retire, 
as  you  had  something  to  do  ;  that  to  this  he  replied,  '  I  shall  claim 

VOL.  n.  23 


354  PARAGUAY. 

a  little  more  of  your  time,  you  might  take  a  walk  for  a  little  while 
in  the  quinta.'  That  you  said,  '  Your  quinta  is  very  sorry  at  present, 
rather  give  me  a  book  to  read.'  That  he  then  said  to  you,  'There 
are  some,'  pointing  to  a  few  books  upon  a  small  table,  such  as  the 
'  Count  of  Monte-Christo,'  '  La  Garrota,'  a  work  by  Ascasubi,  etc. 
That  you  got  up  to  take  one  of  them,  he  does  not  know  exactly 
which,  and  read  awhile,  until  Berges  interrupted  you,  saying  '  I  am 
going  to  deposit  these  papers  in  your  custody ' ;  to  which  you  replied, 
'Vaya!  they  are  then  from  Caxias,'  and  he  replied  in  the  affirmative. 
You  said  to  him,  'These  are  delicate  matters  ;  I  would  prefer  to  take 
charge  of  jewelry  or  other  things  which  you  may  wish  to  deposit  in 
the  Legation,  and  I  would  do  it  without  asking  the  so-much  per 
cent  (without  saying  how  much)  which  I  ask  from  other  persons, 
but  these  papers  may  involve  me  in  a  compromise  with  my  own 
government  for  abetting  correspondence  with  the  enemy's  camp;  for 
the  rest  I  have  no  fear.'  Berges  then  replied,  '  How  can  a  thing  be 
known  which  has  passed  between  us  ?  I  will  fold  them  up  with  the 
previous  communication  (which  you  knew  of),  and  give  them  to  you 
now  to  carry  away.'  That  you,  after  thinking  a  moment,  said,  'I 
will  take  them,  but,  if  anything  should  happen,  I  will  burn  them,  and 
say  I  have  received  nothing.'  That  Berges  then  got  up  and  took 
from  a  secret  place  in  a  red  writing-desk,  where  he  kept  it,  the  first 
letter  and  the  reply  to  it,  and  set  about  folding  it  up  with  the  second 
one  and  the  accompanying  papers,  as  he  had  said  in  his  before-men- 
tioned previous  declaration  ;  the  form  of  the  package  being  quad- 
rangular, about  the  size  of  a  sheet  folded  in  three,  and  having  been 
closed  with  a  wafer  by  Berges  himself,  you  labelled  it  with  the  in- 
scription already  mentioned,  '  Papeles  de  Berges,'  and  put  it  in  the 
inside  pocket  of  your  coat  over  your  breast,  taking  leave  of  him 
afterwards,  and  starting  off  in  the  direction  of  the  Trinidad.  That 
about  a  week  afterwards  you  visited  him  a  second  time,  along  with 
your  lady,  who  remained  in  the  parlor,  and  you  went  into  Berges's 
sleeping-room,  he  being  in  bed,  on  which  occasion  it  was  that  you 
made  him  in  more  detail  the  offer  of  your  services  as  minister  and 
as  friend. 

"  These  are,  Mr.  Minister,  the  foundations  which  this  ministry  has 
had  for  soliciting  of  your  Excellency  the  delivery  of  the  package 
mentioned  by  the  ex-Minister  Berges." 

What  could  I  make  of  a  statement  of  this  kind  ?     There 


JESUITICAL  CRAFT.  355 

was  a  particularity  of  description,  a  minuteness  of  detail,  cal- 
culated to  carry  conviction,  and  worthy  of  any  Jesuit  who 
ever  sat  in  judgment  in  the  holy  Inquisition.  Had  Berges 
made  up  that  story,  made  it  all  up  with  a  view  to  screen  him- 
self, or  had  it  all  been  instigated  by  Lopez,  assisted  by  his 
bishop  and  his  holy  inquisitor,  Padre  Maiz  and  Madam 
Lynch  ?  It  occurred  to  me  that  Berges  had,  perhaps,  endeav- 
ored to  communicate  with  Caxias,  and,  being  detected,  had 
endeavored  to  conciliate  Lopez  by  inculpating  me,  and  had 
thought  that  by  so  doing  the  action  of  Lopez  would  be  de- 
layed, that  his  life  might  be  prolonged,  possibly,  until  the 
advance  of  the  allies  might,  by  the  destruction  of  Lopez, 
liberate  him.  But  it  was  all  surmise.  All  we  knew  for  a  cer- 
tainty was  that  it  was  fictitious  from  beginning  to  end,  but 
who  had  concocted  it,  and  for  what  object,  we  could  only  ima- 
gine. However,  in  replying  to  it,  I  could  not  tell  Benitez  that 
Lopez  had  invented  the  whole  story,  and  that  it  was  a  part 
of  his  plan  to  justify  himself  in  the  butchery  of  persons  who 
were  obnoxious  to  him ;  I  could  only  declare  that  there  was 
no  truth  in  it,  and  that  the  person  who  had  made  it  had  been 
guilty  of  atrocious  falsehoods.  In  concluding  this  letter,  Beni- 
tez said  that  his  government  had  never  avoided  the  respon- 
sibility of  its  acts,  of  whatever  character,  and  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  assume  it  before  the  world  by  making  use  of  the  means 
prescribed  by  the  writers  upon  international  law  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  criminals  Porter  C.  Bliss  and  George  F.  Master- 
man.  We  regarded  this  as  a  notice  that  they  were  to  be 
taken,  and  again  for  several  days  were  in  hourly  expectation 
of  seeing  the  police  enter  to  seize  them. 

The  question  with  me  now  was,  What  answer  should  I  make 
to  this  last  letter  of  Benitez  ?  The  government  had  never 
before  accused  me  directly,  or  brought  any  charge  against  me 
further  than  that  I  had  sheltered  criminals  ;  it  had  never  said 
that  I  had  any  knowledge  of  their  guilty  plans.  My  first  impulse 
was  to  return  the  note  as  insulting,  tell  Mr.  Benitez  to  send 
me  no  more,  that  I  would  not  receive  them,  and  peremptorily 
demand  my  passports  and  the  means  of  leaving  the  country. 


356  PARAGUAY. 

But  I  had  learned  long  before  that,  in  the  case  of  the  Brazilian 
Minister,  Vianna  de  Lima,  that  passports  were  of  little  avail 
unless  the  means  of  leaving  the  country  were  provided.  I 
had  already  asked  them,  and  they  had  not  been  given  me  ; 
and  if  now  I  were  to  demand  them  again,  and  refuse  to  hold 
further  correspondence  with  the  government,  I  should  only 
precipitate  a  crisis,  when  everything  depended  on  delay.  I 
had  no  hope  of  getting  out  of  the  country  until  a  gunboat 
came,  whether  I  received  the  passports  or  not ;  and  if  they 
were  sent  me  I  should  be  forced  to  leave  Asuncion,  though 
it  would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to  get  out  of  Para- 
guay. The  plan  of  Lopez  was  to  manufacture  such  evidence 
of  the  conspiracy  as  would  justify  him  in  the  eyes  of  other 
nations  for  his  extreme  measures,  the  climax  of  which  will 
appear  hereafter.  What  I  immediately  most  feared  was  that 
my  Paraguayan  servant,  on  whom  I  was  dependent  for  obtain- 
ing provisions,  would  be  taken  away  from  me,  or  would  be 
ordered  by  the  police  to  voluntarily  withdraw  from  my  service. 
Then  we  should  all  be  exposed  to  starvation,  or  compelled  to 
leave  Asuncion  and  go  into  the  interior,  in  which  case  I  knew 
the  moment  I  left  my  house  Bliss  and  Masterman  would  be 
seized,  and  what  our  fate  would  be  could  only  be  conjectured. 
It  was  more  probable,  however,  that  Lopez  would  not  wait  to 
drive  us  from  the  capital  before  seizing  these  two  marked  vic- 
tims ;  and  they  both  implored  me  not  to  break  off  formal  rela- 
tions with  the  government,  as  it  would  certainly  precipitate 
their  fate.  Perhaps  a  steamer  would  come  the  next  day,  cer- 
tainly it  would  come  soon.  By  answering  that  letter  at  length 
I  could,  unless  they  were  seized  in  the  mean  while,  gain  at 
least  a  week,  and  it  would  be  several  days  before  they  could 
answer  all  the  points  of  so  long  a  letter  as  I  would  write  ; 
and  though  it  might  conclude  with  a  notice  that  they  were  to 
be  taken  at  a  certain  hour,  unless  previously  delivered  up,  it 
was  not  improbable  that  the  Wasp  would  return  before  that 
time.  This  was  our  only  hope,  for  we  had  ceased  to  expect 
anything  more  from  the  Brazilians.  It  seemed  to  us  as 
though  it  was  their  policy  to  give  Lopez  time  to  exterminate 


BERGES'S    DECLARATIONS.  357 

the  whole  Paraguayan  people,  and  I  was  well  aware  it  would 
be  pleasing  to  Caxias  if  I  were  to  share  their  fate.  After 
mature  deliberation,  therefore,  I  set  myself  to  answer  a  letter 
which  under  other  circumstances  I  should  have  returned  with 
indignation  and  scorn. 

In  my  answer,  which  was  dated  August  3,  as  I  could  not 
state  my  belief  that  the  declaration  of  Berges  was  a  tissue 
of  falsehoods  made  up  by  Lopez  and  his  inquisitors,  I  as- 
sumed that  Berges  himself  had  made  the  statements  which 
had  been  imputed  to  him  ;  I  took  them  up  in  detail  and  re- 
viewed them,  stating  with  great  particularity  everything  that 
had  occurred,  and  particularly  in  reference  to  any  correspond- 
ence that  had  been  sent  from  my  Legation  through  the  mili- 
tary lines.  I  had  only  received  one  letter  for  many  months 
for  anybody  but  myself,  and  that  was  the  one  to  the  Portu- 
guese Vice-Consul,  Vasconcellos,  of  which  I  have  previously 
given  an  account.  If,  therefore,  anything  from  Caxias  had 
been  received  through  my  hands  it  had  been  in  that  pack- 
age, but  I  had  no  knowledge  of  any  such  contents.  I  stated 
that  the  declaration  of  Berges  was  all  false  from  beginning 
to  end,  and  my  theory  was  that  he  had  ascribed  to  me  a 
part  which  was  performed  by  some  other  person  ;  that  I  did 
not  consider  he  was  a  person  of  sufficient  ingenuity  to  make 
up  such  a  story  out  of  nothing,  but  that  perhaps  he  had  had 
some  such  dealings  with  another  party,  and  to  screen  that 
party  he  might  have  ascribed  it  to  me  ;  that  perhaps  he  had 
done  that,  not  out  of  malice  to  me,  for  I  had  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose he  cherished  any,  but  he  was  obliged  to  accuse  somebody, 
and  thinking  that  my  official  character  would  prevent  scrutiny 
into  my  acts,  he  had  thus  sought  to  shield  some  friend  ;  but 
whether  or  no  this  was  a  correct  supposition,  his  story  was  in 
all  its  parts  a  monstrous  fiction.  I  said  also,  that  until  I  had 
received  the  letter  I  had  been  groping  in  the  dark,  without 
any  idea  of  what  the  government  knew  or  suspected,  but  that 
this  declaration  of  Berges  had  let  in  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
whole  transaction  ;  for  if  a  man  who  had  held  his  high  position 
had  accused  me  of  being  his  accomplice,  there  was  good  rea- 


358  PARAGUAY. 

son  why  the  government  should  regard  me  and  all  about  me 
with  suspicion.  I  then  went  on  to  show  from  the  dates  that 
it  was  impossible  his  statements  could  be  true  ;  that  I  had 
always  refused  to  send  any  despatches  for  him  when  I  was 
obliged  to  avail  myself  of  the  courtesy  of  the  allies  to  forward 
them  through  the  military  lines,  as  that  would  be  an  act  of  bad 
faith  which,  if  discovered,  would  justify  them  in  refusing  to 
allow  any  more  of  my  correspondence  to  pass  either  way  ; 
that  I  had  sometimes  sent  some  family  letters  for  private  indi- 
viduals, which  I  had  been  assured  contained  nothing  political, 
and  if  Berges  had  ever  sent  through  the  Legation  any  corre- 
spondence, it  must  have  been  under  cover  of  other  persons.  I 
then  recapitulated  what  had  transpired  between  Berges  and 
myself  at  the  interview  of  which  he  pretended  to  give  an  ac- 
count, and  added  :  "  All  that  Berges  says  in  his  declaration 
about  my  giving  him  a  letter  from  Caxias,  and  waiting  for 
him  to  read  it,  of  my  taking  up  a  book  to  read,  and  the  con- 
versation that  passed  between  us,  the  taking  of  papers  from  a 
secret  place  in  the  writing-desk,  folding  and  labelling  the 
papers,  is  every  word  of  it  false,  —  as  false  as  false  can  be."  I 
also  said  that,  during  the  only  two  interviews  I  had  with  him, 
his  doors  were  open,  and  his  servants  were  passing  in  and  out 
and  could  have  seen  anything  going  on,  and  on  neither  occa- 
sion did  Berges  leave  his  bed. 

As  cumulative  evidence  that  his  other  declarations  were 
false,  I  alluded  to  the  one  in  which  he  had  said  that,  while 
I  preferred  not  to  receive  his  papers,  I  would  receive  his 
jewels  and  other  valuables  without  charging  the  same  per 
cent  or  commission  that  I  had  charged  others.  That  this 
was  a  pure  and  malicious  invention  was  evident  from  the  fact, 
that  though  I  had  received,  since  the  time  of  the  evacuation 
of  the  town,  money  and  other  valuables  from  a  great  many 
people,  I  had  never  asked  or  received  any  commission,  percent- 
age, or  compensation,  and  that  such  a  remark  to  Berges  was 
absurd  upon  its  face  ;  that  not  only  had  I  no  knowledge  of 
what  he  charged  against  me,  but  I  could  not  believe  that  I 
could  have  had  in  my  house  for  nearly  five  months  persons 


MY   OWN   WITNESSES    CONDEMN    ME.  359 

with  whom  I  was  on  the  most  intimate  terms  and  all  whose 
thoughts  I  ought  to  have  known,  yet  who  were  at  the  same 
time  engaged  in  a  plot  against  the  government  without  my 
suspecting  it ;  and  that  I  cherished  the  hope  that  a  full  investi- 
gation would  show  that  the  Legation  had  never  given  shelter 
to  any  such  persons,  but  if  such  there  were,  they  had  grossly 
abused  my  confidence  and  hospitality,  and  it  was  not  for  me 
to  ask  for  their  pardon,  but  rather  for  their  punishment. 

The  next  letter  from  Benitez,  dated  the  6th  of  August,  was 
still  longer,  and  indeed  too  long  for  any  synopsis  of  its  contents 
to  be  given  here.  This  letter  put  me  at  a  great  disadvantage 
in  argument,  as  I  found  that  Lopez  could  manufacture  his  facts 
as  needed,  and  I  could  not  gainsay  them.  His  witnesses, 
whom  I  had  indorsed  as  honorable,  truthful  men,  had  admitted 
before  the  "  solemn  tribunal "  they  were  guilty  of  high  crimes. 
True  I  had  only  his  word  for  it  that  they  had  done  so,  but  I 
could  not  tell  him  in  an  official  despatch  that  he  lied,  or  that, 
if  they  had  made  the  admissions  alleged,  they  must  have  done 
so  under  torture,  as  I  knew  them  to  be  false.  I  had  stated  in 
my  letter  to  Benitez,  on  the  day  when  Carreras  and  Rodriguez 
left  my  house,  that  I  was  fully  persuaded  they  were  innocent 
of  any  offence  against  the  government,  bespeaking  for  them 
kind  treatment  and  that  consideration  due  to  their  high  social 
character  and  the  honorable  positions  which  they  had  held  in 
their  own  government.  In  this  letter  Benitez  alludes  to  that 
fact  by  saying  that  it  will  be  very  painful  to  me  to  learn  "  that 
the  persons  whose  honorable  character  and  purity  of  senti- 
ment you  so  much  vaunted  in  your  note  of  the  i$th  of  July 
now  appear  before  the  tribunal,  not  only  as  fully  acquainted 
with  your  sentiments,  tendencies,  and  intentions,  but  also  as 
having  been  supported  by  your  Excellency  in  a  directly  con- 
trary sense,  as  may  be  judged  from  their  own  words  as  com- 
municated to  me  by  the  court  of  justice."  He  then  goes 
on  to  give  what  he  calls  "  the  solemn  declaration "  of  Car- 
reras before  the  tribunal,  in  which  the  unhappy  man  is  made 
to  give  the  details  of  the  conspiracy  almost  as  minutely  as 
had  Berges  given  the  account  of  my  interviews  with  him, 


360  PARAGUAY. 

and  to  say  that  while  he  and  Rodriguez  were  in  the  Lega- 
tion we  had  a  great  many  conversations  about  the  con- 
spiracy, the  means  by  which  it  was  to  be  effected,  and  the 
time  when,  in  conjunction  with  the  allies,  it  was  to  have 
broken  out.  With  these  things  which  were  false  were  com- 
bined statements  which  I  had  really  made,  —  as  that  I  was 
disgusted  with  the  slow  progress  of  the  allies,  and  that  it 
seemed  as  though  they  did  not  intend  to  conquer  the  Para- 
guayans, but  to  exterminate  them  ;  to  move  against  them 
without  fighting  until  they  should  be  completely  destroyed 
through  exhaustion.  This  satisfied  me  that  Carreras  had 
been  put  to  the  torture,  for  even  those  things  which  I  had 
said  he  would  never  have  divulged  except  he  had  consid- 
ered them  of  no  importance,  and  not  even  then  unless  in 
the  extremities  of  suffering.  But  there  was  one  statement  in 
this  "declaration"  of  Carreras  which  led  me  to  believe  that  he 
had  made  some  statements  voluntarily.  It  was  this,  that  on 
the  28th  of  April  he  sent  a  letter  to  Caxias,  under  cover 
to  John  F.  Gowland,  in  Buenos  Aires,  and  that  I  sent  it 
under  my  official  seal,  knowing  that  it  contained  the  letter 
to  Caxias.  Recalling  the  circumstances  of  sending  away  my 
despatches  of  the  28th  of  April,  I  recollected  that  Carreras 
had  written  a  letter,  which  he  said  contained  nothing  except 
allusions  to  his  own  affairs,  —  nothing  political  whatever  ;  and 
he  also  said  that  his  friends  were  advised  never  to  send  any- 
thing of  a  political  nature  to  him,  and  nothing  that  was  not 
favorable  to  the  cause  of  Lopez  ;  and  that  he  was  always 
cautious  to  do  the  same  thing.  This  letter,  however,  he  said, 
as  a  matter  of  prudence,  he  could  send  to  his  friend,  John  F. 
Gowland,  who  was  a  great  friend  to  the  Paraguayan  cause, 
and  one  with  whom  Lopez  would  not  regard  it  a  crime  to 
correspond.  But  how  should  Lopez  know  that  Carreras  had 
ever  sent  such  a  letter,  unless  he  had  told  him  so  ?  And  if  he 
had  told  one  thing  which  otherwise  would  not  have  been 
known,  perhaps  he  had  said  a  great  many  things,  and  detailed 
a  great  many  of  my  remarks  in  which  I  had  severely  con- 
demned the  conduct  of  Lopez  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war, 


CARRERAS'S  TESTIMONY.  36! 

and  spoken  of  him  generally  very  much  as  I  have  in  this 
book.  In  my  mind  I  did  Carreras  injustice  at  that  time.  It 
did  not  occur  to  me  then  that  my  despatches  on  that  occasion 
had  been  stopped  and  opened  by  Lopez,  and  this  letter  of 
Carreras  taken  therefrom  ;  but  afterwards  it  was  all  clear  to 
me.  Lopez  having  got  possession  of  the  letter  to  his  family, 
and  having  learned  that  he  had  sent  it  under  cover  to  Gow- 
land,  forced  him  to  put  in  his  declaration  the  statement  that 
there  was  also  a  letter  to  Caxias,  when  of  all  the  persons  in 
Buenos  Aires  to  whom  any  one  would  have  intrusted  a  let- 
ter to  Caxias,  or  to  any  one  favorable  to  the  cause  of  the  Bra- 
zilians, this  John  F.  Gowland  was  the  last.  In  fact,  he  was 
an  exile  at  that  time  because  of  his  extreme  opposition  to 
Brazil,  to  the  alliance,  and  to  the  government  then  in  power 
in  Montevideo.  To  the  declaration  of  Carreras  was  added 
another  from  Vasconcellos,  the  Portuguese  Vice-Consul,  in 
which  he  stated  that  he  had  received  a  large  package  of 
letters  from  me,  which  he  had  delivered  to  sundry  people,  who 
were,  all  of  them,  his  fellow-conspirators.  Additional  state- 
ments were  also  given  in  this  letter  from  Berges,  in  which  he 
made  the  same  complaints  that  Lopez  himself  had  made 
to  me  long  before:  that  I  had  not  shown  proper  zeal  in 
behalf  of  Paraguay  with  my  own  government,  having  always 
been  unfriendly  to  it ;  and  when  I  went  to  the  camp  of  the 
Marques  de  Caxias  to  treat  in  regard  to  peace,  I  was  not 
favorably  disposed  towards  Lopez,  and  when  I  returned  I 
had  even  a  worse  disposition  than  when  I  went.  Among 
my  other  offences  I  was  charged  with  being  a  very  intimate 
friend  of  the  ex-Consul  of  France,  M.  Cochelet,  who  was 
always  hostile  to  the  government  of  Paraguay,  and  lamenting 
that  he  had  been  succeeded  by  a  man  of  so  disagreeable  a 
character  as  M.  Cuberville,  his  successor.  To  all  these  accu- 
sations of  holding  opinions  which  it  did  not  suit  Lopez  to 
permit  the  minister  of  a  foreign  government  to  entertain, 
Berges  added  that  he  believed  I  was  under  pay  of  the  Brazil- 
ian government,  and  that  as  I  had  never  received  any  such  in- 
ducements to  friendship  from  the  Paraguayans,  I  therefore  had 


362  PARAGUAY. 

"  worked  against  the  interests  of  this  country  and  endeavored 
to  produce  discouragement  among  its  sons."  There  were 
also  a  great  many  general  conversations  which  he  represented 
that  he  had  held  with  me,  most  of  which  were  entirely  new 
to  me,  and  with  which  it  is  not  worth  while  to  lumber  up 
more  of  this  work.  This  note,  containing  these  stupendous 
declarations,  closed,  as  they  nearly  all  did,  with  another  re- 
quest that  I  should  send  Bliss  and  Masterman  away. 

During  these  anxious  days  we  waited  with  great  interest 
the  appearance  of  the  Semanario.  The  days  of  its  publi- 
cation were  very  uncertain,  though  it  was  always  dated  on 
Saturday,  notwithstanding  it  was  scarcely  ever  issued  till 
several  days  later.  No  allusion  had  been  made  in  it  to  the 
correspondence  which  had  been  going  on  between  Benitez 
and  myself  until  the  issue  of  July  19,  which  was  not  pub- 
lished until  the  24th.  This  number  contained  the  whole 
correspondence  up  to  the  28th  of  June,  and  its  appearance 
in  that  form  was  regarded  by  us  as  a  favorable  indication ;  for 
whatever  might  happen  to  us,  it  was  improbable  that  some 
numbers  of  the  Semanario  would  not  be  preserved  and  their 
contents  made  known  outside  the  limits  of  Paraguay  ;  and  I 
knew  that  my  words  would  outweigh  a  thousand  times  all  the 
evidence  that  Lopez  could  extort  from  witnesses  whom  he 
was  torturing,  and  would  kill  to  make  sure  that  they  should 
not  afterwards  contradict  it.  The  editorials  of  this  paper  grew 
more  and  more  sickening  and  grandiloquent  in  their  praises 
of  Lopez  as  his  deeds  became  more  sanguinary,  and  they 
were  repeated  so  often  that  it  caused  us  to  wonder  at  the 
flexibility  of  a  language  which  would  permit  the  same  ideas 
and  sentiments  to  be  reproduced  so  many  times  in  such  varied 
phraseology.  The  correspondence  from  head-quarters,  how- 
ever, usually  contained  something  from  which  we  could  judge 
more  or  less  of  the  progress  of  the  war ;  and  this,  in  fact,  was 
the  only  part  of  the  paper  to  which  we  attached  much  impor- 
tance. Those  letters  from  the  army,  when  taken  in  connec- 
tion with  the  threats  made  against  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and 
the  "declarations"  against  me,  were  certainly  not  of  a  cheer- 


CURSES   ON   THE   CONSPIRATORS.  363 

ing  character.  By  this  time  we  knew  that  nearly  all  our 
friends  and  acquaintances  had  been  arrested,  and  while  we 
were  hoping  that  something  would  yet  happen  to  avert  the 
destruction  which  Lopez  had  prepared  for  them,  the  Sema- 
nario  of  August  8,  1868,  appeared,  containing  a  long  let- 
ter from  the  army,  which,  if  not  written,  was  evidently 
dictated,  by  Lopez  himself.  All  the  writers  and  correspond- 
ents around  him  had  seen  others,  who  but  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore were  in  as  high  favor  as  themselves,  arrested  as  traitors 
and  put  to  the  torture,  and  knew  that  at  any  moment  they 
were  liable  to  the  same  fate.  Sooner  or  later  they  were 
all  to  follow  those  whom  they  now  denounced.  The  native 
Paraguayans  who  were  accused  of  treason  and  conspiracy 
against  the  great  Lopez  were  thus  dismissed  to  infamy  by  the 
correspondent :  — 

"  These  accursed  sons  of  Cain,  these  reprobates  who  might  have 
enjoyed  incomparable  glory  as  being  natives  of  the  same  soil  as  the 
GREAT  LOPEZ,  as  being  the  sons  of  this  classic  land,  blessed  by 
God  and  admired  by  the  universe,  of  this  land  which  for  its  virtues 
and  its  glories  has  no  equal  in  the  world,  so  that  its  name  alone,  the 
Paraguayan  name  alone,  is  the  light  which  frightens  tyrants  and  puts 
them  to  flight,  and  arouses  even  in  the  farthest  corners  of  the  earth 
applause,  envy,  and  hope ;  who,  having  had  it  in  their  power  to 
record  their  names  in  the  great  sum  total  of  the  Paraguayan  people, 
which  will  live  eternally  with  inextinguishable  splendor  amid  the 
blessings  of  posterity,  have  renounced  this  glory  and  the  eternal 
home  of  the  blessed,  have  gone  down  to  Hell,  taking  with  them  the 
wrath  of  God,  the  anathema  of  the  whole  society,  and  the  maledic- 
tion, horror,  and  eternal  indignation  of  their  country." 

The  fate  of  the  foreigners,  according  to  this  correspondent, 
was  little  better  than  that  of  the  accused  natives.  The  latter 
had  already  been  despatched  and  sent  to  their  final  account. 
The  former  were  soon  to  follow  them. 

"  These  foreigners  who  found  on  Paraguayan  soil  what  they  could 
not  obtain  in  their  own  native  lands,  who  were  but  leeches  fatten- 
ing upon  the  people's  honey,  who  enriched  themselves  with  the  pre- 
cious fruit  of  the  s\veat  and  the  blood  of  the  people,  who.  while  the 


364  PARAGUAY. 

people  has  been  consecrating  itself  as  a  whole  upon  the  altars  of 
patriotism,  making  the  greatest  sacrifices,  and  bathing  heroically 
with  its  blood  the  tree  of  liberty,  and  shielding  with  their  lives  the 
sanctuary  of  their  religion  and  of  their  sacred  rights,  enjoyed  not 
only  all  the  benefits  of  a  full  state  of  peace,  but  also  the  advantages 
derived  from  the  fact  of  all  the  natives  being  engaged  in  the  service 
of  their  country,  and  who,  O,  horrible  infamy !  perverse  degen- 
eration of  the  human  heart !  —  these  Furies  in  human  form  who 
have  come  to  take  possession  of  our  houses  and  our  goods,  to  en- 
joy a  peace  of  which  we  are  deprived,  and  which  we  guaranteed  to 
them  with  our  blood  and  our  sacrifices,  are  the  persons  who,  as  their 
only  mode  of  payment,  have  whetted  the  knife  upon  our  very  altars 
to  assassinate  the  providential  man  whom  God  has  given  us  to  free 
us  from  the  slavery  of  captivity  and  of  the  Devil !  the  Father  and 
Saviour  of  the  land,  the  greatest  and  most  endeared  object  of  our 
existence,  and  consequently  to  assassinate  our  country,  our  sacrifices, 
our  glories,  our  all ;  to  do  us  all  the  evil  which  the  barbarous  and 
infernal  enemy  has  not  been  able  to  do  for  himself,  and  a  still  greater 
evil,  since,  whatever  may  be  the  enemy,  not  merely  that  which  we 
now  hold  impotent  and  prostrate  at  our  feet,  but  any  other  enemy, 
even  stronger  and  more  powerful,  shall  never  tread  the  conquered 
Republic  of  Paraguay,  shall  never  destroy  her  by  despoiling  her  of 
her  anchor  of  salvation  and  of  hope,  her  loved  and  beloved  MAR- 
SHAL, and  shall  never  cause  her  to  drag  the  vile  chains  of  slavery  ; 
but  these  infamous  ingrates,  these  traitors  toward  God,  toward  hu- 
manity and  ourselves,  these  seeds  of  corruption  which  have  sought  to 
germinate  in  the  heart  of  our  unsuspecting  society,  shall  expiate 
their  horrid  crime,  and  there  shall  not  remain  any  further  vestiges  of 

them  than  the  malediction  which  will  eternally  persecute  them 

"  Thanks  to  God  and  to  MARSHAL  LOPEZ  !  the  Paraguayan  people 
is  to-day  cured  of  the  cancer  which  gangrened  its  existence.  Con- 
fidence, tranquillity,  and  fraternity  recover  their  immovable  seat 
among  us.  Who  can  conquer  us  ?  Nobody  !  GOD  and  MARSHAL 
LOPEZ  are  with  us !  " 

What  an  alliance  ! 

The  news  from  the  new  capital,  Luque,  was  of  the  most 
gloomy  character.  On  the  24th  of  July,  Lopez's  birthday,  all 
the  men,  of  whom  there  were  not  more  than  twenty  left,  and 


DENUNCIATIONS   OF   THE   TRAITORS.  365 

all  the  women,  were  called  together  to  protest  against  the 
treason  of  their  relations  and  late  associates.  They  did  so, 
according  to  the  Semanario,  in  the  following  terms  :  — 

ist.  The  people  as  a  body  solemnly  protests  against  the 
horrible  crime  of  the  traitors  against  their  country. 

2d.  The  people  declares  solemnly  before  God  and  the 
world  that  it  does  not  participate  in  any  manner  in  the  said 
treason,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

The  signers  of  this  manifesto  (headed  by  Canon  Bogado, 
Minister  Benitez,  and  Judge  Ortellado)  were  themselves  ac- 
cused of  treason  before  many  weeks,  and  most  of  their  names 
figure  in  the  bloody  pages  of  Resquin's  Diary,  along  with  the 
persons  whose  treason  is  protested  against. 

At  the  end  of  this  document  is  the  characteristic  para- 
graph which  follows  :  "  At  this  stage  of  procedure  several 
persons  belonging  to  the  families  of  the  state  criminals 
solicited  urgently  and  repeatedly  to  be  allowed  to  sign  the 
foregoing  act,  which  they  did."  The  unfortunate  wives  of 
several  of  the  recent  victims  were  thus  compelled  to  append 
their  signatures  to  a  denunciation  of  their  husbands'  crimes, 
which  they  well  knew  to  be  fictitious'.  They  signed  their 
maiden  names,  thus  repudiating  their  husbands  for  the  future. 
A  large  number  of  women  also  signed,  whose  husbands  were 
not  yet  accused  of  treason,  but  were  destined  to  become  vic- 
tims in  a  few  more  days.  The  first  four  signers  were  the 
wives  of  Colonel  Fernandez  and  of  Colonel  Martinez,  the 
sister  of  the  Bishop,  and  the  wife  of  Minister  Benitez.  As 
will  be  seen  elsewhere,  Senora  Martinez  was  herself  destined 
to  become  the  most  diabolical  instance  of  the  fiendishly  pro- 
tracted tortures  of  Lopez. 

The  fear  and  consternation  that  prevailed  in  Luque  on  that 
day,  as  the  Italian  Consul  afterwards  told  me,  were  beyond 
description.  Scores  of  the  most  respectable  women  in  the 
country  were  there,  whose  husbands  had  been  dragged  away, 
they  knew  not  for  what  offence,  to  probable  torture  and  death. 
Many  women  had  been  taken  in  the  same  manner,  and  no 
greater  misery  could  have  been  depicted  on  the  faces  of  those 


366  PARAGUAY. 

who  were  left,  had  they  been  warned  that  the  morrow  was  to 
be  the  day  of  their  own  execution. 

Yet  the  Semanario,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  proceedings 
of  that  day,  said  that  the  enthusiasm  was  unbounded.  The 
women  had  come  forward  and  denounced  their  traitorous  hus- 
bands, brothers,  and  sons,  and  pledged  themselves  anew  to 
support  their  protector,  the  unparalleled  warrior,  Marshal 
Lopez.  Notwithstanding  the  great  enthusiasm  and  hilarity, 
it  added  that  the  best  of  order  prevailed,  and  no  violation  of 
the  peace  occurred  to  mar  the  joy  and  festivities  of  that  happy 
day. 


CHAPTER     XXVI. 

Lopez's  Opinion  of  American  Admirals.  —  Benitez's  Letters  inexplicable. — 
Publication  of  the  Correspondence.  —  Berges  in  the  Double  Character  of  Traitor 
and  Patriot.  —  Letter  from  Berges  and  Reply  thereto.  —  The  Status  of  Bliss 
and  Masterman.  —  Rights  of  Legation.  —  Solitude  of  Asuncion.  —  Houses 
sealed  up.  —  Fate  of  their  Owners.  —  Fernandez  and  Sanabria.  —  A  Long 
Silence.  —  Arrest  of  Benitez.  —  His  Character.  —  Madam  Lynch  withdraws 
her  Treasures  from  the  Legation.  —  Effects  of  Protracted  Anxiety.  —  Death 
the  Least  of  the  Terrors.  —  Lopez  and  Lynch  have  their  Plans  matured.  — 
The  American  Minister  and  Wife  to  be  subjected  to  the  same  Treatment  as 
the  Brothers  and  Sisters  of  Lopez.  —  Details  of  the  Plan.  — Causes  of  Lopez's 
Antipathy.  —  His  Indecent  Exhibitions  of  himself.  —  Testimony  of  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Stewart. 

THE  savage  and  blood-thirsty  tone  of  these  articles  in  the 
Semanano,  whenever  any  allusion  was  made  to  the  con- 
spiracy, the  objurgations  of  those  wicked  men  who  had  been 
engaged  in  it,  with  the  assurance  that  they  had  been,  or 
would  be,  sent  to  keep  company  with  the  spirits  of  the 
damned,  rendered  it  more  certain  than  ever  to  our  minds  that 
if  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  taken  they  would  be  subjected  to 
torture  and  an  ignominious  death.  Lopez  was  now  exulting 
in  his  power  to  terrify,  torture,  and  kill.  His  naturally  cruel 
disposition  was  revelling  in  the  delights  of  creating  the  in- 
tensest  misery.  The  terrors  of  the  situation  were  greatly 
increased  by  our  conviction  that  there  was  no  conspiracy. 
Had  we  believed  there  had  been  anything  of  the  kind,  we 
should  have  deplored  the  folly  of  those  engaged  in  it,  and 
supposed  that,  after  they  had  been  put  out  of  the  way,  others 
who  knew  nothing  about  it  would  be  left  unmolested.  But 
being  assured  that  scores  of  others  had  been  executed  for 
no  other  reason,  as  we  believed,  than  to  afford  a  pastime  to 
Lopez,  there  was  no  hope  left  to  us  unless  the  Brazilians 


368  PARAGUAY. 

in  the  mean  time  should  make  a  movement  and  derange  his 
plans,  or  a  gunboat  should  appear.  Therefore,  as  each  event 
in  succession  intensified  our  anxiety  for  the  arrival  of  the 
gunboat,  did  we  the  more  often  estimate  the  days  that  must 
pass  before  her  probable  return.  Lopez  evidently  did  not 
think  she  would  return  at  all.  The  independence  and  inso- 
lence of  Admiral  Godon  in  refusing  to  give  me  any  assistance 
in  reaching  Paraguay  until  positively  so  ordered  to  do  by  the 
government,  and  his  going  unrebuked  afterwards,  was  suf- 
ficient to  convince  him  that,  in  the  American  service,  naval 
commanders  were  quite  independent  of  the  home  government. 
He  had  seen  how  the  Brazilians  had  persuaded  Godon  to 
delay,  and  how  Kirkland  had  been  induced  to  turn  back, 
though  urged  by  the  Minister  to  force  the  blockade;  and 
as  it  was  clear  that  the  Brazilians  would  try  and  prevent 
another  gunboat  from  passing  above  their  squadron,  Lopez 
was  confident  that  none  would  do  so  for  months,  and  in  the 
mean  while  he  would  have  abundant  time  to  weave  his  meshes 
around  us,  and  manufacture  all  the  testimony  required  to 
justify  him  in  the  extreme  measures  he  was  intending  to 
take. 

In  only  one  point  was  his  reasoning  or  calculations  falla- 
cious. As  subsequent  events  proved,  had  the  whole  matter 
of  sending  the  gunboat  been  left  to  Admiral  Davis,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Godon,  it  would  not  have  been  sent  for  weeks,  per- 
haps months  later,  and  would  never  have  reached  Paraguay 
till  Lopez  had  made  away  with  all  whom  it  was  sent  to  re- 
lieve. But  the  United  States  had  a  Minister  at  Rio  de  Ja- 
neiro of  different  stuff  from  Godon  or  Davis  or  Kirkland,  and 
when  the  Wasp  returned  he  made  short  work  of  the  preten- 
sions of  the  allies  that  she  had  no  right  to  pass  the  blockade. 
The  Wasp  was  accordingly  sent  back,  and  this  time  went 
above  the  squadron,  and,  greatly  to  the  surprise  of  Lopez, 
arrived  before  his  plans  were  completed.  Had  he  supposed 
that  the  Wasp  would  come  back  so  soon,  he  would  not  have 
indulged  in  so  protracted  a  correspondence.  He  supposed 
that  he  would  have  abundant  time  to  weave  his  network,  that 


WRITING   TO   GAIN   TIME.  369 

was  to  convince  the  world  that  a  great  conspiracy  against  his 
government  had  been  concocted  in  the  American  Legation. 
We,  however,  hoped  that  the  Wasp  would  return  before  he 
had  committed  any  act  for  which  he  would  not  imagine  he 
could  apologize  ;  for,  desperate  as  he  was,  he  did  not  intend  to 
commit  any  act  that  would  provoke  the  United  States  to  de- 
clare war  against  him.  He  was  deliberately  planning  to  com- 
mit the  greatest  outrage,  but  was  proceeding  in  such  a  way, 
as  he  supposed,  that  all  neutral  powers  would  admit  he  had 
respected  the  law  of  nations.  But  whether  or  not  he  were  to 
succeed  in  making  it  appear  that  he  Was  not  responsible  for 
events  which  he  had  prearranged  to  have  the  appearance  of 
accidents,  it  would  advantage  us  but  little  after  the}  had  hap- 
pened. Though  we  were  all  to  disappear,  there  would  be  two 
parties  wherever  the  tragedy  might  be  discussed  ;  and  as  there 
would  be  no  evidence  except  such  as  he  might  manufacture, 
one  half  of  the  world  might  believe  it,  and  might  say  that  we 
had  all  received  our  deserts.  The  long,  almost  interminable, 
letters  of  Benitez,  therefore,  though  insulting,  Jesuitical,  and 
clearly  intended  to  entrap  me  into  some  admission  or  expres- 
sion to  my  disadvantage,  I  regarded  as  favorable  to  me  and  to 
those  about  me.  It  took  time  to  write  them,  and  they  were  so 
long  that  he  could  not  complain  that  my  answers  were  as  long 
as  they  were,  and  that  I  took  as  much  time  to  get  up  my  letters 
as  he  did  to  extort  his  declarations  and  invent  his  accusations. 
It  would  be  wearisome  to  the  reader  were  I  to  give  even  a 
brief  synopsis  of  this  entire  correspondence  ;  I  will  only  note 
a  few  points  which  I  made  in  my  letter  of  the  nth  of  August, 
in  reply  to  that  of  Benitez  of  the  6th,  in  which  he  pretended 
to  give  the  declarations  of  Berges,  of  Carreras,  and  of  Vascon- 
cellos.  The  statement  given  in  his  letter  as  being  the  dec- 
laration of  Carreras,  that  he  had  sent  treasonable  correspond- 
ence under  cover  to  John  F.  Gowland,  completely  confounded 
me.  It  appeared  to  me  that  Lopez  never  could  have  known 
that  Carreras  had  sent  any  letters  to  Gowland  except  by 
his  own  voluntary  admission.  If  he  had  volunteered  this 
testimony,  it  was  clear  that  he  had  done  so  to  exculpate  him- 

VOL.    II.  24 


370  PARAGUAY. 

self,  or  at  least  to  divert  attention  and  persecution  from  him- 
self by  accusing  me.  I  therefore  denounced  the  statements 
of  Carreras  all  through  as  being  entirely  false,  further  than 
that  he  did  send  a  letter  under  cover  to  John  F.  Gowland, 
which  he  told  me  at  the  time  was  only  a  private  letter  to  his 
family,  having  no  allusion  whatever  to  politics,  or,  at  least, 
nothing  in  it  unfavorable  to  Paraguay.  Why  he  should  have 
made  such  a  statement  I  did  not  pretend  to  know.  Possibly 
he  thought  that  I  should  have  advised  him  to  remain  in  the 
Legation,  and  not  deliver  himself  up ;  but  I  replied,  "  It  is 
hard  for  me  to  believe  that  from  such  motives  he  could 
fabricate  a  series  of  such  monstrous  falsehoods  as  appears 
in  his  declaration,  and  try  to  implicate  me  as  knowing  of 
a  conspiracy  of  whose  existence  I  had  not  the  most  remote 
idea,"  and  that,  the  more  I  knew  of  the  affair,  the  greater 
was  the  mystery  in  which  I  was  enveloped  ;  that  I  could  make 
nothing  of  it  except  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  somewhere,  of 
which  I  had  known  and  suspected  nothing,  and  that  this  decla- 
ration of  Carreras,  as  reported  by  Benitez,  went  to  show  that, 
after  having  abused  my  confidence  and  hospitality,  he  and 
others  had  sought  to  divert  the  world's  indignation  from 
themselves  by  implicating  me  in  their  crimes,  to  which  I 
added,  "  God  knows  that  I  would  not  wrong  or  unjustly  ac- 
cuse or  suspect  anybody,  but  that  there  has  been  treachery, 
ingratitude,  and  villany  practised  upon  me  in  some  quarter 
is  but  too  evident."  That  this  treachery  and  villany  (I  do 
not  know  that  he  owed  me  any  gratitude)  had  been  practised 
by  Lopez,  and  by  Lopez  alone,  I  fully  believed ;  and  though  I 
hypothetically  ascribed  it  to  others,  yet,  as  the  hypothesis  was 
based  only  upon  Lopez's  statement,  I  knew  that  only  upon 
him  would  fall  the  judgment  of  the  next  sentence,  which  is  as 
follows :  "  All,  however,  will  some  day  be  made  clear,  and  all 
the  guilty  parties  must  hold  a  place  in  the  history  of  infamy 
never  before  paralleled."  In  reply  to  the  statement  made  by 
Carreras,  that  I  had  in  my  possession  the  papers  of  Berges,  I 
replied  that  they  might  be  in  my  house,  but  if  so  they  were 
contained  in  a  trunk  or  box  belonging  to  some  other  person, 


BERGES    IN   TWO    CHARACTERS.  371 

and  of  whose  contents  I  was  entirely  ignorant ;  but  that  if  they 
were  in  any  such  box,  and  the  owner  of  it  would  send  me 
a  written  order  for  the  papers,  and  give  me  a  description  of 
them,  so  that  I  could  distinguish  them,  I  should  be  most  hap- 
py to  deliver  them.  I  then  reviewed  the  statement  of  Berges, 
but  I  will  not  recapitulate  here  the  inconsistencies  and  the 
self-evident  contradictions  which  I  showed ;  I  thought  they 
were  so  plain  that  if  the  Semanario  in  which  they  would 
be  published  should  ever  be  read  outside  of  Paraguay,  it 
would  vindicate  me,  though  neither  I  nor  any  other  of  the 
witnesses  then  living  should  survive  to  do  it. 

There  was  one  curious  feature  about  this  correspondence. 
At  the  time  the  evacuation  of  Asuncion  was  going  on,  Berges 
was  the  minister  with  whom  I  had  to  deal,  and  my  notes  re- 
garding the  persons  whom  I  had  received  into  my  Legation 
were  addressed  to  and  answered  by  him ;  and  afterwards, 
when  he  was  arrested  and  declared  to  be  a  traitor,  the  gov- 
ernment justified  and  sustained  all  he  had  done,  and  main- 
tained that  he  had  in  no  way  yielded  anything  to  which  the 
government  objected,  yet  it  maintained,  at  the  same  time,  that 
he  and  I  had  then  been  in  almost  daily  communication,  plot- 
ting treason  and  forming  plans  for  the  overthrow  of  the  gov- 
ernment, so  that  it  virtually  held  that  Berges  was  at  the  same 
time  acting  the  part  of  a  traitor  and  of  a  loyal  servant  of  the 
government  of  Paraguay.  I  therefore  took  occasion,  in  this 
letter  of  August  1 1,  to  point  out  this  discrepancy,  and  to  ask 
Benitez  to  state  in  which  capacity  Berges  was  acting  at 
the  different  times  when  allusions  were  made  to  his  official 
correspondence  and  to  his  declarations  before  the  tribunal. 
When  was  he  acting  as  a  traitor,  and  when  in  the  character 
of  a  loyal  subject?  Long  before  this,  I  had  taken  it  for 
granted  that  whenever  I  held  any  conversation  with  Berges 
about  the  situation  of  affairs,  which  I  frequently  did,  that 
whatever  I  might  say  to  him  was  immediately  taken  down  by 
him  and  transmitted  to  Lopez;  I  took  it  for  granted  that  such 
was  the  case,  and  I  used  to  speak  with  as  much  freedom  with 
him  as  any  one  could  with  a  person  so  reserved  and  cautious 


372  PARAGUAY. 

and  apparently  distrustful  as  he  was.  We  would  speculate  as 
to  what  might  be  the  next  move  on  the  part  of  the  allies,  how 
it  would  be  met  by  the  Paraguayans,  and  of  the  various  contin~ 
gencies  that  might  arise  in  the  war  ;  of  the  means  which  Para- 
guay had  to  repel  the  allies  if  approached  on  this  point  or  the 
other,  and,  in  fact,  talked  with  him  as  it  would  be  proper  for 
any  foreign  minister  to  talk  when  conversing  with  any  mem- 
ber of  the  government  who  was  supposed  to  enjoy  its  confi- 
dence and  to  be  a  man  of  discretion  and  judgment.  The 
notes  of  these  conversations,  it  was  now  evident,  had  all  been 
preserved,  for  in  Berges's  declaration  he  alludes  to  the  differ- 
ent interviews,  and  to  what  was  said  at  different  times,  and 
I  could  recollect  that  he  quoted  some  things  of  trivial  impor- 
tance which  I  had  actually  said ;  but  everything  of  the  kind 
was  distorted  to  have  an  allusion  to  the  conspiracy  or  revolu- 
tions. If  I  said  that  the  allies  might  approach  in  a  certain 
direction  and  with  a  certain  force,  it  was  that  the  revolution- 
ists or  the  conspirators  might  be  prepared  to  co-operate  with 
them  whenever  the  time  should  seem  to  be  opportune. 

Berges  had  also  stated  that  I  had  sent  his  letters  under  my 
official  seal.  That  this  could  not  be  so  it  was  easy  to  show  by 
the  dates  ;  as  when  I  sent  my  letters  to  Captain  Kirkland  of 
the  Wasp  I  had,  and  could  have  had,  no  communication  with 
him,  as  he  was  then  at  the  head-quarters.  He  was  also  at 
that  time  a  close  prisoner,  though  I  did  not  say  so  in  my 
letter,  and  if,  at  the  times  he  mentioned,  I  had  sent  any  letters 
for  him  out  of  the  country,  they  must  have  gone  in  a  balloon 
or  been  conveyed  by  a  carrier-bird.  At  the  conclusion  of  this 
letter  I  stated  that  as  there  was  no  truth  in  the  declaration  of 
Berges,  Carreras,  and  others,  for  my  part  the  correspondence 
must  then  close.  If  the  government  accepted  my  words  as 
true,  it  must  admit  that  I  could  give  it  no  information  ;  but 
if  it  did  not  accept  them,  respect  for  my  own  character  and 
the  dignity  of  my  office  would  forbid  me  to  continue  it ; 
that  one  of  two  things  it  should  do,  —  accept  my  statements 
and  drop  the  correspondence ;  or,  refusing  to  accept  them, 
send  me  my  passports  and  provide  me  with  the  means  of 


LETTER  FROM  BERGES. —  REPLY.       373 

leaving  the  country.    Thus  for  the  third  time  did  I  ask  for  my 
passports. 

This  letter  was  barely  despatched  before  I  received  another, 
signed  by  Berges,  of  which  I  give  a  translation,  and  also  a 

copy  of  my  reply. 

"  SAN  FERNANDO,  August  5,  1868. 

"  To  his  Excellency  Mr.  Charles  A.  Washburn,  Minister  Resident  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

«  SIR,  —  Evenis  most  unexpected  by  me  decide  me  to  address  you 
this  letter  from  the  camp,  to  request  you  to  have  the  goodness  to 
deliver  to  the  bearer  the  three  sealed  packages  which  I  deposited 
with  you  in  my  quinta  at  Salinares,  at  the  beginning  of  July  ultimo, 
at  the  time  of  the  first  visit  which  I  received  from  you,  a  few  days 
after  my  arrival  at  the  capital.  The  first  is  labelled  by  your  own 
hand  with  the  title,  '  Papers  of  Berges,'  and  is  the  largest,  being  that 
which  contains  the  correspondence  which  I  have  exchanged  with 
the  Marques  de  Caxias ;  the  second  is  labelled,  '  Private  Corres- 
pondence of  Berges,'  and  contains  the  letters  exchanged  with  vari- 
ous persons  in  the  Rio  de  la  Plata ;  and  the  third  is  a  small  roll 
with  the  label,  '  Papers  of  my  brother  Miguel.' 

"  On  this  occasion  I  take  pleasure  in  saluting  you,  and  renewing 
the  assurance  with  which  I  am  your  most  attentive  and  sure  servant. 

"Jos£  BERGES." 

"LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

ASUNCION,  August  12,  1868. 

"  His  Honor  Gumesindo  Benitez,  Acting  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
"  SIR,  —  I  have  just  received  the  note  of  your  Honor,  dated  yes- 
terday, together  with  a  paper  signed  by  Jose  Berges,  in  which  I  am 
requested  to  deliver,  not  one,  as  formerly  represented  in  his  declara- 
tions, but  three  packages  which  he  says  he  delivered  to  me  at  his 
house  on  one  of  the  first  days  of  July,  at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  him 
a  few  days  after  his  return  from  San  Fernando.  Not  having  ever 
received  any  package,  letter,  or  communication  from  him,  as  I  have 
repeatedly  advised  your  Honor,  I  am  unable  to  see  the  object  in 
sending  me  this  paper.  In  my  note  of  yesterday  I  said  if  any  per- 
son had  ever  sent  or  brought  any  such  papers  to  my  house,  and 
would  send  a  written  order  for  them,  and  a  description  so  that  I 
could  know  which  they  were,  I  would  be  happy  to  deliver  them. 


374  PARAGUAY. 

But  I  did  not  promise  impossibilities,  or  to  deliver  papers  I  had 
never  received,  whoever  might  send  for  them  or  however  minutely 
they  might  be  described. 

"  I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  renew  assurances  of  distin- 
guished consideration. 

"  CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN." 

On  the  1 3th  I  sent  another  note,  devoted  to  a  defence  of 
my  proteges,  as  Benitez  called  them,  Bliss  and  Masterman. 
In  answer  to  the  pretension  that  because  the  government  had 
not  distinctly  recognized  them  as  members  of  the  Legation  it 
therefore  had  a  right  to  demand  them,  and  that  I  had  no  right 
to  refuse  to  deliver  them  up,  I  stated  that  I  had  given  in  their 
names,  and  that  if  it  had  not  recognized  them,  neither  had 
it  recognized  my  wife  an,d  child,  nor  my  private  secretary, 
nor  any  of  the  servants  that  had  been  long  in  my  employ  ;  and 
that,  according  to  his  reasoning  and  logic,  he  had  only  to  say 
that  any  one  or  all  of  them  were  accused,  and  that  the  govern- 
ment refused  to  recognize  them  as  belonging  to  my  Legation, 
and  I  had  no  remedy  but  to  send  them  away.  I  also  stated, 
that  if  the  testimony  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  could  be  of  any 
value  to  the  government,  they  were  perfectly  willing  to  give 
it,  and  if  a  notary  would  come  to  my  house  they  would  give 
any  information  which  they  possessed  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  truth  in  regard  to  other  accused  parties ;  and  that  Mr. 
Bliss  had  declared  to  me,  in  relation  to  the  paper  which  Beni- 
tez said  he  had  "signed  in  the  secret  committee  of  mutual 
obligations  to  commit  an  infamous  crime,"  that  if  any  such 
paper,  signed  by  him,  should  be  shown  to  me,  he  would  in- 
stantly leave  my  house  ;  and  that,  while  I  should  insist  upon 
my  rights  of  Legation,  I  should  take  good  care  that  he  kept 
his  promise  to  me.  To  Benitez's  repeated  complaint  that  I 
did  not  accept  his  official  statement  that  they  were  guilty  in 
preference  to  their  own  declaration  to  the  contrary,  I  replied 
that  I  should  not  question  the  sincerity  of  his  belief  in  their 
crime,  but  that,  as  he  did  not  speak  from  his  own  knowledge, 
I  doubted  the  truthfulness  of  his  informants.  The  declara- 
tions of  Berges  and  Carreras  I  knew  contained  almost  as 


THE   DESERTED   CITY. 


375 


many  falsehoods  as  sentences ;  and  if  statements  so  false  had 
been  made  by  men  who  had  held  such  honorable  and  respon- 
sible positions,  it  was  very  possible  that  equally  false  declara- 
tions had  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  implicating  others. 
But  whether  they  were  culpable  or  not,  it  was  not  a  question 
of  guilt  or  innocence,  it  was  a  question  of  the  rights  of  Lega- 
tion. I  had  long  before  given  in  their  names  as  belonging  to 
my  diplomatic  suite,  and  the  government,  by  not  objecting  to 
them,  tacitly  acknowledged  them  as  such,  as  much  as  it  had 
acknowledged  anybody  in  my  house,  and  had  just  as  much 
right  to  claim  any  one  else  of  my  family  or  household  as  to 
claim  either  of  them.  I  concluded  this  letter  by  saying,  that 
as  all  these  charges  were  made  by  men  who  by  their  own 
showing  were  traitors  and  ingrates,  the  government  could 
have  no  evidence  worthy  of  credence,  and  I  hoped  it  would 
not  persist  in  its  course,  but  would  allow  Bliss  and  Masterman 
to  remain.  After  I  had  declared  their  status  as  members  of 
the  Legation,  I  should  not,  under  any  circumstances,  deliver 
them  up,  except  to  force. 

After  I  had  despatched  this  -note,  the  solitude  of  Asuncion 
became  more  and  more  oppressive.  No  one  ever  ventured  . 
near  my  house,  either  native  or  foreigner.  My  servant  Basilic 
continued  to  go  beyond  the  city  limits  to  obtain  the  meagre 
food  which  could  still  be  procured,  and  my  fears  every  day 
increased  lest  he  should  tell  me  that  he  wished  to  leave  my 
employ.  The  families  living  a  little  distance  from  the  capital, 
whom  we  had  been  accustomed  to  visit,  had  nearly  all  been 
forced  to  retire  into  the  interior.  These  families  consisted 
mostly  of  foreigners,  and  all  the  men  had  been  arrested 
and  taken  in  irons  to  San  Fernando,  and  were  subsequently 
murdered.  In  my  rides  about  town  I  seldom  met  any- 
body except  policemen "  and  soldiers  ;  but  I  observed  one 
thing  that  caused  me  great  alarm  in  regard  to  many  of  my 
friends.  I  noticed  that  the  houses  of  many  foreigners,  and  of  ^ 
many  of  the  better  class  of  Paraguayans,  had  been  sealed  up ; 
that  a  bit  of  cloth  had  been  attached  to  the  doors  with  sealing- 
wax  in  such  a  way  that  the  door  could  not  be  opened  without 


376  PARAGUAY. 

disclosing  the  fact  by  the  rupture  of  the  cloth.  What  the 
object  of  this  was  I  could  not  divine,  for  they  had  usually 
been  sealed  up  during  the  night,  and  I  had  no  means  of 
knowing  whether  they  had  been  previously  opened  or  not.  I 
suspected  that  the  houses  had  been  searched,  and  I  subse- 
quently learned  that  not  only  had  they  been  searched,  but 
everything  in  the  way  of  money,  jewelry,  or  other  valuables  of 
small  bulk  had  been  taken  away.  I  feared  lest  the  owners  of 
all  such  houses  had  been  doomed  to  destruction,  and  I  now  be- 
lieve that  not  one  of  them  was  alive  three  months  after  I  left 
Paraguay.  I  could  only  augur  from  the  sealing  up  of  these 
houses  that  disaster  had  overtaken  their  owners,  but  I  could 
hardly  understand  how  that  could  be,  when  many  of  them 
were  the  property  of  persons  who,  I  supposed,  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  Lopez  to  the  highest  extent  of  any  people  in 
Paraguay.  The  houses  of  most  of  the  judges  and  of  many 
priests  had  that  ominous  sign  upon  them. 

What  surprised  me  most  was  to  see  that  the  house  of  Colonel 
Fernandez,  who  had  long  been  Lopez's  confidential  business 
man,  was  also  closed,  and  the  mark  of  the  sealing-wax  was  on 
its  doors.  Up  to  this  time  I  had  no  suspicion  that  he  had 
fallen  into  disgrace.  I  had  known  that,  at  the  time  most  of 
the  arrests  of  other  people  had  been  made,  he  was  the  military 
commander  at  Asuncion,  and  it  had  devolved  upon  him  to 
give  the  orders  for  their  arrest ;  and  had  there  been  anything 
like  conspiracy,  it  seemed  to  me  that,  with  his  assistance  and  ap- 
proval, it  might  have  succeeded,  and  that  if  it  had  been  nipped 
in  the  bud  it  had  been  owing  to  his  fidelity  to  his  master. 
And  now,  if  he  had  also  fallen  into  disgrace,  who  was  to  be  left 
to  carry  out  the  arbitrary  decrees  of  Lopez  ?  Sanabria,  the 
Chief  of  Police  at  Luque,  was  also  arrested  not  long  after- 
wards, as  I  have  since  been  informed,  though  I  did  not  know 
it  at  that  time.  He  and  Fernandez  had  the  whole  power  in 
their  hands,  the  military  being  entirely  under  their  control ; 
and  had  they  been  so  disposed,  they,  and  they  alone,  could 
have  saved  Paraguay  from  its  subsequent  desolation,  preserved 
the  lives  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 


THE  ACCUSERS  ACCUSED. 


377 


dren,  and  been  regarded  as  heroes  to  be  blessed  and  honored. 
Acting  in  concert,  they  might  have  cut  off  the  supplies  en- 
tirely ;  they  might  have  seized  all  the  steamers,  and,  at  first 
pretending  to  act  by  the  orders  of  Lopez,  they  might  have 
left  him  at  the  mercy  of  his  enemies.  But  instead  of  that 
they  sent  him  the  supplies  without  which  his  whole  army 
must  have  died  or  capitulated  ;  and  they  executed  all  his  cruel 
orders,  arresting  the  others  who  had  been  accused,  and  send- 
ing them  to  head-quarters  to  be  executed.  And  yet  after  this, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  they  were  both  of  them  arrested,  tor- 
tured most  inhumanly,  and  afterwards  put  to  death.  Every  per- 
son, in  fact,  holding  authority  at  Asuncion  or  Luque,  was  ar- 
rested and  executed.  Did  Lopez  believe  there  was  a  conspir- 
acy ?  If  so,  would  he  have  intrusted  the  task  of  arresting  and 
sending  its  members  to  his  presence  to  those  leaders  in  it  who 
must  have  been  the  only  persons  that  could  have  rendered  it 
successful  ?  Yet  it  was  by  Fernandez  and  Sanabria  that  the 
entire  population,  not  in  the  army,  was  arrested ;  and  as  soon 
as  this  work  was  done,  they  too  were  called  before  Lopez, 
accused  of  treason  and  conspiracy  with  those  they  had  before 
sent  to  him,  and  all  shared  the  same  fate.  On  one  occasion, 
about  this  time,  as  I  was  taking  my  daily  recreation  on  horse- 
back about  the  town,  I  met  one  of  the  chief  men  of  the 
arsenal,  an  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Hunter,  who  was 
passing  along  the  street,  several  Paraguayans  being  in  sight. 
I  reined  up  my  horse  to  speak  to  him,  asking  him  for  the 
news.  He  made  a  deprecatory  sign,  and  said, "  There  is  noth- 
ing, I  am  frightened  to  speak  to  you,"  and  passed  rapidly 
along.  Each  day  I  saw  more  houses  sealed  up  ;  and  from  the 
fearful  anathemas  heaped  upon  so  many  people  in  the  Sema- 
nario,  I  judged  that  the  property  which  those  houses  contained, 
or  had  contained,  had  been  confiscated  by  the  government, 
and  that  the  owners  had  all  been  declared  traitors,  and  had 
been  or  were  to  be  destroyed. 

But  an  unusual  length  of  time  passed  without  my  receiv- 
ing anything  further  from  Benitez  ;  and  I  had  always  found 
hitherto  that  the  longer  a  letter  was  in  preparation  the  more 


378  PARAGUAY. 

threatening  were  its  contents.  On  the  morning  of  the  23d 
of  August,  the  day  being  Sunday,  I  took  a  stroll  towards  the 
bank  of  the  river,  and  saw  one  or  two  steamers  lying  near  the 
wharf  with  steam  up,  as  if  about  to  start.  As  I  approached 
the  corner  of  the  street  I  saw  my  friend  Benitez,  who  I  had 
supposed  was  hard  at  work  at  Luque  getting  up  a  despatch 
that  was  to  confound  me,  walking  rapidly  towards  one  of  the 
steamers.  My  first  thought  was  to  hail  him  ;  but  as  he 
averted  his  face  from  me,  it  appeared  that  he  did  not  wish 
to  recognize  me,  and  I  turned  in  another  direction,  while  he 
continued  his  course  to  the  wharf  and  went  aboard  the  vessel. 
Was  it  possible  that  he,  too,  had  fallen  into  disgrace  ?  —  he 
who  had  been  writing  those  fearfully  long  letters,  trying  to 
prove  me  a  conspirator,  and  to  vindicate  the  right  of  his  gov- 
ernment to  take  Bliss  and  Masterman  from  my  house  by  force 
if  necessary ;  whose  letters  showed  a  cunning  duplicity  and 
a  shameless  disregard  of  truth  that  evinced  a  zeal  so  great 
as  to  have  little  respect  for  appearances,  —  could  it  be  that 
he,  too,  had  fallen  into  disgrace  ?  Probably  not,  as  I  then 
thought ;  probably  Lopez  had  called  him  below,  that  the  cor- 
respondence might  all  be  carried  on  at  head-quarters.  Still, 
as  the  man  apparently  did  not  wish  to  recognize  me,  but 
turned  his  face  the  other  way,  it  was  evident  he  was  not  in 
a  hopeful  mood.  To  judge  from  the  fate  of  the  others  who 
had  been  called  below,  he  had  little  to  anticipate  for  himself 
but  tortures  and  death,  and  to  fear  that,  like  Manlove,  he  was 
"  going  to  his  destiny." 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  entertained  a  feeling  of  contempt  and 
bitter  animosity  towards  Benitez.  He  was  a  man  of  considera- 
ble ability,  and  of  an  active,  vigorous  mind  ;  but  the  alacrity 
with  which  he  had  always  appeared  to  serve  Lopez,  in  writing 
the  foolish  and  disgraceful  flattery  of  him  contained  in  the 
Semanario,  could  but  provoke  contempt  from  any  one  who 
might  read  it,  save  and  except  Lopez.  I  had  supposed,  too, 
that  he  knew  something  of  what  he  wrote,  and  that  when  he 
made  statements  to  me  that  were  false  he  had  done  so  will- 
ingly and  maliciously,  for  the  purpose  of  entrapping  or  intimi- 


THE  ARREST  OF   BENITEZ. 


379 


dating  me.  Early  in  the  war,  a  half-brother  of  his  by  the 
name  of  Valiente  had  been  executed  by  supreme  order,  as 
was  believed  for  no  fault  or  crime  whatever  ;  and  yet  Benitez 
did  not  appear  to  be  affected  by  it,  but  continued  to  be  always 
as  eulogistic  and  sycophantic  in  praise  of  Lopez  as  ever  be- 
fore. I  therefore  regarded  him  as  a  man  who  actually  ad- 
mired the  character  of  Lopez,  which  I  considered  hardly 
consistent  for  a  person  bearing  the  human  form.  It  would 
have  been  charity  to  regard  him  as  a  hypocrite  in  all  he 
did,  and  to  believe  that  he  was  always  writing  with  the 
knife  at  his  throat.  But  he  was  one  of  the  few  that  Lopez 
had  around  him  who  seemed  to  approve  and  justify  all  his 
acts ;  and  as  he  could  not  but  know  that  his  letters  to  me 
were  filled  with  transparent  falsehoods,  I  could  not  but  have  a 
feeling  of  great  aversion  and  contempt  for  him.  But  my 
resentment  towards  him  gave  way  to  a  great  extent  when  I 
saw  him  embark  on  board  that  steamer,  and  it  ceased  entirely 
when  I  learned,  as  I  subsequently  did,  that  on  reaching  San 
Fernando  he  was  put  in  heavy  fetters,  was  subjected  to  the 
most  terrible  torture,  was  flogged  until  the  flesh  was  nearly 
all  cut  from  his  back  and  shoulders,  was  subjected  to  the  cepo 
Uruguayan^  to  the  rack,  and  starvation,  and  finally,  when 
nearly  dead,  was  taken  out  and  shot. 

And  for  what  ?  In  the  interview  which  he  had  had  with 
me  on  the  25th  of  July,  of  which  I  have  given  a  long  account, 
he  had  made  the  remark  that  they  knew  all  about  the  conspir- 
acy,— "  Sabemos  todo"  ("We  know  all").  For  using  these 
words  he  was  called  below,  and  was  told  by  the  inquisitors 
that  he  had  told  me  he  knew  all,  but  he  had  never  told  them 
all,  and  that  therefore  it  was  evident  that  he  too  was  a  con- 
spirator ;  and  he  was  accordingly  subjected  to  that  fearful 
treatment  which  all  who  had  in  any  way  excited  the  sus- 
picion of  Lopez  were  made  to  undergo. 

On  the  2/th  of  August  another  incident  of  unfavorable 
omen  occurred.  The  old  Spaniard,  Jose  Solis,  came  to  my 
house,  bringing  a  note  from  Madam  Lynch,  requesting  him 
to  call  upon  me  and  take  away  all  the  property  which  she 


380  PARAGUAY. 

had  in  the  Legation.  This  property  of  hers  was  contained 
in  three  very  large  boxes,  which  were  nailed  up  very  strongly, 
and  sealed  in  such  a  way  that  they  could  not  possibly  be 
opened  without  betraying  the  fact.  She  had  sent  them  to 
my  house  about  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of  the  capital, 
when  it  was  feared  that  the  place  might  be  taken  by  the 
allies,  and  that  my  house  alone  would  be  spared  from  search 
and  sack.  What  the  boxes  contained  I  never  knew.  At  dif- 
ferent times  she  had  withdrawn  one  after  another  and  re- 
turned them,  and  my  suspicion  was,  that  whereas  at  first  she 
had  only  placed  in  the  boxes  her  most  valuable  goods,  in- 
cluding her  diamonds  and  jewels, — of  which  she  had,  as  it 
was  said,  a  hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth,  or  more,  — 
afterwards  she  had  added  to  that  very  much  of  the  jewelry 
which  had  been  taken  by  force  or  robbery  from  the  native 
people.  No  one  of  the  houses  of  the  foreigners,  I  believe, 
was  opened,  nor  was  their  money  or  jewels  taken,  until  all 
these  boxes  had  been  sent  to  my  house  for  the  last  time. 
What  reason  she  had  for  withdrawing  them  at  this  time  did 
not  appear  ;  but  the  inference  we  drew  from  the  fact  was  that 
my  house  was  no  longer  to  be  a  place  of  protection  ;  that  all 
of  us  were  to  be  removed  from  it  in  one  way  or  another ;  and 
that,  if  the  enemy  ever  should  come,  my  power  of  protecting 
anything  would  have  already  ceased.  Solis  told  me  that  he 
had  been  requested  to  withdraw  the  boxes  and  send  them  by 
the  steamer  to  head-quarters.  This,  as  I  afterwards  learned, 
was  done ;  and  as  she  knew  that  Lopez  had  resolved  to  make 
way  with  me,  she  had  them  buried  in  some  secret  place,  and 
all  who  had  been  engaged  in,  or  knew  of,  the  work,  with  one 
exception,  were  immediately  despatched,  so  that  they  could 
never  betray  her  secret.  When  Lopez  was  driven  from  that 
point  she  was  compelled  to  leave  this  property  behind  her,  as, 
the  country  being  occupied  soon  after  by  the  allies,  she  could 
not  send  it  with  the  other  spoils,  and  neither  neutral  gunboats 
nor  honorable  ministers  could  assist  her  in  completing  the 
theft.  These  boxes  were  buried  somewhere  in  Paraguay,  be- 
tween Villeta  and  the  Tebicuari,  but  of  the  exact  point  I 
could  not  tell  within  a  dozen  miles. 


DEPRESSION   AND    REACTION.  381 

As  I  have  already  said,  the  time  previous  to  the  arrival  of 
Leite  Pereira  had  passed  on  the  whole  agreeably,  notwithstand- 
ing the  many  anxious  moments  and  many  discussions  of  a 
gloomy  character.  We  shut  our  eyes  to  the  impending  evils, 
and  did  not  allow  them  to  deter  us  from  our  literary  pursuits, 
or  from  our  billiards,  whist,  and  chess.  But  after  he  and  the 
Orientales  had  been  arrested,  and  the  English  sent  away,  the 
overhanging  dangers  would  not  permit  sufficient  abstraction 
of  the  mind  to  admit  of  chess  or  whist,  and  even  billiards 
afforded  no  diversion.  While  Bliss  and  Masterman  were 
looking  every  hour  for  the  entrance  of  the  police  to  arrest 
them,  and  fearing  every  night  that  it  would  be  the  last  which 
they  would  pass  with  their  ankles  unshackled  or  outside  the 
walls  of  a  prison,  it  was  hardly  to  be  supposed  they  would 
have  much  inclination  for  amusements.  But  though  fear  and 
anxiety  may  cause  one  to  pass  sleepless  nights  and  anxious 
days,  nature  will  finally  prevail  ;  and  when  these  trials  have 
been  endured  for  a  while,  men  will  eat  and  sleep,  and  the 
mind  will  occasionally  rebound  to  playfulness  and  humor. 
After  a  time  we  could  joke  upon  our  own  situation,  though 
the  subject  of  these  sallies  was  frequently  of  a  very  grim  na- 
ture. But  the  arrival  of  a  letter  making  our  situation  appear 
more  desperate  and  hopeless  would  invariably  lead  to  a  very 
serious  and  prolonged  discussion  of  its  contents,  that  was 
gradually  to  be  succeeded  by  a  rebound  and  a  sort  of  reckless 
cheerfulness  and  gayety. 

This  peculiarity  of  the  human  mind,  as  we  observed  its 
workings  in  ourselves,  was  frequently  remarked  upon,  and 
we  compared  our  situation  to  that  of  persons  who,  at  the 
time  of  the  French  Revolution,  had  been  marked  as  vic- 
tims for  the  guillotine  and  arrested.  We  had  read  how  such 
persons,  when  being  thrown  together,  became  after  a  short 
time  reckless,  and,  as  it  were,  indifferent  to  their  fate,  and 
would  joke  and  laugh  over  the  impending  decapitation  as 
a  thing  inevitable,  yet  not  worth  a  serious  thought.  We 
however,  were  not  numerous  enough  to  enter  into  any  bois- 
terous or  demonstrative  hilarity,  and  besides,  we  had  not 


382  PARAGUAY. 

the  felicity  of  looking  forward  to  the  guillotine ;  what  we 
looked  to  was  torture,  starvation,  and  death,  by  the  lance  or 
musket,  only  when  human  nature  could  endure  no  more.  I 
believe  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  would  have  gladly  compro- 
mised at  any  time  for  the  guillotine;  had  my  wife  and  child 
been  beyond  the  power  of  Lopez  and  Lynch,  I  would  eagerly 
have  done  the  same.  It  was  not  the  death  that  Lopez  could 
inflict  upon  us  that  we  had  most  reason  to  dread.  What  in- 
famous acts  we  might  confess  after  being  subjected  to  starva- 
tion, exposure,  the  lash,  and  the  rack,  we  could  not  tell.  We 
knew  that  whatever  Lopez  desired  to  extort  would  be  given 
to  the  world  as  confessions,  and  that  he  would  take  good  care 
that  no  one  should  survive  who  might  disprove  them.  He 
had  the  keys  of  truth  in  his  own  hands  as  no  monarch  or 
potentate  ever  had  before  in  this  world,  and  could  prevent 
any  version  of  events  except  his  own  from  ever  seeing  the  light. 
We  believed  we  could  endure  as  much  as  most  men,  and  that 
nothing  could  force  us  to  false  confessions.  We  had  read  of 
men  who  had  been  burnt  at  the  stake,  and  yet  had  refused  to 
the  last  breath  to  deny  their  faith  ;  and  we  had  believed  that 
Rodriguez,  Carreras,  and  Pereira  would  have  been  torn  in 
pieces  sooner  than  confess  to  infamous  acts  of  which  they 
were  innocent.  Rodriguez,  especially,  had  that  chivalric  char- 
acter, that  firmness,  and  high  sense  of  honor,  that  sensitiveness 
to  the  good  name  of  his  family,  that  tortures  such  as  the  old 
martyrs  had  endured  could  never  have  drawn  from  him  con- 
fessions so  infamous  and  false  as  were  contained  in  the  dec- 
larations which  were  sent  me  as  being  made  by  him  before  the 
tribunals  of  Lopez.  At  the  time  he  left  us  he  would  sooner 
have  been  flayed  alive  than  have  made  such  admissions ;  but 
he  and  Carreras  and  others  must  have  been  subjected  to  such 
prolonged  torture  that  they  were  no  longer  the  men  they  had 
been.  The  fact  that  they  had  confessed  to  charges  which 
we  knew  to  be  false  and  infamous  told  the  whole  story  of 
their  sufferings ;  and  we  foresaw  that  if  we  were  taken  we 
should  be  subjected  to  the  same  ordeal,  and  when  worn  out 
with  hunger,  thirst,  and  every  torture  that  fiends  could  invent, 


A   TERRIBLE  PROSPECT.  383 

when  the  mind  had  given  way  under  the  prolonged  agony, 
what  assurance  had  we  that  we  might  not  admit  ourselves 
guilty  of  acts  equally  infamous,  and  sign  any  confession  placed 
before  us  ? 

In  speculations  of  this  kind,  and  in  reckoning  over  our 
chances  of  escape,  that  each  day  seemed  to  be  growing  less, 
these  terrible  days  were  passed.  Bliss  and  Masterman  had 
the  advantage  of  me  in  one  respect.  Each  of  them  was  a 
single  man,  having  neither  wife  nor  children  on  whom  Lopez 
could  inflict  his  accursed  tortures.  But  for  my  part  I  clearly 
foresaw  that,  if  nothing  else  would  force  me  to  confess  to  such 
charges  as  he  might  think  most  disgraceful,  my  wife  would 
be  tortured  before  my  eyes.  Let  not  the  reader  start,  or  say 
that  not  even  Lopez  could  commit  such  horrid  barbarity.  To 
his  own  sisters  he  was  guilty  of  conduct  equally  savage  and 
fiendish.  He  subjected  them  to  the  most  merciless  floggings, 
and  compelled  them  to  witness  the  tortures  and  executions 
of  their  husbands,  and  gave  orders  for  them  to  be  lanced  to 
death  ere  they  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  allies.  Even 
the  mother  who  bore  him  was  compelled  to  go  before  one  of 
his  so-called  tribunals  and  declare  that  she  had  no  son  but 
him  who  was  subjecting  her  to  such  cruel  indignities,  and 
afterwards  was  daily  flogged  by  order  of  her  first-born ;  and 
her  death-warrant  had  been  signed  by  him  when  he  fell,  like  a 
gored  wild  beast,  in  the  mud  of  the  Aquidaban.  Why,  then, 
should  he  spare  me  and  mine,  when  he  could  delight  in  such 
unnatural  and  horrid  cruelties  towards  his  own  nearest  kin- 
dred ? 

From  the  course  pursued  by  Lopez  in  his  correspondence, 
taken  with  the  forced  and  false  "  declarations  "  that  had  been 
extorted  from  Rodriguez  and  others,  it  was  easy  to  divine 
what  treatment  he  had  in  reserve  for  the  rest  of  us.  I  fore- 
saw it  all,  while  yet  in  his  power,  as  clearly  as  I  knew  it  after- 
wards, when  the  only  foreigner  about  him  who  knew  anything 
of  his  secret  purposes  escaped  from  his  grasp  and  wrote  the 
details  of  his  plan.  This  letter,  the  first  written  to  me  by  Dr. 
Stewart  after  being  taken  prisoner,  confirmed  all  I  had  before 


384  PARAGUAY. 

suspected,  and  gave  me  the  order  of  proceedings  that  was  to 
have  been  pursued  towards  me  but  for  the  timely  arrival 
of  the  Wasp.  The  details  of  their  plan  he  had  learned  from 
the  conversations  that  had  taken  place  between  Lopez  and 
Madam  Lynch  when  he  was  present,  and  from  remarks  of  the 
inquisitors  and  torturers  who  were  to  superintend  the  execu- 
tion of  the  prearranged  plan.  From  this  and  subsequent 
information  furnished  me  by  Dr.  Stewart,  I  learned  that  Bliss 
and  Masterman  were  to  have  been  arrested  about  the  time 
that  the  American  flag  was  seen  flaunting  in  the  river  below. 
They  were  to  be  compelled  to  corroborate  all  that  the  other 
"  conspirators  "  had  confessed,  and  to  add  to  it  that  treasona- 
ble communications  were  still  passing  between  me  and  Cax- 
ias.  Then,  for  the  "safety  of  the  Republic,"  it  was  to  be  found 
necessary  to  restrain  me  of  my  liberty,  and  I  should  be  taken 
to  head-quarters  and  subjected  to  the  torture  which  Lopez  was 
anticipating  the  delight  of  witnessing.  In  the  mean  while,  to 
supplement  my  confessions,  Madam  Lynch  was  to  make  a 
visit  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  Mrs.  Washburn,  and 
tell  her  that  I  was  in  no  personal  danger  ;  that  I  was  well 
treated,  and  would  be  set  at  liberty  and  permitted  to  leave  the 
country  so  soon  as  I  had  given  in  my  testimony  in  regard 
to  the  revolution  which  I  had  already  admitted  had  been 
planned.  To  hasten  this  result,  it  was  only  necessary  for 
Mrs.  Washburn  to  write  a  personal  letter  to  the  President, 
who  was  "  very  kind-hearted,"  and  admit  that  there  was  a 
conspiracy,  and  that  to  her  own  knowledge  I  had  been  a 
party  to  it.  Having  obtained  such  a  letter,  it  was  to  be 
used  to  overcome  my  obstinacy,  and  I  was  to  be  promised 
that,  on  making  similar  admissions,  my  own  tortures  should 
cease,  and  I  should  be  permitted  to  leave  the  country  with 
my  wife  and  child.  Judging  from  their  experience  with 
others,  they  supposed  that,  under  the  repeated  application 
of  the  cepo  uruguayana,  I  should  by  that  time  be  willing 
to  confess  anything  to  escape  the  horrible  torture.  But  if 
I  were  still  obstinate,  my  wife  was  to  have  been  brought 
into  my  presence  and  her  back  and  shoulders  flayed  with 


THE   CAUSE   OF  LOPEZ'S   ENMITY.  385 

sticks,  as  were  afterwards  those  of  Lopez's  mother  and 
sisters,  Pancha  Garmendia,  Mrs.  Martinez,  and  many  others. 
Would  I  not  then  have  confessed  to  anything  false  or  infa- 
mous, if  by  so  doing  I  could  stay  the  stripes  ?  I  do  not 
know.  But  I  do  know  that  Lopez  had  attained  a  skill  and 
refinement  in  torture  that  neither  holy  inquisitor,  nor  can- 
nibal savage,  nor  imaginary  demon,  had  ever  reached. 

It  seemed  that  Lopez  regarded  me  at  this  time  somewhat 
as  Polyphemus  regarded  Ulysses  when  he  caught  him  and  his 
companions  in  his  cave,  and  was  intending  to  keep  me  as  the 
last  of  the  foreigners  whom  he  was  to  devour.  His  antipathy 
towards  me,  it  seems,  had  been  growing  stronger  ever  since 
my  visit  to  the  camp  of  Caxias,  more  than  a  year  before, 
when  the  proffered  mediation  of  the  United  States  had  been 
rejected.  He  had  thought  that  I  should  have  had  both  the 
will  and  the  influence  to  induce  our  government  to  intervene 
in  his  behalf,  and  save  him  from  the  consequences  of  his  own 
folly  and  ambition.  I  had  warned  him  when  he  began  the  war 
as  he  did,  without  previous  warning,  that  he  was  committing  a 
fatal  error,  and  now  he  hated  me  for  my  Cassandra-like  words. 
I  had  offended  him  by  giving  shelter  in  my  house  to  so  many 
other  people,  and  he  thought  it  a  cruel  wrong  to  himself  that 
I  should  stand  between  him  and  people  whom  he  wished  to 
torture.  For  these,  and  perhaps  other  reasons,  he  had  come 
to  hate  me  worse  than  any  one  else  in  the  world ;  and  so  well 
was  this  understood,  that  the  abject  flatterers  about  him,  who 
sought  to  escape  the  fate  that  was  befalling  so  many  others  by 
saying  what  would  be  most  pleasing  to  him,  soon  learned  that, 
next  to  adulation  of  himself,  his  bravery,  his  kindness,  and  his 
wisdom,  nothing  was  so  grateful  to  his  ear  as  the  most  ribald 
abuse  of  me  and  my  family.  His  torturers  had  learned  this, 
and  their  victims  were  made  to  understand  that  the  way  to 
mitigate  the  horrors  of  the  cepo>  or  the  lash,  was  to  accuse  el 
Minis tro  Americano  of  all  manner  of  iniquities  and  indecencies, 
and  his  wife  as  worse  than  he.  When  Lopez  was  partially  in- 
toxicated, and  felt  in  a  humor  for  hearing  himself  praised  and 
his  enemies  denounced,  he  would  gather  around  him  his  staff 

VOL.  ii.  25 


386  PARAGUAY. 

his  torturers,  and  his  secretaries,  clnd  encourage  them  to  speak. 
For  a  long  time  the  great  object  of  their  objurgations,  the  bete 
noir  to  be  cursed,  was  President  Mitre.  But  after  Mitre  had 
left  the  army  their  mark  of  abuse  was  sometimes  Caxias  and 
sometimes  the  Emperor.  At  a  later  period  I  had  the  honor  of 
supplanting  these  high  dignitaries,  and  the  flexibility  of  the 
Spanish  language,  that  had  been  so  often  strained  to  find 
terms  adequate  to  express  the  praises  of  Lopez,  was  now  sub- 
jected to  a  severer  test  to  frame  expressions  of  obloquy  and 
abuse  of  the  American  Minister.  Lopez  himself  would  set 
an  example  of  grossness  and  obscenity  which  his  flatterers 
dared  not  rival,  and  Madam  Lynch  would  cover  her  face  and 
pretend  to  blush  at  the  immoralities  of  the  American  Lega- 
tion. 

From  these  proceedings  all  who  were  about  the  head-quar- 
ters of  Lopez  understood  that  the  American  Minister  was  a 
doomed  victim.  The  torturers  were  expecting  to  have  him 
to  break  in  to  confession.  The  few  foreigners  about  the 
camp  were  expecting  every  day  to  learn  of  his  arrest,  and 
with  that  they  knew  their  own  chances  of  ever  escaping 
alive  would  be  gone.  They  had  not  supposed,  neither  had  I, 
that  Lopez  would  ever  execute  me  publicly.*  He  yet  cher- 

*  "  Interrogatory  17.  —  Did  you  consider  your  life  in  danger  previous  to  the  de- 
parture of  Mr.  Washburn  ? 

"Answer.  —  Yes. 

"Interrogatory  18.  —  Had  Mr.  Washburn  been  made  prisoner,  would  it  have 
affected  your  condition  and  that  of  other  foreigners  in  Paraguay  who  have  since 
escaped  ? 

"  Answer.  —  Indisputably.  Our  lives  would  have  been  endangered,  most 
likely  taken  ;  and  had  Mr.  Washburn  been  thrown  into  prison,  as  was  at  one  time 
suggested  by  Mrs.  Lynch  and  by  the  late  Bishop  of  Paraguay,  I  am  convinced 
that  he  would  have  been  tortured  and  made  way  with  like  the  other  victims  of 
Lopez.  «In  this  case  his  death  would  no  doubt  have  been  attributed  to  natural 
causes  or  to  suicide.  Lopez  would  have  set  at  defiance  the  whole  power  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  all  probability  would  not  have  left  one  of  us  to  tell  the 
story  of  his  crimes. 

"  Interrogatory  19.  —  Did  you  consider  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  and  the  de- 
parture of  Mr.  Washburn  as  improving  your  chance  of  escape  ? 

"  Answer.  —  Certainly  ;  the  belief  of  us  who  remained  in  the  power  of  Lopez 
was  that  our  chances  of  liberation  were  favored  by  his  having  escaped.  He 
would  be  sure  to  acquaint  the  States  and  the  whole  civilized  world  with  the  true 


.  THE   CLIMAX   OF   THE    PLOT.  387 

ished  the  delusion  that  he  would  come  out  triumphant  from 
the  war,  and  he  believed  that  with  his  means  of  manufacturing 
testimony  he  could  satisfy  the  United  States  that  the  accident 
to  their  Minister  was  not  to  be  imputed  to  him,  that  he  would 
run  little,  if  any,  risk  of  provoking  them  to  make  war  against 
him.  He  was  so  absolute,  he  had  many  ways  to  accom- 
plish his  object  and  yet  appear  innocent.  His  plans  of  tor- 
ture would  have  been  executed  by  persons  who  would  have 
been  put  to  death  immediately  afterwards.  Madam  Lynch 
was  in  favor  of  assassination,  and  for  the  credit  of  the  sex  it 
is  to  be  hoped  she  recoiled  from  the  hideous  torture  that 
Lopez  proposed  both  for  Mrs.  Washburn  and  myself.  In 
either  case  Lopez,  to  have  proved  that  the  deep  damnation  of 
our  taking  off  was  not  to  be  imputed  to  him,  would  have 
executed  several  Paraguayans  as  having  been  our  assassins. 
Then  what  could  our  government  say?  What  could  it  do? 
Would  he  not  protest  that  he  deeply  deplored  the  bloody 
deed,  that  he  had  punished  the  perpetrators  ?  and  would  he  not 
show  his  grief  by  posthumous  honors  ?  and  would  he  not  tes- 
tify his  sorrow  by  sending  our  child,  under  a  flag  of  truce, 
with  an  escort,  through  the  lines,  and  with  many  messages  of 
regret,  and  with  reams  of  manufactured  evidence  of  the  natural 
death  of  its  mother,  and  of  the  suicide  or  assassination  of  its 
father,  and  request  that  it  might  be  forwarded  to  its  relatives 
in  the  United  States  ? 

It  may  be  supposed  that  some  part  of  the  above  is  conjec- 
ture ;  and  so  it  is  in  some  of  its  details.  But  it  is  according 
to  the  general  plan  marked  out  by  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch, 

character  of  the  tyrant,  was  our  thought ;  would  unveil  the  mystery  which  had 
so  long  shrouded  the  acts  of  the  President,  and  kept  out  of  sight  the  sufferings 
of  Paraguay.  Once  public  opinion  was  directed  to  the  subject  by  the  evidence 
of  an  unimpeachable  witness,  we  felt  assured  that  public  sympathy  would  follow, 

and  no  effort  be  spared  to  rescue  us  from  our  perilous  position While  the 

Wasp,  with  Mr.  Washburn  on  board,  was  waiting  for  the  correspondence  of 
Lopez,  he  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  his  permitting  Mr.  Washburn  to  leave  the 
country.  Of  course  I  could  only  answer  that  it  was  a  proof  of  his  Excellency's 
generosity,  for  I  myself  was  in  daily  dread  of  being  tortured  and  executed."  — 
Testimony  of  Dr.  William  Stewart,  Paraguayan  Investigation,  by  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Affairs,  pp.  311,  312. 


388  PARAGUAY. 

to  be  varied  according  to  circumstances  ;  and,  had  not  the 
Wasp  arrived  for  a  few  weeks  later,  would  have  been  carried 
into  effect.  Should  any  of  the  others  who  were  nearest  Lopez 
during  these  times,  and  who  yet  survive,  ever  give  to  the 
world  the  true  story  of  what  they  saw  and  knew,  it  will  be 
confirmed.  One  only  of  the  survivors  will  not  confirm  it ; 
that  is  the  person  who  urged  Lopez  to  commit  the  atrocities 
which  the  others  will  record,  —  Madam  Lynch. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

The  Transactions  at  Head-Quarters  unknown  in  Asuncion.  —  Arrest  of  General 
Barrios.  —  His  Character.  —  Indications  that  Lopez  believed  in  a  Conspiracy. 
—  Other  Indications  that  it  was  all  previously  planned  by  himself.  —  Forging 
Fetters.  —  Lopez's  Conduct  inexplicable.  —  General  Bruguez's  Fall,  Arrest, 
and  Execution.  —  What  was  it  for?  —  Barrios  attempts  Suicide.  —  His  Wife, 
Lopez's  Sister,  horribly  flogged.  —  Insanity  and  Execution  of  Barrios.  — Affected 
Piety  of  Lopez.  —  Why  did  no  one  rebel  or  resist  ? —  His  Constant  Fear  of  As- 
sassination. —  Anecdote  from  Thompson's  Book-  —  Madam  Lynch  increases  his 
Natural  Cowardice.  —  Her  Selfishness.  —  She  causes  many  to  be  arrested  and 
tortured.  —  The  other  Intimates  of  Lopez. — Their  Fate.  —  Madam  Lynch 
in  Danger.  —  Brazilian  Chivalry.  —  The  "  Conspiracy."  —  No  other  Proof  than 
that  of  Tortured  Witnesses. 

THE  "declarations"  that  were  sent  to  me  in  Benitez's 
letters  as  being  the  admissions  of  the  leading  conspira- 
tors was  conclusive  evidence  of  the  treatment  they  had  re- 
ceived. But  regarding  the  condition  of,  and  accusations  against, 
many  others  in  whom  we  felt  a  deep  interest,  we  knew  scarcely 
anything.  Our  ignorance  of  the  real  state  of  affairs  was  a 
blessing  we  did  not  then  appreciate.  From  the  official  letters 
we  had  surmised  enough  to  be  aware  of  our  dangerous  situa- 
tion ;  but  had  we  known  of  the  daily  tortures  and  executions 
that  were  taking  place  at  San  Fernando  our  anxieties  for  our- 
selves must  have  been  greatly  increased.  As  early  as  the  I5th 
of  August  we  had  seen  that  General  Barrios,  the  brother-in- 
law  of  Lopez,  had  been  degraded  from  his  position  of  Minister 
of  War  and  Marine.  What  the  reason  was  for  his  disgrace 
we  were  unable  to  conjecture.  He  was  eminently  fitted  to  do 
the  work  of  Lopez  or  Madam  Lynch,  being  a  man  of  dashing 
valor  and  as  cruel  as  he  was  brave.  For  his  military  successes 
Lopez  had  been  more  indebted  to  him  than  to  any  man  in  his 
army,  excepting  only  the  English  engineer,  Colonel  George 


390  PARAGUAY. 

Thompson.  Like  Lopez,  he  was  regardless  of  the  number  of 
men  sacrificed,  and  would  kill  his  own  soldiers  for  the  slightest 
delinquency,  in  a  manner  highly  approved  by  his  master.  Be- 
fore the  war  he  had  commended  himself  to  the  favor  of  Madam 
Lynch  in  a  way  calculated  to  win  her  highest  regard.  This 
imported  teacher  of  morality,  having  suspected  a  man  employed 
about  her  premises  of  too  great  an  intimacy  with  one  of  her 
maid-servants,  affected  to  be  so  greatly  scandalized  and  shocked 
that  any  improprieties  should  be  committed  in  her  abode  of 
virtue  and  purity  that  she  sent  the  offender  with  a  note  to 
Colonel  Barrios,  then  holding  the  office  of  Mayor  of  the  Plaza. 
What  the  contents  of  the  note  were  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  the  man  was  flogged  to  death. 

There  would  seem  to  be  little  doubt  that  at  one  time  Lopez 
really  believed  that  some  of  his  principal  officers  were  false  to 
him  and  were  engaged  in  a  plot  for  his  overthrow.  Yet  his 
conduct  was  so  inconsistent  with  any  theory  of  this  kind,  that, 
of  all  who  afterwards  escaped,  not  one  can  explain  it  It  is  all 
a  mystery.  It  can  hardly  be  explained  on  the  theory  that  he 
was  insane,  for  in  all  matters  in  which  he  was  uninfluenced 
by  his  vanity  and  his  innate  love  of  cruelty,  his  mind  was  as 
clear  and  logical  as  ever. 

One  fact  that  came  to  my  knowledge  long  before  there  was 
any  pretext  of  a  conspiracy,  and  before  the  evacuation  of  the 
capital  or  the  arrest  of  all  the  men  in  the  country  not  in  the 
army,  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  whole  long  tragedy  of 
horrors  was  deliberately  planned  while  Lopez  was  yet  at  Paso 
Pucu.  Early  in  the  year  1868  I  had  been  told  by  Mr.  Treuen- 
feld,  the  constructer  of  telegraphs,  that  in  one  of  the  workshops 
in  Asuncion  several  native  blacksmiths  were  employed  in 
making  grilles,  or  fetters.  The  men  so  employed  were  kept 
under  strict  surveillance,  and  worked  in  a  shbp  by  themselves, 
so  that  the  public  should  not  know  what  they  were  doing. 
Treuenfeld,  however,  learned  that, the  whole  force  in  this  shop 
was  engaged  in  making  fetters.  These  fetters  consisted  of  a 
ring  for  each  ankle,  so  made  that  an  iron  bar  about  fourteen 
inches  long  was  riveted  to  them.  Their  weight  varied  from 


WAS   THERE   A   CONSPIRACY?  391 

five  to  twenty-five  pounds.  Sometimes  as  many  as  three 
pairs  of  the  latter  were  placed  on  the  limbs  of  one  person,  and 
were  kept  upon  him  continuously  for  months.  There  had  al- 
ways been,  from  the  time  of  Francia,  an  enormous  number  of 
these  fetters  in  the  country  :  and  the  fact  that  Lopez  had  a 
number  of  men  employed  in  making  hundreds  or  thousands 
more,  at  a  time  when  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  for  whom 
they  were  intended,  was  certainly  ominous  of  danger  to  some- 
body. 

If  there  were  in  reality  a  conspiracy,  as  Lopez  pretended 
when  he  arrested  so  many,  its  discovery  just  after  fetters  had 
been  made  for  them  all  was  certainly  a  remarkable  coinci- 
dence. But  if  the  whole  thing  was  but  an  invention  of  his  own 
by  which  he  could  gratify  his  love  of  inflicting  pain  and  misery, 
and  at  the  same  time  have  a  pretext  for  robbing  his  victims  of 
their  property,  the  coincidence  may  be  explained  without  as- 
cribing it  to  a  special  providence,  as  Lopez  was  accustomed  to 
ascribe  any  event  favorable  to  his  cause. 

But  if  Lopez  never  believed  in  the  conspiracy,  his  course  is 
equally  inexplicable.  Why,  then,  did  he  kill  off  nearly  all  of 
his  best  officers  ?  Why  kill  Barrios  ?  Why  kill  Bruguez  ? 
They  were  his  two  best  generals,  reckless,  cruel,  and  brave. 
They  were  always  at  his  head-quarters,  and  he  could  not  well 
spare  them.  No  one  about  the  camp  had  ever  noticed  but 
that  they  were  both  in  favor  with  their  chief,  as  they  were 
often  in  his  company  and  usually  dined  at  his  table. 

Colonel  Thompson  gives  the  following  account  of  the  reward 
that  Bruguez  received  for  his  fidelity  and  valor  :  "  My  room  at 
Lopez's  head-quarters  was  next  to  that  of  General  Bruguez, 
and  he  and  I  were  very  good  friends.  One  evening,  arriving 
from  Fortin,  I  went  into  his  room  to  see  him,  and  found  that 
all  his  things  were  gone,  and  other  things  in  their  place. 
There  was  a  boy  in  the  room,  and  I  asked  him  for  General 
Bruguez  ;  he  did  not  know.  I  then  asked  him  if  he  had 
moved  ?  '  Yes.'  '  Where  ? '  'I  don't  know.'  I  then 
imagined  that  something  must  be  wrong  with  him,  and  asked 
no  further  questions  ;  I  had  asked  too  many  already.  Next 


392  PARAGUAY. 

day  I  dined  with  Lopez  ;  Barrios,  Bruguez,  and  the  Bishop 
used  always  to  dine  with  him,  but  Bruguez  was  not  there. 
Lopez's  little  boy  asked  where  he  was,  and  they  told  him,  with 
smiles,  '  He  is  gone.'  He  was,  I  have  since  learned,  bayoneted 
to  death." 

A  cheerful  prospect  for  the  other  guests !  Two  of  those, 
Barrios  and  the  Bishop,  who  told  the  boy  with  smiles  that 
Bruguez  was  gone,  were  shortly  after  to  follow  him,  and  share 
his  fate. 

The  cause  of  the  sudden  fall  of  Bruguez,  I  afterwards 
learned,  was  this :  When  Lopez  first  began  torturing  people  to 
make  them  confess  to  having  taken  part  in  the  conspiracy, 
his  plan  was  to  subject  them  to  such  misery  that  when  they 
could  endure  it  no  longer  they  would  in  their  agony  admit  any- 
thing. Having  confessed  their  own  guilt,  the  torture  was 
afterwards  reapplied  to  force  them  to  expose  their  accom- 
plices. As  they  had  never  known  anything  about  the  con- 
spiracy, of  course  they  could  have  no  confederates  ;  and  as 
the  torture  was  continued  till  they  either  denounced  others 
or  died,  they  would  accuse  at  random.  One  of  these  misera- 
ble wretches,  it  seems,  while  in  the  cepo  nruguayana,  men- 
tioned Bruguez  as  one  of  the  conspirators,  and  said  that  he 
was  the  leader  of  them,  and  that  if  the  revolution  were 
successful  he  was  to  marry  the  daughter  of  Sinforiano 
Caceres,  Madam  Lynch's  former  partner  in  the  butchering 
business,  and  have  himself  elected  President.  The  bare  hint 
that  anybody  else  might,  in  a  possible  contingency,  be  eligi- 
ble to  the  Presidency  aroused  Lopez  to  fury.  Bruguez  was 
immediately  removed  in  the  manner  described  by  Colonel 
Thompson,  and  Caceres  and  his  son,  according  to  Resquin's 
Diary,  were  executed. 

His  wife  and  daughter,  it  is  conjectured  from  the  fact  that 
their  names  do  not  appear  in  the  lists  of  those  who  were  exe- 
cuted, were  tortured  to  death. 

The  only  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  fact  that  Bruguez 
was  so  summarily  despatched  is  that,  at  the  time,  Lopez  be- 
lieved in  the  conspiracy. 


BRUGUEZ   AND    BARRIOS. 


393 


It  was  but  a  few  days  after  the  arrest  of  Bruguez  that 
Barrios  was  put  under  arrest.  What  his  offence  had  been 
will  probably  never  be  known.  He  had  seen  the  most  of 
those  who  but  a  little  before  were  highest  in  the  confidence  of 
their  common  master  arrested  and  horribly  tortured.  He  had 
known  Lopez  from  a  boy,  and  had  been  his  willing  tool  in 
outraging  other  people.  He  had  been  his  accomplice  and 
assistant  long  years  before,  and  acted  as  pander  at  the  time 
that  he  attempted  an  infamous  outrage  on  the  beautiful 


GENERAL    JOSg   VICENTE    BARRIOS. 

(Executed  by  his  brother-in-law,  Dec.  21,  1868.) 


Pancha  Garmendia.  He  had  seen  so  many  subjected  to  the 
torture,  and  in  many  cases  had  ordered  its  application,  that, 
brave  man  as  he  was  on  the  battle-field,  his  courage  failed 
him  when  he  was  arrested,  and  he  attempted  to  commit 
suicide.  This  was  construed  by  Lopez  as  evidence  of  guilt, 


394  PARAGUAY. 

and  he  directed  that  he  should  be  well  treated  till  he  could 
sufficiently  recover  to  endure  the  cepo  and  make  confession. 
His  wife,  Dona  Inocencia,  the  elder  sister  of  Lopez,  was 
thereupon  immediately  arrested  and  questioned  as  to  what 
she  knew  of  the  conspiracy.  She  could  only  reply,  as  did 
everybody  else  when  first  questioned,  that  she  knew  nothing. 
She  was  then  flogged  like  any  felon.  Like  all  the  Lopez 
family  she  was  very  fleshy,  and  for  a  Paraguayan  of  very  fair 
complexion. 

For  the  work  of  flogging  the  strongest  men  were  always 
selected,  and  they  were  given  withs  or  sticks  of  a  very  hard 
and  heavy  kind  of  wood,  about  four  feet  long,  and  an  inch  in 
diameter  at  the  butt,  and  tapering  to  half  the  size  at  the 
other  end.  Their  orders  were  to  lay  on  with  all  their  might, 
and,  if  one  of  them  hesitated  or  faltered,  he  was  immediately 
seized  and  subjected  to  the  same  treatment.  The  flogging 
of  Dofla  Inocencia,  as  described  by  some  of  the  witnesses,  was 
such  as  to  strike  them,  though  familiar  with  such  scenes,  as 
peculiarly  savage  and  brutal.  Her  endurance  and  resignation 
astonished  them.  Though  the  flesh  was  all  cut  away  from 
her  shoulders  by  the  repeated  blows,  she  never  uttered  a  cry 
or  a  groan  ;  and  when  they  ceased  for  a  moment,  and  she  was 
importuned  to  confess,  and  thus  win  the  clemency  of  the  kind- 
hearted  President,  her  reply  was,  "  I  know  nothing  ;  ask  my 
husband." 

Dona  Inocencia  was  not  flogged  to  death,  nor  was  she 
executed.  The  manner  of  her  deliverance  will  be  described 
at  the  proper  place.  Her  husband,  after  recovering  from  his 
self  inflicted  wounds,  was  so  harshly  treated  that  he  became 
insane,  in  which  condition  he  was  executed  by  shooting  on 
the  2  ist  of  December, —  more  than  three  months  after  I  left 
Paraguay. 

During  the  time  that  Lopez  was  perpetrating  his  most 
atrocious  acts  he  affected  to  be  very  religious.  He  had  a 
church  built  at  San  Fernando  so  that  he  might  perform  his 
devotions  in  public  ;  and  while  his  inquisitors  and  torturers 
were  engaged  in  extorting  false  confessions  by  means  of  the 


TYRANTS  AND  COWARDS  NOT  ASSASSINATED.     395 

cepo,  the  rack,  and  flogging,  he  would  be  in  the  church,  fre- 
quently for  four  hours  at  a  time,  kneeling  and  mumbling  and 
crossing  himself,  while  between  the  genuflections  the  Bishop 
or  Dean  Bogado  would  tell  the  people  of  their  duties  to- 
wards him,  as  he  was  the  anointed  of  the  Lord,  set  to  rule 
over  them,  and  making  devotion  to  him  their  first  and  only 
duty. 

I  have  been  asked  a  great  many  times,  why,  if  Lopez  was 
the  monster  that  I  and  all  others  who  are  not  sharers  of  the 
property  he  stole  from  the  multitudes  whom  he  afterwards 
murdered  have  denounced  him  to  be,  some  one  of  those  who 
were  near  him  did  not  assassinate  him?  If  he  was  arresting 
and  executing  daily  his  most  devoted  friends,  could  not  those 
still  at  large  and  permitted  to  approach  him  foresee  their  own 
fate  ?  And  was  there  no  one  of  them  all  to  stop  his  wholesale 
executions  by  a  Brutus-like  act  ?  That  has  been  a  hard  ques- 
tion to  answer.  But  Francia  died  in  his  bed,  after  near  thirty 
years  of  tyranny  such  as  had  never  been  known  before.  Rosas 
ruled  for  years  in  Buenos  Aires  with  an  iron  hand,  keeping 
up  all  the  while  an  organized  band  of  assassins,  killing  and 
robbing  whom  he  pleased  with  impunity  ;  and  such  was  the 
spell  under  which  the  people  were  that  no  one  ever  attempted 
to  kill  him,  and  he  is  yet  alive.  The  Paraguayans  of  Lopez's 
time  had  never  known  anything  but  a  reign  of  terror  ;  and  from 
my  knowledge  of  their  character  I  do  not  believe  there  was  a 
single  person  in  the  whole  country  who,  at  the  suggestion  that 
he  should  lift  his  arm  against  Lopez,  would  not  have  felt  him- 
self detected,  and  certain  to  be  put  to  death  unless  he  instantly 
denounced  it.  But,  notwithstanding  this,  Lopez  was  undoubt- 
edly in  constant  fear  of  assassination,  and  allowed  no  one  to 
approach  him  unless  it  were  those  who  showed  alacrity  in 
executing  his  most  cruel  orders,  and  who,  in  case  of  his  fall, 
would  share  his  fate.  "  He  was,"  says  Thompson,  "  in  great 
fear  of  being  assassinated,  and  at  night  had  a  double  cordon 
of  sentinels  around  his  house.  This  was  afterwards  increased 
to  a  treble  one.  During  the  daytime  these  were  removed, 
and  the  guard  was  kept  under  an  open  roof,  next  door  to 


396  PARAGUAY. 

Lopez.  People  who  wished  to  see  him  had  to  wait  under  this 
same  roof.  One  evening  I  was  waiting  there  to  see  Lopez,  as 
were  also  several  other  officers,  and  a  sergeant  of  the  guard 
entered  into  conversation  with  me.  After  a  short  time  there 
was  a  great  stir,  officers  going  in  and  out  of  Lopez's  room,  the 
guard  relieved,  and  the  other  officers  who  were  waiting  all 
arrested.  One  of  Lopez's  aides-de-camp  came  and  said  to 
me,  '  His  Excellency  sends  word  to  you  to  write  down  all  the 
conversation  you  have  had  with  the  sergeant  of  the  guard, 
and  to  bring  it  to-morrow  morning.'  I  went  away,  not  expect- 
ing to  be  able  to  remember  a  twentieth  part  of  the  silly  talk 
of  the  sergeant  ;  but,  as  things  looked  serious,  I  tried,  and 
probably  remembered  it  all.  It  filled  a  whole  sheet  of  paper, 
and  was  all  of  it  somewhat  in  this  style  :  '  The  sergeant 
asked  me  if  Queen  Victoria  always  wore  her  crown  when  she 
went  out  to  walk.'  '  The  sergeant  asked  me  if  I  should  wear 
the  Paraguayan  uniform  when  I  went  to  England.'  It  was 
sealed  up  and  taken  next  morning  to  Lopez  about  7  A.  M. 
He  was  not  yet  up,  but  the  sergeant  was  already  shot,  and  all 
the  soldiers  of  the  guard  had  received  a  hundred  lashes  each. 
A  few  months  afterward  I  heard  that  the  sergeant  had  been 
conspiring  with  two  men  who  had  just  returned  from 
Uruguayana  to  murder  the  President,  and  that  the  two  men 
had  been  found  that  night  in  the  yard  of  Lopez's  house.  The 
sergeant's  manner  was  certainly  not  that  of  a  conspirator. 
Lopez  never  said  a  word  about  it  to  me,  nor  acknowledged  the 
receipt  of  the  written  conversation,  probably  feeling  ashamed 
to  do  so." 

Similar  conspiracies  were  frequently  detected.  Prisoners 
taken  near  the  lines,  or  deserters  from  the  other  side,  were 
generally  assumed  to  be  assassins  sent  by  General  Mitre  to 
murder  Lopez,  and  were  tortured  till  they  admitted  it  or  ex- 
pired. Lopez  was*  constantly  publishing  in  his  Scmanario 
that  men  had  been  sent  to  assassinate  him,  and  even  wrote  to 
Mitre,  accusing  him  of  having  done  so.  Yet  no  one  besides 
himself  ever  believed  either  that  Mitre  had  done  anything  of 
the  kind  or  that  anybody  else  ever  harbored  such  an  idea  in 


INFLUENCE  OF  MADAM  LYNCH  ON  LOPEZ.        397 

his  mind.  No  suspicious  person  could  ever  possibly  get  near 
him,  and  he  was  so  constantly  and  immediately  surrounded  by 
his  staff  that  any  one  who  should  make  a  movement  towards 
him  would  have  been  instantly  struck  down.  Men  like 
Francia,  Rosas,  and  Lopez  are  not  assassinated.  Being  con- 
scious that  there  are  thousands  who  would  be  glad  to  see 
them  killed  in  any  way  possible,  they  suspect  everybody 
that  comes  near  them,  and  surround  themselves  with  guards 
and  sentinels.  It  is  men  like  Abraham  Lincoln,  who,  "  with 
charity  for  all  and  malice  towards  none,"  cannot  realize  that 
any  one  should  desire  to  kill  them,  and  therefore  expose  them- 
selves to  the  dagger  or  bullet  of  the  fanatic  or  madman. 

Madam  Lynch,  for  some  purpose  of  her  own,  was  always  try- 
ing to  increase  the  natural  cowardice  of  Lopez.  She  had  an 
abundance  of  that  courage  of  which  he  was  so  greatly  in  want, 
and  in  time  of  battle  would  expose  herself  where  the  danger 
was  greatest  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  her  object  in  playing  on 
his  fears  was  to  increase  her  influence  over  him.  When  he,  at 
the  first  sound  of  a  gun  from  the  allied  lines,  would  hasten  to 
gain  the  shelter  of  his  cave  at  Paso  Pucu,  she  would  move  about 
unconscious  of  danger,  as  danger  she  knew  there  was  none  ; 
yet  at  the  same  time  she  would  counsel  him  not  to  expose  to  a 
chance  shot  his  valuable  life,  —  a  life  on  which  the  hopes,  the 
fortunes,  and  the  liberty  of  all  Paraguayans  depended.  She 
was  also  constantly  advising  him  to  greater  precautions,  tell- 
ing him  that  his  enemies  were  thick  around  him.  She  saw 
that  such  counsels  pleased  him  and  increased  her  own  in- 
fluence, and  she  would  tell  him  that  he  was  too  good,  too 
credulous,  too  kind-hearted,  and  too  indifferent  to  danger  for 
his  own  safety.  With  her  at  his  side  ever  whispering  in  his 
ear  that  he  was  in  great  danger,  that  his  enemies  were  plot- 
ting his  destruction,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  was  constantly 
haunted  with  fear  of  treachery  and  assassination.  No  one 
else  of  those  around  him  could  venture  to  tell  him  that 
such  fears  were  groundless,  without  a  certainty  of  being  sus- 
pected as  a  traitor  and  an  accomplice  of  conspirators.  To 
this  bad,  selfish,  pitiless  woman  may  be  ascribed  many  of  the 


398  PARAGUAY. 

numberless  acts  of  cruelty  of  her  paramour.  That  she  was  the 
direct  cause  of  the  arrest,  torture,  and  execution  of  thousands  of 
the  best  people  in  Paraguay  there  is  no  doubt,  and  it  is  equally 
certain  that  it  was  for  her  benefit  and  that  of  her  children 
that  so  many  hundreds  were  arrested  and  robbed  of  their 
property,  and  afterwards  tortured  as  conspirators  or  traitors, 
and  then  executed,  that  they  should  never,  by  any  contingency 
of  war,  survive  to  reclaim  their  own. 

It  may  be  said  that  all  those  in  whom  Lopez,  towards  the 
last  of  his  career,  had  most  confidence  gave  him  similar  ad- 
vice to  that  of  Madam  Lynch.  Resquin,  Aveiro,  and  his  Bishop 
before  he  arrested  him,  all  took  advantage  of  his  weakness  to 
play  upon  his  fears.  This  they  did,  in  most  cases,  from  pure 
selfishness,  as  in  most  cases  they  could  have  nothing  personal 
against  the  people  they  accused  and  denounced.  But  so  sus- 
picious had  Lopez  become,  that  he  distrusted  all  who  did  not 
accuse  others.  Every  one  about  him,  not  excepting  Madam 
Lynch,  was  in  personal  fear  ;  and  as  they  all  saw  that  those  who 
were  most  forward  in  accusing  others,  and  showed  most  alac- 
rity in  torturing  them,  stood  highest  in  favor  and  most  secure 
from  arrest  themselves,  there  was  a  rivalry  among  them  in 
this  infamous  work.  At  one  time  Madam  Lynch  was  for 
several  days  in  constant  dread  lest  she  should  share  the  fate 
of  those  whom  she  had  caused  to  be  sent  to  their  final  ac- 
count. She  had  seen  Barrios  and  Bruguez,  and  several  others 
of  those  who  but  a  few  days  before  were  the  most  devoted 
and  apparently  the  most  trusted  officers  taken  off  "  to  their 
destiny,"  and  Lopez's  elder  sister  had,  to  her  own  knowledge, 
been  most  cruelly  tortured.  At  this  time  she  could  not  con- 
ceal her  fear  lest  she  too  might  be  a  victim  to  the  jealous, 
suspicious  spirit  she  had  done  so  much  to  arouse.  Dr.  Stew- 
art having  been  called  into  her  house  one  day,  just  after  the 
arrest  of  Barrios,  found  her  and  the  Bishop,  and  one  or  two 
others  yet  highest  in  favor,  apparently  in  counsel.  Fear  and 
consternation  was  on  every  face,  and  the  silence  was  broken  by 
Madam  Lynch's  saying,  "  Who  knows  whose  turn  will  come 
next  ? "  Stewart,  suspecting  a  trap,  replied,  "  I  don't  know  whose 


MADAM  LYNCH  FEARS  FOR  HER  OWN  SAFETY-     399 

it  will  be.  I  know  that  my  conscience  is  clear,  and  nothing 
can  touch  me."  They  all  sat  silent  for  a  few  moments,  each 
appearing  afraid  to  speak,  and  Stewart  withdrew,  happy  in  the 
belief  that  he  had  said  nothing  which  could  be  tortured  to  his 
prejudice.  On  another  occasion,  about  this  time,  she  remarked 
to  one  of  her  countrymen  that  she  would  give  up  everything 
she  had  in  the  world  if  she  could  only  get  safely  out  of  Para- 
guay. She  had  good  reason  to  be  in  fear  for  her  own  life. 
She  knew  people,  men  and  women  alike,  were  daily  tortured 
to  force  them  to  accuse  others.  She  knew,  too,  that  she  was 
bitterly  hated  by  all  the  better  class  of  Paraguayan  women 
and  most  of  the  men,  and  why  should  not  some  of  them  in 
their  agony  make  false  accusations  against  her  as  well  as 
against  others  ?  Might  they  not  accuse  her  of  being  in  the 
conspiracy  ?  Possibly  they  did  so  ;  but  if  it  were  so  the  fact 
would  only  indicate  that  Lopez  did  not  himself  believe  that 
there  had  ever  been  any,  and  that  he  tortured  people,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  evidence,  but  for  amusement. 

While  events  of  this  kind,  of  which  we  knew  little  or  noth- 
ing, were  transpiring  at  head-quarters,  the  work  of  implicat- 
ing all  of  us  still  left  in  the  Legation  was  going  on.  It  was 
an  essential  part  of  the  plan  of  Lopez  that  we  "should  share 
the  fate  of  the  others  whom  he  accused,  for  after  he  had  taken 
such  pains  to  prove  a  conspiracy  it  would  never  do  to  allow 
any  one  who  could  deny  and  disprove  it  to  escape  from  his 
power.  This  was  evident  to  us  from  the  character  of  Benitez's 
letters  ;  and  as  we  saw  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  time 
whether  one  of  us  should  ever  get  away  from  Paraguay,  it  was 
but  natural  that  we  should  freely  discuss  the  character  of  the 
allies,  and  the  moral  guilt  of  their  generals  in  conducting  a 
war  in  a  manner  that  would  lead  to  the  inevitable  extermina- 
tion of  the  whole  Paraguayan  people. 

With  that  peculiar  chivalry  characteristic  of  the  Brazilians, 
they  did  not  try  to  molest  the  Paraguayans,  while  they  were 
endeavoring  to  make  a  "change  of  base."  When  Lopez 
abandoned  Paso  Pucu,  Caxias  did  not  learn  of  the  evacuation 
for  several  days  afterwards,  but  kept  up  a  vigorous  bombard- 


400  PARAGUAY. 

ment  till  an  enterprising  pedler  in  pursuit  of  customers  got  in- 
side of  the  abandoned  fortifications,  and,  finding  nobody  there, 
went  back  and  reported  the  fact,  after  which  a  gallant  charge 
was  made,  the  forts  were  carried  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
and  then  the  whole  army  joined  in  celebrating  their  great 
victory,  and  the  commanding  general  despatched  a  steamer  to 
bear  the  glad  tidings  to  Buenos  Aires  and  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and 
bring  back  the  thanks  of  the  Emperor  and  orders  for  promotion. 
At  San  Fernando  the  same  miserable  inaction  and  inattention 
to  the  movements  of  their  enemy  marked  the  course  of  the 
Brazilians.  It  seemed  as  if  they  dreaded  to  come  in  contact 
with  the  Paraguayans,  no  matter  what  the  odds  in  their  favor. 
After  spending  six  months  or  more  in  investing  the  whole  Para- 
guayan army,  and  with  such  a  preponderance  of  men  and  guns 
that  with  a  fair  degree  of  energy  and  valor  every  man  must 
either  be  killed  or  capitulate,  they  would  allow  them  all  to 
retire  and  carry  their  guns  and  ammunition  with  them.  Then 
the  Brazilians  would  prepare  to  follow  them,  and  perhaps  for 
another  year  repeat  the  long  tedious  work  of  again  getting 
ready  to  attack  in  overwhelming  force,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  they  would  find  Lopez  had  again  moved  away,  and  that 
for  months  before  he  had  been  fortifying  at  another  point,  to 
which,  before  the  Brazilians  were  ready  for  a  general  attack,  he 
would  fall  back  with  his  whole  army.  Thus  it  was  at  Itapiru, 
at  Paso  Pucu,  at  Humaita,  and  at  San  Fernando.  At  the 
latter  place,  though  the  allies  had  entire  command  of  the  river, 
and  had  a  squadron  lying  below  strong  enough  to  have  utter- 
ly destroyed  the  Spanish  Armada  of  Philip  the  Second,  and 
the  whole  army  was  gathering  to  overwhelm  Lopez,  yet  he 
was  permitted  quietly  to  disarm  the  place  and  send  all  his 
guns  and  ammunition  a  hundred  miles  higher  up  the  river, 
to  be  there  again  placed  in  position  for  another  stand.  The 
only  thing  he  left  was  the  telegraph,  and  an  operator  to  work 
it,  at  the  extreme  southern  point,  where  he  could  report  the 
movements  of  the  squadron  below,  and  retire  as  soon  as  he 
saw  that  he  and  his  Quaker  guns  would  no  longer  keep  it  in 
check. 


.    FEARS  OF  LOPEZ  ;  CONTEMPT  FOR  THE  ALLIES.    40! 

This  dilatory  conduct  of  the  allies  could  cause  nothing  less 
than  contempt  in  the  mind  of  an  impartial  observer.  The 
foreigners  in  Paraguay,  however,  were  not  impartial.  They 
saw  that  they  had  no  hope  of  deliverance  from  a  horrible 
death  except  in  the  advance  of  the  allies ;  and  when  year  after 
year  went  by,  their  number  each  year  becoming  less,  though 
they  wished  the  Brazilians  success  they  could  never  speak  of 
them  without  the  greatest  contempt  and  bitterness.  It  seemed 
to  them  all  that  Lopez  could  not  have  held  out  so  long  against 
such  odds  unless  it  had  been  the  policy  of  the  allies,  not  so 
much  to  destroy  him,  as  to  give  him  time  to  exterminate  all 
his  people.  That  was  the  feeling  of  all  in  my  house,  and  I 
gave  expression  to  it  in  one  of  my  letters  to  Benitez  of  the 
nth  of  August:  "The  allies,  however,  with  their  large 
squadron,  always  kept  at  a  safe  distance,  and,  in  my  indigna- 
tion at  their  mode  of  warfare,  I  remember  to  have  said  to  Ber- 
ges  it  was  cowardly,  it  was  barbarous  ;  that  if  they  conquered 
Paraguay  by  fair  fighting  it  would  be  legitimate  warfare,  but 
if  they  attempted  to  exhaust  and  starve  out  the  people  by 
means  of  superior  numbers  and  resources,  it  was  infamous, 
and  deserved  the  execration  of  all  civilized  nations."  This 
was  certainly  an  opinion  such  as  no  minister  of  a  neutral  na- 
tion ever  before  expressed  without  being  rebuked  by  his  gov- 
ernment ;  but  as  Lopez  was  torturing  people  to  force  them  to 
declare  that  I  was  in  correspondence  with  Caxias,  receiving, 
vast  sums  of  money  from  his  government,  and  was  intending 
to  destroy  me  so  that  I  could  never  deny  or  disprove  it,  I 
thought  it  excusable  for  me,  while  I  might,  to  express  my  per- 
sonal opinion  of  Brazilian  policy  and  Brazilian  generalship. 

The  whole  charge  of  a  conspiracy  was  based  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  conspirators  were  in  treaty  with  Caxias ;  that  for  a 
long  time  letters  had  been  passing  to  and  fro  between  him  and 
them,  generally  through  the  American  Legation  and  under  the 
official  seal  of  the  Minister.  What  object  was  to  be  gained  by 
prolonging  it  so  was  never  explained  by  the  witnesses  before 
the  "solemn  tribunal."  From  the  "declarations"  sent  to  me, 
and  from  the  numerous  arrests,  embracing  all  the  men,  foreign- 

VOL.  n.  26 


402  PARAGUAY. 

ers  and  natives  alike,  not  in  the  army,  besides  many  officers 
who  were,  it  would  appear  that  it  was  going  on  for  at  least  a 
year  and  a  half  in  a  manner  so  open  that  it  must  have  been  ex- 
posed within  a  month  after  its  inception  in  any  country,  and 
in  Paraguay  within  twenty-four  hours.  The  very  absurdity  of 
the  whole  scheme,  and  the  inconsistencies  and  contradictions 
contained  in  the  "declarations"  of  the  victims,  were  enough  to 
convince  any  man  of  ordinary  intelligence  that  the  conspiracy 
was  only  a  phantom.  But  Lopez  in  many  things  was  a  fool, 
and  could  not  or  would  not  see  that  by  his  elaborate  efforts  to 
make  it  appear  there  was  a  conspiracy  he  was  proving  that 
there  never  had  been  anything  of  the  kind.  When  in  Benitez's 
letter  of  July  23  the  charge  was  made  that  Mr.  Bliss  and 
others  had  signed  a  paper  engaging  themselves  to  each  other 
to  assassinate  the  President,  I  replied  that  I  did  not  believe 
it ;  that  Bliss  positively  denied  having  ever  seen  or  heard  of 
any  such  paper,  and  said  if  it  could  be  produced  he  would  in- 
stantly leave  the  Legation  and  deliver  himself  up  to  the  Para- 
guayan authorities.  I  added  that,  if  such  a  document  were 
produced,  it  would  clearly  prove  that  while  he  was  in  my 
house,  and  living  on  my  hospitality,  he  had  betrayed  my  con- 
fidence, so  that,  while  I  should  still  insist  on  my  rights  of 
Legation,  I  should  take  good  care  that  he  fulfilled  his  promise 
to  me.  But  no  such  paper  was  ever  produced,  and  no  allusion 
was  made  to  it  in  the  subsequent  letters. 

During  the  whole  time  that  I  was  engaged  in  the  cor- 
respondence with  Benitez,  in  which  he  was  trying  to  make 
it  appear,  on  the  evidence  of  tortured  witnesses,  that  there 
had  been  a  conspiracy,  he  never  professed  to  be  in  possession 
of  any  document  or  paper  prepared  or  signed  by  any  of  the 
accused.  Nothing  of  the  kind  was  ever  published.  Had 
Caxias,  as  was  alleged,  been  holding  correspondence  for  a 
year  and  a  half  with  Benigno  and  Venancio  Lopez,  with 
JBerges  and  Carreras,  and  the  letters  been  passing  back  and 
forth  during  all  that  time,  it  would  seem  strange  that  not 
one  of  the  conspirators  who  confessed  to  everything  should 
have  been  able  to  tell  where  to  find  one  of  the  original  let- 


NO  WRITTEN  EVIDENCE  OF  A  CONSPIRACY.     403 

ters.  Berges  alone  said  he  had  given  his  into  my  care. 
What  became  of  those  to  Benigno,  Venancio,  and  Carre- 
ras  ?  Why  was  no  one  of  them  ever  produced  or  pub- 
lished ?  As  the  houses  of  all  the  conspirators  were  searched, 
it  is  strange  that  no  document  or  letter  or  writing  of  any 
kind  was  ever  found  that  might  have  been  published,  and 
thus  afford  plenary  evidence  that  a  plot  against  the  govern- 
ment had  been  discovered.  But  as  there  never  was  anything 
like  a  plot  or  conspiracy  entered  into  by  any  persons  in  Para- 
guay, no  such  document  could  be  found,  and  Lopez  was  left 
to  the  necessity  of  giving,  in  his  own  justification,  the  testi- 
mony extorted  in  such  a  way  that  it  would  prove  nothing 
except  his  own  inhuman  practices. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Silence  and  Anxiety.  —  Reflections  of  Persons  in  Time  of  Danger.  —  Indications 
that  Lopez's  Plans  are  deranged.  —  Luis  Caminos.  —  Lopez  retires  unmo- 
lested from  San  Fernando.  —  The  French  Chancellor  accused.  —  Robbery 
of  the  National  Treasury.  —  Lopez's  Object.  —  Letter  from  Captain  Kirk- 
land.  —  The  Delay  explained.  —  Long  Letter  of  Accusations  from  Caminos. 
—  Passports  promised  to  all  but  Bliss,  Masterman,  and  Baltazar. 

MORE  than  two  weeks  had  elapsed  since  the  date  of  my 
last  letter  to  Benitez,  in  which  for  the  third  time  I  had 
asked  for  my  passports  and  for  the  means  of  leaving  the  coun- 
try. I  cannot  say  that  I  was  hoping  to  have  my  passports 
sent  to  me.  My  official  relations  would  only  be  closed  with 
their  receipt ;  and  as  we  were  quite  sure  that  Lopez  would 
provide  us  no  means  of  going  away,  and  as  it  was  impossible 
to  reach  the  military  lines  of  the  allies  by  any  other  convey- 
ance than  such  as  he  might  furnish,  our  condition  would  be 
worse  than  ever,  and  the  receipt  of  the  passports  would  pre- 
cede but  a  few  hours  the  seizure  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and 
but  a  few  days  that  of  all  the  rest  of  us.  What  I  had  so  often 
asked  for  was  just  what,  under  the  circumstances,  I  did  not 
wish  to  get.  The  delay  in  answering  my  last  note,  however, 
was  ominous  of  a  long  letter,  and  we  had  seen  that  the  longer 
the  letter  the  more  outrageous  the  threatened  act  which  it 
was  intended  to  justify.  It  was  not  likely  that  Lopez  would 
be  longer  baffled  or  put  off  by  my  elaborate  disquisitions  on 
international  law.  The  issue  was  distinctly  made  up.  I  had 
said  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  members  of  my  Legation,  and 
I  would  not  give  them  up.  He  had  declared  that  they  were 
not,  and  he  would  take  them.  There  was  no  occasion  for 
further  argument.  Lopez  must  either  carry  out  his  threats 
or  recede  from  his  position.  This  delay  in  replying  to  my 


REFLECTIONS  IN  TIME  OF  DANGER.  405 

note  of  the  nth  of  August  had  become  so  intolerable  that 
Bliss  and  Masterman  both  said  that,  if  Lopez  were  resolved 
to  take  them  and  kill  them,  they  hoped  he  would  do  so  at 
once,  and  put  an  end  to  the  killing  anxiety  which  they,  as 
well  as  all  the  rest  of  us,  were  in.  His  most  refined  tortures, 
they  imagined,  must  soon  end,  whereas  the  almost  certainty 
that  they  were  to  be  taken  and  subjected  to  them  was  wear- 
ing on  their  minds  and  weakening  their  bodies,  and  they 
longed  to  know  the  worst,  dreadful  as  that  worst  was  likely 
to  be.  Hope  with  them  had  died  out,  and  if  it  had  not  en- 
tirely with  me,  it  was  because  I  had  a  premonition  —  I  can- 
not call  it  a  belief,  nor  a  reason  for  a  belief — that  before 
Lopez  should  be  ready  to  seize  me  a  gunboat  would  come  to 
my  rescue. 

It  may  be  supposed  that,  situated  as  we  were,  with  so  slight 
a  prospect  of  escape,  and  the  conviction  that  we  were  all 
to  be  subjected  to  a  horrible  and  infamous  death,  we  should 
reflect  whether  we  had  in  any  way,  through  pride  or  folly  or 
from  any  fault,  brought  ourselves  into  our  present  condition. 

The  thoughts  that  pass  through  the  minds  of  persons  under 
circumstances  analogous  to  ours  have  been  often  related,  as  it 
has  been  no  very  rare  thing  for  people  to  be  saved  from 
dangers  after  reason  forbade  them  hope.  The  first  reflection 
of  persons  so  situated  is  one  of  self-examination.  They  ask 
themselves  if  they  have  brought  the  impending  evils  on  them- 
selves through  any  fault  or  folly  of  their  own.  We  often 
thought  of  the  different  sensations  that  our  friends  must  have 
experienced  when  undergoing  the  torture  and  when  brought 
to  face  their  executioners,  and  of  how  different  it  would  all 
seem  to  a  man  of  the  noble  character,  the  clear  conscience,  of 
Rodriguez,  from  what  it  would  to  others  who  by  their  own  pride 
or  ambition  or  partisan  violence  had  courted  their  dreadful  fate. 
For  my  own  part,  I  could  not  see  how  any  fault  of  mine  had 
brought  me  into  my  critical  situation.  I  could  not  accuse  my- 
self of  being  in  the  wrong  in  refusing  to  become  the  flatterer 
of  Lopez,  or  in  declining  to  defend  and  justify  his  atrocities. 
I  had  forced  my  way  into  his  territory,  where  he  held  me 


406  PARAGUAY. 

within  his  power,  when  to  have  turned  back  would  have 
justly  subjected  me  to  the  censure  of  my  own  government; 
and  I  had  remained  there  while  the  dangers  were  thick- 
ening around  me,  at  a  time  when  I  supposed  I  might  have 
got  away,  solely  that  I  might  be  of  service  to  others.  To 
save  life  I  had  risked  my  own,  and  not  only  my  own,  but  the 
lives  of  those  who  were  nearer  and  dearer  to  me  than  all  the 
others  for  whose  benefit  I  had  remained.  I  had  had  a  "  divided 
duty,"  and  had  I  not  possibly  erred  in  exposing  those  having  the 
stronger  claims  upon  me  to  the  fate  that  now  seemed  almost 
inevitable  ?  And  yet  I  could  not  think  it  my  duty,  when  so 
many  others  believed  and  felt  that  their  safety,  perhaps  their 
lives,  depended  on  my  remaining,  to  turn  my  back  upon  them 
and  leave  them  from  motives  purely  personal  and  selfish.  I 
therefore  had  nothing,  so  far  as  my  official  acts  and  my  con- 
duct towards  the  unhappy  wretches  around  me  who  had  been 
seized  were  concerned,  to  reproach  myself  for.  Yet  I  had  seen 
so  much  of  the  Jesuitical  cunning  and  audacious  mendacity  of 
Lopez  that  I  feared  he  would  contrive  a  plausible  story  of 
conspiracy  and  revolution  that  should  impose  on  the  world  the 
belief  that  I  had  confessed  to  acts  dishonorable  and  infamous. 
People  who  have  never  been  put  to  the  test  find  it  hard  to 
understand  why  persons  who  have  been  condemned  to  death 
are  so  anxious  and  earnest  to  have  their  names  vindicated 
from  unjust  aspersions.  It  matters  not  whether  the  victim  is 
a  dethroned  king  like  Charles  I.,  or  a  fallen  minister  like  Wol- 
sey,  a  patriotic  statesman  like  Algernon  Sidney,  a  convicted 
highwayman,  or  a  condemned  murderer,  he  will  to  the  last  cry 
out  against  untrue  and  unjust  accusations.  Though  admitting 
himself  guilty  of  crimes  which  he  ought  to  expiate  by  death,  yet 
if  accused  of  others  of  which  he  is  innocent  his  last  breath  will 
be  spent  in  protesting  the  fact.  In  my  younger  days  I  had 
wasted  a  good  deal  of  time  in  writing  a  novel.  It  must  have 
been  a  very  poor  novel,  for  few  bought  it  and  fewer  read  it. 
The  hero  of  it  is  represented  as  having  risked  his  life  to  defeat 
the  capture  of  a  shipload  of  fugitive  slaves.  He  succeeds  in 
this,  though  the  fugitives,  seeing  him  among  the  pursuers,  be- 


CAMINOS,  MINISTER  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS.      407 

lieve  that  it  is  he  who  has  betrayed  them  and  given  notice 
of  their  flight  He  hears  at  a  distance  their  curses  and  male- 
dictions upon  him  at  the  moment  he  disables  the  pursuing 
vessel,  knowing  all  the  while  his  life  will  be  the  forfeit,  and 
that  both  those  whom  he  saved  and  those  whom  he  balked 
will  unite  in  rendering  his  name  and  memory  infamous.  I 
had  never  thought  it  would  be  my  lot  to  perform  an  act  in  any 
degree  like  that,  and  yet  it  seemed  that,  without  foreseeing  it, 
I  had  put  myself  in  a  position  to  become  the  hero  of  my  own 
novel.  I  alluded  to  this  circumstance  on  one  or  two  occa- 
sions to  my  companions,  while  we  were  yet  together  in  the 
Legation,  and,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  one  of  them  while  in 
prison  repeated  it  in  his  confessions. 

The  delay  in  answering  my  last  letters,  that  for  a  time  we 
regarded  as  a  bad  omen,  we  afterwards  regarded  as  a  favor- 
able indication.  The  very  long  hesitation  of  Lopez  in  carry- 
ing his  threats  into  effect  could  only  have  been  caused  by 
something  which  had  deranged  his  plans  and  made  him 
pause. 

Instead  of  the  very  long  letter  which  I  had  been  expect- 
ing, I  was  disappointed  by  receiving  a  very  brief  note  signed 
by  Luis  Caminos,  and  informing  me  that  he  had  been  called 
to  take  the  place  of  Benitez  as  Acting  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs. 

This  Caminos  had  been  Military  Secretary  of  Lopez  from 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  was  one  of  those  who  seemed 
to  participate  the  spirit  of  his  master  and  to  feel  a  positive 
delight  in  executing  his  cruel  orders.  Of  those  who  had 
been  in  authority  in  and  about  Asuncion  and  Luque  at  the 
time  the  "conspirators"  were  arrested,  the  Chief  of  Police, 
Sanabria,  only  was  now  left.  He  was  to  follow  them  and 
share  their  fate  soon  after  the  arrival  of  Caminos.  In  Res- 
quin's  Diary  his  name  appears  in  a  list  with  forty-six  other 
accused  traitors  who  were  executed  on  the  2/th  of  September, 
only  fifteen  days  after  my  departure  from  Paraguay.  In  this 
list  is  also  to  be  found  the  names  of  Benitez  and  Carreras. 

Caminos  in  this  first  letter  requested  me  to  send  him  a  list 


408  PARAGUAY. 

of  the  persons  for  whom  I  demanded  passports.  I  replied  on 
the  same  day,  giving  the  list,  including  in  it,  of  course,  the 
names  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  The  next  day  I  learned  that 
Lopez  was  abandoning  San  Fernando  with  his  army,  and  that 
he  was  fortifying  himself  at  Angostura  and  Villeta.  It  ap- 
peared from  this  that  the  Brazilians,  with  their  usual  torpidity 
and  imbecility,  had  allowed  him  to  repeat  the  part  he  had 
played  at  Itapiru  and  Paso  Pucu  ;  and  that,  while  they  were  en- 
gaged in  making  great  preparations  to  attack  him,  he  had  with- 
drawn his  army,  his  guns,  and  in  fact  all  his  force,  to  some 
point  higher  up  the  river,  where  he  had  already  thrown  up 
the  necessary  earthworks.  It  seemed  probable,  that,  as  he  was 
being  driven  nearer  Asuncion,  he  found  my  remaining  there 
more  inconvenient  to  the  execution  of  his  plans,  and  perhaps 
he  had  desired  this  list  as  preliminary  to  some  extraordinary 
action.  Yet  it  might  be  that  a  gunboat  had  arrived  ;  and  this 
hope,  which  was  indeed  very  faint,  led  us  to  regard  the  request 
of  Caminos  for  a  list  as  a  favorable  sign. 

On  the  3 1st  the  French  and  Italian  Consuls  came  in  from 
Luque  and  called  at  my  house.  They  told  me  that  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  French  Consulate,  M.  Libertat,  was  accused  of 
being  a  fellow-conspirator  with  Bliss  and  others,  and  of  hav- 
ing signed  the  same  document  in  which  they  had  all  agreed 
to  assassinate  Lopez,  if  necessary,  to  effect  their  plans.  It 
was  from  them  I  learned  that  there  was  no  official  in  what  was 
then  called  the  capital,  Luque,  above  the  grade  of  Chief  of 
Police,  whose  rank  was  that  of  captain  in  the  army,  —  no  civil 
officer  whatever.  The  old  Vice-President,  Sanchez,  had  gone 
below ;  so  had  Benitez,  and  Ortellado,  and  the  priest  Bogado, 
all  of  whom  had  so  eloquently  denounced  the  conspiracy  at 
the  grand  celebration  in  Luque,  soon  after  the  arrest  at  that 
place  of  nearly  all  the  civil  officers  of  the  government. 

For  the  first  time  I  now  heard  that  the  national  treasury  had 
been  robbed  ;  that  on  moving  the  treasure  supposed  to  be  in  it 
from  the  old  to  the  new  capital  a  great  deficit  had  been  dis- 
covered, and  that  all  who  had  had  anything  to  do  with  that 
department  were  in  disgrace  and  were  prisoners.  How  under 


ROBBERY  OF  THE  TREASURY;  ITS  OBJECT.       409 

such  a  government  as  that  of  Lopez  the  treasury  could  have 
been  robbed,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  conceive ;  nor  did  I 
then  see  the  object  of  publishing  to  the  world  such  a  statement. 
But  I  was  soon  to  learn  that  the  opening  and  searching  of  the 
houses  of  all  the  people  in  the  capital  who  it  was  supposed 
had  money  or  jewels  to  any  considerable  amount  was  but  a 
part  of  a  device  of  a  pretended  robbery  of  the  treasury,  and 
that  the  owners  of  these  houses  had  all  been  accused  of  being 
engaged  in  that  great  robbery,  and  the  money  which  they  had 
upon  their  premises  was  declared  to  be  a  part  of  the  plunder 
which  they  had  stolen.  Of  course,  being  accused  of  a  crime 
like  that,  it  was  necessary  for  Lopez  to  put  them  all  to  death, 
lest  if  any  of  them  should  escape  they  would  deny  that  they 
ever  had  anything  in  their  possession  which  was  not  legally 
and  rightfully  theirs  ;  and  the  foreigners,  should  they  survive, 
would  appeal  to  their  governments  to  compel  Lopez  to  make 
restitution.  It  was  a  necessity  of  the  first  crime,  if  he  would 
succeed  in  it,  that  he  should  practise  on  the  principle  of  the 
footpad  and  the  midnight  assassin,  that  "dead  men  tell  no 
tales." 

On  the  2d  of  September,  while  we  were  yet  debating  in 
regard  to  the  object  of  Lopez  in  asking  for  the  list  of  the 
personnel  of  the  Legation,  the  same  soldier  who  had  brought 
us  so  many  letters  of  portentous  import  appeared  with  one  of 
a  different  character.  It  was  from  Commander  Kirkland. 
The  Wasp  had  returned  ;  and  the  mystery  of  the  long 
delay  in  answering  my  last  letters  was  explained.  She  had 
reached  the  lower  fortifications  of  Lopez,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tebicuari,  and  was  then  waiting  for  permission  to  proceed 
higher  up  the  river.  Kirkland  wrote  that  he  had  come  to 
take  me  and  my  family  away,  if  we  wished  to  leave.  He  com- 
plained that  he  had  been  treated  with  great  discourtesy  by 
Lopez,  who  had  not  replied  to  his  letters,  and  that  he  knew 
not  where  I  was  or  where  Lopez  was,  or  where  it  would  be 
convenient  for  me  to  embark.  I  immediately  answered  this 
letter,  telling  him  that  I  would  be  ready  to  embark  at 
any  moment ;  and  as  it  would  suit  my  convenience  to  do 


410  PARAGUAY. 

so  at  Asuncion,  he  would  oblige  me  by  coming  up  to  that 
point. 

This  letter  I  sent  to  Caminos  to  be  forwarded,  at  the  same 
time  sending  him  a  note  advising  him  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Wasp  and  of  its  object  in  coming  there.  I  also  gave  him  the 
purport  of  my  letter  to  Captain  Kirkland. 

For  two  days  I  heard  nothing  either  from  Kirkland  or 
Caminos,  but  late  in  the  evening  of  the  4th  I  received 
another  letter  from  the  former,  stating  that  he  was  lying  two 
leagues  below  Villeta,  but  that  he  could  not  learn  where  I 
was,  or  where  the  President  was,  as  he  had  not  answered  his 
letters,  though  he  had  written  him  three  times  officially,  and 
that  his  conduct  in  treating  him  thus  was  very  disrespectful 
and  discourteous,  and  requesting  me  to  so  represent  to  his 
Excellency.  It  was  clear  from  this  that  Captain  Kirkland 
knew  nothing  of  our  situation,  or  of  what  had  transpired  dur- 
ing the  few  preceding  months  in  Paraguay  ;  and  we  all  felt  that 
our  troubles  were  not  yet  over,  and  that  Lopez  was  hesitating 
whether  to  detain  us  or  to  let  us  go.  On  the  morning  of  the 
5th,  however,  I  received  a  very  long  letter  from  Caminos, 
much  longer  than  any  that  I  had  ever  received  from  the  unfortu- 
nate Benitez.  It  consisted  of  forty  pages  of  closely  written  offi- 
cial paper.  This  letter  had  evidently  been  prepared  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Wasp,  and  while  it  was  the  intention  of  Lopez 
to  treat  us  as  he  had  Carreras,  Rodriguez,  and  Pereira.  It  was 
written  in  the  same  style  and  in  similar  phraseology  to  those 
signed  by  Benitez.  Who  had  written  all  these  letters  was  a 
matter  of  frequent  discussion  with  us.  They  showed  a  Jesu- 
itical cunning  worthy  of  Lopez,  but  they  displayed  a  talent 
for  writing  and  an  intellectual  capacity  so  far  above  his  mental 
powers  that  we  ascribed  their  composition  to  either  the  old 
Vice-President  Sanchez  or  Padre  Maiz.  Benitez  was  already 
in  disgrace,  and  could  not  have  written  this  last  one  ;  and  it 
was  therefore  clear  that,  though  he  had  signed  the  preceding, 
an  abler  pen  than  his  had  written  them. 

Caminos  had  no  pretensions  to  be  anything  but  a  head 
spy  of  Lopez,  and  from  his  alacrity  in  carrying  into  effect  his 


LONG  LETTER  FROM  CAMINOS.  411 

cruel  orders  still  appeared  to  retain  the  confidence  of  his 
master.  Next  to  Lopez  himself  and  Madam  Lynch,  he  had 
probably  been  more  successful  in  obtaining  the  hatred  of  all, 
foreigners  and  natives  alike,  than  anybody  else  in  Paraguay. 
His  character  was  so  atrocious  and  detestable  that  it  must 
have  been  apparent  to  Lopez,  that,  whatever  might  be  his  own 
fate,  Caminos  would  share  it ;  that  he  would  never  dare  to 
betray  him  or  desert  to  the  allies,  for  no  service  of  that  kind 
could  save  him  from  the  thousand  daggers  which  had  been 
whetted  alike  for  him  and  for  Lopez.  This  letter  concluded 
with  another  recapitulation  of  my  offences  in  still  retaining 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  and  asserting  and  reasserting  that 
they  were  not,  and  never  had  been,  members  of  my  Legation  ; 
that  they  were  criminals  and  conspirators,  and  the  govern- 
ment had  a  perfect  right  to  take  them  and  treat  them  as  it 
did  other  criminals.  To  my  proposition,  that,  if  Bliss  and 
Masterman  could  be  useful  to  the  government  in  ascertaining 
the  truth  in  regard  to  the  conspiracy,  they  were  perfectly 
willing  to  give  their  testimony  if  a  notary  would  come  to  my 
house  to  receive  it,  the  reply  was  that  it  would  be  beneath 
the  dignity  of  the  government  to  do  so,  and  that  it  would  not 
hesitate  in  making  them  appear  before  the  tribunal,  for  the 
reason  that  they  were  merely  refugees  in  my  house.  To  my 
statement  that  I  was  bound  to  regard  Bliss  and  Masterman 
innocent  until  I  had  some  proof  of  their  guilt,  and  that  as  I 
knew  the  statements  of  the  declarations  in  regard  to  me  were 
all  false  I  had  a  right  to  presume  that  those  made  against 
Bliss  and  Masterman  were  equally  so,  the  reply  was  substan- 
tially that  no  further  evidence  of  their  guilt  would  be  given 
me  ;  that  I  was  bound  to  take  the  word  of  the  government, 
and  the  depositions  of  witnesses  which  they  had  furnished 
me,  in  regard  to  their  guilt,  as  sufficient  proof,  and  therefore 
no  attention  would  be  paid  to  the  maxim  of  the  common  law 
to  which  I  had  referred,  that  every  person  was  to  be  con- 
sidered innocent  until  proved  guilty.  In  this  letter  Caminos 
inadvertently  showed  that  the  letter  had  not  been  written  by 
himself,  but  had  been  prepared  by  the  same  hand  that  had 


412  PARAGUAY. 

dictated  the  others,  as  he  alludes  to  the  fact  that  I  did  not 
credit  his  words.  As  this  was  the  first  letter  I  received  from 
him,  I  never  could  have  expressed  or  shown  any  doubts  in 
regard  to  his  official  statements ;  and  this  charge  against  me 
proved  conclusively  that  it  had  been  written  before  the  Wasp 
had  arrived,  and  when  the  writer  supposed  Benitez  was  to 
sign  it.  This  was  also  evident  from  the  following  words, 
which  elsewhere  appeared  in  the  letter  :  "  I  cannot,  however, 
conceive  how  your  own  convenience  is  incompatible  with  the 
expulsion  of  these  individuals,  whereas  their  stay  there  must 
give  rise  to  very  unsatisfactory  apprehensions,  from  the  fact  of 
their  being  implicated  in  a  vast  conspiracy,  the  depositions  in 
regard  to  which  affect  even  your  Excellency."  Of  course 
nothing  of  this  kind  would  have  been  written  had  Lopez  sus- 
pected the  question  was  to  be  solved  by  my  going  away  on  a 
vessel  that  had  already  arrived. 

The  letter  proceeded  to  adduce  the  further  proofs  of  my 
own  complicity  with  Bliss,  Masterman,  and  the  other  conspir- 
ators. The  first  witness  whose  testimony  was  given  was 
Benigno  Lopez,  the  President's  younger  brother.  This  testi- 
mony was  principally  made  up  of  general  conversations  which 
Benigno  averred  he  had  held  with  me  from  time  to  time  for 
two  or  three  years  before  ;  in  fact,  that  he  had  been  in  the 
most  intimate  relations  with  me,  and  had  held  confidential 
conversations  with  me,  at  a  time  when  I  had  not  even  a  speak- 
ing acquaintance  with  him.  That  this  declaration  might 
carry  conviction  to  persons  beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay, 
the  same  particularity,  the  same  fulness  of  detail,  which 
appeared  in  the  declaration  of  Berges  in  regard  to  his  trea- 
sonable papers  and  his  various  conversations  with  me,  were 
observed.  Of  course  this  device  was  resorted  to  to  convince 
others,  as  the  setting  forth  of  transactions  and  conversations 
of  a  purely  imaginary  character  could  have  no  other  effect 
upon  me  than  to  show  the  audacious  mendacity  of  Lopez  and 
his  despicable  character,  and  it  is  evident  that  it  had  been 
prepared  with  the  view  that  I  should  not  survive  to  expose  it  ; 
and  though  the  Wasp  was  in  the  river  when  the  despatch  was 


PROFITABLE   DIPLOMACY.  413 

sent  to  me,  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  even  to  that  time  Lopez 
was  determined  that  I  should  not  escape  from  his  power. 
Benigno  then  continues,  repeating  many  conversations  in 
which  he  said  the  plan  of  the  conspiracy  was  talked  over,  and 
I  had  informed  him  of  my  intimate  relations  with  Caxias, 
that  I  was  having  everything  arranged  so  that,  when  the  blow 
should  be  struck,  the  revolution  might  be  successful.  He 
states  that,  in  order  to  induce  me  to  engage  in  the  conspiracy 
and  to  persist  in  rendering  all  the  assistance  in  my  power,  he 
himself  had  advanced  me  a  large  sum  of  money  from  his  own 
fortune,  and  I  was  also  receiving  money  to  a  large  extent 
from  the  Marques  de  Caxias ;  so  that,  on  the  whole,  it  would 
seem  that  I  was  in  a  good  way  to  become  a  millionnaire.  Be- 
sides this  I  had  assured  him  that  if  the  revolution  should  suc- 
ceed, and  the  new  government  be  installed,  I  would  instantly 
recognize  it  as  the  government  of  Paraguay,  as  I  had  already 
advised  the  State  Department  at  Washington  that  such  would 
be  the  case,  and  I  was  sure  it  would  support  me  in  that  pro- 
ceeding, and  accept  of  the  revolutionary  government  as  the 
legal  authority  of  the  country.  In  putting  this  statement  in 
the  declaration  of  his  unhappy  brother,  Lopez  did  not  exhibit 
his  usual  cunning ;  for  though  at  the  time  it  was  written  he 
did  not  intend  that  I  should  ever  live  to  disprove  it,  yet,  if  it 
were  published,  its  falsity  would  be  proved  by  the  fact  that  no 
such  despatches  had  ever  been  received  at  Washington. 

Besides  the  testimony  of  Benigno,  that  of  Venancio  Lopez, 
the  other  brother,  was  brought  forward.  He  also  is  made  to 
report  a  great  many  conversations  that  he  had  with  me  about 
the  revolution.  These  conversations  were  related  very  mi- 
nutely, and  showed  the  same  Jesuitical  cunning  as  in  the 
other  cases.  Venancio  was  also  made  to  say  that  he  had 
been  in  correspondence  with  Caxias,  and  that  I  had  forwarded 
his  letters  and  received  the  answers  thereto  ;  that,  in  fact,  I 
had  been  the  principal  promoter  of  the  revolution,  and  that  it 
had  been  through  my  proposition  that  he  had  been  seduced 
into  the  wicked  plot.  Otherwise  than  this,  his  deposition 
contained  little  except  reports  of  conversations,  which  were 


414  PARAGUAY. 

given  in  detail,  clearly  that  they  might  on  the  face  bear  the 
evidence  of  reality.  The  deposition  of  another  witness  whose 
name  had  not  before  appeared  in  the  correspondence  was  now 
produced.  This  was  Jose  Vicente  Urdapilleta,  who  had 
been  from  an  early  period  of  the  war  the  nominal  chief-justice 
of  Paraguay.  His  testimony  contained  nothing  of  importance 
except  what  had  been  stated  by  the  others,  and  evidently  was 
intended  to  appear  beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay  as  cumula- 
tive proof  that  a  conspiracy  had  really  existed.  Besides  these 
Paraguayans,  poor  Rodriguez  and  Carreras  were  brought  for- 
ward again,  and  the  testimony  as  given  by  Rodriguez,  if  he 
ever  gave  it,  must  have  been  given  with  a  grim  smile,  even 
though  it  were  forced  from  him  while  he  was  in  the  cepo  tint' 
guayana,  and  every  word  extorted  with  a  blow  ;  for  in  this 
he  is  made  to  say  that  the  women-servants  of  Benigno  had 
brought  to  my  house  in  big  baskets,  on  their  heads,  Paraguayan 
currency  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
dollars,  and  that  of  this  sum  I  had  offered  him  and  Carreras 
forty  thousand  dollars,  but  that  they  had  declined  to  accept  it, 
having  no  way  of  investing  it  to  advantage.  Had  the  two 
servants,  as  he  testifies,  brought  one  hundred  and  forty  thou- 
sand dollars  of  Paraguayan  money,  in  such  notes  as  were  circu- 
lated there,  in  baskets  on  their  heads,  they  must  have  had  loads 
as  large  as  a  mpderate  sized  hay-stack  ;  and  as  no  Paraguayan 
at  that  time  could  carry  a  bundle  two  squares  without  being 
overhauled  by  the  police  and  the  contents  of  the  bundle  in- 
vestigated, the  ridiculous  absurdity  of  the  story  must  have 
amused  Rodriguez,  no  matter  how  miserable  might  have  been 
his  situation.  The  story  appears  more  ridiculous  from  the 
fact  that  neither  Rodriguez  nor  myself,  nor  anybody  else,  con- 
sidered that  the  Paraguayan  paper  money,  if  the  war  should 
end,  as  we  then  supposed  it  would,  with  the  destruction  of 
Lopez,  would  be  worth  anything  more  than  its  value  for  waste 
paper.  I  certainly  considered  it  would  be  of  as  little  value  as 
was  the  Confederate  money  at  that  time  in  Virginia  or  Ala- 
bama. 

In  fact,  I  do  not  suppose  that  Rodriguez  ever  made  any  such 


DERANGEMENT  IN  THE  CORRESPONDENCE.     415 

statement,  for  he  had  certainly  been  executed  some  weeks  be- 
fore that  time.  The  testimony  in  this  letter  concludes  with 
another  statement  from  Carreras,  in  which  he  says  that  not 
only  was  I  the  chief  of  the  conspirators,  but  that  I  "  approved 
the  plan  of  the  revolution,  and  took  part  in  it  to  overturn 
the  Marshal  by  hunger  or  by  the  dagger."  With  a  cunning 
stroke,  which  was  evidently  intended  to  enlist  again  in  the 
cause  of  Lopez  the  eminent  counsel  who  had  been  employed 
in  Washington  at  the  time  of  the  convention  in  1859,  an- 
other declaration  is  given  from  Berges  to  the  effect  that  I 
had  said  that  I  ought  to  receive,  in  compensation  for  my 
services  in  the  revolution,  as  much  as  had  the  secretary  of 
Commissioner  Bowlin,  or  the  counsel  for  Paraguay,  Mr.  Car- 
lisle. This  much  of  the  letter  bears  internal  evidence  of 
having  been  written  before  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Wasp  had  been  received,  and  with  the  intention  of  giving  it 
a  different  ending  from  that  which  was  really  given.  At  the 
time  it  was  in  preparation  those  Englishmen  and  others  who 
were  nearest  Lopez  and  knew  most  of  his  thoughts  and  in- 
tentions, and  who  have  since  escaped  from  his  power,  were 
daily  expecting,  as  they  have  since  informed  me,  to  hear  that 
the  Legation  had  been  violated  and  all  of  us  made  prisoners, 
and  they  were  at  that  very  time  expecting  every  hour  to  hear 
that  I  had  been  brought  a  prisoner  to  head-quarters. 

The  plan  of  Lopez,  so  far  as  those  around  him  could  infer, 
and  as  is  shown  by  the  character  of  his  last  letter,  was  to  have 
concluded  it  with  the  declaration,  that,  as  I  had  refused  to 
deliver  up  Bliss  and  Masterman,  they  would  be  taken  by 
force;  that  communications  were  still  passing  between  me 
and  the  enemy ;  and,  as  the  safety  of  the  Republic  would  not 
permit  it  any  longer,  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  must  appear 
before  the  tribunal  and  give  in  their  evidence. 

Of  course  they  would  have  been  made  to  declare  whatever 
Lopez  wished  to  extort  from  them  ;  if  they  would  not  do  it 
without  torture  they  must  do  it  with ;  and  if  they  should  die 
under  the  proceso  before  giving  it  the  declarations  would  have 
been  produced  all  the  same  as  having  been  made  by  them,  and 


416  PARAGUAY. 

would  have  been  to  the  effect,  that  to  the  last  moment  of  their 
stay  in  my  house  I  was  still  holding  frequent  correspondence 
with  the  enemy.  Another  letter  from  Caminos  would  have 
followed  soon  after,  containing  their  declarations,  and  would 
have  concluded  by  saying  that  a  person  so  hostile  to  the  Re- 
public and  so  dangerous  to  its  safety  would  no  longer  be  per- 
mitted to  remain  at  liberty.  My  arrest  would  have  followed 
immediately,  and,  having  committed  that  outrage  on  the  Amer- 
ican government,  Lopez  knew  that  the  only  way  to  ward  off 
its  natural  consequences  was  to  take  such  measures  as  would 
prevent  any  version  of  his  acts  except  his  own  from  ever 
seeing  the  light.  To  have  carried  out  this  plan  would  re- 
quire the  destruction  of  a  great  many  other  people  ;  it  would 
certainly  involve  that  of  all  the  foreigners  who  were  im- 
mediately around  Lopez ;  and  Drs.  Stewart  and  Skinner, 
Colonel  Thompson,  Burrell,  Valpy,  and  the  other  English, 
considered  that,  if  Lopez  once  laid  his  hands  upon  me,  he 
would  immediately  put  them  out  of  the  world,  lest  through 
chance  of  war  some  of  them  might  escape  to  tell  the  tragic 
story.  Of  the  presence  of  Parodi,  who  was  in  an  extremely 
feeble  state  of  health,  he  might  soon  have  been  relieved  by  a 
natural  death  ;  while  of  myself  it  was  his  plan  to  have  an 
infamous  declaration  made,  admitting  everything  that  had 
been  asserted  by  the  others,  and  force  me  to  sign  it  ;  and  if  I 
refused,  my  fingers  would  have  been  jammed  to  pieces,  as  had 
been  those  of  poor  Carreras,  and  then  I  might  have  been  ex- 
posed, as  was  the  French  Consul,  M.  Cochelet,  to  be  taken  off  by 
a  shot  from  the  enemy,  or  some  other  accident  must  have  been 
improvised.  But  the  probability  is  that  my  confession  would 
have  contained  a  statement,  that,  having  been  detected  in  an 
infamous  plan  to  overthrow  the  government  and  to  assassinate 
the  great  and  good  Lopez,  who  had  treated  me  with  the  high- 
est indulgence  and  consideration  from  my  first  entrance  into 
Paraguay  till  that  moment,  my  mortification  and  remorse  were 
such  that  I  could  not  longer  endure  life,  and  therefore  I  had 
resolved  to  commit  suicide.  Of  course  the  parties  assisting 
me  in  the  self-murder  would  immediately  after  have  been  ex- 


DISCONCERTED   PLANS.  417 

ecuted  on  some  other  charge,  and  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch 
would  have  shed  crocodile  tears  over  the  unfortunate  accident, 
or  over  my  still  more  unfortunate  resolution  which  had  driven 
me  to  suicide  at  a  time  when,  notwithstanding  my  crime, 
Lopez  was  abounding  in  charity  and  kindness  towards  me, 
and,  great  as  had  been  my  offence,  would  have  done  nothing 
against  a  representative  of  the  United  States. 

But  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  just  at  this  time,  when  the  let- 
ter was  already  written  announcing  his  determination  to  take 
the  last  but  one  fatal  step,  deranged  his  plans.  The  whole 
army  knew  that  he  was  meditating  extreme  measures  against 
me  ;  they  knew  too  that  nothing  had  yet  been  done  ;  that 
I  was  still  at  liberty  when  Lopez  received  the  unwelcome 
news  that  the  stars  and  stripes  were  to  be  seen  above  the 
blockading  squadron  ;  and  in  the  chances  of  battles  which 
would  occur  it  was  impossible  but  that  many  should  escape 
who  would  report  these  facts,  so  that  if  he  committed  any  vio- 
lence against  me  it  would  be  known  by  the  government  of 
the  United  States.  It  was  then  too  late  for  the  planned  acci- 
dent to  happen  to  me,  or  a  confession  to  be  published,  for 
it  would  be  evident  to  every  one  that  all  had  been  done  after 
the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  in  Paraguayan  waters ;  and  Lopez 
knew  that  the  protest  that  the  safety  of  the  Republic  re- 
quired my  arrest  would  never  be  admitted  by  the  United 
States  government  when  it  had  a  steamer  there  ready  to  take 
me  away.  The  letter,  therefore,  which  had  been  prepared 
while  Caminos  was  yet  at  head-quarters,  and  brought  by  him 
when  he  came  to  Asuncion  to  superintend  the  seizure  of  the 
inmates  of  my  house,  was  returned  to  Lopez  to  be  altered  so 
as  to  meet  the  changed  circumstances.  Instead  of  closing 
with  the  announcement  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  to 
be  taken  by  force,  it  concluded,  after  a  recital  of  my  offences 
as  before  written,  in  these  words :  "  Notwithstanding  all  this, 
and  notwithstanding  the  circumstances  which  your  Excellency 
is  aware  would  have  justified  my  government  in  breaking  off 
some  time  ago  all  intercourse  with  a  Minister  who,  in  the  crit- 
ical circumstances  through  which  the  people  of  Paraguay  are 

VOL.  n.  27 


41 8  PARAGUAY. 

passing,  figures  in  the  testimony  of  the  infamous  traitors  to 
the  country  as  being  one  of  themselves,  my  government, 
anxious  to  give  the  most  unequivocal  proofs  of  its  high  con- 
sideration and  regard  towards  the  government  of  the  great 
American  Republic,  has  done  no  such  thing,  and  only  con- 
fines itself  to  sending  your  Excellency  the  passports  which  you 
have  repeatedly  solicited  in  order  to  leave  the  country  ;  and 
I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  the  Wasp,  which  has  come  to 
take  your  Excellency  away,  is  waiting  for  you  in  Villeta,  and 
that  a  steamer  will  be  in  readiness  in  the  port  of  Asuncion  for 
you  and  your  suite."  To  this  was  added,  that  among  the  in- 
dividuals whose  names  were  in  the  passports  that  would  be 
sent  me  those  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  would  not  be  included ; 
that  "they  must  remain  to  answer  the  charges  hanging 
over  them  before  the  local  courts  of  justice."  Neither  could 
Baltazar,  the  servant  of  Carreras,  be  permitted  to  leave  the 
country,  and  therefore  his  name  was  not  included  in  the 
passports. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

The  Situation  of  the  Wasp.  —  The  Wild  Beast  in  his  Cage.  —  Anxious  Confer- 
ences.—  Unanimity  in  the  Plan  of  Escape.  —  Money,  etc.,  left  in  the  Legation. 
—  Some  of  the  English  withdraw  theirs.  —  Dispute  with  Caminos  in  regard  to 
Property  left  in  the  Legation.  —  Not  allowed  to  take  any  Property  but  my  own 
aboard  the  Paraguayan  Steamer.  —  Further  Delays.  —  Indications  that  Lopez 
still  intends  to  keep  us  Prisoners.  —  Danger  in  taking  away  Masterman's  Prop- 
erty. —  My  Baggage  opened  and  examined.  —  A  Fruitless  Search.  —  Another 
Letter  from  Kirkland.  —  Mrs.  Leite  Pereira.  —  Antonio  Jara.  —  The  Legation 
Premises  left  in  Charge  of  the  Italian  Consul.  —  Basilio.  —  Parting  Interview.  — 
Departure  from  the  Legation.  —  Arrest  of  Bliss,  Masterman,  and  Baltazar.  — 
Fears  of  the  Consuls  for  their  own  Safety.  —  Mr.  Hunter  and  the  Money  of  the 
English.  — The  Paraguayan  Steamer.  — The  Wasp. 

THE  letter  of  Caminos  we  all  regarded  as  little  better 
than  the  death-warrant  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  The 
Wasp  would  not  be  allowed  to  come  near  enough  for  me  to 
communicate  with  her  commander  before  embarking,  nor 
could  I  send  him  a  letter  containing  an  account  of  the  recent 
proceedings  and  of  our  dangerous  situation  without  its  passing 
through  the  hands  of  Lopez,  and  being  probably  read  by  him. 
The  little  fort  that  had  frightened  away  the  two  invulnerable 
iron-clads  of  the  Brazilians  was  between  us  and  the  Wasp, 
and  she  could  not  get  above  it  without  the  permission  of 
Lopez.  Had  she  come  to  Asuncion,  and  could  I  have  got  on 
board  with  my  wife  and  child,  he  would  hardly  have  dared  to 
offer  violence  to  Bliss  and  Masterman,  or  to  attempt  to  detain 
them.  Had  he  done  so,  he  probably  foresaw  that  I  should 
have  demanded  their  instant  release,  and  if  refused  should 
have  advised  Commander  Kirkland  to  knock  down  his  new 
palace.  Whether  the  latter  would  have  taken  my  advice  I  have 
since  had  reason  to  doubt.  The  Wasp  could  have  done  it, 
however,  without  exposing  herself  to  any  danger.  Lopez  had 


420  PARAGUAY. 

no  steamers  left  except  three  or  four  very  small  and  rickety 
affairs,  either  of  which  the  Wasp  could  have  easily  destroyed  by 
a  single  shot.  But  the  Wasp  could  not  have  returned  to  Buenos 
Aires  so  long  as  the  batteries  of  Lopez  commanded  the  river 
between  Asuncion  and  the  Tebicuari.  There  was  no  obstacle 
in  the  way  above  Asuncion,  and  she  could  have  gone  to  Matto 
Grosso  without  difficulty,  as  the  wood  necessary  for  fuel  could 
have  been  readily  obtained  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  the 
steamer  would  have  been  welcomed  as  a  deliverer  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Matto  Grosso,  who  would  have  cheerfully  supplied  all 
the  provisions  needed  before  the  river  might  be  cleared  and 
she  could  return  to  Buenos  Aires.  Lopez  had  doubtless  fore- 
seen that  we  should  have  him  at  a  disadvantage  if  the  Wasp 
were  to  come  to  Asuncion,  and  that  the  outrage  on  the  Lega- 
tion which  he  was  still  resolved  upon  would  be  resented  then 
and  there.  Besides  this,  if  the  Wasp  were  to  proceed  to  Matto 
Grosso  she  would  carry  the  news  that  there  were  no  men  in 
Paraguay  between  Asuncion  and  the  northern  frontier,  and 
Lopez  had  no  troops  that  he  could  send  to  defend  that  re- 
gion, as  a  small  force  could  easily  take  and  hold  the  entire 
country  and  cut  off  all  supplies  for  the  army.  His  refusal, 
therefore,  to  permit  the  gunboat  to  come  to  Asuncion  did  not 
surprise  us,  but  it  was  a  death-blow  to  the  recently  revived 
hopes  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  that  they  would  be  rescued. 

We  now  all  consulted  most  anxiously  together,  and  con- 
sidered what  it  was  best  to  do.  All  concurred  in  the  opinion 
that,  situated  as  we  were,  it  would  be  worse  than  folly  to  delay 
to  argue  the  question  of  their  status  in  the  Legation,  or  pro- 
test against  their  detention.  They  knew  that  without  some 
display  of  power  which  I  could  not  command  they  would  never 
be  permitted  to  leave  the  country,  and  it  was  yet  far  from 
certain  that  I  would  get  away.  It  was  clear  that  the  plans  of 
Lopez  had  been  disconcerted  ;  but  we  all  knew  how  reluctant 
he  was  to  allow  anybody  whom  he  had  devoted  to  destruction 
to  escape  from  his  power,  and  that  even  with  a  gunboat  near 
the  greatest  circumspection  must  be  observed  lest  he  should, 
notwithstanding  that,  carry  into  effect  his  previous  resolution 


THE   WILD    BEAST   IN    HIS    DEN.  421 

towards  me.  My  own  situation  may  be  properly  compared 
to  that  of  a  man  with  two  companions  within  the  den  of  a 
lion,  confronting  the  angry  beast,  which  is  standing  with 
flashing  eye,  gnashing  his  teeth  and  lashing  his  body  with  his 
tail,  his  eye  fixed  upon  the  central  person,  but  held  in  check, 
and  not  venturing  to  spring  so  long  as  the  eye  of  the  man  is 
fixed  steadily  upon  him.  To  advance  upon  the  beast  is  to 
invite  inevitable  destruction  to  all ;  the  only  possible  way  of 
escape  is  to  withdraw  gradually  and  cautiously,  keeping  the 
eye  always  fixed,  and  watchful  of  every  motion  of  the  enraged 
animal.  And  if  by  this  means  the  entrance  to  the  cage  may 
be  passed  and  the  bar  replaced,  perhaps  relief  may  come  to 
the  others  before  they  are  all  torn  in  pieces.  This  was  my 
situation  ;  I  saw  that  I  must  watch  with  the  greatest  circum- 
spection every  movement  that  was  made  from  that  hour.  I 
believed  that  on  the  least  pretence  Lopez  would  detain  me, 
and  as  I  knew  that  his  civil  processes,  as  he  called  them,  were 
very  long,  and  it  was  his  custom  to  prolong  the  lives  of  those 
whom  he  had  resolved  to  murder,  I  thought  it  possible  that 
if  I  should  give  the  alarm  in  regard  to  Bliss  and  Masterman, 
an  American  squadron  might  come  to  their  relief  before  he 
had  consummated  his  plans  in  respect  to  them.  They  fully 
concurred  in  this  opinion.  They  felt  that  their  only  pos- 
sible chance  of  escape  consisted  in  my  getting  away ;  for 
if  I  were  detained,  of  course  there  would  be  no  hope  for 
them.  They  were  even  more  anxious  than  I  lest,  inadver- 
tently, I  should  take  some  step  that  might  further  enrage 
Lopez,  or  give  him  some  advantage  or  pretext  for  detain- 
ing me. 

I  immediately  answered  Caminos's  letter,  stating  that  I  was 
prepared  to  leave  immediately,  and  should  accept  of  his  offer 
to  depart  on  the  following  morning  on  the  Paraguayan  steamer 
to  Villeta.  I  stated  that  I  had  a  considerable  amount  of 
money  which  had  been  left  in  my  charge  by  various  parties, 
mostly  Englishmen  in  the  employ  of  the  government,  who  had 
requested  me,  in  case  I  should  leave  Paraguay,  to  take  it 
with  me  and  deposit  it  to  their  credit  in  Buenos  Aires.  This 


422  PARAGUAY. 

money  was  nearly  all  in  silver  dollars,  and  consequently  both 
heavy  and  cumbersome.  I  could  not  take  it  away  without 
the  knowledge  and  assistance  of  Lopez,  and  there  was  a  law 
of  the  country  that  no  specie  should  be  exported  without 
the  payment  of  ten  per  cent  export  tax.  If  I  attempted  to 
take  that  money  away  in  the  boxes  I  knew  that  it  would  be 
stopped,  and  probably  confiscated,  and  that  I  should  be  ac- 
cused of  attempting  to  take  away  the  money  of  other  people 
illegally.  And  it  would  be  as  easy  to  charge  that  these  boxes 
were  all  full  of  doubloons,  which  I  received  from  the  conspira- 
tors, as  it  had  been  to  make  a  thousand  other  accusations 
which  had  their  origin  in  the  mind  of  Lopez.  Nevertheless, 
as  the  owners  of  this  money  were  mostly  the  employees  of 
the  government,  whose  services  were  of  great  importance  to 
Lopez,  and  who  up  to  that  time  were  supposed  to  be  in  his 
favor,  perhaps  to  oblige  them  he  would  allow  me  to  take 
the  money  away.  I  therefore  advised  Caminos  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  in  my  house,  and  that  the  owners  had  expressed 
a  wish  that  I  should  take  it  out  of  the  country,  which  I  would 
gladly  do,  provided  no  objection  were  made  by  the  govern- 
ment. 

In  answer  to  this  Caminos  requested  a  list  of  the  names  of 
persons  who  had  money  in  my  possession,  and  of  the  amount. 
As  it  had  been  brought  at  various  times,  and  I  had  given  no 
receipt  for  it,  and  had  kept  no  list  or  memorandum  of  it,  I 
could  answer  his  questions  only  so  far  as  to  give  the  names 
upon  the  different  bags  and  boxes,  and  in  those  cases  where 
the  amount  was  not  marked  to  give  the  weight.  With  two 
exceptions  all  were  English.  But  I  received  no  such  permis- 
sion to  take  away  their  money  as  I  had  expected,  but  got 
letters  from  most  of  them  requesting  me  to  deliver  whatever 
they  had  in  my  possession  to  the  bearers  of  their  letters.  The 
money  was  accordingly  delivered  in  most  cases,  though  not  in 
all  I  had  instanced.  From  Dr.  Skinner  I  received  a  letter 
requesting  me  to  take  away  his  money  for  him.  From  Dr. 
Stewart  I  heard  nothing,  though  I  advised  the  government 
that  I  had  a  large  box  belonging  to  him,  containing,  as  I  sup- 


THE    ENCUMBRANCE   OF   MONEY.  423 

posed,  a  considerable  quantity  of  silver.  The  money  which  I 
particularly  requested  to  take  away  with  me  belonged  to 
foreigners,  and  it  had  been  given  into  my  charge  with  the 
request  that  I  would  send  it  out  of  the  country  at  the  first  op- 
portunity. There  were  besides  this  in  my  house  a  great  many 
trunks  and  boxes,  and  several  iron  safes,  the  contents  of  which 
were  unknown  to  me.  These  I  had  not  even  been  requested 
to  take  away,  and  were  I  to  do  it,  and  Lopez  should  find  that 
it  had  slipped  through  his  fingers,  he  would  say  that  it  had 
been  done  through  the  connivance  of  the  owners  and  at  their 
request,  and  it  would  be  fatal  to  them.  I  did  not  then  know 
that  many  of  them  had  been  already  killed.  There  was  one 
trunk  in  particular  which  I  was  greatly  tempted  to  carry  with 
me ;  it  belonged  to  Dona  Carmelita  Cordal,  of  whom  I  have 
before  spoken.  She  had  a  considerable  amount  of  silver  money 
and  a  large  quantity  of  jewelry,  which,  before  the  time  of  the 
evacuation,  she  had  sent  to  my  house.  After  the  evacuation 
she  had  sent  me  the  key  to  the  box  containing  these  treasures, 
requesting  me  to  send  her  certain  things  which  it  contained. 
I  therefore  was  well  informed  of  the  contents  of  this  chest, 
and  I  was  sorely  tempted  to  try  to  smuggle  away  the  box  of 
jewelry.  I  am  afraid  I  should  have  violated  the  laws  of 
Paraguay  by  doing  so,  had  I  not  feared  that  she  would  be 
tortured  and  executed  for  my  offence  in  saving  her  money 
from  the  grasp  of  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch.  I  anticipated 
that  as  soon  as  I  left  the  house  it  would  be  immediately 
searched  by  the  myrmidons  of  Lopez ;  and  should  it  be  discov- 
ered that  her  valuables  were  not  there,  she  would  be  taken 
before  the  tribunal  and  questioned  in  regard  to  the  large 
amount  of  diamonds  and  valuable  jewels  which  she  was 
known  to  possess.  She  could  then  only  plead  that  I  had  taken 
them  away  without  her  authority.  That,  however,  though 
perfectly  true,  I  knew  would  never  suffice  with  a  person  so 
greedy  as  Madam  Lynch.  She  would  be  accused  of  having 
sent  them  away  by  me,  and  I  did  not  doubt  that  she  would 
be  tortured  until  she  could  stand  it  no  longer  and  then 
executed.  I  fully  believed  she  would  gladly  have  given 


424  PARAGUAY. 

seventy  per  cent  of  her  treasures  to  secure  the  balance,  yet  I 
feared  that  by  saving  the  whole  I  should  be  doing  an  act  that 
would  be  fatal  to  her. 

I  saw  that  the  possession  of  property  belonging  to  other 
people  was  liable  to  cause  me  great  difficulty.  Caminos  had 
many  questions  to  ask  about  it,  and  the  notes  passed  between 
us  at  the  rate  of  two  a  day,  and  I  found  I  could  do  nothing 
or  propose  nothing  that  was  acceptable.  But  I  disclaimed  all 
responsibility  for  the  property  in  my  possession,  and  said  I 
had  taken  it  at  the  risk  of  the  owners,  and  told  them  that  I 
should  not  be  responsible  for  it  in  any  way,  and  that,  as  I  had 
received  my  passports,  I  wanted  the  means  of  leaving  the 
country.  Then,  as  every  pretext  for  further  delay  in  regard  to 
the  property  of  foreigners  in  my  possession  had  been  ex- 
hausted, I  received  another  note,  in  which  I  was  requested  to 
delay  my  departure  until  the  Paraguayans  who  had  deposited 
their  valuables  in  my  house  could  have  time  to  come  and 
take  them  away.  To  this  I  replied  that  I  would  not  wait  a 
single  hour  for  that  purpose  ;  the  government  had  known  for 
several  days  that  I  was  intending  to  leave,  and  the  Wasp  was 
then  waiting  for  me,  and  it  could  have  advised  these  Para- 
guayans long  before  of  that  fact,  and  that  they  should  come 
and  remove  their  property.  Many  of  the  foreigners  having 
property  with  me  had  come  and  taken  it  away,  but  not  a  single 
Paraguayan  had  done  so,  and  if  I  acceded  to  a  request  of 
that  kind  it  might  be  weeks,  or  months  even,  before  I  should 
get ,  away.  I  therefore  should  listen  to  no  such  proposition. 
I  had  been  told  a  week  before  that  a  steamer  would  be  at  my 
disposal  to  take  me  as  soon  as  I  was  ready,  and  I  had  been 
ready  ever  since.  The  deposits  I  had  belonging  to  Paraguay- 
ans, and  which  I  should  be  obliged  to  leave  there,  could  still  be 
delivered  to  the  owners  whenever  they  wished,  as  I  should 
leave  the  keys  of  my  house  with  a  responsible  party,  and 
whenever  the  owners  chose  to  come  for  their  property  they 
could  obtain  it  as  well  as  if  I  were  there.  I  had  already  sent 
aboard  the  most  of  my  luggage,  supposing  that  we  were  to 
follow  it  immediately,  and  we  were  left  there  in  the  house 


MASTERMAN'S    PROPERTY.  425 

without  many  things  absolutely  necessary  for  health  and  con- 
venience. 

With  my  own  baggage  I  had  sent  that  of  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr. 
Masterman,  and  that  of  the  latter  gave  me  more  alarm  than 
anything  else.  All  the  property  which  he  had  in  the  world 
was  contained  in  the  trunks  and  boxes  which  I  had  sent 
aboard  the  Paraguayan  steamer.  I  was  very  much  averse  to 
taking  this  property  away,  for  I  could  see  that  Lopez  was  still 
hesitating  whether  he  would  let  me  go  or  not,  and  was  watch- 
ing for  any  pretext  to  detain  me,  and  I  feared  that  at  the  last 
moment  I  should  be  met  with  the  accusation  of  attempting  to 
carry  away  the  property  of  criminals  and  conspirators,  and  it 
would  be  alleged  that  the  trunks  of  Masterman  contained  the 
proofs  of  the  conspiracy  and  of  the  part  which  he  and  I  and 
others  had  taken  in  it.  On  some  pretext  of  this  kind  I  feared 
that  they  would  be  seized,  and  that  I  also  should  be  de- 
tained until  further  investigation  could  be  had.  Such  deten- 
tion I  knew  would  be  perpetual,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest 
reluctance  that  I  consented  to  incur  the  risk  of  carrying  this 
property  away.  But  the  appeal  of  Masterman  was  so  pite- 
ous, and  his  desire  that  what  he  had  might  be  saved,  if  not 
to  himself,  to  his  family,  was  so  great  that  I  finally  promised 
to  take  it  all  away.  But  that  I  might  have  an  answer  ready, 
if  it  should  be  seized,  he  wrote  me  a  letter  making  a  free  gift 
of  it  to  me  as  a  compensation  for  the  kindness  and  hospitality 
I  had  shown  him  from  the  time  I  had  rescued  him  from  prison 
until  that  date.  With  this  document,  if  the  property  were 
seized,  I  could  show  that  I  had  nothing  which  belonged  to  Mr. 
Masterman  ;  that  everything  which  I  had  that  was  once  his 
had  been  made  over  to  me  formally  as  my  property.  In  one 
of  these  chests  of  Masterman  was  a  bag  containing  one  hun- 
dred silver  dollars,  as  he  told  me,  which  he  wished,  whether 
he  survived  or  not,  to  be  forwarded  to  that  friend  of  his,  a 
Paraguayan,  who  had  supplied  him  with  food  during  his  long 
imprisonment. 

My  trunks  and  boxes  were  on  board  the  Paraguayan  steamer 
for  some  four  or  five  days  before  I  was  allowed  to  follow  them, 


426  PARAGUAY. 

and  in  that  time  they  were  opened  and  searched,  though  evi- 
dently great  pains  were  taken  to  prevent  it  from  being  discov- 
ered. Notwithstanding  all  precautions,  a  single  circumstance 
disclosed  the  fact  that  they  had  been  opened.  It  could  hardly 
be  that  Lopez,  if  he  ever  had  believed  in  a  conspiracy,  was  not 
convinced  before  this  time  that  nothing  of  the  kind  had  ever 
existed.  But  if  he  still  believed  in  it,  and  thought  to  find  some 
of  the  fabulous  wealth  that  his  witnesses  before  the  solemn  tri- 
bunal had  testified  that  I  had  received  from  Caxias,  Benigno,  and 
others,  he  must  have  been  greatly  disappointed  in  finding  none 
of  the  many  thousand  doubloons  in  my  baggage.  Masterman 
had  marked  this  bag  with  the  name  of  the  person  for  whom  it 
was  intended.  He  told  me  that,  if  I  should  ever  get  out  of  the 
country  and  he  should  not,  he  wished  that  money  to  be  sent 
to  this  person,  provided  I  should  ever  have  the  opportunity. 
But  from  the  fact  that  when  the  chest  reached  Buenos  Aires, 
he,  upon  opening  it  after  his  escape,  found  that  money  miss- 
ing, I  am  led  to  infer  that  everything  which  I  had  sent  on 
board  the  steamer  had  been,  during  the  four  or  five  days'  delay 
that  intervened  between  the  time  of  its  being  sent  aboard  and 
my  departure,  opened  to  ascertain  whether  I  was  taking  away 
anything  of  a  contraband  nature.  I  had  taken  it  for  granted 
that  this  would  be  done,  but  as  I  had  nothing  in  my  posses- 
sion but  my  own  manuscripts  which  I  was  not  perfectly  will- 
ing that  Lopez  himself  should  see,  I  did  not  care  how  closely 
this  part  of  my  baggage  was  examined.  My  manuscripts, 
about  which  I  had  been  so  anxious,  I  kept  back,  and  had 
them  in  my  other  trunks,  which  did  not  leave  the  house  till  I 
was  about  to  go  on  board  the  steamer.  But  these  trunks 
were  so  very  light  that  a  Paraguayan  woman  could  easily 
have  carried  either  one  of  them  on  her  head  from  the  Lega- 
tion to  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  from  this  circumstance,  which 
was  doubtless  instantly  reported  to  Lopez  by  telegraph,  it 
must  have  been  evident  to  him  that,  however  full  they  might 
be  of  treason,  they  did  not  contain  any  considerable  amount 
of  silver  or  gold.  Most  of  the  English  took  away  their  money ; 
but  as  several  did  not  do  so  I  advised  Caminos  of  the  fact, 


THE   LEGATION   INVESTED.  427 

and  stated  that  as  they  had  not  removed  it,  but  had  previ- 
ously requested  me  to  take  it  in  case  I  should  go  myself,  I 
proposed  to  do  so.  To  this  I  never  got  any  written  answer ; 
but  the  Italian  Consul,  who  came  in  the  day  before  I  left, 
told  me  that  Caminos  had  informed  him  that  the  government 
would  not  permit  me  to  take  away  any  money  from  my  house. 
I  could  not  get  it  out  of  the  country  without  having,  not  only 
the  permission  of  Lopez,  but  his  assistance  in  getting  it  aboard 
the  steamer,  and  therefore  I  must  either  abandon  it  or  remain 
there  to  keep  guard  over  it. 

Though  I  repeatedly  reminded  Caminos  that  we  were  ready 
to  depart ;  that,  our  baggage  having  gone  aboard,  we  were 
very  uncomfortable  in  the  house,  and  that  I  had  no  fur- 
ther business  to  detain  me,  yet  I  received  no  notice  that  the 
Paraguayan  steamer  was  prepared  to  take  me  on  board.  I 
now  observed  that  the  guards  about  my  house  were  very 
much  strengthened,  and  as  the  darkness  shut  down  on  the 
evening  of  the  8th  I  saw  that  soldiers  were  posted  around  the 
house  at  a  distance  of  about  two  rods  from  each  other.  The 
object  of  this  I  could  not  understand  at  the  time,  but  re- 
garded it  as  an  indication  that  something  of  a  very  disagree- 
able nature  would  soon  occur.  But  a  letter  which  I  received 
from  Commander  Kirkland  the  next  day,  September  8,  ex- 
plained why  this  extra  precaution  had  been  taken.  The  let- 
ter was  dated  near  Lambare",  a  point  less  than  two  leagues 
from  the  capital,  and  it  appeared  as  though  Lopez  was  afraid 
that  an  attempt  would  be  made  to  rescue  us  all  by  force. 
However,  the  Wasp  did  not  come  any  higher  up,  and  re- 
mained only  a  few  hours  at  that  place,  when  she  returned  and 
anchored  opposite  Villeta.  She  had  only  moved  higher  up  in 
order  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  shots  from  the  Brazilian  vessels 
that  were  bombarding  the  Paraguayan  fortifications  at  Villeta. 
Supposing  that  the  Wasp  was  still  at  Lambare",  my  poor  wife, 
who  by  this  time  was  getting  more  alarmed  than  ever,  urged 
that  we  should  start  on  horseback  and  leave  everything  be- 
hind us.  But  she  little  knew  the  difficulties  which  we  should 
have  to  encounter.  I  knew  that  if  Lopez  was  determined  to 


428  PARAGUAY. 

detain  us  we  should  not  escape  in  any  such  way,  and  that  if 
he  did  allow  us  to  leave  he  would  furnish  us  with  such  facili- 
ties that  he  could  parade  his  magnanimity  as  a  signal  proof 
of  his  respect  for  the  laws  of  nations,  and  his  consideration 
especially  for  the  United  States. 

The  presence  of  the  wife  of  Leite  Pereira  in  our  house  now 
caused  us  a  great  deal  of  embarrassment.  She  could  not 
leave  Paraguay,  and  she  feared  to  attempt  to  return  to  her 
house  in  the  country  lest  she  might  be  immediately  arrested 
and  sent  to  prison.  I  therefore  was  compelled  to  intercede 
for  her  and  obtain  her  a  passport  for  the  interior,  which,  after 
much  vexation  and  delay,  I  succeeded  in  doing,  where  I  sent 
her  on  horseback,  accompanied  by  my  ever-faithful  Basilio. 
Her  hopelessness  and  misery  at  leaving  us  were  very  af- 
fecting. The  anxious  days  and  nights  which  she  had  passed 
with  us  since  the  arrest  of  her  husband  completely  prostrated 
her,  and  she  could  see  nothing  but  greater  suffering  and  mis- 
ery before  her.  Her  departure  was  a  relief  to  us,  for  her  con- 
stant lamentations  and  her  distraught  appearance  only  added 
to  the  afflictions  and  misery  of  others,  and  were  fast  reducing 
them  to  a  state  of  despair  as  dark  as  her  own. 

On  the  8th  I  received  a  letter  from  another  person,  which 
led  me  to  infer  that  Lopez,  having  failed  to  find  any  pretext 
for  detaining  me  from  the  correspondence  which  we  had  had 
in  regard  to  the  property  left  in  my  charge  by  other  people, 
was  trying  to  make  some  other  accusation  or  excuse  for  keep- 
ing me  in  the  country.  It  was  a  letter  from  the  Chief  of 
Police,  enclosing  another  from  the  same  Captain  Antonio 
Jara  who  had  before  claimed  to  be  the  owner  of  the  premises 
we  occupied,  and  of  Basilio,  who  had  been  a  slave  of  the 
former  owner  of  the  house,  Don  Luis  Jara.  In  this  letter  he 
inquired  whether  I  was  going  to  pay  him  for  the  rent  of  the 
house,  and  also  if  I  proposed  to  take  away  his  slave  Basilio. 
I  made  no  reply  to  this,  though  I  sent  a  note  to  the  Chief  of 
Police,  telling  him  that  I  had  received  a  note  from  a  per- 
son, who  said  his  name  was  Captain  Antonio  Jara ;  that  the 
former  owner  of  the  house,  Don  Luis,  had  told  me  to  take 


THE   LEGATION   ARCHIVES.  429 

possession  of  it,  to  occupy  it  as  long  as  I  desired,  and  to  make 
use  of  whatever  I  found  in  it,  and  that  he  should  ask  neither 
rent  nor  compensation  of  any  kind  ;  that  since  that  he  had  died 
and  had  left  no  legal  or  legitimate  heirs,  as  he  had  never  been 
married  ;  therefore  I  did  not  know  why  he  should  molest  me 
by  sending  me  letters  from  such  a  person,  whose  rights  to  the 
property  I  had  no  knowledge  of  and  could  not  recognize. 

Late  in  the  same  clay  I  received  another  letter  from  Cami- 
nos  of  a  more  amiable  tone,  and,  comparing  dates,  I  found  that 
Lopez  had  had,  since  the  preceding  letter,  an  interview  with 
Commander  Kirkland,  and  after  that  interview  had  concluded 
to  let  me  go.  Having  made  up  his  mind  to  this,  it  would  ap- 
pear that  he  had  concluded  to  put  no  further  obstacles  in  my 
way,  or  do  anything  more  to  aggravate  me  or  give  ground  of 
complaint  against  him  to  my  government.  He  had  tried  very 
hard  to  embarrass  me  in  regard  to  the  archives  of  the  Lega- 
tion. I  did  not  propose  to  take  them  all  away,  as  many  of  the 
Patent  Office  Reports,  the  Agricultural  Reports,  and  other 
rubbish  which  our  Congress  for  inexplicable  reasons  has  been 
in  the  habit  of  publishing  and  sending  abroad,  I  did  not 
consider  worth  the  freight ;  and  besides,  if  I  attempted  to  carry 
them  away,  from  their  great  weight  Lopez  would  suspect  that 
the  box  containing  them  held  money,  and  would  cause  me 
further  delay  until  he  could  contrive  to  have  the  box  opened, 
the  contents  examined,  and  then  closed  again,  so  as  not  to 
show  that  they  had  been  tampered  with.  The  records  of  the 
Legation,  the  official  correspondence,  and  everything  of  any 
considerable  value  I  took  ;  but  in  regard  to  the  other  things  I 
simply  said  I  should  leave  them  in  my  house,  and  also  the 
property  of  those  Paraguayans  and  others  who  had  left  any- 
thing with  me,  and  which  I  could  not  carry  away,  and  that  the 
government  could  take  its  own  course  in  regard  to  them  after 
I  was  gone.  I  could  do  nothing  further.  This  plan  being 
objected  to  by  Caminos,  I  then  requested  the  Italian  Consul, 
Lorenzo  Chapperon,  to  accept  the  charge  of  them  and  to 
receive  the  keys  of  my  house  when  I  should  leave  it.  He 
engaged  to  do  so,  and  on  the  Qth  he  and  the  French  Consul 


430  PARAGUAY. 

came  up  and  remained  until  my  departure  on  the  following 
day.  I  had  hoped  to  leave  on  that  day,  as  the  indications  were 
that  our  detention  would  not  long  be  continued.  We  had 
nothing  in  the  house  to  eat,  and  I  complained  to  Caminos 
of  our  condition  there  ;  that,  as  our  baggage  was  aboard  the 
Paraguayan  steamer,  and  we  had  been  notified  that  she  was 
soon  to  depart,  we  had  obtained  no  provisions  from  beyond 
the  city  limits,  and  were  exposed  to  great  inconvenience  and 
should  soon  be  in  absolute  want.  Another  excuse  for  a  longer 
detention  which  was  sent  on  the  Qth  was,  that  it  had  not 
been  convenient  to  put  my  remaining  trunks  on  board  the 
boat  because  it  was  raining.  Early  the  next  morning  I  there- 
fore sent  a  very  urgent  note,  telling  Caminos  that  we  were 
all  ready,  and  I  should  expect  and  hope  to  be  on  board  the 
steamer  at  an  early  hour  and  on  my  way  down  the  river.  I 
soon  received  an  answer,  telling  me  that  the  little  steamer  Rio 
Apa  would  be  ready  to  leave  as  soon  as  we  could  embark.  A 
cart  was  also  sent  to  take  away  such  effects  as  we  had  not 
already  sent  off.  At  eleven  o'clock  we  started  from  the  house  ; 
and  as  we  left  our  poor  Paraguayan  servants  seemed  aban- 
doned to  despair.  I  would  gladly  have  taken  them  all,  and  so 
I  told  Basilio  ;  but  he  said  it  would  be  worse  than  useless  for 
me  to  try  to  take  him  away,  as  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  go, 
and  I  had  better  not  claim  him  as  belonging  to  my  Legation. 
He  begged  me,  if  I  ever  returned  to  Paraguay,  to  inquire  for 
him  and  of  his  fate.  He  feared  that  he  would  be  sent  to  this 
Antonio  Jara,  and  subjected  to  the  most  cruel  treatment.  I 
told  him  he  would  doubtless  be  taken  as  a  soldier,  but  I  hoped 
nothing  worse  than  that  would  come  upon  him.  He  said  that 
was  nothing,  he  was  willing  to  go  as  a  soldier,  but  that  it  was 
the  flogging  and  the  torture  that  he  dreaded.  What  became 
of  him  I  have  never  learned. 

That  day,  very  early  in  the  morning,  the  house  had  been 
surrounded  by  a  large  force  of  police  and  soldiers.  Directly 
in  front  were  standing  all  the  time  as  many  as  twenty  persons, 
two  or  three  mounted ;  and  at  each  corner  there  were  eight  or 
ten  more.  I  again  told  Bliss  and  Masterman  that  they  had 


FINAL  DEPARTURE.  431 

my  free  permission  to  say  anything  about  me  that  could  save 
them  from  torture  or  prolong  their  lives.  I  said  to  them  substan- 
tially these  words  :  We  have  all  seen  how  Carreras,  Rodriguez, 
Berges,  Benigno,  and  the  others  who  have  been  taken,  have 
made  declarations  against  us  all  that  are  entirely  false,  that 
have  no  foundation  whatever.  We  know  that  the  declarations 
which  have  been  given  in  the  letters  of  Benitez  as  coming 
from  them  were  never  made  by  them,  or  that,  if  they  were 
made,  they  must  have  been  previously  subjected  to  the  most 
terrible  tortures.  That  there  is  not  a  particle  of  truth  in 
them  we  all  know.  You  will  be  taken,  very  likely,  and  tor- 
tured until  you  will  corroborate  what  they  have  said.  Now 
you  have  my  permission  to  say  anything  against  me ;  you  will 
not  hesitate  to  save  yourselves  by  admitting  everything  true 
or  false  which  you  may  find  Lopez  is  determined  you  shall 
admit.  You  may  accuse  me,  if  you  can  save  your  lives  by 
it,  of  any  crime  you  can  imagine  ;  you  may  charge  me  with 
sorcery,  or  stealing  sheep,  or  anything  else.  Nobody  will 
believe  it  in  Paraguay,  and  certainly  nobody  will  believe  it 
outside  of  Paraguay.  It  can  do  me  no  harm  ;  and  if  your 
declarations  should  ever  be  published,  they  will  only  prove  to 
the  world  what  an  infamous  wretch  Lopez  is,  for  everybody 
will  know  that  any  declarations  of  that  kind  must  have  been 
extorted  by  torture  or  the  fear  of  torture.  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  were  convinced  that  they  would  be  arrested  as  soon  as 
they  stepped  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  Legation.  We 
conversed  as  to  the  order  in  which  we  should  leave.  At  one 
time  it  was  suggested  that  they  should  remain  in  the  house, 
and  claim  that  they  were  still  in  the  Legation  if  Lopez's  sol- 
diers should  enter  to  take  them.  This,  however,  was  thought 
to  be  not  the  most  prudent  course  to  take,  but  that  they 
should  accompany  me  as  far  as  they  were  permitted  to,  and 
never  leave  me  unless  taken  by  force.  The  French  and 
Italian  Consuls  had  come  to  accompany  me  from  the  house 
to  the  steamer,  and  Bliss  and  Masterman  bade  us  all  good 
by.  They  had,  indeed,  little  hope  that  they  would  ever 
meet  any  of  us  again.  Possibly,  if  I  got  away,  something 


432  PARAGUAY. 

would  come  to  their  relief  ere  they  had  been  put  out  of  the 
world. 

That  Mrs,  Washburn  might  not  be  a  witness  of  the  scene 
that  v/ould  probably  take  place  at  their  arrest,  she  left  the 
house  with  the  child,  in  company  with  my  private  secretary  and 
a  woman-servant.  As  soon  as  they  had  turned  the  corner  of 
the  street  we  all  started  to  follow.  As  we  approached  the 
door  the  crowd  of  soldiers  moved  up  towards  the  house,  and 
we  stopped  a  moment  and  had  a  few  words  together,  and 
walked  along  under  the  corridor  of  the  house  about  half  the 
way  to  the  corner,  when  Masterman,  with  a  foolishness  and 
stupidity  almost  incredible,  came  very  near  committing  a  fatal 
blunder.  He  proposed  to  surrender  himself  to  the  police 
then  and  there,  saying  that  if  they  were  determined  to  take 
them  they  might  as  well  do  it  there  as  to  go  out  to  the  corner 
of  the  house.  I  instantly  checked  him  and  prevented  him 
from  taking  so  fatal  a  step,  and  told  him  and  Bliss  to  follow 
me  into  the  street,  not  to  give  themselves  up,  but  to  compel 
the  police  to  take  them  by  force.  They  accordingly  followed 
on,  keeping  close  in  my  rear.  As  I  stepped  off  the  piazza 
into  the  street  the  police  hustled  them  away  in  another  direc- 
tion, and  they  all  crowded  around,  separating  me  from  them. 
I  then,  with  the  Consuls,  stepped  a  little  farther  on,  when  I 
stopped  and  saw  Masterman  waving  me  an  adieu  and  saying, 
"Don't  forget  us."  I  had  just  time  to  reply,  "I  will  do  the 
best  I  can  for  you,"  when  he  was  pushed  rudely  along.  Bliss 
was  not  even  given  time  to  make  a  parting  salute,  but  was 
pushed  along  so  roughly  that  he  could  not  get  a  sight  of  me 
through  the  crowd  of  soldiers  that  was  between  him  and  me. 

They  were  gone,  taken  from  me  by  force,  and  within  three 
feet  of  my  own  house.  Could  I  yet  save  them  ?  There  was 
but  one  way.  A  quixotic  attempt  to  rescue  them  by  my 
single  arm  might  involve  me  in  their  destruction,  but  could 
not  help  them.  They  had  begged  me  to  do  nothing  to  still 
further  enrage  Lopez  until  I  was  beyond  his  power.  I  there- 
fore moved  on  towards  the  river  in  company  with  the  Consuls, 
and  with  my  family,  that  were  anxiously  waiting  for  me  on  the 


DEPARTURE  FROM  ASUNCION.        433 

bank,  went  on  board  the  steamer.  The  Consuls  then  left  us 
and  returned  to  town.  At  this  time  they  were  in  great  anxi- 
ety in  regard  to  themselves.  The  Frenchman  was  particu- 
larly anxious,  as  he  told  me  before  we  left  the  house  that  his 
Chancellor  had  been  already  accused,  and  would  be  very  likely 
arrested,  and  that  as  for  himself  it  was  very  probable  he  would 
have  fetters  upon  his  ankles  before  night. 

We  were  now  aboard  the  steamer,  and  I  impatiently  awaited 
the  moment  when  she  should  cast  off;  but  every  moment 
seemed  an  hour.  I  still  had  great  apprehensions  that  I  should 
be  detained,  and  I  believed  that  Masterman's  baggage  would 
be  the  pretext  for  so  doing.  In  the  mean  while  a  number  of 
peons  came  from  the  arsenal  to  the  boat,  bringing  on  board 
some  heavy  boxes  containing  the  money  of  the  Englishmen 
which  had  been  withdrawn  some  days  before  from  my  Lega- 
tion. With  them  came  Mr.  Hunter,  an  Englishman,  and  the 
head  man  of  the  arsenal.  I  had  not  seen  him  to  speak  with 
him  since  some  weeks  before,  when  I  had  met  him  in  the 
street  and  he  had  told  me  that  he  was  afraid  to  speak  to  me. 
On  this  occasion  he  came  on  board,  and  the  only  sentence  he 
said  to  me  in  English  was  to  request  me  to  talk  to  him 
in  Spanish.  I  had  hoped  to  learn  from  him  something  of  the 
fate  of  his  countrymen  who  had  been  at  my  house  and  had 
left  it  some  two  months  before,  but  I  saw  the  danger  he  was 
in,  and  that  it  would  not  do  for  him  to  say  anything  to  me 
which  the  spies  of  Lopez  could  not  understand  and  report. 
Therefore  I  only  talked  with  him  in  Spanish,  and  of  the  most 
commonplace  matters,  but  could  learn  nothing  of  the  condi- 
tion of  others  for  whose  welfare  I  felt  the  keenest  anxiety. 
But  when  this  money  had  come  on  board  it  was  clear  that  we 
should  finally  get  off;  and  yet  never  was  order  so  welcome  to 
my  ears  as  that  which  was  given  to  the  engineer  of  the  boat, 
about  an  hour  after,  to  get  under  way.  It  was  about  two 
o'clock  when  we  started,  and  I  was  expecting  to  find  the  Wasp 
lying  near  Lambare,  and  I  watched,  as  the  boat  rounded  the 
point,  with  straining  eyes,  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  star- 
spangled  banner.  But  we  passed  Lambare",  and  went  on  and 

VOL.   II.  28 


434  PARAGUAY. 

on,  and  no  sight  of  the  Wasp,  and  then  again  I  began  to  sus- 
pect that  there  was  treachery,  and  that  we  were  all  to  be  taken 
to  head-quarters  to  be  subjected  to  I  knew  not  what.  In 
about  two  hours  or  a  little  more  after  leaving  Asuncion  we 
came  in  sight  of  Villeta,  and  there  lay  the  Wasp  in  front,  with 
her  flag  flaunting  in  the  breeze.  I  now  realized  that  our  dan- 
gers were  passed ;  and  yet  it  was  not  till  we  had  come  to 
anchor,  and  I  saw  my  wife  and  child  in  the  gig  of  the  Wasp, 
and  took  my  seat  beside  them,  that  I  could  believe  that  Lopez 
had  consented  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  seeing  me  brought 
before  his  "  solemn  tribunal." 


CHAPTER     XXX. 

The  Officers  of  the  Wasp.  —  Interview  between  Kirkland  and  Lopez.  —  Lopez 
threatens  to  detain  the  American  Minister.  —  Kirkland  warns  him  of  the  Con- 
sequences. —  Lopez  frightened.  —  The  Correspondence  detained  by  Caxias.  — 
Discourtesy  and  Dishonesty  of  Caxias.  —  Parting  Visit  of  Kirkland  to  Lopez.  — 
Messages  to  Lopez.  —  Letters  from  Mr.  Bliss  and  Mr.  Masterman. — A 
Parthian  Arrow.  —  Masterman ;  Account  of  his  Arrest,  Torture,  and  Imprison- 
ment. —  Lopez's  Protestations  to  Commander  Kirkland.  —  Condition  of  Car- 
reras,  Fidanza,  and  other  Prisoners. 

ON  reaching  the  Wasp  I  immediately  informed  her  com- 
mander of  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and  gave 
him  a  hurried  account  of  recent  events  in  Paraguay,  telling 
him  that  he  had  arrived  barely  in  time  to  rescue  me  and  my 
family  from  the  grasp  of  a  monster  who  had  resolved  on  our 
destruction,  and  that  his  last  act  towards  me  in  seizing  two 
members  of  my  Legation  had  been  a  gross  violation  of  my 
rights  as  a  Minister  of  the  United  States,  and  an  insult  to  the 
American  flag.  Commander  Kirkland  was  not  wholly  unpre- 
pared for  such  a  report,  as,  having  been  stationed  for  several 
years  on  the  South  Atlantic  station,  he  had  been  frequently 
in  Paraguay,  and  knew  something  of  the  government  and  of 
the  despotic  character  of  Lopez.  Besides,  there  were  many 
startling  rumors  in  circulation  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  at 
the  time  he  left  there,  which  led  him  to  apprehend  that  he  had 
a  very  delicate  and  difficult  task  to  perform.  He  had  been 
confirmed  in  this  on  reaching  Paraguay,  as  appears  from  his 
first  letters  to  me,  in  which  he  complained  of  the  great  dis- 
courtesy with  which  he  had  been  treated,  and  said  he  could 
not  learn  either  where  I  was  or  where  Lopez  was.  The 
most  of  the  officers  of  the  Wasp,  however,  I  found  to  be  of 
the  opinion,  held  almost  universally  throughout  the  United 
States  and  Europe,  that  Lopez  was  a  hero,  fighting  bravely  in 


436  PARAGUAY. 

defence  of  his  country  and  republican  principles  against  mon- 
archy, despotism,  and  slavery.  They  had,  as  was  natural,  an 
intense  contempt  of  the  Brazilians  for  allowing  themselves  to 
be  held  in  check  so  long  by  a  power  so  inferior  in  resources 
to  themselves,  and  the  sight  of  the  huge  squadron  they  had 
passed  in  the  river  lying  idle  for  years,  or  bombarding  at  long 
range,  apparently  afraid  to  move  against  fortifications  that 
would  not  delay  an  American  monitor  for  a  single  day,  was 
indeed  well  calculated  to  excite  the  contempt  and  disgust  of 
veterans  who  had  fought  at  Mobile  and  Fort  Fisher.  They 
were  therefore  unwilling  to  credit  my  statements  in  regard  to 
the  character  and  conduct  of  Lopez,  or  to  admit  that  all  their 
sympathies  had  been  with  a  wretch  so  vile,  cowardly,  and 
cruel  that  all  history  could  not  show  his  parallel.  Commander 
Kirkland,  however,  with  whom  I  had  been  for  a  long  time 
quite  intimately  acquainted,  seemed  to  concur  with  me  in 
everything,  and  gave  me  a  minute  account  of  all  that  had 
occurred  between  him  and  Lopez  since  he  had  first  notified 
the  latter  of  his  presence  in  the  vicinity.  He  told  me  that  he 
had  been  greatly  annoyed  and  delayed  by  Lopez's  conduct  to- 
wards him,  until  at  last  he  was  invited  to  an  interview  at  his 
head-quarters.  He  had  gone  there  with  extreme  distrust,  feel- 
ing that  Lopez  was  none  too  good  to  arrest  him  and  treat 
him  as  he  had  many  others,  and  had  carried  a  loaded  pistol  in 
his  pocket,  prepared  at  the  least  sign  of  harm  towards  himself 
to  shoot  the  tyrant  dead  on  the  spot.  In  the  interview  Lopez 
received  him  with  his  usual  affability,  and  entered  into  conver- 
sation in  regard  to  the  object  of  his  visit.  Kirkland  replied 
that  he  had  been  sent  to  take  away  the  American  Minister 
and  his  family.  Lopez  then  said  that  his  relations  with  Mr. 
Washburn  were  very  bad  ;  that  a  great  conspiracy  had  been 
discovered,  and  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  engaged  in  it  ;  that 
the  conspiracy  included  a  plan  by  which  a  revolution  was  to 
take  place  in  Paraguay  at  the  same  time  that  the  Brazilians, 
under  the  Marques  de  Caxias,  should  make  a  grand  demonstra- 
tion at  different  points  ;  and  that  the  plan  of  the  conspiracy 
had  been  arranged  by  Caxias  and  the  American  Minister. 


INTERVIEW  BETWEEN  LOPEZ  AND  KIRKLAND.     437 

Kirkland  said  that  he  laughed  in  his  face  when  he  told  him 
this,  and  replied  that  Caxias  was  too  unfriendly  to  me  to  have 
any  arrangement  with  me  ;  that  he  was  very  badly  disposed 
towards  me,  and  had  done  everything  that  he  dared  to  prevent 
the  Wasp  from  coming  to  my  relief;  that  whatever  the  Ameri- 
can Minister  might  have  had  to  do  with  other  parties,  he  could 
not  have  had  any  relations  with  the  Marques  de  Caxias,  as  he 
was  his  bitter  enemy.  Lopez  replied  to  this,  that  he  had  no 
doubt  of  the  fact  ;  that  he  had  hundreds  of  witnesses  to  that 
effect.  Kirkland  replied  that  whether  he  had  or  not  he  did 
not  know  and  did  not  care.  It  was  not  his  business  to  in- 
quire into  any  such  matter  ;  he  was  not  a  diplomate,  and  it  was 
not  for  him  to  enter  into  diplomatic  questions.  He  had  been 
sent  there  to  take  away  the  American  Minister,  whose  offi- 
cial acts  were  of  no  concern  to  him  as  a  naval  officer.  His 
own  duties  were  the  same.  Lopez  replied  that  under  the  cir- 
cumstances he  should  not  permit  the  American  Minister  to 
leave.  He  might  perhaps  allow  him  to  take  away  the  Min- 
ister's wife  and  child,  but  as  for  Mr.  Washburn  he  must  re- 
main in  the  country.  Kirkland  promptly  answered  that  he 
would  not  take  away  Mrs.  Washburn  and  the  child  unless 
he  took  Mr.  Washburn  ;  he  had  been  sent  to  take  away  the 
American  Minister,  and  unless  he  took  him  he  would  take  no- 
body. At  this  stage  of  the  conversation,  Kirkland,  according 
to  the  version  of  the  interview  that  he  gave  me  when  I  first 
went  on  board  the  Wasp,  and  many  times  afterwards,  saw 
that  it  was  time  to  appeal  to  the  only  motive  that  could  in- 
fluence Lopez,  —  fear.  Assuming  therefore  an  air  of  indiffer- 
ence, and  smiling  as  if  talking  of  a  trifling  matter,  he  said  to 
Lopez  he  had  better  not  commit  any  act  of  violence  against 
Mr.  Washburn.  He  then  proceeded  to  magnify  the  influence 
and  importance  of  the  man  whose  liberty  and  life  were  the 
subject  of  discussion,  saying  some  things  of  so  extravagant  a 
nature  that  I  forbear  quoting  them.  In  substance  they  were 
to  the  effect  that  the  American  Minister  still  in  the  power  of 
Lopez  had  such  connections  and  political  influence  at  home, 
that,  were  he  to  receive  any  harm,  the  whole  military  and 


438  PARAGUAY. 

naval  power  of  the  great  Republic  would  be  despatched  in- 
stantly to  Paraguay  to  punish  the  outrage  and  avenge  the  in- 
sult. The  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  were 
not  expecting  any  such  action  on  the  part  of  Paraguay.  On 
the  contrary,  they  had  been  greatly  provoked  by  the  conduct 
of  the  Brazilians  in  preventing  the  Wasp  from  passing  the 
blockade  several  months  before,  and  were  even  then  preparing 
to  take  such  measures  against  the  enemies  of  Paraguay  as  would 
greatly  inure  to  its  advantage.  The  United  States  were 
greatly  outraged  by  the  refusal  of  the  Marques  de  Caxias  to 
permit  the  Wasp  to  pass  the  blockade  in  the  preceding  May, 
and  had  sent  a  squadron  of  six  monitors,  which  was  already  on 
the  coast  of  Brazil,  with  instructions,  if  the  allies  did  not  recede 
from  their  pretensions  and  make  ample  apology  for  the  wrongs 
they  had  done  in  detaining  the  Wasp  previously,  to  make  war 
upon  them.  "  And,"  said  Kirkland,  to  quote  his  own  words  to 
me,  "  I  told  him  that  when  these  monitors  reach  Rio,  if  they 
shall  find  that  Minister  Washburn  has  been  maltreated  by  you, 
they  will  not  make  war  against  Brazil,  but  will  ascend  the 
river  Paraguay,  which  they  can  easily  do,  as  they  draw  only 
seven  feet  of  water ;  and  the  first  you  will  know,  you  will  find 
that  Asuncion  is  knocked  about  your  ears  ;  and  I  advise  you 
not  to  touch  that  man,  for  if  you  do  the  United  States  will 
hunt  you  all  through  Europe  ;  they  will  have  your  head  sure." 
Kirkland  said  that  while  talking  to  Lopez  in  this  way  he 
could  read  his  thoughts,  and  see  that  he  felt  as  though  he 
wanted  to  order  him  out  to  be  shot ;  that  he  could  see  the 
workings  of  his  mind,  and  the  smothered  wrath  that  was  rag- 
ing within,  and  which  he  could  hardly  repress.  He  said  that 
throughout  the  conversation  he  could  see  his  object,  and 
could  tell  when  he  was  talking  for  effect  and  when  he  was 
telling  the  truth  ;  and  he  said  that,  of  all  the  men  with  whom 
he  had  ever  come  in  contact,  he  was  the  most  transparent  fool. 
At  the  threats  of  what  the  United  States  would  do  in  case  he 
carried  out  his  intentions  towards  me,  Kirkland  said  he  could 
see  that  rage  and  anger  were  struggling  against  the  fears  of  the 
cowardly  tyrant ;  and  though  he  assumed  a  laughing,  banter- 


BRAZILIAN  COURTESY.  439 

ing  style  in  talking  to  him,  he  kept  his  eye  fixed  upon  him, 
determined,  if  his  passion  got  the  better  of  his  cowardice,  and 
he  showed  any  signs  of  treachery  by  ordering  him  to  be  ar- 
rested, to  get  the  start  of  him  by  shooting  him  on  the  instant. 

After  this  conversation,  as  Kirkland  told  me,  Lopez  drew  a 
long  breath,  reflected  awhile,  and  said  he  should  let  me  go ; 
and  on  comparing  dates  afterwards  I  found  that  it  was  not 
till  after  that  conversation  with  Kirkland  that  I  received  the 
letter  from  Caminos,  in  which,  after  recapitulating  at  such 
enormous  length  my  offences  and  crimes,  he  concluded  with 
the  notice  that  my  passports  would  be  sent  to  me. 

Commander  Kirkland  had  brought  with  him  a  large  num- 
ber of  official  and  other  letters  addressed  to  me,  and  an  im- 
mense number  of  newspapers,  in  fact  all  the  correspondence 
and  all  the  newspapers  that  had  accumulated  at  different 
places  between  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  the  military  lines 
during  the  last  ten  months.  Among  these  were  a  box  and 
a  package  that  the  same  officer  had  left  with  the  Marques  de 
Caxias  on  the  loth  of  June  preceding,  with  a  request  that  he 
would  send  them  through  the  lines  together  with  the  letter  that 
he  intrusted  to  him,  to  advise  me  that,  as  he  was  not  permitted 
to  pass  the  blockade,  he  was  about  to  return  to  Montevideo. 

I  now  learned  that  Caxias,  taking  advantage  of  my  inabil- 
ity to  make  complaints  to  my  government,  had  committed  an 
act  of  great  discourtesy  and  palpable  dishonesty  in  detain- 
ing those  packages.  The  letter  from  Commander  Kirkland, 
stating  that  he  had  left  them  to  be  forwarded,  did  not  reach 
me  for  two  weeks,  and  when  it  did  come  I  was  informed  by 
Colonel  Fernandez,  and  I  have  no  doubt  correctly,  that  it  had 
not  been  sent  by  an  officer  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  ad- 
vanced lines,  but  advantage  had  been  taken  of  the  errand  to 
send  a  monitor  under  flag  of  truce  above  Humaita  to  Timbo 
to  deliver  the  letter,  and  at  the  same  time  take  observations 
of  the  Paraguayan  defences.  Caxias  had  promised  to  send 
the  packages  at  the  first  opportunity.  Yet  though  he  sent  a 
gunboat  to  carry  the  letter  from  Kirkland,  he  showed  that  he 
cherished  his  old  vindictiveness  towards  me  by  detaining  my 


440  PARAGUAY. 

correspondence,  and  keeping  it  in  his  possession  till  after  I 
had  left  Paraguay  and  it  had  become  nearly  valueless.  Thus 
while  Lopez  was  trying  to  fasten  upon  me  the  charge  of  being 
engaged  in  a  conspiracy  with  Caxias,  holding  frequent  corre- 
spondence with  him  for  more  than  a  year,  and  planning  the 
details  of  a  revolution,  the  latter  would  have  it  that  I  was  the 
friend  and  champion  of  the  Paraguayan  tyrant,  and  that  he 
was  absolved  from  observing  the  ordinary  rules  of  courtesy 
and  of  common  honesty  towards  me. 

Among  the  despatches  brought  me  by  Commander  Kirkland 
was  my  letter  of  recall,  for  which  I  had  so  often  asked  my 
government.  There  were  also  several  letters  from  our  Min- 
ister in  Rio,  General  Webb.  In  these  letters  he  complained 
of  the  vacillating  and  tortuous  course  of  the  Brazilians,  the 
shameful  corruption  that  was  existing  in  the  army,  and  the 
weakness  and  duplicity  of  that  government ;  and  as  he  sup- 
posed at  the  time  that  some  of  them  were  written  that  I  was 
still  in  good  relations  with  Lopez,  he  assured  me  that  if  he 
could  hold  out  for  a  limited  period  he  would  finally  triumph  ; 
that  the  Brazilians  would  not  much  longer  maintain  so  expen- 
sive, exhausting,  and  useless  a  war.  As  Commander  Kirkland 
advised  me  after  I  had  got  aboard  the  Wasp  that  he  should  again 
visit  Lopez  to  take  a  final  leave  of  his  Excellency,  I  requested 
him,  with  an  object  more  malicious  than  diplomatic,  to  take 
my  letter  of  recall  and  one  of  General  Webb's  letters  and  read 
them  to  Lopez.  This  object  was  to  show  him  how  transpar- 
ent were  all  the  falsehoods  which  he  had  put  into  the  declara- 
tions of  Berges  and  others  of  his  victims  in  regard  to  me,  and 
likewise  to  make  it  manifest  to  him  that  in  all  I  had  done  I  had 
been  supported  by  my  government,  and  that,  having  been  re- 
called at  my  own  request,  made  many  months  before,  it  would 
be  clear  to  all  the  world  that  I  could  not  possibly  have  had 
any  such  designs  as  had  been  imputed  to  me  in  the  declara- 
tions which  he  had  extorted  by  torture  from  his  victims  or 
else  had  forged  himself.  I  also  gave  to  Kirkland  a  memoran- 
dum of  things  which  I  desired  him  to  say  to  Lopez :  among 
others,  that  there  never  had  been  any  conspiracy  to  the  best 


MESSAGES   TO   LOPEZ.  441 

of  my  knowledge  and  belief;  and  that  I  knew  none  of  the 
parties  who  had  been  in  my  house,  and  who  were  then,  as  I 
supposed,  in  his  power,  had  ever  taken  any  part  in  anything 
of  the  kind,  even  supposing  that  there  had  been  a  plot  of  a 
treasonable  character  undertaken  by  others.  I  also  requested 
him  to  protest  against  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and 
.say  that  I  regarded  them  as  members  of  my  Legation,  and 
that  their  seizure  in  the  street  from  my  side  was  as  much  a 
violation  of  my  rights  as  a  Minister,  and  of  the  American  flag, 
as  though  he  had  entered  my  house  and  taken  them  by  force  ; 
that  I  should  thus  represent  their  seizure  to  my  govern- 
ment, which  I  had  no  doubt  would  take  the  same  view  of  it 
and  demand  their  release,  holding  him  responsible  if  any  evil 
should  befall  them. 

Kirkland  left  the  Wasp  on  the  morning  of  the  nth  Sep- 
tember to  make  his  visit  of  ceremony.  At  the  time  he  left  he 
regarded  Lopez  as  a  wretch  capable  of  any  fraud  or  treachery, 
fully  believing  that  he  was  going  into  great  personal  danger, 
and  the  last  thing  he  did  before  going  over  the  side  of  the 
vessel  was  to  place  in  the  side-pocket  of  his  coat  a  small 
revolver  ;  large  enough,  however,  to  do  efficient  work  at  close 
quarters.  When  he  came  back  in  the  evening  and  related  to 
me  the  incidents  of  the  day,  I  was  greatly  surprised  and  disap- 
pointed at  being  told  that  he  had  forgotten  to  take  my  memo- 
randum with  him.  Having  read  it  over  hastily,  before  going  on 
shore,  he  had  endeavored  to  recollect  its  contents  and  to  com- 
ply with  my  request  by  telling  Lopez  all  that  I  had  desired  him 
to  say.  He  delivered  the  letter  of  recall,  and  translated  the 
letter  of  General  Webb.  The  main  point,  however,  my  protest 
against  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  he  did  not  allude  to, 
or  at  least  not  in  such  terms  as  I  had  desired  him  to  use.  From 
the  general  tenor  of  the  conversation  which  he  had,  both  with 
Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch,  I  inferred  that  his  reception  had  been 
much  more  gracious  and  cordial  than  on  the  preceding  occa- 
sion, and  that  they  had  concluded  it  would  be  for  their  interest 
to  make  a  friend  of  him  before  his  departure.  I  was  confirmed 
in  this  by  the  fact  that  the  next  morning  some  supplies  of  fresh 


442  PARAGUAY. 

beef  and  a  quantity  of  sugar-cane  were  sent  to  the  Wasp,  be- 
sides which  there  were  several  large  tercios  of  yerba  mate. 

Previously  to  his  going  on  shore  the  last  time,  Kirkland 
received  a  note  from  Dr.  Carreras,  requesting  that  if  he  had 
brought  any  letters  for  him  he  would  deliver  them  to  the 
bearer.  Being  familiar  with  the  handwriting  of  Carreras,  I 
knew  the  signature  to  be  his,  and  as  there  were  several  letters 
for  him  in  my  packages  I  requested  Kirkland  to  deliver  them 
in  accordance  with  this  request.  I  knew,  indeed,  that  this  note 
had  been  written  under  compulsion  ;  but  as  I  was  convinced 
there  could  be  nothing  in  the  letters  that  could  implicate  or 
compromise  Carreras  in  any  manner,  but  that  they  must  rather 
vindicate  him,  I  could  see  no  objection  to  their  falling  into  the 
hands  of  Lopez,  though  that  Carreras  would  ever  see  them  I 
had  little  expectation.  Kirkland,  however,  declined  to  deliver 
them,  unless  I  would  first  open  them  and  ascertain  whether 
they  contained  anything  of  a  treasonable  nature  or  not ;  for, 
after  the  accusations  which  had  been  brought  against  me,  he 
said  he  was  determined  to  deliver  nothing  of  which  he  did  not 
know  the  contents,  lest  he  too  might  be  accused  of  aiding 
conspirators  in  transmitting  their  correspondence. 

As  nothing  favorable  to  Bliss  and  Masterman  had  resulted 
from  Kirkland's  last  interview  with  Lopez,  it  was  incumbent 
upon  me  to  send  a  written  protest  directly  to  him,  and  I  ac- 
cordingly wrote  a  note  to  that  effect  early  the  next  morning  ; 
Kirkland,  having  expressed  his  intention  to  weigh  anchor  and 
start  at  an  early  hour,  left  no  opportunity  for  discussion. 
While  I  was  writing  this  letter  an  officer  came  aboard,  bring- 
ing a  letter  from  Mr.  Bliss  to  me,  another  to  Captain  Kirk- 
land, and  a  third  to  Henry  Bliss,  Esq.,  of  New  York.  I 
opened  Bliss's  letter,  and  found  it  to  be  the  following  very 
extraordinary  document,  in  Spanish  :  — 

"September  11,  1868. 
"  To    his  Excellency   Hon.    Charles  A.     Washburn,    United    States 

Minister  Resident. 

«  SIR,  —  Finding  myself  at  length  relieved  from  the  restraint  which 
your  Excellency  has  so  long  exercised  over  my  will,  I  cannot  do 


LETTER   FROM    MR.   BLISS.  443 

less  than  confess  freely  and  spontaneously  the  important  part  which 
your  Excellency  has  taken  in  the  revolution,  in  which  you  have 
involved  many  persons,  and  among  them  myself.  I  have  declared 
(regretting  deeply,  because  I  would  like  to  avoid  such  a  scandal  to 
your  Excellency,  but  following  out  the  truth)  that  you  have  been  the 
soul  of  the  revolution ;  and  if  this  deed  now  appears  to  the  light  of 
Heaven,  confessed  to  by  all  its  accomplices,  to  whom  does  it  owe  its 
existence  save  to  your  Excellency,  who  has  continued  its  direction 
up  to  a  very  recent  period  ?  I  consider  myself,  therefore,  completely 
absolved  from  the  promise  which  you  extorted  from  me  yesterday  in 
your  office,  not  to  reveal  your  proceedings  old  or  new.  Even  your 
brilliant  speculations  with  the  company  of  Hopkins,  for  which  you 
were  to  pocket  a  hundred  and  odd  thousands  of  patacones,  have  been 
put  in  evidence,  as  also  the  gilded  pill  Polidoro  and  Octaviano  made 
you  swallow,  besides  the  last  one  administered  by  Caxias,  at  the  time 
of  your  Excellency's  celebrated  visit  of  mediation  in  March,  last  year. 

"  The  object  of  this  letter  is  to  say  to  you  that  I  have  determined 
to  request  from  your  Excellency  the  delivery  to  the  bearer  of  my 
historical  manuscripts,  which  involve  a  compromise  with  this  gov- 
ernment, and  which  are  without  reason  in  deposit  with  Your  Excel- 
lency, you  having  taken  possession  of  them  during  my  illness  last 
year,  and  I  having  forgotten  to  demand  them  of  you.  They  con- 
sist, as  your  Excellency  well  knows,  of  a  voluminous  history  of 
Paraguay  till  the  year  1810,  and  some  two  thousand  pages  or  more 
of  notes  in  Spanish  on  more  recent  epochs,  with  the  chronology  up 
to  our  days. 

"Also,  I  beg  that  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  send  me  the 
three  letters  written  by  your  express  order  for  your  justification  re- 
garding the  affairs  of  the  revolution,  of  which  one  is  addressed  to  the 
New  York  World,  another  to  Rev.  William  T.  Goodfellow  in  Buenos 
Aires,  and  the  last  to  my  father,  Henry  Bliss,  Esq.,  of  New  York. 

"  The  truth  having  been  fully  displayed,  these  letters  cannot  serve 
you  for  any  object,  and  since  they  are  false  it  suits  me  no  longer  to 
keep  the  mystery  of  hypocrisy,  and  for  your  own  honor  you  ought  to 
comply  strictly  with  these  my  demands. 

"  I  do  not  exact  from  you  the  English  manuscripts  which  you 
made  me  write  in  a  spirit  inimical  to  Paraguay,  since  these  are  your 
property.  But  I  advise  you  as  a  friend  not  to  attempt  to  fight 
against  the  evidence  given  by  infinite  witnesses. 


444  PARAGUAY. 

"I  take  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  salute  your  Excellency 
with  distinguished  esteem  and  appreciation. 

"PORTER  C.  BLISS." 

Commander  Kirkland's  letter  contained  a  request  from  Mr. 
Bliss  that  he  would  delay  the  departure  of  the  Wasp  a  suffi- 
cient time  for  me  to  deliver  to  the  Paraguayan  authorities  the 
documents,  letters,  etc.,  alluded  to,  and  enclosed  a  duplicate  of 
his  letter  to  me.  The  letter  which  Bliss  had  sent  to  me  ad- 
dressed "  Henry  Bliss,  Esq.,  New  York,"  I  saw  at  a  glance 
was  for  a  mythical  person.  It  explained  the  whole  story  of 
the  circumstances  under  which  it  had  been  written,  though 
for  my  part  I  needed  no  explanation.  The  letter  was  in  these 
words  :  — 

"PARAGUAY,  September  11, 1868. 
"  HENRY  BLISS,  ESQ. 

"  DEAR  FATHER,  —  I  feel  myself  under  an  obligation  to  inform  you 
that  the  letter  which  you  will  receive  through  Mr.  Washburn,  dated 
the  5th  instant,  is  utterly  unreliable  in  all  its  details,  for  the  reason 
that  it  was  written  at  the  command  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  for  the 
only  object  of  clearing  him  from  the  true  charges  made  against  him 
by  the  conspirators,  who  have  given  in  their  truthful  testimony  before 
the  tribunals.  Mr.  Washburn  demanded  of  me  that  letter,  in  order 
to  publish  it  in  self-justification,  when  the  fact  of  the  case  is  that  Mr. 
Washburn  has  not  only  been  the  head  of  a  revolution  here,  but  has 
by  his  influence  and  commands,  taking  advantage  of  his  official  posi- 
tion, involved  me  in  a  co-operation  to  some  extent  in  his  plans,  for 
which  I  am  truly  sorry,  and  deposit  all  my  hopes  of  pardon  in  the 
magnanimity  of  Marshal  Lopez.  I  have  written  from  the  same  point 
of  view  two  other  letters,  one  to  the  New  York  World,  and  another 
to  William  T.  Goodfellow,  of  Buenos  Aires,  both  of  which  are  to  be 
considered  in  the  same  light  as  that  to  you,  and  I  do  not  write  to 
rectify  them  solely  from  lack  of  time.  I  hope  you  will  not  be  de- 
ceived into  accepting  as  facts  the  statements  in  the  letter  referred 
to,  but  will  believe  that  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Washburn  has  been  in 
this  matter  worthy  the  highest  execration,  and  I  hope  that  you  will 
give  publicity  to  the  present  rectification. 

"  Your  affectionate  son, 

"  PORTER  C.  BLISS." 


LETTER  FROM  MASTERMAN.         445 

As  I  knew  that  Henry  Bliss  was  not  the  name  of  the  father 
of  the  writer  of  this  letter,  but  that  his  father  was  the  Rev. 
Asher  Bliss,  of  Cattaraugus  County,  New  York,  it  was  clear 
that  Bliss  had  resorted  to  this  subterfuge  at  the  last  moment 
in  order  to  show,  not  only  to  me,  but  to  others,  that  he  was 
writing  under  duress. 

Masterman,  I  may  remark,  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
me,  which  for  some  reason  I  never  received.  I  found  it 
published  afterwards,  however,  by  the  Paraguayan  govern- 
ment :  — 

"  September  12,  1868. 

"  MY  DEAR  MOTHER,  —  In  my  letter  to  you  of  the  8th  instant,  sent 
through  Mr.  Washburn,  I  mentioned  the  terrible  conspiracy  to  de- 
stroy the  government  of  Paraguay  and  its  President,  who  by  his  skill 
and  bravery  in  this  war  has  defied  the  power  of  Brazil  and  gained  a 
reputation  unexampled.  The  conspiracy  was  suggested  and  cheer- 
fully arranged  by  Mr.  Washburn,  who  was  in  league  with  the  enemy. 
As  I  was  living  in  his  house,  I  could  not  help  hearing  about  it ;  and 
I  am  sorry  I  did  not  denounce  him  to  the  government,  but  I  have 
done  all  I  could  to  make  up  for  the  neglect.  I  have  candidly  con- 
fessed all  I  know  of  this  terrible  business,  and  I  hope  I  shall  be 
pardoned  by  the  President.  I  hope  my  life  may  be  spared  so  I  may 
see  you  again. 

"  Your  affectionate  son, 

"  GEORGE." 

Kirkland,  upon  reading  the  letter  from  Bliss,  said  to  me  : 
"  This  man  must  be  a  fool.  Does  he  think  I  am  going  to 
stop  the  steamer  here  for  him  ;  that  I  will  delay  for  his 
accommodation  ? "  I  instantly  told  him  that  both  these  let- 
ters from  Bliss  had  been  written  at  the  dictation  of  Lopez, 
and  undoubtedly  their  author  had  been  most  cruelly  tortured 
in  order  to  compel  him  to  write  them  ;  that  he  should  pay  no 
attention  to  his  letter,  as  I  knew  that  Bliss  neither  expected 
nor  desired  it. 

I  hastily  finished  my  letter  to  Lopez,  and  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible had  it  copied.  I  give  it  here  entire  :  — 


446  PARAGUAY. 

"  United  States  Steamer  Wasp,  off  Angostura,  River  Paraguay, 
September  12,  1868. 

"  To  his  Excellency  Marshal  Lopez,  President  of  Paraguay. 

"  SIR,  —  When  Captain  Kirkland  was  about  leaving  this  vessel 
yesterday  to  bid  farewell  to  your  Excellency,  I  gave  him  a  memo- 
randum of  certain  things  to  which  I  requested  him  to  call  your 
attention.  Captain  Kirkland  informs  me  that  on  reaching  your 
head-quarters  he  found  he  had  omitted  to  take  this  memorandum 
with  him,  and  therefore  was  unable  to  comply  fully  with  my  request, 
having  only  given  the  paper  a  hasty  perusal.  I  therefore  take  the 
liberty,  at  the  moment  of  my  departure,  of  deviating  from  diplomatic 
customs,  and  sending  a  personal  note  directed  to  your  Excellency. 
In  this  memorandum  I  suggested  that  he  might  show  you  a  letter 
from  General  Webb,  our  Minister  in  Rio,  from  which  it  would  ap- 
pear that  he  had  almost  come  to  a  rupture  with  that  government,  by 
reason  of  its  refusal  to  permit  this  vessel  to  pass  above  the  squadron. 
This  he  had  done  on  his  own  responsibility,  without  waiting  for 
orders  from  the  United  States  government,  which,  on  hearing  of  the 
outrage,  has  doubtless  taken  the  most  energetic  measures  to  enforce 
its  rights  and  extricate  its  Minister  from  a  most  frightful  position. 
This  letter,  which  you  saw,  proves  how  much  truth  there  was  in  the 
declaration  of  your  ex-Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Jose  Berges,  that 
I  was  in  collusion  with  General  Webb,  and  in  the  interest  and  pay 
of  the  Brazilians. 

"  I  have  in  my  possession  several  letters  for  Dr.  Carreras,  which  I 
yesterday  requested  Captain  Kirkland  to  deliver,  but  which  he  re- 
fused to  do  unless  I  would  open  them,  lest  he  too  should  be  accused 
of  conveying  treasonable  correspondence.  I  herewith  send  the  let- 
ters, however,  as  I  do  not  believe  that  any  treasonable  correspond- 
ence has  ever  passed  through  my  hands  for  or  to  anybody.  In 
fact  I  do  not  believe  there  has  ever  been  any  conspiracy. 

"The  declarations  of  Berges,  your  two  brothers  Venancio  and 
Benigno,  and  Sr.  Urdapilleta,  as  given  in  the  notes  of  your  last  two 
Ministers  of  Foreign  Relations,  in  so  far  as  they  implicate  me  of 
having  any  knowledge  of  a  conspiracy,  are  entirely  false,  and  you 
know  it ;  and  you  know  that  not  one  of  them  would  confirm  or  affirm 
the  declaration  imputed  to  him  if  he  were  out  of  your  power,  but 
would  deny  it  in  toto,  and  declare  that  he  had  never  made  it,  or  that 
he  had  done  so  under  torture.  Declarations  of  that  kind,  your 


A   PARTHIAN   ARROW.  447 

Excellency  ought  to  know,  will  have  no  weight  outside  of  Paraguay. 
Not  one  word  of  them  will  be  believed ;  and  that  all  may  not  be  de- 
nied by  them,  you  must  not  only  kill  all  the  persons  who  have 
made  them,  but  all  by  whom  they  were  extorted. 

"  Before  finally  leaving  Paraguay  it  is  my  duty  to  make  my  solemn 
protest  against  the  arrest  of  those  two  members  of  my  Legation, 
Porter  Cornelius  Bliss  and  George  F.  Masterman.  Their  arrest  in 
the  street,  as  they  were  going  with  me  from  the  Legation  to  pass  on 
board  the  steamer,  was  as  gross  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations 
as  would  have  been  their  seizure  by  force  in  my  house.  It  was  an 
act  not  only  against  my  government,  but  against  all  civilized  powers, 
and  places  Paraguay  outside  the  pale  of  the  family  of  nations ;  and 
for  this  act  you  will  be  regarded  as  a  common  enemy,  one  denying 
allegiance  to  the  laws  of  nations. 

"  You  will  also  be  regarded  as  a  common  enemy  for  having  seized 
and  made  prisoners  and  loaded  with  fetters  nearly  all  the  foreign- 
ers in  Paraguay,  and  afterwards  entered  their  houses  and  taken 
away  their  money  on  the  miserable  pretext,  that,  finding  less  in  your 
treasury  than  you  expected,  those  who  had  any  money  in  the  country 
must  therefore  have  robbed  it  from  the  government. 

"  Your  threat  to  Captain  Kirkland,  on  his  first  arrival,  that  you 
would  keep  me  a  prisoner  in  the  country,  will  be  duly  represented  to 
my  government ;  and  I  only  wish  to  confirm  his  reply  to  you,  that 
had  you  done  so  my  government  would  have  hunted  you,  not  only 
through  all  South  America,  but  throughout  Europe. 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN." 

I  enclosed  this  with  a  brief  note  to  Bliss,  which  I  did 
not  suppose  he  would  ever  be  permitted  to  see,  stating  that 
I  had  nothing  in  my  possession  belonging  to  him,  and  there- 
fore should  send  nothing,  and  requesting  him  to  deliver 
the  accompanying  letter  to  President  Lopez  with  his  own 
hand. 

As  I  was  writing  that  note  I  had  little  doubt  that,  if  Lopez 
should  receive  and  read  it  before  the  Wasp  was  below  his 
batteries,  in  his  rage  and  fury  he  would  fire  upon  her.  But  I 
was  then  under  the  American  flag  and  in  a  national  gunboat, 
and  I  knew  that  if  he  sunk  the  vessel  and  destroyed  us  all  we 


PARAGUAY. 

should  not  die  unavenged.  He  could  not  then  fabricate  a 
version  of  the  affair  that  could  justify  him  or  avert  from  him 
a  terrible  retribution.  He  had  not  the  power  to  destroy  all 
the  witnesses  and  blot  out  the  entire  record  as  he  had  while 
I  was  yet  in  Asuncion.  I  said  nothing  to  Commander  Kirk- 
land,  however,  in  regard  to  the  danger  which  such  a  letter 
would  provoke  if  received  by  Lopez  while  we  were  yet  under 
his  guns.  But  before  we  were  ready  to  start,  or  my  letter 
had  been  delivered,  we  were  informed  that  a  small  steamer 
with  a  flag  of  truce  would  accompany  us  below  the  Paraguayan 
fortifications  and  to  within  sight  of  the  Brazilian  squadron. 
The  letter  accordingly  was  not  delivered  until  we  had  passed 
all  the  Paraguayan  batteries,  and  the  flag-of-truce  boat  had 
turned  up  the  river,  where  it  was  detained  for  a  moment,  and 
a  boat  from  the  Wasp  put  off  to  deliver  this  Parthian  arrow. 
In  this  opinion,  that  Lopez  would  have  fired  on  the  Wasp  had 
he  received  that  letter  in  time  to  have  done  so,  I  was  con- 
firmed by  the  first  letters  which  I  received,  both  from  Dr. 
Stewart  and  Colonel  Thompson,  after  they  had  escaped  from 
the  power  of  Lopez.  Colonel  Thompson  wrote  me  very  soon 
after  he  was  taken  prisoner,  that,  had  Lopez  received  that  letter 
while  the  Wasp  was  yet  above  his  lower  batteries,  he  himself, 
being  in  command  of  them,  would  have  had  orders  to  sink  the 
vessel.  Dr.  Stewart,  who  was  near  Lopez  at  the  time,  also,  in 
the  very  first  letter  which  he  wrote  me  after  escaping  from 
Paraguay,  alluded  to  the  narrow  escape  of  the  Wasp,  and  said 
that,  had  my  letter  been  received  in  time,  all  the  Paraguayan 
guns  that  could  have  been  brought  to  bear  against  her  in  her 
descent  of  the  river  would  have  opened  upon  her. 

Bliss  and  Masterman  have  both  in  published  statements 
given  their  experience  of  those  times,  and  I  will  give  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  Mr.  Masterman's  book  of  his  experience 
during  the  first  days  after  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  Lopez ; 
and  as  in  all  its  parts  it  agrees  with  the  statements  of  Mr. 
Bliss,  and  is  otherwise  corroborated,  I  believe  it  is  literally 
correct. 

The  manner  in  which  they  were  taken  from  me  when  I  left 


MASTERMAN   AS    A   PRISONER.  449 

the  Legation  has  been  already  described.  Their  subsequent 
treatment  I  give  in  Masterman's  own  words :  — 

"We — that  is,  Mr.  Bliss,  the  negro  Baltazar,  and  myself — were  sur- 
rounded by  about  thirty  policemen,  who  with  shouts  and  yells  ordered 
us  to  march  down  to  the  Policia,  ....  When  we  reached  the  office 
we  were  halted  in  the  road,  and  kept  standing  there  about  an  hour; 
then  the  negro  was  taken  within,  after  some  time  Mr.  Bliss,  and  lastly 
myself.  I  found  the  Chief  of  Police  seated  in  the  corridor,  with  a 
group  of  his  savage  myrmidons  around  him ;  he  looked  at  me  in 
silence  for  some  minutes,  and  then  by  a  gesture  ordered  me  to  be 
stripped.  My  clothes  were  most  strictly  and  systematically  ex- 
amined, the  lining  torn  out,  and  every  fold  ripped  up.  My  little 
packets  of  quinine  were  of  course  discovered,  pounced  upon  with  a 
shout  of  triumph  by  the  men,  and  put  carefully  on  one  side.  My 
handkerchief,  cravat,  and  money  were  taken  from  me,  the  rest  re- 
turned. I  was  then  told  to  sit  down,  that  fetters  might  be  riveted 
on  my  ankles,  and  afterwards  taken  through  a  side  court  and  thrust 

into  a  cell About  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  door 

opened  ;  a  sergeant  and  two  men  entered  with  a  lantern  ;  one  car- 
ried a  hammer  and  a  small  anvil,  the  other  a  set  of  irons The 

fetters  I  was  wearing  were  removed,  and  the  massive  bar  the  man 
bore  on  his  shoulder  was  riveted  in  their  place.  Two  rough  iron 
loops,  with  eyes  at  their  extremities,  were  first  placed  over  my  an- 
kles ;  then  the  bar,  which  was  about  eighteen  inches  in  length  and 
two  in  diameter,  was  thrust  through  the  eyes,-  and  an  iron  wedge,  with 
many  a  blow  of  the  heavy  hammer,  riveted  firmly  at  one  end,  whilst 
a  broad  knob  secured  it  at  the  other.  Thus  fettered,  it  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  that  I  staggered  to  my  feet,  a*nd  then  sat  down 
again,  scarcely  able  to  bear  the  weight.  I  had  previously  heard  them 
riveting  similar  irons  on  my  companions.  A  short  time  afterwards 
the  sergeant  reappeared,  and  motioned  me  in  silence  to  follow  him. 
I  did  so.  He  led  me  to  the  front  of  the  Policia,  where,  by  the  light 
of  some  lanterns,  I  saw  Mr.  Bliss  and  Baltazar  mounted  sideways 
on  mules,  and  waiting  for  me. 

I  was  lifted  into  the  saddle,  for  the  thirty  or  more  pounds'  weight 

of  my  fetters  prevented  me  even  raising  a  foot  from  the  ground 

I  soon  found  to  my  dismay  that  Villeta  was  our  destination,  a  dis- 
tance of  thirty-five  miles I  begged  the  sergeant  to  let  us  travel 

as  slowly  as  possible  ;  for  at  every  step  the  heavy  bar  swung  back- 

VOL.  ii.  29 


450  PARAGUAY. 

wards  and  forwards,  and  a  jolt  was  agonizing.  He  did  so ;  but  once, 
in  descending  a  steep  slope,  the  mules  broke  into  a  trot.  In  trying 
to  steady  the  bar,  I  lost  my  balance,  and  fell  to  the  ground.  I  was 
tied  to  the  girths,  and,  unable  to  extricate  myself,  was  dragged  for 
some  distance  head  downwards,  the  mule  kicking  viciously  the 
while.  Fortunately  the  only  damage  was  a  deep  cut  in  the  ankle 
and  a  few  bruises." 

Of  that  night's  journey,  Mr.  Bliss  *  testified  as  follows  be- 
fore the  Congressional  Committee  of  Investigation  :  — 

"  The  sufferings  of  that  night  to  all  of  us  were  such  as  I  never  en- 
dured in  an  equal  period  before  or  since,  though  I  was  subsequently 
put  to  the  torture  on  various  occasions ;  but  the  tortures  to  which  we 
were  subjected  were  tolerable,  when  compared  with  the  agony  we 

suffered  on  that  fearful  night The  weight  of  the  fetters  on  my 

ankles  had  become  excruciating  torture,  until  I  nearly  fainted,  but 
nevertheless  was  obliged  to  maintain  my  position,  still  without  food 

or  relief,  until  noon  of  the  next  day I  fell  off  several  times,  and 

was  dragged  a  considerable  distance  by  the  horse  I  rode." 

On  arriving  near  Villeta  they  were  helped  to  dismount, 
when  they  fell  exhausted,  and  more  dead  than  alive,  to  the 
ground.  Masterman's  narrative  continues :  — 

"  An  alferez  harshly  told  me  to  stand  up ;  I  tried,  but  the  weight 
of  my  irons  threw  me  on  my  face.  He  drew  his  sword  and  struck 
me  heavily  with  the  flat  of  it,  and  a  corporal  came  up  and  thrashed 
me  with  his  stick,  until,  by  a  violent  effort,  I  staggered  to  my  feet.  A 
few  paces  off  was  g  square  space  enclosed  with  hide  ropes ;  I  was 
told  to  go  within  it ;  and  then,  too  fatigued  to  notice  the  poor 
wretches,  my  fellow-prisoners,  I  threw  myself  on  the  bare  ground, 
and  fell  almost  immediately  into  a  deep  sleep.  Late  in  the  after- 
noon I  was  awakened  by  a  blow  with  a  stick,  and  told  to  rise  and 
march  towards  a  little  grove  of  orange-trees,  about  half  a  mile  off. 
Aching  in  every  limb,  I  obeyed,  and,  supporting  my  fetters  with  a 
strip  of  hide,  moved  with  pain  and  difficulty  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated as  fast  as  my  bruised  and  bleeding  feet  would  carry  me.  A 
caboy  or  corporal,  followed,  armed  with  a  bayonet  and  a  stick.  '  Go 
faster!'  he  shouted  every  moment;  I  tried,  but  in  vain,  to  do  so. 

*  Paraguayan  Investigation,  p.  138. 


BEFORE   THE  TRIBUNAL.  451 

He  thrashed  me  savagely  with  his  stick  over  my  shoulders  and  arms, 
knocked  me  down  twice,  and  beat  me  more  cruelly  for  falling.  At 
last,  bruised  and  breathless,  I  reached  a  group  of  little  huts,  made 
of  branches  and  reeds,  and  placed  in  two  rows.  I  saw  Mr.  Bliss  and 
Baltazar  taken  separately  on  one  side ;  I  went  to  the  other,  and 
entered  the  farthest  hut.  Within  it  was  seated  an  old  captain, 
named  Falcon,  and  a  priest,  who,  as  I  afterwards  found,  acted  as 
secretary. 

"  The  former  signed  me  to  enter,  and  after  scrutinizing  me  for  a 
few  minutes,  said,  'Ah  !  we  have  got  you  at  last.  Now  confess  that 
Washburn  is  the  chief  of  the  conspirators,  and  that  you  took  refuge 
in  the  Legation  for  the  purpose  of  plotting  against  the  government.' 
I  replied,  calmly,  that  I  had  no  confession  to  make ;  that  I  had 
never  plotted  against  the  government,  but  had  done  all  in  my  power 
to  serve  the  Paraguayans ;  that  I  was  sure  that  Mr.  Washburn  was 
quite  innocent  of  the  crimes  alleged  against  him ;  and  I  explained 
in  a  few  words  under  what  circumstances  I  had  entered  his  service. 
He  heard  me  with  many  marks  of  impatience,  to  the  end,  and  then 
said,  '  You  will  not  confess ? '  'I  have  no  confession  to  make.' ' Con- 
fess,' he  repeated,  'or  I  will  see  if  we  cannot  make  you.'  Then  turning 
to  the  priest,  he  told  him  to  take  me  out  and  put  me  in  the  rack 
(pofro).  He  took  me  behind  the  hut,  but  close  to  it,  so  that  Falcon 
within  could  hear  all  that  passed.  I  prayed  silently  for  strength  to 
bear  this  trial,  and  then  looked  round  for  the  implements  of  torture, 
but  found  that  these  savages,  like  those  in  '  The  Last  of  the  Mohi- 
cans,' ought  to  have  expressed  regret  that  their  means  of  inflicting 
pain  were  so  primitive  At  this  call  the  corporal  and  two  soldiers 
came  forward,  carrying  a  bundle  of  muskets  and  strips  of  hide.  I 
was  told  to  seat  myself  on  the  ground,  with  my  knees  raised ;  I  did 
so,  and  was  again  asked,  '  Will  you  confess  ? '  '  No,  I  am  innocent.' 

"One  of  the  men  tied  my  arms  tightly  behind  me,  the  other 
passed  a  musket  under  my  knees,  and  then  putting  his  foot  between 
my  shoulders  forced  my  head  down  until  my  throat  rested  on  the 
lower  musket ;  a  second  was  put  over  the  back  of  my  neck,  and 
they  were  firmly  lashed  together.  They  left  me  so  for  some  time, 
striking  the  butt-ends  of  the  fire-locks  occasionally  with  a  mallet ;  the 
priest  meanwhile,  in  a  monotonous  voice,  as  if  he  were  repeating  a 
formula  he  had  often  gone  through,  urged  me  to  confess,  and  '  re- 
ceive the  mercy  of  the  kind  and  generous  Marshal  Lopez.'  I  made 


452  PARAGUAY. 

no  reply,  but  suffered  the  intense  pain  they  were  inflicting  in  silence. 
At  length  they  unbound  me,  and  I  was  asked  once  more,  'Will  you 
confess  ? '  I  replied  in  the  negative.  They  bound  me  up  as  before, 
but  with  two  muskets  at  the  back  of  my  neck.  As  they  were  tight- 
ening the  cords,  I  threw  my  head  forward  to  avoid  the  pressure  on 
my  throat,  and  my  iips  were  badly  cut  and  bruised  against  the  lower 
musket ;  the  blood  almost  choked  me,  and  I  fainted  from  the  excru- 
ciating pain. 

"  When  I  recovered  I  was  lying  on  the  grass  utterly  exhausted, 
and  felt  that  I  could  bear  no  more  ;  that  it  would  be  far  preferable 
to  make  a  pretended  confession,  and  be  shot,  than  suffer  such  cruel 
torture.  So,  as  they  were  about  to  again  apply  the  uruguayana, 
as  it  is  called  by  them,  I  said,  '  I  am  guilty ;  I  will  confess ' ;  and 
they  immediately  unbound  me.  The  priest  said,  '  Why  were  you 
such  an  obstinate  fool  ?  Your  companion  Bliss  was  only  threatened 
with  the  torture,  and  confessed  at  once.' ....  I  heard  poor  Baltazar 
loudly  praying  for  mercy  several  times,  and  now  the  sounds  of  heavy 
blows,  each  followed  by  a  shriek  from  him,  proved  how  much  more 
they  were  prepared  to  inflict  upon  us ;  they  were  smashing  his  fin- 
gers with  a  mallet ;  I  pitied  him  very  much,  for  he  knew  nothing 
whatever  about  the  pretended  plot,  nor  the  charges  against  his 
master,  and  could  not  save  himself,  even  by  protesting  that  he  was 
guilty. 

"  I  drank  some  water  and  tried  to  eat  a  little  meat  they  offered 
me,  but  could  not,  and  then,  returning  within  the  hut,  I  told  as  well 
as  I  could  remember  it,  the  same  miserable  story  that  had  been 
wrested  from  Carreras,  Berges,  Benigno  Lopez,  and  the  rest  whose 
depositions  I  had  read  with  Mr.  Washburn.  There  was  no  help  for 
it,  but  God  knows  with  what  agony  and  shame  I  repeated  that 
wretched  tissue  of  fables  and  misrepresentations.  I  felt  that  I  ought 
rather  to  have  suffered  any  martyrdom  than  purchase  life  on  such 
terms,  and  until  I  was  put  to  the  torture  I  hoped  and  believed  I 
should  have  done  so  ;  it  was  that,  however,  and  not  death,  I  feared. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  for  three  months  I  had  suffered  great 
anxiety,  daily  expecting  to  be  arrested  ;  that  I  had  heard  how  merci- 
lessly those  who  refused  to  confess  had  been  mangled  before  exe- 
cution ;  that  I  had  had  a  long  and  painful  journey ;  and  that  I  had 
been  almost  without  food  for  two  days.  On  the  other  hand,  I  could 
do  but  little  wrong  to  the  accused.  Mr.  Washburn  was  safe  on  board 


CONFESSIONS.  453 

the  Wasp ;  Rodriguez,  Gomez  (late  the  Mayor-de-Plaza),  Bedoya, 
Barrios,  and  Gonzales  had  already  been  shot  or  died  ;  and  as  to 
the  others,  I  could  only  repeat  what  I  had  heard  of  their  own  dep- 
ositions. .  . 

"  During  my  examination  several  officers  came  in From 

the  conversation  of  these  men  I  gathered  several  valuable  hints  as  to 
the  course  I  had  best  adopt,  and  especially  that  the  more  I  abused 
Mr.  Washburn  the  better.  I  also  ascertained  incidentally  that  he 
was  then  on  board  the  Wasp,  and  that  I  could  not  therefore  en- 
danger his  safety  by  anything  I  should  say  against  him. 

"  Late  at  night  a  priest  named  Roman  came  in  ;  he  looked  at  me, 
with  a  malicious  smile  playing  round  his  mouth  for  some  time,  and 
then  asked  for  my  deposition.  Falcon,  who  was  evidently  in  great 
awe  of  him,  handed  over  the  papers.  He  read  them  through,  was 
about  to  tear  them  in  pieces,  but  restrained  himself  and  threw  them 
contemptuously  on  the  table,  saying,  '  Que  miserables  disparates ! ' 
('  What  wretched  trash ! ')  Then  turning  to  me,  '  Are  these  your 
revelations  ?  Now,  look  you.  I  go  for  a  short  ride,  and  if  on  my 
return  I  do  not  find  that  you  have  confessed  clearly  that  the  great 
beast  (gran  bestia},  Washburn,  is  the  chief  conspirator,  that  he  was 
in  treaty  with  Caxias,  and  that  he  received  money  and  letters  from 
the  enemy,  and  that  you  knew  it,  I  will  put  you  in  the  uruguayana, 
and  keep  you  there  till  you  do 

"  The  clanking  of  my  irons  as  I  move  uneasily  on  my  hard  seat 
calls  the  attention  of  the  '  fiscal '  to  the  business  in  hand.  '  Come, 
Masterman,'  he  says,  not  unkindly,  'let  us  have  the  whole  of  the 
story  ;  tell  us  how  the  great  beast  intended  to  destroy  us  all.'  He 
puts  on  his  spectacles  again  and  writes  down  my  words  in  a  con- 
densed form  on  a  spare  piece  of  paper,  for  he  likes  to  amplify  them 
himself  without  any  particular  attention  to  what  I  did  say ;  but  I 
am  too  tired  to  object  and  protest  as  I  did  at  first,  and  am  not  sure 
but  that  it  is  better  to  let  him  do  as  he  likes.  'The  criminal,  having 
confessed  freely  and  voluntarily  his  guilt,'  he  begins  to  dictate  to 
his  secretary,  the  awkward  subject  of  torture  being  kept  in  the 
shade,  '  and  having  been  solemnly  admonished  by  the  Senores  Fis- 
dlles  to  tell  the  whole  of  the  truth  now,  in  order  to  relieve  his 
burdened  conscience,  deposes  that  Washburn  was  the  originator 
and  chief  mover  in  the  plot,'  and  so  on  through  two  sheets  of  closely 
written  foolscap.  I  got  on  swimmingly  for  a  time,  but  presently  I 


454  PARAGUAY. 

was  asked  how   much    money   Washburn  had  paid   me.     'Not  a 

rial,'  I  answered,  stoutly,  and  truly  enough Thus  I  had  had 

many  disputes  with  Mr.  Washburn  on  political  and  literary  subjects. 
....  I  magnified  these  into  quarrels,  and  put  it  to  them  as  rea- 
sonable men  if  it  were  likely  that  a  person  who  regarded  me  as  an 
enemy,  and  who  had  retained  me  in  his  house  because  he  needed 
my  professional  services,  would  place  his  life  in  my  hands  by  con- 
fiding such  a  secret  fully  to  my  keeping. 

"  I  went  on  to  remind  Falcon  how  much  I  owed  to  Mr.  Washburn  ; 
that  he  had  obtained  my  release  from  prison,  and  had  taken  me  for 
his  medical  attendant  when  the  government  had  refused  me  a  license 
to  practise,  and  for  that  reason  I  had  not  denounced  him  to  the 
police.  For  although  I  was  a  devoted  friend  of  the  Paraguayans 
(and  there  I  spoke  truthfully  enough),  I  felt  so  grateful  to  him  that 
I  could  not  ruin  him,  a  man  who  had  befriended  me.  I  took 
shame  to  myself,  and  repented  greatly  of  my  obstinacy  in  compel- 
ling my  judges  to  put  me  to  the  torture,  when  I  ought  to  have  de- 
clared the  truth  months  before ;  but  they  must  remember  that  I  was 
distracted  between  obligations  to  the  state  and  to  him." 

This  treatment,  which  was  bestowed  with  much  impartial- 
ity on  both  Bliss  and  Masterman,  was  that  which  they  received 
on  the  day  following  their  arrest.  It  seems  that  they  were 
brought  to  head-quarters  and  immediately  tortured  and  ex- 
amined, with  the  purpose  of  compelling  them  to  disclose  be- 
fore the  departure  of  the  Wasp  what  they  had  written  to 
their  friends.  Having  admitted  that  they  had  sent  letters  by 
me,  they  were  ordered  to  write  others  also  to  be  taken  by  me, 
declaring  that  their  first  letters  had  been  written  under  com- 
pulsion and  at  my  dictation,  whereas  the  letters  they  then 
wrote  were  free  and  spontaneous,  and  what,  having  escaped 
from  my  power  and  influence,  a  sense  of  duty  induced  them 
to  write.  Bliss's  letter,  as  given  before,  he  was  compelled  to 
write  over  five  separate  times  before  it  met  entirely  the  views 
of  Lopez.  More  properly  it  was  Lopez's  letter,  and  Master- 
man's  letter  was  written  also  while  the  fetters  were  on  his 
ankles,  with  a  soldier  over  him,  and  in  such  terms  as  suited 
the  purpose  of  Lopez.  They  had  little  hesitation  in  regard 
to  those  letters,  so  far  as  they  themselves  were  concerned,  for 


LOPEZ'S  FRIENDSHIP  FOR  THE  UNITED  STATES.   455 

they  knew  that  I  should  understand  under  what  circumstances 
they  had  been  written.  We  had  all  anticipated  that  something 
of  the  kind  might  be  done  ;  and  under  that  anticipation  I  had 
advised  them,  if  necessary  to  save  their  lives,  to  admit  any- 
thing whatever  so  far  as  I  was  concerned.  According  to  the 
narratives  of  both,  they  were  subjected  simultaneously  to  the 
same  treatment.  When  first  questioned  as  to  their  knowl- 
edge of  any  conspiracy  or  plot,  both  of  them  declared  that 
they  were  ignorant  of  anything  of  the  kind,  and  the  tor- 
tures were  applied  to  make  them  confess.  At  first  they  as- 
serted that  they  had  nothing  to  confess,  —  that  they  knew 
nothing.  They  were  told,  however,  that  it  was  useless  for 
them  to  deny  anything ;  that  the  government  was  already 
informed  of  everything  ;  and  in  order  to  induce  them  to 
yield,  as  they  were  both  being  examined  at  the  same  time 
at  a  considerable  distance  apart,  each  was  told  that  the 
other  had  already  confessed,  and  had  admitted  that  he  was  a 
conspirator,  and  that  the  other  was  equally  so.  Masterman 
when  told  this  was  very  indignant  that  his  fellow-sufferer 
should  so  easily  give  in,  and  not  only  confess  to  what  was 
false,  but  should  inculpate  him.  Bliss,  who  still  retained  his 
self-possession,  saw  at  once  through  the  trick  when  told  that 
Masterman  had  confessed,  and  did  not  give  in  till  afterwards. 
The  matter  of  priority,  however,  was  of  little  consequence  ; 
they  were  both  compelled  to  yield  at  last ;  and  as  they  had 
no  idea  of  what  they  were  expected  to  admit  or  to  avow 
a  knowledge  of,  they  could  only  judge  from  the  questions 
that  were  put  to  them  what  answers  were  desired. 

These  two  gentlemen,  members  of  the  American  Legation, 
were  subjected  to  the  dreadful  tortures  which  have  been  de- 
scribed on  the  very  day  subsequent  to  my  departure  from  Asun- 
cion, while  the  Wasp  was  yet  lying  in  the  river  in  front  of  Vil- 
leta,  and  at  the  very  moment  that  Commander  Kirkland  was 
holding  an  interview  with  President  Lopez,  in  which  interview, 
while  expressing  great  dissatisfaction  with  my  course,  the 
tyrant  was  professing  the  greatest  regard  and  respect  for  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States,  and  declaring 


456  PARAGUAY. 

his  intention  to  do  everything  in  his  power  to  maintain 
friendly  relations  with  them. 

On  entering  the  open  space  in  which  he  was  to  be  con- 
fined as  a  prisoner,  after  having  undergone  the  torture  de- 
scribed, and  confessed  to  his  complicity  in  the  conspiracy, 
Masterman  thus  proceeds  :  — 

"  Within  a  space  on  the  gently  sloping  hillside  which  had  been 
roughly  cleared  from  brushwood,  and  about  a  hundred  feet  square, 
lay  forty  prisoners  ;  and  on  all  sides,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  were 
similar  enclosures  tenanted  in  the  same  way.  The  nearest  was 
somewhat  luxurious,  for  each  prisoner  had  a  little  straw  kennel  to 
lie  down  in ;  and  there  I  saw  Don  Venancio,  the  President's  eldest 
brother,  and  Captain  Fidanza,  an  old  friend  of  Mr.  Washburn  ;  the 
rest  were  officers,  some  of  high  rank.  I  have  said  that  Dr.  Carreras 
lay  next  to  me  during  the  night ;  I  was  removed  some  distance  from 
him  in  the  morning  ;  but  he  had  time  to  whisper,  '  Has  Mr.  Wash- 
burn  gone  ? '  '  Yes.'  He  was  about  to  ask  other  questions  when 
a  sentry  noticed  us  and  growled,  '  Hold  your  tongue.'  The  doctor 
was  a  pitiable  object,  indeed  so  changed  that  I  could  scarcely  be- 
lieve that  the  wretched  creature  before  me  was  really  he.  Ema- 
ciated, travel  and  blood  stained,  he  was  but  a  shadow  of  his  former 
self.  For  two  months  he  had  been  lying  as  I  saw  him,  in  the  open 
air,  with  no  shelter  from  the  sun  or  rain  but  a  blanket.  He  had 
rolled  it  up  for  a  seat,  and  was  furtively  watching  me  and  trying 

to  form  questions  by  the  motion  of  his  lips Taylor,  the 

master  mason  and  builder  of  the  new  palace,  of  whose  arrest  we 
had  no  knowledge  while  in  the  Legation,  looked  at  me  and  raised  his 
hands  with  a  gesture  of  commiseration,  but  did  not  dare  to  give  any 
other  sign  of  recognition.  In  the  centre  of  the  prison  encampment, 
or  guardia,  as  the  natives  term  it,  was  a  row  of  priests,  I  think  eight 
in  number ;  they  were  all  in  irons,  and  must  have  been  recently 
brought  in,  for  their  long  cloth  cloaks  were  little  worn  ;  then  some 
prisoners  of  war,  —  there  were  a  major  and  three  captains  among 
them,  as  I  learnt  when  our  names  were  called  over ;  they  were 
not  fettered,  but  were  in  the  last  stage  of  misery,  almost,  some  quite, 
covered  with  wounds,  and  the  majority  too  feeble  to  walk  ;  and  last- 
ly a  group  of  felons,  distinguished  by  a  single  iron  ring  on  the 
right  ankle.  These  looked  scarcely  human,  were  without  a  rag  of 
clothing,  and  generally  lay  in  a  huddled  heap  on  the  ground 


TREATMENT  OF   PRISONERS.  457 

In  our  rear  was  the  kitchen,  that  is,  a  large  iron  pot  set  over  a  fire 
in  the  open  air ;  there  a  stalwart  negro,  assisted  by  several  prison- 
ers, prepared  the  food  for  all  the  guardias  around,  and  little  enough 
it  was,  —  a  small  allowance  of  boiled  meat  and  broth  in  the  morning, 
and  at  night  a  handful  of  parched  maize  and  the  bones  and  scraps 
left  by  the  soldiers.  I  saw  poor  Dr.  Carreras,  once  the  most  influ- 
ential man  in  Uruguay,  an  ex-prime  minister,  eagerly  gnawing  the 
gristle  from  a  few  well-picked  bones,  contemptuously  thrown  him  by 
a  passer-by." 

Such  was  the  treatment  accorded  by  the  tyrant  of  Para- 
guay to  the  two  members  of  the  American  Legation  that  he 
had  forcibly  taken  from  the  protection  of  the  Minister.  The 
details  of  their  treatment,  of  course,  I  did  not  know  then,  but 
the  letter  that  I  had  received  from  Bliss  after  his  seizure  told 
the  whole  story  of  his  torture.  What  could  I  then  do  for  him 
or  Masterman,  was  my  first  thought  on  reaching  the  Wasp. 
They  would,  of  course,  be  treated  with  most  inhuman  cruelty ; 
but  I  knew  that  Lopez  took  too  much  delight  in  the  infliction  of 
pain  to  put  them  speedily  to  death,  and  besides  I  believed  that 
fear  would  restrain  him  from  such  an  act  until  he  might  learn 
whether  or  not  my  government  would  sustain  me  and  demand 
them.  My  last  letter  to  him,  in  which  I  still  claimed  them, 
though  taken  in  the  street,  as  members  of  my  Legation,  and 
denounced  their  seizure  as  the  act  of  a  common  enemy  of  the 
human  race,  would  appeal  to  his  sense  of  fear  ;  and  I  hoped 
that  ere  they  were  executed  an  American  squadron  would 
come  to  their  rescue.  My  first  duty  was  to  hasten  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river  to  give  the  alarm,  and  advise  the  Admiral 
of  the  insult  to  the  flag  and  the  outrage  on  the  Legation. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Final  Departure.  —  Corrientes.  —  Duties  of  Neutrals.  —  Excitement  at  Buenos 
Aires.  —  The  Semanario.  —  Published  Correspondence.  —  Letter  to  the  Eng- 
lish Minister.  —  Hostility  of  the  Allies.  —  The  Wasp  sent  to  the  Seat  of 
War.  —  Refused  a  Passage  through  the  Blockade.  —  Return  to  Montevideo. 
—  General  J.  Watson  Webb.  —  His  Energetic  Action.  —  He  demands  his 
Passports.  —  The  Objections  withdrawn.  —  The  Wasp  returns  to  Paraguay.  — 
Her  Arrival  a  Surprise  to  Lopez.  —  His  Plans  deranged.  —  Indignation  of  the 
Allies.  — Gaucho  Ideas  of  the  Duties  of  a  Neutral  Minister.  —  The  American 
Navy :  the  System  and  the  Practices  under  it.  —  Despotic  Powers  of  the 
Admiral.  —  Rear-Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis.  —  His  Fleet-Captain,  Francis  M 
Ramsey.  —  Difference  of  Opinion  between  the  Admiral  and  General  Webb.  — 
Insulting  Letter  from  the  Admiral.  —  He  shows  his  Independence  by  delay- 
ing the  Departure  of  the  Squadron. 

AT  last  we  were  beyond  the  tyrant's  power.  As  we  passed 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  guns  of  his  fortifications  at  An- 
gostura, the  sense  of  security  to  ourselves  which  we  then  ex- 
perienced brought  more  vividly  than  ever  to  our  minds  the 
situation  of  those  we  had  left  behind.  The  misfortune  that 
had  befallen  Bliss  and  Masterman  was  but  a  single  item  in 
the  catalogue  of  disasters  that  had  happened  to  hundreds  of 
our  friends,  whom  we  should  never  meet  again,  and  of  whom 
we  should  never  learn  anything  more  than  that  they  had  been 
made  to  suffer  the  most  horrible  agonies  that  the  combined 
cruelty  and  avarice  of  Lopez  and  Lynch  could  invent.  Bliss 
and  Masterman  might  escape,  but  of  many  others  in  whom  we 
took  a  deeper  interest  than  in  them  we  were  convinced  we 
should  never  hear  more  than  that  they  had  miserably  perished 
of  torture  and  starvation  or  had  been  executed.  I  had  lived 
for  a  long  time  in  Paraguay,  and  the  people,  without  exception, 
when  acting  of  their  own  impulse,  and  not  under  the  orders  of 
Lopez,  had  always  treated  me  with  kindness,  hospitality,  and 


EXCITEMENT   AT   BUENOS   AIRES.  459 

respect.     Among  all  the  Paraguayans  I  believed  I  had  not  a*/ 
single  enemy  except  Lopez,  and  among  all  the  foreigners  none 
except  Madam  Lynch. 

On  our  way  down  the  river  we  stopped  at  Corrientes,  where 
I  advised  every  one  I  met  that  Lopez  had  arrested  all  the  for-v/ 
eigners  in  Paraguay,  and  had  killed  or  would  kill  them  all  un- 
less the  allies  should  show  more  activity  and  destroy  him  before 
he  had  time  to  carry  his  plan  of  indiscriminate  murder  into 
execution.  I  was  hoping  that  this  information  might  be  known 
to  Caxias  and  the  whole  allied  army,  and  that  it  might  stimu- 
late them  to  move  before  the  whole  people  were  exterminated.  * 
Lopez  had  committed  an  act  of  war  against  the  United  States, 
and  for  it  I  had  denounced  him  as  a  common  enemy.  I  there- 
fore considered  myself  at  full  liberty  to  publish  to  the  world 
any  information  I  might  possess,  and  believed  that  I  was  not 
only  acting  within  the  limits  of  my  official  duty,  but  should 
do  the  world  a  service,  if  I  contributed  to  bring  to  a  speedier 
close  his  murderous  career.  I  observed,  however,  that  Com- 
mander Kirkland  was  extremely  reluctant  to  have  anything 
promulgated  prejudicial  to  Lopez,  giving  as  a  reason  that 
neutral  gunboats  passing  the  military  lines  had  no  right  to 
convey  intelligence  from  one  belligerent  to  the  other. 

On  arriving  at  Buenos  Aires,  the  news  brought  with  us 
caused  the  greatest  excitement.  I  had  scarcely  reached  my 
hotel  before  it  was  overrun  with  people  who  came  anxiously  to 
inquire  for  friends  in  Paraguay.  I  had  but  one  answer  for  all : 
"  Lopez  has  arrested  your  friends,  and  has  either  killed  them 
all  or  holds  them  as  prisoners  loaded  with  fetters.  Their 
wives  and  children,  if  not  arrested,  have  been  driven  to  the 
interior  to  die  of  starvation  and  exposure,  rather  than  that 
they  should  escape  to  tell  the  story  of  his  cruelties." 

I  had  brought  away  with  me  a  file  of  the  Semanario  con- 
taining the  correspondence  between  Benitez  and  myself  until 
Lopez,  finding  that  my  answers  confounded  his  witnesses  and 
showed  them  to  contradict  themselves  and  each  other,  dis- 
continued the  publication.  I  loaned  this  to  an  editor  of  one 
of  the  daily  papers  to  be  republished,  reserving  that  which  had 


460  PARAGUAY. 

not  already  appeared  in  the  Scmanario,  as  it  is  a  rule  of 
the  State  Department  that  official  correspondence  shall  not  be 
published  till  so  authorized  by  the  Secretary.  Commander 
Kirkland  had  brought  another  file  of  Semanarios,  which  had 
been  furnished  by  Lopez,  that  the  correspondence  might  be 
published  in  Buenos  Aires.  A  copy  of  the  long  letter  signed 
by  Caminos,  which  had  not  appeared  in  the  Scmanario,  was 
also  given  to  Kirkland  to  be  published  with  the  rest.  Lopez 
also  ordered  Dr.  Stewart  to  write  a  letter  to  his  brother, 
George  D.  Stewart,  in  Buenos  Aires.  This  letter  was  never 
published,  but  was  shown  to  me  by  the  recipient,  who,  before 
I  read  it,  said  he  hoped  I  would  not  feel  any  unkindness 
towards  his  brother  for  writing  such  a  letter.  I  replied 
no,  I  certainly  should  not.  It  was  Lopez's  letter,  not  Dr. 
Stewart's  ;  and  though  it  might  be  in  the  handwriting  of 
the  latter,  it  had  been  dictated  by  Lopez.  This  letter  pre- 
tended to  give  some  details  of  the  conspiracy  which  we  had 
never  heard  of  before.  Among  other  things  it  said  that  it 
was  a  part  of  the  plan  to  kill  off  the  soldiers  of  the  Republic 
by  poisoning  the  wine  in  the  public  storehouses.  As  there 
was  no  wine  in  the  country  except  that  which  was  closely 
guarded  for  the  use  of  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch,  the  absurd- 
ity of  the  story  would  defeat  the  object  of  the  letter  among 
those  who  knew  anything  of  Paraguay.  But  the  purpose  of 
Lopez  in  having  the  letter  written  was  to  have  it  published 
and  circulated  in  countries  where  people  could  not  know  of 
its  absurdity.  This  letter,  together  with  the  Semanarios  and 
a  manuscript  copy  of  the  long  letter  of  Caminos  to  me,  was 
given  to  Commander  Kirkland,  to  be  made  use  of  for  the 
benefit  of  Lopez  in  Buenos  Aires  ;  and  that  officer,  who  had 
been  so  cautious  lest  he  should  violate  the  rules  of  war  by 
conveying  intelligence  that  might  be  used  to  the  prejudice  of 
Lopez,  readily  became  his  agent  to  carry  away  his  secret  de- 
spatches. Finding  that  Lopez  had  taken  such  measures  to  have 
his  part  of  the  correspondence  published  entire,  while  a  mate- 
rial part  of  mine  would  be  suppressed,  I  gave  out  the  whole, 
together  with  a  long  letter  I  addressed  to  the  English  Minis- 


ARRIVAL  OF   THE  WASP.  461 

ter,  the  Hon.  William  Stewart,  on  the  condition  of  affairs  in 
Paraguay  ;  and  it  was  all  published  in  every  daily  paper  in 
Buenos  Aires,  besides  which  a  large  edition  was  issued  in 
pamphlet  form,  by  the  government,  for  circulation  abroad. 

My  first  duty  after  reaching  Buenos  Aires  was  to  advise  the 
admiral  of  our  squadron  of  the  outrage  committed  by  Lopez 
in  seizing  two  members  of  the  American  Legation  at  Asun- 
cion, and  urge  him  to  go  to  their  rescue.  But  previous  to  giv- 
ing an  account  of  the  part  taken  by  the  squadron  in  this  affair 
—  not  in  vindicating  the  American  flag,  but  in  trailing  it  in  the 
dust  at  the  mandate  of  the  tyrant  of  Paraguay  —  it  becomes 
necessary  to  revert  to  events  which  had  previously  occurred. 

As  early  as  the  I4th  of  October,  1867,  I  had  sent  a  despatch 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  advising  him  that  even  then  there 
was  great  fear  among  the  people  lest  the  evacuation  of  the 
capital  should  be  ordered,  to  which  I  added,  that  I  should  not 
leave  the  town  till  so  ordered  by  my  government,  unless  it 
were  as  a  prisoner.  From  the  contents  of  this  despatch,  Mr. 
Seward  inferred  that  my  situation  was  liable  to  become  dan- 
gerous, and  so  advised  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  in- 
structions were  sent  to  Rear-Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis,  then 
commanding  the  United  States  South  Atlantic  Squadron,  to 
send  a  gunboat  to  my  relief. 

The  Wasp  was  accordingly  despatched  ostensibly  on  this 
service.  Commander  Kirkland  was  ordered  to  proceed  in 
her  "  to  the  seat  of  war,"  and  then  communicate  with  me,  and 
take  me  away  if  I  should  wish  to  leave.  The  "  seat  of  war" 
at  that  time  was  Humaita,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  below 
Asuncion,  and  for  all  practical  purposes  of  relief  Admiral 
Davis  should  have  known  that  the  Wasp  might  as  well 
have  been  on  the  coast  of  Africa  as  below  that  point. 
He  gave  no  instructions  for  her  to  go  above  the  blockade, 
and  apparently  did  not  care  whether  she  did  or  not,  or 
whether  she  afforded  any  relief  to  me.  As  might  have  been 
foreseen,  when  the  Wasp  arrived  near  the  blockading  squad- 
ron, objection  was  made  by  the  Brazilians  to  her  going  above 
it.  This  was  a  repetition  of  the  outrage  which  had  been  at- 


462  PARAGUAY. 

tempted  on  the  Shamokin  a  year  and  a  half  before,  but  from 
which  they  receded  when  they  saw  that  only  force  would  avail 
to  stop  her.  The  question  of  principle  or  right  having  been 
previously  settled,  they  would  adhere  to  or  waive  their  objec- 
tion at  this  time  according  as  they  found  the  commander  of 
the  gunboat  disposed  to  respect  or  disregard  it 

As  previously  related,  I  advised  Commander  Kirkland  that 
the  Brazilians  had  no  right  to  stop  the  Wasp,  and  not  to  heed 
their  protest  until  they  fired  upon  her  or  at  least  across  her 
bows,  —  an  act  I  had  already  proved  they  would  never  commit. 
Kirkland,  however,  disregarded  my  advice,  and,  reporting  his 
exploits  to  the  Admiral,  took  credit  to  himself  for  having  shown 
his  independence,  and  volunteered  the  opinion  that  it  was  very 
impertinent  for  a  minister  to  make  suggestions  or  recommen- 
dations to  a  naval  officer. 

Kirkland  had  been  the  favorite  officer  in  command  of  a 
vessel  when  Godon  was  admiral  of  the  squadron,  and  had 
doubtless  learned  from  him  that  the  most  direct  road  to  re- 
ward and  promotion  from  the  head  of  the  Navy  Department 
was  to  treat  with  contempt  the  advice  or  requests  of  the  dip- 
lomatic agents  of  his  government 

On  arriving  at  Montevideo  he  wrote  to  Admiral  Davis,  then 
at  Rio,  of  the  refusal  of  the  Brazilians  to  permit  him  to  pass 
their  blockade.  His  despatches  were  duly  received  by  the  Ad- 
miral, but  so  little  importance  did  he  attach  to  them  that  he 
allowed  them  to  remain  for  several  days  unopened,  and  per- 
haps would  never  have  looked  at  them  had  not  his  attention 
been  called  to  them  by  General  Webb. 

The  Minister  of  the  United  States  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  at  this 
time  was  General  James  Watson  Webb,  a  gentleman  having  a 
national  reputation  as  a  diplomatist  and  political  writer.  Hav- 
ing been  for  more  than  thirty  years  editor  and  proprietor  of  a 
leading  newspaper,  and  accustomed  to  deal  as  a  statesman 
with  all  the  great  political  questions  of  the  time,  foreign  and 
domestic,  his  experience  had  admirably  qualified  him  for  any 
exigency  that  might  arise  in  the  career  of  a  diplomate.  This 
experience,  joined  to  a  very  high  order  of  ability,  had  not  only 


JAMES    WATSON    WEBB.  463 

rendered  him  familiar  with  international  law,  but  the  frequent 
discussion  of  questions  affecting  our  foreign  policy  had  made 
him  peculiarly  sensitive  to  any  infringement  of  the  rights  or 
honor  of  the  United  States.  When  these  were  touched,  General 
Webb,  as  Minister,  did  not  wait  for  instructions  from  home  as 
to  the  course  he  should  pursue.  He  took  the  responsibility  of 
acting  without  waiting  to  learn  whether  or  not  his  government 
would  sustain  him.  For  him  to  act,  it  was  only  necessary  to 
know  what  the  national  honor  and  dignity  required. 

When  the  Wasp  was  despatched  on  her  voyage  in  the 
month  of  April,  1868,  for  the  purpose,  not  of  carrying  a  min- 
ister to  Paraguay,  but  of  bringing  him  away,  General  Webb 
little  thought  that  the  Brazilians  would  again  assume  an  atti- 
tude towards  the  United  States  from  which  they  had  been 
compelled  most  ungracefully  to  recede.  Great  was  his  sur- 
prise, therefore,  to  learn,  on  reading  his  morning  paper,  that 
the  Wasp  had  been  refused  a  passage  through  the  blockade, 
and  had  returned  to  Montevideo.  The  paper  boasted  that 
the  insolent  Yankee  had  been  snubbed,  and  the  stars  and 
stripes  that  had  gone  flaunting  up  the  river  had  returned 
drooping  to  Montevideo.  On  reading  this,  General  Webb 
lost  no  time  in  finding  the  Admiral  and  inquiring  if  it  were 
indeed  true  that  the  Wasp  had  been  sent  back  ;  for  if  it  were 
so,  he  supposed  the  Admiral  must  have  known  of  it  for  some 
days,  and  would  have  notified  him  of  the  fact,  in  order  that 
he  might  take  such  official  action  as  the  case  demanded. 
But  on  meeting  him  the  Admiral  remarked  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  matter.  True  he  had  received  despatches  from  Com- 
mander Kirkland  some  days  before,  but  they  were  lying  un- 
opened on  his  table.  He  would  read  them  on  returning  to  his 
flag-ship,  and  would  then  take  the  matter  into  consideration. 
But  he  could  not  see  that  the  case  demanded  any  unusual 
action  from  him.  The  government  could  be  advised  that  the 
Wasp  had  been  turned  back,  and  then,  if  instructions  should 
be  sent  to  him  to  force  the  blockade  at  the  risk  of  a  war,  it 
would  be  time  enough  to  do  it.  General  Webb  said,  "  No,  the 
issue  must  be  made  here  and  now ;  advise  me  officially  that 


464  PARAGUAY. 

the  Wasp  has  been  turned  back,  and  I  will  have  the  question 
settled  at  once.  The  allies  shall  not  be  permitted  to  keep  a 
Minister  of  the  United  States  a  prisoner  in  a  position  declared 
dangerous  by  our  government." 

After  much  persuasion,  which  it  may  be  presumed  was  so 
urgent  that  it  might  more  properly  be  expressed  by  a  stron- 
ger word,  the  Admiral  gave  him  the  official  notice,  and  then 
General  Webb  addressed  himself  to  the  Brazilian  government. 
The  Ministry  approved  the  course  of  the  Marques  de  Caxias 
in  refusing  permission  to  the  Wasp  to  pass  the  blockade. 
General  Webb  replied,  "  She  must  go  through  and  she  will  go 
through  ;  if  not  with  your  consent,  still  she  will  go  to  the  re- 
lief of  our  Minister."  The  government,  having  indorsed  Caxias, 
refused  to  yield  ;  and  General  Webb  then  gave  notice,  that, 
unless  it  did  so,  the  friendly  relations  between  the  United 
States  and  Brazil  could  no  longer  be  maintained.  The  Wasp 
must  be  permitted  to  go  through  the  blockade,  or  he  would 
demand  his  passports,  break  up  his  Legation,  and  return  to  the 
United  States. 

This  energetic  action  had  its  intended  effect.  The  Ministry 
that  approved  the  conduct  of  Caxias  resigned,  a  new  Ministry 
was  appointed,  and  orders  were  sent  to  Caxias  that  when  the 
Wasp  might  next  appear  she  should  be  allowed  to  pass. 

The  Wasp  was  accordingly  again  despatched  for  Paraguay ; 
and  notwithstanding  the  vehemency  with  which  General  Webb 
had  pressed  the  Brazilian  government  to  grant  permission 
for  her  to  pass  the  blockade,  nearly  three  months  had  passed 
from  the  time  she  had  left  Curupaiti,  to  return  to  Montevideo, 
before  she  returned  and  dropped  anchor  within  the  Paraguayan 
lines.  As  before  related,  she  arrived  barely  in  time  to  derange 
and  defeat  the  plans  of  Lopez,  not  only  towards  all  who  were 
in  the  American  Legation,  but  all  the  intelligent  foreigners  in 
his  camp  who  might,  if  left  alive,  escape  through  the  fortune 
of  war,  and  publish  to  the  world  the  truth  in  regard  to  his  false 
accusations  and  pretended  conspiracy.  Had  the  return  of  the 
Wasp  been  delayed  till  instructions  could  have  been  received 
from  Washington,  she  would  have  found  no  minister  to  take 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  WASP.  465 

away,  and  no  member  of  his  family,  unless  it  were  a  little 
child  too  young  to  tell  of  anything  which  had  transpired. 

The  arrival  of  the  Wasp  completely  deranged  the  plans  of 
Lopez.  It  had  been  his  purpose  to  kill  all  the  witnesses  and 
blot  out  the  record,  and  then  to  send  forth  to  the  world  his  own 
version  of  the  occurrences  which  had  led  to  their  destruction ; 
and  on  their  own  confessions  he  was  to  be  justified,  and  they 
were  to  be  adjudged  by  the  world  as  having  received  their  de- 
serts. Her  appearance  had  been  most  unwelcome  to  Lopez, 
and  for  several  days  after  her  arrival  he  hesitated  whether  to 
give  up  his  cherished  purposes  or  not.  His  position  was  em- 
barrassing. He  knew  that  if  I  were  to  escape  I  should  expose 
him  and  his  hideous  acts  to  the  world  ;  and  it  was  then  too  late 
to  consummate  his  plans  towards  me,  and  yet  make  it  appear 
that  he  had  been  forced  to  it  for  his  own  security  or  the  "  safety 
of  the  Republic."  It  was  too  well  known  that  when  the  Wasp 
arrived  I  was  still  alive  and  well ;  and  with  all  his  precautions, 
including  the  destruction  of  the  foreigners  about  his  camp,  it 
was  impossible  that  many  Paraguayans  should  not,  either  as 
prisoners  or  deserters,  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Then 
the  whole  plot  would  be  exposed,  and  his  well-woven  web  of 
testimony  would  be  proved  to  be  but  a  tissue  of  falsehoods  in- 
vented by  himself  and  ascribed  to  the  victims  whom  he  had 
killed  in  orcjer  to  make  sure  that  they  should  never  deny  them. 
That  this  plan  was  not  carried  out  in  all  its  parts  many  of  those 
now  alive,  besides  myself  and  the  others  in  the  United  States 
Legation,  have  to  thank  General  Webb.  It  is  true  he  was  not 
then  aware  of  our  terrible  situation,  for,  so  far  as  he  knew,  my 
relations  were  as  friendly  with  Lopez  as  they  had  ever  been. 
But  he  knew  that  for  a  long  time  I  had  been  unable  to  com- 
municate with  the  outer  world,  and  that  the  conduct  of  Brazil 
was  insulting  to  the  honor  and  integrity  of  the  United  States. 
He  knew,  too,  that  our  admirals  on  that  station  had  shown  a 
criminal  indifference  to  the  dignity  and  rights  of  their  country, 
and  he  took  the  responsibility  of  forcing  Brazil  to  the  alter- 
native of  a  rupture  with  the  United  States  or  of  receding  from 
her  pretensions. 


466  PARAGUAY. 

The  indignation  in  Buenos  Aires  against  Lopez,  when  it  was 
known  that  he  was  torturing  and  killing  all  the  foreigners  in 
his  power,  was  most  intense.  Many  of  his  victims  were  Por- 
teftos,  and  many  others  had  friends  and  relatives  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river.  The  publication  of  my  correspondence  with 
Benitez  and  Caminos  touched  the  pride  of  the  Argentines,  as 
in  it  I  had  made  many  reflections  far  from  complimentary  to 
the  allies.  I  had  remarked  on  the  barbarism  of  making  war, 
as  they  appeared  to  be  doing,  without  fighting,  and  with  the 
object  of  exterminating  the  Paraguayan  people  by  starvation. 
These  remarks  were  too  just  and  true  not  to  be  keenly  felt ; 
but  it  was  not  for  them  I  was  arraigned  so  much  as  for  what  I 
had  said  in  regard  to  the  "conspiracy."  When  I  had  been 
officially  notified  by  Benitez  that  a  conspiracy  had  been  dis- 
covered the  object  of  which  was  to  assassinate  Lopez,  I  had, 
in  accordance  with  all  diplomatic  usage,  expressed  my  felicita- 
tions at  his  escape  from  the  threatened  danger.  I  had  de- 
clared my  abhorrence  of  assassination;  and  to  the  charges 
that  the  conspirators  were  making  my  Legation  their  head- 
quarters, and  thence  carrying  on  a  correspondence  with 
their  fellow-conspirators  and  with  the  Marques  de  Caxias,  I 
had  replied  that  I  would  not  tolerate  such  persons  in  my 
house  if  such  charges  could  be  substantiated  against  them, 
but  would  instantly  send  adrift  and  denounce  any  one  who 
could  thus  abuse  my  confidence  and  hospitality.  It  was  at 
this  that  the  gaucho  republican  editors  of  Buenos  Aires  and 
Montevideo  were  so  vehemently  indignant;  —  that  I  would 
not  allow  my  house  to  be  used  as  a  rallying-point  for  a  con- 
spiracy against  such  a  wretch  as  I  had  shown  Lopez  to  be  ; 
that  I  should  refuse  to  take  part  with  conspirators,  and 
denounce  assassination  as  a  crime,  when  the  object  was  to  de- 
stroy a  monster  who  was  daily  murdering  scores  of  the  best 
people  in  Paraguay,  —  one  whom  I  had  denounced  as  an  en- 
emy of  the  human  race ! 

On  reaching  Buenos  Aires,  my  first  duty  was  to  fulfil  my 
promise  to  Bliss  and  Masterman.  I  immediately  wrote  to  Ad- 


THE  AMERICAN   NAVAL  SYSTEM.  467 

miral  Davis  and  General  Webb,  both  of  whom  were  at  Rio, 
advising  them  of  the  violation  of  the  American  flag  by  the 
seizure  of  these  two  members  of  my  Legation,  and  that  they 
had  already  been  subjected  to  torture,  and  would  inevitably  be 
killed  unless  prompt  measures  were  taken  to  rescue  them. 

In  writing  this  work  the  disagreeable  task  has  devolved  upon 
me  of  exposing  and  denouncing  the  perverse  and  unpatriotic 
conduct  of  several  officers  of  high  rank  in  the  American  Navy. 
This  exposure  of  the  misconduct  of  the  public  servants  of 
the  United  States  I  would  gladly  have  omitted,  had  they  not 
brought  the  naval  service  into  contempt,  and  were  it  not  a 
duty  to  inform  the  American  people,  so  far  as  lies  in  my  power, 
of  the  way  in  which  their  naval  commanders  demean  them- 
selves on  foreign  stations.  The  interests,  the  dignity,  and  the 
honor  of  the  United  States  demand  a  most  thorough  and  com- 
plete reorganization  of  the  navy,  which  will  only  be  brought 
about  when  the  people  who  are  taxed  to  maintain  it  shall  learn 
to  what  purposes  their  money  is  devoted.  I  therefore  shall 
make  no  apology  for  a  digression  in  this  place  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  those  defects  in  the  present  system  which  have  kept 
the  most  meritorious  officers  in  inferior  and  subordinate  posi- 
tions, while  fawning  sycophants  and  flatterers  have  through  fa- 
voritism been  advanced  to  places  they  were  utterly  unfit  to  fill. 
The  system  as  it  now  is  constitutes  the  admiral  of  a  squadron 
the  absolute  despot  over  all  who  serve  under  him,  so  that  what- 
ever tyranny  he  may  inflict  on  his  subordinates  they  have 
practically  no  remedy.  The  autocratic  powers  of  an  admiral 
over  all  in  his  squadron  lead  him  to  suppose  that  in  the  ports 
which  he  visits  he  is  the  only  representative  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  ministers  or  consuls  have  no  more  right  to 
advise  him,  or  suggest  to  him  what  the  honor  of  the  flag  de- 
mands, than  the  midshipmen  of  his  squadron.  The  system 
which  makes  the  admiral  so  independent  and  despotic  fosters 
this  idea ;  and  though  the  most  of  those  in  our  naval  service 
have  the  honor  of  the  country  too  much  at  heart  to  allow  their 
personal  feelings  to  interfere  with  their  public  duties  on  foreign 
stations,  yet  when  weak,  vain,  and  malicious  men  are  put  into 


468  PARAGUAY. 

such  responsible  positions,  they  may,  as  was  seen  in  the  case 
of  these  South  American  difficulties,  bring  great  discredit  on 
the  naval  service,  and  seriously  compromise  the  relations  of  the 
government  with  other  nations.  A  system  that  permits  such 
abuses  is  certainly  susceptible  of  reform  and  improvement. 

When  an  admiral  is  ordered  to  a  distant  station  to  take 
command  of  the  squadron  there,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
the  only  person  to  whom  he  is  responsible,  will  be  the  better 
pleased  the  less  he  hears  from  him.  If  few  questions,  or  dis- 
putes, or  reports  of  courts-martial,  are  referred  to  him,  he  as- 
sumes that  all  is  harmonious  on  board  the  fleet,  and  that  the 
admiral  is  a  competent  and  successful  officer.  Hence  it  is  an 
object  with  them  all  that  their  reports  shall  show  nothing  but 
the  regular  routine  which  always  is  supposed  to  exist  when  the 
admiral  is  a  just  man  and  officers  and  men  are  respectful  and 
obedient. 

Once  on  a  distant  station,  the  admiral  is  the  autocrat  of  the 
fleet.  Of  course  he  will  have  his  favorites  ;  that  is  human 
nature.  Admirals,  like  other  men,  are  susceptible  to  flattery, 
and  when  they  are  weak  and  vain,  as  it  is  possible  for  admirals 
to  be,  the  sycophants  and  tale-bearers  become  his  intimates, 
while  those  who  scorn  to  act  the  flunky  and  the  scandal- 
monger are  subjected  to  a  most  galling  tyranny.  Every  officer 
is  anxious  to  be  well  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
as  on  his  record  made  up  by  his  admiral  must  he  depend  for 
promotion.  Hence  the  admiral  has  absolute  power  over  what 
the  honorable  and  aspiring  officer  most  highly  prizes,  his 
good  name  and  his  chance  of  promotion.  If  any  injustice  is 
done  to  an  officer,  the  regulations  provide  that  he  may  appeal 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  But  in  practice  it  is  left  to 
the  discretion  of  the  admiral  to  send  forward  their  complaints 
or  not.  Everything  must  first  be  submitted  to  the  admiral 
before  it  is  forwarded  to  the  Secretary ;  and  then  if  it  be  of 
such  a  nature  that  the  admiral  dreads  to  have  it  go  forward, 
but  fears  to  suppress  it,  he  will  try  and  conciliate  the  com- 
plainant and  induce  him  to  withdraw  it.  If,  however,  the 
wronged  and  insulted  officer  insists  on  sending  forward  his 


CHARGES   PROVED.  469 

statement,  he  knows  that  he  will  be  in  purgatory  so  long  as  he 
is  subjected  to  the  admiral's  orders.  Hence  it  is  that,  how- 
ever intolerable  the  situation,  however  insolent  and  tyrannical 
the  admiral,  the  aggrieved  officer  almost  always  finds  it  to  his 
interest  to  submit  in  patience  till  death  or  the  Secretary  shall 
promote  the  admiral  to  another  station.  If  the  charges  finally 
go  before  the  Secretary,  the  admiral  is  sure  to  have  his  coun- 
ter-charges ;  and  the  Secretary  as  a  rule  listens  to  the  admi- 
ral, and  dismisses  the  complainant  with  a  reprimand,  usually 
equivalent  to  a  notice  that  by  his  insubordination  he  has 
injured  his  standing  at  the  Department* 

*  "  Q.  What  are  the  relations  between  you  and  Admiral  Godon,  —  friendly  or 
otherwise  ? 

"  A.  Unfriendly.  They  had  their  origin  mostly,  nine  tenths  of  them,  on  ac- 
count of  my  having  been  on  friendly  terms  with  Mr.  Washburn. 

"  Q.  Prior  to  this  period  you  were  on  fiiendly  terms  with  the  Admiral  ? 

"A.  There  had  been  no  rupture  at  all,  no  open  rupture. 

"  Q.  Were  there  unkind  feelings  before  that  ? 

"  A.  I  had  no  very  particular  admiration  for  him.  Still  I  did  my  duty.  I  had 
received  several  complimentary  letters  from  him  for  services  I  had  performed ; 
not  very  complimentary,  but  as  complimentary  as  he  was  capable  of  writing.  I 
had  heard  about  this  coal  business,  that  Mr.  Hale  and  some  Americans  had 
offered  to  furnish  coal  to  enable  Mr.  Washburn  to  go  up  the  river. 

"  Q.  What  was  the  motive  df  the  Americans  in  doing  that? 

"  A.  I  suppose  they  saw  that  the  Minister  was  treated  with  indignity,  and  that 
it  had  the  effect  to  bring  our  country  in  disrepute  with  the  Argentine  Republic ; 
that  we  were  losing  very  much  of  the  importance  which  we  had  already,  and 
which  we  still  held  in  that  country  as  a  nation.  He  (Admiral  Godon)  charged 
me  with  not  having  written  to  him  about  Mr.  Washburn,  his  conversation,  and 
his  movements,  while  I  had  been  acting  as  the  senior  officer  in  the  ports  of 
Montevideo  and  Buenos  Aires.  I  told  him  that  I  did  not  consider  that  that  was 
any  part  of  my  duty ;  that  my  duty  was  to  report  to  him  everything  official ;  but 
as  for  writing  of  Mr.  Wrashburn,  what  he  said,  or  about  his  movements,  or  any- 
thing connected  with  him,  I  never  could  perform  any  service  of  that  kind.  I  said 
it  in  considerable  warmth,  and  he  charged  me  with  being  disrespectful  in  language 

and  manner.  I  disclaimed  any  intention  of  that  kind I  then  stated  to 

him  that  he  had  on  more  than  one  occasion  outraged  my  feelings ;  that  I  had  no 
desire  any  longer  to  serve  in  his  squadron ;  that  he  had  upon  more  than  one 
occasion  insulted  me.  He  replied  that  I  should  go  on  board  my  ship  ;  that  he 
would  not  put  me  under  suspension.  I  obeyed  the  order.  While  smarting  under 
this  imputation  of  Admiral  Godon,  I  applied  officially  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  to  be  relieved  from  the  command  of  the  United  Staies  steamer  Kansas,  as- 
signing as  a  reason  that  I  had  been  promoted  on  the  station  to  a  commander,  and 
was  therefore  entitled  to  a  large  vessel ;  but  that  I  had  also  reasons  of  a  special 


470  PARAGUAY. 

Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis,  to  whom  I  communicated  the 
circumstances  of  my  departure  from  Paraguay,  though  an  old 
man,  and  one  who  had  been  long  in  the  navy,  had  seen  but 
little  sea  service.  Though  a  man  of  liberal  education  and 
courteous  manners,  he  was  utterly  wanting  in  that  tact  or 
quality  that  carries  with  it  obedience  without  assuming  the 
appearance  of  authority.  Incapable  of  organization,  his  time 
was  devoted  to  trifling  details,  which  so  engaged  his  attention 
that  matters  of  grave  importance  were  neglected,  and  in  a 
little  while  his  squadron  was,  if  not  bordering  on  mutiny,  in  a 
state  of  constant  broils  and  quarrels.  Courts-martial  were  so 
frequent  as  to  crowd  upon  each  other,  and  the  Admiral  soon 
found  himself  in  more  than  one  sense  lost  at  sea. 

character  which  I  would  at  some  future  day  make  known  to  the  Department.  I 
forwarded  that  communication  to  Admiral  Godon,  sending  it  by  the  coxswain  of 
my  boat,  and  indorsed  on  the  outside  of  it  the  subject-matter  of  it  That  appli- 
cation he  returned  to  me,  because  it  happened  to  be  Sunday. 

"  Q.  Was  it  the  same  Sunday  that  he  had  the  dance  and  music  aboard  his  vessel  ? 

"  A.  No,  sir ;  it  was  some  other  time ;  I  only  heard  of  that ;  it  did  not 
occur  then.  I  sent  the  same  application  to  him  the  next  day.  By  some  mistake 
I  had  indorsed  the  subject-matter  on  the  outside  of  the  envelope ;  there  I  made 
a  mistake.  He  then  hoisted  the  signal  for  me  to  repair  on  board ;  this  was  in 
the  afternoon.  When  I  went  on  board  I  was  told  by  his  acting  fleet-captain, 
Lieutenant-Commander  Marvin,  that  the  Admiral  was  taking  a  nap,  and  that  I 
should  wait  there.  I  was  invited  by  that  officer  into  his  stateroom,  or  office  ad- 
joining the  cabin,  which  invitation  I  declined  to  accept.  I  remained  on  the 
quarter-deck  nearly  an  hour  before  the  Admiral  sent  for  me.  He  seemed  to  be 
very  much  excited,  very  much  enraged.  He  referred  to  this  application  of  mine. 
I  told  him  that  I  had  no  desire  to  serve  any  longer  in  his  squadron.  I  was 
standing  at  that  time  against  the  sideboard  in  the  cabin,  and  was  perfectly  re- 
spectful in  manner  and  in  language.  lie  spoke  of  my  repeated  disobedience  of 
orders,  and  said  that  while  I  was  serving  in  his  command  I  was  to  understand 
that  I  must  obey  his  orders.  He  accompanied  this  with  an  offensive  and  insult- 
ing gesture,  shaking  his  finger  in  my  face.  I  called  his  attention  to  it,  and  he 
repeated  it.  I  again  called  his  attention  to  it  in  these  words  :  '  Admiral  Godon, 
you  are  shaking  your  finger  in  my  face.'  He  then  ordered  me  in  the  most  per- 
emptory manner  to  go  on  board  my  vessel  under  suspension.  As  I  was  leaving 
the  cabin  I  asked  him  if  I  should  transfer  the  command  to  the  executive  officer. 
He  shook  his  finger  again  towards  me ;  at  that  time  I  was  some  three  or  four 
feet  from  him  ;  he  said  that  he  knew  what  his  duty  was,  and  that  I  should  go  on 
board  my  ship  under  suspension.  I  remained  under  suspension  two  days,  the 
first  suspension  that  had  ever  been  inflicted  upon  me  in  a  naval  service  of  over 
twenty-six  years.  By  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  service,  I  was  obliged  to 


ADMIRAL   CHARLES    H.   DAVIS.  471 

In  the  midst  of  his  perplexities  the  Admiral  leaned  on  his 
fleet-captain,  whose  unpopularity  and  insolence  were  the  cause 
of  many  of  his  difficulties.  This  fleet-captain  was  Francis  M. 
Ramsey,  an  officer  very  young  for  his  position,  and  one  who 
in  his  person  afforded  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  defects 
in  our  naval  system.  During  the  years  preceding  the  Rebel- 
lion, while  the  Navy  Department  was  managed  with  a  view  to 
a  dismemberment  of  the  Union,  he  had  connections  at  Wash- 
ington who  were  able  to  second  his  own  efforts  to  obtain  rapid 
promotion.  He  had  early  learned  that  the  surest  road  to  ad- 
vancement in  the  navy  was  by  striving  in  all  things  to  please 
the  flag-officer  of  the  squadron.  Hence  he  had  been  promoted 
far  beyond  his  deserts  as  an  officer,  and  was  fleet-captain  of 

confine  myself  to  the  cabin,  about  one  third  the  size  of  this  committee-room.  I 
was  not  allowed  to  go  to  any  other  part  of  the  ship,  except,  perhaps,  to  use  the 
water-closet ;  that  was  on  the  upper  deck.  While  under  suspension  I  made  a 
report  in  detail  of  this  outrage  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  I  wish  to  state, 
however,  that  during  this  time  I  had  orders  to  proceed  to  the  coast  of  Africa  on  a 
cruise,  to  visit  the  ports  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  up.  I  reported  all  these 
indignities  which  I  had  endured.  I  attributed  them  mostly  to  my  friendship  for 
Mr.  Washburn,  and  because  I  did  not  conform  to  the  strict  regulations  of  the 
service,  which  require  the  official  communications  to  be  sent  to  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  squadron.  To  protect  myself  from  further  indignities,  which  I  knew 
he  would  visit  upon  me  if  I  presented  this  report  of  his  conduct  in  person,  I  con- 
fided it  to  Surgeon  Wells  of  the  Shamokin,  requesting  him  to  place  the  document 

on  board  the  flag-ship  as  soon  as  he  learned  I  had  left  the  port  of  Montevideo 

I  came  home  and  reported  my  return  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  pressed 
this  matter  upon  Mr.  Welles  as  much  as  it  was  possible  for  a  man  to  do.  I  courted 
the  strictest  investigation  into  my  conduct.  Mr.  Welles  said  he  was  very  sorry 
that  our  relations  had  been  so  unfriendly ;  that  Admiral  Godon,  in  a  conversa- 
tion with  him  on  this  subject,  had  disclaimed  any  intention  of  insulting  me  by  his 
gesticulations ;  he  said  that  Admiral  Godon  was  a  Frenchman  ;  that  he  was 
naturally  excitable,  and  that  he  had  gesticulated  in  that  way  to  him.  I  told  him 
that  I  did  not  think  Admiral  Godon  would  dare  to  shake  his  finger  in  his  face. 
Mr.  Welles  then  seemed  inclined  to  order  an  investigation.  I  had  submitted 
documentary  evidence  refuting  all  the  charges.  Mr.  Welles  thought  the  matter 
had  better  drop  ;  that  it  was  unfortunate  ;  that  I  had  better  let  the  matter  die 
out.  I  told  him  it  was  a  matter  I  thought  of  the  first  thing  in  the  morning 
and  the  last  thing  at  night,  and  that  I  would  be  willing  to  go  out  on  the  station 
and  place  myself  under  arrest  for  an  official  investigation  into  these  troubles. 
He  would  not  consent  to  that,  and  after  an  interview  which  lasted  half  an  hour 
I  left  him."  —  Paraguayan  Investigation,  testimony  of  Commander  Clark  H.  Wells* 
pp.  no,  in,  113. 


4/2  PARAGUAY. 

the  South  Atlantic  Squadron  at  the  time  that  Admiral  Davis 
was  in  command  of  it.  He  had  a  certain  positiveness  and 
self-assertion,  qualities  entirely  wanting  in  the  Admiral ;  and 
these,  united  to  a  most  offensive  vanity,  made  up  to  some 
extent  for  his  other  defects,  including  a  propensity  to  look 
after  those  petty  details  of  buttons  and  formalities  which  men 
of  average  scope  of  mind  seldom  think  of  or  notice.  These 
qualities,  while  they  caused  him  to  be  disliked  in  the  squadron, 
commended  him  so  much  to  Admiral  Davis  that  he  became  vir- 
tually the  commander  of  the  fleet.  But  neither  the  actual  nor 
the  nominal  admiral  had  any  idea  that  the  squadron  might  be 
called  upon  to  perform  any  service  which  might  interfere  with 
his  pleasure  or  convenience.  They  fully  shared  the  opinion 
which  Admiral  Godon  had  so  freely  expressed,  that  they  were 
under  no  obligations  or  responsibility  to  the  diplomatic  agents 
of  the  government,  and  were  not  bound  in  any  way  to  defer  to 
their  wishes  or  requests.  It  was,  therefore,  far  from  agreeable 
to  both  of  them,  when  the  Wasp  was  turned  back  by  the  Mar- 
ques de  Caxias,  that  General  Webb  should  so  promptly  resent 
the  indignity  to  the  United  States,  and  compel  Brazil  to  grant 
permission  for  her  to  pass  the  blockade.  The  consent,  how- 
ever, having  been  granted,  there  was  no  alternative  but  to 
send  back  the  Wasp. 

Until  the  Wasp  had  completed  this  latter  voyage,  there  had 
been  no  rupture  between  the  diplomatic  and  naval  representa- 
tives. General  Webb  and  Admiral  Davis  were  on  the  most 
intimate  and  cordial  terms,  and  supposed  they  were  about  to 
part  as  the  best  of  friends,  when  the  news  came  that  the  flag 
of  the  United  States  had  been  insulted  by  Lopez,  and  two 
members  of  the  Legation  in  Paraguay  had  been  arrested 
and  carried  off  to  prison  and  probable  torture  and  execution. 
It  was  not  necessary  for  a  man  to  be  "  sudden  and  quick  in 
quarrel "  for  an  outrage  of  this  kind,  which  was  nothing  more 
or  less  than  an  act  of  war  against  the  United  States,  to  arouse 
in  him  a  feeling  of  intense  indignation.  Such  a  feeling  was 
aroused  in  the  mind  of  General  Webb.  The  Admiral,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  regard  it  as  a  matter  of  little  importance  and 


GENERAL  WEBB  AND   ADMIRAL   DAVIS.          473 

as  calling  for  no  unusual  action  on  his  part.  Neither  of  them 
had  received  any  official  notice  of  what  had  transpired,  and 
had  only  read  the  accounts  in  the  newspapers  of  Buenos  Aires, 
and  their  comments  abusive  of  me.  These  the  Admiral  and 
his  fleet-captain  were  disposed  to  listen  to,  while  General 
Webb,  without  hesitation,  assumed  that  they  were  scanda- 
lously and  transparently  false.  But  true  or  false,  he  said  that 
it  made  no  difference  as  to  the  duty  of  the  Admiral.  A  gross 
outrage  had  been  committed  on  the  American  flag,  and  in- 
stant redress  should  be  demanded. 

On  (he  5th  of  October,  1868,  my  letters  to  the  Admiral  and 
to  General  Webb  were  received  by  them.  General  Webb  im- 
mediately sought  the  Admiral,  to  urge  upon  him  that  the  case 
would  admit  of  no  delay.  The  Admiral,  however,  hesitated, 
and  questioned  the  necessity  of  any  action  on  his  part.  He 
said  that  my  version  of  what  had  transpired  in  Paraguay  was 
not  to  be  credited,  and  my  evidence  of  the  violation  of  the  flag 
was  not  sufficient  for  him  to  base  any  action  upon.  Finding 
that  the  Admiral  was  not  disposed  to  do  anything  whatever, 
General  Webb  returned  home  mortified  and  heartsick.  To 
all  appearance  the  Admiral  was  playing  into  the  hands  of 
Lopez,  who  had  already  committed  an  act  of  war  against  the 
United  States.  But  General  Webb,  anxious  to  avoid  a  rup- 
ture, wrote  him  a  letter  in  terms  such  as  one  friend  might  em- 
ploy in  addressing  another  who  he  feared  was  about  to  make 
a  fatal  mistake.  It  was  earnest  and  kind,  and  in  no  sense 
dictatorial,  disclaiming  all  right  to  control  the  squadron,  while 
forcibly  representing  the  insult  to  the  national  flag. 

This  urgency  on  the  part  of  the  veteran  statesman  and  di- 
plomatist the  fleet-captain  chose  to  consider  impertinent,  and 
a  very  brief  and  grossly  insulting  note  was  sent  in  reply  to 
the  long  and  friendly  letter  of  General  Webb.  This  letter 
was  doubtless  written  to  warn  the  Minister  that,  in  questions 
of  grave  interest  affecting  the  honor  of  the  country,  he  was  not 
only  not  to  control  the  Admiral,  but  not  even  to  express  his 
opinions.  It  had  been  notoriously  owing  to  the  action  of 
General  Webb  that  the  Wasp  had  gone  through  the  blockade 


474  PARAGUAY. 

after  having  been  once  sent  back  ;  and  if  his  advice  were  now 
to  be  followed,  the  idea  which  many  naval  officers  cherish  and 
seek  to  promulgate,  that  they  are  the  only  representatives  of 
the  United  States  abroad,  would  be  dispelled.* 

As  before  stated,  the  day  for  the  departure  of  the  squadron  for 
the  Plata  had  been  already  fixed  when  the  news  of  the  outrage 
of  Lopez  on  the  Legation  in  Paraguay  reached  Rio.  Though 
not  officially  announced,  the  officers  understood  that  they  were 
to  be  ready  to  sail  on  Saturday,  the  loth  of  October,  and  it  had 
been  so  announced  in  the  English  newspaper  published  at 
Rio.  But  General  Webb,  on  receiving  information  that  Bliss 
and  Masterman  had  been  seized  by  Lopez,  and  that  the  only 
chance  of  their  escape  consisted  in  the  promptness  with 
which  a  force  should  be  sent  to  rescue  them,  urged  it  upon 
the  Admiral  that  he  should  not  wait  so  long,  but  sail  for  the- 
Plata  as  soon  as  he  could  possibly  get  ready.  In  this  way  he 
could  save  two  whole  days,  and  on  the  saving  of  that  time 
might  depend,  not  only  the  lives  of  the  men  seized,  but  the 
averting  of  a  war  on  the  tyrant  who  held  them  in  his  power. 
But  the  Admiral  had  chosen  to  quarrel  with  the  Minister,  and 
to  show  his  independence  he  gave  public  notice  that  the  fleet 
was  not  about  to  leave  for  the  Plata  nor  for  any  other  place. 
In  fact,  the  departure  of  the  squadron  on  a  duty  so  urgent  and 
pressing  that  every  moment  of  unnecessary  delay  was  crimi- 
nal was  deferred  for  three  weeks,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to 
demonstrate  the  independence  of  the  Admiral. 

*  The  letter  of  Admiral  Davis  was  as  follows  :  — 

"UNITED  STATES  FLAG-SHIP  GUERRIERE,  (first-rate,) 

Rio  DE  JANEIRO,  Octobers,  1868. 

"  SIR,  —  I  owe  you,  perhaps,  an  apology  for  not  having  acknowledged  sooner 
the  reception  of  your  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  in  which  you  give  me  the  unsolicited 
benefit  of  your  opinion  on  the  subject  of  my  official  duties. 

"  Since  your  opinion  is  formed  without  a  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,  I  may  not,  possibly,  attach  so  much  value  to  it  as  you  seem  to 
expect. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"C.  H.  DAVIS, 

Rear-Admiral  Commanding  South  Atlantic  Squadron, 
v  HON.  J.  WATSON  WEBB,  United  States  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
and  Envoy  Extraordinary  to  the  Court  of  Brazil." 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

The  Commercial  Interests  of  Paraguay.  —  Policy  of  the  United  States  in  Regard 
to  the  Republics  of  South  America.  —  M.  T.  McMahon  appointed  United 
States  Minister  to  Paraguay.  —  Conflict  of  Testimony.  —  Admiral  Davis's  Ex- 
cuses for  Delay.  —  Extract  from  General  Webb's  Testimony.  —  Davis  and 
McMahon.  — Indorsement  of  Commander  Kirkland.  —  His  Letter  to  Admiral 
Davis. 

DURING  the  whole  time  of  my  residence  in  Paraguay  the 
commercial  interests  of  that  country  with  the  United 
States  amounted  to  nothing,  and  so  long  as  the  Lopez  dynasty 
and  system  might  last  it  never  would  amount  to  enough  to 
justify  our  government  in  the  expense  of  keeping  a  minister 
there.  Only  political  reasons  can  be  alleged  for  maintaining 
ministers,  as  is  now  done,  at  several  South  American  repub- 
lics. It  had  been  the  policy  of  the  United  States  to  be  the 
first  to  recognize  them  as  independent  sovereignties  after 
they  had  severed  their  connection  with  Spain  ;  and  the  prin- 
cipal motive  in  keeping  up  diplomatic  relations  with  several 
of  them  has  always  been  to  encourage  them,  amid  their 
many  changes  and  revolutions,  to  adhere,  at  all  times,  to  the 
republican  form  of  government.  The  despotism  of  Paraguay, 
however,  was  so  absolute,  and  the  prospect  that  our  commer- 
cial relations  with  that  region  would  be  extended  was  so  slight, 
that  on  resigning  my  office  as  minister  it  would  have  been 
my  duty,  except  for  the  peculiar  state  of  affairs  existing  at  the 
time,  to  recommend  that  the  office  be  discontinued.  But  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  important  political  changes  seemed  im- 
pending in  that  part  of  the  world,  in  which  both  the  politi- 
cal and  commercial  interests  of  the  United  States  might  be 
concerned,  I  urgently  requested  that  a  successor  should  be 
appointed  to  my  place.  Another  motive  with  me  in  making 


476  PARAGUAY. 

this  recommendation  was  the  fact,  that  the  people  there,  espe- 
cially the  foreigners,  thought  that  the  presence  of  the  minister 
of  a  great  power  would  give  them  a  certain  protection  and 
security.  In  accordance  with  this  request,  another  minister 
was  appointed  to  succeed  me.  The  person  selected  for  the 
position  was  General  Martin  T.  McMahon  of  New  York.  His 
appointment  was  made  about  the  ist  of  July,  1868 ;  but  as  the 
State  Department  soon  after  received  information  that  affairs 
in  Paraguay  were  in  a  most  uncertain  and  unsatisfactory  con- 
dition, his  departure  was  delayed  till  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember. The  Admiral  afterwards  alleged,  as  a  reason  or 
excuse  for  his  long  delay  in  Rio,  that  he  had  received  informa- 
tion that  General  McMahon  was  to  leave  New  York  on  the 
American  steam-packet  for  Rio  on  the  24th  of  September, 
and  that  he  waited  for  him  and  the  instructions  which  he 
might  bring  with  him  before  starting  for  the  Plata.  This, 
however,  was  an  afterthought,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  was  not 
true.  Though  he  had  heard  of  General  McMahon's  appoint- 
ment, he  could  not  have  had  any  definite  information  of  the 
time  of  his  leaving  for  his  post  at  the  time  he  postponed  his 
departure  for  the  Plata,  nor  of  the  instructions  which  he  was 
to  bring.* 

*  "  He  (the  Admiral)  stated  distinctly  that  he  should  sail  from  Rio  on  the  fol- 
lowing Saturday,  it  being  the  loth  of  October ;  or,  if  he  did  not  get  off  on  Satur- 
day, the  loth,  he  would  most  certainly  leave  on  Monday,  the  I2th,  or  possibly 
Tuesday,  the  I3th  ;  but  he  had  no  doubt  about  getting  off  on  the  roth.  On  Mon- 
day, the  5th  of  October,  I  met  an  unusual  number  of  officers  in  the  streets  of 
Rio,  and  learned  from  one  or  more  of  them  that  they  were  there  for  the  purpose 
of  settling  up  their  accounts,  because  the  Admiral  had  given  notice  he  would 
sail  on  Saturday,  the  loth  ;  and  on  reference  to  my  correspondence  with  the 
Admiral  it  will  be  perceived  that  I  say,  in  substance,  to  him,  "that  inasmuch  as 
you  are  prepared  to  sail  on  the  loth,  let  me  beg  you  to  get  off  on  Thursday,  the 
8th,  and  thereby  save  two  days."  At  that  time,  bear  in  mind,  the  Admiral  had 
full  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  these  gentlemen  of  the  Legation  had  been  seized, 
and  we  were  actually  corresponding  about  the  necessity  of  his  moving  to  their 
relief.  It  appears  to  me,  therefore,  utterly  impossible,  that  on  the  5th  of  October, 
when  he  refused  to  move,  his  "  motive  "  in  so  doing  was,  as  he  alleges  now,  to 
await  the  arrival  of  General  McMahon  ;  and  it  is  equally  impossible  that  at  that 
time  he  could  have  known,  as  he  says  he  did,  that  General  McMahon  would 
arrive  in  the  next  steamer.  Had  it  been  his  intention  to  await  the  arrival  of  the 
new  minister  on  the  2Oth  or  2ist  of  October,  why  announce  to  me,  and  to  all  at 


DAMAGING   TESTIMONY.  477 

It  was  not  till  after  McMahon  had  actually  reached  Rio, 
which  he  did  about  the  2Oth  of  October,  that  the  Admiral 
ventured  to  put  forth  as  a  reason  for  his  delay  the  fact  that  he 
was  waiting  for  his  arrival.  As  soon,  however,  as  he  knew  he 
had  come,  he  sought  to  capture  him  and  make  him  an  ally  as 
against  General  Webb.  The  reader  has  seen  how  Admiral  Go- 
don  refused  to  give  passage  both  to  General  Asboth  and  myself 
at  a  time  when  no  other  means  of  passage  was  available,  and 
from  that  would  infer  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  naval  reg- 
ulations for  war  vessels  to  convey  the  ministers  of  their  own 
nation.  But  no  sooner  had  General  McMahon  reached  Rio, 
than  Admiral  Davis,  without  waiting  to  be  asked,  invited  Min- 
ister McMahon  and  his  family,  consisting  of  three  besides 

my  table,  that  he  would  sail  on  Saturday,  the  loth  ;  and  why  give  notice  to  that 
effect  to  the  squadron,  in  order  that  the  officers  might  settle  up  their  accounts  ? 

"  Anterior  to  September,  General  McMahon  had  been  appointed  Minister  to 
Paraguay,  and  ordered  to  proceed  to  his  post  of  duty.  The  State  Department, 
learning  from  me  the  difficulties  that  existed  in  regard  to  the  Wasp,  and  that  the 
Wasp  had  been  stopped  by  the  allies  in  passing  up  to  Asuncion,  instructed 
General  McMahon,  on  the  l8th  of  August,  not  to  leave  the  country  until  he 
received  further  orders.  On  the  2d  of  September,  1868,  Mr.  Seward  addressed 
to  General  McMahon  the  following  :  — 

"  '  When,  on  the  i8th  of  August  last,  you  were  on  the  eve  of  your  departure  for 
Asuncion,  the  capital  of  Paraguay,  as  Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  to  that 
Republic,  this  Department  by  direction  of  the  President,  requested  you  to  remain 
in  the  United  States  until  you  should  receive  further  instructions.  The  occasion 
of  that  direction  was,  that  Rear- Admiral  Davis,  who  commands  the  United  States 
South  Atlantic  Squadron,  had  just  then  reported  that  he  had  sent  the  United 
States  ship-of-war  Wasp  up  the  Parana,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  away  your 
predecessor,  Mr.  Charles  A.  Washburn,  and  his  family,  from  Asuncion 

" '  To-day  I  received  from  Mr.  Webb  a  despatch,  which  bears  date  August  7, 
and  which  came  from  London  by  cable,  in  which  despatch  he  says  that  the  Bra- 
zilian Ministry  has  yielded  to  his  request,  and  that  the  Wasp  goes  to  Asun- 
cion. 

"  '  The  information  thus  received  is  deemed  sufficient  to  warrant  your  proceed- 
ing at  once,  by  the  next  United  States  steamer,  to  the  seat  of  your  legation.' 

"  Now,  the  next  United  States  steamer  was  to  sail  September  23.  That  despatch 
most  probably  did  not  reach  General  McMahon,  in  New  York,  until  the  4th.  By 
what  means,  then,  could  the  Admiral  know  of  its  existence  at  Rio  on  the  5th  of 
October  ?  If  General  McMahon  wrote  to  Captain  Ramsey,  by  the  steamer  of  the 
5th,  via  England,  the  day  after  the  receipt  of  this  letter  from  Washington,  it 
would  not  reach  England  before  the  ijth.  There  is  no  telegraph  from  England 
to  Rio  Janeiro,  or  any  part  of  Brazil,  and  the  first  steamer  from  England  would 


478  PARAGUAY. 

himself,  to  take  passage  to  Montevideo  on  board  the  flag-ship 
Guerriere. 

General  McMahon,  having  been  advised  to  confer  with  Gen- 
eral Webb  on  arriving  at  Rio,  did  so,  notwithstanding  his  newly 
fledged  friendship  for  the  Admiral.  The  latter  freely  expressed 
his  views  on  the  situation,  and  in  an  official  letter  gave  it  as 
his  opinion  that  Lopez  had  committed  an  act  of  war  against  the 
United  States,  and  that  therefore  no  diplomatic  relations  could 
be  held  with  him  till  he  had  restored  Bliss  and  Masterman, 
and  given  satisfaction  for  the  outrage  on  the  American  flag. 

In  my  letter  from  Buenos  Aires  to  Admiral  Davis,  I  had, 
after  telling  him  of  the  circumstances  attending  the  seizure 
of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  advised  him  that  I  should  remain 

be  that  of  2Oth  of  September,  from  Liverpool,  due  in  Rio  in  twenty-four  days, 
she  being  a  freight  propeller.  That  would  make  its  receipt  in  Rio  fall  on  the 
I4th  of  October,  whereas  my  correspondence  with  the  Admiral,  in  regard  to  this 
movement  to  Paraguay,  commenced  on  the  5th  of  October,  and  terminated  on 
the  loth,  the  very  day  which  he  had  fixed  for  his  departure,  my  application  for 
his  departure  having  been  made  and  refused  on  the  5th.  It  appears,  then,  to  be 
morally  and  physically  impossible  that  any  information  could  have  been  in  the 
Admiral's  possession,  by  private  letter,  apprising  him  that  General  McMahon 
would  arrive  in  the  steamer  of  the  23d,  and  I  therefore  again  give  it  as  my  firm 
belief  that  the  Admiral  did  intend  to  sail  on  the  loth,  without  having  any  idea 
of  the  arrival  of  McMahon,  and  that  he  remained  in  the  harbor  of  Rio,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  General  McMahon,  as  he  alleges,  and  of  whose  arrival 
he  could  not  have  knowledge,  but  because,  as  I  have  said  to  the  government,  I, 
as  Minister,  had  urged  him  to  expedite  his  departure  from  the  loth  to  the  8th.  I 
consider  the  declaration  now  made,  that  he  knew  that  McMahon  was  coming,  a 
mere  subterfuge,  not  sustained  by  what  possibly  could  be  the  facts  of  the  case, 
and  palpably  an  afterthought.  But  the  Admiral  also  says  that  he  waited  for  the 
Minister  to  Paraguay,  '  who  had  a  right  to  be  consulted  and  needed  to  take  direc- 
tion, and  that  was  the  intention  of  the  government,  as  he  was  specially  instructed 
to  act  in  co-operation  with  me,  and  I  in  co-operation  with  him.' 

"  Now  mark  this  additional  specific  reason  assigned  for  delay.  The  committee 
asks  the  Admiral  :  Did  General  McMahon,  when  he  arrived  on  the  2ist,  bring 
any  instructions  ?  The  Admiral  answers  in  the  negative.  It  is  true  that  the 
government  did  expect  and  did  order  that  General  McMahon  and  the  Admiral 
should  co-operate,  but  not  previously  to  the  5th  of  October.  That  order  was  not 
given  except  in  a  despatch  dated  Washington,  November  21,  which  would  arrive 
at  Rio  only  on  the  2Oth  of  December  ;  and  yet  the  Admiral  says  that  a  knowledge 
of  that  fact  on  the  5th  of  October,  forty-six  days  before  its  existence,  induced 
him  to  determine  not  to  move  until  General  McMahon  had  arrived." — Paraguayan 
Investigation,  testimony  of  General  J.  Watson  Webb,  pp.  257,  258. 


THE   ADMIRAL  WANTS    BETTER  PROOF.          479 

there  to  await  his  arrival,  in  order  to  give  him  any  further 
information  that  it  might  be  necessary  for  him  to  have,  in  order 
to  act  with  a  full  understanding  of  the  situation.  I  did  not 
then  suppose  that  there  would  ever  be  the  least  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done,  and  was  greatly  surprised, 
after  waiting  for  some  two  or  three  weeks,  to  learn  that  a  quar- 
rel had  arisen  between  General  Webb  and  the  Admiral.  From 
the  Admiral,  whom  I  had  never  known  personally,  I  received 
a  most  polite  and  friendly  letter,  congratulating  me  on  my 
escape.  From  General  Webb  I  received  another  letter,  advising 
me  of  the  difference  he  had  had  with  the  Admiral,  partly  because 
of  his  apathy  and  indifference  to  the  honor  of  the  flag,  and 
partly  because  he  had  given  as  a  reason  for  his  inaction  his 
disbelief  in  my  statements,  and  alleging  that  he  had  other 
information,  derived  from  Commander  Kirkland,  in  regard  to 
matters  in  Paraguay,  that  conflicted  with  my  account  of  them. 
But  General  Webb,  in  his  letter  to  the  Admiral,  said  it  mattered 
very  little  what  Kirkland  had  reported,  and  added :  "  The  duly 
accredited  Minister  to  the  government  of  Paraguay  has  made 
his  report,  which  I  have  placed  in  your  possession,  and  every 

word  of  which  I  indorse Both  you  and  I  know  him  to 

be  the  duly  accredited  Minister  of  the  United  States,  and  his 
testimony,  which  we  have,  it  is  our  bounden  duty  to  respect." 

As  the  reader  is  aware,  I  had  'had  before  this  a  very  serious 
dispute  with  Admiral  Godon,  whose  conduct  had  been  such  as 
to  give  the  people  of  the  Plata  anything  but  a  favorable  im- 
pression of  his  fitness  for  the  position  he  occupied.  But  with 
all  his  insolence,  his  efforts  to  defeat  or  embarrass  me  in  the 
performance  of  my  official  duties,  he  had  never  called  in  ques- 
tion any  statement  I  had  ever  made.  But  with  Davis,  I  find 
that  even  before  he  knew  me  he  had  quarrelled  with  General 
Webb,  and  to  justify  himself  in  that  quarrel  he  questions  my 
veracity ! 

This  was  certainly  an  embarrassing  position.  I  had  seen  my 
flag  violated,  my  rights  as  a  minister  outraged,  and  two  mem- 
bers of  my  suite,  as  much  entitled  to  legation  privileges  as  I 
was,  had  been  forcibly  torn  away  from  me  and  carried  off  to 


480  PARAGUAY. 

torture  and  probable  death.  Their  last  words  to  me  were  an 
appeal  to  notify  the  Admiral  of  our  squadron  of  their  situation. 
I  had  done  so,  and  I  was  the  only  witness  that  could  testify  to 
the  outrage.  And  yet  the  Admiral  would  not  take  my  word, 
but  remained  at  Rio  to  show  his  independence. 

Until  I  received  this  letter  from  General  Webb,  I  had  not 
suspected  but  that  Commander  Kirkland  was  acting  in  the 
most  perfect  good  faith  towards  all  parties.  On  the  voyage 
down  the  river  he  had  repeated  to  me  so  many  times  the  con- 
versations he  had  held  with  Lopez,  —  both  while  he  was 
threatening  to  keep  me  a  prisoner  and  afterwards,  —  in  which 
he  made  it  appear  that  it  was  by  his  threats  to  Lopez  that 
the  tyrant  had  been  induced  to  let  me  go,  that  I  supposed 
his  conduct  could  not  be  too  highly  commended.  In  my  let- 
ter to  the  Admiral,  I  made  use  of  the  strongest  terms  of 
approval  of  his  conduct,  based  entirely  on  his  own  version  of 
the  service  he  had  done  me.* 

What  information  Admiral  Davis  received  from  Commander 
Kirkland,  at  the  time  he  alleged  it  as  a  reason  for  discrediting 
me,  he  has  never  made  public.  He  could  have  no  knowledge 
of  what  had  occurred  in  Asuncion,  as  he  was  not  permitted  to 
go  there,  and  at  the  time  of  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Master- 

*  "  BUENOS  AIRES,  September  30,  1868. 

"Mv  DEAR  SIR, —  ....  I  wish  here  to  give  my  testimony  in  regard  to  the 
firmness  and  good  judgment  displayed  by  Captain  Kirkland  in  treating  with 
Lopez.  No  one  who  has  not  lived  in  Paraguay  can  realize  the  delicate  nature  of 
the  task  he  had  to  perform, —  that  was  to  get  me  and  my  family  unharmed  out  of 
the  country.  Fortunately  he  speaks  the  Spanish  language  fluently,  and  had  known 
Lopez  before,  and  knew  that  he  was  the  most  arrant  coward  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  He  therefore  knew  how  to  take  him  ;  and  when  Lopez  threatened  to  keep 
me  as  a  prisoner,  he  talked  to  him  in  such  a  manner  that  the  craven  wretch  quailed 
before  him  and  said  he  would  let  me  go.  And  this  defiant  attitude  he  maintained 
during  all  the  time  he  was  detained  there  by  Lopez,  waiting  for  me  to  come  on 
board  the  Wasp.  He  repelled  the  rude  officiousness  of  Lopez's  officers  as  though 
he  had  the  Dunderberg,  the  Monadnock,  and  Miantonomoh  at  his  back,  and  fairly 
cowed  Lopez  and  attained  his  object,  where  a  man  of  less  nerve  or  tact  would 
have  failed  entirely.  I  trust  that  this  important  service  may  be  put  to  his  credit  and 
allowed  to  draw  interest. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  CHARLES  A.  WASHBURN. 

"REAR-ADMIRAL  C.  H.  DAVIS,  United  States  flag-ship  Guerriere, 
Rio  tie  T/jftf/ro." 


A  REAL  CONSPIRACY.  481 

man  was  some  twenty  miles  distant.  While  at  Lopez's  head- 
quarters he  had  no  communication  with  any  persons  except 
Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch,  unless  others  were  present  to  be 
spies  upon  them  ;  and  therefore  whatever  he  wrote,  to  Ad- 
miral Davis  that  conflicted  with  my  published  statements 
must  have  been  received  either  from  Lopez  or  his  para- 
mour. What  object  Kirkland  could  have  at  that  time  in  be- 
coming the  mouthpiece  of  Lopez,  and  what  was  the  nature  of 
the  statements  he  made  to  Davis  while  acting  in  that  character, 
has  never  to  my  knowledge  been  divulged,  and  is,  I  believe,  a 
secret  among  the  real  conspirators,  Davis,  Ramsey,  McMahon, 
and  Kirkland,  —  conspirators  engaged  in  a  plot  to  destroy  the 
testimony  of  a  minister  of  their  own  government,  and  serve 
the  interests  of  the  worst  tyrant  that  ever  figured  on  the 
page  of  history.  From  an  expression  of  McMahon  in  a  de- 
spatch to  the  Secretary  of  State,  written  while  he  was  still  at 
Rio,  October  27,  1868,  an  inference  may  be  drawn  of  the 
general  character  of  Kirkland's  letters.  In  this  despatch  Mc- 
Mahon says  he  learns  "  that  all  prisoners  held  for  political  of- 
fences in  Paraguay  are  treated  with  no  unnecessary  harsh- 
ness." 

How  could  he  learn  that  ?  No  one  but  Kirkland  or  myself 
could  have  brought  the  news,  and  if  Kirkland  had  any  such 
knowledge  he  had  derived  it  from  Lopez  or  Madam  Lynch.  I 
had  published  to  the  world  that  Lopez  was  torturing  and  mur- 
dering all  the  best  people  in  Paraguay  for  alleged  political  of- 
fences, and  McMahon  had  read  my  letters.  Yet  he  writes  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  that  he  is  not  treating  them  with  un- 
necessary harshness.  Evidently  the  plan  by  this  time  is  al- 
ready conceived,  and  McMahon,  Davis,  and  Kirkland  have  de- 
termined to  become  the  apologists  and  champions  of  Lopez. 
Though  I  have  told  them  his  hands  are  reeking  with  the 
blood  of  hundreds  of  foreigners  and  thousands  of  Paraguay- 
ans, including  some  of  his  own  nearest  relatives,  they  see 
that  their  interest  lies  in  discrediting  me,  and  in  taking  Lopez's 
own  words  as  reported  to  them  through  Kirkland. 

As  a  part  of  this  conspiracy, —  and  now  I  talk  of  a  real 

VOL.  n.  31 


482  PARAGUAY. 

conspiracy, —  it  is  thought  prudent  to  send  abroad  for  pub- 
lication a  statement  to  neutralize  the  effect  which  it  is  sur- 
mised my  accounts  of  Lopez's  atrocities  may  have  on  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  This  was  accordingly  done.  Im- 
mediately after  the  newspapers  throughout  the  country  had 
given  currency  to  my  version  of  Lopez's  barbarities,  another 
statement  was  sent  forth  as  coming  from  Kirkland,  in  which 
Bliss  and  Masterman  are  represented  as  being  in  no  danger, 
as  Lopez  had  assured  him  that  he  was  still  desirous  of  main- 
taining friendly  relations  with  the  United  States.  So  it  would 
seem  that  Lopez  still  had  good  friends  in  the  American  Navy, 
and  that  his  outrage  on  the  flag  did  not  prejudice  him  in 
their  minds. 

The  official  report  made  by  Kirkland  to  Admiral  Davis  was 
dated  September  22,  but  that  contains  no  reference  to  the 
treatment  of  prisoners  in  Paraguay  for  political  offences,  and 
therefore  McMahon's  knowledge  of  it,  which  he  communicated 
to  Mr.  Seward,  must  have  been  derived  from  private  and  unof- 
ficial letters  which  have  not  been  made  public.  In  the  mean 
while,  Kirkland,  having  sent  to  the  Admiral  his  report  of  the 
trip,  remained  at  Montevideo,  awaiting  further  orders  from 
Rio ;  but  before  he  could  receive  any  reply,  he  sent  another 
letter  to  the  Admiral,  unofficial,  in  which  he  pretended  to  give 
an  account  of  his  first  interview  with  Lopez.  I  give  the  fol- 
lowing extract :  — 

"On  the  2d  of  September  I  first  visited  President  Lopez.  I 
inquired  after  Mr.  Washburn,  and  Lopez  replied,  '  I  am  sorry  to  say 
we  are  very  bad  with  Mr.  Washburn.'  I  said  that  I  was  very  sorry 
to  hear  it.  Lopez  said,  '  Mr.  Washburn  is  an  enemy  to  Paraguay.' 
I  said  I  did  n't  believe  it ;  and  he  continued  :  '  I  do  not  doubt  it ;  I 
have  the  proofs.'  I  then  said  again  :  '  I  do  not  believe  it,  but  if  he 
is,  it  is  none  of  my  business.'  Lopez  then  said  :  'I  wish  you  to  take 
a  part  in  this,  and  try  to  arrange  the  matter  between  myself  and  Mr. 
Washburn,  as  I  am  very  loath  to  take  any  step  inimical  to  the  United 
States.'  I  replied  that  my  mission  was  a  specific  one  ;  that  I  was  not 
a  diplomate,  and  that  I  would  not  interfere  in  the  matter  in  any  way. 
He  remarked  that,  unless  the  matter  could  be  arranged,  he  feared  he 


LETTER  FROM   KIRKLAND.  483 

would  have  to  detain  Mr.  Washburn  ;  and  I  answered  him,  as  nearly 
as  I  can  recollect,  as  follows  :  '  Any  steps  taken  against  the  United 
States  Minister  will  be  avenged  by  that  government,  even  should  the 
Minister  be  in  the  wrong  in  the  first  instance.  Your  duty  is  to  allow 
him  to  depart  peaceably,  and  to  refer  your  complaint,  if  you  have 
any,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  and  you  may  rest  assured 
that  if  the  Minister  has  been  guilty  of  unfriendly  acts  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  Paraguay  while  residing  in  your  country  he  will  be 
called  to  account  for  it ;  but  if  you  take  the  law  in  your  own  hand, 
and  insult  his  sacred  diplomatic  character  by  such  an  act,  a  fleet  of 
six  light-draught  monitors,  with  fifteen  and  twenty-inch  guns,  which 
was  in  Pernambuco,  bound  to  this  river  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  the 
Brazilian  blockade,  will  take  sides  with  the  allies,  will  pass  your  bat- 
teries, knock  down  your  towns  and  cities,  and  the  government  of  the 
United  States  will  hunt  you  over  the  world,  and  demand  you  from 
any  government  that  may  have  given  you  shelter.  I  shall  wait  a 
proper  time,  and  if  Mr.  Washburn  is  not  put  on  board,  or  I  am  not 
allowed  to  embark  him  with  the  means  at  my  command,  I  shall  re- 
turn immediately,  and  report  to  the  government  that  he  is  a  prisoner 
at  your  hands.'  Lopez  then  asked  how  long  I  would  remain.  I  re- 
plied, '  Only  a  few  days,  as  I  have  strict  orders  on  the  s^DJect.'  Lo- 
pez, after  a  short  while,  said  :  '  You  are  right ;  I  will  let  Mr.  Wash- 
burn  go,  and  will  represent  his  conduct  to  his  government.'  ....  I 
have  no  idea  that  Lopez's  remark  was  intended  as  any  threat  against 
Mr.  Washburn's  liberty ;  but  he  was  very  anxious  to  have  the  ship  in 
the  river,  if  possible,  and  thought  he  could  accomplish  that  by  tem- 
porizing." 

In  his  first  version  of  this  interview  with  Lopez,  made  to  me 
verbally  on  board  the  Wasp,  Kirkland  represented  that  he 
made  use  of  much  stronger  language  than  he  has  given  in 
this  account  of  it,  subsequently  sent  to  the  Admiral,  and  at 
that  time  he  did  not  disclaim  the  credit  of  having  frightened 
the  tyrant  by  his  threats  of  the  vengeance  of  the  United  States. 
He  had  heard  many  rumors  of  the  atrocities  of  Lopez  but  a 
short  time  before,  and  when  he  went  on  shore  to  visit  him 
was  quite  uncertain  of  his  reception,  or  of  the  dangers  before 
him.  He  watched  the  countenance  of  the  despot  as  he  talked 
to  him,  and  could  see  the  suppressed  anger  raging  behind  his 


484  PARAGUAY. 

malignant,  cowardly  eyes,  and  was  watching  for  the  first  sign 
of  a  movement  against  himself,  or  for  an  order  in  Guarani  to 
the  surrounding  guards  to  seize  him,  prepared  to  make  an 
end  of  Lopez  sooner  than  be  arrested.  Kirkland  is  the  only 
person,  so  far  as  I  know,  that  ever  went  armed  into  the  pres- 
ence of  Lopez,  and  with  the  intention  of  killing  him  sooner 
than  be  arrested.  It  was  from  his  own  version  of  the  inter- 
view with  Lopez  that  my  letter  of  indorsement  and  approval 
of  his  conduct  was  based.  I  then  believed,  as  I  believe  now, 
that  Kirkland  conducted  himself  with  great  judgment  and  tact 
in  all  his  intercourse  with  Lopez  up  to  the  time  when  he  had 
succeeded  in  frightening  the  tyrant  from  his  purpose  of  keep- 
ing me.  For  that  service  I  wished  to  do  him  all  possible  credit, 
and  when  afterwards  I  learned  that  he  repudiated  my  gratitude, 
and  was  seeking  to  invalidate  my  words  by  representing 
that  Lopez  was  not  the  wretch  I  knew  him  to  be,  and  did  not 
treat  his  prisoners  unkindly  or  with  any  "  unnecessary  harsh- 
ness," I  was  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  Lopez,  having  given 
me  up,  decided  to  try  and  make  Kirkland  his  friend, —  and  suc- 
ceeded. * 

In  the  same  letter  to  the  Admiral,  as  if  to  show,  without  say- 
ing so,  that  he  discredited  my  words,  Kirkland  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

"  Mr.  Washburn  told  me  that  he  had  never  heard  anything  of  a 
revolution  or  conspiracy  against  the  government ;  but,  on  one  occa- 
sion, Mrs.  Washburn,  when  her  husband  was  not  present,  said  that 
there  was  a  plan  to  turn  Lopez  out  of  power,  and  to  put  in  his  place 
his  two  brothers,  Venancio  and  Benigno.  As  Mrs.  Washburn  had 
entirely  agreed  with  her  husband  when  he  emphatically  denied  ever 
having  heard  of  any  plan,  this  admission  on  her  part  rather  astonished 
me  ;  but  I  did  not  comment  on  it." 

In  all  the  "declarations  "  of  Lopez's  tortured  witnesses,  and 
in  all  the  statements  made  at  different  times  by  the  persons 
who  subsequently  escaped  from  his  power,  no  allusion  was  ever 
made  to  this  plan  to  turn  out  Lopez  and  put  his  brothers  in  his 
place.  No  one  of  the  survivors  had  ever  heard  of  it  except 
Mrs.  Washburn,  and  the  improbability,  not  to  say  impossibility, 


SAILING   OF   THE   SQUADRON.  485 

that  she  could  ever  have  made  such  a  remark,  is,  therefore, 
sufficiently  evident. 

It  may  be  here  remarked,  that  when  the  Congressional 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  were  engaged  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  Paraguayan  difficulties,  all  the  friends  and  apologists 
of  Lopez,  including  Davis,  McMahon,  Kirkland,  and  Ramsey, 
were  categorically  questioned  if  they  had  any  evidence  derived 
from  persons  beyond  the  reach  of  the  tyrant  that  any  conspir- 
acy had  existed  in  Paraguay,  and  they  could  allege  nothing 
except  this  remark  that  Kirkland  said  was  made  by  Mrs.  Wash- 
burn,  and  one  or  two  sentences  in  my  correspondence  with  Be- 
nitez,  in  which  I  had  spoken  of  the  conspiracy  as  if  I  had  be- 
lieved in  it.  All  who  have  since  escaped,  and  have  spoken  in 
regard  to  the  matter,  have  expressed  their  belief  that  there 
never  was  any  conspiracy,  so  that  the  only  witnesses  to  the 
contrary  are  Mrs.  Washburn  and  myself. 

At  length,  on  the  28th  of  October,  the  Admiral  started  fo_' 
Montevideo  in  the  Guerriere,  having  Minister  McMahon  and 
his  family  on  board.  The  smaller  vessels  of  the  squadron  had 
sailed  a  day  or  two  before.  Nearly  a  month  had  elapsed  since 
he  first  heard  of  the  seizure  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  but  by  his 
delay  he  had  taught  the  lesson  to  American  ministers,  that  in 
all  cases  in  which  the  honor  of  their  country  is  concerned  they 
are  not  to  be  consulted,  and  that  if  they  offer  any  opinion  they 
may  be  rudely  insulted,  and  the  insult  will  be  indorsed  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

Investigation  of  Paraguayan  Affairs  by  Congress.  —  Its  Object.  —  The  Course 
taken  by  the  Naval  Department.  —  Extracts  from  the  Report  of  the  Congres- 
sional Committee.  —  Admiral  Godon  censured.  —  Extracts  from  the  Testi- 
mony of  Captain  Clark  H.  Wells.  —  Interview  with  Admiral  Davis  and  Gen- 
eral McMahon.  —  The  Admiral's  Forgetfulness.  —  He  determines  to  demand 
the  Release  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  Extract  from  a  Letter  to  McMahon.  — 
His  Subsequent  Course.  —  Antecedents  of  McMahon.  —  Return  to  the  United 
States.  —  Naval  Courtesy.  —  Captain  Ramsey. 

THE  reader  who  has  followed  me  thus  far  in  my  "  Remi- 
niscences of  Diplomacy  under  Difficulties,"  may  object 
to  so  long  a  digression  from  the  events  in  Paraguay  to  the 
conduct  of  officers  in  the  American  Navy.  It  may  also  be 
objected  that  in  a  work  of  this  kind,  intended  to  be  more 
permanent  than  the  ephemeral  literature  of  the  newspapers, 
the  faults  of  our  own  countrymen  should  be  made  public.  It 
is  certainly  a  task  far  from  agreeable  to  expose  the  doublings 
and  dishonesty  of  men  to  whom  is  intrusted  to  some  extent 
the  guardianship  of  the  national  honor,  and  the  person  who 
does  it  is  sure  to  bring  upon  himself  a  crowd  of  assailants 
who,  if  they  cannot  disprove  his  facts,  will  impugn  his  motives. 
Before  he  ventures  on  such  a  labor,  therefore,  he  should  be 
very  sure  that  there  is  no  vulnerable  point  in  his  own  armor. 
These  possible  objections  have  all  been  duly  considered. 
When  I  first  escaped  from  Paraguay,  knowing  that  I  brought 
away  with  me  the  good-will  of  every  person  in  that  country 
except  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch,  and  that  hundreds  felt 
grateful  to  me  for  the  efforts  I  had  made,  at  great  risk  to  my- 
self and  family,  to  serve  and  save  them,  and  that  every  one 
who  had  ever  lived  there,  and  could  appreciate  my  situation, 
would  approve  my  every  act,  I  did  not  anticipate  that  the 


INVESTIGATION   BY   CONGRESS.  487 

acknowledgment  for  all  these  services  would  be  a  general  con- 
demnation, based  not  only  on  the  ridiculous  and  self-contra- 
dicting charges  of  Lopez  and  the  tirades  of  the  allies,  but  on 
the  reports  of  the  officers  of  our  own  squadron.  I  then  said 
that  the  truth  would  at  some  day  be  made  clear,  and  that  I 
could  afford  to  wait.  At  that  time  I  had  nothing  but  my  own 
unsupported  word  to  put  against  that  of  Lopez  and  his  multi- 
tude of  tortured  witnesses,  against  the  allies,  and  against  the 
higher  officers  of  the  South  Atlantic  Squadron. 

Afterwards,  when  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  released,  and 
I  had  some  witnesses,  they  prepared  a  memorial  to  Con- 
gress, asking  an  investigation  into  the  treatment  they  had 
received  from  Lopez,  and  also  at  the  hands  of  Admiral  Davis 
and  his  officers.  This  memorial  was  referred  to  the  House 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  and  by  a  resolution  which,  at 
my  instance,  was  made  to  call  for  an  investigation  into  the 
conduct  of  the  officers  of  the  squadron,  and  that  of  "  the 
late  Minister  to  Paraguay,"  —  myself.  I  desired  that  the  in- 
vestigation might  be  thorough,  and  that  those  officers  who 
had  been  so  free  to  defend  Lopez  and  assail  me  might  have  a 
chance  to  make  good  their  statements,  and  if,  in  their  zeal  to 
serve  a  tyrant,  they  had  digraced  the  naval  service,  that  the 
public  should  be  informed  of  it.  It  was  not  enough  that  the 
head  of  the  Navy  Department  should  know  it,  for  I  had  learned 
that  it  was  a  rule,  scarcely  ever  departed  from,  in  that  Depart- 
ment, to  sustain  the  higher  officers  in  the  service,  whatever 
they  might  do.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  had  indorsed  and 
approved  throughout  the  conduct  of  Admiral  Godon,  notwith- 
standing which  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  after  full 
investigation,  severely  condemned  it.*  The  conduct  of  Ad- 

*  "  This  manifest  indifference  on  the  part  of  Admiral  Godon  to  the  reasonable 
request  of  an  American  Minister  continued  for  a  considerable  period  of  time,  and 
finally  resulted  in  excuses  which  soon  became  as  numerous  as  they  were  friv- 
olous  

"  That  this  excuse  of  an  '  insufficiency  of  coal '  was  a  mere  evasion  of  the 
Admiral  is  furthermore  apparent  from  his  own  testimony 

"  Thus,  after  a  delay  of  over  a  year,  for  which  there  was,  in  our  opinion,  no 
justifiable  excuse  on  the  part  of  Admiral  Godon,  Mr.  Washburn  was  permit- 
ted to  reach  his  destination. 


488  PARAGUAY. 

miral  Davis  was  likewise  approved  throughout  by  the  same 
Secretary,  Gideon  Welles,  who  not  only  justified  him  in  all  he 
had  done,  but  induced  the  Secretary  of  State  also  to  write  a 
letter  of  commendation. 

The  Vice-Admiral  of  the  Navy,  now  the  Admiral  (Porter), 
when  called  before  the  investigating  committee  to  give  his 
testimony  in  regard  to  the  usages  of  the  navy,  found  nothing 
in  the  conduct  of  Godon,  Davis,  Ramsey,  or  Kirkland  to  con- 
demn, but  approved  and  indorsed  it  all,  and  testified  that  they 
were  all  most  marvellously  proper  men,  and  ornaments  to  the 
country  and  the  service.  In  fact,  so  explicit  was  he  in  his  ap- 
proval, that  he  justified  Davis  for  treating  Bliss  and  Master- 
man  as  prisoners,  though  the  latter  had  under  oath  denied 
that  he  had  thus  treated  them.  Had  he  hung  them  both  at 
the  yard-arm  of  the  Wasp  at  the  order  of  Lopez,  he  would 
doubtless  have  been  as  fully  sustained  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment. In  the  naval  service  it  is  understood  that  there  is  no 
appeal  to  any  power  but  to  the  Secretary.  No  wronged  sub- 
ordinate officer  can  appeal  to  the  public  through  the  press 
without  incurring  the  liability  of  being  court-martialed.  His 
complaints  to  the  Secretary  must  first  be  delivered  unsealed 
to  the  admiral,  who  will  forward  them  or  not,  according  to  his 
own  pleasure.  If  sent  forward,  they  are  accompanied  by  the 
admiral's  justification  and  counter-charges,  and  the  difficulty 
is  hushed  up  by  the  Secretary,  always,  however,  leaving  the 
admiral  unscathed  and  the  public  ignorant  of  his  tyranny  and 
injustice.  That  the  public  may  remain  quiet  and  acquiescent 

"  During  this  investigation  your  committee  have  seen,  with  regret,  the  exist- 
ence, among  the  officers  of  the  South  Atlantic  Squadron,  of  a  feeling  of  extreme 
bitterness  and  malevolence,  accompanied  with  acts  of  superciliousness  and  petty 
tyranny  totally  unworthy  of  their  position,  derogatory  to  our  national  character, 
and  subversive  of  that  efficiency  in  the  naval  service  which  can  spring  only  from 
harmony  and  proper  respect  on  all  occasions.  The  necessity  and  justification  of 
these  remarks  are  to  be  found  in  the  accompanying  testimony. 

"  In  this  connection  we  also  feel  compelled  to  advert  to  a  feeling  of  disrespect 
exhibited  by  Admiral  Godon  towards  our  diplomatic  representatives  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact,  and  which  probably  furnishes  the  motive  for  his  course  in 
this  matter."  —  Paraguayan  Investigation,  Report  of  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs^ 
pp.  iii,  v,  xxvi. 


EXPENSE  AND  ROUTINE  OF  THE  NAVY.          489 

in  the  enormous  expense  of  the  navy,  it  must  be  kept  un- 
informed of  the  tyranny  practised  within  it,  and  of  the  utter 
uselessness  of  the  squadrons  that  are  maintained  on  foreign 
stations,  at  the  cost  of  millions  annually.  To  keep  one  first- 
rate,  like  the  Guerriere,  flag-ship  of  Admiral  Davis,  abroad, 
costs  more  money  than  the  whole  diplomatic  service  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  yet,  though  Admiral  Godon  made  him- 
self the  friend  and  "  confidential "  adviser  of  the  allies,  in 
preventing  an  American  Minister  from  reaching  his  post 
of  official  duty,  and  bitterly  persecuted  the  best  officers  in 
his  squadron  because  they  would  not  approve  his  conduct 
and  act  a  part  unbecoming  a  gentleman,*  and  though  Ad- 
miral Davis  meekly  submitted  to  the  indignities  offered  by 
Lopez  to  the  American  flag,  without  pretending  to  resent 
them,  yet  the  conduct  of  both  admirals  was  approved  and 
commended  by  Mr.  Secretary  Welles.  When  such  acts 
were  approved,  certainly  it  was  time  for  a  power  stronger 
than  the  Secretary  to  take  the  matter  in  hand,  and  make 
a  thorough  investigation.  In  the  ordinary  routine  of  the 
navy,  under  its  present  system,  which  prevents  the  public 
from  knowing  how  their  money  is  squandered,  and  renders  the 
department  an  imperium  in  imperio,  these  abuses  might  go 
on  indefinitely  if  their  exposure  were  dependent  on  persons 
subject  to  the  authority  of  the  Secretary.  They  cannot 
appeal  to  the  public  without  a  certainty  of  being  ignominiously 
dismissed  from  the  service,  after  which,  as  disgraced  men,  they 
have  little  or  no  influence.  Hence  it  is  for  persons  in  no  way 
connected  with  the  navy  to  expose  the  abuses  within  it,  if  the 
people  are  ever  to  be  informed  of  them.  But  as  it  is  seldom 
that  any  one  not  in  the  navy  becomes  cognizant  of  the  tyr- 
anny and  wrongs  which  are  perpetrated  on  distant  stations  by 

*  "  He  (Admiral  Godon)  charged  me  with  not  having  written  him  about  Mr. 
Washburn,  his  conversation  and  his  movements,  while  I  had  been  acting  as 
senior  officer  in  the  ports  of  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Aires.  I  told  him  that  I 
did  not  consider  that  that  was  any  part  of  my  duty ;  that  my  duty  was  to 
report  to  him  anything  official  :  but  as  for  writing  of  Mr.  Wastiburn,  what  he 
said,  or  about  his  movements,  or  anything  connected  with  him,  I  never  could 
perform  any  service  of  that  kind."  —  Paraguayan  Investigation,  testimony  of 
Captain  Clark  H.  Wells,  p.  no. 


490  PARAGUAY. 

officers  high  in  rank  and  command,  it  is  certainly  my  duty 
as  one  of  those  in  another  branch  of  the  public  service 
who  have  been  forced,  not  only  to  witness,  but  to  suffer 
from  the  arrogant  pretensions  on  one  hand,  and  the  humiliat- 
ing concessions  on  the  other,  of  these  same  officials,  to  fully 
expose  their  delinquencies  as  a  part  of  my  "  Reminiscences 
of  Diplomacy  under  Difficulties." 

On  the  4th  of  November,  the  Guerriere  arrived  at  Monte- 
video, and  shortly  after  Admiral  Davis  and  General  McMahon 
took  passage  on  the  Wasp  for  Buenos  Aires,  where  I  had  the 
honor  of  being  visited  by  both  of  them  at  my  hotel.  I  now 
learned  for  the  first  time  that  the  Admiral  had  decided  to  go 
to  Paraguay  and  demand  the  release  of  Bliss  and  Master- 
man,  and  was  assured  by  him  that  the  report  I  had  heard 
of  his  having  expressed  doubts  in  regard  to  my  representa- 
tions of  the  conduct  of  Lopez,  and  the  condition  of  affairs  in 
Paraguay  was  utterly  untrue.  He  had  never  said  anything 
of  the  kind.  This  was  a  flat  contradiction  of  what  General 
Webb  had  written  to  me  ;  and  I  afterwards  had  other  evidence 
that  would  indicate  that  the  Admiral  was  forgetful. 

He  nevertheless  seemed  disinclined  to  believe  that  Lopez 
was  quite  so  bad  as  I  had  represented  him  to  be,  and  declined 
to  advise  me  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue  in  case 
Bliss  and  Masterman  had  already  been  executed  or  Lopez 
should  refuse  to  give  them  up.  I  warned  him  that  Lopez 
would  try  very  hard  to  deceive  him,  and  that  he  could  manu- 
facture testimony  at  pleasure.  From  my  intimate  knowledge 
of  all  the  circumstances  of  Lopez's  character  and  his  system 
of  diplomacy,  I  thought  I  could  be  of  some  service  in  the 
negotiations  if  I  could  return  as  a  passenger.  But  the 
Admiral  thought  himself  too  acute  to  be  overreached,  and 
declined  my  offer ;  and  though  I  knew  perfectly  well  that  a 
sharper  man  than  he,  and  one  more  sensible  of  the  difficulties 
of  the  task,  would  be  hoodwinked  and  imposed  upon,  I  could 
not  with  propriety  tell  him  so.  I  advised  him,  however,  with- 
out reserve,  and  also  General  McMahon,  of  the  obstacles  they 


LETTER  TO   MY   SUCCESSOR.  491 

would  have  to  encounter.  To  the  latter  I  expressed  the 
opinion  that  he  ought  not  to  go  near  Lopez,  nor  present  his 
credentials,  till  he  received  further  instructions  from  the 
government.  In  order  to  advise  him  more  definitely  in  regard 
to  the  property  of  certain  persons  that  had  been  left  with 
me,  and  to  enlist  him  in  behalf  of  friends  whom  I  had  left  in 
Paraguay,  if  they  should  survive  till  Lopez  was  overthrown,  I 
wrote  him  a  letter,  from  which,  as  it  contained  the  impressions 
then  fresh  in  my  mind  just  after  my  escape  from  the  despot's 
power,  and  was  addressed  to  one  who  might  soon  have  an 
opportunity  of  verifying  their  correctness,  I  make  the  follow- 
ing quotations  :  — 

"  We  left  many  friends  in  Paraguay,  concerning  whose  fate  we  feel 
the  most  painful  interest.  To  spite  us,  we  fear,  Lopez  may  have 
robbed,  imprisoned,  tortured,  or  shot  those  known  to  be  our  friends. 
We  are  terribly  anxious  to  know  their  fate,  and  depend  on  you  to 
advise  us.  Of  all  the  Paraguayans,  the  family  in  which  we  take  the 
most  interest  is  that  of  the  late  Don  Jose  Mauricio  Casal,  living,  if 
still  in  their  old  home,  near  the  villa  of  Limpio,  some  five  or  six 
leagues  from  Asuncion.  Both  Mrs.  Washburn  and  myself  were 
more  intimate  with  that  family  than  any  other,  visiting  them  often 
and  being  visited  by  them  in  return.  On  leaving,  I  made  a  request 
that  my  horses,  four  in  number,  and  cows,  of  which  I  had  about  ten, 
might  be  sent  out  to  this  family.  I  am  afraid,  however,  they  were 
not  sent,  but,  instead,  our  good  friends  were  sent  off  to  the  Cordil- 
leras, or  were  taken  in  irons  to  the  army,  and  perhaps  the  backs  of 
the  pretty  Conchita  and  Anita  scored  with  the  lash.  We  charge 
you,  both  of  us,  to  inquire  particularly  about  this  family,  and  let  us 
know  what  became  of  them.  Should  the  war  end  and  they  be  left 
in  their  old  home,  you  will  find  their  house  the  most  delightful 
place  to  visit  in  all  Paraguay. 

"  Another  friend  in  whom  we  take  great  interest  is  the  widow 
Dona  Carmelita  Gill  de  Cordal.  She  lived  close  by,  and  visited  us 
very  often.  She  is  a  sister  of  the  Captain  Gill  who  was  one  of  the 
heroic  defenders  of  Humaita.  Few  men  living  have  been  under 
fire  so  much  as  he.  But,  because  he  and  his  handful,  surrounded 
by  ten  times  their  number,  and  literally  starving,  with  no  possible 
chance  of  escape,  surrendered,  Lopez  has  published  him  as  a 


492  PARAGUAY. 

traitor,  very  probably  confiscated  the  property  of  all  his  family  and 
sent  them  into  exile,  or,  perhaps,  taken  them  in  irons  to  his  head- 
quarters to  be  shot.  That  is  his  style.  So  he  has  served  many 
others  under  similar  circumstances.  Try  and  advise  us  of  the  fate 
of  our  spunky,  witty,  confidential,  Lopez-hating  little  friend.  When 
the  war  began  she  had  a  husband,  who  was  one  of  the  richest  men 
in  Paraguay,  and  three  children.  Her  husband  was  taken  as  a 
common  soldier,  and  sent  into  the  ranks  barefoot,  and  killed  in  the 
first  battle  in  which  he  took  part.  Now  we  fear  she  has  nothing  left 
but  her  iron  anklets. 

"  Several  Englishmen  and  one  German,  in  the  employ  of  Lopez, 
sent  away  their  money  by  me.  It  was  brought  down  by  the  Wasp. 
Lest  it  might  be  seized  in  Buenos  Aires  and  confiscated,  I  sent  it  to 
Montevideo,  and  ordered  it  to  be  delivered  to  the  London  and 
River  Plate  Bank,  and  the  part  that  was  to  be  sent  to  England  was 
to  be  forwarded  as  directed  on  the  boxes,  and  the  rest  was  to  be  put 
to  the  credit  of  the  owners  in  said  bank.  The  Wasp  charged  two 
and  a  half  per  cent  as  freight,  which  was  all  the  expense  incurred. 

"  You  will  understand  that  I  write  now  in  view  of  contingencies 
that  may  never  arise.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  after  Lopez's  insults 
to  me,  and  his  seizure  of  two  members  of  my  Legation,  you  will  not 
have  any  communication  with  him  till  the  government  has  been 
advised  of  his  conduct,  and  has  deliberately  resolved  on  its  course 
of  action.  I  am  confident  that  our  government  will  never  resume 
diplomatic  relations  with  Lopez.  I  have  denounced  him  as  a 
common  enemy,  and  have  no  doubt  my  course  will  be  approved. 
But  a  common  enemy  cannot  long  stand  against  the  world.  He 
must  soon  bite  the  dust,  and  my  hope  is  that  this  ogre  may  be 
finished  off  before  he  has  destroyed  all  my  friends  in  Paraguay.  In 
that  case  you  may  learn  something  of  the  condition  of  those  who 
remain,  if  any  such  there  be,  and  the  way  the  others  were  murdered 
by  the  grim  monster.  It  is  in  view  of  such  contingencies  I  beg  of 
you  to  advise  me  of  the  fate  of  some  of  the  dearest  friends  I  have  ever 
known.  I  never  was  so  anxious  to  leave  a  place  as  I  was  to  leave 
Paraguay,  and  I  never  left  a  place  with  so  sad  a  heart.  I  had  the 
feeling  that  all  who  had  been  particular  friends  to  me  and  mine 
were  to  be  put  to  death  —  perhaps  after  torture  —  for  that  crime. 

"But  I  could  do  no  more  for  anybody,  and  the  more  I  defied 
Lopez  the  more  provoked  he  was  to  visit  his  wrath  on  my  friends, 


GENERAL  MARTIN  T.  McMAHON.  493 

and  at  the  time  of  the  last  arrival  of  the  Wasp  he  was  on  the  point 
of  proceeding  to  violent  measures  against  me.  This  fact  will  appear 
if  any  of  those  persons  immediately  about  him  shall  escape  to  tell 
what  they  know.  But  he  does  not  intend  they  shall  escape.  His 
plan  is  to  destroy  all  the  witnesses.  I  beg  of  you  to  see  if  all  I 
now  write  is  not  confirmed  ;  and  if  you  will  advise  me  from  time  to 
time  of  what  you  may  learn,  I  will  thank  you  very  sincerely,  and  re- 
ciprocate in  any  way  that  I  may  be  able." 

Little  did  I  think,  while  penning  that  letter,  that  a  few 
months  later  General  McMahon  would  return  from  Paraguay, 
knowing  nothing  of  the  friends  for  whom  I  had  solicited  his 
good  offices,  but  abounding  with  admiration  for  the  great 
Lopez,  the  murderer  of  most  of  them  ;  and  that  he  would 
return  to  the  United  States  and  endeavor  to  convince  the 
government  that  Lopez  was  invincible,  was  a  great  and  good 
man,  dearly  beloved  by  his  people ;  and  that  the  diplomatic 
relations  that  had  been  suspended  by  his  recall  should  be  im- 
mediately renewed. 

General  Martin  T.  McMahon,  who  was  appointed  by  An- 
drew Johnson  to  succeed  me  as  Minister  to  Paraguay,  was 
born  in  Canada,  and  is  of  Irish  parentage.  Left  an  orphan 
in  his  youth,  he  was  taken  in  charge  by  Archbishop  Hughes 
of  New  York,  and  educated  at  his  college.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Rebellion,  he  volunteered  as  a  soldier  on  the  Union 
side,  and  rose  during  the  war  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general 
of  volunteers,  having  throughout  a  good  military  record.  In 
the  long  list  of  brigadiers  who  were  brevetted  as  major-gen- 
erals after  the  war,  his  name  was  included.  Having  been  edu- 
cated as  he  was,  not  unnaturally  he  was  earnestly  devoted  to 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  certain  magnates  of  that  body  united 
in  recommending  him  to  the  President  as  a  proper  person  to 
send  as  Minister  to  Mexico.  A  more  eminent  soldier,  though 
probably  no  braver,  General  W.  S.  Rosecrans,  and  one,  it  is 
to  be  presumed,  more  faithful  to  the  Catholic  Church,  was 
appointed  to  Mexico  ;  and  as  the  mission  to  Paraguay  was 
vacant,  McMahon  was  appointed  to  it.  With  such  antece- 
dents it  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  he  could  ever  become 


494  PARAGUAY. 

the  champion  of  a  tyrant  who  had  murdered  the  bishop  and 
nearly  all  the  priests  in  Paraguay,  after  subjecting  them  to 
every  imaginable  indignity  and  suffering.  Yet  the  champion 
of  such  a  character  he  became.* 

*  There  were  three  native  Americans  in  Paraguay  at  the  time  I  left,  besides 
Mr.  Bliss,  —  John  A.  Duffield,  Thomas  Carter,  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Sheri- 
dan. Manlove  had  been  already  executed.  There  were  also  two  naturalized 
Americans, — Jose  Font  and  Leonard  Charles.  Duffield  and  Charles  escaped  by 
being  taken  prisoners  by  the  Brazilians ;  the  others  are  all  supposed  to  have 
been  killed  by  Lopez.  From  a  letter  received  from  Duffield,  dated  July  6,  1869, 
I  give  the  following  extracts,  as  indicating  the  zeal  of  my  successor  in  looking 
after  the  interests  of  his  countrymen. 
"  My  True  and  Considerate  Friend,  Mr.  Washburn  :  — 

"My  dear  Sir,  — I  received  your  note  of  November  11,  1868,  May  18,  1869, 
enclosed  to  me  in  a  letter  and  package  of  books  from  your  successor,  General  M.  T. 

McMahon,  in  which  letter  he  gives  no  reasons  for  the  detention  of  said  note 

I  was  asked  by  a  great  many  natives,  and  also  by  the  families  of  murdered  for- 
eigners, why  the  United  States  wished  to  prolong  such  a  heart-rending,  bloody 
war  by  sending  a  Minister  here  to  back  up  a  remorseless  tyrant  and  coward,  at  a 
time  when  he  was  driven  out  of  his  last  stronghold,  and  every  hope  fled  of  being 
able  to  stand  against  his  enemy.  At  this  crisis  the  General  arrived  to  congratu- 
late a  phenomenon  of  tyranny,  who  had  just  wallowed  in  the  blood  of  six  hundred 
foreigners  whom  he  ordered  to  be  first  tortured  and  then  lanced  to  death,  with- 
out trial  or  explanation  of  any  kind.  Nor  was  he  contented  with  taking  the  lives 
of  innocent,  industrious  foreigners  and  natives,  but  also  took  their  property,  even 

to  the  wearing-apparel  of  the  widows  and  orphans I  will  mention  again, 

that  a  Christian  country  sends  a  Minister  to  congratulate  the  author  of  all  these 
inhuman  barbarities  in  its  President's  name,  —  as  McMahon  mentioned  in  his 
oration  to  Lopez  when  he  presented  his  credentials,  —  to  congratulate  a  cowardly 
despot  who  has  never  yet  been  nearer  to  a  battle-field  than  two  leagues,  to  con- 
gratulate a  consummate,  blood-thirsty  despot,  immoral  in  his  habits  as  any  savage 
or  brute  beast,  and  who  boasts  of  having  ruined  hundreds  of  women  ;  and  it  is 
well  known  that  lately  he  ordered  several  of  these  same  women  to  be  ignomini- 
ously  put  to  death  for  some  trifling  word  which  they  said,  or  were  accused  of 
saying I  will  finish  this  painful  subject  by  giving  you  a  short  account  of  Gen- 
eral McMahon's  regret  on  being  recalled,  also  the  last  farce  or  petty  piece  on  his 
departure.  In  the  first  place,  he  sent  me  a  letter  and  the  package  of  books  before 

mentioned,  with  your  note  enclosed,  by  post His  letter  was  as  follows  :  '  I 

have  seen  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Relations,  and  he  tells  me  that  the  chief  of 
your  partido  will  furnish  the  necessary  pass  for  you  to  come  here  and  visit  me,  as 
I  am  recalled,  and  will  be  very  much  pleased  to  see  you  before  my  departure 
from  this  country.  Come  as  quick  as  possible,  for  I  intend  to  leave  on  Saturday 
next.'  I  immediately  put  on  my  best  clothes  and  started  in  flying  colors,  after  ten 
months  of  sickness  and  imprisonment The  next  day  I  arrived  at  my  destina- 
tion, having  travelled  all  night  on  an  empty  stomach,  and  wet  to  the  skin,  as  the 
distance  was  twenty-four  miles,  and  he  leaving  the  very  next  day  I  could  not  wait 


RETURN   TO   THE    UNITED   STATES.  495 

Admiral  Davis  having  resolved  on  his  plan  of  action,  and 
being  little  more  inclined  to  respect  my  opinions  than  he  was 
those  of  General  Webb,  I  could  be  of  no  further  service  by 
remaining  longer  in  Buenos  Aires ;  and  as  Mrs.  Washburn 

until  the  rain  was  over.  On  my  arrival  I  went  straight  to  his  house,  directed  by 
a  policeman.  I  met  the  General  standing  in  his  doorway.  He  received  me  very 
cordially,  so  far  as  words  went.  His  first  conversation  was  to  express  great  re- 
gret on  being  recalled,  and  mentioned  your  name,  saying  that  he  believed  you 
were  the  cause  of  it  His  next  remark  to  me  was  that  the  Legation  in  Asuncion 
had  been  sacked  by  the  Brazilian  soldiers,  and  that  he  wanted  a  list  of  the  articles 
which  were  there  belonging  to  me.  I  told  him  that  a  safe,  which  I  lent  you  for 
the  Legation,  and  a  large  red-cedar  box,  also  four  cushions  belonging  to  my  large 
coach,  were  the  only  property  which  belonged  to  me  in  the  Legation.  He  then 
asked  me  if  there  was  money  in  the  box.  I  told  him  no  ;  but  that  there  were  ar- 
ticles in  it  that  were  the  same  as  money  to  me,  as  the  box  had  a  false  bottom,  un- 
derneath which  was  jewelry  of  the  most  expensive  kind,  studded  with  brilliants 
and  diamonds,  and  in  the  upper  part  of  the  box  there  were  books,  clothes,  and 

various  other  articles I  told  him  I  left  the  stars  and  stripes  in  my  room,  so 

that  if  there  was  a  sack  it  could  not  be  done  innocently ;  also  the  fire-proof  safe 
in  the  same  contained  my  papers  to  show  the  amount  which  the  jewelry  cost  me. 
....  The  amount  total  I  paid  was  $  6,000  and  some  pesos  (dollars),  of  which 

I  cannot  recollect  the  exact  amount At  this  part  of  his  questions  and  my 

answers,  an  officer  walked  right  into  the  room  where  we  were  sitting,  without  any 
ceremony,  and  told  the  General  that  her  Excellency  was  coming  to  visit  him  in 
a  very  short  time.  This  knocked  me  out  of  time  to  see  a  Paraguayan  soldier 
plunge  headlong  into  an  American  Minister's  house  and  apartments,  as  if  he  was 
all  at  home  and  quite  accustomed  to  the  room  of  the  American  Legation.  I  also 
was  puzzled  to  know  who  her  Excellency  was,  but  in  a  very  few  minutes  I  was 
relieved  of  my  suspense  on  seeing  Madam  Lynch's  face  approaching  the  Minis- 
ter's door,  and  he  running  to  do  the  amiable  in  ushering  her  into  his  house.  On 

entering,  she  gave  a  distinct  nod  of  her  head  to  me McMahon  turned  to 

me  and  said,  '  DufiSeld,  excuse  me  a  few  minutes.'  ....  On  leaving  the  Legation, 
I  met  by  accident  some  old  friends  of  yours,  who  were  the  family  of  Requelmes 
and  Annabella  Casal.  They  inquired  after  you  very  kindly,  and  invited  me  to  go 
with  them  to  have  mate  at  their  house,  or  tolderia,  which  was  a  few  hides  stuck 

on  posts ;  and  even  that  was  more  than  a  majority  of  the  best  families  have 

After  taking  a  few  mates,  I  felt  myself  coming  to  life,  as  I  was  perfectly  be- 
numbed with  cold  and  wet,  and  weak  with  hunger,  which  those  good-hearted 
girls  could  see  directly,  though  they  were  very  little  better  themselves.  Still 
they  sympathized  with  me  far  more  than  the  thoughtless,  inconsiderate  Mc- 
Mahon  After  whispering  over  a  great  many  things  in  general,  as  you  know 

well  we  could  not  talk  very  loud,  they  told  me  about  a  great  many  respecta- 
ble families  that  had  nearly  all  died  off  in  that  district  of  starvation  and  ex- 
posure  Finally  I  thanked  them  for  their  mate  and  took  my  departure,  leav- 
ing them  all  in  sorrow  I  directed  my  course  back  to  the  Legation,  where  I  met 
the  General  alone  and  very  pensive  after  his  conversation  with  her  Excellency. 


496  PARAGUAY. 

had  so  far  recovered  from  the  reaction  consequent  on  the 
terrible  strain  and  anxiety  of  the  last  three  months  in  Para- 
guay that  her  physician  thought  she  might  venture  upon  the 
sea,  we  started,  on  the  I4th  of  November,  to  return  to  the 
United  States. 

He  told  me  if  I  needed  money  he  would  cash  the  order  which  your  note  con- 
tained on  Samuel  B.  Hale  and  Company,  if  I  wished  ;  which  proposition  I  agreed 
to,  and  he  handed  me  the  money  on  my  indorsing  the  note.  Having  no  more 
business  to  transact  in  the  Legation,  and  McMahon  offering  me  no  consolation 
or  prospect  of  being  able  to  get  out  of  this  dreadful  hell  on  earth,  because,  as 
he  said,  'This  was  no  time  to  embarrass  Lopez  with  questions,'  I  left  him  a  cold- 
water  good-by  and  started  immediately  to  change  some  pats*  and  have  a  little  to 
eat.  Not  finding  any  person  that  dared  to  offer  more  than  ten  reals  for  each  pat, 
I  was  obliged  to  change  four  to  pay  for  a  little  dish  of  puchero  (stew)  that  did 
not  half  satisfy  my  hunger.  I  omitted  to  mention,  that,  on  my  departure  from  the 
Minister's  quarters,  I  was  surprised  on  seeing  Jose  Solis  standing  in  the  doorway 
of  a  room  adjoining  the  Legation.  As  I  passed,  he  saluted  me,  and  appeared  to 
be  very  much  astonished  that  I  was  not  dead  yet.  Before  he  got  over  his  aston- 
ishment, I  asked  him  if  he  occupied  those  rooms.  He  said  that  they  were  her 
Excellency  La  Madama's,  and  that  he  had  just  come  to  pack,  or  superintend  the 
packing  of  a  large  quantity  of  boxes  for  the  American  Minister  to  take  away. 

"  I  will  now  finish  this  sorrowful  account  of  suffering,  hoping  that  neither  you 
nor  yours  may  ever  experience  the  like.  May  God  bless  you  and  your  family !  If 
this  letter  reaches  you,  please  publish  a  part  or  the  whole  of  it,  as  you  think  proper, 
but  first  correct  my  bad  orthography,  and  oblige 

"  Yours, 

"  JOHN  A.  DUFFIELD." 

*  Pataconet,  silver  dollars. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Delay  of  Admiral  Davis  in  going  to  the  Rescue  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  The 
Paraguayan  Tribunal.  —  Examination  of  Mr.  Bliss.  —  Specimen  of  his  Testi- 
mony, as  taken  down  by  the  Tribunal. — Torture.  —  Political  Prisoners. — 
The  Narrative  of  Mr.  Masterman.  —  His  Fellow-Prisoners,  Dr.  Carreras, 
Don  Benigno  Lopez,  and  others.  —  The  Cepo  Uruguayans  —  Its  Origin.  — 
Mr.  Taylor's  Experience  in  it.  —  Other  Victims.  —  Sufferings  and  Privations  of 
the  Prisoners.  —  The  President's  Sisters.  —  His  Mother. 

THE  Admiral,  having  learned  to  his  satisfaction  that  Bliss 
and  Masterman  were  treated  with  "  no  unnecessary 
harshness,"  delayed  his  departure  from  Buenos  Aires  to  go 
after  them  till  the  23d  of  November,  nearly  two  months  after 
he  first  heard  of  their  arrest.  This  delay  would  be  regarded 
as  no  less  than  criminal  by  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
should  all  the  facts  ever  become  known  to  them.  It  was 
necessary,  in  order  to  palliate  the  dilatory  conduct  of  the  Ad- 
miral, to  manufacture  evidence  in  Lopez's  favor,  and  prove 
that  he  was  not  the  cruel  tyrant  that  I  had  represented  him 
to  be.  Having  thus  taken  measures  to  forestall  public  opin- 
ion at  home,  the  squadron,  consisting  of  four  vessels,  —  the 
Wasp,  the  Pawnee,  the  Quinnebaug,  and  the  Kansas, — 
started  for  Paraguay. 

In  the  mean  while  it  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to 
know  what  had  become  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  Each  of 
them  has  given  to  the  public  a  full  narrative  of  his  treat- 
ment, to  the  general  correctness  of  which  numerous  others 
have  given  corroborative  testimony.  In  a  previous  chapter  I 
have  given  an  account  of  their  torture  and  sufferings  imme- 
diately after  their  arrest,  while  I  was  on  board  the  Wasp, 
and  Kirkland  was  holding  that  last  interview  with  Lopez,  in 
which  he  learned  so  much  of  his  benevolent  intentions,  and 

VOL.  ii.  32 


498  PARAGUAY. 

of  his  ardent  desire  to  continue  friendly  relations  with  the 
United  States. 

Mr.  Bliss,  on  being  taken  into  the  open  square,  found  a  large 
number  of  prisoners  there  confined.  All  of  thern  were  in  the 
most  squalid,  starving  condition.  Among  them  he  noticed  a 
person  who  had  a  familiar  look,  but  whom  he  was  unable  to 
recognize  for  a  long  time.  His  nose  had  been  broken  in, 
evidently  by  forcing  his  head  against  a  musket,  while  under- 
going the  torture  of  the  cepo  umguayana.  He  was  heavily 
ironed,  as  were  the  other  political  prisoners,  of  whom  there 
were  some  fifteen  or  twenty  that  Mr.  Bliss  recognized.  There 
were  also  several  priests  in  like  manner  loaded  with  heavy 
fetters.  Of  the  large  number  of  these  prisoners  who  were  to 
be  his  companions,  he  alone  escaped  death.  A  few  days  after 
the  rescue  of  Bliss  and  Masterman,  the  great  battle  of 
Pikysyry  took  place,  which  resulted  so  disastrously  to  the 
cause  of  Lopez.  As  was  usual  with  him  when  anticipating 
an  attack,  he  gave  orders,  that,  in'  case  the  battle  should  go 
against  him,  the  prisoners,  with  a  few  exceptions,  should  be 
killed.  Of  the  political  prisoners  there  were  at  least  five 
hundred  executed  or  tortured  to  death  between  the  time 
when  he  devised  "his  plan  of  conspiracy  and  his  defeat  at 
Pikysyry.  A  very  few  of  these  political  prisoners,  at  the 
time  this  battle  commenced,  had  been  so  far  set  at  liberty  as 
to  be  released  from  their  fetters  ;  and  in  the  battles  which 
succeeded,  some  half-dozen  of  them  had  the  good  fortune  to 
escape  and  to  be  taken  prisoners  by  the  Brazilians.  But  all 
the  others,  with  two  or  three  exceptions,  were  killed.  During 
the  first  days  of  the  prolonged  combat  they  were  kept  in  a 
place  exposed  to  the  shots  of  the  enemy,  and  had  the  Wasp, 
which  went  to  their  rescue,  not  arrived  before  this  battle  took 
place,  Bliss  and  Masterman  would  both  of  them  have  shared 
the  fate  of  the  other  prisoners.  Being  in  fetters,  so  that  they 
could  not  run  away,  they  could  not  have  escaped  at  the  same 
time  with  Truenfeld,  Von  Versen,  and  Taylor,  who  a  few 
days  before  had  been  so  far  set  at  liberty  as  to  have  only  a 
guard  over  them. 


THE   "SOLEMN   TRIBUNAL."  499 

On  being  called  before  the  tribunal,  these  two  members  of 
the  United  States  Legation  were  driven,  with  their  fetters  still 
on  them,  from  where  they  had  dismounted,  being  beaten  over 
the  head  and  shoulders  at  almost  every  step  by  the  soldiers 
having  them  in  charge.  The  tribunal  consisted  of  six  men, 
all  in  uniform,  and  apparently  officers,  though  two  of  them 
were  priests.  One  of  these  proved  to  be  the  "  terrible  Padre 
Maiz."  The  tribunal  began  its  examination  of  Bliss  by  ask- 
ing him  why  he  had  been  arrested,  and  continued  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

" '  You  ought  to  understand  that  when  we  have  brought  you  before 
this  tribunal  your  guilt  is  an  ascertained  fact  You  are  not  brought 
here  to  make  any  defence  of  yourself.  You  are  brought  here  simply 
for  the  purpose  of  clearing  up  by  your  own  confession  and  your  own 
depositions  the  facts  in  the  case  connected  with  your  complicity  in 
the  conspiracy.  As  to  your  guilt,  we  know  that  already,  and  we 
shall  not  allow  you  to  endeavor  to  dodge  the  point.'  I  was  then 
asked  again  if  I  would  confess  myself  to  be  guilty.  I  replied  that 
I  would  not,  '  that  I  had  always  been,  during  my  entire  residence  in 
Paraguay,  perfectly  loyal  to  the  government,  had  never  taken  any 
step  which  could  justly  be  complained  of  by  the  government ; 
that  so  far  as  relates  to  the  quarrel  between  Paraguay  and  Brazil 
concerning  the  question  of  boundaries  and  of  the  balance  of  power 
in  South  America  I  had  sympathized  with  Paraguay,  and  had  done 
what  I  could  to  sustain  the  Paraguayan  cause  in  that  aspect  of  the 
case ;  that,  as  to  the  accusation  of  conspiracy,  it  was  absolutely 
false,  no  matter  who  might  have  testified  to  the  charge.'  This  was 
all  recorded  as  my  protestation  of  innocence.  I  was  then  asked  if 
I  knew  Dr.  Carreras,  and  if  I  knew  Mr.  Rodriguez,  and  then  each 
one  of  five  or  six  others  who  were  charged  as  being  principal 
persons  in  the  conspiracy,  and  who,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  were 
named  as  members  of  the  committee  to  which  I  was  accused  of 
having  belonged,  and  which  included  two  of  the  members  of 
Lopez's  Cabinet,  his  own  brother,  Benigno,  and  two  or  three  foreign 
gentlemen  who  had  resided  in  the  country.  I  was  asked  if  I  knew 
these  persons.  I  replied  in  each  case  in  the  affirmative,  stating 
exactly  how  far  I  had  known  each  of  these  gentlemen.  I  was  then 
interrogated,  the  second  time  how  it  was  possible,  —  I  having  stated 


500  PARAGUAY. 

that  I  was  well  acquainted  with  each  of  these  individuals,  and  they 
having  confessed  that  they  were  members  of  the  conspiracy  in 
which  I  was  deeply  involved,  holding  an  important  post  therein,  — 
for  me  to  have  the  audacity  to  maintain  my  innocence.  I  replied 
that  '  I  knew  nothing  about  any  such  committee  or  any  such  con- 
spiracy ;  that  other  people  might  say  what  they  liked,  but  I  would 
speak  the  truth.  That  as  I  had  been  sworn,  on  my  entrance  to  the 
tribunal,  to  speak  the  truth,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  my  oath 
I  was  resolved  to  tell  the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth.' 

"After  that,  the  two  priests,  as  members  of  the  tribunal,  appealed 
to  me  again,  saying  that  it  was  entirely  useless  for  me  to  maintain 
my  innocence.  '  It  was  well  known  I  had  been  led  away  by  Mr. 
Washburn,  who  was  the  genius  of  evil  for  the  Paraguayan  nation.' 
It  was  intimated  to  me,  by  insinuation,  that,  by  developing  all  I  knew 
about  Mr.  Washburn's  machinations  as  connected  with  the  con- 
spiracy, I  might  lighten  my  own  sufferings  and  the  guilt  which  they 
considered  as  attaching  to  me  in  the  case.  They  said  to  me  that 
they  knew  I  had  a  most  wonderful  memory ;  that  I  was  perfectly 
acquainted  with  all  that  had  taken  place  in  the  matter  from  first  to 
last ;  that  I  had  conducted  the  correspondence  in  a  great  measure, 
and  they  expected  from  me  a  full  and  detailed  statement  of  all  the 
facts  and  circumstances,  saying  that  by  so  doing  I  might  render  a 
service  to  the  government  which  might  go  very  far  to  mitigate  my 
own  position.  They  desired  me,  therefore,  to  state  '  all  the  facts  in 
regard  to  the  manoeuvres  of  this  wretch  Washburn,  who  had  just  got 
away  from  the  country  by  the  skin  of  his  teeth.'  They  expressed 
themselves  very  bitterly  against  Mr.  Washburn,  who  had  been 
charged  by  the  prisoners  previously  tortured  and  forced  to  confess 
with  being  at  the  head  of  the  conspiracy.  The  plan  of  proceeding 
was  simply  this  :  These  prisoners  were  obliged  to  invent  some  story, 
and  were  desirous  of  attaching  as  much  blame  as  they  could  to 
parties  whom  they  knew  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Paraguayan 
government ;  it  being  their  plan  to  protect  as  far  as  possible  the 
innocent  prisoners  who  were  then  within  the  clutches  of  Lopez. 

"  .  .  .  .  After  a  good  deal  of  reflection,  extending  amid  these 
altercations  through  several  hours,  and  having  undergone  fear- 
ful physical  suffering  (I  was  not  then  put  to  what  was  ordinarily 
called  torture ;  but  the  treatment  I  had  suffered  was  actually  greater 
torture  to  me  than  that  I  endured  on  any  other  occasion) ;  having 


CONFESSIONS    OF   BLISS.  £01 

been  taken  to  that  tribunal  and  kept  for  twelve  mortal  hours  without 
any  food,  and  this  after  having  been  denied  food  for  twenty- four 
hours  previously,  with  my  manacles  on  me,  which  had  become  pain- 
ful beyond  endurance,  eating  into  the  flesh,  what  I  suffered  was  to 
me  torture  beyond  anything  I  afterwards  endured,  although  not 
technically  called  torture.  I  say  that,  having  endured  all  this,  and 
after  reflection,  I  finally  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  would  confess 
in  a  general  way,  and  throw  the  blame  of  everything  on  Mr.  Wash- 
burn  ;  that  I  would  not  implicate  any  one  within  the  reach  of 
Lopez,  but  that  I  would  spin  out  my  statement  as  long  as  possible, 
for  the  purpose  of  gaining  time,  until  I  was  sure  Mr.  Washburn  had 
left  the  country,  and  was  out  of  harm's  way  ;  that  I  would  go  into 
great  detail  about  Mr.  Washburn's  previous  antecedents,  thus  talking 
against  time,  and  see  if  it  were  not  possible,  by  throwing  everything 
upon  him,  to  palliate  the  charges  against  myself  and  the  other  victims 
who  had  been  forced  to  make  similar  confessions.  I  therefore  com- 
menced my  statements,  going  back  to  the  first  arrival  of  Mr.  Wash- 
burn  in  the  country,  seven  years  before.  I  spun  a  long  story  about 

the  influences  under  which  Mr.  Washburn  had  been  appointed 

"  On  the  fourth  day  I  was  told  that  my  statements  about  Mr. 
Washburn  were  all  very  well  so  far  as  they  went,  but  that  I  had  been 
prevaricating ;  that  I  had  not  confessed  the  full  extent  of  my  own 
complicity  with  what  was  called  the  revolution  (that  was  the  cant 
name  for  the  supposed  conspiracy).  I  had  not  confessed  my  own 
very  great  complicity,  and  the  very  important  part  I  had  taken. 
I  was  interrogated  by  the  person  who  acted  as  chief  torturer,  an 
officer  named  Major  Aveiro,  and  who  was  brought  into  requisition 
whenever  the  services  of  any  person  were  needed  for  that  purpose. 
The  plan  of  the  conspiracy,  as  this  tribunal  had  it,  was  that  eleven 
individuals,  constituting  a  committee,  at  such  a  place  and  such  a 
time,  had  put  their  names  to  a  certain  paper,  which  I  had  drawn 
up  as  secretary,  in  which  they  had  agreed  to  assassinate  Marshal 
Lopez  and  organize  a  new  government  in  Paraguay.  This  was  the 
first  intimation  I  had  of  such  a  committee.  I  knew  before  that  I 
was  accused  of  having  put  my  name  to  some  such  paper,  but  who 
were  the  oilier  persons  who  had  signed  along  with  me  I  had  no  idea, 
and  the  demand  made  by  the  tribunal  for  the  details  of  this  trans- 
action took  me  by  surprise.  I  replied  that  I  knew  nothing  about  it ; 
that  I  had  not  seen  such  a  paper.  The  Major  said  it  was  useless  to 


502  ARAGUAY. 

deny  it;  that  he  knew  I  had  been  secretary  of  the  committee, 
and  drawn  up  the  paper  myself,  and  then  said  I  would  be  con- 
fronted by  all  the  other  members  of  the  committee,  that  they  had 
all  confessed  their  complicity  and  accused  me,  and  that  I  would 
have  to  confess  mine.  I  again  replied  that  I  knew  nothing  about  it. 
During  the  rest  of  that  day  I  continued  to  hold  out  in  my  denial  of 
any  knowledge  of  this  committee.  This  was  the  fourth  day.  At 
nightfall,  after  having  been  taken  back  to  the  encampment  where  I 
was  kept,  I  was  brought  up  again  along  with  Dr.  Carreras,  the 
Portuguese  Consul,  and  an  Italian  captain  (Fidanza),  who  had 
been  a  friend  of  mine,  also  a  prisoner,  all  three  of  whom  were 
accused  of  having  been  members  of  that  committee  to  which  I 
was  supposed  to  have  belonged.  We  were  brought  up  in  single 
file.  I  was  taken  in  and  asked  if  I  still  persisted  in  denying  my 
signature  to  that  document.  I  replied  :  <  I  do  deny  it,  and  I  will 
continue  to  deny  it.'  '  O,'  said  a  priest,  'we-  will  bring  in  wit- 
nesses'; and  they  did  bring  in  the  Italian  captain,  who,  being  con- 
fronted with  me,  was  asked  if  it  was  true  that  I  had  signed  that  paper. 
This  man,  having  of  course  been  previously  tortured  and  forced 
to  confess,  said  I  was  one  of  the  eleven  who  had  signed  it. 
I  still  stood  out,  and  said  that  I  had  not.  He  was  then  told 
to  expostulate  with  me,  and  he  said  to  me  substantially :  '  You 
know,  Bliss,  you  signed  this  paper.  Why  do  you  attempt  to  deny 
it  ?  All  of  us  will  testify  to  the  same  fact.  You  know  very  well 
that  you  did.  Let  me  bring  the  circumstances  to  your  mind. 
Don't  you  remember  that  on  a  certain  evening  we  met  together,  — 
eleven  of  us  ;  that  Manlove  was  to  have  been  there,  but  did  not  ap- 
pear ?  Don't  you  remember  that  you  arrived  last,  after  we  were  all 
assembled  ? '  Said  I  :  '  Who  were  the  individuals  that  signed  the 
paper,  and  in  what  order  did  they  sign  ? '  He  then  mentioned  the 
names  in  order,  commencing  with  Benigno  Lopez,  the  brother  of 
the  President ;  then  Berges,  the  ex-Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  ;  then 
Bedoya,  a  brother-in-law  of  Lopez  ;  then  Dr.  Carreras,  the  Uru- 
guayan Prime  Minister,  and  Rodriguez  the  former  Charge  d'  Affaires 
of  Uruguay,  both  of  whom  had  been  lately  living  with  us  at  the 
American  Legation ;  then  the  Portuguese  Consul  and  Vice-Consul, 
the  former  of  whom  had  also  been  arrested  from  the  American 
Legation  ;  then  the  Italian  captain,  who  was  a  witness  against  him- 
self; then  two  Frenchmen,  one  being  chancellor  of  the  French 


WITNESSES    CONFRONTED.  503 

consulate,  and  lastly  myself.  I  paid  great  attention  to  this  detail, 
as  it  gave  me  the  first  clew  to  the  individuals  with  whom  I  was 
expected  to  confess  myself  to  have  acted  on  that  committee  ;  and 
it  was  for  that  purpose  that  I  requested  him  to  give  the  order  of 
names  in  which  we  had  signed.  Having  a  good  memory,  I  was  en- 
abled to  keep  it  in  my  mind  for  the  purpose  of  making  use  of  it 
whenever  I  should  .come  to  the  point  of  continuing  my  confession 
into  this  branch  of  the  conspiracy. 

"  This  captain  was  then  taken  away  and  Dr.  Carreras  brought  in. 
He  was  asked,  '  Is  it  true  that  Bliss  was  one  of  the  eleven  who 
signed  that  document  with  you  ? '  He  replied  that  it  was,  and  the 
question  was  then  asked  of  me,  '  What  do  you  say  to  that  ? '  I  re- 
plied, '  It  is  false/  Dr.  Carreras  said  to  me  in  a  low  tone,  '  It  is 
useless  to  deny  it.' 

"  Dr.  Carreras  was  then  taken  away  and  the  Portuguese  Consul 
brought  in,  being  the  third  witness,  who  was  asked  simply,  '  Do  you 
know  the  prisoner  before  you  ? '  His  answer  was,  '  Yes.'  '  Was  he 
one  of  the  eleven  who  signed  with  you  ? '  '  Yes.'  I  had  also 
ascertained  that  I  would  be  charged  with  having  received  an  amount 
of  money  for  my  services ;  in  fact,  that  had  been  stated  to  me  before 
by  the  torturer.  And  I  wished  to  ascertain  what  had  been  deposed 
against  me.  I  therefore  asked  permission  to  cross-examine  this 
witness,  to  which  they  assented.  I  then  said  to  the  Portuguese  Con- 
sul :  '  You  have  testified  to  my  having  signed  that  paper  ;  I  suppose 
you  have  also  said  that  I  received  money  for  it  ? '  '  Yes,'  he  said. 
'  How  much  money  do  you  pretend  to  charge  me  with  having  re- 
ceived ? ' 

"  The  officers  of  the  tribunal,  breaking  in  then,  refused  to  allow 
the  question  to  be  answered,  and  the  Portuguese  Consul  was 
hustled  away.  Then  turning  to  me  they  said  :  '  Three  witnesses, 
you  see,  have  testified  against  you.  You  know  that  two  witnesses 
constitute  legal  proof.  We  have  been  very  indulgent  towards  you, 
while  you  have  been  making  a  fool  of  us  for  the  last  three  or  four 
days.  You  have  made  statements  upon  certain  points,  but  you 
have  not  confessed  the  most  important  point  up  to  the  present  time. 
We  were  under  no  obligation  to  bring  these  witnesses,  because  our 
own  word  is  sufficient.  All  the  other  members  of  that  committee 
have  confessed  in  like  manner.  Will  you  now  confess  your  part  of 
the  plan  ? '  I  replied  :  '  No  ;  because  of  the  oath  I  have  taken.  I 


504  PARAGUAY. 

admit  that  three  witnesses  constitute  legal  proof,  and  yet  they  can- 
not make  a  falsehood  true.  And  I  can  mention  circumsta'nces  which 
would  somewhat  lessen  the  worth  of  their  testimony.'  '  What  circum- 
stances do  you  allude  to  ? '  Said  I,  '  I  allude  to  physical  torture.' 
There  was  an  exchange  of  glances  on  the  part  of  the  members  of 
the  tribunal ;  when  one  of  them  remarked,  '  You  are  talking  very 
metaphysically  with  us.'  '  But  we  will  treat  you.  in  a  very  physical 
manner.  Call  in  the  Major,'  he  said,  referring  to  the  officer  act- 
ing as  chief  torturer.  Major  Aveiro  then  came  in.  He  repeated 
the  question,  '  Do  you  confess  having  signed  that  paper  ? '  I  re- 
plied, '  No.'  He  said,  '  You  are  tryiqg  to  make  a  fool  of  me.  I 
shall  not  fool  with  you.'  Whereupon  he  commenced  buffeting  me 
in  the  face  with  his  fists.  I  stood  there  in  my  irons  while  he  con- 
tinued striking  me  with  the  full  weight  of  his  fist  in  the  face,  at 
every  blow  asking  me,  '  Do  you  confess  ?  Do  you  confess  ?  Do 
you  confess  ? '  And  I  answered  him,  '  No.'  When  he  got  tired  of 
that,  he  drew  his  sword  and  commenced  beating  me  over  the  head 
in  like  manner,  each  blow  bringing  the  blood,  and  asking  me,  '  Do 
you  confess  ? '  I  replied  in  like  manner,  '  I  do  not,'  until,  believ- 
ing I  had  done  enough  to  save  my  conscience,  and  that  I  should  not 
gain  anything  by  enduring  this  suffering  any  longer,  I  replied,  '  Yes.' 
'  Then  dictate  to  us  the  document  you  signed  on  that  occasion,  as  we 
know  you  were  secretary  of  that  organization,  —  the  document  in 
which  you  promised  to  assassinate  Marshal  Lopez  and  to  take  upon 
yourselves  the  direction  of  the  revolutionary  movement.'  Thrown 
upon  my  wits  in  that  manner,  I  did  dictate  in  a  slow  manner  the 
document  which  is  published  in  one  of  these  congressional  papers, 
in  which  I  gave  the  text  of  a  paper  agreeing  to  assassinate  Marshal 
Lopez,  provided  the  means  were  not  found  of  overthrowing  him 
otherwise,  and  giving  each  to  the  other  our  word  of  honor  not  to  re- 
veal what  had  been  agreed  upon 

"  I  had  been  twice  obliged  by  the  pressure  of  events  to  confess 
what  was  not  true,  as  I  had  been  confessing  all  along ;  but  I  thought 
I  would  again  make  a  stand,  that  I  would  not  confess  anything 
further  now,  that,  if  obliged  to  do  it,  I  would  stand  the  torture  as 
long  as  I  could.  I  had  had  eight  or  ten  days  of  enforced  idleness 
in  which  to  think  about  it,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  would 
say  nothing  more,  unless  I  was  obliged  to  by  pressure  beyond  my 
ability  to  endure.  So  then  I  refused  to  confess  anything  further,  and 


BLISS    IN   THE   CEPO    URUGUAYANA.  505 

the  torture  was  put  in  execution.  I  was  seated  on  the  ground,  two 
muskets  were  placed  under  my  knees  and  two  muskets  over  my 
neck,  my  wrists  were  tied  together  behind  my  back  and  pulled  up 
by  the  guard  :  the  muskets  above  and  below  were  connected  with 
thongs  fastened  around  them  so  as  to  be  readily  tightened ;  in 
some  instances  they  were  violently  tightened  by  pounding  with  a 
mallet.  They  continued  to  tighten  them,  bringing  my  body  in  such 
a  position  that  my  abdomen  suffered  great  compression,  and  that  I 
distinctly  heard  the  cracking  of  the  vertebrae  of  the  spine,  leaving 
me  in  that  posture  for  a  long  time.  In  fact,  after  I  was  on  board 
the  United  States  squadron  I  could  never  stoop  forward  without 
feeling  a  twinge  in  the  back  and  in  the  abdomen.  I  remained  in 
that  position  about  fifteen  minutes,  the  officers  standing  over  me, 
watching  the  effects  of  their  cruel  work.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I 
was  prepared  with  a  new  batch  of  novelties  of  the  most  startling 
character.  The  priests  came  and  stood  over  me,  cross-questioning 
me,  and  extracted  from  me  a  general  confession  as  to  the  heads  of 
what  they  had  inquired  about  before  they  released  me.  After  I 
had  confessed  in  general,  I  was  taken  in  that  condition  before  the 
tribunal,  who  set  to  work  to  elucidate  the  minutiae  of  my  new 
confesssion."  * 

*  This  testimony  of  Mr.  Bliss  as  taken  down  by  the  tribunal  and  forwarded  to 
the  United  States  as  evidence  against  their  late  Minister  extends  through  twenty- 
five  octavo  pages,  of  which  the  following  is  given  as  a  specimen  :  — 

"  He  "  (Washburn)  "  also  said  of  the  patriotic  speeches  that  appeared  in  the 
Sunanario,  that  they  were  got  up  for  the  occasion  by  professional  orators,  and  did 
not  express  the  sentiments  of  the  people.  Dr.  Roca,  for  instance,  had  written 
more  than  five  hundred  speeches  for  such  occasions,  and  they  were  all  just  as 
like  as  coins  from  the  same  mould,  and  the  same  soup  was  served  every  Saturday 
from  the  Semanario,  namely,  praise  of  Lopez.  Its  columns  were  devoted  to  the 
praise  of  the  government,  and  nothing  could  be  discussed  if  not  in  laudation  of 
Lopez. 

"  In  fact,  Washburn  ridiculed  the  government  to  all  his  correspondents. 

"  On  the  1 5th  the  evidence  was  as  follows  :  Deponent  confesses  having  signed 
a  document  with  ten  others,  at  Berges's  house  at  Salinares,  to  concert  with  the 
commanders  of  the  allied  armies  to  bring  about  a  revolution  against  the  national 
government.  He  acted  as  secretary  to  the  meeting,  and  drew  up  the  secret  pact 
sworn  to  by  the  conspirators  present  to  take  Lopez's  life.  The  persons  that  as- 
sisted him  in  drawing  up  this  document  were  Jose  Berges,  Benigno  Lopez,  and 
Antonio  Carreras.  The  document  was  engrossed  in  a  fine,  clerkly  hand,  and,  to 
the  best  of  his  recollection,  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  '  We,  the  undersigned,  citizens  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay,  and  strangers 
residing  therein,  having  good  reasons  for  desiring  a  prompt  termination  of  this 


506  PARAGUAY. 

When  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  first  brought  before  the 
tribunal  and  questioned  in  regard  to  their  knowledge  of  the 
"conspiracy,"  they  said  it  was  limited  to  what  they  had 
learned,  while  in  the  Legation,  from  Benitez's  letters  ;  and  after 
having  been  put  to  the  torture  till  they  could  endure  it  no 
longer  and  promised  to  confess,  their  greatest  difficulty  was 
to  learn  what  sort  of  confession  would  save  them  from  further 
suffering.  This  they  could  only  guess  at  from  the  nature  of 
the  questions  put  to  them.  They  were  as  ready  to  confess 
one  thing  as  another,  and  when  Bliss  was  commanded  to  give 
the  names  of  his  fellow-signers  of  the  "  secret  pact "  of  assas- 
sination, all  of  whom  but  himself,  he  was  told,  had  already 
confessed,  he  could  say  nothing,  as  he  might,  if  he  gave 
names,  inculpate  persons  who  were  still  in  favor,  and  thus 
cause  their  destruction.  So  he  positively  denied  all  knowl- 
edge of  any  such  pact  till  three  of  the  other  signers  were 
brought  forward  to  confront  him.  With  their  aid,  and  the 
blows  administered  lustily  by  Aveiro,  Bliss's  memory  was  so 

long  and  bloody  war  that  is  ruining  the  country  and  destroying  the  male  inhab- 
itants, and  believing  it  necessary  to  select  competent  persons  to  bring  about  a 
radical  change  in  the  system  of  government  by  putting  out  of  the  way  the  only 
obstacle  to  the  accomplishment  of  this,  and  having  the  consent  of  the  allied 
enemy,  we  bind  ourselves  mutually  to  work  together  to  effect  a  change  of  govern- 
ment and  choose  a  new  chief-magistrate  ;  and  if  it  is  found  necessary  to  resort  to 
violence  to  rid  ourselves  of  the  President  of  the  Republic,  we  also  obligate  our- 
selves to  do  so,  after  trying  other  means  to  effect  the  same  end.  We  swear  by 
our  word  of  honor  upon  the  holy  Evangels  to  aid  each  other  in  whatever  is 
agreed  on  by  the  majority  of  the  signers  to  realize  the  design  already  expressed, 
and' to  keep  the  secret  of  this  conspiracy  upon  the  pain  of  death.  In  faith  where- 
of we  have  signed  this  pact  in  each  other's  presence.  Dated  at  Salinares,  No- 
vember, 1867  (about  the  middle  of  the  month,  he  thinks).  Signed  by  Henigno 
Lopez,  Jose  Berges,  Saturni-no  Bedoya,  Antonio  Carreras,  Francisco  Rodriguez 
Larreta,  Jose  Maria  Leite  Pereira,  Antonio  Vasconcellos,  Simone  Fidanza,  M. 
Libertat,  Domingo  Pomie,  Porter  Cornelius  Bliss.' 

"  Manlove  did  not  come  in  time  to  sign." 

"  After  the  signing  of  the  above  document,  another  was  drawn  up  as  a  consti- 
tution for  the  country,  after  the  first  project  was  executed.  It  was  signed  early 
in  December  by  Carreras,  Rodriguez,  and  deponent,  at  the  house  of  Benigno 
Lopez,  at  Asuncion.  Conferences  were  held  at  the  house  of  Carreras  in 
Trinidad,  at  Berges's  office,  and  several  other  places,  before  it  was  finally 
adonted 

"  For  his  services*in  the  conspiracy,  deponent  got  five  thousand  patacones  from 


TREATMENT   OF   PRISONE-RS.  507 

quickened  that  he  was  able  to  testify  as  desired,  and  after^ 
wards  as  he  could  judge  to  some  extent  from  the  questions 
put  to  him  what  answers  were  required,  he  for  a  while  could 
confess  quite  satisfactorily. 

The  narrative  of  Mr.  Masterman  gives  an  equally  vivid 
description  of  the  miseries  to  which  he  and  Bliss,  and  indeed 
all  those  prisoners  accused  of  political  offences,  were  subjected, 
none  of  whom,  however,  as  the  Secretary  of  State  was  ad- 
vised by  General  McMahon,  "were  treated  with  unneces- 
sary harshness."  A  few  days  after  their  arrival  near  head- 
quarters, an  order  was  given  for  the  prisoners  to  be  removed 
to  a  place  some  leagues  distant,  called  Pikysyry.  Says  Mas- 
terman :  — 

"  We  were  turned  out  into  the  sun,  and  had  to  wait  for  some  time, 
for  we  were  at  the  head  of  the  sad  procession  and  the  hundreds  of 
prisoners.  The  lines  of  the  guard  and  men  carrying  the  cooking- 
pots  and  troughs  were  marshalled  with  difficulty,  blows  and  curses 
being  showered  mercilessly  on  the  sick  and  loiterers. 

Benigno  Lopez,  at  one  time,  and  on  three  other  occasions  five  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars  in  paper  money,  which  he  thought  came  out  of  Lopez's  private  prop- 
erty, but  found  it  came  from  the  national  treasury,  which  was  the  banking-house 
for  the  conspiracy.  Deponent  learned  this  from  Washburn,  who  had  received 
large  sums  of  money  on  account  from  the  same  source.  This  was  found  out 
after  the  evacuation  of  the  city.  Washburn  also  told  him  that  C arreras  and 
Rodriguez  had  received  money  for  their  co-operation  in  the  contemplated  con- 
spiracy. 

"  All  the  money  received  by  deponent  (except  eight  hundred  dollars,  his  expenses 
up  to  the  time  of  his  imprisonment)  was  deposited  with  Washburn,  to  be  taken 
to  Buenos  Aires  and  deposited  in  Maua's  bank  there,  subject  to  deponent's  order. 

"  Washburn  acknowledged  to  deponent  that  he  had  received  large  sums  of 
money  from  Benigno  Lopez,  to  pay  the  conspirators.  Deponent  saw  two  women 
carrying  the  money  in  covered  baskets  on  their  heads  to  the  Legation  more 
than  once.  All  this  money,  with  much  more  belonging  to  Carreras,  Rodriguez, 
and  others,  was  carried  away  by  Washburn  to  be  deposited  for  the  owners  in 
Buenos  Aires." 

"On  the  i6th  the  testimony  given  was  this  :  — 

" '  Deponent  heard  of  the  surrender  of  Humaita  from  Washburn,  who  had  a 
letter  from  Caxias,  dated  the  roth  of  June,  informing  him  that  the  surrender  was 
agreed  upon  for  the  last  of  July  with  the  chief  officers,  Francisco  Martinez,  and 
Remigio  Cabral,  called  Admiral  of  the  Paraguayan  Navy.  Deponent  thinks  a 
letter  came  at  the  same  time  from  Caxias  to  Jose  Berges,  announcing  the  same 
event.' " 


508  PARAGUAY. 

"  From  one  of  the  hovels  near  me  crept  out,  on  all-fours,  Don 
Benigno  Lopez,  the  President's  youngest  brother ;  he  was  well 
dressed,  but  heavily  ironed  ;  and  from  another,  a  spectral  old  man  I 
was  long  in  recognizing  as  the  ex-Mimster  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Don 
Jose*  Berges.  He  was  leaning  feebly  on  a  hedge-stake,  and  was 
followed  by  his  successor,  Don  Gumesindo  Benitez,  bareheaded  and 
with  naked  fettered  feet.  Then  two  very  old  men,  evidently  in  their 
second  childhood  ;  they  were  without  a  rag  to  cover  them.  One  was 
in  irons,  and  could  only  crawl  tremblingly  on  his  hands  and  knees  ; 
the  other  looked  round  with  a  timid  smile  on  his  silly  face,  pleased 
with  the  bustle  around  him,  and  evidently  but  faintly  conscious  of 

what  was  going  on And  what  would  their  offence  be  ?  A 

wailing  complaint  for  the  loss  of  their  few  comforts,  a  passionate 
lament  for  the  death  of  their  sons  or  grandchildren  ;  an  idle  word 
spoken  in  garrulous  old  age,  and  construed  into  treason,  or  perhaps 
simply  the  fact  of  their  relationship  to  •  some  poor  wretch  who  had 
died  in  the  rack  or'on  the  scaffold.  • 

"  At  length  we  set  off  in  an  easterly  direction,  skirting  the  base 
of  the  hills,  through  a  narrow  defile,  and  then  into  a  pathless  wood. 
In  the  former  we  got  into  some  confusion  ;  the  prisoners  were 
huddled  together  and  separated  a  little  from  the  soldiers  who,  with 
fixed  bayonets  or  drawn  swords,  were  guarding  them.  It  was  an 
opportunity  I  had  long  been  waiting  for  ;  for  some  minutes  I  was 
at  the  side  of  Dr.  Carreras  ;  he  asked  me  again,  in  an  eager  whisper, 
if  Mr.  Washburn  had  gone.  '  Yes,  he  is  safe,'  I  replied  in  the  same 
cautious  tone,  and  then  went  on  to  ask  him  if  there  were  any  truth 
in  his  depositions.  '  No,  no,  — lies,  all  lies,  from  beginning  to  end  !' 
'  Why  did  you  tell  them  ? '  I  asked  somewhat  unnecessarily.  '  That 
terrible  Father  Maiz,'  said  he,  '  tortured  me  in  the  uruguayana  on 
three  successive  days,  and  then  smashed  my  fingers  with  a  mallet.' 
He  looked  at  me  with  an'  expression  of  utter  wretchedness  on  his 
worn  face,  and  held  out  his  maimed  hands  as  a  testimony.  Then, 
after  a  pause,  he  asked  me,  '  Have  you  confessed  ? '  '  Yes,'  I  an- 
swered sadly.  '  You  have  done  well,  —  they  would  have  compelled 
you  to  do  so  :  God  help  us! '  I  told  him  about  a  difficulty  I  had 
had  in  not  being  able  to  say  how  much  money  Mr.  Washburn  was 
said  to  have  received  from  the  Brazilians,  although  the  sum  had 
been  mentioned  several  times  in  the  '  depositions,'  and  asked  how 
much  I  should  say.  '  Fifteen  thousand  ounces,  I  told  him,'  he  re- 
plied ;  '  lies,  false,  false  !'.... 


TORTURE    OF    DON    BENIGNO.  509 

"  The  two  old  men,  being  found  too  feeble  to  walk,  were  each 
put  in  a  hide,  and  carried  with  a  pole  by  two  soldiers  ;  they  were 
tumbled  out  on  the  ground  when  they  halted,  close  to  me,  yet  thanked 
their  bearers  with,  'God  reward  you,  my  sons!  God  reward  you  !' 
But  the  next  day  they  were  denied  this  favor,  and  were  thrashed 
most  horribly  by  the  corporals  to  make  them  go  faster  ;  it  was  heart- 
rending to  hear  them,  in  weak  treble  tones,  praying  for  mercy,  and 
to  see  them  arrive  an  hour  after  the  rest,  covered  with  dust  and 
blood  ;  they  had  crawled  on  their  hands  and  knees  nearly  a  mile. 
Several  women  were  brought  in  that  day,  strangers  to  me,  but  evi- 
dently belonging  to  the  better  class  of  natives  ;  two  or  three  had 
the  little  huts  I  have  mentioned,  others  had  formed  a  screen  of  a 
shawl  or  two  strained  over  a  few  sticks  ;  and  I  saw  one  poor  girl, 
about  sixteen  years  of  age,  crouched  under  a  hide  propped  against 
her  shoulders  ;  she  never  moved  save  to  turn  as  the  sun  wested, 
and  sat  with  her  eyes  bent  to  the  earth,  and  tears  often  stealing 
silently  down  her  cheeks 

"  I  remained  there  four  days,  and  one  afternoon,  as  I  was  viewing 
the  shocking  spectacle  of  a  prisoner  being  tortured  in  our  midst,  a 
guard  came  and  took  Mr.  Bliss  and  myself  away  with  them.  I  fully 
expected  to  be  shot,  but  it  was  to  rejoin  our  late  companions. 
They  were  located  in  a  rocky  cleft  in  the  hills  far  from  the  others. 
I  found  there  Leite  Pereira,  Captain  Fidanza,  Berges,  Don  Benigno 
and  Don  Venancio  Lopez,  —  the  latter  a  colonel  and  the  President's 
eldest  brother,  —  Benitez,  and  Carreras,  each  in  a  hovel  apart 

"  On  the  23d  of  September,  Don  Benigno  Lopez  was  put  to  the 
torture  ;  he  had  been  taken  away  early  in  the  morning,  and  did  not 
return  till  long  after  noon ;  he  shuffled  slowly  into  his  hut,  which 
nearly  faced  mine,  and  shortly  afterwards  an  officer,  with  three  men 
carrying  the  well-remembered  bundle  of  muskets  and  cords,  came 
up.  I  became  sick  with  anxiety,  Don  Benigno  turned  pale,  and  rose 
tremblingly  as  they  came  near  him,  —  thinking,  probably,  of  his 
brother-in  law,  Don  Saturnino  Bedoya,  who  died  under  its  infliction 
some  months  before,  —  and  followed  them,  at  a  signal  from  the 
officer,  behind  a  copse  of  trees  near  at  hand.  About  an  hour  passed 
away ;  several  officers,  including  Major  Aveiro,  went  to  see  him  ; 
and  at  length  he  was  led  back,  unable  to  stand,  and  with  his  face 
frightfully  distorted  by  the  agony  he  had  suffered." 

The  torture  known  as  cepo  umguayana  is  said  to  have  been 


510  PARAGUAY. 

first  used  in  Bolivia  in  the  time  of  Bolivar.  Its  efficiency  as 
a  means  of  extorting  confession  is  believed  to  be  unequalled 
by  any  means  ever  invented  by  pitiless  man.  It  was  never 
resorted  to  in  Paraguay  previous  to  the  time  of  the  second 
Lopez  ;  and  how  he  Jearned  of  its  terrible  capacity  for  creating 
pain  is  not  known.  It  was  formerly  called  the  cepo  boliviano  ; 
but  the  surrender  of  Estigarribia  at  Uruguayana  so  greatly 
enraged  Lopez,  and  those  who  offended  him  were  so  fre- 
quently subjected  to  this  terrible  punishment,  as  to  cause  it 
to  be  considered  as  in  some  way  connected  with  that  disas- 
trous campaign.  At  least  it  was  called,  after  that,  the  cepo 
uruguayana. 

Mr.  Alonzo  Taylor,  an  Englishman,  who  had  lived  about 
ten  years  in  Paraguay,  and  was  in  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment as  master-builder  or  mason    of  the    more   important  g 
public   buildings,   and   of   the   new   palace   of    Lopez,   thus 
describes  his  experience  of  the  cepo  uruguayana :  — 

"  The  torture  is  as  follows,  and  this  is  how  I  suffered  it :  I  sat  on 
the  ground  with* my  knees  up;  my  legs  were  first  tied  tightly 
together,  and  then  my  hands  behind  me  with  the  palms  outward.  A 
musket  was  then  fastened  under  my  knees ;  six  more  of  them,  tied 
together  in  a  bundle,  were  then  put  on  my  shoulders,  and  they  were 
looped  together  with  hide  ropes  at  one  end ;  they  then  made  a 
running  loop  on  the  other  side  from  the  lower  musket  to  the  other, 
and  two  soldiers  hauling  on  the  end  of  it  forced  my  face  down  to 
my  knees  and  secured  it  so. 

"  The  effect  was  as  follows  :  First  the  feet  went  to  sleep,  then  a 
tingling  commenced  in  the  toes,  gradually  extending  to  the  knees, 
and  the  same  in  the  hands  and  arms,  and  increased  until  the  agony 
was  unbearable.  My  tongue  swelled  up,  and  I  thought  that  my 
jaws  would  have  been  displaced  ;  I  lost  all  feeling  in  one  side  of  my 
face  for  a  fortnight  afterwards.  The  suffering  was  dreadful ;  I  should 
certainly  have  confessed  if  I  had  had  anything  to  confess,  and  I 
have  no  doubt 'many  would  acknowledge  or  invent  anything  to  escape 
bearing  the  horrible  agony  of  this  torment.  I  remained  two  hours 
as  I  have  described,  and  I  considered  myself  fortunate  in  escaping 
then  ;  for  many  were  put  in  the  uruguayana  twice,  and  others  six 
times,  and  with  eight  muskets  on  the  nape  of  the  neck. 


TESTIMONY  OF  ALONZO  TAYLOR.       511 

"  Senora  Martinez  was  tortured  six  times  in  this  horrible  way, 
besides  being  flogged  and  beaten  with  sticks  until  she  had  not  an 
inch  of  skin  free  from  wounds. 

"  At  the  expiration  of  two  hours  I  was  released  ;  Serrano  came  to 
me,  and  asked  if  I  would  now  acknowledge  who  was  to  be  the  new 
President.  I  was  unable  to  speak  ;  and  he  went  on  to  say  that  I  had 
only  been  kept  in  the  cepo  a  short  time,  owing  to  the  clemency  of  his 
Excellency  Marshal  Lopez,  and  that,  if  I  did  not  then  divulge  it, 
I  should  have  three  sets  of  irons  put  upon  me,  eight  muskets  in 
place  of  six,  and  be  kept  in  much  longer.  I  was  so  utterly  exhausted, 
and  so  faint,  that  at  the  time  his  threats  made  no  impression  on  me. 
Afterward  I  was  taken  back  to  the  guardia,  and  as  a  great  favor 
I  was  not  tied  down  that  night." 

Mr.  Taylor  could  not  tell  why  it  was  that  he  was  so  bar- 
barously treated.  But  that  was  the  case  with  all.  According 
to  his  own  account,  his  treatment  was  humane  as  compared 
with  what  he  saw  inflicted  on  many  others.  It  is  incredible 
that  any  being  having  the  human  form  could  inflict,  from  mere 
delight  in  causing  pain,  such  cruelties  as  he  describes.  He 
says :  — 

"  I  saw  an  Argentine  officer  taken  away  one  day,  and  when  he 
returned  the  whole  of  his  body  was  raw.  The  next  morning,  when 
we  were  loosened,  I  pointed  to  his  back,  but  did  not  speak  ;  he  let 
his  head  fall  on  his  breast,  and  with  a  stick  wrote  in  the  sand  '  one 
hundred.'  From  that  I  gathered  he  had  received  a  hundred  lashes 
with  a  cow-hide,  or  else  with  one  of  the  creeping  plants  (I  think 
they  call  them  lianas)  which  grew  in  plenty  on  the  trees  around  us. 
That  afternoon  he  was  sent  for  again,  and  when  he  came  back  he 
wrote  '  two  hundred.'  The  next  day  he  was  shot. 

"  The  prisoners  were  of  all  nationalities  and  of  all  grades  and 
positions,  but  with  the  heat,  wear  and  tear,  the  rain  and  wind,  they 
were  soon  all  alike,  nearly  naked.  And  our  guards  used  to  offer  us 
pieces  of  bread  or  a  few  spikes  of  maize  for  our  clothes,  and,  suf- 
fering from  hunger  as  we  did,  we  were  glad  to  purchase  a  day's  life 
at  the  price  of  a  coat  or  a  shirt.  Amongst  them  were  many  wo- 
men, some  of  them  belonging  to  the  best  families  in  the  country ; 
some  quite  old  and  gray-headed,  others  young  and  pretty, — espe- 
cially Dolores  Recalde,  a  very  tall  and  beautiful  girl,  and  Josefa 


512  PARAGUAY. 

Requelme,  a  handsome  woman,  with  very  fine  eyes.  They  suffered 
much,  poor  creatures,  though  they  had  little  A-shaped  straw  huts  to 
shelter  them,  as  did  some  few  of  the  other  prisoners  of  the  highest 

class,  and  used  to  weep  piteously  over  their  miserable  fate 

.  "  For  my  part,  I  do  not  believe  that  there  was  any  conspiracy  at  all, 
unless  on  the  part  of  the  President  himself  and  some  of  his  tools  to 
rob  foreigners  of  their  money 

"  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  describe  the  miseries  of  our  daily  life 
in  San  Fernando, — one  unvarying  round  of  privations,  fresh  pris- 
oners, punishments,  and  executions.  Not  a  day  passed  but  some  of 
us  were  taken  out  to  be  beaten,  tortured,  or  shot.  The  cries  of  those 
being  flogged  were  heart-rending.  Two  Orientales  I  saw  flogged  to 
death  ;  and  when  young  Capdevila  was  shot,  he  was  black  and  blue 
from  head  to  foot  from  the  blows  inflicted  on  him. 

"  There  were  several  ladies  among  the  prisoners ;  they  were 
flogged  in  the  huts,  but  we  could  hear  their  cries 

"  On  the  2ist  of  December  we  were  released  from  the  stocks,  as 
usual,  at  6.30,  but  at  once  tied  down  again,  because  the  Brazilians 
had  got  our  range,  and  shell  were  flying  over  and  close  to  us,  and 
the  Paraguayans  hoped  to  see  us  thus  got  rid  of.  But  I  felt  no 
fear,  and  was  quite  resigned ;  for  the  shocking  misery  I  had  suf- 
fered for  five  months  had  blunted  — indeed,  nearly  obliterated  —  all 
feelings,  moral  and  physical." 

While  yet  a  prisoner,  but  after  he  had  been  relieved  of 
his  fetters,  Taylor  was  so  fortunate  as  to  be  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Brazilians.  Of  his  condition  when  taken  he  thus 
speaks : — 

"  I  was  a  miserable  object,  reduced  to  a  skeleton,  and  enfeebled 
to  the  last  degree.  When  I  was  at  Luque,  I  weighed  one  hundred 
and  seventy-eight  pounds ;  and  when  I  went  on  board  the  gunboat 
Cracker,  only  ninety-eight  pounds. 

"  After  recruiting  my  strength  for  four  days  at  Lomas,  I  left  on 
horseback  for  Asuncion.  I  suffered  terribly  on  the  road  ;  for  I  had 
scarcely  any  flesh  on  my  bones,  and  had  not  strength  enough  to 
keep  myself  in  the  saddle. 

"  There  I  arrived  at  last,  but  so  ill  that  I  could  not  speak  for 
some  days 

"  I  am  daily  getting  stronger  and  gaining  flesh,  but  I  look  like  a 


THE    MOTHER   AND   SISTERS    OF   LOPEZ.          513 

man  just  recovering  from  yellow  fever  ;  and  as  I  dictate  this  to  Mr. 
Shaw,  my  memory  sometimes  seems  to  leave  me,  I  cannot  fix  my 
attention ;  but  I  hope  I  shall  soon  recover  my  health,  both  of  mind 
and  body." 

Of  all  those  fearful  scenes  and  trials  to  which  the  prisoners 
were  subjected,  Lopez's  two  sisters,  Inocencia  and  Rafaela,  were 
witnesses  and  participators.  The  only  distinction  shown 
them  was  that  they  were  not  forced  to  make  the  first  part  of 
the  journey,  after  leaving  Pikysyry,  on  foot.  Each  of  them 
was  kept  closely  shut  up  in  a  cart,  similar  to  those  which 
are  commonly  made  use  of  for  wild  beasts  that  are  carried 
about  for  exhibition.  From  these  they  were  never  taken  out, 
while  at  Pikysyry,  except  to  be  carried  before  the  tribunal,  to 
be  there  treated  like  other  accused  persons.  It  was  not  till 
a  later  period  that  the  mother  of  Lopez  was  arrested,  tortured, 
and  condemned  to  death. 


VOL.  ii.  33 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

The  Depositions  of  Bliss  and  Masterman.  —  Contradictions.  —  A  Conspiracy  to 
overthrow  Republicanism  in  South  America.  —  Lopez's  Mode  of  eliciting  the 
Truth.  —  Measures  adopted  by  Bliss  and  Masterman  to  gain  Time.  —  Bliss 
becomes  my  Biographer.  —  Youthful  Infirmities.  —  Kleptomania.  —  College 
Life.  —  Favorite  Books.  —  Experience  as  a  Lawyer,  Doctor,  and  in  other  Ca- 
pacities. —  Removal  to  California.  —  Novelist,  Editor,  Poet.  —  Appointed 
Minister  to  Paraguay.  — Magnanimity  of  Lopez.  — My  Ingratitude.— The  Paid 
Agent  of  the  Brazilians.  —  Pretended  Extracts  from  my  Forthcoming  Book. — 
Parallel  between  Lopez  and  Rehoboam.  —  My  Opinion  of  Lopez  and  the 
Principal  Characters  among  the  Allies.  — Character  of  the  Book.  —  Robinson 
Crusoe  and  Gulliver  outdone.  —  Circumstances  under  which  it  was  written.  — 
Remarkable  Memory  of  the  Author. —  His  Style.  —  He  endeavors  to  excite 
the  Superstitious  Fears  of  Lopez.  —  The  Letter  "  B."  —  Previous  Relations  with 
Mr.  Bliss.  —  Want  of  Taste  and  Delicacy  shown  in  the  Book.  —  Extenuating 
Circumstances.  —  The  Writer  accomplishes  his  Object.  —  Indignation  of  the 
Naval  Officers. 

THE  depositions  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  are  such  a 
strange  medley  of  contradictions  as  to  render  the  Para- 
guayan mystery  more  dark  and  incomprehensible  than  ever. 
In  them  a  great  number  of  persons  are  charged  with  being 
engaged  in  the  conspiracy  who  were  out  of  the  reach  of  Lopez, 
and  would  certainly  deny  all  knowledge  of  or  participation  in 
any  such  plot.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  from  his  sending 
these  depositions  abroad,  that  he  believed  them,  and  that  they 
would  be  taken  as  evidence,  by  our  government,  to  convict 
me  of  wrongful  practices  while  in  office.  According  to  these 
declarations  before  the  "  solemn  tribunal,"  it  would  appear  that 
correspondence  passed  through  my  hands  between  the  con- 
spirators in  Paraguay  and  their  colleagues  on  the  other  side 
of  the  lines  as  freely  and  safely  as  if  there  had  been  a  daily 
mail.  The  number  of  letters  that  passed  between  me  and 
Caxias  was  astonishing,  considering  the  fact  that  we  were 


CAXIAS   ON   THE   CONSPIRACY.  515 

two  hundred  miles  apart,  and  that  for  more  than  fifty  years 
no  person  not  authorized  by  the  government  had  ever  been 
able  to  traverse  the  space  between  us.  It  was  also  singu- 
lar that  none  of  this  treasonable  correspondence  was  ever 
discovered  and  published  ;  and  more  singular,  that  the  only 
evidence  of  it  that  exists  is  the  testimony  of  tortured  wit- 
nesses. 

The  Marques  de  Caxias,  when  he  first  learned  of  the  fre- 
quent and  protracted  correspondence  that  he  had  been  carry- 
ing on  with  me,  wrote  a  letter  to  his  government  denying  the 
accusation,  asserting  that  he  had  always  freely  advised  the 
Ministry  of  War  of  all  he  had  done,  and  that  his  official 
reports  would  show  that  the  allegations  contained  in  the 
declarations  made  before  Lopez's  tribunal  were  utterly  with- 
out foundation.  He  said  that  when  he  first  took  the  command 
of  the  allied  army  he  would  have  had  no  hesitation  in  assist- 
ing the  Paraguayans  to  make  a  revolution  against  the  tyrant ; 
but  he  soon  learned,  that,  under  such  a  system  of  espionage 
as  was  maintained  by  Lopez,  it  would  be  utterly  impossible 
for  dissatisfied  persons  to  have  any  concert  of  action,  and 
had  never  thought  of  such  a  thing  as  a  revolution  afterwards, 
till  he  read  in  Benitez's  letters  that  he  had  been  engaged  for  a 
year  and  a  half  in  promoting  one. 

Caxias,  however,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  wit- 
nesses before  the  "  solemn  tribunal,"  was  only  acting  a  sub- 
ordinate part  in  the  great  scheme  I  had  devised  for  chan- 
ging the  map  of  South  America.  The  principals  with  whom  I 
was  intriguing  were  Napoleon  III.  and  Pedro  II.  These  two 
mighty  potentates  had  vast  designs  of  territorial  aggrandize- 
ment, and  in  arranging  the  details  they  both  appealed  to  me  as 
arbiter  or  umpire.  Brazil,  however,  had  got  the  start  by  ap- 
pointing me  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  with  a  salary  of  forty- 
eight  thousand  dollars  a  year,  besides  occasionally  sending  me, 
in  the  way  of  extras,  such  trifles  as  twenty  thousand  gold 
ounces.  I  did  not,  however,  consent  to  the  establishing  of  new 
empires  in  South  America  in  order  to  give  thrones  to  the  sci- 
ons of  the  imperial  houses  of  Bonaparte  and  Braganza,  though 


5  1 6  PARAGUAY. 

I  had  an  Emperor  on  each  hand  imploring  me  to  do  so.  I 
persistently  adhered  to  the  Monroe  doctrine,  and  told  Don 
Pedro,  that,  while  he  might  annex  all  the  adjoining  territory  he 
could  get  possession  of,  I  should  not  permit  him  to  erect  an- 
other throne  on  the  American  continent.*  Certainly  I  had 
never  supposed,  when  first  appointed  as  Minister  to  the  little 
republic  of  Paraguay,  that  I  was  to  figure  in  such  company. 
But,  as  Shakespeare  says,  "some  men  have  greatness  thrust 
upon  them." 

The  other  conspirators,  it  seems,  had  no  knowledge  of  the 
full  extent  of  my  relations  with  the  crowned  heads,  and  it  was 

*  "  On  the  4th  of  November  the  deposition  was  as  follows  :  —  Washburn  told 
deponent  that  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  Rio  Janeiro,  in  1865,  the  leaders  of  the 
imperial  government  there  made  no  secret  of  their  intentions,  in  case  of  success 
in  the  war  against  Paraguay.  He  said  Paranhos,  Saraiva,  Octaviano,  Zacarias, 
and  even  the  Emperor,  confessed  the  intention  to  annex  all  the  territory  on  the 
left  banks  of  the  Plata,  Parana,  and  Paraguay  Rivers  to  Brazil. 

"  Washburn  believes  another  war  will  break  out,  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
present  one,  between  the  Argentine  Republic  and  Brazil,  about  the  division  of 
spoils ;  and  he  expressed  as  much  in  his  note  to  Caxias,  in  reply  to  the  one 
mentioning  the  secret  treaty. 

"  The  Emperor  Napoleon  III.  has  a  mortgage  on  that  vast  region  of  Brazil  north 
of  the  Amazon,  and  has  done  all  he  could  to  get  a  prince  of  his  house  on  a 
throne  of  South  America.  His  original  idea  was  to  extend  his  colony  of  Cayenne 
by  annexing  to  it  British  and  Dutch  Guiana,  to  be  acquired  by  purchase,  and  then 
add  the  Brazilian  territory  mentioned,  so  as  to  form  an  empire  or  kingdom  almost 
as  large  as  Mexico.  In  case  Brazil  chose  to  pay  off  the  mortgage,  he  proposed 
to  erect  a  kingdom  on  the  Plata,  containing  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Plata, 
Paraguay,  and  Parana  Rivers,  or  composed  of  Paraguay,  Mato  Grosso,  and  Eastern 
Bolivia ;  and,  as  inducement,  he  proposed  to  marry  the  new  monarch  to  a  princess 
of  the  house  of  Braganza. 

"  This  proposition  did  not  meet  with  much  favor  in  Brazil,  because  the  nobility 
there  preferred  annexing  the  conquered  territory  to  Brazil ;  or,  in  case  of  a  new 
empire,  they  wanted  one  of  their  own  princes  or  princesses  to  occupy  the  throne,  — 
proposing  the  Count  d'Eu,  or  the  Duke  of  Sax,  with  his  wife,  the  second  daughter 
of  the  house  ef  Brazil. 

"  In  his  conferences  with  the  statesmen  above  mentioned,  Washburn  rejected  the 
French  proposition,  on  account  of  the  Monroe  doctrine  professed  by  the  North 
American  government,  —  not  to  permit  the  erection  of  any  throne  on  the  American 
continent,  or  at  least  no  throne  for  a  European  prince.  For  the  same  reason  he 
opposed  the  founding  of  a  throne  for  a  prince  of  Brazil,  because  Napoleon  would 
not  allow  any  of  the  Bourbon  family  on  a  new  throne  in  Europe."  —  Deposition  of 
Porter  Cornelius  Bliss  before  the  Paraguayan  Tribunal,  Executive  Doc.  5,  Part  3, 
PP-  31.  32. 


STARTLING   DISCOVERIES.  517 

not  till  Mr.  Bliss  had  been  many  times  before  the  tribunal,  and 
testified  satisfactorily  on  all  points  on  which  the  others  had 
confessed  before  him,  that  Lopez  was  made  aware  of  the  grand 
combination  against  him.  Having  obtained  all  this,  Lopez 
then  thought  he  would  try  the  effect  of  the  cepo  uruguayana, 
to  which  tyiss  had  not  yet  been  subjected.  He  was  therefore 
told  by  tH'e  inquisitors  that  he  was  keeping  back  important 
information,  and  they  knew  it.  Having  endured  the  torture 
as  long  as  he  could  bear  it,  he  promised  to  confess  everything, 
and  was  then  released.  His  further  confessions  are  thus 
related  by  himself:  — 

"  I  thought  I  would  try  the  experiment  of  frightening  Lopez  by 
representing  that  the  whole  world  was  engaged  in  a  combination 
against  him.  I  stated  to  that  tribunal,  that  the  alliance  of  Brazil, 
the  Argentine  government,  and  Uruguay  had  been  dissolved  and 
replaced  by  a  new  secret  treaty  of  double  alliance  on  the  part  of 
Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Republic,  by  which  the  Republic  of  Uru- 
guay was  to  be  sacrificed  along  with  Paraguay,  and  both  of  them 
fall  a  prey  to  the  larger  powers,  and  to  be  divided  up  like  Poland. 
I  went  into  geographical  details,  stating  what  were  to  be  the  boun- 
daries of  each  one  of  these  countries,  and  to  give  the  terms  of 
the  treaty,  which  I  had  called  the  double  alliance  between  Brazil 
and  the  Argentine  Republic  ;  stating  that  England,  France,  and 
Spain,  through  their  diplomatic  agents,  had  all  been  lending  their 
countenance  to  the  allies,  that  they  were  all  in  sympathy  with  the 
conspiracy  going  on  against  Paraguay,  that  it  had  been  resolved 
to  take  possession  of  the  Paraguayan  army  after  the  conquest  of 
the  country,  and  engage  it  with  the  Brazilian  army  in  fighting  against 
Bolivia,  Peru,  and  other  adjacent  countries.  In  that  way  I  endeav- 
ored to  confuse  Lopez,  who  believed  every  word  of  these  state- 
ments, and  to  convince  him  that  he  was  in  a  most  desperate  strait. 
The  evidence  that  he  believed  it  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
after  this  he  issued  a  proclamation  to  his  army  on  the  i6th  of 
October,  the  Paraguayan  4th  of  July,  in  which  he  repeated  the 
statement  made  in  my  last  declarations  as  to  a  general  combina- 
tion of  most  of  Jthe  civilized  nations  against  them,  and  made  a  last 
appeal  to  their  patriotism." 

It  was   certainly  a  hazardous  venture  to   make  up  such 


518  PARAGUAY. 

a  stupendous  story  in  regard  to  matters  that  if  true  could 
not  escape  public  notoriety,  and  which  would  be  proved  en- 
tirely fictitious  were  any  neutral  gunboat  to  arrive  bringing 
files  of  newspapers.  If  the  trick  were  discovered,  the  perpe- 
trator might  count  on  a  renewal  of  the  cepo,\Q  be  prolonged 
till  the  body  could  no  longer  endure  it,  when  he  would  be 
handed  over  to  the  executioner. 

The  official  declarations  having  been  completed,  Bliss  and 
Masterman  then  supposed  they  would  be  despatched.  But  a 
new  lease  of  life  was  given  them,  that  they  might  write  out  in 
narrative  form  the  substance  of  their  testimony.  They  were 
both  furnished  with  writing-materials,  and  their  straw  huts  so 
raised  that  they  could  sit  upon  the  ground.  A  box  was 
placed  before  each  of  them,  to  serve  as  a  writing-table,  and 
then  they  were  told  to  commence.  They  had  their  fetters  on 
all  the  time,  and  a  sentinel  was  always  at  hand  to  prod  them 
on  and  to  keep  them  to  their  work.  They  had  both  learned 
by  this  time,  that  their  work,  to  profit  themselves,  must  abound 
with  abuse  of  me  and  in  praise  of  Lopez.  Masterman's  work 
was  not  published,  or,  if  so,  was  not  sent  abroad.  It  was 
made  up  almost  entirely  of  praises  of  Lopez  and  abuse  of 
me ;  but  as  it  threw  little  light  on  my  political  offences,  it  was 
probably  suppressed  for  that  reason.* 

The  work  of  Mr.  Bliss,  written  under  such  circumstances, 
while  in  taste  it  was  little  better  than  Masterman's,  —  in  fact, 
nearly  as  bad  as  could  be,  —  so  completely  effected  the  writer's 
object  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  greatest  literary  success 
of  modern  times.  It  undoubtedly  saved  the  writer's  life  and 
that  of  his  companion,  Masterman.  On  being  arrested,  they 
both  felt  that  their  only  hope  of  ever  leaving  Paraguay  de- 
pended on  my  success  in  bringing  a  gunboat  or  a  squadron  to 
their  rescue.  They  had  little  doubt,  that,  if  they  were  not 
killed  within  three  or  four  months,  a  force  of  some  kind  would 

*  "  In  order  to  conceal  my  real  object,  the  whole  was  interspersed  with 
abuse  and  ridicule  of  el  gran  bestia  and  his  friends  the  nuicacos  and  cainbhs 
(the  'baboons'  and  'niggers'  of  Brazil),  and  laudation  so  fulsome  of  Lopez,  that 
he  would  indeed  be  a  blind  man  who  did  not  see  through  it  directly." —  MASTER- 
MAN'S  Seven  Eventful  Years,  p.  301. 


A  LITERARY   SUCCESS.  519 

be  sent  for  them  ;  and  as  they  had  learned  that  Godon  was  no 
longer  in  command  of  the  squadron,  and  knew  nothing  of  the 
character  of  Davis,  they  hoped  that  within  a  few  weeks  the 
American  flag  would  be  seen  again  in  the  river.  It  was  every- 
thing, therefore,  for  them  to  gain  time ;  and  when  Bliss  was 
commanded  to  write  a  connected  account  of  those  events  to 
which  he  had  testified  as  a  witness,  he  saw  that  the  more  ex- 
tensive the  scale  on  which  he  projected  his  work  the  better 
were  his  chances  of  escape.  The  torturers  had  taught  him  that 
the  more  extravagant  the  denunciations  of  the  "  evil  genius  of 
Paraguay,"  or  the  "  Great  Beast,"  as  the  inquisitors  were  ac- 
customed to  call  me,  the  more  acceptable  were  his  "  declara- 
tions "  to  their  master.  He,  therefore,  as  he  testified  before 
the  committee  of  Congress,  resolved  to  make  his  narrative 
serve  a  double  purpose  ;  his  work  should  be  gross  and  start- 
ling enough  to  make  Lopez  desirous  of  its  continuance,  and 
at  the  same  time  so  absurd  and  ridiculous  that  it  would  defeat 
the  very  object  which  the  tyrant  had  in  view  in  ordering  it  to 
be  written.  He  had  seen,  by  the  way  his  "  declarations  "  had 
been  received,  that  Lopez,  though  in  many  things  showing  a 
marvellous  degree  of  shrewdness  and  cunning,  in  all  matters 
touching  himself  was  little  better  than  a  lunatic  or  an  idiot. 
With  this  knowledge  of  the  man  whom  he  was  to  glorify  and 
vindicate  to  the  world,  he  began  his  task,  which,  before  it  was 
concluded,  formed  a  volume  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-three 
pages.* 

Few  men,' indeed  scarcely  any  except  those  who  are  put 
forward  as  candidates  for  President,  are  so  eminent  either  in 
good  or  evil  as  to  have  their  biographies  written  while  yet 
living.  Lopez,  however,  having  resolved  to  make  me  one  of 
those  few  and  favored  individuals  who  are  permitted  to  read 
the  story  of  their  own  famous  deeds,  set  Bliss  to  the  task  of 
relating  them  ;  and  so  well  satisfied  was  he  with  the  execution 

*  "  Historia  Secreta  de  la  Mision  del  Ciudadano  Norte  Americano  Charles 
A.  Washburn  cerca  del  Gobierno  de  la  Republica  del  Paraguay.  For  el  Ciuda- 
dano Americano,  Traductor  titular  (in  partibus)  de  la  misma  mision,  PORTER 
CORNELIO  BLISS,  B.  A.  '  Quousque  tandem,  abutere  patientia  nostra.'  —  Ciceron." 


520  PARAGUAY. 

of  it,  that  he  took  every  possible  opportunity  to  send  the 
book  abroad  to  convince  the  world  that  he  had  defeated  the 
greatest  diplomatist,  and  the  boldest,  most  unscrupulous  in- 
triguer, who  had  ever  sought  to  make  kings  and  emperors  the 
"  mere  titular  dignitaries  of  the  chess-board." 

The  book  (written  in  Spanish),  commences  with  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph :  "  Charles  Ames  Washburn,  late  Minister 
of  the  United  States  in  the  Republic  of  Paraguay,  is  a  per- 
sonage that,  for  his  own  misfortune,  will  figure  so  much  in  the 
annals  of  four  countries  of  South  America  that  some  details 
on  his  biography  cannot  be  otherwise  than  interesting  to  all 
who  care  for  contemporaneous  history."  The  author  then 
goes  on  to  state  that  "  he  had  enjoyed  great  advantages  for 
the  fulfilment  of  the  task  that  he  had  undertaken,  from  hav- 
ing received  from  the  mouth  of  his  hero  the  relation  of  the 
rogueries  of  his  childhood,  the  follies  of  his  youth,  and  the  in- 
expressible as  innumerable  adventures  of  his  advanced  age." 
As  a  youth,  the  author  says  that  the  subject  of  his  memoir 
was  one  of  those  who  give  early  promise  of  rising  to  eminence 
by  being  hanged  ;  and  that,  "  among  the  other  precious 
qualities  that  adorned  the  hope  of  the  family,  and  which 
caused  unceasing  anxiety  to  his  parents,  was  a  constitutional 
inability  to  distinguish  between  meum  and  teum,  which 
induced  them  to  consult  a  physician  of  the  place,  who  gave 
them  the  benevolent  decision  that  it  was  an  organic  infirmity 
known  in  the  profession  by  the  scientific  name  of  kleptomania ! 
and  that  perhaps  he  would  be  cured  by  diet-  and  by  the 
assiduous  use  of  certain  remedies.  The  remedies  indicated 
were  tried,  but  without  result ;  and  it  is  sad  to  add  that  our 
hero  yet  suffers  with  frequent  attacks  of  kleptomania." 

The  unfortunate  youth  is  afterwards  sent  away  to  school, 
where  he  learns  all  that  ought  not  to  be  learned  and  little 
else,  and  is  expelled  from  different  institutions  of  learning 
on  account  of  his  mental  or  moral  depravity.  Every  anec- 
dote, from  the  time  of  the  peripatetics  of  students  repre- 
manded  or  ridiculed  by  their  teachers  which  the  author  can 
recollect,  is  made  to  do  service  in  this  biography.  His  hero's 


YOUTHFUL   ECCENTRICITIES.  521 

favorite  books  in  youth  were  the  works  of  Shakespeare, 
Charles  Lamb,  and  Joe  Miller ;  and  at  a  later  period, 
Machiavelli,  John  Stuart  Mill,  and  Henry  Thomas  Buckle. 
The  cause  of  his  leaving  college  so  abruptly  is  thus  explained  : 
•"The  cause  of  this  new  misfortune  is  not  perfectly  clear,  and 
is  one  of  the  matters  on  which  he  always  preserved  a  signifi- 
cant silence  ;  but  the  explanation  that  rumor  give^  is,  that  it 
was  connected  with  the  disappearance  of  certain  silver  spoons 
from  the  table  of  the  academic  dining-room."  Having  tried 
his  hand  at  a  variety  of  occupations,  the  subject  of  this 
biography  obtains  a  clerkship  at  Washington,  where,  accord- 
ing to  the  biographer,  "  he  was  given  up  to  the  pleasures  and 
orgies  of  the  capital  in  company  with  the  dissolute  youth  he 
met  there,  and  was  expelled  from  office  without  a  certificate 
of  character ;  and  when  he  left,  his  reputation  was  well  estab- 
lished as  a  rake  given  up  to  the  bottle,  to  gambling,  and  the 
pleasures  of  the  table." 

The  future  "evil  genius  of  Paraguay"  afterwards  becomes  a 
schoolmaster,  then  a  lawyer,  then  a  doctor,  in  all  of  which 
professions  he  attains  similar  distinction.  As  a  lawyer  he  had 
no  clients  ;  and  as  a  doctor  his  patients  ordered  their  coffins 
before  consulting  him.  At  last,  however,  the  hero  of  this 
volume  abandons  the  scenes  of  his  early  triumphs,  and  flees 
to  California.  "There,  among  the  purlieus  of  political  in- 
trigue, in  the  worst-governed  city  of  the  world,  where  crime 
most  abounded,  he  found  the  field  of  his  natural  abilities." 
He  gathered  around  him  a  set  of  desperadoes,  and  was  known 
as  the  chief  of  a  gang  of  political  demagogues.  "Then  the 
administration  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  comrades  of  Washburn,  depraved  men,  whose  rule  was  a 
true  reign  of  terror."  The  power  of  this  leader  of  the  roughs 
was  "cut  short  by  the  rising  of  the  people,  who  constituted 
themselves  a  vigilance  committee,  and  improvised  a  code  of 
laws  after  the  style  of  Draco,  and  sent  to  the  gallows  by  the 
dozen  the  most  daring  of  the  ruffians  that  before  had  ruled 
the  metropolis.  Their  leader  just  escaped  with  his  life,  by 
fleeing  on  board  a  vessel  bound  for  Panama,  at  the  first 
mutterings  of  the  tempest." 


522  PARAGUAY. 

The  fugitive  from  the  vigilance  committee  tries  his  hand  at 
writing  a  novel,  of  which  the  principal  characters  are  the  most 
abandoned  wretches  found  in  any  work  of  fiction,  one  of  whom 
is  the  type  of  himself,  and  escapes  hanging  in  a  similar  manner. 
The  versatile  hero  next  becomes  an  editor,  and  serves  up  to 
his  readers  old  jokes  that  can  be  understood  because  they 
are  old,  and  new  ones  that  cannot  because  they  are  original. 
That  the  original  wit  might  not  be  lost,  the  following  notice 
was  kept  standing  at  the  head  of  the  column  in  which  it 
appeared :  "  The  editor  gives  notice  to  his  subscribers,  that  if 
there  may  be  any  among  them  who  hereafter  may  not  com- 
prehend the  whole  sense  of  his  original  jokes,  he  will  have 
much  pleasure  in  going  round  to  the  houses  of  such  sub- 
scribers as  may  desire  it,  in  order  to  explain,  viva  voce,  the 
meaning  of  all  that  may  have  appeared  obscure  in  these 
jests." 

This  accommodating  editor  adds  to  his  other  qualifications 
for  office  that  of  a  poet ;  and  his  biographer  devotes  some  six 
pages  to  a  criticism  of  his  poetry,  not  a  line  of  which,  un- 
fortunately, is  he  able  to  remember.  The  critique,  however, 
as  a  literary  feat,  is  a  remarkable  production,  and  illustrates, 
as  well  as  anything  can,  the  situation  of  the  author  at  the 
time  he  was  writing  it.  Literally,  he  was  writing  for  life ; 
and  was  contriving  every  possible  way  to  spin  out  his  work 
till  something  should  come  to  his  rescue.  To  criticise  imagi- 
nary poetry  and  "  body  forth  the  form  of  things  unknown  "  was 
only  to  be  done  by  one  who  could  "  give  to  airy  nothings  a 
local  habitation  and  a  name."  But  Bliss,  though  a  prodigy  of 
learning  and  a  living  encyclopaedia  of  knowledge,  was  not 
aware  till  then  that  he  possessed  the  divine  afflatus,  or  held 
the  poet's  pen  ;  and  yet  he  gives  a  slashing  criticism  of  poetry 
that  was  never  written,  which  would  have  done  honor  to  a 
quarterly  review.  In  relating  his  experience  at  this  time,  he 
has  since  said  that  his  mind  was  abnormally  active.  His 
ideas  were  not  clogged  by  over-indulgence  at  the  table,  for 
while  thus  engaged  he  never  had  half  so  much  to  eat  as  he 
wanted,  and  what  he  did  get  was  seldom  anything  more  than 


WRITING   FOR  LIFE.  523 

a  bit  of  boiled  beef  without  salt.  He  was  kept  at  work  in- 
cessantly for  twelve  or  fourteen  hours  a  day,  a  guard  over  him 
all  the  time  to  keep  him  up  to  his  task,  being  frequently 
roused  up  at  night  to  correct  his  proofs.  In  spite  of  himself, 
therefore,  his  work  got  on  faster  than  he  desired ;  and  at  the 
rate  he  was  progressing  it  would  be  completed  before  the 
hundred  days  which  he  fixed  as  the  time  that  must  pass  before 
the  squadron  would  come  after  him.  To  gain  time,  he  made 
errors  in  his  manuscript,  and  a  great  number  of  corrections 
in  his  proofs  ;  and  when  these  were  returned  to  him,  he  would 
correct  them  again  and  then  again,  thus  prolonging  his  task, 
as  did  Penelope  her  web  while  waiting  the  return  of  Ulysses. 
About  forty  pages  of  the  book  are  devoted  to  the  life  of 
his  hero  previous  to  his  appointment  as  Minister  to  Paraguay, 
which  was  conferred  upon  him,  notwithstanding  his  notorious 
character,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Rhode  Island  Company, 
and  especially  of  their  former  agent,  E.  A.  Hopkins.  Some 
twenty  pages  more  are  devoted  to  his  career  during  his  first 
residence  in  Paraguay,  in  which  he  showed  himself  to  be  a 
bitter  enemy  of  both  government  and  people  ;  and  yet  he  so 
won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  Excellency,  Francisco 
Solano  Lopez,  that  he  covered  him  with  benefits,  and  loaded 
him  down  with  money  to  expend  for  the  benefit  of  Paraguay, 
but  which  he  put  in  his  own  pocket,  and  left  his  illustrious 
friend  to  look  elsewhere  for  his  lost  treasure.  When  he  left  the 
country  he  did  not  intend  to  return  to  it,  but  unexpected  events 
at  home,  particularly  the  death  of  President  Lincoln,  decided 
him  to  go  back ;  and  as  soon  as  he  reached  Rio  de  Janeiro,  he 
was  taken  into  the  councils  of  the  Brazilian  government,  and 
became  their  paid  agent,  holding  the  most  confidential  relations 
with  the  Emperor  and  his  principal  ministers.  His  pretended 
quarrel  with  Admiral  Godon  was  a  farce,  all  arranged  to 
deceive  the  American  government,  as  he  was  receiving  four 
thousand  dollars  a  month  from  the  Emperor  during  all  the 
time  of  his  delay.  His  own  government,  however,  at  last 
imperatively  orders  him  to  his  post ;  and  so  at  last  he  passes 
through  the  blockade,  being  continued  in  receipt  of  an  in- 


524  PARAGUAY. 

come  from  the  allies,  compared  with  which  his  salary  from 
his  own  government  is  a  mere  bagatelle. 

Having  exhausted  that  part  of  the  early  life  of  his  hero, 
Mr.  Bliss  was  at  a  loss  for  another  subject  on  which  to  enlarge. 
But  as  it  was  known  to  Lopez  that  during  my  residence  in 
Paraguay  I  had  been  collecting  materials  for  a  book  on  the 
country,  a  part  of  which  was  already  written,  he  instructed 
his  inquisitors  to  question  the  prisoner  as  to  the  tenor  and 
contents  of  the  forthcoming  volume.  By  this  time  Bliss  had 
shown  so  much  zeal  in  denouncing  and  exposing  the  subject 
of  his  biography,  had  abused  him  with  such  apparent  unction, 
had  cursed  him  so  roundly  for  having  seduced  him  from  the 
path  of  virtue,  and  from  the  loyalty  and  devotion  that  was 
justly  due  the  "  greatest  warrior  of  the  age,"  that  Lopez 
seemed  to  believe  that  he  had  in  reality  become  my  bitterest 
enemy  ;  that  he  had  been  conquered  by  kindness,  and  con- 
verted to  be  his  friend  and  champion.  He  did  not,  however, 
take  off  his  fetters  or  give  him  any  better  food.  So  long  as  a 
man,  though  a  starved  prisoner  who  had  often  been  tortured, 
had  breath  in  his  body,  Lopez  considered  that  he  owed  him  an 
infinite  debt  of  gratitude  ;  and  that,  if  afterwards  he  were  set 
at  liberty,  he  ought  to  spend  his  days  in  defending  the  cause 
and  person  of  his  magnanimous  benefactor,  and  in  chanting 
his  praises.  My  biographer,  therefore,  continued  on  the  dan- 
gerous experiment  of  giving  from  memory  what  he  called 
quotations  from  my  unpublished  book,  in  which  he  resolved 
to  incorporate  so  much  truth,  that,  though  Lopez  was  not 
acute  enough  to  see  his  object,  it  would,  if  ever  published 
and  circulated  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Paraguayan  camp,  en- 
lighten the  world  as  to  the  tyrant's  character  and  government. 
As  fast  as  eight  pages  of  his  work  were  completed,  it  was 
printed  and  distributed  through  the  army. 

The  object  of  Lopez  in  circulating  the  advance  sheets  is 
intelligible,  so  long  as  the  work  was  limited  to  abuse  of  me  ; 
but  that  he  should  continue  to  do  the  same  afterwards,  when 
the  sheets  thrown  off  contained  little  more  than  the  most 
violent  denunciations  of  himself,  seems  almost  as  incompre- 


IMAGINARY  QUOTATIONS.  525 

hensible  as  the  mystery  of  the  great  conspiracy.  During  the 
long  and  intimate  acquaintance  which  I  had  had  with  Mr. 
Bliss,  every  act  of  importance  in  the  career  of  Lopez  had 
been  passed  in  review  by  us,  and  we  were  perfectly  in  accord 
in  our  estimate  of  his  character  :  our  opinion  being  that  of 
every  intelligent  person  in  Paraguay,  with  the  exceptions  only 
of  himself  and  Madam  Lynch.  These  opinions  were  the 
same  as  have  been  expressed  in  this  work,  and  it  will  be 
found  that  the  material  facts  in  Bliss's  book  and  mine  in 
regard  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  Lopez  are  virtually 
the  same.  Many  things  in  Bliss's  narrative,  however,  are  not 
in  mine ;  some  for  the  reason  that  they  are  of  too  gross  a 
character  to  be  believed  by  the  general  reader,  even  if  true, 
and  some  because  I  had  never  heard  of  them  till  I  saw  them 
in  my  own  biography. 

From  this  singular  book  I  shall  translate  a  few  pages,  re- 
gretting that  I  cannot  give  the  larger  part  of  it.  If  the  author 
shall  ever  make  a  translation  of  it,  and  publish  it  with  notes 
explaining  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written,  his 
surroundings,  and  the  hints  received  from  the  torturers,  the 
quotations  from  old  Latin  works  furnished  by  the  priests  who 
watched  the  progress  of  his  writing  it,  it  could  hardly  fail  to 
be  as  extensively  read  as  ever  was  Robinson  Crusoe  or  Gul- 
liver's Travels. 

In  giving  what  he  called  extracts  from  my  manuscripts,  he 
more  frequently  gave  the  substance  of  conversations  that 
actually  took  place.  Long  before  Lopez  had  marked  me  out 
as  one  of  his  victims,  I  had,  in  a  conversation  with  Bliss, 
compared  him  to  Rehoboam,  and  from  this  suggestion  my 
biographer  gives  the  following  as  an  extract  from  my  book  :  — 

"  The  conduct  of  Lopez  forcibly  suggests  the  analogy  of  Reho- 
boam, son  and  successor  of  Solomon,  of  whom  the  Bible  gives  the 
following  account.  The  Hebrew  people,  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  reign  of  King  Solomon,  having  been  oppressed  with  heavy 
labors  for  the  construction  of  the  celebrated  Temple  and  other  ob- 
jects, some  of  them  conceived  great  hopes  that  their  burdens  would 
alleviated  by  the  son,  and  in  that  expectation  addressed  him  their 


526  PARAGUAY. 

supplications.  Rehoboam,  unused  to  the  cares  of  empire,  collected 
in  a  council  the  old  servants  of  the  crown,  and  submitted  to 
them  these  petitions.  The  council  of  old  men  gave  their  opinion 
in  favor  of  the  petitioners,  and  so  represented  to  the  young  king ; 
but  he  in  the  mean  while  had  taken  a  dislike  to  those  old  public 
functionaries,  and,  before  deciding,  he  convoked  a  company  of  the 
young  companions  of  his  orgies.  These  furnished  to  Rehoboam 
the  text  of  the  famous  answer  to  the  petitioners  in  the  opposite 
sense,  that  is :  '  My  father  has  loaded  you  with  light  yokes,  but  I 
will  oppress  you  with  heavy  yokes  ;  my  father  has  chastised  you 
with  whips,  but  I  will  chastise  you  with  scorpions  :  my  little  finger 
shall  be  thicker  than  my  father's  loin.' 

"  In  the  same  way  General  Lopez  has  discharged  the  most  aged 
and  faithful  servants  of  his  father,  until  it  came  to  this,  that  to  have 
belonged  to  the  council  of  the  last  administration  soon  came  to  be 
a  just  ground  of  suspicion  and  persecution  of  the  new  regime. 
Very  soon  the  principal  personages  among  them  fell  under  the  stern 
rod  of  the  Paraguayan  laws,  that  in  other  words  are  the  despotic 
mandates  of  the  modern  Rehoboam,  in  comparison  with  whose 
atrocities  the  rule  of  the  autocrats  of  all  the  Russians  is  mercy 
itself,  and  the  worst  rigors  of  the  Holy  Inquisition  are  tender 
caresses." 

Following  this  estimate  of  the  character  of  Lopez,  proba- 
bly the  most  just  one  he  ever  heard  expressed  of  himself,  the 
biographer  next  gives  the  opinion  of  the  barbarian  Minister, 
who  "  had  just'  escaped  by  the  skin  of  his  teeth,"  and  gone 
abroad  to  spread  his  calumnies  on  those  holy  men,  the  Para- 
guayan priests :  — 

"  In  the  world  are  three  classes  of  despotisms,  civil,  ecclesiastic, 
and  military,  each  of  which  is  sufficient  to  effect  the  misery  of  a 
people  ;  but  the  unhappy  Republic  of  Paraguay  is  the  only  country 
in  the  world  where  are  found  all  three  in  a  state  of  full  activity  and 
perfect  equilibrium,  administered  by  the  great  Equilibrista  of  the 
Plata.  If  the  civil  despotism  is  the  head,  the  ecclesiastic  and  mili- 
tary are  the  two  arms,  of  the  present  government ;  all  the  clergy, 
from  the  bishop  down,  being  but  an  active  instrument  of  espionage 
systematized  into  complete  subordination.  The  immorality  of  the 
Paraguayan  clergy  is  excessive,  and  runs  apace  with  its  gross  igno- 


THE   PARAGUAYAN   PRIESTS.  527 

ranee.  As  there  is  scarcely  a  priest  in  the  whole  Republic  that 
knows  more  Latin  than  is  strictly  necessary  to  mutilate  the  words 
of  the  holy  office,  who  can  believe  that  the  Great  Architect  of  the 
universe  would  wish  to  be  represented  on  earth  by  such  a  vile  horde 
of  intriguers  and  spies  ? " 

From  the  treatment  that  the  priests  were  receiving  about 
this  time,  it  would  seem  that  Lopez  had  a  very  similar  opin- 
ion in  regard  to  them  as  is  here  expressed.  For  while  Bliss 
was  pretending  to  quote  to  him  from  my  manuscripts  the 
calumnies  on  those  pious  sons  of  the  Church,  all  the  more 
intelligent  among  them,  excepting  only  Padre  Maiz,  were  pris- 
oners in  fetters,  several  being  within  sight  of  his  hut. 

Of  Lopez's  courage  and  fitness  for  military  command  I  am 
thus  made  to  speak  by  my  biographer :  — 

"  When  Washburn  came  to  treat  of  the  military  knowledge  and 
strategy  of  the  Marshal,  he  represented  them  to  be  very  limited, 
and  asserted  more  than  once  that  he  lacked  the  first  requisite  of  a 
soldier,  —  personal  valor !  That  the  Marshal  had  an  extraordinary 
regard  for  the  safety  of  his  own  skin,  and  that  he  is  perhaps  the 
only  general  in  the  world,  at  least  of  those  who  have  directed  a 
campaign  as  chief,  that  does  not  know  personally  the  emotions  of 
the  battle-field,  as  he  has  never  had  a  near  view  of  any  combat 
of  war,  and  has  always  remained  at  a  respectable  distance  from 
the  scene  of  battle,  whilst  he  showed  a  criminal  disregard  of  the 
lives  of  his  subjects,  whom  he  sacrificed  by  thousands  without  the 
least  compunction  ;  that  if  the  Marshal  had  at  any  time  established 
or  given  proof  of  his  personal  valor,  his  present  conduct  in  keep- 
ing himself  far  from  the  immediate  theatre  of  battle  could  not  be 
criticised,  but  that  nobody  had  a  right  to  demand  from  his  subor- 
dinates a  bravery  and  contempt  of  life  of  which  he  had  not  at  any 
time  given  an  example.  Notwithstanding  this,  Marshal  Lopez 
wishes  to  have  the  reputation  of  surpassing  valor,  and  to  be  consid- 
ered as  one  who  is  accustomed  to  cavort  unterrified  on  his  mettle- 
some charger,  in  the  midst  of  a  shower  of  bombs  and  balls." 

How  Lopez  could  permit  a  man  to  write  truths  like  these 
I  have  quoted,  and  which  everybody  around  him  knew  to  be 
truths,  whether  quotations  from  me  or  original  with  Bliss,  seems 
scarcely  credible  even  to  me,  who  have  known  of  so  many  of 


528  PARAGUAY. 

his  stupid  and  foolish  acts,  and  have  the  book  before  me  from 
which  I  make  the  translations.  The  others  saw  through  the 
trick,  and  on  several  occasions  Padre  Maiz  said  to  the  prisoner, 
sotto  voce,  that,  while  he  was  pretending  to  be  quoting  from  me, 
he  was  writing  a  most  scathing  criticism  on  his  Excellency. 

The  character  of  Lopez  having  been  portrayed  in  such 
colors,  the  biographer  next  proceeds  to  quote  from  my  forth- 
coming book  my  opinions  of  the  principal  characters  among 
the  allies,  of  whom  he  says  I  speak  in  terms  of  the  bitterest 
sarcasm  and  contempt,  notwithstanding  the  large  sums  of  gold 
they  had  paid  me  to  be  their  friend  and  champion,  and  at 
the  very  time  I  was  writing  the  most  biting  satires  on  the 
Emperor  Pedro  II.,  Caxias,  Octaviano,  Mitre,  and  others,  I  was 
in  fact  the  Brazilian  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  and  receiving  a 
fabulous  salary  from  the  imperial  treasury. 

"  From  a  regard  to  truth,"  says  the  author  of  this  interesting  work, 
"  we  shall  admit  that  the  satires  which  Washburn  hurls  at  his  friends 
—  Caxias,  Mitre,  et  id  omne  genus —  are  well  merited,  and  sometimes 
felicitous.  This  part  of  his  work  was  written  about  the  middle  of  the 
year  1867,  when  the  scheme  of  the  revolution  was  not  far  advanced, 
and  when  the  fierce  anger  of  his  hate  —  beyond  the  theological  — 
towards  this  Republic  had  not  arrived  at  the  extreme  to  which  it 
afterwards  reached.  Therefore  this  part  of  the  work  of  Washburn 
is  the  only  part  that  possesses  any  merit ;  and  leaving  out  of  view  the 
ingratitude,  we  can  applaud  the  justice  of  his  hits.  They  have  de- 
served it,  but  not  from  him,  will  be  the  judgment  of  the  impartial 
reader ;  since  our  hero  satirizing  his  comrades  among  the  allies  would 
be  like  the  pot  calling  the  kettle  black,  or,  more  expressively,  Satan 
rebuking  sin.  If  it  is  true  that  the  characters  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
alliance  are  not  completely  immaculate,  it  is  no  less  certain  that  their 
implacable -satirist  is  one  on  which  coal  would  make  a  white  mark. 

'  O  wad  some  power  the  giftie  gie  us, 
To  see  oursels  as  others  see  us  ! ' 

has  sung  the  inspired  bard  of  Scotland.  When  the  Marques  de 
Caxias  may  see  the  pages  of  Washburn,  ingratitude,  more  sharp  than 
treacherous  steel,  will  quite  conquer  him  ;  he  will  exclaim,  '  Et  tu, 
Brute.  This  is  the  most  unkindest  cut  of  all !  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan  !  Take  any  form  but  that  1  Save  me  from  my  friends  ! ' " 


IMAGINARY   QUOTATIONS.  529 

Probably  he  will. 

In  giving  so  many  and  such  long  extracts  from  this  book 
of  Bliss,  it  has  not  been  my  object  to  amuse  the  reader  so 
much  as  to  let  him  understand  the  contemptible  character 
of  Lopez.  Every  page  of  it,  before  it  was  published,  was 
submitted  to  him  and  approved,  and  in  one  sense  it  may  be 
considered  Lopez's  book.  His  object,  undoubtedly,  in  send- 
ing it  abroad,  was  to  vindicate  himself,  and  to  prove  to  the 
world  that  the  minister  of  another  country,  whom  he  had  so 
grossly  insulted,  whose  ambassadorial  rights  he  had  outraged, 
and  whose  employees  he  had  imprisoned,  was  none  other  than 
the  arch-plotter  of  modern  diplomacy,  the  agent  of  foreign  po- 
tentates who  sought  to  deprive  the  Paraguayan  people  of  their 
liberties  ;  that  he  was  a  scoffer  at  religion,  the  very  Antichrist 
who  would  defile  the  fountains  of  knowledge  by  substituting 
for  the  pious  teachings  of  the  priests  of  Paraguay  the  doctrines 
of  such  profane  writers  as  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Pope,  John 
Stuart  Mill,  Buckle,  and  Tennyson.  These  writers  are  the 
ones  most  frequently  quoted  by  Bliss  ;  and  as  it  is  scarcely 
possible  that  Lopez  ever  heard  of  them  before,  he  must  have 
imagined,  from  the  frequency  with  which  Shakespeare  was 
quoted,  that  he  was  the  inventor  and  advocate  of  all  abominable 
doctrines.  To  give  a  more  complete  idea  of  the  character  of 
the  book,  I  translate  a  few  pages  for  a  foot-note.*  These  will 

*  "  It  is  a  portentous  phenomenon,"  says  Bliss,  pretending  to  quote  from  me, 
"  how  this  people  has  been  able  to  consent  to  be  their  own  hangman,  in  the  same 
way  that  sometimes  the  Roman  citizens,  whose  death  the  tyrant  Nero  desired,  re- 
ceived permission  from  the  Emperor  to  open  their  veins It  is  inexplicable 

how  this  people,  seeing  itself,  like  Prometheus,  chained  to  a  rock,  whilst  a  vulture 
(the  Marshal)  devours  its  entrails,  and  being  able,  by  a  simple  gesture,  to  break 
these  chains,  there  has  not  been  found  one  to  act  the  part  of  Junius  Brutus  ; 
that  it  can  only  be  explained  by  the  ancient  proverb,  '  WHOM  THE  GODS  WISH 
TO  DESTROY  THEY  FIRST  MAKE  MAD  ! ! ! '  That,  without  doubt,  among  the  de- 
signs of  God  is  the  complete  destruction  of  the  Paraguayan  race,  as  the  fig-tree 
in  the  Evangel,  of  which,  not  having  produced  fruit  for  three  years  (the  years  of 
the  war),  Jesus  Christ  said,  'Cut  it  down,  why  cumbereth  it  the  ground?' 
That  already  are  very  near  the  dies  ir&,  dies  ilia  of  the  Paraguayan  people. 
That  God's  vengeance  may  be  slow,  but  it  is  sure,  approaching  with  an  imper- 
ceptible step,  as  the  Greek  poet  jEschylus  has  expressed  it  (that  applying  them 
to  the  delays  of  the  allied  forces  Washburn  has  repeated  times  without  number 
VOL.  II.  34 


530  PARAGUAY. 

serve  to  show,  not  so  much  the  wealth  of  the  writer  in  quota- 
tions, his  remarkable  memory,  and  a  playfulness  of  style, 

in  conversation),  '  The  avenging  gods  are  shod  with  wool.'  That  for  their  stupidity 
and  blindness,  and  other  sins,  the  Paraguayan  people  have  merited  the  complete 
extermination  that  awaits  them,  and  that  the  world  will  have  reason  to  con- 
gratulate itself  when  there  shall  not  be  in  it  a  single  person  that  speaks  the 
accursed  Guarani  idiom. 

"That  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Paraguay  ought  to  be  erected  a  column  with 
this  warning  inscription,  which  Dante  in  his  poem  of  the  Divina  Commedia  repre- 
sents to  have  been  placed  above  the  door  of  hell,  'All  you  who  enter  here,  leave 
hope  behind  ! '  And,  changing  the  solemn  style  for  the  festive,  he  says  there  are 
two  classes  of  men  that  ought  never  to  come  to  Paraguay,  —  the  fools  and  the 
men  of  sense  ;  and  that  his  advice  to  all  persons  who  think  of  coming  here  would 
be  the  same  that  Punch  gave  to  persons  about  to  marry,  — '  don't.'  .... 

"  That  as  in  the  feast  of  Belshazzar,  the  last  night  of  the  Babylonian  Empire, 
appeared  in  characters  of  fire  traced  upon  the  wall,  by  a  visible  hand,  the 
warning  prediction,  Mene  tekel  upharsin,  the  same  prophecy  is  already  written 
against  the  Republic  of  Paraguay  (and  particularly  against  Marshal  Lopez)  in 
letters  so  large  that  he  that  runs  may  read  them  !  ! !  That  the  Marshal  has  the 
greatest  reason  to  exclaim,  in  the  famous  words  of  Prince  Metternich,  '  After 
me  the  deluge,'  since  as  the  prophet  Daniel  had  prognosticated  that  the  end  of 
Babylon  would  be  by  a  deluge,  the  same  will  happen  in  the  present  case. 

"  That,  as  to  exclamations,  Lopez  will  find  more  than  one  that  will  be  suggested 
in  his  last  extremities  in  the  two  master  works  of  Shakespeare,  the  celebrated 
dramas  of  Richard  III.  and  Macbeth,  whose  heroes,  kings,  one  of  England  and 
the  other  of  Scotland,  were  flagrant  criminals,  in  whose  death,  as  tragic  as  well 
deserved,  the  Marshal  could  get  a  glimpse  of  his  own  if  he  knew  enough  of 
English  to  read  what  he  would  recommend  to  him." 

The  story  of  Richard's  death  is  then  related  at  considerable  length,  and  a  de- 
scription is  given  of  the  manner  in  which  the  shades  of  his  many  illustrious  vic- 
tims arise  from  the  earth  and  pass  in  slow  procession  before  him,  each  one  shak- 
ing his  bony  finger  at  him,  "  at  which  Richard,  starting  up,  calls  out,  '  A  horse,  a 
horse !  my  kingdom  for  a  horse  ! '  In  such  case  Lopez  (adds  Washburn,  with 
gross  indecency)  would  be  satisfied  with  a  jackass."  Then  the  tragic  story  of 
Macbeth's  last  hours  is  related,  and  it  is  foretold  by  the  same  irreverent  prophet 
that  Lopez  will  have  the  same  death  ;  but  having  already  perished  like  Belshaz- 
zar and  Richard,  he  must  have  been  a  character  like  Mrs.  Malaprop's  Cerberus, 
"  three  gentlemen  at  once." 

"  Macbeth  also  knew  of  the  death  of  his  queen,  the  accomplice  of  his  crimes, 
and  kept  on  to  the  last  point  of  desperation  ;  one  of  his  suite  having  hinted  to 
him  that  something  should  be  arranged  for  to-morrow,  there  broke  forth  from  his 
agonized  heart  this  tremendous  soliloquy  :  — 

'  To-morrow,  and  to-morrow,  and  to-morrow, 
Creeps  on  its  petty  pace  from  day  to  day, 
To  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time : 
And  all  our  yesterdays  have  lighted  fools 
The  way  to  dusty  death.' 


INSPIRATION   OF   LOPEZ.  531 

under  the  circumstances,  still  more  remarkable,  as  the  in- 
credible stupidity  of  Lopez  in  publishing  and  circulating  a 

"  And  though  Jesus  Christ  may  have  said,  Take  no  thought  of  to-morrow,  for 
to-morrow  will  take  care  of  itself,  yet  Lopez  has  too  often  present  to  his  mind 
the  avenging  shears  of  the  Parcae,  that  will  cut  the  throat  of  his  criminal  exist- 
ence, to  fail  to  appreciate  the  whole  force  of  these  lines. 

"  Before  leaving  the  arsenal  of  war  that  he  had  found  in  Shakespeare,  our 
prophet  wished  to  throw  the  last  dart  against  Marshal  Lopez,  remembering 
in  the  tragedy  of  Julius  Caesar  the  appeal  of  Cassius  to  Brutus  inciting  him  to  take 
part  in  the  conspiracy  against  the  life  of  Caesar,  — 

'  Now,  in  the  name  of  all  the  gods  at  once, 
Upon  what  meat  hath  this  our  Cxsar  fed, 
That  he  hath  grown  so  great  ? ' 

And  answered  the  question  contained  in  these  lines,  saying  that  probably  Lopez 
had  nourished  his  heroic  valor  on  lion's  marrow,  and  concluded  saying  he  has  no 
doubt  that  Lopez  in  his  disturbed  dreams  had  seen  many  times  a  spectre  like 
that  which  appeared  to  Brutus,  saying,  '  I  am  thy  evil  genuis  !  You  will  see  me 
at  Philippi.'  .... 

"  Lopez  has  imitated  exactly  the  conduct  of  the  celebrated  Scottish  Chief 
Lochiel  in  disregarding  an  augury,  very  similar  to  that  which  before  the  battle  of 
Culloden,  in  1745,  was  given  by  a  Highland  seer  in  these  words,  according  to  the 
poetic  version  of  Campbell :  — 

'  Lochiel  \  Lochiel  !  beware  of  the  day,'  etc. 

"That  Lopez  also  pretends  to  gifts  of  inspiration,  and  in  an  address  in  the 
Guarani  language  to  the  officers  of  his  army  in  Humaita,  near  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  he  told  them,  '  This  hand  has  signed  the  commissions  of  five  hundred  of 
you,  and  has  been  guided  in  it  by  the  direct  inspiration  of  God  !  ' 

"  That  if  the  inspiration  of  God  were  never  more  effective  than  in  the  case 
alluded  to,  the  inspiration  of  the  Devil  would  be  better,  since  the  greater  part  of 
those  to  whom  this  speech  was  addressed  did  not  respond  to  the  expectations  of 
Lopez,  and  many  of  them  have  been  compelled  to  go  and  give  an  account  of  their 
inspired  commissions  by  means  of  four  shots  that  the  inspired  Lopez  had  ordered 
to  be  discharged  at  them 

"  That  if  this  state  of  things  should  continue  much  longer,  the  Republic  will 
be  converted  into  a  vast  prison,  in  which  the  entire  population  will  be  shut  up, 
and  that  then  Marshal  Lopez,  being  the  only  person  who  will  remain  at  liberty, 
may  mount  the  tribune,  shaking  in  his  hands  the  keys  of  the  prisons,  and  pro- 
claim to  the  astonished  world,  parodying  the  words  of  Louis  XIV.,  (L'£(at 
c'est  moi!)  'I  am  the  Paraguayan  people.  Order  reigns  in  Warsaw.  The 
Paraguayan  people  is  free  and  happy,  and  has  had  no  part  in  the  iniquitous 
plan  of  revolution  incited  by  some  traitors  in  its  bosom.'  Washburn  added 
that  this  discourse  would  perfectly  express  the  idea  that  the  Marshal  has  of 
what  constitutes  the  liberty  of  a  people,  since  he  accepts  without  reserve 
the  famous  definition  enunciated  by  James  I.  of  England  :  '  A  free  govern- 
ment is  that  in  which  the  monarch  is  perfectly  free  to  do  whatever  he  pleases.'  " 
—  Extracts  from  Bliss's  "  Historic,  Secreta"  pp.  113  to  120. 


532  PARAGUAY. 

work  of  this  kind  in  vindication  of  himself.  It  fully  equals 
Francia's  letter  of  vindication  against  the  charges  of  Dr. 
Rengger.  Frequently  passages  are  given  in  Latin  as  quota- 
tions where  the  Latin  is  made  for  the  occasion,  and  ascribed 
to  writers  of  whom  neither  Lopez  nor  any  of  his  inquisitors 
ever  heard. 

The  quotations  which  I  have  given  from  this  book  show 
that  Bliss  was  trying  to  work  upon  the  superstitious  fears  of 
Lopez.  In  another  place,  as  a  reason  for  introducing  such 
absurdities  as  signs  and  omens,  he  describes  me  as  a  great 
believer  in  them,  and  as  having  a  variety  of  ways  by  which  I 
prognosticated  the  future.  Among  other  portentous  signs  that 
to  me  were  of  prophetic  import  were  certain  letters.  The 
letter  B  was  of  all  in  the  alphabet  most  ominous  of  disaster  to 
Lopez  ;  and  to  call  his  attention  to  the  fact,  Bliss  gives  the 
following  proofs  that  it  was  really  so  :  — 

"  And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  stupendous  discovery  that  Wash- 
burn  made  about  this  time,  that  the  letter  JB  is  of  evil  omen  for  Marshal 
Lopez ;  as  all  the  countries,  persons,  and  things  whose  names  begin 
with  this  letter  seemed  to  have  entered  into  a  conspiracy  against  the 
Marshal?  As  such,  he  cited  the  countries  Brazil,  Buenos  Aires, 
Banda  Oriental ;  and  also,  for  certain  contingencies,  Bolivia  and 
Great  Britain.  The  persons  alluded  to  were  the  brothers  of  the 
Marshal,  Benigno  and  Venancio,  (whose  name  he  spelled  with  a  B, — 
JBenando !}  the  Bishop,  Barrios,  Bedoya,  Berges,  Bruguez,  Benitez, 
Bliss,  Bareiro  (Candido),  Brizuela,  and  Bonaparte ;  and  the  author 
does  not  know  why  he  did  not  cite  Beelzebub  and  Belial,  as  these 
illustrious  persons  ought  not  to  be  omitted  from  such  a  list.  The 
things  which  were  mentioned  in  this  strange  connection  were  the 
ironclads  (blindados),  the  blockade,  batteries,  bombs,  balls,  and 
bayonets  of  the  enemy 

"  Apropos  of  this  list,  the  author  wishes  here  to  suggest  to  his 
hero,  what  did  not  occur  to  him  at  the  time,  that,  as  he  included 
Venancio  in  the  list,  substituting  a  B  for  a  V  in  his  eccentric 
orthography,  he  might  with  double  reason  have  included  his  own 
name,  as  in  that  case  the  double  V  (W)  would  signify  with  great 
truth  a  double  fatality /" 

Thus  while  Lopez  by  brutal  force  was  extorting  such  "  con- 


BLISS'S    PORTRAIT   OF    LOPEZ.  533 

fessions  "  as  these  from  his  victim,  the  latter  was  playing  on 
his  known  credulity  and  superstition,  and  telling  him  of 
the  horrid  visions  and  killing  remorse  of  others,  who  like  him 
had  shed  seas  of  innocent  blood.  In  the  course  of  his  work 
Bliss  also  stated  that  the  late  Minister  had  fully  appreciated 
the  dangers  from  which  he  had  escaped,  and  had  frequently 
said,  during  the  two  months  preceding  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp, 
that  he  was  likely  to  be  "  the  hero  of  his  own  novel,"  who,  in 
endeavoring  to  serve  and  save  others,  had  exposed  himself  to 
a  miserable  death. 

The  portrait  of  Lopez,  as  drawn  by  Bliss  in  the  extracts  I 
have  given,  was  very  correct ;  and  in  reading  them  he  must 
have  seen  that  every  stroke  had  been  suggested  by  acts  that 
were  notorious  ;  and  if  he  believed  that  I  had  gone  away 
with  the  proofs  of  his  cowardice,  his  cruelty,  his  jealousy  and 
thirst  of  blood,  which  I  had  already  arranged  for  publication, 
he  must  have  been  even  more  angry  with  himself  that  he  had 
not  made  way  with  me  before  the  arrival  of  the  Wasp  than 
he  was  after  the  receipt  of  my  letter  denouncing  him  as  an 
enemy  of  the  human  race  and  a  common  thief.  It  would  be 
a  satisfaction  to  many  to  know  how  he  received  these  advance 
sheets  of  his  own  biography.  Did  he  regard  them  as  so  pre- 
posterous and  extravagant  that  they  could  never  affect  his 
name  or  reputation  ?  Did  he  still  believe  that  the  words 
which  his  paramour,  his  torturers  and  inquisitors,  were  con- 
stantly whispering  in  his  ears,  that  he  was  too  good,  too  kind- 
hearted,  too  unsuspicious,  too  reckless  of  danger,  were  the 
same  that  would  be  finally  inscribed  on  the  page  of  history  ? 
Or  did  he  take  a  delight  in  contemplating  the  destruction  he 
had  caused,  and  reflect  with  satisfaction  that  his  would  be  a 
name  forever  accursed  in  the  future  annals  of  his  country  ; 
and  that,  like  Attila,  he  had  achieved  a  name  so  infamous  in 
history  that  men  would  call  him  the  "  Scourge  of  God."  Did 
he  glory  in  leaving  a 

" .  .  .  .  name  to  other  times, 
Linked  with  no  virtue,  and  a  thousand  crimes  "  ? 

The  book  reaches  its  climax   with  the   concluding   para- 


534  PARAGUAY. 

graphs.  The  writer,  having  spun  out  his  story  to  such  length, 
is  admonished  that  he  must  bring  it  to  a  close.  He  antici- 
pates that  with  the  conclusion  of  the  work  will  come  the  order 
for  his  execution.  He  therefore  makes  a  last  appeal  for  life  by 
swearing  that  if  it  shall  be  spared  him  he  will  spend  it  in  expos- 
ing and  bringing  to  justice  the  "evil  genius  of  Paraguay"  :  — 

"  We  have  sketched  with  free  strokes  the  history  of  the  greatest 
violation  of  the  duties  of  a  neutral  diplomate  that  modern  times  can 
offer.  We  denounce  to  the  Divine  anger,  to  the  opprobrium  of  the 
world,  and  to  the  condign  punishment  of  his  country,  Charles  Ames 
Washburn  as  guilty  of  high  treason,  and  particularly  of  an  enor- 
mous conspiracy  against  the  government  to  which  he  was  accredited, 
and  against  the  life  of  the  supreme  Magistrate  of  this  Republic  of 
Paraguay. 

"  Our  present  task  is  concluded  ;  but  at  laying  aside  the  pen  we 
swear  solemnly,  if  God  gives  us  the  opportunity,  to  follow  Washburn 
through  all  the  earth  until  he  shall  receive  the  just  punishment  of 
his  unheard-of  and  execrable  crimes  ! ! !  " 

This  book,  though  as  an  intellectual  and  literary  feat  a 
most  remarkable  production,  certainly  shows  little  of  the  he- 
roic or  noble  in  the  author  ;  and  a  person  reading  it,  who  knew 
nothing  of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written, 
while  he  could  not  but  wonder  at  the  great  memory  and  ex- 
tensive reading  of  the  writer,  as  evinced  by  his  numerous  and 
often  very  long  quotations  from  a  multiplicity  of  authors, 
would  naturally  have  great  contempt  for  his  character.  That 
any  person  having  a  proper  sense  of  honor  and  decency  should 
make  up  such  a  farrago  of  falsehoods  about  a  man  who  had 
for  years  befriended  him,  and  on  whose  efforts  to  save  him 
hung,  at  the  very  time  he  was  writing,  his  only  hope  of  life, 
appears  incredible.  The  utter  want  of  taste  and  delicacy 
shown  in  the  book  would  seem  to  be  impossible  to  a  man 
having  a  due  regard  to  them,  and  the  sustained  humor  and 
wit,  taken  with  the  professed  indignation  and  repentance, 
would  appear  to  be  hardly  within  the  range  of  human  power 
and  self-control,  unless  the  writer  were  in  earnest,  and  en- 
joyed the  labor  in  which  he  was  engaged. 


INTERESTED    CRITICS.  535 

Other  men  of  unimpeachable  character  and  the  highest 
sense  of  honor  had  confessed  to  having  committed  the  same 
acts  as  those  admitted  by  Mr.  Bliss,  and  no  one  who  knew  of 
the  horrid  appliances  that  Lopez  made  use  of  to  extort  confes- 
sions ever  reproached  them  for  doing  so.  The  apparent  pleas- 
ure, however,  that  Bliss  took  in  imposing  his  fabulous  stories 
on  Lopez  was  well  calculated  to  create  a  prejudice  against 
him  among  those  who  were  not  aware  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  book  had  been  written.  As  I  was  the  only 
person  to  be  affected  by  his  startling  revelations,  garnished 
with  allusions  and  anecdotes  of  at  least  questionable  taste,  it 
would  hardly  be  supposed  that  the  very  parties  who  were  most 
unfriendly  to  me  should  be  the  most  indignant  with  Bliss. 
The  officers  of  the  squadron  affected  to  be  very  angry  with 
him  that  he  should  thus  calumniate  a  friend  and  benefac- 
tor, at  the  same  time  that  they  tried  to  create  an  impres- 
sion in  the  public  mind  that  his  accusations  were  true, 
and  that  they  had  obtained  irrefragable  evidence  while  in 
Paraguay  that  there  had  been  a  great  conspiracy,  of  which  I 
had  been  the  master  spirit.  They  assailed  me  because  I  had 
needlessly  abandoned  Bliss  to  the  horrid  cruelties  of  Lopez, 
and  then,  when  he  had  been  rescued  from  his  perilous  position, 
they  treated  him  like  a  felon,  alleging  as  a  reason  his  ingrati- 
tude to  me  ;  and  next,  to  crown  all,  they  became  the  apologists 
and  defenders  of  Lopez,  and  tried  to  excuse  his  barbarities, 
though  numerous  and  unimpeachable  witnesses  testify  to  his 
having  committed  almost  every  crime  imaginable,  and  such 
as  were  never  committed  before  by  any  person  bearing  the 
human  form. 

The  book  was  a  success,  and  its  style  had  made  it  so ; 
for,  writing  it  as  he  did,  Mr.  Bliss  so  interested  Lopez  that 
he  was  permitted  to  continue  at  his  work  until  so  long  a 
time  had  expired  that  he  might  reasonably  hope  for  deliver- 
ance. 


CHAPTER     XXXVI. 

Arrival  of  the  Wasp.  —  Admiral  Davis's  Letter  to  Lopez.  —  The  New  American 
Minister.  —  The  Release  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  demanded.  —  Lopez  boasts 
that  he  has  the  Naval  Officers  on  his  Side.  —  Interviews  between  Davis  and 
Lopez.  —  Bliss  and  Masterman  regarded  as  Criminals.  —  Lopez's  Opinion  of 
Davis.  —  Davis  sends  two  of  his  Officers  to  verify  the  Declarations  of  Bliss  and 
Masterman  before  the  Tribunal.  —  Extracts  from  the  Testimony  taken  during  the 
Paraguayan  Investigation. — Joy  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  on  learning  that  their 
Deliverance  was  at  Hand.  —  Lopez's  sudden  Turn  of  Affection  for  Bliss.  — 
The  Incomprehensible  Character  of  Lopez. 

THE  book  at  last  being  finished,  the  author  was  anxiously 
waiting  to  know  whether  Lopez  had  any  further  use  for 
him  than  to  shoot  him.  The  last  sheet  of  manuscript  had 
but  just  passed  from  his  hands  when  the  American  flag  was 
again  discovered  by  the  advanced  pickets  on  the  river-bank. 
What  followed  was.  thus  related  by  Bliss  to  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Affairs  :  — 

"  I  had  spun  my  pamphlet  out  as  long  as  it  was  possible,  and 
finally  brought  it  to  a  conclusion  on  the  2d  of  December  ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  printing  was  finished  then  ;  the  writing  had  been  finished 
some  time  before.  On  the  4th  of  December  I  was  told  that  Mar- 
shal Lopez,  out  of  his  unbounded  clemency,  had  determined  to 
mitigate  my  sufferings,  and  a  blacksmith  was  called  in  to  take  off  my 
fetters.  I  had  worn  my  fetters  all  this  time,  and  had  been  kept  on 
starvation  diet,  which  consisted  of  a  small  ration  of  boiled  beef  twice 
a  day,  with  a  little  cake  of  mandioca  flour,  made  from  the  root  of 
a  vegetable  of  that  country  used  as  a  substitute  for  potatoes.  The 
diet  was  insufficient  in  quantity.  I  could  have  eaten,  at  any  time, 
twice  as  much  as  I  received.  I  was  then  asked  what  I  would  do  in 
case  I  should  see  Mr.  Washburn,  or  be  brought  face  to  face  with 
him.  I  was  asked  if  I  remembered  the  .concluding  paragraph  of 
my  pamphlet,  in  which  I  expressed  myself  as  desiring  nothing 


CONSISTENCY  REQUIRED   AND   PROMISED.       537 

better  than  to  be  allowed  to  go  away  from  Paraguay,  in  order  to 
prosecute  Mr.  Washburn  before  his  own  government  for  malfea- 
sance in  office.  I  declared  that  I  would  prosecute  Mr.  Washburn 
from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other,  until  I  had  obtained  satis- 
faction from  him  for  getting  me  into  that  '  bad  box.'  I  replied  that 
I  did  remember  it  well,  and  quoted  it.  Some  further  hints  were 
then  given  me  that  I  might,  perhaps,  be  soon  set  at  liberty,  though 
nothing  definite  was  said  on  that  subject.  I  was  asked  whether  I 
would  maintain  my  consistency  in  case  I  was  the  recipient  of  the 
clemency  of  his  Excellency  Marshal  Lopez.  A  blank  book  was 
brought  to  me,  and  I  was  invited  to  write  in  it,  and  asked  what  I 
wished  to  write.  I  said  I  did  not  know  ;  '  I  was  willing  to  write  any- 
thing.' I  was  set  to  work  writing  some  epistles  in  a  satirical  style,  di- 
rected to  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Brazilian  Army,  the  Marques 
de  Caxias,  which  were  immediately  published  in  sheets  by  order  of 
Lopez.  Four  days  later  (on  the  8th  of  December),  I  was  called  out  of 
my  hut  and  had  an  interview  with  the  inquisitor  and  head  torturer.  I 
was  at  that  time,  as  I  have  mentioned,  without  any  irons  on,  they  hav- 
ing been  removed  four  days  before.  I  was  then  told  that  in  his  most 
exalted  clemency  Marshal  Lopez  had  resolved  to  pardon  my  great 
offences  ;  that  a  new  American  Minister  had  arrived  there,  and  that, 
as  an  act  of  courtesy  to  this  American  Minister,  President  Lopez 
wished  to  pardon  me,  on  condition  of  my  maintaining  consistency  with 
my  declarations  before  the  tribunal,  and  that  I  was  about  to  be  brought 
before  the  tribunal  for  the  last  time  ;  that  everything  would  depend 
upon  my  conduct  there,  and  my  preserving  consistency.  I  had  been 
for  three  months  wearing  the  same  suit  of  clothes,  and  of  course  my 
pantaloons  were  cut  to  pieces  with  the  irons.  Of  course  I  was  fear- 
fully dirty,  and  covered  with  vermin.  A  pair  of  drawers,  a  shirt, 
and  some  water,  were  brought,  and  I  was  requested  to  put  myself 
into  a  little  more  presentable  condition  before  being  called  before 
the  court  for  the  last  act.  I  was  told  I  would  find  some  of  my 
countrymen  there.  I  was  not  told  who  they  were,  or  for  what  pur- 
pose they  would  be  there.  Nothing  was  said  about  the  presence  of 
the  American  squadron.  Nothing  was  said  about  a  demand  having 
been  made  for  our  liberation.  I  concluded  I  was  going  to  be  for- 
mally sentenced  to  death,  and  that  this  sentence  would  then  be 
remitted,  and  prepared  to  listen  to  such  a  process.  But  no  sentence 
was  passed  upon  me,  and  my  trial  never  came  to  a  technical  con- 
clusion." 


538  PARAGUAY. 

By  this  time  Admiral  Davis  had  arrived,  accompanied  by 
Kirkland  and  Ramsey  and  Minister  McMahon.  Of  the 
four  gunboats  that  left  Buenos  Aires,  only  the  Wasp  came 
through  the  blockade.  The  others  remained  below  to  await 
orders. 

When  Lopez  was  notified  that  an  American  gunboat 
had  arrived  and  was  at  anchor  below  Angostura,  he  imme- 
diately divined  the  object  of  her  coming,  and  at  first  appeared 
greatly  excited  and  enraged  ;  so  much  so  that  those  around 
him  feared  he  would  show  his  defiance  and  signalize  the 
occasion  by  some  new  enormity.  He  anticipated  that  he 
would  be  called  upon,  not  only  to  deliver  up  Bliss  and  Master- 
man,  but  to  make  other  humiliating  concessions.  He  was 
yet  in  this  frame  of  mind  when  Commander  Kirkland  ap- 
peared at  his  head-quarters,  bearing  a  letter  from  Admiral 
Davis.  The  few  foreigners  yet  remaining  in  his  camp,  know- 
ing the  desperate  state  of  mind  that  he  was  in,  were  exceed- 
ingly anxious  lest  he  should  answer  the  unwelcome  message 
by  arresting  and  shooting  the  bearer  of  it,  and  were  greatly 
relieved  when  they  saw  him  return  unharmed  to  the  Wasp. 
But  the  first  paragraph  of  Admiral  Davis's  letter,  if  not  the 
assurances  of  Kirkland,  convinced  him  that  Davis  had  come 
as  a  friend,  and  not  as  an-  enemy  ;  that  his  object  was 
rather  to  make  than  to  demand  an  apology.  It  was  in  these 
words  :  — 

«  SIR,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  I  have 
arrived  in  front  of  Angostura,  having  on  board  his  Excellency  Gen- 
eral M.  T.  McMahon,  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  to  the  Re- 
public of  Paraguay." 

So  he  was  not  an  outlaw  and  a  barbarian,  after  all.  Though 
he  had  grossly  insulted  the  last  American  Minister  by  making 
the  most  outrageous  accusations  against  him,  had  threatened 
his  imprisonment,  and  arrested  and  tortured  two  members  of 
his  suite,  yet  here  was  a  new  Minister  coming  with  gentle 
words,  asking  to  be  received. 

The  Admiral,  having  thus  advised  Lopez  that  he  had  brought 
a  hostage  to  leave  in  place  of  the  prisoners  in  his  hands,  then 


INTERVIEW  BETWEEN  LOPEZ  AND  DAVIS.        539 

says :  "  As  an  indispensable  preliminary  step  to  the  pre- 
sentation by  General  McMahon  to  your  Excellency  of  his 
credential  letters,  I  have  to  request  that  Messrs.  Bliss  and 
Masterman,  the  persons  arrested  and  detained  in  Asuncion 
while  under  the  protection  and  attached  to  the  Legation  of 
the  previous  United  States  Minister,  be  restored  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  United  States  flag." 

Having  read  this  letter,  Lopez  expressed  a  wish  to  have  a 
personal  interview  with  Admiral  Davis,  and  requested  Kirk- 
land  to  return  and  invite  him  to  come  on  shore  at  a  later  hour 
of  the  same  day.  As  soon  as  Kirkland  was  gone,  the  Marshal 
appeared  to  be  greatly  relieved,  and  intimated  to  those  around 
him  that  he  had  already  got  the  naval  officers  on  his  side,  "  and 
would  you  believe  it  ? "  said  he,  "  another  Yankee  Minister 
has  come."  As  may  well  be  supposed,  the  hearts  of  the 
foreigners  in  his  camp,  who  had  hoped  that  he  was  to  be 
taught  a  lesson,  and  made  to  understand  that  he  could  not 
imprison  and  kill  innocent  persons  with  impunity,  sank  within 
them  when  they  heard  of  these  boastful  words. 

A  little  later  he  started  with  a  part  of  his  staff  for  the  bank 
of  the  river,  where  he  was  met  by  Admiral  Davis,  and  they 
had  an  interview  that  lasted  for  some  three  hours.  No  full 
report  of  what  transpired  on  this  occasion  has  ever  been 
published ;  but  from  the  course  pursued  afterwards  by  the 
Admiral,  it  would  seem  that  he  was  completely  charmed  and 
captivated  by  the  Marshal.  What  proofs  Lopez  offered  to 
disprove  the  statements  that  I  had  made,  and  which  the 
Admiral  had  evidently  come  to  seek,  the  latter  has  never 
made  public.  In  his  report  of  the  interview  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  he  said,  however,  that  Lopez  did  not  object  to 
delivering  up  the  men,  but  was  unwilling  to  concede  that 
they  had  ever  been  members  of  the  Legation,  and  therefore 
objected  to  surrendering  them  at  a  request  based  on  that 
ground.  He  accordingly  desired  that  Davis  should  withdraw 
that  letter  and  write  another,  so  that  by  surrendering  them  he 
would  not  yield  the  point  so  long  in  dispute  between  him  and 
me.  The  Admiral,  promising  to  write  such  a  letter,  returned 


540  PARAGUAY. 

on  board  the  Wasp,  deeply  impressed  with  the  courtesy  and 
frankness  of  the  Marshal;  and  Lopez,  feeling  very  jubilant, 
went  back  to  his  head- quarters.  The  high  opinion  which  the 
Admiral  conceived  of  Lopez  was  not  reciprocated  by  the 
latter.  On  the  contrary,  when  he  reached  his  head-quarters, 
he  expressed  the  greatest  contempt  for  his  visitor,  exulting 
over  his  success  in  outwitting  him,  and  said  he  was  anything 
but  a  soldier. 

In  the  next  letter  of  the  Admiral,  dated  on  the  4th  of  Decem- 
ber, he  makes  no  allusion  to  the  fact  that  Bliss  and  Masterman 
had  been  members  of  the  United  States  Legation,  and  says 
that  it  does  not  belong  to  him  to  define,  or  even  to  consider, 
the  status  of  these  individuals,  but  that  "  Lopez  may  repose 
confidence  in  the  justice  and  friendship  of  the  United  States." 
He  also  promises  that  any  pape/s  which  Lopez  "  may  be 
pleased  to  send  with  those  individuals  will  be  transmitted  to 
Washington  by  the  earliest  opportunity." 

But  even  this  did  not  satisfy  Lopez ;  and  on  the  following 
day  a  note  was  sent  to  the  Admiral,  signed  by  the  military 
secretary  of  Lopez,  in  which,  with  an  insolence  and  impudence 
showing  that  he  had  rightly  gauged  the  firmness  and  calibre 
of  the  man  he  was  dealing  with,  he  tells  him  that  "  he  should 
not  conceal  from  himself  the  fact  that  Bliss  and  Masterman 
are  criminals  deeply  committed  in  the  affairs  of  a  horrible 
conspiracy,  very  particularly  the  former."  Nevertheless,  Lopez 
says  he  will  deliver  them  up,  "  provided  it  is  requested  in 
a  manner  more  in  conformity  with  the  fact  of  their  being 
accomplices  of  Mr.  Wash  burn,  and  the  first  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  his  intrigues  in  the  character  of  conspirator 
and  agent  of  the  enemy,  of  which  he  is  now  accused  in  the 
national  tribunal,  since  they  would  be  useful  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  by  the  American  government,  to  whose 
judgment  he  would  confide  the  above-mentioned  criminals." 

The  demand  that  the  Admiral  shall  first  recognize  Bliss  and 
Masterman  as  criminals,  and  my  accomplices  in  a  conspiracy, 
is  immediately  assented  to  by  the  Admiral.  In  a  letter  to 
Lopez  of  the  same  date,  he  says  that  it  is  no  part  of  his 


LOPEZ    ASKS    FURTHER   CONCESSIONS.  54! 

official  duty  "  either  to  offer  or  refuse  any  terms  which  will 
affect  the  alleged  criminal  conditions  of  the  two  persons  in 
question."  Having  made  this  concession,  the  Admiral  again 
reminds  Lopez  that  he  has  a  Minister  with  him  who  is 
waiting  to  present  his  credentials  ;  and  says  that  he  wishes 
Bliss  and  Masterman  to  be  sent  on  board,  in  order  that  he 
"  may  keep  them  in  security,  subject  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States."  By  this  time,  however,  he  begins  to  fear 
that  it  is  Lopez's  purpose  not  to  deliver  them  ;  and  he  there- 
fore requests  to  be  informed  when  he  may  expect  to  receive 
them  on  board,  or  else  to  be  apprised  that  it  is  not  his  Ex- 
cellency's intention  to  send  them  at  all. 

To  this  Lopez  replies  that  it  has  never  been  his  intention 
not  to  give  them  up,  but  in  doing  so  it  would  be  as  a  courtesy 
to  the  United  States.  The  reclamation  or  demand  being 
waived  by  the  Admiral,  the  "criminals,"  as  they  are  invariably 
called,  would  be  sent  on  board  the  Wasp  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  8th  of  December.  There  was,  however,  another  prelimi- 
nary to  their  rendition.  Lopez  desired  to  further  humiliate 
and  degrade  the  naval  service  of  the  United  States  by  having 
two  officers  of  the  squadron  to  assist  at  his  "  solemn  tribunal," 
and  verify  as  witnesses  the  "declarations"  of  those  who  were 
to  be  delivered  tip  as  my  accomplices,  and  sent  as  prisoners  for 
trial  to  the  United  States. 

I  have  now  to  give  the  circumstances  and  details  of  a 
transaction  that  I  would  gladly  pass  over  unnoticed.  The 
story  must  cause  a  blush  of  shame  to  mantle  the  cheek  of 
every  American  that  reads  it  ;  and  whoever  else  may  know  of 
it  will  bless  his  lot  that  the  shame  and  disgrace  of  the  act 
does  not  attach  to  his  own  country.  That  such  acts  may  not 
be  repeated,  the  people  must  know  of  them.  It  is  nothing 
that  the  Navy  Department  may  be  advised  of  them  ;  for,  as  we 
have  before  seen,  it  is  according  to  the  policy  and  system  of 
that  department  to  defend  and  justify  every  act  of  its  higher 
officers,  no  matter  how  tyrannical  or  disgraceful  to  the  country 
and  the  service. 

Admiral  Davis  having  promised  to  send  the  two  officers  to 


542  PARAGUAY. 

join  the  court  of  inquisition,  his  fleet-captain,  Francis  M. 
Ramsey,  and  Commander  Kirkland,  were  sent  on  shore,  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th  of  December,  to  render  that  last  humili- 
ating service  to  Lopez. 

In  the  mean  while  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  made  aware 
that  something  had  occurred  which  promised  deliverance.  On 
the  day  after  the  interview  between  Lopez  and  the  Admiral, 
and  two  days  after  his  book  was  finished,  Bliss  received  the 
first  intimation  that  it  was  not  the  purpose  of  Lopez  to  exe- 
cute him.  He  thus  relates  the  incident :  — 

"  I  was  brought  before  the  tribunal,  and  found  there  two  of  our 
naval  officers,  to  whom  I  was  introduced  in  a  very  indistinct  way. 
I  understood  one  to  be  Lieutenant-Commander  Kirkland.  The 
other  officer's  name  I  did  not  then  catch,  but  ascertained  subse- 
quently that  it  was  Fleet-Captain  Ramsey,  chief  of  staff  to  Admiral 
Davis.  These  officers  said  nothing  to  me  except  to  ask  my  name, 
—  'Are  you  Bliss?  or  are  you  Masterman?'  I  replied,  giving  my 
name.  The  tribunal  then  proceeded  to  cause  all  my  depositions 
which  had  been  taken  down,  during  twenty  days  or  more,  to  be  read 
over,  occupying  the  entire  afternoon  in  the  process.  This  took  place 
in  the  mud  hut  in  which  the  tribunal  was  held  by  the  two  priests 
I  have  referred  to.  These  two  naval  officers  took  seats  with  the 
members  of  the  tribunal,  with  whom  they  were  laughing,  smoking, 
drinking  brandy,  and  receiving  presents.*  They  seemed  to  be  on 

*  It  should  be  here  stated  that  Captain  Ramsey,  when  before  the  Congressional 
Committee,  denied  that  he  partook  of  the  refreshments  offered.  His  testimony  is 
as  follows :  — 

"  While  standing  outside,  talking  to  these  officers,  one  of  whom  had  been  in 
London  and  the  other  in  Paris,  a  boy  passed  by  wearing  a  pretty  embroidered 
shirt,  which  I  remarked  upon,  and  asked  if  that  was  the  work  of  the  country. 
They  told  me  that  it  was,  and  that  their  women  prided  themselves  on  that  kind 
of  work.  He  then  sent  into  the  house  for  some  specimens  of  the  work,  and  a 
shirt  and  a  towel  were  brought  out.  He  handed  me  the  towel,  and  said,  '  Per- 
haps your  countrymen  would  like  to  see  some  specimens  of  Paraguayan  work. 
Won't  you  take  this  ? '  He  then  gave  me  the  towel,  which  I  have  brought  with 
me,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  it  to  the  Committee.  I  received  nothing  else. 
They  also  brought  out  some  earia  and  cigars,  and  asked  us  to  partake  of  them. 
I  neither  smoke  nor  drink,  so  I  did  not  accept  of  their  invitation.  Commander 
Kirkland,  however,  did  take  some ;  and  after  a  short  recess  we  returned  to  the 
hut  where  the  tribunal  was  held,  and  Masterman  was  brought  in.  While  we  had 


THE   COURT  OF   INQUISITION.  543 

the  most  intimate  terms  with  the  members  of  the  tribunal,  but  never 
saying  a  word  to  me,  or  taking  any  interest  in  my  condition.  At 
various  times  during  this  proceeding  I  was  called  on  to  acknowledge 
the  genuineness  of  my  signatures  to  the  successive  depositions.  I 
did  so,  speakmg  in  Spanish.  I  was  then  told  by  one  of  the  naval 
officers  to  speak  in  English,  and  I  replied  in  English,  '  That  is  my 
signature.'  At  the  conclusion  of  this  proceeding  we  exchanged  no 
further  words,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  United  States  officers  I 
was  called  upon  to  subscribe  to  the  entire  document,  acknowledging 
all  my  signatures,  and  certifying  again  to  the  correctness  of  the 
entire  depositions,  on  which  the  members  of  the  tribunal  and  the 
officers  of  the  United  States  Navy  present  signed  the  record.  It  was 
not  stated  whether  or  not  they  signed  as  witnesses,  or  as  members 

of  the  tribunal 

"  During  this  interview  there  were  present  two  Paraguayan  officers 
who  understood  English,  so  that  I  could  not  have  spoken  freely  to 
the  American  officers.  The  head  torturer  sat  opposite  me,  sword 
in  hand,  and  with  his  sinister  eyes  fixed  upon  me  with  the  most 
menacing  manner  all  the  time."  * 

been  out  I  saw  a  person  standing  beside  a  tree,  with  a  sentry  near  him,  whom  I 
supposed  to  be  Mr.  Masterman.  As  Mr.  Masterman  came  in  he  had  to  pass 
close  by  my  side,  and  as  he  passed  me  he  said  :  '  You  must  forgive  me  for  what 
I  am  going  to  say.  I  hoped  to  be  spared  this  shame.'  Those  were  his  exact 
words,  and  I  wrote  them  down  as  soon  after  as  I  could.  When  he  was  first 
sworn  he  exhibited  great  fear.  His  manner  was  that  of  a  man  very  much 
alarmed  ;  and  when  he  took  his  seat  he  twitched  and  moved  about  all  the  time. 
He  seemed  very  uneasy."  —  Paraguayan  Investigation:  testimony  of  Fleet-Captain 
Francis  M.  Ramsey,  p.  178. 

*  Questions  to  Mr.  Bliss  at  his  examination  by  the  Congressional  Committee :  — 

"  Q.  Did  it  occur  to  you  that  you  could  speak  right  out  and  deny  all  these  con- 
fessions before  these  naval  officers  ? 

"  A.  The  question  occurred  to  me,  and  I  reflected  upon  it  as  much  as  I  could 
within  the  limited  time  allowed  me  ;  but  I  was  then  of  the  opinion,  which  I  still 
hold,  that  my  life  depended  upon  my  confirming  those  statements. 

"  Q.  Did  you  not  believe  it  was  in  the  power  of  these  officers  to  have  protected 
you  ? 

"  A .  No  ;  the  presence  of  these  officers  would  have  afforded  no  protection.  I 
should  have  been  ordered  out  for  instant  execution. 

"  Q.   Did  these  officers  then  leave  you  ? 

"A.   They  did. 

"  Q.    Did  they  put  no  questions  to  you  at  all  ? 

"  A.   None,  except  to  ask  me  my  name,  and  tell  me  to  speak  in  English. 


544  PARAGUAY. 

Mr.  Masterman  was  also  called  up,  and  "  the  terrible  Padre 
Maiz  "  gave  him  a  long  lecture  on  the  duty  of  consistency, 
and  told  him  that  it  would  be  his  duty  thenceforth  "  to  de- 
nounce Mr.  Washburn  as  a  conspirator  all  over  the  world." 
At  hearing  this,  Masterman  at  once  divined  the  reason  of 
it  He  thus  speaks  of  what  next  occurred  :  — 

"  I  could  scarcely  conceal  my  joy,  for  I  knew  that  help  had  come ; 
but  I  replied,  submissively,  that  what  was  written  was  written,  that 

which  I  had  said  I  could  never  unsay.    He  smiled  approvingly 

He  went  on  to  tell  me  that  a  new  Minister  had  arrived  from  the 
United  States,  and  that  the  President  had  commuted  my  sentence  of 
death  to  banishment  for  life,  and  he  trusted  that  I  would  employ  the 
rest  of  my  days  in  praising  the  clemency  of  the  Marshal  and  denoun- 
cing the  wickedness  of  Washburn.  I  promised  that  I  would  make 
the  truth  fully  known,  (luckily  he  did  not  ask,  '  What  is  the  truth  ?' ) 
and  now  I  am  fulfilling  that  promise.  A  blacksmith  was  then  called, 
my  fetters  were  knocked  off,  and  I  was  told  that  in  a  few  days  I 
should  leave  the  country.  I  thanked  him  unaffectedly,  but  he  said 

When  I  was  called  upon  to  verify  my  signature,  I  replied,  '  That  is  my  sig- 
nature.' That  is  all  I  said  and  all  they  said. 

"  Q.  Did  they  ask  you  whether  your  statement  was  true  or  false  ? 

"A.  Lieutenant-Commander  Kir-kland  said,  '  You  acknowledge  all  that  to  be 
true  ? '  I  replied,  '  Yes.' 

"  Q.   Did  he  ask  you  how  it  was  obtained  ? 

"  A.   He  asked  no  further  question  whatever. 

"  Q.  Did  either  of  them  remonstrate  with  the  officer  for  keeping  watch  over 
you  with  the  drawn  sword  ? 

"A.  They  made  no  remonstrance  whatever.  They  seemed  to  be  perfectly 
satisfied  with  the  manner  affairs  were  going  on. 

"  Q.  Had  you  reason  to  believe  that  these  American  officers  were  under  any 
impression  that  these  statements  had  been  extorted  from  you  ? 

"A.  I  did  not  consider  it  safe  for  me  to  say  a  word  to  that  effect  under  these 
circumstances. 

"  Q.   Were  they  under  the  impression  that  your  depositions  were  all  true  ? 

"A.  If  they  were  fools  enough  to  believe  so,  under  such  circumstances,  they 
may  have  done  so  ;  in  fact,  I  suppose  they  did  so  believe. 

"  Q.   How  long  had  they  been  in  the  country  before  this  ? 

"A.  They  had  just  arrived.  They  arrived  on  the  second  day  of  that  month. 
This  was  on  the  8th.  They  had  had  no  communication  with  any  foreigner  in  the 
country,  the  foreigners  being  all  in  the  prison ;  and  they  knew  nothing  except 
what  Lopez  had  told  the  Admiral.  Lopez  said  that  we  had  freely  confessed  our 
guilt,  and  apparently  succeeded  in  bamboozling  him  completely." 


CONFESSIONS   AFFIRMED.  545 

my  thanks  were  due  to  the  Marshal,  and  that  I  ought  to  write  a 
letter  to  him.  I  excused  myself  by  saying  that  he  could  express 
my  gratitude  so  much  better  personally  than  I  could  in  my  imper- 
fect Spanish ;  but,  in  truth,  I  loathed  the  very  idea  of  writing  more 

adulation  and  lying  compliments 

"  Two  days  afterwards  I  was  again  sent  for.  On  my  way  I  met 
Father  Maiz,  who  repeated  the  substance  of  what  he  had  told  me 
before,  and  reminded  me  that  my  life  depended  on  my  discretion. 
He  told  me  that  two  American  officers  were  then  waiting  to  hear 
me  acknowledge  the  truth  of  my  written  statements,  and  that  I  must 
declare  that  they  were  all  true  ;  none  knowing  better  than  he  the 
falsity  of  my  confession  of  guilt." 

He  was  then  brought  before  the  tribunal,  where  he  found 
two  officers  wearing  the  American  naval  uniform,  and  was 
told  to  listen  while  his  "  declarations  "  that  had  been  extorted 
by  means  before  described  were  read  over  to  him  in  their 
presence  and  hearing.  At  the  time  they  had  been  taken 
down,  he  had  been  obliged  to  sign  each  sheet  on  which  they 
were  written,  and  now  he  was  required  to  verify  his  signature 
in  presence  of  these  additional  members  of  the  inquisition. 
On  entering  the  miserable  hut  where  the  court  was  held,  he 
found  the  two  priests  with  whom  he  had  so  often  been  con- 
fronted before ;  and  to  make  sure  that  he  should  not  deny 
anything  before  written,  the  head  torturer  of  Lopez,  Major 
Aveiro,  who  had  not  only  beaten  both  him  and  Bliss  most  un- 
mercifully at  various  times,  but  had  put  them  in  the  cepo 
uniguayana,  sat  all  the  while  in  front  of  him,  with  his  eyes 
constantly  fixed  upon  him.  The  additional  precaution  was 
taken  of  having  two  Paraguayans  present  who  understood 
English,  so  that  no  word  not  understood  by  the  tribunal 
should  pass  between  him  and  the  officers.  Neither  of  them 
gave  him  a  word  of  encouragement,  or  intimated  that  he  would 
be  protected  in  speaking  the  truth.  Ramsey,  indeed,  asked 
him  if  the  depositions  read  to  him  were  true,  and  Master- 
man  begged  that  he  would  ask  him  no  questions.  He  had 
good  reason  for  doing  so,  for  he  had  just  been  warned  that 
his  life  depended  on  his  adherence  to  his  previous  "  declara- 
tions." 

VOL.  n.  35 


546 


PARAGUAY. 


The  declarations  of  both  the  "  criminals  "  having  been  re- 
affirmed by  them,  the  two  priests  Maiz  and  Roman,  and  the 
two  American  officers  Kirkland  and  Ramsey,  signed  as  wit- 
nesses, after  which  the  accused  were  remanded  to  prison,  and 
the  officers  returned  on  board  of  the  gunboat.*  It  was  two 
days  after  this  before  they  were  delivered  up  ;  and  as  they  had 
been  treated  so  contemptuously  while  in  the  presence  of  the 
American  officers,  who  seemed  to  be  on  the  best  of  terms  with 
Lopez's  inquisitors,  they  began  to  apprehend  that  these  offi- 
cers had  been  induced  to  be  witnesses  of  their  declarations  as 

*  One  of  the  most  melancholy  incidents  of  these  Paraguayan  difficulties  was 
the  humiliation  experienced  by  Captain  Ramsey  on  reading  my  correspondence 
with  Lopez,  and  to  which  he  thus  pathetically  testified  before  the  Committee  of 
Foreign  Affairs  :  — 

"  Q.  How  do  you  know  that  Mr.  Washburn  would  have  been  safe  had  he  re- 
mained ? 

"  A.  I  only  know  that  Mr.  Washburn  was  the  representative  of  the  United 
States  of  America  accredited  to  the  government  of  Paraguay,  and  there  was  no 
danger  for  any  representative  of  a  foreign  government.  He  could  have  re- 
mained there  with  perfect  safety.  I  felt  humiliated  when  I  read  Mr.  Washburn's 
letters. 

"  Q.  Are  you  aware  that  Bliss  and  Masterman,  knowing  all  the  circumstances, 
advised  Mr.  Washburn  to  take  the  course  he  did  take  ? 

"A.   I  read  that  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Washburn. 

"  Q.    Had  you  any  reason  to  doubt  it  ? 

"  A.  No,  sir. 

"  Q.  Are  you  not  aware  that  Rodriguez,  Secretary  of  the  Legation  of  Uruguay, 
duly  accredited  to  Lopez,  was  kept  in  the  country  after  relations  were  suspended, 
was  arrested,  tortured,  and  executed  by  Lopez  ;  and  that  if  he  did  it  in  one  case 
he  would  do  it  in  another  ? 

"A.  I  know  nothing  about  the  case.  I  do  not  believe  all  these  stories."  — 
Paraguayan  Investigation,  pp.  184,  185. 

The  Committee  also  felt  humiliated,  but  for  another  cause.  In  alluding  to  the 
"  declarations  "  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  before  the  court  of  inquisition  of  which 
Ramsey  and  Kirkland  were  members,  they  say :  — 

"The  'declaration'  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  testimony  is  a  so-called  con- 
fession that  Bliss  and  Masterman  were  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  to  dethrone 
Lopez,  and  that  Mr.  Washburn,  forgetful  of  the  duties  he  owed  to  himself  as  a 
man,  and  to  the  government  whose  Minister  he  was,  was  engaged  in  the  same 
conspiracy.  When  we  reflect  that  this  declaration  had  not  the  least  semblance 
of  truth,  that  it  was  extorted  from  those  trembling  and  friendless  prisoners 
under  torture,  and  that  the  Admiral  and  his  two  witnesses  had  every  reason  to 
believe  it  had  thus  been  extorted,  we  seek  in  vain  for  any  excuse  or  palliation 
for  their  connection  with  this  shameful  transaction.  —  /</.,  p.  xxvi. 


LOPEZ'S   AFFECTION   FOR  BLISS.  547 

a  step  preliminary  to  their  execution.  Bliss,  however,  had 
so  completely  imposed  on  Lopez  by  his  book,  that  he  received 
comforting  assurances  that  he  would  be  permitted  to  leave  Para- 
guay in  order  that  he  might  carry  into  effect  the  threat  con- 
tained in  the  last  paragraph,  "to  follow  Washburn  through  the 
whole  world  until  he  should  bring  upon  him  the  punishment 
due  to  his  unheard-of  and  execrable  crimes." 

On  the  day  before  they  were  delivered  up,  Bliss  was  made 
the  object  of  very  particular  attentions.  He  was  repeatedly 
told  by  the  priests  of  his  great  obligations  to  his  Excellency, 
the  Marshal,  who  pardoned  him  on  the  condition  that  when 
beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay  he  would  be  his  friend  and 
defender,  and  would  not  fail  to  bring  the  great  intriguer, 
plotter,  and  arch-conspirator  to  trial  and  punishment  by  his 
own  government.  He  ha4  previously  been  made  to  write  a 
letter  to  Lopez,  thanking  him  for  the  great  fairness  and  im- 
partiality shown  him  at  his  trial,  and  for  his  abounding,  un- 
paralleled goodness  in  pardoning  so  great  a  criminal. 

As  an  earnest  that  Bliss  was  not  only  pardoned,  but  for- 
given, Lopez  sent  him  a  very  affectionate  message,  and  also 
forty  copies  of  his  pamphlet,  which  he  was  to  scatter  abroad, 
for  the  purpose  of  exposing  the  character  of  " el  gran  bestia" 
He  also  sent  him  some  sixty  dollars  in  gold  coin,  at  which 
proof  of  his  affection  and  kindness  Bliss  sent  to  ask  him  what 
disposition  he  should  make  of  the  $  5,000  in  silver,  and  $  5,550 
in  currency,  that  he  had  received  for  his  part  in  the  conspiracy, 
and  had  sent  out  of  the  country  by  me.  He  received  for  reply 
that  he  might  keep  it,  and  make  use  of  it  in  bringing  to  punish- 
ment the  late  Minister ;  but,  if  his  conscience  urged  him  to 
restore  it,  he  might  pay  it  over  to  the  Paraguayan  Legation 
in  Paris. 

Perhaps  no  act  of  Lopez  so  fully  illustrates  his  weakness  as 
this  sudden  turn  of  affection  for  Bliss.  Was  the  man  a  fool, 
an  idiot,  to  believe  that  a  kind  message  sent  to  Bliss  with  a  few 
dollars,  and  a  few  copies  of  his  own  wonderful  book,  would 
suffice  to  obliterate  the  memory  of  the  cruel  tortures  he  had 
received,  and  the  tissue  of  falsehoods  that  he  had  been  forced 


548  PARAGUAY. 

to  fabricate,  and  convert  him  to  be  his  friend  and  advocate 
when  once  beyond  his  power  ?  Whatever  may  have  been  his 
motive,  the  act  proves  that  he  was  not  a  person  governed  by 
the  same  motives  and  reasoning  as  other  men  ;  and  this  deed 
of  generosity  only  goes  to  confirm  the  judgment  that  his 
countless  acts  of  cruelty  have  caused  to  be  generally  pro- 
nounced upon  him,  —  that  he  was  not,  properly  speaking,  a 
member  of  the  human  family ;  that  he  was  mentally  a  mal- 
formation, a  monster. 

NOTE.  —  For  the  entire  correspondence  between  Lopez  and  Admiral  Davis, 
see  Appendix. 


CHAPTER     XXXVII. 

Arrival  of  Bliss  and  Masterman  on  Board  the  Wasp.  —  Their  Reception.  — 
They  exchange  one  Prison  for  another.  —  Comparing  Notes.  —  McMahon 
refuses  Bliss  an  Interview.  —  The  American  Naval  System. —  The  first  Version 
of  the  Affair  sent  to  the  United  States.  —  Dr.  Marius  Duvall.  —  Arrival 
of  Bliss  and  Masterman  in  the  United  States.  —  They  memorialize  Con- 
gress. 

IT  was  about  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  loth  of 
December  that  the  Paraguayan   canoe  having  the   two 
men  whose  fate  had  within  a  few  months  become  a  matter  of 
general  interest  throughout  a  large  part  of  Christendom  came 
alongside  the  United  States  gunboat  Wasp. 

Their  arrival  had  been  anxiously  expected  by  all  on  board 
ever  since  the  return  of  the  two  officers  who  had  witnessed 
their  final  confession.  Commander  Kirkland,  who  at  the 
last  scene  of  the  inquisition  had  listened,  and  without  denial 
or  remonstrance,  to  the  deposition  of  Bliss  that  he  had  carried 
back  and  forth  the  correspondence  between  the  Marques  de 
Caxias  and  Minister  Washburn,  was,  of  course,  eagerly  wait- 
ing to  receive  him  on  board  the  Wasp,  and  there,  when  safe 
from  the  grasp  of  Lopez,  to  hear  from  his  own  lips  that  all 
such  imputations  were  false,  and  had  been  wrung  from  him 
by  torture.  The  Admiral,  Captain  Ramsey,  and  General 
McMahon  also,  though  late  at  night,  left  their  beds  to  go  out 
and  hear  what  these  men,  who  had  been  rescued  at  an  ex- 
pense of  many  thousand  dollars  to  the  United  States,  would 
say  now  that  they  might  speak  without  fear  of  the  stocks  or 
the  cepo  uniguayana.  They  would  also  hear  that  they  had 
been  heartlessly  abandoned  by  the  late  American  Minister, 
who  might  have  taken  them  with  him  when  he  left  the 
country,  or  by  remaining  have  saved  them  from  the  sufferings 


550  PARAGUAY. 

to  which  they  had  been  subjected.  They  had  last  seen  them 
looking  starved  and  wretched,  with  long,  unkempt  hair,  and  in 
the  same  clothes  in  which  for  three  months  they  had  lain  in 
fetters  on  the  ground,  their  pantaloons  worn  and  eaten  off  by 
the  iron  that  encased  their  ankles.  A  squadron  of  four 
vessels  had  come  up  the  river  to  effect  their  rescue  and 
vindicate  the  flag  that  had  been  outraged  by  their  arrest ;  and 
when  the  hail  was  heard  from  the  canoe,  announcing  that  they 
were  coming  on  board,  the  word  was  passed  to  all  that  the 
prisoners  were  free,  and  the  first  order  was  :  Bring  them  bread 
and  meat,  for  they  are  perishing  with  hunger  ;  bring  them  wine 
to  revive  them,  that  they  may  briefly  tell  us  of  the  horrors 
they  have  seen  and  suffered  ;  bring  clean  clothes,  even  from 
our  own  wardrobes  ;  let  them  be  cleansed  of  the  dirt  and 
vermin  that  cover  them  ;  and  then,  when  that  is  done,  give 
each  of  them  a  mattress  to  sleep  upon,  and  to-morrow  see 
that  they  want  for  nothing  that  may  be  required  to  restore 
them  to  health. 

Such  was  the  reception  to  which  these  men  were  looking 
forward  when  they  set  their  feet  on  the  gunboat,  beneath  the 
stars  and  stripes :  but  alas  !  they  were  soon  to  find  that  they 
had  only  exchanged  one  prison  for  another ;  that  they  had 
only  changed  keepers,  and  were  to  be  exposed  to  a  deeper  shame 
and  humiliation  at  the  hands  of  Davis,  Kirkland,  and  Ramsey 
than  they  had  ever  been  subjected  to  under  Lopez,  Maiz,  and 
Aveiro.  As  they  stepped  on  the  deck  they  were  met  by 
Commander  Kirkland,  who,  without  deigning  to  notice  or 
speak  to  them,  commanded  the  officer  of  the  deck  to  call  the 
master-at-arms  and  order  him  to  "  take  these  men  forward, 
put  a  guard  over  them,  and  see  that  they  do  not  loaf  about." 
At  this  order,  Masterman  ventured  to  remonstrate  against 
being  sent  forward  among  the  crew;  but  he  was  roughly 
answered  by  Kirkland,  who  told  them  he  received  them  as 
criminals,  and  as  such  they  would  be  sent  to  the  United 
States.  They  therefore  went  forward,  a  sentry  was  placed  over 
them,  and  they  were  permitted  to  lie  down  on  the  bare  deck 
among  the  sailors.  It  was  three  months  since  they  had  been 


RECEPTION   OF   THE   PRISONERS.  551 

arrested,  and  during  all  that  time  they  had  not  interchanged  a 
word  with  each  other.  Tired  and  weak  as  they  were,  they 
could  not,  after  the  excitement  and  anxieties  of  the  day,  sleep 
for  several  hours,  but  lay  upon  the  deck  comparing  notes  and 
recounting  their  experiences  to  each  other.  Each  then 
learned  for  the  first  time  that  the  other  had  been  writing  a 
pamphlet,  by  order  of  Lopez,  in  abuse  of  the  arch-enemy  of 
his  Excellency,  the  late  American  Minister.  They  both  now 
found  the  thread  of  their  own  stories.  While  writing  their 
pamphlets  they  were  required  to  introduce  certain  subjects  in 
regard  to  trivial  matters  that  had  occurred  in  the  Legation  ; 
and  they  now  found  that  when  one  alluded  to  anything  that 
had  occurred,  or  invented  any  story  partially  or  entirely 
fictitious,  the  other  had  been  required  to  confirm  it.  Hence, 
as  it  appeared,  their  stories  had  a  wonderful  coincidence. 

The  next  morning  they  found  the  sentry  still  over  them, 
and  that  all,  officers  and  men  alike,  looked  upon  them  with 
distrust  and  aversion.  In  the  naval  service,  the  authority  of 
the  admiral  is  so  absolute  that  all  seek  to  conform  to  his 
wishes  before  being  ordered.  Flunkyism  always  accompanies 
tyranny,  and  the  lackey  is  pretty  sure  to  ape  the  airs  and 
manners  of  the  master.  These  men,  debilitated  by  exposure, 
by  torture,  and  by  unwholesome  and  insufficient  food,  were  in 
such  a  condition  that  humanity  would  have  dictated  that  they 
should  be  treated  as  invalids.  One  of  them  (Bliss)  was  actu- 
ally sick  when  he  came  on  board,  and  still  suffering  from  the 
effects  of  the  cepo  imiguayana.  The  ship's  surgeon,  an  ami- 
able, kind-hearted  man,  was  disposed  to  treat  them  with  as 
much  attention  as  it  was  safe  for  him  to  show  them.  But  the 
feeling  throughout  the  ship  was  that  they  were  a  couple  of 
felons,  and  as  such  they  were  treated  all  the  time  they  were 
on  board  the  Wasp. 

Their  miserable  condition  served  to  excite  the  compassion 
of  some  of  the  petty  officers,  and  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two 
they  sent  them  some  clothes,  though  in  a  manner  so  secret 
that  the  recipients  never  knew  their  benefactors.  But  not  an 
inquiry  was  made  in  regard  to  their  condition  by  Admiral 


552  PARAGUAY. 

Davis  or  General  McMahon,  nor  was  any  thought  taken  by 
Ramsey  or  Kirkland  to  see  that  they  had  a  change  of  clothes,  so 
that  they  could  afford  to  cast  their  infested  rags  into  the  river. 
No  one  of  these  guardians  of  the  nation's  honor  gave  them  an 
interview  or  an  opportunity  to  tell  their  story  of  tortures  and 
exposure.  By  their  conduct  they  showed  a  consciousness  of 
guilt  ;  and  having  become  the  champions  and  jailers  of  Lopez, 
they  did  not  wish  to  hear  any  vindication  of  the  prisoners  whom, 
at  his  dictation,  they  had  received  as  criminals,  nor  did  they 
care  to  hear  anything  of  the  horrible  cruelties  of  their  newly 
found  friend.  Among  themselves  they  talked  over  the  pro- 
priety of  giving  them  an  interview,  but  Ramsey  strongly 
objected,  and  the  Admiral  and  the  Minister  acquiesced. 

It  was  not  till  the  two  prisoners  were  safely  under  guard  on 
board  the  Wasp  that  they  learned  the  name  of  the  new  Minis- 
ter, and  not  till  then  were  they  aware  that  anything  more  than 
a  single  vessel  had  come  up  the  river.  Having  now  learned, 
however,  that  General  McMahon  was  the  Minister,  and  that, 
notwithstanding  the  insult  to  his  predecessor  and  the  violation 
of  our  flag  he  was  intending  to  land  and  present  his  creden- 
tials, Mr.  Bliss  requested  the  officer  of  the  deck  to  take  a  mes- 
sage to  him,  and  to  say  that  he  wished  to  see  him  and  advise 
him  of  the  situation  of  other  American  citizens  still  in  Para- 
guay. The  officer  went  aft  with  the  message,  and  returned 
soon  after  with  this  answer  :  "  When  General  McMahon  wishes 
to  see  you,  he  will  send  for  you."  McMahon  left  the  Wasp 
the  next  day,  and  Bliss  did  not  even  get  a  sight  of  him  while 
on  board  the  vessel. 

The  Minister  having  disembarked,  the  Wasp  turned  her 
head  down  stream,  and  returned  to  Corrientes,  where  the  rest 
of  the  squadron  was  waiting  the  result  of  the  Admiral's  nego- 
tiations with  Lopez.  On  reaching  that  port  the  officers  of  the 
inquisition,  exulting  in  their  achievements,  took  advantage 
of  a  mail-steamer  about  to  start,  which  would  reach  Buenos 
Aires  in  advance  of  the  Wasp,  to  send  an  account  of  their 
achievements  for  publication  in  the  newspapers.  The  first  the 
public  heard,  therefore,  of  their  exploits,  was  their  own  version, 


DR.   MARIUS   DUVALL.  553 

which  was  substantially  this:  That  Bliss  and  Masterman  had 
been  delivered  up  by  Lopez,  notwithstanding  he  had  produced 
irrefragable  proof  that  they  had  been  the  accomplices  of  the 
late  Minister  in  a  conspiracy  against  his  government  and  life  ; 
that  McMahon  had  accomplished  prodigies  of  diplomacy  ;  and 
that  his  conduct  would  doubtless  be  highly  gratifying  to  our 
government,  forming,  as  it  did,  such  a  marked  contrast  to  that 
of  his  wicked  and  unscrupulous  predecessor. 

On  reaching  Montevideo  the  prisoners  were  transferred  from 
the  Wasp  to  the  flag-ship  Guerriere,  where  for  a  day  or  two 
they  were  at  liberty  on  board  of  the  ship.  They  were  then 
put  under  the  surveillance  of  an  officer,  and  denied  any  com- 
munication with  the  shore,  or  with  individuals  who  came  on 
board  to  see  them.  They  were,  however,  provided  with  decent 
food  to  eat,  which  they  never  had  while  on  board  the  Wasp. 
Instead  of  the  hard-tack  and  salt  junk  of  the  sailors,  they  were 
put  into  the  mess  of  the  warrant  officers,  where  the  food  was 
good  and  wholesome.  Some  of  the  petty  underlings,  however, 
seemed  to  think  it  an  imposition  on  them  to  be  compelled  to 
mess  with  men  whom  their  superiors  treated  as  felons,  and  who 
were  on  their  way  to  the  United  States  to  be  tried  for  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors.  Letters  to  and  from  them  were 
detained  by  the  Admiral,  and  in  some  instances  opened,  and 
not  delivered  for  several  days.  In  fact,  they  were  treated  like 
condemned  criminals,  who  were  being  transported  to  a  place 
of  execution  or  imprisonment. 

To  the  credit  of  the  naval  service  it  should  be  here  said  that 
the  officers  of  the  squadron  did  not  all  take  their  cue  from  the 
Admiral  and  his  favorite  commanders,  and  think  it  incumbent 
on  them  to  treat  with  insult  and  contumely  the  unfortunate 
prisoners.  The  fleet-surgeon,  Dr.  Marius  Duvall,  early  divined 
the  animus  of  the  Admiral  in  going  after  them,  and  saw 
clearly  that  his  object  was  not  to  extricate  them,  but  to  find 
excuses  for  his  delay  after  his  quarrel  with  General  Webb  ; 
that  he  went,  determined  to  conciliate  Lopez  at  any  sacrifice 
of  the  national  dignity,  and  on  his  return  to  represent  him 
as  a  humane  and  benevolent  gentleman,  who  in  his  dispute 


554  PARAGUAY. 

with  the  late  Minister,  and  in  his  subsequent  treatment  of 
Bliss  and  Masterman,  was  entirely  in  the  right,  while  the  latter 
were  brawling  revolutionists,  who  had  been  treated  with  "  no 
unnecessary  harshness."  Feeling  that  the  government  did 
not,  or  at  least  ought  not  to,  keep  squadrons  on  forejgn  stations 
for  the  mere  purpose  of  insulting  its  diplomatic  representatives, 
Dr.  Duvall  did  not  join  in  with  the  Admiral  and  his  favorites 
in  praise  of  Lopez  and  in  the  abuse  of  General  Webb  and 
the  late  Minister  to  Paraguay.  As  a  penalty  for  his  temerity, 
the  Admiral  persecuted  him  on  the  most  trivial  pretexts,  and 
ordered  him  to  be  court-martialed,  naming  the  court  that  was 
to  try  him.  The  trial  was  but  a  contest  between  weakness, 
duplicity,  and  malice  on  one  side,  and  firmness,  truth,  and 
patriotic  duty  on  the  other.  The  question  turned  on  a  point 
of  veracity  between  the  two,  and  the  court  that  the  Admiral 
had  selected  was  compelled  to  find  that  the  truth  was  not 
with  him. 

The  two  prisoners  were  kept  under  arrest  as  long  as  the 
Guerriere  remained  at  Montevideo.  The  large  first-rate  was 
taken  to  Rio,  at  a  cost  of  several  thousand  dollars,  for  no 
other  purpose  than  to  carry  two  men  who  were  treated  all 
the  while  as  felons.  They  might  have  been  sent  by  a  mer- 
chant steamer  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred  dollars  ;  and  the  condi- 
tions which  the  Admiral  made  with  Lopez  would  have  been 
fulfilled  as  well  as  they  were  by  his  going  with  them  in  the 
flag-ship. 

From  Rio  the  Admiral  sent  his  prisoners  to  the  United 
States  on  a  merchant  steamer.  To  do  this  he  was  obliged  to 
trust  to  the  honor  of  men  whom  he  had  treated  as  condemned 
criminals.  He  notified  them  that  their  passage  would  be  paid 
to  New  York  by  the  government ;  and  requested  them,  on 
reaching  that  port,  to  report  themselves  to  the  Secretary  of 
State.  They  engaged  to  do  so,  and  fulfilled  their  promise. 
The  Secretary,  Mr.  Seward,  told  them  that  he  had  nothing 
against  them,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  (Gideon  Welles) 
highly  commended  the  Admiral  for  his  course  throughout  the 
whole  affair. 


MEMORIAL  TO   CONGRESS.  555 

But  the  prisoners  did  not  so  highly  appreciate  the  conduct 
of  the  Admiral.  On  the  contrary,  they  memorialized  Con- 
gress in  regard  to  it,  uniting  in  a  joint  petition  for  an  investi- 
gation of  their  treatment  by  him  and  his  favorite  officers.* 

*  It  should  perhaps  be  here  stated  that  there  was  one  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Foreign  Affairs,  Thomas  Svvann  of  Maryland,  who  sustained  and 
justified  the  Admirals  throughout.  The  following  Resolutions  were  submitted  by 
him ;  and  wherever  this  book  may  be  read,  I  trust  he  may  have  the  credit  of 
them  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  forcible  arrest  and  detention  of  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman,  while  under  the  protection  of  the  American  flag,  was  an  outrage  which 
demanded  prompt  reparation. 

"  2.  That  Mr.  Washburn,  in  submitting  to  the  insult  of  President  Lopez  in 
his  refusal  to  grant  passports  to  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  and  in  separat- 
ing himself  from  them  in  the  streets  of  Asuncion,  and  leaving  them  in  the  hands 
and  at  the  mercy  of  the  Paraguayan  authorities,  caused  a  serious  compromise  of 
the  American  flag,  and  could  not  be  justified  upon  any  consideration  of  personal 
safety  ;  and  that  Minister  Washburn,  in  justice  to  his  position  and  the  honor  of  his 
flag,  ought  not  to  have  accepted  his  passport  until  permitted  to  withdraw  with 
every  member  of  his  Legation. 

"  3.  That  in  the  hostile  or  unfriendly  attitude  assumed  by  Minister  Washburn 
toward  Lopez  and  the  Paraguayan  government,  in  his  relations  and  intercourse  with 
the  President  of  that  Republic,  and  in  associating  Bliss  and  Masterman  with  his 
Legation,  (one  a  British  subject,  suspected  by  Lopez  of  a  conspiracy  with  his 
enemies  and  the  enemies  of  his  country,  both  adventurers  and  of  doubtful 
reputation  )  Minister  Washburn  committed  a  grave  act  of  imprudence,  which 
resulted  in  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  complications  attending  his  residence  in 
Paraguay. 

"  4.  That  Admirals  Godon  and  Davis,  in  command  of  the  South  Atlantic 
Squadron,  have  committed  no  act  to  subject  them  to  the  censure  of  this  govern- 
ment or  the  investigation  of  a  court-martial  ;  said  officers  having,  to  the  best  of 
their  judgment  and  understanding,  complied  with  the  instructions  of  the  Navy 
Department,  and  received  its  approval. 

"  5.  That  no  legislation  is  required  on  the  part  of  Congress,  growing  out  of 
the  facts  stated  in  this  record  and  the  correspondence  now  on  file  in  the  State 
and  Navy  Departments. 

"  6.  That  this  committee  be  discharged  from  the  further  consideration  of  the 
subject."  —  Paraguayan  Investigation,  pp.  xix,  xx 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

McMahon  presents  his  Credentials.  —  His  Reception  by  Lopez.  —  Mutual  Sym- 
pathy. —  He  becomes  the  Confidant  of  Madam  Lynch.  —  Lopez  makes  his 
Will.  —  McMahon  constituted  Custodian  and  Trustee. —The  Blockade 
broken.  —  The  British  Secretary  of  Legation  in  Buenos  Aires  visits  Para- 
guay. —  Lopez  abandons  the  Tebicuari  and  falls  back  to  Angostura.  —  Battle 
of  Pikysyry.  —  Defeat  of  the  Paraguayans.  —  Massacre  of  Prisoners.  —  De- 
parture of  McMahon  for  Pirebebui. —  Sufferings  and  Misery  of  the  Paraguayan 
Women  and  Children.  —  Lopez's  Cabinet  Ministers.  —  Furious  Bombardment 
by  the  Allies.  —  Bravery  of  the  Paraguayan  Troops.  —  Cowardly  Flight  of 
Lopez.  —  Lopez's  System  of  Vicarious  Punishments.  —  Dr.  Stewart.  —  Treat- 
ment of  his  Family  by  Lopez.  —  Inaction  of  the  Brazilians.  —  Lopez  allowed 
to  fortify  himself  at  the  Pass  of  Ascurra.  —  Capitulation  of  Colonel  Thompson. 

THE  two  prisoners  having  been  sent  to  the  United  States 
in  a  manner  so  satisfactory  to  Lopez  that  the  incident  of 
their  arrest  and  torture  was  not  likely  to  disturb  the  friendly 
relations  "  so  happily  existing  between  the  two  governments," 
Minister  McMahon  disembarked  from  the  Wasp,  and  pre- 
sented himself  at  the  head-quarters  of  the  Marshal  President. 
Lopez  having  already  learned  that  he  had  not  come  to  demand 
apologies  or  satisfaction  for  insults  to  the  late  Minister,  or 
for  the  violation  of  the  flag  in  the  arrest  of  Bliss  and  Mas- 
terman,  was  not  only  predisposed  to  be  affable  and  concili- 
atory, but  to  make  a  friend  of  him,  if  possible.  It  would  not 
do  for  him  to  quarrel  with  another  American  Minister,  as  by 
his  last  quarrel  he  had  come  very  near  bringing  upon  himself 
a  war  with  the  great  Republic,  and  had  already  brought  upon 
him  the  general  execration  of  the  world.  The  new  Minister 
did  not  sustain  or  approve  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  former 
one,  and  on  this  point  Lopez,  Madam  Lynch,  and  General 
McMahon  were  united.  Before  they  met,  therefore,  they  were 
prepared  to  be  charmed  with  each  other,  and  at  their  first 


CONGENIAL   FRIENDS.  557 

interview  McMahon  was  so  gracious  as  to  intimate  that  Bliss 
and  Masterman  had  been  treated  as  they  deserved  to  be. 
The  description  of  this  interview  is  thus  related  by  an  eye- 
witness :  — 

"The  General  arrived  at  head-quarters  on  the  nth  of  December, 
and  left  the  camp  on  the  23d  of  the  same  month.  He  was  invited 
to  dinner  by  Lopez  on  the  day  of  his  arrival,  and  I  met  him  at 
table.  We  sat  opposite  to  each  other,  and  I  had  to  act  as  inter- 
preter between  the  President  and  him,  not  on  this  occasion  only, 
but  on  several  others.  The  General  referred  to  the  reception 
Masterman  and  Bliss  had  met  with  from  Captain  Kirkland  of  the 
Wasp.  He  '  ordered  them  to  be  taken  forward,'  said  McMahon.  I 
give  the  account  in  the  words  of  the  latter,  '  Take  these  men  forward, 
and  give  them  into  the  custody  of  the  master-at-arms ' ;  at  which 
Masierman  demurred,  observing,  '  I  have  been  lieutenant  in  her 
Britannic  Majesty's  service.'  To  this  Captain  Kirkland  retorted, 
*  If  you  are  ladies,  and  not  men,  say  so,'  and  they  were  sent  forward 
as  prisoners.  The  President  listened  with  undisguised  pleasure  to 
this  narrative  of  McMahon's,  and  was  greatly  chagrined  and  dis- 
pleased, when  General  McMahon  put  the  question  to  me,  by  my 
corroborating  Masterman's  assertion  that  he  had  been  an  officer  in 
our  service.  But  that  which  most  delighted  the  President  was 
McMahon's  declaring  that  Mr.  Bliss  had  applied  to  him  for  an  in- 
terview, and  that  his  answer  to  this  request  of  a  fellow-citizen  had 
been,  that  when  he  (McMahon)  wanted  to  see  him,  he  would  let 
him  know."  * 

Lopez  had  now  evidently  got  a  Minister  after  his  own  heart ; 
one  whose  ideas  of  government  were  very  different  from  those 
of  his  predecessor  ;  one  who  doubtless  mourned  that  in  the 
other  parts  of  the  world  the  "  age  of  faith  "  had  passed  away, 
and  with  it  had  departed  the  Inquisition  and  all  its  holy  appli- 
ances. In  Paraguay  only,  in  all  Christendom,  was  the  govern- 
ment conducted  after  the  manner  of  Philip  II.,  of  Torquemada, 
and  of  Alva.  Lopez  was  the  pope  of  Paraguay,  in  the  full 
exercise  of  absolute  temporal  power,  and  his  government  that 
which  for  ages  the  Jesuits  have  been  laboring  to  establish 
throughout  the  world.  The  friendship  struck  up  so  suddenly 

*  Paraguayan  Investigation:  testimony  of  Dr.  \Yilliam  Stewart,  p.  313. 


558  PARAGUAY. 

between  the  two  was  not  unnatural.  Nor  was  it  strange  that 
the  same  feeling  of  sympathy  had  never  existed  between 
his  predecessor  and  Lopez  as  was  testified  to  by  McMahon 
before  the  Congressional  Committee.  In  alluding  to  me  on 
one  occasion,  Lopez  remarked  to  his  friend  (McMahon  was  his 
only  friend  in  Paraguay,  save  and  except  Madam  Lynch  and 
her  children) :  "  I  ought  to  say  that  ever  since  Mr.  Wash- 
burn's  arrival  in  the  country  he  has  disliked  me.  There  was  a 
want  of  congeniality  between  us.  Since  his  arrival  in  this 
country  I  have  never  personally  liked  him,  and  for  that  reason 
always  endeavored  to  treat  him  officially  with  the  more  re- 
spect, because  I  recognized  the  lack  of  congeniality."  It 
seems  that  he  found  a  congenial  spirit  after  I  left  Para- 
guay. 

I  have  stated  in  its  proper  place,  that,  soon  after  the  evacua- 
tion of  Asuncion,  and  before  Lopez  had  invented  his  plan  of  a 
conspiracy,  Madam  Lynch  sent  several  large  boxes,  supposed 
to  contain  her  most  valuable  articles,  to  my  house.  She 
then  supposed  that  her  paramour  was  in  a  trap  from  which 
he  would  never  escape  alive,  and  she  was  naturally  anxious 
to  save  her  ill-gotten  wealth.  This  property  was  withdrawn 
when  she  found  that  it  was  Lopez's  purpose  to  make  me 
one  of  the  conspirators,  all  of  whom  he  had  resolved  to 
destroy.  Afterwards,  when  all  the  people  who  were  supposed 
to  have  any  money  were  arrested,  their  houses  searched, 
and  their  money  and  jewels  stolen,  her  stock  of  valuables 
was  largely  increased,  and  she  was  more  anxious  than  ever 
to  have  it  put  in  some  place  of  security.  The  boxes  that 
had  been  in  my  house  were  believed  by  Dr.  Stewart  to 
have  been  buried  somewhere  between  San  Fernando  and 
Villeta,  but  the  property  which  had  been  stolen  was  still  within 
the  lines  of  Lcpez.  Her  first  thought  on  the  arrival  of  the 
new  Minister,  therefore,  was  to  make  him  her  confidant  and 
aid  in  securing  this  blood-money.  She  was  anxious  also  to 
secure  to  herself,  in  the  event  of  Lopez's  death,  his  estate  ;  but, 
knowing  his  suspicious  nature,  she  did  not  dare  to  suggest 
that  he  should  make  a  will  in  her  favor.  The  new  Minister, 


CAPTAIN  PARSONS  AND  THE  BEACON.     559 

as  she  informed  Dr.  Stewart,  made  the  suggestion,  but  Lopez 
did  not  act  upon  it  until  after  his  narrow  escape  on  the  2ist 
of  December,  when  he  realized  that  he  was  surrounded  by  a 
force  so  largely  outnumbering  his  own  that  his  situation  was 
indeed  desperate.  The  instrument  was  then  drawn  up  and 
signed,  and  duly  witnessed  by  the  two  British  doctors,  Stewart 
and  Skinner.  The  will  is  dated  the  23d  of  December,  1868. 
Another  paper  bearing  the  same  date  as  the  will,  constitut- 
ing McMahon  custodian  and  trustee,  was  also  prepared  and 
signed  by  Lopez,  and  a  letter  particularly  requesting  him  to 
take  charge  of  Madam  Lynch's  children.  This  business 
having  been  completed,  McMahon  left  the  camp,  taking  with 
him  the  illegitimate  progeny  of  Lopez  and  his  paramour. 

The  Brazilians  having  yielded  to  the  demands  of  General 
Webb  and  allowed  the  Wasp  to  pass  their  blockade,  other  na- 
tions insisted  on  the  same  privilege  ;  and  three  other  gunboats 
—  French,  English,  and  Italian  — went  up  to  look  after  their 
respective  countrymen.  The  English  vessel  had  on  board  her 
Britannic  Majesty's  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Buenos  Aires, 
Mr.  G.  Z.  Gould,  who,  having  previously  been  in  Paraguay, 
thoroughly  appreciated  the  character  of  Lopez,  and  did  not 
venture  to  trust  himself  again  in  his  power.  From  the  ves- 
sel, which  remained  below  the  fortifications  of  Lopez,  he  sent 
a  letter,  advising  him  that  he  had  come  to  take  away  her  Maj- 
esty's subjects.  Lopez  invited  him  to  come  to  his  head- 
quarters ;  but  having  been  formerly  treated  with  great  discour- 
tesy by  Lopez,  and  knowing  that  he  was  his  bitter  enemy,  he 
declined  the  invitation  of  the  spider  to  walk  into  his  parlor. 
He  returned  to  Buenos  Aires,  and  afterwards  another  gun- 
boat, the  Beacon,  was  sent  up,  and  her  commander,  Captain 
Parsons,  went  to  Lopez's  head-quarters.  Lopez,  in  answer  to 
previous  demands  that  foreigners  should  be  permitted  to  go 
away,  had  answered  that  none  of  them  wished  to  leave,  and 
the  complaint  had  been  made  that  their  wishes  had  never 
been  consulted.  Lopez  told  Captain  Parsons  that  he  might  go 
about  and  talk  with  all  the  British  subjects,  and  he  would  find 
that  none  desired  to  leave.  "  He  had,  however,"  says  Colonel 


560  PARAGUAY. 

Thompson,  "  bottled  up  the  few  British  subjects  who  were 
near  head-quarters,  and  only  one  was  allowed  to  see  him,  and 
then  only  within  ear-shot  of  Lopez.  Everything  was  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  impress  Captain  Parsons  that  he  had  been 
allowed  to  go  wherever  he  wished,  and  to  see  everybody  he 
liked.  He  was  allowed  to  take  away  Dr.  Fox  and  a  dozen 
English  women  and  children."  Lopez  took  advantage  of  this 
opportunity  to  send  away  a  large  number  of  copies,  so  far  as 
it  was  printed,  of  Bliss's  book,  which  valuable  contributions  to 
current  history  were  to  be  sent  to  England,  that  the  world 
might  know  the  truthful  history  of  the  great  conspiracy, 
and  the  character  of  the  great  intriguer,  the  late  American 
Minister. 

In  permitting  me  and  my  family  to  go  away,  Lopez  was 
compelled  to  abandon  his  purpose  of  destroying  all  who 
might  be  witnesses  against  him.  The  arrival  of  the  Wasp 
had  been  most  untimely  for  his  plans  ;  as  after  my  exposition 
of  his  character  and  acts,  though  he  were  to  kill  all  the  other 
witnesses,  no  amount  of  testimony  previously  extorted  by 
torture  would  be  credited,  but  all  would  be  taken  rather 
as  proof  of  his  inhuman  practices.  A  dozen  women  and 
children  were  taken  away  on  the  Beacon,  and  afterwards 
about  fifty  more  were  allowed  to  go~  away  on  the  Italian  gun- 
boat. That  they  were  able  to  do  so  they  have  to  thank  the 
American  Minister  at  Rio,  James  Watson  Webb  ;  as  but 
for  his  action  in  sending  the  Wasp  above  the  squadron  it  is 
not  probable  that  one  of  them  would  ever  have  left  Paraguay 
alive. 

By  this  time  the  tide  of  war  was  setting  strongly  in  favor 
of  the  allies.  They  had  come  upon  Lopez  with  overwhelming 
numbers  ;  but  instead  of  pursuing  their  previous  chivalric 
mode  of  fighting,  which  permitted  Lopez  to  retire  whenever 
he  got  ready,  taking  with  him  all  his  arms,  guns,  and  stores, 
they  adopted  a  plan  that  if  vigorously  carried  out  would  have 
ended  the  war  two  years  before.  I  have  already  said,  that, 
with  an  energetic  commander,  a  corduroy  road  could  have 
been  made  through  the  Gran  Chaco  from  the  Tres  Bocas  to  a 


THE   BATTLE   OF  PIKYSYRY.  561 

point  opposite  Pilar  or  San  Fernando  in  less  than  thirty  days, 
and  with  less  loss  of  life  than  was  caused  in  the  same  time  by 
the  miasma  of  the  swamps  in  which  the  army  was  encamped. 
But  months  and  years  were  allowed  to  pass,  and  it  was  only  in 
December,  1868,  four  years  after  the  war  had  commenced,  that 
it  occurred  to  Caxias  that  he  would  send  his  army  across  the 
river  and  thence  a  few  leagues  higher  up,  and  from  there 
cross  back  and  prevent  Lopez  from  repeating  the  manoeuvre 
he  had  tried  successfully  so  many  times  before.  The  whole 
allied  army,  therefore,  of  thirty-two  thousand  men,  was  passed 
over  the  river,  and  while  Lopez  was  yet  incredulous,  refusing 
to  give  Caxias  credit  for  so  sensible  an  act,  he  learned  that 
the  enemy  was  preparing  to  attack  him  from  above,  where 
there  were  no  intrenchments.  Lopez  saw  his  danger,  and 
began  to  make  trenches  on  that  side.  His  head-quarters, 
which  he  had  located  at  a  safe  distance  from  harm  in  case  of 
attack  from  the  front,  would  be  exposed  in  case  of  assault 
from  the  other  side.  This  new  trench,  at  some  points  of  which 
he  was  sure  to  be  attacked,  had  so  great  a  radius,  says  Colonel 
Thompson,  in  order  that  Lopez's  house  might  be  out  of  rifle 
range,  that  it  was  thinly  defended  in  front,  notwithstanding 
Lopez  had  his  whole  army  along  its  inner  line.  Says  Thomp- 
son :  "  There  was  not  time  to  dig  this  ditch  all  round,  and  the 
rear  towards  Cerro  Leon  was  completely  open,  and  had  no 
men  to  defend  it.  This,  however,  did  not  signify  with  a  gen- 
eral like  Caxias,  who  was  certain  to  find  out  which  was  the 
strong  side  and  attack  it."  Thus  the  incapacity  of  one  offset 
the  cowardice  of  the  other. 

The  allied  army,  having  passed  above,  had  taken  a  position 
near  Villeta,  north  of  Angostura,  to  which  point  Lopez  had 
fallen  back  after  the  abandonment  of  the  Tebicuari  to  make 
another  stand  against  the  advance  of  the  allies.  It  was  at 
this  pass  in  the  river  that  Sebastian  Cabot  had  been  attacked 
by  the  Payagua  Indians  in  1526,  and  from  the  natural  con- 
figuration of  the  country  the  point  was  admirably  adapted  for 
defensive  operations.  The  guns  of  Lopez  were  so  placed  that 
they  commanded  a  long  curve  in  the  river,  so  that  from  the 

VOL.  u.  36 


J 


562  PARAGUAY. 

instant  an  ascending  vessel  came  in  sight  until  it  should  get 
some  distance  above  it  was  exposed  to  a  formidable  battery. 
Just  below,  a  small  river,  or  riacho,  that  leads  from  the  Lake 
Ipoa,  falls  into  the  Paraguay.  Near  the  confluence  it  is  very 
deep,  and  some  twenty  yards  across.  For  about  two  leagues  to 
the  south  the  ground  is  very  wet  and  marshy,  and  covered  with 
woods  that  are  almost  impenetrable.  The  position  from  that 
side  was  therefore  almost  invulnerable  ;  and  until  Lopez  learned 
that  the  allies  had  got  in  his  rear  by  way  of  the  Chaco  he 
supposed  he  could  hold  them  at  bay  for  a  good  while  longer. 
It  was  next  to  impossible  for  them  to  flank  him  on  his  left, 
and  as  his  enemies,  during  a  war  of  four  years,  had  never 
availed  themselves  of  the  only  feasible  way  of  attacking  him, 
he  did  not  suppose  that  so  sensible  an  idea  would  ever  occur 
to  them. 

The  allied  army  being  to  the  north  of  the  Paraguayan,  the 
impending  battle  promised  to  be  decisive.  The  Brazilians 
outnumbered  the  Paraguayans  as  three  or  four  to  one,  and,  if 
defeated,  would  be  in  an  enemy's  country  with  no  way  of 
retreat  ;  and  should  victory  once  more  rest  on  their  banners, 
Lopez  and  his  army  could  not  again  escape  or  fall  back,  for 
the  country  in  his  rear  was  but  a  series  of  streams,  swamps, 
and  jungles,  such  as  had  often  served  him  in  better  stead  than 
trenches  or  cannon.  The  head-quarters  of  Lopez  were  at 
Cumbarity,  a  hill  that  overlooked  the  surrounding  country 
for  several  leagues,  and  distant  some  four  miles  from  Angos- 
tura. The  country  between  the  head-quarters  and  the  riacho 
Pikysyry  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  stream. 

It  has  not  been  my  purpose  to  describe  the  battles  of  this 
war.  Colonel  Thompson,  in  his  military  history  of  the  events 
in  which  he  took  part,  has  given  a  full  account  of  these  last 
battles  near  the  river ;  and  General  McMahon,  who  was  an 
eye-witness  of  some  of  the  most  important  of  them,  has  given 
to  the  world  an  account  of  what  he  saw.*  As  my  knowledge 
of  these  events  is  derived  from  their  descriptions,  which  to 

*  The  War  in  Paraguay.  By  General  M.  T.  McMahon.  Harper's  Magazine, 
April,  1870. 


THE   BATTLE   OF   PIKYSYRY.  563 

some  extent  conflict, —  I  shall  content  myself  with  giving  little 
more  than  general  results.  The  Brazilians  seemed  to  realize 
in  this  battle  that  they  had  the  enemy  completely  in  their 
power  ;  and  had  the  skill  and  dash  of  the  officers  been  equal 
to  the  courage  of  the  soldiers,  the  war  would  have  ended  with 
the  battle  of  Pikysyry.  The  lines  of  Lopez  were  furiously 
attacked  at  different  points,  and  his  whole  army  was  engaged, 
save  only  his  staff  and  a  hundred  or  two  other  mounted  men, 
that  he  kept  as  a  sort  of  body-guard  near  his  own  person. 
His  house  was  not  in  the  line  with  any  of  the  points  attacked  ; 
though,  hemmed  in  as  he  was,  more  or  less  chance  shot  fell  in 
that  direction.  With  characteristic  prudence,  Lopez  took  a 
position  on  horseback  behind  the  walls  of  his  adobe  house, 
ready  to  run  at  a  moment's  notice  in  case  the  enemy  were  to 
cut  their  way  through  his  lines  and  render  his  post  unsafe. 
Dr.  Stewart,  who  was  near  him  all  this  time,  says  he  exhibited 
the  greatest  fear,  though,  for  his  part,  he  did  not  realize  that 
there  was  at  any  time  the  least  danger  where  he  was,  notwith- 
standing he  did  not  seek  the  shelter  of  the  mud  walls.  It 
was,  however,  the  first  time  that  Lopez  had  been  under  fire 
since  the  war  began  ;  and  Madam  Lynch  was  afterwards  at 
great  pains  to  impress  it  on  all  that  he  had  exposed  himself 
with  reckless  valor  ;  that  one  bullet  had  passed  through  his 
whiskers,  and  another  between  his  legs.  Though  the  Para- 
guayans held  their  own  in  front,  fighting  with  the  greatest 
valor,  and  as  if  for  liberty  rather  than  for  their  own  perpetual 
enslavement,  a  new  danger  appeared  from  another  direction. 
A  large  cavalry  force  had  moved  along  under  cover  of  woods 
and  ravines  to  the  extreme  right  of  Lopez's  lines,  from  where 
all  the  troops  had  been  withdrawn  to  support  other  posi- 
tions, and  came  with  scarcely  any  opposition  to  within  some 
thirty  rods  of  the  head-quarters.  Lopez  had  but  a  mere 
handful  to  oppose  them,  and  had  they  deployed  they  would 
have  been  masters  of  the  field,  and  he  must  have  been  killed 
or  captured  at  that  time.  But  that  fatality  which  had  marked 
the  Paraguayan  people  for  destruction  had  not  yet  been  so 
completely  fulfilled  as  to  then  remove  the  author  of  all  their 


564  PARAGUAY. 

miseries.  Hundreds  of  thousands  were  yet  to  die  before  the 
curtain  should  fall  on  the  last  scene  of  the  tragedy.  The 
advance  of  this  body  of  cavalry  is  thus  described  by  Mc- 
Mahon:  — 

"  They  came  also  in  column,  and  advanced  until  within  eighty 
yards  of  the  head-quarters.  The  staff  of  the  President  and 
irregular  horsemen,  to  the  number  of  perhaps  two  hundred  in  all, 
dashed  against  them  and  clustered  like  bees  around  the  head  of  the 
column,  using  their  weapons  —  sabres,  carbines,  or  lances  —  with 
terrible  effect.  Had  the  Brazilians  deployed,  they  would  have 
ingulfed  the  little  handful  of  men  resisting  them,  captured  the 
Paraguayan  head-quarters,  and  probably  Lopez  himself.  Yet  they 
still  advanced  in  column,  —  more  slowly  at  every  step,  —  but  the 
weight  from  behind  still  pressing  the  whole  column  forward.  Mean- 
while those  in  front  seemed  to  make  no  fight  at  all,  while  the 
Paraguayans  were  striking  on  all  sides  with  singular  rapidity, 
although  still  pressed  back  and  moving  with  the  mass.  The  pace 
had  decreased  to  a  walk.  The  Paraguayan  officers,  with  their  red 
blouses,  were  confusedly  mingled  with  the  leading  ranks  of  the 
white-capped  Brazilians.  The  latter  seemed  half  paralyzed,  but  still 
moved  forward,  pressing  back  the  Paraguayan  horses,  which  gave 
ground  sidewise  or  by  backing.  At  last  the  forward  motion  ceased, 
the  column  recoiled  upon  itself,  turned,  and  retreated.  The  others 
followed  with  fierce  enthusiasm.  A  section  of  artillery  opened  on 
the  retreating  enemy,  and  the  allied  cavalry  did  not  appear  again  in 
that  day's  battle.  The  day  closed  with  the  complete  repulse  of  the 
assailants  at  all  important  points,  although  it  was  evident  that  the 
Paraguayan  line  of  defence  must  be  still  further  contracted,  in  view 
of  the  heavy  losses  among  the  defenders.  The  enemy  maintained 
their  musketry  fire  all  night  long,  and  for  five  days  and  nights  suc- 
ceeding. They  knew  the  scarcity  in  numbers  of  their  adversaries, 
and  they  hoped  to  exhaust  their  enemy  by  giving  him  no  rest. 

"  The  condition  of  things  within  Lopez's  lines  that  night  and  the 
following  days  was  deplorable.  There  were  no  means  of  caring  for 
the  wounded  in  such  numbers,  nor  could  men  be  spared  to  bring 
them  off  the  field,  or  to  bury  the  dead.  Many  children,  almost  un- 
noticed, were  lying  around  under  the  corridors,  grievously  wounded, 
and  silently  waiting  for  death.  Women  were  busy  making  lint,  by 
the  light  of  lanterns,  from  whatever  material  could  be  collected  for 


THE   PRISONERS   AT   PIKYSYRY.  565 

that  purpose.  Garments  of  all  descriptions  were  torn  into  bandages. 
Groups  of  officers,  many  of  them  wounded,  were  sitting  here  and 
there,  discussing  the  events  of  the  day.  The  President  sat  apart 
with  a  few  of  his  chief  officers,  similarly  occupied." 

Lopez,  on  arriving  at  Pikysyry,  was  encumbered  by  those 
prisoners  whom  he  had  brought  from  the  Tebicuari,  and 
whom  he  still  kept  alive  for  the  pleasure  of  torturing  and 
prolonging  their  misery.  The  prisoners  of  war,  and  those 
Paraguayans  who  were  not  regarded  with  any  particular  hate, 
were  humanely  butchered  at  San  Fernando,  before  it  was 
abandoned.  Those,  however,  who  had  been  accused  of  con- 
spiracy, were  kept  alive,  as  long  as  possible,  for  no  other  object 
than  that  Lopez  might  indulge  in  his  love  of  inflicting  pain. 
On  the  morning  of  the  2ist  of  December,  the  day  of  the 
battle  before  described,  he 'saw  that  he  could  no  longer  in- 
dulge in  his  favorite  pastime  without  running  the  risk  of 
having  his  victims  fall  into,  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  These 
prisoners  were  all  confined  in  a  retired  place  ;  and  one  of 
them,  who  subsequently  escaped,  thus  relates  the  incident 
of  the  execution  of  his  companions  :  — 

"On  the  2ist  of  December  we  were  (about  forty  of  us)  prisoners, 
lying  in  a  retired  place  in  the  wood,  when  the  allied  army  began  to 
make  a  formal  attack  on  the  Paraguayan  fortifications  in  Las  Lomas. 
Early  in  the  morning  there  came  a  body  of  officers  and  priests  to 
our  place,  and  Commander  Marco  read  a  list  of  about  one  third  of 
the  prisoners,  who  had  to  step  forth,  and  by  everything  it  was  evi- 
dent that  then  was  the  solemn  moment  of  what  the  Paraguayans 
venture  to  name  an  execution  of  justice.  .  Then  the  called  prisoners 
formed  a  circle,  Commandante  Marco  read  a  short  sentence,  the 
priests  took  them  to  confession,  a  body  of  soldiers  took  them  a  few 
steps  into  the  thicket  of  the  wood,  another  pause  of  silence,  and  a 
musket  volley  finished  all.  It  will  interest  you,  dear  sir,  but  deeply 
afflict  you,  to  know  the  names  of  some  of  the  persons  of  that  day's 
execution.  There  were  among  them  Don  Benigno  Lopez,  the 
brother  of  the  President ;  Barrios,  the  brother-in-law ;  the  Minister 
Berges  ;  the  bishop  ;  the  Portuguese  Consul,  Leite  Pereira  ;  Colonel 
Ale'n  ;  Captain  Fidanza ;  the  very  old'  mother  and  the  wife  of  Colonel 


566  PARAGUAY. 

Martinez ;  and  the  priest  Bogado.  We  also  had  as  companion- 
prisoners  the  sisters  of  the  President  and  the  other  brother,  Colonel 
Venancio  Lopez.  These  were  taken  and  shut  up,  each  one  in  a 
cart,  and  carried  off,  I  do  not  know  where.  People  speak  here  of 
their  also  being  shot,  but  I  could  not  assure  the  truth  of  it."  * 

The  remaining  prisoners  of  this  group  were  left  in  con- 
finement, all  of  them  being  either  in  fetters  or  in  the  stocks, 
and  under  a  guard  whose  orders  were  to  kill  their  prisoners 
should  the  enemy  come  so 'near  as  to  threaten  their  capture, 
or,  rather,  release.  On  the  24th,  being  the  fourth  day  of  the 
battle,  Lopez  and  his  staff,  including  Madam  Lynch,  chanced 
to  pass  so  near  them  that  the  latter  observed  the  long  line  of 
miserable  wretches  who,  ever  since  their  arrival,  had  been 
kept  there  in  a  state  of  almost  absolute  nakedness,  lying  on 
the  bare  ground  that  was  soaking  \vet  from  the  frequent  rains. 
She  called  the  President's  attention  to  them,  and  suggested 
that  as  it  was  the  anniversary  of  the  national  independence  he 
should  signalize  it  by  ordering  these  prisoners  to  be  set  at  lib- 
erty. He  complied  so  far  as  to  order  them  to  be  released  from 
their  fetters  and  the  stocks,  though  they  were  still  held  as  pris- 
oners with  a  guard  over  them.  Three  days  after  this  the  Para- 
guayans were  completely  routed,  and  then  Treuenfeld  and  Tay- 
lor, a  Prussian  officer  by  the  name  of  Von  Versen,  and  several 
others,  managed  to  escape  into  the  woods  and  conceal  them- 
selves until  they  could  surrender  themselves  to  the  allies,  after 
which  their  troubles  were  at  an  end.  One  of  the  last  acts  of 
Lopez,  when  he  saw  that  the  field  was  lost,  was  to  send  an 
adjutant  to  make  sure,  by  cutting  their  throats,  that  none  of 
them  escaped.  "  But,"  says  Treuenfeld,  "  we  fortunately  had 
hooked  it  already,  and  all  I  know  is  that  the  adjutant,  with  his 
list,  is  taken  prisoner  by  the  Brazilians ;  so  I  escaped  a  sec- 
ond condemnation  to  death." 

In  his  description  of  the  events  of  this  day,  General 
McMahon  makes  no  allusion  to  the  butchery  of  the  prisoners. 
He  was  not  a  witness  of  it ;  and  as  he  had  not  been  long  in 

*  Paraguayan  Investigation  :  letter  from  R.  von  Fischer  Treuenfeld  to  the.  Au- 
thor, p.  25. 


McMAHON   GOES   TO   PIREBEBUI.  567 

Paraguay,  it  was  but  natural  that  he  should  be  incredulous 
when  told  by  others  that  his  good  friend,  who  was  all  the  while 
treating  him  with  such  attention  that  they  soon  became  ardent 
admirers  of  each  other,  was  engaged,  at  the  very  time,  in  acts 
of  barbarity  never  before  paralleled  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

Thus  invested  with  the  high  and  responsible  office  of  guar- 
dian of  the  progeny  of  Lopez's  imported  mistress,  the  American 
Minister  set  out  for  the  new  capital.  The  road  through  which 
he  was  to  pass  was  as  bad  as  could  be,  and  was  lined  by  the 
wounded,  who  were  dragging  themselves  away  from  the  battle- 
field towards  the  old  camp  of  Cerro  Leon,  and  the  women  and 
children,  who  had  been  ordered  to  the  interior  from  Pikysyry 
to  prevent  them  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
These  poor  wretches  were  half-naked,  emaciated  skeletons, 
and  yet  not  a  sigh  or  complaint  was  ever  heard  against  the 
tyrant  that  was  thus  driving  them  to  the  mountains.  They 
had  long  before  learned  that  to  repine  was  a  crime,  to  be 
punished  with  death.  Lopez  had  threatened,  but  a  few  months 
before,  that,  if  he  were  forced  back  from  the  river,  he  would 
drive  every  man,  woman,  and  child  before  him.  He  had  told 
me,  nearly  two  years  before,  that  sooner  than  yield  he  would 
prolong  the  war  till  not  a  man  was  left.  He  was  now  carrying 
out  his  threats. 

The  capital  was  now  at  Pirebebui,  a  little  town,  or  capilla, 
some  fifteen  leagues  to  the  east  of  Asuncion,  and  beyond  the 
first  range  of  hills  or  cordilleras  east  of  the  Paraguay  ;  and  to 
this  point  the  American  Minister,  with  his  precious  charge, 
made  way.  Here  Lopez  still  pretended  to  have  his  seat  of 
government.  The  old  Vice-President  Sanchez  had  finally 
been  forgiven  for  his  delinquencies  at  the  time  the  ironclads 
passed  Humaita,  and  was  then  at  Pirebebui,  and  Lopez,  though 
he  had  killed  off  all  his  former  ministers,  still  kept  up  the 
fiction  of  a  Cabinet ;  but  General  McMahon,  when  he  speaks 
of  "  the  residences  of  the  Cabinet  ministers,"  omits  to  give 
the  names  of  those  functionaries,  or  to  tell  us  whether  any  of 
them  were  prisoners  while  he  was  there,  or  subjected  to  the 
cepo  urugiiayana.  All  their  predecessors  had  been  so  dealt 


568  PARAGUAY. 

with,  and  afterwards  executed,  save  only  one,  the  treasurer, 
and  he  expired  under  the  torture. 

The  wounded  and  the  superfluous  women  and  children 
having  been  driven  out  of  the  camp  and  towards  the  cor- 
dilleras,  Lopez  still  held  out  for  several  days  longer.  After  his 
narrow  escape  of  the  2ist,  he  had  a  secret  road,  or  path,  looked 
out,  so  that  he  himself  might  run  away,  though  everybody  else 
were  to  perish.  Madam  Lynch  remained  with  him,  for  she 
had  been  from  the  first  the  Lady  Macbeth  to  incite  him  to  his 
barbarities  and  to  keep  him  from  deserting  his  post. 

On  the  2$th  the  allies  began  a  furious  bombardment  at  dif- 
ferent points,  and  they  caused  such  havoc  that  Lopez's  force 
was  reduced  to  less  than  one  thousand  men.  This  did  not 
include  the  troops  under  command  of  Thompson,  at  Angos- 
tura. The  Brazilians  had  lost  more  than  one  third  of  the  army 
that  had  passed  through  the  Chaco.  But  from  their  style  of 
fighting  on  this  occasion  it  was  clear  that  they  meant  this  for 
their  last  battle.  On  the  26th  the  fighting  was  not  so  desperate ; 
but  on  the  2/th  it  was  renewed  with  such  fury  that  the  Para- 
guayans could  make  scarcely  any  resistance,  and  the  allies 
marched  in  and  held  the  field.  There  were  few  prisoners 
taken,  for  the  Paraguayans  had  fought  till  they  were  nearly 
all  killed. 

Lopez,  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  his  few  remaining  troops 
could  not  longer  keep  back  the  allies,  skulked  off,  as  he  had 
always  done  before,  when  he  found  it  necessary  to -retreat. 
While  his  officers  were  fighting  like  tigers,  leading  the  rem- 
nants of  their  forces  against  ten  times  their  number,  and  while 
individuals  would  rush  against  battalions,  striking  right  and 
left,  till  cut  down,  refusing  to  surrender,  Lopez  was  improving 
his  time  to  run  away  by  the  path  he  had  before  prepared,  but 
of  which  he  had  kept  them  in  ignorance.  He  went  away 
so  suddenly  that  even  Madam  Lynch  did  not  know  when 
he  went,  or  by  which  road.  She  rushed  frantically  about 
the  field,  inquiring  what  had  become  of  the  President.  Dr. 
Stewart,  who  had  seen  him  start,  pointed  in  the  direction  he 
had  taken,  and  away  she  went,  being  followed  by  Generals 


FLIGHT  OF  LOPEZ.  569 

Resquin,  Caballero,  and  about  sixty  of  the  cavalry.  The 
little  force  of  mounted  men  was  the  only  party,  on  the  whole 
battle-field,  that  escaped.  Individuals  in  the  different  parts 
of  the  field  crawled  away  when  the  fight  was  over,  and  made 
their  way  after  the  fugitive  Marshal.  That  any  should  try  to 
return  to  his  service,  when  they  might  escape,  may  seem  incredi- 
ble to  those  unfamiliar  with  his  system  of  vicarious  punishment. 
Lopez  having  run  away  without  giving  any  orders  to  those  he 
abandoned,  with  any  other  soldiers  the  most  natural  cry  would 
have  been,  sauve  qui pent ;  but  the  Paraguayans  knew  that,  as 
their  chief  had  fled,  his  first  act  of  vengeance  would  be  on 
the  families  of  those  who  surrendered.  The  surgeon-general, 
Dr.  Stewart,  who  had  remained  at  his  post  attending  to  the 
wounded  after  Lopez,  Madam  Lynch,  and  the  principal  offi- 
cers had  escaped,  seeing  the  field  was  lost,  undertook  to  fol- 
low them,  for  he  had  a  wife'  and  children  still  in  the  ty- 
rant's power.  But  suddenly  finding  himself  surrounded  and 
escape  impossible  he  surrendered,  and  was,  so  soon  as  Lopez 
knew  that  he  had  not  been  killed,  denounced  as  a  traitor  and 
deserter,  and  his  wife,  who  was  finally  rescued,  was  for  several 
weeks  kept  a  close  prisoner,  treated  with  the  most  cruel  indig- 
nities, and  nearly  starved  to  death.  One  of  her  children  died 
while  she  was  thus  held  as  a  prisoner  ;  and  it  was  only  by  the 
sudden  advance  of  the  allies,  some  six  months  afterwards,  that 
she  escaped  the  fate  of  nearly  all  her  countrywomen,  —  death 
by  starvation  or  the  lance. 

When  Lopez  saw  that  the  allies  were  moving  on  his  head- 
quarters, he  fled  so  precipitately  that  all  his  baggage,  his  fine 
clothes,  and  his  papers,  were  captured.  Among  the  latter 
was  found  the  diary  of  General  Resquin,  which  contained  a  list 
of  the  political  prisoners  who  had  been  put  to  death  at  differ- 
ent times,  and  from  which  I  have  so  often  quoted  in  this  work. 
He  evidently  had  been  greatly  surprised  by  being  driven  out 
so  suddenly  ;  for  among  these  papers  was  found  the  will  and 
the  letter  of  trusteeship  to  General  McMahon,  or  a  copy  of 
them.  It  is  presumed  that  the  originals  were  in  the  posses- 
sion of  McMahon,  and  that  but  for  the  capture  of  these  papers 


570 


PARAGUAY. 


the  world  would  never  have  known  of  the  affection  that  so 
suddenly  sprung  up  between  Lopez  and  Lynch  and  the  new 
American  Minister,  and  of  the  plan  or  conspiracy  for  saving 
the  property  that  had  been  stolen  from  countless  murdered 
victims. 

During  the  whole  war  Lopez  had  never,  before  these  battles 
at  Pikysyry,  been  under  fire  ;  "  and  then,"  says  Thompson,  "  he 
can  hardly  be  said  to  have  been  so,  as  he  was  always  either 
out  of  range  or  protected  by  the  thick  mud  wall  of  his  house. 
During  the  last  days  he  repeatedly  swore  to  the  troops  that  he 
would  stay  and  conquer,  or  die  with  them  there.  On  his  going 
away,  therefore,  almost  without  smelling  powder,  the  men, 
though  so  well  trained  as  to  think  everything  he  did  as  per- 
fectly right,  yet  felt  disgusted  with  him,  and  I  have  heard 
many  of  them  who  were  taken  prisoners  descant  upon  his 
cowardice." 

In  his  flight  Lopez  made  for  the  old  camping-ground  of 
Cerro  Leon.  It  was  here  that  he  had  gathered  his  army 
after  the  general  conscription  in  1864,  but  eight  months  be- 
fore the  war  was  commenced.  Extensive  barracks  for  sixty 
thousand  men  were  erected  at  that  time,  and  after  the  war 
commenced  these  were  used,  so  far  as  they  were  required,  for 
hospital  purposes.  A  few  reserves,  consisting  of  convalescents 
and  boys,  were  here  up  to  the  time  when  Lopez  saw  that  he 
was  to  be  attacked  in  the  rear,  and  then  they  were  all  called 
in  to  join  the  main  army.  The  place  was  entirely  exposed, 
and  had  Caxias  ordered  pursuit  immediately  after  the  flight 
the  war  must  then  have  ended.  He  had,  at  that  very  mo- 
ment, eight  thousand  finely  mounted  cavalry,  with  nothing 
whatever  for  them  to  do. ;  and  had  a  small  body  been  sent  in 
pursuit  of  Lopez  and  his  little  party,  who  were  fleeing  on  their 
jaded  and  ill-fed  horses,  they  would  have  easily  overtaken  the 
fugitives,  and  killed  or  captured  every  one  of  them.  Even 
had  Lopez  reached  Cerro  Leon  he  had  no  men  to  defend  it, 
and  the  stragglers  who  were  following  after  to  join  him  could 
never  have  reached  him. 

But  the  fatal  infirmity  and  imbecility  of  the  Brazilian  gen- 


FALL  OF  ANGOSTURA.  571 

erals  still  clung  to  them,  and  gave  Lopez  a  new  lease  of  power 
to  exterminate  his  own  people.  Caxias  gave  no  orders  for 
pursuit ;  and  so  Lopez  was  left  in  peace  to  gather  up  the 
shattered  remnants  of  his  army,  to  collect  from  different  points 
such  artillery,  small  arms,  and  ammunition  as  he  could  still  lay 
hold  of,  and  to  retire  to  a  natural  fortress  in  the  mountains, 
there  again  to  bid  defiance  to  the  invaders.  To  take  advan- 
tage of  a  victory  was  what  no  commander-in-chief  of  the 
allies  could  ever  do.  Their  peculiar  chivalry  forbade  them  to 
crowd  upon  or  distress  a  prostrate  or  fleeing  enemy ;  and 
Caxirs,  seeing  that  the  Paraguayan  army  was  dispersed,  that 
Lopez  himself  had  fled  with  only  about  a  hundred  men, 
declared  that  the  war  was  over.  Without  waiting  for  orders 
from  home,  he  left  his  command  and  returned  to  Rio,  expect- 
ing, like  Barroso,  Tamandare  and  others  who  had  disgraced 
their  country  and  cause,  to  be  promoted,  enriched,  and  more 
highly  honored  by  the  Emperor.  And  such  were  the  Empe- 
ror's first  intentions  towards  him.  But  before  the  Marques  had 
been  created  a  Duque,  the  Emperor  had  the  mortification  of 
learning  that  Lopez  was  strongly  intrenched  at  the  Pass  of 
Ascurra,  in  the  Cordilleras,  and  that  the  Empire  must  prepare 
for  another  campaign.  Poor  Caxias  was  therefore  allowed  to 
retire  on  his  laurels  before  won,  and  was  never  again  to  be 
spoken  of  but  in  bitterness  and  contempt. 

Though  Lopez  had  fled  from  Pikysyry,  Thompson  still  held 
his  ground  at  Angostura  ;  and  though  outnumbered  by  at 
least  five  to  one,  he  gallantly  maintained  himself  till  he 
learned  that  the  army  at  Pikysyry  had  been  completely 
routed.  To  hold  out  any  longer  was  to  expose  his  men 
to  useless  slaughter.  His  situation  was  somewhat  like  that 
of  Martinez  after  the  evacuation  of  Humaita.  But,  fortu- 
nately for  Thompson,  he  had  no  wife  in  the  country,  on 
whom  Lopez  and  Lynch  could  exercise  their  ingenuity  in 
torture.  Calling  his  officers  around  him,  he  told  them  of 
their  situation,  and  asked  them  if  it  were  not  better  to  capitu- 
late rather  than  fight  till  all  were  "killed.  They  had  but 
very  little  ammunition  left,  yet  they  could  doubtless  do  much 


572  PARAGUAY. 

injury  to  the  enemy  if  they  would  never  surrender.  Should 
they  fight  till  the  last  man  was  killed,  or  should  they  capitu- 
late ?  With  one  exception,  all  answered,  capitulate  ;  and  on 
the  3Oth  of  December,  the  terms  of  surrender  having  been 
agreed  upon,  the  whole  force,  consisting  of  twenty-four  hun- 
dred persons,  of  whom  five  hundred  were  women  and  four 
hundred  wounded,  marched  out  as  prisoners  of  war. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

The  Count  d'Eu  takes  Command  of  the  Brazilian  Army.  —  Lopez  at  the  Pass  of 
Ascurra.  —  The  Paraguayan  Women  and  Children  driven  before  the  Army.  — 
Their  Condition  one  of  Appalling  Wretchedness.  —  General  McMahon  at 
Pirebebui.  —  He  is  recalled.  —  His  Departure  from  Paraguay.  —  Reception  in 
Buenos  Aires.  —  Burlesque  Procession.  —  He  endeavors  to  interest  the  United 
States  in  Behalf  of  Lopez.  —  Closing  Events  of  the  War.  —  Statement  of 
General  Resquin.  —  Capture  of  Pirebebui  by  the  Brazilians.  —  Retreat  of  the 
Paraguayan  Army.  —  More  Conspiracies.  —  Execution  of  the  Alleged  Con- 
spirators. —  The  Mother,  Sisters,  and  Brother  of  Lopez  accused  of  conspir- 
ing against  him.  —  Execution  of  Venancio  Lopez.  —  Statement  of  Dona  Ino- 
cencia. 

WHEN  the  Emperor  learned  that,  notwithstanding  the 
disastrous  defeat  and  rout  of  the  Paraguayans  at  Piky- 
syry,  Lopez  was  organizing  for  another  defence,  and  had 
intrenched  himself  at  a  point  stronger  than  he  had  ever  held 
before,  he  realized  the  fact,  which  had  been  patent  to  every- 
body else  for  a  long  time,  that  if  the  war  was  ever  to  termi- 
nate in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  Triple  Alliance,  he 
must  intrust  the  command  of  his  armies  to  some  one  not  a 
Brazilian.  He  had  seen  repeatedly  that  a  Brazilian  com- 
mander-in-chief  would  never  follow  up  a  success  ;  that  a 
victory  of  his  troops  was  always  a  drawn  battle  in  its  results, 
from  the  inability  of  his  generals  to  improve  their  advantage. 
His  troops,  ever  since  the  invasion  of  Paraguay,  had  vastly 
outnumbered  those  of  Lopez ;  and  on  numerous  occasions, 
after  desperate  fighting,  with  perhaps  equal  losses  on  both 
sides,  where  by  sheer  force  of  numbers  the  Paraguayans  had 
been  overborne,  he  learned  that  instead  of  pressing  on,  and  not 
allowing  Lopez  to  collect  together  his  forces  again,  he  had  per- 
mitted him  to  retreat  and  take  with  him  all  his  troops  who  were 
not  killed  or  prisoners,  and  nearly  all  his  cannon,  ammunition, 


574  PARAGUAY. 

and  small  arms.  He  therefore  reluctantly  and  unwillingly 
assented  to  the  desire  expressed  long  before  by  his  son-in-law, 
the  Count  d'Eu,  who  had  married  the  Princess  Imperial,  to 
take  command  of  his  army. 

This  young  officer,  the  son  of  the  Duke  de  Nemours,  and 
grandson  of  Louis  Philippe,  had  married  the  Princess  Im- 
perial in  the  year  1864;  and  having  had  a  military  education 
and  showing  a  decided  taste  for  military  life,  had  long  desired 
to  be  put  in  command  of  the  army.  But  his  request  was 
not  acceded  to  until  after  the  return  of  Caxais,  who  had  come 
back  with  a  great  flourish  of  trumpets,  claiming  that  the 
war  was  over,  and  that  Lopez  had  been  routed  and  was  a 
fugitive  and  wanderer  .among  the  mountains,  impotent  for 
further  harm.  Great  was  the  mortification  of  his  Majesty, 
therefore,  when  he  learned  soon  after  that  Caxias,  through  his 
utter  incompetency,  had  allowed  Lopez  to  escape  when  he 
might  easily  have  captured  him.  He  then  nesolved  to  send 
the  Count  d'Eu  to  finish  up  the  war. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  new  commander-in-chief  at  Asuncion, 
—  which,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Pikysyry,  was  captured  and 
made  the  head-quarters, —  he  entered  upon  the  campaign  in  a 
manner  which  clearly  showed  that  he  would  not  repeat  the  er- 
rors of  his  predecessors.  Lopez,  having  remained  long  enough 
at  Cerro  Leon  to  gather  in  the  stragglers,  and  to  collect  all 
arms  that  had  not  fallen  into  the  possession  of  the  allies, 
started  for  the  Pass  of  Ascurra  in  the  cordilleras,  which  he 
proceeded  to  fortify.  He  made  good  his  threat  of  driving  all 
non-combatants  before  him  ;  and  at  that  time  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed, though  the  reliable  data  on  which  to  base  an  opinion 
are  very  scanty,  that  there  were  some  three  hundred  thousand 
people  left  alive  in  Paraguay,  of  which  number  two  hundred 
and  seventy-five  thousand  were  women  and  children.  All  the 
boys  above  nine  or  ten  years  old  had  been  taken  for  soldiers, 
and  therefore  nearly  all  of  the  remainder  were  females  ;  and 
as  during  the  war  the  inhabitants  from  the  southern  part  of  the 
state  had  been  driven  northward  as  the  army  had  been  forced 
back,  and  all  between  Asuncion  and  the  scene  of  the  late 


LOPEZ   AT  ASCURRA.  575 

battles  were  upon  territory  which  was  likely  to  be  invaded  by 
the  enemy,  nearly  half  of  the  women  left  in  the  country  were 
to  be  driven  before  the  fugitive  remnants  of  the  defeated 
army.  Lopez's  orders,  as  he  retreated,  were  that  no  Para- 
guayans should  be  left  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  allies  ;  and 
parties  were  sent  in  all  directions  to  drive  in  and  keep  in 
front  the  women  and  children  that  were  scattered  through  the 
country.  To  do  this  required  more  troops  than  Lopez  could 
spare  ;  therefore  the  scouting-parties,  when  they  found  a  crowd 
of  women  and  children  too  numerous  for  them  to  drive  into 
the  interior  before  being  overtaken  by  the  allies,  indiscrimi- 
nately slaughtered  them.  There  was  little  of  this  butchery 
at  first,  for  the  reason  that  the  Brazilians,  previous  to  the 
arrival  of  Count  d'Eu,  made  scarcely  any  pursuit  until  the 
whole  population  had  been  driven  into  the  mountains,  and  in 
the  rear  of  Lopez's  new  camp  at  Ascurra.  These  people  had 
scarcely  anything  to  eat,  except  what  they  could  pick  up  in 
the  woods  and  deserted  country.  The  wild  oranges,  and  a 
nut  that  is  produced  in  great  abundance  by  a  sort  of  palm- 
tree,  was  about  all  the  poor  wretches  had  to  eat.  Seldom  in 
the  history  of  the  world  has  such  misery  and  suffering  been 
endured  as  by  these  helpless  women  and  children.  Many  of 
them  were  forced  to  the  severest  kind  of  drudgery,  while  all 
of  them  were  driven  about  through  the  wilderness,  exposed 
by  day  to  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  with  no  shelter  at 
night,  and  with  only  such  food  as  the  forests  afforded.  Thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands  of  them  died  of  actual  starva- 
tion ;  and  weeks  afterwards,  when  the  allies,  who  were  pre- 
paring for  another  advance,  sent  out  their  scouting-parties, 
they  would  not  unfrequently  surprise  small  bodies  of  Para- 
guayans holding  guard  over  large  numbers  of  these  unhappy 
wretches.  If  the  guard  were  not  strong  enough  or  numerous 
enough  to  drive  the  fugitives  all  before  them  in  their  retreat, 
the  rule  was  to  cut  their  throats  ;  and  when  the  allies  came  up, 
they  found  nothing  but  the  mutilated  bodies  left  unburied  on 
the  plains  and  in  the  forests.  Lopez  had  said  he  would  leave 
none  behind  him  ;  that,  if  he  must  fall,  no  Paraguayan  should 


576  PARAGUAY. 

survive  him  ;  and  he  was  carrying  out  his  threats  in  this  man- 
ner. He  could  have  no  other  object  than  a  desire  of  seeing 
his  people  exterminated  before  he  should  himself  fall.  These 
women  and  children  were  of  no  advantage  to  him  ;  on  the 
contrary,  many  of  his  troops  were  required  to  guard  them,  and 
prevent  them  from  escaping  or  from  being  taken  prisoners ; 
and  were  they  to  be  taken  by  the  enemy,  they  could  be  of  no 
service  to  them,  but  would  rather  be  an  encumbrance  and 
hindrance  to  their  movements. 

In  spite,  however,  of  all  he  could  do  to  prevent  it,  a  great 
many  of  these  women  and  children  fell  behind  and  were 
taken  prisoners.  According  to  the  descriptions  that  have 
been  given  of  them,  their  condition  was  uniformly  one  of  ap- 
palling wretchedness.  They  were  all  mere  walking  skeletons. 
The  most  of  them  were  nearly  destitute  of  clothing,  and  many 
were  entirely  so.  They  appeared  to  have  lost  all  hope  and  all 
sensibility ;  to  care  for  nothing  and  think  of  nothing  but  to 
get  something  to  appease  their  terrible  hunger.  No  sense  of 
shame  or  modesty  was  left  to  them  ;  and  when  taken  prisoners 
all  feeling  of  hope  was  so  utterly  extinguished,  and  they 
had  been  so  long  taught  that  the  misery  they  had  suffered 
was  nothing  compared  with  what  they  would  suffer  should 
they  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  that  they  welcomed 
their  captors  rather  as  executioners  than  as  deliverers. 

While  Lopez  was  gathering  his  forces  at  Ascurra,  fortify- 
ing as  much  as  possible,  and  waiting  for  the  allies  to  again 
attack  him,  General  McMahon  was  at  the  new  camp  of  Pire"- 
bebui.  This  place  was  some  three  leagues  in  the  rear  of  As- 
curra, and  immense  numbers  of  the  poor  women  and  children 
who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  to  the  interior  were 
in  the  town  and  vicinity.  The  destitution  among  them  was 
terrible.  Starvation  was  written  in  every  face,  and  death  was 
making  fearful  havoc  among  them.  The  Minister,  however, 
was  treated  with  distinguished  consideration,  and  was  enabled 
to  obtain  all  that  was  necessary  for  comfort,  if  not  for  luxury. 
But  the  sight  of  the  misery  around  him  was  appalling.  Two 
English  engineers,  Valpy  and  Burrill,  were  his  companions  at 


SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN.     577 

this  time  ;  and  the  representations  which  they  have  made  since 
their  escape,  of  the  misery  of  which  they  were  the  unwilling 
witnesses,  are  such  as  to  cause  them  to  curse  more  bitterly 
than  ever  before  the  author  of  all  this  suffering.  People  were 
dying  of  starvation  all  around  them,  and  not  unfrequently  in 
the  morning,  when  the  doors  of  the  Legation  were  opened,  the 
corpses  of  dead  women,  who  had  expired  in  the  night  from 
actual  starvation,  would  be  seen  at  or  near  the  door.  Min- 
ister McMahon  was  greatly  astonished  at  this  evidence  of 
patriotism  and  devotion  to  the  great  Lopez,  and  has  ever  since 
ascribed,  not  only  their  submission,  but  their  endurance  and 
patience  under  the  trials  to  which  they  were  exposed,  to  their 
love  and  affection  for  his  Excellency. 

But  General  McMahon  was  not  to  remain  long  in  Paraguay. 
He  had  gone  there  and  presented  his  credentials,  notwith- 
standing the  gross  insult  to  the  flag  and  indignity  to  his 
predecessor  committed  by  Lopez,  before  his  government  had 
time  to  give  him  such  instructions  as  the  changed  circum- 
stances required.  After  that  no  communications  were  allowed 
to  pass  the  military  lines  of  the  allies  for  months,  and  he 
received  nothing  from  his  government  until  his  naval  friends 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  becoming  anxious  lest  Lopez  should 
treat  him  as  he  had  treated  nearly  every  foreigner  in  the 
country,  including  several  consuls,  Admiral  Davis  sent  his 
son  and  his  fleet-captain,  Ramsey,  through  with  family  let- 
ters, to  learn  something  of  his  whereabouts  and  condition. 
These  bearers  of  despatches  were  received  at  the  head-quar- 
ters, where  they  met  General  McMahon,  and  were  treated 
with  immense  distinction.  From  them  Lopez  received  the 
gratifying  intelligence  that  Bliss  and  Masterman  had  been 
sent  for  trial  to  the  United  States,  and  that  the  former 
American  Minister,  whom  he  had  accused  of  being  in  league 
with  the  allies,  and  the  champion  of  their  cause,  had,  on 
leaving  Paraguay,  been  assailed  by  a  whirlwind  of  news- 
paper abuse.  It  is  presumed  they  did  not  tell  him  that 
the  burden  of  that  abuse  was  the  fact,  that,  at  his  depar- 
ture from  Paraguay,  he  had  left  Bliss  and  Masterman  to  the 

VOL.  ii.  37 


578 


PARAGUAY. 


mercies  of  a  tyrant  unparalleled  in  history  for  his  horrible 
cruelties. 

They  returned  to  Buenos  Aires  greatly  charmed  with  Lopez 
and  Madam  Lynch.  The  latter  had  entertained  them  with 
regal  magnificence,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  around  them, 
all  through  the  country,  wherever  the  power  of  Lopez  extended, 
women  and  children  were  dying  daily  by  thousands.  Lopez, 
in  his  controversy  with  me,  had  apparently  gained  his  point. 
I  had  not  been  sustained  apparently  either  by  the  people  or 
by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  while  the  course  of 
McMahon  was  approved,  and  poor  Bliss  and  Masterman  were 
to  be  tried  on  their  own  confessions.  But  within  a  few  months 
the  face  of  things  was  changed,  and  with  the  first  despatches 
that  McMahon  received  from  his  government,  after  it  had 
been  informed  of  the  treatment  of  his  predecessor  by  Lopez, 
was  his  letter  of  recall ;  and  at  the  same  time  came  the  in- 
formation that  the  Admiral  and  his  officers  who  had  received 
Bliss  and  Masterman  as  prisoners,  treated  them  like  felons, 
and  sent  them  to  the  United  States  to  be  tried,  had  been  or- 
dered home  to  appear  before  a  committee  which  had  been 
ordered  by  Congress  to  investigate  their  very  singular  con- 
duct. 

McMahon,  however,  did  not  leave  his  friends  until  about 
four  weeks  after  he  received  his  letter  of  recall.  That  last 
month  he  spent  at  the  head-quarters,  and  when  ready  to 
depart  he  had  a  very  large  quantity  of  baggage  to  take 
away  with  him.  Among  other  things  there  were  eleven 
tercios  of  the  yerba  mat6,  and  also  a  great  number  of  boxes 
and  packages,  besides  the  trunks  supposed  to  contain  his 
personal  baggage  which  he  had  taken  into  Paraguay.  On 
reaching  the  lines  of  the  Brazilians,  they  provided  him  with 
the  means  of  transporting  these  rewards  of  industry  to  Asun- 
cion, where  he  remained  for  several  days  ;  thence  he  took 
passage  in  a  merchant  steamer  for  Buenos  Aires,  where  the 
greatest  curiosity  was  felt  to  know  what  these  boxes  from 
the  camp  of  Lopez  contained,  and  whether  the  yerba  mate 
in  the  tercios  was  solid,  or  merely  used  as  packing  for  ounces 


RECALL  OF   McMAHON.  579 

and  the  jewelry  that  had  been  stolen  from  the  murdered  vic- 
tims of  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch.  He  was,  nevertheless, 
allowed  to  take  everything  away  with  him  when  he  left  the 
Plata  for  France,  whither  he  took  passage  after  a  brief  delay 
in  Buenos  Aires.  If  the  press  and  the  people  of  Buenos  Aires 
had  evinced  an  unfriendly  feeling  towards  me  on  my  arrival 
from  Paraguay,  yet  my  reception  was  cordial  and  flattering 
compared  with  that  which  was  accorded  to  my  successor. 
The  fact  that  he  had  been  made  the  trustee  of  Lopez  and 
the  guardian  of  his  children  provoked  the  most  bitter  sar- 
casm, and  a  burlesque  procession  paraded  through  the  streets, 
in  which  the  American  Minister,  the  friend  of  Lopez,  was 
represented  dressed  in  woman's  clothes,  in  a  carriage  with 
several  unkempt  and  unwashed  urchins. 

On  reaching  Asuncion,  McMahon  represented  the  position 
of  Lopez  as  very  strong,  and  that  he  could  maintain  himself 
where  he  was  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time,  as  he  was  lack- 
ing for  nothing  essential  to  the  support  of  his  army.  Pro- 
visions were  abundant,  and  the  Paraguayans  were  enthusiastic 
in  their  devotion  to  Lopez,  and  in  their  faith  that  they  would 
yet  conquer.  As  the  allies,  of  course,  could  not  doubt  the 
words  of  an  American  Minister,  they  were  somewhat  per- 
plexed to  reconcile  these  statements  with  the  fact  that  all 
the  prisoners  that  came  in,  all  the  women  and  children  who 
were  rescued,  —  and  at  this  time  they  were  coming  in  daily 
in  considerable  numbers,  —  were  almost  in  a  state  of  starva- 
tion, and  that  they  were  but  mere  skeletons,  many  of  them 
in  a  state  of  absolute  nudity,  and  all  of  them  reporting  that 
they  had  had  nothing  to  eat  for  weeks  except  what  they  could 
gather  in  the  woods,  in  common  with  the  beasts  and  the 
birds. 

The  recall  of  McMahon  by  the  United  States  government 
was  not,  however,  entirely  distasteful  to  Lopez,  as  he  cher- 
ished the  idea,  that,  on  the  return  of  his  friend  to  his 
adopted  country,  he  would  be  able  to  procure  the  interven- 
tion of  the  United  States  in  his  behalf;  and  that,  with  so  good 
an  advocate  to  plead  his  cause  with  the  government  of  the  great 


580  PARAGUAY. 

Republic,  he  might  yet  come  out  victorious  from  the  war. 
What  encouragement  McMahon  gave  him  to  prolong  the  war 
and  continue  the  sacrifice  of  his  people  until  the  United  States 
might  have  time  to  act  in  his  behalf  has  only  been  made  pub- 
lic through  Madam  Lynch,  and  therefore  there  is  no  reliable 
evidence  in  regard  to  it.  It  is  known,  however,  that  McMahon, 
on  his  return  to  the  United  States,  most  earnestly  advocated 
the  cause  of  Lopez,  and  urged  on  the  government  the  duty 
of  sending  out  another  minister,  and  taking  immediate  meas- 
ures to  put  a  stop  to  the  war.  Before  the  Investigating  Com- 
mittee he  defended  the  cause  of  Lopez  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  an 
advocate,  and  told  the  committee  that  he  was  contending 
for  the  principles  of  republican  independence  in  Paraguay,  and 
that  the  most  direful  consequences  would  result  to  the  cause 
of  republicanism  if  Lopez  were  to  be  overborne.  He  also 
represented  Lopez  to  be  very  strong,  and  holding  then  a 
position  almost  impregnable,  and  that,  if  driven  from  there,  he 
could  fall  back  to  other  points  equally  strong ;  that  he  had 
already  taken  heed,  by  ordering  the  planting  of  extensive 
crops,  that  for  the  future  there  should  be  no  lack  of  provisions. 
But  neither  the  committee  nor  the  President  could  see  that 
it  was  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  intervene  in  behalf 
of  such  a  monster  and  tyrant  as  everybody  who  had  escaped 
from  Paraguay,  except  McMahon,  declared  Lopez  to  be  ;  and 
unfortunately,  not  long  after,  he  was  driven  out  with  great 
loss  from  Ascurra,  and  from  that  time  was  but  a  fugitive  in 
the  mountains. 

From  the  time  that  Lopez  was  driven  from  Ascurra  until  his 
death,  the  information  that  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  in  re- 
gard to  the  closing  events  of  his  career  has  been  fragmentary, 
and  some  parts  of  it  are  not  entirely  reliable.  I  have  been 
obliged  to  depend  upon  the  reports  of  the  Brazilian  officers, 
and  on  the  statements  of  such  Paraguayans  as  afterwards 
escaped  alive,  and  on  a  few  private  letters  which  I  have 
received  from  persons  who  were  with  him  to  the  last.  I  have 
been  unable  to  converse  with  any  of  the  witnesses  of  the  last 
scenes  of  the  tragedy,  or  to  sift  the  evidence  which  I  have  col- 


STATEMENT   OF   GENERAL   RESQUIN.  581 

lected  ;  therefore  I  shall  only  give  a  very  brief,  and  doubtless 
imperfect,  summary  of  the  closing  events  of  the  war. 

The  only  succinct  and  intelligible  statement  of  the  progress 
of  the  war,  after  the  defeat  of  Lopez  at  Pikysyry,  that  I  have 
seen,  is  contained  in  the  statement  of  General  Resquin, 
made  by  him  after  the  death  of  Lopez,  and  while  he  was  a 
prisoner.  From  that  disastrous  field,  Lopez,  according  to 
Resquin,  fled,  accompanied  by  only  sixty  men.  At  a  distance 
of  six  or  seven  leagues  from  the  scene  of  the  battle  he 
met  a  force  of  seven  hundred  of  his  own  troops,  who  were  on 
the  way  from  Cerro  Leon  to  be  incorporated  with  his  army  at 
Pikysyry.  Leaving  a  part  of  this  force  to  check  any  small 
party  that  might  be  sent  in  pursuit,  he  continued  his  flight  to 
Cerro  Leon,  where  he  made  a  short  stay,  and  then  hurried 
on  to  Ascurra.  Here  he  began  to  gather  again  the  remnants  of 
his  army,  —  the  soldiers  who  had  escaped  from  the  late  battles, 
besides  those  who  had  been  left  to  guard  various  points  which 
it  was  not  necessary  to  defend  after  the  capture  of  Pikysyry. 
From  this  stronghold  he  sent  out  to  make  another  con- 
scription of  old  men  and  boys  who  up  to  that  time  had  not 
been  in  the  army  ;  and  with  these  additions,  and  also  a  great 
number  of  the  wounded  that  had  partially  recovered  in  the 
hospitals,  his  force,  according  to  Resquin,  even  at  that  time, 
amounted  to  thirteen  thousand  men.  Immediately  after  the 
flight  from  Pikysyry  all  was  confusion.  There  was  no  one  to 
command,  and  no  one  to  obey.  In  the  midst  of  this  confusion 
it  appears  that  the  carts  containing  the  money  from  the 
treasury  were  lost.  This  caused  the  greatest  consternation 
among  the  principal  officials.  Says  Resquin  :  "  The  Minister 
Caminos  accused  the  Minister  Gonzalez,  the  Minister  Gon- 
zalez accused  the  Minister  Falcon,  they  all  accused  the  Vice- 
President,  and  Lopez,  in  his  turn,  confounded  them  all  because 
of  the  disappearance  of  the  treasure."  , 

Several  months  before,  a  foundry  had  been  established  at 
a  village  called  Caacupe"  ;  and  the  casting  of  small  cannon  was 
commenced  and  prosecuted  with  such  energy  that  before  Lopez 


582 


PARAGUAY. 


left  Ascurra  they  had  cast  eighteen  pieces  of  artillery.  Two 
of  them  were  of  iron,  and  sixteen  of  brass.  He  had  also  col- 
lected all  the  artillery  from  Asuncion,  from  Cerro  Leon,  and 
from  other  points  not  in  the  possession  of  the  allies.  Here 
Lopez  waited,  expecting  to  be  attacked,  the  position  affording 
him  such  advantages  that  his  few  troops  could  repulse  ten  times 
their  number.  Count  d'Eu,  however,  did  not  choose  to  attack 
him  this  time,  as  Caxias  had  usually  done,  at  that  point  where 
he  was  the  strongest,  but  proceeded  to  flank  him  and  to 
capture  the  various  towns  around  him,  including  Pirebebui, 
the  late  capital.  On  the  day  that  Pirebebui  was  taken,  says 
Resquin,  "  Lopez  knew,  by  means  of  some  troops  that  he 
had  in  the  woods,  that  the  Brazilian  Army  had  entered  into 
that  village,  but  he  concealed  the  news,  announcing  that 
the  allies  had  been  defeated  ;  and,  in  order  to  solemnize  such 
a  happy  victory,  he  commanded  them  to  celebrate  a  Te 
Deiun.  Lopez  and  all  the  Ministers,  besides  many  people  of 
the  army,  assisted  at  this  festivity.  Lopez  showed  himself  very 
well  satisfied,  and  received  the  compliments  of  all.  In  the 
mean  while  none  of  the  defenders  of  Pirebebui,  who  amounted 
to  two  thousand  and  odd  men,  appeared  at  Ascurra.  On  the 
following  morning,  Lopez  told  Resquin  and  the  persons  of  the 
higher  grade  of  the  army  that  he  had  been  deceived,  that 
Pirebebui  .had  been  taken  by  the  Brazilians,  and  that  in  the 
evening  the  army  would  move,  telling  them  to  keep  it  a  secret. 
The  force  that  was  in  Ascurra  amounted  to  ten  thousand 
and  odd  men,  besides  eighteen  hundred  sick.  On  the  evening 
of  the  1 3th  of  August,  1869,  the  Paraguayan  army  com- 
menced its  march.  It  was  divided  into  two  corps,  the  first 
of  which  consisted  of  five  thousand  men,  under  the  immediate 
orders  of  Lopez,  who  was  accompanied  also  by  Resquin.  The 
first  corps  marched  all  that  night,  the  next  day  and  the  next 
night,  and  even  the  succeeding  day,  scarcely  a  moment's  rest 
being  allowed.  Leaving  Ascurra  on  the  night  of  the  I3th, 
and  thus  travelling  without  rest,  the  army,  almost  dead  from 
exhaustion,  arrived  at  Curuguayti  on  the  i6th.  The  sec- 
ond corps,  which  had  most  of  the  artillery  and  all  the  other 


MORE   CONSPIRACIES.  583 

heavy  objects  that  must  be  transported,  was  attacked  by  a 
Brazilian  force  on  the  i6th,  and  completely  defeated.  It  lost 
not  only  its  artillery,  but  the  principal  part  of  the  army,  pro- 
visions, archives,  etc.  No  part  of  this  whole  corps  was  ever 
united  again  with  the  rest  of  the  army,  with  the  exception  of 
the  general  in  command,  Caballero,  and  five  men,  all  of  them 
on  foot,  who  succeeded  in  escaping  through  the  woods.  After 
reaching  Curuguayti,  Lopez  detached  from  his  little  army  a 
force  of  nine  hundred  men,  with  artillery,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Caballero,  who  guarded  the  mouth  of  the  pass 
that  led  to  that  opening.  This  party  was  completely  defeated 
en  the  1 8th  of  August,  when  the  Brazilians  attacked  and  took 
that  place."  The  army  started  again  on  the  i8th,  and  reached 
the  banks  of  the  river  Estanislao  on  the  25th.  "  During  this 
march,"  says  Resquin,  "  many  women  and  children  died,  the 
soldiers  often  losing  their  way,  since  the  road  was  heavy,  and 
they  made  scarcely  any  halt  to  sleep  or  eat." 

At  this  time  it  appears  that  Lopez  suspected  another  con- 
spiracy ;  and  he  immediately  commenced  in  his  customary 
manner  to  ascertain  the  correctness  of  his  suspicions.  By  rea- 
son of  some  mysterious  circumstances,  a  man  and  a  woman  had 
been  made  prisoners  near  Curuguayti ;  the  man,  a  Paraguayan, 
escaped,  but  the  woman  was  brought  to  the  head-quarters  of 
Lopez  at  Estanislao.  The  sergeant  in  command  of  the  out- 
skirts was  shot  for  having  allowed  the  man  to  escape  ;  and 
the  woman  was  examined  according  to  Lopez's  favorite  method 
for  finding  out  the  truth.  "  She  confessed,"  continues  Resquin, 
"  that  her  companion  was  a  spy  of  the  allies,  and  that  he  had 
an  understanding  with  an  ensign,  one  of  Lopez's  escort  by  the 
name  of  Aquino,  with  whom  he  had  previously  arranged,  while 
the  army  was  at  Ascurra,  that,  with  a  part  of  the  escort  of 
Lopez  himself,  he  would  rise  and  assassinate  the  President. 
She  further  said,  that,  after  the  Paraguayan  Army  left  Ascurra, 
he  received  notices,  by  means  of  Aquino,  which  he  transmitted 
to  the  Brazilians,  who  had  been  met  near  Curuguayti,  and  that 
he  had  given  information  to  the  Brazilians  of  all  he  had  seen. 
Aquino,  brought  face  to  face  with  the  woman,  denied  all  at 


584  PARAGUAY. 

first,  but  afterwards,  having  been  punished  with  blows  and  the 
cepo,  confessed  to  Lopez  himself,  saying  that  it  was  not  he 
whom  he  wished  to  destroy,  but  the  country.  Lopez  on  this 
occasion  ordered  that  he  should  be  given  something  to  eat  and 
drink.  Then  Aquino  denounced  some  others  as  his  accom- 
plices, these  in  turn  denounced  others,  so  at  one  blow  were 
executed  eighty-six  individuals  of  the  troop  and  sixteen  offi- 
cials, among  them  Colonel  Mongilo,  commandante  of  the 
escort,  and  Major  Rivero,  its  second,  not  because  they  had 
taken  part  in  the  conspiracy,  but  because  such  a  plot  had  been 
concocted  in  the  corps  under  their  command  without  having 
been  discovered  by  them.  The  other  officials,  before  being 
shot,  were  flogged  in  the  sight  of  Lopez  until  they  were  about 
to  expire." 

On  the  1 2th  of  September,  the  army  left  San  Estanislao 
and  moved  in  the  direction  of  Igatimy.  On  the  way  a  halt 
of  six  days  was  made,  in  order  to  make  further  investiga- 
tion relative  to  the  conspiracy  of  Ascurra.  Here  sixty  more 
men  were  shot,  and  among  them  Aquino.  Resquin  himself/ 
as  he  declares,  and  the  other  principal  officers,  were  in  a 
state  of  the  greatest  anxiety  from  the  fear  of  being  executed 
at  any  moment,  without  any  reason  being  given  for  it,  because, 
as  he  says,  "  Lopez  was  a  monster,  and  so  entirely  disregarded 
the  lives  of  those  next  to  him,  that  for  no  reason  whatever 
he  would  order  his  most  faithful  followers  to  be  killed."  In 
Curuguayti  another  conspiracy  was  discovered  ;  and  of  all 
these  alleged  conspiracies  which  were  devised  by  Lopez  for 
amusement  and  revenge,  or  else  were  the  creations  of  his 
fears  and  imagination,  this  last  was  the  most  horrible.  It 
appears  that  among  those  who  were  arrested  and  put  to  the 
torture,  that  he  might  learn  more  in  regard  to  this  last  con- 
spiracy, the  wife  of  Colonel  Hilario  Marco  was  arrested,  and 
subjected  to  the  usual  ordeal.  This  Marco,  during  the  time 
of  the  elder  Lopez,  had  been  the  chief  of  police  at  Asuncion, 
and  was  regarded  at  that  time  by  the  people  of  Asuncion 
generally  as  the  worst  man  in  Paraguay  who  was  not  a 
member  of  the  Lopez  family.  He  had  married  a  niece  of 


TRIAL  OF   LOPEZ'S   MOTHER.  585 

General  Barrios,  the  brother-in-law  of  Lopez ;  and  it  was  this 
woman  who  was  put  to  the  torture  and  bidden,  to  confess  what 
she  knew  in  regard  to  the  conspiracy.  Of  course,  she  could 
confess  nothing,  as  probably  there  was  no  conspiracy,  and 
consequently  she  could  know  nothing.  But,  when  the  pain 
became  so  severe  that  it  could  be  no  longer  borne,  she  began 
by  accusing  the  mother  and  sisters  of  Lopez,  and  his  brother 
Venancio,  as  also  her  husband.  When  questioned  further,  she 
said  the  plan  was  to  kill  Lopez  by  putting  poison  in  his  food. 
The  mother  was  immediately  put  in  prison  ;  and  the  two  sis- 
ters, who  for  some  time  had  been  at  liberty,  were  again  shut 
up  in  their  carts. 

When  Lopez  heard  that  his  mother  had  been  accused  of 
conspiring  with  her  daughters  and  her  other  son  to  murder 
him,  he  called  together  his  principal  officers  and  asked  them 
if  he  ought  not  to  bring  his  mother  to  trial.  Resquin  and 
all  the  others,  with  the  exception  of  Aveiro,  answered  that 
it  was  better  not  to  proceed  formally  to  the  trial  of  the  old 
lady,  at  which  Lopez  became  furious,  and  called  them  syco- 
phants and  flunkies,  praising  Aveiro  highly  for  having  said 
that  his  mother  should  be  tried  like  any  other  criminal.  He 
said  that  among  them  all  Aveiro  was  his  only  friend.  The 
trial  was  accordingly  ordered.  Marco  was  flogged  till  he  con- 
firmed the  confession  of  his  wife,  and  until  he  also  accused 
the  old  lady.  From  this  time  the  poor  old  woman  and  her 
daughters  were  treated  with  such  a  degree  of  cruelty  as  would 
appear  incredible  were  the  evidence  such  as  would  admit  of 
a  doubt.* 

*  Lest  it  may  be  said  that  all  the  evidence  of  Lopez's  atrocious  treatment  of  his 
mother,  sisters,  and  brothers  is  from  Brazilian  sources,  and  therefore  not  reliable, 
I  give  the  following  extracts  from  a  letter  received  by  me  from  Dr.  Frederick 
Skinner,  the  English  physician,  who  was  surgeon-general  of  the  Paraguayan 
Army  after  the  capture  of  Dr.  Stewart.  It  will  be  found  to  confirm  the  worst 
ever  said  against  the  tyrant  by  his  bitterest  enemy  :  — 

"  BUENOS  AIRES,  June  20,  1870. 

"Mv  DEAR  MR.  WASHBURN, — You  will  doubtless  be  surprised  to  receive  these 
few  lines,  but  the  remembrance  of  the  many  pleasant  whist-parties  of  which  I  was 
a  member,  and  of  the  many  good  dinners  which  I  ate  in  the  Plaza  Vieja  during 
our  acquaintance  in  Paraguay,  causes  me  to  believe  that  you  will  be  glad  to  hear 


586  PARAGUAY. 

Lopez,  as  we  have  before  seen,  when  he  had  any  particular 
feeling  of  hatred  for  persons,  was  careful  not  to  have  them 
punished  beyond  the  power  of  endurance.  He  desired  them 
to  live  for  the  pleasure  that  their  torture  afforded  him.  For 
'  this  object  he  kept  his  mother,  his  sisters,  and  his  brother 
alive  for  a  considerable  time,  and  they  were  flogged  most 
unmercifully  as  often  as  it  could  be  done  without  danger  of 
hastening  their  death.  His  brother  Venancio  had  been  in 
feeble  health  from  the  commencement  of  the  war,  and  the  suf- 
ferings he  had  undergone  during  the  last  year  had  so  com- 

from  myself  personally,  having  escaped  alive  and  well  after  so  many  dangers  and 
adventures 

"  I  was  taken  prisoner  on  the  1st  of  March,  when  Lopez  was  killed,  and  was 
with  him  about  three  minutes  before  his  death ;  and  very  thin  and  weak  I  was. 
The  Brazilians  set  me  free,  as  the  Count  d'Eu  ascertained  that  I  was  one  of  the 
monster's  victims,  and  not  of  his  accomplices. 

"  Thank  God,  now  that  the  war  is  over,  and  all  the  dreadful  atrocities  of  the  un- 
paralleled brute  Lopez  cannot  fail  to  be  brought  to  light,  your  veracity  and  honor 
must  be  thoroughly  established,  and  all  your  conduct  vindicated.  I  was  much 
grieved  and  disgusted  at  hearing  them  doubted  in  some  papers,  and  attempts 
made  to  gloss  over,  or  rather  to  deny,  the  fact  of  his  being  the  very  worst  devil 
that  ever  polluted  this  earth.  Who  but  he  ever  flogged  his  own  mother  and 
sisters,  and  killed  his  brothers,  —  one,  after  a  mock  trial,  by  bullet ;  the  other,  by 
starvation  and  flogging  with  a  doubled  lasso,  a  lance-thrust  finishing  the  scene  of 
torture  when  the  victim  could  no  longer  move.  Who  else  exterminated  a  whole 
people  by  starvation,  while  he,  his  mistress  and  bastards,  passed  a  life  of  com- 
fort, feasting,  nay,  drinking  choice  wine  ad  libitum,  surrounded  by  every  con- 
venience attainable  in  a  retreat  from  a  pursuing  army  ?  More  still,  at  the  time 
of  his  death  he  had  stores  sufficient  to  have  saved  numbers,  amongst  them  several 
cart-loads  of  salt,  which  his  victims  and  followers  had  not  tasted  for  months.  I 
myself  felt  the  want  of  it  more  than  any  other  privation,  much  more  so  than  short 
rations. 

"  I  can  hardly  realize  everything  even  now.  I  should  much  have  liked  to  take  a 
trip  to  Europe  and  the  States  when  all  was  over  ;  but  my  funds  did  not  permit, 
as  the  only  money  which  I  have  to-  compensate  for  nine  years'  service  does  not 
amount  to  much  more  than  £ — — ,  and  I  must  begin  the  world  again,  and  think 
I  cannot  do  better  than  return  to  Paraguay,  as  the  new  government  will  employ 
me,  and  the  survivors  of  the  war  are  grateful  for  my  past  services,  and  wish  me 
to  remain  amongst  them 

"  I  should  much  like  to  see  you  again  and  talk  over  past  time,  but  at  any  rate  I 
trust  you  will  write  to  me  shortly,  and  I  will  certainly  answer  and  give  you  the 
news  of  poor  Paraguay.  So  with  best  regards  to  yourself  and  compliments  to 
your  lady, 

"  Believe  me,  yours  faithfully, 

"FREDERICK  SKINNER." 


STATEMENT  OF  DONA  IMOCENCIA.      587 

pletely  prostrated  him  that  under  the  daily  flogging  with  the 
dou-ble  lasso  which  was  applied  to  him  he  soon  became  so  help- 
less that  he  could  no  longer  walk,  and  his  brother  ordered  him 
to  be  lanced.  He  was  accordingly  despatched,  and  buried  by 
the  wayside.  After  the  battle  of  Pirebebui,  it  would  appear, 
from  the  account  of  Dona  Inocencia,  that  her  mother  and  her 
sister  Rafaela  were  both  driven  along  like  common  prisoners. 
All  the  carts  were  engaged  in  transporting  the  provisions  and 
valuables,  including  a  large  stock  of  wines,  liquors,  salt,  and 
camp  equipage  for  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch,  and  those  chil- 
dren that  a  little  before  had  lost  their  protector  by  the  recall 
of  the  American  Minister.  In  Dona  Inocencia's  account  of 
their  sufferings  after  the  battle  of  Pirebebui,  she  says  :  "  When 
we  were  ordered  to  march  after  the  battle  of  Pirebebui,  a  soldier 
came  and  offered  to  carry  for  us  the  hides  which  we  used  as 
beds.  Happily  for  us  he  did  this,  else  we  should  all  have  per- 
ished of  hunger,  for  along  the  march  we  used  to  scrape  the  hair 
off  and  roast  the  hide.  This  was  our  only  food.  On  arriving 
at  the  place  designated  by  Lopez,  such  was  our  awful  condi- 
tion that  the  girls,  almost  perfectly  naked,  had  to  wander 
through  the  woods,  during  the  terrific  heat,  in  search  of  a  frog, 
or  a  snake,  or  any  kind  of  insect  to  eat.  The  Calagua  Indians 
at  times  would  bring  us  a  piece  of  meat  of  some  unknown 
animal,  or  mandioca  or  maize,  for  which  we  gave  them  a  gold 
ring,  or  some  other  valuable  trinket.  But  our  moral  suffer- 
ings were  even  worse.  How  often  have  we  seen  a  mother 
weeping  over  her  unfortunate  child  expiring  from  famine!" 
But  these  terrible  sufferings  could  not  long  endure.  The 
Brazilians  were  all  the  while  pressing  hard  after  Lopez  ;  and 
his  troops  that  followed  him  in  the  rear,  driving  the  starving 
women  and  children  before  them,  were  so  often  cut  off  by  the 
allies  that  his  army  was  fast  melting  away. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

Lopez's  System  of  Warfare  no  longer  practicable.  —  His  Army  melts  away.  — 
His  Encampment  on  the  Banks  of  the  Aquidaban.  —  A  Surprise.  —  Flight  of 
Lopez.  —  Capture  and  Death  of  his  Ministers  and  Principal  Officers.  —  The 
Pursuit  of  Lopez.  —  His  Death.  —  Flight  and  Capture  of  Madam  Lynch.  — 
Death  of  Pancho  Lynch.  —  The  Rescue  of  Lopez's  Mother  and  Sisters.  —  Re- 
turn to  Asuncion.  —  Ruined  Condition  of  the  City.  —  The  Havocs  of  the 
War.  —  Nine  Tenths  of  the  Population  destroyed.  —  Desire  of  the  Paraguayan 
Women  to  wreak  their  Vengeance  on  Madam  Lynch.  —  She  is  protected  from 
their  Fury  by  the  Brazilians.  —  Her  Property  sequestrated.  —  The  Fugitives 
in  Asuncion.  — Their  Wretched  Condition.  —  The  Provisional  Government. — 
Efforts  to  relieve  the  General  Distress. 

THE  plan  of  organization  adopted  by  Lopez  early  in  the 
war,  to  compel  his  men  to  fight  desperately  and  never 
surrender,  had  been  completely  successful  so  long  as  he  could 
maintain  his  head-quarters  in  a  central  position  and  closely 
watch  all  his  subordinates.  This*  plan  could  only  be  made 
available  among  a  people  so  thoroughly  trained  to  obedience 
that  they  had  become  mere  machines,  that  would  go  wherever 
ordered,  though  inevitable  death  should  confront  them.  In 
everything,  from  long  before  the  war  began,  it  was  "  theirs  not 
to  make  reply,  theirs  not  to  reason  why,"  and  when  marshalled 
to  battle  the  Paraguayan  soldier  understood  that  it  must  be 
"  victory  or  death."  They  were  sent  into  action  in  such  a 
way  that  every  man  was  responsible  for  the  good  conduct 
of  at  least  five  others.  Every  soldier,  as  he  advanced  to  the 
attack,  was  aware  that  if  he  lagged  or  faltered,  or  should  at- 
tempt to  desert,  his  two  comrades  next  him  must  shoot  him 
on  the  instant,  or,  in  turn,  be  shot  themselves.  The  non-com- 
missioned officer  immediately  over  them  was  responsible  for 
them  all,  and,  should  one  of  them  escape,  would  either  be 
flogged  or  shot  when  the  battle  was  over.  Then  the  captain, 


LOPEZ'S   ARMY    MELTS   AWAY.  589 

lieutenant,  or  ensign,  was  responsible  in  turn  for  them  all,  and 
the  higher  officer  in  command  must  answer  for  every  man 
under  him.  Desertion,  therefore,  was  scarcely  possible  ;  and  as 
surrender  to  overpowering  odds  was  always  considered  to  be 
desertion,  the  men  fought  with  desperation,  knowing  that  their 
only  chance  of  life  was  in  victory.  The  greatest  danger  was 
always  in  the  rear.  The  distrust  was  so  universal,  that  though 
a  squad  or  company  were  individually  all  anxious  to  desert  or 
be  captured,  and  were  completely  cut  off  from  the  main  army, 
no  one  would  dare  to  suggest  surrender.  They  must  all  fight 
till  they  were  killed,  for  if  some  were  captured  and  others  were 
not,  the  latter  were  certain  to  be  most  inhumanly  flogged  and 
then  executed.  In  the  early  part  of  the  war,  the  punishment 
for  those  who  fought  bravely  themselves,  but  yet  could  not,  or 
did  not,  prevent  defection  among  others  near  them,  was  gen- 
erally limited  to  flogging.  Afterwards  shooting  was  the  rule 
for  all  delinquents  of  this  kind  except  when  a  repulse  was 
general,  in  which  case  the  officers  were  shot  and  the  men 
decimated. 

This  system  was  for  a  long  time  so  effective  that  nearly 
the  whole  male  population  of  the  country  was  sacrificed,  and 
caused  the  outer  world,  which  knew  nothing  of  it,  to  wonder 
at  the  courage  and  endurance  of  the  Paraguayans,  who,  it  was 
believed,  were  fighting,  with  a  valor  never  surpassed,  for  liberty 
and  independence,  under  an  heroic  leader.  But  after  Lopez 
had  been  driven  into  the  mountains  he  could  no  longer  main- 
tain his  system  in  perfection.  To  drive  before  him  so  many 
thousands  of  the  helpless,  starving  women  and  children  he 
was  obliged  to  send  out  a  great  many  small  parties  to  force 
along  those  who  could  walk,  and  to  kill  all'who  if  left  behind 
might  be  taken  prisoners.  In  this  practice  it  was  inevitable 
that  many  stragglers  should  be  captured,  and  Lopez,  in  re- 
treating through  the  Cordilleras,  found  his  forces  fast  dimin- 
ishing, even  though  no  battles  were  fought.  He  had  reached 
a  place  called  Cerro  Cora,  on  the  banks  of  the  Aquidaban,  with 
only  about  twelve  hundred  men,  and  had  there  made  a  halt. 
The  position  selected  for  this  last  encampment  was  favorable 


590  PARAGUAY. 

to  his  plans,  as  it  was  approachable  on  the  side  liable  to 
attack  only  through  a  narrow  opening,  and  had  a  way  of 
escape  in.  the  rear,  in  case  his  little  band  could  not  hold  the 
pass  in  front.  On  this,  as  on  all  previous  occasions,  Lopez 
intended  to  make  sure  of  a  way  of  escape  for  himself  in  the 
event  of  defeat  at  the  entrance  of  the  pass. 

Through  all  the  long  marches,  from  the  time  he  had  left 
Cerro  Leon,  one  of  his  constant  cares  had  been  to  provide 
that  in  no  contingency  should  the  means  be  wanting  for  sup- 
plying his  own  table  in  a  manner  that  fighting  generals  would 
scorn  to  maintain.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  retreat,  nearly 
all  the  carts  and  oxen  left  to  him  were  employed  in  transporting 
his  elegant  camp  equipage,  and  provisions,  wines,  and  liquors 
that  were  intended  only  for  the  use  of  himself  and  Madam 
Lynch,  and  their  joint  progeny.  Lopez  seemed  to  the  last  to 
indulge  in  the  hope  that  he  would  be  able  to  get  so  far  into 
the  forest  that  the  Brazilians  would  give  up  the  pursuit,  and 
that  then,  as  a  sort  of  cacique  among  the  native  Indians,  he 
might  continue  for  years  to  play  the  part  of  a  despot,  and  be 
such  a  pest  on  the  borders  of  civilization  as  to  figure  in  the 
newspapers  of  other  countries.  He  even  made  a  treaty  with 
some  chiefs  of  the  miserable  tribes  of  that  region,  by  which 
they  were  to  furnish  him  with  provisions  for  his  army  for  the 
period  of  seven  years.  Copies  of  these  treaties  he  contrived 
to  get  published  by  having  them  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Brazilians,  and  they  were  then  republished  by  his  faithful 
agents  in  Europe  and  the  United  States,  to  prove  that  he  was 
still  invincible,  and  that  it  was  the  duty  of  foreign  powers  to 
interfere  and  put  an  end  to  the  war.  To  provide  for  such  a 
life,  he  always  had  a  large  quantity  of  salt  carried  along  in  the 
advanced  train  with  his  personal  baggage.  All  around  him, 
even  his  staff,  were  denied  this  luxury ;  and  from  witnessing 
the  suffering  that  the  want  of  it  had  caused  in  his  army,  he 
seemed  more  in  dread  of  being  deprived  of  it  himselfthan  of 
anything  else.  Hence  it  was  guarded  with  the  greatest  care, 
and  neither  his  mother  nor  his  sisters  were  allowed  a  grain  of  it, 
nor  of  any  of  the  other  luxuries  that  were  still  abundant  with 


FLIGHT   OF   LOPEZ.  591 

him  when  he  was  overtaken  and  killed.  They  were  kept  nearly 
at  the  point  of  starvation,  but  so  far  removed  from  it  that  they 
should  not  die  and  thus  deprive  him  of  the  delight  of  torturing 
them. 

In  this  fastness  on  the  banks  of  the  Aquidaban  Lopez  had 
halted,  not  knowing  how  near  the  Brazilians  were  in  pursuit. 
The  pickets  and  reconnoitring  parties,  worn  down  by  inces- 
sant watching  and  toil,  were  either  killed  or  so  demoralized  as 
to  desert,  and  failed  to  report  the  proximity  of  the  enemy.  The 
Brazilians,  therefore,  were  close  upon  him,  while  he  was  yet 
resting  at  his  ease,  in  the  belief  that  they  were  several  leagues 
distant.  The  main  army  of  the  pursuers  had  almost  reached 
the  pass  which  guarded  the  entrance  to  Lopez's  head-quar- 
ters, when  a  call  was  made  for  reinforcements  from  a  recon- 
noitring party.  The  Brazilian  general,  Jose  Antonio  Cor- 
rea  da  Camarra,  ordered  an  instant  advance  of  the  whole 
infantry  force  at  his  disposal.  But  the  power  of  Lopez  had 
already  departed.  The  little  force  left  to  guard  the  pass  would 
not  obey  the  standing  order  to  fight  against  any  odds  till  all 
were  killed.  At  the  sight  of  the  Brazilians  they  broke,  some 
to  surrender,  some  to  hide  themselves  in  the  woods,  and  a  few 
to  fly  to  head-quarters  and  give  the  alarm. 

Lopez,  when  he  heard  that  the  pass  had  been  forced  by  the 
Brazilians,  gave  instant  orders  to  form  in  order  of  battle  and 
keep  back  the  invaders,  while  he  mounted  his  horse,  which 
was  always  kept  ready  for  such  an  emergency,  and  ran  away. 
The  carriage  of  Madam  Lynch  was  also  at  hand,  ready  for 
flight ;  and  she  had  just  time  to  gather  her  children  into  it  and 
summon  a  small  escort  under  the  command  of  her  eldest  son, 
Pancho,  a  youth  of  about  seventeen,  and  dash  off  in  another 
direction  from  that  taken  by  Lopez,  when  the  Brazilians 
rushed  in  to  find  no  one  to  oppose  them.  They  pushed  on 
after  the  fugitives,  and  in  the  pursuit  the  old  Vice-President, 
Sanchez,  and  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  the  much-de- 
tested Caminos,  were  killed.  Resquin  attempted  to  follow 
the  carriage  of  Madam  Lynch,  but  seeing  that  escape  was  im- 
possible, he  turned  to  his  pursuers,  and,  throwing  away  his 


592  PARAGUAY. 

sword,  proclaimed  himself  a  pasado  (deserter),  and  was  taken 
prisoner.  Aveiro,  and  some  others,  followed  his  example. 
Lopez,  being  better  mounted  than  any  of  his  followers,  had 
succeeded  in  gaining  the  woods,  and  was  making  off  with  all 
his  might,  apparently  trusting  to  that  fortune  which  had  so 
often  saved  him  in  previous  cowardly  flights.  But  the  ground 
over  which  he  made  his  way  was  so  soft  and  treacherous  that 
his  horse  floundered,  and  almdst  stuck  fast  in  the  mire.  Dis- 
mounting, the  hunted  chieftain  made  his  way  to  the  bank  of 
the  river,  the  Brazilians,  among  whom  was  General  Camarra, 
being  close  in  pursuit.  The  Aquidaban  at  this  season  was  but 
a  broad  marshy  brook,  and  Lopez  had  succeeded  in  wading 
across  it,  and  had  just  reached  the  farther  bank,  when  General 
Camarra  came  upon  him.  Seeing  that  it  was  Lopez,  Camarra 
called  out  to  his  soldiers,  who  were  rushing  forward  to  finish 
him,  to  disarm  and  not  to  kill  him.  A  soldier  called  Chico 
Diablo  (Little  Devil)  sprang  forward  to  obey  the  order,  when 
seeing  that  Lopez  had  drawn  his  revolver,  and  was  raising 
it  to  shoot  the  man  who  had  just  ordered  his  life  to  be  spared, 
he  made  a  thrust  at  him  with  a  lance,  at  which  the  tyrant  fell 
headforemost  into  the  muddy  stream.  But  he  instantly  at- 
tempted to  scramble  up,  and  was  upon  his  knees,  when  he 
was  hit  by  a  shot  from  an  unknown  hand,  and  fell  again  in 
the  mud,  and  there  expired. 

General  Camarra,  seeing  Lopez  fall,  came  up,  and,  being  sat- 
isfied that  it  was  indeed  he,  ordered  his  men  to  pull  him  out 
of  the  mud  and  carry  him  back  to  his  late  head-quarters. 

As  soon  as  the  Paraguayans  knew  that  Lopez  was  dead, 
they  set  up  a  shout  of  joy.  It  was  necessary  to  post  sentinels 
around  his  hated  corpse  to  prevent  the  women  who  had 
gathered  round  from  tearing  him  to  pieces.  Could  they 
have  got  at  him,  their  hatred  of  him  was  so  intense  they 
would  have  cut  him  into  mince-meat ;  and,  of  all  who  now 
cursed  him,  those  who  had  been  the  most  ready,  the  most 
zealous,  apparently,  in  executing  the  cruel  orders  of  Lopez  in 
torturing  and  killing  his  subjects,  were  loudest  in  denouncing 
and  execrating  him  as  a  monster  and  wretch  that  had  held 


CAPTURE   OF   MADAM   LYNCH.  593 

them  spell-bound,  and  had  forced  them  to  commit  acts  against 
which  -their  souls  revolted. 

Madam  Lynch,  who,  on  seeing  the  approach  of  the  Bra- 
zilians, had  fled  with  her  children  in  a  coach,  with  a  small 
escort  under  command  of  her  son  Pancho,  was  soon  over- 
taken by  a  party  of  Brazilians,  and  young  Lynch  was  told 
to  surrender.  The  officer  in  command  approached,  and  as 
he  turned  to  give  an  order  for  Pancho  to  be  disarmed  the 
youth  made  a  treacherous  thrust  and  slightly  wounded  him,, 
at  which  a  Brazilian  soldier  ran  him  through  with  a  lance. 
Madam  Lynch  was  then  taken,  with  her  other  children,  to  the 
place  where  the  corpse  of  Lopez  was  lying.  A  guard  was  also 
found  necessary  to  protect  her,  as  the  Paraguayan  women, 
had  they  been  permitted,  would  undoubtedly  have  dug  out 
her  eyes  with  bodkins,  stripped  her  of  the  elegant  silks  and 
rich  jewels  which  she  still  wore,  and  thrust  her  mutilated  body 
into  the  Aquidaban,  to  become  food  for  the  alligators. 

The  mother  and  sisters  of  Lopez  were  also  taken  pris- 
oners ;  but  there  was  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Para- 
guayan people  to  insult  or  injure  them.  They  had  been 
their  fellow-sufferers,  and  with  them  shared  the  general  joy 
that  the  tyrant  was  dead.  They  were  brought  to  view  the 
dead  body  of  the  author  of  all  their  miseries.  At  behold- 
ing him,  the  old  lady  could  not  restrain  herself  from  a  flood 
of  tears.  The  sight  of  him,  her  first-born,  on  whom  she 
had  built  so  many  hopes,  and  who  had  inflicted  so  much 
misery  on  his  country,  until  but  a  remnant  of  its  people  was 
left,  who  had  killed  his  two  brothers  and  his  brothers-in-law, 
and  whipped  and  starved  his  sisters,  and  had  not  spared  even 
his  own  mother,  whose  back  and  shoulders  at  that  time  were 
covered  with  fresh  scars  caused  by  the  blows  of  the  double 
lasso  inflicted  by  his  order,  was  certainly  enough  to  cause  an 
outburst  of  tears  of  mingled  joy  and  maternal  affection.  The 
sisters,  however,  looked  unmoved  upon  the  carcass,  and  Doiia 
Rafaela,  turning  to  her  mother,  said,  "  Mother,  why  do  you 
weep  ?  He  was  no  son,  no  brother ;  he  was  a  monster." 
They  then  turned  away,  and  for  the  first  time  for  many 

VOL.  ii.  38 


594  PARAGUAY. 

months  they  received  treatment  which  might  be  called  human. 
Lopez  was  then  rudely  buried  ;  and  as  the  war  was  over,  as 
the  last  and  the  only  enemy  against  whom  the  allies  had  made 
war  was  dead,  nothing  more  was  to  be  done  but  to  gather  up 
the  scattered  forces  and  return  to  Asuncion.  Madam  Lynch 
requested  permission  from  General  Camarra  to  give  Lopez  a 
more  decent  burial  ;  the  request  was  granted,  and  she  and 
her  surviving  children  accordingly  dug  a  grave,  in  which 
Lopez  and  young  Pancho  were  buried.  Orders  were  then 
given  for  them  to  prepare  to  march  for  Concepcion,  as  this 
was  the  nearest  town  on  the  banks  of  the  river  where  they 
could  meet  steamers  to  convey  them  to  Asuncion. 

On  arriving  at  the  old  capital,  the  mother  and  sisters  of 
Lopez  were  permitted  to  go  on  shore,  where  for  a  while  they 
were  held  under  surveillance,  but  were  afterwards  allowed  to 
occupy  one  of  their  own  houses,  and  to  recover  from  the  pros- 
tration caused  by  their  terrible  and  long-protracted  suffering. 
Madam  Lynch,  however,  was  detained  as  prisoner  on  board  the 
Brazilian  gunboat. 

On  the  occupation  of  Asuncion,  a  year  before,  by  the  allies, 
a  provisional  government  had  been  established,  having  respect, 
in  form  at  least,  to  the  terms  of  the  Triple  Alliance.  The 
members  of  this  new  government,  or  junta,  were  all  native 
Paraguayans,  and  all  but  one  were  persons  who,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war,  were  not  in  Paraguay.  During  the 
time  of  the  elder  Lopez  a  considerable  number  of  Paraguayans 
had  been  exiled  from  the  country  ;  or  rather,  having  left  by  the 
President's  permission,  had  never  returned ;  and  a  few  who 
had  left  between  his  death  and  the  commencement  of  the 
war,  ostensibly  intending  to  return,  had  remained  outside  of 
Paraguay.  These,  with  the  prisoners  of  war  and  deserters 
that  from  time  to  time  had  passed  over  to  the  allies,  constituted 
almost  the  entire  male  population  of  Paraguay.  At  the  time 
of  Lopez's  death,  his  army  probably  contained  less  than  a 
thousand  soldiers.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war,  it  is 
estimated  that  there  were  about  eight  hundred  thousand 
people  in  the  country,  of  whom  it  is  supposed  that  four 


THE   HAVOCS   OF  THE   WAR.  595 

hundred  and  fifty  thousand  were  females.  Of  the  remaining 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  males  all  had  perished,  save 
those  who  had  been  taken  prisoners  and  those  boys  under 
eight  or  nine  years  of  age  who  were  too  young  to  have  been 
made  useful  for  any  service  in  the  army.  During  the  war 
more  women  than  men  perished,  notwithstanding  that,  at  the 
death  of  Lopez,  there  were  seven  women  to  one  man  left  alive. 
According  to  the  estimate  of  Messrs.  Burrill  and  Valpy,  who 
were  taken  prisoners  about  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Pire- 
bebui,  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  women  and  chil- 
dren had  died  of  starvation  and  exposure  from  the  time  of 
the  battle  of  Pikysyry  to  their  own  escape.  After  this  the 
mortality  increased,  and  so  many  perished,  that,  when  the 
war  was  ended,  it  is  probable  that  of  the  four  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  females  in  Paraguay  at  the  commencement  of 
the  war  not  sixty  thousand  were  left  alive.  Of  the  males, 
including  the  boys  under  ten  years  of  age,  there  were  not 
twenty  thousand.  Of  full-grown  men  capable  of  bearing 
arms,  there  could  not  have  been  ten  thousand  ;  so  that,  after 
this  terrible  war,  there  was  left  alive,  of  the  whole  Para- 
guayan- nation,  but  one  tenth  of  its  population.  All  had 
been  sacrificed  to  the  ambition,  the  folly,  and  the  cruelty  of 
Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch.  More  than  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand Paraguayans  had  perished,  and  probably  the  war  had 
cost  the  allies  three  hundred  thousand  lives  ;  so  that  the  un- 
natural tyrant,  during  the  seven  years  of  his  power,  was  the 
immediate  and  direct  cause  of  the  death  of  a  million  of 
people.  But  he  had  accomplished  his  purpose.  His  threat 
that,  if  he  could  not  come  out  of  the  war  triumphant,  he  would 
leave  his  country  an  uninhabited  desert  waste,  had  been  ful- 
filled. He  had  inflicted  on  it  and  its  people  all  the  misery 
that  a  selfish,  weak,  and  wicked  man  could  do,  and  left  a 
name  to  be  abhorred  wherever  the  story  of  his  crimes  should 
be  known. 

The  Paraguayans  who  had  escaped  and  were  in  Asuncion 
at  the  time  that  Madam  Lynch  was  brought  there  a  prisoner 
were  exceedingly  anxious  for  an  opportunity  to  wreak  their 


596  PARAGUAY. 

vengeance  upon  her ;  and  the  provisional  government  made 
the  request  that  she  should  be  delivered  to  it,  in  order  to 
be  tried  by  the  Paraguayan  tribunals.  This  was  refused 
by  the  Brazilian  authorities  ;  and  a  petition  was  drawn  up 
and  signed  by  a  large  number  of  the  surviving  Paraguayan 
women,  in  which  they  set  forth  the  wrongs  which  they  had 
suffered  at  her  hands,  and  stated  that  they  had  been  forced 
to  give  up  their  money  and  their  jewels,  under  the  pretence 
that  they  were  for  the  defence  of  their  country,  when  they 
knew  they  had  not  been  expended  for  any  such  purpose,  but 
had  been  wrested  from  them  for  the  benefit  of  Madam  Lynch 
and  the  offspring  of  the  tyrant,  who,  besides  having  thus 
robbed  them,  had  murdered  their  husbands,  brothers,  fathers, 
and  sons ;  and  they  begged  that  she  might  not  be  permitted 
to  leave  the  country  and  carry  away  the  property  of  which 
they  had  been  thus  robbed  to  spend  in  other  countries. 

For  a  year  previous  to  the  evacuation  of  Asuncion  in 
February,  1868,  Madam  Lynch,  foreseeing  that  Lopez  must 
finally  be  overthrown,  had  been  engaged  in  buying  up  a  large 
part  of  the  most  valuable  property  in  Asuncion.  The  peo- 
ple who  owned  it  had  no  alternative,  when  she  offered  to 
purchase  it,  but  to  accept  her  terms.  She  invariably  paid  in 
the  paper  money  of  the  country,  which  would  be  of  little,  if  any, 
value  should  Lopez  be  overthrown,  and  of  which  she  had  an 
unlimited  supply  by  order  of  her  paramour.  •  When  she  made 
an  offer  for  a  house  or  other  building,  the  owner  dared  not 
refuse  it,  for  he  knew  she  had  both  the  power  and  the  will  to 
punish  him  for  a  refusal  ;  and  hence  all  those  bargains  were 
in  fact  nothing  more  than  a  confiscation  of  the  property  for 
the  benefit  of  Madam  Lynch,  for  which  in  turn  she  gave  them, 
in  charity,  just  what  she  pleased.  Under  these  circumstances, 
it  could  not  be  otherwise  than  that  the  new  government 
should  declare  sequestrated  all  the  property  held  in  her  name 
in  Paraguay  ;  and  both  government  and  people  tried  very 
hard  to  find  out  what  had  become  of  the  money  and  jewels 
that  had  been  stolen,  and  to  get  possession  of  them.  But  she 
had  prudently  taken  care,  long  before,  that  such  things  should 


THE   FUGITIVES   IN   ASUNCION.  597 

be  placed  where  the  rightful  owners  could  not  in  any  contin- 
gency regain  them. 

Asuncion  by  this  time  had  become,  as  it  were,  a  mass  of 
ruins.  It  had  been  abandoned  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  be- 
fore it  was  captured  by  the  Brazilians  ;  and  in  that  time 
many  of  the  poorer  houses  had  been  completely  destroyed  by 
the  frequent  rains,  and  many  of  the  better  class  had  suffered 
so  from  neglect  as  to  be  scarcely  habitable.  After  being 
captured  by  the  Brazilians,  whose  habits  are  notoriously 
slovenly  and  unclean,  its  condition  was  much  worse,  for  little 
pains  was  taken  to  preserve  order  and  cleanliness  ;  and  to 
the  havoc  made  by  the  weather  was  added  that  of  the  sol- 
diers, who  did  not  care  what  damages  they  caused.  But 
the  most  melancholy  spectacle  was  that  presented  by  the 
Paraguayan  women,  who,  having  escaped  from  Lopez,  had 
come  to  the  old  capital  in  hopes  of  obtaining  food.  These  were 
mere  skeletons,  and  were  so  exhausted  and  miserable  that 
on  reaching  the  capital  they  could  hardly  walk.  They  were 
generally  without  any  clothing  whatever  ;  and  women  who 
had  once  been  considered  among  the  most  respectable  in 
the  country  would  come  dragging  their  weary,  emaciated 
limbs  into  the  town  in  a  state  of  perfect  nudity,  and  walk 
through  the  streets  without  the  least  sense  of  shame  or  mod- 
esty. This  fact,  perhaps,  is  stronger  proof  than  any  other 
that  can  be  adduced  of  the  terrible  sufferings  that  these  peo- 
ple had  endured.  It  is  known,  that  among  the  lowest  and 
most  brutal  savages,  as  low  as  the  Guaicurus  or  the  Guatos 
of  the  Upper  Paraguay,  or  the  Bushmen  of  Australia,  a  cer- 
tain modesty  is  the  instinct  of  the  female.  No  matter  how 
low,  how  base,  how  brutal,  the  women  always  seek  to  cover 
their  persons  ;  but  these  Paraguayan  women  who  escaped 
from  the  army  of  Lopez  and  came  into  Asuncion  had,  many 
of  them,  not  a  trace  of  this  feeling  left.  They  had  been  driven 
before  the  brutal  soldiery  so  long,  through  the  woods  and  over 
the  mountains,  with  nothing  to  eat  but  wild  fruit  and  such 
small  animals  as  they  could  catch,  many  of  which  were 
repulsive  even  to  the  sight,  beaten  with  sticks,  and  certain  to 


598  PARAGUAY. 

be  lanced  to  death  if  they  lingered  behind,  their  scanty 
clothing  at  last  all  torn  from  them,  with  the  dead  and  dying 
around  them,  with  scarcely  a  vestige  of  hope  left  to  them,  that 
they  in  time  became  indifferent  to  everything  like  decency  or 
modesty  ;  and  when  they  came  straggling  into  Asuncion, 
their  very  appearance  told  the  whole  story  of  the  miseries 
which  they  had  endured. 

When  once  assured  that  they  were  beyond  the  reach  of 
Lopez,  their  first  impulse  was  to  go  to  the  capital ;  and  so 
many  thousands  of  them  coming  in  together,  there  was,  of 
course,  the  greatest  destitution  after  they  reached  there.  Many 
of  them  were  so  exhausted  and  reduced  on  arriving  there, 
that  only  the  best  of  treatment,  with  good  medical  skill,  could 
restore  them.  It  was  impossible  that  adequate  provision 
should  be  made  for  so  many  ;  and  among  soldiers  like  the  Bra- 
zilians and  the  Argentine  gauchos  it  was  not  likely  they  would 
be  treated  with  either  kindness  or  pity.  The  provisional 
government,  and  indeed  the  military  commanders,  endeavored 
to  alleviate  their  sufferings ;  yet  as  scarcely  anything  eatable 
had  been  produced  in  the  country  for  a  long  time  previously, 
all  the  provisions  necessary,  not  only  for  the  army,  but  for  this 
multitude  of  fugitives,  must  be  brought  from  the  mouth  of 
the  river.  No  adequate  provision  having  been  made  for  such 
an  increased/fiumber,  the  allies  could  not,  if  they  had  been 
disposed  tc<have  provided  for  so  many  as  applied  to  them  for 
relief.  This,  perhaps,  to  a  certain  extent,  was  an  inevitable 
consequence  of  such  a  war  ;  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  for 
a  long  time  the  conquerors  did  not  exert  themselves  as  they 
should  have  done  to  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the  unhappy 
women  and  children  who  appealed  to  them  for  relief.  Yet  it 
should  be  said  for  them,  that  whenever  any  foreigners  fell 
into  their  hands  they  treated  them  with  the  greatest  kindness. 
I  have  myself  received  numerous  letters  from  those  who 
escaped  by  being  taken  prisoners,  subsequent  to  my  departure 
from  Paraguay,  and  they  invariably  testify  to  the  kindness  and 
good  treatment  which  they  received  from  the  hands  of  the 
Brazilians.  I  have  also  seen  the  published  statements  of 


TREATMENT   OF  THE   FUGITIVES  599 

others,  and,  with  a  single  exception,  they  all  speak  in  the  warm- 
est terms  of  gratitude  of  their  deliverers,  and  note  the  date  of 
their  escape  from  the  power  of  Lopez  as  the  termination  of 
their  sufferings.  Though  weak  and  debilitated  by  what  they 
had  before  endured,  yet  the  hope  which  had  been  revived  by 
their  rescue  rendered  the  period  of  their  subsequent  trials  a 
time  of  comparative  ease  and  joy. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

The  Surviving  Companions  of  Lopez  unable  to  explain  his  Conduct.  —  lie  left 
no  Evidence  against  his  Victims.  —  His  most  trusted  Officers  alarmed  for  their 
own  Safety.  —  Bewildered  by  a  Phantom.  —  His  Charge  against  Don  Benigno. 

—  Lopez,  dying,  left  no  Friend  to  mourn  him.  —  His  Name  universally  accursed. 

—  The  Character  of  Lopez  not  to  be  judged  by  any  Human  Standard.  —  A 
Mental  and  Moral  Deformity.  —  Likeness  and  Unlikeness  to  Francia.  —  His 
Treatment  of  his  Family.  —  The  Curse  of  Solomon.  —  The  Future  of  Paraguay. 
— The  Immigration  needed.  —  Advantages  which  the  Country  offers.  —  The 
Present  Government.  —  Conclusion. 

THE  expectation  which  had  been  cherished  by  many,  and 
particularly  by  those  inclined  to  judge  more  leniently  of 
the  character  of  Lopez  than  the  unexplained  record  of  his 
acts  would  warrant,  that  after  his  death  facts  would  be  dis- 
closed which  would  in  some  degree  palliate  his  conduct,  was 
not  realized.  It  was  believed  that  if  any  of  those  immediately 
around  him,  and  with  whom  his  relations  were  supposed  to 
be  somewhat  intimate  and  confidential,  should  escape  or  sur- 
vive their  chief,  they  would  reveal  the  motive  of  his  strange 
and  unnatural  conduct.  But  although  several  of  these  were 
taken  prisoners  they  had  nothing  to  disclose.  They  could 
tell  of  nothing  more  than  that  they  were  in  as  great  a 
mystery  as  the  thousands  of  victims  who  had  been  executed 
for  taking  part  in  a  conspiracy  of  whose  existence  they  had 
never  heard  until  they  were  arrested  and  by  torture  forced 
to  confess  their  complicity  in  it.  Resquin  who  had  ordered, 
and  Aveiro  who  had  applied,  the  torture  in  thousands  of 
instances,  and  had  witnessed  with  apparent  pleasure  the 
contortions  of  the  victims,  were  no  sooner  aware  that  their 
terrible  master  was  dead  than  they  became  his  accusers,  and 
declared  that  they  had  been  but  unwilling  instruments  to 


TESTIMONY  OF  RESQUIN.  6OI 

enforce  his  horrible  orders.  They  protested  that  for  years 
they  had  been  in  constant  danger,  and  were  liable  at  any 
moment  to  be  arrested  and  subjected  to  the  treatment 
they  were  obliged  to  inflict  on  others  of  whose  innocence 
they  were  fully  convinced.  But  of  the  different  conspiracies 
for  which  so  many  were  made  to  suffer  they  knew  nothing. 
It  was  not  supposed  that  Aveiro  had  ever  been  admitted  into 
the  counsels  of  his  master,  as  he  was  nothing  but  an  evil- 
looking  wretch,  selected  for  the  most  revolting  work  of  the 
tyrant  solely  on  account  of  his  brutality.  Resquin  was  for 
years  the  most  trusted  of  all  Lopez's  lieutenants  in  exeuctive 
matters,  and  it  had  been  through  him  that  the  tyrant's  most 
sanguinary  orders  had  been  promulgated.  But  his  long  state- 
ment, published  in  the  newspapers  of  Buenos  Aires  not  long 
after  the  death  of  Lopez,  throws  no  light  on  the  most  mys- 
terious parts  of  the  long  tragedy.  In  regard  to  the  great 
conspiracy,  he  says  he  knew  nothing  beyond  what  Lopez  told 
him.  He  had  no  evidence  of  it  except  the  confessions  of 
tortured  witnesses.  Lopez,  in  explanation  of  the  many  arrests 
which  he  ordered,  told  him  at  one  time  that  Don  Benigno 
had  planned  a  revolution,  and  to  assassinate  his  brother,  the 
President,  with  a  knife  ;  that  an  ensign  had  revealed  the  plot. 
How  the  ensign  found  out  the  secret  intentions  of  Benigno 
was  not  related.  Lopez  also  told  Resquin  that  Benigno, 
Bedoya,  and  others  had  robbed  the  treasury  to  reward  their 
accomplices  (of  whom,  I  suppose,  I  was  chief)  in  the  con- 
spiracy ;  and  that  Benigno  had  sent  a  map  of  the  Paraguayan 
positions  to  Caxias,  and  two  chests  of  gold.  How  this  gold 
jvas  sent  does  not  appear,  as  all  this  time  there  was  no  com- 
munication through  the  military  lines ;  of  course,  Resquin 
must  have  known  that  there  was  no  truth  in  the  statement, 
and  that  Lopez  knew  there  was  not  at  the  time  he  made  it. 
Resquin  also  knew  that  any  question  showing  incredulity 
would  be  but  a  prelude  to  the  arrest  and  execution  of  the 
doubter. 

The  circumstance  that  caused  us  so  much  surprise  at  the 
Legation   in  Asuncion,  when  we  learned   of  the   arrest  of 


602  PARAGUAY. 

Benitez,  Fernandez,  Venancio  Lopez,  and  others  who,  we 
supposed,  were  still  in  favor,  and  who  had  just  before  been 
engaged  in  arresting  scores  of  others  and  sending  them  to 
head-quarters,  also  caused  great  alarm  among  all  the  higher 
officers  of  the  army,  including  Resquin  himself.  They  could 
not  understand  how  Venancio  and  Fernandez,  if  they  were 
leaders  in  a  conspiracy,  should  implicitly  obey  the  orders 
of  Lopez  to  arrest  all  their  accomplices  and  send  them  to  his 
presence.  Why,  if  there  were  a  conspiracy  of  which  they 
were  members,  did  they  not  try  to  escape,  instead  of  arresting 
their  accomplices  and  sending  them  in  irons  to  bead-quarters, 
and  then  waiting  their  own  turn  for  arrest  and  execution. 
The  fact  that  they  did  not  attempt  to  do  so  was  conclusive 
evidence  that  they  were  as  much  in  the  dark  as  to  the  cause 
of  the  strange  proceedings  that  were  passing  around  them  as 
was  everybody  at  head-quarters  except  Lopez,  and  perhaps 
Madam  Lynch.  If  Lopez  were  killing  off  so  many  of  those 
lately  in  high  favor  from  a  cowardly  fear  ;  if,  dreading  imagi- 
nary dangers,  he  was  slaying  right  and  left  his  most  servile 
followers  and  instruments,  —  then  indeed  might  Resquin, 
Aveiro,  and  even  Madam  Lynch,  fear  for  their  own  safety,  and 
endeavor  to  prove  their  loyalty  and  devotion  by  greater  zeal 
in  accusing  others. 

From  this  testimony  of  Resquin,  it  appears  that  Lopez 
throughout,  like  his  prototype  Francia,  kept  his  own  counsels  ; 
and  though  it  would  seem  from  many  things  which  he  did 
that  he  believed  at  times  that  there  really  had  been  some 
kind  of  a  scheme  or  plot  devised  against  him,  the  inference 
to  be  drawn  from  a  review  of  his  whole  conduct  is  that 
his  distempered  imagination  had  conjured  up  a  phantom 
which  at  times  he  believed  to  be  a  reality ;  that  he  cherished 
this  belief,  as  it  furnished  a  reason  or  pretext  to  his  own 
mind  for  indulging  in  his  favorite  pastime  of  inflicting  pain 
and  torture  on  others. 

And  yet  it  is  possible  that  Benigno,  who  was  an  intriguing, 
ambitious,  and  avaricious  man,  had  devised  a  scheme  with  one 
or  two  of  his  most  intimate  friends  by  which  he  hoped  to 


GENERAL  DENUNCIATION   OF   LOPEZ.  603 

obtain  the  succession,  in  case  his  brother  should  be  over- 
thrown. But  this  is  only  a  surmise,  and  has  no  other  founda- 
tion than  that  the  conduct  of  his  brother  towards  him  can  be 
explained  in  no  other  way.  But  as  we  know  that  Lopez 
tortured  and  executed  hundreds  or  thousands  of  innocent  per- 
sons for  no  offence  whatever,  the  inference  drawn  from  his 
own  unnatural  conduct  can  hardly  be  said  to  afford  a  shadow 
of  evidence  to  favor  this  surmise. 

Previous  to  the  death  of  Lopez,  history  furnishes  no  ex- 
ample of  a  tyrant  so  despicable  and  cruel  that  at  his  fall  he 
left  no  friend  among  his  own  people  ;  no  apologist  or  defender, 
no  follower  or  participant  of  his  infamies,  to  utter  one  word 
in  palliation  of  his  crimes  ;  no  one  to  regret  his  death,  or  who 
cherished  the  least  spark  of  love  for  his  person  or  his  memory  ; 
no  one  to  utter  a  prayer  for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  In  this 
respect,  Lopez  had  surpassed  all  tyrants  who  ever  lived.  No 
sooner  was  he  dead,  than  all  alike,  the  officer  high  in  com- 
mand, the  subaltern  who  applied  the  torture,  the  soldier  who 
passively  obeyed,  the  mother  who  bore  him,  and  the  sisters 
who  once  loved  him,  all  joined  in  denouncing  him  as  an  un- 
paralleled monster ;  and  of  the  whole  Paraguayan  nation 
there  is  perhaps  not  one  of  the  survivors  who  does  not  curse 
his  name,  and  ascribe  to  his  folly,  selfishness,  ambition,  and 
cruelty  all  the  evils  that  his  unhappy  country  has  suffered. 
Not  a  family  remains  which  does  not  charge  him  with  having 
destroyed  the  larger  part  of  its  members  and  reduced  the 
survivors  to  misery  and  want.  Of  all  those  who  were  within 
reach  of  his  death-dealing  hand  during  the  last  years  of  his 
power,  there  are  but  two  persons  living  to  say  a  word  in 
mitigation  of  the  judgment  pronounced  against  him  by  his 
countrymen  and  countrywomen. 

In  concluding,  it  might  be  expected  that  an  attempt  would  be 
made  to  give  a  general  summary  or  estimate  of  the  character  of 
Lopez.  But  this  can  only  be  done  by  a  recital  of  his  acts,  as  he 
did  not  seem  to  be  governed  by  the  ordinary  motives  which  in- 
fluence mankind.  He  committed  so  many  acts  of  an  atrocious 


604  PARAGUAY. 

character,  without  any  object,  so  far  as  those  around  him 
could  discover,  that  he  is  not  to  be  judged  by  the  same 
standard  as  other  men.  He  was  a  mental  and  moral  de- 
formity, a  monster ;  and  it  is  therefore  idle  to  attempt  to 
analyze  or  estimate  his  character  as  a  reasoning  being  subject 
to  the  passions,  impulses,  and  motives  that  are  supposed  to 
inspire  all  members  of  the  human  family.  Destitute  of  the 
ordinary  feelings  of  humanity,  he  was  uninfluenced  by  the 
motives  which  govern  the  generality  of  mankind.  He  was 
an  exception,  sui  generis.  He  was  as  different  from  other  men 
as  had  been  Francia,  but  in  another  way.  Francia  had  no 
natural  affection.  He  sent  a  curse  as  his  last  message  to  his 
father,  and  gave  no  thought  to  his  natural  children,  who 
wandered  destitute  through  the  streets  of  Asuncion.  The 
character  of  Lopez  is  redeemed  by  the  fact  that  he  did  have 
a  regard  for  his  natural  children  ;  but  that  regard  was  of  so 
perverted  a  nature  that  it  prompted  many  of  his  most  atro- 
cious acts.  It  was  to  enrich  these  children  that  he  robbed 
so  many  thousands  of  people,  whom  he  afterwards  executed, 
that  they  might  never  again  claim  their  own.  But  his  treat- 
ment of  his  parents  was  infinitely  worse  than  that  of  Fran- 
cia, of  whom  Carlyle  says,  "  If  he  could  not  forgive  his  dying 
father  at  such  a  time,  may  God  never  forgive  him  ! "  The 
curse  of  Francia  was  but  the  ebullition  of  ill-temper ;  but  the 
whole  career  of  Lopez,  from  the  time  of  the  death  of  his 
predecessor,  who,  though  not  his  father,  had  always  been  as 
a  father  to  him,  was  one  compared  with  which  the  brutal 
message  of  Francia  was  but  an  idle  exclamation.  As  we 
have  seen,  no  sooner  had  the  breath  left  the  body  of  Carlos 
Antonio  Lopez  than  his  most  intimate  friends,  his  coun- 
sellors and  advisers,  and  all  to  whom  he  had  shown  any 
attachment,  or  in  whom  he  had  placed  any  confidence,  were 
immediately  arrested ;  and  the  most  of  them,  after  long  im- 
prisonment, during  which  they  were  subjected  to  the  most 
cruel  treatment  and  protracted  tortures,  either  died  or  were 
put  to  death ;  throughout  the  latter  part  of  his  career,  he  de- 
rided the  counsels  and  refused  the  petitions  and  prayers  of  his 


THE  FUTURE  OF  PARAGUAY.        605 

mother.  Upon  his  younger  brother  and  the  husbands  of  his 
two  sisters  he  inflicted  the  most  exquisite  and  intense  misery, 
and  finally  put  them  to  death.  His  elder  brother  he  drove 
before  him  like  a  fettered  wild  beast  into  the  mountains, 
and  caused  him  to  be  flogged  daily,  until  he  was  about  to  die, 
when  he  ordered  him  to  be  despatched  by  a  lance.  His  sisters 
and  mother  were  subjected  to  the  same  treatment,  except 
that  they  had  not  been  executed  at  the  time  the  unnatural 
monster  was  killed  ;  but  he  had  previously  given  orders  that 
neither  of  them  should  under  any  contingency  of  battle 
escape.  He  had  instructed  the  jailers  of  his  sisters,  that  both 
of  them  should  be  given  fifty  blows  a  day  until  they  expired ; 
and  he  had  already  signed  an  order  for  the  execution  of  his 
mother,  when  the  Brazilians  unexpectedly  broke  in  upon  him 
and  put  an  end  to  his  terrible  career.  Early  in  his  adminis- 
tration, the  strange  antipathy  and  animosity  which  he  seemed 
to  have  for  all  the  old  friends  of  his  parents  was  the  subject 
of  remark  among  those  foreigners  who  could  talk  among 
themselves  without  fear  of  having  their  conversation  reported 
to  the  police  ;  and  more  than  once  were  these  words  quoted  as 
foreshadowing  his  miserable  end :  "  The  eye  that  mocketh  at 
his  father,  and  despiseth  to  obey  his  mother,  the  ravens  of  the 
valley  shall  pick  it  out,  and  the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it." 
Lopez,  from  the  outset  of  his  career  as  President,  was  inviting 
this  curse  upon  himself.  He  fell  in  the  mud  of  the  Aquida- 
ban,  and  was  buried  upon  its  banks  with  so  slight  a  cover- 
ing of  earth  that  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  curse  pro- 
nounced by  Solomon  for  filial  disrespect  and  disobedience 
has  been  literally  fulfilled. 

The  future  of  Paraguay  must  depend  entirely  on  the  extent 
and  character  of  the  immigrants  who  may  come  to  repopulate 
its  waste  places.  The  nation,  with  its  peculiar  civilization,  is 
destroyed.  The  Paraguayan  people  no  longer  exist  in  num- 
bers sufficient  to  control  the  destinies  of  the  country  ;  and  of 
the  native  population  remaining  there  are  perhaps  seven  wo- 
men to  one  man.  This  inequality  of  the  sexes  is  diminished 
to  a  considerable  extent  by  the  numerous  camp-followers  and 


606  PARAGUAY. 

deserters  from  the  allied  armies,  who  were  left  there  when  the 
troops  were  withdrawn,  and  who  will  probably  remain  there  in 
large  numbers,  to  be  a  pest  and  a  hindrance  to  the  redemption 
and  development  of  the  country.  Should  there  be  a  large 
immigration  from  Central  and  Northern  Europe  of  people 
educated  to  respect  and  enforce  the  laws,  Paraguay  may  soon 
become  the  paradise  of  South  America.  The  greatest  danger 
now  is,  that  the  gauchos  from  the  Argentine  provinces  will 
flock  in  there,  and  possess  themselves  of  the  fine  plains  and 
fertile  valleys  in  such  numbers  as  to  render  the  lives  and 
property  of  the  industrious  and  law-abiding  settlers  insecure. 
To  guard  against  this,  those  who  would  emigrate  to  Paraguay 
should,  under  the  present  circumstances,  go  in  colonies,  and  in 
such  numbers  as  to  give  mutual  protection.  They  should 
imitate  the  example  of  the  emigrants  from  Europe  to  the 
United  States,  and  regard  Paraguay  as  their  permanent  home, 
assuming  as  early  as  possible  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of 
citizens.  They  should  avoid  the  errors  of  their  countrymen  in 
the  lower  countries  of  the  Plata,  who  have  left  all  political  mat- 
ters to  the  revolutionary  gauchos,  and  thus  exposed  them- 
selves to  incessant  revolutions  and  civil  wars.  The  country 
itself  offers  inducements  to  the  emigrants  from  the  Old  World 
greater  than  any  other  part  of  South  America,  if  not  of  the 
world.  Thousands  of  the  abandoned  houses  can  at  slight  ex- 
pense be  made  comfortable  habitations,  and  the  fields,  once 
cultivated  but  more  recently  neglected,  would  again  yield,  with 
little  labor,  ample  supplies  of  food  for  a  large  population  ;  and 
the  countless  acres  of  as  yet  unbroken  greensward  only  await 
the  plough  and  the  husbandman  to  yield  magnificent  harvests 
of  Indian  corn,  cotton,  tobacco,  and  sugar-cane.  The  woods 
promise  immense  profits  to  the  capitalist  who  will  erect  saw- 
mills and  export  the  lumber  ;  the  plains  are  capable  of  sup- 
porting vast  herds  of  cattle  throughout  the  year,  subjecting 
their  owners  to  no  other  expense  but  to  mark  them  and  guard 
them  from  straying.  It  is  now  for  the  government  that  has 
succeeded  to  the  destroying  tyranny  which  has  been  over- 
thrown to  pursue  a  policy  that  shall  bring  in  such  people  from 


CONCLUSION.  607 

other  countries  as  will  appreciate  the  great  advantages  that 
the  country  offers.  If  the  newly  established  authorities  shall 
be  wise  enough  to  imitate  the  example  of  the  United  States, 
and  dispose  of  the  lands  belonging  to  the  state  in  small  tracts 
at  a  nominal  price  to  those  who  will  occupy  and  cultivate 
them  for  a  given  number  of  years  ;  if  it  shall  firmly  repress 
the  spirit  of  gauchoism  and  revolution  so  that  life  and  prop- 
erty may  be  secure,  —  there  is  no  reason  why  this  land,  so  fav- 
ored by  nature,  should  not  soon  become  the  garden  of  the 
earth. 


APPENDIX. 


CORRESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  REAR-ADMIRAL  DAVIS 
AND   PRESIDENT  LOPEZ. 

Rear-Admiral  Davis  to  President  Lopez. 

UNITED  STATES  FLAG-SHIP  WASP,  (fourth-rate,) 
In  front  of  Angostura,  Paraguay,  December  3,  1868. 

SIR,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  I  have 
arrived  in  front  of  Angostura,  having  on  board  his  Excellency  Gen- 
eral M.  T.  McMahon,  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  to  the 
Republic  of  Paraguay. 

As  an  indispensable  preliminary  step  to  the  presentation,  by  Gen- 
eral McMahon  to  your  Excellency,  of  his  credential  letters,  I  have  to 
request  that  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  the  persons  arrested  and 
detained  in  Asuncion  while  under  the  protection  and  attached  to 
the  Legation  of  the  previous  United  States  Minister,  be  restored  to 
the  authority  of  the  United  States  flag. 

Knowing  that  before  the  occurrence  of  this  arrest  and  detention 
it  was  the  earnest  desire  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  to 
continue,  under  the  existing  circumstances,  its  friendly  relations  with 
the  Republic  of  Paraguay,  —  a  desire  sufficiently  manifested  by  the 
prompt  appointment  of  General  McMahon,  —  it  is  my  hope  that 
your  Excellency  will  hasten  to  remove  the  only  obstacle  which  stands 
in  the  way  of  these  relations. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient  servant, 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 
Rear-Admiral  commanding  the  Naval  Forces  of  the  United  States 

in  the  South  Atlantic. 

His  EXCELLENCY  MARSHAL  DON  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ, 
President  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay. 

VOL.  ii.  39 


6lO  PARAGUAY. 

Rear-Admiral  Davis  to  President  Lopez. 

UNITED  STATES  FLAG-SHIP  WASP,  (fourth-rate,) 
In  front  of  Angostura,  Paraguay,  December  4,  1868. 

SIR, —  I  have  the  honor  to  apprise  your  Excellency  of  my  arrival 
in  front  of  the  batteries  of  Angostura. 

My  object  in  placing  myself  in  personal  intercourse  with  your 
Excellency  is  to  request  that  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Masterman,  the  in- 
dividuals arrested  and  detained  in  Asuncion  on  the  loth  day  of 
September  last,  may  be  delivered  into  my  keeping,  subject  to  the 
order  of  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

It  does  not  belong  to  me  to  define,  or  even  to  consider,  the  status 
of  these  individuals. 

But  on  this  subject  your  Excellency  will,  I  do  not  doubt,  repose 
confidence  in  the  justice  and  friendship  of  the  United  States,  which 
has  afforded  your  Excellency  many  recent  proofs  of  its  respect  and 
sympathy. 

Any  papers  your  Excellency  may  be  pleased  to  send  with  these 
individuals  will  be  transmitted  to  Washington  by  the  earliest  oppor- 
tunity. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient  servant, 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 
Rear-Admiral  commanding  the  Naval  Forces  of  the  United  States 

in  the  South  Atlantic. 

His  EXCELLENCY  MARSHAL  DON  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ, 
President  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay. 


Secretary  Palacios  to  Rear-Admiral  Davis. 

HEAD-QUARTERS  AT  PIKYSYRY,  December  5,  1868. 

ADMIRAL,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  your  Excellency  of  the 
receipt  of  the  note  which  you  have  been  pleased  to  address,  under 
date  of  yesterday,  to  his  Excellency  the  Marshal,  President  of  the 
Republic,  by  whose  order  I  now  reply  to  your  Excellency. 

The  Paraguayan  government,  always  influenced  by  the  best  and 
most  friendly  sentiments  towards  the  United  States  of  America, 
would  gladly  avail  itself  of  every  opportunity  in  which,  without 
receding  from  its  sovereignty  and  its  rights,  it  could  offer  fresh 
proofs  of  its  constant  friendship;  but  his  Excellency  the  President 


APPENDIX.  6ll 

regrets  that  it  is  not  in  his  power  to  accede  to  the  delivery,  in  the 
terms  of  your  Excellency's  note,  of  the  accused  Bliss  and  Masterman 
to  the  keeping  of  your  Excellency,  who,  if  not  called  upon  to  define, 
or  even  to  consider,  should  not  at  least  conceal  from  yourself  the 
fact  of  their  being  criminals,  deeply  committed  in  the  affair  of  a 
horrible  conspiracy,  very  particularly  the  former.  Nevertheless,  his 
Excellency  the  President  of  the  Republic  would  cheerfully  consent 
to  the  delivery  of  the  criminals  Bliss  and  Masterman,  provided  it 
were  requested  in  a  manner  more  in  conformity  with  the  fact  of  their 
being  accomplices  of  Mr.  Washburn,  and  the  first  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  his  intrigues  in  the  character  of  conspirator  and  agent 
of  the  enemy,  of  which  he  is  now  accused  in  the  national  tribunals, 
since  they  could  be  useful  in  the  administration  of  justice  by  the 
American  government,  to  whose  judgment  he  would  confide  the 
above-mentioned  criminals. 

I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  assure  your  Excellency  of  my 
very  distinguished  consideration. 

JUAN  MANUEL  PALACIOS, 

Chief  Military  Secretary. 

His  EXCELLENCY  REAR-ADMIRAL  C.  H.  DAVIS,  Commanding  the 
Naval  Forces  of  the  United  States  in  the  South  Atlantic, 


Rear-Admiral  Davis  to  President  Lopez. 

UNITED  STATES  FLAG-SHIP  WASP,  (fourth-rate,) 
In  front  of  Angostura,  Paraguay,  December  3.  1868. 

SIR,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  commu- 
nication from  your  Excellency,  in  reply  to  my  communication  of  the 
4th  instant,  in  which  your  Excellency  expresses  a  willingness  to 
deliver  to  the  United  States  government,  in  my  keeping,  the  accused 
persons,  Bliss  and  Masterman,  mentioned  in  the  said  note,  but  that 
your  Excellency  objects  to  their  delivery  under  the  terms  of  my 
note. 

I  wish  your  Excellency  to  believe  that  it  is  no  part  of  my  official 
duty  either  to  offer  or  to  refuse  any  terms  which  will  affect  the 
alleged  criminal  condition  of  the  two  persons  in  question.  The 
papers  accompanying  these  two  persons  will  sufficiently  express  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States  the  judgment  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Paraguay  in  their  cases. 

I  take  this  occasion  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  I  am  accom- 


6l2  PARAGUAY. 

panied  by  a  Minister  accredited  to  the  government  of  Paraguay, 
who,  should  no  difficulties  exist  to  prevent  it,  will  present  his  creden- 
tials. Considering  this  and  the  friendship  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  of  America  for  that  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay,  I 
have  to  ask  your  Excellency  to  embark  the  accused  persons,  Bliss 
and  Masterman,  on  board  of  this  vessel,  in  order  that  I  may  keep 
them  in  security,  subject  to  the  disposition  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  of  whose  justice  and  friendly  sentiments  your  Excel- 
lency can  entertain  no  doubt.  Your  Excellency  is  aware  that  the 
present  position  of  this  vessel  is  one  in  which  she  should  not  be 
detained  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Will  your  Excellency, 
therefore,  be  pleased  to  inform  me  when  I  may  expect  to  receive 
these  persons  on  board,  or  to  apprise  me  at  the  earliest  moment 
that  it  is  not  your  Excellency's  intention  to  send  them  at  all,  if  such 
should  be  your  final  decision. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient  servant, 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 

Rear-Admiral  commanding  the  Naval  Forces  of  the  United  States 

in  the  South  Atlantic. 

His  EXCELLENCY  MARSHAL  DON  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ, 
President  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay. 


Secretary  Palacios  to  Rear- Admiral  Davis. 

HEAD-QUARTERS,  PIKYSYRY,  December  6,  1868. 

ADMIRAL,  —  His  Excellency  the  Marshal  President  of  the  Repub- 
lic directs  me  to  reply  to  the  communication  of  yesterday's  date, 
which  he  has  just  received  from  your  Excellency,  in  answer  to  a 
communication  of  mine  of  the  same  day,  written  also  by  his  Excel- 
lency's command. 

As  to  what  is  said  of  the  form  of  your  Excellency's  application  for 
the  embarkation  of  the  criminals  Bliss  and  Masterman,  that  it  never 
intended  either  to  offer  or  refuse  terms  which  might  affect  the  crimi- 
nal condition  of  the  individuals  in  question,  but  to  leave  it  well 
established  that  this  application  could  not  be  complied  with  in  the 
sense  of  a  reclamation,  but  of  a  graceful  courtesy  on  the  part  of  the 
government  of  Paraguay  towards  that  of  the  United  States  of 
America ;  if  in  my  answer  your  Excellency  could  find  anything  dif- 
ferent, I  beg  pardon. 


APPENDIX.  613 

Your  Excellency  will  now  permit  me  to  remark  that  I  have  written 
nothing  in  that  communication  which  authorizes  your  Excellency  to 
believe  that  it  has  ever  been  the  intention  of  his  Excellency  the 
President  of  the  Republic  not  to  deliver  up  the  criminals  Bliss  and 
Masterman  unreservedly. 

I  thought  that  I  had  made  it  distinctly  apparent  that  his  Excel- 
lency regretted  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  accede  to  the  con- 
ditions of  the  first  demand  ;  but  since  neither  a  reclamation  nor  a 
demand  is  in  question,  thus  strengthening  my  former  communica- 
tions, his  Excellency  has  given  the  necessary  orders  for  the  delivery 
of  the  criminals  in  a  conspiracy,  Bliss  and  Masterman,  on  board  of 
your  Excellency's  vessel,  that  they  may  be  securely  retained,  subject 
to  the  disposition  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  asking  permission  to  recommend  to  your  Excellency  their 
entire  non-intercourse  with  the  belligerent  countries  in  whose  service 
the  conspiracy  was  set  on  foot 

Your  Excellency  will  consider  this  application  sufficiently  justified 
by  the  actual  state  of  the  war,  which  has  also  led  your  Excellency  to 
request  that  you  should  not  be  detained  longer  than  is  absolutely 
necessary. 

In  this  respect  I  am  happy  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  the 
prosecuting  officers  who  have  received  the  orders  of  his  Excellency, 
with  a  recommendation  to  be  brief,  expect  to  get  through  in  time  for 
the  embarkation  of  the  criminals,  Bliss  and  Masterman,  by  three 
o'clock  of  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  instant ;  and  at  the  same  time  they 
have  expressed  a  wish,  which  they  hope  will  be  gratified,  that  your 
Excellency  will  name  one  or  two  of  your  officers  who  can  witness,  on 
the  morning  of  the  same  day,  the  verification  of  the  declarations  of 
both  of  the  accused  in  the  case. 

His  Excellency  the  President  thanks  your  Excellency  for  the  in- 
formation that  you  are  accompanied  by  a  Minister  accredited  to  this 
Republic,  the  presentation  of  whose  credentials  the  Minister  will  be 
pleased  to  arrange  at  his  convenience  in  the  customary  form. 

I  profit  by  the  occasion  to  offer  to  your  Excellency  the  assurance 
of  my  very  distinguished  consideration. 

JUAN  MANUEL  PALACIOS, 

Chief  Military  Secretary. 

His  EXCELLENCY  REAR-ADMIRAL  C.  H.  DAVIS,  commanding  the 
Naval  Forces  of  the  United  States  in  the  South  Atlantic. 


6 14  PARAGUAY. 

Rear-Admiral  Davis  to  President  Lopez. 

UNITED  STATES  FLAG-SHIP  WASP,  (fourth-rate,) 
In  front  of  Angostura,  Paraguay,  December  7,  1867. 

SIR,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  Excel- 
lency's letter  of  the  6th  instant. 

In  obedience  to  your  Excellency's  wishes  I  shall  appoint  two 
superior  officers,  one  of  them  the  chief  of  my  staff,  to  witness  the 
verification  of  the  declarations  of  the  accused,  Bliss  and  Masterman  ; 
and  I  shall  be  ready  to  receive  the  accused  on  board  of  my  flag- 
ship at  the  time  appointed  by  your  Excellency. 

These  officers  will  be  at  your  Excellency's  command  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  8th  instant. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient  servant, 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 

Rear- Admiral  commanding  the  Naval  Forces  of  the  United  States 

in  the  South  Atlantic. 

His  EXCELLENCY  MARSHAL  DON  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  LOPEZ, 
President  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay. 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


Abreu,  Don  Diego  de,  i.  60. 

Abreu,  General  Sonsa's  agent,  i.  157. 

Acuna,  Juan  J.,  ii.  36,  143  ;  family  persecuted 

by  Lopez,  144;  imprisonment,  145,  146. 
Aguiar,  Colonel,  ii.  193. 
Aguierre,  Atanacio  C.,  i.  518;  ii.  17,  19. 
Alberquerque,  capture  of,  ii.  10. 
Aldecoa,  a  messenger,  i.  324. 
Aldiuno,  Padre  Juan,  i.  124. 
Alegre,  Baron  Porte,  i.  513. 
Al^n,  Colonel,  ii.  76,  77,  208,  259 ;  execution  of, 

Alexander,  the  Emperor,  joins  the  alliance 
against  Napoleon,  i.  205. 

All  Saints,  Bay  of,  i.  70. 

Alonzo,  Mariano  Roque,  i.  338. 

Alsina,  Valentin,  i.  500,  510. 

Alta  Amazonas,  i  62. 

Alva,  Duke  of,  i.  70. 

Alvear,  General,  i.  241,  242,  246. 

Amazonas,  steamer,  ii.  n. 

Amiens,  Congress  of,  i.  36  (note). 

Angostura,  i.  n  ;  ii.  561,  571. 

Antiquera  succeeds  Balmaceda,  i.  109,  no;  his 
rebellion,  trial,  and  execution,  no- 113,  116. 

A  pa,  Rio,  i.  44. 

Apipe\  island  of,  i.  n,  141,  373. 

Aramburu,  i.  290. 

Aranda,  Count  de,  i.  121,  126,  127. 

Argentine  Confederation,  i.  255,  364,  381,  406 ; 
war  with  Buenos  Aires,  497  et  sey.t  509,  515, 
525  :  its  difficulties  with  Lopez,  ii  13  ;  steam- 
ers of,  taken  by  Lopez,  19 ;  denies  the  re- 
quest of  Lopez  to  pass  through  the  Misiones, 
37  ;  alliance  with  Brazil,  38 ;  war  declared 
against,  43. 

Arregui,  Juan  de,  bishop  of  Buenos  Aires,  i. 
115. 

Arroyo  Mbutuy,  ii.  80. 

Artigas,  Jos£  de,  the  freebooter,  i.  234 ;  char- 
acter and  policy,  238-241;  joins  the  gover- 
nor of  Montevideo,  241  ;  treachery,  242  ;  in 
conflict  with  Francia,  244  -  252  ;  goes  to  Ibirai, 
253 ;  apotheosis,  253  ;  posthumous  honors, 
256,  267,  300. 

Asboth,  General,  ii.  130,  183,  185. 

Ascurra,  Pass  of,  ii.  571. 

Assomption,  i.  23,  and  see  Asuncion. 

Assump^ao,  i.  23,  and  see  A  suncion. 

Assumption,  i.  23,  and  see  Asuncion. 

Asuncion,  its  early  settlement,  i.  5,  n  ;  advan- 
tages for  a  trading-post,  22,  23,  27  ;  expedi- 
tions centre  at,  28;  its  antiquity,  28,  34,  39. 
43  ;  colony  removed  to,  48,  51  ;  De  Vaca  reach- 
es. 5'.  57.  60.  71.  87  :  Cardenas  imprisoned  at, 
92  ;  Jeouits  expelled  from,  93  ;  Solano  at,  95, 


98,  no,  112,  114;  Jesuits  return  to,  n6,  135, 
144 ;  schools  at,  161,  164  ;  Robertsons  arrive 
at,  165,  167,  175,  197,  206,  209,  269 :  college 
at,  279,  284  ;  merchants  of,  295  ;  rebuilt  by 
Francia,  302  et  seg  ,  323,  340,  365,  394,  424; 
congress  at,  485,  530  ;  description  of,  ii.  226 ; 
government  at,  228  ;  decision  to  defend  it, 
234  ;  evacuation  of,  236  ;  sad  condition  of  the 
besieged  city,  239,  240 ;  its  desolation,  375  ; 
capture  of,  574  :  condition  at  close  of  war,  597. 

Atajo  River,  i.  426. 

Atherton,  William,  i.  532,  537  -  539. 

Audience  of  Charcas,  i.  91,  93,  94,  109, 116. 

Audience  of  Lima,  i.  114. 

Audience  of  Peru,  i.  112. 

Aveiro,  Major,  ii.  501,  585,  591. 

Ayolas,  Juan  de,  kills  Osorio,  i.  16 ;  foraging 
expedition  under,  19 ;  search  for,  21  -  25  ;  pro- 
longed absence  of,  27. 

Azara,  the  historian,  cited,  i.  28,  35 ;  sketch  of,  36 
(note) ;  quoted,  39,  40,  42,  45,  78 ;  his  esti- 
mate of  the  Jesuits  quoted,  79-82,  100. 


Bahia  de  Todos  los  Santos,  i.  70  ;  ii.  153. 

Baiz,  Dr.  Jos£  M.,  i.  176. 

Balcarca,  i.  254. 

Balmaceda,  Don  Diego  de  los  Reyes,  appointed 

governor,  i.  IOQ. 
Banda  Oriental,  i.   234  (note),   239,  242,   254 ; 

revolution  in,  491,  504,  513,  514,  519. 
Barboza,  Amarro  Jps£  dos  Santos,  ii.  6. 
Bareiro,  Candido,  ii.  131. 
Bareiro,  Jose  Luis  de,  i.  114. 
Barrios,  General  Vicente  i.  319,  445  ;  ii.  9,  52, 

77i  9°,  '57,  187,  220  ;  degraded,  389  ;  arrested, 

393  ;  picture  of,  393  ;  torture  of  his  wife,  394  ; 

execution  of,  565. 
Barroso,  Admiral,  ii.  71  -  73. 
Barton,  Dr.,  i.  476. 
Barua,  Don  Martin  de,  appointed  governor,  i. 

Bastiat,  F.,  quoted,  i.  79  (note),  132. 

Bastos,  Dr.  Taveres,  i.  521. 

Battle  between  Mendoza  and  the  Indians,  i.  18, 

19;  ofParaguari,  149. 

Battle  of  Riacniielo,  ii.  69-73  '•  results  of,  74. 
Bay  of  All  Saints,  first  landing-place  of  Jesuits, 

i.  70. 

Beacon,  steamer,  ii.  539. 
Bedoya,  Dr.  Ventura,  i.  182,  183. 
Bedoya,    Saturnine,    tortured   to  death,   i.  330 

(note) ;  ii.  76,  257,  262,  285,  286. 
Befgra.no,  Historia  de,  cited,  i    141,  151,  497. 
Belgrano,  Manuel,  i.  140;  expedition  under,  142 

et  sey. ;  hisduplicity,  144  ;  his  invasion  of  Para- 


6i8 


INDEX. 


guay  and  defeat,   144-151;    his  diplomacy, 

BellaVista,  ii.  .63. 

Benitez,  Gumesindo,  ii.  32,  77,  200;  character, 
230,  231,  260;  his  correspondence  with  Min- 
ister Washburn,  297  et  seg>  ',  his  wife  com- 
pelled to  testify  against  him,  365,  508. 

Benitez,  Valiente,  ii.  379. 

Berges,  Don  Jose',  commissioner,  i.  384,  386,  418, 
528,  550;  ii.  5,  in,  151,  156,  179,  211 ;  char- 
acter, 229,  230,  273,  508. 

Bermejo,  ii.  32,  33. 

Bermejo  River,  i.  95,  97  ;  exploration  of,  366. 

Berro,  Bernardo  P.,  i.  503,  517. 

Bishop,  i.  66. 

Bismarck  of  Prussia,  i.  1 19. 

Bljss,  Henry,  ii.  444. 

Bliss,  Porter  C.,  quoted,  i.  96 :  ii.  90  ;  his  abil- 
ities, 96  (and  note),  98 ;  made  member  of 
the  Legation,  236,  254  ;  action  against,  by  Lo- 
pez, 310;  accused  of  conspiracy,  311 ;  his  narra- 
tive, 323  ;  makes  his  will,  346  ;  perils  of,  367  ; 
accusations  against,  413  ;  perilous  situation, 
425  ;  arrest  ot,  432  ;  his  forced  letter  to  Min- 
ister Washburn,  444 ;  letter  to  New  York 
World,  444  ;  his  treatment  by  Lopez,  448  - 
454  ;  tortured,  455,  478  ;  new  plans  for  re- 
lease, 490  :  situation  of,  497  ;  examination  of, 
499-  505  ;  his  testimony,  516  ;  his  book  cited, 
519 ;  his  portrayal  of  Minister  Washburn, 
520  et  seg.,  542,  543  ;  release,  549 ;  infamous 
treatment  by  Davis,  etc.,  550  et  seg.  \  trans- 
ferred to  the  Guerriere,  553;  petitions  Con- 
gress, 555. 

Bliss,  Rev.  Asher,  ii.  445. 

Blyth,  J.  and  A.,  i.  473,  540,  543. 

BogadOL  Dean,  11.  395. 

Bogardin,  i.  177. 

Bogarin,  Lisardo,  i.  322. 

Bohanes,  the,  i.  36. 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  i.  137. 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  i.' 52,  55,  137;  imitated  by 
Francia,  222. 

Bonpland,  M.  Aime1,  i.  260  et  seq. ;  encounters 
Francia,  261 ;  capture,  262 ;  sent  away,  266, 
267. 

Bougainville,  cited,  i.  79  (notel 

Bowen,  George,  prisoner,  ii.  160. 

Bowlin,  Hon.  James  B.,  commissioner  to  Para- 
guay, i.  379,  415. 

Braver,  Count  de,  French  Consul,  i.  411 ;  his 
efforts  for  the  French  colonists,  412-414. 

Brazil  in  trouble  with  Lopez,  i.  416  ;  policy  to- 
ward Paraguay,  51 2  et  seq.,  518;  dishonorable 
conduct  of,  522 ;  trouble  with  Lopez,  526 ; 
warlike  preparations,  ii.  12,  13,  15;  lack  o 
honor  in  its  Emperor,  17  ;  joins  the  alliance 
against  Paraguay,  22-24;  fleet  sa''s  UP  'he 
Parana,  24 ;  military  inefficiency,  36 ;  alli- 
ance with  the  Argentine  Confederation,  38 ; 
battle  of  Riachuelo,  66  -  73  ;  condition  of  the 
army,  187,  188;  squadron  passes  Humaita, 
222  et  seq> ;  attack  and  ignominious  retreat 
by  the  gunboats,  241,  242;  inefficiency,  253  ; 
inaction  of,  400  ;  success  of,  561,  568 ;  bad 
management  of  Caxias,  571  ;  a  new  com- 
mander, 574  ;  closing  scenes  of  the  war,  581 
et  seq. 

Brazilian  Navigation  Company,  i.  536. 

Bristol,  birthplace  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  i.  5. 

Brizuela,  i.  407,  408. 

Brossard,  the  French  Consul,  \.  415. 

Bruguez,  General,  ii.  52,  157,  161,  187,  282; 
treatment  by  Lopez,  287,  391  ;  put  to  death, 
392. 

Bucareli,  Francisco  de  Paula,  i.  126,  129. 

Buchanan,  President  James,  his  policy  in  re- 


gard to  the  Rhode  Island  Company,  i.  384, 
423. 

Buckle's  Civilization,  referred  to,  i.  13. 

Buckley,  R.  C.,  i.  372. 

Buenos  Aires,  location  of,  i.  8  ;  bad  situation,  17; 
its  different  names,  17  (and  note) ;  abandoned 
by  Mendoza,  20,  73,  25,  27,  37  ;  abandonment 
of,  418;  founded  a  second  time,  67,  68,  in, 
115,  116,  119,  127  ;  Jesuits  at,  seized,  127,  128, 
'35.  136  I  dislikes  the  rule  of  Spain,  136  ;  revo- 
lution in,  139;  sends  army  to  Paraguay,  140; 
cause  of  revolution  in,  157  ;  the  Robertsons 
arrive  at,  165,  175,  176,  178;  its  war  with 
Spain,  186,  234,  241,  245  ;  arrival  at,  of  Bon- 
pland, 260,  267  ;  commerce  of,  295,  348,  496 ; 
war  with  the  Argentine  Coniederation,  497  ; 
policy  respecting  Paraguay  and  Uruguay,  509 
et  seg.,  517;  treacherous  neutrality  of,' 518; 
declines  an  alliance  with  Brazil,  ii.  15  ;  indig- 
nation at  Lopez,  21  ;  opposed  to  war,  39  ;  ar- 
rival at,  of  Minister  Washburn,  121  ;  indig- 
nation at  Lopez,  466. 

Burgos,  Pedro,  ii.  52  ;  his  daughter  mistress  of 
Lopez,  52. 

Burrell,  Percy,  i.  542  ;  ii.  222,  576. 

Buzzard,  gunboat,  i.  398. 


Caacupe1,  Virgin  of,  worship  of  the,  i.  75. 

Caaguazu,  i.  456,  461. 

Caapucu,  i.  443. 

Caballero,  military  commander,  i.  174,  175,  177, 
178,  179;  ii.  583. 

Cabanas,  Manuel  Alanacio,  i.  153,  156,  280;  his 
treatment  by  Francia,  323,  324. 

Cabildo,  the,  or  municipal  council,  i.  137. 

Cabot,  John,  birth  and  marriage,  i.  5  :  his  con- 
tracts with  Henry  VII.,  6;  discoveries  in 
North  America,  6. 

Cabot,  Sebastian,  sketch  of,  i.  Chapter  I. ;  Para- 
guay discovered  by,  5  ;  enters  service  of  the 
king  of  Spain,  6;  efforts  to  reach  Peru,  n- 
15  ;  sends  for  reinforcements,  12  ;  returns  to 
Spain,  14,  42. 

Cabral,  flag-officer,  ii.  96,  266. 

Caceres,  General  Nicanor,  5-  515. 

Caceres,  Sinforianp,  ii.  20,  171,  392. 

Calagua  Indians,  ii.  587. 

Camarra,  General,  ii.  592. 

Caminos,  Luis,  ii.  204,  219  ;  his  letter  to  Minis- 
ter Washburn,  407,  410;  correspondence,  413 
et  seg.,  460;  death  of,  591. 

Campo  Grande,  ii.  177-  179. 

Campos,  i.  337. 

Campos,  Carneiro  de,  n.  70. 

Canabe,  the  river,  i.  ii. 

Canavarro,  General  David,  i.  508,  515. 

Candelaria,  expedition  arrives  at,  i.  22,  42,  142, 
151,  260,  263. 

Canstatt,  James,  i.  394  et  seg.,  464,  532. 

Capdevila,  Aureliano,  ii.  150. 

Capdevila,  Don  Ramon,  ii.  14,  150. 

CaracarAs  Indians,  i.  37. 

Cardenas,  Bernardino  de.  Bishop  of  Paraguay,  i. 
90  et  seg.  ;  imprisoned  at  Asuncion,  92  ;  dis- 
graced, 04,  98,  1 08. 

Carios  Indians,  i.  37. 

Carlyle's  Essay  on  Francia,  i.  166 ;  quoted,  196, 
211,  252  (note),  274,  278. 

Carranza,  Major,  ii.  19. 

Carreras,  Antonio  de  los,  i.  315,  502  (note),  517, 
549.  55°.  555  '•  "•  237,  238,  254,  275,  277,  281, 
283  ;  Lopez  dislikes  him,  284,  360,  361,  369, 
442  ;  dreadful  condition  of,  457,  458,  502. 

Carter,  Thomas,  ii.  244,  318,  494. 


INDEX. 


619 


Carvalho,  Sebastian,  attacks  Jesuitism,  i.  118 
et  seq.,  see  Pombal;  policy  against  Jesuits, 
119,  121,  158,  159. 

Casal,  Anita  and  Conchita,  ii.  100,  124,  222,  233, 
245,  246,  490. 

Casal,  Candida,  ii.  233. 

Casal,  Dolores,  ii.  233,  245. 

Casal,  Jose  Mauricio,  i.  443,  444 ;  ii.  208,  491. 

Cass,  Lewis,  his  policy  with  Lopez,  378  et  seq. 

Castro,  Don  Jose'  de  Autiquera.  bee  Anti- 
quera. 

Cataldino,  Jose,  one  of  the  first  Jesuits  in  Para- 
guay, i.  69. 

Catalina,  Saint,  island  of,  i.  50. 

Catechism  of  San  Alberto,  ii.  56  ;  extracts  from, 
56,  57  (note). 

Cavallero,  Don  Alexandra,  i.  452,  462. 

Cavour,  Count,  i.  119. 

Caxias,  Marquis  de,  ii.  88,  165,  187,  188 ;  cor- 
respondence with,  197-  199,  264,  289,  360,  361, 
401  ;  his  dishonesty,  439,  462  ;  fictitious  cor- 
respondence, 514  ;  bad  management  by,  571. 

Centeno,  Diego,  Irala  superseded  by,  i.  60. 

Centinela,  newspaper,  ii.  171. 

Cepeda,  battle  of,  i.  497. 

Cepo  uruguayana,  torture  of  the,  i.  510. 

Cerda,  Gregorio  de  la,  i.  186;  his  popularity, 
187-  189,  j97. 

Cernto,  i.  263,  417,  427 ;  ii.  90. 

Cerro  Leon,  i.  452,  512 ;  encampment  at,  ii.  179. 

Cespedes.     See  Jaray. 

Chaco  Indians,  i.  58,  96. 

Chapperon,  Lorenzo,  ii.  225,  320,  321,  429. 

Charcas,  Audience  of,  i.  91,  93,  109. 

Charles  I  ,  i.  131. 

Charles  II.,  i.  163. 

Charles  III.  of  Spain,  i.  119. 

Charles  IV.,  i.  137,  144. 

Charles  \..  his  desire  for  gold,  i.  n  ;  his  con- 
tract with  Mendoza,  15,  48,  55,  114,  121. 

Charles  XI  I.  of  Sweden,  i.  148. 

Charles,  Leonard,  ii.  494. 

Charlevoix,  the  Jesuit  historian,  i.  77,  78  ;  esti- 
mate of  his  writings,  78,  98,  108. 


Charruas  tribe,  i.  35. 
i.  6' 


Chaves,  Capta 


no  de,  lead?  an  expedition, 


Chiriguanos,  the,  i.  37. 

Chili,  i.  ,62* 

Chiquitos,  i.  127. 

C-'sneros.  the  Viceroy,  i.  137. 

Ciiidad  Real,  i.  69,  73,  87. 

Civilization  in  Peru  and  Mexico,  i.  13 

Civita  Vecchia,  i.  119.  122. 

Clement  XI! I.,  i.  119,  125. 

Clement  X I V.,  i.  123. 

Cochelet,  M.  Laurent,  French  Consul,  i.  545, 
546 ;  his  difficulties  with  Lopez,  ii.  138  et  seq., 
152:  obnoxious  to  Lopez,  206;  leaves  Para- 
guay, 207,  225,  230,  361,  416. 

Coimbra,  Fort,  ii.  10. 

Coimbra.  town  of,  i.  365. 

Collins  Telegraph  Co  ,  ii.  29. 

Colonia,  held  by  the  Portuguese,  i.  119. 

Communism,  i.  79  (note). 

Company,  United  States  and  Paraguay  Navi- 
gation, i.  357-372,  378-3S7- 

Concepqon,  i.  177,  429. 

Conception  del  Uruguay,  ii.  42. 

Confessional,  Lopez  uses  the,  ii.  254. 

Congress  called  at  Asuncion,  ii.  65  et  seq. 

Congress  of  Amiens,  i.  36  (note). 

Conspiracy,  Guarani,  i.  32. 

Conspiracy,  the  Yegros,  i.  297  et  seq. 

Constitution  of  Paraguay,  i.  467. 

Convent  of  San  Francisco,  i.  293. 

Cordal,  Carmelita,  ii.  425,  490. 


Cordal,  Fernando,  ii.  168. 

Cordilleras,  military  expedition  into  the,  i.  53. 

Cordova,  University  at,  i.  127,  161,  162,  178, 
214,  231,  279. 

Corocoro,  11.  281. 

Corpus  Cristi,  Fort,  i.  20,  23,  25,  27. 

Correntinos,  war  with  the,  i.  352. 

Corrientes,  the  author's  detention  in,  i.  46 ;  mi- 
raculous cross  at,  i.  76  ;  Cardenas  at,  93,  no, 
132,  234,  260,  349,  515  ;  proposed  invasion  of, 
ii.  12;  capture  of,  20-22,  24,  26;  campaign 
in,  88  et  seq. ;  evacuation  of,  90 ;  Minister 
Washburn  at,  116,  163. 

Corsica,  Jesuits  land  at,  i.  123. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  i.  52,  163. 

Crosby,  Captain  Pierce,  ii.  130,  131  ;  the  right 
man' in  the  right  place,  132-135. 

Cuberville,  French  Minister,  ii.  207,  215,  225, 
263,  296,  361. 

Curuguayti,  ii.  582. 

Curuguati,  Artigas  sent  to,  i.  252. 

Curumba,  i.  61. 

Curupaiti   ii.  134,  135,  157,  210. 

Cuyaba,  11.  37. 

D. 

Davis,  Admiral  C.  H.,  ii.  368,  461 ;  character 
of,  470  ;  thwarts  General  Webb's  plans,  473  ; 
insolent  letter  to  General  Webb,  474  ;  treat- 
ment of  McMahon  contrasted  with  that  of 
Minister  Washburn,  477,  478;  quarrels  with 
General  Webb,  479;  apologizes  for  Lopez, 
4^1  :  changes  his  tactics,  490;  conveniently 
forgetful,  494 ;  his  delays,  497 ;  arrives  at 
Paraguay,  537 ;  interview  with  Lopez,  539 ; 
his  infamous  treatment  of  Bliss  and  Master- 
man,  550  et  seq. ;  probable  reasons  of  his 
conduct,  553,  577 ;  correspondence  with  Lo- 
pez, 609-614. 

Decidee,  steamer,  ii.  207. 

Declaration  of  Independence  of  Paraguay,  i.  177. 

Decoud,  Juan  Francisco,  i.  183. 

Decoud,  the  brothers,  i.  402. 

Derqui,  Dr.  Santiago,  i.  498. 

Diaz,  General  Cesar,  i.  493,  501,  510;  ii.  162. 

Doblas,  Don  Gonzalo  de,  i.  132. 

Dogtown,  or  Yaguaron,  i.  161. 

Doria,  William,  Charge"  d'Affaires,  i.  401. 

Dorignac,  i.  412. 

Duarte.  ii.  80-  82. 

Duffield,  John  A.,  ii.  244,  494  ;  letter  to  Min- 
ister Washburn.  494-496. 

Dupin,  Charles,  his  version  of  the  conspiracy, 
i.  320  et  srq-,  336. 

Dure,  Ramon,  i.  337. 

Duvall,  Dr.  Mariu's,  his  kindness,  ii.  553  ;  court- 
martialed  by  Davis,  554. 


Echagiie,  Don  Pascual,  i.  231  (note). 
Eco  del  Paraguay,  ii.  31. 
Ejusquiza,  Don  Felix,  i.  402. 
Elizalde,  ii.  117. 
El  Paraguay,  steamer,  i.  359. 
Empedrado,  ii.  TOI,  114. 
Encarnacion,  i.  260  :  ii.  104,  189. 
England,  attempt  of,  to  aid  her  subjects  ii 

guay.  ii.  203  et  seq. 

Entre  Rios,  i.  234  :  missions  of,  244,496  ; 
Escalada,  Juan  Pedro,  a  teacher,  i.  317 ;  it 

Lopez,  319,  325  (note),  388;  ii.  46. 
Espinola,  Jose",  i    135,  140.. 
Espmosa,  Don  Salazar  de,  i.  20,  23;  his  i 

reveals  a  conspiracy,  32,  55. 


62O 


INDEX. 


Espinosa,  Lazaro  Ribera,  i.  135. 
Estagarribia,  Francia's  physician,  i.  328. 
Estigarnbia,    General  Antonio,   li.  80,  82,  84; 

capitulation,  87  ;  treachery,  88,  89. 
Eu,  Count  d",  in  command  of  Brazilian  army, 

ii.  574. 


Falcon,  Jose",  ii.  65,  451. 

Ferdinand  VI I. ,  i.  137,  138,140,144. 

Fernandez,  Francisco,  Colonel,  n.  94,  200,  231, 
263,  280,  303,  317;  his  wife  compelled  to 
testify  against  him,  365,  376,  439. 

Fidanza,  Simon,  ii.  154  ;  arrest  of,  294,  542,  565. 

Fitzpatrick,  Commissioner,  i.  377. 

Flores,  Venancio,  i.  491  ;  his  treachery,  494, 
553  ;  made  Minister  of  War,  495  ;  assumes  the 
Presidency,  496  ;  deposed,  496 ;  his  career, 
498-508,  510;  his  invasion,  513  et  seg.,  527, 
547 ;  ii.  22  ;  fate  of,  So ;  assassination,  279. 

Font,  Jos^,  ii.  494. 

Fort  Coimbra  evacuated,  ii.  34. 

Fort  Itapiru,  ii.  144;  capture  of,  145. 

Four  Years  in  Paraguay,  J.  P.  and  W.  P. 
Robertson's,  i.  164. 

Fourier  cited,  i.  too. 

Fox,  Dr.  John,  ii.  142  :  arrest  of,  143,  170  ;  re- 
leased, 175,  285,  560. 

Fran<ja,  Garcia  Rodriguez,  i.  160. 

Francja,  the  elder,  i.  280. 

France,  joins  Portugal  against  the  Jesuits,  i. 
119  ;  attempt  of,  to  aid  her  subjects  in  Para- 
guay, ii.  203  et  seg. 

Francia,  Don  Juan  Jose",  i.  318. 

Francia  family,  the,  i.  318. 

'  Francia,  Jose  Caspar  Rodriguez,  birth  and  histo- 
ry, i.  160-164;  education,  etc.,  167-172,  174; 
made  a  member  of  the  Junta,  175-  177  ;  his 
treatment  of  Somellera,  178-181;  his  faithless- 
ness, 181  et  seg.  ;  withdrawal  from  the  Junta, 
185,  186;  creates  disaffection,  188-190  ;  plans 
of  obtaining  power,  197,  198 ;  made  asesor, 
197  ;  calls  a  congress,  199,  200 :  chosen  First 
Consul,  202  ;  his  mode  of  living,  203,  204  ;  his 
character,  habits,  and  government,  205-225  ; 
explains  his  policy  to  Robertson,  207-211  ; 
system  of  espionage.  212  ;  prohibits  Spaniards 
from  marrying  any  but  negresses  or  mulattoes, 
212;  made  Dictator,  215;  personal  habits, 
217-225;  espionage,  226  et  seg.;  perpetual 
Dictator,  232  ;  in  difficulty  with  Artigas,  244  - 
252 ;  jealousy  of  Ronpland,  261  ;  allows  no 
vessels  to  leave  Paraguay,  268 ;  lack  of  his- 
torical data  concerning,  276  ;  cruelty  of,  277  et 
srg.  ;  hatred  of  his  father,  280  ;  his  extortions 
from  the  rich,  289,  290  ;  aversion  to  priests, 
292  ;  the  Yegros  conspiracy,  297  et  seg. ;  re- 
builds Asuncion,  302  et  seg.  ;  his  defence 
against  Rengger,  308-310  (note);  his  family, 
317  et  seg.  ;  his  treatment  of  Cabanas,  324; 
his  death,  326 ;  superstition  regarding  him, 
329;  his  character,  330-333,  388. 

Francia,  Pedro,  i.  317. 

Francia,  Petrona,  i.  318. 

Francia' s  Reign  of  Terror,  cited,  i.  164. 

Frazer,  John,  ii.  217. 

French  colony  to  Paraguay,  i.  408 ;  injustice 
from  Lopez,  409-  412  ;  leave  Paraguay,  414. 

Fruits  of  Paraguay,  i.  435,  436. 


Galan,  Ruiz  de,  governor,  i.  25 ;  imprisoned  by 
Irala,  25  ;  his  treachery,  26 ;  returns  to  Asun- 
cion, 27. 


Galvan,  execution  of,  i.  301. 

Gamarra,  General,  i.  443. 

Garay,  Don  Miguel  de,  i.  114. 

Garmendia,  Don  Kulanp,  i.  290,  392. 

Garmendia,  Francisca,  i.  392. 

Garmendia,  Pancha,  i.  404 ;  ii.  53,  393. 

Garro,  Polycarpo,  ii.  52. 

Gasca,  La,  i.  60. 

Gaspar,  i.  176,  279. 

Ciauna,  ii.  20. 

Gaily,  Juan  Andres,  ii.  31. 

Gellyy  Obes,  ii.  31,  117. 

Genoa,  Jesuits  at,  i.  122. 

Germantown,  U.  S.  ship  of  war,  i.  375. 

Gill,  Carmelita,  ii.  169. 

Gill,  Don  Andres,  i.  559  ;  ii.  12,  36,  169,  266,  490. 

Giro,  Juan  Francisco,  i.  492,  494  -  496. 

Godon,  Acting  Rear-Admiral  S.  W.,  narrative 
of  his  singular  and  reprehensible  conduct,  ii. 
\\i,etseg.\  his  influence  on  the  Allies,  123; 
makes  friends  with  the  Brazilians,  127,  128; 
his  course  repudiated  by  the  U.  S.  govern- 
ment, 128;  his  plans  thwarted,  130-132;  in- 
sulting conduct  toward  General  Asboth,  197  ; 
unworthy  of  trust,  345,  368  ;  conduct  of,  469- 
472  ;  censure  of,  487,  489. 

Gomez,  General  Servando,  i.  518. 

Gomez,  Leandro,  i.  508,  517,  548,  549  ;  his  char- 
acter, ii.  15  ;  executed,  16 ;  232,  284. 

Gomez,  the  jailer,  i.  285. 

Gonzales,  Mariano,  Minister  of  Interior,  ii.  44, 

Goodfellow,  Rev.  W.  T.,  ii.  443,  444. 

Gould,  G.  Z.,  ii.  203  ;  arranges  basis  of  peace, 

203,  204,  279,  559. 

Gowland,  Johrv  FT,  ii.  275,  360,  369. 
Goya,  ii.  99,  114. 

Goyez,  Juan  Bautista,  clerk  to  Francia,  i.  338. 
Gran  Chaco,  the,  i.  45,  95,  96,  234,  366,  426,  445. 
Grappler,  gunboat,  i.  398. 
Graty,  Du,  cited,  ii.  226. 
Great   Britain,    Francia's  policy  concerning,  i. 

Great  Falls,  i.  73,  86. 

Guaicurus  tribe,  description  of,  i.  42,  45  ;  treaty 
offered  to,  52. 

Guarani  Indians,  i.  13  ;  mild  character,  23.  30 ; 
efforts  to  convert,  30  ;  characteristics  of,  32, 
35.  37>  3.8  ;  intermarriage  with  SpSniards,  39; 
description  of,  44,  46 ;  as  soldiers,  60 ;  atti- 
tude toward  Spaniards,  64. 

Guarani,  Marquis  of,  i.  310  (note). 

Guardia,  Francisco  La,  i.  214,  231. 

Guasarapos  Indians,  i.  37. 

Guatos,  the,  i.  44,  45. 

Guayra,  province  of,  i.  69  ;  occupied  by  Jesuits, 
73,  81,  82,  84,  86  ;  Jesuits  expelled  from,  89. 

Guayra,  Salto  de,  i.  73,  86. 

Guerreros,  Francisco,  i.  182. 

Guerriere  sails  for  Montevideo,  ii.  483. 

Guido,  Don  Edwardo,  i.  382. 

Guzman,  Alonzo  Riqueline  de,  i.  61. 

Guzman,  Ruy  Diaz  de,  historian  of  Paraguay, 
i.  to  ;  cited,  34,  61. 


H. 

Hale,  Samuel  B.,  ii.  496. 
Harrison,  Captain,  ii.  10. 
Henderson,  C.  A.,  consul,  i.  394,  396. 
Henry  VII.,  his  contract  with  Cabot,  i.  6. 
Herrera,   Don   Nicholas,   diplomatic   agent  to 

Paraguay,  i.  196,  197,  199 ;   his  reception  in 

Paraguay,  199. 

Herrera,  Juan  J.,  i.  526,  527,  547. 
Herval,  liaron,  i.  513. 


INDEX. 


621 


Hinistrosa,  Gregorio  de,  i.  91. 

Historia    Secreta,    Bliss's,    extracts    from,    i. 

Holderberg,  Baron,  i.  242. 

Hopkins,  Edward  A.,  his  arrival  in  Paraguay  as 


Hopkins, 

U.  S.  agent,  i.  353  et  "9-  •  his  Plans-  355  : 
returns  to  United  States,  357  ;  his  company, 
and  his  business  affairs  with  Lopez,  361  -  372. 


Humaita,  fortress  of,  i.  417,  428,  554;  ii.  65,  121, 
134;  description  of,  156,  180,  195,  233;  its 
defence,  269. 

Hunter,  ii.  377,  433. 


Ibai,  the  river,  i.  85. 

Ibera,  steamer,  ii.  90. 

Ibirai,  i.  176,  280. 

Ibitimi,  i.  462. 

Ignacio,  Admiral,  ii.  162,  264. 

Igurey,  steamer,  ii.  136. 

Ilia,  Colonel,  i.  513. 

Indians,  character  of,  i.  9  ;   Payagua  tnbe,  n  ; 

unjust  dealings  with,  18  ;  Timbu,  19  ;  Guara- 

ni,  23 ;   Querandi,  23  ;   conciliated  by  Irala, 

29. 

Indies,  western  passage  to  the,  i.  8. 
Inquisition,  the,  i.  70. 
Institute  of  France  intercedes  for  Bonpland,  i. 

263. 

Investigating  Committee  of  Congress  on  Minis- 
ter Washburn's  case,  quoted,  ii.  123,  386,  387, 
450,  469,  470,  476,  478,  485  ;  censure  of  Go- 
don,  487,  488,  516,  542-544,  546,  555,  557, 
566,  580. 

Ipora,  Lake,  ii.  562. 

Ipora,  steamer,  ii.  189,  195. 

Irala,  Domingo  Martinez  de,  i.  21  ;  ascends  the 
Parana  and  Paraguay  Rivers,  22,  24,  25 ; 
chosen  governor,  27  ;  his  wise  administration, 
29,  42  ;  his  policy,  48^  seq. ;  his  government, 
death,  and  character,  57  -  63  ;  death,  65  ;  what 
he  accomplished,  103. 

Itapiru,  Fort,  ii.  19,  120;  capture  of,  121,  162, 
196. 

Itapua,  i.  260. 

Itu,  village  of,  i.  3,7. 

Iturbe,  Vicente,  i.  178,  324. 

Izarie,  M.,  French  Consul,  i.  440 ;  ii.  144. 


!ara,  Antonio,  ii.  428. 
ara,  Don  Luis,  ii.  139 ;  arrest  of,  164,  428. 
arayes,  Lake,  i.  44. 
aray,  Luis  de  Cespedes,  i.  85  ;  opposes  Jesuits, 
85';  his  crimes,  87,  88. 

Jeffers,  Lieutenant,  i.  373,  374. 

Jejui,  steamer,  ii.  90. 

Jejuy,  i.  429- 

Jequitmhonha,  steamer,  n.  95,  9?. 

Jesuits,  the,  their  influence  on  the  Paraguayan 
people,  i.  64  tt  seq.  ;  their  operations,  63  et 
seq;  their  first  "reduction,"  69;  the  policy 
of  the  Jesuits  and  that  of  Irala,  72,  73  ;  their 
arrival  not  pleasing  to  the  natives,  73  ;  their 
deceit  and  treachery,  74 ;  treatment  of  the 
natives,  77  ;  estimate  of  their  labors,  79-88  ; 
their  expulsion  from  Guayra,  87  ;  distrusted 
by  the  government,  89;  they  appeal  to  the 
Pope,  89  ;  expelled  from  Asuncion,  93  ;  re- 
called, 94  ;  new  plans,  98 :  injustice  of,  103, 
104 ;  trouble  in  prospect,  108  ;  people  weary 
of,  114  ;  return  to  Asuncion,  116;  exposed  by 


the  Spaniards,  117  ;  in  Europe,  117 ;  expelled 
from  Portugal,  etc.,  122 ;  charges  against, 
124;  expulsion  from  Spain,  120-124;  ^nt 
from  Paraguay  to  Spain,  128;  interfere  with 
civil  government,  134;  expulsion  from  Para- 
guay, 159  ;  establish  schools  at  Asuncion,  161 ; 
influence  of,  in  Paraguay,  173 ;  influence  on 
morals,  212,  213,  346  (note). 

Johnson,  Hon.  Cave,  i.  385. 
oseph,  King,  i.  140,  144. 


Kanzas,  steamer,  ii.  160. 

Kirkland,  W.  A.,  ii.  196,  197,  279,  283,  284,  289 
et  seq.,  409,  410,  419,  435;  his  interview  with 
Lopez,  436,  441  ;  his  reticence  concerning 
Lopez,  459,  461  ;  commended  in  a  letter  by 
Minister  Washbum,  480;  apologizes  for  Lo- 
pez, 481  ;  his  interview  with  Lopez,  482 ; 
arrives  at  Paraguay,  538  ;  his  service  to  Lopez, 
542  ;  infamous  treatment  of  Bliss  and  Master- 
man,  550. 


Laguna,  Colonel,  ii.  19. 

Lamas,  Don  Luis,  elected  President,  i.  496. 

Lambare,  the  hill,  i.  429  ;  ii.  226. 

Language,  the  Guarani,  i.  31  ;  Spanish  taught 
in  schools,  31  ;  natives  not  taught  European 
languages  by  the  Jesuits,  105. 

Lapido,  Dr.  Octavio,  i.  511,  528. 

La  i'lata,  the  Argentine  Confederation,  and 
Paraguay,  Page's,  cited,  i.  108,  130. 

Larreta,  Francisco  Rodriguez,  i.  453,  528 ;  ii.  17. 

Latitude  of  Paraguay,  i.  5. 

Lavalleja,  General,  i.  495. 

Leal,  Brazilian  envoy,  ii.  66. 

Leghorn,  Jesuits  at,  i.  122. 

Leman,  Gustavus,  i.  ^09  (note). 

Leon,  Sebastian  de,  i.  94. 

Lescam,  Chief-Justice,  arrested,  i.  483,  487. 

Lettsom,  W.  G.,  i.  553 ;  ii.  24. 

Lhuys,  Drouyn  de,  ii.  107. 

Libertat,  Chancellor,  ii.  208,  408. 

Lima,  Audience  of,  i.  114. 

Lima,  Vianna  de,  Brazilian  Minister,  i.  529,  530, 
532  ;  ii.  3,  4  ;  his  reply  to  Berges,  6  ;  his  escape, 
20 ;  negotiations  concerning,  21-25,  28,  29; 
his  treatment  condemned  at  Buenos  Aires, 
30. 

Limehouse,  i.  540. 

Limpio,  village  of,  i.  443,  452  ;  ii.  208,  222. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  i.  64,  423. 

Littsom.  William  G.,  ii.  24. 

Lomas,  Valentinus,  ii.  57. 

Longchamp,  i.  165,  174  :  allowed  to  leave  Para- 
guay, 264,  267,  292,  308,  309,  317. 

Lopez,  Adelina,  n.  202. 

Lopez,  Basil  io,  made  bishop,  i.  353,  466. 

Lopez,  Benigno,  i.  388;  ii.  179,  193  ;  his  char- 
acter, 213;  picture  of,  214,  232,  254,  281,  283, 
286,  508  ;  execution  of,  ^65. 

Lopez,  Carlos  Antonio,  i.  319  ;  his  plans  to 
succeed  Francia,  i.  337,  338  ;  character  and 
historv,  338-341  :  assumes  power,  350;  made 
President,  351  ;  his  policy,  351  ;  his  friend- 
ship for  Hopkins,  355 ;  business  matters  be- 
tween him  and  Hopkins,  361  -  372  ;  fires  upon 
the  Water  Witch,  374  ;  his  negotiations  with 
the  United  States  in  regard  to  the  Rhode 
Island  colony,  377  -  387  ;  his  family,  388  ; 
makes  common  cause  with  Corrientes,  389  ; 
contest  with  Rosa,  389  et  seq. :  licentiousness 
of  the  family,  391,  392;  his  treatment  of  Can- 


622 


INDEX. 


statt,  394  et  seq.  ;  sends  ambassador  to  Eu- 
rope, 405  ;  Madam  Lynch,  407  ;  treatment  of 
French  colonists,  408-414  ;  suspicions  of  for- 
eigners, 415;  difficulties  with  Brazil,  417- 
419  ;  refuses  to  reopen  Rhode  Island  Com- 
pany question,  424;  character  of  Lopez,  463; 
takes  possession  of  Church  property,  465; 
difficulty  with  the  Pope,  466,  467 ;  death  of, 
474;  character  and  administration,  477-482  ; 
funeral,  535  ;  ii.  46,  109. 

Lopez,  Cirilo,  i.  339. 

Lopez,  Dona  Juana  Caiillo  de,  ii.  143,  200. 

Lopez,  Dona  Rafaela,  i.  388  ;  ii.  200,  209,  213, 
2S4- 

Lopez,  elder  and  younger,  i.  281. 

Lopez,  Francisco  Solano,  i.  319,  340,  381,  388, 
3?9.  397  :  sent  ambassador  to  Europe,  405  ; 
his  course  while  there,  406  et  seq.,  470  ;  his 
visit  to  Europe,  471  ;  desires  a  military  glory, 
472  ;  accession  to  power,  475  ;  prepares  for 
war,  576 ;  secures  his  own  election,  484  ;  ne- 
gotiations with  Mitre,  501 ;  trouble  with  the 
Emperor  of  Brazil,  522  etseq.  ;  his  reception  of 
foreign  ministers,  530  ;  his  lack  of  good  policy. 
545;  his  warlike  intentions,  i^s,  8,9;  his  am- 
bition, 10-12;  captures  the  Olinda,  12;  his 
treatment  of  the  officers,  13  ;  interview  and 
correspondence  with  the  author,  17  -  22  ; 
change  of  manner  toward  the  author,  4 ;  his 
views  as  to  policy  of  other  nations,  13  ;  cap- 
tures Argentine  steamers,  13;  correspondence 
with  Urquiza,  25,  26,  28 ;  his  official  organ 
the  Sematiario,  29,  34  ;  his  treacherous  policy, 
39,  40  et  seq.  ;  calls  a  congress,  40  ;  his  rea- 
sons for  war,  41,  42  ;  birth,  education,  and 
character  of,  46-56  ;  uses  the  confessional  as 
a  means  of  despotism,  54  ;  arrests  and  tor- 
tures Maiz,  59-63;  directs  battle  of  Riachu- 
elo,  66-74  ;  distrusts  Robles,  and  puts  him  to 
death,  75  -  77 :  his  rage  at  defeat,  87,  88 ; 
builds  a  palace,  93,  95  ;  court  etiquette,  103  - 
106 ;  forced  honors  to,  95  et  seq.  ;  his  recep- 
tion of  Minister  Washburn,  105,  106;  his  dis- 
appointment at  the  non-interruption  of  inter-  | 
course  between  the  United  States  and  the  ; 
Allies,  137  ;  his  troubles  with  the  French  Con- 

et  \ 

Jucu,  | 

157 ;  forced  obsequiousness  to,  161  ;  levies 
taxes,  173,  174  ;  consults  Minister  Washburn, 
187,  188  ;  his  disappointment  at  inaction  of 
foreign  nations,  190  ;  his  vanity  and  assump- 
tion, 191  —  195  :  presentation  to,  200  ;  rejects 
basis  of  peace,  203,  205  ;  causes  of  different 
opinions  of,  205,  206 ;  treatment  of  Manlove, 
216  -  222  ;  his  desperate  situation,  235  et  seq.  ; 
makes  new  preparations  for  war,  249 :  retreats 
up  the  river,  253  ;  presentation  to,  257  ;  cruelty 
to  w-ife  of  Martinez,  270;  his  mother's  anxi- 
eties, 281  ;  numerous  arrests  by,  295 ;  his 
malignity,  298;  brings  charges  against  Min- 
ister Washburn,  301  et  seq.  ;  false  accusations 
of  conspiracy,  313;  his  diabolical  plans,  335  : 
public  reception.  339 ;  his  plans  to  ensnare 
Minister  Washburn,  352  ;  manufactures  evi- 
dence, 355  :  plans  thwarted,  369  ;  his  horrible 
cruelty,  382,  383  ;  plan  to  entrap  Minister 
Washburn,  384  ;  hypocrisy,  394  ;  the  arrival 
of  the  Wasp  prevents  Lopez  from  arresting 
Minister  Washburn,  417  ;  forced  to  allow 
his  prey  to  escape,  434  ;  terrified  by  Kirk- 
land,  436-438;  letters  written  by  compul- 
sion of,  460  ;  plans  deranged  by  arrival  of 
the  Wasp,  465  ;  pretends  friendship  for  the 
United  States,  482,  483  ;  compels  Bliss  to 
write  a  book,  519  ;  interview  with  Admiral 
Davis,  539  ;  makes  dupes  of  the  navy  officers, 


, 

sul,   138,   139  ;  cruelty  to  Englishmen,   142 
seq.  ;  receives  Mr.  Washburn  at  Paso  Puc 


340  et  seq. :  changes  treatment  of  Bliss,  547  ; 
makes  friends  with  McMahon,  557;  new  dan- 
gers of,  561  ;  his  defeat  and  cowardice,  568, 
569;  intrenches  at  Pass  ot  Ascurra,  571  ;  cru- 
elties to  the  people,  574  -576;  defeat  and  in- 
cidents, 580  et  seq.  :  suspects  a  new  conspir- 
acy, 584  ;  tortures  his  mother  and  sisters,  585  ; 
last  resorts,  590,  591  ;  deal  Is  of,  592  ;  no  apolo- 
gists for,  600;  correspondence  with  Davis, 
609-614. 

Lopez,  Caspar,  ii.  279. 

Lopez,  Dona  Inocei.cia,  i.  388;  ii.  in. 

Lopez,  Venancio,  i.  388,  389,  391,  444;  ii.  211  ; 
character,  231,  263.  509. 

Loreto,  the  first  Jesuit  settlement,  i.  70 ;  aban- 
doned,  74,  83,  i5,  102. 

Louis  XV.  of  France,  i.  120. 

Loyola,  Ignatius,  and  his  followers,  their  influ- 
ence on  Paraguay,  i.  64  et  seq. ;  character  of 
Loyola,  70. 

Luque,  ii.  237,  279. 

Lushington,  Admiral,  i.  397. 

Lynch,  Madam,  mistress  of  Lopez,  i.  407,  408, 

v  >i.  20 ;  picture  of,  52 ;  her  influence  against 
Robles,  76,  77,  95 ;  her  services  secured  for 
Masterman,  151  ;  her  house  at  Paso  Pucu, 
157,  161,  171  ;  her  son  Pancho  Lopez,  182, 
205,  206,  220  ;  asks  aid  of  .Minister  Washburn, 
238,  259,  269  ;  her  duplicity,  285,  286,  327 ; 
removes  her  propertv  from  the  Legation,  179, 
380;  aids  Lopez  in  his  cruelties,  3£5-3~8S; 
her  influence  upon  Lopez,  397  ;  her  fe,ar  of 
Lopez,  399;  makes  friends  with  McMahon, 
557;  friendship  for  McMahon,  570;  flight  of, 
591  ;  captured,  593 ;  hatred  toward,  595  ;  her 
business  shrewdness,  596. 


M. 


Mably,  cited,  i.  79  (note). 

Maceta,  Simon,  one  of  the  first  Jesuit  priests  in 

Paraguay,  i.  69. 

Machain,  Juan  Jose',  i.  170,  171. 
Maciel,  Andres,  ii.  186. 
Macobies,  i.  127. 

Macomb,  Lieutenant  W.  H.,  i.  424. 
Madariaga,  Governor,  i.  390. 
Madruga,  Manuel,  i.  455,  461. 
Magellan's  route,  Cabot  follows,  i.  7. 
Maiz,  Benigno,  i.  489. 
Maiz,  Padre  Fidel,  i.  477,  483,  487,  490;  ii.  20, 

58  ;  his  arrest  and  confession,  59-63. 
Mallada,  Don  Mariano,  i.  180,  183. 
Mamelucos,  the,  i.  83,  84,  85;  trouble  with  the 

Jesuits,  90. 

M  angolas  Indians,  i.  37. 
Manlove,   James,   i.   453  ;   ii.   216 ;  his  career, 

217  et  seq  ,  233  ;   made  member  of  American 

Legation,  236,  247,  248,  284,  494. 
Mansilla,  Colonel,  ii.  218. 
Maranham,  i.  360. 
Marco,  Commander,  ii.  565. 
Marcy,  W.  L.,  Secretary,  i.   372 ;  interferes  in 

behalf  of  the  Rhode  Island  Company,  i.  377- 

Mana  de  Fe",  i.  102. 

Maria,  Don  Josi  de,  i.  176,  178. 

Mamelukes,  the,  i.  37. 

Marquesas  Islands,  i.  47. 

Marquez,  Colonel  Coriolano,  i.  513;  ii.  19,  173, 
337- 

M.miacre,  questions  of,  i.  Chapter  II. 

Martinez,  ii.  259  ;  accused  of  treachery,  268  ; 
torture  of  his  wife,  270 ;  she  is  compelled  to 
testify  against  her  husband,  365  ;  execution  of 

.   Madam  Martinez,  566. 


INDEX. 


623 


Martinez,  Francia's  secretary,  i.  281. 
Masterman,  George  F.,  ii.  142,  143 :  his  book 
quoted,  146;  a  prisoner,  175,  210,  236,  254; 
action  against  by  Lopez,  310;  accused  of  con- 
spiracy, 311  ;  perils  of,  367  ;  critical  situation, 
425 ;  arrest  of,  432 ;  his  letter  to  Minister 
Washburn,  445  ;  his  experiences  related  by 
himself,  448  -  454  ;  forced  confessions  and  ac- 
cusations, 454,  455:  tortured,  448-455,  478; 
new  plans  for  release,  490  ;  situation  of,  497  ; 
his  account  of  his  treatment,  507  -  509 ;  cited, 
518  ;  compelled  to  affirm  charges  against  Min- 
ister Washburn.  543  ;  release,  549  ;  infamous 
treatment  by  Davis,  550  et  seq. ;  transferred 
to  the  Guernere,  553. 

Matorras.  school  at,  i.  180. 

Matto  Grossp,  i.  62,  364,  416,  419,  425,  536  ;  ii. 
10  ;  expedition  against,  37. 

Mauricio,  ii.  154. 

Mbayas  Indians,  i.  37  ;  description  of,  40-42. 

McCabe,  M.  B.,  cited,  i.  236  (note). 

McMahon,  Martin  T.,  succeeds  Minister  Wash- 
burn,  ii.  476-478;  becomes  an  apologist  for 
Lopez,  481  ;  sails  for  Montevideo.  485  ;  sketch 
of,  494  ;  arrives  at  Paraguay,  538 ;  infamous 
conduct  of,  551  et  seq.  :  interview  with  Lo- 
pez, 557  ;  assumes  charge  of  the  illegitimate 
children  of  Madam  Lynch,  559 ;  his  War  in 
Paraguay  cited,  562  :  incidents  in  his  career, 
565  -  567  ;  his  negotiations  with  Lopez,  569, 
570 ;  friendship  for  Lopez  and  Madam  Lynch, 
570;  his  devotion  to  Lopez,  576,  577  ;  recalled, 
577>  578  :  '*  derided  by  the  people  of  Buenos 
Aires,  579 ;  at  Washington  defends  Lopez, 
580. 

Medina,  General,  i.  502,  508,  517. 

Meincke,  secretary,  ii.  216,  319. 

Melgarejo.  Ruy  Diaz  de,  i.  69,  70,  73,  87. 

Melville,  Herman,  i.  47. 

Mendez,  banishment  of,  i.  282,  283. 

Mendoza,  Antonio  de,  in  command  at  Corpus 
Cristi,  i.  26. 

Mendoza,  Don  Diego  de,  i.  18. 

Mendoza,  Don  Gonzalo  de,  his  search  for 
Ayolas,  i.  21  ;  succeeds  Irala,  63  ;  death  of, 
64. 

Mendoza,  Don  Pedro  de,  expedition  under,  i.  15 
et  seq.  ;  unpopularity,  16  ;  dealings  with  the 
Indians,  18 ;  abandons  Buenos  Aires,  20 ; 
death  of,  20. 

Mendoza,  Francisco  de,  appointed  acting  gov- 
ernor, i.  SQ,  60. 

Mesa,  Admiral,  ij-  66,  69-71. 

Mexico,  civilization  in,  i.  13 ;  despoiled  by 
Spain,  50. 

Milleres,  execution  of,  i.  284  (note). 

Minuanes,  the,  i.  37. 

Miracles,  i.  26,  75,  76  ;  by  Solano,  97. 

Miranda,  Jo*?  del  Rosario,  i.  318. 

Misiones,  province  of,  i.  136,  141  ;  the  Jesuits 
at,  ii.  37,  38. 

Mitre,  President,  his  history  cited,  i.  141,  142^ 
seq.,   497  et  seq.  ;   will   not    be   involved   in 
war,  ii.  15  ;  lack  of  honor,  17  ;  urged  to  make 
war  on  Lopez,  21,  22,  26,  38  ;   suspected  by  | 
Lopez,  40,  85  ;   his  conduct  toward  Minister  '> 
Washburn,   \\betseq.;   his  subterfuges,  127, 
129;  prepares  to  attack  Lopez,  167,  273;  ac- 
cused by  Lopez  of  conspiracy,  396. 

Mdas,  Don  Mariano,  cited,  i   245. 

Molina,  Padre  Luis  de,  i.  124 

Molucca  Islands,  Cabot  sails  for,  i.  7. 

Mongilo,  Colonel,  ii.  584. 

Monserrat,  college  of,  i.  178. 

Montoya,  Father,  i.  78  (note)  ;  represents  the 
Jesuits  at  the  Court  of  Spain,  89. 

Monterroso,  Friar,  i.  243. 


Montesquieu  cited,  i.  79  (note). 

Montevideo,  i.   no,  in,  184,  234,  240,  256,  282, 

365.  382,  394,  492,  494.  496,  516,  519,  522,  536  ; 

siege  of,  ii.  17  ;  tall  of,  19,  25. 
Montiel,  the  brothers,  i.  321. 
Mora,  Don  Fernando,  L  177,  197  ;  execution  of, 

301. 
Moreno,  General  Lucas,  L  508,  517. 


X. 


Nalicue'gos  Indians,  i.  37. 

Neembucii,  port  of,  i.  268,  269,  428. 

Negron,  Diego  Marin,  supersedes  Saavedra,  L 

69  ;  death  of,  70. 
Nemours,  Duke  de,  ii.  574. 
Nery,  Felipe,  i.  5:9. 
Nette,  General  Felipe,  i.  513,  518,  520,   527; 

fate  of.  ii.  26. 
New  Bordeaux,  i.  429. 
Nuavas  Indians,  i.  37. 
Nunez,  Alvar.    See  Yaca. 


O. 

Obelar,  Cristoval  Dominguez  de,  i.  116. 

Ocole  Indians,  i.  97. 

Octaviano,  Senor,  ii.  121  et  seq. 

Olinda,  Marques  de,  steamer,  i.  419  ;  seizure  of, 

557  et  seq.  ;  treatment  of  her  passengers,  ii. 

3,  6. 

impo.  Fort,  i.  22,  24,  42,  61. 
Olimpo,  steamer,  ii.  179. 
Omoo  Islands,  i.  47. 
Onteveros,  town  of,  i.  69,  73,  87. 
Oribe,  General,  i.  492,  505,  506,  519. 
Oriental  government  calls  Gomez  into  service, 

ii.  3. 

Oriental  Republic  of  Uruguay,  i.  496,  511. 
Orrego,  the  inspector,  i.  228.  229. 
Ortellado,    Don   Bernardo,    i.   316;   intercourse 

with  the  author,  316;  ii.  150. 
Ortiz,  Manuel  Antonio,  i.  336. 
Osorio,  Don  Juan  de,  military  commander  under 

Mendoza,  i.  16. 
Osorio,  General,  i.  513;  ii.  22,  119;  his  plans 

for  the  campaign,  189. 
Owen,  cited,  i.  100. 


3. 
Olim 


Paddison,  George,  i.  439  ;  ii.  145. 

Page,  Thomas  J.,  his  book  cited,  i.  108,  130; 
commissioned  to  negotiate  a  treaty,  364 ;  his 
experiences  with  Lopez,  365  -  374. 

Paisandu,  capture  of,  ii.  15,  16. 

Palacios,  Manuel  Antonio,  Bishop,  ii.  52,  55,  59. 

Palos,  Fray  Jose,  Uishop  of  Paraguay,  i.  in. 

Paraguari,  battle  of,  i.  149 ;  town  of,  453,  454 ; 
steamer,  ii.  go.  98. 

Paraguayan  nation,  how  composed,  i.  39. 

Paragiiayo  Inaefendente,  the  newspaper,  i. 
351;  cited,  ii.  30. 

Parajruay,  vague  ideas  of,  i.  i  -  4  :  situation,  5  : 
various  expeditions  to.  Chapters  I.  -  IV.  ;  gen- 
eral prosperity  of,  57  ;  Spanish  ideas  of  the 
country,  57  ;  the  inhabitants  as  affected  bv 
the  colonists,  58,  59;  types  of  civilization,  58  ; 
how  affected  by  Irala's  failure,  61.  62:  intro- 
duction of  Jesuits  and  their  influence,  64 
et  seq.  ;  secondary  to  Buenos  Aires,  6S ; 
treatment  of  natives  by  Irala  and  others, 
72-74  ;  Jesuit  missions  in,  83-88;  domestic 
life  in,  104 ;  natives  oppressed  by  Jesuits,  89 


624 


INDEX. 


et  seq.  :  Balmaceda  appointed  governor,  109  ; 
people  weary  of  Jesuits,  114;  in  rebellion, 
116  ;  Jesuits  expelled  from,  128  et  seq.  ;  Ve- 
lasco  made  governor,  136 ;  invaded  by  Bel- 
grano,  140  et  seq.  :  victorious,  150  ;  revolu- 
tion in,  156  et  ieq. ;  its  independence,  159  ; 
influence  of  Jesuits  in,  173  ;  its  declaration  of 
independence,  177  ;  conspiracies  in,  180,  181  : 
condition  of  the  people,  196 ;  general  igno- 
rance, 206  ;  condition  under  Francia,  226  et 
seq.  ;  non-intercourse  with  the  world,  244 : 
population,  247  ;  general  isolation  under  Fran- 
cia,  267  -  269  ;  industrial  labors,  270  ;  char- 
acter of  people,  272  ;  a  reign  of  terror,  285  et 
seq.  \  commerce  of,  295  ;  condition  of,  after 
death  of  Francia,  334,  335  ;  release  of  prison- 
ers, 342  ;  education,  343  ;  the  new  govern- 
ment, 344  ;  law  for  extinction  of  slavery,  348 ; 
Lopez  made  President,  357  ;  origin  and  his- 
tory of  the  American  Company,  357 :  in  diffi- 
culty with  the  United  States,  377  -  387  ;  inde- 
pendence acknowledged,  405;  revenue,  420- 
422  ;  general  description  of  the  country,  425 
et  seq. ;  Constitution  of,  467 ;  military  rule 
under  Lopez,  474  ;  policy  of  Brazil  and  Buenos 
Aires  towards,  509  ;  difficulties  with  Brazil, 
529 ;  forced  support  of  war,  ii.  28  et  seq.  ; 
military  efficiency,  36  ;  declares  war  against 
the  Argentine  Republic,  67  ;  religious  senti- 
ment of,  54  ;  fleet  sails  for  Asuncion,  64 ;  the 
battle  of  Riachuelo,  66-73;  return  from  the 
campaign,  91  ;  people  of,  compelled  to  honor 
Lopez,  95  et  seq.  ;  impressment  of  people  into 
service,  167  ;  heavy  taxation  of,  173,  174 ; 
condition  of,  199,  200  ;  critical  condition  of, 
233.  234  I  painful  uncertainties  and  prospects, 
261,  262;  the  bogus  conspiracy,  321  et  seq.; 
kindness  of  the  people,  458,  459  ;  commercial 
interests  of,  475  ;  in  a  bad  military  situation, 
562  ;  closing  scenes  of  the  war,  581  et  seq.  ; 
condition  of,  at  death  of  Lopez,  595  ;  hatred 
of  Madam  Lynch,  595  ;  probable  future  of  the 
country,  606. 

Paraguay  River,  the,  i.  37,  268 ;  description  of, 
425 

Paranahyba,  steamer,  ii.  95. 

Parana  River,  the,  i.  8 ;  ascended  by  Cabot,  9, 
ii  ;  Jesuit  settlement  on,  70,  73,  8t,  86,  88; 
union  of  the  Bermejo  with,  95,  136;  recrossed 
by  the  army  of  Belgrano,  156,  233,  242,  260, 
268 ;  exploration  of,  373,  426 ;  Brazilian  fleet 
on,  ii.  48. 

Paranhos,  Counsellor  Jose1  Maria  de  Silva,  i. 
418,  495  ;  ii.  13,  37,  39,  45,  62  ;  returns  to  Rio, 

Parish,  Sir  Woodbine,  i.  264,  265. 

Parodi,  Don  Domingo,  i.  451  ;  ii.  212,  275. 

Parsons,  Captain,  ii.  559. 

Paso  de  la  Patria,  ii.  57,  88,  91,  117,  120,  162. 

Paso  Pucu.  ii.  50,  51,  136,  180,  195,  258. 

Patino,   Policarpo,   Francia's  secretary,  i.  324, 

336- 

Paulistas,  the,  i.  83,  85. 
Paunero,  General,  ii.  24,  81. 
Pavon,  battle  of,  i.  498. 
Payagua  Indians,  i.  n,  22;  difficulties  with,  25, 

42,  43. 

Payaguas,  Rio  de  los,  i.  43. 
Paysandu,  i.  548. 
Pedro  II.,  Emperor,  i.  523,  526. 
Pendleton.  Ensign,  ii.  133-  136. 
Penn,  William,  his  treatment  of  the  Indians,  i. 

32- 

Peonage,  i.  432. 
Percy,  Captain,  i.  249. 
Pereira,  Gabriel  Antonio,  i.  500,  501.  503. 
Pereira,  Leite,  ii.  225,  279  ;  seeks  protection  of 


Minister  Wtshburn,  296  ;  difficulties  concern- 
298  et  seq. ;  arrested,  304  ;  agony 
346,  428,  509  :  execution  of,  565. 


ing,  298  et  seq. ;  arrested,  304  ;  agony  of  his 
wife,  346,  428,  509  :  execution  of,  565. 
Perez,    Manuel    Atitor)io,    preaches    Francia's 


funeral  sermon,  i.  328 
Peribebui,  steamer,  ii.  66. 
Peru,  Audience  of,  i.  112. 
Peru,  ideas  entertained  of,  i.  Chapter  I.  ;  iu 

gradual  subjugation,  13  ;  despoiled  by  Spain, 

50  ;  reached  by  Irala,  60. 
Pesoa,  mistress  of  Lopez,  ii.  52. 
Phillimore,  Dr.  Robert,  i.  400. 
Philip  II.  and  the  Inquisition,  i.  71,  121. 
Philip  III.  issues  letters-patent  to  the  Order  of 

Jesus,  i.  69. 

Philip  of  Pokanoket,  i.  43. 
Pikysyry,  battle  of,  ii.  498  ;  description  of,  561  - 


. 

Pilcomayo,  exploration  of  the,  i.  366. 
Piratiny,  Republic  of,  i.  513. 
Pirayu,  battle  at,  i.  115. 
Pirebebui,  ii.  567  ;  capture  of,  582. 
Piriz,  General  Lucas,  ii.  15,  16. 
Pizarro,  Gonzalo,  i.  60. 
Plata,  Rio  de  la,  the  river,  ascended  by  Cabot, 

i.  5,  7  ;  description  of,  8  ;  second  expedition 

to,  15,  28,  34,  37,  40;  arrival  of  De  Vaca  at, 

50,  246. 

Plaza  del  Gobierno,  ii.  132. 
Pokanoket,  Philip  of,  i.  43. 
Pombal,  Carvalho,  Marquisof.i.  118;  his  policy 

against  the  Jesuits,  119,  121.     See  Carvalho. 
Pompadour,  Madame  de,  i.  120. 
Porrero,  Obella,  ii.  181. 
Porter,  Admiral,  sustains  Godon,  ii.  488. 
Portenos,  name  given  to  the  people  of  Buenos 

Aires,  i.   136;  in  battle,   149,   156,   197,  234, 

243. 

Portugal,  Jesuits  expelled  from,  i.  122. 
Portuguese  explorers,  i.  37  ;  in  Brazil,  82,  83  ; 

relations  with  Jesuits,  iiS  ei  sey.  ;  antipathies 

of  Portuguese  and  Spaniards,  255. 
Prat,  Anna,  i.  412. 
Priests,  immorality  of  the,  i.  170. 
Pulaski,  the  gunboat,  i.  424. 


Q- 

Juatrefaghts,  Surgeon,  i.  407. 

Jueirolo.  Sefior,  i.  455. 

Juerandi  Indians,  i.  23,  35,  139. 

Juintera,  General,  i.  242. 

JaintaniUa,  i.  462. 

Juinteros,  execution  of  prisoners  at,  i.  502,  51 


Railroad  projected,  i.  473. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  his  discoveries,  i.  14. 

Ramirez,  i.  251,  263  ;  his  defeat  of  Artigas,  i.  267, 
300;  ii.  19. 

Ramsey.  Francis  M  ,  ii.  471 :  character  of,  472, 
477,  488 ;  his  service  to  Lopez,  542  ;  infamous 
conduct  of.  551  et  seg.,  577. 

Ranger,  steamer,  ii.  10. 

Ravnal  cited,  i.  79  (note). 

Rebellion.  United  States,  war  of  the,  i.  136. 

Recalde,  Don  Francisco,  i.  179,  290. 

Recoleta,  town  of,  i.  338,  340  ;  ii.  226. 

Rengger,  cited,  i.  161,  162,  165,  166,  174;  quoted, 
181,  184,  221,  243,  245,  262  :  allowed  to  leave 
Paraguay,  264,  267.  274,  284.  292  ;  Francia's 
defence  against,  308-310  (note),  317. 

Republicanism  in  South  America,  i.  256  et  seq. 


INDEX. 


625 


Resquin,  General,  i.  453,  461  : .".  157.  »6i,  5°'  : 
protests  that  he  was  an  unwilling  tool  of  Lo- 
pez, 601  :  his  Diary,  53,  76,  150  (note),  186, 
392  ;  capture  of,  569,  581. 

Rhind,  Dr.  James,  ii.  142 ;  arrest  of,  143,  146 ; 
released,  151. 

Rhode  Island  Company,  i.  359-425- 

Rhode  Island  Legislature  charters  the  United 
States  and  Paraguay  Navigation  Company,  i. 

Riachiielo,  the  river,  i.  19  ;  battle  of,  ii.  69-73  ; 
result  of,  74. 

Ribera,  General,  i.  495. 

Ricci,  Father,  i.  122,  123. 

Rincon  de  los  Gallinos,  i.  507. 

Rio  Apa,  the,  i.  44  ;  ii.  430. 

Rio  Blanco,  steamer,  i.  407,  473,  541. 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  i.  83  ;  court  of,  attempts  to  re- 
lease Bonpland,  263,  519;  correspondence 
with  Montevideo,  ii.  i,  8,  152. 

Rio  de  la  Plata,  the  river.     See  Plata. 

Rio  de  los  Payaguas,  i.  43. 

Rio  Grande,  i.  255  ;  campaign  in,  ii.  104. 

Rivarola,  Lieutenant,  i.  179,  320. 

Rivero,  Major,  i.  585. 

Robertson,  J.  P.  and  W.  P.,  cited,  i.  162,  164- 
166,  174,  184;  quoted,  186-188,  190-195,  198, 
203,  204,  205-211;  Francia  opens  his  policy 
to,  207-211,  215,  221  ;  description  of  Orrego, 
228,  229,  231,  232,  245,  246 :  taken  prisoner, 
247,  268  (note),  274,  282,  284  (note),  292  ;  de- 
scription ot  the  Yegros  conspiracy,  298  et  seq.  ; 
quoted,  303-307,  317  ;  account  of  conspiracy, 
322,  325  (note). 

Robles,  General  Wenceslao,  i.  488,  567  ;  ii.  24, 
59  ;  suspected  of  treachery,  75  ;  executed,  77  ; 
character,  78,  89. 

Roca,  Tristan,  ii.  171,  202. 

Rodriguez,  ii.  238,  254  ;  character,  277.  284;  his 
troubles  and  good  conduct,  305  et  seq.  ;  ar- 
rested, 309.  414. 

Rodriguez,  Domingo,  i.  170,  171. 

Rojas,  Logan,  i.  340,  388. 

Rojas,  Manuel,  i.'  485. 

Roman  priest,  ii.  453. 

Romero,  ii.  88. 

Ros,  Don  Baltasar  Garcia  de,  i.  no,  in. 

Rosa,  Octaviano  d'Almeida,  ii.  22. 

Rosario,  town  of,  i.  389,  499  ;  ii.  117. 

Rosas,  the  tyrant  of  Buenos  Aires,  i.  245,  349  : 
war  with  the  Correminos,  352,  389,  492,  506, 

Rosecrans,  General  W.  S.,  ii.  493. 
Rousseau.  Jean  Jacques,  i.  79  (note). 
Ruiloba,  Don  Manuel  de,  i.  115. 
Russell,  Earl,  i.  546. 


SaA,  Victoria  Correa  de,  i.  85. 

Saavedra,  Hernando  Arias  de,  i.  169  ;  efforts  to 
convert  the  natives,  69,  137* 

Sagastume.  Jose  Vasquez,  i.  528,  556;  ii.  17. 

Saguier,  AHolfo,  i.  539. 

Sapuier,  Carlos  and  Fernando,  i.  533,  535,  536  ; 
their  escape,  537;  Don  Carlos,  ii.  139 

Saldanha,  Colonel,  i   513. 

Salinares.  ii.  333 

Salter,  W.  D.,  Commodore,  i.  374;  his  repre- 
hensible conduct,  374,  375. 

Salto,  cariture  of.  ii.  39,  98. 

Salto.  Oriental,  ii.  oo. 

Sanabria,  M  alias,  ii.  232,  247,  321  ;  arrest  of,  376. 

San  Antonio,  i.  428,  429. 

San  Bias,  patron  saint  of  Paraguay,  i.  27. 

San  Borja,  ii.  104. 


Sanchez,  ii.  in,  228;  character,  229,  567;  death 

San  Espiritu,  visited  by  Cabot,  i.  10;  Fort,  n,  12-. 

San  Estanislao,  colony  of,  i.  82. 

San  Fernando,  ii.  280 :  abandoned  by  Lopez,  408. 

San  Francisco,  convent  of,  i.  292. 

San  Ignacio,  i.  102,  112. 

San  Ildefonso,  treaty  of,  i.  36  (note). 

San  Joaquin,  ii.  32. 

San  Luis,  i.  128 

San  Martin,  i.  254. 

San  Miguel,  i.  129. 

San  Paulo,  i.  83,  85. 

San  Pedro,  i.  429. 

San  Plabo,  i.  37. 

San  Salvador,  i.  287. 

Santa  Cruz,  Gongalez  de,  Governor,  i.  70. 

Santa  Fe,  i.  23,  231  (note),  242,  497. 

Santa  Maria,  i.  262,  263. 

Saraiva,  Jos£  Antonio,  i.  521, 526, 527, 547, 548, 550. 

Saraiya,  Senor,  n.  15. 

Sarmiento,  i.  254. 

Savannah,  U.  S.  ship  of  war,  i.  375. 

Sctnanario,   the,  ii.  30,  quoted   53  (note) ;    its 

character,  55,  56. 
Seward,   W.   H.,    Secretary,   sustains   Minister 

Washburn,  ii.  149,  272  ;  directs  that  Minister 

Washburn  be  relieved,  461.     , 
Shamokin,    steamer,  L   130;   conveys  Minister 

Washburn  to  Asuncion,  132-135. 
Shubrick,  Commodore,  i.  380. 
Silva,  Captain,  ii.  171. 
Silvero,  Victor,  ii.  20. 
Skinner,  Dr.,  ii.  422,  559,  585. 
Slavery,  i.  37,  72,  73,  85,  86 ;  law  for  extinction 

of,  348. 

Social  questions,  i.  30. 
Solano,   Francisco,  first  American  saint,  i.  95  ; 

sketch  of,  95  et  seq.  :  performs  miracles,  97. 


Soils,  Jose,  ii.  379. 
Solis,  Juan  Diaz  de, 
Soils,  Rio  de,  the,  i. 


his  voyages,  i.  8,  35. 


Somellera,  Don  Pedro,  i.  136,  157-159  :  author 
of  the  revolution,  159,  161,  174-176;  quoted, 
178-184,  245,  324. 

Somerella,  Benigno,  i.  179. 

Soroeta.  Ignacio,  Governor,  i.  113. 

Sousa,  General,  i.  157. 

Spain,  Vol.  I.  passim;  Jesuits  in,  i.  120;  ex- 
pelled from,  122,  123,  126  ;  war  with  Buenos 
Aires,  186. 

Spanish  adventures,  early,  i.  6. 

Spanish  intercourse  with  natives,  i.  30 :  rule  in 
Paraguay,  103;  belter  than  represented  by  the 
Jesuits,  103 ;  they  attempt  to  expose  the  Jesu- 
its, 117,  241  ;  antipathies  of  Spaniards  and 
Portuguese.  255. 

Squillaci,  i.  120  ;  his  influence  over  Charles  III. 
of  Spain,  120  ;  dismissed,  121. 

Stark,  William,  i.  453. 

Stewart,  Dr.  William,,  i.  476,  566.  567 ;  ii.  136, 
158,  163,  181,  187,  220,  285:  his  revelations, 
384 ;  testimony  of,  386,  387,  399.  422,  448,  460, 
557  ;  his  wife  a  prisoner,  569,  585. 

Stewart,  George  D.,  11.  460 

Stewart,  William,  ii   46«. 

Si    Robert.  M.  Chevalier,  cited,  i.  236  (note). 

St.  Stephen's,  i.  209. 

Suarez,  Goyo.  ii.  16. 

Swann,  Thomas,  his  report,  ii.  555- 


Taboada,  Padre,  i.  183. 

Tacuari.  the  river,  i.  150, 151,  158  ;  battle  of,  323  ; 
war  steamer,  398,  473  ;  ii.  65. 


626 


INDEX. 


Tamandare",  Baron  de,  his  circular,  i.  553  ;  ii.  22, 
82,  117,  119  ;  his  connection  with  the  an- 
noyances of  Minister  Washburn,  122  et  seg., 
155;  treatment,of,  by  Emperor  of  Brazil,  162. 

Taruma,  i.  81 

Taylor,  Alonzo,  ii.  118,  498;  his  description  of 
the  torture  of  the  cepo  uruguayaua,  510,  511, 

Tea,  Paraguayan,  or  yerba  mate\  i.  260. 

Tebicuari,  the  river,  i.  no,  115,  129;  Belgrano  s 
army  crosses,  146,  428  ;  head-quarters  of  Lo- 
pez, ii.  258. 

Telegraph  Company,  the  Collins,  lu  29. 

Temperature  of  Paraguay,  i.  457- 

Tevego,  or  San  Salvador,  i.  287. 

Thompson,  George,  his  history  cited,  n.  25  -  28, 
79;  his  description  of  Humaita,  156,  158,  161, 
181,  182,  205,  282,  283,  287,  389,  448,  56°,  562. 

Thornton,  Sir  Edward,  i.  397,  4°'.  53° :  his  re- 
ception by  Lopez,  531-533,  538-54°:  "is 
opinion  of  Lopez,  546 ;  ii.  8. 

Timbu  Indians,  i.  19;  Spanish  treachery  to- 
wards, 25,  26,  37. 

Tobacco,  manufacture  of,  i.  160. 

Toledo,  i.  66. 

Tome,  Antonio,  ii.  280. 

Torre,  Pedro  de  la,  appointed  bishop,  i.  66 ;  his 
policy,  72. 

Treaties,  various,  with  Paraguay,  i.  405. 

Treaty  of  San  Ildeforys,  i  36  (note). 

Treaty,  Lieutenant  Page  commissioned  to  ne- 
gotiate, i.  364  ;  between  United  States  and 
Paraguay,  371  ;  between  Brazil  and  Paraguay, 
419 

Tres  Bocas,  i.  416,  426  ;  n.  134. 

Treuenfeld,  ii.  390,  498,  566. 

Triple  Alliance,  the,  i.  491  ;  formed,  ii.  22-24  : 

absurd  features  of,  199,  257,  594. 
Troya,  Don  Nicolas,  i.  452,  453. 
Tucaques  Indians,  i.  37. 
Tucuman,  bishop  of,  ii.  80 ;    colony  of,  i.  68 ; 

province  of,  ii.   167. 
Tupis  Indians,  i.  37. 
Turin,  i.  530. 
Tuyuti,  Marques,  ii.  183. 
Typee,  i.  47. 


U. 


Ulrich,  Carlos,  ii.  236. 

United  States  and  Paraguay  Navigation  Com- 
pany, history  of,  i.  357  et  seg.,  362  -  372  ;  wars 
m,  495-505 

United  States  government,  its  instructions  to 
Godon,  Webb,  and  Asboth,  ii.  130  et  seg.\ 
mediation  of,  185  :  rejected,  195  :  renewed  at- 
tempts, 197  :  its  policy  toward  South  Ameri- 
can republics,  475. 

Urbieta,  Juan  Gregorio,  appointed  bishop,  i. 
467;  ii.  55:  death,  $\  257. 

Urdapilleta,  Captain  Pascual,  i.  312  et  seg. 

Urdapilleta,  Andres,  i.  312  et  seg. 

Urdapilleta,  Josi  Vicente,  i.  312  et  seg.,  453 : 
made  Chief- Justice,  315. 

Urdipilleta,  Vicente,  ii.  210,  414. 

Urdapilleta  family,  the,  i.  312-317. 

Urquiza,  General  J.  J.,  i.  381,  396,  496,  498  ;  ii. 
42  :  his  vacillating  course,  18-20,  25  ;  fate  of, 
26  (note)  ;  his  intrigues,  3?. 

Uruguay,  missions,  i.  119  ;  republic  of,  234,  254, 
260  ;  Oriental  Republic  of,  496  ;  policy  of 
Buenos  Aires  towards,  509,  527;  difficulties 
•with  Brazil,  ii.  5. 


Uruguay  River,  the,  i.  8,  9,  81,  87,  136,  515. 
Uruguayana,  ii.  So. 

V. 

Vaca,  Cabeza  de,  expedition  of,  i.  48-56;  his 
character,  49  ;  journey  through  the  wilderness, 
51  ;  imprisoned,  54  ;  sent  to  Spain,  55. 

Valiente,  Captain,  ii.  77. 

Valpy,  Henry,  engineer,  i.  542,  543  ;  ii.  158, 
181,  222,  273,  576. 

Varela,  Don  FJorencio,  i.  486,  487  ;  505. 

Vargas,  Valta,  i.  297. 

Vasconcellos,  Antonio,  ii.  279. 

Vasquez,  Nicholas,  i.  384,  485,  487. 

Velasco,  Benito,  i.  136,  156  ;  resigns,  158,  174, 
175  ;  a  prisoner,  179,  184,  192,  197,  280,  317  ; 
his  character,  324,  325  ;  death,  325  (note). 

Velasco,  Don  Bernardo,  appointed  governor,  i. 
'36,  «39,  '4°  I  his  career,  141  et  sey. 

Velazco,  Ramirez  de,  governor  of  Tucuman,  i. 
68. 

Vergara,  Francisco  Ortiz  de,  i.  61 ;  governor,  64. 

Vermejo  River,  i.  428. 

Vianna  de  Lima,  his  note,  i.  550,  552,  559. 

Viceroy  of  Peru  appoints  Santa  Cruz  governor, 
i.  70  ;  appoints  Balmaceda  governor,  109. 

Vidal,  Dr.,  i.  313. 

Villa  del  Pilar,  i.  268,  428. 

Villa  del  Salto,  i.  548,  552 ;  gunboat,  ii.  2  ;  at- 
tempt to  capture,  6,  178. 

Villa  Franca,  i.  428. 

Villalba,  Don  Thomas,  ii  41. 

Villa  Occidental,  i.  429. 

Villa  Oliva,  i.  428. 

Villa  Rica,  i.  69,  73,  74,  87,  455. 

Villeta,  i.  428 ;  ii.  561. 

Volney,  i.  280. 

Voltaire,  i.  280. 

Von  Versen,  ii.  498,  566. 


W. 

Walloon  Guards,  the,  of  Spain,  i.  120. 

Ward,  Samuel,  secretary  to  James  B.  Bowlra, 
'•  379,  385- 

Washburn,  C.  A.,  appointed  resident  commis- 
sioner at  Paraguay,  i.  424  ;  reception  by  Lo- 
pez, 425  ;  personal  experiences  and  adven- 
tures, 439  et  seg. ;  a  visit  to  the  yerbales,  451 ; 
protests  against  seizure  of  steamer  Olinda,  etc., 
562  et  seg. :  correspondence  with  Brazilian 
Minister,  568;  interview  with  Berges,  ii.  16; 
with  Lopez,  4,  5  ;  leave  of  absence,  8  ;  inter- 
view with  Caxias,  88  :  personal  observations 
on  court  customs  of  Lopez,  104  et  seg. ;  re- 
ception by  Lopez,  105,  106  ;  his  efforts  with 
Lopez  for  justice  to  foreigners,  113  et  seg.  ; 
sails  for  the  United  States,  114;  obstacles  and 
diplomatic  annoyances  in  return  to  Asuncion, 
115  et  seg.  ;  difficulties  with  Mitre  and  Admi- 
ral Godon,  122  et  seg-  :  his  protest.  125  ;  re- 
news his  demands  on  Mitre,  126  ;  is  master  of 
the  situation,  130  ;  welcome  at  Cunipaiti,  136 ; 
reaches  Asuncion,  162  :  welcome  at,  138,  741  ; 
secures  the  release  of  imprisoned  Englishmen, 
151  ;  negotiations  for  Mastennan,  151  ;  visits 
Lopez,  156:  labors  for  release  of  American 
prisoners,  160  ;  personal  incidents,  179  et  seg.', 
visits  Lopez,  179:  visits  the  camp  of  the  Al- 
lies, 183;  interviews  with  Lopez,  1^7  et  seg.; 
extracts  from  journal,  188-  195  ;  receives  de- 
spatches from  United  States.  196  ;  attempts 
mediation,  197-199:  daily  life  at  Asuncion, 
200-216  ;  refuses  to  leave  the  city,  223  ;  inter- 


INDEX. 


627 


view  with  Berges,  233  :  increases  numbers  of 
the  American  Legation,  236  ;  notifies  the  au- 
thorities of  this  act,  237  ;  Madam  Lynch  seeks 
his  aid,  238 ;  routine  of  life  at  the  Legation, 
253 ;  extracts  from  journal,  261,  262  ;  dis- 
pleases Lopez  by  his  protection  of  foreigners, 
272  ;  asks  to  be  recalled,  273  ;  precautionary 
measures,  277.  278  ;  preparations  for  leaving, 
280 ;  correspondence  with  Kirkland,  289  ;  in- 
mates of  his  house,  293 ;  difficulties,  297  ;  cor- 
respondence with  Benitez,  297  et  sey. ;  charged 
with  various  crimes  by  Lopez,  301  ;  under 
displeasure  of  Lopez.  309,  310  ;  asks  for  his 
passports,  311  ;  gains  time  by  diplomacy,  313; 
visited  by  Chapperpn,  320 ;  concealment  of 
manuscript,  323 ;  visited  by  Madam  Lynch, 
327  ;  dangers  increase,  333  ;  visited  by  Benitez, 
341  ;  t'alse  charges  against,  355  ;  refutes  them, 
357  ;  perils  of,  367  ;  a  third  time  demands  pass- 
ports. 373 :  defends  Bliss  and  Masterman, 
374 ;  in  personal  danger,  384 ;  direct  issue 
with  Lopez,  404  ;  correspondence  with  Cami- 
nos,  413  et  seq. ;  preparations  for  leaving  in 
the  Wasp,  422 ;  the  escape,  434 ;  attempts  to 
rescue  Bliss  and  Masterman,  441  ;  receives 
letters  from,  444  ;  letter  to  Lopez,  446,  447  ; 
final  departure,  458 ;  publishes  the  course  of 
Lopez,  459  :  embarrassments,  460,  461 ;  reaches 
Buenos  Aires,  466 ;  comments  on  the  United 
States  naval  service,  467,  468  ;  difficulties  with 
Admiral  Davis,  479,  480;  iniquities  in  the 
navy,  489.  490;  forced  charges  against,  500- 
507 ;  fictitious  correspondence  with  Caxias, 
514:  portrayed  by  Bliss,  520. 

Washington,  George,  i.  64. 

Wasp,  gunboat,  arrives  at  Itapiru,  ii.  196,  280, 
289  */  seq.  :  returns,  368,  409,  417:  the  situa- 
tion of,  419,  434,  461  :  recital  of  her  voyages, 
461  et  seq  ;  returns  to  Corrientes,  552. 

Water  Witch,  steamer,  i.  364 ;  ii.  19 ;  its  vicis- 
situdes, 365  -  372  ;  fired  upon,  374-376,  557. 

Watts,  John,  u.  65,  150,  247. 


I  Webb,  General  James  Watson,  ii.  130,  131, 
185 ;  letters  from,  440 ;  his  efficiency,  462  ; 
i  his  activity  and  patriotism,  463,  464  ;  prompt- 
ness  to  vindicate  rights  of  Americans,  472 ; 
difficulties  with  Admiral  Davis,  473  ;  his  tes- 
timony, 476,  478  ;  his  opinions,  478,  553  ;  his 
valuable  services,  560. 

Wells,  Captain  Clark  H.,  ii.  136;  testimony  of, 
469-471. 

Welles,  Gideon,  Secretary,  approves  of  Admiral 
Godon,  ii.  487,  488,  489,  490. 

Whytehead,  W.  K.,  superintendent,  i.  439. 

Wisner,  Colonel,  ii.  95,  159,  187,  220,  287. 

World,  A'fw  York,  Bliss's  letter  to,  ii.  444. 


V. 


Yaguaron,  i.  91,  161,  279. 

Yatai,  ii.  80:  battle  of,  86. 

Yegros,  Fulgencio,  i.  151,  156,  159;  made  Presi- 
dent, 177,  201,  280. 

Yegros,  Jose  Tomas,  i.  178  ;  chosen  second  con- 
sul, 202  ;  his  duties,  205  ;  deposed,  214  ;  dis- 
satisfaction of  people  at,  216  ;  conspiracy  of, 
297  et  seq.,  319,  464. 

Yerba  mate,  or  Paraguayan  tea,  i.  260  ;  descrip- 
tion of,  433  ;  culture  of,  450,  457  -  461. 

Yequibel,  Dona  Juana,  her  grand  entertain- 
ment, i.  191  -  195. 

Ytapua,  entertainment  at,  i.  193. 

Yturbide,  execution  of,  i.  301. 


Zavala,  Bruno  Mauricio  de,  Governor  of  Buenos 

Aires,  i.  110-113,  116. 
Zavala,  Dona  Petrona,  i.  170. 
Zavala,  Juan  B.,  i.  182. 


THE   END. 


Cambridge  :  Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


1NTERLIBRARY  LOANS 

MAY  15  1973 

THREE  WEEKS  FROM  DATE  OF  RECEIPI 

NON-RENEWABLE  tCC  &4K  • 


• 


1973 


• 


Form  L9-Series  444 


DEC  3 11976 


ID-UK 


NOV 


IV1 


09J984 


r.D-URL 


1158  00967  8573